animal guide

Just Wait

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes and sixteen seconds, and focused on the three types of learning.  These styles of learning are through the word of others, through your own research, and through actually doing.  It discussed how each type has its place in the process of one’s development of new skills, but it is the last of the three that really cements home changes in one’s skills and abilities.

I think this is especially true and very clear to see in when people are learning the tarot (or any divinitory system).   Books can only take you so far, watching others can only take you so far… research and study can only take you so far.  It is only once you begin actually reading with the cards (or other system) that you begin to cement into place your knowledge and methods and find the confidence and strength that only hands on experience can lend.

Today’s draw is the Five of Swords (the Mako Shark), which is a representation of trials, tests, hardship, conflict, and struggles in the area of one’s thoughts, logic, communication, instincts, intellect, and challenges.

In the guidebook for this deck, the Mako Shark’s keywords are dominance, power, fearlessness, drive, cunning, and endurance.

This card is really good for today, and I would like to share a quote from the Journey into the Hidden Realms book that demonstrates perfectly how I see the appearance of the Five of Swords in today’s draw.

“… while things look chaotic and dangerous, they aren’t as bad as you are making them out to be…. just let the situation play out naturally, it’ll blow over soon. Trying to take action now will only bring regrets.”

This is exactly right for today as I learned yesterday (along with multitudes of other sellers on the site) that Etsy has decided to completely revamp their advertising platform.  This is a platform that has worked VERY good for me over the years, and what they are incorporating into the new platform involves LESS control as well as the inclusion of a venue that has never worked well for me at all.  Because there are less controls, this means there’s no way to opt out of that advertising venue without curtailing advertising through them entirely.

I’ve been mulling over what I want to do about this, as I definitely have issue with a number of the changes.  I needed guidance, although I had not yet chosen to turn to the cards for it.   The cards, though, stepped up to provide that guidance regardless.

For the time being, I will take the “wait and see” route.  Once the dust has settled, then I will go back and review my options and make a more educated decision.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

A Breath of Fresh Air

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds, and involved a full body scan from head to feet and then back up again.

These are, hands down, one of my favorite types of meditations.  I enjoy the process of moving from body part to body part, and it is mentally engaging enough to keep my mind from straying all over the place.

It also gives me a chance to touch in on what it is my body needs, where I am sore and need more stretching, what needs more attention to function dependably through the day.

Today’s draw is the Page of Wands (the Chinchilla) which is a representation of a receptive omega energy in the area of one’s passions, drive, willpower, and aspirations.  The Page of Wands is a learner, but a learner that is up for exploration and filled with curiosity, inspiration, and potential for discovery.

In the guidebook for this deck, the Chinchilla’s keywords are specified as discovery, curiosity, communication, awareness, innocence, and enthusiasm.

This is the mentality that I brought with me into my day today, and as a result we visited a LOT of places along the way back home including craft stores, grocery store (I made a new and absolutely SPECTACULAR dish tonight that I’d made up in my head in the grocery store), and even the park for a short visit.   This energy was like a breath of fresh air, and one that was greatly needed at that.

Root First… then Sway

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and thirty seconds long, and focused on taking your mindfulness practice from your meditation and into your daily life.

By this, I mean that you take moments in your day to just pause and connect with the moment.  With the smells and the sounds and your inner self, as opposed to letting the day run away with you.

I do this quite often throughout most days, as it helps me keep my anxiety levels in check.

Today’s draw is another double without a jumper, because as seems to be the norm for this deck, they came out together.  The cards in today’s draw are the King of Pentacles (the Silverback Gorilla) and the Fool (the Ccara Llama) from the Major Arcana.

Intuitively speaking, today’s cards speak to me about rest and enthusiasm. They speak about how when one takes the time to be well seated, rested and comfortable and secure in their environment, and it then leaves room for enthusiasm to flourish, and new things and ideas to enter into your life without upsetting the balance.

It’s a good reminder to stay grounded, even when you’re feeling inspired and enthusiastic, like a tree whose branches want to dance in the breeze must first dig deep roots. This is especially true with my creativity, I often have that urge to leap first and work it out as I go, but that’s not always the best option.  Sometimes you have to plant your feet first, so that when you leap you land where you want to land.

On to the traditional meanings and the guidebook….

In the guidebook for this deck, the Silverback Gorilla’s key words are wisdom, leadership, authority, generosity, protection, and loyalty.   The Ccara Llama’s keywords are tenacity, curiosity, fortitude, steadfastness, impulsiveness, and joy.

Traditionally, the King of Pentacles represents a strong, projective alpha energy in the area of finances, resources, manifestation, and the physical world.   The Fool card, which is the very first card in the Major Arcana and often considered the protagonist of the tarot as a whole, represents new beginnings, free spirited-ness, innocence, spontaneity, and naiveté.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

Choosing Your Moment

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and focused on how to deescalate conflict by taking a moment of pause to allow the emotions and bodies to calm down.  During the guided meditation, I learned that it takes 20 minutes for adrenaline and other stress reactions to leave the body, which was something I didn’t know.

The meditation was soothing, with a focus on the breath, and concluded with an encouragement that when life becomes filled with moments of discord, stress, or anxiety, to step away for a moment, and take that moment to pause and calm before you return to deal with whatever has wound you up.

