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Lady in a Barrel

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Interpretation & Meaning

Lady in a Barrel - a card from the inclusive oracle deck

A celebration can go surprise party, confetti, wishes from the heart. An intimate dinner, a holiday, a card.

But when you choose to spend your 63rd birthday inside a barrel, all candles have been blown out and the darkness feels real.

Nothing to do but sing a quiet happy birthday to yourself, except the water is screaming and your voice is a drop in the furious ocean you resolved to tame.

On October 24, 1901, Annie Edson Taylor (she/her) precipitated into a new year of her life by becoming the first person to survive a trip inside a barrel down Niagara Falls.

The reckless act, fueled by dreams of richness and fame, never yielded the expected results.

Of course it was a different time. Annie was an elderly woman grasping for the few opportunities that her world had to offer: stepping in that barrel was desperate as much as it was heedless.

What’s your excuse?

When this card shows up in a reading, all shortcuts will turn into dead ends. It’s time to stop looking for the quick win and start playing the long game, especially because the sprint you’re trying to run is actually a marathon.

The myth of overnight success is as seductive and elusive as ever. We’re promised incredible results through minimum effort and sold a story that paints the culmination of a process as the process itself.

Except once the cheat sheet is blank, the bag of tricks empty, the placebos powerless, what’s left?

If you want something you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and ignite the slow, meticulous growth that can truly elevate you as a human, a professional or a partner. This card is an invitation to enjoy the process, take the longer route and try to do the adult thing in front of life’s roadblock.

Keywords: slacking • unjustified risk • immaturity • unrealistic dreams • dramatic gesture • attention seeker • low hanging fruit • playing the short game • ambition without hard work

Practical References

Places Casino, Betting Shop
Work Thief, Robber, all jobs that defy the rules of our society
Situations & Life Events Fifteen minutes of fame, unprompted internet virality, unsustainable moment of success
Activities Playing the lottery, placing bets, social media stunts, miraculous diets, pyramid schemes and all activities that promise money and success without hard work
Archetypes The Slacker, The Underachiever

Interpretation within the Game of Cracks

The Soil
In the Soil position, this card suggests a situation that may look like an easy win, something that promises results without much effort. This is the card of pyramid schemes, miraculous diets and all sorts of alleged shortcuts to success
The Knot
As the Knot, this card symbolizes the tension between the hype of the quick fix and the satisfaction of the slow repair. In order to advance in your journey, you need to start playing the long game and cultivate the slow growth that will bring you far. That could mean enrolling in a year-long course, starting a gym membership instead of a miraculous diet, working on the deeply rooted problems in your relationship instead of patching things up with presents. You should try to enjoy the process instead of rushing to the finish line.
The Eye
When this card shows up as the Eye, it can represent a slacker, an underachiever, someone who tends to do the bare minimum and may be wasting their potential. It could also represent someone with a dramatic flair or an immature personality, a person who is constantly looking for the shortcuts in life
The Fall
As the Fall, this card warns you against playing the short game: going for the easy win and patching things up will never bring to a truly fulfilling success
The Hook
When this card appears as the Hook, it's an invitation to look for the low hanging fruit that can better your position or solve the problem at hand. Stop overcomplicating things and find the one, simple thing that can push you forward right now. Sometimes the deus ex machina we need is right in front of our eyes and all we have to do is use it
The Fruit
In the Fruit position, this card suggests an outcome that manifests itself through a flashy victory that won't make a lasting change. The consultant should enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame/happiness, but also craft a plan for when the success starts fading away

Homework & Practice

In order to embody the teachings of this card, you can:

  • Get better at making plans. The more detailed and realistic they are, the more likely you’ll be to follow through and advance in whatever it is you want to reach.
  • Get better at forecasting obstacles.  If you’re trying to give up alcohol, make a list of all the situations that might push you towards drinking and plan ahead how you’ll react if you find yourself in them
  • Set realistic expectations. Modern media is constantly feeding us the idea that success – whether that’s a career break or a dreamy love story – can come overnight. If you take the time to dig deeper, you’ll understand the huge amount of work it takes to build anything that’s solid and as a consequence you won’t feel like a failure when the results are slow to show up
  • Enjoy the process. Taking the slow but enjoyable route will almost always be more rewarding than rushing down the painful one. If you’re trying to lose weight, finding yourself a physical activity that you love (even if that’s just going on walks) will bring more sustainable results than forcing yourself to swim twice a week

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