tarot

Looking at New vs Old

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Laughing Eye Weeping Eye Tarot - Seven of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Artisan Prompt for December 8 : Vintage
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Seven of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of themes having to do with having a plethora of options to choose from, all of opportunity’s doors being open upon one’s path, and at times being overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available in the moment.

Sometimes new isn’t better.

I watched a commercial from the 80s recently that had a bunch of cars bumping into things, showing how the bumper protects the car from damage and creates a safer experience on the road.  And I just have to honestly say that I’ve -never- seen a modern car take a bump like the older cars in this commercial did.  It was impressive.

It’s not just with cars that new isn’t always better, though. Think about the erosion of privacy, education systems,  and life skills in our youth.

The message in the card for today combined with the “vintage” prompt is a reminder that new isn’t always better. Instead of allowing ourselves to be enchanted on the novelty of new, today’s message encourages us to pause and ask if the “new” is realistically an improvement. What we are sacrificing in the update, and is that new shiny feeling really worth what we lose in the process?

DECK USED:  LAUGHING EYE WEEPING EYE TAROT

@aplacetodock #Yuletide Oracle Challenge
Prompts for December 7th, 9th and 10th

Tarot Reading with the Winter Waite Redux Tarot 2024What is on my Christmas list for Santa?

Two of Cups – Copacetic union. You would very much like for everyone to get along this season. There’s going to be a lot of people gathered together from different backgrounds and different parts of the world, and you would like there to be an effort on everyone’s part to let things go off smoothly and conflict free.

Finish the sentence: “This Christmas I hope..”

Six of Cups – … will be diverse and bountiful.

In an echo of the previous question, there’s a hope here for a harmony, even during times of collected diversity.  Lots of different people (and options) gathered around, and no shit stirring or anxiety involved, would be lovely.

What direction comes from the Christmas Star?

Death – Don’t allow your resistance to change fuck up your holiday happiness.  Change isn’t really your strong suite and you have a tendency to be stubborn and try to hold on as long as possible.  The direction given by the Christmas Star this year is to take care not to balk to much.  Go with the flow where you can in order to allow for changes to come and go with ease and the holiday season be less of a struggle.

Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Carved Bamboo for Positive Outcomes
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER WAITE REDUX 2024

@LightningWildflower December Arcana Challenge 
The Emperor Prompts for December 7th and 8th

Tarot Reading with the Laughing Eye Weeping Eye TarotWhere in my life do I want for more stability?

The Fool Rx and The Sun – You want to have your cake and eat it too. You crave stability in all things, but need the ability to cut loose and have some fun. These two contrast, in that in order to really cut loose and be care free, you have to loosen your grip on that stability that you covet so fiercely. You need to find a way to instill stability in this area that won’t hinder your enjoyment in the moment.

What does healthy authority look like to me?

Judgement and Death – Direction towards obtainable future goals while providing guidance through change. No when is particularly comfortable with change. In your opinion, health authority involves someone who is willing to help people move through change in healthy ways. Guiding them towards a future goal, instead of allowing them to get stuck in the stagnancy of resistance and grief.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  LAUGHING EYE WEEPING EYE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I cut myself a break on meditation today, because I was really struggling to focus. I did lie there for about ten minutes, it just wasn’t particularly successful.

Temperance vs Minimalism

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Today’s meditation was a ten minute long #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Mont Saint Johns Astral Tarot - The Devil CardThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Artisan Prompt for December 7 : Minimalist
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is The Devil card, which is traditionally a representation of temptation, struggles with moderation, harmful excesses, addiction, and self-harm.

In my life, there is a war going on between the Devil and Temperance. My addictive personality creates a struggle that requires constant vigilance.

For me, anything that generates pleasure has the potential to become an addiction. And, sometimes, my body and/or brain latches on and says “YES!!!” before I’ve even realized what’s happening.

This is a large part of the reason why I say no to myself so often when I really want to say yes.

The problem is that sometimes? The line between careful vigilance and neglectful treatment gets blurred.  In these moments, what should be good for me (avoiding potential addictions) turns into just another type of self-abuse.

