- Serena 3 Comments

let your soul shine: tarot spread for summer

let your soul shine: tarot spread for summer

I told you I had a new spread in the works for summer and here it finally is! Is the crooked sun in the graphic bothering you as much as it’s bothering me? It probably is now that I pointed it out. Believe it or not though, I centered all of that so there wasn’t a whole lot I could do and we’re gonna get past it together. Embrace the imperfections and all that.

I wanted to make a spread that was focused on the self, and on ways we can better ourselves and the world around us. There’s been so much pain and violence in the world lately and it sometimes feels hopeless – like there’s so much bad that we couldn’t possibly fix everything that needs fixing. This spread is certainly not in any way intended to gloss over these tragedies, but at the end of the day all we can control is ourselves and our attitudes. If those aren’t in alignment, we don’t have much hope of creating lasting change and finding peace. This spread is intended to help each individual help themselves so they can, in turn, help others.

I did an example reading for you below because I know sometimes it’s easier to just see it in action, so here goes!

let your soul shine: tarot spread for summer

I used the Linestrider tarot, one of my all-time favorite decks by Siolo Thompson! It’s available on Amazon now because it got picked up by Llewellyn, which is SO exciting because it’s super affordable and accessible to everyone – you can get it here for less than $20! (That’s an affiliate link, but I swear I’m only sharing because I genuinely adore this deck and its artist. I think it’s so important that there are gorgeous, affordable decks on the market, and this one doesn’t have any annoying borders!)

This is just gonna be a super brief reading so you get the gist of it – I usually go more in-depth in my tarot journal (and I can totally do a post on that sometime if you’re interested) but y’all don’t need to be reading through 7 pages of readings to understand the spread. SO, here we go!

1. You as you are now: The Emperor – trying to exert control over my chaotic life!

2. What’s keeping you from being your best: Ten of Swords – Wow, called out!! I’ve had a total victim complex about some of the stuff I’ve been dealing with and it’s keeping me from moving on.

3. How to overcome it: The Star – think positive! There’s always hope, even when things are tough.

4. How you can work toward your goals: Knight of Swords – while this card often means “don’t be too hasty,” I think in this case I DO have to be hasty. Like the Knight, I just have to charge ahead without thinking about what might go wrong!

5: How you can care for yourself: Six of Swords – Put the past behind me. I need to take steps towards moving on, because dwelling on things only makes everything worse.

6: How you can care for others: King of Cups – Quite literally, by caring for them! I can listen when others are having problems and try to give the best advice I can.

7: How you can care for the world: Death – To me this means I need to do everything I can to cause change in the world. It’s not enough to surrender myself to the powers that be – I need to BECOME the Death card, to help overturn the old ideas that are no longer working. I need to take action!

So that’s about it! I hope this spread helps you have your best summer ever. Be sure to come back on Monday for the actual first day of summer – I have a SUPER fun post planned to celebrate the solstice! (hint: it involves flower crowns…)

Do you have any fun plans for the summer? How are you celebrating it?

- Serena Leave a comment

how i found my tribe on social media

how i found my tribe on social media


 Whether you’re starting a blog or just wanting to engage with a community, social media is an amazing tool for bringing people together. You always see bloggers talking about “finding your tribe” and connecting with others – it’s pretty much necessary if you want to have any kind of audience, even a small one. That said, every platform is different and can be used for different things. I’m of the firm belief that if you want to find your people, especially if you’re trying to grow a following, you don’t need to be everywhere all the time (although it certainly helps!) Instead, it’s better to pick the mediums that most appeal to you and engage with them regularly. 


I thought it might be helpful to someone who either wants to start a spiritual blog, is interested in learning more about spirituality, or wants to make some friends in the community if I broke down each of the social media platforms I use and how I use them! This is NOT a post on “how to get a bunch of followers” on any of these platforms, mind you, but rather a post on how I’ve used each one to make meaningful connections (although of course it’s nice to see those numbers go up, right?) I can honestly say that I’ve found a wonderful community of like-minded people who lift others up and celebrate each other and that’s an experience I think everyone should have. It helps that in the “spiritual” community, most people are interested in putting good out into the world instead of tearing others down (not to say there aren’t still problematic people, but I’ve been lucky enough to avoid them so far!)


Note that spirituality looks different for every person, and I’m using it as a blanket term to cover a lot of things, many of which are completely not considered spiritual to other people. I found that my people are mostly tarot readers, witches, and wildcrafters who are into stuff like crystals, herbs, essential oils, yoga, energy, rituals, astrology, and keeping up with the moon. That’s not to say that liking those things makes you a witch or that you have to read tarot in order to be spiritual, of course! These are just the areas where the overlap happens for me and my community. If your spirituality is Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or none of the above, you might find some overlap here too or not at all. That’s okay! I just wanted to throw it out there because I know that the specific niches you pursue will have an effect on which social media platform might be best for you – there are probably a lot more Christian Facebook groups, for instance, than ones for tarot, which might make it a more successful platform for you and your purposes. 


 I’m totally not a social media professional by any means and as I mentioned before, this is NOT a post on how to get the most followers – it’s about what I personally did to connect with others on social media. I’m not claiming to have a huge community by any means, but it’s a good size and I think these are good tips if you want to find your own tribe!


Anyway, enough with the disclaimers. Here’s what I did to find the community I have today! 


Tumblr
Tumblr was the first platform I joined, before a blog was ever on my radar, before I ever thought of reading tarot for complete strangers. I actually joined it to gather resources and create a sort of digital “sacred space” as I learned more about the different spiritual paths that are out there. I had had Tumblr blogs in the past and never accumulated more than about 100 or so followers, so I truly never expected it to become anything big. Reaching 1k followers completely blew my mind, and now I’m close to 4k! 


What I Did: Basically, I followed everyone I could who posted things I liked at first. After a while you come to see certain people on your dashboard over and over again and you sort of form a bond with them, especially if they follow you back! I reached out and sent messages to blogs I really liked, and in many cases struck up genuine friendships this way. I found my niche in the tarot community and reblogged things I thought would be helpful or enjoyable to others like me. I’m not going to lie, my growth was pretty slow until I made a text post that got reblogged by one of the larger blogs and BLEW UP. I was in Croatia at the time and every time I checked my phone, my eyes about popped out of my head! When I hit 1k followers I held a giveaway that ended up earning me almost another 1k by the time it was done. Tumblr is great because you get to see a little bit of everyone’s personality from the things they blog about, and it can be an amazing resource if you want to learn more! 

My Tips: Use the tags. Always tag your posts (although I think only the first five are used in search results, so be strategic). Be patient, as you have to post using the tags for a while before your posts will start showing up there. The tags I used most often are tarot, tarot community, divination community, witches of tumblr, and witchcraft (but obviously yours will vary depending on what you post!) Go through the tags to find other people to follow, and then engage with them! Support others and they’ll have your back, too. And be genuine – don’t just send the same message to a billion blogs. Also, don’t get discouraged by slow growth. These things take time, and the more followers you have the easier it is to gain more (since more people are reblogging your stuff!) You’ve just gotta power through the beginning stage to get to where you want to be. If you really want to grow quickly, host a giveaway – but be careful. Tumblr’s rules about that kind of thing are weird and pretty specific. 


