I created the Indecision Spread to help me feel like less of a mess. When my plate is packed with editing work, freelance tasks, personal to-dos, and I still haven’t added self-care to the list, I freeze up from overwhelm. And this has happened many times since the start of quarantine. If I’m being honest, it happens pretty much weekly. But a new method I can rely on to get unstuck in moments like this is that simple tarot spread. It lets me pause and take a breath, bringing some mindfulness and ease to prioritizing and acting on what needs to get done in my day. And it makes me so happy to see this tool help other people give themselves grace in indecision—Sadie Marie Cherico (aka Herbal Marie) being one of them.
On a Tarot Tuesday episode of her Herb Oracle podcast, Sadie worked through a to-do list and left with some great guidance from her morning with the spread. A space for exploring botanical divination with herbs, essences, flowers, and trees, the Herb Oracle podcast is where Sadie and listeners “shoot the shiitake in a spiritual way” (a genius phrase I will be adopting) using botanical oracle decks and fun spreads to guide deep inner reflection. Listening to an episode is like hanging out with a down-to-earth friend who loves to laugh, gives amazing advice, gets serious as much as she gets silly, and, frankly, is super into plants.
But Sadie makes plant knowledge accessible. Sometimes we forget that plants have the ability to heal us in many ways, and in Episode 221, Sadie flawlessly weaves the wisdom of the herb oracle cards she pulls with her own personal insights and the messages the Indecision Spread asks us to consider: what our next step is, why we should take it, and how it makes us feel. Kicking off the episode with her featured herb of the week, comfrey, she talks about the importance of taking responsibility for shedding the old when it’s time, repairing our broken pieces, standing in our personal power, and respecting our health as our greatest wealth. Comfrey’s beautiful reminders blend well with the guidance she ends up receiving from her spread.
As she starts working with the cards, Sadie says that she’s in need of a boost. (I think we can all relate.) She’s got a few things she wants to get done throughout the week, and dealing with the stress of finding a new car is one of them. But melting into feelings of frustration doesn’t help us when we’re worried about our to-dos.
“We can check a few boxes off our list, but our worth is definitely not defined by our workload. So get it done, but get it done your way.” —Sadie Marie Cherico
Sadie encourages us to take a realistic, but gentle, approach to move past this. She says that nothing magical will happen in the average day to make our tough tasks easier, so we can choose to get more positive and avoid pulling ourselves down by getting caught up in what’s not working.
The Herb Oracle’s Insights
Listening to this herbal goddess work through her Indecision Spread, I’m reminded of how important it is to embrace imperfect intention when we make choices in our lives—really, about anything. It’s much easier on your creative brain to play with the words of the roughest draft than stare nervously at a blank page, and the same goes for decision-making.
Sometimes setting an intention and feeling unsure about what you’ve picked or if you’ll get it done is perfectly fine. You can’t plant a million seeds in one garden and expect them all to flourish. Care for a few, be proud of them when they grow, and start fresh with new flower friends when you’re ready.
- We can exercise our personal power by making more decisions in our day and by being intentional with our actions.
- We can feel great exuberance and achievement just by getting a few little things done.
- The things we want take time to manifest, so we should get started now to make them happen.
- We can find comfort while healing by working on something creative and coming back to our emotions when we’re ready.
- Sometimes taking things slow and smart is better for us than chasing productivity.
- How we go about even the most mundane tasks can be a reflection of where we are in our spiritual journey.
Listen to Sadie’s full episode and keep up with all things herbs by following her across the web:
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