EMPOWERING DIVINE CONNECTIONS THROUGH SELF-AWARENESS, KINDNESS & COMPASSION.

BOOK REVIEW

&

TAROT FOR PARENTS

Relating children's book themes to tarot cards for parents

to reflect and connect with their Divine Vessel.

Why The Divine Vessel?

I believe humans are constantly having a dual experience- both physical and Divine. We are souls in human bodies. Our vessels hold emotions (Water), thoughts (Air), creativity (Fire), and organs that keep us alive (Earth). Our vessels allow us to make sense of the world through 5 senses of perception, but our Divinity goes deeper and connects the thinking mind to the heart. To a deeper knowing that can’t be rationalized, defended, or sometimes even explained. We can utilize the amazing gifts of the thinking mind to work with our Divine when we seek balance between the two.

thedivinevessel_daniellemarie

What are your zodiac Signs?

How do they affect your creations?

I am a Leo Sun, Cancer Moon, and Libra Rising, and my zodiac signs are the source of my characters and inspiration behind all my children's book themes! SHINE IN THE SHADOWS was inspired by my Leo Sun and Cancer Moon, while FUZZ'S TOWER is inspired by my Libra rising (and the Tower tarot card).

Leo’s lead with their heart and muster up courage to truly be seen by others. They thrive in communities where they can reciprocate support of others’ authenticity. It can be a lifelong endeavor to fully take up space without apologizing for it. Self-empowerment is a key theme in all my stories.

Cancer is ruled by the moon- so while I shine most when I’m expressing myself, there is a deeper, sensitive side in the introverted places not exposed to others. Cancers are very in touch with their emotions. This is where my themes of compassion and quiet connection to nature come from.

FUZZ’S TOWER is a funny, unique twist on the timeless struggle between head and heart. Fuzz is the fear channel in your brain. Things Fuzz loves: Fight-or-Flight. Labeling things into boxes. The Blame Game. Things Fuzz disdains: The unknown. Confusing, uncomfortable emotions. So how will Fuzz react when Power channel arrives to connect the head and heart? Can emotions make you smarter?...There’s no box for that! Backmatter with guided meditation.

MY

WORK

SHINE IN THE SHADOWS:

It’s Solstice and Raccoon is jealous of Day-Dwellers, so he embarks on a mission to find the spark within that makes him feel special…alive! If only Raccoon could enjoy watching clouds like Bear, or find joy in his journey like Butterfly, maybe he could see shine in the shadows. It isn’t until Otter needs help in the depths of a cave that Raccoon comes face to face with HIS shine…

RITUAL IS YOUR NORTH STAR:

How do you find quiet in the noise of your day? “In a walk, in a pose, in the scent of a rose. In a breath, in a song, in mud between your toes…” In RITUAL IS YOUR NORTH STAR, Earth, Air, Fire, & Water reveal what ritual is and why it’s important for a family lost at sea. Nature becomes a compass for connection when navigating life’s ups and downs.

BOOK REVIEW & TAROT

WHY TAROT AND CHILDRENS' BOOKS?...

Relating children's book themes to tarot cards

for adults to reflect and connect with their Divine Vessel.

WHAT IS TAROT?

“Tarot” (according to tarot.com) = A divination system that uses a set of cards to gain insight and achieve greater control over issues involving relationships, opportunities, and life changes.

"Each card is symbolic of an energy or spiritual truth, its relevance depending upon its position in a spread. Using the power of Synchronicity, Tarot taps both the subconscious and the superconscious Mind.”

The tarot deck is over 500 years old but based on symbols and archetypal energies that date back over 2,000 years.

3 OF SWORDS: A SHELTER FOR ANGER, GRIEF, & SHAME

THE BOOK REVIEW

by Danielle Marie, Taurus Season 2023

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT MIRA

By Faith Pray

When I choose my books for review, I will often meander through a bookstore and wait for the book to call to me. I won’t know what I’m looking for or why, but when I find it my intuition lights up like the Griswald house on Christmas. When I picked up PERFECTLY IMPERFECT MIRA for the first time, my intuitive circuits blew…Goosebumps. Shivers. My third eye started doing this thing where I can’t control twitching muscles throughout my face (the visual is really attractive and not embarrassing at all 😉).

I already knew I loved Faith Pray from her story “The Starkeeper.” Both stories have magical illustrations and simple text that carry deeper messages of Divine connection, empowerment, and kindness. (hmmm….sounds familiar…) She’s also a local author/illustrator in the Pacific NW just across the bridge from me, and supporting local artists has always been my jam. Besides these things, I love PERFECTLY IMPERFECT MIRA because of what it teaches us about perseverance.

