Have you ever wondered why there is so much focus on the concept of ‘healing’ in spiritual and metaphysical communities? And, have you ever wondered how to differentiate between those providing real opportunities to improve wellness and those who are selling banal platitudes, useless remedies and false hope?

From the moment we are born until the moment we die, life is full of pain and trauma, and potential injury to body, mind and spirit. Yet, we humans are fantastically resilient. We are literally built to heal.

For centuries philosophers have wondered about the meaning and purpose of human life on planet earth. I have come to believe that healing is the purpose of the human experience.

I believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. I believe that part of the value of that human experience is our ability to find healing and joy amidst difficulty and pain.

It is our nature to seek relief from pain, whether physical or emotion. In that seeking we are in danger of addiction, and vulnerable to fraud.

How can we stay on a true path of healing? We must vet each teacher, each modality, and each practice with logic. We must understand that healing will mean different things for different people. For one person who has lost mobility, for example, healing might be regaining the ability to walk. For another, the greatest healing possible might be acceptance, and learning to live a good life within those limitations.

One way to spot fraudulent healing claims is to take careful note of healers who promise the impossible. Yet, how can we dismiss what has been deemed impossible as fraud, but still leave room for miracles?

I think part of healing great physical difficulty requires a certain balancing act between realism and hope. On one hand we must accept what is, on the other, we must know that sometimes miracles happen. Yet, we must also recognize that any person claiming to be a purveyor of miracles is suspect. Finding the balance between the rational and the spiritual, the logical and the hopeful, is always a tricky part of the healing journey.

Emotional healing can be even trickier. One thing I often say is that every parent gives their kids something to tell a therapist. No matter how lucky we are to have great parents or a privileged childhood, we all spend most of our adult lives recovering from the first twenty years. Those who were not so lucky as children have an even more difficult path.

The way to embrace healing in this case is to be a survivor rather than a victim, and to be a thriver rather than a survivor.

Part of human resilience is our natural ability to heal. Healers, modalities and practices can do nothing more than assist our own natural abilities. In the end, we ourselves are the miracle.

When we understand that our entire existence is, on some level, meant to be a journey of healing, we also understand that we are each our own best healer.

Part of being a good self-healer is seeking out the help we need, finding the tools and modalities that work for us. Along with that, we must be ever mindful to avoid frauds, spiritual bypassing, and falling into the role of victimhood.

Perhaps a first step toward healing is about finding the balance between hope and acceptance, digging deep and staying positive, living in the moment and planning for the future, and faith and logic.

When we can achieve and maintain those balances, the lifelong journey of healing can be a joyful one.

The StaarCorner

As many of you have already heard, we at StaarCon have made the decision for StaarCon 2021 to be online only, due to the continuing health concerns associated with the pandemic. We plan that StaarCon 2022, which will be January 21-23, 2022, will be hybrid event, with opportunities to gather in Palm Beach Gardens for those who can, and opportunities to attend online for those who find that more convenient.

If you have already purchased a ticket for StaarCon 2021, we will be in touch with you shortly. If you have not yet purchased your ticket, we are in the process of updating our website to reflect these changes. If you were not going to be able to travel to attend StaarCon this January, consider how easy it will be to attend this conference from the comfort of your home.

We are working to build an online conference that will be robust and interactive. We will have a virtual exhibition hall and psychic fair, just as we had planned to do in person. We will have a strong lineup of speakers, as you can see on our website.

One of the advantages of the virtual event is that you will have the opportunity to view the presentations you missed live in archive. That is but one way we are working to add value to the StaarCon experience.

We are excited for the StaarCon community we are building, and glad that you are a part of it!

Join us for a Tarot Class on Zoom

Tarot is a book of spiritual wisdom in picture form. With it, we are able to learn about ourselves, communicate with others and understand our world.

The sixteen Court cards of the tarot, that is, the Kings, Queens, Knights, Pages, are some of the most versatile cards in the deck. The Court cards can help us understand ourselves, our talents, our fears, and our motivations. The Court cards can also represent the people around us and help us understand our relationships with them.

On Thursday, November 19, from 7 pm to 9 pm EST, I will be teaching about the Court cards in a class called “Your Journey Through the Tarot Court”.

In this class you will learn a variety of ways to interpret the tarot Court cards when they appear in a reading and find all the possible messages within them.

This class is appropriate for tarot students at all levels of experience and knowledge.

Class fee is $37.50. Register now on Zoom.

Healing with Tarot

There are many ways we can use tarot on our journey toward emotional and spiritual healing.

Perhaps the three most important are contemplation, divination, and manifestation.

Each tarot card contains spiritual lessons and insights. When we study tarot, we learn these spiritual lessons, just as we learn the lessons of any sacred text. These lessons become lifelong partners on our healing journey.

In divination, we can ask questions and use spreads designed to give us insight and healing on our journey. We can work with a competent tarot professional to help find our healing.

In manifestation, we can use the cards to help us visualize our success. We can direct the energy of specific cards to lend support to our healing.

When we work with tarot in this way, we find that the cards are much more than a fortune-telling device. The cards can become a tool for our healing journey.

The Week in Review

This week I shared a review of Gita Rash’s new oracle, The Mahabharata Oracle.

I have a lot of great free meetups and workshops coming up this month on my YouTube channel. Make sure you check out the StaarCast channel as well, it’s our new podcast about all things StaarCon!

I do six live broadcasts a week on Facebook. Four are on my Facebook business page, and two on the StaarCon page.

From Around the Web

Here is an interesting discussion of the benefits and pitfalls of manifesting.

I was thrilled to see this article from NBC about Black women embracing tarot and traditional spiritual practices .

It’s a new month! Here are your horoscopes for November.

Cards for Your Consideration

The Three of Swords is a card that often makes us say “Ouch!” when it appears in a reading. Even for the tarot client who knows nothing of tarot study, this image really says it all.

When we see this card, there is obvious pain, suffering, betrayal and/or heartache.

Yet, something else is inherent in this card that we do well to remember.

In this card is the opportunity for healing and growth.

We can’t sugarcoat pain and grief. We must hold space for the process of suffering. Yet, we must find a balance in knowing that along with pain comes an opportunity for healing that may be even greater than the pain itself.

Upcoming Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 45
November 4, 2020