Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Like Attracts Like
Positive thoughts can attract positive things! This week, Michael Bridge-Dickson concludes his series on the Four Elements and Orbifold Tarot.
When we study metaphysics in any tradition, we learn this basic rule: like attracts like.
Whenever I teach this, someone will always protest, “But opposites attract!”
That’s true in magnetics. When it comes to energy, we attract to ourselves the energy we cultivate.
So often our energy is driven by our perspective. If we perceive every problem as catastrophic, we may well set the stage for actual catastrophe. On the other hand, if we process problems as opportunities, we work to create new opportunities around us.
When we use candles, plants, stones, colors and symbols to attract specific things into our lives, we are actively putting the wisdom of “like attracts like” into practice.
Sometimes life throws us curve-balls that can really make us suffer. When difficult things happen, we aren’t served by jumping to the conclusion that we created these situations with our fears or negative thoughts.
As humans, we all have negative thoughts. The trick is to get on to a better thought as quickly as possible.
When we work to reframe our difficulties with a positive perspective, we attract more positive possibilities into our lives.
When we intentionally surround ourselves with colors, symbols and other tools in order to attract specific energies, we open up possibilities for success.
When we pay attention to the idea that like attracts like, we have the opportunity to be active co-creators of our journey through life.
What Can You Attract with Tarot Cards?
Every tarot card holds, and attracts, specific energies. You can activate a card’s specific energy to attract that energy into your life.
For instance, the energies held within the Ace of Cups include the high vibration of unconditional love, the healed heart chakra and new romance. Those are three related energies, but they are significantly different from one another.
If you wanted to use the Ace of Cups to attract a new romance, you would simple state that as your intention.
You could hold the card to your heart as say something like, “With this card I bring to my heart, and to my life, a new beneficial love relationship.”
On the other hand, if you wanted to heal your heart from past hurts, you could use the same card, and hold it in the same way, but say something like this instead, “With this card I release past sorrow, and claim my ability to give and receive love. With this image I heal my heart, and claim it as my own”.
As an exercise, look through your deck and consider two or three energies each tarot card holds. When you find energies you would like to attract into your life, consider what affirming statement you might make about those energies, and what physical action you would take with the card.
For example, it seems natural to hold the Ace of Cups to the heart. If you were working with a different card and a different energy, you might choose to simply gaze at it and breathe it in. You might feel lead to hold it to a different chakra, or to hold it over your head. Choose whatever action feels most strongly attuned to the energy you are working to attract.
As much as tarot is a tool of divination, tarot is a tool of magic. The more we can understand the energies of each card, the more ability we have to choose the energies we want to manifest.
The Week in Review
This week I was honored that Ste McCabe, The Tarot Cat, shared a thoughtful post on our Community Blog. Read his thoughts about Major Arcana 13, Death, and your tarot theme card.
The Community Blog is open to anyone who would like to share a piece that is somehow tarot-related. What would you like to say to the world about tarot?
From Around the Web
From Hazellie Wong at Myna’s Moon, here are “9 Ways to Forgive and Let Go with Tarot and Numerology”.
Do you remember that, a few months ago, I shared a story about a tarot reader working to get a “fortune-telling” ban lifted in her town? Well, she won! Check out the news from Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Are you considering creating a tarot deck with another person? Benebell Wen is both a respected tarotist and a practicing attorney. She has made available a Collaboration and Joint Venture Agreement for your use!
Song of the Week
I had forgotten all about this amazing song until this morning, and I love how it fits the week’s theme.
Here’s Des’ree with You Gotta Be.
This is the final installment in the "Breaking Down Tarot's Elements" series from Michael Bridge-Dickson. I am looking forward to meeting Michael in person at TarotCon!
Michael Bridge-Dickson is a tarot reader, yoga instructor, graphic artist, and writer living in Montreal, Canada. He is also the creator of The Orbifold Tarot, which is a modern tarot deck that places tarot’s basic essence — the Four Elements — at the forefront. He is also well versed in the pprinciplesof Ayurveda, which is the traditional sister practice of yoga, and is based on a five-Element system. His interest in tarot and yoga is in helping people discover the intrinsic connections between the inner self and outer interactions.
For more from Michael visit his blog Mirrors of Consciousness. or his YouTube channel. All card images are from The Orbifold Tarot, which can be purchased at www.orbifoldtarot. com/purchase.html
Breaking Down Tarot’s Elements
Part 8
Elemental Combinations
For the bulk of this series, we have looked primarily at the Elements in isolation. However, to truly understand how they feature in our readings, we must look at how the Elements interact with each other, since none of them work alone: every Element is always present, and tarot can serve to highlights which are most prevalent in what proportions and combination. As the Elements exert their influence over each other, the flux of life and its situations is revealed. We can sometimes even see how the Elements transform from one to the next.
The study of this interaction, in tarot terms is that of Elemental Dignities. Traditionally, this study pairs Elements by their compatibility: compatible Elements are considered “dignified,” incompatible Elements are considered “I’ll-dignified,” and the remaining pairs are neutral, meaning that they are considered to not have much of an effect on each other whether positive or negative.
These traditional pairings are as follows, note that there are only 6 pairings possible: Dignified — Air & Fire, Water & Earth Ill-dignified — Fire & Water, Air & Earth Neutral — Air & Water, Fire & Earth.
This view, while helpful at first, can also be limiting in really understanding how Elements interact, and doesn’t acknowledge that each pairing can have productive, destructive, or sustaining effects on each other. Further, combinations of three or all four Elements are not considered in traditional dignities — three being quite useful to study as well.
Before looking at the combinations of three Elements (of which there are only 4 triads), let’s examine these classical pairings first, since they are the basis of understanding later possibilities.
Air & Fire:
It’s easy to see why this pair is classically considered compatible, as the two most subtle Elements. They share lightweight-ness and are generally more active forces. If we consider Air as the gaseous state of matter, and not just the air that we breathe, Air can be seen as both the fuel and product of Fire. Air also has a drying effect, and so aids Fire’s combustion and sustenance by removing any moisture (Water) that could hinder Fire. Similarly, Fire’s heat drives Air, creating winds and currents that cause Air to blow. Fire also releases gases as it burns, feeding the Air Element, but also supporting its dryness.
However, this pair is not always conducive. Air easily blows out Fire when Air is greater, and Fire can suffocate in its consumption.
In us, Fire and Air can also be creative and sustaining. New ideas lead toward the actions and efforts to make those ideas reality, which further generates newer and more refined ideas alike. Fire’s drive can inspire brilliant analyses, and together they are illumination. Air’s wisdom directs Fire’s transformative qualities, and can prevent it from consuming needlessly.
At the same time, Air can also fuel Fire’s negative qualities, and Fire can cause irritation that destabilizes the mind. This can result in angry outbursts or the seething flame of resentment. The destructive force of Fire can be terrible on its own, but when amplified by a cunning, premeditated mind, Air’s influence makes it downright devastating.
Water & Earth:
It’s also relatively easy to see why Water and Earth are usually seen as an amiable pair: being at the denser side of the Elemental continuum, they are heavy, tangible, and receptive. Both have a downward action with Water washing downward and Earth grounded and anchored. Earth contains Water, giving it form and a receptacle to settle into, and Water contains Earth in solution, eroding then redistributing Earth to build it up over time.
This relationship between Water and Earth is in calming our emotions and sensations by our ability to be present with them. That same presence allows us to be clearer about our feelings when we feel them, and be at peace with those feelings as they change. Here, the Earth quality stabilizes Water, containing it and giving it a solid base. Water softens Earth, too, giving it feeling and the ability to change comfortably and gradually.
Earth and Water are not always convivial, however — their similarities can bring out their mutually best, but can also bring out their mutually worst. Earth’s constancy can make Water habitual, where we lose touch with our sensations as they are, and instead fall into the ease of familiar sensation, even when inaccurate. We’ve all at one time or another fallen into an emotional rut, where we feel down simply because it was how we felt yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that... only to realize one day that this feeling is out of habit; a sustained memory we grow accustomed to, distorting our perception of reality while also weighing us down. Earth’s persistence can make these emotional habits hard to break, with Water and Earth commiserating with each other.
To break the negative effects of “dignified” pairings, we need to look at the more dynamic, “ill-dignified” pairings — which also have their own positive and negative qualities.
Fire & Water:
This is the most volatile combination of Elements, and even before studying the Elements in any esoteric way, we all know that Fire and Water “don’t get along” ...or do they?
