Read the blog
From Nonexistent to Novel: Winning NaNoWriMo using Tarot (Part 1 of 3)
Picture yourself curled up on your favorite cozy sofa, a cup of tea by your side and a paperback in your hands. You’re feeling accomplished, fulfilled and grateful. When you look at the book in your hands, you see YOUR name on the cover. Yep, YOU wrote a book! You journeyed into the depths of your imagination and a story emerged. What was nonexistent became a novel. Woah, MAGIC!
I know how delightful the experience described above feels because it has happened to me. This November will mark my fifth time participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I haven’t been published, but I did get one of my novels printed as a tangible, physical book! If this is something you dream about, you can make it happen. This three part series will get you to the starting line. If you hang with me, by the end of November you’ll have finished a 50,000 word novel. All you need is an open mind and a tarot deck.
(Let me be clear: I’m not a professional author. I’m just a chick who has, with tarot as a companion, gone through the highs and lows of NaNoWriMo multiple times. I invite you to take my suggestions if they work for you, and leave them in the dust if they don’t.)
The great (and terrifying) thing about NaNoWriMo is the timeline. You’ve got one month to bust out a 50,000 word novel. Let’s get a few things out of the way right off the bat: your novel isn’t going to be perfect. But it can (and will) be rocket fuel for your creativity. Since you only have 30 days, you can’t mess around with overthinking and procrastinating. You’ve got to write, baby, write! The most important thing is to have fun and let your imagination run wild. We’ll talk more about this in Part 3, which will be all about your mindset and preparation.
Don’t you DARE tell me it’s too late for you to participate. You still have three weeks to get ready! If you follow along with me in this guide, you’ll have zero excuses not to write a novel next month. If this is something that calls to you…DO IT!
If you already have a story idea, this guide will help flesh it out. But if (like me) you have no idea what to write about, these posts will do what the title says: take you from nonexistent to novel. I’ll be going through the process with you (because right now, I have no idea what I’m going to write this year). I’ll share some of my insights with you in these posts, and I’d be tickled if you leave comments telling me about YOUR process. Let’s win NaNoWriMo together! By the way, if you’re a NaNo newb, “winning” just means finishing 50k words during November. But hey, finishing is the best kind of winning, right?
Now, let’s move into the heart of Part One!
In this post, we’ll talk about building the big, broad picture of your novel. By the time you go through these exercises, you’ll know your genre and five w’s. You’ll get better acquainted with your characters. You’ll form a overarching understanding of your plot. I’ll then give you a few pieces of optional homework to complete before we move into Part Two next week.
If you’re not sure what genre you want to write, I think it’s best to start by considering what you like to read. Start a brainstorming word document (or notebook) for your novel and journal on the following: picture yourself walking into your favorite bookstore. Which section do you gravitate towards? What kind of book would pique your interest? What would you be absolutely enthralled by, so much that you couldn’t wait to get home and sink into that sucker?
If you are consistently sucked into science fiction…write science fiction. If you’re ravished by romance…write romance. If you’re, like, YOLO for young adult thrillers, write young adult thrillers. I could go on, but you get the point. Write what you like reading. Things will flow better that way.
When I did this exercise for myself, I decided I’ll be writing middle grades fiction. This is what I read the most of, after all. When I pictured the kind of book I couldn’t resist in a bookstore, I had vague visions of trains, snow, fire and polished wood…and maybe even a circus? Hopefully you got some vague (or specific!) ideas, too. We’ll see how they take shape as we move forward.
Got your genre selected? Sweet! You’ve just made the first broad stroke on the canvas.
Remember learning about these guys in school? Yeah, the five w’s (plus that sneaky bastard h) are kind of cliché, but they are infinitely helpful. When you know the who, what, when, where, why and how of your novel, you’ve got a pretty good foundation to build from.
There are two ways you can go about this exercise. If you already have a concept for your novel, you may wish to jump right back into your brainstorming document and write about your five w’s. Come up with as many details as you can for each.
If you’re still feeling your way forward blindly (or if you just want to go even deeper into your existing ideas), it’s time to call upon your tarot deck. Shuffle your cards and draw one card (or more, if you’d like) for each category: who, what, when, where, why, how.
Start by looking at the spread’s overall scope. Do you see any themes already? For example, have you drawn multiple cards from the same suit, or multiple major arcana cards? Do you see any correlations in the images? Thinking about how your cards connect as a whole can spark some potent inspiration.
