Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Designing A Self Care Package

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. This Tuesday's tip is focused on using your cards for advice about designing that "Self-Care Package" that Tarot readers might find useful.

In the last few weeks, I decided to give myself a break from writing my weekly Tarot Tip Tuesday posts.   I made a little readjustment to some of my commitments to give myself permission to take a break in between.  This is the self care I kept writing about because I truly subscribed to the notion that psychic empaths like myself, who often take on the emotions and other energies of others within our environment, need to frequently recharge and surround ourselves with healing energy. I was terribly exhausted, trying to do so much with so little time, and the amount of readings that I was doing in the last few months suddenly spiked to an extent that I could sometimes take in 4-5 face to face readings in 1 night, then get home to continue with Skype or email readings. I definitely needed to take stock of how I was managing my time, and I needed to step back to take a breather for awhile.

Just before I took that break, I felt so guilty about leaving my Tarot cards for awhile.  it had always been a part of my life, almost an extension of my limb and I never left home without it.  If I truly relied on my cards to provide my clients clear advice and direction, then I should rely on my cards to do the same for me.   The following is a spread I had created to design my "Self-Care Package" that I sorely needed.  

If at anytime you feel that you need to recharge yourself but not sure when, how and what would be the best way to do it, I hope this Tarot Spread helps.  This spread is meant to provide advice on how best you can take care of yourself when it gets all too much.

Caring For My Physical Self - Queen Of Wands

The Queen bodes so much positivity around health. It is a card charged with vitality. Looking at the Queen of Wands from my Radiant Rider Waite deck, I saw passion, radiance, beauty, confidence, and energy.  It beckoned me to do what I can to revitalize myself, bring back the energy into my life with a rigorous fitness regime and a sound diet. So that was what I did.  I made a conscious choice to not just "go to the gym ever so often to do my thing" but instead,  to focus my time on Muay Thai (Thai boxing) training.   I made arrangements with 4 coaches specializing in their respective areas of expertise who could help increase the intensity of my Muay Thai training with the goal of competing in the ring perhaps next year when I am ready.    I spent 6 days a week in the gym going through rigorous training sessiojs of boxing drills, strength conditioning, pad work and heavy bag exercises.  The Queen of Wands approaches life with passion, so like the Queen, I developed my passion for Muay Thai and gave it 100% commitment.  I got fitter and stronger as a result.  Most importantly, because I was fitter and stronger, I had more energy everyday!

Just last week, I paid a visit to my cardiologist for my regular checkup that I did every 6 months.  He was amazed at the weight I had lost and how toned and fit I looked.  The results of my medical tests also improved so much that he reduced the dosage of my hypertension medication even more.

The Queen nudged me wth her wand to remind me that if I wanted to extract the full benefits of an activity I had chosen to support in my health and fitness goals, I had better  be passionate about doing it right.

Caring For My Mental Self - The Empress

The Empress was an interesting pick.  It threw me back a little because I often associated the Empress  as a card associated with fertility matters when it came to a health reading. However, this was not a health reading! I reminded myself that this was about the advice the Empress was trying to provide to help calm my mind.  I realized then that she was telling me to take some time off to spend time with myself, enjoy the great outdoors and get in touch with nature again.  So I did that with long walks along the riverside, not purely for physical fitness but to enjoy the lush greenery around me, the sights of dragon-boaters rowing their boats along the river, lying on the grass to decipher shapes from the clouds and sinking my feet into the earth to feel the healing earth energy coursing through my body.  

The Empress also represented creativity.  So I focused my time on writing.  This time, instead of writing about Tarot related topics, in tandem with my recent love for martial arts,  I chose to write about sports!  I started re-using my skills learnt from my University days when I took up English Applied Discourse as a minor subject, focusing on journalistic writing.  Due to my love for Muay Thai and martial arts in general, I had decided to focus my writing on mixed martial arts.  I enjoyed it so much that I started writing for various sports media and was also invited to cover mixed martial arts events as a sports writer.  I even got my own byline with Asia Sports Network! I was so chuffed  because I was doing something I love - writing, about another topic that I truly enjoyed over and on top of Tarot.

Now that certainly was the best care I could give myself to enhance my mental well-being.  I deployed creativity through my writing skills to stimulate my mind around a topic I never was an expert in but learnt so much about.  It brought me so much happiness when I could chat on end about a sport that I loved.

