Elemental Tarot

Skip the Verdigris

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IMG_7975Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and was another guided meditation with interval timer for my piriformis stretches.

The topic of today’s meditation was about dealing with anxiety during stressful times.  In truth, it was about the calming benefits of taking a breath.  I’ve often helped others find that particular benefit, coaching them in taking a moment to sit tall and seek to put distance between your straight shoulders and your ears before then slowly taking a breath that starts down in the pit of your belly and slowly fills your stomach, then solar plexus, then chest.  The beat of pause, then slow exhale that comes after as you release that air.

One slow, deep breath with your spine straight and your neck not in hyper extended position.  Just one.  And sometimes that one breath is all that is needed to turn the tide on panic, anxiety, frustration, anger, or fear.

Traditional Manga Tarot - The WorldToday’s draw is the World card, which is traditionally a representation of reaching the end of a long journey of growth and development, and stepping through that closure to move on to the next.  In coming to the end of this journey, there is both accomplishment and an anticipation for what new journey lies beyond.  Many consider this card a representation of reincarnation.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the embrace that these two figures have upon the earth.  Specifically, though, the figure in the background that appears to curl around the curvature of the earth and rest upon it in a loving embrace.

The message here is that when you come to the end of a journey of growth, it’s not a time to look back and judge harshly what you have done and/or not done along the way.

It’s instead a time to celebrate your accomplishments and look forward with anticipation.  You’ve done good.  You’ve accomplished something.  You’ve found yourself at a place where there has been clear growth and you’re now better in some way than you were before.  Don’t tarnish that or diminish it with negative judgements.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self care this full moon?

Elemental TarotReading Summary: As I’m working my fingers to the bone to bring in the cash (King of Pentacles atop Justice), don’t forget to enjoy yourself (The Sun) and keep optimism alive (The Star).

Take Away: There have been a lot of these reminders lately, and the truth is? I need them. The thing is, there are consequences to our actions, and the Justice card here is very much all about consequences. When you work hard, the money rolls in. When you work hard, you risk burnout and overwhelm. You forget to look at the bright side.  You forget to smile and have fun. All work, no play is a very unhealthy thing.

And thus the reminder to keep the fun and enjoyment up, and the positivity flowing.  These things are not in my nature and are not easy, but they help keep everything in balance.

DECK USED:  ELEMENTAL TAROT

Taking A Pause

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Today’s meditation was another of the musical immersion efforts involving my synesthesia, and I just don’t think it’s going to work out.  For the second time I ended up dozing off during the process, and I have a feeling that if I am using music that creates pleasurable responses, that will continue to be the case.  I’ll have to switch back to another method tomorrow.

Tarot of the Little Prince - The LoversToday’s draw is the Lovers card, which is traditionally a representation of not just love, romance, and marriage as it is often interpreted by many, but also about choices and making positive choices that are good for you. This choices interpretation leans into the Marseilles tarot meanings, but I find it applies far more often to the Lovers card when the card pops up for me in readings than the love and relationship aspect.

What stands out to me the strongest in this photo is not one specific element so much as the overall atmosphere of the image. I see gentle warmth and tenderness that speaks of a heart connection, and a hint of wistfulness that speaks to me of nostalgia and daydreams.

The message here in today’s card is that sometimes it’s okay to pause and take a moment, to give yourself a moment to “smell the roses” and allow yourself to consider what influences your decisions and the way forward from this moment rather than leaping ahead recklessly or thoughtlessly.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Jupiter Question: How can I {further} focus on the good that surrounds me, or the good that is within?

Elemental Tarot

How can I further my focus on the good that surrounds me?
Seven of Swords atop Eight of Swords, Queen of Pentacles

Don’t allow the ass hats and betrayals of the world to close your eyes to the generosity and positivity that is out there.   Sometimes, especially when wounds are fresh, it can be hard to not turn away from people and tempting to turn into yourself in order to protect yourself from further pain.  By closing your eyes to the warmth and care others can provide, though, you do yourself more harm than good.

How can I further my focus on the good that is within me?
Nine of Pentacles, Four of Chalices atop Eight of Pentacles Rx

Practice gratitude for what you have, and don’t work yourself so hard that you forget to rest and meditate.  Without rest and restoration, you can’t focus on anything, let alone delve into appreciation for what’s good within yourself.   In order to find this focus you need rest, and you need to appreciate your accomplishments and what you’ve done well.  These practices allow you to feel a sense of pride and foster a bit more kindness for yourself.

