#ElbowsUp

We must all take a (maple) leaf out of Canada's book.

Shut up Donnie and stay in your lane

Gaza needs hospitals.
Not hotels.

Connection

The fact is, I'm lonely. 

I want so desperately to share my fascination with tarot with someone else who gets it. Someone who gets it in the way I do. And who isn't just a name on the internet.

So two things happen:

I spend way too much time scrolling on social media looking for a connection, even though they are just names.

I don't touch my cards because I've got no one to tangibly share the experience with.

I decided to find out what would happen if I didn't go on social media this whole weekend. This blog doesn't count. It's not exactly a hive of social activity.

I got more "other" stuff done – listed things on eBay, read a book, did some crochet, blogged... All things I haven't touched while I've been endlessly scrolling.

Still can't bring myself to pull cards, though. And when I try to think of some way to motivate myself, I feel that tug in the pit of my stomach. A combination of fear and sadness.

The point of this post? I don't know. I just wanted to say it out loud, I guess. Maybe other people feel the same way, and seeing they're not the only one might help somehow.

Of course I appreciate when people react to the stuff I put out there. It's nice to make those little connections. 

But the online tarot community is not a friend.

(image: Creatures Oracle by Sara Kathleen. My new best friend.)

But How?

My previous post, Why I Read For Other People, was prompted by a ‘chat group’ conversation among fellow card readers. It made me stop to consider how I actually operate as a reader. And out of that grew the post.

That post then prompted someone to ask me how I knew when I was supposed to read for someone.

In my attempt to answer that question fully and coherently it basically became a whole ‘nother post in its own right. 😏

“May I ask how this was, and continues to be, revealed to you?”

“Revealed” is too strong a word for the process. It’s nothing as mystical or powerful as that.

My upbringing and my personality made the idea of being able to communicate with spirit an obvious possibility. I just embraced that possibility. 🙂

Basically, we “talk". I don’t get audible words back (except very, very rarely) but more a kind of immediate “awareness”. 

For context, I should explain that I no longer do paid readings. I hang out in various free reading groups, mainly on Facebook, and occasionally people will contact me directly as well.

Here’s an example, from just the other day, of how I “knew" when to read for someone. It’s a somewhat atypical example, but it gives a sense of how it feels for me.

I’m scrolling through one of those free reading groups. I look at each post... nope, no connection, scroll on.

Nope, 
scroll, 
nope, 
scroll, 
nope, 
scroll,
.
.
.

Then I get to one that I have no more personal interest in than all the others I’ve just scrolled past. But as soon as I lay eyes on it I know the answer to their question is Yes. 

Ah. 

I guess I’d better tell them. 

Because I’ve already been told it’s Yes there’s no need for an actual reading this time, so I pull one card just to confirm and support the answer and I tell them what I get about their situation. End of.

It’s a bit like that. Generally, I just get a “spirit nudge” when I’m supposed to read for someone. Nothing, nothing, nothing, 'That one'.

The vast majority of the time I haven't got a clue ahead of time what the answer is going to be. I’m not a capital “P” Psychic. I just somehow know that I’m meant to pass on a message to this particular person. That’s where the reading comes in. Spirit then gives me that message through the language of the cards.

Those people who contact me directly are a bit more problematic. In those cases, unless there’s some clear reason not to read for them (like they’re rude, you’d be surprised how often, or it’s obviously a dodgy account) I just trust that they were “sent”.

Why did spirit direct me to this person and not that one? I don’t know. Ask them. 

Actually, until I typed this just now I’d honestly never given it a thought. I guess I’ve always figured it was none of my business.

Why I Read For Other People

The Spiritual Path I have taken through life has led me to be a card reader (and witch).

Not a yoga instructor, not a medium, not a reiki practitioner. 

A card reader. 

Therefore, to honour my Path, I must read cards.

I’m compelled by Spirit to read for others. But I’m not going to read for every person who knocks at my metaphorical door. 