Caring For My Spiritual Self - Knight of Swords

 This was a classic manifestation of the issue I had been dealing with right from the start.  I had so much going on in my life, juggling between a full time career in a fast-paced industry of finance, heading up a marketing and PR team.  At the same time, I was managing a Tarot business that was growing beyond my capacity.  I was engaged in private readings, corporate events, workshops and talks.  I was not managing my schedule  and not pacing my activities well enough that I started to lose touch with my spiritual self.  As a psychic empath, not having time to meditate and offload the. Negative energies that I absorbed during my readings led to my being extremely exhausted  and swaying precariously through mood swings.  I was badly in need of some semblance of stillness and solitude so that I could reconnect with my spiritual self.  

The Knight prodded me with his sword to do something about it quickly.  So I made the conscious choice to limit my face to face readings to only a couple of days a week.  Email readings were allocated  only one night a week.  I taught Tarot and Numerology lessons only a weekend of a month and I accepted reading engagements at corporate events only once a month.  I also decided to write my blogposts when I am creatively guided to share a topic and not because I was pressured into delivering on a schedule I had set myself on. These activities alone were already plenty for me to work with but the way I paced them  gave me time to meditate and reconnect with my spiritual self.

As I started to unshackle myself off my own expectations of who I was as a marketing and PR professional and an owner of a Tarot business, I threw myself into a Devotion To Self  course conducted by Jen Saunders from Wild Sister Magazine and a 30 -day Chakra Bliss Challenge conductive by Danielle Dove.  As the weeks went on, there were times I could not follow the pace of the course of the challenge, but I forgave myself  because I wanted to take my time and let my spirit lead me to whatever I needed to do to get me to be more connected with my spiritual self.

Eventually, i felt so grounded and my intuition was switched on whenever I needed it to do so, even to the extent of tuning into my clairvoyance during a hectic business trip, and providing the right advice when a friend hollered for help.

 How Can I Unite My Body, Mind And Spirit? - Temperance 

So now that I knew what I needed to do to recharge my body, my mind and my spirit, how could I ensure that I supported these 3 pillars of my life to get me back to a happy place?  I picked the Temperance, and I was not surprised by the message from the card. The Universe was very clear about the fact that whatever I pursued to help myself physically, mentally and spiritually, I had tocreate balance and moderation in order to achieve a sense of purpose and fulfillment with everything I put an effort towards.

I revisited my interpretation of the Queen of Wands, the Empress and the Knight of Swords and saw what pulled the three together - my spiritual path as an intuitive. 

 My effort and commitment into Muay Thai would be critical in helping me "offload" all that negative energy I absorbed as a psychic empath.  At the same time, by building my fitness and my strength, I was able to have more energy to take on more challenges as I continued to serve my purpose.  

 My foray into sports journalism was an alternative outlet for creative self expression which revitalized my love for writing again. I had spent months before suffering frequent writers' block with both my Sun a Goddess Tarot blog and my personal blog.  Now that I had regained my energy and passion for writing, I started an unconscious ideation of topics in my head that I wanted to write about within my Sun Goddess Tarot blog.  

I also gave myself permission to slow down, turned down some reading requests, took a short 'vacation' from writing my Tarot Tip Tuesday posts and generally just 'took a chill pill'.  

Temperance reminded me that the ultimate way to caring for myself, was to balance all these elements as I juggled my priorities.  This Self-Care Tarot spread is very small, and quite simple, but it empowered me to make positive changes to my life.  When I can learn to love myself and take good care of myself, then I can take good care of my clients.

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

Muay Thai training with my Thai coach in Phuket, Thailand.
Photo courtesy of David Ash, www.singaporemaven.com

Meditating at the beach.  The ocean speaks to me.

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Pressure To Perform

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.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

"All too frequently, anxiety crushes not only your spirit and your potential, but your ability to take care of your mind and body." ~ Jonathan Davidson and Henry Dreher, The Anxiety Book: Developing Strength in the Face of Fear


That 9 Of Swords Moment As A Pro Tarot Reader 

A few weeks ago, after working with my intuitive coach, I came face to face with energies from the past that I needed to let go of.   These stemmed from a single fear - the fear of rejection - that had inhibited my growth along my spiritual journey.  Part of this fear of rejection, had sometimes put a lot of pressure on me to "perform" when I did face-to-face readings for clients.  Yes it can happen to anyone regardless of experience or skills.  I wrote a blogpost  about my painful but necessary process of letting go so do let me know if my story resonates with you after you have read it.  Being free from this fear, has allowed me to face my clients with a lot of confidence.  Channeling for them had become effortless because I surrendered my trust to my guides without any fear of rejection. The insights I got from my Tarot cards also became much clearer.

