Sinister Affirmations

1525 Feet per Second; No Faster

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Memento Mori Tarot's Seven of Pentacles and Sinister AffirmationsDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Seven of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of slow growth, sustainability, domestic harmony, hard work, and practicing patience while the fruits of your labors develop and take form.

The Seven of Pentacles has then been combined with an affirmation card from the Sinister Affirmations deck, which says, “The early bird might get the worm, but the night goddess gets a black cloak made of stars and a flying chariot pulled by dark horses.”

Sometimes the best way forward is to wait.

That feels counter productive, doesn’t it? The idea that inactivity is, in fact, the best way forward just feels… wrong.  And yet, it’s true.  Sometimes it’s in standing back and waiting instead of working your fingers to the bone that you learn and grow and find yourself moving along your path.

My workaholic control freak of a brain has a hard time wrapping itself around that concept.  Yet, I know it’s true, all the same.

The message in today’s cards is that sometimes? The best way forward is the one that you deem to be the least likely. Be open to considering what thinking outside the box might actually look like.  In my case?  That means allowing myself to work on wrapping my mind around slow growth, and letting go of control.  What does it mean for you?

DECK USED:  MEMENTO MORI TAROT AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Prompt for October 31st : Grab a spread of your choice you’re curious about… and give it a go!
Spread : Scorpio Season

Scorpio Season Tarot Reading with the Memento Mori Tarot

where I’m a little bit pumpkin spicy

Six of Wands Rx – Guilt trips piss you off and expectations on how you should do things, react, or behave have a tendency to make you tense and put up your guard. By the same turn, when you see others acting out of character to people please, it causes you to want to leap in and empower them to break those self imposed chains.

where I might refuse to be a team player

Ten of Swords atop Two of Swords – When you’re overloaded and struggling with your own trials, being a team player is the first thing to be tossed out the window. You feel like you have more control on your own, regardless of the fact this reaction has a tendency to make everything worse and create a sense of overwhelm.

where there is a radical ending coming

Queen of Swords – There is an uncharacteristic apology coming your way.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Dried Red Maple Leaf for Adaptability and Connection
Cream Quartz Stone for Amplifying Intentions and Mental Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: MEMENTO MORI TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I let myself have some fun today handing out candy, and even “dressed up” a bit for the occasion.

Curating Your Gallery

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Cthulhu Mythos Comicology Tarot (Color Foil Edition) and Sinister Affirmations DeckDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Three of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of the first active step in a journey, progress towards a goal, and the seizing of opportunities.

The Three of Wands has then been combined with an affirmation card from the Sinister Affirmations deck, which says, “There is no rule that says you can’t be a captivating forest pixie and an intimidating ancient hell goddess. Hecate had three forms. You needn’t commit to just one.”

Pick and choose the paths  you decide to follow in life.  You can be more than one thing.  A mother and a boss. A boyfriend and an advocate. An entrepreneur and a nature enthusiast.  We all wear many hats, the important part is to be active in choosing which hats you decide to wear.

The message in today’s cards is a reminder that the life you are living belongs to you, and the hats you decide to wear? Are your decision.  If one of them isn’t fitting right? It’s okay to trade it out for something else, or even set it aside instead of continuing on with what isn’t working. Today’s message encourages us to carefully curate out lives, like a gallery of most loved artwork.  Each path a piece a fit for our unique needs, wants, and likes.

DECK USED:  CTHULHU MYTHOS COMICOLOGY TAROT COLOR FOIL EDITION AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Spirits Prompt for October 25th : What guidance do your ancestors have to offer you at this time?

Tarot Reading with the Tarot Apokalypsis DeckReading Summary: Starting over is never easy, and can always be confusing (imagery in the Ace of Pentacles). It can be worse, though, if you allow your emotions to start overriding good sense (Ace of Cups atop Eight of Swords).  Leaning on your emotions alone will blind you to pitfalls and lead in the direction of failure (Nine of Pentacles Rx).

Take Away: Learning to moderate your emotions is difficult, and it’s a long and arduous process. Now that they are set loose instead of being buried, they have a tendency to try and take the lead.

Make sure that you are staying connected to what’s going on, so that you can step outside of those emotional influences and allow other factors to come into play in your decision making, actions, and reactions.

Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Yew Tips for Ancestral Connections
Blue Apatite for Balancing Energies and Manifestation
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT APOKALYPSIS

@LightningWildflower October Tarot Challenge
Fire and Air “The Nines” Prompts for October

Tarot Reading with the Cthulhu Mythos Comicology Tarot Nine of Wands

How have I shown resilience in past difficulties?

Judgement – You show your resilience in how you keep your eye on where you want to end up and who you want to be. This focus helps you move through difficulties while staying true to yourself, allowing you a resilience you wouldn’t otherwise possess.

What helps me tap into my determination to see things through?

The World – The knowledge that everything is temporary and an end is coming if you just persevere helps you to tap into your determination and see things through when the road becomes difficult.

Also, the understanding that there’s a journey with lessons here that need to be learned for your growth and development.

Nine of Swords

What is an area of anxiety in my life, and how can I best approach this distress?

Queen of Cups Rx and Seven of Pentacles – Your craving for emotional support from a mother figure creates occasional rises of a sort of anxious desperation within you. You need to remember to take things slow, though, and lower your expectations to see what comes out of your hard work instead of pushing for a desired ideal.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Black Tourmaline for Grounding and Protection
Carnelian Agate for Inner Drive and Focusing On Aspirations
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: CTHULHU MYTHOS COMICOLOGY TAROT COLOR FOIL EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

This post is a catch-up post, and I can’t remember what my self-kindness might have been for this day.

Make Them Pay Rent

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Murder of Crows Tarot's Knight of Cups and Sinister Affirmation CardsDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of an active beta energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, intuition, and creativity. This often portrays itself in a theme of going after what brings someone joy or following your imagination and creativity into new adventures.

The Knight of Cups has then been combined with an affirmation card from the Sinister Affirmations deck, which says, “Once I replace my hair with serpents and develop a glare that turns people to stone it’s all over for my haters.”

There’s truth to the saying that when you hold a grudge or remain angry with someone, that they are staying rent-free in your head and heart.

Instead of focusing on the negative feelings that they may have caused within you with whatever it is that happened or that they did, consider instead showing the world you’re indifference to them and their actions. After all, the opposite of love is not hate… It’s indifference.

In doing so you are no longer allowing them to have a part of your life, your heart, or your head.

Today’s message is a reminder that when we stew in negative emotions, it affects us far more than it affects anyone else, including those that may have caused the emotions in the first place.

DECKS USED:  MURDER OF CROWS TAROT AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Banshee Prompt for October 23rd : What inside you is screaming for release?

Tarot Reading with The Occult TarotReading Summary: There is a child inside you (Page of Pentacles) that is extremely frustrated with how things are going (Eight of Cups). They feel abandoned and alone (Five of Pentacles).

Take Away: What is screaming for release within you is your inner child.

You have a tendency to give yourself small doses of inner child work, but you really don’t commit to it in any meaningful way. It’s more something that you work on in bite-size pieces at random intervals.

Your inner child is frustrated with this slow and erratic progress, and often feels forgotten about and abandoned.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Lavender Bundle for Calming and Comfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Lunar Energies

DECK USED: THE OCCULT TAROT

@thetruthinstory #embracethemagical2025 Challenge
Prompt for Hollow (emptiness) : What space within me is aching or waiting to be filled?

Tarot Reading with the Murder of Crows TarotReading Summary: You ache for the confidence to stand strong without fear (Nine of Swords Rx) in the face of change (Death), secure in your knowledge, strength, and ability to navigate through the challenges of change with your gut at the helm (The High Priestess).

Take Away: Uncertainty is not the friend of intuition. Sometimes when you feel highly uncertain, as in the type of uncertainty that you feel during times of change, it can drown out the voice of your intuition and make it hard for you to navigate, as you are left feeling blinded.

You know how to trust your intuition, and how to let it guide you. But, in order to allow your intuition to fill you up and be your guide, you have to get past this block that uncertainty creates.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Red Oak Leaf for Fostering Unconditional Love
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: MURDER OF CROWS TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

This post is a catch-up post, and I can’t remember what my self-kindness might have been for this day.

Hopes and Dreams vs Aspirations

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The Vampire Tarot by Robert M Place - The Star Card, and Sinister AffirmationsDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The Star card, which is traditionally a representation of hope, faith, and the connecting of spirituality to the various aspects of our lives.

The Star card has then been combined with an affirmation card from the Sinister Affirmations deck, which says, “It’s a perfect day to seize an unsuspecting mortal and whisk him off to the underworld.”

