tarot self care

Morning Bonus Read – Rest In Peace?

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“This week, chat with your divination tools about what things in your life need to be laid to rest.”

Piatnik's The Horror! Movie Playing CardsWhat general area of my life needs to see some death at this point? (Relationships, work, education, physical health, mental health, etc)
Three of Clubs

Passion projects that you have been working on lately are now in need of being set aside.  There’s a handful of things you started that are just not going to get done.  Not right now.  Not this year.  Set them aside for now and you can reconsider them and whether they should be resurrected once the new year has passed.

What specific things do I need to lay to rest over the next month?
Ace of Clubs

This is an echo of the previous question with a bearing down of focus on those creative passion projects that you have begun to invest in most recently.  The holiday rush is coming on fast and will be here before you know it.  You might not want to set these things aside since you’re feeling so very passionate about them at the moment… but do it anyway.

How will this affect me emotionally?
Four of Spades

By setting these passion projects aside for the rest of the year, it will create space for you to rest and recover rather than feeling the need to “go go go” without any rest or restoration at all.

How will this affect me mentally?
Nine of Clubs

Setting aside projects in this way has a tendency to make me feel guilty and defensive about the need to set things aside in the first place and the decision to do so.

How will this affect me physically?
Three of Spades

Anxiety and my inner dialogue creating hurt feelings… here we come.  This physical reaction is a response to the mental recriminations going on.  It’s about inner demons spilling out into physical symptoms.  That’s okay.  Pretty soon I’ll be too damned busy to worry about it and the increased anxiety will fade.

How should I cope with these emotional effects in the healthiest way?
Seven of Diamonds

With time and patience.  It’s important to understand that what’s happening in the present is just temporary.  It’s okay… and soon time will trudge on and things will change again.  So look forward to where you want to go, and work in the direction of where you want to be when you get to the other side of the holiday rush.

How should I cope with these mental effects in the healthiest way?
King of Spades

Take control of your inner dialogue and shape that shit up.  You may not be able to control every single aspect of that inner voice, but when you catch yourself listening to those negative whispers?  Take control of the situation and turn things around in your favor.

How should I cope with these physical effects in the healthiest way?
Ten of Hearts

Just recently you have begun to feel a sense of emotional completion that you’ve never experienced before, and you understand that this experience is through the growth that you’ve been working with exploring over the spring and summer of this year.

The Ten of Hearts card here is about focusing on where you want to be at the end of running the gamut of the holiday rush.  You want to return to your emotional growth and leaning into a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence… and to that sense of emotional completion you’ve now had a hint of a taste of.  The goal is to find yourself on the path where you can return to the warm glow of leisurely emotional exploration.  Train you focus there, like a light at the end of a long tunnel glowing in welcome.

DECK USED:  PIATNIK’S THE HORROR! MOVIE PLAYING CARDS

Morning Bonus Read – Meeting a Spirit Guide

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Because I am trying to show a bit more cards this week, as I have a whole LOT of October/Halloween/Samhain decks, I’m doing a few extra bonus reads over the month.  This is one of those extra readings.

Cartomancy with Everyday Zombies Playing Cards

Card to Represent Your Guide
Ten of Diamonds

Well off and secure in their position in life and ability to manifest into being those things that are needed.  This guide has been around the block a time or two and knows what they’re doing.  They are focused on guiding me toward a secure and stable future.

A Message Your Guide Would Like To Give You In This Moment
Three of Diamonds atop Seven of Hearts

You need to give those who work with you a bit more autonomy.  Don’t worry about what they’re doing, or who is doing what, as long as they’re getting shit done. That’s the important point at this moment.  You might want to consider putting stuff that needs to be done each day on a board or list and letting them check off stuff they decide to do themselves.  In this way they get to choose their own work and as long as everything gets marked off at the end of the day?  It’s all good.

Something Your Guide Has Been Trying To Convey To You That You Have Not Been Receptive To In The Past
Queen of Spades atop Six of Diamonds

Be a bit more generous with your mother.  She’s got a lot of really horrible qualities, but she’s still your mom and you need to make sure that you’re not regretting later by holding back now.  There are plenty of things you can do for her without putting her at risk by visiting.

How To Be More Open To Messages From Your Guide In The Future
Ten of Clubs

You need to accept that your guides aren’t here to overwhelm you but to help you.  When you are feeling overwhelmed?  They back off.  So if you want to be more open to messages from them, you need to find the kind of balance that allows you to keep yourself from hanging on the edge of overwhelm and burnout so often.

What Is This Guide Helping You With On Your Path?
Nine of Spades

As a part of finding a secure and stable future (as indicated in the Ten of Diamonds), it’s necessary to overcome your fears and anxieties. I have begun this year to seek out a new balance, a better balance that can carry me forward into that positive and stable future I seek.  But there’s a lot of uncertainty in this new path, and a lot of fears about what I’m leaving behind along the way. At this time, that is what this guide is helping me with on my path.