So I thought to dedicate this tuesday's Tarot Tip to anxieties and blockages that you might get when you do face to face readings for clients.  Many might not have a similar experience as I had whereby a past issue got in the way of my readings. However, I could imagine the fear and anxiety for some Tarot readers who could be  "newish" to the experience of doing face to face readings.  Have you ever experienced having sweaty palms, brow knitted in worry, an almost blank mind and the feeling of dread just before meeting a client?  I had experienced all these when I first started out as a professional reader.  Some of these fears and anxieties might be driven by the desire to be absolutely 100% accurate with the insights, the need to deliver a reading that was more compelling than the details behind the breaking news, the fear of dealing with a client's skepticism, or perhaps the fear of forgetting the meaning of the cards.

Frankly, fear and anxieties are so unproductive and can only serve to drain you off your energy which you can otherwise plough into delivering a more meaningful and authentic reading for your clients. The pressure to perform is all in your head.

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind.  If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained."  ~ Arthur Somers Roche 

Dealing With Tarot Reading Anxieties 

Here are some ways to help you deal with that pressure to perform in front of your clients.

1) Remind yourself that you are not doing a Tarot reading to entertain or "perform" for a client. You are not a circus act. You are doing a Tarot reading to help guide your client to make the right decisions about his or her life.

2)  Your insights will be  accurate if you learn to trust your intuition.  From my experience, intuition and the cards will never lie.

3) Meditate and ground yourself before and after a reading...ALWAYS. I cannot over emphasize this enough. Grounding yourself helps build a defense against negative energies that can drain you.  It also helps calm your mind, refocus your thoughts and clear the "mental debris" enough to provide you with a clearer vision.  

4) Slow your breath down as you do your reading. This will help give you space to think and feel the situation that your client is in, and the slower pace will also guide you to spend more time connecting the symbols and imagery within the cards to your client's situation.   This also takes the pressure off memorizing the meanings of each card.

5) Be realistic and manage your own expectations. Your clients expect you to deliver authentic readings from the heart that aim to guide them through their issues, and that is your sole purpose as a Tarot reader.  They are not expecting you to wave your wand to remove these issues for them. So do not be pressured by your own erroneous perception of what your purpose as a Tarot reader is.

6) Turn to the Tarot community for support whenever you feel anxious about face to face readings. The members of the Tarot community have thr collective experience to support and advise you.  At some point in their Tarot careers, they were just like you, 

7) If you are dealing with skeptics, remember to come from a place of love and compassion when you deal with them.  They are possibly more anxious than you are because of the challenges that had driven them to call on you for advice in the first place,

8) When you do feel any  blockages at any point during the reading, just slow down, and let the conversation with your client flow freely. You might get additional background information that could form a trigger to provide you with additional insights from the cards.

Most importantly, just have fun when you do face to face readings and treat these sessions like  a casual chit chat over tea with a friend. With time and experience, your 9 of Swords moments will gradually subside.

"Only man clogs his happiness with care, destroying what is, with thoughts of what may be." ~ John Dryden

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

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - The Devil Is A Scary Card

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.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

I was working with one of my Tarot protégés yesterday, practicing some new spreads when she picked the Devil and felt so uncomfortable with it that she struggled with the interpretation of the card as a result.  Much of the fear was caused by how she was taught to view the Devil from her religious upbringing.  She confessed that that was one card she would put aside and not read with it when she picked it in a spread.  She went ahead instead to pick other cards, choosing to ignore the Devil. She jokingly called the card, "It whose name should not be mentioned." 

When I first started out as a new and inexperienced Tarot reader, I too was uncomfortable with a couple of cards. One was the Devil. The image of the Devil in a lot of Tarot decks often appeared quite scary.  It did not help that my Catholic upbringing saw me reading books about how scarily evil the Devil was. Today, the only deck where the Devil is portrayed in a more colorful and less scary manner is the one in Barbara Moore's Tarot deck, Book of Shadows Volume 2 So Below. The Devil in that deck is represented by the image of a sundae! 

This was what I did to overcome the discomfort. I meditated on the Devil card. You can use the same method with any other cards in the deck that you are uncomfortable with.

