Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
A Time Apart is a Time of Renewal
We have to handle what we are handed. The gift is the opportunity of time.
It would be impossible to send a weekly newsletter without mentioning and reflecting on our global crisis. I pray, along with you, for the well-being of all, and that this difficult time passes quickly, with as little lasting damage as possible.
We have no choice but to do our best to stay healthy and contain the virus. That means the current day-to-day reality has changed for many people.
So many of us are usually busy, running from place to place, going to classes, meetings and social gatherings. There is nothing wrong with that. We will miss those things during this time. We will value those face-to-face and group interactions even more when we are able to return to them.
Yet, since we have no choice but to handle what we’ve been handed, let’s find the gift in our circumstances.
This time apart offers us opportunity to study the things for which we haven’t had time. I know I will be practicing my own guitar playing rather than going to see live music this month, for example.
I know many of my tarot students have tarot decks and books collecting dust because they just haven’t had time to work with them.
While our meditation classes, gyms, and fitness studios may be temporarily closed, we now have the opportunity to develop solid living room fitness practices.
And those books we have been longing to read, or even write? Now we have some time for them as well.
There is so much to explore in terms of technology, too. We don’t have to feel isolated when we have video conferencing!
In a time when we are quieter, and perhaps more alone, we have the opportunity to look inward. We can tap into our creativity, our healing, our growth, and our intuition.
This Thursday is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. We celebrate this as a time of balance, and a time of returning light. Spring will come, and the light will return. These difficult times will pass, just as winter passes.
Let’s welcome the light of spring into our hearts and lives. It is comforting to know that the world still turns, that flowers still bloom, and that no power can stop our time of rebirth.
As nature is renewed, may we take this time to nurture our own internal renewal.
The StaarCorner
Our temporary ban on in-person gatherings makes the anticipation for StaarCon even more significant. We believe that by January 2021 the coast will be clear, and we will be able to gather together once again, to learn, grow and enjoy.
Meanwhile, the plans for our conference are continuing. Check back here every week to see our new additions, and to learn more about our plans!
StaarCon Presenter Frank Kwiatkowski
Certified Professional Life Coach, Author, Tarot Coach and Mentor
Preparing for a Reading Without Cutting the Deck
I do a lot of readings by phone, Skype, FaceTime and other video conferencing platforms. Yet, many people enjoy the personal nature of a face-to-face reading. Once it becomes safe to offer face-to-face readings again, I think we should consider some different practices with our cards.
It’s traditional to let the client cut the deck. Some of us have elaborate rituals around this practice. Over the past few weeks I have developed a short ritual that allows the client to put their energy into the cards, without actually touching the cards.
Though it doesn’t seem to be necessary in order to get a good reading, this practice could be modified for phone and online readings as well.
I put the shuffled deck in front of the client and ask them to turn their attention to their right hand. I ask them to hold their right hand over the cards, not touching, and put their energy into the cards. Then I ask them to turn their attention to their left hand and put their left hand over the cards. This time, I ask them to focus on being open to receive the cards’ wisdom.
This is a way for us to move forward, as we learn to spread the love, not the germs.
Readings and Mentoring Sessions are Available
As we move through this time of social distancing and lock-down, I want to let you know that while my office is temporarily closed for in-person readings and lessons, I am always available to work with you.
We can work by phone, Skype, FaceTime, Messenger, Skype, Duo, WhatsApp, or any other conferencing platform you prefer. I make a recording of our conversation and can either email you a link or mail you a CD.
Years ago, before the World Wide Web and video calling were available to us, I began offering readings by telephone. Then, there were many people who were skeptical about the validity of readings at a distance. I was confident that the process was the same as an in-person reading and would be just as effective. Once people started working with me, they were quick to agree.
In those early days it took some technical wizardry to create a decent cassette tape recording of the session; there was a lot of trial and error.
