Tag: modern oracle tarot

Wisdom Methods

October is TaoCraft Tarot’s fourth anniversary. Look for a special giveaway to celebrate. I know, I know. I swore no more crazypants sales, promotions or giveaways – but this is different. This is a celebration of what is, and has already happened, not a by-product of trying to hustle up new business. BIG difference in energy.

I want this to be all celebration-vibe and zero desperate hustle vibe. I’m grateful for the 15 years I was able to work under the Modern Oracle Tarot website name and the Tarotbytes blog (the archives still exist they are over on my personal blog “Sage & Stuff“) but even more grateful for TaoCraft Tarot where I can finally be my Taoist, witchy, atheist slightly snarky self.

NEW in the TaoCraft Tarot shop: live online video call Tarot Readings

I have a few more finishing touches to finish for this years Fall overhaul. I plan to write an omnibus introduction to things-as-they-are but you know how that goes. You know how that goes. Squirrels.

Stay tuned! See you at the next sip!

Throw Way Back Thursday

While life is at elfcon-1 and the holidays are what they are, thought it might be fun to do a throw back Thursday. I don’t do that often, since Tarot is a very present-moment kind of thing. You can’t step into the same energy flow twice to paraphrase that old saying about a river.

Here is a post I wrote on my old Modern Oracle Tarotbytes blog from 2010, just for the fun of it.

Parralax – May 27, 2010 (Tarotbytes blog, ModernOracle.wordpress.com)

“Camera 1, Camera 2, Camera 1, Camera 2” ~ Wayne’s World 2

Ever play with that trick of eyesight? Close one eye, and hold up a pencil so it lines up with an object in the distance. Then switch eyes and the pencil seems to jump to one side. Things don’t line up the same way.

In astronomy, this is called parallax. In biology, it’s called binocular vision where the brain combines the two slightly different views from our two eyesto give us depth perception. it’s the camera 1 / camera 2 slight difference in viewpoint allows us to perceive distance. Two eyes lets us visually live in three dimensions. It helps us to not walk into objects and learn our environment the hard way.

A similar idea is true in Tarot and psychic work. Getting a reading isn’t predicting the future…it is getting a second look, a separate viewpoint that lets us see with greater clarity, depth and understanding. It helps us be a bit more perceptive, and not have to do everything the hard way.

Two third-eyes are better than one.

Even those of us who do readings will sometimes GET a professional reading in order to improve our understanding and fill in any blind spots.

I like to think that psychics consulting psychics is a bit like binocular vision…two views that can be fused together into a higher quality, more useful vision. It is a bit like the very large array of radio telescopes made famous in the movie “Contact”…each person, psychic or not, has their own individual “radio telescope” except that we call it intuition. When we communicate with another antenna, it gives a result that is like having a dish as large as the distance between them.

If one eye is closed, then depth perception doesn’t work. If one telescope is down, the array doesn’t work as well. We each bring our part to a reading. You bring your insight too. Working together, we double our view. Depending on a psychic, or a reading to “predict” the future, or what will happen is third-eye-blind.

Work together, by combining your knowing and insight with the reading, taking responsibility for your actions and decisions…working with the psychic that way, you can see farther into the cosmos.

Wishing you open-eyed clarity

Growing Ogres

Shrek: ….ogres are like onions

Donkey: They stink?

….

Shrek: No! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers

from “Shrek” copyright 2001 Dreamworks Pictures, quote via imdb.com

Layers mean complexity. Layers apply to all sorts of things that are actually more complex than they seem at first glance; ogres, onions, cakes and – you guessed it – Tarot.

Reading Tarot for yourself is actually quite simple. In a couple of hours I could teach you to do good DIY readings for yourself. (Related: PeaceTarot ebook)

Reading for other people is another story. High level professional readings are, like onions and ogres, more complex than it seems on the surface. That’s the whole point of them. A professional reading can gives you extra layers of insight and experience that you can’t get alone. Two heads are better than one. Two eyes give depth perception (related post: parallax) The two of us working together gives your reading another layer of understanding.

Sometimes layers talk about authenticity. Sometimes you have to peel back a few layers to get to the real heart of the matter. We’ve talked about authenticity and public Tarot practice before, after my Modern Oracle Tarot work was re-branded to TaoCraft Tarot (related: what’s in a name, Shakespear’s Roses, Spell Your Name)

That’s all well and good, but consider another aspect of layers: growing new ones. Interestingly, actual onions grow on the inside. New layers are added at the core while older outside layers get dry and thin and ultimately fall away. In this, onions give us another useful metaphor.

