tarot

The Harbinger of Change

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Today’s meditation was nineteen minutes and forty-three seconds, and was a four-stage yoga nidra by Sadhana over at Integrative Healing on Youtube.  The guide (Sadhana) walked the listener through a full body scan before reaching the awareness out to the surroundings, and then eventually back inward again. It was very relaxing.

Today’s draw is the thirteenth card in the Major Arcana, the Death card.

Death is the harbinger of change. Not the chaotic type of change that would be indicated by the Tower card, but more in the spirit natural progression wherein something comes to fruition and moves on.

Is there any chance that it could be the pain in my mouth and swelling in my jaw?? Just kidding. Although, that would be nice. The natural progression of that, though, probably won’t start making an appearance until tomorrow.

The presence of this card is a reminder that change is a natural part of life. Whether it’s small things, or large ones, everything changes over time. We get old. Seasons change. Life moves on. And that is what the Death card is all about.

I’ve been going through a wide righty of changes lately, from the return to my spiritual practices to even yesterday’s surgery. There’s a reassurance in knowing that sometimes changes happen just because it’s a natural progression of things, and not as some chaotic upset pouncing to throw everything out of whack.

The Death card’s appearance may also have to do with the fact that I am currently going through sugar withdrawal. I cut back sharply on my sugar intake two days ago, and with the surgery that I just had done I’m not allowed to eat anything solid for another 24 hours. This means that unless I want to binge on the Creamsicle ice cream in my freezer or apple juice in the fridge (which I don’t), I am SOL on resolving the withdrawal and will instead have to just ride it out.

This is actually a good change, I think, considering my recent cholesterol results. If I can get through the withdrawal before going back to solid foods, perhaps it’ll help me in staying away from things like packaged cookies and crackers and crap like that.

Reassuring Stability

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Today’s meditation was not guided or timed, and incorporated deep beating exercises with a mindful focus on the breath.

Today’s draw is the King of Pentacles, which represents a solid, fatherly energy, personality, or person in the area of money, resources, and the physical world.

Although the King of Pentacles is a strong alpha energy, it is the kind of energy that provides comfort and stability.

The King of Pentacles came to me this morning to reassure me. I go into surgery today, which is a bit stressful. His appearance is here today to tell me everything is going to be okay.

Don’t Get Sucked Into the Whirlpool

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and fourteen seconds, and focused on the environment, and how we can care for the environment by focusing on the now and what we do in the present in order to foster a better future.

Oh look! It’s me. It’s funny because the original Rider/Waite/Smith artwork for this card has a woman sitting up in bed with the nine swords stacked on the wall, but her face is resting in her hands. The depiction in the deck, on the other hand, is a woman holding her head in her hands like she has a headache. And, that is exactly how I woke up this morning.

The Nine of Swords Is a representation of fruition and consequences In the area of the thoughts, communication, instinct, and logic.

I believe this ties into The Moon card from yesterday, and this cards aspect of consequences, as the Nine of Swords often indicates that you are letting your worries and anxieties get the best of you and cloud your judgment.

Yesterday’s card (The Moon) warned about taking action without seeing the full picture. Here today we have the Nine of Swords indicating that I don’t have the full picture, as well as pointing out to me that I am stressing out and worrying… and that as a result, I am creating a sense within myself of being overwhelmed.

This card message is to remind me that I need to take a breath. I need to sit back and separate my worries from the facts, and move forward only once I have the correct research in place.

Never having had high cholesterol before, this is a dietary issue I’ve never had to deal with. This means that I have quite a bit of research to accomplish in order to get back on the right track. With my surgery coming up tomorrow and my orders due to go out on Friday, this doesn’t leave me a lot of room for other interests and distractions.

The Nine of Swords is telling me that instead of sitting in my mind and stewing about what’s going on with my health, I should just move forward with the best, most healthy decisions I know of at the moment, and then deal with the research once the next couple of stressful days have passed.

Ethony’s 31 Days of Tarot 2019 (Part 2)

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Wheel

It’s time to return to Ethony’s 31 Days of Tarot challenge. As previously discussed in Part 1 of this series, I’m doing these a bit at a time instead of one a day.

