What Does The Empress Card Convey About Being Your Own Brand?

My Skills As A Marketing Professional

I do not have 20 to 30 years of Tarot reading experience and I have not had many years of experience running a Tarot business.  However, I had spanned a career of almost 20 years managing brand development, marketing strategy and communications, with more than half of these spent at multi national corporations honing these skills and contributing to the growth of these organizations.

So what I could speak most comfortably and confidently about at the upcoming American Tarot Association's first Online Tarot Conference this weekend, was about marketing.  I agreed to do a presentation on Strategic Marketing Techniques For Tarot Businesses, because along my amazing journey with Tarot, I had the privilege and the opportunity to help support the growth of some of my fellow Tarotists' businesses alongside my own, with tried and tested tips that I had picked up along the way as a marketing and communications professional.

Using My Skills To Market My Tarot Business

When I mentioned numerous times before that I loved welding my skills as a marketeer with Tarot, I finally understood why and how the Universe had conspired to make me the conduit of learning to help some of my fellow Tarotists who are either starting, or in the midst of growing their Tarot businesses.

Building Brand Authenticity No Matter The Brand Or The Business

One thing I had always been guided by in every decision I had made as a marketing and communications professional, was the goal of building brand authenticity.  When I was working at an insurance company Aviva,  I was adamant about constantly communicating proof points that affirmed Aviva's brand positioning then, of Nobody Recognizes You Like Aviva.   We did so when we managed the Aviva Ironman 90.3 sponsorship to imprint in consumers' minds that the company was always in every life-stage of each and every one of its customers, perseveringly holding the hands of its customers to meet their evolving needs.  We also did so when we sold targeted health products aimed at young families because we knew that a birth in the family meant joy, elation as well as anxiety amongst parents about how best to protect their children and themselves. We recognised the needs within that segment and wasted no time developing products and communicating their benefits to this segment of new families.

Just like that experience of managing Aviva's brand, the same principle applies to one's Tarot business.  When I established Sun Goddess Tarot off the back of a period of negativity in my life, I was determined to stay true to my expansive zodiac sign of a Leo which was ruled by the Sun.  I wanted to bring positivity, light and optimism to my clients with my Tarot and Numerology skills.  My brand, my reading style, my advice-centric Tarot techniques and even the way I engaged my clients ( what I call here, my brand voice) all had to be driven by my brand intent.  I wanted to stay true to myself.  What I lacked in-depth experience as a Tarot reader, I made up for it with every intent to genuinely bring sunshine to my clients when they needed it most as I slowly and steadily grew my skills and experience.

The Empress Card's Message About Brand Authenticity

I am going to use the Empress card as my muse when I talk about brand authenticity at my presentation.  I see the Empress as the Earth Mother, deeply nurturing and very much in-tune with herself.  She creates abundance in everything she touches.  She is highly intuitive and very connected to the spiritual realm yet maintains grounded-ness in the material plane.  She is highly creative because she is so in touch with her feminine side, lending beauty to everything that she creates.

I urge fellow Tarotists particularly those who are in the beginning stages of building their Tarot businesses, to leverage the energies of the Empress. Nurture and grow your brand by keeping it authentic. Your brand reflects you.  While there are many great Tarotists we can learn and emulate from, they have their own unique ways of communicating their brand intent to their customers, and so do you.  Learn from them, but not copy them because you would want your clients to know and trust your brand only because you are the one behind that steering wheel.  Unleash your creativity and know that creativity knows no boundaries. Try and try again different marketing techniques and never be afraid to learn along the way and finally deploy the best technique that fits your business best. Follow your intuition.  You know what is best for your clients and how best to build that affinity between your brand and your clients.

When My Job As A Marketeer And A Tarot Reader Became One

I can clearly define how long I have been a marketing professional.  My involvement with tarot is less clearly defined.  From the time I was a young girl causing trouble at the neighbourhood playground, till the time I was involved in helping large multinational companies build and manage their brands,  I knew I was good at reading people intuitively.  For years i wrote this off as being "good at my job'.  Once I had the confidence to start Sun Goddess Tarot as a business, I took a leap of faith and allowed my two selves - financial marketeer and tarot reader - to become one.

ENROL FOR THE ATA ONLINE TAROT CONFERENCE HERE

What I have touched on within this blog post is just a highlight of what I will be covering at my presentation on Strategic Marketing Techniques For Tarot Businesses at the American Tarot Association Online Tarot Conference 2013 held on 26 October 12pm EST or 27 October 12am Singapore time.  Do enrol by clicking onto this link http://www.wiziq.com/course/32291-ata-online-tarot-conference-2013

Acknowledgement:  I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the fantastic creative work of a friend, Nadim Van der Ros, who supported me through this nerve-wrecking experience of getting me ready for this upcoming presentation.

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

Add caption

The Empress Card  - the beginnings of my very own Tarot deck.

A work in progress and a labour of love developed 

from the visions of a friend and I

Building A Relationship With Your Tarot Cards In 3 Simple Ways

Building A Relationship With Your Tarot Cards In 3 Simple Ways

As a Tarot mentor, I always enjoy seeing the excitement registered on the faces of my protégés when they start to learn how to read the Tarot cards. During the mentoring sessions, we would be swapping notes, highlighting observations and sharing insights.  However sometimes, when they get home and attempt to practice a reading on their own, I might get a couple of frantic calls from some of them asking why they had not been able to do an accurate reading or might in some way not feel connected with the cards.

I believe that each Tarot reader has a special relationship with his or her cards.  I have 26 Tarot decks and my relationship with each of them are different.  My working decks ( the decks that I would use to read professionally with clients, are the Radiant Rider Waite updated by Virginisijus Poshkus and the Morgan Greer deck created by Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan.  Somehow, I get the most insights from these 2 decks and they seem to be “gentler” on my clients because the images are quite easily relatable.  My Tarot of the Holy Light deck is a difficult one to use with my clients because the images though vivid, are not as friendly and the symbols are often more profound for non-Tarot readers to comprehend.  However, the deck is perfect when it comes to readings that I do for myself because I often find different and deeper insights with the symbolisms within each card, every time I use that deck.  

