#themaytarot

Patience in Leadership

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

IMG_E2613Today’s draw is the Emperor card, which is traditionally a representation of “big dick energy” (look at that sword!). Right so that’s a very modern way of saying what this card represents, which is to say the Emperor is about authority, leadership, structure, and responsibility with a focus on the “greater good”.

In this imagery, the Emperor is not looking particularly thrilled with his lot in life at the moment. Those steely eyes look ready to do a full on hard-jawed eye roll, in fact.  And yet, there is a great deal of stillness here in the figure, among all the movement going on with his robes and hair.

The message we see in today’s card is about patience.  Sometimes being a good leader means that even though you know what needs to be done, sometimes you have to wait for others to catch up.  Leaders can’t lead without people behind them to usher forward to greater things.  Sometimes that “ushering forward” feels a whole lot more like herding… and that’s okay.  Practice a little patience.  Take a deep breath.  What’s obvious to you might take others a bit of time to understand… but they’ll get there.

DECK USED:  NEOPETS TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsMay2023 Challenge Prompt
Question: Do the Beltane Spread
Info: Beltane has arrived! Also known as May Day, today marks a time to celebrate spring’s abundance and the fertility of the earth as the weather warms and growth becomes the theme of the season.Today’s spread takes a look at some of the elements associated with Beltane, and the advice they have to offer us.

Beltane Oracle Reading with the Inner Child Oracle

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

Support – Seek the support of those that you know will be there for you through thick and thin, and that you can trust to help you in times when you are feeling vulnerable.

Bees: Community/Hard Work – Where could I put in more effort to help my community?

Silent Night – You already do enough and have enough on your plate. You can help your community most by taking care of yourself better and ensuring you get the rest and recovery you need.

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

Bet On You – Take time to raise self-awareness of just how capable you are and all of the things that you have managed to do in your life so far. By celebrating these things, you also raise your awareness of just how empowered you can be just by being yourself and using the tools that are a part of who you already are.

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

Self-Care – Listen when others tell you that you are in need of self-care, and take their suggestions to heart instead of shrugging them off.

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

Treat Yourself – Small joys in life should not be ignored or taken for granted. If you want to feel a sense of more abundance in your life, start paying more attention to the small joys that you normally ignore.

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

Celebrate – Celebrate the wins, no matter how small they are. All progress is still progress, even if it’s the smallest of steps. Instead of constantly telling yourself that what you’ve accomplished is not enough and you need to do more, celebrate what you’ve done and how far you’ve managed to come.

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

Fly Free – Allow others to see the real you… even your fun loving and silly sides, as well as the vulnerability that you try so hard to hide. It is when you share all of yourself that you shine your brightest and are most approachable to others.

DECK USED: INNER CHILD ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

Even though I was a bit overwhelmed by a sudden burst of orders for Mothers Day, I made sure to take a few small breaks here and there to have a breather throughout the day.

Integrity and Principles

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Today’s meditation was skipped because today’s an order’s day.

Good Karma Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Seven of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of standing up for your principles, beliefs, values, and those things that are important to you.  It is about not caving under pressure or opposition, but standing your ground and standing strong.

You see this theme portrayed in the imagery of the card in the rays of power that radiate around the girl as she stands strong with her staff against a row of others representing her opposition.

Combined with the Flower Fortune cards for today, which says “If you feel you are in the right, stand firmly by your convictions,” what we see in today’s cards is a need to check in with our values, our principles, and our personal truth… especially when we are confronted with opposition.

Just because something is right for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you.  Just because something is right for you doesn’t mean it’s right for them either.  Stand by what is right for you, because to yield in these moments is to devalue yourself, your truth, and it can damage your inner integrity.

DECK USED:  GOOD KARMA TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

The Sacred Grounds Tarot Club Prompt
Question: How can I foster more clarity in my life at this time?

Rainbow Unicorn TarotReading Summary: Let go of the assumption that you are anywhere near reaching your peak (Queen of Wands). You still have more things to conquer (Five of Swords), and a good deal more to still learn and explore (Page of Wands).

Take Away:  I’m good at a lot of things, mostly because I’m enthusiastic about the stuff that catches my interest and it will continue to hold my interest as a grow and flourish in the learning process.  Sometimes, this means that I reach a plateau or a peak, and feel like there’s nothing more to learn.  This can make me feel stuck and uninspired, eating away at my enthusiasm.