Instagram
The next platform I joined was Instagram, and this is probably my favorite of all of them, honestly! 


 What I Did: I browsed through the tags to find people to follow and also asked on Tumblr if anyone following me there had one, which allowed me to connect a little more and make more friends! I didn’t go follow-crazy with this one – while that might be a quick way to get followers, I really wanted to use Instagram as a way to connect with people. I follow people I genuinely like seeing updates from and I always try to like their pictures and comment on them when I can. I met a lot of really awesome people this way and now my Instagram is like a little oasis full of cool peeps and pretty pictures! I find that Instagram is a pretty personal platform, weirdly enough – while someone might have thousands of followers, not everyone takes the time to leave a comment and if you DO leave one, most people tend to respond to it! Plus, scrolling through your feed you can’t really tell how many followers a person has – it feels one-on-one, a little peek into their life delivered right to your screen. I love it!


My Tips: Show your appreciation for the pictures you like. Like them with the heart and leave a meaningful comment – it’ll make peoples’ day and they’ll probably check out your account, too! I regularly spend a half hour a day just going through tags and liking pictures I think are cool. Also, with Instagram there’s no limit to the number of hashtags you can use, so make sure you find the best ones for your niche and use those in your posts when they’re relevant. Instagram has this handy feature that shows you how many posts are in each hashtag when you type it in, but note that more isn’t always merrier – the really popular tags like #happy move very quickly, so your photo might get drowned out! Stick to a balance of tags that are more generally about your niche as well as specific to your post to make sure your pics are getting seen. Most bloggers will tell you to keep your photos consistent, like very similar to each other. I agree and disagree. While I think it’s aesthetically pleasing if you always use the same filter or whatever, at the end of the day, this is supposed to be fun. And I like seeing a glimpse into peoples’ lives, so post that selfie or that picture of your tea even if you’re a tarot blogger. If you’re looking to form genuine connections, that will go a long way towards putting your personality out there! Also, DON’T BE THAT JERK who follows a bunch of people only to unfollow them all once they follow you back. It really hurts a small account when they see their tiny follower count dwindling – be genuine!


Twitter
I am fully aware that I’m not using Twitter as well as I could be. As a whole, it overwhelms me – I can’t check it more than a few times a day, and every time I do it’s like 10000000 new Tweets for me to read and I just can’t, you know? 


 What I Did: I made a list for people I like and connect with regularly and for the most part I just check their updates. If I strike up a convo with someone new, I add them to the list. It makes it a lot easier to keep up with the people I care about even if it’s not a good way to gain new followers!


My Tips: Interact with people! Retweet their stuff and like their posts. Even if someone is a celebrity or an idol of yours and you’re 100% sure they won’t see your tweet, try anyway. Tweet at them, share their blog posts and tag them in the tweet, reply if they ask a question. Chances are they WILL see it, and if you’re constantly supporting their work they’ll take notice of that. I’ve gotten to chat with some seriously cool people on Twitter that I would have thought were WAY out of my league, but it turns out they’re nice humans just like anyone else! Also, participate in Twitter chats – they’re a fun way to meet people.


Pinterest
UGH, PINTEREST. Okay, that’s not entirely fair: I love my personal Pinterest. I scroll through the Weddings section all day erryday despite NOT being engaged because wedding things tend to be pretty, which I like, and pastel a lot of the time which I also like. BUT when you’re trying to grow your Pinterest, you can’t just pin whatever you want. So I have another Pinterest just for my blog and like… what am I even doing with it? Figuring out how to use it right is too much effort, tbh. I use Tailwind and I just queue up a bunch of pins and leave it to do its thing until the queue is empty and I have to stock up again. Pinterest isn’t really as interactive user-wise as the other platforms, in my opinion. While I have connected with people by joining group boards, we don’t like, message each other or anything. HOWEVER, it has been a good source of traffic to my blog, and THEN I can interact with people from there! So it’s worth it to have one, in my opinion.


My Tips: If you want to gain followers, have a cohesive theme. My page is mostly purple, for example, since that fits with my “brand.” Try to keep your pins themed around your niche (although you can make a secret board for all of your other pins if you want to still save them!) Also, I highly recommend using Tailwind (and not just because that’s an affiliate link, which it is.) It’s $15 a month and I seriously have seen growth every single week since I started using it despite the 0 effort I put into it. Because who has time to be pinning consistently throughout the day?? Not me. I’d rather be Instagramming.


 Facebook
Fam, I am not a Facebook expert. I didn’t even really want to make a Facebook, but then I was like “man, but it’s really cool and convenient to keep up with brands and people I like that way,” so I figured I’d just have one because why not? When it comes to Facebook, I’m a creeper, not a poster, so this one is hard for me. I also don’t advertise it as much as I should… and just now realized that I haven’t put a link to it in my e-mail signature or newsletter footer yet. Whoops! I don’t really have much advice for making a page because I have not yet figured it all out, but as far as Facebook-for-connecting-with-others goes, be careful not to just join every group out there that’s relevant to your niche. You’ll have a hard time keeping up and participating in all of them. Instead, find groups that you really love and be sure to engage with others. I’m only a member of two Facebook groups and I think that’s about the max that I personally can handle right now. 

I think my #1 tip that’s consistent through all of these platforms is: engage with others! Even if you’re shy – you have nothing to lose. People are generally kind unless they have a reason not to be. Respond to as many comments as you can, leave comments of your own, respond to tweets and messages, things like that. Finding a group of people with whom you have a meaningful connection is SO much more fulfilling than seeing that follower count go up, trust me. 


 What’s your favorite social media platform? Do you have any tips for me? ♥

- Serena Leave a comment

a look back: may 2016

a look back: may 2016

Whew! I feel like for the most part the months have been going by pretty slowly so far this year, but May was here and gone in a flash. I can’t say I’m sorry to see it go – while I’ve had some truly amazing experiences this month, it was also incredibly hard for me in many ways. If you want to take a look at what I’ve been up to this month, read on!

a look back: may 2016

Some of my biggest challenges this month were:

  • Where do I even begin?? As you might have gathered from reading this post, I haven’t been in a great place emotionally this month. I’m happy to say that I feel much better now, but I spent most of May in a weird funk (due in part to all those planetary retrogrades going on – hello, did not need Mercury adding miscommunications into the mix!)
  • My parents moved 8 hours away from me this month, and it hit me pretty hard. I’m an only child and I’m fortunate enough to be very close with my parents, so it’s going to be tough not getting to see them all the time!
  • My productivity definitely took a big hit this month, partially due to the weird place I’ve been in but also due to a lack of time – I took two trips this month and also began a little side project, and all of that meant way less time dedicated to this blog and my tarot business! But there’s a season for everything, right?

