The Dark Side Of The Sun: Tarot Blog Hop: Lammas

It’s not that I hate the sun…Joanne’s blog hop theme just made me look at things a bit differently.

Joanne asks: So, give us your take on the influence of the Sun and/or Mercury in the Tarot or your favorite oracle deck. Pick a specific themed deck or go for one of the basics, talk astrology, or not, your choice. Tell us about a card or a spread that illustrates the properties associated with these celestial objects. There are various possibilities, particularly with Mercury, but there are also deities in different mythologically themed decks besides the Sun card (although you could also go there) that could shed some light on that symbol as well. Do a little research, consult your intuition, and teach us. 😉

First, welcome to our Tarot Blog Hop. If you want to join us, come find us on Facebook. We’d love to have other community-minded bloggers!

[Tweet “Hooray! It’s #tarotbloghop day. Sun, Mercury + 18 bloggers. Fascinating stuff, y’all.”]

Joanne’s theme was hard for me. I am going to have to confess something here. I am not a Sun lover. I don’t like summer. I rejoice at Litha because the long hot days are going to be over eventually. Mabon is one of my favorite Sabbats because it is the harbinger of fall. I. Do. Not. Like. Hot.

Except in food, that is. Spicy food makes me happy. 😀 Burned flesh does not. I’ve had 2nd degree burns from the sun due to my Casper like coloring. We joke that I have two colors–white and red. Oh and that lovely in-between peel.

So the Sun to me is not always a good thing. In Tarot, it tends to be one of those cards that most see in a very positive light. I’m going to turn that around to discuss the dark side of the Sun. Yes, with a spread. 😀

First a few words about these shots of the sun. I took all of these the last days of July and the first days of August 2015. I shot them with an iPhone 6 using the app Hipstamatic. I’m taking an EXCELLENT eCourse with Mellissae Lucia. You should definitely check it out. So much fun and not a bunch of Fstop this etc. Very intuitive stuff. Nest iPhone Image Adventure starts in September. Don’t worry Android users…Vintage is a very fun app for your phones. Someone in this class is doing it with her Droid. I’ll be in the next class too. Join me.

Dark Side Of The Sun

1. Sunburn: What are you overexposed to right now? What do you need to limit in your life?

2. Burnout: What is taking up too much of your energy right now? What do you need to pay attention to as an energy sinkhole?

3. Drought: Where are you not getting enough “juice” in your life? What do you need to get more of in order to thrive?

4. Solar Flares: Who or what seems to be flaming out of control in your world? Can you do anything about it or do you just need to set firmer boundaries?

5. Heat Exhaustion: What are you doing too much of? This is most likely a physical activity. Or it is something you are not doing enough of.

It’s not that I hate the sun. I’m just not its biggest fan. Now hop on to the next blog to see what my neighbor has to say.

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Dreams, Prosperity + Getting Out Of The Way

One of my big things I preach when doing a reading is the concept of prosperity. I harp on the fact that prosperity is so much more than mere money in the bank.

Okay, this is really crazy. You know how they say, “Just speak your desire out loud” or “Write your goal down”?

This morning I wrote down about twenty things on my list of 100 things to do in 2014. Tonight I found out that I will be marking one of them off my list next week. Yeah. How about them apples?

It’s an unexpected gift. It’s an incredibly generous gift.

I firmly believe in the power of stating what you want. And then letting go of it. Sometimes, we get in the way of our dreams. We try to control them. We try to channel them into what we think is the right thing.

[Tweet “Sometimes, the right thing is to shut up and let go.”\

I’ll be doing more work with my workbook. I haven’t even written down the big goals.

One of my big things I preach when doing a reading is the concept of prosperity. I harp on the fact that prosperity is so much more than mere money in the bank. It’s above and beyond that.

Prosperity is the people in our lives. It’s the home we live in. It’s the laughter and joy we generate. It’s not just green, folding cash. It’s what makes us feel wealthy.

I pulled a card focused on “what do I need to know about my prosperity.”

