The Future Is Cancelled

Japaridze Tarot Seven of Gardens
Japaridze Tarot

#affirmation There’s a difference, I feel, between being a realist and being the person who stomps on your own dreams. I think this card shows that difference.

In this card from the new (and gorgeous) Japaridze Tarot, the suit of earth/pentacles/coins is represented by Gardens. That’s an easy translation for me.

Traditionally the 7 of Coins is the card that shows a man resting while his garden continues to grow. He has been doing hard work but he is taking a much needed break.

Some of us would poo-poo the idea of needing to take that moment. Surely there is something else that can be done. Finished hoeing? Well get to the beans to see if any need harvesting. No? What about the shed? Wouldn’t your time be better spent organizing your tools so you could be more productive?

And so it goes. There is always something else that needs doing. Always one more task you cross off your list.

But what about the dreams? What about the expectations? What about the future?

[Tweet “Future won’t come if you don’t keep working!”]

Really? Stop working and see what happens. Tomorrow gets here as surely as today fades into the past.

I’m not saying don’t work at all. I’m not saying don’t cross things off your to-do list.

I am saying that it is critically important to give time to dreaming.

Maybe you should put that on your to-do list?

Today’s affirmation:

Dreaming brings me joy. Downtime is good time. I allow myself space between the busy busy moments to dream. I honor the dreamer in me. Today I take time to dream a little dream of joy. Today I honor the emptiness so that it may be filled with dreams. Loved and loving, I love each of you.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Seven of Gardens, Japaridze Tarot, U.S. Games

Work, Work, Work

Yeah. You know. Just do what needs doing. Make it pleasant or make it fast, but get it done.

Art of Life Seven of Pentacles
Art of Life

Today’s card is the Seven of Pentacles from the Art of Life Tarot. This is a rather unusual deck. It takes famous pictures then combines them with meaningful quotes to invoke the traditional message of the card.

The Seven of Pentacles is the card I call the gardener’s card. It is a reminder that hard work is rewarded. In this particular interpretation I also come away with the meaning that we all work. Even the Empress of China is doing manual labor here. Okay, so it’s pretty easy labor. Probably it is some ceremonial labor, but nonetheless, she’s doing her work.

[Tweet “I am of the mind that you can do the work in one of two ways.”]

You can bitch, moan, kvetch, whine, snivel about how awful it is to have to work.

Or…

Yeah. You know. Just do what needs doing. Make it pleasant or make it fast, but get it done.

Today I work. Today I work with joy. Pleasure in the doing carries me through the day. I acknowledge my place in the world. I am blessed to be breathing. Pain reminds me that I am alive. I seek joy in all things and in all ways. Loved and loving, I love each of you.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Seven of Pentacles, Art of Life Tarot, U.S. Games, 2011

#dailyaffirmation
#affirmations
#seekjoy

Gardens, Winter & Hope

Yeah. Always looking for the bad can’t be good

Tarot Of Trees 7 Pentacles
Tarot Of Trees

So today’s thought comes from wondering about my garden. I have a tiny patio garden going with tomatoes, peppers and basil. I was going to say herbs, but really, it’s just a heirloom basil out there.

Each plant is growing to the best of its ability. I was thinking how many projects I have going. Each of them is growing to the best of their ability as well.

I have a memorization project going on and, I’m proud to say, I’ve got them down almost pat. Repetition and a cool memorization technique learned from the fabulous Donnaleigh de La Rose helped there.

I also thought about how sometimes gardens and projects must be protected from the chill of winter or the lack of water or the harsh summer sun. Or the words that mimic those energies.

How often have you had something you were very excited about? You dreamed, plotted and planned. You develop what you think is an amazing idea then tell it to someone.

And that someone sees nothing but failure. Nothing but loss. Nothing but the myriad ways it could all go wrong.

“Someone’s already written that book.”
“Someone’s already taught that subject.”
“People will laugh at you.”

So many wintery words, drought-inducing thoughts and heated remarks can decimate your garden of dreams. And many of the people don’t even realize what they’ve done or what they are doing

I don’t blame them (generally speaking.) I blame our society. We’ve been taught to look for potholes and traps and enemies. We go through live expecting someone is out to get us. There’s even a funny catch phrase that goes, “Just because you think someone’s out to get you doesn’t mean they aren’t.”

[Twitter “Yeah. Always looking for the bad can’t be good.”]

So today I stay excited about my work. Today I am my own cheerleader, my own publicist and my own fan. Today I work to give birth to my passion, to my dreams, to my hopes. Today I believe in me. Loved and loving, I love each of you. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Seven of Pentacles, Tarot of Trees, Dana Driscoll

P.S. Got a book you want to write? Need a hand? Try my 33 Day eCourse to finish that book.