Some of my successes this month were:

  • I figured out a schedule for this blog that works much, much better for me. Instead of two posts per week, I’m sticking with one and doing my best to make sure it’s what I want it to be, rather than rushing to throw something together at the last second. I think it’s definitely better to have slightly less content if it means it’s of a better quality!
  • That might be it. Wow, that’s not very impressive, but whatever. We all have slumps sometimes, right?

a look back: may 2016

Some things that made me happy this month:

  • I’m officially a blonde! I’ve been slowly lightening my hair over the past three months, trying to get it blonde after years of dyeing it dark. I love the way it looks!
  • I took an impromptu trip to Nashville in the middle of the month and it was AMAZING. My parents have just moved to the area, so I’m excited to get to know it even better as time goes on! I went down with my boyfriend this month and we ate breakfast at the Loveless Cafe, wandered around the gardens at Cheekwood, and hit up the honky tonks on Broadway. Overall an amazing trip – if you live in the area and have any suggestions for things to do, let me know!
  • Being outside. I’ve never been much of a sun bunny, but I’m so pumped to wear shorts and enjoy the warm weather after that long, dreary winter!

Things I’m looking forward to in June:

  • The official start of SUMMER! I can’t wait to break out all of the swimsuits I’ve been hoarding since, oh, December or so.
  • I’m pretty sure I’ll be going camping some weekend in June, which is really exciting! It’ll be fun to kick back in nature for a while.
  • I’ll be rolling out a new tarot spread for summer this month, and I’m really loving how it’s turning out so far. There are so many possibilities when it comes to summer time!

How was your May? What kinds of things did you do? ♥ 

- Serena 4 Comments

on being spiritual and still feeling like sh*t

on being spiritual and still feeling like sh*t

I’m not going to lie to you: lately I’ve been feeling pretty effing crappy.

Maybe it’s the planets, maybe it’s hormones, or maybe life has really just decided to throw it all at me at once, but the past month has been a serious struggle, you guys. You know how sometimes something bad happens, and you’re like “oh well, look on the bright side!” And then something else happens and you’re like “hmm, well that sucks,” and then it just doesn’t stop until you’re finally like “if I so much as SEE the words ‘bright side’ I am going to FLIP A TABLE”? Yeah, that’s about the size of it.

The reason I started this blog was to help people. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in my life and I’m so proud of my ability to overcome every card I’ve been dealt so far. I feel like I’ve learned incredibly valuable insights about these times and how to move past them if they happen again, and I want to share that insight if I can – to help others who might be having similar struggles. I love writing blog posts about paths I’ve found through the woods, how I’ve dealt (and still deal) when things get rough.

That said, you’ve probably noticed it’s been pretty dang quiet around here lately.

The truth is, as much as I’ve learned, as much as I’ve handled, and as much as I feel like I should be better than this, sometimes you really just get blinded by the crap. I don’t think there’s a person alive who truly has so much control over their emotions that they never think “seriously, why me?” If that person does exist, they’re on another level and probably should have their own blog instead of reading mine. Share your secrets, dude!!

When you run a spiritual blog, there’s a real pressure to have all the answers. I mean, in a way you’re straight-up SAYING you have the answers, you know? Maybe not all of them, but sometimes even the ones you DO have fail you. It’s hard to admit when things go south because it’s like well, if I can’t deal with this on my own, why should anyone believe what I have to say about dealing with anything else? This month I’ve been angry, upset, anxious, heartbroken, stressed, frustrated, and feeling like a victim all at once. I feel totally unlike myself. And as much as I objectively know how to deal with many of these feelings, I really just haven’t been able to put any of those mechanisms into place to stop the barrage of negativity.

Because of that, I haven’t really been in much of a mind to post lately. I dropped the ball on my New Moon newsletter towards the beginning of the month, my social media engagement has been halfhearted at best, and blog posts have been down to a trickle. It feels two-faced to talk about answers when I feel like I don’t have the ones I need right now. How can I help anyone if I can’t help myself?

But something happened when I was scrolling through blogs about blogging, frantically searching for blog post topics I could apply to my blog in time for today’s post. (Say “blog” one more time, Dana.) Which of these would relate to my site? I wondered, looking at ideas like “your nightly routine” or “favorite movies and why.” Which of these is spiritual? Slowly, though, as I brainstormed more and more ways to relate these seemingly unrelated topics to my spiritual blog, I came to a realization that probably should have been a little more obvious from the beginning, and it kind of changed my game:

All of it is spiritual.

All of it. How you care for yourself, the things that resonate with you, the way you interact with the world – all of that is spirituality. It’s you, as a human, and the things that are important to you, the things that make you feel whole, the things that move you to feeling and the ways you navigate life. It’s even – maybe especially – the crap.

Dealing with negative emotions is a huge part of being human. It happens to everyone, probably even at least once a day – road rage, for one, or disappointment that the coffee shop is out of caramel syrup, or Instagram-induced jealousy, or getting annoyed because the person next to you on the bus is chewing their gum SO loudly, were they raised in a barn??? You hear all the time about ways to deal with these emotions, and you hear that sometimes you just have to let yourself feel them, but what’s supposed to console you when you’re in the middle of feeling like absolute trash?

Let it be this: remember that this is the journey, too. Paths through the woods don’t just appear – they must first be tread, sometimes many times over. If your previous coping mechanisms aren’t working for you, it might be because something about this experience is new. Reflect on that. (It can be an angry reflection, or a sad crying one with wine. I’ll never judge.) You aren’t less spiritual or less in-tune with your higher self because you get pissed when the neighbor’s dog wakes you up at 4 in the morning or you have a long-standing grudge against a family member. Spirituality isn’t just about being at peace with yourself and the world around you – it’s about how you get there, and what you do to get back to it when that peace is interrupted. There is no constant state of bliss. There’s only life, crap and all.

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my self-induced hermitude for a while. I’m going to drink some wine and cuss it out and probably do something really stupid all in the name of regaining my inner peace. But you know what? If it’s stupid enough, I bet I’ll never do it again. And learning from your mistakes while you’re figuring it all out, in the pursuit of becoming better, in the name of learning how to live? If that’s not pretty damn spiritual, I don’t know what is.

- Serena 20 Comments

things I wasted my money on while trying to figure out my spirituality

things I wasted my money on while trying to figure out my spirituality

Confession time: I am really, really effing awful with money. I don’t know what happens – one day my paycheck is there and the next, poof! Gone. On all the stupid things they tell you to watch out for, too, like buying lunch every day or getting Starbucks. That stuff really does add up!

I was thinking about that today when I was driving home, and I was thinking about how I hadn’t written my Monday blog post yet (whoops) when I realized that over the years I have wasted a damned lot of money in the name of spirituality. I think when I was first starting out on my spiritual path, I had this idea that I could fake it till I made it – that is, if I bought the things and had the knowledge that all the soulful babes I followed on Tumblr had, the rest would fall into place. Kind of like how I keep buying cute workout clothes in the hopes it will magically transform me into one of those hot yoga babes… whoops.

In a way, I don’t think that mindset was a total waste – I do think that having a little collection of spiritual items that make me happy has gone a long way towards helping me want to do the soul work needed to call myself “spiritual.” But the key word there is little – and my collection is pretty sizeable.

