Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Angels Among Us
The word "angel" can mean many different things. This week, we are talking about the magic that happens when we show up for one another.
Photo of a child helping another child.
We often talk about angels, yet we are not always clear about what we mean. Some people use this term to describe those who have passed on and watch over us, and some use it to describe non-human mythical creatures from sacred texts. Others work with archangels in prayer, meditation, and divination.
We also use this term to describe the experience when an unexpectedly helpful human appears at precisely the right time.
Most of us have felt gratitude for that person who steps in when help is needed most. Many of us have been that person in planned and unplanned ways. When I was young, I was told this is what we mean when we say we are “God’s hands on Earth.” I think about Fred Rogers’ advice to children: in times of trouble, look for the helpers.
When someone swoops in to save us, we call them an angel. What if that is true on a level deeper than metaphoric?
I always loved the phrase “random acts of kindness.” When we consciously try to practice this and are willing to help when situations arise, I believe we connect ourselves to our spiritual power. We might think of this as karma or simply a reward for being a good person. But the trick is that kindness that seeks reward is not kind.
We cannot practice kindness to seek spiritual favor, but we can be aware that when we are truly kind, spiritual favor seeks us.
Sometimes, we feel called to do a great service. Is that a higher power recruiting us to be an angel on Earth?
As much as we are capable of hurting one another, we are equally capable of great acts of kindness and service. When we look for the angels among us and when we allow ourselves to be someone’s angel, we make a difference on the planet, both practically and energetically.
I have not had experience with talking fiery shrubbery or winged creatures with flaming swords. But I have seen real kindness and expertise show up to save me when I needed it most, and I have tried to be that for others. The magic and spiritual power of these human angels among us is, to me, way more awe-inspiring than any ancient myth.
The StaarCon 5 Imagining of Pixie Arcana. Art and composition by Stacey Williams-Ng, backgrounds by Animix.
The StaarCorner
StaarCon 2024 AfterGlow
Access to the presentations' recordings will end on January 20. In the meantime, we will have a few more lounge events before the end of the AfterGlow and the beginning of the StaarCon 5 preconference.
On Thursday, December 12, at 5:30 pm ET, Join Serena Fox and me in the Mystic Lounging with Serena Fox lounge as we celebrate “Decks-ember.” We will talk about our favorite decks, our least favorite decks, and how our relationships with our cards work.
StaarCon 5
StaarCon 5 will feature a full track of virtual presenters, two tracks of presenters live streaming from the hotel in West Palm Beach, and a track that offers in-person experiences and pre-recorded videos for those watching online.
This means that whether you are joining us in person or online, there will be plenty to experience during the three-day conference and the 365-day AfterGlow.
Just added to our roster of virtual presenters is Queen Auset-Heru, a Priestess of Ma’at, the spiritual system of the ancient Kemetians. Queen is a tarot reader and clairvoyant who has been working professionally since 1999. She will join us from her home in Costa Rica.
We are very excited to learn from her and welcome her to the StaarCon community!
StaarCon presenter Queen Auset-Heru.
A woman reading tarot outdoors.
Tarot Spread for Finding Help
Sometimes, our need for an angel is immediate. Other times, however, it’s strategic. We have time to gather a team, find the right doctor, hire a handyperson, or make a new friend. Tarot can help us in this search.
Here is a tarot spread to use to help find the person you need. Arrange the cards any way you like.
Let Card One help you understand your needs.
Let Card Two show you what it looks like with this need unfulfilled.
Let Card Three show you what sort of person might fill this need.
Let Card Four show you what you need to know to find this person.
Let Card Five show you what this person will need from you.
You might find you need to pull a few cards for each position and blend their meanings.
Global Tarot Circle Live on YouTube - December 4th @ 7 pm.
The Week in Review
It’s a new month! Get your TarotScopes for December on YouTube and TikTok.
Join us for Global Tarot Circle tonight at 7 pm ET. It is free and fun!
