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June 19 through June 25, 2023

Things slow down this week as we move under the watery vibes of a Cancer Moon on Monday and Tuesday, followed by the Sun's entry into Cancer on Wednesday. For the next four weeks, our thoughts will turn to home, family, and comfort-seeking activities. Gardening, cooking, and restoring order to our homes and relationships; these are the hallmark traits of Cancer. Emotions and spiritual activities will also serve as a focus, reminding us to rebalance any areas of our inner lives that have become scattered or disconnected. Self-focus will be essential Wednesday and Thursday under the Leo Moon, as we stop to look at where we have been giving too much and not taking care of ourselves. This is the time to turn the focus back on our own needs for a few days. Once the Moon enters Virgo on Friday, we'll have two days to concentrate on restoring physical order to our surroundings, clearing out clutter, making lists, and creating a blueprint for future endeavors. With the mood of each day changing this week, we'll welcome the Moon's entry into Libra on Sunday, where we can assimilate all the activities and insights of the week and find our balance.

Turn Your Daily Tarot Draw into a Powerful Affirmation in 4 Steps, by Ru-Lee Story

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When I was just starting to get comfortable with reading tarot cards, I found myself struggling to connect the abstract meanings of a card with the practicality of everyday life. I knew what it was supposed to mean when I drew the Six of Cups in the morning, but how could I apply that meaning when I was drowning in a complicated task at work later in the day?

One of my favorite methods of incorporating my card of the day is by turning my card into an affirmation. It's a relatively quick and low-effort activity, and the result is a ready-made intention to whisper to yourself when your day gets challenging or unpredictable. For my new book, Your Tarot Toolkit, I created three affirmations for every card in a traditional tarot deck. But maybe you'd like to go a step farther than having a prebuilt affirmation from a book–maybe you want to develop your own affirmations. If that's you, read on!

Step 1: Brainstorm. Grab a notebook, a computer, or a voice memo app, and free-write some of the words and ideas you associate with your card. You can certainly jot down items that resonate from any guidebooks or reference materials you use, but make sure to add some of your own ideas, too. You may associate the card with a person in your life, or a period of time from your past. Even if it seems opposite of the card's traditional interpretation, it's worth making note of.

Step 2: What elements of the card do you want to cultivate? Is there an energy that you'd consciously like to invite into your daily life? Is there a person in your orbit who you'd like to spend more time with or learn more from? Is there a memory or even a hurt that the card calls to mind, something that you'd like to make more space for? Make note of anything you can think of.

Step 3: Conversely to step 2, what elements of the card would you like to avoid or work around? Are there more negative, unhealthy, or dangerous aspects to the card that resonate with unhealthy patterns or behaviors in your life? Does the card remind you of someone in your life who you'd like to take a step away from, or build some boundaries with?

Step 4: Now for the fun part—let's put it all together! Take a look at the list of words, phrases, and ideas you've assembled. Do a few of them jump out at you, or feel particularly relevant to your current circumstances? Begin by turning those words or phrases into affirmations. The best affirmations, in my opinion, start with a strong, firm opening. I like using phrases like, "I am," "I have," "I believe," etc. Take a strong opening like that, and pair it with one of the concepts from your list.

A few notes as you craft your affirmations. Like intentions, affirmations work best when they are phrased positively and in the present. To that end, I advise against starting with something like, "I want to" or "I plan to." If you're working with an element that you want to cultivate, begin instead with, "I am capable of" or "I will." Don't give energy a space to wiggle out of your intention sideways. Be firm and confident in the affirmation you create.

What if you're working with something you want to avoid? You should resist beginnings like "I won't" or "I don't." Instead, make your affirmation a positive statement of how you will navigate around the potential roadblock. For instance, rather than framing an affirmation as, "I won't let distractions keep me from working," you might say, "I am focused and mindful in my work."

Let's do a few examples! I mentioned the Six of Cups above, so let's stick with it. For step one, some traditional Six of Cups words might include nostalgia, past, family connections, and memory. When I draw the Six of Cups, I always picture my family Christmases/Hannukahs growing up. So I might write down family holidays.

For step two, the Six of Cups encourages me to make regular time for my ancestor worship. It's also a reminder to be thankful for the incredible, warm family in which I grew up. And as for step three, the Six of Cups can warn against living too much in the past. I want to make sure that I'm living in the moment as much as possible, while still learning and drawing from the past.

Now let's create an affirmation from all of this! A theme that emerged during my brainstorming was the connection to family and ancestors. That's what I'm going to work with for our example. Here are a few affirmations I might write:

• I am connected to my family.
• I have roots made of love.
• I believe in my ancestors' presence.

What if you draw a card that tends to have more negative than positive associations? Take, for instance, the Tower. What affirmations could you write from a card that speaks to crumbling foundations and overturned plans? (And particularly, how might you phrase it in a positive, present-focused way?) Well, the Tower all but demands that we be flexible, patient, and understanding–with ourselves and with others. When you experience a huge shakeup of any sort, it's more important than ever to practice grace. No one is at their best during these turbulent times of life, and so the affirmations you write could aim to cultivate the energies needed to survive. For example:

• I can weather ups and downs.
• I will be gentle with myself when things are difficult.
• I have more resilience than I know.

