A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

The next four years of our lives stand as a need to have a call to action on a daily basis. I have watched in horror as the rights of all those that are not white privileged people being stripped away, layer after layer. I do not condone gay rights being subjected to loopholes to make discrimination okay on paper, and nobody should stand for that. We can’t allow our country to be turned into the biggest bully of them all. We’ve been through a long winding road to legalize herbs and to protect gay LGBTQ marriages. We can’t let our rights be taken from us.

I find myself to be a minority, being a Hispanic female working in the divinatory arts, and once upon a time in the visual arts. Everything I stand for and represent is endangered, and how day after day I am moving closer to what could be losing my rights to live in the place that I call my home. I am an American citizen that hails from an island that is not considered a state. Puerto Rico is a US territory and even though the racial discrimination I have faced since I moved here has been very mild, things are different now. I feel that my people are in queue for quite a long list of disasters coming. You can kiss Rosselló's wishes to become a state goodbye, that's likely not going to happen. Instead we are facing complete restructure of our government at the hands of those that don't care for us and will not stop at belittling us. But that's a story for another day, because there are people who as recently as over the weekend were not allowed entry back to their country of residence. There was a huge protest at the JFK airport over the weekend, an event so big that its cries rippled through the rest of the nation. I had clients tell me they were about to go get ready to join the protest that same night.

There is a wave of intolerance hitting my brothers and sisters from other cultures. This is not okay and this is not something we as a united nation should ever allow. I don’t identify people by race, so I feel like these attacks are unconstitutional. People are no different. We all have the same standard build: bones, nerve endings and internal organs. Skin color and features make us beautiful in our own right, but they absolutely do not make us different. Our customs and the way in which we choose to behave or think is what makes us different.

I want to note that I am not at all against the white race. I definitely respect their rights as well. My problem is with the entity of the government, which is allowing the wrong kind of actions to take place. My problem is not with those in a privileged position, but with those looking to take my rights away just because they don’t agree my people have a space among them. You can’t take stolen land and ban immigrants from a nation that was built by immigrants. That's hypocritical. That's being a racist and putting your own race above all others. That's not playing fair by the others, and instead choosing to be a bully.



I don’t want to see my online friends having multiple anxiety attacks and taking to the public forums of Tumblr and Facebook to express this much grief. It’s so concerning. It's becoming a real problem, the scale of the issue is staggering. My friends are struggling. Their problems are our problems too. Just because we may not be directly affected by what is happening to them does not mean we cannot be empathetic for them in these times of struggle. We have to be if we wish to see things change for the better.

Please voice your support of minorities, LGBTQ, women, and anyone else feeling under attack. All it takes is “I stand with you” for those feeling marginalized to feel like they aren’t so alone.

All my life I have chosen to stay outside of political problems and global conflicts because I felt like my personal mission was to empower others. I have made it my personal mission to help those under distress to find inner strength and to find out what their choices are. We all have choices we can make to help our country become a better one. We can’t stand along the margins and watch our right be taken away.

The truth is that we can’t stay silent. We need to keep putting our best example forward to teach others that violence and trampling over the rights of others is not okay. I don’t want to see the progress we have been proud to nurture being threatened. Everybody has rights; not just the privileged.

Please don’t stay silent!

Enlist the use of your talents to spread support and to stand up for yourselves. Let your voices be heard. Send postcards to your senators.

EDIT: I found this post on Facebook and I copy-pasted it here:

"Yesterday, while we were distracted by the illegal detention of muslim immigrants in international airports nationwide, the President removed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence from the National Security Council. He replaced them with Steve Bannon.

Bannon has no government, intelligence, or high-level military experience; his experience is leading a propaganda outlet (Breitbart News) that peddles nationalist and white nationalist viewpoints.
This would be deeply concerning in and of itself. But one of the jobs of the NSC is to oversee a secret panel that authorizes the assassination of “enemies of the United States Government” – including American citizens. These targeted killings are fully authorized by law under the Congressional military authorization act following 9/11. There is no trial, no due process, and no public record of the decision or the assassination itself.

