tarot for self care

Authenticity vs Conformity

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Tarot of the Spirit's Fool Card and Little Frog's Guide to Self-Care CardsToday’s draw is The Fool card, which is traditionally a representation of innocence, carelessness, carefree enthusiasm, and new beginnings.

Sometimes being yourself takes a leap of faith. Rejection is hard and can be extremely painful. This makes it difficult to not try to conform oneself to other’s expectations.

The thing is, though? If you attract others by conforming to expectations, they really aren’t liking or accepting you; just the mask or show you’re putting on for them.

A better option is to show your true self and let the chips fall where they may. True, you might not be accepted by some… but you will draw to you those that will like you for you, instead of for whatever you’d otherwise be pretending to be.

So at least in this one area of life? Throw caution to the wind and be yourself. Life is much more fun and interesting when you do.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SPIRIT AND LITTLE FROG’S GUIDE TO SELF-CARE CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2025 Challenge
Prompt for June 22nd : Do the Midsummer Spread

Summer Solstice Oracle Reading with the Seasons of the Witch Litha Oracle

Horse – What can I do to build up my inner courage to live life with more honesty and integrity?

Rot and Decay – Share. You need to share those things that need to come out into the open. Remember, willful omission is a form of deception. The longer you wait, the uglier it gets… not just the deception itself, but the fallout from it as well. So each moment you delay simply makes things that much worse.

Daisy – How can I insert more innocence and purity into how I view the world?

Hummingbird – If you want to insert more innocence and purity into how you view the world, try taking things as they come instead of trying to predict everything in advance. It’s easier to adapt on the fly than it is to prepare ahead of time and then be surprised when you’re wrong, not to mention you’re not left with all that wasted time put into preparation that’s never needed.

Lapis Lazuli – How can I be more honest with myself about my good and bad traits?

Sunset Dinner – Being more honest with yourself about your good and bad traits involves sitting down with yourself and take time to reflect. By bringing all aspects to the table (good and bad) instead of focusing on just one or two, or one side or the other, you allow yourself to appreciate how these traits play off each other.

Citrine – In what ways can I work at expressing my creativity more?

Peonies – Give yourself permission to play more, instead of having everything be about work and planning. Sometimes you just have to do things because you want to do them, or because they seem fun or interesting. By setting your curiosity free to explore, it allows your creativity to stretch and grow.

Snake – How can I use creativity to help foster fresh energies and a sense of rebirth?

Mulch and Manure – Every little creative thing you do feeds the creative spark that resides within you. Therefore, participating in little creative acts can encourage growth of that spark into a larger flame. Remember that sometimes the little things count just as much as (or even more than) the big ones.

Heather – How can I invite more good luck into my day to day life?

Clear Quartz – Keep on track with your efforts toward a more positive outlook and optimistic perspective in your day-to-day activities. This allows more openings for good luck to slip in when it’s able, as well as for you to spot it when it does and appreciate it more.

Other elements included in this reading:
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: SEASONS OF THE WITCH LITHA ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I confessed my negative inner narratives to Gideon, instead of keeping them to myself.

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday 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 is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

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

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with the Slow Holler Tarot and The Pocket Herbal

Earth – Student of Knives – Don’t shoot your self in the foot. A bit of caution is needed right now. Take care when speaking up and communicating with others that you don’t put your foot in your mouth, especially in relation to things you know nothing about or are not fully informed on. It won’t just cause embarrassment, but could create destabilization of the status quo as well.

Air – The Sun – Work on keeping both your internal and external narratives positive. You may have a stronger tendency to slip into negative thoughts this week, which can then easily bleed outward into your communication with others. So make sure to take extra care to stay positive in order to keep everything moving smoothly in the direction you desire.

Water – Four of Vessels Rx atop Architect of Stones – Keep in mind that feelings and reality don’t really function in the same sphere. Just because things feel uneven and screwed up doesn’t mean they are. You will gain a greater sense of stability this week by meditating more regularly. Do your best not to skip this essential part of each day.

Fire – The Star Rx – Your subdrop is going to be a bit more tenacious than normal this week. Let those people in your life that can help you see that this is happening, and they will focus on helping to lift you up and get you through to the other side.

Waning – Licorice – Training your focus on your misery this week will get you nowhere. Take care that you aren’t falling into cycles that involve self-pity or wallowing in your misery.

Waxing – Echinacae – Again (as mentioned above in the Air position), focus on the positive. Both in the present, as well as through some walks down memory lane with others that can help you resurrect some good memories that have started to fade.