So start a relationship with your Tarot deck the very minute you own one.  Here are 3 very basic ways that you could easily use to build a relationship with your cards.

1. Explore Your Brand New Tarot Deck

When you purchase a new deck or are gifted one, examine the deck from box to cards.  Scrutinize the packaging in detail and take note of how the deck creator had decided to package the deck.  Examine the colours, the texture and the imagery on the box. Which card is featured on the box?  This will help stage an introduction between you and the deck creator. Then explore the imagery, not in too much detail yet, but assess the brush strokes, creative treatment, overall use of colours and fonts used to write the words and numbers on each card. Read the little white book that comes with it and correspond the written card description with what you personally glean with the imagery.  Treat this as your way of saying hello to the deck creator and your desire to get to know him or her better.

2. Pick A Card Du Jour And Meditate On It

Meditate with your Tarot cards each morning.  Start your meditation by breathing in 7 counts and breathing out 7 counts, imagining a white light going from the top of your head, through your forehead,  throat, torso, legs and feet.  Feel the white light pushing the stress and negativity into the ground.   When you are sufficiently calmed and relaxed, shuffle and randomly pick a card.  That would be your ‘card du jour’.  Examine the image within the card, the colours, the characters, the symbols, and imagine the card becoming gradually bigger, till it looks like a doorway.  Visualize yourself walking through that doorway into the card.  When you are “in the presence” of the imagery, notice how it interacts with you, listen to what the image says to you,  talk to it freely and even describe verbally what you are feeling at that point when you see the image and what each symbol, colours and the imagery itself means to you. 

You are strongly advised to note your thoughts down in a journal.  When you think you have already gleaned enough from the cards, turn to “walk out of the card” and ground yourself by being aware of your own surroundings.   

Read the notes in your journal and make a mental note of your observations.  At the end of the day, pick that card again and re-examine it, cross referencing it with the notes in your journal.  Ask yourself at that point, how had events of your day co-relate with the observations you have made of that card earlier in the morning.  What are the lessons learn?  What opportunities did you have which you became more aware of because of your observations about the card.

3.  Write Down Your Tarot-Related Thoughts In A Journal

I am a strong believer of keeping a journal.  I have a hard-copy leather-bound journal custom-made for me as a gift.  However, you can journal your thoughts anywhere that you feel most comfortable with.  Some of my friends do it as blog posts and one of them update his notes in his IPhone daily.  So what do you write in your journal now that you have gotten one?  You are advised to note down everything you see and feel about your Tarot card daily.  This is the best opportunity to write down your reflections when you pick a card a day.  Your reflections are your own, there are no rules to developing these reflections, but here are some tips to watch out for besides the colour, imagery and symbols within the cards:

i)              If you have picked a court card, note the personality and characteristics of the card and reference it to someone you already know, a family, a friend, or even a celebrity.  I used to call the King of Wands “Donald Trump”.

ii)            If you have picked a Major Arcana card, note down your observations about the card and reference it to someone or an event in your life that you are familiar with.  I saw the Empress as Mum and her generous nature of nurturing, loving and giving her family members the best of everything.  I likened the Tower to the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11.

Constant Practice Helps

Different Tarot readers build their relationship with their Tarot cards in different ways.  There are no hard and fast rules.  Ultimately, they are your Tarot cards, your reading style and your personal relationship with them.  As with most relationships, yours with your Tarot cards can only be built over time.   You should solder that relationship by using your Tarot cards for regular practice readings.  Practice your readings with your family, friends and self.  Start with a 1- card pick, then move on to a 3-card spread and when you become even more confident, you can expand the reading to a 5-10 card spread.  By that time, you would already have that strong relationship with your Tarot cards that will allow you to gain even better insights with each reading.

Below this post is a picture of my Tarot journal and sitting on it are some cards picked from the Goddess Tarot deck by Kris Waldherr.


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

Re-telling The Story Of Beauty And The Beast

To celebrate the Autumn Equinox, many of my Tarot blogging friends wrote some beautiful blog posts which regaled us with stories about the myths surrounding Autumn. They also created Tarot spreads inspired by these myths, and shared some of their life’s lessons and transformational experiences that were an eye-opener for me. 

One of the Tarot bloggers Chloe McCracken from Inner Whispers took that opportunity to create a myth-inspired Tarot spread based on the story of Beauty and the Beast.  Do read her blog post here,http://innerwhisperscouk.blogspot.sg/2013/09/mabon-blog-hop-mythical-things.html.

Beauty And The Beast Tarot Spread

I loved the story of Belle and the Beast.  I watched the movie a gazillion times and could even play the song on my piano just by listening to the soundtrack for the very first time.  However, doing a Tarot reading with a Beauty and the Beast spread was another thing all together.  I used it on a reading for myself and was utterly bowled over.  I wished more Tarotists could create simple Tarot spreads like what Chloe had done.  
This was how the Beauty and the Beast Tarot spread went:

1) What is my heart’s desire at this time?
In the case of Beauty and the Beast, Belle wanted a single red rose which symbolically represented her desire for true love.

2) What price will I have to pay for it?
Belle had to leave her family to stay with the Beast in his castle.  That must have been a frightening experience for her.

3) What lesson will I learn in the process?
Belle learnt that true love was  about far more than appearance.
So, I applied the spread to my question which was "What insights could Tarot provide  about the direction for Sun Goddess Tarot?"  I used Barbara Moore's Book of Shadows Volume 2 - So Below Tarot deck for the purpose.  It was not a myth-inspired deck but it was calling out to me to be used for this spread.
What Is My Heart’s Desire At This Time: 8 Of Wands

The 8 of Wands reflected my desire to take action on some of my ideas that had been stewing in my mind for Sun Goddess Tarot.  The journey I had taken in the past few years was remarkable.  I saw my Tarot reading skills growing as I started learning from more teachers, mentors, and fellow Tarotists.  Being part of the various international Tarot communities had widen my perspectives on Tarot and when I was interviewed by established Tarotists, invited to contribute articles for established Tarot organizations, encouraged to share my knowledge and skills at various forums and asked to mentor other budding Tarotists, I started to gain even more confidence and assurance that the path I had taken, though difficult, was a very rewarding one.   

