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I’m not even sure what to write about current events. Who knew that in 2020 we’d be living in a pandemic? Not me. A lot of good things are coming from staying at home and being stuck inside.

Last Tuesday, Sasha Graham asked me and other members of the tarot community to create videos filled with messages of hope and how we’re surviving this time. This video contains my thoughts and rough ideas of how I’m dealing with all this. It’s okay to be scared. I am. It’s okay to do nothing (I’ve done a little bit off this list each day so far…). Stay safe, stay healthy, and please, stay inside.

All my love to the community, near and far. And to those who dealing with the virus, stay strong! We love you. We need you. We’re sending you all our love and energy.

Transcript:
Hi everyone, I hope this video finds you healthy and safe indoors. Can you believe this is happening? Crazy, huh?

In any case, I wanted to let you all know that I am safe and inside my home here in Portland. And I want you all to be safe as well. My plan for surviving this time is 3-fold:

1. I’m listening to my body. I’m staying inside. With asthma and allergies, and the pollen going crazy outside, I can’t do daily runs or walks. So I’m doing other things. I nap. I meditate and I try and keep the house cleaned. It’s amazing how many calories get burned by doing some cleaning.

2. Keeping my mind active. I’m using this time to study up. I’m watching a lot of video classes on business or crafts. I’m writing new material: for books and articles. I’m keeping up with the podcast schedule. And I’m taking this time to delve deeper into my deck collection. I’m examining each deck, learning the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and trying to figure out how to integrate them into my personal and private practices. It’s fun and a good reminder of what I have in my collection.

3. Finally, I’m staying connected. I’m talking to friends. Whether it’s text chat or video chats on zoom, I’m trying to stay connected to my friends and neighbors. Staying home is fine but staying home and inside for an extended amount of time is rough on this extrovert. So I’m doing my best to connect with others.

I miss you all. Please take this seriously and stay safe. I look forward to seeing you all at the next gathering, whether it’s online or in person. Big hugs and feel free to reach out to me, I’m here to listen.

To recap, in 2020 I’m using these decks: The Sovereign Oracle, the mini Ceccoli Tarot, and the Animantras deck. I chose them because I wanted to play with mini decks this year. They give me a theme, a means to apply the theme, and a cute animal to act as the guide for the lesson. This whole spread sits on my desk where I can see it, work with the energies, and integrate them into my day.

Theme: Resources
How: 6 of Wands
Helper: Unicorn (be unique)

The theme for March is Resources. I view resources as anything I can use to get my accomplishments done. Even energy is a resource, and that is a precious one as I head into this month. I’m finishing up a work-for-hire writing project and then going to the NorthWest Tarot Symposium (NWTS) this weekend. I’m excited to see my tarot friends and find out what they’ve been doing for the past year. Tarot, obviously, is one huge resource I rely on. Another is Scrivener my writing app in which I’m drafting this post to you all. I also use the chat apps as huge resources to keep my sanity as I want to keep up my relationships with friends. All this and more, are going to be explored this month.

How I will use the theme comes with the 6 of Wands. I view this card as a happy moment, where I get to share off the milestones I’ve done with others. This month brings me a few milestones: the completion of two work-for-hire deals, Tarot Inspired Life got a licensing deal for Russia, and of course celebrating with my friends at NWTS and events beyond. The weather is also getting better, so Spring brings new opportunities to share.

My helper this month is no other than the Unicorn. She (yes, this card told me their gender) belongs to the Crown chakra set. So it connects us to spirit. Her motto is “be unique” and I am so happy. Our perspectives are what make us unique in life. Even Kayti agrees because she writes, “The energy of a unicorn reminds us that it is our differences and unique characteristics that give us our magic. Our connection to all things is one of our most important tools for communication. When you run like the wind towards your dreams don’t forget to sparkle.” I know this month I’ll have many opportunities to share my sparkle with everyone. I’ll be writing lots, giggling lots, reading cards, and sharing my unique perspective with everyone I love.

See something different? What to share your unique sparkle with me this month? Comment on this post and tell me what’s been going on with you? I’d love to know!

Welcome to February’s end of the month wrap-up series. In this post, we discover how the planning spread got implemented and where I ended up. 

Theme: Resilience
How: 10 of Swords
Helper: Beaver (be prepared)

Resilience is a great theme. It is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. I’m facing two challenges right now. The first is dealing with  Imoen (our cat) and her cancer. She gets chemo every other week and it’s keeping the disease at bay. However, her health is in decline from the various other issues she deals with. She’s been alternating between wanting snuggles, eating, and cookie snacks almost every hour. It’s a hard chore to keep her satisfied and loved. It is building our connection. I am learning how to be resilient with a critter who cannot tell me exactly how they feel. The second challenge is finding time for myself. I need time to write and complete projects. I need time to sleep and to eat. And right now I’m juggling a lot because spring is coming.

