Healthy Tarot
| The Daily Phoenix Faerwyn's blog, the Daily Phoenix, captures the modern woman's joys and challenges. No holds barred - here you'll find that you're burning days can be the greatest gift. |
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June 20, 2009
I met a woman yesterday for coffee (I know, I'm supposed to drink tea, but I miss coffee so much!), and
thought you might be interested in her story. She's a single mom, one 10-year-old child, who was laid off
from work two months ago. The non-profit she was working for had to make severe cut backs because
of a 30% drop in donations from the year before, and 2009 looked to be more of the same.
She has an amazing resume. Very intelligent with a lot of specialized skills. There's just no jobs in her
field. She was telling me yesterday that she was applying for work in the administrative sector, figuring
she could do that work easily. Problem is, no one will give her an interview because she's overqualified,
and there is a fear that she'll leave as soon as a "real" job comes along. So she was asking me if she
should "dumb down" her resume. She's only got a month left of savings, and by mid-July she has no
idea how she will be able to pay her rent.
We did a quick one-card reading for her and drew the Tower card. Revolution and upheaval.
Overthrowing the existing order. A very powerful Major Arcana card.
She burst into tears as soon as she saw it. When you don't know how you are going to put food on
the table for your child, it is extremely hard to think of challenges as an opportunity, so she and I talked
for two hours at that coffee shop.
She talked about her fear that the life she had built for her daughter was about to dramatically
change. They had planned a vacation to Disney world, the first for both of them, and she'd already
cancelled that. But even more, she knew that accepting an admin position would be a salary cut of
nearly fifty percent, so not only would vacations be out of the question, but they would no longer be able
to afford their home. So we talked about what that would look like, really drawing a picture of the
scenario. We talked about her daughter making new friends in a new school, of selling familiar things at
a garage sale to help make ends meet, of having to ask family and friends for help instead of providing
for them as usual - we talked about all of it, bringing every fear she had out into the open so she could
really look at it. She began to calm down, as she began to realize that a revolution of lifestyle would be
hard, but not impossible. And she realized that her real fear was that she would lose her daughter to her
ex-husband's family, as if she would never see her again. As we spoke, she shook her head and smiled
ruefully, saying that she had such a solid network of family and friends that she knew she and her
daughter would never be homeless or without food, and that her ex and his family would likely help her
to keep her home. These things happen, and her fear of being a "bad mom" was overwhelming what
she knew to be true - that she has the resources to thrive in any change, no matter how dramatic.
She felt better after that, and we began to talk about the Tower in relation to her resume. Rather than
dumbing down her skills, what would a revolution of her resume - and her work objective - look like? We
talked about all of her favorite skills, and of careers she'd never attempted but always thought about,
and before long she stopped talking and simply sat, holding her coffee cup in both hands, staring out
the window thoughtfully. I sat silently, watching the flitting expressions across her face.
She looked at me and smiled, as if she had almost forgotten I was there. She set her cup down
carefully, and leaned forward. "Faerwyn," she said. "I think I was meant to be my own boss."
I wish you could have seen the look in her eyes. They were bright and alive. She sat there,
emanating confidence and centeredness. I asked her what she was thinking, and she shook her head,
saying she needed to do a little research but that she would tell me when she was sure. She picked up
her bag and gave every sign of wanting to go out and start her new business right then and there, but I
put out my hand and asked her to think about one more thing.
It's one thing to sit in a coffee shop talking about revolutions with a professional Tarot reader, but
quite another to implement it without more conversations from other professionals as well. Given her
current finances, it's a huge risk to start a new venture with no start-up capital. She may have enough
connections to raise it, but even when a new business starts bringing in revenue, that money typically
goes right back into the business. I reminded her that this step would likely guarantee a revolution in
lifestyle to a much simpler way of life, so it would be prudent for her to hold council with her friends and
family, really talking about the kind of support they would be willing to give. We talked about using a
career counselor, making an appointment with the local Small Business Association, and more.
We hugged, and I watched her walk out of the coffee shop with a spring in her step, a far cry from the
slow, dragging step when she walked in. I know she will feel fear again, many times over the next couple
of years should she start a business from scratch, but I think she'll do it, and be great at whatever it is.
And I'll always be here for her, a touchstone and sounding board, to help her center herself and think
through her worries, a safe place to think out loud so she can go back out, confidence restored.
I am sharing this with you because I know there are many of you facing job loss and there just isn't
another job available in your field. The competition is really tough right now. But keep an open mind,
take a good look at your own resume, and ask yourself what a revolution would look like for you. If you
get worried, let me know, and we'll draw a card and talk it through. You are a powerful child of the
Universe and you will succeed, no matter what.
