self development through shadow work

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with The Unveiled Tarot and Legendarium Playing Cards

Earth – The Star – Keep your chin up. Progress takes time, but if you keep your eye on the prize, you’ll get there eventually. Don’t let your self-talk make you believe you’re not getting anywhere this week.

Air – Death – Everyone has dreams from earlier times in their life that they have outgrown and discarded. Be sure to remember this week that it’s okay to let go of those things if they don’t fit you anymore. Give yourself permission to move on.

Water – Six of Wands – Don’t let the accolades of others shift your values. Take pride in those things that make you happy, instead of abandoning them for the happiness of others.

Fire – The Moon – Just because you can imagine something happening doesn’t mean that it’s going to. Keep your fears in check instead of allowing them to go off-leash or take the lead.

Waning – Jack of Spades and Ten of Hearts – Impulsive outburst may feel good, and even rewarding, in the moment. But, at the end of the day, they aren’t going to give you the results that you desire. Ease off on the sharp tongue and let it go.

Waxing – Three of Diamonds and Ten of Diamonds - Focus on working together as a team to build something truly special that goes beyond monetary success.

Take Away – A hint of anxiety is coming your way. Make sure you aren’t allowing it to push you into acting when, in truth, taking things slow is the better course. Whether that anxiety stems from your own self-talk, guilt inspired by echoes of the past, or others in your life trying to push you in a direction that isn’t of interest to you.

In all cases it’s the anxiety that will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Make sure you keep that in mind and do what you can to head this added pressure off at the pass. In the week ahead, show them how you want things to proceed instead of letting others push you this way and that.

DECKS USED: THE UNVEILED TAROT AND LEGENDARIUM PLAYING CARDS

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday Oracle Reading with the Land Sky Oracle and Foxy Deck

Earth – Asmita – Breathe deep and let go of the blockages you feel building up inside you as you are confronted with difficulties this week. Not everything in life is pass-or-fail. Consider what the universe is trying to teach you in these experiences. For example, forcing you to outfit your account with admins is an inconvenience, but also allows you a chance to connect with others and examine your friendships and relationships in another light.

Air – Saucha – Focus on clarity and cleansing. Good mental health hygiene needs to be a priority right now, and increasing your diligence in this area is important when things become difficult or challenges arise.

Water – Ujjayi Pranayama – When you are feeling vulnerable, instead of listening to the negative self talk you have going on in your head, take a moment to pause, breathe, and remember your past accomplishments. Remind yourself of the survivor that you are and all the amazing things you are capable of.

Fire – Clear Quartz – Use the tools at your disposal to keep a clear and grounded view of what’s going on from one day to the next. No over-inflation from anxiety or doom-saying from your pessimistic tendencies allowed.

Waning – Two of Clubs and Eight of Diamonds – Sticking with what you know and being resistant to making plans would be a detriment this week. Be open to possibilities for future endeavors and opportunities to expand upon your skills and abilities instead of shutting down those options.

Waxing – Two of Diamonds and Eight of Spades – Take care not to ignore your limitations on how much you can take on and juggle. What doesn’t overwhelm you today could be the last straw tomorrow. Be vigilant in protecting your balance from ego’s enthusiasm and pride.

Take Away – Those inner narratives of negativity and pessimism are on the rise this week, and riding on their coattails is the influence of anxiety. Step up in your mental health care in order to cut these issues off at the ankles and keep them from coming in with unneeded chaos and uncertainty. Don’t bury yourself in work in an effort to hide, either, as that’s just going to cause more problems later on down the line.

DECKS USED: LAND SKY ORACLE AND THE FOXY DECK

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with the Tarocchi Piacentini Anima Antiqua and Golden Flowers Lenormand

Earth – Nine of Cups – Help yourself find the comfortable and grounding energy that you crave right now by doing a few of the activities that foster this feeling within you. Take a walk in the woods or spend some time barefoot in the grass. Dig your hands into the soil or wander among the flowers. You need this grounding right now in order to feel the stability and contentment that will get you through the week ahead.

Air – The Empress – Lean into nurturing energies this week when it comes to your inner narratives. You have a tendency to be extremely hard on yourself, to the point where it’s no longer helping, but just holding you back. For true abundance to take place you need that nurturing energy present in your thoughts to keep things going in a positive direction.

Water – King of Pentacles – With being in the middle of a subdrop and feeling a bit off kilter, it’s important to continue to connect with those things that keep you grounded as suggested in the Earth position of this reading. Tell others what you want to happen and it will allow them to assist you in making sure that it does. Sharing what you need with others can help in delegating efforts, even when that’s not your intent.

