- Serena 12 Comments

career counselor: a tarot spread for job advice

career counselor: a tarot spread for job advice

Happy Friday! Am I the only one who feels like they have a career crisis every week or so? I think part of it is that I’m very ill-suited to an office setting to begin with, so every minor thing that happens makes me rethink my whole life. Or maybe I’m just bitter that I never pursued my childhood dream of being a ballerina truck driver. (I mean, I AM a little bitter.)

Anyway, jobs are one of those things where I feel like deep down, I know what the right answer is, but I can’t access it due to all the crap going on in my brain. It’s like, do I do what I want even though rent is due and I will be homeless? Do I stay stuck in a corporate job forever because it pays the bills? Is there something in between? What else would I even WANT to do?

So, like any witch would do, I turned to the tarot during my most recent crisis! I came up with this spread to help me figure out what my next step should be. And… I did figure it out. Stay tuned 😉

The cool thing about this spread is that you can pretty much draw as many cards as you want for each position, but especially 1 and 2. It might help to have a bunch of qualities and interests to choose from – this will give you more options!

Obviously the cards aren’t necessarily going to be like “be a veterinarian!” but I’ve found that getting clear on what I love to do and what I’m good at helped me brainstorm a bunch of potential jobs. I hope it works for you, too!

If you end up using this spread, let me know how it went! I’d love to hear what your job-related revelations are <3 What is your dream career? Tell me all about it in the comments!!

- Serena Leave a comment

rebirth and renewal: a tarot spread for healing

I’ve talked a little about this in my newsletter and on Instagram, but lately I’ve been going through some deep healing on my end. People and things I thought I was over for good showed up again in my life in new ways, which was really frustrating at first – like excuse me, I thought we were done with this nonsense? I learned, though, that the reason they’ve appeared again is that now I’m ready to face them head-on. I’ve been taking an active approach to them this time around and while I still have so much work to do, I know I’m strong enough to face these issues and conquer them!

What better way to get to the root of these deep issues than with a tarot spread? I created this one to help me get to the bottom of some old hurts and figure out how to let them go and move on. While you can do this spread for any number of problems at any time of year, I think it’s especially relevant for fall – letting go of the old and turning inward for a season of quiet reflection.

Below is an example reading I did with this spread so you can see it in action! It’s brief because I don’t want to whine about my issues for whole paragraphs, but you can totally go as in-depth if you want.

The deck I’m using is The Linestrider Tarot by Siolo Thompson, first edition! You can order the second edition here. (Amazon links are affiliate links! They’re not sponsored – it just means that if you order something, I make a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Lavender Moon ♥) I can’t say enough good things about this deck, it’s one of my faves! The tarot card case was made by GearBoxLeather on Etsy – he can totally make you a custom one if you message him!

I trotted out my trusty celestite, as it’s a great stone for healing. I find the energy of this one to be very gentle and supportive.

Let’s dig into the reading!

1. What is the deep-rooted issue? Knight of Cups: A few really tumultuous relationships, both platonic and romantic, have left me really afraid of giving my whole self in my current relationships. (Isn’t that always the way? Why does that stuff suck so bad?)

2. How is it manifesting in my life? The Hermit: I’ve really withdrawn into my shell lately, and it’s hard for me to be social and meet new people – while I’m not always aware of it, I definitely do pull inward as a defense mechanism against getting hurt by new interactions. Even in my romantic relationship, I’m afraid of what will happen if I let my thoughts and feelings come out sometimes.

3. How can I let it go? Death: Well… by letting go! Honestly, these things are in the past and the people aren’t even ones I see or talk to anymore. Yet I’m still guilty of checking up on their social media from time to time… I’m obviously never going to be happy with what I find there, so I need to just leave that stuff alone! The one perpetuating these old ties is me, and there’s no reason I need to keep torturing myself like that.

4. How can I heal and move on? Six of Cups: I need to change the way I’m looking at the past. Rather than focusing on the hurt, I need to look at the good times that were had while these relationships were in their prime. There’s always the possibility that a friendship or relationship will end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while it lasts!

5. What lesson can I learn from this? Ten of Cups: If I can find a way to learn from these past relationships and embrace them for what they were, rather than focusing on the negatives, I can enjoy much more harmony and fulfillment in my present relationships. Everything is a learning opportunity, even the bad things!

So there you have it! What are you working on healing right now? If you end up using this spread, let me know how it works out – I’d love to hear it! 😀 <3 I hope you have a very happy start to your autumn!

- 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

bring back your bloom: a tarot spread for spring

bring back your bloom: a tarot spread for spring

Happy Spring! I don’t know about you, but I spent yesterday doing some hardcore cleaning. I finally got all of the boxes/trash/nonsense out of my apartment that have been cluttering it up since I moved in and wow, does it ever make a difference! I didn’t realize how stressed out I was just being around all of the junk until it was gone!