Water douses Fire, and we’ve certainly experienced times when our feelings have drowned any desire or impulse to exert effort. At the same time, our emotions can also drive our actions, the way that Water and Fire creates steam! When Fire and Water are well-balanced, and the result is directed, this combination can be extremely productive. This combination creates passion and lends depth to our efforts so that our actions carry with them meaning rather than just performing rote tasks.
Similarly, when emotions are overwhelming, adding some heat through effort and action can dissipate the intensity of that emotional overflow by boiling off the excess.
It’s here in the ill-dignified pairings that we start to see the importance of proportion. In previous exercises, we looked at the degrees of each Element individually, to see what results less of an Element caused compared to excesses of that Element. Now, as the Elements combine, it is not just the combinations themselves that are important, but the proportions as well. This is true of all Elemental combinations, but is perhaps most obvious with Fire and Water.
The proportions deeply affect how the Elements will interact and what the result will be. Keep this in mind as we continue through the other pairings.
Air & Earth:
This pairing is probably less obvious. Being at opposite ends of the density spectrum, Air and Earth may not seem to have much effect on each other, creating a more neutral relationship.
There can be conflict, however, when we look at these Elements’ effects within us. Air can work against Earth by ungrounding us, and Earth works against Air by keeping us so tethered to reality that we lose our ability to think ahead and dream, to let Air do what it does and move beyond constraints.
Together, though, Air and Earth can again be very productive — if they can learn to get along.
Earth grounds Air’s lofty ideas, and provided it doesn’t become oppressive, Earth guides Air toward being both innovative and practical. At a deeper level, Earth also gives weight to the intangible nature of Air. It gives our words impact, and allows us to communicate honestly with ourselves and others, from the seat of our being to others at this deep place, so that although communication may be through words and ideas, their source within our own presence is also transmitted in the exchange. Whenever documents, theories, phrases, and expressions take hold and change the world, they have been the expression of this combination: Air carrying the weight of Earth. Some say that genius is where practicality meets innovation, and this is the realm of Air and Earth in harmony. When we are too caught up in our thoughts, fears, and fantasies, Earth balances and grounds us.
Together, Air and Earth lack both heat and moisture, and so can become dry and stale; Air having first a preservative effect, removing the moisture that can lead to rot and decay, but then as Air increases, it has a dis-integrative effect as it reduces Earth to dust. This can be very helpful when facing challenges that seem insurmountable, as Air breaks down the density of difficulty and barriers. Air’s influence on Earth can make all that seems solid crumble around us, forcing us to see through the illusion of material existence. This can liberate us when we are too stuck in the solid world, but can also work against us when we need the anchoring effect of Earth.
Air & Water:
This is a more neutral pairing, classically. Although it’s perhaps not as dynamic as Air and Fire or Fire and Water (or really Fire and anything!), it is still quite dynamic, as Air and Water are very similar in many ways. Both are related to the mind, and both are of the nature to flow. Water can even be thought of as dense Air, or Air as subtle Water, because they are both so fluid and so essential to life. And, even though Air is generally considered active, I often view it as the softer of the two active Elements, which connects it favorably with Water, as the softer of the passive Elements.
When calmly balanced, Air and Water are serene, peaceful, and elegant — the sensitive, subconscious mind expressing itself clearly through the conscious mind’s articulate manner. The fluidity between Air and Water links thought to sensation, and when this link is unobstructed, the mind operates at its full capacity between conscious and unconscious, systematic and intuitive.
Despite this soft affinity, Air and Water can be just as powerful as any other combination. The way that clouds can be light and wispy or dark and brooding, Air and Water can build to the intensity of the strongest hurricane! When Air and Water combine in this way, Water’s emotional aspect can darken the mind’s clarity, showing more negative aspects of analysis and altering its perceptions so that we perceive things that aren’t there and misinterpret people’s actions through an emotional filter. This stormy distortion can cause the turnings of an disturbed mind to extremes of emotional expression, making us feel like we are being tossed around, by fast and heavy currents, and it can drag those around us into this turmoil.
At the same time, this intensity of Air and Water, of emotionally driven intellect can be an equally positive force and one to be reckoned with! It humanizes our theories, and balances divisive thoughts with our common and connecting emotions — we all feel joy, pain, sorrow, loss, love, pleasure, and compassion. A sentimental pairing, Water connect our feelings with Air’s ability to express them. This combination merges brilliance and sensitivity, shaping our thoughts while appealing to our hearts.
Fire & Earth:
This is the combination of steadfast persistence, the kind of “slow burn” that causes lasting change whose effects continue being felt over time. Fire in any combination tends to make things more exciting, being such a uniquely volatile Element — the Element of action — but it is also very delicate as we have seen in previous combinations: when Fire isn’t hot enough, it is easily quashed by other Elements when they outweigh it.
With Earth, Fire finds a sustainable fuel where the smallest spark ignites into a steady, smoldering blaze. Earth can also easily overpower Fire, however, snuffing out even strong Fires and circumventing any possibility for glimmers to flare. Earth and Fire are the firmer or harsher aspects of the active and receptive principles, the way that Air and Water were the softer aspects.
Where Earth brought practicality to Air’s thoughts, it similarly brings practicality to Fire’s actions. Earth ensures that no effort is wasted, that its intent is always directed toward results. However, also like the way that Earth constrained and restricted other Elements, especially Air, being too concerned with the tangible results of action and conserving energy for only those things seen as worthwhile can also suffocate the drive and inspiration of Fire.
Much can be learned though from the steady persistence of Fire and Earth. Its changes are slow and steady, reminding us of the value in directing our actions in small steps toward large goals, the cumulative effect of consistent effort. Earth also reminds us that our efforts require sustenance, that while our thoughts and ideas can inspire, and our sensitive world makes us care about our actions and their results, seeing those results, no matter how large or small spurs us along and bolsters our efforts in continuing forward.
When Fire burns too fervently, Earth can get caught up in the heat, lending all its resources to the flame. This too can be productive or destructive, depending on the cause... but due to Fire’s volatility it can easily turn into a consuming cause that finds no pause or logical reconsideration until the resources are depleted and the destruction left is beyond reversal. Of course, as we know through observing the Elements’ cycles, even in its most severe expression, Earth and Fire can clear the space for new cycles to emerge from the remains.
Again, the key is to balance these Elements such that their best qualities are utilized. Each situation requires different proportions of the Elements to attain balance. Balance does not necessarily equate to stillness, but rather the ability to temper each cycle’s excesses with an Elemental combination that will reduce excess without halting movement and progress. Each cycle requires a productive, sustaining, and destructive phase, and Elemental combinations that are productive may not always be desirable when a destructive phase is necessary, even though we generally tend to prefer production and sustenance. Some of us are so familiar with destruction and chaos, however, that even if it is not desirable, we create destructive patterns excessively, no matter the Elemental combination. These are times when sustaining and productive proportions of Elements are most helpful in cultivating.
Tarot reveals these patterns and combinations to us. It does so in certain individual cards, but perhaps more interestingly in spreads and actual readings. Spreads using fewer cards will usually show a total of two or three Elements, but even in larger spreads it is not uncommon for there to be a dominance of a particular Elements while one or more Elements are noticeably deficient or even entirely absent. This absence can be as telling as what is present in the spread, and recognizing the favorable aspects of the Elements that are present as well as the potential pitfalls can lead us toward solutions that involve what is not on the table as much as what is.
Two-Element combinations are the basis of understanding how Elements interact with each other, and from them we also start to see how three-Element combinations have their own beneficial and detrimental aspects, whether productive, sustaining, or destructive.
To practice these two-Element combinations, we can extend the exercises from when we looked at the Elements individually.
Once again, separate the Minor Arcana from your deck. Draw two cards and set them side by side. If both are the same Element, simply draw another for one of them (you could also separate the suits further in various ways to explore particular Elements or pairings, but for relative simplicity, using all 40 Minors is effective in studying all pairings). Study these two cards together, looking at the Elemental combination and the proportions of each, looking at whether they are productive, sustaining, or destructive, and imagine situations where the resulting pair and combination could be a boon or a warning, of benefit or detriment.
For instance, let’s say the Five of Water and the Eight of Earth are drawn. By classical dignities, these are a favorable pair. Since the Earth card is a higher number, it is containing the Water’s Five. This pair is sustaining. They interact calmly with each other, Earth’s stability reinforced by the number Eight, and Water’s flowing nature shared by the Five — it’s an emotionally steady state.