The answer? The Sun. A beautiful orange tabby cat leans against a post. He’s home. He’s safe. He’s enjoying a simple pot of daisies and a gorgeous view.

My answer to “what do I need to know about my prosperity” is to enjoy what I have. Realize that I am living a very prosperous life.

It only gets better from here.

Sun, Cat’s Eye Tarot, U.S. Games Systems Inc

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

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Tasks, Gold + Akashic Records

Bindiya Aravandekar is my guest tonight on You Never Know. Set your alarms now so you don’t miss this one. Do watch the show at http://www.paraencountersnetwork.com/ Time:10:00pm EST.

Today’s card is a reminder to focus on what’s important. There are so many things in our daily lives that require attention. So many choices to make. But sometimes multi-tasking isn’t the way to go.

This Sun from the Illuminati Tarot by Erik C. Dunne and Kim Huggens reminds me of that. See this opulent sun? Set in a mirror of gold, it really can’t be missed.

What things in your life can’t be missed? Time to make a list of what needs to be done. Then do it!

For me, that’s working on my workbook. I have been holding off starting because I want the time to be right. Since tonight is the first night of the Full Moon (I do Full Moon workings the day before, day of and day after), I will start tonight.

But first, I have to prepare my Yule Tarot Blog Hop post. Then I have to go to work. And then I get to chat with a very interesting woman tonight!

Bindiya Aravandekar is my guest tonight on You Never Know. Set your alarms now so you don’t miss this one. Do watch the show at http://www.paraencountersnetwork.com/ Time:10:00pm EST.

We will be talking about the Akashic Records. Bindiya will discuss how she works with Akashic Record Healing to coach her clients and the healing that it has brought about.

She says she’s a bit nervous so I do hope a lot of you will show up to support her. See you tonight!

One thing I learned from Leonie’s fab workbook is the art of making a list of Most Important Tasks. Mine are simple. Each day walking 5000 steps and drinking 32 oz of water is on that list. Then I have a third one blank so I can add one more. And remember, if you get the workbook (the downloadable one), you get a free three card email reading from me. 😀

Sometimes that thing is “Smile at more people” or “compliment three strangers” or “focus on not responding to the bait”. Grin. I have to adjust it for me each day.

[Tweet “So your journal prompt is, “What are my three most important tasks today?”.”]

Sun, Illuminati Tarot, Llewellyn, 2013

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

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Suns and Best Friends

Today’s card caused me to giggle uncontrollably. Why? It’s a language thing. The Sun is a card of energy and movement. It’s about health and life and home and happiness. It’s one of my birth cards.

Here, in the richly colored Gypsy Palace Tarot, the name is translated into English, German, Spanish and Hungarian. In Hungarian, this vibrantly alive card is “A Nap.”

Awww, c’mon! That’s funny. 😀 If you find words amusing, and I do. 😀

But look at this woman? She braids her hair from the very energy of the sun. She is a barefoot deva channeling the brilliance and beauty of the card. I love her frank stare and that little crooked “I know how to push your buttons, baby” smirk. She wears a flower on her hip and an anklet of what might be wheat. It is the same thing that decorates her wrap. I just want to dance into this card to whirl around and around with her. Don’t you?

Have you ever met someone like that? Someone who engaged you, inspired you, made you laugh even though you might not have known why? Someone who just made you want to be the kind of person they would like?

I have. I’m blessed to still know that person too. Her name is Cai and she’s been my best friend since we were 16. At 51, I can tell you that we have weathered a lot of bumps. We’ve learned how to navigate life’s interesting “whoops” moments. I know I do it with more grace because of Cai.

Today isn’t her birthday. It isn’t the anniversary of our meeting (I don’t even know what that date is…sometime in June, I think.) It isn’t anything other than just another day in the year where I give thanks for the blessing that is my best friend, Cai. She inspires me.

Yeah, I love her. And I don’t even have to say “not that way, y’all” because it doesn’t matter. Love is love is love. I hope you have someone in your life like Cai. Someone who is your rock and lets you be their rock. Someone who is strong when you aren’t. Someone who doesn’t worry about what others will think.

