This bullet journal theme is straight out of my garden, featuring a truly enchanting botanical paint with me. September always reminds me of my Dad (happy birthday Dad!!!) and the final days of Summer.
This September monthly bullet journal cover page is inspired by the beautiful right dark purple almost black Night Rider Lily also know as the Black Wizard Lily. I planted these bulbs in my garden last year and only had a few come up this year. The Night Rider Lily is truly a mesmerizing mysterious flower that I love having in my garden. The watercolor paint with my tutorial is also inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest combined with my own flare.
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for my tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread that you can see here! This is the card that I pulled for September, The Five of Pentacles with a rose from the Wild Unknown Original Tarot Deck.
The Five of Pentacles represents: Sadness, Worry, & Illness. The 5 of Pentacles is a card of hard times and an over-abundance of worrying. The anxiety that these emotions bring is counterproductive and damaging. You must find a way to quiet the mind and find peace. This is a signal to you that you can’t do it alone and that you need to reach out to others to help shoulder the burden or at least give you a few moments of peace between the chaos.
This month’s spirituality journaling prompt: Get it HERE!
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
September carries with it themes of reorientation, transition, forgiveness, and the descent into ourselves for reflection and deep Shadow Work in our journals. Keep these ideas and concepts in your mind when you create your monthly bullet journal themes, habit trackers, designs, and track your yearly and monthly goals in your Bullet Journal this month.
September always reminds me of my Dad, farming, football games, and the second harvest. This month is also when the night finally starts to get cool and bonfires light our nights. Which means that in our house we are trying to get in those last moments of camping before the rainy portion of the Autumn & Fall begin.
Now is a time of transition and descent further into the dark half of the year as the summer ends and the Autumn & Fall officially begin on the Fall Equinox & Mabon on the 21st & 22nd. September is also a time of the year that is full of bounty from nature and the good will of men with the holidays right around the corner.
This is a time of year when we focus on forgiving ourselves and readjust our paths, dreams, intention and goals. September is when we transition into a new way of thinking about our progress on the goals that we set back in January.
Have we made progress on our goals? Or do we need to let our expectations fall away and view the road to our goals through a different lens?
Remember to transition your way of thinking about the progress you have or haven’t made on your goals as we head into the best time of the year, Fall.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite bullet journal layouts, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own bujo pages.
Grab a latte (I’ve been into Four Sigmatic Chai Latte with Reishi Mushrooms lately!) and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, and watercolors and get ready to make some beautiful Fall Inspired Bullet Journal Spreads that are sure to feed your creativity and artist’s soul.
September Bullet Journal Design Themes & Ideas:
Fall Food Bullet Journal Themes:
apples
berries
corn
coffee, tea, latte, chai (Sept. 29: National Coffee Day)
coffee ice cream (Sept. 6: National Coffee Ice Cream Day)
cherry
coconut
cider (Sept. 30: National Hot Mulled Cider Day)
Extra Desserts (Sept. 4: Eat an Extra Dessert Day)
Hippie Botanical Theme Bullet Journal Layout: blue eye, evil eye, psychic eye, all seeing eye, dark blue and light blue watercolor minimalist floral sketches with gold accents, plus simple boho bullet journal doodles.
Choosing Your First Tarot Deck should be a fun and indulgent experience. Not an overwhelming one. The deck you choose should resonate with you on a deep soulful level, it should give you a buzz, and a chill when you think about the deck, it’s captivating images, and messages that await you. Otherwise what would have been an intentional tarot practice, will fail because you won’t reach for your tarot deck due to lack of connection and interest.
Before I bought my first tarot deck, I was fascinated by the ritual, symbolism, and mysticism that surrounded the cards. But the idea that the cards could tell me my future just didn’t sit well with me, it just didn’t feel right. And to be honest, it still doesn’t feel right to me. Which meant that I just didn’t know where to start and kept asking myself over and over again “what tarot cards should I buy?”
The most important thing when it comes to choosing your own tarot deck is to select the tarot deck that you feel drawn to and that you understand the most. Don’t choose a deck just because it’s popular, or just because you think you need to have it in your collection. Or because someone said to start with a particular deck. Don’t do that.
Why I Love Tarot Cards
Tarot cards can help us achieve a great many things. Tarot decks are learning tools, meditation tools, journaling tools, and show us the beauty of the shared human experience through the stories they tell in the themes embedded into each card’s imagery.
I love tarot cards and decks because I’m an artist. I love looking at the beautiful miniature works of art. Honestly, if I could fill my home with art set up like an art gallery that rotates artwork all the time, I would do it! This is a major reason why I love tarot cards so much, it’s all the beautiful imagery in these little teeny tiny miniature works of art. Another selling point for me on having multiple tarot decks in my collection is that they let me have many many works of art in my home on a much smaller scale.
Can You Buy Your Own Tarot Deck?
First I’d love to dispel the myth that you cannot purchase your own tarot cards… You should definitely go buy your own tarot deck, it is not bad luck to buy your own, and you won’t be cursed. Like many things in the world, tarot cards have no meaning unless you give them meaning. It’s you that gives an object, any object, its importance through the meaning that you attach to it.
