Just Be

Soul Trees Oracle Deck

Spiral thoughts aren’t always storms.

Sometimes they’re just the mind reminding you it has layers.

Soul Trees Study Session, Interrupted

Today’s lesson: Sometimes Self Care means letting your familiar stage a full notebook takeover while you try to write about inner peace.

Branches: stripped.

Patience: tested.

The Emperor

A long, winding road has led this stag to his elevated place. And though the ground is rocky and not exactly sturdy, he stands rooted — surefooted, tall, and firm.

He cradles a full moon in his antlers, suggesting that his logical and structured ruling is tempered by emotional awareness. This Emperor is not all rigid rules or unyielding law of the land. His rightful rulership has been earned. It is quiet, unassuming, and natural

Both the moon and the falling autumn leaves indicate that this Emperor is no stranger to change. He carries with him a wooden carving of a ram — perhaps his predecessor. Rams are indicative of springtime, and its placement here, among the falling leaves, seems to say: “Do not forget how you arrived here. Your experiences on that long, dark road made you who you are today.”

This card is here because something is shifting. The “season” is changing.

The Chariot – Oak, Ash & Thorn

There are no thundering hooves, no battle cries here.

A magpie sits, covered in the still of the night,

gathering dewdrops.

A swift creature of flight, it’s grounded —

seemingly frozen.

A snail has slowly made its way atop the magpie,

reaching out into the dark,

silently, gently — yet urgently urging the magpie forth again.

This Chariot is not about rushing forward with force or intensity.

It is time.

It does not even ask you to pick your path.

It says simply:

Start. Begin.

Take one step forth.

Begin again.

However unsure you may be,

you must begin.

We cannot rest amongst the stars,

bathing in the early morning dew,

Judgement — Oak, Ash & Thorn

A white bird ascends into a brilliantly clear, starry sky, surrounded by other winged creatures — butterflies — who represent transformation and ascension. They are not the same species as the bird, but they are of the same realm.

Here, they seem to be united in chorus for the bird, ushering it up and out of the fog — the obfuscation of the smoky clouds, impossible to see through or breathe in.

This could mean your spirit guides are calling upon you to rise above the mess you’re in, in order to see the big picture with brand new clarity.

Or... it could be saying you are surrounded by people who are quietly cheering you on, rooting for you, and will be there to support you if you reach out.

Either way — you won’t get anywhere until you spread your own wings and take flight.

This is not to make it sound simple — the pain you’re feeling, or the problem you’re facing, is heavy. Those clouds seem insurmountable.

But this card is here to tell you:

They are not.

You can rise above it — but you have to do the work.

Though your wings may be rusty,

they are ready.

The Hierophant – Oak, Ash & Thorn

An owl stands ready with the tools you need to unlock the answers you seek.

However, this Hierophant urges you to go deeper than man-made rituals and traditions.

The chains and lock are bound around an ancient autumn tree, where a staff and compass are also entwined.

The owl is awake, aware, and almost impatiently awaiting you.

What is so poignant is that in this nature-themed deck, this Hierophant asks you to consider going all the way back — further and deeper than anything man has built.

No established rules or rituals apply here. You must seek your own naked intuition, your wildest instincts, to find the answers you seek.

But the compass suggests that it’s not as simple as grasping that key and opening the door.

The Moon – Oak, Ash & Thorn

Usually, The Moon evokes a feeling of fear — the unknown, illusion, confusion.

But this Moon card is much more peaceful.

The crescent moon cradles an animal known for its high energy and busy mind.

The squirrel sleeps peacefully.

This card is whispering:

“Shh... your body and mind need a rest.

You are spinning your wheels.

The answers you seek are within you.

You only need to stop and listen.”

The squirrel is completely supported by the lush forest.

The Universe protects and holds you the same way.

It is time to stop letting yourself be tortured by your own thoughts.

Settle down. Rest.

Listen to your quiet intuition.

The Hermit – Oak, Ash & Thorn

Most Hermit cards depict some kind of journey, with the idea that the end result is solitude.

That’s true here as well — but there are subtle differences.

This hedgehog has laid down its staff, or walking stick. It has stopped to pause, to listen to the firefly... and perhaps, to see all the orbs around it for the first time.

Perhaps the firefly is reminding it that it need not travel far, or embark on some grand journey for answers.

If solitude is what this hedgehog needs, all it needs to do is curl up into itself.

Observe your surroundings. Then retreat within yourself to quiet the cacophony of noise.

The answers you seek are all around you.

The Hanged Man from Oak, Ash, and Thorn

There are many perspectives — and much to witness — in this quiet scene of a dark and rainy night.

A mouse suspends itself from a stem that seems too fragile to bear such weight... yet it holds. It endures.

The rain, though gentle, still soaks the mouse. In truth, nothing here remains dry.

The grass accepts the rain’s weight — it adapts, it bends.

The flowers take each drop open-faced, receiving it fully.

But the mouse... the mouse resists.

It seems frozen, stuck — and that stillness does nothing to shield it from the storm. Reality still falls.

This Hanged Man, like so many, invites us to consider every perspective held within a moment.

The grass and flowers have much to teach the mouse — about yielding, about vulnerability, about weathering what simply is.

And in that, we find the quiet truth:

Sometimes, surrender is all we have.