These experiences fuelled my intentions to take Sun Goddess Tarot even further. I was now ready to weld my 17 years of marketing experience with Tarot to guide other Tarotists to market their Tarot businesses with traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies that I had learnt and deployed over the last 17 years. The action-plan was to create a curriculum around marketing strategies for budding Tarot businesses.

I was also hungry to learn even more, expand my skills to other different metaphysical disciplines beyond the courses I had already done in Numerology and Astrology.  And even within these disciplines, I was not done studying yet.  My little mind and my time was limited.  I needed to expand my reach beyond Singapore but I felt I could not do enough on my own.  So I had planned to create a partnership with a couple of fellow Tarotists each specializing in their respective metaphysical disciplines, who were as hungry as I was and even more determined than I was to touch as many people as they could beyond our shores, to bring these people light.  The action-plan was to launch this partnership within the next year.

What Price Will I Have To Pay For It: 9 Of Wands Reversed

One of my greatest fears was the heavy responsibilities I was already piling upon myself.  I did not have much resources, let alone deeper and wider metaphysical skill sets unlike my counterparts who generally had 20-30 years of experience under their belt.  So I worked with whatever I had.  I did not want to take on too many projects and courses as I was afraid that I would be juggling too much and with the given responsibilities at my current job as a marketing professional at a multinational corporation and my commitments to my family, I was not prepared to give too much of myself and my time.  However, the Autumn season was possibly the best time for me to think about how one could harvest what they sowed.  If I had not made the effort to sow the seeds of growth and expansion with a clear vision of where I wanted to be in the future with Sun Goddess Tarot, I would of course not have much of a harvest. 

I believed I saw the light when I picked this card.   I had to be prepared to sacrifice my time and resources to build the type of business that Sun Goddess Tarot deserved to be. I needed to be prepared to take calculated risks.   It would take a lot of hard work, courage and plenty of personal time especially weekends to nurture this business through research, studies, business development and marketing.  I had to be prepared to reach out further by working on speaking engagements, workshops and webinars.  I also had to write more. I had been so erratic with my writings, that I only wrote when there was a Tarot blog hop or when I got truly inspired by something, like Chloe’s very simple Beauty and the Beast Tarot spread, or when I got struck down on the road by lightning and saw a vision…just kidding.  This erratic way of sharing my skills had to be replaced by discipline. 
That would be the only way to ensure that I could turn my ideas into viable action plans so that I could manifest my goals for Sun Goddess Tarot.

What Will I Learn In The Process:  The High Priestess

I need not have to write on.  This card was that “lightning” that struck me on my head.  I woke up with a jolt at that point because as professional Tarot readers, that was what we aspired to be – The High Priestess.  Throughout these few years of running Sun Goddess Tarot, the demands of my everyday life, my day job, my clients and my family, were the chatter in my head and the cacophony of routinal activities that caused me to be “stuck” where I was in terms of growing even more depth in my metaphysical knowledge and spirituality.  This card indicated that as I worked to grow and expand Sun Goddess Tarot, I would be learning to listen to my inner voice more, trusting my intuition more, and hence deepening my intuitive skills in the process. I believed that with effort and time, I would be establishing a new and more profound relationship not only with my Tarot cards but also with my clients.
I knew that in time, my growth as a Tarotist, would not just be driven by the educational experiences and classroom lessons that I had been going through all these years.  It would be driven by my trust of and surrender to the Universe.

A Transformational Lesson Indeed

I have Chloe to thank for, for opening my eyes to the fact that a simple Tarot spread could draw a profoundly impactful reading for me.  I would definitely be trying this spread on my clients in the future.

About The Writer:

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

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



Taken from Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast



Autumn Made Richer With Lessons From A Myth

At the blink of an eye, ¾ of a year has almost gone by and we are in the throes of welcoming Autumn.  Autumn is a season traditionally surrounded in myths which in turn contribute to the different ways that various communities around the world honour the season. One of these festivals is Mabon.   As I wrote this blog post to celebrate Autumn, I found some lessons in one of the myths associated with the season.  So, I am glad you are visiting this blog whether you are a regular reader, or you had come from the posts on the same topic written by my fellow Tarot blogging mates.  You can find Cassandra's  at http://quickcardreading.com/fall-equinox/ or the ever effervescent Pepi's  at http://depepi.com/2013/09/22/inanna-and-the-journey-to-the-underworld/.  For rest of the posts on the same theme (Mabon - Divination and Myths) from other Tarot bloggers who participated in this blog hop, do visit http://tarottrends.com/content/2013-mabon-tarot-blog-hop-master-list

Celebrating Autumnal Abundance At Mabon

Mabon falls on 22 September, marking the start of the Autumn season.  It is a celebration of the equal division between day and night, when we see impending dwindling sunlight followed by the changing colors of the leaves from a lush green to a hue of rust red and golden brown. Autumn is a season that is traditionally associated with change and transformation.  It is also a season surrounded in myths.  In fact, the name Mabon came from an age-old Celtic myth about the Welsh god, Mabon who was abducted when young, and found again by King Arthur so that he could be reborn into the light. For more on the story of Mabon, do read it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabon_ap_Modron