There are as many possibilities for tarot card-based affirmations as there are cards and people to draw them! Affirmations are a form of what I call "Tiny Witchcraft." They are small, low-energy spells of sorts, words you can whisper to yourself as you get ready in the morning or in the midst of a difficult meeting at work. They don't require any materials, and the time commitment is minimal. As a disabled practitioner, I love this kind of magic, and I hope it can be a useful tool for your toolkit as well! And speaking of toolkits, there are tons more activities and ideas for incorporating your tarot practice into your daily life in my book, Your Tarot Toolkit.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023. All rights reserved.

Can an inanimate object sometimes act as a guardian? I had a car that actually saved my life one time by refusing to move just before another car ran a stop light at high speed. How does that happen?

Dreamchaser:

I am so glad that you asked this question because lots of people ask the same thing.

Can an inanimate object save our lives? No. Can a higher power, angel, spirit guide, etc. use an inanimate object to save our lives? Yes. You used a car as an example. The car itself does not have a mind or a soul. It cannot say, "I think I will save my owner's life." A spiritual being of some kind, however, COULD make the car not move.

When annoying things happen, I often wonder how much of it is to prevent something "bad" from occurring. For example, if my car will not start or I get a flat tire, it very well could be to delay me so that I stay safe from harm. We can't see the whole big picture all the time. We tend to be rather short-sighted. If we could see all the action going on below the surface and behind the scenes, we would be AMAZED. We have beings of all kinds helping move things into or out of our paths accordingly.

One example that keeps popping into my mind is a story from my own life. My daughter had been born approximately three weeks earlier. I wanted to take her to my father's house, so I hit the road. We were traveling on a four-lane divided highway, and I was in the right lane. I heard a horn honk blaringly and I looked to my left. There was a man in a car staring at me, and I realized that I had nodded off. The ONLY thing I saw when I looked at the car and man as a whole was this man's eyes. They were very big and brown and looked strangely liquid-like. I was heading for a rather steep drop off that would, at best, hurt us both very badly. As I shook the sleep off and looked around to get my bearings, I looked back to wave to the man - and there was no car.

I looked behind me and in front of me on the road, and I was the only car on that stretch of highway. I realized that some higher power had saved our lives that day. Spirit made that car and that man manifest to wake me. I guess someone could have come into my car and shaken me awake, but this was a much kinder and gentler method, as it didn't freak me out too badly.

So you see, we both had "cars" save our lives. I wonder how many of our readers have similar stories. I would venture to say MANY. Next time something "bad" happens, like a postponement of any kind, stop and think. MAYBE something is trying to help you in some way. If you change your thinking about delays, at the very least, it will make it easier to deal with the wait!

I wish you all safety!

*****

Astrea:

All my life, my Daddy has always bought Ford cars. He drives a Ford now. When I was about three, we traded "Josephus" in for another Ford, and I went nuts. I didn't want to have a DIFFERENT CAR! Daddy explained that it was STILL Josephus. He even started the car so that I could hear the engine and said, "See, he's still right here!"

No matter what car we had, the SPIRIT of Josephus transferred into our new one when Daddy signed the papers to buy it. Whether it is the SPIRIT of Josephus (the car, not the historian), or A SPIRIT that enters every one of Daddy's new cars until it's not his car anymore, I always feel safe when we're driving. Daddy has been driving for more than sixty years, and has never been in an accident. He has had ONE ticket, and I think he might have been driving my mother's car that day.

Perhaps thinking we have Josephus in the Ford gives us more confidence to drive to where we're going safely. Maybe we're just more careful because of Josephus - we want to be careful not to HURT him, after all. 🙂

I don't really believe that INANIMATE objects can have Spirits of their own, but they can be well inhabited by Spirits both Good and Bad. A car that is a LEMON might have an EVIL Spirit living in its motor. A SPEEDY car might carry an IMPATIENT Spirit, but it isn't a Spirit that is built into the car, in my opinion. It may be that when we NEED extra protection when we're driving, we dig around and summon permanent Guardians to inhabit our cars!

There is a simple protection spell for those of you who do NOT have a protective Spirit living in your cars. When you get ready to go on any trip, load up your car and then in your mind, create a net of blue stars and wrap your vehicle in that net. This also works to protect your home while you're away. It's such a habit with me, I rarely go to the store without throwing my net over the house and car. It just takes a second, and driving through THIS world, I need all the help I can get.

I can't say for sure whether the CAR has a Spirit or whether a GUARDIAN Spirit you carry with you settled itself into your car. It is one thing or the other, but you certainly WERE protected in that car in that MOMENT. However you choose to perceive it, you DID receive protection when you needed it the most. What difference does it make where it comes from as long as that protection is THERE? Just be sure to remember to take it with you when you go to buy your next car!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.