You or your client pulls a card and all you can do is stare at it while not a single thought comes to mind. You’re completely blank.
If, or more correctly, when it happens to you, try not to panic. The Tarot window might slam shut for a moment, but it’s usually pretty easy to open it right back up.
One of the best techniques to use is to simply look at the card in question and start literally describing what you see.
No metaphoric meanings or memorized explanations, just look at the card and say what’s there.
If it’s the Magician, you might say something like,
’A man is standing with his right arm raised, holding a bar above his head while his left hand points to the ground. He’s behind a table on which are placed a sword, a stick, a cup and a pentacle. Roses and lilies grow in front of him and more roses hang from above. A snake forms a belt at his waist.’
Stay with the picture and it will lead you back into the reading. After describing the image literally, the metaphors typically begin to flow.
The literal description might remind you that there are tools at hand for your client, and that it’s important that they stand up and raise the bar a little higher.
They might be encouraged to see the beauty around them and to recognize the renewal that is taking place at their core level.
Any number of things might come to mind as long as you’re open to it and allow the image to speak rather than trying desperately to ‘remember’ what the card is meant to mean.
In the video below, which inspired this post, Dixie of aFoolsJourney.com nicely illustrates this ‘talk through the brain freeze’ technique. Take a look.
Venus moves into Leo today and will stay there until October 3rd.
From a Tarot perspective, it’s like the Empress is dressed in Strength’s clothing. She’s wearing white and playing with a lion.
Venus in Leo, or the Empress in Strength’s clothing, is a good time to turn your passion towards the nurturance of others.
It feels good right now to share. There’s power in devotion.
Emotions could run high, especially when it comes to questions of art, love and women in general. But that can be good, as long as you don’t force your feelings on others.
Try to avoid righteousness, even if it’s coming from a place of deep concern. Love should be flowing, not a tool of control.
Relax, stay calm and maybe even sleep on it. There’s been a lot on your mind lately, and some of it has been quite heavy. You need to slow down and reconnect with yourself.
Meditate on the changes you want in your life. Figure out where your strengths lie and take that route to your goal. It wouldn’t hurt to even reconsider the goal. Are you sure you still want it?
And don’t forget your spirit. Without it, the mental world can be pretty bleak. Trust your dreams and keep in touch with your soul. Make a truce with yourself – life isn’t always a battle.
A new sense of self and perspective on the world are available. But you have to be quiet and still to find them. Take today to figure it out. You’ll be stronger in the long run.
The video below is not about Tarot, but it is loosely connected with fortune telling.
The Shape of Time, Reconsidered is an except from a slightly longer film by Annie MacDonell. It features a conservator restoring a resin hand from an old fortune telling machine.
MacDonell’s purpose in the piece is to highlight questions surrounding consumption, authenticity, and originality, and to reflect on our perception of time.
While restoring the old fortune teller’s hand she shows us that time can heal as well as decay, and that honouring what has already been created is at least as valuable an enterprise as making something new just to throw it away.
Using the fortune teller’s hand is perfect. The whole story was in her palm.
What a wonderful day. You feel open and loving and willing to let the world know – at least if they ask. You might not feel like running out and embracing everyone you see, but there’s a sense of contentment and well-being that’s impossible to ignore.
This is an excellent time to enjoy and share. Be generous with your feelings. There’s really nothing to fear in letting people know you care.
Give as you can and laugh out loud as much as possible, even when you’re alone. It may have been some time since you’ve felt this good. Enjoy. You deserve it.
Though the fortune-telling ban in New Smyrna Beach, Florida has been struck down, city commissioners decided last week to limit where such businesses will be allowed to locate.
The new rules will allow psychic businesses to set up shop in the highway service business district and the planned shopping center zoning areas.
They will not, however, be welcome in the beachside commercial hub.
Even in the areas where psychic businesses will be allowed, licenses will be granted only on a case-by-case basis.
According to the Daytona Beach News Journal, some business owners and councilors are concerned about the demographic that might be attracted to psychic readers, and that such businesses are not ‘family friendly.’
In my experience, people from all walks of life visit psychics and Tarot readers, so I’m a little surprised that the City is concerned about the clients a psychic business might attract.
I’m pleased though that they’ve at least repealed the ban and hope that all goes well. Other cities in the region have not had the courage to go even that far.
Psychic businesses are still illegal in the cities of Daytona Beach Shores, DeBary, Deltona, South Daytona, Oak Hill Beach, Ormond Beach, and Volusia County.
They are legal but regulated in Edgewater and DeLand.
The Moon moves into Taurus today and stays there until Friday.
If you look at this transit through the eyes of the Tarot, it would be like the High Priestess is dressed as the Hierophant. She’s sitting before two acolytes and sharing the secrets she usually guards.
The Moon in Taurus, or High Priestess in the Hierophant’s clothes, is a time of spiritual and emotional certitude.
There’s a sense that the truth can be explained, understood and incorporated into daily life. Rules can and should be followed.
Instead of trying to force others to recognize what you know to be certain, try using this time to simply share your emotional, intellectual and spiritual perceptions.
Celebrate the diversity of spirit in our world, while figuring out for yourself what rules, spiritual or otherwise, work best for you.
Get down to work. Nothing exciting going on, except maybe the chance to get more done than you thought you would.
Follow the template and don’t worry about being particularly innovative today. It’s probably more important to just get it done.
To motivate yourself try remembering that what you’re working on now is setting you up for your future. Put in the effort and it’ll ultimately pay off.
If you’re in London anytime between September 4th and 13th and looking for something extra fun to do, why not visit the Old Vic Tunnels and take in Carnesky’s Tarot Drome.
I wrote about it back in July, but it opens tomorrow. And since they’ve gone to the trouble of making this trailer, I thought I’d post about it again.
It looks like it’s going to be fantastic!! If you’re in London – go see it. I wish I could.
It’s time to get down to the details. A new project is in the works and you’ve got the task of making it happen – or at least starting the process off.
Keep the reason you’re doing it in mind – that’s the fire that drives the whole enterprise.
If the less than exciting details are getting you down, remember that it’s the details that build the foundation to any project.
Don’t be afraid to sludge and trudge on through. It’ll be worth it in the end.