The pair doesn’t have a lot of movement, however: even though the Five is a number of change, the Earth’s Eight stops or at least slows this flow. At times when an emotional change is necessary, the containing quality of Earth here is detrimental, even preventing that necessary change. At times when change is too drastic or quick, this holding back that Earth provides can make emotional change more manageable.
Work through the stack, pairing Elements in different proportions and exploring how Elemental pairs are affected by their proportion, and continue looking at whether each pairing is creative, preserving, or destructive, and how that effect could be favorable or not in different situations.
Another way to explore these pairings is through the Court Cards. Of the 16 Courts, each relating to an Element by both rank and suit, there are 12 that are Elemental pairings and four Courts whose rank and suit are of the same Element. Since there are different associations for each rank’s Element, use the one that you have been taught or makes the most sense to you, but think of them for this exercise as “Earth of Air” or “Water of Fire,” the first Element referring to the rank, the second to the suit. Proportionally, I prefer to think of the suit as being more dominant than the rank, so “Water of Fire” or “Queen of Wands” is more Fire than she is Water. This is a person (can be male -or- female, of any sexuality) who is more action and less feeling; a person that acts based on their feelings, but is more on the doing side than the feeling side. Passion rules, and this person will put a great deal of effort into feeling good, but is often also compassionate toward others, and will work in service of others because connecting with others emotionally through her deeds is fulfilling.
Contemplate each Court by this combination of Elements, and how those Elemental combinations form a personality. The Courts that share Elemental combination, but in different proportion can be confusing because of their similarity. Using the above example, The Knight (or in some systems King) of Cups or “Fire of Water” would have many similarities to the Queen of Wands or “Water of Fire.” The proportions are different, however. A Fire of Water person is more guided by their feelings first, and then acts upon those feelings, they may expend less effort outwardly and be more in touch with their inner world, more interested in maintaining their own emotional wellness before doing things for the emotional wellness of others. This is not necessarily selfish, but they have to be comfortable with their own feelings first. They are emotionally affected by the actions of others in a similar way as the Queen of Wands, but may be more inclined to internalize that reaction and process their feelings before acting out, whereas the Queen of Wands may react first and process later.
In exploring these proportions among the Courts, your conclusions may differ, but what is important is that you start to relate to and understand how the Elements interact and how their degrees affect their expression. Again, look at the ways the Courts create, sustain, and destroy, and how their personalities can help and hinder themselves and the people around them.
Once you’ve gotten a handle on two-Element combinations, within the Minors as well as the Courts, start exploring the three-Element combinations, seeing their multi-faceted aspects in differing proportions and in various proportions.
In my opinion, no Element or Elemental combination is better than any other. None is particularly positive or negative, but each has aspects that reveal the best or worst in us and our human interactions. The exploration is fascinating and endless, and I hope this series has opened up new possibilities and perspectives in studying the Elements, deepening your understanding of them and their application in readings.
May this exploration be as fascinating to you as it is for me!
Success: Creating or Predicting?
Will I be successful?
That’s a question that can come in many forms, about business, school, love and life.
It’s a hard prediction to make, because so much of our future success depends on what we do, and the choices we make.
When coming to the tarot with questions about an enterprise, it is infinitely more helpful to phrase “action questions.” That is, questions that give you agency in your situation.
Here are some examples.
What do I need to do to be successful?
What do I need to be to attract success?
What energy do I need to cultivate at this time?
What energy am I cultivating that isn’t serving me at this time?
You can ask a question, and pull a single card, or a few cards, in answer. Let this process help guide you and support you as you create your success!
Image from Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
Two of Swords
The Two of Swords is about finding peace within, during a time of confusion and indecision.
You may need to hold space for yourself while you struggle with choices and options.
You may need to agree to disagree with someone.
The Two of Swords reminds you that correct decisions may come from the head rather than the heart, and that you must not let others inappropriately influence your sacred truth, and your correct path.
Upcoming Events
September 14-18 Happening Now!
Card Reading Magic Tarot Telesummit with Tori Hartman
Discover the 5 essentials of card reading, mistakes that keep you from accurate readings, and how you can use your intuition more effectively during this FREE virtual intuitive festival, Card Reading Magic, where I’ll be one of 18 featured experts. Sign up now!
Sunday, September 25, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread, 23388 State Rd 54, Lutz, FL
Michael Newton-Brown will lead this meeting.
Bring your tarot decks and be prepared for some great tarot games!
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or simply meet us at Panera.
Coming Soon:
October 7 Professional Development Intensive
October 8-9 TarotCon (Florida) 2016
October 14-23 Christiana's Trip to West Palm Beach. Call or test 561-655-1160 to schedule your party, house call or private reading.
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.
Is it possible to have too much integrity?
Three tarot cards that encourage us to do the right thing, Orbifold Tarot and the element of Earth, Global Tarot Circle on Facebook Live, Professional Development Day, and more!
Everyone’s moral compass points in a slightly, or widely, different direction. For some people, ethics are largely a gray area. For others, the difference between right and wrong is starkly black and white.
Sometimes our moral differences are a matter of culture and background. Sometimes they are point of view.
If you are a person of extremely high integrity, there are some hard-to-avoid pitfalls that may be familiar to you. Here are five of them.
1. You are constantly disappointed in human nature.
Because you will always make decisions for the greater good, you will be hurt and mystified by war, greed and injustice.
2. You naively see the best in everyone.
Everyone, even the worst of us, has a positive side. You’ll see that positive side, and it will cause you to sometimes be a poor judge of character.
3. It’s hard to find your peers.
In business, in love and in friendship, you will constantly be disappointed by the best others are able to do.
4. Your need to do the right thing, and avoid the wrong thing, will sometimes cost you money.
Honest people shoot themselves in the foot all the time. It’s unavoidable.
5. You may become judgmental of others.
The spiritual lesson in being a person of high integrity is to be forgiving of those who do not share your values. Sometimes that’s difficult.
Integrity is the subject of poetry, myth and legend. Shakespeare’s Polonius reminds us, “To thine own self be truth.” The Egyptian Goddess Ma ’at greets you after your death, and weighs your heart against a feather. If your heart is not heavy with wrong-doings, she will allow you passage into the Underworld.
If you are a person with a strong moral compass, you can work to avoid the pitfalls associated with your virtuous nature, but you can’t avoid being who you are. Learn to appreciate your high standards, and enjoy being an example to those around you.
Three Tarot Cards that Do the Right Thing
Sometimes the Universe can use a tarot reading to call you out for your own lack of integrity. Sometimes the cards will strongly urge you to honor your ethics.
Typically, the suit of Swords, related to the element of Air, will strongly speak of honesty, ethics and integrity. Many swords cards contain darker images that tell the brutal truth, or express the damage done when trust is broken.
Here are three tarot cards who clearly tell you to play fair.
1. Justice
Justice can indicate matters of law and fairness, but it can also be a commandment to do the right thing.
2. Ace of Swords
The Ace of Swords may remind you that you know the truth, and you know the right thing to do or to say.
3. The Knight of Swords
The Knight of Swords communicates a responsibility to the truth, to swift action, and to just action.
The next time these cards appear in a reading, consider that their message may be urging you to your highest ideals and values.
The Week in Review
Upon returning home to Tampa from my trip northeast, I wrote about a poignant experience I had during my trip, doing readings and then leading a healing ceremony. Read this true story on my 78 Magickal Tools blog on PaganSquare.
From Around the Web
From Speak of Secrets, here is a great myth-busting post called “Tarot and the Rules of Engagement”.
For my many empath friends, here are “5 Ways for Empaths to Shield from Negativity”.
From Oprah.com, it’s time to Speak your Truth!
Song of the Week
Here’s a song about speaking your truth. Enjoy Brave, by Sara Bareilles.
Gratitude, and Great Events Ahead!
My August Trip Northeast
Thanks to everyone who made my trip northeast so special, and so successful!
Please remember that I am available to travel at any time for your special events, just call or text 561-655-1160.
I’ll be back in Connecticut from March 23-April 4, so you can book your party now!
Professional Development Day (Pre-Conference Intensive)
If you are a professional tarot reader, or want to be, you should make plans to attend our Professional Development Day. The class schedule is now available on my events page.
TarotCon (Florida) 2016
The speaker line-up for TarotCon is growing! This will be the most exciting tarot convention ever! Tickets are still available. Visit the TarotCon website to reserve yours!
Parties, Classes and Private Readings in West Palm Beach!
