Inspiration from The World.

Hello my lovelies, it's been a While!

I've started to do this rad new thing with my Tarot decks, right, where I pick a card each week to connect with and research and journal about and all that good stuff. I've practice Tarot for about while but lately I've hit a slump. I'm not going to lie, life got in the way and my Tarot practice slipped by the wayside. This saddens me so much because tarot is such a big part of my life that it did leave this gaping, card shaped hole in my life. Now things are finally starting to slot into place I've been pushing myself more and more to discover what I truly want and need from my life. I'm not afraid to get deep here; I've not been living, I've been existing. With everything that's happened this year my goals and dreams have been neglected in exchange for holding everyone else's on my shoulders and I'm finally beginning to wake up. I've finally started to realise my true calling and that is to help people, to bring light into people's lives.

Why is this inspired by The World, you Ask? Well my method of selection for what card I should focus on for the week is to sit and to commune with The Morrigan my matron Goddess, and then commune with the cards and ask for messages from her as to what I should focus on for this week, what energies I need to channel. She showed me The World and it's sorta catapulted me into this state of needing to find how my world really spins. I'm 26 years old and you would have thought I would have found my path by now wouldn't You? But I don't think adulting is actually that simple at all. It's not easy to work from home, care for a 16 month old, work at recovery from mental illness and take care of your family all at the same time. Sometimes I forget I'm not a superhero, though honestly I really think I should be ordained as wonder woman by Now! But yeah, it's not easy to suddenly be catapulted into adulthood where there's all those responsibilities and scary things like *gasp* calling the doctors to make an appointment myself; why my mum can't do it for me until I'm old and grey I have no idea but no apparently now I have to do it myself. You suddenly have all these things you need to do that are scary and difficult and confusing and you're not ready to get out of your blanket fort or take off your fairy princess dress Yet! Thing is that that responsibility is there because it's kinda like the price you pay for things like freedom and making your own choices about your own life (you mean I can go to bed whenever I want Now?!). This is what I've been thinking of In terms of The World.

The World tells us that we have everything we have wanted or its at least within our reach and I'm finally starting to feel as though I can reach out my chubby little fingers and pick up the future I've always dreamed of. That's partly why this blog is GOING to come back, no matter what. It will run alongside my YouTube channel, which I will contribute to more and get involved in discussion with other youtubers of a spiritual nature too. I will be making sure I fuel my heart centred brand more and bring more people into my tribe to indulge in some of my Tarot consultancy because I am desperate to make a difference, I'm desperate to guide and help and bring light to people's lives. I say desperate because it's like a compulsive urge I have and have had since I was a child, to help people, go truly make a difference to people's lives. I want to use Tarot to guide people, I want to use this blog and the YouTube channel to teach and inspire people and to further that I want to take a course in either life coaching or spiritual counselling to make sure that I am able to help people to the very best of my ability. I even want to to go back to dressing in a way that makes little girls ask their mummies if I'm a fairy princess (yes this used to happen on a daily basis for me before I morphed into mum Style!) Because I want my light to shine to the point that people feel my warmth. Don't get me wrong, it's a selfish endeavour too, but selfish in the very best way. Selfish doesn't need to be bad, we can do things for ourselves and that fulfil us without feeling guilty for it and I think it's a pretty good deal if my selfishness helps benefit other people too.

So there we go, The World has popped up and it's screaming at me "Reach out and grab It! It's everything you've ever wanted" so I am doing. I'm doing it, and you know What? I finally feel like I deserve it. I fucking deserve it.

And so do you my jelly tots, so do you.

Self-Development with Tarot: Assertiveness with the Queen of Wands.

Of the whole deck, the powerful, feminine energy that radiates from the Queen of Wands is my favourite. I know I say I love a lot of cards in the deck but if I had to choose one that I want to embody the most in my life it would be the Queen of Wands. She's the embodiment of feminine assertiveness and self-confidence.

Which brings me to the topic of this post. Being assertive is generally a difficult thing to do in our society, particularly if you are a female. Assertiveness in females is seen as being a bitch, self-confidence seen as being arrogant or "full of yourself.". Modesty and submissiveness in all aspects is pushed onto us females from when we are young. Everything tells us we should be quiet and modest to be a lady.