When I meditated on a Tarot card, I visualized myself  “walking” into the cards to have a “conversation” with the images in the cards. 

Meditating On The Devil Card

I used The Devil card from the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck.  When I meditated on The Devil, I acknowledged my fear and discomfort. This would force me to look at the details around me when I "walked into the card" and I looked at them in an objective manner.  By stepping back and viewing the image objectively, I realized it was not a scary card once I focused on the significance of the details of the imagery.  The Devil card  made me question my intent a lot whenever I arrived at his doorstep.  He would remind me of the folly of being too attached or obsessed with material gains, and forced me to confront my fears by opening my mind to other options in my life if my attachments to certain things start to do my head in.  He’s a bit of a cool dude though quite ugly.  First I ventured to talk to the 2 people in chains, but I hear a distressed mutter, "What do I do? What do I do?"  I then asked the Devil in that card,  “Why have you captured these 2 people?  Can’t you let them go?”  He replied me quite calmly, “It may be a short leash Joanna, but their collars are loosely fastened.  They have the free choice to remove these chains and leave if they want to.”  Cool, ugly but wise too.  

Over the years, it became one of my favorite 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

A Word of Advice From The Magician

This morning, I meditated to the Magician card because it was the card that fell out by accident as I was cleansing my Tarot cards with sage incense and  "re-setting" them to prepare the deck as a working deck for next week's list of reading appointments.   Every time a card fell out like that, I would not want to ignore it but was of the opinion that there was a special message it had for me that day.

The first card of the major arcana, the Magician is a symbol of a new purpose, a new direction, a new beginning, a new experience, all manifested by one's own skills, intellect and will power. He is well-equipped to take on any challenges that come his way because he holds the symbols of all 4 suits, wand, cup, sword and pentacle within his reach. I believe though that while he may have the tools to support him, they mean nothing if he did not use his magician's juggling skills of balancing the 4 primordial elements of fire, water, air and earth as represented by each of the suits.

So why did I think this was significant to me?

Trying So Hard To Feel At  One With The Universe

I spent years working so hard to learn skills after skills, and practicing them to gain better experience.  I have stopped counting the number of metaphysical courses  I had taken,  books I had read and the wonderful teachers and mentors I had learnt from over the years.  Yet, somehow, I had never felt complete and perhaps there was even some measure of disharmony within myself.  I was happy that I could guide my clients with my Tarot, Numerology and Astrology readings, yet I often felt I that was not providing then with enough depth in the advice I gave.

With the intensity of my sensitivity as a psychic empath growing and my constantly working on developing my clairvoyant and clairsentient skills by practicing channeling , I approached my gifts with even more dissatisfaction because these skills only heightened awareness of my clients' issues but did not really help to resolve them fast enough.

The Magician's Advice

When I meditated to the Magician card, I heard his reassuring voice.  He pointed to his tools:

- his wand which governs the fire element and inspires passion and drive,

- his cup which governs the water element and inspires intuition and emotional maturity,

- his sword which governs the air element and inspires thoughts and rationale, and

- his pentacle which governs the earth element and inspires practical knowledge, material security, determination and hard work.

As a manifestation of the Magician, I was spiritually taking the skills and knowledge from the Universe to apply them to the material world, enthusiastically practicing my spiritual knowledge and hoping to make  it relevant to  my clients's situations.  It was great that I was lending so much passion to my work as a lightworker and tapping into the deep recesses of my intuition to support my clients with  advice.  However, the intuition and the passion amounted to nothing, if I did not balance it with a rational mind  to  accept and acknowledge my limitations and know when I needed to  step back, recuperate, and let the knowledge and information come to me instead of stressing incessantly about whether I was interpreting the information rightly.  I also felt that the Magician was also asking me to expand my knowledge with more conversations with other intuitives who had more experience than I had, so that I could arm myself not only with skills and knowledge but understand their journeys and experiences too.    It would also have been a wasted effort if I had not been more practical, by balancing the need to work smart through regular meditation and grounding with the need to work hard  through continuous practice and study. It persuaded me not to give up when I felt exhausted but to continue to focus on my purpose, and continuously develop my gifts with determination. 