Just to recap the absurdity: the President of the United States has appointed a known propagandist, nationalist, and white supremacist to replace the highest military advisor in the country on a council that authorizes secret, legal, targeted killings of American citizens (and others) without due process.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
♡  Call your Senators and Congressperson this week and demand that they publicly and legislatively oppose Trump’s appointment of Steven Bannon to the NSC.
♡ Spread the word about this news to your networks, since this is not getting a lot of coverage right now."

I do not own the intellectual rights to the above copy-pasted message.

I’m an advocate for equality, and if any of you ever find yourselves in need of a favor or advice from my cards, I will be pleased to provide it. You are not facing these challenges alone. I am with you. I stand with you in these trying times. Somehow we will get past all of this.
♡♡

DREAM INTERPRETATION

This year seems to be going rough for everyone that I know. I feel as if we can’t blame Mercury Rx or Mars Rx — although, for us Libras, this Mars Rx in Libra is being a real bother… — because there is a percentage of these faults that are our own. Bodies give out, circumstances don’t cooperate, and people fall out of love with one another. It happens. It’s really not worth preoccupying everybody else with the suspicion that something is up, because there are people who are going through real problems and real worries. Somewhere out there, there is a lost airplane from Malaysia with people that really need to get back to their lives, jobs and families. Chile and California are shaking continuously, and animals are fleeing Yellowstone Park as a warning that the volcano might be going off. Those are the real problems we should be worried about. I digress...

Lately I have been evading bullets with people close to me. I am not a yes person by any means, and find myself growing nervous when my plans don’t turn out as planned. I am so careful with my plans that I give myself enough leeway for spontaneity. Let’s face it, life happens all the time. Giving yourself enough wiggle room at least gives you a chance to react when your plans aren’t going as planned. However, there is a chance that no matter how well you plan ahead of time, things don’t work out the way that you planned. I promised C that I’d look after her cat. She is dating J, my room mate, and is the sweetest. We have been hanging out lately and enjoying one another’s company. J is never home, doesn’t lift a finger to clean and will not be moved to look after the cat after a long day at work. That’s the truth. N tells me that she is going out of town and is looking for someone to take care of her dog, so I volunteer. N is my best friend from college and a person that I would do anything for. I check to make sure schedules don’t conflict before making the commitment. N will be gone from Friday to Wednesday, and C from Friday to Monday. This means I can do it! And I even have an extra day for cleaning. Perfect…

Not perfect. When I get to N’s house, she springs a surprise trip back home on me. Meaning she won’t be back until Monday. I went to bed and thought about it, then consulted C about my situation and made the terms very clear. Wednesday night rolls around and I have no confirmation from N or C, I feel pressure of letting them down, and I tell myself I can’t leave this dog by himself if someone isn’t coming to pick him up.

In light of these events, I turned off the working station and went to take a shower. During the shower, this blog post started writing itself in my mind and I decided to put away my thoughts and to enjoy the shower instead. When I was done, I crawled into bed and turned on my Macbook Pro. The mental meltdown happened at 10P.M., and it is 11P.M. by the time I have gone through the whole issue. Writing this entry has given me the chance to step back and take it all in at once.

That’s life.

Before long, I am going to turn the computer off and bury myself under the sheets. I will seek solace in my pillow and hope that by tomorrow, the way forward will be clear. I will pull some tarot cards and make note of what I get, then we will go back and assess it before this post goes live. To be honest, I am debating whether or not to post it. I don’t like to make my personal business public, especially with so many friends involved. The fact that their identities are concealed reassures me, although anyone who knows me well enough will probably know who I am talking about. Hell, if the friends mentioned read my blog, they will easily be able to identify their roles in the story.

