Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Dream Big!
It's important to have a vision for your life.
Dream Big!
Believe in yourself and visualize your success!
I know a lot of people who like to keep their expectations for life small, so as to avoid disappointment. Yet, many spiritual people believe that in order to achieve something you have to first conceive of it, and then, believe in it. I think there is value in having big dreams.
Not every dream comes true, but many do. The question is, what are the things we can do to be proactive in achieving our greatest desires?
The first thing is to have a clear vision of what you want. Make it be something big, but also make it be something that fits within your skillset. Don’t try to become a great singer if you can’t carry a tune, for example.
The second is to make sure that what you think you want is actually what you want. Many young girls dream of marrying a wealthy man. Yet, if he isn’t kind, and if you aren’t attracted to him, that sort of marriage could become a prison.
The third thing is to do the work you need to do to make your dreams happen. This is where the spiritual truth of “as above, so below” matters. What we do on the mundane level is reflected on the spiritual level and vice versa. So, pray for what you want, but also do the work to get there.
The more that you can see your dreams as real and possible in your mind, the more likely they are to happen. This is where vision boards, treasure maps and other visualization exercises become very helpful.
So often we are afraid to dream big because we don’t feel worthy enough, or good enough. It is important to know our value and our skills. We need to believe in ourselves in order to believe in our dreams. We need to believe in ourselves so that others will believe in us, too.
Wonderful things happen to people all the time. Every day people make great friends, meet good partners, get great jobs and build amazing businesses. If other people’s dreams can come true, why not yours?
There’s a great quote from Les Brown that says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land among the stars”. What a great justification for dreaming big! Rather than keeping our goals small and manageable, why not shoot for the moon, and then be happy wherever we land?
Another quote about big dreams that I love is from the musical “South Pacific”. The song, “Happy Talk,” was also an Ella Fitzgerald hit. The quote is probably familiar to you. “You got to have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”
Introducing Community Nights
We are in the new office at 3559 SW Corporate Parkway, Palm City, ahead of schedule! I am so excited to share this space with you.
Some of you know that in the office in the Westbridge Building I occasionally had free classes. The problem was that the room was small and could only accommodate a few people.
The new office has a much larger conference room. Therefore, I am going to institute monthly Community Nights. These will be free events. You can bring a snack to share and come enjoy fellowship and learning. Some community nights will be classes taught by me. Others will be taught by guest teachers. We will have an occasional movie night, or other fun event.
Let me know your ideas for Community Night. If you have something you would like to teach or facilitate, let me know!
Big Dreams Tarot Spread
Wherever you are on your journey, you can use this spread to help you get to the next level of success, whatever that means to you. You can try this spread with tarot cards, oracle cards, or both!
Arrange the cards in any pattern you like.
Card One: Let this card tell you something about your goal.
Card Two: Let this card show you something you need to do or avoid in order to achieve your goal.
Card Three: Let this card show you something you need to develop or work on in order to achieve your goal.
Card Four: Let this card show you something unexpected that can help you along the way.
Card Five: Let this card show you something you need to keep in mind on your journey.
The Week in Review
Did you see my post on my 78 Magickal Tools blog? In keeping with the season, I shared a post about using tarot on your ancestor altar.
Every Monday I do a Three-Card Weekly Reading on Facebook Live. You can catch it in archive on my YouTube channel, my Facebook business page or my Instagram, @christianatarot.
From Around the Web
Here are some Halloween-themed tarot spreads for you to try!
Daily Tarot Girl’s spread has a card for each of Halloween’s most popular traditions.
New Age Hipster’s spread connects you with your ancestors.
From Luna Luna magazine, here is a Scary Cat Halloween Spread.
Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain, everyone!
Tarot Tells the Story: A Tarot Class
On Sunday, November 24,from 4 to 6 pm, join me in the new office at 3559 SW Corporate Parkway, Palm City Florida 34990 for an exciting and insightful tarot class appropriate for readers of all levels of experience.
