Five Things I Learned Last Year as a Tarotist and as a Human

One of the things I love about being a tarot professional is that I am always learning. Never will there be a time when I know everything there is to know about tarot, psychism, writing, reading for others, and teaching others. To be a tarot professional is to be an eternal student.

My spiritual belief system is based on the idea that life is all about healing and learning.

Sometimes lessons come from difficulties. This year I have learned a lot, not because I took time to study, but because the strange and difficult year made it necessary for me to learn. Here, in no particular order, are some things I learned from 2020. Some are things I had known earlier, but this past year brought them into a sharper focus. Some of them were brand new realizations. The first two lessons are specific to being a tarot professional, the rest are about being human.

When looking to the future as a psychic, it is hard, or maybe impossible, to predict what one cannot imagine.

I have always known that imagination is a huge aspect of tarot reading. It has to be so, because the imagination is seated in the brow chakra (third eye) along with our psychic vision.

When I looked toward the future from the relative safety of 2019, I didn’t see a global pandemic because I couldn’t imagine such a thing. Yet, I did see a lot of things in the readings of individuals that didn’t make sense until the pandemic hit. That leads me to the second lesson.

We can piece together information about our collective future when looking at trends in individual readings.

When I did new year readings for people at the beginning of 2020, I saw a lot of cancelled trips. I saw people being able to work from home. I saw people’s kids going to school from home. In those moments, many of my clients thought I had lost my mind. “My boss would never allow us to work from home.” There is no way I am going to homeschool my child.” “We’ve been planning this trip for years”.

A few months later, those same clients reached out to thank me for the heads up on the pandemic.

The good news is that reading for many people over the past year gives me great confidence in our collective future. While I have seen the worst effects of the pandemic for some people, I know, in the end, our society will emerge from this. I know this because so many people have bright futures appear in the cards. I see weddings, new homes, new babies, and college graduations, just as I always have.

It is important to be flexible.

This past year, many of us had to pivot quickly; to change plans, formats, income streams, and family routines. The more we could be flexible in our thinking, the happier we were. The more we were inventive in our problem-solving, the more successful we were.

When we resist inevitable change, we stop growing. This is a huge life lesson which every person must learn; 2020 made it obvious.

Online communities and gatherings can be uplifting, nurturing, and fun.

Teaching and community-building is my one of my favorite parts of my work. When the pandemic had me cancel all my classes and in-person gatherings in my new community center, I was sad.

Yet, a quick pivot to Zoom and livestreaming on Facebook and YouTube turned out to be a gift. Moving our first annual tarot conference, StaarCon, to an online format avoided a disappointing cancellation. Even when we return to our regular in-person groups, classes, and meetups, I will continue to host online events, and thoroughly enjoy them.

Our ability to care for ourselves and each other is paramount.

This past year was a lesson in creative self-care for many of us. It also helped us find to ways to help others, take care of our loved ones, and stay connected with friends and family in a time of isolation.

For example, my daughter and I utilized FaceTime and YouTube to do yoga and Zumba together; a practice we plan to continue into the future. Friends from around the world scheduled regular Zoom game nights, move nights, and cocktail hours. Even when we are able to resume our normal social lives, we now have skills that will help us stay close to those we love who are at a distance.

As we begin a new year, we are hopeful for positive change, healing and restored health. Many of us will carry scars from 2020 that could last a lifetime. At the same time, we have been lucky to learn important skills and lessons that will serve us in the years ahead.

May we all be safe, well, and prosperous in 2021!

Acceptance and Change

We should always be proactive and goal-oriented when we can. But sometimes life throws us a curve ball. Maybe this happens because we have subconsciously manifested a change in our lives. Maybe it happens because Higher Power is giving us what we need, whether we know it or not. Whatever the case may be, we don't always appreciate or accept the changes life throws at us.

Tarot has an answer for that. Cards 10-14 of the Major Arcana show us a path to navigate accept and thrive through unexpected changes.

Card 10, the Wheel of Fortune, reminds us that we are all subject to the forces of nature at the whim of the gods.

Card 11, Justice, tells us it will all balance out in the end. Our job is not to seek revenge, but balance.

Card 12, the Hanged Man, tells us that when we can't change the situation we have to change the attitude, even when we've been turned upside down.

Card 13, Death, reminds us that change is inevitable, but so is transformation.

Card 14, Temperance, shows us the triumph that happens when we are able to weave the threads of our lives together to create a new fabric.

Changes

We humans seem to have a difficult time dealing with change. Even positive change, or change that we have chosen for ourselves, is often difficult to handle. At the same time, we hate to feel stagnant, and we often long for the very changes (new job, new relationship, new baby, new home) that cause us so much stress.

One of the scariest-looking cards in tarot is Major Arcana 13, the Death card. Most readers believe the Death card doesn't predict a physical death. It predicts a change; maybe even a drastic one. I often see the Death card as indicative of a marriage or a pregnancy! This dichotomy between the scary image and the positive event really reflects our attitude about change.

Change falls into a number of categories. There are the changes we choose, the changes we don't choose but have to endure, and the larger changes in the world around us. No matter what, change is stressful and unavoidable.

The changes we choose are often stressful because we question the decisions we've made. Did I do the right thing taking this new job? Is now really a good time to change where I live? Will I really be ok if I leave my abusive relationship? We have a hard time trusting ourselves to make the right changes in our lives.

The truth is this. We will make mistakes. Nothing is perfect. At the same time, moving forward is usually better than standing still. Every change we make leads us somewhere. Either it will bring improvement, or it will bring a lesson, or both. Usually, it's both.

The changes we can't control are stressful, too. Sometimes these are unpleasant changes. Sometimes they involve loss and grief. Here, acceptance is the key. Getting to the new normal is challenging. But the more we resist the inevitable change, the harder the change is to get through. Sometimes we fear that we aren't strong enough to face the changes that have been forced upon us.

Many of the Major Arcana cards offer spiritual lessons about change and acceptance. The Wheel of Fortune reminds us that we are all subject to the changing tides of life. The Hanged Man offers advice in finding enlightenment through our discomfort. Justice soothes us by reminding us that it will all come out balanced in the end. The Tower warns us that if we refuse to make needed changes in our lives, the Universe will do it for us. The Fool tells us to be fearless in the adventure that is life. Judgment tells us to relinquish the past and be reborn into the new day.

For me, tarot provides a map to help me navigate the changes in my life. This is true in tarot reading, both for me and for my clients. But it is equally true in simply studying the cards, and embracing their messages.

The I Ching is the Chinese method of divination. It is called "The Book of Changes." Perhaps one of the purposes of divination in general is to give us wisdom about the many changes we encounter in life.