Traditions

Although the weather isn’t very nice, there are so many opportunities to experience different cultural traditions this time of year. This week we have Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year.  There are colorful celebrations all around us!

Many of our celebratory traditions include divination and manifestation. From the King Cake Baby to the Chinese New Year fireworks, many cultural traditions are rooted in our desire to predict the future, or create the future.

In modern times, we often observe these sorts of traditions in a fun party setting, without thinking about our actual ability to change the energy around us.

Chinese fireworks at the New Year began as an effort to drive away evil and start the New Year fresh. The King Cake Baby has always been a form of divination. Hundreds of years ago, beans were baked into cakes. Receiving the bean forecast luck and prosperity.

Many of us have our own personal traditions to divine or manifest the future. Perhaps you have a tarot spread you perform for yourself on your birthday. Perhaps you pay attention to songs on the radio, and find meaning within them.

What are your personal traditions to divine or manifest the future?

Be Unmasked! A Tarot Spread

One thing both Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year have in common is this. In both traditions, masks are worn as part of the celebrations.

Wearing a mask can be fun, or part of a spiritual ritual. Sometimes, though, we wear metaphoric masks that hide who we are from others, or sometimes even from ourselves.

Here’s a quick two-card spread that can become part of your personal tarot tradition.

Card 1: Your Mask. Let this card represent what you try to show to others, or how you want others to see you.

Card 2: Under the Mask. This card represents who you really are, authentically.

How close in energy are these two cards to each other? Do you want people to perceive you as you truly are? Does your presentation give you power, or does it hide you in a way that doesn’t serve you?

The Week in Review

This week, on My Dark Forest blog, I wrote about a type of communication that is becoming a lost art. Read “The Joy of a Hand-Written Letter.”

On my personal blog I wrote about some funny nicknames I have for certain tarot cards.

On our Community Blog I wrote about a Major Arcana exercise I tried in a class recently. How do you find love in the Major Arcana?
 

From Around the Web

Luminaria Star, whom you may remember from episodes of Christiana’s Psychic Café, has a great new YouTube Channel called “A Metaphysician’s Journal.” This week she honored Pamela Colman Smith, artist of the Waite-Smith Tarot, whose birthday was February 16.

From Jean Hamilton-Fford, here is an interesting post about “Loving your Doubts and Fears.”

From Psychology Today, here is a post I enjoyed called “Flow and Happiness.” 

Five Tarot Cards that Speak of Tradition

The subject of tradition often comes up in readings. We feel guilty for not keeping our traditions. We receive pressure to uphold family traditions that don’t feel relevant. We struggle to make time for the traditions that matter to us.

There are particular tarot cards that may speak of these issues with tradition. Here are five of them.

Hierophant: A primary key word for the Hierophant is “tradition.” This card can predict a marriage, but it can also speak about dogmatic religious traditions, or those who rigidly adhere to traditions, and want others to as well.

Magician: The Magician can speak of learning specific traditions, such as a tradition of yoga, or medicine.

Moon: The Moon can suggest a regular observance, such as a New Moon or Full Moon celebration.

Nine of Pentacles: The Nine of Pentacles can speak of your own personal traditions, as well as the family and cultural traditions you inherit.

Ten of Pentacles: The Ten of Pentacles speaks specifically of family traditions passed from one generation to the next.

Tradition grounds us, but it can also limit us. Look to these cards to point out our issues regarding traditions.

What’s up on the Psychic Café?

Christiana’s Psychic Café began in December, 2012 as a live weekly webcast on the Para Encounters Network.  Now that Para Encounters is no longer broadcasting as it once did, I am continuing to produce new episodes as time allows, and debuting them on my YouTube Channel.

I also have an archive of shows that have never made it to YouTube. Little by little, I am finding those shows and making them available to you.

This week’s featured show was such an episode. The show aired in June of 2013. The name of the show is “Divination Exploration.” It features conversations with three diviners, Robin Renee, Mary Ellen Collins and Ambika Devi. Together, we work to understand and define divination.

If you haven’t seen the show yet, you can watch it on YouTube.

Next week I’m featuring a show from our first Valentine’s Day. I interview and have a reading with Ariana Lightningstorm. Ariana is a certified lipsologist. That is, she reads lip prints!

You can watch the show on the Psychic Café Facebook Page on Sunday, or any time on YouTube.

Learning Tarot: Seven of Pentacles

In many decks, the Seven of Pentacles depicts a gardener. The gardener may be laboring, or taking a short rest.

In some decks, the Seven of Pentacles has an air of despair. It seems as if the harvest will never be complete.

The Seven of Pentacles can describe frustrating, tiring or repetitive work. The Seven of Pentacles can remind us to tend to our tasks, no matter how unpleasant.

This card may acknowledge our fatigue, and encourage a short rest.

I believe that, ultimately, the Seven of Pentacles predicts a successful harvest, if we are willing to work and wait for it.

Sometimes the Seven of Pentacles is an admonishment or encouragement to “tend your own garden.”

Key words for the Seven of Pentacles include hard work, feelings of futility, fatigue and rest.

Clearly, this card does not describe a pleasant feeling. Sometimes, however, hard work is necessary and the payoff can be great.

Next week we will explore the Eight 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 Weekly Reading is the Two of Pentacles.

This week, you might feel over-committed or under-funded. Your resources, that is, time, money and energy, may feel in short supply.

You might be asked to take on an extra task, or a new activity.

You might have to work to balance your needs, and the demands upon you.

As much as handling everything isn’t easy, you have the ability to juggle your needs and your resources, and to accomplish everything you must do.

Don’t worry about a lack of resources, simply recognize your ability to multi-task, and to solve problems.

The hard work you do now will most certainly pay off later!

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

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 23, 7 pm (New Date!)
Free Webinar
Global Tarot Circle

Spend an hour with the tarot!

You can log in with your computer, tablet or smart phone, or call in on your telephone to enjoy my free, monthly, informal tarot workshop.

If you are a tarot beginner, you will learn a lot to start your journey.

If you are an experienced tarotist, you will learn new ways of working with the cards, and make new tarot friends!
Simply visit the event listing on my website for more information!
 

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!
 

Wednesday, March 18, 6:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread, 23388 State Rd 54, Lutz, FL, 33549

This is a special class with Katrina Wynne, M.A.

Lenormand is a cartomancy system of 36 cards popularized in the French court of Napoleon. Combined in unique ways they create understandable messages used to enhance your reading.

By the end of this 2-hour class you will be ready to start reading for yourself and others.

Bring your Lenny deck for fun activities. There will be a few to practice with if you do not have one. Great handouts are provided. The slide show offers a wealth of visual information.

The class includes helpful handouts. All levels of interest are welcome!

Katrina is traveling from Oregon, and will be in the area only a short time. We are asking for a $20 donation to help defray her travel expenses.

RSVP on the Meetup site, or just join us at Panera!

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.