A Story From A Tree

In the afternoon, I went for a walk at Gardens By The Bay Singapore. I stopped at a tree which I felt beckoned me to touch it.  So I did.  As I gently put my hand on its trunk and closed my eye.  I saw within my mind's eye a family of 5 sitting in a little boat with many others, but my concentration was only on that family of 5 - a father, a mother and 3 children, an older girl about 11 years old, a younger girl maybe about 4 or 5 years old and a young toddler boy. They were huddled together, looking miserable, frightened and exhausted.  I felt my back aching and my solar plexus tightened with fear and anxiety.  The tree seemed to be attempting to tell me a story, much like my teacher would when I was in school,   I was not sure what I needed to do with that vision and did not even understand why I had to touch that tree.  So instinctively, I decided to go into meditation mode and visualized myself sending a healing white light through the palm of my hand into that tree.  

When I got home, I started researching about the site where I stood this afternoon and found out that it was reclaimed land.  In the past, in early Singapore, boats of  immigrants arrived in those little boats called "sampans" that I saw in my vision and probably rowed past that area where I stood. I am not sure what to make of that family but felt that that was just that tree's way of trying to tell me a story of the area.  I felt suddenly worried about that family and at the same time wondered if they had managed to build a productive life for themselves here in Singapore.  

Compassion And Empathy

I then remembered this morning's meditation with the Magician card and realized that the real gifts, the knowledge, and the skills, were not all about what I had learnt, or even what I had been continuously practicing. Inherently, the real gifts were within me.  They were embodied in these words compassion and empathy.  My knowledge, experience, intuition, skills and indeed even determination to learn, really were nothing without compassion and empathy.  I acknowledged my feelings of compassion and empathy for the families of generations past that rowed into our shores  and whispered a silent prayer of thanks for their hand at building my country.  

Similarly, I think my clients did not just come to me because I could shuffle some cards, interpret them, calculate some numbers, assess the significance of their astrological signs and channel messages relevant to their situations.  They came to me because I approached their situations without judgement but with compassion and empathy.  I understood what they were going through particularly when they were at career crossroads or were in the middle of a bitter divorce, because I had been there.  More than anything, they just wanted an objective perspective and a hand to hold.

Much Happier With Myself

I felt much happier at this thought.  I felt less pressure "to perform". I felt I could appreciate myself once again, for what I truly am, and not what I had learnt and studied. I felt at one again with the universe.


"The magic begins in you. Feel your own energy and realize similar energy exists within the Earth, stones, plants, water, wind, fire, colours and animals." ~ Scott Cunningham 

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

Stonehenge by Trixie Hiscock - 
This Photo Inspired Me To Think That Magic Is Truly Within Me. 
It Is Not What I Have Learnt, But What Energy I Give Of Myself That Mattered

The Magician From Kat Black's Golden Tarot Deck

Sent healing light to the tree

Combining Tarot With Clairvoyance - A Reading For A Fellow Psychic

I had always combined multiple metaphysical modalities like Tarot, Numerology and Astrology within the readings I did for my clients.  However, I seldom combined any of these with my clairvoyance until recently when I had discovered these skills.   My friend Katherine changed that when she asked me to do a reading for her to identify why she had been having dreams about an old dilapidated manor located in Wales.   Katherine did not live in Wales or anywhere near Wales.  She lived in Belgium.  She had never been to Wales.  However, the name and location of the manor was made known to her in her dreams.  She, like myself,  was in the throes of developing her psychic abilities.  So I thought it would be interesting to share my reading here with Katherine's permission.  This reading is a true account of my friend's story and all names have been changed to protect her privacy.  I have also omitted the exact name and location of the manor to maintain confidentiality of this reading.

For the purpose of the reading, I did some channelling for her, created a Tarot spread and did some research on my own to verify my readings.  The pieces of puzzle came together when she confirmed that my visions were detailing that of her past life, but had brought out its significance and impact on her present life and indeed the future.   So let me explain the process I took.

I did some meditation and visualization work to open all my chakras.  I imagined I was also doing the same with hers, so that I could "assume" her energy.  My crown and third eye chakra was buzzing which tells me hers were truly opened.  However my throat chakra was burning, it felt hot and as if it was stuck with a lump.  So I knew she had a blocked throat chakra which inhibited her ability to express & communicate purpose perhaps.

Then as I went deep into channeling, I did some automatic writing.  Here was a rough sketch of what I scribbled.  These words described what I saw in my mind's eye:

1) Big house; 2) Many people sharing dinner on table, like a celebration; 3)  Man waiting at front door;  4) Woman outside grounds under Big tree; 5) Long pathway or driveway leading to big house; 6) Dog...pet dog, maybe sheep dog? Brown and black; 7) Child playing in tunnel. 8) Child or girl child  playing in cave? Caves near house? 9) Someone  sleeping/waking from slumber 10) Woman reading to someone in wheelchair.

