Cycles and Seasons

An important function of holidays, no matter which you celebrate, is that they mark the passage of time. That we have traditions we follow each year grounds us in things that are constant, while helping us appreciate the things that change over time.

This year is a year like no other. Yet, the things we hold dear never change.

We draw strength from the stories of years past, and we draw hope from our vision of the future.

Life always moves in cycles and seasons. Each cycle, and each season, brings memories, traditions, and opportunities for hope and change.

May all the blessings of the holiday season be yours!

The StaarCorner

I was so excited to speak with Jaymi Elford on the most recent episode of StaarCast. We are all looking forward to her presentation at StaarCon.

You can watch the video on the StaarCast YouTube channel or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

We are excited to bring you the very most robust online tarot and metaphysical conference ever produced. Visit the StaarCon website to see what will be happening, and to get your tickets now.

Readings, Mentorships and Gift Certificates

I am available throughout the holiday season. You can book an appointment directly on my website, or call or text 561-655-1160.

I also have mentoring sessions available if you would like to learn tarot, or build your tarot business.

A gift certificate for a reading or mentorship package makes a wonderful gift! Email me for details.

As we begin a new year, the wisdom that can be found in a tarot reading can offer guidance, understanding, and hope for the future.

Seasonal Blessings with Tarot

Beyond divination, there are so many ways to use tarot to brighten your holidays. If you have a deck that is missing a card, you can hang some cards from your tree! If you are crafty you can buy a mini deck and make ornaments from your favorite cards.

You can also choose cards to give as gifts. Do you have a friend who is looking for a new home? Give them the ‘castle card’, which is the Ten of Pentacles. Do you have a friend who wants to get pregnant? Give them the Empress, a card of fertility. There is certainly a card to represent any wish or desire.

You can give yourself these gifts as well. Simply find the card which represents what you want, and spend some time with it. Hold it to your heart. Breathe with it. If it is not from a working deck you can hang it on your wall or keep it in your wallet. When we work with tarot this way, the energy of the card that you work with can help create that blessing in your life.

The Week in Review

One holiday tradition I was not able to keep this year is my Holiday Open House. It’s very important to me that, each year, I do something to help those in need. Gifts of service, gifts of talent, or gifts of money, it is important that we all help each other out! That is what I wrote about in my blogpost this week.

Check out the playlist of Live Tarot Webinars on my YouTube channel to see what is coming up next, and to watch anything you may have missed.

Remember to like and follow my business page on Facebook so you will be notified for the scheduled live broadcasts I do each week.

From Around the Web

Here are some tarot spreads for the season!

Kate, the Daily Tarot Girl, has this holiday spread.

Here is a Yule Tarot Spread from Cassandra Snow.

Evie Marin created this Holiday Survival Tarot Spread.

Cards for Your Consideration

A great card to help us consider cycles and repeating seasons is the Wheel of Fortune.

This is a card that indicates luck, chance, and fate.

The Wheel of Fortune can also tell us that, although certain things are unpredictable, the seasons will come around each year, without fail.

In a reading, the Wheel of Fortune can speak of unhealthy cycles that need to be broken, as well as the happy things things that return again and again.

Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 52
December 23, 2020

Finding the Spirit

The word ‘spirit’ has so many different connotations. It can refer to how we feel about our school. It can speak of our mood, or our character. We use the word ‘spirit’ as another word for ‘soul’, to speak of the part of ourselves that is eternal and non-physical. We also use the word ‘spirit’ to speak of Higher Power. That same word can be used as a synonym for ‘ghost’, to speak of those who have passed on but are still with us.

Much like the concept of what spirit actually is, the meaning of the word can be amorphous.

The thing about spirit is this. You know it if you have it, and you know it if you don’t.

We can think about spirit as enthusiasm, inspiration, and motivation. We can think of it as feeling a connection to something greater than ourselves.

In those moments when we feel uninspired, we seek that sense of connection, and that spark inspiration. Sometimes it is hard to know where to find it.

In normal times, we can often find spirit by gathering with like-minded people. In these times of social distancing, such gatherings are more difficult, yet not impossible.

We can also find the spirit we seek through prayer, meditation, and divination. We can find it through art, music, and other creative endeavors. This is true whether we are doing the creating, or simply appreciating what others have created. We find our spirit through appreciation of nature, and by reading sacred texts.

In those moments when we feel we have lost the spirit, it is important not to despair. That empty feeling can settle within us quickly. Yet, just a quickly, we can find that part of ourselves that senses what is holy and sacred, that is inspired by beauty, and that feels a part of something larger.