PantheaCon went well. I had a classroom full of attendees and we had to turn people away for the first class. My ability to adapt and be resilient to change helped me stay on task and on time to give everyone the knowledge to journal with cards. I also followed through on my personal self-care plan for conventions. I think this is the first PantheaCon where I took a nap in the middle of the day on Saturday.

Having the 10 of Swords present on my desk every day reminded me to close the loops. There is something to be said about knowing the end is near. It grounded me, gave me comfort, and strength. It’s also a hard reminder. Especially when it comes to Imoen. My partner and I are talking about her health and taking steps to ensure we are giving her the best care possible. I have spilled many tears over this. I don’t want her to go, but her end is near. 

Beaver was a good helper this month. I over-prepared for my classes and writing projects. This helped me lay down the foundations and get everything I wanted to say out. Being prepared helps build resilience because you have laid out outcomes for multiple futures. 

I feel like this month was successful in teaching me to be Resilient in my work and life. I stretched my capacity to write in the long haul, I taught to the biggest audience I’ve had, and am putting resilience plans in place when it comes to having an elder pet in the house.

To recap, in 2020 I’m using these decks: The Sovereign Oracle, the mini Ceccoli Tarot, and Animantras deck. I chose them because I wanted to play with mini decks this year. They give me a theme, a means to apply the theme, and a cute animal to act as the guide for the lesson. This whole spread sits on my desk where I can see it, work with the energies, and integrate them into my day.

Theme: Resilience
How: 10 of Swords
Helper: Beaver (be prepared)

The theme for February is Resilience, something I know a lot about. Things are crazy for me this month. I have a huge writing project to draft up by March, the last PantheaCon to attend and present at, two podcasts to keep producing, and all the other items on my normal in and out list. It’s enough to make me want to ditch everything and nap. But, I can’t. Resilience reminds me to pace myself. To keep my purposes and word of the year (clarity) in the forefront of my mind as I navigate through all these tasks. I don’t do overwhelm very well. However, using resilience, I can build my skills.

The tarot card, is the 10 of Swords, which is a bit ironic considering the theme of the month. This IS the card for overwhelm. It’s the moment where we all say screw it and end and go off to “Netflix and chill.” However, we can’t. Bills need to get paid, jobs need to be done. Yeah. A new day does arise after the negative situation has passed. So while this card reminds me that the end is near, it also reminds me to use my new powers of Resilience in dealing with what life tosses at me this month.

My helper for February is the Beaver. Its motto is be prepared. What a kind suggestion for me. Make lists, edit my work, and prepare for the worst. Do my best to deal with every little thing that comes up this month. In fact, Kayti says this, “Beavers are all about being prepared. The energy of  a beaver reminds us to carefully construct dams within ourselves, to build strong foundations of protection around our feelings, thoughts and emotions. It takes hard work and determination to build something so sturdy that it will withstand thousands of tons of water piling against it. Protect what you need to within yourself in this same manner so you are prepared for any emotional flood that may come.” Sounds like a good activity for me.

This is the first post in the new end of the month wrap-up series I’m implementing for my monthly planning spreads. This is where I’ll attempt to display how I integrated the theme, how to, and helper of the month cards into my life. I’m sure these first few posts will seem a bit rocky, and weird as I learn this new approach and figure out how these cards work together.

Theme: Thrive
How: King of Swords
Helper: Hummingbird (be swift)

I’ll be honest here, this was a hard theme to start off with. Thrive in the beginning of a new year makes me feel rushed. However, I like having the prompts on the Sovereign Oracle to give some suggestions and frame. I focused mostly on the second one which says, “Create a pathway to resources that support your vision.” This gave me the statement to create my lists of what needed to be done this month and when. My vision for various writing projects is to get a completed project by their due date. My vision for the classes I’m teaching in Feb is to give my students the tools and info they need to make a path of their own. 

I’ll be teaching two classes at PantheaCon over President’s day weekend. The first is Journaling the Tarot and I have created 51 journals and handouts for my attendees. The second is Divination of the Cities with Diana Rajchel and we’ll discuss using tarot and other divination techniques for you to chat with your city. 

The King of Swords was quite clear in how to do this. Just freeking do it. I am a master of hitting my mark, so while I felt a bit floundery in this month, I knuckled down and did the work and am pretty pleased with everything I got done.

The Hummingbird reminded me daily to be swift. As soon as I got emails in, I tried to respond to them. I tried to swiftly work on my assignments and tasks as soon as they came onto my daily task list. 

In the end, I think I was able to Thrive in this month. I finished a few writing projects, got clarity around my classes, and added a few new items to 2021’s timeline. Stay tuned.