daily draw

Brush Your Teeth

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I’m a bit behind in my posts and I didn’t write out the meditation part on Thursday like I should have.  I have no real memory of actually meditating, let alone the method I used… although I do know that I did do it. Sooo yeah.   I should have written out the meditation part when I wrote out the card of the day part and the rest of my notes that I took down on Thursday.

Cosmos Tarot and OracleToday’s draw is the Two of Water (Two of Cups) which is traditionally interpreted as a representation of connections and unity, partnerships, and other relationships where people connect on an emotional or creative level and work well together.

What I see in this card today doesn’t have anything to do with Antlia or about the Two of Water (although it does tie into that theme, which I’ll explain).   When I saw this card today, the immediate thought that came to mind was “BRUSH YOUR TEETH!”

Now, how I see this tying into the Two of Cups theme is that you just can’t connect with people on a meaningful level when your hygiene and grooming is driving them away.  It just doesn’t work.  A miasma of bad breath or body odor will, under damned near any circumstance, drive away anyone you would normally have an opportunity to connect with or work with.

The message in today’s card, then, is one of self care.  It’s about keeping up on physical self care.  Not just the showering and brushing of teeth, but all the multitude of little things that keep you presentable and approachable to others.   You can’t expect to connect with others if you’re unwilling to put in the effort  on your end as well.

DECK USED:  COSMOS TAROT AND ORACLE

#TarotForGrowthJuly Challenge Prompt
Topic:  I’m so overwhelmed.
Question:  How can I learn to care more about pleasing myself than pleasing others?

Midcenturian Tarot

Reading Summary: There is a double message here from the Justice card… 1)  do they really deserve it? 2) Balance is needed in order to obtain progress (Knight of Pentacles) and accomplishment (King of Wands)

Take Away: The first message from the Justice card is about being more mindful both about of others pleasure or need, and if those things really outweigh my own. The second message is about examining the motivation behind why you are putting others needs before your own. This hearkens back to yesterday’s read, and self neglect being one of my methods of self-destructive behavior. By putting other’s wants and desires above my own, I tear down my own potential for progress and accomplishment.

DECK USED:  MIDCENTURIAN TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Question:  What I Can Change / What I Can’t Change

Slavic TarotWhat I Can Change – Strength – Myself. I can change myself and how I handle things. By remembering to bring forth inner resources and outer strength, I can better deal with struggle and strife, and better overcome the challenges that confront me along my path.

What I Can’t Change – Justice – On the other hand, what I can’t change is the universal need for balance in the world. This is a part of life. Everything evens out in the end one way or another.  This is a major part of my faith, the belief in this balance and constant adjustments that take place in order to continue to keep things in balance all of the time.  This has to do with everything from Karma to the give and take of nature, and everything else in between and beyond it.  It is truly a universal truth.

DECK USED:  SLAVIC TAROT

Morning Bonus Read – Self Care vs Slacking Off

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This last week, several people had a conversation in general-chat about how to tell if an action is self care or laziness/avoidance. Time to take that question to our divination tools!”

Colliding Crowns Fantasy Playing Cards

What self care is needed in my life?

Some focus on miserly behavior and building up my foundation (Four of Diamonds) financially when it comes to new money coming in (Ace of Diamonds). This is based in your need for stability, which requires a steady foundation beneath your feet.  Do not allow self destructive urges and bad habits to steer you from this need hat is a basic part of your make up.

What difficult actions am I avoiding or procrastinating on?

See above in the self care that is needed. When your foundation is unsteady, your anxiety is given free reign (Nine of Spades) which creates an instability that quickly leads down the road to chaos (Joker).  All those little flutterings of anxiety you’ve felt over the past week or so?  This is the root of that rise within you.  Stop procrastinating and deal with it before it blows up in your face.

What action do I think is self care but is actually avoidance?

Not using your time wisely by spending it in unproductive ways with others (Three of Hearts).  You can’t create a stable home that way, no matter how much you enjoy relaxing in their company (Four of Clubs). Using them to ignore your problems fixes nothing and only allows these issues to grow in the background while you are distracting yourself.

What action do I think is avoidance but is actually self care?

Getting entangled within creative endeavors to the point that your focus and drive glimmer like a flame in the center of the creative process (Queen of Clubs) allows you a healthy way to avoid useless conflict (Five of Clubs) you don’t need to get wrapped up in anyway.  It’s okay to lose yourself in that creative process sometimes.  It’s good for you.

