Look Up Look In Cards

Finding the Positive for June 28 – 30

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Trash Panda Tarot, Under the Oak Tarot, I Am the Artist Tarot, Look Up Look In Cards, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

June 28 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was twelve minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the Calm app.

The session spoke about how we are often much harder on ourselves than we are on others, and how it’s important to check in on that tendency now and then and turn things around.  How giving ourselves a bit of understanding and compassion can go a long way to healing internal wounds both self-inflicted as well as inflicted by others.

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Today’s card is the Five of Wands combined with the affirmation “You don’t have to be related to be a family.”

Conflict happens.  It happens between friends, family, strangers, acquaintances… it just happens and its a part of life. The cards for today remind is that it’s important to remember that it doesn’t have to be the end of the world when it comes into our relationships with others.

Look… conflict in family goes hand in hand. Whether that family is by blood or through choices on who you want to surround yourself with, there’s always going to be times when the members involved butt heads with each other.  It’s a part of life and being close with others while having our own personal values and personalities.

Don’t let momentary conflicts tear apart the family you’ve built for yourself.

DECK USED: TRASH PANDA TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 29 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Temperance card combined with the affirmation “Struggling doesn’t mean you are a broken person. It means you’re the main character who is playing life on hard mode.”

It’s time to ease back off that “hard mode” setting for a bit.  Temperance is all about moderation and taking things at a more temperate pace.  Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed and take a step back, let yourself take things a bit slower for a bit, and smell the roses.

Granted, right now I can’t personally smell the roses, as I’m in the middle of battling a summer cold, but this message is all the more important in this particular instance.  Rest is needed.  Stop worrying about all the things that need to be done and beating yourself up over them not getting done.  It’s okay to take your fever reducer and burrow under a pillow right now.

DECK USED: under the oak tarot AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 30 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s cards are the Six of Pentacles combined with the Horizon card, which is about what you know and what you don’t, and how we can balance the two.

“Give yourself permission to dwell in the mystery of what you absolutely cannot be certain of and give yourself comfort in what you know to be true.” I really like this quote from the back of the Horizon card.

In an oracle reading I did recently, it was pointed out that I have a habit of turning a dumpster fire of uncertainty into a forest fire of fear. Today’s cards are a reminder that there is balance, even in moments of chaos and uncertainty.

  Those stable and secure parts of your life will help to contain the chaos, compartmentalizing it into a smaller area so that it cannot spread over the entirety of your life.  The cards here are an encouragement to see beyond the panic of those moments of uncertainty,  understand that it is not taking over your life, and acknowledge where stability still lies so that you can lean into it for a better sense of security.

DECK USED: I AM THE ARTIST TAROT AND LOOK UP LOOK IN CARDS BY MARI ANDREW

Finding the Positive for June 22 – 24

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French Art Nouveau Poster Tarot, Derakkusu ban Hihou Tarot, Nine Lives Cat Tarot, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

June 22 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is The Star card combined with the affirmation “I understand that you feel worried, but you have an amazing track record of surviving crazy times.”

In one of the servers I’m a member of, yesterday’s question of the day is if there is such a thing as “too much positivity”.  The answer to that is absolutely.  Yes.  It’s called Toxic Positivity, and takes optimism and positivity too far, creating unrealistic expectations and ignoring the negative or harmful issues for a pair of “rose colored glasses”.

I worried, when I started doing this daily mental health exercise, that it would become like that.  Toxic and ugly.  Instead, it turns out that it’s just encouraging.  There’s a great deal of negative inner talk that goes on in my head, and this daily “finding the positive” exercise helps balance that out.  It doesn’t take it away, it just makes sure that I -also- see something positive or optimistic instead of only the dark and negative.

I hope others also feel that way about it when they read it.

Today’s cards are about hope, and about trusting that even in the most painful of times that there is an end and a change somewhere ahead in the future.  That it won’t last forever, and that when things are at their roughest?  We don’t need to thrive or succeed… we just need to survive until the tides change.

DECK USED: FRENCH ART NOUVEAU POSTERS TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 23 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Eight of Swords combined with the “View From a Train” card.

The View From a Train card is about that sensation that happens when you are still and something else is moving, and it makes you believe for just a moment that -you- are moving.  Such as when sitting in a stationary train looking out the window and the train beside yours moves… and you think it’s your train moving.

Combined with the Eight of Swords, these cards pose the question… are you actually moving toward your goals and aspirations? Or are you actually standing still and stagnant while the chaos of life around you fools you into thinking you are?

The encouragement here between the interaction of these two cards is to take the time to make clear and quantitative steps towards your goals instead of just assuming that you’re “getting there”.  Open your eyes, take control, and make a conscious decision to act become true movement forward.

