👋🏽Hello Friends!👋🏽

Recently, I went to this shop in a town near mine on the way back home from my bird-watching and photography session at a local state park near me. 

This shop is your typical crystal and metaphysical shop; however, I really wanted to see all the local artist products that were being sold there. 

As my father and I recently got a shipment of crystals, I wasn't too interested in those. 

As I was greeted when I walked in, I was asked if I had been there before, and my reply was "no." The staff gave me a rundown of the shop and excitedly mentioned that there are five rooms of goodies. They also mentioned that there is someone available to do tarot or rune readings. For those who don't know me, I have an interest in oracle and tarot cards and have a few decks myself. I am not completely knowledgeable about reading; I typically use my oracle decks to give myself more positivity and encouragement in my life since my intention is strictly for my own encouragement for the week. 

I decided, "Hey, why not try it?" since, surprisingly, I've never had a reading done before. So I was able to get a quick reading done. I was able to choose a tarot deck, and that called to me. Of course, it was a shiny deck. 

The lady shuffled the deck, and we chatted for a little while she did this and spread the desk out. She told me to pick five cards and hand them to her. Which I did. 

When she laid it out, it was as shown in the photo above. 

From bottom to top (tarots only) 

Queen of Swords (bottom) 

King of Wands (middle) 

Page of Wands (left) 

9 of swords (right) 

The Emperor (top) 

The Star (in the corner)

She started to explain the cards and her energy from them. 

🔮To summarize... 

I am very thoughtful of my truth (Queen of Swords), but I have the heart and mind to lead (king & emperor). I have all the knowledge that I need to lead and the plans I have for myself to succeed. I am also willing to learn more to help myself achieve the plans I want to achieve (page). 

However, she states that she doesn't do prediction readings, and the last card is something to keep in mind as it might be what holds someone back. 

The 9 of swords card. This meant the struggle of my thoughts (negative) keeping me from going towards my goals. 

The star card represents hope for the future.

The oracle card for "The Initiation" means a rite of passage; crossing the threshold (as stated on the card).

The rune means Raidho, meaning a journey towards achieving goals. 🔮

📚Learn more about tarot cards and their meanings: Tarot Card Meanings List - 78 Cards By Suit, Element, and Zodiac – Labyrinthos

Learn more about runes and their meanings: The Meanings of the Runes - Norse Mythology for Smart People (norse-mythology.org)📚

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I know some of you might think this is bullsh*t, but I think it's fascinating to see how the process works. I also became comforted with the idea of the universe sending messages and the comfort of tarot or oracle readings a year ago, when I went through a big traumatic moment. That is when I started getting more into crystals, moon phase journaling, and oracle/tarot decks. 

It was another way that I could hold some control in my life where I never felt that I had control. 

Because taking my issues and releasing them into the universe helped ease my mind, and that's all I could ever ask for. 

Tarot, oracles, crystals, and others in that realm are intention-based. When I use my crystals, intention candles, and oracles, it is to encourage myself and give myself peace of mind.

Just food for thought! Aka, don't knock it until you try it!

Until next time, friends! 💝

-Jade

👋🏽Hello Friends!👋🏽

Most people that I know personally in my life know that I'm not too fond of driving, and they wonder why. I'm not sure when it started, but I just hated to drive and tried never to make extra trips if I didn't need to.

I always assumed it was when I moved two hours away with my ex and had to travel that two-hour drive on my own to visit family and friends who lived around my hometown.

Another thing that I thought about was the dissociation that I experience when I drive.

🧠What is dissociation?

To summarize, it's just a disconnect from everything in life.

For me, it's an extreme case of zoning out when I'm put in "Autopilot" or am starting to get triggered or in an overwhelming emotional situation.

This is a common symptom that individuals with BPD, PTSD, and dissociation disorders have.

Click here to learn more about dissociation in BPD: Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder (verywellmind.com) 🧠

This can be alarming and carry a weird feeling, so naturally, I just want to avoid that. I tried to combat the dissociation by listening to a DnD podcast, and it works most of the time.

Most people don't exactly know the reasons why I don't like driving (or my ideas of why I don't like driving) unless they ask and I give them these reasons.

I hope you learned something new about BPD!

Until next time, friends!💝

-Jade

👋🏽Hello Friends👋🏽

This is where my plant mom journey began (9 days ago from the day I posted this) 

Within 9 days; I ordered another succulent kit from Zinkstown and bought a lavender, peppermint, and a jade bonsai plant. 

