In which I sound like some kind of professional intuitive instead of the Sassy Sibyl you all know and love… This was written last year for Flock. I’m sharing here now, since I’m no longer there. I’ve updated the post with some photos of different Lovers cards from my collection. I purposely chose some lesser known and strange ones. What is the oddest Lovers card you’ve ever seen?

February is the month of Lovers. Well, it’s the month of Valentine’s Day, and for a tarot reader, that means being inundated with questions about couplings. Does he love me? Will she marry me? Will we end up together? What kind of love will I find? What kind of love do I need? How do I attract a lover? I don’t mind answering these kinds of questions; the desire to find and maintain fulfilling love-relationships is one of the human experiences that we all share in common. It’s so big in our lives, that the Major Arcana of the tarot has a card devoted specifically to it.

The Lovers card from the Victoria Regina Tarot

The Lovers card in a tarot deck is the sixth card in the Major Arcana. In the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, which is arguably the most common tarot in the Western world, the card is illustrated with the archangel Raphael bestowing a blessing of prosperity over a nude couple (presumably Adam and Eve). Behind the woman is the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil and the snake – which persuades the female to choose her own destiny. Behind the male is the Tree of Life, set aflame with twelve leaves, which represent the signs of the Zodiac – which he uses to make informed decisions. The woman looks to the angel for divine inspiration, while the man looks to the woman. They are partners, two halves of a whole, but they play very different roles in their relationship. The card is commonly illustrated with two or more figures, embracing or reaching out to each other. Some decks include the third figure (or snake) to introduce the aspect of choice in union – that is to say, the innovators of the tarot understood that the relationships that we enter into are by choice, and that our choices have the power to hurt others.

The Lovers from The Prairie Tarot and the Bohemian Gothic Tarot

When the Lovers card comes up in a reading, it can be interpreted as an external relationship – one that is either romantic or platonic, depending on the context of the card in the reading – or it can refer to dualities within the sitter (the person whose cards are being read). Often the card refers to two opposing forces at work operating within our lives and the card directly speaks to our interactions with other people.

The Lovers from the Deviant Moon Tarot and the Paulina Tarot

I have been long fascinated with the masculine/feminine duality/opposites aspects of The Lovers card. In the tarot, “masculine” cards tends to exert outward influence on their environments. They deal in the conscious, practical, the mundane, and the theoretical. While “feminine” cards in a tarot focus on the unconscious, internal, intuitive, emotional, whimsical or dream realm and the possible. Both of these forces are present on this one card.

The take away lesson of The Lovers card though, is that balance is needed in order to achieve harmony. For example, we fall in love based on feelings, but we enter into relationships consciously. Relationships can be messy, hurtful, or divinely blissful – but if they’re going to be successful, they come with the understanding that there’s compromises and choices to be made and maintain. We can embrace the differences between us and be lovers, or we can ignore or fight about it. And everyone knows that in order to love fully and in a way that will satisfy the emotional needs of any other person, we must first learn to love ourselves.

The Lovers card from the Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

Let’s spend some time examining the dualities we find within ourselves and in our interactions with others. Try these exercises:

1. Ask yourself: if I were a pack of tarot cards, which aspects of me would be “masculine” cards? Which aspects of me would be “feminine” cards? For example, I tend to dominate in personal relationships, but I have a very deep, strong, intuitive well that I draw from when I need to make important decisions.

2. What is your intuitive sense about what kind of energy you will need to invite into your life in order to bring balance to your life right now? Look through a tarot deck and find a card that you feel is representative of that energy and use it as a jumping off point for journaling or meditation.

3. Imagine yourself if your perfect relationship. What do you bring to the table? What does your ideal partner bring to the table? How do you two balance each other out? What compromises does the balance require? What choices do you need to consciously make in order for the relationship to work? Try this five-card spread when working with the tarot to discern the nature of personal relationships:

1. the signifier (choose this card intentionally to describe the nature of the relationship)
2. Person A – what is conscious | 3. Person B – what is conscious
4. Person A – what is unconscious | 5. Person B – what is unconscious

Love should be cultivated in all corners of our lives – romantically, platonically and within ourselves. While love may be based in what we cannot understand (the unconscious), true, lasting and satisfying relationships are formed when we carefully cultivate an understanding and acceptance of the true nature of ourselves and others. Using the tarot is one way to arrive at that kind of understanding.

