Magic Tarot

It Won’t Last Forever

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped because I spent the time digging through steamer trunks full of decks pulling out the decks that go into rotation for next month.  Since tomorrow I have to do orders and pull everything in from the balcony, I wanted to get this done today so I’m prepared for the transition.

Magic Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Five of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of misfortune, domestic or financial hardship, scarcity, and ill health.

Sometimes when we’re feeling down or we are down on our luck, we begin to look at everything with a jaded and pessimistic view.  It feels like our luck will never change, that the troubles we are going through will last forever, and that there’s no way out. This is what I see in the imagery in today’s card, as the look on the girl’s face in the illustration very much has that feeling of resentment that comes with sinking into losing hope.

The Flower Fortunes card for today then steps in to remind us that “Your golden opportunity is coming shortly,” which is a reminder that even though it might feel like the misfortune of the moment is something inescapable that will never change… that is not reality.  The reality is that our lives are in constant change, and that constant flux means that in the bad times we need to remember that good times are just around the corner… and in the good times we need to savor and enjoy them to the fullest.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

Raven Willow Tarot’s Emotional Exploration Prompt
Questions for May 29th and 30th

Heroine TarotWhat have I learned about enhancing emotions?
Knight of Swords Rx

Knight of Swords Rx – What I’ve learned is that in order to enhance the emotions you want to grow and flourish in your life, it takes forethought. It isn’t about wishing for something or leaping in headlong and reckless, but rather, it’s about finding a healthy path that will get you there.

What have I learned about emotions overall this month?
Justice, Five of Swords Rx, Four of Wands

I’ve learned that unlike clinical depression, there is always a cause and affect when it comes to (non mental illness related) emotions. And that, also unlike clinical depression, you don’t have to just surrender to what comes and accept that you have to ride it out, but can use positivity and optimism combined with security and comfort to counteract negative emotions.  In other words, you don’t have to just lie down and take it.

DECK USED:  THE HEROINE TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #2
Question: How can I combat or release this feeling of inner imbalance I’ve been experiencing lately?

Magic TarotReading Summary: Take control of your urges to help others and foster their ambitions, inspiration, and emotions.

Reading Notes:  The Queens in this spread go from enthusiastic to sedate in the imagery, each one calmer and more at rest than the last.  The king then trumps them all by overlapping on the last of the Queen cards.   This transition from excited to calm overlapped by the King is an indication of a decrease in enthusiasm and increase in solid strength and ownership.

Take Away: You can only do so much. Instead of focusing so much of your energy on others, be sure to be practical about saving some for yourself. This may mean strategically or even ruthlessly cutting out certain things to make room.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I hung up on my mother because she was being a horrible person on the phone.

Morning Bonus Read – Third Eye Reading

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Magic Tarot - Third Eye Tarot Reading

My Third Eye Energy Right Now

King of Cups – If you want full use of your intuition, you need to allow your emotions free reign.  They are connected and you know this.  Own your emotions and don’t spend time trying to deny them.  Get comfortable in their presence instead of shirking away.  This card is not so much about where you are now, but about what you need now in this area.

Tension I’m currently holding in this area.

Knight of Coins – You are looking at everything as work and progress. It’s holding you back from experiencing things fully in the moment when you constantly look at everything as another step forward.

How I can release this tension.

Knight of Cups – Spend more time in the now. Enjoy the moment instead of constantly planning and plotting your way forward again and again.  More time stopping to smell the roses will connect you more closely to what brings you pleasure and that, in turn, will make your connection to your emotions and intuition stronger.

A message from my intuition.

The Chariot – Stop fucking around. Plotting and planning, scheming and strategizing.  You’re doing everything except moving forward because all this extraneous shit is holding you up and holding you back.  Snap the reigns and start moving into your growth instead of hedging at it.

Something my dreams are trying to tell me.

Page of Cups – Again, don’t forget that your emotions and your intuition are intimately connected. This reading is filled with Cups for a reason.  As you learn and grow in your emotional growth, so too will your intuition grow.

Something about my psychic abilities I should explore.

