Diary of a Tarot Reader

The Blog Has Moved!

2011-09-23T00:22:00.001-04:00

MY SITE HAS LAUNCHED! www.tarotbyhilary.com

All new content will be posted at http://tarotbyhilary.com/blog/, which is integrated into my site. My blog here will remain, but no new content will be posted.

THANK YOU, AND COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE!

A Taste of Tarot by Hilary and Lessons Learned

2011-09-21T21:06:00.001-04:00

The beginning of a internet journey...

Guess what! My fully functional website launches this Friday! (so you better stop by then to find out what goodies and reading specials are happening!)

This website is the cumulation of nearly five months of work with my tarot mentor, Theresa Reed. It is something I am extremely proud of, and something I will continue to be proud of. Most of this work has been a cosmic kick in the pants, the crux of the message being to not hide my light under a bushel. This is somewhat terrifying to step into the limelight (much like that Fool above teetering on the precipice), but I acknowledge that it is something I need to do to help my business grow. If you have been "hiding" your talents in some way, take my advice: Stop. Stop it right now. You are worthy of so much more than you give yourself credit for.

Lessons learned (so far):

If you are not happy in the job you're in, take the steps to change the situation. If you cannot change the situation, change your perspective. You may find the results liberating.
We make SO many excuses when we are afraid. My excuse was the tax man/IRS/blah-blah-blah/etc. were going to come get me if I even thought about making tarot my business. Guess what? It's an excuse. And if I do everything through the correct channels, my fear of the guvment (misspelling intended) is unfounded.
Damn, a lot of us tarot readers have low self-esteem. Were we not loved enough as children? Where the hell did this low self-esteem epidemic come from? I know a lot of amazing readers (listen, peeps, these are published authors of tarot books) that suffer from low self-esteem. Surprising, right? We all have our issues. Doesn't make them real. Doesn't make what we think true. Pluck up and see above: you are worthy of so much more than you give yourself credit for.
You gotta spend money to make money. Sadly, a truth to some degree. But if you keep up to date with your bookkeeping and use a spreadsheet... who knows what success you can accomplish! There are also plenty of ways to advertise for free or on the cheap. Applying a creative brain to it absolutely helps. And the phrase "I'm just not a business person" is... guess what? Yup. An excuse.
There is a wormhole that is directly and inversely proportional to the amount of time you put into this. Surprisingly, as busy as I've been, time seems to warp and allow me to do everything I want to do! The mantra of work hard, play hard has been really working for me! Also, every social opportunity I turn into a "marketing" opportunity (in a non-skeezy way, of course). I run in some weird, strange, esoteric circles. Tarot is a subject that happens to come up a lot in social situations. And I say... "What a coincidence! I'm a tarot reader!" I'm letting it all hang out.
A mentor is a wonderful thing. They push us SO much farther than we're willing to go ourselves. They tell us stuff about ourselves that we pooh-pooh or explain away. They make us do things that we're afraid to do. They allow us to grow and flourish under a watchful eye. They give us advice so we don't make costly mistakes. So, in case I haven't said it enough: Theresa, thank you. A million times thank you.

"Leap, and the net will appear."--John Burroughs

From Someone Who's Been Given Too Much Advice

2011-09-14T23:16:00.002-04:00

What is it about a difficult situation that makes us look outside of ourselves for answers, thinking that an outsider's perspective/advice has more validity than what we are personally thinking and feeling? I'm not saying that another person's viewpoint doesn't have validity; but why is it that we so willingly give away our own power by accepting their opinion as above our own?

I've been reading blogs that I wrote a long time ago when I was on livejournal.com. I wrote about the label of psychic and what a tarot reader should or shouldn't be. This was only a few short years ago. My perspective has completely changed from what I wrote:

"So, while I do still do tarot readings (but am avoiding it because I focus on present situations too much... so what if I'm accurate? No one goes to a tarot reader to hear about the present... they want to hear the future) I don't think I want to make the claim that I'm psychic. I'm starting not to like labels anymore."

to the following perspective:

There are many reasons why a person would go to a tarot reader. The future is not set in stone. We have many choices, and those choices affect a possible outcome. Tarot shows patterns. Here's the final outcome card: Is it the outcome you want? No? Then make a different choice and your path changes. And psychic is a label that I'm still not comfortable with if it separates me from anyone else. Everyone is psychic.

When I read Small Mediums at Large by Terri Iacuzzo, she wrote that she entered into relationships full knowing that they weren't right for her. It is psychic, but just about everyone has a feeling before a bad relationship before entering into it. They just "know" it's not right. I knew that about one or two exes that I've had in my life. I entered into those relationships knowing that in the long run we'd end up wounding one another and ultimately weren't compatible. I have a feeling that they knew it, too, and ignored those misgivings in the same way I did. It seems to be human nature to deny, deny, deny because we want things so badly to work out, and that we don't trust that side of ourselves that would try to save us from the experiential proof.

It was told to me once by one of my mother's friends (that is psychic) that it's a bad idea to read tarot for yourself. She described to me that all one would pull would be horribly terrible cards of doom and gloom. I laughed when she said this, because I had been trying to do a full reading for myself every morning at that time, and gave up after two weeks because every single day I would pull The Tower, The Devil, The Hanged Man, The Nine of Swords (what I consider the card of nightmares), etc. Since then, I have realized that I am entirely capable of reading for myself. It's not the advice that I'm lacking. I've got it in spades. Advice and objectivity are two different things, and I've been tooling along my whole life believing they are the same. They're not. It is absolutely valid to go to a reader for objectivity. It's even okay to go to a reader for advice. But what's not okay is people discounting their own advice column they've got in their gut (yes, I'm referring to intuition here, and yes, you have it). It's not okay to put everyone's opinion about the way to run your life above your own.

Take back the power. Take back your own Dear Abby.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How did you realize that some of the best advice given is some of your own? Leave your stories/opinions in the Comments section below.

Taking My Own Advice

2011-09-07T21:20:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not, this tarot reader seldom took her own advice when her intuition piped up to serve her and not her clients. Sometimes both. That has changed.

I realized this after a particularly harrowing hangover, one of the worst I've ever had in my young adult life. As I was sick as a dog, cursing myself for all the fun I had, I realized that I had predicted it two days' earlier, and failed to acknowledge or take my own advice. Some of you might know this story if you are friends with me on facebook. If not, sit back and relax as I weave my sordid tale of vodka and debauchery (well, for me, anyway... I'm rather tame, all things considered).

I was scheduled to go to a wedding. I had taken a day off of work to go, and had posted my card of the day interpretations on both twitter and facebook before leaving (for more information on my card of the day procedure, see here). I thought nothing of it when I pulled Temperance (reversed). I looked at the card, said what I saw, and merrily off I went. I should have remembered what I said!

What I interpreted was:

Card of the Day—Temperance (rev): Get back to balance today. Meditate, take a deep breath, do something creative... whatever you do to get back to you. Also easy on the drinking today, otherwise prepare for a WICKED hangover! ;)

Now, all things considered, my interpretation on the wicked hangover was almost a tacked-on afterthought. However, it was the afterthought that I should have payed attention to. Hell, the whole thing I should have payed better attention to. But in my hubris, I assumed that the interpretation was for everyone that was reading it and not for me.

Sordid details of too much alcohol, being the life of the party (in a bad way), and a two day hangover that even my boyfriend had never seen before later... I know better than to assume I am "above" my own interpretations. In fact, I'll tell you a little nugget of knowledge I learned: the advice I give to my clients I also give to myself.

Yeah, really. And though it is true that it is the details that I don't retain (what the cards are, exactly what I say to the client during their reading, etc.) that deeper message still remains retained. If I say, in essence, to someone that they are scared to love and they should love more deeply... hell, I'm storing that message myself. Who's to say that the cards aren't trying to teach me a lesson, too? When I say to someone to "follow their bliss"... well, wouldn't it make me rather hypocritical to not do the same?

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Stories of "do as I say, not as I do" (and the lessons learned) to share? Leave them in the Comments section below!

The Post-Conference Rundown, Part II

2011-09-02T22:57:00.001-04:00

The first card I pulled from the "cauldron" at SF BATS. A definite reminder to "go with the flow."

The final class on Saturday afternoon I decided to attend was Ellen Lorenzi-Prince’s “Discover Your Tarot Genius” where Ellen took us through both the ancient and modern concepts of genius by giving us exercises with our decks, pulling cards and speaking from our “genius” (spirit) self, and then giving another person a reading, speaking from that “genius” self. I think my genius self likes to speak to me by playing songs in my head that spark my intuition as I pull cards. Those songs usually correspond to any reading I’m doing, so no matter how strange or “off-point” they might seem, I always acknowledge the source and pass on the message (and usually am greeted with "How'd you know that?").

On Saturday evening was the “Bats in the Belfry” cocktail hour/mixer, where it seemed everyone but me was dressed up to the nines. I used my “carry-on only” excuse to beg off from dressing up, but after seeing all the fabulous outfits, I did feel a twinge of guilt, which was soon remedied by Merlot and good conversation.

After the mixer, I was invited up to Jude Alexander’s room to play The Tarot Game, her creation. And by “play”, I mean howl laughing with fellow tarot readers. We were the “rowdy” group of players, where tarot and pole dancing combined, and where we created a song while looking for a specific card in a deck.