I wondered how much money I could have saved over time if I had only bought the items that I really feel like I need – the ones that I use all the time and that bring me joy. I added up the totals of the things I never use or that didn’t serve me and it was kind of a doozy. Keep in mind, these purchases were all made over the course of several years and mainly while I didn’t have to pay rent, but still – it kills me to think of how much money I sort of flushed down the drain because I wasn’t smart about my purchases. I’m linking to each thing so you can see what I’m talking about and possibly take the plunge if it seems right for you, but the point is to not spend money on stuff you don’t need, capisce? Don’t be like me – here are the 4 things I wish I hadn’t spent so much money on in the name of ~finding myself.~

things I wasted my money on while trying to figure out my spirituality

1. Tarot and oracle decks

Okay, this one pains me to admit because I really love my deck collection. Once the tarot bug bit me I went on a binge, needing every deck that “called out to me” (aka all the ones I thought looked pretty on the Internet.) While my decks are lovely and I adore using them, to be honest I can’t use any of them as much as they deserve because I just have too many. I have a few favorites that I come back to time and time again and that’s really about it. The prices listed below are the ones I can currently find, since I really don’t remember how much I paid for them at the time!

Decks I just never connected with or didn’t need: 

The Cosmos Tarot and Oracle (which I’ve since sold) $35

The Lumina Tarot (also sold) ~$75 after shipping

The Wild Unknown Second Edition (let’s be honest, I didn’t need the first AND second) ~$60 with shipping

The Nomad Tarot $40

The Shadowscapes Tarot $17

Paulina Tarot $17 (gave this one away)

The Victorian Fairy Tarot (I actually adore this deck, but I never use it for some reason) $24

The Oracle of Mermaids $20 (sold)

Myths and Mermaids: Oracle of the Water $20 (given away)

Art Noveau Oracle $10 (given away)

Witchlings $15

Total: $333

2. Books

Another one that pains me to admit. I am a BOOK FIEND. I have four bookshelves in my tiny apartment all packed with books. I love books. I love the way they feel and the way they smell, and how you can read them in the bath with a glass of wine and not worry about dropping it in and killing it forever. (I mean, okay, you actually do have to worry about that, but not the same way as with an e-reader.) But one thing I’ve learned is that buying books does not automatically make you an expert in what they’re about – you have to actually read them, too, which takes time. That, and the fact that even if you DO read a book, that doesn’t mean the information will be valuable to you. Sometimes it’s a bunch of hooey.

Don’t get me wrong – maybe you read these books and loved them! Maybe they work for you and that’s awesome. But for me, they no longer fit the spiritual path I decided to pursue, and some of them had a lot of cultural appropriation and misinformation (looking at you, Silver Ravenwolf) and so it was kind of a waste of money to get them in hard copy when a cheaper, digital version would have sufficed. Also, sometimes a Google search gives you all the information you actually want and you don’t need a book at all.

Books I regret purchasing: 

The Solitary Witch $20

Hedgewitch $15

The Complete Herbs Sourcebook (I like having this because it makes me feel witchy but I’ve honestly never read it) $12

The New Herb Bible (at least this one was on clearance at B&N) $6

The Ultimate Guide to Herbs (who did I really think I was with all this herb stuff?? I can’t even find this one online anymore) $15

Total: $68

3. Journals

Okay, I’ve been guilty of buying too many journals for my entire life, but especially when it comes to journals for spiritual purposes. God forbid I write about my daily tarot draw in a mere notebook – it has to be a hardcover journal with gold-embossed pages and a ribbon bookmark! And I need another one of those for my astrology notes! And another one for my regular notes! And one for my dream journal! And then a new one because really it was kind of intimidating to write in this really fancy one after all, but I’m just gonna keep it anyway because it looks pretty… See where I’m going with this?

There are really only two in particular that I bought and don’t use for anything, so I’m gonna say this was a total of $30. Which isn’t TOO bad, but like, come on Dana. Get it together here.

things I wasted my money on while trying to figure out my spirituality

4. Crystals

Ah, crystals. I mean honestly who DOESN’T want to be surrounded by pretty crystals all the time? It seems like everyone and their mother has a crystal collection, and I decided I needed one, too. Which is fine on the surface – I mean, crystals are really pretty, and they double as decor so it’s not a total waste. But I mean I went CRAZY. Getting tipsy on wine and ordering crystals on the Internet was my Friday night routine for a while (along with reading books in the bath, of course.) But between drunkenly ordering a pound of rose quartz wholesale from Amazon (why????) and not researching sellers beforehand only to have my crystals arrive broken in the mail, some of my purchases were a little ill-advised. Like with tarot decks, there are only a few crystals I use regularly and I would have been perfectly happy if that was the extent of my collection. All in all, I spent about $40 on crystals that I don’t even use, which again, isn’t too bad – but it all adds up, my friend.

All in all, I’ve spent $468 on things I don’t need. Yowza! I wish I could have that nonsense back to use for stuff I DO need (or at least stuff I think I need now and will come to regret later down the line. #Yolo. Kidding.)

What all this taught me: Don’t make impulse purchases. I mean it. If you’ve had more than a sip of wine, close the laptop. Amazon will still be there in the morning, I promise you. Also, EBOOKS ARE YOUR FRIEND. Really think about what you need in hard copy and what you can live with just looking up on the Internet. I could easily have learned about herbs in my area if I really wanted with just a quick Google search; my books about herbs have never been used.

Finally, and most importantly, spirituality is free. While mala beads look gorgeous on Instagram and giant crystal collections might have you drooling, at the end of the day those things aren’t going to fill you up inside. Spirituality comes from connecting with yourself and opening your mind. It’s about learning new things, but also acting on what you’ve learned. Most of all, it’s about living consciously – something I’m seriously trying to incorporate into my budgeting strategies. If you’re eyeing a fluorite wand or you really feel like you want a hard copy of a book you saw, go for it. But remember that you have to do the work, too. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go cry into some (super cheap) ice cream.

Have you purchased anything you regret?

P.S. If you want some FREE ways to incorporate spirituality into your life, check out 8 Little Ways to Be More Spiritual!

(P.P.S. Amazon links are affiliate links! They’re not sponsored – it just means that if you order something, I make a tiny commission. Thanks for your support <3)

- Serena 10 Comments

tarot and anxiety: how to use the cards when you’re a mess

tarot and anxiety: how to use the cards when you're a mess

I’ve spoken a little before about my issues with anxiety in the past, and while I’m always finding new ways to cope with it, I can definitely say that it tries its darndest to make things tough for me. One thing I struggle with in particular is reading tarot when I’m feeling anxious. I feel like the anxiety completely clouds my perception of the cards and makes it really difficult to read them for myself, and in some cases can even make things worse – I mean, the Three of Swords when you’re already feeling iffy can be the nail in the coffin, you know? But of course, sometimes the things that make us anxious are the things we need guidance about the most! Over the past couple years as my anxiety has gotten worse, I’ve found a few little ways to make reading the tarot easier when I’m feeling like a hot mess. Here are some of the tips that have helped me get back on track and keep up my readings when my anxiety is at a high point!