If you have questions or get stuck with your interpretations, feel free to leave a comment here, on facebook or send me an email!

Your ever humble (but sassy!) sibyl,

Intuition presents itself in different ways. Sometimes those bits of flying-about Universe that catch in our dreams, visions, mind eyes and hearts, are messy to process. Sometimes it’s painful to hear. Sometimes it’s the obvious you were avoiding. Sometimes it’s the inspiration you were waiting for.

And sometimes it’s the tears at the grocery store. Pushing us toward flour, salt and water.

Sometimes it’s the bleakness of midwinter.

That if we can look past, would unveil, through the spitting snow and biting cold, a kind of life still in the trees.

Sometimes it’s sweetness in an indulgence. A sacred moment that we can prolong for hours through ingenuity.

And sometimes it’s a skill we have to invoke, by creating a space and waiting for the light — which is easy to find if we stand very still, and are willing to get very, very close.

I have an intuitive sense for magic-making and for seeing patterns that unfold into the future, like an origami chain building in one direction, one mountain or valley at a time. But it’s not something I can do on auto-pilot (at least, not yet). I have to slow down, listen carefully and get present to make it work. My coincidences start to pile up when I choose instead to bury my head as though  it doesn’t exist. Being intuitive isn’t always fun. Mostly it’s not fun at all. And I would like to pretend I could live in ignorant bliss of the future, of my path, of your path; of the pain I know we will both experience. But then I read cards for someone who is desperately clinging to that ignorance, and I realize that it’s not blissful at all.

What is most important for you to remember is that you are NOT CRAZY for listening to the voice of your inner self. Your intuitive sense is perhaps the most important sense you can develop. Like our other senses, it is how we navigate our lives. How we make decisions. How we experience the sacred (or mundane) of our everydays.

How do you experience yours?

The Moon is a lady. Her face, slipping through veils of wisp-tailed clouds. It was as it was meant to be. Her, in her fullness. Me, arched back in bed. The cool swell of her light, right where I might best spy, lying there comfortably in my tangle of blankets.

I always, when I plan magic like this, assume that the right ritual will somehow spill from head. I trust The Universe. We have this thing, you know. What I need will come to me. So that night, under Her full roundness, I found myself lying in bed, whispering a love spell… can you believe it?! I hardly can myself.

***

I am a handy lady, let’s just say. So when the sheetrock bathroom ceiling began to crumble and fall down, I did not take the advice of friends (“Here’s the number of a guy I know...”), but instead went to the home improvement store. I always, when I plan magic like this, assume the solution will just fall into my lap. So I milled about the aisles for a bit when I came upon the 1′x1′ ceiling tiles. Ah ha! This has got to be a billion times easier than hanging drywall overhead! I have installed tongue and groove flooring before, so the concept was similar. I was sassy with satisfaction of my brilliance. Who needs a guy!? I can do it all. 

Fast forward to Saturday. I’ve got a few of those babies hanging on the ceiling. It looks… like it’s all coming together. I take a break and drink coffee. I think, why does anyone need anyone? I snap a picture of my progress, so I can file it away in my scrapbook for later. I am a goddess. After this, I’m planning to bake a loaf of bread, change the oil in my car and crochet a fucking doily.

Halfway through my project the ceiling gets… wonky, let’s just say. I realize I should have made sure I was working on a level surface. I was unprepared for how crooked the corners of the room were. I start to wonder if it’s actually a two-person job, holding the end pieces up, which seem hell-bent on pulling all my work down. Everything, suddenly, is getting really metaphorical.

