It’s full of costumes and candy and lacks the obligatory, tiresome vibe of Christmas and Valentine’s. What’s not to love?
Every Halloween night I bust out my incense and candles and do a special Tarot reading for myself where I reflect on the past few months and make plans for the coming months.
So I thought I would design a fun, campy, Halloween themed Tarot spread to help you do the same thing!
For a printer friendly version of this spread, click here.
If you would like to see this spread in action, using the Anna K Tarot, here is my demonstration video:
I would love to hear what you think! How was this spread for you? And what are your big plans and goals for the coming Winter?
Today’s post is all about the four Tarot topics I most often get asked about!
Predicting the timing of events, reading Tarot reversals, making sense of repeating Tarot cards and how to store your Tarot deck when your not using it.
So I have rounded up the four articles that I wrote on these topics and squeezed them all into ONE handy dandy blog post – enjoy 🙂
Picture this: the candles are lit, Nag Champa incense is wafting about the room, a cozy fire is crackling in the background (or if your like me, your “fireplace” dvd is crackling in the background), and your hunkered down at your dining room table, giving your best friend a Tarot reading…
Your friend asks something typical like “Is Gary my soulmate?”
You roll your eyes, draw a card and…WTF?! It’s The Heirophant.
“F*ck!” you think. “What on Earth does that mean?!”
Card image is from The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck published by U.S.Games Systems, Inc.
Of course, you know exactly what The Hierophant means all on its own, but you have no idea what it means in relation to the question being asked.
Reading Tarot can sometimes feels like deciphering hieroglyphics. All you want is a clear answer and instead you end up feeling more and more confused!
This actually used to happen to me ALL THE TIME. And if I am being 100% honest with you, it still happens every now and then 😉 But luckily I have gotten my shit together and come up with some handy dandy ways to get around this annoying issue.
Tip #1: Put on Your Glasses
Have you ever heard that expression “looking at the world through rose-tinted lenses”? You want to look at the confusing Tarot card through situation-tinted lenses. Let me explain…
When you get a Tarot card that just doesn’t make sense, picture yourself calmly sliding on a pair of glasses, like Corey Hart in his Sunglasses at Night video…
Now imagine that these are magic glasses that will help you see the Tarot card in light of the particular issue.
So for the reading I mentioned earlier, you would put on your “soulmate searching” glasses and ask “in regards to finding one’s soulmate, what message does this card have for my friend?”
Look at the Tarot card:
Let go of the traditional card meaning for a sec and just see what pops into your head. Notice what symbol your attention is drawn to. Doing this gives your intuition a chance to come out and play.
Example: When I do this for The Hierophant (above), I suddenly notice that there are two identical pillars, two identical monks side by side and two keys crossed. This makes me think aha! soulmates! but then there’s that pesky Hierophant coming between them. So I might say that there is soulmate possibility, but there is a powerful force keeping them apart right now.
But what if The Hierophant had come up in a reading about career/life purpose?
As I slide on my magic glasses, I notice that this card really exudes authority and tradition. This could suggest your life purpose is to be an authority figure of some type, but it may require years of formal study. Or it could mean your life purpose will be intimately intertwined with spirituality.
Look at the “traditional meaning”:
Now that you’ve unleashed your intuition, it’s time to indulge your intellect! Take a look at the traditional card meaning through your magic glasses and see how it relates to your question.
According to the little white book that came with my Universal Waite Tarot deck, The Hierophant means “marriage alliance, captivity, servitude, mercy and goodness, inspiration, the man to whom the querent has recourse.”
So how could I bend this definition to shed light on the question “Is Gary my soulmate?”
Well, well, well! I might say that marriage to Gary would make sense in a socially acceptable, conform to society kind of way. Perhaps she really wants Gary to be her soul mate because marriage to him may solve many of her problems. But ultimately, this will make her feel trapped. This doesn’t really answer the question, but it does suggest that rushing into marriage isn’t necessary.
