Do You Dream In Color?

The Gypsy Palace Tarot, The WorldToday’s card is from a deck I very much want. It was crowd-funded via Indie-Go-Go. I love my crowd-funded projects. Sadly, I couldn’t swing this one at that time. I did share it out though. 😀

The creatrix, Nora Huszka, is lovely. She shared some images with me so I could share them with you. I hope you will go like her Facebook page as well.

This self-published deck is limited and signed (which makes the collector in me drool, twitch and whine).

Here is her World. I love that the name is in English, German, Spanish and Hungarian. How interesting to see A Vilag for The World. I guess we really are one big village.:D

The eyes of Mother Earth peek out here with what seems, to me, to be a lava flow above her and the blue ocean beneath her. There is a spider web as well as fanciful tropical flowers. I can also see birds in this. What do you see?

This is one of those cards that would rock for meditation work. I can see setting this up then just falling into it. Can’t you? In a way, it brings to mind one of my favorite movies. That’s the lush “What Dreams May Come” with Robin Williams. He falls into a painting at one point. That scene is embedded in my memory for the colors and textures.

You see, I have a confession to make.

I dream in black and white.

I can think of a handful of times where I remember color in my dream.

Maybe that is why I am more drawn to the color decks on some days but the black and white decks also work.

What about you? How about this for today’s journal prompt:

What colors make me happy and why?

The World, The Gypsy Palace Tarot, Nora Huzka, 2013

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on!

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

It’s a two-for-one day!

Monthly Podcast!

WildUnknown_5HierophantSo 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.

Hierophant, The Wild Unknown Tarot, all rights reserved

Weekly Tarotscopes!

Gaian Nine of Earth

  • 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.

Loopy and Naughty!

VintageEroticTarot_0FoolToday’s card is a video. What? That doesn’t make sense? See the pain meds I’m on for clarity.  As I am loopy as all get out, I’m sharing an older video view.

I did a review of the Le Tarot des Femmes Erotiques which uses turn-of-the-century erotica. These women are plump and unshaven which may turn some off. But for me? I think they represent the best of feminity. I get so very tired of the media representations, don’t you? But back to this naughty deck!

I love the feel of this deck but the Youtube review was a bit hard to do. LOL Yes, I am blushing every now and again in it. WHAT? It’s so naughty! You can get your own naughty copy from Beauty, History and Magic.

And! They now have a playing card deck available as well. 😀

Fool, Le Tarot des Femmes Erotiques, self-published

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

What’s Your Normal Flavor?

Efflorescent_Chariot001Today’s card reminds me that I need to figure out why I’m in this hand basket and where I am going sometimes. Here is the chariot from Katie Rose Pipkin’s black and white Efflorescent Tarot. Sorry kids but it’s OOP unless she finds a publisher. Or at least that’s what I heard.

But I digress. See! It really is about focus with this card.

I’m tired tonight. It’s 11:11 pm by my clock. I should have had this done and been in bed an hour ago. But it’s full moon energy so I’m wound more than normal.

And am I ever normal?

I saw a GREAT quote on Facebook that said, “The day I broke up with normal was the first day of my magical life.”

Awesome isn’t it

But sometimes I lose my focus. I get scattered. I let the magic dissipate. I let normal drive again.

I fear the quirky.
I shun the weird.
I eschew the unusual.

And I’m not very happy when I do.

In a weird way, my life has a normal, for me, rhythm to it that involves talking to dogs and trees, reading cards for a living, writing intensely erotic romance, and chatting with Themselves.

That’s my normal.

I have to rein in both sides of me though. I can’t let avant-garde Arwen outstrip stable Stephanie. Or is that analytical Arwen overpower sassy Stephanie? Either way, both sides have to be moving together to take me in my chariot where I want to go.

Oh how I ramble. Do you ever wonder how I start out at point A and end up at point WTF?

So here is the Chariot. Traditionally a card of mastering one’s life. I would say that the charioteer will never be happy until she is following her own lead. When she tries to be what someone else wants is when the problems start. That’s when she drops the reins and her two selves can squabble about who gets to lead.

Equally yoked. It’s all about keeping both sides equally yoked.

So what’s your normal look like? Take 180 seconds…just three minutes…to journal about that your normal is. The only ground rule is that you can’t compare your normal to anyone else’s.

Because it’s your normal!

Chariot, Efflorescent Tarot, Katie Rose Pipkin, self-published on Etsy

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Tarotscopes for July 7-July 13, 2013

  • AQUARIUS SEVEN OF SWORDS When you tell your best thoughts, someone else may act on them. Silence is best just now. Don’t steal from others either.
  • PISCES Letting Go (HANGED MAN) Feeling stuck? Feeling trapped? Let go. Just let go. Why do you hold on to the anchors still? LET THEM GO.
  • ARIES EIGHT OF PENTACLES Learn something new. Teach something old. Physical movement best. Yoga? Qi Gong? Tapping your toes? Connect to the body.

