Eight of Pentacles

The Power of Manifestation

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At the moment, I’m playing catch up after having not kept up on my blog posts for a few days, so I don’t remember what the meditation was like today… or if I did it, to be honest.   I will return to updating about my meditation each day once I’m caught up with my posts again.

Tarot of Haunted House - Eight of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of harmony and expertise built over time through hard work and the honing of one’s skills.  It’s about manifestation through these skills, and work with one’s hands to create one’s masterpiece.

What really stands out to me in the imagery of this card today is the pentacles themselves and their positioning within the air above where the woman kneels in her circle.   She has honed her skills of manifestation and is in the middle of doing a boon spell. She has worked on this craft, done all of the physical labor, and with the skills she has honed she has become strong enough to manifest abundance in a very physical way.

Today’s card is a reminder of what I can do… of the fact I have this ability.  Not to create coins out of mid-air, but rather to take an idea and make it into a reality.  To spin an idea into physical reality is a skill of creativity and creation, and a blessing to cherish and enjoy instead of simply exploit.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF HAUNTED HOUSE

LionHart’s #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonOfTheWitchChallenge Prompt
Question: What should I keep in my mind when working with the other side?

Ghosts & Spirits Tarot

Reading Summary: Stay grounded (Four of Pentacles) and don’t linger (The Chariot) or things can start to fall apart fast (The Tower).

Take Away:  This is an echo of the reading I did yesterday that was a very similar question.  It’s a warning that when I am working with the other side I need to be in a grounded place of control.  In order to avoid chaos and disaster, it’s important to make sure I’m in the right place to be working with the other side, and able to get “in and out” quickly and smoothly while maintaining control.

DECK USED:  GHOSTS & SPIRITS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What echos from the past are trying to resurface for me right now?

Nightmare Before Christmas TarotReading Summary: Dad (The Devil and Six of Potions) trying to come back and tell me (Six of Candles under Six of Potions) what living my life should look like (Ten of Pentacles).

Take Away: This is the “cheer up and be a man” message that my father always had ready and waiting for me.  “A man” being a provider and the strong foundation of a fruitful family.  My father loves to try and rise up at this time of year and bring with him his whispers from the past, although I am grateful that these aren’t the worst whispers he’s ever shouted at me back when he was alive.

Still, with the fact that I feel like I’m lacking motivation this year, I really don’t feel like his input is productive, but more of a thorn in my already sore side.

DECK USED:  NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS TAROT

#MysticStarChallenge October Challenge Prompt
Question: How do I embrace my message?

Nicoletta Ciccoli Tarot

Reading Summary: Look at all the blue in these cards.  It spreads through the entire reading, and is only missing from the second card where pink shades tie in that card to the rest instead. Pink is independence.  Blue is calm and poise.

Card 1 – Hiding behind one’s independence in an effort to seize control and use it to create a solitary graceful strength away from the fear of other’s judgements.

Card 2 – Here is the solitary graceful strength.  Independence without censure.

Card 3 – Insidious whispers from outside sources.  Sitting atop one’s independence and begin resentful of those whispers, which creates negative feelings.

Card 4 – Very little independence.  That resentment from Card 3 has stolen the ability to fight back and the independence you seek.

Card 5 – Trying to seize control of a situation involving conflict. This situation feels out of control as you try to reign back in the independence lost.

Card 6 – Wearing your independence once more and at rest and ease now that it is once again back in your possession.

Take Away: The cards here indicate that to embrace this message of support I need to set myself free (second card) of the fear and worries (first card) of insidious whispers and influences (third card) sneaking up and taking me by surprise ambush (fourth card).

Whether I am calm and collected (last card), or fully aware and trying to seize control (fifth card)… what is coming is inevitable (water represented in both cards) and it is best to try and move forward into it with calm and poise (all the blue throughout the spread).

DECK USED:  NICOLETTA CICCOLI TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What do past lives mean to me?

Luis Royo's Dark Tarot

Reading Summary: You build up the physical within your life (King of Pentacles) which is then stolen away (Seven of Swords) as you are set free to join lost loved ones (Three of Cups) and the soul then can start again with prior knowledge it has earned (Knave of Wands).

Take Away:  This is about reincarnation.  It’s about how during our lives on earth, we have a habit of focusing too much on the physical.  Then when the physical is yanked away, we are left with a clear understanding of what’s left behind and what we’ve learned.  This knowledge is not conscious, but resides in the soul and is then carried forward into a new cycle.

