When I arrange my altar for readings and ritual, I mentally prepare myself for the work I’m about to do.

Each crystal is chosen according to an intuitive feeling or a particular correspondence. The incense I burn is done so for a specific purpose. I place my tools where I do for practical, magickal, and aesthetic reasons. In other words, nothing is done by accident, and the end product is the result of conscious creativity–making art or artifice with a very specific outcome or intention in mind.

I’ve lately taken to thinking about the relationship between intention and creation, and how well my content reflects what I believe and value. Given that my work and my spirituality are so deeply intertwined, I feel that I have a responsibility to accurately represent who I am and what I do to the people I’m looking to serve–in other words, it would be ethically suspect of me to present a public image of myself that bears no resemblance to who I actually am.

It would be ethically suspect of me to present a public image of myself that bears no resemblance to who I actually am.

Even though I’ve been cogitating on this topic for a fair few weeks, a Facebook post by a witchy sister catalyzed them into cohesion. She mentioned the proliferation of stylized photos in social media and how they sometimes present a false representation of a persons’ lifestyle. Posts accompanied by images of elaborately arranged scenes that infer that little to no effort went into their creation are openly deceptive, and they narrow the scope of what spirituality “looks like.” Her thoughts hit home and led me to reflect on my own approach to stylization and the part it plays in my professional and spiritual life. Through this reflection, I was able to come to some really interesting conclusions about why and wherefore I carefully curate and cultivate my content–something, it turns out, I really needed to explore.

Each of us chooses which parts of ourselves we share with the world whether we’re active on social media or not.

Becoming a genuine expression of who we are is the work of a lifetime, and closing the gap between who we are intrinsically and the image of self we present to the world is noble work. So much of what I do with my clients is in the service of helping them move into their most resonant expression because it isn’t always easy to be transparent, genuine, and authentic. There’s pressure on all sides to do and be all manner of things, and not all of those things resonate with who we truly are. Our spiritual practice is the safe space where we can explore questions of identity and to discover what’s important and meaningful to us. Conscious creation is the active expression of our spirituality and our genuine self, and if we conform to a practice or an image that doesn’t ring true, we’ve lost the plot.

Because slinging cards is what I do, I’ve created a spread to help you stay true to your unique vision and inspiration as a self creator and a creator of beautiful, meaningful things.

1. Mind the Gap: insight into the disconnect between who I am intrinsically and who I present to the world.
2. Discernment: how might I be more attentive when it comes to the choices I make? How can I make more resonant, authentic choices?
3. Fear Factor: what doubts or fears prevent me from expressing myself in a way that speaks to who I am? In what ways do I compromise the best parts of myself?
4. The Verve: how can I facilitate a deeper connection with the “why” behind what I do? How might I better serve and reflect my core values and beliefs?

So Much Love and Happy Cardslinging!

If you’re looking for more tarot spreads like this one, enroll in the FREE Reading Tarot Intuitively E-course!

You’ll receive three audio lessons to support your intuitive reading skills as well as a link to download Tarot Spreads for the Brave + Curious, a collection of 20 tarot spreads for love, career, and self-discovery.

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