In honor of the full moon in Leo, I decided to do a reading for myself focusing on some of the energies associated with this cycle.   Since I have been thinking about expressing my creativity in different areas, I thought that might be a fun topic to explore.  So using my absolutely stunning Förhäxa Tarot,I asked the following questions.

What will inspire me?  9 of Earth – I can be inspired by the natural world around me.  Despite the fact that I have limited ability to go beyond the borders of my own property that doesn’t mean I can’t explore the beauty on this property.  Practically every day I’m visited by squirrels, various birds, ducks, occasionally a swan comes by, and my heron sometimes drops in.  They all offer an amazing window into the natural world that surrounds this little piece of land and I need to take advantage of it.  Nature journaling might be the perfect way to get me started and inspire me to try new techniques or revisit old techniques.

What will challenge me?  Queen of Water Rx – I think the Queen of Water is showing me that what will challenge me is what always challenges me, exploring and embracing my inner emotions.  Cup issues are a realm I prefer to avoid.  The truth is, I think the only thing holding me together right now is the fact that I don’t give in to becoming overly emotional.  However, I’m realizing that ignoring or avoiding this part of my psyche also limits me because it’s difficult to find ways to sustain yourself emotionally if you avoid diving into that pool.  The truth is ignoring or avoiding my emotions doesn’t mean they don’t exist and are impacting the situation.  I can see this becoming a challenge when it comes to expressing my creativity because I do believe that one’s creativity is innately tied to one’s emotional state.  So this ought to be fun.

What practical steps can I take?  6 of Air – I think this reinforces the idea that although I cannot physically change my environment right now, I can change my mindset. This message has come up for me several times in the past few months. The only limits on me are ones I impose upon myself. Even if I’m limited in where I can go and what I can do in the physical realm, that doesn’t stop me from using my mind to learn new things; explore new ideas. I need to keep the fact uppermost in my mind.

So, clearly the cards are telling me that my creativity is only limited by my own internal restrictions. I don’t need to leave this property in order to be creative, I only think I do. I’ve recently become enamored with the idea of plein air painting, painting outdoors. Nothing says that needs to be any further than 5′ outside the front door. Implicit in these cards is a message of “just do it”. It has come up for me numerous times as a reminder that much of what limits me is my own internally imposed restrictions. I have to move beyond that to avoid stifling my creativity.