If you’re a parent, then I know you’ve had to convince your child(ren) to keep trying something when they want to give up- because you know they will like it once they get better, or because the activity/skill will benefit them later in life, or even because you already spent money on it! And if you haven’t had to

each your child(ren) yet about the value of sticking with something BECAUSE it is hard, then you yourself have inevitably had to convince yourself at times to persevere- in a job, a workout, or even patience in parenting. PERFECTLY IMPERFECT MIRA starts out with Mira in a gymnastics leotard, wanting to be good at something, but she’s deterred because all the kids around her already seem to be better than her- be it playing a ukelele, painting, or dancing. Mira’s problem is that she tries something only once, and then gives up. In my house, we would say that her “fuzz” channel is taking over. Mira’s mind brings up a long list of fears that keep her from trying anything a second time. Any reader could relate to one of her reasons for quitting:

Even little readers with short attention spans for listening can still comprehend the fears Mira has because of Faith’s use of color. Mira’s “fuzzy” worries are illustrated in shades of orange/red, and depict images of other children tumbling, cartwheeling, and leaping freely with smiles on their faces. Mira looks at them with apprehensive body language and scared expressions and is illustrated in shades of blue.

As Mira imagines other children joyfully succeeding at gymnastics, you can see her physically fall deeper into defeat, apprehension, and disappointment. I love a good tug on my heartstrings, which is why my favorite lines of the book come from Mira comparing herself to other children, until she feels like nothing more than a shadow.

However, being a shadow meant that Mira couldn’t twirl, or splash, or laugh. And although adults can surely relate to Mira, she is definitely a wonderful protagonist in the way she appeals to our little readers…Mira wants to wiggle! Mira’s response to her desire to wiggle is to pretend she is good at something…just for a minute. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is one of my go-to strategies when I need courage myself, so I love the wisdom in Mira at this juncture.

One of the many qualities of Mira that makes her so endearing is her ability to laugh at herself. Even when she’s outside of her comfort zone as she repeatedly “unfurls, untucks, and uncurls” on the beach, she decides to try again and even laughs at herself when she falls- partially because no one can see her…or so she thinks. Young readers will undoubtedly love that a sweet cat and dog join in the fun as they too “stumble, spin, and spring” along the colorful beach with Mira.

And perhaps the biggest takeaway is that instead of worrying about embarrassing herself, Mira took her personal power back into her own hands by laughing at herself. If the worst that can happen in the “fuzz” channel of fears is that people will laugh at you, Mira shows us that her fears didn’t hold power over her because when she laughed at herself, then that fear dissipated away. Like a piece of driftwood on the beach. And that feeling?- “It was almost like becoming a mountain or a river or a tree. And Mira loved it.”

This book is a wonderful resource for all you parents out there who need support convincing your child(ren) to persevere. To not give up because of how they think they compare to others. To show them that having fun isn’t correlated with being the best… Mira reminds us all that we are already perfect. “Perfect at growing.”

Perfect doesn’t mean being the best at something or never failing or doing something the “right” way every time. Perfect is accepting yourself as you are and going for your dreams with all you’ve got. Perfect is being able to laugh at yourself when you’re outside of your comfort zone and not giving up on something because of what someone else may say or think about it. The fact is, no one actually ever laughed at Mira or told her she was a failure in the story. Those stories were all in her head. When we realize that fact, then we’ve perfected the art of growing. And so it is.

TAROT FOR PARENTS

6 OF WANDS: CELEBRATE YOU’RE GROWING

6 OF WANDS IN THE YEAR OF THE CHARIOT

In my last article on The Chariot, I discuss how the Chariot is a card of transition. 2023 is the year of the Chariot, which involves growing out of outdated chariots that can no longer carry us where we want to go. In our transition from one chariot to another - as we move on from patterns, behaviors, relationships, habits, thoughts, etc. that no longer serve us - we can use the 6 of Wands as support. An essential part of learning to drive a new chariot is celebrating yourself through small progressive steps.

Taurus season is the perfect time to put your head down and take the daily “mundane” steps that will gradually add up and help you achieve where you

want to go over time. Taurus is Earth energy, and benefits from tactile experiences- touching, tasting, feeling, smelling, and hearing. Departing from old ways of being isn’t easy and requires little steps in order to become masters of our new chariots.

Life does have big milestones to be sure, but most of our lives are built on small, mundane, day-to-day experiences. Rather than waiting until the grand finale at the end of the road to show off how far we’ve come, 6 of Wands helps us to find joy in a new sense of equilibrium as we experience it in real time; in the present moment.

