Sun Goddess Tarot: Tarot Readings

Showing posts with label Tarot Readings. Show all posts

Monday, 4 August 2014

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - More Ways To Use Your Tarot Cards Beyond Readings

Whether you are new to Tarot and in the throes of building a connection with your Tarot cards or an advanced Tarot reader diligently honing your Tarot reading skills, I am putting out a Tarot tip a week to help you to consistently make Tarot a part of your everyday life.

Last week, when I wrangled an international community of Tarot bloggers for the harvest festival of Lammas, I tasked them to write about their inspirations from the Queen of a Pentacles. I surprised myself by using my Tarot cards to come up with recipes for a 3-course dinner. I wished I had more time to unleash the domestic goddess in me on a daily basis, but as I juggled work, business, teaching Tarot and Numerology and kickboxing, I would cook for the family only ever so often. However when I set my intention to channel the Queen of Pentacles last week with a virtual dinner party, Tarot became my tool used to guide the creation of these recipes. My Tarot-inspired recipes can be found here.

And while on this note, my friends Joanne Sprott and Karen Sealey came up with a nifty idea to develop a contributory cookbook inspired by Tarot cards! Now, who is up to join us in this fabulous project?

Aside from dreaming up delectable recipes, today, my Tarot Tips for this Tuesday are meant to help you think of more creative ways to use Tarot beyond the usual Tarot readings that you did.

1) Meditation:

Tarot is one of the best tools for meditation. I often pick a card at random and use it for meditation by centering my thoughts on how the images within the cards could relate to my life at that moment, to a specific circumstance or even an intention. Brigit Esselmont from Biddy Tarot wrote a fantastic article about Tarot Meditation which should be made a basic practice for any Tarot practitioner.

2) Writing:

I learnt about this from a friend Arwen Lynch of Tarot By Arwen. She runs a course for writers and teaches them to use their Tarot cards for inspiration as they write their books.

3) Poetry:

Writing poetry can be so therapeutic. It comes easily for some experienced writers and career poets. However, for people like me, who often need that extra dose of inspiration, Tarot can be a very useful tool to draw on your deepest emotion to create the theme, and the lines for your poetry. I wrote a poem completely through the guidance of my Tarot cards earlier this year. Check it out here.

4) Ritual Work:

Some of my friends swear by using Tarot for ritual work. My friend Bonnie Cehovet wrote a book called a Tarot, Rituals and You, where she explains how rituals can be used to manifest the life that one desires. Within the book, she advises on the different ways to use Tarot in rituals for example, to honour the moon cycles or to do shadow work.

5) Tarot Deck Creation:

When I put the question out there asking what else could Tarot be used for, my friend Joanne Sprott said she used it for Tarot deck creation. What a fabulous idea! The images in a Tarot cards often carry inspirational messages to kick one's creativity into action. In fact, closely linked to this point is the fact that some a Tarotists used Tarot to create exquisite paintings. Examples are Cathy McClelland and An-Magrith Erlandsen

See how versatile Tarot can be? You could create recipes,write poetry, write a book, and meditate with it. What else have you used Tarot for beyond Tarot readings?

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

If you like this blogpost, do follow my blog at http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com and LIKE my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

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 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

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Keep It Simple Again: Another Reading Using Tarot And Numerology

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

After posting last week's blog post for Tarot Tip Tuesday, I had several emails and messages from clients, protégés and friends who thought that the blog post was very useful. So I had decided to do another one. Someone requested that I included some basic traits of each number for a high level numerological interpretation that were "easy-to-remember". That was a fabulous idea and I certainly hope that true to the spirit of this blogpost, the content will help you keep your readings simple.

Numerological Traits

Here are a list of numerological traits attached to each number. Although these traits listed here are brief and provide you only a high level summary of the vibrational energy attached to each number, they are quite useful whenever you calculate a querant's basic numerological makeup like his or her character and lifepath numbers,

1:   Ambitious, Aggressive, Stubborn, Innovative

2: Tactful, Thrive in peaceful, harmonious situations, Clingy, Intuitive, Sensitive

3:   Creative, Expressive, Communicative, Happy-go-lucky, Fun-loving

4:   Organized, Structured, Disciplined, Hardworking

5: Restless, Needs mental stimulation, Easily bored, Loves travel, Adventurous

6:   Nurturing, Giving, Selfless, Family-oriented, Good with communication, Soft persuasion skills

7: Thinker, Analyzer, Loner, Spiritual

8: Entrepreneurial, Business-minded, Financially savvy, Hard-nosed, Hardworking, Persistent, workaholic

9: Generous, Humanitarian, Protective of space, Knowledge seeking, Idealistic

Step 1: Obtain the basic information from your querant. All you would need is a birthdate and a focused question. Remember to keep the question focused so that the advice provided can be a focused one.

