Friday Deep Dive: Three of Wands 🌟 Wands are the suit that talks about the fires that burn inside of us – our wild, passionate spirits. Like a candle flame, if we keep our inspirations closed up inside of us in the dark, they will eventually snuff out. The Threes are where we start to feed our little flame with oxygen. It is the point in our story where we start to share what we’re thinking with other people to see what works, and what more there is to learn.  🌟 I like to think of the Three of Wands as a spiritual community – like a circle of witches, getting together to make our magic stronger, or as a collaborative of artists refining their shared vision. It can be excruciatingly vulnerable to share our ideas and beliefs for the first time, because we are opening ourselves to ridicule and failure. It is all too easy at this point to back away, tell ourselves it’s stupid exactly because we’re the ones who came up with it, and let that flame snuff out. The Three is an invitation to move through that first gate on your journey, share what’s burning inside of us, and open yourself to let your path be shaped in part by your larger community. We do nothing in this world alone. . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotnerd #tarotdaily  #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving #tarotofinstagram   (at Staunton, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5K9-Mrna2c/?igshid=kazwwccpmp5a

Friday Deep Dive: Six of Coins 🌟 “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” It’s an old socialist slogan that really embodies the nature of this card. Sixes are a harmonious number, where we learn to balance our own needs with the needs of our people. We know that it is right to tend to our communities, and to share with those in need when we have an over-abundance. We don’t always accept that as a member of that community ourselves, we deserve care when we’re in need. Sometimes being open to receiving is the harder lesson than remembering to be generous. It’s definitely humbling, but the truth is we’ve all been both up and down, and needing help or resources is not a referendum on your worth as a person. When we draw this card, we are reminded that no person lives in a vacuum, and we’re being asked to remember our place in the larger community, and how we can both contribute and accept help when it’s needed. . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotnerd #tarotdaily  #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving #tarotofinstagram   (at Staunton, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B45MMzenJyO/?igshid=uw1q2591yix0

Friday Deep Dive: 🌟 Justice: Justice sits at the center of the Major Arcana, acting as a moment of perfect balance before we tip forward into a deep and challenging journey. Justice is clear-eyed, fair-minded, and firm. Justice says that whatever’s going on, it’s not personal, it’s not a judgement on your goodness or your worth in the same way that in the forest, the predator catching the prey isn’t a judgement on the prey’s worth. We can see that there’s something larger happening than just this single owl and this single mouse. Both in turn have their place in the maintaing the harmony of the eco-system. 🌟 Justice shows up to let us know that what’s going on for us right now is larger than us and reminds us that we are just one part of a whole picture. This can be a humbling reminder, but it’s also comforting – we belong to the world, and our place in it matters – just not more or less than anything else’s place. 🌟 Justice, sitting in the middle of the Trumps, has a certain magnetism to it. It draws our attention back when we being to struggle with our internal stories about what’s happening (or when we spend too much time reading The Secret). It tells us that we can’t change what has happened, but we have agency over the choices we make moving forward, and that right there is how we weave the story of our life into the larger picture of the world.  The Universe is a complex, ever-shifting place. We are involved in an intricate, twisting dance and Justice rules over every step. In this way, the feather that falls from the sky at your feet has nothing to do with you, and yet holds special magic meant just for you. Justice sees the larger picture and accepts the paradox. . . . . For a real good look at the what the cards have to say about you and your life, hit the link in my bio for my affordable reading options. . . . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotspread #tarotnerd #tarotdaily #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving #tarotdeepdive #justice   (at Staunton, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4C9pMYHGc6/?igshid=1t8erffwem76b

Friday Deep Dive: 8 of Swords. 🌟 This card says, no one can do this work but you! What tedious thing are you avoiding? The thing about personal growth is that it’s very rarely about glamorous big epiphanies. It’s usually about daily habits, changing the choices we make, and reviewing and editing the things we say to ourselves and others. 🌟 Sometimes I equate the suit of Swords to the process of writing an essay – a very mental and communicative effort. Roughly, the Ace would be the new idea, the 3 is research and interviewing, the 5 is that counterpoint to your thesis that makes you question everything, and by the time we get to the 8 we’ve got a pretty good outline and all the content ready, and now it’s time to do the tedious part and write the damn thing out. Maybe it’s even time to double down and copy-edit. Either way, this is the part of the writing process that always makes me antsy and look around for a good distraction. So, extrapolated into life, the 8 of Swords is a metaphor for doing the work – the tedious part of growth. Think of the girl in the Smith-Waite image. She doesn’t want to do it! She’s got her blindfold on and her arms pinned. But, we can see that she has a clear path forward if she would just take it step by step. She really has no one but herself in that card, and that's what the 8 of Swords conveys. There's only one person who can do the work for you. . . . Featured deck: That 90's Tarot   #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotspread #tarotnerd #tarotdaily #queenofpentacles #queenofwands #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving (at Staunton, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3xjPL4nArJ/?igshid=13onczvjrgu5t