THE DREAM:
My dreams have been telling me things lately, or rather, warning me of very important events. I am starting to gain perspective on a dream I woke up really dazed from this [Wednesday] morning. In the dream, I found myself walking outside my neighborhood in Puerto Rico. It was storming heavily, with pelting rain and high winds. It was night time and dark out, none of the lamp posts were lit. Every now and then lightning would strike, and the scene would be horrifying. The plants were pale and stretched out menacingly. They looked like tentacles, and swayed in the wind as if they had a mind of their own. Instead of soil, there were bugs by the hundreds. Roaches, worms, beetles, large ants. My eyes widened every time the lightning lit up the scene, it was a real nightmare. I didn’t run away in fear, though, I stood my ground for some reason. When the scene was dark, the plants were back to normal. They were as I remembered them. Every time that lightning flashed, though, I was forced to see something really ugly.

BREAKING DOWN THE SYMBOLS:
☆ Storm: Overwhelming struggle, shock, loss or catastrophe in waking life. Unexpressed fears or emotions; anger, rage, turmoil, etc. It may also mean rising spirituality, or rapid changes. I resonate with the meaning of the symbol in the sense that I am a bit afraid to face my friends with the truth of the situation because I am trying to protect them. I also feel the circumstances are out of my control and hostile.

☆ Lightning: Sudden awareness or light being shed in the darkness. The ugly truth reveals itself. Shocking events are implied. Many forces governing your life may be beyond your control and even destructive.

☆ Lawn: To see a green lawn represents hope.You are in control and making steady and smooth progress. If the lawn is overgrown or full of weeds, then it means that you are not taking good care of yourself. Yeah, no kidding. It can’t be good care of yourself if you’re off worrying about how somebody else is feeling about something you did or did not do.

☆ Bugs: Symbolic of anxiety or fears. What is literally bugging you?

☆ Tentacles: Unknown danger lurking from the depths of your subconscious. Your subconscious is trying to pull you in so you can address the issues that you have been refusing to confront or acknowledge. Alternatively, the dream refers to a very clingy relationship.

Once more, proof of how dreams can tell us exactly what it is that we need to pay attention to, even if we don’t realize it immediately when we have that dream. I am very impressed with the foreboding quality of the warning that the dream delivers, and wish that I had listened before it got to this point.

Friends are wonderful, but we should never compromise ourselves if we can help it. No one likes to end up looking bad for not upholding a prior commitment.

RESOLUTION:
Oh, and by the way, this happened last week. The matter has already been solved. Come the next day, N wrote me back saying it was okay for me to stay at her house until she got back on Monday. C left the cat with J, who took good care of it.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with something is not to overload yourself with it. We have so much going on already, it’s a shame to dampen a good day with problems.

It’s hard when you want to but can’t please everyone. The most important part is to be true to yourself.
♡♡

TAROT CARDS NOT RESPONDING?

You pull out a few decks of cards and your eyes dart from one to the other. "No, not today." ... "Trusty Vertigo, I'm looking for something new," ... "So pretty, but so cold with me." I couldn't find the right fit. I wasn't feeling any of my favorite decks, which does not happen often. I miss that electric feeling of feeling a deck calling, or being curious about a deck and finding that the cards sing when you lay them down. My mental perception and the intuitive approach I usually try was crossed, there was nothing coming through and I started to feel stressed out. We can't always have an electric day!

I understand what is happening quite well. There is so much pressure to deliver a new message every time that we get upset if we can't deliver. It makes us doubt our ability over and over until we feel like quitting or taking an indefinite break. Nothing breaks something like a hiatus does, and if you're ever thinking of taking one — don't! It's so bad for you. Take a vacation instead, but every time I see the word hiatus pop up I say to myself, "well, its been swell. Time to move on." It shows a lack of compromise, and it can put even the most loyal readers off. Just take a vacation!

You can't force it if you don't feel it. Maybe you should just put the cards away and spend some time clearing your mind until you're ready to get back to business. The pressure of always wanting to be an open channel can sometimes close up our intuition and dull the senses so that we're not really getting anything from what we're looking that. It's uncomfortable and feels a little shameful, but there's not much more we can do about that until the dry spell is past.