Some people are led to me by Spirit. Some just find me. I’m shown which is which and I’ll read for the former. Some readers may define it differently, but this is what I mean when I say I’m “drawn" to read for someone.

I think it’s fair to say that I don’t see this as a personal “service to mankind”. I am not a Light Worker. It’s not my show.

I read because it’s my Spiritual Calling and I go where Spirit sends me.

Why Demystify Tarot - Abigail Vasquez (YouTube)

This 

👇

Yes, there is mystery and magick. But cards are not so "otherworldly" or "sacrosanct" as to be unapproachable. Serious readers need to get the word out.

Clarifiers. Don't.

There seems to be a lot of discussion lately about the use of clarifiers in readings. Here's my two-penn'orth.

Let's start with a definition. Collins says "To clarify something means to make it easier to understand, usually by explaining it in more detail."

So when you pull a clarifier card for a card you don't quite understand, the idea is that this card will make the first card clearer by providing more detail. 

Fair enough. If you have some sense of what the first card might be trying to say, having it put another way by the clarifier could help firm up your interpretation, or at least make you aware you were barking up the wrong tree and need to rethink that interpretation.

But too often I see people say things like "The card didn't make sense in this position/context so I pulled XYZ as a clarifier" (or worse, clarifierS). 

They're starting from a position of no understanding of the first card. The clarifier, in theory, will give them more details about that card, but how will more details about something that doesn't make sense be helpful? Now you have twice as much nonsense to deal with.

My advice - that's what you're here for, right? 😉 - is Do the Work. 

Throw everything you know - book meanings, past insights, elements of the image, the other cards in the spread, spatial relationships within the spread, good old intuition - at the 'problem' card. Think outside the box. What could this card possibly indicate in this context? Spend some time on it. Don't just throw up your hands at the first hurdle and say "It makes no sense!"

And when you do finally form an idea of why this particular card appeared in your reading, if you still feel the need for a bit of reassurance, then ask for a clarifier in the form of a direct question - "Is this card saying {insert best guess insight here}?". 

A clarifier needs something to clarify.

It's better to meme than to slap someone

 Guess what p*ssed me off this evening. 🤦‍♀️

Why are some people so quick to blame their tools?

Tarot Tips - @emeraldlotusdivination

One of those rare Tarot memes where I pretty much agree with all the statements. 🙂

Okay, I said "pretty much". I'm fudging on the intuition one just a bit. 

I agree in principle. And I suspect it's what Reid intended - it's just the wording that trips me up. "Means more" sounds like you can skip traditional meanings and rely solely on intuition. Of course... you can if you want to. There's no Tarot Police. 🙂

However my personal perspective is that, yes, there will be times when you see something in the cards that comes from beyond the book meanings and you should definitely go with that. But on a day-to-day basis, unless you are entirely psychic, you will need a foundation.

Random Rambling - #1

I'm feeling really blah about blogging lately. 

Getting a bit jarred off with the Random Readings; trying but not succeeding to think of something worthwhile to do with this space; wanting a more meaningful practice generally.

It got particularly bad today, and I'm guessing this full moon probably isn't helping my mood.

Most of my card-related time is spent translating the books and instructions that come with various foreign-language decks. I do enjoy this -  I love languages, and it furthers my understanding of the decks and of cartomancy generally. Or I'm hanging out online, hoping to find interesting conversations and intelligent questions.

But it's not card reading.

Sure, I sell readings, very occasionally. I don't do it to make money. I do it because I want to read and charging a few quid weeds out the bored and the self-obsessed. 

I offer free readings, but I'm careful where and how I go about it because lots of people treat free readings like the peanuts on the bar. They don't really want them, they certainly don't need them, but they're free so they keep grabbing handfuls.

I'd like to share what I've learned, too, but I can't see a way of doing it that would work for me. I drop little bits of information in my blog posts from time to time, but teaching cartomancy requires consistency - if I start I have to follow through with some sort of "lesson plan", and really it needs live interaction, which would mean video. Not my favourite thing. Mainly because that means interacting with people and sometimes that's the last thing I want to do.

