Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Seasons and Celebrations
How do you celebrate the autumn harvest season? Is divination a part of that? If not, maybe it is time for a new tradition!
October is one of my favorite months, especially since moving to a warmer climate. I love Halloween, the harvest season, Scorpio season, and the prelude to the winter holidays.
I never liked winter, even as a child. While October weather up north can be beautiful, the knowledge of what would come next quelled my autumn joy. Moving to a warmer climate has increased my enjoyment of all the seasonal holidays.
As a child, I loved costumes and candy. As a young adult, I loved going out in costume. When my kids were little, it was so much fun to help them dress up and take them trick or treating. When I discovered the spiritual aspect of the holiday, I worked to reconcile the fun and playful Halloween I had grown to love with the solemn holiday that honors our dearly departed. There is meaning and truth in all aspects of the season.
It can be easy to dismiss another person’s seasonal observation as fluffy and frivolous or pompous and pretentious. What works for one person will not appeal to another. What we, ourselves, enjoy can change over time as well.
This year, I intend to honor and acknowledge all the different traditions of the season, even if some aren’t compelling to me. The more we can appreciate our choices and the richness of our various traditions, the better our seasonal celebrations will be.
The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.
The StaarCorner
StaarCon is proud to offer sessions with the best-loved teachers, artists, and practitioners from around the globe. We are also excited to share some of our local acclaimed professionals with our international audience.
The Treasure Coast Medium, Tess Tetrault, is an intuitive psychic medium, energy healer, and past-life regressionist. At StaarCon 2024, Tess will be leading a fascinating session on Akashic records.
Akashic records are believed to be a non-local catalog of all the emotions and experiences your soul has ever had. Your records represent the lifetime chronicles of your eternal being. At StaarCon, Tess will lead a guided meditation to access your Akashic records.
We are so pleased to welcome Tess to StaarCon and to offer this fantastic experience at our conference.
Seasonal Divination
Mediumship readings and readings that seek guidance from our ancestors are appropriate and effective at any time of year. Likewise, any divination tool can be used to communicate directly with those in spirit. Yet, it is delightful that there are so many tarot, Lenormand, and oracle decks explicitly designed for Halloween and spirit communication.
Some, like US Games, Inc.’s Halloween Tarot, depict Halloween's funny and cute traditions. Others, like Nancy Hendrickson’s Ancestral Magick Divination Kit, offer us a deep exploration of the wisdom of spirit.
Many people believe that the time leading up to Halloween, and shortly after, is when it is easier for us to communicate with the other side. When we combine the opportunity of this sacred time with the tools designed to honor the season and facilitate communication with spirit, our ability to make connections and find truth is extraordinary.
Many people have unique divination traditions at Halloween. You might use a specific deck or a specific spread. Your tradition might be because everyone loves readings at Halloween. Or, your tradition might be a deep honoring of your loved ones in spirit and a sincere effort to hear their wisdom.
No matter how seriously or lightheartedly you approach divination at this time of year, you will be surprised by the powerful truth you receive.
The Week in Review
Did you catch Erika Robinson doing readings with her new Lenormand deck on my YouTube channel? If you missed it, watch the replay!
Last night, Global Tarot Circle met. Enjoy the replay to learn some great things about tarot.
This coming weekend is the World Divination Association Virtual Event (WDAVE) Big Bang. I am presenting, along with many great people. This is a unique offering in the divination world. Check it out and join me!
From Around the Web
I was so excited to see this article from Yale Library about a rare historical tarot deck.
StaarCon Intensive presenter Mary Ellen Collins wants to know what your Halloween season style is!
Did you know that psychiatrist Carl Jung was a fan of tarot? Open Culture shares Jung’s views on the power of tarot.
Creation and Divination
Whether decorating for a secular Halloween party, a Samhain gathering, or simply thinking ahead toward your winter festivities, tarot and divination can add energy and pizazz to your holiday celebrations.
An obvious way to add divination to your event is to engage a tarot reader to entertain your guests. You can also set small tables with oracle cards and let guests try their hands at reading them.
