#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge

Distractions Can Help

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Today’s meditation was just over twelve minutes long, and was the 9th installment of the Balance app’s introductory course. It focused on combining the skills of breath focus and body scanning into meditation together.

Sacred Bridges Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Nine of Stakes (Swords), which is traditionally a representation of nightmares, worry, negative inner dialogue, and the things that these things result in such as insomnia and anxiety.

The chaos in the Nine of Stakes (Swords) card pulled today is filled with chaos.  It’s about how the world looks when your mind is not at ease, how everything seems out of control.

The Affirmation card for today (front and back are both displayed in the mage), encourages you to take some time to step out of that chaos when it starts to encroach.  Find your joy and follow it, allow it to take your mind off your troubles for a while.

Sometimes, problems don’t get solved through obsessively worrying about them, fussing over them, and struggling with them.  Sometimes? The easiest way to solve our problems is to step away from them and allow our minds to settle.  Then, when you come back to them, it’s with a cool and calm mind that is far more prepared to deal with the issues your mind was so obsessively struggling with.

DECK USED:  SACRED BRIDGES TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2021 Challenge Prompt
Topic:  Hold Tight / Let Breathe / Set Free

Insect Tarot and The New Arcana OracleHold Tight – King of Cups and The Maze – Hold tight to Gideon, no matter the ups and downs or where life might take you. There are so many things in life that can change and so many unexpected turns to go through, but he’s the one to be by your side through it all. Don’t loosen your grip, and for fucks sake don’t let go.

Let Breathe – Six of Wands and The Giant – The expectations of others will crush you if you let them. You can’t please everyone all the time, but you can make sure that everything is up to your own personal standards. That is enough.

Set Free – Ten of Cups atop Six of Swords, The Lucky Cat – Set free the idea that everything has to be perfect. Life is not perfect. Nature is not perfect. So why would anything that you do have to be perfect? It’s okay for it to be good enough… and not perfect.

Remember that it is only through the flaws that true perfection is actually found.

DECK USED: THE NEW ARCANA ORACLE AND THE INSECT TAROT

The #MysticStarChallenge at the Sacred Grounds Tarot Club
Questions for August 1st thru 3rd

Sacred Bridges TarotRight now my Major Arcana card is:

Temperance – Speaking to themes that deal with moderation, and taking time to connect with and savor the world around me.

What message does the card have for me?

Plowing forward (Artisan of Stakes) can upset the apple cart (Chief of Wheels Rx). Pause to really think about your choices (Two of Stakes) and learn from your mistakes (Apprentice of Stakes).

This is about making sure I’m not just doing what I know, but rather making sure I take my time and align with my new path choices.

Diving into work, ignoring my needs, constantly obsessing over what needs to be done, and focusing only on work and my need to build more and more stability. These things are not working for me anymore, and like a stone struck with a hammer too many times, I was beginning to crumble under the abuse.

What challenges does this card wish to warn me about?

Don’t just jump on those new creative pursuits and opportunities when they come your way (Ace of Waters), you have a tendency to go too fast and think on the go instead of before you leap (Eight of Staves).

When I see something that interests me that I’d like to try, I have a habit of diving in and doing things on the fly instead of pausing to think it all through first. I trust my intuition, creativity, and adaptable nature to help it turn out in the end.

Although this works for me as a process, it allows me to take on too much, as I don’t fully realize beforehand just how much time and work will be involved.

At this time, how can I embrace and incorporate this card best into my life?

Create good boundaries for yourself and toe the line on them (Nine of Staves). Let others help you with the responsibilities and obligations that you already shoulder (Three of Waters).

DECK USED: SACRED BRIDGES TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

So much good time with Gideon today.  I love you so much.

The Benefits of Curiosity

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Today’s meditation was just over fourteen minutes and was a repeat of yesterday’s meditation.  I enjoyed it enough that I wanted to repeat it, and I felt the need to meditate today.  Instead of subversively punishing myself by pushing away that feeling, I gave myself what I was craving.

