Joanna Powell Colbert Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

Tarotscopes 2-for-1: August Podcast & 8/4-8/10/2013 Weekly

It’s a two-for-one day!

Monthly Podcast!

So July blew past me. No monthly newsletter (working on August today). Late on the podcast. Wowza! 😀 How was your July? This month has a lot of court cards taking a bow. I’m using the Wild Unknown Tarot for this month. Love this deck a lot.

If you get an hour reading with me this month, you will receive a free copy of my free. It’s ten introspective spreads that use the archetypes of world fairy tales. Illustrated by Lisa Hunt, these spreads can help you investigate your inner landscape with the help of some fairy tale friends.

Want that free book so you can learn to read the Tarot intuitively? Click here.

Weekly Tarotscopes!

AQUARIUS Devil(Bindweed) What truly ties you down is your acceptance of bad habits. Cut away those ties that bind. Give up those addictions.
PISCES KNIGHT OF CUPS(Explorer of Water Sometimes you just gotta let go.Surf emotional waves. You are a pro at this. Hang ten, baby. Set your heart forward. Follow.
ARIES SIX OF CUPS Time to call friends. Time to renew bonds. Time to remember connections. They support you. They love you. Reach out for help.
TAURUS EIGHT OF WANDS Ideas exchanged grow. Council meetings necessary. Open up to new ideas/ways. Listen more than talk. Others show true self.
GEMINI SIX OF WANDS Success comes. Keep moving. Don’t stop. Busy week but victory is just ahead. Listen to your own passion. Follow that drum.
CANCER NINE OF PENTACLES Great week for counting blessings. Small ones pile into larger ones. Understand how much you’ve accomplished if you would do more.
LEO THREE OF CUPS Seek joy indeed. Celebrate life. Reach out to those who need more joy. You are joy’s messenger this week. Carry on, darlings!
VIRGO TWO OF CUPS Strong partnerships & proposals of commitment possible. Say yes, honey. Embrace the deep,strong, solid emotional bond.
LIBRA FIVE OF WANDS Careful what you say. Temper needs to be checked at the door. Passion can overwhelm you if you let it. Control is necessary.
SCORPIO ACE OF WANDS Something breaks free in you. Passion urges you forward. Follow your spirit, honey. Go for it with everything you have. GRAB IT.
SAGITTARIUS FIVE OF SWORDS Little competition isn’t bad but don’t let it be your be-all/end-all. Focus on flying higher. Leave petty politics to others.
CAPRICORN FIVE OF CUPS Emotional reflections not showing you what you like? Fill yourself up then. Stop making that someone else’s job. Be your own support.

Don’t forget to join me over at the Amazing Life + Biz Academy. There are monthly classes (you can do them at any time), meditations, mastermind groups and so much more. I’ve been a member for over a year now. I get more every time I drop by! I want you there with me, darling! The increased my income last year by 300%. That just staggers me. I didn’t even implement all of the suggestions from the course.

Nine of Earth, Gaian Tarot, Joanna Powell Colbert

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Arwen Gets Political–Again

Today’s card is in honor of #standwithwendy, #sb5 and the fall of section 3 of DOMA. Many things went right yesterday even as others went wrong. Me? I got fired up, y’all. I’m talking gloves off, finger up, head wagging fired up about a representative here in Texas. But first, let’s talk about the Five of Fire from the Gaian Tarot.

Here we see a man breathing fire. He’s doing it intentionally. He knows how to invigorate those watching. He knows how to put forth a call to action that can’t be missed. He is breathing fire.

In many decks, this card is depicted as the competition card. You will see figures in some field competition with long staves. But Joanna Powell Colbert re-interprets that into this solo man who is so intently focusing his passion.

Now breathing fire in any sense can be dangerous. I was breathing fire last night on my FB page. I was fired up about Wendy Davis’ amazing filibuster but I was incensed over David H. Dewhurst (R. Houston)’s idiocy. Among other things he said on his Twitter feed: “We will not stand for mob-rule politics in TX! The fight for what’s right resumes July 1st. #txlege #specialsession” To which I said, ‘Bring it.’

And I went off, y’all. I posted a picture of myself with “Operation Oh Hell No 2013 Has Commenced” along with pointedly sharp statements. Was I being a positive, joy-seeker then?

Welllllllllllll, that probably depends upon whom you ask. GOP fans would probably think I might want to sit down and shut up. Democrat fans might say the opposite.

