Healing the Family Tree

Concept illustration of a mandala with lotus flowers and people in meditation.

The first time I heard about generational curses, I was not even twenty years old. A friend told me about the ‘Kennedy Curse.’ Apparently, many people believe that the American Kennedys were placed under a curse because of Joe Kennedy’s alleged involvement with organized crime. When I heard this, I was shocked that reasonable adults would believe such a fanciful thing.

After decades as a professional tarot reader, I can now say that I have seen evidence of family curses, but not in the way that my friend was discussing. I do not believe that a person could create a magical spell that would bring harm to generation after generation. I also don’t believe that ‘karma’ works that methodically.

To me, a ‘family curse’ is generational trauma and its consequences. We talk about breaking the cycle of abuse when we raise our kids in households that function differently from our families of origin. That feels like breaking a family curse.

I think these ancestral ‘curses’ come in three forms – two that I understand, and one that I have seen but can’t quite figure out. The first and most obvious form is from our parents, both nurture and nature. We are like our parents and ancestors because we share genetic traits with them. That means we inherit their flaws as well as their talents. As we grow up in our family home, we become comfortable with whatever behaviors are normalized for us. That means that we might repeat some of our parents' mistakes, both because we share their genetics and because they raised us.

A second way we may inherit the trauma of our ancestors could be through what is called ‘archaic memory’. This suggests that the traumas that come from war, genocide, and other cultural catastrophes are stored within the bloodline and passed down through the generations.

The third thing is something I have witnessed in myself and others and cannot explain. Sometimes history repeats itself, in unexpected ways, from generation to generation. Often, it’s not anything traumatic, just odd specificities showing up in each generation. When I see evidence of this, I usually chalk it up to the unseen energetic threads that connect us to one another, especially within families.

Clearly, I believe that ‘family curses’ are largely behavioral and genetic in origin. I believe the way to break the curse is to identify the problem, find its origin, and change the thought pattern or behavior.

On a deeply spiritual level, I believe that any generational healing we do benefits not only ourselves and our progeny. I believe that when we heal from generational trauma, the healing is conferred on our living ancestors as well as our ancestors in spirit.

Half of what I posit here makes obvious sense from a psychological perspective. The other half is a question of belief. We may all have different beliefs about the spiritual nature of trauma and healing over generations. We also all likely have a few twisted branches in our family tree, so generational healing is something for us all.

Pixie Arcana for StaarCon 6 by Pamela Steele.

The StaarCorner

Our roster of in-person speakers for StaarCon 6 is filling quickly. This week, I am happy to welcome a returning StaarCon presenter and a first-time StaarCon presenter, both of whom will be presenting in the Mindful room.

Hilary Parry Haggerty will be joining us for the very first time, and I could not be more excited! Hilary is a tarot reader, witch, author, and teacher. Her first book, How to Read Tarot, was published by Flame Tree Publishing in 2022. You may already know Hilary from her podcast, Cardslingers Coast to Coast.

At StaarCon 6, Hilary will help you use tarot to take your magical work to the next level! She will be sharing a session titled "Using Tarot for Spell-Work." In this session, you will learn to use tarot to help you plan and execute your magic. After the spell is completed, you can use divination to help you analyze what worked and what didn’t.

Tikashi Denour Lacoste is a crystal healer, tarotist, and astrologer.  She will travel across the country to join us for StaarCon 6, where she will present a session on astrology.

Zodiac in the Flesh: Understanding Your Birth Chart will be an easy conversation that will make birth charts accessible to you, even if you don’t have a lot of understanding of astrology.
You will learn how your chart works as a system. Beginners in astrology will develop a foundation of knowledge in this session. Experienced astrologers will find helpful new perspectives.

Tikashi joined us in person in 2023 and virtually in 2024. We are excited to welcome her back in person for StaarCon 6!

StaarCon Presenter Tikashi Denour Lacoste.

StaarCon Presenter Hilary Parry Haggerty.

Tickets to attend StaarCon 6 in person in Palm Beach Gardens are now available, along with guest rooms at the DoubleTree at a favorable rate. Get your tickets and book your rooms now! We look forward to seeing you in October!

Mercedes as the Hermit, Tania as the Wheel of Fortune, Martha as Justice.

Beth Conklin presenting at StaarCon 5.

Virtual Presenter Spotlight: Beth Conklin

Forty Years with the Cards, and the Shadow Still Has Things to Say

Today we're turning the spotlight on one of our presenters for StaarCon 6 and StaarCon 6 Virtual: Beth Conklin. If you've spent any time in the South Florida tarot scene, you almost certainly know her, and if you don't yet, you're in for a treat. Beth has been reading and studying tarot for more than 40 years, which means she was sitting with the cards long before most of the current wave of tarot creators were born. She teaches across Palm Beach County, the Treasure Coast, and North Carolina, and her classes range from tarot to meditation to past life regression to witchcraft and a whole lot in between.

Beth is of Native American and Eastern European descent, and she's a member of B.O.T.A. (Builders of the Adytum), the western mystery school founded on the Hermetic Qabalah and the Tarot Keys. That lineage matters, because it shows up in how she teaches: she's the kind of reader who can hold a card, walk you through forty years of personal practice with it, and then quietly point you toward the deeper symbolic current running underneath. She's a tarotist, a teacher, and an artist, and she's a returning friend of StaarCon, having presented at StaarCon 2024 and StaarCon 5 before stepping back onto the Live Track this year. We're especially excited about this one: Beth's session is the very first session of StaarCon 6 to be streamed live, kicking off the weekend's live programming on Friday afternoon.