One reason I knew that distance readings were effective was my work as a radio psychic. Some of you may remember me as the Official Psychic of the Morning Show with Gary O. on WINY in Putnam, Connecticut, or as Wayne Norman’s Psychic Friend on WILI in Willimantic. Eventually I became the Resident Psychic of Q105 in New London, and then Jammin’ 107.7, also in Southeastern Connecticut.
I loved the fast pace of taking calls and giving quick readings on the air. Now, I often do a similar thing live on social media.
Of course, in a private reading by phone or video conferencing we have the ability to delve into situations and explore things fully for you.
Now, in normal times I do much of my work at a distance. I am happy to work with people from all over the world. In these extraordinary times, I will do all of my work that way.
If you have never done a distance reading with me, I promise that you will be amazed at the connection we will have, even across the miles.
Tarot mentoring is another thing I offer at a distance, with great results. If you are ready to learn tarot, improve your tarot skills, build or grow a tarot business, or nurture your personal growth with tarot, a tarot mentoring package is exactly what you need.
During these difficult times I am here for you, as always! Just call or text me at 561-655-1160.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a blogpost called “When the Card Doesn’t Seem to Answer the Question”. We’ve all had that experience; this piece offers some solutions.
Our Cards and Conversation Tarot Meetup, scheduled to meet at Panera Bread on Sunday, had to move to an online format. The upside of that is that you can watch it on YouTube in archive!
I will be offering a number of livestreams on my Facebook business page this week! Hit LIKE to make sure you are notified when I go live!
From Around the Web
Since gyms, yoga studios and the like are temporarily closed, here are some great YouTube resources to help you stay fit, well and centered at home.
Yoga with Adriene is a favorite of many!
Here is the full 90-minute Bikram Yoga series with Maggie Grove.
Trifecta Pilates offers 30-minute mat workouts!
Robin Brace at True Bikram Yoga is sharing livestream home practice on Facebook Live.
Making Plans for Connecticut
My annual Spring Tarot Tour to Connecticut and Rhode Island is scheduled for April 22 through May 4. I will be available for private readings at True Bikram Yoga in Madison, CT, and am planning on teaching a tarot workshop and offering a psychic gallery while I am there.
I am available for psychic house parties, and house and office calls during my trip. You can schedule your time with me by calling or texting 561-655-1160.
Of course, in the event that the current community health concern worsens, we may need to change our plans. Right now, I am hoping for the best and looking forward to spending time with my friends and clients in Connecticut next month. Typically my appointment times book quickly, so reach out now to schedule yours!
Cards for Your Consideration
Temperance is one of my favorite cards, and a perfect card for us to consider this week.
In Temperance, we see balance. The vernal equinox is on Thursday, March 19. This is one of the two days during the year when the day and night are of exactly equal length. Therefore, the theme of balance is key at this time.
Balance is an important and difficult energy to maintain during times of crisis and stress. Temperance shows us that nothing is perfect, yet if we mix together the right ingredients, we find the perfect blend.
Traditional keywords for Temperance include ‘art’ and ‘time’. Temperance reminds us to be patient, and to be creative. The lessons of Temperance are useful and meaningful as we strive to manage and maintain during this difficult time.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 12
March 18, 2020
Enjoy Your Life Without Comparisons
Don't compare yourself with others, and don't compare what you have with what you had in the past.
In the past few weeks I’ve shared some lines from my favorite prose poem, Desiderata. This week, I want to share a few more, on a different topic. In his famous poem, Max Erhmann wrote,
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
It’s so easy to look at someone else’s life and worry that they are blessed in ways that we are not. Perhaps we feel a colleague is more successful than we are. Perhaps we wonder why our friend has found love and we are still single. Maybe we grew up feeling that one of our siblings was favored more than we were.
There is an internet meme floating around that offers some insight into this. It says, “Never compare yourself to others because you are comparing your inside with their outside”.
We can only ever truly know our own journey.
