self help with tarot cards

Its Better Together

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds, and focused on the concept of gezellig, which is (apparently) a German adjective that means a kind of thing or activity that embodies a sense of joy or peace.

The guided meditation started out with a very broken down mindfulness technique or the breath that involves first focusing on the rise and fall of the belly, then the expansion and contraction of the ribs, then the rise and fall of the chest, before then focusing on how the breath moves like waves through each part. It was extremely relaxing.

After this, it spoke about the importance of adding activities into each day that help to restore the soul. These are things that bring you a sense of peace, joy, contentment, or fun. I think sometimes we all forget to do this, and forget to truly appreciate these things even when we do actually do them. I know that I am guilty of this.

Today’s draw is another double without a jumper. It is the 11th card in the Major Arcana, the Justice card (with chimpanzees), and the Two of Cups (with seals).

Today I’m not going to bother with traditional meanings because I got an intuitive hit (and currently riding in a car which means I’m flirting with getting car sick by working on this right now.

Today, the Justice card is telling me that we are going to get pulled over sometime today (or some other event that is going to deal with an authoritative figure and reckoning).

The Two of Cups is a reminder of emotional support. It says that I may either need it, or need to provide it, in relation to the above mentioned event. I’m traveling with J today, so we’ll just have to see how things go.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

Self Care Saturday (on Sunday)

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SCS

Week two of accountability on my Self Care Saturday spread in order to foster the motivation to write it down instead of just reading the spread, taking a picture, and moving on.

As mentioned before, these 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 not meant as a predictive reading.

The question is… What do I need to focus on in the week ahead?

Body – Temperance – I need to keep an eye on what I’m doing to my body this week and take care to practice balance and moderation with both my physical activity and what I’m using as fuel.  Don’t hurt myself by pushing too hard.

Mind – Two of Rods & Ace of Cups – There are some decisions that I need to make concerning what direction I want to take my creativity for the week.  The new project that I’m considering will bring me joy, but I need to be careful not to overload myself. (In other words, make a choice on what to focus on instead of putting all my fish on to fry at once.)

Emotions – Three of Pentacles – This is the 2nd time that this card has appeared in a reading for me in the past two days, and both times it has appeared in the position of the heart/emotions.  This is all about learning some new skills and flexing my creative “muscles” while putting in the work to manifest my idea into reality.  This ties directly into the new project idea mentioned above.

Inner Spark – King of Pentacles – Very clear here. Grab the reins, Be the Boss. Do It.

Moving Away From – Stripping Illusions & Grounding – It’s time to strip away my second guessing and self doubt.  Stop holding myself back and pushing down the ideas that have been brewing.

Heading Towards – Growth & Psychic Development – Although the question for this reading didn’t direct me towards the project that I was considering, it appears that’s the direction that it went in anyway.  It’s time to grow, move forward, and follow where my intuition is leading me.

Decks Used: Anna K Tarot, Shamanic Healing Oracle

 

A Peter Pan Kind of Day

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and eight seconds, and focused on shame and how to deal with shame so that you can move past it.

I do not really have a lot of experience with this particular emotion, despite my father’s insistence throughout my life that I should. There are times, of course, when I have felt guilty for hurting someone on accident, not making good choices, or occasionally from my mother’s machinations. But, I do not consider guilt to be shame, as I believe they are two very different monsters.

Regardless, I do believe that the way to deal with both of these is much the same, which is what is what was outlined in today’s guided meditation. This method is by approaching yourself with kindness and understanding in these moments, as guilt and shame both come from a place of harsh judgment inflicted upon the self.

Today’s draw is the Six of Cups, which is a representation of vitality, harmony, and cooperation in the area of emotions, creativity, intuition, and relationships.

The Six of Cups can often represent a youthful energy, and this is a part of the message that this card has for me today.

In my morning devotional this morning, part of my hopes for the day was to “enjoy the day to its fullest”. The appearance of this card is telling me that in order to do that I need to get in touch with my inner child and that fun vibrant spot inside of us all that is the birthplace of enthusiasm and joy.

This is also a mindful practice for me in living in the now instead of always pushing for the future.

Although I have a long drive ahead of me and much to do, I am going to strive to approach each task and challenge today from a mindset filled with the spark of joy and adventure, rather than one of responsibility and drudgery.

Deck Used: Student Tarot v5

 

Be a Nice Boy

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on clarity of the senses.

This is the conscious act of taking time to pay attention to both the world around you and your own body, rather than allowing disinterest to muffle the things that you are experiencing.

This is especially important when feeling like the world is a drab and boring, and there is nothing new of interest to capture and hold one’s attention. At these times a lot of people take trips or go on vacations, but that really isn’t necessary in order to refresh one’s view of the world. What is needed is to focus on and appreciate the little things. That is what clarity of the senses is all about.

Bearing down on the little details, sort of like putting on a new pair of glasses after getting a new prescription, allows you to see things from a new perspective and appreciate the complexity and beauty of even something so small as a crack in the pavement.