~*~

Sunday morning the conference reconvened with a performance by Nancy Antenucci, Rhonda Lund, and Dan Pelletier. Nancy co-wrote the short vignette to demonstrate facets of reading psychically. This performance directly led me to buy her book Psychic Tarot. I had been hearing such wonderful things about it previously, but had been on the fence about purchasing it. My doubts were swept aside with the performance. I will enjoy her book, and Nancy is lovely!

There was only two classes to squeeze in before the panel in the afternoon on the tarot (where it’s been, where it’s going) so I hustled off to the first class of the last day. Let me quickly explain: There was a choice of three to four classes during each 50-minute class period, and it was extremely difficult to decide which classes to attend. However, on the second day, I had no doubts as to where I was going. I had to give my props to my tarot homegirls.

The first class was Courtney Weber’s “The Tarot of the Boroughs”. Now, you all may remember my review of this deck (if not, see here). This class was all about the deck’s creation. Moreover, it was about what it truly takes to create a tarot deck, and by the way... if you want to learn tarot, the best way is to create a deck. Why? Because if you create a deck, you live the tarot. I cannot say enough good things about this deck.

After a lunch break, the second class was Theresa Reed’s “From Prophet to Profit-- Transition from Tarot Hobbyist to Tarot Pro”. I am a very lucky girl to have Theresa as my tarot mentor, and everyone that attended this class was given a huge amount of information to take their talents to the next, and marketable, level. Even with me working with Theresa for the past four months, I still left this class with information I did not previously have, such as her 3-Step Process for success as a tarot reader.

Finally was the panel with some of the esteemed presenters from the conference. The crux of it is that tarot has come a long way, and the future of tarot is technology. There is no need to feel alone if you are a reader. Your tarot tribe is a mouse-click away. And if you need a reader, there are many ways to get a reading without having to be geographically local. Through technology, discussions on tarot continue to happen, and conferences such as the one I just attended get planned and get coverage.

Ask me in-depth questions about the conference by posting them in the Comments section below!

The Post-Conference Rundown, Part I

2011-09-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

You know the saying “I left my heart in San Francisco”? Well, I think I left my brain there. The two-day madness of the Bay Area Tarot Symposium (BATS) + my flight back being cancelled the night I arrived left me feeling lost and confused most of the weekend (or at least it seems that way). I’ll let you know when my brain catches up with my body.

I attended wonderful classes at BATS this weekend. On Saturday morning, I ended up attending only a portion of Thalassa’s class “The Shadow Dance and the Crawl Space of the Soul,” due to having to rush upstairs to our hotel room to make arrangements for our trip home. For what I was present for, it was just what I needed, including a reminder of “If this is shadow, then what is throwing off the light?”

Next was Mary K. Greer’s class “Working with Your Tarot Birth and Year Cards.” I hate math, but working through this class was very necessary. Birth and year cards are extremely enlightening in giving you a head’s up with the year ahead of you, and clarity with what has come before in previous years. Mary’s book on this topic is Who Are You in the Tarot?, and if this interests you, you should definitely pick it up! 2012 is going to be a Strength year for me... whether I will need strength or I will have the strength is not certain yet!

After the lunch break, I high-tailed it over to Barbara Moore’s class “Giving a Voice to the Cards.” This was almost a backstage tour of making companion books corresponding to tarot decks, and sometimes even a Little White Book or two! Barbara is one of my favorite tarot people, as she is an extremely grounded and down-to-earth person. Her companion books are great and practical, and her writing seems to be effortless. I can’t wait to read the companion book for the Mystic Dreamer deck, and I eagerly await the arrival of Steampunk Tarot.

Next up was Corrine Kenner’s class “Tarot for Writers” (hmm, now why would THAT I appeal to me?). Corrine loves her handouts, and this class was no exception... all my notes were scribbled furiously on the handout she provided, using the Celtic Cross spread for both character creation, and again for plotting out a story based on the protagonist the group had just created!

Part II tomorrow!

Pre-Conference Madness and Pimpage

2011-08-24T20:44:00.000-04:00

I will be furthering my tarot knowledge at the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium this weekend. People can feel free to keep requesting my tarot services via e-mail but I probably will not be returning e-mails until Monday at the earliest. Like it says on the hand-painted shingle on my door, "foresight is better than hindsight!" I also will not be doing my Card of the Day draw on twitter and facebook for Saturday and Sunday. Friday's Card of the Day will be extra-early for you East Coasters!

I haven’t packed yet and am firmly convinced I can manage with just a carry-on, considering I will be away for only three days. However, I will need to remember that am taking the same carry-on for the trip back, which means limiting my purchasing of new decks. Yes, I have a problem, and thy name is tarot. Considering I was just graced with the Cosmic Tarot (which I've been coveting for years) and the Mystic Dreamer Tarot as prezzies, it's much easier to be good on this trip.

I can't wait for this conference. Readers Studio was the most amazing experience, and I truly was not the same person walking out of it than I was walking in. I anticipate a similar occurrence with SF BATS. I can't wait to see what I learn, and then translate that into better readings for my clients. The continuation of tarot education is something I strive for... I will never stop learning, because there's simply more to learn about tarot than one could manage in several lifetimes of study!

Moving on to the PIMPAGE portion of the blog:

WEST COAST PEOPLE: Have you ever had Courtney Weber teach you tarot or read your tarot? Want to know the basics of circle-casting and why it’s done? Are you near Napa (or willing to get your ass there)? Read on. This blog is probably coming too late to those wanting to attend the tarot workshop, but I believe the circle-casting workshop is tomorrow, and Courtney is also available for readings as well. Check out the link for more details. Take advantage of Courtney's wisdom before us New Yorkers selfishly keep her for ourselves!

Right, Wrong, and Tarot: Evaluating Ethics

2011-08-17T20:01:00.000-04:00

So, you heard about this tarot reader from a friend. “He/She’s amazing, so accurate, so helpful... you must make an appointment!” Okay, word of mouth praise is a good thing.

So you go to the tarot reader, and what you hear makes your skin crawl. She’s talking about people in your life like they’re snakes in the grass. Lots of talk about what’s going on in their lives... it might even be stuff that you didn’t know; their secrets coming to light.

If you came to me for a reading, I probably wouldn’t be talking too much about other people in your life. After all, we can’t control other people’s actions; we can only control our own. So I would be focused on you. What YOU can do to change your life for the better or handle other people/situations better.

So, who is the “right” tarot reader? Whoever it is that matches your own set of personal ethics. One reader friend of mine says this, tongue firmly in her cheek, “I read your Tarot behind your back.” Some readers don’t even do celebrity predictions. Some readers will not read for someone or on behalf of someone without permission. And some do. Whether it’s right or wrong is completely up to you. What vibes with your personal ethics?

How do you find out about a reader’s code of ethics? Most readers now will have a separate page on their site (if they have one) dealing specifically with ethics. If they don’t, check out their About page, and you should be able to get a good sense of what the reader will and won’t do. If that section doesn’t offer a clue, try looking at a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page if there is one. But don’t hunt too long. If ethics aren’t important to the reader, they won’t have any listed. But then you must ask the question... “Do I want to work with this person?” If ethics ARE important to them, they will be prominently displayed. You won’t have to look for the proverbial needle in the haystack to find them.

The crux of my ethics page (website coming late September!) will always be, “I will never share the details of your reading with anyone else.” Heck, I don’t even remember what I’ve said in a reading if the span of an hour goes by. The info isn’t for me to retain OR repeat. The info is solely for the client, to do with what they wish.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What ethics do you look for in a reader? Where do you draw a line in the sand? Let’s discuss in the Comments section.

If You Sprinkle When You Tinkle... Leaving Clients Better Than You Found Them

2011-08-10T15:33:00.000-04:00

"If you sprinkle when you tinkle
please be neat and wipe the seat"

Variations on this “poem” include the second line being “please be a sweetie and wipe the seatie” instead, but you get the idea...

I saw this in a bathroom recently and I thought about tarot. Weird, right? I know. But most hours of the day I think about tarot, so it’s not so weird to me. Okay, so how did this simple little sign about other people’s urine make me think about tarot?

I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on my tarot business lately... stuff that y’all will get to see when my website launches at the end of September (and hopefully luuuuuv). It’s been “man behind the curtain” work, involving but not limited to a lot of meta stuff like motivation, how tarot works, how tarot works when I read, my style of reading, how I came to this work, my ethics, confidence issues, and where I’m heading. A lot of stuff that I really never thought about until I starting writing my web copy. And it was HARD. And now I’m coming out the other side of it, and I’m realizing it was hard but WORTH IT.

Back to the “poem”. I would like to make a version of this poem, and hang it about my tarot table (or wherever I choose to read). Why? Because this is a part of my personal ethics, and it boils down to this:

I want a person to leave a reading in the same condition (and hopefully better) than the start.

Sometimes a reading is heavy. A lot of shit comes up. Do I let the client just walk away after a reading, covered in that heaviness? Hell no. I clean them up. I buoy them up. I try to find the silver lining. Sometimes it’s really hard to find, but there is ALWAYS a course of action for the client to take, including inaction. There is always a choice to make, and that rests with the client. There is a song by the band Rush called Freewill... “You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” Either way, whatever they decide... It’s the client’s decision. And I want that decision to come from them, and from a position of empowerment.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What personal ethics do you have that come from an unlikely source? Feel free to describe in the Comments section... I would love to hear them!

