tarot as a motivational tool

The Shadowed Path

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused on dealing with other’s anger, criticism and other negativity.  It spoke of using labeling to “disconnect” from the influence of other’s negativity.   This is something that I find I do naturally, probably because of my father and what I went through with him while growing up.

What I’ve found, though, is that as you have woken up my emotions and torn down my walls, I do find myself absorbing more of that crap when it’s directed my way than I used to.  Or rather, I have to consciously make the choice to disconnect rather than doing it automatically.  It’s a drawback of those lowered walls that I’m not entirely thrilled about, but the strengthened connection with you and enhanced intuition and clairvoyance all make it worth it, I think.

Side Note:  The last two day’s missing posts are a very CLEAR lesson for me that I cannot put off doing my morning routine (devotional, meditation, card draw) for later in the day.  It doesn’t work… and it doesn’t get done, no matter my good intentions to the contrary.

The Moon - Ostara Tarot Today’s draw is The Moon card of the Major Arcana, which speaks to me of bravery in moments of uncertainty.   The moon is full of shadows, illusion, and uncertainty.  It’s hard to see what’s ahead, and even harder to see through the shadows to identify what works there.

This can cause paralysis and anxiety, which is a problem. But, what the imagery in this card says to me is that even in these times of uncertainty, its important to keep your chin up and to stay in touch with your values.  Life’s not always easy and the path forward isn’t always clear, but if you stay in touch with that inner compass  and keep your head high, you will pull through those times.

With the holiday rush now starting to slow and life at the cusp of returning to normal, it’s a good reminder, as that transition is a difficult one for me and can make me feel both uncertain and adrift.

DECK USED:  OSTARA TAROT

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question for 17th: Where did I focus the bulk of my energy this year?
Question for 18th: What happened as a result of that?

Universal Fantasy Tarot Reading Summary:  I have been getting the Ace of Pentacles/Queen of Cups combo a LOT lately.   Just making a note of it.

Working on new threads of income in my business (Ace of Pentacles), discovering that new depth of emotion that has been awakening (Queen of Cups), and upping my spiritual practices as well as exploring further development of my intuition, clairsentience, mediumship (The High Priestess).

Resulting in an overburdening of doing too much at once (Ten of Wands) which makes the world feel like it’s tipped on its axis (The Tower), and a need to find a better way of doing things (Six of Swords).

Take Away:  As I seek to find a balance between work and self-care (which includes time for self and for self-focused pursuits), things have come to a “something’s got to give” point.  For so many years I have essentially filled my life with work.  Even my creativity is work, as I’ve turned my creative interests into my business.  Add on top of that running the business as its own task, and my other part time jobs, etc…. it’s a lot.  And then I’m adding my personal stuff on top of that now.

That “something that’s gotta give” has to do with how much I feel I can put on my plate as once.  And, the lion’s share of what is on my plate has to do with the business.  I have a plan to restructure how I work concerning the business, that will hopefully ease that overburdening.

DECK USED:  UNIVERSAL FANTASY TAROT

 

Transition and Adjustment

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Today’s meditation has not yet happened yet, as I sort of came out of bed like a shot this morning and had so much going on in my brain that I didn’t even realize that it hadn’t gotten done until about an hour ago.  I will make sure I do it before bed.

Ostara Tarot - Five of Cups and Nine of CoinsToday’s draw is another double without a jumper, which means that the cards came out of the deck together as one.  The cards in today’s draw are the Nine of Coins and the Five of Cups.

My read off of these cards today is intuitive off of the imagery, and speaks to the fact that you are going to be a key aspect in keeping me emotionally stable and positive as the transition begins to fall into place for the end of the holiday rush.

I have adapted and adjusted, as I always do, to the chaos and workload and exhaustion involved.  And at the end of the rush things will abruptly change and I will be left feeling adrift.  That sensation brings with it a massive amount of anxiety concerning my business.

As I strive to adjust in a healthy way, today’s cards remind me to depend upon you to help keep me afloat and in a healthy space both mentally and emotionally.

DECK USED:  OSTARA TAROT

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question: What important lesson did I learn this year?

Fairy Tale Tarot - Spanish Edition

Reading Summary: This is all about making the choices (Two of Swords) that are right for me (The Lovers) in order to make the journey to my goals a smoother experience (Ten of Pentacles).