  1. Top 5 decks on your wish list now
    Tyldwick Tarot, Delos Tarot,  Les Adorables Tarot, Liminal Tarot (2015 Version), Tarot of the Hidden Folk. These are in order, incidentally, although the Delos and Tyldwick sometimes change places with each other depending on my mood.
  2. Tarot goals 2019
    I really just want to get back on track with my spirituality. I feel a bit like a Christian that’s been “skipping church”. You know, they’re still a Christian, but not practicing? The last two years, that’s been me with my spirituality. Tarot is (and has always been) a part of that spirituality, and my goals for returning to practicing my faith and my tarot practice are intertwined.
  3. Tarot decks that you want to work with more in 2019
    I have a handful of new decks in my collection this year that I’m excited to work with and get to know better. I also have a few that I haven’t used in years that I would like to reconnect with. That list includes (but is not limited to) the Cucoloris Tarot, Alchemical Tarot, True Black Tarot, Anima Mundi Tarot, Crow Tarot, Anna K Tarot, Sacred Circle Tarot (which I recently did a major modification on), and Mary El Tarot.
  4. Oracle decks that you want to work with more in 2019
    Like with the tarot decks listed above, this list is not comprehensive but more of a sampling of decks from a longer list. They include the Moonology Oracle, Roots and Wings Oracle, Empty Cup Oracle, Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle, and the White Hare Wisdom Oracle.
  5. Have you ever dealt with Impostor Syndrome in your Tarot practice?
    I had to look this term up.

    Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts his or her accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be. – Wikipedia

    I’ve had my fair share of times when my self confidence was at its worst and my insecurities were a torment I couldn’t seem to escape. That said? I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this particular issue. I work damn hard for what I have from my physical comforts to my education, and everything in between.

And there you have it, another handful of questions from Ethony’s 31 Days of tarot complete. Like last time, I’ll come back in a few days to make another post to continue the challenge.

Time For a Fact Finding Mission

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and length, and focused on Karma.  Not the mass populated theory of Karma and checks and balances of today’s societal views, but the core belief that Karma is, in essence, based on cause and effect.  It’s about being mindful and choosing wisely.

Today’s draw is the 18th card of the Major Arcana… The Moon. While each suit of the Minor Arcana deals with a facet of the human experience (cups for emotional, swords for mental, pentacles for the physical, and wands for the inner spiritual), the Major Arcana cards pertain to a bigger picture. They refer to “the grand scheme of things”, rather than any one facet of it.

Because I know you’re going to ask about the lobster, I’m going to explain that here before I go into personalizing the card’s appearance today.    In the original Rider/Waite/Smith depiction, there are a good deal of elements to the card that play with each other to create a tableau.

  • The Moon above represents intuition and dreams.
  • There is a small stream below, which is often read as the subconscious mind
  • A crustacean climbing from the water indicates the beginnings of one’s awareness lifting from the subconscious into the conscious mind.
  • There is a wolf and a dog both facing each other, a representation of one’s more savage aspects and one’s tamed ones, and that both are on this journey together.
  • There are two towers in the distance, which represent safety and comfort and all that an “easy life” would entail.
  • And there is a path that moves in a zig-zag line directly between these two towers, indicating that one should not base choices on comfort alone.

Taken all together, these elements combine to indicate the subconscious and the early moments of one’s awakening, including the confusion that comes with waking from a deep sleep.  It represents the fears and uncertainties and illusions that come from trying to predict the future based upon limited information.

In the Dreaming Way tarot, this card depicts a young woman playing with the crustacean from the long used traditional deck.  I interpret this to indicate she toys with her awareness of the world around her and the path ahead, perhaps worrying over what is to come in the way that people often toy with their insecurities and uncertainties.

SO…  Having broken that down so that you can better understand the card (and I could  answer your coming question concerning the lobster), the card ultimately represents uncertainties and illusions caused by assumptions and lack of information.

I believe The Moon card’s appearance in today’s draw is a reminder to not accept assumptions and guesses as reality.

Today, I found out that my cholesterol is through the roof.   This is a big change from my tests last year, and cause for concern.   Letting fears and uncertainties and guesswork guide my path will not serve me well.   Neither will choosing to ignore the issue and sink into the comfort of ignorance.

I need to do some research into my diet and what has changed in my diet over the past year. Only with sound research instead of guess work and “fumbling around in the dark” will I be able to find what’s going on, and how to fix it.

Move Your Ass

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, And focused on the Japanese theory of kotsu kotsu. This translates into “step by step”, and as a reminder that happiness isn’t reaching the end of the journey but rather is found along the path you take to get there.

Today’s draw is the Eight of Wands, which is a representation of quick and energetic forward movement in the areas of one’s passions and enthusiasm, inspiration, and spirituality.

It represents not just determination, but the forward movement that that determination creates. This is a fire card, as in… “light a fire under your ass”.

The Eight of Wands is a good card for me today. I woke up late and I have been running behind ever since. Today is all about the business and getting my order is ready to go for tomorrow. There’s so much to do on Mondays and Thursdays, and when I fall behind like this morning, it just makes it that much harder to get everything done.

Today’s card is telling me that if I bear down and focus on my goal (getting my orders done and everything ready for tomorrow), I will be propelled forward in that direction.

Are use the word propelled for a reason. There are times when I hit my Mondays or Thursdays with all the determination I can muster and yet I feel like I’m moving through quicksand. No matter how hard I try to catch up (or keep up), it never seems to happen.

The Eight of Wands tells me to stay focused, and that if I do so, today will not end up being one of those days.