Where have you left your tools? You know the ones that got you to where you are now. That built your foundation, however strong weathered, or cracked. The ones that construct your relationship to yourself, others, your projects, the things you love.

Have you lost sight of those tools? Of all of the power you hold? Of all that you have already done and have yet to do?

You may be seeing others around you achieving new goals in their lives, forming flourishing romantic relationships, and otherwise “excelling” in ways that you might believe you are not. First, take a step back and remember that you are perceiving their experience without full context. You are seeing whoever you’re comparing yourself to through the highlights they show. You are not able to see the tools they used to get themselves to where they are.

You might think you’re seeing magic, but remember that the magician is only as good as their tools.

I’ve been thinking about the Magician tarot card a lot recently and have wanted to write about it for some time but haven’t been able to find the words. I tend to say that all of the cards of the Major Arcana are my favorites at some point for some reason or another, but this one is one of my favorites at the moment as I consider personal power, where it lies within us, and how we can access it in the times that we’re least aware of just how much we have.

The Magician is the first being that the Fool encounters on their journey. They are not yet aware of how long the journey ahead of them will be, and from their leap of faith, their range of expectations are wide open as they go along their way. The Magician is the first stop, and with each of the four elements laid out, one hand pointing to the skies above and the other to the depths below, the Magician is the first to tell the Fool that they have the option to choose. That they hold the information and skill to move along their path, and it is up to them to choose intentionally which elements they leverage at this point in their cycle. When I see the magician in readings, particularly in readings for myself, the phrase that comes to mind (as corny as it is) is that the magic lies within you and it will be an exploration of trust, proactivity, and reactivity as you move along your journey and determine which ones best suit you for the task ahead.

Ok so the magic lies within you, boom, got it, you’re good to go. But what if those tools don’t work? What if they break along the way? What if a skill or coping mechanism you used in the past no longer serves the you you are now as well as it did the you from back then? It would be easier to find ways to adjust in these moments if someone would just hand us the damn script, but unfortunately personal evolution doesn’t work like that.

I pulled the other card, “A magician is only as good as their tools”, from the Postcards from the Liminal Space oracle deck before I went to work this morning. I’ve been struggling to identify what I have to offer in this new job space. I’ve been anxious about delivering all that’s expected of me even though I’ve barely been in this position for a month, and I’m already flooded with fears of the possibility of my failure. I pulled this guidance this morning as an attempt to pick myself back up because honestly I didn’t have the words to do so on my own. From the guidebook this message reads, “The wheel was first used as a means of transportation around 3200 B.C., and magic was alive and well long before that. Now there are cars, airplanes, rocket ships that can safely launch you into outer space. There is technology to connect us, infrastructure to support us, medication to balance us, more information available than every before to educate us, as well as the practices of the ancients. Examine your resources and expand if necessary. What are you using and how is it working? There is no wisdom in refusing a tool that will help you.”

Examine your resources and expand if necessary. What are you using and how is it working? There is no wisdom in refusing a tool that will help you.

As I might have mentioned in my last post, I often start these writings and have no idea where they might end up. I mainly have questions for myself and for you, this time centered around how we can collectively improve our abilities to identify our personal power, lean on our networks of support when we’re having trouble doing so, and find some way to reflect on the tools we’re using, how they’re working, and if there’s something better that we haven’t considered as we go along our way.

At this new job of mine, I often write a single question on the whiteboard next to my desk primarily as reminders to myself but also as food for thought for passerby’s. This week’s question is, “How do you describe/identify your personal power?” I encourage you to sit with this question for a moment. Really reflect and take a deeper look at yourself than you might be comfortable with. How do you describe your personal power? What does it feel like in your body? How do you identify when you’ve accessed it and how do you use it in the outer world? Take your time, write it down. If you have no answers to those questions, that’s wonderful, we’re in no rush here.

If you’re looking for validation, for a sign, for something to remind you of how powerful you are here it is. If you’ve made it this far in this post, then this writing is 100% for you. You are powerful. You might not be able to see it right now but I see it and those close to you see it, and they can see it better and help you expand on it the more you let them in. You are powerful. You have the tools you need and the ability to find or make new ones as necessary. Keep going. Keep trying. Again and again and again.