When it comes to reading tarot cards, the most important thing is your connection to the cards, your interpretation, and the meaning you attach to the symbols and imagery of each card.
Quite frankly, the idea that you can’t buy your own tarot deck makes no logical sense. I think this cursed myth has been shared throughout the years to try and keep the mysticism around tarot cards, keeping them veiled. And to keep the purchases low so that not many people had them, therefore perpetuating that veiled mystic mythos surrounding tarot cards and tarot readings.
Take your first tarot deck into your own hands and make sure you buy one that you are drawn to and that resonates with you. Choosing a tarot deck should be a deeply personal experience that reflects it’s owner’s tastes, goals, dreams, and intentions. Which is why you should buy your own deck instead of waiting years on end for someone to gift you a deck, that you might end up not liking anyway, that is hard to use, or that you had to wait half a lifetime, or longer to receive.
When you choose your own tarot deck deliberately, you are selecting a deck that suits your personal tastes and cultural affinities. This creates an instantaneous & automatic connection that causes you to lean further in and explore why you have those tastes and affinities. This will help you forge a deeper bond with your identity, values, and what makes you, you.
Buy A Tarot Deck On Purpose
When buying your first tarot deck, consider your goals, intentions, the purpose of the deck, and how you’ll be using the deck. Not only should you consider the purpose of the deck, but you should also buy a tarot deck ON purpose. You can accomplish this by finishing the following statement:
“Primarily, I want a deck that will help me _______.”
By understanding, and more importantly defining, the reason why you are buying a given tarot deck and its purpose for you, well in advance of buying it will ensure that you have a goal in mind when shopping.
Level this up by turning this reason into a mantra while you are shopping for a new tarot deck. This mantra will enable you to weed out the tarot decks that don’t meet your criteria faster and with confidence.
“My Tarot Deck Helps Me _______.”
What do you need to think about when choosing a tarot deck?
Let’s dive deeper into how to choose the right tarot deck for you. There are so many different types of tarot cards out there in today’s modern internet age. Including new age tarot decks that you may not have heard of like, angel card readings, mystic moon tarot, lotus tarot cards, etc.
There is an immense amount of free online tarot reading tools and tarot decks that act more like instant tarot readings. You’ll also find free oracle card readings, free lotus tarot, llewellyn free tarot readings and tools online. There are free tarot readings for the popular spreads like the Celtic Cross tarot spread online too. But more on the different tarot card spreads another day.
The search for the perfect tarot deck can be a bit daunting. So let me help you narrow down your choices through getting intentional about the tarot deck you purchase.
When you’re choosing your first tarot deck or a new tarot deck to add to your collection, there are a few things you’ll want to consider and take time to mull over in your search: Inspiration, Emotion, & Physical Feeling.
Is the deck in question visually appealing and inspiring?
Do you have a strong emotional reaction to the tarot deck’s imagery and messaging?
Does the tarot deck feel good in your hands?
But it’s not as simple as that. Let’s dive deeper into understanding why you are being called to practice tarot, why you want a tarot deck in the first place, and how to make this an intentional purchase that will keep you engaged in its mysteries well into your later years.
The tarot deck that you choose should have an abundance of inspiring qualities within its imagery, messaging, and tone of voice. When you find a tarot deck that is visually appealing and visually inspiring you will find yourself reaching for it more and developing your practice in an engaged, deeper, and more meaningful way. You won’t be able to stop thinking about the tarot cards and might find yourself daydreaming about them constantly.
How To Find a Tarot Deck That Speaks to You
Well that’s the most loftiest advice I’ve ever heard…Don’t you agree?
Let me explain what it means to find a tarot deck that “speaks” to you. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for days on end? This happens to me all of the time, and it happens with tarot card decks. Sometimes I will dream about a tarot deck or have themes and images from the cards stuck in my head for days on end.
Honestly, it can be a little distracting sometimes. But I take this as a sign that my subconscious is trying to turn things over and bring them up to the surface of my conscious mind so that I can tackle them.
But how does this help you find the perfect tarot deck? The answer is to find a tarot deck that speaks to you, which means choosing a tarot deck that you’re drawn to or that you can’t get out of your head.
Choose A Tarot Deck That You Can’t Get Out Of Your Head
When this happens, I always go straight to that deck in question if it’s in my collection. However if it’s not on my shelf, and it’s been stuck in my head drawing me closer and closer to it for over a month, then I purchase the deck (if monies allow) or do a thorough google image search of all of the cards in the deck to see if it’s really a tarot deck that I need in my collection.
Allow yourself to dive into the rabbit hole and preview all of the cards in the deck if you can find them! Explore online reviews, apps and artist websites to find previews of all the cards. You’d be surprised at what a quick google search can do… you’ll almost certainly be able to instantly determine whether or not you’ve got a connection with the cards. If you do, you’ll feel it immediately in your bones and soul.