Assertiveness builds self-confidence and self-confidence allows you when to know the difference between passive, assertive and aggressive and when to apply your assertiveness to a situation and when to sit back and be passive. Assertiveness is being pro-active about yourself and standing up for your needs without neglecting or imposing on the needs of others. For example there may be problems within a relationship where the other party is behaving in a manner that hurts you, being assertive would be to talk to the other party, discuss with them the issue in a calm manner. If you were passive however, you would allow that person to continue hurting you, this damaging your self-esteem and causing stress and putting a strain on the relationship. If you were aggressive you would start a fight over the issue and end up sabotaging the relationship completely instead of working through the issues in an assertive way. 

There are many reasons why we are not assertive in our lives. As I mentioned above, women may be taught to be passive because they should be tending to the needs of others rather than themselves, this could also have some women wanting to rebel against societal norms and flip to an aggressive stance in order to claim back their voice. Men are often raised to be aggressive, feeling that their need to be dominant in all areas of their lives means demanding what they want, this, as with the example of women, may flip the other way around and they may want to not be seen as the dominant, aggressive man, rebelling against their upbringing they could become passive in order to show that they are "not like that".

There's also a greater societal reason for being passive. We're often taught that to be nice we must be passive and give everyone what they want. In turn we believe that our needs are sub-par to those of others and we give in to what others want or need for fear of appearing the bad guy or that the other person will walk out on us altogether, when actually the fact we are not being assertive in our needs causes stress, lack of proper communication and ultimately puts strain on our relationships and breaks them down.

Being assertive builds self-confidence and there's nothing wrong with standing up for yourself and considering your own needs in a positive and proactive manner.  Start small and begin learning to say no respectfully. Learn that it's ok to say no if you don't want to do something and that the other person should never make you feel guilty for saying no if it's not what you want. Learn to talk about your needs and feelings without being aggressive or blaming others but in a way that will allow them to be included in your feelings and let them know how they can help.

Channel the energies of The Queen of Wands by allowing the fire energy within you to be channelled through that queenly, feminine exterior. Rule yourself and your needs with the strong, assertiveness of a Queen who's fire allows you to be strong and dominant but who's feminine energy allows you to display that dominance and strength in a nurturing and loving manner. Respect yourself and others around you because you are worth it.

Tarot Card Spotlight: The Sun

Upright: I love the positivity this card emanates. It's a shame that it doesn't truly bring the sunshine out into the sky, (especially on this overcast English sky!) but it might as well have. Even talking about this card makes me bubble with positive energy. If you are looking for a definite answer to a question then The Sun certainly means a big, fat yes!

When The Sun appears in a spread, get ready to welcome success and positivity into your life. You have earned these good things and so it's time to bask in this good feeling. You are totally given permission to regress into your inner child, let your hair down and have some fun because you've worked so hard to get to this point and The Sun is shining down on you right now.

You may be feeling extremely creative right now, it may be that you are creating some of the best works you've ever done at this time. It's certainly a good time to begin new projects as they will be mostly a big success.

You are carefree, feeling the positive vibrations of all you've accomplished in your life so far. Let The Sun's rays penetrate your skin and warm your soul and your shining light will attract those around you and allow them to feel the positive happiness you are radiating right now.

Reversed: The Sun is full of such positivity that even in its reversed position it still means good things, just possibly slightly less overwhelmingly good! It may be that there are some worries in the back of your mind that could be tainting the good feelings you're experiencing right now. What you really need to do in this situation is decipher whether your worries are for good cause or just something your mind is creating to rain on your sunny day.

You may be feeling a slump in your self confidence and self esteem. Something may have knocked you off your perch; you're not rock bottom right now but you may be feeling just a little bit self conscious. There may be a feeling that you are not letting your inner child out to play, or pushing down issues with your inner child that you need to address. Stay positive and don't let things cloud your sunshine. Take a break from your projects for a moment to allow your creativity to flow once again and you'll be feeling the rays of The Sun soon enough.

Tarot Card Spotlight: The World

Upright: The world comes at the end of The Fools Journey and a very positive card in general. It is one of the only cards that would be able to definitely answer a "yes or no" question and the answer would be a resounding yes. When The World comes up in a reading it almost always means that there is a great deal of positivity and success on its way or that success has just been had.

There is one thing to consider when The World comes up in a reading and to highlight this I will refer back to the Death card and its main theme, change and rebirth. If you think about life as a cycle and The World itself spinning around in a cycle from day to night to day again in a perpetual cycle, you will understand that, while the world indicates success and the completion of goals, this card also indicates that the cycle is about to start again and there will soon become a time when you will be The Fool again.

