self improvement

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?

SCS

Earth – The Hierophant and The Lovers – Remember that you are in the process of learning how to be open and how to choose love. How to choose emotion and not just logic and intuition. Take time to recognize that on this path of emotional growth you’ve been on, the emotional factors aren’t going to stay in a nice little box away from the other areas of my life.  This isn’t something you can compartmentalize, so when emotions start to make themselves known in the areas of your life that you’re used to being very steadily grounded… don’t panic.  And don’t close down.  Ride it out instead and choose to stay open.

Air – Seven of Diamonds and Blossom – These cards are all about growth, and relate back to what was said in the Earth section of this reading in that you need to make sure you aren’t reacting negatively to this phase of natural growth.  You’ve been on this path for a long time now, but that doesn’t mean growing pains still aren’t possible or won’t happen.  Just remember to stay focused on what you want to come out as the end result.

Water – Nine of Hearts and Passage –  Again we hearken back to the lesson in the Earth section of this reading.  Here in the place of emotion  and relationships we see a card of passage that moves us from a place of darkness to one of light joined with a card signifying emotional harmony.  That emotional harmony is the goal that you seek.  The cards here indicate that you might feel some confusion or disillusionment this week, but you need to keep your eye on the prize.

Fire – Death and Potential – With every change, a new opportunity is born.  Again we have a card here that speaks of gradual change.  In the Air section this was about growth, but here we see the death of what is being left behind, and the seed of something new.  During the week ahead, consider what things relating to your drive and your business that you want to let go of.  Only by letting go can you make room for something new.

Waning – Wing Taps – This week is going to test your calm and your resolve to stick with the changes and growth that you’ve chosen to follow through with.  It may be stressful, and you’ll probably have some trouble dealing with your anxiety.

Waxing – Squirrel Smells – Centering and grounding will be extremely important this week in keeping things calm and collected and your anxiety at bay.  Make sure to meditate, and use mindfulness exercises with your senses to bring you into the here and now when things begin to feel overwhelming.

Take Away – Stress and anxiety this week are going to make it difficult to stay open and allow your emotional growth to continue to have the reigns.  It’s going to start showing in other areas of your life and don’t let that freak you out.  Use your meditation practice as well as mindfulness based centering and grounding techniques to help yourself in staying calm and open to the changes taking place.

DECKS USED: ALAN TAROT, ROOTS AND WINGS ORACLE, MINDFUL KIDS CARDS BY LITTLE RENEGADES

Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

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?

Vivid Journey Tarot, White Light Oracle, Botanical Inspirations Oracle

Earth – Knight of Swords, The Moon, Garden Heliotrope – You may feel a bit directionless this week and uncertain in your path forward concerning hearth and home and that stability you crave. It’ll take some determination to move beyond those feelings of uncertainty. You’ll need to use that inner fire that lives inside you to push through these feelings and keep your eye on the prize.

Air – Six of Wands and Hibiscus –  Aesthetic is everything this week.  Not just what appeals to you, either, but what appeals to the masses. You make beautiful things with your hands every day.  Take some time this week to explore some of those “brilliant ideas” you’re always having, paying special attention to those that have extra aesthetic appeal.

Water – Knight of Cups and Violet –  Another message about ego and restraint, which is the second or third of these messages this week.  Take care to practice some modesty and restraint in how you feel about the results of your creative endeavors.  Getting too confident could end with you tripping over your  own feet.

Fire – The Devil and Hydrangea – You may feel yourself falling a bit more deeply into the trap of self soothing in unhealthy ways this week.  Instead of indulging and perpetuating the cycle, it would be helpful and healthy to step aside and examine what is triggering these impulses. Once you understand where they are coming from, you can then explore solutions.

Waning – Lasya of Parvati – Gentleness and grace are the tenants of Lasya of Parvati, and in this card you are being told that this week will not be as gentle or as graceful as you might like.  Although it won’t be the smoothest or easiest ride, it also won’t be the end of the world.   Just take a deep breath and keep moving.

Waxing – Solve Polluti 741Hz – Make this week a time of clearing out of negative energies and cleansing.  Sometimes harmful energies have a way of sneaking in to wreak havoc a little bit at a time.  A little extra meditation and adding in a cleansing ritual to the process this week would benefit you greatly.