The Client: Brian

Birthdate: 26 July 1979

Astrological Sign : Leo

Question: I have been looking for a job for the past 1 year after resigning from a previous job due to my inability to get along with a new boss that joined the team after a re-organization happened in the company. What is the possibility of finding a new job ?

Step 2: Calculate your querant's character and lifepath numbers. These will offer you a glimpse of your querant's attitudes and behavior and how he or she responds to a given situation.

Character (behavior and attitudes ) : Add the compound number of your querant's day of birth. In this case, his day of birth is 26, so his character number is 8 (2+6 = 8).

Brian's character number was 8, corresponding to the Strength card in tarot. This indicated that he was a very persevering person in the face of challenges. 8 was the number of one who had a special gift for business as he could conceive ideas and plans on a grand scale. He had good executive skills and was a good judge of values. With his dogger personality, Brian would not have a problem looking for that job because he would leave no stones unturned. If he wanted to try his hand at establishing his own business, that could be an alternative option with which he could meet his goals too. Brian's character number is aligned with the traits of his astrological sign Leo too. As a Leo, he was dynamic and ambitious and enjoyed making an impression on others, although sometimes he could come across as being quite aggressive and domineering. He had to temper his aggressiveness, and forward attitude so that he did not come across as being too overbearing and consequently intimidating to the hiring managers whom he had interviewed with. So my advice to Brian was to harness the strengths of his character 8 and his astrological sign Leo to approach his job search with optimism, confidence and determination.

Life Path (Opportunities and lessons in life) : Add the day of birth, month of birth and year of birth. Then add up the individual numbers of the compound number. In this case, by adding up his day of birth 26, his month of birth 7 and his year of birth 1979, the compound number is 41. On further reduction of that compound number, his life path number is 5 (2+6+7+1+9+7+9 = 41). Then reduce the compound number (4+1 = 5).

Brian's life path was 5. This told me that life offered him opportunities to be catalyst for change and required him to be flexible and resilient to these changes. He needed freedom of thought, freedom to explore new things. He needed to walk a journey that was off the beaten track, and travel to gain more knowledge. With his lifepath 5, I advised Brian to be opened to job opportunities that may stretch him outside of his comfort zone. This will offer him opportunities to learn new skills and gain new knowledge. I also advised him to roll with the punches when he came face to face with organizational changes in future, by viewing such changes as an opportunity to step up and shine, he could possibly make a difference to his team or the company.

Step 3: Now that you have got a glimpse of your querant's attitudes and how he or she might respond to a given situation, you can create a simple Tarot spread. Use the birthdate numerology to deepen the insight from the cards and guide you as you provide your querants a focused advice.

Tarot cards picked: Past - Queen of Swords ; Present - Page of Pentacles Reversed; Future - 2 of Cups

Past - Queen of Swords

If the Queen of Swords was a manifestation of Brian in his past, it seemed to be a reflection of his sentiments that he had the skills, experience and knowledge needed for whatever job he set his sights on. However, knowing that he had a character number 8 and was a Leo and that he might have come across as arrogant, domineering or overbearing, I cautioned Brian that he needed to sell his skills and talent with an approach that convinced the hiring managers he was not only talented and skilled but was a humble person who could work cohesively within a team. As the Queen of Swords, it could also be a manifestation of Brian in his last job trying to assert his independence and shine above his new boss with his experience and skills, when what he should have done was to proactively assure his new boss that his skills and experience would be a good support for the boss. I would not be surprised with this and his "Queen of Swords" hard-edged attitude could have come between them both.

This was a good experience for Brian because what he should have done was to harness the resilience and flexibility afforded him with his lifepath number 5 to manage that boss.

Present - Page of Pentacles Reversed

The reversed Page was a manifestation of the current blockages standing in the way of his achieving his career goals. He might have been nurturing ideas in his mind, and trying to think about his goals and the best type of jobs that suited him but he was possibly not doing enough to put an action plan together to ensure he could achieve these goals in a practical manner. This lined up with the restlessness from his lifepath number 5 so Brian was advised to be more grounded in his approach to evaluating his career goals and the direction he was steering to get to his goals. At the same time, the Page also indicated that in his job search, he was focusing too much on short-term goals, for example, his need for financial security rather than sustainable and long-term goals. He would need to move beyond material satisfaction and towards what would bring him sustainable happiness and fulfillment.

Future - 2 of Cups

The 2 of Cups assured Brian that he would be able to find a job soon that would fulfill him and would tap on his creativity. There would be organizational fit between him and his new role and he would be enjoying a lot of connection with his new boss and colleagues. With the persistent nature of his character 8, I had no doubt that Brian would be able to find that job he wanted and achieve his career goals. As a Leo, I advised that as long as he remained true to his vision and went out there to make an impression with his optimism and confidence, his hiring managers would find that he could be an asset to the company.

