I Am Not A Channeler, I Am A Tarot Reader

  Difficult Questions

In my experience as a professional Tarot reader, I have had my fair share of difficult questions.  Examples of questions like these were “What do the cards reveal about my spirit guide?”, “Should I get a sex change?”, “How can the cards help me win my court case?”.”What can the cards tell me about getting rid of my lover’s wife?”

My rational mind often urged me to compartmentalize these questions. If the questions fell within one of the following categories, I would either attempt at rephrasing the question or might even decline answering that question.  These were 1) questions that violated my code of ethics, 2) questions that required my using Tarot cards to read the thoughts of a 3^rd party who had not given me the permission to do so, 3) questions that required my using Tarot cards to channel messages from the dead.

I do get a lot of questions from clients asking me to use Tarot cards to provide them with messages from a relative or friend who had passed on. Now, I know of friends who were gifted with the ability to channel messages this way.  However, I certainly did not think that  I had  that gift.  That is why I am a Tarot reader, not a medium or a “channeler”.

Crossing The Line

Last week, a new client , Sarah (not her real name to protect her privacy) emailed me her question, “ What messages can your Tarot cards uncover from my son, Tommy ( also not his real name)?”  I could sense from the tonality of that question, that Sarah’s son had passed on and perhaps she was having problems dealing with the grief.  So I told her quite simply that perhaps she should be contacting a medium or an expert in his or her field who could better provide an answer that could help her.

We exchanged more emails with each other for awhile with my repeated assertions that I was not a medium and  only a medium could answer her question.  In between the email exchanges, I was drawn to this woman’s desperation for some light and comfort and I immediately picked up my Tarot deck, shuffled it and pulled out one card – the Knight of Pentacles from my Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck.

Knight of Pentacles

The Knight of Pentacles from the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck had an image of a Knight seated on a plough horse, holding on to a Pentacle, looking intently at it as if in the midst of deliberating long term plans. He is set on diligently putting in that extra effort to work the land with a solid focus of achieving his goal.

I had a “conversation’ with the Knight of Pentacles when I meditated on the card.  in the card, I had a vision of Tommy as the Knight of Pentacles, in his 20s, getting on the horse and was about to embark on his task of “farming his land”.  He was not able to finish the job before he passed on so through this card,  he was asking Sarah to continue with the effort, encouraging her to keep her head down, and be conscientious about doing what she needed to complete the job and to do it well. He wanted Sarah to be focused on that goal – his goal that he had before he passed on.  He hoped Sarah would not give up and encouraged her to be religious about meeting all expectations of what she needed to do to accomplish the task.

The Knight Urged Her To Follow Through To Attain Her Goals

When I shared my interpretation with Sarah, I was so nervous because I did not want her to think that I was possibly on drugs, or perhaps a charlatan hoping to earn a quick buck with a short reading. However, her response to me brought tears to my eyes.  I am sharing  her response to my one-card reading here because this experience taught me to trust in the Universe that when the Universe presents me with an opportunity to bring light to someone, it would not leave me without the means to carry out my purpose.

Sarah said that my interpretation touched her deeply and she strongly felt that her son, Tommy had indeed brought us both together in this odd way so that he could encourage her to doggedly pursue her dreams no matter what happened.  You see, Tommy died in his 20s of a drug-related issue.  He had been suffering from a chronic illness that caused him to be unemployed for quite a long time.  Due to his unemployment, he did not have insurance that could help cover his medical bills, hence he could not take care of his own health better.  Sarah got him some counselling help which had provided him with much needed support, and he was finally accepted for a job.  However, he was asked to take a drug test before he could be finally accepted for the role.  So the week before, he tried to get off the drugs and that was what had impacted his health and caused his death. It was really sad because he was ready to start afresh with a new job and diligently get his life back on the right track.

Sarah felt that through the Knight of Pentacles, Tommy was urging her to be dogged about pursuing her dreams.  Sarah was at that time learning to read the Tarot cards, and her concentration was affected by the period of grief she had suffered from the death of Tommy.  To add to the issue, Sarah too had the same chronic illness Tommy had.  So he was trying to reach out to his mother to encourage her to be rigorous about taking care of herself and her future, and that she should be conscientiously working towards her goal of being a proficient Tarot reader, never ever giving up her faith in herself.  Tommy wanted her to follow through with what she had already started with her Tarot reading skills and she asked me if I could be her mentor.

I Am So Grateful

This was only a one-card reading, but it was one of my most gratifying.  I felt so happy that the card that I picked had provided Sarah with so much comfort and hope to carry on with her life in the way that she had planned.  Frankly, in bringing Sarah and I together, Tommy did not just help Sarah, he had helped me too, 

You see, I often doubted my skills and restricted my potential as a professional Tarot reader because I had confined myself to the rigidity of what my mind thought I was capable of.  This experience reminded me that my skills was a gift from the Universe and it was a gift given for a specific purpose to bring hope and light to people who needed it.

It was also interesting to note that when Tommy brought Sarah and I together , there was another reason  too.  You see, my husband suffered from the same chronic illness that both Sarah and Tommy had suffered from.  Sarah became visually impaired because of that illness and our meeting had given her the opportunity to urge me to put that pressure on my husband to be proactive about taking care of his health. David was never good at following the doctor's orders and had always been carefree and footloose about his diet and sedentary lifestyle. With Sarah sharing her experience with the illness, I was even more determined to help support his journey to better health.

Finally, Tommy had possibly reached out to me as a Tarot mentor to play a role in helping Sarah with her journey of learning Tarot.  I was glad to do so.  The thing I enjoyed most about Tarot, was mentoring my protégés.  Having mentored on behalf of the American Tarot Association, the Free Tarot Network as well as having run my Tarot mentoring sessions here in Singapore, I can testify to the fact that when I see a protégé growing in his or her proficiency and love for Tarot, it feels like bliss.

So thank you Tommy, for being  my Knight of Pentacles, encouraging me to keep on doing what I love to do most..

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident.  She is currently running her Tarot consultancy called Sun Goddess Tarot based in Singapore. She is a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualified by the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist. 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 American Tarot Association.   She can be contacted at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot or www.sungoddesstarot.com

Searching For Faeries This Summer

Celebrating The Summer Solstice With Faeries

When fellow Tarot blogger, Sharon Cummings volunteered to wrangle the 3^rd Tarot Blog Hop of the Year to coincide with the Summer Solstice or Litha, she helped me grapple with the topic of faeries. During Litha the earth tilts closest to the Sun, flowers are in full bloom, skies are blue, birds are singing, days are warm. She also said,” The Summer Solstice is for the faeries to come out and play, to give and receive gifts and to create mischief.”  This painted a picture of the stories told by Enid Blyton when I was younger. These stories were magical.  Many of these stories had faeries hopping from flower to flower written into the storylines.  Some of my friends, who connected with the fae folk, swore that they actually did.

While I understood that Litha was a celebration of the Summer Solstice, harking longer and warmer days, I still had difficulty grappling with the concept of faeries prancing about the garden on a hot summer’s day. 

Some of my fellow Tarot bloggers might enlighten you better on the topic, so I strongly encourage you to visit the blog posts of fellow Tarot bloggers lined up before or after me:  TABI’s (Tarot Association of the British Isles) post on the topic is at http://tabitarot.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-solstice-blog-hop.html  and  Alison Cross’  is at http://tarot-thrones.blogspot.com/2013/06/litha-blog-hop-spread-embracing-your.html  

What Faeries?

I was brought up in a strict Asian household where I was made to understand that Santa Claus was a concept conjured by adults to enforce good behavior in kids throughout the year. I also believed that faeries were creatures conjured by Mum to prevent me from plucking her flowers in her garden that she had painstakingly nurtured over the months. 

 I had done some research about Litha and learnt that Litha was celebrated as a faery festival that honoured the arrival of longer days and the blazing sun.  It celebrated abundance, nature, revelry, fertility, healing, beauty and creativity.

My Midsummer Search For Faeries

So as my friends around the world revelled in the warmth of the Litha sunshine today, I went in search of faeries.  I felt like a deprived child combing the internet to ascertain what they looked like.  I re-read Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream to get inspired; I lighted candles the night before to illuminate my home so that the faeries could find a safe haven for rest.  I even left some honey chamomile tea and a bit of my famous Asian spiced pineapple compote on half a scone, out on my dining table the night before Litha, in the hope that faeries might enjoy a midsummer night’s snack (I did wonder if the faeries would appreciate my Asian culinary skills but figured that at least they were spared from my curry).  I was obsessed about looking for the magic these faeries purportedly brought.

By this time, David and Joel were ready to call the men in white coats to take me away, fearing that I had absolutely lost my mind.  Well, the faeries did not eat my compote and scone.  David did.  The candles were blown out by Joel, amidst his grumbles that I could accidentally burn the house down.  I still did not see any faeries.

What The Fool Card In Tarot Taught Me

Disappointed, I began to shuffle my Tarot cards and just randomly picked a card to the question "Where can I find my faery?".  The card that showed up was The Fool from my Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck.

Upon further meditation, I heard what the Fool had to say to me.  Like the Fool, I should be giving free reign to this journey of exploring my creativity.  My eyes were transfixed on the rising sun within the image of the Fool’s card, encouraging me to look further and beyond my basic comprehension of the significance of Litha.  

The Fool took on a youthful perspective of the world and explored his surroundings in childlike wonder. He held a white flower, a symbol of purity and innocence, and he held it out as if to ask me to take a whiff of that flower. I knew he was encouraging me to step back and smell the roses some time.  

He was happy being led by the Universe to his destiny, with just a wee pack strapped across his back and his little mutt Toto beside him.  The Fool and Toto looked so happy traipsing along the path that I could almost hear him whistling while Toto barked in sheer joy. They seemed to be soaking in the abundance that surrounded them and just walking their journey in gratitude for every little thing that they have experienced along the way.  He was urging me to live my life with joy and gratitude every single day.

I realized then that I missed the point about Litha.  Litha was a magical festival. It honored the magic of summer and the life-giving energy that the Sun provided.  While my friends were celebrating Litha in all that fun, warmth and revelry, I was busy looking for faeries under the cushions.  Litha was about creative self expression afforded by a beautiful, flower-filled and lush environment with warmer and longer days.  This provided inspiration for my creative self expression. I was inspired to share a bit of creativity with my friends and family, in whatever form that creativity took.

Summer was also a time of fun, and I needed that after being hit by a period of stress-related health issues.  I needed to get out more to enjoy some sunshine with the family.  I wanted to start doing what I used to enjoy doing when I had more time, like cooking and baking.


