Transitioning from June to July

As with my new moon and full moon readings that I do for myself each month and used to put into my physical journal, this is a spread that I do at the end of each month to close out the month and I’ve decided to move it over to here as well.

Jeremy Miranda Oracle Cards, Faunae Playing Cards Veiled Edition

Individuality Two of Hearts –  At this moment in time you are feeling a bit of a tug of war going on between the solitary glide of individuality and the need to connect and spend more time with Gideon. This constant push and pull taps into and saps a lot of energy and is taking a lot of your focus currently as you try to navigate through the habits so ingrained within you and the changes you manifest in your life.

Dependence Jack of Hearts – You are currently struggling with becoming more at home with the new level of emotions you are experiencing.  Those bad habits of individuality loom in the background, making the integration of these efforts more of a struggle than you were prepared for.

Creativity Two of Clubs – You seek direction and warmth.  You want to incorporate the warmth of emotion into your life more fully and you seek a direction that will allow you to do that while still finding a work/home balance that can allow room for both.

Limitation Three of Spades – Negative thoughts are creating a sense of opposition and negative influence at this time.  There’s a sense of “this isn’t going to work” whispering in the back of your mind and a worry that things will fall apart if you don’t “do as you’re told” by the inner critic that’s whispering in your ear.

Change Nine of Clubs – You are aware of that inner critic’s voice and are not just blindly following it as you have in the past.  You’ve had time to prepare your defenses against those whispers, and although you cannot completely block them out, you are able to take them with a grain of salt.

Sympathy Three of Diamonds – Disappointments from the past have crashed over efforts to make this transition before. You were taught that its important to hone your skills and use them to progress, and not to lollygag on silly things that add no monetary or physical value.  This is why you turn your hobbies into a business.  This constant drive has the ability to crash over and wash away the progress you have made if you let it.

Luck Queen of Spades – When I was thirteen or perhaps fourteen years old, my mother and I refinished an old cedar chest during the summer.  I’d never done woodworking before, and I can’t say that I was particularly good at it.  In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s since refinished that chest again a second time, because…. I really wasn’t all that good at it.  But even without the skills to do a great job, I really enjoyed the task.  I enjoyed the process and the time spent with my mother away from my father’s constant bullshit.   The relevance here to my current situation is that I need to find those things that give me that sense of pleasure and accomplishment…. free of my inner critic’s constant bullshit.

Power Two of Spades – The emotions are coming… and they’re going to fuck with your head. This issue is entirely preventable if you make the choice to do something about it.  Move those books off the bottom shelf or two, reorganize what you’re doing and how you have things set up so that when the water rolls in, it doesn’t damage the mind on the way through.

Responsibility Jack of Diamonds – Finding a piece of peace will take some patience, but it is attainable.  Remember that if you want this, you have to create space for it.  It won’t just happen, just as the waves of the sea will never stop crashing upon the shore.  At the same time?  This type of change is a process that takes time, so allow yourself some room and don’t get impatient.

Message from Spirit World –  Stay steady and calm.  You’ve come a long way but still have a long way yet to go.  It’s okay to take things slow, as long as you also prepare for a few stumbling blocks to crop up along the way.

Message from Mind’s World –  Melding your old way of doing things into the new way you want to do them is not about abandoning one for another.  It’s about finding a balance that allows for both.

Message from Known World –  Stop allowing your father’s voice such free reign in your head.  So much of that inner critic you deal with comes from him and his values and his ideals.  You already know those were flawed, so turn your attention in a different direction that is more to your own values and ideals rather than trying to continue to live up to his.

DECKS USED: JEREMY MIRANDA ORACLE CARDS, FAUNAE PLAYING CARDS VEILED EDITION

#MyTop5Faves a (non) VR to The Hermit’s Cave

This is a reply to Simon’s newest hashtag over at The Hermit’s Cave on YouTube.   His question was what are your ultimate favorite Tarot, Oracle, Lenormand, and Playing Card decks… plus a wild card number five.   For his wild card, Simon introduced his favorite crystal, and I will be using that as my wild card as well.

Please keep in mind that some of these will change over time.  Others have been the same answer for years and years.

So, here we go….

Tarot of the Hidden Realm Favorite Tarot DeckThe Tarot of the Hidden Realm by Julia Jeffrey and Barbara Moore. This became my favorite from the moment it came out of the box.  It was much different than any tarot I’d owned to date, and when I ordered it, I wasn’t entirely sure how I would click with it.   As soon as the deck arrived and I opened the box and got the cards in my hands, though, all those worries disappeared.

I connect in a deep and profound way with the artwork in these cards.  The deck feels perfect, from the way they shuffle and fit in my hands to the artwork on the cards, and even the accompanying guidebook, which I see as more of a book of short stories than a guidebook.  I just love them.  In fact, I just recently bought a back-up set in case anything ever accidentally happens to the set I currently use.

Favorite Oracle Deck — For oracle decks, I’ve really found that it changes regularly. I have a “primary deck” for both tarot and oracle that I change out each month.   I might use others during the month as well, but these decks are my “deep dive” type of decks where I spend the majority of my time with them specifically.   I’ve found that whatever oracle deck I’m using during this time?   That ends up my favorite… at least until the next month comes along.

Flora Healing CardsCurrently, I’m combining the Flora Healing Cards and the Fauna Inspiration Cards (both by Phoebe Hunt and Rebecca Lefebvre) into one deck and using that as my oracle for the month of July.  These are beautiful cards filled with flora and fauna in watercolor imagery and include the elemental affinities on the top of each card as well.  On the back of the cards is a paragraph that explains the significance and guidance for the fauna or flora represented on the front.   I really like these.   They are not the normal gloss card stock, but something softer, which means you have to be a bit more careful with them than most decks, but surprisingly I don’t mind it with these decks, in fact…. it sort of “fits” really well.

1889 LenormandFavorite Lenormand Deck — This was difficult, but I think my favorite of all time is the 1889 Lenormand by Jennifer Sager.   I like the earthy colors and the artwork that is both soft and yet very clear at the same time.  It has that “old time” feel of the Lenormand decks I grew up with, but with a hint of modern style.

I have a feeling this will change if I can ever get my hands on a copy of Kelly Fitzgerald’s Story in Color Lenormand.  I’ve yet to get this deck into my collection, and it is not traditional imagery for the Lenormand by any means, but there is something about the images that I’ve seen that makes me think it will end up being a favorite for me.

Favorite Playing Card Deck — The Daydreams expansion pack of the Dixit Cards. They are not a regular playing card decks, but they are game card decks, which I personally use as intuitive oracle decks.  So maybe these should have gone up in the Oracle section?

Faunae Playing Cards Playing cards as in poker decks?  This one is slated to change very, very soon… but at the moment it is the Aqua and Creme playing cards put out by Bicycle (and are notoriously difficult to photograph), which I think might be out of print now, but can still be found on eBay from time to time.  I like them because I find the colors (as well as the distressed look of them) very soothing.   I say that they are is slated to change very soon, though, because I have backed a Kickstarter deck called the Faunae Playing Cards, and I have a feeling once I have them in my hands I am going to be enamored.

Labradorite Palm Stone The Wild Card — Favorite CrystalLabradorite has been my favorite crystal for as long as I can remember.   I connect really well with the energy of this stone (at least, as long as I avoid putting it on my forehead during meditation).  I find labradorite to be very soothing for me, and often meditate with a piece resting at my solar plexus, which can ease anxiety when I’m having issues in that department.  I’m a big fan of the large palm stones in particular, as I like that sense of “weight” with this stone, more so than any other.