In the medical field, and no doubt many other professions, continuing education is a condition of licensure and employment. You have to keep learning and keep current if you want to keep working. Whether it is required or not, whether it is career related or not, lifelong learning is a respected mark of excellence. Learning isn’t just formal education. Learning comes from experience and experimentation and the living of life. Artists’ work evolves over time. Any person’s point of view can evolve over time.

And so, the “Modern Oracle” layout is evolving. I’m calling abort on the video / text hybrid format. It was an experiment that failed, and I’ve learned something important from it.

Remember how deeper layers are often perceived as more authentic and how old layers of growing onions turn papery and fall off? It’s time for the 5 and 7 card Modern Oracle layouts to evolve, to become more authentic, to show more of their inner complexity. The video hybrid isn’t the way for that to happen. The names of layout card positions are changing. It’s a tiny detail that you may not even notice from your side of the Tarot table. On my side of the table it is important shift in mindset. This allows me to fully and authentically follow what intuition and spirit shows me.

I wrote the initial layout meanings to create a bridge from old fashioned, predict-the-future, fortune telling layouts to a more modern advice, guidance and empowerment reading. I wrote the Modern Oracle layouts specifically to show the power of your choices over your future. Cards that once were called “past, present and future” in the old style became “lessons from the past, current situation, and moving forward.” Predicting the future evolved into making an action plan.

Now it will go one step further. I in my minds’s eye, I see a reading in terms of dynamic energy flows, not a concrete road through time. As Modern Oracle layouts become TaoCraft layouts, we will let go of time and predictions entirely. If the Modern Oracle layout was like GPS map for your path ahead, the TaoCraft layout is like a GPS traffic update with a weather report.

Card 1, lessons from the past, will become Fading Energies, symbolizing energies that are moving away from you. These are things that need less of your attention.

Card 2, current situation, will become Current Energies, the energies that are strongest, and deal with things that need your attention in this moment.

Card 3, moving forward will become Growing Energies, energies moving toward you, or gaining influence in the path you’ve currently chosen. It still isn’t predictive. It is still intended to guide you, help you prepare for possible conditions ahead. Think of it like a weather report. It doesn’t tell you exactly what will happen to you during your day, but it can give you the chance of rain or sun while it happens.

Card 4 will remain Choices. It is still placed under the current energies card and at the center of the layout because that is still the place of power. Empowering your choices is still the heart of the reading. The choices card will take on a more advisory tone than before. Instead of suggesting how to persist or how change your path, it focuses on whether changing or whether staying the course is the wisest thing to do.

Card 5 is still Alternative Path just like before, showing the most open alternative path you if you decide a change is needed. (Or it can help keep you on your path if you like the way things are headed.)

Card 6 Helping Energies and card 7 Potential Challenges are the same as always, and speak to exactly what the name implies.

Long story short, if you are dead set on a specific “accurate” prediction, you aren’t going to like the new TaoCraft layouts. If that’s the case, you need the Zombie Cat yes/no readings like we did the other day. Even then, you have to realize it isn’t 100%.

If you are ready for next level, dynamic energy readings, I can help. Welcome to TaoCraft Tarot.

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TaoCraft Portfolio: The Layouts

Get a FREE download of TaoCraft Portfolio ebooklet HERE

No matter which of these layouts you choose, the reading progresses in the same fundamental way we talked about in the last chapter. All layouts are available by email. The seven card reading is the only one I do for individual in-person sessions and InkMagick readings. Phone and video readings can choose from both 5 and 7 card (Modern Oracle, extended Modern Oracle) layouts. 

The most important thing to remember about any of the layouts is simply this: NONE of them predict the future. I specifically created the Modern Oracle 5 card and the Expanded Modern Oracle 7 card layouts to give the greatest possible respect to your choices and your actions. The one card meditation is ubiquitous, as old as Tarot readings. The Pathway layout is based on the old past-present-future layout but with modern, choice-oriented approach. Four seasons is also my layout that gives you ideas, themes or navigation points for the year ahead. Zombie Cat is a playful but thought provoking yes or no answer to any one question. TimeFlow is new layout that I’ve written that will be available in October 2020.

