Brigit Esselmont's Blog, page 27

BTP131: Stepping into Your Power as a Tarot Reader with Liz Worth

I’m happy to welcome back Liz Worth to the Biddy Tarot Podcast.  Liz is an accomplished Tarot reader and teacher, who’s published books like “Beyond the Little White Book”.  In this episode, she talks about how you can step into your power as a Tarot reader. 

If you ever feel like you might be a bit of a ‘fake’, Liz and I will tell you how you can fully understand your value and true potential.  All of my past and current students know that this is something about which I’m very passionate. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about:  

How to release self-doubts 
How to step into your power as a Tarot reader 
How to embrace this power, while still holding a spot for your clients

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Lizworth.com 
Biddy Tarot Community 

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 131: Stepping into Your Power as a Tarot reader with Liz Worth.  

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you’ll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide.  

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. And now, here’s your host, Brigit Esselmont.  

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. I am super excited to welcome Liz Worth back to the podcast. Liz joined us a little while ago. She is not only a very talented Tarot reader and Teacher in the Toronto area, she’s also the author of a book called Beyond the Little White Book. Last time she joined us, she was talking all about how we can go beyond what’s in the Tarot card meanings book. 

This time, I’ve welcomed Liz back to the show to talk about how to really step into your power as a Tarot reader. If you’re wondering, “What does that really mean, exactly?”, then, this episode is all about how it can move from that place of feeling like we might be a bit of a fake, or we’re not good enough as a Tarot reader, and actually stepping into a place where we fully understand our value and our worth and our true power as a Tarot reader. 

This is something that I’m very passionate about. It’s something that I teach in my classes around getting very clear about who you are as a Tarot reader, and how do you want to bring that part of yourself through into your readings, so that when you do do a reading, you’re doing a reading from a place of real knowingness of your value? And also, as Liz will talk about in this episode, a place where you can hold space for your client who’s looking to you to provide insight and support them on their journey. So, let’s get straight into this interview. I want to welcome Liz Worth to the podcast. 

STEPPING INTO YOUR POWER AS A TAROT READER WITH LIZ WORTH 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, Liz! How are you doing tonight?  

LIZ:  I’m so good, thank you so much. How are you?  

BRIGIT: I am very well. It is such a pleasure to have you back here again. I’m just trying to think if I’ve had anyone else come back yet. I don’t think so, so that’s special.  

LIZ:  Well, thank you. I’m really excited.  

BRIGIT: Awesome! Liz, obviously you’ve been on our podcast, but some folks may not have listened to that episode. And of course, you’re writing on our blog quite a lot, but some folks might not have had the pleasure of reading those blog posts just yet. I’d love to have you share a little bit about you and the kind of work that you’re doing in this present moment.  

LIZ:  I’m a Tarot reader and I’m an astrologer. I am based in Toronto, but our online world helps me work with people all over, which is great. I’ve also written a book about Tarot called Going Beyond the Little White Book, which is a contemporary guide to Tarot. My background is in writing, so I do a lot of writing about Tarot and astrology. I had gone to school for journalism, and I thought that that was really going to be my one and only career path, but I started working with Tarot, just for myself and my own person practice and exploration, and it just totally transformed my life. From there, I started to also get really into astrology. Years went by and one day I woke up and I thought, “I think this is the thing I’m supposed to be doing.” So, that’s how I got here.  

BRIGIT: Yes, neat! Obviously, you’re doing awesome things now. You’re not only writing about Tarot, you’re teaching about Tarot, and you’ve got your own flourishing business as well. I just want to check in and see, have you always felt super confident with your Tarot readings, or have you been through that phase I think many of us have, where we feel a little bit unsure about, “Are we in the right place? Are we doing the right things?” and so on? 

LIZ:  Oh! Absolutely, yes. I think for me, and this may be similar to other people’s experiences as well, but I found that for me throughout my journey with Tarot, it’s been an ebb and a flow of times of confidence and times of total insecurity. 

When I was really early with Tarot, at first, I started like many people, I was really excited. It’s like anything else where you find a new skill or you find a new hobby and you feel very inspired by it and drawn to it. Then we hit learning curves, and they become sometimes little speed bumps, or sometimes they’re like huge mountains we have to climb, and they shake our confidence. They make us question whether this is actually a worthwhile pursuit, or whether we can get past these learning curves the way we want to. 

I went through many of those ups and downs over time as well. Then of course, there are other learning curves when you start reading for other people, especially reading for people who you don’t know and you start branching out. 

I think every time we step outside of our comfort zone, with anything, whether it’s with Tarot or any other path, or even a new relationship for example, or a different stage within a relationship, all aspects of our lives, we can suddenly begin to question ourselves in that way. So, yes, I think part of that is a sign of growth a lot of the time, but it doesn’t always feel like it’s growth. It can actually feel more like failure.  

BRIGIT: I know something that a lot of… I don’t want to say Tarot beginners because I think this applies to almost all the Tarot readers, but this feeling of this imposter syndrome and feeling like you’re a fake or you’re trying to be something that you’re not, maybe you’re not feeling psychic enough, whatever it might be. Tell me a little bit about your understanding of the imposter syndrome and maybe even how it’s played out in your life.  

LIZ:  I think that it can play out in different ways. For me, one of the ways, especially when I started to take steps to go into a more professional arena with my own readings, was I questioned, “Is this really the place that I’m supposed to be? Can I take up space here?” That was something that I had to navigate for myself. I would see other people who were doing similar things and making similar decisions. That was definitely a way that the imposter simplex… I just made a new word, but that makes sense, ‘syndrome’ and ‘complex’ combined – that was one way that it really manifested for me. 

Again, I can go back to this idea of sometimes we have to grow through certain things. If we’re trying to go professional with Tarot and we’re coming off as a totally different career path, or it’s not something we really expected to find ourselves doing – it’s almost as if we have to shift our identities just to get into that headspace and really accept that, “Yes, this is the next phase in my life.” Even if logically we can tell ourselves that this is what we want to do, or this is what we think makes sense for us, that there can be this whole other grey area where part of our hearts or the back of our minds are saying, “I don’t know yet.” So, there can be this hesitation sometimes, that comes up with that.  

BRIGIT: Yes, I’m going back in my mind, particularly when I first started reading Tarot. I guess my Imposter syndrome was, just feeling so young. I was 18or 19 years old, reading Tarot for others, and I thought, “Oh man! I hope no one finds out how young I am, because maybe they’re not going to think I have enough life experience, and who am I to be giving advice? I’ve only been studying the cards for a couple of years.” I think that, for me personally, that was why I started online, because I could almost hide behind my computer screen. 

What about for yourself, you’re young and all the good stuff, how did that play out for you as a younger reader as well?  

LIZ:  It’s interesting. I’m OK with putting my age out there. I was born in 1982. I’ve noticed that I can sometimes be a younger reader within the Tarot community, but I know that there are also many people who are 10 years younger than me, or beyond, who are also getting into Tarot or starting their own businesses at this point. I think that it’s great and we have to remember that Tarot needs to stay alive. So, we need this constant injection of new energy and new perspectives. 

There’s a difference between being inexperienced and being younger. What I mean by that is, you can come into Tarot at any age and perhaps try to do things prematurely. Sometimes there’s a lot of pressure, especially within our society, to figure out how we’re going to make money, or what is our ‘thing’ going to be, what is our calling in life? 

Sometimes people maybe feel very drawn to Tarot and they think, “OK, this is going to be my thing.” They rush the process of figuring out how to go pro, or how to build a business around it without really knowing how to read yet. There’s always a danger in making sure that we’re not entering into things unprepared. Being unprepared is different from just feeling uncertain about our own skills or abilities. It’s important to remember, again, no matter what age we’re at, we all have different experiences that we’ve had in life. We’re all walking different paths.  

Throughout my life I’ve always met people who are all very different. Sometimes I’ve met people who are much older than me, but they don’t necessarily know what it’s like to walk in my shoes or someone else’s shoes. Sometimes I’ve met people who are much younger than I am, and they’ve been through so much and are so wise. 

We have to remember that we can’t always judge people just based off of how many years they’ve spent on this earth, and we can’t dismiss each other for that. We don’t really know what anyone else has been through, or what they understand, or how much wisdom they might hold. 

There’s also their own ability to connect with Tarot. Tarot can make us very compassionate and objective, and can help us connect with each other in ways that we might not be able to without that tool to help bridge certain gaps. We also can’t lose sight that Tarot can be a very powerful way to continue to find unity with each other, no matter what age you’re at or what experiences we’ve had in life.  

BRIGIT: Yes, absolutely! I think that’s really important. Something else that you were touching on is the idea of inexperience. It brought up in my mind a question around how do we know when it’s imposter syndrome versus, “I shouldn’t be here.” You might be thinking, “Oh! I’m going to fight my imposter syndrome. I know how to read half the deck, so surely it’s time for me to go out there and sell my Tarot readings.” How do we know the difference between ‘imposter’ and “Hang on, pop the breaks on for now?” 

LIZ:  When I’m teaching Tarot to people, and they have questions around when… Actually, no one ever asks me when they should start charging for Tarot. I always tell them that’s the first question they should ask if they want to go pro, “When should you start charging?” versus other questions like, “How much should I charge?” 

These are also very different things to look at, but I think one thing that’s important is you should feel very confident in the deck, the whole deck, and be able to do readings that feel fluid, that feel natural, and be able to do readings for people who you don’t know anything about. Those are some things that, for me, can be good foundations to start with. That helps us go from imposter complex into feeling like we’re beginning to step into our power more as Tarot readers. That way, we have things that we can fall back on if our insecurities rise up. 

If we sit down in front of someone who we’re about to read for and maybe we’re worried about going totally blank in the reading, or we’re questioning whether we’re going to be able to connect with this person or deliver a reading that will resonate with them, we can go back in and we can say, “You know what, I know this deck inside and out. I know that somewhere within me I have the knowledge to do this. I am capable of doing this, I’ve done this before.”  We start to have things that we can fall back on in terms of our own skills and our own talents.  

Without that, you’re in a position where you are operating from a foundation that may not be as firm. You’re putting yourself in a position to almost feel your way through the reading, not in an intuitive way, the way we want to be when we’re reading Tarot, but more like we’re winging it. I think that we have to be careful that we’re not setting ourselves up to become vulnerable in a situation that we’re not really ready for.  

BRIGIT: Yes, absolutely, it seems like it is quite a fine line between the feelings of that imposter complex versus when we’re actually really not ready for something. As with all things, with Tarot and just life in general, I think when we’re more in alignment and in touch with our intuition and our truer self, that’s when we can get that better understanding of, “Is this just my fear stuff coming up, or is this really an area that is probably out of my depth at this point?” 

Liz, I’m curious for you, from having experienced a little bit of that imposter syndrome for yourself, what was it that made the difference? What helped you shift out of that and, as you say, step into your power as a Tarot reader?  

LIZ: This answer might be a little bit sideways, but I’m going to go with it anyway. One thing that I had to get really… I don’t know if strict is the right word, but I got very disciplined with myself on, was noticing when I allowed other people to throw me off. This would come up in situations where maybe someone that was a client they might sit down and say things that I might not feel were appropriate, such as, “I’m not going to tell you what my questions are because I want you to figure them out.” 

All these opportunities where I realised I had to use my voice more, assert myself more, and really be the one who held the power and the presence in the room, rather than let someone else call the shots. I also started to pay attention to where I did things like that within my own personal life as well, where I let maybe my partner, my friends or my family say things that I really didn’t want to let slide, or that I felt I couldn’t let go because it may have led me to make a decision or compromise on something that I really felt I couldn’t back away from. 

I just started to pay attention to opportunities where I could step into a different level of confidence, and different ways where I could vocalise what it was that I had to do that day or things that may support my own intentions for my own work or just my own day-to-day life.  

BRIGIT: What did you discover, particularly around your boundaries as a reader? What came through for you? Where did you realise, “OK, I’ve been doing something that isn’t really in alignment with my highest good,” or “I’ve been allowing clients to push me on an emergency reading?” Where did you find your boundaries were being stretched inappropriately?  

LIZ:  I don’t know that is was so much coming up in things like emergency readings or anything like that, but I started to draw more boundaries around questions that felt like they might challenge my own philosophy. I started to become less afraid to tell people that I might not subscribe to certain spiritual paths or certain beliefs, or even just certain capabilities that other people may have. 

For example, I don’t like to use Tarot to look at things that may be five years down the road. Sometimes people will ask questions like that. They’ll say, “I want to look into the next two, three, four years…” and that’s really outside of my philosophy of what Tarot can do, or how I like to use it. 

Over time I realised, if this is really the work that I want to do, I have to be the one who lets people know how it is when they work with me, what they can expect, but also to explain to them why do I believe this, and remember that when people are seeking out a reading they expect you to hold that space for them, they expect you to bring your own expertise into it and they’re ready to trust you a lot of the time. It’s their session and you want to make sure that they get something out of it, but you can’t forget that they want to work with you and they’re coming to you because they already see you as an authority within your work and within the tools that you’re using.  

BRIGIT: Yes, it’s interesting. Its bringing up again some memories for me. Early on when people would ask me various specific questions like, “When will I meet my husband?”, I initially thought, “Oh gosh! I’ve got to be a really good Tarot reader. I’ve got to be able to predict a date. I’ve got to be able to see into the future, got to get this stuff 100% correct.” I’d go into this flurry of activity trying to predict timing in the cards.  

I knew ultimately, within myself, I just don’t believe that’s how the world works. I don’t think we work on really specific timing. Sometimes we do, but a lot of the time, no. It’s about our choices. I often found that whenever I gave in or adjusted my style to suit what I thought the client wanted of me, I’d feel disappointed with the reading, and then the client would feel disappointed as well. 

It’s an interesting point that you make that they’re coming to you because they honour you, they value you, and I think it’s your role as a reader to really have a clear understanding of the value that you do offer in a session, and to stand by that and to not be afraid to say, “You know what? I get that you want to know when this stuff’s going to happen. I can help you in so many other ways that are going to be so much more powerful than just telling you when you’re going to meet this guy. I can show you exactly the steps that you can take and the signs to look out for and so on.” 

It really does start within you when you have that understanding of the value that you contribute to a session versus just almost sort of rocking in the ocean of your client saying, “I want this!” “OK, I’ll do that.” “No! I want this!” “OK.” and you’re completely lost in terms of who you really are. 

I’m curious for you, what other things have you discovered as you’ve really stepped into your power as a reader?  

LIZ:  What you’re touching on is really important. Those are some of the things that I started to really pay attention to as well. Sometimes when we are building businesses that are based around this kind of work, or based around things that are very intuitive or very creative and intangible and esoteric, we worry, “How do I find clients?” We start to get focused on buzzwords and marketing and things like that. 