DECK USED:  ELEMENTAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Greatest Strength / Greatest Weakness / Finding Balance

Antique Anatomy Tarot Mass Market VersionGreatest Strength – Four of Pentacles atop Wheel of Fortune – Finding stability in the chaos is one of your greatest strengths. This isn’t to say that the chaos does not affect you, but rather that you are able to ground your feet and stay centered far better than most would expect.

Greatest Weakness – King of Rods – Your excessive amount of creative spark and drive can cause a bit of a problem.  You repeatedly fool yourself into believing you have more “shoulder space” for responsibility than you actually do, and thus as that sense of creative spark and drive push you forward, you repeatedly overburden yourself trying to take on too much.

Finding Balance – Knight of Elixirs – Pick and choose the projects and responsibilities that truly speak to your heart, instead of just triggering the inspirational spark within you.  Inspiration is all well and good, but you need to involve more than that in your decision making in order to cut down on the things that you take on.

DECK USED:  ANTIQUE ANATOMY TAROT – MASS MARKET VERSION

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What is the best piece of advice I have ever received?

Delos Tarot

Reading Summary: Sometimes you have to look after yourself before others (Six of Pentacles) in order to build a secure (Four of Pentacles) and stable (Two of Pentacles) future.

Take Away:  Not the advice that I personally would’ve chosen as the best piece of advice I’ve ever received… and yet it is a really good one. When I was young I wanted to save the world from unfairness. If I had not been given the advice to take care of myself first prior to helping others and taken that advice to heart, I’d still be living in the backseat of an old Buick with no tires in a dark Seattle alleyway. Okay… so probably not the Buick specifically, but close enough.

DECK USED:  DELOS TAROT

Enthusiastic Overburdening

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IMG_7781Today’s meditation was just under ten minutes long, and was a guided meditation with interval timer for my piriformis stretches.

The topic of today’s guided meditation was about individuality.  It was about not just following your own inner compass, but marching to the beat of your own drum.

To be fair, I didn’t really relate all that much to the pep talk. I’ve never really had much of a problem with peer pressure or felt the need to conform to the norms and expectations of others outside of my extremely overactive work ethic in relation to my father’s voice in my head.   It was still a wonderful message, though, and one that I wish more people were comfortable with.  That is… individuality over conformity.

Traditional Manga Tarot - Ace of SwordsToday’s draw is the Ace of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of the seed of new beginnings in the area of one’s thoughts, ideas, intellect, communication, and ambitions.

What stands out to me in the imagery of this card is the woman’s posture, and the size of the sword and crown that she holds.   I know that in the image she is actually bowing to the sword and crown, but when I saw this image this morning… that is not what I saw.  Instead, it appeared that she was struggling to carry those items.

This seems like an awful amount of weight for the girl to carry, and she appears to strain under the weight.

The message here is about how much you take on… and only taking what you can sustain. It’s all well and good to be bombarded with great ideas all the time, but when you start too any of them at once, suddenly you find that none of them end up completed.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Venus Question: How can I begin to do more of what I truly love?

Elemental Tarot

Reading Summary: Allow your emotions to play a part (Ace of Cups), savor them (Nine of Cups), and create that sense of homecoming for your emotions like what you already feel for your creativity (Four of Wands).

Take Away:  If I want to do more of what I truly love, I need to open up to my emotions more and allow them to have a more welcome and permanent place in my life. Right now I am still exploring them, but I’m not really comfortable with them.

By allowing my emotions to have the same type of value that I put on my creative spark, it will open me up to more opportunities for doing more of the things that I love.

DECK USED:  ELEMENTAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self-care for this new moon?

Catharsis TarotReading Summary: When it comes to dealing with your past (Six of Cups), take your time (Seven of Coins) on deciding what you want to deal with (Seven of Cups). Remember that it’s okay to set it behind you for now (Five of Cups), because sooner or later it will come around at a time you’ll prepared to deal with it (Six of Spears).

Take Away: What I need to focus on for self care this new moon has to do with leaving my past in the past for now. 

