Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
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.
The Nurture of Nature
Connect with the nurturing energies of nature!
Springtime brings us many opportunities to celebrate nature, and nurturance. Earth Day, Beltane (May Day) and Mother’s Day (in the United States) all occur within a few weeks of each other. There’s even an official “World Naked Gardening Day” this week.
It makes sense that, as the Earth awakens, we take time to celebrate the natural world, and the important ways in which the Earth nurtures us.
Mother’s Day is a time when we honor the women who nurture us. For many, Mother’s Day is a difficult holiday. Those who have lost mothers or children, and those who didn’t grow up with a nurturing mother, are often reminded of their loss at this time.
Whether or not we were nurtured as children, and whether or not we have children to nurture, we can connect with the energy of nurturance by connecting with the planet that sustains us.
When we nurture nature in our lives, and allow nature to nurture us, we connect to a powerful energy that can sustain us, heal us, and make us stronger.
This week, plant a garden, or buy a houseplant. Walk barefoot in the dewy grass. Eat a farm-to-table meal. Spend time outdoors, and revel in the nurturance that the Earth provides each one of us.
While we honor our mothers, remember that the Earth is our mother, too.
Finding Nature and Nurture in Tarot
There are many cards in tarot that speak of mothers and children. There are also many cards that speak of nature, and our connection to the natural world. Some of these references are obvious, others are ones you may not have considered.
It’s interesting, too, that some of the cards that reference mothers and children could also reference nature. For example, the first “mother” card we usually think of is the Empress.
Certainly, the Empress references our mothers. The Empress can predict pregnancy, or deliver a message from a mother in spirit. The Empress can also reference the bounty of Earth, fertility of all types, fecundity, and the Earth Mother.
Other cards that can reference mothers are the Queens. Typically, the Queen of Swords is problematic in this context. Traditionally, the Queen of Swords can be a widow, or childless, or bereaved. She can also be a difficult mother, without the ability to give proper nurturance.
Children, of course, can be indicated by Pages and Knights. The Six of Cups can indicate children, or a return to a childhood home. The Ten of Pentacles and the Ten of Cups each reference family relationships.
We find references to the natural world in many tarot cards. Of course, the whole suit of Pentacles in the “Earth” suit. We are often trained to see this suit as predominately being about money, but truly, each of the Pentacles cards can discuss our connection to the Earth,
Both the Seven and Nine of Pentacles specifically reference a garden, for instance.
The Ace of Pentacles can reference the Root Chakra, and our grounding connecting to Earth.
Other cards that can speak of nature include Strength, which is often the card of the animal lover.
In an animal lover’s reading, Pages and Knights can reference their pets, as well as their children.
The Star can invite us to experience the healing power of nature.
The World, of course, can remind us of all the resources that the Earth provides for us, and can deliver to us a message of environmentalism.
The Six of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles can each ask us to look to ways of the past; to adopt simpler and more natural ways of eating, healing, and living more lightly on the planet.
From My Desk to Yours
This week, I participated in the Tarot Blog Hop. Our assignment was to write about the word “may” as it connects to tarot. We had a lot of fun with this one! You can start with my post, and then follow the links to see what the other bloggers had to say.
I also shared a post on my “78 Magickal Tools” blog on PaganSquare, about love tarot readings, and how to make them magickal!
From Around the Web
The Queen’s Sword is a tarot and oracle card review site that can be helpful to anyone who enjoys collecting and reading card decks.
From the Tarot Poetry blog, here is an interesting piece about poetry, tarot and magic.
If you are learning Lenormand, here is a very helpful list of Lenormand keywords from Tarot Taxi.
Song of the Week
From Libana, here is one of my favorite chants “The Earth is our Mother”
Numerology with Zuri
Number Eight
Hello Bright Sparks!
This week it’s all about the money, honey! One of the 8 vibration’s biggest lessons is creating the right relationship with money. Have you been working diligently towards paying down debt, being responsible with your financial planning & investments and working hard towards your goals? Or, have you been over-spending and not saving up for a rainy day? Whatever behaviors you’ve engaged in come to a karmic head under the 8 cycle. It forces you to be honest with how you have been empowering or disempowering yourself to stand on firmer financial ground.