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY ZOMBIES PLAYING CARDS

Morning Bonus Read – My Creative Business

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Spiderweb Spread for Creativity - Tarot de Marseille par Pole Ka

Draw Your Focus Here
King of Swords

Strategize the way forward.  Take control of your on inner dialogue and take the lead in moving forward.  Give those under you direction and purpose toward the goals you set forth to achieve.

Become An Expert At This
Ace of Swords and Queen of Wands

Motivating others through your words and intent.  Although you may not feel like your conversational skills are the best, what you possess is passion and the ability to light a fire under others and inspire them.  Use this to your advantage… and their benefit.

Encourage Play In This Area
Nine of Pentacles

When you have alone time at home? It’s a good time to settle in and explore ideas and have some fun. Don’t waste this time dawdling in a nap or blow it on the drudgery of daily chores.  This is the time to delve into the playful exploration of creation and really have some fun with it.

Embrace Failure Here
Ace of Cups

Once you get really engrossed in the creative process and holiday rush, a little bit of backsliding in your emotional growth is going to happen.  That’s okay!  Don’t freak out about it, because you’ll resolve that issue later on.  Having already walked the path will make finding your way a second time just that much easier the next time around.

Explore Competition Here
Four of Wands

You know how competitive L can be. It could be a good idea to exploit that competitive edge she has going on to your advantage.  How many chains can she make in an hour vs how many you or Z can make.  Things like that turn the experience of work into not just work but also a game, and gives a little competitive incentive to do better and get more done all at the same time.

Connect With These People
Three of Pentacles

These are the people that are here to support me and help me in my creative business.  Connecting with those I collaborate with, specifically my sister and Z, are here to help me in both my creative business and other creative endeavors.  I have only to ask for their help, encourage their participation, and give them things to do… and they’ll be there for me.

Travel To A Place With This Energy
Queen of Cups

This is not so much about traveling to a physical place, as it is about getting myself into a place mentally and emotionally, where I’m able to connect with both my own inner emotions, as well as with those of others.  It’s about finding a grounding, nurturing place within myself that I can them settle into and be influenced by in positive, self-affirming ways.

Brainstorm On This Concept
Nine of Cups

While play is encouraged during times of fulfillment in hearth and home, it is emotional fulfillment that needs to inspire deeper thought and ideas. The Nine of Cups in this position indicates that finding that emotional grounding is extremely important to finding a comfortable and fulfilling place within myself.  The restlessness and shaky ground I’m feeling needs to be settled, and this might take discussion with others and contribution of ideas from many corners in order to find the right path forward here.

DECK USED:  TAROT DE MARSEILLE PAR POLE KA

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?

Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot, Fantod Pack, Mystic Misfits Oracle

Earth – Ace of Presents and The Burning Head – Don’t allow discordance and dissatisfaction with what you have turn you away from new opportunities. This “meh” feeling that you’re experiencing is temporary. Don’t let it hold you back.

Air – The High Priestess and The Stone – Sometimes it can feel like intuition and logic mix just about as well as oil and water. Keep in mind that your intuition has been working for you and alongside that tendency to lean into logic for your entire life.  You don’t have to choose, just let them do their thing.

Water – Page of Candles, Queen of Candles, The Limb – This is about that “know it all” shadow that sometimes crops up from time to time and makes you self conscious about sharing your knowledge and experiences with others. It’s important to not just remember that you are also still learning and still growing, and to phrase things in a way when communicating with others that allows for this humility to show through in your words.

Fire – Page of Presents and The Tunnel – All these angsty emotions and struggles you’ve had with moving forward into the prep time of the holiday rush are going to be in focus this week.  It’s time to transition into the slow and steady progress of getting ready for the beating to come.  Don’t allow your uncertainties to continue to drag you down and hold you back.

Waning – Mirror – It’s time to move away from introspection.  You can only stare at a mirror for so long before you start to pick apart what is in the reflection and… over time?  The different pieces picked apart then start to not make sense.

Waxing – Spore and Star –  You have been stuck in a rut of stagnation and struggling with motivation lately. This week is the time to wriggle yourself out of that rut and start climbing for the sky.  Get moving this week on things that need worked on and preparations that need to be made.

Take Away – As most of my readings over the past couple days have already indicated, this week is a time to dig myself out of the funk that I’ve been feeling about life and work and just every thing in general.  It’s time to nudge myself into some motivation and focus on encouraging myself toward getting things done and the prep that is needed for the holiday rush.  There is a notation, as well, in the Air section that indicates I need to make sure I don’t shut out my intuition.  Some things that don’t mix well still work together in perfect harmony.

DECKS USED: NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS TAROT, EDWARD GOREY’S FANTOD PACK, MYSTIC MISFITS ORACLE

Morning Bonus Read – Combating Hopelessness

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The prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows:
“With all that is going on in the world, it is easy to become overwhelmed by anger and grief, and to feel hopeless. This week, chat with your divination tools about some ways to constructively approach everything we’re dealing with.”