What do you hope for?  I’m not talking about your goals that you work toward and your path through life.  I’m talking about those things that cling to your hope and you can’t let go of.  Those are the things that -really- matter. Is it happiness? Or love?  Is it health? Is it comfort? Or security?

We all long for certain things that we feel we need but are just out of reach. We constantly hope for them, seek them out, sometimes ache for them.

Today’s message is a reminder that these are the things in life that truly matter. Not money or accolades or climbing the corporate ladder.  Not material goods or expensive possessions.  It’s those things that deep inside you long for.  Ache for.  The message in today’s cards encourages us to dig deep to seek out what those things are and consider making them your priority rather than an afterthought.

DECK USED:  ROBERT M PLACE’S THE VAMPIRE TAROT AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS DECK

@thetruthinstory #embracethemagical2025 Challenge
Prompt for Harvest (completion) : What has ripened, ready to be gathered or released?

Tarot Reading with The Vampire Tarot by Nathalie HertzReading Summary: There is strength (Strength) in knowing oneself well (The Hermit). Although the transformation going on in your life (Seven of Swords) is not yet over (Ten of Swords Rx), you need to remember to stay in touch with yourself and what’s going on within (The Hermit)… not just without.

Take Away: It’s understandable to set aside distractions when there’s so much going on that you need to keep track of and watch out for. Ignoring yourself and your needs, though, can only go on for so long before it reaches a tipping point.

Make sure that you don’t allow things to reach that tipping point. Look within at what is going on with you before you reach that point, and use the knowledge gained there to build up your strength during this time of transition you’re going through.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: NATHALIE HERTZ’S THE VAMPIRE TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Gravestone Prompt for October 21st : Pull 3 cards and use them to write a spooky or witty epitaph.

Tarot Reading with The Vampire Tarot by Robert M Place

Here lies Master Brown
(Four of Knives atop King of Spires)

We were all quite sure he’d drown
With how much drink
He liked to sink
(The Devil atop Nine of Holy Water)

His breath lit fire to the town
(The Tower)


DECK USED: ROBERT M PLACE’S THE VAMPIRE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

This post is a catch-up post, and I can’t remember what my self-kindness might have been for this day.

Listen to Your Gut

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Tarot de Marseille par Pole Ka's High Priestess Card and Sinister Affirmation CardDaily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The High Priestess (Le Papesse), which is traditionally a representation of intuition, secrets, sacred knowledge, mystery, the subconscious mind.

The High Priestess card has then been combined with an affirmation card from the Sinister Affirmations deck, which says, “Don’t let other people try to change you. Real change comes from a horrifying near-death experience with a werewolf under a full moon.”

Only you know what is right for you. It comes from knowledge in your gut, deep down within yourself. Not from others.

Today’s message is a reminder to listen to your gut and prioritize its messages above what others say or think. It’s important to remember that other people have their own motivations and interest at heart.

You need to focus on your own interests and motivations, instead of allowing others to use you for theirs. This means listening to that inner self that tells you when something is right or something is wrong, either in general or for you specifically.

DECKS USED:  TAROT DE MARSEILLE PAR POLE KA AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Prompt for October 19th : Do Spread 3

Oracle Reading with the Oracle of Play and the Oracle of Secrets

Smoky Quartz – How can you best clear negativity from your life and in turn gain greater stability?

Heart of Bunnies – More friends, more time with loved ones, and less solitary time. Alone time is great and comfortable, but if you’re looking to clear negativity from your life, it’s true connection with those around you who love you and you love and turn.

Apple – What insight is needed to improve your physical health at this time?

Prosperity – You are functioning under the assumption of scarcity. Hoarding resources is just taking up space instead of serving a purpose at this time. If you clear out some of the mess, you will feel just as prosperous as you do now, and that anxious edge of scarcity will ease back a bit.

Chrysanthemum – Where do your defenses and boundaries need some bolstering?

No! – Say no more often. It’s the most powerful word in your arsenal when it comes to building boundaries and forcing others to respect them. Stop trying to people please, and instead say no when you need to.

Aquamarine – In what ways can meditation promote more calm and confidence in your life?

Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern – When you do not meditate, stress and anxiety have a tendency to build up within you. This causes a jumble of emotions and greater reactivity as a result. Meditation allows this miasma of stress and emotions a chance to try and unravel a bit, so that you can suss out different aspects of the whole and deal with them.