After some googling, this is sometimes the point when I discover that I already have a deck in my collection that serves the purpose of the deck in question. Other times I discover that the deck isn’t right for me after looking at the imagery of each card in the deck.
It’s really important to go with your gut and trust your instincts when you’re looking at the tarot card imagery. When a tarot deck speaks to you, the artistic style of the cards will guide you deeper into a place within yourself, where the answers to your questions lie.
You will intuitively understand the symbolism embedded in the imagery, and the themes will resonate with you. Look for this personal intuitive connection with the cards, if it’s not there, then it’s not the right deck for you.
If you are feeling that immediate pull to a particular deck pay attention to the visual aesthetics! Go deeper beyond the surface and ask yourself the following questions…
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
Ask Yourself: What Inspiring Qualities Do The Tarot Cards Have?
What is your first reaction to the tarot cards in this deck?
What captures your attention about this tarot deck?
Is It visually inspiring?
What is bringing you back to this tarot deck over and over again?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a tarot deck must be worth a million.
For me, imagery is the most important aspect of a tarot deck. As an artist I’m such a visual person, and tarot is firstly, a visual tool, so if I can’t connect with the pictures on the cards, I won’t use the deck because it’s too difficult to interpret their meanings.
The best tarot artwork is balanced, easy to scan, understand, and identify with immediately. If the user doesn’t understand the imagery in a card then they won’t use the tarot deck.
Pay attention to the Media & Colors of the deck.
Are you drawn to simple modern lines, striking gilded imagery, holographic elements, colorful or dark and brooding shades? Are you inspired by detailed drawings, contemporary or vintage designs? Do patterns appeal to you?
After you’ve found a deck with imagery that calls to you consider this:
Can you look at the imagery of the tarot card and begin to understand its potential meaning?
Does this card mean something to you specifically?
Make sure that you look at all of the cards in a tarot deck, this includes the backs of the cards since you will see those while you shuffle the tarot deck.
Have you seen a tarot deck with images that resonate with your personality? This might be the deck for you.
As much as I love only looking at the artwork on each tarot card in my collection, I’m here to tell you that they’re more than just pretty pictures. Artwork moves us in various ways through the emotional reactions we experience when deciphering it’s imagery.
This is where the Art Historian in me comes out in full regalia ready to spend hours exploring a painting and every brush stroke, but instead I most frequently find myself with the 78 little miniature works of art found in a tarot deck.
As an Art Historian, when I am exploring a painting, I am looking for certain qualities to better understand the story behind the artwork and what the artist is trying to convey to me, and with tarot cards and tarot decks this exploration is no different. This search for connection to the creator of a piece is what gets me to fall in love with an artwork and feel pulled to visit it time and time again, every chance I get. With tarot cards, I don’t have to wait until I am in the city where it resides to visit the artwork (see my favorite piece of art here!).
When choosing your first tarot deck it’s important to ask yourself: Do I have an emotional reaction to this tarot deck? If you do then look deeper into yourself and reflect on the emotional qualities that are important to you when you’re looking at any type of artwork. The messages, advice, and tone of the artwork will evoke very specific visceral reactions from you.
If the tarot cards in a given deck move you to have an emotional reaction to the artwork, then the artist and creator of the deck has done their job. This might be the deck for you to keep you pouring over it’s artwork into the long hours of the night.
What kind of advice do you want the cards to give you?
With so many decks out there, there are different decks that are good for different things. Once you know the type of voice you’re looking for and understand the voice of a given tarot deck, you can zero in on how to pick a tarot deck that’s right for you.
When choosing a “voice” that you want your tarot cards to have, consider the tone of voice and tone of the messaging written in the guide book (more on guidebooks in a bit!).
I reach for a spirit animal deck when I am looking to embody the characteristics of an animal, learn from them, and try to embed some of their wisdom into my life. I like to reach for oracle decks when I want to feel inspired and uplifted. More on the difference between oracle decks and tarot decks another day. I love pulling out traditional tarot decks to view their imagery.
But most of all, I love modern decks because they tend to blend all of these things together. They have a little bit of oracle decks, a little bit of traditional tarot decks, and they usually have animal imagery in them as well. All of these themes and types of decks rolled up into one works really nicely for my tarot journaling practice.
What Tone of Voice Should My Tarot Cards Have?
Do you want your tarot deck to have an authoritative voice when you read the description of the cards and when you interpret them?
Should the cards have a reassuring and comforting voice in its messaging?
Are you looking for whimsy in the writing?
The inspiring simplified messages of The Universe Has Your Back oracle deck?
Silliness like in the Lisa Frank Tarot Deck?
Messages of embodying power like Spirit Animal and Medicine Card Decks?
Consider the type of feeling that you want the cards to give you. Think about what type of emotions and what type of imagery that you’d like to see from your tarot deck when you’re trying to decide which tarot deck to choose.
Since there are so many different tarot decks to choose from, all equally steeped in mystery until we get to know the cards. Each tarot deck has their own artwork, symbolism, meanings, themes, stories, archetypes, and curiously enough, their own unique energy to the deck itself. I like to think of this as more of the vibe I get or feeling I get when using the cards. This energy and vibe heavily influences the feelings that are evoked and experiences I have when reading the tarot cards.