If The World card comes up in a reading it's time to feel proud of yourself and relish in your successes. You'll notice that other people will recognise these successes and will want to be around you to relish in your victories too. You may find yourself being rewarded with awards or promotions at work etc that will confirm the fact that other people are recognising your success too. The World card can be connected to fame so you may even find yourself becoming a bit of a star!

The World is a big motivator to go out and create your own world. You've gained enough experience and skills along your path that you're able to use them to create your own success and build your empire. All these things you have gained are not due to good luck or chance but through hard work and careful planning. You have got to where you are today on your own merit; you have persevered through the hard times, through Death and The Devil and you are now finally at a place where you can create and own your world. You should feel proud of what you have gone through and how far you have come.

There could also be a very literal meaning behind this card in that it may be telling you to take over the world, not in a Pinky and the Brain way but to travel, expand your business internationally, move or work overseas, anything that sees you seeing the world and taking advantage of all it has to offer. Exploring different cultures and seeing what different parts of the world have to offer you will be an extremely positive endeavour for you. The World could also be telling you to to get back to nature and explore The Worlds bounty in that respect.

In a relationship spread this card could be revealing to you the positives of a long distance relationship or of meeting a prospective partner who comes from a different part of the world from you; maybe even a holiday romance? In general these relationships will be built to last and likely to be extremely happy and positive relationships.

Balance is another big theme with this card. Life is in balance. Your hard work and perseverance is balanced out by success. You are at completion but on the edge of a new beginning; nicely balanced between the two. You probably feel a sense of being whole, a sense that everything is just... right. You can feel the good vibrations flowing and your own energy field is vibrating at just the right level. You are bound to be feeling grounded, you can feel your roots connecting you to the earth and feeling the energies of the earth and everything connected to it coursing through you. You could be feeling very alive right now.

Another big part of The World is the message of learning life's lessons. The World shows us that with the lessons of self discipline and responsibility the World is your oyster and as long as we learn from these lessons we won't be trapped in a cycle of making the same mistakes over and over again, we would be trapped in a cycle of success.

Reversed: The World in its reversed position indicates a resistance to change. Perhaps you're scared of changing or you've just reached a point of stagnation in your life and are finding it hard to move forward. You feel like you're stuck in a cycle of boredom and increasing frustration. The only way that you will be able to break out of this cycle is by a change of attitude. The World reversed calls for you to begin thinking positively and giving yourself credit for your own strengths in order for you to work through your issues and achieve your goals.

You may believe that the world owes you something and so you do not change because you don't put in the work, simply believing that you are owed the opportunities and they will just fall into your lap. You may be being too stubborn and fighting against the changes presenting themselves in your life instead of going with the flow causing you to never come across positive changes because your perception is that they are always negative.

It could mean that you are doing as much hard work as you possibly can but that it's all directed in the wrong place and thus you are not getting anywhere in your life because you're striving towards and empty end. You need to listen to outside points of view and different perspectives in order to be able to find success. You may need to look back over your past mistakes and see the lessons that you might have missed.

There could be a sense of an anti climax when it comes to the success you've just achieved. You've worked so hard towards a goal that you've coveted for so long that now you are here it's not as good as you'd made it out to be. It may be that you've pursued this dream for so long that you've now changed and the dream doesn't matter that much to you anymore. You could find that you've achieved you goal only to find that there's now an even bigger climb ahead of you, but that is life, to keep success going you have to keep working. On the theme of the work you need to keep doing after reaching your goal in order to continue to succeed, you may find that you've reached your goal but now you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and you can't keep up with the work required to keep your success going.

The World reversed could also indicate that the world you've created for yourself isn't a safe place to be. You've surrounded yourself with negative self talk and thus have body issues that are plaguing your mind. You're finding it hard to get yourself out of your cycle of negativity and looking down on yourself and your body. You've started to put too much weight on your distorted view of your personal appearance and it feels like your whole sense of worth is being placed on how you look and how you fit into the societal ideal of beauty. 

Tarot Card Spotlight: The Hanged Man

Upright: The Hanged Man is an interesting and complex card. After the motion and activity of the Wheel of Fortune which directly contrasts the sudden stop and standstill of The Hanged Man, justice has tied him up to force him to contemplate what has happened. This card is all about suspension. The Hanged Man also reminds us that sometimes, no matter what we do, life will do as it will. It doesn't matter how much we push and pull at it, it will do whatever it wants and we merely have to go along with it. This can make us feel powerless but The Hanged Man is really here to remind us that sometimes we have to stop, stand still and focus.

