Selfish Motivations in Kindness

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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

Legend The Arthurian Tarot - Eight of Wands

Today’s draw is the Eight of Wands (Spears), which is traditionally a representation of action, speed, alacrity, fast paced events or change, or having a target goal in your sights that you are charging towards.

The Eight of Wands card has then been combined with Warm Glow card from the Box of Emotions, which says, “Most of us walk off feeling a little bouncier after helping carry a stranger’s pram up the stairs, or bringing in a neighbour’s shopping. Random acts of kindness give a feeling of solidarity of the ‘we’re all in this together variety, even a swell of pride…

In my family, there’s been a long re-hashed debate over if charity is still considered charity if you feel good about having given in some way.

It’s not about accolades of others and whether or not you contribute anonymously, it’s about the sense of personal pleasure or gratification that comes from the acts of kindness and charity that we give to others.

My theory on this is that we feel that sense of pleasure because we’re doing the right thing, and that whether or not the pleasure is there shouldn’t make a difference in how altruistic or good that kindness might be. Some in my family feel that if you feel pleasure when giving charity or doing a kindness, then it’s not truly altruistic at all, but a selfish act.

I’m not entirely sure who’s right here. Maybe we both are. What I -am- sure about, though? Is that whether you’re contributing to charity or giving a kindness to someone just to feel good about yourself, or without any pleasure on your side at all… it’s still a kindness given. It’s still -help- given. It still counts. So do it anyway, no matter if there’s something in it for you or not.

That’s the message in today’s Eight of Wands and Warm Glow card. Do it anyway. Be kind. Give of yourself to others in need, whether it’s through financial assistance, time, attention, energy… whatever way you are capable of and comfortable with giving. Just do it. It all counts.

DECK USED:  LEGEND THE ARTHURIAN TAROT AND BOX OF EMOTIONS

The @ambitiouslyalexa July Journal Prompts
Prompt for July 20th
: A comparison you’re letting go of

Oracle Reading with the Coastal Curiosities Oracle

Reading Summary: That being soft, vulnerable, or tender (Tender) makes you weak (Endurance Rx) and/or separates you from your goals and happiness (Trapped Rx).

Take Away: You have spent a very long time viewing your vulnerabilities as obstacles or a detriment to your goals and happiness; effectively putting vulnerability on one side of the scale and everything you want and need on the other side.

You are beginning to understand, though, that this is not the case, and to let go of the assumption that it has to be one or the other when it comes to your vulnerabilities and your successes.

As you begin to understand and accept your vulnerabilities, you are instead coming to discover that they possess within themselves their own strengths, and allow you to learn and grow in ways you otherwise wouldn’t.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Norway Maple Key for Fostering Strength and Resilience
Moss Agate Leaf for Attracting Opportunities for Growth
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: COASTAL CURIOSITIES NATURALIST EDITION

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2026 Challenge
3-Card Spread Prompt for July 20th
: About loneliness…

Tarot Reading with the Legend The Arthurian Tarot - Eight of Wands

How to turn

Loneliness (an emotional isolation from others and a subjective discomfort from that lack of connection)

Page of Cups – You most often feel loneliness when you want to share your feelings, creativity, and imagination with others but are unable to do so for whatever reason.

and Aloneness (the feeling of being “all alone in the universe” and empty inside due to emotional self-abandonment)

Two of Pentacles – You most often feel all alone and empty inside when you fall into the habit of seeing balance as a stagnant state and forget to (or refuse to) move and adapt.

into Comfortable Solitude (a peaceful and healthy embrace of solitude for healthy reflection and renewal)

Three of Swords – The two above experiences can be turned into comfortable solitude by refusing to listen to the negative self talk that works so hard to put an unhealthy spin on everything you do and experience. Stop listening to the “shoulds” that inner narrative pushes upon you and the unreasonable expectations attached to them.

