Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Six is the First Perfect Number
This week we take a deep dive into the power and meaning of the number Six.
Welcome to Volume 6, Issue 6 of the Tarot Topics Weekly Newsletter. Given the sixes this week, I thought it would be fun to do a deep dive into the number Six, and its meaning in different traditions, as well as in tarot.
To be honest, whenever I think of the number Six, I think first of the poem, Now We Are Six, from the book of the same name by A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh. I still have that poem memorized. While I doubt the author had the divinatory study of numbers in mind when he wrote it, the poem does a good job giving some possible basic meanings for the six numerals, ending with, “But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever. So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.”
The Pythagoreans felt that Six symbolized high ideals.
They also pointed out that Six is the first perfect number. Mathematically, a perfect number is a positive integer that equals the sum of its proper divisors, excluding the number itself. Six is the lowest of these perfect numbers, and therefore the first.
Perhaps there are metaphysical ways in which Six is also the first perfect number. When I was first learning tarot, I learned Three as the number of first fruits, Four as the number of comfort and safety, Five as the number of expansion, and Six as the number of victory. From this perspective, Six would be the first number to express complete success.
In Kabbalah, Six is Tiphereth, or Beauty. The Chaldeans heralded the number Six as caring and giving.
When we dig into the meanings of the number Six in different traditions, we find some common themes emerge. Those themes include family, nurturance, connections, and reciprocity.
This, along with the concept of victory as I first learned, is helpful to consider when we look at the Six cards in tarot.
The Lovers, of course, is a card about relationships. The Six of Cups is about our childhood, and our relationship with the past. The Six of Pentacles is about sharing, the Six of Swords is about forward motion, and the Six of Wands is about victory after battle.
Within each of these cards we can find beauty, connections, family, victory, and, in each, a certain kind of perfection.
If Six is your birth number, or life path number, you are likely to be a nurturing and caring person, and one who works to build connections to friends, family, and community.
In all systems of divination, I am fascinated by the unlikely but perfect marriage of science and myth, logic and intuition, systems and random. We can see the relationships of diviner and tool, human and spirit, and reader and querent in the number Six as well, and in all the Six tarot cards.
The StaarCorner
This week there are lounge events on February 11, 12, 13, and 14. If you are a StaarCon 2023 ticketholder you have access to the lounge events. Don’t miss this chance to spend some time with your StaarCon friends, and learn from your StaarCon presenters!
If you have a ticket and have not yet logged into Accelevents, log in now, watch replays of classes, and enjoy the lounge events. If you have any trouble logging in, please reach out to me at 561-655-1160 and I will help you get started.
The AfterGlow ends February 21 at 7 pm. Please get as much as you can out of this time of learning, shopping, and interaction.
Tarot Exercise with the Tarot Sixes
Here is a way to get to know the tarot Sixes a bit better. There are six (no kidding) tarot cards associated with the number Six. Take them out of your deck. They are The Lovers, The Devil, the Six of Swords, the Six of Wands, the Six of Cups, and the Six of Pentacles.
In the lead article in this newsletter, we learned a few keywords associated with the divinatory meaning of the number Six. Look at each of these cards and determine the ways in which the following keywords describe each of these cards.
Relationships
Connections
Beauty
Victory
Can you find each of these keywords in each of these cards?
The Week in Review
This week I uploaded two new recorded videos to my YouTube channel, one for everyone and one for members only. The all-access video is a collective reading and tarot spread for the coming spring. The members-only video is about ways to use tarot for personal healing.
Tonight, Wednesday, February 8, join us at 7 pm ET for a live class on using tarot cards with oracle cards.
Did you get your February TarotScopes yet?
From Around the Web
StaarCon presenter Marion Kirk has shared a great new blogpost about saying ‘no’ as a tarot reader. If you read for others, either casually or professionally, you need to see this!
The first Tarot Blog Hop of 2023 is out! It’s wrangled by Kimberly Essex. You can check out the theme, and then follow the master list to see what five tarot bloggers had to say about the topic of beginning again.