But the lesson? Targeted spewing works best. If you must spew, and baby, I had to last night, then choose to do it where you can be supported or at least where you won’t be attacked for your views. Let it out. Don’t keep the heat internal like that.

When’s the last time you needed to let off steam? How did you do it?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Five of Fire, Gaian Tarot

Finding Nemo Finds Arwen

Today’s card reminds me of “Finding Nemo.” Well, not Nemo per se but one of the characters in that movie. I know it may not make sense but hang in there. I can explain.

I will refrain from misquoting “Princess Bride” now since mixing movies is only second worst to mixing metaphors.

Still with me? Good! This is the Eight of Water from the soon-to-be-out-of-print Gaian Tarot. It is the Eight of Cups in many decks. Although Powell turns a distinctly non-traditional eye on many cards, here she is true to the meaning.

Leaving things behind.

And, of course, the character I see here is Dory. I see this card and I tell my client that they have started the hard work. Now they must just keep swimming.

Stop for a moment.

What do you identify as “the hard work” in your current energy pattern? What are you actively trying to move away from?

Overeating?
Smoking?
Negative thought patterns?
Paisley?

What ever it is, this card is a reminder that you should keep swimming. Don’t look back. The further out you go, the further you are from that shore. The shore represents that “not so good for you” behaviour or, sadly, person or place.

Now that you’ve refocused on that “hard work”, I want you to give yourself a pat on the back.

Now, get wet.

You know why.

You’ve got to keep swimming, swimming. Just keep swimming.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Eight of Water, Gaian Tarot Limited Edition, Joanna Powell Colbert

Who Worries You?

Today’s card reminds me of a quote by Kempis. “Great tranquility of heart is his who cares for neither praise not blame.” Sometimes I worry that others won’t like me. I worry that they will like me and I won’t live up to the hype. The others really can’t win for losing with an attitude like that. I give them so much power in my life.

Yesterday during a consultation, I asked my client who paid their bills, fed their children, kept a roof of their family’s heads. of course the answer was that my client was in charge of all that. When I asked them why they worried so much about what others cared?

They couldn’t answer me.

I told them, and I’m telling you and me, that until these “others” are responsible for my safety, shelter and sustenance, THEN we should worry about them. I won’t look at myself in the mirror and question myself in their name.

Today’s affirmation:

I live today for me. I put my own hopes and joys first. I do breathe for myself. I set my feet on the ground knowing that I am capable. I breathe confidence in and mirror questions out. I acknowledge how much I have done to this date. I will get more done because I am capable. I am a beautiful human with a loving heart who is loved by beautiful humans. And that is enough. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Six of Fire, Gaian Tarot, Joanna Powell Colbert

Processing The Hard Stuff: A Reading for T

Today’s card is not a card. It’s a reading. I shared this spread about a week or so ago. I asked folks to let me know if they wanted to be in the drawing. Then I drew a name. Even though she said I could use her full name, I’m going to keep it to T. She can reveal in the comments if she likes.

————————————————————
Processing The Hard Stuff, a reading for T.

1. What is this stuff really about?

The 7 of Air comes up. This card shows a person studying a map. They are VERY concerned with how to get where they think they should be. The trick here is—if they would put the map down, they would see they are much closer than they thought.

The hard stuff T is going through right now is simply the process of understanding it is where she’s meant to be. No studying of the map could have helped her miss this hard stuff because she has to go through it to see where she is.

That sounds convoluted. I will tell you all a secret. T happens to be a dear friend who just went through a truly hellish year (and a half?) full of loss. I think this card is simply telling her to stop trying to figure out why and just move through it as gracefully as possible.

2. What makes it so hard?

How intriguing! Another seven comes up. This time it’s the 7 of Fire which is a woman at a forge. She is hammering out a piece of steel. This card always makes me think of the Goddess Brighid who was something of a multi-tasker.

This card makes me think T is trying to do too much at once. I think she needs to take it one hard piece at a time. You know that old saw about how you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

3. What am I doing that is making it harder?

In retrospection, I find that I don’t like this question because it seems to blame the querent. I don’t like that, do you? But the card I get is one that makes sense.

It’s the card of listening to old tapes and not getting rid of old emotional responses. It is the 8 of Water in which a woman is swimming away.

The key for T here is that she can’t swim fully away as long as she keeps holding on to those things that are serving her. And that can be her own feelings of how she SHOULD feel compared to how she does feel. Honor your feelings, my darling. Honor them and not what others say you should or shouldn’t be feeling.