To find the spirit, we just have to be willing to look for it, and to allow it to grow within us.

The StaarCorner

Plans for StaarCon 2021, our online tarot conference happening January 22 through 24, are in full swing. You can see the agenda and purchase tickets on the StaarCon website.

Recently I sat down to have a conversation with Michelle Welch about her forthcoming book, and her presentation for StaarCon. You can hear this exciting conversation wherever you get your podcasts, just look for the latest episode of StaarCast. Or you can see it in video form on YouTube.

Join us for Class Tomorrow!

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, December 17, at 7 pm EST, I will be teaching an exciting tarot class on Zoom.

Tarot Stories, Trends and Blends is a class that will help you learn to weave the cards together into a story. No matter how well we know the individual cards, until we know how they work together it is hard to give a comprehensive reading.

This class can be a game-changer in your tarot journey. Class fee is $37.50. Register now!

Messages from Spirit Tarot Spread

Very often when doing gallery-style readings in a group, a popular question is “What does spirit want me to know?”

This is a wonderful, open-hearted way to hear direction from the Universe, via the cards.

Sometimes we need a message from spirit when we are not feeling our own spirit, when we are having a hard time finding our motivation, our inspiration, and our enthusiasm.

Here is a tarot spread to try during such a time. Lay out the cards in any way that feels right.

Begin with a short meditation to clear your mind. Consciously open your heart to the wisdom of spirit as you shuffle your cards.

Card 1. What can I do to access my spiritual strength?

Card 2. What can help me find and feel my spiritual grounding?

Card 3. What can I do to find my enthusiasm and inspiration?

Card 4. What message does spirit have for me?

The Week in Review

My blog post this week is about the Five of Wands. I wrote it because the Five of Wands figured prominently in readings I did Friday on Facebook Live.

My YouTube channel is growing every day. Are you a subscriber?

From Around the Web

Are you looking for a great book for yourself, or as a gift? NPR’s annual Book Concierge will help you find something great.

Tarot cards have made their way to Rolling Stone magazine.

There is a rare and special Jupiter/Saturn conjunction happening on December 21. Here is what that all means.

Cards for Your Consideration

Every single tarot card can speak of a spiritual connection, or lack thereof, in some way. My favorite card for finding that spiritual connection is the Ace of Wands.

I find all the Aces to be very powerful cards, in many ways as powerful as the Major Arcana cards.

The Ace of Wands brings the power of Fire. In a reading, this can discuss a passionate connection, a new creative project, or even something that inspires humor, or anger.

When we are looking for the spark of energy that can help connect us to spirit, or help us find the spirit within ourselves, the Ace of Wands can be a tool to help us manifest that.

In a reading, the Ace of Wands can indicate any new project, or new inspiration. This card can also direct us to the source of our energy, that is, our inner spirit.

Upcoming Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 51
December 16, 2020

Laughing All the Way

Although this is, in many ways, a different holiday season than usual, some things remain the same. Holiday music is here! Different people feel different ways about 24/7 Christmas music. I have to admit that I kind of like it. Even though we hear the same songs every year, sometimes one will strike us a bit differently. From that, we might learn, or grow, or find a new perspective.

This year the song that did that for me is “Jingle Bells”. It is not really a Christmas song. But it is a happy song about enjoying winter weather. Living in Florida, snow references at Christmastime become fun and ironic.

The line that has stuck with me all week is “laughing all the way”.

I think it is interesting that “Jingle Bells” remains such a popular holiday song. How many of us have ever ridden in a one-horse open sleigh? And, if we did, why would we laugh all the way?

Laughter is a universal response to many different situations. In the song, there is probably nothing funny about being in the sleigh. The laughter that is referenced is the kind of laughter we do at amusement parks. Sometimes we laugh, not because something is funny, but because we feel joy. We laugh simply because we are having fun.

Children do this quite naturally. We often think about children laughing, not because they heard a joke, but because they are playing, and enjoying their play.

As adults, we don’t laugh this way as much as we did when we were children. We might laugh at jokes, at a comedy show, or at a funny movie. We might laugh in an unkind way, making fun of someone else’s misfortune.

Now, whenever I hear the song “Jingle Bells,” which I am sure I will hear an infinite number of times each and every holiday season, I am going to use it to remind me to laugh, simply at the joy of living.

There is something deeply spiritual about joyous laughter. There is even a yoga practice called “Laughter Yoga” which teaches people to practice laughter for their well-being.

