tarot self care

Morning Bonus Read – Mental Health Check In

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Mental Health Tarot Spread - Minute Lenormand

1. Card to represent my current mental health

Key – Empowered. I am feeling better and better with each day that passes, the dark shadows lifting their cloying grip from my climbing form, and I am starting to feel the light dappling over my skin. The climb has been slow, but each day I feel that I’m making it a bit higher up, and it is in my control to make it the rest of the way.

2. An emotion that’s clouding my perception of reality.

Man – Speaking of control… what is clouding my perception of reality at this time is the fact that I am too focused upon that control.  I need to remember that it’s important to let things go and allow them to move at their own pace.  Don’t push.

3a. How to improve my perception of reality.

Dog – Allow others that I love and trust to step in and help me, and make sure when I speak to my therapist next week that I am entirely honest both about what’s happened and where I am now.  I’m not upset about not having been able to get an appointment when I was in the deep darkness at the bottom of the pit, but that doesn’t mean I can just put this experience behind me and pretend it didn’t happen.  I still need to talk to her about it, even if it’s nearly at the end of that particular journey.

3b. How to gain clarity.

Mountain – Depression and the climb out of that deep dark pit is a challenge that takes time, effort, and a great deal of focus to accomplish. The depression clouds  judgement and shifts perceptions, which is a hurdle that will only lift as I get closer to the surface.  Keep climbing this particular mountain, be patient, and I’ll eventually find myself back on level ground again… and in a place of greater clarity as a result.

4. How to change circumstances around me to elevate my mood.

Child – I need to remember to savor the newness of finding the light again and the joy that comes with each new sensation as I emerge a little at a time out of the pit I’ve been lost in for so long. Take this newness as a new beginning and embrace that budding energy like a rebirth.

5. How I can be happier day-to-day.

Woman – Be kinder and more compassionate to myself and my needs.  Allow that softer side of myself more room to grow and flourish instead of muffling it and pushing it aside for the hard willed determination  to always push forward harder and harder.  Allow myself to walk a little slower and pause to smell the roses along the way.

6. How I can deepen my connection with myself.

Anchor – I need to make sure that I am grounding myself well and often. One of the key themes of the Anchor card is “mellowing out” or “settling down”, and the card in response to this question is telling me to stop worrying so damn much about where I’m going and pay more attention to where I am now.

DECK USED:  MINUTE LENORMAND

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?

Tarot of Many Doors, Earth Force Insight Cards, Morning Calm Oracle

Earth – Reader of Potions, Dance, Breath – This week needs to be about nurturing your health and finding balance through incorporation of your meditative practice and mindfulness. It’s easy to forget in the return to balance and seeking of the light, in the striving and struggle of everyday life, that your body needs love too.  Make sure that you fit in your meditation this week, get yourself out into the fresh air to enjoy the beauty and grounding comfort of nature, and give yourself the fuel and rest it craves rather than continuing bad habits.

Air – Ten of Dice, Hope, Seven Directions – Transformation and finding peace are strong motivators for you this week.  Allow yourself to stay at a slower pace, allow yourself to focus on  more than work.  In doing this you give your inner dialogue and mental health a chance to appreciate the light it’s moving towards, to savor your recovery, and enjoy more fully coming back into a place of comfort and security.

Water – Nine of Dice, Compassion, Transition – The theme of transition continues in the emotional waters of your life with a reminder to be compassionate to yourself and allow the changes that are developing to continue to flourish.  Practicing gratitude during this time can help this along, as it will bring what is positive in your life and your accomplishments along the way into focus, creating feel-good feelings that can help you in continuing in a forward trajectory.

Fire – Four of Dice, Gentle, Cycles – Slow and steady.  Make sure as you’re feeling better that you’re not piling too much on your plate at once.  Feeling better after feeling horrible for so long can make it feel like you can take in the world, but instead you need to take things slow and easy, and give yourself lots of security and stability with each step back toward “normal” you take.  Everything has it’s own time to shine and you don’t have to rush.  In fact, it’s better if you don’t.

Waning – Divine Love – Don’t dip too deeply into the spiritual connection stuff this week.  Getting to know your guides and that slow progress you’ve been making in this direction is great, but now isn’t the week to set your focus in that direction.  Avoid readings that will cast your gaze in that direction and instead just focus what’s right before you.