Sometimes we might really want to think about something… When we define power, we might think about it as something, it could almost sound like we’re making claims that we may not always be able to stand behind. Like, to say that Tarot can transform you, and I do think that Tarot can transform some people, but not every Tarot reading is going to be transformative.  

We always have to be careful as well that we are not making promises that we can’t necessarily keep. When we’re very open and honest and upfront, first with ourselves, that’s a big step and it’s an important part of the process of feeling more powerful. 

Again, power, it’s not about being dominant; it’s not about always taking control. We can quietly be in control. I think it’s more about finding a place where we feel resilient, and we feel like even if we do get thrown by something unexpected within our reading, that we’re still going to be able to find our centre and stay grounded through that, and remember that it’s still ultimately up to us to guide the process and stay in charge of the session, but we’re not taking charge of the person’s life who we’re reading for. 

I also started to pay attention to this idea of energy. That comes up a lot with readings. Because I used to read out of my living room a lot, people would ask me, “Aren’t you worried?” or “Don’t you ever find that people come in and leave all this energy in your space?” and I said, “Well no, because I’m not taking that on from anyone.” 

I’m not opening myself up and taking on other people’s stuff. I am just holding the session. We’re getting into the cards, but the readings have a start time and an end time and that’s it. I’m not processing anything on anyone’s path. When we’re really clear on those energetic boundaries as well, that’s really important. We’re not putting ourselves in a position where things are starting to get blurred or we’re starting to feel like our lines are getting crossed with the people that we’re working with in any way. 

We’re also keeping them empowered at the same time. It gives us a better opportunity to stay very reflective in our readings, rather than taking on more than we may need to and more than might be necessary.  

BRIGIT: Yes, it’s certainly something I noticed amongst Tarot students who were starting to read for others but in their early phases. Often what people say is, “OK, I’ve just done three readings, and I’m exhausted. I just feel like all my energy has been drained.”  

For me, that’s a sign of the need to set those energetic boundaries. I can see how easy it is to get so emotionally involved and emotionally invested when you are reading for someone, which is beautiful. It’s great that you’re doing that in the reading. Good spiritual hygiene is that you have ways of disconnecting after that time, or acknowledging that the energy exchange happens in that reading and that’s it, you can turn the tap off. 

Otherwise, if you’re not doing that then you can end up feeling exhausted, drained, resentful, even to the point of not being able to continue as a Tarot reader, which is really sad. We’ve talked a little bit about setting those energetic boundaries, we’ve also talked about boundaries around the questions that we take and how we respond to those questions in a Tarot reading. Is there anything else that’s really important, in terms of stepping into your power as a Tarot reader?  

LIZ:  One thing I think is important is, and this is something that I use as part of my practice, is setting intentions for the kind of work that we want to do. This is something that you can do on a daily basis and it can be very simple. Sometimes I set the intention at the start of the day to say, “I’m setting the intention to understand my power, or to continue to move towards it.” I don’t know that we ever really reach an end point in anything either, where we may find that we are in the zone, right now could be totally different a year from now, 10 years from now, don’t know. 

So, setting intentions that continue to allow us to explore what our power may be, what kind of presence we can bring to a reading, can be really important. And again, to go back to this idea that sometimes the things that we might hope are outcomes for a reading or for our clients, are not necessarily reflective of the presence and the power that we are bringing to a session. 

What you may be selling within your own service, there has to be some boundary between what the client may experience versus what you know, your own sense of understanding is, your compassion is, your mastery over your tools and your abilities as a reader. Those things are the things that stay with you. They can grow, they can change and they can deepen, but the outcomes that someone takes away from a reading, that stuff is out of your control. We all have to remember not to tie up our self-worth with the things that we hope someone is gaining from a reading, because we don’t always know.  

BRIGIT: Absolutely! I was having this conversation with a couple of people just recently. Someone had done a reading for someone, it was their second or their third reading, so they were having a slight panic attack while their doing the reading. They were doing the reading and client was like, “Meh! No, don’t know, don’t really get it.” 

She had just done this Tarot reading. She’s like, “Oh! OK.” and inside she’s thinking, “Oh my gosh! I’ve done the worst Tarot reading ever. I’ll never do this stuff again.” 

Then she said, “You know what? I’m feeling led to help you with a Reiki session. Could I do some Reiki with you?” 

The lady was like, “OK, great.” 

She jumps on the table, lies down and the reader, or practitioner, starts doing the Reiki. All of a sudden this woman started bursting out into tears, and she’s like, “Oh! What’s happened? How can I help you?” 

It was the case that the Tarot reading itself had unlocked something within her that she had stored for years and years, and then the Reiki just helped bring it out. That was her safe place to express what had happened. Had the reader stopped the reading at that point and the client had walked away, the reader would have thought, “Oh gosh! I’ve just done this terrible reading.” 

What had actually happened is she had created or planted a seed of inspiration, of new thought and a breakthrough moment for this woman. I really think it hit the nail on the head in terms of, we can’t attribute our self-worth to what happens at the end of that reading because who knows what happens after that reading. 

It could be straight away they get a response, like, “Oh! That was really helpful.” It might take three weeks until they go, “Oh! OK, now I get it.” Or even in the case of one of my clients, nine years later he wrote to me and said, “Oh gosh! I told you, you were completely wrong and now it’s all just happened. I’m really sorry.” 

I guess it’s another boundary thing, knowing what’s your responsibility in terms of the transformation that’s created or the response that comes from the reading. It’s not really your responsibility. You deliver the information and then it’s up to the client to use that information however they need to.  

LIZ:  Totally! That’s why it’s so important to feel confident in your skills first as well. Going back to our conversation, being prepared and really feeling like you can trust your own abilities with the cards, is so helpful for that. If we go in knowing that we’re not totally sure yet, that we know what we’re doing, and then we do a reading and the person’s like, “Yeah, it doesn’t really resonate with me,” it’s not a good way to build your foundation or feel powerful with what you’re doing. 

As long as we give ourselves that opportunity to come back and say, “You know what, even if this client didn’t connect with me or this reading, I know that tomorrow when I pick up my deck again, I can go back to this with confidence because I know what I’m doing.” 

That’s a really important thing to be able to say to yourself, “I know what I’m doing.” That’s where I think so much of this starts. It’s true, I’ve had the same thing with clients where some people, I do a reading for them and they might not give me much of a reaction. 

I always check in with people as I’m doing a reading and I say, “Does this make sense for you?” or “Do you know what I’m talking about when I say this?” 

I don’t always have the context for what they may be bringing or why a certain card is coming up. I just have to go on what I’m seeing in a reading as well. Sometimes people will leave, and I’ll think, “Oh! I don’t know if that was helpful for them.” Then, they’ll come back to me a few months later for another reading, and they’ll come back again, maybe a year later. 

You don’t always get feedback from people. Everyone has different communication styles and people may not tell you how you’ve helped them. They may not tell you what resonated with them because they might be shy. They just might be that kind of person who doesn’t share that much. You don’t know. Again, it’s really important not to be looking to your clients to validate you, you have to be able to validate yourself.  

BRIGIT: I think that’s probably the real heart of this concept of owning your power, is knowing it’s not an external validation process. It’s all coming from within and being able to be really confident in, again, the value that you offer and what you contribute during a Tarot reading session. It’s funny, I was also just remembering, a very long time ago when I had some clients where I’d be like, “OK, that didn’t really resonate with me.” from the reading, and then I’d be like, “Oh! Well, let me draw you another card. Maybe I got it all wrong, I’ll just do the reading again.” 

I know that this is something that a lot of people do. They think, “Oh! I haven’t impressed this person, I’ve got to adjust things, I’ve got to be something else.” and not really coming back into that centre, the core, the true essence of who you really are and all of the goodness that you offer in a session. 

To wrap things up, what would be your overall piece of advice for folks who really want to step into that place of power who might be experiencing a bit of the imposter syndrome, and who are ready to say ‘yes’ to who they really are as a Tarot reader?  

LIZ:  For people who have been at it for a while, who maybe already have a practice in place, or who’ve been practicing Tarot on their own for a while that haven’t really taken that next step, if they’re thinking of going professional, but they know that they know what they’re doing at this point, first, you can actually start with setting those intentions. 

Set some intentions to maybe promise yourself to explore this, to commit to Tarot, to build your practice, and to allow your presence to come forward. That can be a really nice way to get going if you feel like, again, you need that foundation but you have the skills in place already. 

Also, to remember these things are ebbs and flows, and there are a lot of very accomplished people in this world who have talked about struggling with the imposter complex. It’s not unique to Tarot; you’re in good company. If it’s affecting you, to keep that in mind as well, and to remember whatever you do it’s going to come down to you deciding to be the one to hold that space and to maintain your own sense of presence, whatever that looks like for you. 

For people who are still starting out, who are new to Tarot or who aren’t sure where they’re at with it yet, keep practicing. Keep practicing and keep learning because knowledge is very powerful. Knowledge will get you far. The more experience you have and the more you can tell yourself, “Yes, I know what I’m doing.” the stronger you will become down the road, and you will always have that knowledge to fall back on no matter what.  

BRIGIT: I think the practice element is so incredibly important in getting that experience. Even if you do dumb things, like maybe you did offer to do a second reading because you thought maybe the first one was wrong, have that experience and then check in, “How did that feel? Did that feel good, or not so good?” 

If it didn’t feel great, then you know, “OK, I’m not going to do that again.” So, having all these experiences, whether they are positive or so-called negative, I think they’re all huge learning experiences and really shape who you are as a reader and how you can stand in that place of being who you really are. That’s awesome advice. Thank you, Liz! Where can people find out more about you?  

LIZ:  They can go to my website, LizWorth.com. Pretty much everything they need to know is right there.  

BRIGIT: Awesome! Liz, we’re going to have you inside of the community as well, teaching one of our master classes on Stepping into Your Power. That’s going to be in June of this year, in the community. If you want to find out more about that class, go to BiddyTarot.com/Community and you can be a part of that. You might also be a member, which will be great because you’ll see Liz on the inside. Thank you so much again, Liz, really appreciate today, and to such a relevant topic. Thank you so much for sharing.  

LIZ:  Oh! Thank you, anytime.  

WRAP-UP  

BRIGIT:  So, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Liz as much as I did, and perhaps it started to spark a little bit of inspirational thought about who you are as a Tarot reader, and how you really want to bring that part of yourself into your Tarot readings. 

Perhaps you’ve started to notice parts of your reading practice that don’t really feel that comfortable for you. Maybe there are parts that you want to be a little bit firmer. Maybe you want to set your intentions and set your boundaries to be a little bit firmer, so that you can truly operate from your place of power and you can give your absolute best to your Tarot readings. 

Now, as I said, Liz is teaching inside of the Biddy Tarot community this month, in June. If you’re not a member already, then go to BiddyTarot.com/Community, and you can sign up for the waitlist. We’ll let you know as soon as those doors open. As soon as you’re inside, you can access the master class that Liz is teaching. All right, that is it for now. 

I hope you have a fabulous week ahead, and I look forward to connecting again with you very soon. Bye for now.   

The post BTP131: Stepping into Your Power as a Tarot Reader with Liz Worth appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

3 Simple Ways to Tell the Story in Your Tarot Reading

Reading from the Book Versus Reading from the Heart

Have you ever had a Tarot reading with someone who just reeled off a generic description of every card that could apply to anyone? Who sounded more like they were reading straight from a book rather than reading from the heart?

It probably wasn’t the best Tarot reading you’ve ever had, huh? In fact, it might have felt like the Tarot reader didn’t really understand your personal situation and couldn’t make a direct connection with you.

On the other hand, have you ever had a Tarot reading with someone who really connected with you from the very first moment? Who told your life story through the Tarot cards and opened up a world of possibilities

Amazing, huh?!

Weaving a Story with Tarot

You see, great Tarot readers know how to weave the story between the Tarot cards to create highly engaging and meaningful Tarot readings for their clients. They see patterns between the cards and combine these intuitive messages into a beautiful story that is unique to the client and their situation.

If you want to be an amazing Tarot reader who has a real impact in your clients’ lives, then it’s essential you know one thing – how to tell the story in the cards.

Today, I’m going to share with you 3 simple techniques to tell the story in your Tarot reading.

1. The Story in the Card

It’s pretty obvious, I know, but if you want to tell the story in your Tarot reading, start by telling the story in the card.

Every Tarot card contains its own unique story and that story will help us to understand the overall story of the reading and ultimately, what’s going on in our lives (or our client’s).

Let’s work through an example. Ask the Tarot, “What do I need to know right now?” and draw 2 cards.

For each card, describe what you see. Are there people in the card? What are they doing? What objects do you see? Why do you think they are there? What’s in the background? What’s in the foreground? How do all of these different elements come together into a coherent story?

I drew the Ace of Swords and the Six of Swords.

In the Ace, I see a hand holding a sword up high with a crown at the tip. The story I might tell is that with truth and clarity of mind there is success. Sure, there are mountains in the background – a sign of future challenges – but it doesn’t matter right now because life is good and the potential for success is high.

In the Six of Swords, I see a woman and child in a boat. A man rows the boat across a body of water to a faraway land. To me, the story here is that after a period of success (what we saw in the Ace of Swords), it no longer met the needs of the family and so now there is a reluctant move to a new location or a new way of life. Even with success, there can still be change particularly if the success is no longer aligned with what’s truly important.

Why not try it out for yourself? Tell the story in each card, and then combine those two stories to create the overall story for the reading.

2. Directionality

Many cards in the Rider Waite Tarot deck (and most other decks) feature people. But did you know that the way in which they face and interact with each other can be very revealing of the ‘story’ behind a Tarot reading?

Let’s say you’re doing a relationship Tarot reading. You place a card on the left, representing you, and a card on the right, representing the other person. Now, if there are people in the two cards, take a look at how those people interact with each other.

To show you how this works, I randomly drew the Six of Pentacles and the Four of Pentacles.

The man in the Six is looking away to the left as he helps the two beggars kneeling at his feet, while the man in the Four is facing front on.

One possible story here is that your attention has been taken away from the relationship and instead you are more focused on helping other people in need. Or, perhaps you’re giving away money and resources that were meant for the relationship but are now going elsewhere.

For the other person in the relationship, they’re ready to give the relationship the attention it deserves as the figure in the Four of Pentacles faces front on. What’s interesting, though, is that the man in this card is not looking over towards you, so he/she may not fully understand or agree with what you’re doing when you’re focused on helping others.

It certainly makes for an interesting story, hey?

So why not give it a go? Think of a relationship that’s important to you and draw two cards – one for you, and one for the other person. Take a look at the way in which the people interact with each other and start to tell the story about what that signifies in the relationship.

3. Flow

Looking for ‘flow’ across Tarot cards is a beautiful and fun technique for telling the story in a Tarot reading.