CONTRACTION & EXPANSION

Contraction: a restriction or withdrawal; to become smaller, tighter, shorter

If wands represent fire and our energetic capacity to create and be inspired, and sixes in tarot involve a departure to transition into a new harmonic state, then the 6 of wands can teach us how to use the experience of contraction in departing from the familiar to expanding into an unfamiliar but new sense of equilibrium. When we contract we make ourselves smaller in the world- maybe we don’t speak our mind because we’re afraid of offending someone, or we’re worried people will judge us, or we don’t won’t to deal with conflict or confrontation.

Growth and change and transition can’t exist without both contraction and expansion. Again, thank you to Lindsay Mack (my tarot guru) for shedding light on this concept for me. Where we experience contraction and feeling uncomfortable or fearful is actually where the key lies to our expansion.

Celebration of self in 6 of Wands can be found when we surrender to those moments of contraction and can recognize our ability to expand from them.

OMG

I can't believe

I said that. WTF?!

I'm sorry

Me too

It might seem counterintuitive to surrender into contractions, but if we don’t allow ourselves to surrender and be present to celebrate small expansions, then we stay in a perpetual state of contraction- pushing, forcing, doing, go, GO, GOOO! When this happens we risk blowing our vessels capacity to move energy in and out - we blow our circuits so to speak - and limit our ability to grown, heal, and manifest change and positivity in our life.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME!

WHY TAURUS?...BE THE BULL!

When the road to change is uncomfortable or scary, it can be easy to become complacent with your status quo and just “suck it up” because it’s familiar. When we reflect in the energy of Taurus season, we may start to notice what parts of life we resist changing. No one could force Mira to tumble or attempt to love gymnastics- she had to come to that conclusion through her own personal process. This couldn’t be more “Tauranian.” Taurus natives (sun/moon/rising) can be misconceived to be stubborn, but really they just may take time to process things themselves, because they will resist changing what’s comfortable when forced to (hence the bull).

We can tap into bull energy during Taurus season to help us find our own INTRINSIC MOTIVATION.

TAURUS

Patience

Endurance (Focused)

Peaceful and ease in the world

Likes consistency/dependability

Pursuit of Comfort (through 5 senses)

Did you know Taurus is ruled by Venus?

Mommy!

I'm so glad I chose this instead of my afternoon chocolate pick-me-up.

LET THE 6 OF WANDS PROPEL YOU FORWARD:

1. Assess your motivations: Are your thoughts actually your own (intrinsic), or are they being driven by the approval, or expectations, or acceptance from others (extrinsic)? Are your actions, and your time, and energy directed towards what you really want for yourself?
   

2. Align and re-calibrate your thoughts, actions, and

reactions to match the new chariots YOU choose for your life.

3. Step-By-Step: Develop new small habits, choices, patterns, and relationships step-by-step, day-by-day

IN CONCLUSION:

Tarot depicts a journey, which begins with the Fool and ends with the World in the major arcana. In between, the progression of numbers in the minor arcana and court cards can indicate specific stages and phases of your journey. In the sixes of tarot, there is a restoration of balance and harmony as you transition out of the tumultuous and upsetting fives. Like the aftershock of an earthquake, you’ve made it through the big one, but you discover peace and a new way of navigating the aftershocks. And when the earthquakes of contraction shake up your world, be like Mira and don’t let the earthquakes keep you down.

Lessons learned

It takes courage to surrender to the earthquake. And it also take courage to celebrate the fact that you surrendered. Life is contraction and expansion, so it’s inevitable that you experience the feeling of pushing, fighting, and resisting moments of contraction in your own life. Mira teaches us that when we celebrate little “aha” moments of joy in the midst of our contractions, than we can discover our power to minimize our own fears. While supportive friends and family can help lift us up when we may not see our light in difficult times, we can’t rely on seeking out external sources for validating our worthiness in this world. And remember not to take yourself too seriously, because there’s no such thing as perfect. And So It Is.

I can buy myself flowers

Write my name in the sand

Talk to myself for hours

Say things you don't understand

I can take myself dancing

And I can hold my own hand

Yeah, I can love me better than you can

Favorite Illustration

When Bea suddenly arrives to a quiet moment of peace, she finds herself experiencing sand and the ocean for the first time, surrounded by beauty and waves that she never even knew existed. “She was free at last. The world would be her playground.”

It’s important to note that the last line of the story ends with someone named Billy spotting Bea out in the ocean. We don’t know if Billy is “bad” or “good,” “nice” or “mean,” but we do know he’s unexpected and will require another act of bravery on Bea’s part to interact with him and find out. Open-ended and inquisitive endings are always a plus in our house, as we discuss what might happen next for brave Bea.