What Feeling Should My Tarot Cards Give Me?
Do you want to experience a calming reading that is more zen like?
Do you want to connect with your inner goddess?
Are you looking for botanical decks to get to know the energy of different plants and flowers?
What vibe do I want my tarot deck to give me for each reading?
Once you have an idea on the type of feeling you want to obtain from a tarot card reading and your tarot deck you will be able to tap into the themes that you should be searching for when buying your first deck. More on themes and types of tarot decks below.
Physical Tactile Qualities of Tarot Cards
The perfect tarot deck for you will feel good in your hands. This is an instance where size is important, if your deck is too small then you won’t be able to read the imagery in each tarot card. If it’s too big or a weird shape then you might have a hard time shuffling the tarot deck.
The physical qualities of a tarot deck are deal breakers for a lot of tarot practitioners. This is because of how personal, private, and unique, the practice of reading tarot cards is. No two card readers will have the same preferences when it comes to how the deck feels in their hands.
What is the perfect sized tarot deck?
Don’t forgo thinking about shape, size, and practicality when choosing your first tarot deck. Most tarot decks are printed 2.75” (70mm) by 4.75” (120 mm), which is a smidge larger than a common pack of playing cards.
Mini cards can be hard to read and shuffle.
Be sure to take the size into consideration. Will you be able to read the cards and decipher the imagery on the cards? This happens to be the only type of tarot deck that I have regretted and passed on to someone else. The deck that I had was too hard for me to read because of how detailed and delicate the imagery was. It would have worked better as a regular sized deck. My current favorite mini cards are Celtic Totem Animals: Working With Shamanic Helpers
Round Tarot Decks and Oversized decks can be difficult to shuffle and hold in your hand.
But don’t let that stop you if you really love a deck and have a strong connection to it. I had a hard time shuffling these types of decks at first, but I was pretty quick to find alternative ways of shuffling that worked well for me, and I know you will too. My favorite round deck is The Wild Unknown Archetypes Deck & Guidebook.
Should Tarot Cards Feel Crisp & Stiff Or Worn In?
I have always preferred tarot cards and playing cards that are worn in. They have a used feel that is easier to shuffle, handle, and have a well loved vibe about them that I can’t get enough of. My favorite playing cards are my Dad’s from the 1990’s if not the mid to late 1980’s. My tarot decks haven’t reached this level of use yet, but after 10+ years, my first ever tarot deck is starting to shuffle easier and get that worn in feeling in my hands that I’m looking for.
If you like the worn in feeling of cards
Then I suggest opting for a thinner card stock in your tarot deck selection. This also means to not be afraid of reviews that say the cards are too thin. My favorite thin card stock tarot deck right now is the The Antique Anatomy Tarot Kit: Deck & Guidebook for the Modern Reader.
If you like stiff feeling cards
Then make SURE to read the reviews and watch as many demo or review videos as you can of the cards being shuffled. Thicker cardstock tarot cards will generally have a louder, harsher, snap sound when you shuffle the cards. Due to their stiff rigid nature of the card. A softer sounding shuffle usually is an indicator of a worn in deck. My favorite stiff feeling tarot deck is The Illuminated Tarot: 53 Cards for Divination & Gameplay.
Shop around and consider the size and quality of the card stock in your tarot deck. This is really important when you are choosing your very first deck. There are a lot of options too.
What Physical Tactile Qualities Should My Tarot Cards Have?
Does the Tarot Deck Feel Good In Your Hands?
Do you want a small tiny travel deck that can fit in your bag?
Playing card size?
The classic size, a smidge bigger than playing cards?
Still feeling overwhelmed by all of the tarot deck choices out there?
Don’t let the abundance of choice and all of the questions to consider when buying your first tarot deck discourage you. If you’re still not sure which tarot deck to buy check out my go to tarot deck for beginners below while you mull over the inspirational, emotional, and physical tactile qualities you want your first tarot deck to have.
My Go To Tarot Deck For Beginners
What is the best beginner tarot deck? Consider your experience level, if you’re a beginner, I highly recommend that you try out a spirit animal deck (which is not a tarot deck). Spirit Animal decks are really easy to get into and more relatable.
This is because we can see the characteristics of the animals reflected back to us from the cards, through the personification that our cultures have put onto animals in our stories, folklore, fairy tales, and traditions. So it’s a very easy type of deck to identify with.
Think about it, you probably already know what a dog or wolf, a horse, and bird means. Their personifications are pretty universal in the human experience.
What is the most common tarot deck?
Alternatively if you’re a beginner and you really want to start from, well, the beginning, try out a more traditional deck, like the well-known Rider Tarot Deck. The Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck is widely referenced in tarot books, which means there’s a lot of information on this deck out there.
If you’re looking for something that has a wealth of information attached to it, try the Rider Tarot Deck. If you’re an intermediate tarot lover try the Marseille Tarot Deck. If you’re a more advanced or experienced tarot reader, you should try out a tarot deck that is more conceptual that has more complex meanings and symbolism like Thoth Tarot from the Golden Dawn.