Classic tarot imagery is familiar and evocative. You can use tarot images to decorate your home, your dining table, or your food.
Prophecy Wines are affordable wines with a tarot image on each bottle, perfect for your adult celebrations.
Tarot cards can be a great tool to create fun and interactive party games, even if the guests are not familiar with tarot. You can implement a simple activity by handing out a tarot card to each guest upon arrival. The aim of the game is to have guests introduce themselves to each other by describing and guessing the meaning of their card images. This activity can serve as a great icebreaker and can help people get to know each other better.
If you prefer a more reflective celebration, a special holiday-themed divination can bring clarity, insight, and reverence to your observations.
There are so many ways to include tarot in your celebrations, whether spiritual or secular. Use your creativity and enjoy!
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 41
October 11, 2023
What Is Strength?
People think that strength is denying our emotions. This week, we are exploring the truth about strength.
Many people tell me that they want to be strong, or that they need to be strong. Sometimes, I ask them to clarify what strength means to them in that context. The answers vary widely.
Linguistically, strength often discusses physical ability or the capacity to withstand pressure.
In practice, many people define strength as showing no emotion. To me, that feels like the opposite of strength.
We also use the concept of strength to describe something outstanding or remarkable. Once, at a job where my physical appearance mattered, a boss told me my hair was ‘strong.’ While I was indeed having a good hair day, my inner jokester kept visualizing my red curls attempting to lift barbells.
I love this reference to strength in Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata. “Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.” To me, strength of spirit gives us the ability for resilience. Yet, strength is not synonymous with resilience.
Linguistically, emotionally, and spiritually, strength combines two attributes. One is the force needed for accomplishment. The other is the resilience necessary for longevity.
We nurture physical strength through exercise. Our emotional strength is not measured in the ability to hide our feelings. Our emotional strength lies in our ability to navigate through tough times while holding space for both joy and grief.
The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.
The StaarCorner
Brenda Elizabeth, also known as Lady Lenormand, has been an important part of the StaarCon community since the beginning.
At StaarCon 2024, Brenda will be a presenter. She will also be an exhibitor, offering her Lenormand decks, charm scoops, and other divination-related creations. During the 365-day AfterGlow, Brenda will host regular classes and gatherings on Accelevents.
Brenda is also a StaarCon 2024 sponsor! We appreciate her support and look forward to spending time with her at StaarCon, and during the AfterGlow.
Fostering Strong Tarot Skills
The past few years have brought us many great new tarot decks and books as tarot continues to rise in popularity. This means more people than ever want and need to develop strong tarot reading skills.
Here are three concepts to consider. Embracing these concepts helps tarot students develop their strength as readers.
1. Each tarot card has a core concept, traditional associations, archetypes, spiritual lessons, and classic keywords. Each tarot card can mean a wide range of things within a reading. Those meanings can be spiritual or mundane, contemplative, or predictive. There is much to learn about each card, but there is no limit on how the cards can behave in a reading.
2. Tarot reading is inherently intuitive, metaphoric, and contextual. There is no manual to tell you what a specific card will mean in a particular situation. You must let the cards speak to you in a fresh way in each reading.
3. The more you work with your cards, the more you will learn how the cards speak to you. Practice as often as you can. Keep track of the readings you do. Especially look for the outcomes. This will help you understand how tarot does and does not make predictions. Do not wait to be good at reading to get started; practice is the only way to build strong skills.
The Week in Review
It’s a new month! Check out your October TarotScopes on my YouTube channel. You can also find them, along with other great tarot content, on my TikTok.
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 5, at 7 pm ET, join Erika Robinson on my YouTube channel. Erika will use her new Lenormand deck for readings to celebrate the launch of the Kickstarter campaign to publish the deck. Join us and get your free reading with Erika’s Lenormand of Hope.
Tuesday, October 10, at 7 pm, will be our next Global Tarot Circle. Find the link, and other opportunities for tarot study, on my YouTube channel.
