Morning Bonus Read – Self Love

Hilda Lenormand - Self Love Reading

Something to love about myself.
The Bear and The Tree

Regardless of the chronic pain I experience on the daily, I am always able to move forward into the activities I enjoy and dive into them again and again. This allows me to go out into nature and hike without worrying about if I’ll be able to handle the trails laid out before me, or passing up on some of those that will spiritually benefit me the most due to my body’s inability to handle the climb.

Where can I be more patient with myself?
The Broom and The Clouds

It’s important to remember that the pleasure seeking I do and the addictive tendencies I have are rooted in something that needs healed. They are a self-medicating behavior.  Don’t just berate myself when these behaviors get out of control, but be patient and look at what has triggered things to advance into unhealthy territory.

Where can I be kinder to myself?
The Clover and The Bouquet

Allow yourself to enjoy times when things are good and pleasure can be had.  It’s okay to sink into the enjoyment and pleasure, and wallow in a bit of happiness now and then.  There’s nothing wrong with that and it is a gift to yourself that can help you in restoring yourself and your view of the world around you.

Energies and strategies to draw on.
The Garden and The Tower

Lean into others to help you in moving forward and making sure you see what’s coming and can deal with it in a capable way.  You aren’t alone and you have others to support you, don’t forget about them when you need them.

DECK USED:  HILDA LENORMAND

Morning Bonus Read – August

Belle Époque Lenormand - August Lenormand Reading

What clarity will August bring?

Star – August is a time to get in touch with the optimism that you’ve let slide over the summer months and bring it back into focus.  It’s good for you, and it helps you in your journey and growth.  Focus on finding the positivity and optimism, and instilling more of that into your life.  You need it to help lift you out and away from the rim of depression’s pit.

Is there an adventure that is calling me that I shouldn’t ignore?

Scythe – Yes. But it isn’t that you shouldn’t ignore it because you want to go down that path, but rather because you need to be aware that this possibility is there so that you can avoid it.  You’ve lost time this last week, and you run the risk of it turning into a slide down into depression’s pit if you don’t get a handle on things and pay attention to how close you get to the pit’s lip.

What can I do to open my heart to all the potential for self expression that this month’s Leo New Moon can offer?

Fox and Fish – Go with the flow, but be clever about it. A raft that floats down the river will get further by taking the easy, free flowing path than the one littered with rocks to navigate around and possibly hung up on.  In both instances you are going with the flow, but one executes strategy in the journey.  Don’t resist the flow of life around you, just make sure you’re paying attention and navigating instead of floating along and being beaten by the rocks along the way.

How can I magnify the imaginative energy that this month’s Full Moon in Pisces may bring?

Man – Lean into time with Gideon and the creative play that we can enjoy together.  This time together doesn’t just magnify your imaginative energy, but is also a soothing balm to your soul.

How can I make the most of the long days of summer?

Stork – Again, go with the flow.  The summer months are beginning to wind up.  Don’t allow yourself to resist the shifts taking place as autumn approaches, but instead let them flow around you.  Tensing up and digging in your heels won’t change anything, nor solve anything.  Instead, embrace the shift into the harvest season to come.

Overall theme for the month of August.

Cross – You’re tired.  You are worn and you have been struggling. August is a time to deal with these feelings and recover from them.  Whether they are physical, spiritual, emotional, or otherwise… you can’t carry them forward any longer and August is giving you the time and space to release these things and step free of the weight you have been  struggling under..

DECK USED:  BELLE ÉPOQUE LENORMAND

Morning Bonus Read – Monthly Key Spread

The Prince Lenormand - Monthly Key Spread

Key to Your Heart: What will Guide you to make decisions that are aligned with your heart and your truths this month?

Ship – You know that whole proverb that says “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket“?   Yeah… that.  A lot of times, the Ship card is about travel and business, but in this case? It’s about making sure that you’re not screwing yourself (and your business) over by focusing too much in one area.  Even if you’re not diversifying now?  Make sure you have an escape plan for if you need to. In order to adapt and come out on top, this is important.