I typically look for what is common between the cards – common symbols, colours, people, people’s stances or positions, elements (air, water, etc.), backgrounds and so on. Then, I look for how those common elements change or ‘evolve’ between the cards and what this tells me about the situation at hand.

Let me give you an example. I randomly drew two cards – the Nine of Swords and the Five of Cups.

Look at both of the figures in the cards – both have their head down and both appear to be grieving some sort of loss. What’s more, in the Nine of Swords, it is night time (the dark background), and in the Five of Cups, it is day time.

To me, the ‘story’ here is that grief, sorrow and disappointment is inescapable – it’s a part of every waking (and sleeping) hour of this person’s life. And clearly this is not a sustainable way of living.

You might also notice other patterns of ‘flow’ across these two cards. What do these patterns tell you about this situation?

Still Having a Hard Time? Register for our 5-Day Free Tarot Makeover!

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It’s all happening from June 14-18 and you’re invited! Featuring a 5-day video series PLUS pop-up private Facebook group, you’ll discover: 

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Not to mention, you’ll also receive bonus worksheets, community support and live training too!

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The post 3 Simple Ways to Tell the Story in Your Tarot Reading appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

BTP130: Exploring the Four Tarot Aces

I believe that the four Tarot Aces contain some of the most exciting energy in the deck.  To me, they each represent a seed of possibilities. Whether it’s wands, swords, cups, or rods the Aces have a whole journey within them. 

In this episode, I discuss what these important cards mean both individually and collectively. I’ll also go through some exercises on how you can use the Aces to manifest your true potential. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about:  

What the four Aces have in common and what the mean individually 


How each of the Tarot Aces can be interpreted and applied in your everyday life 
Exercises on how you can manifest their full potential 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Master the Tarot Card Meanings online course 
Biddy Tarot Community 

INTRODUCTION 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 130: Exploring the Four Tarot Aces. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you’ll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide. 

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

WELCOME 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. As always, it’s my absolute pleasure to be talking with you all about Tarot. Now, today, we’re doing something a little bit different. We are diving into the actual Tarot cards, would you believe! 

I wanted to focus today on the Aces. 

The Aces really contain the most exciting energy, I find, and I wanted to really focus on these four Aces so that we can discover what they mean collectively, and what each Ace represents to us as well. 

Now, I also see the opportunity here with the Aces that we can actually do something with the Aces. We can use them to manifest their true potential. We’re going to play with a few activities as we go as well, so I hope you’re going to enjoy today’s episode. 

EXPLORING THE FOUR ACES 

Let’s start with… 

WHAT DO THE ACES REALLY REPRESENT? 

Now, of course, in the simplest form, the Aces are the very beginning of the numbered cards. There’s Ace, Two, all the way through to the Ten. The Ace is kind of like a one, but I find it kind of interesting that they didn’t just call it card #1. It’s the Ace card. 

To me, this is actually a little bit more like a zero, just as the Fool is the zero card as well, because Aces, to me, represent the seed of potential. It’s the little seed that is sitting under the ground, and it has just started to sprout, but it hasn’t truly broken through the ground and come into its fullest being. It’s just that little seed of potential—the potential of what could happen next. It really hasn’t fully blossomed yet. It hasn’t come into being. It hasn’t fully manifested. It shows potential and possibility, but it’s up to you to take that potential and possibility and turn it into something. 

For me, it really is like a little seed or even like a baby. With babies, I’m just amazed! You think that there is just one egg and one little sperm—tiny, tiny things that we can’t even see with our eyes—and they come, they meet, and from that little moment of those two things meeting, there is a whole human being. 

There is a whole human story, experience, a body, cells… Everything is there that is needed for this human being to come into being. I find it amazing, and yet its size is so tiny and small. 

This little thing starts growing inside of the mummy’s uterus, and it grows into this tiny baby that is born, and then the baby turns into a real human, an adult! It’s just fascinating. 

To me, that is very much what the Aces are about: It’s that tiny, tiny, little seed that begins and has the potential of a full journey inside of it. 

But that full journey needs to really be able to unfold. 

Think about seeds. They start to sprout, and they might turn into a small seedling. But we’ve got to put water on it. We’ve got to give it sunlight. We’ve got to give it love and attention and energy. That way, it will grow. 

It’s not guaranteed that it will grow into something—that’s the important thing to know here. 

It’s not guaranteed, but it has everything it needs to be successful, and now it’s up to you to allow that success to happen. 

I also think with the Aces that they’re very much about the purest form of energy of each of the suits. It’s before they’re really coming into being. It’s before they’ve turned into something. But it’s this absolute purity of what each of the suits represent, and we’re going to go into a little bit more detail about what each of the Aces and their respective suits mean. 

Let’s get into each of the Aces. 

I want to do this in a special way. I’ve got the Lumina Tarot deck in front of me. To me, the Lumina just really represents the core essence of the more traditional Rider-Waite. I’m going to have the Rider-Waite in front along with the Lumina. The Lumina is a modern expression of the core essence of the Rider-Waite deck, and it’s a beautiful deck to contrast against, again, that more traditional Rider-Waite deck. 

So, with that in mind, then I want to go through each of these Aces and talk about their energy and then what you can do with that energy to bring more of it into your life, and to bring that potential into your life. 

Let’s start with the Ace of Cups. 

Do you know what’s funny? This is a little bit of a side note. I always go through the suits in alphabetical order because that’s the way that I think, for me, that’s very logical and rational. 

But then I started wondering, “Is there an actual order to the suits?” 

I started looking online and thinking, “OK, is there a rule here?” I’m not very good with rules, by the way. I realised that there’s probably not really any specific rules. It depends on who you want to follow. 

Some people like to look at it from the elements and what makes sense in the elemental order. 

Others might follow the [inaudible 00:06:27] kind of order of the suits. 

For me, I’m fairly practical, and I like to go by the alphabetical order of the suits. If you’ve ever been wondering, “Is there a right order to the suits?” I’m going to say no. I think it’s up to you how you connect with your Tarot deck, as with everything. I think there are no real rules in Tarot. 

So, if you’ve ever been wondering about the suit order, now you know! That’s my perspective anyway. 

All right, so let’s start with the Ace of Cups. 

ACE OF CUPS 

Now, in the Rider-Waite, we see a beautiful Cup. It’s overflowing with water, and that water is that representation of the water element that we see with the Cups. Also, in the Ace of Cups in the Lumina Tarot, we see another very ornate Cup, but instead of having water coming out, there’s this beautiful triangle with a third eye in the middle. I’m going to talk a little bit about how that’s a little bit different to the water. 

The water is really that expression of emotion, and the Ace of Cups is about the potential of emotion, the potential of feelings, the potential of emotional connection. 

Now, what’s interesting is it’s not the Two of Cups. The Two of Cups is where we have discovered our emotions, we’re seeing the emotions of another, and they’re coming together in a joining. The Ace of Cups is very much about what is happening from within you, because it’s almost like that one or zero, depending on how you want to look at it; it’s not the Two. 

Sometimes Ace of Cups traditionally can be related to a new relationship, but I see it more as this welling up of emotion within you, and that’s the important thing. 

Now, the element of water can also pertain to creativity, so it may be that you’re feeling your creative potential is starting to well up inside of you, almost like it cannot be contained, because that water in the Cup on the Ace of Cups on the Rider-Waite is overflowing. It can’t be contained anymore. Your emotions can’t be contained anymore. Your love for something can’t be contained. Your creativity and so on… 

Just feel that bubbling up. 

Now, with the Lumina Tarot, instead of the water, we have the third eye. For me, this takes us more into an intuitive place. We’ve talked about emotion, and we’ve talked about creativity, and when you bring those two together, it can actually take us up a next level into the intuition. From the Lumina, the Ace of Cups can talk about that intuitive insight, that intuitive potential. 

Perhaps you’re just starting to have that sensation that you are an intuitive being, that there is this possibility and potential that you have intuitive insight into the world. And, of course, we all have that, but this is it coming into conscious awareness. 

MANIFEST THE ACE OF CUPS ENERGY 

Now, the neat thing with the Ace of Cups, if you want to manifest this energy, I recommend that you pull out the Ace of Cups from your deck and just really sink into the imagery of the card. Just notice what you notice. Gaze at the card. See what really stands out to you. Just really drink in all of that imagery, the story, the symbolism into your subconscious mind. 

Next, I want you to really connect with that pure potential of the Ace of Cups, and start to think about: 

How can you bring pure love and compassion into this new journey that is emerging? 
How can you open yourself up to give and receive love? 


How can you express your whole self fully and authentically? 

Really dive into that card. And particularly with the Lumina, how can you start to open your mind up to the intuitive insight that is now available to you? Use this card to connect in with that pure potential energy of the Ace of Cups. 

Let’s now move on to the Ace of Pentacles. 

ACE OF PENTACLES 

Now, the Ace of Pentacles in the Rider-Waite deck shows a beautiful little clouded hand holding a coin in the foreground, and in the background is a hedge and an archway, and then even behind that are some hills. 

The Ace of Pentacles, to me, really represents the potential of manifesting something, the potential of bringing something into being, that we can make something real. Often, because it’s the Pentacles, it’s associated with financial gain or opportunity. It might be a business opportunity. It’s basically to be able to make something real, tangible. You can see it. 

Now, in the background, we see that archway, and then we see the mountains, which shows you that, look, the potential here is huge. However, you will also have a journey to travel, and it’s important that you are ready and prepared and willing to go on that journey. 

This isn’t just going to be an easy journey. It’s just like when you start a business. It’s not like that business just suddenly pops out of nowhere and “Oh, yay! Now I have a business that’s just grown into a million-dollar business.” That doesn’t happen. It takes hard, hard work, so the invitation is for you: Are you ready to embrace this journey? 

Now, as I look at the Lumina Tarot, we’re going to see a hand, but this time, the hand is in more of an upright position. Behind it shines these rays of light. In fact, there’s even the different moon cycles showing on this card. And at the bottom of the card are some flowers and what look like grapes perhaps, and I see this as a card of, again, possibility, particularly for abundance and this connection into natural cycles. 

We’ve got to remember that the Pentacles are not just about money and finance and business and career and work and all those sorts of things, but it’s also our connection to the earth, so this shows us that we have a possibility of connecting in with more of the natural cycles to manifest our goals. I really like the extra layer that this card brings. 

I mean, I’ve just recently had a chat with Ezzie Spencer. I’ve got to remember exactly what the episode number is, but just recently, she was on the podcast talking about her concept of Lunar Abundance and how we can use the moon cycles to set intentions and manifest those intentions. 

The Lumina Tarot in particular really speaks to that and that opportunity to really bring things into manifestation by tapping into the natural cycles and connecting in with the earth energy—super powerful. 

Now let’s get into the manifesting energy of the Ace of Pentacles. 

MANIFEST THE ACE OF PENTACLES ENERGY 

Again, if you pull the card out of your deck (or if you’re out for a run, just bring it up in your mind what you remember of the Ace of Pentacles) and just connect in with the energy of this card. Look at the symbols and look at the imagery, and just see what sinks into your mind. 

As you look at this card, think about: 

How can I bring my connection to the earth, my connection to the natural cycles of life—maybe the moon cycles, maybe just simply being in nature—to manifest my goals? 
What new opportunities are emerging that will help me start new endeavours? 
What can I bring into being at this time? 
What is coming into fruition? 


Am I ready for the journey that follows? Am I ready to say yes to this, knowing that I’m also saying yes to being committed and saying yes to working hard and going along with the journey, even though it might be a tough ride? 

Let’s now focus on the Ace of Swords. 

ACE OF SWORDS 

Now, in the Rider-Waite, we see another clouded hand—this time, holding the sword high up into the air. There’s a crown and a wreath, and there’s this beautiful feeling of success and victory. Even though it’s only just begun (we’re at an Ace, not at the Ten), there’s this idea of “Yes, I can make something successful!” 

If you think about the Swords, they’re very much about the intellect, our thoughts, so the Ace of Swords is often about a breakthrough with a clarity of thought where we’re like, “I get it! Yes, let’s do it!” Swords are very active, too. 

It might even be that you wake up one morning with absolute clarity of insight about what you want to do for the rest of the year. Or “I’m going to change my career, and I know exactly what it is I need to do.” Or “I’ve got a whole new idea and a whole new concept in my mind about spirituality and how everything fits together.” It’s that amazing moment when all your thoughts come together and create something absolutely new, and the feelings of success, victory, optimism, and being ready to take action. 

Now, again, the success and the victory are not guaranteed—that’s the case with all of the Aces. It’s simply that the potential is there, and now it is up to you to take action, particularly with the Ace of Swords to manifest that potential. 

Now, with the Lumina Tarot, it’s interesting because the Sword is now pointing downwards instead of upwards. To me, this is almost grounding the energy. The Ace of Swords (or the suit of Swords in particular) is very action oriented, but we know that, say, with the Knight of Swords reversed in particular, if we take too much fast action without that necessary grounding, we can end up doing things that we don’t necessarily want to do, or that aren’t necessarily in our highest good. 

I see with the Lumina Tarot, with the Sword pointing down, is that grounding of our ideas, of bringing that in, embodying it in some way, before we take action. So, we might be super inspired about something, but it’s “OK, let’s just ground it down again before we move forward.” 

There’s also some beautiful sacred geometry on this card, which to me reflects this idea that everything is coming into alignment, and everything has its place. Some of the lines of this cards are thick, and others are dotted, so some of the things haven’t yet be put into motion. Some things are predetermined, but other things are now up to you as you take action. The Ace of Swords is a very interesting card. 

Let’s do a small exercise to connect in with this energy. 

MANIFEST THE ACE OF SWORDS ENERGY 

If you have the card in front of you, put it in front of you and, again, drink in the images and the symbols. See what stands out to you. What do you notice as you look at this card? What energy do you feel? 

Then I want you to think about: 

What can you do to gain mental clarity? 


What is this breakthrough moment that is coming to you? 
How can you get clarity with your new journey? 
How can you communicate this clarity to others? 
How can you ground it down so that it is a robust idea before you take action on it? 

Wonderful! Let’s now move into our last Ace, and this is the Ace of Wands. 

ACE OF WANDS 

Now, on the Rider-Waite deck, again, we have a clouded hand holding a Wand up toward the sky. It’s basically a stick with leaves on it, and the leaves are sprouting from the Wand, and they’re actually starting to fall down to the ground. In the background, we have a castle and a few more mountains—again, another symbol that these things take work. They take time, effort, and energy. We have this seed of potential, but we now need to do the work in order for that potential to really come through. 

In the Lumina, it’s very similar imagery. We’ve got the hand holding up the Wand, which has a slightly different shape, and in the background are some beautiful purples and pinks, and there’s a little bit of light radiating around the Wand. 

The Ace of Wands is very much about this seed of inspiration. The Ace of Swords… Sometimes people get it a little bit confused: What’s the difference between the Ace of Wands and the Ace of Swords? 

