Art

We begin the month of February with Groundhog Day, a secular holiday with spiritual roots. Many centuries before Punxsutawney Phil and Bill Murray, folks celebrated the cross-quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox as Imbolc, the festival of the lambing ewes, Candlemas, a Christian festival of the coming spring, and St. Brigid’s Day. Many people still honor the spiritual significance of this important day, but few remember why the groundhog’s shadow is important.

It’s simple. If the Groundhog can’t see his shadow, the spring rains have already begun.

At this time of year, we celebrate our ability to survive the winter, and our anticipation of spring. This is a metaphor for our personal resilience. Another aspect of this holiday comes to us from Brigid, the Celtic goddess who became a Catholic saint.

We honor Brigid as a healer, a poet and a metalsmith. Over time, her message has become one of healing through creativity.

Perhaps winter inspires our creativity by keeping us indoors. Perhaps the hope of the coming spring and the regeneration of life fuel our creative fires. Whatever the source, now is the perfect time to honor your inner artist, and find ways to express yourself through creativity.

Not everyone can paint a picture, write a poem, sing a song or play an instrument. Not everyone is a professional artist. Nonetheless, art is something that belongs to all of us, something that is within all of us.

When we find that spark of creativity, when we make the time and have the courage to create art, we find new ways to heal.

The Inner Child is an Artist

When we were children, we were all artists. We all drew pictures, we all painted. We sang, we danced, we acted in plays and learned musical instruments. Some of us were even talented! The sad thing is that the vast majority of us stopped being artists when we started being adults.

We often hear that we need to honor our inner child. Truly, our ability to heal from our past, create our future and enjoy our present is often hampered by the wounded inner child.

One way to bring healing to the inner child is simply this. Honor your inner artist.

Was there some creative thing you did as a kid that you don’t do now? What would happen if you brought art back into your life?

Is there some form of art you have always wanted to try, or to learn?

Now is the perfect time to make it happen.

The Week in Review

This week I participated in the 2015 Imbolc Tarot Blog Hop. More than twenty tarotists all wrote on the same interesting topic, “Oracular Anomalies.” You can read my post, and then follow the links to see what others had to say on the topic.

On our Community Blog, Linda Moore shared an insightful perspective on the Tower. If you are ready to make some changes in your life, read “The Tower: Release the Illusory Script of your Life”.

Linda is the first blogger to enter our February contest. You can help Linda win a copy of Japaridze Tarot. Simply read her post, and use the stars at the bottom to vote for her!
If you would like to submit a blog post and enter the contest, you can submit your post here.

Also on the Community Blog, I created another “Poetry in Tarot” mashup. See which Robert Frost poem I paired with the Fool!

From Around the Web

Here is a fabulous YouTube video about Groundhog Day and its spiritual nature and origins from A Metaphysician’s Journal.

For those interested in the Lenormand cards and their history, here is some information about The Game of Hope.

Here’s an interesting perspective I found on Camelia Elias’ Taroflexions. This post is a comparison of tarot and Lenormand, from the perspective of a professional reader in Europe.

Temperance: The Card of Art

Temperance, Card 14 of the Major Arcana of tarot, is a card that speaks to us, not only of patience, caution and balance, but also of art.  In some tarot decks, Temperance is actually entitled “Art.”

Other words traditionally associated with Temperance are “alchemy” and “time.” This gives us some insight into the creative message of Temperance.

Alchemy, the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerns itself with transforming matter. Spiritual alchemy is the pursuit of personal transformation.

Art is about alchemical transformation in both senses. Art transforms materials into something greater than the sum total of its parts. Art transforms us when we create it, and when we experience it.

Time is a critical piece of the Temperance puzzle, too. We often think of the “time” aspect of Temperance simply as a reminder to be patient.

However, what is the biggest excuse we adults use, when asked why we don’t make art anymore? We say we don’t have the time.

The next time Temperance appears in a reading for you, remember that one of this card’s lesser-known messages can be “make time to make art.”

The next time you are looking for some creative inspiration, spend some time with Temperance!

Tarot card  image from The Gilded Tarot Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Used with permission.

What’s Up on the Psychic Café?

This past week we featured an episode about creativity and spirituality. I interviewed Alexian, a Pagan Musician, and Lisa De St. Croix, creator of the Tarot De St. Croix. This episode really fits in with the theme of this week’s newsletter! If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it now on YouTube!

This week I’m featuring our “Creating a Better World” episode. I asked a variety of people one question.

“What is one thing we could do to create a better world?”

You’ll find the answers poignant and challenging, but ultimately doable.

Watch the video on Facebook starting Sunday, or on my YouTube channel. Hit subscribe while you are there!

Learning Tarot: Five of Pentacles

In the Five of Pentacles image, we see poor, injured people in the snow, walking past a place where they could go to receive warmth and comfort. The opportunity is there, but for some reason, they reject it.

