When Love Raises the Bar
Sports fans watch a game on TV.
The weekend of the big game is on the way! Many people are planning parties, menus, and getting ready to enjoy our unofficial national holiday. After the game, I know that some people will be angry.
People whose team didn’t win will be angry at their favorite players and favorite team. This aspect of fandom always surprises me. If you love a team or a player, why don’t you support them in bad times as well as good?
I marvel at how this energy is expressed across different fandoms. When a franchise launches a new show, it is always the biggest fans of the franchise that complain the most about whatever choices the showrunners have made. When a popular musician releases an album, we can expect countless think pieces from fans about why this wasn’t their best work.
Why do we express our love for those who entertain and inspire us with anger and disappointment? Certainly, our tastes can change, and some artistic offerings just aren’t as good as others. But I think there is something deeper here that translates into our personal relationships.
I think strong feelings are an investment, and we care about what we are invested in. Parents love their children. Sometimes that love drives parents to be overly critical, believing criticism will help their children do better.
In romantic relationships, another dynamic can be at play. The person we partner with will directly affect our lives. We may look at them with a more critical eye because their successes and failures will become our own.
It seems that when we love something or someone, we are highly motivated to see them succeed and can become quite irate when it doesn’t happen. Our love raises the bar on our expectations.
I don’t think that well-paid celebrities are particularly worried that we yell at our televisions and post think pieces about them online. I do think our families thrive better when love raises the bar for patience and compassion, as well as for expectations.
A fairy looking forward to StaarCon 6.
The StaarCorner
We have a date and a location for StaarCon 6! Join us October 2, 3, and 4 at the DoubleTree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Located 15 minutes from Palm Beach International Airport, the DoubleTree offers a comfortable conference center, guest rooms with balconies overlooking the pool, breakfast in Oz Restaurant, and lunch, dinner, and drinks at the Fusion Lounge.
Across the street from the conference center are a Publix grocery store, Outback Steakhouse, Paddy Mac’s Irish Restaurant, and Sushi Yama Japanese Restaurant. Easily reachable by walking, driving, or taking the DoubleTree van are places like Christopher’s Kitchen, which specializes in organic vegan, and the famous Rocco’s Tacos.
StaarCon 6 will feature a 2,000+ square-foot Marketplace, open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm all three days. We will have three tracks of presentations on Saturday and Sunday. Our presentation rooms will include our Live room, where headliners will present, and where we will hold opening and closing ceremonies and the Bardic Circle. Everything that happens in the Live room will be streamed to StaarCast and recorded in real time.
Our Quiet and Calm Room was a welcome addition to StaarCon 5. For StaarCon 6, we are renaming it the Mindful Room. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you will find seances, yoga, soundbaths, and other fun and meaningful activities. Those who present in this room will provide videos about their subject matter in advance of the conference for those who are attending virtually on StaarCast.
On Saturday and Sunday, our Classroom will hold panel discussions, classes, and presentations that are not recorded. As with the Mindful room, videos about these presentations will be available on StaarCast.
Our Hospitality room will host coffee breaks with our sponsors and will include a screen displaying our online presenters on StaarCast.
As you have come to expect, our presenters will include some of the world's best-known artists, designers, authors, readers, and teachers, along with exciting new talent. Please save the dates and look for announcements. Tickets are available now!
The DoubleTree is offering a special $139 room rate for conference attendees for a limited number of rooms. Be sure to reserve your rooms early!
Thursday evening dinner at Outback Steakhouse, StaarCon 2022.
Building the StaarCon 6 Virtual Conference
Visitors to the site will notice a new tile in the list of rooms, available to members of the StaarCast Community website: StaarCon6 Virtual.
The StaarCon 6 Virtual Tarot and Divination Conference will open this spring and will feature the main stage live-streamed from the StaarCon 6 Tarot and Divination Conference to be held October 2, 3 & 5, 2006, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The virtual conference replaces the AfterGlow, a feature of StaarCon 2021 through StaarCon 5. We have removed the distractions and improved accessibility to enhance your experience. The new room, in addition to the Lounge and Meeting Hall, will host live workshops, panels, and discussions before, during, and after the live conference.
