using tarot for guidance

Difficult Conversations and White Elephants

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Merry Christmas LenormandToday’s draw is the House and Mountain cards from the Merry Christmas Lenormand.

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to talk out a difficult situation with someone I consider to be a part of my “online family”. It’s not been an easy discussion, and sometimes it feels like it’s not going all that well. Or… going well at all.

These cards are a reminder that difficult does not mean impossible, and that it’s time to deal with the elephants in the room that we’ve all been trying to push into the corner and ignore for a long time… no matter how difficult it becomes, or how much it sucks.

These cards also pose a question. What discussions with family and friends are you avoiding? What ugly or uncomfortable business with those close to you needs dealt with to clear the air?

DECK USED:  THE MERRY CHRISTMAS LENORMAND

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2022 Challenge Prompt
Spread: Tarotholics Spread 3 from December 18th

Pixie's Whisper Tarot Christmas Edition

Thistle – Mental Health / Wards: How can I ward off the blues that try to encroach as the holidays draw to a close?

Six of Swords – Focus on moving in the direction towards something better. Lean into improvements.

Garnet – Purification / Balance: How can I purify myself to help find a better balance for the new year ahead?

Eight of Swords – Open your eyes to the shit that you are trying to deny. Acceptance and adaptation will be far less dangerous.

Yew – Rebirth / Protection: What practices need resurrected in my life to protect my personal well-being?

Knight of Pentacles atop Seven of Wands – Stand up for your need to slow down, even if that’s standing up against your own harsh judgement and old habits.

Diamond – Fearlessness / Imagination: How can my imagination foster more fearlessness in my life?

The Sun – Imagine the possible positive outcomes and lean into optimism, instead of always imagining and expecting the worst.

Holly – Fertility / Longevity: How can I create longevity in the fertile soil of my new endeavors?

Temperance – Practice patience and moderation. Stretch out the experiences instead of plowing in headlong and full-bore.

Emerald – Hearth & Home / Loyalty: How can a closer connection to hearth & home affect my sense of loyalty?

The Hierophant – A closer connection to hearth and home teaches you what truly matters, and connects you in traditional ways to others in your life.

Peppermint – Mental Stimulation: What methods can I use to best stimulate my mind when I need a boost?

Six of Pentacles Rx – Be selfish. Take time for yourself and do things for yourself instead of always putting everything and everyone first.

DECK USED: PIXIE’S WHISPER TAROT CHRISTMAS EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I let Jer drive and took a nap in the car.

❤️ Self Care Saturday (On a Sunday)

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These Saturday readings are (not usually) bearing in on any one thing or event in my life, as the question used is asking for a more general outlook. This is a self care exercise, and is not meant as a predictive reading… although that, too, happens on occasion.

The question is… What do I need to focus for self-care through the week ahead?

Self Care Saturday Tarot Reading with the Winter Magic Tarot and Yuletide Tales Lenormand

Earth – Knight of Pentacles – It’s time to slow down. You can still keep you eye on your goals, but the slower pace is needed. It might feel like stagnancy, but if you’re still moving toward your goals? It’s not.

Air – Knight of Cups – You need to make sure you keep in mind what it is you want in your life. Don’t lose sight of what’s truly important to you and will make you happy. Orient yourself towards those things.

Water – Eight of Swords Rx – Now that the holiday rush is over, it’s time to remove the bindings on your emotions so that they can flow freely once again. Keep this in mind moving forward through the week and remain conscious of this goal as you move out of emotional stagnation.

Fire – Ace of Wands – Find other passions to pour your excess energy and anxiety into. That excess will taper off over time, but it needs redirecting into new and different interests in the meantime.

Waning – Birds and Anchor – Don’t depend on family and friends for the stability you crave. You have to create that for yourself.

Waxing – Rider and Garden – That doesn’t mean avoid them, though. Enjoy their company and companionship as you visit with them over the next week.

Take Away – It’s time to ease up on that tight grip of control you have had over your emotions and intuition throughout the past seven weeks.  Allow your softer side to stretch from the shell you’ve built around it and begin to find the fresh air and freedom it needs to return happy and healthy once more.

DECKS USED: WINTER MAGIC TAROT AND YULETIDE TALES LENORMAND

Think First… Then Act

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Fearsome Weirdos Ghouls of Yule Cards - Harmey the ElfToday’s draw is the “Harmey the Elf” card from the Fearsome Weirdos Ghouls of Yule deck.

Harmey the Elf says… make sure the solution isn’t worse than the problem! For example, trying to use clumping litter as traction would cause more problems than it fixes. Breaking the ice above the gutter without a ladder to make sure you don’t damage anything would cause more problems than it fixes. Trying to force the screen door back onto its tract without a butter knife and a little patience would cause more problems than it will fix.

Pay attention to the things you do today and make sure that the ingenuity and solutions you reach for are solid and grounded. The potential for causing more problems than you fix is high if you don’t take care to do things right the first time around or think prior to acting.

DECK USED:  FEARSOME WEIRDOS GHOULS OF YULE CARDS

#DiscordTarotholicsDec2022 Challenge Prompt
Spread: Tarotholics Spread 1 from December 4th

Winter Waite Tarot 2019 Revised Edition

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

Two of Swords – Think before you act. Think before you speak. Remember that it’s okay to pause and contemplate before you say something that might make things worse or choose a direction you’re not prepared or interested in going in.

