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Aspiring to be what we are and can be – Taurus Full Moon Tarot Reading

November 6, 2017

“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Taurus Full Moon encourages us in aspiring to be what we are. This tarot reading reflects on ways we can step up and empower ourselves at this time.

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

She reminds us to ground into who we are and to remember how important our presence is in the continuum of our lives as we savor the moments that flow by at ever increasing speeds.

This Full Moon has powerful energies for connecting with our true purpose and being present. It encourages us to connect with anything true to ourselves that we might have left behind. This might be because it became undervalued or lost as circumstances unfolded in your life. There are messages too about going into the deeper elements of our transformation – areas that may have a darker side or places that are not our natural preferences or functions.

It is an opportunity to ground ourselves into what we truly value and what makes us come alive – as quirky and unusual as some of that might be. Realising our true nature means looking beneath all the layers of others’ opinions and in areas where we might have hidden away our passions because of others’ thoughts. Dusting off these layers and seeing afresh with new eyes is an opportunity at this time to light the way forward.

Taurus Full Moon connections

Working with tarot via Tarot Narrative each day helps me to align with my intuition and with that of others. I’m also working with the cycles of the moon and intentions in each cycle to support my creativity. I’m fascinated with how the messages connect up across these intuitive practices and with those of other people.

Today’s Tarot Narrative was about what’s ‘real and possible’ and tapping into the unfolding narrative of our life in an unstinting way. That message is a central focus for this Full Moon period and beyond.

Cathy Pagano via Mystic Mamma highlights aspects of being true to ourselves in this Full Moon period:

With Samhain falling on this Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon, we have a chance to bring through the veils a part of our soul that can help us on this next stage of our journey….

…Ceres, the ancient Mother Goddess, squares (90*) this Full Moon from Leo, forcing us to look at where we ignore our creative voice and abandon ourselves in the face of opposition, rather than descending into the underworld and allowing ourselves to ‘not know’ for awhile.

There’s a strong message in this Full Moon about getting back to any original plans we might have had for our lives that we left behind. Or any aspect of our voice that we have quietened because we have worried about what others will think. The opportunity is there for a reality check of what is worth pursuing. We can make an action plan for dreams we feel are worthy of aspiring to. And we can let go anything that’s draining our energy and holding us back.

There’s also the possibility that some of this might be shadow work of some kind. Making practical plans and keeping in movement is helpful as we identify what is stopping us from being in flow or communicating ourselves creatively.

For example, we might ask ourselves:

What is stopping us from doing the creative work we aspire to?
How can we embody right now what we are aspiring to become?
What kind of self-care will support us to break through to what we are aspiring to do and be?
How do we balance crafting with patience and being in action now, given both are needed?

My focus here at Quiet Writing is on wholehearted self-leadership. These energies provide a special time to reflect on and step into the power of our wholeness. This includes an emphasis on shadow and light, embracing what we fear with courage and self-compassion. Or letting go of any fears or outdated ways of operating instead of letting them override our aspiring plans.

This dramatic, transformational energy has been accumulating and evolving for a while now. There are different emphases in each moon cycle to work with as we transform. As Cathy Pagano explains this Taurus/Scorpio combination: “Taurus’ energy builds a container for Scorpio’s emotional depths, enabling us to really look at what’s in there…” There is an honesty and depth to this time that offers the opportunity to look at what we really want to become.

Taurus Full Moon tarot reading tools:

For my reading for the Taurus Full Moon, I worked with:

This Full Moon in Taurus tarot spread by Sam Roberts aka @escapingstars on Instagram:

Deck wise, I worked with the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck by Monicka Clio Sakki, my favourite tarot deck especially for questions about creativity.

Tarot reading:

So here’s the reading:

This is a big spread with eight cards so there are layers of complexity in the reading. THE DEVIL was an interesting card to see arriving straight up. Especially as I had been writing in my Tarot Narrative in the morning about my love of ghost stories and embracing the dark side. This is something I’ve been reflecting on over the past week or so. So this card suggests embracing or at least looking into areas of fear and darkness.

A few favourite and recurring cards appeared for this reading too:

SIX of SWORDS suggesting aspects of movement and journey.
The HIGH PRIESTESS reminding us about intuition and the wisdom of listening within.

These two cards turned up together only a few days ago in a narrative around soul work and inner and outer resources.

The NINE of CUPS and KING Of CUPS set the tone of dealing with emotion and feelings as challenges we need to relinquish or flow with.

The EIGHT of COINS reminds us of patience in the mastery of skills. The SUN tells us to shine our light anyway while we are learning and not feel like we have to be perfect.

And finally, the THREE of RODS (WANDS) encourages us to start a new plan and approach our aspiring goals with confidence.

This reading, with three Major Arcana cards – The DEVIL up front, along with The HIGH PRIESTESS and The SUN – has strong, archetypal tones. This is fleshed out with cards from each of the suits or elements, providing valuable clues to how to negotiate this time.

As always, a fabulous Tarot Narrative with these initial clues – so let’s dive into the fuller reading.

Tarot reading – card by card:

So here are some deeper thoughts, card by card, in relation to the questions. I worked intuitively with guidance from the Sakki Sakki tarot guidebook Playing with Symbols and Jessa Crispin’s fabulous book The Creative Tarot. Then connected back with the key energies highlighted for this Full Moon via the Mystic Mamma post and aligned posts.

1 What areas in my life do I need to be more grateful for? THE DEVIL

Well, this was an interesting response to the question: be grateful for the Devil! But my intuitive reflections led me to realise it’s about appreciating the extremes in my life. We can easily gloss over fears, hidden desires, emotional depth and even things we love that might feel wrong.

This Full Moon energy invites us to review these areas and see what’s valuable for us to return to and be grateful for. And what might need the heave-ho in our work with ourselves. It’s about working with our fears and seeing what is real and useful and what is not.