4. What can I do to make it easier?

Oh lovely. The Guardian of Fire shows up to remind T that she must feed her own passion but that she can lean on others around her. She has to remember that fires need to be fed or they will go out. So you can see this in two ways.

One, she needs to stop feeding the wrong fire.
Two, she needs to rekindle her own passion for life.

I would ask her what personal light has gone out that she needs to turn back on.

5. How can I best support myself while I process this?

*THUD* The card that turns up here is Death. Knowing what I know of her hellish year I wanted to throw this one back to the bottom of the pile. I resisted–barely.

Change is what this card is about but it is also about Death. Understanding Death and what the loss of a loved one means is something my beautiful T has had far too much of. But I think the support here is from actual support groups for those dealing with the loss of a loved one. T, honey, have you reached out to any grief groups? That’s the first thing I thought when I saw this card.

6. Who can I turn to for support while I’m processing this?

The Four of COins is that person who helps you budget yourself in terms of not just money but how much you give of yourself to others. They are your rock, your foundation and your kick in the a** when you try to do too much. They watch over you like a squirrel guards its nuts. Their primary role right now is to make sure that you take care of yourself while you process all of this hard stuff.

7. What will be the benefits of processing it?

What a joyful answer you get, T. It’s the Ace of Water. This shows a salmon fingerling who has yet to leave the safety of where she hatched. In order to grow, she’s going to have to swim out but it’s so scary. The good news is that you are in the middle of your scary stuff right now. Processing all that has happened (good and bad, darling) has given you the knowledge that you really can survive anything. Good things come to those who swim out into the deep water of their own emotions. Growth, baby, growth.

————————————————————

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Ace of Water, Gaian Tarot

How Prepared Are You?

Today’s card is a reminder that bad things happen. It is how we react/act that makes us or breaks us. Watching the coverage of the tornadoes that killed so many people in Oklahoma was hard for me. I wept for the dead, the living, and the lost. So many young lives wiped out.

In card 16 of the Gaian Tarot, we see an unusual rendition of the Tower. Typically you see a tall building with the roof being blown off and people leaping out. It is a disturbing image on a good day but was really brought to horrific life for me when I watched the 9/11 news coverage. Now it comes to life again when Mother Nature does such damage.

I am not sure how I would react if I were in Moore, OK. I guess I can’t know because I wasn’t there. I heard of such bravery with neighbors calling neighbors to join them in their shelters. It made me happy to hear that.

Then I watched an interview with a woman who was weeping for her lost pets. There’s a chance they made it but that chance is so slim. She wasn’t home to save them. I had to change channels to love on my babies a bit.

The Tower is not a card you can really plan for but it’s always good to have some sort of disaster plan together. My honey has a bag packed with necessary items for himself and his pets. His fraidy hole, as he likes to call it, is stocked for himself and his pets. He’s no fool when it comes to tornadoes.

The key thing about the Tower card is this. Once it has happened, you have two choices.

Clear the rubble and build again

OR

Leave for another place

I think I would have to clear and build again. There isn’t any place in this world that I know of that doesn’t have some type of severe weather. So wherever I might go, I would still have to have some preparations to put in place for the inevitable.

My heart goes out to all those affected by yesterday’s storms. Rebuilding will occur but the sorrow will be so deep. May your own spiritual beliefs sustain you in this time.

Lightning, Gaian Tarot (limited edition), Joanna Powell Colbert

This deck is going out of print. It’s one of my top reading decks so I own several copies. I urge you to grab your own [aff link].

Or get your own copy of the limited edition here.

Tarotscopes for 3/17-3/23/2013 + Free Readings Today

Welcome to your free weekly Tarotscopes. These are for the week of March 17 through March 23, 2013. Don’t miss how to get your free reading at the end!

AQUARIUS Guardian (Queen) of Fire Nurture the things that make you sing. Focus on feeding what builds you up. Burn out what reduces you. Guardianship of your heart.
PISCES SUN Great week to be you! Don’t burn out though as you dance yourself through this amazing energy. Spread your arms. Welcome the joy.
ARIES Elder (King) of Fire Passion rules you or do you rule it? Careful not to let it dictate your actions. Controlled passion is your best bet this week.