DECK USED: COLLIDING CROWNS FANTASY PLAYING CARDS

Conservation Through Moderation

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and ended in a short nap, as many of my meditations seem to do these days.  It was one of the harp string meditations and I must have dozed off during the last position of my piriform stretching as I was shifted over onto my left side with my legs still tangled up when I woke up a bit later.

Herbcrafter's TarotToday’s draw is the Seven of Earth (Seven of Pentacles) which is traditionally a representation of slow growth and gradual progress in the areas of one’s finances, resources, health, manifestations, and the physical world.

What stood out to me in the imagery of this card today is the acorns.  Specifically the fact that half of the acorn caps are empty, and yet you see no nuts anywhere, just acorn caps and full acorns.   To me this speaks of consumption, and specifically about regulating consumption.

When you are looking at long-term sustainable growth, it’s more than about patience.  Yes, patience is a good part of it, but so is moderation and restraint, because long term goals need to take in an element of conservation.  Continuous sustained growth in any area requires this because if you consume more quickly than you can reproduce what’s being used… you end up breaking down the cycle and everything falls apart.

The message in today’s card is about having the strength and wisdom (and this is where the meaning of the Oak comes into play for me today) to give that need for conservation it’s due.  Moderation is not easy… but it is necessary.

DECK USED:  HERBCRAFTER’S TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJuly Challenge Prompt
Topic:  I’m so overwhelmed.
Question:  Why do I treat others as more entitled to my time than I am?

Tarot of the Journey to the Orient

Reading Summary: It’s a bad habit (The Devil) that I try to ignore instead of dealing with (Eight of Swords)… that is, making choices that I know are not good for me (The Lovers Rx), and that then lead to imbalance and uncertainty (The Moon).

Take Away:  Weighing other’s needs and wishes above my own is a part of a self-destructive pattern of behavior where I use bad choices in how I prioritize my time and energy to create within my life a situation of stress and uncertainty when things start to fall apart as a result.

Ooph… okay so that really hit home, and framed things in a way that I hadn’t really looked at or considered before.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE ORIENT

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question:  Does learning inherently imply improvement?

New Palladini TarotReading Summary: We all come into this world with the capacity to love and thus emotional fulfillment is obtainable on its own (Ten of Cups).  Everything else takes work and the honing of skills (Eight of Pentacles) to achieve (Nine of Cups), and patience and moderation to master (Temperance).

Take Away:  Yes. Everything in these speaks of progression and improvement through experience and knowledge. Only emotional fulfillment can be achieved without this process, as we are all born with the capacity to love from the start.

DECK USED:  NEW PALLADINI TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  forgive // forget

Minchiate Etruria (Anima Antiqua)Temperance – Forgive yourself for your shortcomings and have patience with yourself. As long as you are moving forward, it’s okay to move forward slowly.  Take into consideration the physical hurdles and handicaps you have to work with, work around, and contend with in order to reach your goal and cut yourself a little slack.

Ten of Swords – Forget the damage done by others and life’s misfortunes. You have the physical scars you carry with you to remind you of the lessons learned along the way.  It’s okay to forget the pain and allow yourself to move on from it.

DECK USED:  MINCHIATE ETRURIA ANIMA ANTIQUA TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  Pick a card for creative inspiration.

The Fifth TarotNow is a time of “percolation and planning”. Allow your creative juices to flow beneath the surface and don’t worry about output or time right now. In yesterday’s read there was a point about not being able to force creativity, and that is the message repeated here today.  You can’t force it… you have to let it rise to the surface, and just prepare to be ready for its arrival so that you can take advantage of its presence when the time comes.

When it’s time to move forward, you will feel that spark of fire within your gut that tells you its time to leap.  Right now is not yet that time.

DECK USED:  THE FIFTH TAROT

Percolating is Not a Dry Spell

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IMG_5404Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long, and I chose to do a guided meditation today that focused on a method of using “volume control” as a way of quieting one’s mind during meditation, instead of shoving thoughts away or trying to reject or ignore them.

Sometimes brute force just isn’t the way to get what you want, and that can include when dealing with your own mind and ability to concentrate.  This meditation was a walk through on allowing thoughts to flit through, but turning down the “volume” on these thoughts until they move from shouting, to talking, then to murmuring, and finally to a quiet whisper in the background.

Women of Science TarotToday’s draw is the Nebula card, which comes from the oracle side of this deck’s cards. Scientifically, a nebula is a cloud-like substance in space made up of the death of old stars combined with gasses and other matter.  This essence is then where the birth of new stars take place, recycling old supernova remnants and other elements to give birth to something new.

