Tarot News blog has news and information of interest to the tarot community.
It is Not Selfish to be Self-full
If we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take good care of others.
What is the difference between being self-full and being full of yourself? People who we consider to be “full of themselves” don’t tend to consider others. They always want to be the center of the conversation. They always act as if their priorities are the only things that matter.
Selfish people care more about their own comfort than the comfort of others.
Few of us want to be selfish. Yet, we all need to learn to prioritize our needs. Sometimes, we must put ourselves first. That’s an uncomfortable thing for many of us to do.
I often refer to the need to put ourselves first as “that airplane thing.” During the safety talk before the airplane takes off, we are always reminded that, should the oxygen masks drop, we must put on our own oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs.
If we are traveling with children, or with the infirmed, this directive seems so counterintuitive. Yet, it is a metaphor for self-care.
It’s especially important to remember the need for self-care during these difficult times. Right now, the emotional demands on us may be greater than usual. And, our usual self-care practices might not be available to us.
My favorite self-care practices, other than tarot and meditation, involve spas, salons, yoga studios and live music. Clearly, I don’t have access to any of those things these days.
The challenge for all of us right now is to take care of our responsibilities in this new reality, and also to remember that we are responsible for our self-care.
My personal commitment to my self-fullness includes playing my guitar, spending time online with friends, attending online musical events and doing video exercise classes. When all this is over, I hope to keep some of these activities on my busy schedule!
Very often we feel guilty when we take time for ourselves, especially when we know that others in the world are suffering, and that there are people who are depending on us to meet their needs. That’s when we must remember that airplane thing. We will do a better job helping others when we have taken time to make sure our own needs are met.
The StaarCorner
StaarCon, the Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers Conference, is scheduled for January 2021, in Palm Beach Gardens.
StaarCon will be an annual event, welcoming participants from around the globe, as well as those who live and work in Florida.
We have a four-point mission for our conference. You can read about our mission on the StaarCon website.
Ticket are available now. You can select from a range of options to meet your needs.
StaarCon Presenter Benebell Wen
Tarot Artist and Author
Three Tarot Practices for Self-Care
Tarot study and divination is always an act of self-care. Treating yourself to a reading with a great professional reader can help you find answers, gain new perspective, and feel better in difficult times. Your own personal tarot practice can offer healing, insight, humor, and growth. Here are three practices that will help you use your tarot deck as a tool of self-care.
Card of the Day
Pulling one card every day to be your ‘Card of the Day’ (COTD) is a great practice. Don’t think of this as a daily reading. Rather, think of it as a meditative and energetic focus for the day.
If you aren’t familiar with the card, spend some time researching it in order to learn more about it.
Notice the way the card’s energy appears in your day.
Tarot Collage
You can do this with scissors and glue, or digitally. Simply find images and put them together to create a tarot card. You will find that this process is fun and creative and helps you to understand the card in a new and deeper way.
You don’t have to make a whole deck, simply rendering a card or two can be soothing and enlightening.
Tarot Trade
We often say that your tarot friends are your best friends. Find a friend and trade readings with them! You can do this by email, text, phone or video. While not the same as giving or receiving a professional reading, the insights and fellowship that can come from discussing the cards with your friend should not be underestimated.
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane Live on Zoom
Get your ticket now to join us for our next Zoom class!
On Thursday, April 23 at 7 pm EDT I will be presenting this interactive class which takes a deep dive into the twenty-two Major Arcana cards.
Whether you are a tarot beginner, professional, or somewhere in between, you will find this class enlightening and entertaining.
The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are considered to hold the “Greater Secrets” of tarot. In this class you will learn their spiritual lessons as well as the information they may reveal in a reading. You will also learn which Major Arcana cards to use to manifest your desires.
The Major Arcana cards are here to assist in our spiritual growth and our divination. They can also be powerful tools in creating our future.
Register now for this exciting live class. Class fee is $37.50.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a blogpost entitled How Tarot Helps When We are Suffering.
Did you catch my free live webinar on YouTube, The Incredibly Versatile Two-Card Spread?
