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Sad, Angry Humans

Today’s card reminds me that sometimes the only thing you can do to grow is to turn your back on things and people. Not all people are in our lives to help us grow. Well, maybe that’s not quite true. There are those people who exist to be examples of what not to do. So I guess they are in our lives for that reason.

We all have detractors. We all deal with those who just don’t want us to succeed. Generally that’s because they live in fear, y’all. You have to take just a moment to feel so very sorry for them. How awful it must be to live a life so full of negativity that nothing is shiny unless it’s focused on you. No one is worth a damned unless they are putting you above all others.

Sad, yes.

But if I’m going to be as authentic as possible, it also makes me mad. Mad because I see these people tear down others in order to build themselves up. I don’t want people like that in my world. I don’t want the sad,angry, narcissistic parasites. They suck me dry.

Just like with people who are never happy about anything, these fear-dwellers suck the life out of things.

Don’t suck the life out of things, darlings. Agree to disagree with people you love. Agree that sometimes they are going to tell you that you are being a dirtbag.

My sister did that for me today. And I threw it back in her face.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

Then I apologized a few hours later.

Why? Because I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d said. Not what she’d said, but what I’d said. It came from a place of fear. I was afraid she was right. I was afraid she’d found a hole in my joyful life.

Then I realized that she had and that it was okay. I’m not perfect. And, thank the Gods, I never will be.

I promise to be as authentic as possible.
I promise to turn my back to those detractors who are fear-dwellers and attention-seekers.
I promise to pay attention when my trusted circle tells me I’m being an ass.
I promise to work at learning to listen and think before I respond from fear.
I promise to focus outward rather than listen to the negativity around me.

This beautiful Three of Staves is from Kris Waldherr’s Goddess Tarot by U.S. Games.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

And are you ready to stop living in fear? Are you ready to let your own creative goddess out? Come join me in an online course. I’m retaking it because it blew my doors open last year. (aff) and so worth it! You can take just the class or the join the full academy. Up to you. I did the full academy because I saw three classes I wanted to take right off the bat. 😀

Practice Gets You What?

Today’s card isn’t a card. It’s a tangle that I did. I may have shared it before. The beauty of a disorganized mind is that I don’t remember in a linear way.

I can look at this tangle (done in April) and think, “Oh, I remember seeing that tangle and wanting to learn it.” Then just doing it. There are those who practice their tangles before committing them to the good stuff. Not me. If I practice, it’s because I like the way it looks and just want to do it over and over again. 😀

I haven’t been tangling as much lately. A lot of it is done during free time at work–there hasn’t been much of that lately. And that’s a good thing if you are a joy seeker. You just say, “Yay! It makes the day go by faster.”

If I were going to assign this to a Tarot card, I might choose the Ace of Wands. That’s because of the central piece, but also because of the growth and growth potential that I see here.

What do you think this card might be if it were a Tarot card? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You may not have heard but I’ve joined the bloggers at PaganSquare as one of the SageWoman bloggers. Yesterday I shared a new spread. If you like it, leave me a comment on that blog so I know you were there. I’d really appreciate that.

Here’s a snippet from that blog:

…I think first we have to know what we see to be able to understand what we don’t. One person might see themselves as an amazing, critical voice who helps others make choices. But he might not see his own block of ego that won’t allow him to hear others when they are critical of him. Still another might see themselves as the most positive person in the world. Yet she can’t see her own denial of the very real negative things in her life as a block…Read it all here.

So don’t forget that you are an awesome human being. If you ever lose sight of that, go look yourself in the eye in the mirror and remind you of that.

Zentangle, Arwen Lynch, 4/11/2013

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

How Many Unicorns?

Today’s card is from a deck that I own but don’t really work with. It’s a themed deck where the artist worked in the theme in just about every card. Don’t get me wrong! I’m as airy-fairy as the next sparkly pink princess, but at some point 78 unicorns is a few too many.

Still this card reminds me to stop and pet the unicorn–or at least smell the roses. I try to do that when I go for my walks. Now my walks have a purpose. Well they have two purposes. Okay, four really if you do the math. Two dogs who both have to…well, you know!

So I get to see my block at a lot of different times of the day. Early morning grey. Noon blazing sunlight. Late afternoon shade. Night time shadows. It’s nice to see it and know it’s my ‘hood, my turf, my place in the world. And I have to remember to love it even in the downpours, the 100+ heat and all. I have to celebrate the breeze when it hits my sweaty face. I have to celebrate the rain plastering my hair to my head.

It’s all part of my Joy Seeking life, darlings. I have to accept that it is all good.

The Nine of Pentacles is the traditional card of acknowledging success while looking ahead to the next effort. Do you do that often enough? Look yourself in the mirror to congratulate you on a job well done?

If not you, who?