An 8 person has the power to achieve great things in their lives. If their mindset is focused on hard work and abundance like the 8 of Pentacles, they can experience great rewards such as a promotion, raise or public recognition in their careers. Its their drive and tenacity that allows them to live a successful lifestyle and be the leader that inspires others to achieve the best.
However, if they are operating from their shadow side, you may see them sucked into a victim mentality much like the 8 of Swords, where their inaction leads to barely making ends meet due to a poverty mindset. Or, they may become so focused on world domination, that their God becomes money and power. So, an 8 must always remember to balance the spiritual with the material.
Over the course of their journey, the Universe will illuminate the great power that lies within them to manifest big dreams. They can ultimately take a page from the Strength card of the Tarot, which also vibrates to an 8 energy, to remember that strength comes from a balance of power. It’s not manipulation or control that help you get your needs met. It’s tapping into your inner well of strength to use the tools of gentle persuasion and influence to rise above the challenges and adversity standing in your way.
Some questions to ponder when you find the 8 vibration affecting your outer world are: Where do I need a better relationship to money? How can I create more abundance in my thinking and in my actions? Do I need better boundaries? Am I being too controlling or bossy? Or do I need to step up, be more honest and take better control of my life?
This week’s vibrational takeaway in working with the 8 is to explore personal power, what you need to do to create more of it, and how you can empower others to stand in their own manifestation space. Meditate on the Strength card to find the courage to move past your own glass ceiling.
With love & stardust!
xo Zuri
I’m Zuri Eberhart: Tarot reader, numerologist and intuitive healer put on this planet to help fantastic spirits (like you!) learn to trust their intuition, cast light on their possibilities, and move towards their gorgeous goals, fearlessly.
(Oh - and I’m here to make it fun, too. Like, heart-opening, adventure-sparking, I-can-see-clearly-nowww kind of fun.)
Ready to make some magic? I’d love to help you set your mojo on fire! Stop by my digital digs at AskZuri.com.
Three Ways to Feel Nurtured by Nature
If you are not a person who enjoys hiking, camping, gardening or other outdoor activities, or if your schedule doesn’t always allow you to spend your day at the beach, here are three quick ways you can find your grounding and healing connection to nature.
Eat raw foods.
When you make a snack of raw fruits or vegetables, spend a moment thinking about the fact that this food came directly from the Earth. As you eat it, take a moment, not only to taste the food, but to feel its connection to the Earth. As you feel that connection, you will become more grounded, and feel more nurtured.
Meditate with the Root Chakra.
The Root Chakra, located at the base of the spine, is the chakra that connects to Earth. In meditation, send energy from your Root Chakra, down through your legs and feet, and into the Earth. Visualize that energy digging in to the soil like roots. Then, pull energy from the Earth up, from those roots, and in to your body. You will be amazed at how this meditation energizes and grounds you.
Create and perform a tarot spread.
Create and perform a tarot spread that helps you make your connection with Earth. Perhaps the spread could include positions for things like “what grounds me” and “what nurtures me”. As you perform the reading, pay attention to the “Earth” cards that appear, and the cards that make you think of nature.
Image from Gilded Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Your One Card Weekly Reading
Seven of Pentacles
Your one-card reading this week is the Seven of Pentacles. Drawn at random, this card fits perfectly with our theme!
This card has a bit of a bad reputation in some circles. Crowley called this the card of “Failure”. The esoteric title for the Seven of Pentacles is “Lord of Success Unfulfilled”.
Those of us who work with the Waite tradition see something more hopeful in this card. Often, I call this the card of the “tired gardener.”
We may be nurturing an actual garden, or the garden may be a metaphor for something that we need to nurture, like a business, a relationship, or self.
The process of bringing something to fruition is long and tiring. Sometimes it may feel futile.
The Seven of Pentacles reminds us to keep at our task. No matter how bleak things look, if we continue to nurture the garden, it will most certainly bear fruit.
