Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
You'll Never Walk Alone
Inspiration from one of my favorite songs.
You’ll Never Walk Alone
What we can learn from a seventy-five-year-old song that is still popular today.
Those who know me know how much I love music. One of my favorite songs has a really interesting history. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was written in 1945 by Rogers and Hammerstein for the musical “Carousel”. Today it is the theme song of the Liverpool Football Club. It’s been covered by many musicians over the past seventy-five years. Mark Knopfler plays a few lines of it on his newest album.
Beyond its longevity and versatility, I love the message of this song. The lyrics, in part, say,
“Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone.”
Whether we see this as a reference to friendship or spiritual guardianship, it is certainly a reference to resilience.
That the song itself has been so resilient over time adds to its power and message for me.
Resilience is one of the most important characteristics for us to cultivate, I think. That’s because life never fails to throw us curve balls. Whatever sort of storms we might face, when we face them with hope and faith, we get through them more easily. No matter how powerful the difficulty, our own power is increased when we are able to conquer the challenge and move past it.
Many of us use divination to help navigate difficult times in life. Sometimes divination can give us a warning that forearms us. Sometimes divination can give us strategy to circumvent or mitigate a difficulty.
Often, when things are hard, we feel we are all alone. The message of resilience in this song is coupled with a message of faith that we are never truly alone. We are not alone in our suffering, and we are not alone in life.
In many ways, our greatest strength comes from our love of each other, and the way we experience love from nature, our higher power, and loved ones in spirit.
When times are hard, we especially need to tune in to that energy of love, and remember that, no matter how alone we may feel in the moment, we are never truly alone in our misery. And, no matter what storm we face, there will always be an end to the storm, and a new dawn that follows.
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Don’t miss this premium class to be held in my conference room in Palm City, Florida, on Sunday, September 15th from 4 to 6PM.
In this in-person class tarot enthusiasts of all levels of experience will learn simple-yet-profound techniques to remember, understand and interpret the Minor Arcana cards of the tarot.
This class is appropriate for all tarot enthusiasts. New readers will learn basic skills, while experienced readers will discover new ways to understand and interpret the forty numbered cards of the Minor Arcana.
Class size is limited. Class fee is $37.50. You must be registered in order to attend. Register online today with Eventbrite.
The Challenge of Divining Just How Bad It Will Be
When you know something difficult is heading your way, the challenge in divination is to figure out the degree of difficulty you are about to face. Just how bad will what is coming turn out to be?
When you are in need of this sort of divination, there are a few things to consider.
First, your mindset is very important. You must take your mind to a place of spiritual neutral. If you divine in fear, everything will look worse than it is. If you divine in hope, everything will look falsely optimistic. Release your attachment to outcome in order to get the most accurate results.
Second, it can be a good idea to consider the logical possibilities. You can think of it as DEFCON levels, with 4 being the least problematic and 1 being the worst. Or, you can think of it as hurricane categories with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the worst. The truth is, many difficult things in life, from cancer to pain to earthquakes, are staged numerically.
When you look at your situation, what are the possible stages, and how do you rate them from best to worst? Once you have that figured out you can pull one card for each stage. From there you can judge which stage you are likely to encounter and use the messages of the cards that appear to give you strategic advice.
If you are working with tarot and tend to honor reversals, let the reversal of difficult cards indicate a lessening or mitigation of the problems the card describes.
If what you see for yourself or your client is a worst-case scenario, follow up with a divination on how to prepare, how to mitigate, and what the lessons and redeeming factors might be.
If what you see is a best-case scenario, follow up with a question such as, “What else do I need to know or do?”
Divination can be very valuable in difficult times. With divination, we can plan our responses, mitigate what’s coming, and find spiritual strength to sustain what can’t be avoided.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a follow-up post to my popular cord-cutting ritual post from 2013. If you tried a cord-cutting and it didn’t work, here are some things you need to know.