Tokyo Ghoul Playing CardsWhat am I paying attention to in my life that I don’t need to be? (Types of news, types of people, etc)?
Two of Diamonds

Stop worrying so much about juggling everything.  Your worry and stress over this topic are pulling your attention away from things that need to get done.

What am I not paying attention to that I do need to be?
Ten of Spades

You see that dark shadow that keeps trying to creep up on you?  It’s that black pit of depression trailing after you in the wake of your footsteps. If you allow it to catch up, it will buckle your knees and take you down, and take all your goals and ambitions down with you.

What am I doing to make the world a better place?
Eight of Hearts

You are social distancing like a champion, which is a pretty significant feat considering that you’re out in public nearly every day.

What can I do this week to keep myself focused on the things that are important to keep me and the world healthy?
Queen of Diamonds atop Five of Clubs

Use self care methods to help keep yourself afloat when conflict tries to drag you down.  It’s okay if you need to fight for what you believe in, but sometimes in the heat of battle things are said or things happen that can create a resonant disillusionment to slip in and bring you down.  Take that nurturing you give so freely to others and turn it upon yourself during these moments.

DECK USED:  TOKYO GHOUL PLAYING CARDS

Transitioning from September to October

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This is a spread that I do at the end of each month to close out the month.

Tarot Leaves and Forces Flora + Fauna Oracle

Individuality – Ace of Pentacles, Ten of Swords, The Bison – Opportunity through the path of painful endings. You are willing to sacrifice for the greater good and have the courage to do so, but it may not feel like much of a sacrifice with the abundance you currently have and the potential opportunities that doing so open up for you.

Dependence – Ten of Pentacles and The Fern – You feel like with the preparations for the holiday rush that you are leaving behind all the good stuff and all of the public as well as secret joys and pleasures life has to offer.

Creativity – Four of Wands and The River – What you want at this time is more time to relax and enjoy wallowing in being home and enjoying the pleasure of all that.  You’ve had yourself a taste of what it’s like to chill and enjoy life, and it’s hard to gear back up when you instead want more of what you’ve had all spring and summer.

Limitation – Two of Swords, Five of Wands, The Moon – You can choose to fight against the changes that happen at this time of year all you want, but that choice will do you more harm than good. That said?  it’s still difficult to set that stuff you’ve enjoyed so much aside.

Change – Ten of Wands and The Acorn – Look beyond the feelings of overwhelm that you are feeling and see the potential for abundance that is inherently in your future over the holiday rush. Yes, it’s stressful and overwhelming, but the key to getting motivated and staying that way is focusing on all the good stuff that comes out of those six weeks that are quickly approaching.

Sympathy – Page of Cups and Earth – Trying to find a balance between the new experience of your emotional growth and the grounding and stability you need is hard.  Last year, you slipped on that and allowed your fear to grow and fester in your heart.  This year, you have a chance to do better.

Luck – Judgement and The Rat – The times when you have been clever and worked to quickly adapt, you have come out the other side to look back and be proud of the results.  Don’t cling so tightly to the present that you miss the opportunities presented to you for the future.

Power – The Empress Rx, Ace of Cups, The Badger, The Storm –  There is potential in the future to fuck up the emotional progress you’ve made and drop the ball on your self care. This would create  turbulent times ahead not just in your finances and business, but also in your home life and with those you are close with.  You can prevent this by taking to heart the advice offered in this reading.

Responsibility – Eight of Wands and The Mushroom – Step into what you want to create in life and do your best to foster that.  Now is the time to move, and you need to make sure that you’re using your intuition and intuitive tools that are available to you to help keep you on the right path.

Message from Spirit World –  Dropping the ball on you’re emotional well being and self care at this time would be catastrophic to your future success, creating a sense of overwhelm that could easily have been avoided by acting on your needs rather than ignoring what you need.  That negative inner dialog of yours has an opposite counterpart that whispers about what you need to feel good and be balanced and well. Pay attention to those whispers.

Message from Mind’s World – You’re in a good place and there’s lots of opportunities going on.  Don’t allow the pain of changing gears to torch what pleasure you can still eek out of the small amount of down time still available to you.

Message from Known World – Neither ignoring what’s going on and what’s to come, nor fighting against the flow of time and natural progression of things, is going to get you anywhere good.  Take a breath and engage that remarkable ability to adapt so that you can make this transition more smoothly and make your way through the busy season in a manner you can look back on with pride.

Take Away – The end of this month is marked by the fact that my mind and emotions are all tangled up in the preparation for the holiday rush.  There’s a lot of reluctance to dive into it this year, and a lot of struggle to let go of the more laid back energy that has been a part of my spring and summer.  The overall message about where I am on my path at this time is that I’m at a crossroads where I need to either jump in, adapt, and allow the changes to run smoothly as they should…. or fight against it and/or try to ignore what’s coming and end up regretting it later.

DECKS USED:  TAROT LEAVES AND FORCES FLORA + FAUNA ORACLE