Issue #32
Hello, all my plump and juicy little cherry tomatoes,
Welcome to another edition of my unhinged thoughts. Hot off the press. Hope you enjoy!
“I want to know where I’m going with my creative career.”
“My partner and I are planning a move and I want to know if this is the right choice.”
“My father died last year and I need guidance on how to move forward.”
“I just started dating someone, but my ex slid back into the picture. I still love my ex and I don’t think I’m over him, but this new guy is amazing. Who should I choose?”
“I’m getting married in two weeks, can you tell me more about the dynamics of our relationship?”
“My father and I have a strained relationship. How can I make it better?”
“My girlfriend and I just broke up amicably. But I’m not sure if this was the right choice. Should I get back together with her or should we just remain friends?”
“I am transitioning from a dead-end but well-paying job to a job I’m passionate about but is not very lucrative. What do I need to know about this choice?”
These are just some questions I heard while sitting in my tarot booth at local festivals this summer.
I soft-launched my little tarot business this summer, attending three festivals over six days to read cards and sell my little wares.
I’ve gotten some heated responses about this new venture, especially from people I knew from church and my evangelical missionary days. I’ve also spent a lot of time clearing up misunderstandings and answering common questions about the cards.
So, I thought I’d share some reflections from my time spent in booths this summer and what I’ve learned while reading other’s cards.
Tarot cards do not tell your future, they help you create the future you want to have.
When people first sit in my booth, I always ask, “Is there a query you have for the cards today? A certain relationship or situation you’d like insight into? Or do you just want a general reading to see what the cards have to say to you in the current season you’re in?” Probably around half of the people have specific queries, many of which I paraphrased above, and the other half have sat down out of sheer curiosity. It’s their first time experiencing tarot and they don’t know what to ask, or they want to see how accurate the cards will be to their specific situation without giving me any “clues.”
I try to tell people that I’m not a fortune teller or a psychic, and the more I know about their situation, the better I’ll be able to interpret the cards that get laid down. When people ask for general readings, the themes of each card will be a bit generic, and applicable to almost anybody.
To be a good card reader, you must be a good storyteller.
Once we’ve discussed their goal for this reading, I decide on the spread that will best apply to the question they have and I shuffle the cards. Once thoroughly shuffled, I let the querent cut the deck in half to transfer some of their energy into the reading. I then draw the cards for the spread from where they cut the deck, laying them each into position.
Here are a few common spreads I used at my booth. I publish a new spread every week in my other newsletter if you’re interested.
I then explain what each individual card means, its main themes, and how it applies to their situation or its position in the spread. Next, I try to tie all the cards together to form one cohesive story, this is where my background as a writer and full-time daydreamer comes in handy. Using intuition and whatever information they’ve given me during our conversation, I give meaning to the cards.
No two tarot readers will interpret the cards in the same way, and that’s the beauty of tarot. It’s flexible and malleable, the meanings change and shift based on the querent’s goals and the reader’s intuition. Yes, each card has a traditional meaning, based on numerology and symbolism, but the way the reader understands and explains these meanings to people who have never encountered tarot before will vary greatly.
There are no bad cards.
When cards with darker imagery are pulled, such as the Ten of Swords, The Devil, or Death, people usually shutter, laugh nervously, or look at me like they regret ever sitting down at this weird lady’s booth. This is when I explain to them that there are no bad cards. Every card carries a spiritual truth and lesson that can contribute to your personal and spiritual growth, and every card, no matter how dark it appears, has a silver lining.
For example, in one reading I did, I drew three cards for their past, one for their present, and three for their future. The three cards in their past painted a beautiful picture of inner strength, resilience, and seizing opportunities (Strength, 9 of Wands, Ace of Wands). The cards representing their future were a bit bleaker with both The Tower and Ten of Swords drawn. I told the querent that their future would not be all smooth sailing. There are still many challenges and even defeats ahead, but because of the lessons the past had taught them about being strong in the face of adversity, they would make it through whatever the universe had to throw at them and come out on the other side even stronger than before. The last card in their spread was High Priestess, which told me that because of the many difficulties they’ve had to overcome, they would become wise beyond their years and someone with an exquisite inner peace that cannot be shaken.
Yes, bad cards can serve as a warning, but they can also teach wonderful lessons about our inner workings and higher self.
Tarot is ultimately a tool for self-reflection, allowing you to connect deeper to your intuition.
After explaining what each card means and tying them all together in a story, I ask the querent, “What has stood out to you in this reading? Do you see anything applicable to your situation?” I encourage the person sitting across from me to reflect on anything they’ve just heard, applying it to the question they originally asked me at the top of the reading. I ask them to look at the symbolism on each card, asking them if they see themselves or any characters in their stories on any of the cards.
It is at this point they will often go into length about whatever situation this reading brought to the front of their mind. Usually, those who were tight-lipped at the start of the reading will now spill their hearts out about how this spread applied to their job, family, or other aspects of their personal life. If this is the case, I can continue to interpret the cards and draw out more meanings based on what they have now told me.
I’ll end each reading encouraging the querent to take a picture of the spread, pointing out the Major Arcana cards in the reading they should research more into and meditate on in the days to come.
I remind them that only they can control their future; you are the master of your own destiny. Take the cards that were laid out today as a warning or an encouragement, but don’t go against your better judgment. Take only what serves you and leave behind what doesn't. The cards can guide you, but you must take the lead and decide which direction to take.
