What Daddy Gave Me This Christmas

Missing Dad

Last week, I wrote a personal blog that described the immense loss I felt this Christmas, because it was my first Christmas without Dad.  The month leading up to the Christmas celebrations filled me with emptiness and depression as I felt that  a Christmas celebration, which should be a celebration that involved family and close friends coming together, just would not be complete without the presence of Dad.  I could not bring myself to get to the garden centre to pick out our Christmas tree.  Dad loved gawking at my colourful Christmas tree each year, and he adored the smell of fresh pine. If Dad was not by my side at Christmas this year, why bother with a tree?  I could not bring myself to go grocery shopping to prepare for our annual Christmas Eve dinner, so David took it upon himself to put the Christmas feast together.  We did get on with it and celebrated Christmas in our usual way, inviting our extended family over for our annual Christmas Eve dinner, but I could not help feeling an even deeper sense of loss. So I set aside a glass of red wine and a plate of chocolates for Dad the way I had set aside a glass of milk and a plate of cookies for Santa every year when I was a child, hoping that wherever he was in spirit, he could see that I was thinking about him.

A Dream

Spent from entertaining the family the night before, I spent my Christmas Day curled up in bed just wallowing in even more sadness and exhaustion. Just as I drifted off into deep sleep, I remembered seeing an image of myself in a dream, walking into an all-white living room. The floors, the walls and a sofa in thet room was all white in colour.  Just beside the sofa was a corridor to a bedroom perhaps, and in front of it was a big Christmas tree that looked so beautiful.  It had glittery baubles all over it and orange lights twinkling around it.   As I was about to touch the tree, I felt a gentle nudge on my right shoulder that woke me up.  I knew in that instant that that dream was delivering a message to me, perhaps from Dad. 

It took me an entire evening of discussions with David before I realised what Dad was really trying to tell me.   In fact, what got me nearer to the essence of the message was when David drew a picture of exactly what I had dreamt. 

A Message From Dad

Dad was telling me that how beautiful a Christmas tree can be, a home will be cold and empty, if the family was not there to fill it with warmth, love and laughter. Christmas was all about the family. Dad loved Christmas when he was alive, and he had always loved how I had decorated my Christmas tree.  Most of all, he enjoyed being surrounded by the family during Christmas.  He enjoyed watching the kids tinkering with the baubles and putting a hole in the Christmas decorations from time to time, and laughed at my youngest nephew attempting to tear open some of my presents under that tree.  With or without the tree, a Christmas without the family, was not Christmas at all.

So I started a conversation with Dad, using my Hanson Roberts Tarot deck.  I felt Dad's presence as he guided my hand to pick the cards.  I picked the World Reversed, the 4 of Wands, the 3 of Cups and the Sun.

These cards affirmed Dad's message to me.  He acknowledged that when he had passed on, because it was so sudden, there was lack of closure, and we all just could not move on. There were so many things left unsaid. I felt particularly so because I was so busy juggling work, running my business and training most days at the gym that my conversations with Dad was relegated to the Sundays when I visited him.  He was taken so suddenly from me that I had no time to say how much I loved him, how I wanted to take him to see the world on his wheelchair, and how much I wanted him to see Joel start his 2-year stint in national service. I just wanted more time with him.  However, Dad wanted me to just accept that his time was up but he wanted me to get on with life and embrace it with positivity.  He was happy to see that the family had come together to celebrate Christmas and he wanted to assure me that in spirit, he was amidst the din of the merry-making and did enjoy the atmosphere of family bonding, chatter and laughter at my home.  At the end of it all, he wanted me to just let my hair down and enjoy Christmas for what it stood for - the family.  

Dad's Gift To Me

So that was my gift from Dad.  He "passed on that baton" to me, to ensure that I would continue to keep the family close, and did everything to fill the home with love and laughter.  He promised to be behind me always, and in his way, he would carry me through the difficult times and fill it with as much sunshine as he could.  He promised to continue to hold my hand through it all, in the way he had always done when I was Daddy's little girl.  He nudged me on my right shoulder to wake me up from my slumber, as if to say, "It's your turn."

My dream was captured in this picture that David drew.
Beneath it were the cards Dad guided me to pick from my Hanson Roberts Tarot Deck

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and an intuitive reader by accident who deploys the combined modalities of  Tarot, Numerology and Astrology overlaid with her Clairvoyant, Claircognitive and Clairsentient skills to deliver her readings with authenticity. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot.   As a member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), Joanna governs her practice under the associations’ respective codes of ethics.  She is currently mentoring fellow intuitives on the path of developing their intuitive potential and teaches Tarot and Numerology as well. 

Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com

 Email:  Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com

 Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

 Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot

 Instagram: @SunGoddessTarot

The Joy Of Gifting At Yule

Previous Blog       |       Master List       |              Next Blog

This blog post was written as my contribution to the Yule 2014 Tarot Blog Hop which was wrangled by none other than the joy seeker herself,  Arwen Lynch.

Yule, on 21 December,  is a celebration of the Winter Solstice when we experience the longest night of the year, in anticipation of the start of  the cycle when the day gets longer. In the darkest of hours, I began to turn inward to ask myself, what truly fulfills me, what have I given of myself and what have I recieved that had given me joy.   