I very much liked the line in the guide for this deck that speaks of this card being a reminder that before things can manifest into reality, they exist in a space of creative possibility and potential.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the eggs, which also speaks of possibility and potential.  Like the thought experiment of Schrodinger’s Cat, as long as the shell remains unbroken, there are infinite possibilities that lie within.  I also have a small draw to the volcano’s explosion in the background, which speaks to me of the explosive quality that creativity and manifestation can sometimes take on.

The message in this card today is about embracing one’s creative nature. Even in times when you are not actively creating, the potential is there and there continues to be “workings” going on in the mind deep beneath the subconscious.  Dry spells are not dry spells… they are times of subconscious percolation.

DECK USED:  COSMOS TAROT AND ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Question:  What issue should I wait on and avoid dealing with at this time?

Albano Waite TarotReading Summary: Don’t worry about stealin’ assholes right now (Seven of Swords). Whatever damage was going to be done, has been done now, so just focus on your emotional growth (Ace of Cups) and do your work (Two of Pentacles).

Take Away:  I’ve had so many warnings lately about sharing my inspired ideas and projects with others, that I’ve lost track of just how many warnings there has been.

The issue that I need to deal with later on has to do with the fact that I have either managed to avert this issue… or I’ve already fucked up and the fallout will come later on. For now, I need to focus on carrying on with carrying on as I have been.

DECK USED:  ALBANO WAITE TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  resist // rise up // revise

Veleda Woods Tarot

The message in these cards is not mine and does not fit my life. I had the feeling when I was pulling these cards, that this message is not for me. I don’t know who it is for… but perhaps it will resonate with someone in the different places that it is shared, or perhaps the intended recipient will stumble upon it by chance.

Resist – Nine of Cups – Conformity.  This interpretation is not about the 9 of Cups, but about the imagery on the card. Individuality is important.  Do not be one of the many, but take a leap through the door and allow yourself to be unique.  Conforming to the values of others and marching to their drum instead of thinking (and feeling) for yourself is not the answer.

Rise up – Guardian of Cups – The narrative you are given needs one’s heart and intuition to discern and dissect.  Instead of listening to what is being said, listen to what is not said which lies beneath the surface.  Listen to the emotions.  Do not allow those with ulterior motives based in negative emotions to carry you away with their narrative.

Revise – Ranger of Wands – Your outlook needs examining.  You take after your passions and those things you feel deeply about with zeal and power pushing you forward, but are you going in the right direction? You need to examine what lies beneath that drive to move forward and push against… that drive that keeps you going.  Make sure that what lies beneath is good and pure… not polluted by other’s narrative or your desire to “fit in”.

Take Away – If you have read this reading and it resonates with you… it is time to do some soul searching , and some close examination of the motivations that drive not just you… but those around you as well.  What undercurrents of emotion are truly driving those you follow, admire and listen to? Deep down, why do you choose to follow them in turn?  It’s time to reflect upon these questions.

DECK USED:  VELEDA WOODS TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  When am I creatively true to myself?

Wheel of the Year Tarot

Reading Summary: When I allow things to develop at their own pace (Seven of Pentacles), and don’t allow myself to become overburdened (Ten of Wands) or listen to much to my negative in her narrative (Queen of Swords).

Take Away:  The cards here indicate that you can’t “force” creativity either through expectation or through negative enforcement.  Creativity has to come through positive reinforcement and patience, allowing that spark to come alive and develop slowly over time.  The trip to manifestation is only the end result… the full process is beneath the surface and only begins to come into conscious awareness when it’s ready to be seen.

DECK USED:  WHEEL OF THE YEAR TAROT

Standing Tall

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Today’s meditation was… not as long or as relaxing as I would have liked. It’s just too hot for my tastes.   I has to turn the AC off for a bit in the bedroom to get a little peace from the constant grating of the AC’s sound vibrating under my skin.  It just… ugh.   And with the AC off, the room got hot fast.  Thus I found myself uncomfortable in an entirely different way.

Herbcrafter's TarotToday’s draw is the Adelita of Fire (Knight of Wands) which is traditionally a representation of an active beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s drives and ambitions, passions and inspiration.

Funny enough (although maybe not entirely surprising considering what I do for a living) what stood out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the bracelet on the wrist of the one wielding the mortar and pestle.

I see flair in that bracelet.  A boldness and fierce brightness of color that only someone with flair and the strong spark of a passionate nature can pull off.  It fits well with the boldness of a Knight’s active energy and the spark of the fire suit.   In the same vein, so does the representation of Cayenne used in this card.