Tarot doesn’t tell you what will happen in life.Tarot helps you decide what to do when life happens

One Card Meditation: This is just as it says, a single card. This is helpful for both ends of the Tarot experience and detail / focus spectrum. On one hand, the one card meditation is an excellent way for absolute beginners to learn the Tarot deck. It has the broadest focus of any reading. It can be a large, vague idea, intended for you to ponder it throughout the day and see how it unfolds for you. I use them as general audience readings in the blog because they are best able to capture the general energy of the day and open audiences.

Personalized One card readings inhabit the middle ground. They take a little more experience to do well, and they have a great deal more detail and focus than a DIY meditation reading or a general blog reading can give. This middle ground personalized reading are available by email or in the “mini InkMagick” pen-and-ink real paper format.

On the other end of the spectrum, an experienced reader can use a one card reading with laser focus to get a clear but narrow insight on a specific question, or to get a quick update on a question that has already been explored in a larger card layout. I typically reserve this kind of one card readings for clients who have already had a larger reading with me for an ongoing issue.

Three Card Pathway: This layout shows a progression through time and the path you are on but does not predict the future. It tells you how to put your best foot forward, and helps you move toward the future you wish to create. This layout includes

  • Lessons From the Past: things you have done well or lessons you have learned that you can bring forward to help you now.
  • Current Situation: Energies around you now that are asking for your attention or can help you understand the current circumstances
  • Moving Forward: Ideas to help you move forward well, and move toward the future you wish to find, not predict what will happen or not happen.

Five Card Modern Oracle: I wrote this layout around 2003, inspired by the Oracel character in the first Matrix movie. It starts with the pathway cards then adds:

  • Advice and Choices: This is a card to show the place where you can make the biggest difference in your path. It is a pivot point. You can use the energies here to change the direction of your current path if you choose to change, or you can use it to help stay on course if you like the way things are going.
  • Alternative Path: This card hints at other energy paths that are easily open to you if you want to change or shows alternatives that are worth considering even if you don’t ultimately choose them.

Seven Card Expanded Modern Oracle: This is the largest layout that I offer. In my experience, larger readings deteriorate into circular logic and contradictions very easily. This layout provides detail, but stays focused. It builds on the Modern Oracle five card spread using the pathway cards, the advice and alternative cards, but adds

  • Helpful Energies: Things that are working in your favor and can act like a wind at your back when you are on the right path.
  • Potential Challenges: Again, this does not predict. This is simply a heads-up to potential problems. Keep an eye out for them, and you can act to prevent problems or take care of them early on before big problems arise.

Four Seasons: This layout is especially popular at New Years, graduations, anniversaries and birthdays. The reading starts with whatever season we are in at the time, them progresses through the coming seasons in order to cover the full year ahead. Each season card gives a theme for a three month period, based on solstices and equinoxes. Then it gives a single card that is the overarching theme for the year as a whole. I usually offer this during the winter holiday, new year season from winter solstice to spring equinox. If it isn’t actively listed, please ask and we can make arrangements to do this layout for your special occasion.

Zombie Cat’s Yes or No Tarot: This layout uses three cards to give a simple yes or no answer to any one yes or no question. Zombie Cat is a character I created in the Tarotbytes blog on ModernOracleTarot.com in 2015. He was inspired by Schrodingers famous cat and the “Test Tubes and Tarot Decks” episode of Menage A Tarot podcast that I had co-hosted with David Dear and Daily Tarot Girl Kate. These readings are lighthearted, meant to entertain, and come with a liberal sprinkling of snark and humor.  Zombie Cat readings are 100% guaranteed to contain words, but have a 50% chance of being dead wrong.

If you want to try any of these layouts, email readings are available to order 24/7 no appointment needed HERE Like live readings better? Schedule a live phone reading at taocrafttarot@gmail.com

Visit the special offers page to get your unique FREE “Mini InkMagick” digital email reading. InkMagick readings are my custom creation and ONLY available here.

NEW: FAQ page

Have a question about the inner workings of Tarot? Wondering what the heck Reiki is? Curious about mindfulness or meditation? Read the new FAQ page or ask a question of your own HERE

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Q: Aren’t you supposed to tell me things about myself that happened, like “you just bought a new car.” 

A: Wait. What?

I have to admit, this one stopped me in my tracks for a minute.

I mean, how is THAT going to help anything? Who pays good money to have a psychic predict the past? Weren’t you THERE when it happened to…. you?

Obviously, this person wanted me to “prove” my “psychic ability” with her notion of “psychic” being pulling impressive random facts out of thin air.

