Emotions are Energy

One of my regulars came to me and said since her last breakup (he was unfaithful multiple times,  she caught him by seeing his phone) she's just full of rage and doesn't know what to do about it.  I said that Anger is Energy,  she needs to find a way to dispel it. 

When I'm furious,  yoga doesn't work for me. All that controlled breathing and slow movement just makes me more agitated.  But a good long fast walk,  by the Hudson river, could work wonders. If you are feeling overwhelmed,  you need a way to displace that energy -  I find dancing gives me joy,  so a good zumba class,  can leave me smiling.  

Find some movement you love,  that makes you feel empowered,  then go do that.  I often suggest kick boxing to (younger,  fitter) women.  And I get lots of feedback that it helped.  Get sweaty,  move about,  and then the anger burns itself out.  Then jump to the beat,  give yourself some joy,  and let the happiness come back in. 

Moving on

A client I've known for years now came in to ask me which new job she should take,  she had three possible options and which one would be best...  

On the one hand I was delighted that she had real choices,  but I was also surprised.  A year ago when we had our last reading,  she'd really loved her work,  the actual job and the friendships she had in the office.

This 2022 was tough for many of us,  but hers had been especially so.  After a protracted and terrible illness,  her sister had died.   Today her father is very ill.  And her friendly, loving work had not even sent a sympathy card,  had not acknowledged her loss at all.  Then they hired another person,  who worked a the same level as she did,  for a much higher pay range.  When she had asked for parity,  they said no,  no negotiations,  just no.  

So she went to look for different work,  with hours that would allow her more time with her father.   The cards liked Job B (I never let you give me details,  just Job A, B or C and then let me tell you what the cards tell me,  so I'm not biased.) She's got her second interview with them soon and has high hopes.  It even pays significantly more.

But I was annoyed for her about her old/current job.  They had a happy, productive employee and if they had just reached out in a human way,  they could have kept her.  But because they didn't,  they are losing her. Sometimes I wish I could do readings for companies!  It would be so simple to correct,  but now they have to train someone new and lose all her institutional memories and knowledge.  It's just a waste.  

Still,  my client is happy and I hope to hear from her again and see how it went... 

All tarot cards from the lovely This Might Hurt deck

Your Future Self

Sometimes I don't want to do something minor,  and I make myself do it by telling myself that my future self will be grateful for this.  My future self,  busy in the morning,  will be glad that the dishwasher is empty and she can just load new coffee cups into it, so I'll empty it before I go to bed.  My future self,  coming home from work,  will be grateful that the coffee cups were put away and not making the apartment smell of stale coffee all day.  Those sorts of discussions.

My future self is also sometimes happy about big things.  When you spend all those years studying for a degree,  when you take that second job so you can save a deposit.  When you sacrifice now to get rewards later,  then that's a big thank you to past self,  for being so organized for future self. 

In tarot,  we look at how the past affects the present,  and colors the future.  We can't do much about changing the past,  but we can do a lot about how much we let it color the future.  And we can do things that help out our future selves,  whether it be tidying up or eating better or the big things - letting compound interest work it's magic on our savings,  or walking away from toxic/destructive situations. 

So think about your future self,  and how to best support them,  when acting in the present.  And your future self will be grateful. 

Royal Musings

I moved from Sydney to London in the early 1990's.   I told people it would have been easier for me if I had moved to France.  I would have known I was in a foreign country then.  But I was Australian and we had shared history and language - and the same Queen! - surely I was 'home'.  England was very different to Australia and for the 8 years I lived there,  it was like wearing a shoe that never quite fit,  and always gave you blisters.  

One thing that was easy to follow was the flood of images about the Royals.  I lived in Notting Hill for a time,  literally across the road from Kensington Palace. Diana and Charles were at the nadir of their relationship and the press was all over it.  To find a topic of idle conversation at a party or a bus stop,  we could talk about the weather or the Royals and often we did both. 

So I've followed the Royals for some time.  After the birth of my son in 1997,  the first time I went out of the house without him, on my own,  was to see the waist high mound of flowers outside Kensington Palace gates, in mourning for Princess Diana.  The thing that struck me most was the smell,  that cloying, rotting smell of dying flowers.  It was overwhelming. 

And I've followed Diana's boys as well,  as a sort of follow on.  I always thought Harry should marry a nice Scottish girl,  to firm up the connection to Scotland and keep them in the loop.  If we were organizing dynastic marriages, that's what I would have done.  But in the real world we marry for love, spiritual connection, healing,  so many things.  And Harry chose Meghan. 