Sometimes it's just not in you or in the cards, and that's okay. Have a chocolate or two. Accompany it with wine, champagne or sparkling wine. Whatever fits you best!



POINTERS TO GETTING OVER A TAROT DRY SPELL:
☆ Treat yourself to something nice. Maybe you're not connecting with your go-to deck because you're connecting with another one on your wishlist instead. Sometimes it's okay to splurge a little if you're investing in a habit that makes you feel you're doing something productive. (Ask my ninety-something deck collection...) If you're not crazy for cards, go get a massage, watch a movie or add a comic or manga book to your collection.

☆ Take some time off for yourself. Turn off that t.v! If you don't watch t.v. that much, turn it on! Get lost in a book for a few hours, flip through a magazine or do your nails. Not thinking about it could be the reset or refresh that you need.

☆ Get a bite to eat. It doesn't matter if it's substantial or not, you just need a little something to fuel your system. Treat yourself to something you have had cravings for. You can't run on no fuel!

☆ Read a blog about tarot. There are so many out there! My favorites are Prince Le Normand, My Curious Cabinet, Biddy Tarot, The Princess and the Sea, 78 Whispers, and 78 Notes. I can't tell you enough how many times one of these portals has jump started me into spiritual awareness. Nothing pries the third eye open like online exercise or experience being shared. You can appreciate different styles and cultural backgrounds and get some dialogue started. Perfect!

☆ Write your own blog about tarot. That's what Samhain Moon is for, anyway! If a tarot blog is not for you, why not keep a diary about tarot? You can use tarot for affirmations or for self-exploration. What better way to work off a rut than by writing about it?

☆ Have a friend read tarot for you. I don't recommend lending your cards because that's a very personal bond you work to establish, but if you have a friend that is into tarot as well, you guys could meet up and talk about it. Maybe your friend has some tips to share about how to get over the intuitive dry spell.

☆ Make a tarot playlist. Make a playlist for every tarot mood there is!

☆ Get a professional reading. There are many options both in person and on the internet.

☆ Do something other than tarot. Take the way or the week off. I couldn't live without it for a month, but y'know... it works differently for everyone.

When you're a professional in the field, you can get easily burnt out by the pressure of always being an open channel of divine messages. Let's be realistic here, our feelers can get crossed as well. It's natural! Don't be hard on yourself if you're starting to feel as if your feelers are not exactly up to speed. On the contrary, be thankful that you have a gift in the first place and pamper yourself with love. At some point you're going to feel refreshed and ready to get back to the grind. When we limit ourselves, we wither quickly.

Your tarot cards stop working for a day or two because you're tired or burnt out, not because there's no magic left in them. It isn't that the cards no longer work for you or that the connection is severed. As the reader, you're the one making the cards come to life with your intuition and your skill. You're the one with the magic, so don't make the mistake of giving up too early.




Give yourself a chance.
♡♡

SIGNS THAT YOU NEED REST

LEARN TO IDENTIFY STRESS SYMPTOMS & DISCONNECT:
Our lives are so busy that it becomes increasingly common for us to lose track. With our goals and our social responsibilities,our own personal nurturing becomes the least of our priorities. Sometimes the week is concluding and we find ourselves asking, "where have my days gone?" Then this becomes a repetitive complaint, it will indicate a time for some relaxation and stress release. I don't imply a trip to the spa or a lavish stay at a pricey hotel; I mean for personal retreats and recreation. These do not include technology or alcohol, rather the lack thereof. We have become trapped in the world of glowing screens and substances that alter our reality because of the society that we live in now, but it doesn't mean that we should assimilate everything that it offers. While those things are recreational in terms of entertainment, making it an everyday occurrence will become pretty draining. As much as we need the time to socialize and network, it is also necessary to rest and nurture our minds.

