Echoside: Phoenix Rose

The Chariot. Photo credit: Phoenix Rose This comes from the Apophenia Tarot by Steven Archer. The deck's stark imagery is captivating, in my opinion. When I was gifted the deck I did not know much about Archer. The deck had no guide book and on his website the artist said there would never be a book. I admire his brazen honesty. Archer stated that he only created the deck because his fans kept pushing for it, that he himself is an artist and not into tarot at all. The cards are a fan bit and nothing more. The title, apophenia, makes so much sense given his statement. As someone who has read tarot for half of my life I can see how, as an artist, Archer did a great job with this deck. I feel artists have a way of channeling things and end up with something they didn't know they knew. One card in particular struck me. The Chariot. Pictured is JFK, the First Lady is not with him, but the Lincoln Continental, the grassy knoll, and arrows imply his assassination. W

As taken from Llewellyn's Spell-A-Day Almanac today's blessing is The Number Four for a Balanced Beginning.  Photo credit: Phoenix Rose 2019 It's a very simple ritual that involves lighting four candles while reciting a blessing.  Earlier this week I felt I wanted to do this as it is easy enough to fit into the day of my busy mom-life. As I was doing my usual daily routine I kind of forgot about my desire to do this blessing.  I made an impromptu call to one of my friends during my little one's nap.  I'm a walk-as-I-talk-on-the-phone person.  As I saunter from the living room to the kitchen the book caught the corner of my eye and I wondered to myself whether I should do that ritual.  Upon entering the kitchen the time on the microwave is 4:44. Well then, I guess it's settled.  I took that as my higher self affirming the ritual.  Took 4 tea lights and recited the blessing as I lit them one by one.  It's little ways like this we can all add magic i

Earlier this year the need for inner child healing work was screaming to be done.  Last year (2017) brought many unhealed wounds to the surface.  I erroneously thought these were no longer an issue, as it turns out they are huge issues begging to be healed.  I was pregnant for most of 2018 and I refrained from diving too deep to inner work because I was very hormonal and emotional.  I didn't want to cause myself undue stress or anxiety facing the roots of my stress and anxiety. I am now 6 weeks post partum at the time of writing this and the inner work albeit minimal has finally begun. My husband suggested a couple useful journal prompts for self reflection.  I also incorporate tarot into my self-work, more on that later.  It's quite interesting when the synchronicities start happening on these inner journeys we take. I knew journaling would be a part of this process. It's always been a way for me to get to know the true, inner me. A theme that has come up for me specif