learning

Dreamwork: Dream Interpretation

In last week’s post we discussed creative triggers that can spark lucidity in dreams.  This week I would like to discuss dream interpretation.  I will not be listing a dictionary of what all symbols could possibly mean.  There are several resources online where you can find these meanings.

Interpreting your dreams is fascinating work and gives an interesting perspective on your subconscious mind. Even if you remember only one thing from your dream last night, look up the symbol meaning. I have listed my two frequented resources for dream meanings at the end of the post. Write the interpretation down in a notebook or your phone.  Many people suggest keeping a dream journal, to be honest, I very rarely journal, but I do have a place to write down those really weird dreams before they’re forgotten.

When first interpreting your dreams do not over analyze.  The number one factor in interpreting a dream is how you felt in the dream, or immediately upon waking.  The feeling and atmosphere dictate more clearly how the dream symbols should be interpreted than the symbols themselves.  If you dream that you’re in the dark, but you are not afraid then this is good indication that this dream is about learning and integrating unknown aspects of yourself, bringing them into awareness for learning and growth. Another could dream that they are in the dark and terribly afraid – same dream symbol – however, they are in denial or have fears about these unknown aspects of themselves.  Same dream, different meanings.

For the next week, pick out 1-3 things you remember from your dream and note their interpretation. Include the following information: how you felt in dream/upon waking, what resonates from the dream symbol interpretation, what doesn’t resonate from the meaning, how you feel this applies to your waking existence.

If you don’t remember any dream symbols, then take note of how you felt, or how you think you felt in the dream. E.g., happy, sad, scared, weird, etc. For further clarification, dream symbols are anything from a person, place, thing, colour, animal, plant, ocean… You name it and there is a dream meaning for it!

Brightest Blessings,
Phoenix Rose
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Connect on social media:
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IG – echoside_phoenix_rose
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Dream Interpretation Resources:
–www.dreammoods.com – they also provide a great app, completely free, you can log your dream symbols, they even offer a voice recorder so you don’t have to type first thing.  Just try and understand your morning ramblings later in the day, hah! 🙂

-The Complete Dream Dictionary: A Practical Guide to Interpreting Dreams, Pamela Ball, Castle Publishing 2000

Tarot Talks: Stop Comparing and Start Gaining Clarity

We all search for clarity in various ways. While the motivations may be different for the individual, it all comes from a place of comparisons – wanting what others’ have that we don’t, believing the grass is greener on the other side, or even comparing our current reality to what we think our life “should” look like. This place of comparing emphasizes our insecurities and doubts. It makes our frustration signal rise and the downward spiral begins. We become clouded and need to clear the way to make more effective decisions in our lives.

Tarot is a tool that helps move from a place of comparing to a place of clarity

Tarot is a tool to help gain clarity into a confusing or frustrating situation. The place of comparing isn’t necessarily a negative thing, as humans we need to be able to compare, make sound judgments that could literally mean life or death. We tend to take this comparing to other levels: jealousy, envy, self-doubting, insecurities, and feelings of worthlessness. This was not what our filters of comparison was designed for.
When we are angry or frustrated it often means that we are not in balance. We see, hear, think something that does not line up with our quality, or ideal, existence. Uncomfortable feelings often urge us to act upon “fixing” what may be wrong. This is the process of acting out of anger and winding up with results that actually made things worse for us.  

Tarot can assist in seeing things from different angles and gaining a new perspective, it can help interrupt our negative thought and behavior patterns and suggest new thoughts and behaviours that can assist in getting more effective results.

We have not been taught to listen to our intuition much less trust it. Tarot is a direct line of communication to that inner voice, Higher Self, that sometimes seems to scream at us, though we may be too wrapped up in our own BS to even notice. Thoughts appear, we have beliefs on those thoughts, we have stories we tell ourselves – which may or may not be true – we have all these things circling our minds and it gets muddled up with the voice of our Higher Self which is trying to guide us on our life’s purpose, trying to guide us to succeed and attain our goals. Our mind gets all muddled up with thoughts that we don’t know whether we are legitimately supposed to do something or not. We can no longer tell if it’s our intuition or is it just self-doubt.
A dear Soul Sister of mine said, “we wouldn’t need tarot if we trusted ourselves and didn’t let insecurities hinder us.” One of the first things that you learn in tarot is to trust your intuition. Above all else, no matter what the interpretation books say, go with your intuition and gut feeling on what you see within the cards.  

Tarotists don’t have all the answers, and we are not full of clarity and enlightenment, we are humans and often seek other readers to help us gain clarity in situations.  