I tend to ask myself why I feel so anxious whenever my weeks are so busy that I find myself constantly slipping in and out of crowds. I dislike to wate time, but I also dislike feeling saturated when I find that I have multiple engagements in a day. When I spend most of my day stressing, I drive more aggressively, worry about time (and feverishly check on my clock,) and my plans are postponed or fall out of order. Most importantly, I have a tendency of going very quiet while my mind rallies to rearrange the plan.

On a day with no previous plans, I find time to do all the things that I want, and I find it okay to add. If I have surprise visits or invitations, I am much more open to receive them. My attitude is very different as well —  people can tell. On days like these, I am excited to answer the phone or receive e-mails and text messages. Often when I am in a rush, I forge to respond to any of those messages. In fact, I tend to overlook voicemail as if it didn't exist! In my mind, I am simply unavailable to the world on days like these.

So what do you get out of reading this? — And by the way, I'm so thankful that you do! — I'm going to list several signs of being worn out and how to deal with it. You don't need a luxury vacation to Japan or Hawaii to feel better!

SIGNS OF MENTAL/PSYSICAL EXHAUSTION:
☆ Prolonged insomnia
☆ Trouble waking up
☆ Aggressive/fast driving
☆ Constant complaints on social media
☆ Skipping means at a routinely basis
☆ Ignoring phone calls and voicemail
☆ Waiting to get out of work to party
☆ Crying for no reason
☆ Feeling blue when unaccompanied
☆ Tendency to sleep past 12 A.M.
☆ Refusal to go out to social events
☆ Disregarding hobbies and set goals



HOW THE TAROT SUGGESTS TO DEAL WITH IT:
Let's turn to the tarot to figure out some alternatives to dealing with the common issue. I closed my eyes while I shuffled my deck and concentrated on the question. "What are three possible ways to deal with that mental/physical exhaustion?"

♡ The High Priestess. Be still. Sometimes it's okay to just be present and watch. You don't need to voice all of your opinions and you don't need to always make a point as long as you are present. This holds to be true for those people that are constantly on the go, hustling their everyday lives and keeping busy. It's okay to chill out sometimes!

♡ King of Cups. This king is a dreamer, someone with a deep inner life. Can be calm on the outside even if he or she is concealing difficult emotions. This card stands for being in control of your emotions even if you have a lake of sorrow welling on the inside. Sometimes our dreams conflict with the pressures and responsibilities of real life, but it's up to us to make peace with those conflicts. Take it easy!

♡ Seven of Swords. Making an effort to see things clearly in your mind, even when you're not sure how things are going to go. It presents a need to define yourself and your position. This card manifests the importance of having a clear mind with your day-to-day routine. Lack of sleep will cut back on productivity, which in term cuts back on your income. Staying clear of gossip and social networking junk will help you stay more focused on the things you have to do.

♡ To watch out for: Eight of Pentacles. There's no need to constantly remain occupied. It is a clear indication that the body and the mind need time to rest.

HOW TO AVOID GETTING STUCK IN THE FIRST PLACE:
Since the problem is staying away from the issue, I've included some of my own remedies for situations like these. Sometimes, you just need to breathe!
♡ Turn off your phone for one hour once a week. Build it up to 2-3 hours, and then possibly to 5. It'll feel good!
♡ Eat healthy. Meals that you take a little extra time to prepare will definitely reward you with better health!
♡ Sleep. Go to bed at 10P.M. for 5 times a month. It'll help you be more alert in the mornings.
♡ Go for a walk a few times a week. Even if it isn't your routine.
♡ Think of ways to simplify your life and actually stick to the plan.
♡ Dress up every day, so that when you step out of the house, you feel like a million bucks!
♡ Don't settle for mediocre things — do something about it and walk away from toxic situations and people.
♡ Clean out your closet. Rearrange your space. It'll do wonders!
♡ Make playlists for different occasions and activities.
♡ As Moleska says, love the body that you're in!



Pictures compliments of Anna Rusakova.

TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS

LETTING GO OF MEDIOCRE FRIENDS:



The changes that have taken place in my life as of late have been pretty severe, just as the 12 month spread predicted. I've always known that I haven't made the best choices when it comes to letting people into my closest circle of friends. Often times I have focused on letting people in and giving them the best of me, without really putting thought into if the relationship will be healthy or toxic to me.



FRIENDSHIP:
♡ Is not just about you. Unconsciously, people forget that friends don't necessarily have all the time or the energy needed to invest in listening to your intricate details. Sometimes, a summary of the situation is enough, especially after a detailed introduction to the situation. Keeping it brief will give your friend the feeling that you're not just using them as your personal psychologist or walking diary.

♡ Requires maintenance. A similar event to the watering of a plant to keep it alive. Both sides must be willing to fill each other in on happenings without overwhelming each other. The nurturing should be mutual or neutral. This means an equal effort to see each other or keep in touch. It feels idealistic to a slight degree, but when a friendship is neglected, it wilts regardless of how solid the connection.

♡ Time changes things. Sometimes beautiful relationships blossom and stretch for long periods of time, but it is likely that after a long period of inactivity, those relationships change into something else. It's out of your control, and it just happens.

♡ People aren't accessories. It's not okay to keep someone around for how good you look with them, how much you can get out of them, or how much they're willing to give to you. It's easy to get lost in the idea that only the people that make sacrifices for you are worth it. If you're not willing to sacrifice anything for them in return, chances are that you should re-analyze the dynamics of those you hold closest to you.



THE TRUTH ABOUT TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS:
Sometimes you don't realize the burden of the emotional baggage that your friends load onto you until you're irritated. Many times it is unintentional, but I have found that many expect their friends to sacrifice time and effort for them. Additionally, once they are done, they are not willing to do the same. When you care for someone, you're not likely to want to believe that they are not as healthy for you to keep around as you think. Chances are that you don't even realize how bad they are for you until after you flush them out of your system. It's not okay for people to take advantage of others for the skills and benefits that they can reap from friendship and relationships. I find that this tendency steadily increases in popularity, and it worries me.

It's really annoying when someone doesn't bother to keep in touch with you for months, and is suddenly super buddy-buddy with you in exchange for a gain or benefit. Having a secret agenda of things that you want to get out of someone is not true friendship, that's taking advantage of someone. It's okay if that person is otherwise immersed in a life full of responsibilities, work, other friends, and spouses to look after, especially long distance. Still, don't tell me that you magically remember someone at the very moment when they can conveniently help you with something that you want. Memory isn't that selective, and even the must undisciplined friendships don't slip this long without at least a short text message. Friends aren't tools, and you can't stow them away and forget about them until they are convenient or useful again.



DEALING WITH A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP:
Burning bridges isn't wise. A more sensible way of dealing with your toxic friends is to make a conscious effort to remind them that they need to invest a little effort into keeping in touch. It doesn't matter how busy your working life or your social life is. If you care about someone, you should let them know. Even a silly little instant message, text message, or e-mail work wonders sometimes. It doesn't mean that you need to make it a chore of going down the list of friends to report back it, it's more of a conscious effort to let people know that even though you're busy, you still care about them.

If you're looking to cut loose from someone that is draining your energy, I don't suggest bluntly stating "you're using me" right off the bat. Sometimes the truth hurts and friends lash out when you tell them the uncomfortable truth. It's amazing how people expect you to digest everything down to borderline sugarcoating the message, but I've found that not everyone is capable of handling the truth. Even less when the unbalanced dynamic has been going on for years. Discrete hints should do the trick. If they don't pick up after a steady dose, they probably don't want to or are too oblivious to notice. That's not your responsibility, though.

Writing this article has brought me a lot of clarity on what I should continue to do, and I hope it does the same for my readers as well. My friends are my treasure.

Credit goes to Gala Darling and Nubby Twiglet for the pictures!
♡♡