My Solar Return Reading
Shhhh… don’t tell anyone – I’m addicted to blogging. I cut back on my post frequency across the board last week and come Sunday (officially my rest day), I find that I can’t stay away from it. Too much is bursting to come out.
Yesterday, at the absolutely wonderful Lenormand workshop with Chloe McCracken (watch this space, I’ll post about the workshop with lots of pictures on Wednesday), someone suggested that a lot of people with a strong online presence do it for their ego.
I had to sit with that for a while. I always used to think that it was my desire to share information that made me a prolific blogger… and also because writing is therapeutic… but yeah, if I’m perfectly honest, there is a not-so-small element of ego gratification present.
However, that is no different to any other form of artistic expression. Would the circus artists keep performing without an audience? I think not. The pay is often meager but the love and appreciation we receive for sharing our gifts with the world make it all worth it. There are many forms of energy exchange and none is better than any other if the price is agreed upon. At the end of the day I’m an artiste. I started my days as a student with the Swedish Royal Opera Ballet… what do you expect? 
And as an added bonus to the recent complete acceptance of the fact that I have an ego, I pulled the 6 of Wands in the First House for my Solar Return 12 Houses Zodiac Tarot Reading a week ago (see pic at top of page). What does it mean? Confidence in my skills and great sense of achievement which will radiate from my very core since the first house describes the ego/personality. It’s an ego card in an ego house. Love it!
Uhu, having an ego is OK. It’s what you do with it… I’m 43 now and finally OK with owning mine, which means I’m OK with you owning yours too 
Less Shadow all around! I’m in a good place and better equipped to serve Spirit because of it.
During that same Lenormand workshop, I had someone ask me why I would have more than one blog, and in particular more than one Tarot blog. I’m sure it seems like overkill to a lot of people.
There was no underlying strategy for how I ‘metastasised’ (Stars in the Lenormand cards!) in the blogosphere – just a desire to share specific knowledge with the people who were looking for that particular information and realising that it would be easier for them if I labeled the information correctly rather than lumping it all under the same blog. Besides, once you get the hang of creating a blog, it only takes about half a day to get a new one up and running
It turned out to be an awesome business strategy though. Cross-linking all my blogs didn’t only make it easier for people to find what they were looking for (which was the original intent) but also made my blogs take giant leaps in the Google and Alexa rankings.
In only ten days, Love Dove Tarot will be one year old and by then I will have exceeded 650,000 page views. Not bad for a blog that’s been online for one year had hasn’t paid a penny for advertising!
And content is still king. I could have cross-linked all I liked but I had I not put the murderous amount of work in that I did in 2012, there would have been no reason for people to keep returning to the Love Dove blog. It has to be said though… my health was starting to suffer, but that is all going to change this year. I’m not saying I will rest on my laurels but I will find a healthy balance between work and the rest of my life so that I can be around for a few more years. I would like that and I hope you will too…
Until next time…
PS. Order your very own 12 Houses Zodiac Tarot Reading HERE!
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Beautiful post, Lisa! I think it’s great you can own the part is ego, but also agree that this is an energy exchange – us readers get a great deal, too! Your posts are so inspiring and insightful
Also, just to say I’ve DM’d you on Twitter about an item I think you left behind at the workshop…
Thank you, Chloe. Will check my messages now
And it’s not just the ego thing–you are a wonderful writer and were obviously born with those talents and that energy pattern, and expressing it is natural. Thanks for making it all available to us!
Thank you, Tammy!
Ego, schmego! Don’t allow anyone to lead you to second guess your intentions. That you have taken time and care to self-examine this tells me that your multiple blogging is not ego-based or driven at all! It is obviously so much more about your desire to give rather than receive. You never know where people are coming from, and though I am usually the last person to view things this way subjectively, perhaps whomever made the statement would like to have for herself (or himself) more of the inspiration, drive, and PASSION that so palpably fuels your wonderful blogs. Lisa, you have a beautiful gift and have provided free tools online for so many to utiize at any time to gain insight. I enjoy all of your blog postings and hope you continue to share your wisdom and talent with us in the way that you have been! Thanks for it all. And by the way, you have no idea how many times your interpretations on Love Dove Tarot have helped me out relationship-wise!
Thanks for the great big grin you just put on my face, Carla! So glad you find my posts helpful – that appeals to my Cappie sentiment that whatever I put out there needs to be useful. But really… I’m OK with having an ego that wants recognition (6 of Wands) for all her hard work. And that person’s comment yesterday made me realise that… so it’s all good
You are too modest, in my eyes! I always interpret 6 of wands in two words: success and victory…my immediate reaction when I saw this card’s placement was “Lisa is victorious over ego regarding her success!” Anyway, just my humble take. Have a lovely Sunday!
Maybe. Still – better to err on the side of modesty, methinks
Although, I do believe it may not last for long as I had a polite gentleman email me this morning and ask for an autographed picture of moi. *Flips hair Miss Piggy style* Bhahahahaha! It did make me look at the central world card in combination with the 2 of Pentacles in the 10th and the 6 of Wands in the 1st as ‘world fame.’ 
Yes… Modesty begone!
LOL!
And my addiction, is reading your blogs!!!!
Thank you so much, you are my oasis of peace and inspiration.
Thanks Glenda!
What a lovely thing to say!
I read somewhere recently some kind of rant about pride and ego and so forth and how we must eliminate pride…but I see a clear difference here and similarly in my urge to write and express and to be proud of my achievements. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the amazing being that you are. As writers we can touch the souls of others without boundaries of time and space. Whenever we have the urge to write, I like to think it’s almost altruistic. Every single time I have the urge to write it’s because somebody needed to read what I had to say at that moment. We are creative and intuitive messengers
I feel that what we don’t do enough in life is in fact is celebrating the divine in us and these wonderful and quite miraculous achievements, such as you have mentioned. You’ve followed a calling of the soul in establishing your site and it has touched the lives of so many. Even if it didn’t, you followed your soul as we are all more compelled to do in these beautiful times of awakening. These amazing gifts we each bring to the world simply must be celebrated!! It’s been a lesson for me in my journey and I celebrate myself as often as possible now and turn my nose up at people who go on about ‘ego’ too much he he
Thanks Ruth, glad to hear that you are confident in following your path. Blessings