Mercury Retrograde: The Down and Dirty (from a few people that know)

2011-08-03T23:31:00.000-04:00

Have you had a day from hell today? A day where everyone has misunderstood you, had car trouble, trouble with traffic and people driving like maniacs, and/or computer malfunctions? No, you're not going crazy. It's just Mercury Retrograde.

I'm no astrologer. My talent lies with tarot, so I will let astrologers deal with explaining the fun of when a planet like Mercury goes retrograde.

Here's a post from George Courtney regarding Mercury Retrograde: Back to the Future Mercury! Keep in mind that this was originally written for the Mercury Retrograde that happened at the end of March, but most of what George says here applies to a Mercury Retrograde in general.

Maria Shaw notes in her article Mercury Retrograde: What Is It Good For? what things CAN be accomplished during this time period. Mercury Rx is not a good time to start projects, but it IS a good time for finishing the unfinished ones. Have a knitting project that's been sitting? Time to finish it! Upset with your job? Don't start a new one during this time period, but DO revise your resume. I loved this part of her article:

"Think of any word that has an 're' in front of it. That’s what Mercury Retrograde is good for....re-doing just about anything."

So, let's bring it back to tarot now (after all, this is a tarot blog). What do the cards have to say about this Mercury Retrograde that lasts until August 26th?

Ace of Swords: Know that this is simply a fleeting moment in time. There is definitely a lot of righteous indignation going around. Do not be a part of that majority. That big sword in the Ace of Swords can cut both ways, and both you and your target will be injured in the process. Don't use words as a weapon right now.

Ace of Coins: Ground yourself. Seek solace in nature. There is so much prosperity around, but it is the potential of prosperity... it is not ripe for the picking yet. Let it wait; let it mature.

4 of Wands (rev): A call to move creative forces inward. The four wands in this card form a point of light that seems to be shining inside of yourself. It's almost a form of the Hermit card, but lighter. Introspection is needed. Lay low.

Very interesting that two Aces comes up in this reading. I personally like to think of the Aces as the potential of the suit they correspond to, not unlike the concept of "potential energy" vs. "kinetic energy".

So, lay low, people. Tie up loose ends of projects that you began before Mercury went retrograde. Double-check all travel plans. Pad any plans you make with additional time, just in case. Be crystal clear in your communications, both written and verbal. Keep your eyes wide open while driving. And this Mercury Retrograde period too shall pass...

Has your Merc. Rx period started off with a bang? Let's chat about it in the Comments section!

Ask a Tarot Reader—Card of the Day?

2011-07-27T21:20:00.000-04:00

Question: What do you do when all these different tarot readers that you follow pull different cards? Is there a way to use all of them as a guide for your day?

This situation is not dissimilar to using a certain newspaper to check your horoscope. Thanks to the magic of twitter, facebook, and other social-media-centered sites, you can start off your morning by checking what your favorite tarot reader's card of the day is.

What is a card of the day? How is it determined? A card of the day (to me) is the Advice card for the day. A quick little “head’s up” for what might be occurring in your day. How I determine the card of the day: I shuffle the cards and as I’m shuffling, I ask, “What do I and everyone who reads my interpretation need to know for today?” When I think I have shuffled enough, I stop and pull from the top of the deck. Sometimes I’ll fan the cards and pull a card randomly. And other times (rarely) I will flip over the stack of cards to the bottom card of the deck (which is termed the “deep card”). My method of choosing always depends on what my intuition is telling me to do at that moment, but the card of the day is always pulled randomly. Well, as random as tarot (seldom) is.

I will use today as an example. Today’s card of the day for me was the Tower reversed. Here’s what I posted to twitter:

The Tower (rev): You are not seeing the true situation right now; you are unwilling to see it b/c it will destroy what you think you know.

Short, sweet (as sweet as the Tower can be), and to the point. After all, on twitter, you’ve only got 140 characters to get the message out.

Extended interpretation posted to facebook:

Card of the Day—The Tower (rev): You are not seeing the true situation right now; you are unwilling to see it because it will destroy what you think you know. Someone has built their reputation on lies but people don't know it... yet. A shake-up will happen, but now's not the time.

The base message is still there, but more words equals a way to get that message out, using more angles. After all, there are many sides to a story; so too are there many sides to one tarot card.

Okay, let’s get back to the real question at hand, now that you know what a card of the day is and my process of selecting a card. I’m going to throw a wrench in the works here when I say…

…all card of the day pulls and interpretations are valid.

You could approach the situation in a few ways:

a) If you choose to only follow one reader’s card of the day pulls, I would suggest doing a little journaling about it before making the choice. Follow several readers on twitter, facebook, wherever they leave their card of the day. Keep a log of each reader’s card of the day and interpretations. Then at the end of the day, journal about your day, and retro-fit. What card do you think best described what occurred during that day? Do this over several days so you have enough information to work with. This exercise is not just about card of the day accuracy; it is also about style. Some readers are gentle with their message, some are no-nonsense, and some are in-between. Keep in mind both accuracy and delivery when you choose.

b) Here’s where the second part of the question comes into play: what if you simply don’t want to choose? Is there a way to integrate all these cards of the day as a guide for the day? I would say so. There’s never just one situation going on in someone’s life. We’re all juggling many different issues in the air at any given time. Who’s to say the card of the day applies to only the most pressing situation? Multiple cards of the day might mean multiple questions are being answered, just by different readers. Try this: Before reading a card of the day, ask a question that you want answering, aloud or in your mind. Then read that person’s card of the day for the answer. Ask a different question. Read the next person’s card of the day. For as many readers you follow in the social media universe, that’s the amount of questions you can ask their cards of the day!

c) If you want to apply the multiple cards of the day to your day, here’s a variation on the question game (see b): Instead of asking different questions of the different cards of the day, create a spread. Draw it out, or use playing cards as placeholders. Lay it out however you like. Assign a positional meaning to each card, such as Relationships, Advice, You (in your current position), Hopes/Fears, Message from Higher Self, etc. Now assign a reader’s card of the day to its own position, by the reader’s name alone. Now unveil what the cards of the day actually are and their interpretations. How does each card “fit” into its position? How are the cards talking to one another in the layout? Are any of the cards similar in either the card itself or its interpretation? What positions do the similar cards/interpretations land in? Take notice; these might be areas in your life where you need to pay special attention to on this day.

Do you pay attention to card of the day interpretations? Do you follow just one card of the day, or multiples? How do you integrate the multiple cards and interpretations into one day’s worth of advice? Let’s chat about it in the Comments section.

The Tools That Help, The Tools That Hinder

2011-07-21T20:46:00.000-04:00

Is the tool above helpful?

I never wear a watch when I do readings. Call it superstition. Call it what you will. But check my wrists the next time I’m reading for you, and they will be void of timepieces. Why?

I think it might stem from my wrist feeling incredibly heavy with the weight of time when I’m doing readings. I don’t want to feel constrained by time when I give a reading. It takes me completely out of the reading. I also don’t want to indulge into giving in to the urge to look at my watch if I am reading for a difficult client (few and far between, but, hey, it happens).

So, I find wearing a watch to be a tool that hinders. It stops me from doing readings to my best ability. Tools that assist a reader and tools that limit a reader I find to be an individual thing. Over time, you come to realize what works and what doesn’t.

What I think helps a reading:

A candle in a color applicable to the reading.

Actually, I carved a candle that I only burn during tarot readings. It is purple and anointed with specific oils for the purposes of divination, grounding, and goddesses associated with divination (Brid and Oya). It also is covered in silver glitter. I bet Martha Stewart would be either surprised and/or amused to know that her glitter brand was used for this purpose! I used a “7-Day Pullout” candle for this.
There’s plenty of books out there about magical correspondences of colors. Do a Google search with the search terms “candle color correspondences” and you’ll find a wealth of information and recommendations of books to read on the subject. When at a loss in choosing, I suggest burning a white candle, since white is an all-purpose color. Also, use your own gut for this. If you get a peaceful calm feeling from burning a black candle, even if the correspondence isn’t “correct” according to a book, do what you feel. Burn that candle!
If you already know what issue a client is coming to the reading for, burn a candle with the corresponding color for the situation. Or burn a candle to combat the situation, such as burning a light blue candle for peace if the particular situation is full of conflict.
Always use common sense when burning candles. Keep water close by. Use a candle snuffer when possible.

Crystals/gemstones.

I usually keep the stones with whatever deck I’m using the most at the time. I store my cards in a bag, so the stones lay right next to the cards in the bag. I favor clear quartz (all-purpose, energy boost), amethyst (intuition, focus), rose quartz (love, friendship), tiger’s eye (luck), and any clear light blue stone (communication).
Plenty of books out there about gemstones, too. The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall is a good, comprehensive resource book on the topic.

What I think hinders a reading:

Caffeine.

Caffeine causes me to become ungrounded. It is very hard for me to read when I’m not grounded. I feel fuzzy, out of it, and not present for the client. Gauge this for yourself. Me, it’s a personal choice to try to avoid coffee before I read for someone.

Alcohol.