I have received so much positive feedback from my Three-Card Weekly Readings, which I do every Monday on Facebook Live. If you happen to miss the livestream, you can always catch the weekly reading on my YouTube channel, or on my Facebook business page.
From Around the Web
It’s a new month! As always, we can count on the Tarot Lady, Theresa Reed, for your monthly forecast!
This article from the New York Times discusses ways that tarot and astrology are intersecting with traditional psychotherapy.
How did a song from the musical “Carousel” become the theme song for the Liverpool Football Club? Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers had a hit with it in 1963. Some things are just timeless.
Image from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Copyright 1997, Used by permission.
Cards for Your Consideration
This week let’s consider the Six of Swords from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon.
Aleister Crowley called this the card of ‘Science’. A. E. Waite’s image shows the figures sailing toward smoother waters.
In the Spiral Tarot image, we see an angel guiding the journey. The hooded figure is dejected as the boat sails forward, and the skies are dark. Yet, the person is not alone. His heavenly companion shows the way and ensures the safety of his passage. A light in the distance beckons.
Often this card will appear to let us know that, despite a difficult time, we will survive and move forward. We will have guidance, and spiritual comfort. Things are improving as we sail toward a new day.
The Six of Swords does not offer an easy transition. Yet, this card reminds us that we are supported and guided as we move through our difficulty.
Events and Tour Dates
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 36
September 4, 2019
To Be at Home in Your Skin
I'm back from my tarot tour. It was a great trip, and it is great to be home!
To Be at Home in Your Skin
Be comfortable in your home, and in yourself.
My August Northeastern Tarot Tour was phenomenal. I am so grateful to everyone who had readings, hosted psychic parties in their homes and attended my workshop. I will be back in the Northeast in the spring of 2020 and hope to see my New England friends again then!
Connecticut was my home for many decades. I always enjoy returning to what has now become my home-away-from home. Equally, I enjoy returning to my current home and office on the Treasure Coast of Florida.
My parents happily traveled quite often. Yet, my mother would always say that the best part of travel was how much traveling made you appreciate returning to your own home.
Different people have different relationships with the concept of ‘home’. Some people live in only one house their entire lives. I’ve lived in more homes than I can count, spread over five states and a dozen cities.
For me, ‘home’ is a feeling, not a place. Home can be a state of feeling settled, and familiar with one’s surroundings. Home can be a sense of safety and security.
When we welcome someone into our space we say, “make yourself at home”. When we say that, we are inviting them not only to be in our space, but to feel and act as if that space were their own.
I like to think that I carry my sense of home with me wherever I go. My focus is to feel at home with myself, to be comfortable in my own skin.
This is not as easy as it sounds, but the rewards are vast. To be at home within oneself is to have self-acceptance and self-confidence. To be at home with oneself is to know how to feel comfortable in any setting. It’s to take responsibility for one’s own energy, and to find peace in every situation.
When we feel at home in our own skin, we waste less time feeling out-of-sorts, and spend more time being productive. When we feel at home wherever we are we have the ability to form meaningful relationships with others. When we are comfortable with ourselves, we can make others comfortable with us, and with themselves.
People have different comfort levels with being in unfamiliar surrounds, just as people have different relationships with the concept of home. Yet, if we attach too much to a place, we can lose our ability to feel at ease when we need to venture out of that comfort zone.
Not everyone enjoys travel or adventure. Yet, life itself is a journey, and an adventure. The more we foster a sense of comfort within ourselves, the more we can relax and enjoy the journey of life.
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Don’t miss this premium class to be held back home in my conference room in Palm City, Florida, on Sunday, September 15th from 4 to 6PM.
In this in-person class tarot enthusiasts of all levels of experience will learn simple-yet-profound techniques to remember, understand and interpret the Minor Arcana cards of the tarot.
This class is appropriate for all tarot enthusiasts. New readers will learn basic skills, while experienced readers will discover new ways to understand and interpret the forty numbered cards of the Minor Arcana.
Class size is limited. Class fee is $37.50. You must be registered in order to attend. Register online today with Eventbrite.
