Front Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

What Does Perfect Mean?

Today’s card is a Zentangle from April. My Zentangle anniversary just passed so I wanted to celebrate it a bit. For those of you who are familiar with my addiction, thank you for sticking around. 😀

I haven’t looked at this one in a while. Now I see it in a different light. I love the trapped look of the wavy things under the pointy things on the left. And the trippy tunnel effect on the top right? 😀 Yeah,it makes me grin.

What I really like is how the thing has depth. That’s the hardest for me….depth in these. I just play around with them a lot. Sometimes it works. Parts of this one work for me.

I find Zentangles work on my perfectionist button very well. I have to step away from “I can’t do it because it won’t be right. I have to let that go. It’s good to let that go.

Humans aren’t perfect. Many aboriginal people have practices that include intentional mistakes. Did you know that? It’s because Deity is the only perfection in the world. To be perfect is to insult God in some cultures.

How fabulous is that for an excuse?

“I’m sorry but I had to screw that up or it would insult God.”

I think I’m going to leave it at that.

Yep, that’s your journal prompt for today.

“What is the meaning of not perfect in your world?”

Zentangle, Stephanie Arwen Lynch, 4/2013

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Did I Need Permission?

Today’s card isn’t a card. It’s a lovely quote image from Leonie Dawson.

If you’ve been paying attention, you know I have a mad business girl crush on the fabulous Aussie mum and heart-led entrepreneur, Leonie Dawson. She’s made a difference in my life and I’ve never even met her. How crazy is that?

She wrote this amazing thing called You Have Permission. You can get a free download of it by signing up for her free goodies

It was enlightening for me. No, more than that, it was lightening. It freed me. It released some things I didn’t even realize I was holding on to. I want you to have that gift too.

Today is a short post because I want you to head over, sign up for the goodies and then your journal prompt for today is,

“What did I need permission for?”

Leonie Dawson poster, Leonie Dawson

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on.

Do You Dream In Color?

Today’s card is from a deck I very much want. It was crowd-funded via Indie-Go-Go. I love my crowd-funded projects. Sadly, I couldn’t swing this one at that time. I did share it out though. 😀

The creatrix, Nora Huszka, is lovely. She shared some images with me so I could share them with you. I hope you will go like her Facebook page as well.

This self-published deck is limited and signed (which makes the collector in me drool, twitch and whine).

Here is her World. I love that the name is in English, German, Spanish and Hungarian. How interesting to see A Vilag for The World. I guess we really are one big village.:D

The eyes of Mother Earth peek out here with what seems, to me, to be a lava flow above her and the blue ocean beneath her. There is a spider web as well as fanciful tropical flowers. I can also see birds in this. What do you see?

This is one of those cards that would rock for meditation work. I can see setting this up then just falling into it. Can’t you? In a way, it brings to mind one of my favorite movies. That’s the lush “What Dreams May Come” with Robin Williams. He falls into a painting at one point. That scene is embedded in my memory for the colors and textures.

You see, I have a confession to make.

I dream in black and white.

I can think of a handful of times where I remember color in my dream.

Maybe that is why I am more drawn to the color decks on some days but the black and white decks also work.

What about you? How about this for today’s journal prompt:

What colors make me happy and why?

The World, The Gypsy Palace Tarot, Nora Huzka, 2013

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on!

What Do You See?

So today’s card isn’t a card. It’s a card reader. It’s a fanciful take on a beautiful Romany woman. She’s outside her caravan with the cards in her lap. There’s a fire off to her side with another caravan in the background. This is a detail from a larger piece, but I don’t know the name of it.

I have to wonder what others think when they hear I’m a professional psychic. That I read cards for a living. Just today I had to give my email out.

That’s readings like reading a book with an s on the end.

mmmhhmmm

I’ll spell it out. t-a-r-o-t-b-y-a-r-w-e-n dot com.

So that’s readings@tarotbyarwen.com?

Yes, but it is Tarohhhh not Tarott.

The blank look on the other end of the phone was probably my imagination, right?

But still, what do you think they saw? Pretty Romany girl? Wizened old crone? Evil witch in a black corset? Wizened old pretty witch in a corset?

