I have a raging inner perfectionist. She has big, imaginative, wildly unrealistic standards, and I almost never live up to them.
I’m wired to see possibilities, connections, and weird but wonderful ways to put things together. And there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. The problem is, left unchecked, that energy creates a lot of shiny, half‑finished messes and not much that actually hits the potential I’ve dreamed up for it. It’s disheartening.
I’ve been trying to focus less on the glitter and more on the base underneath the glitter. Because the structure does matter and it can make all the difference between fantasy and reality. These cards are very much addressing these tendencies—for me and maybe for you, too. So let’s take a look.
Coming Up in the Cards
These celestial images are from the Kingdom of Heaven Tarot.
Outlook: Empress Reversed
The Empress reversed has a bad case of “shiny object syndrome.” Her enthusiasm is there in spades, but she may not consider all the angles. In trying to give birth to something new, sometimes she overreaches without thinking it all through or taking advantage of what other people have already figured out before she got there.
Maybe she’s putting together a 37‑steps‑a‑day, full‑blown healthy eating plan when you don’t even like to cook and have considered Little Debbies a food group all their own up to this point. Maybe she’s been brainstorming the perfect household organization system and gleefully price‑comparing bulk containers while the dishes in her sink are busy growing their own ecosystem.
The point is, there is a danger of becoming enamored with the glitter and perfection of the end goal while skipping over both reality and where you’re actually starting from.
Expect plenty of people to have great ideas this week, but struggle with execution and practicalities. They may also overburden themselves and underestimate what, exactly, they’ve signed up for. Not that I would know about that or anything…
Advice: The Hierophant
Sometimes, you really can stand to look at how things are usually done and more importantly, the why. “It’s always been that way” is not enough reason to keep a system, but it’s also not enough reason to pitch it.
Here, actually understanding why things are usually set up the way they are—what problems the structure may solve, what needs it actually meets—is going to be the most helpful. You are absolutely free to throw out conventional approaches. But you’ll get a lot further if you first understand where the conventional wisdom comes from and how you might create those same benefits in a way that actually fits what you want to create.
Taken Together
Don’t abandon your exciting, glittery and incredibly creative notions if you’re hitting snags—but also don’t reinvent the wheel just because you’re over seeing wheels. Let your “fresh take” be genuinely fresh, but also on purpose.
You can still shoot for the shiny, but start with the foundation. Maybe work a little healthier eating into a few meals a week at first, or just organize one corner of your kitchen and see what actually happens with it.
Small, manageable steps, combined with a quick look at how other people have done it (and why) will get you a lot further than dramatic, overreaching wannabe perfection.
Now, For You
Where have you been designing the fantasy version of reality and not questioning what you’ve actually got going on now—and what’s one small, practical step you can take to build upon what’s already there?