You really must be your own publicist, darling. Toot your horn as much as you toot someone else’s. If someone tells you that you are awesome, say, “thank you.”

Here.

Let’s practice that.

You’re awesome!

You know what to do!

Nine of Pentacles, Unicorn Tarot [aff]

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Stagnation Makes Me Giddy

Today’s card made me giggle. Then it made me snort. Then it made me laugh until tears rolled down my cheeks.

And you are looking at me with your head tilted thinking, “Arwen, have you lost your mind? There is nothing funny about stagnation.”

I might agree with you if you didn’t know what I know. The Universe is mocking me again.

You see Monday night I did a reading for a young friend. It was her birthday and she is officially a tween now. Her parental units requested it. I was happy to oblige. While I did that reading, her parents unloaded a closet for me.

Close your eyes. Imagine a typical closet with sliding doors. Now imagine it is packed floor to hanging bar with boxes. Now wedge more in. Now realize that you can’t even slide the doors shut because there’s so much SHIT in that closet.

Then walk away from the closet for two, no…let’s make it two and a half years.

Yeah, talk about stagnation, right?

But here’s the thing. That’s not an imaginary demon of a closet. It was very real. And my friends moved all the boxes out.

Now I have to go through and purge, purge and purge some more.

I live in a cute, little condo. I’ve lived in larger spaces. I still have allllll the chit from those larger spaces. So you see where I’m going?

A lot of what I have hung on to has sentimental value. I have a turban and a pair of glasses. Both were worn by my mama during her battle with, and subsequent loss to, cancer.

I have books that took me places once upon a time.

I have Tarot decks that I wanted SO BADLY once upon a time.

Everything in these boxes has been in these boxes for two and a half years. Thirty months, y’all.

Like the chipped and no longer functional bowls in this card from the Vision Quest Tarot, my stuff is clogging me up. My chi is not flowing.

In fact, I think I heard my chi running for the hills.

Operation: Declutter Arwen is on the table. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’m going to do this thing.

Do you have anything that you hang on to that you need to let go of?

I know my mother will be happy to know her glasses are heading off to the Lions to be put to better use.

Eight of Water, Vision Quest Tarot, 1999

What’s Your Normal Flavor?

Today’s card reminds me that I need to figure out why I’m in this hand basket and where I am going sometimes. Here is the chariot from Katie Rose Pipkin’s black and white Efflorescent Tarot. Sorry kids but it’s OOP unless she finds a publisher. Or at least that’s what I heard.

But I digress. See! It really is about focus with this card.

I’m tired tonight. It’s 11:11 pm by my clock. I should have had this done and been in bed an hour ago. But it’s full moon energy so I’m wound more than normal.

And am I ever normal?

I saw a GREAT quote on Facebook that said, “The day I broke up with normal was the first day of my magical life.”

Awesome isn’t it

But sometimes I lose my focus. I get scattered. I let the magic dissipate. I let normal drive again.

I fear the quirky.
I shun the weird.
I eschew the unusual.

And I’m not very happy when I do.

In a weird way, my life has a normal, for me, rhythm to it that involves talking to dogs and trees, reading cards for a living, writing intensely erotic romance, and chatting with Themselves.

That’s my normal.

I have to rein in both sides of me though. I can’t let avant-garde Arwen outstrip stable Stephanie. Or is that analytical Arwen overpower sassy Stephanie? Either way, both sides have to be moving together to take me in my chariot where I want to go.

Oh how I ramble. Do you ever wonder how I start out at point A and end up at point WTF?

So here is the Chariot. Traditionally a card of mastering one’s life. I would say that the charioteer will never be happy until she is following her own lead. When she tries to be what someone else wants is when the problems start. That’s when she drops the reins and her two selves can squabble about who gets to lead.

Equally yoked. It’s all about keeping both sides equally yoked.

So what’s your normal look like? Take 180 seconds…just three minutes…to journal about that your normal is. The only ground rule is that you can’t compare your normal to anyone else’s.

Because it’s your normal!

Chariot, Efflorescent Tarot, Katie Rose Pipkin, self-published on Etsy

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

July 21-27 2013 Tarotscopes

Here is this week’s Tarotscopes. You bless me when you share them. Thank you.

AQUARIUS SEVEN OF PENTACLES Golden goose hunting? Do the work. Ethically. Relentlessly. Daily. Hard work pays off big! Stop hunting. Start doing.
PISCES THREE OF PENTACLES Do your own work. Build with others as long as they do their work. Carefully preparation now is key. Lay each brick solidly.
ARIES SEVEN OF WANDS Sneaky win? Okay. Sometimes it takes a plot twist to make a great story. Finish your current situation if you want to be free.
TAURUS TWO OF CUPS Sweet friendship blossoms. Explore personal relationships. Offer what you have. Share who you are. They are open to meeting.
GEMINI TWO OF PENTACLES Balance between what is best for you vs what is best for us challenges this wk. Give you some but save some for the family.
CANCER MAGICIAN Go on! Open up. You’ve got tools, will + need. Make things happen by focusing on what you can do. This is about willpower.

