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Accept yourself
By Caroline DeBruhl
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Dear Oracle, I have a new business venture and am thinking of partnering up with a friend. I would love some clarity regarding whether this will lead to success on both our parts. I haven’t had the best luck bringing other people into my business, and I want to make sure this won’t ruin our friendship.—Curious Leo
If you go in it together: Tower reversed, Two of Cups reversed, The High Priestess If you go it alone: The Hanged Man reversed, The Magician, The Hierophant reversed Dear Curious, first, I don’t think I’ve ever pulled FIVE major arcana for a single question before in this column—and I shuffled it well! That means that this opportunity, whatever it is, is a strong force in your life, and it’s probably taking up a lot of mental/emotional bandwidth. New businesses are exciting! They’re also terrifying. (Two sides of the same coin, right?)
Your question is a three part-er: Will you be successful with your friend? Will this ruin your friendship? Will you be successful on your own?
For the friendship/business adventure, the first card I pulled was The Tower reversed. I’ve written before that The Tower isn’t necessarily a bad card: it can be just a big shakeup, but it’s also a card of chaos. The next card is the Two of Cups, a sign of friendship, and paired with The Tower, I would say that this business deal would put this particular friendship through the wringer. That’s not to say that it would end it, but it’s not going to be a stable relationship.
And I think, deep down, you know that. The High Priestess is our intuition, and having past experiences where people and business didn’t mix, I don’t think this is THE venture for THIS friendship. So if you haven’t already broached the topic with them, maybe don’t. If you have, you two should sit down and really talk about things in depth. If you do have doubts, bring them up. Don’t just let things fester because that can cause cracks in the foundation, too.
However, you should absolutely pursue this new business venture. The middle card here is The Magician, which is someone who can harness their own power and the power of fate. You need to be comfortable with your power. You might have different ideas when it comes to this new business; The Hanged Man can be an outsider that’s misunderstood, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Thinking outside the box is how innovation works. Knowing yourself and believing in your ideas can help fuel your fire and bust through some gatekeeper blocks.
It is important to remember that just because you are striking out “on your own” doesn’t mean you must be alone. The Hierophant gathers knowledge, learns from other teachers, and hears different opinions—even from people they fundamentally disagree with. Whatever the business is, gather a bunch of intel as you go forth and keep educating yourself as time goes on.
But best of luck with your new business venture! I hope it works out and that your friendship gets to grow without the added stress of business.
Dear Oracle, I’ve never had a great body image. It was better in my 20s, but as I’ve gotten older,
it’s slipped back to the kind of scrutinizing I did as a teen. I’ve had some issues with disordered eating in the past, and while I feel better about my relationship with food, I’m still not loving my body. The pandemic did lead to a bit of weight gain, but I’m trying to be gentle with myself about it. So my question is this: how do I learn to accept my body?—Body Woes
Cards: Seven of Pentacles reversed, Six of Cups reversed, Page of Pentacles. Dear Woes, thank you so much for bravely writing in. I know how difficult it is to talk about body image issues—partly because some dipshit is always chiming in with diet or workout advice. I promise ORACLE OF YBOR I will do neither.
You are right to be gentle with yourself about how your body has changed during the pandemic. It is a stressful time, and you’ve taken care of your body enough to survive this plague. That is a triumph.
For the underlining body image issues, it will take some work, especially if these have been years in the making. The Seven of Pentacles is a reflective card. It’s doing the deep work within, which could mean working with a counselor or perhaps reading books and journaling through practices. (My therapist friend recommends "Eating in The Light of The Moon” by Anita Johnston.) It might be worth exploring when these issues started for you. Six of Cups is often a time to reflect on childhood. Did you grow up in a house with a mother who dieted/worried about her body image (who, in turn, probably grew up in a similar household)? Did you get negative comments about your weight growing up? Positive comments about how skinny you were? It could be worth exploring where the idea that your body isn’t good enough came from. You have to name a demon to cast it out. It’s hard work, but something that I know you can handle. The Page of Pentacles is an eager student, ready to put in the work. You don’t have to hate your body. You don’t even have to particularly love it—but you can accept it. And I know this doesn’t solve the issue—not by a long shot—but start to donate/recycle/sell the clothes that don’t make you feel beautiful and slowly replace them with comfortable outfits that make you light up. Find yourself a good tailor, too. A dress that makes you feel good is a temporary reprieve, but why not take the mood boost along with the deeper work? You gotta wear something. Thank you for your bravery with writing in. I truly hope for the best for you. Send your questions to the Ybor Oracle to oracle@cltampa.com or pass them directly via Instagram (@theyboracle).