Found a straightforward guide for everyday mystics, healers + creatives! Start with the Credo. It’s amazing.

  • TAURUS TWO OF SWORDS Decision has to be made, yes, but it must also be KEPT. Mental clarity should be followed by dedication to action NOW.
  • GEMINI SIX OF CUPS Old friends, old dreams, old loves–good time to reminisce (or revisit old lessons). Don’t be locked into past though.
  • CANCER SIX OF WANDS Suit up. you can win but it will take intense focus. Narrow your scope. Celebrate AFTER. Early cheers will give u away.
Click for larger
Click for larger

Today’s deck is the Rainbow Travellers Tarot by Carmen Waterman. Digitally rendered art that really speaks to me.

  • LEO NINE OF PENTACLES Good wk to review your bounty. Focus on what’s at hand rather than what hasn’t arrived. you’ve done good, kid.
  • VIR SEVEN OF PENTACLES Big goals need solid plans. Each piece needs to be addressed. Start now for huge success. Hard work really will pay off.
  • LIBRA HEALER CUPS (Q) Offer what you have. If they take it/don’t take it, good. you made the offer. That’s all you can do. Healing is on them.

Love Fairy tales? Love Tarot? !

  • SCORPIO ACE OF PENTACLES Power up, baby. New job? New business? New start! Take the podium. Speak up. Make things happen. you have the power.
  • SAGITTARIUS FIVE OF WANDS Competition isn’t always bad. Check to see if your biggest competitor is you. Are you your own detractor? KNOCK IT OFF. 🙂
  • CAPRICORN FOUR OF PENTACLES Being over-focused on where $ comes from stops your flow. When you face the source, you get in the way. $ needs to move to grow.

This course changed how I see my business. I saw a . No lie. #Seekjoy y’all! Pass this on.

Should You Break Some Rules?

WildUnknown_5HierophantToday’s card is a reminder to me about something I don’t like to do. Rules. I don’t follow them unless they make sense to me. It’s how I cook too. If I think a little more of this and a little less of that works better for me, that’s what I’m doing.

Sometimes that’s gotten me into trouble. Like the time the road sign cautioned the hairpin turn needed me to slow down. Baby, I almost went into a ditch. Slammed my brakes so hard parts of me are still shaking and that was last year.

That’s not the first time I’ve thought I knew better and got schooled.

And it won’t be the last either.

Here the Hierophant from the Wild Unknown Tarot shows a raven holding a metal key. A bolt of lightning streaks down ala Benjamin Franklin. The raven holds the knowledge but that electricity is what is going to light him up.

Question is…is he following his rules? Because of what this card represents (Saturn), I’m willing to bet he makes and breaks his own rules regularly. The key here (get it? the key? nudge nudge) is that they are his rules so he can break them.

I’ll bet he calls it remaking them or revisiting.

We can think of some of these rules as the old tapes in our heads. Those are the rules we follow because “Mama said so” or “I’ve always done it this way.” Maybe we need some personal lightning strikes in our lives to help us remake those rules.

Do you have any rules in your life that need breaking?

If you do, what would it take to get you to break them now rather than waiting for the bolt of sizzling electricity to zap you?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Hierophant, Wild Unknown Tarot

Tarotscopes for June 23-29

Can you be selfish with me this week? It’s my goal to be very very very selfish. I’m going to spread joy to everyone because it brings me joy. See? SELFISH!

So, I declare the week of June 23-June 29 to be SELFISH JOY SEEKERS week. Are you in? Leave a comment if you are and share this post to let your friends know. We should probably warn them that we aren’t going to go easy on them.

This means JOY, y’all. Joy for all because it brings us joy. Go selfish joy seeker, go!