Sometimes the problem with nurturing something (or someone) is that it can take a really long time to see the results of your efforts.
The Seven of Pentacles encourages us to keep working, and keep trying, and promises us that eventually, we will have the harvest we desire.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 15, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread
23388 State Road 54, Lutz, 33549
Join us as I teach my popular free class “The Four Elements and the Major Arcana”. You’ll learn the traditional elemental associations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and see how this aids in your understanding of them.
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or visit the event listing on my webpage.
Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Global Tarot Circle
A Free WebEx Webinar Available Exclusively Online
Join tarot friends around the world for questions and answers about tarot. Share readings, insights and focused conversation with tarot experts, artists, students and beginners.
Log-in information is available on the event listing on my webpage.
Now Open for Registration:
Sunday, June 5, 10:00 - 4:00, Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup Retreat Day at Mitchell's.
October 7, Professional Development Day at TarotCon (Follow the link below).
October 8 & 9, TarotCon (Florida) 2016 in Palm Beach Gardens.
About Christiana
Christiana Gaudet
Origins Spa and Wellness Center
1537 N Dale Mabry Highway #102
Lutz, FL 33548
Private telephone, Skype and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Call 813-948-4488, toll free 866-99TAROT,
or text or call 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Every Journey is a Healing Journey
This week, we explore the healing journey that is life.
One of the things I hear often in my tarot practice is this. “I have been working on healing and spiritual growth for a long time. When will I be finished with this healing journey?”
The answer (which no one likes to hear) is NEVER.
I have come to believe that our purpose here on planet Earth is simply this. We are here to heal ourselves, each other, and the planet. The measure of our healing is our ability to be happy today, where we are, with what we have.
Every day, each one of us is on a healing journey, whether we know it, or not, and whether we like it, or not.
The frustration is real.
When we embark on a healing journey because we want something more than healing, we can see our commitment to healing as a barter with the Universe. “I’ll go to yoga if you send me a boyfriend”.
While it is true that, as we heal, we become abler to attract the right people and situations into our lives, healing needs to be done for the sake of healing only.
We can also become frustrated that, at a mature age, we are still dealing with issues that began in childhood. This isn’t unusual. We all spend most of our adult lives recovering from the first twenty years. That’s because a lot of the programming we receive is unconducive to good mental health.
Perhaps our planetary culture will evolve to the point that we damage our children less. Until then, we each bear the responsibility for our own healing from childhood issues, even if it takes a lifetime.
Often, the healing journey feels frustrating because we want to be more perfect right now. The truth is, patience with ourselves, and with our journey, is its own healing lesson.
I think the trick is to normalize our need for healing. No one feels embarrassed about going to the dentist, or getting a mammogram. Dealing with therapists and healers should invoke no stigma.
Every part of ourselves, body, mind and spirit, needs constant maintenance and healing. The more we can embrace our journey through life as a journey of self-care and healing, the more we can enjoy the journey.
Healing from Emotional Triggers with Tarot
One of the biggest and most easily propagated type of hurt I see is the emotional trigger.
A situation, large or small, may cause you to feel angry, or hurt, or sad. You react to the situation, without realizing that the level of pain you are feeling is not really caused by the situation at hand. The situation has reminded your subconscious of something bigger, and more painful, in your past. That’s truly why you are so upset.
When we can recognize our triggers when they happen, we can immediately feel better, and stop allowing small problems to give us huge pain. We can identify the true source of the pain, and work on healing that.
If we can avoid reacting to our triggers, we can avoid causing deeper problems in our current relationships.
When something upsets you, have a conversation with your cards about it, or create a tarot spread to help you deal with it.
One of the most important questions to ask of your cards in this situation is “Why is this upsetting me so much?”
Another is, “How should I address this with the other people involved?”
The more we can recognize our triggers, the more we can avoid making our current situations worse, and the more we can cultivate authentic and healthy emotional responses.
Explore tarot as a way to do exactly that.