Well, the Ace of Swords is more about the clarity of thought, whereas Ace of Wands is more about the inspiration, this idea. It’s almost the energy and motivation that comes with that particular level of potential. 

Particularly with the Lumina having that little bit of light around the Wand, there’s the idea that this almost divinely inspired. This inspiration has come to you through a source that you can’t necessarily label. It’s like it’s just popped in your mind. It’s those times where you feel perhaps intuitively called to something, to do something, to make a difference in some way, to start a new project. But it’s come to you in a way that you can’t really explain. It’s more through the energy, the motivation, that feeling that “Yes, this is what I need to do!” I find the Ace of Wands a really beautiful energy that really taps into that idea of this seed of potential. 

MANIFEST THE ACE OF WANDS ENERGY 

Now, when you want to connect in with this energy, take the card out of your deck if you can, or picture it in your mind. Again, just look at the imagery and the symbols in this card. 

Connect in with that Wand and think about: 

What is this new source of inspiration that’s coming to you? 


How can you open your mind up to the new sources of inspiration that are available to you now? 
How can you connect into your innate wisdom, the universal wisdom so that you are ready to receive whatever messages are out there for you? 
How can you channel this beautiful, intuitive insight into something real and something meaningful, doing it from that place of energy and motivation? 

I hope that’s been helpful for you. I think these Aces are absolutely beautiful in terms of tapping into your potential. Particularly if you’re at the start of a new project, I always recommend that you pull out all of the four Aces and ask yourself, “Which Ace is really going to support me in this new journey?” Have that Ace with you so that it is helping you to connect to that certain seed of potential that you are bringing into being in that particular project. I think you’ll find that it has a really strong and powerful and beautiful energy that will help you out. 

WRAP-UP 

That is it for today. Now, of course, if you want to really deep dive into the Tarot cards, then I highly recommend my online training program Master the Tarot Card Meanings. You will learn about each of the 78 Tarot cards. But better still, you’ll discover how to create a personal and intuitive connection with the Tarot cards. 

This is not just about me telling you what they mean. It’s about me giving you the skills so that you can discover what these cards mean for you. And in that way, you can use them in much more powerful ways, not just in your Tarot readings but also in your life. Manifesting with the energy of the Tarot cards is just an enlivening and beautiful experience. 

To find out more about that program, go to BiddyTarot.com/MTCM. 

Now, you’ll probably find it is on a waitlist. Make sure you sign up for the waitlist, and you’ll be the first to know as soon as we open. 

I also want to invite you to check out the Biddy Tarot Community, which will be opening up its doors very soon, if not right now, depending on when you’re listening to this. 

To check out the Biddy Tarot Community, go to BiddyTarot.com/Community. 

It’s a beautiful place with over 1,000 members who are all actively talking about Tarot. We are sharing notes. We are discovering new things with the cards. Every month, I am running a Masterclass, and we have some beautiful bundles that will help you along your Tarot journey. There are heaps of resources, tutorials, and videos, plus you get the opportunity to practice your skills inside of the Free Tarot Reading platform. 

Check it out at BiddyTarot.com/Community. 

Again, if it is on a waitlist, make sure you sign up for that waitlist. If it’s open—we do open the doors every now and then—make sure you make the most of that opportunity. 

That is it for now. I hope you have an awesome week ahead, and I look forward to connecting with you again very soon. Bye for now! 

 

The post BTP130: Exploring the Four Tarot Aces appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

Top 5 Modern Tarot Card Decks for 2018

Top 5 Modern Tarot Card Decks for 2018

In the past few years, Tarot cards have really hit the mainstream and I couldn’t be more excited!  With the new popularity comes new and exciting modern Tarot decks.  Every day a new Kickstarter campaign is going up for beautiful and powerful deck that’s taking Tarot to a whole other level. 

These new takes on the traditional Rider Waite (that we all know in love) are making Tarot more approachable to all different people.  How great is that? 

Today, I want to share with you the top five Modern Tarot Decks for 2018 (in no particular order) that I can’t stop looking at. Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the Tarot waters or are a seasoned reader and want to spice up your deck, each of them are perfect for today’s modern mystic! 

1. Luminous Spirit Tarot Card Deck

Artist Tina Gong said that the Luminous Spirit deck is meant to radiate outwards.  The inspiration for this unique deck came from how we as humans interact with light. 

The backs of the cards are covered holographic foil, which definitely give the deck an ethereal aesthetic.  The fronts of the cards are simple black and grey hand drawn images on a white background. The Magician is represented by a curvaceous and confident woman, who is surrounded by images of the four suits. 

But what makes this deck truly modern is the fact that it comes with an accompanying app for your phone.  This 21st century feature provides you with special spreads and spells for the moon phases.  How cool is that? 

2. The Wild Unknown Tarot Card Deck

I mentioned this in last year’s list and it still holds true.  The Wild Unknown Tarot seems to be everywhere on Instagram and for good reason.  The imagery depicts wildlife in black, white, and bright colours.   

Temperance is represented by a heron and the Magician is embodied by a spry leopard.  This modern Tarot card deck is great if you feel a special connection to the animal kingdom or just really dig great artwork. 

The Wild Unknown is really bringing Tarot into the mainstream, which is something I can definitely get behind.  It’s become so popular that you can get a deck at your local Urban Outfitters! Much respect to the deck’s creator, Kim Krans. 

 

3. Serpent Fire Tarot Card Deck

The Serpent Fire Tarot follows the divine feminine as she makes her way through the desert.  Each card truly is an artistic experience.  If you look closely, you’ll see the symbolism found in Traditional decks, but the Serpent Fire Tarot is absolutely unique, which is one of the reasons I love it.  It combines Art Deco, tribal style, and psychedelic imagery. Pretty cool, right? 

I could stare at these bright and vibrant cards for hours.  The High Priestess is represented by a blue woman, who serenely levitates in the lotus position, while something erupts within her chest. 

Inspired by Ancient Egyptian folklore, artist Artist Devany Wolfe hopes that people will use the Serpent Fire Tarot to interpret their dreams and experiences. If you’re on a vision quest, then this is the deck for you. 

 

4. Brown Girl Tarot Card Deck  

This modern Tarot card deck is incredible! According to the creator Fontaine Felisha Foxworth, the Brown Girl Tarot Card Deck is the first of its kind.  Featuring the traditional 78 cards with the Major and Minor Arcanas, each card is a stunning photograph of women of color.  

Foxworth says that this deck represents a melanated woman on her journey toward integrating her higher self.  The Strength card depicts a powerful and feminine ballerina draped in a ferocious fur coat, she stands en pointe surrounded by flowers. 

It’s so refreshing to see an inclusive and empowering take on traditional Tarot.  The Black Girl Tarot Card Deck echos much of the imagery found in the Rider Waite deck but puts a “modern brown girl spin” on it. 

  

5. Dark Days Tarot Card Deck  

Black and white modern Tarot decks are very in right now, as are square shaped Tarot cards.  The Dark Days Tarot deck combines both!  Wren McMurdo, the designer and illustrator, says that this ethereal feminine deck was inspired by the dark side of the moon.  The striking imagery conjures up visions of dream worlds and the unknown. 

The creators of the deck hope that the Dark Days Tarot will help readers find a deeper understanding and inspiration to move forward.  They believe that the deck will help you uncover the things that you need or want, even if they’re harder to see. 

Inspired by the dark side of the moon, it makes sense that the artwork of the Dark Days Tarot draws a lot of inspiration from lunar archetypes.  You’ll also find that the cards feature a stunning cast of diverse women. For example, the Devil is represented by a cloaked woman who is surrounded by many small fires.  She holds a mask outward for our inspection.  

Looking for a Tarot Card Deck?

If you’re trying to decide on your first Tarot deck, check out our blog post 9 Sure-Fire Ways to Select a Tarot Deck That’s Right for You! 

The post Top 5 Modern Tarot Card Decks for 2018 appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

BTP129: Anything Can Happen When You Unlock Your Intuition with Kim Lykins

This week on the podcast, I’m very happy to host Biddy Tarot’s very own Business Manager Kim Lykins. Kim has an amazing story about how she tapped into her intuition.  In this episode, you’ll learn how we incorporate Tarot into our practices as a company. We’ll also discuss how an everyday person can tap into their inner wisdom and incorporate it into their personal, professional, and spiritual life.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:  

How our company uses Tarot to help our business thrive 
Kim’s personal journey of tapping into her intuition 
How you can implement your inner wisdom into both your professional and spiritual life 

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 129: Anything Can Happen When You Unlock Your Intuition with Kim Lykins. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you’ll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide.  

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. And now, here’s your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. This week, I am so excited to be bringing on our very own Kim Lykins. Kim is the Business Manager for Biddy Tarot, and she keeps things running on Team Biddy. 

Now, Kim isn’t just a talented Business Manager. She’s also someone who has discovered her own sense of intuition over the years and has learned how to connect with that in some very powerful ways. I wanted to bring Kim on because I love Kim’s story with how she found her intuition and how she 

found her intuition and how she uses it now in her personal life and also in our business. It’s a really nice behind-the-scenes look in terms of how we use Tarot and intuition in the business, but also how an everyday person just like you can bring about more intuition and tap into that inner wisdom and bring it into your own personal, professional and spiritual life. 

I know for me, personally, once I’ve brought in more intuition into my life, things have changed immensely. The more I do it, the stronger it gets. It’s just like a muscle. We’ll hear more about that with Kim. You know what? Let’s get straight into this interview with Kim. I think you’re just going to love it, just some really neat things that Kim talks about, so let’s just do it. Welcome to Kim! 

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU UNLOCK YOUR INTUITION WITH KIM LYKINS 

BRIGIT: Welcome Kim, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast. How are you doing today?  

KIM: I’m doing great, Brigit, super happy to be here! 

BRIGIT: It’s a little bit funny because I was just saying before we got on the call, this is like ‘a day in the life of…’ Kim, you’re always supporting us and now you get to be part of all of this. It’s super fun! 

KIM: It’s definitely funny. It does feel really funny to be here, and fun too, for sure.  

BRIGIT: So, for the folks who are listening, Kim is our online Business Manager. If you’ve had much to do with Biddy Tarot, you’ve probably come across Kim at one time or another. Kim, tell me a little bit about what you do for our business.  

KIM: Well, I am the Business Manager, so I help support the team all across the board, but my biggest role is the Programs Manager. I take care of all things related to our programs, our students and our courses, just making sure everything is running smoothly, that our launches are going well, and that our students have everything they need. All of that.  

BRIGIT: Fabulous! Kim, you were the first hire inside of Biddy back in 2013. Whenever we chat about that, we just flip out completely, because when you started with Biddy, it was just doing some blog posts here and there, uploading the newsletter, and just some simple admin. Now, you’re pretty much running the operations of the business. Crazy, right?  

KIM: It’s really crazy. Sometimes I just sit and look at everything that’s going on, and I think, “Oh! I used to do that! Oh! I used to do that! I used to do that!” It’s really great, too, to have had my hand in everything, to know how things run, and just to see the growth. It’s been really cool.  

BRIGIT: We’re going to talk a little bit more about intuition and what role intuition has played in your life, but do you think back in 2013 something was going on, in terms of your Spidey-sense around this being the right fit?  

KIM: Oh! Yes! I don’t think, I know. There’s a clear path that led me to Biddy Tarot. Even though, I didn’t really know where I was going, if you know what I mean, there were blessings in disguise, and little tips here and there.  

BRIGIT: Tell me a little bit more about what was going on at that time. 

KIM: I had been passed over for a job promotion, then I had another job, and I had a little bit of time on my hands. I was looking for a way, increasing my intuition and finding out what my abilities were. I was looking for either an apprenticeship or volunteer work. I went to talk to a local medium to see if she needed any help. I was just goofing around online to see if I could find something to do, and I was also learning how to read Tarot. One day, I found the Biddy Tarot blog by Googling. I remember the question that I Googled. I wanted to know if you could read Tarot for other people. What is that called, Brigit?  

BRIGIT: What do you mean, reading someone else? 

KIM: When you ask questions about someone else. At that time, I was trying to figure out how it all worked, and I got Biddy Tarot’s blog on it, which was awesome. The next day, I saw the job posting for a Virtual Assistant. The crazy thing is, I had been looking for a few hours of work to do each week to help someone in the intuitive realm. It was serendipity. I never thought I would get the job though, but as soon as I saw it, I dropped what I was doing and I thought, “Do I go get my resume together? No! I’m not going to spend time getting my resume together; I’m going to answer this right away.” I just banged out this email. I couldn’t believe it, but I got called for an interview. It was really cool.  

BRIGIT: I think it’s a real testament to when you’re staying in alignment with your intuition, and when you’re listening to your intuition, and you’re just trusting your gut that, “Something about this feels right, so I’ll just keep going. I can’t explain why it feels right, but I’ll just keep taking that next step forward.” 

KIM: You don’t want to overthink it too much, because then you can just talk yourself right out of it. To be honest with you, being hired by someone in Australia or someone on the other side of the world, and being hired into an industry that I have never been in, even though the skill set matched, it was pretty incredible. When I got the job, I felt like Miss America, like I had just won the Miss America pageant. I did! It was the craziest thing. I couldn’t believe it. It seems so far off to me. I just took a risk. It was like, “What do I have to lose? I’m just going to do it!” and I went for it.  

BRIGIT: Yes, and again, I think that’s a lot like with intuition as well, oftentimes we just have to take what feels like a leap of faith, but it’s actually a perfectly guided step to a longer path. At the time, we just have to trust that what we’re feeling and sensing, is the right way.  

KIM: Yes, I like that – leap of faith. It’s definitely a leap of faith.  

BRIGIT: It’s a bit like a marriage. Oftentimes, you’ll meet your partner in your twenties, when you’re still figuring your life out. Then for some reason you can both individually change and evolve and develop, but you still stay in alignment with each other. I think it’s quite amazing. How is it that you could choose someone in your twenties when you didn’t have any knowledge of what your life would turn out like? How is it that you can choose this person that can stay with you for all of that time? We’re married, Kim. It’s just like us getting married six years ago. We want to talk a little bit about your journey with intuition. This is probably a silly question, but when would you say was the point at which you said ‘yes’ to your intuition and started really listening to it, or that you knew that you were intuitive?  

KIM: Oh gosh! It’s a hard question because I think that my spirit team has been trying to get through to me for decades. Decades they tried! I think meditation was probably the biggest thing that helped me connect, and I didn’t want to do it. I always found it so funny. It took me years to meditate. I didn’t want to do it. It sounded really boring. I just didn’t have any interest in doing it, but I met Abraham Hicks, and I learned that Esther Hicks met Abraham through meditation. It was a very deliberate thing that she did. She didn’t know what she was doing. That really intrigued me. 

Once that started, I just started listening to those niggles. The niggle to meditate, it kept coming up – every book that I would read. I didn’t want to do it. Then when I got the Abraham Hicks book, it was in there, again, but there were all these other processes in there that you could do. She had like 20 different things that you could do to align with Source Energy. I did all of them but that, meditate. I didn’t want to do it. Then finally after a while, I just started to do it. I think the more aligned that you become, the more you can recognise those little nigglings in your mind, which is intuition.  

BRIGIT: Tell me a bit more about meditation for you, because I know meditation can come in so many different forms, whether it’s a guided visualisation or you’re sitting there thinking of nothing. What’s your version of meditation?  

KIM: I love these questions because, first of all, it’s such a great question. Meditation, in any form, will work. That’s the best thing about it. It’s kind of like Tarot—you can’t get it wrong. It’s open to do what you want. The best thing that I can tell you is, or this is what I do, I do at least 20 minutes, five days a week. Now, it can be a guided meditation, it could be just quieting my mind, it could be yoga, but it needs to be one of those. That’s it! Here’s another thing about meditating, I don’t overthink it. I don’t overdo it, or I’ll never get it done. I just put my cup of coffee down and meditate. I don’t go in a special place. My husband comes in and out of the room. Just make it easy for yourself.  

BRIGIT: Do you find that when you’re meditating, you get intuitive insights during the meditation, or is it more a practice to keep your brain in a really positive way that will allow intuition to come through?  

KIM: Oh my gosh! So many things have come through during my meditations. It’s now become my favourite time to talk to my sprit team and to receive guidance. I may pull a Tarot card of the day, or an Oracle card for the day, but I’m also going to ask my spirit team, “Is there anything I need to know today?” I may get something, I may not get anything, but that is the time. It definitely helps keep you aligned throughout the day. It’s progressive. If you only meditate once a month, it’s not going to have a big impact. The more you do it, the better, just throughout your life, so you can keep receiving those messages. 

The messages aren’t always going to be exactly the same. They don’t come through the same vehicle. In your meditation, you may be able to see colours, or you may hear a little something. In the real world, the message you may be getting from your team is a rainbow, or a butterfly that flies by, or someone saying something to you in the grocery store, or my favourite—a song that comes on, because I love music. My spirit team uses music a lot.  

BRIGIT: So, looking for those synchronicities, I suppose, different signs? I’ve also been listening to a few stories where you might ask for a sign of say, a butterfly, but don’t necessarily expect a butterfly to fly into your house. You might be looking for a picture of a butterfly, or clothing that has butterflies on it, or something along those lines, or even a song, as you said, with butterflies in it.  

KIM: Yes, keep your mind open.  

BRIGIT: Oftentimes, people think with intuition that it’s going to be very clear-cut, very precise, but I often find it’s a bit blurred around the edges.  

KIM: It’s subtle.   

BRIGIT: It’s not as precise as what we view this real world as. Yes, it is very subtle, definitely.  

KIM: That’s where the leap of faith comes in, because the messages are subtle. Just do your leap of faith, and see where it takes you.  

BRIGIT: Now, you’re talking also about your spirit team. Tell me a little bit about what your spirit team means for you and how you interact and engage with your spirit team.  

KIM: What I was taught and what I believe is that we all have an Inner Being, which is really us in spirit form. Part of us has come into our physical bodies. I believe that the bigger part of me is in spirit. You could call it your guides, your Inner Being, God. I just think that spirit team is really easy to understand. 

When I first started meditating, I wanted to do what Esther Hicks did. I asked, “Who is my Spiritual Guide?” Each time I meditated, I asked at the very beginning. I think I went about three months and I heard a name! I never heard anything before, or if I did, it wasn’t significant. I heard ‘Thomas’. I knew that it meant something, and I don’t know any Thomases, by the way. I went and looked in the baby name book, it means ‘twin’. I was like, “Bam! That’s them! This is my Spiritual Guide, Thomas. They’ve given me this name because it means something to me, because they’re my twin; they’re my Inner Being.” Isn’t that cool?   

BRIGIT: That’s neat. When I first came across the idea of having a spirit guide, I thought it meant there’s an actual person, they look like something, they’re there but in spirit form. For me, I can’t really relate to that. It doesn’t fit in with my understanding of the world. I’m curious, do you see it that way, or as you said, it’s more about a part of yourself?  

KIM: I don’t see it as a person, it’s more of a part of me, but I’m bigger than I thought. Does that make sense? I believe that our Inner Beings, that we have infinite knowledge, that we’re God, basically. We’re all connected that way. I don’t believe there’s people there, but I’m still training. I’m in mediumship training, so I’m still learning a lot, and I’m trying to let my mind not shut down all these things that I haven’t necessarily believed just to help my mediumship training. So, I don’t know. There may be more to it than I think. Here’s the thing that I’ve been doing lately. I’ve got my spirit guides. I’m also using other dead people in spirit to come and assist me with my mediumship. These are people that walked on the earth. Isn’t that interesting?  

BRIGIT: It’s good. Tell me more about your mediumship training. I remember you telling me a year or two ago that you were starting this course. I was like, “Oh! How fascinating!” Tell me how that’s been evolving and developing for you.  

KIM: I’ve let it kind of just grow organically. I’m very busy with my work and my family, so I haven’t devoted a lot of time to it, but I have for the past few years been taking classes, and I have a mediumship circle that I go to. Now, I’m actually in another course. 

It’s really been awesome, Brigit. The best thing about it is that I feel like I’m constantly surrounded by dead people, and when I say ‘dead’, I don’t believe that we ever truly die, so I’m totally saying that. I’m not being irreverent or anything. I just know that they’re there, my loved ones, my friends that have passed, really anyone that’s passed you can connect with. 

Right now, what I’m learning is to give readings with confidence. That’s my goal. I don’t know if I want to do it professionally—that’s not what I’m after. I want to be able to deliver messages to people that make them understand that their loved ones still live on and that they’re still with them, and I want to give these readings with confidence. So, that’s what I’m doing, practicing. It’s really interesting. It’s different from Tarot, you know?  

BRIGIT: Yes, absolutely! Have you ever had a feeling of resistance to this? Has it ever felt like, “Oh! That’s too weird. No! can’t handle that, no thanks?” 

KIM: Yes, actually the biggest resistances that I’ve had are just struggles within myself. “What am I doing? Why am I doing this? What is my goal?” I’ve also had some nerve-racking experiences where I’ve seen things. I’m highly clairvoyant, so I can see things at night when my eyes are open. I’ve been frightened before. I thought about quitting, I really have, but that niggling, it’s there. I just feel like my guides and my loved ones and spirit won’t give up on me, so I just want to keep following this path even though I’m really not sure where I’m going with it.  

BRIGIT: Yes, it’s interesting. I was having a conversation with a hairdresser a couple of months ago. I let her know what I do for work and she shared with me that she was also learning a little bit about mediumship. For her, it was too confronting. She was like, “I don’t want to deal with this. I don’t want to know all of people’s stuff as soon as I meet them.” She was actually shutting down versus opening up.  

KIM: When it comes to the actual readings, I love it. It doesn’t bother me. I love knowing about people’s stuff. I love being able to help them, to make the feel better. You know what it is, Brigit? I feel like there’s more on this path than just mediumship for me, just like with Tarot. I love Tarot, it’s a big part of my life, but I knew that that wasn’t the end, that there was more.  

BRIGIT: Yes, I’m smiling because I feel the same for you, and I also feel the same for me. I think Tarot is just one little doorway into this ginormous room of possibility and amazingness. The front end might look like Tarot or mediumship, or whatever it might be, but what we’re actually entering into is so much bigger than that. We just take different entry points into this massive room of amazingness.  

KIM: I love it! To me, it’s magical.   

BRIGIT: I’m curious, Kim. How do you use your intuition, or maybe Tarot cards and even mediumship, in your work and being part of the Biddy Tarot business?  

KIM: Well, let’s see. Using Tarot, I typically use it on a practical level. I’m not really giving readings for other people. I’ll give myself readings, and I love to use my Biddy Tarot Planner and do my planning with it, but I mostly use it in decision-making. One of the big things I do at work is, sometimes I’ll use Tarot to decide how to resolve a conflict between a team member, or something that’s going on within the team. Usually, it’s just myself. What we do when we’re hiring, we like to pull a card and see the energy around the person, if they would be a good fit for the team. That’s fun.  

BRIGIT: One of our hiring questions, we’ve got a few fun ones in there, one of them is, “What Tarot card do you think that you are?” We do Myers-Briggs, I guess that’s scientifically-backed and whatever, and we do star signs, which you’re helpful with understanding what they all mean. Tell me a little bit more about the decision-making on the day-to-day – actually, I’m curious, do you use your intuition first and then your Tarot cards, or do you go Tarot and then intuition, or something else?  

KIM: I totally go with whatever feels right at that moment. Recently, a crow landed on my tree, and he crowed four times. I said, “If this is a message for me, crow three times.” He crowed three times, so I came right into the house and grabbed my Tarot cards because for me, that was the easiest way to get the message. So yes, it really just depends. Going with the flow is such a big thing with using your intuition, because if you overthink stuff you may not get the message. You just do what you feel.  

BRIGIT: Can you think of a recent time where your intuition or your Tarot has really served you? Like, to guide you to a really good outcome, or maybe to steer you away from something that might have been damaging in some way? 

KIM: It’s funny, sometimes I’ll get really upset, but I’m really careful with my life now not to overreact and come down hard on people, with my kids, my team members at work, my husband. I can guarantee you there’s been several times lately where I’ve pulled Tarot cards, “Should I say something? Should I sleep on it?” It’s always, “Sleep on it.” always, so, yes.   

BRIGIT: I think using the cards in that way is kind of neat. because it almost puts a pause-point between you, your response or your reaction, and then the action of that. I think when we put Tarot or anything really, any kind of pause-point, meditation, just even breathing, when we put that in the middle, we have much better responses in the end, and much more well-considered responses. We avoid all of the messiness. We can do things much more mindfully that way.  

KIM: Yes, and when you’re getting an answer from Infinite Intelligence, you want to listen. It definitely makes you pause.  

BRIGIT: Yes, and I’m just thinking about how we use Tarot collectively in the business, and our intuition. It’s making me think about launches and when we set goals around our launches. It is uncanny. We’ll set how many students we want to attract into a particular program. For Master the Tarot Card Readings, which we did in January, we set the intention of attracting 250 students. How many did we get in the end?  

KIM: 251.  

BRIGIT: That’s right! It’s crazy! We’ve had it in the past. We might the goal of say, 200. We’ve had cases, we might get 211 and then maybe a few of those folks will not be able to continue the program for whatever reason, and we still end up with around 200. What do you think is happening there? Do you think the action is following the intention, or are we so intuitively connected to the business that we know what we’ll attract?  

KIM: Well, of course we’re intuitively connected! However, this is what I’m learning now in my classes. My spirit team—whoever’s there to help you—they’re not up there, they’re not back there, or over there. They’re there! They’re right here! It’s like having a friend, or someone right there working with you. If you say, “The goal is 250.” They’re going to be behind the scenes working to make it happen. They’re not as far off as we think they are. I’m learning how to trust that, Brigit. When we set intentions and when we ask for help, even just asking for help, they’re right there, ready to help us.  

BRIGIT: It’s making me think, even though we have a team of 15— 

KIM: We have a bigger team.  

BRIGIT: We probably have a team of a hundred or a thousand.   

KIM: The more I do this work, the more I realise they’re just right there, working with us.  

BRIGIT: I listen to quite a few entrepreneurial podcasts. Some are straight-up business strategy and I think, “OK, that’s great.” and then others I’m listening to are more integrated between using intuition in building a business, and those people have got it. We’re thinking of James Wedmore and Mind Your Business Podcast, he talks a lot about using his intuition now more in his business. He’s working less; he’s attracting more. I just think it’s this beautiful superpower that other people might belittle and put down mostly because they don’t understand it, but once you’ve got it and you get how it can work in the business, man! It’s amazing, it’s so abundant.  

KIM: It is amazing, and it’s fun! You know, you really can’t go wrong. I don’t believe that we make wrong decisions. It may take us down a different path; we may end up the same place later than we would have. Intuition is about letting go, taking that leap of faith, just letting go a little bit. Feeling your way through a little more than thinking your way through.  

BRIGIT: Yes, and I think it’s a lot more simple than we think it is. Oftentimes, people say, “What do I do to improve my intuition?” “I don’t know, just sit there and meditate.” “No! There must be more!” 

KIM: Ask your team! That’s the other thing I have to tell you. I grew up with prayer because I grew up in a church. You pray, you know? Now, I’m not a big asker, now I’m learning to just… I’m talking about really direct asking, like if I were to sit with you in a meeting and say, “Brigit, I need this review.” You sit down with your team and say, “Let’s sit down and talk about this.” and just take a moment to really do it. If someone wants to expand their intuition and really get tapped in, that’s the first thing they should do—just ask for help.  

BRIGIT: Yes, and then don’t think, “What’s going to happen after that?” My husband will go, “OK, that’s fine, but then what’s going to happen? I’m going to ask, and then what’s going to happen?” It’s like, “Don’t worry about that bit, just do the asking and it tends to unfold.” 

KIM: Be consistent. Yes, you have to let go of the outcomes, that’s also an important piece. Let go of the outcome and just allow. Just allow things to happen.  

BRIGIT: Yes, for sure. Awesome! Well Kim, it’s been so nice having a chat. We chat every week, but talking on the podcast together and just hearing more about your journey with intuition is really helpful. I’m sure for folks listening, you probably relate with a lot of Kim’s journey. If what you’ve heard of Kim’s journey is something that inspires you to just keep going, then we’ve done our job. That’s brilliant! Kim, is there anything that you want to add to make this interview feel complete?  

KIM: The only thing I want to say is that life is full of magic every single day. That’s it! Just open your eyes and don’t dismiss it when it happens. There are no coincidences.  

BRIGIT: Awesome, and it certainly wasn’t a coincidence having you join our team, for sure. Fabulous! Normally I ask people, “Where can people find out more about you?” but I think we can find you on Biddy Tarot. 

KIM: Yes, that’s right! I’ll be there.  

BRIGIT: All right, thanks so much, Kim.  

KIM: Thanks, Brigit!  

WRAP-UP 

BRIGIT:  So, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Kim and I all about how to really unlock your intuition and use it in your everyday life. Kim has shared with us some really solid gold nuggets of wisdom. 

I think what makes it even more special is Kim isn’t someone who is putting herself out there as an “intuitive expert.” She is… Well, I don’t want to say that she’s just like everybody else, because we’re all special and unique in our own special and unique ways, but what’s lovely about Kim is she’s connected into this wisdom, and integrated it into her life in a really powerful way. I tell you, I’m inspired by Kim nearly every day, especially as we work together inside of Team Biddy. I hope that you’ve been inspired as well today by Kim’s insights. 