DECK USED: DERAKKUSU BAN HIHOU TAROTAND LOOK UP LOOK IN CARDS BY MARI ANDREW

June 24 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Knight of Pentacles combined with the affirmation “Just try. It’s okay if it’s not as good as yesterday.”

Progress takes time.  Sometimes? We have setbacks along the way, and that’s okay.  As long as we continue to keep our eye on the goal?  We’re going to get there eventually.

Today’s cards are a reminder that it’s impossible to be at our best every single day, and that that’s okay.  It doesn’t mean we’re failing or that we should give up, it just means we need to adjust our expectations of ourselves to fit rather than pushing ourselves so hard that it becomes impossible to meet those expectations at all.

DECK USED: NINE LIVES CAT TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

Finding the Positive for June 16 – 18

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Pot Tarot, The Last of Its Kind Tarot, Dream Raven Tarot, Look Up Look In Cards, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

June 16 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s cards are a combination of the Desert Sky card and the Four of Pipes (Swords).

I read somewhere, once upon a time, that minimalism in decor was so popular among high powered executives because it gave them a counterbalance to the chaos of “too much” in their lives when it comes to stress and responsibility.

That is what the Desert Sky card reminded me of today when it was pulled. That need for a moment of emptiness to counterbalance the chaos in our lives.  For me, I often find that moment in my meditation practice, but that is far from the only way to find it.  Even just looking out over a desert filled with so much open space and nothingness can give us that, or staring up at the vast openness of a clear blue sky.

Combined with the Desert Sky card, the Four of Swords card reminds us that rest and recuperation is just as important as energetic drive and motivation.  We need both.  Not one or the other, but both.  For you cannot go into the world head long and full bore all the time.  You have to sit down and rest sometimes too.  That’s what balance is all about.

DECK USED: POT TAROT AND LOOK UP LOOK IN CARDS BY MARI ANDREW

June 17 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Eight of Earth (Pentacles) combined with the affirmation “It’s okay to feel lost sometimes. All we can do is move forward in a direction that makes sense to us and hope for the best.”

Over the course of our lives, we all develop skills that are honed over time and effort.  Sometimes, we take these skills for granted, though, and when that happens, it can be hard not to feel rudderless and a bit lost.

The combination in today’s cards speaks of that feeling, and offers us a reminder that those skills we’ve learned, developed, and honed over time are still there.  They’re there even if we take them for granted, and the inspiration and motivation that created them still lives there within those skills. It’s okay to feel lost and just keep doing what you’ve been doing all along.  After all, it’s what you’ve been doing all along that honed those skills for you in the first place.

In time, you’ll be able to focus on them again, realize them and stop taking them for granted, and you’ll realize that you’re as lost as you felt you were, but moving along your own unique path all along.

DECK USED: THE LAST OF ITS KIND TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 18 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Page of Pentacles combined with the affirmation “Today’s a better day because you exist.”

There are always going to be days where all we want to do is hide away from the world.  Everyone has them (some just hide from the rest of us it better than others do).   Today’s affirmation combined with the Page of Pentacles is a reminder that we have something to offer the world and those around us, even on the difficult days.

We are all learning, and we’re all growing, a little at a time.  When we share ourselves with others, we give others the opportunity to learn from us, and they in turn give us an opportunity to learn from them.   You share what’s special about you, even on the days when you don’t feel special at all, and they share what’s special about them.  It’s a pretty fair trade… even on days when you’d rather hide away.

DECK USED: DREAM RAVEN TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

Finding the Positive for June 7 – 9

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ORIENT Tarot 2022, Under the Oak Tarot, Tarot of the Magical Forest, Look Up Look In Cards, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

June 7 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Star combined with the affirmation “You’re handling it all well. You’ll be okay.”

The Star card is about hope, and even more specifically, it is about faith.  Today’s cards are a reminder that you can’t push back against that negative inner narrative in your head and it’s influence on your life if you’re not actually pushing back.

Positivity and optimism do not come easily to you, but in using them as a tool to push back against those negative thoughts, they make a difference.  Don’t allow anxiety to take control and spiral you into darkness. Instead?  Lean into positive thinking and allow it to help lift you up and keep you afloat.

DECK USED: ORIENT TAROT 2022 AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 8 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyCalm sessions from the Calm app. The topic of today’s meditation was about enlightenment, and how it’s not when we seek enlightenment that we find it.  Rather, it’s when we go about our everyday lives and begin to acknowledge the sacred in the every day that our journey to enlightenment begins.

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Today’s card is the King of Swords (Odin) combined with the affirmation “There is no one perfect way. You’re doing just fine.”