Reading that back, I realise I really am like the old witch at the end of the village, who everyone is scared of and will only dare visit if in desperate need of some fortune-telling. 

If you've read this far, wow. Is there anything you'd like to see here? Anything you'd like me to talk about? 

I can't promise to accommodate you    but it might give me some ideas going forward. Thank you for listening.

Standing up

This is just a blog.

This is where I share my interest in cartomancy with anyone who'll listen. I don't have enough followers to call it a platform. It doesn't give me a Voice.

But in case anyone wonders where I stand...

You and your cards are a team

I did a reading today for someone, using my 3-card Yes/No, Why, and What Next spread*.

As I shuffled, I asked their question out loud. I'm not one to verbalise questions in any ritualistic sense; I just talk to my cards. 😏 The moment the last word left my lips, the 9 of Cups flipped over in my hands.

That would be a yes, then?

But I decided not to use that as the first card, and instead pulled the top three cards for the spread. The last card I pulled was the Fool.

As I started to get into the reading, it just felt off. The cards didn't fit comfortably into their assigned positions. I looked again at that Fool card and realised what it was telling me. "You've gone too far; you're about to go over the edge."

Tarot Mondo Lirondo

I shouldn't have pulled that card. I should have stopped after the first three. I checked in with my deck – split the deck and checked the card on the bottom – to see if I was understanding it correctly. The Hierophant. Yes, now do as you're told. 😉  The 9 of Cups was the Yes/No, and the next two cards made much more sense in positions 2 and 3.

Reading completed, I checked in with my cards one more time… The Hierophant. (Seventy-eight cards, and...)

Performing a reading is something you and your cards do together. You're not out there on your own. Your cards** work with you. And they'll help if you ask. If you have a question, or you just want confirmation that you're on the right track (or not), pull a card***. Teamwork! 🤜🤛


* Self-explanatory 🙂
** More precisely, what works through these pieces of cardboard, works with you. 
*** This is not the same thing as pulling endless "clarifiers". That just indicates a lack of ability to interpret a card in context, and a distrust or blocking of one's intuition.

WYSIWYG for Card Readers

I was forcefully reminded today of one of my "Fundamentals of Fortune Telling":

You can't make a positive reading out of negative cards

Well, you can – I almost did – but you shouldn't.

I pulled cards today for someone who had never had a reading before. Naturally, I wanted it to be a nice experience for her. So when I turned one neutral card sandwiched between two negative cards, I unconsciously went into sugar-coating mode.

Mercifully, we were doing this online, and before I started telling her what I saw, she happened to comment that she had a feeling her reading would be a bit on the negative side.

It was like being poked sharply in the ribs.

I looked at the cards again, realised I didn't really like what I saw, and turned the bottom card for confirmation. It was another doozy. So I took a deep breath and interpreted the spread accordingly.

It was a general reading, so it didn't present as "bad news". It was more a heads-up about something to be prepared to deal with. I'm pleased to say she took it well and believed she knew what it was about. And I hope, as a result, she avoids any potential unpleasantness.

Bottom card - I was misled and potentially misleading my sitter

Many readers will tell you there's no such thing as "good" or "bad" cards. That all cards have positive and negative aspects depending on the situation being read for. And this is true, particularly if you use fixed positions, where the focus of the position calibrates the meaning of the card occupying it.

Nevertheless, we can all go through a Tarot deck and divide it into essentially good, bad, and neutral cards.

And I don't often use fixed positions. I lay down a line of cards and take them, initially*, at face value. With 78 cards at their disposal, if the answer is positive, there's no shortage of "good" cards that could appear in the spread. So if I'm given several negative cards, I should accept that they're trying to tell me something.


(*The overall combination of cards and their relationships to each other will temper their meanings. Fundamental #2 - One bad card doesn't ruin an overall positive reading, but likewise, one good card can't save a negative one.)

Keeping my hand in

Discussion prompt on Facebook*:

Post your divination tips.

