The #LunaAndOwlAndBones Challenge for November

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I think that I need to precursor this post by saying that these are my answers at this moment.  Many of the questions are about favorites and preferred decks for different things.  These types of answers can easily change over time.

1. First Deck – Gypsy Witch Fortune Cards
2. Newest Deck – The Circle Lenormand
3. Deck You Want To Know Better – Rust Belt Arcana (I’m still familiarizing myself with the imagery and symbolism.)
4. Deck Gifted To You – Mystical Shaman Oracle
5. Deck You’d Gift to A Beginner – Borderless Smith-Waite Tarot
6. Deck with the Deepest Connection – Tarot of the Hidden Realm
7. Favorite Majors Deck – Sad Story Tarot
8. Favorite Animal Deck – Anima Mundi Tarot
9. Favorite Deck for Artwork – Stolen Child Tarot
10. Most Unique Deck – Again, the Stolen Child Tarot
11. Most Whimsical Deck – Annnnnnd again, the Stolen Child Tarot
12. Full Moon – I like using the Anima Mundi for full moon readings.
13. Deck for Reading for Others – I actually love using my Dixit decks for reading to others. That’s my favorite.
14. Deck for Personal Readings – Tarot of the Hidden Realm
15. Deck for Clarity – Dixit Deck v.6 Memories Edition
16. Deck for Decision Making – Herbal Tarot
18. Deck for Career Readings – 1889 Lenormand
19. Most Blunt Deck – Visions of Life Tarot
20. Most Positive Deck – Skele-Tarot for advice. Guardian Angel Tarot for a gentle, positive feel for others.
21. Favorite Oracle – Brian Froud’s Faeries’ Oracle
22. Deck for Meditation – Again, the Stolen Child Tarot
23. Deck for Spiritual Work – Cheimonette Tarot (or the Ghosts & Spirits Tarot)
24. Deck for Shadow Work – Tarocchi di Connessione
25. Deck on your Altar – At the moment, the Slow Tarot and the Tarot of the Unknown.
26. New Moon – I also like using the Anima Mundi for new moon readings.
27. Deck to Travel With – Any of the Dixit decks and/or the Morgan Greer in a Tin
28. Deck for Thanksgiving Ritual – I don’t have one, but I think the Slow Tarot would work really well for this.
29. Deck You Learned the Most With – Herbal Tarot
30. Deck Used – Ok, so I’m going to take this one as the decks used/am using this month, which I already have set out. Those are (and will be)… Herbal Healing Tarot, Distant Past Tarot, Children of Litha Tarot, Chelsea Lenormand (red), Herbcrafters Tarot, Bottanical Deck, Delos Tarot, Tarot of Pagan Cats, Heart of Faerie Oracle, Illuminated Earth Oracle, Dixit #8 Harmonies Ed, Oracle of Mystical Moments, Lenormand Wahrsagekarten Mit Astrologischen Symbolen, L’oracle des Murmures, Rust Belt Arcana, Dixit #4 Origins Ed, Wooden Tarot, Pagan Otherworlds Tarot, Tarot of the Unknown, Slow Tarot, Sasuraibito Tarot, Badger’s Forest Tarot, Pam’s Vintage Tarot, Earthbound Oracle, The Moon Deck, Brian Froud’s Faeries’ Oracle, and the Gravity Tattoo Tarot.

 

Resilience and Making Good Choices

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Today’s meditation was a little over ten minutes long, and  I took a break from the “how to” series to just do a quiet, relaxing body scan with extra focus and attention settled on my solar plexus and my soul beneath it.

Three of Wands - Slow TarotToday’s draw is the Three of Wands, which in the imagery of this card is a representation of collaboration, harmony, and cooperation in the area of one’s ambitions, passions, and drive.  This manifests in progress and planning towards one’s goals and ideals.

What really stands out to me is the busyness of the bees buzzing around the Eschscholzia californica in the foreground of this card.  California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are a symbol of resiliency, and when combined with the meaning of this card, this message is one of strength and motivation.   It speaks of working toward your goals, even when roadblocks may make you have need to pause, regroup, and plot a new course to get there.

Deck Used:  Slow Tarot

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthNovember

Question: Where do I need to stop stalling and just make a decision?

Tarot De Aux ArcsReading Summary:  This is about my decision on whether I want to speak to my employer or not about his new manager and her performance issues at one of my part time jobs.  I have been weighing whether I want to have a discussion with the owner which may allow me to stay in a job that I enjoy (Two of Wands), or just detach emotionally from the job as a whole and walk away (Eight of Cups).  The judgement card in the center encourages taking a close look at the actual results of both actions and use that perspective in making the decision.

