Refilling the Cup

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and twenty seconds, and focused on finding happiness. 

That is to say, in realizing that happiness is in the now.  Not the past and not the future.  The past is the past.  The future hasn’t happened yet, and whatever “dream” of it you may conjure up may never happen.  But NOW in the present?   There and only there can you look for and discover real, enjoyable happiness.

Today’s draw is the Four of Swords, which is a representation on the theme of rest, respite, stability, shelter, and ease in the areas of the mind and thought, reason and logic, communication, and action.

The Four of Swords is a card of restoration and recuperation, indicating it is time to rest and restore your inner reserves for the challenges ahead.

This is an excellent message for me today, as today is my Self Care Saturday.  I’ve been trying to instill one of these Self Care days into each week, as they saying that you “can’t pour from an empty cup” has really resonated with me.

Self_Care_750x750-220x220You cannot offer what you don’t have.   If your cup is empty, how can you offer it to another to drink?   If my inner stores are empty,  then I have less to offer to not just others, but my own goals and endeavors.

I’m sure that during my holiday season when things are out of control, this will not be something I’m able to keep up on.   But until then, and after that marathon of six weeks is over, I think having a self care day is a good idea, if only to remind me that my needs outside of my goals are important too.

 

Summer Solstice – Celebrating Abundance

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Today was (is) the Summer Solstice (aka Midsummer or Litha), which is a holiday for me. Many consider the Summer Solstice as the “first day of summer”. You hear it on the news all day long, it’s written on a copious number of calendars that way, etc. For me, this is completely inaccurate.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. That means it is the absolute peak in the sun’s energy all year, and thus the peak of summer (as opposed to the beginning). After today, the days will again get shorter, the nights will become longer. This means that that bounty of energy will be waning. Thus…. Midsummer. Not the beginning of summer.

(Can you tell the whole “beginning of summer” thing is a pet peeve yet?)

The Summer Solstice is the pinnacle of growth and a time to celebrate the abundances in your life, whether they be intentions from the spring that have developed into fruition, the anticipated gifts of summer with ripe fruits and blooming flowers, or the unexpected blessings of surprise bounties.

Gratitude and celebration for these things is a key part of the Summer Solstice celebration, as is making a last bid for intentions you want to carry forward through the rest of the year. After today, as the days begin to wan into a shorter and shorter span, so too will the energies of the earth that nurture new life and buds as the time for harvesting comes in the wake of summer’s vigorous time of growth.

It is this spirit of gratitude and intention that I’ve carried with me as I moved through the day today.  I have so much to be grateful for… and you are at the top of the list, man.

I love you.

Use Your Intuition

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on pausing to allow for space within yourself.

This is in reference to when you have a moment where your emotions spark either because you were triggered or for some other reason. Our first instinct is to react and respond immediately. But sometimes, it is better to take a pause and step away, give yourself time and space, and then come back.

I use this practice often when dealing with customers in my business. Sometimes people can be aggravating, frustrating, or just downright rude. By pausing and taking a step away before I respond to these types of people, it allows me to respond in a kind and courteous manner instead of simply reacting to what they are putting out there.

Today’s draw is the Two of Swords, which is a representation of division, duality, and openings in the area of the mind, thought, reason, logic, and communication.

The Two of Swords is all about choices and intuition. It represents not just that there are choices that will be present to decide upon, but that you need to trust more than just reason and logic in making them.

This is why the woman is blindfolded, as she is unable to clearly see the choices before her and make an informed decision. Instead she must trust her intuition to choose wisely.

The thing about intuition is that the more you use it, the more it will speak up. Whereas, the more that you ignore it or discount its input, the quieter it will become.

The appearance of this card today is a reminder to stay in touch with my intuition, and to not always depend so strongly upon logic and reason alone. Sometimes I feel I’m at the cusp of falling into that trap, and this is a good reminder that my decision making process is more than just an activity of the mind.

Eminent Burnout

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and fifty seconds, and focused on fostering curiosity by using the question “what is this?” during the practice.

The idea was to stay in the mindset of the questioning. To not seek answers, but instead to hold yourself in the experience of inquiry without an expectation of an answer.

Not surprisingly, I had a difficult time with this meditation. My mind is constantly seeking and constantly curious, but demands the reward of knowing that comes when you find the answer. To sit and stew in the curiosity all by his self with no drive to find answers was a place that was nearly impossible for me to hold myself in. I did try though.

I may actually return to this meditation again at a later date and try again.

Today’s draw is the Ten of Swords, which which is a representation of endings and the hope of new beginnings on the horizon in the area of thoughts, logic, reason, and communication.

Although the above is the “official” interpretation of the Ten of Swords, when I saw this card today it was read entirely by intuition.

My intuition says… burn out.

The swords in this man’s back in the image represent all of the “need to do’s” and “want to do’s” that can create a cacophony in the mind and end up overwhelming an individual. They all stick out of his back as he lays up on the ground, representing burn out at its peak.