Myth Of Demeter And Persophone

One of the myths I fell in love with as I started my Tarot journey some time back with the New Mythic Tarot deck by Liz Greene and Giovanni Casselli, was the Greek mythology about Demeter and Persophone.  Demeter was the Goddess of the harvest whose patronage had allowed the land to grow in abundance, bountiful crops were harvested throughout the year and fields were blooming with flowers and greenery. The myth goes like this.  Her daughter Persophone was abducted by Hades one day and because she had consumed a Pomegranate (the fruit of the dead), she had unwittingly submitted to become Hades’ wife in the underworld.  Angered by this, and grieving for the loss of her daughter, Demeter cursed the land and allowed crops to die, and the land laid barren and in darkness. Zeus then stepped in to mediate and through a compromise, Persophone was allowed to surface from the underworld to live with her mother for 6 months of the year, during which Demeter would once again allow crops to grow and light to be cast on earth.  For the other 6 months of the year though, Persophone was to return to the underworld to be with Hades and Demeter was allowed, in her grief, to turn the land into barren darkness.   For more on the story of Demeter and Persophone, do read about it at http://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Demeter/demeter.html

More Autumnal Myths – The Mooncake Festival
Around the same period when my friends celebrate the Autumnal abundance of Mabon, my family and friends over in my part of the world in Singapore, celebrate the Autumn Equinox with  the Moon Cake festival.  Like Mabon, it is also a festival surrounded in myths.One version of the myth is that in ancient China, there was an archer called Hou Yi who successfully shot down  9 out of the 10 suns that appeared in the sky to scorch and destroy the land.  He left only 1 sun in existence to provide light and life, not allowing the earth to fall into darkness.  Celebrated for his prowess, he became King and married the lady Chang Er.  Over time, Hou Yi became a despot obsessed about continuing his rule by searching for an elixir.  This elixir promised eternal life.  When the elixir was found,  Chang Er decided to consume it instead in a bid to prevent her husband from continuing his despotic rule forever.  She then transformed into a fairy and flew to the Moon on which she lived.    The grateful people on earth lighted their lanterns on earth so that Chang Er could see them from the moon.  That is why today, the Chinese hang lanterns around their homes during this festival.    Hou Yi grieved for his beloved wife so he put out a table of offerings of cakes and sweets to honour her every Autumn.  Today, the Chinese consumed moon-shaped cakes today with the same intent to honor her.   To find out more about Chang Er, do read it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e . This was a story of loss, transformation and thanksgiving that had lived for generations.

Navigating Transformation

Whether you are celebrating Mabon, Moon Cake festival, or just celebrating a bumper harvest of carrots in your backyard, I would see this period as an occasion to celebrate transformation.  As you know Transformation usually involved a painful process of letting go the “what has been” to accept the “what is to come”. My son, Joel had been going through that, along with me.  As a mother, I held him through this transition from a schoolboy, through to his tertiary stint in Nursing school at a local polytechnic.  It was not a course he had initially opted for.  The course was allocated to him as a second choice because his grades were not good enough to allow him to do a mass communications course which he had indicated as a first choice in the admission forms.  I could see him struggling through the choices, and I still see him struggling with himself to accept the outcome and embrace nursing school as a journey of learning.

So this is a spread I created to get insights on Joel’s transformational journey through Nursing school.  I called it Demeter’s Journey Of Transformational Spread and I have used the New Mythic Tarot deck by Liz Greene and Giovanni Casselli to perform this reading for Joel.

Demeter's Journey Of Transformation Spread

Demeter's Grief - Self
The 4 of Cups was picked to represent Joel at present.  The card indicated that he was taking a step back to re-evaluate the direction he was taking in his life. He might be feeling disengaged and unmotivated by the Nursing course currently.  In fact, he had complained to me about the stress of his examinations and the boredom he was experiencing during his industrial attachment to the hospital.   However, he recognized that he was now committed to the course as he was in his 2^nd year.  So the card suggested that he needed to look deep within himself to understand what lessons this experience could bring to the table for him in the long run.  He must not get distracted by “noises” from friends and family.  Ultimately, only Joel was the only who could determine his own career directions.    I liked the number 4 because in numerology, it symbolized his need to use this experience as a period to build his foundation of skills, experience and knowledge for the future whether or not he would decide later, to pursue Nursing as a career.   I used this card to explain to him that he should learn to be grateful for the opportunity afforded him because besides the medical skills, he got to learn so much more from this course, for example, how he could interact and communicate better with people.

Persophone's Dilemma - Situation
The reversed Star was picked to assess the influence Joel’s emotional and mental state had on the situation.  As Joel felt disengaged and uninspired with the course,  he had allowed this feelings of negativity impact his relationship with us, his parents  and his attitude to life.  That explained why we had issues with him not being open and honest in communicating to us.  He had started out with great vision and enthusiasm for nursing in his first year, and then started questioning  his interest for it when the examinations came around the corner to pile the pressure on him. Furthermore, a fellow classmate dropped out of the course midway, and this had impacted Joel’s motivation even further.   From time to time, he seemed quite lost in direction, as if he was hoping to see a sign affirming that he was treading on the right path to a meaningful career.

Hade's deception – Obstacle
Death was picked to determine the stumbling block in Joel’s journey.  Death is a card of transformation and new life.  It was an apt card to pick for Joel as it indicated to me that the card was encouraging him to let go of his past when he had experienced poor academic performance, with lack lustre grades at school and even failure in the examinations during one of his secondary school years.  In fact, it was a less than stellar performance at the GCE O’ Level examinations that had led to the polytechnic allocating him into a course that was his 2^ndchoice – Nursing.  He did not get into Nursing school out of pure interest in the vocation.  While he attempted to embrace the course with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, he continuously harbored aspirations to be a marketing professional instead.  He enjoyed his vacation jobs interning at several advertising agencies and wanted very much to get back into advertising.  However, the Death card is telling Joel to let it go and put 100% focus into his Nursing course.  The aim is to complete the course with a Diploma then decide upon graduation what he wanted to do next.  We advised him not to pass over this opportunity at the Nursing course because of his stubbornly clinging on to the past.  Instead, finish the course and gain some hands-on experience with it to build a strong foundation of skills that could enable him to pursue a career as a marketing professional at the Health Promotion Board, the Ministry of Health or the private medical organizations.  There could also be a possibility that he could use his skills to establish a business venture in private nursing care which will give him opportunities to expand his skills to business development and marketing.