Yours truly:

• Once you're familiar with your cards and their basic meanings, trust your intuition!
• Ask a clear question and read the cards to answer THAT question; if a card doesn't seem to make sense, consider how it makes you feel and/or think outside the box.
• The cards interact - they tell the whole story *together*.
• Many cards have similar meanings, so ask yourself why you got that particular card and not another; how does it relate to the rest of the spread?
• Did I mention trust your intuition? 😏

Most of my tarot/divination interaction takes place on Facebook and reddit. Not a lot goes on here, apart from my occasional readings and re-shares. I really should work on that. 


*Facebook group: Arcana.Cards

Reading for myself

I'm currently looking for a "day job" 😉, so every day I check the local vacancies online.

Today there was a temporary position for a credit controller. It looked like the sort of thing I could do. Okay, the blurb suggested it would be quite busy, but it was only temporary. If it was too much, I’d be walking away in 4 weeks, and if it was manageable and I got on all right, it might turn into something permanent. 

I was thisclose to hitting the “Submit application” button when I felt the need to just run the decision past my cards. Now, I’m not in the habit of doing this. I’m pretty headstrong – if I want to do something, I do it. The fact that I wanted reassurance was unusual. 

I did my usual trick of turning one card for a quick answer - 7 of Cups. Oh? Illusion, too many choices. Not what I was expecting, or hoping for. Better do a proper reading –

First card up – Knight of Swords. My initial take on that was "Go for it!". Yesss!

9 of Sword – ah. Regret…

7 of Coins – patience. 

Okay, now what? “Do it, or you’ll regret waiting”? Or “Act in haste, repent at leisure”?

Help, please, Bottom Card. 4 of Cups – like the 7 of Coins, another card of waiting, and, with the 7 of Cups, suggesting a need for careful consideration. 

I was pretty bummed by this point. Surely I wasn’t being told not to apply for this job? Jobs are few and far between in this area. But I looked at the cards and, really, there was nothing encouraging here. The Knight of Swords is prone to making rash decisions. I could have gotten so many far more positive cards. If that first card had been the Chariot or the Sun, or even the 6 of Wands or 8 of Coins…

But it wasn’t. So I didn’t.

If I don’t trust my cards, how can I expect other people to trust my cards?

I was feeling quite rattled by now, though. Did I do the right thing?... 

10 of Coins. This card immediately felt positive and reassuring - a totally different vibe to that of the other cards. Yeah, I’m going to be all right. 

Random Reading Replacement Service 😏

The trouble with holidays is that there's SO MUCH TO DO when you get back. I'm still not caught up, plus I'm feeling a bit blah, so no RR today.

Instead, I invite you to watch my latest video - the first one I've done in over a year! (apart from a brief Public Service Announcment)

This is a video response to Kelly Bear's 2019 update, in which I talk about the 5 decks of cards I wouldn't be able to live without. I participated in this tarot tag when it first went around in 2016. My selection has changed, not because my tastes have changed, although they have, but because I'm basing my choices on different criteria this time.

Hopefully normal programming will resume next week.

Negotiating the Wheel of Fortune

In my last Random Reading post I mentioned that I was feeling a bit fragile, but I didn't elaborate. Well, it's like this...

Tarot Pointner

Everything shifted for me last year when I stopped thinking of myself as an "Administrative assistant who enjoyed reading cards", and instead adopted an "I'm a card reader with an office job" mindset.

I've really grown into that new perspective. It's changed how I approach card reading and opened up new opportunities for me.

And it's a good thing, too, because now, unintentionally, "I'm a card reader, full stop".

Mr Boss has decided he's ready to retire. He's winding down the business and has let his staff (all two of us) go.

Thirteen years. It doesn't feel like it. But it does entitle me to 19½ weeks redundancy pay, so that's nice. And that gives me a chance to catch my breath before I have to seriously start thinking about finding another job.

That's where the fragility comes in. The whole process of "job hunting" fills me with dread.

