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Brain Beasties Oracle Reading Ideas II

2/25/2020

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Ready for more ideas on how to use the Brain Beasties Oracle? Check out last week’s ideas and get ready to dive in.

As a reminder: it’s important to remember about oracle decks (and, in my opinion, all divination techniques) is that we can’t tell the future. They’re used to help with introspection and discovering hidden parts of ourselves, and sometimes for communicating with spirits. Though the Brain Beastie deck was definitely designed for the goal of self-knowledge and self-improvement. 


So this week, I want to give you some ideas on using the deck in the more well-known format of card spreads. Yes, you can use oracle cards in spreads just like you can use tarot. This deck may not be the best for all types of card spreads, but you can definitely get creative!

Three spreads I particularly like for the Brain Beasties deck:
  • This Healing Insights spread from The Traveling Witch
    • Card #1: What energy brought me to my current situation?
    • Card #2: Who do I need to be to move through my current situation?
    • Card #3: Who in my life can help me out of this situation?
    • Card #4: Who do I need to release to move out of this situation?

  • This self-care spread from Pinterest:
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  • This spread to cope with burnout and fatigue from Emerald Lotus Divination.

And, of course, you can totally make up your own spreads to suit your needs. Autostraddle, of all places, has a great post on how to create your own tarot spreads, which applies to oracle cards, too.

Do you have any favorite oracle card spreads? Share them in the comments!

- Nonir

P.s. Brain Beastie Oracle Deck preorders are open right now! Just click here to order your deck. <3
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Brain Beastie Oracle Deck Reading Ideas!

2/17/2020

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As promised in last week’s explanation of the Brain Beasties Oracle, today’s post is some ideas about how to use the deck (don’t forget preorders are open now!).

One thing that’s important to remember about oracle decks (and, in my opinion, all divination techniques) is that we can’t tell the future. They’re used to help with introspection and discovering hidden parts of ourselves, and sometimes for communicating with spirits. Though the Brain Beastie deck was definitely designed for the goal of self-knowledge and self-improvement.

So, without further ado: 

  • Pull a card every day and meditate or journal about it. Think about how the Brain Beastie may appear in your day and what you can do to tackle it. Or try to plan something inspired by the Brain Bestie to do throughout the day for a boost. 
 
  • When you’re feeling some kind of way but aren’t totally sure what, pick a card. Mull it over and see if it sparks any clarity or gives you something more to chew on. Could a Beastie be stalking your thoughts? Do you need to spend some time with that Bestie? Can they work together to help you figure out what’s going on in your mind? 
 
  • Struggling with a particular situation? Pull a card (or a couple) to give some insight into things you might want to consider. Maybe perfectionism is getting in the way of getting something done or you’re stuck in a rut without realizing it. Maybe listening to some music or getting outside might help. Sometimes we get in our own way and having something/someone else point out the obvious is exactly what we need. 
 
  • Divide the deck into Beasties and Besties and draw one of each. Spend some time journaling or making a list of how the Bestie can help you cope with the Beastie. It might not always be obvious, so get creative. And remember, this is about how you can help yourself--no one else ever has to know or provide unwanted input. 
 
  • Sit down with a trusted friend, loved one, or therapist and draw a card or two together. Discuss how this card affects your life and/or your relationships, and brainstorm on ways to either improve or continue growing through the situation. Sometimes other people come up with things we need to hear but don’t even think about. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started. I’ve got a few more suggestions headed your way next week, too!

- Nonir

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Meet the Beasties!

2/10/2020

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If you’ve been following my social media, you may have noticed a new product I’m talking about: The Brain Beasties Oracle Deck. For those of you who don’t: it’s an oracle deck I made to help deal with mental issues. The general idea is to provide insight into the workings of your brain in any given moment and some advice or thought prompts to get your mind moving.
But I can’t claim all the credit for the idea. It came from a lot of digging and loads of other inspiration. So I wanted to just give a quick shout-out to the folks who (whether they knew it or not) helped inspire me to make this thing a reality.

