Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Conscious Breath
This week we focus on the power of breath and the element of Air.
Conscious Breath
The power of breathing with awareness.
If you’ve ever taken a class in yoga or meditation you are well aware of the importance of conscious breath; or bringing awareness to your breathing.
Of course, we are breathing all the time. It’s an autonomic function. ‘Autonomic’ means something we do unconsciously. When we bring consciousness to something that we usually do unconsciously we can create a great deal of power.
Beyond the physical aspects of conscious breathing associated with properly-executed exercise, there is a strong spiritual component to conscious breathing. Conscious breathing is the first important step in psychic work and the spiritual work of prayer, magic, manifestation and working the Law of Attraction.
We can also use conscious breathing to change our mood, and to regulate our physical responses to anxiety or upset.
In psychic development classes I tell my students that the breath is the magic carpet on which all psychic and spiritual work rides.
In tarot classes I ask students to literally breathe in the energy of their tarot cards. I know how silly that sounds. Yet, the power of it is real.
Even in our mundane lives, we know the power of breath. Friends tell us to take a deep breath before we respond to someone anger or make a decision we might later regret.
Conscious breathing is an important part of checking in with intuition. It’s also a necessary part of chakra healing and energy work.
Conscious breathing aligns us with the element of Air, whose metaphysical properties include clarity, logic, intelligence, integrity, communication and all powers of the mind.
By breathing with deliberation, slowly and deeply, we change our energy, and attune ourselves to the rhythm of the universe. From there, anything is possible.
Get Your Autographed Copy of Tarot Tour Guide!
After much patience, I am happy to announce that the Second Edition of Tarot Tour Guide is now available.
First published in 2012 and out of print since 2016, Tarot Tour Guide is a comprehensive tarot book that offers beginners an understanding of the cards and how to use them. It also offers experiences readers techniques, exercises, spreads and meditations to deepen your tarot practice.
This Second Edition is gently edited and expanded.
To get a signed copy with a dedication you can buy the book on line at christianagaudet.com.
If you prefer my first book, Fortune Stellar, I have plenty of copies in stock. Why not get both!
The Suit of Swords
As you may know, the Four Elements figure prominently in tarot understanding; each suit of the Minor Arcana is associated with an element.
You may also know that, of the four tarot suits, the suit of Swords, associated with the element of Air, contains the cards that are most often feared and disliked. In many decks, the illustrations on some of those Swords cards can be brutal. That is why, I think, so many people fear them.
Yet, if we get past our fears and think of those Swords as related to Air, and to the breath, we can find truth and understanding in these cards, rather than fear and upset. Of course, fear itself, as a mental process, is also a thing of Air, and therefore of the Swords. So often in tarot our natural reactions to the cards can reflect their traditional meanings!
Imagine how your understanding of those darker Swords cards might change if you think of the Swords that imprison the woman in the Eight of Swords as her own thoughts and beliefs, for example. Perhaps the ten swords that impale our hero in the Ten of Swords are the unkind words of others. Perhaps the nine swords that hang over the bed and prevent sleep in the Nine of Swords are simply unfounded fears and worries. The Four of Swords might be a reminder to simply take a pause and breathe.
The next time you see a Swords card that disturbs you, take a deep breath and remember its association to the element of Air. This will help you in your interpretations, and help you to more fully understand the important role that element plays in tarot reading, without bringing fear and upset into your tarot reading process.
Book Now for my June Northeastern Tarot Tour
It’s almost time for my June Northeastern Tarot Tour, June 12 through 25. Once again, I will be available for readings at True Bikram Yoga in Madison, Connecticut. I am also available for parties and house calls in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I will be teaching a tarot class on June 16th in Madison, and a chakra healing class on June 23rd in New Haven.
Please call or text 562-655-1160, or email me, to schedule your time with me, to book your party, or to get more information about classes.
Since I will be teaching tarot during my Connecticut trips I have started The Connecticut Tarot Study Group on Meetup.com for my Connecticut friends. Please join if you are interested in tarot and live in New England.
I will look forward to seeing my Northeastern friends this June.
The Week in Review
This week, in honor of Mother’s Day, I shared a post about the way motherhood appears in tarot readings.
I also shared my three-card reading for the week on Facebook and YouTube.