LEO EIGHT OF PENTACLES Believe in your ability. Don’t let anyone stop you from success. Learn from others’ mistakes. Success comes from trying!
VIRGO ACE OF PENTACLES Someone offers help. Part-time job, apprenticeship, intern. Keep your ears open. Accept aid when given. Growth promised.
LIBRA TWO OF WANDS Unusual partnership opens your mind to new ways of thinking. Allow others to share. Choices should be made in favor of both.
SCORPIO Sorceress(HPS) Listen to Higher Spirit. Whispers from self show you the way to lost joy. Intuitive journey only needs inner GPS.
SAGITTARIUS Chariot Magical journeys start with unusual gifts. By staying alert/in charge, you can guide spirit self into a higher realm. Go!
CAPRICORN SEVEN OF SWORDS Sometimes? You are your own troll. Stop teasing/baiting your self. Let go of need to win against yourself. Just be at peace.

Last year, in June, I signed up for an run by Leonie G Dawson. I had no questions about renewing this year. And? Everyone who signed up for it last year? Signed up again this year! I think that says something right there about this group. The courses alone are worth the membership. There’s a Raw Food one, a Creative Goddess one and the Business Goddess just to name a few. Some I didn’t take were focused on being Mama Goddesses. When I say it changed my life, I mean that. It took my ??seek joy? focus and amped it up. It’s for any woman who wants to explore her own amazing life. You don’t have to be a business owner (although that IS why I joined it.) The online networking and forums are fabulous even if I don’t take as much advantage of those. 😀 . See if it is a good fit for you.

Here’s Leonie in her own words about how she deals with fear. If you do nothing else today, take seven minutes to watch this video. This is just ONE of the many videos she freely shares on Youtube.

The truth always lights you up.

Today’s deck is the lovely, and sadly out-of-print, Fairy Tale Tarot by Lisa Hunt.

What would you like to change back and why?

Today’s cards are from US Games’ Dreaming Way Tarot. I really love this deck. It’s quirky with images that often make me turn my head this way and that.

Here are the Sun and the Moon. What I particularly like here is the small child crawling out for a lollipop. She’s bare and free of worry. Her future is bright.

Then we see the same girl (perhaps) more mature. She has learned to cover her body–from shame or peer pressure or even personal taste, we can’t know. She gingerly holds the lobster. Again, this is something she wants, but she has also learned that she has to deal with the consequences of her emotional choices.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon is a fairy tale that always makes me think of a favorite book by Pearl S. Buck. I know…my mind…it’s a weird synaptic journey.

But the book is East Wind: West Wind: The Saga of a Chinese Family (Oriental Novels of Pearl S. Buck) and is about a very traditional Chinese bride married to a very modern Chinese man. It’s a clash of cultures but more than that, really. It’s about blending. It’s said to be one of Buck’s very best. I’d be torn between that and Imperial Woman. I simply adore Imperial Woman.

But back to the Sun and the Moon. Today I’m asking you to tell me something. What do you think has changed drastically from your child self to your adult self?

What would you like to change back and why?

Journal time! 😀

And if you feel like it, I’d really like to know.

Sun, Moon, Dreaming Way Tarot, U.S. Games [aff]

What Can You Drop?

Today’s card reminds me that sometimes I take on too much. I don’t let others do. I’m the first one with my hand up in the air volunteering. Here is the Three of Tridents (swords) from the Undersea Tarot.

He is swimming off to do who knows what. His hands are full. Even if something came at him, would he be able to defend himself? I honestly don’t think so. He would have to think about which trident to use while trying not to lose the others.

And haven’t I done that! Overloaded on what I wanted to do. Filled up my personal plate with groups and classes and appointments until I have no wiggle room whatsoever. And certainly no me time.

Yesterday was my day off. I had things I had to do that didn’t get done. Why? Well yesterday it was because of physical therapy. I came home in such pain that I relaxed watching TV then went to bed after taking a pain pill. I have readings that I HAVE to do. One of them is very late. But it’s a bad idea to do a reading while under the influence. I endeavor to not do that.

I also had to cancel a lunch date with a beloved friend. The drive out just seemed daunting given the pain. And I really love this friend.

The only thing I managed to do that was on my schedule was Aphrodite’s Kitchen with Anita Perez, Willow Polson, Mar Nale and Christiana Gaudet. That was a hoot, by the way. As soon as I get the archive link, I’ll share.

But back to our merman and his too-full hands. Can you guess what today’s challenge is?

