Tarot of the Sidhe

Guilt, Blame, and Letting Go

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_5964Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and was one of my guided meditations with an interval timer to space out my piriformis stretching.   The topic of today’s guided meditation was about the reflection of one’s behavior back on yourself through interaction with others.  If you approach someone in anger, it makes sense that you will get anger back.  But what people don’t realize is that more subtle effects are also just as possible.

The meditation told the story of a research team wanting to research monkeys, but each time they tried to get close the monkeys repelled them.  Then a researcher went in alone without guns as protection, and the monkeys welcomed him.   The monkeys didn’t know what guns are, but because the team was going in wary and on guard, prepared to commit violence, the monkeys could sense this and wouldn’t let them close.

People are often also like this. They pick up on non verbal cues that tell them someone is tense or irritated, anxious or defensive.  And they then react to those cues without even realizing they’re doing it.   By the same turn, they will also react to positive cues like happiness and warmth.  The meditation today encouraged the latter.

Tarot of the SidheToday’s draw is the Dreamer Three (Three of Swords) which is traditionally about heartache and feelings of loss including (but far from restricted to) grief.

The Fae in this story has no heart.  It is being torn to shreds by the black birds, shared among them as she stands wide open with a hole in her chest, weeping bloody tears.  Trees wilt and falter on the landscape of her skirt as dark clouds come to tangle in her hair.

The thing is, that this looks like it is permanent. It looks never ending.  But the sun behind the figure in this imagery indicates that there is still hope on the horizon and as it rises, it will beat back the dark clouds and overtake the shadows.

Will she ever be the same?  No.   But that can be said for every experience we have in life, not just the bad ones.  Each and every good and bad experience we have changes us. This is how we grow.

I’ve been so disappointed all damned day because my stomach has been a mess.  The cramps are killing me and it’s made me miss out on time with you that I really wanted… and needed.  And was so fucking looking forward to.  I’m sorry my stomach is being a bastard.  I’ve been eating my yogurt and I don’t think I ate anything today that was even close to going bad… I just don’t know what the hell its problem is.

I feel so bad about this, but I know that, like the Fae in this card’s image, we will make it through and continue to grow and thrive.  Together.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling to move past trauma.
Question: How can I approach myself with extra kindness and patience during the healing process?

Sacred Rose Tarot

Reading Summary: Pay attention to avoidance strategies (The Devil and Eight of Cups)… and focus on what is been accomplished and what’s good in your life (Nine of Pentacles).

Take Away:  I am so being called out with this reading.  *Chuckles*  Right, so I have a lot of different avoidance strategies to keep myself at a distance from my inner workings when things are feeling raw and I need to heal.  There’s my bad habits, my addictions, my defense mechanisms, multiple different types of distractions, and lets not forget just plain turning my back and willfully ignoring whatever is going on. I am one of those people who was raised to be able to sit and calmly eat or do pretty much anything with quiet calm… all while someone screams and berates you in your ear.  That detachment developed into  yet another mechanism of avoidance.

These cards indicate I need to watch out for these different methods of avoidance, and circumvent them through contemplation and acceptance of the good things in my life and an open acceptance, and even appreciation, of the things I have accomplished.

DECK USED:  SACRED ROSE TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I begin to release self blame from my heart?

Hilda TarotReading Summary: Live with what you’ve done (King of Pentacles). Allow your intuition to have a say in how much of the blame you should be taking in (The High Priestess). Don’t be so generous with others, as they played their part too (Six of Pentacles and Temperance).

Take Away:  I wouldn’t be where I am now without having done all those I’ve done along the way.  Some of those things aren’t things I’m proud of, but they need to be viewed with acceptance instead of consternation at this point, as they are in the past now and no longer need to be a burden upon my shoulders.