I am excited to be a presenter at WDAVE Big Bang on October 15. This is the World Divination Association Virtual Event. It’s a 48-hour non-stop video conference held on Facebook! Get your ticket and join me for this fabulous, fun, and easy event.
From Around the Web
Just in time for Spooky Season, StaarCon headliner Benebell Wen has reviewed the second edition of Ink Witch Tarot.
Have you heard of the Oracle Belline? StaarCon Intensive presenter María Alviz Hernando is teaching this oracle during the StaarCon AfterGlow. Here is a blogpost she shared about working with Oracle Belline.
We are so excited that The Giant’s Forge will be at StaarCon 2024. But, if you just can’t wait for January to get your handmade tarot and magical items, check out their Etsy.
Creation and Divination
In the Waite Tarot, and in all Waite-inspired tarot decks, Major Arcana Key 8 is Strength. Strength is usually pictured as a woman and a lion. To me, this juxtaposition of gentleness and fierceness, and the tension therein, is the essence of what it is to develop and maintain strength of character and strength of spirit.
Here is a poem I wrote about Strength from my 78 Poems Project. It is one of my favorites. I hope you like it, too!
Strength
As water with patience carves into stone
So do hearts carve one on the other.
And when nature battles civility
New friends are drawn together.
Each has more reason to fear than to love
The dangers beckon, not understated.
This war is waged not with bullets but blooms
And fine compassion, communicated.
The gentle maiden must be of mind fierce.
She has enraptured a fierce jungle king.
The beast submits not by violence but choice
To a union of forces opposing.
Strength then is found not in warfare or blood
Nor in doctrine nor laws to rely on.
True strength is found in faith and control
With your hand in the mouth of a lion.
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 40
October 4, 2023
What is Emotional Strength?
Sometimes our busy lives do not leave us the time we want for spiritual devotion. This week we discuss how we can connect with the divine in single moments.
In February we contemplated spiritual strength. This week I am thinking about emotional strength.
I have noticed that many people conflate strength with the ability to conceal or suppress feelings. There are certainly times that a poker face can be an advantage. But is a poker face a sign of personal strength?
I think the ability to conceal emotions is a skill, but I do not think that skill is related to being strong. I do not think that emotional suppression is ever a sign of strength.
We humans possess a wide range of strong emotions. We receive all kinds of messaging that teaches us to embrace what we call positive emotions, such as joy, humor, reverence, and love. That same messaging often makes us feel shame for what we call negative emotions, like anger, fear, disappointment, hurt, and sorrow.
People often say, “I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I do.”
Our feelings can sometimes reveal parts of ourselves that we do not want others to see, and that we do not ourselves want to confront. Yet, difficult emotions can serve us by showing us where we need to heal.
We cannot let our emotions be the driver of our decision-making. Yet, the courage to feel, acknowledge and appropriately display our emotions is never a weakness.
In fact, I believe that emotional strength is the ability to identify, honor, and process all our emotions in ways that do not cause harm to ourselves or others. In the proper setting, our ability to be transparent about our feelings is a sure sign of emotional strength.
The StaarCorner
We are very excited to welcome Dionne Monsanto to StaarCon 2024 as a first-time presenter.
Dionne is a life transformation coach, and an author. She creates many things, including inspirational divination decks and her own homemade Florida Water!
Dionne is a dancer and a yoga teacher. She is passionately dedicated to mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
We are thrilled that Dionne will be sharing her vision, her products, her talent, and her energy with us at StaarCon 2024.
Tickets will be available very soon. Make your plan to join us!
Diving into the Strength Card
Strength has the distinction of being the one of the two Major Arcana cards with two possible numeric assignments. In the Waite-Smith tarot deck, and all tarot decks of that tradition, Strength is card Eight. In other tarot traditions, such as Marseilles and Crowley, Strength is card Eleven and Justice becomes card Eight.
As a Waite-based reader I usually think of Strength as card Eight. The fact that Strength call also be card Eleven makes me think of the flexibility associated with the quality of strength.
