TarotBlogHop:Yule 2018 Wishing On A Star

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Thanks for hopping by. This ends our sixth year of the Tarot Blog Hop. Our wrangler for the 2017 Yule hop is Ania. She’s given us this for a topic:

Wishing on a Star

As we approach the final festival of the calendar year, we prepare for a time of feasting and drinking. Whether you are observing Yule, the winter solstice, Christmas, any other holiday, or just being able to down tools for a few days, it is a time for celebration and also for anticipation and wishes. With this in mind and before you fling yourself headlong into the spirit of seasonal over-indulgence, take a moment to reflect on what this year has brought you and what you wish for the next year to bring.

Which card(s) best represent or celebrate your past year and which best represent your wishes for the year ahead. You can either select the cards you think fit best, or draw them randomly and see what the Tarot thinks.

2017 has been a stellar (pun fully intended) year for me. I took some really big leaps of faith. One was moving to the Patreon platform. Another was buying The Cartomancer. Both were hella scary moves. For one choice I thought I would be vilified. For the other, I thought I would crash and burn. Of course, neither of those happened. This and other things were valuable lessons in how I have let fear take over my life in many areas. I’m a fearful person. I can point a finger at many reasons why, but when it comes down to it, the reason is staring back at me in the mirror. I allowed myself to think other people’s opinions were that important. Don’t get me wrong. I value (okay, crave) approval. But I put far too much weight on other people’s approval than on my own. I’ve made choices in my life based on how happy it would make someone else. Or how it might make them approve of me.

That bears repeating…I did things based on other people.

So the Patreon thing and the Cartomancer thing were terrifying. Both have approval ratings built-in. I’ve had some bumps with both but those have been minor. I think the person who has been hardest on me is, again, that face looking back at me in the mirror. She can be a really critical bitch. Still, she’s someone I know pretty well these days (talk therapy for the win.) So I know how to redirect her more easily. Because this year also saw me say yes to some pretty scary things like writing decks for USGames, putting my name in to present at NWTS, and publishing my first self-published book.

Taking it out of the micro and moving it into the macro, a whole lot went sideways in my world. Specifically, I developed a violent reaction to the number 45. This led me down a dark path where anytime anyone did anything to piss me off (traffic mostly), I muttered, “They voted for him.” I realized that was part of what the regime wanted. A Them vs. Us attitude. It lost me a few friends. I miss some of them. But it also led me to a very bright place full of activists, full of people who refused to be sucked into the quicksand of despair. People who held on to the idea of hope. That’s an ongoing good thing.

Now that’s some exposition for you, but what about the actual topic? What card or cards best represent the past year and which ones represent my desires for next year? Ania, I love this topic. It really made me dig into some things. I decided it would make a good combo spread where I draw a Tarot card then an Oracle card as the…I was going to say clarifier but here I think it will be the amplifier.

Reflections & Projections Spread

  1. Past Year Card for reflection on the joy of the year
  2. Past Year Card for amplifying that joy.
  3. Past Year Card for reflection on the lessons of the year
  4. Past Year Card for amplifying those lessons.
  5. Coming Year Card for desires and projections.
  6. Coming Year Card for amplifying those desires and projections
  7. Quintessence of the Reading (this is the Mary K. Greer tip: Add all the cards up. Add them down to a number that is 22 or less. That is the drill-down of the reading–the Major Arcana that corresponds to that number.

Here is my own reading using the Gaian Tarot and Secret of the Mystic Grove.

Gaian Tarot (2011) Limited Edition by Joanna P. Colbert
Gaian Tarot (2011) Limited Edition by Joanna P. Colbert
Secrets of the Mystic Grove Deck (c) 2017 U.S. Games Systems Inc. Used with permission. No other rights implied
Secrets of the Mystic Grove Deck (c) 2017 U.S. Games Systems Inc. Used with permission. No other rights implied
  • Joy of the Past Year Card: The Ten of Air is my card for reflecting on my joy. What an interesting card. Typically this is the Ten of Swords but here are geese flying. This is my own joy at achieving leadership but also at learning how to let others lead. It is not always necessary for me to do it all myself. By leaning on others this year, I’ve accomplished so much more.
  • What amplifies the joys of the Past Year Card: 14, Confidence. I love this card for its message of taking pride in myself. I can see how this plays in beautifully to the Ten of Air geese. I was able to be proud of what I’d accomplished where before I might have been falsely modest. But dammit, I bought a mother-effing magazine. I wrote three decks in one year. I rocked it.
  • Lessons of the Past Year Card: Whoooo boy does the Two of Earth ever hit home. I’ve always had choices. Often I’ve made the wrong one then beat myself up for that choice so much that I missed out on other things. I learned to make choices, reap the results, then move on. Pissed someone off? Okay. I apologized if necessary or cut ties otherwise (in cases where it wasn’t just a little tiff.) Choices.
  • What amplifies the lessons of Past Year Card: Ahhhh 2, Dreaming is a bit ouchy for me. Some of my dreams were upended by my choices. I needed to listen more closely to that voice in my head telling me what to say yes to and what to say no to. I hear you, Universe. Dreams need smart choices.
  • Desires for the Coming Year Card: I actually considered throwing this and the other two back in to start over. Surely 2018 would be better than the Ten of Fire, right? But it makes sense. I’m cutting back, cutting down, trimming away that which does not serve me. This card is about how a fire can destroy while at the same time create the potential for new growth. I’m down for that. I’ve already got my eye on some things that must go or must be redirected. Energy isn’t endless. I have to treat it as a renewable source and remember to renew it. That’s a desire for 2018. To be so creative that I have to let go of what doesn’t serve. Tenacity will play a major role in this.
  • What amplifies my desires for the coming Year Card: 9, Togetherness made me grin. Fellowship is HUGE on my list of things I need this year. One piece of that has already fallen into my lap courtesy of one of my Gaian sisters. This card features such a variety of animals–including another peacock. I am going to have to shake my tail but that’s okay. I will be gathering my tribe to me.
  • The quintessence of the Reading: Typically this is for Tarot numbering only, but since the Secrets of the Mystic Grove cards are numbered, I factored them in as well. I got 47 which is 4+7=11 so Justice is my Quintessence for this reading. Justice is my reminder to balance my inner with my outer, my desires with my husband’s, play and work, all those things we are told to balance. With Tenacity as my word of the year, I will add Balance. Because as much as I want to be dogged and fierce about my wants and needs, I must balance things as well.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey through my process. If you want to be notified about upcoming things like my expanded Journey to Joy class, please join my newsletter.