This card also feels like it is looking at the Fire position in the spread (directionality within the imagery).  This indicates to me that the cleansing mentioned here will benefit me in this area of my addictions and bad habits used to self soothe.

Take Away –  Use your enthusiasm for the creative process and appreciation for appealing aesthetic to pull yourself past the feelings of uncertainty that well up this week.  Focus on the pleasure in the work and not the end result. As pleased as you are with your finished projects, the finish line is not the point of the work.   Make sure you are doing extra self cleansing this week…. perhaps add in a second salt and vinegar soak in the tub and a couple of energy cleansings during your meditation practice.

DECKS USED:  VIVID JOURNEY TAROT, WHITE LIGHT ORACLE, BOTANICAL INSPIRATIONS ORACLE

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?

Spark and Pen Tarot, Flowers Oracle, Language of Flowers Oracle

Earth – Nine of Wands and Jonquil – This week it’s going to be important to make sure you’re not just aware of what’s yours but be willing to defend that claim if necessary.  Sometimes life allows a bit of lackadaisical relaxation and carelessness, but this week is not a time for such notions.  Yes, vacation is all well and good, but make sure you are not letting go of anything you should be holding on tight to.

Air – Page of Swords and Stephanotis – A lot of new ideas are swimming around in your head right now, and writing them down so you can take your time exploring them is great.  But when it comes to exploring this week, make sure you allow others in on your ideas and get their perspectives and their help in whatever ways it is offered to you.  You’re not in this alone, so don’t try to function as if you are.

Water – The Hierophant and Heartsease – You need to spend some time this week learning to be a little more gentle with yourself.  It’s time to seek out methods bringing yourself to that kinder place when  you need to access it.  Scolding yourself over being a dick doesn’t get you anywhere.  There has to be a better way.   This might be something Gideon can help you with. It’s not about “be nicer to yourself” but rather finding a method of identifying and triggering that kindness and compassion when it’s needed.

Fire – The Tower and Tiger Lily – There are times when tearing shit down is the way to go… and times when taking the safe route is best. This week you’re going to be pulled in both directions, and you’re going to need to find the middle road between the two. Find a balance between the two that allows a bit of both.

Waning – Cherry Plum and Red Chestnut – It’s time to move away from careless abandon and worried tailspins. Neither of these are going to do you any good moving forward.

Waxing – Wild Oat –  Now is a time to look over your path and make sure you are moving in the direction you desire to go in.  Seek clarity in looking over how things are going, and seek out honest truths and understanding concerning your trajectory and the hurdles you may face or have faced.  A little latitude is good… a lot, not so much.

Take Away – This week is going to be a delicate balance between what needs to dealt with and the peace and quiet you need out of these days off. Unfortunately, you just can’t abandon all responsibilities, but there’s still plenty of room for relaxation and self care. There’s lots of teetering balance in this week’s theme it seems. And a need to be aware of my surroundings as well as where I want my path to lead.

DECKS USED: SPARK AND PEN TAROT, FLOWERS ORACLE, LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS ORACLE

Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

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?

Tarot of Why, Ashelon Oracle, Embody Oracle

Earth – The World and Balance – It’s time to put things back in balance and this is the week to do it.  You need to look beyond the now and plan ahead, so it’s time to put away the desires for instant gratification and focus instead on making sure that your path into the future remains as smooth going and balanced as possible.  Take some time to evaluate and restructure so that you achieve a better equilibrium.

Air – Knave of Pentacles and Awakening – Dream time is coming to an end and it’s time to firmly plant both feet on the ground once more.  The dragonfly indicates change. It’s time for an awakening from the lackadaisical moments with your financial stability. These careless moments need to now come to an end as you begin to truly focus on what’s important once more.  Make the concentrated effort to be mindful and start upon a path of strategy once more.

Water – Ace of Pentacles and Certainty – Re-establishing the path towards financial stability may take a bit of a tole on your emotions.  In order to ease those feelings of being tossed up into the air, focus on your confidence to reach your goals and allow doubt to fall away.   It is through this sense of certainty you will find comfort and ease in the newness of redirecting yourself back on track.