Take Away – Your subdrop is going to cling this week, and it’s going to make you a bit irrational and sensitive. Take care with h ow you react to others and the words that come out of your mouth, and lean on those that support you when you’re feeling vulnerable.  Make sure that you pick up on your meditation, as it will help in supporting your sense of stability, and keep up the work you’ve been doing on leaning into positivity and optimism as you’ll need the extra boost from it this week.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: SLOW HOLLER TAROT AND THE POCKET HERBAL

Shifting the Narrative

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Vesper Tarot's Three of Swords and The Happiness Chemicals CardsToday’s draw is the Three of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of depression, grief, and disappointments. This theme often seems strange to people, being that it is seated in the Swords suit (which is often all about intellect and the mind), but it is important to remember that how we react emotionally is often rooted in how we think and what expectations we create for ourselves before everything falls apart.

A lot of the cards I’ve pulled this week seem to be about mindset, and this one is no exception. Have you ever villainized another person (even if they deserved it)? I know that I have. My parents and what went on in their house while growing up, and a “friend’ that I trusted deeply that betrayed me in an extremely painful way, are two examples.  The thing is, though? This act of villianizing/victimizing can bring about a negative mindset that can then easily tinge our path as we move forward.  It changes how we see ourselves, and how we see the world around us… and not in a good way.

The card combination for today is a reminder that it wasn’t all bad. They’re a reminder to not just look back on these painful moments, but also the good ones that precluded them. I’m not saying you have to forgive anyone, or even that you should… I have no idea of your situation and in my opinion some things are simply unforgivable.

What I am saying, though, is that these cards encourage us to claim the good and allow ourselves to break free of the negative victimized mindset.  Not necessarily through forgiveness, but through acceptance that it wasn’t all bad. This, in turn, then allows us to focus on positive aspects of the present and future more easily.

DECK USED:  VESPER TAROT AND THE HAPPINESS CHEMICALS DECK

@LightningWildflower‘s June Tarot Challenge
Purpose Prompts for June 19th thru 21st

Oracle Reading with the Pulchrum Floralis Oracle and Medicine Heart OracleWhat drives and motivates me?

Sacred Piercing and Spotted Knapweed (allelopathic chemicals) – You are often motivated by your need to use your strength and assertiveness to empower others instead of holding them back. You want to lift others up and encourage them to thrive. This is where the lion’s share of your motivation comes from, as it sparks in you protective instincts and brings to the fore your desire for others to find stability, encouragement, and empowerment in your presence.

How can I go through my days with a greater sense of purpose?

Macaw and Cacao; Desert Verbena (desert pollinator plant) – Flow rather than force. Adaptation is the key to staying connected with your purpose, rather than lost in the weeds at the side of the path. Allow change to flow through your life, and work at adapting to the shifting sands beneath your feet. Fighting against the current or trying to force things to go your way only wastes time and energy.

What will bring more meaning to the mundane or ordinary aspects of my life?

She Wolf of the South and Daisy (heliotropism) – You have been through so much, and this can make it a struggle not to fall into a negative and/or pessimistic mindset. Instead, continue to work on keeping your eye on the positive. The harder that is to do, the more you need it.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Cedar Tips for Protection Against Negative Influences
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: MEDICINE HEART ORACLE AND THE PULCHRUM FLORALIS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I allowed Gideon to talk me into playing for a bit even though I wasn’t really feeling it.  In the end, I think it helped me feel a bit better than I would have otherwise by the end of the night.

Surface Disruptions

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the @Calm app.

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Sun and Moon Tarot's Queen of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 20 : Reflection

Today’s draw is the Queen of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition. Among other things, this often translates into themes to do with emotional support and advice from a trusted party that is easy to talk to.

Part of nurturing yourself and others includes patience. You can’ splash around in the water all the time and expect to see your reflection clearly. The more you fuss, the more distorted what you see becomes. That, in turn, distorts what you feel as well.

I just recently got new glasses. I wear progressives, which means the visual range changes each time I get new lenses. Minute changes in where distance transitions to mid-range, and where mid-range transitions to reading range are common when the lenses are made with a new prescription, and almost guaranteed with a new set of frames in a slightly different size or shape.

This creates a need for an adjustment period, not just for the new prescription, but also for where and how your eyes and head move to put different things in focus. It’s easy, during this time to react negatively and think that they messed up the lenses. The discontent and irritation of this makes it hard not to hate the new glasses and want to take them back right now to be fixed. (Thrash around in the water, so to speak.)

Today’s card in combination with the “reflection” prompt encourages us in times like this when we are feeling ot of sorts to not “splash around”. Stay still, reflect, and allow things to come into better focus. Nurture yourself and others by not reacting. Give it some time , consideration, and observation instead. Then, when you can see calmly and clearly, and have a better understanding of all involved, you can act with precision to deal with the problem instead of just whacking at it with emotions.

DECK USED:  SUN AND MOON TAROT

@LightningWildflower‘s June Tarot Challenge
Perspective Prompts for June 16th and 18st

Tarot Reading with The Stone Marseilles Tarot and Tearwater OracleWhat in my life would benefit from a shift in perspective?

Le Pendu and Find Beauty Here – Stop looking for problems and issues at every turn, and instead pause to enjoy the positive. Every situation has a shred of beauty and positivity to share, but you have to be willing to actually look for it. These cards indicate that a part of looking at every aspect and perspective of situation requires you to also look at the positive, not just the negative.

What is a challenge that I might need to consider in a new way?

Seven of Coins atop Seven of Cups; Take Care of Your Energy – Procrastination only moves you further and further away from those things and activities that are healthy for you. The less you do, the less you want to do, and therefore you do less and want to do even less still; and so the cycle continues. Pretty soon, it’s easier and easier to walk away from the things that are good for you instead of actually doing them.

What might an altered perspective allow me to see?

L’amour and What Is Home – Choosing those things that are good for you and also right for you makes life feel more welcoming, and gives you a sense of comfort in the world as a whole as well as in yourself. Seeking the comfort in stagnancy isn’t healthy, even if it feels like sometimes you might actually find it there.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Shiva Shell Heart for Wisdom and Discernment
Orange Aventurine Leaves for Pause and Reflection
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: THE STONE MARSEILLES TAROT AND TEARWATER ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I came online and spent some time with Gideon and let him soothe the subdrop a bit,  instead of crawling into a corner somewhere to hide.

Summer Solstice 2025 – Midsummer

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Today is the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year and one of the eight holidays that I celebrate throughout the year. This day marks the ‘official’ transition into summer and a shift from days that become longer and longer through the spring into days from here on out will grow shorter and shorter for the next six months.

Litha

This holiday is often called Midsummer or Litha, although I usually just refer to it as the Summer Solstice. On my path, it celebrates the turning point of summer, where the build-up of creative energy from the spring crests into a time of abundance as we travel into the depths of summer in much the same way that the growing energies of the full moon crest before beginning to wane each month.

Like with new moons and full moons, I usually do a spread to check in with myself and give myself some direction for the next couple of months on each solstice, equinox, and other Sabbats. This spread is an adaptation of my Self Care Saturday spread, so there are sure to be  some similarities in how it is read. The focus of this spread, though, is not about Self Care, but rather about progress and my path. The time period is also longer, reaching through the next handful of weeks until the celebration of the First Harvest (aka, Lughnasadh, Lammas, Lughnasa, Lugh) on August 1st.

Summer Solstice Tarot Reading with the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot, Healing Herbal Oracle, Jahreskreis Orakel der Keltischen Feste, and Compendium of Witches Oracle

Theme of the Season – Litha’s Sonnenkraft, Waning Crescent Moon, Cassia senna

Sonnenkraft means solar power, and speaks of Midsummer/Litha’s greatest strength. Through the warmth of the sun, abundance has sprung forth. Animals and plants bloom and propagate, and everywhere we look there is new growth and the bright shimmer of life in full bloom. This time of growth and abundance is the Sun’s gift, and in many cultures is attributed to the Sun God and his arrival in the spring and growth to full power now as summer has arrived.

The Waning Crescent Moon is all about finding balance through letting go, release, banishment, and atonement. It is a time when we seek to exhale the dregs of energies used in our lives, so that with the upcoming New Moon we can then inhale fresh energy into our lives that will stir up creative juices and invigorate. Now is the time to make room, cleansing away those last lingering leftovers in your life and passion projects, and releasing what is finished and needs left behind.

Cassia senna‘s seed pods are a strong purgative and laxative that has been used for thousands of years to treat constipation and clear the bowels in preparation for certain procedures such as colonoscopies. It is not surprising, then, that metaphysically it is a purging herb, used in spellwork to purge energies, mindsets, people, and unhealthy habits from one’s life. It is also used in a variety of love spells from keeping a current love faithful, to attracting a new love to you that doesn’t realize you are interested in them.

When looking at these three cards together, the theme that steps forward is an encouragement to purge from your life those things not working for you in preparation for the abundance of gifts that the summer is eager to offer you. You cannot accept abundance without first releasing from your life something else in order to make room.

Earth – Ace of Swords – Time for some new ideas. Get out and communicate with others and see what new ideas and innovation can be stirred up from the interaction.  The consequences in not doing so can result in you stuck in a rut.  Remember, as much as you love stability, too much of it is called stagnancy, and is not good for you.

