This Drop is in memory of all those who lost their lives on this day 25 years ago. May their memories be forever a blessing, and may we choose love and compassion over terror and hate.
Dear Jews and allies,
The time has come. Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown tonight!
Are you completely prepared? Did you buy your apples and honey? Did you think about how you want to better yourself for the new year?
In preparation, I’ve been involved in not one but two Elul workshops! I just can’t get enough. I’m addicted to self-improvement. And yet, I can’t seem to improve. Or I do, and then revert to my old ways.
Last week, someone commented that I seem “spiritually wealthy.”
At first, I was taken by this poetic turn of phrase.
Then, I thought, “Am I wealthy in spirit?”
Yes, I’ve been deepening my relationship with Hashem, journaling more, and using my phone less on Shabbat.
But last week, I went against my values and ate shellfish on Shabbat1. Then, to make up for it, I planned on going to a Selichot service, but then stayed home and streamed a bit of it until I fell asleep.
And those are just a couple of the things making me feel a bit scattered right now. When I’m not disappointing myself by my lack of discipline (not too much, I know to go easy on myself!), my mind is focused on returning to work and office life after a remote summer, learning as much as I can about Israeli elections, and trying to be my best self this holiday season.
One source of Jewish wisdom and grounding I’ve turned to is my new friend Debbie Plawner’s Illuminated Paths deck.
Kind of like a Jewish oracle deck, this 52-card set uses Torah and color theory to bring wisdom to your everyday life!
Think tarot but each card contains a Jewish value with a corresponding illustration and Hebrew word. The guidebook provides insight following the PaRDeS method of Jewish learning: the direct (Pshat), symbolic (Remez), interpretive (Drash), and intuitive (Sod).
The cards also come with an Oracolor wheel, divided among pathways for the mind, body, and heart. Inspired by the Tree of Life, an ancient Jewish map of the soul, the wheel organizes different dimensions of human experience into a color-based circular system. The wheel moves from darker colors to lighter ones, representing a path from inner darkness to inner light. Dark cards or positions on the wheel are invitations to transform and grow.
Debbie came up with this color map in 2020 while lost in the woods during Elul. Her system helps people access the wisdom that is already within them through color which people intuitively understand. Plus, it’s beautiful!
A Rosh Hashanah spread for you
I pulled a “Climb the Mountain” spread to prepare you for chagim season! Like Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive wisdom for the journey ahead, this spread provides guidance to address a question you may have.
I asked the cards a question for you: “What wisdom do I need to fully embrace Rosh Hashanah this year?”
This spread involves drawing five cards placed at the base, partway up, at the peak, partway down the other side, and at the base on the other side, representing foundation, energy needed, Torah wisdom, practical guidance, and outcome. Let’s look at your results:
Your foundation: Peace / שלום
This card represents the energy or effort that brought you here. This energy has served you, but it’s no longer your focus.
And what a great place to start! Just as all colors merge to form white light, embracing every part of yourself reveals your inherent wholeness. Perhaps you started your Rosh Hashanah preparation from a place of inner balance and harmony. Lucky you!
Your next step: Pain / רעים
This card represents the energy you need to move forward.
Boy, that took a turn. Just like in life! Pain, whether physical or emotional, is a messenger. When met with awareness, it becomes a guide back to alignment. May you honor what your body or mind reveals to you during this time.
Lesson being learned: Confidence / נצח
This card shows your “Your Torah,” the wisdom that answers your question. Reflect on how to apply this insight to your current situation.
Confidence is trusting in your abilities and playing to your strengths. Netzach, often translated as “endurance” or “perseverance,” is the energy that sustains us through challenges. Try keeping a Strengths Journal: after every win - big or small - write down what you did and how it felt. Revisit this journal whenever you need to remind yourself of your strengths.
Advice from higher self: Resilience / סבלנות
In the real world, you don’t live at the top of the mountain. This card reveals your soul’s insight for how to bring the lesson’s wisdom into daily life.
Similarly to the Confidence card, resilience is staying present through discomfort. This requires patience, or savlanut. The Piaseczner Rebbe taught, “The deepest secret of Torah is your own.” Reflect on where in your life you feel challenged, whether it’s a tough conversation with a friend or learning a new skill. Leaning into the discomfort reveals strengths you never knew you had. More for your Strengths Journal!
Outcome: Ritual / מעשה
This card reveals the outcome of your current question—not your whole journey. When you reach this point, new questions will arise and new mountains await.
Okay, I actually gasped when I pulled this card. To end on Ritual for a Rosh Hashanah reading? Magic! This card is all about making ordinary moments extraordinary, from waking up in the morning to greeting someone with love. The word for sacred act, ma’aseh, comes from the kabbalistic realm of action, Asiyah, where spirit becomes real. Even the smallest action, done with intention, brings spirit into form. Pick one simple action this week and turn it into a moment of meaning.
Analysis
I don’t know how this landed for you, but this spread got me thinking about playing to my Jewish strengths rather than beating myself up for slip ups.
The cards tell me: You don’t have to reinvent yourself to have confidence; you already have what you need. But don’t just breeze past the discomfort. If you’re feeling stuck in a place of pain or challenge, explore it. Learn from it. That’s your Torah.
Then, turn those insights into action. Even if you don’t know what to do about the uncomfortable feelings, light candles on time. Tonight at 6:53pm ET if you’re in New York. Send someone a nice note. Or even better, call them.
And if this analysis wasn’t satisfying, Debbie gives professional readings with the cards over Zoom! She gave me one and it was clarifying. And not just because my foundation card was Clarity.
Shabbat Shalom and l’shana tova umetukah! Keep chasing the colors,
💦 If you like Jewish cards, check out this Drop:
Jewish Book Month: The Torah in the Tarot
A look at Stav Appel's fascinating theory that a 17th-century tarot deck from France was used by crypto Jews as a secret vessel for Jewish education!
In the past year, I’ve mostly refrained from eating shellfish and pork, but couldn’t help myself with the fresh seafood on my recent trip to Croatia. I mean, come on, travel treyf is delicious! I told myself I’d go back to kosher style when I returned home, but alas. And I especially try to eat kosher style on Shabbat to keep the day holy. The good news is the seafood I ate here in NYC was so bad that I am committing to no treyf again, for real this time.
Miranda, I’m so moved by this. What a gift to offer a Climb the Mountain reading to all of us! You made it so easy to see how each card—and the spread as a whole—can help us listen inward and bring Jewish wisdom into everyday life. Your reflections made the whole journey come alive. And that Ritual card at the end! Thank you for sharing Illuminated Paths so beautifully with your readers. L’shana tovah umetukah. 🧡
Can't help but wonder what's in the cards for me this coming year xoxo