tarot cats

The Good Stuff

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused on spending more time and attention on the people in your life and less time and attention on consumerism.

This is a good reminder.  I think we all get a little caught up now and then in that drive for “more” and “I want”.  Maybe it’s just a part of human nature.  Today’s meditation was a reminder that there is so much more to life than that, but it takes a choice to focus on those people that enrich our lives and truly appreciate their presence to find the true joy of their presence there.

Nine of Cups - Efflorescent Tarot (Color Edition)Today’s draw is the Nine of Cups, which is a representation of satiation in the area of one’s emotions and relationships.

I think this card goes really well with the message that was presented in today’s guided meditation, to be honest.   It’s important to know when you have enough.  Being someone with an addictive personality, I can attest first hand that sometimes?  That line is a difficult one to identify, let alone toe.

To balance out those traits, it’s important to appreciate what you have before you already.   Family, friends, and loved ones are an important part of life, and shouldn’t be forgotten or swept under the rug.   I see each of the cups in the imagery of the Nine of Cups in today’s draw as a cup that is filled.  Filled because it represents a person that has enriched and enhanced the life of the person appreciating them.

DECK USED: THE EFFLORESCENT TAROT (COLOR EDITION)

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I face that truth this year? (Build off yesterday’s read.)

Spirit of the Flowers Tarot

Reading Summary: Spend more time getting in touch with my needs and the needs of those around me (Empress) so that I have a better chance of having more “your cup is half full” experiences (Nine of Chalices).  If I don’t want to be held back by my own ignorance of the issues (Eight of Swords), I need to try approaching them from a more optimistic perspective (The Sun).

Take Away:  This is… not the answer I was expecting, to be honest.  But it’s right on the mark.  Part of the reason I set aside issues I don’t want to deal with is because I see them in a pessimistic light.  This causes a systemic lack of enthusiasm to deal with them as a whole.  The cards indicate if I approach from a place of nurturing optimism, I will have better success in the future at avoiding the problems that arise when I choose to ignore those issues instead of deal with them.

DECK USED:  SPIRIT OF THE FLOWERS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What luck is coming your way, and how can you foster it into fruition?

Tarot Cats

Reading Summary: Someone’s deception is going to play to my advantage (Seven of Swords). I just need to sit back and wait and stay detached (Four of Cups), and make good choices when some difficult options are eventually presented to me (Two of Swords).

Take Away:  This is interesting in having followed the Tarot for Growth reading above.  But, it deals with a specific situation that is coming, not an overall change (or lack of change, as the case may be in this instance) in how I do things.  I’ll need to remember this advice when the moment of betrayal comes so that I remember to sit back and wait rather than acting rashly in the moment.

DECK USED:  TAROT CATS

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I find positive mentors?

Ethereal Visions Tarot

Reading Summary: Over the next year (Wheel of Fortune), if I want to seek out a positive mentor I will need to listen closely to my intuition (High Priestess) and keep myself open to the possibility of new emotional bonds (Page of Cups) and new ways of doing things (Page of Pentacles).

Take Away:  The cards just called me out on being a stick in the mud. Laughing. I am often very rigid in how much I am willing to put myself out there, and although I’m often open to learning new things, my guardedness can be a hindrance to that. If I decide over the next year that I want a mentor, I will need to ease up on that guarded restraint and let people in.

DECK USED:  ETHEREAL VISIONS TAROT

Out With The Old

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and again incorporated into my yoga/physio practice at the end of the forty minute session I do daily. Moving from the ebb and flow of my yoga practice into the stillness of those ten minutes at the end of the practice feels really nice, and gives my body time to ease out of the stretching and exercise to a calm state.   I really like it.

Spacious TarotToday’s draw is a double without a jumper, meaning that the cards came out together as one from the deck.   The cards in today’s draw are the Ace of Pentacles atop the Death card.