A Make Yourself at Home Tarot Spread
How can you feel more at home with yourself? Everyone has different requirements, internally and externally, for their own comfort.
Many people aren’t aware of what it takes for them to feel comfortable within themselves. What must you do and know to be comfortable in your own skin? Try this two-card tarot spread to find out.
Ask this question aloud. “What do I need right now to feel comfortable in my own skin?”
Then, pull two cards.
The first card will be what you need to know or do to feel comfortable internally, that is, within yourself.
The second card is what you need to do or acquire to feel comfortable externally, that is, comfortable in your current living situation.
Do this whenever you are feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome to help you shift your energy to one of comfort, welcome and security.
The Week in Review
Everyone talks about the need for psychic protection, but few people will tell you how to do it. This week I shared my technique for psychic protection, tailor-made for empaths and psychic readers.
Did you catch my Three-Card Weekly Reading on Monday? If not, you can find it on my YouTube channel and my Facebook business page.
From Around the Web
Benebell Wen’s latest post, Seven Philosophical Readings with the Tarot, is very insightful!
Here are Six Ways to Be More Comfortable with Yourself. I recommend all of them!
Have you ever lived in something other than a traditional house, apartment or condo? Here are some great, inexpensive ideas for alternative housing.
Cards for Your Consideration
Let’s consider this classic Nine of Pentacles from the Smith-Waite Centennial Edition Tarot.
In modern times, this card is often seen as a card of personal security. Very often it gives a sense of being comfortably alone. That is, not needing another person to make you feel complete.
Historically, the woman in this card is from a wealthy family, and under her father’s protection. She is practicing falconry, a pastime of the upper class. Certainly, she has the financial security that comes from family money. But what about the modern sense that this card reflects personal security as well? Why do we often see this card as expressing confidence, self-assurance, and being comfortable in one’s own skin? Is this a modern meaning only, or is there evidence that this meaning was present when this card was designed?
The answer lies with the snail pictured at the bottom of the card.
Although the woman has wealth and security, the snail is secure too, because the snail carries his home with him wherever he goes.
The Nine of Pentacles can speak of wealth and inheritance, but it also asks us to be like the snail, confident that we can be at home anywhere.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 35
August 28, 2019
Activate Your Intuition
In cartomancy (card reading) we have the practice of “activating” a card. Prior to doing a reading, we make an agreement that if a certain card appears it will refer to a certain thing. Tarot cards are naturally activated toward their archetype. For example, the Empress is activated to represent your mother. However, if you were concerned about your aunt, you might activate the Empress to represent her instead.
We use the term “activation” in manifestation work as well. We state a positive affirmation and then activate that affirmation by visualizing our success, to bring it in to reality.
In either case, activation happens by consciously focusing and affirming our energy, our will, and our vision.
I often speak with people who want to deepen their intuition. There are many practices that can help with that, and the rewards are significant. Yoga, meditation, tarot, dreams and creativity all help us connect with our guidance and see our truth.
In addition to those healthy practices, we can become more intuitive simply by choosing to activate intuition.
You can do this by bringing your focus to your brow chakra, your third eye. Breathe as your focus and think about the third eye as the seat of eyesight, psychic vision and imagination. As you breathe in to the brow chakra, claim your identity as a seer of visions and a knower of truth.
Claiming your third eye and claiming your psychic gifts as your birthright will certainly help you activate your intuition.
From there, be conscious of the little voice that guides you, and learn to separate that from the voice of anxiety and fear.
By activating your intuition, you tap in to the guidance available to you from the Universe, from your ancestors, angels, guides and guardians.
The Second Edition of Tarot Tour Guide is Coming Soon
I am excited to announce that the second edition of Tarot Tour Guide will be available on Amazon very shortly.
The opportunity to republish my books with updates and corrections has been amazing. Creating second editions has helped me see just how much I have grown as a tarotist, and as a writer, in the past few years. I’ve seen, too, just how much the tarot world has changed, as well as the ways in which it hasn’t changed at all.