Tarot Tells the Story will cover the nuances necessary to give a great reading. Topics included will be Court cards, reversals, card combinations, trends and blends and tarot spreads.
You will learn to weave the card meanings together to create a cohesive story.
Bring a tarot deck or purchase one at the class.
Class fee is $37.50. You must pre-register on Eventbrite or by calling 561-655-1160.
Cards for Your Consideration
This week I want to consider a very interesting tarot deck. The Art of Life Tarot Deck by Charlene Livingstone uses famous works of art and quotations to illustrate each of the seventy-eight cards. This deck is a great tool for understanding the archetypes of tarot. It’s also a particularly good deck for one-card draws.
A card from this deck that particularly illustrates the idea of dreaming big is Major Arcana One, The Magician.
Typically, keywords for the Magician are tools, skills, abilities, learning and new beginnings. These are all things that are required if we want to achieve big things.
The quote associated with this card is from William Henley. It reads, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
This is a great affirmation for dreamers who also want to be achievers.
Upcoming Tours and Events
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 44
October 30, 2019
We Are Always Evolving
We are always enrolled in the school of life.
We Are Always Evolving
We can never stop learning and changing.
When my son came home from his first day of kindergarten, he told us that he had a good day at school but was glad that he was finished. Finished? We laughed and told him that he had only just begun. Somehow, in the excitement of that first day of school we had not communicated to him that his education would be a daily and ongoing process. More than twenty years later, he is still in school now!
I think sometimes we adults forget that we must always be learning and evolving. Whether we are studying something in a formal way, learning a new hobby, or simply evolving the way we operate on the planet, we are enrolled in the school of life for our entire lives.
So much of this process of personal evolution is self-reflection. This is not about becoming self-absorbed, it’s about coming to a place of self-understanding and self-acceptance. This can be a very difficult process, because so often we have spent our lives trying to become the person that other people want us to be, rather than discovering who we really are!
It’s natural, too, that as we grow, we change. We change our goals, and even, to some extent, our values and our beliefs. There can be a bit of a cultural disconnect here. Some people seem to feel that there is honor in hanging on to outmoded beliefs or disproven ideas. They even couch this unwillingness to grow and change as some sort of spiritual virtue.
I believe that, in many ways, our emotional and spiritual wellbeing depends on our ability to think critically and shed the old beliefs that no longer work for us. We must adopt new ways of finding our enlightenment. Without growth and change, we become stuck and stagnant.
There should be no shame in changing one’s mind. There should be no resistance to evolving one’s views. There should only be joy in embracing something new and releasing something that has stopped working.
The question is, how can we find time in our busy lives to embrace constant growth, learning and evolution? When we can, finding time to take classes, read a book, meditate and make new friends is helpful. When we can’t, simply observing our feelings and reactions without shame and judgement is a good start. If we can truly see ourselves and be honest with ourselves, and be loving toward ourselves, we will always be open to personal change. We will always be evolving into the next best version of who we are.
New Office Opening November 1!
Please plan to have a reading with me in my new office, anytime November 1 or after. Card and Craft, Inc.’s new headquarters will have a larger conference room, a lovely lounge area, some retail space, and, of course, a private and comfortable reading room. Get your friends together for an in-office psychic party!
I am in the process of planning some wonderful events for our community to enjoy in this new space that will be more than simply an office, it will be a spiritual community center!
The new office, in Parkway Plaza, is just a few miles away from the Westbridge Building where we have happily worked for the past three years. It’s closer to I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, and closer to Panera Bread where we hold our monthly meetups!
Of course, if you would like to see me in October, I will be happy to accommodate you in my current office, right up until moving day!
Self-Reflection Divination
Self-reflection is one of the most noble and helpful goals of divination. Whether working with oracle cards, tarot cards or other sorts of random token divination, when we set self-reflection as the goal, our tools can act as a mirror to help us see ourselves more clearly.
The question becomes, how can we use our tools in this way?
Here are two exercises to try. The first is a single-card reading, the second is a four-card spread.
Who Am I Right Now?
