Welcome to my personal blog.
Here you will find my musings, thoughts and observations, all inspired by my experiences as a full-time professional tarot reader.
Magic with the Two of Wands: Strength, High Rank and Wealth Without Shame
For the Spring Equinox Tarot Blog Hop, some magic and musing about wealth, inspired by the season, the Two of Wands and the Picatrix.
It’s Ostara, or the Vernal Equinox. That means it’s time for another Tarot Blog Hop. This time our wrangler, Joy Vernon, has given us many options for our seasonal task, ranging from your-head-might-explode-with-mystical-brilliance to share-a-seasonal-recipe.
I chose something in between.
Joy was inspired by her tarot group’s work with the Picatrix, an ancient book of astrology and magic.
Per the Picatrix, now is the time to use magic to manifest “strength, high rank and wealth without shame”.
Of all the options and information that Joy gave us, the thing that struck me most was that odd phrase, "wealth without shame", and its connection, via astrology, to the Two of Wands.
Tarot is a youngster when compared with the Picatrix. Yet, the connection between tarot and astrology allows us to assign the Two, Three and Four of Wands to the three decans of Aries (and thus the vernal equinox), and to the magical directives found within the Picatrix.
It’s also interesting to note that for each decan (third of an astrological sign) the Picatrix describes an assigned image. The knowledge that images hold power is something else the Picatrix and tarot have in common.
I have an affinity for the Two of Wands. To me, this card reminds us that everything is possible if we are willing to dream it, and willing to work to bring it into being.
The Two of Wands is the “Lord of Dominion”. The magic of the card is to recognize our own inner Lord of Dominion; to understand that we have sovereign power over the paths we choose and the lives we lead. Our only limitation is in our failure to recognize that power.
Because of this, I often think of the Two of Wands as the card of manifestation. There is something ouroboric about doing manifestation work with the card of manifestation that feels powerful to me.
That strange and archaic magical goal of strength, high rank and wealth without shame aligns with the Two of Wands for me, and fits my current magical musings precisely.
I have a problematic relationship with wealth that began even before my career as a successful full-time tarot reader. In an era when extreme wealth is enough to qualify a person to reside in the White House, I must assume that my own feelings about wealth are significantly out of step with the culture in which I live.
For better or worse, I was raised to believe that materialism is dangerous, that greed is a sin, and that there is a type of spiritual grace found only in poverty. My father was a United Methodist minister, whose faith translated into a commitment to social justice.
There’s a huge contrast between the Christianity I learned in Sunday School and the doctrine of the modern “Prosperity Gospel” that suggests that material wealth is a sign of God’s approval, and that impoverishment is an indicator of God’s disdain, which justifies our own disdain for the poor.
As a full-time tarot pro, I’ve had to deal with tarot enthusiasts who think I am a mercenary bitch because I make my living with the cards. I’m a red-headed Scorpio, so they may have gotten the bitch part right, but, mercenary? Little could be further from the truth.
The concept of wealth without shame invites me to consider the shame, or potential shame, I have felt about the prospect of acquiring some meager personal wealth.
While my father was a gentle pastor, my mother was an artsy hippie. Mom didn’t want to buy a desk, she wanted to make a desk with a wooden door laid across stacks of cinder-blocks. Her favorite store was “Sal’s Boutique”, the Salvation Army Thrift Store. From my father, I inherited a sense of spiritual mission. From my mother, a thrift shop aesthetic. Together, they impressed on me their favorite motto; “Live Simply, That Others May Simply Live.”
I am learning that there is a difference between simple living and self-denial. Self-care seems more important now than when I was younger. At some point, wealth becomes access to greater self-care, and that can’t be a bad thing.
Being a tarot pro adds another dimension to wealth-shaming. There is a school of thought amongst some tarot enthusiasts that it is somehow bad and wrong to take money in exchange for a reading. I won’t even justify that notion with an explanation.
However, it’s important to note that most pro readers go through an emotionally trying process to find peace with taking money for their services.
Another complication is that there exist pro tarot readers who routinely scam their clients by using scare tactics to extort expensive gifts and large sums of money. Much of the general population does not make a distinction between what that sort of tarot reader does, and what I do.
Because of this, In the general society within which I live, there is a cloud of shame and suspicion around the tarot profession. That makes it difficult to take the same pride in the rewards of my labor that most people have without thought.
There is a twist on "wealth without shame" that might feel ironic in that context. There are ways to make money that would feel shameful to me. As a business owner, I can choose to operate within my ethical boundaries. Never do I have to do something that feels wrong because I am "following orders".
I look to the Two of Wands, then, to manifest a new paradigm around resources in my life – a paradigm where I may enjoy the fruits of my labor (my "strength and high rank") without shame, and with an open heart and hand.
I picture myself with a globe in my hand, standing over the long horizon.
In the number Two I find the balance of fare trade. The wealth I receive is equal to my needs. The services I provide are a good value for all.
In the Fire of the suit of Wands I find my passion, my spiritual calling, and the life energy with which I create this new personal paradigm. May I use this energy to bring insight and healing to others, and may it bring me vitality and youthfulness long into my old age.
In this season of Spring, in the balance between light and dark, I hatch the metaphoric eggs of new ideas, new vision, new inspiration and new opportunities. I welcome new life bursting all around me.
May these blessings of the season be yours as well!
At the Intersection of Tarot and Food
For the Tarot Blog Hop, some thoughts about tarot and food.
The Four Elements in Bread, for the Pocono Tarot Picnic
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The Fall Equinox, or Mabon, is also called “The Second Harvest”. To celebrate that theme, the Tarot Blog Hop is writing about food and tarot.
That’s not as much of a stretch as you might think. There are actually lots of ways that tarot and food intersect, and many, many tarotists are foodies.
There are even a few notable tarot food publications, such as Theresa Reed’s “Tarot by the Mouthful”, and Corrine Kenner’s Epicurean Tarot Recipe Cards, now sadly out of print.
I’m only truly a foodie to the extent that I love foods from different cultures, and I love to shop at Whole Foods, although my bank account doesn’t. I review restaurants on UrbanSpoon, and my favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations.
Since I haven’t a recipe to share, and you probably don’t want to hear about the three great restaurants I enjoyed when I was doing readings in New York City last month, I will instead share some thoughts about the ways I have seen food weave in and out of tarot over the years. I may have shared some of these stories before; I guess some of my favorite memories involve food and tarot.
One crossing of food and tarot is simply operational. I’m a Waite-Smith reader, and I’m programmed to think about the smallest details in the cards, including the food that appears. Sometimes that food becomes part of the reading.
What happens, for instance, when a person dealing with a gluten issue is presented with the wheat-surrounded Empress?
Might the pumpkins in the Three of Cups suggest that one eat more root vegetables?
Sometimes, the pomegranates of the High Priestess could advise a diet higher in superfoods and anti-oxidants, perhaps.
While we certainly can’t prescribe diets, the issues of food, diets and weight loss come up so often in tarot readings that I often jokingly call my tarot deck the Weight-Smith instead of the Waite-Smith.
I’ve done many readings for people about their complex relationships with food, body weight, health and body image. So often, these things are rooted in painful early trauma.
Frankly, I’m trying to use tarot to help me through my own journey toward weight loss and a better relationship with food and exercise. Results, so far, vary.
The connection between food and tarot isn’t always deep and painful, though. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to organize a few food-related local tarot events. In fact, it seems that every tarot event ends up being food-related in some way.
The first event was so long ago that it was in the days before digital cameras were common, so, no pictures (but it DID happen).
I rented the banquet room at the Plainfield Yankee Motor Inn in Plainfield, CT, for $75. I think the year was 2001 or so.
The event was a tarot potluck, where everyone had to dress as a tarot character, and everyone had to bring a tarot-themed food.
The tarot-themed foods were amazing. People were really creative. There was Death Chili, Eight of Wands Chicken Skewers, Hermit Cookies, Devil’s Food Cake, Pentacle Pie, and more.
The event was fun, and well-attended.
Belly dancing at the Pocono Tarot Picnic
My next attempts at fun local tarot events were the Tarot Picnics, held three times in the Poconos, and once in Connecticut, at Devil’s Hopyard.
