using your intuition

#IAmAFortuneTeller (non) VR to Mary-Grace Fahrun

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Okay, so the Pagan Perspective is definitely on a holiday break.  So, I decided to do one of my (non)VRs today in place of a response to their regular videos.

One of my favorite content creators, Mary-Grace Fahrun, did a video on YouTube at the end of November about how she uses tarot and about the stigma behind the use of cartomancy for predictive readings. She included a tag for responses, and I very much enjoyed her video and wanted to do a response.

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Like Mary-Grace, I grew up with cartomancy. In my case it was Lenormand cards, then playing cards, and then tarot. In my experience, Lenormand in particular is all about handing you a roadmap of potholes along your path.

I don’t know where the judgement against predictive readings stemmed from, or why it is so prevalent among modern day readers, but it is very prevalent and highly frowned upon by a large majority of card readers out there.

Somewhere in my teens was when I ran into this issue.  I was told that 3rd party readings and predictive readings are ethically wrong, and for a while I fought against using the cards in that way… but honestly? I gave up on that rather quickly.

Interestingly, I am not as strong at reading the past as I am at reading the present and future.

Intuition is intuition, and that information is going to come through whether I want it to or not. So I had a good look at my own moral compass and values and decided that for me? Both 3rd party and predictive aspects are a part of it, or I don’t read cards… because it just comes naturally. And I sure as hell am not hanging up my decks!!

I honestly do not understand why it is considered taboo or why people look down their noses at readers that do fortune telling (predictive readings, telling the future, etc).  I’ve had people say it’s about clients seeing the predictions as written in stone, or taking away choice, etc.  But the fact is?   That is in the presentation, NOT in the predictive aspect.

Doing predictive readings requires the responsibility and sensitivity to make sure those you read for are aware of the fluidity of the future, and how even just having the reading can have the possibility of changing the results, because knowledge is power.  It requires empowering people, so that they can build the future that they want, and be prepared for what is coming.

Any tarot reader, no matter the type of readings they do, has the ability to take away people’s choices and diminish their power.  Not just during predictive readings.  You are tapping into their needs and wants, desires, fears, and the depths of their psyche.  And that requires sensitivity and respect and a sense of responsibility.

So yes… I am a fortuneteller.  I am not ashamed of that.  It’s how my intuition works and fighting against my intuition or ignoring my intuition’s voice is just… not the path for me.

 

Surprise Divination Activity

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I would like you to follow along and do this one in comments.

Intuition Exercise:   Let’s see how the new year will go. Set a music playlist to shuffle then select the 4th song. Listen to it, and use your intuition to pick up on any messages or imagery that sticks out. What song did you get and how do you think your new year will be based on what you picked up from the song?

https://youtu.be/K1FQeUXn_sc

Interpretation:  Nostalgic and conflicted. I have a lot of restructuring of methods and practices to do over the New Year. Changing gears is hard and it’s difficult not to fall back on old habits. The lessons I’ve learned over the past year have made it clear I need to change up how I’m doing things, though. It’s just not going to be easy.

This style of divination is called Shufflemancy.

Exercise Source: Discord (Server name withheld due to server rules.)

#7philosophicalreadings (non) VR to Benebell Wen

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Recently, Benebell Wen did a video on YouTube that involved a challenge of doing 7 card readings for 7 classical philosophical questions.  I really liked this idea, and so I decided to give it a go.   Most of these questions I already have definitive opinions concerning, but the purpose of this exercise is to set the intention that the cards will know how you would respond deep down on a soul deep level, and thus communicate this in the readings.

I decided to do single card pulls for each question, but as you will see, I ended up with a few jumpers along the way.

The Seven Philosophical Questions:

1. The Trolley Dilemma: (I have linked the title to an outline of what this is if you are not familiar.)  Do you divert the course of nature and kill one to save five, or let nature take its course and let the five die.

IMG_9364The bell indicates I would try to warn all of them involved.  Although this is not something I could do verbally, I would definitely give my all to get the warning out there.  In the end, though, a difficult choice would have to be made.

This is where the spikes on the inside of the bell come in.  Either way, one or many will die.  I would choose the one, and my insides would be torn apart by this choice, probably forever after, just as those spikes are sure to scratch and score the inside of the bell.

I am that son-of-a-bitch that would kill five for someone I care about, though.  Just sayin’.

2. What difficult truth(s) about the human condition are you ignoring?

IMG_9365Sometimes I forget just how vulnerable people can feel.  Like so many, I go through life distracted by my own thoughts and issues and forget that others are dragging their own anchors behind them.  Some people’s anchors are heavier than others, but everyone thinks their own anchor is the heaviest.

In other words?  Everyone has burdens, and those burdens are entirely subjective.  That subjectivity makes it difficult to acknowledge other’s burdens, and impossible to see them in the same light as the one carrying them does.

3. What does it mean to live a good life?

IMG_9366Defeating your demons and protecting the security of your home, friends, and family (or your village of towers) from those demons hidden in the dark.

This boils down to valuing your personal “village”, and working on your shadows and demons so that they do not  crawl out of the dark and destroy everything you hold dear.  We all have deep dark shadows where monsters lie in wait, emotional demons and the creeping shadows of our darker selves linger there.

Unchecked and unacknowledged, these dark entities within ourselves surface and wreak havoc.  To protect what you hold dear, it is important to deal with these demons rather than trying to bury them into a hole they will then try to climb back out of again and again.