Simply ask the question, “Who am I right now?” and pull a card. Spend some time meditating on the card and working to see how this card reflects you. Try to make a spoken or written sentence with the card by saying, “Right now I am a person who is…” and complete the sentence using what you see in the card.
Four Cards for Personal Evolution
Try this four-card spread for self-reflection and creating a focus for positive personal change.
Card One: Who I am now.
Card Two: Who I am becoming.
Card Three: What I need to release in order to evolve.
Card Four: What I need to embrace in order to evolve.
The Week in Review
I am so happy that the brand-new magazine, The Esotoracle, has published its first issue, which includes an article from me! You can order a print copy or read it online.
Check out my new blogpost on shifting your perspective on tarot and life, published on my community blog.
Monday’s Three-Card Weekly Reading was very interesting. You can check it out in archive on Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.
By now, you probably know that I am moving my Palm City office to a new, larger building. You can read the announcement blog on my website for more information.
From Around the Web
Here are some great tarot games from James Ricklef. We will have to try some of these at our tarot meetups!
From Backpackerverse, here is “How to Use Tarot as a Tool for Self-Reflection and Meditative Therapy”.
Here is another self-reflection tarot spread for you to try.
Tarot Tells the Story: A Tarot Class
On Sunday, November 24,from 4 to 6 pm, join me in the new office at 3559 SW Corporate Parkway, Palm City Florida 34990 for an exciting and insightful tarot class appropriate for readers of all levels of experience.
Tarot Tells the Story will cover the nuances necessary to give a great reading. Topics included will be Court cards, reversals, card combinations, trends and blends and tarot spreads.
You will learn to weave the card meanings together to create a cohesive story.
Bring a tarot deck or purchase one at the class.
Class fee is $37.50. You must pre-register on Eventbrite or by calling 561-655-1160.
Image from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon, Copyright 1997 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Used with permission.
Cards for Your Consideration
This week let’s consider Major Arcana 15, The Devil, from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon.
The Devil is certainly a challenging card. In a reading this card can indicate addiction and unhealthy behavior.
Yet, the Devil is also the gatekeeper on the journey toward spiritual enlightenment. The Devil asks us to see ourselves as we are, to acknowledge our shadow selves. That’s why I particularly like this image.
Here, we see that the Devil is holding a mirror. The person looking into the mirror doesn’t want to see herself, but she must.
Without honest self-reflection, there can never be growth or enlightenment.
Perhaps the most egregious flaw the Devil can show us is our unwillingness to face and embrace our flaws.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 43
October 23, 2019
First Steps and Moving Forward
Everything begins with a first step and a vision.
First Steps and Moving Forward
When I began as a tarot professional in the early 1990s, my first rent was five dollars a week. What that bought me was a booth every Sunday afternoon at the Risom Mill Flea Market in Danielson, Connecticut. My booth was across from someone selling military surplus. To my left was lingerie, and to my right was country western line dancing gear.
Our children were small. Every Sunday I would dismantle our dining table, put it in our station wagon and take it to the flea market. Our dining table became my reading table for the afternoon. My family couldn’t eat dinner until I came home with the table.
After a few weeks I had earned enough money to make an investment in the business. We spent $35 on a plastic outdoor table that could stay set up in the booth. Even after I left the flea market and opened my first full-time office, that table became my reading table for outdoor fairs and festivals. That table served me well for twenty years. I read for thousands of people at that table over the years.
At the time, it felt like a big deal to spend $35 on the business. Clearly, it turned out to be a good investment.
This week we purchased furniture for the lounge area of the new office. This was a much larger expenditure than that first table. This purchase made me think about how far we have come in twenty-five years.
The first steps we make in our humble beginnings feel humongous; sometimes even larger than the bigger steps we take later. Those first steps are scary. Without them, though, there would never be opportunity for growth and success.
No matter our present age, there will always be a need for scary first steps. Those steps require faith, courage, vision, hope, and a desire to grow.
When we take next steps later, we look back in appreciation of our journey. We need to be grateful to our earlier selves for taking those first steps.
