self help with tarot cards

Seeking Validation

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Today’s meditation was skipped

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 10th : Nourish
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Winding Tarot - Six of Wands

Today’s draw is the Six of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of public accolades, societal expectations, people pleasing, and peer pressure.

It’s okay to enjoy praise and admiration from others, as long as it does not become your soul focus for validation.

This is the struggle that comes with people pleasing, and my opinion. You want to please others, you want to feel that validation of their being pleased, but how much are you willing to sacrifice for it?

I think that’s where the line lies between healthy acceptance of admiration and praise, and the unhealthy need for it.

The message in today’s Six of Wands and the “nourish” card is a reminder that we need to find validation in other ways than just through others. We need to be able to nourish and nurture ourselves, instead of depending upon others to always fill that need. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of leaning more and more heavily on others for validation; today’s message reminds us that it’s extremely important to also validate ourselves instead of leaving it up to others alone.

DECK USED:  THE WINDING (TAROT)

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 5 | Entry 8 – Health and Body
Affirmation : “I release stressful situations I cannot control.”
Prompt : When you think about what stresses you out mentally or physically, what energy does the card you draw offered for you to tap in to when you are starting to feel overwhelmed?

Tarot Activity from The One Card a Day Journal by Maria Sofia Marmanides - Sea and Sky Tarot - Death card

What feelings came up when I pulled this card?

One of the things that stresses me out the most recently is the amount of clutter I have in my home. It’s always there, piled up here and there.

Yes, I know where everything is, and yes, a good portion of why it’s like this is because I’m running a business out of my home… a home that is not quite large enough to handle the amount of work I’m doing here. That doesn’t change the fact that it looks like a mess.

When I pulled this card, there was a feeling of hopelessness in seeing it and the image upon it, for it feels like a warning that if I don’t get this in hand, it’s going to inevitably come tumbling down on top of me.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

Inevitability is a huge part of the Death card. There is no other thing in life that is absolutely guaranteed to happen in the future than the fact that sooner or later we die. It can happen in all different ways and at all different times, but we’re all guaranteed to experience it eventually.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

The towering “death goddess” looming over the woman below with her sword and shield. The dragon that looks like it might be in mid-fall from the skies.

This figure may fight the good fight, but one way or the other she’s going to be crushed. She may be taking into her own hands how things play out, but the end result is going to be the same either way because she’s too damn close to the fray to avoid it.

My prompt response and reflections.

This card says that whether I take control and take care of these things myself, or leave them to crush me when they become so out of hand that they can no longer be ignored… sooner or later I’m going to have to confront and deal with the fallout.

The energy this card offers to me is not to just give up and lay down and wait for my eventual downfall, though. Instead, it offers the hope that I can stave off this eventual downfall by trying to take control not of the situation, but of my actions concerning it. Much in the same way that someone who eats healthy can help prolong their life. It’s not guaranteed, but it can help.

If I want to solve this problem, I need to back up and take a look at it from a more objective viewpoint, instead of from the center of the chaos where it all already feels far too overwhelming.

Other elements included in this reading:
Prehnite D20 and D6 Gemstone Dice

DECK USED: SEA AND SKY TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompt for May 10th : Do Spread 2
Philosophical Question for May 13th : What is the point of life?

Tarot Reading with The Winding Tarot

Reading Summary: Inspired creation (Ace of Wands) through movement and doing (The Knight), no matter how slow (Knight of Pentacles).

Take Away: The universe was not created in a day. Yes, they call it the “Big Bang”, but that explosion didn’t happen all at once (nor was it actually a single explosion, but more of an expansion). It happened over the stretch of 3.8 billion years and continues on, even today.

Whether we feel the spark to create as a flash in the pan, or as a slow burn over a lifetime, these cards indicate that the purpose of life lies in creation.

