tarot and psychology

Goal Oriented Snail’s Pace

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Oh, What a Wild Life! TarotToday’s draw is the Knight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of an projective beta energy in the area of one’s finances, resources, health, home, manifestations, and the physical world. The Knight of Pentacles has a “go get’em” energy, but moves at a slower pace and marches to the beat of their own drum.

The fact that the moose in the imagery stands at the top of the mountain shows that even if we’re moving at a slow pace, we can reach our goals.

It might take longer than we anticipate, as instead of racing headlong, we’re moving at a snails pace… at the same time?  You can still get there with a little patience, effort, and focus.

@lucet.in.aurora.tarot’s #lucetinauroraMaartTarotChallenge Prompt
Prompt for March 8th: A pentacles card and the same amount of coins.

DECK USED:  OH WHAT A WILD LIFE! TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMar2023 Challenge Prompt
Question for March 7th: National Cereal Day – What three small things can you do to improve your physical health?

Oracle Lumí AirSpiritualité – Keeping that spiritual connection thriving supports your physical health, whether you realize it or not.  It provides you with the strength to keep going and to connect with yourself in greater depth.

La Confiance Dirigée – Stay on track with your goals.  This isn’t a huge endeavor, but rather is as small and easy as keeping your goals in mind even at the times when you’re not actively working on them.  By keeping your eye upon the ball, even during times of rest, you allow yourself to continue working towards those goals instead of losing sight of them along the way.

Sa Majesté le Chêne – Allow yourself time in nature. You have neglected this a lot of late, but you need that time among the trees and moss.  You need time to enjoy and breathe in the sweet solitude and allow yourself to sit with nature and enjoy.

DECK USED: ORACLE LUMÍ AIR

@Lionharts #TheMarchTarot Wander Lust Challenge Prompt
Question for March 7th: How can I use nature to cultivate a deeper sense of inner peace?

Oh, What a Wild Life! TarotReading Summary: You can benefit from more stability (Four of Pentacles) in the development of your emotional intelligence (Page of Cups) by stepping outside and spending more time in nature (The World).

Take Away: You have lost touch with just how much being in nature can help you to find inner peace.  Step outside and into nature, soak up the gift that the trees and liminal spaces have for you.  Allow yourself to feel their stability and strength.

Inclement weather has been a bit of a struggle.  First the heat of summer, the holiday rush is it’s own beast, then again when the weather became dangerously cold this winter.  That is no longer an excuse, though.  You have a habit on procrastinating on those things you need most… but this is one of them you should take care not to add to that list.

DECK USED: OH WHAT A WILD LIFE! TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I weeded through my KS projects that I’ve backed and unsubscribed from another fifteen of them.

Women’s History Month Lenormand Reading

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Women's History Lenormand Reading with the Green Glyphs Lenormand

What do past women have to teach me?

Tree and Gentleman – Women are just a strong and capable as men, and their root dig just as deeply when challenged. This isn’t to say that your feeling protective over them is misplaced, just ensure that it does not get in the way and end up stunting their growth.

How can I connect with my Feminine nature now?

Coffin and Birds – Introspection can help connect you more closely with the more feminine side of your nature. Step away from social engagements and gossip,  and it will give you the ability ability to reach within yourself without outside influences in the way.

How can I help the women around me grow?

House and Book – Connect with those closest to you and listen to their wisdom. Allow them room to educate you on their experiences.  There is much you can learn from them if you are willing to sit and listen.

DECK USED: GREEN GLYPHS LENORMAND

Invite In Vibrancy

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Daily Jay on the Calm appToday’s meditation was eight minutes long, and was a “Daily Jay” session in the Calm app. The session today encourages celebrating the good things in life instead of letting them pass you by.  Sometimes, celebration comes in moments of gratitude instead of parties and fun.  Sometimes, it comes in just acknowledging that something good happened.

Doing this will allow you to lighten each of your day by minuscule amounts, that just like pennies in a fountain, will add up over time until there’s a fortune of goodness to help with your day to day perspectives.

