Three ways to know thyself
And Tarot for new beginnings
This weekend I was in a Zoom meeting full of creatives, and a young writer asked the rest of the group for advice on getting to know her voice. I shared three thoughts that helped my own voice emerge, some of which I practiced in my vulnerable letters to all of you:
Write morning pages where you’re deeply honest with yourself. Write like no one will ever see what you’re writing (because they won’t). Write as though the words are pouring out of your hand, and not your mind. Write what you’re afraid to say out loud. Write down that thought in your head that you are terrified to confront. In time, with trust, the Truth will be on the pages.
Stop going to others for their reactions or advice — ask yourself first. The answer is already within you. This made a huge difference for me. Bonus points for listening to what your body has to say instead of your mind.
Make small promises to yourself, and keep them. The smaller, the better. Over time, with each promise kept, you will love and trust yourself more.
Later that same day I read
’ post about how to build a relationship with yourself. Her wonderful list of tips includes journaling, solo traveling, centering your own thoughts and feelings throughout the day, and writing a letter from your Higher Self to the version of yourself that sits on earth right now.You can call your Higher Self whatever you want — she, he, they, god, spirit, ancestor, the divine — but they know all. And the best part is that they are you. You can tap into that stream of infinite wisdom any time you feel like it. And your Higher Self is communicating with you subconsciously through your intuition at all times.
So far, in 2024, intuition keeps coming up for me.
I’m a Capricorn moon, it’s a new year, and I wanted to give some special attention to January 11th’s Capricorn New Moon. I usually do a Tarot pull and journal on the messages I find there around New and Full Moons, but this New Moon was supposed to be especially powerful for setting long-term goals and intentions, and inviting in fresh starts. And I am ready to take action on big things in my life.
I gained inspiration from
’s Instagram post on ways to use Tarot to cast your vision for 2024 and discovered that, according to numerology, 2024 is a Strength card year — now it made sense why the word strength has been bouncing around in my brain as I consider the year ahead. My birthday is April 8, so my personal card for the year is Justice (fairness, truth, law), and my supporting card is the High Priestess (intuition, divine goddess, subconscious).In the post, Catherine asks, “How can we show up in 2024 with an open, undefended heart, and know that that is what will transform things for us and the collective?”
This is exactly the question I want to ask myself this year. 2023 was a year of witnessing horrors against humanity that knocked me out of my status quo. I learned and unlearned. I questioned what I knew to be True. I took a hard look at where I am falling short in showing up in the world. I’m still looking; I will be as long as I’m alive.
The Justice card reminds me that I am not yet fully living out my values and that to do so, I must take accountable steps forward and be open to failing and making painful mistakes along the way. It also reminds me that doing my part for what is right is worth the losses I’ll endure along the way.
As for the High Priestess, she has long been a friend. When I began this newsletter in 2019, I did not know myself. I sought answers everywhere but within. It feels good to say that, after much suffering, practice, and awareness, that’s flipped.
I know myself well. I know what I want. I know my boundaries. I know I am an artist. If I have a question, I ask myself first.
How can we show up in 2024 with an open, undefended heart, and know that that is what will transform things for us and the collective?
With these themes in mind for my New Moon Tarot pull, I asked the cards:
How can I support justice in the world and within myself this year?
3 of Wands
How can my intuition support me?
King of Wands
How can I find personal power in love?
Temperance
In creativity and work?
Queen of Pentacles
In community?
Knight of Cups
What is a key focus for 2024?
9 of Wands
What am I leaving behind in 2023?
Strength
You may notice an interesting conundrum—how am I leaving behind Strength in a year helmed by the Strength card? In relation to the 9 of Wands (resilience, perseverance, final stretch) and the High Priestess, I believe this Strength card was telling me to loosen my grip. I've spent years cultivating healthy habits, reining myself in, and building inner strength. And I’ve changed! I’ve grown! I am more like who I once wished to be! How amazing.
So maybe this year I can relax into instinct. Maybe I can think less and do more. Maybe I can lay down the sword I often use against myself and just exist. Maybe I can have some fun!