Creation comes in all forms from art and science to life itself. It can be quick sometimes, it can take a lifetime, or it can take much longer than that. The crux, though, is in the energy of creation itself.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  THE WINDING (TAROT)
Daily Self Kindness

I made myself a post-it note in the wee hours of the morning and stuck it to my monitor, right in the center, to remind me that today is Mothers Day and I have phone calls to make.

❤️ 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 Heart City Monsoon Tarot and Forest Bathing Cards

Earth – Ten of Cups – Take time to celebrate your wins with others. It’s not good for you to just move on from one goal to the next without appreciating how far you’ve come and enjoying the congratulations of others that come your way. It really is okay to lean into that happiness rather than shirking from it.

Air – Nine of Swords Rx atop Six of Pentacles – Take care not to allow your overthinking and dwelling on your worries of the future hold you back from offering kindness to others.

Water – The Fool – Remember that it’s okay to be foolish now and then, and don’t berate yourself for those moments. Most foolish moments are born in hope, and that hope is uplifting; not something punish yourself for.

Fire – King of Cups atop Six of Swords – Spending time with Gideon can help you feel refreshed this week. Make sure that you are making time to be in his company so that he can help you move on from the more difficult and stressful parts of your day.

Waning – “While on slow walk I invite you to contemplate the beings of the more-than-human world; plants, animals, and landscapes. I wonder how it feels when you consider they might be looking right back at you.”

Don’t worry so much about if people are watching you or judging you. Just do your thing regardless. Your imagined perception of what they might be thinking or how they might be judging you just simply shouldn’t matter; so don’t let it.

Waxing – “Our ancestors wandered the Earth barefoot long before us, intimately connecting with this element. If it’s safe for you, I invite you to follow suit. Allow your bare feet to experience the myriad of sensations the Earth has to offer. I wonder what you notice.”

Make sure you are doing the grounding exercises that help you to connect with the Earth, the soil, and the roots beneath it this week. You need this additional grounding, and in seeking it out you will find a greater sense of connection and stability moving forward.

Take Away – Use your interminable focus to lean into the good this week. Praise yourself for your accomplishments, and when others do so as well… enjoy it instead of shying away from that praise. Don’t worry about the negative, and don’t buy into the stories your negative inner narrative tries to tell you about what others are thinking. It doesn’t matter. Work at getting back into your meditation practice, and make sure you are getting outside to spend time among the trees and playing in the dirt with the flowers. It’s supposed to rain this week, which means it’s an ideal time to dip your fingers into some soil.

DECKS USED: HEART CITY MONSOON TAROT AND FOREST BATHING CARDS

Home Is Where the Heart Is

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 9th : Grounded
Daily Mental Health Prompt: A positive message to carry with me throughout the day and offer perspective.

The Symbolic Tarot - Four of Wands

Today’s draw is the Four of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of one’s passionate love for the security and welcoming energies of home. This often translates into themes that have to do with homecoming, celebrating home and stability, as well as relaxation in comfortable spaces.

Home is where the heart is, as the saying goes.

The thing is, some people’s hearts don’t reside in their house. Sometimes one’s house is not the safe place that they wish it would be.

Instead, they find their safety and comfort in the library, or the park, or another person’s home, or in the company of another person.

The phrase “home is where the heart is” is often misinterpreted to mean that you are supposed to be emotionally attached to your residence and it is supposed to be the place where you most love to be. In truth, what the saying is actually trying to tell us is that home can be anywhere and anything that feels like our heart is comforted and safe.

The message in today’s Four of Wands and the “grounded” prompt is a reminder that finding these places and people where our heart is engaged, and we feel comforted and safe, is important. These places and people are how we ground ourselves into reality and into the world. These places and people are how we find a sturdy foundation in life from which to grow.

Today’s message encourages us to seek out where and who gives us this sense of a stable foundation, and acknowledge their importance in our lives and the strength they provide us.

