Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JanJourney26 Embark to Renewal Challenge
The Arrival Prompt for January 15th : Grounding
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Ten of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of feelings of completion, connection with others and harmony in those connections, and is often considered as the “happy family” card.

What is it that makes you feel safe? What is it that makes you feel satisfied and happy? What is the one thing that is absolutely free and you can do at any time that improves your life and your outlook?

For me, this is grounding. Especially grounding went out in nature. Feeling my energy dip into the hole soil and dig down in to join the other roots spread below gives me a sense of peace and calm, allowing me to truly appreciate living in a way that nothing else can.

The message in today’s “grounding” prompt and the Ten of Cup isn’t just asking us to reflect on what it is that makes us happy and creates within us a sense of peace and stability. It’s also encouraging us to participate in these things not just when we feel the need for grounding, although that is the perfect time to do so; but also just to connect with happiness, a sense of security, and a feeling of satisfaction in life as a whole that comes not through accomplishments, but through recognizing the things that create these feelings with you naturally.

DECK USED: BARBIERI TAROT (trimmed naked)

One Card Tarot Journal Activity by @mariasofia_astro
Chapter 5 | Entry 5 – Health and Body
Affirmation : “I love myself, especially during difficult days.”
Prompt : Everyone has bad or “blah” days. Write a letter to yourself from the perspective of the card you draw. What can this card see about you that you don’t? Is there a person depicted on the card? Is there a symbol? What about the cards keyword? Meditate on the positive attributes of this cards symbolism or artwork. Include something positive about this day.

What feelings came up when I pulled this card?

Familiarity. The Hanged Man is my favorite card, after all.

And a bit of joy at the imagery of happiness on the cat’s face. Appreciation for the flow of lines and shapes.

What elements of the card’s meaning resonate with me and this prompt?

This card has come up as my significator card multiple times throughout my life in life-path readings done for me by others. It is a reminder to seek perspectives outside my own and always strive to see things from more that just a single angle.

I resonate strongly with this message and feel it is a major part of my life’s lessons and journey to strive to always see (and understand) things from others viewpoints as well as from my own.

What in the artwork spoke to me?

The monkey kitty looks happy. There’s a peacefully happy smile on its face that speaks of equanimity. There’s also a watchfulness in the eyes and angle of the head that encourages paying attention.

The unlikeliness of a cat being able to hang by its tail indicating you might only get a glimpse at best of what you’re seeking to see.

This card’s artwork seems to say that if you want to put yourself in other’s shoes and understand their perspective, you need to be able to set aside your own perspective, prejudices, and opinions for a moment.

My prompt response and reflections.

Dear L,

Thank you so much for always taking the time to listen to others, and setting your own preconceived notions aside to truly make an effort to hear and understand.

Human nature and others perspectives can sometimes be confusing, and there are times when it can feel nearly impossible to understand. You’ve found others that understand this effort, though, and are happy to try and help you wrap your mind around those people and behaviors that you’re unable to understand at first.

Keep trying. Your curiosity abounds and efforts are appreciated by those that come to you for an ear, a shoulder, or advice. This also allows you a way to grow and learn without overtaxing yourself as you do in so many other areas of your life.

At your side. Always.
– The Hanged Man

Other elements included in this reading:
Labradorite D6 and D20 Gemstone Dice

DECK USED: BLACK CAT TAROT

Ten Brutally Honest Questions to Help Recognize Your Shadow
Shadow Work Prompts by @peppe_curto

Who are you performing for… when you’re not even being real with yourself?
→ And how much longer are you willing to abandon your truth just to be tolerated?

The Red Dragon – Your father. He’s long passed now, and yet still manages to wield control over how you see yourself.

→ I have never abandoned my truth. I do, however, have a tendency to ignore my needs in order to strive to meet standards that are his instead of my own. I’m aware of this these days, and I’m working on shifting away from that pattern of neglect.

What emotion do you judge in others because you’re terrified of owning it in yourself?
→ (Is it rage? Neediness? Pride? Be honest.)

The Forbidden Mer – Fear of rejection. The closing off of the self due to a need to protect yourself from being hurt, to the point you become closed minded and willfully obtuse.

→ The emotion that you judge others for isn’t fear, but rather allowing yourself to capitulate to your fears and be subjugated by them. I’m not sure what that emotion is called.

What truth are you too afraid to speak… because it might cost you being loved?
→ Or are you really just afraid of no longer being liked, accepted, or seen as “good”?

The Savior – That you need more support from others and are struggling far more than you let on.

→ This echoes back to my father and his ideas and ideals concerning being “a man”. I worry that if I show too much vulnerability, it will cause people to see me as perpetually weak.

What identity are you addicted to because without it, you feel invisible?
→ Who are you without the healer, the good one, the rebel, the successful one?

The Sorceress – Your longevity in divination and witchcraft allows you to feel seen in ways that you aren’t always acknowledged in other circles in your life that don’t include these aspects.

→ I work hard to balance this place of pride with a healthy dose fallibility. I feel it’s important that I’m not seen as all knowing and infallible in these areas, or in anything really. That said, in circles where this aspect of my life (divination and witchcraft) doesn’t play a role, I’m still a well grounded person people often come to for a sense of stability.

Whose voice is in your head when you’re doubting your worth?
→ And how long are you gonna let them rent space in there?

The Warrior Queen (pointing to the Red Dragon) – Your parent’s voices. It isn’t really one of them or the other, but both. This was a bit of a surprise, actually. It used to be just my father’s, but when I discovered the closed minded aspects of my mother I’d not realized were there when I was younger, her voice joined in.

→ As mentioned in the first question in this reading, I’m working on it. Awareness and acknowledgement are always the first step.

What version of yourself are you constantly performing… just to feel safe?
→ And is the performance worth the price?

The Green Knight – You like to present yourself as impervious. This feels like it protects you not just in that you “feel safe”, but also in that it feels like when others see you that way, they won’t even bother to try to hurt you. Sort of  how being aware of your surroundings in public and looking like you’d put up a fight can protect you from being mugged.

→ No. It’s not always worth the price. It can be a useful tool, but it also often creates a feeling of isolation.

What mask has become so familiar that you’ve started calling it “you”?
→ The confident one? The mysterious one? The put-together one?

Blue Archer – You don’t like to display your vulnerabilities, and thus have a tendency to “keep yourself at a distance” even when you put yourself within reach of others.

→ All of the above. It’s all about your worry of sharing too much, and thus opening yourself up to emotional pain.

What part of your truth are you sugarcoating to avoid being misunderstood?
→ And who are you really protecting?

Guardian of the Gates – You have a tendency to present yourself as friendly and approachable, hiding the more intense sides of your personality to only allow others a glimpse of those qualities instead of the full experience.

→ Myself. Sometimes I play it off in my head that my recalcitrance is to protect others from the more negative aspects of my personality, but the truth is I’m protecting myself from what I expect to be their negative reactions.

What do you secretly hope they never find out about you?
→ Because that’s where your real work lives.

The Sacrificial Lamb – That you feel far more broken and afraid that you let on, and don’t trust others to be kind or gentle.

→ I know that this is where my real work lives.

Why the f*ck do you still need 10 questions to look at your own shadow?
→ Stop doing shadow work on Instagram and go search for your shadow in everyday life interactions.

Who’s There? – Questions to assist in looking at your shadow help because shadows can often be hard to see and/or penetrate, making it difficult to seeing things clearly, playing tricks with the eyes and our self perception.

→ This reading is a step in that direction.

BARBIERI TAROT (trimmed naked)

I made time to spend with Gideon tonight.