Take Away: I have a habit of weighing my choices and going with whatever one seems the most practical, logical, or responsible option.  Sometimes, these decisions aren’t really the ones that call to me and that I connect to the strongest, but rather what I feel “should” be the right choice.   One of the lessons that has really been driven home this past year, though, is that sometimes life doesn’t have to be practical or logical… or even responsible.  Sometimes life is just all around better when you go with what you want rather than what might be seen as the most “reasonable” choice.

DECK USED:  FAIRY TALE TAROT (SPANISH EDITION)

 

Self Care Saturday (on Sunday)

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As I’ve 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 are not meant as a predictive reading.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

SCS

Earth – Five of Swords and Innocence – I see a coffee stain. You know those rings that stain wood when you put a hot cup of coffee on an unprotected wood surface? That’s what I see. The message here is that things can’t always go as planned, but it’s important to see those moments not as frustrations and struggles, but as opportunities for adventure and growth.

Air – Judgement and Truth – Sometimes it’s important to step back and look at the big picture and make sure you are on track. This week is going to be a time when this is probably going to be slapping me in the face. It will be important to look through the lens of honesty to see not just the truth of what has happened but a clear perspective on what is to come.

Water – Death and Solitude – Ooph… this is not going to be pretty, yeah? It’s okay though, yeah? The cards here are about the slowing down of the holiday rush, which always brings with it a bit of a moroseness as I adjust to things going back to normal. The cards are a reminder not to close myself off during this time of adjustment that is coming.

Fire – Eight of Wands and Silence – I have all the tools at hand that I need to finish out the holiday rush, no matter the speed I need to work with or how busy it becomes. By the end of the week, though, things will have slowed down and quieted to the point that I’ll be feeling a spark of anxiety.

Waning – Movement 2 – It’s time to let go of the present and move on to the next stage. This is an echo of what the cards are already speaking of above. The last few weeks have been all about strength and control. Now, that time is beginning to wane.

Waxing – Growth 0 and Growth 21 – It’s time to ground and center, and look ahead to what I want to happen for the year ahead.

Take Away – I am approaching the end of a very manic and frantic cycle that is filled with an abundance of chaos and control working in balance with each other. As this time comes to a close over the next week, I will go through an adjustment period that runs the risk of toppling me into anxiety and depression if I let it. Instead, I need to make sure I am staying focused upon the future and what I want to manifest into my life in the new year ahead.

DECKS USED: SINKING WASTELAND TAROT, AMETHYST ORACLE, FOREST OF PRECIOUS TWIGS ORACLE

Finding Balance During Change

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long, and although I can’t remember what the focus of the meditation was, I do know that it was really helpful in relaxing me a bit.  I did the meditation after the soak in the bath, and it helped a lot in keeping my anxiety from causing too much discomfort. Enough that I was able to take some ibuprofen and a short nap afterward.   And, although I sort of feel like I wasted the couple of hours involved there, it also managed to get rid of my headache.

Tarot of the Little Prince Today’s draw is a double without a jumper, which means both cards dropped out of the deck together as one.  The cards in today’s draw are the Four of Wands and Six of Pentacles.

When I look at the cards in today’s draw, what I see is an encouragement to find the fun.  This is not off of traditional meanings of the cards, but rather it is from the imagery itself.

I think, especially when I have been drowning in work for so long that that sense of overwhelm starts to feel normal, it is important to remember that that is not all that life is about.  It’s just a temporary whirlwind, and not permanent.  Soon, though. In the next few days there will be a shift from that chaos and bustle to a slow down and time to breathe.  It’s at that time I will need to remember to interject some fun into life to help offset the discomfort of adjusting back to the ‘normal’ of the rest of the year.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question: How can I release that regret as I move into the new year? (Build off of yesterday’s reading.)

The Marigold Tarot

Reading Summary: I need to remember to stay centered emotionally while receptive to what I’d experienced in the fall and allowing it to grow (Queen of Cups), and at the same time stop pretending that everything is okay because I’m going to end up hanging myself yet again next year if I don’t (Ten of Cups).  The fruits of my labors will come whether I’m overloaded or not, but it will be better if I take on what I can handle (Seven of Rings) instead of putting so much on my plate that I feel overwhelmed throughout the year.

