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Feelings as paths to artistry – New Moon in Cancer tarot reading

June 26, 2017

“Emotion like water must be free to move and flow”

Pat Liles, from The Power Path

The New Moon in Cancer invites us to flow with emotions. This tarot reading for the New Moon reflects on ways that feelings can be paths to artistry.

Here are some thoughts on this New Moon in Cancer from Mystic Mamma to set the scene for the energies available to us:

*NEW MOON* SuperMoon in Cancer on the heels of the Solstice, brings us an opportunity to begin again. She brings acknowledgement of our feelings and helps us uncover a deep seated remembrance that renews our connection with Source. Her gentle Life Wisdom returns us back home to our hearts.

Being focused on water and emotion, this New Moon feels like it’s all about learning to flow with our intuition and letting our feelings wash over and through us. From this, we can learn what feels right and what doesn’t. We can identify what no longer serves us and move through to new beginnings and moving more fully into our creativity.

This Cancer New Moon provides an opportunity to set intentions around working with feelings: feeling any loss, disappointment, the ebb and flow, the rainbows of opportunity and the freedom of letting go of what no longer serves us. This way we can step openheartedly into a new beginning or continue on a more optimistic path to artistry.

New moon in Cancer tarot reading tools:

For my reading for the Cancer New Moon, I worked with:

This New Moon tarot spread by Sam Roberts aka @escapingstars on IG:

And I worked with the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck by Monicka Clio Sakki which is my favourite tarot deck especially for questions around creativity.

Tarot reading: The Star, The Fool, The Artist

So here’s the reading:

First up – I had to laugh in recognition at the Ten of Swords coming straight out the blocks around “Where am I right now in my life?” Yes, it is feeling a bit Ten of Swords right now, it’s true and I own my part in contributing to that feeling and getting stuck there. It’s great I can laugh about it now. Once upon a time, the Ten of Swords would freak me out with its direct imagery. But now I see it as a positive thing, a reminder to move on and through anything negative I’m focusing on that is holding me back.

It was so fabulous to see the The Star, The Fool and The Artist appearing in this spread with their individual and collective magic around artistry and creativity. I was especially happy to see The Artist arrive, a card unique to the Sakki Sakki deck and linked to the planet Chiron which focuses on artistry, doing our art and the process of creating our lives. And the Five of Cups, being a watery card, seems to be the key for setting intentions for this New Moon.

Tarot reading – card by card:

So here are some deeper thoughts, card by card, in relation to the questions. I worked intuitively with some key supporting words from the Mystic Mamma post above, the Sakki Sakki tarot guidebook, the The Nomad Guide to the Tarot, Colette Baron-Reid’s The Good Tarot guidebook and Jessa Crispin’s awesome book The Creative Tarot.

1 Where am I right now in my life? TEN of SWORDS

Yes, I’m feeling somewhat back-stabbed, a bit low and yes, it feels somewhat overdone at this time through my own thought patterns. And yes, some things are over and best left behind. It’s time to take what I need from those experiences and move on.

The Nomad Guide to the Tarot reminds us around this card that it’s how we replay any betrayal in our own minds that creates the biggest impact. Remaining a victim does not serve us.

So, this card reminds me that the only way is up. I need to look at how I am complicit in my own negativity. Working through feelings and being optimistic, taking what I need and moving on seems to be the message from this card at this time.

2 What is blocking me for growing? What do I need to leave behind? The STAR

Worrying about others, comparisons and worrying about where I need to be.
I need to leave this behind and follow my own orientation and constellation, my own bright star and know that that is exactly where I need to be.

As Jessa Crispin’s ‘The Creative Tarot’ reminds us:

..at the end of that process is the Star. Orientation. You figure out where you are, you figure out how to navigate your way to getting there. It’s card of healing, of feeling perfectly placed.

It’s time to let go of that comparison focus, that measurement against others, that tracking against others’ constellations. It’s truly time to navigate by the compass points of my passions and feelings. The healing is in trusting your own inspiration and influences and bringing them together in your own unique, incomparable way.

