tarot for self care

Adaptation and Balance

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped yet again.  I did have intentions, but they didn’t pan out.  Too many orders to get done and not enough time in the day.

Черное Таро and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Justice card, which is traditionally a representation of balance, cause and effect, consequences, and can often indicates a theme of law or justice system involvement.

When I think of balance, I think of Maat’s scales.  The weighing of a heart on one side, and the feather on the other, and the symbolism of finding balance… perhaps only in death.

The reason I feel this way about it is because in life, the world is ever-changing. That means the “scales” that each of us carry with us that weigh and balance the different priorities in our lives and the things we have done, or conscience, and well… everything really.  These scales must be in constant motion, constantly adjusting as the world around us changes, and as we grow and change.

Only in death do the scales still entirely. Only then to we have the possibility of perfect balance.  The cards here today speak to me of that.  Of the fact that although we strive for balance in our lives, that goal is always going to be just out of reach.  Sometimes closer, sometimes further away, but never perfect. Because here in life?  We are meant to grow and change, we are meant to learn and expand.  And with every moment of growth, every shift in priorities, every change in our lives, our minds, our emotions… that balance must shift.  Embracing the changes helps us in making those adjustments go more smoothly.

DECK USED:  ЧЕРНОЕ ТАРО AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2021 Challenge Prompt
Questions for October 28th and 29th

Orphic TarotWhat healing lesson is waiting for me to realize and accept it?

Nine of Swords (Melas Oneiros) – Your perceptions when you are in a mental health crisis are warped. Reality is not as bleak as it appears to be during these times. Find a better way to tell when you’re in real trouble than just guessing blindly in the dark. 

How can I work on accepting this lesson?

Four of Cups (Echo) atop Death Rx (Hades) – Instead of always looking forward and charging ahead, take time to sit with where you are and more fully explore it.

Your Strength – The Moon (Pan Selene) – You are good at moving forward with surety, even when things are feeling uncertain. As mentioned above though, you need to remember that sometimes moving forward is not the answer.

Your Weakness – Judgment (Dionysus) – You are too hard on yourself and set your expectations far too high.

Advice – Five of Cups (Mourning Orpheus) – Stop retreating. Stop hiding. All it is doing is making things worse. Don’t allow your emotions to control your actions… or more specifically, your inaction and stagnancy. It’s taking up too much control of what’s going on in your life.

DECK USED: ORPHIC TAROT

The #EmbraceYourAlterEgo2021 Challenge for Sacred Grounds Tarot Club
Questions for October 28th and 29th

Черное ТароHow will the dark half of the year help me grow?
Ten of Pentacles and Wheel of Fortune

It will be a reminder that there are good and bad times, and nothing last forever. It will help you to see that even when things feel like they’re going bad, your stability will not be threatened by the whims of these minor up and downs in life… no matter how major they may feel in the moment.

How will this growth help me love and appreciate myself?
Queen of Swords and The Chariot

It will remind you of your strengths and adaptability, allowing you to see that you can continue to move forward with purpose regardless of how you’re feeling by reconnecting with that logical side of your nature that is a part of your history and heritage.

DECK USED: ЧЕРНОЕ ТАРО

Daily Self Kindness

Let’s see… I took a nap that I probably shouldn’t have taken.  I also had my smoothie, which was really good today for some reason (as if it’s not made the same way every day or something), as well as my vitamins, tea, collagen peptides, and muffin.

Samhain Tarot Reading with the Old Whispers Tarot

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Old Whispers Tarot - Samhain Tarot Reading

Death: What is coming to an end in your life?

Ten of Swords – A cycle is coming to an end and the beat to fuck feeling of being unable to move is coming with it.  You will not be stagnant and struggling forever.

Death: What aspect of yourself you no longer are.

Knight of Swords – The time in your life when you foolishly go flying forward into battle with impulsivity at the tip of your blade has come to an end.  You have tasted the forbidden fruit of rest and recuperation, and found a liking for the taste.

Trick: Negative influences getting in your way of letting go.

Five of Wands – The principles of your past and the new ones your establishing are clashing against each other.  Rest vs motivation. Self care vs delving into your work. These conflicting passions are getting in your way.  There is no balance here, only a struggle for dominance. Is balance even possible? Or will you need to pick a side and stand firm?

Treat: Positive influences. Blessings in disguise.

Three of Pentacles atop Five of Cups – You disinterest and dissatisfaction is creating more opportunity for you to work with others instead of taking everything upon your own shoulders. Because you’re not so gung-ho about work, you are less willing to take the full weight of the work and the business on your own.  You reach out to others more, involve them more, and allow them to help rather than pushing them away to do it all yourself.