And that’s of course when it hits me. A message from The Universe. A peek into my future. And it’s super inconvenient because I can’t leave to go write it down, I have to hold these damn tiles up till the glue cures. So I’m standing on this ladder. In my bathroom. Holding up the ceiling. My kids are fighting over Goldfish crackers in the other room. And I’m having a stroke of brilliance.

Along with this, though, a growing awareness that my ceiling project is going to fail. For whatever reason, the corners are now starting to sag. I hear the glue creaking and moaning. I don’t have enough arms to save the work. I whisper a little prayer, release my grip, step down off the ladder and cover my neck as the ceiling falls down on me.

Sometimes all you can do is all you can do.

***

After I cleaned up the mess in the bathroom and showered, I told the kids we were going to a restaurant for dinner. This is a treat, if only because it can be harrowing to take both my wee babes to dinner by myself. Mama needs a margarita was encoded in “How about Mexican?” They were thrilled by the idea, so we went.

After a lovely dinner, which they both ate like people even, the waitress stopped at my table to compliment me on how beautiful and well behaved my kids were (they really were inordinately good). “You’re so blessed. SO BLESSED.” She repeated as if I needed the emphasis.

We all walked hand in hand to the car. The Universe was prodding me again. A purpose tucked away in mind, the blessings of two small hands in my hands. I oriented myself, searching for the Moon in the night. Give me the love I need, I implored her full face a week ago. There she was, a waning grin in the sky.

Tomorrow I’ll call a guy about the ceiling.

I have two Kalanchoes in my houseplant collection. One I have had for almost two years in February. Another I bought in November. It did not occur strange to me that both were in bloom when I obtained them. I also don’t recall the process my first Kalanchoe went through after it stopped blooming, but the plant looks very different now than it did when I first got it (I assumed it was an off year for the dear plant). My second Kalanchoe stopped blooming when I returned from my holiday travels. The flowers were brown and shriveled. Sullivan mentioned that it had died. I took it to the sink and began pinching them off. Then I realized I didn’t know anything about these plants, so I did some research on the internet.

It turns out Kalanchoe’s are forced into blooming out of season through artificial stimulation by the commercial growers. Apparently the process is “difficult” though I couldn’t find a description of exactly what was involved (closely controlled climate, I imagine). And the result is that the plant will flower once, but is unlikely to flower again. The plants are therefore considered “throwaway” houseplants. However some of the articles say it’s possible, since a Kalanchoe will naturally flower in the spring if left to it’s own devices, for it to bloom again. I trimmed the heads off my plant and made a spot on the table for it to rest during the winter.

What struck me about this experience, is that even when it’s not in bloom, my Kalanchoes are lovely little green living things, and I wonder how many of them are chucked out into the cold once their flowers begin to fall.

At the grocery.

Freyja was climbing out of the cart, Sullivan was running circles around me. The aisles were crammed full of people doing their shopping. I stood in the bread aisle, trying to decide which bread to buy.

I did not know which bread to buy.

There were perhaps a hundred different varieties. Multiple brands, “name brand” and generic, of the same type of bread. White. Wheat. Some mixture. Whole grain white. Whole grain wheat. Some combination. Rye. Raisin. Sourdough. All packaged in colorful plastic bags. Why are there so many types of bread in the store? Who buys all these different breads? Who buys the same bread in different colorful plastic bags? Why are all of these breads made and brought here?

I did not know which to buy.

The kids were asking me to let them ride the moving plastic horse in the front of the store. Many people were moving close to me with their carts full of boxes of things and jars of stuff.

The breads were all bagged in different colorful bags.

A man was stocking the shelves. An older man was asking the bread stocker about the bread. He was complaining that the brand on sale did not freeze well. That he suspected that it was more than a day old.

The bread stocker laughed, “Well I know it’s more than a day old. That’s why it’s all so cheap!”

All of the loaves of bread became Leggo blocks. Everything was plastic and multicolored. The man stocking the bread was a Leggo man. The old man was a Leggo man.

Tears came to my eyes. A Leggo woman with a full cart of Leggo blocks next to me whispered, “Are you okay?”