My instinctual… or perhaps habitual would be a better term… response to discord and conflict is to take the burden of wrongdoing upon myself.  More often than not?  I take far too much of that burden, and I need to learn how to judge more fairly just how much of it I should owl.  The High Priestess indicates I should be looking internally for that answer. I need to make sure it is I that chooses just how much of the burden I take on, and not anyone else.

When I blame myself for things that should be put upon other’s shoulders, I am being generous with them by taking so much of the burden on myself.  Instead, I need to practice a little more balance and moderation, because they deserve to shoulder their share.

DECK USED:  HILDA TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Question:  Air, I seek your wisdom. What teachings do you offer me?

Gypsy Palace Tarot

Reading Summary: Allow your heart to take the lead now and then (King of Cups) in work matters (Eight of Pentacles) and you will find yourself moving into another level of growth (Ten of Swords).

Take Away:  This is about enjoying my work instead of just working for work’s sake. The fact is that I know from personal experience that work does not feel like work if you’re doing it right, and in the right frame of mind.  It feels like a challenge, or like fun, or like a creative burst, or just like the pleasure of creation and joy of sharing with others.  This pleasure is something that I lost for a while in my work due to pushing myself too hard and the resulting repetitive burnouts that ensued. I am working on reclaiming that joy in my work again, and the guidance here is encouragement to continue upon that path.

DECK USED:  GYPSY PALACE TAROT

No Crown Please

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

IMG_5933Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long and was a combination of a guided meditation with interval timer for my piriformis stretching.   After the advice of my Self Care Saturday reading this week, I was planning to incorporate some selenite and black tourmaline into my meditation, but I forgot.   I’ll do that tomorrow.

The topic of the guided meditation today was about allowing yourself to accept those things you don’t like about yourself, essentially accepting your shadow side, so that you can become a stronger and more completely whole person through the healing that that acceptance inspires.

Tarot of the Sidhe - The EmperorToday’s draw is the Emperor card, which is traditionally a representation of authority and leadership in the form of a “father” figure.  This is the father that rules with an iron fist, and yet always with the best interests of his family in his heart. Strong, and filled with determination, discipline, and control.

I don’t usually consider chaos a part of the Emperor card, but the imagery on this card very much strikes me as… chaotic. It reminds me of the representation of this card in the Japaritze Tarot, where the title of the card is “War” instead of “The Emperor”.

What I see here is chaos. And sacrifice. All for the greater good. And unlike chaos on its own, that is definitely something I feel is a part of the Emperor’s representation.

In this imagery, the flaming emperor’s robes slowly disintegrate into detritus on the earthen floor, creating the nutrients to grow fruit and other foods for the village in the distance. It’s true what they say that heavy is the head that wears the crown, for he burns with his responsibilities, and fulfills them by giving away pieces of himself and what is his.

The message here in this card today is to be grateful I am not the Emperor, and a reminder that that is not a position I want to be in. I put my all into the things that I hold dear and feel are my responsibilities, but I don’t want to give so much that it damages me in the process.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling to move past trauma.
Question: How might clinging to that expectation of the healing process hinder my healing?

Tabula Mundi In Minima

Reading Summary: There’s no rest involved (Four of Swords Rx), creating a lack of true progress (Ten of Cups), which then leaves me having to start over (Ace of Disks).

Take Away:  My expectation (which was outlined in yesterday’s reading) is to fast, which means I don’t get the rest I need to heal properly.  Healing requires rest, and without the healing you can’t move forward out of the recovery stage and into something better.  This means that when you rush healing from trauma, the healing ends up incomplete and you end up having to start over.

DECK USED:  TABULA MUNDI IN MINIMA TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #2
Question: Is my aunt moving out here from out east going to cause more problems between my mother and I?

Encore TarotReading Summary: Stand strong and stable (Four of Coins) in your place of power (Palace of Wands) and don’t allow her to take over (The Chariot).

