Stretch Tarot

The Growth of Appreciation

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IMG_2837Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was focused upon closure and how important it is to helping each other heal from endings, especially painful endings.

This topic isn’t just about romantic relationships, but all sorts of relationships from friendships to family, and the passing of loved ones.   I had a hard time finding closure where my father was concerned.  I still sometimes have a hard time with it.  Maybe because I have a hard time understanding how I could love someone who could treat me as atrociously as he did.  And yet… I did love him.   I do love him.

In the end, I had to reconcile that as much as I love him… I never liked him, and never will.  It would have been nice to find closure, and it would have made the road easier to tread, I think.  I wish it could be possible more often… for me and for everyone.

Nine of Cups - Tarot of the Hidden RealmToday’s draw is Nine of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of contentment and satisfaction in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, and creativity.

What I see in this card, though, is more than that.  It’s about the journey.  The man in the card’s imagery looks into the cup and appears both contemplative and content.  This brings to mind that sometimes you have to look back at where you come from to see clearly where you are now.

Emotionally speaking, as the Cups so often represent, those looks back can sometimes be difficult for me.  But in doing so, I learn to appreciate the strength gained from the past, the experience earned, and understanding I have developed through the tests and trials that have gotten me to where I now am.

Those moments looking back also give me the opportunity to appreciate just how much better things are now.  No matter how ambitious I am to push forward into something even better?  Compared to where I come from… I have things damn good right here and now.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM

#TarotForGrowthFebruary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I approach my relationships mindfully moving forward?

Stretch Tarot

Reading Summary: Don’t allow my all encompassing obsession (The Devil) with worm and my business (Three of Pentacles) to push people away (Eight of Cups).

Take Away:  I think that I probably do this a lot without even realizing I’m doing it, or without others even realizing that I’ve done it, possibly, as well.   I’ve been running my business for a long time now.  A decade, I think?  And it does take over a huge part of my attention and focus.  I imagine that this is very difficult to deal with for those in my life that crave my attention.

DECK USED:  STRETCH TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do Spread #4

Oriens Tarot

Reading Summary: A ladies man (Knight of Cups) who constantly works to adapt and learn in order to further his career (Page of Wands) and has a way of charming all in his path (King of Cups).

Take Away:  George Clooney 

DECK USED:  ORIENS TAROT

Owl and Bones February Two Card Challenge
Question: Intention for the next 4 years / Leap forward

Button Soup TarotIntentions for the Next 4 Years:  I am in pursuit of happiness. I think this is true for pretty much everyone tho.  The card also speaks to me about finding pleasure in community.

Leap Forward: I’m going to need to address unhealthy habits sooner rather than later. I had fast food today for the fourth time in the past six years.  That is not one of my unhealthy habits… but I have plenty of others to take heed of and take more care with.

DECK USED:  BUTTON SOUP TAROT

Finding the Path Forward

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_2723Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused upon not allowing yourself to get so caught up in “following the herd” that you lose track of your own autonomy.

This is not something that I have a problem with, but it is a trap that I see people fall into all the time.  Peer pressure is a real thing, and just because it’s not something I personally find myself swayed by doesn’t mean that it’s not permeated in those around me.  I see people all the time do things that they readily admit are not right for them… but yet do them anyway because it is expected of them or they have been pressured into it.

Perhaps I am simply too stubborn?  It is not as if I haven’t experienced such pressures.  My father pushed them on me on a daily basis…. I just chose not to let them influence my choices.   Then again, I am the one that constantly thinks nothing I do is quite good enough, yes?  So maybe he managed to wriggle his way in there after all.

Three of Clouds - Majestic Earth TarotToday’s draw is the Three of Clouds, which is the equivalent of the Three of Swords in the regular RWS tarot.

Although in this imagery I see the jagged rocks like ragged teeth chomping at the sky, a dangerous and deadly peril to all that try to pass through them… what I also see is the ripple of light upon the water.

The message in today’s draw is that even in the roughest of times, even when things look their darkest and the struggle is at its greatest, there is still hope.   There is still a light that will guide you forward, even in those hardest of times.  Like the rippling light on the water’s surface shows the way to shore, there is a path to freedom from these difficult times, sometimes you just have to be willing to take your time to get there.

DECK USED:  MAJESTIC EARTH TAROT

#TarotForGrowthFebruary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I improve my relationship with my work?

Stretch Tarot

Reading Summary:  I need to spend more time looking at my work as fun (Knight of Wands) and allow the spark of joy creating can give (Knight of Cups) carry me away (The Chariot).

Take Away:  When I went through the month of January saturated in the effects of my buried fear tucked down deep within my gut?  I lost a lot of the joy that comes with my work and the creative process.  To have a better relationship with my work, I need to focus on rediscovering that joyful spark that creativity and manifestation of beautiful things can give me.

DECK USED:  STRETCH TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do Spread #2
How can I ease my recent increase in anxiety?’

Hush Tarot

Reading Summary: Let it out (colors flow from dark to light to red, speaking of a transition from mellow and murky to a chaos of… outburst.  This impression is further reinforced by the Owl that seems to protect and shelter, and then the one crow in freedom before the trio that are in chaos.   These patterns follow what it feels like to me to go from holding something inside, to deciding I need to let it out, to the chaos of actually allowing whatever it is out into the open to speak about it with others.

There is also the element within the first card that speaks not just of shelter but danger.  The mouse clings for dear life.  The skull is buried and embedded within the clock.  You can only box things up for so long.    In the second card the bird is among the weeds looking out at freedom.  In the third, freedom has been found, but in order to find it, there is a need to accept chaos and allow it to run its course.

Take Away:  If I want the anxiety I’ve been experiencing lately (especially in the morning when waking up) to ease, I need to stop suppressing the things that are bothering me and get them out in the open. It will feel uncomfortable and chaotic, but sometimes the calm of suppression is far worse for you.

DECK USED:  HUSH TAROT

Owl and Bones February Two Card Challenge
Question: When am I a fish out of water? / When am I in my element?

WWI Propaganda Posters TarotWhen am I a fish out of water? :  Rivalry and competition cause me to retreat in exhaustion.  Although I am able to hold my own just fine, it brings me no joy or sense of accomplishment.

When am I in my element? :  When helping others.  I feel a deep sense of peace and accomplishment when I am able to help others and find ways to assist them on their path.

DECK USED:  WWI PROPAGANDA POSTERS TAROT