I guess this is a love letter to my bestie. 😀 It isn’t the first. It won’t be the last. She’s one of a kind. I hope you have one of a kind too.

The Sun, Gypsy Palace Tarot, Nora Huszka

Go like her Facebook page, please. 😀

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

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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]

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TarotBlogHop: Litha 2013

Blog Before Me | Master List | Blog After Me

Welcome to the Litha 2013 Tarot Blog Hop. I’m one stop among many in a community of Tarot enthusiasts who take time out ever six weeks or so to join together.

We have a different wrangler for each hop. That person gets to pick the time (6AM GMT this go-round) and the topic. The dates are pagan in nature, but the topics don’t have to be.

This hop’s delightful hostess, Sharon, has challenged us with the following:

…for all of us to share our own gifts with each other in creative and/or playful ways.

I’ve thought about this a lot in the past month or so. And my mind kept skittering around and around. Would I share a poem? No, did that yesterday–I even have an index. Would I share a recipe? That went on the list but I do have an index for that too. Would I share my writing? Well, it’s adult, VERY!, in nature, so probably not. Would I create a spread? That’s always fun so that’s on the list. Yeah, there’s an index of those, too. Of course, I could share some of my Zentangle art. That’s a new gift of mine. But I’ve share it so much. And apparently I have two indices for that– here and here. That makes my twitchy twitchy compulsive self want to go change all those tags RIGHT NOW.

Still, I love creating spreads and I love tangling. I tried to create a spread that used the art of Zentangle, but it just didn’t lend itself well. Like a jealous lover, Zentangle refused to conform to Tarot…or I was just not in the mood to create there.

Then it hit me. I create most often with words. I am, at the very heart and soul of me, a wordsmith. My Tarot spreads ebook is one example. My work as half of the team of Marilu Mann is another.

But these posts that I do every day? Yeah, daily creativity. Daily bits of me putting myself out there in fun, creative ways. And indexes. 😀

I turned to the Tarot to see what it said. And the Universe, via the ever-literal Gaian Tarot, is laughing at me again!

MOOOOOOOOOOOM!

I mean really! The Sun? Grin. Okay yeah. The Sun. That’s because I’m kicking off my five week online Tarot course on Saturday. So I’m going to be celebrating my way of teaching Tarot to others. I’m going to be showing others how to shine as readers. We are going to shine the spotlight on our own intuitive selves. There are seats left if you want to get in on the fun.

Of course, the Sun card is the perfect Litha card as well since in my religion, Wicca, Litha celebrates the longest day of the year. Silly Universe! I knew that!

Not a bad thing after all. And here I thought I’d have nothing to write about in a blog about creativity.

Now go hop to the next or hop to the one behind me. If any links are broken (and we generally have a few hiccups), just hit the master list to navigate around them.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Blog Before Me | Master List | Blog After Me

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What Will You Do For 180 Seconds?

The sun burned my eyes on my walk back in. I couldn’t see a thing and nearly walked into a neighbor taking his morning stroll.

Today’s card reminds me to soak it up. This orange tabby understands the value of making time to enjoy the day. The bright daisies next to him (did you know 85% of all orange tabby cats are male?) remind him to find beauty everywhere.

The sun is shining on him. See his shadow on the white post? He’s my reminder to seek joy today. To look for small things like daisies. On my morning walk with the dogs today, I was treated to the high pitched chirp of the female cardinal. I saw her in her feathered suit of brown and red then caught the brilliant flash of her mate as he zipped into a tree near her. A blue jay shouted out from somewhere that he was in the market for luuuurve while a mockingbird bachelor took up residence high on a telephone pole.

Did you know that the bachelor mockingbird will sing nearly non-stop while looking for his partner? Also, he flings himself way up into the air to show off his silver and white and black handsome self. Of course, if you’ve ever been the bedroom window the bachelor chooses to sing outside of, then this may not bring you all the joy it could. LOL.

The sun burned my eyes on my walk back in. I couldn’t see a thing and nearly walked into a neighbor taking his morning stroll. He called a good morning to me knowing I couldn’t see due to the sun in my eyes. Just a neighborly thing to do when the sun is at your back.

