tarottarot

[tarottarot]

“He was free, free in every way, free to behave like a fool or a machine, free to accept, free to refuse, free to equivocate; to marry, to give up the game, to drag this death weight about with him for years to come. He could do what he liked, no one had the right to advise him, there would be for him no Good or Evil unless he thought them into being.”

— Jean-Paul Sartre, The Age of Reason

[tarottarot]

Stop Learning Tarot Cards Like Flash Cards (You’re Better Than That)

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve started teaching tarot cards to other people is that they have a tendency to think that every card has an individual meaning and it is their duty to memorize 78 complex sets of meanings before they can begin reading for others. 

That’s simply not true. 

It’s also incredibly inefficient and totally kneecaps you when you move on to learn another deck (and try memorizing ANOTHER 78 complex sets of meanings). Cards exist in relation to one another. Understanding those relationships lets you remember meanings quicker, better understand how cards in a spread might be connected, and give much smoother readings. 

If you’re learning Tarot for the first time or looking to bush up, here’s my advice after reading cards for 10 years. Please, learn from my mistakes.  Tarot is a language

In the same way you learn letters and string them into words and then string words into sentences to communicate, tarot is a language you learn so your intuition can communicate more fully with you and others. And like a language, it’s often best to start with the phrases that you’ll use the most. 

Practice: Go through your deck and pick out no more than 12 cards that are really calling to you and look up those meanings. Write them down if you’re up for it. Go through your deck and pick out no more than 12 cards that give you a feeling of unease and do the same. Notice any reoccurring symbols?

  Tarot is a story

How you understand that story may vary on your tradition, your experience level, your aims. Most standard Tarot decks follow the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana as he becomes more skilled and then more enlightened. A similar pattern can be seen in each of the suits. The Court Cards are less narrative in my opinion but a similar progression can be seen. 

Practice: Take out each of the suits one at a time and lay them out in a row. Read the meanings of each card and see how the story progresses. Write down a summary. Do the same with each of other suits’ courts and the major arcana.

Tarot is a system

You aren’t fluent until you know the language well enough to speak smoothly and in most situations. Similarly, it takes understanding Tarot at a high level to give the best quality readings and read without a book. No card exists in isolation and just like when they show up in a reading, you must read them in relation to the rest of the spread - it helps a lot to know them in relation to the rest of the deck. 

Practice: Lay every card in your deck out like this (pardon my bad MSPaint job). Major Arcana up top and Court Cards off to the right and all the numbers lined up with the Fool and World left hanging. Pick one of the cards that resonated with you in the first exercise and look at how it relates to all the other cards in the deck. If it’s the 8 of Pentacles, what do the other 8′s look like and speak to? What do 8 (Strength) and 18 (the Moon) in the Major Arcana connect to it (if at all)? How does it relate to the rest of the story of the Pentacles?  Hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! 

[tarottarot]

I went ahead and made a cleaner image for the new spread, I like how it turned out. I had to switch two of the positions with each other because it made more sense this way. Anyhow, on with the explanation:

- Place the Sun card in the center

- Position 1: Your self in the light or parts of yourself that you see often

- Position 2: Your self in the shadows or parts of yourself you don’t use much

- Position 3: What you seek at the moment

- Position 4: What you have left behind

- Position 5: What you need at the moment

- Position 6: What to let go of now

- Position 7: The path you will soon take

- Position 8: Your deepest heart brought to light

So there it is! An image, a description…everything you need in order to Read The Sun and learn more about yourself! Let me know if you use this spread, I’d be very curious to see if it worked well for anyone else. I tried it out and it worked out pretty nicely, things seemed accurate and helpful.