A Bit Of Summer Creativity

So, like the Fool taking a leap into the unknown, I had decided to experiment with a bit of poetry.  Please don’t laugh at it. I have many talents but writing poetry definitely was not one of them.  So this was my first attempt at writing poetry.

Like a Queen, she glows with radiance

Adorned in robes of emerald, gold and ruby,

Her scepter casts light in all its brilliance

Ruling the summer in all her glory

Shrubs and flowers, a-blooming

Covering fields in rainbow hues

Birds embrace the winds while singing

As the clouds part to reveal the skies so blue

Flowers sway gently in the breeze

As faeries dance hand in hand

Watching the unfurling of the leaves

While the Sun warms our land

I have also decided to share some of my “faery” food – my Asian spiced pineapple compote, which would make a wonderful tea-time snack when served on toast, biscuits or scone. As I wrote this, I planned to pack some compote into a picnic basket tomorrow morning so that the family and I could enjoy some sandwiches by the beach.  It was indeed time for some sunshine.  The recipe is appended below:

Asian Spiced Pineapple Compote

Ingredients:
·         2 pineapples - peeled and shredded manually ( do not use a blender)
·         1 1/2cups water  - scented with juice of 2 oranges and a tablespoon of orange zest)
·         1 cup brown sugar
·         2 sticks cinnamon, 4 cloves and 2 star anise

Directions:
1.After shredding the pineapple, put the pineapple, water and spices in a pot and cook over low to medium heat until the pineapple mixture is soft.  This takes about half an hour with intermittent stirring.
2.Stir the sugar into the pineapple mixture and continue cooking till the mixture thickens over slightly higher heat for another half an hour. Once the mixture has thickened, remove spices and leave mixture to cool in pot. 
3.When sufficiently cooled, spoon the compote into sterilized jars with tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator. 

 May this compote add a touch of sweetness to this bountiful summer.  And while enjoying my compote, do explore other Tarot bloggers' perspectives on Litha. The link to the other participating bloggers is at http://sharoncumming.blogspot.com/2013/06/tarot-blog-hop-litha-2013-master-list.html 

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. She currently runs a Tarot consultancy called Sun Goddess Tarot, based in Singapore.  She has obtained a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also endorsed as a reader for the Free Tarot Network and is a mentor for the ATA.   She can be contacted at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot or www.sungoddesstarot.com

The Fool from the Radiant Rider Waite deck was my Fae taking me up that path of Summer creativity and fun.

My Asian Spiced Pineapple Compote made a perfect tea-time snack in the Summer
that even the faeries would approve.

Not to be outdone, the hubby joined in the culinary fun by baking these
 raisin scones to complement my pineapple compote.

Nail That Important Meeting With Tarot

The Stress Of Corporate Performance Reviews

In most companies, the month of June would be a period when mid-year performance reviews would be conducted to assess an employee’s performance against his goals that had been set for him or her at the beginning of the year.

This period would generally be stressful for most managers rushing to complete their one-on-one performance review meetings with their staff within the month, amidst their mounting workload  However, it would also be equally stressful for the employees who were forced to have conversations about  what they had or had not achieved, obstacles put in front of them that had prevented them from achieving their targets perhaps, and resources needed to assist the employees to get their jobs done on time and on target. 

Guidance From Tarot To Navigate A Performance Review Session

My client Allen (name has been changed to protect his privacy) called me last week to get some guidance on how he could manage his mid year performance review session with his boss. He was an extremely busy and high-flying executive, assuming a mid to senior level position at a financial MNC.  He told me he had no time to do a detailed face to face reading with me as he was juggling business travels, mid-year targets whilst managing his team,  However, he was clearly worried about his upcoming performance review with his Global Director of Sales.  Apparently, while he managed to meet his sales targets for the first half of the financial year, he was having problems getting along with his peers and some of his staff.  He was worried that the in-office conflicts and politics would affect his boss’ perception of him, thus impacting his performance review.

So, using my Morgan Greer Tarot deck created by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan,  I did a customized Tarot spread and provided a birds eye view of the situation, using one-word meanings per card.  I called this the Nail That Difficult Meeting Tarot Spread.  It can be used for any difficult meetings with anyone, not just bosses.  The one I did here was done over the phone for Allen in 15 minutes…yes I think  you can now address me as “Quick Draw McGraw”.   You might notice that the spread was interpreted like a mathematical equation.  That was half the fun.

Nail That Difficult Meeting Tarot Spread

1) What can Allen expect out of the meeting?

Hierophant +7 of Wands + Hermit reversed =

Conservative + Perseverance + Withdrawn

Interpretation:  Allen’s boss would expect him to be respectful of him as the manager attempting to coach him, while allowing Allen to defend his point of view.  Allen should ensure there is some respectful distance and he should craft his words carefully so that his boss can fully appreciate his stand.   There might be moments that Allen would be required to try to reflect upon the advice of his boss and acknowledge that the discussion might serve to better his work.

2) How should Allen manage the session?

 Knight of Swords Reversed + King of Cups Reversed + Tower Reversed = Reckless + Emotional + Resistance

Interpretation:  Whoa!  All the cards that showed up were reversed cards!  Allen needed to approach the session with composure and moderation.  He should not flare up at the heat of the moment and he should not be impulsive or hostile during the conversation.  Most importantly Allen must be open-minded about his boss’ suggestions or advice.  If his boss effected any changes to the way Allen worked, he should not be resistant to these changes, but adapt to these changes as an opportunity to make improvements.

