Presented With (little) Additional Comment: #TarotSpreadDecember Days 1-5

Also, my deck collection, my crystals, and gratuitous cat, knitting, and planner pictures.

the "Month Ahead" Spread from the #tarotspreaddecember challenge

my usual Monthly spread from Angie's Tarot Planner

the Past/Present/Future spread from the challenge

my Project Peace cowl and relevant notes from the daily blog posts over at The Healthy Knitter.

my Current (ish) reading space.  except when I use the kitchen table.  or my desk. (this is the pretty one.)

  

the cards, the cat, and cards+cat

the current collection of stones and crystals

planning tools for the #planwithmechallenge

the week ahead spread for the december challenge

a variation on the celtic cross from the december challenge

a deck interview spread with my Gaian tarot

Monday's card for the day

The decks (in order of appearance in the spreads above):
Rome Choi and Kwon Shina's "Dreaming Way Tarot"
Julia Jeffrey and Barbara Moore's "Tarot of the Hidden Realms"
Vanessa Decort's "Sun and Moon Tarot"
Gertrude Hirschi's Mudra Cards
Joanna Powell Colbert's "Gaian Tarot"

Hi!  How are you? I miss you like crazy even though it may not seem that way.   I'm sorry I abandoned you*.

I keep popping up and vanishing again.  I've felt more than a little like that's been true in my actual life too (as if this wasn't just as valid a part of my life, maybe more so, which it very much is).

I have a new job (which I'll probably talk about as much about as I ever have because I just don't feel comfortable mixing work and the internet, even less so now) - but in brief I'm a business systems analyst now instead of a customer service agent, which means salary and flexibility and Ease and Flow and brain-twisting puzzles to solve.

I've been in a Hermit year, reconnecting to Tarot and art and my spiritual and Witchy sides.  I got completely burnt out on fandom and heart break, and made a combination of conscious and unconscious decisions to remove the things in my life that weren't serving me, supporting me, or bringing me joy.  Desire Mapping happened.  Some things, I found I missed and I've started slowly adding them back in (knitting, how've you been?), other things I'm happier with out (goodbye, news media, I don't miss you at all) - and still other things I realized I'd set aside ages ago and was so burnt out and empty I didn't remember how much I needed them (art, witchcraft, and so forth).

Slowly, very slowly I'm adding things back in.  Fiction and fandom has been particularly hard; I invest so much mental energy into it, particularly when I dive all the way in as a writer and fangirl.  Confession time: I haven't even read fiction books all year, and I'm a full half season or so behind on Blindspot, and missed almost all the movies this summer.  I have been listening to The Black Tapes, and Tanis (I cannot recommend them highly enough, they're fantastic), and watching a lot of YouTube on Tarot and planners and magic and art.  (And true crime. So much true crime.)

And oh yeah, it's NaNoWriMo again. ;)

SAFF 2016 happened last weekend. So. Much. Yarn. ;)

*You, I suppose, being my  blog itself, or an intersection between the blog and the Reader, perhaps.

The100DayProject: Day Seven (and Eight) - Daily Draws for Tuesday and Wednesday

Despite having a rough start this week (the "pollen count" weather pages are all lying to me and trying to claim that the pollen count is low. HA!) - I managed to lay out one of my favorite daily spreads (the lovely Morning Mug Energy Spread by so-aimless) two days in a row.

Tuesday:

I am in love with this deck...

1. Black Coffee-What will energize me? (Strength)

This deck's take on Strength is all about breaking through obstacles to creativity with a combination of active energy (yang/animus) and and the knowledge and certainty that comes from listening to your heart (yin/anima).  This is all about engaging directly with inspiration and my creative drive, not just thinking about it but acting on it will be the most energizing action for me today.

2. Earl Grey-What will inspire me? (Judgement)

The Judgement card is all about reckonings, inspiration, dramatic changes, and new opportunities.  Here, it's all about getting sparked by new ideas and possibilities. (Note: I stumbled across a wonderful online mixed media course that I'm going to sign up for this summer and I'm really excited about it.)