The cards here are telling me that the clarity I need to grasp is in the fact that in my current pursuits I am far from that plateau or peak.  I might be feeling a bit uninspired at the moment, but there’s still plenty to dive in when I’m feeling inspiration return.

DECK USED:  RAINBOW UNICORN TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: Grab a spread of your choice that you’ve been curious about… and give it a go!

Good Karma Tarot - The Tea Conference Tarot Spread

1. What message do you have for me today?

Queen of Cups – We’re here for you. All you have to do is reach out, and we’re here to support you. You’re not alone.

2. How is our relationship?

Seven of Wands – Fighting the good fight… But you’re being a little defensive right now. Don’t forget that we’re on the same team.

3. How can I improve this relationship?

Ace of Cups – Be open to your emotions and communicating them. We can come to you through this connection if you’ll allow it to open up.

4. What is the main important thing to work on today?

Nine of Swords – Don’t let all that you’ve done and all that you still have to do shut you down and result in shutting us out.

5. What do I need to learn from this reading?

King of Wands – Our connection is going to take enthusiasm, but also determination. You steer the boat, so make sure that it’s going in the right direction.

6. How can I benefit from this reading?

Knight of Swords – More focus and less impulsivity. Don’t fight back against what isn’t fighting you.

7. Farewell Tea sip: The Lesson learned from this Reading.

Ace of Coins – A new understanding of where you’re at and where you’re going, and a new grounding to your purpose.

Take away: We feel left out, and left behind, during times when you are dealing with feeling overwhelmed or having a busy day.

DECK USED:  GOOD KARMA TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I made the girls check all the windows after I got the tree and all the plants inside instead of doing it myself.

It Won’t Last Forever

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Today’s meditation was skipped because I spent the time digging through steamer trunks full of decks pulling out the decks that go into rotation for next month.  Since tomorrow I have to do orders and pull everything in from the balcony, I wanted to get this done today so I’m prepared for the transition.

Magic Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Five of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of misfortune, domestic or financial hardship, scarcity, and ill health.

Sometimes when we’re feeling down or we are down on our luck, we begin to look at everything with a jaded and pessimistic view.  It feels like our luck will never change, that the troubles we are going through will last forever, and that there’s no way out. This is what I see in the imagery in today’s card, as the look on the girl’s face in the illustration very much has that feeling of resentment that comes with sinking into losing hope.

The Flower Fortunes card for today then steps in to remind us that “Your golden opportunity is coming shortly,” which is a reminder that even though it might feel like the misfortune of the moment is something inescapable that will never change… that is not reality.  The reality is that our lives are in constant change, and that constant flux means that in the bad times we need to remember that good times are just around the corner… and in the good times we need to savor and enjoy them to the fullest.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

Raven Willow Tarot’s Emotional Exploration Prompt
Questions for May 29th and 30th

Heroine TarotWhat have I learned about enhancing emotions?
Knight of Swords Rx

Knight of Swords Rx – What I’ve learned is that in order to enhance the emotions you want to grow and flourish in your life, it takes forethought. It isn’t about wishing for something or leaping in headlong and reckless, but rather, it’s about finding a healthy path that will get you there.

What have I learned about emotions overall this month?
Justice, Five of Swords Rx, Four of Wands

I’ve learned that unlike clinical depression, there is always a cause and affect when it comes to (non mental illness related) emotions. And that, also unlike clinical depression, you don’t have to just surrender to what comes and accept that you have to ride it out, but can use positivity and optimism combined with security and comfort to counteract negative emotions.  In other words, you don’t have to just lie down and take it.

DECK USED:  THE HEROINE TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Topic: Do Spread #2
Question: How can I combat or release this feeling of inner imbalance I’ve been experiencing lately?

Magic TarotReading Summary: Take control of your urges to help others and foster their ambitions, inspiration, and emotions.

Reading Notes:  The Queens in this spread go from enthusiastic to sedate in the imagery, each one calmer and more at rest than the last.  The king then trumps them all by overlapping on the last of the Queen cards.   This transition from excited to calm overlapped by the King is an indication of a decrease in enthusiasm and increase in solid strength and ownership.

Take Away: You can only do so much. Instead of focusing so much of your energy on others, be sure to be practical about saving some for yourself. This may mean strategically or even ruthlessly cutting out certain things to make room.

DECK USED:  MAGIC TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I hung up on my mother because she was being a horrible person on the phone.

Where Are You Focused?

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Today’s meditation was skipped because I couldn’t get any peace and quiet to do my meditation in.  I did some breathing exercises, though.