Now hop on to the next blog. Don’t forget to leave a comment so I know you were here.

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Tarot Blog Hop Yule Office Party

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So what happens when a bunch of Tarotists get together for their virtual office party? That’s what I asked of my fellow Tarot Blog Hoppers for this Yule Tarot Blog Hop. Join us for eighteen tales of “that one time, at our office party…”

I hope I don’t end up with a lampshade on my head!

I decided to share a silly Tarot spread to help determine how to have more fun at your own office party.

 

  1. What to wear to the office party
  2. Who to bring as your date
  3. What gift to bring for the White Elephant game
  4. Who to keep an eye on at the party
  5. The best outcome of the party

 

Office Party Spread
Office Party Spread

So the Five of Wands is what I should wear. Something sparkly that catches the attention of everyone…maybe even starts a small riot? Diving blouse it is!

And the Ten of Wands is my date? Well that’s my poor, overworked man who is buried at work right now but apparently he’s coming with me. Sorry honey!

And the best gift for the White Elephant is Death? Cool! I guess I’ll be wrapping up that ceramic sugar skull. Wonder who will end up with it.

Whoooo boy! Who do I need to keep an eye on? Why that Six of Wands person of course. You know them…they are always bragging about how good they are and what amazing things they’ve done. 😀 I may want to learn how to emulate that confidence.

The best outcome of the party that features a bunch of Tarot folk? Why the Moon, naturally. There will be cards and readings and laughter and predictions about what an amazing 2016 we will have.

My sincere gratitude to everyone who has participated in a Tarot Blog Hop these last four years. 2016 will be our fifth year. I wonder what subjects we will blog about next year.

Happy Yule, y’all! Happy Everything.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

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2013 Tarot Blog Hop: Yule

Come read what 20+ Tarot bloggers have to say about turning darkness into light. Yes, it’s the 2013 Tarot Blog Hop: Yule edition.

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Holly Leaves by ArwenHey y’all! Welcome to one of the things I am most proud of. In 2012, a discussion was under way about something in the Tarot world. It wasn’t a good something but it got some of us to think about ways to build our community rather than tear it down. I came up with the idea of a Tarot Blog Hop. On 2/2/12 we had our first one.

Every six weeks since then, we’ve come together to blog on one topic or question presented to us by whomever was crazy enough to volunteer to wrangle that particular hop. For this Yule, our wrangler is Joanna Ash who asked us to blog on the topic of “Darkness Turning To Light” because this is the shortest day of the year.

It is also the beginning of the journey back to longer days. Increment by increment, the sun will be here longer in my hemisphere while it retreats in the Southern hemisphere. I happen to love Fall and Winter. They are my fave seasons because it is a cessation of the heat. I actually prefer the chill in the air that December carries to the sizzle of July. But the Wheel must turn. The Wheel must turn.

Think of what it would be like if the seasons never changed, the days never passed. We would never have any method to mark our age, our growth. We would be utterly unchanged. That’s the stuff of nightmares for me. But we are turning back to the light now.

The Holly King and the Oak King must fight their battle, trade their swords and crowns. One must go back while the other steps forth. It’s one of the few things where I will agree that “it’s the way it’s always been”. And I’m happy for that constancy.Oak Branches by Arwen

Oak rules the growing months from 12-21 to 6-21. Holly takes over the dark side. Let’s take a moment to explore what needs to step forward this growing time and what needs to step back.

This is a very simple three card spread.

Oak And Holly Spread

1. SUN: What area has opportunities for fast growth? Here is the place in your life that you can focus on to get the most bang for your buck. A little goes a long way in the SUN area since the momentum is already towards increase.

2. HOLLY: What area needs to be pruned and put out of the light to lie dormant? Let this card show you something that may benefit from a bit of benign neglect. You can afford to let this area be ignored for now. It doesn’t require as much attention.

3. OAK: What area needs to be nurtured and pulled into the light to grow? Here is where you need to get busy. This area could use some elbow grease and a good helping of plant food to grow. Let this carry you into the next few months.

I did this spread using Ellen Lorenzi-Price’s Dark Goddess Tarot. I’ll post my results on Monday 12/23/13.

I hope you will also share yours with me. I love to see them.

[Tweet “Come see what other gifts are waiting for you on the Yule Tarot Blog Hop.”]

Want a free reading from me? See how here!

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