When first starting out with tarot or when learning a new deck, it’s very helpful to have a companion book next to you for each reading if you don’t have a friend to guide you through the reading. The guidebooks are really nice to have to validate your interpretation of each card so you can learn each card in a meaningful way.
The Rider Deck has the same foundational structure that many other decks that came after it are built from. Learning to interpret these other decks comes faster since they are so similar to the Rider Deck, it’s almost like learning a new dialect instead of a whole new language, which is really helpful if you are a beginner.
The Rider Tarot Deck has many guidebooks and interpretation books that have different explanations on how to use this deck and what the card meanings are. This deck is also most commonly used in tarot reading instructional books across the board as image examples to convey the concepts of the different types of cards in the 78 tarot card structural system.
Which Tarot Deck Should I Buy?
Click on a deck below and check out some of my favorites!
Remember to choose your first tarot deck or a new tarot deck to add to your collection in a meaningful and intentional way that fosters: Inspiration, Emotion, & Feels Good In Your Hands.
Reach for a tarot deck, oracle deck, or spirit animal deck that you are drawn to and that you feel a connection or a pull to. Reach for a tarot deck with beautiful imagery that is in your taste. Reach for a tarot deck that you feel an intuitive connection to.
Reach for the tarot deck that you’re feeling on a given day. I have a collection of tarot decks and always reach for the ones that are calling to me that day. Sometimes there are specific reasons that lead me to choose a tarot deck, but largely I like to choose the one that calls to me.
What matters most is your unique connection to the cards.
So go forth and choose the tarot deck that speaks to you.
August carries with it themes of reaping & sharing, expressing your new found truths, turning inwards & thinking about your goals, and being grateful for what you have and don’t have. Keep these ideas and concepts in your mind when you create and track your monthly goals in your Bullet Journal.
August always reminds me of school, learning, planning, goal setting, the first harvest, and the much coveted stationary and school supplies. I LOVE writing and making art, so this time of year is when all of the supplies are fresh and new and on sale! I just can’t help myself when it comes to journaling supplies, I’m sure to find a new journal or pen that I love, that just has to come home with me. Here are some of my favorites!
August is also a time of taking stock of the year’s bounty thus far and beginning to prepare for the coming winter as the long summer days draw to a close while the nights lengthen. This is the time of year when we focus on preparation and reaping the first bounty of what we have sewn in our gardens and in our goal setting that we started back in January during the winter. Remember to gather and set your habits and patterns in stone to secure the progress on your goals as you head into the busy time of year, autumn, fall, and winter’s holiday season.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite bullet journal layouts, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own bujo pages.
Grab some iced lemonade (I’ve been into lemon ginger lately!) and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, and watercolors and get ready to make some beautiful spreads that are sure to feed your creativity and artist’s soul.
August Pink Black Eyed Susan Botanical Plan With Me | Moon Themed Bullet Journal Layouts & Spreads
Botanical Theme Bullet Journal Layout: pink, green and brown botanical illustrations, plus simple boho bullet journal doodles, moon phase stamps and gold gel pen accents.
EASY WATERCOLOR TUTORIAL // How to Paint Pink Black Eyed Susan Flowers
Botanical Theme Bullet Journal Layout: pink, green and brown botanical illustration complete with DIY Watercolor Tutorial.
Botanical Theme Bullet Journal Layout: tan and black minimalist wheat sigil that looks like a wheel or wax seal, plus simple boho bullet journal doodles.
Find Confidence & Connection By Living In Sync With The Seasons
Celebrate The Seasons with Journaling Prompts & Pages. This download will guide you as you reflect on The First Harvest of the year at the Summer's end. Download this FREE printable below!
August always reminds me of hot sticky nights and the return to school and learning. This year school is going to be a bit different for the world. With the pandemic still raging, schools are not reopening for in person learning full time. Most institutions are offering online learning only, or a blend of in person days and online learning splitting students into pods of no more that 15-20 students at a time. They then rotate the groups so that there are the least amount of people in a classroom at a given time.
This July monthly bullet journal cover page is inspired by the pink black eyed susan flowers that I am seeing everywhere lately! These are one of the variety of flowers that I want to make sure I have in my wildflower garden when I finally have a cabin the woods with wifi. Oh a girl can dream! The watercolor pink black eyed susan cover page is also inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest.
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for my tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread that you can see here! This is the card that I pulled for August, The Nine of Swords from the Wild Unknown Deck.
The Nine of Swords represents dark visions and anguish. The Nine of Swords reveals the deepest shadows of the self. You’ll be battling yourself, so turn to others for help. Remember: Find Joy, and Reach Out to others.
supplies for today’s monthly bullet journal plan with me:
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
This month’s spirituality journaling prompt: Get it HERE!
Do you struggle with negative thoughts that just won’t stop?
Ruminating thoughts has always been a tricky subject for me. There were times in the past that I thought I was crazy because I wasn’t able to get the negative thoughts in my head to stop. I thought I was losing my mind and was afraid to tell anyone because I was convinced that I would be sent away to a mental ward.