The Tarot Picnic was a day-long event with workshops, music, dancing, drumming, tarot readings, and, of course, food.
In the Poconos, we had a great venue with a full kitchen, and one of our Tarot Circle members was a fabulous cook. As well as making a great meal for us, Regina made the Tools of the Four Element in bread. At the end of the event, which was held in September, we threw the bread to the fire.
When I first started holding tarot fellowship meetings, in the days before Meetup, having good food at the meeting was really important.
Now I hold monthly meetings online, using WebEx and, most recently, Facebook Live. The thing I miss most about meeting with my tarot friends in person is the ability to share food as we share tarot and friendship.
I guess this food-themed blog hop is the closest we’ll get to sharing food with tarot friends online!
Holiday Open House 2015, Beef O'Brady's, Land O Lakes, FL
As much as we tarotists enjoy sharing food with each other, we also enjoy working together to share food with those in need. For most of the past sixteen years, I have hosted a “Holiday Open House” near the Winter Solstice. What this event has evolved into is basically a psychic fair where the currency is non-perishable food items.
Readers and healers volunteer their services, the public enjoys readings and healing sessions, and holiday snacks, at no cost, in exchange for their donation of food for the local food bank.
Holiday Open House 2012, at the Harvey Building in West Palm Beach. We raised a lot of food!
The event always raises as much fun as it does food, and brings visibility to a lot of great local tarot talent!
There is only one way in which we don’t want food to intersect with tarot, and this is physically. There is nothing worse than wine or tomato sauce splashed on your cards!
Now let’s see what’s cooking at Meniscus Tarot as you continue along the hop, or at TarotWitchery if you ate dessert first.
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What May Be
For the Beltane Tarot Blog Hop, we explore the word "may".
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It’s May First, and time for the Beltane Tarot Blog Hop. Our wrangler, Karen Sealy, has tasked us with exploring the word “may”, as it relates to tarot.
For me, “may” relates to tarot in three ways.
First, the month of May has some significant tarot associations for me personally. In the US, we celebrate Mother’s Day in May. The very first psychic fair I presented (Christiana’s Psychic and New Age Fair, circa 1996) was held on Mother’s Day. We had a line out the door of the King’s Inn in Putnam, Connecticut. From there, our roving band of readers, healers and vendors traveled throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts for several years.
I’ve also enjoyed reading tarot at various Beltane festivals over the years, and celebrating Beltane with my tarot friends.
The second type of “may” has to do with predictions in tarot readings. Every reader has their own prediction methods. Some readers chose not to make predictions at all. I am a predictive reader, but I recognize that predictions are not the single, nor primary, value of a reading with me.
Sometimes, I can see a story unfolding very clearly, and that story becomes reality, verbatim. Sometimes the story will unfold with minor differences than what I had predicted.
Sometimes, I get the sense that something may or may not happen. Yes, it’s possible, maybe even probable, but’s it’s definitely a “may”, not a “will”.
When that happens, I pull more cards to see what the client could do to push the situation in their favor.
Truly and literally, whenever we make a prediction, no matter how sure it feels, we can only ever say that it is something that MAY occur. Certainty only comes after the event has either happened, or not.
I know a few of my clients wish this were not so. They want the guarantee of a set future. If such a thing were possible, our actions, and our free will, wouldn't matter.
My third and final “may” is the asking of permission, as in, “May I?”
So often I see cards come up in a reading that give the client permission from the Universe to release something, or pursue something. This can be tremendously empowering.
Often, I think permission to do a needed thing is as helpful, or more, than a prediction that a thing may happen.
In the merry month of May, our divinatory pursuits are infused with the Beltane energy of fertility, youth and bounty. At this time of year, it is easy to to hopeful for all the wonderful things that may happen.
For me, tarot is always about exploring those possibilities; the things we may do, and the things that may be.
Awaken the Heart with the Element of Air
For the Midwinter Tarot Blog Hop, here's how to use the Air cards of tarot to awaken the heart.
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Welcome to the 2016 Midwinter Tarot Blog Hop. This time around our wrangler is Joy Vernon. Joy has managed to stir the seasonal themes of Imbolc, Aquarius (and thus the Tarot Star) and Valentine’s Day into one huge cauldron. From this, she has distilled our theme, “Awaken the Heart”.
She posed a question I have pondered often, about Aquarius and the Star. Aquarius, though an Air sign, is often called, “The Water-Bearer”. Many traditional tarot images depict the Star in this way as well, as the traditional Aquarian water-bearer. I was shocked when I first learned that the Star is related Aquarius and the element of Air, rather than to something more watery.
An astrologer friend explained it to me. “That’s not water she’s pouring,” my friend told me. “It’s starlight!”
It’s much easier to understand the Star, and the Aquarian "water-bearer" energy, when we think of the water-bearer as one who is pouring starlight, that is, heaven’s healing light, onto the land.
“Healing” is one of my favorite key words for the tarot Star. Another is “fulfillment”, and another is “great sex”.
It’s important to note that these may not be key words we typically associate with the Minor Arcana Air cards, the dreary and dreaded suit of Swords!
Indeed, as we look at all the Major Arcana Air cards, we can get a fuller and more balanced idea of the Air energy in tarot, and discover that it is not as bad as the Three, Nine and Ten of Swords would have you believe.
We also discover that all the Air cards can be vital to the mission of awakening the heart, healing the heart and finding love in all its forms..
The Major Arcana Air cards are the Fool, the Magician, the Lovers, Justice, and the Star. In these cards we see adventure, decisions, learning, communication, ethics, fulfillment and love. Love? Yes, love.
Generally, we see “love” as a thing of Water, or even of passionate Fire. We think of Air as mental stuff – our thoughts, our decisions, our words, our beliefs, our ideas and our integrity. So often those dark Swords cards appear to point out dishonesty, harmful beliefs and negative thoughts.
However, if both the Lovers and the Star are cards of Air, mustn’t we acknowledge the role of the element of Air in awakening our hearts?
Beyond that, might we more quickly and easily heal and awaken our hearts with conscious use and understanding of the oft-maligned Air element?
Could the suit of Swords depict the things that we need to do and to avoid to keep our hearts whole? What lessons can the suit of Swords teach us about love?
Ace of Swords – Always tell the truth.
Two of Swords – Make decisions with which you can be at peace.
Three of Swords – Avoid infidelity.
Four of Swords – Take needed time to rest and retreat, to heal and recharge.
Five of Swords – Pick your battles wisely.
Six of Swords – Be logical in your relationships.
Seven of Swords – Learn to trust, and to nurture relationships with trustworthy people.
Eight of Swords – Recognize anxiety for what it is.
Nine of Swords – Acknowledge your worries and fears.
Ten of Swords – Have the courage to love again after heartbreak.
Obviously, each of these Swords cards has classic interpretations that may be more pertinent in a reading. At the same time, part of the value of tarot happens when we study the cards and consider their lessons for us.
What then, can we learn about love from the Major Arcana Air cards? I would argue that these cards, in numerical order, form a perfect primer for the awakened and loving heart.
The Fool tells us to be willing to take risks.
The Magician tells us to consciously learn about ourselves, our hearts and the people we love. The Magician reminds us of our ability to manifest love in all its forms.
The Lovers reminds us that our happiness in love will be determined by two things – our ability to make good choices and our ability to communicate. Our integration one with another is never simple, and requires some thought, regardless of how much heart we bring to the table.
Justice reminds us to treat each other, and ourselves, fairly.
The Star shows us what is possible when we awaken our hearts to love.
With tarot images, or simply in meditation and invocation, we can welcome the element of Air to blow away the dust of past hurts and bring healing, opening and awakening to our hearts.
For further musing on this topic, see my Star poem from my 78 Poems Project.
Also, this topic makes me think of one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs, Eyes of the World, which asks us to “Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings.”
Now, it’s time to see what others did with this interesting topic!
What if Waite and Crowley had Social Media?
For the tarot blog hop, some thoughts about Waite and Crowley, and our online interactions.
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The Wheel has turned, and it's time again for the Tarot Blog Hop. In keeping with the theme of Samhain/Halloween/Day of the Dead, our wrangler, Arwen, has asked us to write about a loved one or historical figure in spirit, and make a connection to tarot. We are to use tarot to “commune, communicate, commemorate those who have gone before us”.
I have many beloved family members and friends in spirit, but it is not to them that I turn my attention in this post.
Recently, I’ve had a bit of a renewed interest in tarot history. Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin are primarily to blame. Their book, Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot, shares a lot of previously undiscovered primary source material that really piqued my interest.
It says something (perhaps unflattering) about my personality that the nugget of historical wisdom I enjoyed most in that book is that Crowley often referred to Waite as “Dead Waite”.
We all know that Waite and Crowley had an adversarial relationship. Crowley’s writings are filled with eloquent insults toward Waite, and others.
![Photo of Crowley, by Magikritualnacht [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53e7e9fce4b0f3bb3d243a94/1446302761051-A9YGHQ4ICSUZJK3KPXWG/image-asset.jpeg)
Photo of Crowley, by Magikritualnacht [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
When I first came to tarot, I had a hard time understanding Waite’s Pictorial Key to the Tarot, because I didn’t realize that some of the text was directed against Crowley and his philosophies.
Photo of Waite in 1880, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The fact is, Waite and Crowley differed on many points. Both felt compelled to not only point out the differences, but to do it with ridicule and derision.
Many years later, the images conceived by Waite and Crowley comprise the world’s two most popular tarot decks. We who use these decks, both personally and professionally, often find ourselves embroiled in arguments of philosophy and ethics, just as, apparently, Waite and Crowley themselves did.
I often tell my students that “your tarot friends are your best friends.” I actually believe this. Your tarot friends understand you in a way no one else can. At the same time, we all know that the online tarot community is filled with name-calling and rude behavior. It’s possible that you not only have tarot friends, but also tarot enemies, or perhaps “tarot frenemies”.
We hear whisperings that a certain organization is at odds with another, for example, or that a certain tarotist is not welcome at another tarotist’s event.
This sort of behavior, much like the “witch wars” of the Pagan community, happened in local communities long before social media was a thing. In the 1990s, I had a local competitor who would call hotels into which I had booked psychic fairs, pretend to be me, and try to cancel my events.
Years later, I’m still in business, and I’m not sure what became of her. Now I can laugh at her petty antics. At the time, they hurt my feelings and made my professional life more difficult.
Often we lament the contentious aspect of our relationships with each other in the tarot world. Often, we blame the nature of the internet, and social media, for the fact that we seem to enjoy picking at our differences more than celebrating our commonality.
History shows us that this behavior is not new. Social media has not turned us in to monsters. Social media has only magnified our natural monstrous behavior.
Let’s then, for a moment, dream of a world in which A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley had Facebook accounts. Imagine the memes, the stories and the blog posts that might have flown back and forth between them.
Would Crowley tell folks on his friends list that they must not be FB friends with Waite? Would Waite write disparaging reviews of Crowley’s work, and hit “like” on all the agreeing comments? Would they write "open letters" to each other in their blogs?
Perhaps it is just human nature to mock and taunt those who think differently than we do. Perhaps the passion it takes to be a tarotist, or a magickal person, necessitates this behavior in some of us.
Often, we compare the online antics of some of our tarot community with the social media bullying that influences teens to take their own lives. Certainly, lies, disrespect and insults can be hurtful. Sometimes, in the tarot world, that hurt can even be financial. That’s hard to ignore, especially for tarotists who are supporting children with their tarot income.
At the same time, maybe Waite and Crowley were guilty of taking themselves a bit too seriously. Maybe, sometimes, we are, too.
The next time I find myself saddened by our infighting, or hurt by a comment on social media, I will try to remember this, and laugh.
When we rudely fight with each other over dogma, doctrine and belief systems, we are unwittingly following a proud tarot tradition. In a way, we are honoring by imitation those two men without whom, none of us would be tarotists.
Perhaps the psychic energy of those two magickal giants, Waite and Crowley, works its way into our itchy keyboard fingers.
Maybe, at this time of the thinning veil, we can use the energy and example of Waite and Crowley in a different way. Rather than channeling their desire to insult each other, we can channel their desire to divine.
Perhaps those itchy keyboard fingers are happier when they are shuffling cards.
