bottling up my tarot card reading and sending it as a warm hug to everyone in a caring profession/role
a spiritual approach to the ever-present conversation about burnout
When I went to Kripalu a few weeks ago, I attended a workshop about building intuition and tarot card reading. It felt the furthest thing away from medicine and evidence based science so it was a natural first choice.
The workshop leader, Cynthia Papa-Lentini, PhD, took us through breathing exercises and ways to protect energy, as well as a brief intro to how to read tarot.
I was transfixed and mesmerized. Her connection to the elements was so grounding, and it was such an engaging workshop. Despite her skill and affinity for teaching, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing or reading when I pulled my own cards. But I got an absolutely stellar vibe, both from the cards and the class.
I decided to book a private reading with her to help decipher what my cards meant in relation to the question I asked before pulling cards. And our conversation was perhaps the most helpful and comprehensive one I’ve had about burnout to date. Like I want to bottle it up and send it as a hug to everyone in healthcare. Or just anyone who does any sort of caring in their life or job description. Aka everyone.
Cynthia was kind of like if Scrooge (me) was visited by three kind, warm, direct, and effortlessly funny spirits. And she spoke about my past, present, and future in that way.
Talking to Cynthia was so helpful because she knows folks in healthcare and has also worked in similar environments. She just really got it without me having to explain very much.
Read on for:
Cynthia’s interpretation of my cards
how to decrease empath energy expenditure
committing to a heart and soul practice
establishing a belief system
moving away from the direct fire of healthcare to something with a little less heat
In order to read the cards, Cynthia first had to know my question.
When recalling the question I initially drew from, it was hard to come up with a succinct answer. The words bubbled up like a geyser.
It was essentially everything I’ve blah blah blah’d about in this newsletter since its inception.
Ie, my life has been a lot of moving parts for the last 10 years. I feel like I’ve (at least somewhat) professionally arrived on paper, but at the same time I’m often riddled with insecurity, anxiety, and exhaustion. I wanted to know if in not just my career, but my life, I’d ever really step into my confidence and calm, rather than windswept by chaos and confusion.
My secondary question was learning how to balance not taking on the energies of my work place and patients, as this really impacts my mood.
With those questions in mind, the first card I pulled was Queen of Wands, the second was Queen of Pentacles, and the third was the High Priestess. The last one I pulled was Swords, which I put in the middle, alongside the Queen of Pentacles.
Interpretation