Take Away:  The cards here indicate that in order to keep the peace, using my business as an excuse for lack of contact is the best strategy to make sure I’m able to keep my distance, regardless of the new proximity. So the answer here is that it is possible, but I have a good chance of circumventing a lot of the issues by using my responsibilities to the business to keep me from having to increase my exposure with the unpleasantness too many visits with my aunt and her toxicity.

DECK USED:  ENCORE TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Question: How can I further strengthen my connection to the divine?

Tarot del Fuego

Reading Summary:  Make yourself comfortable (Four of Pentacles). Less harsh judgments (Judgement), more hope (The Star). Allow yourself to open up not just spiritually… but also physically (Ace of Pentacles).

Take Away:  This is about increasing my meditation practice, and making sure I stay on top of keeping my negative self narrative in check. By increasing the intent in my meditation and taking time to allow myself to not just do the meditation but really sink into it and get comfortable in it each time, I am opening myself up to divinity on a bigger and more significant level than the simple meditation that I regularly do each day.

By the same turn, my negative self talk is something that closes me off from both my inner self as well as from the divine.  So if I want to connect more strongly to the divine, it makes sense that I would need to foster more positive connections to both my spirituality and optimism, and let go of the negative self narrative that is one of my most self destructive habits.

DECK USED:  TAROT DEL FUEGO

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: How can I be kinder to myself and to others?

Alan Tarot

To Be Kinder to Myself
Two of Spades, Five of Spades

To be kinder to myself, I need to make a concentrated and conscious choice to move past what makes me so cruel to myself. These judgements and negative self talk are not mine but belong to a place in my past where I had no control and was other the boot of another. Defeat the echoes of his voice in my head, and take away the spoils (your gained wisdom).

To Be Kinder to Others
Knight of Spades, Page of Hearts

To be kinder to others, I need to remember to take my experiences with pain and carry them forward into a place of understanding and warmth when dealing with others.  I’ve been through a lot, and this allows me a place of not just sympathy, but also empathy, with a lot of situations others are dealing with. Instead of looking at these situations as “I made it through, so can you” a better aspect to look at is to try and remember how I felt in these situations in the moment, and conveying to them that I understand what they’re going through and it’ll be okay.

DECK USED:  ALAN TAROT

That Whisper is You

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was… thwarted. I pulled an all-nighter yesterday to bet orders done and shipped out today as planned. When I settled in to meditate, I fell asleep almost immediately.  I then tried again later in the day… and had myself a second sleep when I fell asleep almost immediately a second time.  I’ll try again when I go to bed tonight, but I have a feeling that today’s meditation just was not meant to happen.

Tarot of the SidheToday’s draw is is the Dreamer Nine (Nine of Swords), which is traditionally a representation of nightmares, torturous thoughts, worries, headaches, insomnia, and other anxieties as well as their effects.

What stands out to me the strongest in this card’s imagery today is the hand that hovers in the air above the sleeping Fae.  It comes from her breath, swelling out ethereal and insubstantial from deep within her body only to rise up and out of her into the physical.  Blood and bone and claws that hover over her as she dreams.

The message here today is about where anxiety and worries come from, and feels like a reiteration of yesterday’s message about where heartache comes from.

This card says… That scary ass dream that wells up in the night? It comes from you.

Our worries and anxieties are self created, and not something inflicted upon us. They come from our brain and build as we let them have free reign.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m struggling to move past trauma.
Question: How can I focus on healing my traumas rather than trying to erase them?

El Gran Tarot Esoterico

Reading Summary: Don’t depend on your conscious mind alone. Your spiritual path (The High Priestess) is an important part of looking forward into the future (Page of Swords). Allow your friends to lift you up (Three of Cups) when you are feeling overburdened (Ten of Wands).

Take Away:  There is encouragement here about shadow work, and about using shadow work to heal the subconscious.  This is where the spiritual path comes into the equation, because when you work on your inner self, it influences how you see the future and how you confront it and plan for it.  There is a need, though, to have a support system in place when you are doing shadow work, as it can quickly become overwhelming without a strong support system of loved ones there to help keep you from sinking too deeply into the work and doing more harm than good.

