tarot in daily life

Scarcity Issues Redux

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on indecision, especially that which is spurred by fear of rejection.

I found the meditation itself very relaxing, but I didn’t really relate well to the topic of the day.  The only time I really feel indecision is when I’m in subdrop or feeling extremely vulnerable.  This means that my indecision is caused by something very specific, and is not due to some sort of fear or worry of rejection or the judgement from others.

I’m not sure how I developed this confidence, but I’ve never had an issue with judgement.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  There was a time when internally my soul bled due do the judgements pushed on me by my father, but even then… there was no indecision.  Not about my sexuality, not about what I felt was right or wrong, not about the things I liked, and the things I didn’t.  What my father contributed was to further teach me is the “what’s the worst that can happen” aspect (with reasonable common sense added in, of course).

You do what you want because…. what’s the worst that can happen?  Someone laughs at you?  So what?  Someone says no?   Well at least you asked and now you know.  Thinking of trying something new?  Yes, you might fail, but if you had fun along the way or learned something during the process (or from the results) then it wasn’t really a loss at all.

Today’s draw was yet again another double drop, with no jumper as they both came out together.  The cards in today’s draw are the Nine of Wands (Anxious) and the Five of Coins (Poverty).  I’m considering ceasing defining the cards for this deck, as I keep getting intuition hits before I reach for my knowledge of the suits in the tarot, or even read the key words on the cards..

This one was a no-brainer, and is pretty much the message that’s been coming through for a while now.  The repeat message is not a surprise, as it is a subject that I struggle with.

That is… scarcity issues.

More specifically, the obsession with ensuring I do not return to a place of poverty and desperation.

The cards today are reminding me that I am not poor.  I am not destitute.  Everything is okay and there is no need to be anxious.  That, in fact, the general anxiety I deal with may be a part of what keeps me in this mindset.

The repeating theme of this topic means it is something I need to look at deeper, and work on more diligently.  I think that this is not just a reminder, but an encouragement to take action and put some focus and work into finding ways to ease my anxiety in this area.

Deck Used: The Visions of Life Tarot

 

#TarotTube (non) VR to Inspiring Aliens and Brian Cormack Carr

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I was inspired to do this post after seeing Brian Cormack Carr’s YouTube response.  The original tag was from Inspiring Alien’s #TarotTube update video.

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The Questions:

1.What made you start Tarot YouTubing?

Well, I don’t make videos, but I do spend time watching TarotTube. What made me start?  It’s an interest of mine and I’m sure it just showed up in my “suggested videos” at one point and I realized “oh!  they have that on YouTube too?” and from there I was hooked.

2. What is the tarot scene like in your area?

Lots and lots and lots of opportunities to get a reading around where I live from a number of little metaphysical shops to small psychic reading establishments.  I would say you will find some kind of “Woo” within each city block, or possibly every other city block, around where I live.

3. Name an overrated deck and an underrated deck?

Hmmm Overrated just in that I can’t connect to it but it seems -everyone- likes it? The Prisma Visions Tarot.  I just don’t get it.

The Visions of Life Tarot, which is one of my daily draw decks for this month.   I really like the tongue-in-cheek humor that the deck offers up, and when I was looking for information on the deck, the only thing I could find was ONE YouTube channel in Russian that did a walk through.

4. Tarot in one word?

Life  (That is not to say that “tarot is life” in the colloquialism sense of using the word, but rather that it is a representation of life.  All aspects, all stages, all paths.  Life.)

5. Name three small tarot YouTube channels.

I chose to consider “small” as being three channels with under 400 subscribers.

Yarrowen, Ozark Oracle, Crow Quill Tarot

6. Your favourite type of tarot video on YouTube?

I very much enjoy tarot videos that are focused on shadow work. Heather Carter does a lot of these and really stands out as an excellent and enjoyable channel to check out for those kind of videos.  It’s not all she does on her channel, but I really enjoy her depth.

7. What would you a) think b) say c) do, if tarot suddenly didn’t exist?

So the question specifically says “suddenly didn’t exist” which I’m going to take means it did exist and then every tarot deck (and Lenormand and oracle deck) on the planet just… disappeared.

a) “WTF?? Where the hell did my decks go?”, b) “Oh hell no, I’m gonna fix this shit”, c) grab myself a set of playing cards and start drawing on them to make my own divination deck.