Efflorescent_3cards001

  • AQUARIUS King of Swords Let your ideas free you rather than box you in. Growth happens faster when you let your mind soar. Ruts are for those who follow others.
  • PISCES Empress Birth. Fertility. Abundance. Release expectations to increase. You can bring forth inner wealth by nurturing yourslf and others.
  • ARIES Four of Wands The work towards stability needs your focus. May seem a long way off. Pause to appreciate how far you’ve come. Then resume.
  • TAURUS Knight of Pentacles Can seem like a struggle, this being budget-wise. But you are building your own future. your garden grows when you work it.
  • GEMINI Two of Cups When you drink deeply from another’s cup, you learn. Strengthen emotional connections by letting them also drink from yours.
  • CANCER Ten of Swords When they all seem to be cutting away at you, remember you can step away. Trust only those who have proven themselves. Stand up.
  • LEO Eight of Wands Got a river that needs crossing? Try jumping instead of swimming. Unusual approaches get you over seeming obstacles. MOVE.
  • VIRGO Tower Bad news? BOOM! Good news? Emotional upheaval brings you to a new phase of building. Let it come down now so you can build.
  • LIBRA Knight of Wands Movement inevitable because your true passion calls. Follow your heart’s calling. Far horizons call. Stop waiting.
  • SCORPIO King of Wands Yes, you actually can believe it into being. Rule your energy if you would rule your world. Intense focus eliminates the unnecessary.
  • SAGITTARIUS Queen of Pentacles It can be lonely. Are you reaching out to the community you want? Don’t settle. Don’t allow weeds in your personal garden.
  • CAPRICORN Four of Pentacles Money spent for future growth is necessary. May be a pinch right now, but increase savings. Magic tricks wit money are your forte!

Oh! July newsletter is out next weekend. Remember that I pull one name from my newsletter readers. That person wins a Tarot conversation with me. It could be you–if you are signed up.

By the way? The Efflorescent Tarot is sold out in both the colored and b/w version.

Tarotscopes 6-16/6-20-13

These tarotscopes are for Sunday June 16 through Saturday June 22, 2013.

Have a great week and remember!

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!
RainbowTravellers_3cards002

  • AQUARIUS Ten of Pentacles Money needed is easily found. Give thanks for what you have. Blessing abundance creates room for more. Don’t fret.
  • PISCES World Something big is at hand. That scary leap you took? It’s going to pay off. The world at your fingertips. Palm open. Receive well.
  • ARIES Four of Cups Don’t let bitterness fill your cup. Allow joy. Understand what’s gone only makes room for what you truly need. Stay open.
  • TAURUS Seven of Cups Let yourself dream. It’s ok. Your heart can show you a new way of being. Good week to let go of some control issues. Yeah you.
  • GEMINI Three of Swords Decisions can seem painful. Sometimes you have to cut away what doesn’t work. Sometimes you have to have that done for you.
  • CANCER Three of Wands You’ve done the work. Where’s the reward? Sometimes it doesn’t come on your schedule. So go get it. No sense waiting.
  • LEO Mentor(King) of Cups Master your emotions. That will take you further than any other. Find someone who already does this. Ask them to teach you.
  • VIRGO Hermit To follow your goal, you need to strip away the extras. Get focused on your journey. Going inward serves best. Time to study.
  • LIBRA Protector(Knight) of Pentacles Money comes. Be patient. Don’t spend fast. Your skills are worth it so don’t undersell yourself. Focus on the forward path.
  • SCORPIO Hierophant Key to knowledge is following the rules. Stay within the lines *for now*. Spiritual teacher is available. Ask them.
  • SAGITTARIUS Nine of Wands Your passion may be called into question. Show them how you can put your personal fire to use to generate results. Flame on.
  • CAPRICORN Four of Wands Everyone wants a piece of you. You just need peace. Retreat for a bit so you can rejuvenate. Inner fire may need more wood.

Did you know that June’s free reading has gone unclaimed? Is it your name that I pulled?

Cards are from The Rainbow Traveller Tarot by Carmen Waterman.

Which Is Better?

EfflorescentTarot_6CoinsToday’s card makes me a bit sad. It’s generally a card I like in decks, but here there is such a sense of despair. The giver holds a scale with such small bowls that you wonder if she or he can fit even one coin in. Both the receivers are blindfolded so they can’t see what they are getting.And look at the mouths on all three. Turned down.

I wonder if any of them will get anything out of this exchange. The giver almost looks as if it is a duty or a chore that he’s been sent to do. The claw like hands of the receivers seem almost grasping.

Have you ever been on either side of an exchange like this? Where giving to the less fortunate felt like an obligation? Where receiving wasn’t satisfying?

How would this story change if the blindfolds came off and the scales went away. How would all the characters here react then? If the giver could give as it pleased him and not as it balanced the scale. If the receivers could receive with joy rather than sad expectation.

I’ve been on both sides. I know that for me I give better than I receive. It’s easier because our society teaches us to be self-reliant. We chastise and rail against the less fortunate. We mock those who are perceived as less than us.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Until you’ve been in the shoes of the person who only has ill-fitting pants and a dirty shirt and just enough money to buy the cheapest foods at Wal-Mart, only then can you understand that feeling of helplessness–of deadened resignation to your place in the world.

Have I been there? No, I haven’t, but I’ve been close. But I have seen the death of hope in someone else’s face. The understanding that they can’t get out of where they are because others keep them there.