Through therapy I’ve discovered so many techniques to stop ruminating thoughts, banish negative intrusive thoughts, quell my anxiety and make me feel like a normal human again.
It’s normal to experience ruminating thoughts from time to time, especially when under stress. Along with C.B.T. Cognitive Behavior Therapy these are the techniques that have helped me the most that I think will help you too.
These little printable signs of positive affirmations and mantras come in a beautiful, easy to read, free printable, that you can cut out and post all over your home, mirrors, car, work station, desk, coffee bar, refrigerator and by your door. Download this FREE printable below!
Well 2020 is going to be an interesting birthday for me this year… No beaches, no cider houses, no friends, and no family. The world has changed, and locked down from the global pandemic COVID-19 this past Spring. Here in Michigan our lock down was extended to June 18th and began creeping in on my birthday at the end of the month.
As the shelter in place order in our state was lifted, we decided to cautiously go back out into the world after 100 days of self imposed quarantine. During these 100 days of late Winter and all of Spring, we only left our home and went into public for groceries for a grand total of 14 times. That is just insane to me. For 100 days its just been me, my husband, our two cats and endless video calls. Our step back into the world will be tucked away in our favorite secluded camping spot to celebrate my birthday.
Normally for my birthday I like to get dressed up in my favorite hippy earth mamma outfit of choice, swing by my favorite cider house to fill up a growler or two before heading off to a beautiful Michigan beach, all while celebrating with my favorite people that live close by. My birthday this year won’t change too much, I’ll still dress like a hippie, pick up my favorite cider (probably from the grocery store while sporting a face mask instead of direct from the cider house), and head off to our favorite primitive, and very secluded, camping spot.
With all of the craziness of the world right now, I wanted to reflect on the 34 Lessons That I’ve Learned About Change & Uncertainty.
34 Lessons I’ve Learned About Change & Uncertainty…
Lets get the hardest one to accept out of the way first shall we?
1. Change is going to happen whether you like it or not.
2. Change is good.
The Nature of Things
3. The world will go on without you, which is how it’s meant to be.
4. We are all born seeds and will sprout into being as we change and grow based on our upbringing, and how we re-parent ourselves.
This is good news. Its a blessing that we don’t have to stay the same as who we were raised to be. We all have the chance to change our circumstances and mold ourselves into who we WANT to be. As we leave our childhood homes and enter adulthood we all have the chance to re-parent ourselves and set the new habits and rules for our own home and lives. Adulthood is our chance to keep sprouting and growing in as many directions as the sun leads us to.
5. There is a rhythm to our lives that we see reflected in nature.
The human experience and the hero’s journey in film and literature is a story archetype that has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s an archetypical conceptual story that early mankind took from nature as he sought to understand his world. As early mankind struggled and overcame his obstacles he did along side the seasons and blossomed into being. In winter mankind and nature rested, in the spring they were revitalized with energy, in the summer they started to see the fruits of their labors, and in the fall they celebrated and harvested their accomplishments. As fall turned to winter, they both slowed and began to turn inward on the journey into the physical and metaphorical darkness.
6. We all ebb and flow like the tide, and wane and wax like the moon, and should take comfort in this cyclical change of our lives.
7. At any time of our life we can jump back and forth to change to and from different seasons in our life.
This was something that I learned this past year that struck me. Obviously we humans have vast capacities for change. But I had never thought of wanting to change to go backwards in the march of time. I felt as though I would march forward through time and never look back.
I unknowingly sought out to embody the story of a child in spring, a young man in summer, a grown man in fall, and his death in winter. This is an adage that we have all heard of, along with the riddle “What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?” the answer is mankind.
There is another set of archetypes for women specifically, the maiden, mother, and crone. Looking back at my life I felt as though I had left my maiden days behind me and that I was now in the childless motherhood phase of my life and that I would continue on in order, next stop the crone as time marched on.
Then it occurred to me that I knew women who were “supposed to be” in their crone years, but embodied the energy of the maiden. I looked back on this linear march through time, and consciously decided for myself that I was going to jump around a bit. I chose to embody the wisdom of the crone, long before my years, dip back into maidenhood as I celebrated myself, and to add a new phase, the warrior.
As I turn 34 this year, I feel as though I balance between the mother and warrior, both similar in energy, fiercely protecting and rearing her flock. I also feel most like the maiden when I take the time to care for myself mentally, physically, and every morning when I adorn myself as I get ready for the day. Most deliciously, I feel like I am stealing away future wisdom from myself as a crone when I read, research, and write to you. It is in sharing my story with you where I most feel like the crone.
You don’t have to follow the march of time, you have vast capacity for change multiple times in a given season of your life, down to the day, hours, and even to change minute by minute. Don’t feel like you can’t be the crone one day, the maiden the next, the warrior in the morning and the mother in the afternoon. Embody the energy of these archetypes when you need it most and look to the stories they hold and what wisdom and advice you can glean from all of them when ever you need it.