8. Do you use tarot apps?

Yes.  Not for readings, but some of the tarot apps out now have guidebooks for decks on them, especially apps made by The Fool’s Dog LLC.  This is useful for decks that I own, but either don’t want to dig out the guidebook for, or don’t have a guidebook for. This makes these tarot apps a spectacular resource.

9. Your favourite thing about the tarot community?

That it’s a community. I like that.  Not everyone always agrees or gets along, but that’s part and parcel of a community, I think.

10. Tarot video ideas?

Actually, I’ve submitted one or two to Modern Metaphysical Man, which he’s been kind enough to do.   Most of the time when ideas come up, I reach out to someone in the community I think the idea would fit well with and pitch it to them.   This means that they are then no longer stored up in my brain so I have NO idea what to write here at the moment.

11. Who do you tag?

I think by “tag” this means doing responses to their tags?  Anything that catches my interest and attention.  Some of those I’ve done responses to include Ethony, The Hermit’s Cave, Brian Cormack Carr, KellyBear, and others.

 

Its Better Together

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds, and focused on the concept of gezellig, which is (apparently) a German adjective that means a kind of thing or activity that embodies a sense of joy or peace.

The guided meditation started out with a very broken down mindfulness technique or the breath that involves first focusing on the rise and fall of the belly, then the expansion and contraction of the ribs, then the rise and fall of the chest, before then focusing on how the breath moves like waves through each part. It was extremely relaxing.

After this, it spoke about the importance of adding activities into each day that help to restore the soul. These are things that bring you a sense of peace, joy, contentment, or fun. I think sometimes we all forget to do this, and forget to truly appreciate these things even when we do actually do them. I know that I am guilty of this.

Today’s draw is another double without a jumper. It is the 11th card in the Major Arcana, the Justice card (with chimpanzees), and the Two of Cups (with seals).

Today I’m not going to bother with traditional meanings because I got an intuitive hit (and currently riding in a car which means I’m flirting with getting car sick by working on this right now.

Today, the Justice card is telling me that we are going to get pulled over sometime today (or some other event that is going to deal with an authoritative figure and reckoning).

The Two of Cups is a reminder of emotional support. It says that I may either need it, or need to provide it, in relation to the above mentioned event. I’m traveling with J today, so we’ll just have to see how things go.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

What is Important

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and thirty six seconds, and focused on finding that balance between hard focus and full release during a meditation practice.

This can be difficult in the best of times.  If you focus too hard on the breath or whatever you’ve chosen as your focus in the moment, then you are not reaping the benefits of your meditation’s relaxation… on the other hand, if you are too loose in your focus, your mind wanders and you do not experience the benefits of mindfulness during meditation.  In fact, if you are too lose in your focus, you may end up simply sitting and thinking quietly, or daydreaming, instead of meditating.

The guided meditation spoke on how the key is to adjust your levels of focus and relaxation much like a guitar player tunes their guitar before each time they play.

I really like the analogy, and the story that went along with it (which is where the analogy came from).  My meditation, over all, was quite relaxing, and I’m finding that my left hip is finally starting to loosen up a bit.

Today’s draw is the Six of Wands with the key word Triumph on the card. The Six of Wands is a representation of, yes, triumph, but also public and private achievements, progress, cooperation, and a sense of vitality in the area of one’s willpower, drive, passions, and ambition.

I often take a minute to read what is written in the Journey into the Hidden Realm (which is the guidebook for the Tarot of the Hidden Realm) even though that’s not the cards I’m working with.  The thing is that I love the little stories that are written about each card’s imagery, which are all very Human/Fae liminal space in their tone and earth based. In today’s, there was a line that really stuck out to me.

That line is… “This card promises not only that you will be successful but that you will utterly amaze yourself.”

I like that.

Many times the Six of Wands is seen as a card dealing with public accolades and accomplishments on a public scale, but for me that is not really the case.  I have no interest in any of that.  What I have an interest in is my own personal goals, my own personal sense of successes and failures.