Every year around Mother’s Day I like to share my Roots and Wings Tarot Spread. I just discovered that the Tarot Alchemist found this spread and shared a reading with it for Mother’s Day last year, so you can see that as well.
From Around the Web
The Tarot Blog Hop happened again at the beginning of the month. The theme was “Tarot Continuing Education”. Here is the Master List, where you can begin, and then follow the links to read what each blogger had to say.
This article from Tiny Buddha about how learning new things can be challenging because we aren’t good at them yet really resonated with me.
Here’s another article about how tarot is coming back into vogue. Gee, I never knew it had gone out of fashion!
Join Us Tonight for Global Tarot Circle
It’s that time again! Once a month tarotists from all over the world gather on Facebook live to share readings, information and ideas. To join in, all you have to do is be on my Facebook Business Page, Christiana Gaudet, tonight, Wednesday May 15, at 7 pm Eastern time. Hit ‘Like’ while you are there and look for the live feed.
If you are a tarot reader, have your cards with you. If you have a question and would like a reading, or would like to learn more about tarot, jump in the conversation and we will be happy to do a reading or discuss your concern. I’ll have some tarot exercises to share as well.
Conscious Spirit Oracle Deck Copyright (c) 2013 US Games Systems Inc. Used with permission.
Cards for Your Consideration
In honor of Mother’s Day I’ve chosen a card from my favorite oracle deck, the Conscious Spirit Oracle Deck by Kim Dreyer, published by US Games.
The card I chose is card 10, Sacral Chakra. The sacral, or second chakra, is related to our connection to our mothers and our children. It’s interesting that the affirmation included on the card is not specific to family issues, but rather to self-love and sensitivity to others. I think that is a very important point because so often we pour out love and care to those for whom we have responsibility but forget to do the same for ourselves.
The Conscious Spirit Oracle Deck is interesting because includes cards for the chakras, the elements, and many aspects of spirituality and nature. The affirmations on each card are meaningful, and the artwork is lovely.
For me the sacral chakra is all about nurturance. This card reminds us to nurture ourselves, just as we nurture others.
Your Personal Tarot Practice: Reading Tarot for Yourself
Make plans now to join me on Wednesday, May 22, 7 to 9 pm, in my conference room at 1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd, suite 203, Palm City, FL, for a very special tarot class.
Whether you are a new reader or an experienced enthusiast, you have probably struggled with your own self-reading.
This class will help you discover your personal tarot cards – specific cards that have a special message for you, and that provide a mirror to help you understand yourself.
You will also learn techniques to help you stay objective as you read for yourself. You will learn ways to derive information, enlightenment and personal growth from your tarot practice.
Seating for this class is limited. Tickets are $37.50 and available from Eventbrite. Call or text 561-655-1160 for more information.
Upcoming Events
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 20
May 15, 2019
The Nurture of Nature
Connect with the nurturing energies of nature!
Springtime brings us many opportunities to celebrate nature, and nurturance. Earth Day, Beltane (May Day) and Mother’s Day (in the United States) all occur within a few weeks of each other. There’s even an official “World Naked Gardening Day” this week.
It makes sense that, as the Earth awakens, we take time to celebrate the natural world, and the important ways in which the Earth nurtures us.
Mother’s Day is a time when we honor the women who nurture us. For many, Mother’s Day is a difficult holiday. Those who have lost mothers or children, and those who didn’t grow up with a nurturing mother, are often reminded of their loss at this time.
Whether or not we were nurtured as children, and whether or not we have children to nurture, we can connect with the energy of nurturance by connecting with the planet that sustains us.
When we nurture nature in our lives, and allow nature to nurture us, we connect to a powerful energy that can sustain us, heal us, and make us stronger.
This week, plant a garden, or buy a houseplant. Walk barefoot in the dewy grass. Eat a farm-to-table meal. Spend time outdoors, and revel in the nurturance that the Earth provides each one of us.
While we honor our mothers, remember that the Earth is our mother, too.
Finding Nature and Nurture in Tarot
There are many cards in tarot that speak of mothers and children. There are also many cards that speak of nature, and our connection to the natural world. Some of these references are obvious, others are ones you may not have considered.
It’s interesting, too, that some of the cards that reference mothers and children could also reference nature. For example, the first “mother” card we usually think of is the Empress.