DECK USED:  LUIS ROYO’S DARK TAROT

Creativity and Joy

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IMG_5033Today’s meditation was just under eleven minutes long and was a guided meditation that worked through connecting the heart and your emotions to first flesh, then muscle, then bone, before then turning it outward to radiate from you.

It was a really interesting progression that I’ve never tried before, and I found it relaxing, which is surprising considering how damn bad my back is hurting today.

Herbal Tarot - Eight of Pentacles - GingerToday’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of hard earned expertise and hard work in the areas of one’s finances, resources, health, home, and manifestations.  This is a card about personal skills and strengths.

What stood out to me the strongest in the imagery on first seeing this card today is the new shoots on the ginger root, and the hammer in the man’s hand.

Zingiber officinale (aka Ginger) is a stimulant that gets the blood moving and, as a result, warms the body. Unlike with the Wild Ginger of yesterday, this herb has a full body effect instead of focusing directly upon the pelvic region.  The metaphysical properties are also about warmth and spark, as the herb is often used to stimulate one’s talents and spark one’s motivation.

The message in today’s card is about allowing my spark to combine with my talents to manifest something new.  It’s about developing one’s skills, and creating something new from that effort of development.  This is about working on the wood burning, and about making time to not just develop my skills, but to enjoy the process of creation.

DECK USED:  HERBAL TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJune Challenge Prompt
Question: Where have I grown that deserves more recognition from my conscious self?

Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot

Reading Summary: Both figures in the outside cards face towards the center, giving me a sense of self-awareness, where in the center card the girl’s eyes are closed and it appears she has turned inward to find calm among the chaos of dark tangles around here which indicates having found an inner calm and centering.  This centering is not disrupted by outside influences (the movement and action going on in the two outer cards), nor by my own inner critic (indicated by the whip in the hand of the rider on the left card, and the lack of organization in the blocks and toys in the background of the card on the right).

Take Away: The growth that I’ve experienced that I need to give myself more credit for is that I’ve become better at centering myself and staying mindful in times of chaos and distraction.   I’m more aware of, and thus more able to tune out, the negative influences around me.   This isn’t to say I don’t have a long way to go… only that I’ve also come a long way already.

DECK USED:  NICOLETTA CECCOLI TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I go about lightening up in these areas? (Built off yesterday’s cards.)

Phantasmagoric Theater TarotReading Summary: I need to find more time for others (Three of Cups) and more joy in including them in my path (Two of Cups).  Allow them to take care of me sometimes, and allow myself to be nurtured not just by others, but by myself as well (The Empress).

Take Away: What I take myself too seriously on is my focus on stability.  The cards here indicate that I need to try to frame stability in a different way, and realize that there’s more to stability than hard work and finances.

Stability is also about my connection with others, and their connection with me.  The love they provide is a comfort and can take the place of some of that obsession I feel towards my current view of stability and need to push myself so hard to obtain it.

DECK USED:  PHANTASMAGORIC THEATER TAROT

#TheJuneTarot Challenge by Lionhart
Question: What can I embrace in support of my strengths?

Golden Girls Tarot

Reading Summary: Remember that starting over is okay (Ten of Swords) and it makes you stronger than you were the first time around (King of Swords). You need a little temptation , and the joy that comes from that temptation (The Devil), in order to obtain emotional fulfillment (Ten of Cups).

Take Away: Okay… so this one is a big one to unpack.  The thing is that how I view stability and security at the moment needs to be reevaluated.  This is indicated above in the Tarotholics reading, but it’s reinforced here in the mention of starting over through reassessment in order to become stronger… as well as the presence of the Ten of Cups, which indicates I need to try and ease my focus from the Ten of Pentacles as my goal to more of a Ten of Cups goal instead.

Both are fulfillment and both represent stability, but the Cups provides an emotional element that includes connecting to others and allowing their support, which is something I’m currently lacking in my Ten of Pentacles view of stability and security.   The Devil card in this reading is a reminder not to be ashamed of the things that bring you joy.  It’s okay to have those enjoyments and take pleasure in them as long as they are not becoming a detriment to your goals. 

DECK USED:  GOLDEN GIRLS TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How can I cut through the noise and get to what’s important?