Here’s my demonstration of how to read a Tarot card in many different contexts:
Tip #2: Practice Looking at Each Tarot Card in Many Different Ways
Let’s take The Chariot. What might it mean if it came up in a reading about career? About love? About health?
Typically The Chariot is all about moving forward, success, etc, but what if it appears in the “things that are blocking me” position in a reading?
Doing this will require you to really ponder each card, its symbols and even look up the meanings in your book. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Consider both the negative and positive aspects of the card.
Card image is from The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck published by U.S.Games Systems, Inc.
Example: The Chariot: Career – advancing quickly
Love – triumph, success in romance
Health – health is improving, but keep things balanced
Block – too driven, need to slow down and relax
Negatives – too focused on “success” and getting to the destination, parts of the self being in disagreement (especially if the horses are going in different directions)
Tarot is meant to be flexible. When you first learn Tarot, its all about memorizing the specific card meanings, and this can put you in a rigid frame of mind. But as you develop your reading skills, the challenge is in using the context to bend and grow the card meanings.
This exercise helps your mind get used to looking at a Tarot card from all angles and contexts.
Tip #3: Don’t always expect your Tarot cards to give you a clear answer!
Sometimes a Tarot card will be the doorway to discovering your own solutions and answers, but it will not be the answer itself.
The images on a Tarot card may lead you on a trip down memory lane, steer you into a particular train of thought or an idea may be sparked. So don’t go chucking out your cards if they don’t make sense right away! Be willing to explore 🙂
Let me know what you think!
♥ What happened when you tried out this technique?
♥ Do you have a favorite trick for reading a Tarot card in a specific context?
I recently had the privilege of chatting with Tarot reader extraordinaire Christiana Gaudet – Certified Tarot Grandmaster and author of Fortune Stellar and Tarot Tour Guide. I had tons of juicy Tarot questions to ask and in this interview we touch on some hot Tarot topics like:
♥ Tarot beginners: what you need to know
♥ Doing professional readings: how to know when your ready
♥ How to interpret a Tarot card in a specific position
♥ Do your family and friends hate Tarot? Here’s what to do…
Christiana even shares what it was like to give Tarot readings at a polyamorous community festival!!!! If only my own tarot gigs were this intriguing!
I am so excited to tell you all about “Interactive Tarot Card Reading” and how its totally changing how I look at doing readings. In my humble opinion, this reading method is the Bees Knees. Not everyone will agree. Some will say “that sucks” or “that’s cheating.” You be the judge!
This is part one of what will be a three part series of blog posts all about this edgy, creative and daring way of reading the cards. So hold onto your hat!
What is Interactive Tarot Reading?
When you give an “Interactive” Tarot Reading, you will ask your client lots of open-ended questions and get them involved in the reading as much as possible. In a way, you are kind of coaching them on how to read for themselves.
Interactive Tarot reading works best when you are reading in-person, but it can also be done via Skype or telephone. It can be done when you are reading for yourself or another person.
Here’s an example of how an Interactive Tarot Reading might go down:
Let’s say you get The High Priestess. Before you rattle off the meaning, you may ask your client “what do you notice first when you look at this card?”
Universal Waite Tarot Deck
Client:the ocean in the background
Reader:and what does the ocean represent to you?
Client: fear! I am terrified of the ocean. I always worry about what might be lurking beneath and it always seems so deep and so vast and so dangerous. And I never learned to swim.
Reader:Is there any area of your life where you feel fearful and over your head?
Client:Yes! My relationship with my boyfriend. In fact, they way I feel about the ocean parallels how I feel about commitment. The deeper I get in my romantic relationship, the more panicky and unstable I feel.In the past I have ended relationships because of this.
Reader:Interesting! When you look at the woman on this card, what comes to mind?
Client:She seems really calm and powerful, like the fear that I just mentioned would never plague her. She seems above it all.
Reader:Have you ever risen above your fears?
Client:Lots of times! Just last Summer I conquered my fear of flying and got on a plane to Hawaii.
Reader:That’s amazing! How did you do it?
Client:I listened to a self-hypnosis meditation before boarding the plane and I used positive affirmations for weeks leading up to my vacation.