Other elements included in this reading:
Holly Leaf for assistance in Gentling Negative Emotions
Deodar Cedar Cone for Fostering Clarity and Spiritual Connection
Foraged Acorn for Protection during New Beginnings
Hag Stone for Connecting with the Liminal
Red Jasper for Awakening and Motivation toward Growth
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: LEGEND THE ARTHURIAN TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Re-Kindling the Spark

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🍃    •    ◈    •    •    •

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

Pixie's Marseille Tarot - Four of Cups

Today’s draw is the Four of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of dejection, refusal of assistance, contemplative moments, meditation, and feelings of apathy.

The Four of Cups has then been combined with the Curiosity card from the Box of Emotions, which says, “It’s the itch to find out more. The temptation to glance at an open diary, or strain to decipher an argument behind you on the bus. It’s the restless desire that made Leonardo da Vinci ask: What makes birds fly? How does the heart beat?

There is a lot on the contemplation in the Curiosity card that speaks of the negative aspects of curiosity. And it’s true, anything can be negative if not taken in moderation. The positive, though, is just as worthy and even more important in my opinion.

On the positive side of curiosity is the seeds of creativity and invention. It is how we are driven to figure out how the world works and expand our understanding and knowledge.

When we are feeling the need to step away from the world, this can be healthy. But, like everything else, taken in excess it becomes a detriment to our health and happiness. Curiosity is one of the tools that allows us to pull ourself out of those moments of solitude before they become unhealthy. It lights the spark of motivation within us, pulling us out of our withdrawal to interact with the world once more.

The message in today’s Four of Cups card and Curiosity prompt is a reminder that indulging in curiosity can be a healthy way to pull yourself out of your doldrums and bring you back into contact with the world around you once more after you have retreated for a time.

DECKS USED: PIXIE’S MARSEILLE TAROT AND BOX OF EMOTIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2026 Challenge
3-Card Spread Prompt for July 10th
: About love…

Oracle Reading with the Animal Guardian Oracle

What do you need from your loved ones that you are not receiving at this time?

Hedgehog – Everyone expects you to be “on” all of the time. It’s never about what you need. Instead, it’s about what they expect from you and what they need from you.

There is a selfishness here that, if you do not keep an eye and use your boundaries to keep in check, will tap you dry and leave you feeling hollow and overwhelmed at the same time.

What do your loved ones need from you that they are not receiving at this time?

Porcupine – As mentions above, boundaries are the key to a healthy give-and -take with your loved ones. Instead of chasing the ever moving target of their happiness and satisfaction, what they really need from you is firm boundaries that help to create a healthy and balanced dynamic. You need that from yourself, too.

How to create a balance between these two aspects that is healthy and kind?

Death’s-head Moth – Be gentle in establishing these boundaries and understand that others may see the change as a loss on their end. They may struggle under that feeling of loss and even show the signs of grief as they adjust. Treat this with kindness instead of cold indifference or impatience. You can be both kind and keep those new boundaries in place.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Acorn for Protection during New Beginnings
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Dye-Cut Bunny Figure for Connecting with Tenderness
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ANIMAL GUARDIAN ORACLE

The @ambitiouslyalexa July Journal Prompts
Prompt for July 10th
: A voice you’re learning to trust

Tarot Reading with Pixie's Marseille Tarot

Reading Summary: The voice within (The Hermit) that came before the conditioning of your past (Six of Cups) is quietly awakening within you (Ace of Pentacles).

Take Away: A lot of your doubts and conditional thinking is the “brainwashing” of your past and upbringing.

Beneath all this, there is a true and authentic self that is ready, willing, and even eager to show itself and be given the freedom to breathe.

As you grow, you are learning more and more how to hear the “authentically you” voice that resides beneath all that noise that tried to bury it. With each day that passes, you learn to more easily hear that voice and give it the space it needs to become stronger.

In allowing this authenticity to awaken and grow, you are learning to better trust that part of you that was beaten into submission long ago.

Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Yew Tips for Ancestral Connections
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PIXIE’S MARSEILLE TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.