I’ll further specify. I think one glass of wine while doing a reading is fine, especially if you’re feeling uptight/nervous about reading at an event. Sip slowly and thoughtfully. Don’t chug.
I had a glass of white wine while reading at the Tarot of the Boroughs launch party, and I was fully present for my clients, and not wrapped up in my own confidence issues and anxieties. In this case, it helped. But keep it to a minimum. It’s unlikely that someone will be drawn to a reader that’s smashed out of their gourd. Use common sense. There are some readers that will disagree with me on this point, and prefer to avoid alcohol completely when reading the cards. Do what you feel is ethical. Remember to keep your client’s highest good in mind.
Additionally, avoid reading for someone that’s had too much to drink. Reschedule with them if you can. It will be very hard for their reading to be beneficial if they’re not mentally present for the reading, and they won’t retain any information you give them.

Do you need every item? Nope! After all, some of this paraphernalia can get pretty unwieldy. Take everything I said above and either take it to heart, or chuck it out the window. Use whatever tools you want, but always keep ever mindful of the “why” behind them. Be wary of those tools becoming a crutch. In summation, all you really need is your cards and yourself.

What tools do you use in your tarot practice? Do they hinder or help? Why? Let’s chat about it in the Comments section!

Choosing the Right Reader for You

2011-07-13T23:58:00.000-04:00

There’s one thing I am learning in abundance lately. There are A LOT of talented tarot readers out there. I surf the Internet and I have a whole bunch of stuff to read from readers across the country (if not the world). Ten years from now, the growth of tarot readers will explode exponentially as new people discover the power of tarot for themselves.

My hope is that every client I read for feels the spark of their own intuition igniting, and they pick up their own deck of tarot cards. After all, sometimes your neighborhood friendly tarot reader isn’t available to give you a reading… what do you do then: hold your head in your hands and cry? Wait to make a crucial decision based on someone else’s wisdom and card-reading instead of your own? Most of the time we have all the answers we need right inside ourselves.

Even if you never pick up your own deck of tarot cards, there still might be an interest to get a reading. How do you choose the reader that’s right for you?

Go into choosing a reader with these questions in mind:

What is the purpose of my reading?
If you want to be entertained, go for the more theatrical types. If you need a question answered that is emotionally charged, find someone that is down-to-earth and grounded, but able to deliver the message with sensitivity.

Which of your friends gives you good advice? What are they like?
You might be best served thinking about the kind of people you hang out with, and choose qualities in those that give the best advice. Then look for those qualities in a tarot reader. After all, tarot readers usually serve the same role as your friends: we can be sounding boards for your ideas, but the use of tarot cards adds an extra dimension to that advice.

Opposites sometimes attract… what are the qualities of someone that is a polar opposite of you? Sometimes it is very hard to get an objective opinion; it’s even harder with someone that thinks in the same way as you. Consider hiring a tarot reader that is a complete opposite of you to read for you. You’d be surprised at how much insight into a situation you’ll receive from a person who thinks in a completely different way. Add tarot to that, and you might have the best reading ever!

What other questions do you ask yourself when looking for a tarot reader? Post them in the Comments section!

Writing with the Tarot

2011-07-06T20:16:00.000-04:00

Recommended Reading for a Writer with a Weakness for Tarot

The other day I had a lovely conversation with someone about art, writing, and the tarot. This girl was a writer that wanted to write more and was getting stuck. She also was new to tarot, and had no idea where to start with the cards. So I told her to combine the two. Her face absolutely lit up and she said she would try it. (If you're reading this, I hope it worked for you!)

There is much to be learned from the whole "meanings of the individual cards" thing. But sometimes, you have to let those images speak to you in their own way, and that has very little to do with accepted meanings. It's a private conversation of imagery between you and the cards. Keywords looked up in a little book tend to gum up the works if used for spurring the writing muses (but hey, if you're a wordy person, don't let me stop you). Let the card be a pretty picture. Let a story come out of it. Let your words describe what you are seeing. Let the words flow.

The cards lend themselves to writers very well, because through tarot cards we can see the story of our lives. Who's to say we can't see a story of a fictional life through them as well? We've got the beginning (The Fool), we've got the picking up of the pace (The Chariot), we've got the problem (Lovers, Devil, Hierophant; love story, boundaries and expectations, problem with authority), total destruction and climax or reversal of fortune (The Tower, The Wheel), and the resolution (Sun, Moon, World, etc). And by the by, even nonfiction writing can benefit from a shuffle and one-card pull.

I just did a shuffle and pull keeping writing in mind and got Death. You can use the imagery on the card (mine is very skull and scythe, Death as a mounted knight in shadows type) or you can use the interpreted meaning of the card (endings, letting go, loss, transformation, fear of unknown) to use this card to spark writing.

The writing/tarot combo is not new. In fact, there are quite a number of books on the subject.

Some Recommended Reading:

Tarot Diva by Sasha Graham

Tarot Journaling by Corrine Kenner

Tarot Tells the Tale by James Ricklef

On Writing by Stephen King

How do you use tarot to spur you to writing glory? Share your thoughts in the Comments section!

Be the Reader You Are (and Don't Stress About What You're Not)

2011-06-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

This sign stands outside of Mirabai, a New Age bookstore in Woodstock, New York.

I have to think of it this way. I read tarot before him. I read tarot for him. And I read tarot after him.

My ex was a tarot reader. He was quite good at it. He was not my first boyfriend to read tarot, but there was something about his readings that were so scarily accurate that I was in awe.

Consequently, when it was mutually realized we were both readers, we agreed to exchange readings. He read for me. And when it came time for me to read for him . . .

. . . I was reduced to tears. Absolute mental breakdown-worthy tears.

I don’t know why I thought after he read for me that I was suddenly incapable of doing a reading for him. I don’t remember panicking while he was shuffling the cards. I don’t remember panicking when I took the cards back from him and started to lay them out. It was when I was done with laying out the cards that it kicked in. The thought: “Oh crap, now it’s really my turn.”

And I started to cry. That first reading was horrible. I don’t think my first reading for a stranger was as bad as that reading. Oh, I’m sure I was accurate. It was the feeling that went along with it, the “I can’t read as eloquently as he just did.” That first reading I did for my ex he walked me through, point by point, card by card, and at the end prompted me with, “What does it all mean altogether?” The reading was like pulling teeth or taffy, the information exchange like molasses with sharp shards in it.

I don’t blame my ex in any of this. I blame myself. He was an intimidating guy, and his tarot-reading was no exception. But I let myself be intimidated by another reader. Therefore, the fault lays with me.

A few years after this, I started reading professionally. During one of these “out of the tarot closet” readings, I read for an acquaintance who admitted after the reading was finished that she was a tarot reader, too. I thanked her profusely for telling me after the reading and not before, since my nerves would have been shot “reading for a reader.” After that, I silently told myself that reading for readers was “too hard” and vowed to avoid it when possible . . .

. . . and then two months ago I was at Readers Studio, surrounded by fellow readers. Not reading for another reader at a tarot conference is impossible. It is a part of the learning process. You take classes at the conference and then you immediately apply them to help absorb that new information. Compounded by that were threats from people to read for “heap big tarot readers” (see The Tarot Apprentice Speaks for said threats), furthering amalgamating my already paralyzing fear of reading for readers. At Readers Studio, you are reading for readers right from the get-go with the Foundation Reading. Theresa Reed (who just happened to be sitting next to me at the start . . . coincidence? Absolutely not!) and I paired up. I wanted to tell her about my fear of reading for readers, but just from the look on her face I could tell it was a bad idea. Theresa could see right through me, look at my fears, and know what I didn’t realize until after Readers Studio: all of this “I can’t do this” self-flagellation was and is bullshit.

In short, you cannot be another reader. You can try, but it simply won’t work. Readings that should come easily will suddenly be nightmarish and hard if you so much as attempt to read like someone else. The tarot senses the bullshit and those cards that you have come to know as your friends transform into monsters from under the bed.

I’m not an eloquent reader. Much of the time when reading I curse, am pretty blunt, and rarely tint the world rosy when that’s not what I’m seeing. I try not to beat around the bush and frequently dive right into the core reason as to why you’re coming for a reading. I use words such as “asskickery” to describe the suit of Swords.

I’m not particularly slick like my ex was when reading, but I have my own style, and that’s okay. You have your own style that makes your readings special. Don’t let your specialness be overshadowed by your own fears. Be your own person. Be your own reader.

Why the Tarot Nova Made Me a Better Reader (and Almost Made Me Not Become One at All!)

2011-06-22T21:29:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of amazon.com

This is the story of baby's first Tarot deck.

The Tarot Nova was my first deck. It came in a Fortune Telling Kit with a small book on Palmistry (which I read, but never used).

I got it as a birthday present for my mother when I was sixteen. I thought it was awesome, the bee's knees, the boss-a nova (emphasis on "boss" & "nova"!). There was no way she wouldn't like it. I was sure about that.

Yeah, not being a tarot reader before that point, my certainty in my mother liking the gift was misplaced. I was wrong. She didn't like it.

"Didn't Like It" is probably the wrong thing to say about it. I think she feared it, and I think she feared she was either going to be really accurate (thereby scaring herself) or just would make too many mistakes. She never outright said she didn't like it. She just said, "You can hang onto it so you can read for me."

Thus, a tarot reader was born.

I relied on the "little white book" for a long time. The little white book for the deck was a large brochure-type-thing, about 8 1/2 x 11 (see above). I just simply couldn't read the cards without it.