Take Away:   I need to talk to the owner.   Emotionally speaking, my first instinct is to just walk away.  The fact is, though, that I have been working for him for a very long time and we have built up a trust between us.  I may dislike confrontation in the workplace, but the relationship of trust I’ve built with the owner combined with the comfort and enjoyment I find in the work means that I would regret walking away if i don’t try to talk with him about the issue first.

Deck Used:  Tarot de Aux Arcs

Self Care Saturday (on Sunday)

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As I’ve mentioned before, these 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 are not meant as a predictive reading.

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

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Earth – Ace of Pentacles and Air – I feel like this is a carry over from yesterday’s meditation and cards. It speaks of using my head and finding perspectives in order to avoid stumbling and advance financially during the week ahead.

Air – Six of Wands and Vision – The Aesculus glabra (pictured on the card) is considered a “seed of good fortune”. Clarity of thought is going going to be on my side this week, be sure to use it towards progress and success in my endeavors.

Water – Six of Cups and Sleep – Rudbeckia hirta (pictured on the card) is considered a symbol of encouragement. I’ve had a lot of struggle over the past week with my family history and memories concerning my father. In the week ahead, it’s time to give rest to those feelings involved with that trip down memory lane, and seek out a better place for my emotions to settle into.

Fire – Ten of Cups and Permanence – Solidago ohioensis (pictured on the card) is considered a symbol of both good luck as well as encouragement and growth. Look at fostering my positivity in the week ahead as now is a time ripe for some of it to stick and hold on through the near future.

Waning – Taitin the Slyph and Lys of the Shadows – The time to explore the shadows and act upon what is there is at an end for the time being. It’s time to move quickly past that and focus on getting my mind and heart on a path of clarity that will foster quick thinking.

Waxing – Iris of the Rainbows – Light breaks through the darkness this week and there is good reason to allow hope to flourish and grow. Let the light dissipate the shadows you’ve been dealing with and ease the burden that they’ve created.

Decks Used: Rust Belt Arcana Tarot, Earthbound Oracle, Brian Froud’s Faeries’ Oracle

 

Taking In Perspectives

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused on the technique of ‘taking a step back’ from your thoughts during meditation, rather than trying to squelch them.   This is very similar to how I used to deal with my emotions, and I can see how while in meditation, taking that step back to view your thoughts from the outside can help, as it would keep you from getting wrapped up in them and carried away by them.

I forgot to mention yesterday, but I really liked the part of the meditation where he likened the act of bringing your mind back to the breath (or whatever your focus is) to lifting weights.   That the act of meditation and that bringing your focus back to the now is the “reps” that meditation is all about.

Tarot of the Unknown Today’s draw is a double without a jumper, meaning that they both fell out of the deck together.  The cards in today’s draw are the Nine of Axes (Swords) and the Page of Wands.

The message in this draw is that sometimes shit hits the fan and you feel like the world is coming to an end, but if you just take a step back to gain a bit of perspective and sort out the big picture, a lot of times what seems like the end of the world isn’t as bad as it seems.

Like most people, when things start to fall apart, sometimes I get so focused on the problem I forget to take that step back and look in from the outside.  This approach to gaining  different perspectives was also the focus of my meditation today, and it repeats again in the Tarot for Growth read I did today as well.

Deck Used: Tarot of the Unknown

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthNovember

Question: What insight does the universe want to reveal to me at this time?

Wooden TarotReading Summary:  If I want success (Six of Stones) in finding a different way to organize my finances (Page of Bones), I’m going to have to keep my eye on the ball (Knight of Plumes) in dealing with the fires of conflict and struggle that are lit along the way (Five of Stones).

Take Away:  With L about to walk out on her job any day now, and me considering shifting around my part time jobs as well, there’s a fair bit of uncertainty going on in my finances right now.  The message in these cards is that there is definitely going to be some conflict and disruption, but if I stay focused and proactive about the hurdles that come up, it’ll work itself out.

Deck Used:  Wooden Tarot

Casanova… or “What the Heart Wants”?

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and the second installment of the “how to meditate” series that I’m currently listening to.   The topic of today’s guided meditation had to do with finding your focus.   As in, the thing that you bring your straying mind back to again and again when it starts to wander.

