tarot

Self-Acceptance

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Today’s meditation was twelve minutes long, and one of the #DailyTrip sessions in the @Calm app.

The session for today discussed how acceptance is our greatest tool toward growth and self-improvement. When we pause to understand our flaws and flawed reactions, and open ourself up to accepting that they are a part of who we are as humans, it allows those parts of ourselves to soften and become more malleable. It feels a bit counterintuitive, and yet this is how through acceptance of ourselves and forgiveness that change is facilitated.

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Tarocchi by Michelangelo Rossato - The HermitThe @GlitterbyInk #MayTag25 Challenge
Celebrating Our Community Prompt for May 1 : Curious

Today’s draw is the Hermit card, which is traditionally a representation of solitude, self reflection and introspection, alone time, and inner guidance.

Even for an introvert like myself, spending time alone can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where your head is at at time time.

If we are in a mindset that allows our thoughts to run in circles around our mistakes, flaws, or these things that we don’t like about ourselves, then alone time becomes an unhealthy simmering of negativity.

On the other hand, alone time spent in self-exploration with a focus on curiosity, understanding, and acceptance allows for healthy solitude and eventual growth.

The theme of today’s card, meditation, and prompt combo is to remember that not all alone time is healthy or productive, and encourages us to discern the difference and choose our moments of solitude wisely.

DECK USED:  TAROCHI BY MICHELANGELO ROSSATO

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2025 Challenge
Prompt for May 1 : Do the Beltane Spread

Beltane Oracle Reading with the Apothecary Spirits Oracle

Dandelion: How can I use my inner strength to help me in healing old wounds?

Marigold – Instead of focusing on the pain of past experiences, explore their memories while working to recognize the gift that these experiences have offered you. Whether it has created within you a greater sense of independence, understanding of human nature, knowledge or skills you wouldn’t have otherwise developed, etc. these things are life’s offerings to you in appreciation and respect for what you went through. They are earned and hold great worth in and of themselves, but also in allowing you to see that those painful moments held value as well.

Bees: Where could I put in more effort to help my community?

Cayenne – Be bold and loud. Let your anger show when it stirs to the surface. In doing so you validate others and their own feelings, for not everyone is able to speak up as easily or freely as you can. You embolden others, in these moments, to share their own thoughts and feelings as well rather than staying quiet in the background.

Garnet: What do I need in order to foster a greater sense of self-empowerment?

Damiana – You need to be able to allow your vulnerability to shine through without shame or fear in order to foster a greater sense of self-empowerment. This not an easy task for you, and it is often done through the vulnerability that you offer to Gideon in the drown. Over time, he has helped you to see the submissive side of your inner self as a strength rather than as a weakness to be ashamed of.

Swallow: Where do I need to more openly display my love and loyalty to others?

Rosemary – Memories are important. With so many of them fleeting in your head and often slipping through your fingers like grains of sand through a sieve, it’s important to revisit those ones that you can when you’re able.

When you walk down memory lane with others, you allow them to help you remember things that you have forgotten. This takes trust and openness, for you are trusting in their memories to refresh yours and not distort the truth. Within this process of helping to recount happy memories and joyful moments with you, it also creates new bonding experiences.

Malachite: How can I better use intention to bolster the abundance in my life moving forward?

Roses – Roses take a great deal of care in order to not just thrive but become abundant in blooms. So do relationships. Love, romance, and friendships do not just “happen” and will not thrive on their own without your participation. Lean into the intent to keep your friendships and loving relationships happy and healthy, and they will grow to be abundant like the roses in this card.

Goat: How can I best overcome obstacles before me at this time?

Wisteria – Cling tightly, but with a gentle touch.  It is through your connection with others that you find strength in moments when obstacles become too heavy to handle on your own. Lean into them.

Primrose: How can I add more of the exuberance of young love into my life?

Borage – Don’t allow your uncertainty, nor moments of fear, to hold you back. There is no energy or exuberance in stagnancy. It is in motion and courage that we find those lighter and happier emotions associated with young love. If you want to instill that energy into your life, it takes courage and the willingness to take a leap with alacrity, rather than standing still in uncertainty.

Other elements included in this reading:
Orange Aventurine Leaf for Pause and Reflection
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Green Aventurine for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: APOTHECARY SPIRITS ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

Bah, I worked all day today from the moment I woke up this morning to just before bed time, and I feel like I haven’t given myself a single self kindness today.  I suppose I would count making sure that I ate on time using the timer on my phone as one, though. So there’s that.