And of course,  every move they made,  every breath they took,  was spun one way or the other in the tabloids.  I kept thinking to myself,  stop monitoring the Press.  That's how other Royals do it. They sweep through their days,  go to their endless openings and closings and meet hospital folk and well meaning government employees and drink endless cups of tea,  and stop for a photograph and then don't read the press.  But Meghan and Harry were too of their generation and simply could not avoid the sordid mess. And it drove them crazy.

If they had retired to an estate in the UK,  to lead their quiet lives,  I would have been 100% supportive.  But they wanted to use the Royal Sussex branding and sell goods on line?  I could see why the Queen would say no to that.   And if they wanted to do humanitarian work,  well surely that's what the Royals do best.  Why leave then,  if you want to use your profile to shine light?  Instead they wanted to be celebrities in California,  and that seemed a far less noble goal to me.  To sell their story/their truth/ their version of events endlessly.  

I often do tarot readings for people who have had really difficult childhoods,  that continue to influence them. And I say you can blame your life issues on your childhood but after 33,  the year of the crucifixion and resurrection, you have to take responsibility for your own actions and can't keep blaming your past for your present decisions.   You can be an adult.  That's a saving grace.  You could have had a terrible childhood but you don't have to recreate it or be guided solely by it.  You can start to make other choices.  

I'm sorry that Harry is collecting grievances and examining them endlessly.  And I'm really sorry that he is doing to others what he claims was done to him - exploiting private conversations,  not respecting others right to privacy.  I fear that this won't stand him in good stead in years to come. 

I hope for all the Royals that this furore will die down soon,  and we can all go back to reading terrible news about war and misery. And that explains why it's so soothing to read about the Royals instead - it feels important,  but it's not.  It's a bit of delicious schadenfreude to read about the miserable rich,  and not focus on how very hard some of our fellow humans are having it right now.  

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New Year Wishes

Evaluating the past year was easier pre Covid.  Now surviving seems accomplishment enough!  I'm speaking to a lot of people who have some anxiety getting back to the world as it was before.  Others are just pushing forward, having run out of energy for Covid precautions. 

Frankly,  I'm glad 2022 is nearly over and looking forward to a fresh start with 2023.  My blessings for everyone is safety and warmth.  May you get what you wish for in the new year.  

You can't always get what you want

Sometimes we want simple solutions to complicated problems.  What I love about the cards is that they can show black and white but also nuance and complexity.  Often we want to draw the Ace of Swords - to cut through the confusion and get to clarity.  But sometimes we don't want clarity, we want the outcome that we most desire,  as opposed to the solution that is evident.  

I was doing a reading for a complicated divorce situation,  and he really wanted his soon to be ex wife to accept the solution he was offering. But the cards kept showing resistance and conflict.  It was not until I asked him to describe the outcome from his wife's point of view that he began to see what the cards were telling him.   He didn't get to the outcome he wanted,  but he did get to clarity,  and from there he could move forward.   Sometimes we can't get what we want,  but if we are lucky,  we get what we need.*  

*with apologies to the Rolling Stones :)

What do you do for a living?

When I was living in Tribeca,  I was a member of Community Board 1,  a form of local government. When I interviewed for the position,  I remember being asked what my agenda was.  And I naively replied,  I just want to serve the neighborhood,  I don't have an agenda.  So I got the position.   It was far more political than I expected, but we were able to speak for public school assistance,  for restaurant licenses (and neighborly consideration) and about new residential development (always political!)  

One of the more established members (I was going to say older,  and he was older than me,  but it was more that he had been around the traps a lot longer than I had) once complimented me on my handling of these diverse and often competing claims and then he asked me what I did for a living.  I told him I read tarot cards.

"But you appear so intelligent!" he exclaimed.  

"I'm intelligent when I read the cards,  as well."  I smiled. 

The other day a new acquaintance asked me what I do and I told her,  and she said do you like it?  I said that I get to talk for an hour about things that matter to people,  and explore how to help them get the outcomes that they want - and that I liked it very much.   

I really do enjoy meaningful conversations and a sense that I can help give clarity.  

So if you want a meaningful conversation and more clarity around your life,  drop me a line - liat@albanyconsult.com or text me +61 477043555 and we can set up a time.

Looking forward to it!