The message in the card for today combined with the “minimalist” prompt is a reminder that temperance is the counter balance to addiction, including possible addictions. There is a difference between using temperance to instill a bit of minimalist thinking into your life, and using it to actually neglect your needs. Find the line between the two instead of allowing that wide distance, and all the wiggle room it provides, to stand.

DECK USED:  ASTRAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Prompt for December 7th : Do Spread 1

Tarot Reading with the Astral Tarot by Mont Saint Johns

Bear: How can a period of introspection help with healing the past year’s pain?

Six of Cups – Let your introspection tilt towards looking back into the past. Look over the past year to seek out positive remembrances instead of focusing on all the struggles and strife that you had to fight your way through.

Robin: Where can I express more compassion and patience with others?

Four of Wands – At home. Your dust up the other day with Ms B makes it clear that you need to take a moment to put yourself in her shoes now and then. That moment of impatience and flash of temper wouldn’t have happened, had you really thought about the fact that maybe her hearing is going and she just didn’t hear you the first couple times.

Deer: How can I use my intuition to encourage more gentleness and caring?

Seven of Swords Rx – Take care that you don’t get so wrapped up in your own interests and perspectives that you lose sight of how your actions can affect others. Remember that taking care of “number one” doesn’t mean at the sacrifice of others feelings or welfare.

Squirrel: How can prep and resourcefulness help me through the holidays?

The World – Prep and resourcefulness allows you to approach the end of the year with less turbulence and upset. When you’re prepared, including prepared to pivot when needed, things just go smoother all the way around.

Wren: Where can I find inspiration to help me be enthusiastic about the holidays this year?

The Lovers atop King of Pentacles – Take care not to ignore your own needs. You know how important… even essential, stability is to you. Make sure that you are doing the things that will allow you to keep that stability intact from the foundation up.

Boar: In what way can stubborn persistence help me through the rest of this year?

Strength – Your stubbornness is a quality that allows you to take on more pressure without breaking under the weight… but only for very short bursts before it becomes unhealthy for you. As you approach the end of the year, make sure that you are only taking on what needs to be taken on, and holding strong on the boundaries that keep you from taking on too much.

Owl: How can the knowledge I’ve gained this year help me to trust myself better?

The High Priestess Rx – Lean into the practical knowledge you’ve gained. Although you have made a lot of progress in your spirituality this year, as well as your own personal growth, it’s the practical aspects of what you’ve learned this year that are going to carry forward for you and help you to trust yourself and your decision-making process better.

Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: ASTRAL TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Future Check-Points

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Everyday Hero Tarot - Seven of SwordsThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Mystic Prompt for December 6 : Celestial
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Seven of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of strategic thinking, “sneaky shit”, or getting away with something. It can also often be about taking only what one can carry.

The other day, one of the Discord servers that I’m a member of asked a daily question concerning if you believe in destiny or fate. To many, it was a surprise when I said yes. Probably because I am always preaching how the future is not set in stone. When you do a tarot reading (or any kind of divinatoin) that’s predictive, there’s always going to be room for error. This is because unexpected things come along and change our trajectory all of the time, and in my experience predictive readings are a study in trajectories.

And yet, at the end of the day, we all die. If that’s not an unchangeable destiny or fate in our future, what is?

When you look at things in this perspective, and in the perspective that I have of reincarnation, what you see is that death is kind of a “checkpoint” in our journey. Everyone hits it… but that doesn’t mean it controls everything you do along the way to getting there. You have choices and free will and things you can do and not do. That autonomy is not affected by the checkpoint coming up.

The message in today’s card and “celestial” prompt is a reminder to not let those checkpoints that are written in the stars as unavoidable in our lives rob us of the joy of the journey and the autonomy that we are given to do the things we want to do along the way.

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY HERO TAROT

@Lionharts #TheDecemberTarot Fruits of 2025 Challenge
Hermit Prompts for December 6th

Tarot Reading with the Winter Waite Tarot 2018 EditionA backward glance

Three of Pentacles – Remember the good times had with others at your side and the positive outcomes that came from those experiences. You’re still often reluctant to ask for help and involve others in your work and responsibilities. When you look back at how it has gone by doing so in the past year, though, you will find that there’s been an overwhelmingly positive result in these moments when you did.

