Woodland Wisdom

a seasonal check in with myself

Lately, I’ve been stuck in a loop: feeling like I’m failing my body, falling short of all the progress I want to be making, and caught in the spiral of self-sabotage. It’s been hard to shake that voice in my head that calls me lazy, fat, or not enough. So I turned to a beautiful birthday gift from my bestie, my Woodland Wardens deck and pulled a seasonal spread - not looking for answers, but maybe a little perspective.

It offered me more than that. It offered compassion.

Here’s what I pulled, and what I took from it:

🌸 Previous Season – Reversed Marten & Foxglove 🌸
Mischief & Opportunity (in shadow)

You may have been shrinking from your own potential - afraid to take up space, to be seen, to risk being “too much.”

That mischievous spark in you? It’s still there, just tucked away. Don’t mistake stillness or self-protection for failure - you were surviving, and that counts.

You’ve not failed. You paused. And even pauses have power.

“You’ve not failed. You paused. And even pauses have power.”

🌸
⸻

🌻 Current Season – Reversed Snail & Huckleberry 🌻
Trust in the Invisible (in shadow)

Right now you might feel stuck, soft around the edges, out of sync with your body. But this moment isn’t meant to be loud.

This is the deep, quiet work of learning to trust yourself again. Like the snail, you’re allowed to move slowly, to retreat, to listen inward.

Your pace is not your worth.

Healing can be invisible. Trust that it’s happening anyway.

“Your pace is not your worth.”

🌻
⸻

🍂 Next Season : Goat & Willow 🍂
Overcoming Obstacles

Your strength is returning - not in punishment, but in persistence. You’ll be climbing again soon. Not perfectly, not all at once, but with steadiness.

You’re learning how to bend without breaking, to meet resistance and not crumple. This is your grit season.

You will rise again, not by force, but by resilience.

“You will rise again, not by force, but by resilience.”

🍂
⸻

❄️ Following Season : Deer & Oat ❄️
Healing & Nourishment

After the climb comes softness. This season will offer balm and restoration. You’ll feel more at home in your body—less at war with it.

There’s a sweetness waiting for you: in movement, in food, in rest, in breath.

You’ll remember that you don’t have to earn kindness. You are kindness.

Healing is coming. And it will feel like home.

“Healing is coming. And it will feel like home.”

❄️
⸻

🌀 Summary 🌀

You’re not broken. You’re not lazy. You’re in a cycle - and each part has a purpose:

✨ Hesitation → 🌙 Trust → 🔥 Strength → 🌾 Soothing.

Let yourself be where you are.

The turning of the seasons is slow, but it’s inevitable.

🌀

the bigger message

This spread felt like a love letter from my future self. Not pushing me to do more, but inviting me to be more gentle with where I am. Each season had something to teach me:

– Hesitation was protection.
– Stillness is rebuilding trust.
– Strength is returning.
– Healing is inevitable.

If you’ve been in a cycle of shame or stuck-ness, maybe this is your reminder too: You’re not behind. You’re just in a season.

And seasons always turn.

💛