Tricks and Treats
Children in costume trick or treating.
Not surprisingly, I love the spiritual and secular aspects of spooky season. I also love discovering the origins of all our holiday traditions. For example, the tradition of trick-or-treating originated from the custom of leaving sweets on doorsteps to placate the spirits who came back to seek vengeance on Halloween.
We humans often try to bargain with the energies we see as spiritual forces. That bargaining is something I think about often.
This week, though, I am contemplating the metaphor of appeasing our ghosts.
Beyond the concept of ghosts as actual spirits, we also use the term to describe things of our past with which we haven’t made peace. When we say that someone is haunted, very rarely do we mean to imply that they are having ghostly visitations. Rather, we are haunted by our memories and the injuries of our past.
To extend this metaphor, I think many of us are constantly tricked by the ghosts of our past. We often pay homage to what has hurt us rather than doing the painful work of healing.
Consider the person who grew up in an abusive family but puts their abuser on a pedestal or the person who blames others for their problems rather than taking responsibility for their own healing. It is impossible to heal when we cannot see or know the truth about our past.
Even those of us lucky enough to have avoided terrible trauma still have hurtful memories that cause us to believe negative and untrue things about life and about ourselves.
As we honor our ancestors and enjoy spooky season this month, let’s do what we can to put our personal ghosts to rest. We do that by unpacking and reprocessing past events, being gentle with our younger selves, and realizing that some things that we were taught and told might not be the truth.
The StaarCon 5 Imagining of Pixie Arcana. Art and composition by Stacey Williams-Ng, backgrounds by Animix.
The StaarCorner
StaarCon 2024 AfterGlow
This month, join us for three special lounge events!
On Friday, October 11, at 5 pm, Join María Alviz Hernando in The Sybil’s Tarot Lounge for a session reviewing real tarot reading case studies.
On Thursday, October 17, at 5 pm, join Serena Fox in her new lounge, Mystic Lounging, for a full-moon-inspired session.
On Sunday, October 20, at 5 pm, join me in the Tea with Your Tarot Fairy Godmother Lounge for a session on the best strategies for teaching and learning tarot.
StaarCon 5
One of the things I am excited about is that we will be talking about tarot in some very interesting ways at StaarCon 5. We will have sessions exploring connections between tarot and martial arts, neuroscience, music, and poetry. I am happy to announce that we are welcoming first-time presenter Caroline Ironwill to talk about tarot and neurodivergence. Caroline is a Canadian tarot reader and certified coach with a following on YouTube.
At StaarCon 5, we will discover many ways to understand and celebrate tarot. Please join us!
A photograph of StaarCon presenter Caroline Ironwill.
Tarot cards on a wooden table with cups and a bowl of fruit.
Ask Tarot for the Truth
Many tarot spreads have a position for the past or recent events. Yet, most tarot spreads do not offer positions to help us deeply unpack and reprocess the past, so we often have to ask the right questions and create our own spreads.
What are the best questions to ask the cards when we are trying to understand something from the past? We want to discover the truth rather than the mythology that has sprung up about the past. That means we are asking the cards to show us what is true about something or someone. For example, we can ask questions such as the following.
What was this person’s intention when they did this?
What were the factors present at the time that caused me to make this choice?
How did those long-ago events affect my life?
What is true about this situation?
What can I know about this?
Psychic Gallery at Banyan Soul Yoga Studio - October 13th @ 4 pm.
The Week in Review
This Sunday, join me at Banyan Soul Yoga Studio in Stuart for a Psychic Gallery. Tickets are limited!
If you missed our October Mediumship and Magic class, watch the replay!
From Around the Web
Did you know Salem, Massachusetts, is a great place to celebrate Halloween? Here’s why!
Daily Tarot Girl Kate has a tarot spread to help you stop holding on to the past and move forward.
Psychology Today offers these tips to help heal childhood trauma.
Closeup of tarot reading and study.
Making Magic
Can magic help us release the ghosts of our past? Yes, but we need to be careful to avoid spiritual bypassing and what therapists call “magical thinking.”
In psychology, magical thinking is the belief that our thoughts and actions directly influence external events.
But, wait a minute, isn’t that what we magical people know to be true?
This is where critical thinking is paramount.
We know that magic works and can make a difference. Yet, we also know that the magical and the mundane must work together. If we are doing magic to heal, we must also do the daily tasks that promote our healing and avoid the things that hurt us.
I believe that tarot is a fabulous magical tool for helping us understand and release our personal hauntings. Yet, we must show up for the deeply emotional work that goes along with understanding tarot and ourselves. The efficacy of our magic will be directly affected by the depth of our emotional presence.
Tarot Topics Newsletter Recap - Thursdays at Noon Live on YouTube.
Upcoming Events
Weekly YouTube Events
Monday 9:30 am: Your 3-Card Weekly Reading
Thursday Noon: Tarot Topics Newsletter Recap
Friday Noon: Your Friday Weekly Wrap-up
Saturday 12:30 pm: Saturday Psychic Sampler
Card and Craft Academy
Card and Craft Academy will close on October 15th and reopen soon at christianagaudet.com!
Students will be offered a similar course in the new location as soon as the course becomes available. Students who take advantage of the offer to access the new course will also receive a coupon for a free month of our new all-access subscription when the full site is available.
Christiana’s Candle Magick
Christiana’s Eleven-Card Celtic Cross
Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane
Practical Tarot Techniques
Psychic Tarot
Personal Tarot: Reading for Yourself
Sharing Wisdom: Reading for Others
The Meaning and Magic of Tarot Reversals
Journey Through the Major Arcana
Your Journey Through the Minor Arcana: Numbers, Elements and Truth
Tarot Beyond the Veil
Your Journey Through the Tarot Court
Tarot Stories, Trends, and Blends
Tarot Readings for Personalities and Relationships
Clarity in Every Tarot Card
Tarot Flow Workshop
Making Magick with Tarot
Fearless Wisdom Tarot Workshop
Tarot Keywords and Interpretations Workshop
Tarot Spreads Tools and Techniques Workshop
Tarot for Magic and Mediumship
Tarot Communication for Clarity and Depth
Weaving the Tarot Reading Story
The Elemental Major Arcana
Minor Arcana Numbers, Elements, and Truth
Personal Healing with Tarot
Create and Interpret Custom Tarot Spreads
What the Court Cards Want You to Know
How Spirit Speaks Through Tarot
Catch up on your missed Zoom webinars and more!
Christiana Gaudet with her cards.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152
Coming soon! Locations in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida!
Email cgaudet@cardandcraft.com
On the web www.christianagaudet.com
Online classes www.cardandcraftacademy.com
StaarCon information www.staarcon.com
YouTube @YourTarotFairyGodmother
Instagram @christianatarot @staarcon
TikTok @christianagaudettarot
Private telephone, Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, and in-person readings and instruction are available by appointment.
Tarot parties at your home or office are available throughout Florida.
Zoom parties and group instruction are available almost everywhere!
Call toll free 866-99TAROT (866-998-2768)
Palm City 772-301-0232 x102
or call or text 561-655-1160
for more information or to schedule your event.
Schedule Appointments Online
Schedule online at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 7 Issue 41
October 9, 2024
Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.
