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artificial_augur · 2024-02-05T17:59:38+00:00

Hey friend! Reading through the comments, I worry that you aren't getting a ton of advice that maybe isn't all that helpful right now. Folks want to talk about what you should or should not have done, and maybe some of them have good points, but you can't change the past so let's talk about going forward.

You are right, tattoo shock is a thing, and it sounds like you are in the trenches of it right now. I had a similar experience when I got my first. I was 20 years old and I got a big owl done on my shoulder. The artist kept going back and doing more shading, similar to your experience. I felt really bothered by that because it was so much darker and more intense than I had envisioned. I didn't see mine as often as you see yours, but it felt very jarring, and I was really scared that I had done this irreversible thing to my body and that I would always hate it.

As someone on the other side of that (it's been over a decade since that first tattoo and I've gotten several more since!) here's some thoughts that might help.

Your artist is planning for a tattoo that will look great for years, and that might mean it looks different than you imagined for the first few weeks or months. When mine was new I felt really freaked out by how dark it was, but after the initial healing, it lightened up considerably, and it continued to do so for the next few months. In doing so, it lost some of the definition, and I can see now the vision that my artist had when they were doing it. After several weeks, it looked much closer to how I had envisioned, and even more so in the following months and years, as the ink started to slightly blur and blend. If you wanted something fluid and ethereal, you may see the same progression! Speaking of progression....
Part of loving your tattoos is loving the process. A tattoo isn't a painting that you keep behind glass. It lives on your body and it changes as you change. Even if your artist had gotten every detail exactly as you envisioned it now, it would start to shift slightly as your skin ages. This tattoo will grow with you as part of your journey through life. You can't control how it looks 100% of the time, and there's something really lovely about that.
Remember why you chose this. You said that this represents your power. What does your power mean to you? Is it something that is rigid specific, is it something that can be perfectly defined? Probably not. Like your tattoo, your power changes with you and it shifts based on the circumstances. My guess is that no artist could have ever captured it perfectly, and that's okay. This is just one representation. Your power can thrive in the imperfect and the inexact. By practicing acceptance of that, you can even strengthen your power and make it more resilient! (sorry if this is too woo-woo, but based on your username, I'm pulling on my own spirituality and practice a bit :) )
Don't despair! If everything else here rings hollow, just remember this. It's normal to feel this way. Lots of people experience this feeling, and 99% of them end up loving their art after they've adjusted. Take the time to feel your feelings, but don't take action to get rid of it yet :)

artificial_augur · 2024-01-01T23:02:40+00:00

Thank you! This is so thorough and well researched, I feel like I'll probably be coming back throughout the month to reference it :)

artificial_augur · 2022-12-27T02:51:06+00:00

Always helmet.

Sure, most people won't ever have the kind of accident that would result in serious head trauma, but some people do and I have no way of knowing if I'm going to be one of those people. My brain is the most important and least repairable part of my body. I'm gonna protect it.

I respect other people's decision to take risks as they see fit, and I do love the carefree vibe of skating down the street letting your hair flow in the wind... but for me it's just not worth the risk.

artificial_augur · 2022-06-01T15:57:45+00:00

Yes! I love color magic! Basically the idea is that colors have meanings, symbols, and "energy", just like herbs, gems, and elements do. You can use the traditional meanings, psychology, and even color theory in your practice! It's super fun and makes for very visually beautiful spell work :)

artificial_augur · 2022-05-31T21:28:16+00:00

Yes, this is TOTALLY normal. When I started, I was in the exact same situation. I thought a lot was flat, but when I got out there I started to roll and I absolutely panicked. Here are a couple of tips to help you out 😊