Having Faith In Yourself
8. Faith and doubt are weird things.
During times of change and uncertainty we can lose our faith in what we believe to be true and even lose faith in ourselves. As our faith fades away, doubt begins to bleed into the way we see and experience the world, which can lead us to become cynical, cold, and angry.
9. When you are feeling anxious you have to lean in and start embracing uncertainty.
Add this to the long list of life lessons that were hard for me to accept… I think that I was an anxious child, teen, young adult, and now “adult”… so… ALL of my life. I wish I would have learned how to harness my anxiety earlier in my life so I could embrace the magic of not knowing what is coming next.
10. Doubting yourself during times of change and uncertainty will do you absolutely no good.
Take it from a chronic worrier. If you keep doubting yourself and never give yourself a break or a chance to find the good in the situation and in yourself, then you will never find it. You will not be able to DO any good or SEE any good around you.
11. You have to lean into the uncertainty of the changes you want to make in your life.
I realized this past year that I had to change my mindset when it came to the huge change in my career and finding my dream job. For too long I was letting change and uncertainty rule my outlook and foster fear based thinking when I thought about my job and career. I had been trying to balance two vastly different ways to perform at work and it was tearing me apart. I felt like I was straddling two pools of water that were drifting further and further apart as I sank into both of them, unable to stand up straight and keep my head held high with confidence. I was drowning in both of them.
I had to lean into the uncertainty of the changes that I was on the cusp of making in my career. I knew that if I made these changes my mental health would finally become stronger again and I’d have the boss lady confidence that I needed and deserved in my career.
12. Change is stressful – “good stressful” and “bad stressful.”
13. Uncertainty is usually just “bad stressful.”
But when you give into uncertainty and surrender to it, you’ll find the stress melts away.
14. Making hard decisions goes hand in hand with change and uncertainty.
We will always be faced with a daunting decision during times of change and uncertainty because of the nature of the emotions that we feel during these times. Everything is magnified and feels heavier, harder, and insurmountable. But that is the nature of what change and uncertainty brings into our lives.
15. To get control you have to let go of the death grip you have on what you’re trying to control.
Once you let go of something that has been alluding your control and stressing you out, you will find that things will fall into place like it was planned all along. Let go and free yourself from the stress of having to keep your thumb on it. Just ignore it, then blissfully wake up a realize what you wanted has finally come to pass.
16. Trust is hard to lean into when we are faced with change and uncertainty, but it’s what we must do to move forward.
17. Within uncertainty, hides the cure you’re looking for.
Without uncertainty we humans wouldn’t be pressed to find answers to life’s problems, diseases, economic disasters, and cures for what ails us.
18. Mindfulness and stress plays a big part in your ability to stay calm during times of change and uncertainty.
The bad, stress ridden, days are the times I have to remind myself that mindfulness is the only way out for me. I also need to remind myself of the effects of meditation, what meditation does for me, and the power of meditation. These days that are anxiety ridden and full of the inability to focus are reminders for me to find ways to be mindful. Its hard to hang onto habits in these times. I have to keep telling myself about the benefits of daily meditation in my positive self talk instead of letting that negative voice get to me and tell me to give up on my dreams, goals and habits. If I can stay mindful, I know that I will squash out any self doubt or negative feelings I have having when change and uncertainty happen.
My husband I have have a marketing business in addition to Owls&Indigo, and I learned a lot in the last year about change and uncertainty in business and wanted to make sure I shared it with you.
19. Change isn’t always the best teacher.
20. But change can be a wonderful teacher.
21. Implementing change in times of economic uncertainty is flat out terrifying.
As lock down took hold in the Spring, we experienced a brief moment of panic as partners and business owners. All of our meetings went from in person to virtual and we were terrified of what that would mean for the relationships we had with our clients. We knew that our clients would need our help to change their business models to online services and products, but we weren’t sure if they were going to agree. We were terrified that the change during economic uncertainty was going to cost us our relationships with our clients.
22. Uncertainty breeds creativity and curiosity.
23. Uncertainty keeps you alert and on your toes.
24. Empaths have a hard time dealing with change in the workplace… it’s never fun…
You’d think that change would be exciting especially in work when things have a tendency to become monotonous. But it’s not when you run your own business let alone multiple businesses. Managing change in the workplace is hard for empathic emotional sponges like me. Everything was upsetting me because of the quick changing nature of what happened in the Spring and because of the emotions of others. I had to work hard to enforce my own boundaries and remind myself that those were not my emotions and I didn’t have to carry them for someone else. Their emotional burdens were their own.
25. The world thrives on change.
26. We can’t and shouldn’t know everything, which includes the future.
27. Moving a business during a pandemic is crippling.
Hell, just pivoting your business model during a global pandemic is maddening. All of our marketing clients were affected and forced to pivot and make their businesses work online. It wasn’t easy for them. Most of them were face to face businesses that had no online sales model. This maxed out all of their stress, affected their families, and plunged them into a mental state deep with despair. It was really hard for us to watch our clients go through this because they aren’t just clients, their our friends. Once the initial shock wore off they faced the fear, uncertainty, and change, with targeted, mindful thinking.