3 What intentions should I set in order to grow? FIVE of CUPS

I should look at the full cups and not just the empty or fallen cups at this time.
I need to accept the loss of some things and find the hope and excitement in moving on.

Key words from Sakki Sakki Tarot: “loss of one’s dreams, disappointment, incomplete relationships, accepting loss, regret, finding hope.”

There’s definitely some releasing of grief to be done here. It’s more the grief of seeing how you thought life was going and then finding it’s not going that way. It’s not bad; in fact, it’s possibly fabulous. But it doesn’t mean that there’s not some grief around identity, the person you thought you were or that part of you that you saw shining in that way.

‘The Creative Tarot’ reminds us for the Five of Cups:

The only way is through. Feel the loss, but then eventually get over it so you can get back to work. (Page 157)

The Good Tarot Guidebook, in its affirmative and optimistic style, offers positive ways of reframing for the future and these ones speak to me:

I feel the fullness of my emotions as they wash through me.

The ebb and flow are part of life, and I am present in my feelings today.

I deserve the freedom that comes when I release what is no longer working for me.

Pat Liles from The Power Path suggests that this fullness of emotions connects right through to our deepest levels:

Under the influence of this water sign, our emotional, feeling bodies are opened up, we nourish ourselves at the deepest root levels, and we connect in new powerful ways to our ancestral roots and to our clans, tribes and families.

The image of a waterfall seems so apt now – that sense of being washed through with the freshest water of our emotions, feeling it at the deepest levels. I swam in a cool waterfall pool this week at the winter solstice and it felt so refreshing, like being washed clear but connecting deeply with what matters. This is what is called for now.

4 What knowledge do I need to gain to aid in the cultivation of my intentions? THE FOOL

have a beginner’s mind, be open, see afresh, feel anew
let it all wash through so I can start again
embrace the unknown

Key words from Sakki Sakki Tarot: “blank slate, no mind, new beginnings, embracing the unknown, inner trust, naivete, leap of faith.”

As the Sakki Sakki Guidebook reminds us, it’s time to “follow unconventional paths into the unknown”.

So The Fool together with the Star and Five of Cups is suggesting that the knowledge needed is openness, a willingness to experiment and tread new paths. As with the reminder not to be focused on comparison, it’s about making new ground, new connections and not being afraid to be different.

Our own uniqueness can be a form of healing as Mark Nepo reminds us for the wisdom for the day I am writing (25 June) in The Book of Awakening:

We become so preoccupied with what we are not able to address, what we are not able to mend, what we are not able to leave behind, that we forget that whatever we are in the light of day is slowly, but surely, healing the rest of us.

It’s time to focus on what is rather than what is not.

5 What positive energy will emerge during this phase? The ARTIST

The Artist is a 79th card in the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck. It’s about the energy of creation. And it’s about process and the artistry of creating one’s own life.

Key words from the Sakki Sakki Tarot: “everyone is an artist, crafting one’s own life, living one’s truth, artist as a process, not a state. believing without knowing.”

It’s the card I chose to symbolise Quiet Writing when I launched my brand and business into the world in September last year with my new website. This post focused on The Artist and its message:

Quiet Writing is about the strength that comes from working steadily and without fanfare in writing and other spheres to create, coalesce, influence and connect. It’s an opportunity to muse and reflect on my core values and the interplay between them. In this, I draw on and connect my various experiences and interests as well as connecting with others who share them.

Many of us have been on what Elizabeth Gilbert calls, in one of her wonderful Magic Lessons, ‘the long runway’ and it’s valuable preparation we need to acknowledge. I want to honour the process as much as the product here; the being, becoming and journey as much as the arrival; the artistry behind the closed curtains and doors.

The Artist card in the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck beautifully symbolises this potential and opportunity:

This is not to say that publication, product and stage are not important and a desirable outcome; but we can focus too much on that external validation and not value our work and its process as it evolves in the present. The act of quiet writing and the solitude to capture ideas and craft them, especially for introverts who so need this, is the space from which so much can flow, connect and be created. The conditions, environment, relationships and influences which enable our creative endeavours to flourish are also crucial shaping factors.

I’m interested especially in the gift of writing and finding our unique voice to articulate our place in the world and express the artistry of everyday life.