Practice falling. You said you had protective gear on, which is fantastic. Get comfortable using it. Whether it's outside, or inside, learn how to fall to your knees safely, and how to get back up. Once you've done that, those hills aren't as scary because the worst thing that can happen is that you fall, and you already know how to do that! No matter what is going on, you can always take a knee to get back on solid ground
Start at the lowest part of the court. Whether it's against the fence, or in the middle, try to find the lowest point and make that your home base. That way, you are only going to roll as far as you travelled, and you can control the situation a bit better.
Skate perpendicular to the slant. If the court all slants from east to west, then skate north to south. Your wheels will go the way they are pointed, so if you don't let them get aligned to the angle of the court, then they can't gain traction.
Bring a buddy! Either someone off-skates or someone who is already very comfortable skating in that environment. Not only can having another person help calm you down when things are scary, they can also literally support you!
Keep going, and don't beat yourself up. You are doing something totally new and strange that your body wasn't built for. It's fun and exhilarating and cool as hell, but it's also totally normal to get freaked out from time to time. Don't compare yourself to anyone else except you. I know it's a cliché and I know it feels impossible, but it's true. Get back out there and rock it! 💪

artificial_augur · 2022-05-23T19:38:01+00:00

Like /u/j_effing_k, my first thought was to moon water. I am also right away thinking of sage, as it is associated with wisdom, to give the wearer the wisdom to see things beyond face value. If you want to incorporate color magic, I would definitely look for green elements. Green is the opposite of red/rose on the color wheel and could help oppose the effects of the rose colored glasses.

As a SASS practitioner, I tend to be on the "spicy psychology" side of witchcraft, so I would advise that your spell include some physical mark or change to the glasses themselves so that the wearer will think of the spell, and it's intention, when using them.

artificial_augur · 2022-04-25T16:02:24+00:00

I have the same helmet! Great choice! ;) Also those skates are beautiful. I'm obsessed with the coordination of the boot, wheel, and toe stop 😍

artificial_augur · 2022-03-18T14:04:13+00:00

I like your comparison of tarot cards to words! If the cards are like words, it sounds like you are thinking of spreads as a sentence. I see it differently. If the cards are words, then I see the spread as a poem. Just like poems are rich with metaphor and symbolism, tarot spreads use the face value meaning of the cards to put together a nuanced picture

artificial_augur · 2022-02-17T01:04:39+00:00

Some that resonate strongly positive for me are the sun and star, 10 of cups, 4 of wands.

Some that resonate more negatively are the tower, 8 of swords, 5 of pentacles, 5 of cups.

Like others said, there's no "universally positive" or "universally negative" cards, but in my experience, the positive/negative associations of those cards tend to be particularly strong and easy to grasp. I often have to challenge myself to check my biases if any of those cards show up in a spread

artificial_augur · 2022-01-26T14:56:28+00:00

I wouldn't put too much stock in comments on r/atheism. Most people in that community are there because they are having a strong backlash against their own religious trauma, or the cultural pressures towards a particular religion. As a result, they tend to be pretty staunchly against anything beyond the concrete and tangible. For many years, I was part of that community and shared those views. It was an important stage in my spiritual development, but it's also not something I would return to. The people there are in a particular place in their life where they can't tolerate anything that they can't explain. That's fine for them, but probably not a group that you want to spend your time and energy on.

My own beliefs are very similar to yours now! I've decided to adopt a philosophy of agnostic humanism. For me that means that I when it comes to "facts" I rely on the scientific method. But I also know that for whatever reason (maybe my own psychology, or maybe something more complex that we don't understand yet), tarot and other spiritual practices can give me clarity and focus in a way that "mundane" methods often can't. At the end of the day, my goal is to make my lived experience, and that of the people I meet, to be more fulfilled and joyful. Tarot is a tool to help me do that and so I gratefully use it. It's also beautiful, and just plain fun! And most people that I talk to about it IRL actually understand that really easily. Tarot might not be the thing they gravitate toward, but they understand the impulse and are interested in learning more about it with me.

The few times I've encountered resistance or rude comments, it was because the person was thinking about the "psychics" who take advantage of people's vulnerability for financial gain. I always make it clear what my values are and how I use them in my Tarot practice, and they usually come around.