Anchor: What will ground you in the face of anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and existential dread in general?

Letter – Write.  Write down your thoughts and your feelings, write down your anxieties and worries.  Share them with Gideon.  Fill your blog with them.  Have a big idea that you can’t explore right now? Write those down too.  List making is a good thing this month, expressing yourself through the written word is very much in your forte.  Use these skills to help ground yourself and find balance when things feel out of control.

Star Wand: What accelerates your magic, creativity, and manifestation powers?

Sun – Optimism and positivity. Sometimes I feel corny when I get this response from the cards. But the thing is? It really does work. Does it entirely take away the depression? No. It doesn’t. But it makes the time spent in them not as severe, and it makes the visits into a depression not as long. It provides more energy, and just… makes the days better. What is “it” that I’m talking about? Optimism and positivity. Making the -effort- to try and see the good side of things, including the Card of the Day activity that I do where I ask each day for the cards to provide me with a positive message to carry with me throughout the day and foster perspective. It helps, no matter how corny my inner pessimist says it sounds.

Blessings from the Stars: The Universe has got your back – how will you be supported this month?

Man – Gideon will be a huge influence in your life this month, in supporting you and helping you in working through what comes up. Don’t forget that he’s there for you and don’t shy away from leaning on him when you need to, sharing with him whatever and whenever you want, and trusting him to always have your best interests at heart.

One Trick Up Your Sleeve: A life saving idea or inspiration for any unexpected challenge or difficult moments?

Lily – Take a pause to think things through, and don’t be shy about asking for advice from those with more experience that have time tested wisdom to offer up to you. Crones are called wise women for good reason.

Emergence Pt 1: What is emerging within you / within your reality right now?

Moon – You’re finally starting to come out of the mind fog that you’ve been struggling with through this season. As you do, your curiosity and creativity are beginning to thrive once more, and you’re starting to experience more enjoyment in your artistic endeavors.

Emergence Pt 2: What are you expanding towards?

Tree – Evolution from past to present. Growth that comes from finding connections to the past that will help you flourish rather than wither your roots. It is time to transform those issues that still drive your inner destructive tendencies, and turn them around into something healthy.

DECK USED:  PRINCE LENORMAND ORACLE

Morning Bonus Read – New Week Set Up

Tarot of Plants (Solar Edition) and Wildlife Wisdom Oracle

What does the mind need to stay centered?

Five of Autumn (Monkshood) and Heron – It is important to remember that the scarcity that you feel is in your head and your past, and not a part of your present reality.  Focus on what’s here in the now, instead of what in your past influences these irrational emotions. Acknowledge that you are now far beyond that place of constant powerless need.

What does the body need to stay grounded?

The Empress (Corn) and Deer – When you bend you cannot break, but in order to be able to bend, you have to be able to yield. Soothe yourself, ease those muscles and tension. Allow yourself to bend. Treat your body with the kindness that it needs to be flexible and strong.  Make sure you are doing your physiotherapy and yoga, and that you are getting out in nature to get the exercise you need.

What do your emotions need to feel heard?

Mother of Autumn (Lavender) and Dragonfly – Things shift and change around you, make sure that you are going to someone willing to support you to speak with and find the support you need. This is about seeking people out instead of trying to close yourself off and deal with it on your own. Opening up about what needs to be said instead of keeping it to yourself.  Allowing yourself to unload what’s going on inside you with these people will help you in hearing yourself as much as it will help you in feeling heard by others.

What do your desires need to feel seen?

Seven of Summer (Venus Flytrap) and Bear – You want more time off to relax and just not have to deal with the responsibilities of life. This is a new sensation for you and you are struggling with it feeling “wrong”, but in fact it’s normal, just not your normal. You are making choices that could make it your new normal, though. Healthy choices.  Don’t back out because there’s a couple of unpleasantness like this discovered along the way.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF PLANTS (SOLAR EDITION) AND WILDLIFE WISDOM ORACLE

Morning Bonus Read – Body In Pain

Sawyer's Lenormand Oracle

Check-in on my overall energy.

