Opposite of Fear Spread

I love Danielle Laporte and getting Daily Truthbombs is a highlight of my morning (or my late evening if I am still up when they come in).  I saw this one on Pinterest and it resonated so deeply with what I am experiencing that I had to make a spread for it right away.  PS- that is how you can tell something really speaks to you, when you have to stop what you are doing to follow the voice.

"It's often best to do the opposite of what your fear is telling you to do." ~Danielle Laporte, Daily Truthbombs

• Card #1- What is my fear telling me to do?
• Card #2- How does acting on this fear manifest in my life?
• Card #3- What is the outcome if I continue listening to the fear?
• Card #4- What should I do instead?
• Card #5- What can help me putting this into action?
• Card #6- What is the outcome of defying my fear and successfully implementing Card #5?

I am using Beth Seilonen's Dream Raven Tarot to give this spread a test run today.  It may be best to give this spread a specific area of life to focus on because most of us don't only have one fear.  I am focusing on my work.

Dream Raven Tarot- Lovers, Hierophant, Seven of Swords

What is my fear telling me to do?  The Lovers- My fear is telling me to pretend I am happy and well content with the decisions I have made, to make a big commitment to those decisions because they were mine and I need to own them.  To admit I have changed, or the decisions were wrong in the first place, would be a terrible blow to my ego, and something I am having a really hard time dealing with.

How does acting on this fear manifest in my life?  The Hierophant- I have become intractable and ever more stubborn as I try to hold on to these beliefs, whether they warrant the adoration or not, I am growing fat (symbolically) and complacent, happy (or telling myself I am) to sit on this perch instead of exploring the big, beautiful world.

What is the outcome if I continue listening to the fear?  Seven of Swords- Listening to the fear is causing me to rob myself of experiences that I need to have, to grow, to make more money, and to live fully in this moment.  I have two Swords firmly in hand, looking back to the two figures on The Lovers, but five more (looking back to the Hierophant) are escaping and I will never be able to grab them all at once.  The trying is making me quite grumpy.

Dream Raven Tarot- Fool, Four of Swords, Five of Pentacles

What should I do instead? Fool- Something totally different!  The Fool is all about letting go, and this winged version can fly.  In introspective tarot readings, often each figure represents an aspect of ourselves, and this one is utterly joyous.  The Lovers are not able to fly, because they are so entwined together they are not making any progress, just as I am married to some mistakes I have made instead of just letting them go.  Letting go is my secret, and the Hierophant is not so much about any of that.

What can help me putting this into action?  Four of Swords- There is a difference between grasping and holding softly.  The Seven of Swords illustrates desperate, grasping energy.  This Four of Swords is a gentler, more intimate touch.  I need to find the idea I actually love, instead of the one I feel like I should love.  I need to utilize what I can hold on loosely to, not what I have to grasp and grapple for.  I also need to spend quiet time where clarity can find me.

What is the outcome of defying my fear and successfully implementing Card #5?  Five of Pentacles- I will learn to draw security from my own self, abilities, and creation, rather than continually looking for outside of myself.  I will be better able to compartmentalize work, putting away in the branches of the tree like these Pentacles have been so carefully placed when it is time.

When I total up these cards, I come to 13, Death, which makes sense as I look to my lens for the week, which is Death.  There are things that need to be let go of since they no longer work, to make room for new things to come in.  What is gone can create fertile ground for the future, like the mistakes I have made have set me up for success, even if only by ruling out what doesn't work.  Tarot is cool like that.

I have found this spread insightful and helpful.  I hope you will, too, if you get a chance to try it out.  We can do this spread, or any other, together if you book a reading with me.


These cards are from Dream Raven Tarot by Beth Seilonen, published by Schiffer Books.