Wherever we are at the moment, we always need to have the courage to make a first step, or to take a next step forward.
Life is complex. At any particular time, we may be starting new things, building on other things, and completing still more things. Yet, without faith, vision and the willingness to grow, we would never be able to take first steps, or to move forward.
Without the ability to look back in gratitude, and to look forward in hope, we would never be able to pursue our dreams.
New Office Opening November 1!
Please plan to have a reading with me in my new office, anytime November 1 or after. Card and Craft, Inc.’s new headquarters will have a larger conference room, a lovely lounge area, some retail space, and, of course, a private and comfortable reading room. Get your friends together for an in-office psychic party!
I am in the process of planning some wonderful events for our community to enjoy in this new space that will be more than simply an office, it will be a spiritual community center!
The new office, in Parkway Plaza, is just a few miles away from the Westbridge Building where we have happily worked for the past three years. It’s closer to I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, and closer to Panera Bread where we hold our monthly meetups!
Of course, if you would like to see me in October, I will be happy to accommodate you in my current office, right up until moving day!
Three Cards for Stepping Forward
Using a tarot or oracle deck, try this three-card spread for wisdom and information to guide you as you take steps to make your vision a reality.
Let Card One describe your vision, plan or goal.
Let Card Two give you advice for the first (or next) step you need to take.
Let Card Three give you a glimpse of your ultimate success, or ideas of things to embrace or avoid to achieve that success.
The Week in Review
This week I shared some thoughts on the ways that we make relationships more difficult than they need to be.
We had a great time at Global Tarot Circle last week! You can watch it in archive on Facebook!
Every Monday I share my Three-Card Weekly Reading. You can always find it in archive on my Facebook Business Page and my YouTube channel.
From Around the Web
I loved this story from Science Friday about Relearning the Star Stories of Indigenous People.
Thinking about beginning a tarot practice? Here’s how to take your first steps on your tarot journey!
Already working with a deck? Here is a Tarot Spread for New Beginnings.
Image from Universal Waite Tarot, Copyright 1990 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Used with permission.
Cards for Your Consideration
Last week we looked at the Two of Swords as a card of peace in the present moment. This week let’s consider the Two of Wands as a card of vision for the future. Whether we are taking a first step now, or looking back to our humble beginnings, or looking forward to our ultimate success, the Two of Wands holds wisdom for us.
The Two of Wands is about plotting, planning, dreaming and scheming. In the image, we see a person looking at a globe as if wondering how they will leave their mark on the world.
This card encourages us to do the same. We can look to this card for courage, and as a reminder that we are right to dream, and right to hold a vision for our success. Without having first a concept, a thought, an idea, there can never be a way forward.
This process of creating a vision is always the first step toward any goal.
When you see this card in a reading, remember that it may be asking you to think about what step you want to take next, and to hold a vision for your success.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 42
October 16, 2019
At the Present Moment
At the Present Moment
Mindfulness, Gratitude and Change
Unless you live under a rock, you have doubtlessly heard the term “mindfulness” recently, in regard to wellbeing, healing, or meditation.
It’s more than a recent fad, however. I remember a book from the 1970s by Ram Dass called, “Be Here Now” which taught the same principles.
Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of staying present.
It’s harder than it sounds.
We often ruminate on the past and worry about the future. It’s certainly important to process what has happened, and to plan for what might happen. It’s good to work to manifest the future we desire. Yet, none of that can happen if we can’t first be present for ourselves and for those around us.
Modern technology can make that task harder because we are often distracted by our portable devices.
One method that I have discovered to help me stay present is deceptively simple. Give it a try and see how it helps you!
In any moment, think of something for which you are grateful, and sit with that feeling of gratitude. Then, acknowledge the temporal nature of whatever that is.
The truth about the present moment is that it will be gone in a flash. Generally, the temporal nature of things makes us fearful. We want to hold on to the present, rather than experiencing it and letting it go. If the present isn’t going well, we want it to be over quickly, and worry that change won’t come quickly enough.