All right, that’s it for today. I can’t wait to connect with you again next time. Bye for now.  

 

The post BTP129: Anything Can Happen When You Unlock Your Intuition with Kim Lykins appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

Monthly Tarot Forecast for June 2018

https://youtu.be/RcKG-PW-uIY

In June 2018, you’ll see a new connection mature into something more substantial and long-lasting—what started as a seed is now growing into a strong young tree. This month also brings your intuitive being out to play, and you’re being asked to trust your own gut. As your intuition emerges more boldly, peel back the layers of your situation to ask your inner guide, “What is the TRUE truth here?” You’re invited to let go and let your intuition guide you into a deeper, more fulfilling connection with the universe.  

Watch the June Tarot card forecast to learn more about what’s coming up in June 2018 and how to make the most of the month ahead. 

Tarot deck used in this video: Lumina Tarot

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hi, I’m Brigit, Founder of Biddy Tarot, and this is the Monthly Tarot Forecast for June 2018. As with all of our Monthly Tarot Forecasts, I’ll be talking about: 

What energy is passing through your life right now?  
What new energy is emerging for you? 
What action can you take to make the most out of this month? 

Let’s get straight into it! 

WHAT’S PASSING THROUGH? 

What is passing is the Ace of Cups, and this comes to us from the Lumina Tarot. Now, with the Ace of Cups, it’s very much about new forms of joy, of bliss and of creativity. Aces are much more about the seed of potential than anything that has formation just yet. It’s that burst of a new idea. It’s the burst of a new feeling. Maybe it’s even the burst of a new relationship or a new connection with someone. 

Now, even though this energy is passing in your life right now, what I see is actually more about this energy is now maturing, developing and evolving into something new. Where you might have just felt that seed of something new—a new feeling, a new connection, a new relationship—it’s now beginning to develop into something more substantial. 

We’ll see a little bit more about that in these following cards. 

WHAT IS EMERGING? 

What is emerging in your life right now? Well, we have the High Priestess, reversed. The High Priestess is highly intuitive, and she understands that there is much more to the world than what the eye can see and what you can make sense of. She knows how to weave her way in between realms and really connect in her life through some powerful, psychic and intuitive ways. 

Now, in the reversed position, this is about trusting your own intuition. What is emerging for you this month is that trust in your own intuition. You might be more attuned to your intuition this month and more aware that you are, in fact, a very intuitive being. We all are! Really use the energy of this card to connect in with your intuition and even connect in with the lunar cycles as well—very important. 

WHAT ACTION CAN YOU TAKE? 

What action to take? Well, we have the Justice card. With the Justice card, it’s all about seeking out truth. When you are empowered with trusting your own intuition, your concept of truth will come from an even more divine and truthful place. 

Oftentimes, we think we know what the truth is from what we’re looking at in front of us, but we realise that we actually sometimes need to look at the deeper layers to really figure out “What is the TRUE truth here?” it’s not just what we see on the surface, but when we start to unpack a particular situation, we might see a different truth than we originally saw. 

You’ll notice that the lady in this Justice card here is wearing a blindfold. This is also about going within to find that source of truth—and not just taking things at face value. The truth is finely balanced on this sword here, and it’s a sign here that truth isn’t always as clear-cut as we think it might be. 

WRAP-UP 

There’s a fine balance between what is right and what is wrong, and there are many, many grey areas in between. Be aware of this energy of the Justice card in your life in June. And, of course, make sure you’re listening in to your intuition and paying attention to that because that’s where the new opportunities are emerging. And what is passing is this feeling of a new source of joy and bliss, a new source of creativity. Look, we’ve got what looks like a third eye here, and that is that new feeling of intuition. In fact, what we’re seeing is this greater development, this maturity of intuition into something that is more ingrained in the way that you operate. 

June is a fabulous month to really check in with your intuition and start to use it (or continue!) in your life in really powerful ways. Really trust your gut feeling and know that it is guiding you towards what your truth is. 

I hope that that helps you for this month. I hope it’s going to be a great month for you. And, of course, if you want to check out all of the Tarot card meaning, you can do so over at BiddyTarot.com. Have a great month! I’m sure I will connect with you again very soon. Bye for now! 

 

The post Monthly Tarot Forecast for June 2018 appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

BTP128: Why I’m Proud to Be a Tarot Reader, and Why You Should Be, Too

In this episode of the Biddy Tarot Podcast, I’ll talk to you about my very first experience with a Tarot reader at age 17 and how it transformed my life.  I’ll also tell you about my transition from thinking of Tarot as a fun party trick to knowing that it’s an incredible tool that can change lives, as well as the range of emotions I felt on this journey.

But I’m not just sharing my story.  In this episode, you’ll hear from other professionals and amateurs in the Tarot world on what makes them proud to be Tarot readers.  Lastly, I’ll give you some tips on how you can get over any fears you have and feel truly proud to be a Tarot reader. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about:  

How you can get past your insecurities and doubts and become a proud Tarot reader 
Insight from other Tarot readers on what makes them proud to identify as Tarot readers  
How I got the confidence to talk proudly to everyone in my life about Tarot 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Biddytarot.com/community 

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 128: Why I’m Proud to Be a Tarot Reader and Why You Should Be, Too. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you’ll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide. 

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. Today, I’m talking all about why I’m proud to be a Tarot reader—and why I think you should be proud, too. 

Now, the thing is, Tarot can sometimes be one of those things where we think, “Oh, I’ve got to keep it hidden away, and I can’t tell anybody about it, and I’m not really sure what other people will think if I tell them that I read Tarot.” 

But I want us to feel super excited and super proud about what we can do as people who read Tarot. By the end of this episode, I hope you are just bursting to let everybody know that you read Tarot. 

WHY I’M PROUD TO BE A TAROT READER, AND WHY YOU SHOULD BE, TOO 

 

HOW I FIRST SAW TAROT 

Now, just to start off with a bit of a story about how I first saw Tarot… 

I first came across Tarot… Well, it was probably even as a teenager. As a teenager, I was really into things like Wicca, witchcraft, spell craft, ESP, how to improve my psychic abilities. I got into a bit of yoga and meditation, and I also go into spirituality and religion, and I even read the Bible for 2 years when I was a little bit younger, and I learnt a lot about Christianity. 

When I was 17, I came across a Tarot reader, and I saw the sign outside of this old staircase that led upstairs. 

I thought, “Well, maybe I should try this out.” 

At that time, I just thought Tarot was this fun thing that you do on the side. Maybe it makes you a little bit of a rebel or someone a little bit on the fringe to get a Tarot reading. I was really just intrigued to find out what would happen and what this person could tell me about my future, because of course, Tarot reading, in my mind, at that point, was all about telling the future and doing a bit of fortune telling. 

So, up the stairs I went, and I had my Tarot reading. 

The woman looked very mysterious. She had all this crushed velvet in her room, and it was a tiny room with a round table in the middle. 

She laid out the cards, and she said, “Oh, the Emperor! You’re going to meet your boyfriend very soon.” 

I’m like, “Oh, whatever. I’m sure you tell this to everybody.” 

But lo and behold, 6 months later, I had a boyfriend while I was traveling in Germany, and I thought, “Goodness me! There’s something to these cards.” 

So, I thought I would start learning to read Tarot myself, and I thought, “Cool, this is going to be the coolest party trick to have with my friends. They’re going to be amazed by my psychic abilities, now that I can lay out these cards, and we’ll know exactly what’s happening in their future!” 

That’s how I saw Tarot very early on, but as I’m sure you’ve experienced, as soon as I started to learn more about the cards, even to open up that very first book and go, “Right, what is Tarot?” I started to understand that there is so much more to Tarot than just it being a cheap party trick or a fortune telling tool or something that was all mysterious and mystical. 

In fact, I started to really see it come to life. 

The more that I learnt about the cards, I saw them as this 78-page book all about your life. 78 pages filled with lessons about life and how to deal with certain situations, and I was absolutely amazed. 

How could someone figure out everything that existed in life—all of our spiritual lessons and our journeys—and put it into these 78 Tarot cards? 

I really started to get into those cards, and new possibilities really started to open up to me. 

I saw this as a tool that could help my self-growth and my understanding of who I really was. Especially at that age, at 18, 19, 20, early 20s, it’s a point at which you are learning “Who am I? And what place am I taking in this world?” as we step into that place of adulthood. And to have the cards supporting me in that was just fabulous! And to have a way to start to connect with my intuition and my inner wisdom was very helpful indeed. 

Now, interestingly, I still kept it to myself in those first few years. 

Of course, I told a few friends. I had to show off a little bit and say, “Look what I can do!” and they thought that was amazing. But I also became starkly aware that some people were not going to resonate with the idea that I read Tarot cards. And whether it was they thought I was doing something evil or that I was worshipping the Devil, that maybe I was doing something that was not trustworthy, or sometimes just being written off as “Well, there’s your silly little side hobby,” like, “Yeah, you go do that if you really want to. I’ll go and do the important things.” 

Some of that came up, and I really just didn’t want to be judged, so I kept a lot of it quite personal and to myself. 

But over time, I started to share a little bit more. 

It’s just kind of funny. Sometimes I would share about my Tarot reading, and I would get a really odd response, but other times when I would be thinking, “Gosh, maybe I shouldn’t be sharing this…” 

For example, I was at a corporate event after work. I was talking goodness knows what, employee engagement with some 50-year-old male in a suit, and here I was as a 23-year-old fresh out of university. For whatever reason, I said as a hobby I like to read Tarot cards, expecting him to be running off and making a really quick exit. 

He actually turned to me and looked me straight in the eye and said, “Really? What are your favourite decks? I love Tarot, too?” 

I’m like, “What! How is this even happening?” 

There were those funny mixed surprises, where I would have this inkling that there was something special and valuable and honourable about reading Tarot, and then I would have these other experiences that made me feel like, “Is this the right thing? Why do people think that it’s a bad thing?” 

It’s actually quite confusing, and maybe you’re in a similar position now, where you’re like, “Well, when I think about Tarot, yeah, I’m proud to be a Tarot reader, but sometimes I get some weird responses from people that leave me questioning whether I ought to be proud as a Tarot reader.” 

Now, fast forward to probably around 2012—that’s when I left my corporate job. I decided to step into Tarot full time. 

It was a funny time because I still had it on my LinkedIn profile that I was in HR, and I was looking for new career opportunities in HR. 

I kept thinking, “When am I going to say I am the Founder and CEO of Biddy Tarot? When am I going to fully own that and say that my corporate career is now in my past?” 

It probably took me a good 6 months to update my LinkedIn profile and change, essentially, who I was in a professional sense. But I knew I needed to do it. If I wanted to step up as an authentic reader and show and express my pride as a reader, I knew that I needed to just fully own that, and my LinkedIn profile was one of those big pieces that would tell me that I was really owning it. 

At that point, too, my business was really starting to take off, so Biddy Tarot was growing and growing, and it’s grown into what it is now, which is amazing. 

What I thought about at the time was if I’m still trying to hide who I am, or if I’m not going to be full up front with everybody that I know, I’ve really got to step into that place of pride, and I’ve got to own this. 

My conversations really started to change. 

I really started to talk, again, with that sense of pride when I would introduce myself perhaps to fellow online entrepreneurs. 

They would say, “Well, what’s your business?” 

I would say, “Adult education online? Yeah, that one.” 

But I thought, “No, I’ve got to own this,” so I would say, “I’m the Founder of Biddy Tarot, and we’re one of the leading websites online for people who love Tarot.” 

I really had to work on this and get my tone and my confidence levels up. I would say that now I’m pretty close to being able to say that with true confidence. 

Isn’t that ridiculous, though? Because what Biddy Tarot is now is amazing, and I’m so proud of it. And yet, still sometimes there are those little bits of fear that creep through, and I think, “Oh, what’s this person going to think of me when I talk about my business?” 

So, I guess I want to share that with you, because no matter where you are on your journey… If you’re in some southern town in America that doesn’t support Tarot whatsoever… In fact, you might be forced to leave your community if you talk anything about Tarot. Maybe you’re there. Maybe you’re just starting to come out a little bit more. Maybe you’re fully out. 

I just want you to know that even for someone like me—this is my business, my life, my everything that I do is about Tarot—it still sometimes can be a little bit challenging. I still sometimes have that little bit of fear about being judged as a Tarot reader. 

So, I just want you to know that we’re all here for each other. Let us now connect into that place of “Why should we be proud as Tarot readers? And why am I proud?” 

I don’t even want to say 99% of the time, because it’s 100%, I’ve just got to really own it! Whenever I introduce myself, I’ve got to own it. All right, Brigit, stop this being about me! 

WHY I’M PROUD TO BE A TAROT READER 

Here’s why I’m proud to be a Tarot reader… 

TAROT IS AN ENTRYWAY INTO SOMETHING BIGGER. 

I just see Tarot as a wonderful entryway into something that is so much bigger. And think you’ll notice this as you start to really get into Tarot, as you start to allow your intuition to really come to the fore, something magical happens, and it goes way beyond just using the cards to give you a message and so on. 

It’s this entry point into the everythingness, the nothingness, the wholeness, the universal energy. 

When we step into this place, we have direct access to intuition and our inner wisdom. We start to reclaim our power, knowing that we can find all the answers that we need. They’re all inside of us. We start to see we have this huge inner reservoir of knowledge, and we don’t necessarily have to rely on other people to tell us what to do or how to get to where we want to go. It’s all available to us, and Tarot is this entry point into that place. 

TAROT CAN HELP PEOPLE MAKE MASSIVE TRANSITIONS. 

Now, this sort of expresses itself into things like in your career. Tarot can help people make massive transitions in their career to finally find their purpose and to finally find a calling in their career and do work that they feel passionate about. 

It might serve to help people in their relationships, to have better relationships with others, to have a better relationship with themselves and just generally be a better person. 

Tarot can help reclaim that power, to empower, to show you that you are not a victim in life anymore. You have this power to create exactly the life that you want, and Tarot helps you get there because it’s connecting you to your intuition, your inner power, your inner wisdom, and I think that’s incredibly powerful. 

And that’s why I’m so proud to be using Tarot and why I want to encourage you to feel really proud of what you’re creating as well. 

WHY THE TAROT COMMUNITY IS PROUD 

Now, I actually asked our Community about what makes them feel proud as Tarot readers. Some of the themes that came through were things like helping others. There were so many responses about helping others! About giving spiritual guidance to others. Helping others to create purpose and alignment in their life. Being accurate and giving accurate readings, and giving insights that were surprising but helpful to others, offering hope. 

There are a couple of comments that I want to share with you because I really do want to celebrate what makes you proud to be a reader. 