Keep your eyes on my Facebook Business Page and my YouTube channel throughout the week!
From Around the Web
I bet we are all watching more videos than usual right now! Here are some of my favorites on YouTube that I found and enjoyed this week. I hope you enjoy them too!
It’s been twelve years since the closing of the Broadway musical, A Chorus Line. The cast came together, in quarantine, to dance a number, separately, together.
There are so many coronavirus musical parodies. Although this is a serious problem, humor sometimes helps us get through it. Here is one of my favorites. It’s a Bee Gees parody, “Staying Inside”.
This spring, teachers all over needed to quickly move their classes online. Of course, some classes are easier to transition to the online learning environment than others. Dance students at Lawrence High School in New York look forward to their spring dance recital every year. This year, of course, it had to be cancelled.
Cards for Your Consideration
There are many tarot cards that can, in context, suggest the need for self-care and self-nurturance. This week, I would like to consider the four Queens as cards that can direct our attention to the need for self-care.
Each Queen can ask us to nurture something within ourselves. The Queen of Swords may ask us to nurture our intellect, to read a book, take a class or learn something new.
The Queen of Pentacles may ask us to nurture our body or our home. Perhaps she encourages us to exercise, to eat good food, to garden, or to rearrange our furniture.
The Queen of Wands ask us to nurture our passions and our creativity. Perhaps she suggests that we do something fun or start a creative project.
The Queen of Cups suggests that we nurture our emotional well-being. Perhaps she tells us to call a friend or connect with someone or something that we love.
Sometimes when the Queens appear in a reading they are speaking of specific women in our lives. Sometimes, however, they appear to remind us to be more self-full, and to nurture ourselves.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 17
April 22, 2020
The Bridges We Build
We have to create the pathways that allow us to connect with others, and to grow.
I was taking a yoga class the other day (on video, of course) and something the teacher said stuck in my mind. She said, “The breath is the bridge between mind and body”.
I was struck by this for two reasons. First, it’s a simple yet powerful truth. Second, I often say in my own teaching that the breath is the bridge between the mundane world and the magickal world, and between our mundane mindset and our meditative mindset.
This got me thinking about the power of breath, which is something I write about often. It also got me thinking about the idea of bridges.
A bridge is a platform that helps us get from one place to another. It is also a device that helps us make connections. In the world of personal growth, spiritual understanding and divination, bridges are an important concept.
We think about heaven and earth being connected by a rainbow bridge. We speak about making a bridge between two people who have had a hard time communicating, or who have had a falling out.
In a tarot reading we build bridges between the cards to see the story unfold. We make an energetic bridge in order to connect with the person for whom we are reading.
In mediumship we make a bridge to the other side, in order to have communication with our loved ones in spirit.
We build other kinds of bridges, too. Education can be a bridge to get to a new career. A difficult job can be a bridge to get to a better opportunity.
Our divination tools are bridges as well. We can use tarot as a bridge between our Higher Selves and our conscious mind, or between the subconscious and the conscious.
During these difficult times, many people feel inclined to reach out to folks with whom they have not spoken in a long time, building bridges of reconnection.
In our divided society, it is important for us to build bridges of understanding and compromise with those with whom we disagree.
Every day, in ways both spiritual and mundane, healing and practical, we are building bridges.
The StaarCorner
When you visit the StaarCon website, you can see some of the presenters who are planning to be with us for our first conference.
StaarCon will also feature an exhibition hall that we are calling ‘StaarMart” which will be open to the public. If you are an artisan or reader, you can now purchase your ticket to vend in StaarMart, and to attend StaarCon. Please reach out to me to discuss you plans to be a vendor at our conference.
The Doubletree Hotel has reserved a block of rooms for our guests at a special confernence rate! To reserve your room please call 561-622-2260 and press option 1. When calling please identify that you are with STAAR CON- Group Code SAC. You can also book on our STAAR CON website on doubletree.hilton.com.
StaarCon Presenter Toni Puhle
The Card Geek, Master Teacher, Author, Deck Creator
Bridge-Building Tarot Spread
Here is an easy tarot method to help you build the bridge in a relationship, or in your life as you are striving toward a goal.