Overall, the first few festivals I’ve been at have been very fruitful. I’ve gotten more fluent in the language of tarot, met some amazing folks, and connected to the community on a deeper level. I’m currently registering for booths at Halloween and Christmas festivals, if you know of an event that could use a tarot reader, let me know!
A few new blooms and fresh fruits:
The first little cherry tomatoes that I grew from seed have ripened.
A few pretty pink zinnias have finally blossomed. It was a slow year for my zinnias, but I’m glad a few finally showed up.
Blanketflower, a baby cousin of the sunflower, finally blossomed!
Douglas Aster. I have four big buckets of this native perennial and they’ve also had a slow start this year, but are finally bloomed.
The rest of my sunflowers have bloomed and are beautiful! I might try to plant them in larger containers next year to see if they can grow any bigger.
My only content this week has been brain-rotting and doom-scrolling Instagram, along with my tried and true forms of content: the Office Ladies podcast and, of course, King of the Hill.
I spent a whole roll of toonies on stickers from vendors at this year’s Chilliwack Mural Festival. Featuring art from Aysha McConkey, Julia Jane Martens, Nina Kroeker, Chantelle Trainor-Matthies, and Katelyn Rose, all artists local to Chilliwack or the Fraser Valley.
After a too-long hiatus, I sacrificed some sleep to wander around the forest last week. I explored Chilliwack Community Forest and hiked up Karver’s Trail to the Mt.Thom lookout point.
I pet sat my little buddy Vince again this past week. The best little burnt potato of a dog anyone could ask for.
After being rejected from donating blood the past five times I went because of low iron, I finally had enough iron in my veins to donate this past week. To be honest, I was always secretly happy whenever they pricked my finger and my iron was too low because I was afraid of blood and needles. But after giving blood for the first time in a long time, I realized I had built it up in my head and it wasn’t that bad, it only took around 15 minutes to pump out a pint of blood. I even got to suck on a juice box after becoming a juice box myself. If you’re able, consider donating blood yourself! I promise it’s not that bad!
Like always, I had a crisper drawer full of veggies from my CSA box and garden that I needed to process last week so none of it went bad. Here is everything I made:
Agua Fresca
Recipe inspired by Alexa Fuelled Naturally
Add 1 melon (I used half a cantaloupe and half a honeydew), seed and skins removed, along with 3 cups of water to a blender. Blend on high until smooth, then pour through a strainer into a pitcher. Next, add 1 large cucumber, skin removed, to the blender with 2 cups of water. Blend on high until smooth, then pour through a strainer into the pitcher. Finally, dissolve ½ cup sugar into another cup of warm water. Pour this into the pitcher, stir well, and serve drink over ice.
Big Bowl of Salad
Every week, I make a huge bowl of salad, adding any leftover leafy greens, grating carrots and beets, chopping up cucumbers, celery, and whatever else remains at the bottom of my crisper. I LOVE Costco’s Kewpie Sesame Dressing. But I also love this homemade Ranch dressing:
Ranch:
Blend for two whole minutes on high: ½ cup soaked cashews, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp sweetener (like agave), ½ tsp each: oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt. ¼ tsp each: dried dill and celery seed.
Kale and Quinoa Salad
Preheat your oven (or bbq) to 400. Peel and chop your beets, and toss them on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.
Rinse 1 cup of quinoa, then add to a pot with 2 cups water, and cook until water is absorbed. Once cooked, spread out onto a baking sheet so it can cool faster.
Strip 1 bunch of kale leaves into a bowl, ripping as you go. Wash the leaves, then massage with a small drizzle of olive oil until slightly tender.
Mix vinaigrette: 1 diced shallot, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil.
Add ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (mint, parsley, basil, whatever you have on hand) to the kale and stir in the cooled quinoa and beets.
Stuffed Squash Blossoms
Recipe from Justine Dorion’s Substack.
Mash up one block of extra-firm tofu. Stir in ¼ cup chopped mint leaves, ¼ cup bread crumbs, 1 tsp oregano, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and salt. Transfer to a plastic bag for piping.
Gently open your squash blossoms and a pinch of the stamen. Fill the flower with the tofu and twist the ends of the flour to seal.
In another bowl, mix: 1 cup flour, 1 cup seltzer water, 1 tsp salt.
Heat 4 cups of peanut oil in a Dutch oven on the stove to act as a deep fryer.
Dup squash blossoms in the batter and place in the oil. Fry for one minute until golden on all sides. Transfer to a draining rack lined with paper towels to cool.
Pickled Beets
Wash beets and boil whole until tender.
In a saucepan, combine 1 cup vinegar, ½ cup sugar, 5 whole cloves, 1 star anise, ½ tsp salt. Cook until sugar is dissolved.
Once beets are cooked and cooled. Peel their skins off and slice into thick rounds. Place beets into sanitized jars and pour pickling liquid overtop to fill up your jars.
Thanks for reading What Am I Doing With My Life.
If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting - I’m Andrea Sadowski, a writer, photographer, and silly little guy. If you enjoyed this post, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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I am honored to have written this newsletter and experienced all the joys within these words on S’ólh Téméxw, the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Stō:lo Coast Salish peoples.