Reader:Have you tried using affirmations for your relationship fears?
Client: No, that has never occurred to me. What a fabulous idea! I am going to give that a try. Wow, your brilliant!
At this point in the reading, the you may opt to tell your client the meaning of The High Priestessand then interpret it in the light of the information she has just given you. For example:
Reader:The High Priestess often symbolizes an awakening of psychic energies and an initiation into working with the “mysteries” – including the subconscious mind, which is what you were doing with your affirmations and self-hypnosis! It feels like now is a great time to claim the role of High Priestess in your own life, particularly in relation to managing your fears. Whenever you feel afraid or out of your depths, it can be helpful to picture this image of the High Priestess sitting there all calm and powerful and ask “what would she do in this situation?”
So, as you can see, and interactive Tarot reading is all about bringing out the innate wisdom of your client and then adding your two cents as well.
As I mentioned earlier, you can also do an Interactive Tarot reading on yourself. Take your time pondering each card, ask yourself questions and go outside the box by letting go of the mainstream Tarot meanings. I teach you how to do this in my free audio tutorial, so if you haven’t listened to it yet, do it!
So why bother reading this way? What are the big benefits? I am going to give you 5 smokin’ hot reasons next week in part 2! So stay tuned!
In the meantime, I want to hear your thoughts on this – have you ever dabbled in Interactive Tarot Reading? Can you think of any pitfalls of this type of reading style? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
I am often asked “is it okay for others to touch my Tarot cards?”
There is a belief that if someone else handles your cards, their energy will be absorbed by the deck and mess up the accuracy of future readings.
This is a legitimate concern and it is certainly possible. BUT…..
To be concerned that someone’s energy could mess up your cards is kind of like being worried that someone might get their germs on your doorknob. Yes, it happens, but that’s what Purrell is for!
So yes, when you let other’s get their grubby mits on your cards, you run the risk of them contaminating the deck – both energetically and germ-wise. But there are so many methods of clearing your deck, that this shouldn’t be a concern for you.
Some Zippy Ways to Cleanse Your Deck:
Simply shuffle it and intend that the shuffling is removing any unwanted energy
Place your cards on your windowsill over night on a Full Moon! Witchy!
Put a crystal, like clear quartz, on top of the deck for a few hours
Knock on your deck to break up and dispell any leftover energy
Waft burning sage over your cards (sage is a wonderful energy cleanser – its like the Purrell of the spirit realms)
Burning Sage can cleanse your Tarot cards of negative or unwanted energies
Having said all that, some Tarot card readers just prefer to be the only one handling their cards and letting others touch their cards would be just plain wrong, like sharing underwear. And that’s okay too. Do what you feel most comfortable with.
Personally, if I am having my Tarot cards read, I like to choose my own cards and touch them as much as possible! This makes me feel like I am participating fully in my own reading and that the cards I end up with couldn’t be wrong since I chose them. And if someone tells me I can’t touch something, I feel like a five year old in an art gallery and I WANT TO TOUCH even more!
So here’s my two cents:
If you have been reading Tarot for years and never let anyone touch your cards and this is the way you like it – keep doing it that way. If it works, do it.
But if you are new to Tarot and are wondering whether or not you should let other’s touch your cards when your reading for them, RELAX! It’s totally fine for others to touch away. In fact, I feel like this enhances the authenticity of a reading. You just need to trust in the power of your intention to clear your Tarot deck of any unwanted energies afterwards.
It’s okay to let others touch away! (Cards shown: Druidcraft Tarot)
I am curious to hear what your take on this is! So let me know in the comments below how you feel about people touching your cards – are you okay with it? Or do you have a strict no-touch policy?
Have you ever noticed how sometimes the SAME Tarot card will just keep showing up in your readings? Perhaps this card even appears when doing a Tarot reading for someone else.
What does this mean?!
