Hush tarot

Stay On Target

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Today’s meditation was just over fifteen minutes long and tacked into the tail end of my yoga and physio exercises.   I used the time to do some extra stretches with my hip as I’ve had a lot of stiffness there lately, but also to focus on breathing exercises.

Briefly, during the meditation, I had a really nice moment where the anxiety that’s been riding me the past week or two eased up a bit.   Like the knot relaxed, if just for a moment.

Eight of Wands - Tarot of the Hidden RealmToday’s draw is the Eight of Wands, which is generally a representation of movement, fast paced change, and alacrity as well as honed focus.

What I see in today’s card is an order to stay focused.   Today is your birthday, and I want to make sure I have time to spend with you so you can open your gifts, and so that we can hopefully get a bit of play in as well.   In order to do that, I need to stay focused and get my work done early so that I have that extra time to give.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM

#TarotForGrowthFebruary Challenge Prompt
Question: What is my relationship with rest?

Hush Tarot

Reading Summary:  Reading based off intuitive hits from the imagery rather than traditional card meanings.  I know what I need to do (Ace of Pentacles), but I’m all tangled up (Five of Spears) because I’m too busy trying to get somewhere (Wheel of Fortune).

Take Away:  The dove has the key to what I need to do, she rests and offers that knowledge, but the snakes make it clear that I’m being blocked by an tangle of distraction as I try to move forward like the ant floating on the leaf.  Essentially, my goals and aspirations are constantly pushing me forward and blocking my ability to rest effectively.

DECK USED:  HUSH TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What is the best and worst thing about getting older?

Hide TarotBest thing about getting older : Finding security both in yourself and your situation. Although not everyone finds financial security later in life, what they do find is a stability and knowledge in who they are and where they’ve been.  This creates a foundation and sense of inner security that youth haven’t yet discovered as they haven’t yet fully explored themselves and their potential yet.

Worst thing about getting older : Looking back on the past and all those things you wish you’d done.  Getting older has a lot of regrets, and if not regrets?  Lost opportunities.  We all have them, and this card indicates one of the worst things about getting older is looking back on those lost opportunities and letting your mind meander down the “what ifs” of if you had just done this or that.

DECK USED:  HIDE TAROT

Owl and Bones February Two Card Challenge
Question: Brag / Be Humble

Tarot of the Lucid SlumberBrag : The unique shit that I’ve done in life that make it a life worth living.  Maybe because I started off on my own so much earlier than most of my generation, I’ve had a lot of experiences  along the way that are helpful in giving others hope for getting through their own struggles.   These experiences aren’t always pleasant, but they are still adventures of one sort or another… and have made me who I am.  Sharing them, and my triumph over them, helps me in helping others.

Be Humble :  The nefarious shit that I probably shouldn’t have done, but turned out okay regardless.  I have a very honed moral compass, and a very eclectically unique code of ethics… that said?  I was dumb and young once too, no matter how early I matured.  I did the wrong thing from time to time, I fucked up from time to time… I did things that I look back on and am sad about from time to time too.   These lapses in judgement are moments I need to keep to myself, regardless of how much they may have assisted me in my own growth and in becoming the man that I am now.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LUCID SLUMBER

Finding the Path Forward

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IMG_2723Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused upon not allowing yourself to get so caught up in “following the herd” that you lose track of your own autonomy.

This is not something that I have a problem with, but it is a trap that I see people fall into all the time.  Peer pressure is a real thing, and just because it’s not something I personally find myself swayed by doesn’t mean that it’s not permeated in those around me.  I see people all the time do things that they readily admit are not right for them… but yet do them anyway because it is expected of them or they have been pressured into it.

Perhaps I am simply too stubborn?  It is not as if I haven’t experienced such pressures.  My father pushed them on me on a daily basis…. I just chose not to let them influence my choices.   Then again, I am the one that constantly thinks nothing I do is quite good enough, yes?  So maybe he managed to wriggle his way in there after all.

Three of Clouds - Majestic Earth TarotToday’s draw is the Three of Clouds, which is the equivalent of the Three of Swords in the regular RWS tarot.

Although in this imagery I see the jagged rocks like ragged teeth chomping at the sky, a dangerous and deadly peril to all that try to pass through them… what I also see is the ripple of light upon the water.

The message in today’s draw is that even in the roughest of times, even when things look their darkest and the struggle is at its greatest, there is still hope.   There is still a light that will guide you forward, even in those hardest of times.  Like the rippling light on the water’s surface shows the way to shore, there is a path to freedom from these difficult times, sometimes you just have to be willing to take your time to get there.

DECK USED:  MAJESTIC EARTH TAROT

#TarotForGrowthFebruary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I improve my relationship with my work?

Stretch Tarot

Reading Summary:  I need to spend more time looking at my work as fun (Knight of Wands) and allow the spark of joy creating can give (Knight of Cups) carry me away (The Chariot).

Take Away:  When I went through the month of January saturated in the effects of my buried fear tucked down deep within my gut?  I lost a lot of the joy that comes with my work and the creative process.  To have a better relationship with my work, I need to focus on rediscovering that joyful spark that creativity and manifestation of beautiful things can give me.