I’d like to think there are waves and beautiful sunsets waiting for me on the other side when I choose to surrender and let go of things in my life that just don’t quite fit right anymore. After reading this book, whenever I recognize fear or doubt in my own children, I remind them- “You can do hard things.” Sometimes adults need this reminder as well! So I'm telling you- "YOU can do hard things."

ARIES

The warrior of the zodiac:

• Fire and passion
• Self-motivated and independent
• Leadership
• Ruled by Mars (always ready for conflict)
• Go-getter and “getter-doners”
• Fast, fierce, and bright energy

Rest = Unproductive = Bad and Lazy = Boredom

WHAT DOESN'T SERVE ME?

Thoughts

Behaviors

Patterns

Toxic Relationships

Kids have lots of chariots…

Parents constantly help our kiddos move onto their next chariot.

Currently, I am in the potty-training phase with my littlest, and it’s proving to be much harder than it was for my older 2 kids. Like the rest of us, she appreciates a good read on the porcelain throne, but she still resists the transformation out of diapees.

As most parents know, potty training isn’t just about potty training- there are other “baby” like behaviors associated with the resistance that make the transition that much more difficult

We’re in the “three-nager” phase, and Mommy’s ready to throw that busted down chariot into the DUMP. And Daisy is ready too, but unsure.

Parenting has taught me so many lessons, but perhaps one of the biggest is the gift of patience in timing. No matter how many parenting tactics I may try to force Daisy to transition out of diapers, she has the final say in whether she’s ready or not. There is wisdom in accepting her choice with patience (and let’s be real- probably a lot of cajoling and bribing as well), because an important element of the Chariot experience is that you’re not ready until you’re ready.

I’m ready for a new chariot, but I don’t know which one or where to even start…

Identify what’s not working for you anymore- what are you O.V.E.R.? Before fiery Aries can help us initiate a change, we must connect with our past and the subconscious to create a foundation for change. (see previous blogs on 2 of Swords and 3 of Swords for more on this)

Chutes and Ladders.

Even if you know something isn’t working any more, if you don’t truly want to shift out of it, then you probably won’t. Like the game of Chutes and Ladders, setbacks will be inevitable when you attempt to enforce new strategies in life. You only know what actually works when you experience failure. The only way to make your way back up to square 88 when you’ve slid down the crapshoot of 87 is to keep spinning the dial, hoping that you hit some ladders to make your climb back up a little easier next time.

88

Helpful Journal Prompts:

1. When was the last time I made a commitment to myself and upheld it? How did I celebrate myself?

2. When was the last time I broke a commitment to myself? What did I learn about that experience?

3. Are there relationships in my life that consistently make me feel bad about myself, drain me of my energy, or often make me angry? How might boundaries serve me in this relationship?

4. How often and when do I repeatedly disappoint myself?

5. What brings me joy and delight?

6. What are my dreams, goals, and desires? Am I doing things that prevent me from achieving them?

I'm an

AWFUL Mom!

OK, I know what’s not working for me. Now what?

Look at your relationship with “Yes” and “No"...

Sometimes “no” can be the bravest choice, especially because we are living in an era of “YES.” We’re constantly connected to work or social obligations, because people know they can contact us with the touch of a button. And we participate in the hamster wheel by responding accordingly.

Remember when we had to call a landline to talk to each other? And you could screen a call by pretending you weren’t home?! Those days were glorious. The phone was a natural buffer. Now we feel obligated to respond instantaneously, to obsessively check our email, to post every little event on our screens and share them with the world in real time.

A powerful woman is unapologetic in her efforts and goes after what she wants.

She is not afraid to fail, as she knows that each failure tempers

her sword and strengthens her vessel.

She doesn’t have to try to shine her light—it radiates from within effortlessly.

-Cristi Christensen,

“Chakra Rituals- Awakening the Wild Woman Within”

SOLAR PLEXUS aka. Power Center

BODY PARTS:

BALANCED:

DEPLETED:

She keeps

her house

so clean.

The medicine in working with the Solar Plexus and the Chariot is learning how to uphold contracts you make with yourself, particularly in the most difficult times and the seemingly insignificant moments of your day-to-day routines.

For example…“Yes” Girl

In my 20’s I would describe myself as a “yes” girl…I was always down for

a good time. I could kick it with the best of them…participating in any

social invitation presented to me, regardless of who asked or whether the

people had my best interest at heart, (and if I’m honest- partly because of FOMO). My identity was “Fun.” To be fair, my husband and I did start a brewery, which was very, very…very fun😊 There were days when I looked in the mirror and didn’t even know who I was sometimes, because I was so busy expending energy for and with others, that I couldn’t hear my own internal compass.

