magical thinking

Magical thinking and Christmas knickknacks.

| Kat Thorsen

Christmas is here- magical time of year.  One of my favorite and one of the hardest.  So true for many of us.  It’s a time of joy and connection, of reminders of loss and longing, of financial hardship and worry, a time of creating and sharing and giving…

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I love surrounding myself with old Christmas trinkets and treasures and the past…

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… a reminder of (and gratitude for) my childhood filled with joy and belief in magic. A time of magical thinking.

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My brothers and I in Sweden, Christmas 1967. My mom when a little girl, on the right.

I love all our collected Christmas treasures.  I’ll spend time simply looking at them, touching them.  They are magic to me.

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the draw of magical thinking and the need to find connections and signs, to fall back into trust.

What would happen if I simply met all my worries with love?

With trust?  

With a don’t-know mind?  

Simply allow the magic?

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Check out:

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… you are wired to find meaning in the world, a predisposition that leaves you with less control over your beliefs than you may think. Even if you’re a hard-core atheist who walks under ladders and pronounces “new age” like “sewage,” you believe in magic.

Magical thinking springs up everywhere. Some irrational beliefs (Santa Claus?) are passed on to us. But others we find on our own. Survival requires recognizing patterns—night follows day, berries that color will make you ill. And because missing the obvious often hurts more than seeing the imaginary, our skills at inferring connections are overtuned… We look for patterns because we hate surprises and because we love being in control.  Emotional stress and events of personal significance push us strongly toward magical meaning-making.

 

“These messages are real answers…” My first ever tarot card reading with Madam Patricia. #skepticonvacation

| Kat Thorsen
Madam Patricia (Scorpion Sun]
Madam Patricia (Scorpio Sun]

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I was delighted to be invited for my first ever tarot card reading by ScorpioSun aka Madam Patricia this afternoon at my favorite place on earth: Salmagundi West.

Journal notes this morning:

Purposely slower morning.  Woke up at 7 AM, pressed snooze till 7:45.  Coffee.  Made bed.  Uncovered the parrot.  Tidied up in case the realtor needed to show the condo.  Took bath reading “Sacred Contracts,” anticipating the day and that the tarot card reading will be a “mystery school,” allowing for some intense self-examination.  

I am fully tapped out and perhaps this is the perfect time to be open to the experience.  Having my sketchbook with me is both comfortable and crucial.  Will this be about archetypal energy?

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On the seabus now.  The scientist in me is fighting with the little girl in me that believes in fairies and trolls.  I want to take 24 hours to put the scientist on vacation.  I’ve been wanting to kick the little girl in the face, as I’m tired of her scaredy-“KAT” ways.  I’ve wanted to yell at her to “shut the fuck up with your whimpering,”  and yell, “stop wringing your hands!”  

But maybe the little girl needs my time.  

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Time to play and to soak in the magic of Salmagundi West and allow for playful guidance.

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… simply as a break from all the problem solving and coordinating that the scientist is needing to do.  Instead of wearing the skeptic hat, I’ll wear the explorer hat today.  Instead of being cynical- complicated by all the financial issues that have worn me to a nub- I will go in naked and excited with china marker in hand and draw not only her portrait but draw from mine.  

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Instead of approaching it out of desperation and a bankrupt-feeling soul, I’ll go in joyously and treat it simply as time for me.  A present.

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It was a very special hour.  Patricia is open and vibrant and welcoming.  The space is MAGICAL and charming.

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It feels soothing to be focused on.  It feels wonderful having her speak about my father and to hear her advice to trust and surrender.  It was delightful to simply receive a gentle coaching session.  She forecasted wonderful and positive things and I felt light and on track, coached and encouraged.  

Patricia encouraged me to dig deeper, share more, let go, allow, accept that I am safe and that great things await.  Who wouldn’t be lifted by that?

The following card was of particular interest:

THE HIEROPHANT

  • EDUCATION
  • BELIEF SYSTEMS
  • CONFORMITY

  • GROUP IDENTIFICATION

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…the Hierophant is a trusted guide, one who will take us by the hand and lead us to our spiritual goal.

And she encouraged me to google the Swan Medicine card. 

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And left me with the lesson of the ear chakra:

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I loved the time for myself.  I loved tapping into the guides and allowing magical thinking.  Indeed, some magic realism is exactly what the doctor ordered!

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To book an appointment with Madam Patricia, contact SALMAGUNDI WEST

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Special thank you to Anne Banner!

Magical thinking. Will you go?

| Kat Thorsen

Sometimes a little magical thinking can ease the restless soul.  Where do you go?  I go into the forest and dream of angels.  I let go of reality.  I trust, I surrender and I rest.

Go with me to it and I’ll show it you and by the way
you shall tell me where in the forest you live.
Will you go?

– Shakespeare

1. b. Forest Angel 2