Day 20

The work of teshuvah can be intense and overwhelming.

I don’t know about you, but in my head, I have a seemingly endless stream of things-I-could-have-done-better. I’ve tried to structure our emails in such a way as to make this work gentle and compassionate, knowing that this turning is a kindness that puts us on our path to a fuller life.

And yet. It can be too much, at times.

The Seven of Earth is your permission to take a break, take a breath, turn away from the work of turning toward, for a brief moment.

Sometimes getting away from our work and taking a walk or a nap, having sex or reading a trashy novel, can be just the thing our brains need in order to find the pearls of wisdom within.

And if this work has been rejuvenating for you, rather than draining, if you’re not feeling like you need a break just yet, that's awesome too. This card offers you the opportunity to reflect on the successes you’ve already achieved, the fruits you’ve already harvested from your labor.

You might go back to your original tarot spread (or maybe those things aren’t feeling relevant to you anymore, and that’s learning, too), or simply look back over the journal you’ve kept this month, or the catalogue in your mind.

You’ve done a lot already, whether you have engaged each of our emails with action, or simply allowed your mind to rest a moment on these ideas. Here's some of what you might have accomplished over the past 20 days.

• You've read through Psalm 27 and explored what it might mean for you.

• You’ve remembered that not every piece of advice is for you.

• You’ve considered your beloved, and how to engage with the greater beloved.

• You’ve considered choosing life, and determined where you put your trust.

• You’ve sought out truth and imagined your desires can be Holy.

• You’ve sought your own torah, and taken moments for stillness and sabbath.

• You’ve discovered some of your own tools and set intentions for next year.

• You’ve explored complexity and determined where your own voice needs to be heard.

• You’ve examined your dreams and prepared to let some go and begin to bring others to fruition.

• You’ve heard the truths your body has to tell, and considered new ways of knowing.

• You’ve faced the potential that change could be cataclysmic.

• You’ve explored your heritage and inheritances for their gifts and wounds.

• You’ve considered turning away from the things which seem ok but are no longer feeding you.

• You’ve asked yourself where you’ve been complicit this year.

• You’ve recognized your own capacity for healing in this journey.

• You’ve recognized the places you have failed to act and prepared to take action to make your amends.

If you have even considered one of these things, or if you have deeply internalized and acted upon every one of them and more, you can take a moment and simply be proud of your work.

As Sabbath falls this evening, the Seven of Earth and I invite you to pause and really consider what a gift you’ve already given to yourself.

We will do more work next week, but for now, this is enough.