Graydon: Hey, it’s Graydon from Graydon Skincare! Welcome back to People We Love, where I interview awesome bad ass women who are shaking things up, and who are really helping the world in so many ways. Liz Worth here is no exception, who is a Toronto-based tarot reader and astrologer. For those of us who are new to this, can you full us in on what that means and what you do?

Liz: Absolutely! I treat them as separate practices, as they are two different things. We find different information from each of them, but there's also a lot of crossover. There is going to be similar themes that you find because of the life that you are living. If you're going through a certain chapter, if there are changes coming up, you can consult with 10 different readers and they could tell you the same thing in 10 different ways. With tarot, we are using a stack of cards that holds many different images. It has a history of divination, but it’s routed in the 1400s in medieval Europe, and started as a card game.

Graydon: A card game? Wow!

Liz: It’s an invention. People started to look at tarot cards in different way, and I felt like the images on the cards must have something more to it. When people ask me how does tarot work, I can talk for hours and teach you how to read the cards because it’s something anyone can do. Why it works though, is something I can't explain. That's where we get into the mystery of it. There are 78 cards, but we are not limited to 78 answers. Wherever we are at with our lives or our personal evolution is always going to contribute to the context of whatever you are getting from meaning. That's why I say the cards mean everything and they mean nothing. It all depends on what you can see within them, and how you can make them relevant. 

G: Okay!

L: With astrology, you are looking at bigger energies. You were looking at what is happening within our universe, and it teaches us how to connect to what's coming up with us on a planetary level. Astrology can be extremely personal. We can use a natal chart, which is based off of that moment you were born, and look at a bunch of different things like your body type, your soul’s purpose, the nature of your relationships. When we look at something astrological, we are looking at energies that are really far away from us. It reminds us we are operating as a whole in many ways. 

G: When you say energies very far away, do you mean planetary?

L: Yeah. Like Pluto is very far from home, but we can tap into those planets and the stories they help us understand about ourselves, to bring some sort of meaning to why we are here and what we are meant to be focusing on in this moment in time. It's different than tarot cards because those are in our hands, but we can't reach out and touch those planets. So they're different practices, and require different techniques. 

G: Do you find that people come to you, especially for the first time, because they have certain issues going on in their lives?

L: Often people seek out readings because there is something going on. The main reason I find this out there looking for clarity on something. A lot of the time we are trying to figure out which path to take, and what's right for me, we can often feel like we are at a crossroads, or things happen outside of our control. Another thing people are trying to figure out is how they can be purposeful with themselves and their time. We can chase a lot of things that seem purposeful for us, but they might not be the most fulfilling or rewarding in terms of our own growth.

G: I am a big believer in how your mind, body, and soul manifests in your skin. So our work seems very separate, but at the same time, it’s not. 

L: There is no separation, between our souls, our bodies, our spirits, our hearts; they all operate as one. The idea of work life balance applies to everything that we do. We can do so much to nourish our soul, but still neglect our body. I agree, I don’t think our work is that separate. What your work does is help people come home to themselves on a physical level, and what my work does is help people come home to themselves on an inner level. 

G: Coming home to yourself, that’s a very powerful phrase. I like that! My first yoga class was my first experience of coming home to myself. It was really kind of profound, finding pleasure in one’s own home. Do you think historically there was a time where people were more connected with themselves?

L: That’s a tricky question. I think the world is too big of a place for me to have a specific answer that, but I wonder if there are certain times in our recent history that we were a little bit happier and not staring at our phones every two minutes. And also happier spending more time outside. We have this capacity to create more freedom for ourselves if we use the technology more purposefully, but we need to have our own boundaries and limitations around that, because we are spending a lot of time up in our heads. 

G: Could you give us some accessible tips on making better choices? 

L: One of the first things I do every day, is think about what I want to accomplish that day. Sometimes those accomplishments are very small, like write a blog post or answering an email. I set some intentions about what is going to happen that day, and those intentions are around something that I have some capacity to control. It's so easy for us to have our days taken away from us, and spend our day in a very reactive mode. So it’s good to get ahead of our day and set a purpose.

G: That’s a big tip by the way! Sometimes we undermine ourselves or let life get in the way. Starting with the small things can be really meaningful and powerful, and may later enable bigger things. 

L: It also shifts your headspace in thinking what you are really capable of. Sometimes we make to do list for ourselves and the things we have set for the day are so out of reach, and it's not fair or realistic to put that sort of pressure on ourselves. It's a practice and a process, and you become better at intuiting what you're capable of.

G: That’s a great piece of self-care advice! Self-care can be anything, every taking time for yourself in the morning.

L: Or being active. It is important to take time to step outside and take care of our body. Our body is here for a reason, it’s doing something for you, it’s your vessel, it’s housing your soul. Whatever body you have is the body your soul has chosen to walk this earth in, which is a very powerful way to look at it I think.

From a soul-perspective, everything is happening on time, and everything is happening the way it’s supposed to. With that said, we are not just influenced by astrological energies, it is not the be all and end all, we have to remember that we live in a collective, and in this collective society there are a lot of things, like illness, that we have not chosen to sign up for. So I would never impose a reason or meaning to that, but I can offer guidance on what you may need from a soul-perspective.

Another example would be what local or larger governments decide, we don’t have a say in that and still have repercussions on ourselves. So we need to think of the bigger picture and all the many factors that influence you.  Astrology and other intuitive practices don’t have all the answers, but it’s about thinking how these tools best serve what I need, and what other places do I need answers from. Does that make sense?

G: Yes, I think I should be taking notes! [laughs]

L: I think overall, being purposeful and checking in with yourself is important. It doesn’t always mean making big changes in our lives, but being aware and to remember you are on a path, but you can change that path as well. Yes there are things outside of our control that we don’t want happen to us, and sometimes we can’t do anything about those things, but you can ask yourself if there are options and what you can focus on. Just try to come back to yourself. 

G: When we first started you talked about tapping into your intuition, and creativity. How do you counsel people into doing that?

L: When people think about creativity they often think about art. Humans are creative beings, everything around us is a reflection of our own creative processes. We get to create our lives, and so when I talk about creative energy, people get stuck in the idea that creativity is about the arts. So they have this whole aspect of themselves that is completely untapped, because they don’t realize they are naturally creative. I think that intuition and creativity operate on the same wavelength. When you have an idea for something, something is telling you to follow that idea. Maybe suddenly you have an itch to move to a new apartment, that's a creative process. You think about where you want to live, what neighbourhood, what you want it to look like. Those decisions even though they seem mundane and sometimes, help us create our lives. Every job we work, every relationship we have, everyplace we live, become chapters of our lives. They all come from decisions we made to show up for those things.

G: On a personal level, I find that explanation very helpful. I went to an art school and got my MFA, and was recently in LA with my school friends, and they were saying how I don't create art anymore. But I do, because my work is about creating things! My ideas for creating skincare come to me just like ideas for creating a painting would. 

L: I think running a business is a perfect example because it is very creative! You are creating something from nothing, and it always starts with an idea. Even if you have a job where you aren't allowed to be creative, you have the opportunity to find where you want to use that pent up energy and channel it. You don’t have to take what you’re given and life with it, it’s all about finding what you can and should do with it. 

G: I think that’s a really meaningful way to end this. How do you people find you?

L: I’m easy to find online, lizworth.com and Instagram @LizaWorthTarot