Making the Connection
Making the Connection
In divination, as in life, the connections we make matter.
Spiritual work is full of all sorts of connections. That’s why many healers and diviners are very sensitive to the energies of Mercury retrograde. Mercury, of course, is all about connections. In retrograde, those connections need extra attention and care. (The next Mercury retrograde begins March 6.)
Effective divination, whether with tarot or any other tool, requires us to make connections. Let’s use tarot as an example to explore the different connections we make to deliver meaningful messages.
First, we must make a connection with Spirit, Higher Power, or our own higher consciousness. Diviners vary widely in their spiritual beliefs but tend to agree that there is a higher energy we connect with in divination, whether than energy emanates from within us our outside of us.
If we are reading for another person, we must make an energetic connection with that person.
We must connect with the cards we’ve pulled in a number of different ways. We connect with the images; we see how the images make us feel and the things of which we are reminded when we look at the pictures.
Readers who value the wisdom of classic tarot knowledge know that we learn the cards by making connections. Each card has a number of classic keywords that often feel widely divergent. Consider the Ten of Pentacles. The Ten of Pentacles can predict love. The Ten of Pentacles can indicate wealth. This same card can also speak of heritage and legacy. It is also the card of real estate, predicting buying or selling property, home renovations or a career in real estate. The Ten of Pentacles can suggest you love your home and are happy there.
The way we get a handle on the essence of a card’s energy is by finding the thing that connects all those keywords. In the case of the Ten of Pentacles, the connecting point is family. In the Waite-Smith image, the connecting point is the grandfather.
Try this process with each tarot card to stretch and solidify your understanding of the card.
The trickiest connection, and the one that separates mediocre readers from truly talented ones, is the ability to make the connection between classic keywords and card interpretations and what is happening in the querent’s life. There is an intuitive process that allows the reader to extrapolate the card meanings in a way that applies and resonates.
Even in our mundane lives, the connections we make are important. That is especially true of our social connections, our professional networks and our intimate partners. We need to connect with one another.
Often, our points of view and opinions can be a huge disconnect when we don’t see eye to eye. When we look past our differences and focus on our human commonalities, it becomes easier to make important connections with everyone.
What is true in human interaction is also true in divination. When things seem misaligned, the key is in finding where the connection truly is.
Make Your Plans to See Me During My Northeastern Tour!
I will be in Connecticut March 27 through April 8. I am available for parties, groups and house calls in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York City.
I am also offering private readings by appointment at True Bikram Yoga in Madison.
To make your appointment, please call or text 561-655-1160.
I will be teaching two workshops while I am there.
In Madison, on Sunday, March 31 at 7 pm I am teaching ‘The Journey of Life: The Major Arcana of Tarot.
In New Haven, on Sunday, April 7 at 7 pm I am teaching ‘Oils, Intuition and Manifestation’. Learn more about these workshops, and register in advance!
Two Tarot Exercises to Help Make Connections
The key to a good tarot reading is flow. Intuition must flow, and the story must flow. Flow is fostered, in part, by the connections we make. Here are two exercises to help you find those connections and find your flow.
Dig into the Cards
Look at each card and speak aloud about it for as long as you can. What are all the things you know about this card? How does this card make you feel? What can this card mean in a reading?
As you are speaking of the card you will notice that your own understanding of it expands and deepens.
The Seventy-Eight-Card Story
Shuffle the cards. Turn over the top card and use it to begin a story. Move quickly on to the next card, letting that card continue the story. Let your story grow as you look at all seventy-eight cards. Let the story be fanciful, silly or outrageous; just let the cards inspire your imagination and your words as the story flows from one card to the next.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a post on my Community Blog called “Group Readings: The Performance Aspect of Tarot”. One of the amazing things about tarot reading is that there are so many different ways we can do it!
From Around the Web
Here’s a new post from Jamie Morris, one of my favorite tarotist writers. If you are also a tarotist writer, you will enjoy this writing prompt.
As I mentioned earlier, Mercury Retrograde is on its way. From Astrostyle, here is a guide on how to survive it!
From Maddy Elruna, some thoughts on when tarot does not work out as expected.
King of Cups from Art of Life Tarot by Charlene Livingstone, Copyright 2012, U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Cards for Your Consideration
Let’s contemplate the King of Cups. Here we see this image from the Art of Life Tarot, which pairs a work of art with a quotation to illustrate the energy of each card.
I chose this particular illustration because it echoes my own take of the King of Cups.
The King of Cups is often somewhat maligned in a way that almost feels misandrist to me. It’s easy to see him as one who drinks too much, or as a whiner.
Yes, each Court card, when representing a person, can represent one who is demonstrating either positive behaviors or negative ones. There is an up and a down to every card at any moment.
Tarotists so often describe the King of Cups as alcoholic or wussy. Yet, if we break it down to the barest of elements, the King of Cups, as the King of Water, is a man who understands and communicates love; one who makes emotions a priority.
Can the King of Cups represent an undesirable guy? Of course, but for me that is not the baseline interpretation.
I think that all people need to be able to understand and communicate their emotions, and all people need to understand the paramount importance of love in all its forms. That a man is in touch with his emotions should not automatically cause us to think of him as weak. This should be true in life, as well as in the cards.
For me, Kings in tarot are the highest expression of their element. As the king of water, the King of Cups can be one who is a master of understanding love.
We can all embrace our inner King of Cups by working to stay in the high vibration of unconditional love as we interact with the people around us.
When the King of Cups does not represent a person, this card may instruct us to take the lead in a situation in a way that is loving and considerate of the feelings of others.
Psychic Gallery at ZeroPointe in Fort Lauderdale
Join me for an exciting event in Fort Lauderdale on the first day of Spring!
On Wednesday, March 20, 7 pm to 9 pm, I will present a psychic gallery at ZeroPointe Healing Foundation, formerly Center for Inner Wisdom, located at 4849 N Dixie Hwy, Suite 2, Oakland Park, FL 33334.
I love doing psychic galleries, because the energy of sacred space, and the energy of a group united for a single purpose, can create the perfect environment in which to receive powerful messages from Spirit.
In a psychic gallery with me, each person receives pertinent information and insight. Group members hold space and support each other, and benefit from hearing and witnessing every message.
The energy of the vernal equinox will add a powerful dimension to the readings on this special evening, bringing the opportunity for each of us to find balance and initiate new beginnings.
Tickets are $30, and seating is limited. Register now!
Join us for Global Tarot Circle on Facebook Live
On Wednesday, February 20 from7 pm to 8 pm you have the opportunity to join tarot friends from around the world on my free monthly webinar, Global Tarot Circle on Facebook Live.
Each month we gather on Facebook to share readings, conversation and tarot study. You can join in on your smartphone, computer or tablet.
To join, simply like my business page and look for the live feed.
Tarot Topics Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 8
February 20, 2019