Sometimes struggling against what life throws at you is pointless and we should save our energies and just wait it out; let it go. Resistance will only serve to deplete our energy and won't make any difference to the situation at hand anyway so why not just let it go?

When we take a closer look and analyse the image of the man we see that he is not scared, he is not worried or upset, he is calm, serene, in a state of tranquil contemplation at the situation. You could even go as far as to say that the glowing halo around his head could represent the lightbulb going on in his mind as he surveys his life and contemplates his situation. He is learning valuable lessons from his situation, lessons he know he needs to learn to be able to continue along his path without too many roadblocks that could have been prevented had he only stopped and reflected on his experiences. 

The Hanged Man is a person who once often felt like he was the victim, being punished by life but now, from his new viewpoint, he can see the lessons he must learn and the positives behind the experiences. He is taking advantage of his position to go deep within himself and look into his subconscious and develop his higher-self. Here he is able to undergo a period of wonderful self-development and enjoy a time of tranquil improvement of his inner self.

Another underlying focus of The Hanged Man is sacrifice; the sacrifice of our own wants, dreams and desires in favour of the bigger picture or the needs of someone else. Here there can be a clash of feeling as though he has been sacrificed by others for their own desires, or that he has sacrificed himself for the greater good. There's a paradox of victimisation and martyrdom. This is where this card can be connected to giving and helping others and foregoing your own desires in order to help those you care for achieve their own, or even to volunteer work.

If we examine The Hanged Woman as it appears in the Manga Tarot deck we can clearly see the presence of the element of water here. The fact that she is standing on her head to meditate under the waterfall makes us really think about the spiritual development and sense of enlightenment that this card brings. 

The Hanged Man draws your attention to the fact that your life is just not going the way you planned, no matter what you do, and trying to force things will only do yourself and your plans harm. It's time to step back and look outside yourself at the bigger picture. Stop, look around and just allow life to continue and go along with whatever it throws at you. You need to adapt to the changes that life is going to make and look at them objectively and not in a negative light. Such is life and you just have to live with it. Getting upset and angry at things you cannot change will only make you feel worse; you can either get upset and angry about it or you can grown and change and learn from it. 

Learn to enjoy this time of suspension. Enjoy being able to allow life to take its course. Time spent going within and reflecting on your experiences will allow you to get in touch with your spirituality, your higher-self. There is a sense that you will be experiencing insight so deep that the world around you seems to disappear for a moment, all that's left is you contemplating that insight. This idea that the world disappears from around you signifies the fact that this card is also showing you a sense of sacrifice; to receive you must give, even if it's the fact you are giving yourself up to the world, opening yourself up to the forces of nature, to gain truths and different perspectives.

People can find The Hanged Man because it symbolises so much paradoxical thought in our lives. It's a very contradictory card at it's core and symbolises the paradox of life. It presents us with truth by hiding it within the opposites. To uncover these truths we must let go and surrender to our past experiences and learn lifes lessons. We must reflect on what has been and see where we might have missed valuable experience we need to progress. At this point in our lives we can only move forward by standing still. 

 Reversed: A big theme of this card when it is in it's reversed position is obsession with the material concerns, to the point that your spirituality and higher self is compromised.  Your need for control has clouded your vision to see that there is no winning here and so you are depleting your own energy reserves by fighting a fight you cannot win. You have lost your ability to listen to your inner voice because the noise of your fighting is drowning it out.

Your inability to heed the warnings and learn the lessons that are coming your way in life has seen you repeating the same mistakes over and over again and this will continue until the lesson has finally been learnt. Imagine that The Hanged Man is beating you over the head with these lessons until he finally knocks some sense into you!

The reversal of this card could also mean that you are so tied up with other things right now that you are unable to sit and contemplate for any period of time. You desperately want to be able to stop and reflect upon your life but you're so busy that you cannot afford such luxuries. 

Hanging on to things that have already passed could be another problem associated with this card. For example you may be holding on to a relationship that is clearly not working, but instead of trying to fix, or getting out whilst you still can, you are holding on to your own detriment. The reversal of this card sees you fighting against your inner-self and this fight is exhausting you. It's bringing you down and making you unable to see the positives in life. Instead of reflecting on the good parts of your life and the lessons learned from the mistakes you have made, all you can see are the negative connotations to your downfalls instead of trying to see the glass as being half full.

The reversal of this card is crying out to you to stop. Take a breath and really dig deep inside yourself to find inner peace and re-establish your higher-self.