DECK USED:  THE SYMBOLIC TAROT

@ambitiouslyalexa May Journal Prompts
Prompt for May 11th : What my life looks like when it’s really good

Oracle Reading with the Nature Enlightenment Cards

Reading Summary: You very much like your alone time (Solitude), but you also enjoy being around those with whom you have cultivated a strong relationship… people that genuinely enjoy spending time with you (Praise) and often share your values (Cultured).

Take Away: For you, when life is really good there’s a balance between the solitude in nature that you need and the companionship with like-minded souls that you enjoy.

You often find strangers exhausting, but socializing with those of like-mind and like-values helps you get in the amount of socialization you need without it being overwhelming.

It’s all about finding a balance between that solitude and socialization. Too much of one or the other is just that; too much. Ideally, you need a balanced diet of both.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
English Elm Seeds to Encourage Flexibility During Growth
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: NATURE ENLIGHTENMENT CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompt for May 7th thru 9th

Tarot Reading with The Symbolic Tarot and Enchanted Foraging Deck

What secret are you holding onto that needs to be shared?

White Dead Nettle and The Empress

You are not receiving the nurturing you need, and thus there is a continual ache of need within you that’s not being met. This ache of need acts like a bleeding wound, influencing both your energy and mood.

Trying to patch this wound created by your unmet needs isn’t something you can do on your own, yet you lack the ability to express what these needs are in a way others (or even yourself) can understand.

What are the pros of sharing this secret?

Broad-Leaved Dock and Ace of Cups

By sharing the secret, it has the potential to create a balm upon this wound within you.

Even if you don’t know how to express yourself well concerning this issue, just getting the issue out there in any way that you can to those that care can create a soothing effect on your emotions surrounding the situation.

What are the cons of sharing this secret?

Yarrow and Eight of Cups

Some who see this secret aired may consider you too needy. In response, it may cool off relationships that you thought were stable, causing others to step back who don’t want to stick by your side in dealing with this issue.

If they’re unwilling to support you in your time of need, though, perhaps that’s for the best.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Cedar Bundle for Protection from Negative Influences
Calcite for Gently Calming the Mind and Stimulating Insights
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: THE SYMBOLIC TAROT AND ENCHANTED FORAGING DECK
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Finding the Positive for May 6 – 8

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Tarot de Paris's Ace of Swords, The Animalis os Fortuna's Death card, and The Tarot Apocalypse's The World Card

May 6 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 6th : Iridescence
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Ace of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of the seed of new beginnings in the area of one’s thoughts, intellect, education, logic and reason, ambition, or communication.

Remember to advocate for yourself and your own choices rather than abdicating them to allow others to make choices for you. If you have an opinion on what to do or where to go, speak up instead of holding your peace today.

Bear your teeth if you need to, but speak your piece all the same. It’s okay to have an opinion that doesn’t align with the party line… and it’s okay to express it instead of keeping it to yourself.

The message in today’s Ace of Swords and the “rise” prompt is a reminder to rise up and communicate your wants and needs rather than remaining silent. Only then will you take back the power that you been yielding to others.

DECK USED: TAROT DE PARIS MIDNIGHT TAROT RESTORATION

May 7 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 7th : Rooted
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Death card, which is traditionally a representation of gradual organic changes, loss, slow moving transitions, and letting go.

Life’s rooted not in stability, but in change. Just as balance isn’t stagnant, but requires constant adjustments.

Think of the buildings constructed to be”earthquake proof”. They don’t stay standing through the earthquake due to stagnant stiffness, but instead due to their ability to flex and adjust.

We, too, need to be able to flex and adjust. This is how we ride out the tests, trials, and changes in life, and come out the other end still thriving.

The message in today’s Death card and the “rooted” prompt is a reminder that the best roots are the ones that flex and adapt to the changes we’re going through, rather than stiffening into stillness and end up breaking under the pressure.