Sometimes we need to laugh in the face of things that scare us. Laughter can be part of the grieving process, too.

Life is never easy, and only sometimes fun. Yet, there is always joy, and always humor.

Sometimes humor feels inappropriate, or irreverent. In spiritual matters, I think laughter can always be part of prayer, worship, and divination. If laughter hurts someone, or makes fun of someone in a hurtful way, it may indeed be inappropriate. Yet, if we can laugh at ourselves, and laugh at both our joy and our pain, our laughter can often lighten our load.

The StaarCorner

You can now see the agenda for Staarcon and see the Accelevents platform where we will be holding our conference. Tickets are available!

This week on StaarCast I was excited to catch up with Maria Luisa Salazar, who will be presenting at StaarCon in both English and Spanish. See how a science teacher became a full-time tarot professional!

You can watch the interview on YouTube, or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

We are so excited for StaarCon, and for the amazing team of presenters and exhibitors we are assembling. We hope you will plan to join us!

Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends Live on Zoom

Join me Thursday, December 17, 7 to 9 pm EST, for a tarot webinar that will increase your ability to find meaningful information in every reading.

While a single tarot card can give a great deal of insight, the skill of tarot reading is in understanding how the cards work together to tell a story. This class will teach practical techniques for combining the meanings of cards and connecting the cards in a reading.

This will be the last Zoom class until February 2021, as we prepare for StaarCon in January.

Class fee is $37.50. Register now on Zoom.

Is Tarot Funny?

Years ago, I started a photo album on Facebook entitled, “Is Tarot Funny?” The goal was to find picture of people laughing during tarot readings and collect them there. All these years later, I still have only two photos. Yet, I know for a fact that a lot of laughter can happen at the tarot table. A lot of tears can happen there, too. I suppose it is hard to have one without the other.

I try to give my students the ability to find the humor in a tarot reading when it presents itself. Sometimes the cards speak in ways that are so poignant, or so ironic, that it really does seem funny.

Sometimes laughing helps us relax enough to find our intuition, and to find deeper meaning in the cards.

The important thing to remember is this. That we are laughing at the tarot table does not mean the information is trite, or that we aren’t taking the divination process seriously. A good tarot reading will elicit a great number of emotions. The more we can be present for those emotions, the better the reading will be.

The Week in Review

2021 is almost here, and it will be the Year of the Hierophant! Find out what that might mean, and learn more about tarot numerology, in my new blogpost.

Did you catch my class on YouTube, Time and Tarot? You can watch it in archive, and you can check out the rest of my YouTube channel while you are there!

My Facebook business page is where I do live readings most Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

I am also live on the StaarCon page on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

From Around the Web

Learn more about Laughter Yoga.

Here is a Happiness Tarot Spread from Maven Unmasked.

Sun Goddess Tarot has a Christmas Tree Tarot Spread for you.

Cards for Your Consideration

There are many tarot cards we might associate with laughter. The Fool, of course, can represent merriment. So can the Three of Cups.

The element of Fire is often associated with humor. Therefore, the Ace of Wands can inspire laughter, and all of the Wands court can speak of people with good humor.

The card I want to specifically consider is the Knight of Wands. In the way this card is illustrated in the popular Waite-Smith tarot images, he seems too big for his horse. There is something goofy about him.

Other decks picture him differently, but many find a way to express a certain care-free aspect of the Knight’s personality. In Word Spirit Tarot he is lounging on his back while riding his horse.

Like all Court cards, the Knight of Wands can represent a person, a situation, a quality of being, or a piece of advice. In any of those cases, laughter, joy, or humor might be a part of the equation.

The element of Fire is also associated with creativity, passion, motivation, anger, spirituality, and sexuality. That humor is in that mix speaks to its power.

The Knight of Wands might be one of the more humorous Fire cards, not only because of how he is often pictured. As a Knight, he is youthful, and may be expressing the joy of youth. He is in pursuit of something. Indeed, he may be actively pursuing fun!

Upcoming Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 50
December 9, 2020

Endings and New Beginnings

It is the first week of December! Somehow, this year more than ever, this first week of December feels like a special thing. It is not just about the holiday season. It is about the idea of beginning a new month that is also the last month of the year.

This has me thinking about endings and beginnings, and about how those two things almost always come in a set. That is, it is hard to have and ending without a beginning that follows.

Both endings and beginnings are things that we can anticipate with great excitement. They are also things that can fill us with dread and anxiety.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said “Change is the only constant in life”.

