Patience is a Virtue: A Second Look at a Previous Reading

Back in February 2024, I did a Lenormand reading on Beyonce’s then-upcoming album Cowboy Carter. Actually, I read both Lenormand and tarot cards for the album. It was a practice reading for me because I don’t use Lenormand as often as I use tarot, and I don’t typically use spreads. I decided to try something fairly lighthearted and use a star spread to look into the energy surrounding Cowboy Carter and its possible reception. 

The Previous Reading

Based on the cards, I concluded that the album would not be Beyonce’s biggest success. I said that it would do well, but maybe not all that great by Beyonce standards. I said that her fanbase, the Beyhive, would support her no matter what. The album would probably receive awards, but it wouldn’t be respected. 

You can read the entire Lenormand reading I did for this album and see the cards here.

So, what actually happened? There was so much discourse about the album before it was even released. Beyonce had released two singles, and the general public either loved or hated them. It seemed like the people who really hated them were extra loud about their disdain for the tracks while her supporters double-downed and streamed until the cows came home. Also, her foray into country music was a hot topic that spawned many video essays and discussion pieces. When all was said and done, the first couple of weeks after Cowboy Carter’s release seemed to totally prove my reading wrong. 

The album broke streaming records. It debuted at number one on the charts. Her album shined a light on many black country artists who might not have gotten as much recognition before. I’d say the first four weeks were amazing for the album. However, something caught my eye today that made me think about the reading I did again. 

I happened across a video on YouTube of someone talking about Cowboy Carter’s decline on the charts. This video was made based on a tweet from an account that claims to follow charts and data about music artists. The tweet said that Cowboy Carter experienced the worst decline in streams for any 2024 album after losing 93% of its streams in only 53 days since its debut. Her daily streams across her catalog are gradually declining. Is there a reason for that? I’m sure there are a few. That’s not what I’m here to discuss, though. 

Here’s a link to her chart stats: https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/12465/beyonce/  

Here’s a more recently-published article from Forbes about Cowboy Carter’s sales: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/06/13/beyoncs-cowboy-carter-is-up-nearly-100-in-sales/

My Thoughts on Cowboy Carter

I enjoyed Cowboy Carter. I listened to it from start to finish two or three times, and I appreciated the effort she put into it. I’m a casual fan of country and I love the blues. I’m not a member of the Beyhive, but I do appreciate Beyonce’s talent. Renaissance is the first album of hers that I’ve ever listened to from start to finish. That album stays on heavy rotation in my house. Having said that, if I never heard another track from Cowboy Carter again, I would not be upset. Now that I’ve said all of that, I will say that I really didn’t care one way or another whether my reading would be wrong or not. This leads me to the point of this diatribe. 

The Moral of the Story

As a spiritual person, I know that patience is one of the greatest virtues one can have. In the past, people have used the word patient to describe me because of situations where I may have sat quietly or didn’t complain when I had to wait a long time or when somebody was being a jerk to me. Patience may have been a good word to describe me in those situations, but in almost every other aspect in my life, anxiety kicks my ass and I want things to happen right away.  

Part of the art of divination is patience. This is especially true when the only thing you can do is watch. The first couple of weeks after Cowboy Carter’s release, the internet was buzzing with love and hate for the album and the artist. Since the buzz has died down, fewer think pieces are being created about it, and the general public has moved on to other hot topics.  

Maybe it is the lack of promotion, or maybe it is that the majority of people who really ride for Beyonce have purchased her album, so they are no longer streaming it. Some people also speculate that all of the controversy surrounding Sean “Diddy” Combs may be indirectly hurting her because her husband, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, was fairly close friends with Diddy. Either way, it seems (based on this one tweet and a glimpse at the charts because I haven’t done any real research on this myself) that this album is not going to be her best long-term-performing one. I don’t know if I can picture her overall fanbase 10 years from now saying that they keep Cowboy Carter on repeat the same way I hear them currently talk about Lemonade, which has been out for 7-8 years at this point, or Dangerously In Love, which came out approximately two decades ago. Based on a very quick glimpse at her albums’ chart history, Cowboy Carter has spent less time in the top 10 than her other major albums.  

So, here I was, ready to throw in the towel and say that my interpretation of the cards was wrong when, in reality, I should’ve waited just a little while longer. Not that this is a victory for me. Just saying that if you’re going to work with the spirits in any capacity, patience is a must.