From My Desk to Yours
This week, I had the opportunity to speak at a ladies’ luncheon. Here’s what I spoke about, on my Community Blog.
Here’s one from the archives. In honor ofMay First, here is a Beltane Tarot Spread to try.
From Around the Web
From Alice Smeets, here is a fabulous post about healing with tarot, entitled “Shadow Meditation with Tarot”.
Here’s a take on healing with tarot from the Llewellyn Journal.
From Ultimate Tarot, here is a Healing Tarot Spread.
Song of the Week
This song reminds me of the healing journey. It’s Sheryl Crow’s “Every Day is a Winding Road”.
Numerology with Zuri
Number Seven
Hello Bright Sparks!
Last week, the focus was all about caregiving, the home and the responsibilities of being everyone’s cosmic parent in some way, shape or form. Our identity was clearly defined and molded by the roles we adopted by nurturing and self-sacrificing for the needs of others.
This week, we shed those labels, in an effort to recharge our spiritual batteries and work on rediscovering our own balance and center. Under the angelic wings of the 7 vibration, we realign with our inner compass by disconnecting from the outside chatter to hear our personal truths.
As a 7, you may need your quiet time and personal space to hear yourself think, to reflect on the day’s events and to do the necessary research to find the answers to that nagging mystery or puzzle. Don’t be surprised if you preferred to spend your time at the library rather than at a frat party. Or maybe you were drawn to the sciences as a college major. Much like Sherlock Holmes, you’re an investigator, a seeker of wisdom, always in search for the deeper meaning or secrets to life. With that being said, your BS meter is always on high alert, making you the natural skeptic of the group and never taking anything just at face value.
A 7 will definitely make you think, question and dig deeper for solutions. But one of the biggest lessons of the 7 is to also learn how to have faith and trust. Not everything will fit in a perfect little box, and sometimes part of the cosmic lesson of the 7 when you see it in the world around you, is to let go and let God, because there is a Divine plan in action.
The 7 will teach you to trust where your hut (heart & gut) is leading you. Listen to your instincts, leave a door open for the Angelic guides to step through and show you a new way or bring the people into your life who are meant to be a part of the next step.
This is further supported when we look at how the 7 plays out in the Tarot’s Minor Arcana. The 7 of Wands shows a man needing to stand up for himself and his beliefs. He’s not listening to anyone else. He’s going at it alone but finds strength in his convictions. The 7 of Pentacles confirms that there is a Divine timing at play when waiting for the fruits of our labor to come into tangible reality. So as much as we want to direct the course, sometimes we need to step back, re-assess the situation and allow God to take the reigns for our highest and best good. The 7 of Cups is a card of too many choices, and needing to turn inward for deeper clarity. And ultimately, the 7 of Swords is a reminder to never take anything at face value. In true 7 fashion, it calls for skepticism and discernment in uncovering the truth.
This week’s vibrational takeaway in working with the 7 is to turn the mirror back on yourself. What do you see? Do you like what you see? What needs deeper analysis or healing? Maybe it’s a call to action to unplug from society. Spend some time in nature and enter into a state of introspection and self-reflection. Where do you need to create a sanctuary of peace and solitude? Where do you need to investigate and uncover what may be a deeper mystery? Is your life lacking a spiritual foundation? Engage in meditation or deeper research right now. When in doubt, trust your vibes and have faith that you will be guided to the right outcome in the right time.
The answers lie within you.
With love & stardust!
xo Zuri
I’m Zuri Eberhart: Tarot reader, numerologist and intuitive healer put on this planet to help fantastic spirits (like you!) learn to trust their intuition, cast light on their possibilities, and move towards their gorgeous goals, fearlessly.
(Oh - and I’m here to make it fun, too. Like, heart-opening, adventure-sparking, I-can-see-clearly-nowww kind of fun.)
Ready to make some magic? I’d love to help you set your mojo on fire! Stop by my digital digs at AskZuri.com.
Three Types of Healing We All Need, and Some Tarot Cards That Can Help
Healing from guilt and shame
We are raised to feel shame for our bodies and their natural functions, and guilt for our personalities and natural desires.