So it seems this positive energy is about getting back to my original vision for Quiet Writing and honouring it in everything I do. Especially it’s about honing our unique voice to articulate our place and our personal artistry in the world.

As the Sakki Sakki Tarot Guidebook reminds us:

When you don’t know which way to go, focus on working your art, because this will show you the way.

Ways to honour artistry

So are your thoughts also around how we craft our own life, the process rather than the product and moving through the emotions that honour that?

If so, here are some questions around this prompted by the Cancer New Moon, the tarot spread by Sam Roberts and reflections on my reading.

They are around practically embracing artistry and moving through silencing the inner critic and being playful.

Journal, reflect or brainstorm around them to help your own artistry begin to unfold further at this time of opportunity:

How is your art or your creativity showing you the way?
How can you work further with your creativity to help you shift into the unknown in a positive way?
Where are you still remaining a victim or focusing on negative thoughts?
How can you move through this – waterfall and Five of Cups style – letting it wash through you and moving on eg journalling, unsent letter to whatever/whoever caused the pain, dialoguing with the pain, writing it all on a piece of paper and burning it or throwing it away?
How can you be present in your feelings today?
What are the full cups in your life – the ones you need to celebrate and nurture?
Where do you need to practise having a beginner’s mind?
How can you practically do this: vision board work, brainstorming, writing what’s in your heart, following your passions even thought you don’t know where they might lead?
What does “the artistry of everyday life” meant to you and how can you practise it?
What’s your intention, following your own journey, for this New Moon in Cancer?

Wisdom from The Star

And here is some final wisdom from The Star via the Art of Life Tarot:

May you follow the bright star of the constellation of you this New Moon. And may it lead you into prosperous and happier times. As Dante Alighieri reminds us, it can’t fail us.

Waterfall feature image from pexels.com and used with permission and thanks.

Keep in touch

Quiet Writing is on Facebook – Please visit here and ‘Like’ to keep in touch and interact with the growing Quiet Writing community. There are regular posts on tarot, intuition, influence, passion, creativity, productivity, writing, voice, introversion and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Subscribe via email (see the link at the top and below) to make sure you receive updates from Quiet Writing and its passions in 2017. This includes MBTI developments, coaching, creativity and other connections to help express your unique voice in the world. Free ebook on the books that have shaped my creativity coming soon for subscribers only!

If you enjoyed this post, please share via your preferred social media channel – links are below.

You might also enjoy:

Finding our heart path: Full Moon in Sagittarius tarot reading

An invitation to mastery: Full Moon in Scorpio Tarot Reading

Dance to a new beat – Full Moon in Virgo

creativity inspiration & influence

Creative and connected #2 – this week’s inspiration

June 23, 2017

Inspiring resources to keep you creative and connected!

Here’s a round up of what I’ve enjoyed and shared this week on various social platforms:

Podcasts

My favourite podcast listen of the week was Joanna Penn’s recent chat (5 June 2017) with Nick Stephenson on The Creative Penn podcast: How to Manage Your Time and Automate your Author Marketing.

The conversation focuses on designing our businesses to suit our personalities and reflects on how especially for introverts, some activities can be especially draining and not a good return on the time invested. Joanna and Nick talk about how to say no to opportunities and options that aren’t a good fit. There’s also a special focus on how to automate parts of your business so it’s not so labour intensive. Whether you are working on an author or coaching business or just looking at how you prioritise and manage your time, it’s excellent and fun listening.

Books and reading notes

Much of my focus in reading right now is going into the ebook that I am writing on the books that have influenced me. I look forward to sharing this with you soon. Plus my daily Tarot Narratives on Instagram feature revisiting favourite and connected reads that tarot inspires. So there’s a lot of reading going on traversing realms I have already visited that is only making me want to read many books all over again!

I’ve also focused on finishing the books I’ve been reading recently. I finished ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ which was an enjoyable fantasy read – and not a genre I read very often. I’m also close to finishing ‘Rise Sister Rise’, by Rebecca Campbell which is inspiring me every time I open it and is highly recommended. I’m also making good progress with Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur by Joanna Penn as an audiobook when I’m on the road. All these were mentioned in more detail in last week’s Creative and Connected post.