Robin – Compassion / Patience: Where can I express more compassion and patience with others?

Four of Cups – Take a moment to consider why people are being difficult instead of just assuming it’s manipulation. People balk for many reasons, and it’s not always to get their own way, inconvenience you, or make things more difficult for others.

Deer – Gentleness / Intuition: How can I use my intuition to encourage more gentleness and caring this holiday?

The Moon atop The Chariot – Allow your intuition to chariot you through moments of uncertainty. It’s okay to give your intuition reign and let it steer. The holiday rush caused you to pull back, but that’s no longer needed.

Squirrel – Preparation / Resourcefulness: How can prep and resourcefulness help me through the holidays?

The Star – Being prepared will help you in seeing the possibilities, making your outlook more positive and allowing you to be more hopeful. This positivity and optimism is key to enjoying what’s left of the holidays.

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

Six of Pentacles – Giving and receiving is a huge theme of the holidays. You enjoy people receiving the thoughtful gifts you have picked out for them, and in receiving those you’ve picked out for you. You enjoy witnessing the generosity that is so readily apparent during the holidays.

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

Five of Pentacles – Don’t let your scarcity issues get the best of you. Things are not as bad as they seem, and there is help of you truly need it.

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

Eight of Pentacles – Integrate the lessons that you have learned into your life and use it to become better at those things you struggled with throughout the past year.

DECK USED: WINTER WAITE TAROT 2019 REVISED EDITION

Daily Self Kindness

I waited to take off for Ms B’s until the roads had a bit of time to thaw, leaving in the afternoon instead of first thing in the morning.

Longest Night Cartomancy Reading

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Longest Night Cartomancy Reading with the Frosty the Snowman Playing CardsThe prompt for this reading came from one of my Discord servers and is as follows: “As today is the Winter Solstice/Yule, let’s talk to our divination tool of choice about how we should spend this longest night, or what we can best do to get the rest as if every night was the longest night of the year.”

What is preventing me from getting the best rest that I could during the longest nights of the year?

Three of Diamonds and Nine of Diamonds – You’re driving motivation to finish the project that you have started, and do the best that you can with them to make them a success right up to the end. This motivation is currently in overdrive and is preventing you from getting the best rest possible at this time.

What can I do to resolve those issues and rest better as a result?

Three of Clubs atop Two of Hearts – There is only a few days left in the holiday rush (cards were pulled on December 22nd). Look forward to when you can spend your time with others instead of worrying about what’s left to do in the next couple of days. Focus on further plans beyond the holiday rush instead of allowing your focus to linger on what is coming to an end.

How can I best carry this solution forward with me into the future?

Two of Diamonds and Five of Diamonds – Make sure whenever there is a choice to be made on your path forward that you always choose to look beyond your scarcity issues, instead of sinking into them.

DECK USED: FROSTY THE SNOWMAN PLAYING CARDS

A New Day Approaches

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

Gnome TarotToday’s draw is the World card, which is traditionally a representation of a long journey coming to its end, accomplishment, and completion.

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.  Yeah, it’s sort of cliche, and yet with this specific card landing on the last day of my holiday rush responsibilities? That is exactly what this card is saying.

Tomorrow is a new adventure. A new day.  A new journey.  The holiday rush was long and exhausting and tough as hell… but it’s done.  You survived and succeeded yet again!  And tomorrow you will wake up to a day with NO business responsibilities other than correspondence, and be able to think about other things beside filling orders.

DECK USED:  GNOME TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I wrapped up the last of the holiday orders a bit early so I could just relax a bit before bed.

🌑 New Moon in Capricorn – December 2022

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Today is the new moon, and like all new moons and full moons, I did a spread aligned to the moon’s current themes as a part of my recognition of the moon’s cycle and influences upon us. Today’s spread is about the medicine within, and brought to you by Ethony‘s Tarot by the Moon series.

New Moon in Capricorn Tarot Reading with the Christmas Storybook Tarot

What have I been avoiding that I need to face?

Wheel of Fortune Rx – Shit happens, and you’re not as prepared as could (or perhaps should) be. You need to sit down and make a plan on how to prepare for those things you know are coming down the line… and for those things that might just spring up and slap you in the face by surprise as well.

What secrets need to come into the light?

Four of Candy Canes – Your home is a lot less put together than you want to admit, and it messes with your sense of comfort and  homecoming. You really need to get yourself another housekeeper to help out in keeping things up to the standard that makes you comfortable and happy.

What conversation needs to be had?

Two of Icicles atop Four of Cookies – Your “sense of security” needs to know that you still choose him. Talk with him and assure him that he is what you need.

Where do I need to take decisive action that I’ve been putting off?

King of Cookies – You can only self-destruct so long before you need to rebuild your empire. It’s time to let responsibility toward your work and finances to take the forefront.

What shadow aspect requires integration?

Queen of Mugs – Instead of sinking into disappointment with yourself, give yourself and your emotions the nurturing comfort that they need. No need to be harsh and judgmental.

New Moon advice from the Minoan Goddess Amalthea.

Ace of Cups atop Seven of Mugs Rx – The road forward doesn’t have as many distractions as you think. Orient yourself towards what your emotions and intuition say is right at this time.

DECK USED: STORYBOOK CHRISTMAS TAROT