I need to accept that I’m not yet in a place where I can deal with these things, but that by setting them aside to wait, I will allow myself the time I need to sort through everything and pick where to start with better clarity later on when I’m in a better place.

DECK USED:  CATHARSIS TAROT

Heal & Transform November Challenge Prompt
Question: What physical daily habits or routines need reevaluated?

Dark Wood Tarot

Reading Summary: When I feel the tendency to tense up and hunker down (Four of Pentacles), this is not the time to retreat but rather it is a time to open myself up and share (Six of Pentacles) with Gideon what I’m feeling so that he can help me deal with things (King of Cups).

Take Away:  I’m not sure I would have considered this a daily habit, but it’s true that my natural instinct when I am feeling vulnerable or overtaken by emotion to curl into myself and “show my shell” like a turtle rather than dealing with those emotions or even bothering to give them a cursory examination.

The cards here indicate something I know, but that I need to be reminded of often as I try to change this well known habit.  It is a reminder to reach out for help instead of closing myself off… and specifically to reach out to Gideon for his help in exploring and understanding the emotions and triggers that cause me to try and close myself off in the first place.

DECK USED:  DARK WOOD TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What three to five qualities do I feel I want to embody?

Marigold Tarot

The Hanged Man – I want to be able to take in different perspectives and always seek a deeper understanding. The more perspectives I see, the more I understand.  The more I understand, the better person I become.

Page of Swords – This also means that I seek to be the perpetual student, always learning new things and exploring new ideas beyond my current knowledge base.

King of Swords – But at the same time, I want to be able to share my knowledge with others and inspire them to learn as well and expand their knowledge as they seek out their own answers.

Nine of Wands – I also desire to continue protecting and defending my personal values, and those things and people that mean the most to me. Sometimes this can feel like an uphill battle, but if it’s something I value enough to fight for… then it’s worth it.

King of Rings – I feel a deep seated need for stability and security, grounding and strength through a strong foundation beneath my feet.  I don’t mind moving slow at getting there, as long as I am making progress in the right direction.

DECK USED:  MARIGOLD TAROT

Accolades To The Self

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IMG_7720Today’s meditation was just under ten minutes long and was a guided meditation with interval timer to allow for my piriformis stretches. 

The topic of today’s meditation was about checking our expectations in order to assure you do not create repeated situations of disappointment.  This is something that I have been doing my entire life and, I suspect, is something that the majority of pessimists do regularly.

Interestingly enough… even with this precaution in place?  There is one place where I am continually finding myself disappointed and caught in expectations that… I didn’t really think were unrealistic and yet have been proven to be again and again.   That area would be… people.

I am taken by surprise and disappointed in this area so many times when it comes to people and their common sense, their intelligence, their respect of others or the earth, their ability to empathize, their lack of awareness…  The list goes on.  People… somehow even my low expectations are often just too lofty.   As I’ve aged, the bar has dropped more and more, and yet is never low enough it seems.

Tarot of the Little Prince - Nine of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Nine of Pentacles, which is traditionally an indication of taking stock and enjoying the fruits of your labors.  It is about appreciation and accomplishment, and the pride of a job well done.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the boy’s fist in the air.  It creates a sense of celebration in this card, indicating that his accomplishments are something that he is elated about.

I also note that, unlike in many Nine of Pentacles cards, he is not alone.  He is accompanied by a lamb that appears to gaze up at him in admiration, perhaps helping to reinforce for him his sense of accomplishment.

The message here in today’s card is about appreciating your own accomplishments, and doing so regardless of who looks on or what their opinions may be on the matter.  If you can’t take pride in your own work and triumphs, no amount of praise or adoration is going to get you there.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Mercury Question: What can I learn from my Mercury Zodiac placement?

The Multi-Stabber Tarot

Reading Summary: To not tolerate (Six of Swords) what doesn’t work for me (The Sun Rx), when there is so much out there that could suit me better (The Universe).

Take Away:  There’s definitely a lot that I already do not tolerate and am willing to shed when it doesn’t work for me.  The thing is, though?  There is also plenty that I have not yet managed to shed. Much of these things have to do with my upbringing and the negative inner narrative that has spawned from that time in my life.  The cards indicate that having Mercury in Taurus is an element of my chart that could help me in learning to let go of these things and find a better path that is more suited to me personally.