Cat: Your inner wisdom. The biggest lesson learned this year.

Four of Swords – Rest is important. Recuperation is important.  You need it.  In interspersing time off into each month, you have successfully managed to avoid even a single bout of catastrophic burnout for a full year.

Ghost: What is still haunting you.

Nine of Swords – Your mental health is not at its best. You’re struggling with the edges of cloying depression and can’t seem to shake the clinging tendrils of it.  Perhaps you cut back to your normal dose of meds a little too early when heading off the onset of that last MDE.  Next time try three weeks instead of two.

Spider: The road ahead. The life you are weaving for yourself.

Eight of Wands atop Nine of Cups Rx – The road you are currently on is not a good one. You’ve been neglecting yourself for the past couple of weeks.  Self care has gone down the toilet, and your running on autopilot with the business instead of getting ahead of things a little at a time as you’d planned to do. Continuing on this course will only lead (very quickly) to unhappiness.

Bat: The fear that remains.

Knight of Pentacles – That slow progress is no progress.  Not that you’re making any particular progress at the moment, you’re backsliding. But, as always, you struggle with the concept of slow progress. You need to stop looking at slow progress as having your wings clipped.

DECK USED:  OLD WHISPERS TAROT

Hopes and Dreams

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Today’s meditation was skipped again today.  Maybe I need to tattoo on the back of my hand “don’t let your emotions cause you to bail on your responsibilities to yourself” or something.

Skele-Tarot and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Star card, which is traditionally a representation of hope, spiritual guidance, renewal, and the inter-connectivity of ourselves to the world around us and spiritual plane.

The dreams that we have when we’re asleep have an important purpose. Even when we don’t remember them or even remember that we dreamed at all… we all dream.

Daydreams also have a purpose. They are the spark of hope in the world, providing us with ideas and allowing us to imagine the things we’d like to see or experience in the future, or remember those things we’ve already experienced in the past.  Through daydreams we have a direct line to hopes and dreams, memories and past joys, and the guiding light of our own desires.

The message in today’s cards is that daydreams are important. They provide hope, giving us something to guide us forward and lift us up, even during the most difficult of times. Don’t discard them as unrealistic or a waste of time.  They have value.

DECK USED:  SKELE-TAROT AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

Mr Lionharts’ #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonoftheWitchChallenge Prompt
Questions for October 27th and 28th

Garden Of Lucid Daydreams Oracle and Trionfi Della LunaThey took their brooms to seek the night, what knowledge can witches of the old provide?
The Bathers atop The Weed, Five of Swords and Death

Do not neglect the cleansing that needs to be done, for it will stave off conflict in the future. Take care in what you share of these methods, for that knowledge can be used to circumvent the cleansing that is done and the protections that are erected afterward.

And as the veil keeps growing thin, how am I to prepare for Samhain?
Consultation atop Desire, Ten of Wands atop Page of Swords

Get in extra time and let your communication and time together beat back a bit of the overwhelm that you’re already feeling. It won’t obliterate it entirely, but it will help.

DECK USED: GARDEN OF LUCID DAYDREAMS ORACLE AND TRIONFI DELLA LUNA

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2021 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question for October 27th: Can anyone on the other side make contact when the veil is thin?

Skele-TarotReading Summary:  From the newly passed (Ace of Pentacles) to those that have been crossed over for quite some time (Ten of Pentacles), any who need to reach across the veil to obtain the peace and satisfaction they need can do so (Nine of Pentacles).

Take Away: It makes sense to me that this was answered in all Pentacles, for it is a question about spirits reaching through the veil into the physical world.  The answer here indicates that it is through pursuit of “satiation” and completion that those that reach through the veil at this time of year do so.  Perhaps this is not the only reason, but the answer seems to make it clear that the “door is open” who all that need to use it before they will be able to move on.

DECK USED: SKELE-TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I ate healthy food today including spicy tomato pasta with fresh herbs, my morning smoothy of probiotic with spinach and berries, as well as my tea with collagen peptides. It’s not all that I ate today of course, but I made the effort to stick to mostly healthy choices today instead of the cereal and cookies I’ve been leaning heavily on over the past week.

Don’t Clip Your Wings

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Today’s meditation was skipped because the day started very early and was go-go-go all day long.

Le Tarot de L'étoile Cachée and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Five of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of tests, trials, and conflict in the area of ones ambitions, intellect, education, or communications. This often translates into themes that have to do with arguments and intellectual debate, competition (especially at work or involving one’s ambitions), and the mentality of winning no matter the cost.