I mean, I remember wanting a big family at one point in time😂 

I saw this magical succulent-making kit on Instagram in an ad. 

I went searching on the profile but was hesitant because I've never been a nature and outdoorsy gal, even with my Taurus nature 😝. 

I liked to look at nature from the windows and take pictures, but I never went on hikes or gardened myself. I'm a very homebody person, and all my hobbies don't help this. 

I decided that I was going to try something new. This succulent plant reminded me of the plant my therapist gave me (Swiss Cheese Steve), but I gave it to my parents to take care of. My mother insisted that I take care of it since it's supposed to be some "therapeutic technique." 

Well. My parents took care of Steve for me. 

I think what caught my eye on this was the idea of making a wish and setting an intention while potting. And of course, decorating, since I'm a crafty and creative gal. 

When I got my pink box, I got super excited and rushed upstairs to start the process. I have to say it was so much fun, and I enjoyed it so much. Being able to just relax and just pot the succulent in its pot, felt just peaceful. It's hard to describe. 

I very much recommend trying out a succulent-making class, buying a succulent or terrarium-making kit, or getting made at a succulent bar if you have the opportunity! It doesn't have to be the Zinkstown one, and this is no way of endorsing or advertising for them; it's just the experience that started! 

If you ever try to make a beautiful succulent plant or terrarium, please share! 

Until next time, friends!💝

‐Jade 

👋🏽Hello friends!👋🏽

This weekend was mostly a good one. I spent most of my Saturday shopping but cleaned up a bit. 

I spent most of my Sunday organizing, cleaning, and slightly decluttering. 

A little insight on how my room is. I have unfortunately developed a bad habit of impulse spending since I was young. As much as I don't want to be a materialist, I am. My room is completely filled with stuff. 

Some days, I wish I was a minimalist, but simple just doesn't work well with who I am. 

My parents would always say that I had too much stuff. They're not wrong, but everything has its own organized space. I may have a lot of stuff, but I am very strict about keeping my living space clean and organized. 

There are days with my depression that it's hard to get up and clean, but I usually get more stressed out if my living areas (my room and office at work) are not tidy and organized. 

Something I've discovered in the last year is that I absolutely hate white walls. I feel empty on a daily basis, but when I'm in my living space and it's empty, it makes me feel like I'm in a deep hole that I can't climb out of. My negative thoughts start to become overwhelming. Being busy is what keeps me sane, and having lots of stuff and decorations around helps keep my mind busy. After all, a clean and organized room creates so much peace for me. And a piece of advice that I either read or was told (I'm not too sure of which one it was) was to always tidy up your desk before leaving your office. The idea was that the next day, coming into your office clean is like saying today is a fresh clean start. I really liked that, so I adopted that.

I was finally able to clean up after my week (which consisted of the last week of my grad school term, work, and dealing with a lot of emotional trauma). I was able to spend extra time tidying up and decluttering a little bit. 

I still have more decluttering to do, but I guess my motivation for spring cleaning came early this year (unlike spring, apparently).

But let's just say that I'm going to be pretty content with how organized my life feels at this moment in time. I know this won't last forever and will probably be gone by tomorrow, but I'm going to enjoy it. 

Until next time, friends!💝

-Jade

👋🏽Hello Friends!👋🏽

After dealing with a lot of emotional damage from my most recent breakups (July 2023 and January 2024), I've been trying to find ways to just be okay. The breakup in January 2024 affected me the most. I'm still trying to piece myself back together.

I've decided that I want to try something new. Something that I wanted to try from my last "relationship" was animal (nature) photography. In this relationship, he mentioned gardening months ago, and since spring is almost here, I've decided why not?

What really pushed me was deciding to purchase a magical succulent box kit from Zinkstown in New Mexico, which I found in an ad on my Instagram.

When I received the box, I was super excited. I'll make another post about it, so check that out!

This is what started my new plant obsession. Soon, I wanted to get more and more plants.

Within the week, I got a Lavender plant named Lav, a peppermint plant named Pep, and a Jade Bonsai plant named Corazon. I also decided to take a lucky bamboo plant (that we already have) to my office at work. I named this plant; Bam, and he is now sitting on the windowsill outside the office doors with a colleague's succulent plant.

I am looking to buy more natural pollinator plants for my yard when it gets a little warmer. But until then, I have my group of plant children!

I'm hoping this will help aid my healing process and help me... grow hehe

Until next time, friends!💝

-Jade