Examining the challenges of 2021…
From The Dark Wood Tarot by Sasha Graham and Abigail Larson.
“Dare to enter the Dark Wood and discover your shadow self. How will you emerge?”
Leading up to New Years, I have decided to take a deep dive into the energy of 2021 for us all. Today, I longed to explore the challenges that we will face in this new year. Pulling from my dear friend’s deck, The Dark Wood Tarot, felt right. This deck illuminates the shadow self and guides your focus toward the murky and unseen pieces of the psyche. We may as well dive deep. Wow - powerful cards floated to the surface as I asked my question of the deck. Intense push and pull this year for us all. I know it seems like 2020 really forced us to examine the self in new ways, but 2021 is demanding you take it a step further. Movement vs seclusion - the desire to rush out and rush in will be tampered with periods of deep withdrawal, situationally and personally imposed. Harnessing stillness and retreat as a way to grow stronger will feel impossible, but is necessary. Moving forward is not as easy as we expect, even when life begins to reopen. Heavy new questions will weigh upon us and many of us will feel lost and forgotten to others. There is also the difficulty of sudden movement - changes that spring upon us, out of the blue, forcing us out of our comfort zones. It will be a wild and potent ride, but those that connect to their hidden reservoirs of strength and emotional adaptability will fair best in the darkest moments. Expect this year to be intense in it’s sudden shifts and life challenges, but also expect for it to deliver real change and power - things will start to improve. DON’T: Let anxiety about advancing overtake you, hold fiercely on to old habits that don’t serve you, refuse to connect with the world outside of you, deny your true feelings or act mindlessly. DO: Focus on achievable goals that are in alignment with your true nature, use the “downtime” to grow stronger and become internally clear about your personal strengths and weaknesses, understand that you may have to create a new reality and cleanse yourself of useless behavior and set clear intentions and be open and ready for anything.