Tree – Flagging and not particularly the greatest.  Although you are no longer flirting with burnout at every turn, neither are you taking care of yourself as well as you could… or should.  Slacking on your physiotherapy, eating too much junk, and not getting enough outside time and exercise are all starting to take their toll both physically as well as energetically.

Is there something this pain is trying to tell me?

Snake – You’re doing this to yourself.  Your betrayal of your body is all self imposed and the results that come from it are created by you and you alone.

How can I make it easier to hear what this pain has to say?

Fish – Stop fighting against the current and go with the flow.  Begin shifting and adapting to get back on track.  You don’t have to do it all at once, but you do need to start gravitating in that direction instead of just continuing blindly on this path of self destruction.

How can I release the harsh perception of this pain as my enemy?

Child – See it as a call to start again and refresh what you’re doing.  The pain isn’t an enemy but the result of bad choices.  By clearing out the old and taking a more youthful, open eyed approach to the situation you will better see your pain as an ally to guide you rather than an enemy to struggle against.

How can I support myself physically while this pain is present?

Mountain – Accept it as the fucking monstrous hurdle that it is.  Your pain is permanent, but the levels can be managed.  This reading is about how you deal with that hurdle, not eliminating it.

How can I support myself emotionally while this pain is present?

Moon – Understand that as long as your pain is out of control, so too will be your emotions. Just accepting this fact alone can help you in better supporting yourself emotionally, as it gives you a rational view of the constantly shifting emotions going on, as well as the jagged emotional highs and lows the pain creates.

DECK USED:  SAWYER’S LENORMAND ORACLE

Morning Bonus Read – Monthly Key Spread

Hybrid Tarot - Monthly Key Spread

Key to Your Heart: What will Guide you to make decisions that are aligned with your heart and your truths this month?

Sun – Keep faith that everything is going to turn out just right.  Optimism and  focusing on the direction you want to go in will ensure that as you move forward through the month of July that you continue to head in the right direction. Hold on to the optimistic view that everything will turn out okay in the end… and you’ll find that’s exactly what will happen.

Anchor: What will ground you in the face of anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and existential dread in general?

Rider – Keep in mind that every day is a new day.  You don’t have to carry all that crap with you from one day to the next.  Exhale and let it go, then surge forward with renewed energy and a more positive outlook (The Sun above) to tackle the new day with vigor and an open mind.

Star Wand: What accelerates your magic, creativity, and manifestation powers?

Coffin – Ride the change and allow your adaptability to shine.  Sometimes what sparks that inner creative glimmer and creative energy of manifestations isn’t about what’s familiar but in finding creative ways to adapt to change and mold those moment  to work for us even when within the grasp of changing tides.

Blessings from the Stars: The Universe has got your back – how will you be supported this month?

Clover – Optimism brings luck, so look up and let the luck roll in.  You’re being given the opportunity to “sweeten the pot” by fostering an echo of luck and joy in your life through the optimistic lens you seek to look at life through.  Don’t give up… good things are coming.

One Trick Up Your Sleeve: A life saving idea or inspiration for any unexpected challenge or difficult moments?

Cross – You have been through a lot.  Fall back on these experiences and what you have learned from them to help you through struggles or challenges this month.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, you’ve already experienced all the hardships needed to possess the knowledge and skills required to overcome what may come.

Emergence Pt 1: What is emerging within you / within your reality right now?

Heart – Finding “your place” in how you care about others, feel about others, and connect with others. This month will help you come to a better understanding of what you contribute to other’s lives, and how much they mean to you.

Emergence Pt 2: What are you expanding towards?

Scythe – Making a clean break. You’ve been struggling for quite some time to let go of old habits in order to make room for new better ones to take their place. You’ve struggled to find the catalyst that will allow you to truly let go. This card indicates that the epiphany that you’ve been searching for is coming and will be based in cold hard logic.

DECK USED:  HYBRID TAROT