mental health

Finding the Positive Message for May 5th – 7th

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Roots of Asia Tarot, Twilight Rabbit Tarot, Moon Magic Tarot

May 5

No meditation this morning.

Two of Swords – Heavy decisions. The birds at the crown of the head speak of looking at all the facts prior to making any important decisions today. Explore with open eyes and an open mind, mull everything over… then be decisive without hesitation.

DECK USED:  ROOTS OF ASIA TAROT

May 6

Meditation this morning was ten minutes long, and focused on understanding why we focus on the moment during meditative practice and why the mind tries to stray during these times.

Three of Cups – Don’t let pride keep you from accepting the abundance being offered to you. Instead, use what’s offered to keep yourself well fed and assure that your needs are being met.

She’s not paying you to be there, but taking care of you so that you can be there.

DECK USED:  TWILIGHT RABBIT TAROT

May 7

Meditation this morning was ten minutes long and I almost skipped it, but remembered this channel and did it instead, so at least for now the channel seems to be working. The meditation today was about labeling interruptions during meditation as a method of letting them go rather than lingering in them.

Three of Wands – Look for opportunities to put plans into action today. It’s time to move instead of standing still, stalling out, or lingering any longer in the planning stages.
For me, this is about getting what I can done for my business (orders wise), and setting things up to take time off a little earlier than planned.

DECK USED:  MOON MAGIC TAROT

Finding the Positive Message for May 2nd – 4th

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Faunabelle Tarot, Commedia a Soggetto, Creatures Tarot

May 2

King of Cups – Gideon’s card, and a reminder to give him as much attention and time as you can today.

DECK USED:  FAUNABELLE TAROT

May 3

Seven of Swords – The time stealer. A warning given about the time to be stolen away from Gid and I when an emergency came up in the afternoon and stole me away to a fun filled night at the hospital.

DECK USED:  COMMEDIA A SOGGETTO

May 4

Ace of Swords – This card is all about communication and learning new things through lots of asking questions and listening. Making sure I am communicating my needs and helping facilitate clear communication between Ms B and the hospital staff.

DECK USED:  CREATURES TAROT

Patience in Leadership

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

IMG_E2613Today’s draw is the Emperor card, which is traditionally a representation of “big dick energy” (look at that sword!). Right so that’s a very modern way of saying what this card represents, which is to say the Emperor is about authority, leadership, structure, and responsibility with a focus on the “greater good”.

In this imagery, the Emperor is not looking particularly thrilled with his lot in life at the moment. Those steely eyes look ready to do a full on hard-jawed eye roll, in fact.  And yet, there is a great deal of stillness here in the figure, among all the movement going on with his robes and hair.

The message we see in today’s card is about patience.  Sometimes being a good leader means that even though you know what needs to be done, sometimes you have to wait for others to catch up.  Leaders can’t lead without people behind them to usher forward to greater things.  Sometimes that “ushering forward” feels a whole lot more like herding… and that’s okay.  Practice a little patience.  Take a deep breath.  What’s obvious to you might take others a bit of time to understand… but they’ll get there.

DECK USED:  NEOPETS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2023 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do the Beltane Spread
Info: Beltane has arrived! Also known as May Day, today marks a time to celebrate spring’s abundance and the fertility of the earth as the weather warms and growth becomes the theme of the season.Today’s spread takes a look at some of the elements associated with Beltane, and the advice they have to offer us.

Beltane Oracle Reading with the Inner Child Oracle

Dandelion: Healing/Perseverance – How can I use my inner strength to help me in healing old wounds?

Support – Seek the support of those that you know will be there for you through thick and thin, and that you can trust to help you in times when you are feeling vulnerable.

Bees: Community/Hard Work – Where could I put in more effort to help my community?

Silent Night – You already do enough and have enough on your plate. You can help your community most by taking care of yourself better and ensuring you get the rest and recovery you need.

Garnet: Self Empowerment – What do I need in order to foster a greater sense of self empowerment?

Bet On You – Take time to raise self-awareness of just how capable you are and all of the things that you have managed to do in your life so far. By celebrating these things, you also raise your awareness of just how empowered you can be just by being yourself and using the tools that are a part of who you already are.

Swallow: Love/Loyalty – Where do I need to more openly display my love and loyalty to others?

Self-Care – Listen when others tell you that you are in need of self-care, and take their suggestions to heart instead of shrugging them off.

Malachite: Abundance – How can I better use intention to bolster the abundance in my life going forward?

Treat Yourself – Small joys in life should not be ignored or taken for granted. If you want to feel a sense of more abundance in your life, start paying more attention to the small joys that you normally ignore.

Goat: Overcoming Obstacles – How can I best overcome obstacles before me at this time?

Celebrate – Celebrate the wins, no matter how small they are. All progress is still progress, even if it’s the smallest of steps. Instead of constantly telling yourself that what you’ve accomplished is not enough and you need to do more, celebrate what you’ve done and how far you’ve managed to come.

Primrose: Young Love – How can I add more of the exuberance of young love into my life?

Fly Free – Allow others to see the real you… even your fun loving and silly sides, as well as the vulnerability that you try so hard to hide. It is when you share all of yourself that you shine your brightest and are most approachable to others.

DECK USED: INNER CHILD ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

Even though I was a bit overwhelmed by a sudden burst of orders for Mothers Day, I made sure to take a few small breaks here and there to have a breather throughout the day.

Morning Bonus Read – Mental Health Check In

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Mental Health Tarot Spread - Minute Lenormand

1. Card to represent my current mental health

Key – Empowered. I am feeling better and better with each day that passes, the dark shadows lifting their cloying grip from my climbing form, and I am starting to feel the light dappling over my skin. The climb has been slow, but each day I feel that I’m making it a bit higher up, and it is in my control to make it the rest of the way.