I know that I’ve talked a lot about Leonie’s Amazing Life+Biz Academy(aff). There’s a reason for that. I joined at the end of May last year. Since that time, I’ve seen a 150% increase in my income. I learned how to turn partnerships with others into affiliations that plumped my pockets without making me feel sleazy. And this has been a huge help for 2013 already. Ready to invest in yourself? Join me! I’ll be resubscribing come May as well. I can’t imagine not using Leonie’s generous help to take my business and, more importantly, myself to the next level.

Taurus Seeker/Fool Do horizons beckon you? Scared? Don’t be. Take that first step into your new world. Cross the threshold with your heart open.
GEMINI Six of Air Others must be included if you want to succeed. You must create partnerships. You have to work with committees. You will win if you do.
CANCER Six of Earth Healthy foods in. Unhealthy attitudes out. Balance giving with receiving to get the most out of life. Connect with community.

So I’m getting great feedback on my book. I think it’s because of the gorgeous artwork from Lisa Hunt. Others tell me that it’s because of the Tarot spreads I’ve created. You can learn more and get your copy for only $4.99 as well.

LEO Judgment Rise up. Awakening to the next journey you must take. Seize this moment to make the most of it. Spirit transcends.
VIRGO Two of Fire Partnership emphasized. May have some fiery moments. Work through them. Heads butt for a reason. Do you need to control more?
LIBRA Explorer (Knight) of Earth Time to work. Nose to the grindstone. Teach by doing. Less talk more action for true forward movement. Take care of you.

Are you a writer? Are you stuck with a sagging middle? Got characters who have turned into talking heads? Need a hand negotiating a twisting, turning plot? I specialize in helping you focus in on your creative projects. I can help you .

SCORPIO Elder (King) of Earth You’ll know when the project is ready. Put your heart and soul into the work to be nourished. Dedication & loyalty pay off.
SAGITTARIUS Child (Page) of Earth Be more curious. Investigate new paths to prosperity. Open your mind to new sources of income. Examine any job offers intensely.
CAPRICORN Three of Water All work + no play? No way! Find time to relax. Carve out moments of joy. Work can be fun too. Focus on finding the fun.

I do these weekly tarotscopes along with my free because it brings me great joy to give back to the community. I also, like many of us, love to see others enjoy my work. So today until midnight, I’m going to pull a card for anyone who shares this post. Because I might miss your share, I have to ask that you leave a comment that includes your sharing link. So if you Tweet this, come back and leave a comment that shares your tweet link. (Click on the time and date on your tweet to get that link.) Same with Facebook and Pinterest. Just leave me a comment with your share.

And, yes, if you share more than one place, you can leave me all the links in one comment. I’ll pull a card for each share. These will be one card mini readings. If you want to have a longer Tarot conversation with me, contact me using the Contact Me button over there to the right.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Today’s deck is the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert. It’s my primary reading deck.

How Do You Show Caring?

Today’s card reminds me of the importance of sharing and caring. It’s how I see a perfect world–where we all support one another and lend a hand or ask for help. I’ve asked for help recently and received it. I’ve been asked for help and given it. It’s something we should all practice.

One thing I don’t do enough here is to share others and their blogs. I read a ton of them. I participate in several blog sharing groups where I get to read some brilliant voices. These aren’t professional writers although some are. Most of them are just fellow humans walking a similar path. Some are pagan. Some aren’t. Some are liberals. Some aren’t. I wanted to share some of the ones that have recently moved me.

Recently I read something so profound. This woman is in the Leonie Dawson group that I love. Jacqueline Gates talks about overcoming a huge personal block here. It made me cry. I met Jacquie via the Amazing Biz+Life Academy. Just so you know, that’s an affiliate link of mine. I recommend that group to just about everyone I meet. You can join the full thing for $199 or check out one of the e-courses if you prefer. And she has free offerings as well.

I can’t remember how I found this blog but she makes me laugh. She’s currently taking a short break from blogging. This is the post that first introduced me to Awkwardly Alive And Pleasantly Peculiar’s writings.

It’s hard for me to pick just one of Sibylle’s posts so here’s a link to her whole blog. She’s a cool witch living over on the other side of the pond. I find her to be very uplifting!

I know you are thinking, “What about Tarot, Arwen. Isn’t this a Tarot blog?” Well, yes and no. I like to mix it up even though I am heavily on the Tarot side of things. Did you know I crochet? If you want to read a fabulous blog that mixes crochet, beautiful pictures and an amazing voice, go read Lucy at Attic 24! I’m extremely fond of her monthly mosaic posts. And while I’m on the crochet kick, don’t miss Planet June. She does these amazing amiguri patterns. I also enjoy her wildlife posts featuring critters from her own South African backyard.