DECK USED:  STRETCH TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do Spread #2
How can I ease my recent increase in anxiety?’

Hush Tarot

Reading Summary: Let it out (colors flow from dark to light to red, speaking of a transition from mellow and murky to a chaos of… outburst.  This impression is further reinforced by the Owl that seems to protect and shelter, and then the one crow in freedom before the trio that are in chaos.   These patterns follow what it feels like to me to go from holding something inside, to deciding I need to let it out, to the chaos of actually allowing whatever it is out into the open to speak about it with others.

There is also the element within the first card that speaks not just of shelter but danger.  The mouse clings for dear life.  The skull is buried and embedded within the clock.  You can only box things up for so long.    In the second card the bird is among the weeds looking out at freedom.  In the third, freedom has been found, but in order to find it, there is a need to accept chaos and allow it to run its course.

Take Away:  If I want the anxiety I’ve been experiencing lately (especially in the morning when waking up) to ease, I need to stop suppressing the things that are bothering me and get them out in the open. It will feel uncomfortable and chaotic, but sometimes the calm of suppression is far worse for you.

DECK USED:  HUSH TAROT

Owl and Bones February Two Card Challenge
Question: When am I a fish out of water? / When am I in my element?

WWI Propaganda Posters TarotWhen am I a fish out of water? :  Rivalry and competition cause me to retreat in exhaustion.  Although I am able to hold my own just fine, it brings me no joy or sense of accomplishment.

When am I in my element? :  When helping others.  I feel a deep sense of peace and accomplishment when I am able to help others and find ways to assist them on their path.

DECK USED:  WWI PROPAGANDA POSTERS TAROT

 

The Long View

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Today’s been kind of a clusterfuck of a day, and I haven’t managed to meditate yet, although I did give it a couple of tries throughout the day.   I will try for it again when I go to bed here in a bit.

Seven of Pentacles - Tarot of the Hidden RealmToday’s draw is the Seven of Pentacles, which I felt was pretty fitting for today considering the drama that went on (and has been going on over the last few days) on the Discord server.

The appearance of the Seven of Pentacles is to remember to take the “long view” of the situation and the community as a whole.   Yes, there’s drama right now… but it’s temporary.   The building and maintaining of a community is more than just a moment or a few days.  It’s built over time and adaptation and it’s a learning process.   Over time, that community grows and evolves, develops and strengthens.  Part of that process is the times of drama and difficulty.

The card is a reminder that the drama is temporary, and the focus needs to lie on what’s ahead and what is being built, instead of getting too wrapped up in the moment.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM

#TarotForGrowthFebruary Challenge Prompt
Question: What is my relationship with the present?

Hush Tarot

Reading Summary: There is a resistance to change going on (Six of Swords), and although I’m longing inner happiness and trying to find the path to seeking it (Nine of Cups, I’m having trouble letting go and it’s making moving on a struggle (Five of Cups). I might need to look at balancing the negatives and positives of the moment, rather than trying to overcome the negatives involved (Two of Pentacles).

Take Away:  The reading is about roadblocks and hurdles.  It’s about struggling to find a way forward and having trouble with moving forward. I’m still feeling quite stuck, even after identifying the fear issue.  That struggle is reflected in the cards, along with the suggestion of a different perspective concerning it (ie: balance as opposed to trying to overcome).

DECK USED:  HUSH TAROT

Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

SCS

Earth – Queen of Pentacles and 8 of Clubs / Moss Woman (Tread Carefully) – You have somewhere to be and some fierce energy to get you there, but you need to remember to take it slow and careful.  Your steps toward stability and a place of comfort and ease are going to take some time.  Don’t rush it.

Air – Seven of Spears and 4 of Clubs / Faerie Collector (Luck) – You might feel like you need to play defense this week, but remember that luck is on your side and as long as you keep your stable footing, everything is going to be okay.

Water – The Hermit and 3 of Hearts / Beauty in the Bark (Dangerous Emotions) – Don’t allow yourself to sink into feelings of being the “odd man out” in group situations this week. That feeling creeps up at the most unexpected times, but it’s a lying whisper in your ear and not based in reality.

Fire – Two of Spears and 5 of Clubs / Faerie Magic (Energy Power) – There’s going to be some opposition during the week, but just stay on task and keep your goals in mind as you go forward into the week. Plow forward and you’ll leave the struggles in your dust.

Waning – Ginkgo – Work on letting go of the past and letting go of the issues that were spurred from past trauma.  Holding onto these memories and emotions isn’t doing you (or anyone else) any good.

Waxing – Baobab – Take refuge in the present and don’t push too hard towards the future this week.  It’s okay to take some time and savor the now.

Take Away –  This week is a time of transition.  The fear from the letter, the issues with father that were raised in the fall, all of these things need to be set aside.  Not buried, but set aside.  It’s not as easy as it sounds, but something’s gotta give, and it’s better to release than have bones shatter by holding on too tightly.

DECKS USED: HUSH TAROT, FAERIES OF THE FOREST CARDS, WISDOM OF THE TREES ORACLE