Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Four of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of taking time to rest, recuperation after a trying time, and stillness for restoration and meditation on the events that have brought you to this place as well as where to go from here.

The card has then been combined with an affirmation from The Az Oracle, which says, “When I look at you like this and you say ‘awwww.!‘… that is the sound of your heart flying open in a fraction of a second, that’s all the time it takes. THAT is the POWER of LOVE. The most powerful force on earth. How then, could anyone doubt love’s ability to change every. single. thing. (just as quickly)”

Giving yourself love is just as important as the love we give to others. When we fall in love with a puppy, when our heart expands at the sight of a squirrel… don’t forget that this love is something that shouldn’t just be directed towards others (or other things), but also towards the self.

One of the ways that we expressed love for ourselves is in allowing ourselves the rest and recovery we need. One of my greatest self-punishments lies in refusing to allow myself to rest and recover. Instead, always push-push-pushing forward and demanding more from myself.

Over time, I have learned to ease up a bit in this area. I don’t push myself through cycle after cycle of overwhelmed burnout, one after another. Instead, I try to give myself the space and grace to take things at an easier pace.

That said, I have not yet managed how to overcome my need to punish myself with sneakily passive aggressive acts of self abuse. I’m working on it though, and if this is an issue that you have as well, I hope you’re working on it too.

The message in today’s Four of Swords and affirmation is a reminder that rest, recuperation, and times of recovery are a kindness given to oneself that we all deserve. After all, how did we get overwhelmed in the first place if not by pushing too hard? Give yourself the same love that sparks to life within your interactions with the world around you, for you are just as deserving of it as that cute little puppy, squirrel, or other people in your life.

DECKS USED:  QUILL & INK TAROT AND THE AZ ORACLE

@de_tarotjuf’s De Zomer In! #detarotjufjunitarotchallenge
Prompts for June 20th through 22nd

Which relationship calls for more openness and fresh air?

Queen of Wands and Gog & Magog

Share with a greater sense of openness, honesty, and clarity how you feel and what inspires you with those that offer a give-and-take with you. It’s only those within balance with yourself that deserve this greater connection to your vulnerabilities, as well as your passions.

The joy I may simply allow myself to feel today

The Moon and The Tree of Strength

Appreciate your hidden strengths without the need to act or force that strength upon yourself or others today. Allow this inner strength to not just become an awareness within you, but suffuse you so that you know that even during moments when you are feeling uncertain you will still find the strength to stand strong and steady.

This challenge calls for transformation

Seven of Cups and The Twisted Oak (Snoegen)

When given options, it’s always important to prioritize those things that you actually want to have priority. If you have the option between languishing at home or getting out in nature, and you want nature to be a priority, then you need to make sure that that’s what you’re choosing when the opportunity presents itself. Don’t just think about it… stand up and actually choose it whenever the opportunity arises.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Clear Quartz for boosting Mental Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WILDERWOVEN TAROT AND SACRED TREES ORACLE

The @lightningwildflower June Inner Journey Challenge
Reflect Prompt for June 22nd : What brings me comfort and helps me feel safe?

Reading Summary: The understanding that my feelings of scarcity (Five of Pentacles) are a choice of perspective and not actual reality (Two of Swords Rx), and that if it truly becomes a reality, I am more than capable of doing something about it (Knight of Wands).

Take Away: It used to be (once upon a time) that those feelings of scarcity -were- a reality. I know what it is to be without food or safety, to have no roof over my head, and to feel as if even if help was available that I was undeserving of it.

When I feel scarcity these days and panic comes roaring up to greet it, it’s an echo of those past experiences more so than the reality I am currently in. It’s fear of returning to those times when scarcity was real.

I know, too, that should scarcity come calling, I would find my way out of it just as I did in my past.

These things bring me comfort and help me to keep a grip on reality so that my anxiety doesn’t tumble out of control when money gets tight or struggles rear up in my path.

Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Pansy Flower for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Carnelian Agate for Focusing On One’s Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: QUILL & INK TAROT

I proposed a new idea to Gid today that I was a bit hesitant to bring up for us to explore in play.