Mystic Faerie Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Knave (Page) of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s finances, resources, home life, health, manifestations, and the physical world.  This often translates into learning new skills that can be used to create or manifest ideas into reality.

Like all the pages, the Page of Pentacles is filled with curiosity, and is open and ready to learn and explore.  That pairs amazingly with the imagery on the back of today’s affirmation card, which depicts an octopus.  The octopus is one of the most intelligent and curious of our worlds known sea creatures.

The thing is?  The more curious you are?  The more intelligent you have potential to become.  Through every moment of curiosity a learnable moment is born. This is why children ask so many questions. They’re learning. It is through our curiosity that we (all of us) discover the world around us and all the wondrous things it has to offer, and in the combination of the affirmation card for today and the Knave of Pentacles, we see an encouragement to stay curious and eager, interested and engaged.

DECK USED:  MYSTIC FAERIE TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

CoffeexTarot’s Who’s Your Spirit Guides? Prompt
Questions for August 1st thru 5th

A card to represent the guide(s) communicating with me.
Journey of the Sacred Bee TarotStrength / California Poppy

This particular guide is all about personal strength in the things that matter to me personally, as well as helping me to navigate the world as I move along my path. Manipulation and persuasion through their messages to help keep me on track, and out of more trouble than I can handle. Their influence is positive and uplifting, but not overtly so.

What type of guide(s) are you?
King of Wands / Dragonfly

Strong willed and determined. Authoritative, but able to relate to the creative drive I harbor inside. Focused on changes, and ensuring that I weather those changes well.

What is your personality?
Alchemy / Sunflower

Patient. Adaptive. Focused on turning negatives into positives. Spiritual interconnectedness. It’s not about them, but about me.  They’re here for a purpose.

What is your connection to me?
The Wheel / Clockworks

I was “picked up” (much like a stray pup) for the purpose of being guided through the ups and downs of life. They see themselves as the protector of my balance as life shifts like sand beneath my feet.

Message you have for me?
Five of Swords atop Two of Disks

“With each failure and defeat, make sure you are looking forward to adapt instead of allowing these times to beat you down and send your world out of balance.”

DECK USED: JOUNEY OF THE SACRED BEE TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to prepare to harvest in my life during the month ahead?

Mystic Faerie TarotReading Summary: Nurturing yourself and others (The Empress) will lead to closer/tighter bonds between you and others (Three of Cups), leading to a greater strength (Strength) for what is to come throughout the harvest season (wheat in Empress’ arms).

Take Away: Strength, especially the quiet strength that lies beneath the surface, comes in many shapes and forms. It isn’t always just about us, but sometimes is bolstered and supported by others.

As I prepare for the harvests coming through the month a head, I need to keep in mind just how much benefit… just how much strength I get from those around me.

Don’t take this for granted, but instead appreciate it and return it with your own brand of support and nurturing as a way of showing gratitude for all that they offer you.

DECK USED: MYSTIC FAERIE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

It set me back in my work, but I let myself take a nap today even though it was an orders day.  Oddly?  I managed just a short nap instead of my body’s normal demand for at least two hours, but it was enough to help me keep going and finish up what I needed to get done today.

Don’t Taste the Cherries… Savor Them

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was about fourteen minutes long and was the seventh installment of the introductory meditation series in the Balance app.  I’ve not been using a timer for my piriformis stretches when using these meditations, which is why the times on them is all over the board.  Sometimes the meditation finishes before my stretching is finished, so I just keep meditating until I’m done with the stretches.

Dear Heart Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Queen of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the are of one’s intellect, logic, communication, and wisdom.  This often translates into themes about being shrewd, sometimes even verbally cutting, and yet good at giving advice.  It’s about having the intellect and experience to offer others the advice they need to hear… which is not necessarily what they want to hear.

I have heard stories about my great grandmother, and how terrified people were of her.  How accurate she was with throwing a dirty dish cloth at someone when they  popped off at the mouth.  How tyrannical she could be. How stubborn she was.

And yet, she’s also remembered for having kept the family together during times when there was much conflict and in-fighting going on.  Her demand that everyone gather twice a year and “play nice” while at her home created bonds and kept family as family when without her they would have spread into the wind in all directions.  She was known for her love of these gatherings, and the love of her family.