Mint – What factor in your relationships needs some reevaluation and perhaps adjustment?

Bigfoot / The Hermit – The factor in your relationships that needs a bit of reevaluation or adjustment is yourself. Your outlook on spending time with others sucks, and you need to start trying to look at it from a different perspective that holds a value and enjoyment.

Carnelian – In what ways can including more creativity in your life brighten your daily outlook?

Spire: The City Must Fall – Creativity allows you to shine a light on what you truly enjoy instead of what is expected of you.

Pomegranate – What wish of yours is ready to be manifested into reality at this time?

Curson’s Contract – Everyone always wishes for happiness, but perhaps it’s time to reevaluate what happiness really is for you. Not the societal standard or unrealistic values of your youth, but what it truly means for you now and how that aligns with your values.

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Tourmaline for Grounding and Protection
Orange Aventurine Leaf for Pause and Reflection
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: ORACLE OF PLAY AND ORACLE OF SECRETS

Daily Self Kindness

I treated myself to going out for spicy cha-shu ramen.  I haven’t eaten out in a long time as prices have just skyrocketed recently. It was a nice change of pace.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the @Calm app.

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Soul Splash Tarot and Sinister AffirmationsThe @GlitterbyInk #OctoberMagic25 Challenge
Mother Prompt for October 11th : Devotion
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Queen of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s knowledge, education, logic, ambitions, or communication. This often translates into themes that have to do with the people that foster you through tough love and sharp-tongued advice.

The Queen of Swords has then been combined with one of the Sinister Affirmations cards that says, “Don’t be too hard on yourself about your weaknesses. We all have them. Dracula can’t even go outside during the day and he’s still the immortal prince of darkness.”

Sometimes sticking with something in order to become adept at it requires a bit of injury and healing along the way. It’s those that, even when they fight through the pain come out the other side intact with experience gained, show their true devotion to whatever it is they were focused on achieving. The scars are simply proof of lessons learned along the way, as the pain of the experience begins to fade into memory.

The message in today’s cards reminds us that true success is never achieved without sacrifice. Blood, sweat, and tears go into our work, and when we come out the other side we are sometimes scarred by the experience, but triumphant in our achievements and/or what’s been gained along the way.

DECKS USED:  SOUL SPLASH TAROT AND SINISTER AFFIRMATIONS

@CrowSister #PreparingForTheDark Challenge
The Storeroom Prompts

Tarot Reading with the Nigredo Tarot and The Midwest Gothic OraclePreserve – Ace of Cups and The Swing – You may be looking for a bit of balance in your emotions, but don’t swing so far the other way that you end up not feeling anything because you’re holding yourself still and stagnant. Emotions need movement, even when that movement feels unsteady or uncertain.

Store – The Hanged Man and The Lonely Highway – Put away your judgment and stay open to others and their perspectives. Sometimes holding back on judgment can feel like you’re being smothered, but in truth, you’re not being smothered you’re just opening up to seeing more than your own point of view.

Protect – Justice and The Dunes – It takes longer to do things “the right way”. That doesn’t mean the right way isn’t the exact path that you need to take for the rewards that you seek. You need to make sure you are protecting that path, because the longer time period means it’s more open to problems and the negative impacts of intrusion by outside sources… or your own self-destructive tendencies.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Red Oak Leaf for Fostering Unconditional Love
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Septarian Stone for Physical and Mental Healing
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: NIGREDO TAROT AND THE MIDWEST GOTHIC ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2025 Challenge
Trick or Treat Prompt for October 11th  : What consequences await a choice yet to be made?

Soul Splash Tarot ReadingReading Summary: Avoid trying to be the “smartest guy in the room” (Knight of Swords), and instead hang back and pay attention (The Hanged Man). In doing so, you might discover something that sparks your own interest and passions (Knight of Wands), far more than whatever you were going to share in the first place.

Take Away: When you speak out of turn, you miss out on all that you could learn by staying quiet. Make sure as you move into your day (or week) that you are staying quiet more than you are speaking. You don’t want to lose out on that knowledge and perspective that’s going to be on offer to you if you stay open to it.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Ammonite for a Sense of Stability During Times of Change
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: SOUL SPLASH TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nap at Ms B’s today.  For some reason after I ate, I felt really flushed and it made me sleepy. Instead of fighting it, I chose to just go with it and have a nap.