To celebrate the start of spring, I wanted to come up with a tarot spread that served as a sort of post-winter check-in. The idea behind the “Bring Back Your Bloom” spread is that sometimes for whatever reason, things in our life fall by the wayside – whether it be a hobby, a habit, a friendship, or anything else like that. But sometimes while it might be hard to tell at the time, this is for the best. Maybe the hobby you had was taking up too much of your time (like when I was obsessed with multiplayer online games) or maybe the friendship has turned toxic. This spread is designed to help you figure out what part of your life you’ve been neglecting, why this has happened, and what you can do about it.

I know that sometimes it’s helpful to see an example of a spread being used, so I’ve put one together here!

bring back your bloom: a tarot spread for spring

The deck I’m using is The Linestrider Tarot by Siolo Thompson! The box is a gorgeous purple that I thought was perfect for spring. You can order it here â™¥ (Amazon links are affiliate links! They’re not sponsored – it just means that if you order something, I make a tiny commission.)

So here’s how I would interpret this spread:

1. What I’ve been neglecting: The World. For me right now this means I’ve been neglecting to finish things, which is so true. I’ve started so many projects recently but I haven’t finished many of them at all.

2. Why: The Nine of Cups. I’ve been very content with the few accomplishments I HAVE achieved lately, so I’ve been more okay with taking things slow. I haven’t been rushing to do everything at once the way I have in past months.

3. What will happen if this continues: The Ten of Pentacles. Fulfillment. So it actually looks like this is a pretty good way to achieve my goals! While it might be slower than finishing one thing at a time, I’ll eventually get it all done.

4. How I can continue this way: Judgment. In this situation, this card means that I have to be honest when taking a look at the commitments I make and ones I’d like to make – will taking on a new project mean leaving another unfinished? What is it I really want to accomplish in the end? I need to regard my choices with a critical eye and make the decisions that will be best for me in the long run.

5. What will happen if this changes: The Knight of Wands. I have a lot of creative energy and if I can focus it on one thing, I’m sure to do it right. However, the knight to me suggests a little instability – I’m picturing it as sort of a pendulum. When things are going well, I’ll be on fire, but when things get tough my motivation might completely wane, leaving me unable to work on the project further.

6. How I can change it: The Page of Pentacles. Literally, all I’d have to do is just finish one project at a time. Get the results I want from one scenario and then continue on to the next one, and not take on anything new until my current list is finished.

So after looking at this reading, I would make a decision based on the possible outcomes. In this case, I’m going to continue to take things slow, even if it means not finishing the things I start right away. Starting a project at all means I’m more likely to finish it than if I wait to begin until I’ve done everything else on my list, so it’s better for me personally to juggle a few projects at a time! Plus that way if one gets tough and I’m not feeling it, I’ll at least have something else to work on to keep my productivity up.

How did you celebrate the start of spring? If you end up using this spread, I’d love to hear how it works for you! 😀

- Serena Leave a comment

tarot spread: a light in the dark

I came up with this spread because, as the days grow shorter, darkness is something we all have to face. As we’re nearing the end of the year, this is a great time to think about the darkness within us all – and how to use it to our advantage. After all, no one is all light all the time, right?

I use the word “darkness” a little liberally here – it’s not that there’s anything inherently negative about the dark, but I think when we refer to our “inner darkness,” we’re referring to the parts of ourselves that we don’t like to show anyone, the things we’re trying to hide or run from. If you’re uncomfortable with the connotation, feel free to change up the wording to fit your needs!

For an example interpretation of this spread, see below!

So for this spread I’m using the Prisma Visions tarot. In this case, you could break it down like so:

1. What is the darkness I’m avoiding? Four of Swords – an inability to slow down and be still; I always have too many things going on.

2. How has it been affecting me? Five of Chalices – I’m too busy flying through life to take note of the things I have, and I tend to not realize their importance until it’s too late.

3. How has it been affecting others? Ten of Chalices – there is a lack of harmony between myself and those around me, and in my rush I neglect to maintain the relationships that are important to me.

4. What about it can I use to help me? Death – it’s easy for me to create a fresh start for myself, as there are always so many new things to do

5. What has the potential to hurt me? Nine of Pentacles – without taking time to relish my accomplishments before moving on to the next thing, I’ll never be content with anything I do

6. How can I heal myself? Page of Swords – I need to start consciously using my mind and being present in my current task; by devoting my mental energy fully to one thing at a time, I can become more present.

7. What light can I use to balance out the darkness? Seven of Pentacles – I can use the enjoyment of reaping the rewards of a completed task to my advantage; instead of moving on right away to my next task, I can take a moment to appreciate the one I’ve just finished.

That was a bit of an abbreviated interpretation, but it rings really true for the things I’m going through at work right now – the weeks fly by, but I never really feel like I’ve accomplished anything because I’m so focused on my infinite to-do list! I hope that helped you get an idea of how you can answer some of the spread’s prompts!

What’s your inner darkness at the moment?