[tarottarot]

Ignacio Cobot’s tarot

[tarottarot]

self care after tarot reading

some spreads take a lot of energy, especially ones about heavy subject matter or just involving many cards. sometimes you’ve just performed several readings in succession.

after these sorts of readings, here are some self care things to do to help replenish energy or just take care of yourself!

cleanse yourself! you might be feeling tired or drained, and cleansing your deck and yourself after long/intense sessions allows for quicker energy recovery. 

meditate! meditation can help a lot after a reading as a chance for you to take a step back and relax. readings can take a lot of energy, and finding a calm place can help to start replenishing that.

crystals! a charged clear quartz, turquoise, bloodstone, amber, or carnelian (or others!) are all good places to start restoring your energy.

take care of yourself! seriously, just take a nap, hydrate, have a snack, or anything to help yourself if you’re feeling drained. you know yourself best & what self care you can practice.

spend some time in nature! nature is full of restoring and calming energy, even if it’s just opening a window and letting some fresh air in.

avoid heavy spellwork for a bit! longer/more intense tarot readings can drain your energy as much as spellwork. you don’t want to overwork yourself; outside of cleansing after a reading, taking a little break is usually in your best interest!

you know your limits best! take care of yourselves, and happy reading! <3

[tarottarot]

Astronomical & Astrological Events in November 🌌

November 1st: Moon at Aphelion; Jupiter conjunct Haumea

November 2nd: Saturn square Chiron; Moon conjunct Eris

November 3rd: Jupiter quintile Pluto

November 4th: Full Moon in Taurus; Taurids Meteor Shower

November 5th: Mercury enters Sagittarius; Moon at Perigee; Taurids Meteor Shower

November 7th: Venus enters Scorpio

November 10th: Moon conjunct Ceres; Last Quarter Moon in Leo

November 11th: Saturn trine Uranus; Venus conjunct Haumea

November 13th: Venus conjunct Jupiter

November 14th: Close approach of the Moon and Mars; Moon conjunct Makemake

November 16th: Moon conjunct Haumea and Venus

November 17th: Leonids Meteor Shower

November 18th: New Moon in Scorpio; Mars conjunct Makemake; Leonids Meteor Shower

November 20th: Moon conjunct Mercury; Moon at Perihelion 

November 21st: Sun enters Sagittarius; Moon at Apogee

November 22nd: Neptune Direct; Jupiter sesquiquadrate Chiron; Moon conjunct Pluto; Mercury at Greatest Brightness

November 24th: Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation

November 26th: First Quarter Moon in Aquarius

November 28th: Mercury at Dichotomy; Mercury conjunct Saturn

November 30th: Moon conjunct Eris

[tarottarot]

Cleansing, meditating and burning bay leaf wishes ~

[tarottarot]

✨

[tarottarot]

Tarot Asks Revamped

The Fool: What tarot deck did you start with?

The Magician: What tools do you always have with you during readings?

The High Priestess: Do you rely most on intuition or book knowledge for your readings?

The Empress: Has tarot nurtured growth in you life? How so?

The Emperor: Do you always read with a set question and spread?

The Heirophant: Who is the highest authority on tarot that you look up to?

The Lovers: What tarot cards make your favorite romantic couple?

The Chariot: What tarot deck has brought you furthest in your tarot journey?

Strength: Do you prefer a more gentle reading, or a more blunt style?

The Hermit: How important is meditation in your tarot practice?

The Wheel of Fortune: Do you believe tarot can predict what's to come?

Justice: How much do you let tarot readings affect decisions in your life?

The Hanged Man: What tarot myth do you think the tarot community needs to let go of?

Death: What deck would it kill you to lose?

Temperance: How has tarot affected the balance of your life? (time, energy, monatary?)

The Devil: Do you feel locked into working with tarot in a specific way? (spiritual, predictive, etc)

The Tower: Has tarot contributed to any big "shake-ups" in your life?

The Star: What tarot decks are on your wishlist?

The Moon: What card do you struggle the most with when you draw it?

The Sun: What card always cheers you up to see?

Judgment: How do you deliver the really difficult messages in your readings?

The World: Do you have any advice for anyone following you in your tarot journey?