The Death card as an obstacle is a manifestation of  Joel carrying negative aspects from the past that may interfere with the opportunity he may have for a new beginning.  He was resisting the change necessary to mould him into a resourceful adult keen on viewing every aspect of life as an opportunity to grow.

Zeus' Mediation – Advice
The Page of Swords was picked to offer Joel some advice.  Joel, like the Page, is young and idealistic.  He has capacity for intellectual growth which the Nursing course can provide.  He was advised by the Page to continue his Nursing course with energy, passion and enthusiasm and not let doubt and distraction get in the way of the completion of this course.  He should leverage the energy of the Page to fuel his vision for his career and not take a short-sighted approach.  The Page of Swords is encouraging him to start thinking about his future career and  aspirations.  His ambition to be a marketing professional should not come to a dead end because of the fact that he is now studying for a Nursing diploma.  Instead, he should look at the Nursing diploma as an added advantage to his marketing and communication skills in future should he wish to pursue the latter as a career later.  There will always be challenges with whatever career option he chooses eventually but the crux of the message from the Page was that he needed to follow his passions and go with the path that he believed to be the best for him.  Also,  the Page of Swords warned that he should not take unnecessary risks with his opportunities for intellectual growth by quitting the Nursing course half way.

Demeter's Harvest - Outcome
The Page of Pentacles is a manifestation of the eventual outcome for Joel’s journey in his Nursing course.  It indicated that Joel will indeed come around from his dilemma, to focus on his goals.  He will be motivated to begin the process of creating tangible plans towards attaining his goals. Like this Page, he will view his Nursing course with a practical approach.  He will start to understand that beyond the medical knowledge gained, the course would also teach him interpersonal skills, accountability, resilience and resourcefulness, opening doors to contacts in the industry that could prove to be important to his career in future.  These are all practical skills needed in future, whatever job he lands himself with.    As he had mentioned about establishing a private nursing care business in future, the Page of Pentacles who is filled with young, entrepreneurial vision also reflects that he will come around to view his current experience as a stepping stone to future growth and expansion that could prove to be a lucrative business venture.

My Hopes For Joel

Like Demeter who worried for Persophone’s welfare in the underworld and rejoiced when Persophone returned to be with her , I am actually doing the same with Joel.  When he was feeling down, defeated and lost with his life directions, I grieved for him.  When he started to come around and tried his best at the 2^nd year Nursing examinations, I rejoiced at his determination and effort in trying to pave the way towards his goals.  I felt that this experience has slowly transformed Joel’s level of maturity. If I could not influence the choice of his career, at least, as a Mum, I hoped I had helped shaped him into a resilient adult.

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

Living A Life Filled With Love And Positivity

Living A Life Filled With Love And Positivity

A few days ago, a friend sent me a lovely note on my Facebook wall.  She posted a picture of an old couple walking hand in hand, and said, “I immediately thought of you when I saw this picture. You, David, Joel, your dog, your stories about your Mum, your Nan, your Dad and your fabulous team at work…I always love reading your Facebook post and blog.   I wish to live a life filled with love like yours.”

It was such a sweet note that brought tears to my eyes.  Indeed, it was a stage I never thought I could get to, considering that I had walked a rather rocky past tainted by divorce, single motherhood, being cut-off from my parents and the struggle to find myself.  I went through a period of healing after, which affirmed my belief that the Universe will never throw a challenge at you without providing you with the means to deal with it.  

This was the classic manifestation of the 5 of Cups card in Tarot.  When the 3 cups got knocked over, I found the 2 upstanding cups.  One came in the form of my best friend who helped me believe in the institution of marriage again – so I got remarried, to him.   The other came in the form of my answering the call of my higher consciousness to provide support and comfort to other women who had to survive divorce and single motherhood all on their own.  I did not realize that when I put in that effort to a divorcees support group that I had set up, I was actually sowing the seeds of my work as a lightworker.

So, in response to my friend’s note, I sent her a message taken from a quote by Ben Sweetland.  It said, “We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.”  The day I had decided to turn professional as a Tarot reader, I had decided to embrace life with positivity and live  in joy and gratitude everyday for every blessing around me no matter how big or small.

Here was how I took control.  The only person that I allowed myself to do battle with, is myself.. The only choices impacting me, could only be made by myself.  The outcomes I wanted to effect in my life, could only be influenced by myself.

Ultimately, I was in control.  And I was determined to remain in control of my life.

Taking Control Of The Devil Then

I would like to explain the concept of Control with the Devil card in Tarot.  Unpleasant to some, it was the card which provided positive advice for me. 

The Devil card in my Radiant Rider Waite deck created by Virginijus Poshkus and published by US Games, portrayed an image of a half-man- half-goat creature sitting behind 2 human figures who are shackled to each other by chains.  The chains however are loosely fastened and their hands are not tied, suggesting that they are chained to each other out of their own free will. They are not even chained to the Devil himself! They seemed crippled in inertia for fear of him.

My life was previously reflected in this card, the Devil.  He was the scapegoat I blamed for all the negative moments in my life.  This scapegoat was represented by what I felt were the causes of my distress then – the negativity within my previous marriage, the breakdown in communication with my parents immediately after the divorce, the friends who chose to be on the side of my ex-husband, and the nature of the corporate environment which had shaped my very hard exterior as a corporate careerist. 

These restrictions had generally existed because I chose then, to let them rule my life and shape my perceptions of my future.   I was holding onto these chains of negativity that imprisoned me for years, leaving me to look down at my feet as I walked along the path, whilst missing the embrace of the Sunshine above me.

I started working on myself when I saw what I was missing around me – my son who was growing up and needed me, my husband who loved me and needed me to love him back, and my parents who just wanted to protect me but did not know how.  Then when I saw a group of women who were going through the same negativity I did because of their respective divorces, I had decided to take control then, and promptly removed the bonds of negativity tightly clasped around my neck.