Tara Mohr describes two concepts of fear in ‘Playing Big’, based on the biblical Hebrew meanings:

Pachad – “projected or imagined fear,” the “fear whose objects are imagined.”
Yirah – “the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting. It is also the feeling we feel when we are on sacred ground.”

You can learn more here. It’s a useful concept as we seek to clarify what we are aspiring to. Being able to identify what is real fear, what is imagined and what is a kind of healthy fear or sense of awe of what we are stepping into are valuable skills. So we need to be grateful for our fears now and understand more about what they can teach us.

2 What do I need to relinquish control over? NINE OF CUPS

This card in this position speaks to me of getting back to the heart of what we want and why. We need to worry less about external validation. It’s a time to get back in touch with what makes us feel fulfilled and true to ourselves. What do we really wish for when all of the unhelpful fear is taken out of it? And what do we really want once we take material issues out of the picture?

The Nine of Cups is often called ‘the wish card’ so it’s useful to contemplate and act on what makes us feel truly happy and fulfilled. And to relinquish control over what everybody else thinks and its influence.

For me, this plays out, for example, in truly embracing my love of tarot as a guiding force in my life and not feeling it’s something I need to hide or keep separate. I need to relinquish control over what people think of it and be fully grateful for its influence in my life.

3 To move forward, what fears and doubts must be released? KING OF CUPS

My personality knowledge came into play for this piece. The King of Cups here is talking to me about not being afraid of my less preferred preferences such as my emotional and sensing side. My Jung/Myers-Briggs personality type is INTJ – Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging and my dominant cognitive process is Introverted Intuition. My weakest and inferior functions are Introverted Feeling (Fi) and Extraverted Sensing (Se).

So the King of Cups is encouraging me here to develop mastery over all my functions and cognitive processes not just my preferred ones. So working from Dario Nardi’s book, ‘8 Keys to Self-Leadership’, I need to release fear and doubt around:

Staying true to who I really am (Fi)
Immersing in the present context (Se)

So working to ground myself in the here and now is important as well as remaining authentic to what I am aspiring to.

For example, this is playing out as I write my book on ‘Wholehearted Self-leadership’ as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) right now. It’s really pushing my boundaries to write 1667 words on average a day. But I’m finding balance is key. Like staying true to myself and believing in my message, which is helping my confidence as I pound the keys each day. If I’m tapping into Extraverted Sensing as a balance in this process, I’m taking more risks, finding it easier to do many activities at the same time and enjoy more of life’s pleasures. Like getting out the door to walk, swim and be with friends and family and not getting stuck inside.

Whatever your personality type, there’s balance in working with your less preferred functions especially as a way of dealing with fear and doubt.

4 Where in my life can I stand to be more patient? EIGHT OF COINS (PENTACLES)

The Eight of Coins is a card about craftsmanship, mastery and the development of skill over time. So this card is all about being patient as you develop whatever skills you are working on. We are encouraged to enjoy the process of developing competence, honing our skills and finding mastery.

We might feel like it’s been a hard slog and the odds and conditions are stacked against us. If this is so, then perhaps we should appreciate even more the level of mastery we are attaining. Whatever we are aspiring to – writing a book, making a new life, transitioning to what we desire, learning a pivotal skill, completing a course – we can be patient in the learning and change process. We’re building on our body of work in a new way and this is not always easy. So let’s be compassionate with ourselves and realise it takes time and there’s no rush. And enjoy the process of gaining mastery along the way.

5 What is the best act of self-care that I can do for myself? The HIGH PRIESTESS

The High Priestess counsels working with intuition and the unconscious and remembering that the answers lie within. We are encouraged in our self-care to listen to ourselves, our bodies, and to access our inner wisdom.

Self-care can take many forms; it’s not just about rest and exercise though these are important. It’s also about doing what lights you up and being in tune with that.

So self-care at this time could be working with your intuition and unconscious as well as tuning into it. It’s a good time for accessing inner wisdom in forms like visual collage, through tarot and oracle, through intuitive writing and via following your heart. The key co-ordinating theme across all these areas is listening to your inner wisdom as a form of self-care.

6 What guidance does the universe hold for allowing me to feel secure in my life? The SUN

Even though you might feel like you’re still learning in developing skills, we are encouraged to step up and shine. No-one expects or wants us to be perfect. In fact, the opportunity to watch us develop our skills and share our journey through its steps and ups and downs can be a great gift to others. We can be secure in our authentic and heart-felt aspiring and our learning to be.

So share your light and shine it far and wide. Enjoy the process, as the Eight of Coins reminds us, and be playful and not so serious. As you embrace your aspiring spirit, you encourage others to do the same. And you also develop mastery in the process of doing.

7 How can I best reconnect with the Earth and its energies? SIX of SWORDS

The Six of Swords is a card of journeying, transition and movement. It encourages us here to get some perspective, exercise detachment and release old beliefs and fears that no longer serve us. This message connects strongly with the messages from the NINE and KING of CUPS.

In getting some distance from fear and old thought processes, it might be valuable to move. This is both literally, in moving away from anything that triggers you as well as valuing movement as a way of grounding into yourself, the Earth and nature. So walking, swimming, getting out in nature and moving are all valuable practices now. Those Extraverted Sensing skills of “Immersing in the present context”, being here now in nature, in meditation, being present to ourselves, our emerging skills and our potential are all highlighted now.

8 What can I do to Empower myself? THREE OF RODS (WANDS)

The Three of Rods (Wands) suggests that focused effort and action is the best way to empower yourself now and into this next cycle. It’s like you need to honour what you’ve already done at this stage and get into action. You have skills and tools – and you know where you want to go, so it’s an opportunity to take these aspiring resources and be in action.

We can sometimes be held back in fear from wanting to be perfect and having everything just so. But it’s fine for us to be patiently developing and honing skill whilst also being in action. In fact, the best way to learn is to practice. And we will keep gathering resources and learning new skills along the way.