Let Slip The Dogs Of War!???

FantasticalCreatures_7Wands003Today’s card forces me to ask a hard question. It’s not one I like to answer at all, but it is one I should probably lead with on most everything I do.

The Seven of Wands from Lisa Hunt‘s gorgeous Fantastical Creatures (U.S. Games 2007) shows a Valkyrie swooping down to a battle field. Her job was to fetch dying warriors who had proven themselves to be heroes. They would then enjoy Valhalla as their reward.

Great idea, right?

But what if those warriors had chosen the wrong battle or the wrong side? What if they had sided with the ice giants instead of Odin?

The hard question is this. “Is this battle mine or someone else’s?”

If I could bottle all the energy I’ve thrown into other people’s wars, I’d be still going just like the Energizer Bunny. If I had channeled that passion into creativity, I might have 800 books published and not eight.

Now, when I hear of this injustice or that, I have to ask myself how mad can I get? How passionate can I be? I’ve learned to pick my battles.

Sadly, grin, I haven’t learned to only back the winners. Too often I am on the losing side simply because we can’t outfight the money. Do I quit?

Nope. I’m either too stubborn or too optimistic to quit. I truly believe that in some cases (GMO/Monsanto for instance) that all we need to do is to keep educating. Eventually folks will understand the damage we are doing to our bodies and our world.

Eventually.

I wonder if the Valkyries will come for me.

Your journal prompt today is, “What battles am I fighting now that I should withdraw from?”

Seven of Wands, Fantastical Creatures, U.S. Games, 2007 [AFF]

How Does It Stop You?

Today’s card isn’t an easy one. For one, it has a keyword that is a real trigger word for me. For two, I don’t really love decks that include keywords. In my opinion, they are limiting. They confine you to one thought or idea.

Unless you are like me and just leap off the cliff every time letting your intuition carry you.

Here we see a woman kneeling in the desert. A vulture hovers over her head. She is not sharing her water with that bird nor with the snake who coils up and around her arm. It’s all for her.

Sometimes I have these twinges of jealousy. I see another Tarot professional using a spread like one of mine. I see someone saying “Seek Joy” without the y’all and I want to fuss, “HEY! Say it right. That’s MINE.”

But it’s not, is it? The concept of seeking joy is as old as time itself. It is far larger than me.

So when I feel those twinges of jealousy, it might be better for me to think, “YAY! Someone else is on the joy hunt with me. The more the merrier!”

Jealous can ruin relationships. How many of us can raise our hand when asked if we’ve ever lost someone due to a jealous nature–theirs or ours.

Sucks, right?

So maybe the next time that ol’ green eyed monster starts nibbling on your ass, you can turn that around.

Just because my partner looks at other women, doesn’t mean I’m not enough.

Just because my colleague books a huge speaking date, doesn’t mean I won’t.

Just because a fellow author hits the NYTimes best seller list, doesn’t mean I can’t.

Stop letting jealous get in your way. We use it as a reason to stop doing what we love.

Well, if so-and-so is taking ALLLLL the speaking engagements, I’ll just go sulk.

Yeah, that’s useful. Right?

So let this Seven of Cups from the Daughters of the Moon Tarot by Ffiona Morgan et al remind us that we get further by sharing our resources. We empower ourselves when we celebrate the successes of others–sincerely. We grow when we stop seeing one another as threats to our happiness.

Seven of Cups, Daughters of the Moon, 1991

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on!

Don’t forget to grab your copy of my Fairy Tale Tarot Spreads eBook. Check out Bonnie Cehovet’s review here.DoTM_7Cups001

What Can I Drop?

MaryEl_7Swords001Today’s card is a reminder that sometimes we are fighting the wrong battle. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t fight. Not at all.

I believe in standing up for what is right for me. I believe in telling someone to not send me hateful, racist jokes. I believe in telling someone not to waste their time baking me a coconut raspberry cake. I believe in shouting at someone for kicking their dog.

But I also believe that my joy is founded on two things. One is my “Eschew Hate” motto while the second is my “Bloom Where You Are Planted” slogan.

Does that make me a Pollyanna Sunshine? Probably and I’m more than happy to hold on to that name. I’ve earned it.

This weekend I had an opportunity to be kind where I could have been catty. I took the opening given to send love instead of nastiness or even worse–nothing.

I stood my ground but I stood it the way I wanted to stand it. Firm and positive.

