The Thought Loop
Concept illustration of a woman with swirling thoughts.
In psychology and psychiatry, looping thoughts can often be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). As one who has conducted countless tarot readings over decades, I believe that many of us, with and without actual diagnoses, struggle with thought loops.
A thought loop can be a fear or worry that nags at us. A thought loop can be a belief or set of ideas that keeps us stuck in an unhealthy behavior. Thought loops can cause us to make decisions not in our best interest.
Spiritual people are not immune to the discomfort that thought loops can bring. Spiritual people can often fall prey to repetitive fears and limiting thoughts that grow out of an interpretation or misinterpretation of doctrine or ideology.
This creates an interesting dichotomy for people like me. Tarot readers and spiritual advisors are often the first to recognize and help correct these thought loops. Yet, we are at risk of our own thinking errors.
The truth is, no matter how intelligent, healthy, spiritual, or well-adjusted a person might be, we all have the potential to hold fast to ideas that are not true and do not serve us. Sometimes, those thoughts take hold and create an entire personal belief structure based on unhelpful or untrue premises.
Sometimes, it takes a trained therapist, a specific modality like EMDR, or medication to help us recover from thought loops and thinking errors. Sometimes, self-awareness and reflection are enough to make the correction.
As spiritual people, we make room in our thinking for the power of that which we cannot see and do not understand. This expansive thinking can empower us when our thoughts bring us toward our healing, our goals, and our joy. As soon as our thoughts lock us into a tight loop from which there is no apparent escape, we must have the presence of mind to find a way to break free and open to new possibilities.
The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.
The StaarCorner
We are very excited to welcome Stephanie Cecchini as a presenter at StaarCon 2024. If Stephanie looks familiar to you, that is because you likely know her as Grace Calas, her earlier nom du plume.
Stephanie has created some amazing things in the world of tarot, including the Lightworker’s Tarot Deck and CompetentSee, LCC, an online community for lightworkers.
At StaarCon 2024, Stephanie will share a helpful perspective on AI for tarot readers. She will teach us ways to use AI ethically to enhance our productivity.
Stephanie’s will be one of two presentations on tarot and AI at StaarCon 2024.
Make your plan to join Stephanie at StaarCon 2024!
A photograph of StaarCon presenter Stephanie Cecchini.
A young man performs a tarot spread.
Shifting Thoughts with Tarot
Can we use tarot to identify and shift out of a thought loop? I think we can if the root cause is not psychiatric or if appropriate psychological care is underway. Along with proper medical care, tarot can aid in the healing process. The problem we need to watch out for is that if we cannot think critically, we might use tarot to confirm our thinking errors rather than dispel them.
If you are dealing with intrusive thoughts, repetitive worries, or a personal narrative that is not serving you and you feel ready to use tarot to help, try this tarot process.
First, get a handle on your thoughts. Make a written list of the thing or things that you are telling yourself or that your brain is telling you.
Now, look at each statement on the list. What you will do is, one at a time, let tarot ring in on each of your thoughts. You can do this in several ways, depending on the nature of the thought and how you prefer to work with the cards.
You may ask tarot, what is true about this thought? You may ask where the thought came from and how it has served you. You may pull cards to find a new narrative to shift into. You may ask the cards how a particular thought hurts you.
The process will continue until you have worked through each of the thoughts. This is an excellent process to do with a journal so that you can go back later, read through your progress, ask more questions, and pull more cards as needed.
Illustration of women reading tarot at a kitchen table.
The Week in Review
We had the most students yet for my class at Mandel Library in West Palm Beach last Saturday. Thanks for coming out. I am excited to begin a second year teaching there quarterly.
Tonight, join us on YouTube for Global Tarot Circle. This Sunday, join us in person at Panera Bread for our monthly meetup if you happen to be nearby.
It’s a new month, so look for your November TarotScopes on my YouTube channel and on TikTok.
From Around the Web
Refinery 29 has your horoscopes for November 2023.
One of the best sources of good tarot historical information is Tarot Heritage, a website run by Sherryl E. Smith. Check out her most recent article on Tarot de Marseille.
As we enter November, we prepare for the eleventh day of the eleventh month. This day is considered sacred by many. Here is a special tarot spread to perform as we approach the day known as the 11/11 Stargate.
Tarot cards with a focus on the Tower.
Creation and Divination
One of the most challenging and devastating cards in tarot is Major Arcana 16, the Tower. Yet, the Tower is an important lesson and often a necessary occurrence.
We can associate the Tower with the process of breaking a thought loop and adopting a new narrative or a new way of understanding our situation.
You can meditate with the Tower to help you find the courage and inspiration to change your thoughts or your belief system.
Here is a poem I wrote about the Tower. If you have poetry or short prose that you would like to share in the column, please email me.
The Tower
Yielding only to flame and destiny, and rendered into dust
The Tower crumbles and begins to fall.
The fullness of its destruction is inevitable.
Torn, falling, brick by brick, and wall by wall.
Is this a metaphor for some internal shadow journey?
Or a dark harbinger of doom, or worse?
Dread curls around your spine and laughs as you relinquish hope
Abandoned, injured, the weight of flesh a curse.
Pray you learned well the Fool's lesson; to leap, with faith, in good time.
Flawed foundations rock; ominous, frightening
Welcome the collapse, raining droplets of Spirit and dirt.
No fear in the storm; raging, releasing, enlightening.
Solid stone stands no more, yet burned and broken flesh is strangely
crawling, quivering, shaking, quite alive.
Ashes swept away reveal new ground, new hope, something shining.
The victory is simply to survive.
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!
Christiana Gaudet and Dame Darcy at StaarCon 2023.
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
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Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
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or call or text 561-655-1160
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 44
November 1, 2023
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