A friend had come over for birthday brunch (which is always the best) and we got to talking.

As is the tradition for many of my friends on their birthday, I'll pull out my deck of cards and cast a reading for them. It's a great annual check-in, I usually get to wax on about my admiration for them as it shows up in the cards (which it always does), and hopefully they leave feeling like they have just a bit more insight into the year ahead.

During our conversation over the cards, my friend and I talked about the struggle that many folks go through (myself included!) when we try not only to imagine ourselves as successful, but not being afraid of that success. The reasons for such fear of success is manyfold and unique for every person, but I know that the following reasons are what often come up for me:

Making a living doing what you love is unrealistic.

You don't deserve success because: If you're really an activist and fighting the good fight you shouldn't desire to actually be able to pay your bills, live in a vibrant and safe neighborhood or not accept the boulder of stress upon your heart as a badge of honor. You're not good or smart enough. Somebody is already doing what you love for a living. And they're better at it. And prettier. And have a well-trained dog.

No one likes you. Go lay down in a hole.

Comment below, clever ones, if you've thought of any of the above when contemplating the possibilities of your own success or your own unique self-doubts. Yay, unique self-doubt time! I think there is a real power in naming and speaking out loud our doubts. You might laugh at my reason of "No one likes you. Go lay down in a hole." but I've had that thought countless times and it feels pretty dire when it is just sitting up in my head like a tyrant on a throne. When I write it or speak it out loud I realize that it is quite silly. It's power is diminished, it's throne broken (or at least dismantled for the time being).

But what does this have to do with our future selves and why should we be talking to them?

In the course of the spread, one card in particular stood out as not only the possibility of what my friend could become, but that this was her future self reaching out to her (remember, time is wibbly-wobbly). I've experienced the practice of connecting with my younger self, my ancestors, and my descendants (as a future ancestor myself), but I hadn't thought of connecting with my future self for current insight through a tarot spread. Especially around issues of success...

Now some of you might be thinking - but what if I'm not successful in the future?! Fret not, clever ones, because the future is a malleable and multi-possible thing. In the following reading you are connecting with that future self which is successful because such a reality exists. You don't have to believe it (I'm not sure if the wibbly-wobbly believes in you so all is fair), but I think just the act of casting cards for advice from the part of you that has already made it through will probably bring about some amazing insights. Give it a try, clever one!