The Best Version of Me

Deck used is the Urban Tarot by Robin Scott

In past readings, I talked about the idea of cycles and making changes. It’s amazing to me that things can change so much in what seems so short a time. I’ve definitely noticed that I’m not the same person I was from last year, let alone the years before. I’ve grown up and even in my adulthood, I’ve made changes and adapted to my situation. So I suppose the question to ask myself now is how do I incorporate the lessons learned, the changes made and the journey so far into my person-hood? Let’s find out shall we?

The Cards

from the Urban Tarot by Robin Scott

10 of disks: With this card, we see the ultimate expression of materialism as presented in the element of Earth. Through the passionate idealism of the element of fire, the deep compassion of the element of water and the rational guidance of air, we have seen what wealth can do using the best of each. However, what do we get without them? The answer is that we accumulate things for the sake of accumulating them. While the 10 of disks may be seen as a reward for hard work, there must be the acceptance that these rewards are only material. The material things we gain maybe shiny and new, but they won’t last forever so don’t let them blind your eyes to other (perhaps more important) things.

5 of wands represents the moments where we have been called to shake ourselves out of the complacency of our lives. We are facing competition and strife but in this, we are being called to become better versions of ourselves and to overcome and grow from this experience. To do so, we must fight for our rights.

The hermit: This card is about solitude and the wisdom that can come from being alone. Sometimes, the most important questions need to be asked to ourselves and no one else. While we may find that the life of solitude can be cold and bitter, sometimes the most powerful wisdom we can gain comes when we take ourselves out of the business of society. This can allow the light in us to grow and the answers we need to develop.

Queen of wands: This character is the master of emotion and persuasion They are the epitome of love and compassion and yet they are as fierce and protective of their ideals as any. They fight for the other, perhaps at the cost of their own well-being.

7 of disks: We face failure every day. This is no joke yet somehow, we are afraid of falling on our faces. What happens to our detriment is that sometimes, we go into a project thinking that failure is impossible. This thought process dooms us right from the start. Sometimes, failing over and over is the real thing we need to teach us the most important lessons (Thomas Edison and his lightbulb experiments are the example here. “I have not failed. I just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” )

Knight of wands: The character of this card is a warrior, leader and a blazing spark that may burn out as quick as they are sparked. They charge forward in their ideal causes and are powerful and honest, but they are completely driven by their passions. They can sometimes come off as more of a bully rather than a hero figure because they lack certain qualities given to them by the elements of air, water and earth. This is especially true if they let their ego drive their impulses.

The devil: this card represents the things we are enslaved by and addicted to. This character is part of our shadow selves and the parts of us that we’d rather not look at too deeply. The trick here is that once we recognize the Devil in all of us, we can work to make sure we acknowledge and work with this energy. It will do no good to heap shame upon ourselves for having this side of our personas. All of us do and all of us are capable of working with the energies.

To answer the question of how to become the best version of myself, I need to know that I am strong enough to face the changes coming to me. I need to acknowledge that I have a tendency to want things for their own sake (talking about accumulating things simply for the act of doing so) and the fact that I have my addictions and base desires like everyone else has. Every day is a battle I have to face with people not understanding me or how I live (which is perfectly okay) and there will always be something that won’t turn out the way I’d hoped for. I can’t fear failure because it happens more regularly than we anticipate. What will help me here is knowing that shaming myself won’t do me any good, and reminding myself that I am capable of restarting and resetting, no matter how challenging and scary the task may be. Ego is fear here and it won’t do me any good to operate from this perspective.