Hello Thirty Goodbye Twenties: 10 Tarot Cards to Illuminate the Experiences of My 20s
TLDR (Too Long Didn't Read): This blog highlights the wins, tales, and fails of my twenties through 10 Tarot Cards, all illustrated through a diverse collection of decks.
The End of Being a Twenty-Something.
Big Emphasis on the "something."
I spent most of my twenties trying to morph into "something" resembling a baby boomer's life path.
The actions of my elders communicated the practice of putting aside how you want to feel each day for the responsibilities that come along with surviving. The echoes of creating a stable life undermined my courage to want more for myself.
But who was the stability really for?
I could no longer be everything to America and no one to myself.
Why Tarot Became a Mainstay in my Spiritual Practice
Imagery and intuition blend seamlessly when it's time to turn to Tarot Cards for guidance.
Tarot Deck illustrations are dripping in symbolism, and our intuition allows us to direct those symbols to areas of our lives that we see fit. You may have heard a Tarot Reader say,
"Take What Resonates and Leave What Doesn't"
This practice helps filter out the conscious feelings of those fast and constricting anxious thoughts from the gentle, intuitive nudges of clarity and direction.
Tarot also welcomes messages from our subconscious, alternate timelines, and insights that can be helpful when taking the first step toward changing an aspect of your life.
10 Tarot Cards to Illuminate My 20s.
Age 20:
Card: Seven of Baskets
Keywords for this Card: Options, Choosing Something Without Knowing the Outcome
Situation: Moving 700 miles away to college, 26 credit hours a semester, Leaning About The Garden State, Travelling to New York for $15.00 round trip.
Question(s) I Pondered: With all the new people in my life, which to choose or explore? Which option could show me a different option on how to handle life?
Outcome: Some of those options turned into lifelong friendships. I will never forget when these burgeoning friendships taught me something about others and myself when they offered me new ways to explore and experience the world.
Age 21
Card: The Sun
Keywords for this Card: Expansion, Positivity, Radiance
Situation: A Month-long trip to London and Italy, Brooklyn sunsets in Prospect Park, Off Campus College House Fun,
Question(s) I pondered: If I perceive myself as the "best" of something in my everyday environment, how do I handle it when I am perceived as inferior in a new environment?
Is it hard for me to relax?
Outcome: Something about this solar return shined a little brighter for my expansion, and the smiles I smiled during this time felt less forced. This was the year it finally clicked; having fun is okay!
It's okay to let your smiles help you discern where to spend your time, even if it doesn't make logical sense.
Age 22
Card: Four of Cups
Keywords for this Card: Not appreciating what you have, Stagnancy, Boredom, Impatience
Situation: No Summer-Just Grad School, Nostalgia, Fear of Missing Out
Question(s) I Pondered: Do I recreate old memories or dare to make new ones?
Outcome: This challenging year of pushing through graduate school and the isolating feelings of seclusion and rigidity. I had to go inside to find something to hold on to that brought joy before I quickly spewed my jealousy from the lack I felt I was experiencing onto others.
Age 23
Card: The Lovers
Keywords for this Card: Relationships, A Choice In Love
Situation: Waking up to someone, consistently, for the first time
Question(s) I Pondered: Could what I am experiencing with someone be better shared with someone else?
Outcome: The moment when you finally hit a milestone in your life, and you start undermining your experience because you got the whole "is the grass greener on the other side" phenomenon going on in your head.
It was sobering to break trust in a relationship by indulging in these thoughts while realizing that that phenomenon is not a relationship problem; it's a personal problem.
Age 24
Card: Ace of Coins
Keywords for this Card: New forms of financial stability, Laying down new roots
Situation: Fresh Out of 5 Years of College, Moving Back to My Hometown.
Question(s) I Pondered: What am I willing to do for a check? Is a performing career the only way that I will feel successful?
Outcome: Back in these days working seven days a week, nothing could stop me from finding new ways to financially support my dreams of hitting the stage. Until one day, I saw my dreams of performing against the reality of my lifestyle in a 500 Days of Summer, Expectations vs. Reality type of scene. People had told me about the realities of a career in concert dance performance, yet my idealism blinded me to the realities until I couldn’t run from it any longer. Did I want a popping livelihood now, or did I have enough trust, faith, and confidence to keep fighting?
Age 25:
Card: Seven of Coins
Keywords for this Card: Tending to Your Garden, Perseverance
Situation: Full-Time Job, Middle school blues at 25, First post-college apartment
Question(s) I Pondered: Can perseverance and determination change a situation that may not be meant for you?
How can I show the best of my passionate nature without creating resistance?
Because I am in control of my finances, does that mean I am in control of my life?
Outcome: Although I am a gifted leader and teacher, the realities of becoming a teacher today began to diminish my passion for life.
Read More About My Transition Out of Teaching Full Time Here
As a fire sign, that can be dangerous. This can lead to the short fuse of our natures coming out because we are not finding fulfillment in how we are directing our passions.
Age 26
Card: The Moon
Keywords for this Card: Hidden Motives, Illusion
Situation: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Desperation, Fraud, Deception,
Question(s) I Pondered: What blind spots in my nature makes me susceptible to manipulation?
Outcome: This was the year it clicked that only some people are as straightforward as me, which can make me a target.
But what blocked seeing this aspect within myself? The preoccupation with showing up to be liked instead of asking myself if I like the other.
Age 27
Card: Temperance
Keywords for this Card: Balance, Inner Equilibrium, and Harmony
Situation: Rug pulled underneath your feet, Friends and family having your Back, Living alone for the first time
Question(s) I Pondered: What makes a place a home?
Outcome: This time in my life made me question whether I was at home within myself and how much I relied on the feeling of being in control each day to make my routines work and to get me through the day.
Age 28:
Card: Six of Swords
Keywords for this Card: Transitioning to Calmer Waters, Detachment
Situation: Reintroducing myself to my friends, Moving to a new territory
Question(s) I Pondered: Once you know better, how do you commit to doing better:?
Outcome: Truly a year of restabilizing myself and setting new boundaries. Something that's not talked about enough is the transition between trusting your intuition then acting on what you feel in an organized and constructive way. I realized that by establishing new ways to relate to people, I had gaps in relational skills and, therefore, more work. The transition between "I consciously feel this is/isn't how I wanted to be treated" and conversing with others about the new expectations exposed the limiting beliefs that challenged whether I felt worthy enough to speak out about my desires.
Age 29:
Card: The Hanged Man
Keywords for this Card: A time for pause, Suspension from the established "normal", Sacrifice, Turning things upside down for exploration
Situation: Exploring New Dynamics, Stepping Outside of My Comfort Zone
Question(s) I Pondered: What keeps me from going after what I want?
If life is a series of comings and goings, and I trust myself to know when it’s time to pack it up and go, what can I learn and experience in the interim?
Outcome: It comes with immense pressure when you feel you have been conditioned to look for the "one" and turn yourself into "the one" for someone all your life.
However, what happens if you don’t have much experience living in the moment and discovering your own brand of flirting and expressing attraction?
What if you have trouble relaxing enough to let your authentic personality shine enough for someone to truly see you for who you are?
I wanted the data, the answers to these questions through first-hand experience, without waiting on a person's choice to find the outcome.
And with that being said, I am walking away from this decade with grace and gratitude.
With Celebration,
dd