One tarot card that can often reflect guilt and shame is the High Priestess reversed. A healing exercise is to meditate with the High Priestess in her upright position, and claim the natural perfection of your human form.
Healing from low self-worth
Most of us suffer from a lack of self-esteem. We have a hard time visualizing our success, celebrating our accomplishments, or believing that we deserve good things.
The Nine of Pentacles can be a card of self-confidence and self-esteem. Meditate with the Nine of Pentacles to help feel more secure in yourself.
Healing from the need to please others
Of course, we want to please the people around us. However, sometimes we get caught in the trap of please those who don’t have our best interests at heart, or pleasing people at the expense of pleasing ourselves. When we have our own approval, we don’t need the approval of others. When we surround ourselves with people who truly care about our happiness, finding happiness is easier.
There are many tarot cards that speak of the richness of family and community in healthy ways, like the Three of Cups, the Four of Wands and the Ten of Cups. When we feel torn between our own needs and the needs of others, we need to work to manifest appropriate community relationships. These cards can help!
If we are feeling treated unfairly by others, the Justice card can bring balance, and the Lovers can help us appropriately integrate with others.
Image from Gilded Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
The Fool
Drawn at random, this is the perfect card for our conversation about the healing journey.
While the Fool is a very important card, and can have many interpretations, there is one obvious interpretation in light of our topic.
This week, the Fool asks you to honor your inner child.
Sometimes healing the inner child means recognizing the mistakes that well-intentioned parents have made. Remember, every parent gives their kids something to tell a therapist.
Sometimes healing the inner child means allowing yourself the opportunity to nurture your own inner child in ways that you weren’t nurtured in your actual childhood.
Sometimes the inner child simply wants to play, create, learn and explore.
This week, make time in your adult life to honor your playful nature, to heal your wounded inner child, and to nurture yourself.
All of these things are part of your healing journey, and all are encouraged by the Fool.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 15, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread
23388 State Road 54, Lutz, 33549
Join us as I teach my popular free class “The Four Elements and the Major Arcana”. You’ll learn the traditional elemental associations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and see how this aids in your understanding of them.
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or visit the event listing on my webpage.
Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Global Tarot Circle
A Free WebEx Webinar Available Exclusively Online
Join tarot friends around the world for questions and answers about tarot. Share readings, insights and focused conversation with tarot experts, artists, students and beginners.
Log-in information is available on the event listing on my webpage.
Now Open for Registration:
Sunday, June 5, 10:00 - 4:00, Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup Retreat Day at Mitchell's.
October 7, Professional Development Day at TarotCon (Follow the link below).
October 8 & 9, TarotCon (Florida) 2016 in Palm Beach Gardens.
About Christiana
Christiana Gaudet
Origins Spa and Wellness Center
1537 N Dale Mabry Highway #102
Lutz, FL 33548
Private telephone, Skype and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Call 813-948-4488, toll free 866-99TAROT,
or text or call 561-655-1160 for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
What the Cards Teach Us
Each tarot card can teach us important things about life! This week's newsletter includes Zuri's take on the number 6, and great opportunities for tarot study and fellowship.
We often talk about tarot as something to be learned, to use as a tool for fortune-telling and divination. It’s very true that, to be a great tarot reader, some learning and study is required.
This week I want to talk about a different aspect of tarot learning. That is, the lessons the cards can inherently teach us about life.
In divination, when cards appear in a reading, they can give us specific information about our lives. They can give us advice. Sometimes the cards call us out on our poor behavior.
When we think about the lessons of the cards, each card can function as a proverb, or a spiritual text, that teaches us something about life, the Universe, and everything. When we think of the cards in this way, we can add a new level of spiritual insight to our divination.
Beyond that, we can use the cards as a book of spiritual wisdom. Whether or not a particular card appears for you in divination, the lesson you have learned from the study of that card is valuable every day.
When you do see a card in a reading, the interpretation becomes richer and more insightful, because of your understanding of its spiritual lesson.