I’ll be in West Palm Beach from October 14 - October 23. Private readings will be available by appointment at Pearl’s Room at Unity Church in the Pines, and by appointment at my suite at Homewood Suites.
I will also be teaching a few classes at Pearl’s, so check her Meetup to attend.
I have a few dates available to do house calls, psychic parties and gatherings in your South Florida home or office. Simply call or text 561-655-1160 to reserve your time.
Orbifold Tarot
with Michael Bridge-Dickson
Breaking Town Tarot's Elements Part 7 - Earth
After exploring and reflecting on our intuitive, sensual, emotional inner realms through Water, we settle in Earth, whose unique quality is solidity. Earth condenses the other three Elements, anchoring us in the here-and-now concerns of reality. This tangibility is sometimes seen as being “less spiritual” than the other Elements, but as a condensation of Air, Fire, and Water, Earth contains the potential of all Four Elements — through it, we gain access to our physical experience of all Elements by linking, consolidating, and expressing the virtues of all levels of being.
Where Water accumulates memories of the past, Fire projects its actions into the future, and Air moves the mind into any direction, in any world; Earth is built on the eternal present. More and more, with the influence of Eastern spiritual traditions, being present is seen as the epitome of spiritual practice, and for good reason: being present keeps us rooted in our experiences — and indeed, in ourselves. It has even become a somewhat cliche tenet of modern spirituality: to “be in the present moment” is the dictum of many contemporary seekers, from the experientially seasoned to those flirting with the path toward self-knowledge, and all of us who are our individual stages along this path.
As common as this concept is, many of us have difficulty finding and staying “in the present moment.” We remain ungrounded, our experiences tainted by memories of the past and projections into the future, or even a sheer disconnect into what never was, isn’t, and may never be. It’s not that these ruminations are not helpful, they are: we learn from and are formed by our past, we must always carry ourselves into the future, and imagination and rationale on every plane creates the possibility for anything — even the seemingly impossible — to come true.
Without Air, Fire, and Water, Earth would eternally sit, unchanged and unmoving. It’s this timeless nature of Earth that is the key to understanding it, and indeed to unlocking the secret of “being in the present.” That is, this elusive “present moment” doesn’t exist. Time is a continuum, a process, that cannot be pinned down: each moment becomes instantly the past, and the future cannot be caught as it passes us into the past… and yet, there is no denying that we are in life, as it is happening.
So what is this “present moment” stuff, and what does it have to do with Earth?
While the present moment may be intangible, and we may even waste a great deal of time and effort chasing it, presence is eternal. Presence is like Earth, in that if unacted upon by the other elements, it will remain unchanged. This means that we disturb our ability to be present throguh the necessary effects of Air, Fire, and Water. Since these Elements are crucial to our existence within time, our necessary participation in the flow of life, we must somehow find a way to carry the Earth Element along with us. This is what is being indicated by the idea of being “in the present moment,” but I propose that to make the Earth Element more real for us, that we drop the “moment” part of this tenet:
Simply be.
Eternity is a word we often use to describe the Divine, by whichever name we choose to call it: Spirit, Goddess, God, Source, Universe, The Light, Energy, Love, The Great Being, or the term I prefer, Consciousness. Consciousness, with a capital “C,” can be accessed in many ways, each of them having presence as the common denominator. Of course, each Element has its own form of consciousness, and each brings us into presence in different ways. Nonetheless, if presence is indeed the essence of Earth, Earth then is the nearest to Spirit, Consciousness, as we can get while in this physical plane.
In fact, in Vedic cosmology, the whole reason for a physical plane at all, is for Divinity to experience itself. It is through the manifestation of the physical universe that consciousness becomes real, and hence, achieves self-realization — the goal of spiritual practice. In other words, we become God through our own self-realization, and we do so in the same way that God realized itself by becoming us. Seen in this way, our Earthly existence, our day-to-day lives, simply being — but remaining consciously present — is Divine. This life, at all of its levels, through trials and tribulations, failures and victories, pains, pleasures and ecstasies, is all spiritual. It is all God experiencing itself, and us, in turn, experiencing God through ourselves, and through our relationships with others and our environments; which, if this universe is Consciousness experiencing itself, are all reflections of us as reflections of the Divine.
In this sense, presence grounds us. It grounds us in our being, in our essence as Divinity, our essence as Consciousness. No wonder then, when we are not grounded, our spiritual search can feel empty and disconnected. At the same time, Earth’s density can obscure our ability to interact with the other Elements and experience their effects, thereby anchoring us so deeply that we are dragged out of continual presence into a fixed and stagnant state.
When we read Earth cards in tarot, we are being given the opportunity to experience this presence, this consciousness, through our everyday lives. Looking at the Earth cards alone, the lower-numbered cards may indicate simpler experiences, and a reminder to find the joy in those simpler things, especially if we have lost touch with the Earth Element and our ability to be present. Lower numbers may also indicate that we are already well in touch with our presence, that we needn’t a drastic reminder to stay present and grounded precisely because we do so in life’s simple things.
Higher numbers may indicate the fullness of recognizing the divine in the everyday, the fulfillment of self-realization within the presence of being. However, those same higher numbers can also remind us that we may be so bogged down in practical matters that we have lost touch with our eternal essence within — Earth’s density obscuring Consciousness. The middle numbers, then, indicate challenges and developments along the way.
Consciousness reflects itself in us through Earth through relationship, through differentiation, and since Earth is both the condensation and container of all Elements, our understanding of ourselves and recognition of our Divinity hinges upon not just Earth, but the relationship of all Elements. If we lose our ability to be present directly through Earth, the same Elements that can unground us can also bring us back, through experience, to our being. It is, after all, this interaction of Elements that ensures life’s timeless and continual flow. And by the same token, if Earth’s density anchors us too heavily, our recourse is to reconnect with other Elements. Earth in balance holds all Elements both in potential and fulfillment.
Because of Earth’s relationship with the other three Elements, we will not read using only Earth cards the way we did with Air, Fire, and Water. Instead, let’s explore a way of using all Elements to bring us deeper into presence, and deeper into our being.
Separate your Ace to Ten Minors from the rest of the deck, and then separate the Earth cards and set the other 30 aside. You’ll first draw an Earth card to represent your current connection with Earth. This can be chosen at random, or better yet, try to experience your current degree of integration with Earth on a scale from One to Ten and select a card to represent that. For instance, if you feel weighed down by the weight of the world, you might select the Ten of Earth (setting aside the standard interpretation of this card as fulfillment for the moment, recognizing the density of this card). Or, if you currently feel very ungrounded, you might choose the Ace or Two of Earth, recognizing the instability of these low numbers. Feeling stuck or challenged, yet present with your reality may be somewhere from the set of middle cards, particularly the Five (but again this would depend on the degree and your relationship with each number). If you use reversals, you may also choose to use your relationship with the reversals to indicate your current level if “earthiness.”
Next, select a card and use that as an indicator as to how to bring your current Earth state into greater balance. There are several options here: you could simply select another Earth card, and observe the development or regression of this second card as your guide to further balancing your current state.
Since this state, though, is in relationship with the other Elements, I’d suggest selecting a card from the Ace to Ten Minors of Air, Fire, and Water that you separated earlier, but shuffled together. This will give you both a direction and a degree, depending on the suit and number that you wind up drawing. Use what you explored in the one-Element exercises previously to integrate this second Element with Earth and help balance it.
A third option is to include the remaining Earth cards so that you are selecting from 39 Minors.
Lastly, if you’d like a more in-depth look at the interrelationship between the Elements and your present state of groundedness, separate each suit and select a card from each with your earlier selected Earth card as your base:
Again, we’re working in degrees first, then any accompanying significance.
So in this example, Four of Earth is the current state. It is roughly mid-way on our scale, so there’s a feeling of density, solidity, but it is neither burdensome nor fully actuated. The stability of the Four indicates a state of pause.
There is comfort in the home, some sense of stability, but that stability is close and defined, it doesn’t stretch out very far. It could be indicating that the person feels grounded and secure (and present) at home, but becomes ungrounded when outside that zone — a fairly common experience for many of us. Due to this frame, however, perhaps the person is not fully experiencing life, not honoring the Divine within through interaction, but rather holding that presence to themselves. While comfortable, they may halting their own progress by being anchored in this reality.