When I see these two cards together today, the message that I get from this imagery is that in order for new things to happen, sometimes old things have to die off first.  Its a part of the ebb and flow of life that some things must fade in order to make room for new things to develop.    It’s a rhythm that fits into every facet of life, and it’s no different in mine.

The appearance of these cards is a reminder that you can only fit so much on your plate.  In order to fit in more, you have to let go of something, because only so much will manage to stay on the plate at once.

DECK USED:  SPACIOUS TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: What simple way can I show my loved ones that I value them this year?

Field Tarot

Reading Summary:   Make sure I’m there for them (Prince of Discs) during times of change (Death), and willing to lend an ear without casting judgement (The swan consulting it’s reflection in the Judgement card), and help them find a way forward (Chariot) when they are having trouble seeing a their path through (Princess of Wands) those difficult times.

Take Away:  Sometimes what loved ones need most is an ear and a little help finding the path through the trees.  This is something that my loved ones come to me for now and then through the years and it sounds like this year will be another one of those years.

DECK USED:  THE FIELD TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I overcome my weaknesses?

Tarot Cats

Reading Summary: Weaknesses are not meant to be overcome (The Moon), instead they are meant to be sat with and learned from (Four of Cups) so that you can move forward into personal growth and while learning how to utilize those weaknesses to your advantage (Seven of Pentacles) for the future.

Take Away:  This answer really makes sense to me, because I’ve never really understood how you “overcome” weaknesses.  To me, everyone has weaknesses and you learn to adapt to them and use them to your advantage.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t still a weakness, only that they have become a useful weakness.

DECK USED:  TAROT CATS

 

Stop Stalling

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

Today’s meditation was just over fourteen minutes long and I tried another of those “contacting your spirit guides” meditations on YouTube.   This one was better than the last one, but… not by much.   I think it would have been okay for me if it wasn’t for the occasional operatic singer “voices of the angels style” in the background that kept making my shoulder spasm.

I wish I could find something with a soothing voice and a more natural background sound.  All the new-age synthetics is really annoying to me.

Eight of Wands - Spacious TarotToday’s draw is the Eight of Wands, which feels like a reiteration of yesterday’s challenge prompts.    That is to say that the one of the most common traditional meanings of the Eight of Wands is swift action.

In yesterday’s card of the day and prompts, it dealt with the stymie of being stuck on how to move forward on multiple levels after the break and breather I took following the holiday rush.   The advice was that movement is needed, but that I need to take it one step at a time.

Today’s card is essentially saying “come on, get off your ass and start moving already”.

DECK USED:  SPACIOUS TAROT

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: What obstacle can I anticipate over the next 12 months?

Fey Tarot

Reading Summary:  I need to make sure that I don’t trip over my own pride (Five of Swords), that could hinder my emotional development (Queen of Chalices).  This year is going to have a lot of ups and downs along the way (Wheel of Fortune) and I will need that new level of emotional depth and developing stability in order to help me through the rough parts.

Take Away:  This year’s birth card for me, as mentioned before, is the Wheel of Fortune.  And I fully expect that, as promised, the year is going to be chock-full of ups and downs. The cards in relation to it are a warning that pride becomes before the fall.  If I want to find that balance and development I’m seeking this year concerning the new depth of emotions I began to tap into last fall, I need to cast aside my pride and be open to some difficult lessons along the way.

DECK USED:  FEY TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self care during this full moon?

Tarot Cats

Reading Summary:  I’m feeling especially unfocused (Knight of Swords) and need to let go of my defense mechanisms (Nine of Wands) concerning the new level of emotions I’ve been dealing with (Ace of Cups).  Unless I’m willing to be open to them and share them, I won’t be able to move forward (Two of Wands).

Take Away:  That new level of emotional depth I started to discover and experience in the fall was set on the back burner for the holiday rush.  Now that the rush is over, it’s trying to shift itself back into place and towards the surface, but I’ve been subconsciously resisting the shift.  It’s time to let go of that restraint and allow myself the freedom to explore so that I can move forward with learning how to adjust to and live with this new depth rather than trying to ignore it or push it away.

