A Nest Egg Reminder

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IMG_6901Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was a combination of a guided meditation and interval timer for the switching positions of my piriformis stretching.  I haven’t done my piriformis stretches in a few days, and I can definitely feel it today.  The pull up into my spine and along my internal scar tissue was pretty intense, but it wasn’t so bad that it didn’t release with time.

The focus of the guided part of this meditation was about magic in the every day.  The thing is that there are times when repetitive actions and the mundane can sometimes feel very boring.  You walk the same path to and from work every day, and after a while it feels like there’s nothing new to see, yeah?

The meditation today encouraged listeners that that’s when it’s time to really start paying attention to the details around you and sinking into the experience. Pay attention to the patterns of leaves on the sidewalk, the smells in the air, the feel of the breeze, the whisper of tree’s branches or the blooming and fading of flowers. Become invested in the nuances and details, and you soon find that no two days are alike, no to walks are alike.  Everything changes, even those things we feel bored with or stagnant.

Tarot of Haunted House - Four of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Four of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of stability and security in the areas of finance, resources, hearth and home, health, and manifestations.  It’s about conservation of resources and creating a sense of security by having what one needs.

This is my second favorite card in this deck, and it is so funny that it came up today because when I shuffled the cards, I saw it on the bottom of the deck and specifically thought  “God I love that card.  If it’s meant to come up, it’ll come up”.  And then?  It popped right out of the deck for my pull during shuffling.

Poppets are used for a variety of different purposes.  Curses and hexes are what is most commonly known since they were made familiar through works of voodoo.  And yet?  That is not the only way these magical artifacts are used or the only thing they are used for.   Here in this picture?  You see a money poppet.  A boon spell for drawing in good fortune.  Specifically good fortune in the area of one’s finances and resources.

The message in this card is to “tend to your garden” and foster it’s growth.  Through that growth.  Through focusing on collecting and saving and creating a “nest egg” of a cushion, you create a sense of stability in your life that allows for shit to happen and life to continue on in some semblance of “normal”, even when times are at their hardest.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF HAUNTED HOUSE

LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: What can I do to honor the magick within me?

Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot

Reading Summary: Hold tight to the faith (The Star) that you have the skills, abilities, and capability to deal with (The Magician) all of those things that you’re worried about (Nine of Swords).

Take Away:  To honor the magic within me, it’s important to accept that I have all that I need to deal with all the issues and all the worries that plague me.  It’s about having trust and faith that everything is going to work out, because no matter what life throws at me?  I can deal with it, adapt, and in the end?  Find a path of positive growth forward beyond it.  These worries? They’re just a distraction.  Set them aside and trust I can deal with what comes, no matter what it might be.

DECK USED:  ANNE STOKES GOTHIC TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #1
Question: How can I shrug off this feeling of blah and ineptitude?

Cute and Creepy TarotReading Summary: Both sevens RX. Stop looking at all the choices (Seven of Cups Rx) and make a dive for what you want (Knight of Cups) and do it now. No time like the present (Seven of Pentacles Rx).

There is a connection between the Seven of Cups and the Knight of cups in both coloring and theme.  This goes beyond the “Cups” suit correspondence and into how the two cards flow together.  Pick one cup.  Just one.  And go after it full force.

There is also a connection between the Seven of Cups and Seven of Pentacles that goes beyond the fact they are both Rx and both sevens.  This has to do with the clusters in both cards.  Many cups.  May pentacles.  Choices and selections and abundance that has turned against you, indicating a need to downsize.

Take Away:  Stop allowing everything that needs to be done overwhelm you and set you into a stagnant paralysis.  Pick one thing.  Just one thing… and do it.  Then pick another.  Don’t worry about all of it at once, and don’t worry about if you’re going to get it all done or not.  You can’t eat an entire cake in one bite, and you can’t get the prep done all at once.  Work at it one piece at a time instead.

DECK USED:  CUTE AND CREEPY TAROT

#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question:  In what way do I embody the ______ card?

Skele-Tarot

My Card – Ace of Cups – The seed of beginnings of new relationships, new dynamics within existing relationships, new creative ideas, and new emotions.

In what way do I embody the Ace of Cups card?
Page of Cups, Five of Pentacles, Three of Cups

I’m doing my best to expand my emotional intelligence, and sometimes that is going to cause me to feel negative emotions, but I understand that these things are temporary and there is renewal ahead which means there is always hope.

DECK USED:  SKELE-TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What are my magickal influences?

Spirit of Halloween Tarot

Reading Summary:  In my life right now I am at a place where I struggle to lift the blindfold and see clearly my path forward (Eight of Swords). For a time, this caused me to lose faith in my abilities to ride out what may come and turn it around in my favor (The Magician).  Beside the cards that represent this struggle reside a card indicating the two prominent aspects of my life at the moment.  The Nine of Pentacles speaks of my goals and my current feelings of security and comfort.  The Ace of Cups represents my efforts at that new level of emotional intelligence and the growth I’ve managed so far this year… which is truly just the beginning of a much longer journey.