Student Tarot No. 6 - The FoolToday’s draw is the Fool card of the Major Arcana, which is traditionally read as a card representing innocence, new beginnings, naivete, and boundless enthusiasm.

There is a novice and untried air to the Fool, as he has yet to have tripped over a single pebble or stubbed his toe on a single root yet on his journey. There is also a hint of anticipation, as adventures await the Fool, and he’s eager to begin.

The message in today’s card with its vibrant colors and the hint of determination on the features of the Fool, is to make sure you are leaning into open minded exploration rather than just wandering along without focus. Don’t close yourself off. Your life can be so much more vibrant and colorful if you put a little effort into enthusiastic exploration.

DECK USED:  STUDENT TAROT n6

#DiscordTarotholicsMar2023 Challenge Prompt
Question for March 6th: What do you need to focus on for self-care for this full moon?

Infinity Tarot - Nine of Coins, Seven of Cups, TemperanceReading Summary: Prioritize gratitude (Nine of Coins) and self care (The Empress) over everything else (Seven of Cups).

Take Away: You’re not yet out of the weeds when it comes to your depression.

You need to make sure that you continue to lean into gratitude and self-care.  Don’t set aside these pursuits and think all will be well.  You need to continue to push toward positivity and optimism, and take care of yourself.

If it comes down to choosing between responsibility and self-care?  Make sure that you choose the self-care option for once.

DECK USED: INFINITY TAROT

@Lionharts #TheMarchTarot Wander Lust Challenge Prompt
Questions for March 6th

Student Tarot No. 6 - Page of Swords, The Hierophant, Ten of Swords, Knight of SwordsWhat can I use, or do, to ground myself?

Page of Swords and The Hierophant – Accept that sometimes the tried and true methods are the best suited for your needs. You don’t have to approach it with a “reinventing the wheel” mindset.

What can I use, or do, to focus my energy?

Ten of Swords and Knight of Swords – Accept that down time is not just important, but necessary, and you can always pick up your sword and charge forward again later when you’re feeling better. There is no race here and taking a breather is not just important, but necessary.

DECK USED: STUDENT TAROT n6

@lucet.in.aurora.tarot’s #lucetinauroraMaartTarotChallenge Prompt
Prompt for March 6th: These cards are enemies of each other.

Original 1901 Tarot and Book of Thoth Tarot Golden Edition

The tarot deck created by A. E. Waite and Pamela Coleman Smith, then published by Rider Publishing in 1909 was a revolution in tarot. The cards were heavy with imagery and symbolism, with a full deck of 78 cards with scenic illustrations on each and every one.

My understanding is that Aleister Crowley had a bit of a contentious relationship with A. E. Waite, and he was not happy with the end product when Waite’s deck was done.  He worked on a revamp of that deck from 1938 through 1943 with Lady Freida Harris.  The Book of Thoth was then published in 1944 alongside a companion book of the same name. This deck holds the same structure and a large number of similarities with Waite’s tarot with a number of meanings changed as well as a handful of the card names in the Major Arcana.

In many ways, the contention between these two men carried forward into the present between the decks themselves. Many readers see using one or the other as an “either / or” situation, feeling that they are incompatible in one’s path and practice.

DECK USED: 1901 ORIGINAL TAROT AND THE BOOK OF THOTH GOLDEN EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I took some time today to play with Gideon even though it was an orders day.  I just needed some time with him.

Watch For the Quiet Ones

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

The Likely Tarot - Five of SwordsToday’s draw is the Five of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of conflict, tests, and trials in the areas of communication, intellect, education, thought, and logic. This often translates into things that have to do with arguments and misunderstandings.

What stands out to me in the imagery for this card is not the feathers hanging in the sky, but the flowers that gather at the bottom and the promise of danger that they pose.   It feels that they are a reminder that there are two different types of people when their angry.  There’s the type full of flash and fire that will confront you head on, and the quiet type that will simmer in silence but is far more toxic and dangerous in the end.

The message in today’s card is a reminder that when it comes to conflict, make sure that you pay attention to the quiet ones.  Everything is not as okay as it might seem, and when they go quiet? It’s time to put in a little more effort to finding common ground.