Flexibility is an important component of physical strength. Flexibility is an essential component of emotional strength.
The traditional image of the woman and the lion is so important and meaningful. In a contest of physical strength, the lion would surely harm the woman. In the image, however, the woman has tamed the lion. She did not do this with physical strength. She did it with love, with compassion, and with patience.
From this we learn that love, compassion, and patience are key components of emotional strength.
We can see, too, that there is a relationship between the woman and the lion. Each has a reason to fear the other, and yet they have formed a bond of trust.
The ability to trust and to form relationships are also components of emotional strength.
Within each of us is a gentle woman and a lion. We need both. The lion is our fierce, wild nature. Here is our passion, our desire, our anger, and our excitement. We must not let these emotions rage out of control. Yet, we must acknowledge and deal with these feelings. The gentle woman allows us the strength to process all that we are feeling.
When we think of this interaction between the woman and the lion, we discover something else about emotional strength. Emotional strength requires balance, awareness, and self-control.
Emotional self-control is never the same thing as emotional suppression.
The Week in Review
If you are a member of my YouTube channel at the Star or Sun level, you may join us this evening for our monthly Stars and Suns Zoom Gathering. We meet at 7:30 ET. The link is posted on the Community thread, or you can email me for it.
Did you catch our workshop last Thursday, Mixed Media? We talked about different ways to combine divination tools. Catch the replay and try some of the methods we discuss and make up some of your own!
From Around the Web
May First is this Monday. This is a special day in many cultures. Those who honor traditional Celtic practices celebrate the first day of May as Beltane or Beltaine, a spring celebration with many themes mostly centered on love and fertility.
I searched for some Beltane tarot spreads for you try. I even found one from me!
From 2008, here is a five-card spread inspired by the crown of the May Queen from Llewellyn Worldwide.
Worts and Cunning Apothecary published a seven-card spread in 2015. This spread centers on the Fire energy of Beltane and exploring our heart’s desire.
The Butterfly Witch created this three-card spread in 2017. This spread focuses on what we want to grow and manifest in our lives.
In 2015, Ethony shared a very creative six-card spread that works with medicinal flowers that are associated with Beltane.
Now, here is mine! I created this in 2014. It is a four-card spread based on the maypole.
Creation and Divination
Whether you work with tarot or other oracle cards, it can be helpful and fun to practice creating your own card spreads.
You can create a spread for a specific situation. You can create a spread inspired by an event or a holiday.
For this exercise, play with creating a tarot spread to process your emotions.
So often we do not truly understand what we feel, why we feel that way, and what to do about it. Sometimes our feelings are not truly in reaction to something immediate. Rather, the recent occurrence might bring up feelings from a significant hurt of the past. This can offer a wonderful opportunity for healing, but only if we recognize it as such.
A card reading with a specifically designed spread can help you understand your feelings and their causes. Simply make a list of what you need to know in the simplest terms and assign a card position for each question.
When you design a card spread, you are engaging your intuition and your creativity. These energies will remain engaged as you perform your divination.
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 17
April 26, 2023
Nurturing Strength of Spirit
Spirituality is not transactional. There is no way to immunize ourselves from potential misfortune. Yet, spirituality can help us get through the most difficult times.
Those who know me are aware of my sincere appreciation for the prose poem Desiderata, written by Max Ehrmann in 1927.
My grandmother found so much strength and grace in Desiderata that she always kept printed copies to give to people whom she felt might benefit from it. This poem was a kind of sacred text for my family, and it remains so for me.
That’s the thing about sacred text. Sacred text can be a work that is universally heralded as a holy book, but it can also be any book, poem, song, or story that gives you strength, wisdom, and inspiration.
The passage I have been focused on this week is the first sentence of the eighth paragraph. The line is “Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.” Though only ten words, there is so much to unpack in this one sentence.
People often want their spiritually (no matter their tradition or belief system) to be transactional and reciprocal. They want to think that if they perform certain rituals, believe certain things, or say certain prayers, they will immunize themselves against misfortune.