The first spread I learned was a four-card spread, which may be surprising to people considering the three-card "Past, Present, Future" spread is my tarot bread and butter.

It says: "This basic tarot layout was designed for use with the 'Tarot Nova.' If you're familiar with other layouts, you can use them with this deck too or you can design your own. Be creative!" [not bloody likely, thought my newbie self]

The positions:
A: What's at hand
B: Past influences
C: Ponder this
D: What to do

How I would go about a reading: I would shuffle the cards. They were small cards, so I was able to shuffle them as I would playing cards (a rarity, I have come to find, since most tarot decks I have owned since I have to shuffle in a different way because of my freak-like tiny hands). As I shuffled, I thought of a problem I was having, and then I would stop when ready, and then lay out the cards A through D, with the deck resting in my right hand and my left hand doing the pulling of the cards. This is not how the "little white book" said I should do things, suggesting to shuffle and separate the deck into four piles, pulling cards A through D from the top of each pile. I don't know when I realized it was "okay" to do it a different way. One day I was following the instructions to the letter, and at some point I just didn't anymore. I also don't remember who my first "client" was, when I transitioned from reading for myself to reading for others. I would guess it was my mother, and as it is now so it was then... I don't remember any details of that reading.

So, long story short, why I think the Tarot Nova deck made me a better reader: the deceptively simple Minor Arcana. I remember for a long time thinking, "I will never remember any of this stuff; I will never be a true tarot reader." I would cry because I would quiz myself on memorizing the meanings in the "little white book" in a flashcard kind of fashion. Tarot card came up: 4 of Wands. What did the "little white book" say? And I would struggle to remember without opening up the book. For new readers, I don't recommend this kind of torturous learning... 'tis far better to build a rapport with your deck in other ways, making connections between the imagery on the card with memories/associations from your own life (see my past post Advice for New Readers and you'll get some more of "Do As I Say; Not As I Did" type of advice).

The problem with deceptively simple Minor Arcana cards is they're very bare bones. Only one or two images on the card as "clues" with which to interpret with. I find the Minor Arcana to be the most daunting of all things new readers learn... and perhaps a reason why I nearly didn't become a tarot reader. Simple imagery is a double-edged sword: it gives us very little to go on, and when we latch onto those few meanings we glean, we don't let go of them and could become short-sighted because of it.

Examples from Tarot Nova:

4 of Pentacles: I will always think of this card as a greed card, keeping and hoarding money for the sake of being a miser and not to put it to use. Why? Because my first association is linked to this deck's depiction of this card: A greedy little piggy with his arms wrapped possessively around four golden coins.
BUT...
Some of the other cards in the Pentacles Suit only have one symbol that catches the eyes, such 3 of Pentacles (vine wrapping around a ladder with coins growing off of it), 5 of Pentacles (a lizard with a coin for an eye and four coins surrounding him), and 6 of Pentacles (bread baking, three coins in its center with three additional coins scattered). I couldn't wrap my head around these cards, making reading them difficult and me to the point of tears.

9 of Swords: The Nightmare card. Will always say it, will always see it for this card. When someone is sitting in a bed made of swords, cowering as swords are flying above them threatening to decapitate them if they dare to look up to the sky for reprieve... well, let's call a spade a spade, shall we? (or in this case, let's call a sword a sword)
BUT...
The 3 of Swords is depicted as a turnip getting his leaves chopped off. Something in the imagery here is definitely lacking for what I now know to be a very complicated card. A lot more than chopping veggies here is needed to get the point of the 3 of Swords across.

I don't know when I stopped using the "little white book" as my personal tarot bible. Probably a few decks after Tarot Nova. I wish I could pinpoint the time I went from "I'll never learn this" to "I know this", but perhaps it's best that that portion is left to the nice hazy fog of memory. The bigger point: if I can do it, so can you. As long as you're willing to do the work. There really is no shortcut to learning tarot; just many paths. And this was my start along that path.

The Pitfalls of Tarot Deck Addiction

2011-06-15T20:44:00.001-04:00

I was about to give up on the "Wednesdays will be my new blog post day" idea when I thought I had nothing to write about. I shuffled and pulled a card on this issue. The Queen of Swords impassively stared back at me. I know, I know. She doesn't need to say anything. She says it all with one look: "Get over yourself, you wench, and just blog. The words will come." Okay, I'm blogging. You don't mess with the Queen of Swords.

Today on twitter the tweets were aflame with my fellow tarot readers' admissions of tarot deck addiction. It seemed the more decks we accumulate, the more we want (and I'm most certainly not immune). The newest, the latest, the prettiest, the edgiest. But no matter how you dress it up, the cards will still say what they want to say. For example, you can dress up the Queen of Swords, but no matter what, she'll still kinda be a bitch. (It's okay I'm saying this; she knows damn well what she is.)

The problem with tarot deck addiction is that if you have too many decks, it's really hard to build a rapport with any one of them. It's the "spreading yourself too thin" syndrome. The cards speak to me. Each deck has its own language of symbols. With each new deck, it is a new system of symbols to learn. Yes, the symbols are usually the same from deck to deck (rarely is the High Priestess unrecognizable, no matter what deck you're looking at), but with artistic license comes additional symbols specific to that deck alone. I'm only talking about the people that build up a collection of decks that they read with. There are some people I know that simply collect decks for the art alone, and have never read with them. "Spreading yourself too thin" syndrome does not apply to collectors.

I admit, I have the attention span of a ferret sometimes. Pretty and shiny and new decks are like a siren call to me. But now that I think about it, it's probably best that I stick with the collection that I have for now, and not drive myself crazy with amassing decks.

She says with three new decks in her possession...

Don't Shoot the Messenger!

2011-06-08T21:10:00.000-04:00

Oh crap, the Tower!!!

The other day before I did a reading for someone on shindigtarot.com, the client said, "Not the Tower, not the Tower!" It is almost the tarot version of "No Whammies! No Whammies!" Poor Tower Card. I think that might be the only time you will ever hear anyone, anywhere, say that.

It made me think about those misunderstood "big baddy" cards that no one wants to get. You know the usual suspects. I'll put them in the order of what I think are the biggest and baddiest (your list may include the same cards, more of them, and/or less):

Death ("Does this mean I'm going to DIE?!")
The Devil ("I'm possessed?!")
The Tower ("Oh my, that doesn't look good at all...")
10 of Swords (the resolution of a very volatile situation... maybe)
9 of Swords (what I like to call the nightmares card)

Of course we all have had some experiences in readings of cards that we, personally, don't want to see. Perhaps a certain card that is the significator of an ex popping up in a reading, giving us a warning that sometime soon he would come a'knocking back at our door. Perhaps you had a reading that stuck with you in a bad way, and seeing one of the cards from that reading takes you back to that time and that bad memory. Whatever the reason, what is it about these cards that make them into the boogiemen of the tarot?

I would say, a) misconceptions, and b) no one likes to hear difficult news. Simple answers, yes, but let's keep in mind the title of this post. I'm not talking about me being "shot" as the messenger, just by being a tarot reader. The messengers in question are those self-same big baddy cards.

Donnaleigh (http://donnaleigh.net/) tweeted a quotation that really hit this idea home with me. The quotation was, roughly, "Nothing is good nor bad. It just is." Again, a simple idea. But I have found lately that "keeping it simple, stupid" is increasingly harder to do in an ever-more-complicated world, but so necessary.

So the next time the Tower comes up in a reading, I'm not saying to welcome it with open arms. But don't blame the Tower for the destruction it's telling you is happening (which will consequently lead to the building of a strong foundation after the dust has settled). Accept the message the Tower carries with it, but do not let the Tower become that message forever.

Guest Post on The Tarot Lady's Blog

2011-06-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

Hi y'all, and Happy Wednesday! The Tarot Lady has just posted my guest post "What Cards Are Saying When They Aren't There" on her blog. Go check it out!

World Tarot Day Is Tomorrow!

2011-05-24T18:30:00.000-04:00

I support World Tarot Day! Do you?

In honor of World Tarot Day tomorrow (May 25th), I will be doing free tarot readings on shindigtarot.com from 6:30pm–8:30pm EST. Find me at http://shindigtarot.com/directory/hilary_parry

More celebration ideas for World Tarot Day can be found on the site: World Tarot Day.

hilary_parry's Tarot Reader Profile | Shindig Tarot

2011-05-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

hilary_parry's Tarot Reader Profile | Shindig Tarot: "hilary_parry's tarot reader profile on Shindig Tarot"

Why Meditate? Why Not?

2011-05-15T17:55:00.000-04:00

Doesn't that look peaceful? Is this what your "happy place" looks like?

Some people might put the men in suits out for me if I tell you this. It's the secret to grounded and clearer tarot readings. It's also the secret to receiving better readings from your neighborhood friendly tarot reader. Want to know what it is? Meditation.

Please, refrain from rolling your eyes. After all, you came to the blog of a tarot reader. You've got to be an iota interested in things "off the beaten path". Why is this meditation thing the secret to being grounded? How in the world can this make you better at not only giving readings but receiving readings?

I'm the first to admit, I was never that into meditation. I confess, when I took yoga classes in college, the corpse pose (which is basically laying flat on your back with your arms resting gently at your sides) would cause me to not meditate, but fall fast asleep. I was told I snored in class. Not very enlightened!