As you can see, the Tarot spread is small and all it took was the querant's birthdate to add another dimension to the advice given. Although the process was quite straightforward and simple, the advice given to the querant is robust enough to empower him to work on it and change his course of action to achieve his goals,

You can try it some time. If you need to understand the different vibrational energy and traits attached to each number when you calculate one's numerology, do refer again to the list of numerological traits appended within this blogpost.

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

If you like this blogpost, do follow my blog at http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com and LIKE my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

Sunday, 20 April 2014

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Creating Customized Tarot Spreads

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

When I first started my journey with Tarot, I was taught to use basic 1-card, 2-card and 3-card spreads. The positions were fixed, for example, a 3-card spread had cards representing past, present and future, Then as I got more comfortable, I expanded my repertoire to classic spreads involving 6 cards or more, for example, the Horseshoe spread and the Celtic cross spread.

I think that is well and good when you are still at the beginning of your tarot journey because it lends structure to your reading. However, as you grow more confident as a tarot reader and indeed if or when you turn professional, do bear in mind that unlike the fixed positions you see in a tarot spread, life generally is not experienced in a highly rigid, fixed and structured manner.

So why use a "cookie-cutter" tarot spread? What is stopping you from customizing a spread to your querant's needs?

When you do a reading, go ahead and engage your querant. The spread should always be structured out of a 2-way dialogue with your querant. With this dialogue, you will find that the spread can be layered on with more cards focused on a specific question about the issue to get closer to the root of it and hence provide a more focused advice later.

You might want to consider 2 basic rules when customizing a tarot spread:

1) When you keep the question focused, the cards will provide a focused advice.

It all starts with some basic line of questions and I encourage you to approach your querant's issue with as much curiosity as you can muster. As you approach a friend when he or she shares a problem with you, you should approach the cards in the same way. Start with finding out where your querant is at now with the situation? How did he or she respond to it? What would he or she like to see coming out of it? What is blocking him or her from achieving this outcome? How can he or she turn the situation around? What tools or resources does he or she need to effect the outcome that he or she wants? How would the situation pan out in the end?

2) Layer the questions to provide greater depth to the reading.

An example of this is when you ask the question about what is blocking him or her from achieving this outcome, you may layer it after that with additional cards to find out what are the internal and external influences contributing to this blockage. When you ask the question about what the outcome would be, you may layer it with more cards addressing the additional advice he or she needs to make a good outcome sustainable or the advice he or she needs to to move forward from an outcome that appears to be not in the querant's favourite.

I do not use a fixed spread for my clients. I usually rely on my intuition to design one specific to their questions. A spread could use anywhere from 5 cards through to all 78 cards in the deck depending on how I layer the questions. They also do not have to have a "shape" unless I intend to create a theme around it like during Christmas when I use a Christmas tree spread perhaps. I normally do not care whether it looks like a cross, a horseshoe, a star or the zodiac wheel even. Usually, I would just pull the cards and put it on the table in a linear fashion, just so I can clearly see a story building around the situation.

However you design your spread, remember that it is your responsibility as a reader to provide as much "bandwidth" as possible to your querants to open their minds to the multitude of options available to them. So go ahead and pile on the layers to the questions and keep the questions focused. Most of all, have fun with your cards.

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

If you like this blogpost, do follow my blog at http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com and LIKE my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

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

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Reading With Reversed Or Upright Cards

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

One of the most frequent questions I have been getting from my protégés is whether or not I used reversed Tarot cards in my readings. There really are no hard and fast rules with this. If you feel comfortable using just upright cards, in your Tarot spreads, then go ahead. What is important, is that each card picked for the spread is well-explained and interpreted with relevance to the situation of your querant. And what is even more important, is that the the reading with or without reversed cards goes beyond cookie-cutter-straight-off-the-book interpretations, to be an advice-centric reading aimed to empower the querant to make the right decisions to move forward.

Often, my protégés who are at the beginning of their journey with Tarot, find reversed Tarot cards negative. In fact, that is not the right approach to a Tarot card, reversed or otherwise. Each card, reversed or not, is meant to provide an objective perspective to a situation and offer the multitude of options for the querant. A reversed card may symbolize delays, blockages, resistance and sometimes it might reflect the opposite of what the upright card is. So if you picked the "dreaded" Tower card for example, you could be experiencing an unexpected change in your life that threatens to rock your foundations of security. If you picked it in the reversed, you might be looking at a situation whereby you are trying so hard to resist impending changes although you know it is necessary, or you might have been through an upheaval in your life from which you have not been able to move forward. I am sure however you have interpreted this card to your querant's situation, as long as you understand the basic meanings of the card, you will not get far wrong.