Then, when misfortune inevitably strikes, they feel abandoned. They wonder what they have done wrong, or if their faith was misplaced.
The purpose of spiritual faith is not to shield us against misfortune. As I see it, Ehrmann said it perfectly when he said that our strength of spirit is to shield in the face of misfortune.
Spiritually doesn’t prevent bad things. Spiritually can give us comfort, meaning, solace, purpose, and understanding when bad things happen.
How, then, can we nurture strength of spirit?
This is a very personal thing. It is a question we can all meditate upon and ask in our divinations. Many of us nurture strength of spirit by reading sacred texts, by honoring spiritual traditions and practices, and by enjoying the natural world and creativity.
What does strength of spirit look like? I think strength of spirit can be the ability to hold space for sorrow and joy in the same moment. Strength of spirit can be resilience, and the ability to have hope even in difficult times. Strength of spirit can help us find beauty and gratitude even in the smallest things. Strength of spirit can urge us to find meaning in suffering. Strength of spirit allows us to have compassion for others even when we ourselves are in difficulty. Strength of spirit helps us to know that tomorrow can always be a better day.
The StaarCorner
The AfterGlow closes on February 21 at 7 pm ET. If you have a StaarCon 2023 ticket, make sure you enjoy as many replays and lounge events as you can before then.
After that, remember to join us all year on Facebook in our private community group.
Mark your calendar now for StaarCon 2024, January 19-21. Plan to join us in person in West Palm Beach or online!
Helpful Questions for Difficult Times
When we are going through difficulty, we often read for ourselves, or ask others to read for us. There is great comfort and wisdom to be found in divination. So often, though, we focus on the outcome, wanting to know how things will turn out. Sometimes divination can give us answers that give us hope. Sometimes, though, the outcome is not what we most need to know.
When we are doing a reading, either for self or for someone else, sometimes the best questions are about what is happening now, rather than what will happen. Sometimes the best questions are worded to allow our divination to help us find our strength of spirit.
What do I need to know about this situation?
What is the best thing for me to do right now?
What can help me during this difficult time?
What can I learn from this?
How can I recover from this?
How can I ask for help at this time?
How can I help others at this time?
What does spirit want me to know about this difficulty?
The Week in Review
This week I shared a blogpost that offers an insightful tarot reading technique. Read “Backing into a Delicate Reading”.
Tonight on my YouTube channel we have a members-only livestream at 7 pm ET. If you are a member, please plan to join us. If you are not a member, please consider joining!
From Around the Web
Read the original text of Desiderata. Read it several times. Think about it. See what wisdom it evokes within you.
Ethony has some advice on how to use tarot to get through hard times.
We are half-way through the month of February. Let’s see what Theresa Reed had to say about the astrology of this month, and see how things are evolving for you!
Creation and Divination
There are so many ways to combine creativity with divination. If you have a favorite way, or if you have created something you want to share, please email me. I would love to share your ideas and creations in this column!
When I think about nurturing strength of spirit, I think immediately of Major Arcana 8, Strength. One of the things I love about this card is that it clearly illustrates that physical force is not the greatest strength. The woman tames the lion with love, with gentleness, and with patience.
The Smith-Waite image shows the woman’s hand in the lion’s mouth. I think about this often. It seems a dangerous place to put your hand. To me this illustrates the basic nature of life; that there is nothing of value that doesn’t incur risk.
Here is a poem I wrote about the Strength card.
Strength
As water with patience carves into stone
So do hearts carve one on the other.
And when nature battles civility
New friends are drawn together.
Each has more reason to fear than to love
The dangers beckon, not understated.
This war is waged not with bullets but blooms
And fine compassion, communicated.
The gentle maiden must be of mind fierce.
She has enraptured a fierce jungle king.
The beast submits not by violence but choice
To a union of forces opposing.
Strength then is found not in warfare or blood
Nor in doctrine nor laws to rely on.
True strength is found in faith and control
With your hand in the mouth of a lion.
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 7
February 15, 2023