 1. Separate anxiety from intuition.

This is the biggest one for me. So many times I’ll draw a “negative” card and immediately jump to the worst conclusion instead of taking time to think about what the card could really mean for my situation. Of course, because the worst thing is what I thought of first, part of me panics and assumes that’s my intuition telling me something bad is going to happen. (Did that description make sense at all?) For example, I am petrified of planes. If I was doing a reading about an upcoming trip and drew the Death card, my immediate thought would be “I’m going to die in a plane crash” even though hello, Tarot 101, that is NOT usually what Death means!! But that’s not my intuition speaking – it’s my anxiety. Some ways I’ve found to distinguish the two are that for me, anxiety tends to be a more temporary feeling than intuition. I can sleep on an issue and feel less anxious about it in the morning, but in cases of intuition, my initial feeling stays with me. That’s not to say this is ALWAYS the case, so don’t let that freak you out more! You have to figure out what works best for you, but know that if you’re doing a reading on something you’re anxious about, your “intuitive” reading of the cards might not be your intuition at all. It’s okay to go into a reading knowing you’ll be relying on traditional keyword-type meanings of the cards if you don’t think you can trust your mental state at that moment.

2. Don’t read on fragile issues.

Another way to avoid the panic I mentioned above is to simply not do readings about things that make you anxious. I KNOW that drawing the Death card before getting on a plane will send me into a spiral of doom, so I don’t do readings right before I travel. If you really need guidance about an issue like this, have a reader you trust do it for you! It would be helpful if you told your reader up-front that you are sensitive to this issue and would appreciate some gentleness in the delivery of the reading. Sometimes that’s not a reader’s style, but I think there are always ways to deliver a hard message without sounding like a jerk or making it worse. Communicate with your reader beforehand to see if they could do this for you, and if not, find a reader who can! Everyone’s style is different, but there’s no shame in wanting a reading that won’t trigger your anxiety.

tarot and anxiety: how to use the cards when you're a mess

3. Get a friendly deck.

A lot of tarot decks out there have imagery that makes the “tougher” cards easier to bear. For example, the Happy Tarot is adorable – it’s hard to feel dread about pulling The Tower when it looks so cute! The Starchild Tarot is my favorite deck to use when I’m feeling anxious, as the imagery is all gorgeous and the language has been changed on a few of the cards to make them less harsh-sounding – for example, Death in this deck is “Transformation,” the Hanged Man is “Perspective,” the Devil is “Oppression,” etc. Call me a wimp if you want, but I know my own mental state and sometimes I truly just can’t handle the harsh truth. (When I can, though, I like to use the Wild Unknown!) Find a deck that you find soothing to look at no matter what. This will make those tough-love readings a little easier on you.

4. Choose your words wisely.

One way to be sure your reading doesn’t make your anxiety worse is to phrase your questions in a way that doesn’t allow for it. For example, instead of asking “What will happen on my upcoming trip?” (which, as mentioned above, allows for the possibility of an answer that will make you anxious), try asking “What should I focus on during this trip in order to make the most of it?” By rephrasing your question, you get an answer that GIVES you power instead of making you dread a possible outcome.

5.  Don’t feel guilty for seeing to your needs.

Above all, if you feel like drawing cards will only make your anxiety worse – don’t do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of a daily challenge or if you’re trying to stick with reading the cards every day. You can always catch up on things like that later, but making yourself more anxious won’t solve any of your problems. If you’re still able to read for others, you could try doing that for your daily draw instead – ask a friend what they’d like some guidance about and pull a card for them. You’re still utilizing your skills, but in a way that doesn’t affect you at all. The most important thing is keeping yourself well, and if that means putting a pause on whatever you were doing that might make things worse for you, then you should do it.

These are just some things that have helped me to be able to read for myself when my mental state is in pieces. Thankfully this doesn’t happen to me too often these days, but if I’m ever in a bad spell again I know I can rely on these tips to get me through, without having to take a tarot break (as I’ve done in the past.)

Have you ever had a problem reading tarot when your anxiety is flaring up? How have you gotten around it in the past?

- Serena 6 Comments

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

I’m always surprised to hear what the folks in my online communities are up to outside of our little social media bubble. Many (if not all!) of you have other jobs, other hobbies, and other interests that are in a totally different genre than things like tarot and spirituality! I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way – I’m one of those people, after all. I work full-time as an editor, I like reading romance novels and watching anime, and I spend a lot of evenings having a beer with friends or hanging out with my boyfriend – not exactly the most mysterious lifestyle. But I realized that people might not necessarily know that about me – I spend most of my online life talking tarot, after all!

Because of that, I thought it would be fun to break down a typical weekday in my life. You can see the places I try to squeeze in the things I like to do and how I spend my time when I’m NOT blogging or reading tarot! Weekends are a totally different story, of course, but my weekday routine looks a little something like this:

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

5:30-6:30 Wake up and get ready for work. I shower, make tea, and do makeup when I feel like it. If I have time, I’ll do my daily tarot draw and maybe take some pictures for Instagram in the morning sun.

6:30-7 Morning commute. This isn’t usually too bad – I have a favorite morning show I listen to on the radio!

7-11 Work. I like to start the morning with catching up on e-mails (even though some pros recommend NOT doing this!) because I feel like I don’t have to use too much brainpower to read and reply, and it makes me less anxious when I start the workday with an empty inbox!

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

11-12 Lunch. I usually eat something small for lunch, like some healthy snacks or a salad, because if I have anything heavy then I am falling asleep at my desk for the rest of the day. I’ll usually spend my lunch break in my car with the windows open, reading a book! It feels nice to get out of the office even if it’s just to sit in the parking lot. Sometimes I’ll treat myself to Starbucks or a green juice because it feels nice to have something at my desk to sip on for the rest of the afternoon!

12-4 Work.

4-5:30 Evening commute. This is honestly the worst part of my day. I am an angry driver so I spend this whole time frustrated, and above all feeling like I’m wasting my life away sitting on the expressway!

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

5:30-6 Get home, make and eat dinner. Nothing I cook takes more than 10 minutes to prepare because I’m usually pretty hangry by this time. My go-to dinner is TONS of broccoli, a tiny handful of pasta, and meatballs, all tossed in pasta sauce. It satisfies my cravings for carbs without me actually eating that many carbs at all!

6-6:30 Nap. I’m usually so drained from the workday and annoyed because of traffic by this time. A short nap serves as a reset and helps me feel more awake and recharged for the rest of the evening.

6:30-8 Side hustlin’. I do freelance editing work on occasion in addition to the tarot readings I sell, and if I don’t have any of those to work on then I’m working on my blog! I’ll write posts, schedule social media, read through other blogs for fun and inspiration, and build my newsletter if I have one that week. I also use this time to read tarot for myself – I like to pull a card for guidance and take some time to journal about it. There’s always something more to do!

a day in the life of a blogger with a full-time job

8-9 Exercise. I have an exercise bike in my bedroom, so I’ll prop up my laptop and watch YouTube videos, anime episodes, or a TV show (-cough-OUTLANDER-cough-) while I exercise. I also use this time to scroll through Instagram and like/comment on pictures, because the less I have to think about the work my legs are doing, the better!

