Shopping won't fill the emptiness

Can the tarot pages help us find contentment without buying more stuff?

Pages are seen as childlike wonder, the start of a new era, a chance to play and learn, an invitation into stillness

Today I'm sharing with you how the four tarot pages are a bridge from lack to contentment.

Shiny new objects

When I was a child, my parents would give me pocket money, just enough to buy little treats at the weekend. A strawberry lip-gloss, a pencil sharpener, an eraser shaped like an ice cream. I remember gazing at my shiny new thing on the bus ride home from town. How it filled me with a sweetness. But of course it never lasted and I'd always want more.

Looking for sweetness as an adult

My continued search for this sweetness has been shaped by those childhood days and in some ways I still look to for wonder when I buy something new.

I can recognise signs of restlessness and the longing to fill my cup in my shopping habits. Sometimes when im feeling low, I find myself browsing in gift shops, I gaze at notebooks and vintage style mugs, or treat myself to candles and notebooks.

All harmless and forgiveable and in many ways just a kind gift to myself but of course the emptiness inside can't really be satisfied in this way.

I know the void can never be satisfied with a credit card, just as the endless scrolling won't lead to true connection, the sticky cinnamon bun will never relieve the boredom.

That's where the tarot pages come in.

A bridge from restlessness to wonder

I began to notice the four pages appearing in my tarot readings in these moments of restless emptiness.

They were trying to remind me of a more creative approach and I began to think of the pages as a bridge from lack to a playful curiosity and openess to what is already present. A move away from being a consumer (I still have some way to go)

So when the pages turn up in a reading

So when the pages appear in your reading, ask yourself whether you are experiencing any lack and see if their guidance can help you move forward with a more childlike wonder.

Invitations from the four tarot pages

The page of pentacles

Don't add to your collection of stuff. Instead

• Notice the beauty of nature

• Look at your possessions and see them as if for the first time.

• Appreciate your warm clothing, the roof over your head, the food in the cupboard like a traveller who has just come home after a long journey.

The page of cups

Don’t look for love on the shelves of your local gift shop instead, savour glimmers of connection and creativity in your every day.

• Look into the eyes of the people you live or work with. Notice when people smile at you. Do something kind for yourself.

• Ask your colleagues or family how they are and tell them how you’re feeling. Make the connection playful and authentic.

• Take a walk with a friend and enjoy the conversation.

• Do something creative for the sake of creativity.

The page of swords

There is nothing more playful than an aware and clear mind so

• Take some fresh air and blow away the cobwebs. This is a new start.

• Pause and notice your frame of mind and the quality of your thoughts. Knowing your mind helps you take decisions that help you move in a wholesome direction.

• Find openess in your mind by reducing imput.

The page of wands

There’s nothing in the shops that can light you up forever. The wick on the candle you buy will burn down

• Open yourself to something much bigger, something deeper to drive your spirit.

• Open yourself to a connection with the divine. Perhaps you can even start with tarot.

• Be open to receive messages from a deeper part of yourself.

Which tarot page hits home for you right now?

With all good wishes

Claire Amritavani

Thank you for being here and reading this. Please feel free to share and restack if anything I wrote made you nod or smile, it might just have the same effect on another person. As you know I enjoy hearing from you in the comments.