Dealing With Obstacles – A New 2 Card Reading
Hi Musers! I hope you’ve had a relaxing and fun weekend and are ready to face a new week. I was very excited to join the live online launch party for the Kickstarter campaign for The Unicorn’s Journey tarot created by Lisa Papez. It features a wonderful unicorn named Mystic and I am so excited to secure my copy. It funded in three minutes, so I am not the only one who believes in Lisa and this project.
It’s now Sunday night though and time for me to tackle another two card spread from The Tarot Diagnosis. My first spread was about my inner child, my last one was exploring my passions and this one is about dealing with obstacles.
Life Loves To Trip Us Up
I have been very open about the fact that I am a planner. Never mind having a plan B, I normally have a minimum of plan B, C, D and E too! The absolutely infuriating thing is that it doesn’t always work. No matter how well laid our plans are, life still manages to blindside us and knock us flat on our bums from time to time. Believe me, if I can’t plan well enough to stop this, no one can.
So, if we can’t stop these obstacles jumping out and ambushing us, what can we do? My MO is to tackle it head-on as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, action will be interspersed with panic attacks and one or more of the following intrusive thoughts:
- Why does this stuff happen to me?
- I want to go home (I think this even when I’m AT HOME!!)
- I want to go back to bed
- I need to sleep till this is over
- God, I fucking suck!
Honestly, my instinct in these situations is always flight, even though I refuse to give in and choose fight or fawn instead. I always make it through in the end but it’s exhausting.
SIDE NOTE. One thing I hate when I talk about dealing with obstacles is when someone vapidly trots out “these things make you stronger.” Believe me, BELIVE ME, I am plenty strong already. I do not need any more challenges to test this supposition or make me even stronger. I’m good thanks life, let’s stick to easy mode for a while, m’kay?
What I Do When Dealing With Obstacles
I admit I have never come across anything I couldn’t weather, but I’ve had a few close calls. Once I checked out the spread for this post I decided to sit down and think about my behaviours when dealing with a problem. Naturally, when compiling this list I found some were good and some were not so healthy.
Good
- I gather as much information about the problem as possible. I reasearch the heck out of it online
- I get second opinions, often talking it over with my husband Mike or sister Jayne
- I come up with potential solutions and consider the pros and cons of each
- Lately, to release some of my stress I ask myself if I need to deal with this problem at all
- I act on my plan, gathering information and course correcting as I go
The Not So Great
- I comfort eat – takeaways and chocolate are my go-tos
- I sleep a lot
- I get pretty cranky
- I lose focus at work
- I buy things. Not huge things, usually a few crystals or a new tarot deck
- I blame myself a lot
What I DON’T Do
- Drink lots of alcohol
- Take Drugs
- Hurt Myself
- Cry
I think you’ll agree, that my actions while not great are certainly not awful either. After all, they’ve gotten me this far. That doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement though and that brings us to:
The Spread
As with the other spreads this one has two simple questions.
So, in other words, what are my current obstacles and what are the benefits or upsides. What do they allow me to do?
The Deck
Of all my decks, I feel like my Ink Witch Tarot is a straight shooter without being brutal. It won’t sugarcoat its message but it won’t smack me on the side of the head either. I held the cards in my left (intuitive) hand while contemplating dealing with obstacles. Then I shuffled til it felt right to stop. Here are the cards I pulled.
I absolutely LOVE this Four of Pentacles! I see Smaug every time I look at it.
My Obstacles – Four of Pentacles. Being conservative with money is a good thing, but not if you’re so afraid of not having enough that you never enjoy it. Growing up poor I was sick of constantly worrying about money and not being able to get the things I wanted. Now having money has become a bit of a mania to me. I do spend it, sometimes not too wisely, but however much I ave I alway feel like I need more. I have to make a proper effort to focus on gratitude going forward as I have a lot of blessings.
Allow Me To – Two of Wands. This is the card of planning, ha! I always plan and because I am still living in a frugality mindset I am meticulous with budgeting and building savings and buffer zones. It allows me to plan for larger purchases and ensure my household income is stable and bills are paid. It also allows me to feel safe that I am in control and know that I can deal with any problems that may arise.
How Are You Dealing With Obstacles?
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about how I deal with life’s obstacles as well as my spread. If you have thoughts or interpretations of your own please let me know in the comments. Take care til next time xx