Nine of Cups –  Don’t worry about it right now.  As noted above, as you learn and grow through your emotional growth, so too will your intuition grow. This is a natural evolution.  You’ve spent a long time developing your intuition and your trust in it.  Allow it to strengthen and appreciate what it adds to your life.  Gratitude… not grasping.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

Time To Climb

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was a little over ten minutes long, and although it was a guided meditation, I got so far into the zone that I don’t think I heard a word of it.  It was very relaxing and was primarily focused on the selenite resting against my solar plexus, and the ebb and flow of my energy timed to match my breaths.

Tarot of the SidheToday’s draw is the Dreamer Four (Four of Swords), which is traditionally a representation of taking time to rest and recover, a restorative pause along your path, and can indicate a time of needed recuperation and healing.

I actually have a bit of difficulty with the imagery on this card.  Something about it hearkens back to the Lady Freda Harris artwork of the original Thoth deck, and although this card does not make me internally flinch the way the artwork in that other deck does?  It does create a feeling of discomfort. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the curved rays crisscrossing behind the sun?   I don’t know.  It’s uncomfortable.

That said… I do see the symbolism here in the figure in the center and the glowing sun.  The mountains and clouds.   And that actually does speak to me today.

The message here is a reminder that sometimes restoration and recovery isn’t about taking a nap or lying down, or resting the body at all.   Sometimes it’s about getting outside and connecting with nature, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the exertion of doing something you love that makes the body work and lungs strain.

It’s a reminder that I need to go for a hike this weekend.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling to move past trauma.
Question: What are my expectations of how my loved ones should support my healing?

El Gran Tarot Esoterico

Reading Summary: They should instinctively know what I need (The High Priestess), and come forward on their own to take on more responsibility and control (The Chariot) so that I don’t feel so overburdened (Ten of Wands).

Take Away:  Well, that made me squirm a bit to admit. Okay so I guess I do sort of feel this way sometimes… even though I know that these expectations are ridiculous, and that I need to communicate what’s going on so that my loved ones know what I need and when I need it. As much as they want to help, they aren’t mind readers.

DECK USED:  EL GRAN TAROT ESOTERICO

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What accomplishment from this month deserves celebration?

Stunning TarotReading Summary: Choosing (Two of Swords) to work on my inner dynamic (The High Priestess) by focusing on the good in my life and what makes me happy (Nine of Cups), and prioritizing it  over the habitual urge to close myself off and bear down on my business (Nine of Wands).

Take Away:  Honestly, I hadn’t really felt like I had accomplished all that much this month. And then this reading made me realize that I might have something done something rather significant after all.  The fact that this is such a significant accomplishment is that it’s something I have never done before.  Something I never would have even considered okay to do.

But this year I’ve worked very hard to allow my emotional growth some free reign, and to give myself more slack than I’ve ever given myself before.  I’ve found myself trying to heal inner wounds I didn’t even realize existed and, in some cases, actually thought were positive traits.  Traits that I’ve come to realize are harmful.

This month I made it the entire month where every day I made a concerted effort to not push so hard or demand so much, but instead focus upon the things that make me happy and create positive emotional responses.  I’ve focused on not abusing myself, but instead fostering that internal need to do less, and enjoy more.    I think that’s pretty significant.

DECK USED:  STUNNING TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Topic: Give thought to all of your August lessons and draw a card.

Encore Tarot - Knight of Swords“Preparation paves the road” is the lesson that came to mind in relation to this month and that is the lesson I focused upon when pulling this card. The Knight of Swords here then signified the swift action that prior preparation and planning can encourage. It’s much easier to go after what you want and get the things done that you need to get done, when you’ve done the prep work first and everything is in order and ready for you.

Somewhere along the line I managed to forget this very valuable lesson. I have been saving all of my orders work to be done on certain days, and on other days I was just doing random crap that needed done. This might work when things are really slow… but it doesn’t work at all when you have a lot that needs to get done.  As the end of the month has approached, this lesson has become more and more apparent, and it’s time to start spreading my work out more, so that I’m not racing the clock so often or doing so many all-nighters on Mondays and Thursdays.

DECK USED:  ENCORE TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How would I feel without sadness/anger/disappointment?

Magic Tarot

Reading Summary: Incomplete (Nine of Swords) and half blind (Eight of Swords) with very little motivation (Knight of Wands Rx).