The Five of Pentacles can indeed be a card that speaks of poverty. Usually, though, the Five of Pentacles speaks of the fear of poverty, rather than poverty itself.

The Five of Pentacles can often tell us of missed opportunities, or the fear that we are missing opportunities.

Although the suit of Pentacles relates to the element of Earth and is concerned with material resources, sometimes the Five of Pentacles can refer to missed opportunities in love. That is, the conversations we neglected to have, and the feeling that we might have been able to save a broken relationship.

Occasionally, the feeling of the Five of Pentacles is that of being rejected. Perhaps the people in the image tried to enter the building, and were denied. Often, though, it is the fear of denial, or the assumption of rejection, that the Five of Pentacles communicates.

The suit of Pentacles reflects our journey toward learning to cultivate resources. The Five is halfway through the journey of the numbered cards, from Ace to Ten. When we see the Five of Pentacles, we know that limited resources and missed opportunities are at hand.  We need to determine if the resources are as limited as we believe, or if the opportunities really are no longer available.

The Five of Pentacles asks us to confront our fears of poverty, and teaches us to find our opportunities and our resources.

Next week we will continue the journey with the Six of Pentacles.

Tarot card  image from The Gilded Tarot Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Used with permission.

February Guest Bloggers Contest

I’ve been hosting a Community Blog for a few years now. Unbelievably, we’ve had thirteen guest bloggers so far, including notables such as Biddy Tarot, Mary Ellen Collins, Robin Renee and Mary Nale.

With our new website, it’s easy to contribute to the Community Blog. Anyone who wants to submit something is welcome. Your submission needs to be somewhat tarot-related, or at least spiritual. Hate speech isn’t allowed, and you must have the legal right to publish any words or art you submit.

You may use the Community Blog to participate in the Tarot Blog Hop, as Amanda Lee has done. You may use the Community Blog to promote your own website, as long as you add something of value to the Community Blog.

As an incentive to welcome current bloggers to our new format, and to encourage new bloggers, we will have a contest during the month of February.

From now until March First, all guest bloggers on the Community Blog are eligible to win a brand new copy of the fabulous Japaridze Tarot.

How do you win? Simply contribute to the Community Blog as many posts as you like. You’ll notice that our readers can rate each blog post with stars at the bottom of the post. On March First, the blogger with the most stars, wins!

You may share your post, and ask your readers to vote for you!

The winner will be announced in March 4th edition of this Newsletter! Happy Blogging!

Your One-Card Weekly Reading

Your One-Card reading this week is the Nine of Cups.

The Nine of Cups, traditionally, is the “wish card.” When you receive this card, it is an indication that your wish will be granted.

If you can’t identify a particular wish or desire, the Nine of Cups asks you to take a moment and decide what you want to manifest in your life. What are your dreams? What are your desires?

The Nine of Cups tells you that your desires are realistic and attainable.

The Nine of Cups reminds you that, unless you set goals, you’ll never reach them.

This week, dare to dream with the Nine of Cups!

Tarot card  image from The Gilded Tarot Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Used with permission.

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 9, 7 pm
Free Webex Webinar Available Exclusively On Line
The Four Elements and the Major Arcana

The four elements of life are Earth, Air, Fire and Water. They each have metaphysical properties as well as physical properties.

The four elements correlate with the four suits of the Minor Arcana of the tarot. They also correlate with individual cards of the Major Arcana.

The term “Major Arcana” means “Greater Secrets.” The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana contain the most spiritual messages and lessons of the tarot, and tell the story of our journey through life.

When we learn the elemental associations for each of the Major Arcana cards, we have a clear way to understand these important cards.

This 75 minute webinar will help the tarot student more fully understand the four elements. It will provide a deeper way to comprehend each of the Major Arcana cards. The student will be able to more fully interpret the Major Arcana cards, whether reading for self or others.

For more information and log in, visit the Event Listing.
 

Wednesday, February 25, 7 pm
Premium Webex Webinar Available Exclusively On Line
Sharing Wisdom – Reading for Others

Tarot hobbyists, professional readers, and those somewhere in between, all share something in common. We all want to give the best readings possible to clients, family and friends.

In this online presentation, Christiana Gaudet will guide you through each step of performing a great reading. She will help you discover your personal style as a reader, and discuss some common pitfalls and ways to avoid them. She will give you insight in how to derive the most specific information possible from each reading.

Christiana’s virtual classroom is accessible using your computer or your telephone using the Webex app.

To register for this webinar, visit the event listing.
 

Sunday, March 1, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread, 23388 State Rd 54, Lutz, FL 33549

Join fellow tarot enthusiasts for an afternoon of readings, conversation, exploration and insight. Grab a beverage and a snack and get ready to learn something new.

We’ve recently been working with both tarot and Lenormand, so bring your cards if you have them.

Join our Meetup!

About Christiana

Private readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida. 

Call 813-948-4488, toll free 866-99TAROT,
or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.

Agent inquiries are welcome.