I have noticed that with nearly every Tarot or Oracle deck I have, there is a particular card unique to that deck that I will pull repeatedly. For example, with my Magical Mermaids and Dolphins oracle card deck, I almost always get the “Ready, Set, Go!” card. It was happening so frequently that I actually looked the card over to see if there were any sticky bits or something that was causing me to choose it again and again. But there was nothing.
Four of Swords from the Robin Wood Tarot
There was a time a couple years ago when I kept getting the Four of Swords Tarot card in my readings. To me, the Four of Swords is about meditation, rest and going within. It didn’t make sense to me at the time since I felt I had a perfect balance between action and rest. And yet the Four of Swords kept coming up. Even today, I am not really sure why that card kept coming up for me.
So what does it mean when you keep getting the same card in all your readings?
I feel that repeat appearances (lets call them encore cards) are your spirit guides, higher self, angels or The Universe trying to get a message to you. If you keep getting the same card it means you haven’t properly heard or understood the message.
Here is my 3 step process for de-coding the meaning of these encore cards:
Step One: Be open to the card meaning something slightly different from its traditional meaning. Really pay attention to the symbols in the card, what these symbols mean to you and how the card makes you feel.
Step Two: If the card suggests a particular action (for example, the Four of Swords suggests meditation), try taking that action and see what happens.
Step Three: If you still keep seeing this card after taking action, close your eyes and ask your guides or higher self what message they are trying to send you via this card. Be open to any guidance, impressions or feelings you receive.
However, sometimes encore cards are not an urgent message but a reminder that your spirit guides are always with you. This is especially true if you keep getting a positive card (like The Star or The Sun) when you are going through a rough time.
When I read with my Angel Therapy oracle deck, I always, without fail, pull the card that says “you are profoundly clairvoyant”. I think this is kind of funny because I don’t always see myself as profoundly clairvoyant – perhaps moderately, but not profoundly! I have decided this is just my spirit guides confirming that I am on the right path and to keep working on my psychic abilities, even when I doubt myself.
So what card, or cards, keep coming up for you lately?And what is your theory on repeat cards?
I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!
Today I want to talk about the “missing cards” in a Tarot reading – the cards that are conspicuously absent.
For example, lets say you are doing the Celtic Cross Spread and you have some Pentacles, Swords, Cups and a Major Arcana card or two….but absolutely NO Wands. What does this mean?
Usually, if a reading is void of Wands it can mean there is a lack of passion. So if you were asking about a business idea, the above reading example might indicate that you’ve thought things through (Swords), made practical plans (Pentacles) and your heart is in it (Cups) but you don’t really want to do it – there is no real passion there.
The Paulina Tarot
An absence of Cups can mean this situation needs more love, emotion or feeling. No Swords show that more rational thought and clear communication is needed. Few or no Pentacles can indicate that your ideas are not grounded in reality and practicality.
Tarot Tip: The cards that are absent from a reading are just as important as the ones staring back at you.
A really cool thing you can do right now is go through your favorite Tarot deck (the one you most often use) and look at each card. You will notice right away the ones that almost never come up for you in a reading. They will jump right out at you!
Ask yourself if these “no show” cards represent something that’s missing from your life, or do they simply not relate to your situation right now? Sometimes, its the Tarot cards we want the most that never seem to show up for us!
What cards are mysteriously absent for YOU? And what do you think it means? Tell me all about it in the comment section below…
When I first began reading Tarot for others, my biggest fear was that my mind would go totally blank during a reading and I just wouldn’t know what to say…..
As it turned out, this actually happened to me. Again and again and again. In fact, it still does! So rather than fearing this Tarot reading “brain-freeze”, I have come up with 3 methods to deal with it. Read more….
Greetings Everyone!
Have you always wondered what exactly makes an outstanding Tarot reader, or whether you need a special “gift” to read Tarot cards? Do you ever worry about your mind going blank when you’re giving a Tarot reading? Or do you wonder how you can truly tap into your intuition when your working with Tarot cards?
I answer all these questions and more in this Tarot interview. Because the video is quite long, I have listed the various questions below along with the time in the video that I answer them, so you can skip ahead to what interests you the most.
