Gideon’s Challenge – Time Flies

Early Autumn LeavesTime Flies

The green
begins to wander
away
so quickly
as fall
approaches
bit by bit
in small ways
that are
barely noticeable
when they
begin to
arrive

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

📆 Transitioning from August to September

Month End Check-In Oracle Reading with the Jeremy Miranda Deck

Here and Now I Exist – Who you are now, in your entirety.

Center Card – You waffle between needing a drink and the research needed to weather these murky moments you are going through in life right now. This waffling is a fight between your self-destructive tendencies and your nature as a survivor.

There is no act you can do at this time that will help except to wait. Don’t pick up the bottle or entertain other destructive inclinations at this time. They won’t help you weather the storm, but will just make things worse.

The Slough – What is to be left in the past as you move forward.

Center Left Card – You might want to look into a new desk chair for the packaging desk in the office. You can try to fix it, but it may be worth it to replace it instead. Now, while things are silent and still is the time to deal with the issue (and catch up on  your tax paperwork, too).

What Lies Ahead – An ideal state or ideal self you are seeking at this time.

Center Right Card – You are looking for hope. All the research and impatience you feel is because you are searching for hope. What you aren’t managing to grasp, though, is that this is something you have to wait for. It’s not something you can create for yourself. Not this time, at any rate.

Limitations – Negative influences, opposition, or ill will.

Bottom Center Card – The heat is not helping your tolerance for “doing nothing” at this time. The unknown is encroaching far too close, and you have nothing to distract you from its pull towards the dark. Consider picking up a personal project or two to get you through this time instead of sitting on your hands doing nothing at all.

The Boon – Positive influences, higher guidance, or divine intervention.

Top Center Card – Remember that there is more going on than you can possibly see or know about. Not all the unknown that’s lying beneath the surface is bad. Some of it is working to create a balance that you can’t see, feel, or understand just yet. Just because you can’t see the good work that’s happening behind the scenes, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

The Wound – An unpleasant past experience or event that is ripe for some support and healing.

Bottom Left Card – Make sure when moments of envy rise up in you, that you don’t let it take control. Sometimes when you’re on the outside looking in, that’s the best place you can possibly be. Impressions can be deceiving. You just don’t know what shit they’re going through in there, and it’s probably something you don’t want to be a part of.

Nostalgia – A positive past experience or event to acknowledge, reflect upon, and enjoy.

Bottom Right Card – It might be too hot to go out and hike in the woods, but a little walk through the wetlands might be nice. Make sure you’re getting outside for a bit. The healing nature provides it’s not as strong when you’re not in the forest among the trees, but it will still be there for you in smaller doses in places like the wetlands and parks… which is still better than nothing.

A Warning – Something coming that can be prevented or overcome.

Top Left Card – Make sure you get yourself into the insurance company this month to check on your premiums and balances concerning your insurance, and that they match up with the building insurance for the condo building. Don’t procrastinate. You don’t want to be caught under-insured if something happens, no matter how unlikely that “something” might be.

Empowerment – A future opportunity to work toward.

Top Right Card – Don’t worry, you’re going to get the chance to climb out of the gray into something better. You just might have to go through a dark time first in order to get there. Keep your eye on the prize, and make sure your steps are taking you in the right direction, even when those steps have to be taken at a slower pace than you’re used to.

Message from the Spirit WorldTop Row – Fostering extra quiet and calm in your life and practice now will create a strong foundation of balance for when you need to start climbing that ladder.

Message from the Mind’s WorldCenter Row – Don’t let your negativity and pessimism eat you alive and pull you away from what really matters. That negative narrative in your head has a lot of fertile soil right now while you’re feeling hopeless. Remember that this time of stillness and struggle with hope is only temporary.

Message from the Physical WorldBottom Row – Get your ass outside. You’ll find a quality of grounding there that you’re not going to find while restricted inside doing nothing or looking at others for answers and guidance.

Take Away – Practising patience sucks, but you need to make sure you keep up on the healthy practices that keep you from falling into depression or an anxiety spiral. Do your meditation, get out in nature, keep up on policing your inner self talk for negative influences, and pick up a personal project or two to help distract you from this moment when things look so bleak.

DECKS USED: THE JEREMY MIRANDA DECK

Side Quests and the Long Game

Today’s meditation was a ten minute EFT tapping session using The Tapping Solution Daily Guidance card pictured with my tarot card of the day, and the tapping guidance/affirmations provided on the back of the card.

