Holiday Rest, Creative Cycles & the Fours of the Tarot w/ Arianna Smith

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Hello, creative spirits.
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Welcome to another episode of your creative and magical life.
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I'm your host, Cecily Saylor, a warrior for your creativity and your magic, a tarot reader, a witchy Capricorn in Austin, Texas, who spends a lot of time talking to her dogs.
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Before I get into the episode, I want to give you a little update on what's coming up, how things are going, little tiny bit of behind-the-scenes stuff to address the fact that episodes are coming out slowly, about one a month, not my desired pace.
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But I have that problem as a creator and business owner where I get excited about creating new things and having new channels.
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And so there's just a lot of different pieces to my creative project, my creative enterprise, to typewriter tarot.
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And I am just one witch, you know, magic will only take me so far.
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Magic will not yet edit my podcast episodes for me.
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So I've started editing them myself, partly out of cash flow consideration for a little while.
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And you've met my editor in the star episode, Chantal, who's amazing.
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So much love for Chantal.
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And I hope to bring Chantal back for more of her beautiful services.
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You still will hear her music in these episodes because now I've figured out how to put it in myself.
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And I've gotten a platform called Descript where I can edit the episodes by looking at the transcript, and I can trim the transcript and it will edit the audio for me, which makes it so much more possible for me to make a better episode for you.
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But it is still time consuming.
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And so there was this lag where no work was really happening on the podcast, even though I'd been recording a few more interviews.
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So now I have a nice little stash of episodes that I want to bring you, but they need to go through the process.
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So I'm super glad, I'm super relieved, I'm super excited to bring you this episode, which was recorded about a month ago.
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Ariana Smith is back on the show.
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And in this episode, we get into we kind of warm up and talk about creativity and some of the things that we've been developing.
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And then we get into holiday time energy and the way that feels like a nice portal for rest and relaxation, but often becomes another set of reasons or impulses to actually stay busy and keep doing a lot.
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So we're gonna talk about that tension.
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We talk about what it can look like to rest, different forms of rest.
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We look at the four fours in the tarot: the four of pentacles, the four of wands, the four of cups, the four of swords.
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And we talk about how you can work with these cards to understand what kind of rest might be helpful to you or help you imagine what that rest can look like.
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And I think it's a really helpful episode as we move into Thanksgiving here in the United States and then into the winter holidays, which come quickly on the heels of Thanksgiving.
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So we didn't present it super clearly in the episode, so I edited it out.
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There's a very simple tarot spread in here for you to try using the fours.
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And then in the show notes, I will put some other questions you can use if you want to do a longer spread to reflect on what rest can look like for you right now.
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So look for that if you want to try it.
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And the stuff about the fours comes a little bit later.
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So I hope you'll stay through the episode, enjoy the conversation.
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And then, in terms of what's coming up next, Ariana and I recorded an episode on artificial intelligence.
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I'm gonna get that one to you next.
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I'm just gonna put these episodes with me and Ariana together in this little block, I think.
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And then I've also got a beautiful interview for you with an IFS therapist, an internal family systems therapist.
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We talk about parts work, we talk about working with our parts.
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This therapist does a little reading with me using a deck that focuses on internal parts of the self.
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It's very, very nourishing, very supportive, um, very interesting.
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I've also got an interview with the guys from Austin Seance, which obviously I wanted to get to you on Halloween.
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Ha ha ha ha.
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Like, oops.
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Um, even funnier, I wanted to get you a series of interviews for the whole month of October around the paranormal, the supernatural, high strangeness, all of my favorite things.
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But that didn't happen.
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And then we're also gonna finish out our journey through the major arcana.
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We've still got to do the moon, the sun.
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Those are recorded.
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The judgment episode is scheduled, and then we'll finish with the world, hopefully in 2026.
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And yeah, then we'll keep moving from there.
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I want to get you more solo episodes that are shorter, that are more focused.
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I've got some reflections on this year that I want to share with you.
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So, you know, we will see what my body can do, what my calendar will allow for, but the desire is certainly there.
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And I just appreciate your patience.
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If you're tuning into the show and enjoying the show and appreciating it, I appreciate you.
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Last thing I'll say actually is that as Ari and I are working together and kind of figuring out this collaboration, it's getting more structure around it.
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We're creating outlines, we're setting some more time limits on our episodes, we're pre-planning a little bit more.
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So they're gonna get a little tighter.
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They're gonna get, you know, they're just gonna keep getting better.
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And hopefully they'll keep arriving at a good pace so that you can enjoy them.
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All right, here's this latest one with more to come.
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Enjoy.
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Ari Smith is back.
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Ariana Smith, the therapist, the copywriter, the tarot reader, the witch.
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Ari, welcome back.
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Good to be with you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you so much.
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That was an excellent introduction.
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Okay, good.
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I am yes, I am a witch.
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Ari, how how have you been?
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What's new for you?
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I think since the last time I saw you, we were both traveling and we might have both been going to a similar place.
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So I went to New York City with my partner.
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I tagged along for work, although she corrected me.
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We were staying in Jersey City, but we went into New York City for other things.
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So New Yorkers will understand that distinction.
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And then such a juxtaposition went to rural North Carolina to meet my partner's aunt and uncle and just chill and relax.
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And it was such a juxtaposition because being in New York City and being anonymous, being the least interesting person in the vicinity, it was so nourishing for me on so many levels.
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And then since then, I mean, I can talk about all the things swirling in my business.
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Do you want to hear?
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I just hosted a workshop about human design and sustainable business.
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I've been kind of obsessed with human design since I got a reading in 2022.
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If y'all are listening and you're in Colorado or Denver, I I host therapist chill out gatherings.
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And so we have a book club later, and then we also have a tarot and chill gathering.
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So I'm going to get to gather with my local witches.
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And I also was invited to do a group tarot reading for a local group therapy practice, which I am so excited about.
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And maybe we can talk about group events today.
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But what I was up until 2 a.m.
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last night working on was my pitch party, which is basically a part co-working, part workshop for therapists, healers, heart-centered entrepreneurs that want to be more visible next year.
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They want to be featured on podcasts, publications, channels, and they don't know what the fuck they're doing.
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Or they want to refine their approach.
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So I was up late last night.
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And in doing that, I actually was looking back at the email I initially sent you to initially be on your podcast.
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Yes.
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Because I think that is one of the reasons I was like, let's do pitch party, because it's so many doors open when you just put yourself out there and you just let your work be seen.
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And I alluded to this earlier, but you were one of the very first podcasts that I talked openly about tarot, that I was like, I am on this podcast as a witchy person first, not as a therapist or a copywriter who happens to be a little witchy.
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And I just want to thank you and just like offer gratitude because you saying yes to that just like opened the door to so many things.
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And I want to offer that magic to other people who are like, I don't know what I'm doing.
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And so probably by the time this comes out, the party will have passed, but they'll probably still be, I'm making like a whole pitch kit for people.
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So I'm looking at all my past pitches that got accepted and deconstructing them.
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I'm doing templates and trackers.
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So if this comes out after November 5th, still take a look at it and see if there's something else that you can get from it or when I'm running it again.
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Amazing.
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Yes.
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Pitch Party sounds really cool.
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All of your offerings lately have, you know, I've only known you since you pitched.
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So um I haven't seen your offerings for like years and years, but since we've gotten to know each other, you've been coming out lately with some really cool stuff.
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And they're different, they kind of like span, you know, some different things.
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And I think it's really cool how you are holding these different angles of your work.
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I think a lot of people get really twisted up about like, well, I'm this, but I'm also this.
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And like, should I have a website for each one?
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And like, how do I brand these different things?
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And I think it looks really natural the way you're just weaving things together.
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Like, you do have a therapist audience, and then copywriting can be for like anyone who's got a business, and then tarot is for everybody who cares about it.
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So um, yeah, you're just a great example of how we can be many things and still offer from that place of self-knowing.
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So yay.
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Thank you.
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I appreciate that reflection.
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I do have to have a separate website for my therapy practice, just Licenger.
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Otherwise, I would have it all together.
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There's reasons to do either one, and I don't think one's better than another, but at least in your email list, sometimes it feels like an organic.
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Maybe you have two email lists.
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I don't know.
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Do you?
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I well, okay.
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I mean, I used to because I was like, we might have talked about this.
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I was really hiding my witchy side, and I was like, I don't know if people want to see this.
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But since honestly, being on this podcast, I was like, why does this have to be separate?
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And so I've really been shifting my newsletter to not necessarily be strictly witchy, but not be like, yeah, I'm gonna talk about writing with the moon phases, and I'm gonna talk about human design, and I'm gonna mention tarot spreads that can help you with your business.
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And that's not gonna be the focal point because that's not all that I am.
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Cool.
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Yeah, thank you.
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What are you up to?
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I am delivering the final parts of my creative channel offer, which is a six-week guided journey to help you clear the creative channel, connect with the creatrix as an energy, imagine and feel the creative channel within you.
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And it's going really beautifully.
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People are having some nice breakthroughs and coming to a different relationship with creativity that is less polluted with the crap of capitalism, the fears, the the anxieties.
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I mean, some of that is still there.
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It's an ongoing struggle for all of us, but we get to go beneath that and see that we have this relationship with creativity that is sacred, spiritual, and we get to reclaim that.
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So that's going really beautifully.
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And right now I'm developing something called creative enterprise.
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I'm starting to see how creative channel is the inner work of resetting that relationship with creativity.
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And then as people are coming to the end of it, they're getting some big downloads and clarity around what they want to create.
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People are like, I'm starting to write my website, or I realize I might want to take a pilgrimage as a road trip around the country to get to know my matrilineal line and maybe write about it and share about it.
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And I'm like, oh my God, that's amazing.
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So then creative enterprise is going to be more focused on the external side of the creative endeavor.
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I think creativity wants to have this sacred private relationship with each of us, but it also wants to go out and be in the world and to be received and to build bridges between people.
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And so the creative enterprise, there's gonna be a workshop.
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It will also have happened by the time this comes out.
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I'm gonna do another like longer course, but I'm doing a one-off workshop to explore that all the stuff that comes up around visibility, rejection, making money or not making money, platforms, technology.
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I mean, we can't cover every little thing, but we're gonna start that process of moving people out of the place of I've had this idea for a long time and I'm just sitting on it to okay, I'm gonna do the thing.
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I'm gonna do it little bit by a little bit.
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It makes me sad when people are like, Yeah, I have this idea, but I'm gonna wait until my kids graduate or this or that happens.
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And I'm like, no, the best time to start is today.
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Maybe that's not true.
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Timing is its own thing, but it saddens me sometimes to see people waiting years to do something that they already feel called to do.
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So a lot of my creative energy has been going toward creating those things and communicating and understanding what I'm offering.
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I got to go to a farm in upstate New York around the time that you were in New York, and it was a communal living situation and just an extremely beautiful place.
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So that was super interesting.
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I yeah, just have to interject.
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I remember reading that newsletter and I love it, and I love your newsletter so much.
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I love that it just feels like you're writing to I know you're writing to your people, but it just feels like you're writing to me.
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And you're like, let me tell you about this farm.
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And I remember that.
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So that seemed like a really awesome experience.
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Yeah, it was great.
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It's called the Farm at World's End, and they offer these self-guided residencies.
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So you basically pay for your room, you bring some groceries, and you get to wander around.
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You can help on the farm, you can sit in the barn and write or make stuff, or there were there was a couple that was working with wool, they had Icelandic sheep, and so they had gathered wool and they were cleaning it and then doing whatever you do to turn it into thread.
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And one of them had knitted 40 sweaters already, like really good sweaters, and I was just blown away.
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So people just come, they just come there, and do you have to pay to be there, or you just have to come and like contribute?
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You do have to pay to be there.
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It was very reasonable, and I think the rates will probably remain reasonable through the year.
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I know the farm is needing to raise money, so if y'all need a getaway, I would go to their website and you just fill out a little Google form and then pay your money.
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And then yeah, you have a room for a week.
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And my room was in the main structure attached to the big old barn.
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And I had a room overlooking the little pond, and then there's cabins around the property that don't have electricity, but they have a wood-burning stove, they're really cute, it's really marvelous.
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I can see why you like it.
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That's very Alaska vibes.
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I want to ask you if you ever want to take a guest, I'm up for it.
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I'm just gonna invite myself.
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Just gonna invite myself.
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I feel like also you and my mom have this kind of unconscious connection happening because last episode you were like, wait, Wasilla.
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And then my mom had bought your workbook.
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Right.
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She was like, Oh yeah, that's just my mom.
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She's like, Oh yeah, I just checked out the podcast and I saw the workbook and I just thought I'd check it out.
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And so then since then, you sent me your workbook.
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And then the last time I talked to my mom on the phone, you know, we like send photos of each other where we're at in the workbook.
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And of course, I'm hopping all over, I'm coloring with my felt pens, I'm journaling.
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But my mom, who is a retired art teacher, is actually using watercolors to move through hers.
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And I was like, Can you send me some photos?
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So you'll see that in my newsletter that goes out next week.
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And I asked her to send me a selfie, my wonderful late 60s mother, like, send me a selfie, mom.
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And of course, it's this beautifully framed photo of the workbook and stuff.
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And then she also said, when you sent the workbook, you sent her a postcard from Texas, which you sent one for me too.
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I don't want to give spoilers, but she was like, I need to send her something back, you know?
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I just need to send her.
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Yeah.
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So I feel like there is some kind of energy happening there for you.
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And because my mom's an art teacher, she's big into creativity.
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Oh, I was gonna say something else around this.
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This is kind of a tangent, but not really.
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I wanted to reflect earlier what you said around the creative channel and the creative enterprise.
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I feel like we just shifted to Alaska.
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Um, but I really wanted to speak to that piece because it's like maybe there's like some kind of collective energy happening because we're both sitting with like, okay, how do you get your work out in the world when it is such a vulnerable, sacred, personal thing?
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And I don't know if this is the case for you, and maybe you cover this a little bit in creative enterprise, is it's like our creative work is so personal, right?
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But then we're putting it out there for people to commodify, to reject, to um conflate, and how do we do that dance?
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And then we also wanted to like make money from it, you know, it's such a weird way.
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I'm sure you have thoughts around this, but I did have to notice that thread where we're both like, okay, how do you get your thing out there?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And for all the reasons you described, I am taking the position that taking your work out there in some way, whether it's micro or bigger, is a spiritual journey.
00:21:45.599 --> 00:22:19.519
It's a spiritual path that you can choose to walk for your own self-development and growth, because it will force you to confront everything that you're talking about, the fear, the visibility stuff, these questions of having this sacred gift, this sacred energy that you're channeling, interfacing with the material world that has a lot of limitations and a lot of unfortunate obstacles that we will encounter.
00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:31.119
And so choosing to try and navigate that is deeply rewarding because you will find people you've never met before.
00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:39.839
You'll find people who are very kindred to you, who are thinking about the same things, who care about the same things, who are doing their own things that are really interesting.
00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:45.599
And yes, there will be rejection or people won't get it, or whatever.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:23:03.519
But if we can choose to focus on how we handle that and also the gifts that come back that are not just money or not just recognition, then there is something incredibly just profoundly rewarding in that is my argument.
00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:06.559
That was a beautiful soundbite.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.160
I just want to soak that in.
00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:11.680
Getting your work out there is a spiritual path.
00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:16.640
It's not just a professional path, it's not just a creative path, it's a spiritual path.
00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:17.200
Yeah.
00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:31.599
And it's not for the faint of heart, but I get the sense that, and this is probably the people that you work with is you reach this point where you're like, I can't not do it anymore.
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:33.200
I can't hide it anymore.
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.480
This is just so uncomfortable.
00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:44.160
And so it's like you have to make a choice of like, what am I gonna take to sleep?
00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:46.720
Am I gonna lean into the fool energy, right?
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:49.599
And just trust I have everything that I need.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:24:02.319
And I think also what's feeling so alive for me as you share is like it is a spiritual path, it's an individual path, and it sounds like there's a place for doing it with other people.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:04.079
Do you see any?
00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:15.599
I don't want to say pros and cons because that really simplifies it, but what do you see for people that are doing the path alone and for those that are doing it with other people, with like-minded folks?
00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:18.240
Even just a creative partner.
00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:25.039
Yeah, a couple things I want to say really quickly.
00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:30.960
First, a spiritual path, I think it's also like a vision quest, which sounds really cool.
00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:39.279
Because you have this vision you're seeking, you're looking for, you're trying to bring into the world and you're questing out to do that.
00:24:39.599 --> 00:25:09.279
And in terms of that breaking point where it's I can't keep holding it back, I just want to note that the amount of energy it takes to hold the desire and hold the idea or the vision or the call and to continually put it aside and suppress it and delay it, that's a lot of energy you have to use to keep it at arm's length.
00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:16.000
And you can start using that energy to actually make it instead of keeping it in a box.
00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:34.319
And then in terms of doing it with other people, yeah, I just think anything we do with other people, you know, if they are aligned people more or less, or people on the same kind of path, then it becomes less lonely.
00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:40.319
You get more ideas, you find out that everyone else is struggling with exactly the same thing.
00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:48.079
You get other information about different ways it can look and different ways you can find your path through it.
00:25:48.319 --> 00:26:00.640
You have people to laugh about it with, you have people to complain about capitalism with, you have more jokes, more laughter, more magic, and also more connections.
00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:09.759
Because if the, you know, if your folks are aligned in some way, they're gonna know other people or they're gonna be part of your audience too.
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.640
So that's another reason lately.
00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:32.079
I feel like I've shifted a little bit out of one-on-one work and still doing it, but and offering these group guided journeys where it is a solo journey, like you're getting a digital care package and you do your own work with that, but then we meet up once a week to talk about how it's going, what's coming up?
00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:43.599
And those conversations are just so refreshing and rewarding and bring up so many other little pitfalls we run into the way.
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:45.039
So yes.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:48.400
Do you think I'm like, sign me up?
00:26:48.559 --> 00:27:06.720
Uh, do you think that there is some kind of I'm just marveling at the the current that it feels like we're both tapping into because I was literally writing an email to kid you not, like an hour ago, about how pitching is personal work and it opens you up to deeper work.
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:15.599
And yes, it's for your business, but I was just really thinking about you know what pitching has done for me.
00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:25.759
And I've talked about this, like it's made me grow, it's made me nourish and care for parts of myself that I didn't think needed attention.
00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:31.519
It's helped me really get comfortable with rejection and realize I'm really not that important.
00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:36.400
And the balance of like, you need your ideas to land with folks, right?
00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:38.559
But also they need to land with you.
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:42.079
That's a big dance that we have to take in capitalism.
00:27:42.319 --> 00:28:00.960
What I think is exciting about what you shared is it feels like even though we haven't seen each other for a couple months, or we're tapped into a really similar current and we haven't known each other for that long, but then here we are doing these really similar but really different paths around how to do it in our own way.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:03.599
This goes to the magic of the whole thing.
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:07.359
You sent me a great pitch, and I have a small podcast.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:08.960
I was like, I'm getting pitched.
00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:12.319
This is cool, and this person sounds interesting.
00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:21.759
And I said yes, and then we have this conversation, and then we're having more conversations, which was not anticipated from the outset.
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:28.160
I think part of that has been because I've been letting myself just be me and not fit into a certain box.
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:33.119
I think all of this is relevant and feeds into what we're about to talk about.
00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:34.160
Oh, totally.
00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:40.640
This notion of our creative cycles, how our energy moves creatively.
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:58.880
I think that's another part of what I'm focused on in creative channel, is that we have little internalized capitalists within us that want to be like, creativity, give me, give me the juice, give me the goods, help me get rich, help me get out of my job, help me, whatever.
00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:03.440
Like it's an extractive resource that just needs to show up for us.
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:10.559
And no, creativity is an energy, it's a relationship, and it sometimes it's flowing powerfully.
00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:19.119
I think of like the river, speaking of creative channel, sometimes it's flooding, sometimes there's been a lot of rain, and sometimes it's dry.
00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:22.079
And that changes, it's always fluctuating.
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:27.759
So, how do we listen to that, tune into that, tend to that, and listen to our bodies?
00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:31.039
And this was your beautiful topic idea.
00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:40.799
So, I want to hear from you what's been going on or what your experience has been lately as you've been in this big creative burst.
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:42.640
Oh my gosh.
00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:48.160
Well, I want to give a nod to Lindsay Mac because they talk about the seasons of your business.
00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:57.119
I've been thinking about creativity and I have been tuned into the lunar phases of creation and my menstrual cycle and hormonal cycles and all of that.
00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:59.839
And then I was learning.
00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:08.960
From their course around the seasons of our business, and it just got me thinking, we aren't machines, right?
00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:15.920
It's hard because as a copywriter, I'm on retainer for folks where I'm having to create consistently.
00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:21.839
There are times where I can just write and it just flows out and all the ideas are there.
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:26.480
And then there are times where I'm like, oh my gosh, I forget how to spell things.
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:31.359
And at the same time, there is an expectation for you to be creatively consistent.
00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:38.559
So even if you aren't being paid for your creative work, there's still this expectation that you are consistent.
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:43.359
And um I think a lot about consistency.
00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:55.920
And you and I both email, we have a weekly-ish newsletter, and you know, the lore is to be consistent with your email list, to be consistent with posting, to be consistent with blogging.
00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:05.920
And I don't know if we're designed to be consistent, and also we need some level of touch points to build trust with people, right?
00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:21.359
So I think a lot about knowing what your creative cycle is, what are the supports where you can be creative, you can honor your creative cycles, and also still pay your bills?
00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:23.759
What is the mindset that you need around this?
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:33.920
And how do you both nurture, I'm like just throwing out all these questions, how do you both nurture your creative channel and honor it, but also not extract from it too?
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.599
I only have questions, no answers, successfully.
00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:42.000
Yeah, it raises so many questions.
00:31:42.319 --> 00:32:00.799
And to the consistency piece, one thing we've been exploring in Creative Channel is this distinction between discipline and devotion.
00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:20.319
And I think that a lot of creative people feel like they need to get on this schedule or this regimen where they create for an hour three times a week, or every morning they need to write five pages or a thousand words or whatever.
00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:40.240
And I think that can work for some people, but I think when we impose a routine on ourselves, when we become rigid in creating that expectation of ourselves, it doesn't account for the fluctuations of energy.
00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:45.440
And discipline is just like not that fun for anyone.
00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:53.440
I mean, it is maybe an honorable trait, or under capitalism, it certainly is, under our puritanical origins.
00:32:54.000 --> 00:33:10.880
But devotion, I think, is something that gives us more flexibility and it honors the fact that we are working with something greater than ourselves, and that it is a gift to get to be with that energy and use that energy and shape it and collaborate with it.
00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:25.200
And so if we think of it more as this is a gift, this is a thing I get to do because I am human and I don't want the external world to smash that for me.
00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:51.599
I am devoted to maintaining its aliveness and to deepening that relationship by showing up regularly with a kind of irregular consistency, let's say, yeah, that does honor my capacity and my ability as a person living under capitalism with a lot of responsibilities and demands, but that also honors what creativity is bringing to me.
00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:55.920
And so recently, like I went to the farm.
00:33:56.240 --> 00:34:05.759
This is the dilemma in the modern world is like you're gonna take a week away to go to for me, this farm where my days are open.
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:09.440
I don't have anything scheduled, I can move around how I want to.
00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:17.920
But in order to get there, I have to pre-arrange a lot of things and wrap a lot of things up so that I'm not working that much when I'm there.
00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:23.039
And then when I come back, I have to dive in and start up and catch up.
00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:26.880
And there's a lot of emails in my box, and I gotta, you know.
00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:32.159
So even when we take these windows on the other side of that, I came back.
00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:34.639
There was the normal catching up.
00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:41.519
My partner was traveling, so I've got to do all the dog walking or I'm gonna do any cleaning that I want to do.
00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:45.920
And then I had set up three events in a week of different kinds.
00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:52.320
And by the end of last week, I was like, put me in the ground.
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:57.119
I'm my bones were tired.
00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:04.400
I went to massage chiropractor energy witch, and I hadn't seen her in a while.
00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:05.599
It was so needed.
00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:13.599
And sometimes she's channeling things for me, and she's like, Yeah, you don't have to run yourself into the ground to have success.
00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:18.239
And I my moon is in Capricorn, so the moon is the body.
00:35:18.559 --> 00:35:27.920
Capricorn's extra discipline, and so my body will work, but my body's getting older and more brittle.
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:41.199
And so after that feeling of being wrung out, it's like, okay, I have to remember, you know, when I have a creative burst of energy, I will try to flow with that as much as I can.
00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:50.079
But I know also for people with ADHD who can get really hyper-focused on something, and this is something you mentioned, and maybe you'll speak to it.
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:54.639
There's this like, okay, the energy's flowing, so I'm in the flow until it's gone.
00:35:54.719 --> 00:36:00.639
And then you're up until two in the morning, but you got to get up at seven and you're not 21 anymore.
00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:09.599
And so one thing we talked about in Creative Channel with someone who expressed that same experience was like, what about going in with a timer?
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:15.440
Like having a ritual at the start of your creative process and a ritual to bring you out of it.
00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:18.320
So we're not just switching between these two worlds.
00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:22.800
But part of that ritual can be okay, it's 11 p.m.
00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:25.440
I do need to go to bed at 12:30.
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:30.400
So here's my timer, and it's gonna make a very pretty sound when it goes off.
00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:40.239
But those are just some thoughts about because the other thing is like, yeah, we can learn about our creative cycle, but it's also changing all the time.
00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:44.000
It's not on like an automatic repeating cycle.
00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:46.559
So yes, yes.
00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:48.159
No, it's so funny.
00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:53.199
I was like, girl, your Capricorn moon is showing, like just set a timer and follow it.
00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:54.639
Um, no, thanks.
00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:57.599
Um, so I have a Gemini, I have a Gemini moon.
00:36:57.760 --> 00:36:58.239
I love this.
00:36:58.320 --> 00:36:59.440
It's like your body.
00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:02.880
So my exhaustion shows up a lot more in my nervous system.
00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:10.719
And I've managed chronic pain for several years, which is very much a nervous system thing in my case.
00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:18.400
And so that's interesting of thinking about your moon, showing how the ways that you can keep pushing.
00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:26.400
And yeah, I can do a lot, but then my nervous system is just like, please stop, please stop, please stop.
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:34.000
And I think there's something here around, and this has been my dance, and by no means figure this out.
00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:37.440
You know, sometimes we have parts of us that hold scarcity.
00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:45.119
Oh, yeah, that are like, well, it's here, so I gotta get it out while it's here, you know, and it won't come back.
00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:52.960
And I think another thing that I wanted to speak to that you shared is there's an internal consistency and an external consistency.
00:37:53.199 --> 00:37:55.519
And often we highlight more of the external.
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:57.599
Am I publishing my newsletter every week?
00:37:57.760 --> 00:37:58.880
Am I doing this?
00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:06.000
But when I actually look at, and this is not the case for everyone, I'm pretty consistent at turning to my tarot deck almost every day.
00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:12.400
I'm pretty consistent to writing morning pages, even if it's just a couple lines.
00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:21.920
And that's not things that people see, but those I think are more important than in the long term than what we're doing externally.
00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:32.000
So I guess what we could offer folks is first off, consistency is so convoluted from a capitalistic perspective, right?
00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:38.960
It implies that we're machines, that seasons don't happen, that our output is the same during that time.
00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:47.679
But I think we also can frame it like, what do you want to be internally consistent about and externally consistent about?
00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:58.719
Because the internal consistency feels more about the devotion aspect, and then the external consistency feels more about the discipline, however, that shows up for folks.
00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:06.000
I hadn't thought about that, that internal and external devotion versus discipline.
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:07.920
So that's super helpful.
00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:10.800
That gives me more to think about.
00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:27.679
And at the same time, it's a reminder or just something I want to emphasize that we also tend to think that creative consistency is just the external part.
00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:41.199
And we don't count the yeah, conversations with tarot cards or the morning pages where we're purging the thoughts and clearing the channel.
00:39:41.360 --> 00:40:06.159
We don't count the walks in the woods where we turn off the podcast and just listen to the trees, listen to the birds, or periods where we're just still and we're resting more and allowing maybe a recent creative burst to digest and integrate before we go forward again.
00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:18.079
Well, what you're describing also is capitalism doesn't see those things as part of the creative process.
00:40:18.239 --> 00:40:18.480
Right.
00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:22.320
And I have said this for years.
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:26.639
I'm like, my best writing doesn't happen when I'm at my laptop.
00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:29.199
It happens out in the world.
00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:39.840
I'm writing when I go out and I notice, you know, what's been alive for me is just noticing the angle of the sunlight changing as we go into fall.
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:47.599
And it's when I sit down to my laptop that I'm capturing ideas that I'm going it through.
00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:49.440
And so I try to keep that in mind.
00:40:49.599 --> 00:41:11.119
That's a little hack I've given myself because sometimes I'm like, I'm only productive when I'm at my laptop, but I'm like, no, like your best things come, and best is even a qualifier that I'm hesitant to use, but your most alive things come when you are actually not sitting at the conveyor belt of production, of creative production.
00:41:11.360 --> 00:41:17.360
I wanted to offer also what has helped me with my creative cycles.
00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:24.880
And we're gonna go into human design another time, but I am working on a blog that what did I call it?
00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:26.639
I'm gonna name it just to give a teaser.
00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:31.519
Creative by design, honoring the rhythms of your creativity with human design and tarot.
00:41:32.239 --> 00:41:34.320
Um yes.
00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:39.519
And I'm talking about creativity being a pulse, not a product.
00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:42.159
So that's been sitting with me.
00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:45.039
I have that in big bold letters on my screen right now.
00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:52.239
So we'll go into that another time, but I like tracking and paying attention to my cycles.
00:41:52.480 --> 00:42:02.159
And it started just with tracking lunar phases, and I would just pay attention to what was happening during waxing, waning, full, new, and how my energy was during that time.
00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:13.599
And then I compared that to what was happening in my hormonal cycle, which I was already tracking because I have PMDD, speaking of like inconsistent.
00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:20.639
And so then I noticed that my hormones were actually more connected to my creativity than the moon cycle and more powerful.
00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:22.239
There was still an overlap there.
00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:22.559
Wow.
00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:24.800
And I know exactly why I was up until 2 a.m.
00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:28.159
last night, and I won't be this way in a couple weeks.
00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:32.800
And I just know that I need less sleep right now because of how my hormonal cycle is.
00:42:33.039 --> 00:42:39.360
So I think when we are honoring our creative cycles, there is something about tracking and noticing, but then also accepting.
00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:41.920
And then if you can, planning.
00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:53.519
So it, you know, I can't always do this, but if I'm starting a new copywriting project, I try to do it around my internal rhythms, but for external, like with my clients, they do the lunar cycle.
00:42:53.679 --> 00:42:57.599
So if I'm because I'm like, that's collective energy that's impacting the project.
00:42:57.679 --> 00:43:04.719
And so I will try to schedule it around a new moon and I'll know that that person might be like pretty scattered.
00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:10.639
And then if I'm scheduling like a feedback call, I might want to do it more around the full moon.
00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:17.760
So then it's illuminating the things under the surface that they may not be able to name, but it is important for their work.
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:20.719
And then the same also with my tarot readings.
00:43:20.960 --> 00:43:25.280
If you're planting a seed for a new idea, let's do it around a new moon.
00:43:25.440 --> 00:43:30.559
If you really want to illuminate some deep shit, full moon, you know.
00:43:31.039 --> 00:43:34.559
And then I also try to pay attention.
00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:36.400
This is probably a very nerdy thing for me.
00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:41.440
People probably don't think this much about it, but I also pay attention to my seasonal cycles.
00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:45.360
So during the winter, I can't have a meeting before 10 a.m.
00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:46.400
my time.
00:43:46.639 --> 00:43:49.360
And I also don't want to leave the house after five.
00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:53.280
But then during the summer, I'm like, yeah, the sun's up.
00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:54.719
Let's do this.
00:43:55.119 --> 00:44:12.400
So I think these are all tangible examples around how even though we are working within the confines of capitalism, maybe there's just one cycle that folks can notice and track and see what they can shift.
00:44:12.639 --> 00:44:14.559
Um, what do you think?
00:44:15.199 --> 00:44:26.880
Yes, this is all super interesting the way that you've made these distinctions, hormonally, lunar, internal, external.
00:44:27.280 --> 00:44:28.159
Seasonal.
00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:38.320
Yeah, and I think like the seasonal one for me was the first one that I really latched on to.
00:44:38.559 --> 00:44:55.760
And shortly after getting into tarot, I came upon the wheel of the year notion and these eight stations of the wheel of the year organized around the equinoxes and the solstices with halfway points in between.
00:44:56.079 --> 00:44:58.960
And that was huge for me.
00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:22.400
It was the first time I could start to think about time on a different not the first time, but moving through time day to day, month to month on a bigger scale in connection with nature, which is something I've always felt uh uh drawn to, interested in, devoted to.
00:45:22.639 --> 00:45:27.280
And I think because you know, seasons are just they're pronounced.
00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:33.920
You feel them in the air, you see them in nature, your clothes change, the light changes.
00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:36.639
So we have a lot of and they're slower.
00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:43.760
So there's more to notice, we have more history to lean on, and we have emotional connections to the different seasons.
00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:53.840
And so that's a great place to start if you're doing this for the first time, is to start with the seasonal stuff and just notice where is your energy.
00:45:54.320 --> 00:45:59.840
I love that invitation to just start first with the seasons because it's so obvious, right?
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:06.320
The examples I gave are pretty nuanced and also may not align for folks.
00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:13.599
They may not, you know, or they may not have a consistent hormonal cycle or anything like that, but the seasons are consistent.
00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:17.920
We can deny our internal experience, right?
00:46:18.079 --> 00:46:25.440
But we it's hard to look out the window and it's 30 degrees outside and it's snowing and not deny that that's happening right now.
00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:34.320
I remember a big thing for me was I would always fly back to Alaska for the holidays.
00:46:34.559 --> 00:46:41.760
And a big choice for me once I started listening to my seasonal rhythms was actually not flying back during the holidays.
00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:52.880
I am gonna start doing that more now that there's some shifts in my family, but initially it was just so freeing to be just like, no, like I don't want to fly in the holidays, I don't want to go up there in Christmas.
00:46:52.960 --> 00:46:58.960
Why don't I go up there during the summer and the fall when it's a little bit more aligned?
00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:15.679
And so that was a really nice rhythm that I found with my family of like, and this is maybe something to think about with the holidays, if there's these expectations of like we spend the holidays together, we do this, or we output this, it's like, well, maybe we can do it at a season that actually makes more sense for us, right?
00:47:16.239 --> 00:47:21.360
And so we got into a different rhythm around how we would visit each other and how we would connect.
00:47:21.760 --> 00:47:37.920
And also, I think about for anyone who is a service provider, in my case, a therapist, we're trying to slow down, but often there's a lot coming up for our clients around the holidays.
00:47:38.079 --> 00:47:43.440
There's grief, there's family dynamics, there's financial layers to this.
00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:53.119
And so even if you can listen to your own rhythms, there is an awareness of like, if you hold space for others, that's going to be impacting you.
00:47:53.280 --> 00:47:55.199
So, what does that mean for you?
00:47:55.920 --> 00:48:03.760
I also was thinking about, you know, the opting out, if it can't be external, it can be internal.
00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:12.639
So I think I'm maybe tapping into a little bit of the eight of swords energy of sometimes we feel really stuck about what we can opt out of.
00:48:12.880 --> 00:48:20.960
And maybe you have kids, and so opting out of Christmas is not an option, but is there an internal opt-out that you can do?
00:48:21.119 --> 00:48:26.000
Is there an internal opt-out of this is gonna be my financial limit, right?
00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:35.760
Or we're only gonna do one activity this week, or we're not gonna host, we're not gonna host dinner, we're gonna do a brunch, an easy brunch, a potlet brunch.
00:48:35.920 --> 00:48:42.079
That's a little bit more external, but even an internal opt-out of I'm not gonna obsess over if it's the right gifts or not.
00:48:42.480 --> 00:48:47.280
Or I'm not going to shop online after 9 p.m.
00:48:47.760 --> 00:48:48.800
or whatever that is.
00:48:49.199 --> 00:49:09.280
We kind of have this theme of like internal, external, and I think it also matches with how we can engage with this pacing too, because capitalism has us believe that we don't actually get to listen and we can get into this trance of capitalism and productivity, and it takes so much.
00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:14.639
I don't know how much how it is for you, but it takes so much energy to slow down.
00:49:15.920 --> 00:49:30.000
It's like you think it would be easy to just like stop what I'm doing, and maybe this is just how I'm designed, but I get momentum around things and I have such a hard time slowing down.
00:49:30.239 --> 00:49:31.119
So hard.
00:49:31.360 --> 00:49:35.440
And I can share though this tarot spread that we were talking about too.
00:49:35.599 --> 00:49:37.280
Should we segue to that?
00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:40.079
Yes, let's do that.
00:49:40.400 --> 00:49:42.800
Because this is we love tarot, right?
00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:51.360
Um so before this podcast, I was thinking of all the stuff that I had to do, but also listening to my body and my nervous system.
00:49:51.440 --> 00:49:58.400
And it was like, it was very much telling me, like, if you don't slow down, we're gonna have a we're gonna go into a deeper pain player.
00:49:58.559 --> 00:50:12.079
And so I thought about what cards connected to slowing down for me, and the fours came up as some really gentle, lovely anchors around that in different ways.
00:50:12.320 --> 00:50:20.480
And so do you want to talk about the fours or can I like invite folks how to do this spread that I did before this podcast?
00:50:20.880 --> 00:50:22.719
Yeah, let's introduce the fours.
00:50:23.519 --> 00:50:26.559
Okay, and how we connect them to slowing down.
00:50:27.199 --> 00:50:34.960
Yes, okay, because I think it's different probably for me and you, like our connection to the fours is different, but maybe there's some similar.
00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:40.639
So I I think the four of the swords is like the most obvious, and I'm using the light series tarot right now.
00:50:40.719 --> 00:50:46.719
And the light series tarot for the four of swords is literally a a person cocooned in a nest.
00:50:47.280 --> 00:51:00.000
And so I see four of swords as a call for rest, a call for laying horizontal, literally, but also like a mental break too, a mental slowdown.
00:51:00.079 --> 00:51:02.000
Like, can you put down the swords?
00:51:02.079 --> 00:51:04.239
Like, how do you connect to the four of swords?
00:51:05.039 --> 00:51:09.519
Yes, I cosign all of that.
00:51:10.079 --> 00:51:20.880
I will add that the four of swords follows the three of swords, and then the two of swords as well.
00:51:21.119 --> 00:51:36.880
And actually, interestingly, I think starting tomorrow, we are in the period of time that the four of swords governs it's third piece of Libra season.
00:51:37.760 --> 00:51:40.079
So it's got like a 10-day period.
00:51:40.159 --> 00:51:43.519
So we're like at the end of three of swords time right now.
00:51:43.920 --> 00:51:54.880
And studying with Christopher Marmalejo has revealed this other arc in that progression where two of swords is this withholding.
00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:59.679
We could compare it to I have a creative vision and I'm not doing anything about it.
00:51:59.840 --> 00:52:03.119
Like that holding, I'm gonna I'm gonna pretend I'm blind to it.
00:52:03.280 --> 00:52:04.800
I'm gonna pretend it's not there.
00:52:05.039 --> 00:52:07.599
I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, I'm fine.
00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:16.000
And then three of swords is a Saturn card, and it's like, no, we can't hide it forever.
00:52:16.239 --> 00:52:23.599
The honest thing has to come out, which will create some kind of breakage, maybe some kind of pain or grief.
00:52:23.920 --> 00:52:28.800
Maybe it's like, oh, I wish I'd started this three years ago and I'm sad about that.
00:52:29.119 --> 00:52:34.400
Or in a relationship, it's like, here's how I really feel, and I've been afraid to tell you that.
00:52:34.800 --> 00:52:42.079
And here's some of my pain around being honest, and here's some of your pain about hearing something that is hard to say.
00:52:42.719 --> 00:52:56.320
And then the Four of Swords is like, okay, that was a lot of psychological labor to call out the thing and say the thing and share the thing.
00:52:56.639 --> 00:53:08.559
And now we, yeah, like you said, we need this cocoon, we need a place of stillness, we need a little sanctuary for ourselves to just be in solitude.
00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:12.880
And I think solitude is an incredibly powerful form of rest.
00:53:13.280 --> 00:53:17.760
Some people find it uh uneasy and uncomfortable.
00:53:18.079 --> 00:53:27.119
And if that's you, I think that's a great place to explore because we are the person we spend the most time with in life.
00:53:27.199 --> 00:53:39.280
And the more we can befriend ourselves and find joy in being with ourselves, then we can distance ourselves from a lot of these distractions or other people's needs and desires.
00:53:39.599 --> 00:53:47.280
I see Four of Swords as you know, some people might see that nest and be like, Oh, you're just like sitting and meditating.
00:53:47.679 --> 00:53:53.199
Sometimes for me, my favorite Four of Swords is the zoning out to a really good TV show that I like.
00:53:53.440 --> 00:54:00.719
Just giving my brain something else to focus on, some kind of mental break that maybe is stillness.
00:54:00.880 --> 00:54:05.679
I do need those times, but sometimes I need just like distraction.
00:54:06.079 --> 00:54:08.960
I just need to be hooked into a storyline.
00:54:09.039 --> 00:54:13.039
So I did want to offer that for folks with busy the busy brains club.
00:54:13.199 --> 00:54:20.800
With the Four of Pentacles, I think it has these traditional connotations around your finances and your security.
00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:26.960
When I think about the Four of Pentacles as a way to slow down, I do think a lot about the body.
00:54:27.199 --> 00:54:34.079
I do think a lot about scarcity and like, do I think I don't have what I need or do I truly not have what I need?
00:54:34.239 --> 00:54:40.000
And I think of the Four of Pentacles as like a chair, thinking about all four legs on the ground.
00:54:40.320 --> 00:54:42.079
Do you have all the things that you need?
00:54:42.239 --> 00:54:49.599
I remember my therapist gave me this really great analogy years and years ago around like, you know, our life is like a chair.
00:54:49.840 --> 00:54:52.719
And if one leg is wobbly, we can do okay.
00:54:52.880 --> 00:54:57.039
But if two are off, then we're having a really hard time.
00:54:57.280 --> 00:55:07.679
And so if we want to look at four of pentacles practically, if this is a card that you connect with for slowing down, it's like, what are the legs of your chair and how are they each doing?
00:55:07.920 --> 00:55:19.119
And maybe there can be an acceptance if you got a wobbly one, if you have both off, or maybe you don't have to fully fix that wobbly leg, we can just get it a little bit more stable.
00:55:19.360 --> 00:55:26.239
What I mean by that tangibly is for some people, the four legs are our family, our health, our relationship, and our work.
00:55:26.559 --> 00:55:31.760
And so maybe things in our relationship feel a little bit wobbly, and that's okay.
00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:39.679
We just have to accept that that's the season of our relationship, or maybe our career feels a little bit wobbly because we're like, oh my gosh, AI is taking over.
00:55:39.760 --> 00:55:40.639
I'm gonna take my job.
00:55:40.800 --> 00:55:44.960
And you're like, okay, I can't really change that, but maybe I need to skill up a little bit.
00:55:45.119 --> 00:55:47.679
Maybe I could feel a little bit less wobbly around that.
00:55:47.920 --> 00:55:51.039
Once again, that's implying doing more, but another option.
00:55:51.199 --> 00:55:52.000
How do you connect?
00:55:52.159 --> 00:55:57.199
I love your the way you describe the two, three, four of the things and the progression there.
00:55:57.920 --> 00:56:01.440
Yeah, I love everything you're saying about the Four of Pentacles.
00:56:02.559 --> 00:56:14.239
I think in my workbook, there's an exercise for the four pillars where you look at what they are, and I think you draw them, which I remember having fun doing.
00:56:14.559 --> 00:56:20.719
And yeah, a card of like shoring up, stabilizing in that card as well.
00:56:20.880 --> 00:56:34.159
In the writer weight, the Smith Wait deck, there the figure is separated from the village, the city that's behind them, and they've got the four coins arranged around their body.
00:56:34.880 --> 00:56:37.679
So yeah, how am I resourced?
00:56:38.000 --> 00:56:40.320
How am I held up?
00:56:40.559 --> 00:56:41.519
Sometimes it is money.
00:56:41.679 --> 00:56:45.840
Do I need to like pull back and focus on paying off some debt?
00:56:46.000 --> 00:56:48.159
Will that give me more security?
00:56:48.480 --> 00:56:52.000
Or just a time to check in what's supporting me?
00:56:52.239 --> 00:56:59.679
Are my thoughts or feelings about that support true if I really look at the facts?
00:57:02.000 --> 00:57:07.360
Yeah, maybe the four of pentacles is also an invitation to slow down spending.
00:57:07.679 --> 00:57:12.239
You know, it could be as simple as why am I spending this money on this?
00:57:12.480 --> 00:57:13.840
Is it compulsive?
00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:17.679
Is it feeling like I have to, or do I want to?
00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:19.599
Should we talk about the four of wands?
00:57:19.760 --> 00:57:31.440
I actually really loved connecting four of wands and four of cups to slowing down because I feel like the four of swords and four of pentacles, it's like those are kind of clear slowdown interpretations, but the four of wands and four of cups aren't always as clear to folks.
00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:33.760
And so I have some thoughts on that.
00:57:34.079 --> 00:57:41.519
So before before we got in the podcast, I pulled all the fours out of the deck and shuffled them.
00:57:41.599 --> 00:57:47.360
And I was like, okay, which four do I really need to anchor into right now that I need to connect with?
00:57:47.599 --> 00:57:50.559
And the four of wands reverse showed up for me.
00:57:50.800 --> 00:57:58.559
And what I connect to the four of wands for slowing down is like stop and smell the roses kind of thing.
00:57:58.880 --> 00:58:13.599
Are you getting so focused on doing and completing and finishing that you're not actually pausing to look around you and see what you can celebrate and see who you can connect with?
00:58:13.840 --> 00:58:25.599
And so when I received this in reverse, I was like, oh, are you really not connecting with what you do get to celebrate right now and what you do get to lean into and feel secure about?
00:58:25.840 --> 00:58:27.360
So that was my thought.
00:58:27.519 --> 00:58:35.599
If folks get the four of wands as their slow down card, it could even also be like literally slow down and make plans with someone.
00:58:36.159 --> 00:58:44.320
I also see the four of wands as an invitation to celebrate a milestone that isn't often celebrated.
00:58:44.480 --> 00:58:48.079
What milestones are you not celebrating in your life or business?
00:58:48.239 --> 00:58:51.039
How do you connect to the four of wands and slowing down?
00:58:51.360 --> 00:58:54.159
Again, I agree with all of that.
00:58:54.719 --> 00:59:06.800
And would just add or emphasize, I suppose, that the celebration piece is incredibly powerful in the creative cycle.
00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:12.000
Like you said, we're always like, do the thing, finish the thing.
00:59:12.320 --> 00:59:14.239
Okay, people didn't hate the thing.
00:59:14.400 --> 00:59:16.159
Great, on to the next thing.
00:59:16.480 --> 00:59:21.199
Go, go, you know, and there's no pause for what did I make?
00:59:21.280 --> 00:59:22.960
Yeah, how did it go?
00:59:23.199 --> 00:59:24.880
I worked really hard.
00:59:25.119 --> 00:59:31.840
Let's celebrate that it happened, that I did it, that we did it, or whatever the case.
00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:34.639
And I I like that word milestone with the card.
00:59:34.800 --> 00:59:40.239
I do think celebration is a restorative element.
00:59:40.480 --> 00:59:49.679
I think it also honors creativity because it takes us a little bit out of that extractive cycle of just keep giving me, keep providing.
00:59:49.920 --> 00:59:52.400
It's like, let me pause and appreciate.
00:59:52.719 --> 00:59:58.079
And when creativity feels appreciated, it's like, okay, we love working together.
00:59:58.239 --> 00:59:59.840
Let's keep going because I see.
01:00:00.320 --> 01:00:03.840
That you appreciate me and you appreciate what we're doing together.
01:00:04.239 --> 01:00:04.880
Yes.
01:00:05.199 --> 01:00:05.840
Yes.
01:00:06.079 --> 01:00:07.039
I love this.
01:00:07.280 --> 01:00:14.000
I feel like you were just giving me extra insight into receiving that card.
01:00:14.239 --> 01:00:23.440
The Four of Cups, I see it as an invitation to look at what is being held out to you that you are either accepting or rejecting.
01:00:23.840 --> 01:00:31.599
If I were to pull this card for myself and slowing down, it would be like, am I dissatisfied with the way things are?
01:00:31.760 --> 01:00:33.360
And is that why I can't slow down?
01:00:33.440 --> 01:00:38.800
Or if I were to slow down, would I actually see something, feel something that I don't really want to feel?
01:00:39.119 --> 01:00:41.599
What's your connection to the Four of Cups?
01:00:42.079 --> 01:00:44.880
Yeah, we can go to the two and the three of Cups.
01:00:44.960 --> 01:00:45.280
Yeah.
01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:48.239
The two, these people are coming together.
01:00:48.480 --> 01:00:52.079
In the three, there's more people coming together.
01:00:52.400 --> 01:00:56.800
And so again, relationship cards, those are cancer cards.
01:00:57.119 --> 01:01:07.599
And then the four, you just get an individual who's a little bit withdrawn looking as this cup is offered, and they already have several cups.