This is along the same theme as yesterday’s forest bathing, although you are taking this awareness with you back into your regular life rather than leaving it behind in the forest.

Today’s draw is the Five of Wands and the 15th card in the Major Arcana, the Devil card. No the card is a jumper, as they both came out together.

The Five of Wands is a representation of struggle and strife, tests and trials, harshness, discord, and conflict in the area of one’s ambitions, drive, willpower, and passion.

The Devil card is a representation of temptation and the shadow self. This card, like all major arcana cards, does not represent a certain aspect of life but rather the larger picture as a whole.

As part of the subdrop, I found myself with a tendency to feel a bit snippy this morning when interacting with other people. Today’s draw is a reminder that this temptation will only lead to conflict, and seeking out conflict… or inspiring conflict, will only lead to a crappier day and the emergence of more of my shadow self self.

This is a cycle that will continuously feed upon itself. It is a cycle that I need to be aware of today, so that I can avoid it and have a more pleasurable day, as well as to avoid affect other’s days in a negative way.

Coping With Subdrop

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and thirty six seconds, and focused on shinrin-yoku, or what is known as “forest bathing”.

This is a type of eco-therapy where one takes a walk in the woods and, instead of spending the time distracted by one’s phone, thoughts, or the drive for getting exercise, you focus on your senses and what you are experiencing there within the forest.

This includes everything from listening to the sounds of the forest such as the rustle of leaves and sound of insects, to the scents of the forest such as the smell of the earth and the trees, the experience of touch through feeling the sun and air on the skin or the feeling of dappled shade through leaves, taking in the colors and shapes and beauty around you, and even taste through how the air tastes as you breathe it in.

When I hike, this is my practice. I am not hiking in order to get exercise or see how far I can go. I am there to enjoy nature in all of its subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways. Sometimes, I might bring my camera… but I always turn my phone off and leave my earbuds at home.

To me, hiking has always been a time to commune with nature. Like some people use a maze or labyrinth to foster mindfulness, I have always used the hiking trails in the forests here where I live in this way.

Today’s draw is the 14th card in the Major Arcana, the Temperance card. Like all cards in the Major Arcana, this card deals with not just one single aspect of the human experience, but instead a broader picture as a whole.

The Temperance card is a representation of moderation, balance, and patience. It speaks of the need for a pause before reacting, thought before action, and reflection before absorption. This is an extremely good card for me today, because the subdrop has definitely arrived! Holy crap, has it ever.

One of the qualities of the Temperance card is to remind you to remain calm during times of stress and chaos. The subdrop is absolutely a time of stress and chaos for me, as I feel extremely vulnerable emotionally during this time.

As a result, the message of the card for today is just to take my time. Remember that I need to consciously seek out balance and stability, rather than just flying off the handle over every little thing. No matter whether that be mentally, emotionally, or even physically.

Side Note: Whenever I am in subdrop, it always reminds me of those movies where a woman is in labor and she looks over at her significant other and screams at him, “This is all your f’king fault, you son of a bitch!”.

Like pregnancy and labor, the sub drop is a joint endeavor… but in the moment, I just feel like blaming it all on you. Just sayin’.

 

Cast Them Overboard

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and sixteen seconds, and focused on the practice of bringing gratitude into your everyday life.  

Sometimes, especially when we are feeling down, gratitude is something that is hard to get in touch with.  But, there are always things to be grateful for, even if it’s simply the fact that when you wake up in the morning you are being presented with another chance to make life better.

I am planning to do a post soon concerning my own daily gratitude practice, so I won’t wax poetic on this topic here, but suffice to say that I absolutely agree with the need to bring gratitude into each and every day.  I feel that it is uplifting to the spirit and soul to find -something- with which to be truly grateful for at the beginning of each day.

Today’s draw is the Six of Swords, which is a representation of transitions and change in the area of thoughts, ambitions, communication, and logic.

The representation of the Six of Swords in the card is a depiction of someone moving away in a boat, but carrying six swords in the boat behind them on their journey.   These swords often represent old thoughts and mindsets, past experiences and old lessons that the person on the journey is carrying with them into the future.

The tips of these swords are down, embedded in the bottom of the boat…. a type of craft you don’t really want to have holes in it.  To me, this often means that these thoughts and mindsets from the past that the individual is bringing with them on this journey to new horizons are not of a positive nature.   They are the thoughts and mindsets of the past and are a detriment to progress on this journey.

I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately where the theme of the dreams is my victimization.  They do not specifically have G in them, or G’s friend for that matter, but the feelings within the dream are very similar even if the subject matter is not.   From these dreams I have been involuntarily carrying into waking hours a sense of anxiety and negativity.

Today’s draw of the Six of Swords is telling me to let go of my swords and cast them overboard… before they sink my boat.   Don’t ignore the negativity that is dug up by the dreams, but deal with it and discard it.