And then I got pregnant.

“Yes” girl became “No” girl REAL quick. It worked out OK at the time, because being pregnant and teaching, while selling a brewery and moving out of our house across the state kept me busy and tired. But fast forward a few years…

Suddenly my pregnant/baby days were behind me, and I still had to look in the mirror. When I started deep-diving into some tough questions and discovered that I essentially had no boundaries, my relationships started changing, because who I was and who I wanted to be didn’t line up with the people

or experiences who wanted “Yes” Dani.

3. I exercised regularly to physically move pent-up energy that emerged from my growing flame. When you shift thoughts and behavior, you start to transform energy within your vessel, and movement helps prevent feeling restless and unfocused.

And In Conclusion…

To me, Bea the Lion embodies both the Chariot and the fire of initiating change in Aries season. She teaches us bravery in choosing to follow her own gut (power center) over submitting to the fear of what her Mom might think. When she chose to escape, she didn’t know where she was going or what her new life would be like, but she knew that her life would never be the same and still she chose to jump into her new chariot anyway. Bea shows us how to use creativity to create a plan that will help us navigate opposing forces that challenge us. And in the face of opposition, Bea bravely chose honesty and spoke her truth, even when

.

she knew the response might make her challenges more challenging. I hope this article gets you thinking about what you may have outgrown and inspires you to use your own big roar when you need to BRING THE LION OUT in 2023.

And So It Is

BOOK REVIEW

&

TAROT FOR PARENTS

Relating children's book themes to tarot cards for parents

to reflect and connect with their Divine Vessel.

It is human nature to try and control, ignore, judge, or project our sadness onto others in order to deflect the pain. However, this boy’s shelter doesn’t put limitations on his sadness, because it has windows that will open at all hours of the day or night to let sounds in or keep them out. Every human ever can relate to the little boy’s range of experiences with sadness- from feeling completely introverted, to seeking comfort in the arms of another.

I love how the boy shines a light on sadness through the concept of time. Another thing humans tend to do is to want to be done with sadness and move on as quickly as possible. Well, not this boy! He teaches us how to manage our relationship with sadness by accommodating it, rather than forcing sadness to live by our rules.

Whether in summer- when “roses will bloom, and their scent will steal in under the door,”- or in winter- when all you can do is hunker down and weather the cold, dark storm- the boy teaches us that creating a shelter will hold and contain all of sadness’s seasons.

Another thing the boy teaches us is that once you become familiar with sadness and comfortable in your shelter, then you can tend to sadness in a way that is right for you. Sometimes the boy gives sadness lots of attention (with hot cocoa and hugs), and sometimes the boy just checks in and sits without saying anything. These check-ins help readers learn to bring awareness to regulating their own emotions, before they feel like their emotions control them. Through patience and time and attention, the boy creates a relationship of trust with his sadness, so that even when life gets busy, both him and sadness know that life is still safe.

My favorite illustration is the last image, where the boy and sadness stand outside the shelter holding hands walking into the sunlit sky. They have created a friendship based on trust, acceptance, and free of judgment. If only life was really this easy. Or is it? Let’s build our own shelter for sadness and find out…

TAROT FOR PARENTS:

3 OF SWORDS: A Shelter for Sadness, Anger, & Shame. By Danielle Marie

March 2023- Pisces Season

After we initiate a journey with our thinking mind in the 2 of Swords, the 3 of Swords brings awareness to perhaps painful truths of our thought patterns, and in turn, their connection to our behaviors. For the first time, you start to see yourself clearly in the mirror, and you might not like everything you see.

Even though Swords represent air, my experience is that the 3 of Swords is often a very physical, visceral experience and very intertwined with our emotions (cups/water), so we can’t tell where a thought starts and an emotion begins.

I find this card highlights stories I tell myself that magnify my emotions, and where I associate it with often an unhealthy response that doesn’t serve me (or the people around me). Self-sabotage, if you will.

• Group work or connection/interaction
• A bridge (specifically crossing with no return)
• A unifying force
• Healthy creative expression and flow
• Indulging or immersing in something

If you skip the bittersweet medicine of the 3rd sword and try to skip to the 4th, then you do yourself a grave dis-service, which you’ll inevitably have to address later, when the swords have grown sharper, longer, and more foreboding. Best to tend to them now, before the wounds grow deeper and lead to heartbreak.

How do I know if I’m self-sabotaging?...