Note:  Nine of Swords represents “incomplete” in this spread because the question is about cutting out everything that the Nine of Swords represents.  This makes its presence in the spread an outlier… on the edges alone and bleeding.

Take Away:  The fact is is that people need these negative emotions to help balance out the positive ones. Without that balance you cannot be whole and complete… nor can you grow, because you will be left blinded and unable to see due to half of the language the world uses teach you being silenced.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

Confidence vs. Ego

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and a simple relaxing harp strings meditation with an intermittent timer just to keep me on track.  I did some basic piriformis stretching, but nothing particularly strenuous or difficult.  I just wanted a nice, peaceful meditation and that’s exactly what I got for once.

Next World Tarot - Knight of WandsToday’s draw is the Knight of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of an active, projective beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s enthusiasm and drive.

Interestingly, although I usually relate pretty strongly to the Knight of Wands, the imagery in this card just… doesn’t do it for me.   The barren ground… the smirking expression.  It’s just doesn’t speak of that drive that I usually associate with this card.

Instead, what I see here is ego. It’s that “Yeah baby, I’m so good my farts don’t stink… they fly like chocolate flavored eagles in a sky that wants to emulate my fashion sense.”

Cracks up… and there’s the message right? Watch your ego. Don’t get too cocky.  Confidence is great, but don’t let it go so far that it becomes a detriment  and blinds you to your own flaws and mistakes.

DECK USED:  NEXT WORLD TAROT

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling to move past trauma.
Question: What do I think a healing journey “should” look like?

Anthro Tarot

Reading Summary: A well planned out direction (Two of Wands), leading to epiphany moments (Judgement), followed by better balance (Two of Pentacles).

Take Away:  Yes, I know that that vision of what a healing journey should look like is unrealistic.  Nothing is ever that simple.   But when I imagine what a “healing journey” should look like… that’s what my idea scenario feels like.  A plotted course that has a plan on where I intend to end up and how I’m going to get there, and moments of realization and epiphany along the way that assist in finding new perspectives and easing self judgements, followed by a healed self with better balance in the different areas of my life as a byproduct.   It’s a wonderful fantasy, yeah?

DECK USED:  ANTHRO TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Remember / Forgive / Forget

Spark and Pen TarotRemember – Two of Wands and King of Pentacles
Remember what you’ve learned about planning turning into paying off. I’m not sure that this is a lesson I’m going to forget very soon, but there are times when I do forget… usually when my enthusiasm and excitement cause me to get carried away.  The message here in these cards though is that you need a direction to climb in in order to reach the top.

Forgive – Six of Cups and The Moon
Forgive yourself for the times in life when you’ve been uncertain and stop beating yourself up about them. In my youth, I made a number of bad choices and a there was a lot of trial and error in learning how to survive on my own and thrive. Sometimes I look back on those times and some of the things I’d done… and I feel a disappointment and negative judgement. The cards here are indicating that instead of holding onto these things, I need to let them go and forgive myself for them.

Forget – Page of Wands and Five of Cups
Forget the hardships that came with learning how to get where you are. Shit happened… There were doubts… That’s no reason to keep emotionally rehashing the past and those learning experiences. You learned the lessons and can retain them without the need to hold on to the emotional pleasantries and negative inner narrative that comes up when these hardships and all that happened during them are rehashed.

Take Away – Hold onto the lessons and let go of the blame and negative self judgement. Everyone learns some lessons in life the hard way, and that’s okay.  Plot  your course to success, and leave the past in the past where it belongs.

DECK USED:  SPARK AND PEN TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Question: Where can the element of Air empower my psyche?

Magic Tarot

Reading Summary: Enthusiasm (Ace of Wands) and intuition (The High Priestess), flavored by a go get’em creative flow at its core (Knight of Cups).

Take Away:  The element of air empowers my psyche by giving me the tools to go after what inspires my creativity.  Those tools are a combination of enthusiasm and intuition.  As my creativity carries me forward and I dive into those things that stir up my creative juices, it’s those elements of enthusiasm and intuition that feed into and swirl through my creativity to allow manifestation and actual creation to take place.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What memories bring me pain?

Monstarot

Reading Summary: Creativity and imagination (Page of Cups) drawing praise from others (Six of Wands), that ends up resulting in being alone (The Hermit).