Everyday Witch Tarot

Reading Summary: Take the first step beyond planning (Three of Wands). Choose a direction and step off the teeter totter (Two of Pentacles Rx). Follow what is stirring your interest at this time and claim these interests as yours (Queen of Wands).

Take Away: Stop waffling.  Stop screwing around and sitting on my ass thinking about what I need to do to make the changes I want to make. Take the first step and lose yourself in the process of passionate creation.  Wallow in the joy that comes from manifestation through creative expression.   In other words?  Stop focusing so damned much on work and allow yourself to ease up on that tight-ass grip of yours and have some damned fun already.

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY WITCH TAROT

 

Give Yourself Some Credit

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Today’s meditation is again non-existent so far.   The helper showed up 20 minutes early, which means I wasn’t even out of bed yet when she buzzed up to be let in.   Since she stayed for 12 hours, that means that I just haven’t had a chance to do the meditation yet.  I will do it before bed as I have the last few days, and try again for a morning meditation tomorrow.

Tarot of the Little Prince Today’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is a representation of determination, manifestation, accomplishment, and purpose in the area of finances, resources, and the physical world.

Just sayin’ but I love the imagery in this card.  He worked hard to give the rose a home within the soil, and you can see it in his tired expression and flushed face.

The appearance of the Eight of Pentacles in today’s draw is a reminder to acknowledge my accomplishments.  It’s very easy for me to shrug off my accomplishments as “nothing”, whereas when viewing someone else perhaps having done the exact same thing I would see as admirably accomplished.

Today’s card is telling me that I need to give myself some credit.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question: Something good that I manifested this year.

Bianca Nero Tarot

Reading Summary: The ability to deal with chaos and change (The Tower) in a more positive way through planning (Two of Wands) and taking on these events as an opportunity to turn things into something better (Four of Wands) rather than as a catastrophe.

Take Away:  Sometimes when change hits with sudden urgency and a cacophony of chaos, it can feel like the end of the world and like everything is crashing down around you. At these times it’s difficult to look beyond the now or step outside of the chaos to see things from a different perspective.

Over the past year, I feel that I have found a more centered place within myself, and a greater measure of grounding, which helps me in times when things feel like they are falling apart in looking at the situation from a different angle and  approaching the problem from a perspective of “where do I go from here?” rather than wallowing in the discomfort of that moment.

DECK USED:  BIANCO NERO TAROT

 

Tapping In to Inner Strengths

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and although it was a guided meditation, I really wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying.  I have found that sometimes the music in the background just really catches my attention and carries me away.

At those times, my attention seems to skip along the notes like a rock skipping over water, touching down on each note as it is played before gliding on to the next, and the next.  It’s a very peaceful sensation.   I wish I could find the music as a download of some kind, all on its own.

Today’s draw is a double without a jumper, which means that both cards jumped out of the deck together as one.  The cards in today’s draw are the Auntie Whispers card (the Strength card), and the Eight of Pentacles.

The Auntie Whispers card is a Major Arcana card, and deals with “big picture” themes rather than any one specific aspect of the human condition.  It is commonly a representation of inner strength, compassionate persuasion, and courage.

The Eight of Pentacles is a representation of purpose, determination, and accomplishment in the area of resources, finances, and the physical world.  This card is often an indication of hard work and hard won expertise in areas that involve manifestation of ideas into reality.

When I look at the combination of these cards in today’s draw, the message I am picking up from the cards is about the fact that I really wasn’t entirely inspired to work today.  But, sometimes?  You have to power through and do your work.   I have the inner strength of will to make that happen, and that’s exactly what I have done today.

Fortunately, I also got to spend time with you, and I think a lot of that has to do with the good management of my time and making sure to balance that time appropriately.

Deck Used: Tarot of the Unknown

Bonus Reading

I did the #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt today from Instagram.

Question: What resources for growth are available to me?  I specifically focused on growth concerning my business in this inquiry.

Reading Summary: Inner strength and decisiveness are the tools that I can provide for myself, but there is also an element of community involved that can help deflect moments of conflict and turmoil concerning my inspiration and ambition.

Take Away:  I can’t carry everything myself, no matter how much I want to.  The tools available to me go beyond just my own personal skills and abilities, and if I want to foster growth, I need to also look outside myself and to what others can offer.    This will be especially important in learning from other’s mistakes and taking advice to find a better path to my goals that involves less nasty surprises and pitfalls along the way.