I said, “I don’t know which bread to buy.”

“Don’t stress out about it. Just pick one. They’re all the same, really.”

“Thank you, no.” I whispered. A pit grew in my stomach. I couldn’t feed my children plastic. I didn’t buy any bread.

The picture above is not mine.

I set an alarm for 2:20 a.m. A time I figured would give me some minutes to dress, find my coat and camera and head outside to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower. Of course, five minutes before my cell alarm went off, Sullivan ran into my room frightened from a nightmare. A few minutes later, the curious alarm woke him up completely. I told him we were going to go outside to look at meteors, a topic he has some interest in (as a dinosaur aficionado - have I mentioned he’s 4?). We bundled up and went out into the back yard with our little dog.

The sky was cloudy and the city lights sent a haze over the moon, but I could see some stars and I could see Mars and what I suspected was Venus. I pointed these out to him (he was unimpressed). After fifteen or so minutes, the dog started whining to go inside. Sullivan started asking me questions like “Are you sure meteors are real?” in the same tone of voice he asks me about fairies, trolls, magic, Santa and the Greek gods I tell him stories about. With the same skepticism that he asks, “Are you sure this plant is still alive?” With that same look he gives me when I am wiping my eyes in the grocery store because everything is made of plastic; his fruitbat, card-throwing, gypsy mama, who has no answers, this time, but a string of questions and coincidences that feel connected through the ether, asking him to watch some endless sky in the frigid cold for some mystical phenomena that may not even exist in his world.

We did not see a single meteor after twenty minutes, so we came inside, the dog, the boy and I. I put him to bed, but it was perhaps too late. He had trouble sleeping the rest of the night. I sat at the table, gnawing on my decisions, some pit growing in my stomach, retelling the entire story to a tired and spent houseplant.

2012. Pretty crazy, huh!

And with it, as with every New Year we move into, buzz about resolutions and reflections. What will you change? What will you make better? What went well? What went horribly wrong?

It makes sense to do this, by the way. We’re wired to recognize patterns and cycles and the turning over of that calendar page is a natural kind of demarcation for us. You could be cynical about it — refuse to take part. Decry resolutions as setting oneself up for failure. Or you might be an optimist, I suppose, and cheerfully make yourself a list. I fall somewhere in the middle.

Though I find that the year end time for me is best spent in reflection. And oh boy, was 2011 a doozey for me! Good, bad, everything in-between. You know, the normal life kind of year. How did yours go? Normal as well, I’m guessing (no matter how wrapped up in it you probably feel).

I’ve got something for you, if you’re the introspective type like I am. I was sitting with my cards the other evening like I do when I entered into some frantic tantric tarot-inspired journalling. I wasn’t reading cards in the sense that I was asking questions and divining answers. Rather, I was pulling the cards and letting them ask me. It was a different kind of experience for me. Kinda good. Kinda scary. A lot helpful. Because the cards gave me memories back that I might not have attached importance to before. They reminded me of things that I had forgotten (but should remember). They validated a lot of my feelings about painful events and helped me to see those .

And then I got to thinking about it — how this might be helpful to you, gentle readers. So I put together a booklet, staring the Payen Tarot de Marseille, with 22 reflective writing prompts.

As an experiement, I made this as a slideshow on google documents. You can preview the presentation here:

Each card of the Major Arcana is paired with some questions for reflection and a prompt to make a list. If you’re not a compulsive journaller like I am, you may enjoy making the lists instead. I recommend you write them on index cards, use a hole punch and binder ring to keep them together. Save them for next year and see how your experiences change (or how much they stay the same!).

If you like what you see, I’ve got two options for downloading. The first has four “slides” on each page with the background. Download this option if you have no plans of printing out the slides.

Download 22reflect : 2011 (the pretty version) here.

If you think you’ll want to print the slides and make cards, I’ve got a version without the background. Print them out on cardstock and bind them to use as you move throughout the next few weeks, or make your lists on the back of the cards.

