Sometimes You Have to Just Take a Breath

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on being persistent in your meditation practice, because it is the journey  that makes the practice good (and good for you), not the destination.

That is to say that there is no ‘end goal’ to meditation.   It is, by definition, a practice.  Something you practice.  There are no experts, there is no perfection.

Each day is a new day and another step on the path.  If you make the time to do it… if you sit down and do it, then that’s all that is needed to succeed in the day’s meditation.  It’s not an activity of rating your performance, but instead an activity where you get an “A” for participation… end of story.

Nine of Pumpkins Today’s draw is the Nine of Pumpkins (Pentacles) which is a representation of fruition and fulfillment, culmination and consequences in the area of finances, resources, manifestation, and the physical world.

This is an abundance card, absolutely.  But honestly?  I’ve not been feeling all that abundant today.   I’ve felt stressed and irked and a bit overwhelmed by the bullshit that I talked to you about in chat just briefly earlier concerning that whole seller harassment issue.

So yeah.

The message, though, is in the resting of the woman’s hand upon the pumpkin.  I really wanted to spend some time in nature today, but travel and specifically traffic just really didn’t allow for the extra time needed to do that.

So maybe what the card is trying to tell me is that everything is going to be alright, yeah?  Because I sure as hell don’t feel like things are falling together, or particularly abundant.    Honestly?  I’ve waffled between feeling sickly and feeling irked for most of the day, and at the moment I feel like crying like a two year old and hiding my head under a pillow.

UGH… damnit!   Right.

Positive message in the Nine of Pumpkins.  *Taking a deep breath.*

The positive message in today’s draw is that even when feeling overwhelmed and out of sorts, there are always things to be grateful for.   So perhaps what I need is to do a bit of gratitude practice.

Deck Used: Halloween Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt again today.  As mentioned before, I might try to do the bonus reading every day (or near to it) for this month.

Question: Where may I benefit from more structure?

Bonus Tarot ReadingReading Summary: Fumbling in the dark (The Moon) with concerns to emotional stability (Four of Cups).  Collaborating with others (Three of Pentacles). Arriving at the end of the line concerning thought and ambition (King of Wands and King of Swords).

Take Away:   I’m a bit topsy-turvy today when it comes to my emotions, so I’m not surprised that the Moon came up in relation to emotional stability.  With the shift we just did between top space and bottom, this shift and that sensation of being lost in the dark is something that comes with the territory.

With the Kings on the right, I feel it’s speaking of being at the end of a journey and needing to move on to the next steps.  Ambition and ideas are all well and good, but they can only go so far until you move into manifestation.

Between these two concepts is the collaboration card, the Three of Pentacles.   This indicates to me that both situations require collaboration in order to find that stability and structure needed to move forward, both emotionally, as well as with ideas and ambitions that have been brewing for a while in the back of my mind.

Deck Used: Anne Stoke’s Gothic Tarot

Embracing Change

Today’s meditation was eleven minutes and eight seconds, and focused on how we rise out of struggles, suffering, and difficult times into something better.   It discussed how when one tries to escape their suffering, that all we end up doing is prolonging the process.

On the other hand, when we face these difficulties and work through them, it is an opportunity for growth and the situation can return to balance much sooner.

The complete Victoria Erickson quote from the provided graphic is “Transformation isn’t sweet and bright. It’s a dark and murky, painful pushing. An unraveling of the truths you’ve carried in your body. A practice in facing your own created demons. A complete uprooting before becoming.

Today’s draw is another duo, the Nine of Pentacles and the Ace of Wands. Like yesterday, neither of these are jumpers… or maybe I should say that both of these are jumpers because they jumped out of the deck together as one.

Yesterday’s draw included the Death card, which I see as the harbinger of change… and yesterday he sure did his job, as I discovered at the end of my day.  As I said last night when we talked, I knew that something to that effect was coming down the line, but I really think that they have dealt with transitioning people in the wrong way.

Today’s Today’s cards are an expansion upon yesterday’s theme, and a commentary on the frustration of being forced into something I was not interested in doing, as I discovered last night is going to be the case.

When someone tries to force me into any situation my natural inclination is to pull my back up I’m put on the brakes. I understand that about myself, and I understand that was a part of my reaction to last nights news concerning the news I received concerning my business. It’s true that I do not like this change, but my nearly violent reaction to it in this case is almost entirely about the fact that I am being forced into it.

The Nine of Pentacles is a representation of culmination, fulfillment, fruition, and consequences in the area of finance, resources, and the physical world.

The Ace of Wands is a representation of the sprouting seed of new beginnings in the area of one’s passion, drive, willpower, and ambitions.

Together, the Nine of Pentacles and the Ace of Wands are telling me that If I just go with the flow and put my passion behind this new beginning, everything will be OK.  In other words, stop kicking and screaming and get going on making this new situation work for me and my business.

 

Bear True

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on the interconnectedness of all things.

This is a concept that is part of the basis of my faith. The concept that beneath our external bodies, personalities, and individualized souls, there is an inner energy that connects us to everyone and everything.

The meditation suggested using one’s awareness of this interconnectedness to combat feelings of isolation and loneliness.

These are not emotions that I connect strongly with. I do use my awareness of the energy that connects us all as a way to foster empathy and understanding within myself.

It is a part of the inner spark of my curiosity, which spurs me to learn the hoes and why’s of people’s thoughts, opinions, and behavior. It is also this awareness that connects me so strongly to nature.

Today’s draw is the 13th card of the Major Arcana, the Death card… and the Nine of Pentacles. Neither are jumpers.

The Death card is a representation of organic change that usually develops over time (as opposed to being sudden). It is a Major Arcana card, which means it deals with one’s journey within life as a whole, rather than any one aspect of the human experience.

The Nine of Pentacles card is a representation of fruition, culmination, endings, and consequences in the area of the physical world, finance, and resources.

Upright, the Nine of Pentacles is a very positive card usually indicating the solitary accomplishments and the fruits of one’s labors. With the Death card at its back, it is indicating that although sometimes change can be a difficult thing and even painful, in the end if you stay true to yourself and your values, you will come out the other side of it on a positive note.

This is a good reminder for me because, like most people, I have difficulty with change. Having a light at the end of the tunnel though, who is the reward preparing through the difficult times but change can bring this is a good reminder for me because, like most people, I have difficulty with change. That light at the end of the tunnel, though, is the reward for bearing through the difficult times change can bring.