To bring more balance to this stage of Earth for this person, at the Air level they may want to start thinking beyond this comfort state. Interaction may begin through written or verbal communication, studying subjects adjacent, but not oppositional, to their areas of interest. It may also require an ability to have a sense of humour about their fondness for comfort and the ways in which they seek stability.
In terms of their actions, in the fire realm, they need to put forth a fair bit of effort and complete projects, see things through to their end, and ensure their efforts and actions go all the way. They are extremely passionate, and that passion will help drive this person to express their being more fully. It would also be good to wrap up any loose ends, as unfinished business (whether personal or professional) may be sustaining the Four-state of Earth.
At the sensory level, another Five, indicating again a movement out of the comfort of personal stability into a larger, communal or interactive stage.Sometimes I like to think of the Fives as the transition from being a big fish in a small pond in the Four to being a small fish in a big pond — or at least another fish equal to a number of other fishes in the Six. The Five represents the in-between, and the struggle that occurs when recognizing the advantages and disadvantages of both the Four and the Six. Some of the advantages of the Four are given up for certain disadvantages in the Six, but we do it because the disadvantages of the Four we gain advantage over at the Six. Since the Five appeared twice here (and even the Ten of Fire can be seen as Five X 2, so among the non-Earth Elements we have 4 Fives, the Four of Earth extending out into a multiple of 4 Fives).
Through this exercise, we start to see how Elements interact and affect each other with Earth as our foundation, and its potential leads us toward understanding Court Cards and Elemental Dignities.
In the meantime, Earth cards hint at the continuity of being — that no matter how heavy or light life feels, despite the density of our circumstances, presence is eternal. When working with Earth, remember to simply be:
Be conscious.
Be present.
Be alive.
Find Michael Bridge Dickson and the Orbifold Tarot online, and meet him in person at TarotCon Florida 2016!
Image from Crystal Vision Tarot by Jennifer Galasso
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
Five of Swords
Appropriate for our topic this week, your one-card reading is the Five of Swords.
Here we see that a battle has occurred, with a clear winner, and a clear loser.
This week, chose your battles carefully. When you are ready to take a stand, stand tall, and risk all.
If you are fighting on the side of right, your belief in your cause will give you strength to endure, and, perhaps, to triumph.
Upcoming Events
Monday, August 29, 7 pm
Global Tarot Circle
Live on Facebook
Join us for our regular monthly free tarot webinar, with a twist! We’ll do our usual questions, readings, interpretations, sharing and exercises, but this time we will do it on Facebook Live!
Simply visit my business page on Facebook and hit “like”, then, visit the page at the event time. You can watch the live feed, and chat in the comment section!
Bring your tarot cards and get ready to spend a fast-paced hour with tarot friends from around the world!
Tuesday, August 30, 5:30 pm
An Evening with the Tarot
Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library
1505 North Nebraska Avenue, Tampa, 33602
Join me at the library as I present the art, history and culture of tarot!
Coming Soon:
October 7 Professional Development Day (PreConference Intensive)
October 8-9 TarotCon (Florida) 2016
October 14-23 Christiana's Trip to West Palm Beach. Call or test 561-655-1160 to schedule your party, house call or private reading.
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.
A Mindful Daily Practice
Do something every day and you'll be better, and better at it! Explore Water in the Orbifold Tarot, and make an appointment to see me in CT!
We’ve all heard the expression “practice makes perfect”. Whatever it is we try to master, the more we do it, the better at doing it we become.
When we are young, we are often required to practice at a musical instrument or a sport. Sometimes, as adults, we feel we don’t have the time to “waste” on something that seems so frivolous.
The truth is, having a daily practice, be it creative, practical or spiritual, has many benefits, even beyond perfecting a skill.
When we take a few moments out of our day to exercise, to meditate, to study or to play, we are honoring our commitment to growth, and our commitment to a fuller life.
When we discipline ourselves to learn something new, or to perfect a skill, we are both mindful in the moment, and investing in our future.
Sometimes, committing to a daily practice, even a simple one, causes anxiety and shame when we aren’t always able to fulfill that commitment to ourselves. That’s where mindfulness comes in.
A daily practice offers us the ability to take time every day to be in the moment with something that is important to us. If we have to skip a day, we need to stay in the moment, without guilt or regret. Our daily intention will translate into something we do most days, and that has to be good enough.
Sometimes, even taking a moment to think about and visualize our practice, even if we don’t have the opportunity to actually engage in it on a specific day, will keep our commitment strong and keep us grounded in that important energy of mindful practice.
The COTD: An Easy Daily Tarot Practice
I’ve been considering that my tarot practice is much more than my tarot business. My tarot practice is a daily commitment to growth and healing.
A daily tarot practice is easy, and is something anyone with a tarot deck can develop, whether you are a brand-new beginner or a seasoned pro.
One of the easiest daily tarot practices to master is the Card of the Day, or COTD.
If you are a new student, you can use this practice to actually learn the cards. If you know the cards well, you can use this practice to connect with the energy of a particular card each day, and let that card support and inform your day.
Simply choose a time of day (usually in the morning or evening) to pull one card. You can write about it or you can meditate on it, or just think about it.
Don’t think of it as predictive, as much as instructive.
How is this card currently present in your life?
Do you want it to be present it your life, or is this an energy you need to mitigate?
What advice does this card give you for the day?
Taking a few moments every day to be mindful with tarot will give insight and grounding, and will sharpen your tarot skills!
From My Desk to Yours
Last week, I got to see the premiere of Star Trek Beyond! I shared my thoughts on my Dark Forest Blog.
On my Community Blog, and with a YouTube video, I answered a question about why you might not want to do a tarot reading.
On my Personal Blog, I shared something I learned about sales and marketing when I was selling flowers on the streets of New Haven. It’s called, “Let the Flowers Sell Themselves”.
From Around the Web
So many of my friends join me in loving the ukulele. So, this is for you. It’s Stewart’s Ukulele Songbook! You’re welcome.
The Smithsonian wrote about divination!
From The New Yorker, here is some Advice for Young Writers. I think this works for writers of any age!
Song of the Week
Here’s Buddy Holly’s “Every Day”, with some rare footage of him and his band.
Connecticut, TarotCon, West Palm Beach and FPG
My next few months will be very busy. Please know that, where ever I am, I have the time and ability to do a phone reading for you, so never hesitate to reach out for an appointment.
Early next week, I fly to Connecticut for two weeks. I’ll be doing house parties throughout Connecticut, and in surrounding states. I will also be doing private readings at True Bikram Yoga in Madison. To schedule your hour or half hour, call or text 561-655-1160.
TarotCon
TarotCon is fast approaching, and the line-up of speakers is phenomenal! Michael Bridge-Dickson, who has been contributing a column to this newsletter, will be presenting, along with Lisa Hunt, Geraldine Amaral, Alice Smeets, Michael M. Hughes, Steph Engert, Nora Huszka, Marcy Currier, Angelo Nasios and more.
We’ll have plenty of vendors, and some very special activities for our Saturday evening poolside banquet.
There is still time to register, so do it now. Remember, too, that I, along with Jenna Matlin, Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, will be presenting a special professional development day on the Friday prior to TarotCon.
West Palm Beach
I’ll be in West Palm Beach from October 14 to October 23. During that time, I will be teaching classes, performing a psychic gallery and doing some private readings in Pearl’s room at Unity Church in the Pines.
I’ll also be booking private readings in my hotel suite, and booking house parties throughout South Florida. If you would like to reserve your time now, call or text 561-655 1160. Stay tuned for information about classes and gatherings during that time!
FPG
I’ve been asked to be one of the headliners at FPG this November. I’ll also be reading tarot in the vending area. FPG is one of the best and longest running festivals in the country, so don’t miss it!
I’m grateful to everyone who have helped to make all these wonderful things possible in my life, and hope these events make it possible for me to see you soon!
Orbifold Tarot
with Michael Bridge-Dickson
Breaking Town Tarot's Elements
Part 6 - Water
From the burning, transformative efforts of Fire, we turn to the soothing sensitivity of Water. In contrast to the sharp, consuming radiation of Fire, Water is soft, receptive, and giving. Both have transformative qualities, with equal capacity for destruction and creation. But where Fire is light, releasing heat as it consumes, Water is heavy and absorbs heat. Directionally, Fire spreads from its source, never turning back; whereas Water ebbs and flows, constantly pushing forward and receding.
Where Fire related to our efforts and actions, which are essentially irreversible, Water relates to our sensations, feelings, and emotions, which are perpetually in flux. Water also relates to “the Waters of our minds” the deeper, usually sub- or unconscious parts of the mind that are dark and mysterious.