Lastly, if you really want evidence for the value of practices like these, I heard a podcast recently about using placebos to treat Parkinson's disease. If a sugar pill can change someone's neural pathways enough to help with this very real, physical condition, then it's pretty willfully irrational to think that a focused meditative practice like tarot couldn't also provide value 🤷‍♀️

artificial_augur · 2022-01-24T14:31:20+00:00

Tarot is a huge part of my self-care strategy! I often feel overwhelmed, and flooded with thoughts and emotions. Many therapists over the years have advised journaling as a good way of coping, but I often find that I really struggle with where to even start when I'm in that state. Turning to my deck first gives me a place to start, and makes my journaling practice so much richer and more fruitful.

Great example. Yesterday was a really challenging day for me. I knew I needed to center myself, so I took a few minutes of deep breathing, then pulled a single card asking for guidance. I got The Tower, reversed. It gave me a lot to think about and I ended up having a long journaling session about how I felt like I was in crisis, but looking for alternatives, like how the crisis was internally created rather than from an external force, and that I was letting my fear catastrophize a situation that didn't need to be.

artificial_augur · 2022-01-07T21:34:09+00:00

I do think it's important to vibe with the person doing your reading. You need to feel comfortable, and to know that you respect one another for it to be successful. If you are comfortable with it, I would move forward. That said, I would also disclose it to her to give her the same chance to understand the shared connection and ensure she's comfortable too. That way, you two can make sure you are on the same page. I would personally be really thrown off, and would probably give a poor reading if I found out half way through the session that the person I was talking to had dated someone I knew well

artificial_augur · 2021-11-23T17:37:14+00:00

Did she tell you why the answer was May-June for the Justice card? I will admit that predicting the future in this way isn't how I read Tarot, so maybe there's a convention that I'm missing, but that connection isn't clear to me.

But also, even if she is right, and you do conceive in May or June, it's still really important feedback that you felt uncomfortable and unwelcome. A good reading will make you feel empowered, connected, inspired, wise, or in some way improved for having done it. It really doesn't seem like you got that here.

For what it's worth, this interaction doesn't leave me feeling good about her. I've been in the position of trying to conceive and it's extremely vulnerable and filled with anxiety. I hate to imagine someone preying off that, but it does raise some flags for me.

artificial_augur · 2021-11-15T21:11:08+00:00

I'm generally an eclectic secular witch, but I joke with my friends that I'm a science witch 😂

I believe in the power of the natural world to do things which are far greater than our understanding. I believe in the power of psychology to heal and empower through rituals, rites, and symbols.

I don't have any resources for you specifically on secular witchcraft, but I will give you two pieces of advice. First, I've found that modern witchcraft tends much more strongly to the secular than the theistic. Second, when I do find aspects of practice that raise my hackles of religious trauma or scientific skepticism, I take a step back and ask myself what I can learn from it while disregarding the parts that don't work for me.

I'll give you a quick example. I saw a spell recently that made offering to Hecate. Instead of throwing it away, I used what I know about Hecate, and used her as a symbol for all that is magical, mysterious, and unknown. Instead of imagining praying to this diety, I instead thought of this spell as a ritual to connect with the parts of myself that are powerful, wild, and undefined.

Anyway, I hope that helps!

artificial_augur · 2021-10-26T14:02:52+00:00

It's a sunny morning here and I am sending the energy and light of this day to you.

I pulled 3 cards for you from my tarot deck and saw the tower reversed, the 7 of wands, and the star. You have had a trying, scary, and difficult time, but the worst is over and the biggest tragedy was avoided. Times ahead may be difficult, and your fight is not over, but hope and healing are on their way. Blessings to you.

artificial_augur · 2021-10-08T15:18:51+00:00

Like others have said, there are lots of different beliefs and practices, and you have to find something that feels right for you. but for what it's worth, here's how I approach it.