What the card’s appearance today is telling me is that I need to slow down and pull a couple of those ‘blades out of my back’, so to speak. Not everything has to be done right now now now now now. I need to give myself permission to take my time, relax, and do things at an easier pace.

As you know, sometimes I get overwhelmed by the bombardment of my responsibilities combined with the drive of my creativity. I’ve been feeling this a bit just lately, and today’s card is an offer of guidance on how to deal with that and the impending burn out that it can create if ignored, as well as a reminder to cut myself a little slack.

Outward, Not Inward

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and seven seconds, and focused upon the butterfly effect of how your moods and actions can cause a ripple that moves outward through the lives and others, and about how meditation can help in the process of altering how you respond to stress and aggravation.  These positive alterations then create less negative ripples and more positive ones, bettering not just your own life, but the lives of others as well.

This is a tenant of Buddhism.   That is, to be aware of these ‘ripples’, and be compassionately mindful of the ripples that you create and their influence upon others.  In other words, to be kind, careful, and mindful of what you put out into the world.

Today’s draw is the Queen of Wands, which is a representation of a “feminine” alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions, drive, spirit, and soul.  This is a card filled with vitality and determination, confidence, respect, and goal oriented focus.  She is bold and confident, and self aware.

Today’s message from the Queen of Wands is to focus on myself and the things I love.  Share my passion for these things with others, and enjoy them to the fullest.

Entering this post at the end of the day, I also have the perspective to understand that today is not the day for journaling and introspection, but instead a day of action and purpose.  I had originally planned to use some of my free time today to catch up on some journaling that I need to do, but it turns out that today was far more about actions and outward expressions than inward contemplation and quietude.

 

What is a Deck Interview Spread?

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As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently did a re-create on my personal deck interview spread. It’s a ten-card spread with room for jumper cards to add additional input when they show up. I’m so happy with it, in fact, that I’ve recently begun the process of re-interviewing all my decks. This, of course, is going to take a good deal of time.

In your reply, you asked me what a deck interview spread is, and it inspired me to make this post.

GypsyFirst, I have to explain what a “spread” is. Essentially, in the tarot (or any fortune telling that involves cards) there are two “basic” methods for using the cards. (I’m sure there are a variety of other more esoteric ways as well, but I’m only covering the two basic methods.)

There is the “free style” method, which involves having an inquiry in mind and drawing a card. Then, from the response of the card you then develop another related query that is brought forward and a new card is drawn. In this way, it is like having a conversation. You ask, the cards answer, and you continue the discussion until you feel it is time to stop. The “one card draw” is essentially of this ilk, as there is simply a single draw in response to one’s inquiry.

Then you have the second method, which is using a spread. This is a pre-planned pattern in which you put the cards down, like a seating chart. Each “seat” has a question, topic, or person assigned to it, and a card is drawn and placed in that spot, essentially then representing (or answering) whatever that spot is supposed to signify.

I use both of these methods, depending on what I’m using the cards for and my mood.

So, then we come to a Deck Interview spread.

This is a spread used to communicate directly with the deck to assist in getting familiar with the deck and its energy and personality.

DeckInterviewSpread

You can see the spread above, where I have positions 1 thru 10, plus secondary positions behind each card for if I come upon extra “jumper cards” in the process of pulling cards for the interview. These secondary positions are not necessary to fill, but are there more because some decks just have a lot to say and an extra card or two will “jump” out of the deck during a card pull in a demand to be included.

When doing an interview spread, you are bonding with your deck and “feeling it out” for how it feels and what types of tasks it will be happiest performing. The questions for my spread are…

  1. What is your most important characteristic?
    This may include the deck’s personality or energy, what makes it unique, or how the deck will deliver advice.
  2. What are you here to teach me?
    Provides insight into what to expect from the deck and what the deck can teach you through working with it.
  3. What kind of readings will you excel at?
    Indicates what type of readings the deck is most comfortable with.
  4. What is your greatest strength?
    Indicates what the deck is absolute best at.
  5. What other strengths would you like to share?
    Provides a more well-rounded understanding of the deck’s strengths as a whole.
  6. What is your greatest weakness?
    Indicates what the deck will be terrible at, or types of readings it can’t do.
  7. What other limitations would you like to share?
    Will provide a more well-rounded understanding of the deck’s limitations and weaknesses as a whole.
  8. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you?
    Provides guidance on how to best handle and work with the deck.
  9. What do you see as the potential outcome of our relationship?
  10. Is there any additional information you would like to share about yourself?

There are books that can be purchased that are filled with spreads to try, and many decks also come with a suggested spread or two in their “Little White Book” (or other guidebook). You can also find a multitude of spreads on the internet by doing simple searches.

Although I am the author of this specific Deck Interview spread, the practice of deck interview as a whole is not a new concept, and neither are the questions I’ve chosen to ask.