#allthequeensresources

The reason I was looking up Tarot Journals was because I was thinking about creating one of my own! So I came up with this, I think it turned out pretty cute :) The idea is basically to have a template to write about your daily tarot card draw. If you like it, feel free to download it with stars or without stars and use it for your journaling ♡

I am SUUUUPER EXCITED to finally post this! I’ve been working pretty hard on creating this Daily Draw Tarot Journal for a couple weeks now, and it’s finally done! Yaya!

Basically what happened was, I’d been looking for a tarot journal for awhile now that was everything I wanted, but I couldn’t find one, so I made my own! I’ve already been using it and found it was pretty handy, so I thought I’d share with everyone :) 

Check it out! In this PDF download you get:

a monthly calendar so you can have a big picture of the cards you pull each day

a daily draw page for each day that includes spots to record the date, deck, keywords and notes, morning interpretation and an evening reflection (as well as a spot to either write the name of your card, draw it, or paste in the icons that are also included!)

a summary page for the end of each month so you can tally up what cards you’ve pulled and reflect on the trends etc.

card icons that match the theme which you can cut out and paste into the card section on the daily draw

each PDF comes with a month’s worth of journaling, but to add more, all you have to do is print out the specific pages you need again!

This also coincides with the launch of my All The Queens Tarot Store, so please go check it out as well :) This is the only item on there for now, but I hope there will be more soon! 

(Note that the images are just mockups, it’s a PDF that you have to print out yourself! Also the pages are all blank - I’ve written in them to show what it could look like, but when you print yours out, it will ready for you to fill out!)

I just stumbled upon a really cool tarot reader/blog called Spiral Sea Tarot!

Check out some of her amazing free resources on her blog, things like:

Spreads Through The Major Arcana

Dreamwork & Tarot

Reading In The Flow

Delivering A Memorable Email Reading

Getting To Know The Court Characters

Also I really love the #tarotthursdaythree section, where she posts 3 tarot-related questions that you can copy and answer on your own blog or social media account!

After doing some of my free online readings, it got me thinking about something interesting regarding how people form questions. Basically, the way someone asks a question of Tarot says a lot about their viewpoint on fate/destiny (or determinism) and free will.

I think there are three valid ways to consider it - the future is predetermined and we have no control over what will happen, we have total control over what will happen through our actions and mindsets, and a mixture of both - we have some control, but some things are beyond our control.

Whatever viewpoint you believe most strongly, will influence the way you ask questions of the Tarot.

If you believe in the first - the future is predetermined - I think you’ll be a lot more likely to ask questions that lean toward the divination aspect of the Tarot. Closed questions, such as, will I ever meet the right person? Will I get this job? Personally, I don’t find the Tarot works well for me in this way. The answers it gives are so much bigger than yes/no questions, so much more complex and nuanced, that when I’ve tried asking questions like this (and trust me, I have) more often than not I’ve come away more confused about the outcome than I was in the beginning.

If you lean more towards the second ideology - we have total control over everything, and nothing is fated or destined - you’ll tend to ask more open-ended questions. How can I be open to finding love? What do I need to do to increase my chances of getting this job? This leaves things very open - you’re not asking for a definite outcome, but instead for a greater understanding about where you’re positioned in your current situation, as well as some strategies to move forward with it. And in this, you can affect the outcome of anything, through both thought and action.

And lastly, the mixed approach - we both have control and are subject to things beyond our control. I think this is probably the most popular way of viewing our future, and this is the best way that the Tarot works for me personally. This doesn’t have to be everyone’s approach, of course, but this is how I feel most comfortable engaging it. Questions I ask are similar to the above, but also with an understanding that there are some situations where despite my thoughts or actions, I may not be able to affect change in my situation. In those cases, I often look for insight on how to best deal with the cards I’ve been dealt (pun intended!)

I find it gives me two things - a new perspective on how to mentally (be that intellectually or emotionally or otherwise) approach a situation, whether it’s one I feel I have complete control over or not, and a path forward in action based on those realizations. 

By viewing the Tarot as something that gives me insight, it helps me see things in a way I hadn’t considered, truly realize things I already kind of knew (but maybe wasn’t ready to accept yet), or even reinforce beliefs I already was conscious of. For me, this is the greatest benefit of Tarot reading! I believe it can help in both situations where you have total control, and in those where you’re just dealing with what life’s given you. It’s all in your approach!

I also do believe that it can show me possible outcomes, if I continue on the path I’m on. I’ve never done a Tarot reading that gave me the sense of a definite outcome, as much as I’ve wanted it to. For example, I recently did a reading about a personal issue I was having, and the cards told me (repeatedly, in many ways, in fact) that I was being too overly emotional, and letting my feelings get in the way of thinking rationally on the conflict. The outcome was that it would eventually lead to a breakdown of communication, mistrust, and overall more conflict than was even necessary. So I took that message and I stood back from the situation and realized the truth in it, and I resolved to make a greater effort to approach things with a more calm, even approach. To think over my reactions before just exploding with the first feeling I had. And in the end, my approach helped eliminate the negative situation altogether - I mean, it’s obvious, right? Whenever you’re having conflict with someone, it’s always better to take a step back from your overwhelming emotions, and try to approach it calmly and rationally. But being caught up in the moment and in powerful emotions, before I did the reading the thought hadn’t even occurred to me in that situation!

I find the questions I ask of the Tarot always take this approach - what more can I learn about this situation, what can I do to make it better or positive, and where am I headed if I continue on the path I’m currently on? I just find that for me personally, the cards naturally lead toward and support answers to questions phrased in that way anyway, so I think it’s been a natural learning progression to adopt this approach.

As I’ve been learning about Tarot, I keep seeing the words “shadow work” come up, and I’ve been curious about what it is exactly since a lot of the beginner type books I’ve read don’t really touch on it at all.

So what exactly is shadow work?

Shadow work is a therapeutic technique above all else. Shadow work encompasses several creative ways of coming to terms with the aspects of ourselves that we've demonized, hated, been afraid to confront, and tried to elude by suppressing those pieces into the subconscious (shadow self). Shadow work involves asking yourself the tough questions. Its about figuring out what our own pain wants and accepting what it is here to teach us. In this case, the technique involves pulling a tarot or oracle card while asking the tough questions.. and then contemplating how the symbolism and imagery of the card relates to the answer you are looking for.

taken from http://www.tarottoska.com/

Sounds intense, but interesting to me!

A great resource I found in my searching was Kelly-Ann Maddox’s Shadow Work Playlist. It includes all sorts of information like, how to begin with shadow work, spreads to use, techniques and tips, and some thoughts on the value of it. Looks like a good place to start!