My goal with Tarot Tour Guide was to present tarot as a guide for the journey of life, and, at the same time, present a book that is a practical guide for tarot reading, and for developing a daily tarot practice.
I will let you know as soon as Tarot Tour Guide is available. Those of you who have been waiting for your pre-ordered copies will have your patience rewarded very soon.
Tarot Activation
You can use tarot cards to activate your intentions! Simply think about what you want to manifest in your life. You could manifest healing within yourself, or you could use your energy to draw something new into your life.
Find the tarot card that, to you, represents what you want. For example, if you want to win a competition, choose the Six of Wands. If you want to quit a bad habit, chose Strength. If you want to attract a new romance, choose the Two of Cups. If you want to use tarot to activate your intuition, choose the High Priestess and the Moon.
Once you have your card(s), visual the way your life will be when this is manifested. See your life as if your manifestation is happening now. Look at the tarot card you have chosen and send its energy to help manifest your vision. Hold the card to your heart as you take its energy into yourself. Feel its energy activating your manifestation and bringing it to life.
The Week in Review
This week I had an experience that reminded me that many of us feel guided by music. I wrote about that on my Dark Forest blog. Read “The Oracle of Music”.
From 2011, here is a blog post I wrote about the sorrows and benefits of ignoring intuition.
In 2014 I offered a question-and-answer series entitled “Answers to your Questions about Tarot”. In this post I answered a question about using intuition in tarot reading.
From Around the Web
The Traveling Witch offers us “How to Connect to Your Intuition with Tarot”. I love her clear approach.
From MindBodyGreen, “7 Tricks to Uncover and Trust Your Intuition” It’s clear that trusting intuition is just as important as hearing it!.
I found this amazing meditation exercise for activation by Cat Caracelo. I will give this a try. You should, too!
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, October 24, 7-8 pm
Global Tarot Circle on Facebook Live
Join tarot friends from around the world for an hour of readings and tarot study. This session will celebrate the season with instruction and exercises for using tarot to connect with loved ones in spirit.
To join, simply visit my Facebook business page, hit LIKE and look for the live feed!
Sunday, October 28, 4 to 6 pm
Explore the Minor Arcana
Christiana’s Conference Room
1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd, Suite 203, Palm City, FL
Register now to take this class focusing on the forty numbered cards of the Minor Arcana.
This class will equip you to interpret these cards in your tarot readings, and to find the mundane and spiritual wisdom locked within them.
Class size is limited. You must reserve your seat by paying the $30 class fee. Visit the event listing on my website for more information.
Sunday, November 4, 4 to 6 pm
Tarot Meetup: Cards and Conversation
Panera Bread
2894 SW Town Center Way, Palm City, FL
Join us for fellowship, readings, tarot study and more! The meeting is free to attend, show your appreciation by supporting Panera while you are there.
Bring a tarot deck or borrow one at the meeting.
Wednesday, November 7 through Sunday, November 11
FPG Samhain 2018: A Journey Beyond the Veil
Maddox Ranch 2211 W Bella Vista Street, Lakeland, FL
Join us for a day, the weekend or the entire festival! Visit the FPG website for more information!
Wednesday, November 14, 7 to 9 pm
Special Class: Elemental Magick
Christiana’s Conference Room
1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd, Suite 203, Palm City, FL
In this class you will learn the metaphysical properties of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, and how to harness these energies for healing, divination and manifestation.
Visit the event listing on my website to register!
Sunday, November 18, 4 to 6 pm
Special Class: Explore the Tarot Court Cards
Christiana’s Conference Room
1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd, Suite 203, Palm City, FL
Join us as we delve into the sixteen tarot cards that often confuse us most! The Court cards help us understand ourselves and each other and offer critical information in our readings. This class will clear the confusion and help you get the most out of your tarot readings.
Visit the event listing on my website to register.
What It Means to Balance and Blend
This week we look for ways to find balance in life.
What It Means to Balance and Blend
In tarot and in life, balance is important!
