The Joy Of Gifting At Yule

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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.

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 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

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

Ostara - Dancing Between Light And Darkness

My Limited Understanding Of Ostara

Today, some of my friends around the world celebrate the major Sabbat of Ostara, or the Spring Equinox. This is the time where the length of day and night is equal.  It’s an appropriate topic for the 2^nd Tarot Blog Hop for 2013.  However, I hadn’t the faintest clue what Ostara meant.  I had a good laugh when I remembered asking the Ostara Bloghop wrangler, Morgan Drake Eckstein http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2013/03/between-light-and-darkness.html to be clearer with the topic although he tried very hard to explain that in the Northern hemisphere, people celebrated Spring and in the Southern hemisphere people celebrated Autumn.  I was thinking at that moment, “Oh dear, I am in Singapore, where we never have Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, it was just hot, hotter and hottest.” 

So one of my friends very kindly sent me a text to share how she celebrated Ostara with fresh spring flowers, hot cross buns and painted eggs.  The light bulb came on in my head immediately, “Oh! Like Easter!”  So for my lack of understanding about Ostara, please forgive me and do visit the blogpost of my fellow Tarot bloghop neighbour, Alison Cross at http://tarot-thrones.blogspot.com/2013/03/tarot-blog-hop-ostara-2013-snowdrop.html whose blog post on the same topic, was posted before mine.

From my limited knowledge about Ostara, I will share my perspectives about the significance of Ostara as a festival that celebrates the balance between light and darkness.  If you get even more confused about Ostara after this blog post, please visit the blogs of the rest of the wonderful Tarot bloggers in the master list at http://gleamingsfromthedawn.blogspot.com/2013/03/ostara-2013-tarot-blog-hop-master-list.html  for a clearer view on the topic

Dancing Between Darkness And Light

When Morgan themed this Tarot Blog Hop topic as “Dancing between Darkness and Light”, I thought immediately of how I had begun to understand the conflicts within me and the balance I have been attempting to create to harness the right energies of my light side while embracing the opportunities to learn from the negative energies of the dark side of my character.  I had discovered more about myself through an Astrology course I had signed up for with Christiane Hayes at www.cosmictarot.co.uk .  The course was possibly the most rewarding one I had ever done because I discovered how I could turn my challenges into opportunities, and my negative traits into a positive learning experience.  The course uncovered my internal struggles between the mix of fire and water elements governing my Sun and Moon signs.  

Interestingly, I have begun to make my Tarot readings with clients more robust with what I had learnt at this course, providing more advice-centric readings to them, with the aim of turning their challenges into opportunities too.

Sun Sign Zodiac And Persona Cards

As I was born on 1^st August 1969, my Sun sign zodiac card is Leo/Strength.  The character traits of my Sun sign are not unfamiliar to me.  I am self-confident, bold and have a big personality.  However, I can be aggressive, opinionated (I can’t help being right all the time) and arrogant at times (Like I said, I can't help being right all the time!) and quite persevering.

The Sun Sign persona card is the King of Wands.  I do like the bloke.  He’s charismatic, full of energy, a born leader but can be opinionated.  I need to harness the positive energies of this King more.

Moon Sign Zodiac And Persona Cards

My Moon sign zodiac card is Pisces/Moon, which uncovers my highly sensitive personality prone to displays of overly dramatic emotions (Should I go slit my wrist now?).  As a perfectionist, I always worry that everything around me isn’t perfect enough.  That usually motivates me to push myself to work harder, but it drives everyone around me crazy as well.  I do repress my true feelings, often showing my hard exterior but am actually a big, soft teddy bear inside. Christiane added that this trait helped with nurturing my intuitive nature which in turn, helped in my Tarot reading, I guess.

My Moon Sign persona card is the Knight of Cups.  I don’t like this bloke.  He’s such a lame softie. So here’s where it gets interesting when I assessed the fine balance I needed to create within myself. 

As the Knight of Cups, I am a dreamer; I am highly sensitive, sometimes insecure and often crave attention or recognition.  How could I have not seen that coming!  This was an eye-opener for me because I found bits of my shadow self creeping up on me.  I worked extremely hard, and put every passion into what I did.  However, I get thrown into the deep abyss of dejection that impacted my motivation, when I don’t get that requisite “pat on the back”.  The conflict of the fire elements in my Sun persona card of King of Wands and the Moon persona card of Knight of Cups have actually been a major issue plaguing my life. 

I always thought that I am a self-confident go-getter who was hard as nails.  However, I had never accepted my insecurities as a Tarot reader. Every Tarot reader out there seemed so much better, more knowledgeable and more experienced.  I often wore a hard exterior of stoicism but within me, I sometimes fill myself with doubt, questioning the science of Tarot and questioning my skills as a proficient Tarot reader.   When I re-read past postings of my blogs, I saw a trend with most of the postings spent wincing about not being taken seriously as a Tarot reader, or about arrogant Tarot readers who slapped me in the face with "So what you've got a CPTR from the TCBA? I've got 30 years of tarot reading experience under my belt." Yet within the same breath, I talked with great passion about my undying love for Tarot, the fulfilling mentoring work I do with my protégés and the relationship I have built with my clients.

Man, am I mixed up!

Charting My Shadow Cards

Interestingly, I then decided to chart the opposing sign on the zodiac wheel, opposite my Sun sign zodiac card of Leo/Strength/King of Wands and I encountered the Aquarius/Star/King of Swords cards.

Now I am intrigued.

When I tried to look at the negative influences of the Aquarius/Star/King of Swords combination of cards to learn something from it, these cards alluded to the fact that I am unbending, not willing to change, impractical, emotionally repressive and quite detached.

How true. With my insecurities, I am quite repressive and would never reveal how I truly felt when I am hurt, disappointed or afraid, yet I would be upfront and honest about most things.  I had an opinion about almost everything in fact.  I am also averse to changes, and tend to cling to my comfort zone, although my King of Wands personality meant that I am a dynamic person unafraid of challenges. 

I was very proud of how I have helped to make a positive impact to the lives of my clients through Tarot, yet often, I catch myself biting my lip when I am faced with skepticism from friends and acquaintances.  I then end up not giving Sun Goddess Tarot the full marketing effort it deserved.  Recognizing this helped stop me in my tracks when I unwittingly allowed the negative energy to get the better of me.

When I charted the opposing sign opposite the zodiac wheel from my Moon sign of Pisces/Moon/Knight of Cups, the Virgo/Hermit/Knight of Pentacles showed up.  Cool!  I see the opportunities of turning the negative influence of these cards around.  The pragmatic, cautious and diligent energies of the Virgo/Hermit/Knight of Pentacles cards are balancing the dreamy, highly sensitive and emotional traits of my Moon sign.

Getting To Know Myself Better

I would like to think that when this Tarot Astrology course fell on my lap, it was the Universe’s way of trying to tell me that I could help my clients better only when I knew myself better. 

Life, like Ostara, is a celebration of balance between yin and yang, positive and negative, light and darkness.  The universe throws us the mega challenge of this balancing act so that we can hone our skills to turn every challenge into an opportunity, and turn every opportunity into a reason to live life with joy and gratitude for the abundance that surrounds us.

If you don't already think that I am schizophrenic, I am grateful that you're interested in reading my perspective on Ostara.  Don't forget to visit the blogposts of my fellow Tarot blogging friends. The master list to their blogs was appended earlier within this blog post..

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