The Magic of Leaving Social Media

Do you ever complain about something so often that you catch yourself and wonder, “If I rant on about this so much, why on earth am I still doing it?”

That was me with Facebook and Instagram. Why was I using it? What was I doing on these apps if all it took was one drink to get me to wax poetic about how disconnected, envious, and distracted I felt while using them?

This isn’t to say that Social Media is some unmitigated and absolute evil. Some people have a wonderful time on these platforms. Many use them to gather and cultivate an audience for their businesses and creative work. I, however, found myself being swept away - mired in distraction, green with envy, and disconnected from my personal source of inspiration.

I’d lost the magic.

This wasn’t for lack of trying. I did so many of the little tricks to curb my use, optimize my time (just that phrase is soul-crushing!), and create boundaries. Doing this awakened me to the wily, addictive nature of social media. Even with a black and white screen, app limits with password access, and designated downtime, my brain immediately adapted.

Screen time limit reached? I didn’t even stop to think, I simply got used to entering my four-digit password to ask for more time.

I was simultaneously impressed and repulsed. Clearly, this wasn’t an issue I could reason through.

When I made the decision to stop my full-time tarot reading business one of the most alluring byproducts was that I could finally delete my accounts. I’d stopped using both platforms for personal use years ago and, in all honesty, used my Incandescent Tarot platforms with the regularity of someone who’s deeply conflicted. I posted sporadically, questioned myself into awkwardness, and tried to avoid it.

In other words, I didn’t use these spaces to their full potential. Now, I wonder if all the pressure to be on social media as a business owner of my type is rooted in truth. This is a very “hot take” and I’m speaking on a very personal level, here. The last thing I want to do is shame or pressure anyone into judging their social media presence. To each their own, and I’m full of admiration for people who can use these platforms to inspire healthily. I’m just not one of them. Off social media, however? I’m much more clear, inspired, and motivated.

When I finally hit delete, I felt like I had just walked out of an overwhelmingly loud room. Suddenly, things felt clear - I could see the horizon, hear my own heart beating. Spending so much time gazing at images from other people (and, most insidiously, brands) had dulled my own creative and spiritual perspective. Now that I’m spending more time looking out my window, reading books, and writing from this place of calm, I’m finding a huge surge of creative energy. I wonder how much I could’ve created without torturing myself to fit in and interact healthily on social media. That was, to use a tarot reference, a Fool’s errand for me. Now, however, I’m able to hear myself and create from a place of authenticity. I’m getting a lot more done.

Most importantly, however, I’m feeling the magic come back into my life. One of the main reasons I felt the need to leave social media was that my focus was becoming at once narrow and diffuse. I was gazing into a small screen and being catapulted into a big, colorful, artificial, and in many cases, manipulative world. (Remember when Instagram was just photos from friends and cool artists, but then it segued into jazzy brands and influencers?)

So much of my magic philosophy centers around awareness, love, and stewardship of our world. How could I practice this while my focus was overwhelmed by imagery from afar? Now that I’m detached from these sources, I’m astounded by how much I used them to escape from my here any now, and how much my here and now grounds and sustains me.

The magic slowly returned as I put down my phone and laptop and started tending to my everyday: writing, doing all my favorite kitchen witch cleaning spells, cooking, actually reading tarot for myself… This is what I want to fill my life with.

I’m a bit shocked by how much of myself I’ve found in the wake of my decision to leave Facebook and Instagram. So much of my decision to end Incandescent Tarot the business was because of burnout. I didn’t know at the time how much of this stemmed from the pressure to constantly market myself on social media. Now that’s gone, I wonder if there’s another way to be present as a business offline. Regardless of what form it takes, you’ll certainly see a lot more from me here and on my Mighty Network - I hope you’ll follow along for the ride.

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What do you think about social media, modern life, magic, and business? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below, so please share.

Insights into Running a Tarot Business

I have to admit that I’m reluctant to dive into the oversaturated world of “business content.” There’s so much information out there about running & starting your own spiritual business, not to mention the fact that each of us does things differently: What works for me may not resonate with you or even work for you.

We all come to starting our own business from different places and will be operating them under different conditions.

So there’s my little caveat out of the way! I’ll be sharing my insights and experiences about the business side of my tarot life here.

Reading tarot professionally is wonderfully gratifying, creative, and fulfilling work. That is, if you like reading tarot, which I’m assuming you do since you’re here.

It’s also, however, emotionally draining, even with the best self-care practices and a tough sell in an oversaturated market. You can read more about my major lessons and ideas in this post; now, buckle up, and let’s dive into the nitty-gritty.

10 Tips for Starting & Running a Successful Tarot Business

1. Make sure you’re ready for the other 90% of the work: Reading tarot takes up very little of your time as a professional. You’ll be creating content, marketing, engaging on social media, taking photos, cleaning your space, buying supplies, and so much more.

2. Be consistent :It’s easy to start a million offerings and projects, but if you don’t follow through on them it looks unprofessional. Start small and stick to it, whether it’s a bi-weekly newsletter, weekly free tarot reading, or regular instagram posts. People want to hear from you and will be impressed by your dedication.

3. Don’t overextend yourself: With the following point in mind, don’t put too much on your plate to the point where you can’t do it all. It’s far better to post one freebie regularly than it is to do five different things sporadically. Plus, it’s much easier for you.

4. Remember, you make the rules: I spent a lot of time trying to push through stale ideas, adopt weird inauthentic marketing plans, and doing offerings I didn’t actually like out of a false sense of obligation. Of course, it’s good to stick with things, but if something simply isn’t working, you can make a change! This is the beauty of being your own boss.