Yeah, that.

For 180 seconds think about all the things you’ve said you will do. Now figure out how many of them could be done by others. Overachievers, relax. 😀

Three of Tridents, Undersea Tarot, U.S. Games 2008 [aff]

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Make ‘Em Laugh! Make ‘Em Laugh!

Today’s card is from the Moon Princess Himiko Tarot. This is an unusually lovely Ace of Wands. This deck is a really mixed bag for me. Only the courts, the aces and the Majors have scenic interpretations. All the rest follow the Marseilles tradition of non-scenic minors. I prefer the scenic.

I woke up laughing this morning. I was remembering a scene from a movie I watched last night. I didn’t watch the whole thing…I just wanted to watch to that particular scene. It’s from the first Kung Fu Panda where Mantis is doing acupuncture on Po. During an intense scene with Tigress, Po suddenly pulls a funny face which totally pisses Tigress off. She’s going to fight him but Mantis interrupts to say what has happened.

It never fails to make me laugh until I cry.

And isn’t that a great feeling? When is the last time you had that in your life? Too long? Well make it happen. Read a book you know will make you laugh. Watch a show that causes you to hoot.

Don’t depend on others for your laughter, darlings. Make it happen for yourself.

Did you know you can watch some old faves for free? Sign up for the 30 day free trial with Amazon Prime today! [aff] If you use that link, you help me. And you cancel after 30. I am a Prime member and love it. I just watched the Avengers last weekend. Didn’t cost me a dime. My Prime membership pays for itself in the free shipping savings. 😀

Now astrologically we have what is called a Grand Water Trine. This is big according to the astrologers I know (and the ones I follow.) I read the write up on Tarot.com. This line really caught my eye.

“If you embrace the positive energy and heightened intuition of this rare planetary alignment, it could lead to emotional breakthroughs!”

Well, heck. I’m in. Are you?

Your 180 second challenge today? Take three minutes to write about what emotional breakthrough you would like to happen.

Oh, darlings? This isn’t about someone else’s emotional breakthrough. It’s about yours so keep it focused on you.

Ace of Wands, Moon Princess Himiko Tarot, OOP

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Celebrate What You Don’t Have?

Today’s card reminds me that my attitude can absolutely affect my pocketbook. I drew two cards at random from Roxi Sim’s gorgeous, colorful Pearls of Wisdom Tarot. I meant to pull one, but two insisted on coming out so two is what I’m working with.

I was struck by the differences in these two cards. In the Ace, she is celebrating all the things abundance CAN bring. Not has. Can. This is a card of potential, you see. It’s the beginning of what money can do. And not just money, but for this post, I’m going to stick with that.

Then move your eyes to the next card. Dying plants in the upper corners. A waning moon in the sky. A dark closed in room where two people fail to appreciate what they do have as they mourn what they don’t.

Look at these cards again. In the Ace, all of the things are in the border. They aren’t hers yet. They aren’t real. They are in the works. They are possibilities. Her face is open. She is smiling. She is reaching up to the pentacle above her head knowing that the light flowing from both sides is her path to prosperity. All she has to do is walk it and believe in it.

The Five of Pentacles is so different. There’s food on the table (pears). There’s beautiful flowers (daisies). There’s even money and jewelery. He even has a pearl earring!

But there’s no joy.

Why is that? Is this card the “keeping up with the Joneses” card? I mean they both have clothes and a roof over their head. Sure, the candle is nearly out. The pearls show some missing so maybe they had to be spent? The money bags are nearly empty. But they are so closed off in this image. What can flow in or out when they are so closed?

I have this in my own life sometimes, don’t you? Days where I look at my bills in comparison to my bank account. Days where I wonder how I will make it to work because the E on my gas gauge looks like a T-Rex ready to take me down.

I have to go back to a saying a learned from my friend, Ruth Glendinning.

I walk in abundance.

Abundance isn’t necessarily cash in hand, darlings. It’s just having enough of what i need with some left over to share. And I do share. I give where I can including folks standing on the corner. No, I don’t want to get in a discussion about whether or not they “deserve” my help. Everyone deserves help–from Bill Gates on down. What that help looks like may vary of course. GRIN!

So here’s a challenge for you today. Take three minutes. Yes, 180 precious seconds of your day. Make a list of what you have. Not of what you want. Of what you have.

Food in the fridge?
Pets on the couch?
Books to read?
A TV to watch?
A computer to read this on?
Friends who make you laugh?

You feel me? Make a list of what you have. Call it “My Abundance List” and add to it every day. You will be surprised how abundant you can feel when you realize you have a toilet bowl plunger when you need one. 😀

Seek joy, y’all. Walk in abundance. Pass it on.

Ace of Pentacles and Five of Pentacles, Pearls of Wisdom Tarot, Roxi Sim