So trust your instincts and yourself. The time to realise your long-term goals and aspirations has come, so start a new plan. Set yourself up for movement and action. As the Sakki Sakki Tarot Guidebook, ‘Playing with Symbols’, tells us for the Three of Rods:

Approach your goals with confidence, because you’ve already done the homework. Let your vision be your map, become the ultimate leader, and feed off your achievements.

Ways to step into your aspiring life

So are your thoughts also on how to step into an aspiring life and what we are capable of becoming?

Here are some practical questions prompted by the Taurus Full Moon and reflections on my reading. They build on the recent Aries Full Moon reading and Capricorn Full Moon reading around stepping up into our power and truth. The key focus now is on how we can work with our fears and the pieces we have downplayed or left behind. That way, we can shine in all our authentic and aspiring power.

Journal, reflect or brainstorm around these questions to help maximise your personal self-leadership at this time:

Where do you need to be bolder about working with your fears?
What have you left behind or downplayed because of what other people thought?
Where can you see healthy fear in your life where you are in awe? How can you honour this?
Where can you practice getting out of your comfort zone and embrace your less preferred ways of operating?
In what areas of your life can you be more patient?
What’s the rush you are feeling all about?
How can you cultivate joy in the learning process?
What’s your inner wisdom saying to you about your current self-care practices?
What changes could you make to improve this from listening within and to your body?
What’s stopping you from shining your light now?
Are you feeling radiant? If not, how can you feel this more?
How can you keep in movement to reconnect and ground yourself?
Where can you set an action plan in place that serves your aspiring self?
How can you power up the tools and resources you have in support of your aspirations?

Wisdom from the Three of Wands

I started with this quote because it’s so apt but here it is in its full glory in the context of the Art of Life Tarot.

May you live the life you are aspiring to, enjoying the process of becoming and not waiting until you feel perfect to shine. And may your wholehearted self-leadership help you be of service to others!

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Authentic ways to act and be in the world – Aries Full Moon Tarot Reading

October 8, 2017

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**Now is not the time for gilding the truth, or avoiding it, but for strategizing the best, most compassionate, way for you to stay aligned.**

Jessica Shepherd, from Mooncircles

The Aries Full Moon invites to step into the power of our truth. This tarot reading reflects on authentic ways we can act and be in the world at this time.

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

Now is the time to bring forth our truth in a way that can heartfully express, assert and realign that which is out of balance. With the Sun in Libra, we can learn to do this in a way that is compassionate and cooperative so that it can illuminate, purify and transform.

This Full Moon has powerful energies for finding our authentic heart. It reminds us to not be afraid of our own power and who we are. There are messages too around aligning and realigning where we may have got out of kilter. It’s an opportunity to reflect on where we are lacking in compassion for ourselves and others. Small, simple adjustments in attitude and actions are helpful now to self-correct and steer a more positive path.

Aries Full Moon connections

Today’s Tarot Narrative was about ‘keeping it real’. That message is a central focus for this Full Moon period and beyond.

Jessica Shepherd via Mystic Mamma highlights aspects of being true to ourselves in this Full Moon period. Spinning off thoughts from watching the new documentary on Lady Gaga, Gaga: Five Foot Two, she talks about the vulnerability of being who we are.

And this fear of being perceived as too messy, imperfect or emotionally vulnerable struck me as a woman’s issue: All this focus on who we are to others (Libra) versus who we are (Aries).

How often we censor our true, raw experience because we think it makes us weak, crazy, too emotional, when it’s actually refusing the whole truth of our real experience that weakens us…We aren’t born afraid to be our selves. We aren’t born fearing what other people will do or say in response to us, what their reaction will be. It is learned behavior. It can be scary to be ourselves–so real, so aligned, so honest–because it pushes other people’s buttons.

Because real-ness is scary to those who can’t be real in their own lives.

There’s a very strong message in this Full Moon about finding ways to be authentic but balanced. This might be through our choices, our ways of working and our collaborations. We need to negotiate ways of combining self-expression with collaborating with others. Whilst we are focused on our truths, it’s about learning to live them in a compassionate and wise way. For example:

If we can see a better way of doing something, how do we communicate that – forcefully or with love and respect?
There might be a myriad of choices open to you, but what’s the self-compassionate way to work?
How are we aligning with our core values in our actions?
Where can we gather the courage to act with the support of others?

My focus here at Quiet Writing is on wholehearted self-leadership. These energies provide a special time to reflect on and step into the power of our truth. This includes an emphasis on how we can be true to ourselves whilst we also align with others in our work in the world.

This dramatic, transformational energy has been accumulating and evolving for a while now. The combination of fiery, assertive Aries and Libran balance, focuses us on our authenticity and how it relates to others.

Aries Full Moon tarot reading tools:

For my reading for the Aries Full Moon, I worked with:

This Full Moon in Aries tarot spread by Sam Roberts aka @escapingstars on Instagram:

Deck wise, I worked with the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck by Monicka Clio Sakki, my favourite tarot deck especially for questions around creativity.

Tarot reading:

So here’s the reading:

THE FOOL was a fabulous card to see arriving straight up, setting the tone for the reading. I have had many messages recently about being at the end of a cycle. So this card suggests we are off on a new adventure with courage, truth and leaps of faith involved. A few favourite and recurring cards appeared for this reading too:

SEVEN of CUPS suggesting we are looking at the choices available to us.
FIVE of COINS (PENTACLES) reminding us about what we are leaving behind. We need to think about what to leave behind and what to take with us from our past as we move on.
PAGE of SWORDS symbolising our core values and new ways to work with them practically.
EIGHT OF RODS (WANDS) providing a sense of opportunity and action. There’s the courage to work differently in multiple areas; also to take on others’ viewpoints.

THE MAGICIAN turned up recently in my daily Tarot Narrative to remind me that our work is about combining the four elements in new and unique ways. We need a balance of fire, air, water and earth in how we work as we modulate and tune ourselves.

