Tarot Shadow Work- Recovery

Recovery- (re·cov·er·y)
1. The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering.
2. A return to a normal condition.
3. Something gained or restored in recovering.
4 The act of obtaining usable substances from unusable sources.

The next step in The Star of Discovery is all about the process of recovery. We can never try to force recovery from past hurts or rush the process, it takes actively using our power of choice in order for the healing to begin and continue. I know that in a crowded place such as a mall or busy grocery store, I could very easily get wound up and anxious but it is by conscious choice to breathe deeply (and not react with irritability or feel overwhelmed )that I can change the pattern from dread of such encounters to it being no big deal.

Now, the first exercise is to look back to the cards I drew in the first part and select one that frightens or least understood. For me the card would have to be The World which deals with my anxieties and awkward feelings. This is the card that screams for attention from me at this time, The World will now become the basis of the next two through six questions.

I am going to set The World aside and shuffle the rest of the Major Arcana cards (including the ones used in the first Star of Discovery) and concentrate on the lost parts of myself I need to recover. What are the areas in which conflict was not resolved or what unexpressed emotions I may still be holding on to? As I lay the next few cards out into the same star pattern, I will turn them over one by one and pay very close attention to how the spread looks and my overall "gut" reaction. I will be looking to see I am frightened by the spread... or maybe relieved or even pleased with the cards I drew.

Next week I will be going into the second position-The Past... and how The World has affected that area of my life.