In tarot, there are many cards that can speak of changes, endings and beginnings. Later in this newsletter I will discuss three of them.

There are so many songs and poems that speak of changes. Like it or not, changes are a huge part of life.

As we approach a new month, and look forward to a new year, we may also be embracing endings and beginnings on a more personal level. There may be things we want to end, and things we long to begin. Some of these may be things we have control over. Some may happen whether we want them to or not. Some may be things for which we must wait patiently.

I think that the calendar changes, like a new month or a new year, provide the energy to help us create changes in our own lives. This is a good time to ask ourselves some questions.

What am I ready to release?

What would I like to embrace?

The changing calendar can provide us both motivation and energy to make it happen.

The StaarCorner

The platform we have chosen for StaarCon 2021 Online and our hybrid conferences in 2022 and beyond is Accelevents. They offer a robust platform that is easy to navigate and offers great opportunities for interaction and networking.

This means we have switched our ticketing from Evenbrite to the Accelevents platform. If you happen to follow an old Eventbrite link, it will tell you that tickets are no longer available.

To get your tickets for StaarCon, simply find the ticket portal on Accelevents and use the code STAAR2021 to get a ten per cent discount on your ticket selection. Or you can visit the StaarCon website and go from there.

At StaarCon 2021 there will be times when you will have to choose which events you want to attend. Do not worry, though, because all classes will be recorded and made available to you to watch and enjoy after the conference is over.

Ticket prices for StaarCon range from $5.00 to $499, depending on which events you choose. There is guaranteed to be something that fits your interests and your budget.

I am excited about the talented presenters we have for StaarCon 2021, as well as the opportunities for networking and socializing, even in the online environment.

Recently added to the schedule are a Friday night event, The Tarot Show with Kate Mura. Our Saturday evening entertainment will include Tarot Improv with Mitchell Osborn. We have even scheduled some Saturday evening discussion groups and a Sunday morning Tarot Art and Artists Breakfast. Of course, you will have to BYOBreakfast, but we will provide the everything else!

I can’t wait to see you at StaarCon, so get you tickets now!

Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends Live on Zoom

Join me Thursday, December 17, 7 to 9 pm EST, for a tarot webinar that will increase your ability to find meaningful information in every reading.

While a single tarot card can give a great deal of insight, the skill of tarot reading is in understanding how the cards work together to tell a story. This class will teach practical techniques for combining the meanings of cards and connecting the cards in a reading.

This will be the last Zoom class until February 2021, as we prepare for StaarCon in January.

Class fee is $37.50. Register now on Zoom.

Two-Card Tarot Spreads

In a time of endings and new beginnings, two-card tarot spreads can be very enlightening.

Pull a card for what is ending, and another for what is beginning. Or pull a card for ‘Goodbye’, and another for ‘Hello’.

Perhaps you might feel the need to pull a card to discover what you need to actively release, and what you need to actively pursue.

Look at the interplay between the two cards. Are they similar or dissimilar? Do they tell any sort of story?

The Week in Review

This week I shared a blog post about how tarot and poetry go together.

I have two free events on YouTube this week. You can find my upcoming and archived tarot meetups and free tarot classes on my YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe while you are there!

My Facebook business page is where I do live readings most Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

I am also live on the StaarCon page on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

From Around the Web

A new month has arrived! Here is your December astrological forecast.

Barbara Moore shares her instructions for a Tarot Advent Calendar.

As we consider endings, here is an End of Day Tarot Spread from Nancy SageShadow, AKA Nancy Hendrickson, who will be speaking at StaarCon.

Cards for Your Consideration

So many tarot cards speak of change, endings, and new beginnings. Three that seem to do it most bombastically are Majors 13, 20 and 21. That is, Death, Judgment and the World.

If you happen to see all three of them in a spread, you know your world is being rocked, not necessarily in a bad way.

The question is, how do these three cards differ from one another? We know that they can all speak of endings and new beginnings. Here are some specific differences.

Death can refer to a specific life change, like getting married, having a baby, or getting a new job. The changes Death seems to ring in are often related the activities of daily life. On an emotional level, Death can be about coming to terms with the changes of life that are inevitable.

Judgement can involve looking to the past, to gain closure, perspective, and understanding. In this card we see the final analysis. Judgement can also be about a wake-up call that brings enlightenment and deep internal change.

The World is about attainment and completion. The ending here comes because the task is complete, the mission is successful, and it is now time to move on. The World can also ask us to change our perspective from the microcosm to the macrocosm.

Events and Tours

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 49
December 2, 2020