Fire – Knight of Pentacles – Don’t discount what you’re getting done just because it’s not as much as you think you should be getting done. Slow progress is still progress. Beating yourself up over moving slowly doesn’t help, so don’t let those negative narratives take control where they will slow you down even further with their distractions.

Waning – Coffin and Man – Don’t allow defeatist thinking to run the show where your responsibilities are concerned. There is nothing happening this week that is going to be the end of the world as you know it.

Waxing – Birds and Heart – Take comfort in those around you and don’t close yourself off. It’s important to remember this week that you are not alone.

Take Away – A little extra TLC is needed this week, and that includes in the inner narratives you allow to circle around in your head. Lean on others that you trust and don’t let those inner narratives convince you that you’re alone when in actuality you’re far from it.

On the whole, it’s looking to be an uneventful week. Not in that nothing will happen, but that none of what happens is going to be half as big as it feels like it is. Use grounding techniques and activities that you know work for you to help keep yourself from getting carried away in those feelings that want to blow everything out of proportion.

DECKS USED: TAROCCHI PIACENTINI ANIMA ANTIQUA AND GOLDEN FLOWERS LENORMAND

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday Oracle Reading with the Stained Glass Wicca Lenormand Oracle Deck

Earth – Ladder – Now is a good time to invest in progress when it comes to the elements in your life that provide your stability and security. When you see an opportunity to “level up” this week, make sure you jump on it and start climbing.

Air – Acorn atop Fire – Go into these new opportunities with inspiration lighting your way and driving you towards seeking out the potential rather than the downfalls. It’s okay to look at both sides of the coin, but make sure that that potential is inspiring you instead of your negative inner narratives dragging you down.

Water – Pineapple – When negative emotions come calling, lean into gratitude. Look at those things in life that make your life more comfortable and acknowledge them instead of discounting them and letting them pass you by. This includes the people in your life that offer you love and support. It is through appreciating the abundance in your life that you can push back against prickly emotions that are difficult for you to handle.

Fire – Brooms atop Libra – Don’t forget that you need balance this week. Don’t get so engrossed in climbing that Ladder that you forget the cleansing and care that needs to be included in the week ahead to keep things on even ground and your footing steady and sure.

Waning – Bear and Fish – Take care that you’re not micromanaging this week, as it’ll just put too much pressure on you on top of everything else. Keep reminding yourself that there’s no need to be everything for everyone, or everywhere at once.

Waxing – Tree and Man – Taking care of yourself and your health is not a weakness, so make sure you are not treating it as such. Instead, treat it as the responsibility it is, for it’s one of the greatest responsibilities you have.

Take Away – When opportunity presents itself this week, make sure you are seizing it with both hands. Don’t allow negative inner narratives to convince you to hang back or hesitate. Instead, grab hold and begin exploring how you can use this opportunity to your advantage. Just make sure you don’t become so focused upon this one thing that you let the other important things in your life (like self care, for example) slide. You need ensure you keep things balanced. Use gratitude exercises to help keep your mood lifted when your emotions try to tank.

DECK USED: STAINED GLASS WICCA LENORMAND ORACLE DECK

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday with the Cat Arcana Tarot and The King's Theater Lenormand

Earth – Nine of Wands – Keep an eye out for those things and people that try to get past your defenses. Be mindful that this doesn’t mean you need to harden your defenses, so much has to pay more attention to those that try to breach them.

Air – Queen of Wands – Take a step back and watch for when and where the passions of others run high. Temptation can be a tool used to breach defenses if wielded in the right hands. Don’t forget that you can show your support from the sidelines.

Water – Queen of Pentacles – By staying on the sidelines and showing your support from a place of stability, you will be able to help mitigate emotional chaos and upset that would otherwise come to call if you became more deeply involved.

Fire – The Hanged Man – Consider hanging back in this area as well, for sometimes things have to work themselves out on their own without your assistance. Tie your own hands and let things develop on their own without your input this week.

Waning – Fish and Scythe – Don’t depend on luck too get you out of difficult situations this week. Doing so will get you cut down far faster than your anticipated. Although both of the Queens above speak of standing back and watching while lending your support from the sidelines, these Queens also aren’t fools who would dare chance everything on luck alone. Be ready to step in with some nurturing words of support when needed to keep everything on an even keel.

Waxing – Key and Rider – You hold all the answers and have the ability to give them away as you wish. Make sure the course that you choose, you choose judiciously.