This reading with THE FOOL up front, followed by one card from each of the suits or elements, provides valuable clues to how to negotiate this time.

As always, a fabulous Tarot Narrative with these initial clues – so let’s dive into the fuller reading.

Tarot reading – card by card:

So here are some deeper thoughts, card by card, in relation to the questions. I worked intuitively with guidance from the Sakki Sakki tarot guidebook Playing with Symbols, Susannah Conway’s 78 Mirrors e-course notes, The Good Tarot Guidebook and Jessa Crispin’s fabulous book The Creative Tarot. Then connected back with the key energies highlighted for this Full Moon via the Mystic Mamma post and aligned posts.

1 What area do I need support in? THE FOOL

THE FOOL always makes you smile when it surfaces. Focusing in on new beginnings, the start of a cycle and new journeys, it’s all about time to take a fresh look. It’s interesting that this card has popped up around the question of where I need support.

As anyone following me for a while would know, I am going through a major transition time. Any transition time is about identity. As we shape a new way of being or moving in the world, we are also dealing with our identity. It might be getting back to our authentic heart. Perhaps it’s learning to collaborate with others in new ways. It involves working out what to leave behind, what to take forward and where to focus.

We have to work out what’s in our bag of tricks as we go forward: which skills, truths and messages are central? So this card in this space is suggesting it might be a good time to seek support as we hone this.

This aligns with my current work and focus. I can do a certain amount myself. But I am a fool if I think I can do it all myself. I’ve had to work out where a beginner’s mind is useful and where I need to work with others to complement my skills. I’ve been seeking out partnership with creative others right now: photographers, graphic designers, web specialists and other creative souls who can support me and travel with me on this journey.

So what’s right up front is a focus on our journey but seeking support to be able to live its truths. Jessa Crispin reminds us that “silencing the inner critic” is also part of this practice. I’ve just finished Tara Mohr’s Playing Big and she talks about the value of an inner mentor as opposed to an inner critic. That internal supportive practice would be really valuable to dive into at this time.

2 What do I need to devote my energy to during this moon cycle? SEVEN OF CUPS

I love the SEVEN of CUPS! It spells opportunity, choice and richness. But it reminds us that too much choice, being scattered and over-indulging are not helpful. So this time is about working out ways to have a diversity of input and output, but also recognising when too much is too much.

In line with the theme of being real, Jessa Crispin reminds us:

If you pull the Seven of Cups, you have to ask yourself whether your idea of where you want to end up is fantasy or if it’s imagination. And the only way to tell the difference is to see how much real work you’re putting into your development. (p183)

So clarity is a key piece in seeing where to devote energy at this time. Working out which strategies are effective and seeing whether the way you allocate time reflects your aims are valuable practices now.

It’s easy to get seduced by activities that feel safe and go nowhere. In ‘Playing Big’, Tara Mohr talks about ‘hiding strategies’ – things like doing more research, getting more qualifications and consulting more widely to feel ready and able. It’s a good time to cross-check whether your actions and strategies are in alignment with your goals or are just holding patterns. Choose wisely to get your authentic work done efficiently. Devote your energy to what brings fruition, fulfilment and nourishment.

3 What in my past do I need to make peace with to become more balanced and stable to welcome the future? FIVE OF COINS (PENTACLES)

The FIVE of COINS (PENTACLES) is a card that always speaks strongly to me. It’s been arriving frequently of late including in last months’ Pisces Full Moon reading. This was on the question: What plans do I need to take risks on in order to release any blockages in my way? So it’s popping up in a similar way in this reading.

This card is about feeling out in the cold in some way. It represents a combination of moving on, leaving behind what wastes your time, and working out what to take forward from those experiences. It’s not without pain and feeling rejected, that’s for sure. But the trick with this card is to work out what is of value to take with you as you move ahead.

For example, I have many skills, honed over time, to take on this new journey. They include leadership skills, self-leadership learning and a deep ability to teach and facilitate that I can apply to writing and life coaching, especially group coaching and online learning.

Feeling outcast in some way can make you want to shut the door and leave it all behind you, key parts of yourself included. This card is a reminder to hold the deep authentic truths of ourselves close as we move on. You can take forward what’s quintessentially you and turn it into something golden, unique and special. All your new skills are able to merge with the old, applied in a new way.

4 How can I best use the Full Moon to align with my core values? PAGE OF SWORDS

This card takes us to the heart of the reading. The Art of Life Tarot quote for this card is the Buddhist proverb:

When the student is ready, the master will appear.

There’s a sense of finally being ready to make big steps. This might be ‘turning pro’ or more professional in approaches to creativity and writing. It could be making your most authentic goals the centrepiece, instead of them languishing on the periphery of your life. There is a sense of readiness and having the right guidance and support for the journey now.

It’s all about knowledge and logic, shaping experiences and ideas into something that can take root and grow in a grounded way. The trick though is about wielding the sword of mastery into something tangible – a book, a course, a new life.

5 Where in my life do I need to gather courage and leap into action? EIGHT OF RODS (WANDS)

For cards of action, the EIGHT OF RODS (WANDS) is right up there. Like the SEVEN of CUPS, it suggests multiple options, multi-tasking and choices to be made. But above all, this card is about the energy of taking action in many ways.

It signifies rapid communications, doing several things at once that interconnect and hitting the mark with your efforts as they interweave. There’s power here, though we need to stay focused and calm, not get too carried away with all the options.

Collaborating with others, integrating their ideas and insights is valuable at this time. We don’t have to juggle all the pieces by ourselves. If we are going to get our authentic work done, we need collaborators, advisors, teachers and experts. Just as THE FOOL reminds us in arriving up front, we are all beginners in some respects, no matter what our background. Learn to seek support and gentle guidance now. Don’t be too proud and don’t be afraid of being vulnerable or of asking for help. Maximise the opportunities of this energy by working with and listening to others.

Ways to step into our authentic truth

So are your thoughts also around how to step into our authentic truth, with a balance between independence and collaboration?