Take Away:  My magical influences at this time are being blocked.  The influence that helps me the greatest is my ingenuity and my adaptability, but with my current state, I am muffling it and drowning it beneath feelings of overwhelm that cloud my vision.  

DECK USED:  SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

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IMG_9381Aren’t You Home Yet?

Every day
that you’ve been gone
has been a day
of dips and turns
and
topsy turvy
tumbles.
Only you can
set my world back
right side up.

I miss you so much. You are not at all the only one that struggles when vacation time comes.  I just usually  hide it so much better than I have this time around.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot, Fantod Pack, Mystic Misfits Oracle

Earth – Ace of Presents and The Burning Head – Don’t allow discordance and dissatisfaction with what you have turn you away from new opportunities. This “meh” feeling that you’re experiencing is temporary. Don’t let it hold you back.

Air – The High Priestess and The Stone – Sometimes it can feel like intuition and logic mix just about as well as oil and water. Keep in mind that your intuition has been working for you and alongside that tendency to lean into logic for your entire life.  You don’t have to choose, just let them do their thing.

Water – Page of Candles, Queen of Candles, The Limb – This is about that “know it all” shadow that sometimes crops up from time to time and makes you self conscious about sharing your knowledge and experiences with others. It’s important to not just remember that you are also still learning and still growing, and to phrase things in a way when communicating with others that allows for this humility to show through in your words.

Fire – Page of Presents and The Tunnel – All these angsty emotions and struggles you’ve had with moving forward into the prep time of the holiday rush are going to be in focus this week.  It’s time to transition into the slow and steady progress of getting ready for the beating to come.  Don’t allow your uncertainties to continue to drag you down and hold you back.

Waning – Mirror – It’s time to move away from introspection.  You can only stare at a mirror for so long before you start to pick apart what is in the reflection and… over time?  The different pieces picked apart then start to not make sense.

Waxing – Spore and Star –  You have been stuck in a rut of stagnation and struggling with motivation lately. This week is the time to wriggle yourself out of that rut and start climbing for the sky.  Get moving this week on things that need worked on and preparations that need to be made.

Take Away – As most of my readings over the past couple days have already indicated, this week is a time to dig myself out of the funk that I’ve been feeling about life and work and just every thing in general.  It’s time to nudge myself into some motivation and focus on encouraging myself toward getting things done and the prep that is needed for the holiday rush.  There is a notation, as well, in the Air section that indicates I need to make sure I don’t shut out my intuition.  Some things that don’t mix well still work together in perfect harmony.

DECKS USED: NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS TAROT, EDWARD GOREY’S FANTOD PACK, MYSTIC MISFITS ORACLE

The Illusive Silver Lining

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Today’s meditation was… well it was a bit different.  That would be because I tried to do my meditation in the bath this time. Since I was soaking in the tub, I thought I’d give it a go.  What actually happened, though, is that I started to doze off… twice.  So, that wasn’t a very good idea. I never settled in to meditate after I’d gotten out, either.  I’ll do it before sleep tonight.

Madam Lydia Wilhelmina's Tarot - Five of CupsToday’s draw is the Five of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of emotions that deal with disappointment, disillusionment, and pessimism.  Especially in cases where you are failing (or refusing) to see the whole picture.

What really stands out to me in the imagery of this card today is the contrast between the graceful figure and the cold dark surroundings in which she stands.  It really makes the “pity party” going on in this card stand out.

The thing is?  When you’re focused solely on the pessimistic side of things?  You lose out on so much sometimes, but it’s really devastating when it’s the little things you lose out on.  In moments when everything feels like it’s gone to shit and you’re wading through the cold snow of disappointments and failures?  Not looking for that little nugget of positive that lives in those moments has the potential to just make everything worse… and make the bad linger and stretch on longer… the emotions involved experienced with more depth and for a longer period of time than might be healthy.

The message here is to look for that silver lining.  It might be small, it might seem like “nothing”… but sometimes that little bit of nothing can be everything.

DECK USED:  MADAM LYDIA WILHELMINA’S TAROT

LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I best harvest the energy available to me?

Tarot of the Sweet Twilight

Reading Summary: Work at learning to be happy with what you have (King of Pentacles) and to foster and nurture that outlook it so that it grows (Queen of Pentacles)… It doesn’t all have to be about “more more more” all the time.

There is a link between the Queen of Pentacles and the Knave of Swords in the fact that the girl in the Knave looks like a younger version of the Queen, and wears the same dress beneath her jacket.   What I see from this is that growth is possible, but needs a bit of nurturing to get it there and to temper the impulsive urges that slow and steady growth can sometimes spur.