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The Ultimate RPG Tarot's Knight of Pentacles and The Tapping Solution's Daily Guidance Cards@FatMumSlim August #FMSPAD Challenge
Prompt for August 31st : A Good Habit | #FMS_GOODHABIT25

Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of an active, projective beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s finances, resources, health, home, labors, and manifestations. This often translates into a slow moving but determinedly forward moving energy, personality, or person that has their eye on the prize regardless of the slow and steady speed they may be moving at.

Although side quests happen, you always return to the primary path, acknowledging it as the true goal worth focusing on.

We all get distracted from time to time; that’s a part of why the “big goals” in life take so long to achieve. Life throws things in our path, and sometimes detours are necessary. Other times? Detours are what make the journey more interesting.

Remember, there are 60-year-olds travelling the world. There are 70-year-olds going to college. There are 80-year-olds earning their diplomas. A goal that really matters to you doesn’t have to be a sprint, but instead can become a lifelong journey, side quests and all.

Today’s message is a reminder that just because it’s taking time to reach your goals doesn’t mean that you’re failing at them. It just means that you’re collecting extra knowledge and experience points along the way. As long as you remember where the goal post are, you’re going to get there eventually. Just keep going.

DECK USED:  THE ULTIMATE RPG TAROT AND THE TAPPING SOLUTION’S DAILY GUIDANCE CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2025 Challenge
Prompt for July 31 : Grab a spread of your choice you’re curious about… and give it a go!
@Lionharts #TheAugustTarot Leo Season Challenge
Bonus Spread for August
: The Sun Tarot Spread

The Sun Tarot Reading with The Eldritch Quest Tarot and The Witchcraft Therapy Oracle

What light {within me} is ready to rise and brighten my path today?

Eight of Cups and Balance – You can’t always say “fuck it” and walk away, but sometimes it’s necessary. If something in your life is creating a lot of imbalance, now is the time to take a look at that and decide if it’s really worth all that you’re putting into it.

In what area of my life am I guided to embrace curiosity or an open mind?

The Fool and Check In – Are you having any fun? If not, why not? Don’t forget that having some fun as an important part of life, and if you’re not having enough of it, it can make it life feel as if it’s dragging you down and trying to crush your spirit. Make sure you’re checking in on your level of fun in life. If it feels like you’re not having enough? Then you’re not having enough.

Where can I welcome a moment of wonder to uplift or inspire me?

The Empress and Intimacy – Your time with Gideon is important. Hugs and touches are important. Kisses and quiet intimate moments are important. Don’t disregard their importance just because you aren’t healed enough to feel their benefits every single time. They are good for you even then.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Green Aventurine for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: THE ELDRITCH QUEST TAROT AND THE WITCHCRAFT THERAPY ORACLE

@empressofthenightslight Roll the Tarot August Challenge
Roll :  17  Prompt : How can I best celebrate my journey today?

The Red Threads Tarot ReadingReading Summary: Release your fears (Nine of Blades and Goddess of Disks). You need to let them go and step away from them (Eight of Cups), as their influence and weight is not beneficial to you and your stability at this time.

The Goddess of Disks (aka King of Pentacles) in this deck is about a pair of Minoan Snake Goddess figures, and incorporates themes that have to do with fertility, birth, death, transformation, healing, and sexuality. The myth speaks with great importance of snakes shedding their skin, which correlates with the Eight of Cups’ theme of letting go.

The power of life causes the snake to shed his skin, just as the moon sheds its shadow.” – Joseph Campbell

Take Away: Right now, your anxiety is high and you’re on edge due to the amount of worry and stress going on in your life concerning your livelihood and business.  You need to step away from these fears rather than letting them overtake you, for it’s in letting them go that you can keep them from dragging you down into a detrimental head space.

Take control of your inner narratives and shed from that mental space what isn’t serving you instead of letting it get you worked up and compounding your anxiety.

Other elements included in this reading:
Copper Die for Energy Flow and Optimism in the Roll
Dried Rhododendron Leaves for Fostering Confidence
Banded Carnelian for Inner Drive and Focus On Aspirations
Labradorite for a Focus on Mental and Emotional Healing
Rainbow Moonstone for Emotional Balance and Intuition
Kyanite for Clear Communication and Self-Expression
Clear Quartz Man in the Moon for Amplification of Lunar Energies
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE RED THREADS TAROT – ARIADNE & DIONYSUS –

Daily Self Kindness

I worked really hard at not allowing my negative inner narratives to have a voice louder than a whisper today.

Gideon’s Challenge – Solar Plexus

Mount BakerSolar Plexus

Its not a mountain
it’s a volcano
stable
in a dormant state
waiting
with movement
far below
undetected
by anyone watching
but there
and ready to blow
when
least expected

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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?