It can happen, of course, that we find we are being treated unfairly when compared to others, perhaps in a workplace or family situation. It’s right to work to correct an imbalanced situation. Yet, it’s not right to spend our energy worrying about someone else’s success.
So often those worries come from an underlying fear that we, ourselves, aren’t good enough, or haven’t made the right decisions.
Comparisons can get us into trouble in other ways, too. When we have to choose between one path and another, we have to try to make an objective comparison to make the best choice. After we choose, it’s easy to fall into the trap of anxiety, worrying that we should have made a different choice. It’s usually better to wholeheartedly commit to the path we chose, and to trust that we did the right thing.
Another comparison trap happens when we make changes in life. We compare our new relationship partner with the ex, or our new home with the home we had to leave. It’s so much better to choose to focus on the present, rather than trying to compare our life now with our life in the past.
In all things, the more we can focus on our own success, our own healing and our own life in the present moment, the more we will love the life we have.
The StaarCorner
I am so excited for our first-ever international tarot conference to be held in January 2021 in Palm Beach Gardens!
On Friday, January 22, 2021, from 9:30 to 5:30, I am offering a special pre-conference tarot intensive workshop. This will be available at a separate ticket price, and will help you improve your tarot skills.
The day-long intensive with me, Christiana Gaudet, is called “Operational Tarot”. I will cover four important aspects of tarot reading; the energy and psychic work of tarot reading, card interpretation, technique and delivery.
The conference will open at 7:00 that evening and will continue until 6:00 Sunday evening.
I hope you plan to attend all three days! Registration will be opening soon at StaarCon.com.
StaarCon Presenter Ciro Marchetti
Tarot Deck Creator and Artist
Reading Tarot About Your Life
We all have moments when we feel unsure about life, unclear about our decisions, and discouraged about the way things are going. Tarot can be a great tool to help us gain perspective, understanding and confidence.
So often, people try to do tarot readings about their business competitors, exes, or people with whom they compare themselves. Those sorts of readings may or may not be helpful, depending on the situation. What is always helpful is to ask questions about yourself, and about your own life. When we take the focus off other people and put the focus on ourselves, we have the opportunity to grow, to increase our understanding, and improve our self-esteem.
If you are not sure what questions to ask, here are some ideas.
What are my special talents and abilities?
What can I do to improve my finances?
How can I heal from the things that have hurt me?
What do I need from a romantic partner?
What sort of career would be best for me?
What can I do to attract the right partner?
What is something good that is happening in my life?
Class in Palm City: Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, from 7 pm to 9 pm, I am excited to offer a special class at my Palm City office called “Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana”.
The Minor Arcana is comprised of forty numbered cards and sixteen Court cards, divided into four suits. Although the term ‘Minor Arcana’ means ‘lesser secrets,’ there is nothing minor or lesser about the amount of information, inspiration and insight you can derive from these cards if you understand their meanings fully.
In this class, newer tarot readers will develop strong skills for working with these cards when they appear in a reading. Experienced readers will add new understanding and techniques to their tarot practice.
Bring a seventy-eight-card tarot deck or purchase one at the class.
Class fee is $37.50. Reserve your seat on Eventbrite.
The Week in Review
This week I was pleased to share a very personal blog post about a special tarot student with whom I am working.
I enjoyed teaching “Making Friends with the Suit of Swords” live on YouTube. If you missed it, you can find it in archive, along with my other live broadcasts from the week, on my YouTube channel and my Facebook business page.
From Around the Web
No matter what, it’s good to be good to yourself. Here is an article on how you can do that better!
From Genius Magazine, some tips on being more decisive.
Here’s a five-card tarot spread for decision-making!
Making Plans for Connecticut
My annual Spring Tarot Tour to Connecticut and Rhode Island is scheduled for April 22 through May 4. I will be available for private readings at True Bikram Yoga in Madison, CT, and am planning on teaching a tarot workshop and offering a psychic gallery while I am there.
I am available for psychic house parties, and house and office calls during my trip. You can schedule your time with me by calling or texting 561-655-1160.
Of course, in the event that the current community health concern worsens, we may need to change our plans. Right now, I am hoping for the best and looking forward to spending time with my friends and clients in Connecticut next month. Typically my appointment times book quickly, so reach out now to schedule yours!
Cards for Your Consideration
When I think about the trap we fall into when we make anxiety-producing comparisons, I often think about the Four of Cups.
The Four of Cups can be a card of decision-making, boredom and apathy. The Four of Cups can describe a feeling of not wanting or liking any of our options. Sometimes that is because we need to wait for better options. Sometimes, however, the Four of Cups calls out a bad attitude. The Four of Cups may be telling us that we are not celebrating the good things in our life. The Four of Cups may be encouraging us to take what is offered, and make it work, rather than worrying about what we don’t have, or what someone else has that we wish we had.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 11
March 11, 2020
Let Your Mind Wander Well
We stimulate imagination and intuition when we give our brains some downtime.
Let Your Mind Wander Well
Sometimes we need to lose focus to gain insight.
Most of us have heard admonitions to not let our minds wander from the time we were very young. There is good reason for this. When we aren’t paying attention to the task at hand, we can miss important things, and we can put ourselves at risk for accidents.
It’s also true that sometimes the mind can take us to some unpleasant places. Anxiety, fear and the ravages of over-thinking can take its toll.
The tragic side of being a child constantly told by adults to stay focused and to not listen to imagination is that, as adults, we very often don’t know how to access the benefits of a wandering mind.
I think it is very healthy to set aside time regularly to allow your mind to wander. In that wandering, I think we have to discipline the mind to wander well. That is, to avoid places of self-recrimination, self-pity, and anxiety for the future.
Rather, the wandering mind should allow itself to play with imagination, to ponder spiritual and philosophical thought, and to open to intuition.
The connection between imagination and intuition is profound. Both imagination and intuition are seated in the third eye, or brow chakra. If we shut down our imagination, we also limit our intuition. The more we nurture our imagination, the more opportunity we have to develop our intuition.
Recently, there has been a lot of attention paid to the practice of mindfulness. With mindfulness, attention is brought to the experience of the present moment. This is a very helpful and healing practice.
Yet, it is also helpful and healing to have times when it is safe to let your mind wander to places other than the present moment, places that are creative, spiritual and thoughtful. Perhaps there are specific times and locations where you can be particularly comfortable letting yourself relax to see where your mind might take you. I think this sort of practice is one we are often discouraged from. Yet, to me, it is every bit as important as on-task focus and mindfulness.
If you are a diviner, either personally or professionally, the practice of letting your mind wander well is imperative to being able to conduct a great reading. It is that stream-of-consciousness thinking that brings us truth during the process of divination.
The StaarCorner
On the weekend of January 22 through 24, 2021, we will be gathering in Palm Beach Gardens for StaarCon. That is, Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers Conference.
Our conference will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Executive Meeting Center.
This is a wonderful place to hold a conference. In January in Palm Beach it is very likely to be warm enough to make the tropical pool area enticing, so bring your swimsuit!
Close to the hotel are grocery stores and restaurants. Within the hotel is a restaurant and bar.
The meeting rooms are well-appointed with comfortable chairs and state-of-the-art audio-visual systems.
I think many people will plan to attend the conference and stay a few days before or after to enjoy everything the Palm Beaches has to offer, including golf, theaters, museums, botanical gardens, and, of course, beaches!
Registration for StaarCon will be opening soon. Please plan to join us!
StaarCon Presenter Gita Rash
Psychic Medium, Tarot Reader, Artist, Oracle Deck Creator
Three Ways to Add Intuition to Your Tarot Reading
No matter how much you rely on classic keywords and interpretations, and even if you are still looking up card meanings, intuition is a necessary ingredient to a good tarot reading. It is intuition that tells you exactly how the classic interpretation applies to the situation, and which of a variety of keywords might fit best.
