This April marks the launch of my Tarot Touchstones series! If you were a member of my Journaling Club on Patreon, you received one-card versions of these touchstones weekly, along with writing prompts. I loved doing them and when I closed the club due to not being keen on Patreon and wanting more time for my writing projects, I really missed them. Then, I realized I could do a tarot touchstone once a month and still have time and energy for my writing projects. So, here’s the first one. Hope you enjoy it.
Why is it always when we feel a strong pull (Eight of Wands) towards a project or venture that calls to us that we often combat our initial enthusiasm and desire by allowing fear to overtake us (Nine of Swords)?
Just when our minds, bodies, and souls want to take flight, our anxiety tramps all over our spirit, causing sleeplessness and negative thoughts, or an equally strong desire to retreat and retract.
Fighting this seemingly clashing set of feelings and emotions can set us on edge, keeping us paralyzed from taking any action.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The medicine is to surrender (The Hanged One) to both sides of ourselves. As Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in Big Magic: “I made a decision a long time ago that if I want creativity in my life–and I do–then I will have to make space for fear, too.”
You can feel fear and still take a step forward. Fear can sit in the backseat of your Creativity Car while you drive toward your destination.
It’s okay if you have to stop often to consult your map. It’s okay if you need to take lots of bathroom breaks. It’s okay if you feel both extreme fear and numbing excitement at the same time. It’s all okay.
As the Hanged One advises us, stop pushing away conflicting feelings and surrender, surrender, surrender.
April is the time to take a step forward.
See you on the path.
Cards: Eight of Wands, Nine of Swords, The Hanged One
Deck: Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle
Journaling prompts for this month:
- I feel ready to take a step…
- The fear that stops me…
- I want to let go of…
Recommended books for this month:
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey
- The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.
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