DECK USED:  EL GRAN TAROT ESOTERICO

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What kindness do I need to gift myself with?

Pride TarotReading Summary: Taking things slow does not mean that you’re not in control (Knight of Pentacles), it just means that you need some time for yourself (The Hermit) and you’ll get there when you get there (The Chariot).

Take Away:  Make the world move at your pace, instead of allowing it to dictate yours.   This is something I’ve sort of lost sight of over the years I’ve been growing my business. This used to be my standard mode of operation.

When I started my business, though, the pressure and stress and added responsibilities sort of welled up and drowned out that slower pace and easy energy.  It seems like it might be time to start exploring this again, though.  Maybe that is what is lacking in my efforts to slow down.

DECK USED:  PRIDE TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Question: Water, what should I take to heart about being myself?

Tarot of Why

Reading Summary: Sometimes it can feel really risky (Ace of Pentacles) to put yourself out there (Ace of Cups), but you’re strong and capable and able to connect with others (Three of Pentacles). That connection is very rarely an emotional one, but on other levels (Again, Three of Pentacles combined with Ace of Pentacles being on top). So don’t get disheartened (Four of Cups).

Take Away:  Ok so the question here that’s posed in the answer that these cards give is… do I really want to have a more emotional connection with people?  Or am I happy in connecting with them in the way that I already do?

I think it’s fair to say that I’m pretty damned emotionally fulfilled in my life.  Gideon does a very good job of making sure I’m emotionally happy and healthy and contented.  So I guess the answer is that I need to stop looking at the ways that I do connect with others as less-than just because I connect to them in a different way and on a different level than most.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF WAY

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What memories bring me joy?

Stunning Tarot

Reading Summary: Removing myself from my uncomfortable situation (Five of Cups) so that I can own my life and my destiny (Queen of Wands) and turning that into something of value (Nine of Pentacles).

Side note: This deck really loves to hand me the Nine of Pentacles. It’s like a deck-specific stalker card, which is really interesting because usually stalker cards carry across multiple decks for me when they show up.

Take Away:  Emancipation. I wouldn’t have really considered the emotion I feel when I think on these things as joy, but definitely happiness.  When I emancipated from my parents, there was a sense of elation and hope that came with it. The independence and power of having my future in my own hands was like a breath of fresh air, and what I have done with those gifts is a source of pride for me.

DECK USED:  STUNNING TAROT

A Whole Person… Not Half

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and was a second day of pranayama exercises for pain management.   Is it bad that I don’t wanna go back to work and feel like I need a few more days off?  Not that I’m taking a few more days off, I’ve been easing back into work a little each day for the past few days, so that I won’t be overwhelmed tomorrow.  But still…. it feels like this week went by way too fast.

Tarot of the Sidhe - Dreamer TwoToday’s draw is the Dreamer Two (Two of Swords) card, which is traditionally a representation of making hard choices and weighing your options in an effort to come to a decision, as well as can be an indication of avoidance.

This card is, in fact, the same card that I pulled yesterday, although the imagery is vastly different, and the message I see in this card is different as well. What I see in the imagery of this card is two halves making a whole.  I see clarity through diversity.

A lot of times we divide ourselves into pieces.   Things like “head/heart” or “good/bad” and then we weigh one side against the other and raise one up while the other is pushed away. What I see here in the imagery of this card today is the equality of accepting both halves and allowing them to give you a wider perspective and the “wings” to move forward with knowledge and certainty.

The message in this card today is about allowing both “sides” of you to have a part in your life.  It is not a “bad side” and a “good side”.  They are you… and you are not whole without them both.  This is whether we are looking at the dynamic of good and bad, or head and heart, or any number of divides people use to slice themselves into pieces.

Be whole… seek balance.  These things are what make a person complete.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m plagued by anxiety.
Question: How can I better listen to anxiety’s messages in the future?