This is often what I use the balcony of my place for.  It always has something that needs done, year round, whether it is tending to living plants, checking on those in hibernation, cleaning up dead leaves, or just a bit of TLC.   By going out there when I have become overwrought, I am giving myself space to process and ease.  I never noticed this before, but my visits in this capacity are usually… just about 20 minutes long.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Pentacles (the Black Rhinoceros) which is a representation of an active beta type energy, personality, or person in the area of manifestations, resources, finances, and the physical world.

The key words for the Black Rhinoceros in the deck’s guidebook are determination, wisdom, strength, stability, awareness, and endurance.

What I feel when I see this card in today’s draw is…. patience. Not in the way of languid moments or lengthy waiting, but more in how one is patient in order to find that precise moment to strike.    It is Z when she needs to bring something up to someone, but you ask her about it and she says “I’m choosing my moment”.

That is what this is.   Choosing your moment, poised to act and yet not -quite- there.

I see this as a good and positive message because this is a reminder that you can’t always go leaping ahead right out of the gate, and neither can you always just sit back and let everything pass by.   The lesson, and also the benefit, of ‘choosing your moment’ is that in that moment and only that moment, a window of opportunity has opened that you will not have at any other time.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

Acceptance and Appreciation

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes and thirty seconds long, and focused on emotions, and how they are transitory. It spoke on the topic of challenging emotions such as grief, anxiety, and depression and about how it is our instinct to push these emotions away.

The meditation was focused on how these feelings, and all emotions, are temporary and will pass.

This is the method that I take with most of my negative emotions, but especially the depression. In fact, it was one of the things that helped me before I found a medication to assist in relieving me of my suicidal urges. Accepting the fact that the depression is temporary, and that if you wait, it will pass? It keeps the mind on the fact that no matter how -forever- the depression feels, it WILL come to an end. It will move on and you WILL move past it.

That mindset has saved my life many, many times. I can’t say that I haven’t made attempts to end my life. I can’t say that I haven’t become so swallowed up in that dark place that I believed it would never end, unable to see the past happy times and unable to imagine a future with any of them in it. But since taking up that mantra of “it will pass”, that endless time is not quite so endless.

Today’s draw is the Three of Pentacles (with the Hazel Dormouse), which is a representation of collaboration, inspiration, and expansion in the area of finance, work, manifestation, resources, and the physical world.

In the guidebook, the Dormouse holds the keywords of discovery, devotion, commitments, resourcefulness, and vigilance.

The artwork depicted on today’s card stirs in me the familiar thoughts of family and working together with family to accomplish a goal. It reminds me of working on Ms B and Mr R’s property, where they are so on in years but still work so hard to keep their home and property beautiful and well-kept.

Working with them on their property is an experience in familial harmony that I don’t get with my own parents. They accept me in with open arms, and helping them makes me feel good. Working -with- them doesn’t just make me feel good, but is educational as they have taught me over the years about life, responsibility, working in harmony with other’s differences, how a multitude of different things work, and the value of doing things the -right- way instead of the easy way (because Ms B loves the right way, and Mr R prefers the easy way… and he always has to do it over cuz in the end the right way wins out every time, even when she lets him fuck it up first).

It reminds me, as well, in how well L and I work together and how in sync we are with each other on projects and even just everyday tasks. I may have built a life for myself, but -together- we have built something more than that. A life with depth and meaning and comforts and… We have, in essence, built what neither of us had in our home life growing up. A life of harmony and acceptance.

And that is where today’s card steps in. A reminder of these these connections in my life and how wonderful and valuable they are. Not just those connections with my sister and Z’s parents, but with Z, and with you, and with so many others. Today’s card is a reminder to be appreciative, and grateful.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

The Triumphant Elephant

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and thirty seconds long, and focused on the intrusion of thoughts into meditation.

A lot of people think meditation is a time for clearing the mind of everything and sitting in the complete silence of a blank slate.   What I find, though, is that isn’t the case at all.   In meditation, the mindfulness approach involves not pushing away or burying  thoughts, but rather developing an awareness of thoughts that visit without letting them carry you away.

That is to say, thoughts come and you acknowledge that they came to visit and then move on, rather than falling down into the rabbit hole trap of focusing upon them and letting them drag you in.   It’s the difference between allowing a thought to flit in and back out again, or grabbing hold of it (or letting it grab hold of you) and allowing it drag you into deeper contemplation.

By letting these flitting thoughts go rather than being pulled in, you return again and again to the mindfulness of the moment at hand, rather than getting wrapped up in the cyclical thoughts of the past and future.

Today’s draw is the Nine of Wands (the Asian Elephant) which is a representation of fulfillment, fruition, culmination, and consequences in the area of one’s passions, drive, willpower, and ambitions.  This card often deals with themes regarding one’s resilience and courage in the face of adversity and challenges.

In the guidebook for this deck, the Asian Elephant’s key words are endurance, strength, dedication, remembrance, and protection.

I see…. triumph.   I see breaking free of the chains that bind you.  In the imagery of this card, I see freedom.  The elephant has torn down the tent and it rests in shambles around and behind him, while he stands proud and free, trampling the remnants at his feet.

That is what I see in today’s Nine of Wands.

I’ve been revisiting the memories of my ex lately, and this card is a reminder that I am the elephant.  I may have feel as if I’ve torn a good deal of my life asunder in the process of healing from everything that’s happened, but in the end, I am on top.  I am strong, and I am triumphant.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot