The Empress reversed from the Enchanted Tarot and the 4 of Swords from the Mystic Dreamer Tarot: 2 different cards, 2 different decks, telling me the same thing!
I was supposed to do 2 email readings the other day. When I sat down to Source [different from meditation, see here] before them (to get myself in the tarot reading state), I hit that wall of tiredness with nothing left to give right afterward. Usually, Sourcing makes me feel energized and ready, centered and calm. But last night, that wasn’t the case. I pulled a few cards to be sure, truthbombs and tarot alike, and got the same answer from all of them: you’re depleted. You’re not going to do your best work if you do the readings now. In the form of the truthbomb: “Admit to what you feel greedy about. It will point to your most tender desire.” and the Empress reversed in the Enchanted Tarot deck and the 4 of Swords in the Mystic Dreamer deck. 3 different sources and cards, but the same answer kept ringing through.
This is, what I like to call, a tarot bitchslap. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I listen. No tarot reader is immune.
Fortunately, my policy on email tarot readings protected me: I have a turnaround time of 48 hours (2 business days), and I had sat down to do the readings within the 24 hour window. I completed the readings the next evening, and I felt the difference in energy… I felt I was giving the best I had, and it was all because I heeded the advice of the cards the day before.
I remind my clients time and time again, either via their readings or the free card of the day I do daily, that they cannot serve from a state of depletion; they can only serve from their fullness. If they are feeling depleted, drained, or otherwise “off”, it is better to root down to the source of this leak, and fix it, instead of proceeding and doing sub-par work.
I say this so often, but apparently, I didn’t get the message myself until I felt light-headed, weird, and “off” AFTER Sourcing (it really never happens). Using that as a sign, I went to the tarot deck to verify the sign, and got the confirmation I needed to “take the night off”.
Here’s what it boils down to: if you don’t feel it, you sure as shit don’t do it. This is a much different feeling than simple procrastination or a wishy-washy wah wah “I don’t feel like it.” Get into your body and really sense the difference. Do you feel it? If you don’t sense the difference, proceed with caution with whatever you deem you “have to do”, but do it on something of your own that you can experiment with.
If it’s for pay (like my email tarot readings are), that’s probably not the best place to play with this little experimentation. Do NOT slough your rough-spun work onto a paying customer. You know when you’re not at your best, and SO WILL THEY. Do your best and be your best for your clients. And when you’re not at your best? Say so. I can count the number of times on one hand I’ve had to email a client to reschedule an in-person session or tell them there will be a delay in their email reading (due to being sick with a cold, usually), and they have always been super-gracious AND grateful for my high standards. No one wants a reading from a tarot reader who’s feeling “off”, do they?
I could have prevented my little “out of juice” scenario by simply listening to my body and giving it whatever it was trying to communicate it needed before the tarot bitchslap I just spoke about. Last night I went to bed at 9:15pm… And while my husband made the “old lady” remark in jest, he said truly, “You must have needed the rest.” This was decidedly true (both the old lady and needing the rest). Isn’t it better to know thyself ahead of time instead of sickness or depletion sneaking up on you unawares? I think so.
Take my advice, and you may never need to experience another tarot bitchslap!
Blessings,
~*~Hilary~*~
www.tarotbyhilary.com
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I completely agree with you and how it’s important to listen to our bodies when we’re doing readings. Like you said, Clients are usually fantastic about understanding the need to postpone. I especially loved this line, “Here’s what it boils down to: if you don’t feel it, you sure as shit don’t do it.”
Looking forward to your next article and hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Hi Susan! Yes, clients are awesome and usually quite grateful when I postpone/reschedule due to being “off”: emotionally or physically. As long as we remain self-aware, we know the difference between sick and lazy. 🙂
Thanks for reading!