Fire – Queen of Wands and Wishes – Wishes are the beginning of dreams, but
without the means to achieve them.  To achieve your dreams takes hard work and perseverance. Sometimes the steps you take to reach your dreams are a fast sprint, and sometimes they are slow and arduous. But with each step you take, you learn along the way and build upon your experience and know-how.  This week is a time to lean into those dreams and desires, and use the experience and know how you’ve achieved to pave the way to even better things.

Waning – Whole – It’s time to start picking things apart and examining the pieces.  If you leave things to rest for too long, you will find the chinks and cracks too late to actually do anything about them.

Waxing – Inventory – Taking stock is important now. As you pick things apart, make sure you are paying attention to what you have… and what is needed.  Make lists and use these lists to prepare for what’s to come.

Take Away – My self care this week has a lot to say about moving into the busy season that’s to come and making sure I’ve started the process for preparing for it.   I’ve already set up a schedule to put in one hour each day in the “restocking” project needed to get things ready for the holiday rush… but I’ve yet to actually put that plan into action.  The cards this week say that now is the time.  I need to begin preparations now so that I can do it all in small bite sized pieces rather than having it pile up and have to be done in huge time-consuming chunks later on.  There is promise in these cards that I will feel better once I’ve begun and in being proactive than in procrastinating and letting things build up in the background.

DECKS USED:  TAROT OF WHY, ASHELON ORACLE, EMBODY ORACLE

Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

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?

SCS

Earth – Temperance and Eagle – This week is going to require a little more restraint and moderation than normal. Make sure that you are staying aware and observant of the world around you, and don’t close yourself off. Observation is key here. This is not a time to act… just watch closely.

Air – Nine of Swords and Bee – You are more effective than you realize. The beautiful things you make, and the ways in which you reach out and touch the world, have rippling effects of positivity that spread far and wide.  Don’t allow your anxieties and negative inner narrative to snuff out the positive influences you share with the world around you. Instead, focus on the joy and pleasure you get in the things that you do well.

Water – Knight of Wands and Elephant – Slowing down is such a recurring theme in the cards this summer, and here again it shows up to speak out about taking time and slowing down this week.  There is also, once again, the reminder not to close yourself off in the presence of the Elephant.  Make sure that you are directing your focus to those around you, rather than getting so wrapped up in your own interests that everything else fades off into white noise.

Fire – King of Cups and Crow – Direct the lion’s share of your focus and drive towards spending real and valuable time with your loved ones.  Set aside superficial interactions and go for depth and meaning in the time you spend with those around you and your communications with them.  Express what lives within your soul with those you love through open communication, truth and honesty.

Waning – Juniper Berry and Black Pepper – Although self awareness is an important quality to have, focusing too much on your negative qualities, self defeating tendencies, and self destructive urges is not going to be a good way to spend your time this week.  Set aside your fears and worries, let go of that negative inner narrative, and turn your focus in another direction.

Waxing – Frankincense – As a few other readings have hinted at lately, now is a time of rebirth for you. You have already let go of so much of your old ways, and you are in the process of rebuilding your processes now.  Don’t look ahead, but move forward.  Train your focus on each step you make in the now, with the awareness that each step you make is a building block that creates the future’s foundation.

Take Away –  The theme for this week is to make sure that my focus and attention is being directed in the direction of my loved ones and not business struggles, financial concerns, or my own negative inner narrative.  Connect with those you love and allow them to give you  the support and boost you need in your life this week, just as you provide that for them in turn.  Be sure not to make any important financial decisions this week.  Watch and wait… gather information at this time and make your decisions later on down the road.

DECKS USED:  BIG THINGS IN SMALL PACKAGES TAROT

Transitioning from July to August

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This is a spread that I do at the end of each month to close out the month.

Month_End

Individuality – Seven of Pentacles and Self Heal (Responsibility) – At this time I am in the middle of a long term growth and healing process. This extends beyond the emotional growth that I have been dealing with through the past few months.  As I come to a point where that growth spurt changes from active growth to a time of adjustment, the emotional growth I experienced has begun to spread out into other areas of my life, influencing everything around me in small ways that will over time develop into something more beneficial and obvious. Have patience with yourself.