Taking Control Of The Devil Now

Today I am happily married, the family is very close-knitted and my relationship with my parents is better than ever.  While the days of negativity are behind me, I am managing a different kind of “devil”.  I think the Devil card most apt in describing this would be the one in the Book of Shadows Volume 2 - So Below Tarot Deck by Barbara Moore.

The Devil is portrayed by an image of a delicious Sundae. I could not help but laugh out loud at this wonderful card because it really was a manifestation of me at this moment.

The Devil card represented all kinds of harmful bonds like temptations.  It was an accurate depiction of how I had been using my extremely busy schedules and multiple commitments as excuses to lead a sedentary life of poor diet, and almost lack of exercise.  I was constantly stressed at work, and viewed everything around me with negativity.  I blamed the workload for my poor health.  I blamed the family for their lack of understanding about why I was not spending more time with them.  I blamed people around me for creating the pressures of deadlines and last minute demands.

 My Judgement card moment came about when I was hit with repeated health issues which culminated in an angiogram done 2 months ago.  That was when the doctor said, “Shape up or else.”  

So I promptly took control.  I revamped my entire lifestyle with a balanced diet and some exercise with my personal trainer. I also knew when to take a break, so when the juggling of these multiple projects seemed all too much for me, I would step back for a bit to give myself a breather.  I have also made it a point to get home before sundown when possible. This allowed me to spend more time with my family and the dogs.  This new lifestyle reshaped my outlook in life into a more positive one.  I had more energy, and I definitely had more fun.

I went for my medical review with the cardiologist this morning and I was so pleased when he said that I had made marked improvements with my health.  The medical report indicated numbers that had put me within acceptable range in the respective field.  He promptly halfed my dosage of hypertension drugs and told me that he had a goal to remove them totally by mid next year if I continued to show improvements in my health. I was so pleased.

Staying Positive

I was also determined to set an example with what I was doing with my life health-wise.  I wanted to prove that being fit and healthy, positive and happy were not just concepts owned by fitness freaks, dieticians, health gurus, yoga practitioners, healers.  I wanted to prove that anyone, in whatever shape, form, or background can be fit, healthy, positive and happy.  

That is why I am really proud of being part of the team that launched Singapore's first science-backed wellness program called AIA Vitality that is committed to making real changes to Singaporeans' health with every little healthy choice that they make.  Do check the program out at www.aiavitality.com.sg.

You see, there is no secret formula to staying positive and filling your life full of love, if you believe with conviction that you need to be so, to bring some semblance of positivity into other people’s lives too.

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 currently runs her own Tarot consultancy called Sun Goddess Tarot which is based in Singapore.  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

What Can I Bring From My Table To Enrich The Community

What Can I Bring From My Table To Enrich The Community?

Welcome to my blog post written to celebrate the harvest festival of Lammas.  You may be my regular blog reader, or you may be visiting this blog after having read Jordan's at http://jordanhoggard.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/tarotbloghop-lammas-tenders-wisdom. Or you may have worked your way backwards from Vivianne's blog at http://kismetscompanion.blogspot.sg/2013/08/tarot-blog-hop-lammas-2013.html.   Should the links be broken at any point or you would like to read the rest of the contributions from the other Tarot bloggers, please visit the master list of blog links at  http://tarotbyarwen.com/?p=10468

Today, as friends around the world celebrated the harvest festival of Lammas, I celebrated the fact that I came full circle with the Wheel of the Year as a member of this fabulous Tarot blog hop community.  It had been a critical component of my growth as a Tarot reader.  I had studied under various Tarot teachers and taken many Tarot courses in my attempts to raise the bar on my Tarot reading skills.  However, nothing beat the knowledge I gained and the friends I made within this Tarot blog hop community. 

The blog topic to celebrate Lammas was themed “What can we share from our table to enrich our community?”  It was not difficult to find what I could share with my community.   I knew I wanted to share my experience and expertise as a Tarot reader with those who are still at the beginning of their Tarot journey, the way my fellow Tarot bloggers did. They had been sharing so much of their bountiful experience and expertise with me about Tarot and life in general.  This Tarot blog hop community was exemplary of the spirit of Lammas.  Inspired by them,  Tarot mentoring and coaching became my biggest passion.  But they served only 1 group of people within my community, so what else could I bring to the table and to whom?

Celebrating Abundance At Lammas With The Queen Of Pentacles

First, for those unfamiliar with the festival, Lammas is a festival celebrated on 1 August throughout the world, to honour the first harvest.  It honoured the bountiful crops, the first gathering of grains and the first plucking of fruits and vegetables, and a table full of food brought in from the garden well-planted in spring.  In short, it meant Abundance.  Lammas was particularly special for me because it fell on my birthday.  There was nothing I wanted more on my birthday each year, than to know that whatever  gifts bestowed on me by the Universe, served the purpose of bringing abundance to people around me.

The Queen of Pentacles was aptly picked as the “Lammas Muse”.  I saw her as the epitome of a nurturing earth mother and a capable career woman providing financially, emotionally, physically and spiritually for the family and the people around her.  In the Radiant Rider Waite deck, the image on the Queen of Pentacles card depicts a Queen sitting on a throne decorated in luxuriously abundant flowers, fruits, animals and angels.  The tree in the picture and all around her are adorned with flowers and lush greenery. These are symbols of prosperity and wealth.   A rabbit is seen at her feet, a symbol of fertility.  The Queen was my inspiration.  As I juggled a career as a marketeer, my passion as a professional Tarot reader and my roles as mother, wife and daughter, I aspire to be as successful, as generous, as giving, and as selfless as the Queen of Pentacles.

The Abundance From My Table Tarot Spread

Using the Queen of Pentacles as my Significator, and acknowledging that I have been blessed with gifts that allowed me to perform my multiple roles in my life, I created the Abundance From My Table Tarot spread to gain insights on what I could “bring from my table to enrich the community”.  To me, the community was specifically focused on 3 groups of people most important to me.  They are 1) my family, 2) my team at work and 3) my Tarot and Numerology clients and friends.  The cards picked were from my Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck created by Virginijus Poshkus and published by US Games. 