5. Have a clear brand and marketing strategy: This doesn’t have to be as stuffy as it sounds. Long story short, make sure you know who you are and what you’re selling, then make sure that your website, posts, copy, and branding reflect this message. Clear, straightforward, and easy-to-process material is the best. Once people get confused or oversaturated with text/information, they’re out.

6. Market yourself more than you ever thought possible: People won’t get readings from you if they don’t know you exist. It’s easy to set up a website and print some business cards; getting people to book appointments with you is an entirely different story. Marketing doesn’t have to be soul-crushing (though this has been a LONG journey for me!) Get creative and have fun with it. Can you get interviewed on podcasts (or host one)? Contribute to online publications, blogs, social media accounts? Join Facebook groups, forums, and meetups? Be active and get your name out there, and don’t be afraid to hand out business cards and let people know what you’re offering.

7. Value your time and stand behind your prices: There are a lot of people who offer readings for free online, but not you: Your’e a professional. Giving away readings is often an ineffective business strategy. Don’t feel pressured to give into pushy people. Once you begin your business, you are a pro reader and people should pay you for your time.

8. Do the math!: Before you start your business, consider how much you’d like or need to get from it. This will be different if you’re starting part-time (which I heartily recommend) or full-time. Tarot is not an intrinsically lucrative career path. If anyone is telling you that you can make three figures in a month (and ESPECIALLY if they’re asking you to pay for a class) they’re lying. It takes a lot to get consistent booking and, even so, you only have a finite amount of time. Look at your goals, map out how many clients you’d need to book to meet them, and plan accordingly.

9. Diversify your offerings: If you just offer one-on-one readings, you’re limited to an income stream that requires your active time and presence. Add other ways to make money that don’t require as much labor like group classes or events, and, even better, can give you passive income like online self-directed courses.

10. Get engaged with the community: Collaborating with, supporting, and connecting with other business owners and members of the tarot community is a wonderful way to stay inspired. Look for facebook groups, meetups, or reach out on social media. Tarot people are quite lovely and it’s so healing to have a sense of belonging and support.

3 Things I've Learned as a Spiritual Professional

I got a wonderful question on my Instagram announcement about phasing out of reading tarot full-time at Incandescent Tarot:

What advice do you have for people stepping into this role?

When I think about all I’ve learned during my 3 year tenure as a professional tarot reader it’s difficult to distill it into concrete advice. My first thoughts careen through so many categories: spiritual components, business strategies, ethics and boundaries, and more. I’ll likely touch on some of these later, but for now I’d like to focus on the major lessons I’ve learned and approaches that have helped me:

Stand by your Style

Each person reads tarot, does reiki, or teaches meditation differently. When I started out I spend so much time researching the current “pro-tarot scene” that I lost sight of my unique approach. The more time I spent interacting with different readers’ business approaches and tarot philosophies the easier it was to unconsciously adopt their attitudes. This led to a lot of needless tension! Plus, it was almost comical how resoundingly successful I was when I embraced my true voice vs. how awkward and stilted things came out when I tried to be a calm, “enlightened” style reader with a soothing whisper voice. (Definitely not my natural way of being!)

I found that the more time I spent “researching” (aka comparing and drowning out my creative voice with other information) the more muddled and confused my marketing became. In a sense, I spent a lot of time running away from my authentic voice as a tarot reader and, delightfully, my voice won by a landslide.

So, to sum it up here, my advice is: Trust your abilities and work as your true self.

Be Professional!

Lest you think my advice to be yourself includes wearing your sweatpants to appointments! Truly, being professional from the beginning has been one of my best decisions as a spiritual business owner. Well, actually, as a business owner period.

Having your ducks in a row - that means terms & conditions policies, a code of ethics, local permits, cancellation policies, ironclad boundaries, and much more - is one of the best things you can do for your business. I’ve found that having all this ready from the get-go has done so much to ensure that I’m ready for whatever happens AND that I attract clients that are a good fit and know what’s expected when they work with me.

There’s a lot of misinformation and, sadly, disrespect for spiritual businesses that can sometimes lead to difficult situations. I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid most of the sticky situations I’ve heard about, in most part because I feel I’ve set up all the infrastructure to make sure people know what they’re getting and that they’re interacting with a legit professional.

Have Beautiful, Clear Boundaries

Ah, boundaries, how I love you!

This is somewhat of an offshoot of professionalism, but one that’s particularly important in any healing modality. When doing spiritual work you’re entering into a deep and often vulnerable relationship with your clients. A lot can come up in this space, and it’s your job as a professional to hold it for whomever is choosing to work with you. It’s a huge honor to do this work, and stepping outside your boundaries as a professional is a huge breach of that trust.

Where I think this gets tricky is that often people doing this work are extremely empathetic with a strong desire to help. Having a strong sense of self - knowing the boundary between where you end and another complex, sovereign being begins - is absolutely essential. This means having a healthy detachment from your client’s emotions, problems, and reactions. They belong to them alone and it’s not your job to fix or interject with unwanted advice.

Caring for yourself and your mental health is a great way to bolster your boundaries. Have an identity and life outside of your practice! Make time to be a weird, wiggly human being so that you can bring your clearest self to your time with clients.

All sorts of ethics come up here, which is why I think it’s key for each practitioner to spend time really thinking about what they will or will not do, how they approach their sessions, and how they’ll enact their boundaries in real life. For me, this means keeping our interaction within the bounds of our session together, respecting my client’s free will, and not giving prescriptive answers or solutions to problems, no matter how much they may want them.

I’ve written so much here, but there’s still a lot left unsaid!

Let me know if you’d like to hear more about the business side of the equation and, as I continue to process and navigate my gradual shift towards a more muggle profession, I’ll keep you updated on what insights and observations arise. And, as always, thank you for following along on this journey - I’m so grateful to have you here.