Encore Tarot

Reading Summary: When anxiety pops up and you trip over it (Wheel of Fortune Rx), don’t immediately jump on yourself (Eight of Wands) and make judgements, but take the time to really pay attention to what is going on (King of Swords).

Take Away:  It’s natural to immediately go on the defensive when anxiety spikes.  These reactions are often (not always) mixed signals of fight and flight that tangle up in themselves and make a mess out of things… so when you then immediately go on the defensive you are discounting anything that the anxiety might have been trying to say before getting all tangled up and “tongue tied”.  Instead, you need to own this moment.  Own it and examine it, listen to what the anxiety is saying and work at communicating with this reaction to suss out where it came from and what to do about it.

DECK USED:  ENCORE TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What do I need to focus on for self care this new moon?

Hero Analysis for the Future #79 MHA TarotReading Summary:  Your creative juices are flowing (Page of Cups) and you have the energy and enthusiasm to follow where they lead (Page of Wands), but you’ll have make sure to stay in control and be quick on your feet to keep up (The Chariot).

Take Away:  The rest through the waning time of the moon’s cycle seems to have really done me a lot of good.  I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the time my days off came around this month… really overwhelmed.

My recovery has helped me in feeling more myself, and that includes the kindling warmth of creativity and inspiration that begin to get snuffed out during my phases of overwhelm and burnout.  The cards here indicate I should embrace that kindling flame and direct it where I want it to go.  Now is the time to add a little control and direction to the situation so that that kindled spark of energy doesn’t get wasted.

DECK USED:  HERO ANALYSIS FOR THE FUTURE #79 MHA TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot #ElementalChallenge
Question:  A loving reminder as I allow myself to feel, breathe, and heal.

Pride Tarot

Reading Summary: When it feels like the walls are starting to crumble (The Tower), lean on your friends (Three of Cups) and step back from impulsivity (Knight of Swords) into a more measured approach forward (Page of Swords)

Take Away:  The reminder here is that I have loved ones that care for me and support me.  Sometimes they hop in and help on their own, but they’re just as happy to help when I actually reach out and ask.  The help mentioned here is emotional support, and the cards indicate that if I reach for them for emotional support instead of acting impulsively on my own, I will benefit from their influence in guiding me to a more measured approach to the issues and my recovery from them. 

TL:DR; You’re not alone.  Don’t act like it.  Slow down when needed and accept emotional support when you need it.

DECK USED:  PRIDE TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What stops me from sharing my gifts?

Vivid Journey Tarot

Reading Summary: Concern that instead of finding a beneficial unifying experience working with another (Two of Cups) and a different perspective provided through their influence (The Hanged Man), that instead I’ll end up having to defend myself against somebody stealing my shit (Seven of Wands) and fucking up my business (The Tower).

Take Away:  Okay so… Fear.  What stops me from sharing my gifts more openly is the fear that I will have my creative endeavors stolen from me or what is the positive results of my endeavors threatened.  This result would be not just devastating to my endeavors and possibly my future stability, but also to my emotions as when my trust is crushed I have a habit internalizing those emotions and turn them upon myself.  This risk is represented in the fact that the Two of Cups was used for representing collaboration with another.

DECK USED:  VIVID JOURNEY TAROT

It’s Okay to Open Up a Bit

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of those harp strings meditations with the chimes set up to tell me when to shift between piriformis stretches.   The lack of time with the chiropractor is really starting to show in my stiffness and the amount of pain going on in my back and ribs during both my yoga and my meditation.  I’ve tried upping my yoga/physiotherapy to compensate, but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

Tarot of SidheToday’s draw is the Dreamer Princess (Page of Swords) which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy in the areas of thoughts, intellect, aspirations, communication, and logic.