Deck Used: Halloween Magick Tarot

 

Make It Fun

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on techniques for releasing thoughts so that they do not clutter up your mind during meditation.   This is something that a lot of people have difficulties with in meditation, myself included, and is one of the main lessons meditation in mindfulness is there to teach you.

It also had encouragement for those (also like myself) that become frustrated when thoughts continue to keep bouncing back in again and again, even once acknowledged and set aside.

Today’s draw was a triple.  That is to say it was the main card with two jumpers that came out together.  It was an odd experience, to be honest, but I decided to go with it rather than try for a single card answer.  It is also the third time in the past 24 hours I’ve been given 3 cards when seeking a single card answer.

The main card in today’s draw is one that’s visited quite often over the past couple of weeks.  That is the eleventh card in the Major Arcana, the Justice card (with the chimpanzees).

The two jumper cards in today’s draw are the Eight of Pentacles (the Beaver) and the Page of Cups (the Platypus).  Once again today, I will go into traditional meanings afterward, as I feel the need to pull my intuitive reading out of the cards first before delving into my more “book learned” information.

What these cards are telling me (in the order they are received) is that I need to focus on creating more balance in my working life.  It doesn’t all have to be serious or studious.  Yes, hard work is important, but so is having fun with it.  And it is absolutely possible to do both.

I sometimes lose touch of this aspect of “fun” when I become too focused upon the work that needs to be done.

The two guidance cards attached to the Justice card are also both depicted in water, which points to my creativity and emotions.  I think this is an important distinction, especially within my business, as my business is a creative process at the heart of it all.  And although the success of my business is created with hard work, it is also an expressive venue of my creativity that requires a bit of fun, and even whimsy to not just succeed but be enjoyable to me.

And on to the traditional meanings…

The Justice card is in the Major Arcana, which deals with “big picture” topics and issues, rather than specific aspects of the human condition.  This card is a representation of cause and effect, balance, karma, accountability, fairness, and truth.  In the guidebook for this deck, the chimpanzee is associated with the keywords adaption, objectiveness, awareness, compassion, and honor.

The Eight of Pentacles is a representation of the manifestation, mastering of skills, accomplishment through hard work, determination, and purpose in the areas of the physical world, manifesting reality from ideas, resources, and finances.  The Beaver’s keywords are dedication, drive, guidance, success, integrity, and community.

The Page of cups is a representation of a receptive omega type of energy, personality, or person in the area of emotions, creativity, intuition, and relationships. This card’s energy is one of curiosity and learning, creative opportunities, tapping into one’s intuition for guidance, and possibilities.  The Platypus’ keywords are curiosity, peace, intuition, opportunity, individuality, and fluidity.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

Striving Toward Excellence

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Although I drew my card this morning when I woke up, I was not able to fit in my meditation until this evening, so today’s post is a little late.

Today’s meditation was 14 minutes and 47 seconds, and focused on ‘riding the waves’ of thought during meditation rather than pushing them away.

Although it was supposed to be about riding the waves of thought, though, it was really all about emotion instead. I found this unfortunate, because I rarely have all that much emotion when in meditation. My intrusive thoughts are almost always visual (as in mental images) without an emotional connotation.

So, it ended up that the guided meditation didn’t exactly hit its mark for me today. I was remarkably relaxed through it today, though.

Today’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is a representation of determination, purpose, strength, and progress in the areas of the material world, resources, and money.

This is telling me that I am making progress.  I may not FEEL like I am making progress, but I am.  It also teaches that striving for perfection is not necessarily a bad thing, and that pushing forward and striving towards excellence in my goals will continue to move me forward to their completion.

I feel like this card is an encouragement to keep striving in my business, but more specifically, that it refers to my plans concerning my mortgage.

I greatly desire to be mortgage-free.  For the first time in years, I am getting back a tax return this year, and I plan on using that tax return to pay off what’s left of my line of credit (and pay for my dental surgery that’s coming up next month).

Once my line of credit that I’d accumulated during my cancer treatments is paid off, I can then start directing the money I had been putting monthly towards it into the mortgage instead.

At that point, I will be looking at just over 6.5 years until I own my place outright.  Mortgage-free.  Yes please.