Here are some practical questions prompted by the Aries Full Moon and reflections on my reading. They build on the recent Capricorn Full Moon reading and Pisces Full Moon reading around stepping up into our power and truth. The key focus is on how we can work with others on the new aspects of this journey. That way, we can be of service as we get our work out there in a more efficient and aligned way.

Journal, reflect or brainstorm around these questions to help maximise your personal self-leadership at this time:

Where do you need support as you go on your journey?
What is new to you and where can you seek help where you feel out of your depth?
What’s holding you back from getting your work out there?
How can you work more efficiently with the support of others?
Where are you afraid to ask for help? Why is this?
How do you know the choices you are making about priorities are the right ones?
What evidence is there to reflect the return on effort?
How can you use this information to make better decisions about how you work?
Where can you simplify, rework, take small steps, to make the biggest difference?
What thoughts and habits are no longer serving you?
How can you replace them with more effective strategies?
Where are you wasting time?
What’s your most authentic desired passion, outcome or project?
How much time are you spending on this?
Are you doing what makes you happy?
If not, what changes can you put in place to do what’s more authentic for you?

Wisdom from the Five of Pentacles

And here is some final wisdom from the Five of Pentacles via the Art of Life Tarot on the heart of being authentic.

How unhappy we can be when we are not living an authentic life!

On the flip side, how wonderful is it when we start living the way we’ve always wanted to live, steeped in our passions? Working from what we love, collaborating with others and sharing our learning in new ways to help others on their journey is the greatest joy. It’s time to bring this joy to life as much as we can in simple steps of alignment. This Full Moon energy is helping to make these small but powerful steps.

May you enjoy living your authentic life in small and big ways, stepping into it more fully and freely. And may your wholehearted self-leadership help you be of service to others!

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

Keep in touch

Sign up + get your copy of ’36 Books that Shaped my Story: Reading as Creative Influence’

You will also receive updates and opportunities from Quiet Writing and its passions in 2017. This includes coaching, creativity and other connections to help express your unique voice in the world.

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

You might also enjoy:

36 Books that Shaped my Story – Reading as Creative Influence

The unique voice of what we love

How knowing your authentic heart can make you shine

Creative and Connected #8 – ways to honour your unique life blend

creativity inspiration & influence

How to step up into our power – Pisces Full Moon Tarot Reading

September 8, 2017

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Now, feel just how you would choose to have your life feel and infuse it with light and power.

Pat Liles, from The Power Path

The Pisces Full Moon invites to step up into our power. This tarot reading reflects on how we can maximise our self-leadership at this time.

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

Assimilating into the now, we welcome a watery *FULL MOON* in Pisces. She reminds us to go within and listen to the deep pulsing of our hearts.

Can we hear our unique beat? Can we find our way back to our place of self-recognition, our exhale into ourselves, into our fullness, into the moment as it is? Exactly as it is?

This Full Moon has powerful energies for shifting into our creative heart. It provides opportunities to break old habits and ways of thinking. It’s time to get back to what is important, sacred and wholehearted for each of us now.

Special Pisces Full Moon connections

I felt a special connection with this Full Moon. Being in the Sun sign of Virgo and on my birthday, it flagged particular personal significance. It also connects with the focus of Quiet Writing about being wholehearted and, in this, being of service.

Cathy Pagano highlights the Virgo aspects of this Full Moon period:

At this first Full Moon after the Leo Eclipse…we’re going to dive deep in the Collective Unconscious (Pisces Moon) to see those aspects of life which we’ve neglected and abandoned in favor of our patriarchal need to ‘get ahead’.

As we deal with our shadows, we can figure out how we can be of service (Virgo Sun) to our world.

But before we can be of service, we have to integrate our own body, soul and spirit.

That’s Virgo’s purpose: to integrate all of who we are so we can offer our talents and gifts to the world…

I felt shivers as I read this.

These words sum up my purpose here at Quiet Writing; that is it: “to integrate all of who we are so we can offer our talents and gifts to the world.”

My focus here is on wholehearted self-leadership and these energies give us a special time to reflect on and step into our personal power. This includes an emphasis on how we can be of service to others in our work in the world.

This dramatic, transformational energy has been accumulating for a while now. But now we can step it up, with the combination of watery, creative Pisces and practical, efficient Virgo. It’s a perfect time to hone the passions of our true heart. A key part of this is leaving behind what no longer serves us, especially any negative habits of how we think about ourselves.

Pisces Full Moon tarot reading tools:

For my reading for the Pisces Full Moon, I worked with:

This Full Moon in Pisces tarot spread by Sam Roberts aka @escapingstars on Instagram:

Deck wise, I worked with the Sakki Sakki Tarot deck by Monicka Clio Sakki, my favourite tarot deck especially for questions around creativity.

Tarot reading:

So here’s the reading:

I smiled as the TWO OF SWORDS arrived first up around “What’s bubbling to the surface from the shadowy depths?” It also popped up for my New Moon in Leo/Solar Eclipse reading two weeks ago around what’s blocking me from growing. This card for me is all about thought and feeling, how they come together and feed each other. So I sensed that this reading is all about being at a crossroads and an opportunity to move through.

THE WORLD turning up around how I can better connect emotionally with the world was a lovely synergy. Expansion and how being wholehearted relates to service jumps out as key themes.

There are three Swords cards in all so a big focus on cut-through and words as thoughts, tools, and weapons. And I love that both the first and last cards feature blindfolds, being trapped in some way, possibly of our own doing. This suggests it’s time to break free and the KNIGHT OF SWORDS hints at this energy of riding, moving and being less risk-averse.

The FIVE OF COINS (PENTACLES) and SIX OF RODS (WANDS) are also cards I connect with strongly. They are indicators around how we choose to see the world and what we do with all our experiences, including the challenging ones.

As always, a fabulous tarot narrative with these initial clues – so let’s dive into the fuller reading.