The next thing I did was to design a Tarot spread for her to understand these images in my mind and what significance it had on her.

What are your gifts in past life that you bring to present - 7 Pentacles  Reversed  + The Emperor

The reversed 7 of Pentacles sitting alongside The Emperor formed an image of Katherine's past life when her  father in her past life , who was a very protective and nurturing authoritative figure  made a difficult decision for her as a child to protect her.  He had identified that  whatever he was persevering to do then, was not getting much in return or not creating benefits for family.  So he made that decision to  help save the situation, bring more security and more comfort.   Katherine confirmed this because as a clairvoyant herself,  she saw visions of a past life father who gave her away in marriage to a man who turned out to be terrible husband.
I picked up also that the Emperor was a manifestation of a domineering, authoritative displinarian type.  In which case it affirmed that the 7 of Pentacles reversed was  a short term vision thing from her past life to have her marry this man. 

What are your issues/challenges in past life, that you bring to present life - the Star Reversed + King of cups Reversed 

The King of Cups reversed as a past life issue suggested that her "husband" from the past life had impacted her with his manipulativeness and sulkiness by making her very emotional, and confused about where she stood in the marriage.  She felt so much disharmony and that she could not control her situation thus making her very pessimistic about life then.  

So how this past life issue affected her  present was that her soul today evolved into one which was tolerant, compassionate, supportive, and loving and generous.  Her soul had evolved in this way as a response to her husband in her past life.  So in this life, no matter what circumstance she could be in, for example when she worked for her current husband now but did not enjoy the job, she just did it out of love and support for him.  This explained my burning throat chakra where I felt her inability to express herself.  Katherine confirmed that she disliked working for her husband but felt that she was doing so out of love and support for him. She had never once shared her psychic abilities with him and had not even shared her dreams about the manor.

How do your past life influences affect you in present life ?- Queen of Wands Reversed +  5 of Wands Reversed

The external conflicts and tensions with her husband in the past life had impacted her today because  she was currently affected by her internal conflicts.  The Queen of Wands reversed was representative of a capable, dynamic, passionate, creative person who had no confidence to follow through with creative passion and visions due to fear of being "not believed in" or fear that it will not succeed.   Her past life potential had been "thwarted" by conflicts and tension and her soul was trying not to allow any negativity, doubt or worry thwart her creative passion in this life.


What is the significance of the manor in Wales? - 3 of Cups + Page of Wands Reversed

The 3 of Cups advised Katherine to develop her psychic gift in a group or community of like-minded people, perhaps within a spiritual community.   She should  be opened to her intuitive gifts through the help and support of fellow intuitive friends and explore a spiritual path in the company of others.  Maybe in the future, The manor could be used as a venue for spiritual retreats or a teaching venue for artistic endeavors like painting, art, music and writing.  That was probably why she saw in her own visions, a woman writing in a room within that manor. Katherine later revealed that she was hoping to join a spiritual community to help further hone her psychic skills.  She also revealed that She had a message from her visions to turn the manor into a place of healing for children, perhaps an orphanage or a school for disadvantaged children.   


The manor was likened to the Page of Wands reversed.  Many people over the years had tried to restore the manor to its former glory, some wanted to turn it into a B&B, hotel or apartments but these projects never took off due to structural problems, financial issues and other blockages.  So the manor was left in a state of dilapidation and waste till today.  I believed that  this Page wanted me to tell Katherine that if she turned the manor around for worthy use, by using it as a teaching venue/ spiritual retreat venue or whatever that was meant for the place  to be used as an inspiration to help people, it would be a successful endeavor.

Another thing about the Page of Wands Reversed was that it personified someone young who was immature and had self-image issues.  Perhaps, Katherine's messages were indeed guiding her in the direction of turning the manor into a home for troubled children.