StaarCon 6 Virtual Tarot and Divination Conference will be a year-long event, opening with some of the favorite workshops held during the AfterGlow. Check each month for new events and workshops presented by your StaarCon favorites!
The virtual conference rooms will be ready for use soon. Again, thanks for your patience.
The sign at the DoubleTree by Hilton & Executive Meeting Center.
The pool as seen from a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton.
A young woman reading tarot.
Questions For the Cards
When we are feeling disappointed by a loved one, divination can help us organize and understand our thoughts and feelings. We need to know whether our disappointment stems from our own faulty expectations or if we have a right to feel let down. We need to know whether we should approach the person and, if so, how.
Rather than a tarot spread, it is often best in this sort of situation to simply ask questions and pull cards.
Here are some sample questions that might inspire you.
What were my expectations for this?
Were my expectations appropriate?
Was this person aware of my expectations?
Did this person try to meet those expectations?
Would a conversation be helpful?
What do I need to know in order to have a productive conversation?
What should the goals of the conversation be?
Global Tarot Circle Live on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook & Instagram - Wednesday, February 4th @ 7 pm.
The Week in Review
Join us tonight at Global Tarot Circle! This is our online monthly tarot meetup. You can join on YouTube, or find the stream on Twitch, Facebook, or Instagram. Bring your tarot cards and get ready to share readings and tarot study with your tarot friends around the world.
Your TarotScopes for February are ready on YouTube and TikTok.
There are two great local in-person opportunities for tarot study in Martin County this month. Join us for our tarot meetup on Sunday, February 15, at 4 pm at Panera Bread in Palm City.
On Tuesday, February 17, join us at my Stuart office for Third Tuesday Tarot! Tickets are available now.
From Around the Web
Tarot-inspired musical theater? Yes, please!
The Standard asked a question I have often wondered about. Why is fashion so obsessed with tarot?
The Embroidered Forest has a great article about tarot spreads for families.
Tarot cards with the Lovers revealed.
Tarot Wisdom For the Week
As we approach Valentine’s Day, of course we think of love and romance. We often associate Major Arcana 6 with romance because it is called The Lovers.
The Lovers is such an interesting card. Its archetype is the syzygy, the divine couple. Yet, this is often more of a concept than a reality.
Six is the number of victory, service, and glory. These keywords make sense when we consider a divinely fated relationship.
In the Waite-Smith illustration for this card, the man looks at the woman, and the woman looks at the angel. They are clearly not on the same page!
The Lovers is associated with Gemini, which is an Air sign. Air governs the powers of the mind, including decision-making and communication.
The Lovers teaches us something important about long-term love relationships. A relationship can feel fated and divine. Day to day, we need to focus more on our communication skills and the decisions we make than on the idea of fate or divinity.
When the Lovers appears in a reading, it may or may not reference a romance. It will often ask you to consider what you want in your life, and what you don’t.
Unseen hands leafing through a calendar.
Upcoming Events
Weekly Livestream Events
Monday 9:30 am: Your 3-Card Weekly Reading
Friday Noon: Your Friday Weekly Wrap-up
Saturday 12:30 pm: Saturday Psychic Sampler
Sunday 9:30 am: Tarot Topics Newsletter Recap
Watch on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram! (internet willing!) Schedule subject to change without notice.
Christiana Gaudet and Martha Vink, Connecticut, 2021.
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
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Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, and in-person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
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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!
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 9 Issue 5
February 4, 2026
Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.
Join us for "Third Tuesday Tarot" on February 17th, 7-8:30 pm at W Executive Suites, Stuart, Florida. Learn the second seven numbered cards of the Major Arcana, what they teach us in life, and how to interpret them in a reading.