Start with your relationship to your Self.

3 of Swords highlights the relationship with yourself- specifically how you respond to uncomfortable emotions (grief, pain, regret, shame, anger, frustration, etc.). In one of my favorite tarot books by Jessica Dore, psychologist Edward Teyber says hard feelings sometimes come in clusters of 3- Sadness, Anger, and Guilt/Shame. One often plays a more dominant role, because the other 2 are more difficult to process.

Relationship to Self = Reparenting your Inner-Child

When we're kids we learn how to cope with uncomfortable emotions by:

1. Modeling from our parents

2. Positive reinforcement of our actions by our parents

3. Through basic survival: If we get chastised, shamed, dismissed, or yelled at for our reactions/behaviors, then we learn to hide them out of fear, and instead we do what receives praise from others or keeps us under the radar of our parent’s disapproval.

Yea Daddy!

You're my hero!

Do I self-sabotage myself with triggers?

Something as little as an upsetting email or a passive aggressive comment from your mother-in-law (I know I’m not alone on this one!) might leave you feeling in a tizzy that reveals itself later in an outburst at your kids or spouse.

Hey Mom have

you seen my

library book?

In my 3 of Swords experiences, regardless of how I present myself to the outside world, internally my head is totally confused and screaming, “What the f$%*& is this?! I don't even know what's happening right now!”

When we’re in triggered moments, we want to get out of them as quickly as possible, but the medicine in 3 of Swords is to just sit with each Sword as it arises, like the boy in “A Shelter for Sadness.” If we want to re-parent our inner-child we have to refrain from labeling our inner-child’s 3 of Swords reactions as “bad” or “good.” Judgment exacerbates the inner-child tantrum. We can’t re-parent our inner child if we don’t fully process what’s happening.

OK, I’m sitting with my trigger and this sucks. So now what?...

Transform your trigger!

Although pulling the 3 of Swords from your deck can elicit a groan, eye roll, or expletives, I propose that triggers can actually become a friendly tool for empowerment. We can look to the little boy in “A Shelter for Sadness” as an example. He tends to his sadness consistently, through all seasons of life, and with comforting drinks and snacks. The biggest thing about triggers is that you feel an immediate emotional or physical reaction to something that may not have anything to do with what you’re doing in the moment or your current reality.

When you reclaim ownership of how you respond to a trigger, you can shift your association with a memory or feeling, and as a result feel empowered rather than a victim of your emotions. And remember, just like the little boy in “A Shelter For Sadness,” this process takes commitment and patience through many seasons of life.

For example…

1. When you hear a song and it takes you back to an unpleasant event, argument, time period, etc. listen through the whole song remembering all the pain that surfaces. It might take more than one listening.

2. Then listen to it again and set the intention to release your negative association(s) triggered by the song. It might be helpful to choose a new physical spot to be in as you listen, or hold a symbolic item that brings you peace and happiness (a rock charged with love, a feather, art from your children, a picture, etc.)

3. As you listen again, use your imagination to see yourself responding differently than you did back them. Perhaps you imagine a place burning to the ground and dancing around the fire, planting new seeds to grow in its place. Or maybe you feel the emotion in a specific part of the body, and this time you choose to breath the color blue or gold into that space to replace it with love and healing. Maybe allow wind to blow the memories away. The elements are your healing friends. You get the point- imagination is key!

I consistently pull this card

when asking about this topic.

Heart Strings Baby

One of my favorite ways to ground and also channel information directly from Spirit is to meditate while I run. I’ve created a playlist that I can choreograph my breath with to the beat, and the result is a rhythmic trance similar to shamanic journeying. My intuitive channeling gifts open, which often involve vivid imaginative scenes that connect me to the Elements and messages from Spirit Guides, ancestors, and animal guides.

Certain songs take me to specific places, and help me heal specific chakras in my body. This song directly connects me to my heart chakra, where we (myself and my inner child) dance together in what I can describe as salsa/lyrical ballet. Similar to the boy in “A Shelter for Sadness,” using music and imaginative imagery allows me to create a relationship with the swords that feel like heartbreak and experience them instead as moments of celebration and freedom.

2. We can all agree that being around an angry person sucks the energy out of a room. Being unpleasant to be around can easily morph into being a victim of your circumstances and playing the blame game. External anger most likely means your inner child is angry, and

that can be too painful to bare…it’s so much easier to project your anger onto others. Impulsive outbursts of anger are a sure way to repel meaningful relationships!