  

3) What did Allen’s boss thought of him and his work?

 2 of Cups + Page of Swords + 2 of Pentacles =

Passionate + Energetic + Prioritization

Interpretation:  These are relatively positive cards.  Allen’s boss acknowledged that Allen was a passionate worker who loved his job and always did his best to manage his projects with enthusiasm.  Being passionate, he was also a communicative and assertive worker, who had no qualms articulating what he wanted out of his staff, while extracting the best out of them through his well-thought-through plans.  He might be too assertive though.  However, Allen was given a very wide portfolio and had to learn to prioritize his tasks as he had increasingly become quite bogged down with multiple projects.  In doing so, Allen had to learn not to assume every responsibility but to delegate better.

4) What could Allen hope to take away from this review?

 Magician + 3 of Pentacles + 2 of Wands =

Potential + Teamwork + Planning

Interpretation:  Allen could be assured that the review would be a constructive one.  With a boss that clearly appreciated Allen’s skills and who was genuinely concerned for his career growth, Allen could come out of the review session with even more fervor to maximize his skills and potential to work towards his goals.  Also, Allen would need to learn to cooperate with his peers better.  By leveraging on their skills to fill his gaps, he could definitely make even more progress with his plans to succeed in the company.

 Feedback

I called Allen this morning to ask him how his meeting with his boss went yesterday.  Allen happily gave me a run-down of what had transpired. He said that I was accurate about how it all panned out and was even amazed that his boss took the advice-centric approach to managing his issues with his peers.  This gave Allen an opportunity to make some changes to how he would deal with them in the future and perhaps by “winning” them over, he was hopeful that his year-end targets would be met.

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 at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

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

Getting My Health Back On The Mend

Health Issues

In the last 2 years, I had been battling health issues which led to a few surgeries. These included a knee surgery, which the doctor termed as Tibial Tibular Elevation, a breast surgery to remove some cells that could potentially be cancerous and then last week, I had an Angiogram done when the doctor found a myocardial bridge and excessive calcification along my left artery.

Eager to get back on the mend, I have made some radical changes to my diet and indeed my family's diet.  I have also decided to step up on my exercises, inspired by a colleague who walked 10km a day everyday.  I don't think I could walk 10km a day each day yet, but I certainly could stop giving excuses to cancel my appointments with the personal trainer.  Most importantly, I had to do something about my lifestyle.  I had to learn to take things easy and not jump at every chance I got to shove someone's head up his or her arse just because he or she smelt bad.  That was difficult to do.  I was a typical Leo -  aggressive and passionate about everything.

Then yesterday, while convalescing at home after the Angiogram procedure, one of my Tarot proteges called to ask how come it was near impossible for her to read Tarot cards for herself.  I told her that was not necessarily so and had decided to use this opportunity to prove her wrong.  And I certainly did.

I designed a Tarot spread to get advice on how I could help get my health back on the mend.  For this purpose, I used my Morgan Greer Tarot deck created by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan, and published by US Games.

Journey To Good Health Tarot Spread

1) Where would I like to be health-wise? - 7 of Pentacles:

The 7 of Pentacles Tarot card portrayed an image of a man savouring the fruits of his hard work put into harvesting.  Health-wise, this card signified my desire to see positive results from the hard work and determination I would be putting into getting back on the right track with my health.  I was aware that getting fitter and healthier would require time and effort.  Frankly, patience was not my virtue, hence past attempts at getting fitter was rather inconsistent.  3 surgeries later, the Universe was possibly hitting me on the head to tell me to get a grip.   My cardiologist gave me 2 months to turn my health around through a sound diet and exercise plan.  When he put me through the medical tests in 2 months, he would then assess if he could reduce the dosage of my high blood pressure medication.  That was enough of a carrot for me!

2) What am I doing now to begin my journey to good health? - Page of Swords :

The Page of Swords Tarot card portrayed an image of a young man brandishing a sword as if ready for a battle but he seemed to be thinking things through before charging forward.  The suit of Swords governed thoughts, and this card was definitely reflective of my current state of mind.  I was a workaholic.  Even through this period of hospitalisation leave, I had never really rested.  My heart and mind was at the office, literally doing battle with the usual daily work issues.  However, I knew deep down this had to change.  I had been trying hard to put my Blackberry away intermittently to give myself some time to meditate.

An additional insight I had gotten from this card was that the bloke in the image was wearing clothes that gave him an erudite look - a young scholar perhaps.  And this young scholar  certainly looked enthusiastic about his pursuits.  I saw it as a reflection of my continuous enthusiastic research about my health condition over the internet.  I wanted to eventually stop my medication if I could and perhaps replace it with homeopathic treatment for my high blood pressure.  I started reading up on organic food and benefits of certain herbs and plants to treat my condition.  I even started a regime of drinking a glass of"detox" water made out of lemons and mint every morning, followed by a glass of beetroot and celery juice.  My meals  were now healthier and complete with heart-healthy ingredients like garlic, flax seed and tumeric.