Many do honour the balance between light and darkness at Yule, so I would like to look at Yule as a representation of the need for balance in my life.   This year has seen me attempting to balance time and energy amongst the many commitments I have on my plate. Most of these commitments involve my giving a lot of time and energy to the people around me who matter, but I had to also learn to balance these efforts by giving myself time and space, and taking care of my own needs.

So Arwen did have foresight when she asked that we focused on one Tarot  spread for our Yule blog post.  This was a spread about the joy of gifting.  When I approached the topic of what had been giving me lots of joy, it really came down to the passion that had driven me to put 100% into each and every commitment that I had been involved in throughout the year.  

When I shuffled my cards to  Arwen’s Tarot spread the one message that I took out of it was that the biggest gift the universe had given me, was the courage which saw me through my passions.  

Using the Morgan Greer Tarot Deck by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan, below is my interpretation of the cards picked to Arwen’s Joy of Gifting Tarot spread.


What gift would I give the world if I could? - Queen of Pentacles


The Queen of Pentacles is an embodiment of balance.  She balances her life well with her capability of sustaining a productive career whilst using her sense of selfless love and compassion to generously spend time on nurturing and caring for people who matter.   This is a great card to pick for what I would love to be able to give the world.  My life has been inundated with multiple commitments all of which seem to rank equal in terms of priority.  I have been juggling my full time career as a marketing and PR professional, while running my consultancy Sun Goddess Tarot, my  assignments as a freelance sports writer, my family and my kickboxing training.  I do admit that the multiple activities on my plate have been overwhelming.  I hardly have time for friends and family.   There are days I even connect with my own husband and mum on facebook.  So yes, the gift I would like to give the world, particular to the people who matter, is my time and my energy, yet be able to efficiently balance this with my  other priorities.  


What gift would I want from the world? - The Hermit


 The Hermit reminded me of my role as someone who should be using my skills, experience and passion to guide and inspire. However, to do this best, I needed to be able to take care of myself.  The only way I could take care of myself, was to give myself some space and time for introspection and surround myself with positivity.   So I saw 2  interpretations with the appearance of the Hermit.  As a gift, what I would love most from the world, would be the gift of space.  Just as I put a lot of demands on myself, I sometimes feel that there are a lot of expectations from me coming from multiple sources.  I am expected to perform at my peak at work, as an intuitive reader, as a mentor and guide to my team and my clients.  I am expected to deliver on projects and assignments as quickly as I can before the next assignment comes in.  I am expected to make vast progress in my kickboxing training because of the commitment of time and resource that I put into it.  So I think the best gift would be space.  I need space to be alone, tap into my inner self, recalibrate my thoughts and my spiritual energy.  While I appreciate being surrounded by so many wonderful people, I do appreciate some alone time, free from expectations.  I need space.   The second interpretation of the Hermit is in terms of a spiritual guide and mentor.    I do have a spiritual guide and mentor but she is so far away from me, in France.  One of the  best gifts I could have is the ability to spend some time with her in person and surround myself with her strength and positivity.  We are oceans apart but I am so glad that we are so spiritually connected enough for me to learn so much from her.  


What gift have I gotten that brought me joy? - 3 of Pentacles Reversed + King of Wands


The reversed 3 of Pentacles threw me off and I had to think long and hard about this.  So I picked a second card to clarify the reversed 3 of Pentacles and the King of Wands appeared.   I finally saw the light when I realized that for years, I had been leading a life of mediocrity.  Life was wrought with the mundanity of the usual rigmarole of work and home and that triggered my restlessness.  The King was a reflection of how I had decided to inject passion back into my life by getting involved in activities outside my comfort zone.  I started to lift my consultancy Sun Goddess Tarot to a new level by investing in a newly developed website, better content and a search optimization strategy.  I got more than I bargained for when I was asked to conduct more workshops and do a lot more consultancy work for corporates who valued my intuitive gifts enough to obtain my help as they navigated their businesses, both start-ups and established ones.  Another niche area had just opened up with parents of newborns who had been asking me to use numerology to select names for their babies.   I started paying attention to my health and fitness but got  more than I bargained for when I fell in love with kickboxing.  When I fell in love with kickboxing and gave it 100% of my commitment to be a competitive kickboxer, I got more than I bargained for when I became a freelance sports writer specializing in mixed martial arts.


What gift have I given that brought me joy? - King of Pentacles


Another King!  The King of Pentacles is an embodiment of one who nurtures, guides, advice and mentors others.  He provides much security and stability to others through his skills, experience, and maturity.  I do like to think of myself as the King of Pentacles. I feel much gratitude that I am able to financially provide for the family, so that they can all live comfortably and have a wee bit extra to enjoy a little luxury from time to time.  However, I think as I harness the strengths of the King, I am more than a financial provider.  As a daughter,  I have been a listening ear to Mum as she dedicates all her time and energy to taking care of my Dad who had been recovering from a stroke.  As a wife and mother, I have been holding the hands of my husband and son everyday, supporting them in everything that they do.   At work, as a manager, I am more friend and sister to my team than I am a boss as I guide and mentor them through their work.  As an intuitive reader, I support and advice my clients when they meander their way through difficult situations.  In truth, I am grateful that my gift to the world is my ability to harness the strengths of the King of Pentacles.