I look at me and see, well, me. Glasses. Middle-aged. Curly hair. Green eyes. Friendly smile. Great skin.

I don’t see ooky spooky psychic.

Now I can dress the part for sure! I have what I call my Traveller Drag. It’s floaty skirts etc.

And I love it because I look pretty darn good in it. 😀 I have always leaned towards the South Austin Bohemian Yoga Vegan Hooper Hippie style anyway.

There are days when I worry that I will disappoint my clients. Not because of how I read. No, I’m solid there. More because I won’t be their dream reader when I show up in leggings and a shirt. 😀 Do you think they expect this dreamy Romany girl?

What about you? Do you ever think you don’t look the part of whatever it is you are called to be today or tomorrow?

How do you deal with it?

Today’s journal prompt is: How do I present myself to the world?

Romany Reader, Unknown,

#SeekJoy, y’all. Pass it on.

Where Is Your Hidey Hole?

Today’s card reminds me of the peace I find when I am alone. I am a gregarious enough girl. I like going to dinner with friends, talking to my love on the phone, joining in the fun at pool parties. But there comes a point when enough is enough and alone is all I want.

Chatting with my honey on the phone yesterday, I blurted out, “I have to go. I’m done talking for now.” Just boom. No warning. Luckily, after nearly three years, he gets me. He just asked when we might be talking again.

I laugh now but I used to suffer through long conversations on the phone even when it was unpleasant.

Not the person I was talking to. Not the subject. Just the fact that I couldn’t find silence when I needed it. And I don’t just need silence. I require it. If you put me in a situation where it is constantly noisy, I will wear down. I get cranky. I’m like a napless toddler. Never a good thing, right?

So I’ve learned to make space for myself. Quiet times when I can do for me. This includes animals as well as people. Right now I’ve got the dogs out in the yard. 😀 Poor babies. Having to run around a well-fenced, grassy yard with water and plenty of shade. I know, right? Cruel!

But see this lovely Sage of Crystals (Sirian Starseed Tarot)? She’s taking in some me time by the edge of a lotus-filled pond. I imagine there are frogs and koi in the water while brightly colored dragonflies skip from pad to pad.

I imagine the only sounds she hears are the wind and the waterfall. And her own heartbeat.

When I was a girl, I would take the family canoe (truth be known, I considered it MINE) out on a nearly daily basis. Most often I was alone. Just me, some sandwiches, a book and some soda. I would paddle out to a spot that I knew and then just drift and read. I sometimes wish I could do that again. But that spot is now a subdivision so I’d have to find a new hidey hole.

Where is your hidey hole when you need it? Do you find silence offensive? Do you need music/sound/action to make you feel peaceful? Isn’t it brilliant of the Universe to make us different? So we can not all need the same place?

Your challenge today is to journal for 180 seconds on this thought, “When do I feel safest?”

Sage of Crystals, Sirian Starseed Tarot, North Atlantic Books, 2012 [aff]

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on!

Tarotscopes 2-for-1: August Podcast & 8/4-8/10/2013 Weekly

It’s a two-for-one day!

Monthly Podcast!

So July blew past me. No monthly newsletter (working on August today). Late on the podcast. Wowza! 😀 How was your July? This month has a lot of court cards taking a bow. I’m using the Wild Unknown Tarot for this month. Love this deck a lot.

If you get an hour reading with me this month, you will receive a free copy of my free. It’s ten introspective spreads that use the archetypes of world fairy tales. Illustrated by Lisa Hunt, these spreads can help you investigate your inner landscape with the help of some fairy tale friends.

Want that free book so you can learn to read the Tarot intuitively? Click here.

Weekly Tarotscopes!

