Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
Is Silence Golden?
Communication is vital to our existence, and it is so hard to get it right!
We often talk about talking. What do I mean by that? Whether verbal, digital, or on paper, communication is vital to every aspect of life. Yet, communication tends to be misunderstood frequently. That means we often have conversations about how to better communicate with each other. Books, classes, and podcasts offer tips and tricks to teach us to become better communicators.
Writers face the further challenge of presenting information that is not only informative but also engaging and easy to comprehend.
There are a multitude of reasons communication is difficult. We all come from different cultures, generations, and perspectives. That means we do not always agree on a word's meaning, and certain words evoke different feelings in us.
Our training to be nice and to refrain from discussing certain topics can hinder good communication. Many families have secrets that cause damage. Yet, honest communication is sometimes considered hurtful.
Words can be weaponized and used to hurt rather than to build understanding. Yet, withholding the truth can be just as damaging.
The flip side is that a good conversation with a friend, family member, or trusted advisor can be a truly healing experience. Easy chatter between friends is a delight, made much easier by technological advances. I can remember a time when my long-distance telephone bill was my most worrisome monthly expense!
Another essential communication skill is knowing when to speak and when to remain silent. Growing up, we were often told that ‘silence is golden.’ I thought that was adults simply wanting us to play more quietly. It turns out that our adults were quoting an Arabic proverb from the 9th century, which says, in full, ‘Speech is silver, silence is golden.’
I believe in this timeless wisdom of listening more than speaking and thinking deeply about what crosses our lips so that we might always try to speak truthfully and kindly.
At the same time, the societal desire for politeness can sometimes silence us at the wrong times and in the wrong ways. Sometimes, we must bravely raise our voices to call for justice, and fair treatment and to right wrongs. Sometimes, we must speak our truth, even if that is unpleasant.
My wise mother used to caution me, ‘Don’t throw your pearls before swine.’ This is an adaptation of a bit of Biblical wisdom. It is thought that Jesus said this to teach his disciples to preach only to those ready to hear the wisdom.
There can be a lot of confusion about what to say, how to say it, and where, when, and if we should speak our truth.
I have come to believe that silence is golden when it protects us from unnecessary vexation and when our silence is required by grace, honor, and compassion.
Yet, when truth is maliciously withheld or suppressed, silence becomes another sort of weapon.
The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.
The StaarCorner
The energy and laughter we share when we gather with like-minded people is powerful. The learning, growth, and networking opportunities that come from participating in an international conference can be life-changing.
StaarCon is a unique conference, mainly because we are fully hybrid. Whether you join us in person or online, you will have excellent opportunities for fun and fellowship.
The 365-day AfterGlow on Accelevents offers every ticketholder the opportunity to continue the exploration and personal development for an entire year.
Tickets to StaarCon range in price from $10 to $500. Find the ticket that works best for you and make your plan to join us January 19 through 21 and in the AfterGlow.
Ethics at the Tarot Table
There are so many tarot cards that have ‘communication’ as a keyword. Tarot itself is a tool of communication.
But when we read cards for ourselves, how do we communicate the message of the cards in a helpful way?
When we read for others, how do we know the right way to say what we see?
Every reader has their own philosophy on this, although most would agree that much like the oath doctors take, we should strive to do no harm.
When reading for self, we must be sure that our interpretations are not skewed by fear or desire.
When reading for others, we must each have a personal code of ethics. This will include our system of belief about our tarot practice. Our code of ethics governs many things about our practice. This may influence what we ask the cards, how we phrase our questions, and how we communicate the information of the reading to the person for whom we are reading.
We all have a different set of ethics. There are no tarot police, and there is no standard rulebook.
Yet, we all need to be aware that the words we speak at the tarot table have the power to give great help but also the power to hurt. It can take a great deal of time and thought to determine our feelings and beliefs and decide how we can best communicate ethically at the tarot table.
The Week in Review
Thank you to everyone who came to tarot class at Mandel Public Library on Saturday. I will return to teach another free tarot class on October 28 at noon. Please join us if you can!
Please watch the replay if you could not join us for our Equinox Gathering on YouTube last Thursday.
This Sunday, October 1, at 4 pm, join us at Panera Bread in Palm City for our monthly tarot meetup.
September 28 is your last chance to vote in the World Divination Association Awards. I am nominated in three categories. Please vote!
From Around the Web
Reckon News has a wonderful article from Danielle Buckingham on changing the narrative through tarot. I genuinely support this wise approach.
Aerik Arkadian shares some ideas for the Autumn Equinox. While the date has passed, the concepts and practices are helpful throughout the fall season.
Here is a seasonal tarot spread to help you focus on your harvest.
Creation and Divination
The High Priestess is a card that can speak of silence and secrecy. We associate the High Priestess with the myth of Persephone. Every six months at the autumnal equinox, Persephone is bound to descend to the Underworld, which, according to the myth, causes winter to begin.
I wrote this poem a few years ago as I considered Persephone, the High Priestess, making her annual sojourn.
Persephone As the High Priestess
Balancing mercy and severity
Dark and light, night and day
Holding secrets in silence
And serenity.
Seasons change
As she changes all she touches
And yet remains herself
Essentially the same.
The price women pay for wisdom
Can be counted
In her six sweet seeds.
Upcoming Events
Card and Craft Academy
Classes presented by Christiana are available right now at Card and Craft Academy!
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!
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152
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
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 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 online at cardandcraft.10to8.com.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 39
September 27, 2023
I Am Never Doing That Again!
