The Sceptic's Tarot

Creativity does not refer only to artistic creativity.

A creative life is one in which your decisions and choices, actions, beliefs, and values spring from openness, tolerance, curiosity, and a sense of awe for the world.

Creativity can be expressed in poetry, painting, sculpture, and music, but also in a journal entry, in the way you tackle challenges, and in the empathy with which you approach the people around you.

Fear and doubt are obstacles to living a creative life. But they can also provide inspiration. The trick is not to let them overwhelm you (easier said than done, I know).

Here is a technique for those days when you need to remind yourself that, despite fear and doubt, you are a creative being.

Place the cards

You are going to draw six cards in total, set out in three rows of two cards each. In each row, the left card is face up, the card on the right face down. Look at this layout and then follow the procedure below:

Draw the first card and lay it face-up before you, saying "I fear ...."

Draw a second card and place it face down next to the first card.

Draw a third card and saying, "I am uncertain," place this card in card position 3.

Draw a fourth card and place it face down, in position 4.

Draw a fifth card and saying, "I doubt," place it in position 5.

Draw the last card and put it face down in position 6.

Read the cards

Spend some time looking at the face-up cards. They represent fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Identify them, acknowledge them, and they will immediately lose some of their power. (If you draw a positive card like the Sun in one of these positions, remember that even good things have a dark side.)

Now turn card 2 face up, saying, "I create ...". Linger on this card, exploring ways to control fear, and let it inspire you.

Do the same with card 4 and card 6.

Repeat this technique as often as you need to live a creative and fulfilling life.

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