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Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving was my mother's least favorite holiday. While she enjoyed the gathering of friends and family and the concept of gratitude, she felt Thanksgiving had become simply a holiday of gluttony, housework and a meal she didn't particularly enjoy.
Over the years I have celebrated Thanksgiving in a multitude of non-traditional ways. Here's what I've learned. It doesn't matter what you eat, where you go, or what you do.
And, while Thanksgiving is an American holiday, many cultures have similar holidays in that same tradition of giving thanks.
The meaning of Thanksgiving is all in its name - giving thanks. Sometimes we focus more on what we wish we have than what we do have. We use the holiday as a time to take an accounting of the things that are missing from our lives.
Perhaps the thing to do is to give thanks for what we do have, and to put our energy in to manifesting that which we desire. Sometimes we can have gratitude for the things we have yet to receive.
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Definitions and Stories, the Fool and the Magician
I believe that most of us spend our entire adult life healing from the first twenty years. This is sometimes true even when we have great parents and few tragedies.
Although childhood is often thought of as a time of exploration, wonder and growth, it can also be a time of bewilderment, misunderstanding and loneliness.
Sometimes, as adults, we use the things that hurt us in childhood to define ourselves in adulthood.
Sometimes we let bullies and abusers shape our sense of self-worth.
Sometimes we let negative people define our limitations.
After a while, it is no longer the fault of the abuser or the bully. It is our own fault for allowing ourselves to become victim to it.
We when tell the stories of our past, we can cast ourselves as the victim, or as the survivor.
In the end, it doesn't matter what has happened in the past. What matters is how we let our past define us.
Like the Fool in tarot, we are always on a journey. We are always the star of our own show, the hero of our own story.
To have the most successful journey, and the happiest story, we can't let others define our character. We can let the limited thinking of others limit us.
When we look at the Fool card, we see him merrily ready to begin his journey by stepping off a cliff. It is that sort of bold faith that makes for the very best journeys in life.
How do you define yourself? How do you count your tools, your abilities and your skills?
When we look at the Magician card, we see that the Magician has the ability to channel power from Heaven to Earth and back again. We see that he has on his table all the tools he needs. We see him committed to the task of wielding his tools, and sharpening his skills.
Both the Fool and the Magician display a sort of life-defining confidence; an ability to chart one's course and create one's own destiny.
Each of us has the ability to do the same.
Don't let others define who you are.
Be the survivor, not the victim.
Tell your story in a way that empowers you.
Manifest your destiny.
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Tarot Foods
Since Thanksgiving is so often celebrated as a food holiday, I thought it would be fun to share some tarot traditions regarding food.
Many people enjoy crafting tarot symbols out of food. For the annual Pocono Tarot Picnic our resident baker, Regina, would always make the four tools (Wand, Cup, Sword, Pentacle) in bread.
There is even a recipe tarot deck called the Epicurean Tarot by Corrine Kenner. Each of the 78 cards has a recipe to go with it.
I personally enjoy tarot potluck dinners where each person has to come up with a cleverly named dish. At past potlucks we have enjoyed Death Chili, Hermit Cookies, Pentacle Pie, Two of Pentacles Pizza, Eight of Wands Chicken Teriyaki and Tower Chocolate Cake.
In a reading, tarot cards can often be interpreted to discuss issues of weight loss and dietary change; although we all know that a doctor must be consulted to create a good weight loss plan.
We can even divide the four suits of the Minor Arcana to discuss different types of food - Wands can be spicy foods, Cups can be liquid foods (juicing), Pentacles can be fruits, nuts and vegetables from the garden and Swords can be meat, for instance.
Many tarotists have used the cards to create healthier relationships with food for themselves and their clients.
So whether you use tarot and food together to pursue healing or to pursue fun, explore the many connections you can make between tarot and food!
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Your Weekly One-Card Reading
Your one card weekly reading is the Two of Cups. This is the card of perfect love, perfect partnership, and the healing nature of love.
When this card comes up in a reading, it can predict a wonderful romance. It can also indicate the need for self-esteem. It can remind us that love is everywhere.
The early Greeks had many words for love. Often, when we speak of love, we speak only of romantic love. But there are many kinds of love. We love our friends, our family, our pets, our country and our Higher Power. The more we love, the more we draw love to us.
This week, focus on love in all its forms.
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Plan to Catch Christiana on Internet Television
On December 12th at 9 pm EST, Christiana will be a guest on "It's in the Cards." Tune in to see Christiana talk about her new book and perform readings for the audience. You are welcome to call in to get an on-air reading! Simply visit www.paraencountersnetwork.com to join the fun!
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Upcoming Events
Sunday, November 25, 5:30 pm
Join us for our monthly Global Tarot Circle. Anyone with an interest in tarot is welcome, from beginner to professional. Together we learn about tarot, practice readings and enjoy fellowship. This is a fun, informal free webinar! Please be a part of it. For log-in info, visit the Tarot Circle website.
Monday, December 3, 8:00 pm
Join us for a free webinar, The Four Elements and the Minor Arcana. This 75-minute-long webinar is about the Four Elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) and the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. This class will cover the powers and properties of the four elements, and how they relate to the four suits in tarot. You will learn ways of interpreting the pip cards and the court cards based on their elemental association. For log-in info, visit the Continuing Education website.
Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 pm
Join us for a free webinar, Basic Psychic Development. Everyone is psychic! The challenge is to figure out what your gifts are, and to learn to develop them. Professional psychic Christiana Gaudet will share the basics with you. In this exciting webinar you will learn about psychic gifts, psychic tools and simple exercises you can do to strengthen your own psychic abilities. For log-in info, visit the Celebrate Spiritual Growth website.
Monday, December 10, 7:00 pm
Enjoy a beginner/review level premium webinar, An In-Depth Journey into the Major Arcana - Emotional Balance. This online presentation will focus on Major Arcana cards Eight through Fourteen, Strength through Temperance. Christiana will present these cards as the keys to enhancing emotional growth and finding emotional balance.
This class will help tarot beginners develop a solid foundation for their tarot study. Experienced readers will discover new ways to utilize tarot. For registration and log in, visit the Continuing Education website.
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Join us for Global Tarot Circle!
Global Tarot Circle meets this Sunday at 5:30 pm on Webex. This is a free event, and the technology is easy to use.
This month we will be discussing tarot reversals. If you have worked with tarot at all, you know that reversed cards can be confusing.
We will be sharing different ways of handling reversals. And, as always, we will be sharing fellowship, and a few laughs.
If you enjoy tarot, make sure you join us this Sunday!
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Holiday Schedule
As always, I will be available for readings via phone and Skype, as well as house parties, corporate events and house calls in South Florida throughout the holiday season. I treasure the opportunity to be a part of your holiday celebrations, to help you with gift ideas, and to help ease holiday stress.
I provide gift certificates for readings, parties, private lessons and premium webinars to make your gift-giving easier. My two published books, Fortune Stellar and Tarot Tour Guide make wonderful presents for the tarot enthusiasts in your life.
Please call me at 561-655-1160 to let me know how I can make your holidays brighter!
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