Download 22reflect : 2011 (the printable version) here.

And if you like it a whole bunch, you might consider buying me a cup of coffee (or other celebratory drink).

AND just because I genuinely do enjoy New Year divination (the kind where we talk about what’s coming up in the year ahead. I’m offering half hour readings the first two weeks of January (via skype voice, chat, video or telephone) for $45. I’m going to be experimenting in the New Year with taking on new clients (and not being overwhelmed), so we’ll see how this goes! If you’d like to book your session, make payment by clicking the banner above (or right here) on the left and I’ll be in touch to schedule your reading (please note that I read cards in EST time zone and I keep reasonable business hours). If you want to book an hour for $90, simply change the quantity to 2 before you check out on paypal and if you have any questions about my reading style, feel free to get in touch!

I have lots of goodies planned for myself and the Sassy Sibyl in 2012 – starting with another free download on the first. So come back and see me! Until then, have a safe and bright New Year!

Every week, for the last year and a half, I have gotten emails about when and if I will be doing a reprint of the Melissa Lenormand. At first, I didn’t want to consider it because I wanted to focus on other card products. Then I didn’t want to consider it because I didn’t think I could raise the money for a large print run. Then I put out the Postmark Lenormand. I don’t have any more Postmark decks now anyway either.

I feel so much resistance in selling the cards because I’m simply terrible at it! It takes a lot of time to communicate, order, receive and distribute the cards. An order of cards from an offset printer requires a large upfront investment, which I can’t make. And having a lot of cards — even a modest order of 250 decks, like I had with the Melissa, or 400, which was the order I made of the Postmark, means that a great deal of my living space is taken up by cards. I share a modest 900 sq. feet of living space with my two children. I have no office space any more. I have had nightmares of my house exploding and cards raining down on the neighborhood… So you can imagine how having the materials for assembling the decks, packaging orders and shipping out things is quite a production for me. I don’t have an assistant. I run every aspect of my business myself (I’m still morbidly curious about taking on a business partner or hiring an assistant, if you’re interested…). I also spend a lot of time running from a couple of toddlers who are quite smitten by Mommy’s cards…

So I’m stuck. On one hand, I love the cards. I want to make them available to others who will love them too. But I truly just want to focus on writing and teaching. Making cards is my reluctant hobby.

I’ve been trying to figure out a way I can get the cards out AND maintain some measure of ease.

So this is my plan:

1. You may preorder a Melissa Lenormand or Postmark Lenormand (or some combination of those) from NOW until October 31, 2011. On November 1, I will order cards for those who have ordered. I will NOT be ordering extra cards. I cannot “hold” or “reserve” a deck for you without payment. I can’t afford it and I don’t have space or interest in keeping track of that.
2. It will probably take about 10-14 days from the time I order the cards to when they arrive at my door. I will then package and send out the orders. This way I can hopefully get the cards out by Thanksgiving, before things get hectic for me with the holidays. I just don’t want to bother with continually shipping physical items.
3. If you cannot order in this round, I will offer ordering again sometime in 2012 — perhaps May — or whenever I have another set of cards finished.
4. I reserve the right to change the decks, cards, anything, before I offer ordering again.

The Melissa Lenormand that I’m prepared to order is different than the first edition. It has 40 cards instead of 45. No box, but a velvet bag. I will include a key booklet. The font in the title is different and the title now includes card numbers. I have drafted new artwork for alternate Man & Woman cards. The backs of the cards are now a jewel-toned blue. I have updated, touched up and re-colored some of the artwork.

There are a few ways you can order. You can order just one deck, order a bundle of both, or order the decks with the Lenormand 101 class, etc. Shipping is priority, of course, flat rate. Payment is through paypal. I’m sorry, I cannot accept checks or money orders any longer. To place an order, follow this link and check out here.