This crow seems to be a bit tied up. The albino snake (looks like a corn snake to me) is definitely in the winning position. The crow’s sharp beak could easily pierce the snake’s skin to escape.

But instead, he’s holding on to the gem.

Why? Why hold on to that when letting go of it would free him from the coils?

Why indeed.

Why do we hold on to the “I’m right. You’re wrong.” when letting go of it releases that other person from our world? If we have nothing to prove to them, why don’t we just let them go?

For your 180 seconds today, I’m asking you to let go of someone. You know who I mean. That person who is no longer your friend. That person who you still check in on virtually or via friends just so you can rub salt in your own wound.

Three minutes. Let them go. Free yourself.

Seven of Swords, Mary-El Tarot, Schiffer Press, 2012

I forget to announce the winner of the $10 Gift Card!

Vanessa Terrell! You win.

And Linda Ursin, you win the fifteen minute reading!

Love, Attitude + Revolutions

One way to actually make this happen is easy but you have to be consistent. And it feels silly at first.

VictoriaRegina_7WandsToday’s card reminds me of a quote by Rob Brezny that I love. He says, “The revolution begins at home. If you overthrow yourself again and again, you might earn the right to help overthrow the rest of us.”

That’s an important thought when you combine it with this clever Seven of Wands from my cherished Victoria Regina tarot. Here a young woman of African descent wields her pen against others. She is outmatched but has the higher ground giving her an advantage.

That higher ground for me is my attitude. Yesterday I was very hurt by someone I love dearly. They asked me to stop saying “I love you” because it threatened their partner. I reacted badly I fear. I told them that I would rather unfriend them on Facebook (but not in real life) than have to police my words. I regret that very much. He understood but I felt crappy. To put it bluntly, the whole exchange made me cry.

Then I remembered this saying from Florence Scovel Shinn.

“Change your thoughts, and in the twinkling of an eye, all your conditions change. Sooner or later, you reap the fruits of your words and thoughts.”

It seems so simple to say, doesn’t it? That what you think becomes real? It actually is very true. So you need to make sure that what you are thinking is what you choose to have in your life.
One way to actually make this happen is easy but you have to be consistent. And it feels silly at first.

Every day, take three minutes to sit quietly. Focus on all the good in your life. Not just the big good, but the little good like a good cup of coffee or a smile from a neighbor you passed on the way to the car. Every good counts for this.

When you perceive that your world is good, it will be good. I call it being a positivity magnet. Your energy will attract those that are also looking at life for the good rather than the negative. The negative is going to happen, y’all. That’s just a part of life.

It is within your power (hula hoop time) to choose what you focus on. Do you choose to focus on (and attract) negative things and people or do you choose to focus on (and attract) positive things and people?

And when we change our perceptions, we change our reality! Choose to see it. Choose to live it!

What choice are you going to make today? Stay positive, people.

I chose to embrace my own loving heart. I chose to understand that my friend’s new love is growing emotionally. For whatever reason, my expression of love for my friend seems to threaten her. So, while I mourn not seeing him here on Facebook, it will cause him less drama if I don’t post there. I simply can’t not tell him, and you, that I love you.

It feels urgently important to me. As if I don’t have enough time left to say it to you all. Silly, right?

But there it is. My love revolution is starting at home. I will take the higher ground and hold my position. I will take three minutes today to focus on what brings me joy.

Will you?

Seven of Wands, Victoria Regina Tarot, Llewellyn, 2005, OOP

Seek Joy, y’all. Pass it on.

? Let me know so I can get you your Fairy Tale Tarot Spreads eBook and add you to the seeeekrit Facebook group where we are working on this together.

Sparks, Exhaustion & Goals

MaryEl_7DisksToday’s card reminds me what happens when things get lit up. When you put so much energy into something, it can go one of two ways. You are exhausted. OR. You are energized. Everything seems pale and out-of-focus. OR. Everything seems to gain speed snowballing into a juggernaut of intention.

Here is the Seven of Disks from the Mary-El Tarot (Marie L. White, Schiffer Books, 2012). Raw energy at the bottom propels seven disks upward. They send light to the sun above or the sun above sends to them. Hard to say. What I do know is that the color of the flames is telling.

The hotter the flame the paler the color. White-hot heat shimmers in the blue flames sending the disks shooting upward. This card gets me hot. 😀

Sorry. This card excites me.

No, no…that’s still sexual.

Oh what the heck! This is about passion. This is about urges. This is about wanting to sink your teeth into something and not let go.

What has you by the throat right now? What are you so excited about that you shimmer just thinking about it? What sparks you? What galvanizes you?