Cayenne is a decongestant, an antibacterial, an anti-irritant, and an anti-inflammatory circulatory stimulant. It’s medicinal uses are known world wide, and are extremely diverse. Metaphysically it’s uses often lean more towards the love and passion side of things, and it is also useful in protection spells as well as promoting courage.

The message in this card today is about the courage of being bold and being yourself.  Sometimes everyone has self doubts, and that includes me.  Awkwardness creeps in and you find yourself hesitating and feeling a bit “off”.   With a hint of the drop niggling at my core, that vulnerability can create that hesitation in doubt in myself… and the message in this card coming up today is to not allow that niggling to drag me down and under into a place where I feel the need to retreat or put on a mask of invulnerability.

Instead… Stand tall. Be yourself.  Be bold.

DECK USED:  HERBCRAFTER’S TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJuly Challenge Prompt
Topic:  I’m so overwhelmed.
Question:  How does over-commitment impact my mental health?

Tarot Maddonni

Reading Summary: More “acting out” concerning my addictions (Le Diable). Less able to accept stabilizing comfort from Gideon (King of Cups Rx). Less joy and enjoyment in life (The Sun in reference to how tired and un-enthused the face of the sun appears).

Take Away:  Over-commitment breeds a need for escapism, self destructive tendencies, and self-soothing in unhealthy ways.  Instead of seeking soothing from healthy sources, the sense of overwhelm creates a tendency to close myself off from those healthy outlets and has me seeking out unhealthy ones instead.  It also creates burnout, which causes an overall lack of enthusiasm for… well, just about damned near everything.

DECK USED:  TAROT MADDONNI

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self-care for this new moon?

Way of the Panda TarotReading Summary:Remember that the good stuff takes time to develop and don’t get all defensive or up in arms if that growth takes longer than you think it should (Seven of Swords).  You may have others clamoring for you to share the wealth (Six of Pentacles) but now is not the time (Seven of Swords).

[Note the presence of a star even within the imagery of the Sword card, tying it into the theme of the Pentacle cards.]

Take Away:  This is another warning to “stay in my lane” and focus on long term benefits at this time in my life. The new moon is a good time to start new things, and to turn things around and start anew.   The cards here indicate that what I need to start anew is the “long term” perspective concerning my goals and ambitions concerning my security and stability of health and home.  Be the miser and take this time to foster growth.

DECK USED:  WAY OF THE PANDA TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  new moon in cancer:  look back // lay the foundation // look ahead

Tarotbot Tarot

Nine of Wands – Look back at the time I took off and how it lightened my feeling of burden. Keep this in mind and make sure that I use that experience to encourage further times of rest, bolstering me so that I can move forward again with my strength renewed.

Knight of Wands – Lay the foundation for the holiday rush. It’s time to start looking at what needs preparation so that when the time comes, I’m ready to surge forward into it.

Queen of Swords – Look ahead at making wise decisions that will allow for growth rather than focusing on negative inner dialogue that creates road blocks and inner strife.

DECK USED:  TAROTBOT TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  How does a creative blockage feel?

Karma TarotReading Summary: Like my synergy (Three of Cups) to my inner fire (Ace of Wands) and ability to manifest (Lilith) are being blocked (Rx of the Three of Cups), and that this is then standing in the way to any kind of emotional fulfillment (Ten of Cups) that I would usually get from creative pursuits.

Take Away:  I garner a sensation of emotional fulfillment when I am deep within my creative process and bringing to reality the combination of my inner spark’s passion combined with the ideas in my mind.  This process of manifestation is joyous and when there is a creative block in play, it feels as if all of the synergy and coordination between these different aspects of myself is out of whack.

DECK USED:  KARMA TAROT

Healthy Seeds… Healthy Growth

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and one of the harp chord meditations with chimes that delineate the different positions of my piriformis stretches.  I’m sore still from having skipped one of my physio practices, so it was a good stretch and a good meditation, if a little difficult to hold my position for as long as each one needed to be held for.

Cosmos Tarot and OracleToday’s draw is the Two of Fire (Two of Wands) which is traditionally about making  decisions and plans, and plotting progress in concern to one’s drives, desires, and those things that strike at one’s interests and inspirational spark.

What caught my attention the strongest in the imagery of this card today are the seeds that the spirit above spreads, and how they glow in the night as they fall.

I was also very much drawn to noticing the key words on this card, and I have to admit that incubation and pregnancy are an interesting take on the Two of Wands.  They gave me pause and made me think  But, I see it. And I like it. Two of Wands has to do with preparation and potential concerning one’s drive and passions.  And what represents all of these things more than pregnancy and the potential of impending motherhood?

