Category Archives: Spirituality

Card For The Week Of 12-21 to 12-27, 2025

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Deck- Messenger Of Spirit-by Whitney McNeill

When I do cards for the week in a public space such as this, instead of for an individual, I always ask the question, “What do I and anyone who comes across this need to know, and focus on this week?”, in order to get an overall, universal energy theme. With that being said, let’s get into the reading.

While this card is pretty self explanatory in that boundaries are crucial this week, there may be more angles to this than meets the eye. Boundaries with others, as the card states is so important because we need to protect ourselves in all aspects; physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually. Sometimes in life, the other person involved may understand and respect a boundary when it is stated. Others however, may listen while you state it but clearly not honor it, as evidenced by their actions. This is when boundary enforcement becomes difficult, because it could mean standing your ground to attain your need, or as (what might seem) extreme as cutting people out of our lives when this is a theme in a relationship of any kind. There are other boundary scenarios which I’ll explore a few of below, briefly.

Creating a boundary can also be applied to situations. Those situations can be whatever they need to be. Saying no to attending a party which you either do not wish to attend or that you know that someone who you do not wish to encounter will be at. Saying no to visits, holiday gatherings, reunions, or any other event with toxic family or associates is another. Sometimes that boundary around a situation can be because you just want to stay home and curl up with a good book or movie! I realize that there are some situations which we cannot simply walk away from, such as unfixable employment situations, until a better environment can be found or created independently. Until that can happen, boundary creation will have to be just a tad bit more creative and can look how it needs to look in order to get through it until you can walk away. There are more examples, probably endless examples, but you get the drift.

Sometimes, we need to create boundaries with ourselves! I know that I sure do. This can look like reminding ourselves that it’s okay to say no. Ditch the guilt. Let go of responsibilities that aren’t ours. To not carry around burdens that do not belong to us. One of the most important ones is to remind ourselves to respect ourselves as much, if not more than we do others, even when this means that the other person might not react well.

Boundaries can be so difficult, depending on the people in our lives, as they can react with guilt trips, the cold shoulder, the silent treatment, or even anger at times. This is our cue that we are dealing with one of the most important people to create a boundary with! It can also be really hard for people who are empathetic, people pleasers, or those who have been “trained” to feel responsible or guilty for not going along with things which are not in their best interest.

While this might be a hard task to achieve, or even begin, we can and should do this in order to create a healthier, happier life. Not only that, but to travel the road toward self realization! My parting words for when this task might seem too daunting are that you’ve got this. Remember that you are stronger than you think, and deserve to have your needs met just as much as anyone else.

Trust and Knowing

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These days, a lot of us are experiencing waves of uncertainty and fear, which can easily make us feel as though we will be dragged beneath the surface of the stormy sea which is life. Pandemic, losses of multiple kinds, unrest, feelings of instability, and a diminished sense of security can be more than a little overwhelming. Times like these are when we most need to draw deep from our inner reserves of trust and knowing in ourselves and in something greater. During times like these though, it is often the most difficult to remember that we can do so, or to feel as though there’s even anything to draw from.

The levels of stress crackling through the air for quite some time have worn a lot of us down, including myself. For a prolonged period I, like many of you, experienced so many difficult things that I had become increasingly ill and depressed. I had completely lost touch with my greatest sources of joy and comfort, which are my creativity and spirituality. Increasingly I am remembering that I am neither helpless or hopeless. I’d simply relinquished my power to remain strong, at peace, and happy. Yes, I used the word simply. Even though it feels a lot more complicated than that, it really isn’t.

I’ve recognized that many age old spiritual and philosophical sayings exist for good reason. It isn’t that I didn’t believe so in the past, I just still had more growth and learning to do in order to more deeply understand. It’s as though everything had to be stripped away in order for me to fully grasp certain concepts. A major one for myself was to learn that taking care of yourself first is a necessity. In looking back on my life, there have been many times I’ve repeated some lessons over and over again and thought that I’d finally gotten it, only to find myself in similar circumstances. My initial responses after those issues reared their ugly heads again were to be very hard on myself about it and/or to sit in a state of shock over how life can be so cruel. It has become a lot more clear in the last while though.

We each have our individual, as well as our collective issues which are so ingrained and deep that it can take many times of experiencing them to finally heal and move on from. Sadly for some it doesn’t happen at all, while others seem to get through it all faster. Is it due to personal failing? I feel it goes much deeper than that. It’s always easier to say from the outside that a person hasn’t tried hard enough, didn’t get it, was stupid, and so forth (or to think those things about ourselves). However, none of us know the full extent of a person’s traumas, indoctrination, what their wiring is like, or any number of factors. For many of us, it takes years to realize the extent of all of those things in our own lives.

In closing I want to say that I’m seeing the low points as big opportunities to make huge leaps of learning and to move on even better than before. Sometimes it doesn’t feel or look like it, I know! Next time a low hits, I’m going to do my best to remember this, and I hope that someone else who might need to hear it comes across this post at just the right time. Be gentle with yourself. It’s okay to feel upset, sad, angry, and hurt. Those are cues that we can look at when the feelings pass to see what we need in order to move forward feeling strong, happy, fulfilled, and at peace. In my own experience so far, the biggest hurdles I’ve had to leap were words and thoughts which were never my own to begin with, but had gotten so deeply and repeatedly put in front of me that I adopted them. I’m sure that many of you can relate. Don’t give up. I know that I sure won’t.

Wishing you all peace and happiness!

Winter Solstice

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Today marks the Winter solstice here in the northern hemisphere. Even though my body finds the colder months to be not as friendly as it ages, I still look forward to this solstice each year. It’s the perfect time for introspection, as after the longest night of the year, there is a return of more light with each passing day. It marks new beginnings to come, and we are now in the getting ready phase.

The themes of introspection during the dark time of the year center around what we may need to heal, nurture, and release in order to make the most of the return to life which comes in the Spring. It’s a great time to set new things in motion, and examine the paths we are on. One of the hardest challenges we face when it comes to starting something new is in the letting go of what no longer works. It can feel soul wrenching to let go of something which once worked and no longer does, or maybe to have to let go of an illusion of what never truly worked in the first place (which can be one of the hardest things to acknowledge). Just remember that all has served a purpose in the deep learning we all undergo in order to reach higher levels in our being and happiness. The release of what is no longer working is what gives us room to become an even better version of ourselves.

No matter what type of changes enter our lives, intentional or circumstantial it can be difficult as we become comfortable, even when something isn’t working. So, take this dark time to go within. Meet the challenges of aligning with starting something new. It can be in one or several areas of life that one can see the need for either completely changing something, or finding a new approach. This deep, soul-level work is well worth it despite our natural inclination to resist change.

There’s no better time to find ourselves, make new discoveries, and put ourselves into alignment with our most authentic selves. This deep dive isn’t only about letting go, and the pain which can come along with it. It’s a great opportunity to tune in and listen to the clues we are always getting about the wonderful things we really want to do. It can be anything at all, as we are each on our own journey. Just be on the lookout for those clues that create the happy little hum you feel in your core, which tells you that you are on the right track, and plan to make those things happen!

Wishing you all a wonderful Winter Solstice, and many blessings as the light returns more with each passing day!