Take Away:  I push myself too damned hard and it’s not healthy.  I know that, and yet so very often, I can’t seem to help it. The encouragement here is that I need to stay focused on the present right now.  I need to nurture my growth and my inspiration, but only in ways that support slow growth instead of fast and hard spurts.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SWEET TWILIGHT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What needs my attention in the… past / present / future

Murder of Crows TarotWhat needs my attention in the past?
Knight of Swords – So much of my past has spent spent barrelling forward at full speed, pushing myself harder and harder as I work towards my ambitions. This pushing wasn’t about my passions or interests, it was about my ambitions. The things I felt I wanted in my life, or even felt were absolutely necessary.  And in pushing myself so hard, I have cycled through burnout after burnout, driven to always push harder and harder. It’s not healthy and I know that, and yet I cannot seem to help it. And when I do manage to back off on myself? Then I feel shame and self-recriminations concerning whatever it is that I’m not getting done.   This issue stems from my past and is something I need to work on addressing.

What needs my attention in the present?
The High Priestess  – This is an echo of what the cards told me in my self-care Saturday reading this weekend. It has to do with depending less strongly upon logic and thought, and leaning more heavily into intuition and the nudging of my moral compass.

What needs my attention in the future?
Ten of Pentacles – My goals, my loved ones, my home. Soon, I will be bumping my mortgage payments back up to double. I reduced my mortgage payments by half back in the spring when I lost the majority of my part time jobs.  After the holidays, I have every intention of returning my payments back to that larger payment again. This future goal will allow my mortgage to be paid off more quickly, creating a sense of stability (and the opportunity to slow down a bit) sooner.   I’m very much looking forward to that.

DECK USED:  MURDER OF CROWS TAROT

#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: In what way does my spirit guide embody the _____ card?

Terrestrial Tarot

Spirit Guide Card – The Sun – A sign of hope and warmth and love. A sense of enthusiasm and enjoyment, of optimism and positivity.

In what way does my spirit guide embody the Sun card?
Air (Ace of Swords), Felicity (Nine of Cups), King of Swords

The spirit guide in question embodies the Sun card as they are in my life to help me find emotional fulfillment.  I’m very much a Swords person, as I lean heavily on intellect and logic in my day to day life and how I navigate the world.  But you cannot become the master of your ambitions and mind without reaching a level of emotional fulfillment along the way. This spirit guide is here to provide opportunities to find that fulfillment by finding ways of blending that logic and intellectual tendency I fall into with the emotional intelligence I need to develop along the way.

DECK USED:  TERRESTRIAL TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What does this time of year mean to me?

Dark Angels Tarot

Reading Summary: Gearing up for the busy season with no time to waste (Knight of Pentacles Rx). Change is building into the new reality for the next few months (Death). Struggling to spend as much time as possible with Gideon in preparation for the busy season officially starts (Two of Cups).

Take Away:  There are a lot of spiritual connotations that are a part of this time of year, but in truth?  What this season really means to me is that it’s a time of “changing gears”.  As much as I love the shift in weather, the opportunity to get out in nature more, the thinning of the liminal veil between spiritual planes, etc… what this time of year means more than anything?  Is that it’s time to prep for my busiest time of year, which looms in the near future like a giant trying to hide behind a tree and failing at it miserably.

DECK USED:  DARK ANGELS TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge

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IMG_9078Engrossed Moments

Anther and filament
so delicately sweet
Petals
a whisper
light as a feather
and filled with color.
Sepal bits beneath
tight buds… and
and for a moment
you lose yourself
in a trillion flutters
from the smallest breeze.

Sometimes… you just need to find something to lose yourself in for a bit.
Today is one of those days.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Morning Bonus Read – Combating Hopelessness

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“With all that is going on in the world, it is easy to become overwhelmed by anger and grief, and to feel hopeless. This week, chat with your divination tools about some ways to constructively approach everything we’re dealing with.”

Tokyo Ghoul Playing CardsWhat am I paying attention to in my life that I don’t need to be? (Types of news, types of people, etc)?
Two of Diamonds

Stop worrying so much about juggling everything.  Your worry and stress over this topic are pulling your attention away from things that need to get done.

What am I not paying attention to that I do need to be?
Ten of Spades

You see that dark shadow that keeps trying to creep up on you?  It’s that black pit of depression trailing after you in the wake of your footsteps. If you allow it to catch up, it will buckle your knees and take you down, and take all your goals and ambitions down with you.

What am I doing to make the world a better place?
Eight of Hearts

You are social distancing like a champion, which is a pretty significant feat considering that you’re out in public nearly every day.

What can I do this week to keep myself focused on the things that are important to keep me and the world healthy?
Queen of Diamonds atop Five of Clubs

Use self care methods to help keep yourself afloat when conflict tries to drag you down.  It’s okay if you need to fight for what you believe in, but sometimes in the heat of battle things are said or things happen that can create a resonant disillusionment to slip in and bring you down.  Take that nurturing you give so freely to others and turn it upon yourself during these moments.

DECK USED:  TOKYO GHOUL PLAYING CARDS