What is she bringing to StaarCon 6?

On Friday, October 2nd at 2:00 pm on the Live Track, Beth is presenting Tarot Shadow Work, a session that uses the cards as a stepping stone into one of the most rewarding (and uncomfortable) corners of inner work.

What is the Shadow Self? Different traditions answer that question very differently. Jungian psychology, esoteric tarot, indigenous wisdom, and witchcraft all have something to say about it. Beth will walk you through several of those theories, and then turn the conversation toward what to actually do about it: how to recognize your shadow, how to begin healing the parts of yourself you've kept in the dark, and how to integrate them rather than exile them. The tarot does the work it's always done best in Beth's hands: it gives the conversation images and language, so the shadow has somewhere to show up.

Bring paper, a pen, and a tarot deck you trust. This is a hands-on session, and you'll want a deck that's willing to be honest with you.

Where to find Beth between now and October

Beth keeps a quieter footprint online than some of our presenters, which feels exactly right for a teacher whose work is rooted in classrooms, circles, and direct relationships. The best way to follow along is on Facebook, where she posts as Shamoness. You can find her at facebook.com/shamoness. If you're in Palm Beach County, the Treasure Coast, or western North Carolina, keep an eye on her page for upcoming classes; her workshops on tarot, meditation, divination, and past life regression fill up through word of mouth more than anything else.

About Beth

Beth Conklin has been reading and studying tarot for over 40 years. She is a member of B.O.T.A. Of Native American and Eastern European descent, she teaches classes in Palm Beach County, the Treasure Coast, and North Carolina on a wide range of topics, including tarot, meditation, various other forms of divination, past life regression, witchcraft, and more.

StaarCon Presenter Beth Conklin.

Presentation: Tarot Shadow Work
Date: October 2, 2026
Room opens: 1:45 PM EDT
Session begins: 2 PM EDT
Duration: 45 minutes

A woman reading her cards in a cloud of incense.

The Questions That Break the Curse

Whether we discuss questions for divination, questions to ask ourselves in contemplation, or questions we could ask our parents and family members, one thing is clear.

Asking questions is how we break generational curses. This is particularly poignant because high-control religions that are often the cause of family trauma discourage questions. Narcissistic parents and those hiding family secrets do the same. Trauma and abuse hide in the shadows; questions bring them to light.

When reading tarot, or performing any divination for yourself or others, very often addressing questions to problematic family members in spirit will help us begin to solve some of the mysteries of their behaviors. Often, the best question there is simply, “What do you want to say to me?” It is usually true that once on the other side, even the most egregiously abusive or neglectful parent has found enough healing to communicate from a different perspective than they did in life, and they will almost always be willing to do so through the cards.

To heal the family tree, we must begin with ourselves. We did not create the trauma, but, as adults, it is our responsibility to heal. To that end, we can ask questions of the cards that help us understand our own hurt and our own behaviors. This sort of work is often called ‘shadow work’ because it forces us to confront aspects of ourselves we would prefer not to see or show others.

Pattern recognition is extremely helpful in healing from generational trauma. We need to see patterns across generations and patterns in our own lives. If we are unable to see obvious patterns, we can ask the card questions, such as, “What do these situations have in common?”

In the end, healing involves changing behavior. Sometimes our questions for the cards can simply be about identifying problematic behaviors and suggesting alternatives.

There are many paths to healing. Most of them begin with a question.

Global Tarot Circle Live on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook & Instagram - Tuesday, June 2nd @ 7 pm.

The Week in Review

If you missed our livestream class on the elemental associations of Major Arcana cards, you can watch the replay. Members of my YouTube channel can watch the replay of our members-only session as well as the members-only edition of TarotScopes for June.

June TarotScopes will be available for everyone on YouTube on June First, and are being uploaded to TikTok and YouTube Shorts this week.

This coming Saturday, May 30, I will be teaching a free all-levels tarot class at the Mandel Public Library in West Palm Beach at 1 pm. Everyone is welcome.

On Tuesday, June 2, please join us online for our monthly virtual tarot meetup, Global Tarot Circle. You can join us on YouTube or join the multistream on Facebook, Twitch, or Instagram.

From Around the Web

Jim Markowich is not the first person to create a baseball-themed tarot deck, but he seems to be the most recent! It warms my heart to see that this exhibit is happening in Scranton, Pennsylvania!

Often, a tarot or oracle deck is inspired by a movie, mythology, literature, or culture. Random House is doing the opposite by releasing an oracle deck based on a popular novel!

Mary Ellen Collins has some thoughts on why we get readings!

The Ten of Pentacles tarot card.

Tarot Wisdom For the Week

The Ten of Pentacles is the card that, to me, most clearly speaks of generations past. It’s a versatile card because it speaks of our legacy and progeny as well as our ancestry.

Since the Ten of Pentacles has traditionally been known as the ‘Castle Card,’ it can also speak to houses, homes, and real estate. This is also a card that can predict a smart romantic match and describe a wealthy person or lifestyle.

A fun fact about this card is that, in the Waite-Smith deck, it is the only card to feature the Kabalistic Tree of Life within the image.

When you see this card in a reading, its versatility means you need to interpret it in context. Are we buying property, receiving a message from loved ones in spirit, or about to marry rich? One or many of these things may be true when we see this card. Yet, when we want to consider generational healing, there is no better card or more obvious card than the Ten of Pentacles.

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 speaking at StaarCon 5.

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
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 9 Issue 21
May 27, 2026

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