Waxing – Balance – Seek out where you feel imbalances taking root and work on setting them into balance this week. Finding that balance will allow you to retain your peace and obtain greater clarity.  Don’t allow yourself to sway too far one way or another, even when it feels that imbalance may be useful to you in the moment.

Take Away – The cards make it clear that this week needs to focus on the now.  Mindfulness and balance need to take priority over willfulness or other distractions.  You’re not out of the woods yet, but you’re approaching the edge of the pit.  Allow yourself time to feel good, to appreciate and enjoy feeling better.  That first kiss of sunlight is always the best.

DECKS USED:  TAROT OF MANY DOORS, EARTH FORCE INSIGHT CARDS, MORNING CALM ORACLE

Morning Bonus Read – The Guides

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1870 Cartes a Jouer du Belles Cartes LtdWhat are my guides most proud of me for at this time?
Seven of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Seven of Spades

They are proud of me for prioritizing finding a nurturing balance despite my constant struggle to downgrade how much responsibility I’m putting on my plate and my feeling as if I’m doing something wrong when I take time for self care and rest.

How can I continue to garner that pride?
Jack of Diamonds

Slow and steady but always forward.  It’s important to look for new ways to look at and put into action these new priorities.  Don’t just set them on the back burner or tuck them in a corner to think about or worry about later.  Keep them at the forefront even when progress is slow.

What advice do they have for me emotionally?
Two of Hearts

Connecting with others will help in continuing to lift me up and keep me balanced.  Don’t allow myself to close myself off to others and the emotional support that they have to offer.  Each of the people in your life that makes up your support system has their unique skills and influences that can benefit you just as yours benefit them in turn.

What advice do they have for me mentally?
Three of Spades

Don’t allow your depression to suck you backward. You’re making progress, moving away from the darkness and pain of the pit you’d slid into.  Don’t look back.

What advice do they have for me physically?
Ace of Spades

Be open to new ideas on how to incorporate activity into your life.  The whole knife-through-the-foot thing has slowed you down and will keep you from doing the harder trails and more intensive hiking you’re used to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go out on easy paths and spend time communing with nature in these more “beginner” ways while you heal.

DECK USED:  1870 CARTES A JOUER DU BELLES CARTES LTD

Morning Bonus Read – Monthly Key Spread

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Monthly Key Spread - Little Lulu's Lucky Lenormand

Key to Your Heart: What will Guide you to make decisions that are aligned with your heart and your truths this month?

Lily – Maturity.  Make sure that you are thinking through your decisions and not just leaving things up to chance or personal whims.  Be especially thoughtful, responsible, and mature in considering what you need to do and how you need to go about doing it this month.

Anchor: What will ground you in the face of anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and existential dread in general?

Clover – Luck and optimism. It’s far too easy to let your worries and fears sneak in and start screwing with you, but keep in mind that just because you worry about something doesn’t make it into reality.  By leaning into a bit of faith concerning luck and encouraging yourself to keep an optimistic mindset, you can circumvent fears and keep them from becoming self fulfilling prophesy.

Star Wand: What accelerates your magic, creativity, and manifestation powers?

Tree – Spiritual connections and longevity of practice.  Lean into the things that work for you spiritually and reconnect with your path and practice.  When you are more deeply connected to your spiritual path and your practice, your  magic, creativity, and manifestation powers flourish.  Throughout this month, as you pull out of the pit of your depression and rediscover your equilibrium, it is important to make sure you connect back into your path and practice instead of setting these things on the back burner.

Blessings from the Stars: The Universe has got your back – how will you be supported this month?

House – You are blessed with the security and stability of a home, and roof, and support of those that live there with you.  In the chaos that the world can sometimes throw your way, this is where you need to return to recover and retreat to find peace. 

One Trick Up Your Sleeve: A life saving idea or inspiration for any unexpected challenge or difficult moments?

Stars – Again we find the advice is to lean into your optimism and allow hope to thrive. Allow moments of inspiration and intuition to help guide you, and keep your perspective uplifted and bright as you work through challenges and difficulties.  Positivity is your friend this month, so lean into it and let it help you get through these moments.