Our local tarot meetup, Cards and Conversation, will be this Sunday, December 8, at 4 p.m. at Panera Bread in Palm City. All are welcome!
From Around the Web
In the spirit of the angels around us, I've included three free offerings that I think are super generous and awesome.
I have shared this one before, but it bears repeating. Joan Bunning has made her entire tarot course in book form, Learning the Tarot, available online for free.
Little Red Tarot has a full tarot library that is available online for free.
Early tarot texts are available online at Sacred Texts.
A woman holding a lantern.
Making Magic
Many rituals and practices are available for drawing heavenly angels near us. But what can we do to summon an angel on Earth? Is there a spiritual 911 we can use to call for help when our cell phones aren’t enough?
Sometimes, the help we need is not a hand in a crisis; it’s a community of friends that sustains us.
Whether I am hoping to find people to attend an event or looking for travel directions when I have no cell signal, the magic I use is the same.
I call it “The Beacon”.
I picture a light above my head, like a searchlight, attracting in the people I need, like moths to a flame.
This has always worked when I needed it. For this reason, I never fear being alone or not having the help I need. I also try to do the inverse of this by staying alert for the “psychic distress calls” of others.
Cards and Conversation Tarot Meetup at Panera Bread in Palm City, Florida - December 8th @ 4 pm.
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 permanently on November 15th.
Look for Christiana’s new and improved academy soon! Until then, Christiana is offering personal mentorship classes in person and online.
Existing students of Card and Craft Academy 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.
If you are a Card and Craft Academy student, your invitation will be mailed to the email address you used to log in to the old account. If your address changes, you can contact Christiana to recover your account.
Christiana Gaudet with her young grandchildren, circa 2022.
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
770 SE Indian Street
Stuart, Florida 34997-5604
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)
For business or agent inquiries, call 772-301-0232
For appointments, call or text 561-655-1160
Schedule Appointments or Purchase Gift Certificates Online!
Schedule your private reading or mentorship session, or purchase gift certificates at https://christiana-gaudet.as.me.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 7 Issue 49
December 4, 2024
Christiana Gaudet Your Tarot Fairy Godmother banner.
A Review of Angel Tarot Cards
Angel Tarot (Doreen Virtue), tarot deck reviewed June, 2012.
Angel Tarot Cards
Doreen Virtue, Radleigh Valentine, Steve A. Roberts
Published by Hay House
Review by Christiana Gaudet
After a few months of fussing and fuming about the disingenuous promotions Hay House has used for the new Doreen Virtue Angel Tarot Cards, I am finally holding the deck in my hands. No, I didn’t break down and make the purchase. If you are wondering why, see my blog post on the topic.
However, I do believe the Doreen Virtue Angel Tarot is a legitimate contribution to the tarot corpus, and I am glad a friend lent me her copy so I could give it a legitimate review.
Angel Tarot Cards (yes, that is the official title) looks like a typical Doreen Virtue oracle. It is oversized, printed on very sturdy stock and packaged in a lovely box with a small but substantial booklet. Because of their size and sturdiness, the cards are a bit hard to handle, but lovely to behold.
The deck is a standard 78-card tarot deck in many respects. The artwork is gorgeous, but there are few visual clues in each picture about what the card might actually mean. Never fear, there are interpretations written on each card. There is no need to actually intuit or study anything. This is a boon for new tarot readers or for those who want to use the deck as a simple, easy oracle.
I like many of the written interpretations on the cards and in the booklet. Virtue and I agree that every tarot card can have an uplifting meaning. The punctuation on some of the interpretations summons my inner grammar police. The interpretations are a mishmash of full sentences and key words, but each thought is punctuated with a full stop. Apparently, angels find no need for complete sentences or proper punctuation. We can’t really blame the deck designers for this; many other oracle creators are guilty of the same lazy crime against the English language.