The relationship between our sensations and the recesses of our minds is not a distant one, but before we dive into the depths of the mysterious unconscious, let’s wade into the realm of sensation, feeling, and emotion — words that are often used interchangeably, but I feel there is a difference between these layers, and it’s useful to make that differentiation
Sensations are essentially neutral — they are just that: sensations. Water’s receptive quality is exhibited through sensation: we are constantly receiving feedback through each of our senses, and not just touch. Despite this constant receptivity, not all sensations are registered at the conscious level, but we’ll look at that in a moment.
Feelings are our response to sensation, where our system sorts the feedback received through the senses as being relevant or irrelevant, pleasurable or painful, safe or dangerous. These responses leave their trace, in the same way that Water marks where it has been. Again, our responses to sensation — our feelings — are not always registered consciously, but are nonetheless stored by our system, akin to Water absorbing solubles.
Emotions are what we label our feelings, how we attempt to process our responses to feelings and make sense of them, especially when they are contradictory. Emotions are where the complexity of our experiences plays out, and being further removed from direct sensation, they are often confusing and mysterious to the conscious mind, often requiring calm reflection such as in meditation and dream states, where the conscious mind is more passive. Emotions are also where we outwardly show our reactions to sensation and feeling, how we express those feelings.
We often like to think that our actions are ruled by the conscious mind, that everything we do is a result of cognitive thought. But the source of our actions and even our thoughts both before and after action have their source in sensations, which are then mediated by the subconscious before becoming conscious thought or performed actions. Nearly everything we do and think is a response to sensation — but socialization complicates these responses, at all levels.
From very early on, we are taught that certain sensations are acceptable, and others are not. This stretches well beyond simply right or wrong, but is mired in social complexity. Pleasurable sensations are not always favored, and are often covered over with externally imposed emotions, while painful sensations are avoided and suppressed. Some of us learn that we should feel guilt, shame, or jealousy when we experience joy; and we are often taught that pain and sorrow should neither be felt nor expressed.
Like Water releasing what it has absorbed, how we express emotion is based on what we’ve been exposed to, the ways we’ve experienced others responding to their own sensations, feelings, and emotions. This is seen as part of our development in becoming “emotionally mature,” and while managing our expression of emotion is absolutely crucial both individually and socially, the result is often far more confused and not at all what we later come to know as actual “maturity.”
In the process, we often lose touch with the root of emotion and its expression: direct sensation. We cease to acknowledge sensation as it happens, suppressing or even repressing our natural capacity to feel: we turn ourselves off, not only from “negative” emotions, but positive ones as well. This causes numbness; the dull experience of depression, where nothing is felt, nothing is interesting, nothing but apathy is expressed. We may then seek out perpetually more extreme sensations, just to feel something — and this can often lead to destructive behaviour as the need for sensation intensifies.
At the opposite extreme of emotional expression, we can become so overwhelmed with sensations that we cannot process them effectively; every sensation is magnified like the lensing effect of a Water droplet amplifying the veins of a leaf.
Either way, we store these sensations along with the feelings and emotions tied to them in the abyss of our sub-and un-conscious minds. The mysteries of our murky depths become frightening and alien, explored in strange dreams and nightmares that disturb the recouperative sleep states. Often, this material is so dark and unfamiliar that this natural system of dreaming does not bring unconscious material to light, and instead we get recurring dreams that aren’t even remembered — just the sleepless nights these dreams caused.
Our ability to experience these sensations without expression or repression, to let them flow over us is directly related to our ability to express emotions healthily. In the same way that Water reflects, refracts, and distorts light, our emotions distort our memories. The degree is dependent upon the clarity of our emotional state to begin with — the clearer and calm the Water, the less distortion and sharper the reflection; the murkier and disturbed the Water, the more refracted the reflection.
It’s this natural quality of Water to refract and distort that prevents us from being completely objective. No matter what, our memories are colored by our emotions — not only those at the time of any given event, but also those tied to any and all details within and leading up to each event, not to mention our projections about where events are headed.
Because our bodies are between 50-70% Water, depending on our body type, tissue density, age, sex, fitness level, and climate, how we process our emotions is also directly related to the physical presence of Water within us. When the Water Element is dense, like ice, we become cold, unfeeling, hardened, and unable to let emotions flow in and out of us. At the same time, when our bodies are too soft, we can become oversensitive, and erratically emotional, like a turbulent sea tossing us from one stormy state to the next. And, when Water is lacking, when we are dehydrated, we can become stiff, and bitter, grasping on to any and all feelings, no matter how dry in an attempt to conserve Water.
As we become more adept at processing our emotions, though, the best qualities of Water emerge. Our ability to adapt, to go with the flow of life increases. We are more able to absorb and experience difficult sensations, feelings, and emotions without drowning in them. We also become more loving and nurturing, not only supporting our own life force, but that of others around us — we become buoyant, floating on a seemingly endless emotional reservoir whose bottom we may never know.
The mysterious depths of the mind become navigable, and fear of the unknown turns to curiosity, in the same way that Water seeps into every crack and crevice. We are free to explore life and our experiences.
The key to this is to return to sensation. Whenever possible, and as often as possible, acknowledge the sensations of everyday experience as you navigate through your own world. Recognize the temperature, texture, weight, intensity, taste, sounds, color, shape, and smell of the things around you, the things touching you. Develop as much subtlety as possible, no sensation too mild to be felt, none too intense to fully experience, and no range from mild to intense so wide that you cannot appreciate each degree in between.
Watch throughout each day as sensations, along with their feelings and emotions, rise and fall, ebb and flow. Let each sensation wash over you, gathering debris and then releasing out. Notice when and where you do not fully feel your sensations, either by cutting yourself off from them or by expressing so quickly that the ability to contain sensation does not allow you time to feel.
In this process of observing sensation, assign a number to each one in a scale of intensity from 1 to 10 (or even 0 to 10 if you prefer). Be as precise as possible, using decimals as necessary, and then round the number up or down as you see fit. See what happens to each sensation as you attempt to assign a precise number and also see what happens when you round the number. Just like Water, the sensation will not want to be pinned down so precisely; but also like Water, the sensation will adapt as you round up or down.
Don’t be concerned about being right or wrong, but instead be as true as possible to your experience: one person’s 8.6 will be another’s 10, while yet another’s will be more like a 4.2 — each is equally valid, but subjective. The more you practice this exercise, the more objective it will become.
To increase this precision, at the end of each day, see what range the sensations fell into. Some days will be in the lower range, others in the high range or middle. Some days will have extreme highs and lows, whereas others will have more moderate ranges. Then, within each range, shift your perspective temporarily and stretch the range to span 1 to 10 so that each day, no matter how mild or intense, no matter how calm or erratic, can be expressed as a full range. This stretching of the sensation range can be very helpful if you find you are not already experiencing a wide range of sensation, especially if that limited range seems to stay the same.
From there, to develop even more sensitivity, shift perspectives again and note what the overall degree of sensations was to find a relative average. This is actually narrowing the range, and is particularly helpful if every day vacillates drastically from stormy sea to smooth sailing, from violent hurricane to smooth ripples, and from downpour to light drizzle.
In widening and narrowing the range that you experience sensations in, you are opening up your ability to feel those sensations, while at the same time gaining just enough perspective to reflect on the accompanying feelings and emotions. You will start to see how, from moment to moment, day to day, month to month, and beyond, the field of sensations is a tide that swells and retreats. and you’ll start to feel how each sensation flows from one to the next.
This full experience of sensation leads to one of the most profound qualities of Water: intuition. As you feel and experience subtle sensations more fully and consciously, and as you develop the capacity to experience intensity without disturbance, all of the sensations that are normally registered and stored away subconsciously rise to to the surface, and can be seen with little to no distortion. Without distortion, this clarity reveals more and more of the subtle realm, leading to intuitive insights and removing the mystery that clouds perception.
Relate this directly to your tarot practice, too. When reading Water cards, notice not only the intensity of the cards themselves, but the degree of transition between them. As we did for the Elements of Air and Fire, take just your Water cards or Cups from your deck, and again for now, just the pips from Ace to Ten. Shuffle them and lay out as many as you like, at least two and up to all ten.
See the patterns of flow from one card to the next, and see them as a wave rising and falling. Note how drastic some transitions are and how mild others are, and even if the wave does not relate to your current experience, recall a time when the events of your life mirrored this wave pattern. It may be helpful to arrange them as a wave.
This example shows an emotional flow that is steadily building, starting with a pretty mild intensity, jumping up and then settling slightly, and then rising until it breaks drastically from the Ten to the Ace. Normally, both the Ace and the Ten are seen as “good” cards, nourishing, abundant, complete — together, they could indicate a movement from fulfillment to purity. Seen as a wave though, this could be a bit of a crash, going from emotional overwhelm to lacking sensation, a backlog of complex emotion to a release of clarity, or any number of other emotional extremes. This large wave then ripples out again, trying to find equilibrium, but is still undulating in reaction to that drastic change... and building up momentum again!
Tying this in to our differentiation between sensation, feeling, and emotion, we can look more simply at a three-card spread for each of these watery layers. We could even incorporate reversals to signify whether they are conscious (upright) or unconscious (reversed). Initially, just look at the intensity, the details can be filled in later.
For example:
Sensation: A manageable, reasonably intense sensation or set of sensations that is registered consciously and seems stable. Nothing to indicate danger, maybe even a sensation of safety, warmth, and ease. It is steady, and may even be consciously familiar
Feeling: The conscious familiarity with this set of sensations makes the feelings about it more unconscious, but those feelings are building. There’s something about the sensation that the person is developing stronger feelings about, but is not acknowledging. Again, these could be positive or negative feelings, but the reaction is more intense than the level of sensation itself. The interiorization may be socially driven.
Emotion: Not acknowledging the intensifying feelings about the initial sensation is leading to more emotional confusion. This mix of emotions, though conscious, are also isolating — those unconscious feelings affect social interactions.
This person may feel lonely, but doesn’t know why. The emotional intensity is high, even though the sensory intensity is moderate.
Incidentally, I drew the Three of Water upright as a possible resolution: compromise. Consciously reduce the intensity of the initial sensation through some gentle movement — walking outside if possible, lessen some of the sense of security afforded by the home.
Explore the social aspect of the repressed feelings through mild social interaction. No big parties or busy events, just a small gathering — again, outside of the home if possible. Manage the emotional intensity by seeing that the emotional reaction is thrice what it needs to be.
Take a wade into the Water, swim, splash, and even dive into it. Near the bottom and on the shores, we will rest next week in Earth.
Find Michael Bridge Dickson and the Orbifold Tarot online, and meet him in person at TarotCon Florida 2016!
Image from Crystal Vision Tarot by Jennifer Galasso
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
Ten of Wands
Your one-card reading is the Ten of Wands.
Often, we see this card as an expression of the burdens we are carrying.
This week, think about your emotional baggage, your sense of responsibility and your daily tasks.
Is there something that is overwhelming you?
Do you feel that you are carrying too much?
Or, do you feel that you are doing what you must do?
If your burdens are emotional, from past hurts, it’s time to put them down.
If your burdens are causes by doing for others who aren’t doing for you, it’s time to let them go.
If your burdens are a difficult part of a necessary path, embrace them, and know that you have the strength to do what you must, and that this path will lead you to your success.
Upcoming Events
July 25th - August 5th
The Spiritual Path of Tarot Telesummit 3 - Tarot Wisdom
There's still time to sign up now to participate in this amazing opportunity to explore tarot, for free!
August 3 - August 17
Parties and Readings Available in Connecticut
Call or text 561-655-1160 to schedule your private reading with me in Madison, CT. My party schedule is quite full, but if you are interested in a last-minute gathering, let me know and I will see what I can do!
August 7, 7pm
Deep Soul Meditation
True Bikram Yoga
1347 Boston Post Rd #201, Madison, CT 06443
Join us for an evening of growth and healing! Using relaxing guided imagery, Christiana will take you on a journey of healing with three specific phases.
Phase One will work with the seven chakras. One by one, you will be guided to release all that does not serve you from each chakra. From there, you will activate each chakra, bringing you to a place of well-being, peace and motivation.
Phase Two is a journey into your soul’s past. In this deep state of meditation, Christiana will help you unlock your soul’s memories of past lives. As you understand your soul’s past, you will more easily understand your current situations and motivations, and be able to release past trauma.
In Phase Three you will look to the future. Using the healing and understanding that has come from the first two meditations, you will be able to clearly focus your vision on creating your best possible future. This technique of creative visualization is designed to help you set and reach goals, attracting into your life the people and situations that will create the best possible future for you.
Call or text 561-6554-1160 to reserve your seat. Class fee: $30.
Coming Soon:
TarotCon (Florida) 2016 will take place October 8th and 9th, with a special Professional Development Day on the 7th, in Palm Beach Gardens. Make your reservations now!
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.
What is blocking you?
Tarot helps you remove the things that hold you back!
So often in life, we feel stymied in our efforts to make positive change, to release the past, or to create the future we want.
At least once a week I see in a tarot reading that my client feels blocked, either by their own inability to muster motivation and confidence, or their inability to release a past trauma.
Sometimes the stuck, blocked feeling seems to come from an outside source. A person may be doing all the right things to get a job, find a partner, or to lose weight, for example, but may go for a long time without results. In that case, we start to wonder if some outside energy is limiting us.
Tarot, meditation and yoga are all great ways to identify and remove our blockages, whether those blocks are creative, emotional or motivational.
When we feel blocked, or stuck, we need to recognize that this condition, though frustrating, may be a necessary part of our evolution.
Usually, once the block is removed, our ability to move forward not only returns, but returns stronger than before.
Sometimes an inability to move forward is the Universe’s gentle way of nudging us to another path. Sometimes, though, that block is something for us to push against, something to make us stronger on the long road to eventual success.
There are some simple steps for releasing our blocked state.
First, identify the way in which you are blocked. Are you having trouble being creative or achieving your goals?
Then, identify the source of the blockage. Are you responding to past trauma, or to a negative story you tell about yourself?
If the blockage is internal, find a way to remove it. That may include changing a behavior, changing what you are telling yourself, or doing energy work to release your trauma.
If you perceive the blockage is external, energy work is usually the best answer. That could include energetic clearing and cleansing, chakra work, protection, or cord-cutting, for example.
As with most things, a combination of practical solutions and spiritual practices is the solution to release you from your stuck place.
Release Your Muse Tarot Spread
Often we feel creatively blocked, or blocked from finding the beauty and joy that surrounds us.
Here’s a tarot spread to release your creative blockages and find your inner muse!
Arrange six cards in a triangle, with card one at the top, card two to the left, card three to the right, and the bottom three cards dealt left to right. Then, add another row of three cards underneath those. Finally, place a tenth card on the bottom middle, so it looks like the trunk of a tree.
Card one: What it is that you want to do or experience
Card two: Your vision of success
Card three: Things of the past that may be blocking you
Card four: Fears that may be blocking you
Card five: Outside influences that may be blocking you
Card six: The extent to which pursuing this is your best path
Card seven: How to release the past
Card eight: How to deal with outside energies
Card nine: Insight and direction from the Universe
Card ten: your natural talent, calling or path
From my Desk to Yours
This week, I experimented with going Live on Facebook. You can find my first two attempts on my Facebook Business Page, or on my website. While you are on my FB Business Page, please hit “Like”!
From Around the Web
Mary K. Greer shared a wonderful blog post about reading tarot. Read “Removing the last thin veil”.
From mindbodygreen, here are 3 signs your energy is blocked.
From Tarot Musings, try this Chakra tarot spread.
Song of the Week
Here’s one of my recent favorites," Wake Me Up", from Avicii.
Orbifold Tarot
with Michael Bridge-Dickson
Breaking Down Tarot’s Elements Part 5 — Fire
Last week we saw that Air dislikes confinement, but when controlled can give us direction and inspiration. We also noted that there is great power in Air from this directedness, and it builds force when compressed. If Air is compressed enough, it releases this force not only as directive power, but it also builds heat until it combusts into Fire.
The most dynamic of the Four Elements, Fire marks the breaking point between the dense and subtle Elements. Its unique quality — heat — ignites, consolidates, processes, transforms, and disperses, allowing for the possibility of Elements to transition from one state to another. These transitions either require heat to take place or release heat in the process, or both. For Elements to retain a constant state, heat must also be kept steady. So, to create or prevent change, heat must always be considered.
Fire, then, has to do with anything that produces or releases heat, and by extension anything having to do with transformation, transition, combining, separating, creation, and destruction.
We generally create both heat and change through our actions, our efforts. Where effort is lacking, heat is low and change either occurs slowly or not at all. Where effort is great, heat is generated, and change also often occurs — though not always positively!
Effort also involves a degree of tension. It creates tension in our bodies and in our interactions. This tension is necessary to facilitate change through action, but there are also times when our efforts are wasted — it could be that our efforts are unnecessary because the situation is already moving in that direction, that we are fighting an equal amount of opposing effort, or the opposing effort is so great that our efforts are consumed without result.
This tension also build the heat of transformation. In our bodies, tension resist the effects of gravity, allows us to move, and fuels our activities. It also accumulates as and is caused by stress. Tension, whether resting or active, produces heat and burns calories — but before you go abandoning your diet regime and create a bunch of unnecessary tension, consider too that as Fire burns, it also consumes its own fuel, making us feel stiff and brittle like charcoal.
This is as true within our own bodies as it is in our interactions and environment. When our muscles are stiff and tense from excessive or sustained effort, not only do they burn through their own resources, they also break down the connection, the possibility for Fire — or action — to move efficiently through our bodies which in turn affects our ability to carry our efforts through. Similarly, our efforts in all realms can burn through resources and disintegrate the healthy and dynamic interactivity.
Some situations are only made worse by our continued efforts. These efforts, when excessive or in the wrong direction burn us out and burn our bridges. To make matters worse, these stresses, tensions, and wrong efforts breed frustration and anger — Fires that burn wild and destructively, feeding on each other and destroying all possibility for repair. Here, Fire builds from action to reaction, a release of effort that can easily grow out of control.
It’s not all bad though, this same Fire that consumes and destroys also clears obstruction. Fire’s capacity through effort can help realize desires and passions, to exert will and move situations forward. These same efforts transform monotonous behaviours, refine raw materials, sharpen vague ideas, excite dull relationships, and brightens dreary days.
The key to mastering Fire within us is in knowing when and how much effort to invest in any particular deed so that we don’t burn ourselves out or destroy valuable connections, waste our energy on impossible tasks through excessive effort, and yet maintain our momentum and execute our ideas, develop warm and caring relationships, and reduce anger and reactivity when things get a little too heated.
This balancing of efforts in Fire can explored by using just the Fire cards in the tarot.
Any tarot deck will do, as the suit of Wands expresses these various efforts. However, sometimes the lower numbered “effort” cards can depict happy scenes even when effort is inadequate, and not so pleasing scenes when more effort may be required. In this way, a pipstyle deck like The Orbifold Tarot can be helpful when exploring degrees of helpful and unhelpful effort.
As we explored last week with the Air cards only, here are some similar ways to investigate effort using only Fire cards.
In this first example, the first card is the degree of effort that will be unhelpful in the situation, and the second the amount that will be helpful:
The Ten of Fire indicates over-effort. While it may be in the right direction, it is unnecessary. The Six of Fire suggests that a little over half of the current effort is still necessary. 60% effort is still quite a bit, but it will more harmoniously merge with whatever active influences are surrounding the situation.
Even with this simple 2-card spread, we could also incorporate reversals to indicate where effort may be more effectively applied — outward or inward:
The Eight of Fire reversed indicates that unhelpful effort is being directed inward. Perhaps this person is working against themselves with every action, and is working pretty hard at it! They should reduce that effort by half, but redirect the effort outward. There could be self-sabotage or jealousy at play here, where the actions are destructive but are really only hurting the person performing those actions. Reducing the effort, and therefore also the hostility, may ease the feelings of anger, which in turn will change the result of the efforts, even if they are less. Those more restful efforts will also be more constructive.
Let’s look at one last example for the interaction of efforts between two people. This could be a romantic or work relationship, a friendship, or a family connection. The first card on the left is the degree of effort required by the querent, the second card on the right is the effort being put forth by the other person, and the third card elevated in the middle is the result:
Here, the querent doesn’t need to do much, but perhaps what the other person is looking for is a gesture, something original and unique that they can then build upon and run with. The second person is a mover, and puts momentum into even small shifts. There’s a great deal of passion between them, to the extent that neither needs to put forth much effort fir them to really be cooking! Again, that doesn’t have to mean romantically, but it could indicate that their surrounding influences are such that together they can get a great deal done with not a whole lot of effort, though the other person is putting a little more effort into the current relationship.
Our actions create our futures, and affect the futures of others. Utilize Fire well, and it will ignite positive change within you and around you, but beware that your efforts are constructive rather than destructive.
Next week we’ll cool and calm the flame in Water... until then, bask in the heat!
I'm grateful to have Michael Bridge-Dickson as a guest contributor to Tarot Topics. Check out the Orbifold Tarot and Michael's work!
Announcing the The Spiritual Path of Tarot Telesummit 3 - Tarot Wisdom
I am excited to share with you a new FREE event I'm going to be a part of: The Spiritual Path of Tarot Telesummit 3 - Tarot Wisdom.
20 Tarot teachers are coming together July 25 through August 5, for two one-hour calls every weekday, to show you how to access your wisdom & higher guidance through deepening (or re-energizing!) your understanding of the Tarot.
Host Kim Wilborn has asked every teacher to speak about the tarot topics they find most meaningful, with each presentation focused on helping you engage with the wisdom of the Tarot in a deeper way.
I’ll be speaking about tarot as a tool of healing.
I chose this topic because, over the years, I have seen so much healing come out of tarot readings, tarot study, and other tarot techniques. I am so excited to share the ways tarot heals us with you.
Each call will be like a mini-class, complete with guided meditations! You’ll be able to listen to live calls online, by phone, or via skype, and free 48-hour replays will allow you to listen at your convenience. (Low-priced recordings are also available to make it even easier!)
I hope you’ll be my guest at this one-of-a-kind event and experience for yourself a deeper connection to the wisdom of the Tarot.
I’m excited about the good company I am in for this summit! Look at this list of presenter~
~Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone – Birth Cards: A Powerful Tool for Self-Knowledge
~Lisa de St. Croix – Tarot Visual Journaling
~Scott Martin – Tarot Goes to Acting School
~Robert Place – History of Divination with Cards
~Sheilaa Hite – The Fool, The Hermit & the 4 Knights - Energetic & Spiritual Soulmates on the Quest to Discover their Own Personal Legends
~Brigit Esselmont – Reading with Reversals Without the Doom & Gloom
~Kooch Daniels – The Magic of Birth Date Tarot Spreads
~Suzanne Corbie – Ancient Wisdom for a Modern Age
~Ferol Humphrey – Loosening Up - For Starters & Sophisticates
~ Pamela Eakins – Claim the Power of your Birthright: Tarot of the Spirit. The Tree of Life. The Ancient and Future Mystery School
~Lisa Allen – Timing with Tarot Cards
~Katrina Wynne – Dreamwork in Tarot
~Gina Thies – The Keys to Multi-Awareness Tarot Readings
~Christiana Gaudet – The Healing Tarot: Tarot as a Tool for Cultivating Well-Being
~Ellen Goldberg – Influence your Personal Evolution by Activating the Major Arcana Archetypes
~Kim Wilborn – Access the Guardian Energies of the Tarot to Express Your Life Purpose
If you would like to deepen (or refresh!) your alignment with a spiritual tool that can bring you clarity and insight while it lights your way to joyfully fulfilling your personal Soul Purpose, register today for our telesummit!
Image from Crystal Vision Tarot by Jennifer Galasso
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
The World
This week, the World describes the energy that is available to you.
Now is the time to finish projects, and to allow cycles to complete. It may be a time to say goodbye to something or someone.
In your thoughts and conversations, try to open your mind to a larger perspective. Make sure you are getting the big picture.
Recognize you own influence, in your own life, and in the lives of others. To the extent that you can, create the world of which you want to be a part.
Upcoming Events
Monday, June 18, 2016 6:00 pm
An Evening of Tarot Especially for Teens!Thonotosassa Branch Library
10715 Main Street Thonotosassa, FL, 33592
Young people, and the young at heart, will enjoy this presentation of the art, history and culture of tarot.
July 25th - August 5th
The Spiritual Path of Tarot Telesummit 3 - Tarot WisdomSign up now to participate in this amazing opportunity!
Coming Soon:
I will be available for private readings and house parties in Connecticut and surrounding areas from August 3 to August 17. Call 561-655-1160 to get on the schedule now!
TarotCon (Florida) 2016 will take place October 8th and 9th, with a special Professional Development Day on the 7th, in Palm Beach Gardens. Make your reservations now!
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.