DECK USED: THE ANIMALIS OS FORTUNA TAROT

May 8 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was an eleven minute long #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
So Below Prompt for May 8th : Embody
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The World card, which is traditionally a representation of the end of a journey, accomplishment, the completion of a time of growth, and transitioning from one path in life to another.

Embody the completion and closure that you seek.

When we are looking the end of a journey in the face, it’s time to connect and embrace that ending rather than balking and backing up. By celebrating the end, we allow ourselves to move forward into the next phase of things with eagerness and joy, instead of the reluctance and trepidation that resistance can cause.

Yes, sometimes endings are hard. Sometimes we don’t feel -ready- to move on yet, even when we’ve reached the end. It’s okay to feel these feelings, as long as we remember to also celebrate and embrace the ending that is before us.

The message in today’s World card and the “embody” prompt is a reminder that endings are a chance to celebrate an accomplishment. Today’s message encourages us to not let your fear over the unknown that lies beyond these endings to hold you back from leaping forward with eagerness and joy.

DECK USED: THE APOCALYPSE TAROT

What Resonates… and What Doesn’t

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 5th : Resonance
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Persona 3/4 Tarot - The Magician

Today’s draw is The Magician card, which is traditionally a representation of capability, potential, resourcefulness, action, and manifestation. This often translates into themes having to do with being in possession of all of the skills, abilities, and tools necessary to reach one’s goals and accomplish one’s ends. It’s about being capable and skilled, resourceful and gifted with what is needed to get the job done.

Everything goes a little bit more smoothly when you follow what fits for you, rather than trying to conform yourself to what doesn’t.

When we try to conform ourselves to other’s standards and ideals, we aren’t just not going with the flow, we’re fighting against the current. This makes everything more difficult. You may still reach success, but all that extra hard work involved often doesn’t feel worth it in the end… because where you end up isn’t where you truly resonate with the world around you and those in it.

The message in today’s Magician card and the “resonance” prompt is a reminder that authenticity is one of the greatest tools in our arsenal when it comes to navigating life and our path through it. Being authentic to oneself, and carrying that authenticity forward into the world with us, allows us to find those things, people, and endeavors that truly resonate with who we are.

DECK USED: PERSONA 3/4 TAROT CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2026 Challenge
Prompts for May 4th thru 6th

Tarot Reading with the Tarot of Transformation and Inner Child Healing Oracle

What in life lights fire to your creative spark?

Two of Swords and Be Generous

Seeing the world and those in it in a positive light.

It’s extremely difficult for you to see bad people without trying to search for the good you think is within them as well. You have no problem accepting that there is bad in people in the world… it’s just that you want to see the good as well.

When you see that good shining from others through their choices and interactions, it inspires you in creative ways, sparking your creativity and allowing you to believe more fully that there is as much good in the world (or more) than there is bad.

How can you connect more strongly with that creative spark?

Master of Cups and Self Acceptance

When you see others like Gideon, who have a clear understanding of their emotions and the emotions of those around them, it’s important to accept that although you’re not there yet, you’re working on it.

Part of this journey is of self discovery, which requires accepting yourself in this moment as you are so that you can then improve upon yourself for the future. Allow yourself to be a novice, not just in your emotional journey, but your creative ones as well. As a result, this mindset will continue to spark that creativity within you again and again.

Philosophical Question: What is the biggest waste of human potential?

Eight of Swords atop Master of Disks; Listen to Your Unmet Needs atop Heal Your Rejection Wound

Trying to fill the emptiness within us with pursuits based in greed, and believing that that is going to solve the problem and make us feel better about ourselves, others, or the world around us.