However, I feel that it is the responsibility of a Tarot reader, to turn this interpretation into an advice-centric one. So whether or not that same "dreaded" Tower card was picked in the reversed or not, your advice to the querant could be that he or she should not be crippled by fear of the unexpected. The experience with these changes are meant to kick him or her out of the comfort zone, so that he or she can be opened to new opportunities critical to personal growth. In this way, the Tower card, whether picked in reversed or not, really should not be seen as a "dreaded" card.

I do not believe there are just 78 perspectives to the 78 cards in a deck. Indeed, I do not even believe there are 156 perspectives to the deck if you choose to read reversed cards. There are definitely more than 2 perspectives in a single card whether or not it is picked in the reversed. The possibilities are in fact infinite.

So do build a deeper relationship with your Tarot cards and gradually discover the multitude of facets that the cards may have.

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

Monday, 31 March 2014

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Code Of Ethics

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

The code of ethics is a critical foundation of a tarot reader’s practice. If you are intending to read tarot professionally, do draft a set of code of ethics to which you should firmly adhere. When I had set up my consultancy, Sun Goddess Tarot, I did just that and mine went like this:

1) I will only speak the truth from what I have read in the cards

2) I will not judge you whatever the outcome of the reading may be

3) I will provide my sincere advice in the hope that you can uncover possible solutions to your situation

4) I will not accept questions related to lottery or other luck-based games

5) I will not offer any advice outside the scope of my expertise including financial, legal, religious and medical advice

Also, do ask for the code of ethics from your local or international Tarot community like the American Tarot Associstion (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI) if you do have a membership to one.

Whether you drafted your own or followed the code of ethics set by your Tarot community, always precede your Tarot readings by clearly stating your code of ethics to your clients.

I would never promise my clients that I could answer any questions they wanted, when they came to see me for a Tarot reading. Clearly, not all questions could be answered with Tarot cards. Moreover, there are some questions that could border on crossing the boundaries within which my code of ethics as a certified professional Tarot reader had been set.

Some examples of these are questions about pregnancy or surgery. If you want to know how an impending surgery would pan out, or if you could ever get pregnant or when you could get pregnant or worse, what sex the baby may be, please do visit a qualified medical practitioner.

Other examples includ financial/investment related questions and questions pertaining to outcomes of legal issues. If these are looming in my client's head, I would ask him or her to consult a qualified financial advisor or a lawyer respectively.

Above and beyond these, confidentiality is key. As Tarot readers, we have a responsibility to our clients to ensure what had been discussed at the table remained at that table. There is an unspoken trust between a client and the reader which should not be violated either way.

Over time, when you govern the line of questions that a client might ask with your code of ethics, you would find it much easier to focus on being advice-centric with your readings and there would be greater transparency when it comes to managing expectations between your client and yourself.

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

Monday, 20 May 2013

Celebrating The Full Moon in May

Full Flower Moon

The full moon in May will occur on the 25th. It's called the Full Flower Moon for obvious reasons - there are flowers blooming everywhere during this time. It's a time one sows the seeds planted in April, and for light workers like me, it's a great time to set my personal intentions to manifest abundance and prosperity.

It's also particularly auspicious as many around the world will celebrate the Buddhist festival of Vesak day then and a lunar eclipse is expected. With the occurrence of the full moon, we can expect high energies abound. Also one can expect to feel the effect of changes happening in one's life then, perpetuated by the energies of the lunar eclipse.

Full Moon Meditation

I will be meditating to the energy of this Full Moon together with hundreds of women around the world who are part of this Full Flower Moon ritual spearheaded by Athena Perrakis from Sage Goddess. At this meditation, I will be giving thanks to the Universe for saving me from that stent, and asking for blessings for my family's and my health. I want to manifest good health so that I could effectively do the work that the Universe has meant for me to do. Indeed, health is wealth to me. At the same time I will be holding my personal intention for the victims of that devastating tornado in Oklahoma recently.

The month of May was also mythically dedicated to the Greek Goddess Maia who symbolised motherhood and nurturing. This month, is definitely about the feminine. And I am so glad to be part of this group of gorgeous women who dedicate themselves to supporting others with healing energy, love and light. To find out more about the Full Flower Moon meditation with Sage Goddess, do visit https://www.facebook.com/events/591016170908617/

Tarot Readings At The Goddess Marketplace

On May 25th, I also have the privilege of being invited once again to lend my Goddessitude to the Goddess Marketplace, where I will be doing mini Tarot readings. This will be held at High Street Centre, #06-31 at North Bridge Road

If you are in Singapore this weekend, please come visit us. Meanwhile, as we gear up for the full moon, I strongly urge you to light a candle every night to set your intentions for May in your prayers.

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She has a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist based 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 Biddy Tarot as well as a mentor for the ATA. She can be contacted atwww.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot