Happy Friday, everyone I want to thank everyone who has participated in this week's card challenge for The Fool. I'll be posting a new set of challenges on Monday for The Magician, but please feel free to continue to make new posts for the challenges of The Fool. The challenges are meant to be "evergreen", so there is no "missing a week". However, I will be planning some prizes for the "best of" future weeks, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to ask if anyone has any music videos that remind them of The Fool card. Mine is Sigur Ros's video for their song Glósóli, which has been one of my favorites since it debuted 20 (!) years ago. Besides the obvious imagery of the cliff, I like the idea of the Fool leading the procession of the other archetypal characters. Although I often tell people to imagine The Fool as the "actor" who is playing every character we see in every card, it's also interesting to imagine that the Fool is the leader of the parade, much like the Trionfi parades that influenced Tarot's creation. If you can think of any others that remind you of The Fool, please share them in a comment on this post!

If I knew I couldn’t fail, I would live my life with more trust and freedom. I already live with a fair amount of trust—I know that my callings continue to emerge, that already I’m accomplishing many beautiful things, and that whatever comes in the future will come only when I’m willing to take the next step. However, as I imagine how I would live if I knew I couldn’t fail, I can see that there are many ways in which I would live more fully into the life that calls me. What comes up first for me is that I would share my perspective in my creative projects more freely. I tend to keep my ideas to myself so that I don’t offend anyone. I also like nuance, and I worry that people will misunderstand what I’m trying to express. I could let go of these fears and trust my own voice and honor my unique perspective more fully. As I think about letting go of fears about how my creative work is received by others, I realize that I could trust myself more in relationships in general. If I knew I couldn’t fail to be surrounded by a supportive community, I would be truer to myself, and I would accept others for who they are. I would let things emerge in their own time. I would share my opinions more freely, not to try to convince anyone of my rightness but to open the possibility for deeper connection and belonging. I would let go of the habit of taking care of other’s feelings and honor their own sovereignty. I could also shift my relationship to myself and use my time more joyfully. I sometimes fear that I’ll choose to spend my time in an ultimately unhelpful way. Instead I would trust that I can only follow a passion or interest and see where it leads. I would trust that resting, choosing one activity over another, taking a longer time or shorter time—whatever I choose—is the right way to spend my time. On a related note, I would also trust the timing of my life more. I have many passions that I tend to, but they’re in an intermediate state where I’m learning how to share them with others. I would trust more that I’ll find opportunities to share when the timing is right, and I would focus more on taking each step without worrying about the bigger picture.

Today I talked about and walked with The Hanged One, and the words of Audre Lorde echoed through me all day: “To feel the consequences of who you wish to be.” The strange part wasn’t what The Hanged One represents, it was when it showed up. On a day when the weight of responsibility and consequence felt heavier than usual, this card surfaced as if it already knew what I was carrying. In the current political climate — here in the United States and across the world — this feels more true than ever. We are being asked, both collectively and individually, to decide who we are willing to be when it truly matters. More and more, I feel the call to stand for justice. To stand in the way of harm. To stand up for our neighbors. To speak against wrongdoing. To vote for leaders who can help correct the path we are on. This is not abstract for me. I am a human rights advocate. I am part of the LGBTQIA community. I am part of the BIPOC community. I am neurodivergent. My life exists at the crossroads of systems that demand awareness, courage, and perspective. Because of that, I work intentionally to see the world from many angles, because perspective is power. But perspective alone is not enough. We must also do the work of thinking for ourselves. Reading. Researching. Questioning. Refusing to follow blindly. Refusing to stay comfortable inside inherited beliefs. It is okay to sit in the liminal space, that in-between place where certainty has not yet arrived. It is okay to feel uncomfortable there. In fact, it may be necessary. Growth does not happen in certainty. It happens in disruption. And if guilt arises in that space, I believe it can be a teacher. Not a weapon, but a signal. A sign that awareness is waking up. That the path toward responsibility and awakening has begun. This is what The Hanged One represents for me today. Not passivity. Not sacrifice without purpose. But the willingness to pause, to see differently, to let old ways of thinking die so something truer can live.

The biggest risk I have ever taken was believing in myself enough to walk away from security and build something of my own. For most of my life, risk meant staying safe — always having another job lined up before leaving one, always pushing through exhaustion, always proving my reliability. As a single parent, a psychologist, and someone who is Autistic with ADHD, I carried responsibility on every level. I worked fifty to sixty hours a week, burned out multiple times a year, and got sick often. Three years ago, I reached a point where I had to face a hard truth: I could continue down a path that was slowly breaking me, or I could take a leap that might save my health, my future, and my ability to be present for my child. Choosing myself was terrifying — and it was the bravest thing I have ever done. Leaving my job meant walking away from a steady paycheck and the sense of stability that came with it. The fears were loud and constant. Would I be able to support my son? Would I fail? Would I embarrass myself in my own profession? Would I let the people I loved down? Even though I knew I was a strong Psychologist and an exceptional employee, self-doubt crept in where confidence should have lived. Still, most of the people around me believed in me. They saw my tenacity even when I struggled to see it myself, and that quiet support carried me forward when my own faith wavered. About six months before I officially left, I began preparing for independence. I built connections, created a website, and formed an LLC. At the same time, I was learning how to honor my needs — requesting disability accommodations and realizing that protecting my nervous system mattered more than saying yes to everything. The moment everything changed came when I received an email that revealed my employer speaking negatively about my need for boundaries. I responded, sought clarity, and then handed in my notice. Even when the owner tried to convince me to stay, I knew I could not. I cried. I was terrified. But I was also proud — and for the first time in a long time, I felt relieved.

I wish I had thought to record, or to at least take a screenshot, but this is the experimental phase! Just had a lovely inaugural Cards and Coffee Hour with @Jens Boje and @Joanie Jackson . We shared our background with Tarot, and got into what it means to read for others vs ourselves, the spookiness of randomness and probability, The Quadrivium, stories of significant readings, and lots of other lovely threads of conversation about all kinds of Tarot magic. I deliberately did not hype up this first one with any posts, because I wanted to see how good of a job the Skool platform does in promoting them when all I did was put it on the calendar. So thankful to Jens and Joanie for joining, and looking forward to meeting more of you at the future calls!