9-9:45 Bath time. Baths are my happy place. I’ll put in some Epsom salts and read a book. Sometimes I just sit and think for a while, too – I do my best thinking in the bath! I’ll usually put honey on my face as a mask during this time to kill the workout bacteria and do whatever other magic honey does to your face. It’s a lifesaver.

9:45-10 Get ready for bed. I have a pretty intense face routine that takes some time, since the products need to sink in between applications!

10-11 This is my wind-down time. While I usually end up having to use this time to finish up work from earlier, I’ll dim the lights and my laptop screen and start getting cozy. I know they say blue light keeps you up or whatever, but I sleep like a rock and am always tired so I don’t have that problem! If it’s a light work night, I’ll read a book. I also use this time to journal. Around 11, I shut things down for the night and fall asleep.

If it’s a night I’m seeing my friends, my parents, or my boyfriend, then it’s the same until about 6:30 when I’ll head over to wherever I’m going. Those nights I usually get back around 11 and am in bed around 11:30 or 12, just because I never want to leave! I’m trying to find room to still get some exercise in on those days – I’m thinking I might try walking on my lunch breaks, because I definitely can’t give up my little naps without being grumpy the rest of the night.

I don’t really feel like this schedule is the best or even really sustainable in the long run – I’m always tired and drained from one job or another. But I’m still figuring things out, so I think it’s fine to have for now as long as I make sure not to overdo it!

What does your day typically look like? What do you wish you had more time for?

- Serena 3 Comments

why i stopped giving free tarot readings

why I no longer offer free tarot readings

When I first joined the tarot community on Tumblr, I did free readings all the time. It was a fun way to get experience and to get my name out there as a reader. I used to get so excited about making graphics announcing a “free readings weekend” and thrilled every time a new message popped up in my inbox. But somewhere along the way, free readings lost their spark for me. I would spend those weekends feeling stressed out and guilty if I would do something as simple as going out to dinner while there were reading requests waiting for me. Eventually, I stopped doing them altogether.

I still get requests all the time to do free readings, and some people don’t understand why I don’t want to do them anymore. I’m sure these people don’t mean anything by it – if you don’t ask for something then you’re definitely not going to get it, right? The answer, though, is almost always no. I feel like sometimes this makes me come across as rude (even though I try to be polite – I don’t like having to tell people no!) But while to the requester it might not seem like a big deal for me to just draw a card for them, it actually kind of is. Here are a few reasons why I no longer do free readings.

why i stopped giving free tarot readings

1. Time is money.

Let’s start with the biggest reason – I am a busy gal. I work full-time, have a freelance job, run my tarot business, and also have this blog, which requires writing posts and being active on social media – it’s time consuming. In the hours I’m not at my full-time job, I need to juggle all of the extra work I do PLUS find time to run errands, do chores around the house, exercise, make dinner, have a social life, see my boyfriend, and occasionally take a minute for myself. I truly did not understand the full value of my time until I hardly had any, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that there is no “down time” in my life – everything I do has to be strategic to be sure I’m hitting all my deadlines and not neglecting any one area of my life. So when someone asks me for a free tarot reading, that means time taken away from these other things that either make me actual money or contribute to my overall well-being.

2. I take my readings seriously and I want my clients to, too.

Every time I have offered free readings, while I got to meet so many amazing and genuine people (and help them, I hope!) the requests I received were overwhelmingly from people who a) didn’t read my guidelines first, b) didn’t know anything about me as a reader, c) never spoke to me again or gave me any feedback after the reading, or d) all of the above. Sometimes people would even get rude or snippy with me when I didn’t turn around their reading immediately, and that sucked because hey, I’m trying to do a good thing over here! I think it’s disrespectful to the tarot reader and tarot in general if you just stop by for some quick guidance and then leave without so much as a thank you, and unfortunately these experiences were so common that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth and made me feel cheap.

When someone comes to my Etsy shop to buy a reading, I have given them ample information about who I am and the kinds of readings I do. I trust that they have read my guidelines, and by putting money on the table they have shown that they value me and my services and are signing on for me, Dana, to read tarot for them – not just snagging a reading on the fly from whoever happens to be giving free readings at the moment. I feel respected and I’m able to give a better reading when I can communicate with my client and be sure I’m getting them what they need. We have an obligation to and a contract with each other that doesn’t always happen with free readings.

why i stopped giving free tarot readings

3. It’s not fair for anyone.

That’s not to say that free readings aren’t fair – I mean that if I, personally, were to do them, it wouldn’t be fair. In my shop, I offer three-card readings as one of the options people can purchase. It’s an affordable option that I think is accessible for most people, even if someone is short on funds. Even if I just draw one card for free, that’s a third of the service that others are willing to pay for. It makes it seem like I’m short-changing my clients by making them pay extra for something others can get for free, and I don’t think that’s right. It’s also not fair for the person requesting the reading, because let’s be honest, I’m just not able to put the same amount of time and effort into a free reading as I would for a paid reading (see #1). When I was open for free readings I would be flooded with requests, which made me anxious and unable to devote more than a few minutes to each person. Pair that with the aforementioned lack of respect or gratitude and it just always felt like a very unspecial experience. I want every reading to be special, both for myself and for my client.

4. It’s exhausting.

Like I said, I would get tons of requests for free readings when I announced I was open for them. That takes a lot of energy, yo! I’m already so drained all the time from working all day erryday, so the added stress and exhaustion from something that didn’t contribute much to my goals in the long run just wasn’t worth it for me. That might sound selfish, but I have to put my self-care first in order to care for others, as so many others have said before me.

It feels kind of crappy even writing this post, because in an ideal world I would be able to help anyone who needs it, all the time. And of course if a friend asks me for some guidance, I’ll pull a card from them – they know me and they know what to expect, and they also know that they might have to wait a little while for me to get back to them. But overall, while free readings served me well when I was first getting a feel for the tarot community on Tumblr, they no longer work for me.

All that aside, I absolutely recommend giving free readings as a way to get experience and meet people in the tarot community if those are things you want and need. I gained so many new friends from the times I was open for them, and really did receive some valuable feedback from the kind souls who offered it. But if you’re at a point where you feel more exhausted than excited at the prospect, move on. You don’t have to feel guilty about making the rules for your own life, and you don’t owe anyone your skills just because you have them. No one would fault an accountant for not wanting to balance a complete strangers’ books for them for free, so you shouldn’t feel guilty, either! Do what makes your life better. Do what moves you towards your goals. And once something stops working for you, ditch it. It’s not worth feeling miserable for the sake of others, you know? Take care of yourself – anyone who hates on your decision probably wouldn’t be a very nice client, anyway.

And if you’re on the receiving end of a free reading, for goodness’ sake, say thank you!

How do you feel about free tarot readings? Do you offer them?