We all have a competitive side.  It’s a part of human nature.  For some, it can be triggered by just about anything, and for others it takes someone encroaching on what they feel is their territory.

Today’s card is a reminder that it’s okay to be a bit aggro now and then. It’s okay to stand up for yourself. It’s okay to want to win.  It’s okay (within reason) to allow our competitive, contrary, or outright stubborn side to take the lead now and then.  Embrace this side of your nature. Suppressing it just clips your wings.

DECK USED:  LE TAROT DE L’ÉTOILE CACHÉE AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

PatriciaWestonWitch’s #wwpwHalloweenLenormand Prompt
Questions for October 26th and 27th

Wisdom of the Shadows Oracle and Gothic Horror TarotWhat area of my life could do with a bolt of lightening?

Balance and The Lovers – You need to make sure that you are making choices that help keep yourself and your life in balance. Don’t just fall headlong into the rush and forget to breathe. Stop trying to push yourself when you’re not quite ready yet, and don’t have to be quite yet.

What wisdom does the crow have for me today?

Connection and King of Pentacles – Make sure you are staying in close connection with what is going on in your finances right now. Keep that shit under your thumb. Extra monitoring and a bit more tight-fisted control is needed.

DECK USED: WISDOM OF THE SHADOW ORACLE AND GOTHIC HORROR TAROT

The #EmbraceYourAlterEgo2021 Challenge for Sacred Grounds Tarot Club
Questions for October 26th and 27th

Oracle of Nightmares and Le Tarot de L'étoile CachéeWhat can I look forward to for the dark half of the year?
Entrapment atop Inertia, La Papesse atop Le Jugement

There is potential that you are going to go through a period of stagnancy within the dark half of the year. You will need to use your intuition and inner compass to guide you through this time. Don’t discount what they have to say and the guidance they provide. Self sabotage cannot be allowed to be an option.

What are my challenges for the dark half of the year?
Secrets, Two of Wands atop Four of Coins

Lack of communication and willful omission have the potential to create a situation where you are left torn between previously made plans and hunkering down in place.

(I’m going to have to remember to draw more cards on this later on.)

DECK USED: ORACLE OF NIGHTMARES AND LE TAROT DE L’ÉTOILE CACHÉE

Daily Self Kindness

I went to the dentist.  I really wanted to just cancel and stay home, but I didn’t.

Dark Fairytale Lenormand Reading

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Dark Fairytale Lenormand Reading - Tea Bats Lenormand

The Dark Fairytale Opens: What marks the prologue of your dark fairytale?

Scythe and Birds – Cruel comments and arguments, confrontations, disagreements with others, and other such communication struggles. This is an echo of my childhood, and the majority of my experiences with my father as I was growing up. These experiences are a part of the reason I am so very careful with my words, further exacerbated by a few similar issues later on in life when I’ve “fumbled” during an inopportune time and created a clusterfuck mess due to miscommunication.

The Curse: What imprisons you & torments you?

Crossroads – Often, when we have a variety of choices and the freedom to choose our path, it can feel like the generous grace of good fortune on our side.  Other times?  That same freedom and plethora of choices available to us can feel overwhelming.  Right now I am in the latter state of mind, and instead of making choices and moving forward, I’m left at the crossroads spinning my wheels in the muck.

The Ghost: What haunts you and tortures you?

Anchor – From the lack of emotional stability provided through my childhood to the lack of stability in life that came after I left that environment, I now find myself in a constant state of scarcity.  This is not reality, but rather an ever-present need for more stability and security.

Bramblewood: What are the dangers that surround you?

Child – I’m not sure if this is a perceived danger or a real one, but what I see in the Child card in this question is my fear that by being irresponsible or by having fun, that I can lose all that I hold dear. The the idea of being helpless is terrifying to me.

The Mirror: What is your deepest fear?

Book – This bleeds into the previous question, for it is through lack of knowledge that we are at our most helpless.  That’s why children are protected.  They haven’t learned all that they need to know yet, and thus their independence is sacrificed for safety while they learn what is needed to keep them safe. Although this is not something I express often, my deepest fear is loss of knowledge.  My deepest fear is being an idiot.  Helpless to take care of myself or “steer my own boat” due to lack of intellect needed for that simple goal.

The Sword of Truth: What will set you free from your dark fairytale?

Rider – Pursue what I want out of life. It is through energy, zeal, and a constant forward movement that I keep on top of my memory loss and cognition issues caused by the accident that damaged so much of my body over fifteen years ago.  Gideon helps me with this a lot, taking me down memory lane again and again, helping me to remember what I lose, helping me strategize new ways to remember what I need to, and building new pathways through the threads of memories to knit them back together when they begin to fray.

Awaken from slumber (Part 1). What grounds you in your reality?

Woman – Those in my life that nurture me.  L, Z, Gideon, J… all of these people are a part of my life in a way that is not just companionship, but also supportive.  They care about me, care -for- me, and help remind me what is important.

Awaken from slumber (Part 2). What makes you invincible?

Moon – My intuition and the guidance of my spirit guides through my intuition’s voice. These skills create an extra layer of knowledge and guidance, assist me in seeing what is needed when I would otherwise be blind and unaware. Also encompassed here is my creativity, which then blends into my adaptability.

DECK USED:  TEA BATS LENORMAND

Stability and Satiation are Subjective

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Twisted Tarot Tales and How to Be a Wildflower DeckToday’s draw is the Ten of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of satisfaction and stability in the area of one’s finances, resources, home, health, manifestations, and the physical world.

In the image if this card you see a depiction of something having gone horribly wrong.  The toxic waste cans, the gas masks, the damaged home in the background and jaundiced sky above.  And yet, the family is still all together, close and connected and cared for.

This card combines with the affirmation card for the day to remind us that even when life is a mess, there are still things to be grateful for.  It’s important to look at your priorities and discern what is truly important to you. If you can find what this is, even if the rest of the world falls apart, when you nurture this thing you value and prioritize above all else, you can feel as if you have stable footing and a sense of stability.

DECK USED:  TWISTED TAROT TALES AND HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER DECK

Mr Lionharts’ #TheOctoberTarot #SeasonoftheWitchChallenge Prompt
Questions for October 25th and 26th

Silver Witch Oracle and All Hallows TarotFrom my lineage, my roots to my ancestry, what lives on, deep inside of me?
Black Cat atop Feather, Judgment atop Four of Wands

The ability and good fortune to be able to choose your own path, to follow your moral compass and what is right for you, instead of being forced to conform or hide.

It was through my ancestors doing the same in their own ways, through fighting or hiding, through travel, sacrifice, or relocation… that I have the good fortune to be open about myself and my beliefs, and that I am able to not need to conform, but instead be myself. They followed their compass, their path, and what was right for them, which has allowed me to do the same.

The witch, the craft, the moon, the veil, what will this Samhain unveil?
Candle and Ace of Swords

Purpose and a healing of your ambition that will set you free of the stagnancy you’ve been experiencing.

I can’t decide if I’m struggling with the onset of depression, a general moody malaise caused by Gideon being away on vacation, or just having issues with the transition period between where my focus has been most of the year and where it will need to be for the next six or seven weeks.

DECK USED: SILVER WITCH ORACLE AND ALL HALLOWS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsOct2021 Challenge Prompt
Questions for October 25th and 26th

Twisted Tarot Tales DeckA Problem – The Lovers – Self sabotaging choices and behavior.

During this time of limbo and transition (it’s a bit of both) as the holiday rush approaches and prep for that rush is in focus (or at least should be), I find myself in a place of self sabotage as I drag my feet and want nothing more than to bury my head under a pillow and pretend the world at large as well as my responsibilities don’t exist.

This, of course, is damaging and unhealthy for me on a number of different levels, but even in knowing that? I’m struggling to make healthier choices for myself at this time.

What Action to Take – Four of Swords – Allow yourself the rest and recovery that you need. It’s not crunch time just yet.

This card indicates that it’s okay for me to rest right now instead of “lighting a fire  under my ass” as I feel like I should be doing. It doesn’t help that I feel guilty for resting and not doing prep work… which is making rest difficult.

What to Wait On – Seven of Wands atop The Devil – Don’t fall into battle mode just yet. It’s okay to let those old habits lie and ease up on yourself for a bit longer.

Perhaps I need to return to re-read this reading a few times a day over the next few days or something.

What positive generational gift has been passed down to me from my ancestors?
King of Cups atop Six of Swords

The ability to know what you truly want and go after it, abandoning what isn’t healthy for you in the process.

I have displayed this behavior again and again throughout my life from the rejection of my father’s demands on my choices to emancipating from my parents at sixteen. It is displayed in how I run my life, the relationships in my life, and how I deal with employment.

DECK USED: TWISTED TAROT TALES

Daily Self Kindness

I had my smoothie, and my tea.  Although… I missed my vitamins.  And I discovered that at least one night this week, at some point, I missed my nighttime meds.