Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.

Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet

Stepping Into Something New

It is the end of one year and the beginning of another. Wishing us all good things as we step into something new together.

New Year concept graphic: the sun rises on a new year.

This is the final week and final newsletter of 2023.

I love New Year traditions. I love the feeling of stepping into a whole new year of possibilities. I love that many cultures have different ways of saying goodbye to the old year and invoking luck for the new one.

One of my favorite New Year traditions is to look back at the year ending with gratitude. One of the things I am most grateful for is you, my friends, clients, colleagues, students, and collaborators.  Thank you for being a part of my life and work in 2023.

I look forward to everything the new year will bring us, and I wish you every success as we step into a new year together.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

Countdown to StaarCon!

The StaarCon 2024 program is off to the printers…and available to peruse online!

Look at the impressive schedule of presenters and learn ways to maximize your hybrid conference experience.

Now is the time to make your plan to join us, either in person or online, for StaarCon 2024!

StaarCon 2024 presenter Jen Sankey presenting in 2023.

A woman reads tarot for herself with a candle and glass of wine.

Tarot for the New Year

There are many ways to use tarot as we enter a new year. You can pull twelve cards at random, one for each month, to predict the energies you will encounter in 2024.

You can choose cards face-up to help you manifest your desires in the coming year.

You can ask specific questions about your 2024 and pull cards to give you answers.

Some people have a special divination ritual that they perform on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Others treat themselves to a professional reading at this time of year.

We often happily associate tarot with Halloween. Yet, the New Year is also a perfect holiday for the magic and divination of tarot.

Predicting a New Year Webinar December 28, 2024, 7 to 8 pm.

Predicting a New Year Webinar December 28, 2024, 7 to 8 pm.

The Week in Review

Watch the replay of our Solstice Gathering if you could not join us live.

Tomorrow, Thursday, all members of my YouTube channel are invited to join us for a members-only livestream as we make predictions for the New Year.

January TarotScopes are available to members only until December 31, when they will become available to everyone.

From Around the Web

It was touching and meaningful to see this thoughtful mention of Rachel Pollack in the New York Times retrospective of influential people we lost in 2023.

What could thirty days of reading tarot for yourself do for you? Liana Minassian found clarity and a way out of a rut.

Refinery 29 has a collective tarot reading for 2024, performed by Sarah Potter. Does it feel relevant to you?

Upcoming Events

Featured
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube
Nov 25
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube

Join us for an exploration of how we can use tarot to understand difficult family situations.

Christiana Gaudet teaching a class at a yoga studio in Madison, CT, 2016.

About Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.

Christiana Gaudet

3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152

Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com

YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon


Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.

Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.

Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!

Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.

New! Schedule Appointments Online at acuity:scheduling!

Schedule online at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me.

Agent inquiries are welcome.

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 52
December 27, 2023

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

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Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet

Joy?

It's the happiest time of year, except when it is not. This week, we are seeking joy and allowing space for whatever we feel.

An older man celebrates Christmas on the beach.

‘Joy’ is a word we often hear in this season. Over the past few years, this word has trended in our culture. We’ve been seeking joy, looking for things that spark joy, and trying to hang onto our inner joy, not just this season but all year. That’s a lot of joy.

But are we feeling joyful right now?

The song says this is the happiest time of year, but the holiday season can be burdensome for many. Even those who usually enjoy the festivities may be dealing with circumstances that make it hard to find the joy this time.

What is joy?

The dictionary defines it simply as a feeling of great happiness and pleasure. We associate joy with the holiday season because of the spiritual meanings of our celebrations. On a more secular level, advertisers have sold us a brand of holiday joy associated with presents, decorations, and food. I will be the first to say that those things bring me joy. But I also know the stress and pressure of providing and preparing those things can be daunting and joy-killing.

The pressure to be joyful when we aren’t feeling it is an added stress. At the same, I do think that cultivating joy is a wise practice throughout the year. It balances between honoring our feelings and leaning into what is most positive and helpful.

Joy is a personal thing. We all have the things that bring it and the things that steal it away.

If you are having a joyful holiday season, I am celebrating with you. If you are having difficulty, please allow yourself to feel what you feel and prioritize your well-being. Self-care is a gift we give ourselves but also a gift we give those we love.

If you don’t have joy this season, can you muster, “I will get through this!” or even, “This cookie is delicious”? Sometimes, the best we can do must be good enough.

Whatever brings you joy, I hope you have much of it this season and in the coming year! One of my greatest joys is being able to do the work I do. Thank you so much for being a part of that.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCorner

If you are coming in person to StaarCon in January, please know that the hotel room block expires this Friday!

I am delighted to announce that Karen Winkel will be an in-person presenter at StaarCon 2024.