[tarottarot]

I love almanacs. So much that I had to make one. Performing a daily draw is a fabulous way to study tarot and also get some very personal insight into important aspects of our day. But for an almanac, it’s too personal. I may need to work with the 8 of Pentacles while you may need to consider the 4 of Wands. With an almanac, we’re looking for the energetic “weather” so to speak. Is it raining Swords, or is the Sun shining? Using numerology, mathematics, and statistics, I’ve developed the Tarot Almanac to make it easier to check in on that energetic weather. Thank you so much for your support in getting here. Special thank you to my Patreon patrons, my sweet roses, who have helped make this possible. xoxoxoxox Alie The PDF of the Tarot Almanac Planner 2017 contains: - 158 pages of plannery goodness!! - The energy cards for each day - A monthly planner, excellent for future logging and tracking appointments - A week-on-two-pages planner with open check boxes in two columns for appointments, to-do lists, reflections, or whatever you prefer - Full days for both Saturday and Sunday in the weekly planner - A simple design to make it easier to add your own flourishes - 2 new spreads to help make the Daily Energy Card work for you - A blank Little White Book appendix for comparing your associations and observations are the year progresses

[tarottarot]

Tips for tarot and reading people. Beginners and masters

Each card has a personality. Not a meaning. The personality will speak to you. Let the card tell you what it means

When you lay down cards, they tell a story, they do not have individual meanings. Let each picture illustrate a page in someone’s life

Shuffle, learn to shuffle. Same cards will read and it will look like the tarot is playing with you.

Read for free when you start out. Go to a fast food joint and read people. 

Your heart will know what to say, whatever comes to mind, say it. The person might need to hear it

If you wear glasses, take them off. Just look at the cards. Don’t be tempted to cold read

When you read someone, have a glass of cold water on the table, and a candle on. Implementing the elements is important. Water opens the spiritual world.

Cover your head when you do readings. You don’t want anyone’s energy. Protect yourself

Spiritually cleanse your area that you are gonna read. I use incense, Florida water and pine fragrance oil. 

A tip from my mom: Dip your finger in honey before you read. Make a cross on your tongue and say in your mind “Let what i say be sweet to the ear. Let my words inspire, let my words be heard”. Your words will be sweetened to your reader. 

Wear charms, talismans, mojo bags or anything that brings you luck or prosperity. This will affect your readings, greatly.

Surround yourself with stones or crystals that affect you in a positive way

DO NOT READ WITHOUT A CLOTH UNDER YOUR TAROTS. I was taught that it can “dirty” your tarots. I only use white cloth

You can read anyone with anything. You can read with three pennies, three cinnamon sticks, playing cards, soot from a candle. Rocks. Bones. Find what you like. People like variety. 

Your “divination” tool is not magic, you are. Don’t forget that.

Practice. Everyday. Read yourself for every decision you make. Build a trust with yourself.

Accept tips. It’s a big deal. It feels nice.

Anoint your temples with an oil that can affect you and the reader. I anoint myself with Pine. To me, it is prosperous and reminds me of the riches that come with Christmas. It protects and cleanses.

Don’t toss your tarots “naked” anywhere. Put them in their own box, wrapped in a cloth, or a sachet. Don’t treat them bad.

Clean your tarots all the time. Anoint them with your favorite oil or Florida water. I do both.

When reading back to back, clean after every three or two people. If the reading was heavy, clean right after no matter what.

Find a deck that you like. I stick to rider-waite. I never use any other deck.

Have fun. Take rests. Drink water. 

[tarottarot]

Meditations based on the Major Arcana

If you find yourself stressed or simply desire a different form of meditation, go ahead and pick one, or, better yet, have your tarot tell you which meditation you should do!