Energy Leaks and Replenishment

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Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the Calm app.

The topic of today’s session was about what the neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett calls the body’s “energy budget”. It delved into how our bodies only have so much energy to work with each day, and how even something that seems as simple as talking on the phone can at times leave us feeling drained due to what kind of budget our body has for the day and how much of it is spent in the conversation.

The session spoke upon how its important to take times of quiet and peace for yourself on days you are feeling tired in order to “top up” our energy stores, and how meditation can in this way be seen as a “dose of replenishment” for when feeling drained.

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Gendron Tarot's Justice CardToday’s draw is the Justice card, which is traditionally a representation of balance, cause and effect, repercussions and consequences, give and take, and can often indicate the law or legal system.

Life is always about balance. You get what you give. This is true in all areas of life from how we act to how we treat ourselves, and even the little every day actions we take for granted. The universe seems to be built upon the premise of cause and effect… otherwise known as “balance”.

I feel that this is important to understand, as it effects so much in our lives including our own bodies and our energy levels. If we push and neglect our needs, then our bodies react by breaking down or running out of energy.  We are bombarded day in and day out by little energy leaks from the news, our phones, social obligations… even niceties.  It’s no wonder that we feel tired so often, and refreshed so rarely and fleetingly.

The card for today and meditation combined with it hold a reminder that we all need to do more to replenish our energy stores in order to combat all those little (and sometimes big) energy leaks in our lives. Whether that’s through creative pursuits, having fun, meditation, or just taking a few minutes to ourselves once in a while to breathe.

DECK USED:  GENDRON TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompt for April 30 : Grab a spread of your choice you’re curious about… and give it a go!
@Lionharts #TheAprilTarot Equinox Threshold Challenge
Prompt for April 30 : The Huntress’ Mark Tarot Spread

The Huntress Mark Tarot Reading with the Bird King Tarot and Growing Oracle

What instinct within me is calling to be honored?

Four of Wands and Energy – The desire to savor, or even celebrate, the time spent at home is an instinct within you calling out to be honored. That moment when you step through the door and take a sigh of relief as you take your shoes off is a moment that needs to be leaned into and acknowledged, savored and enjoyed. Focus on letting the bad parts of your day slough off at the door, so that you step through into your home with a greater sense of peace than when you’re outside of it.

How do I close the distance to what I seek?

The Lovers; Freedom atop Differences Rx – There’s always going to be differences of opinion concerning what you should be doing with your spare time. The great part is that it’s your spare time to do with as you please, so make sure that you were doing things that are good for you during this time… and not for others. Your spare time needs to be about you.

What lasting imprint will my pursuit leave behind?

The Magician and Worthiness – Working on these boundaries concerning your spare time will help you in combating those feelings of “not enough” that you often feel in relation to what you provide for others. It will help you develop the tools you need to see yourself as worthy of your own self-care and good regard, creating a better balance between the energy expended on others and what you keep for yourself.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Silver Maple Key for Bouncing Back to Thrive
Serpentine Dragon to Bolster Heart and Emotions
Ammonite for a Sense of Stability During Times of Change
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: BIRD KING TAROT AND GROWING ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch-up post, which means I have no idea what my self-kindness was on this day.

Finding the Positive for April 27 – 29

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The Stained Glass Tarot, The Moon Witch Tarot, Once Upon a Time Cards, Magical Messages Cards, and Prophesies Foretold Hades Tarot

April 27 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped (cuz I fell asleep).

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Today’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of hard work, expertise through practice, honing a skill, quality craftsmanship, handicrafts, and manifestations through skill and hard work. The card is often the embodiment of the “practice makes perfect” adage.

Needing to “buckle down” and work when we just aren’t feeling it can make the work we’re doing seem miserable and endless. It can even at times erase from our awareness the value that the work holds and why we’re doing it in the first place.

Today’s card combo reminds us that there’s good in the work we do, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. The message here is an encouragement that during these times when we are feeling less than enthused with our work, we try to focus on the good that is coming from the work, rather than on our discontent.

DECK USED: PROPHESIES FORETOLD: A HADES TAROT AND MAGICAL MESSAGES CARDS

April 28 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the @DailyCalm sessions in the @Calm app.

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Today’s draw is the Queen of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s resources, financial stability, health, home, labors, manifestations, or other aspects of the physical realm. This often translates into a supportive or nurturing energy or entity in the areas of one’s health, home, and financial responsibilities.

Only allow into your life those things that support your dreams.