I know two weeks isn’t a lot of time for some of you to prepare to order. And I apologize for that. But I really want to make this as quick and painless as humanly possible for me. Like a shot in the arm. Except it’s a Lenormand deck instead of a flu shot. Which I should probably also get, since I’ve been under the weather the past few weeks…

I know I promise a reading with the Tombstone blueprint. At this point, I don’t think it’s going to happen! I started getting sick last Wednesday and it’s been Week of the Living Dead at my house ever since. I love the fall, but you know what really scares me? Cold and flu season.

And yet, I have a few items of note to share with you:

Did you know I write cartoscopes (horoscopes cast on a Grand Tableau using Lenormand cards) for Wild Sister?

Issue 4 dropped on Monday and once again, the Jen, the beautiful editor, has outdone herself. The theme is magic — which is lovely for this time of year. It’s an instant download and is beautifully illustrated with photographs and art (not to mention fantastic and inspiring writing from members of the community).

 

Lenormand.info has been re-designed and Lenormand 101 is now live!

You can expect another re-design in the near future as well! Though the course is functional, the overwhelming response I’ve gotten has made management a little tedious. My tech team (eh hem…) has discovered a better way to handle registration and I’ll be implementing that in the near future. In the meanwhile, I’ve been blown away by the feedback and testimonials I’ve generously received from my tribe.

I had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting Melissa and hearing her talk about the Lenormand at the Reader’s Studio 2011.  These cards and her method drew me in instantly, and I KNEW I had found the missing link. I have just finished with her Lenormand 101 class which is nothing short of brilliant…easy to access, easy to understand and the cards, within minutes, come alive!! The few questions that I had were answered instantly on email and clarified anything I wanted to know. I look forward to further lessons with the Sassy Sybil, as FAST as she can possibly prepare them. Thank you for your overwhelming generosity, Melissa, in sharing this information with us.

Warm regards from Belgium/Israel

Joy Lerner

I can’t stress enough: If you have no experience with cards. If you’ve never picked up a deck of cards, but have always been interested. If you’re overwhelmed with the prospect of learning a divinatory system. If you’ve been reading tarot for years, but can’t wrap your mind around a different deck of cards, this class is for you.

And finally…

I’ve started writing letters. See that fancy new button at the top of my blog? Yeah, here’s the scoop on that.

I have a new tarot blueprint. I think I’ll release it into the wild tomorrow, since I am unable to make a video with a reading sample (well, I could, but no one wants to see me hacking all over my webcam and wiping my nose while reading cards…). Until then, gentle readers, exes and ohs!

RABBIT RABBIT!

And it’s October, so this is the specific rabbit I’m talking about (or maybe this one).

Moving right along with our series on contemplative tarot reading, the blueprint I offer you today is called the Tombstone. This reading will examine the nature of our lives here on this plane and what we will leave behind when we move to the next. HEAVY, am I right? Contemplative tarot is not for the weak of heart! If thinking about death depresses or frightens you, or you feel you’re not stable enough to take on a reading of this nature, DON’T DO IT. If you can approach it with a curious and courageous spirit, knowing your safe and grounded, you’ll be fine. Also, be bold! Ask The Universe BIG questions! You’ll get big answers back.

Before we begin, grab your cards. I’ll wait. It might be wise to get grounded now (click play! Isn’t that easy?!):

The metaphor we use in this spread is a tombstone (clearly), with the epitaph written on it. An epitaph is a short verse that honors the dead. Typically inscribed on the headstone, the verse can be witty, serious, personal or a “message from beyond”. Some of my favorite epitaphs are:

Jesse James (American outlaw & folk hero — if you aren’t familiar with the tale, he was shot in the back while hanging a picture on the wall):

MURDERED BY A TRAITOR AND A COWARD
WHOSE NAME IS NOT WORTHY TO APPEAR HERE

Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung’s tombstone is inscribed with:

VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS DEUS ADERIT

Which translates to “Invoked or not, the God is present.”

William Butler Yeats, Irish poet (you should really know who he is anyway!), has on his tombstone, some lines from one of his last, stoic poems:

Cast a cold Eye
On Life, on Death.
Horseman, pass by!