That’s the message in these cards today.  It’s about realizing you don’t have to be hard or harsh all the time.  It’s about finding the things that really mean something to you, and diving into them.  So ask yourself… what matters to you?  Are you pushing it away?  Are you disregarding it?   Are you savoring it?  Or are you too busy trying to “stand strong” to soften for the special things in life that mean more?

DECK USED:  DEAR HEART TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2021 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #1

Frau Grand Duchess Tarot and The Sophie Herxheimer IndexSeeds Sown – What seeds for my physical health & growth planted in the spring have flourished and grown strong?
Nine of Cups and Upper Pink Index

Understanding the physical benefits that a regular daily meditation practice has for me.

I might still resist on an inner level the daily practice, my resolve not always it’s best when confronted with my emotion driven destructive urges, but the physical benefits are undeniable and acknowledged. My body is happier and healthier when I am doing this practice on a regular basis, and the longer I sustain that regular basis, the more benefits I reap from it and the happier my body is.

The Chaff – What seeds have not flourished and I need to let go of to encourage healthy growth in other areas?
The Emperor and Lower Pink Index

I’ve come to realize that forcing myself to do things, even things healthy for me or that I normally enjoy, kills my enthusiasm. The forceful push breaks my spirit, kills the part of me that -wants- these things in the first place. I end up feeling like it’s a chore. This method isn’t working for me, and I need to let it go.  I need to figure out a better way.

The Harvest – How can I best prepare now to reap the benefits of a positive and healthy harvest in the Fall?
The Chariot and Bottom Blue Index

Enjoy the process.  Don’t spend so much time trying to control every little thing that you miss the beauty in the changes and transformations taking place. Life is too short not to savor every taste of joy and pleasure you’re given.

DECK USED: THE SOPHIE HERXHEIMER INDEX ORACLE AND FRAU GRAND DUCHESS TAROT

Mr Lionharts’ #TheAugustTarot #SOLTarot Prompt
Questions for August 1st thru 3rd

Dear Heart TarotWhat energy am I invited to embrace this month?

Two of Swords – This or that, not both. Be decisive.  Hemming and hawing isn’t going to do you any good, and stewing in the decisions that need made this month isn’t going to do anything, but make a mess you have to clean up later.

How can I best embrace this available energy?

Knight of Cups – When you’re being decisive and making those choices, make sure that you are choosing what’s going to make you happy. Not everything can be about money and responsibility.  Sometimes?  You just have to do what’s right for you and will bring you joy, and fuck the rest.

What can I accomplish for myself throughout August?

Eight of Pentacles Rx – Take time for yourself away from work. Now is the time to really enjoy these more fun and enjoyable pursuits, take the rest and relaxation you need, and enjoy the lazy days of summer that are left.  Soon enough, you’ll be back to the grind and struggling to keep up with orders.  Let’s not jump the gun and start in on that too early.

DECK USED:  DEAR HEART TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

Hours of relaxation time with Gideon.  I even managed to deal with a disgruntled customer without getting all out of sorts.

Embracing Joy

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

Today’s meditation was a little over twelve minutes long and was the sixth installment of the introductory meditation sessions in the Balance app.  It was basically another breath counting exercise, but a bit longer paced and more self directed.  It was nice, and again, strangely went by faster than it felt.

Cheimonette Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Ten of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of emotional fulfillment, harmonious relationships, and finding abundance on an emotional level that spills over to incorporate those around you.

Here in the Cheimonette tarot, the imagery for me has more to do with the color than the actual drawing. The calming blues and purples  that blend up into a joyful shade of yellow.  The colors are deep and resonant, and yet not aggressive or abrasive. In the center of these beautiful colors you have balding, elderly figures in a bare embrace, speaking of closeness and comfort as well as the security that allows them to be vulnerable with each other.