Be well, be wise, be ready,
Faerwyn
I met a woman yesterday for coffee (I know, I'm supposed to drink tea, but I miss coffee so much!), and
thought you might be interested in her story. She's a single mom, one 10-year-old child, who was laid off
from work two months ago. The non-profit she was working for had to make severe cut backs because
of a 30% drop in donations from the year before, and 2009 looked to be more of the same.
She has an amazing resume. Very intelligent with a lot of specialized skills. There's just no jobs in her
field. She was telling me yesterday that she was applying for work in the administrative sector, figuring
she could do that work easily. Problem is, no one will give her an interview because she's overqualified,
and there is a fear that she'll leave as soon as a "real" job comes along. So she was asking me if she
should "dumb down" her resume. She's only got a month left of savings, and by mid-July she has no
idea how she will be able to pay her rent.
We did a quick one-card reading for her and drew the Tower card. Revolution and upheaval.
Overthrowing the existing order. A very powerful Major Arcana card.
She burst into tears as soon as she saw it. When you don't know how you are going to put food on
the table for your child, it is extremely hard to think of challenges as an opportunity, so she and I talked
for two hours at that coffee shop.
She talked about her fear that the life she had built for her daughter was about to dramatically
change. They had planned a vacation to Disney world, the first for both of them, and she'd already
cancelled that. But even more, she knew that accepting an admin position would be a salary cut of
nearly fifty percent, so not only would vacations be out of the question, but they would no longer be able
to afford their home. So we talked about what that would look like, really drawing a picture of the
scenario. We talked about her daughter making new friends in a new school, of selling familiar things at
a garage sale to help make ends meet, of having to ask family and friends for help instead of providing
for them as usual - we talked about all of it, bringing every fear she had out into the open so she could
really look at it. She began to calm down, as she began to realize that a revolution of lifestyle would be
hard, but not impossible. And she realized that her real fear was that she would lose her daughter to her
ex-husband's family, as if she would never see her again. As we spoke, she shook her head and smiled
ruefully, saying that she had such a solid network of family and friends that she knew she and her
daughter would never be homeless or without food, and that her ex and his family would likely help her
to keep her home. These things happen, and her fear of being a "bad mom" was overwhelming what
she knew to be true - that she has the resources to thrive in any change, no matter how dramatic.
She felt better after that, and we began to talk about the Tower in relation to her resume. Rather than
dumbing down her skills, what would a revolution of her resume - and her work objective - look like? We
talked about all of her favorite skills, and of careers she'd never attempted but always thought about,
and before long she stopped talking and simply sat, holding her coffee cup in both hands, staring out
the window thoughtfully. I sat silently, watching the flitting expressions across her face.
She looked at me and smiled, as if she had almost forgotten I was there. She set her cup down
carefully, and leaned forward. "Faerwyn," she said. "I think I was meant to be my own boss."
I wish you could have seen the look in her eyes. They were bright and alive. She sat there,
emanating confidence and centeredness. I asked her what she was thinking, and she shook her head,
saying she needed to do a little research but that she would tell me when she was sure. She picked up
her bag and gave every sign of wanting to go out and start her new business right then and there, but I
put out my hand and asked her to think about one more thing.
It's one thing to sit in a coffee shop talking about revolutions with a professional Tarot reader, but
quite another to implement it without more conversations from other professionals as well. Given her
current finances, it's a huge risk to start a new venture with no start-up capital. She may have enough
connections to raise it, but even when a new business starts bringing in revenue, that money typically
goes right back into the business. I reminded her that this step would likely guarantee a revolution in
lifestyle to a much simpler way of life, so it would be prudent for her to hold council with her friends and
family, really talking about the kind of support they would be willing to give. We talked about using a
career counselor, making an appointment with the local Small Business Association, and more.
We hugged, and I watched her walk out of the coffee shop with a spring in her step, a far cry from the
slow, dragging step when she walked in. I know she will feel fear again, many times over the next couple
of years should she start a business from scratch, but I think she'll do it, and be great at whatever it is.
And I'll always be here for her, a touchstone and sounding board, to help her center herself and think
through her worries, a safe place to think out loud so she can go back out, confidence restored.
I am sharing this with you because I know there are many of you facing job loss and there just isn't
another job available in your field. The competition is really tough right now. But keep an open mind,
take a good look at your own resume, and ask yourself what a revolution would look like for you. If you
get worried, let me know, and we'll draw a card and talk it through. You are a powerful child of the
Universe and you will succeed, no matter what.
Be well, be wise, be ready,
Faerwyn