Emergence Pt 1: What is emerging within you / within your reality right now?

Rider – As you climb further up the walls of depression’s pit and find the light, vitality and a renewed energy will continue to grow within you. You will see the light more clearly, feel it more distinctly, and be able to take from it what’s needed to rekindle your passions toward your purpose. 

Emergence Pt 2: What are you expanding towards?

Coffin – There is a warning here that without the armament of positivity and optimism you risk moving in the wrong direction and sliding back toward depression and negativity.  You have a chance to adjust this trajectory, but it will take  connecting to the elements mentioned above that include a conscious effort towards optimism, a reconnection with your spiritual path and practices, and allowing hope to have a place within your life and outlook while grounding yourself in measured and mature decision making practices.

DECK USED:  LITTLE LULU’S LUCKY LENORMAND

Morning Bonus Read – Eclipse of the Heart

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Tarot Eclipse of the Heart Spread - Anino Lenormand

My Courage – House – In knowing where I belong and that I have somewhere to go, I find myself more able to tap into my courage in other areas of my life. It is through the security and stability that having a home provides that makes everything in life just a bit more grounded… a bit more safe… and right.

My Ownership – Coffin – I take responsibility for myself and the consequences that come from my actions.  This includes during times of depression, confusion, or when I am dealing with changes or endings that may cause a bit of a struggle. I own my pessimism, and the negative inner narrative that tries so hard to slide into over and over again, accepting that it is within my power to change these into something more positive.

My Forgiveness – Ring – I forgive myself for my tendency to over-commit and thus overburden myself. Instead of repeating this pattern again and again, I work to ease off on the number of my commitments and find a more manageable balance. (This is not forgiveness in the form of an offense needing forgiven, but rather in the the term “forgive” in the form of releasing.)

My Love – Fox – One of the things I love most about myself is my intelligence and cunning. These qualities allow me to find a path forward in the direction I wish to go in that aligns with my moral compass.  Sometimes these methods might be unorthodox or even seem outright crazy, but there is method behind the madness as the necessity to keep my moral compass happy means sometimes it’s only through thinking outside the box I find a path forward that will work for me.

My Shame – Whip – My greatest shame is my self flagellation and the fact that I know it is not right… but can’t seem to help myself.  That self destructive urge is a trickery that even when I watch out for it, manages to outsmart me and get the better of me again and again. I do not want to be this way or feel those urges… and yet they are inescapable.

My Guilt – Bouquet – The last time I felt guilty was at the grocery store a couple days ago. One of the stock guys was flirting with me and (unlike usually) I noticed.  It felt nice to be flirted with and that made me feel super guilty because I’m so lucky to have Gideon and I love him so fucking much.  It’s not as if I was even remotely tempted to “smell the flowers” of that offer, but the offer was still made and it… felt really good.

My Regret – Crossroads – I have very few regrets in life, but one of my biggest was in choosing to set aside my education and not get my degree. It’s not that this choice wasn’t understandable considering what happened in my life at the time and the recovery that had to come after.  I do use my education in some of my work, as well.  But, that doesn’t change the regret I feel now and then for the path I turned down back then.

My Fear – Woman – Turning into my mother is my greatest fear. She is so self serving.  So conniving.  So… focused on only her own goals, her own wants, her own desires, and her own rise in society that anything that does not serve those things for her is completely irrelevant to her, and anything that does is seen as something to control to her advantage like a chess piece.  I am like her in so many ways, and yet… I don’t want to become anything like her in this regard. Ever.

DECK USED:  ANINO LENORMAND

Transitioning from February to March

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Existential Tarot and The Lantern Oracle

Individuality – Action 5 atop Emotion 5, Accountability – “We are not our mistakes, but what we do with them.” Those words ring loud and strong from the guide for the Lantern Oracle when looking at these cards, which speak of perceived mistakes and regret. These perceived mistakes trigger scarcity issues, and thus the scarcity issues create regret and the cycle continues. Accountability is the answer to these issues. By owning your mistakes, you learn from them, grow from them, and move forward. At this time, there lies an opportunity for this type of growth.

