Heart on the Table

We come back after a long break and get honest about what it takes to keep a passion project alive while raising kids and working. Miranda shares a raw second birth story and how postpartum keeps teaching her surrender, repair, and the value of a real village.  • taking a slower summer pace to avoid burnout and keep the podcast enjoyable  • shifting from big plans to one-track focus when schedulin...

The Wheel of Fortune tarot card looks chaotic at first glance, but the more we sit with it, the more it starts to feel like a map for real life. We’re taking a short break in April and coming back in May, and that timing couldn’t match the theme better: seasons change, cycles complete, and the wheel keeps turning whether we try to control it or not. So we slow down and read Major Arcana card 10 fo...

We talk about ChatGPT in motherhood and the quiet ways AI can pull us away from self-trust, real connection, and presence with our kids. We wrestle with perfectionism, parenting anxiety, and screen habits while trying to choose boundaries that match our values.  • outsourcing intuition to AI and what it does to self-trust  • Sam Altman’s parenting comments and why they feel dystopian  • milestone...

Birth rarely follows a script, and when the ground drops out—hemorrhage, magnesium fog, sky-high blood pressure, and a baby in the NICU—the moments that matter most are often quiet, stubborn, and human. We walk through that storm together: the nurse who trusted her gut when “gushes” were waved off, the choice to validate fear instead of minimizing it, and the push to wheel a shaky new mom to final...

Birth isn’t the ending; it’s the opening act of a new life you have to learn in real time. We sit down with postpartum and transition nurse Lindsay Coultas, RN, BSN, RNC-MNN to unpack what happens after the delivery room—where expectations meet reality, consent matters, and emotional support can be as vital as any monitor. Lindsay’s journey winds through pediatrics, psych, occupational health, &qu...

We speak frankly about collective exhaustion, unexpected weaning, and the pressure to perform through pregnancy and postpartum. The talk turns to meaning, hope, and the small acts that keep us going when the world feels heavy. • giving up breastfeeding sooner than planned and finding relief in formula • navigating reflux, diet changes, and goat’s milk trials • naming the mental load, sleep loss, a...

What if the kindest thing you did for your family was to slow down? We pressed pause on the weekly grind, and it opened a deeper conversation about postpartum: the messy middle between birth and “back to normal” that no one prepares you for. As therapists and moms, we compare notes on what actually helps—logistics that lower mental load, support that shows up, and simple habits that bring your ner...

We follow the Hermit card into a timely look at solitude, nervous system states, and the courage to slow down when overwhelm is loud. Polls, personal tools, and card imagery help us find the next small step toward peace without outsourcing our intuition. • listener poll insights on solitude, overwhelm, and rest • Deb Dana’s ladder framing overwhelm and shutdown • Hermit imagery as a lantern for th...

We map the real reasons holidays feel heavy—expectation, people-pleasing, money pressure, and old roles—and show how to choose connection without abandoning yourself. From elf anxiety to budget boundaries, we share scripts and steady practices that protect your peace. • acknowledging holiday stress and why it spikes • story poll insights on overwhelm and guilt • kids’ anxiety around elves and Sant...

We explore the Strength card as a practice of compassionate courage, moving from force to relationship with our inner lion. Through myth, psychology, and simple tools, we show how presence turns fear into a guide and courage into something renewable. • key symbols in the Strength card and what they signal • why strength grows slowly through cycles, not single acts • inner lion as instinct, passion...

We lay out a gentler path for the new year by trading resolutions for intentions and using vision boards as a steady, visual reminder. We unpack the brain science, the relief of externalizing mental load, and why community makes creative rituals feel safe and fun. • how a single word guides daily choices • what a vision board is and is not • imagery, emotion, and the brain’s RAS filter • easing th...

Embracing Life’s Duality in the Chariot's Journey Welcome back to 'Heart on the Table!' In today's episode, we dive into the seventh tarot card, 'The Chariot.' We're grateful for all your comments and feedback—it helps us shape our discussions. We also share results from some story polls we posted last week. Join us as we explore what this card represents: dualit...

We share a candid archival recording and explore how intuition, creativity, and family rituals shape the way we move through changing seasons. Joy and grief sit side by side as we talk about expanding families, navigating “last firsts,” and finding courage in the unknown. plans shift from guest episode to archival audio intuition that shifts the room and guides decisions creative energy in early m...

We follow the threads of synchronicity through 11:11, a father’s passing, a song that kept returning, and a family healing ritual that would not run dry. Jung’s idea of meaningful coincidence becomes a tool for choosing, grieving, and staying close to intuition without losing agency. • how 11:11 shaped career, trust, and direction • Jung’s framing of synchronicity as inner–outer dialogue • polls o...

Love isn’t a lightning strike—it’s a conscious choice made with a clear mind and a steady heart. In this episode, we take The Lovers card beyond soulmates and fairytales into the deeper work of autonomy, attachment, and inner integration. Using the Rider–Waite imagery—the red-winged angel, the sun that burns through illusion, the Trees of Knowledge and Life, and the volcanic mountain—we explore ho...

What if the keys to your spiritual life already sit in your hands? We open the Hierophant card and follow its symbols—triple crown, gray pillars, and crossed keys—into a conversation about authority, lineage, and the courage to trust your own timing. Instead of treating tradition as a rulebook, we ask how wisdom moves when it’s offered with consent, when the body says yes, and when we let awe guid...

A poem opens the door, but what follows is a grounded conversation about the witch wound —the old and ongoing ways women are punished for knowing, feeling, and taking up space. We trace the archetype of “the witch” back to her real history: European burnings, Salem’s trials, and the use of “spectral evidence” to criminalize intuition itself. From there, we talk about how that legacy still lives in...

The stone throne, the rams, the red robes over hidden armor—The Emperor looks intense at first glance, and that’s exactly why we wanted to explore him. This card embodies masculine energy, structure, and leadership that can harden into control or soften into safety. From Aries fire and mountain endurance to the quiet river running behind him, each symbol reflects a truth most of us live daily: we...

The Empress doesn’t whisper about abundance—she shows it in color, texture, and movement. We sit with this card and follow its symbols from the High Priestess’s still water to a river that finally moves, tracing how inner wisdom becomes outer creation. Twelve stars and nine pearls turn into a language of cycles, patience, and wholeness as we unpack how confidence grows when we trust what we know a...

A blue cloak, a moonlit crown, and a veil of pomegranates set the stage—but the real journey happens when we turn toward the quiet and actually listen. We sit with the High Priestess to map her symbols onto real life: the black-and-white pillars as a call to balance logic and intuition, the crescent-and-full moons as the triple goddess reminding us that every life moves through maiden, mother, and...

In this episode, we explore the tarot card The Fool and what it can teach us about healing from trauma and reconnecting to our inner wisdom. As therapists and tarot lovers, we unpack why stepping into the unknown can be an act of courage, how disconnecting from what no longer serves you can be a strength, and why trusting your own intuition is a powerful part of reclaiming your life. We talk about...

What if the most powerful magic isn't found in spells or potions, but in the simple act of coming back to yourself? This episode dives deep into The Magician card—the first numbered card in the tarot's major arcana—exploring how this archetypal energy teaches us about the alchemy of self-awareness and healing. Against a plain yellow background with no distractions, The Magician stands wi...

Welcome to Heart on the Table! We are Bri Leavitt, LCSW and Myranda Peterson, LCSW — two trauma therapists and moms who met in our social work program and reconnected over our passion for motherhood, healing, therapy, and tarot.  In this first episode, we’re pulling back the curtain to share how our connection (and love for meaningful conversation) sparked the idea for Heart on the Table . We talk...