Jennifer writes: 

“I recognised the need I had and the pull I felt to allow, embrace, and become a metaphysical practitioner, even though I was sure to be ridiculed by family and outsiders who don’t understand the beauty of the cards and the connection to the other side.” 

Being proud is that courage to step out, even if you are worried that you are going to be judged. Oftentimes, that worry is just inside of your head! Many people may be very supportive of what you do. 

Now, Kristen says: 

“Finding and accepting myself during my journey to understand my intuition, the Tarot helped me find me.” 

I love that! That’s so much of what I experienced when I was younger with the Tarot cards. It helps you find you. I remember one of our students, Darcy, said in our classes: 

“You know what? I signed up thinking this was going to teach me Tarot. And it did. And then it taught me all about myself and who I really am as a person and how I can access my true self, so it was pretty powerful.” 

Now, Sapner says: 

“With Tarot, I’m able to guide people in their spiritual journey, motivate them, and help them to align with their purpose and their life goals. Really powerful.” 

Alfredo says: 

“Self-knowledge and consciousness, using gifts to help all people possible to carry on with their lives.” 

Neat. 

And finally, Taresa… Taresa is part of our Community. I noticed in one of our Forum threads a little while ago, she posted in there (and I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing this a little bit), “I want to do the free readings, but I’m petrified! I don’t know if I’m ready at all. I’m not sure if I can do it.” 

Then, of course, all of our Community members jumped in and said, “You can do it! Go for it, Taresa!” 

And then she did. She said, “OK, I’ve taking my first reading.” 

Then she posted the next day, “I’ve got feedback, and it’s amazing, and I feel on top of the world!” 

Pretty awesome. 

Now, Taresa writes this about why she feels proud to be a Tarot reader. She says: 

“I’m still very new to the Tarot world, but I’m proud that I’m slowly coming out of the Tarot closet. I no longer need to read in secret for myself, hiding in the bedroom or waiting until my hubby leaves the house. I’ve read for a few friends several times and even two strangers. I love the feeling of giving them a different perspective and insight. It was magical!” 

That really encapsulates this feeling that happens when you start to read Tarot for other people, and you own it. You honour this. It is yours! This is such a special gift that you have that you can now share with others. 

So, I really want to invite you to step into this place and think about what makes you feel proud as a Tarot reader. 

Or maybe you don’t identify as a Tarot reader, but what makes you feel proud to read Tarot? 

And another invitation is, what’s one way that you can lead the way and start to re-educate others about what Tarot really is? 

BECOME A PROUD TAROT READER 

So, here are a couple of tips about what you can do, because here’s the thing… 

If we are all really valuing and believing in what we do, and when we feel proud of what we do, we start to shift the perception around Tarot. We start to shift it away from it being a scammy or fortune-telling tool or a devil-worshipping tool into something that is much more empowering, that is almost divine in nature, that is going to help people connect to that inner wisdom and the true sense of themselves. 

Some things that you can do, creating a new conversation around Tarot and intuition… 

TALK ABOUT TAROT HAS HELPED YOU AND OTHERS. 

Talk about Tarot and how it’s helped you. Talk about Tarot and how it’s helped your clients, the people that you read for, because the more that we share these positive examples, the more we shift perception. 

PUT IT INTO LAYMAN’S TERMS. 

Another recommendation I have for you is to put it into layman’s terms. Be ready to explain how Tarot actually works and what this thing called intuition is. Be ready to explain it so that just anybody can understand it. I think the more that we do put things into layman’s terms, the more that we can start to meet people where they’re at and bring them along on this journey. 

LEAD BY EXAMPLE. 

I also think it’s really important that we are leading by example. What I get really jazzed about is, for every new student that we’re attracting into our programs, I love that we are helping these students to read Tarot in a way that is authentic, that is genuine, that is intuitive, that is in alignment. And for every graduating student, we are putting one more person out into the world to have a really positive impact on the perception of Tarot. I really want to encourage you and invite you to lead by example by being an awesome Tarot reader. 

And a more practical way of doing that is offer a Tarot reading to someone. If you’re in a conversation with them, and you’re talking about Tarot, if you’ve got a little sneaky deck in your handbag or bag, then pull it out and do a reading and say, “This is what a Tarot reading can be like. It doesn’t have to be those fortune-telling readings that you might get done by a computer online, but this actually a really beautiful and transformative experience.” Think about if you can offer a little quickie on the side with your Tarot cards so that someone else can experience that. 

By doing these things, we start to change and shift that perception of what Tarot really is, and I think we can also really just step out into the world and be proud of what we have created. 

Again, I want to invite you to connect in with what makes you proud to read Tarot. And secondly, what is one way that you can lead the way and re-educate others about Tarot so that, collectively, we really shift this perception, and we continue to create this idea of Tarot as an empowering tool to connect us to our inner wisdom. 

WRAP-UP 

All right, that is it for me for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. Of course, you can get the transcript and the show notes over at BiddyTarot.com/128. 

If you want to be a part of a group who love Tarot as much as I do (and maybe as much as you do), then I would invite you to check out our Community at BiddyTarot.com/Community. We have over 1,000 members who are actively talking about Tarot, practicing their readings, and being role models and leaders by reading for others, the general public, by learning more about Tarot, and being part of this beautiful collective that is united by a common vision for what Tarot really is. 

Check it out at BiddyTarot.com/Community. If it’s on a waitlist, don’t worry—jump onto that waitlist, and you’ll be the first to know as soon as we open up again. 

All right, have a beautiful day, a beautiful week, and I’ll connect with you again very soon. Bye for now! 

The post BTP128: Why I’m Proud to Be a Tarot Reader, and Why You Should Be, Too appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

Tarot and Astrology: Understanding Your Zodiac Sign Through Tarot by Liz Worth

Tarot and Astrology: Understanding Your Zodiac Sign Through Tarot
By Liz Worth

Even if you don’t know anything about astrology, you probably at least know your sun sign. In this post, I’m going to show you how you can combine tarot and astrology in your readings.

Sun signs are often the gateway into the zodiac. Many of us take time to read our horoscopes on a daily basis.

Astrology is an amazing way to learn more about ourselves. But with only 12 zodiac signs, you might wonder: How can there be billions of people on this planet, and only 12 signs? Does that mean there are only 12 personality types out there, or 12 ways of being?

Absolutely not. The beauty of astrology is that it gives us endless possibilities and pathways. It can go much deeper than your Sun sign. We all have moon signs, rising signs, and more.

But that doesn’t diminish the importance or influence of your sun sign.

Sun signs represent our ego, will, vitality, and outward expression. Sun signs matter because they tell us a lot about what motivates us.

Moon signs, on the other hand, can speak more to our intuitive selves. The Moon is the soul. It represents our needs, which can be different than our wants.

There are three types of sun signs: Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable.

Cardinal Signs

Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) all begin at the start of a new season. These are the signs that are natural self-starters and can easily orient themselves to new beginnings and new directions.

Fixed Signs

Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are the signs that come in the middle of each season. They are more connected to times of stability than change. Stubbornness can be a strong trait for these signs, but this also gives them tremendous determination to see things through.

Mutable Signs

Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are the signs that come in as seasons are beginning to wind down and transition into the next. This gives these signs highly adaptable energy.

Tarot Readers and Astrology

Tarot readers have an advantage to working with astrology because the elements of earth, air, fire, and water that we see in the Minor Arcana also lend themselves to the zodiac.

Fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) will express themselves in fiery ways. They may be competitive, impatient, or fast-acting.

Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) will take on earthy traits. They may prioritize security or stability, and take their time with important decisions.

Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) will take on airy traits. Ideas and intellect may light them up, and they may be able to see things from many different points of view.

Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) need time and space to feel and reflect. The water element is up and down, and so flexibility can be important to these signs.

Every Sun sign has a range of possible traits and energies. They won’t all resonate with you, because you are also a product of your environment, and your life’s experiences. Take the qualities of your Sun sign that speak most to your true nature.

So what does your Sun sign say about you, and how can you work with it? Here are 12 tarot spreads to help each Sun sign maximize their potential.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Aries, a cardinal sign, is the first sign of the zodiac. It is responsible for getting the whole wheel turning and ready for the other signs to follow.

This means it’s a natural self-starter and trailblazer. But it has to learn to be patient on its path, and not let its fiery spirit take on more than it can handle. Aries loves to say yes, so it can easily become over-extended.

A tarot spread to harness your Aries energy:

1. What kind of trailblazer can I be?

2. What will I have to learn to wait for?

3. What can I say no to?  

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)  

As a fixed sign, Taurus can create an impressive foundation for itself. With Venus as its ruler, Taurus has incredible creative drive and inspiration behind it.

The challenge, however, is not to get stuck along the way. Security is important, but don’t cling to something that doesn’t fully serve you just because it feels safe.

A tarot spread to harness your Taurus energy:

1. How can I trust in my own strengths?

2. How does my creativity serve me?

3. How can I keep myself from falling into a rut?

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) 

Somewhere along the way, Gemini earned a reputation as being “two-faced.” But a fairer assessment of this sign is that it’s able to see situations from so many different angles.

But this can be confusing for other people, especially if they are asking a Gemini to take a stand, or make up its mind. Remember, Gemini is a mutable sign. Its energy can come across as changeable.

A tarot spread to harness your Gemini energy: 

1.  What truth can I stand in?

2. What impact do my words have on others?

3. What impression is it time for me to make? 

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)  

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, a celestial body that waxes and wanes month after month. Though it often gets associated with sensitivity and moodiness as a result, Cancer can be a force to be reckoned with.

Sometimes, its sensitivity leads Cancer to question itself. Once it knows its own potential, life’s changing tides become easier to ride. Energetic cleansing is also important for water signs, as they easily absorb other people’s energy.

A tarot spread to harness your Cancer energy:

1. Where am I underestimating myself?

2. What boundaries do I need to maintain?

3. What potential is it time for me unleash? 

Leo (July 23 – August 22) 

Leo is ruled by the Sun, making it a gregarious, generous fire sign. Creativity, recognition, and appreciation can all be important for Leo. Leo likes to feel welcome in any circle it moves through.

Sometimes, Leo can struggle with the expectations it puts on other people. Not everyone can keep up with a Leo’s energy, and not everyone can match Leo’s generosity or outgoing nature. Leo has to be careful not to be disappointed when people don’t respond with as much appreciation as expected.

A tarot spread to harness your Leo energy:

1. How can I shine?

2. What can I be recognized for?

3. What do I have to see and accept in the people around me?

Virgo (August 23 – September 22) 

When Virgo sets its mind to something, you can trust it will be done beautifully. Precision and attention to detail can be important to Virgo.

Nature, well-being, and acts of service can be priorities, too. Virgo might love to help others, or dedicate itself to protecting animals or nature. But an over-analytical mindset can be a struggle for Virgo, who has to be careful not to nit-pick or get stuck on minute details. 

A tarot spread to harness your Virgo energy: 

1. What do I need in order to feel my best?

2. How can I best be of service to others?

3. Where do I have to be easier on others, or on myself?  

Libra (September 23 – October 22)  

Ruled by Venus, Libra can be highly creative and have a keen eye for style and beauty. It can also be hugely motivated to help others, or to speak out against injustices in the world.

This is the sign symbolized by the scales, after all, where balance and fairness must rule. Similar to Gemini, Libra can garner a reputation for indecision because it also able to see different sides to every story. Often, Libra feels it has to choose between being of service, and being creative.  

A tarot spread to harness your Libra energy:

1. What can I let go of in order to achieve better balance?

2. How can I find harmony between all of my passions?

3. What can I help other people to understand?

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)

Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, the planet of power, death, and rebirth. Being a fixed sign, Scorpio is hard to deter. There is no stopping Scorpio when it knows what it wants.

Intense and intuitive, Scorpio can see right through any BS. One of its major lessons is to embrace the depth of its emotions, rather than avoid them. 

A tarot spread to harness your Scorpio energy:

1. What do I fear about myself?

2. How can I face this fear and move past it?

3. What can I accomplish as a result?

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21) 

Sagittarius is represented by the centaur, a mythical beast. It’s fitting, given that Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expanded horizons, luck, and spirituality.

Sagittarius is drawn to the magic and mystery of the world. It loves learning. Knowledge helps Sag push past its own boundaries. This sign values true connection and significant, meaningful moments.

But Jupiter’s influence can sometimes be overly optimistic. Sagittarius has to remember that things might not always work out exactly as expected. Dreaming big is good, but back it up with a solid Plan B.

A tarot spread to harness your Sagittarius energy:  

1. What am I here to experience?

2. What am I being shown right now?

3. What can I do to build meaningful connections moving forward?

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)  

Capricorn is wired to lead and succeed. As a cardinal sign, however, it will want to define success on its own terms, and draw its own map to get there to maintain its independence.

Capricorn knows how to do the work, and often expresses its affection through acts of service. For example, a Capricorn might say “I love you” by organizing your bookshelves rather than pouring its heart out.

Sometimes, this can lead to mixed messages within personal relationships. Emotional availability can be a key area to work on for Capricorn.

A tarot spread to harness your Capricorn energy:

1. What mountain am I climbing right now?

2. What can I do to get the top?

3. How can I stay present in my relationships throughout my journey?

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)  

Aquarius can be known as the rebel of the zodiac. It is always a few steps ahead of everyone else, and has its own way of walking, talking, and creating.

Creative, inventive, and innovative, Aquarius will always find a way to stand out from the crowd, even when it’s not trying. Because it can carry a rebellious nature, it has to be careful that it’s not resisting other people’s ideas just for the sake of saying no.

A tarot spread to harness your Aquarius energy:

1. What rules am I here to break?

2. What rules do I have to respect?

3. What can I do to best express myself?

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)  

Pisces is the final sign of the zodiac. This is a highly spiritual energy that is concerned with transcendence and divine connection.

Creativity is also very important to Pisces. Ruled by Neptune, this sign is an open channel for creative energy.

Whatever Pisces chooses to focus on, it has to trust its gut all the way. As a water sign, Pisces will be highly susceptible to the energy in a room. Regular grounding and shielding techniques can be key for Pisces.

A tarot spread to harness your Pisces energy: 

1. How does my intuition speak to me?

2. What can I do to stay grounded day-to-day?

3. How can I open to my spiritual path?  

 

About the Author: Liz Worth 

Liz Worth thought her one and only career would be as a writer, but she started reading tarot in 2008 on the advice of an astrologer and her life has never been the same. Today she uses tarot and astrology as tools of truth, power, and clarity. She also continues to write and is the author of six books and counting. She has also written horoscopes for Flare Magazine and Spiral Nature, and has contributed to Little Red Tarot, Biddy Tarot, and the Numinous, among others. Her tarot book, Going Beyond the Little White Book: A Contemporary Guide to Tarot, is now available. Reach Liz at lizworth.com 

The post Tarot and Astrology: Understanding Your Zodiac Sign Through Tarot by Liz Worth appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

BTP127: Connecting Astrology and Tarot with Debra Silverman

The incomparable Debra Silverman has been described as part psychologist, part comedian, part astrologer, and 100% real.  I was first drawn to her hilarious and incredibly accurate YouTube videos that personify each of the zodiac signs. 