3. And then there’s sadness…First off, no one want to be around a wet blanket or a habitual “Negative Nancy,” (No offense to all you Nancy's out there.) When you consistently ignore difficult emotions and push them down, eventually there won’t be any room left and they’ll come spilling out into other aspects of your life (including un-explainable physical illness sometimes). It’s ironic that the result of chronically ignoring your emotions is that they end up controlling you instead!

We’ve all been around “drama queens” and gossipers whose emotions are so volatile that you never know what you’re going to get. (It's particularly painful if you're the recipient of a family member's emotional sucker-punch. If you can relate, I see you and feel you.)

On the other hand, sadness can become so overwhelming that you retreat to your deep, dark cave, letting possible deep connections pass you by because you’re not available to them. As a result of ignoring sadness, you either attract other emotionally volatile friends who “enable” your behavior, or reject connections with others all together.

BOOK REVIEW

&

TAROT FOR PARENTS

Relating children's book themes to tarot cards for parents

to reflect and connect with their Divine Vessel.

If there were a “conflict” in this conceptual story, it would be how the little girl gets through life when she thinks storms. When she sees storms. When she is storms (and thunderclouds and tears).

I love her message that even though it may be difficult, you can search inside yourself and think your way to sunshine. There are stars throughout the illustrations, and when lightning and thunder strike, that is when the brightest star shows up. The girl teaches us that getting through difficult storms is when you really discover your personal power to think your light (your “aha” moment if you will). Because the little girl doesn’t dwell on the thunderclouds or give them more attention after the storm is done rolling through, her mind then has space to dream and create her life. In the backmatter, Allysun Atwater shares that her healing journey with chronic illness inspired this mindset- my reaction was, "If she can do it, then I can too!"

I want to live in this optimistic, creative world created by Allysun and Stevie. I think a world where our children are empowered to be authentic. I see a world where our children are empowered to be authentic. And with the help of this book, our children are empowered to be authentic.

FAVORITE ILLUSTRATION

Stevie Lewis’s fantastical illustrations transport us into the girl’s imagination, which sees creativity in the “mundane” events of daily life (brushing her teeth, eating dinner, and even hugging her Mom). Large mushroom houses, stuffed bears building houses, and walking giants that look like trees are a few examples from her creative world. Most of the time when the girl is connecting to her creativity, she is also connecting with nature somehow. Whether its daydreaming under a tree, staring at a starry sky, smelling a field of flowers, or walking in the rain, the girl finds ways to connect to herself through connecting to the natural world. You can’t help but be transported to your happy place as you daydream along with her.

THE BOOK REVIEW

by Danielle Marie, Feb. 2023

I AM THINKING MY LIFE by Allysun Atwater,

Illustrated by Stevie Lewis

My kids and I were hooked from the first page of this story, when the main character imagines herself riding on a butterfly amongst a kaleidoscope of butterflies off into the sky. (that’s right, look it up- a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope!) The premise of the book (and my favorite line) is that we breathe meaning into our lives through our thoughts and then our actions. Allysun gives a smorgasbord of examples of this through the mantra- I think. I see. I am. She shows our thoughts have power, and what we think is directly correlated to who we are, or how we show up in the world.

TAROT FOR PARENTS

2 OF SWORDS: I THINK. I SEE. I AM.

by Danielle Marie

When we heal ourselves, we heal the world- Mark Nepo

The 2 of Swords begins our healing journey with the thinking mind.

In my experience, the 2 of Swords often comes up in 2 scenarios:

1) When I need to get clear and focused to make a decision and stick with it.

2) When I need to relinquish some control of my thinking mind, which is often grasping tightly to a specific outcome.

Calling All Parents!

If we don’t pause to take inventory of our thinking mind, we can find ourselves deep into over-thinking and exhausted by ALL. THOSE. DECISIONS. It can feel like all you do!

Not only are we answering yes or no questions, but the really exhausting part is also trying to instill life lessons in how we answer the list of never-ending questions. And the list goes on

and on

and on

and on

Why not?

Let’s say little sister bites big brother….

1. Your parenting instincts probably kick in and immediately tell

you to punish little sister in order to teach her a lesson.

2. Perhaps you don’t have the energy to fight and get her into

time-out today. Tomorrow you’ll just have to make a similar

referee call again, so what’s the point in trying to make a stance

today? Congratulations, now you need to purchase a muzzle

because you’ll forever have a child who grows up biting

everyone around them when they don’t get their way!

3. Now bring on the Mom guilt. (Catholic or not, I know you feel

me with the guilt thing if you’re a parent.)

The medicine I find in the 2 of Swords is to relinquish our attempt to control, and loosen our grip on the thinking mind. Find some acceptance and forgiveness in your decisions.