Pull one card to represent you. Pull another card to represent the person with whom you are trying to connect, or the goal you are trying to achieve.
Now pull a card, or a few cards, to represent the bridge. Pull as many cards as you need to give you the information. This will tell you what you need to do, or the steps you need to take, to build the bridge.
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane Live on Zoom
Get your ticket now to join us for our next Zoom class!
On Thursday, April 23 at 7 pm EDT I will be presenting this interactive class which takes a deep dive into the twenty-two Major Arcana cards.
Whether you are a tarot beginner, professional, or somewhere in between, you will find this class enlightening and entertaining.
The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are considered to hold the “Greater Secrets” of tarot. In this class you will learn their spiritual lessons as well as the information they may reveal in a reading. You will also learn which Major Arcana cards to use to manifest your desires.
The Major Arcana cards are here to assist in our spiritual growth and our divination. They can also be powerful tools in creating our future.
Register now for this exciting live class. Class fee is $37.50.
The Week in Review
This week I shared a fun tarot exercise on my Community Blog. Whether you are a new or experienced tarotist, you will enjoy Venn Diagrams for Tarot Understanding.
Each week I share live videos on my Facebook business page and archive them on my YouTube channel. I also do occasional free tarot classes on my YouTube channel, such as the one scheduled for this Sunday!
From Around the Web
During these times, self-care and an attention to wellness is so important. Check out some of the great ideas had by Janet Meredith.
I loved this article from The Atlantic, The Perks of Being a Weirdo.
I found this communication tarot spread. It seems to fit in with this week’s theme and might be helpful for those confined in smalls spaces with their loved ones during this time of quarantine.
Cards for Your Consideration
There are many tarot cards that could speak of bridge-building. Both Temperance and the Six of Swords come to mind. Each offers not only the concept of bridge-building, but also ideas on how bridges could be built.
The card I want to dive into as a card of bridge-building is the Lovers. While so often seen only as a card about romantic relationships, the Lovers is associated with Gemini, and the element of Air.
That means that decisions and communication are important aspects of this card.
The Lovers can speak of how we build bridges to one another. It can also speak of how we need to integrate disparate things into our lives.
Whenever we must find balance, we must first find a way to build a bridge. The Lovers can speak of this concept.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 16
April 15, 2020
The Promise of Renewal
Special meanings for the tarot Aces, and a new tarot spread for renewal.
This is a sacred week for many. Yet, the usual celebrations will be observed a bit differently this year. As sad and uncomfortable as that may feel, there is an opportunity for spiritual growth inherent in our current struggles.
Our traditions, family gatherings, and community rituals are an important part of our lives. This situation which forces us to deviate from our usual annual customs offers us a unique opportunity.
We must pick through our traditions to find within each one its core of meaning. Rather than going through the motions as we do each and every year, we must find ways to hold our celebrations in our hearts. We must take comfort in the inherent spiritual truths, rather than in the beauty of their trappings.
Next year we will be able to return to our normal customs, and they will seem sweeter than ever before, because of the sacrifices we have made this year. And, by making these sacrifices, we will bring to our celebrations, this year and every year forward, new meaning and new understanding.
Most spiritual celebrations held in the spring share a theme of resilience, spiritual promise, and rebirth. As we look out our windows and walk through our neighborhoods, we can see signs of nature’s rebirth, unaffected by our current sorrows.
We see within nature the promise of rebirth fulfilled.
We see within our own families and communities the strength of our resilience.
Let our celebrations this year, though certainly diminished, be no less joyful than any other year. Let us find and celebrate the meaning of our traditions. Let us hold in our hearts the promise of renewal, which we need now, more than ever.
The StaarCorner
This week we are happy to welcome Reverend Kevin Lee to our roster of presenters for StaarCon! Reverend Kevin is the pastor at the Metaphysical Chapel of South Florida. He is a paranormal researcher and a certified spiritual medium. It is our goal to offer a wide range of topics and presenters at StaarCon, and we are happy that Kevin will be bringing his skills, wisdom and experience to share with us.
