Happy Earth Day, you gorgeous critters! Let’s talk grounding.
Grounding is so necessary for healthy living, especially if you’re an artist, dreamer, intuitive, or energy worker of any kind. If you frequently have your head in the clouds, or you frequently process others’ energies, you have an extra need to frequently connect back to the Earth and to your own body and energy.
As an empathic intuitive, a scatterbrained artist in more media than I can keep track of, and a space-cadette dreamer, this is something I struggle with and have to remind myself to do.
Grounding isn’t just about feeling a connection to the Earth and to the physical world. It’s also about staying present for the routine, the mundane, and the everyday. It’s about firmly rooting yourself in the here and now, for the sake of your health, your sanity, and your ability to make things happen in the here and now!
There are many many ways to ground yourself. Some of my favorites are to go stand outside with bare feet for ten minutes, to eat something solid and delicious, and to play with plain garden stones.
Grounding is so necessary for healthy living, especially if you’re an artist, dreamer, intuitive, or energy worker of any kind. If you frequently have your head in the clouds, or you frequently process others’ energies, you have an extra need to frequently connect back to the Earth and to your own body and energy.
As an empathic intuitive, a scatterbrained artist in more media than I can keep track of, and a space-cadette dreamer, this is something I struggle with and have to remind myself to do.
Grounding isn’t just about feeling a connection to the Earth and to the physical world. It’s also about staying present for the routine, the mundane, and the everyday. It’s about firmly rooting yourself in the here and now, for the sake of your health, your sanity, and your ability to make things happen in the here and now!
There are many many ways to ground yourself. Some of my favorites are to go stand outside with bare feet for ten minutes, to eat something solid and delicious, and to play with plain garden stones.
Garden stones, meet fancy stones.
Of course, those of us with metaphysical inclinations can also turn to our metaphysical tools, like meditations, crystals, and (oh hooray!) tarot cards, to help with our grounding routines. To that end, I’ve come up with a really quick and simple Earth Day Grounding Spread.
No number says stability, Earth, and grounding like the number four, so I wanted my new spread to be a four-card draw. I haven’t been feeling as grounded as I’d like to feel lately, so there’s a contrast between my actual state and my preferred state. I decided to pull two crosses, one for where I’m at now, and one for where I want to be, in a more grounded, connected head space.
The first two cards’ interaction gives me a strong sense of my core issues in this context. The last two cards tell me what energies I can focus on and move toward to get to the state I’m after.
I had to use the Wild Unknown Tarot. It’s hands down the most nature-based deck I own, and the gorgeous artwork is perfect for this theme.
I pulled the Six of Coins crossed by the Hanged Man for where I’m at now, and the Mother of Pentacles crossed by the Eight of Pentacles for where I want to be. As usual, the cards were right on point.
Before we get into detailed meanings, note that this reading came out 75% Pentacles. Pentacles are the suit of Earth and all things material. Their main themes center around work, creation, resources (including money), and - you guessed it - grounding.
Next, note that the compositions in both cards on the left are dominated by that gorgeous, inky, sketchy darkness, and punctuated by flashes of bright red. The compositions on the right are much more even, comprised mostly of delicate, meditative line work in greyscale mid-tones. So right away, “where I’m at” has a moody, spooky, jarring look and feel, while “where I’d rather be” has a calmer, restive look and feel.
Observations and patterns like this tell me when the cards are really working with me.
Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty details. That first cross is telling me what’s keeping me from feeling grounded right now.
At the base, we have the Six of Pentacles, a card about material resources, specifically their distribution and flow. Benefactors, patrons and employers, positive and negative, are big players within the 6 of Pents. I’ve been worrying about money all week, and I’ve spent hours cycling through thoughts of old work situations where I was both underpaid and caught in toxic, uneven power dynamics. In trying to figure out how to break that pattern, I’ve caught myself up not only in anxieties, but in the past.
Crossing this is The Hanged Man, a card I adore. The Hanged Man carries themes of enlightenment, introspection, and sacrifice. Like the Fool, he’s a bit of a fringe character, perhaps seeming crazy or even frightening to outsiders, but holding secret wisdom. This card speaks of suspensions and pause moments within our lives. Notably, the Hanged Man, in this case our Hanged Bat, is only tethered to the Earth by a single foot on a tree branch. His head and body hang in the air - the exact opposite of grounding.
I know this card is referencing my feelings of being “up in the air” during a strange pause moment in my life. Yes, I have projects to work on, but my life doesn’t feel like it’s moving for me right now. I’m absolutely in a period of stasis and reflection, and it feeds my feelings of floating off in space without direction. As with the Six of Pentacles, this period of stasis revolves around matters of career and resources.
I’m already halfway there. Analyzing what prevents me from feeling grounded tells me to acknowledge those thoughts and to give myself a break from them.
Now let’s look at the second cross, and what energies I can strengthen to reach my desired state.
The Mother of Pentacles is one of the single most grounded characters in the tarot. She’s completely connected to herself and to her environment. This deer mama is gentle and nurturing. She has a sense of grace and stays in the present. She’s comfortable, fertile/creative, and has everything she needs. It’s a great reminder that, as I strive for the things I want in my life, I can and should still acknowledge with gratitude that I already have what I most need. (Food, bed, cats, check!).
The Eight of Pentacles is all about labors of love and master craftsmanship. Ironically, I loathe spiders, but I have very positive associations with webs, weaving, and the Eight of Pentacles. This card reminds us that it’s not the end product or the thought of reward, but the love of process and the work itself that should motivate us. The web isn’t just how the spider hunts; it’s the spider’s home. The spider has a relentless instinct to weave, whether it catches prey or not. As long as we keep on weaving from a place of instinct and love, we can’t help but catch what we need to sustain us.
Together, these cards suggest that I channel my gentle, compassionate, calm side, and that I focus on nurturing the work I love for the sake of the work and the craft itself. These should bring me right back down to Earth.
I think they will. I reckon I’ll set aside my business planning for a day or two and focus on some hand-crafts, some illustration, and playing outside with my wild-child pixie niece. I love it when the cards tell me to take a break from stressful things! (And now you know why I’m addicted . . .)
Feel free to use this spread yourself! Let me know how it works out for you if you give it a shot. It’s free for personal use. (No commercial use without asking, please and thank you.) If you decide to blog your own results, just please link back.
Have a wonderful Earth Day, and remember: the Earth is Mama, and when Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Do something nice for the planet today. Appreciate some nature! Clean up some litter! Recycle a thing!
Go forth and frolic!
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