This is the master list for the Imbolc 2017 Tarot Blog Hop. Thanks for stopping by. This list serves as a one-stop-shop to find your favorite bloggers or to deal with a broken link. We do our very best to make sure our links are good, but we aren’t perfect.
Why your vision of your perfect day is patently false.
This is the Ace of Winds from the Shapeshifter Tarot by Lisa Hunt. I love the feeling of air moving here. She’s ready to launch into her wise Arctic Owl self and soar. Are you? Shapeshifter Tarot, Llewellyn, 2002
Part of my practice is to draw a card each day. Recently one of the cards reminded me that you are all wrong. That none of you know what a perfect day is. That none of you have any concept of a truly ideal day. How do I know? Well let me tell you what a perfect day is. Then you’ll know.
A perfect day is slightly overcast. There’s a brisk wind coming in that carries just a bit of cool with it so the ambient temperature is around 68. There might even be the scent of rain on that wind. The sky is just a bit gray. The sun is definitely not bright and shining. The wind is the key for the perfect day. It must lift skirts, fluff hair and generally flutter things.
WHAT? Not your perfect day?
Okay. Close your eyes. Tell me what your perfect day looks like. Place yourself right into that scene.
Betcha it’s different from mine in most cases.
Betcha your perfect day is perfect for you.
Now try this. Picture your perfect person. Not yourself. Not your lover. Just your perfect person. What do they say? What do they do? How do they act? What makes them a perfect person to you? Is it what they wear? Is it the color of their hair? Their skin? What about their weight? Did you think about how much they weigh when you were deciding what perfection in a person meant to you? Did you worry about their eye color or their footwear?
Betcha the key things were more internal than external.
Betcha the important stuff was what they say and what they do rather than what they wear or who they know.
So why worry about what others think about the external you, darling? Why worry at all? It’s what’s inside that is important to you. Why should anyone else be different? They are worried about the same things. We all are concerned that we won’t be accepted for this thing or for that thing.
Me? What is my worry?
Being seen as weird.
I worry that I will be seen as weird and not a real business woman because I use Tarot. Because my coaching business uses Tarot to help others seek joy. Because I teach Tarot for a living.
Silly, right? I agree. So I remind myself to co-opt the Austin, TX and Portland, OR. Keep Arwen Weird. And let my freak flag fly! That’s perfect for me. It helps me stay mindful for those of you who practice mindfulness.
So my perfect day, my perfect person and my perfect motto aren’t yours. It’s all good, darling. That means we have room to wiggle and to grow. Room to find our own perfect spot.
Not sure how to find your wise inner self? I can help. Let’s have a conversation using the Tarot as our tools to set your feet on the joy seeking path today.
Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.
Oh by the way? Lisa Hunt and I worked on a Lenormand deck called Fairy Tale Lenormand. Just released 9/1/16. If you want to learn how to read Tarot my way, check out my upcoming class .
Discussion of the Ace of Pentacles from the Crystal Visions Tarot
[Tweet “What is the potential of a blank wall?”]
Crystal Visions Tarot
Today’s card reminds me of empty spaces. It makes me think of what is coming to those empty spaces. I guess in a way this is the potential of a blank wall.
Here we see the Ace of Pentacles from the Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso. And yes, that is the Stevie Nicks song she is referring to.
A pentacle is woven between two trees with vines growing around it. Beneath it are crystals, gems and more of the vine. It is what is beneath that calls to me in this picture. The potential of the crystals that grow there.
I must tell you that I’ve had and used this deck since it came out. I’ve just now seen two women in this deck. Ha! Tarot never fails to surprise me.
So here’s to growth and empty spaces and surprises. Just like an empty wall in a home, this card waits to be filled. It’s an offering to us…a promise of good things to come.
Today’s affirmation:
I am open to abundance. I walk into prosperity. I fill up my world with beauty and joy. I am strong. I am light. I am love. Loved and loving, I love each of you.
Of Gods And Aces — A god, an ace and a bone walk into a bar. What’s next?
[Tweet “A god, an ace and a bone walk into a bar. What’s next?”]
The Wooden Tarot
#affirmation Sticking with the Wooden Tarot, today’s card is another of the ones that gives me pause. Actually it is one of four that give me pause for the same reason.
Aces, to me, are seed energy. They are the potential of the suit. A.L. Swartz has chosen to rename the aces to god. So we have the God of Bones today rather than the Ace.
Of course, as I write it out, as usual I come to an understanding. The all seeing eye in the triangle (a nod to the Illuminati I think) floats above a generic figure where hands float with a bone between them.