What is one last thing that I would like to share this season? –  9 of Wands

The 9 of Wands is a message of courage and persistence.  It is definitely an apt message for me to share with everyone this season, with the hope of inspiring others with the same.  You see, juggling multiple commitments on my plate is not easy.   I have had a tough time with a balancing act between all these commitments, which are of almost equal importance to me. And I consider them so because I am passionate about everyone one of them.   However, what keeps me going everyday, is that my persistence and courage are what sees me through these passions as I manage them each day.  When I can follow through with my passions, then the juggling act would gradually become effortless.  Today, I consider my marketing career, my intuitive consultancy, Sun Goddess Tarot, my hobby as a freelance sports writer, my kickboxing training and my family as my passions.  That courage and persistence I leverage to help me manage these passions, are the universe's gifts to me.

Previous Blog       |       Master List       |              Next Blog

 About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and an intuitive reader by accident who deploys the combined modalities of a Tarot, Numerology and Astrology overlaid with her Clairvoyant and Clairsentient skills to deliver her readings with authenticity. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot,  which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops.  A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she also mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association

Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email:  Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot

This was created by Morgan Drake Eckstein

A present from my sister-in-law, Cal, all the way from Scotland to Singapore, with love

The Joy Of Gifting Tarot Spread Using The Morgan Greer Tarot Deck

The Christmas Tree Tarot Spread

The Christmas Tree Tarot Spread

Christmas is a celebration of light.  So, I created a Christmas Tree Tarot spread to help one find light to illuminate one's journey into the new year. Try it and let me know how it has worked for you.

Meanwhile, may you have a blessed Christmas full of love and light.

1)    You, in your search for light
2)    Where can you find that glimpse of light?
3)    What is blocking that light?
4)    How can you illuminate your journey towards your goal?
5)    Lessons from the past
6)    Lessons from the present
7)    Advice for the future

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a Tarot consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot,  which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops.  A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association

Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email:  Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot

Turning Darkness Into Light This Yuletide Season

This blog post was written as my contribution to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop. Welcome to the last Tarot blog hop of 2013.  If at any point you are daunted by the length of my blog post below, you can visit the blog before mine,  the blog after mine, or comb through the Master List for the rest of the participating blogs by following the links here:

The Blog Before      |       Master List       |      The Blog After

Rebirth At Yule

This Tarot blog hop is Yule-themed and focused on understanding how each member of our Tarot Blog Hop community had  “Turned Darkness Into Light”.   

Yule night or Winter Solstice sees the longest night of the year.  When the sun rises the next morning, we celebrate light with the rebirth of the sun as the dark half of the year makes way for the lighter half.   In the Northern Hemisphere, Yule was known as the Winter Solstice while in the southern hemisphere Yule was known as the Summer Solstice.  No matter where one was located and whichever religion or traditions one followed, Yule was always a magical time filled with excitement and steeped in traditions.  Yule saw the triumph of light over darkness.  As Celtic Yule lore went, Yule was celebrated as the rebirth of the Sun when the Oak King who ruled over the light part of the year, defeated the Holly King who ruled over the dark part of the year. So Yule brought with it the opportunity to be reborn with new light.

As the wrangler for this Yule 2013 Blog Hop, the season offered me a time to think about rebirth.  You see, it's been just over a year that I had been part of this Tarot Blog Hop community.  When I joined the community, I got more than the chance to share my thoughts about Tarot.  I gained so much more.

Gaining New Friends

Throughout the year, as part of this Tarot blog hop community, I built new friendships that transcended race, religious beliefs and geographical barriers.  Through them, I gained so much knowledge about how the Sabbats along the Wheel of the Year were celebrated. Besides gaining new friends, amongst them, I had found wonderful Tarot professionals who had become mentors, teachers, and confidantes so critical to my growth as a Tarot reader.

Indeed, the members of this Tarot blog hop community were my light along this journey of growth.  One cannot possibly fathom the number of reading techniques, Tarot spreads, astrological and numerological correspondences, as well as spiritual practices that I had learnt from this group of Tarot professionals. Because of their openness, I realized, I need not be bothered with an “ism” to feel belonged.  I need not be a Pagan to be celebrating the Sabbats together with my Pagan friends, just as one need not be a Tarot enthusiast, to be opened to the advice and guidance I could provide with my Tarot cards.  Through the darkness of ignorance, my fellow Tarot pals held my hand towards the light of knowledge.

Gaining New Perspective On My Faith

I finally went back to church.  Raised as a Roman Catholic, I made peace with myself and with my God over the course of the year.  You see, I grew up realizing that my spiritual journey was a matter between Him and I, so I welded magical systems and rituals within my Catholic framework to create what was uniquely a path of my own.  As Monte Farber said, "Rituals help build a spiritual connection in our daily lives by acknowledging the existence of a Higher Power."  

In a way, this experience became my rebirth.  Comfortable with my relationship with my God, no longer ashamed of my intuitive gifts and believing that He accepted my eccentricities and loved me as I was, I finally went back to church to attend mass every Sunday.  That period of "darkness" had indeed turned into light because I accepted that I was given a gift for a purpose.  My full moon ritual every month, was always dedicated to thanking Him for the abundance that surrounds me.  This Yule, as I held the energy within my sacred space, I thought of the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines who do not have heat, clean water, shelter and food.  My ritual  was dedicated to bringing warmth, light and comfort to those who are not as fortunate as we are during this yuletide season.