Tarot reading – card by card:

So here are some deeper thoughts, card by card, in relation to the questions. I worked intuitively with the Sakki Sakki tarot guidebook Playing with Symbols and Jessa Crispin’s fabulous book The Creative Tarot. Then connected back with the key energies highlighted for this Full Moon via the Mystic Mamma post and aligned connections.

1 What is bubbling to the surface from the shadowy depths? TWO OF SWORDS

The key message for me with this card in this spot is about the ability to choose between options. This is especially about what we choose to think and feel. When it came up for the New Moon, my thoughts were about “how being guarded comes at a cost” (Sakki Sakki Guidebook p139). This theme continues for this reading.

It could be taking the blindfold off to be able to see more clearly. Or it could be choosing to keep it on to zone out from what’s distracting us, just as we might wear noise-cancelling headphones to concentrate. But having the strength to choose and stop second guessing all the time is important now. How much energy do we chew up about what we can’t change? What effort goes into worrying about what we are unable to influence?

So what’s bubbling up as a force is being more certain and less trapped in our thinking patterns. It signals being more in tune with our feelings.

2 How can I protect myself while still letting down my walls in order to FULLY feel? FIVE OF COINS (PENTACLES)

The FIVE OF COINS exactly captures that feeling of being unprotected. As Jessa Crispin puts it in The Creative Tarot:

You’ve been cast out. Excommunicated. That’s how this card feels, like you’re some kind of leper, and the people around you can’t wait to stick you on an island somewhere and forget about you. You feel lost and unprotected. (p161)

My sense of this card is around choosing to see the positives in any given situation. As the Sakki Sakki guidebook puts it: “Start seeing the full half of the glass, what you do have; and never underestimate your caring relationships and friendships.” (p158)

It is so easy when we have been cut adrift to feel the whole world is a loveless and lonely place. You might be making your own way, especially creatively, and independence has its virtues. But access the help of friends and supporters as you make your way. New connections and those special friends who’ve been there for you over time are of immense value now. They are ways to protect yourself at this time of vulnerability and forging new roads.

3 What plans do I need to take risks on in order to release any blockages in my way? KNIGHT of SWORDS

The Knight of Swords arrives, brandishing his sword in a somewhat swashbuckling way, to remind me to just get on with it. He reminds me to be less risk-averse in my vulnerability and creativity. I need to follow through with my planned thoughts and actions.

Especially, I need to not fear being innovative and making new connections.

If you’re making a new way in a new world, what ideas are you coalescing? How are you bringing together those unique combinations only you can create? In what ways are you expressing your unique life blend, your onlyness?

Jessa Crispin reminds us:

Swords are words and thoughts, and the Knight of Swords knows how to use his words as weapons…It’s about using your ability to put thoughts and words into action, to sway others, and to encourge dissent. (p241)

It’s a good reminder to review how we are using our words in the context of being of service to others. How are we encouraging, offering support, also being that special friend to others? Where can we use our influence in the world for good and for positive outcomes, to make a difference?

4 What can I incorporate into my life in order to better connect emotionally with the world around me? The WORLD

I like that THE WORLD came up for this one – a beautifully expansive perspective! In this context, this card speaks of having a sense of completion and mastery. It’s time to realise those lessons learned and take them forward. Gathering all the pieces, steps and parts together, it’s a moment to step up and contribute.

We can stay focused, FIVE OF COINS style, on what we lack, what we’re missing, how we’ve been shut out. Or we can take a look at how far we’ve come in this past year and realise the hard won victories and efforts. And we can celebrate them and see how we can take them forward to help others now.

So the way to better connect emotionally is through a heightened sense of contribution – yours and mine. What can we do with all this learning, this mastery, this completion? How can we apply it to benefit others?

5 What wisdom and guidance is emerging from my old wounds? SIX OF RODS (WANDS)

The SIX OF RODS (WANDS) speaks of rising up especially against obstacles. Your new life is taking shape. All that learning from events and people that wounded or disappointed you is being transformed into wisdom. All that rich experience is being absorbed into the fabric of you, especially the grief-stricken and painful times.

As Jessa Crispin focuses our attention:

That’s the goal here: to use failures, near-misses, and lessons learned in battle, and focus on breaking through to something larger and bolder. (p172)

My favourite words about this card are from The Wild Unknown:

Where will you go with your new set of wings?

6 In what ways will awareness of my Self manifest during this Full Moon? EIGHT of SWORDS

Ouch – the EIGHT of SWORDS! All of these swords at the end of the number sequence (8, 9, 10!) don’t always feel so great to receive. But there’s a powerful message here.

The image of the EIGHT of SWORDS shows a woman blindfolded (like the TWO OF SWORDS). She seems to be in a trap of her own making. It’s all in the mind it seems. This card here speaks to me of realising how my thoughts stop me from moving forward. What stories am I telling myself? How are feeling and thought interacting and where I am trapped in old habits of thinking?

The Sakki Sakki guidebook tells us directly:

The Eight of Swords is calling you to break out of restricting habits and thoughts, and to initiate your own well-being and advancement by heightening your awareness of your abilities and options. (p145)

So I need to stop waiting to be rescued and for someone to tell me what to do. In line with the TWO of SWORDS up front, I need to make decisions, be clear and cease the second-guessing. Be informed about options and act on them.

Moreover, it’s a message to save yourself and be self-sufficient, noting the support of others as per the FIVE OF COINS. Trust your judgement, listen within and pay attention to what you are telling yourself. Are you being kind and self-compassionate now as you make huge changes? Are you celebrating being more wholehearted?

Combine that KNIGHT OF SWORDS and SIX of SWORDS energy too. Find ways to create yourself anew and to be in service to others based on your learning.

Ways to step into our personal power

So are your thoughts also around how to step into our personal power, with a balance between self and service?

