Let's talk about payment 💸
Money power glory, baby 💌
Now you know I’m a Capricorn, deep pentacle energy. Garden abundant and overflowing; side hustles abound. But an email with a title like this one would probably grab my attention for all the wrong reasons.
First hit fear, second intrigue, then maybe I’d actually get around to reading it. So I hope you read it through, and that it not only reassures you but lights a tiny spark that gets you to look at the world from a different angle.
I pulled three cards to write this: the three of wands, the three of cups and the three of pentacles. Three cards all threes, heavy. The three of wands is all about a daunting task (writing this, getting it just right), while the other two remind me of what my message really is: collaboration, cooperation and true abundance.
The Three of Wands
This newsletter was always intended to be paid for. As much as I love the tarot and how it can help people, there are some pretty compelling reasons (capitalism) why I can’t do it for free. It takes time, effort and a whole bundle of knowledge.
So why is it so hard to ask for money? To feel ok about getting paid for the work I do. Michelle Pellizzon, of intuitive business Holisticism, was someone who introduced me to the concept of a Witch Wound. On her podcast, The Twelfth House, she describes the work of Annalise Oatman and the potency of the Witch Wound. The real and palpable feeling of ickiness that people in spiritual fields often feel when getting paid for their work. Don’t get me twisted, there are definitely those who should feel a little more ick about what they are making money off, spiritually speaking, but that’s for another time.
The underlying theory she posits is that Witches, Intuitives, Healers, whatever you want to call us, have existed long before the capitalist colonialist system we find ourselves in today. In times before this, before every aspect of our lives was commodified, money wasn’t the only form of payment. Medicine people would be cared for by their community. They would trade services and spiritual insight for food, or lodging, or herbs, or other services. In close-knit communities, this is still common practice today. And this is something that I am working to bring back within my own life.
The Three of Cups
Trading has given me some amazing experiences over the past few years. I currently trade my time for room and board on a farm where I apprentice. I traded social media and marketing work (a holdover from a different life, it feels) for an astrology course from the phenomenal Whitney Will. Even to get this newsletter up and running I traded with two of my flatmates, swapping kombucha brewing skills and copywriting for my absolutely beautiful logo (thank you, S) and for a witchy AF photoshoot (thank you, Sophie).
In all this, though, the thought of making this newsletter paid felt hollow, or just a little off. It didn’t sit well with me that people who are looking to get into tarot but don’t have the financial privilege to afford a subscription simply cannot read this or cannot get a personal reading. So let me state this here:
I am always willing to trade. Always open to offers.
If you find yourself in a position where you want to further your knowledge, but don’t have the funds: message me. We can figure something out. Find some way to work around the capitalist system, to collaborate.
The Three of Pentacles
So let’s tie this all up, Capricorn style. The message of this card is such a vital one. In it there are two architects and a sculptor, working together on the creation of a grand building. Without the architects' plans, the sculptor would be lost, without the sculptor’s skill, their vision would never be made real. Neither can do their best work without the other. That’s how I see this newsletter.
In these emails, I hope to provide you with some framework, some scaffolding or plans to begin to understand yourself (and the tarot) better. And in return, I hope to receive support, be it financial or otherwise. When it comes to trade, I want us both to feel that we have gotten a good deal out of it. That the work we put in is respected and appreciated.
Together I see us building something brilliant, something long-standing and transformative. I can’t wait to see what we create.
M
If this sounds like something you’re interested in and you’re not already subscribed…
If this is not your cup of tea, but you know a friend that would LOVE it…
And interestingly if you have some financial privilege and would be willing…
A v important topic to discuss. I keep psyching myself out of setting up a ko-fi, but this has pushed me to do it. Love the idea of trades also!
Hi. I've been studying in the tarot for a while now. I was in prison for a while and could not get a deck of my own since a person is limited to what property they can own. So I studied tarot and got very interested in this psychology and the philosophy of it and the connection to the internal self. A lot of the stems from a long road and recovering from panic attacks. I had a life-changing panic attack that was very unbearable, I had a choice, get well or die, for reasons of faith I do not believe dying before our natural time. So I got into researching for ways to heal my anxiety and I looked in areas I would have never considered looking before, I got into meditation and yoga and found spectacular results especially when it was new to me, I was so high strung, that when I started doing meditation and yoga I had immediate and Powerful results, which made me hungry for more. I had many years of synchronicity and just amazing surreal experiences. All my life I have had mystical experiences at times, but nothing consistent. But it is enough to open my eyes and let me know of it there's more going on than normally meets the eye and has kept me motivated to either experience these experiences again or to find answers to what's really going on. Being that I've been locked up for a lot of my life due to addiction I've had a lot of time to read and do a lot of research and I've read many many books on about everything. My panic attack was the door that really changed my life and it's still changing my life. I don't get the Fantastic results from my meditation and yoga like I used to but I also don't have panic attacks and I am a different person. I am looking for a way to express myself and I wouldn't mind finding a way to improve my finances myself, I have been doing three card readings, I do them for free and I have had good results, and it helps me get the experience. I work during the week and I'm usually too tired to do the tarot in the evening. But my weekends I have been doing three card readings. I know that going on our own hunches and instincts is very limiting, trying to learn things yourself is very limited by our subjective view on things. I would like to get some training and insight, I seen and read your article and maybe you could work with me and I'm not rolling in money by any means, but I would be willing to pay you for your time just like someday I would like to be paid for my time, kind of like the law of karma. Let me know what you think, thank you very much!!