Yes, there are shelters. Yes, there are programs. But until we as a world look at one another with love and understanding and acceptance, we diminish ourselves.

I’m no better than most. There are times I am disgusted by the homeless I see. I wonder why they aren’t letting someone else take care of them.

And I’m wrenched back to that thought…that thing we are all taught.

Don’t take handouts.
Do it yourself.

I wonder how much we’ve wounded ourselves by not including other teachings.

Ask for help when you need it.
Receive with gratitude so you can give with joy.

How would our world be different then?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Don’t forget that May Tarotscopes are out.

6 of Coins, Efflorescent Tarot, Katie Rose Pipkin

Who Challenges You The Most?

ArrowQueen1Today’s card reminds me that I learn a lot of stuff on a daily basis. Sometimes I worry that I forget it just about as fast. And it is a piece of the Queen of Swords or the Arrow Queen as depicted in the Incidental Tarot. I’ll tell you a story about an amazing, if annoying, woman who was a major factor in my life.

My grandmother, Lucile aka Grannilu, scared the bejesus out of me. She was a high school English teacher who graded (and returned) letters from her grandchildren. If you did well, you got money (five buck for an A). If you did not do well, you were guaranteed red pen and comments.

And don’t think you could get away with not writing to her. That indiscretion garnered a letter to your parent that detailed her displeasure.

Now don’t get me wrong. Grannilu was no despot. She loved us all very very much. She was, I suppose, a Texas version of a Tiger mom. Her love was fierce and unyielding but so were her expectations.

When I think of her, I am reminded of the battle between Snow White and her stepmother. Did you know that it wasn’t her heart the Queen wanted in the original story? It was her lung. They couldn’t share the same air. Classic battle between mother and daughter–one for the room to grow, the other for the refusal to grow old. You can see my spread on this battle in my

I remember her testing me once. I didn’t know what it was for but I remember her handing me a Reader’s Digest. I was told to read a certain page. The instructions were to read and start over should I finish before she called time. I did as she asked but remember wondering why my mother looked a bit funny.

When Grannilu finally called time, she asked me how I had done. I told her how many times I’d read it (eight and a half if I remember correctly). She told me that was impossible. I vehemently told her I had. When she told me I had to be lying, I recited nearly word for word the information I’d just read.

My grandmother, never one to apologize, looked at my mother and said, “Well apparently she doesn’t need the Evelyn Wood course.” Then she looked at me knowingly.

“We will expect more from you.”

The Queen of Swords never had a better example than Lucile. She did expect more of me. Another conversation revolved around the correct usage of forte`. Did you know it is pronounced “for tay” only when you are using it in reference to music? According to Grannilu, “fort” is how you pronounce “forte`” when speaking of anything else.

Yes, I looked it up. I was about sixteen at the time. She was, of course, right.

She taught herself Esperanto just to keep her mind active.

When she became lost to us to the ravages of Alzheimer’s, I cried harder than when she actually died. It was hard for me to acknowledge that the fearsome woman was gone. In her place was a lost little woman.

Now that I am hitting that age where my grandmother first became real in my life (my mother was a late-in-life surprise), I begin to understand why Grannilu was so adamant about her word games and languages. It kept her mind active.

Every time I forget a word, I wonder if I am going to wander down that road like she did. That, more than just about anything else in this world, terrifies me.

So, because it scares me, I have begun to do the NY Times crossword puzzles–like my Grannilu. I have a language series from Rosetta so I can learn a new language–like my Grannilu. I do WordsWithFriends obsessively–I’m sure Grannilu would have loved having that app if there had been smartphones when she was alive.

Lucile, born in 1905, wouldn’t have been a technophobe. I know she would have dived into technology like any self-respecting Queen of Swords.

So your challenge is to think of a challenging family member. Someone who causes your back to go up when they speak your name.

Now think of three positive things about them–either ways you have grown stronger or ways they have caused you to improve.

Share it here if you like. I’d love to hear about it.

I’d like to also ask you a favor. Go to check this project out. If you love it as much as I do, pledge to support it. The way this works is you pledge a certain level. You pay IF the project gets funded. This is a small funding request (under 4K) for someone who is precious to me. I trust him to deliver. You just pick the level you are comfortable with then register. You will have to put in payment information. Personally, I use my Amazon account so my payment information is already there. I’ve done several Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects.

And, if you can’t contribute, would you please share that link? Tweet it. G+ it. Facebook it. Tumblr it. Whatever. Help get the word out, please. He needs a kiln to bring his art to life. Help me help Holden. Thank you so much.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

The Arrow Queen, Incidental Tarot, Holly DeFount, 2012