Dreams are one of those things that help us to look forward to the future. They are the fertilizer to our growth and happiness. They are not silly, or stupid, and when things or people come into our lives that try to influence us into thinking that they are? Those are the things and people that have no business being in our lives in the first place.

Nurture your dreams by kicking these things and people to the curb. In doing so, you are supporting yourself and those dreams of yours, and living true to yourself in the process.

DECK USED: MOON WITCH TAROT AND ONCE UPON A TIME CARDS

April 29 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was one of the @DailyCalm sessions in the @Calm app.

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Today’s draw is the King of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of a projective “alpha” energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s thoughts, intellect, education, ambitions, and communication. This often translates into themes that have to do with someone that has a way with words and is able to use those skills to lead others to their way of thinking, as well as those that are in authority on intellectual topics such as professors, doctors, etc.

Stop discounting your abilities in sorting out issues and strategizing solutions. You have been using that clever mind of yours all of your life to stay on top of things and adapt from one moment to the next, piling on experience that only adds to your abilities.

There is no need to be modest, let alone disparage yourself. Instead, allow yourself to feel the confidence that hs been well earned. Lead with it, not just with others but yourself s well. When you trust in yourself, your experience, and your knowledge, others trust in you as well.

DECK USED: THE STAINED GLASS TAROT

Dreams of the Past

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The Naked Truth Tarot's Nine of Pentacles and Once Upon a Time CardsToday’s draw is the Nine of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of solitary satisfaction, a job well done, self-sufficiency, abundance, financial independence, and luxury earned through hard work.

The dreams that we had for ourselves earlier in life should not be what we now use as the standard against which we measure out current selves, life, and accomplishments.

Whether those dreams are realistic (or, more likely, unrealistic), easily obtainable, or pie in the sky, they were in essence merely ideas on where we thought we would go.

Life is done through living… and life happens while we are living it. Therefore plans change and new ideas replace old ones. We adapt and react and plot our course one step at a time along our path… not at the beginning with rigid focus. There needs to be room for the unexpected, for curiosity, and for growth.

Today’s cards remind us not to measure how far we’ve come by an impossibly rigid past idea, but by our accomplishments made along the way.

DECK USED:  THE NAKED TRUTH TAROT AND ONCE UPON A TIME CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompt for April 27th : Do Spread 2
Question for April 26th : What do you need to focus on for self-care for this month’s new moon?

Tarot Reading with The Whimsy Tarot and Insight Enlightenment Cards

Reading Summary: The figure in the Justice card correlates with the patiently waiting figure with cross legs in the Anchor card. In the Anchor card to the figure looks a bit impatient, and bored, in the Justice card, the figure is content. The speaks of a need to not just “wait and see”, but to do so with faith while holding your impatience at bay.

In the Hierophant card, the chaos of the heads reflects strongly with the chaos of clouds and spherical figures around the person waiting in the Anchor card. This is a reminder that you have the tools necessary to combat the chaos of thought that comes with standing still when you actually want to move. Use meditation and other breathing techniques in order to combat your need to do something at this time.

The color in the background for the Three of Pentacles connects with the color in the background on the title of the Anchor card. Don’t let your friends jump the gun either. They may think they’re helping, but you all need to wait together at this time.

Take Away: Instead of focusing on what needs to be done and taking an action to do it, at this time you need to focus on working on your patience and encouraging those around you to work on their as well. Use the tools at your disposal such as meditation and breathing exercises to help you keep your brain in check while holding back. An overactive imagination will take you for a wild ride if you let it. Don’t let it.

Other elements included in this reading:
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Yellow Aventurine Dragonfly for Confidence During Change
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: THE WHIMSY TAROT AND INSIGHT ENLIGHTENMENT CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompts for April 28th and 29th

Oracle Reading with the Wild Woodland OracleTheme Card – Follow your dreams

What area of your life is requiring too much sacrifice?

Courage and Focus – You are putting too much focus and effort into getting where you want to be or where you think you need to be. Not everything has to be a struggle to be a value.

What would be a better option or path?

Magic and Desire – Let yourself believe that good things will come to you even when you aren’t breaking your back trying to achieve them. Life often has a way of manifesting for you what it is you want most or need most, plays it on your path to accept, rather than it being something you worked toward.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WILD WOODLAND ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch-up post, which means I have no idea what my self-kindness was on this day.