0. Fool – meditate to some calming music, find a nice track and let it fill your mind and body

1. Magician – recite a mantra of some sort, word or phrase, pick something meaningful to you, not just what the internet suggests

2. High Priestess – the practice of attending: look at and assess each thought you have as you meditate

3. Empress – focus on self-love, find things you appreciate about yourself, let love fill you and your soul

4. Emperor – count your heartbeats or your breaths 

5. Hierophant – take this time to recite a prayer to a higher being, speak a blessing of some sort, or your equivalent

6. Lovers – send love, good vibes, and blessings to a loved one

7. Chariot – focus on each body part separately, flexing and relaxing each part from your toes to your head

8. Strength – stand up and do the sun salutation or a similar yoga exercise, or if you’d rather, go work out

9. Hermit – ask a deep, philosophical question and ponder on it for awhile

10. Wheel – diaphragmatic breathing: breath deeply from the diaphragm, so your stomach moves but your chest does not

11. Justice – find five things or people you are grateful for and meditate on them

12. Hanged Man – the practice of mindfulness: simply let your thoughts pass by as you meditate, not focusing on anything in particular

13. Death – take a short nap! please wake up, though

14. Temperance – the practice of visualization: visualize your dreams about the future

15. Devil – focus on each sense individually, what do you feel, hear, see, if you want you can eat a small treat and focus on what you taste

16. Tower – candle meditation: focus on a flame, image of a flame, or some sort of object

17. Star – take a bath or shower and focus on the water cleansing both your body and mind

18. Moon – acknowledge your worries, then give them up or let them go to a higher being

19. Sun – sit in sunlight or other bright light and focus on the brightness, draining all your negativity away to be replaced with positivity

20. Judgment – focus on the energy within, how it interacts with the earth and others around you

21. World – stand up and take a walk, preferably walk outside through nature

Enjoy and may all be well with each of you <3

[tarottarot]

Playing Cards Divination

If you donot have your own set of tarot/oracle cards. you can use normal playing cards instead!

How to

Use them just like oracle/tarot cards. First charge the deck, you do this by holding them in your dominant hand and pushing your energy into them, then touch each card one by one. fan the deck out in your non-dominant hand and ask for guidance and clear readings (from who ever you want readings to be influenced by, eg: god/dess, universe, spirits) From here I like to start with a little game to make sure the cards are giving me accurate readings, pick a person you know really well, then ask the deck for a card that represents that person the best, find the meaning, and if the card is accurate you’re good to go. if not cleanse it in the moon light or under salt then try again (you can skip this step, it just lets me know my cards are accurate and it also shows me a bit of the personality of the deck) Now you are ready for your reading, you can do a simple single card draw for advise to keep in mind for the day, or a 3 card draw 1- past 2-present 3- future, there are of cause a bunch of very complicated card spreads and alot of simple once, they aren’t hard to find

Meanings

Hearts

Ace A love letter, or some other pleasant news (reversed: A visit from a friend) King  A fair, liberal man (reversed: A meeting with disappointment) Queen A mild, amiable woman (reversed: Possibility of having been crossed in love) Jack A carefree bachelor who thinks only of pleasure (reversed: A discontented man, possibly connect with the military) Ten Triumph, happiness (reversed: slight anxiety) Nine Satisfaction, joy, success (reversed: A passing annoyance) Eight  A fair persons affection (reversed: indifference) Seven Pleasant thoughts, tranquility (reversed: tedium, weariness, boredom)  Six A sea voyage, good luck (reversed: sudden change of fortune) Five Dreams of great significance (reversed: jealousy) Four An engagement to be wed (reversed: difficulty in choosing between two lovers  Three Trust your instincts (reversed: danger of trouble through lack of prudence)  Two Great success (reversed: exercise caution in business dealings) 

Diamonds (make a small mark on these cards so you can tell if they are reversed) 

