The Sun is one of my favorite cards, because it's pure joy. Simple, uncomplicated. Your inner light is burning like a torch, and the whole world is ahead of you. 
It's no wonder there's often children in the imagery (like here, in the fascinating 78 Doors Tarot), because rarely do we have that attitude of "I can do anything" once we've grown up. 

Yes, that's partly because children think they can do anything without the planning, focus, and learning from past mistakes. But it's partly because after a certain age, we don't really get the room.

We do a lot of things because we "have to." Because that's how it's done - jobs that bore us but bring in the money, holidays with family we hate, wearing uncomfortable shoes because they give us a certain "image." We're told we need to do these things to be succesful or  to have respect. 

And pursuing our hobbies and loves? Taking a vacation? Actually, gasp, making money? That's selfish. It means you aren't serving other people, and what they need. You ought to be ashamed. 

Somewhere along the way, our society decided that misery was a sign of responsibility. That we couldn't follow our bliss without sacrificing everyone else along the way. And we couldn't be more wrong. The bliss we pursue, and the stability of the people and things we love, are completely connected.

There's a scene in the fabulous satire "Good Omens", where the demon Crowley talks about designing an overly-complicated highway system. He says that all he needs is some backed-up traffic. Because that means a thousand people go home stressed out and angry. They take it out on their spouse or significant other. Their spouse takes it out on their kids. The kids yell at the dog. 

When we're dissatisfied with our lives, an aura of stress and frustration spreads out, ripples in a pond. And those little pebbles of anxiety do more damage than one person's bad decisions ever could. It means that our whole world is the result of our collective self-love. The way you feel, the story you tell about your life, sets the stage for the whole world. Being happy is one of the most unselfish things you can do.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not shaming someone who has, say, clinical depression.  But it's all the more important, when you need to make it one day at a time, to imagine something you want even a little better. Because at our highest and at our lowest, a little goes a long way.

I'm not saying to neglect everyone else's feelings. No man is an island. How happy will you be until the people you love are happy too? Make them a part of your dreams - but there needs to be room for you.

Imagine the happiest possible future for yourself. What does that look like? And more importantly: why? Even if you imagine yourself zoned out on the couch watching TV all day, what about that appeals to you? 

A love of entertainment? Take that love, study it, and turn it into a part-time stint as a critic. 

A lack of responsibility? That's harder.  How about this: craft a world where responsibility feels that effortless. 

The more you listen to your "inner light" as a possible reality, instead of a hypothetical, the more you find out about yourself. The more you can craft yourself into the best possible person you can be, with the best possible life for you. That's our real job. Our constant learning, growing, and blossoming is what we'll need when we're six, sixty, or six hundred. It's not a destination, it's a journey. 

 So let's get to work.

When I first entered online business, it didn't take me long to discover the "guru train". Everyone has a free hour-long call telling you how you absolutely need their coaching. Everyone has the top five mistakes you can make if you do things the hard way. 

There's nothing wrong with that. Marketing is marketing - I care if what you're selling works. And so many of their insights have been smart and valuable and helped me along. 

But there's so much of it.  I learned quickly that if I spent all my time learning, and none of it doing, then my time was worth absolutely nothing. So how to pick the right course for me, on the budget I have?

Enter Goddess Leonie. You might have seen her around: colorful hand-lettered banners, showing serene-looking art of women? Or a picture of the lady herself with a smile as huge as the sun? I've seen a thousand business courses out there. But something about Leonie's just tugged at me. With her creativity and her spirit, I knew her course was the right one to choose, and I haven't been disappointed.

Let's get this out of the way: yes, I'm affiliated with Leonie. But I wouldn't be affiliated with anything if it wasn't 1000% fantastic. And in just a few weeks, Leonie's course has been helping me move forward in my business with confidence, creativity, and real, insightful ideas! 

The course is designed so you can leap into it at any stage, with awesome worksheets about ideas for your business, ways to advertise, the practical end of setting things up, and how to care for yourself in the process. Leonie's life-affirming spirit gives real confidence and ease to the whole thing, but it's all working for her: she's making six figures at her own business, living her dreams.

But the best part of Leonie's course is what you get in the process. Leonie gives her entire set of classes away, for just $99 a year. Courses on creativity and self-care, meditations and chakra healing guides, and of course the business course - it's all there! And you get the Goddess Circle, an awesome forum with hundreds of creative, inspiring women working through the courses and sharing their experiences. The support you'll get and the connections you'll make is worth the cost alone.

I've picked now to tell you about this because Leonie is actually raising her rates on July 3rd. You'll still get an incredible amount of content for one fee all year, but the prices are going to be raised to $199. Which is still more than your money's worth for everything she offers - but you can avoid that extra $100! If you enter the Goddess Circle before July 3rd, you're still going to be paying at the earlier rate, kind of like an Early Bird Special. 

And honestly, guys, that's why I'm picking right this second to talk about why the Goddess Circle is amazing - because now's the time to act - but Leonie's work is incredible any day of the year. It is so, so worth it to check her out, join the Circle, and access the incredible body of work she has to offer.