The key is quality, not quantity. You don't have to be a person who can meditate for 45-minute stretches at a time. In fact, starting out your meditation practice that way will build you up for a mighty big fall when you give up. And you will give up more easily if you don't start a little bit at a time. I can't emphasize enough that you don't have to invest that much time. But you do have to invest a little of it.

5 minutes a day. That's it. Really. 5 minutes to unplug from the world. Because when you do that, you don't unplug from everything... you plug into yourself. Most people do not check in with themselves. I see meditation as a way of checking in. You can meditate by focusing on a flickering candle. You can choose a tarot card from the deck you use and meditate on that. You can meditate on your breath. You can meditate by listening to soothing music or a guided meditation CD. But however you choose to do it, the main point is to do it every day. Make it a daily habit and you will feel more grounded, calm, and focused. I will recommend some meditation tools I use later.

Now, how does this apply to tarot, both giving and receiving readings? The goal of both a reader and a client is in service to the client. The goal is one and the same. If the client leaves a reading without a question answered, advice ungiven, then both the reader and the client loses out. Through meditation, the reader is more focused on the client's needs. If the client meditates, the client is more focused on internal goals and what their spirit truly needs, versus surface wants that masquerade as real goals. The client can then ask the questions they really want answered through the tarot. Then the reader can help the client in interpreting tarot for them, guiding them to the path they want to walk.

Meditation tools I use that may be helpful for you!

Anchoring Spirit and Gentle Ocean: A Guided Meditation and Musical Journey CD by Stacey Wolf and Julia Gregory (I think this is no longer available for purchase... sorry!)
Angels of Venice CD
The Serpent's Egg CD by Dead Can Dance
Any candle... whatever scent you find soothing. If no preference or if you have a sensitive nose then a plain white candle should do for flame-gazing.
A Soundscapes CD (whichever you like that you find soothing, or you can use a sound machine that has such sounds as Rainfall, Babbling Brook, etc.)

My suggestion if you're new to meditation: change it up! Make it fun! Mix and match... if you use a guided meditation one day, meditate on your breathing the next day. Remember, the point of meditation is to meditate, not to fall asleep. However, if you are having trouble falling asleep, meditating before you go to bed usually helps.

Namaste!

Blogging about Readers Studio: Classes

2011-05-07T11:03:00.000-04:00

Classes I took at Readers Studio:

The three Master Classes:

Tarot and Astrology by Corrine Kenner

Okay, I thought I knew at least a little something about Astrology. Turns out I know diddly squat, but through Corrine's class, I'm beginning to understand it a little better and how it fits into tarot. Very beautiful handouts, too, which I keep rereading over and over again, each time absorbing a little more information. I also can kinda read a natal chart, which I couldn't claim to do before!

Tarot Spreads: Make Your Readings Even More Fabulous by Barbara Moore

Despite threats from Courtney, Theresa, and Barbara herself to have me teach her class, Barbara ended up doing the class, and it was extremely informative. Have you ever wondered why the Celtic Cross spread is so effective and is a wonderful foundation reading for those clients new to getting their cards read for them? Layout, layout, layout and how the human brain works when seeing cards laid out above, below, to the side, and crossing the significator. Truly an informative class, and Barbara makes anyone believe that they can create useful spreads for any occasion or client request.

Hunting the Lady: Using the Significator Skillfully by Caitlín Matthews

This class would have been worth it just from hearing Caitlín sing in person (gorgeous!), which she did often to call her class to order and to bring us back after working in groups. This class made me want to do reading using significators, when I usually don't. And by don't, I mean I use a randomly selected significator and start my reading based on that. Which is valid, but could go deeper if I applied some of the techniques that were discussed during her class.

Night workshops:

Social Media for Tarot Readers by Theresa Reed

Taking Theresa's class was a no-brainer. I've been using social media for a little while, specifically using twitter to pull cards for the day and give my interpretations of them. There is A LOT more that you can do with social media. Theresa also covered some pretty interesting ground about promoting yourself, taking the ickiness out of the word promoting. Less "used-car salesman" and more "I'm a good reader with this style, I'm here when you want a reading." Using social media opens the entire world up to you as potential clients. The biggest lesson from this class? Just be you. The younger techno-savvy generation (am I part of that?) can spot bullshit from a mile away, and even more so if it's bullshit on a computer screen. Don't bullshit. Be yourself. And don't write about yourself in the third person; that just makes you sound douchy.

The Game of Tarot by Alec Satin

More for fun than anything else! Did you know that there is a game of tarot? I sure didn't. And no, you won't be using your Rider-Waite Deck to play it, either. Alec was a very good teacher, and we were able to play quite a few hands with his supervision, because in my experience there's no better way to learn something than by doing it.

The Tarot Apprentice Speaks (Part 1 of ?)

2011-05-03T01:10:00.000-04:00

Gee, I wonder what Marcus Katz said to me in this picture to make me react this way?

I AM the Tarot Apprentice! I am amazed and humbled that I was chosen among such a field of crazy-awesome tarot people. And you all need to keep in touch!

Readers Studio was this weekend, and the first I’ve ever attended. I never expected something like this to exist, but it does! Such a wonderful support system of tarot people; I feel completely changed in a good way by everything that happened and everyone I spoke with.

So, the theme of this weekend was torture leading to self-actualization. Yes, you heard me right. Threats from Courtney and Theresa to make me read for Ciro Marchetti using the Legacy of the Divine deck lead to me saying, “You are sick. You are sick, sick women.” Further threats included the following:

to have me read for Marcus Katz;
to have me teach Barbara Moore’s master class on creating tarot spreads;
and finally, the one that really happened: me being partnered with Theresa for the Foundation Reading.

Okay, let me break it down for y’all: the Foundation Reading is done at the start of Readers Studio. You partner with someone and exchange readings the best way you know how at the time. Whatever spread you want; whatever you deem appropriate. You take notes on everything: what cards come out where, and everything that’s said. Why? Because you come back to the same person at the END of Readers Studio and revisit the Foundation Reading, applying all of the information you absorbed over the course of the weekend. It’s pretty cool, and boy, did it WORK! Back to the scary part.

So, all of these threats flung at me were very tongue-in-cheek and playful… but then Theresa turned to me and said, “You’re my partner for the Foundation Reading.” Yeah, she wasn’t going to take No for an answer. And I had a feeling this was going to happen, because out of all the tables to sit at, she went out of her way to end up sitting next to me. Apprentice contestants who have been through the fires of the four challenges, let me just say this: the notches were dialed up to 11. So I sucked it up and I dealt with it. And yes, I read for her first (yes, she gave me the choice!).

More tomorrow... because it was a weekend full of stories to tell!

The Tarot Apprentice, Readers Studio, and the Waiting Begins...

2011-04-27T14:55:00.000-04:00

Courtney Weber blogged about me today in connection with Readers Studio. This is my first time at Readers Studio, and I have butterflies in my stomach. It's going to be an amazing event and I am going to be learning much more about tarot than I ever thought possible. This will make me an even better tarot reader, and I can't wait to share the new skills I will be gaining with clients.

In preparation for Readers Studio, I am packing the following to use as my workhorse decks for the conference:

Tarot of the Boroughs (available at Readers Studio for purchase and here)
Legacy of the Divine Tarot
The Llewellyn Tarot

Why three decks? Because I am fickle, and I want to be prepared for that fickleness. I know I'm going to feel that I want to read with a certain deck and if I don't have it on hand, I will drive myself nuts.

In Tarot Apprentice contest news, the final challenge was posted on Monday. Now the waiting for the announcement of the winner begins. I feel a mix of relief, excitement, and nervousness. What if I'm not picked? What if I AM?! Either way, being a contestant on the Tarot Apprentice really pushed me to some of my limits (Read: vulnerabilities) both as a reader and as a potential businesswoman. It also made me aware of some things I say I don't do just because they are scary and difficult. Discomfort from something being new is one thing; that's something I can work through. There's a difference between setting boundaries because you realize that something doesn't work for you versus setting boundaries because you've never tried it. This is something I need to continue in my life, both as a reader and personally.

I will try to post a new blog after this weekend describing the indescribable: Readers Studio!

The Tarot Apprentice—Week 2

2011-04-13T16:24:00.000-04:00

For the second installment of the Tarot Apprentice contest, go here.

This challenge for me was very tough... creating a tarot spread. I have never created a tarot spread before. Even though I would consider myself a bit of an unconventional soul, I'm like everyone else when it comes to things that scare me; I tend to stick with the familiar when I feel a threat to the status quo. Change is scary! But in this case confronting something that's scary was the only route to go, considering I had two choices: do the challenge, or forfeit the competition. Fear was not an option! Well, maybe fear was an option, but working through that fear won out. It also helped that I was half-coherent since I got a cold on Monday. I wasn't second-guessing myself as much.

I created the Clock Spread. For the spread, a sample reading, and my assessment of it, go to the link posted above. I am the first post. If you use it to do a reading of your own, please leave your thoughts in the comments section. I would love to hear them!

The Tarot Apprentice—Will It Be Me?

2011-04-05T12:52:00.000-04:00

I am entered in a contest called the Tarot Apprentice. The first challenge of this competition kicked off yesterday. To follow my progress in this contest, go to The Tarot Lady's blog (blog.thetarotlady.com). For guidelines of the competition, they're here.

Watch for a new adventure each Monday during the month of April. Root for me!