Take Away – Don’t allow others to goad you into taking on what isn’t yours to deal with this week. Instead, be stubborn in sitting on the sidelines and encouraging them to deal with things themselves. You can always step in if things get out of hand, but there’s no need to take on the burden of it all being your responsibility. Better to let them try to deal with it, and in doing so learn and grow from the experience.

DECKS USED: CAT ARCANA TAROT AND THE KING’S THEATER LENORMAND

📆 Transitioning from July to August

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Month's End Oracle Reading with the Nature Oracle, The Witch's Circle Oracle, and The Season of the Witch Oracle

Here and Now I Exist – Who you are now, in your entirety.

Transformation – Resolutions and transformation. You are in a moment of re-dedication. Over the past two weeks you have taken some time off from some of the things that are usually a part of your daily routine, including meditation, personal card readings, and a few other long-term routines that you have been sustaining over the past few years. As August comes into focus, you are now re-dedicating yourself to the routines that worked for you before and discarding what hasn’t, creating a needed reevaluation and reset.

The Slough – What is to be left in the past as you move forward.

The Guardian of the Gate – As you work at re-dedicating yourself to your path and the routines and systems that support you, make sure that you are not allowing your boundaries to be forgotten or disregarded. They are an important part of this process because you need to “bake them into the cake” as its being made. This doesn’t mean that you need more defenses or a greater amount of awareness, it’s simply means that you need to not forget your boundaries during this process.

What Lies Ahead – An ideal state or ideal self you are seeking at this time.

The Cauldron of Creativity – You are seeking to reinvigorate yourself towards your creativity and curiosity. The way one manifest things into reality is that they first must imagine them through creativity and imagination, only then can we start working out how to reach those goals and achieve them. Creativity is the first step, and you are looking to rekindle that inner spark of creativity within you with this reset.

Limitations – Negative influences, opposition, or ill will.

Garnet – keep your expectations for yourself in check. Remember that this is not the end-all be-all of fixing everything that you perceive is not working properly in your life right now. It’s just an experiment and possibly a step in the right direction. Allow yourself to see where it goes without judgment or expectation for it to be more than it is.

The Boon – Positive influences, higher guidance, or divine intervention.

Wisdom – The trees, moss, and soil of nature lend you their wisdom when you choose to immerse yourself within their presence. Make sure that you are getting out in nature and enjoying that presence, connecting with it, and allowing it to influence you with the wisdom and support that lies within these activities and connections.

The Wound – An unpleasant past experience or event that is ripe for some support and healing.

Owl – Remember that uncertainty is not your enemy. By embracing uncertainty instead of fighting against it. You allow yourself to learn from the experiences that uncertainty has a hand in offering you. Just because these experiences feel unpleasant doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. Make sure that you’re looking for the boon in these moments instead of fighting against them.

Nostalgia – A positive past experience or event to acknowledge, reflect upon, and enjoy.

Crow – In an echo of the previous prompt, the Crow tells us to remember those times when we treated uncertainty as an adventure, or identified the positives in the experience rather than just fighting against the direction and uncertainty that lies there. There are just as many positive experiences that came out of uncertainty as there are negative ones, and this card encourages us to reflect upon those that came out in a positive light and look at how your mindset helped you in these moments.

A Warning – Something coming that can be prevented or overcome.

Truth – Remember if people’s words and actions don’t lineup, it’s the actions that demonstrate the truth of the person or persons involved. Don’t get so wrapped up in the words they say that you forget to pay attention to what they’re actually doing. It’s in the discordance between these two factors you will suss out the liars trying to play you for a fool.

Empowerment – A future opportunity to work toward.

Correspondence – Remember that it is within nature that you can find the balance you seek when things seem chaotic or jumbled up. Within the simplicity and complexity of nature, alignment is found, which can allow you to ground more easily and sort through the chaos without losing yourself along the way.

Message from the Spirit World – It is in how you connect with the world around you that you find the clarity, connection, and support needed to express yourself authentically from a place of stability. Make sure that you aren’t closing yourself off in an effort to protect yourself. Connect instead.

Message from the Mind’s World – As you seek transformation, make sure that you are using your creativity to ensure that you not only achieve the changes you want to make, but also uphold your boundaries while doing so.

Message from the Physical World – Use your energy and vitality to push yourself into uncertain moments rather than trying to run away from them. You will gain more from using these uncertain moments to your advantage than you will from trying to brace for their impact or mitigate your feelings of discomfort.

Other elements included in this reading:
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Moss Agate for Attracting Opportunities for Growth
Botswana Agate for Reducing Stress and Anxiety
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: NATURE ORACLE, SEASON OF THE WITCH ORACLE, WITCH’S CIRCLE ORACLE