Just click the Business Goddess image in this blog post, or the image on my sidebar - the one that says 'Click to Discover the Goddess In You'. And I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

If you ask witchy types what a "Fluffy Bunny" is, you'll get a hundred different answers.

They talk about white light, and the people who hate them are just cynical jerks. They talk about white light, and judge anyone who shows anger or pain. They judge spiritual paths that are too "scary". They're too accepting of just about anything in their spiritual path, without doing the proper research and work. They trust authors that are inaccurate - no one can agree on which authors, mind you, or just what the inaccuracies are .  

Really, the only way I made peace with my fear of being a "fluffy bunny" was when I ignored the conversation altogether. Historical accuracy was something I could gauge, so I checked if that was up to snuff, and the rest? Whatever works for you.  And it all seemed to, so why should I care?

But a few weeks ago, a conversation popped up about Tarot that brought the whole idea into my thoughts again. The heated debate went: Tarot has been used to teach spiritual mysteries, and has been part of a lot of magickal ceremonies. Now, it's mostly used for "fortune-telling". Has Tarot been turned into a fluffy New-Agey oracle? Has the "real" meaning of things been corrupted somehow?  

I mainly rolled my eyes and ignored the whole thing, as more people slowly broke in: intuitive Tarot isn't as "meaningful." Just teaching the symbolism and magickal meanings aren't as "accurate." And my favorite: we all needed to "admit" that intuition wasn't real, was just an element of our imagination, that there's no such thing as psychic development. Only then can we grow spiritually.

And I thought: Seriously, guys?  Seriously? You just talked about the names of God and the angelic correspondences to the Tree of Life, and you're an authority on whether something is made up or not? We work with the Platonic elements and robes and magic wands. We discuss the meaning of 78 pieces of artwork printed on card stock. Most people think we're ridiculous.

And even if you don't, and you're the most mainstream Judeo-Christian out there: someone still thinks you're just talking to imaginary friends.

The human mind is so vast, so varied, so full of thoughts and ideas. Patterns and symbols and stories, they're part of how we learn and grow. That's what Tarot is all about: seeing what story the cards tell you, and using it to inform your life and the choices you make. So unless you are flat-out inventing stuff, or appropriating cultures and passing it off as "authentic", your spiritual life?  None of my business.

If you want to develop as a psychic, a witch, a Tarot reader, or even just a spiritual person, there are three whole things you have to do:

- Learn as much about what you want to know as possible.
- Practice it.
- Don't be an ass to people who do it differently.

Tarot's a giant spiritual metaphor, a psychic springboard, a set of journaling prompts, the Book of Life, a storytelling kit, a card game, and a set of 78 pieces of artwork. But really, it's a tool. Your magickal, fantastic mind does the work. And that's as it should be. 


How do you Tarot?  And what are your thoughts about fuzzy little lagomorphs and the hardasses who love them?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here's one more look at something we're told not to do all the time that, if you go just a little deeper, may help you understand more about the world - and be more uniquely yourself in the process!

Listen to bad advice (but you don't have to take it!)

Here's a little nugget of wisdom I remembered from Anthropology 101: Everything has a purpose.

That doesn't mean it's a good purpose, or a purpose that's going to help everyone. A lot of the time, what helps one group take power leaves another group oppressed and left in the dust. Get-rich-quick schemes leave you with a burst financial bubble, and corrupt politicians break their promises and betray the people who put them in power.

But here's the thing: you know that phrase "follow the money"? Even if there's no money to follow, follow the "why". Someone is benefitting from all this, whether it's for quick money, more followers, or even just to feel good about themselves. And the people who take the bad advice? What are they getting? A sense of security? An outlet for their anger?  

Sometimes there's an even bigger picture: what's happening in the lives of these people, the schemers and bullies of the world, that keeps them from stepping up and just putting good ideas in those places? Were they the victims of bad systems once before? Are there bad ideas in place that are keeping them mean or deceitful, because they think that's what the world has to really be like - instead of stepping up and changing their own behavior to something that works?

In the Tarot, the Devil card isn't actually about any real figure. You can believe in the Devil, or you can think he's a mythical figure, but the Devil card is about the things that bind us - often by our own choice. He's the addiction, the defeating self-talk, the bad habits, the mental chains we wear. He's what happens when we start listening to bad advice, instead of listening to our higher selves.  

The Devil from the Ceremonial Magick Tarot, by Lon Duquette, is a great illustration of this.  Even if you don't know much about ceremonial magick (and I'm still learning myself!), take look at the crows on  either side of his face.  They remind me a lot of double talk, and negative self-talk, and all the chatter in our lives from all angles.  We may be smart enough to discount it, but we don't really think about what to do instead.

So use this exercise for yourself.  You know the things you tell yourself late at night? The stuff that the musical 'title of show' so brilliantly calls the "vampires", the soul-sucking fear you're not good or creative or brave enough? Don't take that advice, but look at it for a second.  

Where is it coming from? If you follow it, what will it help? Will it make you feel safer? More comfortable? Once you find out why you're telling yourself to just quit and go home, you can burst through the block with the good advice - the source of truth.

Don't take the bad advice. Don't even take it to heart. But if you look at all the bad advice out there, you'll get a lot closer to the good advice that will serve you well. Deep down, you know the difference.