Karen will teach us to use astrology, tarot, crystals, and the moon to manifest our desires.

Karen joins a roster of over fifty presenters who will share their wisdom at StaarCon 2024. When the conference is over, the AfterGlow begins, and all that wisdom remains available to ticketholders for an entire year.

Make your plan now to join Karen Winkel and the rest of the StaarCon 2024 presenters at StaarCon, either in West Palm Beach or on Accelevents.

StaarCon presenter Karen Winkel.

A three-card spread on a table.

Three Cards for Joy

Here is a spread to help you find your joy at any time of year. Use it with tarot or oracle cards.

Let Card One offer a solution or comfort regarding something hurting, worrying, or bothering you.
Let Card Two tell you how you are showing up in the world right now. Receive the card and consider how that could bring you joy.

Let Card Three show you something around you that can be a source of immediate joy, happiness, or relief.

Solstice Gathering December 21, 7-8pm on YouTube Live.

The Week in Review

Join us tomorrow evening, Thursday, December 21, for our Solstice Gathering on YouTube. That link will take you to the replay if you miss the live stream.

Your January TarotScopes will be available on my YouTube channel beginning December 31. As a special gift, channel members will have access to the beginning on December 25.

From Around the Web

StaarCon presenter and community member Amie (Mouser) Emberharte has suffered a series of health issues and needs some help. Check out the crowdfunding campaign and do what you can if you feel so called.

Joanna Powell Colbert, the artist behind the fabulous Gaian Tarot, shared a winter solstice tarot spread in 2018 that I love to perform every year. Try it for yourself!

Can tarot really help us find happiness? Here are some interesting insights!

Close-up of a woman's hands with tarot cards.

Creation and Divination

This column has run in this newsletter for the past year. Over this year, we have shared poetry from readers and from my 78 Cards Tarot Poetry Project. We have explored many ways that creativity and divination intersect. At StaarCon 2024, we will explore this theme even more thoroughly.
This will be the last installment of this series. Beginning in February, after StaarCon, I will start a new series. What should that series be? In the past, I have featured all seventy-eight tarot cards and all 36 Lenormand cards, sharing their classic meanings. I have also shared a single-card reading for the week.

What would you like to see in this spot for 2024? Use your creativity, and let me know!

Try this exercise to stretch your creativity with tarot and help you find joy.

Go through your deck, card by card, face up, and look at each card. Does the image make you feel joyful? Are you aware of a classic meaning for this card that involves joy or happiness?

If you find joy in a card, put it in a pile. Once you have been through the entire deck, you will have a stack of joyful cards.

Shuffle that joyful stack of cards and pull one at random to tell you what you need to do to nurture joy today.

Upcoming Events

Featured
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube
Nov 25
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube

Join us for an exploration of how we can use tarot to understand difficult family situations.

Christiana Gaudet with Christine-Claire Mallet at Mandel Public Library.

Christiana Gaudet with Christine-Claire Mallet at Mandel Public Library.

About Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.

Christiana Gaudet

3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152

Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com

YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon


Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.

Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.

Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!

Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.

New! Schedule Appointments Online at acuity:scheduling!

Schedule online at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me.

Agent inquiries are welcome.

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 51
December 20, 2023

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Read More
Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet

The Interconnectedness of Things

The concept of interconnectedness is appealing to diviners, who find healing in the connection between all things.

A grandmother and granddaughter hang an ornament on a Christmas tree.

This week, I have been thinking about how we are connected to one another and how all life is connected. I've been contemplating how seemingly unrelated life events and circumstances can play a crucial role later on, which we never would have anticipated.

Many of us consider our connection to our ancestors, families, and traditions during the holiday season.

An essential aspect of divination is that it helps us make connections and discover how things are related in ways we had not considered. There is so much cause-and-effect in life, both mundane and magical. The more we understand how one thing affects another, the more opportunity we have to create our desired outcome.

Magic, manifestation, and the Law of Attraction all operate by this concept that the connection between things matters and has power.

Thinkers of many cultures have explored the concept of interconnectedness for centuries. I find it fascinating that the more our scientists learn about quantum physics, the more it appears we are indeed all connected in a giant web of life.

Most of us were raised in cultures that separate matters of science from matters of faith. Many of our spiritual myths seem like they cannot be explained scientifically.

Yet, this concept of interconnectedness is both scientifically and spiritually sound.

There is so much that works to separate us from each other and from the tools and resources that we need. If we could understand how connected we are, the opportunities for what our lives might look like feel hopeful and inspiring.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCorner

I first met Maya Sadarangani twenty years ago in New London, Connecticut. Immediately, I knew she was something special. At StaarCon 2024, you will see why.