01:01:07.840 --> 01:01:15.280
So sometimes it feels like the social exhaustion, just like, yeah, relationships are work.
01:01:15.760 --> 01:01:36.159
A little similar to Four of Swords energy, but like the rest you need after even the good stuff of the relationships, the socializing, the playfulness, the listening to conversations and taking in information and contributing to the social atmosphere.
01:01:36.480 --> 01:01:37.679
So that's one layer.
01:01:37.920 --> 01:01:45.599
And then I think another piece that I talk about is to go to human design.
01:01:45.760 --> 01:01:54.559
I know that the key for a manifesting generator is to wait to respond, to not just immediately say yes.
01:01:54.719 --> 01:02:03.039
And so that card is to me the thing that the manifesting generators are trying to do is the waiting to respond.
01:02:03.280 --> 01:02:10.320
When you pause and you stop, like something came into your field, an invitation, a can you do this?
01:02:10.559 --> 01:02:13.119
A do you have the bandwidth for this?
01:02:13.360 --> 01:02:20.320
And instead of the automatic, well, I don't want to lose my job, or I don't want this person to be mad at me.
01:02:20.400 --> 01:02:21.519
So I'm gonna do it.
01:02:21.679 --> 01:02:25.440
There's a pause where it's what does my body say?
01:02:25.679 --> 01:02:27.119
How much energy do I have?
01:02:27.280 --> 01:02:29.760
Do I actually want to do this?
01:02:30.400 --> 01:02:34.639
Or what are the other trade-offs I'm considering as I make this choice?
01:02:34.800 --> 01:02:43.119
So yeah, your friends are like, come to this Christmas party, and you've already got a Christmas party scheduled the next day, and you're like, Well, I don't want to leave them out.
01:02:43.440 --> 01:02:46.960
But your body's like, girl, how are you gonna do all these parties?
01:02:47.280 --> 01:02:58.559
And you just sit with that for a second and you're like, you know what, I gotta decline because I'm really focusing on resting during the holidays in a brand new way.
01:02:58.800 --> 01:03:03.599
And so yeah, where you look within before you say yes or no.
01:03:04.480 --> 01:03:06.960
And then there is an element, I love this.
01:03:07.119 --> 01:03:08.559
I actually love this interpretation.
01:03:08.719 --> 01:03:10.800
I think there is an element of sitting.
01:03:10.960 --> 01:03:15.599
Oh, it's also generators that have to wait to respond to some man gen and generators.
01:03:16.960 --> 01:03:25.119
And so I think there's also an element of saying no is gonna make you sit with a discomfort.
01:03:25.360 --> 01:03:31.679
It's not like you're gonna have to sit and be alone with the like, oh my god, do they hate me?
01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:38.000
Which loops back to the binary that we're conditioned is either do they like it or they hate it?
01:03:38.159 --> 01:03:39.920
Do they like me or they hate me?
01:03:40.159 --> 01:04:02.800
And so I feel like with four of cups, there's a real invitation to sit with the discomfort of saying no, because when we say yes to one thing, this is very generator or manifesting generator, when we say one yes to something that's not aligned, if it's not the right cup, then we don't then we can't see that cup that's coming out the other way that's actually meant for us.
01:04:02.880 --> 01:04:08.000
So there's a real patience in this card, too.
01:04:08.320 --> 01:04:25.440
So when I did this card, so folks listening, you can pull out all the four of the cards of your deck, you can shuffle, pull out the card, and then go back to where we talked about each of these cards, and they'll get a little mini reading on what that four might be communicating to you.
01:04:25.760 --> 01:04:33.199
So that's where you would take out the four fours and shuffle them and see which one comes up for you, and then compare to what we're talking about.
01:04:33.360 --> 01:04:34.880
Okay, yes, good.
01:04:35.440 --> 01:04:38.159
I'm looking for my fours right now.
01:04:38.800 --> 01:04:41.679
Yeah, what fours did you try this?
01:04:42.800 --> 01:04:44.480
They're all hiding.
01:04:45.519 --> 01:04:47.280
I haven't seen one of them yet.
01:04:47.440 --> 01:04:48.239
There's one.
01:04:52.719 --> 01:04:54.079
There's the other.
01:04:57.440 --> 01:04:59.360
I can't find one of these fours.
01:04:59.599 --> 01:05:01.199
This is a disaster.
01:05:03.119 --> 01:05:06.239
Well, do you have yours out?
01:05:07.039 --> 01:05:07.440
I do.
01:05:07.519 --> 01:05:09.119
Do you want me to draw yours for you?
01:05:09.360 --> 01:05:10.559
Yeah, thank you.
01:05:13.360 --> 01:05:15.599
I'm gonna shuffle and just tell me when to stop.
01:05:24.639 --> 01:05:25.519
Four of ones.
01:05:26.880 --> 01:05:27.199
Okay.
01:05:29.679 --> 01:05:31.119
Time to celebrate.
01:05:31.440 --> 01:05:32.079
That's fair.
01:05:32.320 --> 01:05:34.880
Wait, so yeah, we both got the four of ones.
01:05:35.199 --> 01:05:41.119
Yes, that feels good because I do feel like I'm having more energy.
01:05:41.360 --> 01:05:47.760
There are things I feel like I have the energy to be creating, but there are things to celebrate.
01:05:47.840 --> 01:05:53.199
I feel like celebration is a little bit more of an active recovery, active restoration.
01:05:53.679 --> 01:05:58.000
So and tomorrow is Friday, my Venus day.
01:05:58.239 --> 01:06:02.559
As a Libra rising, Venus is also your goddess, your planet.
01:06:03.039 --> 01:06:07.039
Wait, so that means Venus is both of our chart rulers because you're Taurus rising.
01:06:07.599 --> 01:06:09.119
Oh, okay.
01:06:10.719 --> 01:06:16.800
So Friday celebrations for both of us to restore energy.
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We covered a lot.
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We did, we really did.
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Thank you for coming back for these explorations to our listeners.
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Thank you for joining us.
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It is always a pleasure to have you here.
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And I'll point you to our email list once more because we would love to connect with you through other aspects of our work.
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So we hope this conversation served you and entertained you a little bit.
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And we'll talk to you next time.
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Thank you so much.
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Many thanks to Ariana for coming on the show yet again and joining me in these rich explorations of the tarot, of creativity, of just living life in a creative and magical way.
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I'm excited to continue these explorations.
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Ariana and I are meeting about once a month to give you a new episode.
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And I encourage you to head over to Ariana's website, ariannasmith.com, which will be in the show notes.
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And there you can sign up for her newsletter so that you can hear about some of her offerings like Pitch Party before they happen instead of after the fact.
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And if you're not already on my email list, I think you might enjoy hearing from me there as well.
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That's where I share more about upcoming offers, workshops, some of my special magical products and projects.
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You can sign up for my newsletter at typewritertarot.com.
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When you do sign up, you will also get the first three journaling prompts from my workbook, Tarot for Creative Spirits.
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So you'll get the journaling prompts for The Fool, the Magician, and the High Priestess.
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And thanks for being here.
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Thank you for listening.
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It's beautiful to transmit these thoughts and explorations to you across space and time.
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I'm wishing you a beautiful week, a beautiful month, a beautiful holiday season.
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And I hope and plan to have another episode for you very soon.
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Until then, enjoy your creative and magical life.