On Beauty, Confidence and Self-Esteem

Beauty isn't about perfection. Nobody is perfect. Embrace your flaws; they are likeable and beautiful.

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” 

Confucius

Marilyn Monroe was never a size 0 - she was a size 16

How to get the perfect bikini body?

Just wear a bikini.

Mrs. Brosnan on the beach,
photo via thebodylogic.wordpress.com

What to wear to look slimmer?
Just wear whatever the heck you want. 

Lady at Large Etsy Shop

“There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.” 

Edgar Allan Poe

Venus at a Mirror, Peter Paul Rubens ca. 1615

“A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty 

but an obsession about female obedience.” 

Naomi Wolf

Stop obeying the media. 

All they want is for you to feel crap about yourself, so they can have more power over you.

How to look younger?

Just stay young in your heart, love life 
and follow your passions.

And wear whatever the heck you want.

Affirmation: I am grateful for the privilege to grow old. 

I know that many people aren't so lucky.

How to get luscious lips?

You don't need botox. No need to paint them with chemicals.

Just dab with a little olive oil (natural lip gloss!) 
to make them shine. 

And kiss more often.

What makes you more beautiful?

Tarot of Quotes

LOVE!

Especially the love, kindness and care you give to yourself.

Lovingly accepting and embracing your flaws, your past, your dreams, and radiating that love on to others.

Do something every day that is loving 
and nurturing towards your body.

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone." 

Sam Levenson

In the olden days, there was no Photoshop to create an illusion of beauty. 

My mum in the early 1950s in Berlin,
still traumatised from World War II

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. 
These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. 
Beautiful people do not just happen.” 

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

The Empress, Bonefire Tarot (c) Gabrielle West

“You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, 

and irresistible for the rest of your life.” 

Coco Chanel

Warmest wishes,

Christiane 

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Cosmic Spirit Tarot and Wellness

A Message from the Ten of Swords

"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." 

J. K. Rowling

Affirmation: 

Now that I have nothing more to lose, I am free to start again. 

⭐For more inspiring quotes and affirmations for each card, check out The Cosmic Faery Tarot Guidebook⭐

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Feeling Alive

Magical Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle

© Doreen Virtue 2003

I've been trapped in the house for the last five days by the snow. My car was hopelessly stuck in the nearby cul-de-sac; it's one of those useless cars with front-wheel drive, so it just didn't want to budge.

Today I decided I had to get out to go to the gym and do some grocery shopping. Needless to say, the car was stubbornly staying put on the snowy/icy surface of the road.

I had to get a shovel and dig it out. Gasp!

After a week of feeling cosy and comfy at home, I threw myself at the mercy of the adverse UK weather conditions. I even contemplated digging my car out - I've never done that before in my life!

To cut a long story short, I started off half-heartedly and wanted to give up after five minutes.

But a little voice told me not to give up, and I kept on digging and trying to move the car, got hot and sweaty along the way, but also more determined not to give up. By then, I was digging for victory.

And in the process I started to feel alive.

I realised that during the last five days I was just a little too comfy in my little bubble at home.

I needed a moment like this to wake up and feel my whole body move and work and sweat. Hell, I was on the way to the gym, and this dig was my warm-up!

I felt alive, because I had to overcome a challenge I've never had to deal with before. In the past, it would be  a job I'd pass on to the man in my life, but not today.

It took me half and hour and two Jehova's Witnesses (bless them!), who gave me the final push and set my car free.

It felt like waking up from a slumber, and I'm now thinking that we all need something every day that will make us feel alive.

No need for it to be anything out of this world; just an ordinary task or situation, which is experienced mindfully and consciously. 

The card above from Doreen Virtue's Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle has come up as a message regarding my experience today - a lesson learned, and it makes sense:

I was nearly giving up and going back into the house, but I decided not to quit. So many people give up on what they want to achieve without realising that with a little more effort they were just about to make it.

Sometimes you just need to hang in there a bit longer and keep going.

What has made you feel alive today? 

If you feel you need to get out of apathy, routine or even out of your comfort zone, why not ask the Tarot:

What can I do today to make me feel alive? 

Use the cards to encourage you to live life to the full. And please do let me know how it works for you. I'd be thrilled to hear from you.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

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Inspiration - Healing Yourself

“It is precisely because we resist the darkness in ourselves that we miss the depths of the loveliness, beauty, brilliance, creativity, and joy that lie at our core.” - Thomas Moore, Dark Nights of the Soul

The deepest wounds we all carry are locked in our subconscious. Deep memories and subtle impressions; unfinished experiences, rooted in the past.

The pain from those wounds comes to revisit, to block and paralyse us in the moment called now. We all know it comes without warning: "Why am I feeling this way... I didn't mean to do that... I don't know what made me say that."

Healing does not mean finding and treating every single inner scar which sends its message to haunt us.

It means

going even deeper

past those wounds

beyond those distant memories and recordings of unfinished business

to the core of our self

to the heart of our spirit

where we find the light and warmth of our own core qualities of love and peace.

They are eternally present within us; they are what we need to heal all our inner wounds. That's why this kind of deep healing is called spirituality and not therapy. (thoughtfortoday.org)

"The wound is the place where the light enters you." - Rumi

In your darkest moment, when the pain seems to become unbearable..embrace it and nurture your determination to rise into the light again like a phoenix from the ashes.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

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Inspirational Messages From The World

Tarot of Quotes

Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I needed to be." 

Douglas Adams

"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." 

William Ross Wallace.