Maya Sadarangani is a Celtic Priestess with over thirty years of professional experience offering Psychic Tarot Readings. Maya has been a practicing Wiccan for over forty years. Maya is producing a documentary about her journey as the creator of the soon-to-be-published Witches Journey Tarot Deck.

At StaarCon 2024, Maya will present a class called “Here Be Dragons.” Maya will teach us ways to call on dragons to aid in divination, spells, and ritual practices.

StaarCon is just weeks away! Get your ticket now!

StaarCon presenter Maya Sadarangani.

A tarot deck with Christmas decorations.

Making Decisions with Tarot

Sometimes, thinking about the interconnectedness of things can make us anxious. It makes sense that if everything I do affects something else, everything I do should be carefully considered. But if we carefully consider everything, we can end up in the paralysis of analysis, doing nothing. Tarot to the rescue!

Whenever there is a decision I need to make, I ask questions of the cards, such as:

What is the long-term impact of this decision?

What are the potential collateral effects of this decision?

What else do I need to consider here?

These questions will allow me to make informed decisions, knowing I have considered all the possibilities.

If you do these types of readings, you will find that the cards can often signal that the effects are negligible or insignificant. If the cards suggest undesirable outcomes, you can consider other options and read on those to determine your best course of action.

The Mandel Public Library.

The Week in Review

I will teach a free tarot class at noon at the Mandel Public Library in downtown West Palm Beach this Saturday, December 16. Please join us there!

You may notice that I have changed the appointment scheduling platform on my website. I apologize for any confusion this may cause. I am confident that the functionality of our new platform, Acuity, will make scheduling your session with me even easier than ever before.

From Around the Web

Glamour UK has curated the “9 Best Tarot Card Decks for Beginners”. Do I agree with these experts? In some cases, yes; in others, not so much. Yet, I think this is a valuable list, especially if you want to buy a first tarot deck for someone on your gift list.

The student newspaper of UNC Asheville, The Blue Banner, has an article about a skeptical student receiving her first tarot reading. This reminded me of a time almost twenty years ago when a young client wrote in her college paper about her experience having a reading with me.

Here is a tarot spread from Worts and Cunning called The Starry Web We Weave. This spread visualizes a constellational web, helping us understand how things are connected.

A star candle burning with a deck of tarot cards in the background.

Creation and Divination

Something that separates tarot from other card divination decks is its structure. Tarot is divided into suits and has numerical associations, allowing us to see connections between the cards.

For example, when we look at all the tarot cards of the same number, we see similarities and learn more about the power of that number and the meanings of those cards. When we see a run of numbers within a suit, we learn to find stories within the cards.

It is easy and traditional to sort your deck according to suits and numbers. An excellent exercise is to think of creative ways to sort your deck and discover what new connections you find.

For example, what happens if you sort out all the Major Arcana characters wearing something on their heads? Can you find new meanings and connections by looking at the cards this way?

What happens if you sort the cards by color or by the presence of animals?

Be as creative as you can! Find new ways to group the cards to find new connections and meanings.

Upcoming Events

Featured
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube
Nov 25
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube

Join us for an exploration of how we can use tarot to understand difficult family situations.

Christiana Gaudet at her laptop.

About Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.

Christiana Gaudet

3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152

Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com

YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon


Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.

Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.

Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!

Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.

New! Schedule Appointments Online at acuity:scheduling!

Schedule online at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me/.

Agent inquiries are welcome.

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 50
December 13, 2023

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Read More
Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet Tarot Topics Community News Christiana Gaudet

Contradictions and Complexities

Humans are complicated, and the holiday season brings some of those complications to light.

A Christmas tree ornament depicting the world.

A Christmas tree ornament depicting the world.

We humans are complicated creatures. Perhaps nothing brings our personal contradictions to light more obviously than the winter festival season.

I want to eat a healthy diet, but those traditional holiday desserts only come around once a year and are yummy!

I want to be environmentally conscientious, but the tinsel and wrapping paper make the holiday special.

I want to be financially responsible, but I also want tickets to that fabulous exclusive New Year’s Eve event.

We face these sorts of contradictions all year long, of course. Some of these complexities center around things far more significant than a few extra calories or a little more consumer debt.

The solution to this sort of contradiction is often a compromise. Compromise is a critical tool in diplomacy and governance. That compromising can feel distasteful is part of the complexity.

In divination, we learn that sometimes, people simultaneously hold two seemingly contradictory things as truth. Sometimes, when we have this sort of internal contradiction, we are lying to ourselves. Divination can help us find our truth.

Sometimes, though, two contradictory things can both be true! Our favorite uncle from childhood may also be our least favorite holiday dinner companion. A corporation can create a life-saving product and an environmental crisis simultaneously. It is a skill to make space for both realities and respond appropriately to both circumstances.