3) Where am I at currently with my health? - Ace of Pentacles Reversed

Such an obvious card to pick.  The Ace of Pentacles Reversed affirmed that my current poor health was due to lack of foresight and good health practices in the past.  I should have embarked on preventive care much earlier as I had known that hypertension was a hereditary issue in my family.  Dad suffered a silent stroke from years of unchecked hypertension and he was now confined to a wheelchair because of it.  My brother, a 30something year old young man led a sedentary life and was on medication for hypertension.  Even my son at almost 20 was slightly hypertensive with a recent blood pressure reading of 144/95.  These health issues were approaching me like an on-coming truck filled with explosives and I was just blinded by the immediate gratification of unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise.

4) What can I do now to get my health back on the mend? - Queen of Pentacles  + 2 of Wands + Moon Reversed:

I read all 3 cards together to build an advice for myself.

The Queen of Pentacles was all about balance.  It was an advice for me to create balance in my life.  I had been putting work, family, clients, and everything else before myself, rather stupidly, without realising that with poor health, I could not take care of all of them as best as I could.  I had to be resolute about creating space and time for myself to recharge and reenergise so that I could do a lot more things effectively.

The 2 of Wands was about planning and discovery.  It was an advice for me to do everything in my power currently to plan for the future ahead of me.  Firstly, I had to change my lifestyle to get my health back.  Secondly, I had to ensure I started Joel and David on the track to good health and fitness too.  This was particularly so for Joel who is still very young and had so many years ahead of him to explore a world of limitless possibilities.  Thirdly, I had to ensure I reviewed the family's insurance documents.  My hospitalisation recently and its associated cost was a reminder that not looking after my health was costly in more ways than one.  Lastly, I had to be ready to seek advice and opinions from other experts.  I had already sounded out my personal trainer who would be stepping up my training program.  I was planning to consult a dietician as well as a homeopathy practitioner who could help me make a difference to my eating habits.

The Moon Tarot card traditionally signified fear and anxieties.  The Moon Reversed picked to clarify this last question was an advice for me to release all my anxieties.  These were anxieties about my health and particularly my family's state of health.  I was already starting to do something about it.  The journey would be long and hard but it made no sense for me to be obsessive about it.  Ever since I was diagnosed with a heart problem, I had been literally breathing down my family members' necks about eating right.  There was a salad bar created in the refrigerator that fed the family for lunch and dinner every weekday.  Perhaps I was becoming too obsessed about it.   I learnt that eating right was not about stuffing vegetables down one's neck.  It was about not taking life to the extreme, not working non-stop, not eating excessively, not indulging in too much alcohol.  it was about moderation.

Health Matters

Health mattered to me most.  No money in the world could buy me happiness.  Only good health, contentment and living a life in gratitude for the abundance that surrounded me, could bring me happiness.   Lao Tzu said, "Health is the greatest possession.  Contentment is the greatest treasure.  Confidence is the greatest friend.  Non-being is the greatest joy."

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

Having My Runes Read For The First Time

Getting To Know Runes

Yesterday, I chanced upon a Facebook post by Mel, a fellow member of the Tarot Association Of The British Isles (TABI).  He was offering 50% off the fees from his Runes and Tarot readings to help fund the operation of Charlie the donkey.  More information about Charlie and the Animal Rescue that had been helping him can be found here  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Andreas-Animal-Rescue-The-Henrietta-Foundation/101253493301277

Curious about Runes and excited about the opportunity to help Charlie, I then decided to purchase a reading from Mel.  It was my first time having a reading with Runes.  I didn’t even know what Runes were.  Until then, all I knew about Runes were that they were wee pebbles that had weird graffiti on them.

As I did not have a specific question in mind, Mel went ahead to do the reading for me using the Runes from the Anglo Saxon Futhork.  I might just add here that he was super-quick with his response too.  So if you are a skeptic or who are not familiar with Runes, do contact Mel for a reading at www.alfvin-runesandtarot.com

My Rune Reading

This is an extract of the reading Mel did for me with Runes:

The root of the reading is called Peorth.  It is the Rune of the hearth which showed me enjoying a comfortable home environment, and the company of good friends.  This was an accurate depiction of my current state.  I love my home and family and look forward to coming home to them every evening after work. They are my comfort and my joy.  I am also a bit of a social butterfly so my diary is always filled with lunch, dinner, coffee meet-ups and beer o’ clock with friends.

Working against me is the Rune, Nyd.  This Rune denoted need and was at that time a reflection of how I needed immediate gratification and spending on little luxuries like new clothes and massages were just my way  of enjoying some well-deserved pleasure after working so hard.  Ok, sometimes, I spent a little more than I should.  I doted on the family and bought more things for them than I should just to make them happy.  And obviously, for the social butterfly, dining out at nice restaurants is usually an expensive affair in Singapore.  Mel was right.  I was not good at saving money.  With this lifestyle of frivolity while providing financially for my aged parents, grandmother as well as my own family, I definitely had to think about the wisdom of building long-term savings.

The Rune, Wyn, which meant joy, was picked to denote some short term happiness or reward.  We both agreed, that this could possibly line up with the last Rune Nyd  as my spending on the little extras provided me with some instant gratification and I saw it as my bid to reward myself for all the hard work I put in at the office daily.

The Rune, Frig was picked to gain insight on my short term future. Frig corresponded with the Empress card in Tarot which was sometimes interpreted as abundance. It symbolized my reaping some rewards for the hard work put in at the end of the year.  When I discussed this further with Mel, it seemed to resonate with the fact that currently, I have been working hard, building a successful career, and providing for the family .  Most importantly I was enjoying doing what I did and getting paid for it.