This, for me, is often the breath.  Although I have found more recently that I get even better results if I focus, instead, on the solar plexus and that sensation of “soul” that resides within there.

Knight of Cups - Slow TarotToday’s draw is the Knight of Cups, which feels like I seem to be seeing a lot of lately. Maybe it is because I don’t have the highest opinion of the Knight of Cups, and he’s trying to change my mind.

As I’ve mentioned before, when I see the Knight of Cups, I often see a manipulator.  Not in a bad way necessarily, but one of those guys that tells you what you want to hear because it makes you feel good and, in turn, that makes him feel good.   It’s all in the motivation behind the act, and this motivation isn’t really about you at all.  It’s about them.   I am aware that this is not a traditional read on this card, but that is what this card so often speaks to me.

What the Knight of Cups can also represent is a person, personality, or energy with a go-get’em attitude about romance and relationships. There is romance, creativity, and charm.  That active beta energy of the knights means that they’re going after what tugs at their heartstrings rather than standing back to let it come to them or walk away.

Everyone needs a bit of that energy sometimes, and maybe that’s the positive for today.  Get in touch with what makes your heart sing and be proactive about fostering the presence in your life of those things and people.

Deck Used: Slow Tarot

Bonus Reading

I’ve decided that for the time being I’m going to continue with the Tarot for Growth prompts, so with the new month comes a new list of prompts for what is now #TarotForGrowthNovember.

Question: How can I increase my mental clarity?

Delos TarotReading Summary:  A lack of connection (Six of Swords) between my deep seated ambitions (King of Wands) and my emotional well being (King of Cups). For clarity focus on others instead of myself (Six of Pentacles) and foster what is important to me in that area (Queen of Pentacles).

Take Away: I’m being reminded again that there are good and bad that come with the marriage of one’s passions with one’s emotions. Creatively speaking, this is great, but it can also mean that it might be hard to get inspired if I’m too connected to my emotions.   A better path for clarity is to focus my energy outward toward others and on nurturing my day-to-day rather than digging into the murkiness that emotions, and especially emotional upheaval, can bring.

In other words?  Stop being so self centered.  It’s time to pull myself out of the self-reflective inner-focused mire that the new depth of emotions I’ve been experiencing lately swamped me with, and if I want to do that I need turn my focus to those around me rather than upon myself.

Deck Used: Delos Tarot 2nd Ed

Coming Out as Pagan

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This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about coming out as Pagan later in life.

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Topic for the Week of 10/28: “So how to start a conversation of coming out of the broom closet if I became a pagan later in life and I need to tell my husband? How can I bring this up. This is the right path for me. But I’m scared. (Neither of us are church goers either).”

Obviously, this topic doesn’t really apply to me all that much, as I was raised pagan and have never been in the closet about my beliefs (aside from briefly while traveling for personal safety reasons).

That said, I do actually have an opinion on this and I’d like to share that here, but I would like to precursor my opinion by stating that IF coming out with your faith to others is going to put you in danger?  I don’t think it’s a good idea.

If it is not going to put you in danger, though?  I think it’s important to be your authentic self with those you love.   Even if you aren’t shouting from the rooftops what you are (which doesn’t really happen all that often unless it’s someone coming out of the closet, before they realize that most people outside of their loved ones really don’t care LOL), I think that letting your loved ones know what is near and dear to your heart is important.  One of those things should (naturally) be your faith.

If they can’t accept that, it’s really their problem.  Not yours.  Let them deal with it, process it, and find a way past it.   If they love you, even if it matters?  It won’t matter.   That is to say that yes, they might have an issue with it, but it won’t change how they feel about you.   If it does?  Well then they don’t really love you after all.

That takes bravery tho, yes?  Because some people don’t want to find out if there really are conditions to being loved by those that they love.

It doesn’t change my opinion tho.   We need people in our lives that accept us and love us for who we are, not for who they want us to be.

As for how you bring it up, it really depends on who you’re telling.  Some people process things better when it comes from an off-hand comment and they can then ask questions.  Other people need the “sit down and have a heart to heart” approach.  You know your loved ones best, and if you think about it, should know which approach they’ll respond best to.

And lastly… do not confuse fear of telling someone your path with doubt on if the path is right for you.   They are two separate issues.

If you’re not sure if it’s the right path yet, but you still want to tell them?  I suggest approaching it along the line of “I have started to explore…..” or “I’ve begun to have an interest in….”   That way you are not committing to the path, but still giving them a heads up about what’s going on.