This New Year I bought my first tarot deck: The Wild Unknown. I am a newbie to tarot, though not to living a life strongly guided by intuition. I eagerly began with a full year spread and turned up the devil card as the theme for my year. I also pulled death, the tower (falling apart) and several other ‘portentous’ cards to define my year. This got me to take an honest look at the role of the shadow in my life. What role does the shadow play in my life? For many years I have been acquainted with isolation, in different measures, as I sifted through my shadows and my experiences. I learned to unplug from the idea that isolation (solitude) is ‘bad’. To understand that it is necessary. And then, again, to understand that it must not be permanent. That friendship, partnership, and love are a vital part of living in the light. Darkness/shadow/solitude will be sprinkled throughout the course of my life, and this is not bad, it is necessary. Sometimes t...