Of course, it had to happen, and Teen Vogue has the story. There is a new tarot deck inspired by Taylor Swift called The Taylor Tarot!
Creation and Divination
Do you have a way of expressing your creativity that involves divination? Send me your poems, your art, your stories, and your crowdfunding links!
This week I will share poems that I wrote for two of the four Minor Arcana Six cards. Where or not one is a good poet, the act of writing about each card strengthens our understanding of the card, and our connection to the energy of the card.
Six of Cups
The journey back home before journey’s end
Memories shared, a reunion of friends.
Honored history and those who have passed
Looking with longing at what didn’t last.
When the sweetness of youth joins the great march of time
Some things will decay, but some things still shine.
Six of Swords
Silent on the waters slipping into the black night
An angel guides this journey toward the distant shore's true light.
Rising above turbulence with intent both calm and clear
Higher thought commands this boat, and the stars by which to steer.
Navigation born of science, and logic points the way
Leaving stormy seas behind as you sail toward the new day.
Upcoming Events
Card and Craft Academy
Classes presented by Christiana are available right now at Card and Craft Academy!
Christiana’s Candle Magick
Christiana’s Eleven-Card Celtic Cross
Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane
Practical Tarot Techniques
Psychic Tarot
Personal Tarot: Reading for Yourself
Sharing Wisdom: Reading for Others
The Meaning and Magic of Tarot Reversals
Journey Through the Major Arcana
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Tarot Beyond the Veil
Your Journey Through the Tarot Court
Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends
Tarot Readings for Personalities and Relationships
Clarity in Every Tarot Card
Tarot Flow Workshop
Making Magick with Tarot
Fearless Wisdom Tarot Workshop
Tarot Keywords and Interpretations Workshop
Tarot Spreads Tools and Techniques Workshop
Tarot for Magic and Mediumship
Tarot Communication for Clarity and Depth
Weaving the Tarot Reading Story
The Elemental Major Arcana
Minor Arcana Numbers, Elements, and Truth
Personal Healing with Tarot
Create and Interpret Custom Tarot Spreads
What the Court Cards Want You to Know
How Spirit Speaks Through Tarot
Catch up on your missed Zoom webinars and more!
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152
Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com
YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon
Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!
Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Schedule online at cardandcraft.10to8.com.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 6
February 8, 2023
Allowing Happiness
We can give ourselves permission to be happy without guilt. We must know that happiness can coexist with sorrow.
We all know so many proverbs about happiness. Some feel trite, others feel like deep wisdom. When know that happiness is an inside job. We know that happiness is the byproduct of a life well-lived. We know we have the right to pursue happiness.
One thing that is true about happiness that we do not often hear is that we must give ourselves permission to be happy. To be happy, we must allow ourselves to be happy. This can be difficult for so many reasons.
We must allow ourselves to be happy when our circumstances are not what we want them to be. We must allow ourselves to be happy as we recover from grief and loss. We must allow ourselves to be happy even if others around us are not happy.
Another truth about happiness is that it sometimes comes in single moments. We might have a moment of happiness followed by a moment of grief followed by a moment of frustration. We humans are multi-dimensional. We can hold space for many kinds of feelings all at once. Sometimes those feelings seem to contradict each other.
The way to be happy in the midst of sorrow is to allow your happiness and your sorrow to coexist within you.
Sometimes we feel guilty for allowing our own happiness. Of all the feelings we must experience, and all the feelings we should allow, guilt is usually misplaced. No matter the situation, we all deserve a few moments of happiness in our lives.
On a spiritual level, the ability to be happy in a difficult world may be a purpose of our human existence. Finding happiness is a step toward spiritual enlightenment.
The StaarCorner
The moment you have been waiting for is here! Tickets for StaarCon 2023 are now available. You can join us in person or online. You can join us for one, two, or all three days.
On the newly updated website you can see the current list of presenters. Check back often, as we are still adding to the roster of classes and activities.
The website also gives you the opportunity to become a StaarCon sponsor or exhibitor.