I would like to take this opportunity to share my prayer specially written for my Yule ritual:

"Poinsettias, mistletoe and holly bright.  

We welcome Yule and the return of light.

Angels guard and guide me as I cast my circle tonight.

 The sun returns, with His birth, the Lord of Light.  

As I light this candle to dispel darkness, doubt and disappointments,

I thank God for blessings of love, hope and abundance. 

I pray that I bring light , healing and love as I go forth,

To touch the world from East to South to West to North.”

Gaining A New Spiritual Awakening - The Judgement Card

Perhaps, the most important thing I had gained just recently, was my spiritual reawakening.

As Yule for me was like a rebirth, I had decided to meditate on the Judgement card.  For this purpose, I used the Judgement card from my Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck updated by Virginijus Poshkus and published by US Games.

The Judgement card depicts a  man, woman and child rising from the dead on judgment day, to the sounds of the trumpet being played by an angel.  Mountains and turbulent sea in the background represent  life’s challenges that they had been through and are being called to be judged on their response to each of these challenges.

I meditated on how my spiritual journey had evolved and this card was so appropriate.  My new spiritual awakening saw me walking into a new discovery with my Tarot cards.  As I grew my intuitive skills, I had become more opened to receiving spiritual messages in whatever shape and form. I have recently learnt to use the cards to connect with those who had passed.  

I had a conversation with my late father-in-law a few weeks ago.  You can read about it here: http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-conversation-with-my-father-in-law.html    The conversation I had with him through my cards had made me conscious of what I needed to do more to solder my relationship with David. 

Also, because my conversation with my father-in-law opened an opportunity for me to convince David about the reality of the afterlife, I was 'urged' to describe an incident whereby David had a huge fight with his brother, Rob when he was quite young.  Now, David is much younger than Rob, so with that age gap, it was quite out of character for them to be in an intense fight like that.  I described to him about the vision of how he pinned Rob down in an attempt to rain some punches at him when his usually docile Dad stepped in to break the fight. His Dad was a gentle, quiet soul who was never known to be angry but he was terribly angry and disappointed then.  When I related this incident to David, he said, " How did you know this?  I have never told you about this incident before. It was so long ago".   I calmly replied, " Your Dad told me, so you can believe me enough to have a proper conversation with him. And you have to do so soon before he goes back into the light."  I encouraged David to spend a moment to talk to his Dad, and he did, so that he could 'close the loop' on the conversations he should have had with him but never could.  

I am not sure where this new discovery will lead me.  However, I am still awed by how much more depth I could build with my cards, and what else I could do with them.  As long as my heart and mind remains open to spiritual messages, I could help clients  beyond the usual career, family and relationship issues. Perhaps, with practice, I could hold the hands of some clients through their period of grief and bereavement. After all, true to my purpose, my intuitive skills were meant to help them turn darkness into light.

Thanks for allowing me to share what Yule means to me.  Do visit Louise's blog lined up before mine or Olivia's blog lined up after mine.  And do not miss out on the rest of the wonderful blogs.  The respective links are below:


The Blog Before      |       Master List       |      The Blog After

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a Tarot consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot,  which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops.  A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association.

Website:www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email: Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter:www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot
.

Judgement card from the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck updated 
by Virginijus Poshkus and published by US Games.

My Yule Candle - This particular candle was used at a service at church to
pray for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.  I have brought it back to grace
the altar at home for my Yule ritual

Yule 2013 Tarot Blog Hop Masterlist

YULE 2013 TAROT BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Yule 2013 Tarot Blog Hop.  

Below is the master list of Tarot bloggers who are participating in the Yule 2013 Tarot Blog Hop.  Come celebrate Yule with us on 21 December at 2pm GMT. 

The Masterlist:

 1.  Stella Tarot http://www.usgamesinc.com/tarotblog/2013-yule-tarot-blog-hop/ 

2.   Bettina for Ardor Fawkes http://ardorfawkes.com/the-intrepid-ride-of-the-yule-tide-knight/

3. Cassandra Santori -http://www.quickcardreading.com/yule/  

4.  Chloe for Celtic Lenormand http://www.celticlenormand.com/2013/12/yule-blog-hop-light-of-moon.html

5.  Arwen Lynch http://www.tarotbyarwen.com/?p=17472

6. Stacey Carroll http://thetarotoraclewitch.blogspot.com/2013/12/tbh-turning-darkness-into-light_21.html 

7.  Ania M http://aniam.co.uk/blog/illumination

8.  Louise Underhill http://www.priestesstarot.co.uk/2013/12/tarot-blog-hop-lighting-yule/

9. Joanna Ash http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com/2013/12/turning-darkness-into-light-this-yule.html

10. Olivia Destrades http://firstearthtarot.blogspot.com/2013/12/yule-blog-hop-2013-bringing-light-into.html 

11. Chloe McCracken http://innerwhisperscouk.blogspot.com/ 

12.  Shauna Aura Knight https://shaunaaura.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/the-devil-the-tower-and-the-star-tarot-blog-hop