Seed energy. Beginnings. Potentials. This is the Earth suit in this deck. I would call it Coins or Pentacles in a more traditional deck.
I am reminded of the Christian story about God creating Eve from Adam’s rib. While that’s not a rib bone (unless I miss my guess), there is a magic waiting to happen here.
So many cultures use bones. My friend Fiona Robinson at Open Roads Coaching does bone readings even today.
Okay, A.L., I think I understand why gods are aces in your deck. Well played, sir. Well played indeed.
Today’s affirmation:
I am potential. I am possibility. I am the beginning of my own next great event. I breathe in ability. I breathe out creativity. I begin again today. Loved and loving, I love each of you.
Sometimes we need to dig ditches to attract what we want
[Tweet “Sometimes we need to dig ditches to attract what we want.”] Chinese Tarot
#affirmation One of my long-time loves is China. Japan and other areas of Asia, too, but China seems to be a forgotten memory to me. As a child I read many of Pearl S. Buck‘s books. They made me feel as if I was rereading my own story. I can’t describe it any better than that.
The Good Earth trilogy, Pavilion of Women and my favorite, Imperial Woman: The Last Empress all transported me to a place that was so familiar. My mother told me she thought I should have been born Chinese. That was because my favorite food (for breakfast!) was rice with soy sauce.
Here is the lovely Ace of Cups from the Chinese Tarot. It’s recently been reprinted by U.S. Games. I love how she holds the bowl. It looks as if she is addressing it before she drinks it.
Perhaps she is engaging in a morning gratitude giving thanks for what she has.
And for what she is about to receive.
That line should be familiar to anyone with a Christian upbringing (and maybe other faiths as well?)
Are you in a habit of giving thanks for what you haven’t gotten yet? Seems silly to some, but think about it like this.
Giving thanks for what we are about to receive is opening up channels. We are actively engaging in digging ditches for joy, prosperity, and love to flow our way.
Today’s affirmation embraces that idea.
Today I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. I am open to the infinite beauty that surrounds me. I dance along the path of abundance. I am available for joy. Loved and loving, I love each of you.
Today’s card is a reminder that I create my own music.
[Tweet “By setting boundaries that work for me, my song has a place to be heard.”]Paulina Tarot
Boundaries and borders can be scary things. We set them but then allow others to wander all over them–trampling our petunias as it were. I’m better these days about being firm about protecting what’s important to me. One of those things is my right to allow and or disallow those who bring disharmony into my world.
Every orchestra has discordance. It is what makes a song interesting. But no conductor will allow another conductor to change the way he or she conducts. It is, after all, their interpretation.
I’ve run headlong into an interpretation I do not agree with but I do like the conductor. So for now, I will play as part of that orchestra. When the song is done, I will quietly pack and leave.
This Ace of Pentacles from the amazing Paulina Tarot (U.S. Games) reminds me to focus on my own notes for now.
Today I play for me. Today I reset my personal boundaries. Today I want to be at peace with my own choices. I set fences to keep things in as well as out. I am the conductor of my own song. Loved and loving, I love each of you.
Thoughts on hula hoops helping beat a really bad habit.
Crystal Visions Tarot
Today’s card reminds me that hula hoops are an important metaphor in my life. This goes back to something my sister told me. I can’t remember who told her but the saying goes like this.
I can only control what is in my own hula hoop.
So stand up. Now hold your arms out as if you were holding a hula hoop about yourself. Swing your arms to the front and back and to the sides. Get a feel for how much space that is.
You control everything inside that hula hoop area. It’s all yours. You are mistress or master of your domain. Anyone inside that circumference must bow to your wishes.
Anything outside of that circumference?
Repeat after me…not my circus, not my monekys.
If we all focused less on the trauma-drama of others, how much happier we would be. If we simply provided space to listen them and let go of trying to fix them, we could get to the real meat of our day.
Our own stuff.
Yep, it’s a really highly developed procrastination technique. The more I can worry about your shit, the less I have to work on my own.
[Tweet “So which will it be today? Useless worry or meaningful work? It’s your choice.”]
Today I focus on my own needs. Today I listen to others and let go of any misguided notion of fixing them. I am in charge of my own experience. I can only control what is in my own hula hoop. Loved and loving, I love each of you.
What’s a Blog Hop? Well, it’s when several bloggers (in our case twenty-one) all connect to one another to create a chain. Every six weeks, one of us takes on the role of wrangler. Their job is to give us a topic.
Our wrangler is Olivia from First Earth Tarot. I love love love her topic because it is simply joy. Yep, joy. Y’all know I love that message.
