Dame Darcy’s Mermaid Tarot

Passion’s Emmenagogue

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and was one of the harp string meditations.  It was nice and quiet, although I might have dozed off just a bit.   I need to find a way to stop dozing off during meditation that doesn’t include crashing me out of the relaxed peace I find.   I’d say set myself an alarm, but that would definitely defeat the whole meditation purpose because alarms give me an adrenaline spike.  I’ll figure something out.

Herbal Tarot - Seven of Wands - Wild GingerToday’s draw is the Seven of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of progress through determination,  perseverance, and the meeting of challenges head on.

What really stood out the strongest to me today in the imagery of this card is the confident and determined expression on the figure’s face, and the defensive hold on the wand in their hands.

Asarum canadense (Wild Ginger) is an emmenagogue, which means that it helps stimulate blood circulation in the area of the sacral chakra. As with many plants, it’s medical use is tied into its spiritual use, and on the spiritual side of things, wild ginger is a plant that is used to create a spark of warmth in the heart, inspiring bravery and tenacity when confronting obstacles in our path.

The message here in today’s card is a combination of the imagery that stood out so strongly to me, and the meaning behind the wild ginger. The message today is about knowing what your goals are and standing strong concerning them regardless of whatever criticism or hurdles stand in your way.

DECK USED:  HERBAL TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJune Challenge Prompt
Question: What emotions am I being invited to feel more fully?

Bleu Cat Tarot

Reading Summary: Gratitude and contentment in a solitary manner (Nine of Balls). Patience for gradual change (Death), and the awareness that there are many paths before me and I will need to make my choice again and again (Seven of Fishes).

Take Away:  The emotion portrayed through these cards as one of comfort. Everything’s going to be okay, and you’re not being forced into anything. Just relax, enjoy the ride while staying focused on what you want to happen as things change along the way.

DECK USED:  BLEU CAT TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: As an adult, where do I take myself too seriously?

Brady TarotReading Summary: I spend too much time focusing on building up stability in my life (Ten of Roots) rather than having a good time (Six of Horns).  There’s room for both, you just need to work out how (Daughter of Arrows).

Take Away: I spend a great deal of my time focused on stability.  Home stability.  Financial stability.  Resource stability.  These things are a near obsession for me and they definitely are something that I take very seriously. So seriously that somewhere along the line I’ve ended up losing touch with much of the fun and enjoyment that life has to offer.

Part of the efforts I’m trying to make over this spring and summer have to do with finding a better balance between that obsession with stability that creates a constant concerning my responsibilities and obligations… and giving myself the room and freedom to experience a bit more joy and enjoyment. I know it is possible to fit them both into my life so that they can coexist.

DECK USED:  BRADY TAROT

#TheJuneTarot Challenge by Lionhart
Question: Draw a card while repeating “I am my own personal power” and share how the card reinforces this concept.

Dame Darcy's Mermaid Tarot - Queen of SwordsAs much as I don’t wan to be like my mother, there are certain times (and in certain ways) that I am.

I am analytical. I am intelligent. I am cunning. I know how to handle myself and others in strategic ways when needed. I know how to get where I want to go.

These are all things that I have in common with my mother.  The difference is that I choose to use these strengths in a positive manner.

DECK USED:  DAME DARCY’S MERMAID TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What is my unique purpose?

Lily Stone Marseille Tarot

Reading Summary: To seek out more depth in life (Judgement) beyond what lies on the surface (Four of Cups), and persevere through the struggles thrown in my path (Seven of Wands).

Take Away: The cards here speak of what I’ve often felt was the meaning of my life.  That is to say, that my life is meant to be one of struggles and strife and hardship… and the reason for this is because I need to learn how to take one’s blows and move forward through them, coming out better on the other side.   I need to see each struggle or event as a learning experience, and find not just the lesson that is within them, but something positive about them that helps me move forward and be a better person in some way.

DECK USED:  STONE MARSEILLE TAROT

 

Slow and Steady Steps

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was not timed, because I kind of lost track of the timer.  That said, I would estimate that it was at least ten minutes.  I took the little bit of focus I had from yesterday, and repeated it… without the harp strings this time.  In other words, as I did my piriformis stretches, I meditated on the growth of a plant from seed to adulthood.  Like last time, this was very enjoyable for me and thus how I ended up losing track of time.  The only reason I know it was at least ten minutes is because my hip flexors were very limber and well stretched at the end.

Herbal Tarot - Ace of Pentacles - Whole GrainsToday’s draw is the Ace of Pentacles, which is traditionally interpreted as the seed of a new beginning or opportunity in relation to finances, resources, health, or the physical world.

What stood out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the stone wall with arched entrance that stretches through the background.   What I see in that wall is not just a new beginning, but a “recasting” of sorts.  A seed comes from a flower that has bloomed and faded, and thus this seed comes from a path that has passed and is now behind you. It is not immaculate conception, but rather reincarnation as you pass through the archway and into a new phase… a new cycle.   A new path created from the tail of the old one.

In the pentacles suit, this speaks to me of my endeavors to find that new balance with how I manage my work, responsibilities, and time.  It is a reminder (of which I am in need of many of them quite often) that this is a new start.  A new method.  A new way of doing things…. and it’s okay to take slow steps to assure your footing is strong and as sure as possible.

DECK USED:  HERBAL TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJune Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I better hear and heed my inner wisdom?

Tarot for Dandelions

Reading Summary:  Don’t allow uncertainty (Moon) to distract you (Two of Swords).  Instead, soldier on (Knight of Swords) and use the tools and skills at your disposal (Magician) to follow your inner wisdom’s call.