What Can I Bring From My Table To My Family?  - Temperance

Temperance is depicted by an image of an angel with one foot in the water and the other on land, representing his balancing the realms between the material and the subconscious world. This was a reminder that I had to strike a balance between what my inner consciousness tells me and my rational mind as I managed my day-to-day routine at home.  The angel is also seen mixing water, pouring it from one cup to the other, a reminder that one had to adjust to circumstances and people, approach everything in moderation, and proactively create balance and harmony in one’s life.    

I see Temperance as a card advising me to think long-term as I reevaluate my priorities in life. I had been putting my work, my clients and everything else outside of my home before my family. My daily routine was controlled by 4 devices, a laptop, an ipad, a blackberry and an iphone.  They formed my army of technological administrators, dealing with my Tarot reading appointments, Tarot coaching sessions, Tarot events,  creative agency briefings, work meetings, PR events, courses and industry networking events.  I have not yet added my visits to Mum and Dad, medical appointments, David’s jamming sessions, photography assignments and time with Joel.  Temperance knocked me on the head with 1 word – BALANCE. 

As Joel was starting to spend more time out of the home, David and I had to familiarize ourselves with our new roles as Pre-Empty Nesters. This should have been the perfect time for David and I to have more time with each other.  However, my multiple projects, mounting work pressures and Tarot appointments were getting in the way.  Even my weekends were filled with Tarot appointments and coaching sessions.  When David started asking me over facebook if I was coming home for dinner, i knew the messages of these cards were very clear.  What I had to bring from my table to my family was my commitment to get my priorities right, and spend more time with them by balancing my busy lifestyle and multiple projects. 

Temperance supporting the Queen of Pentacles were the perfect cards pointing to the desire for creating balance in my life for the sake of my family’s and my happiness.  I could not get a more resounding message than this for my role as a wife, mother and daughter.

What Can I Bring From My Table To My Work?  - Chariot

The Chariot card depicts an image of a charioteer steering the chariot with 2 sphinxes in front of him. The stars and crescent moon depicted in the card point to the spiritual forces at work supporting his quest to victory.  The charioteer is not brandishing reins but just a wand which signifies passion and determination leading him towards his goals. 

The Chariot card urged me to maintain focus and determination as I worked towards our goals with my team at work.  My team is a very lean team built on highly skilled and experienced marketeers managing brand strategy, product marketing, corporate social responsibility, sponsorships, customer communications,  public and media relations.  As one could appreciate, the scope is humongous so I likened the 6 of us in the team to circus acrobats, juggling many big projects all at the same time in our bid to meet the company’s growth targets.  The energy and camaraderie within this team had been my motivation to jump into the trenches with them to ensure that we exceeded expectations with the delivery of these project objectives.

I do get really exhausted from time to time because of near-impossible project deadlines, cross-functional team complexities, last minute changes in project plans and resource limitations.  However, the Chariot reminded me to ascertain what the end-goal was and to work towards it.

That was when I thought I saw the light with the Chariot card.  There are 2 sphinxes in the card, one in black and the other in white.  It resembled the Asian concept of balance between the forces of Yin and Yang. It was urging me to balance my inner consciousness and my rational self to manage the challenges at work. 

The Chariot supporting the Queen of Pentacles were the perfect cards reinforcing the need for me to balance my determination to attain my career goals while appreciating that journey (bumpy roads not withstanding) I was making towards my goals.  As one would say, it really was not about the goal, but the journey towards the goal that mattered.  I loved that journey with these girls I called, the A-Team. These cards reminded me to nurture my team with the same appreciation for the balance between attaining their career goals and their journey towards these goals.  That would ensure that they came to work every day, loving what they did and doing what they loved.

What Can I Bring From My Table To My Tarot Clients?  - Queen Of Cups

The image in the Queen of Cups depicts an introspective Queen holding on to a cup sitting on a throne by the sea.  The water symbolize emotions over which the Queen governs and the fish represents her inner consciousness. The cup is closed indicating that her emotions run deep and that she could also be a trusted guide and mentor who could keep one’s secrets.

The Queen of Cups supporting the Queen of Pentacles together provided me with a clear message that as I sought to balance the commitments in my life with my passion as a professional Tarot reader, I had to do it with a lot of compassion, patience, emotional maturity and sensitivity.  As the Queen of Cups is a highly intuitive Queen, the card urged me to trust my higher self as I gained intuitive experiences and spiritual wisdom through my Tarot journey.  My rational mind sometimes got in the way as I indulged in the questioning of the science behind these intuitive experiences.  With such doubt in my mind, I had limited the opportunities to expand my professional Tarot practice beyond what I was currently capable of doing.  So, the Queen of Cups assured me of my purpose.  With the intuitive gifts that the Universe had given me, beyond the Tarot readings that I had been doing for clients, I should be doing more to help mentor and coach beginning Tarot readers. 

When I was a beginner Tarot reader myself, I was very involved in the different Tarot communities like the American Tarot Association (ATA), Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), the Tarot Guild, Aecletic Tarot, and Biddy Tarot.  The immense knowledge I got from the more experienced Tarot readers within these communities was invaluable.  I am still involved in these communities and I hope I could give back the same to the beginner Tarot readers by contributing my own knowledge and experience.

Making Abundance Count

The Tarot spread created to support the "Queen of Pentacles" reminded me that whatever gifts and skill sets I have would mean nothing if I gave only “bits and pieces” of my time and effort to my community. The cards were resoundingly hitting me on the head with one word – BALANCE.  

I realized I cannot offer the best of myself to the people that mattered if I did not strive for balance and harmony in my life.  This was critical for me to perform my roles as wife, mother and daughter, as well as marketeer and professional Tarot reader and Tarot coach.   The dynamics have changed.  It was no longer about my needing to raise the bar with even more certificates and qualifications under my belt to enhance my skills as a marketeer, a Tarot reader and a Numerologist.  It was more important for me to optimize my existing skill sets and re-prioritize my commitments so that everyone within my community gets the best of me.