4. Where does your self-worth come from?

IMG_9367This card came with a twofold answer for me.   From within… and from the earth.  This is very fitting.

a) From within… I have never really been able to explain where my conviction of self comes from.  My father tried throughout my entire childhood to break me down and build me up into something different.  And yet it never worked.  No matter how hard he tried, I knew who I was and what I wanted, I knew what felt right and where my values resided.  From within, while not really speaking of “why”, does speak of where quite eloquently.

b) From the earth… I have always had a very strong reaction to the earth.  An instant communion with soil and sand, with trees and the green.  It is the balm of my soul in the way water is the balm of my emotions.  Being in nature among the trees and the soil, especially here in the rainforests where things are dark and moist and filled with green, has always been extremely restorative to me.  It lifts me up and centers me into myself. My self worth greatly ties into this, as it is a part of how I identify with my inner self (and the world at large, for that matter) on a very base level.

5. What had existed before our universe was created?

IMG_9368Okay, so this one totally made me laugh, and I think that was the entire point.

No, I don’t think that the card is saying that before the universe was created, angels resided on high.  But, I believe that before our universe was created there was still something greater at work.  An energy of creation, evolution, and balance that in the end gave birth to what we have today, much in the same way that melody is created by the creation, evolution, and balance of notes blending on the air.

6. Are you ethically obligated to improve yourself?

IMG_9369

OOph… man.  The short answer?  Yes.  Look at those cards tho.  Wow.   They are so self explanatory, at least to me.

What I see here is the unpacking of one’s inner self (as life tends to do whether we want it to or not) develops into the discovery of one’s inner demons, and those demons being set loose out into the world.  And, when they are set loose, the world feels dark, and all those carefully erected pieces of your life that you value so much start to topple.

So yes. We are.  Because without self improvement, you are not just at risk of screwing over your own life, but the lives of everyone and everything around you (alllll those dominoes).

7. What is Divinity?

IMG_9370

Divinity is the unlikely vessel that lifts you up and carries you when you are feeling vulnerable and small.  It is the light in the darkness that we must choose to accept or turn away from, and yet even when you turn away from it, it still glows to light the way.  It is the duality of right and wrong, good and bad, man and beast, feminine and masculine, yin and yang… always together, always in motion, always side by side.

Deck Used:  Dixit Expansion Pack #2 Quest

 

An Ode to Intuition

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on intuition and the importance of listening to your inner voice, and how when you foster mindfulness through both meditation as well as your life in general, it assists in giving that inner voice a bit of a boost.

This meditation theme goes very well with today’s daily draw.

Today’s draw is the second card in the Major Arcana, the High Priestess.  This card is a representation of intuition, the subconscious, spirituality, and the sacred feminine.  It is a card in the Major Arcana, which deals with one’s spiritual journey and life paths, rather than any one aspect of the human experience.  In this case, it deals with intuition and that inner voice that whispers from the subconscious.

Have you ever noticed that your gut reaction is always right?  I’m not talking about the stuff you’re taught by others, or lessons you’ve learned along the way, or habits you happen to pick up… I’m talking about that gut reaction right at the beginning, before thought even factors in.  That moment… that fraction of a second when your mind and reasoning is not engaged and it’s all about instinct and intuition.

It’s always right.  We might end up disagreeing with it, or second-guessing. But, that combination of instinct and intuition is always right if you listen to it instead of overthinking it or reverting back to preconceive notion‘s and learned ideals.

This is the instance of that internal debate of “should I or shouldn’t I” when your first gut reaction is that you shouldn’t… but, you do it anyway because you want to. Then, later, you wonder why it turned out badly?   Well, you knew in your gut at the start it was a bad idea and you chose to ignore your inner voice.

This is the situation where instinct and intuition tell you to stay away from someone… but you reason to yourself that you are being unfair, or that that feeling is baseless. And then, later on down the road, you learn a painful lesson by getting hurt by them.  Yet if you’d listen to that first instinct and intuition, you’d have either known what was coming and been prepared, or avoided the pain all together.

These initial reactions from your inner voice are a combination of intuition and instinct, and they are often discounted and disregarded by most people. But, the fact is that they can be a useful tool, and the more that you listen to them the more they will flourish and grow.

The High Priestess card speaks of this.  Of listening to those inner voices and allowing them to grow.  To strengthen.  To assist you and guide you along your life’s path.  The more you listen and respect the messages that your instincts and intuition offer up, the more you’ll hear.  As a result, over time, those messages will become clearer, and easier to recognize and understand.

 

 

Use Your Intuition

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on pausing to allow for space within yourself.

This is in reference to when you have a moment where your emotions spark either because you were triggered or for some other reason. Our first instinct is to react and respond immediately. But sometimes, it is better to take a pause and step away, give yourself time and space, and then come back.

I use this practice often when dealing with customers in my business. Sometimes people can be aggravating, frustrating, or just downright rude. By pausing and taking a step away before I respond to these types of people, it allows me to respond in a kind and courteous manner instead of simply reacting to what they are putting out there.

Today’s draw is the Two of Swords, which is a representation of division, duality, and openings in the area of the mind, thought, reason, logic, and communication.

The Two of Swords is all about choices and intuition. It represents not just that there are choices that will be present to decide upon, but that you need to trust more than just reason and logic in making them.

This is why the woman is blindfolded, as she is unable to clearly see the choices before her and make an informed decision. Instead she must trust her intuition to choose wisely.

The thing about intuition is that the more you use it, the more it will speak up. Whereas, the more that you ignore it or discount its input, the quieter it will become.

The appearance of this card today is a reminder to stay in touch with my intuition, and to not always depend so strongly upon logic and reason alone. Sometimes I feel I’m at the cusp of falling into that trap, and this is a good reminder that my decision making process is more than just an activity of the mind.