Patti Down The Well

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Interpretation & Meaning

Patti down the well - a card from the inclusive oracle deck

The word “crisis” comes from the Greek verb krino – to separate, to discern – and on paper doesn’t sound that bad.

Humans have always been eager to separate their friends from their enemies, private possessions from public property, the truth from the lie.

The problem arises when the separation is internal. When your sturdy pangea of a soul starts splitting into continents and all you want to do is sew them back into a comfortable unit.

This card is about internal conflict, identity crisis and the tumultuous relationship between your ego and its shadow. When it shows up in a reading, it’s time to rappel down every crack in your fractured sense of self and look the beast in the eyes.

Every time we face conflicting beliefs or inner contradiction, we hear voices saying that we’re wrong, bad, not worthy. They start as whispered tunes inside our heads and grow as loud as symphonies impossible to drown out.

We try to mute them, cut their strings, weaken their vocal chords, then realize all we have to do is listen.

You can decide for yourself whether they’re sabotaging you or spelling out a necessary truth. You can disagree with what they’re saying, but you listen to them and ask why. You dig out the fear or shame that lies beneath them and meet it with much needed self-compassion.

Patti down the well wants you to embrace positive disintegration by questioning internalized beliefs and uncovering the mental traps we unconsciously set for ourselves.

This card ensures you can make peace with the conflicting voices in your head if you turn their cacophonic solo into a harmonious part of your inner choir.

Keywords: crisis • internal conflict • clash of beliefs • man vs self • dissociation • compartmentalization • self-acceptance • self-compassion • self-sabotage

Practical References

Work	Litigator, negotiator, divorce lawyer, all jobs having to do with managing conflict
Situations & Life Events	Mid-life crisis, identity crisis, family feuds, relationship crisis, body dysmorphia
Activities	Debate
Archetypes	The torn soul

Interpretation within the Game of Cracks

The Soil

In the Soil position, this card suggests a situation or environment characterized by an ongoing crisis. It could refer to a mid-life crisis or any kind of external conflict or fracture of a unity: a family feud, relationship crisis, civil war, company split-up

The Knot

As the Knot, this card symbolizes the tension between clinging to your ego and embracing its shadow. In order to advance in your journey, you need to face your conflicting beliefs and all the internal dissonance you desperately want to avoid.

The Eye

When this card shows up as the Eye, it can represent a torn soul, someone being pulled in different directions by conflicting voices in their head

The Fall

As the Fall, this card warns you against dissociation and unhealthy compartmentalization. The way you're acting might be seriously conflicting with the person you (think you) are and the faster you acknowledge it the better

The Hook

When this card appears as the Hook, it's an invitation to embrace your inner conflict and meet it with self-compassion. Facing the dissonant voices in your head will not erase the person you are, just give it the kind of texture and complexity that characterizes each of us

The Fruit

In the Fruit position, this card suggests an outcome that manifests itself through a new, more-nuanced image of yourself, a situation that will arise much needed questions about identity and core beliefs.

Homework & Practice

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

Journal regularly. Sometimes we subconsciously drown out our internal dialogue and writing can be a great way to bring it to the surface.
Analyze external conflict. Very often our daily quarrels are a manifestation of some deeply rooted inner conflict that we are not aware of.
Identify the beliefs that are causing your inner conflict and try to gauge where they came from. Did you inherit them from your parents and just accepted them without further critical analysis? Did you choose them consciously? Any answer is perfectly acceptable, the goal is to bring into the light whatever is clashing inside of you.
Identify the fears that lie at the heart of your inner conflict. Are they legitimate? Can you dismantle them?
If your internal conflict is disrupting your sense of self, divide a blank page in two and list in Column 1 all the behaviors and beliefs that you recognize as “You” and in Column 2 all the behaviors and beliefs that you see as “Other”. Once you have the list, ask yourself whether it’s really impossible for those two sets of features to coexist in one person. The goal is to slowly start accepting your complexity as a human being and be self-compassionate about the aspects of your personality that belong to your shadow-self. This entails by no means the perseverance in behaviors that can be harmful to yourself or others: by bringing your shadow into your consciousness you will develop a sense of responsibility for your actions and decide for yourself whether they can continue or have to stop.

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