Sometimes we cannot see the forest for the trees, and that is okay as it’s a natural part of life, learning, and personal growth. It is normal as humans to need things mirrored back to us to get deeper understandings, and this includes understandings about our own Inner Being. When we compare to others and focus on our have-nots, or to the should-haves it will cause only frustration for ourselves. When we start using tools such as, but not limited to, tarot we can start self-reflecting on our thoughts and behaviours and begin creating a quality life for ourselves. We can start tending our own garden, plant the seeds for the things we want to see grow and weed out the things we do not want. 
Brightest Blessings,
Phoenix Rose
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Connect on social media:
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IG – echoside_phoenix_rose
Pinterest – phoenixrosecm
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Tarot Talk: Importance of Interviewing Your Decks

Have you ever been really excited about a new tarot or oracle deck that you just received, but then you start working with it and you just don’t seem to mesh well with it even though you really want to?  This has happened to me on a couple occasions until I learned what a deck interview was.

It’s important to learn how to best work with your decks.

A deck interview is a spread that can help you determine the “personality” of your cards.  Instead of answering typical questions about you and your situation, you are asking the tarot cards questions about themselves.

The point of doing this is to help you to work with the deck in a more meaningful way.  I learned the importance of this when I first started using Healing with the Angels oracle cards by Doreen Virtue.  I was new to working with angel decks and I thought I would use this to study the archangels.  For some reason all my readings and spreads were way off in left field, and I ended up feeling progressively disconnected from this deck the more I used it.  I came across the below “New Deck Interview,” laid the spread and in the “what are your limits as a deck?” position the “Study” card came up.  Once I stopped trying to use it for study purposes I was able to better open and receive its messages.

“Never just remember how to do something, understand how it works”
-Adam Dachis (read more here)

Here is a break down on my latest deck interview. The Seekers Oracle by Barbara Ford and Alysa Bartha.  I usually note the first thought/feeling that comes to mind when I see the cards, I also check the included book for any keywords that feel helpful in determining what I will get out of working with this deck.

(I switched position of 2nd and 3rd cards from original spread)
New Deck Interview
…5……6…
……4……
…2……3…
……1…….
1. Tell me more about yourself; What is your most important characteristic? 
“Power of Three”
Power of 3 transcends time and space. Wisdom, protection, wish fulfillment. 3 card draws work best.
2. What are your strengths as a deck?
“Ring of Fire”
Allows heaviness of life to give you strength. Fine tune your focus. Mindfulness.
3. What are your limits as a deck?
“Tree of Life”
Unmoving. Unchallenging.
4. What do you bring to the table; What are you here to teach me?
“The Architect”
Connection. All view points are equal. Balance. Do not compare yourself with others.
5. How can I best learn and collaborate with you?
“The Seer”
Lifting the veil. Embracing gift of second sight. Connect to own inner wisdom.
6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
“Sacred Scarab”
Protection, rebirth, regeneration. Balance. Potential unfolding like the lotus. Be a leader. Have healthy boundaries.
In summary, this deck will work best with 3-card spreads – one card may not have enough info and more than three cards may become too convoluted.  This is an empowering deck that can help when I need some positivity.  Because it’s limitations for me are “unmoving, unchallenging” this may not be the deck to use when I need some flat out kick-me-in-the-ass messages, because it will not waiver from a balanced and uplifting perspective.  Though, this deck will be great to use the imagery for meditation and reflection, and can assist in embracing my gifts.
Now, what if I was to use this deck to try and get some kick-me-in-the-ass messages?  I wouldn’t be receiving that message at all.  I might say, “oh, this deck is too fluffy in it’s messages.  I need something to tell me flat out what I’m doing wrong, not something that’s only seems to give trite advice.”  Since I now know how best to work with this deck I shouldn’t have any issues in receiving its messages. 
Every deck will work differently with every person.  You may have the same deck and it could be real hard on you, and not positive and uplifting at all.  Doesn’t mean that the deck is bad or that you aren’t a good reader, it just means that you need to make sure you are using the tools appropriately.
Do you have any new deck spreads that you use? Comment below!  Would love to hear your experiences with interviewing your decks.
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Please contact me if you have any questions, or topic suggestions for future Tarot Talks posts.

Brightest Blessings,
Phoenix Rose
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FB – http://www.facebook.com/phoenixrosereadings
Twitter – @PhoenixRoseCM
IG – echoside_phoenix_rose
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Shop – EchoSideCreations.etsy.com
Blog – EchoSidePhoenix.blogspot.ca
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Template of New Deck Interview:

****** 5 ****** 6 ******
********** 4 **********
****** 3 ****** 2 ******
********** 1 **********

1. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?
2. What are your strengths as a deck?
3. What are your limits as a deck?
4. What do you bring to the table — what are you here to teach me?
5. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you?
6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?

I have seen a few different spreads, but I like this one the best. Sourced from FireRaven listed on Tarot Forum.
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If you liked the featured deck, check out their shop on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/494758639/the-seekers-oracle-card-deck-barbara