Olivia from Leafing Out Gardening (and my co-writer for the Aces High, Jokers Wild series) originally gave me the idea to make an oracle deck late last year. She has some of her own decks based on the language of flowers and the Ogham that are incredible, if you’re the collecting type.

The Little Brain Wolf comics by Sam Davies of Stutterhug and the beautiful illustrations from The Latest Kate were also big influences. I find that giving shapes and names to emotions and internal patterns can really help us identify them and figure out ways to change or improve. Both Stutterhug and the Latest Kate are really good at that--so I kind of stole the idea for my Brain Beasties deck.
Each card features either a Brain Bestie or Beastie with a cute little character to represent it. (I also find that cute helps ease some of the bad feelings associated with some of these.) Besties are positive emotions and habits that can help us grow, while Beasties are the more negative emotions and habits that can hinder us. There are 21 of each, meaning 42 cards in the entire deck (shout out to the nerds here that I just couldn’t resist).

So that’s the short version of where the idea of the Brain Beasties deck came from. Check back next week for some ideas on how to use the deck to work on introspection and improving your mental health.
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And drop by the Wandering Jotun shop on Valentine’s Day to treat yourself to the preorders of the deck. After all, no one said Valentine’s Day can’t also be about self-love.

- Nonir 
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Perfectionism Dragons

2/3/2020

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Raise your hand if you’re a perfectionist.

[Imagine my hand waving high in the air]

Perfectionism is one of the things I’ve been struggling with for as long as I can remember. I’ve had countless therapy sessions that devolved into “fuck, that’s my perfectionism again!” It’s held me back from doing a lot and contributes more than I’d like to admit to my imposter syndrome and general anxiety.

But my therapist had me try something recently that’s really helped--and I want to share it with you.

(Keep in mind that I’m not a mental health professional myself, and your mileage may vary. I just found it particularly useful for me. This exercise is also included in the Punch Your Bad Brains in the Face free ebook!)

Here it is:
  1. Think about some character or symbol that embodies your perfectionism for you. For example, my perfectionism is Smaug from The Hobbit. He sits atop his horde, ready to attack when I reach for the Arkenstone of my creativity or self-worth. 
  2. Imagine what you feel when your perfectionism is kicking your butt, and give your character an action that goes with it. When Smaug is breathing fire at me (aka when my perfectionism tries to tell me I’ll never be good enough), I feel vulnerable, scared, lost, self-loathing, etc. It’s really not a great feeling. At all. 
  3. Come up with what you’d say or do in the face of that perfectionism attack. I try to logic the angry dragon down and remind him that I am good enough and mistakes are okay. 
  4. Imagine the worst-case scenario, if your perfectionism doesn’t listen to you. Smaug puffs himself up and towers over me, making me feel very, very small and weak and ready to give in. 
  5. Find a way to soothe your perfectionism--and make sure it’s gentle and kind. No cages (that was my first reaction, honestly), no fights, no death. Just a way to get the dragon to back off and calm down. I took a page from Hagrid’s book and chose playing music to get Smaug to settle down--either imagining myself singing to him, or listening to some of my favorite music. 
  6. Take the time to soothe yourself. I represent my inner child with a baby Totoro (yes, pop culture has a big place in my therapy), and my perfectionism hits a bunch of things in my past that upsets baby Totoro. So once Smaug is settled again, I take some time to snuggle Totoro and remind him that everything’s okay and the dragon isn’t going to eat us. Sometimes that’s literally cuddling a stuffed animal; sometimes it’s indulging in a treat; sometimes it’s taking a nap. 
And that’s it! Rinse and repeat as necessary. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt Smaug start to lift his head and was able to start soothing him ASAP, which helped me avoid a shame spiral.

So now you know how I’m dealing with my perfectionism--how are you dealing with yours? Tell me in the comments!

- Nonir

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    Nonir is a queer pagan nerd and writes about various things in those realms.


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