Take Away:  It’s time to look at managing my time better.  This is pretty much a reiteration of yesterday’s reading concerning finding a better balance between my administrative tasks and my creative spark.  The cards are telling me to keep my feet on the ground and be realistic.

DECK USED:  THE MARIGOLD TAROT

 

Overload… and a Note on Forgiveness

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Forgiveness Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and I finally managed to do it in the morning today! Honestly?  I get so much more out of it when I do it first time in the morning. Sometimes that’s just not possible, but I am going to try harder to make it possible more often.   The focus of today’s guidance during the meditation was about forgiveness, and I want to quote something that I really liked that was said during.  The instructor spoke about the important of forgiveness, and defined it as such…

“Forgiveness isn’t meant to erase what happened.  Instead, it’s a decision to let go of the resentment we’re holding onto.  It allows the clutch of irritation and bitterness to loosen its grip.  Choosing to forgive doesn’t deny the other person’s role in hurting us, and it doesn’t minimize or excuse the wrongdoing. But what it does do is create the opportunity for us to find peace.” – Tamara Levitt

I like that.  I think that too many people think that forgiveness means that you have to totally forget about what happened and excuse the person for their actions, but that’s really not what it’s about… and I think that quote expresses this really well.

Seven of Cups - Ostara TarotToday’s draw is the Seven of Cups which is often about having too many choices or being overwhelmed, and that is exactly what I see in this card today.

The appearance of the Seven of Cups in today’s draw is a warning to be sure I am not allowing myself to become overloaded and overwhelmed emotionally while I am distracted by the holiday rush and everything I need to get done.

I am dealing with a small bit of a drop after the drown the other day, and my instinct is often to bury these things and ignore them when I’m feeling overwhelmed by the world as a whole.  This card’s advice is to not do that.  Don’t ignore it, or those emotions will topple over and crash to the ground in a mess.

DECK USED:  OSTARA TAROT

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question: What regret hangs most heavily upon me from this year?

Dreamkeeper’s Tarot

Reading Summary:  I feel like my self imposed overload (Ten of Wands) this year has held me back from the amount of success that could have accomplished (Six of Wands) as well as from spending more time with you (King of Cups).

Take Away:  I need to get more organized about how I do things for the business. This balance is about finding a happy medium between administrative tasks and the creative spark that is always so very persistent within me.  I put off the administrative tasks because I don’t find them pleasurable or particularly interesting, and then they build up and I have to “binge work” to get through them. Back when the business was slower, that was fine.  But, over the past few years as things have picked up, it’s started to become a problem.

DECK USED:  THE DREAMKEEPER’S TAROT

Give Yourself Some Credit

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Today’s meditation is again non-existent so far.   The helper showed up 20 minutes early, which means I wasn’t even out of bed yet when she buzzed up to be let in.   Since she stayed for 12 hours, that means that I just haven’t had a chance to do the meditation yet.  I will do it before bed as I have the last few days, and try again for a morning meditation tomorrow.

Tarot of the Little Prince Today’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is a representation of determination, manifestation, accomplishment, and purpose in the area of finances, resources, and the physical world.

Just sayin’ but I love the imagery in this card.  He worked hard to give the rose a home within the soil, and you can see it in his tired expression and flushed face.

The appearance of the Eight of Pentacles in today’s draw is a reminder to acknowledge my accomplishments.  It’s very easy for me to shrug off my accomplishments as “nothing”, whereas when viewing someone else perhaps having done the exact same thing I would see as admirably accomplished.

Today’s card is telling me that I need to give myself some credit.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE LITTLE PRINCE

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question: Something good that I manifested this year.

Bianca Nero Tarot

Reading Summary: The ability to deal with chaos and change (The Tower) in a more positive way through planning (Two of Wands) and taking on these events as an opportunity to turn things into something better (Four of Wands) rather than as a catastrophe.

Take Away:  Sometimes when change hits with sudden urgency and a cacophony of chaos, it can feel like the end of the world and like everything is crashing down around you. At these times it’s difficult to look beyond the now or step outside of the chaos to see things from a different perspective.

Over the past year, I feel that I have found a more centered place within myself, and a greater measure of grounding, which helps me in times when things feel like they are falling apart in looking at the situation from a different angle and  approaching the problem from a perspective of “where do I go from here?” rather than wallowing in the discomfort of that moment.

DECK USED:  BIANCO NERO TAROT