A change of plans

Seven of Pentacles – All that hard work that you’ve done over the years may not be paying off as you expected. You’ve still accumulated many benefits along the way, though, and have the opportunity to continue to foster growth. Your efforts aren’t dead yet, so regardless of the change of plans that have been forced upon you? Keep going.

A second chance

Six of Cups Rx – Don’t sugarcoat what was a shit show. Remember that you can give people a second chance without glossing over the negative that already happened in your shared past. Forgiveness, after all, does not mean forgetting.

A shifting stance

Eight of Swords – For a while, when things were so confusing and overwhelming, as a defense mechanism you closed your eyes and let things move around you without your participation or input. That period has come to a close now, and it’s time to begin opening your eyes and moving forward again.

Other elements included in this reading:
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Die-cut Moose Figures for Self-Assurance and a Touch of Whimsy
Picture Jasper for Sense of Proportion and Grounding
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER WAITE TAROT 2018 EDITION

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Prompts for December 5th and 6th

Tarot Reading with the Everyday Hero TarotWhat is it that you’re burying that needs to be set free?

The Fool – Your carefree exuberance for life. You spend far too much time trying to instill the weight of responsibility and obligation on every aspect of your life, burying that carefree exuberance in the process.

What is your greatest strength that is currently hidden from you?

The Empress atop Nine of Wands Rx – The ability to choose to let down your guard if you’re given the nurturing that you need. Contrary to your current perception, this is not a weakness, but a strength.

Take Away: These two results prompts the question… are you getting the nurturing support that you need right now? If you were, wouldn’t you be able to more easily let down your defenses and delve into that carefree exuberance you currently have a tendency to lock away? So, what then, is missing that would provide that nurturing support that you’re lacking right now?

Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Aventurine Goddess for Harmony and Balance of the Heart
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  EVERYDAY HERO TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I set up my appointment to get my Covid booster.

Fleeting Moments

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Today’s meditation was an eleven minute long #DailyTrip session from the @Calm app.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Tarot of the Gnomes 2002 Edition - Nine of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Mystic Prompt for December 5 : Shadowy
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Nine of Cups (Drunkenness) card, which is traditionally a representation of themes that have to do with contentment, accomplishment, and satisfaction in the area of one’s emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition.

For me? There’s always a shadow side to getting what you want. Not just the whole pessimistic “this is never going to last” side of things, although that is there too.  Also, though, the fact that I have to take care that I don’t enjoy the good so much that it ends up an addiction.

The reminder in today’s card and prompt combo is that these drawbacks to when good things happen doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy them.  Yes, I have to take my joy and pleasure in moderation, but that doesn’t mean forsaking it entirely.  Everyone needs a bit of positive experiences, satisfaction, and joy in their lives.  Everyone needs those moments where they can just exhale and say “this is good”.

Just because these moments are fleetingly temporary doesn’t mean we should reject them entirely. Instead, use the fact that they’re temporary as a reminder of just how special they truly are.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE GNOMES 2003 EDITION

@aplacetodock #Yuletide Oracle Challenge
Prompts for December 5th, 6th and 8th

Tarot Reading with the Winter Cat Wonderland Tarot and Petit Lenormand NoeldineWhat to prepare now for Christmas morning?

Lily, Seven of Swords, Mountain – Step to it! Get your hands on any gifts left to be ordered or obtained. Move quickly on these so that there’s time for obstacles when it comes to delivery or other struggles in getting them in your hands. This will ensure that everybody is happy, and you are satisfied with how things go when Christmas morning arrives.

A new Christmas tradition for 2025?

Snake, Ace of Wands, Birds – Instill a new vigilance in monitoring conversations, and ensuring that topics that will create discord don’t get raised or delved into. With the international gathering that’s coming together this year, you want to make sure that things like politics stay out of the discussion so that no one feels alienated or resentful at the end of the night.

What holiday festivity brings me great joy?