The Walt Whitman quote in the affirmation card today goes well with the theme of the Ten of Cups, as it is all about finding what makes you happy and gives you peace… and sinking into it.  So often, we reject the things that could make us happy either through lack of believing that we don’t deserve it, or because we feel it’s “not the right time”.   Today’s cards say that now is the right time, and you do deserve to be happy.  Don’t push it away… embrace it.

DECK USED:  THE CHEIMONETTE TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2021 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Grab a spread that you have been curious about… and give it a go!

Cheimonette Tarot

What’s the most magical thing about me?

The World – My ability to adapt through one life lesson to the next. To survive and keep going with the inner knowledge that there’s something more ahead to see and do, even if it’s not quite in reach right this moment.

How can I express more of my wild nature?

Temperance – Connect more strongly the spiritual self to the world around you. Take more time to both explore, and to nurture yourself and others. Your wild nature is not the tornado or the tsunami, but lies in the gentle currents and eddies of tide pools and meandering glacier streams.

Where/how have I been suppressing my magic?

Two of Cups – You’ve been stepping back recently on connecting with others on a deeper level, as well as on those things that you share in common. It’s okay to sometimes need a break, but it does suppress a piece of your magic when you are unable to share freely with like-minded others.

How can I release any feelings of shame or unworthiness?

The Empress – I focusing on being kind to yourself and others. By getting out in nature and allowing it to give you the healing energy that you need. Dry earth is not your forte, but I can still help to balance you out.

How can I BE exactly who I am and shine my wild & magical self to the world?

The King of Disks – Stay grounded, and focus on manifesting what you want to happen and come in to being. You are skilled at molding the world around you into what you want it to be. Don’t forget that.

A message from my guides.

The Priest – We are here to help you and guide you along your path. It’s OK to lean on us now and then. We are not as intimidating as you sometimes make us out to be in yore head.

This is the second time in the past week that a message from my guys has been the Hierophant card.

DECK USED: THE CHEIMONETTE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

Today I accidentally surprised someone trying to break into the building and got my head slammed into a wall.  When I woke up, the paramedics were there and although I didn’t want to, I let them take me to the hospital to get checked out instead of coming back upstairs like I wanted to.

Listening Is More Than Hearing

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Today’s meditation was done in the wake of pulling next month’s decks and putting the majority (other than the ones I need for tomorrow) of this month’s away.

Panda Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Five of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of conflict, disagreements with others, and conflict through the clashing of wills.

The thing about the Five of Wands is that yes, it’s about conflict.  But it’s not the same kind of conflict you find in the Five of Swords.  In the Wands, we deal with the things that make us tick.  Our principles, our values, our enthusiasm, our drive.  In the Wands, the conflict card includes these aspects.  You’re not fighting just to fight, but because you are fighting -for- something.

Sometimes when many people feel strongly on a topic, they clash.  That is the kind of conflict that this card is about.

The affirmation card for today tells us that a lot of these battles of will, principles, and values can be solved if we will only pause to listen.  Not just -hear- what others are saying, but actually listen to what they have to say and think about it instead of trying to talk over them to get our own point across.

DECK USED:  PANDA TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

Cosmic_Crow_Tarot’s #FreedomTarotChallenge Prompt
Questions for July 29th thru 31st

Ancient Animal Wisdom Oracle and Chinese TarotWhat should I appreciate more?

Three of Wands and Lion – My journey, and the autonomy I have within it. The strength it has given me that I now own through the trials I’ve experienced, and can now utilize as I move forward.

What am I free to begin at this time?

Two of Cups, Sausage Fruit Tree atop Civet – Cracks up. Okay. So these cards essentially say that I’m “ripe for spectacular sex with a mysterious stranger”. Maybe Gideon and I need to make new characters? I’m really enjoying the ones we have right now tho. Good thing that “free to begin” something doesn’t necessarily mean you have to. Maybe I can channel that “ripeness” into something else, hm?

What thought do I need to keep with me moving forward?

Nine of Cups and Monkey – Don’t let your feelings of satiation dampen your curiosity for life and the world around you. Just cuz you’re happy and comfortable doesn’t mean there’s not plenty more to explore, discover, and enjoy.