- Serena 2 Comments

8 books that changed my life

8 books that changed my life

You can tell a lot about a person by their taste in books.

I don’t mean that in a snobby way at all – believe me, basically everything I love in the world is something other people would consider a “guilty pleasure.” Hello, mac and cheese and wine and trashy romance novels. But books are an investment, and what books are worth the investment to people says a lot about them. You can’t just snap your fingers and be finished with a book. It takes time to read, to put yourself in another world for a while, to learn the lessons a book has to offer you. And often we read because we want something – healing, fun, an escape, a laugh. The kinds of books we read says something about the things we love, the things we need in life. I think that’s pretty cool.

Picking a favorite book, for a book lover, is probably one of the hardest things to do. The truth is that different books have filled different needs for me throughout my life – how can I choose between the book that got me through a breakup and the book that got me through my childhood? There’s really no way to compare them, or the effects they’ve had on my life. But I still love to know the kinds of books that people love, so today I’m sharing mine!

I’m not starting this list with any number in mind. Instead, I will be sharing the books that have inspired me, that have changed my perspective, gotten me through hard times, made me laugh, and made me think. These are the books I couldn’t live without, and reading them has, in some way, made me the person I am – no matter how far-from-high-art they may be. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here they are!

8 books that changed my life

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Otherwise known as “the book you probably hated in high school,” Wuthering Heights, to me, is a unique treasure. The first time around I, too, loathed the book – loathed Cathy and Heathcliff and their awful decisions, (rightfully) scoffed at people who glorified their romance, insisted to anyone who would listen that it was Not A Love Story. The book followed me through college, though, and when I re-read it again, something changed. It completely immersed me – I could almost feel the chill of the windswept moors and hear the tapping of a ghost girl at my window. I fell in love with the descriptions first and then, to my surprise, the characters. Maybe it’s not the love story you want to model your wedding off of, but it IS a love story – a twisted love, obsessive, but love all the same. Whenever I read Heathcliff’s heartwrenching monologue as he learns of Cathy’s death my eyes fill with tears. I can see so much of myself in these characters – they live out loud the deep, dark thoughts we all have, the jealous impulses, the pettiness, the arrogance, the lust for justice against those who have wronged us. They’re no role models, but they’re honest, and it’s almost refreshing to read about characters so unforgivably awful. It’s certainly no cheery read, but on a gloomy day with a cup of tea, it can transport you to another time and place.

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (not pictured because my copy is beat-up as heck)

I read The Hobbit under duress in the fourth grade after several unsuccessful attempts on the part of my father to force it on me. It was an old copy, my dad’s, the one with the ridiculous 70s cover that kind of scared me at the time (and also still does.) I had opened that book countless times before, determined to see what he saw in it, but was put off by the musty smell and the big (for me, at the time) words. Now when I open those pages all I see is pure magic from the first line: “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit…” This book started me on an adventure, and while I also love the Lord of the Rings series, they don’t have the same simple charm for me that The Hobbit does. It’s an easy read that makes me feel warm and safe, and every time I re-read it I’m taken back to the comfy old armchair in my childhood home where I first read it 15 years ago.

8 books that changed my life

3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This is also sort of a “historical romance novel,” but it is SO much more than that. This book has time travel, hot dudes in kilts, violence, sex, and the kind of love that endures the test of time. The protagonist, Claire, had my heart from the first time she swore on the page, and the series has only cemented a place in my life as the books go on. Seriously, download a preview of this book and give it a shot. I would never have guessed when I picked this up at the bookstore that it would become one of my favorite books of all time, but here we are. I love it.

4. Mistress by Amanda Quick (not pictured because idk where it is??? somewhere hopefully)

This was the first romance novel I’ve ever read and to this day, it’s still my favorite – and I have read a LOT of romance novels. It’s on this list not because I have that much to say about the story itself (it’s a pretty standard historical romance novel), but more because my introduction to that genre has has a total effect on my life. I’d always loved writing, but it wasn’t until bingeing on 27 historical romance novels one summer (yeah, it was a lot) that I thought “hey, maybe I could write one of THESE!” Writing romance is now a passion I’d love to share with the world one day. For now, though, my half-finished novels are just a happy, if not always successful, reminder to make time for the things I love.

8 books that changed my life

5. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

This book saved me. Around this time last year, I was trapped in a dark, deep depression. I was wandering the aisles at Barnes and Noble desperate for salvation and the brightly-colored cover caught my eye. I recognized the name as a book I’d read a blurb about and added to my “to-read list” on Goodreads long ago and bought it on a whim. It ended up being exactly what I needed. So many parts of the story resonated with me, and so many little things – like the Japanese pop culture references and the tiny northern island where the protagonist lives – fit in with my interests in ways too strange for it to have been a coincidence that this book found me when it did. When I finished reading, I felt passionate again. I dove into my interests and was determined to build a life I was happy with – and I did. I think that a lot of the reasons I loved it are specific to my own life, but it’s a wonderfully written book with a compelling story that other people would love, too.

6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (not pictured because I dropped it in the bath)

Please don’t watch the movie version of this book. If you already have, please don’t hold it against it. This book was a strange and magical experience. It contains six storylines and while some of them, not going to lie, were like pulling teeth for me to read (especially since the others were so interesting and I wanted more of those!) it was well worth it for the way the whole book ended. I can’t really describe it except to say that if you like and appreciate literature, it’s a great (and challenging) read. If you just want a little light reading, though, stay away. I’ll end this with my favorite line: “My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?” Basically, no life is too small to make a difference. Chills.

8 books that changed my life

7. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

I have this weird fascination with the world’s polar regions and the expeditions to explore them before we knew what was up (or down) there. This book is about one of the expeditions to the North Pole and it was fascinating. I learned so much about what life on a ship was like back then, and the story of the crew’s struggle for survival after the loss of their ship was absolutely riveting.

8. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (not pictured because it was an eBook)

This book was pure poetry. I loved the movie as a little girl but didn’t read this book until college, and WOW. Peter S. Beagle’s prose is enchanting. I’m glad I waited to read this until I had more of an understanding about what it means to be in love – the story hit me that much harder. If you love fantasy, pretty writing, unicorns, magic, or all of the above, this is a must-read. It’s really quick but it will stay with you long after you close the book.

What are some books you love, and why?

- Serena 4 Comments

8 little ways to be more spiritual

8 little ways to be more spiritual

Lately I’ve been trying to get more in touch with my spirituality.

When I was young it was very easy for me to see the magic in the world. I was always outside learning about different plants and what they could be used for, making “potions” out of clovers mashed with wild raspberries and trying to talk to the ducks at the pond like they were my friends. I felt so much a part of this world, a creature of nature just the same as the squirrels in the trees or the fish in the water. It was easy for me to feel like I was part of something bigger, like there WAS something bigger. It was never something I had to think about.

Of course, life gets in the way, and after a rough few years of having religion forced on me in a rather unpleasant way I swore off any spirituality whatsoever. I was a firm atheist, or so I told myself. I said I didn’t believe in anything at all. The truth, though, is that even while swearing up and down that there was no deeper meaning to life, no higher power, I could still feel that little girl inside me who believed in something more.