Certainly, the Empress references our mothers. The Empress can predict pregnancy, or deliver a message from a mother in spirit. The Empress can also reference the bounty of Earth, fertility of all types, fecundity, and the Earth Mother.
Other cards that can reference mothers are the Queens. Typically, the Queen of Swords is problematic in this context. Traditionally, the Queen of Swords can be a widow, or childless, or bereaved. She can also be a difficult mother, without the ability to give proper nurturance.
Children, of course, can be indicated by Pages and Knights. The Six of Cups can indicate children, or a return to a childhood home. The Ten of Pentacles and the Ten of Cups each reference family relationships.
We find references to the natural world in many tarot cards. Of course, the whole suit of Pentacles in the “Earth” suit. We are often trained to see this suit as predominately being about money, but truly, each of the Pentacles cards can discuss our connection to the Earth,
Both the Seven and Nine of Pentacles specifically reference a garden, for instance.
The Ace of Pentacles can reference the Root Chakra, and our grounding connecting to Earth.
Other cards that can speak of nature include Strength, which is often the card of the animal lover.
In an animal lover’s reading, Pages and Knights can reference their pets, as well as their children.
The Star can invite us to experience the healing power of nature.
The World, of course, can remind us of all the resources that the Earth provides for us, and can deliver to us a message of environmentalism.
The Six of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles can each ask us to look to ways of the past; to adopt simpler and more natural ways of eating, healing, and living more lightly on the planet.
From My Desk to Yours
This week, I participated in the Tarot Blog Hop. Our assignment was to write about the word “may” as it connects to tarot. We had a lot of fun with this one! You can start with my post, and then follow the links to see what the other bloggers had to say.
I also shared a post on my “78 Magickal Tools” blog on PaganSquare, about love tarot readings, and how to make them magickal!
From Around the Web
The Queen’s Sword is a tarot and oracle card review site that can be helpful to anyone who enjoys collecting and reading card decks.
From the Tarot Poetry blog, here is an interesting piece about poetry, tarot and magic.
If you are learning Lenormand, here is a very helpful list of Lenormand keywords from Tarot Taxi.
Song of the Week
From Libana, here is one of my favorite chants “The Earth is our Mother”
Numerology with Zuri
Number Eight
Hello Bright Sparks!
This week it’s all about the money, honey! One of the 8 vibration’s biggest lessons is creating the right relationship with money. Have you been working diligently towards paying down debt, being responsible with your financial planning & investments and working hard towards your goals? Or, have you been over-spending and not saving up for a rainy day? Whatever behaviors you’ve engaged in come to a karmic head under the 8 cycle. It forces you to be honest with how you have been empowering or disempowering yourself to stand on firmer financial ground.
An 8 person has the power to achieve great things in their lives. If their mindset is focused on hard work and abundance like the 8 of Pentacles, they can experience great rewards such as a promotion, raise or public recognition in their careers. Its their drive and tenacity that allows them to live a successful lifestyle and be the leader that inspires others to achieve the best.
However, if they are operating from their shadow side, you may see them sucked into a victim mentality much like the 8 of Swords, where their inaction leads to barely making ends meet due to a poverty mindset. Or, they may become so focused on world domination, that their God becomes money and power. So, an 8 must always remember to balance the spiritual with the material.
Over the course of their journey, the Universe will illuminate the great power that lies within them to manifest big dreams. They can ultimately take a page from the Strength card of the Tarot, which also vibrates to an 8 energy, to remember that strength comes from a balance of power. It’s not manipulation or control that help you get your needs met. It’s tapping into your inner well of strength to use the tools of gentle persuasion and influence to rise above the challenges and adversity standing in your way.
Some questions to ponder when you find the 8 vibration affecting your outer world are: Where do I need a better relationship to money? How can I create more abundance in my thinking and in my actions? Do I need better boundaries? Am I being too controlling or bossy? Or do I need to step up, be more honest and take better control of my life?
This week’s vibrational takeaway in working with the 8 is to explore personal power, what you need to do to create more of it, and how you can empower others to stand in their own manifestation space. Meditate on the Strength card to find the courage to move past your own glass ceiling.
With love & stardust!
xo Zuri
I’m Zuri Eberhart: Tarot reader, numerologist and intuitive healer put on this planet to help fantastic spirits (like you!) learn to trust their intuition, cast light on their possibilities, and move towards their gorgeous goals, fearlessly.