2. An emotion that’s clouding my perception of reality.

Man – Speaking of control… what is clouding my perception of reality at this time is the fact that I am too focused upon that control.  I need to remember that it’s important to let things go and allow them to move at their own pace.  Don’t push.

3a. How to improve my perception of reality.

Dog – Allow others that I love and trust to step in and help me, and make sure when I speak to my therapist next week that I am entirely honest both about what’s happened and where I am now.  I’m not upset about not having been able to get an appointment when I was in the deep darkness at the bottom of the pit, but that doesn’t mean I can just put this experience behind me and pretend it didn’t happen.  I still need to talk to her about it, even if it’s nearly at the end of that particular journey.

3b. How to gain clarity.

Mountain – Depression and the climb out of that deep dark pit is a challenge that takes time, effort, and a great deal of focus to accomplish. The depression clouds  judgement and shifts perceptions, which is a hurdle that will only lift as I get closer to the surface.  Keep climbing this particular mountain, be patient, and I’ll eventually find myself back on level ground again… and in a place of greater clarity as a result.

4. How to change circumstances around me to elevate my mood.

Child – I need to remember to savor the newness of finding the light again and the joy that comes with each new sensation as I emerge a little at a time out of the pit I’ve been lost in for so long. Take this newness as a new beginning and embrace that budding energy like a rebirth.

5. How I can be happier day-to-day.

Woman – Be kinder and more compassionate to myself and my needs.  Allow that softer side of myself more room to grow and flourish instead of muffling it and pushing it aside for the hard willed determination  to always push forward harder and harder.  Allow myself to walk a little slower and pause to smell the roses along the way.

6. How I can deepen my connection with myself.

Anchor – I need to make sure that I am grounding myself well and often. One of the key themes of the Anchor card is “mellowing out” or “settling down”, and the card in response to this question is telling me to stop worrying so damn much about where I’m going and pay more attention to where I am now.

DECK USED:  MINUTE LENORMAND

Impact of One’s Path

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So… I think that Pagan Perspective is taking a week off this week, as there’s no new question to work with.   Due to this, I decided to snag a question from one of the pagan/witchy type groups I’m a member of on Discord and use that instead.

sun

Topic for the Week of 12/16: How has your religion impacted your overall well-being? Has it changed how you see the world and other people?

The first part of this question is immeasurable for me. I get a great sense of peace and overall well being from connecting with nature, and the communion of that practice. It is a part of me at my very core, a part of not just who I am but of my internal makeup and my soul.  Because of that, it’s impossible for me to differentiate myself from that enough to really clearly delineate my path from myself and my well-being.  They are simply too integrated to be able to separate them.

I also can’t really say if my path has changed my outlook on the world or other people, as I’ve been (essentially) on the same path my entire life.  Yes, I transitioned from Wicca to a non-theistic Paganism when I left my parent’s home, but not a lot of my inner beliefs really changed in that shift, as I never really connected with deity in the first place.

What I can say is that the deeper I go into my spirituality, the healthier my emotional and mental health become… which in turn improves my outlook on just about everything.

 

What Seeds Take Root

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Today’s meditation was 10 minutes and 10 seconds and focused on transforming negative emotions into positive ones. More specifically, it dealt with irritation, but I really do feel that this could be applied to any negative emotions.

The example used in the meditation explained how you can use your meditation practice, mindfulness, and breathing exercises to transform such emotions as irritation into a more positive light.  This is done by taking a minute and a “step back”, just to take a couple of deep breaths and seek a bit of perspective outside yourself.

The meditation itself included a breathing exercise where you rhythmically count your breaths in, then hold, then breaths out.  I found it so relaxing that I had a hard time getting up after the meditation was done.  I just wanted to lie there and dawdle the day away.   Of course, my stomach and metabolism had other ideas.

Today’s draw is yet another duo, which again had no jumper but came out together. That would be the 14th card of the Major Arcana, the Temperance card, and the Nine of Swords. The keyword on the temperance card is “balance”, and the keyword on the Nine of Swords card is “sorrow”.

To be honest?  I’m not even going to bother defining the traditional meaning for these two cards today, because my intuition is working overtime on this deck, to the point it seems to be almost “mentally blocking” the more analytical, educated side of things.

What I see in these cards is, first and foremost, that Sorrow is at the back.   When I read, the rear card in a double jump is always the subject, and the overlaying card is the commentary.

What the cards are telling me is that, although depression is often a brain chemistry thing for me, in order to assist myself and my meds in keeping myself afloat and out of the mess of a deep pit that my depression is prone to throwing me into… I need to make sure I continue to focus on balance.

I’ve been very tempted lately to up my hours on my part time jobs, because things have been slow with the business.  Not surprising, things are always slow this time of year.  Still, I push myself so hard that the temptation is there even if I don’t really NEED to struggle and strive and push for more.

I need to make sure I remember that this time of year is a time for rest for me.  Next month I have to start gearing up and preparing for the busy holiday season ahead.  June, July, and August are the only months all year that I have to essentially “slack off”.

I need to stop feeling guilt over that “slacking” and see it as what it is.   A time for healing.  A time for restoration.   A time to refill my cup for what’s coming, and repair the damage (emotional, spiritual, physical) that I’ve done to myself over the past year when things were so busy I couldn’t barely breathe.

If I do not give myself that balance?   I will pay for it later in not just my mood, but in my energy levels, creativity, and enthusiasm as well. Which would create a prime set-up for a bit of darkness to creep in and root into the soil.

Deck Used: The Visions of Life Tarot