Welcome to Cast Iron, a weekly newsletter about fitness, tarot and current events that hits inboxes every Monday. Each issue features a workout based on a tarot card, a tarot pull related to current events and, sometimes, a blog post or journal prompt. You’ll also find a list of my current favs at the end of each email, so be sure to check those out if you’re low on inspiration or energy. If you like my work, connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @byAlissaSmith or visit my website.
The Hermit represents a period of self-discovery that requires solitude and self-study, which my yoga teacher training would call svadhyaya.
In this card, we see a single person seated on a steep mountainside. You can’t see the person’s face, and I would be horrified to learn the artist meant for the person to be staring at us, so I imagine the person is staring off at the distant mountain. Perhaps they’re reflecting on how far they’ve come or how far they have left to go on this journey but the fact is that they’ve made progress, no matter how small. Their journey couldn’t have started on this rocky cliffside that appears to be devoid of any resources.
I think this card’s meaning and this deck’s art are perfectly reflected in a reading I once did for a client who was about to head out on a solo trek on the Appalachian Trail; This Hermit showed up as their near future card. They weren’t just about to hike this 2,190-mile trail, they undoubtedly also were standing on a precipice of self-discovery that could change the entire direction of their life.
In Modern Tarot, Michelle Tea writes that “The Hermit comes up when life itself, the Universe, needs you to be alone.” I’d like to point out that life itself does really, truly, scientifically need you to distance yourself from others to survive at this point (yes, I’m saying wait for the vaccine before heading to your grandma’s house).
You need time away from others to learn and know who you truly are. This card says that self-study, isolation and reflection are the only ways to learn what your values are, what will give your life meaning, what will leave you with a sense of fulfillment on your deathbed. You can’t get these answers from anyone else. They don’t lie outside you; This all reminds me of when Moana (which I believe means “Ocean” in Hawaiian and Maori, IIRC) realizes that the call of the ocean she’s heard all this time was actually the call of her heart.
In the RWS deck, we see the hermit as an older person standing on snowy ground, the two may represent the final stage of life and of the year.
The Hermit holds a staff and a lantern, the latter of which isn’t enough to light the gloom or darkness that surrounds them. To me, this card screams that you don’t need to see the whole picture, you just need to see what’s right in front of you, aka the next step. But I don’t think you start the Hermit’s journey with the lantern. I think the lantern is something you find along the way, something that enables you to move forward despite uncertainty and fear, something you realize is your literal guiding light. You grab it when it starts to get dark.
As the RWS’ Hermit is doing an obvious front raise with their lantern, I crafted a shoulder workout so you too can hold your lantern up for however long you need its light.
Fit tip: You don’t need an accountability buddy. Imagine if you treated the promises you made to yourself as sacred oaths that couldn’t be broken without consequence. Take yourself seriously.
Reading (the) Room
Let’s cut to the chase and ask the question Twitter can’t shut up about:
Should you travel and spend time with people outside your home for Thanksgiving?
No.
Some questions don’t need the cards for insight. We already know that Thanksgiving travel and gatherings are going to lead to a spike in COVID cases, which may or may not mean that you’ll never see that part of your family again because you literally killed them. Better to eat pie alone this week than to be the cause of a deadly outbreak among your loved ones.
Yes, that’s a crap answer for people who are terribly lonely, struggling with mental health issues or feel that COVID doesn’t matter. Well, I hate to be the one to tell you but the final part of that list doesn’t matter. For those of you in the other two camps, I recommend scheduling time to see a therapist or other licensed mental health professional. In the meantime, let’s pull some cards on how you can navigate this week.
This week’s card fits so perfectly here. It’s a period of solitude and of learning how to be alone without being lonely. So how can we do that?
Siolo Thompson says in The Linestrider’s Journey that “it’s entirely possible to be in a state of isolation and be doing exactly what you need to do to grow and thrive.”