Three of the five cards I drew for my own novel were cups. This gave me the understanding that emotions, connections and relationships will play a major role in my novel. I only drew one major arcana card, and it came up in the ‘who’ position. This suggests to me that my plot will be very character-driven.
Once you’ve looked at the big picture, write out as much information as you can for your w’s and h. If you get stuck, shake it off. Go for a walk, or head to a comfortable coffee shop. Put on headphones and get in the zone. Don’t filter yourself, let any and all ideas flow. You can always cut things later.
When you’ve thrown around as many ideas as possible here, consider how all of this connects to start forming a plot. What story are you seeing in your cards? You don’t need to know absolute details, but things should be starting to come together. What does the overall theme and scope of your plot look like so far? Get all these insights on paper.
When you finish this exercise, you’ll have a more usable notion of what your story looks like. Your novel is now well on it’s way to being something real!
When you think about your favorite books, what makes them stand out to you? For me, it almost always comes down to the characters. Interesting, dynamic, complex characters draw us into their worlds. It may once again be pertinent for me to mention that I am not a teacher or a published author. But in my distinctly unprofessional opinion, it’s good to build your characters up before you get too wrapped up in creating your plot. If you’ve got strong characters, they will often take the lead, pulling the plot in directions you hadn’t even considered!
You should already have some ideas about your characters based on your ‘who’ from the previous exercise. Your novel might have a large numbered crew, or it might center on one crucial character. Authors can easily spend months creating their characters, but since we are trying to get ready for NaNoWriMo in three weeks, we’ve got to expedite things. I recommend deciding on 1-3 main characters to flesh out in-depth. If you have a lot of supporting characters, you probably only need a few sentences of information on them.
Start a section in your brainstorming journal for each of your main characters. Write down anything and everything you already know about this character. What are their most defining traits? What do they want? What obstacles do they face? What kind of attitude do they have? Where do they live? What makes them angry? What makes them happy? What moves them? What lurks in their subconscious?
The tarot’s court cards are often associated with people, personalities, or approaches to life. Which court card do you feel best represents this character and why? What traits does this court card have and how do they manifest in your character? You might also find it useful to compare your character to a person you know, or another fictional character. This isn’t to directly imitate, but rather to give you a basis for your character’s unique behavior.
Here’s a character creation tarot spread I originally posted last year. Between now and next week, do this spread for each of your characters. Keep detailed notes about any insights that come up.
What’s in a name? I am a huge nerd when it comes to naming my characters. Having a name (both for a character, and a title for the book) makes something feel more real. However, it’s also easy to get hung up trying to find the perfect name and dwindle away precious time that should go towards developing your character’s personality. For NaNoWriMo, I think it’s best to use the first name that comes to mind (trust that intuition, yeah?), or you can use a temporary filler name (such as MC for main character).
Once you’ve done this work on your characters, come back to how they influence the plot. One of the most enjoyable things about writing is considering what kind of bizarre situations your characters will be thrust into, and how they will respond to those circumstances. This can largely influence the details of your plot.
In next week’s post, we’re going to talk more in-depth about plotting and outlining. But by now, you’ve already done a lot of the initial excavation. You’ve probably gleaned insight into your plot as you considered your w’s and your characters. Before we go too much further, let’s make sure you have at least a bare-bones overview of your story’s progression.
There are countless formats that can be used to consider plot. You can base your plot around the three act structure. You can use a hero’s journey format. You can do, really, whatever you please. But any way you go, you’ll need a beginning, middle and end. Focus on that for now.
Look back on what you’ve already achieved so far. Can you already see the beginning, middle and end taking shape? If so, great! Take some notes about that. If you’re still struggling to see an actual plot among your work, it’s time for some more tarot illumination. Get out your deck and draw three cards to represent the beginning, middle, and end of your plot.
Jot down what you see in these cards. Once again, look for similar themes. Do your cards tie in with those you drew for any previous exercises? Use these three cards, combined with the ideas you already had, and do your best to describe the beginning, middle and end of your story.
Whew! Okay, you are well on your way. You’ve got your genre, you have a basic idea of the beginning, middle and end of your plot. You’ve got some strong characters and things are starting to become real!
Make sure to check back next Tuesday for Part 2! We’ll be taking a more in depth look at plot. We’ll also talk about establishing the theme of your story. Then, we’ll put together a one sentence elevator pitch to describe your novel.
In the mean time, your homework is to register for NaNoWriMo and set up your profile. If you have friends who are also adventurous enough to write a novel in 30 days, you can add them as a writing buddy and track their progress once November starts (you can add me if you like, my username is happyfish).
Until next time, remember: stories have magic. Stories are transformative. You’ve got stories within you – it’s time to explore them and let them unfold in all their wild glory!
I want to hear from you! Leave me a comment and let me know how your process is going so far. Putting this series together has been a labor of love – any feedback you have would be wonderful. I’d also be INCREDIBLY thrilled if you share this post with anyone who might find it useful.
Part two of the series is here!
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
The (never ending, tempo-changing) dance of to-do and to-be
High Priestess :: Prisma Visions Tarot
There are a few lessons I grapple with again and again, always from slightly different perspectives. The dance of being and doing is one of those lessons.
You’d think I’d have this one on lock by now! Tarot is full of lessons about the dynamics of doing and being. I see examples of this duality everywhere: inhales and exhales. Sleeping and waking. Summer and winter.
But this week, this lesson is popping up for me again.
You see, I like getting things done. I am always thrilled to see tangible evidence that I’m making PROGRESS. I am a builder, I am a creator. I am a doer, dagnabbit! This year, more so than ever, I have been on a doing rampage. I’ve leveled up my organization and productivity. I’m consistently doing things that I used to just WISH I was consistent about (like writing blog posts!).
“Must do all the things!!” Has kinda been my motto lately.
And so naturally, I get down with to-do lists. Who DOESN’T love the feeling of checking completed tasks?! Lately I’ve been consistently making myself weekly and daily to-do lists. In many ways, this has changed my life for the better. Smart people are always saying to write your goals and ambitions down, breaking them into manageable chunks – and that’s what I’ve been up to.
All this doing is awesome…until it’s not.
Today, the Universe is re-teaching me a lesson I’ve learned many times: BEING is just as essential as doing. It happened as it often does: I tried all day to make myself go, go, do, do, do…
But then the maintenance guy stopped by my apartment. And then my internet quit working. And then Nanners sat on my to-do list and wouldn’t move (cats know). And then my ear got clogged with wax. As Oprah says, life talks to you in whispers, and if you ignore the whispers, life bops you over the head (or the ear, in my case). Everything around me, even the cloudy, fall weather – is asking me to just…chill for a while. Just be.
The High Priestess is my card for the month, and it coincides gorgeously with this need to place more value on being.
Doing and being cannot be divvied up into perfectly equal proportions: this is the angle of the lesson I’m learning right now. For a few weeks straight, I was knee-deep in doing energy and I was feeling great. Sometimes I’ll be in doing mode for weeks, months! But when being mode is required, it is required. I can’t schedule it in or ignore it. When I gotta be, I gotta be!
And right now, I am feeling the pull to BE.
While I sense the need, I am going to ease up on the to-do lists. Instead of focusing on what I need, want, should, and “have” to do, I’m going to focus a little more on how I want to be. Things like…
I will be aligned with my inner High Priestess.
I will be flexible.
I will be open to the ebbs as much as the flows.
I will be accommodating of my cycles.
I will be a receiver of wordless wisdom.
I will be when I must be, I will do when I must do.
I’m learning – slowly but surely – to do when I must do. To be when I must be. And to get down with the shifting dance between the two.
How do YOU navigate your doing and being energy? Which one is stronger for you right now? I’m curious to hear your thoughts, leave a comment and let me know.
Here are a few things I feel inspired to engage in with my “being” energy this week:
I am nerdily excited to try this Goddess Archetype tarot spread from Kim Huggens.
I want to BE the most intuitive, receptive, wise-woman mentor I can for my Growth Gatherings clients.
A local art museum is having a free admission day this week. My husband and I are going to visit and soak in the beauty.
I’ll be integrating the autumn vibes while camping in gorgeous Southern Utah this weekend.
Until we meet again, carry on BEING the magical creature that you are!
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
How to create mental white space (tips from the Page of Swords)
Do you ever feel like your head is so full of stuff that you can’t effectively navigate your mental terrain? Thoughts about what you’re going to have for lunch. Thoughts about your regrets, fears, doubts. Thoughts about what you should have done yesterday and what you might do tomorrow.
Tumbling, jumbling THOUGHTS.
Your mental energy is precious. When your mental space is brimming with trinkets, you start to feel stressed. It’s harder to be productive. It’s difficult to prioritize. It’s enough to make you bury your face in your hands, Nine of Swords style.
When you’re mired in thought-muck, it’s nigh on impossible to do the important shit you’re on this planet to do. You’re here to create. You’re here to engage fully with life. You’re here to be calm and present. To accomplish these things, you need mental white space.
With some strategy and intention, you can sort through brain clutter. You can move into a more orderly and open mental landscape. Here’s a blueprint, inspired by the Page of Swords, to get you started!
Get the gunk out, again and again
Thoughts are like dust. You can’t just tidy them up once and then have a clear mind for all of your days! They are constantly accumulating, so maintaining your mental white space is an ongoing task.
Writing is the best way I have found to sort through my own mental clutter. In the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron suggests a practice of morning pages. The idea is to start each day by writing three pages, long hand. This is a way to shake up your thoughts, getting them out of your head and onto paper. It’s kind of like dusting your brain!
Think, but don’t overthink
The Page of Swords reminds us to be straightforward. Instead of ruminating on every possible angle, peel your thoughts down to the essentials. What EXACTLY is the task at hand? What EXACTLY is the problem at hand? Define things as succinctly as possible.
The simplest solution is often the best solution. While the Knight of Swords might get caught up in philosophizing and pondering, the Page of Swords cuts to the chase. Things are often not as complicated as we make them out to be. Instead of getting swept into fruitless drama, keep things as clear as possible.
Meditation and visualization
The next time your brain is racing, try this. Get comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Visualize the inside of your brain as an office. Right now, there are folders flung about (these are your thoughts). Keep breathing, and picture yourself sorting through the folders and placing them in the appropriate filing cabinets. Soon, your mental space will be organized and clean!
You might also want to try my free guided meditation using the Ace of Swords. It’s only five minutes long and it works like a charm, if I do say so myself.
Organize, schedule, plan
Our mental landscape can get trampled on by little (but insistent!) nagging thoughts. “I need to get a haircut. I have to make that phone call.” Instead of letting these things tug at the corners of your mind, schedule them in. When you know you have a time designated to take care of something, it’s less likely to hang around and pester you.
Planning is probably the most powerful thing you can do to create mental white space. When there’s no plan, thoughts drift around your brain like bubbles. You have vague ideas of what you want to accomplish, but when you try to latch on to something it pops. When there’s a plan in place, you don’t have to waste energy wondering what to do next.
Organizing your external environment is useful, too. Our inner environment often mirrors our outer environment. When you’re surrounded by piles of junk, it can actually make you feel more frazzled. When you’re in an organized space, you can become more orderly within.
Mindfulness over multitasking
The truth is that the human brain is pretty crappy at multi-tasking. When you’re trying to tackle a zillion projects, your mental space can quickly become cloudy. Instead of trying to rush and cram, prioritize. Choose one focus area. Break that thing into smaller focus areas. Move through this step by step. It’s a cliché because it’s wise: choose quality over quantity.
We often spew our mental landscape with thoughts of what we WISH we were doing, or what we WILL be doing, or what we DID do. Basically, we’re thinking about anything and everything – except what we actually ARE doing. This is a surefire way to botch up your mental white space.
Practice being fully conscious. Decide to be HERE, doing THIS. Come back to your intention of mindfulness over and over and over.
Which of these tips will you try? Do you have other suggestions on creating mental white space? Do leave a comment and tell me all about it!
PS: If you dig this concept, here’s a post on Mental Minimalism by Paul Jarvis. Highly recommended.
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
The risk of blossoming (thoughts & tips on ‘putting yourself out there’)
I’m baaaack! I’ve been on a blog vacation for the past couple of weeks. But now, here I am again, putting myself out there on the internet. It was nice to take some breathing room, but now I am ready to get back in the groove of posting each Tuesday.
As I filmed today’s video, I got to thinking about how I AM kind of like a crab (my sign is Cancer, after all). On one hand, I like to feel secure and protected at all times. But on the other hand, I’ve got this soft underbelly that I often feel called to expose.
Putting yourself out there – rather that means writing, having a difficult conversation, or doing anything else that makes you feel exposed – can bring up conflicting feelings. We are all creative beings, and we’re all being pulled to greater and deeper levels of self-expression.
But even when you feel genuinely guided to ‘put yourself out there’ it can be a terrifying and awkward experience. Today, I’m talking about why putting yourself out there is difficult (and why it’s important). I give a few tips that have been useful for me, in hopes they might be useful for you.
Is this a topic you’d like to hear more about? As I filmed the video, I realized I was barely scratching the surface. There’s so much more I could say on this. Let me know what you think.
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
Tarot Jam: Get to know me as a tarot blogger
Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome! This might be the first time you’ve stumbled into my digital lair. That’s because this post is part of Tarot Jam (a blog hop!). You’ll find the previous post in the loop here (by Vix), the master list here, and the next post in the loop here (by Kelly). The theme of our blog hop is “get to know me as a tarot blogger.” Let’s do this!
Once upon a time, there was a young woman who lived a life tragically void of magic. Her world was made of mashed potatoes and monotony. Every day, she woke up; drove to a humdrum, unfulfilling job; and came home to stare into the television’s empty void. She was isolated. She was directionless.
She was told by society that this mashed potato reality was all she could ask for. Was this true? Was being an adult all about dredging through days of disconnect and starch?
Something within her told her another life could maybe conceivably be a small possibility. A tiny pull deep in the recesses of her mind knew that magic was lingering in hidden corners of reality. In a buried place, she believed life could be meaningful, enchanting, wondrous.
One day, an urge appeared within her. She suddenly felt drawn to purchase a tarot deck. She was unnerved by this desire, and tried to reason with it. But eventually, despite her doubts and cynicism, she walked into a metaphysical shop, picked up a deck, and gave it a go.
She connected with tarot in ways that felt entirely comfortable yet wholly unfamiliar. The cards evoked experiences that were embodied in the very depths of her soul. As she held the deck, studied the images, and pulled cards, something curious happened…
The world that once felt like an endless plate of mashed potatoes began to shift. Different tastes and textures emerged. Life began to bloom and sprout. She felt more connected to her own power, she began to plug into the creative flow of the Universe.
Tarot helped her know herself, and find magic within and without. And one day, a ways further down the time-space continuum, she felt an urge to begin a tarot blog. By now, she had learned to explore these intuitive hunches. Thusly, Happy Fish Tarot materialized.
I have now been blogging for a year and a half, posting nearly every week (in fact, I came out of a rare blog vacation for this post). I use tarot to explore creativity, self-development, and spirituality. Composing this blog has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.
Blogging helps me examine my own relationship with tarot. Blogging helps me study my relationship with myself. And blogging gives me a tool to connect with other magical creatures all over the world. Ain’t the internet a truly awesome creation?!
I have many complexly layered, intertwining thoughts about how tarot actually “works.” I have heard people say that it doesn’t much matter HOW tarot works, only that it DOES work. That answer partially satisfies me, but I do enjoy pondering my thoughts on the nuances of tarot reading.
A good tarot reading tells a meaningful story. Synchronicities – meaningful coincidences – happen when the cards pulled and the story they weave aligns with something within us. The archetypal images in the cards tap into things that all human beings inherently understand.
Carl Jung had theories about the collective unconscious – the realm of human experience that is deeper than our individual consciousness. Tarot draws upon concepts that dwell in this realm. We can relate to them because they are the building blocks of the human experience.
Tarot can form a bridge of communication between our deeper self and our ego. When these two aspects are not in synch, we can feel scattered, stuck, confused and devoid of magic. Tarot readings create a space where these two aspects of us can meet and realign.
Here’s one way you can use tarot to form a dialogue with your own ego and deeper self. The next time you feel a little wonky and aren’t sure why, get your cards and give this spread a whirl.
Self/ego dialogue spread
Card one: what energy as at work with my ego?
Card two: what energy is at work with my deeper self?
Card three: what can I do to align these energies?
Does this spread sound like something you’d like to try? Does anything in my story resonate with you? Leave a comment and let me know.
Thank you oodles and bundles for stopping by Happy Fish Tarot in your blog hop journeys. Make sure to visit the next stop, Kelly’s blog. And for the full adventure, here’s a master list of all the posts in the hop.
Peace, love and happy fish!
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
Blog intermission
Hello, friends!
Do you ever feel like you’re moving so fast that you can barely keep up with yourself? That’s where I’ve been at lately. Don’t get me wrong – it’s kind of great! I like feeling productive and inspired and creative and bustling.
But it’s gotten to the point where I need to step back and catch my bearings. I need to realign with myself. I need to rest so that I can move forward intentionally instead of just flying forward wildly.
And so my blog is taking a nap. I usually post every Tuesday – and I’ll resume doing so in three weeks (on the 23rd).
But just because the blog is napping, doesn’t mean I’ll be napping! Okay, let’s be honest, I might nap a little. But I have some things I want to do to help myself refocus over these three weeks. If you’re curious, I plan on using this break to:
*Finish a new free gift for my newsletter subscribers (I’ve been working on this for a while and I’m soooo excited about it! I think you’ll LOVE it!)
*Write elsewhere. I’ve wanted to guest post on other blogs for ages. Taking a little break from my own blog will give me the creative headspace to share some good ideas in new places.
*Relax! Meditate, exercise, cook, watch Gilmore Girls and go for leisurely walks.
I’ll still be open for tarot readings and mentoring, if you fancy working with me. And I’ll still be hanging out on Instagram and Facebook, so say hi if you’d like.
Here’s to both pausing and moving forward,
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
When you’re all over the place (advice from the Magician)
Here, there, and everywhere. All over the place. Scattered, diluted, inefficient. All over the place!
If you read the newsletter I sent out last week, you know there’s been a lot going on in my life (if you missed it, get on the list via the form below this post). Someone asked me how I was doing recently and I automatically replied, “I’m all over the place.”
I gave myself pause with this statement. It’s one of those phrases I hear thrown around a lot, but I’d never stopped to consider what it actually means. What does being all over the place look and feel like? And what can we do about it?
I’ve come up with some perspectives on the matter – and some solid advice for others who feel all over the place.
Scattered energy
When we say we’re all over the place, what we usually mean is that our ENERGY is all over the place. Energetic bits go into work, bobs go into worries, tendrils go into the varied events of our daily lives. Your energetic wisps are always floating like mist into countless avenues.
It’s a weird sensation to have your energy scattered all over the place. When we are living with full and gathered energy we are our most magical. We concentrate effortlessly. Our work and words seem to flow. We feel alive with our own power. We own our ability to create.
But when our energy disperses, we have a hard time concentrating. We do things, but we don’t do them with full effectiveness. We feel drained, frazzled, maybe even overwhelmed.
Getting everything back together
Tarot is woven into every facet of my life. Naturally, when I realized I was feeling all over the place, I turned to tarot. I was intuitively drawn to work with the Magician. This card is the pinnacle of potent and present energy.
The Magician reminds us how important it is to consciously invite your energy home. Your energy wants to come back to you. You’re meant to be living in synch with your full spectrum range of energetic power. If you set the intention to bring your energy back home and welcome it with open arms, it will begin to find it’s way back.
Here are a few slabs of advice, inspired by the Magician, on how you can regroup your energy when you’re all over the place.
Get your shit organized
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that when I feel all over the place, it’s intensified if I’m operating haphazardly. My day planner gets neglected… my physical desk gets covered in odds and ends… my inbox gets full. Yikes!
When I look at the Magician, I see someone who doesn’t allow messes. His table is clean and sturdy, his tools are laid out properly. Even his clothes fit just the way they should. None of this is an accident.
When you feel all over the place, start with your most important surroundings. You don’t need to clean up every mess in your life at once – begin with the ones that are the most hindering. Where in your life are you unorganized? Which of these areas is causing the most stress? Start by sorting out that one thing.
Live on purpose
When my energy is all over the place, I can slip into urgency mode. I’m unsure what actions to take first, and I can easily waste even more energy on unconscious, useless habits. It’s tempting to surrender our power when we feel this way. It can start to seem like life is just happening to us without our say – but that is never the full truth.
The Magician lives on purpose. He accepts that he cannot control all circumstances, but he takes full ownership for the control he DOES have. He isn’t further diminishing his energy by abandoning his autonomy. Instead, the Magician teaches us to completely own the powers that we do have.
When we’re all over the place, it is more important than ever to live on purpose. Walk through life instead of being dragged through it. Make decisions from a place of love, not fear. Instead of letting your energy slip all over the place unknowingly, distribute your energy consciously.
Invite your energy home
I like to think of energy as a metaphoric herd of sheep. Energy wanders, but it always wants to come back to center. You are the energetic shepherd, and you can kindly beckon your energy back home.
First, get yourself into a Magician-like state of mind: clear, open, focused yet relaxed. This can be facilitated by deep breathing, meditation, binaural beats, physical movement…whatever works for you.
Once you are ready, open yourself up for an energetic return. This can be as simple as saying or thinking “I intend to be present and gathered. I invite my energy home.”
Or, try this one from Danielle LaPorte: “I call all of my power back to me now. I am whole and complete.”
Here’s to being present and gathered!
If you’ve been feeling all over the place lately, I offer personalized mentorships. This experience can be tailored to your needs. Let’s get your energy centered and gathered. More information here.
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
Father of Swords :: Wild Unknown Tarot Card Meanings
I’ve written interpretations for every card in the Wild Unknown Tarot. As the box of the deck states, there are no rights or wrongs. These are simply my perspectives on the tarot card meanings. I hope you find them useful!
Click here for a directory of all posts in my Wild Unknown series.
Creator’s keywords: fair, just, analytical
Carrie’s keywords: analytical, principled
Begin or deepen your tarot studies with
Foundational Tarot, my free video course!
Join the email list for instant access.
Father of Swords Tarot Card Meanings in the Wild Unknown
The Father of Swords makes a powerful impression from the get go. Everything about him – from his piercing gaze to his technicolor sword – conveys knowledge, authority and mastery. Court cards can draw your attention to various aspects of your own psyche and the way you interact with the world. To learn more, reference this post about how to interpret the tarot’s court cards.
As opposed to the sly over the shoulder glance we got from the Mother of Swords, the Father faces us head on. Like the Mother, he is not one to mince his words. He says precisely what he means to say, and he doesn’t hesitate when he delivers a message. However, he is very practiced when it comes to thinking before he speaks. His stances are typically well-informed, he analyzes things intricately before coming to conclusions.
His sword is concentrated with all the powers of the rainbow. This shows that although he is the master of the airy realm of thoughts, analysis and judgement; he rules with a holistic approach. As opposed to jumping to conclusions, as the Son of Swords might, the Father thinks things through thoroughly.
He considers multiple angles of any given situation before taking rash action. His actions are always measured carefully and taken with full consciousness. Emotions do not cloud his judgement. This does not mean he is entirely unfeeling, but he processes the world through thinking. At his best, his decisions are made without bias.
Even when he isn’t speaking, he is always at work analyzing and processing information. He is concerned with truth, equity and finding solutions that work. He is capable of sorting out complex, multi-faceted layers of information and finding a way to easily tie them together. A keen director, the Father of Swords sets clear boundaries and enforces the principles he believes in.
King of Swords Tarot Card Meanings in General
This card is most commonly titled the King of Swords. Kings are the “outwardly mature adult” of the tarot courts. The King of Swords could be a considered a master of the swords airy energy. He posesses intelligence, he is articulate, he is knowledgeable. Firm when necessary, the King of Swords takes action to ensure that reality aligns with his principles.
The King of Swords holds others, and himself, to high standards. He has a clearly defined moral code that he values strongly. As an example of how his traits might manifest, consider the positive traits of a lawyer, judge, or journalist.
In a reading
Hi, I'm Carrie!
I'm a tarot reader and mentor. My purpose is to encourage your expansion. If you're new, start here.
All site content © Carrie Mallon LLC 2017
I am part of Amazon's associate program. If you purchase items linked in this site I will receive a small kick-back.
Mother of Swords :: Wild Unknown Tarot Card Meanings
I’ve written interpretations for every card in the Wild Unknown Tarot. As the box of the deck states, there are no rights or wrongs. These are simply my perspectives on the tarot card meanings. I hope you find them useful!
Click here for a directory of all posts in my Wild Unknown series.
Creator’s keywords: experienced, all-seeing
Carrie’s keywords: astute, witty
Begin or deepen your tarot studies with
Foundational Tarot, my free video course!
Join the email list for instant access.
Mother of Swords Tarot Card Meanings in the Wild Unknown
An appropriately regal looking snowy owl is perched upon a sword. She looks out at us with a knowing expression. Her symmetrical feathers and over the shoulder gaze lend to her air of dignity.
The card is entirely black and white. This seems befitting for the Mother of Swords because she prefers things to be drama free. What you see is what you get. The background lines are clean and straight. She will not tolerate shadiness and is quick to call anyone (including herself) out on their nonsense.
As a court card, the Mother of Swords shows personality traits and approaches to life. For a comprehensive explanation of how court cards function in tarot, check out this post. The Mother of Swords has a high level of mastery over the air element. This manifests in her clear communication, sense of humor, and no bullshit approach to life.
Notice how she perches calmly on her sword, as opposed to the Son who clung to his sword with force. She has nothing to prove to anyone, her main priority is that she is living in line with her beliefs and knowledge. This isn’t to say she won’t gladly share her opinions, but she shares them with an internal sense of self-assuredness.
Because of her adeptness, nothing gets by her. She is not easily fooled, and she can quickly grasp the core of any situation she’s thrust into. She is adaptable and able to adjust to new information. She doesn’t suffer fools, but she isn’t unkind. She has a keen understanding of life and can be an excellent teacher.
Queen of Swords Tarot Card Meanings in the Wild Unknown
Most decks use the title Queen of Swords for this card. Queens can be thought of as the “inwardly mature adults” of the tarot. The Queen of Swords embodies authenticity. She knows who she is and she shows up in the world as who she is. She is also a master at delivering knowledge with a sense of humor – you could say she’d be one of those people who always busts out the right hilarious gif at just the right time.
Unlike the Son of Swords who thinks he knows it all despite his relative inexperience, the Queen actually has the experience to back up her stances. Everything in life is a learning experience to her, and she finds incredible value in understanding herself, society, and the universe as a whole.
In a reading
Hi, I'm Carrie!
I'm a tarot reader and mentor. My purpose is to encourage your expansion. If you're new, start here.
All site content © Carrie Mallon LLC 2017
I am part of Amazon's associate program. If you purchase items linked in this site I will receive a small kick-back.
A note of encouragement for online creatives
If you are a blogger, artist, crafter, tarot reader, writer, entrepreneur, any combination of the aforementioned, or anyone else who regularly posts pieces of their creative soul online: this is for you.
Being an online creative is not for the faint of heart. Our creative endeavors are infused with the most authentic, complex parts of ourselves. Exposing your creative work isn’t easy in general, let alone throwing your art on teh interwebz for all the world to see.
Being an online creative ranges the gamut from wonderful to terrifying to draining to satisfying to “holy shit I can’t believe I just hit publish on that.”
It takes a while to get acclimated to the sensation of posting your work online and accepting that you might get a great reaction…or you might get criticism…or you might get silence.
Here are some things you learn if you’re a consistent online creative for any amount of time:
Sometimes you’ll write a lovingly crafted, valuable blog post…and no one will read it.
Sometimes you’ll spend long minutes arranging the perfect photo, waiting for the light to hit just right and typing the most befitting caption before posting to Instagram…and it will be ignored.
Sometimes you’ll work your ass off while simultaneously pouring your heart and soul into a project and when you launch it…crickets.
But other times…
You’ll hammer out a blog post that seems utterly ridiculous…and it will receive accolades.
You’ll judge yourself for what you’ve created and aaaaalmost decide not to share it…but when you put it up, people will cheer.
You’ll think you’ve tried everything, you’ll be ready to give up…and the burst of inspiration you need will come barreling out of nowhere.
And most of the time, things’ll fall somewhere in between.
The most important thing is to keep creating. Be consistent. I put up blog posts every Tuesday, and have been doing so for over a year. They aren’t always masterpieces, but as someone who is inclined towards procrastination, I am incredibly proud of my consistency.
Put yourself out there. Keep making stuff, keep showing up, keep doing the work. Do it when it flows and do it when it’s tough.
Create! Do it when people love it and do it when people shrug it.
(Tweet this)
It can be healthy to observe the reception of your work, but don’t linger too long. If you’re spending all your energy staring in the rearview mirror, fixating on how something was perceived, you won’t have the energy you need for your next thing.
There’s a constantly replenishing creative life force surging through you. The more you tap into this, the stronger it becomes. The more you get used to sharing your work regardless of the outcome, the more resilient you get.
And if you’re an online creative, resiliency is key. The internet is a rumblingly loud, chaotic landscape. Just because you don’t have thousands of subscribers, and hundreds of shares/likes/comments (yet!) doesn’t mean you aren’t “succeeding.”
Instead of worrying about success, focus on your grit.
(Tweet this)
Instead of ruminating on what you posted yesterday, get excited about what you’ll post tomorrow. Keep your head held high and for the love of everything…just keep creating.
If you’re a blossoming online creative looking for a mentor to help you grow, the Growth Gatherings might be for you. This is a private on-one-one mentorship tailored uniquely to you. The details are here!
Book a private reading with me here.
Subscribe to receive my {free} monthly e-gazette & four {free} guided tarot meditations.
Carrie Mallon
Header art from The Spacious Tarot illustrated by Annie Ruygt
All site content © Carrie Mallon LLC 2014-2019
Sign up for weekly updates