What do you need to do with that dream ?- 2 of Wands + High Priestess

The 2 of Wands  encouraged Katherine to take her creative ideas and turn it into a feasible plan that she knows would lead to her success. It wanted her to step outside of her comfort zone and explore new worlds and new experiences. This card was also about her considering overseas travel to learn  gain new knowledge and plan for her longer term goals. Together with the High Priestess, I believed that her longer term goals was to make a career shift as a psychic healer, spiritual advisor or counsellor. The High Priestess suggested that she was about to attain a new level of enlightenment. Katherine had realised the depth of her intuition and have begun to study psychic matters.   Katherine later agreed that she was indeed considering pursuing her psychic ability to put it to better use, and to serve a purpose with it.

If one revisited my visualization and automatic writings detailed at the beginning of this post,  I believed that Katherine had something to do with that child in the tunnel or she was that child in the tunnel in her past life.  As she told me that she had scheduled a trip to visit the manor in Wales after locating it in the internet, I told her to find a tunnel/cave nearby that led to the house.  It had some significance for her.   Katherine later confirmed that there was indeed a tunnel found near the manor that was meant to be used as an escape route for the family during war time.  

My visions had taken me to a long pathway to the manor where I saw a lady stood alongside her dog which had brown and black patches on his coat.  Katherine also confirmed that the lady of the house was named in the historical archives for this manor as Lady Margaret who had inhabited the manor in the 18th century. This lady however was not Katherine but had a message for Katherine which was related to a karmic debt which Katherine had to "pay" in this lifetime.  In my research through the historical records, I discovered that Lady Margaret's family had helped a neighbour with financial issues in that lifetime.  That neighbour was a famous author.  Katherine later told me that in her dream, she had a vision of herself living in the manor and writing lots of books that could serve to "heal" others. Perhaps that was the affirmation of that karmic debt.

The child in the tunnel within my visions could be Katherine. I saw this child emerging from a dark passageway into the light.  I believed that it was telling me that Katherine wass a "spiritual child" about to  grow up or waswaking up from a very long "spiritual sleep

I thought this reading opened a new world of experiences for me that had leveraged my clairvoyant skills.  I was rather proud of myself for being able to combine Tarot with these skills to help support Katherine as she embarked on her spiritual journey.  Katherine also shared with me that she was making a trip to Wales next month to pay the manor a visit as she felt a stronger calling after this reading.

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

Wading Into The Deeper End Of My Intuition

Being A Heart-Centered Intuitive Advisor

The best thing my mentors have taught me through the years, was not to be the best Tarotist, Numerologist and Astrologer, but to be a heart-centered intuitive advisor.   Armed with the necessary skills and  certifications in multiple metaphysical disciplines and years of experience as an intuitive reader, I thought that there was just so much that I can learn and I have already got the necessary "tools" to provide my clients with the help and advice that they needed. 

However, I was so wrong because I could never stop learning.  Even when I had been juggling so many commitments and had not had the time to  pursue more courses, the right courses just fell on my lap either by chance, or through recommendations from my peers.  One such course was Danielle Dove’s and Karina Ladet’s Spirit Guide And Angel Connection Virtual Retreat.

 Embarking On A Retreat To Feed My Intuition

I was introduced to this retreat through a fellow Tarotist.  When I read a high-level write-up about the course, I bristled immediately with fear.  As a Roman Catholic, I understood the concept of angels and archangels, but what on earth were spirit guides?  I had only learnt later that my guides were sent to me at specific moments of my life whenever I needed a special helping hand.   I am so convinced that one of my guides is my great grandmother who had passed on several years ago. I was very close to her when I was a child and I still feel very connected to her.   In the past, I had always read my Tarot cards in a way whereby I had not invoked any spirit guides or angels or anything that “crossed the line”  into realms that I might not be able to explain to my clients with conviction and clarity.  I remembered telling my clients that  “I just read my Tarot cards by making a connection between my intuition, your situation and my interpretation of the card images and symbolisms.”   On hindsight, I could not believe the egotistical arrogance I had carried myself with as an intuitive reader.   

That ego was the focal point of my negative cords I was forced to cut this weekend so that I could further hone my intuition to fully serve my soul purpose of supporting and healing the people who needed my help most.

Crossing The Line To Discover My “Clairs”

The most important lesson that I had learnt this weekend was to surrender to my higher self as I meditated.  I loved to meditate and did that everyday. However, following  a series of guided meditations was difficult for me this weekend.  I kept getting distracted and when I fell asleep, I had angry or confusing dreams.  This, was a way my body, mind and spirit was attempting to acknowledge the toxic cords of negativity within me and the experience urged me to expel it from my life forever before I could move on to recieve my gifts with openness.  Through my meditations, I learnt to communicate with my higher self more clearly, to ask for the help and messages from my guardian angels and my spirit guides, whenever I needed them to support me through the situations in my life.  Through the practice of channeling these messages, I felt gratified that I could help a couple of my fellow course mates too with situations that I was never privy too....and I managed to do it without the aid of my usual tools like  Tarot cards. Yay!   

