A few days ago Annie & I did a livestream from @thespacioustarot Instagram account. As ambivalent as my relationship with social media is, I will say there’s been a lot of good things about it in this time of physical distancing. Attending a livestream is not the same thing as gathering in person with friends, but it’s something, and it’s pretty fucking cool that technology is helping many of us stay connected lately.

I’ve hardly posted on my personal Instagram account lately (@carriemallon), as I’m more focused on the deck account right now, but going live the other day gave me a bit of new inspiration. Some of you might remember when Periscope was a thing (that lasted a hot minute.) I used to do lives pretty regularly for a while there, and this seems like as good a time as any to host another livestream or two. So I’m going to do an impromptu live on my personal account tomorrow, Wednesday April 1 at 11am MST. So come say hi if you’re around? We can pull some cards. Maybe talk about the Fool, since it’s April Fools Day? Wherever the wind may go.

Anyway, at the end of the Spacious Tarot livestream, I offered to pull a card for the collective. The High Priestess jumped out as I was shuffling (which hardly ever happens to me, so I will usually incorporate the card into the reading if it does), then I drew the Hermit.

The High Priestess and The Hermit.
What a pair.

I was rambling through my initial thoughts on these cards, slowly circling around the heart of what I wanted to say about them, when…

We reached Instagram’s one hour time limit, which I did not know was a thing and will be useful to know for future livestreams, and the stream came to an abrupt end before I could finish my thoughts.

I’ve been thinking about this draw a lot since then, and so I want to talk more about it here.

First, we have two majors. That’s already an attention grabbling pull. And we have two majors that both deal with themes of introspection, the unconscious, dreams, intuition, self-discovery.

The High Priestess came out reversed (I turned it around for the photo) and the reversal made me think that perhaps some of us are having resistance to this energy lately. Maybe some of us are reaching outwards for illumination, listening to other people’s hot takes, waiting for someone else to come in and say THIS is why this is happening, and THIS is what it means.

There is space for us to address those questions collectively. But maybe collective understanding has to start with individuals who are able to be in a different paradigm. In other words, that’s us: the mystics, the witches, the weirdos. Especially if you’re having resistance to magic and self-exploration right now…. that’s a pretty good sign that these ways of being are even more important than ever.

What is it that unites you with your inner Hermit and High Priestess? What practices help you connect with your unconscious self? What atmospheres coax out your inner wisdom? Now is not a time to let resistance disconnect you from these things. It’s a time to commit to your path in an even more expansive way.

The Hermit is also a little on the nose when a lot of us are spending as much time as possible inside. Maybe it’s a little affirmation that even if there are real challenges to this, it is still a good and wise thing.

And here’s the other part that feels really important with these two cards:

We aren’t even really called to pinpoint specific answers right now. We are called to be present with the mystery. Feel into the murkiness. Explore this space not with urgency, but with curiosity. Let things ebb and flow and be ambiguous like the moon and the waves, instead of trying to force things to stay still and be understood.

This is actually a poignant aspect of how I view tarot as a tool. We turn to tarot when we are uncertain. Sometimes, the cards give clear answers and detailed direction. But in many circumstances, tarot actually doesn’t give us the answers our ego wants. Instead, it gives us what our soul needs. Tarot gives us things which are ultimately more powerful than answers, like: new perspectives. Reframes to our stories.

Tarot teaches us to be present with the unfathomable, the vast, the deep… the sacred mystery.

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