What really stands out to me in this card today is both the title at the bottom “Gift of Telling” and the swirling of leaves that spiral around the Fae before traveling off into the distance on the wind. These things remind me of reading to children at the library.  I don’t usually get on with children, which isn’t  surprising as I grew up very fast.   Yet, for a time in high school I volunteered at the library for work credit for one of my classes, and one of my favorite experiences was reading to the children for story time.

During this time, children would gather around and I would read to them from the pre-chosen book for the day, and they would all be so eager… engaged.  Some of them even came to sit closer or lean against me or my chair (depending on if I was sitting on the floor or not).   This was a time of learning for me, and of receptive learning… as well as a time of “Telling”.

This memory was triggered by this card today, and the message here is in the reminder that when you teach… you also learn.  It’s never one sided.  If you’re open to allowing others in you can get as much from teaching and sharing with others as you give.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m plagued by anxiety.
Question: How can I benefit from regarding anxiety as a messenger instead of an enemy?

Gypsy Palace Tarot

Reading Summary:  By not turning away from my anxiety and regarding it as disposable (Eight of Cups), it can then become empowering to both the heart (Queen of Cups) and mind (Queen of Swords) if I pay attention to what my anxiety is trying to tell me.

Take Away:  Yesterday the cards indicated that my anxiety is a way to keep me from becoming too comfortable and confident in my situation and stability. The cards here indicate that if I choose to listen to these warnings my anxiety brings up instead of ignoring them, it will allow me to find steadier footing by engaging my heart and mind into the equation so that I can weigh out how things are going more clearly.

DECK USED:  GYPSY PALACE TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: What joy in my life needs more recognition?

Tarot del FuegoReading Summary: My ability to see different perspectives (The Hanged Man) on the painful crap that happens (Ten of Swords) then opens me up to a wider variety of choices and opens up more opportunities to me than I would otherwise have (Six of Cups).

Take Away:  I’m not entirely sure that I would consider this a joy? But I think that the answer possibly applies anyway, as having the ability to have all these choices before me creates opportunities for me to instill more joy in my life.   So then, the joy in my life that needs recognition is not the joy sitting before me, but rather the potential for joy that I disregard when looking over all those options and opportunities set out before me..

DECK USED:  TAROT DEL FUEGO

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: What emotions serve me better released instead of held on to?

Tabula Mundi in Minima Tarot

Four of Cups – It’s better to allow my love to wash over others than to hold it in and be restrained. It shouldn’t be saved to be expressed just for special occasions, but spread throughout each and every day.

The Emperor – Release your need to be so rigid in so many aspects of your life.  When you hold on to things too tightly, you run the risk of crushing them to dust.

Six of Wands – Allow others to see the lighter side of your personality.  You don’t need to be withdrawn and serious all the time.  You have a warmth within you that you feel towards others, but are always so scared to display to them.  It’s okay to let that warmth out and express it more freely.

DECK USED:  TABULA MUNDI IN MINIMA TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What holds me back?

El Gran Tarot Esoterico

Reading Summary: It is a form of emotional immaturity (Page of Cups Rx) to fight against catastrophe (The Tower) instead of just rolling with the punches (Seven of Swords) and allowing them to do what they’re here to do and create a new home and stability in the wake (Four of Swords).

Take Away:  Stop fussing over the shit that might come, or the mess it might make when it arrives.  It solves nothing and simply stalls you out.  The advice here is to instead allow the chaos to come, let it wash over you, and ride it out to the other side.  Have faith in the universe and that everything will balance out in the end.

DECK USED:  EL GRAN TAROT ESOTERICO

Remnants and Potential

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and I finally managed to actually get in a meditation uninterrupted.  Well, other than by Miss Luna coming to join me. I don’t consider that an interruption, though.

Tarot of the SidheToday’s draw is the Dreamer Five (Five of Swords) which is traditionally an interpretation of the dynamic between triumph and defeat.  That is to say, that it can at times represent triumph over adversity and taking the “spoils of war” for oneself, but can just as easily represent being on the other end of that battle and its results.