AQUARIUS Devil(Bindweed) What truly ties you down is your acceptance of bad habits. Cut away those ties that bind. Give up those addictions.
PISCES KNIGHT OF CUPS(Explorer of Water Sometimes you just gotta let go.Surf emotional waves. You are a pro at this. Hang ten, baby. Set your heart forward. Follow.
ARIES SIX OF CUPS Time to call friends. Time to renew bonds. Time to remember connections. They support you. They love you. Reach out for help.
TAURUS EIGHT OF WANDS Ideas exchanged grow. Council meetings necessary. Open up to new ideas/ways. Listen more than talk. Others show true self.
GEMINI SIX OF WANDS Success comes. Keep moving. Don’t stop. Busy week but victory is just ahead. Listen to your own passion. Follow that drum.
CANCER NINE OF PENTACLES Great week for counting blessings. Small ones pile into larger ones. Understand how much you’ve accomplished if you would do more.
LEO THREE OF CUPS Seek joy indeed. Celebrate life. Reach out to those who need more joy. You are joy’s messenger this week. Carry on, darlings!
VIRGO TWO OF CUPS Strong partnerships & proposals of commitment possible. Say yes, honey. Embrace the deep,strong, solid emotional bond.
LIBRA FIVE OF WANDS Careful what you say. Temper needs to be checked at the door. Passion can overwhelm you if you let it. Control is necessary.
SCORPIO ACE OF WANDS Something breaks free in you. Passion urges you forward. Follow your spirit, honey. Go for it with everything you have. GRAB IT.
SAGITTARIUS FIVE OF SWORDS Little competition isn’t bad but don’t let it be your be-all/end-all. Focus on flying higher. Leave petty politics to others.
CAPRICORN FIVE OF CUPS Emotional reflections not showing you what you like? Fill yourself up then. Stop making that someone else’s job. Be your own support.

Don’t forget to join me over at the Amazing Life + Biz Academy. There are monthly classes (you can do them at any time), meditations, mastermind groups and so much more. I’ve been a member for over a year now. I get more every time I drop by! I want you there with me, darling! The increased my income last year by 300%. That just staggers me. I didn’t even implement all of the suggestions from the course.

Nine of Earth, Gaian Tarot, Joanna Powell Colbert

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Loopy and Naughty!

Today’s card is a video. What? That doesn’t make sense? See the pain meds I’m on for clarity. As I am loopy as all get out, I’m sharing an older video view.

I did a review of the Le Tarot des Femmes Erotiques which uses turn-of-the-century erotica. These women are plump and unshaven which may turn some off. But for me? I think they represent the best of feminity. I get so very tired of the media representations, don’t you? But back to this naughty deck!

I love the feel of this deck but the Youtube review was a bit hard to do. LOL Yes, I am blushing every now and again in it. WHAT? It’s so naughty! You can get your own naughty copy from Beauty, History and Magic.

And! They now have a playing card deck available as well. 😀

Fool, Le Tarot des Femmes Erotiques, self-published

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Hey Y’all! Watch This!

Today’s card is from a charming Goddess on the Go Oracle deck.. I love the dancing woman but really love the shadow figure dancing behind and above. I see it as a part of her. If you have read my words here, you will know that I’m pretty insistent about the fact that shadow self is not bad per se. It simple is. It’s bits and pieces of pysche that we would rather not deal with OR that are being used to protect our “tender bits” as Po Panda might say

You’ve probably heard the “dance like no one’s looking” phrase, but have you seen the whole thing? Or know who said it?

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”

? William W. Purkey also attributed to an Irish proverb also attributed to anonymous

That first line gets the most air time, but look at the second one. Raise your hand if that makes you want to puke or run or laugh hysterically or some combination of the three.

Mmm hmm…that’s what I thought.

Me too some days.

Other days I would rather love out loud (yes, love, that’s not a typo) then live in fear of pain. That’s my goal real…to love out loud.

So hold on to the image in the card today. When things get you down…when someone just sucks the joy right out of your life…when you get cut off in traffic AGAIN… see this woman and become her. Allow your shadow self some time to dance as well.

Because even shadows need love, y’all.

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on!

I am dancing my own dance, Goddess on the Go, U.S. Games Systems, 2007 [aff]

Am I A Victim Of Bambi Mentality?

Today’s card is from a deck I rarely dip into. Part of that is because it isn’t a Tarot deck. It’s an Oracle deck. Some Oracle decks I use more than others. I used to use this one more too. Here is a favorite card of mine. Some might wonder why I am so fond of it when the animal isn’t really one of those “super cute” woodland creatures.

