As I did earlier post about my mistakes, I also now wanted to think where I have succeeded.
It's so much harder to think where we are good or doing great, compared to thinking of our mistakes! But I wanted to squeeze something positive out of my brain 🧠 1. I'm approachable. I was warned in the beginning how my black and white colour scheme and my personal gothic look might put people off. I did change my original logo of the mink skull sculpture I had made, as many associated it with an attacking snake at first glance. Despite my dark look, I've had feedback that I'm very approachable! I'm so happy to hear that my black clothes, tattoos and piercings aren't off putting after all. I'm proud of my people skills and I'm putting customer services and care first. 2. I've made my services accessible. This is something I'm very proud of in full honesty. I have multiple hidden disabilities myself, so I've put a lot of effort and time in thinking how I can make my services accessible. I can do readings in many ways: by texting, by email, by video- or voice call, face-to-face at the Faerie Shop as well as home visits. I also do events and fairs. I've also made my services accessible for people with financial difficulties. I do charity readings here and there, with different organisations and I'm also happy to do readings for a small donation of completely free of charge to those who might need it the most. 3. I'm the admin of the Tarot East Sussex - Network group on Facebook. I was looking for a local tarot community for ages and couldn't find any. So, I created one! Now we have a bit over 100 members and we post about local tarot services and events. We do book recommendations and have regular conversations about all and everything to do with tarot. I'm also now organising a few meet-up events for us across East Sussex, first, casual one happening in Brighton in spring time and a workshop/small conference event in Eastbourne during the summer solstice! Free for all tarot enthusiasts of course. 4. I've found my own style and way with tarot. As I've mentioned before, I don't identify myself as a psychic as such. I have a more therapeutic, down-to-earth and person-centred approach to tarot. I'm not channelling messages from higher beings or claim to see the clients spirit guides (it's totally up to my client if they want to see it this way). I'm not focusing on fortune telling. Instead, I focus on my clients abilities on reaching their goals by boosting their self confidence and self love while giving them guidance in their options. 5. I'm involved with my local community. I go where the people are and make myself known as a tarot reader. I volunteer locally, I get together with other small businesses for events, I attend fairs. People reach out to me because they have seen me out and about, I'm not just a website or social media page. I often end up into conversations about tarot when I'm out at the pub and given my card or details for people who have been interested in my work. These are the things I can be proud of so far. I'm still relatively young in my tarot journey, especially when compared to the tarot professionals with life long careers. But I am a tarot student for life and I've had so many great moments so far! I'm very keen to see what the future years bring. Knowledge, good practices, new skills. -Enni
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I've been studying tarot actively since 2019 and became professional in 2023. So I'm still very much in the beginning of my tarot journey, especially when compared to the life long work of many tarot professionals.
And so, I have made some mistakes. And I want to share them with you! 1. I wasn't ethical in some of my readings. In the beginning of my career on Etsy, I had a couple love readings available. Many of us are very keen to know their compatibility with potential partner. However, since I've studied tarot ethicality further, I realised that I do not have a permission to look into the energy of a 3rd party and that some of my services were problematic. In this case I removed any such readings from my Etsy and I constantly evaluate "the fine line" of peeking into someone's business without first hand permission. Hence why I don't offer surprise tarot readings either, instead I offer gift cards. 2. Sometimes I come across a querent that I can't read, yet I did read them anyway. In few occasions I've come across a person who's energy maybe clashed with mine and I couldn't find a common ground, the connection wasn't there. In the past, I just tried and tried and forced something out of the reading and the client isn't agreeing with anything I would say, resulting in a disappointing reading and awkward tension. I now know to be straight as soon as I realise this issue and I tell them "I'm really sorry, but I can't read you, nothing is coming through to me". And then I may recommend them to reach out to another tarot reader I know. 3. I used a deck that I'm not 100% familiar with. It's so exciting to get a new deck and start using it! However, decks can have many variations and completely different meanings behind the cards compared to the classics. This caused my readings to run over time as I had to constantly refer to the booklet or I completely lost the track at times. The reading didn't have a natural flow to it, which makes one look a tad unprofessional and may result in distrust and doubt in clients. Hence why I now stick to decks that I know by heart and practice new decks only with friends and family. 4. I didn't give a disclaimer or a warning to clients who wanted to have a friend with them during the reading. Many times, something quite painful can come up within a reading. Often some matters relating to sexuality pop up. Issues in relationships very often can come up. Financial troubles can be highlighted. Home life can become a discussion. In the beginning I thought it was lovely if the client wanted to share this tarot moment with their mum, sister, friend, husband or wife, but gosh, things have gotten awkward! This can then ruin the experience for the client, make them feel shame or it can cause unnecessary tension. This is why I nowadays ALWAYS ask before hand, are you comfortable in sharing potential matters of pain, sexuality or housekeeping with this person you brought with you. 5. I didn't have tissues available. Finally, and somewhat relating to the previous one, past trauma or fear of the future is something I so often discuss with my clients. And there will be tears. And that's ok. I now always have a pack of tissue paper with me. -Enni Someone expressed to me indirectly how my tarot work and practice makes them uncomfortable.
I do tarot to empower and soothe others, to give gentle guidance while promoting self love and -growth. I don't identify myself as a psychic or medium. I have a person centred and down to earth approach to tarot. I do not know what the future holds and I do not receive messages from higher beings. I aim to be very transparent about this. I use my strong intuition, knowledge of people and human behaviour, conceptual blending methods, my knowledge of tarot and just common sense when I conduct tarot readings. The result usually is a therapeutic session between myself and my client. I wish to have an open conversation about tarot and to tackle any misconceptions that there might be about tarot. Obviously, tarot is a tool for many practices. There is many ways to use tarot and I believe I have found my way, without saying that one way is better than the other. I just hope this person will come to me directly, so I could explain and educate them of the tarot world and hopefully show them, that there's nothing to be scared of. Quite the opposite!✨ -Enni I was really impressed and inspired by the recent message shared by @natasha.gilbert regarding the silence in (white) holistic community when it comes to racism and injustice in general. Go watch the reel if you haven't seen it yet.
It really got me thinking of my influence and past actions against these issues. Back in the days, I was so much more active in different communities protesting against human- and animal right violations. Unfortunately, my mental health collapsed and I had to take a step back from the front line. Now, I'm in so much better state with my own well being and I'm practically bursting with energy! I want to get back on action! And I want to use this platform to address some matters and highlight certain issues, in good and bad. Don't worry, I won't spam about every single case of injustice in the world, that's impossible, but I do want to do something, where ever I can make a difference. The Hierophant. I've had a bit of resentment towards this card in the past, I admit. I associate it heavily with the church and patriarchy, and the misery those concepts have caused in the world. However, there's so much good in this card too. My friend pointed out during her reading how it also represents community, connection and unity. Traditions created together. How we take care of each other within that communion. The Hierophant has been showing up in my own readings recently and I recognise the craving for a community within myself. I've received so much help from different organisations and individuals during my own recovery and now I want to give back, almost desperately. Unfortunately, my personal funds aren't yet good enough to be giving out donations regularly but I do what I can with what I have, and I hope I can someday donate some of my tarot earnings as a standard practice. What I have done, is that I've lowered my prices to be more accessible and I plan to make my services as available as possible, by doing readings for a voluntary donation. I'm also in process of joining a wonderful, local Eastbourne charity, Wayfinder Woman as a volunteer. I've already organised and been part of their fundraising events but I want to do more. This organisation has given me personally so much through their Creative Joy - Artist's Way art course earlier this year. It gave me exactly what I was hoping for, it demystified the artistic process and allowed me to make mistakes and let go of perfectionism. It gave me the push I needed to relaunch my journey as an artist again. Wayfinder Woman provides courses, workshops and coaching for women of different ages and backgrounds, to empower them with new skill sets and self confidence. They also provide food help, advise and therapy for victims of abuse as well as job assistance. Their mission is so wholesome and important and it goes hand in hand with what I also want to give to the community with my tarot services. Advice, healing, empowering, self love and growth. I did set up a little fundraising for their charity on my Instagram page, I hope it'll get the attention it deserves. I aim to take more active role in the communities that are aligned with my views and values. Give back to the community of human kind. -Enni A lot of thought has gone in to building my website and its look, the name, including the logo above. I'm also an artist and I especially work with clay to make sculptures, I also restore antique taxidermy. I sculpted the vertebrae for the mink skull to pose as a stand for its open mouth. It almost looks like attacking snake when it's hanged on my wall from its frame. In the logo it looks like it's coming back to life, gone past the ending and starting a new cycle. Resembling the Death card, which has always brought me comfort more than anything else. The Death card also inspired the colours, black and white, which I also associate with beginning and ending, yin and yang, darkness and light. I've always found comfort in the darkness (partly because my very sensitive eyes), spending a lot of time in the vast dark forests in Finland, I never felt fear. The idea of death has never frightened me either. My family has followed the old Finnish/Saami belief system for generations, we believe in reincarnation, new life blossoming from the one that's ended. I wanted to incorporate this philosophy in my "brand look" and in the images I use. Ihana is my favourite Finnish word. It means "wonderful", "lovely", "marvellous", "glorious", "delightful", "adorable", "dreamy", "beautiful" and "fantastic". All that in one sweet word. That's what my journey with Tarot has been like over all, ihana. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been easy at all, and I've often been called out for my own bull shit, which I have later much appreciated. Learning tarot has given me so much hope and sparked my passion and inspiration in so many ways. This is also the reason why I now want to start taking my learning more seriously and share my knowledge, as that often is the easiest way to learn more about a subject. In Inari Saami language my name, Enni, means "mother". For a long time in my youth, I did not like my name, as to me it sounded old-fashioned and dated, and instead used all sorts of nicknames to introduce myself with. I almost made the choice to use my nickname, Endi, when I started offering tarot readings online, as that's how many English speaking folk interpret my name as. Then I read the Archetypal Tarot by Mary K Greer, and discovered my birth card to be The Empress, the mother in the tarot deck. This card has always stood out to me and now especially it resonated with my belief about myself, as someone who is and always has been very creative, always birthing something new. So, I decided to respect my elder's choice of that name, Enni, and introduce myself as I am, a creative, empathetic, intuitive, sensual and nurturing. In the Finnish folklore, women are the gateway to death, as they can bring life from death (the underworld, Tuonela) by giving birth. They also bleed for days every month without even slowing down. Hence why Finnish women have always been respected and bearing a high status in the Finnish society, often been titled as healers, shamans and seers. Those women have been the mothers of death, and I can only wish to be one of them someday. (I have another blog post in mind where I will elaborate more about the Finnish culture and history of women in the old society!). The mother of Lemminkäinen by the river of Tuonela;
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