The Moon Card

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Moon

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Prompt: “Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided and the card from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why?”

Tarot of the Hidden Realm - The MoonTarot of the Hidden Realm – The imagery of this card is all about a flagging of confidence, a sense of curiosity, and a moment of uncertainty.  Antlers are unwieldy in moments of vulnerability as the figure explores the barren ground on hands and knees.

There is also determination and strength.  She is not lying down and giving up, but continues to move forward, to seek more, and find her way.

The Moon - Tarot for Middle Earth, Anonymous Tarot, Adventure Arcana Tarot

Tarot for Middle Earth – Like the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, the focus in this card’s imagery is not on the moon itself, but rather on the figure that works to make their way through a dark landscape of shadows and darkness. Here in this card there is a sense of empowerment over doubt and uncertainty.  Her posture and the sword she carries indicates that although she walks through shadows and a landscape of illusion, she is prepared for what may come.

Anonymous Tarot – Abstract and vague, what stands out strongest to me in this card is the moon itself.  Although this imagery is very reminiscent of traditional RWS imagery, the moon dominates everything and appears to be bleeding. The amount of red in this card speaks to me of fear, and of leaving a place of calm and security (the blue) to step into that place of fear in order to follow the beacon of the moon above.

Adventure Arcana Tarot – Here again we see a very classic imagery, and yet the contrast between domesticated and wild is missing in the lack of dog and wolf.  Although the crustacean is also missing, we are still able to draw the meaning of it through the shift from stream to the appearance of a path, as if we are pulled out of the dark water of the subconscious to tread upon the moonlit path through uncertainty, forsaking the security that the towers offer to follow the guiding light of the moon above.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, TAROT FOR MIDDLE EARTH, ANONYMOUS TAROT, ADVENTURE ARCANA TAROT

The Pathless Wood

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Today’s meditation was just under twelve minutes long and focused upon boredom.  Honestly, though?  I don’t think I paid enough attention to the message in the meditation to get much out of it.   It was just so nice to sink into the meditation itself that I may have… forgotten to listen to what the person guiding the meditation was actually saying.

The Moon - Circle of Life TarotToday’s draw is The Moon card, which is traditionally interpreted as a representation of illusion, uncertainty, and confusion.

What really stands out to me in the imagery of today’s card is the posture of the woman in the card, her head tilted up.. the world under one arm, land squid under her other hand.  The message that I see in this imagery today is that it’s OK to be uncertain sometimes. Uncertainty is a part of life… Especially with someone like me who does a lot of things on their own and plows ahead with an entrepreneurial spark.

Because I have so many things on the go or that I’m doing on my own, and because a lot of what I’m doing is very different than that of other’s paths, of course my footing is going to be uncertain sometimes and I’m going to feel like I’m walking through shadows instead of in the light.

It’s similar to when hiking, you can take the well beaten path and have sure footing… or  you can take your own way into the woods and deal with the possibility of getting lost or being tripped up by uneven ground.  I prefer to tread the latter.

DECK USED:  CIRCLE OF LIFE TAROT

#TarotForGrowthMarch Challenge Prompt
Question: How is the waning lunar energy manifesting in my life?

Arcana Iris Sacra Tarot

Reading Summary:  I am at a turning point (Ace of Cups) where I need to do some introspection (Four of Swords) on how to move forward and what to leave behind. I can choose to either move towards my goals and dreams (Ten of Disks), or allow myself to be overwhelmed by anxieties and worries (Nine of Swords).

Take Away:  The cards indicate that the choice is mine, and that I need to do a bit of soul searching in order to make sure I take the path that allows me to move forward. As lunar energy wanes, this is the time to sink into that introspection for a bit and examine where I am currently, where I want to go, and how I want to go about getting there.

DECK USED:  ARCANA IRIS SACRA TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMar2020 Challenge Prompt
Question: Draw or write something free-form inspired by the cards?

Sea and Sky Tarot There was once an ethereal goddess that lived in a forest with her loyal companion (The High Priestess).  Her sister, the Goddess of Night, had come to visit but was quite the loner and often went out alone (The Hermit).

One day a poacher came into the woods. He used a disguise to try and conceal himself from the attention of the entities that protected the forest (Wheel of Fortune) and began catching and killing the creatures that the goddess held so dear. Unfortunately for him, the beautiful goddess of the forest had many allies that kept watch over the forests (Strength) and she was alerted immediately to the poacher’s presence.

The goddess was upset by the news of  the intruder’s actions (Judgement).  How dare he come and hunt upon her lands.  The theft of each friend he caught or killed was a wound upon her heart.  She tried to be patient… she tried to be kind (Temperance), and yet the longer she waited, the more she bled.

The Goddess of Night, seeing her sister’s decline and loving her so much, decided that she would deal with this issue herself.  She approached the poacher and began to seduce him with her mystery and wiles.