It is time to make your plans and get your tickets. We cannot wait to see you in January!
Allowing Happiness with Tarot
So often when we are upset, we will say “How can I be happy when this has happened?”
This is a perfect sort of question to ask tarot.
When you are seeking your happiness, processing grief, or dealing with upset, tell it to your cards! Ask your cards questions that will help you to process your feelings and allow happiness.
The very process of formulating questions for the cards can help you get a handle on your feelings. Contemplating the images of the cards you draw can help you understand your feelings, and access your inner joy.
The Week in Review
Did you catch the workshop on Tarot Birth Cards? You can find all the free live classes I have presented on YouTube in the Live Tarot Webinar playlist.
It’s a new month! Get your August Tarotscopes on my YouTube channel!
From Around the Web
Which tarot card do you think fits Wonder Woman best? Here is what one artist thought.
Here is a great tarot blogpost from Joy Vernon about tarot symbolism.
Can children read tarot? Should they? Here is what Mary Ellen Collins has to say.
Guidance on the Journey
Which tarot cards specifically speak of happiness? The Sun can be a card of joy and success. The Star and the Nine of Cups can speak of wishes fulfilled. The Three of Cups and the Four of Wands can speak of celebration. The Six of Wands speaks of Victory. The Ten of Cups can be about a happy family.
Is there a particular card that makes you think of happiness?
That so many cards can speak of things that make us happy suggests to me that there are many roads toward happiness, and many things in which we can find joy and satisfaction.
There are many flavors of happiness. The feeling of victory in the Six of Wands is very different than the party we see in the Three of Cups, for example.
When we compare and contrast the different ways happiness appears in the cards, we understand the nuances of tarot, as well as different aspects of happiness.
Upcoming Events
Card and Craft Academy
Classes presented by Christiana are available right now at Card and Craft Academy!
Christiana’s Eleven-Card Celtic Cross
Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane
Personal Tarot: Reading for Yourself
Sharing Wisdom: Reading for Others
The Meaning and Magic of Tarot Reversals
Journey Through the Major Arcana
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Your Journey Through the Tarot Court
Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends
Tarot Readings for Personalities and Relationships
Fearless Wisdom Tarot Workshop
Tarot Keywords and Interpretations Workshop
Tarot Spreads Tools and Techniques Workshop
Tarot for Magic and Mediumship
Tarot Communication for Clarity and Depth
Weaving the Tarot Reading Story
Minor Arcana Numbers, Elements, and Truth
Create and Interpret Custom Tarot Spreads
What the Court Cards Want You to Know
Catch up on your missed Zoom webinars and more!
cardandcraftacademy.com
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com
Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Call or text toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 5 Issue 31
August 3, 2022
What is a Win?
Even when things don't go our way there are still ways in which we win.
From the time we are very young, we are trained to see things we do in life as resulting in wins and losses.
In many ways, this is training for adult life, where we fight to win acceptance, affection, bonuses, contracts, and elections. We even describe the journey of health issues as a battle, where, if the disease wins, it means that we have lost.
In our recreation and exercise, from childhood and through adulthood, we compete in games and sports. There is nothing wrong with any of this. Competition is healthy and can encourage us to push ourselves forward towards success.
Yet, all the focus on winning can have some unintended negative consequences. Usually, when a competition has a designated winner, it also means there are designated losers. This dynamic can discourage us from developing cooperative structures where everyone wins.
Sometimes we fail to see the things we win along the way. Sometimes learning, growth and experience is a win, even if we didn’t take home the trophy. Sometimes we achieve a personal victory in completing a task, even if we didn’t do it in a way that wins awards.
In our society, the word ‘loser’ is one of the worst things we can call another person. Sadly, if we perceive we aren’t a winner, the only other things to be, by default, is a loser.
Part of the work I do with my clients is to help them figure out how to win; that is, how to succeed at achieving their goals. On the other hand, it is also part of my job to help people find the personal wins that are buried in their perceived losses. Sometimes, it is that perspective that means the most.
