Bosch Tarot

Listen More Closely

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_7933Today’s meditation was right at about ten minutes long today, and was a guided meditation with interval timer for my piriformis stretches.

The topic of today’s guided meditation was growth, and the discomfort that we go through as we grow.  It was about how that discomfort is natural and, although uncomfortable, is a good thing.  It’s through these growing pains that we develop into someone better, and become more than we currently are.

If, instead of accepting these growing pains and discomfort as a part of life, we instead turn around and hide from those uncomfortable feelings then we also hide from the experiences that provide us with growth and betterment.

Tarot of the Little Prince - Five of WandsToday’s draw is the Five of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of tests, trials, and conflict in the area of one’s drive, inspiration, willpower, and determination.  This often translates into either struggles that cause you to be held back and you fight against that barrier, or impassioned conflict concerning what one believes in.

What stands out to me in this card’s image today is the fact that the snake is actually fighting using a wand.  I mean… that’s remarkable right?  Okay so when I saw this today, I thought…. “Hm, watch out for unexpected trouble.”

Although to be honest?  I really didn’t expect “unexpected trouble” to come in the guise of a crazy ass 220 pound white guy with a rage issue screaming at me to go back to my “homeland” and take the “China flu back there with you” as he handed me my ass in a parking lot.

Thank you for the warning…. I’m sorry I didn’t listen more closely this morning.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Think of a problem that needs solving and pull cards in relation to… Where To Begin / What Half Way Looks Like / How to End Things / Long Term Ramifications
Problem: Keeping up with the holiday rush

Bosch TarotWhere To Begin – Strength – Remember that you’ve got this. You are capable and strong, you have the inner stamina and strength to make it through, no matter how bad it gets.  You run this gauntlet every year, and you always make it through just fine, if feeling a little ragged by the end.

What Half Way Looks Like – The Lovers – Half way there is a good time to remember that you need to include self care.  It can be really hard to fit in those things that help you feeling refreshed when in the middle of keeping the chaos in line. But you need it.  So don’t skimp on it.

How to End Things – King of Pentacles – Flush from the holiday rush, you will have your finances in a better place than they’ve been in some time.  Make sure you invest that money wisely, save it wisely, and put it towards that stability and security you constantly crave.

Long Term Ramifications – Six of Swords – Somewhere better than where you’re at now.  Positive advancement towards improvement and being “in a better place” financially.  That is what you run this gamut for each year, after all.

DECK USED:  BOSCH TAROT

The Choking Point

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was a try at the musical immersion meditation involving my synesthesia, which started off all well and good… until I fell asleep.   I’ll try again tomorrow.

Traditional Manga Tarot - Ten of WandsToday’s draw is the Ten of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of overwhelm, overburdening, and other themes to do with either taking on too much or having too much thrust upon you.

What stands out to me the strongest in this imagery is first, the sprouting leaves at the top of each of the wands she carries.   And second?  Her rather ineffective way of handling the five wands. This second point is something that often sticks out to me in the imagery on the Ten of Wands, because seriously?  The more organized you go about doing things, the more things you can manage at one time, and that definitely also applies to carrying a bunch of sticks.

That said (because that’s not the message of today, just my own Type A neurosis poking its head out), the leaves are the real message in today’s card.  Each staff is sprouting new growth, and they are very clustered together.  Just like when you plant seeds too close to each other, this means as plants grow from these seeds, they are then put in a competitive situation and will strangle each other out, killing each other off for the resources that they need.

So too is how responsibilities and projects go.  You can only juggle so much before these things begin competing for the attention and resources needed to continue to thrive.

Make sure you are giving those things you put your focus and drive towards have the attention they need to thrive, and the room they need to grow.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Jupiter Question: A reminder of something I can be grateful of/for, or something that could greatly help me right now.

The Sabbath Tarot

A Reminder of Something I Can Be Grateful For
Warden of Disks, Two of Swords atop Nine of Cups

I can be grateful for the fact that multitasking is possible. It’s okay to continue to go after my practical goals, even as I make choices that foster my emotional growth.  It’s okay to be both driven and content at the same time.  As opposing as the two things may seem, they are not mutually exclusive and there is no need to choose one or the other.