Life happens in cycles, but life is also finite. We dig into that this week.
This week, I am musing on the number of occasions life offers us to say some form of, “I am never doing that again.” We might say this phrase in anger, with determination, with relief, in sadness, or with regret.
When we learn a better way to do something, we never return to the older, more challenging way.
When we make a terrible mistake, we endeavor to avoid repeating it.
When we quit a bad habit, we commit to never doing that thing again.
When we approach a new cycle in life, we give up some of the activities of our younger years.
When we make an apology, we promise that we will not commit the offense again.
When we accomplish an academic achievement, we know we will never take those classes again.
When a relationship ends, we mourn that we won’t see that person again.
When we learn to push back against maltreatment, we feel empowered never to accept that treatment again.
When we retire from a career, there are things we will never again do and places we will never again go.
Life happens in cycles. Yet, there are also finite endings. Some endings are delightful and celebratory. Others are tragic and sorrowful.
Many times, endings come because we decide it is time for change. Even when the choice is ours, the finality of ending something can be painful and difficult.
As soon as we are born, we begin to change. With each new step forward, we also leave some things behind. This remains true throughout our lives. It takes courage and emotional fortitude to step forward into the future and say goodbye to the things we know we will never do again.
The StaarCon Fairy for 2024 by Ciro Marchetti.
The StaarCorner
I am the founder and director of StaarCon, alongside John Gaudet. I am also a StaarCon presenter.
This year, I will be presenting the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony. Due to popular demand, I will also be teaching a special class.
On Friday evening, during the StaarCon Open House, our Opening Ceremony will lead directly into a final evening class that is open to everyone, including those with General Admission tickets.
The class I will teach will continue the excitement of the Opening Ceremony as we explore ways to embody and direct the energy of tarot cards in magic and healing. Be prepared for a fun, informative, and unusual tarot experience with me.
During the 365-day AfterGlow, I will host discussion groups and teach classes in the lounges. These events will be accessible to ticketholders at all levels.
I am so excited for everything that StaarCon is and is becoming. Please plan to join us!
What We Can Learn About Endings in Tarot
One tarot card that carries an intense energy of finality is Major Arcana 21, the World. As the last card of the Major Arcana, the World expresses completion. Generally, we can see this card as a positive affirmation of the end of a successful journey.
Many other cards speak of completion and endings in tarot. Many of them are considerably less pleasant than the World. Arguably, the Ten of Swords is the most brutal of these images. The Ten of Swords can offer relief that something horrible is over.
When we study tarot, it is essential to understand that each card has a spectrum of meanings, keywords, associations, and possibilities for interpretation.
It is impossible to learn each possible meaning of each card. Instead, we must understand the character of each card. That way, we can understand how each card might behave in a specific reading, given the context provided by questions, intuition, and surrounding cards.
This week’s topic offers us an excellent opportunity for tarot study. Try this exercise and see how it opens new ways to understand your cards.
Look through your deck card by card, and make a pile of each card that, to you, expresses a sense of finality and endings. Then, make a list of these cards. As you look at this small subset of the deck, contemplate these cards and write about your thoughts and discoveries.
What commonalities and differences do you find as you compare these cards one to another?
What do you learn about these cards, and what do you learn about endings in life, when you consider the similarities and differences of these cards?
The Week in Review
I am nominated in three categories for the 2023 World Divination Associations Awards. Please vote for me for Best Tarot Reader, Best Divination Teacher, and Best All-Around Diviner. In other categories, please vote for your favorite diviners and StaarCon presenters.
This Thursday is the Autumnal Equinox. Please join us on my YouTube channel for a special tarot-infused celebration.
If you are a member of my YouTube channel, you can watch the replay of our members-only livestream.
Join me this Saturday in downtown West Palm Beach at noon for another free tarot class at Mandel Public Library.
I am excited to be a presenter at the World Divination Association virtual conference on Facebook Live, the WDAVE Big Bang Conference, which will be held on October 14th and 15th.
From Around the Web
Last Friday was the New Moon in Virgo. StaarCon 2024 intensive presenter Mary Ellen Collins has some great thoughts about ways to use this energy. Even a few days later, these exercises can be a great benefit.
Lisa Adams will also be a StaarCon 2024 intensive presenter. She wrote an article about the autumnal equinox for Pathways Magazine. Check it out!
StaarCon 2024 headliner Benebell Wen shared some thoughts on the publication of her third book, I Ching, The Oracle.
Creation and Divination
There are many cards in tarot that speak about endings. Within many of those cards, we also see the possibility of new beginnings.
One card I think of in this context is Major Arcana 13, Death. Here is a poem I wrote about Death.
If you have any divination-inspired poetry or prose you would like to share in this newsletter, please email me.
Death
For the caterpillar in the cocoon
Does transformation come too soon?
Does the snake mourn the skin after it's free?
If change is the door, letting go is the key.
Does the chick regret leaving the nest?
Would we prefer not to outgrow our mothers' breast?
What is it in us that clings to the past
And dreads the unpredictable, inevitable last?
All things must evolve, age, and transform
Every way dies, and new ways are born.
Upcoming Events
Card and Craft Academy
Classes presented by Christiana are available right now at Card and Craft Academy!
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!
About Christiana Gaudet
Card and Craft, Inc.
Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers, LLC.
Christiana Gaudet
3559 SW Corporate Parkway
Palm City, Florida 34990-8152
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
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 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 online at cardandcraft.10to8.com.
Agent inquiries are welcome.
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 38
September 20, 2023