Is Your First Thought Always the Voice of Intuition?

One piece of questionable wisdom that is often shared in psychic development circles and tarot study groups is this.

When you are seeking psychic truth, your intuition is always the first thought that comes to you. Trust that first thought to be true.

I want to unpack this nugget.

Let me start by saying that, when dealing with psychic and intuitive work, divination, and other spiritual practices, the word ‘always’ runs up my spine like a razor. There are so few ‘always’ and ‘never’ situations in real life, and even fewer in the liminal world of psychic truth. When a practitioner or teacher of psychic arts uses the word ‘always’, it might be good to question the veracity of those teachings.

Any good diviner or psychic truth-seeker knows that each person is different, and each scenario is unique. While there are certainly archetypes, universal experiences, and shared commonalities, psychic work is not about putting people and situations into broad categories.

The same is true as we work to discover and expand our psychic awareness and intuitive gifts.

We do sometimes have common experiences. Yet, we can all have different ways into truth.

In doing professional tarot reading, I often need to decide what a particular card might mean in the context of the spread in which it appears. Very often, my first thought is the farthest from the truth. It might take me a minute to try out different theories in my brain to see which one feels like truth, before I find the statement I want to make to my client.

If I were to trust my first thought as truth, each and every time, I would be known far and wide as a lousy psychic. This is because my process works best when I consider different possibilities and angles. I wait for the feeling that I have come to identify as my intuitive confirmation.

For another person, it may be that their first thought really is usually the one that is correct.

If you are a teacher or student of intuitive arts, remember this most important point.

We all hear and feel truth differently.

The intuitive process is a very important part of meaningful tarot reading, and perhaps the hardest to teach. We teachers must encourage our students to discover what works for them, and what is true for them. We must help them discover and trust their individual processes.

It is also true that we may hear our intuition in a certain way today, and in a different way tomorrow. A good reader knows that Spirit speaks the way Spirit will, and that way can change from day to day.

This means that ‘always’ is not a thing even in the practice of an individual.

How, then, can we know when we have arrived at truth? Sometimes we just feel it. Sometimes we will not know we have spoken truth until someone confirms it for us. Sometimes we use other tools and methods to corroborate or question our findings. Different readings go different ways. We trust our intuition to guide us as to the questions we ask, the techniques we use, and every aspect of the way we conduct each reading. We practice discovering what the truth feels like. We learn, over time, by observing the actual outcomes of the readings we have performed, how we are able to find and deliver truth.

That is why a good reader, whether casual or professional, will nurture a wide skillset, and be open to new experiences in every reading.

We all must learn, as individuals, our unique path to truth.

If the first thought is not intuition, what might be the source of the first thought?

The first thought may be borne of anxiety, fear, or desire. The first thought might be an assumption based on past experiences. The first thought might be borne of denial. The first thought might be the most obvious or logical conclusion. The first thought might be the natural conclusion based on the individual’s personal belief system.

The reader might not have the experience to be able to imagine what the actual truth is without careful consideration and further exploration.

At each moment in the psychic process, all things are possible. It is the job of the reader to sort through the possibilities to find the probabilities and the truths that are available to them.

Holiday Open House 2020

Almost every year for as long as I have been a professional tarot reader, I have held a Holiday Open House, right before Christmas. This is a tradition that has evolved over time, and one I have come to cherish.

In typical years, the Holiday Open House is a time for our community to come together in service in one another, and in service to those in need. I ask my students and friends to come give readings, reiki, and other services for free in a psychic fair format.

We invite the public to come experience these services in exchange for their donations of non-perishable food items, which we give to the local food bank.

Last year we had one reader fly in from Pennsylvania in order to participate, and another drove four hours to join us from the Tampa area.

Over the years I have held these events in four different Connecticut towns, two different towns in Pennsylvania, and three different towns in Florida.

Last year we held the event in my new Palm City office, and it was a huge success. Seasoned readers shared their gifts and new readers got valuable practice. We all made new friends. We gathered more than 600 pounds of food for the Treasure Coast Food Bank.

This year, COVID has made the need at food banks all over the world is greater than ever before. And, of course, COVID has made it impossible for people to hold traditional food drives.

I am sad to skip the Holiday Open House this year, but here is what I propose we do instead. Let’s all, each of us in our own way, make it a point to do what we can for one another. If this year has taught us anything, it is how interconnected we truly are.

If you are able to donate money to your local food bank, you will make a difference for families in need. If money is tight this year, there is so much else you can do to help. Shovel a neighbor’s driveway, have a conversation with someone who is lonely or afraid, share your gifts and talents with those around you.

I am hopeful that in December 2021 I will be able to hold the Holiday Open House as usual. This year, I can’t have an Open House, but I can still have an open heart. Please join me.

Virus isn’t the only thing that spreads easily. Love, kindness, and generosity are equally contagious.

Oracle Cards for Psychic Development

This topic is broad enough, and important enough, to fill a book. Yet, this will be simply a short blog post meant to get you thinking, and to get you using your oracle cards in a deeper and more profound way.

First, let me define what I mean by ‘oracle cards’ and which type of oracle cards I am specifically recommending for this process.

Technically, all cards of cartomancy, tarot, Lenormand, Kipper, etc., are oracle cards. All psychic tools are, by definition, oracles. Yet, in the cartomancy community we have begun using the word ‘oracle’ to describe cards designed for cartomancy that are their own unique system, and not tarot, Lenormand or Kipper.

I will use the term ‘oracle’ in this context for the remainder of this post.

We could loosely divide most oracle decks into two categories. One category would be oracle decks designed for a specific purpose. For example, I have oracle decks designed to do past life readings. I have oracle decks designed to communicate with aliens from other planets.

The second category would be oracle decks that are created for more nonspecific purposes, and often used simply for healing, introspection and general divination. It is that second category of deck I would like to address here.

Most of these types of oracle decks, regardless of their title, artist, or author, have some things in common. Typically, each card is a wonderful and inspiring work of art worthy of contemplation. Each card may have a thought-provoking name, and may include a few words for affirmation, explanation and introspection.

These decks usually include booklets which give a more detailed explanation of each card. Most professionals who work with these sorts of decks will memorize the cards and their booklet explanations., As with all cartomancy decks, the reader will discover the ways the cards speak in readings that go beyond what the booklet explains. Each serious oracle deck reader will develop their own understanding of their tool, and their own methods for working with their tool.

Many of us who own oracle decks, however, don’t do that kind of study with them. In fact, one of the things many of us love about oracle decks is that, unlike systems like tarot, Kipper, and Lenormand, oracle decks don’t require serious study and memorization for effective use.

Yet, a problem arises. Very often, when we read oracle cards, we simply read the word or words on the card, and don’t bother to interpret them in the context of the question, the situation, or the individual. That oracle cards, at first glance, are simple and easy to read discourages us from going deeper with them. Yet, it is in that deeper exploration that real wisdom is found, and that psychic awareness is awakened.

For example, I was recently working with a student. I asked her to draw three oracle cards from her deck to answer a specific question and interpret them. The deck she was using had single keywords on each card. The three cards she pulled were ‘New Beginnings’, ‘Balance’, and ‘Emerging’.

She quickly looked at the cards and said, “Yes, this is exactly what we have been talking about, and what I know I need to do. Yawn”.

I was struck by how clearly her reaction to the cards summed up the way many people treat their oracle card readings. It was a wonderful opportunity to show her how to truly process the cards and find deeper personal wisdom in them, and deeper psychic connection as a result.

If you, like my student, find yourself glossing over oracle cards rather than doing the deep dive, here are some things to try.

First, remember that the brow chakra, or third eye, is the reason that cartomancy is so effective. The third eye is responsible for our eyesight, our imagination, and our psychic vision. When we view an image in a cartomancy deck, we use our eyesight, which triggers our imagination, which engages our psychic vision.

When you contemplate an oracle card, or a tarot card, consider this process and take the time to allow this to happen.

When you pull your oracle card, spend time looking at the image with a soft gaze. Allow your imagination to engage your psychic vision to scry into the image, and see what speaks to you, and what comes to you in thoughts and sensations. Consider how what you see and what you feel during this process might supply answers and information.

Then, look at the word or words on the card. How does what is written on the cards apply to the question, or the individual, specifically? How does that connect with what you have experienced in the picture?

If you have pulled more than one card, how do the cards work together? Do they tell a story? Do they offer options?

A huge part of effective divination is to take your time. As you take your time, look deeply, and ask yourself questions about what you are seeing, reading, thinking and experiencing.

This is the process of divination with any tool of random token divination. As we work this process, we naturally tune in to our own psychic awareness.

The truth of psychic development is that it works like a muscle. The more we use it, the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets. I think we often ignore the power our oracle cards have to help us get this exercise.

A next step is to logically consider how what you have experienced with your card or cards relates to your question, your situation, or your querent. Remember that logically consideration is also a huge part of divination. There is a place where logic and psychic insight meet and work together. That place can often be over a deck of cards.

What to do with Your New Crystal Wand

A friend texted me a picture of her recent purchase. It was a really impressive magic wand, made of crystal, wrapped in copper with a piece of malachite, with feathers on one end and the crystal point on the other.

She confessed that she had spent an astronomical amount of money on this acquisition at her local new age shop after lusting after it on the shop’s shelf for more than a year.

She knew it was for her, and she knew she had to take it home, no matter the price.

The problem was, once she got it home, she had not a single idea what to use it for, or what to do with it.

I was introduced to magic wands when I first discovered the New Age. In the 1980s I mined crystals in Arkansas and fashioned some of them into wands. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time.

A crystal shop keeper wanted to buy some of my crystals but not any of my wands. He shared with me the same concern that my friend, the new crystal wand owner, seems to have.

“No one can tell me what a wand with a crystal, or made of a crystal, actually does,” he said to me. “Does the wand amplify the crystal, or direct the energy of the crystal? People are making beautiful wands, but we have no idea what to do with them.”

Back then we didn’t have all the wisdom in the world at our fingertips and in our pockets.

Most of us associate magic wands with Disney, or with Harry Potter, or Hitachi. A simple Google search brought up some amazing resources for the history of magic wands, as well as their uses.

As a tarot person, I associate magic wands with the suit of Wands in the Minor Arcana of tarot. In tarot, the suit of Wands is most often associated with the element of Fire. You can also find a few decks that associate Wands with the element of Air instead.

In elemental magic and Wiccan circles, the wand is used as a tool to summon and banish either the element of Air or Fire at the beginning and end of ceremony.

Crystal wands may be made of all crystal with metal, stone, or feathers attached, as is my friend’s. They may simply be a piece of crystal or stone, either intentional fashioned or naturally occurring. I have a natural selenite wand which I absolutely love. Some crystal wands have a crystal point affixed to a metal or wooden rod.

Magic wands do not always incorporate crystals or stones. Some are fashioned of wood or metal. I have a natural wood wand which was given to me by a friend. It still has its bark; the rough ends have been sanded down.

I once had a teacher tell me that, in the absence of a wand, you can use the index finger of your right hand to summon, focus and direct energy.

Wands like the one my friend has purchased may include intentionally selected wood, stones, and metals that can be used for specific purposes. For example, the malachite on her wand  makes it very good for working with the heart chakra. If one were making a wand for a specific purpose, one might carefully choose the type of wood, stone, metals and feathers. Yet, I think it is fair to say that, with proper intention, one could use any wand for any number of purposes. I even know serious young magicians who have purchased Harry Potter wands and consecrated them for magical uses.

Whether handmade, found in nature, or purchased, I have found many uses for wands in my own practice. The beautiful object d’art that my friend just had to have should be more than an expensive tchotchke on her coffee table.

Here are some ways I commonly use wands as a magical tool. There are countless others which you can find in books and on the internet.

First, as mentioned earlier, I use wands to summon the element of Fire or Air. Typically, I use my wood wand for Fire and my selenite wand for Air. I do this when creating a formal circle for healing or meditation. I also do it if I need a quick burst of energy, inspiration or clarity.

For example, if I need to have a difficult conversation, I may take my selenite wand and point it to my throat chakra and breathe with it for a moment, focusing on bringing energy to clear and activate my throat for positive and effective communication.

If I need to shake off feeling tired or drained, I might take my wood wand and point it at my solar plexus, breathing with it to ‘turn up the fire’ in my internal furnace.

We can use wands to clear and activate all the chakras. Sometimes when doing chakra healing, I feel inclined to move the wand over each chakra in a tight circle as a way of clearly, healing and activating. To me it feels as though I am stirring up the energy.

I also use wands as part of energetic cleansing and blessing. I will wave a wand, with focus and intention, over a new tarot deck as part of the dedication process. I will walk with a wand through my home, tracing the windows, doors, and walls, with a focus on cleansing and blessing.

When I work with a wand, I first ground myself to the earth and consciously raise my own energy. Then I send that energy down my arm and into the wand. I feel that the wand amplifies and focuses the energy I have raised. I can place a specific intention into that energy and use the wand to send the energy to its destiny.

When I first acquire a wand, I do a simple ceremony to bless it and consecrate it for my use. This usually includes anointing it with oil and speaking a dedication.

When I hold a wand, very often I feel like it is guiding me in how I should use it.

If this all sounds like a bunch of New Age mumbo-jumbo, well, maybe it is. Yet, consider that the use of magic wands predates the birth of Christ, and is evidenced in many early magical cultures around the world.

When You Should Question Your Intuition

Always trust your intuition. Your intuition is always correct. Your intuition will never fail you. Your heart always knows the truth. A woman’s intuition is never wrong.

These are the catchphrases we hear everywhere, from tarot study groups to psychic development classes to ladies’ luncheons.

There is a reason we hear, and say, these things so often. The intuition is a powerful tool for knowing truth. I think we speak more often of “women’s intuition” than of the power of men to discern truth. Yet, I don’t believe intuition is gender-based. I believe we all have the ability to hear the truth that resides within us, and the truth that whispers to guide us.

Most of us have personal stories about times we regret not listening to that little voice. We also have stories about the times we are glad we listened to that voice, against all reason.

You know the voice of which I speak. It’s the voice that told you not to believe your boyfriend’s lies. It’s the voice that told you to check on your friend, only to discover that you arrived in the nick of time to save the day.

Why do I advocate questioning your intuition?

The reason is simple.

That little voice of intuition is hard to distinguish from other internal chatter. It is easy to mistake the voice of desire for the voice of intuition. It is just as easy to mistake the voice of fear for the voice of your inner truth.

Intuition is a powerful tool. It turns a mediocre tarot reading into a profound spiritual experience. It guides us as we make life-changes choices.

Yet, how many times have we made damaging decisions in life because we truly believed we had some spiritual insight guiding us?

If you intuitively feel you should take a different route home from work, you might as well do it. You may discover you avoided a traffic jam.

If your intuition tells you to call your friend, by all means, do. You may discover your timing is on point, and your friend needed to hear from you.

Those are small decisions, and not likely to impact your life if you were wrong.

When should you question your intuition?

You should question your intuition when you feel it is guiding a major decision, especially a decision regarding a relationship.

You should question your intuition when your intuition confirms a fear, a desire, or your particular point of view.

How should you question your intuition?

Take a step back. Try to release the fear, the desire, or the point of view. Remember that anything that is true can stand up to questioning.

Make sure that you aren’t confusing intuition with anxiety. Make sure that you aren’t using intuition to justify an unhealthy desire. Make sure you aren’t using intuition to support a point of view.

Very often, we won’t know whether our intuition was correct until a great deal of time has passed. If the feeling you identify as intuition is causing you to do something that isn’t good for you, consider that it might not be intuition you are experiencing.

The more we question truth, the more solid our truth that remains will be.

Fire Meditation to Transform Anger to Motivation

Fire Meditation to Transform Anger to Motivation

Anger is something we all deal with, on a personal level and on a societal level. Everyone struggles with the anger that comes from feelings of powerlessness, unhappiness and injustice.

Anger can be a necessary and helpful motivator. A slow-burning anger is what inspires and maintains the fight for social justice. Anger can help us remove ourselves from unhealthy situations. Anger can motivate us to do better and rise higher in life.

Yet, anger can also be debilitating. Anger turned inward becomes depression. Misplaced anger can hurt our ability to have healthy relationships. Even justifiable anger can cause us to be victims in life, rather than survivors.

Certain mental health diagnoses have anger as part of their symptoms. For many people, it is imperative that, in order to be healthy and happy, they learn to manage their anger.

Sometimes anger management isn’t effective or enough. Spiritually, there is a way to transmute our anger into a more helpful energy.

In elemental studies anger is related to the element of Fire. In tarot, that would be the suit of Wands, as well as a large group of Major Arcana cards (Emperor, Strength, Wheel of Fortune, Temperance, Tower, Sun, Judgment). Fire is also related to our creativity, our passions, our motivation, our sexuality, our spirituality and our humor. This gives us an important tool in learning to turn the energy of our anger into something more useful and helpful.

When we ignore our anger, it can fester. When we express our anger inappropriately, we can damage relationships. When we transmute our anger, we can use the power of that vibrant energy in a useful way.

Anger easily transmutes into motivation. We can also transform anger into creativity, or into pursuing any healthy interest about which we are passionate.

Like all four of the classic elements of life, Fire is an energy we can work with in a meditative state. We can identify the Fire within us. When we feel that Fire as anger, that energy can feel uncomfortable. We can acknowledge the Fire and work to transform it into something that feels more helpful. Then, we can often experience a sense of healing from the anger, as well as greater motivation toward something that helps us in life.

Certainly, traditional methods such as psychotherapy are also helpful, and sometimes necessary, in healing our anger. Yet, working with the Fire energy can speed our healing, and inspire us to do great things.

If you want to try a Fire meditation to transmute anger, first consider what you want to direct your Fire energy toward. Would you like to be more creative? If so, what sort of creative activities would you like to pursue? The more specific you can be, the better.

If you prefer, you can direct your energies toward athletic motivation, career advancement or spiritual development. All of these pursuits are related to and inspired by the element of Fire.

Once you have a clear idea of where you want to focus your energy and attention, spend a moment visualizing what your life will look like, and feel like, when you are creating that achievement in your life. The more you can hold that vision in your mind and see it and feel it in the present tense, the more successful you will be with this exercise.

Form a specific picture and feeling in your mind in vivid detail. Picture yourself writing a book, or running a marathon, starting a business or accepting a promotion. Once you have that image, and that feeling, you are ready to begin your meditation.

It will be helpful to have a lit candle, or the Ace of Wands from your tarot deck, or both. You will use the candle, and/or the card, to help you connect to the Fire within you, as you redirect it, moving it from anger to the more constructive motivation you have chosen.

Begin your meditation by focusing on your breath. Breath into the root chakra at the base of your spine and ground yourself to the earth.

With your breath, bring your energy up your spine, stopping at the third chakra, the solar plexus, just below the ribcage. The third chakra is the Fire chakra, and it is the center of your will and self-determination.

Breath into this area as you gaze upon your candle, and/or your Ace of Wands.  See your third chakra as your body’s furnace. As your breath, feel that your breath is like a set of bellows, stoking the flames in your inner furnace.

Feel the Fire within you building, rising up and becoming hotter. Reflect for a moment on the things that have made you angry. Understand your right to your anger, and then affirm your desire to turn that anger into something more productive.

Bring your attention to the image and feeling you have created as your goal. As you breathe, see your furnace as the energy that supports that goal. As your raise the flames of your furnace, you fuel that goal.

You may finish your meditation when you feel ready. Simply return your breathing to normal and once again feel yourself grounded to earth.

You can return to this image, and to the action of stoking your inner furnace to fuel your goals, whenever you feel anger, or lack of motivation. Over time, you will find that you experience less anger, and more motivation toward achieving your goals.

My Favorite Lesser-Known Dystopian Novels

An upside of social distancing is that we have time to read.
Of course, most bookstores and libraries are closed right now. To me, that in
and of itself is a horror story!

Yet, even if you don’t own a Kindle, you can download a
Kindle app for free. Many libraries are making it easy to borrow digital books
during the crisis. Amazon is still just a click away and ready to deliver books
for your Kindle app, or, if you prefer, on Audible.

Recent events, including but not limited to the global
pandemic, have sparked much speculation of our future, and the chilling tales
fiction writers have told about what could lie ahead.

I’ve always loved dystopian novels, although I only learned
the word ‘dystopian’ in the past few years. I always called the genre ‘Future
Doom and Gloom.’ I believe I stole that term from one of my favorite roommates,
back in the day. She used the term to describe movies like Mad Max and The
Terminator.

We are all familiar with new instant classics like The
Hunger Games trilogy, as well as older, well-loved classics like Brave
New World, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984.

The 1980s brought us some great dystopian fiction written by
women. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, has become more famous
than ever because of the terrifying and poignant Hulu series. There was another
great lesser-known feminist dystopian novel that emerged from the 1980s. Have
you read The Gate to Women’s Country, by Sheri S. Tepper? This
post-apocalyptic tome supposes a matriarchy rising out of a nuclear war, and a
culture that separates men from women in an effort to curb violent tendencies.

Some of my favorite dystopian novels could also be
considered feminist novels, like The Handmaid’s Tale and the Gate to
Women’s Country. I recently discovered that one of my most formative
feminist Pagan writers, Starhawk, is also a novelist.

Her dystopian stories, The Fifth Sacred Thing, its
sequel, ‘City of Refuge’, and prequel, ‘Walking to Mercury’
create a terrifyingly believable future world. Yet, they are uplifting and
hopeful, because they also share a vision of the sustainable world we could
still create.

This is equally true for one of my favorite books ever, Woman
on the Edge of Time, by author Marge Piercy. Published in 1976, this story
features a radical future vision for sustainability and equality, while
blatantly pointing out the obvious errors of our own time, known in this future
as “The Age of Greed and Waste”.

Almost twenty years later, Marge Piercy wrote a less hopeful but highly entertaining dystopian novel about a love affair between an android and a human woman, set in a future where pollution and climate change have ravaged the land, and corporations have become the government. She, He and
It was published in 1991, and has been described as a ‘cypberpunk novel’.

We all remember Ira Levin as the brilliant author of Rosemary’s
Baby. In my opinion, that well-loved story pales in comparison to Levin’s
dystopian novel, This Perfect Day, published in 1970.

The future world of This Perfect Day has no war and
no crime. Even the weather is regulated, all thanks to UniComp, a giant
computer which controls all aspects of life.

In these difficult times, dystopian fiction can comfort us
as we realize that, by comparison, things in real life aren’t all that bad yet.
Dystopian fiction can scare us with the similarities we see to life as we
currently know it. And, because most dystopian tales are stories of resistance
and survival, these views of our imagined future can serve to give us hope in
difficult times.

So You Want to Be an Online Tarot Reader

Here’s what you need to know.

More and more people are discovering tarot, and tarot readings. There has perhaps never been a better time to share your tarot reading skills with the world.

Yet, every day I hear from people who are frustrated in their attempts to build an online tarot reading business. And, I hear from others who are doing it successfully.

What are some of the differences? What do you need to know  and  to do to be one of the successful ones?

First, you have to think about what success means to you. Making some extra money every week on Fiverr is not the same as a full-time income. It’s not even the same thing as building a decent side job.

So, are you building a career, a side-hustle, or a hobby that buys your decks, books and classes?

If you want to build a career, you will have an easier time if you have a local presence as well. If it just isn’t possible for you to do in-person readings, your path to success is possible, but will take some serious skill, patience and effort.

The next question you need to tackle is about your actual skills. How do you deliver your best readings? How do you most enjoy working? Do you like to do readings by email or text? Do you prefer delivered videos? Or, do you like to meet with your clients on screen or phone?

If you haven’t done enough readings to know the answer to this question, you aren’t ready to go pro.

The best way to get ready to go pro is to give a lot of readings to strangers online, trying a variety of methods. Many social media tarot groups offer free-reading exchanges, where you can get practice and feedback. The problem is that, in many cases, I hear a lot of complaints that folks give the reading and don’t receive the feedback.

The thing is, if that happens to you, lack of feedback IS your feedback. Clearly, you didn’t excite your client enough to make them feel compelled to say something positive. You will learn that, when you give a great reading, people can’t wait to give you their feedback.

Once you have worked with a number of strangers and gotten great feedback from them, you will be ready to venture into the world of pro online reading.

The next step is to choose your platforms. Will you use a website and social media to arrange clients on Skype, Facetime or email? Will you work for an online psychic service?

Whatever you choose, the way to gain clients is to gain visibility. The way to do that is to be very present, and to provide a lot of free content. Write blogs, make videos and advertise.

Remember, too, that there are many new sorts of platforms being developed. Recently I discovered Instantgo and thought that if I needed a new venue, this would be a good one to try.

Whatever avenue you choose, remember to be present, provide content and spend money on advertising.

As with all business, it takes more than talent to be successful. It takes tenacity, consistency, money and patience. Success comes to those who are willing to put energy into building their practice.

A Conversation with Tarot about 2020

I used to make psychic predictions for each new year. When I was a radio psychic, local newspapers would call me every December to get some insight into what might happen over the next twelve months. When I started keeping blogs, I published predictions for each new year. For the past few years, though, I haven’t felt comfortable making predictions for the nation, or for the planet.

This year, instead of predictions, I am publishing a conversation I had with tarot about our grievously divided nation and planet.

I believe that, despite our differences of opinion and experience, we all feel the same pain, we all love the important people in our lives, we all have the same needs and we are all a part of the same human family.

I am disturbed by Machiavellian behaviors that have become the norm, as well as the fierce tribalism that presents leaders as gods and devils, rather than simply as people.

I wanted to ask tarot about these things that seem to both cause and perpetuate our divisions, and about what we need to do to bring peace, cooperation, and a way forward to our nation, and to our world.

When we do tarot readings about community and world events it is very hard to refrain from interpreting them in the context of our own world view, making it much like a mirror reflecting a mirror. To step outside of ones’ opinions and emotions is a practice to which every good tarot reader aspires.

This is true in all tarot readings, but especially interesting in a reading for the world at large. Very often, we find common themes that everyone might agree on, but for very different reasons.

I asked the cards three questions and pulled three cards for each answer. Here is what happened.

Question 1

What is the true source of the bitter division we feel in our country, and around the world?

Cards pulled: Four of Pentacles reversed, Death reversed, the World reversed.

Answer: It’s really all about fear. We fear change. We fear that change won’t happen quickly enough. We worry that we won’t have enough resources. We fear for the planet. We fear the people on the planet.

Yet, that all three cards are reversed offers hope for change over time.

Question 2

What can be done to heal this bitter divide?

Cards pulled: Hermit reversed, Queen of Cups, Magician reversed.

Answer: Communication using both logic and love is the answer. We must talk with people who think and feel differently than we do. We must open our minds. We must learn more and teach our children better. We must let intelligence, rather than ignorance, guide us. We must not let technology be used against us. We must love more than we fear.

Question 3

Will we still be so divided by the end of 2020?

Cards pulled: Hierophant reversed, The Fool, Wheel of Fortune Reversed

Answer: Change is coming. By the end of 2020 there will be more concern for those who are less fortunate, but that may be because more people will be facing misfortune. There will be less respect for authority, religion and government. There will be more youth voices heard, and a new energy will replace the energy of division.

Let me add some overall comments on these nine cards. Given the subject matter, it is not surprising (yet still profound) that many of these cards are Major Arcana; seven out of nine! To me this suggests the hand of a Higher Power moving in all of this. Yet, the Majors also point out the importance of our own growth and evolution.

I resist the assertion of some readers that Major Arcana cards represent things that can’t be changed. I believe the Majors tell us to pay attention, and that what we are seeing is of great importance. I believe the Majors tell us that we are facing universal spiritual lessons. These cards, in answer to my questions, give me a sense of peace and hope. It feels like these are things we have to figure out. That is the part of this that indeed feels like destiny. It’s not that we are destined to deal with these issues forever. It’s that it is time for us to confront these issues, and to grow.

That there are so many reversals is interesting as well, also seven out of nine. This tells me that everything is changeable. We all see different sides of things. We all have different priorities.

That both Majors and reversals are seven out of nine makes me think we are nearing a completion and a shift. Things will change. The energy we are confronting now will be completed, and a new energy will take hold. What that means in human terms remains to be seen.

When so few cards are Minors, we need to explore the Minors as well. The two Minors are the Four of Pentacles and the Queen of Cups.

Traditionally, the Four of Pentacles can be about greed and worry regarding resources. When reversed, that energy can either be strengthened or lessened. It’s the perfect card to discuss everything from environmentalism to welfare to immigration. Basically, everything we are dealing with right now is the produce of fear that we won’t have what we need and want.

The Queen of Cups offers the one clear hard thing we must all do in these troubled times.

We must nurture love.

Now, as always, fear is the opposite of love, and only love can conquer fear.

And, as always, tarot speaks the most profound truths about issues large and small.

Happy New Year, all.

Are Synchronicities Always Significant?

Are Synchronicities Always Significant?

A dictionary definition for the word ‘synchronicity’ is “the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection”. By comparison, the same dictionary defines ‘coincidence’ as “a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection”.

We metaphysicians like to say that there are no coincidences. Many of us believe that any coincidence is truly a synchronicity, and every synchronicity is meaningful.

Usually synchronicities have to do with names, numbers, symbols, words and images that we repeatedly see around us and connect to a specific concern.

We use synchronicities as a way of confirming that the universe is supportive of our path. We interpret synchronicities as signs that our angels are with us.

I think that the universe does indeed often communicate with us using synchronicities as a way of getting our attention and affirming our choices. The universe communicates in symbols, words, numbers and images. That’s why tools like tarot and runes are so powerful, and why magical symbols and chants so effective.

Yet, very often people will over-spiritualize coincidences in order to support their own unhealthy behaviors and wishful thinking. For example, people in obviously damaging relationships will use the fact that they drove past a street bearing the same name as their partner to confirm that the universe is supportive of their questionable relationship.

Truly, there are mundane reasons that we see repetitive things. We can’t drive any distance without seeing multiple stop signs. Should we always take that to mean that the universe is advising us to stop something?

I think there are times that something as mundane as a stop sign could deliver a spiritual message if we were already contemplating a change and that familiar image suddenly stuck out to us in a profound way. Yet, if the message we felt we were receiving was one that we were hoping for, and if the promise of that message was highly unlikely, we would be smart to think more logically about our concerns.

The question becomes, how do we discern when synchronicities are significant and when we are using them to justify our own negative patterns and behaviors?

The answer, as I see it, is to recognize that spirituality is not the same thing as superstition. Honoring a higher power, developing our intuition, and attuning ourselves to spiritual forces cannot and should not replace common sense.

I love the old expression, “God helps those who help themselves”. This phrase dates back to ancient Greece. We could interpret it in a number of ways, first to say that we have been created to think for ourselves and be self-reliant, second to say that we are God’s hands on earth, and third to say that there is no firm evidence of a higher being, there is only evidence of the work we humans do. The bottom line is that we are all always responsible for our own thoughts and actions. No matter what message we may feel we have received, we must be responsible for vetting that message for its integrity and helpfulness.

It is entirely possible to live a life that is guided by spirit. Paying attention to synchronicities, divination and the messages we receive in our hearts through prayer and meditation can help us be open to opportunities and can give us strength in the face of misfortune.

Yet, when we refrain from discernment and use spirituality to justify our own unhealthy behaviors, we are simply fooling ourselves.

Part of being spiritually attuned and aligned is to be able to see our own truth. We use things like divination, meditation and synchronicities to help us find that truth. That it is also possible to use these same things to hide from our truth presents an important spiritual mystery that every wise seeker must contemplate.