"You are not in this world to live up to other people’s expectations, nor should you feel the world must live up to yours." 

Frederic Perl

Affirmation: I am content.

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Inspiration: Belief

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. 

Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. 

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. 

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. 

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. 

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

Buddha


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Inspiration: Mastering Your Feelings

It can be hard to control feelings, especially the negative ones. Feelings come and go; most often they are evoked by external factors, as reactions to events, situations and people.

Yet it is possible (and many people are unaware or find it difficult) to allow yourself to choose your feelings, embracing them in order to make them work for you more constructively.

If we CHOOSE our feelings when they come along (even the negative ones), then we can learn to master them, especially when we also realise that we are creating our own feelings - we are responsible for them - and nothing or nobody else.

I have received the following wonderful guidance by relax7.com in my inbox today and would like to share it with you. I hope it will inspire you to look at your feelings from a new perspective and help you on your healing journey, if you are plagued by negative emotions that are holding you back.

Choose Feelings

If your days seem filled with unwanted negative feelings, there is only one cure. When they come, choose them. Don't ask why, don't wonder how, don't fight them and never put yourself down for having them. 

But most of all never blame someone else for how you feel. If you do, it means you are still fast asleep and your choice is to be a victim. 

When the feelings come, even big disturbing emotional feelings say, "I choose this feeling" and know it comes because of something you have thought or done in the past, perhaps a certain belief that you have learned or an attachment that is threatened. 

Choice does not mean you want the feelings, but it does mean you are taking responsibility for them. And that is the beginning of self mastery. It is the first step to the healing and resolving of your emotions. But only the first step. 

Try this today and then ask yourself what the next step might be. If you are really interested to know, you will come to know!

Christiane

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Learn Tarot to discover yourself. Make a start with my eBook.

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A Message from the Five of Wands

Many fights are not worth fighting. 

Struggling to gain attention from others is often a wasted effort.

You cannot please everyone, but that's okay. 

Let go of anyone with negative attitude towards you. You don't need these people in your precious life.

And when you let go of control, anger and the need to conquer, you will find that life becomes much easier.



Affirmation: I stand my ground and meet conflict with poise and dignity.

For more inspiring quotes and affirmations for each card, treat yourself to my ebook Empowering Messages from the Tarot

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

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A Message from The Magician

"Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

⭐For more inspiring quotes and affirmations for each card, check out The Cosmic Faery Tarot Guidebook⭐

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A Message from The Fool

"You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way." 

- Dr. Seuss

⭐For more inspiring quotes and affirmations for each card, check out the Cosmic Faery Guidebook⭐

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A Message from the Two of Wands

"What can you do today to move closer to where you want to be?"

- Leonie Dawson 

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Dream, Explore, Discover

“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” -   John Hope Franklin 

In my latest post on my website "Are you Investing In Yourself?" I talk about the importance of experiencing learning with people rather than just relying on books and your own company. 

My inspirational message for this weekend is to simply dream, explore and discover by engaging and sharing with others. Expand your mind and widen your horizon. Get unstuck. New possibilities are found beyond your comfort zone. Take that leap of faith.

I'm doing it! What about you?  

Warmest wishes,

Christiane 

Transform your life this year: 

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Learn Tarot - A magickal, inspirational tool for life

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Introducing: The Tarot of Quotes

A couple of weeks ago I started creating my own Tarot deck based on my life, the places I have visited and how I see the world around me. 

It's a personal project using my own photography and inspirational quotes from famous (and not so famous) people, that have influenced me over the years.

My aim is to complete the Major Arcana by Summer 2012 and make it available as a download. 

So far I have already created five Major Arcana cards, and above you can see my Magician.

Watch this space for more images coming soon!

Have a great weekend,

Christiane 



⭐Update December 2024: All images of the Tarot of Quotes can be viewed and downloaded from my Ko-fi Gallery⭐

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The Power of Faith

I was pondering Faith the other day. Not faith in a particular religion, but faith in yourself, the people you depend on, nature, the universe, the Wheel of Life and whatever higher force you believe in.

Nurturing your faith is letting go of control, which quite often can be a heavy burden lifted off one's shoulders. We cannot control everything around us. When I let go of control and just have faith that all will be well despite uncertainties, I feel a sense of relief and lightness coming over me.

When something doesn't quite work out the way I want it to be, then faith helps me to acknowledge its purpose and value, which I will discover at some point.

Mind you, faith goes hand in hand with doubt, but it's also accompanied by trust. Nurturing your faith and trust will weaken doubts and fears, which many people suffer from today, and I think that's why the above quote spoke to me when I read it.

Perhaps its message will inspire you too to relinquish control and just flow with faith not only to alleviate life's burdens but also have the courage to pursue your path with conviction and optimism.

Christiane 

Transform your life this year: 

Tarot Readings - Insightful guidance when you need it 

Learn Tarot - A magickal, inspirational tool for life

Tarot eBooks - Great value, innovative Tarot study material

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Inspirational Message for the Weekend

If you feel you need to do something new, something different...sometimes we just need to have a little encouragement to bring excitement and adventure back into our lives. Perhaps this message is just for you...follow the bird...;)

Feel free to share this image (unaltered) on the web. Have a great weekend!

Christiane 

Love Message for the Weekend

Isn't that woolly couple adorable? I captured them a few years ago whilst on a walk in the Yorkshire Dales; a perfect picture of mutual affection and companionship. You are welcome to share this image (unaltered) on the web. Enjoy your weekend!

Christiane

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