Take Away:  There have been many times in my life where I’ve had my imagination and creativity flowing, while being encouraged and praised by those around me. That imagination and creativity seems to draw them in and their praise makes me feel like maybe there is a connection there between me and these people, and yet instead of sticking around when I need a little time to myself, they always end up disappearing for good and leaving me alone when I come back from my temporary retreats into myself.  This experience has made me feel used… which, of course, hurt.

This was an unexpected result of the reading of this question.  Not that it’s not true… it absolutely is.  It’s just not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about or examining before.  A lot of the really thought provoking answers I’ve gotten lately have been about how I relate to others.  This reading adds into those previous readings, creating another angle of perspective for them.

DECK USED:  MONSTAROT

Hope Lives… Even In Darkness

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and I was a little fidgety. I think it was because I got so much sleep last night that I ended up with a bit of excess energy trying to find a way free. Or maybe my body and mind just liked the hike so much yesterday that it was itching to go out for another one.   That is very possible as well.

Next World TarotToday’s draw is the Five of Pentacles, which is a representation of struggles, tests, trials, and conflicts in the area of one’s finances, resources, hearth and home, health, or manifestations.

The there was no one thing that really stood out to me in this card today, but what really stood out was the overall atmosphere.  All the buildings for sale and this girl sits with all her things packed up looking out at what surely feels like a wasteland at this moment.  In truth, the imagery really hit home considering the news that I’d gotten the other day about the possible fate of my own home.

I think sometimes we all have that feeling of the world falling apart around us.  When we’re in that moment, it’s hard to see that there might be a light down there at the end of the tunnel.  We don’t realize that we just can’t see it yet.

The message in today’s card is to not give up hope… even when things feel hopeless.  Even when things feel like they’re falling apart.   Don’t give up hope. This is just one more than that’s only temporary.

DECK USED:  NEXT WORLD TAROT

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m plagued by anxiety.
Question: How is anxiety trying to help me?

Odd Hand Tarot

Reading Summary: My anxiety is trying to warn me when I become too confident (Six of Wands) in my security and stability (King of Pentacles)… so that I can make sure I’m seeing the path before me clearly and won’t end up tripping over anything along the way (Eight of Cups).

Take Away:  Sometimes when you get a little too comfortable in your current situation, you can forget to look ahead, and forget to keep in mind that hard times are sure to come again eventually in one form or another.  My anxiety is a reminder not to get so comfortable that I forget to look forward and watch my step.

DECK USED:  ODD HAND TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #3

Magic TarotSeeds Sown – Ten of Pentacles – Of the seeds that I planted in the spring concerning my emotional growth, what has managed to flourish and grow strong is that I’ve been able to find more a centered and balanced sense of fulfillment in what I have in the present and where I am in my life.

The Chaff – Queen of Wands – Of those seeds that I planted in the spring, what has not flourished into fruition is that I didn’t get all of the creative things done that I wanted to accomplish this summer, such as the wood burning project. But that’s okay, and I need to let that disappointment go so that I can be “large and in charge” in other areas now that the fall is coming.

The Harvest – Temperance – To prepare to reap the benefits of the seeds that have flourished, I need to make sure I’m practicing patience and moderation as I move into the fall so that I can give my harvest the best chance of coming to fruition.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: What feelings serve me best explored instead of ignored?

Big Things In Small Packages Tarot

The Sun – Joy. This is a feeling that I struggle with feeling I deserve. Instead of ignoring it, though, it’s one that I need to embrace and enjoy more often.  Too often I push it away in favor of responsibility and obligation.

Three of Wands – The urge to turn down the troubled path rather than a healthy one is something I’ve always struggled with.  These self destructive urges are by their very nature… self destructive.  Ignoring them doesn’t make them go away.  Instead it’s important to sort through those feelings when they rise up, and figure out where they’re coming from.

Queen of Pentacles Rx – Self-indulgence as a way to deal with my emotions is another of my self destructive patterns. This is one of those unhealthy paths mentioned in the Three of Wands.  It’s just that we are getting into specifics.  This is about consumption. Like with most self destructive urges, it’s important to seek out why they have arisen rather than sweeping them under the rug.