Finding the Positive for April 23 – 25

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The Fusion Tarot's Queen of Wands, Magical Messages Cards, The Gaucho's Arcana 1928 Tarot's Five of Pentacles, Once Upon a Time Cards, and Hexen 2.0 Tarot's Two of Cups

April 23 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s draw is the Queen of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passion, drive, willpower, determination, values, and principles. This often translates into themes that have to do with being supportive of others projects and passions, or searching for inner truth within your own values and principles.

Make sure that you’re letting creativity flow by encouraging exploration and curiosity both in yourself and others.

Your creative spark is one of the most magical things about you, and one of the qualities that others are most inspired by. When you let it wither, you are not the only one who suffers as a result.

Today’s card combo is a reminder that creativity is a treasure given by the essence of life itself, and when neglected, you neglect not just yourself but those around you that are inspired by you, as well as the world as a whole.

DECK USED: THE FUSION TAROT AND MAGICAL MESSAGES CARDS

April 24 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s draw is the Five of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of tests, trials, struggles, and setbacks in the area of one’s finances, resources, health, home, work, or manifestations. This often translates into themes that have to do with scarcity and times in life when one needs to seek out help from others instead of suffering through alone.

Stagnancy does not protect you from scarcity (whether real or imagined). If anything, it will cause those problems and associated worries to grow like weeds planted in fertilized garden beds.

Movement is your friend. Don’t hide under the covers and tremble, but instead throw the covers off and deal with the issue. Adapt and keep moving forward. Be proactive in choosing your future instead of sitting back and letting it happen to you all because you’re too scared that more scarcity is coming.

DECK USED: GAUCHO’S ARCANA 1928 TAROT AND ONCE UPON A TIME CARDS

April 25 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s draw is the Two of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of connection and unification, mutual attraction, and emotional connections.

Good stuff happens when you allow yourself to stay open to connecting with others. Sometimes empowerment requires back up from like-minded souls.

Not every goal or value can be reached or advocated for on your own. Make sure that you are connecting with others, and inviting them along for the ride on challenging journeys you decide to pursue. It will make the trek a little easier, as well as more enjoyable.

DECK USED: HEXEN 2.0 TAROT AND MAGICAL MESSAGES CARDS

The Challenge of Easing Up

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, self-directed, and based upon the graphic by @twinkling.toad shown below and its words “If being hard on yourself worked… it would have worked by now.”

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Neo Tarot's Eight of PentaclesToday’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of hard work, expertise through practice, honing a skill, quality craftsmanship, handicrafts, and manifestations through skill and hard work. The card is often  the embodiment of the “practice makes perfect” adage.

I am spectacular at self-degradation and abuse. It’s a skill that was developed early, practiced often, and grown over a lifetime of practice and reinforcement.

These days I’m working on some new skills. Skills geared toward self-kindness and appreciation. I’m not going to lie… it’s hard going. But maybe, if I put as any years of effort into it as were put into self-recriminations and cruelty, I will become just as skilled at this new path as I have become at the old one.

Because, that old path? It’s just not working for me anymore. I came to that understanding a few years ago, and realized it was time to start breaking those long-ingrained habits, and to replace them with healthier ones.

What long ingrained unhealthy habits are you holding onto that aren’t working for you? Today’s card and meditation prompt ask if it isn’t time to start working on changing them into something healthier.

DECK USED:  NEO TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2025 Challenge
Prompt for April 21st, 22nd, 24th, and 25th :

Oracle Reading with the Human Spirit OracleWhat difficult truth do you need to acknowledge?

Baby I’m a Star – You are far more capable (and interesting) than you realize. It’s difficult to set that ingrained modesty aside, but others can see you shine even when you cannot.

How can you accept this truth more fully?

Master of Destiny – Look at all you have accomplished and acknowledge that you have the skills, experience, and thirst for knowledge needed to tackle any obstacle that may come your way.

What illusion is clouding your perception?

Bound for Boundaries – Your boundaries are are being tinkered with more than you realize, and therefore not as stable as you think. Take care not to allow little everyday things to stretch your boundaries even in small ways right now, because bit by bit they’ll end up stretched out of shape if you do.

How can you break free of this illusion?

Any Way (the Wind Blows) – Be flexible, but only within the scope of what feels right for you. Don’t ignore your niggles of discomfort, for they are telling you something you need to hear.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Mugo Pine Cone for Resilience and Longevity
Pressed Pansy Flower for for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: HUMAN SPIRIT ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I took time to actually make a grocery list instead of just “winging it” as I have been doing lately, which always ends up with me forgetting something.