DECK USED:  THE LIKELY TAROT

@Lionharts #TheMarchTarot Wander Lust Challenge Prompt
Question for March 5th: How can I embrace and use my natural environment to help me with my current journey?

L'oracle des MurmuresReading Summary: Balance in life (center card) requires a balance of both work (left card) and play (right card).

Take Away: Not allowing yourself enough balance between play and work creates an imbalance in your life that makes it harder for you to communicate with others, and also harder for you to connect with your intuition.

You need to get out in the green, even when there might not be as much green around as you’d like. Take an easy path through the forest, if needed.

Just making sure you’re getting out there at all will help you in balancing out your life so that you can enjoy your work more, and other elements in your life will feel less disjointed as a result.

DECK USED: L’ORACLE DES MURMURES

#DiscordTarotholicsMar2023 Challenge Prompt
Prompt for March 5th: Do Spread 1 – With spring approaching, it’s time to start cleaning out the old energies of hibernation and stagnation that winter can often bring. In this spread look for those thoughts and things that need to be let go in order to allow you to flourish this spring.

The Likely TarotWhat do I need to let go of to…

Ease My Mind – Ace if Swords and Two of Wands – New plans and new aspirations need to take a backseat as you move into spring this year. Let yourself just live in the moment and enjoy yourself instead of always looking forward to what new opportunities may be just around the corner.

Lighten My Heart – Justice Rx and The Hanged Man – You have a choice when you make a decision on how you look at things. You can look at them from a balanced and more forgiving perspective, or as a punisher meting out consequences. Choose the former and allow an attitude of forgiveness to rise up the spring, rather than leaning into harsher viewpoints.

Free My Creative Spark – King of Wands and Knight of Pentacles – You don’t always have to be top dog on every passion project. Allow yourself to drop the ball every once in a while, and see how quickly others move to pick it up.

DECK USED: THE LIKELY TAROT

@lucet.in.aurora.tarot’s #lucetinauroraMaartTarotChallenge Prompt
Prompt for March 5th: These cards were “besties”.

Hanson Roberts Tarot and The Herbal TarotAlthough not my first deck (which was a complete disaster and only worth mentioning in discussions about owning decks that don’t work for the reader and/or are unsuitable for learning), these two were the second and third decks I ever owned, and the first that I ever connected strongly with.

The Hanson Roberts Tarot (left) and Herbal Tarot (right) traveled together from living situation to living situation, from shelter to couch to car to cardboard box, and eventually from home to home throughout my mid-to-late teens.

They are the best of friends, and will always be connected in my mind through the bond from those years in my life.

DECK USED: HANSON ROBERTS TAROT AND HERBAL TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I ordered pizza and made chocolate chip cookies for myself today.

Let Them Learn

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IMG_E1670Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was a Daily Calm session from the Calm app.

The topic of today’s session was non-contention.  That is, how life can move a bit smoother if we choose to allow the struggles and obstacles in life to flow around us and us go with the flow… rather than fighting against the current.

Not everything has to be a fight, and being oppositional all the time holds a great deal of unnecessary struggle and strife.

IMG_E1671Today’s draw is the Justice card, which is traditionally a representation of repercussions and other themes that have to do with cause and effect, and can often indicate the involvement of law enforcement or the legal system within a situation.

I like how the sharp edges in the artwork of this card match so well the theme of Justice as a whole.  That knowing look and the sharp edges of the woman make it clear that there is no mercy here, only repercussions.

Today’s card is a reminder that it’s okay to be harsh now and then.  Sometimes, for people to learn their lessons?  A little harshness is needed.  You cant sugar coat and carefully pillow things forever, or they’ll never learn.

DECK USED:  THE ALCHEMIST’S BOOK OF SHADOWS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMar2023 Challenge Prompt
Questions for March 3rd and 4th

IMG_E1672Caregiver Appreciation Day – What caregiver in your life is in need of loving care in return?

Cat Alice – It’s Z.  I can’t even pick out why in this card I see her in the imagery, but I do.  Not just in the pose of the Cat Alice, but even in the transposed shadows on the wall.  It’s her.

How can I provide that person the loving care that they need?