So let’s review: An epitaph is a statement that honors the dead. It can be a truism, advice, a bit of lovely verse, whatever the deceased (while still living) had requested, etc. The blueprint we’re working with today uses a rather famous Scottish epitaph, “Consider friend, as you pass by: as you are now, so once was I. As I am now, you too shall be. Prepare, therefore, to follow me.”

This blueprint does follow a specific order. Deep breath, lay out four cards starting with the top left. Next will be top right, then bottom left and bottom right.

Let’s break down the metaphor with some suggestions for interpretation:

Consider friend, as you pass by: – How do you live your life? Where are you currently? What is your current mode of being?

As you are now, so once was I. – What is the nature of life? What is the nature of my life? What is your personal legacy to live out? What is your ancestral legacy live out? Where are you called from? Who has called you to purpose? What do you need to consider?

As I am now, you too shall be. – What is the nature of death? What will be left behind? What will be remembered? What is your personal legacy to leave? What is your ancestral legacy to leave? What considerations should be made?

Prepare, therefore, to follow me. – What is your potential for living? What can be done for improvement? What can be changed? What might I change about my current mode of being?

Now the challenge! See if you can distill the top two cards into one sentence. See if you can distill the bottom two cards into a sentence. In other words, see if you can write a two-line epitaph that honors your life, from these four cards.

Consider, with these four cards as the framework for your consideration, how you want your life to be honored. Are you living up to your expectations?

It’s okay if you’re not. It’s okay if you can’t come up with anything. Again, these readings are to be done primarily for personal reflection and as a jumping off point for journaling.

Go offline for a bit and try the reading. You can download a beautiful PDF containing the spread by right clicking and saving right here!

The next post will be a video sampling this blueprint. In the meanwhile, try out the spread and let me know what you think! If you post about it on your blog, please leave a comment below so I can scope it out! Until then, gentle reader, I leave you with the epitaph engraved on the headstone of Frank Sinatra:

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

PS: If you want a weekly email with blog-post re-caps, you can sign up for that here (it’s a DIFFERENT list than the one on my sidebar. This ONLY sends you blog posts (on Thursdays)):

Last week on the blog, I talked a little bit about contemplative tarot. I’d like to be clear: this is not my specialty. I don’t believe I am a very contemplative person at the core. I am able to think deeply — on an intellectual level — about any situation, of course, and I can reach a state of empathy when I’m reading for another, but I’ve always had a bit of cognitive dissonance when it comes to really feeling & sorting through my own bullshit (avoidance is much easier for me — which is probably why I’ll die of an inoperable brain tumor someday). Also, I don’t like to cry. Just thinking about crying makes me feel nauseous. And damned if not every time I agree to go there — whether I’m reading for myself or am having my cards read by another professional, I end up all weepy and wet-faced.

So I’ve only just recently tried this shift in my self-care (journal, yoga, hot baths) that is inwardly focused and I must say, it’s scary! It’s really unpleasant to face some of what you might experience when you begin to seek these kinds of answers from The Universe. What you find within yourself may be ugly or need corralling. You may linger over a reading for several days or a week. I am not a psychologist, but I think that’s ok. In fact, I think it’s healthy to ask big questions and then feel disturbed when  you get the answers. It means you’re human. It means you’re vulnerable. It means your heart hasn’t gone completely cold, despite yourself .

So I want you to take the following reading blueprints and advice from a position of sharing what I’m working with. And we can go through this together.

Ooh, I said blueprint. I don’t like the phrase “tarot spread” because I don’t think it’s very good description of the actual usage. I also find the word spread kind of ugly – purely aesthetic. I’ve considered other words that might better convey the purpose – layouts, maps, positions, etc. I like “blueprint” because it also suggests that we’re building something. We are. We’re building a base of understanding of the Self.

The other aspect of the following blueprints (this is the first of a series that will run through the end of October) is that they’re all Halloween-themed. This adds a layer of spook, for sure. We’re going to be using scary themes – monsters, ghosts, death, afterlife, etc., as the backdrop for our readings. In working with these spreads, I’ve noticed that the themes add serious depth to my experience. In a way, it’s like enjoying a scary movie – thrilling – because we’re actually safe the entire time.