When I found tarot years later, completely by accident, it began to slowly open those doors that I had so firmly shut for myself for so long. It’s been a hard journey – even if it once was easy for me to believe in something, years of being conditioned to think one way and then more years of forcing myself to think another way have definitely done some damage. Still, I’m really enjoying finding little ways to tune into my spiritual side. It’s going to take a lot of baby steps to get me where I need to be, but the journey itself is enough to bring me some peace of mind.

Spirituality can mean different things to different people. For some, organized religion is where it’s at (and if that’s your bag, more power to you!) Maybe the higher power in your life is God with a capital G, or a goddess, or even the universe itself. Regardless of what it is you’re trying to tap into, though, I think there are certain things that are universal in terms of increasing the amount of spirituality in your life. If you’re looking for some little ways to be more spiritual, whether you’re just starting to explore that side of yourself or you just don’t have time for more than a few minutes a day, here are 8 of the things that I’ve been doing to discover more about my spirituality and get in touch with my higher self!

8 little ways to be more spiritual

1. Meditate

I know, I know, this is the one you see EVERYWHERE, but people wouldn’t be so keen on it if it didn’t genuinely help! Meditation is so important for quieting your mind, which allows space for better thinking. My big problems with meditation are a) finding time and b) sitting still. I will say that something that’s seriously helped me get started is having a good meditation app. I use Calm, which has some paid features but the basic meditations are free. You can choose from a guided meditation or just use their timer, which wouldn’t be exciting except that there are a variety of calming sounds to listen to while the timer’s going, like the ocean or a breeze through a field. (Their website has these sounds too!) I’ve also heard good things about Headspace, but I haven’t actually tried it!

2. Tarot

Okay, so admittedly if you’ve never used tarot cards before, learning about it will take more than a few minutes in a day. But once you’ve got the basics down, you draw a card a day and see what it has to tell you! I keep a tarot journal where every night I’ll ask a question, such as “what can I do to have a better day tomorrow?” or something like that, and I’ll draw a card and write down how it makes me feel about the answer to that question. It only takes a few minutes, but it’s a great way to set your intention for the next day (or for the day ahead, if you do this in the morning) and it helps you get to know the cards better, too! Plenty of people use tarot to communicate with the powers that be, but for me it’s more of a way to communicate with myself – that instinctive, wise part of me that so often gets buried under all the little worries and thoughts of everyday life. If you don’t have a deck just yet, I’d recommend starting with the standard Rider-Waite-Smith deck – you can learn how to use it at LearnTarot.com!

8 little ways to be more spiritual

3. Read a book

There are SO many resources about spirituality out there and so many different ways to practice it in your daily life. I know first-hand that it can feel overwhelming when you don’t know much but everyone else seems to have it together – like “wait, what is she doing with that crystal on Instagram? Should I be doing that too?? How much does a chunk of amethyst cost????” But you have to remember that it’s never too late to learn more – you’re arriving at this knowledge at the exact point in your life that you started being ready for it. Some people were aligning chakras right out of the womb and that’s their story, but it has no bearing on yours! So take a few minutes each day to read a book. Two that I think are amazing for the sort of spirituality I’m seeking have been 108 Days of Sacred Intention by Elle North (which also gives you exercises to practice each day!) and The Soul Searcher’s Handbook by Emma Mildon. Both of these cover a wide variety of topics and give you a digestible amount of information about each, so you don’t get overwhelmed!

4. Listen to your intuition

I feel like this is a major step towards becoming more spiritual, because your inner voice tends to want to guide you in the direction of what’s best, even if you can’t necessarily see that it’s best at the time. That little alarm that goes off in your head and tells you something’s not right, or that good feeling you get when you hang out with a certain person – listen to those feelings and see where they lead you. We place so much emphasis as a society on making “rational” decisions and not just acting based on how we feel, but sometimes what might seem rational at the time will actually make us miserable in the long run (like putting up with a crappy relationship even though you FEEL that something’s wrong, or not applying for that dream job that just popped up because logically your current job isn’t THAT bad…) The more in-tune you get with this little voice, the easier it will be for you to perceive your own feelings about a situation. If you listen to those feelings, you’ll be a LOT happier in the long run.

8 little ways to be more spiritual

5. Listen to your body

What is your body telling you? I think that getting in touch with yourself is key to your spirituality. How do you feel? What parts of your body are tense right now? Are you in any pain? I suffered from headaches ALL THE TIME, but once I started paying attention to my body I realized that they came from the fact that I tense up my shoulders like crazy. If I consciously relax those muscles, the headache goes away! I also didn’t realize how bloated I was all the time until I started paying attention. I now know that if I eat salt before bed, I’m gonna wake up totally puffy. Learning these little things has helped me make changes that keep my body feeling much happer! Take some time to work out how your body is feeling. I think that learning the language your body speaks is key to developing your spirituality. Once your body feels good, your mind is in a better place!

6. Focus on the positive

There’s that quote “what you focus on, grows.” I’ve seen it attributed to tons of different people so I don’t know the actual source, but I’ve found it to be so, so true. And not even for any mystical reason (although that’s also a thing) – in the most practical sense, whatever you’re focusing on you’re bound to perceive more of. Ever notice how once you get a new car, it seems like suddenly you see other people EVERYWHERE with the same car as you? It’s because now of all the cars out there, you’re focusing on the one you have. It’s the same way for love, kindness, and all good things. Don’t get me wrong, I know it can be hard to focus on the positives if you’re having a crappy day, but you should try. It doesn’t take much time at all to be grateful for what you have, and it can even turn your whole day around! Appreciating the good things allows more good things in.

8 little ways to be more spiritual

7. Tidy up

I keep talking about how clutter can negatively affect your mindset, but only because I’ve just recently discovered firsthand how true that is. Whenever my place is a mess, I feel frantic – it’s like the space that is supposed to comfort and rejuvenate me is instead just another source of stress. Clutter, to me, is like a big old in-your-face to-do list that makes it impossible to fully enjoy your downtime. How can you relax if you’re constantly being reminded of everything you still have to do? Take some time to clean up your space, even if it’s just the room you spend the most time in. This will make it easier to do really anything else on this list – reading, meditating, thinking, and tuning in to yourself are all way better when they’re done in a peaceful space.

8. Go outside

Take a walk! For me at least, a big part of spirituality is appreciating nature and our place within it. We’re citizens of the world and of this Earth, and it’s our job to care for it the way it cares for us! Take a look at your surroundings. What kinds of plants grow near where you live? What do they symbolize? There are a lot of elm trees in my town, which symbolize strength and intuition! That definitely makes me want to go do some witchery at the park sometime! ♥

These are the things that have made a difference in my life so far, but there are more things down the line that I can’t wait to explore and learn more about! What are some ways that you invite spirituality into your life? I’d love to hear about your journey!

(Side note: Amazon links are affiliate links! They’re not sponsored – it just means that if you buy them through my link, I make a small commission. I’d never link to an item that I didn’t personally know and love. Thanks for your support ♥ )