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) as well as a certified numerologist.  She is currently running a Tarot consultancy called Sun Goddess Tarot based in Singapore. 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 Abundance From My Table Tarot Spread

Welcoming My Personal Year 6

The Exciting But Challenging Personal Year 5

I truly hated Mathematics at school.  I sometimes got the wrong change back for things I bought at the shops, just because I "did not have enough fingers to count" my change. However, I loved Numerology.  I  loved the metaphysical science behind Numerology and had successfully used it to manage my interpersonal relationships at work and home, as well as to manage my expectations within the year, month or day.

I reckoned that my knowledge and skills of Numerology and Tarot had helped me to  anticipate the curves along the road.  There was no better time for these skills to come in handy then in the last year.

In the last year, I was in my personal year 5.  Personal Year 5 in Numerology, is a year of exciting changes and multiple challenges as well as opportunities.  The year called for one to be adaptable, "response-able" and tenacious.

Indeed I had seen multiple changes both at home and at work.  However, in this blog post, I am going to focus only on a key challenge each at home and at work.

Challenges At Home

At home, I was confronted by a very "emo" son who was grappling with his first year and second year at nursing school.  He went through the emotional mood swings from pure elation felt after a gratifying day at the hospital to the despondency of having to face a lack lustre examination results for one of his course modules.  Sometimes he felt that nursing was the best career in the world, and at other times, he might fall for the percieved sexiness of the advertising agency to want to pursue a marketing career instead.

Being young and impressionable ,  Joel had never experienced the struggles I had faced climbing the corporate ladder as a marketing professional.  So from time to time, I had to regal stories about my days past and hoped that he could pick up a lesson or two so that he would not make the same mistakes I had.

As a mother of a boy heading towards adulthood, I struggled with the challenges of balancing the need to protect him whilst letting him go out there to experience the wonders of what the Universe has in store for him.  At the same time, it was gratifying to watch him hone his maturity and resilience by the way he responded to each challenge he faced with his life choices.

Mom and Dad could not protect me from a life tainted with a divorce and single motherhood.  However,  together with David, they celebrated each moment with me whether it was Joel losing his first tooth, gaining his first zit, or enrolling into nursing school.  I knew I will never be alone as a mother.

Challenges At Work

At work, I was confronted with the challenges of having to adapt to new team dynamics, new projects laid on my lap suddenly and other multiple demands on my team that was already under-resourced.   Work, in every sense of the word, was never a big burden, because I enjoyed what I did.  What usually made it complexed were issues like non-clarity of roles, undefined scope, and different opinions or approach about managing a project and personal agendas.  Work challenges should be fun because of the learning curves they created for everyone in the project.  I was determined that nothing should come in between my team and I having fun in our work.

I was cognizant of this fact and attempted to find every way I could to turn each challenge I faced at work into opportunities for my team and I.  Ultimately,  it was genuine pride in our work that supported our drive to overcome these challenges.  For more about what my team and I did leveraging on our genuine pride in the work we did, please do visit http://thecrazyangmoandhisangrywife.blogspot.com/2013/07/genuine-pride-in-our-work.html

Adapting To Challenges In Personal Year 5

Understanding that my personal year 5 was going to drag me through the murky waters of these challenges, I knew I could not be stuck in my ways and attempt to cling on to conventional approaches to manage these challenges.  With Joel, I had to provide that "non-intrusive and non dogmatic" support.  From time to time I had to learn to let go and allow the Universe to help him navigate the bumps along that road.  With my work, I could either "throw my toys out of the pram" or learn to work within the new team dynamics and respond as best as I can to the demands of the business.  My focus was on doing what is right at every step of the way.

The key to a personal year 5 with less drama, is to adapt and be truly malleable. The best word I have for this is "response-able".  I learnt the concept of "response-ability" in my last job when we were taught that there were no mountains too high for us to climb.

In the course of climbing those mountains, remarkably, I found my opportunities.  The first opportunity was my ability to rediscover a new relationship with  David because we were going through a new life stage as Pre- Empty Nesters, with Joel walking towards adulthood.

The second opportunity came in two-folds.  I learnt new skills that came with the new project and I gained new knowledge from my bosses which I had previously taken for granted because I "was a marketing professional and not an actuary".  I was truly grateful for the new learnings.  I could read a stack of books and attend months of courses but they would not have taught me as much as my experience with the project at work and from my bosses.

I gambled on taking on my personal year 5 head-on with enthusiasm.  I felt I came out the winner.

Welcoming My Personal Year 6

As today is my birthday, I am now into my personal year 6.  Today is my lucky day!

The personal year 6 is a year that promises progress, personal growth and recognition for all my efforts from the past year.  I think immediately of the 6 of Swords card in Tarot where I am advised to leave all the negativity of the past behind me so that i can unlock the door to embracing new opportunities in the future.  I think I am ready for that.  I braved the storms in the past year and I want to be able to lock lips with positivity ahead of me.

However, like everything in life, I know that life is not going to be a bed of roses all the time.  Personal Year 6 is also a year where domestic or familial issues may surface.  I can anticipate another emotional melt-down from Joel as he approaches his final year at nursing school.  I can also anticipate that as this will be my "growth and expansion" year, I will be so busy that time spent with David might be limited. This can be especially challenging when I noticed that in the last year, he was more impacted by the pre-empty nester syndrome than I was, as he had taken issue with Joel about the latter's increasing absence from home.

That is why I love Numerology.  I can anticipate the year ahead and be prepared to face them with a pragmatic approach.  I could choose to face my year ahead with fear and trepidation for the challenges coming, or I could face it with a passion to show these challenges who's "da boss"!

Ultimately, I know that the Universe will never leave me with a challenge without the means to deal with it, so bring it on!


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 currently runs her own Tarot consultancy called Sun Goddess Tarot which is based in Singapore.  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

6 of Swords from the Gilded Tarot deck created by Ciro Marchetti