Tarot for Cats

Having to sign on for Jobseeker's Allowance - not so much for the piddling amount of money, but so that I continue to earn National Insurance credits which count towards my eventual pension (which is 9 years off yet, damn).

Then fulfilling the "actively seeking employment" clause by basically having to apply for any and every job going, however unsuitable.

And then, and this is the bit that's slaying me, the horrifying prospect of actually being offered [shudder] an interview. Hide me!


Could I get by just on "I'm a card reader"? Oh, I'm working on it! Especially if it spares me the nightmare of an interview. But really, making even a part-time living from card reading alone is still a long way off.

One small positive in all of this, though, is that I don't feel entirely 'unemployed'. I have a job. I'm a card reader. I'm just gonna need a second job for a while, that's all. 😏

A Valentine's Day KISS

Keep it simple, sybil.

image by Marlene Zvolkelj

Learning how to read Tarot can often feel daunting.

Seventy-eight cards with so many possible meanings to learn. Double that if you intend to add reversals to the mix. Astrology, kabbalah, hermeticism, numerology... Then there's all the spreads. Which one to use? How to remember the positions? How can I possibly memorise all of this?!?

Stop.

It can be kept very simple.

Take one of those countless lists of meanings you find in books and online and compare them card by card (over time, there's no need to be regimented about it) to the images you see. Your task is to distil them down to one or two overall concepts per card. Write these down somewhere. Don't worry if you don't think they're "perfect" - that list will change over time anyway.

No need to learn complicated spreads, either. Just ask a clear question (write it down so you don't forget how you worded it - it can make a big difference) and pull three cards. Apply your "distilled" meanings to those cards and put them together, like a sentence or a comic strip, to form an answer to that question. Maybe one card speaks louder than the others, or two cards seem to be related in some way...

Relax into the reading and let the images and ideas form.

Over time the assimilation will be almost effortless. You can do it.

Just because YOU choose to use reversals...

... Doesn't mean we all should.

I've only just gotten around to reading the December edition of the American Tarot Association's "Reflections" e-zine.

One of the articles... ahem, let's just say it rubbed me the wrong way - "More Reasons to Graduate to Reversals in Your Tarot Interpretations.

Graduate? Excuse me?!

I had to comment.

And then I thought it might be worth a post here -

I resent the use of the word "graduate". I've been reading tarot quite successfully without reversals for over 40 years. I have an honorary degree. 😉 My style is cartomantic. Unless I'm using a spread with fixed positions (something I rarely do), I read by placement, proximity, facings, symbolism, etc. All the nuances of any given card, upright or reversed, are available to people who "read cards". If you want to use reversals, be my guest. But do not suggest that I'm lagging behind in any way.

I've got nothing against people using reversals if that's how they roll. Do what works for you. But please don't make out that your tarot is somehow better or more advanced as a result. Just read your damn cards and mind your own business.

Thoughts? (if you dare, LOL)

Do spirits know everything?

I was reading an article by Lisa Boswell on working with the spirits of your ancestors to improve your Tarot reading abilities and predictive skills.

I was getting along fine with it until I ran smack into this statement -

"... The spirits of your ancestors can tell you everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of your clients. Once they're on the other side, spirits know everything." [emphasis mine]

Everything?!

My take on that idea up to now has been "Nope". If they weren't psychic before they died, how/why would they psychic now?

On consideration, though, since I believe everything is connected in a spiritual/cosmic sense, it could be argued that once my ancestors are freed from the limitations of a physical existence, they gain unfettered access to "everything".

Buuut...

The only thing to do was ask my ancestors. So I pulled out my Skat cards (gotta use the ancestral method) and started pulling three cards at a time, trying to pin down an answer - "Do you guys know everything?"

I'm not going to share the actual readings because a) the process was too organic, with one question leading to another, leading to another..., and b) it was private conversation. 😏

What I can report, however, is that all the (somewhat guarded) responses boiled down, in the end, to "We can tell you everything you need to know."

Which I guess is all I really need to know.