tarot cards
How To Get A Clear Tarot Reading
I recently had someone mention that they always receive ambiguous information when they get a Tarot card reading. I found this to be quite a quandary, because I have never felt that this was the issue. Not only do I find great value in the use of Tarot cards in my personal work, I also know several very accurate readers that use Tarot cards as a divination tool.
With further discussion I found out that the average time this person spent in a reading was only five minutes. After hearing this information I was not really surprised at all that the information that they were getting seemed quite ambiguous? This being said, I have had some wonderful and insightful experiences while doing short readings. However, going through a Tarot spread and gaining absolute insight in five minutes would certainly create a challenge for even the most seasoned psychic readers.
There are many types of psychic abilities, and the manifestations of these gifts can also vary depending on the psychic or medium. I would like to explain my own personal experience, and I know that it aligns itself with several other readers.
Psychic information develops over time. Many times information comes to a psychic in the form of mental images rather that words, and it is the psychic’s job to translate the message. Psychic information is channeled much in the same way that someone remembers a dream. Information can sometimes start out relatively obscure, and then as details are added clarity comes naturally. Sometimes the flow of information happens quite rapidly, and other times it needs to be ‘teased out.’
The Mystical Tale Of The Lovers Card
I have made an illuminating discovery regarding the Lovers card in the Tarot. In all the years I have been practicing cartomancy, I never realized certain aspects of this card’s mytsical symbolism and its portrayal of the healing power of divine love.
In the classic Rider-Waite rendition, it is commonly accepted the card merely depicts an archetypal Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a scheming serpent lurking behind Eve and the majestic figure of an angel looming overhead. Recently, I learned from a psychic colleague’s podcast that the angelic figure portrayed in the in card in fact represents the Archangel Raphael. I’ve always been fascinated by Raphael, the angelic healer of minds, bodies and souls.
Raphael is first mentioned the ancient Hebrew apocalyptic book of Enoch, as well as the deuterocanonical book of Tobit. Also known as the apocrypha, the deuterocanonical books are not traditionally included in Protestant and Jewish canonical texts, but it is recognized in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
The book of Tobit relays the story of a blind man named Tobit and his son Tobias, whom he sends to retrieve an investment of silver he had deposited in a town in Media in north-western Iran. With the protection and guidance of the angel Raphael, Tobias arrives along his journey in Ecbatana, the capitol of Media, where he meets a young woman named Sarah.
Sarah is in utter despair and praying for death, as she has already lost seven husbands. Each of her lovers had been murdered on their wedding night by the demon Asmodeus, who is obsessively in love with her. Angel Raphael encourages Tobias to marry Sarah and then helps him to defeat the homicidal demon.
The Empowering Symbolism Of The World Card
The World card in the Tarot remains one of my firm favorites. I am all for personal and spiritual growth, the completion of cycles, and new beginnings. The World represents exactly that: the ending of a cycle and pause in life, before the next major cycle begins with the fool.
The journey from the new beginnings of The Fool to the fulfilling endings of The World is a constant evolutionary process in our everyday lives that is represented by the sequence of the 22 Major Arcana cards of the Tarot. The World is the 22nd trump and therefore final card of the Major Arcana.
I have reflected on the imagery of the Rider-Waite version of this Tarot card in great detail. Rider-Waite is probably the most popular and universally recognized Tarot deck. The illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith at first glance appear simple, but the details and backgrounds feature abundant mystical symbolism.
The World pictures an empowered figure within a wreath – traditionally a symbol of victory, success, achievement, and eternal life. The figure holds a wand in each hand, which is reminiscent of the Magician card and the Two of Wands. However, while The Magician holds only one wand, the two wands in the The World card represents fulfillment, wholeness, balance and coming full circle.
The card is framed by four animals on the diagonal. The depiction of these four creatures parallels the four animal symbols used in Christian art to represent the four Evangelists, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four animals also represent the zodiac signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, the four fixed signs in Western Astrology, which in turn represent the classical four elements of Earth, Fire, Water and Air.
Overcoming Addiction To Work For Spirit
A recent talk I gave about my addiction recovery journey and my calling to work for spirit, became a wonderful full circle moment for me. It was very empowering to look back, reflect on my experiences and see how far I have ultimately come.
It also brought up early memories of moments in the past when the writing had already been clearly on the wall, so to speak. In retrospect, is it was very clear early on that overcoming addiction was going to be one of my major life lessons and a significant part of my spiritual path in this lifetime
I remember, for example, I had my astrological natal chart done by a gifted astrologer, who later became a mentor to me. I also had my first experiences of past life regression with him.