Meditation
28. Don’t stress about how to get into meditation when times are tough and you want to change your perspective.
Just begin. Keep sitting down everyday to build the habit. It’s as simple as that. Don’t let the stresses of change and uncertainty effect how you take care of yourself. Its never a good time to start anything, which is why you need to just jump in head first and keep going. Don’t stop. Keep showing up for yourself every day in whatever way you can.
29. A basic ten minute meditation can help you over come self doubt and handle change in a positive mindful way.
The best meditation techniques are the ones that you can keep a habit of. There are days when I can’t focus on a silent meditation, let alone a guided meditation. My go to meditation process on these days is a sitting meditation with my eyes open that engages my senses. I have found that this is the best way to learn meditation if you are looking for meditation techniques for anxiety. This meditation process is hands down one of the best mindfulness meditation techniques because it peels you away from your anxiety and doubts, and MAKES you focus and zero in on things outside of yourself. This removes you from your anxiety by giving you perspective through mindful thinking and mindfully focusing your attention.
Mindfulness
30. Focusing mindfulness for health will change the way your world works.
Once I stopped berating myself for not being mindful enough and failing every time I sat down to meditate or to try and stay in the moment with our friends and family, I felt freer. I had to pivot my mindset from short term thinking to long term thinking. Once I decided to dedicate my mindfulness habits to improving my health overall and in the long run, I began to experience a shift in mentality.
Honestly I didn’t notice it at first. But because it was now “baked” into my lifestyle, mindfulness just started working. I had to stop thinking about it for it to work. Which I know isn’t easy. The take away here is that you need to resign yourself to making life long lifestyle changes instead of setting short term changes. Once you decide to make mindfulness a part of your life, it “becomes” a part of your life.
31. Mindfulness psychology will help you understand why we make the choices we do during times of change and uncertainty.
This was a really really hard one for me to accept, but when I started going to therapy and discovering the mindfulness psychology tools synced up perfectly with how I wanted to see the world and how I wanted to be, a whole new world opened up to me. I asked my therapist for countless resources to help me set mindful boundaries and get to know myself better through C.B.T. (cognitive behavioral therapy).
These concepts led me down a path to discovering books on my inner child, shadow work, and Jung’s philosophy on the shadow. All of these topics, concepts and new ways of thinking and framing my experiences have led me to understand why I make the choices I do during times of change and uncertainty, which has enable me to help others, like you.
32. A dash here and there of mindful thinking and mindful meditation goes a long way.
There have been many days where I groan to myself and whine “does meditation help?” And I have to remind myself that I practice meditation techniques for anxiety and mindfulness meditation techniques because it works. These practices of mindful awareness help me and I think that they can help you stop doubting yourself too.
July is a special month for us because it’s my youngest brother’s birthday and time for the local county fair back home on the farm. July is also the month we had our big wedding party and renewed our vows with our family and friends. Our official wedding was a few years prior with only a very few people in attendance. It was a sweet, simple and short ceremony in the forest. It was essentially boiled down to the mayor officiating the wedding and saying “Do you? and Do you?” to us, but that is a story for another day.
This July monthly bullet journal cover page is inspired by the hydrangea wedding bouquet that I made myself for both wedding ceremonies. The watercolor hydrangea cutaway cover page is also inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest.
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for my tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread that you can see here! This is the card that I pulled for July, The Mother of Swords from the Wild Unknown Deck.
The Mother of Swords represents sharp, perspective. The mother of swords puts her sharp perceptions to use as a therapist, doctor or teacher. This card can sometimes represent going through a difficult time. During which, there is potential for her criticism to soar. This is something that I know that I need to work on. I am a helper and very perceptive, but I can be too sharp with my criticism at times and too “bitey”…. so I’ll be working on keeping that in check this month.
supplies for today’s monthly bullet journal plan with me:
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This month’s spirituality journaling prompt: Get it HERE!
July always reminds me of my FAVORITE flowers in the world, the daylily tiger lily. When I moved to Michigan, I found out that they call them ditch lilies here and they aren’t as prized as they are back home in Illinois where I grew up. I still love them though, and have added them to my balcony container garden anyway. July is a time of hot, sometimes sticky, summer days and nights. This is a time when we focus on our intentions and see them through no matter the cost.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite June bullet journal layouts, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own bujo pages.
Grab some iced sun tea and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, and watercolors and get ready to make some beautiful spreads that are sure to feed your creativity and artist’s soul.
July BUJO Themes & Ideas:
Food BUJO Themes:
cherries
fried chicken
fish fries
cookouts
picnics
sundae’s
slurpees
gummy worms
dessert dirt cups with chocolate pudding, gummy worms, oreos and a sprig of mint
Botanical Theme: simple watercolor orange tiger lilies & daylilies. Back on the farm I had little orange tiger lily daylilies that grew right outside my bedroom window. Daylily tiger lilies are actually one of my favorite flowers. This bujo theme also features flower cutout dutch doors and a line art self portrait.
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