The Four of Cups says that you’re alone but you’re not actually doing any introspection, are ignoring the creative outlets and pursuits that used to inspire you and are likely depressed right about now. That all makes sense when we look at what’s going on, the huge spikes in stress, how people usually fall into their most destructive and unhealthy coping habits when chronic stress has exhausted our willpower and hope. I absolutely get it but you still have to try. I know you don’t want to paint like you used to but perhaps try a different form of art or artistic expression. There are four cups of potential fulfillment and creative joy right in front of you. Experiment. Get that stagnant water moving.
But how can we do that?
The Four of Wands reversed is a complete loss of stability, whether that stability took the form of a job, relationship or housing. However, through this art we can see that the Four of Wands is literally built with four Aces of Wands, aka passion and drive. The loss of stability is horrifying, believe me when I say I understand, but that loss is driving you to reimagine, reconfigure and rebuild your house of wands.
In the True Black Tarot, we see a phoenix breaking free from the four wands it was chained to, implying that the four wands (stability) held it back in some regard. I’m imaging this meaning is less “you have no food, so be happy about the weather” and more in line with how people are turning to entrepreneurship, teaching, sewing and other creative pursuits to handle unemployment and the stressors of the present moment.
And, finally, the two of wands, a card that implies you’re weighing whether to even plan for the future. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that all these struggles, all these failures and horrible moments will last forever. Remember that you do have a future, one that is constantly changing based on who you are and how you and the world around you act. The growth on the two wands implies that your plans need to change as you do.
What I’m loving this week:
I can’t even tell you how many childhood hours I spent dashing around with this mischievous purple dragon. It was a fun and (usually) relaxing game, and the remastered version has managed to make the entire trilogy look like a Pixar movie. I loved the original and I love this. Definitely check it out if you're looking for a hit of nostalgia or need a friendly intro into video games.
Trader Joe’s Instant Cold Brew Coffee
A success among men. This coffee is wonderful, especially right now when I’m feeling lazier than ever because of the weather and lack of sunlight. I don’t want to get up early and make a bunch of noise grinding coffee beans or listening for the scream of a spurting kettle. This is a much nicer way to greet the day in the wee hours (at least for now) and is a v nice pick me up during the afternoon.
Tracking my steps
Honestly, I fell out of this fitness habit months ago when many people thought Quar would be over by summer. I wasn’t walking anywhere. My walk to work was shorted to the six steps it takes to get to my kitchen table. Yes, I can walk outside with a mask on or whatever but that — to me — is anxiety inducing, so I tend to avoid it. But I’ve started aiming for a minimum of 10K steps per day again, and I get them in however I can, whether that means jogging in place for a minute or pacing when I read a book or chat on the phone. It also has been helping with my energy levels, so I’m happy about that!
Taking time off of work
In the same vein as the above graf, I stopped taking time off from work when Quar hit. Time lost all meaning and the newly added financial stress meant that I needed to do more and I needed to do more Right Now. Well, that was a horrible mess of burnout that never actually paid (hah!) off, so I decided to take the weekend as a weekend and eat pizza and play video games and nap and read, and, damn, was it nice. Try drawing and enforcing a work boundary this week! Maybe you don’t answer emails after 7 P.M. Maybe you decide you shouldn’t have to work seven days a week, so you delete your work email from your phone during your days off AND have an official OOO set up. For those of you who are short on a paying job but not on work, you still need to take care of yourself! Maybe spending three hours per day applying to jobs is a bit too much. Take a minute to breathe and think about how you are safe right now.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week! Let me know your thoughts about this week’s newsletter below!
How can you support Cast Iron?
Share this newsletter and leave a comment below! Tell me what you liked, didn’t like, want to see, etc. I want to know how to make this newsletter the best thing about Mondays. If you have a story or topic idea, drop me a line at Hello@AlissaSmith.red.
How can you support me?
Hire me for freelance writing gigs. You can find some of my clips here.
Schedule remote tarot readings and/or personal training sessions with me.
Buy a copy of COVENTRY, a secular witchcraft zine run by me and my friend, Megan Castro, an Atlanta-based artist. Our newest issue covers spellcrafting and casting. It’s available now as part of a collab with Folk Care, an Atlanta-based herbal company.
Note: Some of the links I’ve included are affiliate links, which means I may get a cent or two if you decide to purchase whatever was linked.