DECK USED:  TAROT CATS

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: What makes a completed goal?

Field TarotReading Summary:  The satisfaction (King of Cups) of my curiosity (Princess of Swords). I then need time to take a break (Eight of Cups) and release the tight grip on my burdens (Ten of Wands) while assessing my performance and its end results (Judgement).

Take Away:  To feel a goal has been completed, I need to feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that my curiosities have been fully sated and there’s nothing more to be done.  I then need time to take a break and a breather away from what I’ve been working on to relieve any burnout I’ve been experiencing and give me time to release my sense of being burdened or overwhelmed.  During this time, it is important for me to assess my performance and its end results in order for me to feel as if my goal has truly been met and I can then set aside the drive to get there and “get it right”.

DECK USED:  THE FIELD TAROT

 

Transitions and Changes

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was just under fifteen minutes long, and I tried something new today.  As a part of my steps towards mediumship during my tarot practice, I settled in with a guided meditation concerning getting in contact with spirit guides.

This is something that many have made clear is an important step in the process, especially as a part of personal safety.    The problem?  I couldn’t focus.   I tried, but I just couldn’t do it.     I will try again another day, though.

Six of Swords - The Efflorescent TarotToday’s draw is the Six of Swords, which traditionally is a representation of transition, change, and letting go in the areas of intellect, communication, and challenges.

What I see here is sorrow.   I see the sharp and jagged teeth of the landscape behind her and the child in the boat, and the rough waters.  But she is moving away from these things.  Her face is filled with sorrow as she steers the boat upon its coarse

The appearance of the Six of Swords in today’s draw speaks of how difficult making the choice to make a change can be.  Change isn’t always something that falls in our lap or is inflicted upon us, sometimes it is a choice that requires leaving some people, places, things, or ways of thinking behind in order to move on to something better.

Today’s card is an encouragement concerning the renovations I am in the process of making to how I run my business this year.  It says… change is hard, but it will be worth it.

DECK USED:  THE EFFLORESCENT TAROT (COLORED EDITION)

#TarotForGrowthJanuary Challenge Prompt
Question: What does my body want me to know about 2020?

The Prediction Tarot

Reading Summary:  Stop allowing (The Emperor) my emotions and need to succeed (Queen of Cups beneath Page of Staves) hold me back from (The Moon) extending self care beyond the emotions and into the physical (The Empress)

Take Away:  The cards indicate that my body wants to elevate the way in which I care for it.   I spend a lot of time rounding out my self care in the spiritual and emotional side of things, but there is an aspect that I have not been focusing on, which is the physical side of things.  This is a request for more attention to be paid to how I treat my body and what my body needs.  In other words, “get off your ass and start eating healthier and going to the gym again”.

DECK USED:  THE PREDICTION TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJan2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How have you grown over the past year?

Tarot Cats

Reading Summary:  A deeper emotional connection (Two of Cups) and a new way of looking (Ace of Swords) at my struggles (Five of Wands) of the past (Six of Cups).

Take Away:  A lot of times when “past year” reflections come about I find that I have repeated the same lessons over again, either because it didn’t stick the first time or because I just didn’t grasp it the first time around.   This year I’ve done a number of things differently, including beginning to share my spirituality with Gideon, which has brought us much closer, as well as much deeper understanding of how past events in my life (negative experiences) have influenced my life and development.

DECK USED:  TAROT CATS

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge Prompt
Question: How can I set realistic goals?

The Textured Tarot

Reading Summary:  Remember to stay stable and grounded (The Emperor) when change comes (Death) because… there’s going to be a whole lot of ups and downs and change this year (Wheel of Fortune).

Take Away:  Hello Wheel of Fortune once again.  As mentioned before, this is my birth card for the year.   The Emperor and the Death card indicate that it will be important when setting goals that I keep in mind just what kind of theme (ups and downs) this year has in store for me and create room in my plans for that possibility to manifest along the way.

DECK USED:  THE TEXTURED TAROT