When we feel we have lost at something, we have a hard time setting ourselves up for the next win. When we can find the wins in every journey, we have what it takes to move forward with gratitude and confidence.
The StaarCorner
As we prepare for January 2021, I am happy to announce my participation in a well-respected tarot conference held every year in England, the UK Tarot Conference.
This year the UK Tarot Conference will be held online only. That means you don’t need a plane ticket to participate.
I am speaking on Friday, October 9th. The conference is October 9-10. Check out the website and get your ticket!
Then, make sure you are subscribed to the StaarCon newsletter, StaarCast on YouTube, and following StaarCon on Facebook! Let the UK Conference inspire you to make plans to attend StaarCon!
Being part of the international tarot community is a wonderful thing for all of us, especially in these unusual times.
See You in Class Tonight!
If you are new to tarot or looking for a new perspective on your old friends, the Major Arcana class I am teaching tonight on Zoom is perfect for you.
We will focus on the lessons and interpretations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards in ways that will make these cards relatable and easy to understand.
Class starts at 7 pm EDT. Visit the event listing on my website to learn more and get your ticket.
Reframing Perspective with Tarot
Tarot is great for helping us find ways to win. It is also great for helping us find the wins in our losses. Reframing our perspective on things that have happened is healing and enlightening. This process also helps us find our way forward.
The trick to this process is in the questions we ask of the cards. When you have been through something that felt like a loss, try asking your cards the following questions.
What did I learn from this experience?
What might I have done differently?
What is the win here?
How will this experience help me in the future?
Very often, the answers you receive to these questions, and questions like these, will give you a helpful new perspective. This will allow you to move forward. It will help you know that wins can come in many forms.
The Week in Review
This week I was excited to review the new book from Theresa Reed, “Tarot No Questions Asked”. This is one of the best tarot books I have read in a long time. Read my review, watch the video, and get the book!
Check out the playlist of Live Tarot Webinars on my YouTube channel to see what is coming up in October, and to watch anything you may have missed.
Remember to like and follow my business page on Facebook so you will be notified for the scheduled live broadcasts I do each week.
From Around the Web
It’s a new month. Here are some horoscopes and tarotscopes for October for you.
Tarot.com gives a great overview of the month, and then forecasts for each sun sign.
Here’s your tarotscopes for October by Starcana.
Nicholas Ashbaugh has your video tarotscopes.
Cards for Your Consideration
The card that is most often associated with victory, and with victory after battle, is the Six of Wands. In a reading the Six of Wands can predict success. When this card appears, we might see athletic or academic competition, or a competitive attitude.
Sometimes when this card appears reversed, we might be feeling like a loser, or dealing with a situation where we feel we will have no success.
Very often, however, the reversed Six of Wands does not predict failure, rather, it suggests that we must continue trying until we succeed.
The Six of Wands, either upright or reversed, can suggest that a solution can be found if we have the right mindset.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 40
September 30, 2020
There Is No Failure
This week we look at the ins and outs of winning and losing.
There Is No Failure
Lessons on the Way to Success
How we handle ourselves when things don’t go our way says a lot about our character. It’s also very predictive of what is likely to happen next.
If we blame others, we are likely to not make the self-corrections needed to create a win in the future.
If we blame ourselves, we are likely to stay in a place of low self-esteem rather than rising to meet our goals at the next opportunity.
No one likes to lose. No one enjoys failure. Yet, on the way to achieving our goals it is inevitable that we will make some mistakes, and that not everything will go the way we want.
Very often people decide not to even try to set goals for what they truly want because they fear the possibility of failure so much.
Many people have childhood trauma based on the way their parents, teachers or peers dealt with their academic, social or athletic losses. These childhood losses, and the scars they leave, very often determine how willing we are to take risks and fight for our success in adulthood.