If you think unsure. You see unsure. You are unsure.

2 of Swords tells us it’s time to choose a path. Maybe we’re having

trouble picking the right one (or the "perfect" one for all you high

achievers out there). Or maybe we’re just tired of being a referee.

It could be possible that you've been searching externally for the

correct answer, when all you needed the whole time was to listen

to yourself. Outside resources can be helpful, but they can

become a crutch if you turn to them every time you have a question. What’s right for one parent won’t necessarily be right for you or your family.

Signs that 2 of Swords work might be needed:

1. Do you often find yourself saying you should or shouldn’t do something? Keep asking why and get to the root of it.

2. Could it be possible that sometimes you give up your power out of fear of judgment from others?

3. Are you trying to be your own image of the perfect parent? Mother? Husband?

4. Maybe you’re like me and you tend to be forgiving and understanding of everyone else, but when you look in the mirror it’s hard to give the same grace to the person looking back at you.

I think I’m tired. I see I’m tired. I am tired.

How often do you find yourself tired after a long day laying in bed surfing through your phone, only to discover that it’s 11:00 and all you’ve done with your precious kid-free alone time is surf through pics of so-and-so-from-college’s-latest-exciting-escapade-on-a-trip-across-the-world-that-looks-oh-so-much-more-adventurous-than-anything-you’ve-done-in-the-past-year?

Oh, and you multi-tasked by purchasing that lipstick that popped up in an ad as you were surfing through so-and-so’s latest exciting escapades, as well as some collagen supplements that will surely take away the bags under your eyes from lack of sleep.

And oh my God is it really 11:00? You better close your eyes, because it will take at least an hour to calm down your brain from those stimulating beta waves on that screen of yours so you can actually fall asleep.

No judgment here! We can all relate to the image above in some way (Replace so-and-so from college on social media with sports or news. Maybe throw that extra glass of wine or beer into the mix that you really didn’t need. You get the point).

Most parents live in a constant state of energy depletion and self-sacrifice. Sometimes life is a sprint and it’s not possible to slow down, but sometimes we just think we can’t. We’re sprinting when we’ve still got 10K left to go. We don’t think we have time to stop and stretch real quick. Drink some water. Take care of the physical body that’s carrying out all the demands we place on it.

When we’re clinging to knowing an answer or an outcome, it can be almost painful to loosen our grip on the thinking mind and switch gears. Take some inspiration from I Am Thinking My Life and gift yourself time to play. Search deep inside like the little girl and light the spark inside that makes your inner child jump for joy.

With 2 of Swords, we can choose to seize small moments to pause and ground into our physical body- a simple walk or a few deep breaths can be very effective.

The truth is that your brain just needs a quiet break. A reset button would be amazing–amiright?! But parents don’t always get to reset when they want or need one.

So what do we do?

Put it into action... I think I'm fit. I see I'm fit. I am fit.

1. I think: Start with believing you already are fit. Create an intention to change your lifestyle to lose weight, lean down, gain muscle, eat better, whatever it may be.

2. I see:

• Create a visual. Focus on each word as you write with intention. (If you can manage to wake up 15 minutes earlier to suck down coffee before little ones demand your attention)

• Post your mantra on post-it's around the house as reminders.

• And here's a super one for all you Moms who sacrificed your hot bod to grow new life and push out little people: Next time you’re sweating like a pig and feel like you want to drop dead in a workout, take a quick look at yourself in the mirror. Zone in on those trouble spots that you want to change the most and see them through eyes of gratitude.
  

3. I am: ...will catch up to you. As you pay attention to your self-talk, you start to catch yourself when you do or think things that don’t serve you any longer. You start to notice habits, patterns, and old stories from who you were that don’t match up with who you want to be.

Do as I say, not as I do?...

Children naturally come into this world as creative, imaginative beings. Somewhere along the line, our little brains are taught we’re too old to play make-believe and imagine our dreams. Somewhere down the line we “grow up,” and no longer have time to play. Our dreams become lost underneath a pile of responsibilities and expectations.

When our kids see us making positive changes in our lives, we teach them how to do the same. The next generation is inheriting a planet that requires lots of change. I Am Thinking My Life gives me hope for future generations. Hope they'll do things differently by being more mindful and kinder to each other and the planet. One of the best things

we can do for kids is SHOW them how to tap into their inner strength. We parents can talk until we’re blue in the face about what our kids SHOULD do. But If you say one thing and do another, your kids will follow what you do. Actions speak louder than words. So why not start with the words in your head?

And So It Is.

because you

were raised with them.

Generational healing is

a thing. And another

tarot card 😊