Unseen Dangers atop The Way Up – Offer her a life line. Remind her that you’re there, hand out and willing to help lift her up when she needs it.  Sometimes, that fact gets lost in murky waters and she begins to feel far too alone.

Hug a GI Day – Service comes in many forms, what service can you do for others today?

Decluttering – Give others a hand up by talking with them sincerely and helping them to sort out what is working for them from what isn’t.  This goes beyond just the sorting process, as these people in your life might also need a bit of encouragement to actually leave behind those things that aren’t working instead of keeping it all as litter in their lives.

DECK USED: THE ANSWER IS WITHIN METAPHORIC CARDS

@Lionharts #TheMarchTarot Wander Lust Challenge Prompt
Questions for March 3rd and 4th
And @lucet.in.aurora.tarot’s #lucetinauroraMaartTarotChallenge Prompt
Prompt for March 4th: A reading by candle light.

IMG_E1673What part of me am I encouraged to show, express or share more?

Six of Cups – It’s important to connect with good memories. When you share history with others that know you and were there, they help you to not just see the good, but see the past more clearly as a whole.

Where am I to use my instincts and follow my intuition?

Four of Cups – Keep going with your meditation. It’s only been a few days, but you know that in keeping up with it, it will allow your intuition’s voice to speak more loudly.

Why is this important for me?

Ten of Wands atop The Emperor – In order to make good decisions for yourself and others, and not feel overwhelmed by it all, you need the balance that meditation provides as well as the stronger connection it provides you to your intuition.

DECK USED: THE ALCHEMIST’S BOOK OF SHADOWS TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I didn’t sleep much last night, so I gave myself license to take a couple of naps today to work at catching up on some of the sleep I’d missed.

The Threshold

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DailyCalm with the Calm AppToday’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the Daily Calm meditation sessions from the Calm app. The topic of today’s meditation was the humanity based philosophy of Ubuntu which, in my understanding, is in many key ways very similar to Confucianism (interesting article comparing the two was found here).

The session spoke of our happiness being reliant on the happiness of those around us, and  how connecting with others we can grow a more happy environment and life than by selfishly keeping all joy and happiness to ourselves and leaving others out of it.

Nigel Jackson Tarot - The World cardToday’s draw is the World card, which is traditionally a representation of completing a journey and the potential that comes from growth, which can allow us to then begin a new journey (note, that the World is not about the new journey, but rather the end of the old and the potential for what’s next).

When the figure steps through the laurel wreath on the card, it the symbolism of a new beginning. As they step through the wreath, they leave behind the old, and look forward as they cross the threshold into the future. The key in this card is in the fact that this figure is not behind the laurel wreath about to step through, nor in front of it, already having crossed the threshold.  Instead, the figure is in the process of crossing, one foot in the past and the other in the future.

In this liminal space between the past and the future, there is a huge amount of potential, and that is what today’s card is about.  The message in this card is all about potential go after what you want… to make the future what you want it to be. Make sure, as you cross out of the past into the future that you keep your eyes forward and know what you want for yourself, who you want to be, and what you want to become.

DECK USED:  THE NIGEL JACKSON TAROT

@lucet.in.aurora.tarot’s #lucetinauroraMaartTarotChallenge Prompt
Prompt for March 3rd: Your significator (the court card that “is” you)

Nigel Jackson Tarot - Queen of CoinsQueen of Coins – I mentioned this card in this exact same question just the other day, but I figured I’d expand a little bit on my answer this time around.

The Queen of Coins is often about balancing responsibilities with an effort towards nurturing multiple themes in one’s life at once. Home life and work need equal attention to grow and be healthy, and the Queen of Coins seeks to do just that. In fostering both themes, there is a need for balance and a strong and grounded foundation from which to work from.

This figure works best when rooted in stability, and in turn provides stability to others both at home and at work.

This is the stability and balance that I strive to create each day for both myself and for those around me.  Through that endeavor I seek always to put home and work in harmony and balance, rather than at odds.

DECK USED: THE NIGEL JACKSON TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nap. A much longer nap than I intended to, but I feel much better now.