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with the First Aid for Broken Hearts Tarot and Terra Lenormand

EarthThree of Cups atop Page of Cups – Friends help with your emotional stability. Make sure that you’re leaning on them as you learn about your emotions and how to react. They are the ones who will understand where you’re coming from when you’re struggling, as well as provide the support and encouragement you need to keep going.

AirSeven of Pentacles – Don’t let your negative inner narratives tell you that you’re not doing enough, or are unworthy of good things. Those good things may take a while to come to you, or it may be that your eyes are closed and you’re not appreciating the ones that are already there, but you are absolutely worthy of them.

WaterSix of Pentacles Rx – Allow yourself to be greedy this week and depend on the generosity of others for them to understand that sometimes you just have to do it that way for your own emotional well-being. You just can’t put everyone else first all the time. It’s not emotionally healthy for you.

FireDeath – Just stand there and watch the changes concerning your business happen this week instead of trying to adjust with them or direct them in some way. It’s okay to be an observer and wait until it’s time to rebuild, instead of struggling to try and mitigate the changes as they are happening in the moment.

WaningAnchor and Clouds – Anchoring yourself in the current shit storm means stepping away instead of hunkering down. Don’t dwell over much on the changes happening and what’s going on, just stand back and watch the show from the safe distance you have created.

WaxingBouquet and Whip – You aren’t a pushover by any stretch of the imagination, but you may want to try and file down those claws and fangs a bit this week.  The stress could make your usually congenial nature grow a few unnecessary sharp edges.

Take Away – You’re still in the grip of the waiting game, and it’s causing some emotional struggle within you.  Allow others to help you work through those feelings instead of bottling them up and letting them turn your outlook negative or aggressive.  Focus on taking care of yourself this week, and invite others to help in that endeavor.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence

DECKS USED: FIRST AID FOR BROKEN HEARTS TAROT AND TERRA LENORMAND

Try, Try Again

Today’s meditation was a ten minute self-directed session based upon the affirmation “Fail Abundantly.”

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Meryl Tarot's Knight of Wands and Love Who You Are Oracle card@FatMumSlim August #FMSPAD Challenge
Prompt for August 30th : Favourite Thing Today | #FMS_FAVETHING25

Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of a projective beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s drive, passions, willpower, principles, inspiration, or enthusiasm. This often translates into themes that have to do with rash behavior and a go-get’em attitude toward the things that matter to that person.

And here we are.  On a stressful and chaotic day, with the cards saying… “Try, Try Again”.
[ref: William Edward Hickson 1803-1870]

It’s a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again.

William Edward Hickson - Try Try AgainThen your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear,
Try, try again.

Once or twice, though you should fail,
Try, try again.

If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again.

If we strive, ’tis no disgrace,
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in that case?
Try, try again.

If you find your task is hard,
Try, try again.

Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again.

All that other folk can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view,
Try, try again.

Today’s message is that failing doesn’t matter. It’s about getting back up and trying again. It will -always- be about trying and the learning that you gain through your experiences along the way. We sometimes wish life could be easier, but the fact of the matter is? It isn’t, and maybe? It shouldn’t be. If life was easier, we wouldn’t learn anything, we’d just float along… stupid and empty.  It’s our tests and trials that give us depth.  So… try, try again.

DECK USED:  MERYL TAROT AND LOVE WHO YOU ARE ORACLE

@Lionharts #TheAugustTarot Leo Season Challenge
King of Wands – Leadership Bonus Prompts for August

Creative Consciousness Healing Oracle ReadingWhat vision am I ready to lead into reality?

Receiving – You don’t need to push and force everything that you want in life. Sometimes, the things that are meant to be will come to you on their own, if you just let them do so at their own pace. Wouldn’t life be just that much better and less tense if you didn’t have to fight for every step and every little thing along the way?

Maybe it could be, but in order to get there you have to stop pushing and open yourself to receiving instead. Believe that you truly are worthy of not having to struggle so hard for everything you have.

How can I take charge of my path with self-trust?

Grounding – Chaos is not your friend and it’s through grounding yourself that you find your center, understand your needs and strengths better, and connect in trust with yourself. The more rooted in your power you are, the better you connect with that trust.

Where am I being asked to rise as a leader?

Ice Boundary – You are very good at keeping your head on straight when things go awry.  When chaos reigns, others look to you for that level head and grounded energy that they are used to receiving from you.  In these moments, you are asked to rise and lead.  Just make sure that it’s an instance where your leadership is truly needed before you step forward to take up the mantel.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: CREATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS HEALING ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I didn’t allow the emotional (and expected financial) upheaval of today’s chaos drag me into an ugly mental spiral.