I guess I’m just a victim of Bambi mentality. I look at this card and think, “He can call my flower if he wants to” in that sweet little voice of Flower from the Disney movie, Bambi. And I just melt. I remember the teasing that was about to start on poor, innocent Bambi and the little skunk boy dissipates it all by telling the others he didn’t mind the name.

Have you ever been the one who diffused the pack mentality? The one who said that you just didn’t care about something so someone else didn’t get picked on or mocked?

Ever been the one who said something others deemed stupid and had to take all the teasing for however long the teasing went on?

At some point, teasing gets old. I have a friend that I STILL tease about something. He’s a super good sport about it but sometimes I wonder…has it just gotten old for him? Or is it something he can laugh about with us? Guess I need to just ask him. Maybe he’s been being Flower all along for me. Wonder if he’s tired of that.

Skunks are neat animals who apparently make rather fascinating companion animals. I really like that they are extremely clear about their boundaries. If they don’t want you crossing them, first they stomp their feet at you. Then they lift their tail. Once they are standing up on their front fee, it’s pretty much toooooooo late.

Do you have clear boundaries? Around teasing and being teased? It’s a weird area for me. I’m not really sure I know when to stamp my feet and when to just, as it were, stand on my head. Because once I go there, it’s tooooooo late and feelings are going to be hurt.

Not sure where this post was going, but here’s where it ended. Take three minutes today to review situations where you are the teaser. Ask yourself if it has gone on long enough. Or maybe, just maybe, ask the person you are teasing. Who knows? Like Flower, they may just enjoy the attention.

Skunk, Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals by Sams, Jamie, Carson, David Book&Cards Edition (9/1/1997), U.S.Games

Oh Shit! What Have I Done?

Today’s card isn’t a card. It’s me showing off some new Tarot art that I picked up this weekend. The artist is Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoos in Aurora, CO. No, I wasn’t in Colorado this weekend. Dirk was one of the invited artist for the Body Art Expo here in Austin. I’ve been friends with his wife for a while now so it was a prime opportunity to see him. And I decided to get a tattoo while he was here.

Dirk asked me to name two to three cards so I went with my birth cards. You can learn more about yours reading Bonnie Cehovet’s excellent book Tarot, Birth Cards, and You: Keys to Empowering Yourself (Schiffer, 2011) [aff}. Mine are the one triad. Interestingly, my best friend shares the same birth card combination.

Sitting for this was not easy. It is a large piece and the largest I have. I would love to say that I tranced out going on a beautiful metaphysical journey.

That would be a big fat lie.

It hurt. Not as bad as others because Dirk really does have a light hand, but by the end of the three hour session, I was ready to bounce off the table. 😀 I did laugh like a loon for parts of it–endorphin rush. And had to catch a pedi-cab to find where I parked my car. 🙂 Seriously.

Then when I got home, I ate, walked the dogs and crashed for about twelve hours. But I’m so glad I did this. It’s on my outer calf (right side) so anyone who sees it will know Tarot is important to me. I love that the cards are Dirk’s interpretations. The Magician is captured beautifully for me. I forgot to ask him if he meant to represent the Heiros Gamos that way.

Tattoos are one of those decisions you can’t go back on. Once the first line is laid down, you kind of have to let the artist finish. I had a serious OH SHIT moment walking the dogs this morning because this really is a large piece. I guess you could say it is a signature tattoo. It’s mine and there won’t be another like it ever. I had to wrap my mind around the fact that I just put a large “I’m different” stamp on my body where everyone could see it.

What about you? Ever make a decision that couldn’t be revoked? How did you handle that? Did you have any “oh shit what have I done” moments? How did you work through those?

In this life we are given, there will always be those “oh shit what have I done” times. The key is understanding that what’s done is done. Now you move forward.

Luckily for me, I get to move forward with a really impressive tattoo representing me and my love for the art of Tarot. No more oh shit. Just a lot of leg gazing. 😀

Birth Cards Tattoo by Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoo (Auroro, CO), July 27, 2013, photo by J. Mellot