What stands out to me in this card is something that I’ve noticed in a number of the cards in this deck in the past.  That is to say, that the interpretations in the key words and in the imagery depicts a more “reversed” interpretation of some of the cards.

Here in this image, a Fae cuts off its own wings, which trail from his fist while they still hold the bloody knife in the other hand.  They have lost whatever battle against themselves was raging within them, and sacrificed their wings in the depths of their defeat.

Today’s card is a reminder not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.   Yes, sometimes shit happens.  Sometimes it feels like it’s time to give up, or like you’ve reached the end of your rope.  But don’t just blindly accept that everything is lost without actually taking score and really paying attention to what is left… and the potential that lies beyond that moment.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE SIDHE

#TarotForGrowthAugust Challenge Prompt
Topic: I’m plagued by anxiety.
Question: How can I heal my relationship with anxiety?

Tarot of the Dream Enchantress

Reading Summary:  Be mindful of when anxiety is stealing away my time (Seven of Swords and lean on my inner strengths (Strength) and those things that need to be done to bypass the anxiety reaction and leave it in the dust (Eight of Wands).

Side Note:  I forgot how much I love this deck. I really need to pull it out more often.

Take Away:  This is about awareness and distraction.  It’s important to stay in touch with my anxiety levels and be aware of when they spike. Then, use distraction tactics combined with my ability to “stand strong in the storm” to get myself through those anxiety moments and out the other side unscathed.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE DREAM ENCHANTRESS

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2020 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Write something free form inspired by the cards.

Sacred Rose TarotThere was once a husband that was positive being single would be better than being married (Two of Swords) and insisted on taking a break from his marriage (Four of Swords).  His friends praised this decision and gave him many pats on the back for having claimed his independence (Six of Wands), and for a while he was very happy and had a lot of fun (The Sun).

Soon, that fun wasn’t enough, though, and he wanted more. He upped the stakes on those things he enjoyed again and again, each time he became bored, he sought out even better experiences and more enjoyment than he had before. (The Devil)

Reckoning came when he ended up losing everything (The Wheel of Fortune).  The rose colored glasses were ripped from his eyes and he saw what a mess he’d made.  He realized he was chasing a dream, and was fortunate to be wise enough to learn from his mistakes instead of repeating them (The Hierophant).

He reached out to his estranged wife and apologized, offering not just his apologies but sincere words about how very much she means to him and how much life sucked without her (Six of Pentacles).  Although they agreed that he had a lot to make up for, in the end she decided to take him back and he happily slipped back into the role of being king of the castle once more (King of Pentacles).

DECK USED:  SACRED ROSE TAROT

Lionharts #TheAugustTarot#ElementalChallenge
Question: In what way can the element of Water help me right now?

Encore Tarot

Reading Summary: Allowing my heart and my intuition to have a say in decisions (Seven of Cups) concerning where to be generous with my resources (Six of Coins) and with my time (Three of Cups).

Take Away:  I often feel the need to offer resources and/or time to different needy causes. When I logic my way through it, I talk my way out of it… which in one way protects my own interests, but it leaves me feeling a bit guilty, to be honest.  The cards here indicate that the elemental energies of water can help me in making good choices that produce a less guilt-ridden results.

DECK USED:  ENCORE TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: What do I love about my world?

Odd Hand Tarot

Reading Summary: I have someone to help guide me forward on my emotional growth and in learning how to give my emotions freedom (Knight of Cups). I’m good at what I do (Eight of Pentacles) and I know where my strengths lie (King of Swords and Strength).

Take Away:  I was a little confused at first with these cards, until I realized that the question is asking about my world… not the world.  The things in my world that make me happy and that I love include Gideon and his guiding hand in the emotional side of my life.  I love that I’m skilled at what I do and have found a way to make the things I enjoy more than just hobbies.  I also love how well set I am in knowing who I am and how I tick, what things are right for me… and how to say no to the things that aren’t.

DECK USED:  ODD HAND TAROT