Here are some practical questions prompted by the Pisces Full Moon and reflections on my reading. They build on the recent Capricorn Full Moon reading around stepping up into our power, shedding what doesn’t help us. They also focus on how we can take our learning forward to support others.

Journal, reflect or brainstorm around these questions to help maximise your personal self-leadership at this time:

Where do you need to take the blindfolds off?
Alternatively, where is it helpful to turn a blind eye?
Where does being indecisive cause you grief and hold you back?
What is the reason for this indecision?
Where can you focus on seeing the glass half-full right now?
How are you honouring and calling on the special supporters in your life?
Where have you developed mastery and how can you share that?
What wounds or disappointments have you moved on from?
How can you celebrate and share the wisdom from this learning?
Where are your thoughts keeping you trapped? How can you change them?
What habits of thought need to be shaken now?
What are the underlying feelings keeping you stuck?
How can you acknowledge the feelings and move through?
Where are you waiting to be rescued or saved? Why?
Who is going to rescue you?
What can you do to be more self-sufficient at this time?

Special resources for this time:

Two special resources are waving their hands at this time.

Firstly, Brooke Castillo’s Self Coaching 101, which I featured in Tarot Narratives on Instagram recently, is stepping forward. This book is a great self-help guide to how our thoughts and feelings interact and cause us difficulty. It’s especially good for breaking old thinking/feeling cycles.

Secondly, I listened to the podcast, How to Stop Playing Small, on Hashtag Authentic yesterday. It’s Sara Tasker chatting with author and coach, Tara Mohr, of Playing Big fame. Here’s a key quote from the show notes:

A lot of us have some sort of sinking, subtle awareness that we’re playing small – even if we don’t know exactly what we mean by that. We have this feeling – I’m hiding, I’m holding back, I’m not using my gifts, I’m not really trusting my ideas.

It was such an awesome chat about how we second-guess and doubt ourselves, especially with language. As I wrote here today, I was much more aware of how I used words like, “I think…” “I guess…” and “It’s probably…”, undercutting my message. I then stopped myself and found another way. It was scary how many times this happened. Time to step up and stop that!

I’ve heard a lot about Tara’s book and I must read it. It’s clearly a book for now and for taking those blindfolds off and being more self-trusting.

Wisdom from the Six of Wands

And here is some final wisdom from The Six of Wands via the Art of Life Tarot because it made me laugh and focus on what we need right now!

Enthusiasm, seeing the glass half-full, being supported by our special new and old friends, playing our cards strongly in the world and trusting our visions. It sounds such a positive way forward and all this Full Moon energy is helping to make these big steps.

May you enjoy the unfolding of this time and may your wholehearted self-leadership help you be of service to others!

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

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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.

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An invitation to mastery – Full Moon in Scorpio tarot reading

May 12, 2017

The Full Moon in Scorpio invites us think about how we move towards mastery. This tarot reading for the full moon reflects on ways to embrace our power.

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

*FULL MOON* in SCORPIO opens a gateway to our truest depths, where we can really tune in to our hearts deepest desires, and gleam our truest reflection.

If we can take this time to sit with ourselves, and be truthful about all we reject and deny, we can uncover, untangle and reclaim ourselves in our fullness.

We are both light and shadow, dancing and meeting each other in each other, to be ultimately reconciled within.

This dance is one of mastery, a blossoming and continuous unfoldment…

Scorpio reminds us to take pleasure in the journey and allow our watery depths to surface, cleanse, heal and empower.

I love the words “this dance is one of mastery”. The word ‘mastery’ has been floating around me for a while now, especially around ‘invitation to mastery’. This is a phrase from Colette Baron-Reid’s The Enchanted Map oracle guidebook that spoke to me deeply some time ago and has stayed with me.

This Scorpio Full Moon provides a fabulous opportunity to work with our intentions, our long-held goals and to step into our power. It seems to be about light and shadow, reconciling opposites and moving on and through.

Full moon in Scorpio tarot reading tools:

It’s important to get the tools that feel right for the journey to tarot guidance. Though of course your intuition and the Full Moon itself are a fabulous start and the most essential ingredients!

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

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

The Sakki Sakki tarot deck by Monicka Clio Sakki which is still my favourite tarot deck especially for questions around creativity. My overall thoughts and questions for this time were focused on entrepreneurship, creativity and success. So a perfect match!

It was a quiet morning with a lime, basil and mandarin candle and lots of thoughts of how to make this creativity of mine into a new career, life and lifestyle.

Tarot reading:

So here’s the reading laid out on a beautiful piece of linen, hand sewn by my mother, because she is all important right now, it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, and I’m thinking of her love and strength.

I pulled the cards one by one as I like the mystery of discovery and interpreting each card in itself and then putting the narrative together. But first up – look at all those Swords! Three cards from the suit of Swords and five of the cards have swords featured. And I’m sure The Chariot driver might even have a sword hidden somewhere in his belt!

Swords are all about the intellect, strategy, cut through, getting the story together – the mastery of it all. As an INTJ in Myer-Briggs personality preference, swords (closely followed by Wands) are my favourite suit in tarot. And the Queen of Swords who appears here is the card that most aligns to my core personality. Introverted Intuition is a dominant gift for me but it’s combining that intuition with the intellect where I can really shine.

And with three Major Arcana cards also: The Chariot, The Emperor and Justice – there’s some really strong energy here to work with about breaking through, taking leadership, getting organised and balancing competing energies to get something really special happening.

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 Sakki Sakki tarot guidebook.

1 Which area of my life needs to be valued more? The CHARIOT

bringing together diverse interests
balancing light and shadow
managing polarities positively
driving forward with strength

Key words from the Sakki Sakki tarot: combining thought and feeling: “how conflict can be resolved positively through struggles in our own psyche”

One of the key things I have been experiencing and working on this year is this managing of polarities, especially between thought and feeling. This card says it’s time to work those opposites and harness them into something that is uniquely me and values this.

