Ego, Power, and Discernment on the Spiritual Path

There are moments when I feel called to talk about what the ego is — and what it isn’t.

The ego has been discussed endlessly, so chances are you already have some familiarity with it. But in this piece, I want to talk about the ego specifically in a spiritual and intuitive context, because this is where things can quietly become distorted if we aren’t paying attention.

Especially when it comes to intuitive messages and guidance, an important question comes up:

How do you know when something is intuition — and when it’s the ego trying to reassure you, inflate you, or make you feel like you’re “doing a good job”?

This can be especially confusing if you’ve been conditioned to be hard on yourself or to speak to yourself critically. In those cases, ego doesn’t always show up as arrogance — sometimes it shows up as reassurance, certainty, or validation.

In my experience, the inner critic can often be loud and obvious. But along the path of developing intuition, both the ego and the inner critic adapt. They learn the language of spirituality. They learn how to disguise themselves.

That’s why any reputable energy worker, tarot reader, or oracle reader will ask you to use discernment.

Not because intuition is fragile — but because interpretation always is.

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Discernment Is About Meaning, Not Just Accuracy

In my collective and general readings — the ones I share on Instagram and YouTube — I usually offer multiple ways to select a message: astrological placements, numbers, letters, or intuitive pulls.

I also encourage people to choose the first thing that comes to mind — not because it guarantees correctness, but because we often talk ourselves out of intuition while we’re still learning to trust it.

Even with all of that, a message may not fully apply to you.

That doesn’t mean the message is wrong or that your intuition was wrong.

Often, it means there was a specific piece you were meant to hear — not the entire narrative.

For example, a message might be framed around a father figure. You choose the pile, multiple selectors resonate — yet your relationship with your father is solid.

That message may not be literal. It may point instead to internal masculine energy — how you take action, create structure, or engage logic and authority within yourself.

At the same time, someone else watching that same message may need to hear it exactly as presented — because their father has passed, or unresolved trauma is still affecting their life.

Both experiences can coexist.

And recognizing that coexistence is part of learning how to listen without forcing conclusions.

That’s why tarot and oracle work has historically been more about meeting and understanding the self than predicting fixed outcomes.

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Where Ego Quietly Enters the Picture

This is where ego can begin to influence perception — not in obvious ways, but subtle ones.

When receiving readings, it can become easy to focus on whether the reader was “accurate,” whether the details were specific enough, or whether the message delivered something dramatic or validating.

In those moments, the ego may override the medicine of the message — not because it’s malicious, but because it’s seeking certainty, reassurance, or importance.

I can speak to this honestly because I’ve been there.

I’ve felt the pull of being right.
The intoxication of accessing information others didn’t offer freely.
The sense of power that comes before fully understanding its weight.

At first, it’s easy to justify — especially when accuracy reinforces belief. But over time, the question shifts from “Was I right?” to “How am I using what I know?”

Most of us encounter this moment before we understand the weight of what we’re carrying.

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Power, Integrity, and Timing

Not every insight is meant to be acted on immediately — or at all.

Sometimes receiving information is about awareness, not intervention.

Just because something is seen doesn’t mean it’s yours to reveal.
Just because you can say something doesn’t mean it will serve growth.

This isn’t about punishment or fear-based karma. Things aren’t that black and white.

It’s about balance and discernment — understanding when sharing supports growth, and when it might interfere with someone else’s learning process.

This applies beyond spiritual work.

It’s also important to name that once a message is shared, how someone moves forward with that information is ultimately their responsibility. At the same time, awareness of power dynamics matters — especially when someone is newer on the spiritual path.

Even unintentionally, a sense of authority can form when one person is perceived as “more aware,” more intuitive, or more experienced, and that can influence how messages are received and internalized.

This isn’t only true in spiritual settings. It applies in everyday relationships too — particularly when speaking about people who aren’t present to defend themselves or share their perspective.

Power doesn’t only come from spiritual insight. It also comes from influence, framing, and tone.

Being mindful of that doesn’t mean silencing truth — it means holding it with care, integrity, and responsibility.

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Discernment as a Living Practice

When your ego says, “This message is definitely for me,” despite little grounding, that’s an invitation to pause.

Ask yourself:

• What part of me wants this to be true?

• What does it offer emotionally?

• Is there an aligned action — internal or external — that supports this insight in reality?

The power of the mind matters.
So do other universal principles.

Readings can be supportive, healing, and meaningful — but without grounding, they can also become destabilizing.

Awareness is always the first step.

When you begin noticing how ego shows up — where it seeks certainty, where it resists discomfort, where it wants control — you gain choice.

And this is where the work stops being about “getting it right” and starts being about staying awake.

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Closing Reflection

The spiritual path isn’t about erasing the ego — and it isn’t only about responsibility.

It’s about growth, learning, balance, and integration.

Responsibility is one piece of that — alongside curiosity, humility, compassion, and self-awareness.

When ego is understood, it becomes a teacher instead of an obstacle.
When discernment is practiced, intuition becomes clearer.
And when power is held with integrity, the path opens rather than narrows.

That’s where the work deepens — not through certainty, but through conscious participation in our own becoming.

P.S. The sister piece to this will be out next Wednesday at 8 AM.

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