When we learn tarot this way, tarot study becomes exciting and informative. Once we learn the lessons the cards have for us, we will easily know how to interpret them in readings. Then, we carry their wisdom with us always.
Three Ways to Find the Lessons in the Cards
When we study tarot, we are often caught up in learning “what the card means”. It’s necessary to learn keywords and classic interpretations to be a great reader, although most people can give a passable tarot reading simply by looking at the cards and employing their intuition. Yes, the cards are that powerful!
When we look at tarot as a book of spiritual wisdom, we become less concerned with interpretations, and more concerned with spiritual lessons.
Here are three of many ways to add this sort of tarot study to your practice. The added bonus is that when you learn the cards from this perspective, the cards will speak to you in new and profound ways when you use them in divination.
Journal a Card of the Day
If you pull one card every day, or go through the deck in order and study one card each day, you will develop a new appreciation for the deeper lessons of each card. The trick is, once you have your card, you must spend some time with it.
You can also google on the card and read what tarot bloggers have to say about it. Write about the card, and what it means to you. Meditate on it, and picture yourself in a conversation with the chard character, or actually becoming the card character.
Go back to your treatment of this card in a few days, and see how the card has manifested in your life.
Compare and Contrast Tarot with other Sacred Texts
Is there a tarot card that reminds you of a Bible verse, or a poem or prayer? For instance, the Hanged Man reminds me of the Serenity Prayer. The High Priestess reminds me of the Charge of the Goddess.The Sun reminds me of Matthew 5:14, the “You are the light of the world” verse.
When we make associations between the cards and sacred texts, both the cards and the texts will develop deeper meaning for us.
Learn Esoteric Associations for the Cards
There are many associations between tarot and other esoteric systems, such as astrology, the Four Elements, numerology and Kabbalah. Sometimes studying these associations informs our divination style, although sometimes they can confuses us.
However, when you learn these associations from a spiritual perspective, rather than an interpretive one, these associations will help you find the spiritual lessons held within each card.
From My Desk to Yours
This week I shared the story of my tarot-inspired kidney donation in light of some new information about dangerous medications. There are times we need to listen to our intuition as much as we listen to the doctors. Read “The Causal Way Medicine Tries to Kill Us”.
From Around the Web
It’s another installment of “Tarot by the Mouthful” from foodie tarotists Theresa and Kyle. Take a bite of the Six of Swords!
I’ve been exploring exercise recently. There are many different styles of hatha yoga, the physical practice of yoga. Here are fourteen different yoga styles explained, from MindBodyGreen.
I love watching my creative friends grow their businesses. If you haven’t visited Kianga Jinaki Art recently, you should!
Song of the Week
Our song of the week is “Digging for Some Words” by Juluka. I loved this song back in the 1980s. This week, it reminded me of the search for wisdom within the tarot.
Numerology with Zuri
Number Six
Hello Bright Sparks!
This week, the focus is on responsibility, home, hearth and family. Whereas last week, we embraced freedom, travel and change, now we have to shift gears and be the caregiver that our tribe needs in order to thrive. So as a 6, you may be taking care of elderly parents, raising children or creating a forever home for a new pet from the local shelter.
Your heart is so big, that you may be tempted to try and rescue the world. Whether it’s mothering your friends or having too many responsibilities dumped on your lap, one of the lessons of the 6 is to learn about balance and not over-give to the point of massive burnt out or resentment. People just expect you to do the right thing and be the one they turn to for support, guidance or advice. And when you’re so busy putting out other people’s fires, you have to be careful not to neglect your needs, enable or become a martyr to the cause (professionally or personally).
Because of their need to nurture and improve the lives of the people around them, 6s make excellent doctors, nurses and therapists. A 6 is also part of the triad of creative numbers, so you may also see them in the beauty industry as a stylist or interior decorator since their homes tend to be well-decorated, warm and always inviting.