The last Rune Mel picked was the Rune of Hagel which corresponded to the Tower in Tarot.  This was the worrying bit.  To quote Mel, he said “There
may be a prolonged period of misfortune.  Hail when it falls can destroy all the crops, all your harvest, so all the plans you’ve been making can go disastrously wrong.  However, once the hail has done its damage, the ice melts and turns to water, re- fertilizing the crops. So in the end, new opportunities will present themselves.  To sum up, don’t be complacent about what you have, don’t gamble or take risks. Take care of all your basic needs and don’t be extravagant.  Acknowledge the joy and abundance you have when and where you find it but be prepared for a long period of misfortune. However, remember that no matter how bad things may become, you will survive and begin perhaps a different path to the one you have planned.”

My Rune reading did not end on a pleasant note but as a professional Tarot reader myself who had to be the messenger of bad news to my clients sometimes, I did understand that the intent behind that reading was to help me prepare for the worst that could happen.  But what was it that could happen?

I had decided to overlay the Rune reading with a Tarot reading.

,
.My Tarot Reading

As Hagel seemed like the most unpleasant Rune that foretold an unexpected change that could impact me negatively, I picked the Tower card to be the significator representing the “hailstorm” Mel alluded to with the appearance of the Rune of Hagel.

I then shuffled the cards and picked 3 cards from it, while asking the question, “What is the key driver of that negativity that the rune Hagel had hinted at ?”  The 3 cards that appeared were the King of Wands reversed, the 4 of Swords reversed and the 3 of Swords reversed.

What an interesting outcome!  All the cards in the spread were reversed cards and 2 out of which were cards from the Swords suit.  This tells me that whatever that could happen would be causing me a lot of anxiety and frustrations.  1 card was a Wands card which often alludes to the fact that the key driver to that negative situation could be related to business, career direction or passions.

When I meditated on the spread, David appeared within my vision.  You see, as spouses, best friends and soulmates, whatever challenges we faced, in good times and in bad, we were committed to be by each other's side.  Whatever affected him, would naturally affect me.  When he was unhappy, I would be unhappy too.

The King of Wands reversed was a message that David might be saddled with huge challenges in  his business from Q3 onwards.  The King of Wands reversed was a card that symbolized his frustrations with the lack of progress in some aspects of his business particularly as it depended on other "moving parts" like his clients' budgets, human resource strategies, and corporate bureaucracy like complex internal approval processes.  It could also bode a hasty business decision made or perhaps the possibility of an impulsive exchange with a difficult client.

The 4 of Swords reversed was a reflection of his increasing frustrations caused by stagnation or lack of progress in his business deals. This is a warning that he should not take a passive approach to the negativity caused by the business challenges.  Instead, he should take the bull by the horn and look at developing a solution-oriented roadmap to get his business back on track, while managing the challenges one by one. 

The King of Wands reversed and 4 of Swords reversed were indicating that there could be substantial strains on the family imposed by these challenges.  I saw an opening of the floodgate of negative emotions, disappointment, anxieties and frustrations felt by David and consequently myself.  

The 3 of Swords reversed however, indicated that we might have issues moving on from the stress caused by the situation.  It was also an advice that we should just let go, and allow that period of negativity to wash over us, then look to the positive side of things.  This would include working together to change our lifestyle, creating a plan to build long term savings, living a life of gratitude for the abundance we have everyday, no matter what challenges life threw at us. If we could avoid a potentially disastrous situation from happening, we should take heed and do what we could to prevent it from happening.  If we could not change a situation, then we needed  to change the way we thought about the situation.  I always believed  that if the Universe had allowed something negative to happen, it would not leave us without the means to deal with it.   

I knew immediately that if David had to face a challenge, then I was the means the Universe had put by his side, to help hold his hands through his journey out of the tunnel and into the light.

Mel was trying to pass me a message from the Runes picked.  He was trying to tell me that  while the Universe had given me a gift to help my clients with my intuition, it had also given me the gift of using the energies of the Rune of Frig,  to support David through that period of darkness alluded by the Rune of Hagel. 

My Numerology Reading

Well, Mel had already done the Rune reading for me, and I had overlaid that reading with a Tarot reading too.  Now, the only thing that can help support these readings was an understanding of the numerological significance of his Personal Year.

David would be treading into his Personal year 5.  This would be a year of changes, challenges and conflicts. He would be faced with choices that required him to think on his feet, perhaps even think out of the box and act on situations almost immediately.  He needed to be adaptable to changes and be less rigid about the way he managed his business.  He had to be nimble enough to look for opportunities within these challenges, and grow from new experiences, create new ideas, and be opened to meeting new people.  The new approach of embracing his business throughout his Personal Year 5 would be critical to reducing any negative impact of sudden changes or challenges to his business.

Bring It On

I am grateful to Mel for such an insightful Rune reading.  I have not thought of learning how to read these graffiti-ridden pebbles yet but the reading had certainly piqued my interest enough to find out more about it.  I also have Charlie the donkey to thank, for without him, I would not have been able to discover the wonders of Runes.  

Finally, David and I have been married for 12 years.  We have been through plenty of ups and downs but because of these tools that Mel and I had, I could better shape our hearts and minds to prepare for that battle that is to come.  We are not afraid of challenges.  Ultimately, the Rune of Hagel, if it corresponded with the Tower card in Tarot, signalled to me that any disruptions to our lives, any signs of destruction to our plans and any major upheaval within our home would be necessary to break existing structures and kick us out of our comfort zone, so that we could rebuild and transform our lives for the better.

