Sell It with Your Face
A smiling woman removes a mask.
When I was young, I badly wanted a career in theater. I wanted to sing, dance, and act. I don’t think I ever possessed the talent or the drive even to approach doing those things in most community theaters, let alone professionally. I figured that fact out after a semester as a theater major.
Many years later, I discovered at least one reason I wasn’t a great performer. I heard a dancer speaking about a particularly important and challenging piece she was performing. About it, she said, “You have to sell it with your face.”
In that moment, I realized one of the reasons I was not the best dancer in my first-grade dance class, or anywhere else. I could execute a routine flawlessly, but I never paid attention to what my face was doing. It was probably furrowed in concentration or frozen in fear, rather than matching the energy of the performance.
When we perform, whether acting in a play, dancing on stage, or giving a presentation in a corporate boardroom, we must remember that our facial expressions communicate as much, if not more, than what we say and do.
Facial expressions significantly enhance communication, even in the most casual settings. Sometimes things are inadvertently communicated by a poorly timed glance or grimace.
Criminals and con artists are great at selling with their faces. After being fooled, the victims often remarked how nice and trustworthy the crook appeared. Have you ever had the experience of intuitively sensing a very different energy from someone than what they were wearing on their face? It is easy to fall for an earnest look and trust people we shouldn’t, both personally and professionally. Paying more attention to what we perceive than to what we see can sometimes be a lifesaver.
As performers and communicators, we must remember that our faces tell a story, sometimes more so than our words do. As intuitives, we need to read beneath the surface to get the real story.
The StaarCon 5 Imagining of Pixie Arcana. Art and composition by Stacey Williams-Ng, backgrounds by Animix.
The StaarCorner
It’s a new month! Below you will see a schedule of our lounge events for September for the StaarCon 5 AfterGlow.
When StaarCon 2021, our first conference, needed to be online only, we chose Accelevents as the best option for a robust virtual conference. One of the things we loved best was that they offered thirty days after the conference ended for ticketholders to continue to use the platform, watch the recordings, and meet in the lounges. We decided to call this time period the ‘StaarCon AfterGlow’. A few years later, we were offered the option to extend this time period for a full year, providing us with the amazing opportunity to host a conference that meets in person for a weekend and online for a full year.
After the StaarCon 5 AfterGlow ends in January 2026, we will never again host a StaarCon AfterGlow. That’s because our new platform will not have the same limitations we have had to work with over the past five years. The success of the AfterGlow is leading us to develop an even richer and more accessible online community offering. We expect to have that new platform up and running long before the end of the StaarCon 5 AfterGlow. Please stay tuned for announcements.
StaarCon 5 AfterGlow Lounge Events for September
On Tuesday, September 2, from 6 pm -7:30 pm ET, join us for Frank’s Rock and Roll Tarot Lounge with Frank Kwiatkowski.
On Wednesday, September 3, from 8 pm to 9 pm ET, it’s time for Tarot Vibes: A Full Moon Prep Journey with Alyassia Taylor.
On Thursday, September 11, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, join Serena Fox and friends for Mystic Lounging.
On Wednesday, September 24, from 7 pm to 8 pm ET, join me, Christiana Gaudet, for The Major Arcana Game.
If you have a StaarCon 5 ticket, you are welcome to join all of these events! If you don’t have an AfterGlow ticket yet, General Admission is just $10.
Christiana Gaudet presenting virtually at StaarCon 2021.
A 3-card tarot spread featuring the Ace of Cups, the Page of Pentacles, and the Knight of Swords.
How the Cards Face
There is an old tradition in tarot reading that we now refer to as ‘directionality’. The technique asks us to consider the direction in which tarot characters are facing to aid in our interpretation. This can work exceptionally well when court cards appear in a reading about interpersonal interactions.
We might interpret two people looking at each other differently than two people looking in opposite directions, or even both looking in the same direction. For some readers, directionality is a significant influence on their interpretations. Other readers pay less attention to this.
An aspect of directionality that I rarely use is to consider the left as the past and the right as the future. Using this technique, if an image appears to be moving to the left, it is referencing something in the past, or something that is losing influence in your life. If they are facing or moving toward the future, they represent something that is coming into your life and gaining influence.
Does the direction the cards face matter to you in your tarot interpretations?
Tarot and Tunes Talk with Frank and Christiana Live Webinar - Tuesday, September 9th @ 7 pm.
The Week in Review
Check out your September TarotScopes on YouTube!
You may have noticed that most of my livestreams are now multi-streams. I am broadcasting on YouTube as usual, but also on YouTube vertical, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch. Please join my livestreams wherever it is easiest for you to watch!
Tonight, Wednesday, September 3, I hope you will join us for our monthly online tarot meetup, Global Tarot Circle at 7 pm ET.
Next Tuesday, September 9, please join me for a livestream with a very special guest. Frank Kwiatkowski will join me to discuss tarot and music and do some readings for our viewers.
From Around the Web
Oh my! John Oates, of Hall and Oates, has a new album, and tarot was part of his inspiration!
Tarot for manifestation? Yes, please!
The Tarot Lady, Theresa Reed, has your September astrological report.
A group of friends offers comfort.
Communities
It’s easy to exclude someone in a social setting because their expression doesn’t seem open or welcoming. When people tell me they are often not made to feel welcome and they don’t know why, I sometimes wonder if there is something about their basic expression and energy that is unintentionally off-putting. What might happen if they consciously changed that?
I think, when we deal with people we don’t know well, it is often best to intentionally not interpret an off-putting facial expression and instead assume a desire for inclusion. I would rather have someone be a jerk to me than to be a jerk to someone else accidentally.
With our friends, it’s different. We can often tell that someone we care about is not okay just by their expression and demeanor, and offer support.
Unseen hands leafing through a calendar.
Upcoming Events
Christiana Gaudet and Benebell Wen at StaarCon 2023.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
770 SE Indian Street Suite 10
Stuart, Florida 34997-5604
Locations in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida!
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
TikTok @christianagaudettarot
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 are available almost everywhere!
Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
For business or agent inquiries, call 772-301-0232
For appointments, call or text 561-655-1160
Schedule Appointments, Mentoring Sessions, or Purchase Gift Certificates Online!
Schedule your private reading or mentorship session, or purchase gift certificates at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 8 Issue 36
September 3, 2025
Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.
Join us for "Autumn Arcana Class Three: Spread the Word!" on December 16, 7-8:30 pm at W Executive Suites, Stuart, FL. Discover ways to perform a tarot reading.