3. Chamomile Tea-What will calm me down? (Six of Swords)

Focus.  Looking at things analytically.  Trying not to multitask too much.  (I love how all six swords zero in on the book he's reading.

4. Last Dregs-What will I put to rest? (Five of Wands)

Struggle and resistance.  (Note: In retrospect, this seems to be linked to both my tendency to think about artistic projects and opportunities and then bypass them (the above-mentioned class I'm going to take) and also my ongoing struggle with sleep.  I managed a full 8 hours last night, which was sorely needed.)

5. The Handle-What will hold everything together? (The Eight of Swords and the King of Cups)

Both of these cards "volunteered as tribute" (as it were).  In this deck, the eight of swords can indicate not only the somewhat false or surface sense of being trapped and blind to the situations around you, but also a multitude of choices being brought together and synthesized into a more complete whole.  

Combined with the King of Cups (air of water, or the considered, rational expression of emotional and spiritual reality), it's saying that the best way to keep things together and flowing today is to look at situations with both rational logic and heart-centered intuition.  Not just what seems like the best option on paper, but which one(s) generate an instinctive sense of "yes. This."

And now a "sneak peek" at today's spread: 

The Sun and Moon Tarot by Vanessa Decort

I'm kind of liking the approach of coming back in the evening or the following morning to write up an analysis of the spread, so I'm going to try that the rest of the week.  Stay tuned!

The100DayProject: Day Five - Happy Passover!

The100DayProject: Day Four

Another photo offered without much comment since it's Passover Eve and Seder preparations are in full swing.

The100DayProject: Day One

Welcome to my #the100dayproject.  I have no idea what I'm doing here, but at the last minute, I decided that my "thing to do" for the next 100 days is blogging.

(That's one way to get started, at least.)

This is going to be *really* loose in the form department, rambly and random.

If I do something that you enjoy and would like to see more of, please let me know!

For lack of anything better to report today, I present this morning's Tarot spread.  The spread itself is the "Morning Mug Energy Spread" that I found on Pinterest (unfortunately, the link to the original post it references seems to be broken. :/ )

My current working deck is the Dreaming Way Tarot, which is a really fantastic, emotive deck.  It's almost a Rider-Waite-Smith clone, but with a sort of wonderland-esque whimsy that I adore.  Monday morning's spread had produced the Two of Wands, which is a card of beginning and planning out new actions, and this morning it was the card that "jumped" out of the deck as I started shuffling it.  I took the hint and set that card aside as a kind of anchor card for this morning's spread.

(I prefer the term "anchor" in this context, I think, because the card is less representing "me" than it is the specific situation that I'm doing the reading about - thus anchoring the context of the reading into a specific aspect of my reality.  It's a subtle distinction, but an clarifying one.  And that's the point, right?)

Then I stirred the cards up in a big pile (I'm playing with different ways of selecting cards this week) and pulled out the five cards for the reading.

The spread is very clever, and is set up so that the card positions are themed around morning beverages and an overall mug shape.

1. Black Coffee-What will energize me? (6 of Cups)
2. Earl Grey-What will inspire me? (The Empress)
3. Chamomile Tea-What will calm me down? (9 of Wands)
4. Last Dregs-What will I put to rest? (Page of Cups)
5. The Handle-What will hold everything together? (The Emperor)

This deck has made it clear since day one that it doesn't particularly care for the little white book that it came with, and has continually found ways to remind me that it's primarily an intuitive deck.  I do look up traditional meanings after the fact to get some additional illumination, but the cards are definitely coming up for me based on the messages from the images and my own personal associations rather than their primarily traditional meanings.  