I think the best way to process failure is to decide that failure doesn’t really exist. In the absence of success there is the opportunity to learn in order to create future success. Alternatively, sometimes when we fail at something, we can take it as an opportunity to make a different choice. If we fail an important test, it might mean that we need to redouble our efforts, study harder and pass it next time. Or, it might mean that we are better suited to take a different path. In either case, we can see that failure as a win because it moves us closer to finding our path and achieving our goals.
Sometimes we deal with people in our families and at work who make us feel like a loser. Sometimes we do this to ourselves with negative self-talk. Yet, our language is full of expressions that remind us that we can’t always expect a win.
“You can’t win them all!”
“You win some, you lose some.”
“It’s not who wins or loses, it’s how you play the game.”
Whether we are thinking about sports, business or politics, our culture is often focused on winning, and on valuing competition over cooperation. Yet, very often, when we cooperate with each other, everyone has an opportunity for success.
The best way to create success for all is to consider that our personal wins do not necessarily mean besting another, they mean doing our personal best. When we fail to meet our mark, rather than feeling badly about the loss, we need to discover what we have learned, and use that to move us forward, toward our future success.
See Me in the Tampa Bay Area!
I will be back in the Tampa Bay Area July 19 through 22. I will be available for house calls and parties while I am there. As usual when I visit the area, we will have a Tarot Meetup! Join us Sunday, July 21, at 3 pm at the Panera Bread in Lutz.
Please reach at to me at 561-655-1160 to schedule your in-person reading, and make plans to join us for our free informal tarot workshop at Panera!
Divination to Find the Win
The term ‘FTW’ often means ‘For the Win’ in gaming. Here, we will use it to mean ‘Find the Win’, because that is the best way to process something that feels like failure.
When something doesn’t go your way, the best thing to do is to consider what positive things you can take away from the experience.
What did you learn?
How did this experience help you?
What caused things not to go your way, and what can you learn from that?
How can you mitigate problems that come from your less-than-desirable results?
These are questions you can ask yourself in reflection and meditation, but also in divination.
Simply shuffle your tarot or oracle cards and pull one card to answer each of these questions.
Consider if there are other questions you want to know about what happened, how you can process it and what comes next. Pull a card for each of these questions.
Continue this process until you have found a way to frame your experience that is helpful instead of hurtful.
Use this process to find the win anytime you have an undesirable outcome. This way, you will spend less time mourning your losses, and more time getting yourself on track!
The Week in Review
This week I shared a post about reading for people who are not present. In the tarot world we call this ‘third-party reading’. There are many ethical considerations when doing these sorts of readings. In this post I share my personal ethics and ideas about this thorny issue.
If you missed my Three-Card Reading for the week on Facebook Live, you can find it in archive on YouTube.
From Around the Web
T. Susan Chang is exploring astrology and tarot in her blog. It’s definitely worth reading her posts to help understand the way astrology associates with the tarot cards.
The Tarot Blog Hop happened on the Summer Solstice. Here is the Master List. You can follow the links to see what eleven tarotists had to say about handling timing with tarot.
Here is one tarotist’s take on cards of success and failure.
Cards for Your Consideration
There are many cards in tarot that can speak of competition, wins and losses. My three favorites are the Five of Swords, the Five of Wands and the Six of Wands.
In the Five of Swords we see an unavoidable battle. There will definitely be a winner and a loser. Very often I see this card as a warning to gird your loins, rise to the battle and fight to win.
When reversed or ill-dignified, there is a sense of cooperation, diplomacy and negotiation.
The Five of Wands shows a conflict that might be playful, or creative, or acrimonious, depending on the situation. It may be that too many cooks are spoiling the meal, or that we have too many ideas on how to proceed.
When reversed or ill-dignified, we may be avoiding a necessary conflict.
In the Six of Swords we see a hero riding home from battle, victorious. To me, this card predicts success, and urges us to believe in our own possibilities for achievement. This card can speak to the positive side of a competitive nature.
When reversed or ill-dignified, there is a feeling of not winning. Sometimes, when I see this card reversed, it seems like my client is feeling like a loser.
In which cards do you see winning, losing and competition?
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 27
July 3, 2019