13.  Christiana Gaudet http://tarottrends.com/content/yule-2013-tarot-blog-hop-turning-darkness-light

14.  Morgan Drake Eckstein http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2013/12/lux-e-tenebris.html

15. Karen Sealey http://pureblessedtarot.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/yuletide-yammerings/ 

16. Machelle Earley with Earley Light http://earleylight.blogspot.com/2013/12/shining-light-on-your-shadows.html 

17.  Shari B Yetto http://shariyetto.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/what-cards-really-mean

18. Joy Vernon http://joyvernon.com/Blog/turning-darkness-into-light/

19. Shonna Hill http://aceofstarstarot.com/2013/12/darkness-into-light-tarot-spread-for.html

20. J Jordan Hoggard http://wp.me/p1u5kt-/Oq

21. Joanne Sprott http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2013/12/21/lighting-a-candle-yule-tarot-blog-hop-2013/  

22. Vivianne Kacal http://kismetscompanion.blogspot.com/2013/12/tarot-blog-hop-yule-2013-turning.html

23. Chloe for TABI http://tabitarot.blogspot.com/

24. Tierney Sadler http://www.tierneysadler.com/2013/12/122113turning-darkness-into-light.html

 About The Blog Hop:
In the Northern Hemisphere, Yule is known as the Winter Solstice while in the southern hemisphere Yule is known as the Summer Solstice.  No matter where you are located and whichever religion or traditions you follow, Yule is always a magical time filled with excitement and steeped in traditions.  Yule sees the triumph of light over darkness.  As Celtic Yule lore goes, Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Sun when the Oak King who ruled over the light part of the year, defeated the Holly King who ruled over the dark part of the year. So Yule brings with it the opportunity to be reborn with new light.

 The Blog Hop Theme:
 TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

 What Was Expected Of The Bloggers:
 Yule night or Winter Solstice sees the longest night of the year.  When the sun rises the next morning, we celebrate light with the rebirth of the sun as the dark half of the year makes way for the lighter half.  In the spirit of welcoming back the light, the bloggers were asked to unleash their creativity with this topic.  For example:

• Use their Tarot cards to guide them on how they could bring light to the people around them.
• Share their experiences on finding light at the end of a period of darkness
• Use their Tarot to guide them on re-charging themselves with strength
• Use their Tarot to guide them on how they are going to imbibe vitality to their endeavors
• Share how they celebrate light with Yuletide traditions
• In a nutshell, use this Yule Tarot Blog Hop to celebrate light together with me in their own way.

Whether or not you are a part of the Tarot Blog Hop community participating in the Yule 2013 Tarot Blog Hop, I hope you will enjoy these rich gifts in the form of knowledge, insights and experiences shared within these beautiful blogposts. 

For me personally, these Tarot bloggers have truly brought me light through the friendship, mentorship, support and advice they had given me along my journey with Tarot.  I know their blog posts will bring you the same light they have brought me. 

My Yule Candle - This particular candle was used at a service at church to
pray for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.  I have brought it back to grace
the altar at home for my Yule ritual

The Gift Of Light At Christmas

Year End Festivities

I am looking forward to the year-end holidays when I can finally enjoy some bonding time with the family.  I have had such an exciting year which seemed to be filled with a never ending list of new discoveries and learning. So, I am planning some quiet time with both my men.  My year-end celebrations always include lots of food, presents, and lots of time spent with the extended family and our closest friends.  This year, the air of cheeriness, and all that yuletide joy and laughter seemed to be dampened somewhat by my thoughts of those still suffering from the ravages of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.  So I had decided to do Tarot readings at a couple of corporate Christmas events and private parties closer to Christmas, to help raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.  I hope that those affected by the typhoon can find some light soon.

Celebrating Light

The year-end merry making is very special to me also because I love festivities that transcend racial, religious and geographical barriers.  While my Pagan friends from all over the world celebrate Yule or Winter Solstice on 21 December, as a Roman Catholic, I celebrate Christmas on 25 December together with my friends and family.  The greatest thing about these celebrations is that, the common thread that binds us all is actually the celebration of the rebirth of light, letting go of the past, the embrace of hope and the triumph of good.

This Christmas, I celebrate the gift of light.  With all that effort put into developing my intuitive skills, I hope to always use them to bring light to the people around me.  When I review the experiences I have been through all year, I say a prayer of gratitude for the light they have brought me because of how these experiences have shaped me.  When I read about the devastation that the typhoon had caused in the Philippines, and the tragedy that had befallen the thousands trapped when the roof of a Latvian mall collapsed, I prayed that those suffering may be touched by healing light soon.

The Christmas Tree Tarot Spread

So as I celebrate light, I created a Christmas Tree Tarot spread which I urge you to try this season if you are looking at how you could find your own gift of light.  I used this spread on a client Daniella yesterday, who is currently negotiating a job offer with a big company here in Singapore.  With her permission, I would like to demonstrate the spread in practice here, using the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck updated by Virginijus Poshkus and published by US Games Systems.  I have deliberately captured the entire Tarot reading here for Daniella in verbatim.  That job opportunity is potentially Daniella’s new light at the end of a tunnel.  You see, she had spent the last 8 years as an entrepreneur.  Running her own company, while fulfilling, was an up and down experience.  Sometimes she made money, sometimes, she spent months “completely financially dry”.  She had never considered working for someone else, until recently, when a conversation with the hiring manager of this company had planted a seed of hope in her mind.  So this is a Tarot reading for Daniella to find new light.