2 How can I best get my needs met? The EMPEROR

bring in some of that yang, masculine energy!
be organised, take control, practice leadership, self-leadership
be active, not passive or waiting for others, take the lead
marshall my resources, call the shots
get those organising principles sorted, set the framework
get some order and structure in place

Key words from Sakki Sakki tarot: “The Emperor is the rational mind controlling creative flow and emotions, maximizing their potential within a framework.”

It’s true – I need a framework for my days and routine even if it’s a flexible one. I need to work out how to manage and balance my different needs and those of others. I need structure to reach my vision and goals as well as meet my own self-care needs. And it’s about taking the lead more in my life, that self-leadership, that will enable me to do this and get my needs met.

3 What depths within myself need to be explored in order to move forward?

PAGE OF SWORDS

listening to myself, those thought bubbles and creative ideas that come
dance with them a little more, play with the intellect and ideas to connect them
bring forward new opportunities by being agile and tapping into my sources of knowledge and using them in new ways
creative innovation

Key words from Sakki Sakki tarot: alert, versatile, quick-minded, well-informed, charming inside and outside

This is interesting. I know that the INTP from Myers-Briggs is the sort that has eight books on the go – with lots of ideas and opportunities to connect them. And I do feel that energy right now. I need to tap more into this well-informed body of knowledge, the intellectual and emotional value built up over time from all that I have read, experienced and learned. And I need to work out ways to share that to move forward. It’s things like combining books, coaching, MBTI, writing and tarot in unique ways to serve and support other people as well as myself on this journey.

4 What aid comes from the Universe to guide me? QUEEN OF SWORDS

energy of thought, intellect, discernment, power of the mind
ability to cut through to what matters, to weave a path through a thought jungle
ability to create a strategy for creative entrepreneurship
success through clarity of thought
trust, stop doubting and commit

Key words from Sakki Sakki tarot: wise, intellectual, independent, courageous, learning through painful experiences.

It’s always exciting when a card you strongly relate to comes in as aid from the Universe to guide you. Perhaps it’s always so but I do need the Queen of Swords and her INTJ thinking about feelings right now. It’s about digging into my own brand of unique wisdom and thought but feeling into it as well. I need to let my intellect take the leadership in this self-leadership journey as all the swords are suggesting. But it’s wisdom from spirit and strength to cut a swathe to balance those polarities into a life and creative path that is uniquely mine. It’s intellectual ideas and playing with them creatively, Page of Swords style!

5 What boundaries must I create for myself ? SIX OF SWORDS

energy at a time of transition
knowing what to take forward, what to leave behind
moving on through grief, sadness so that positive energy can come through
keep water around me, space around me so can travel creatively where I need to go
space for creative spiritual journeys
boundaries and supports around balancing self-care whilst caring for others

Key words from Sakki Sakki tarot: spiritual journey, travel, release of anxiety, progress in spite of past difficulties, advancement through detachment

The Six of Swords is the card that symbolised this new life journey in my Welcome message to my new Quiet Writing site. It’s a beautiful card of transition and crossing the water, and taking some things on board and leaving others behind. It’s a time of creating boundaries around energy and self-care too. These are all things I have been experiencing and learning through coaching and through working with intuitive healer Amber Adrian. It also reinforces that home, where I am surrounded by water, is healing and critical to my health and creative wellbeing.

6 What needs to be done NOW to lay the foundation for my higher vision of my Self ? JUSTICE

getting balance and alignment in my life
using that energy of the swords to create discernment, strategy and cut through
make the path and settle any transition issues that I can resolve so I can move through
decide on portions of time and focus, adjust priorities and restore balance in line with my goals

Key words from Sakki Sakki tarot: balance: “Justice is Wise, and holds the Sword that slices up everything into fair portions. To achieve balance and fairness, sometimes you have to give something up – other times you have to accept more.”

Justice suggests it’s time to work with the swords to identify the best apportioning of my time in line with my priorities. This is a theme throughout this reading. It suggests that it’s a fluid process in line with this Scorpio Full Moon energy and that I need also to remember to enjoy it all. Do the work, set the framework and identify the priorities but include joy and fun in there as well. Creativity is joyful and as the words from Mystic Mamma above reminds us,

take pleasure in the journey and allow our watery depths to surface, cleanse, heal and empower.

Ways to embrace mastery

So are your thoughts also around mastery of a skill or project and how to make your creativity into a new career, life and lifestyle?

If so, here are some questions around this prompted by the Scorpio full moon, the tarot spread by Sam Roberts and reflections on my own tarot reading.

They are around embracing mastery and getting back into the driver’s seat in creativity and entrepreneurial plans.

Journal or brainstorm around them to help your own dance of mastery begin to unfold further at this time of opportunity:

What is it you want to master and why?
Where do you have comprehensive skill and knowledge and how can you step into that more?
What will help you be the leader of this creative project – Emperor-style?
Where can you practice strong self-leadership?
What polarities or diverse qualities can you balance or bring together in a unique way?
Where is the light and shadow in your life and what can they bring out in each other in your project or creative work?
What areas of your life do you need to value more, Chariot-style, where you might be breaking new ground?
Where are you not trusting your strong natural or developed knowledge and skill? How can you tap into this more?
How can you best get your needs met and set some boundaries? Is it more structure or less? Is it a rigid or flexible framework? Do you need more routine?
Danielle LaPorte has a series of wisdom paradoxes in her new White Hot Truth book and summarised here. Think about paradox as a key to mastering a project or skill and feeling balanced: How can you have vision and go with the flow? How can you be open-hearted and have clear boundaries as you work?
Where you can take pleasure in and enjoy this journey to mastery?

Wisdom from The Chariot

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

May the unique vision and value of what you love be the energy that propels you to new places of mastery. May you share your loves with us and may you enjoy the dance.

Full Moon image from pexels.com and used with permission and thanks.

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**Now is not the time for gilding the truth, or avoiding it, but for strategizing the best, most compassionate, way for you to stay aligned.**