When the seeds of inspiration fall and are planted into the hearts of men, there is a time of incubation. This time is for planning and brainstorming, preparation and the fostering of all that will be needed to support the birth of the inspiration into action.

My “incubation” period is often done in the unconscious, and by the time it floats to the surface, it’s hard to say how long it’s been lingering there in the quiet undergrowth growing behind the scenes.  Sometimes, my incubation period is lightning fast.  I see something, and I get a spark of inspiration, and bolt immediately into action. In both cases, though, that seed has to come from somewhere.

The message in the cards here today is about taking the seeds given and paying attention.  It’s about allowing that spark to create the inspiration that drives me forward, instead of wallowing and waiting and letting the seeds rot rather than flourish.

Don’t forget to write down your ideas.  Don’t allow them to get lost like falling seeds to decay in damp shadows.  These seeds are gifts, and need consideration and planning.

DECK USED:  COSMOS TAROT AND ORACLE

#TarotForGrowthJuly Challenge Prompt
Topic:  I’m so overwhelmed.
Question:  What can I do to remove guilt from the act of saying “no”?

Animism Tarot

Reading Summary: Accept that not everything that looks good is actually a good thing (The Happy Squirrel). Hold onto my past experiences of being overburdened (Ten of Wands), and learn from them (The Hierophant).

Take Away:  This is about both discernment concerning what I choose to go after and accept as a part of my responsibilities or obligations, as well as making sure I remember what the beginning feelings of overwhelm feel like and learn from those experiences so that I don’t repeat them. 

DECK USED:  ANIMISM TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic:  Do Spread #3

Psychopomp Tarot

What have I forgotten that needs to be brought with me upon my path?

King of Pentacles – Over a good part of the spring/summer months I’ve been playing it a little fast and loose with my finances.  Not just in the area of my deck collection, but also in the areas of brand name food purchases, less pricing for groceries in general and deal finding in that area, supply purchases for the business that aren’t entirely necessary right now and could have waited to hit when on sale, etc. Some of this is definitely self-soothing behavior, which does not so much excuse it but does help explain a good part of it. What I have forgotten that needs to be brought with me upon my path is a stronger sense of fiscal discipline.

How can I begin to incorporate that back into my life?

Death – Accept and move forward. Self soothing is one of the ways in which I’ve gone off track with my spending lately.  Between the pandemic and the growth spurt I’ve been going through emotionally over the past few months, it’s not surprising that I’ve fallen into a pattern of self soothing.  In order to move past that and incorporate fiscal responsibility more strongly back into my life, I need to accept that the change needs to happen and move forward into it instead of resisting against it.

Where am I on my path at this time?

Eight of Wands – Zoom Zoom.  Good progress and moving forward.  I’m not stalled out at this time, nor dragging my feet.  If anything, I might be moving a little faster than I’m ready for.  That’s okay as long as the progress continues to be positive.

What should I prepare to harvest at the end of the month?

Page of Cups – Intuition and possibilities abound on the creative side of things at the end of the month. There’s lots of possibilities here and you’re really going to be feeling that creative flow.

How do I begin those preparations?

Page of Pentacles – Make sure that you take things slow and don’t get overwhelmed with all that you want to accomplish and manifest into reality.  Overwhelming yourself with work is not going to help.  Write things down and take them one at a time, a little at a time.  As long as you are taking notes, there’s no rush to complete everything at once.

DECK USED:  PSYCHOPOMP TAROT

#OwlandBonesJuly Challenge by Owl and Bones Tarot
Topic:  I want… // I need… // I am…

Numinous Tarot

Dreamer of Tomes – I Want more knowledge, opportunity, and stability. Growth, but not through plowing ahead hard and fast… instead I want to take my time and really explore those things that awaken my curiosity.

The Moon – I Need a little mystery and uncertainty in my life, no matter how much I dislike it.  These qualities create a certain kind of energy and a certain kind of “spark” and flavor to life.  Without them, life would become more dull and less satisfactory.  I understand this, even if I’m not entirely thrilled about that need.

Strength – I Am strong inside and out. No matter what life throws at me, I am a survivor, and I will persevere.

DECK USED:  NUMINOUS TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question:  How can I share my inspiration?

Aquarian Tarot

Reading Summary: Strong sometimes means stoic and wise (Strength).  Gather up and hold on to your ideas (Page of Swords). Defend these ideas in development from those that would take them from you (Seven of Rods).

Take Away:  Don’t.  Stand strong against the temptation to share. Protect yourself and your inspired passions in this manner.  This warning has come up a few times over the past couple of days.  I’m listening.

DECK USED:  AQUARIAN TAROT