Change is happening around is, and to all, all the time. To be in the present moment, we must be grateful for what is in the present moment, and we must acknowledge, that, whatever it is, it isn’t permanent.
That mix of gratitude and awareness of impending change is a perfect recipe to keep us present.
When we are truly present, we notice more, appreciate more, and experience more.
Even when the present moment is unpleasant, our ability to appreciate what is happening now helps us to make the best decisions and respond to difficulty in the best ways.
When dealing with other people, mindfulness keeps us from reacting without thought. Being present with others helps us understand each other. We deepen our positive relationships and find peace in our problematic relationships.
Those of us who divine for others and work with healing modalities have a particular responsibility to be present for others as we hold space to do our healing work.
Being present and being mindful is a way of holding space for ourselves, and for those around us. It is a way of staying connected to Spirit in even the most mundane of circumstances.
Magic with the Major Arcana Class in Palm City
Join us on Sunday, October 13, 4 pm to 6 pm, for Magic with the Major Arcana!
This will be the very last class in my conference room at 1025 SW Martin Downs Blvd, Suite 203, Palm City FL 34990 before I move to now new office on SW Corporate Parkway.
This magical, mystical journey through the Major Arcana of tarot is just in time for Halloween!
We can use tarot to gain insight and information. We can also use tarot to help us make changes in our lives and manifest our desires.
The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana contain the “Greater Secrets” of tarot and can be used as a complete divination tool.
In this class, students will learn to interpret the Major Arcana cards in a reading, perform readings with the Major Arcana cards, and use the Major Arcana cards in meditation and manifestation.
This class is appropriate for beginning tarotists as it presents these important cards in an understandable way. Experienced readers will learn deeper meanings and uses for the Major Arcana to add to their tarot practice.
Bring your tarot deck to the class. New tarot decks will be available for purchase.
Class fee is $37.50. Tickets are limited. Get your ticket now!
Tarot to Be Here Now
Tarot is a great tool for mindfulness and meditation. You can pull a single card as a focus for contemplation and meditation.
You can also ask questions to help you keep your mindful focus.
What, in the present moment, can I be grateful for?
How can I quiet my spirit?
How can I be more present for those around me?
How can I be more present for myself?
What do I need to focus on right now?
What do I need to release in order to be more mindful?
The Week in Review
This week I shared a post about three-card tarot readings. Three card readings are a popular way to work with tarot. I was excited to share some techniques and thoughts about this method.
I do a Three-Card reading every week on Facebook Live! If you miss it, you can watch it in archive on my Facebook business page, or on my YouTube channel.
From Around the Web
Here is Mindful.org, with lots of great information on Mindfulness Meditation.
Even the Mayo Clinic recommends mindfulness!
From Shape magazine, an article on tarot and meditation.
My New Palm City Office
On November 1, 2019, Card and Craft, Inc. will move to a lovely, larger office in Palm City. Our new address will be 3559 SW Corporate Parkway, Palm City, 34990. The new location is off Martin Downs Blvd., and a bit closer to both I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike.
We are located in the Parkway Plaza, near Coquina Cove.
This new location will offer greater comfort for readings and instruction, and more space for classes and events. Watch this newsletter to see a schedule of great events.
Remember, if you make an appointment to see me after November 1, you will be coming to my new location!
Cards for Your Consideration
The Two of Swords, pictured here from the Universal Waite Tarot, is often considered a card of decision-making, and having choices at hand. Yet, Aleister Crowley called the Two of Swords “The Lord of Peace Restored”.
One way to look at this card is that we are holding space in the moment, waiting to see what will happen next, and what we need to do next.
The blindfold could indicate a need to look inward, and to be informed by our own intuition.
All of the Two cards in tarot, included the High Priestess, can speak of a certain type of peace. In each of these cards, we have an inherent understand that the peace we are feeling is in the moment. Soon, the energy will shift, and we will spring into action. For now, we are still.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 2 Issue 41
October 9, 2019