Dependence – Six of Rods and Nettle (Transformation) – Sometimes lately?  I feel like a know it all asshat.  Especially when dealing with that one specific brick wall we have on our server right now.  I want to release this feeling, but in order to do so, I need to dig into what’s creating that feeling.  Is it something in my personal communications that has shifted lately that’s causing it?  Or is it being stirred up by an external source?

Creativity – Page of Cups and Bee Balm (Vibrance) – I want more lighthearted creativity in my life. With the emotional growth I’m feeling a bit softer and a bit warmer, but I also want to feel a bit “lighter” and instill a bit of carefree creativity  in my life that’s been missing for the past… year?  I mean, there’s been little hints of it, but I’d love to have more.

Limitation – The Hermit and Borage (Optimism) – Retreating into yourself and closing yourself off to others is not assisting you in your goal to be more optimistic and positive in life.  By closing yourself off, you are allowing your inner dialog free reign to have its way with you.  It’s not healing, and it is important to both acknowledge this fact as well as watch out for these tendencies.

Change – The Chariot and Daylily (Centering) – Focus on the fact that you can’t truly control the future or the past.  It’s only the present that’s truly in your control, and you have the ability to make every day what you want it to be if you’re willing to grab the reigns and actually do it now instead of just thinking about it or planning for it to happen sometime in the future.

Sympathy – Wheel of Fortune and Rosemary (Clarity) – The past event these cards refers to has to do with my family’s expectations growing up as well as as an adult, and how there were times in which those expectations created self doubt. This painful lesson holds relevance at this time, and I need to remember that I have found my path and that I do not need to live my life for anyone but myself… nor conform to anyone’s expectations but my own.

Luck – Two of Swords and Evening Primrose (Rebirth) – These cards are a reminder of the day that I first was introduced to the poem “The Dash” by Linda Ellis.  This is a poem that changed my life.  It gave me a perspective that I needed, at a time when I needed it a most, and provided me with the knowledge I needed both of myself and what I wanted from life, to allow me to choose my path wisely.

Power – The Hanged Man Rx and Purple Poppy (Evolution) – Take care to stay aware and seeking those extra perspectives and different opinions.  It’s okay to have your own opinions and methods, but don’t forget that you need a much wider and more vast array of input to make good decisions on how you move forward and grow from one day to the next.  Don’t close yourself off or allow yourself to grow and evolve in a direction that would close you off from these things.

Responsibility – Strength and Bleeding Heart (Independence) – The opportunity in the month echos back to the mention of being in a time of “adjustment” concerning my emotional growth.  I have the opportunity to create a steady foundation at this time that will develop into a new kind of internal strength that includes a depth of emotional capacity rather than excluding my emotions from the equation.

Message from Spirit World –  You have the control to steer how you develop spiritually over the month ahead.  Stay open to new perspectives and seize control of your own autonomy.  Your future and your development is in your hands.  Your personal hands.  Your growth stretches beyond just the emotional and into the spiritual.  Make sure that you staying mindful of your choices and the direction your progress is taking.

Message from Mind’s World – It’s okay for things to take time and you need to accept that.  Fill that time with the things you want to do and stop worrying so much about what other people think about you.  This should be a time to focus on what you want, not what others want or expect of you.

Message from Known World – Although the world is often uncertain, you can make choices to steer things in the direction you want them to go.  Stay focused on what you want as things change around you, and your path will continue to steer true as you evolve upon it into the person you want to become.  Each day is filled with a series of constant choices.   Stay true in these choices to who you are… and what you want.  The Hermit in these cards stands out as the outlier… now is not a time to retreat or close yourself off from the world and those around you.  It would not be healthy for you at this time.

Take Away – There is a theme here in the cards that has to do with growth and progress, in what I want to instill into my future, and how the future is built from the present.  What you do here in the now is what directs you upon the path of your future, so make sure that your present choices are ones that suit what you want of both who you are today, and of who you want to be in the future as well.

DECKS USED: HANSON ROBERTS TAROT AND THE SOULFLOWER ORACLE CARDS