This is the kind of thing that gives actual spirituality a bad name. Sincere intuitives get lumped together with stage mentalists and performance psychics all too often.

We stopped the reading on the spot. Clearly it was a mis-match.  She didn’t want anything to do with my style of advice, personal growth or spirituality and I don’t want anything to do with razzle dazzle trickery.

That isn’t to say razzle dazzle is bad. There is nothing wrong with some good old Vegas style entertainment. Especially since outdated blue laws keep so many of us chained to the “entertainment only” disclaimer. The problem comes, as I see it, when people confuse the two. Things go pear shaped when people expect the two totally separate practices to be exactly alike. If you think all intuitive work is scammy stage shows, then you miss out on the chance for personal growth and genuine insights. If you think all “psychics” are serious spirituality, then you risk being taken in by a scam.

So let’s do what all good academic types do at times like these. Let’s define our terms so we don’t get stage magic and sincere spirituality confused.

Stage Magic: See Penn and Teller. No, really. See Penn and Teller. The way they debunk things and encourage healthy skepticism is a good thing.

Cold Readings: Cold readings take subtle clues like body language, appearance, and verbal cues to steer the conversation so that the sitter (person getting the reading) to think the reader knew all of the details through supernatural means. An obvious example would be noticing someone wearing an engagement ring and asking them if there was a wedding coming up in their family. A fast series of questions going from vague to specific is a good indication that a cold reading is in progress.

I use cold reading to a lesser degree, with one important difference – I TELL you when I’m doing it.

I say things like “I noticed _________.” Or I’ll straight up bald faced ask you something, like what you do for a living?” Then we’ll use that as background context. “In that case” X card meaning is probably more likely than Y card meaning….that sort of thing.

Mentalism is slightly different. Instead of gleaning subtle information from questions and clues, a mentalist will actively insert ideas and deliberately lead the conversation to a certain conclusion that also seems supernatural. One is derivative, the other is manipulative but both lead to a similar illusion.

I don’t use mentalism. I don’t know how to use mentalism. Honestly, it seems like WAY more work than it’s worth.  The direct information spirit/energy/intuition gives may resonate with you now, it may resonate with you later, or it may never resonate at all. I give what I get as I get it…the rest is up to you. If a reading empowers you to move along your life path with a little more ease and mindfulness, then the reading has done its job, no manipulation required.

Do I tell you what has already happened to you? Um…no.

Do I tell you what is going to happen to you? Nope.

Do I lead the conversation or take tricky cues to make you think I’m the second coming of the great Carnac? No and no.

What do I do? Read the new “About Tarot Readings” page and see the 5 card reading example and you will know exactly what to expect from your reading time with me.

 

 

Blue Dress With Pink Shoes

Carl Jung called it synchronicity.

I call it something worth a little attention.

Intuition, “psychic gifts” in many ways is simply letting yourself see connections and coincidences. Synchronicity is defined as a meaningful coincidence. Even if there is no plausible connection, if something seems meaningful to YOU – it IS. To you. Not every attention-getter is a profound announcement to the world. It might just be a message just for you. A reminder to water the plants, or something. It doesn’t have to change the destiny of the world to be real, to have a meaning impact impact on your way of thinking. A meaningful coincidence isn’t mystical destiny knocking at your door. Well, yeah, it might be….but it doesn’t always have to be.

Listening to coincidences, following such modern day omens, is how we live in a balance between intuition and logic, magic and mundane. We should pay attention when intuition grabs our attention. We shouldn’t go wild with it when logic and common sense urge caution.

In short, let love lead attention, let logic have a hand in deciding action.

Here is an example. A few days ago, I was reading a book when my husband showed me an internet picture of a pink and white sneakers, and asked me what color they are. When he said they looked teal and grey, I had to resist the urge to wrestle him to the ground and administer a colorblindness test. I mean, Teal? Seriously? It is, of course,  the same trick of light that sparked the great blue/black vs white/gold dress controversy of twenty ought fifteen. But, not having any Ishihara plates on hand, we both just shrugged and went back to what we were doing.