I’m looking forward to starting some new reads this coming week. My planned reads are:

Love Warrior – by Glennon Doyle Melton – a memoir I’ve heard so much about and want to experience.

Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity, by David Whyte – recommended by my dear friend Katherine and a book I know I need to read right now. It’s well overdue. This book is about work as an opportunity for discovery and growth.

The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life, by Mark Nepo – a book that’s been sitting close by because I know I need to read it. It popped up in one of my Tarot Narratives this week to remind me it’s time!

Both David Whyte and Mark Nepo are favourite authors because they focus on journeys to wholeness – such as how the corporate world and poetry come together and living a life with nothing held back whatever the context. These are themes that I connect with so strongly as I develop my coaching and writing work in the world and support others with feeling wholehearted.

Blog/Twitter/Instagram posts and interactions:

In terms of reads and posts on personality and MBTI preferences and functions, I enjoyed these reads:

On Life Reaction: this read about managing intuitive and sensoric functions in relationships
This video from Carl Jung and shared by @uber_chill also explains these differences.

I love this story told by Carl Jung which has helped me understand the intuitive vs sensory type differences.

You might also enjoy my own post here on Quiet Writing on Personality, story and Introverted Intuition which provides a brief overview of personality and focuses on my dominant function, Introverted Intuition, as a starting point.

Many thanks to Quiet Writing reader Claire of the beautiful Nest of Mist for alerting me to Debra Eve’s Later Bloomer website where ‘Creativity Never Gets Old’ – and hooray for that! Debra’s website is a fabulous celebration of late bloomers from all walks of life – artists, athletes, explorers and writers – and encourages us to embrace creativity wherever we are in our lives. I especially enjoyed the post on James Michener – one of my dear Dad’s favourite authors. I can remember summer holidays by the beach with ‘The Source’ and other similar epic novels being eagerly embraced with such relish and joy. The post made me think of how creativity and a love of reading is communicated through family connections and through what we see others enjoy. I think my Dad was an INTJ MBTI type like me – he also really loved Ayn Rand!

On Instagram, there’s been a fabulous week of prompts around #mywritinglife created by Vanessa Carnevale which started on Monday 19 June. The prompts are:

Writing Space
Current WIP
Favourite Books
Inspiration
Writing Fuel
Current Read
TBR Pile

There’s still time to join in or just take the time to make some new writer connections via the hashtag. There’s inspiration and insight there into workspaces, works in progress and favourite books.

Here’s my post for day 4 Inspiration based on a walk in the Royal National Park and location as muse – my local environment is such a source of inspiration!

Day #4 #mywritinglife #inspiration Location as muse: where I live, my sanctuary and sacred creative space. This pic from a winter solstice walk in the Royal National Park and the beautiful Curracurrang pool where I swam. #quietwriting

A post shared by Terri Connellan (@writingquietly) on Jun 22, 2017 at 4:04am PDT

I am also so enjoying my Tarot Narrative project and posts each day on Instagram, working with tarot and oracle cards to prepare the guidance intuitively, linking them with books and the interactions arising from this. It’s become such a deep practice to start my day. Thanks for the engaging connection with this work – I hope it’s helpful and welcome any feedback!

Creative and Connected is a regular post each Friday. I hope you enjoy it – I would love any feedback via social media or comments and let me know what you are enjoying too! Have a fabulous creative weekend.

Here’s a final thought from Julia Cameron:

#creativity #juliacameron #theartistsway #artist #writing

A post shared by Julia Cameron (@juliacameronlive) on Jun 22, 2017 at 8:46am PDT

Keep in touch

Subscribe via email (see the link at the top and below) to make sure you receive updates from Quiet Writing and its passions in 2017. This includes MBTI developments, coaching, creativity and other connections to help express your unique voice in the world. My free ebook on the books that have shaped my story is coming soon for subscribers only – so sign up to be the first to receive it!

If you enjoyed this post, please share via your preferred social media channel – links are below.