So BRING IT ON! 

The images of the cards used in this blogpost were from the Morgan Greer Tarot deck by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan. The Image of the Runes below that were used in my reading was kindly provided by Mel from Alfvin Runes and Tarot.

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

Beltane - Celebrating Love In A Non-Traditional Way

Trying To Understand Beltane

This blog post themed around Beltane was written as my contribution to the 2^nd Tarot Blog hop of the year at which I participated, together with a community of Tarot bloggers from around the world.  I was quite excited to write about Beltane. I thought, "Finally!  A topic up my alley!”   My friend said Beltane was a festival that celebrated love and sex.  To quote what she wrote in her text message to me, ”Ooooh…it’s about union, love and sex, Jo.  An exciting time.  It’s a day you might want to go make love in the woods…”.  Wonderful!  It wasn’t that I had plenty to write about through experience, but after months of blogging about Tarot spreads, Tarot card interpretations and impact of Tarot on my life, I thought our Tarot Blog hop wrangler Arwen Lynch, was definitely on the roll with this topic!  Then I re-read the details of the topic outline again, and realized she had  asked us to write about “Traditions” because there were so many traditions surrounding Beltane. 

I am not familiar with traditions around Beltane.  So I had to ask my friends and searched the internet for some information about how Beltane was traditionally celebrated, while muttering something rude under my breath about Arwen making me excited for nothing. For the different perspectives from the blog hop participants about Beltane and the traditions surrounding the festival, please visit the Tarot Blog hop master list at http://tarotbyarwen.com/?p=10046.

Beltane - Traditionally A Celebration Of Love

From my understanding, Beltane is a fire festival widely celebrated to mark the midpoint of the vernal equinox and the Summer Solstice. Traditionally, it’s a time where people welcomed warmer weather, planted seeds, danced around Maypoles, made bon fires at open spaces and celebrated with plenty of fresh flowers and cheery Springtime activities…including <cough, cough> making love in the woods!  For my pagan friends, Beltane is a Sabbat that traditionally honored the union of the god and goddess, no wonder my friend texted me to say it’s a festival that celebrated love, fertility and renewal.  So I see it as a day blessed with lots of Love.  The Roman Catholics celebrated the feast of St Bertha of Kent on 1 May.  She was credited for introducing Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England.  It was interesting to note that she married the pagan King, Ethelberht of Kent.  That sounded to me like a wonderful celebration of love and union too. This is the month that David and I celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary.  So it does look like Love is certainly in the air.


Like all the traditions that surrounded Beltane and indeed like all the traditional demonstrations of love as in the example of hand-fasting,  it gave me a chance to think about Tarot and Traditions, the crux of the topic behind this Tarot Blog hop.  

Do I follow traditions religiously in my Tarot practice or have I become like that oddball errant kid in class?

Tarot And Traditions - If I Follow Them At All

When I first started out on my journey with Tarot, I was taught how to cleanse my cards by smudging it with sage, store my cards with a black silk cloth, shuffle my cards 7 times, do a reading only with an established Tarot spread like the Horseshoe spread or the Celtic Cross spread.


The fundamentals of tradition when it comes to Tarot, are indeed important. Cleansing the cards, grounding and protecting oneself before the reading, storing the cards properly and treating them with due respect, are all important parts of tradition surrounding tarot that I adhere to. However I am not pedantic. Let me tell you, I am the last person that would bend to convention rigidly.  

I do cleanse my cards by smudging it with sage regularly, but as someone who believed wholeheartedly in the power of crystal healing, I would, more often, run a blue Kyanite wand down each of my 78 cards after a reading. Sometimes, I cleansed the deck by putting it in my Himalayan singing bowl and let the vibrations do the job.  I store my Tarot cards in pretty hand-sewn bags, one of them was a hand-sewn bag made of Japanese kimono material which my Granny had given me. My favourite Morgan Greer Tarot deck was housed within that Japanese kimono bag.  That bag held a special meaning for me hence I wanted to store my favourite Tarot deck in there.  You see, I inherited Granny's gift of intuition.  Having my favourite Tarot deck stored in it was a reminder that Granny would want me to put my intuitive gifts to good use.

  I was traditionally taught to interpret cards through structured Tarot spreads that had been tried and tested for generations, but I don’t strictly do that as I leaned on my intuition to guide me to create my own Tarot spreads.  I designed up to 4 or 5 Tarot spreads in a Tarot reading session with each of my clients and these spreads always somehow provided the best perspectives to my clients.

There was no requisite number of times that I shuffled my cards with.  I just shuffled them and either spread them out faced down from which I picked the cards, or sometimes I just picked a card from the top of the pile for Situation, and I would pick a card from the middle of the pile for Outcome and then picked a card from the bottom of the pile for Advice. This again was dictated by my intuition at that time of the reading.

I might also choose to use a significator to symbolize my client.  If my client was a Leo, I picked a King of Wands to be the significator for example.  I would then shuffle the cards and cut them into 4 piles to represent Earth, Air, Water and Fire elements.  If I found the King of Wands in the Earth pile, I would know that my client had come to see me about his financial issues.  If I found the significator in the Water pile, I would then know that he had come to see me about relationship issues.  This was important because it helped me to connect with the energy of my client and then I would be able to design Tarot spreads thereafter to help him to uncover some choices that he could make.

