Note: if you are looking for the public Next Week in Magic posts, those are now at my totally free substack. My goal for the blog is to have more long-range planning and enchanted-life living content.
Happy New Year! I’m wishing us all a year full of beneficial connections and enchantment.
I’ve been doing project management professionally for a long time (about 15 years now). I’ve been practicing magic and witchcraft over twice as long, which is also how long I’ve been reading cards). That doesn’t make me the best witch or pm. It certainly doesn’t mean I know everything (in fact the more I learn, the more I realize I have yet to learn). But what it does mean is that I have deep knowledge.
Deep knowledge is stuff that you just know and that seems obvious to you, but you only know it because of all the time you’ve spent learning. It allows you to see the solutions to problems — in your area of expertise — without a lot of analysis.
There are these three things where I have deep knowledge, but don’t think I’m bragging… because there are a million more where I don’t.
For example, we’re not farmers. For all my talk about ‘farm chores,’ the truth is that calling us farmers is an insult to actual farmers. We have some animals that maybe your typical suburban household doesn’t (chickens and rabbits) and some plans / dreams that are maybe more ambitious than usual but we are NOT farmers.
But I have friends who are and they have deep knowledge about farming that I will never have.
We’ve been struggling with a logistics question about some of our animals. We want to do the right thing for them, but we weren’t seeing a solution that would work. After going round and round, I called my friend the multi-generational farmer.
Now, my friend doesn’t come from a rabbit farming background. His area of expertise is hogs. But what he has is deep knowledge about animal husbandry that I just don’t. I gave him a quick rundown of the situation and he was like “do this” and I was like OHHHH, yes! It solved the entire tangled knot of issues that we’ve been struggling with. It is also easier for us than the other options (both based on labor, logistics, and doing hard animal tasks as beginners). It was also best for the animals.
He knew that answer without batting an eye. He could see the best solution because he has deep knowledge. And I’m really fortunate to be able to call on him with this sort of question (thank you my friend!)
The interesting thing about deep knowledge is that, because you aren’t really conscious of it, you can take it for granted. This is less true of knowledge you use to make a living (because you have external feedback and a basis for comparison) but it’s still something to be aware of.
As you head into 2023, think about areas where you have deep knowledge and areas where you would like to have it. The first has value to the wider community and the second will help you focus on where your deep interest and caring lies. It takes time — both study AND experience time — to develop deep knowledge. You’re not going to do it in a month or even a year and you will have to choose where to focus.
And if you want to do something where you don’t have deep knowledge (yet?) you will need someone who does. A mentor who is hopefully also a friend. I’m truly fortunate to have connections who are farmers, musicians, crafters, artists, herbalists, healers, mediums, investors, Jungians, and so on). Some of these people are in my informal networks, some in more formal ones, but all have deep knowledge and are a true blessing. I also have people in my network who are magicians, witches, PMs, and card readers. Because nothing grows in a vacuum and, as I said before, I have SO much yet to learn! Thank you! I love you all!
So this year consider too your community. What do you bring and what do they bring, to make each other stronger and the community stronger. Trust me, you’re going to want that in the coming year and beyond. It’s true wealth, strength, and happiness.
Again, happy new year and here’s to our collective deep knowledge!