DECK USED:  BIG THINGS IN SMALL PACKAGES TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How can I bring more joy into my life?

Anthro Tarot

Reading Summary: Make sure you have direction (Three of Wands), but at the same time don’t push so hard (Eight of Pentacles Rx) that it steals away your joy (Seven of Swords).

Take Away: The message here is not so much about bringing more joy into my life but allowing it to have space there so that it can flourish on its own.  When I push too hard towards the future and make myself work too hard towards goals I become too damned focused on?   It smothers out the joy in my life.   So it’s okay to have direction… but don’t go overboard.  Leave space for joy, and it will grow and flourish in my life all on its own.

DECK USED:  ANTHRO TAROT

Everything is Temporary

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was curtailed in preference for more sleep. I’m not recovering from the all-nighters the way that I used to.  I guess it’s one of those “getting older” signs that I can’t just bounce back the way I used to.   Instead of meditation, I chose to go with more sleep and more time with you.   Tomorrow, I’ll get back on track with the self care, but today?  I really just wanted to spend time with you and get through the crapload of mail that I’d picked up yesterday.  I’m happy with the fact that I was able to manage both of those things today.

Tarot of the Sidhe - Dancer EightToday’s draw is is the Dancer Eight (Eight of Cups) card, which is traditionally a representation of walking away from a bad situation, abandoning what isn’t working, or releasing emotional burdens.

I like the interpretation in the key words for this card.  “Escaping Stagnation” is a beautiful interpretation of the Eight of Cups.   The imagery here of the woman leaving the dead grey waters behind her in preference for a path towards life and the sun speaks strongly to me of climbing out of the dark pit of depression to once again be able to recognize and seek out the light.

Depression, at least in my case, is not a choice.  Although there is much I can do to stave it off and lessen its effects, the fact is that it isn’t a situational reaction but rather an imbalance.  When climbing out of a depression, it feels an awful lot like the sloughing off of shadows that cling to one’s form and weighs one down, just as in this image the gray mud may try to cling, but slowly releases and sloughs away as she pulls free of its grip.

The message here is one of encouragement.  A message to bolster the heart and mind and soul when things are feeling dark or overwhelming.

Everything is temporary… including the bad stuff.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Can we understand good without evil?

Tarot of WhyReading Summary:  Defenses up (Nine of Wands) in response to sloppy drunkenness (imagery in the King of Cups). A resting time for to gear up and recover from being overburdened (Knave of Wands), followed by depth of understanding through empathy (Queen of Cups).

Take Away:  No.  When we are approached by something unpleasant, we learn to create defenses, but we also grow, and through growth something good is born (empathy).  This is the pattern shown in these cards.

Although I’m sure that good can exist without evil, I do not think that humanity is able to understand good without the existence of evil.   The cards here speak of the things that create defensive feelings, and how we learn through growth.  None of this is possible without lessons to help us in learning, and one of those lessons is given through the contrast we find between good and evil.  

DECK USED:  TAROT OF WHY

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: How can focusing on creation support my path/journey?

Hero Analysis for the Future #79 MHA Tarot

Reading Summary:  Youthful enthusiasm (The Fool) kindles the fires of creative ownership (King of Wands) and create a sense of emotional fulfillment in my creative endeavors (Ten of Cups).

Take Away:  Focusing on creation instills a sense of eager enthusiasm in my life that feeds my creativity, swelling it to a point where my creative endeavors become consuming.  This process is a part of the secret to my success and the sense of fulfillment that I receive from what I do.

DECK USED:  HERO ANALYSIS FOR THE FUTURE #79 MHA TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What lesson do I need to learn?

Magic Tarot

Reading Summary: You can’t get nectar from a stump (imagery in the Ace of Wands).  Take what you’ve learned from the pain in your past (Ten of Swords) and compare it with the things in your life that make you happy now (Nine of Cups).  Allow this contrast to soothe you to into resting (Four of Swords).

Take Away:  I’m working too hard and I need to learn to truly rest.   To do this, it will be important to take a look at how far I’ve come and all that I’ve over come, and compare it with what I have now and what makes me happy in my life at this time.   In doing this, I can then allow this comparison to soothe my guilt over taking the rest that I need, and it will help in releasing me from the need to always be advancing.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT