Most of us have heard admonitions to not let our minds wander from the time we were very young. There is good reason for this. When we aren’t paying attention to the task at hand, we can miss important things, and we can put ourselves at risk for accidents.

It’s also true that sometimes the mind can take us to some unpleasant places. Anxiety, fear and the ravages of over-thinking can take its toll.

The tragic side of being a child constantly told by adults to stay focused and to not listen to imagination is that, as adults, we very often don’t know how to access the benefits of a wandering mind.

I think it is very healthy to set aside time regularly to allow your mind to wander. In that wandering, I think we have to discipline the mind to wander well. That is, to avoid places of self-recrimination, self-pity, and anxiety for the future.

Rather, the wandering mind should allow itself to play with imagination, to ponder spiritual and philosophical thought, and to open to intuition.

The connection between imagination and intuition is profound. Both imagination and intuition are seated in the third eye, or brow chakra. If we shut down our imagination, we also limit our intuition. The more we nurture our imagination, the more opportunity we have to develop our intuition.

Recently, there has been a lot of attention paid to the practice of mindfulness. With mindfulness, attention is brought to the experience of the present moment. This is a very helpful and healing practice.

Yet, it is also helpful and healing to have times when it is safe to let your mind wander to places other than the present moment, places that are creative, spiritual and thoughtful. Perhaps there are specific times and locations where you can be particularly comfortable letting yourself relax to see where your mind might take you. I think this sort of practice is one we are often discouraged from. Yet, to me, it is every bit as important as on-task focus and mindfulness.

If you are a diviner, either personally or professionally, the practice of letting your mind wander well is imperative to being able to conduct a great reading. It is that stream-of-consciousness thinking that brings us truth during the process of divination.

The StaarCorner

On the weekend of January 22 through 24, 2021, we will be gathering in Palm Beach Gardens for StaarCon. That is, Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers Conference.

Our conference will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Executive Meeting Center.

This is a wonderful place to hold a conference. In January in Palm Beach it is very likely to be warm enough to make the tropical pool area enticing, so bring your swimsuit!

Close to the hotel are grocery stores and restaurants. Within the hotel is a restaurant and bar.

The meeting rooms are well-appointed with comfortable chairs and state-of-the-art audio-visual systems.

I think many people will plan to attend the conference and stay a few days before or after to enjoy everything the Palm Beaches has to offer, including golf, theaters, museums, botanical gardens, and, of course, beaches!

Registration for StaarCon will be opening soon. Please plan to join us!

Three Ways to Add Intuition to Your Tarot Reading

No matter how much you rely on classic keywords and interpretations, and even if you are still looking up card meanings, intuition is a necessary ingredient to a good tarot reading. It is intuition that tells you exactly how the classic interpretation applies to the situation, and which of a variety of keywords might fit best.

The practice of allowing your mind to wander a bit may sound unproductive to a good, focused reading. Yet, it is exactly what you need to do to allow the intuitive process to occur.

Here are three ways to spark intuition in your tarot readings, whether reading for yourself or others.

Pay attention to card images.

Regardless of classic interpretations, what do you see in the cards right this minute? How does a card, or a group of cards, make you feel? What small images within the cards draw your eyes?

Pay attention to what floats into your mind.

Don’t treat intrusive thoughts or memories as intrusions. Whatever comes into your mind during a reading may be pertinent to the reading.

Focus on your Breath.

As with yoga, magick, and meditation, the breath is incredibly important to your intuitive process. When you do a tarot reading, keep your breathing slow, full and conscious. If you get stuck, return your attention to your breath. The answers will always come from there.

Join Me for Two Free Tarot Webinars This Week!

This evening, Wednesday, March 4 at 7 pm EST, I will host the monthly Global Tarot Circle on my Facebook business page. This is an hour-long online gathering. We spend the first half hour doing readings for each other. The second half hour is dedicated to informal tarot study and discussion.

This is a great opportunity to practice reading for strangers and to learn more about tarot interpretation and operation.

On Sunday, March 8 at 10:30 am EDT (remember to turn your clocks forward Saturday), I will be leading a more formal free tarot class on my YouTube channel. The class is called “Making Friends with the Suit of Swords”.

Wherever you are in your tarot journey, you will find insight and inspiration in this class as we explore some of the most problematic images in your tarot deck.

If you happen to miss either of these free live broadcasts, they will remain available to you in archive.

The Week in Review

I have been having a lot of fun with tarot exercises recently. This week I shared an exercise in using card combinations to create something you desire. Read Two-Card Tarot Spells on my Community Blog.

I do a number of livestreams each week on Facebook. If you want to catch up you can find them in archive on my Facebook business page, and on my YouTube channel.

From Around the Web

It’s a new month! That means we can count on The Tarot Lady, Theresa Reed, for some monthly tarot and astrology forecasts.

Psychology Today shares “The Benefits of Creative Visualization”.

Here is instruction for stream-of-consciousness journaling.

Cards for Your Consideration

There were three tarot cards I thought about in conjunction with the concept of the wandering mind, imagination and intuition. Those three cards are the Two of Wands, the Seven of Cups and the Moon. All three of these cards can speak to that process of dreaming and imagining, each in different ways.

Of those three, I chose to consider the Seven of Cups. Very often we learn this simply as a card of choices. In the Wait-Smith image we see that each cup holds something different, and some things are more desirable than others. This seems to connote the idea that we must choose something; and choose carefully.

Yet, there is more to this card. In this card we can see dreams, fantasies and imagination. We can see the pleasant process of imagining interesting and positive things. We can see the magical process of creative visualization. But we can also see the possibility of letting the mind run to a dark and destructive place.

Sometimes the Seven of Cups can encourage us to nurture our dreams and imagination. Sometimes in can warn us again letting our imagination take us to a fearful place.

Upcoming Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 10
March 4, 2020