the deal-breaker of discernment

Hey friends,

As promised, I’m sharing about Archetypal Doors.

This email has 3 parts: 
~ an explanation of the subject line
~ some of my experiences with that deal-breaker
~ info on the class

If you're ready to register, go here. Though I still recommend reading this email :)

If you’re on the fence and not sure, I’ll drop some vitals now: August 17th-September 15th, all online, $24.

[Advance notice that this love letter explores a lot of nuances. You’re going to read “to be clear” a lot. That’s intentional. The discernment that the subject line references requires nuances and subtleties.]

So -
The deal-breaker of discernment is knowing ego vs intuition. It’s a deal-breaker because it’s the difference between moving through life with grace, in the flow, handling challenges maturely and truly savoring the triumphs vs … well, NOT that.

Why is intuition such a big deal? Because it’s never wrong.
That’s worth repeating: Intuition is never wrong.

To be clear, that doesn’t mean you never have icky consequences. Life frequently has icky consequences. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

To be clear, intuition is not just your gut inclination. If you’re unwilling to inform your intuition with logic or outside information, you’re depriving your intuition.

But when you combine all available knowledge with your own senses beyond quantification and measurement, you don’t make wrong decisions.

To be clear, I mean “wrong decisions” as in ones you regret. When you had several choices and you see that you chose the wrong one.

That doesn’t mean you never make mistakes.

But it DOES mean you aren’t carrying the burden of regrets. I define “right decisions” as the best possible choice available at that time. If things end up sideways later on, you have the peace of knowing you did the best you could, rather than the shame of knowing you acted from a place of ego.

Here’s what it's like not to understand ego vs intuition:

Years ago, when I didn’t have this discernment, I wasted SO MUCH time and energy.

For example, I’d get an idea: something new to do at work, a workshop to offer, a way to handle a difficult situation with a colleague. Then, I’d waffle for a couple weeks:
- Second, third, fourth, twentieth guesses.
- LISTS. Oh my word, y'all. So. Many. Lists.
- Internal debates.
- Self-doubt, all day long.
- Rumination about the consequences.

The inevitable conclusion was 1 of 2 things:
1. I gave up because I couldn’t decide
- OR -
2. I did decide, but I was so tired from burning time and energy in the decision I didn’t have any energy left to do the thing.

Really, the inevitable conclusion was that I never did anything.

Can you relate?

I lived for YEARS in this suspended state. I was never truly asserting myself, never trying new things, never holding my own boundaries.

If you can relate, you know. If you’ve never struggled with knowing intuition vs ego; spoiler alert: it’s TERRIBLE.
 

Here’s what it's like to understand intuition vs ego:

Some of y’all know that I left a very toxic work situation last year, that I had two intense health scares in 2019. The toxic work situation had been going for years, and I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Those decisions cost me friendships and purposeful work, and I had a lot of grief to process about everything.

What I don't have, though - not a single regret. None. ZERO.

Why? Because I didn’t throw a bunch of ego tantrums when things got tough. I didn’t act out and do things I later regretted. I don’t look back now and wish I’d chosen more mature actions. I did the best I could, with what was available. I have neither shame nor no guilt.

I’m curious…
~ Do you make decisions with that kind of confidence?
~ How do you get information? Do you ruminate at length? Does the universe share insights?
~ Do you indulge in tantrums of the ego, flinging insults or passive-aggressive remarks?
~ Do you end up with regrets and the wish to rewind?
~ Do you look back and realize there were signals and wisdom from the universe that you missed?

If not, what would it be like to have that discernment?

When I realized I was stuck in this suspended state between intuition and ego, I go to work on shifting myself. Everything—every single thing—changed when I learned to know that discernment quickly and easily. When I no longer needed 2 weeks to ruminate over every damn thing.

One of the best tools in my learning process was tarot. Tarot is an amazing resource because it encompasses work with both individual and collective stories, beliefs, and understandings.

Tarot practice creates a powerful foundation for strengthening intuition and discerning ego vs intuition.

To be clear, tarot practice can have any number of purposes. Most often, I see courses about a tarot practice for the sake of becoming a good card reader. That’s a great skill to have. But it’s not the same as having a powerful sense of your own intuition.

When you use tarot to develop intuition—not just tarot reading skills—you strengthen your capacity to interpret other messages.

The universe rarely speaks a human language, as we all know. Often, insights emerge as symbols, sensations, or emotions. This is why tarot is so powerful for intuition—it has both visuals and words. 

Moreover, there are countless resources and perspectives available, when you want to explore them: books, videos, blogs, forums. Broader perspectives are readily available.

And tarot is super portable. You can have a small deck. Or even an app these days, because phones are ALL THE THINGS.

Tarot has been a huge blessing for me. And I’m not even sharing some of the best things about it yet! I’m saving my favorites for the class.

Archetypal Doors is about refining intuition and encountering more synchronicities, by diving into individual and collective stories.

Most introductions to tarot or courses about it focus on tarot reading. In a free article, you go from totally new to, before you finish scrolling to the bottom of the page, multiple card spreads. That’s not a bad enterprise, but it’s not one that actively nurtures intuition.

Tarot has so much more richness and empowerment, so many opportunities to dive into more layers. As we know, the universe doesn’t speak a human language. Unlike a tarot deck, intuition doesn’t have a guide book.

But when you use tarot as a foundational practice of intuition, you become skilled at noticing synchronicities and messages that don’t have a reference guide. Not because life is a tarot deck, but because tarot uses many languages, including archetypes and images, which apply to much broader contexts than card readings.

Another thing missing in many tarot courses: understanding cultural context, beyond the content of the deck. For example: the presence or absence of ONE WORD can tell me volumes about the teacher and the class. It’s nothing super unusual. I’ll explain in the very first lesson.

Archetypal Doors does not require prior experience or expertise. Nor do you even need to “believe” in tarot or magic or anything else. In fact, one of my favorite tarot decks centers around some topics I am generally not drawn to.
The cards are simply the doors—the look and shape of the portals to yourself, to others, to the universe.

Here are the specs -
WHEN: 1 moon cycle - Monday, August 17th to Tuesday, September 15th
WHAT WE DO TOGETHER: weekly Zoom sessions with me, with recordings available (about an hour each) + private FB group (by invitation only)
SUPPLIES NEEDED: 1 tarot (not oracle) deck + a journal
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU: supercharged discernment & recognition, aka a new level of conversation with yourself, others, and the universe
INVESTMENT: $24, nonrefundable
1 per person, please (not 1 per household)

Fun facts on messages from beyond oneself—the universe chose $24. I don't know all the reasons, but I’m trusting.
I do know that number has inspired me to gift this class to 1 person (yet undetermined). So, I feel compelled to encourage you to do the same. Please  consider gifting Archetypal Doors to someone you know who can't afford it, or let me know if you want to gift it to someone you don't know.

The universe also told me that there will be a maximum capacity, but didn’t share an actual number. I trust that I’ll get clear on that maximum as people register. That means I will intuitively close the registration when it reaches capacity. I just can't predict when.
In the meantime, feel free to share this email with resonant folks who'd want to join us.

Are you in? Go here.

Confused about the difference between tarot vs oracle decks? Know some potential gift recipients? In that suspended state of ego vs intuition?
Email me and we’ll discern, not ruminate.

Intuitively, inevitably,
S.

—
she / they
Siderealchemy