A few minutes and a few pages later Christopher Penzak in the Magick of Reiki describes taking an aura reading class and doing an exercise where several people would read a person’s aura and then compare notes afterward. (We did the same thing in an aura reading class I took back in the 90s, so I can verify this is both a good way to learn auras AND the way this exercise always seems to go) He saw bright yellow, another person saw electric blue, another person saw no colors at all but a zigzaggy lightning shape. Just the same, all of them interpreted what they saw as representing “stress” as I recall the story. On the surface, they each saw vastly different things, but at the core, the important message still was still communicated. Just exactly like the internet picture thing a few minutes before. He saw teal, I saw pink, but we both saw shoes. If everyone gets caught up in arguing over the color, we all would have miss the real message: “This person is feeling stressed right now” or “That is a pair of shoes.

Neither of these things are particularly unusual. Neither of these things are the slightest bit supernatural. We show each other internet pictures all the time. That’s the way aura classes go, it seems. BUT when the two very similar things coincidentally happen within a few minutes of each other, it is worth a moment of hmmmm….

Different colors lead to the same shoes. Different colors lead to the same aura energy. What do these two little attention grabbers lead to?

First and foremost, trust your intuition. You might intuitively get “pink” while someone else gets “teal” but as long as you ultimately wind up at the important part of “shoes” both colors are fine. As long as you (or the person you are reading for) gets to the important core message, all the different colors and paths that take you there are valid.

Second, trust your intuition. We all do this differently. Honor your path (no matter what color it may be) Honor your process. Do things so that you feel good and right about it at the end of the day. Do what gets you to the most honest message you can give. It doesn’t matter if you get there by seeing zigzags, blue or yellow, as long as you get to energy of it.

Third, trust your intuition. Your intuition might scream SHOES while you have pink shoes clearly in mind. If your client says nah, they are TEAL, then don’t sweat it. The symbolism of intuition is intensely personal. It might have taken the pink to get you to say the important “shoes” part. If  shoes makes them think teal, that’s perfectly fine. The right message got through. It just took a few daisy-chained steps to get from pink to teal, but as long as your client gets to “teal” it’s ok. It is just part of the process to go from pink to shoes to teal.

Fourth, trust your intuition. It’s an imprecise process. We all have intuition, but communicating it well is a skill and an art. We can all read Tarot and follow our own intuition. Reading for other people is a whole other level of thing. But don’t let that stop you from…did I mention?….trusting your own intuition for you.

Here is a photo of the pink shoes next to ….the pink shoes.

pinkshoes

Tarot Without a Net: The Lovers

PicsArt_03-08-11.01.16.jpg

*Spoiler Alert*

The boat sinks.

I’ve never seen “Titanic” and precisely zero interest in ever watching it. I don’t care for romance movies, and from everything I’ve heard the movie has a disturbing lack of comedy and/or spaceships.

I have no idea why the artist picked this image to represent heart’s desire, or even lusty romance. I’m not feeling a lot of connection with the deck through this card, probably from my impression of the movie it represents way more than the card or the artwork itself.

The Lover’s is an interesting and often misunderstood card, thanks to the movie mythos that the lovers card means a hot romance is on the way with the marriage of a lifetime soon to follow. In my experience, the card is far more abstract than that. It is more akin to “I love ice cream” than the handfasting, marriage, committed, soulmate, love of a lifetime energy that we see in the Two of Cups. The Lovers symbolizes the hot flame that burns short rather than the enduring ember that burns long. Don’t get me wrong, there is some connection, because many if not all long lasting relationships start with SOME sort of spark. Maybe that is why the artist chose this love story from a movie. Maybe the movie portrays a hot romance that gets cut short by a quick dunk in the north Atlantic. Still, it niggles at me that it is wrapped up in a romantic relationship. The Lovers card can be more than that….which is saying something considering how enormous romance is within the human heart. And that’s with leaving the hormones out of it. Like everything there is a two sided yin and yang of it. (See “Arcana in Balance: The Lovers from the Tarotbytes archives).

It isn’t to say that lust, sex, love, desire and full throttle joy of living is bad. Quite the opposite. On one hand, all of those things are part of normal human existence and is as worthy of acceptance as any other emotion. That physicality and abject hedonism is certainly one part of it, but it also transcends the physical. On the other hand, the desire Lover’s card can extend far beyond the realm of romantic relationship. It touches our careers….do we earn our living doing something we are passionate about? In that way The Lovers card asks us to consider our purpose in life, our raison d’etre, our calling if you will. Emotionally it touches on satisfaction, contentment, and emotional needs being met. Intellectually, it touches curiosity, enthusiasm, and voracious learning. Arguably, passion resides in the mind as much as the heart or the hormones. You can be a passionate bowler, or stamp collector as well as being capable of passionate romance. You can be passionate about anything. Love is a big concept that encompasses all sorts of things.