DECKS USED: ANCIENT ANIMAL WISDOM ORACLE AND CHINESE TAROT

Mr Lionharts’ #TheJulyTarot #TarotSuitsChallenge Prompt
Question: What can I do in the present in support of my definition of a happy home?

Panda TarotReading Summary: Let go of past experiences (Ten of Swords) and own the present (Four of Pentacles). Ensure prolonged security (Ten of Pentacles).

Take Away:  In order to support my definition of a happy home, it’s important to not get so wrapped up in my past experiences and processing things concerning them that I lose focus on my goals.

A lot of my security plans and goals are on a sort of autopilot.  Automatic payments and the like. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t check in on them now and then to make sure things are going as planned and everything is in order. 

DECK USED: PANDA TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

After I pulled next month’s decks, I took an ibuprofen and allowed myself to lie down for a bit and take a break.

Who’s Goals Are Those?

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped for orders day.  That said, I feel like I might do a bit of meditation before bed tonight.

Michelangelo Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Ten of Cups, which is traditionally about finding one’s emotional nirvana.

On the back of this affirmation card are the words “Look Within”. This, I feel, is a very apt match for the imagery in this particular Ten of Cups. The female figure in this card looks determined. She sees the value of the baby, even when the baby is behaving badly. But, look at the face of the male figure in the card. It is full of doubt and even a bit of trepidation. He has that “what the fuck am I doing here?” look about him that makes it clear this is not -his- version of happily ever after.

Combined, these cards are a reminder to look within yourself and what you really want in life. Don’t base your goals and dreams on what others want for you (or out of you). Base them on what you want and what you feel is important. Living your life for others makes the accomplishments you obtain feel empty and can result in looking back on your life with massive amounts of regret. Live the life you want, and you’ll be much happier.

DECK USED:  MICHELANGELO TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2021 Challenge Prompt
Questions for July 29th and 30th

Seawitch TarotWhere do I need to foster more joy and happiness in my life?
Prince de Épée and Four of Cups Rx

You need to start fostering joy, happiness , and enjoyment in your business again. You have spent too much time lately seeing your work as a chore instead of the creative endeavor and outreach of joy and happiness that it is. Because of this, your enthusiasm for encouraging the business to not just sustain but actually thrive and improve is suffering.

How can I encourage that joy and happiness to flourish in my life?
Roi de Épée and Les Amouroux

Consider just how boring and lackluster life would be without your business to drive you. Sure, your home would be spotless and you’d get to explore a handful of projects that you’ve had to put off, but what happens when your house is no longer in need of more organizing and cleaning, and you have explored those back logged projects?

Boredom. That’s what. Listless boredom.

You need to acknowledge that the daydream of so much free time is unrealistic not because of financial reasons… but because it wouldn’t take you long to become bored out of your mind and stir crazy.

DECK USED: SEAWITCH TAROT

The Sacred Grounds Tarot Club Prompt
Questions for July 29th and 30th

Green Witch Oracle and Michelangelo TarotWhat is going to support me most with embracing the opportunities that the summer has for me?
Ten of Cups, King of Cups, Marjoram (Happiness)

It’s all about your emotions and tapping into them. Connect with the things and people that make you feel happy, complete, and secure. And, as echoed from your COTD activity for today, make sure that you are focused on what you need instead of allowing your focus to rest on what is expected of you.

How can I overcome the obstacles that I am facing to acknowledge and engage with these opportunities?
The Empress, Knight of Pentacles, Basil (Trust)

Trust what works. Nurture yourself. Get out in nature if only a little bit at a time. Good stuff can build up a little at a time the same way bad stuff can. That whole “nickel and diming” concept works both ways.  So give yourself small pleasures and moments.  Seek comfort.  Discover the differences that tiny positive influences can make when they build up over time.

DECK USED: MICHELANGELO TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took time out on the balcony today with my plants.  I’m a little frustrated as all the heat has made some of my regulars (like the pansies and lobelia) die out this year. It’s just been too hot.  I did some pruning and dead heading, and then everyone got a good drink and fed.