This skill can also help us on our journey toward self-worth and self-esteem. We can understand that we are not always perfect but are always worthy.

Some people like to think in absolutes. For them, something must be all good or all bad. Yet, when we examine the world in which we live, we can see that few things are solely good or bad.

People who think in absolutes suggest that the nuances and contradictions in our lives give way to moral ambiguity. I believe the opposite is true. When we can see all aspects of a situation, we can more easily find the solutions that work and make the choices that move us forward.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.

The StaarCorner

We are happy to welcome the fabulous Kate Mura as a StaarCon 2024 presenter. Kate has been involved with StaarCon since performing The Tarot Show at StaarCon 2021.

Kate will be a virtual presenter at StaarCon 2024 and will also lead some workshops and discussions during the AfterGlow.

At StaarCon 2024, Kate will show us how the exercises typically used by actors to warm up for performance can prepare us for a tarot reading. I know she’s right because I use the techniques I learned as a theatre student to this day! I look forward to learning from her as she shares this practical wisdom at StaarCon 2024.

StaarCon presenter Kate Mura.

A young woman in her kitchen contemplates the cards.

Finding Truth with Tarot

When I am mulling a complicated situation, very often, I like to ask the cards, “To what extent is this true?”

This is an excellent question for the cards because it acknowledges that truth is not always a binary. In situations regarding complicated people and their feelings, something can be a little bit true or a whole lot true or not true at all.

When I ask this question, I pull a single card. The interpretation is entirely intuitive, based on how the card feels to me in the context of the situation.

If I cannot determine an answer, I will ask the question again and pull another card.

This technique helps me gauge subtle nuances in difficult situations. It is a complex technique to teach because it requires so much intuition.

Working with this technique allows me to understand people and situations more deeply.

When students start playing with this technique, their confusion eventually turns to excitement when they find they can understand the cards this way.

Illustration of a group of women reading cards around a table.

The Week in Review

Did you miss our Reversals Tarot Workshop on YouTube Live last Thursday? Watch the replay!

Join us tonight for our Global Tarot Circle meeting at 7 pm ET. We will share readings and informal tarot study with our friends worldwide.

Make sure you check out your TarotScopes for December!

From Around the Web

My good friend Aerik Arkadian shared a fabulous post about rewriting Christmas songs. In it, he included a holiday song with new alternative lyrics by me.

Have you noticed that tarot and witchy-themed bars and restaurants are popping up everywhere? I have never been to one, have you? I have plenty of ideas about how cool this could be! Check out the one that just opened in Vancouver!

Here is a seasonal blast from the past that I could not have you miss. StaarCon 2022 headliner Sasha Graham shared a Christmas-themed tarot spread back in 2010. It is fun, easy, and insightful.

Tarot cards with holiday greenery and ornaments.

Creation and Divination

The evergreen tree has symbolic meaning in many cultures. The tradition of bringing an evergreen indoors and decorating it at the time of the winter solstice served as a reminder that life endures even in the darkest times.

I have always loved the tradition of decorating the tree. I am excited to share my personal tradition of creating a magical tree of tarot cards.

Some years, I do this with a group of people so each person can add a card from their own deck. I have done this for myself, using multiple decks from my collection. Sometimes, I choose a single deck and use that.

Here is how it works.

Take the Ace of Pentacles and the Star out of your deck. On a table or cloth, place the Star at the top and the Ace of Pentacles at the bottom. The Ace of Pentacles is the tree trunk. The Star is the decoration on the top of the tree. Now, you need to create the tree.

Graphically, a holiday tree is a triangle or pyramid shape.

If you are working with a group, have each person choose one card from their deck. Each person should choose a card representing something they want to see more of in the world.

If you are doing this on your own, choose cards from your deck or decks that represent what you want to see more of in the world.

One at a time, arrange the cards on the table like a tree. If you are working with a group, have each person place their card when they are ready. If you are alone, express your intention for each card as you place it.

Once the tree is assembled, spend a moment with it, sending your magical energy into the world. Take a picture of it to remind you of the sacred moment and to capture the memory and magic of your holiday tarot tree.

Upcoming Events

Featured
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube
Nov 25
Tarot For Your Family Members-only Livestream on YouTube

Join us for an exploration of how we can use tarot to understand difficult family situations.

Christiana Gaudet and María Alviz Hernando at StaarCon 2023.

About Christiana Gaudet

Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.

Christiana Gaudet

3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152

Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com

YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon


Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom and in person readings and instruction are available by appointment.

Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.

Zoom parties and group instruction available almost everywhere!

Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Schedule online at cardandcraft.10to8.com.

Agent inquiries are welcome.

Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 49
December 6, 2023

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.

Read More