Each day she came to him and charmed him further, pulling him deeper and deeper into her web (The Hanged One) until he believed her to be all that is right in the world (The Empress).

As he fell deeper and deeper under her spell (Justice), he could no longer tell what was reality and what wasn’t (The Moon).  With each day that passed she lead him deeper into the forest until he became forever lost within the depths of the darkness among the trees (The Devil).

DECK USED:  SEA AND SKY TAROT

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: When do I underestimate my intuitive abilities?

Celtic Dragon Tarot

Reading Summary:  When my anxiety is out of control (Nine of Swords) and I’m trying to block everything out (Death atop The Sun) by hiding in my work (Eight of Pentacles).

Take Away:  Okay, so that is a common habit of mine.  Blocking out unpleasant things like discomfort and anxiety through sinking into my work.  Unfortunately, when I do that?  I block out the good as well.   And I don’t feel that, during those times, my intuition is as effective as it is when I’m in a more balanced place.   The cards indicate that this may not be the case.

DECK USED:  CELTIC DRAGON TAROT

Stepping Out of the Cycle

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused on looking beyond the self.  In this case, it was about how we can at times get lost in our thoughts and allow them to create anxiety, discomfort, or negativity.

When you are lost in a thought and experiencing these things, sometimes it can help to take a step back emotionally and realize that they really are just thoughts. Often?  They are predictive thought that is baseless other than being created by riding on our worries or anxieties.

As our thoughts are often cyclical, once thoughts like this settle in, they begin to repeat and repeat, building on themselves again and again. In doing so, they can build on worries, stress, and anxiety as well, which can become overwhelming.  In stepping back and acknowledging that these thoughts are not reality but just thoughts, it allows us to set those thoughts aside, and eases those feelings of stress and negativity.

The Moon - Ostara Tarot Today’s draw is the Moon card, which is the eighteenth card of the Major Arcana, and deals with topics in in the areas of uncertainty and fear, anxieties and the unknown, the subconscious, and confusion.

The topic goes really well with today’s meditation. Sometimes uncertainty is a good thing because it gives you time to pause, think, and reassess.  Today’s meditation is about taking that pause, assessing what is real and what is just thoughts as a projection of what’s in your heart and head instead of reality, and reassessing the situation to find a better outlook.

I think that everyone falls into this habit of “doom day” type thought cycles now and then. I’m no different.  Today’s draw is a good reminder not to let myself get carried away by the unknown.

DECK USED:  OSTARA TAROT

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question:  What can I do to create better focus on the topic of yesterday’s read without overburdening myself?

Wayhome Tarot

Reading Summary:  To avoid burnout (Ten of Wands) I need to plot a course (Three of Wands) and stick to it (The Chariot) or I’ll have to pay the consequences (Justice).

Take Away:  (Just sayin’… but I really love this deck.)  Essentially if I don’t want to upset the apple cart and have my responsibilities and interests all come toppling into a mess on the floor, I need to make a plan on how I want to move forward.  One that will help me avoid giving myself burnout, which I am very good at doing.  And then, once that plan is made?  Stick to it.

DECK USED:  WAYHOME TAROT

 

The Shadowed Path

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and focused on dealing with other’s anger, criticism and other negativity.  It spoke of using labeling to “disconnect” from the influence of other’s negativity.   This is something that I find I do naturally, probably because of my father and what I went through with him while growing up.

What I’ve found, though, is that as you have woken up my emotions and torn down my walls, I do find myself absorbing more of that crap when it’s directed my way than I used to.  Or rather, I have to consciously make the choice to disconnect rather than doing it automatically.  It’s a drawback of those lowered walls that I’m not entirely thrilled about, but the strengthened connection with you and enhanced intuition and clairvoyance all make it worth it, I think.

Side Note:  The last two day’s missing posts are a very CLEAR lesson for me that I cannot put off doing my morning routine (devotional, meditation, card draw) for later in the day.  It doesn’t work… and it doesn’t get done, no matter my good intentions to the contrary.

The Moon - Ostara Tarot Today’s draw is The Moon card of the Major Arcana, which speaks to me of bravery in moments of uncertainty.   The moon is full of shadows, illusion, and uncertainty.  It’s hard to see what’s ahead, and even harder to see through the shadows to identify what works there.

This can cause paralysis and anxiety, which is a problem. But, what the imagery in this card says to me is that even in these times of uncertainty, its important to keep your chin up and to stay in touch with your values.  Life’s not always easy and the path forward isn’t always clear, but if you stay in touch with that inner compass  and keep your head high, you will pull through those times.

With the holiday rush now starting to slow and life at the cusp of returning to normal, it’s a good reminder, as that transition is a difficult one for me and can make me feel both uncertain and adrift.

DECK USED:  OSTARA TAROT

Bonus Reading – #TarotForGrowthDecember

Question for 17th: Where did I focus the bulk of my energy this year?
Question for 18th: What happened as a result of that?

