Lessons in Optimism
A woman with a pink umbrella jumps with optimism, against a grey building.
While many are entering this new year with some trepidation, I am actively optimistic. Although I don’t think false hope is helpful in any situation, I do not believe optimism is ever false hope. So, what is the difference between false hope and optimism?
False hope happens when we refuse to see and accept difficult circumstances. False hope keeps us from making good plans in the face of tragedy. False hope leads to anger and regret. False hope is based on denial.
Optimism, on the other hand, is a practice. With optimism, we can prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
One of the best lessons in optimism I ever had was from my mother, just after she received a devastating medical diagnosis. Here is what she told me. She wanted to live to be able to travel and have fun, and she looked forward to dancing at her young grandchildren’s weddings. But if she didn’t live, that would mean she would be with God and with my father, who had passed just two years earlier. Either way, she was fine.
I do not think I have ever seen a human, before or since, process a life-changing diagnosis with such optimism. In truth, it reminded me of the last scene and closing song of the Monty Python movie Life of Brian, where we are comically and sacrilegiously encouraged to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
In retrospect, I learned a lot from my mother that day. I learned that we can fight for what we want, accept that we might not get it, and be okay with whatever happens.
What helped my mother in the face of her impending mortality was her spiritual faith. I have seen spiritual faith bring healing, peace, and joy, and I have seen spiritual faith bring torment and oppression. The outcome of faith depends on how your spirituality is expressed and the dogma you choose to accept. If your faith helps you be realistically optimistic, your faith is helpful. If your faith discourages you from optimism or encourages spiritual bypassing, your faith is likely doing you more harm than good.
Realistic optimism and positive thinking allow us to live the best way possible. My mother proved that we can be optimistic even in dire situations and that realism and optimism should co-exist.
My mother died two decades ago. Yet, her lessons in optimism guide me now. This is another reason to be optimistic, as it proves our lasting positive impact on those around us, even long after we leave.
The StaarCon 5 Imagining of Pixie Arcana. Art and composition by Stacey Williams-Ng, backgrounds by Animix.
The StaarCorner
The final lounge event of the StaarCon 2024 AfterGlow will be on Thursday, January 16, at 5:30 pm, with Serena Fox and me in Serena’s lounge.
Access to StaarCon 5 online begins on January 17th at 9 am. On Sunday, January 19th, join me in the StaarCon 5 Meeting Room Lounge for a pre-conference chat!
Brenda Elizabeth will teach “Learn Lenormand in 90 Minutes” on Thursday, January 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET, our first StaarCon 5 AfterGlow event.
Please remember that all StaarCon 5 ticketholders will be able to access the lounge events all year long!
StaarCon 5 begins Friday, January 24, at 9 am. The Marketplace and Psychic Fair opens to the public at 10 am. We are excited to bring you some of the best presenters for our conference and some of the best exhibitors for the Marketplace.
The conference requires a ticket, and the Marketplace is free to attend.
We are happy to announce that Hattie Parker will be a presenter at the conference and an exhibitor at the Marketplace. Have an aura photo taken and interpreted by Hattie in the Marketplace, and learn about High Vibe Mastery in her presentation!
StaarCon 5 is planning over fifty presentations with some of the world’s most beloved teachers. That is why the AfterGlow is so essential. We have three days to interact and learn from one another in real-time. Then, we have a year to watch the recordings and absorb the information.
Get your StaarCon 5 tickets now!
A photograph of StaarCon 5 presenter and exhibitor Hattie Parker.
A tarot reading is conducted.
When Tarot Should Not Be Optimistic
I love to say that there are no bad cards in tarot. The Tower can be just as helpful as the Ten of Cups. Yet, the interpretation of the cards comes from us, not from the cards themselves.
The recent YouTube Short I shared was that tarot should never be interpreted to predict a happy outcome for a brand-new relationship. The cards might give a hard no or a maybe, but never a yes for happily ever after.
This took me a long time to learn. There are certainly cards that are optimistic for love and romance. Yet, those cards can reflect the new relationship energy as easily as they can make a happy prediction, and it is impossible to tell the difference between new relationship energy and lasting love, in the cards and in life.
Why is this?
It has to do with the magic of love itself. Something so magical is never entirely predictable. Beyond that, love cannot grow based on expectations and predictions. Love grows based on compatibility and choices. The cards can help us assess compatibility and make good choices. But if we believe there is some spiritual force holding us together, we won’t do the necessary work that will keep us together. And if a reader tells us that the Two of Cups that appeared a month into our relationship means that we are meant to be together, we may be confused and upset if that relationship ends a week later.
Global Tarot Circle on YouTube Live - January 8th @ 7 pm.
The Week in Review
Join us on YouTube Live for Global Tarot Circle at 7 pm ET tonight. This will be January's only evening livestream gathering as we prepare for and attend StaarCon 5.
I have uploaded a conversation between Amy Forman and me about some of the woes of working tarot parties.
I am challenging myself to make YouTube Shorts. Given that I like to use many words, the challenge is the 60-second time limit. But enjoy this one, and keep your eye out for more!
From Around the Web
I was delighted to see this article from Country and Town House about a tarot exhibition scheduled for London at the end of the month. It is exciting to see the rich culture of tarot being celebrated by academia.
The Wild Hunt shared a story about another exhibit in the UK that explores the history of divination.
I found this article from the New York Post about StaarCon 5 headliner Cardsy B!
Colorful question marks.
What Should We Do in 2025?
This is the space where, for the past year, we have been discussing magic and how to use it in our practical lives. The previous year, this was a spot to celebrate and encourage creativity.
Over the years, we have done one-card readings in this spot. We have also explored all seventy-eight cards of the tarot and the thirty-six cards of the Petit Lenormand.
What would you like to see in this spot for 2025? Please send me an email and let me know!
Look for the first edition after StaarCon!
Christiana Gaudet is a Featured Presenter at StaarCon 5 on Friday, January 24th.
Upcoming Events
Weekly YouTube Events
Monday 9:30 am: Your 3-Card Weekly Reading
Thursday Noon: Tarot Topics Newsletter Recap
Friday Noon: Your Friday Weekly Wrap-up
Saturday 12:30 pm: Saturday Psychic Sampler
Card and Craft Academy
Card and Craft Academy is closed.
Look for Christiana’s new and improved academy soon! Until then, Christiana is offering personal mentorship classes in person and online.
Existing students of Card and Craft Academy will be offered a similar course in the new location as soon as the course becomes available. Students who take advantage of the offer to access the new course will also receive a coupon for a free month of our new all-access subscription when the full site is available.
If you are a Card and Craft Academy student, your invitation will be mailed to the email address you used to log in to the old account. If your address changes, you can contact Christiana to recover your account.
Christiana Gaudet and Mary K Greer at StaarCon 2023.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
770 SE Indian Street
Stuart, Florida 34997-5604
Locations in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida!
Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
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Schedule Appointments, Mentoring Sessions, or Purchase Gift Certificates Online!
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 8 Issue 2
January 8, 2025
Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.