Spirit Speak Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Justice card, which is traditionally a representation of finding balance, give and take, and the cause and effect that balances the scales of day to day life. This card can also be a representation of the law and the legal system, and I have personally had it show up to warn me about speed traps on my commute for the day.

What the Justice card is an indication of here in today’s card, though, is about cause and effect.  Combined with the Flower Fortunes card for today, what the cards say is that when your actions are aligned with where you want to go in life, that that’s where you go.

Just like driving a car.  You look where you want to go.  If you focus on the ditch, that’s where you end up.  If you focus on the tree… that’s where you end up.  But if you focus on the road and where you’re going, then you stay on the road and get where you’re going.  So make sure you’re focusing on where you want to go, and not the potential hurdles, struggles, or obstacles that may show up along the way.

DECK USED:  SPIRIT SPEAK TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

The Sacred Grounds Tarot Club Prompt
Question: One thing to keep, one thing to let go.

Forest Creatures Tarot v2Leave Behind – Eight of Wands – My constant need to push, and rush, and move quicker, and do more. Especially when it comes to my business.  It’s an old and deeply ingrained habit, and although I know it’s not as easy as just emptying your pockets on the dresser and leaving that stuff behind… it is something that I need to make sure that I’m working on and putting my focus into.

Take With Me – Queen of Cups – My desire to expand my emotional intelligence and grow into someone more understanding of myself and others.

DECK USED:  FOREST CREATURES TAROT v2

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned this month?

Spirit Speak TarotReading Summary: To be careful that generosity (Six of Pentacles) is not something you should be walking away from (Six of Swords). Don’t be too hard on yourself; self-forgiveness is important. (Five of Swords atop of The Star)

Take Away: We’re all still learning and we all make mistakes. Not everyone who is generous is out to trick you or screw you over in some way, and you don’t want to live your life feeling like you’re constantly looking over your shoulder for these people.

At the same time, the biggest lesson that I learned this month is that sometimes generosity is a ploy used to further another’s ends and harm me in the process.  It’s important to stay alert and aware for warning signs of this happening.

DECK USED:  SPIRIT SPEAK TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I sprayed bug spray outside on the balcony on… well, everything.  I have to bring everything off my balcony and inside on Monday to stay inside until Thursday so that the outside of my side of the building can be power-washed.  I’m fucking terrified of spiders, so… Yeah.  I sprayed everything on the balcony today with the intent of getting rid of any bugs or spiders that may be making themselves at home on the stuff I’m going to have to bring in.

Dive In!

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IMG_1901Today’s meditation was just over ten minutes long and was one of the guided meditations from the Calm app, which I chose not to do the timed piriformis stretches with because I was wearing a pair of jeans that was a bit restrictive in the hips. I decided to do them later in the day instead of half stripping just to get my meditation done.

The topic of today’s meditation was about change and how trying to avoid change doesn’t truly allow us to avoid it at all, instead it just drags it out and makes it more difficult than necessary.  Instead, if you plunge into the change and allow it to happen, go with the flow and don’t fight it, then things move along much more quickly, and much more easily.

Shapeshifter Tarot and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Page of Wands (Seeker of Fire in this deck… Yes, I know it says Swords on the card, but the suits of Wands and Swords in this deck are all sorts of jumbled up so trust me, with the imagery?  It’s the Page of Wands), which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s passions and enthusiasm, joys and interests.

In the imagery, as mentioned above, you see boundless enthusiasm. The centaur given the perception of wings in their enjoyment of these things they are inspired to pursue. In the Page you find renewed enthusiasm to expand and grow, a re-connection or a new avenue opening up to begin exploring.

In the Flower Fortune card for today, the saying “If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain”, which perfectly aligns with the theme of the Page of Wands and its boundless enthusiasm for something new.

The encouragement here in today’s cards is that when you find yourself no longer enjoying what you’re doing, don’t just keep plugging a long at it.  Change things up and try something new.

DECK USED:  SHAPESHIFTER TAROT AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

#ConnectWithYourDeckChallenge by E Roebuck-Jones
Question: When do I struggle to trust others?

Conference of the Birds TarotReading Summary: When their expressed intentions (Ten of Pentacles) don’t line up with their actions (Five of Wands Rx), it tells me to watch out and pay attention (The Hierophant).

Take Away: I don’t think that this is so much about struggling to trust someone as about how I know when not to trust someone.  I see a lot of people that talk about what they want out of life and how this or that needs to be just right, and yet when I watch them, they don’t act in a way that progresses them towards these goals.