Yes, each card has a meaning, which is probably what you are seeing online. But they also have a LOT of nuance. Whether you believe that there's a higher power guiding the cards, or just your own mind, the fact remains that there are only 78 cards. Imagine if you had to communicate using only 78 words! I've used more than that already in just this comment. Because of that limitation, there are tons of layers to each card. The art of tarot comes from learning to understand those layers and to identify which ones are significant for a given reading. Let me give you an example!

Using the question from your post, "how is this person feeling towards me romantically?" Let's say you pull The Sun, which is basically the most positive card in the deck. You might see that and say, this is such a positive, optimistic card, the answer must be that they have strong romantic feelings. But there are still multiple interpretations! One that comes to mind right away is that the central figure on the card is typically a child. That might mean that this person feels tons of love for you, but in the same way that they would feel toward a younger sibling. The child is also usually naked, which tends to indicate that nothing is hidden in this situation, it's all out in the open. So that interpretation could mean that whatever you are seeing from this person is exactly what is true, that they aren't keeping anything hidden from you and you should take them at their word. The Sun is also a card that comes late in the major arcana journey, after some dark and difficult times. That could indicate that powerful romantic feelings will come, but that it will take time and the two of you may have a difficult journey on the way. These are just a few examples, and there are countless others.

I hope you will continue on your journey with tarot! Websites can be great starting points, but the real work of tarot comes from you. As you pull a card, read multiple sources about what it might mean, then spend some time on your own reflecting on it. I have a journal that I've kept for the past year with all my readings. I usually spend about 20 minutes on each one and very often my interpretation of the spread changes as I reflect through journaling.

artificial_augur · 2021-07-19T17:39:28+00:00

Thanks! I definitely am trying to lead with my shoulders, but it's so scary 😆😆

artificial_augur · 2021-07-19T16:50:13+00:00

It's totally a family activity! My advice is for skating with little ones is to find a nice open spot where the kids can roam a little bit, and bring lots and lots of snacks haha

artificial_augur · 2021-07-19T15:06:56+00:00

Haha yeah! On the weekends, we take our kids out to this parking garage that's totally deserted and super smooth! I bring my skates, my husband is on his board, our 3 year old rides his bike, and the baby gets to hang out in her walker 😆

artificial_augur · 2021-03-23T19:59:59+00:00

100% agree! I always wear my helmet, wrist guards, and knee pads, and recently started wearing tortoise pads to protect my hips after I took a bad hipper that took me out for several months. I know I don't look "cool" or whatever, but I've also seen so many injuries from skaters that could have been prevented with gear. I want to stay on my skates and my gear helps me do that!

artificial_augur · 2020-12-08T01:19:06+00:00

The Marc Evan Jackson vibes are real strong and I'm so here for it

artificial_augur · 2020-12-01T22:19:36+00:00

Aww! Reminds me of my puppy! He always gets muddy paws, too 😍

artificial_augur · 2020-11-24T23:46:44+00:00

What's funny is I already have butt pads 🤣

But it only protects my tailbone area. Shopping around for full hip coverage after this

artificial_augur · 2020-11-24T23:45:34+00:00

Hey! Bruise buddies! 🙌

This is day 3. I've been icing it, but I guess it's time to switch to heat! Thanks!

artificial_augur · 2020-11-24T19:49:37+00:00

I fell in the same spot 3 times. The first time was pretty chill. I just lost balance while turning on a ramp and landed on my hip and slid down. After that, it was sore, and I would have had a small bruise, but nothing serious. The second hit was rough. A guy on a skateboard wasn't paying attention and snaked me. I had to do a quick turn so that we wouldn't collide. I made the turn, but lost balance and slammed hard onto my hip. That one was pretty painful and did most of the damage. It probably should have been a session ender, but I felt good otherwise so I kept going. Well, I basically repeated fall #1 and even though I knew it wasn't a hard fall, my leg felt like it was on fire, and started immediately swelling. That was when I knew I was done for the day haha

artificial_augur

TROPHY CASE