A Reminder of Something That Could Greatly Help Me Right Now
Five of Staves atop Ten of Cups, The Demiurge

Although it’s okay and possible to have both.  Don’t forget that sometimes you may have to fight harder for one or the other.  Right now, while you strive for that practical advancement, you also need to make sure you are fighting for the right of your emotions to still thrive.  One is a focus… the other is a fight.  Both are needed for the path forward and the Demiurge encourages you to make sure even as the balance may dip one way or another that you keep both in mind moving forward so that neither is lost in the weeds.

Take Away:  You know what you want and you have the drive to get there, just don’t lose sight of what is important along the way.

DECK USED:  THE SABBATH TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Do you live to eat, or eat to live?

Emerging from Darkness TarotReading Summary: Here we have emotional contentment (Ten of Cups), emotional connections to the past which in this case are positive (Six of Cups), and emotional celebration with those close to your heart (Three of Cups).  The cards are all about emotions and pleasure in the past, the present as well as the future.

Take Away: So, let’s be clear. My addictive personality makes it glaringly obvious that I live to eat. My brain is hard wired to latch on to pleasurable experiences and ride them into the ground. Add on to this the fact that I’m also an emotional eater, and if I didn’t have a metabolism that required me to consume a minimum of 6000 calories a day? I’d be as big as a house.

The cards here play this out beautifully, for it is through pleasure that I find my addictions, and many of those addictions are rooted in a need to self soothe or find an emotional balm of some sort.  I understand the psychology of it.  And honestly?  If food didn’t taste good?  I wouldn’t eat.

DECK USED:  EMERGING FROM DARKNESS TAROT

Heal & Transform November Challenge Prompt
Question: Where in my life am I holding too tightly?

Golden Tarot by Kat Black

Reading Summary: My tendency (The Devil) to want to control every little thing (The Magician) is obstructing my path rather than facilitating my journey (Three of Wands Rx).

Take Away: That’s a really big thing to try and loosen my grip on.  *Chuckles*  Okay so I get it.  I get how holding on too tight can be smothering and even crushing.  I’m just not sure if I’m capable of loosening that grip, to be honest.  That need to be in control is pretty overpowering.

DECK USED:  GOLDEN TAROT BY KAT BLACK

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What is my role in my family?

Bosch Tarot

Reading Summary: To take uncertainty (The Moon) and turn it into something we can excel at together (Eight of Pentacles), which in others then fosters a feelings (Ace of Cups) of contentment (Nine of Cups) and feelings of safety and security (Nine of Wands).

Take Away:  The cards here indicate that I am the glue that helps hold us all together and inspires us to work together.  That then creates a feeling of community and comfort for everyone, bonding us together to create a home that feels both safe and satisfying.

DECK USED:  BOSCH TAROT

Dropping The Ball

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Today’s meditation was supposed to happen just before my nap this afternoon, and I did start it.  And then I dozed off before I finished it.  Which, was not my intention, but was a risk in doing it when i was feeling tired.   I will try again at bed time and see if I can’t complete a full meditation before bed.

Traditional Manga Tarot - Two of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Two of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of juggling one’s responsibilities, trying to balance one’s obligations, committing to use of one’s time wisely, and being adaptable in order to keep things in one’s life in balance.

I have identified rather strongly with the Two of Pentacles throughout most of my adult life.  I’ve juggled up to five part time jobs at once… and until this year? No less than three at any one time.  I’ve struggled with balancing in personal time and home life, with committing time to my employers, and yet giving all that I can to my home business.  Finishing high school while trying to live and thrive on my own, putting myself through uni while recovering from surgeries and working to support myself.

For me, life has always been a juggling act.  But what stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is more than just the juggling act going on, but also the currents that swirl around the figure’s legs.

The thing is?  Sometimes juggling is harder than others.  Sometimes outside influences come in and distract your focus, and you drop the ball.  The important part is that you keep trying.  Keep working at it, and you’ll find a balance that you can sustain even in the middle of distractions.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Mercury Question: How can Mercury’s curiosity help my current journey?

ICER Intuitive Art Tarot

Reading Summary: It can help me to cut through hesitations and delays (Two of Wind Rx) to allow me to concentrate on my craft (Eight of Earth) and excel at it with enthusiasm (Fire Princess).

Take Away:  The cards here indicate that Mercury’s curiosity can help me in finding purpose and assist me in excelling at those things I choose to become skilled in by circumventing my natural moment of hesitation and allowing me to leap forward into the learning process more readily.