Now about those Tarot blogs. I have so many I can’t share them all. A great daily Tarot blog is Chloe over at Inner Whispers. I love her daily draws. Plus she’s a total Tarot Enabler since she uses different decks every week. This post is an excellent example of what she does. She’s got her own deck in progress with Wil Worthington. Check out the Celtic Lenormand coming soon from U.S. Games!

Someone who doesn’t blog daily is Alison Cross. Her blog focuses on the court cards. And, since I love the Game of Thrones books, I love her blog name. She shares interviews with other Tarot folks as well. Ali is the past chairman of TABI. She recently interviewed the amazing Mary K. Greer.

Now for one last non-Tarot blog. This is from Halina, another member of the Amazing Biz+Life Academy. She shares about her own ideas on Inner Spring Cleaning which I just loved.

Rather than go on and on about the many Tarot blogs I love, I’ll stop there. I’d love to hear about your favorite blogs as well. How about leaving me a comment with a link to a blog you love. Since this post is about others, let’s share someone else’s blog instead of our own. 😀

Seek Joy, Y’all. Pass It On!

Six of Air, Gaian Tarot, Llewellyn

Placeholders, Contests + Favors

Today’s a card is a reminder that it is okay to skip a day. I had a death in my family yesterday and also did a late night radio show so I’m just whipped. I have to be at work at 7am today (I’m typing this at 12:09am). Soooo.. whine whine whine…here’s today’s post which is actually from a few years ago.

And please? Do me a favor? Stop by Susan Mallery’s Sisters of the Heart Contest! and vote for Cai and I. We are the two with the story that says “It started with a Three Musketeer bar..” I’d really appreciate it.

Take care of each other, okay? I love you. I’ll be back tomorrow with your Sunday Tarotscopes. Speaking of tarotscopes, have you heard this month’s podcast?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Death, Gaian Tarot, Joanna Powell Colbert

Art, Permission + Stuff

Today’s card is one of my Zentangle art pieces. It tickles me to no end to say that. My art piece. I’ve never felt like an artist in that sense. I’ve never thought I could create things like this.

I know. I go on and on about my love of Zentangles. Did you know I used to be flat out scared to try to create anything? And that the other night, I began decopaging a box. ME! Decopauging? Decoupaging? Whatever. I just did it.

There are two people who helped me break through that block. One is Joanna Powell Colbert. She does these seasonal practices classes. They are online and you get a weekly lesson that includes art journaling. Now, I still don’t do that. 😀 But I did some and it helped me see that art isn’t contained in a frame. It doesn’t need an easel. It doesn’t require years and years of training.

It can be as simple as gluing a found feather to a page where I write about finding the feather. It can be as easy as putting some of this stuff I had on a box then putting a cut out from a magazine on that. Then brushing on more of the stuff.

Funny that.

I don’t know that I’ve ever done that but Tuesday night, I had a box that I’d been given in a group that I’m working in. We’d been encouraged to cut out pictures and words that meant things to us. The box was to hold them.

I had the box.

I had the words.

Then I picked up my long-neglected craft box where this stuff was. I actually didn’t know if it would work. It was called acrylic matte something or other. I thought it was for making pictures have a matte finish. But it looked like glue so I tried it out.

It worked. I was very pleased with the results. And it felt familiar to me.

That was the most important lesson. I remembered doing this at some time before. I don’t know when but I’ve sat and glued and pasted and collaged before. I will do it again too.

The other person is Leonie Dawson–specifically her Creative Goddess course. It showed me how to have fun.

Because of both of those course, I took a third course last August with Ginny Krauskopf, CZT. She teaches in the greater Austin area including San Antonio and Salado. A little 2 hour class and I started doing Zentangle art pieces.

Me. Arwen. Drawing stuff that other people liked.

Whodathunk it?

So this is my Valentine’s gift to you. You can be as creative as you like. You can produce your own personal masterpieces.

I give you permission.

I am asking you to commit your 180 seconds today to finding joy in something artsy or craftsy. Especially if you think you can’t. Especially if you think your stick figures don’t remotely resemble sticks.

Do it. You have permission to create.

Create as if no one was looking.

Zentangle, 2/12/2013, Stephanie Arwen Lynch

Seek Joy, y’all. Pass it on.

P.S. What card could this be in my Tangled Tarot deck?