It’s like wanting to be a lawyer and telling everyone that’s your goal, but not even bothering to apply to law school.   If you’re not willing to go through the process to get what you want out of life, how can you expect to get it.  It’s not going to just land in your lap.

Anyway, when I see people with this attitude about life, it makes it extremely difficult for me to trust pretty much anything that comes out of their mouths.  Their actions (or rather, their inaction) speaks far louder than any words they could speak.

DECK USED:  CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS TAROT
Daily Self Kindness

Today was the post office day and a long ass drive to the border.  I was so tired when I got home that I ended up taking a much needed nap.  Then I played with Gideon and did my post office haul show and tell with him.

Move Your Ass… and Theirs Too

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Today’s meditation was skipped in respect for orders day and needed to get a jump on all that needed to be done so that I could get orders shipped out tomorrow.

Isidore Tarot Sea and Sand Spring Edition and Flower Fortune CardsToday’s draw is the Chariot card, which is traditionally a representation of control, determination, willpower and the application of these things to a chosen direction and success.  This card is about action.

Here in this card we see that the Chariot is fully controlled by the penguin king while fantastical creatures pull him forward to his destination.  This is a team effort, but there is a clear leader here in this image that all these other fierce creatures take orders from.

Combined with the Flower Fortunes card for today, which states to “harness your competitive instincts”, what I see here is about getting things done.   Sometimes it’s not enough to put our mind to the task or delegate tasks.  Sometimes you need to actually make it a game and stir up people’s competitive instincts. Inspire yourself and others by using those feelings to spur things forward at a faster speed.

The message here is to “get your shit done, and use your competitive instincts to make it happen”. For me, today is an order day, and the cards say that if I put myself to the task of getting things done and dare the girls to compete with me in the process, that I can get my work done quickly and enjoy a bit of down time at the end of the day without all of the stress and the guilt that sneaks in when I’m moving at a slower pace.

DECK USED:  ISIDORE TAROT SEA AND SAND SPRING EDITION AND FLOWER FORTUNE CARDS

Raven Willow Tarot’s Emotional Exploration Prompt
Question for May 27th and 28th

Undersea TarotWhat role does serenity play in my life?

Serenity helps in choosing healthier ways of viewing yourself (Judgement) and the choices you make (Seven of Shells) in those moments when you backslide into old bad habits (Ten of Tridents).

Without serenity, my inner critic is too harsh. That moment of peace and calm I reach inside to find helps me be kinder to myself when I make mistakes, and helps me put myself back on track instead of getting stuck in a cycle of negative inner dialogue. 

How can I enhance serenity in my life?

Trust those that you spend your down time with (Three of Shells) to stand by you and help you defeat (Five of Swords) the bad habits and addictive temptations that become unhealthy (The Devil).

Knowing that others are there to help me and assist in catching me when I fall out of line and might not see it right away myself provides a sense of security and soothes worry.  This in turn helps foster a greater sense of serenity in my life, and these people become a touchstone for me to return to when I feel I’m overwhelmed or veering off track.

DECK USED:  UNDERSEA TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMay2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: How can you better utilize your free time?

Isidore Tarot Sea and Sand Spring EditionReading Summary: Focus on the gradual changes you’ve been working on (Death) and building the new system that will work better for you (The Tower) then was there before (Three of Swords).

Take Away: In the past, I pushed myself to exhaustion.  I worked a minimum of eighteen hours a day and I never took days off for any reason.  Even when I traveled to visit family, I brought a large amount of work with me and worked through this time away.  When I hit burnout, I would take “a couple of days” to rest where I would then sneak work into those days to do anyway. I closed myself off from my guides, who then had to conceal themselves as my intuition just to get through to me, and buried my emotions, ignoring them and the shadow and internal wounds that I was abusing.

I’ve been working for nearly two years now on not just my emotional growth (which I write about quite often), but also on building a stronger connection between myself and my guides, and creating a better work/life balance that will allow for more self-care and less burn out.  These cards are a reminder that I need to continue focusing on this healthier path during free time, instead of allowing myself to backslide into old habits that no longer serve me and are, in fact, extremely unhealthy.

DECK USED:  ISIDORE TAROT SEA AND SAND SPRING EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I’ve worked hard to make sure that I got my orders done at a decent time tonight so that I could get some sleep before having to do my drive tomorrow.