Tarot

A Birthday Spread – Happy 44th Birthday To Me

Hi All, happy Wednesday and welcome to my birthday spread 😃 After a steady diet of childhood trauma and therapy I’m happy to switch it up a little today. Yesterday was my 44th birthday and I’m happy to report that I had a pretty nice day. I’m having some health issues right now so I slept in late than I normally would on my birthday. I felt a little more rested when i woke up which was nice.

After a very fruity teacake breakfast (yum!), and tea of course, it was time for presents! Mike and Jayne thoroughly spoiled me but even if they hadn’t just spending time together would have made it a great day. Sometimes it’s important to remember two key things:

1. Experiences and being with the people you love are more important than possessions. I feel in this horribly materialistic world we are all guilty of forgetting it, me included.
2. It’s important to practice gratitude for all the wonderful things I already have.

Presents!

Now I know I said my day would have been great without presents, but needless to say there were presents and they were pretty awesome too. Check them out…

Yes, I know there’s a clear theme. I am very into tarot and witchy subjects right now and I won’t apologise for that. Here’s a quick rundown of what I received.

• Decks
• The Adventure Tarot – Young spirited and so fun looking
• The Witching Hour Oracle – It’s darker toned so I’ll probably use it in the dark half of the year. Great to connect with my practice
• The Blind Spot Oracle – Designed to help me see my blind spots, what I’m not seeing. I think this will help with my work outside of therapy
• Books
• Goddesses and Heroines – I’ve always loved mythology and this is a great guide
• The Wheel of the Year – A gorgeous fully illustrated book discussing each of the eight sabbaths that form the wheel of the year
• Misc
• A set of metallic pens for edging my decks
• A pendulum board
• A witchcraft kit to replenish supplies
• A spoon for measuring tea (proportions are important. If you’re British you’ll understand)
• A board game

I’m a lucky girl no?

What Makes Presents Better? Cake!

One of the lovely traditions my sister Jayne and I have is making a cake on our birthdays, and Mike’s too of course. My favourite is extremely retro – Black Forest Gateau. Yep, the 70s are calling and they want their cake back! I adore it though, the chocolate, the cream and the cherries are just perfection. Here’s what I get to enjoy…admit it, you’re jealous!

Back To Tarot – The Birthday Spread

You didn’t really think I’d make it through a whole post without a tarot spread did you? Ha! Many people do a birthday spread to analyse the last 12 months and set intentions for the year ahead. I don’t have a birthday spread as I’m relatively new to tarot so I had a look through Pinterest and as usual it did not disappoint. There were a ton of spreads but this is the one that appealed to me most.

While I do have snazzy new decks, as I explained in my first self-care with tarot post I always like to cleanse and imprint my energy on any new decks before I use them. I haven’t had a chance to do that with my new decks so I won’t be using them here, but don’t worry, they will be making an appearance soon.

Normally, as soon as I look at a spread I get a good idea which deck I want to use but this time nothing came to me. So, I turned to my trusty pendulum! I pulled out a few decks and asked my pendulum if it was the right deck. The only on that got a clear yes was the Unfolding Path so that’s what I’m going to go with.

My Cards

Before I start I should clarify something. The spread says add my birthdate down to one digit for my birth card. I can do that but it comes out as card 8 – Strength which I already knew would be the card when I add up my age for the card in position 3. Most people have two birth cards, the one when it double digits but under 21 and the single digit card. My other card is The Star so I decided to use this.

My first thought is “holy crap! All but one is a major arcana!” Ok, so the first three were always going to be major arcana but the last four are still a surprise. I assure you I shuffled between each card I chose too!

My Birth Card – The Star. The Star shows that I can make it through the temptations of The Devil and the destruction of The Tower and still have hope. I endure. I pick myself up, dust myself off and keep moving forward with the belief that things will get better. I never stop hoping.

Last Year – The Chariot. Last year I was making solid progress. I was becoming more experienced in my new job, my financial situation was better and I was beginning to explore my spirituality and learn about who I am. Thing were moving at pace.

This Year – Strength. This calendar year has already been difficult and I had to navigate it with inner strength and courage. There is likely to be more of the same until my next birthday as I am dealing with the aftermath of Somme recent trauma as well as attending therapy and digging up a whole lot of pain.

Greatest Achievement / Lesson – The Lovers. Even in a year where a lot changed and there were many struggles my husband Mike and i stayed strong. We’ve been together nearly twenty years and our relationship is one of the pillars of my life. It is because I knew I could rely on its strength that I made the choice to start therapy as difficult and painful as I knew it would be.

Old Stuff To Go – King of Pentacles. I need to stop thinking financial or career success is the only kind of success and that financial abundance is the only type of security. I need to remember there’s love, discovering who I truly am, gratitude at all the blessings I do have, etc. It’s time to prise my eyes away from money.

Main Focus For The Year – The Hermit. Last year was about moving forward, this year is about looking inward! I have a lot of soul searching to do both in therapy and on my own. I need to release a lot of unhelpful thought patterns, heal pain and learn more about who i am under layers of trauma. I need to remember no matter how black it seems the light is always there if you look for it.

What Will Help Me Succeed – The Magician. I will succeed by remembering i have everything I need inside me already! I am powerful and I can create the life I need, the life I choose. All I need to do is get really clear on what I want before I begin.

A Big Year Ahead

So it seems, win, lose or draw that this is going to be a big year for me. I need to commit to staying the course, doing the work and remembering that I can fucking do this! Bye until next time folks, please take care of yourselves xx