Universal Fantasy Tarot Reading Summary:  I have been getting the Ace of Pentacles/Queen of Cups combo a LOT lately.   Just making a note of it.

Working on new threads of income in my business (Ace of Pentacles), discovering that new depth of emotion that has been awakening (Queen of Cups), and upping my spiritual practices as well as exploring further development of my intuition, clairsentience, mediumship (The High Priestess).

Resulting in an overburdening of doing too much at once (Ten of Wands) which makes the world feel like it’s tipped on its axis (The Tower), and a need to find a better way of doing things (Six of Swords).

Take Away:  As I seek to find a balance between work and self-care (which includes time for self and for self-focused pursuits), things have come to a “something’s got to give” point.  For so many years I have essentially filled my life with work.  Even my creativity is work, as I’ve turned my creative interests into my business.  Add on top of that running the business as its own task, and my other part time jobs, etc…. it’s a lot.  And then I’m adding my personal stuff on top of that now.

That “something that’s gotta give” has to do with how much I feel I can put on my plate as once.  And, the lion’s share of what is on my plate has to do with the business.  I have a plan to restructure how I work concerning the business, that will hopefully ease that overburdening.

DECK USED:  UNIVERSAL FANTASY TAROT

 

Evaluating Timing

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Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long, and was centered upon using sound as a focus for meditation.  I’m not sure why I was surprised by the effectiveness of this technique, considering how my synesthesia is focused on auditory input, but I was.  What is also surprising, though, is that I really enjoyed it.

Halloween Tarot Today’s draw is a double without a jumper, meaning that both cards dropped out together.  The cards in today’s draw are the Moon and the Sun cards.   This is surprising, as this deck is VERY thoroughly shuffled, and yet they popped out together regardless of that fact.  (The Moon and The Sun are cards are the 18th and 19th card, respectively, in the Major Arcana.)

The message that comes across in these cards and how they landed is that there is always an end to troubled times.  It’s like that old Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin song for the play Annie, yeah?  Corny, I know… but that’s exactly what popped into my head when I saw these two cards land on the table.

In the tarot, the Moon card is traditionally a representation of illusion, fear of the unknown (and the unknown in general), intuition and the subconscious, and a temptation to retreat from the unknown to a place of safety.    The Sun, on the other hand, is a representation of positivity and lightheartedness, that ‘inner child’ spark, warmth, vitality, and success.

Deck Used: Halloween Tarot

Bonus Reading

Another #TarotForGrowthOctober prompt.

Question: How can I improve my relationship with my shadow self?  (Fitting for what we have been discussing, and I might visit this reading more in depth on next Wednesday’s shadow post.)

Trick-or-Tarot DeckReading Summary:   Walk away (Eight of Cups), reevaluate (Adjustment/Justice), and come back stronger (King of Pentacles).   These cards echo the same pattern as the read on the positivity cards above, and it creates a feeling of reinforcement in what I’m seeing here.

Take Away: What I’m reading here is that starting this right before the holiday rush might not be the best idea.  If I wait, and take this time over the rush to evaluate my plan and look at different paths to my goal, then once the holiday rush is over and I am on the other side of it, I will be in a better and stronger place to do the shadow work safely.  

Deck Used: Trick-or-Tarot Deck

Just Wait

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on vulnerability, and how when we share our vulnerabilities it can help us in accepting our situation and working through our emotions.

The guided meditation provided suggestions on how to open yourself more to others, and allow them in.  Although, I found a bit of amusement in the “sharing candidly” with others thing.  For someone like myself that has issues with socializing, it’s already very difficult to tell where the line is between socially acceptable and/or appropriate for certain situations, and what’s not.   That kind of encouragement, to someone like myself, could turn out pretty horribly wrong.

That said, I did understand what the meditation was trying to say.  They were trying to encourage opening up to be more genuine and allow an opening for others to become less “peripheral” in one’s life.   And, I’m thinking that there -is- some sort of balance that most people learn where this is concerned.  For me, it has always been easier to just hold myself apart, I think.

Today’s card is the 18th card in the Major Arcana, which is the Moon card.  Like all Major Arcana cards, this card deals with a spectrum of one’s experience on their path rather than just a single aspect of the human experience.

The Moon card is a representation of the “murky” times in life (among other things), and that is what I feel the representation is to me.   Going through these last few days where I am feeling the effects of having missed my meds, there is a lot of “murky” in my life right now.  A lot of confusion and distortion, self doubts and self consciousness, and just an all around struggle to keep myself on an even keel.

In the guide for today’s deck, there is a description of the white hare that speaks of confusion and how things may not be as they seem.  It speaks of the hare’s contemplation on whether it wants to dive into this world of the unknown, and about choosing one’s reality.

That is the message that the Moon card brings to me today.  It speaks of patience.  Of waiting.  The moon may be up and the world full of shadows at the moment, but the sunrise will come eventually and things will go back to an even keel once again.

Deck Used: Animism Tarot