How the world has flipped.
Looking back on the year with The Hanged Man
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." —William James
When I started Page of Cups Tarot in May of 2022, I didn’t realize how much of a gratifying challenge it would be. Whether it be offering my services all over the San Francisco Bay Area, hosting Instagram Live Readings, contributing to others' creative endeavors, writing my own thoughts here on this blog, conducting digital readings through Etsy, hosting Tarot meet-ups, working events at colleges, parties, and launch events, taking on mentees, or simply conducting an in-person reading, I’ve started to get a better understanding of how Tarot should continue to express itself in my life.
While The Hanged Man traditionally encourages us to approach our lives with openness, patience, and a willingness to see things with a changed perspective, it also challenges us to seek introspection—pausing in the bustle of life to truly listen to our inner-self. Even though we may not have the clearest answer as to why this individual has been strung upside down, on some occasions it seems as if they’re welcoming the time away from life—enjoying the quiet stillness.
X. The Wheel of Fortune. Clockwise from top left: the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot, the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot, the Somnia Tarot, the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot, and the Morgan-Greer Tarot.
Over the past few months, I have welcomed this energy of The Hanged Man into my own life, pausing to reflect on where Tarot has taken me. Even more so, he has held a mirror up to my practice, nudging me to think more critically about how my passion for the cards can be optimized, not only from a business perspective but more importantly, as a creative outlet. What I truly love about the Tarot is its vernacular, its ever-evolving conversation with both my passion for visual art and human connectedness and at times, I feel that these things have gone missing.
Card XII has always been a tricky one for me to interpret during a reading, especially on its own. It’s a card that often needs more “fidelity”—a clarifying card to help us understand where we can invite a pause or a beat into the activity of life. As I think back over 2023, I never invited a pause into my card-reading practice—never invited in a “rest day”. Tarot filled me with “yes” and seldom injected “no” or “not right now”. As much as I appreciated the newfound energy at the beginning of last year, the devotion I had to the art of Tarot reading and my business carried more weight than what I thought it would. 2023 can be summed up in the Ten of Wands—a creative overextension fueled by perceived obligations
The Hanged Man created with the help of artificial intelligence.
With that being said, I’ve challenged myself to “do less” in 2024, focusing on the creative outlets that bring me joy. You can expect my social media presence and The Chalice to continue, but not as frequently as I want my inspiration to be sparked by natural circumstance rather than a content calendar. You can expect me to continue hosting in-person events around the San Francisco Bay area but partnering more thoughtfully with local establishments, venues, and brands that I admire. And finally, you can expect me to continue conducting private Tarot readings wherever and whenever a client is in need—no question.
However, just because there might be less of the old this year doesn't mean that 2024 will be void of newness. Not in the least! As we gear up for the New Year, the goal is to fill the upcoming year with connection. Whether that's in-person meetups, creative collaboration, or simply more chatting over social media, 2024 is a time to get back to what we love—connecting with others and having our world flipped by the Tarot.
Happy New Year, everyone!