DECK USED:  ICER INTUITIVE ART TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Advice I need to hear at this time concerning my work life.

Sabbath TarotReading Summary: The greatest warriors meditate to center themselves (Four of Cups) and strategize (Seven of Swords). What you plan for and begin now (Two of Wands) will predict how things come to an end (The Demiurge).

Take Away: In a lot of ways, the holiday rush is like being in battle.  It’s overwhelming and exhausting and chaotic, a wild thrashing energy that swirls around you and drives you on, and you have to withstand the storm in order to reach the other side intact. Like all battles, there is a need for planning and strategy in order to achieve the results you want… and a need for grounding and a centering within oneself to build up the strength to carry you through.

DECK USED:  SABBATH TAROT

Heal & Transform November Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I help heal others?

Ring Cycle Tarot

8 of Walsungs – Guiding others to their personal independence and doing what feels right for them.  So many people are dictated by what they feel are society’s expectations, or familial expecations, or other influences beyond what is right for them and healthy for them. The 8 of Walsungs card indicates that one of the ways in which I help others to heal is by helping them in finding their personal independence and identify what is right for them instead of what others say should be right for them.

King of Gibichungs (Hagen) – Helping people to learn to think for themselves and to think things through rather than going with their first reactions. This is similar to what is noted above, but it’s more about finding that place where you are able to see things from all angles and reason out what’s happening.  The King of Gibichungs card indicates that another of the ways in which I help others heal is by helping them see beyond their initial reactions and emotional responses to see the bigger picture.

Sun (Natural Rhinegold) – Assisting people in finding their joy is where the Sun card comes in with answering how I help others heal.  Fostering someone’s enthusiasm and helping them in finding the things that resonate with them helps them in finding joy and enjoyment in life.

DECK USED:  RING CYCLE TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What personal qualities do I struggle with?

Bosch Tarot

Reading Summary: My struggle to see (The Hanged Man) beyond my mothers influence King of Swords).  The Lovers card is the focus here, indicating that the path to finding this perspective is one that is healthy for me… but also something that requires a conscious choice to explore.

Take Away:  There have been a great number of reminders in my readings today about how I help and heal others, and here we have a message that is about helping and healing myself.  My fear about becoming my mother is something I struggle with often, and I work hard to not wander down that path but rather to excel and become a better person.  A kinder person.  Keeping my eye on this goal and my gaze focused on seeing myself as more than just “my mother’s son” takes choice and a deliberate effort, as it is not something that comes naturally to me.

DECK USED:  BOSCH TAROT

Kindness Isn’t a Roadblock

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

I’ve managed to fall behind again… and I can’t remember whether I meditated on the 6th or not. So I’ll leave this empty this time around (and tomorrow too) as I finish up these posts that got started… but never published on the blog.

Traditional Manga Tarot - Queen of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Queen of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s finances, home life, health, resources, and manifestations.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the way that the woman holds onto the coin/pentacle/disc. She holds that disc much as a woman holds her unborn child when it is still tucked within her womb.

The message here is about nurturing growth.  It’s about the fact that manifestation of those things you want to create will come more smoothly, more healthily, and far easier if you add a bit of nurturing warmth to the process of getting there.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Rising Sign Question: How does the world around me perceive me right now?

Bosch Tarot

Reading Summary: Easy to work with and align with (Two of Cups), able to lead the way with other’s new emotional investments (Ace of Chalices), the governing body over chaos and conflict (The Emperor) there to save the day when needed (Seven of Swords Rx).  Something within the warmth of the cups cards also indicates that they think I’m nicer than I really am.

Take Away:  Apparently the world around me sees me as understanding and admirable, and more approachable than I realize.  A leader willing to help others and work with others, but able to put my foot down when its needed.  

DECK USED:  BOSCH TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Advice I need to hear at this time concerning my friendships.

Sweeney TarotReading Summary: When you’re feeling lost (Five of Pentacles) and internally chaotic (The Tower Rx), your friends are there to help point the way and lead you forward (King of Wands).

Take Away: The advice here is that I can trust my friends and loved ones to know where I want to go and the ambitions I want to fulfill, and to help nudge me forward and keep me going even when I feel lost in the weeds of my own inner chaos.  Sometimes it can be hard, during those times, to see beyond the inner conflict, but I can safely trust those that love me to help keep me from falling off my desired path entirely.

DECK USED:  SWEENEY TAROT