Advice for New Readers

2011-03-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, I read for a friend in exchange for a sushi dinner. Once we had glasses of plum wine in front of us, she shuffled and I laid out the cards on the table and proceeded to read, hoping that I would finish her reading before the food came out. I did not. What followed was our waitress seeing the cards laid out and getting so excited about the cards and me reading them. She wanted to know how I did it, and I felt it was almost like asking a magician how he does his tricks. Not because reading tarot is in any way a magic trick, but because I was being asked to explain the process of how I read the cards. Much like, "How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"

I think it was a very needed question to ask. If we start to do something by rote, the thought starts to go out of the process. So I broke it down for our waitress to the following (simplified) process: I learned and memorized the meanings of the cards first. Once I was done with memorization, I felt comfortable using the pictures to form my own interpretations of the cards. The memorization was the foundation on which I built upon.

What follows is a few tips I'd like to share with new tarot readers, gleaned from my own practice with the cards and combined with some advice that was given to me.

Do not be afraid to say what you see, no matter how odd, obscure, or seemingly unrelated. YOU don't know how related or unrelated a seemingly random song popping into your head as you are in the middle of spread is to the person you're reading for. So say it. What's the harm?
When I read, I relate situations I'm seeing in the cards to my life as a way to explain what I'm seeing to the client. For example, I once saw the Five of Cups in a reading I did for a kid (no pressure or anything!). I was using the Llewellyn Tarot at the time, and the card portrays a cloaked figure standing on the shore of a river, with his head down, a castle in the distance, and three of the five cups at his feet are spilled over. When I looked at this card, I remembered my best friend that moved away and I lost contact with from my childhood. So that's when I said, "Has a really good friend of yours just moved away?" Sure enough, that's what happened.

We see life through the lens of our own perspective. So do tarot readers as they're reading (at least THIS tarot reader does). Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You're going to make them; you're human. Start slowly, be gentle with yourself, and find some supportive guinea pigs who are willing to be read for. Grow from there. Not all tarot readers want to become professional readers who do this for a living. Some just read for themselves exclusively. Some just read for family and friends. Some take the leap of going pro. But however you come to the cards, come with humility and respect.

The "P" Word

2011-03-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

Do I consider myself a psychic? No. Do I consider myself intuitive? Yes. What's the difference?

To me, it's all about what labels people are comfortable with. Me, I'm not comfortable with the word "psychic" in general. Any time anyone calls me one, it gives me pause. I feel that label is taken to the extreme in both a positive and a negative way. In the positive way, if you're labeled "psychic" you either do it full-time as your profession and you're always "ON". In a negative way, "psychic" to some people equates directly to "charlatan", which is extremely unfortunate, and a generalization of a group of people. There are phonies in every line of work; in every walk of life. Those that think psychics are a crock based on experiences with the crooked minority are closing themselves off to the psychics that are there in the service of growth of the human spirit.

So based on the connotations of the word "psychic", I choose to identify myself with the word "intuitive" instead, something I believe everyone is, some more than others, and something that can be cultivated and developed with practice. Not all tarot readers read intuitively. There are some that memorize the standard meanings of all 78 cards and their reversals, and then read based on that. When I began reading, I memorized. Memorization is a great thing for a beginner. As they say, you need to learn the rules before you break them. As I read the cards more, I began to trust in what I was seeing in the pictures more than what I had memorized for a card. From then, I associated the memories from my own life that the cards evoked to what my client was asking about when I read for them.

My sister once introduced me to a friend of hers as psychic. It was possibly the ONLY time I've ever felt comfortable with the designation. So call me a psychic if you want to, but I might look at you askance.

Tarot, I know. Astrology, I don't.

2011-02-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

So, I may know a bit about tarot, but I know very little about astrology (all I know I know about Aries, my sign). Thankfully, George Courtney, co-creator of Tarot of the Boroughs, has started a blog on astrology. Please check out his blog!

Tarot Review: Tarot of the Boroughs

2011-01-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

Deck: Tarot of the Boroughs
Created by: Courtney Weber and George Courtney
Date of Publication: August 2010
Published by: Self-Published

I count myself fortunate that I know the creators of this deck, Courtney and George. This is a marvelous tarot deck set in New York City and cast with the most eclectic personalities to represent all the variety of inhabitants in the five boroughs.

I have noticed a minority of photographic decks in the tarot world. Maybe it is because people think photographs detract from the mystery of the cards. In this deck, the photography is its strength, as is the models that were used. And "models" is the wrong word in this case . . . the people in this deck are the most accurate depiction of that rare race of people known as "New Yorkers," and were carefully selected as representative of the card they are featured in.

This deck I feel would be an excellent starter deck for even the most inexperienced reader. The photography makes tarot feel very accessible. It is not an ethereal thing. It is real and grounded. Because of this grounded perception, I feel more people would be willing to read the cards for themselves and not feel strange about it.

What makes this deck so strong is the Minor Arcana. Even a person that has read tarot for years can still struggle over the Minor Arcana cards. In this deck, each Suit carries a storyline running through it, and keeps the cast of models of each Suit the same throughout it. The two couples that may have been fighting in the beginning of the Cups suit are at peace by the time the Ten of Cups arrives. The inkling of a creative idea that is present in the Ace of Wands, represented as a paintbrush here, has blossomed to fruition by the Nine of Wands.

The little book that comes with the deck is not something to lean on, nor is it the intention of the creators of this deck for anyone to do so. In fact, it is encouraged for the reader to come up with their own interpretations for these cards, as only a basic meaning of each card is given.

However, the rich imagery of the cards invites any reader to dive right in. The strength of these images is summed up in one word: familiarity. We know these stories, because these stories are our own. Struggling with the photocopier, a symbol of the minor annoyances of office life, is on display in the Three of Coins card. The meaning here is obvious, but straight from the little book that comes with the deck . . ."Shit fucks up." Brilliant. Going to yoga class to regain balance (Temperance) . . . a dancer exhausted after a rehearsal, but happily wiping the sweat from her brow (6 of Wands) . . . the ex that you know is bad for you (The Devil) . . . the tentative first breakfast with a new love (3 of Cups) . . .

Tarot of the Boroughs is available in select stores and online at www.tarotoftheboroughs.com. Autographed decks are available at Whimsies Incognito.

October Tarrytown Third Friday!

2010-10-10T13:37:00.000-04:00

Hello, everybody! Yes, I know, long time, no post.

I will be doing readings at Whimsies Incognito for this Friday, October 15th, in honor of Third Friday.

Where:
Whimsies Incognito
35 S. Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591

When:
Friday, October 15, from 6 to 9p.m.

My friends at Whimsies will be offering their standard 10% discount for all purchases made during the Third Friday event, and if you come in costume, an additional 10%! That's something to be very excited about!

Hope to see a bunch of people for Third Friday!

Tarot of the Boroughs Launch Party!

2010-08-21T18:06:00.000-04:00

I will be doing readings with the new deck, Tarot of the Boroughs, at its launch party this Thursday, August 26th, from 8pm–9:30pm.

Located at:

the Bowery Poetry Club

308 Bowery btw Bleecker and Houston (F train to 2nd Ave, 6 to Bleecker)

New York, NY

For more information about the launch party, please check out the facebook page here.

For more information about the deck, please go to the Tarot of the Boroughs Web site.

Why Three-Card Spreads Get a Bad Rep

2010-06-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

I am always surprised by people, sometimes by their generosity, sometimes by their out-and-out rudeness, and sometimes by their kindness. What really surprised me the other month, however, was a potential client's negative reaction to the three-card spread that I usually do at events.

"How much information can someone really get from a three-card spread?" she complained to me.

Hence the title and impetus for this post.

In my experience, three-card spreads are some of the most difficult readings to do. I only offer them during short events, such as carnivals, fairs, etc. because it allows me to read for more people and not have people waiting for a reading for too long. When I do a Celtic Cross spread for someone, they are usually sitting with me for forty-five minutes to an hour. Not an ideal time frame when at a carnival! Three-card spreads are difficult for me because you're reading for someone with a very limited amount of cards. There's only three cards... so intuiting a situation and its possible outcomes becomes more of a challenge when there are only three positions in the spread: past, present, and future. Some tarot readers do three-card readings with no positions defined as well, making the reading that much more challenging, in my opinion!

I liken to calling a three-card spread a "snapshot" spread—a very good reading to have to know if your life patterns are on the "right" track, so to speak.

So, some of you might be wondering what my answer was to this woman who asked, "How much information can you get from three cards?" My answer: "a heck of a lot!" My unsaid answer: "It's just a lot more work for the reader!"

I think different spreads have different uses, depending on the situation. All I know is three-card spreads work for me in a carnival setting... and I've never had a complaint until last month after doing them for five years at carnivals! I say to each their own.

This Friday, May 21

2010-05-18T14:06:00.000-04:00

This Friday I will be doing short tarot readings at Whimsies in celebration of Third Friday. Weather-permitting, I will be outside giving readings. Hope to see you then!

The Heart of Faerie Oracle

2010-05-03T21:33:00.000-04:00

I figured it was high time that I posted another blog, this time about my newly acquired deck, The Heart of the Faerie Oracle. It's not exactly a traditional tarot deck, but it has beautiful artwork, it is an oracle deck, and I figured it would be of interest to anyone who knows about tarot!

