“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
– Maya Angelou
Hello Wanderer! Ciao Viaggiatore! I write this Letter in between making travel plans and packing lists. I will be taking my first international trip, and will be accompanied by my beloved wife and our Wildling. I am especially looking forward to visiting a historical museum while the Wildling wants to go on a different kind of adventure. I am not a fan of super busy, touristy places like that, but sometimes bravery is facing the things that scare us, especially for the sake of people we love. There is a lot going on in the world right now that is frightening. People who are brave enough to speak out against the atrocities are disappearing and being taken from their families. Hate crimes have drastically risen in the last few months alone, while overall crime is also on the rise.
But that’s not what I want to focus on today. Or rather any day. I’m not saying to ignore the bad news, but set it aside for a few moments and let yourself have hope each day so that it doesn’t wear you down. Hope is the fuel of love. Love is the giver of hope. It is a cycle, and one worth falling into. So where does that lead our wanderings today? I was thinking about my tarot practice over the last couple of months because I’ve been unable to shuffle the cards and it definitely affected my daily habits… I have a question for you. Do you have a routine tarot practice? Or really any spiritual or reflective practice? How good are you at keeping up with it? Does keeping up with it make you feel good? Do you find joy in it?
Okay, so I had a bunch of questions I just threw at you right away. I’ve fallen out of the habit of doing daily draws… and for a while, even before the wrist injury, I wasn’t even doing them every day. Just drawing a bunch of pairs for the week ahead and only reflecting on the pair for the day. If you’ve followed my other socials, you will have seen a drastic drop in how often I share my tarot pulls, and even less often I type out commentary on them. I love tarot. I love the reflective nature of it. I love the semi-predictive nature of it. I love that it is mutable and free form at the same time that it is timeless and contained. It is like standing in the eye of a storm, a calm that lets you see the big picture. I sometimes feel like that during ritual too!
But ever since the end of February I have not been consistent with my journals, my cards, or my books. It has left me feeling like a leaf in the wind… blown all about with no sense of grounding. This is me, trying to decide if doing daily draws is useful for me at this juncture. I spent a lot of time last year making tarot spreads for specific questions and themes last year, many offered free to subscribers with a handful for paying subscribers. And it was fun for a while.
That’s the rub of it. Everything can be fun for a while. When I was first learning to read the cards, it was always a four card spread. Then I started seeing Carolyn’s three card spreads popping up on my IG (@DuffTarot). I started trying three cards with more of a storytelling vibe. It was a lovely revelation, but still time gets in the way. Two card draws became the norm for my daily draws. I like the poetry of being able to sum up a lot of information into a tidy little chunk of text. Nearly like poetry (which I used to write at as an angsty teen). Though, meaning is made by the reader, is it not?
So what's a slightly depressed card slinger to do? I have been doing this Walk with The Fool and diving deeper into each individual major, but it's not really a practice is it? There was a time in my practice where I'd do new and full moon four card spreads, asking for focus for that phase, but that doesn't feel right. At this point I'm open to suggestions!
A few clickies to keep my brain happy
One of my favorite singer/songwriter’s is interviewed about his song lyrics
Grief Tarot Zine - My pay-what-you can tarot spread collection.
StoryGraph - where I do the majority of my bookish charting and tracking.
For you, dear Wanderer, I want to offer this slice of life magpie casting for the months of April & May. The general question being “what can we focus our energies on for the upcoming months?” I hadn’t realized that so many pieces wanted to speak out! I know it looks like a jumbled mess, but honestly I seriously think all bone/magpie castings look like a giant mess. Making meaning out of chaos, aren’t we all?!
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