We are also excited to announce that tickets to StaarCon are now available!
Visit the StaarCon website to see our growing list of presenters, and to get your tickets!
Sign up now for the official StaarCon newsletter to get all the updates as they happen!
A Three-Card Tarot Spread for Finding Renewal
Try this simple tarot spread to give you a focus for your personal renewal.
Let the first card represent something that you are releasing in order to be renewed.
Let the second card represent something within you that is waiting to be born.
Let the third card represent something within you or around you that inspires your renewal.
The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane Live on Zoom
Get your ticket now to join us for our next Zoom class!
On Thursday, April 23 at 7 pm EDT I will be presenting this interactive class which takes a deep dive into the twenty-two Major Arcana cards.
Whether you are a tarot beginner, professional, or somewhere in between, you will find this class enlightening and entertaining.
The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are considered to hold the “Greater Secrets” of tarot. In this class you will learn their spiritual lessons as well as the information they may reveal in a reading. You will also learn which Major Arcana cards to use to manifest your desires.
The Major Arcana cards are here to assist in our spiritual growth and our divination. They can also be powerful tools in creating our future.
Register now for this exciting live class. Class fee is $37.50.
The Week in Review
This past week, along with my regular weekly live videos, we held Global Tarot Circle on Facebook Live, and Cards and Conversation Tarot Meetup on YouTube Live. You can see all these videos in archive on my Facebook business page and my YouTube channel.
I shared a blogpost this week about the ways that predictive self-reading works, and how the pandemic has shown up in the cards.
From Around the Web
One of my favorite Easter traditions as I was growing up was singing the Hallelujah Chorus on Easter Sunday. Here is a rock version that puts a new twist on my old favorite.
From the Llewellyn blog, a piece by the late Donald Michael Kraig about Passover.
Here is a Growth Mindset Tarot Spread for Spring by Carrie Mallon.
Cards for Your Consideration
This week let us consider the four Aces as cards that express the promise of renewal. Each Ace is like a seed, or an egg. Of course, both seeds and eggs are important symbols in many springtime spiritual rituals and holidays.
When we see an Ace in a tarot reading, we often interpret it as a new beginning; the start of something new. Yet, Aces also describe the essence of something, or the source of something. This aspect of the Aces is so important this week as we must reduce our holiday celebrations to their very source and essence.
I often see the Aces as the most powerful and spiritual cards within the Minor Arcana. Although they speak of a beginning, they hold within them the promise of a journey, and the attainment of a goal.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 15
April 8, 2020
Psychic Distancing
Now is the best time to work on your own psychic development.
During difficult times, do you notice that you feel more tired, more stressed and more irritable? Of course, some of that is simply the effect of the difficulty you are facing. But, in a time of widespread crisis, some of what you are feeling is the distress of others.
Most of us have some level of psychic ability. Some of us identify as empaths. That is, those who easily feel what others are feeling. If are psychic or empathic at all, it’s likely that you are dealing with more than your own stress. Right now, you might literally be carrying the weight of the world.
Even in normal times, you might feel the pain and heartache of others, both physically and emotionally. You might not even recognize that what you are feeling is not your own.
Those who perform readings for others are especially at risk for this. Some readers become physically ill after an especially powerful reading. Often, this is because they are so strongly feeling what their client is feeling.
Whether you are a reader, a healer, or just a sensitive spiritual person, there has never been a better time to improve your ‘psychic distancing’ techniques. You don’t want to limit your intuition. Yet, for the sake of your own wellbeing, you need to be able to limit what you experience.
Meditation is the quickest and easiest way to do this. You need to send energy to your root chakra at the base of your spine, and then send energy into the earth, to ground yourself. From there, breathe energy up your spine and out of your crown chakra in all directions. Let that energy fall to the ground and create a protective shield around you. Let it sink into the ground and cycle up again, constantly refreshing you, connecting you to the earth, and protecting you.
Unlike many meditative exercises, you can do this one in less than three minutes. Or, you can take your time and stop at each chakra, spending a few moments clearing and releasing energy in each energy center.