Ace  A letter soon to be received (Reversed: a letter containing bad news) King A fair man who can be cunning and dangerous (reversed: A very great threat caused by him) Queen An ill-bred, scandal-loving woman (Reversed: she is to be feared) Jack An unfaithful friend or employee (reversed: will cause many problems) Ten A relocation of home of business, a journey (reversed: the change/journey is not for the better) Nine Delay, with resultant annoyance (reversed: a quarrel with your family or lover) Eight An attempt to make love (reversed: the attempt thwarted) Seven Satire, mockery (reversed: a foolish scandal) Six Unhappy ends to a marriage (reversed: loss of your possessions) Five Children bringing joy, prosperity in business (reversed: a unexpected financial loss) Four Trouble and aggravations (reversed: loss of a friend or a good employee)  Three Disputes and arguments in the home or office (reversed: a law suit) Two A love affair or close friendship developing (reversed: scandal, loss of a friend)

Clubs

Ace Joy, prosperity or god news (reversed: the joy will be of a brief duration)  King A frank, liberal man, fond of serving him friends (reversed: he will meet with disappointment)  Queen An affectionate, quick-witted woman (reversed: Jealousy and maliciousness)  Jack A clever an enterprising young man (reversed: A harmless flirt and flatterer) Ten Fortune, success and fame (reversed: need for success)  Nine A legacy, unexpected gain (reversed: a disappointingly small gift received)  Eight A dark persons affection. If returned they will result in great prosperity (reversed: an unwanted suitor)  Seven A small debt repaid to you (reverse: an even smaller amount received, disappointment)  Six  Hard work resulting in good prosperity (reversed: Hard work with little or no return) Five Good prospects for the future, a possible wedding (reversed: Plans coming to nothing) Four A change in fortune, impending evil (reversed: Sudden and unexpected bad luck) Three Wealthy connections, possibly through marriage (reversed: loss of income) Two A disappointment (reversed: opposition to your desires) 

Spades

Ace An emotional relationship that could cause trouble (reversed: unexpected bad news)   King The envious man, an enemy or dishonest lawyer who is to be feared (reversed: impotence, malice)   Queen A widow (reversed: a dangerous and malicious woman) Jack A dark, ill-bred, young man (reversed: he is plotting against you) Ten Grief, prison, restraint (reversed: brief affliction) Nine News of a death (reversed: the death of a near relative) Eight Approaching illness (reversed: a broken marriage engagement, and offer refused) Seven Many annoyances (reversed: foolish intrigue) Six Good plans and intentions meeting with failure (reversed: lack of ideas or plans)  Five Quarreling brought about by short tempers (revered: bickering, petty annoyances) Four Being passed over for a promotion, missed opportunities (reversed: jealousy and envy) Three Faithlessness in love, bitter (reversed: news of indiscretions)  Two Separation, change (reversed: unwanted and unexpected change)

[tarottarot]

[tarottarot]

Stichomancy Tips

I’ve been getting a slew of stichomancy how to and tip questions so, here’s a post! This is one of my favorite divination methods so, I am excited! It’s much simpler than it seems, I promise.

Stichomancy is the act of divination through a non Biblical book or prose.

Choose a book you connect with. I use The Dark Crystal by ACH Smith, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, and Anne Rice for myself when I feel particularly angsty.

When doing a reading, the method is mostly up to you. It’s simple.I thumb through the pages of the book, stop when it feels right and choose the passage my eyes fall on first. If it’s a particularly tough question, I close my eyes and run a finger down the page.

If you’re just beginning, start with questions you know the answer to just like you would with any other divination method. Do Scully and Mulder get together? What’s the plot of Pride and Prejudice in a nutshell? How was your day?

As with other divination methods, you can easily ask a clarifier question. This can be either through another passage or integrating another divination tool.

Practice is key!

[tarottarot]

Join @queenofchalices & @maialotus on instagram (queen_of_chalices & MaiaLotusDivination) for an April Tarot Challenge!

[tarottarot]

Finally finished my two companion pieces to my large Unicorn Deer piece! I wanted to play off one of the other Unicorn Hunt tapestries but nothing translated well without getting insanely complicated so ended up just doing two ‘hunting hounds’ to place at either side of the larger piece :D Prints available at cons , eventually in our shop. ENJOY! XOXOXO ______________________