So lets pick up the book and see what the artist has to say:

Whew! Even though we differ in movie taste, the basic interpretation is similar. He also talks about emotions, the joy of living and loving what you do. The connection to the card is similar (it is a fun to get that kind of validation every now and again, even if you have been  reading Tarot a long time) even if my connection to the movie represented is obviously quite different. That is the danger of using pop culture references in Tarot. Not everyone has seen every reference or interprets the reference material the same way, even if the intuitive engagement with the Tarot card itself is identical.

When a pop culture reference comes up in a reading (regardless of the deck I’m using) but the client either doesn’t know the reference or responds to it differently than the message and card intend…the thing to do is drop the reference like a hot potato. When that happens you either have to find a different cultural reference that does communicate the intended message OR leave references aside and use your good old fashioned vocabulary. Adjectives are our friends. References like these can be wonderful communication tools, but they aren’t worth holding onto so tight that the reading suffers.

 

New Stuff on the Way!

TaoCraft Tarot is still evolving to serve you better.  You can order email readings right from the home page with SECURE PayPal buttons. Mala and Reiki orders coming soon. Come back often to check out all the updates, tweets and changes that will make TaoCraft your one stop shop for Tarot, distance Reiki, tutorials, and more.

 

 

Spell Your Name

Last name-niggles post, at least for a while.

In “The Niggles: What’s In a Name?” we looked at how names communicate outward. Our “brand” as they say is a shorthand way to communicate who we are. It can be authentic. It can be a disguise. But it, our name,  is something to consider.

“Shakespeare’s Roses” looks at how names…words…communicate inwardly. We respond differently to different words. They have an impact on our inner world. Would we feel the same about roses if they were actually named goobers or something? Maybe the thing would change the word, maybe the word would change our inner perception of the thing.  Either way, we are back to the notion that words have power. Power to shape our perceptions of the world and the world’s perception of us.

Names are labels. How does that make you feel?

Those words alone carry connotations and implications that impact us. You are named. That gives you autonomy. If you can be named, that means you are seen, accepted & loved (as in a christening) or made to own your actions (as in naming a suspect). Both of these are empowering things, granting identity and autonomy.

Labels are, on the physical level, practical things. They communicate important things, so you don’t put salt in your coffee, or take the wrong amount of medicine. When applied to people, however, they have no use and may cause harm. Humans are multifaceted, complex, shifting, growing, feeling…so many things that are far beyond the grasp of any one word or label. Labels lessen. Labels condense and summarize. Labeling others is the essence of bigotry. Labeling ourselves makes us less than who we really are.

For people, names are better than labels. Pick a name, any name. Remember Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla from Schoolhouse Rock? That’s a fun name. Rufus was a lot of stuff. If you labeled him  “old guy” that gives us a limited view of who he is. If he labels himself “old guy” then he constricts the energy and potential in his life compared to thinking of himself as adventurer, kangaroo fan, friend or brother.

The names and labels we give ourselves is the overlap between the outward way we communicate to others with names in the “branding” sense and the inner perceptions other names and labels elicit within us. The names and labels we choose for ourselves are like a magic spell of sorts for our inner psychology.  Did you quit something or did you choose something new? Are you a religion or are you a compassionate person? Are you a disease or are you someone fabulous who has some extra things to deal with?

In some Native American traditions, names change as people move through life and change. (Waugman, E.P. 2011, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/whats-in-name/201107/names-and-identity-the-native-american-naming-tradition) I’ve read in other sources that this new name is self-chosen to reflect accomplishments, and major life changes, and to embrace this new self – identity. I can’t remember or find those other sources at the moment. In Dune, Frank Herbert shows a bit of the same. The Fremen give Paul a tribal name (he is seen, accepted, official, even loved, like we see in christenings and other baby naming ceremonies) but Paul also chooses a public-facing, outside the tribe name for himself. He chooses one that reflects his spiritual purpose, his destiny in the story.

In a way, the Fremen names reflect reality. We have our given names, our tribal, legal, on-the-official-paperwork names, we have nicknames within our circle of friends and family, and we have the ever shifting internal labels we grab and claim.

Take care the names you give yourself. Your inner label, your mental identity, your name  that you give yourself is the magic spell for who you aspire to be and who you allow yourself to become.