This is about greed, and about using greed as a form of self-medicating for those things in our lives that we feel that we lack and/or crave. Not only does this not solve the issue that we’re trying to self medicate for in the first place, but this pursuit encourages humanity to be selfish and cruel.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Foraged Lodgepole Pine for Resilience, Growth, and Renewal
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT OF TRANSFORMATION AND INNER CHILD HEALING ORACLE

@ambitiouslyalexa May Journal Prompts
Prompt for May 10th : Where I’ve been waiting to feel happy

Tarot Reading with the Persona 3/4 Tarot

Reading Summary: When conflict arises around you again and again (Five of Wands), instead of engaging you’ve been sitting back and not getting involved (Four of Cups) in the hopes that you will learn something long lasting and valuable (The Hierophant) from the experience by being detached from it.

Take Away: Part of the reason you step back instead of stepping in to make choices for others when they ask what you think is because you want them to learn how to able to deal with these situations on their own.

Whether this is looking at a solution to a problem or something as simple as deciding where to eat, what you’re actually doing is simply ensuring that you don’t get what you want out of the situation.

Choose to speak up instead. Let them choose to follow your lead or not once you do.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Raidho Cedar Rune Die for Encouraging Movement and Progress
Deodar Cedar Cone for Fostering Clarity and Spiritual Connection
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing on Aspirations
Green Aventurine for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PERSONA 3/4 TAROT CARDS
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Purpose Behind the Pain

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #MayMoon26 Rise Root Return Challenge
As Above Prompt for May 4th : Expansion
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Art History Tarot For Past Lives - The Tower card

Today’s draw is The Tower card, which is traditionally a representation of sudden change, chaotic transformation, destruction, and the tearing down of something within one’s life or beliefs that leaves room for something new to take its place.

Like a germinating seed, you can’t grow unless you’re willing to crack the shell that protects you in order to reach beyond it.

I often wonder if the plagues and pandemics that have stricken humanity over the centuries aren’t a form of population control. After all, the Earth can only sustain so many, and humans are resource hogs. Just like thinning seedlings allows the ones left behind to grow and flourish, perhaps these plagues and pandemics are a way of doing the same for humanity. Wildlife culls itself, after all, but humanity simply grows and grows.

That doesn’t make the suffering in the moment any less, though. Nor the grief and loss that follows.

The message in today’s Tower card and “expansion” prompt is a reminder that even growth requires balance. You have to let go of certain things in order to allow room for new things to take their place. You have to weed out the things that would otherwise become an obstacle to your growth… even when that weeding hurts. Instead of focusing on the pain during these necessary times, try seeking out and focusing on the purpose.

DECK USED:  ART HISTORY TAROT FOR PAST LIVES

@ambitiouslyalexa May Journal Prompts
Prompts for May 5th, 6th, and 9th

Oracle Reading with the Fractals of Nature Oracle

Something I’m genuinely proud of

Jellyfish : Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield, but to my own strength.

Your independence and resilience. You are able to navigate life’s hurdles and obstacles on your own steam with your own strength and determination.

Although you are learning how to ask for help and depend upon others, you have the confidence and strength to handle things on your own when you need to.

This self-reliance is something that you are proud of.

Just keep in mind that the self-reliance you take pride in is not diminished when you ask for help. Asking for help is merely another tool in your “self-reliance toolbox”.

What abundance looks like in my life

Wood and Vine : He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the door open.

The love and caring you feel for others gives you a natural “in” when it comes to being a part of their lives and influencing them through your words and actions… and even through your mere presence.

For you, the concept of abundance includes this soul-deep caring within you, and the connections that it fosters between you and others. It creates authenticity in your relationships, allowing you to connect with others on a deeper level when they are open to recognizing and receiving that caring from you.

It’s about love, authenticity, and the connections they grow from these things.

Where I keep missing the moment I’m in

Lichen : When the moon fades, the ocean does not grieve it; it waits for another pull.

It’s easy for you to forget the cycles of nature and life when you are too busy pushing for success and accomplishments.

If you are willing to ease up and sense the natural flow of things, trusting it to carry you along through its natural cycles instead of trying to fight it’s currents, you will be able to stay more in the present and miss less of what’s going on in the moment.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: FRACTALS OF NATURE ORACLE
Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.