Sarah

forming a routine. getting more sleep. showering more often. eating more than one meal a day. finishing an assignment on time. allowing yourself to take breaks when you need them. drinking more water. going outside more. spending more time socializing. not going to events that are draining. cleaning the dishes before they pile up.

you're allowed to express that anger. you're allowed to feel that anger.

It’s okay to grieve for time spent surviving instead of living.

It’s okay to wish you could go back and change the past.

My extended family being a mixture of pagan witches, Catholic witches, superstitious agnostics, and open-minded atheists, we have very different practices. But here are some that are common among us.

A Fully Lit House

At the turn of the year, every single light inside the house – including the ones in the closets, as well as the candles on our altars – should be lit. Light attracts abundance, and every corner of the house should be able to receive it.

Coin-Filled Pockets

We believe that your state of mind and state of being when the clock strikes 12 will define your state for the entire year ahead. So pockets filled with coins on New Year’s Eve means assured prosperity for you in the next 12 months.

Jumping at Midnight

Something only the children do. With coins spilling out of their pockets, they jump up and down during the first minute of the New Year. So that they can grow tall, strong and agile. No one really believes this one, but it’s fun, so kids do it.

Uncaged Pets

Dogs, cats and birds should be unleashed or uncaged. Because everyone in the house should be free when the clock strikes 12. This sends away any oppressive energy, setting the tone for the year. Don’t worry, our birds always come home.

Open Windows

Speaking of bad energy, its opposite should be invited in. So we leave all the windows open. Ideally, all doors and gates should be open too. But since some of us live in condominiums instead of houses, not everyone can do that second part.

Deep Cleaning

While we have housemaids, and hire professional carpet, curtain and ceiling cleaners during the year, on the eve of New Year’s Eve, we do it ourselves. Residents must use their own hands to clear their home of any of the past year’s negativity.

The Guest

We should always have a guest. Or more. Someone to feed. Someone to entertain. Someone to cater to. Because if we exude generosity at the start of the year, it will come back to us, if we ever find ourselves in need of it.

12 Round Fruits

I will not let you deny my evolution, because I fought for it. I am still fighting.

You see, somewhere amidst trauma and sickness, I realized that I can no longer hold who I was against myself. I acknowledge her, and I renounce her. I am not her anymore.

The person you remember was sick and scared, cowering, putting on mask after mask and praying one fit, selecting the ones that snarl and sneer, because she equated that with strength.

There are no more masks, no more snarls. I am healing. I am at peace with who I was and who I am. I continue to grow.

You will not take from me what I have bled from battered fingertips fighting for. You will not reduce me to the sickened child I once was when I have drained the poison from my own veins. You will not belittle the will it took to take a knife to my own heart and carve away the rot. You cannot steal this from me.

I have made amends with myself. I have looked within and treated the trauma that sickened my soul.

I am not who I was.

So tarot card questions are actually a lot different than asking a specific question. You wouldn’t say, for example, “Is my dad going to graduate?” because if you got the 3 of cups, you would be utterly confused as to why I did not provide a yes or a no. So below I am going to list questions that are good to ask the cards. 

• I’m at a fork in the road. Which way should I go?

• How do I weigh out the choices I have? What are the Pros and Cons?

• What do I need to know to make the best decision? What do I need to know?

• What do I need to know about a situation with a family member?

• What do I need to know about my love life?

• What do I need to know about my career?

Moving forward

• How do I move forward in my career?

• How do I move forward in my relationship/ love life?

• What is coming forth in my life?

• Which foundation is the strongest to build on in my life?

* What should I do?

• What should/ shouldn’t I do about a situation with my job?

• What should/ shouldn’t I do about a situation with a friend or family member?

• How can I restore my hope for the future?

• What overall positives do I bring to my life?

• What positives do the people in my life provide me?

• Is there meaning in my life?

• Is there love in my life? Hidden Elements

• Are there things I am ignoring that are important?

• What am I not seeing?

• What is holding me back?

• Are there truths that I am denying?

• Are there things that I see that are untrue?

• What important things have I forgotten?

• What could get in my way?

• What is most important for me to get done?

• How will a certain occasion or event turn out?

• What will be the best way for me to communicate with certain people?

• What should I learn from my past?

• What is the impending future telling me?

• What cycles am I stuck in?

• What have a learned from my past?

• Where am I strongest?

• What should I look out for?