Of course, I’m actually kind of creepy and morose and I probably have hidden goth tendencies… so your mileage on these spreads may vary.

The first spread we’re going to examine is about the changing seasons. The equinox was a few days ago. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s fall. This means cooling weather, first frosts, leaves changing color and the onset of the harvest season. I’ve called this blueprint “Leaves Fall” and I think it’s very appropriate for this time of year (you know, if you’re entering the fall season, like I am – everyone else can just wait six months!).

You must understand this if you want to get the most mileage out of your readings:

1. The blueprint is the metaphor.
2. A tarot reading is a narrative.
3. We use the metaphor to add layers of understanding to our narratives.

In this case, the metaphor is a tree in the fall. The leaves are falling — being shed to conserve energy while the tree hibernates for the winter. After the leaves fall, they become compost to nourish next Spring’s new growth. This is not a spread to use if you are beginning an outward exploration of the world, but is rather suited for the times in our lives when we need to become self-reflective, concerned with our own energy usage and regroup while we wait for a re-emergence with the arrival of brighter seasons. This spread looks at our histories, our growth, our gifts and then examines what is ready to fall. This spread answers the question, “What can I let go of to better preserve the self? What happens to the leaves of self I’ve let fall?”

The first thing we do when we begin any act of divination is to get grounded. I’ve recorded this short grounding meditation that you can use if you are having trouble or feeling off balance/out of focus. Get your cards and your reading place ready. Light candles, make an offering to your internal/external Spirit, etc. Listen to/download the grounding guided meditation by clicking here.

So you are grounded and safe. Before I do a reading, after I have grounded, I shuffle until I reach this place that is close to trance – and then I find knowing. I know the cards are in order to reveal whatever The Universe might reveal. I don’t question this, I just know it. This is basically how divination works, in case you were wondering

Place seven cards so the arrangement approximates the blueprint. I start at the bottom of the tree and work up, then lay the two cards on the right. I am not concerned with ordered numbers with this blueprint. The tree should grow organically, so trust your hands to put the cards in the correct order, however you find your hands working.

Let’s talk about the metaphors in this blueprint and how you might use them to add a layer of meaning to your narrative. The following are just ideas you might implement. Use them as suggestions, not hard and fast guidelines:

• What roots me – The tree’s roots. Where were you planted? Where did you grow? What is your connection to your past? To your personal, family, ancestral history? To the history of the Universe?
• How I grew – The tree trunk. What summarizes your experience of growth? What describes your inner rings of growth? What is at your core? What is ingrained (as in, wood grain)?
• What sustains – (two cards) The tree leaves. What do you use to sustain yourself in the present? As the leaves turn sunlight into energy, where do you find your source of energy? What have you used (a skill? a talent? a gift? a person?) to live in the way you do/am/have been?
• What I’ve brought to fruition – The fruit of the tree. What has come into being as a result of what sustains? What is your highest potential for growth? What is the ultimate gift you cultivate? Is it sweet? Bitter? Useful? Poisonous?
• What falls – The falling leaf. What is the part of self you need to let go of? Which part of self no longer serves? In order to survive another season, what must be shed?
• Where it rests – The fallen leaf. What is your experience as you let go? Where do you move away from? What grows from your transition? How do you cope with what’s left behind?

And finally, how might a reading go with this spread? Since this entry is toppling a cool grand in word count anyway, I’ll post my reading on Tuesday morning, along with the modifications for using the Lenormand or another oracle instead of tarot. But in the meanwhile, if you’d like to try this and post about it, be sure to leave a comment here so I can pop over to your blog and check it out!

Oh, and because I’m just super-fantastic like that, I’ve made you a handy PDF you can download with the complete diagram and suggestions for usage, so you can turn off the damn glowing screen and get some good old fashioned divination done. Right click and save here!

Until tomorrow, gentle readers!