The Major Arcana cards are each illustrated with an archangel. The cards bear the traditional number at the top. Each Major Arcana has a name, although many of the names have been changed from the traditional Major Arcana designations. Under the Major Arcana name is the name of the angel, then the illustration. The written interpretations are at the bottom.
In this deck, Justice is card eight, and Strength is card eleven. The Fool has been renamed as “The Dreamer.” Major Arcana five (Hierophant) is called “Unity,” twelve (Hanged Man) is called “Awakening,” thirteen (Death) is “Release,” fourteen (Temperance) is “Balance,” fifteen (Devil) is “Ego”, sixteen (Tower) is “Life Experience” and twenty (Judgment) is “Renewal.” The rest retain their traditional names.
I am comfortable with changing the traditional names of Major Arcana cards. In the five hundred year history of tarot some have already been changed. The Hierophant was once the Pope, for instance. I like Lisa Hunt’s replacement of “Chains” for the Devil, and Eileen Connolly’s “Transition” for Death.
I think Virtue’s “Release” for Death is brilliant. I also like “Ego” for the Devil. I think “Life Experience” for the Tower is shallow, and “Unity” for the Hierophant is simply wishful thinking.
The assignment of an archangel for each Major Arcana is very interesting, and will be helpful to those who work with archangels, or want to learn more about them. Following in the footsteps of Kris Waldherr and some other modern tarot designers, this is a great example of what I like to call “archetypal assignment tarot.” The question is, how well do the archangel choices reflect the standard Major Arcana archetypes?
The “Unity” card (Hierophant), is represented by Archangel Sandalphon. Sandalphon is one of the few archangels who was once a mortal man. This makes sense for the “Pope” archetype of Major Arcana five. The Pope is a mortal man who is also God, or God’s representative on Earth. Sandalphon’s responsibilities include prayers, personal ascension and Earth. To me, this seems like a very good fit.
The High Priestess is represented by Archangel Haniel. Haniel is feminine, and associated with grace, intuitive development, and finding our divine essence. Again, this seems a perfect fit.
After studying the archangels and the Major Arcana cards with which they are assigned, I feel the designers of this deck really did their homework. One problem with archetypal assignment decks is the assignments sometimes feel forced. In Angel Tarot Cards, the assignments make sense, and feel natural.
My only real complaint with the Major Arcana in this deck is the loss of the “Fool’s Journey.” I would be fine with the “Dreamer’s Journey.” But here, there is no journey at all. Instead, there are simply twenty-two archangels, each with a beautiful picture, a strong archetypal association and a powerful message. For many, this will be enough.
For me, the concept of card zero (Fool or Dreamer) as the star of the show and the representation of each of us on our journey through life is critical to developing a full archetypal and allegorical understanding of tarot.
The Minor Arcana of Angel Tarot Cards uses the elements instead of the icons. This is not an unusual switch in modern tarot. The Earth cards have green borders and are illustrated with faeries. The Water cards have dark blue borders and are illustrated with mermaids. The Fire cards have dark red borders and are illustrated with dragons. The Air cards have light blue borders and are illustrated with unicorns.
The Court of the Minor Arcana is quite traditional, with ranks of Page, Knight, Queen and King. The interpretations include the possibility of the cards representing people, energies or predictions.
I have a problem with mixing archangels with unicorns, mermaids, dragons and faeries, especially since Virtue has made a living of presenting the angels as actual beings rather than mythological beings. Does this mean she thinks unicorns and mermaids are actual beings as well? Many people do, but for me this demotes the archangels to mere mythical beasts.
Clearly, Angel Tarot Cards would not be my first choice for a personal or professional tarot deck. However, the artwork and deck quality are stunning. The deck honors tarot tradition in many ways, and will be a great tool for folks who want to learn tarot, or who want to learn about the archangels. It is evident that a great deal of work went into producing this deck. That work has resulting in a strong tarot deck that many people will cherish and enjoy. Angel Tarot Cards is a valuable offering to the tarot community, and may serve to bring new tarot enthusiasts into our community.