You might also enjoy:

6 Inspiring Podcasts for Creatives and Book Lovers

Creative and Connected #1

creativity inspiration & influence

Creative and connected #1 – this week’s inspiration

June 16, 2017

Inspiring resources to keep you creative and connected!

Here’s a round up of what I’ve enjoyed and shared this week on various social platforms:

Podcasts

Biddy Tarot podcast: #78 The Reluctant Tarot Reader with Raven Mardirosian

This podcast chat explores tarot as an intuitive tool for wisdom and guidance and some of the personal and cultural reasons it can feel uncomfortable for those of us who identify as ‘tarot readers’. It traverses issues of tarot and Christianity and how tarot can be a tool for healing and bringing disparate parts of ourselves back together. A fabulous conversation!

Sara Tasker Hashtag Authentic podcast: #20 All Things Instagram with Humphrey & Grace

A chat with Julia of Humphrey and Grace about all things IG and given she has 200K followers, there is plenty of experience to tap into! I especially enjoyed the reflections on learning from mistakes on IG to improve our creative work.

Caroline Donahue’s Secret Library Podcast: #54 How Writers Make a Living with Manjula Martin

Thought-provoking discussion on writers and money based on Manjula’s work in this space including her blog “Who pays writers?” and her new anthology “Scratch: Writers, Money and the Art of Making a Living” that gathers together thoughts on writers on this topic. This excellent interview explores a range of issues around writers and money including expectations, historical issues, current perspectives and reflections on why writing as a career is so undervalued, especially monetarily.

Books and reading notes

I’m keen to chase up both The Reluctant Tarot Reader and Scratch as new reads from the above podcasts!

Reading wise, I seem to be having trouble finishing books right now with so much else going on but here’s what I’m enjoying:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs – A bit late to the party on this one but enjoying it’s quirkiness, photographs and the way the author has woven the found images into the narrative. Next, to catch up on the movie!

Rise Sister Rise, Rebecca Campbell – Loving this book which I dive into from time to time for a spiritual refresh and connection to what matters. Nearly finished, it’s heavily underlined and one to go back to for deeper dives especially the exercises to promote further thinking and heart work.

Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur, Joanna Penn – Listening to this as an audiobook and it’s a great coverage of all issues around being an author entrepreneur. I listen to Joanna’s podcast and am a reader of her non-fiction books. This is a comprehensive review of contemporary business issues for indie authors and publishers.

Blog/Twitter/Instagram posts and interactions:

Susan Storm on The 5 Biggest Misconceptions about INFJs : via Twitter – where I am @writingquietly

Dr Jenny Brockis on Safety at Work: why it pays to use your noggin – on mindfulness, cognitive health and brain safety: via Twitter

What Makes People Tic, by Luca, age 11 about her brother Mani, Tourette’s Syndrome and tics – in the national newspaper for young Australians, Crinkling News. Such a beautiful statement of respect and understanding, written with love that made me cry, quite a few times: via Twitter

Enjoying interactions with Work Search on Twitter about recruitment and inclusive approaches – this is an interesting company with a unique approach that embraces diversity and an excellent Twitter feed!

And on Instagram @writingquietly – so enjoying my own Tarot Narratives each day, preparing them and the interactions arising from them. Thanks for the engaging connection and welcome any feedback!

Creative and Connected is a new regular post for each Friday. I hope you enjoy it – love any feedback via social media or comments and let me know what you are enjoying too! Have a fabulous creative weekend!

Keep in touch

Subscribe via email (see the link at the top and below) to make sure you receive updates from Quiet Writing and its passions in 2017. This includes MBTI developments, coaching, creativity and other connections to help express your unique voice in the world. My free ebook on the books that have shaped my story is coming soon for subscribers only – so sign up to be the first to receive it!

If you enjoyed this post, please share via your preferred social media channel – links are below.

You might also enjoy:

6 Inspiring Podcasts for Creatives and Book Lovers

creativity inspiration & influence intuition

Finding our heart path – Full Moon in Sagittarius tarot reading

June 11, 2017

“Be the flame and not the moth.”

