I am doing the best I can with what I currently have
Monday Musings
Here’s your mantra for the week! This week’s card is from my The Sovereign Success Oracle deck. You can get it here or here.
I’m going to be honest with you: I didn’t draw this card. I picked it because it sums up exactly where I am right now.
I don’t have a lot right now. Or, I don’t have a lot of brain space right now. I haven’t written fiction in over six weeks, and the only reason I started working on the expanded anniversary edition of Tarot for Creatives again last week is because the Kickstarter campaign is launching in two days.
I’m grieving, I’m bone-tired, I’ve been dealing with tension headaches since my mum went into surgery, and everyone who’s ever been in my position knows exactly how much lands on your plate the moment the only parent you still had dies.
So I’m not worrying about my lack of creative output. I’m not telling myself to get back on that proverbial horse. I’m not comparing myself to writers who are able to write with a shattered heart and neither to those who push themselves to get back to their writing before the dust had a chance to settle.
Which is not to say there’s anything wrong with being that kind of writer – we all deal with grief differently and we all have to do what’s best for us in the moment.
For me, that’s ignoring my fiction projects for now and using my writing time solely to get Tarot for Creatives written. Not forcing myself to write any Monday Musings is another thing.
The only reason I am writing this particular Musing – on a Sunday! – is because I don’t think I’ve properly announced the Kickstarter campaign, and I don’t want you to miss out.
What do you need to know about this campaign?
The campaign for the expanded anniversary edition of Tarot for Creatives goes live this Tuesday. If you hit ‘Notify me’, you’ll receive an email as soon as it launches. I have some limited tiers with exclusive items as well as a few early bird tiers that’ll give you a discount, so you might want to hit that button.
The campaign will run for seventeen days. Many of the rewards offered during this campaign are exclusive to the Kickstarter platform, meaning they won’t be published elsewhere once the campaign ends. If there’s something you really, really want, make sure to back in time.
The expanded anniversary edition of Tarot for Creatives includes:
over fifty card spreads based on the creative struggles and challenges I myself, my coaching clients, and my creative loved ones have had over the years
seventy-eight mini tarot spreads/exercises based on my own interpretation of each card in the tarot through a creative lens
a number of other powerful practices I’ve adopted and developed for myself and my coaching clients to get the most out of our creative practices
The campaign includes a Kickstarter exclusive hardcover with illustrated chapter openings that will not be published on any other platform ever.
All backers will be included in the acknowledgements of the book as well as on the book’s webpage on my website. This is my way of saying THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
As I’m writing this, I’m sixteen followers away from hitting 400 (!!!), so I’m hoping the project will fund soon (which is when I’ll be disclosing the different stretch goals I have been working on).
Will I see you over at Kickstarter this Tuesday?
Some older Musings you might have missed
To give you something while I’m not writing any new Musings, I gathered some of my guided visualisations and exercises you might have missed (or might want to do again). No matter where you are on your creative journey, I bet at least one of them will speak to you right now.
Guided visualisations
Trust the process and the process will trust you
Originally published on 15 January 2024, this guided visualisation will help you connect to the part of you that trusts in the journey. If you prefer to listen to the meditation, you can do so here.
Originally published on 18 March 2024, this guided visualisation will help you return to your own centre so you can release what others might want from you and tune in to what you – truly, madly, deeply – want for yourself.
I am free to choose my own path
This is a rather recent guided visualisation, but it’s such a good one I don’t want you to miss it. This visualisation helps you clear your path from the negative energy of anyone who’s ever tried to influence you and your direction in life.
Journaling exercises
Alignment exercise for projects and careers
This quick alignment exercise – originally published on 8 January – is perfect for any creative person who’s resisting or feeling reluctant to engage with the work they’re (supposed to be) doing right now.
If you’ve been feeling the need to expand beyond where you currently are, this journaling exercise – originally published on 1 April – is based on one of the tarot spreads from Tarot for Entrepreneurs and will help you illuminate the next step on your journey.
Limiting beliefs about creativity
This is a favourite exercise of mine, and I’ve been using and sharing it for much longer than it’s been up on Illuminate (where I posted it on 15 April). It’ll help you bring to light any conditioned beliefs you might be having about your creativity that are unknowingly holding you back from achieving your full potential.
I’ll be back Thursday with a new interview.
xx Mariëlle
How you can show up for me so I can keep showing up for you
Across the internet, I share lots of free content and many tools that help people on their creative journeys. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or money to create as much content as I would like.
Besides, bills need to be paid, so there are times I need to prioritise the day job (my editing and coaching work) over content creation and making your creative lives better.
But you can change this!
With your support, I can continue to:
write my Monday Musings on living a creative life
audiorecord said musings for Illuminate | Musings and Meditations for the Creative Soul to make them more accessible
post weekly tarot spreads for creatives on Instagram
podcast on how to create a sustainable writing career from your heart and soul on Diving into Writing
interview fellow creatives every week so we can learn about their highs, lows, and how they keep creating
create free tools, record meditations, and write books that help creatives on their path to reaching their fullest potential
What’s more, with your support I could develop and chase new ideas and make even more beneficial tools for you and other creatives. One day, if I receive enough support, I might even be able to create exclusive content just for you.
How to support me
Substack — Substack is a subscription-based platform, so you can support me right here by becoming a paid subscriber. As a paid subscriber, you’ll join my Reiki Healing Circle, which means I’ll send you a daily dose of distant Reiki until the day you cancel your paid subscription.
As a founding member, you’ll also get 15% off everything in my webshop.
Patreon — In May, I breathed new life into my Patreon page. Here, I offer four different membership tiers with the following benefits:
€5 a month — become a member of my daily Reiki Healing Circle
€10 a month — become a member of my daily Reiki Healing Circle and get 10% off everything in my webshop
€15 a month — become a member of my daily Reiki Healing Circle and get 15% off everything in my webshop
€20 a month — become a member of my daily Reiki Healing Circle and get 20% off everything in my webshop
All my future courses, classes, and workshops will be offered in my webshop, so you’ll get a discount on these too.
Just think about it. I’d love to bring you into my Reiki fold <3