[Tweet “Olivia asked, “How do you spread joy?“”]
Affirmations. It was the first word out of my mouth. I do affirmations nearly every day on my Facebook page. I do them for me because it helps me stay on track with what I do.
I am a professional joy seeker. I take that very seriously. You might even say that I hold it as a sacred geas I’ve put upon myself.
So what do you do with affirmations? I find that they work best when I read them out loud several times during the day.
One way I come up with my daily affirmations is to randomly draw a Tarot card. Then I use that message to craft my affirmation. A key to creating an affirmation is to word it in the present tense. You want to foster the energy of it already being here.
Another thing is to avoid the negative. So rather than “I will not smack the people who make me angry” you would perhaps phrase it “I am stronger than those who annoy me.”
So try if you like. Pull a card then write your affirmation. Share it below. Here’s mine including the card I pulled.
Today I am a joy seeker. Today I am a joy magnet. Today joy covers me. I open my arms, my heart, my mind to the beauty of living a joyful life. Loved and loving, I love each of you. Seek joy, y’all.
Do a little jig in the middle of the market because HEY you got such a deal! Accept all the knowing nods from those others who are smart enough to join you at the market
Day four of my wedding trip…wedding bells are definitely ringing this morning.
I’m sharing some favorite posts from my Tarot & Food entries.
Revisiting: Squashed Chicken
Go to the Farmer’s Market and be seduced by the lovely sunny yellowness that is summer squash. Buy some garlic because it’s 2 for a buck! Get three lovely sunny yellow summer squash for a buck. Do a little jig in the middle of the market because HEY you got such a deal! Accept all the knowing nods from those others who are smart enough to join you at the market. more…
Get a free three card reading via email when you buy the download version of this . Offer expires 1/30/204. All readings must be claimed by 2/7/2014.
That bears repeating. ‘I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony
Wildwood Tarot
Today’s card reminds me of my word for this year. I guess that’s appropriate seeing as how this is the last day for that word–although not for the energy of the word.
The Wildwood Tarot‘s Ace of Bows has the title of Spark of Life. This is a deck I need to work with more. The cards are rich with imagery. My friend Louise Underhill of Priestess Tarot works with this deck as does a new friend, Ellen.
One of the treasures 2013 brought to me has been the new and renewed friendships. This year was truly a galvanizing one. Many small sparks have spread into warm fires of success for me. One unlooked for blessing was an offer to blog somewhere. I can’t say where just yet, but it was a pretty big deal for me. It’s a one time thing but still, it’s a big deal.
Add to that my blogging (which I must get back to more regularly) with Witches And Pagans plus the three books submitted in 2013? Yeah, that sums up a pretty fabulous year of writing. Here on this page I managed to post nearly ever day so go me and go Cai (the other half of Marilu Mann.) If you like to read paranormal (and contemporary), go you to http://www.greatmta.com lol! )
This card also points towards a new beginning. The Ace of Bows is new life, new energy and bright, fresh, shiny starts. I’m embarking on a new journey in one week. I’ll be saying “I do” to a special someone. What better way to kick off 2014, right?
I know that I still have things that need improvement. There’s always room for improvement, yes? Things like unburying my guest room/office so it can actually see use as an office. Continued work on my health. More focus on my lines of income. All of those things will be part of my work with the .
I have to laugh here because I got an email last night. Here’s what K.C. had to say about this workbook.
“Hi, Arwen. While I’ll admit I got the Leonie Dawson workbook because of your 3-card mini read, I’ve sat down to do it and I am amazed. It is so wonderful. (Of course, you knew that already.) I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony. That in and of itself was a fabulous gift.
In fact, I loved it so much, I gave 2 as gifts using your link.”
[Tweet “That bears repeating. ‘I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony.'”]
I can so relate to that statement. I felt the same way about 2012! And of course there have been some sucktastic things about 2013, but the beautiful things (and all of the beautiful people) outweighed the suckage.
I’m thrilled to see someone else connect with the special magic of this . It’s so much more than a calendar/planner. There’s magic waiting to happen. I’m looking forward to some time to work on this even more.
What magic do you want to happen in 2014. That’s your journal prompt, my darlings.
Ace of Bows, Wildwood Tarot, Sterling Ethos, 2011
Snag your copy of theat http://bit.ly/TbAIncred . Besides an incredible tool, you will also score a three card Tarot reading from me. Just let me know you got the downloadable version.
Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.
See you next year! (Yes, it amuses the heck out of me to say that. LOL)