Book, Nine of Swords Rx, Garden – You get great joy from being allowed to let your worries go for a while in order to just enjoy the company of others and the stories they have to share.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Wood burned Chickadee Disk for Adaptability through Change
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Gneiss Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER CAT WONDERLAND TAROT AND PETIT LENORMAND NOËLDINE

Tarot Reading with the Tarot of the Gnomes 2002 Edition@LightningWildflower December Arcana Challenge 
Prompts for December 5th and 6th

The High Priestess: What is a truth I’m sensing but haven’t yet spoken out loud?

Ace of Wands Rx and Five of Pentacles – It doesn’t matter how much you work, how passionately you put yourself into your work, or how motivated you are to rake in more resources. It’s never going to be enough.

The Empress: What wisdom can be found in the natural cycles around me?

Ten of Cups Rx and The Moon – (continued from above) This is because you are prevented from ever finding true satisfaction and stability due to your anxieties and fears. Uncertainty plagues you not because you don’t have enough, but because you always feel like there’s not enough. This cycle repeats again and again, like a squirrel hoarding nuts he’ll never eat.

Take Away: Until you can get past the lessons from your childhood and past that tell you that you are not enough, nothing you do will ever be enough, no matter how much you do or accomplish.

Other elements included in this reading:
Deodar Cedar Ceramic Impression for Clarity and Spiritual Connection
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE GNOMES

Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Weathering the Storm

/ Twist the Leaf / 6 Comments

Today’s meditation was skipped.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Christmas Cheer Tarot - The Tower, The StormThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Mystic Prompt for December 4 : Veiled
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Tower (Storm) card, which is traditionally a representation of sudden change, chaotic transformation, destruction, and the tearing down of something within one’s life or beliefs that leaves room for something new to take its place.

“Sometimes it can be hard to see reality when you’re trapped in the snowstorm of chaos.”

When things are swirling and clashing, the chaos of change a storm around you, it can distract you from your stability and balance.  It’s hard to not get wrapped up in the crash and bang of it all, to let the cacophany of the storm deafen you to the sweet silence of calm that lies within you.

This veil of noise and disorganization, destruction and chaos… it can separate you from the calm you need in these moments to see the situation at hand clearly and -think- clearly in order to resolve things.

The message in today’s card and prompt combination is a reminder of that veil that chaos creates. It’s a reminder to take a moment to close your eyes and tune out the crazy and the chaos, to focus instead on the steady ground beneath your feet and that place within you where quiet and calm reside.  In doing so, you will weather the storm with a greater sense of calm and come out the other side ready to move forward instead of reeling in the aftermath.

DECK USED:  CHRISTMAS CHEER TAROT

@Lionharts #TheDecemberTarot Fruits of 2025 Challenge
The Hermit Prompts for December 2nd thru 5th

Tarot Reading with the Pink Pain TarotWhat did I see clearly only after slowing down?

The Emperor – You don’t have to be in charge all the time. Others follow your lead naturally, but if you delegate that to someone else, they’ll take the lead instead and do just as good if not better. Delegation takes trust, but not -as much- trust as you thought it would… and those at your side are eager to take on some of the load.

What truth followed me until I finally stopped to hear it?

King of Cigarettes – Not only do you not need to be “in charge” all the time, it’s not healthy for you to be in charge all of the time. The constant weight eats away at your endurance without you even realizing it’s happening.

Where did I grow in ways no one else could see?

Eight of Bottles – You’ve spent a lot of this last year learning how to say no. You may not have picked up as much skill in it as you (or Gideon) would like, but you’re further along at it than you were last year.

What did this year ask me to understand about myself?

Seven of Bottles Rx – You need movement. Because of this, you can and will keep going even when it hurts. The key to force movement even when it feels impossible. Otherwise, you sink and the depression slips in.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Gneiss Wishing Stone for Patience in Moments of Discomfort
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: PINK PAIN TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
and @aplacetodock #Yuletide Oracle Challenge
Prompts for December 4th

Tarot Reading with the Christmas Cheer TarotWhat do you need to focus on for self-care for this month’s full moon?

Seven of Presents (Cups) and Ace of Presents (Cups) – Cut yourself a bit of a break when long journeys don’t work out as expected and you have to start again. Yes, it sucks… but starting over isn’t the worst thing that could happen, so don’t make it out as if it is.

What’s the secret message from Gingerbread Man?