The practice of allowing your mind to wander a bit may sound unproductive to a good, focused reading. Yet, it is exactly what you need to do to allow the intuitive process to occur.
Here are three ways to spark intuition in your tarot readings, whether reading for yourself or others.
Pay attention to card images.
Regardless of classic interpretations, what do you see in the cards right this minute? How does a card, or a group of cards, make you feel? What small images within the cards draw your eyes?
Pay attention to what floats into your mind.
Don’t treat intrusive thoughts or memories as intrusions. Whatever comes into your mind during a reading may be pertinent to the reading.
Focus on your Breath.
As with yoga, magick, and meditation, the breath is incredibly important to your intuitive process. When you do a tarot reading, keep your breathing slow, full and conscious. If you get stuck, return your attention to your breath. The answers will always come from there.
Join Me for Two Free Tarot Webinars This Week!
This evening, Wednesday, March 4 at 7 pm EST, I will host the monthly Global Tarot Circle on my Facebook business page. This is an hour-long online gathering. We spend the first half hour doing readings for each other. The second half hour is dedicated to informal tarot study and discussion.
This is a great opportunity to practice reading for strangers and to learn more about tarot interpretation and operation.
On Sunday, March 8 at 10:30 am EDT (remember to turn your clocks forward Saturday), I will be leading a more formal free tarot class on my YouTube channel. The class is called “Making Friends with the Suit of Swords”.
Wherever you are in your tarot journey, you will find insight and inspiration in this class as we explore some of the most problematic images in your tarot deck.
If you happen to miss either of these free live broadcasts, they will remain available to you in archive.
The Week in Review
I have been having a lot of fun with tarot exercises recently. This week I shared an exercise in using card combinations to create something you desire. Read Two-Card Tarot Spells on my Community Blog.
I do a number of livestreams each week on Facebook. If you want to catch up you can find them in archive on my Facebook business page, and on my YouTube channel.
From Around the Web
It’s a new month! That means we can count on The Tarot Lady, Theresa Reed, for some monthly tarot and astrology forecasts.
Psychology Today shares “The Benefits of Creative Visualization”.
Here is instruction for stream-of-consciousness journaling.
Cards for Your Consideration
There were three tarot cards I thought about in conjunction with the concept of the wandering mind, imagination and intuition. Those three cards are the Two of Wands, the Seven of Cups and the Moon. All three of these cards can speak to that process of dreaming and imagining, each in different ways.
Of those three, I chose to consider the Seven of Cups. Very often we learn this simply as a card of choices. In the Wait-Smith image we see that each cup holds something different, and some things are more desirable than others. This seems to connote the idea that we must choose something; and choose carefully.
Yet, there is more to this card. In this card we can see dreams, fantasies and imagination. We can see the pleasant process of imagining interesting and positive things. We can see the magical process of creative visualization. But we can also see the possibility of letting the mind run to a dark and destructive place.
Sometimes the Seven of Cups can encourage us to nurture our dreams and imagination. Sometimes in can warn us again letting our imagination take us to a fearful place.
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 10
March 4, 2020
The Balance of Faith and Uncertainty
We can't always be certain that everything will go the way we want. That's why faith is so important.
The Balance of Faith and Uncertainty
Nothing is certain, but we must have faith that all is well.
We all know the expression, “tomorrow is not promised”. We know that nothing is secure. Yet, we humans only seem to function well when we feel secure.
I think one of the fundamental secrets of life is to both acknowledge the uncertainty and temporal nature of life, and yet maintain faith that good things will happen, and that we will have the future we are working toward.
I believe in the power of positive thinking. Yet, I think some people confuse positivity with denial. Prayers and manifestation can sometimes work miracles and can often bring us the good fortune we desire. But not always.
My mother used to say that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is no.
To be truly emotionally healthy we must accept that terrible things could happen, yet we must constantly work toward the best.