Spring is coming. It’s still late winter of course but here in Texas that looks very different from my years in Michigan or in Colorado.

What will bring you joy today? What does late winter look like where you are? Rather than rail at the weather that is, find some joy in it. Allow your heart to open up to joy.

Can you commit to three minutes, just 180 seconds, of seeking joy today?

Some of my loved ones are having such hard times right now. Know that I have you in my heart and love you very much.

And that goes for all of you reading this. I love you. It really is that simple for me in this moment.

Sun, Cat’s Eye Tarot, U.S. Games 2011 (used with permission)

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

The Cat’s Eye Tarot is a personal favorite of mine that I use in public readings. I recommend this deck.

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Sun, Circus & Muscle

Today’s card is a reminder of what you can reach. It also made me giggle because I was thinking of my bucket list event last night.

One of the things Leonie Dawson’s personal planner does is has you build a list of things you want to do for 2013. These are not necessarily huge things. But it got me to thinking about my bucket list for my life.

No, I haven’t seen the movie.
Yes, I want to see the movie.

Anyway! One of those bucket list items was to see Cirque Du Soleil. I did that last night. I went solo but sat next to the most charming man. He’s seen CdS many times and told me quite a bit. We were sitting two rows from the floor on the side. So while I may not have seen the full frontal approach, what I saw mesmerized me. I even forgot to clap every now and again.

This show, Saltimbanco, is not one of the huge production numbers that the others seem to be (if I am to believe the advertising). It was far more focused on the acrobatics along with some very silly interludes. There was music. There were fanciful folk who seemed to be truly enjoying their time on stage. I loved it.

I will be going to see “O” based on the suggestion of the gentleman. Oddly, I never got his name. Learned a lot about him…he graduated from high school in the town where I was born. Small world, right?

But check this card out. Do you see why it made me giggle when I pulled it? Other than the whole Sun/Soleil funny.

The dancer in the lower left of course. Her form reminded me of what I saw last night.

That made me think of all the years and years of training each performer must have gone through just to get to the Cirque du Soleil troupe. And then how much they must practice to make it look so easy.

That ties into my philosophy about seeking joy, y’all. It’s not easy, really. Not always. You have to practice it. You have to stay mentally focused on seeking joy.

We are wired to look for trouble and danger. Did you know that? It’s true. It’s part of the survival instinct.

So if you want to change your world, you have to exercise your joy-seeking muscle every day.

Have you gotten your workbook+planner yet? We have started gathering in the seeeekrit Facebook page. We would love for you to join us as well. Go to this page to get your workbook. It’s not pricey! You can get both for $17.90 or either the business or personal for $9.95. Then you print it off. So if you aren’t into the colors, you can do black and white.

Seek joy, y’all! Work that muscle until you are ready for the big stage. We will call it Hoop du Joy!

Sky Dancer (Sun), Waking the Wild Spirit, OOP

Really, I love it this much!

Not convinced? Check out my video review of the personal planner to see if for yourself.

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Monsters, Skulls & Happiness

What do you do when some monster is gnawing on your skull? American Tarot Association president offers some tips.

Today’s card invariable makes me laugh. I don’t know if it is the skulls or the two headed monster gnawing on bones while reclining on a blanket. There’s just something so happy about this freaky little card.

Even the skulls look delighted to be contributing to the monster picnic. The bat up in the corner is obviously highly amused as well.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to find joy. Y’all know that I advocate looking for small things to make you happy. They pile up. Once you get in the habit of seeking joy, it sneaks up on you.

I’d love to hear how you’ve found joy lately. What’s helping you stay positive? Share your tips and tricks. Check what others say as well.

Consider today the Professional Joy Seeker’s in-service workshop. what makes you want to hang upside down and laugh like this bat? What keeps your skull grinning even when someone is trying to suck your marrow out?

This is the Sun from the Halloween Tarot from U.S. Games Systems, INC (1997, 2003) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1572810343/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1572810343&linkCode=as2&tag=anisoptera-20

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Tag: Sun