Trusting the Mystery
How you can trust your intuition and keep your ego in check.
A question I get asked a lot is - how can I tell the difference between intuition and ego?
And I think this is a good one for the practice of reading tarot, as well as for life in general.
If you are a tarot reader, I’m sure you know it’s a lot harder to lean into your intuition when you are reading for yourself.
You have to get past the ego and fear and whatever is driving you to your deck at that moment.
My general answer to the question is that intuition is like a soft, quiet knowing and ego (especially fear) is loud, intrusive and repetitive.
Intuition Vs. Fear
Intuition says, I’m going to explore this now. Or I feel drawn to read this book, listen to this music, sign up for this course, etc.
Fear/Ego says, if you don’t do this right now, then something bad is going to happen to you in the future.
I began struggling with anxiety and panic attacks as a teenager, so I am no stranger to the voice of ego and fear.
After many years of meds and psychotherapy, my desire to find alternative solutions to healing from past traumas eventually led me down a spiritual path.
But I would be lying if I didn’t say there have been many, many times that I have reached for my deck in times of complete fear and dysregulation as a way to try to calm my fearful mind.
And just like a drug, it gives temporary relief. And just like a drug, the relief doesn’t last long and you need to do it more and more to get that hit of “calm”.
How to Use Tarot to Tap into Intuition
So how do we use tarot as a tool to connect with our own intuition, and not as a band-aid to predict some future outcome our mind made up in the first place?
I think we can recognize that as a society, we are coping with a lot of uncertainty.
And we’ve had to face several big events over the last decade which took away aspects of life that we considered certain - whether it’s our social life in the pandemic or our basic human rights due to politics, a lot is going on right now.
And when we are faced with this uncertainty - we look for it in other places.
When we can stop seeking certainty, and instead, use tools to help us cope with the feelings that uncertainty brings, we can start to find a deeper connection to both our intuition, and find more calm and ease in our bodies and nervous system.
If you find yourself reaching for tarot, astrology or another divination tool, podcast, horoscope, etc.
Pay Attention to Your State
First notice your physical and mental state at the moment. Often we just move out of habit - reaching for our deck or our phone to self soothe.
Being able to stop and simply take a few deep breaths to see how we are feeling before we use tarot can really shift the energy back inward.
If you notice you are feeling worried, dysregulated or overly emotional, I recommend doing some body based, somatic practices to help bring you back to baseline rather than reaching for something more intellectual.
That is because your logic and intuition will be much harder to access in a dysregulated state.
Also, if you are reading horoscopes or readings meant for the collective - it will be harder to practice discernment to see if the information actually resonates with you, personally.
Currently, we are in a time when we are bombarded with countless supplies of information (and misinformation).
Holding energetic and physical boundaries is hugely important!
The more calculated we can be with what we take in externally, the easier it is to access our internal weather system, recognize our thoughts and feelings in the moment, and take appropriate action.
Unplugging is Important
Taking time to unplug and tune in every single day is more important than ever.
Especially if you are an empath or HSP, we can often feel the collective energy around us, so making sure we have space to pull back our energy.
Our own nervous system makes a huge difference in how we trust our intuitive knowing, what energy is our own and what is not.
Journaling, EFT (tapping), dancing, going on a walk or taking a bath/shower are all ways I like to ground and recenter myself.
Once I am centered and grounded, I find I can practice divination from a much better place, and trust the reading in front of me.
If you find you are pulling a bunch of cards or reading a bunch of different horoscopes to try to “make sense” of a situation - chances are you have lost the plot and are back in an ego/ fear based state.
You don’t need any “clarification” cards when working with intuition, you just need the patience to sit with the message being delivered.
It might not make sense today, but in a day or a week it will click. Remember, intuition is slow and gentle.
If the mind is spinning, try doing a bit of journaling on the image, and just write down exactly what you see - the colors, shapes, imagery.
Something may click. If it didn’t - trust the message will become clear when you are ready and simply walk away.
Not all readings need to give a clear message, intuition is something we practice leaning into over time!
Learning to trust and go with our intuition is a life practice, not something we master in a few days or weeks.
I find, like many things, there has been a cyclical path on my healing journey. There have been seasons where I feel my intuition is loud and clear, and others where anxiety and fear have come up to cloud my vision.
Trust that, it’s all part of the lesson and keep going. Some seasons may call for different tools and methods, and can give us new opportunities to expand our practice and our minds.
As humans, we are very predictive by nature, so it’s very normal to want our divination practice to follow suit.
When it comes to our intuition, learning to be present and trust in the mystery have been my #1 tools for more confidence in myself and my inner knowing.
Bio & Photo of Holly Ramey
Holly Ramey is an astrologer, tarot reader, yoga teacher and reiki master who has been working in the healing arts for over 15 years.
Always fascinated by world religions, an eastern philosophy class in college sent her on a deeper path of exploration.
After a brief career in fashion, she left the industry in 2008 to study yoga, which opened a portal to the healing community that offered much solace and belonging.
She is driven by a fierce desire to break cycles and build a stronger legacy for future generations.
She is an Aries sun, Sagittarius moon and Libra rising who loves fashion, travel, herbs and gardening, rollerblading and reading lots of nonfiction.
She lives in the Hudson Valley with her partner, daughter and stepsons.
Check her Substack, Long Strange Trip.
And her website, www.hollydramey.com, as well as Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/_marshotel_/.
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