This time, looking at the reading as one about taking action in plotting out my path and potential goals (I'm currently working through Danielle LaPorte's Desire Mapping process), this is what I got:

1. What will energize me? The Six of Cups: for me this card is all about happy, innocence, uplifting kind of love.  It's about surprising someone with a bouquet of daisies or a spontaneous hug.  It's about optimism and a childlike wonder at the world, which is definitely a state I can draw a lot of energy and joy from.

2. What will inspire me? The Empress: Over and over again, this Empress comes up for me as an indicator of stillness and serenity, particularly the content, calm serenity of knowing that you'll know exactly what to do.  It's not the deep, archetypal intuition of the High Priestess, but the natural unconscious intuition of the Mother.  And a deeply needed reminder that I need to give myself more space to be still and silent.

3. What will calm me down? Nine of Wands: A job well done.  Completed work. Being surrounded by the evidence of your productivity and action.

4. What will I put to rest? Page of Cups: This one took me a minute, but ultimately I decided that she's representing a combination of my hesitant, passive, stuck-in-a-daydream tendencies and that it's time to move from imagining doing things to just jumping in and doing them.

5. What will hold everything together? The Emperor: Getting shit done, having a plan of attack, planning in general, to do lists, outlines and instructions.  Doesn't this guy just look like someone that's got it all together and planned out?

So, today was all about some detailed time-tracking, working on my Desire Mapping process, some overtime at work, and finally jumping on this #the100dayproject adventure.

Happy Spring!

my Birth Chart laid out in Karma Cards

Spring has (very suddenly) sprung here, and big changes have been afoot in the House of ... well, you know what, we don't have a "house of" type of name around here.  "House of CyberMathWitch" just doesn't have any ring to it.

But!  Changes, regardless!

All the witchiness I'd kind of (inadvertently) set aside for awhile came roaring back with a vengeance around the end/beginning of the year and I found myself encountering both some old ideas (Tarot, astrology, and oracles) and some new (to me) ideas like chaos magick.  Along with that came a renewed interest in graphic arts and journaling (vs. fiction writing).  All of the priorities I'd set up for the year just... shifted.

I don't think this is a bad thing.  There's a whole big side of myself that had been (for lack of a better word) "asleep" for quite a long time.  Then I woke up and:

Oh yeah.  I'm a witch.

the newly set-up altar space including: my mala and prayer beads, a candle
for Dionysus, my bells, peppermint oil, my Persephone oil, crystals, and tarot

I mention this, because it does impact my goals for the year, and because it will change some of the focus of what I post here.  I'm not abandoning fandom or knitting by any means and planning is still high on my priority list, but there's liable to be more rambling about magic, Tarot, astrology and so on.

So!  March Goals! (Yes, I'm a week late.  It's better than not at all so I'll take it. ;)  )

- Plan and begin a Lent Observance (more on this later)
- Get 7+ hours sleep each night
- Start a meditation practice
- Set up Instagram graphics for NaNointheBoro
- Set up the Schedule for April CampNaNo(intheBoro)
- March books (more later)
- Support and participate in MarySue Boot Camp
- Choose and journal on a card(s) daily

So, since we're also looking at a week one wrap up, here goes:

- The Lent plan is about 75% done.  I just need to go tighten up and finalize a couple details and set down some specific food/menu goals and ideas so it doesn't fall apart on me from a logistics perspective.  The big focus here is going to be on purification and rejuvenation, and there will be art magick to go along with it.
- I'm not hitting 7 hours of sleep (yet) but I am getting myself into bed earlier, so I'm getting there.
- I have been looking at and playing with some binaural beats and general music meditation recordings, as well as some guided meditations, but I still need to work on consistency.
- The graphics and scheduling for Camp are slated for later in the month, I haven't actually started the books originally intended for March (but am several chapters into Benebell Wen's fantastic "Holistic Tarot")
- I am endeavoring to be support-y pants for my fellow boot campers, and
- I've been a little hit-or-miss with the journaling on cards (I'm starting out by working my way through my Karma Card deck), but I have been doing some of them, so that's going okay.