(Oh - and I’m here to make it fun, too. Like, heart-opening, adventure-sparking, I-can-see-clearly-nowww kind of fun.)
Ready to make some magic? I’d love to help you set your mojo on fire! Stop by my digital digs at AskZuri.com.
Three Ways to Feel Nurtured by Nature
If you are not a person who enjoys hiking, camping, gardening or other outdoor activities, or if your schedule doesn’t always allow you to spend your day at the beach, here are three quick ways you can find your grounding and healing connection to nature.
Eat raw foods.
When you make a snack of raw fruits or vegetables, spend a moment thinking about the fact that this food came directly from the Earth. As you eat it, take a moment, not only to taste the food, but to feel its connection to the Earth. As you feel that connection, you will become more grounded, and feel more nurtured.
Meditate with the Root Chakra.
The Root Chakra, located at the base of the spine, is the chakra that connects to Earth. In meditation, send energy from your Root Chakra, down through your legs and feet, and into the Earth. Visualize that energy digging in to the soil like roots. Then, pull energy from the Earth up, from those roots, and in to your body. You will be amazed at how this meditation energizes and grounds you.
Create and perform a tarot spread.
Create and perform a tarot spread that helps you make your connection with Earth. Perhaps the spread could include positions for things like “what grounds me” and “what nurtures me”. As you perform the reading, pay attention to the “Earth” cards that appear, and the cards that make you think of nature.
Image from Gilded Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Your One Card Weekly Reading
Seven of Pentacles
Your one-card reading this week is the Seven of Pentacles. Drawn at random, this card fits perfectly with our theme!
This card has a bit of a bad reputation in some circles. Crowley called this the card of “Failure”. The esoteric title for the Seven of Pentacles is “Lord of Success Unfulfilled”.
Those of us who work with the Waite tradition see something more hopeful in this card. Often, I call this the card of the “tired gardener.”
We may be nurturing an actual garden, or the garden may be a metaphor for something that we need to nurture, like a business, a relationship, or self.
The process of bringing something to fruition is long and tiring. Sometimes it may feel futile.
The Seven of Pentacles reminds us to keep at our task. No matter how bleak things look, if we continue to nurture the garden, it will most certainly bear fruit.
Sometimes the problem with nurturing something (or someone) is that it can take a really long time to see the results of your efforts.
The Seven of Pentacles encourages us to keep working, and keep trying, and promises us that eventually, we will have the harvest we desire.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 15, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread
23388 State Road 54, Lutz, 33549
Join us as I teach my popular free class “The Four Elements and the Major Arcana”. You’ll learn the traditional elemental associations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and see how this aids in your understanding of them.
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or visit the event listing on my webpage.
Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Global Tarot Circle
A Free WebEx Webinar Available Exclusively Online
Join tarot friends around the world for questions and answers about tarot. Share readings, insights and focused conversation with tarot experts, artists, students and beginners.
Log-in information is available on the event listing on my webpage.
Now Open for Registration:
Sunday, June 5, 10:00 - 4:00, Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup Retreat Day at Mitchell's.
October 7, Professional Development Day at TarotCon (Follow the link below).
October 8 & 9, TarotCon (Florida) 2016 in Palm Beach Gardens.
About Christiana
Christiana Gaudet
Origins Spa and Wellness Center
1537 N Dale Mabry Highway #102
Lutz, FL 33548
Private telephone, Skype and in person 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 or call 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Weekly Newsletter 5/7/2014
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In the Rider-Waite-Smith image we see a person carrying his bundle. From the path he walks we can see it is a long distance to the town. He successfully carries his burden alone.
Your one-card reading this week is the Page of Pentacles. Often this card can indicate a young person in your life. This card may encourage you to get to know a particular young person, or to become a mentor or teacher to someone young.
Tarot by Christiana Weekly Newsletter 5/8/2013
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Your one-card reading this week is The Sun.
Sunday, May 12, 9 pm EDT
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.
Tuesday May 14, 2 pm EDT
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.
Theresa Reed, “The Tarot Lady,” will be joining us for a discussion about tarot, professional readings and metaphysical business. Theresa is well-known, unique and fun. 
Tarot Circle is the free, fun way to learn more about tarot and enjoy tarot fellowship. 