On a more intellectual level, try this. When you feel anxious, or when the energy around you feels heavy, take a step back. Is what you are feeling really coming from you, or is it coming from outside you? Remember that just because you can feel something, or know something, doesn’t make you able or responsible to fix it. Simply exhale, and release the energy, and return your attend to your own affairs. You can send a quick prayer or affirmation if you like.
This next thing may sound counterintuitive, but it’s the truth. The best way to relieve yourself of empathic pain is to run toward your psychic gifts, rather than away from them. Some people try to shut their intuition down. This usually causes more pain, not less.
The more psychic development your do, the more psychic tools you learn to use, the more control you will have of your energy. The more developed your gifts are, the more ability you will have to deal with the energies around you.
That means that now is a great time to learn tarot, work with oracle cards, and study psychic development!
The StaarCorner
One of the things that excites me the most about StaarCon is the broad range of topics we will be covering. We will have plenty of tarot classes for tarotists of all levels of expertise. We will also have classes in other methods of cartomancy, including Kipper, Lenormand, and oracle cards. We will explore other aspects of magic and mysticism from many cultures.
Whatever your areas of interest are, we will have classes and workshops to inspire you.
During these difficult times, it’s important to have something to look forward to. Plan to attend StaarCon in January 2021! Tickets, with early bird pricing, go on sale today!
StaarCon Presenter Mitchell Osborn
Tarot Reader, Medium, Animal Communicator
A Tarot Spread for Empaths
One question we might often ask is this. Is the discomfort I am feeling mine, or am I picking it up from someone else?
Here’s a tarot spread to help with that. Arrange the cards any way that feels right.
Card One
Let this card describe or explain what you are feeling.
Card Two
Let this card tell you where this feeling is coming from.
Card Three
Let this card reflect your energy, without this thing you are feeling.
Card Four
Let this card tell you what you can do to release this feeling.
Card Five
Let this card tell you what, if anything, you need to do in response to this feeling.
Zoom Classes Live and on Teachable
Our first class on Zoom, Finding Meaning in the Minor Arcana, went so well that I have scheduled another Zoom class in April! Of course, all premium classes that were scheduled to be held in my Palm City office are moved to Zoom until we are able to meet in person again. Then, I will continue holding classes on Zoom as well as in person in Palm City.
Those who missed the class and would like to purchase the replay will be able to do so at Card and Craft Academy on Teachable. Those who took the live class will be granted access to the replay at no additional charge.
I was so pleased with how easy Zoom was to work, and how much it felt like an in-person class. It was great to be able to include people from all over the world.
The class I’ve added to the calendar will take place on Thursday, April 23, at 7 pm EDT. It’s called “The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane.”
The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are considered to hold the “Greater Secrets” of tarot. In this class you will learn their spiritual lessons as well as the information they may reveal in a reading. You will also learn which Major Arcana cards to use to manifest your desires.
The Major Arcana cards are here to assist in our spiritual growth and our divination. They can also be powerful tools in creating our future.
Register now for this exciting live class. Class fee is $37.50.
The Week in Review
Check out my latest blog post. It’s about using tarot to interpret dreams!
Join me on my Facebook business page for Global Tarot Circle tonight, and check out the weekly live videos I do there.
Join me Sunday on my YouTube channel for Cards and Conversation, and discover videos there dating back through 2014.
From Around the Web
I was honored to be part of this video put together by Sasha Graham. Watch Messages from the Tarot Community During Covid-19.
This article on The Inner Voice really inspired me.
On a lighter note, if you are looking to have some socially-distanced fun with your friends during quarantine, try this online version of Cards Against Humanity!
Cards for Your Consideration
We can consider the Eight of Cups as a card of social distancing in general. The Eight of Cups can often speak of feeling of abandonment. Yet, it also speaks of the need to walk away from something, or the process of distancing yourself from something.
This works on a psychic level, too. As much as something might knock on the door of our brain, the Eight of Cups gives us the power to turn our back to it and walk toward something else.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Tarot Topics Newsletter
Volume 3 Issue 14
April 1, 2020