When I went to work today, I practiced channeling all day and found that I could focus my mind's eye on a colleague's personal issue with more clarity and at a faster rate. I was able to draw the picture in my mind's eye on paper, albeit not very well, and used it to offer her the advice she needed to help her clear her path off anything that was making her feel unhappy, disengaged and uninspired.

So this brings me to the most amazing discovery. I never knew what the "clairs" were. The only "clair"  I  knew of was an eclair.  I have heard of clairvoyance and attached that moniker to people whom I had thought were just "woo-woo" crazy.   I was speechless when I discovered my clairvoyant and clairsentient gifts this weekend with the help of Karina Ladet and Danielle Dove.   Although I was half a world away, I discovered that I could manifest healing.  When a friend was hit with a personal crisis, I rubbed my hands together when I tuned into her, and ran my hands through my body.  I felt a lot of heat around my chest and felt an instant spark of anger.  I knew I was an empath, but I never knew I could do this and deduced that she was feeling a lot of anger and disappointment.  When I focused on her in my mind's eye, I saw a house amidst a snow-filled environment. It was covered in snow, as if in the height of winter.  I saw a quarrel ensued with someone walking away from that house.  So I wrote it down, and shared with her what I saw.  She confirmed that indeed that had happened. I was given the message for her to proactively make peace and not let the anger carry on indefinitely.   I also saw in my mind's eye that she was lying down as if attempting to recuperate from a sudden outburst.  She confirmed with me that she was indeed lying down at that time to listen to a guided meditation video.  I did all that without my usual tools, the Tarot cards.  How amazing! 

Waking Up To A New Learning Curve

Today, I am still "feeling" my way through this new discovery.  While I thank the Universe for entrusting me with these gifts, I am still filled with some in -confidence and self-doubts about how these gifts can develop and where it could take me.  

So, I had decided to draw on my tools of familiar comfort, my trusty Tarot cards.  I picked  the Fool card from the Morgan Greer Tarot deck created by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan.  I felt like I am suddenly back in college, pouring through my new set of books and reading lists for a new term, making new friends and discussing homework for a tutorial. Indeed, like the Fool, this is a new journey I have embarked on.  I am back on a learning curve and am truly loving it.   I can only surrender in trust to the love and light of the Universe and allow my hands to be used as a healing instrument only for the highest good.

If  you think I am now truly "woo-woo" crazy,....hey, it's not the first time I have been called that.   I was described as "woo-woo" crazy when I  became a certified professional Tarot reader, Numerologist and Astrologer.   Just like these skills, my clairvoyance and clairsentience are gifts meant for people who genuinely need my help and I will continue to wade into the deeper end of my intuition if it means I can help them better.


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
Blog: http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com

Awakening my Intuition

Spirit Guide and Angel Connection Virtual Retreat
conducted by Danielle Dove and Karina Ladet

The Fool from the Morgan Greer Tarot Deck by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan

Tarot Tip Tuesday - Grounding

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.

This was written specially for a protege who had felt "out of sorts", depressed and exhausted every time she does a couple of Tarot readings.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

It is good practice to precede and end a Tarot reading with a short meditation that can help ground your energy.   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, begin shuffling your cards and feel it's energy within your hands. Stay connected with that energy and whisper and intent under your breath that the Universe may guide you through the use of these cards, with the messages you or your querants need to hear at that moment.  This practice of grounding is particularly necessary if like me, you are doing multiple Tarot readings in a day.  It helps protect you and prevent your energy from getting drained by any residual negative energy that your querant might leave you with during a reading.  If you are reading for yourself, it is even more important to practice grounding so that you can maintain a semblance of objectivity to provide yourself with the right advice.

Different metaphysical practitioners practice grounding in many different ways.  A former Tarot teacher practices grounding by walking around her garden barefooted before heading back into her home to do her Tarot reading.  In due time, you will find your own unique way to ground yourself as part of your standard operational procedure to support your Tarot reading efforts.  So go ahead and take that time to explore the different ways of grounding yourself and stick to one that you feel most comfortable with.

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

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.