Air – Page of Wands – Building on the Earth’s position above, it’s time to find something to inspire you and light a fire under you to explore something new. Look for what teases your curiosity and let it draw you in.

Water – Queen of Swords – Nay-saying by your emotions is not allowed at this time. Remember that emotions are fickle and not a true reflection of reality. Check in with your shrink for impartial input as needed.

Fire – Three of Cups – Invite others along for the ride. It will make the exploration more interesting and fun. Not just for you, but for everyone. As much as you are an introvert, there is no denying that having others participating creates bonds you enjoy, and an overall increase in the amount of smiles and laughter involved in most activities.

Waning – The Soothsayer and Cauldron – No stirring the shit right now.  Spellwork needs to lean away from themes that have to do with teaching others lessons or seeking vengeance. You are not judge and jury, so don’t try to put yourself in that role.

Waxing – The Reconciler and Sickle – Patience and self-control are an important part of staying on your path right now.  Ensure that you are not reacting before taking a moment of pause to moderate your reaction.

Take Away – Your path at this moment needs to focus on release. Let go of the things that aren’t working for you in anticipation for the good that’s coming down the line. You don’t want to get stuck with no room for these good things to arrive.  This includes emotionally.

Invite friends to explore new ideas with you. They’re interested and will enjoy the adventure, even if it’s your path they’re joining you on and your faith they’re exploring.

DECKS USED: JAHRESKREIS ORAKEL DER KELTISCHEN FESTE, PAGAN OTHERWORLDS TAROT, COMPENDIUM OF WITCHES ORACLE, HEALING HERBAL CARDS VOL 1 – 3

Changing the Approach

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the @Calm app.  The topic was focused upon how meditation (and life) is often about accepting things as they are in the moment, instead of trying to change things.

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The Pocket Textured Tarot - Ace of WandsThe @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 19 : Evening

Today’s draw is the Ace of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of the seed, start, or new beginnings in the area of one’s passion projects, inspiration, drive, willpower, and determination. This often translates into themes that have to do with budding new interests and new passion projects.

Just because you’re not going to be where you want to be this evening doesn’t mean that it has to be a horrible experience.

Don’t let your enthusiasm for where you are right this moment wane, just because it’s not where you want to be. You can still have a good time instead of a miserable one if you’re willing to put some enthusiasm into the situation. Like one match can light another through mere proximity, you can lift the energy of the evening as a whole with a mindset shift toward enthusiasm instead of reluctance, dread, or petulance.

The message in today’s card is a reminder that the energy you bring into a situation influences the situation as a whole. If you approach something with pessimism and negativity, then it is guaranteed to be a miserable experience. Instead, seek to approach even the most unpleasant of experiences and events with a more positive mindset and an effort toward eagerness, and allow the energy you bring with you to create a more positive experience for all. Smiles are infectious, and so is enthusiasm.

DECK USED:  THE POCKET TEXTURED TAROT

@Lionharts #TheJuneTarot Radiance Rising Challenge
Prompt for June 19th : The Emergence Spread

Emergence Oracle Reading with The Winged Enchantment Oracle

What is emerging within me, ready to manifest in the physical world?

Seagull – You are learning to “take what is given while it’s there” and “expand your horizons”. (Quotes from the deck’s guidebook.)

Being an opportunistic isn’t really your thing, as opportunity often creates chaos as adjustments are made for change. You are starting to learn, though,  the change is needed in order to grow and become a better person, as well as improve your situation. In this realization, you are beginning to see the value in approaching life and opportunity (and change) with a more opportunistic perspective.

How is this drawing me closer to what or where I’m meant to be?

Blue Jay – “I am the crucial adaptation of a successful life. I have the discipline to master new skills.” (Quote from the deck’s guidebook.)

These new efforts concerning opportunities and change are giving you the ability to seize opportunities when they are presented to you with laser focus and without hesitation, rather than holding back in deference to stability. You are learning how to flow with change and use it to your advantage instead of balking at its presence.

What {inner} guidance is rising to support this becoming?

Duck – “You need to be aware of what drives you… You have to learn when to dive deeper, and when to gently skim the surface.” (Quote from the deck’s guidebook.)

Stay in touch with your emotions, as they will help to guide you. The work you are doing to understand your emotions, better and expand your emotional intelligence will be front and center in guiding you on your path and helping you in choosing which direction to take when choices need to be made.

Other elements included in this reading:
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: THE WINGED ENCHANTMENT ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I took the advice of today’s card of the day and approached my responsibilities this evening with an openness and sense of enthusiasm that I wasn’t really feeling.  And it did, in fact, make the entire evening a bit better than it otherwise would have been.