So I am not too conventional when I read Tarot, I just go with the flow dictated by my intuition at that time, depending on the connections I have formed with my client then.

I know a lot of readers would shuffle their Tarot cards, spread them out and then pick the cards to a specific spread in response to a client's question.  I sometimes stay away from this because I tend to have deep conversations with the cards.  Like so...

Celebrating Beltane With An Unconventional Tarot Spread

As Beltane clearly was a festival that celebrated Love, I had decided to shuffle my Tarot cards to get some insights on how David and I could strengthen our relationship further. I decided to do something not very traditional to get some perspectives from my cards.


My first question was “What should David and I do to nurture our relationship and make it even stronger and better?”I picked the 2 of Cups as our significator to represent the both of us, naturally because the 2 of Cups was a card symbolizing true love based on mutual respect and opened communication.  I then put the card back into the stack and shuffled my cards, cut them into 4 piles each representing Earth, Air, Water and Fire.   I found my significator in the Fire pile.  The Fire element governed the realm of passion and creativity.  I saw it as an advice for us to rediscover passion in our relationship by being creative and spontaneous as much as we can.


I then asked the question “What’s the obstacle hindering each of us from adding that spontaneity and creativity back into our relationship?” I calculated our personal day numbers on 1 May and used the compound numbers in the Tarot readings that followed.

For David, when I calculated his personal day number, the compound number was 20, so I shuffled the deck, removed 20 cards from the top of the pile and opened the card after.  I got the 2 of Pentacles.  It was clear to me that the Tarot cards were telling me that the obstacle hindering David in our bid for a stronger relationship were his efforts to juggle multiple commitments from running his business, playing and practicing for his gigs with the band, the photography assignments as well as his involvement in helping a friend run her pub. 

As for myself, when I calculated my personal day number, the compound number was 21, so I shuffled the deck, removed 21 cards from the top of the pile and opened the card after.  I got the Devil.  This was interesting.  The Devil was a message to me about my obsession with my work.  I was chained to the perception that only the hours and efforts put into my work could garner me the recognition that I needed, to the point that I did neglect spending time with David.  Even when we did spend time together, our conversations were about my work.  Sometimes, when David wanted to take us on a nice vacation, I would entrap myself with a sense of negativity by thinking that if I went away for a week or 2, everything at work would just go awry, or worse, I would be seen as abandoning the team when they were already having problems coping with the work.  I felt guilty even when I had to take a day off to get a much needed surgery done because my mind saw my work standing still without me in the office.  Sometimes, this obsession with work irritated David.  He had to play second fiddle to my Tarot, and then be brushed away like an annoying child because I was too busy at work, No wonder, he too had decided to keep busy with multiple activities like his band and his photography.

What David And I Can Learn From Beltane

Because Beltane was traditionally a celebration of Love, I had decided that it would be a day of new beginnings and a celebration of renewal of our commitment...thanks to Tarot.

My Tarot cards are never wrong.  The messages were very clear.  Through a spread drawn in a very unconventional manner, I had gleaned so much to help us make the right choices about our relationship.  The 2 of Cups appearing in the pile symbolizing the Fire element was an encouragement for us to start renewing the passion in our relationship.  The 2 of Pentacles was an encouragement for David to create some balance amongst his commitments and to prioritise what’s most important to him. The Devil was an encouragement for me to release myself off that perception that my world was all about my work.  Work should not be defining me.


So, while I don’t intend to dance around the Maypole naked or go romping in the hay with David as per the age old traditions of celebrating Beltane, I had decided to honor the day with a little "fire" of our own. I lit a pink candle, placed the Empress card and the 10 of Cups Tarot card in front of it and held a Rose Quartz crystal in my hand as I whispered a prayer of gratitude to the Universe for an abundance of love surrounding us.  I then invited David to join me in this ritual.  Okay, so I had to deal with his attempts to dismiss it with a rude joke ("Cant we just have a shag, its easier."). However, I am glad he did join me within my sacred space although it was outside of his comfort zone. 

I think traditions exist to shape our values and form some principles to guide our paths. In this case, I used a very non-traditional way to get some advice from Tarot to better my relationship with David.  Yet,  I had used something so traditional, a simple prayer ritual, to get David involved in something so personal and meaningful to me, by joining me within my sacred space and having him walk even closer to my Tarot world. I think tradition had served yet another great purpose - education - Don't you think?

Before I end this blog post, I would like to invite you to read my fellow Tarot Blog hoppers’ perspectives about Beltane.  You may visit Aisling’s blog at www.tarotwitchery.blogspot.com/2013/05/tarot-blog-hop-for-belteine-tarot.html or you may hop on to the lovely Joanne Sprott’s blog at http://cosmicwhisperstarot.com/2013/05/01/in-the-traditions-tarot-blog-hop-for-beltane/


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 at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot or www.sungoddesstarot.com

This is the pouch made from Japanese Kimono material 
that I used to store my Morgan Greer Tarot deck.

Created my sacred space with a pink candle, rose quartz, fresh flowers, dried flowers and herbs, the Empress Card and the 10 of Cups card from my favourite Morgan Greer Tarot deck.  David joined me in a prayer of gratitude to the Universe for all the blessings of abundance we have everyday.