Ultimately, a 6 will make you feel very nurtured and taken care of. But on the flip side of that, you may also feel suffocated by all that attention, as the 6 has a strong need to micromanage, interfere or meddle in your affairs when they are operating on the shadow side of their numeric vibration. People with a heavy 6 energy will be learning how to let go, respect boundaries and detach from the outcome throughout their lifetimes.
When you see a predominance of 6s in a reading or pull the Lovers of the Tarot’s Major Arcana, you are being asked to explore balance and use discernment in your choices. The 6 is a vibration of manifestation and having the ability to garner the support you need to overcome adversity and rise to the occasion.
Some questions to ponder when you find the 6 vibration affecting your outer world are: Where do I need to take more responsibility and support a person or situation to the best of my ability? Where do I need more balance and harmony in my life? Am I comfortable saying no and having healthy boundaries? Is it time for a style makeover? What can I do to bring more beauty to my home or sacred spaces?
This week’s vibrational takeaway in working with the 6 is to explore love and how you choose to express it in your relationships. Is there a balanced give and take? This is an opportunity to re-evaluate your own needs and see where they are on the priority list. Meditate on the Tarot’s Devil card which also vibrates to a 6 to help you let go of self-sacrifice or negative behaviors that are not allowing you to move on and experience more harmony in your life.
Lots of love!
xo Zuri
I’m Zuri Eberhart: Tarot reader, numerologist and intuitive healer put on this planet to help fantastic spirits (like you!) learn to trust their intuition, cast light on their possibilities, and move towards their gorgeous goals, fearlessly.
(Oh - and I’m here to make it fun, too. Like, heart-opening, adventure-sparking, I-can-see-clearly-nowww kind of fun.)
Ready to make some magic? I’d love to help you set your mojo on fire! Stop by my digital digs at AskZuri.com.
Listing the Lessons
Here’s a great tarot exercise that you can do on your own or in a group. Simply go through the cards, one by one, in order, and think of, and write down, a specific lesson that each card teaches.
For example, you might say that the Fool teaches us to explore the world with more joy than fear. Or, that the Fool teaches us to honor the inner child.
There are no right or wrong answers here. You’ll also find that, in many cases, the Minor Arcana cards offer lessons that are just as profound and meaningful as the Major Arcana cards do.
Image from Gilded Royale by Ciro Marchetti.
Your One-Card Weekly Reading
Four of Cups
Your one-card reading this week is the Four of Cups.
In the image, we see a person who isn’t happy with the cups he has, or the cup that is being offered.
The Four of Cups can chastise us for having a poor attitude.
This card can remind us that, when life gives us lemons, we should make lemonade.
Alternatively, this card can speak of being picky in either a helpful or unhelpful way.
Sometimes, the right thing is to wait for something better.
Sometimes, the right thing is to take what you can get.
Often, your own reaction to the image is what determines the particular interpretation.
When you look at the character in the Four of Cups pictured here, what do you think he should do?
Should he pick a cup, or should he wait?
Whatever feels best to you is your best advice for this week.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 15, 3:30 pm
Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup
Panera Bread
23388 State Road 54, Lutz, 33549
Join us as I teach my popular free class “The Four Elements and the Major Arcana”. You’ll learn the traditional elemental associations of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards, and see how this aids in your understanding of them.
You can RSVP on the Meetup, or visit the event listing on my webpage.
Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Global Tarot Circle
A Free WebEx Webinar Available Exclusively Online
Join tarot friends around the world for questions and answers about tarot. Share readings, insights and focused conversation with tarot experts, artists, students and beginners.
Log-in information is available on the event listing on my webpage.
Now Open for Registration:
Sunday, June 5, 10:00 - 4:00, Tampa Bay Area Tarot Meetup Retreat Day at Mitchell's.
October 7, Professional Development Day at TarotCon (Follow the link below).
October 8 & 9, TarotCon (Florida) 2016 in Palm Beach Gardens.
About Christiana
Christiana Gaudet
Origins Spa and Wellness Center
1537 N Dale Mabry Highway #102
Lutz, FL 33548
Private telephone, Skype and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Call 813-948-4488, toll free 866-99TAROT,
or text or call 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Agent inquiries are welcome.