Karen got me this deck for my birthday, and had it signed by Wendy and Brian Froud, creators of the deck. You may have heard of Brian Froud before, he was the artistic director for the movie Labyrinth, and his artwork is centered around the world of faerie. The book is signed, and two of the cards in the deck are signed, too! Therefore, I have finally found my own personal deck to use on myself. I figured I would let people know about it. If you have a love of the faerie realms, then you definitely want to pick up a copy of either the Faerie Oracle, or The Heart of Faerie Oracle (which focuses on relationships).

One of my favorite parts of this deck is there are "wild cards" in the deck, with no name, explanation, or interpretation to look up within the book. The interpretation must come from the person looking at the card alone. I love the idea of this. Think about how many "wild cards" come up within our own lives out of nowhere. I think a measure of what's in someone's soul is how they deal with surprise situations. I think wild cards within a relationship deck is completely appropriate!

This Friday!

2010-03-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry, totally short notice, but since I just got asked, I couldn't have been able to post this sooner! I will be doing readings this Friday, March 19th, at Whimsies! Since this event is from 5:30pm to 7pm, I can only offer short readings, but if you've ever been a curious observer of tarot readings, this a great way to get your feet wet!

Also, Whimsies' Annual Spring Sale started today, so for more information, visit their blog at whimsiesincognito.blogspot.com. Hope to see you Friday!

New deck, new ideas, etc.

2010-03-16T01:36:00.001-04:00

First of all, welcome again to my tarot blog. I had hoped I would make blogging about tarot a more regular occurrence! People have been keeping me busy, and man, am I grateful for that. So, let's get to business, shall we?

I have attended two workshops on tarot within the past few months. In early December, I attended "Throw out the #@%!ing Book!" and in February I attended "Readings for Lovers and the People Who Want Them". Both were taught by Ms. Courtney Weber, and now I am very pleased to pass along that she is now taking pre-orders for HER OWN DECK! Tarot of the Boroughs is a photographic deck instead of an illustrated deck. Yes, you bet your bippy that I pre-ordered. There are 78 cards in a tarot deck... creating a tarot deck is a huge undertaking, and I take my hat off to anyone with vision and fortitude to see it through to the finished product. Please check out the link, and if the images you see are appealing to you... well, you know what to do!

The second order of business is to ask if anyone would be interested in me doing an e-mail mailing list. If so, please e-mail tarrytowntarot[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject line: mailing list, and I will add your e-mail. I plan on only doing a mailing every few months or when I am reading at a public event.

Thirdly, February was a very busy month for me for readings, and I noticed before and after my readings, people were asking me questions about tarot itself, about the nature of tarot, the origins of tarot, psychics vs. tarot readers (if there is a vs. or not), my feelings on tarot and why it works for me as a reader, etc. Very good and interesting stuff came out of these questions, and I think an equal amount of time was spent on answering those questions as doing the readings themselves. So, if you do have a question that you think falls into that other realm, please feel free to e-mail me at that same e-mail address, and I'll do my best to answer it. And, as always, if I've read for you and you had nice things to say, testimonials are ALWAYS welcomed!

It will soon be spring! Enjoy the lengthening hours of daylight, and thanks again for reading!

Getting the fears out

2010-01-26T01:25:00.001-05:00

So, let me introduce you to a little friend of mine. It's a new friend, and I'm just making their acquaintance. It's called the Deviant Moon Tarot.
Depicted here is the Six of Wands (I figured I'd clarify, since the picture is flipped). This is a good example of what this deck looks like, and perhaps explains my original fear of doing a reading with it. It is very dark-feeling... from the colors and from the skewed figures on the cards. Made me feel slightly insane looking at them. Of course, the name of the spread that came with the deck is the Lunatic Spread.
I was asked to do a reading with this deck, so I did, and it turned out better than I expected. I have introduced my energy to this deck, and it has revealed its energy to me, and I think we'll get along just swimmingly with it playing second fiddle to my main deck.
In short, I was scared to work with this deck. I was asked to read using this deck, and I did it. Remember Eleanor Roosevelt's quote: "Do one thing every day that scares you." Your fear is never equivalent to what you experience when you actually get over your fear and just do it! You can surprise yourself!

2010, New Year's blessings, and a very late post

2010-01-01T16:27:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I feel that 2010 has something really great in store for all of us. This is a year for communication and connections, even if (and perhaps in spite of) Mercury being in retrograde for the start of it! Mercury in retrograde makes everything wonky, by the way. I'm not really up and up on my astrology, but tarot.com has great articles on everything from tarot to numerology to astrology, especially this article on the effect of mercury retrograde on careers. Mercury in retrograde makes communication go awry or get misconstrued. In spite of that kind of start, I still think this year will bring breakthroughs in communication with people. We'll connect with people on levels that are deep and true, seeing through differences to connect to the core of other people. We'll realize that our differences are few when viewed with our universal similarities. We all have hopes, dreams, unfinished plans, procrastination, and faults we're looking to correct.

So, blessings to everyone that has found their way to my little blog, and blessings to everyone that hasn't. Blessings to my true friends and even people that aren't my friends, because both groups of people teach me lessons I need to learn. Blessings to everyone that I've read for, and blessings to people I haven't read for yet, because I learn a little bit from everyone. I take your journeys with you each and every time you allow me to read for you, and I thank you.

I took a wonderful workshop last year (ha, last year! but it's true, even yesterday was last year!) with Courtney Weber (don't you just love the photo?), professional tarot reader and class act. You can read Courtney's adventures at her blog, agirlcalledwoo. She definitely helped my tarot reading, simply by allowing the entire class permission to throw out the little white book that comes with a tarot deck and asking us to rely on our own interpretations of the cards. She also took us through several exercises that helped develop more of a personal relationship with our decks. This is certainly stuff that I should have been doing long ago when I first started reading tarot. When you do something long enough, you become more involved in the rote of it than with actually *connecting*. It never hurts to go back to basics... it can only help! It makes you look at things in a new light. Never a bad thing in my book!

Onwards and upwards, my fellow spiritual wanderers! Thoughts and comments are most certainly appreciated!

The Deviant Moon Tarot

2009-11-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

So, I talked about fear in my last entry. It's time for me to put up or shut up, and use a deck that I was initially going to either return or give away: the Deviant Moon Tarot. Because I saw the images on it, and it scared the crud out of me!

However, it caught my eye again as it sat on my bookshelf, and I decided to read a review of it (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/deviant-moon/review.shtml). I think I'm only afraid of the images and the deck because I'm afraid to explore the darker side of my psyche. So I'm not going to return it or give it away; I'm going to use the deck because it was bought for me by a friend (the wonderful Karen), and because there is no denying our deeper nature.

I'm not going to use this deck with kids, though! :)

Throwing out the book

2009-11-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

Lately (the past year or so) I've been more serious about my readings... getting better at them and really using more of my intuition and personal thoughts about what I'm seeing in the cards instead of the traditional meanings that I learned out of either a book or the little instructional booklet that comes with a deck of tarot cards. I've been reading tarot for over twelve years (whoa, that makes me feel old, and I'm not!), and I've only started to learn to trust in my own interpretations now. But from doing so, I have become an immensely better tarot reader, and a better person all around.

So what is it about tarot that makes us so afraid of our own gut instincts? Is it because these cards are outside ourselves, being laid out on the table for us? Does it feel so final and set in stone when those cards are staring up at us from the table, accusing us of our mistakes and faults? Do we feel naked and our souls bared when a spread is laid in front of us for the world to see? What is it exactly that makes us feel we are incapable of reading what the cards have to say without a road map and a guide of symbols as to what each card means?

I think it all boils down to fear. Fear of what we might discover about ourselves, fear of not being capable of reading our cards for ourselves, of not making the right interpretations, of being dead wrong. Fear of looking stupid, or of making a mistake. I've decided to embrace my fears and keeping going in spite of them, and in some cases, because of them.

How about you?

a few thoughts on readings and reversals

2009-10-19T02:09:00.002-04:00

First off, I read for several nice people on Friday night at Whimsies, and was glad people came out despite the lousy weather.

It continues to amaze me that tarot really does work. A stranger sits down in front of me, shuffles the cards for a few minutes, and for the span of the reading, I know them; they let me share a little of their hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. And hopefully, when everything goes right, I can tell them a few things and add a little clarity or foresight to their situation.
So, let's try and illuminate a portion of tarot readings that some people get confused about: reversals. These are my thoughts on the subject, but every tarot reader goes about reading the cards differently. If you too read tarot, but don't use my philosophy of reversals, don't worry! Do what works for you!

I do use reversals (upside-down cards) in my readings. When in a relationship position, I interpret a reversed card as a sign of miscommunication within the relationship (just an example). Generally, I interpret upright cards as situations that the querent is in control of, and I interpret reversals as situations that are out of the querent’s hands and therefore shouldn’t stress out about them. I think the basic difference between upright and reversed cards is the intention and motivation behind the situations the cards represent.

This Friday!

2009-10-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome!

2009-10-14T01:07:00.000-04:00

Apparently free web hosting is going the way of the dinosaurs, so I've decided to set up shop on the internet the best way I know how—by starting a blog!

In the future I plan on having this blog serve as a tutorial, venting place, sounding board, etc. on all things tarot. So pull up a chair, and I'll lay out the cards for you. Sip some tea, and we'll take a look at life through these crazy cards!

Welcome!