1)    You, in your search for light
2)    Where can you find that glimpse of light?
3)    What is blocking that light?
4)    How can you illuminate your journey towards your goal?
5)    Lessons from the past
6)    Lessons from the present
7)    Advice for the future

The Christmas Tree Tarot Spread

You in your search for light  - The 4 of Cups Reversed

The 4 of a Cups Reversed suggests that while a job offer may have been presented to you, you are experiencing inner conflicts about whether it is the right opportunity for you.  You may be too focused on your own issues, like what you may need to sacrifice when you accept this job. In your case, as you have been running your own company for years, this job offer has posed a dilemma about whether you should give up on being an entrepreneur to join this new company as an employee.  You may also have doubts about the job itself, for example, whether you will have the necessary resources to do the job well, or whether the hiring manager will meet your salary expectations.

Where can you find that glimpse of light? - Ace of Pentacles

A new job opportunity has been presented to you.  This opportunity has the potential to help you to manifest your goals and provide you with the income that you need.

What's blocking that light? - Temperance Reversed

You are dealing with a hiring manager who is proving to be uncooperative or you may feel as though both your interests are in conflict.  Both yours and the hiring manager's expectations are not aligned, hence there is a feeling of disharmony every time you engage with each other in a conversation.

How can you illuminate your journey towards your goal? - 10 of Swords Reversed

The 10 of Swords reversed encourages you to let go of your attachment to the concept of "being your own boss".  You will need to accept that that period of running your own company will come to an end so that you can rechart a new journey for yourself, and embrace a new career ahead.   This is a period of difficult mental transformation that is necessary for your career growth. You have been avoiding the potential outcome of having to wind down your company, and hoping to keep it in some shape or form just in case this stint with the new company does not work out.  However, these are negative perceptions that reside in your mind which will only serve to restrict your own growth. The only way to attain your goal and embrace a better career ahead of you, is to let go, and have the conviction to turn this new job opportunity into a huge career success.


Lessons from the past - 6 of Pentacles Reversed  

Six of Pentacles reversed suggests that you have realized that by running your own company in the past, you had earned less than the amount of effort you had put into that company.  You felt discontented about this lack of balance and are now prepared to  ask for what you are worth in terms of salary, as you put across your remuneration package to the hiring manager on the negotiating table.

Lessons from the present - 9 of Pentacles

In your present circumstance, the 9 of Pentacles indicates that you have come to a realization that you can only enjoy the good life only when you have worked very hard to attain it.  You are hoping for the day you can afford to indulge or pamper yourself but you know that you will need to out in extra effort to be able to afford to do so.  The 9 of Pentacles may also indicate that you are aware that the fruits of your labour can only be reaped when you take that effort to plough the  field,  plant the seeds, nurture and tend to your plot as meticulously as possible.  And while you may be close to reaching your goal, you know you still have far to go to reach it.  So, you may want to stick to the plan and continue putting in that hard work to reach that goal. In this case, this card is advising you to keep up with the effort to engage the hiring manager, persuade him to see the value of your skills and experience, and convince him of the value that your direction can bring to the company.

Advice for the future - Knight of Cups

The Knight advises you to get ready to embark on this new job that has the potential to tap your creative talents. You need to embrace the new job with an ambition to make a positive difference to the company with your plans and new ideas.  The knight will inspire you in your new job to turn your big dreams into reality, if only you are brave enough to accept that invitation to embark on this new journey in your career. 

Gift Of New Light

My client is still negotiating her remuneration package with the hiring manager at the date this blog post was published.  So to help her along on her journey to find new light, I presented her with the gift of a green calcite pendant, lovingly created under my other brand that is focused on crystal gemstones for healing, Sun Goddess Gems.  Green calcite helps with emotional balance and stress relief.  It also helps one to release old energy patterns,  that could hold one back from his or her goals and supports one who is going through a mental transition.

I had another green calcite pendant made as a Christmas giveaway. It was hand-wired in gold-plated wire.  This one's larger and even more beautiful as it was hand-picked, cleansed and blessed at the recent Taurus Full Moon.  

This pendant will be given to the lucky one that I will be picking out of the hat on Christmas Eve.  All you will need to do, is to comment on this blog post and share the post on your Facebook wall by 24th December 2pm GMT.    I will be contacting the winner via email or Facebook message on Christmas Day, so watch out for it!

Until then, I hope that your Christmas celebrations will be filled with abundant blessings,  joy and laughter.

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a Tarot consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot,  which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops.  A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association

Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email:  Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot

The Christmas Tree Tarot Spread Using The Radiant Rider Waite Tarot Deck Updated By Virginijus Poshkus

 Green Calcite Pendant Hand-Wrapped In Gold-Plated Wire From Sun Goddess Gems

The Christmas Present

The Virtual Christmas Feast

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  The food, parties, presents, decorations and general revelry aside, it is the time of the year when I can truly look back at everything that I had achieved throughout the year, and look forward to the coming New Year when I could celebrate more of the good, welcome the better, and say goodbye to the bad.