Y’all know what it is for me, right? This darned workbook+planner that I cannot stop talking about. Yes, I’m an affiliate so I make money from sales. No, I wouldn’t be so over-the-top thrilled with this if it wasn’t truly making a difference in my life. That’s not how I roll. Authenticity isn’t an easy lifestyle, but it’s the only one for me.

I mentioned yesterday about a goal already being hit, right? I wouldn’t have even thought about that without the amazing releasing ceremony.

I know right? How did a releasing ceremony push me into goals for 2013? Weird but true.

That goal was to get a fabulous illustrator for my Fairy Tales Tarot Spreads eBook. You can get the non-illustrated for free by purchasing this workbook+planner via . Then when the illustrated version is released for sale, you can get it for free too. What’s not to love?

Get sparking, y’all.

Seven of Disks, The Mary-el Tarot, Schiffer Books 2012

Seek Joy, Y’all. Pass it on!

Illuminate, Illustrate & Dream

I see this as a call to illuminate my heart more. To bring color and swirls in. Be more decorative. And that does tie into this lovely card from the Rumi Tarot.

Rumi_7CupsToday’s card reminds me that an illuminated heart is a lovely thing to own. It’s an even lovelier thing to share. Not because of the quote on the card, but because of the header on the back of the book that goes with this deck.

What does it mean to you to have an illuminated heart? For me, I read that word in two ways. One is the common “lit up” way but the other way is the idea that illuminating something is to decorate it. The Book of Kells (oooh look! One you can color on your own!) is an illuminated (and illuminating) book for me.

Another of those is this that I’m doing. We’ve just had a discussion about the 100 things we are each choosing. I’ve confessed that I’ve written down about eight. Someone else, who’s done this workbook in the past, shared that hers included fun, fanciful things like eat a purple cake with sprinkles. Her advice was to loosen up a bit–to play some more.

I see this as a call to illuminate my heart more. To bring color and swirls in. Be more decorative. And that does tie into this lovely card from the Rumi Tarot.

Here we are told

the present world is but a dream the sleeper imagines to be real.

Seems a bit chastising in a way, but what if the dream we are having is one where the present world is moving towards joy? What if we all focus on the same dream of good coming out on top? What then?

Wouldn’t that be a lovely reality as well as dream?

Illuminate your heart first. Then watch as the light spreads decoration and hope to the person you are closest to and then from them to the next.

We are strong human beings, y’all. Imagine how fierce and strong we are when we focus on the same thing. Just dream how marvelous that could be.

A whole world with illuminated hearts…

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Join me on my and then friend me here on Facebook so I can get you into the group. We are thrilled to have you join us.

7 of Cups, Guide to the Rumi Tarot, Llewellyn Publications, 2009

Hoops, Gratitudes & Magnets

Y’all, the two things that have literally saved me from being a crazy, neurotic, needs-to-be-saved woman are as follows:

Today’s card reminds me of something my therapist asked me today. Yes, I see a therapist regularly. I find it really helps to have her insight into my life. I’ve seen her for 3 or 4 years now. Highly recommend her as well if you are in Austin. 😀

Any who! I digress. She asked me what I was grateful for this year. I had to laugh when I said:

The stress at my job because I learned how to navigate it.

My relationship with all of its bumps and bounces along the way because it taught me what to value.

My family because I’ve learned what is really important.

And so many other things that might have taken me under just a few years ago.

Y’all, the two things that have literally saved me from being a crazy, neurotic, needs-to-be-saved woman are as follows:

1. I can only control what is in my hula hoop.

2. Seek joy, y’all.

Those two life philosophies turned me around. I’ve learned how to gently release negative people. I’ve become a joy magnet attracting other like-minded folk. I’ve made a difference in my own life. Others have told me I’ve made a difference in theirs as well. That makes me cry. Joyfully.

The 7 of Pentacles is traditionally a card of the gardener. We see someone in a garden or field usually at rest. They are reflecting on the work it took to get them to where they are now.

Take some time. Reflect on your year. What are you grateful for? It doesn’t have to be like mine. This is about you. I would love to know what your gratitudes are.

And as a side note, if you have gotten a copy of , let me know. I’ll add you to the private Facebook group. If you want to be added that is. Let me know. 😀 Don’t know what that is? See my post about it here.

So gratitude. What does it look like to you for 2012?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

7 of Pentacles, Archeon Tarot Deck, U.S. Games 2005

Psst, I want to do a shout out for Amethyst Mahoney’s Limitless Abundance Breakthrough Session. Have you heard about it?