Knight of Ornaments (Pentacles) and Judgement – ALSO, cut yourself a break for not moving as quickly as your unreasonable expectations seem to think you should be able to. Your experiences with the major depressive episode that stole away September from you reminded you what stagnancy does. So, in retrospect, slow movement isn’t so bad after all, is it?

Other elements included in this reading:
Japanese Cherry Leaf as a Reminder of Life’s Fleeting Moments
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Bird Figurine for Fostering Hope, Positivity, and Renewal
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: CHRISTMAS CHEER TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

This is a catch up post, and I’m not entirely sure what the self kindness was for this day.

Longevity and Tradition

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Today’s meditation was a ten minute long #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.

•    •    •    ◈    •    🎄    •    ◈    •    •    •

Polish Tarot - The HierophantThe @GlitterbyInk #DecemberDays25 Beyond the Solstice Challenge
The Mystic Prompt for December 3 : Enchanted
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Hierophant card, which is traditionally a representation of traditions, spiritual guidance, long standing institutions, teachers and guides, and themes that deal with conformity and social norms.

I like traditions. I’m a big fan of the stuff that was -so good- in the past that people chose to carry it forward with them into the present.  Family traditions. Holiday traditions. Old methods of doing things that continue on for generations.  Recipes passed down through a family from one generation to the next.

All of these things are amazing to me. I like to be exposed to them. I like to ask questions, and delve in and really understand them. I like to see what makes them carry on from year to year and from generation to generation.

In a world so wrapped up in “the new”, I feel like these traditions hold extra value, for they’ve survived through lifetimes, carrying on through different ways of life and different personalities, different influences and different forces that might have disrupted them or done away with them… but somehow didn’t.

The message in today’s card and prompt combo is a reminder that traditions have value. They’re important. Today’s message encourages us to look before we leap. Before you decide to toss a tradition out the window or otherwise do away with them because you feel they are irrelevant or outdated, take some time to explore and discover why they’ve lasted so long and what that longevity says about them and the people practicing them.  Dip your toe in, and really look around first. It’s possible you might find value there you didn’t initially see.

DECK USED:  POLISH TAROT

@LightningWildflower December Arcana Challenge 
Magician Prompt for December 3rd

Tarot Reading with the Winter Magic Tarot and Good Pals' Christmas Playing CardsWhat is a skill I have that I undervalue?

Ten of Spades, King of Swords, Jack of Diamonds – Your ability to cut wheat from the chaff. This ability allows you to take something that’s not working and shut it down instead of allowing it to continue to get in the way. You’re able to identify a problem at its beginning and cut it out of the picture from the start, creating more room, space, and time for better plans to take hold and progress more easily.

@aplacetodock #Yuletide Oracle Challenge
Prompt for December 3rd

What is my go-to self care gift this season?

Queen of Spades, Three of Swords, Three of Diamonds – You are working on allowing others to bolster you up and keep those negative inner narratives from sneaking in and making a mess of things. You acknowledge your need for that support, and are working at ensuring you get it this season instead of ignoring your own needs.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Acorns for Protection during New Beginnings
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: WINTER MAGIC, TAROT, AND GOOD PALS’ CHRISTMAS PLAYING CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2025 Challenge
Philosophical Question for December 3rd

Tarot Reading with the Polish TarotShould people care more about doing the right thing, or doing things right?

The Sun and King of Pentacles – Happiness and success grow from building a solid foundation to stand upon. Therefore, doing things right ranks above doing the right thing in the answer from these cards.

I personally disagree with this answer, as I feel that doing the right thing is far more important, even if the end result is not as success. Sometimes perfection is not the highest priority, after all.

@LightningWildflower December Arcana Challenge 
Magician Prompt for December 4th

How can I use my inner tools with more intention?

Eight of Swords Rx and Nine of Cups – Satisfaction comes from letting go of your illusions so that you can see things clearly. Remove the rose colored glasses, take off the blinders of willful ignorance, and face things head on.

Other elements included in this reading:
Scotch Pine Cone for Purging Negative Influences
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Hunting Fox Word-burned Disk for Motivation and Strategy
Citrine for Energy Lift (easing the weight of heavy energies)
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: POLISH TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took a pretty long nap today, which I apparently really needed.