If you are familiar with the Tarot Blog Hop which I am honored to be a part of for some time now, you may have hopped onto my blog from Morgan's blogpost at http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2012/12/splitting-timeline-tarot-blog-hop.html.   Perhaps you may be a regular reader of my blog or even an accidental visitor who chanced upon my blog.   However you have arrived at my blog, I am so happy that you are here to share the magic of Christmas with me.

As some of you may already know, this year had been a phenomenal year for me that involved my wading through a murky pool of challenges that included 3 surgeries and managing constant skepticism from family, friends and acquaintances about my love for Tarot, only to emerge the other side with new experiences, new gifts, and new perspectives.  I have come to associate these new experiences and new gifts collectively as a Christmas present from the Universe. 

To share this Christmas present with you, I would like to invite you to a virtual Christmas feast, imagining that you are all with me around a table filled with Christmas goodies.   I urge you to visualize this feast in your mind so that you may hold that energy together with me as I celebrate the return of light in my life, only made possible, because I have wholly embraced Tarot as my purpose to bring light to other people too.

The Meditation

To be a part of this virtual feast, it is advised that you start off with a short meditation.   If you are not familiar with the practice of meditation, I would like to invite you to close your eyes, and  take deep breaths, in and out, to the count of 7 for about 7 times.  Once you keep that steady pace of breathing, imagine a white light from the top of your head flowing down through your head, and into your body, through your limbs, down to your legs, out through your feet  and into the ground. As you are imagining the white light flowing through your body, let it take the negative energy away from you, pushing it out of your being and into the ground.  As the white light is doing this for you, imagine thereafter that a green light is flowing from the ground, up your feet, through your legs, into your body, and out through the crown of your head. Allow the green light to cleanse your being.  Keep your breaths at a steady pace as you “pattern” the flow of white and green lights through your body in different directions, intermingling to the point of creating a growing shroud of light around you. 

Now that you have created a protective shroud around your sacred space, imagine yourself walking up a cobbled path flanked by tall grass and huge trees, arching it's branches to touch each other, forming a shelter for you as you walk on.  Feel the breeze on your face, feel the ground at the bottom of your feet, and reach out to feel the tall grass flanking each side of the cobbled path.  Ahead of you is a bright yellow house.  It looks warm and welcoming, lined with beautiful flowers like poinsettias for the season just on the front porch.  The front door is opened, so just walk right in and walk across the room.  You’ll see  a huge table filled end to end with scrumptious food before you, and around that table, there are so many people, enjoying the revelry.  You can hear the chatter and laughter, the clinking of glasses and Christmas carols being played in the background.  Beside the table stands a noble fir tree decorated in beautiful gold and silver ornaments. You can smell the sweet scent of pine.

You’ve just arrived at my Christmas dinner.  Welcome.

The Staples

Every year, the staples of my Christmas dinner is the ubiquitous Roast Turkey and a bone-in Honey-baked Ham.  It just wouldn’t be a Christmas dinner without these staples.  Similarly, my transformation this year wouldn’t have been possible without Tarot and Meditation. It was only when I chose to further my esoteric studies and gotten myself professionally qualified with a certification and a diploma as a Tarot reader earlier this year, that I finally realized my  purpose of bringing light, clarity and assurance to the people around me through Tarot.  I took my Tarot reading to a new level.  Those cards weren’t just what I played with in the evenings for fun and excitement anymore.  They became my tool to provide clients with respite and provide my favorite charity, the Children’s Cancer Foundation, with additional support.

As I read for clients on a daily basis, I found that I had learnt new things about Tarot every day too.   The one thing I learnt was the ability to adapt and respond to situations with an opened mind and heart.  Tarot taught me this axiom – “If you cannot change the situation, then change the way you think about the situation.”  As I met with clients who had gone through so many challenges and adversities in the last year, sharing this axiom with them and validating it with the Tarot cards had helped them move forward from the negativity of these situations.  The most amazing thing about this was that in the process, I found that I had, in a similar fashion, healed myself from past hurts and disappointments too.

Another gift Tarot had brought me was my courage to set up my consultancy Sun Goddess Tarot.  It led me to greater fulfillment not only through the readings that I had done for my clients, but also through mentoring novice Tarot readers and also reading in support of charities.  From the initial success of Sun Goddess Tarot, I had decided a few months after, to launch my own line of goddess-inspired crystal healing jewelry called Sun Goddess Gems. This again, was inspired by requests from my clients, as after a tarot reading session,  I would give my clients a piece of crystal each, charged with the intent to protect and heal them.

The Turkey and Ham staples always came with the most robust gravies and sauces.  We usually have giblet gravy, cranberry sauce and apple sauce.  These were highly essential to round off my meats.  Similarly, over the year, daily meditations were essential to me.   I wouldn’t have been able to manage the many client appointments, difficult situations that my clients typically went through, the multiple commitments and projects that I was involved in without grounding and centering myself.  I love meditating to the sunrise.  Meditation had been such a cornerstone of my life that I practically could not function without it.  It has made me a better Tarot reader.  In fact, it has made me a better, more grounded person.