After carefully analyzing my chart, he told me that my calling was to do spiritual work and be a guide and healer. He then added that I would first have to rise above the challenges of addiction before I could fully immerse myself into working with spirit. How right he was!
I did not understand his prediction at the time. I was still sober at the time and my social use of alcohol was something I considered to be my ‘guilty little pleasure.’ In time, I even started calling it the ‘devil on my shoulder,’ but in no way did I feel I had a problem with alcohol, much less consider myself an addict.
I would often read tarot cards for myself in those days and, sure enough, no matter how many times I shuffled the deck and no matter how many different decks of Tarot I consulted, the Devil card would consistently appear. The true significance of this would become more evident as time went on.
The Mystical Power Of Amethyst Crystal
The calming and spiritually protective amethyst has a mystical energy about it, and the beautiful coloring makes this purple quartz even more exceptional. Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. It is formed in the presence of manganese and is found in Brazil, Uruguay, South Africa, Madagascar and India.
Just holding a piece of Amethyst helps raise your vibration, putting you into a calmer and accepting frame of mind. It is believed that its very essence heals on the metaphysical and physical levels of our being.
Experts in crystal healing teach that amethyst crystals are the foremost stones of the violet flame. The use of the violet flame which emanates from this exquisite stone is overseen by the ascended master St. Germain. The violet flame helps transmute negative energies in the body and creates harmony. Wearing amethyst jewelry is a powerful way to absorb the benefits of this magical stone.
In many cultures, a large number of miraculous powers are attributed to amethyst, and it has been said to bring victory in war and in hunting, to drive out evil spirits, to boost the intellect, and even to protect crops against pests, particularly locusts. It is not unusual to see amethyst sewn into the special robes of priests and nobility.
The origin of its name is Greek and means ‘prevention from drunkenness’. It is said to help overcome any addictive compulsive disorders including alcoholism, overeating and other addictions. Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and drank wine from amethyst cups to protect them from intoxication. For myself, as a recovering addict, this crystal is a ‘have-to-have’ assistant in my collection of crystals!
How To Do A Fearless Tarot Reading
Each psychic reader has their favorite tools, and what suits one reader does not necessarily work well for another. In all my years as a professional psychic, angel oracle cards have always been my primary divination tool of choice. Nevertheless, I am also well-versed in reading the Tarot. Surprisingly, I have had a few clients over the years who have asked me not to use the Tarot for their readings, often because they feel uncomfortable with, and even fearful of some the occult symbols and imagery found in traditional Tarot decks.
In fact, just recently I had a very worried lady contact me about a Tarot reading she tried to do for herself. She attempted a four-card spread, and three of the cards she pulled now had her very worried: The Devil, Death and The Hanged Man. She was very anxious what this might mean and begged me to help her make sense of it all.
She confessed that she had considered reshuffling the cards and starting over, but I advised her against this. It is not at all wise to try and make a reading ‘fit’ simply because you don’t like the cards you drew. Instead, one needs to look at what the original cards are conveying.
I also explained to her that it is essential to consider the order in which the cards fall in a spread, as it often reveals a narrative or pattern of events. Furthermore, Tarot cards are directive, not simply predictive. The cards point us in the right direction or reveal the best path to take to arrive at a desired destination, and achieve the best possible outcome.
I then helped her to interpret her four-card reading as follows:
How To Work With Oracle Cards
I like to use oracle or angel cards when I do readings, because they provide the client with a visual element. This makes the process of reading seem more tangible, and less intimidating. In fact, these user-friendly cards are so accessible that they can be used by anyone in their daily spiritual practice.
My regular clients know that I use the terms ‘angel cards’ and ‘oracle cards’ interchangeably. They are basically decks of cartomancy cards similar to traditional Tarot, but they tend to have more positive messages, images and symbolism than the Tarot.
The many ways one can use oracle cards in your personal practice are only limited by your imagination. For example, you could pull a card and use it as a journal prompt, and then use freewriting or brainstorming to explore how you’re feeling about a certain topic or issue.
You can also ask a question, hold the cards to your heart, and then select the cards you feel most drawn to for the answer. Once you have selected the cards, I advise clients to truly ‘listen’ to the story the cards are telling you. What thoughts, feelings and intuitions do the images and words evoke? How do they correspond with the other cards you selected? What are the common themes?
If it’s helpful you can place cards in a divination spread, or you could pull just one at a time. A simple oracle spread you can try uses only three cards. The first card indicates the past, the second the present (the anchor card), and the third reveals the future.
Sometimes, when a particular card doesn’t seem to provide an instant, clear answer, take a closer look at the different visual elements of the card. For example, what is the person in the picture wearing? Are there any images in the background that provide additional insight or inspiration?
