As children, we were expected to make friends with our peers. Some of us formed friendships that lasted a lifetime or that have been rekindled on social media. Some of us did better socially when, as we grew, we could find friends outside of the limitations of age and geography.

At some point in our development, the focus of friendship shifted from playmates to commodities. We learned that who we know and associate with could determine our career success. We learned that we needed to search for the life partner who would become our most important chosen family member.

Networking and romance are positive things that can enhance our well-being and happiness. My concern is that in adult life, networking, dating, and raising a family can become a replacement for friendship. Because time, money, and energy are sometimes in short supply, we sometimes evaluate people around us based only on how our proximity to them can help us.

I think it is important for us to make sure we have people who are our friends simply because we have fun around them. In May of 2023, the United States Surgeon General declared that the United States was in a loneliness epidemic. It turns out that not having friends is terrible for our health.

Making friends in adulthood comes naturally to some people, while others may find it more challenging. The emotional atmosphere of our childhood home can often be a determining factor in this. If you felt heard, seen, and prioritized as you were growing up, and people treated one another respectfully, you are likely to be able to maintain positive friendships. A household where adults are berating, neglectful, or dishonest does not teach good social skills.

If we are lucky enough to have a busy life otherwise, it can be easy to think that friends are an unnecessary distraction. If we have had only untrustworthy friends, we might conclude that friendship is more trouble than it is worth.

When we acknowledge and release past hurts, finding friends who are likely to be more helpful than hurtful becomes easier.

There is joy, healing, and happiness in choosing suitable people to be around and having those people choose us. Friendship matters because friends make our lives better. Good friends enhance each other’s lives.

It is a blessing when our family members are also our best friends. Yet, the friendships we find, choose, and maintain over time bring us valuable depth, support, humor, and growth.

The StaarCorner

One of the things I am most proud of as I watch StaarCon grow is the community of friends that grows along with it.

The first time I went to a tarot conference, I was amazed by the unique feeling of being in a room of mystical beings like me. Finding people who share my passions was exciting, healing, and enlightening.

StaarCon 2024 will be extra special because, for the first time and for no extra cost, our AfterGlow is extended for a full year. This means that we will have a special place to gather online with our StaarCon friends to continue to learn and grow for all of 2024.

Whether you join us for a single day, all weekend, online, or in person, your ticket will grant you access to the Accelevents lounges, where we will have regularly scheduled live classes and discussions all year.

Make your plan now to be part of our community and to enjoy your new divination friends.

Finding Community

Many people have confided in me that they feel isolated as mystical practitioners in their local community. Very often, it turns out that others in the same town or area share their interests.

Whenever people tell me that there is not anyone around them interested in tarot, I like to share a story.

A small library in a rural Florida town had hired me to teach a free class on tarot. As I drove to the library, I became concerned. Amid the farms, draped in Spanish moss, were many small ramshackle churches with hand-painted signs warning of hellfire and offering salvation. This did not feel like a tarot-friendly place at all. I was afraid of what might await me at the library.

I arrived early to set up and was greeted by at least twenty people, each clutching their tarot deck, anxious for connection.

These people were neighbors, and none of them knew each other. Everyone came to the library that night expecting to be my only student.

My takeaway from this experience is that we are likely never truly alone. There is always an opportunity for connection and community around us. We only have to believe it, look for it, and find it.

The Week in Review

Thank you to all the members of my YouTube channel who came to our Members-only livestream on Monday!

This Saturday, October 28, at noon, I will be back at Mandel Public Library in West Palm Beach to teach another free tarot class. Please join us!

This Sunday, October 29, is our Zoom gathering for members of my YouTube channel at the Stars and Suns level. The link and information are in the Community tab on my YouTube channel. Please email me with questions!

l am pleased to report that the World Divination Association has awarded me “Best Divination Teacher of 2023”. Thanks to everyone who supported me, and congratulations to the other 2023 winners.

From Around the Web

Be still my heart! Today.com did a feature on Pasta Tarot. See how cards and carbs go together – I always knew they did.

If you happen to live in or near West Palm Beach, check out all these downtown Halloween happenings. Notice that my tarot class is listed!

I enjoyed Nancy Hendrickson’s Oct. 17 blog post very much. I was also happy to see that her Ancestral Magick Divination Kit won a WDA award.

Creation and Divination

There are many ways that tarot and divination can help us make friends and have fun with our friends. According to Meetup.com, there are currently 323 tarot meetups in the United States. Countless other tarot clubs, circles, and regular classes meet in shops, homes, churches, and restaurants. Finding or founding a tarot group is a great way to develop your skills and make new friends.

Tarot conferences like StaarCon are another way to meet new people and develop great friendships.

Especially at this time of year, tarot is often a great addition to parties and gatherings. There are many ways to use your creativity and include tarot in group activities. This can include tarot costuming!

Cosplay is popular year-round, not only at Halloween. Tarot provides us with great costuming ideas. A tarot party where everyone must dress as a tarot character can be a lot of fun. Asking your guests to interact with each other as their tarot characters can bring our friendships and our tarot understanding to a whole new level.

Tarot costumes can be elaborate or subtle. Dressing as a tarot card or character is a way of embodying the energy of that card.

It can be an exciting exercise with friends or on your own to incorporate tarot symbols into your outfit and see how that affects or changes your energy for the day. For example, what happens if you wear a sunflower image to embody the Queen of Wands or the Sun?

Upcoming Events

Card and Craft Academy

Classes presented by Christiana are available right now at Card and Craft Academy!

Christiana’s Candle Magick
Christiana’s Eleven-Card Celtic Cross
Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane
Practical Tarot Techniques
Psychic Tarot
Personal Tarot: Reading for Yourself
Sharing Wisdom: Reading for Others
The Meaning and Magic of Tarot Reversals
Journey Through the Major Arcana
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Tarot Beyond the Veil
Your Journey Through the Tarot Court
Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends
Tarot Readings for Personalities and Relationships
Clarity in Every Tarot Card
Tarot Flow Workshop
Making Magick with Tarot
Fearless Wisdom Tarot Workshop
Tarot Keywords and Interpretations Workshop
Tarot Spreads Tools and Techniques Workshop
Tarot for Magic and Mediumship
Tarot Communication for Clarity and Depth
Weaving the Tarot Reading Story
The Elemental Major Arcana
Minor Arcana Numbers, Elements, and Truth
Personal Healing with Tarot
Create and Interpret Custom Tarot Spreads
What the Court Cards Want You to Know
How Spirit Speaks Through Tarot

Catch up on your missed Zoom webinars and more!

cardandcraftacademy.com

About Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.

Christiana Gaudet

3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152

Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com

YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon

Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.

Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.

Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!

Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Schedule online at cardandcraft.10to8.com.

Agent inquiries are welcome.

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 43
October 25, 2023