The Sides

The side dishes are an important pairing to the Turkey and the Ham.  The fun is always in spending a couple of months before Christmas, agonizing about what side dishes to prepare and it always ends off with an animated argument with the hubby about the role of brussel sprouts at the dinner.  This year, I wanted my side dishes to be meaningful and bear some significance to what my family brings to the table.  The hubby has decided to whip up a Sage and Onion stuffing based on his late mother’s recipe.  As an Asian, I thought to add a twist to my Christmas dinner with an Asian noodle salad.  And because my hubby’s and my health took a toll this year with him being diagnosed for diabetes and myself having had to undergo a breast and a knee surgery, we decided to have roasted rosemary potatoes too as a symbol of our journeying towards better health next year.  I love rosemary as a herb.  It has such fantastic health-giving properties.  Do you know that in the olden days, Roman priests used rosemary  as incense in religious ceremonies and in England, sprigs of rosemary was put on top of the coffin before  the grave was filled with dirt?  Also, rosemary is very good for protecting against negative energy. 

Just like the side dishes that paired harmoniously to my main dishes at the Christmas dinner, there is one huge creative project which I had embarked on this year, to support my main pillars of growth – Tarot and Meditation.  Due to my ardent belief in the healing properties of crystals, I launched my goddess-inspired line of crystal jewelry called Sun Goddess Gems.  I have always loved crystals.  However, when I started giving away crystals to my clients after their tarot reading sessions, I had been getting so much positive feedback about how the crystals had helped them remove negative energy and move forward from their respective situations or issues. 

In fact, crystals are such a big part of my life that it figures prominently in my prayer rituals.  As you know, Yule is a celebration of rebirth or renewal as we welcome the sun back into our lives.  So in my prayer ritual this Christmas, as I remember the past year, I celebrate joy, abundance and prosperity in the coming year with a crystal grid created from green aventurine, moss agate, citrine, tiger’s eye and clear quartz. A picture of this crystal grid is posted below this blog.

The Christmas Present

As my Christmas present to one of my guests at this virtual Christmas dinner, I will be giving away a beautiful piece of raw citrine pendant, newly created for Sun Goddess Gems.  This pendant is artisan wire-wrapped in gold-plated wire.  I will be giving away this pendant to a randomly picked reader of this blog post who has added this blog http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com into his or her blogroll and who have written a comment to this post by Boxing day on 26th Dec 2012, and I will be announcing the winner of this beauty on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot.  Citrine enhances energy, cleanses the solar plexus, sacral and crown chakras and attracts wealth, prosperity and success.  I have named this citrine pendant Lakshmi, after the Hindu Goddess of wealth and success.  A picture of this pendant is appended below this blogpost.

The Dessert

Okay, let’s get this straight. I can cook but I can’t bake. Desserts are my biggest headache every year, at every festive occasion.  Often, I would specially order the dessert from a shop, beg a guest to bring a cake or get the hubby to make one of his less-than-perfect banoffee pies.   This year however, as it is my year of “rebirth”, I just had to create something from scratch.  Anything handmade would be appreciated, I thought.  So I will be personally baking my own mince pies and I will whip up a special Christmas trifle.  Not to be outdone, the hubby is currently figuring out how to make a Christmas pudding.  Thank goodness, it will be awhile before he figures out that the pudding that he makes this year, will need to be cured and consumed at next Christmas.  I’ll think of a plan for discreet disposal next year then.

Meanwhile, as part of my intention to imbibe this Christmas with some creative spirit, I hand-crafted my Sun candle with cinnamon, star anise, dried flowers and herbs and infused it with an abundance anointing oil.   I will burn this candle throughout the night of Christmas as a symbol of welcoming the sun back.  A picture of my candle is posted below this blog.  If you hear someone grumbling amidst the wonderful smell of cinnamon and other herbs, it’s the hubby nagging me about leaving a naked light unattended in the house. 

How could the candle be left unattended when we are partying all through the night into the morning.  Right!?

The Farewell

When the sun rises the next morning after my Christmas party, it’s time for us to bid each other farewell with wishes of good health and prosperity into the New Year.  Before you leave, I have one more Christmas present for you.  I picked one of my favorite tarot cards and meditated upon it, sending blessings along your way from the card.  I picked the Star.  The Star promises new hope, positivity, impending success and new possibilities.  Open your heart and mind to new ideas and opportunities to grow.   Treat new experiences as the Universe’s way of guiding you up the path towards successfully attaining your goals.

I reached out to touch my Star this year.  So my Christmas wish for you is that you’ll touch yours too. Thank you for raising the energy with me at this virtual Christmas feast.  Don’t forget to ground yourself again through meditation to bring the energy down as you leave my home.  Also, don’t end your Christmas celebrations there.  I would like to invite you to read the post of my fellow Tarot Bloghopper Maureen at http://tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2012/12/tarot-blog-hop-yule-2012-christmas-is.html.  And if you do experience a broken link, you may return to the master list for this Tarot Blog Hop at http://tarot-thrones.blogspot.co.uk/p/yule-blog-hop-master-list-2012.html.

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and was recently certified as a numerologist in Singapore. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and is a mentor for the ATA.  

She can be contacted at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot or www.sungoddesstarot.com

The Ash Family Christmas Tree - Our first real Noble Fir tree

Meditation to Manifest the Intention Of Abundance

Nut, Egyptian Goddess of the Sky Depicted in the Star Card from Wizards Tarot

Hand-decorated Sun Candle to Welcome Back The Sun At The Winter Solstice

Prosperity and Abundance Crystal Grid for Yule

Laksmi -Raw Citrine Pendant from Sun Goddess Gems