Just sayin’?  But the more I use this deck… the more I like this deck.

Take Away:  The cards here are referring to how sometimes my intuition’s voice can sometimes get a little muddled when dealing with upheaval that causes fear and uncertainty. This is very apropos considering the upheaval I had last night with the very out of control customer that lost his shit in my email.

DECK USED:  TAROT FOR DANDELIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do Spread #2
Should I go ahead and post the piece about a controversial topic on the blog with the blogpost I started last night?

Dame Darcy's Mermaid TarotReading Summary: It’s a selfish point of view as stated (Queen of Swords Rx) and needs to be reworked from a different perspective (Hanged Man over the Nine of Swords) in order to be less insensitive and ‘blind’ (Eight of Swords).

Take Away:  Okay yeah… I get that. The post that I wrote last night on this topic was very self centered and not at all “woke” or enlightened.  More just me popping off and being a bit of an ass. The cards here warn that posting it as-is risks hurting myself and others.  I’m not sure if I’ll rewrite it, or just scrap it entirely.  Either way, I’ll take the card’s advice on this and hold off on posting it as-is.

DECK USED:  DAME DARCY’S MERMAID TAROT

#TheJuneTarot Challenge by Lionhart
Question: Something I am suggested to do for myself today.

Linestrider Tarot

Reading Summary:  Slow down (Temperance) and make a conscious choice on what you’re doing today (Two of Wands) , and make sure that choice involves spending time with Gideon (King of Cups).

Take Away:  Just exactly what I’ve done with the majority of my day today.  Yes, I skipped nap time to do some work, but the majority of my day has been spent with you… and I’ve loved every minute of it. I love you man. Thank you for making today such a good day.

DECK USED:  LINESTRIDER TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What do I need to change?

Tarot Sirene

Reading Summary: Passion’s direction (Two of Wands). Because being forceful (Strength) will only cause unpleasant consequences (Justice). Ie: Change your tone.

Take Away:  This goes back to the reading I did for the Tarotholics challenge, and that blog post that I want to post but at the same time was hesitant about.  The advice here is if I want to post about this topic… I need to change the tone of the post.  Because as it stands… it’s just not there.

DECK USED:  TAROT SIRENE

 

 

 

What We Have

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Although I meditated today, it wasn’t my normal type of meditation.  Instead I did my meditation while sitting in traffic with a combination of slow breathing exercises and focus on physical sensations such as the touch of the air moving over my skin.   It was a long drive, and I’m a bit out of practice in the commute now that I’m only taking it once every three weeks instead of twice a week.   The breathing exercises and focus on using those physical sensations as a calming influence helped immensely in keeping my stress in line as I dealt with traffic.

Herbal Tarot - Uva Ursi - Two of CupsToday’s draw is the Two of Cups, which traditionally is interpreted as a card depicting harmonious union and cooperation between two parties.

Uva Ursi is an herb of purification and cleansing, and when combined with what stood out most strongly to me in this card’s imagery today (that would be the caduceus above the cups) what I see here is a message concerning combining strengths to heal.

This card’s appearance today is a representation of our relationship and a reminder of what our union creates.

We are each strong and independent in our own right, and when brought together our skills compliment and reinforce each other, our knowledge and our emotions bolster each other, and the relationship becomes one of support and healing on both sides, each benefiting from the other’s strengths.

DECK USED:  HERBAL TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJune Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I better channel anger into a force of positive change?

The Golden Girls Tarot

Reading Summary: Use that anger combined with the tools at my disposal (The Magician) to inspire (The Star) my passions (Page of Wands and Four of Wands).

Take Away:  The Page of Wands and Four of Wands don’t just indicate my passions in this reading, but rather those passions that create within me a sense of progress and pleasure.  Some of my passions are directionless.  Others are more addiction based.  Those are not the type of passions referenced here.

Here in the cards is a reference to the safe and secure passions that create within me a sense of accomplishment and progress while still bringing me a feeling of joy and stability.   When I need to channel my anger, it is in this direction that I should channel it, transforming it into a flare of that creative spark within me to spur forward my pursuits.

DECK USED:  THE GOLDEN GIRLS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How does my inner child feel right now?

Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot Reading Summary: Alice is uncertainty in all three positions.
Position 1) shyness + uncertainty and a need for comfort from others,
Position 2) curious + uncertainty and a need for comforting from the self, and
Position 3) irritation + uncertainty spurred by a vicious inner narrative.

Take Away:  The current state of my inner child is one of shyness, curiosity, and a hint of irritation hidden within the wings.  All of these are overshadowed by a sense of uncertainty and a need for comfort.  When the irritation blended with that uncertainty shows its terrible face, my inner critic slips in and begins to draw blood.

So the key here is that my inner child feels vulnerable.  The flavor of vulnerability might change depending on what has captured its attention in the moment, but the sense of vulnerability and uncertainty is always present.

DECK USED:  NICOLETTA CECCOLI TAROT

#TheJuneTarot Challenge by Lionhart
Question: How can I use this energy to my personal best advantage?

Dame Darcy's Mermaid Tarot

Reading Summary: Don’t forget to take in others input (Three of Pentacles) while sorting out and gathering up (Ace of Wands)what passions you’re carrying forward with you (King of Wands).

Take Away:  The previous reading on this topic indicated that discernment and destruction are the energies this month holds for me.  The cards today indicate that as I’m tearing things down to start certain pursuits and passions anew, make sure that this isn’t a solitary task.   Take in input from others, accept their help and their ideas. Allow them to help you begin anew, and allow them to be there to build you up along your journey.

DECK USED:  DAME DARCY’S MERMAID TAROT