Dependence – The Dionysian and Trusting Tricksters – The energy of creativity can often be wild and chaotic.  Don’t let it romance you away into distraction.  You don’t have to leave your creative energy behind as you step into your responsibilities, you just have to keep your eyes open and your feet firmly on the ground.

Creativity – Reason 1 and Radical Self-Acceptance – “Decisions are the first step toward breaking barriers that impede our success.” Echoing back to the first position in this reading, what needs concentrating to create in your life at this time is the depth of the roots within self-acceptance and self-respect. Don’t allow yourself to focus on regrets and perceived mistakes. Instead, focus on that forward motion and making progress.

Limitation – Will 4 and Melting Mask – What has the ability to hold me back in at this time is becoming too complacent. Don’t get too comfortable and allow stagnancy to slip in and make itself at home.  If you allow complacency and stagnancy to slip in and get comfortable, you will slide back into the fog that hides who you truly are and all those positive qualities that you are trying to foster and grow.

Change – Action 7 and Radical Curiosity – What is currently fostering your way forward and paving the way to where you want to go is your efforts to allow yourself to grow at your own pace.  The enjoyment you take in delving into the things that interest you and learning new things can only further this journey.  Just remember that growth takes time… you may be able to learn quickly and pick up new talents at the drop of the hat, but that doesn’t mean you can grow at the same pace.

Sympathy – Zarathustra and Key to Intimacy – In my past it took time to discover what love is… and what it is not.  It took time to understand that different people show their love in different ways, and sometimes, those ways are not “in tune” with how others are able to receive love.  This is a lesson that goes beyond love, but with how people relate and how they work together.  Some people are in tune from the start, others simply are not.  Some can become in-tune over time… others, just never will find that sync with each other.  Just because you cannot sync up and be in tune with someone doesn’t make them a bad person… just not one of “your” persons.

Luck – Emotion 10 and Sharing – Take time to examine how you see the act of sharing.  How you perceive giving and receiving, and how this practice can create harmony with others no matter which side of the exchange that you are on.  When true sharing happens, it is no longer “give and receive” and there is no “yours” and “mine…. there is simply “ours”.

Power – Action 1 and Misalignment – In the area of your finances and business, you may be tempted to act in opposition to your moral compass in the coming weeks. Be sure that you are watching out for this urge and willing to fully examine why you are tempted by the uncharacteristic leanings.  You have a chance to turn this around and stay true to yourself… so don’t miss the bus when it comes rolling by.

Responsibility – Knight of Emotion and Repair – Everyone fucks up now and then in pursuit of the things we feel we really want. Should you fuck up, remember the advice in the first position of this reading… own your fuck ups and allow them to teach you a better path. Only through owning what you’ve done and look to accept and deal with the repercussions can you grow and become stronger in response to the experience.

Message from Spirit World –  A renewed path is laid out before you, one filled with the pursuit of the things you truly want over a long period of time.  Be sure in pursuit of these desires you don’t allow curiosity and inspiration to trip you up and send you into a cycle of reparation, though.

Message from Mind’s World – You may not be feeling all that inspired yet and your creativity isn’t at it’s best.  You have ideas, though… and that’s the first step. Be sure to keep those ideas close to the vest for now because it may not be wise to share them with others, write them down to remember for later when you can judge their true value for yourself instead of having to depend on others to tell you if they’re good or not.

Message from Known World – Time alone is all well and good, but stewing in it for too long isn’t healthy so make sure you take short and healthy moments of alone time before then connecting back up with your circle of loved ones. Your loved ones know the true you, they understand you and how your love works… and you understand them and how their love works.  This harmony should be acknowledged more and valued.

Take Away – You’re wandering into  a few challenges to your moral compass and need to make sure you’re staying grounded in who you are and what you value instead of going after what you want without full contemplation of the connotations and motivations behind why you are even considering going astray.  Be yourself and be honest to yourself.  Be inquisitive. Lean into moving forward on your journey towards the light and a healthy mental state rather than flitting off after one distraction or another.  Own your fuck ups.  This isn’t usually a problem for you, but no matter who it is, sometimes pride is a hard thing to choke down.

DECKS USED: EXISTENTIAL TAROT AND THE LANTERN ORACLE