In all things we must trust that, whatever happens, we will have the ability to push through, bear what we must, and do what we have to do.
One of my favorite poems, Desiderata by Max Erhmann, includes these lines.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
These two lines exemplify the healthy balance between uncertainty and faith. We must be prepared for sudden misfortune, yet we must not dwell on the possibilities.
There are spiritual and religious schools of thought that suggest that goods things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. There are very few philosophies more dangerous and untrue.
The truth is, anything can happen to anyone. We must find a way to make peace with uncertainty, and to be as positive and proactive as we possibly can be.
It is in that balance that we find true faith in ourselves, in the future, and in whatever force we believe drives the universe.
Divination with tarot and other tools can often offer us a sense of what is likely to happen. Even better, divination can give us clues on how to best create the circumstances we prefer. Yet, when things don’t go our way, divination can help us process, heal, and move forward.
Divination can be a great tool to help us function as secure people in an insecure world.
The StaarCorner
We have added two new presenters to our roster of talented individuals ready to share their knowledge with you at StaarCon 2021!
Kristine Gorman is an artist and tarot reader coming to us from California. Roxie Zwicker will be joining us from New England to teach a class on tarot magic.
Every week our list of talented professionals is growing. Soon it will be time to get your ticket for StaarCon 2021. We can’t wait to see you in Palm Beach Gardens in January, 2021.
When Tarot Predictions are Unfavorable
Not every tarot reading is predictive, and not every tarot reader foretells the future. Yet, many of us do use tarot and other methods of divination to gain a glimpse of what’s to come.
One reason people are sometimes hesitant to have a reading is they mistakenly believe that their reading will reveal that something terrible is about to happen.
Good tarot readers don’t tend to focus on predicting misfortune. Instead, we focus on healing from the past and working to manifest our desires for the future. A good tarot reading makes us aware of our options. That is, the things we can do to create the future we want.
Yet, once in a while it will happen that the cards will reveal a potential outcome that is different than what you would prefer. When that happens, there are several ways to handle it.
The first is to ask a question such as, “What can I do to create a better outcome?”
Sometimes, once forearmed with knowledge, we can find ways to make changes that create a better future.
If the prediction we saw shows up as unchangeable, we can then ask questions about how to mitigate, lessen or prepare.
We might also ask questions such as, “How can this serve me?”
There are two important things to remember. One is that the future is very rarely set. What we do today influences what happens tomorrow. The second is that tarot is not a doomsday device. We don’t use tarot to create fear and dread, we use it to create hope, goals and solutions. This is true even when the cards don’t come out exactly the way we would prefer.
The Week in Review
Did you see my webinar, Working with the Tarot Court, on YouTube? You can always watch it in archive!
This week I wrote a piece on using tarot to help ease the suffering of Mercury Retrograde. Read it on my 78 Magickal Tools blog.
Here is a short clip from Ciro Marchetti’s presentation at our Grand Opening Celebration in my Palm City office. It’s on my Facebook Business Page, where you can find some other live videos that I share every week.
From Around the Web
Did you know Beyonce featured tarot cards in a song? Here’s the video!
Here’s the story of Pamela Colman Smith, the artist of the world’s most popular tarot.
There is so much wisdom in ancient stories. Here are twelve interesting Greek myths.
Cards for Your Consideration
I think many readers would consider Major Arcana 10, the Wheel of Fortune, a card of both hopeful positivity as well as uncertainty.
The thing about the Wheel is that it is always turning. When you are up, you’re up. Then the Wheel turns, and you are once again at the bottom. But, hang on, because the Wheel will turn again. Change always comes, whether for better or worse.
When favorably aspected, the Wheel of Fortune can speak of luck, and of the Wheel turning in a positive direction. Yet, very often the Wheel presents in a way that says we just can’t be certain what will happen next.
There is a spiritual lesson here. We hope that the wind will be at our back and the Wheel will turn in our favor. Yet, we must accept that anything could happen.
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Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 9
February 26, 2020