Modern artists tend to focus on the soft, receptive aspects of the Empress. We see a nurturing, caregiving, lush and fertile woman surrounded by greenery and sweet baby animals. The Empress in this state is a lesson in enjoying life’s abundance and being open to receiving support. Earlier decks, however, tend to depict the Empress as a regal figure, reminding us that she is partner to the Emperor – someone who can create rules, enforce boundaries, and act as a role model to her people. 🌟 As the Queen of Queens, she encompasses all the other Queens in the Tarot, and so she incorporates the Cultivation and curation of the Pentacles, the Boundaries and Emotional Intelligence of the Swords, the Intuition and Vulnerability of the Cups, and the Creativity and Charisma of the Wands. She is Body, Heart, Spirit, and Mind harnessed and unified together and used in service of nurturing herself. Both Kings and Queens (or in this case Emperor and Empress) work together to serve their community. The Kings face outward doing the practical work, and the Queen face inward, nourishing and improving themselves so that there is something there for the Kings to give. 🌟 It can feel uncomfortable to draw cards like the Empress or the Queen of Pentacles, because we feel guilty when we accept a certain amount of support or luxury into our lives. But the deeper truth is that we have to take care of ourselves in order to be of any use to the larger world. The Empress uses both sides of herself – the boundary setting authoritarian and the lush fertile creative to help her enjoy her life of service, and that’s what she teaches us to do as well. . . . . Featured deck: That 90s Tarot by @kristiprokopiak . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotspread #tarotnerd #tarotdaily #queenofpentacles #queenofwands #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving https://www.instagram.com/p/B3e5aS-nqFk/?igshid=chxxbggk4w2l

Seven of Cups is all about sitting with complex emotions. Sevens in numerology are our number of internal review. We are looking inward and sifting through all the different ways we feel about a thing. In the Coleman Smith illustration of this card, we see someone looking outward at all sorts of shiny distractions. We can think of this as the Seven reversed – being too uncomfortable to sit with how we’re feeling so we lose ourselves in shopping or TV or easy fixes. In its dignity, this card’s focus is completely internal while we tune out those distractions and focus on radical self-inquiry. When this card comes up in a reading, it’s time to process. Has something been bothering you, but you’ve been smoothing over it, trying to go along to get along? Maybe you just don’t have the words yet, but if you took a little time you would be able to articulate just what’s going on for you. You may find that simply naming the emotion completely relieves that nagging feeling. Or maybe you’re ignoring how you feel because you know that once you acknowledge it, you’ll have to do something about it? Oftentimes just recognizing the truth of our feeling puts us on the path of no return. If the universe is dropping this card in our laps, it’s probably because we need to start down that path, even if it feels like more than we want to deal with right now. Don’t be afraid. Honoring the truth in your heart can only lead to the liberation of your soul, even if the way forward feels painful. . . . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotspread #tarotnerd #tarotdaily #queenofpentacles #queenofwands #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving https://www.instagram.com/p/B3MtFY2nz7P/?igshid=4125fzaz5246

Four of Swords: The Container 🌟 FWIW, this is the third time in a row I’ve randomly drawn a minor Four card for the Friday Deep Dive. So this week we’re meditating on the Four of Swords. When dealing with any Four, you’ll commonly hear me talking about Foundations, because squares are solid and stable. But another helpful metaphor here is the Container. A container has a floor, two walls, and a top, but it’s empty on the inside until we fill it. In order to focus and refine our ideas, it is helpful to create parameters to define what it is we’re even thinking about. 🌟 If we were scientists, this card would represent our hypothesis. It’s not the ace, it’s not that first spark of an idea. There is some education and thought that has already gone into our work by this point, but we still have a lot to learn. A hypothesis is our educated guess, and it helps us create boundaries around our ideas so that we can focus. Without the container, we’re just flailing in empty space, where everything can mean anything. The fours set us up to get really productive with the rest of the Swords suit. We will test and review our hypothesis until we get to the ten when we decide whether the hypothesis was correct, or whether we need to go back and try a new idea. 🌟 When we draw this card, we are being asked to treat our beliefs as a hypothesis. We are being asked to define our terms, but keep our containers empty for now so that we can keep learning. This is a card of listening, of being able to really receive something new and unexpected, of remaining open minded. You don’t have to know everything all at once, and you don’t have to take immediate action. All you have to do is open your container. . . . . Featured deck: tarot of trees . . . . . #dailyreading #selflove #selfcare #spiritualpractice #messageseverywhere #cardoftheday #tarotdecks #learningtarot #learntarot #tarotlessons #tarotmeditation #cartomancer #tarotspread #tarotnerd #tarotdaily #queenofpentacles #queenofwands #tarotdeepdive #deepdive #tarotsymbolism #deepmeanings #balancedliving #tarotdemarseille #tdm https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Wx6SLAJwF/?igshid=1twk618pmixgf

Glass of wine and a Ferrero Rochet (ok, more like five....because injury) and a candle lit, incense infused tarot reading . The appearance of The Magician in a reading indicates latent powers yet to be brought into manifestation.The World represents balance and support by/connection to unseen forces. But the Page of Swords indicates a risk on a spiritual level. This card warns to watch out for unconventional and undesirable activity which can cause issues...such as overconfidence or the ignorance of youth . In a nutshell, my interpretation of this spread is that any set-backs I am currently encountering (did I mention injury?) will help to humble me, keep my ego in check, and usher me further down my spiritual path . So I'm opening myself to that. Using this time while out of asana-action to increase my focus on meditation, pranayama and reiki . I'm also giving in and resting my leg this week. Cover for all classes while I help my knee to repair . #ashe #tarot #themagician #theworld #pageofswords #witch #witching #intuition #listenandlearn #keepmoving #stayawake #dothework #itsallyoga #myyoga #gratitude #lessonsineverything #messageseverywhere