DECK USED:  MULTI-STABBER TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Self care I need right now for the…. Mind / Body / Spirit

Edgar Allan Poe TarotSelf Care I Need Right Now For The Mind

The World is a reminder that everything is going to be okay. The world moves on and life moves on, and even when things are sometimes difficult, that too is temporary.

Self Care I Need Right Now For The Body

The Wheel of Fortune reminds me that I need to stay grounded. Don’t step to the edge of the wheel where the spin is felt more severely. Instead, remain as close to the center as possible, so that the pull and chaos of the spin does not affect your body and life so strongly.

Self Care I Need Right Now For The Spirit

The Page of Pentacles atop The Magician indicates that new tools are coming my way. I need to make sure that I claim them for myself instead of ignoring them, as they will help in manifesting what I want to bring into reality once I have learned to use them well.

DECK USED:  EDGAR ALLAN POE TAROT

Heal & Transform November Challenge Prompt
Question: What hidden aspect of myself would be better exposed for the world?

Mary El Tarot 1st Edition

Reading Summary: My ability to share the heart’s truth (Queen of Cups) during times when people are most open and receptive to healing words (Four of Swords) that will guide them into making the choices that are best for them (The Lovers).

Take Away:  Gideon has mentioned this on numerous occasions. That sometimes I come out with a seemingly random (or not random but unexpected) little nugget of thought during a conversation with people, that to these other people is groundbreaking and speaks to their heart, opening them up to something they hadn’t realized was possible.  I don’t know when I’m doing this… and don’t realize notice when it happens.  But I’ve had people occasionally come back and tell me about these moments.

DECK USED:  MARY EL TAROT 1ST EDITION

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: When do I feel happiest with myself?

Elemental Tarot

Reading Summary: When I am in control and in my element (The Chariot) sharing my knowledge with others (The Hierophant), and guiding them toward making the decisions in life that are best for them (The Lovers).

Take Away:  Yes… I am a control freak.  I admit it.  I need my independence, I need my autonomy, and I absolutely need to be in control of my own life.   I also love sharing my knowledge with others, as well as helping them in not just learning the things they want to learn, but in helping them in finding the path that is best suited for them.  Whether done in small ways or large, I also learn during this process… as well as finding it very rewarding besides.

DECK USED:  ELEMENTAL TAROT

Kindness Isn’t a Roadblock

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I’ve managed to fall behind again… and I can’t remember whether I meditated on the 6th or not. So I’ll leave this empty this time around (and tomorrow too) as I finish up these posts that got started… but never published on the blog.

Traditional Manga Tarot - Queen of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Queen of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s finances, home life, health, resources, and manifestations.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card today is the way that the woman holds onto the coin/pentacle/disc. She holds that disc much as a woman holds her unborn child when it is still tucked within her womb.

The message here is about nurturing growth.  It’s about the fact that manifestation of those things you want to create will come more smoothly, more healthily, and far easier if you add a bit of nurturing warmth to the process of getting there.

DECK USED:  TRADITIONAL MANGA TAROT

LionHart’s As Above So Below Challenge Prompt
Rising Sign Question: How does the world around me perceive me right now?

Bosch Tarot

Reading Summary: Easy to work with and align with (Two of Cups), able to lead the way with other’s new emotional investments (Ace of Chalices), the governing body over chaos and conflict (The Emperor) there to save the day when needed (Seven of Swords Rx).  Something within the warmth of the cups cards also indicates that they think I’m nicer than I really am.

Take Away:  Apparently the world around me sees me as understanding and admirable, and more approachable than I realize.  A leader willing to help others and work with others, but able to put my foot down when its needed.  

DECK USED:  BOSCH TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsNov2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Advice I need to hear at this time concerning my friendships.

Sweeney TarotReading Summary: When you’re feeling lost (Five of Pentacles) and internally chaotic (The Tower Rx), your friends are there to help point the way and lead you forward (King of Wands).

Take Away: The advice here is that I can trust my friends and loved ones to know where I want to go and the ambitions I want to fulfill, and to help nudge me forward and keep me going even when I feel lost in the weeds of my own inner chaos.  Sometimes it can be hard, during those times, to see beyond the inner conflict, but I can safely trust those that love me to help keep me from falling off my desired path entirely.

DECK USED:  SWEENEY TAROT