Deck: Holly Simple Tarot
I invented a tarot spread recently that I've found very helpful, and since y'all seemed interested based on the engagement on my recent post, I figured I'd share it here!
I've been ridiculously busy lately and have been having a bit of trouble juggling all the various aspects of being a human existing in the world. This spread is meant to help break all that chaos down into manageable parts and tell you how to approach each one.
The spread is also customizable based on whatever your current situation is. It's been slightly different every time I've done it. Here's how to do it:
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make a list of all the main things you're trying to balance right now. I've done this spread with as many as 8 things before, but for simplicity's sake, I've just chosen 3 for the example for this post: work, socializing, and relaxation.
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for the first item on the list, draw a card. This represents the situation right now as it pertains to that particular aspect of your life. Then draw another card and place it below the first card. This is how to approach this particular thing going forward.
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do this for each item on the list. Once you're done, you should have 2 rows of cards: the top representing things as they are now, and the bottom representing how to approach each of these things from now on.
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finally, draw a single card. This is the overall advice card. You can actually draw more than one card for this if you want!
Here's how I would interpret the sample spread pictured above.
WORK (Current: The Emperor, Going Forward: Ace of Pentacles)
I've been on a very tight deadline for work lately, but honestly, I've been doing a good job staying on top of it. I've been very good about self-motivation, forcing myself to stay organized despite my chaos-brain, and communicating with the team. Basically, I'll be able to get this done on time because I'm channeling The Emperor's energy. Going forward, I should expect more cool opportunities to come my way! (Kip Dynamite fist-pump)
SOCIAL LIFE (Current: The Chariot, Going Forward: 4 of Cups)
As a natural hermit made even more hermity by covid, lately I've really been trying to push myself to reach out to people more, rekindle old friendships, actually get out of the apartment on a regular basis, etc. Hence The Chariot. But I think the 4 of Cups is trying to tell me not to push myself TOO hard while work is busy, to contemplate who I actually want to spend my time with rather than just reaching out to every single college friend who still lives in Chicago, to make sure I still have time to rest.
RELAXATION (Current: 7 of Swords, Going Forward: 9 of Swords)
Woof, okay. So this 7 of Swords is something I've kind of been aware of on some level already: maybe not all the things that I've been trying to tell myself are relaxing are necessarily the best for me. Like sure, buying myself a little treat occasionally is great, but not when I do it so often that I keep not being able to afford the new tattoo I've wanted for so long. Or staying in bed looking at my phone for an hour or more every morning, which means I start work later every day and have to work until later in the evening to make up for it. Or eating a ton of unhealthy food that makes my tum hurt. Yeah. I think that 9 of Swords is trying to just gently be like hey, going forward, maybe consider if some of these things you're doing to "relax" might actually be making you more anxious??? Just some food for thought!
OVERALL ADVICE (7 of Pentacles)
Patience is key. If I keep working, building good habits, and sowing the seeds for a good life, it'll happen. And I've already made so much progress compared to where I was 5 years ago! I just gotta keep at it and know that things will continue getting better.
So yeah, that's the "oh god I have too many things going on and it's so hard to balance them all" spread!
Please let me know if you try it. It seriously has offered me a ton of good insight in the few times I've used it so far, and I think it's going to end up being one that I use a lot.
Thanks for reading!
