Table of contents
A tarot + astrology reading
Today marks the full moon in Aries, and I'm excited to dive into what that brings us. ♈
But first, for anyone who's new here, welcome. It doesn't really matter whether you believe in astrology or not. My work doesn't require you to. Instead, I honor the moon as a reminder to pause life's daily routine and set aside some time for sacred self-care ... kind of like a mystical alarm clock. ⏰
Today's post was tough to finish on time because my therapy internship has taken over my life. I spent hours writing and then almost didn't even send it because I convinced myself it wasn't good enough.
Then I said fuck it. Because not everything we do is going to be a masterpiece, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. So I'm going to press Send now and then go out and try to spot the moon...
Happy reading, folks!
Aries: The Quest of the Inner Warrior
Aries is the fighter of the zodiac – a cardinal fire that lights the spark of ambition. As the first sign of the wheel, Aries kicks things off with a bang; a confident leader who jumps straight into action.
We can see this archetype everywhere we look. The "hustle nonstop" and "sleep is for the dead" club is built on pure Aries energy. And though some phases in our life may require us to join the grind train, it gets dangerous when it becomes the only way to survive in this world.
So in this post, as we bring together Libra season's airy balance and Aries' fiery spirit, we explore how to have a healthy relationship with ambition. If the thought of nonstop grinding leaves a bad taste in your mouth... if you're tired of adulting and need a break, let's see if we can find a new perspective that nourishes, rather than drains you.
The Card: The Emperor
The Emperor card is ruled by Aries, which is why the same themes echo through both archetypes. Tarot decks almost always show the Emperor as someone who exudes authority and confidence. The card above, which is my favorite version of the Emperor, shows a strategist playing life like a game of chess.
But Aries energy goes beyond just individual traits. It's built into the foundations of our society. It shapes our worldview. We're taught that life is a journey of knocking one goal down after another, as fast as humanly possible. And anyone who's too slow doesn't deserve success, financial stability, or even basic human dignities.
This unbalanced Aries energy has taken over even in our professional lives. You see it when an 18-year-old is expected to know what they're going to want to do for the rest of their life, and then is judged later on when they grow up and decide they want to start over.
You see it when new business owners are expected to have a clear brand and know their niche, all from day one. Never mind that when you're new, you're not too sure what you want to do, or how you want to do it. Never mind that you haven't even tried out different things to figure out what suits you.
Nope! No time for that. You're supposed to be laser-focused from the word 'go'. And not even failure is exempt. Now we're also supposed to fail faster. So now, even our defeat needs to have forward momentum. If you're the kind of person who's knocked down by obstacles and left breathless for a few days (or years), now you can add "failing wrongly" to the list of things to hate about yourself.
It's absolutely ridiculous, and yet we wear ourselves out trying to keep up with the hamster wheel. Because no one ever really showed us how to get off ... or even that we could.
Getting off the Wheel
I'm not trying to fix the ills of hyper capitalism in a 1000-word post, but I do think it's possible to have an individual revolution. We can choose to rearrange our priorities and reevaluate our belief systems. It might not change the world, but it has the power to change how we feel in it...
One way that's worked for me is focusing on values first and goals second. My therapist taught me how to do this years ago, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the reasons I'm doing this work today.
Here's an example: Let's say you decide that you want to run a successful business. Some people would find this goal empowering. But for others, the goal ends up being a source of stress that makes them procrastinate and avoid taking action for months ... sometimes even years.
If your goals end up making you feel like a failure, maybe it's time to step back and look at why you want it in the first place. Like, maybe you want to start a business because you want to step outside of the box and do something bold.
Now that you know what's important to you, you know what to aim for. Instead of measuring success by how popular your business is, find new metrics. Shift your target. Decide that success is anything you do that brings you closer to your values.
So if you sent out an email pitching your business, but the person never got back to you? That's a win! You could have delivered the shittiest pitch ever and it doesn't even matter. The goal isn't to make a perfect pitch. It's to live courageously.
I've been practicing this for a while now, and it's one of my go-tos when my fear threatens to overwhelm me. Because, to go back to our little example, I may not be able to control whether or not that client responds to my email. But I can definitely wake up and choose courage.
Goals make us anxious when they're hinged on factors that are out of our control. Because deep down, what we're really trying to do is control other people's actions. We want them to listen to us, to give us their money, to respect us. And none of those are bad things, but it can become unhealthy when we depend on other people's actions to feel like we're successful. When we need people to do a certain thing in order for us to feel worthy and valuable.
So when we switch our target and rewrite the metrics, we jump off the wheel. We stop trying to control everything out there, and start working on the only thing we really have influence over: ourselves. We become more flexible, adapting to the twists and turns that Life sends our way. We trust more. We're open up. We find peace, even though our lives may not look like what we had envisioned for ourselves.
If you take anything away from this, remember that you're worth so much more than your output under capitalism.
Till the next time we meet, my wish is that you measure your worth on your own terms, and that you define for yourself what you want your life to be.
From my soul to yours,
Terri. 🌝