Giovanni Giacomo Casanova

via The Creative Tarot – Jessa Crispin

The Full Moon in Sagittarius invites us think about how about our heart path. This tarot reading for the full moon reflects on ways to find our true story.

Here are some thoughts on this Full Moon in Sagittarius from Mystic Mamma to set the scene for the energies available to us:

*FULL MOON* rising in Sagittarius asks us to focus on our heart’s pathway.

With so much swirling, we can easily feel despondent about our future but by narrowing our focus deeper into heart inquiry, we can access revealing truths to consider. Focusing our attention within can bring much expansion about.

As we work creatively in the world, we need to listen within to find our purpose, what to bring together, who to work with and what to leave behind. Focusing within, going deeper is highlighted at this time.

Here are a few key thoughts that resonated from Mystic Mamma’s curated messages on the Sagittarius Full Moon:

From Leah Whitehorse:

In our own lives, we are being asked to sift through the information we have to figure out the truth so that we can clearly define where we’re going. Right now it feels like there’s something we need to understand at a much deeper level than we do…

…Loss is hard and we must grieve but then we must write a new story, with better ending.

From Chad Woodward:

Saturn in Sagittarius suggests narrowing our focus and sacrificing anything superfluous to avoid getting lost in uncertainty, confusion, and vagueness of purpose.

From Pat Liles:

Neptune is also the apex of a Finger of God ~ look to intuition, the poetic, your dreams and what dances you to loosen the deep cultural deception that binds us to the old martyred ways…

This Sagittarius Full Moon provides the right conditions for expanding into our true heart path. It also helps us shed what is no longer relevant or holding us back from our potential, especially around old ways of thinking.

Full moon in Sagittarius tarot reading tools:

For my reading for the Sagittarius Full Moon I worked with:

This Sagittarius Full Moon tarot spread by Sam Roberts aka @escapingstars on IG:

And for my deck, I chose The Good Tarot by Colette Baron-Reid. This was my first full reading with this deck apart from my initial deck interview. The Good Tarot is Colette’s newest deck, blending tarot and oracle, and it focuses on birthing our true selves, so perfect for this time. From The Good Tarot Guidebook:

It especially speaks to the joyful potential that is inherent in the journey through chaos and disorder to divine order, a journey that offers infinite opportunities to co-create your best life.

The deck focuses on finding light and positive affirmations and features the most beautiful illustrations by Jena DellaGrottaglia.

It was a quiet morning with my favourite lime, basil and mandarin candle and thoughts of how to bring together disparate aspects of my life and how to find a way through this new time.

Tarot reading:

So here’s the reading:

First up – look at all that Fire! Three cards from the suit of Fire or Wands so there’s that focus on finding light, working with your passions and leaving some things behind you. Just before doing this spread, I was reading ‘An Abundant Life‘ by Dr Ezzie Spencer about the Full Moon and releasing what no longer serves. ‘Burn Baby Burn’ was the heading! Just look at that 10 of Fire with the all those papers of the past burning away.

There’s also a lovely touch of water, intuition and playing with creativity with both the King and Page of Water (Cups). And the grounding influence of the 9 of Earth (Pentacles) and Patience, representing moderation traditionally known as Temperance.

I’m drawn to these Fire cards as the dominant theme. ‘Passion’ is my word of the year for 2017 and the Queen of Fire (Wands) has been making regular visitations, including this Queen who I met in a guided visualisation in Susannah Conway’s In Our Element course, even before I saw the card.

With three Fire cards, one Major Arcana card, 3 court cards and the energy of 2 Nines and a Ten – it seems to be pointing to the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another and finding new ways to hone vision and creativity in the world.

Tarot reading – card by card:

So here’s some deeper thoughts, card by card, in relation to the questions. I mainly worked intuitively with some key supporting words from The Good Tarot Guidebook and The Creative Tarot by Jessa Crispin.

1 What is the area of my life I should be on high alert about? QUEEN of FIRE (WANDS)

creativity, opportunities, weaving magic, connecting ideas
bringing together passions so I can shine, collaboration with others
tapping into spirit to bring this together, tuning into signs, being receptive

Key words from The Good Tarot: co-creation, creative collaborations, soul connections