Veronica is my immoral other half. She is my wild and slutty evil twin/alter ego and when she isn’t travelling the world, doing nude yoga and slamming back martini’s, she’s dishing out Tarot wisdom for you right here…
Housewives Tarot
Today’s Tarot advice comes from The High Priestess.
She says “Shhhhhh….keep your secrets.”
This particularly applies to relationships of a romantic nature.
Certain marriage “experts” (cough, Dr. Phil, cough) will tell you that you must never keep secrets from your significant other and that true intimacy means sharing everything.
Yuck. No thanks.
If you want your life to have a certain robust, saucy flavour, you need to have some secrets.
So stop being so darn honest and “transparent” as the therapy-types like to say.
Don’t have any secrets? No problem! Create them. Take a young lover, start drinking in the daytime (if you don’t already) or stop wearing underpants.
You’ll be rocking that Mona Lisa smirk in no time!
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?
Veronica is my evil twin. And oh my god is she evil! The contents of her Kindle are filthy, filthy, filthy, and her mind isn’t much better. The advice she gives via her Tarot cards is one stop short of crazy, but her intentions are pure. So every Friday I let her go batshit…
The Animal Wisdom Tarot by Dawn Brunke
Today is a good day to act like a sociopath. At least that’s what I think this card is trying to say.
The Eagle, Guardian of Feathers (aka King of Swords) is here to tell you not to get all emotional and touchy feely about everything. Be cool. Be calm. Detach.
I watched a documentary on eagles last week and those birds are horrible creatures. They don’t give a shit about anyone’s feelings! They push their infant siblings out of the nest and sometimes even eat them alive as soon as they hatch (provided the mama eagle isn’t around).
These giant winged jerks look out for number one. Get in the way of an Eagle and he will pluck your eyes out and won’t even feel a twinge of guilt.
So what can you learn from these airborne psychopaths?
I think Eagle gives us permission to be cool and detached every now and then. Just because you sometimes want to peck the brains and eyes out of your coworkers doesn’t mean you aren’t “spiritual”.
After all, the Eagle is a spiritual symbol. How such a mean bird managed to claim such a high place on the spiritual animal hierarchy is a mystery. Wrens and Robins – perfectly nice birds – are totally looked over.
So let that be a lesson.
In the comments below, tell me which animal you think gets waaaay to much undeserved attention…
Learning Tarot can be an overwhelming experience. So many decks and books to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start. If you are feeling in need of a little guidance, I made this video just for you!
6 Steps to Learn Tarot:
Step 1: Get a Tarot deck.
I recommend TheRider-Waite Tarotdeck. Read my detailed review right here.
My favorite version of this deck is the Universal Waite Tarot(check it out on Amazon).
Learning Tarot is like peeling an onion – there are many layers. No matter how much you think you know about Tarot, you can always learn more. So don’t attempt to learn everything all at once. Pace yourself, relax and have fun with it!
All you need is a blank notebook, some colored pens and maybe some stickers if your into that sort of thing.
Your Tarot journal is your space to write about each Tarot card – what you think it means, any impressions you get, keywords, etc. Or, you can take a more specific approach to Tarot journalling and write about particular topics, as I suggest right here.
3 Ways to Connect with Your Deck Your Tarot readings will improve dramatically once you feel a true bond with your cards. This exercise is a must-do whenever you get a new deck!
I want to hear from you!
If you are a Tarot beginner, what do you find is your biggest challenge in learning Tarot? If you have been reading Tarot a while, what helped you the most when you were first learning? And what advice do you have for beginners? Tell me in the comment section below 🙂
Veronica is my evil, Tarot reading twin. She is a lover of all things mystical and smutty, and between drinking martinis and chasing after boy toys, she hardly has time to write this column. But despite her busy schedule she is about to dish out some “Goddess Guidance” from my Goddess Guidance Oracle Deck….
Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue
Boundaries! Boundaries! Boundaries!
Fuck, I love that word.
Say NO. Just say NO. NO. NO. NO!
I love that word too, and so should you.
Ishtar, while sporting some impressive cleavage, says “love yourself enough to say no to others demands on your time and energy.” Amen to that.
This weekend, practice saying “no” just for the hell of it. Say no to as many things as you can think of. Even things you want to say “yes” to. Except if its a free drink or a free lap dance….or anything free for that matter.
Okay, let me amend that – just say “no” to all things that will require some amount of effort or sacrifice on your part.
Remember when you were two years old and said “no” to everything just for shits and giggles? Do that! Channel your inner two year old.
By the end of the weekend you may find that you have created a tantalizing expanse of free time, deliciously devoid of annoying friends and demanding family members. Pat yourself on the back! The only downside is there won’t be anyone left to say “no” to.
In the comments below, tell me what you will be saying “NO” to this weekend…..
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!
Veronica Noir! By day she reads Tarot, googles inappropriate words and laughs at filthy jokes. By night she slinks through the streets, preying on innocent young men, devouring their souls like a bag of Kettle Chips (Salt and Vinegar). Now she is about to give you some straight up advice on how to live your life…
Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue
Happy Valentine’s Day!
For a minute I thought Diana’s bow and arrow kind of reminded me of Cupid. Which I had to snicker at because the goddess Diana does not go in for any of that romantic shit.
According to Roman mythology, Diana was a virgin. Not a virgin in the vaginal sense, but a real virgin – a woman unto herself who was totally independent and free from all the silly marriage claptrap.
One day, this dude who was totally into her followed her to the stream where she bathed and hid behind a tree so he could be creepy and watch her. Diana doesn’t miss a trick. She spots him and turns him into a deer and then BAM! A pack of dogs rip him to shreds.
So Diana doesn’t mess around. She means what she says and does what she means.
Her message for today is this: “Keep your unwavering thoughts, feelings and actions focused on your target and you will make your mark.”
So don’t be half-assed about anything this weekend. Don’t be wishy washy. If you need to turn someone into a deer to make a point, then by all means, do it!
Valentine’s Day – with all it’s plastic flowers, heart shaped boxes, and creepy cupids – is almost here!
I know some of you may dread this day, while some of you might love it. Me, I like Valentine’s for one thing and one thing only….heart shaped chocolates. The way they form to the roof of my mouth as they melt sends shivers down my spine!
Anyhow, regardless of whether or not your in a relationship, we all have a relationship with ourselves. It’s the one relationship we can never leave….ever(shudder!) And I wanted to share a Tarot card spread from my e-book Tarot Card Spreads for Love, Sex & Relationshipsthat everyone could enjoy. I didn’t want to leave anyone out in the cold!
So here it is….the Self Love Spread:
This Valentine’s, do something romantic and delicious for yourself. I am planning on visiting the new, fancy chocolatier store in my town and then treating myself to a latte and an hour of sketching (or writing) in a nearby coffee shop. Eeeee! I feel seduced already!
In the comments below, tell me all about your Valentine’s day plans …..