Hey Reader,
As you might've guessed, Halloween is basically my Super Bowl. Months of planning, building costumes, painting props, hot-gluing questionable things together — all so we can squeeze every drop of magic out of spooky season.
And this year? I went all in.
Trunk-or-treat the Saturday before (where I hosted a craft table for four hours).
Themed dance class night on Tuesday.
Spooky-themed TGIC on Wednesday.
A school event on Thursday.
And then, of course, actual trick-or-treating on Friday — the main event we’d been building toward all month.
Apparently Past Ally thinks Current Ally is superhuman.
But by Thursday afternoon, we were three events deep with two still to go(and a full time job to boot), and I hit that wall — the “this is no longer fun, I’m just surviving” wall. My body was tired, my brain was tired, and even my witchy little Halloween-loving heart was tired.
I kept thinking: We planned all this, we should just push through. We should do it all. We should maximize the magic.
But honestly? The only thing getting maximized was my exhaustion.
So I did something that Past Ally definitely did not plan for:
I canceled Thursday.
We skipped the event. Just… didn’t go. It would’ve been fun in theory, but I was too fucking tired to enjoy any of it. So I told the kids, “Tonight we’re staying in and couch rotting,” fully expecting a little pushback.
I got none. Zero. They were tired too. They would’ve rallied if I’d forced us forward, but they weren’t sad to stay home. Honestly, they looked relieved.
And that one decision — to pause, to rest, to protect our energy — was the exact thing that saved Halloween night. On Friday, I wasn’t dragging myself from house to house. I wasn’t secretly resentful or burnt out. I was all in. Present. Actually having fun.
It turns out the best way to show up for the magic was to take a breath before it.
Weekly Tarot Card.
The best way to describe the Hermit is to make him real by showing how he interacts with the Fool on his journey. Here's how I think it would go.
By the time the Fool finally wanders up the mountain to meet The Hermit, he’s already been through it.
He fell in love and made big choices with The Lovers.
He got swept up in momentum with The Chariot.
He got humbled by Strength, who basically told him, “Sweetheart… breathe. You’re doing the most.”
So when he reaches The Hermit, the Fool is exhausted — spiritually, emotionally, metaphorically. He shows up panting like, “Can someone just tell me what to do next?”
And The Hermit, lantern in hand, just shrugs and goes: “Nope. Sit down, be quiet. I'm not doing your work for you.”
No pep talk. No instructions. No color-coded battle plan like The Emperor or The Hierophant would hand him.
Just stillness. And the reminder that he’s just been too loud, too busy, too distracted to hear the answers he seeks.
The Hermit is the pause that keeps you from imploding. Not isolation. Not avoidance. Just… the sacred moment where you stop doing everything so you can finally notice what actually matters.
A Powerful Question.
Where in your life are you pushing through when you actually need to pause?
See ya next time.
Rest like it’s part of the plan — because it is.
