Tag: what’s in a name

Clairvoyant Confessional: Smelly Flowers and Naming Powers

I don’t know why.

It doesn’t matter why, really. I like to name my blogs. Maybe it is my inner sixth grader who wanted to be a journalist pretending to name a newspaper. More likely it is my outer gen-X-er trying to get organized. Even more likely it’s my attempt to pique your interest.

Shakespeare wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Bill was right. You could call it a fantastic fartflower and it would still give off exactly the same molecules that smell exactly the same way as it does when we call it a rose.

The problem is that humans are more than a molecule detector. Our olfactory nerves connect to a brain that is chock full of memories & emotions. If we attach unpleasant memories or emotions to the name, then a fantastic fartflower might not smell as sweet after all. On the other hand, maybe roses really don’t smell all that great but our perception of the fragrance changes because of all of the positive associations with roses like love, romance, beauty, summertime and so on.

I have no training in marketing, but I would guess that it’s much easier to interest people in something named a rose. Which gets back to naming my blogs. A title is a fast, easy way to tell you what the blog is about while hopefully enticing you to read more. I want to sell you on the idea of reading the blog and a good name helps with that, or so it seems.

Marketing and promotion are weirdly uncomfortable if not nearly taboo in spirituality related fields like Tarot. Movies have trailers, and bands promote themselves all the time, but it is different for a clairvoyant. Given all of the scams and grift that have abused the name, it’s no wonder that words like psychic carry more connotations than a word like rose ever could. Practicing our art, promoting our art, and promoting a legitimate artistic business all while trying to stay out of culture war crosshairs is all a very tricky thing to do.

I recently named my blog “Portfolio.” because Tarot is my art, and the blog literally is my portfolio. I use it to showcase both my writing and my Tarot reading skills. Artists take portfolios to job interviews to showcase their work. If you read the blog, and then get a Tarot reading with me, the reading should meet or exceed your expectations because you’ll know in advance exactly what to expect. For a potential employer, a portfolio builds trust in an artist’s work. I hope the blog (and this podcast) will build your trust in my work too.

In 2018 I changed my website, blog and social media name. I re-branded everything from Modern Oracle Tarot to the TaoCraft Tarot. Ever since then, I get caught up in the idea of names about once a year, usually around the Fall anniversary of TaoCraft Tarot’s grand opening. Contrary to the “rose by any name” theory, names can actually be very powerful things.

To manifest anything, to accomplish any goal, you must first name it.

The more clear and precise a goal is, the more clear and precise the outcome can be. By the same token, that high precision limits the possibilities. A more open, adaptable and inclusive goal can increase your chances of a satisfying result. A name helps in both instances. A name can be as broad or as precise as needed. A name can be changed as time goes on. To meet a goal, you have to have one. To meet a goal, it must first be identified.

The power of names is even more evident when it comes to personal growth and becoming a better person.

What is the best part of you as you are right now? What is your very best current trait? Name it. Wrap yourself in it. Embrace that name for yourself at least for a few hours.

Then think of a personal quality that you want to acquire or increase. What would life be like if you were already that thing? Name it. Try that aspirational quality on for a while. See how it fits. You might not need to grow into it as much as you first thought.

After being raised by evangelicals and nicknamed “brainiac” in junior high, it was odd to add the namef “tarot reader” or “clairvoyant” to the list. Once I could identify with those names for some of the things I do, it opened whole new vistas of comfort and authenticity. But that is another blog post from another time. I’ll put links to related posts in the show notes.

Now here is a real challenge.

What label, trait, or quality is the name that shall not be named? What is your own personal Voldemort? What name is a bridge too far? Now, I’m not saying you should cross that bridge or go too far in any respect, but at least look at it. Consider its architecture. For me it took decades….decades…to admit the truth to myself about being an atheist or even harboring an interest in witchcraft. It took a longer time to realize that we don’t have to renounce one label when we pick up another. The human spirit is big enough that many traits and names can coexist not just harmoniously but synergistically. We are more than the sum of our parts. Our better parts shine when we name them and live them.

Whatever you want to be, try saying “I am” then fill in the blank with that thing. Names are necessary for good old fashioned affirmations too.

How does that make you feel? How does it feel to name yourself the thing you could never admit that you are? More importantly, how does it feel to name yourself the thing you’ve always wanted to be?

Name your worst trait and it will step to the front. Name your best trait and it will grow. The labels we place on others and that others place on us can help or hurt just as powerfully. Take care with the names you use for yourself and your fellow humans.

Thank you for listening today and for your ongoing support. I appreciate it more than you know. I always appreciate a good cup of coffee too. Any contributions to my virtual coffee mug supports the free blog posts and future podcast episodes.

Speaking of future podcast episodes, please send any questions you have for a clairvoyant. Ask me anything as they say. I may even do a Tarot reading for the answer. Contact information is on the blog and in the show notes.

This is the end of season 1. Clairvoyant confessional will be on hiatus until mid September. I’d like to say I’ll be using that time to learn how to edit audio files and figure out how to make this a better podcast. But honestly…the confessional will probably be back with the same raw, unedited, amateurish, pirate radio aesthetic that it has now.

I’m a clairvoyant and I have a confession. I still don’t know all that much about making a podcast.

Name related posts:

Mail your questions for the clairvoyant to ClairvoyantConfessional@gmail.com

Spell Your Name

Last name-niggles post, at least for a while.

In “The Niggles: What’s In a Name?” we looked at how names communicate outward. Our “brand” as they say is a shorthand way to communicate who we are. It can be authentic. It can be a disguise. But it, our name,  is something to consider.

“Shakespeare’s Roses” looks at how names…words…communicate inwardly. We respond differently to different words. They have an impact on our inner world. Would we feel the same about roses if they were actually named goobers or something? Maybe the thing would change the word, maybe the word would change our inner perception of the thing.  Either way, we are back to the notion that words have power. Power to shape our perceptions of the world and the world’s perception of us.

Names are labels. How does that make you feel?

Those words alone carry connotations and implications that impact us. You are named. That gives you autonomy. If you can be named, that means you are seen, accepted & loved (as in a christening) or made to own your actions (as in naming a suspect). Both of these are empowering things, granting identity and autonomy.

Labels are, on the physical level, practical things. They communicate important things, so you don’t put salt in your coffee, or take the wrong amount of medicine. When applied to people, however, they have no use and may cause harm. Humans are multifaceted, complex, shifting, growing, feeling…so many things that are far beyond the grasp of any one word or label. Labels lessen. Labels condense and summarize. Labeling others is the essence of bigotry. Labeling ourselves makes us less than who we really are.

For people, names are better than labels. Pick a name, any name. Remember Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla from Schoolhouse Rock? That’s a fun name. Rufus was a lot of stuff. If you labeled him  “old guy” that gives us a limited view of who he is. If he labels himself “old guy” then he constricts the energy and potential in his life compared to thinking of himself as adventurer, kangaroo fan, friend or brother.

The names and labels we give ourselves is the overlap between the outward way we communicate to others with names in the “branding” sense and the inner perceptions other names and labels elicit within us. The names and labels we choose for ourselves are like a magic spell of sorts for our inner psychology.  Did you quit something or did you choose something new? Are you a religion or are you a compassionate person? Are you a disease or are you someone fabulous who has some extra things to deal with?

In some Native American traditions, names change as people move through life and change. (Waugman, E.P. 2011, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/whats-in-name/201107/names-and-identity-the-native-american-naming-tradition) I’ve read in other sources that this new name is self-chosen to reflect accomplishments, and major life changes, and to embrace this new self – identity. I can’t remember or find those other sources at the moment. In Dune, Frank Herbert shows a bit of the same. The Fremen give Paul a tribal name (he is seen, accepted, official, even loved, like we see in christenings and other baby naming ceremonies) but Paul also chooses a public-facing, outside the tribe name for himself. He chooses one that reflects his spiritual purpose, his destiny in the story.

In a way, the Fremen names reflect reality. We have our given names, our tribal, legal, on-the-official-paperwork names, we have nicknames within our circle of friends and family, and we have the ever shifting internal labels we grab and claim.

Take care the names you give yourself. Your inner label, your mental identity, your name  that you give yourself is the magic spell for who you aspire to be and who you allow yourself to become.