Bargaining with the Universe
We are all familiar with the concept of the Faustian bargain, that deal we make when we give our soul to evil or amoral forces in exchange for something we immediately want or need. The story of Dr Faustus, written in 1592 in England by Christopher Marlow, was based on a German legend.
In the United States, this same theme is woven throughout our musical tradition. The 1979 Charlie Daniels Band song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” has its roots in the 1938 song by Robert Johnson, “Me and the Devil Blues”.
The irony is this.
While we all know of the legend, concept, and metaphor of making a deal with the devil, most of us more often try to bargain with our Higher Power.
We can all deeply understand why there are no atheists in foxholes. When things are dark, we make promises and bargains with the force we believe might be able to deliver us from the overwhelming threat we face. What we call that force depends on our culture, tradition, and belief system. We may view it as deity, or simply as the universe. We may see it as an appeal to our own higher self.
This topic is on my mind because of a conversation I had with a friend this week about bargaining. She was referencing the third of five stages of grief in the Kubler-Ross model.
According to this model, we face grief first with denial, then with anger, and then with bargaining. From there, we move to depression, and finally, to acceptance.
I often think about this model of grief in terms of death and critical illness, since it was first presented in the book, On Death and Dying.
Yet, we feel the pain of grief and loss in many less dire circumstances. And we use bargaining, sometimes to our detriment, when we are working to change behaviors that we know do not serve us.
The person who wants to maintain a healthier weight grieves the loss of their previous relationship with food and may bargain with themselves to justify a piece of cake.
The person who is in an unhealthy marriage may bargain to rationalize the continued relationship.
The person who is struggling with substance addiction bargains to enjoy another encounter with their drug of choice.
When we find ourselves in an internal bargain to make ourselves feel better about an unhealthy choice, we need to remember three things.
First, this is a normal, natural, human thing to do. Shame only makes it worse.
Second, if we are aware of our behavior, we have access to the beginning stages of healing, even if we are not currently making the best choices.
Finally, when we are making bargains as part of the process of releasing harmful behaviors, we are not truly making a deal with any mystical force, either good or evil. We are playing games with our own conscience.
Once we realize this, it can become easier to hold ourselves accountable for healthier decisions.
At the same time, we must be gentle with ourselves. The fact that we are in a bargaining stage is clear proof that our grief is real. Grieving people are always deserving of grace, no matter the source of the grief.
There are times we do turn to mystical forces to explain the difficult things that are happening, and to make a bargain to turn our luck around. Prayer, magic, energy work, and affirmation are things that bring us comfort. I believe these things do hold power and can make a difference in our outcomes.
Yet, it is best to avoid employing these practices as part of a bargain with the universe. I might burn a candle or say a prayer to bring energy toward the outcome I want. Yet, I believe I need to avoid holding the universe accountable to that bargain. If I do the energetic work and still do not get my desires fulfilled, it is important to remember that my Higher Power did not renege on an agreement.
My mother used to tell me that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is no.
We can and should direct our energy toward our best outcomes, and be grateful when that energy pushes things in our preferred direction. But we must also understand that there is no true way to bargain with the forces that drive the universe.
The StaarCorner
We are excited to announce our that Benebell Wen and Emilie Muniz will be our headlining presenters for StaarCon 2024.
Benebell Wen is the author of Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth, which was shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Award, and The Tao of Craft: Fu Talismans and Casting Sigils in the Eastern Esoteric Traditions, both published by North Atlantic Books (2015 and 2016 respectively). She is also the creator of the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, which won the Judges Choice Award for Best Tarot Deck from the 2019 International Tarot Foundation CARTA Awards and Best Author of a Tarot Deck.
Emilie Muniz is the creator of Simplicity Tarot, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Emilie has over two decades of tarot experience as a professional tarot reader. Emilie also divines with other systems, such as coffee cup readings, oracle cards, and Puerto Rican Espiritismo.
Her latest offering, Simplicity Lenormand, endeavors to shine a light on the mysterious yet oddly familiar Lenormand system of divination to make learning Lenormand straightforward and fun for students of any level.
StaarCon 2024 is January 19-21. You can join us in West Palm Beach, or online on Accelevents Event Management Platform. Do not miss your opportunity to learn from Benebell and Emilie, and a host of other teachers, authors, creators, and artists.
Tarot for Acceptance
When we are in any sort of bargaining phase of grief, we are ultimately in need of the final stage, which is acceptance.
Sometimes it is hard to face the truth that tarot has for us when we are still in that place of bargaining.
Yet, repetition is powerful. Repetition gives us muscle memory and helps us learn and perfect anything we are trying to master.
How often have we repeatedly gone to the cards, only to have them tell us the same thing, the thing we did not want to hear, over and over?
Eventually, we will hear and accept that truth.
There are those who suggest that we should not read on the same topic over and over. In a professional setting, this can indeed be a frustrating waste of time and money. Yet, sometimes repetitive readings can be helpful in that the truth does not change. If we hear it long enough, often enough, and phrased each time in a slightly different way, we will eventually hear it.
Once we hear the truth, and accept the truth, we can act on the truth.
This is another way that tarot can help us heal.
The Week in Review
Your March TarotScopes are available on my YouTube channel! Check out your sun sign, your rising sign, and your moon sign.
Did you catch our class on Tarot and Past Lives last night? You can watch the replay.
From Around the Web
I was excited to find this recent article from Vogue magazine about actress Maisie Williams reading tarot!
Here is an article from VeryWellMind about the bargaining stage of grief.
This article from Vice.com is almost a year old. Sadly, the problem it discusses has only gotten worse. Please read this article about Instagram scammers. At any given time, there are multiple people on Instagram pretending to be me. My peers experience the same thing.
Remember that no legitimate reader will send you a direct message offering to read for you.
Creation and Divination
I have been a hard-core tarotist for years. From time to time I explore other methods of divination. Sometimes I combine these with tarot in ways that enhance my practice. Yet, this is a rare occurrence in my life. Tarot comes so easily to me it seems counterproductive to complicate my life.
Many of my peers have been working with charm divination. As I result, I have been lucky to receive gifts of charms to be used as oracles, and to attend some workshops on charm divination, both as a singular practice and in conjunction with tarot.
Over the past few weeks, I felt inspired to combine many of the charms I have received into a single oracle set and start to work with them.
I like the charms. As a child I collected miniature porcelain animals and dollhouses. Charms are small replicas of every manner of thing, and appeal to the same part of me that delighted over dollhouse sized pots and pans, and miniature frogs and mice.
I’ve discovered that charms (which are designed primarily for costume jewelry-making) are readily available and inexpensive.
I’ve chosen not to assign a particular set of keywords to my charms. Whatever they make me think of when I pull one to lay on a tarot card, or when I cast a handful on the table, is how I interpret them.
This process of open intuition has been interesting, fun, and enlightening. I can see how working with charms can help us develop our intuition and become better tarot readers.
The opportunity to assemble one’s own personal oracle is enticing in its creativity and its limitless possibilities.
I am not sure if charm oracles are a fad in our community, or something that will last for years. I am also not sure whether charms will become a permanent part of my divination practice. For now, I strongly recommend that you consider acquiring and playing with some charms. I think you will have fun with it, and it will open you to some new creativity in your divination practice, as it has for me.
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!
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 10
March 8, 2023