Clever comes in all shapes and sizes, and is filled with innovation and new ideas.  When you build the lore of your own life, are you going to want to look at all you’ve done and say “I colored inside the lines” or, alternately, are you going to want to look back and say “I did it MY way and it was brilliant”?

The cards for today are a reminder that coloring inside the lines is boring.  Break the mold and do things your way.  Show the world just how clever and innovative and original you are, instead of trying to conform to what you think everyone else wants.  Be a trail blazer instead of another of the sheep.

Even the greatest of leaders sometimes have moments of uncertainty.  That doesn’t mean that they back down and fall in line among the masses, but rather that they continue to walk their own path despite those moments.

DECK USED: UNDER THE OAK TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 9 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s cards are the Two of Pentacles combined with the “Overcast” affirmation card.

The Overcast affirmation card is all about the moody comfort of days  in the comfort of overcast skies, and time taken to evaluate one’s life and oneself.  The card asks you to examine how things are going in your relationships, your work, your hobbies and home life.  To look at these areas of importance in your life and focus on what’s going -well- in them as well as what could be improved upon.

The Two of Pentacles combined with this card brings in the aspect of balance into this examination and evaluation.  Where are you pushing too hard?  Where aren’t you pushing hard enough and need to ease up?  How do these different aspects of your life play against each other.  Are you balancing them well? Or is something being neglected… or perhaps over-attended to?

Balance is not easy, and it’s a constant challenge of change and adaptation.  Balance, though, is easier to obtain and maintain if you’re willing to take a step back every once in a while to look at the big picture, and how different parts of your life are interacting with each other.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE MAGICAL FOREST AND LOOK UP LOOK IN CARDS BY MARI ANDREW

Finding the Positive for June 1 – 3

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Hanson Roberts Tarot, Mana-Fest Tarot Awaken Edition, I Am the Artist Tarot, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

June 1

Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the #DailyCalm sessions in the Calm app. Honestly? I’ve been using this app since it first came out, and I have to say that I was really leery of subscribing to it (it’s not cheap, after all) for  years, but it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made as far as apps are concerned.  They’ve put a -lot- into the app over the years and it’s hands-down my favorite app to use for meditation… even on days like today when I can’t for the life of me remember a single thing that was said during the session.

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Today’s card is the Ten of Pentacles combined with the affirmation “Hey friend, I know the self loathing feels productive, but life is just too hard to justify you being a butt toward yourself today.”

Right, so… Growing up, perfectionism was something to be expected. And that expectation then became internalized… which in turn turned into self-loathing, self-cruelty, and a really vicious negative inner narrative whenever you don’t live up to what are essentially impossible expectations.

The cards today are a reminder that those expectations are, in fact, impossible.  And that instead of spending your time poking and prodding yourself into trying to satisfy them, you need to take more time to look around at what you’ve accomplished in your life and how you have built a life that includes others who love you and depend on you as well as a foundation that is steady beneath not just your feet… but theirs too.

Does it look like that impossible expectation you try to berate yourself into accomplishing?  No.  It’s better… because it’s all yours.  A perfect fit for you and those important to you, which is much better than trying to wear a shoe that belongs to someone else.

DECK USED: HANSON-ROBERTS TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 2

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Page of Cups combined with the affirmation “You deserve a good life.”

The affirmation in today’s cards begs the question… what -is- a good life?

I feel that the answer to this is different for everyone. It’s entirely subjective, and is up to our imagination to explore and define.  Together with the Page of Cups, the message in today’s cards is about going after one’s dreams and allowing yourself to dream of the future instead of plugging along in the monotony of constant struggle.

We can achieve what we dream for ourselves, and have our own personal version of a good life… but only if we’re actually willing to dream it, and allow ourselves to see those dreams as something we deserve.

DECK USED: MANA-FEST TAROT LIGHT WEAVE EDITION AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

June 3

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Ten of Wands combined with the “Evening” card that speaks of taking time to unwind from hard days and let yourself relax and recover.

The Ten of Wands is about overwhelm.  It’s about taking on so much that we just cannot take on any more, and the burnout that can come from that overwhelm.  It’s that last straw… the one that breaks the camel’s back.

The combination of the Evening card with the Ten of Wands is a reminder that to stave off burnout, we need down time.  We need time to unwind and take a breath, to set down our burdens and let ourselves recover from the overwhelm.

These cards are an encouragement to do just that, and a reminder that we’re all human… we all have only two arms and two legs.  Don’t put so much on your plate that you can no longer take the recovery time you need, or pretty soon you won’t be able to carry any of it at all.

DECK USED: I AM THE ARTIST TAROT AND LOOK UP LOOK IN CARDS