The only time I really seek accolades is in the hope that the jewelry I create finds a home with someone that appreciates it.   Even then, that is not -why- I create, or why I sell.  I create for me, because I need that outlet.  It brings me joy and balance.   I sell my creations (aside from the finance aspect) because I want my creations to bring joy, comfort, or enjoyment to another and enhance their life in some way.

This is very important to me, and I think the inner examination in this post was the entire message of today’s draw of the Six of Wands.   A sort of…. getting in touch with what is important to me.

Deck Used: The Visions of Life Tarot

History’s Quicksand

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds, and focused on simplicity and the practice of activity seeking simplicity in one’s life over confusion and complexity.

This meditation goes along really well with the theme of yesterdays Self-Care Saturday spread, which was already posted here on the blog earlier this morning.  In the spread it essentially spoke about the same thing.

The meditation focused on how living more simply and embracing simplicity can help us in avoiding feeling overwhelmed.  Sometimes, I really long for simplicity, and as you know I’ve put in place a plan to be able to ease up a bit in… just about six years.

I know that doesn’t help much right now, but I think that this exercise I do each day along with the meditation practice has definitely helped a lot with that constant feeling of juggling too much and feeling consistently overwhelmed by responsibility.

Today’s draw is yet another double without a jumper, as they came out together. This seems to be the week for double drops… or maybe the month for it? The cards in today’s draw are the Five of Cups (as the deer) and the Six of Cups (as the marbled salamander).

Both of these cards are representations based in the area of emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition.  The Five of Cups is an indication of struggles, tests, trials, conflict, and harshness, whereas the Six of cups is an indication of vitality, harmony, innocence, and memories.

These themes are reinforced by the animal representations in this deck, as in the guidebook, the deer’s keywords are innocence, compassion, insight, security, love, and wonder.  The marbled salamander’s keywords are awareness, growth, adaptation, faith, endurance, and change.

Combined as they are in today’s draw, these cards are telling me not to let memories of the past drag me down and close me off from the good I have in the present.

Sometimes when the memories come it’s hard to be kind to myself and it’s hard to let go. Memories of Greg and what happened with him.  Memories of the home invasion that happened at the hands of his friend later on.   Memories of the car accidents and recoveries I’ve been through, and the sometimes resentment and other times longing over the things I’ve lost (such as flexibility, a life without chronic pain, my voice, etc).

All of these things are a part of today’s draw, as today’s cards are a reminder that the past in the past for a reason, and although it’s important to learn lessons from the past, I need to remember to not get bogged down by what has happened and let it drag me down here in the present.

Deck Used: The Animism Tarot

 

Self Care Saturday (on Sunday)

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SCS

Week three of accountability on my Self Care Saturday spread in order to foster the motivation to write it down instead of just reading the spread, taking a picture, and moving on.

As I 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.

Usually, I use the same deck for a full month, but I switched out decks.  I love the Anna K and it’s colors and imagery and funny little faces.   BUT, I just received the Numinous Tarot and I was really feeling the urge to use it.   I think I will be keeping it for the rest of the month, although I might change the oracle for something that feels like a better pairing.

The question is… What do I need to focus on in the week ahead?

Body – Ace of Tomes – “The actions you are taking now, the plans you are creating, have the potential to become important future traditions.” (quoted from the deck’s guidebook) Plan Carefully!

Mind – Nine of Candles – Persistence and Resilience. Strength gained through experience. Now is a time to utilize what life’s lessons have taught you.

Emotions – Two of Candles – (Intuitive Hit) It’s okay to be vulnerable. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

Inner Spark – Ten of Candles – Do not weigh yourself down with too much at once.  There is nothing wrong with taking your time and doing one thing at a time.

Moving Away From – Duality – Less multi-tasking… better focus? (the latter part is more wishful thinking than anything read in the cards)

Heading Toward – Burden – Here is why it is time to slow down, do careful planning, stay strong, and take good care of self.  Easing up on the multitasking, and being sure to bolster my confidence and take care of myself, will assist in lessening the sense of overwhelm that appears when my responsibilities are feeling like a burden.

From the fact that nearly this entire reading was in the Candles suit (aka Wands suit), the message is primarily concerning my ambitions, passions, and drive.

Moral of the Story – Be Kind to Yourself…. and make good choices!

Decks Used: Numinous Tarot, Shamanic Healing Oracle