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Welcome to another of my guide Melinda’s Friday messages about how to live life. If you’d like to know more about her and what she has to say you can find more in the first post in this series.
Today I am going to jump around between giving advice to people in general, people who are doing tarot readings, and people who are getting tarot readings. Please bear with me and if I am not clear enough just ask and I will clarify in the comments.
Finding Happiness is about Doing and Being
This is why the 9 of cups is called happiness. In part because of the association of cups with emotions, but more so because of the flowing nature that is happiness. The nines are not static, like the tens, but move and flow. The balance of encouraging flow without dissipation is the key to being happy.
It is the road that makes you happy, not the destination, or the things you are looking for. Last week when I was discussing the nine of wands as a card that is the road of happiness people mistook it as the goal of happiness. A number of people spoke to which card they felt was happiness and they were mostly right, but that is not what I was talking about.
People, when they come for Tarot readings, are often very invested in where they should be, or what they should be. They are looking for a sense of arrival or definition. Life is constant journey of arrivals and destinations and the static goal that people are often looking for is impossible. So they get somewhere in their lives and are then unhappy with it. They get somewhere and stop working at it. They get something and they stop seeking for more. Then at some point often long after their happiness has diminished they wonder why they are not happy anymore.
We can look at the cards as readers and say, “You should be a psychiatrist, a plumber, a parent, or a landscaper.” That is not going to bring lasting happiness to the client. It is a destination or stop on the road that will make them happy for a moment. It is the continued searching that will keep them happy. Searching for better prospects, more fulfilling clients, a fuller home life, or whatever.
Did you make time in your life like I asked last week?
For those who did, what did you notice? I know some of you just found rest which is important. Some of you found a spot of clarity as well. A few of you noticed your hidden sadness. The revealing of these hidden emotions is one of the most important reasons we need space and time. In making space that we can continue to find our road. The busyness of our lives can often feel like we have arrived and conceal the next steps of our journey. If we are attentive to our journey, and its ever moving nature, we will have happiness as our companion.
I decided to talk more clearly about the tarot reading process in relationship to this topic because people are often coming in looking for answers. They are often satisfied with getting an answer like “In six months I will meet the love of my life.” “The dream job arrives in the spring.” All bring a sense of relief and they might even be true. However, I think they are less useful to people than knowing where the road is that will make them happier. Especially if that road immediately in front of them is a narrow path through a jungle uncertainty. If you are getting a reading do not leave without having the road to happiness clearly marked for you.
If you feel your road is narrow and hard to find – make the time to be quiet – preferably in nature. See last weeks post. Your goal is not to get to some place where you will be happy, but to find your road. Clear it of blockages and work diligently to widen it. This is what happiness is.
Thank you for listening
Melinda
If you would like to get a reading with Andrew and Melinda to help you clarify the tangles of your life click here to book. Reading are available in person in Toronto or via Skype or phone around the world.
The Hermit’s Lamp is the blog of Andrew McGregor – Toronto Tarot reader, artist and teacher. The Hermit’s Lamp is also a storefront in Toronto selling metaphysical and spiritual supplies. Please visit The Hermit’s Lamp website for more information on readings and classes both online and in Toronto. You can also check out my podcast here.
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“Smile” image by @boetter used under Creative Commons License.