Have you ever noticed how many tarot cards and oracle cards seem to have as their theme the need for balance? A seemingly equal number seem to stress the need to blend and to integrate, to mix things together.
It seems that balancing and blending is something we humans need to do a lot of, and something that is often fraught with difficulty.
We talk about having balanced lives and balanced diets. We struggle to blend with our co-workers and our family members. In our larger communities we discuss the need for the balance that gives opposing ideas equal exposure, and our concern that with those who have opposing views we don’t seem to be able to find common ground.
In Buddhism the Middle Way of moderation is taught as the path to a good life. This seems in sharp contrast to the extreme viewpoints of many world religions. Yet, moderation makes sense in many ways. Moderation encourages thoughtful actions and reactions. When we moderate our responses to others, we more easily find common ground with those around us.
The Kabbalistic Tree of Life has two outer pillars, one of mercy and one of severity. In tarot, the High Priestess, a character of wisdom and serenity, sits between these pillars. This is one way that balance is depicted in tarot.
The need for balancing and blending is especially important in our romantic relationships. The best relationships offer the opportunity for each person to be true to themselves, as well as true to each other.
When we eat a diet that isn’t balanced, we become ill. When we live a life that isn’t balanced, we become unproductive. Yet, there are so many forces and influences around that that try to convince us that we don’t have time to live in a balanced way.
Perhaps the first step toward bringing greater balance into our lives is to allow ourselves the space to be human. Perhaps the first step toward blending more easily with others is to allow them to be human, too.
There is Still Time to See Me in Connecticut!
I will be here in Connecticut through Monday, August 26. If you would like a private appointment at True Bikram Yoga in Madison, please call or text me at 561-655-1160.
If you have a group of people and would like me to come to your home or office, please reach out to see if I have a timeslot available for you.
I will be back in my Palm City office next week and look forward to seeing my Florida friends then.
As always, wherever I am in the world, I am available to read for you by phone, Skype, FaceTime or Messenger.
Balance and Blend Tarot Techniques
When you need to find a balance between two aspects of your life, for example, work and family, or job and hobby, or self and spouse, a two-card tarot spread can be very helpful.
Simply pull one card for each concern and ‘weight’ the cards against each other. Does one concern seem to require more than the other right now? Is one suffering? What do these cards tell you about how well you are dividing your time and energy, or what you need to do next?
When you are interested in considering how well you are blending with another person or situation, try a three-card spread, with the two outer cards being the individuals and the middle card being the relationship, or the blend.
When we see how the cards interact with each other, we develop a better idea of ways we can work to create a better balance, and better blends.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a post for tarotists about how to read for questions that aren’t phrased as questions. When a querent simply says ‘love-life’ or ‘career’, what do you do with that? Read my post and find out!
Even when I am traveling, I make sure to do my Three-Card Weekly Reading on Monday. Visit my Facebook business page, Christiana Gaudet, to see what cards came up this week!
From Around the Web
Here are Six Tips to Create a Balanced Life. Clearly, finding balance is something everyone struggles to do.
Here is an Elemental Tarot Spread for Finding Balance. Tarot can be such a help in finding balance, and an understanding of the four elements is a huge part of understanding tarot and balance.
Here are Ten Tips for Talking to People You Can’t Agree With. From Psychology Today, these are techniques we all need to find a way to practice!
Image from the Smith-Waite Tarot Deck Centennial Edition, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Copyright 2015, Used by permission.
Cards for Your Consideration
The tarot card that most completely expresses balancing and blending is Major Arcana 14, Temperance.
Temperance is the card of art, time and alchemy. In the image, we see the angel blending a substance by pouring it back and forth between two cups.
Temperance reminds that that nothing is perfect. Yet, with patience and creativity, we can find the right balance and the perfect blend.
With this card, consider the two meanings of the word ‘solution’. A solution is the answer to a problem. A solution is also what is created when you blend two liquids together.
Sometimes, the answer to the problem is to create a blend.
Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 34
August 21, 2019