In addition to her highly successful YouTube channel (which has over 7 million views), Debra has run a private practice for over 40 years helping people step into their power.   She was originally trained as a therapist and psychologist, but now incorporates her own astrology inspired system “The Four Elements” into helping people all around the world achieve their full potential. 

In this episode of the Biddy Tarot Podcast, you’ll learn all about: 

Debra’s expert opinion on where Tarot and astrology intersect 
How you can take your Tarot knowledge and turn it into astrology knowledge 
And the reverse, how you can use your knowledge of astrology to enhance your Tarot practice.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

DebraSilvermanAstrology.com 
TheStarCommunity.com 
Astro.com 

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 127: Astrology and Tarot with Debra Silverman.  

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you’ll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide. 

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont.  

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. As always, I’m super excited to be talking with you all about Tarot and today—all about Tarot and astrology. 

Now, I’ve first came across our guest when my business manager, Kim, said to me, “Brigit, you’ve got to check out these videos. If you want to learn anything about astrology, check out Debra Silverman and her videos on YouTube.” 

I went over, and I found the first one. Of course, being a Taurus, I thought, “Great. Let’s start with Taurus.” I watched this amazing video where Debra

embodies the Taurean and acts as if she is a Taurus. I was in so much laughter, just watching this and so engaged. 

Debra has a special sort of magic about her when she teaches all about astrology. She’s incredibly engaging and incredibly passionate about her work. So, when I found out that Debra is not only an astrology expert but also loves to read Tarot, I had to have her here on the podcast.  

If you don’t know Debra Silverman already, she is a part comedian, part psychologist, part astrologer, and 100% real. Debra has been in private practice for over 40 years, and she uses astrology and her own system called “The Four Elements” as tools to help people step into their power. Debra’s mothering approach to understanding people has earned her international fame and admiration. She’s written a book, magazine columns, hosted a radio show, and has that awesome YouTube channel with over 7 million views. She’s an expert in embracing the feminine, and her dream is to revolutionise therapy by teaching therapists how to provide custom treatment to their clients. You’ll hear more about this from Debra, but she was originally trained as a psychologist and therapist, and was drawn to astrology because of its grounding in her science. Also, from the outset, she’s always had an interest in Tarot.  

Debra is going to be talking a bit more today about where astrology and Tarot intercept. She certainly opened my eyes in terms of, if we already know a lot about Tarot, we actually already know a lot about astrology, and Debra is going to show us exactly how we can take our Tarot knowledge and turn it into astrology knowledge. Not only does this open you up to a whole new way of looking at the world, but it also makes you a better Tarot reader. And again, Debra is going to talk more about that, about what do we need to know about astrology in order to become really rock-solid Tarot readers. 

All right, I’m not going to give away any more hints about today’s conversation. Let’s just get straight into it. 

CONNECTING ASTROLOGY AND TAROTY WITH DEBRA SILVERMAN 

BRIGIT: Welcome, Debra. It’s an absolute pleasure to have you here on the Biddy Tarot Podcast. How are you doing today?  

DEBRA: I’m having so much fun already.  

BRIGIT: Yay! Awesome. And you’re over in Hawaii. We were just remarking before we jumped on to the podcast how funny it is that we’re almost like 24 hours separate.  

DEBRA: You should be the astrologer—you’re in the future.  

BRIGIT: That’s why I’m in Tarot. It’s fabulous. 

DEBRA: I can see the future.  

BRIGIT: Beautiful. Debra, you’re obviously a very well-known astrologer, and I think what’s really special and unique about you is you are not only into astrology, but you are also a trained therapist and, I would say, a little bit of a comedian as well. Tell me a little bit about your story and how you came to find astrology in your life.  

DEBRA: You know, it’s funny because I started with the Tarot. Well, that’s not true. When I was really young, I fell in love with astrology at a very young age, not knowing that it was my calling, but clearly being driven by some inner call, because I saw it in the comics and the Detroit News. 

I must have been about ten years old. It said to write away to get your chart. This is probably… I’m going to give away my time. It was 1967, before you were even conceived. I was writing away, and I got this chart in the mail. I remember being super excited, and I opened up the chart, and it was the wrong birthdate, and I was too young to send anything back because I didn’t know how to do that. But obviously, something was calling me then. So, that my first. 

Sometimes you have a feeling you want to play music, or you want to sing, or you want to be an actress, or you want to be a mom—those kinds of quiet callings. Astrology was calling my name very young. 

Then fast forward, I met my first astrologer when I was in my early 20s—probably many of you out there are just waking up to your spiritual self—and this extreme experience happened where a woman came to my house, and I had the classical American Jewish… Like Wooden Allen would have had a party with my house because they all looked like little characters out of a movie set, and she opened up an ephemeris, which is an astrology book of where all the planets are and she went around the table to each person, and I was like, “How did she do that?” 

At the end of the story, we left that house. It was a Jewish holiday. She came home with me, we got in the carriage, she was an astrologer, and I said to her, “What was that?” 

She said, “Well, that’s called astrology.” 

And I was like, “I want to learn that.” 

And then she had to drive across Canada, and she needed someone to sit in the car, and I said, “I’ll do it under one condition. Teach me what you did that night at dinner.” 

She had a stack of books in the backseat, all these astrology books, and I had a notebook, and all I did was to say to her, “OK, go. Twelve signs, ten planets—how is this?” 

By the second day, she was like, “Can you please open a book?” 

And I was like, “No. I’m an auditory learner. Just keep talking.” 

And by the time we were done… That was my only teacher—I shouldn’t tell people this—that I ever had. 

But then fast forward again another year, and I met a Tarot teacher, a very famous psychic who was in People magazine. She was very well-known in Hollywood. I was living in L.A., and she took me under her wing and taught me the Tarot deck, which was (is) directly related to the signs, so I combined the two at a very young age. 

It’s so funny to think back because I was so young. You know how that is, when you’re starting to call your destiny saying your name, but what do you know? We didn’t have the internet. We didn’t have Biddy Tarot. We didn’t have Debra Silverman. I just was all out there by myself, floating around, but I kept bumping into astrology and Tarot, and I have never, ever, ever grown old of it to this minute. I’ve always been fascinated by both of them.  

BRIGIT: Actually, I’m curious. Obviously, your core focus for your site is astrology. Why has Tarot not been in the spotlight for you? 

DEBRA: It’s a great question. I found, because I am classically trained in psychology (I did my master’s degree in clinical psychology), Tarot is not a popular word. It was a bad enough thing to say “astrology,” but astrology is based on hard science. I mean, it is based on astronomy. It includes a lot of math, a lot of calculations. To execute a chart takes hours. Tarot was like this magical door that I happen to trust because, like you, it’s very much your school. 

I gave away a thousand free readings when I first found the Tarot. I was obsessed with it, but I did not feel as academic. As a high achiever, I have kind of a personality type that has to be really good at what I do, and the Tarot didn’t leave me with anything for some reason. It’s not true, but at that time, it felt like, academically and professionally, I couldn’t go out into the world without that psychology degree to make astrology credible. But to talk about Tarot at that time was even more risky than talking about astrology. 

BRIGIT: And I’d be interested in just following that line of conversation. Do you feel that Tarot has changed and evolved over time? Do you think it’s starting to gain more credibility than perhaps what you perceived a little while ago? 

DEBRA: I think the Tarot has been a wealth, a treasure chest, of wisdom. Do you know that George Bernard Shaw said that if he was put away in a desert island to live, the two things he’d want? Do you know the story? 

BRIGIT: No.  

DEBRA: One was a Bible and the other was a Tarot deck.  

BRIGIT: Get out! How do I not know this? That’s great.  

DEBRA: He didn’t want to live without the metaphorical. The way that I teach it (and the way that I learned it) was that the Tarot is the evolution of consciousness. It’s the way the evolving of consciousness occurs from the Fool to the World. That whole story is a progression, and so he was right to say, “You can see, as an evolved being, where you are in your evolution based on…” I mean, I know your audience is doing this—to consistently pay attention to the Tarot is as good as paying attention to your chart. 

But back to your question, I was a little… I want to say, self-conscious or embarrassed to be a psychic, and I felt much more acknowledged and credible to be a therapist that kind of secretly used astrology. [inaudible 00:10:00] My dear friend, Colette Baron-Reid, who does the Oracle cards… There are many doorways. The people that are doing the Tarot, including you, and so many others are now bringing it to the public. It was a secret. For a long time, the Tarot was done behind closed doors, and women were terrified. 

Astrology, on the other hand, was done behind the king’s chambers. Think about the difference between astrologers, who were all men, and Tarot readers and gypsies and seers, who were mostly women. So now, I’m just getting so that I’m speaking to you… My male side, my academic, very strong need to speak to mainstream, I didn’t want to be “woo-woo.” And so now, the thought of the Tarot being reintroduced into astrologers, and to be brought back with its respect, I’m devoted to the Tarot cards. I spent many, many years, every single day, picking a card to know what my day was like. I have not done it so much anymore.   

BRIGIT: I would be so curious then to know if you think that Tarot will be featuring more in what you teach in astrology. 

DEBRA: In my future self (since you’re there already, 24 hours ahead of me), yes, I first wanted to give my audience a substantial foundation with astrology. I teach it in a very simple way, but it does require homework. It’s a little different than with the Tarot. 

The Tarot does require homework. You got to memorise all those cards, and then you got to use your right brain. You get to imply, from the input, flavour and the rhythm and the energy. Astrology is a lot of pure content that requires memorisation and math. Now, you don’t have to do the math anymore, ladies. Don’t worry about it. It all gets done with a button now. You push a button and have it, and in one second, the chart’s up. 

However, I’m going to say to you, you who are in the future, in the future, Tarot and astrology should be best friends, and it should be required on both sides that to be a really good Tarot reader, you need to know the cycles astrologically, and to be a really good astrologer, you need to know the implications of the unconscious mind, the synchronistic magic of the Tarot. Both are required.  

BRIGIT: Yeah, yeah. Well, thank goodness you are in this podcast because my next question is, as Tarot readers, what do we need to know about astrology to help us become better Tarot readers? What would be one or two things that you think are essential to know for Tarot readers from the astrological world? 

DEBRA: That’s such a great question. I would say the first thing is there’s something called the Saturn cycles. Most people know about Saturn return. That’s like becoming a more and more common word. All that means is when you were born, Saturn was in one spot and then 30 years later, 28 to 30, it comes back to the exact same spot, and then 28 to 30 years later, it comes back and Saturn return. We usually have two in a lifetime that are significant, and those markers for a Tarot reader, you know… 

Now, every seven years, by the way, after that, there’s a Saturn cycle, so 28 to 30, and let’s just say, 37, 44, 51, 58… It gives and takes, but you should know, as a Tarot reader, like, “Oh my god, they’re in a Saturn cycle, and they’re coming to get a reading? That is the most fertile myrtle moment where you can’t help but change.” 

Now, if they’re not in the Saturn cycle and they’re coming to have a Tarot reading and they’ve come for the third time to you and you’re like, “You know what, they didn’t listen the first time, they didn’t listen the second time, and I’m not sure I want to give them another reading,” you bet they’re going to listen when they’re in the Saturn transit. That gives them the wind in their sails to push them into change without effort. Change doesn’t happen for most people without crisis or a Saturn cycle; crisis usually occurs during a Saturn cycle.    

BRIGIT: That’s interesting. OK, beautiful. What would be another thing that we really must know about astrology to be wonderful Tarot readers? 

DEBRA: Very simply, if you know the elements (which you’ve looked at my book The Missing Element), the Tarot cards are built on the four elements, the Magician. The first thing that happens is you incarnate through the Fool. You’ve got to be stupid to even come into a body. What were you thinking? You must have been crazy to want to come onto this planet. 

And the first stop is the Magician. And on the Magician’s table are four elements. In order to play the Tarot, you must know the mastery of each element and what the teachings are and how to reframe. Like when we see the Nine of Swords, everybody goes, “Huh.” Well, that’s not true. That’s an old story. It’s not at all what’s true from the new story, from the wisdom of the elements. The Nine of Swords is a great card because now, your mind (air—always the swords are air)… 

You must know this: Pentacles are earth, Swords are air, Wands are fire, and Cups are water. It’s kind of simple, and that was all based on the four elements. The whole Tarot system is based on the four elements, so you must know the four elements. You want to know, “Oh, I see in this reading the distribution of elements that’s showing up in my Celtic cross or whatever.” I don’t know, do you use Celtic cross? 

BRIGIT: Now and then. Yup. 

DEBRA: What’s the most of the one that you teach? 

BRIGIT: Well, I actually teach folks to choose what feels best for them, and often, a no-spread spread is something I really enjoy, just where you’re actually drawing maybe three cards and then it’s kind of leaning into the next part of that reading.  

DEBRA: Right, that’s so great. Even in that case, you pay attention to the elements. Do not neglect the patterns. If there’s fire and air in your reading, that’s a high-level energy. If it’s earth and water, you’re coming down to the earth realms. You want to learn the elements. 

The short answer is Saturn cycles would be the first thing I’d pay attention to, for sure. Second is the elemental distribution of the client that’s coming to see you, and how do you help them get comfortable with what cycle they’re in based in the elements, but more importantly, is that the astrologer is comfortable inside your own skin. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, so that’s what I found really interesting about your book, was that this concept was sort of leaning towards certain elemental construction, I supposed you could say. I was reading through, I’m like, “I’m definitely an earth.” And from what I know of you, Debra, you’re in the fire space. But you talk about this concept of being aware of that but also being aware of the element that maybe is not as present, the missing element.   

DEBRA: And, you know, the book… 

BRIGIT: That’s it. And I can really say that they’re also coming into a Tarot reading, you know, what is the missing element when you’re doing a Tarot reading? And how does that relate to the particular situation? I think what’s lovely about the elements in particular, particularly when we’re talking about Tarot and astrology, is that such a clean segue between the two. As soon as you know the four elements, you’ve got a good grasp on a fair bit of Tarot, and you’ve got a good grasp on a fair bit of astrology. Of course, there’s a lot more that goes on around that, but it’s this nice little segue, this nice little bridge between those two philosophies.   

DEBRA: I think that’s where you and I really get along, because I can see by your chart how practical you are, and I am similar. Of course, the stars go on forever in every direction. The sky is the limit—have you heard of that term? But we don’t want to get carried away; we want to be able to focus. 

To do magic, to be a Magician, to deal with that first card, if you want balance… I was taught to find the card that calls your name and put it up in your fridge, put it in the car, put in the mirror, in the bathroom, put it in the mirror on your computer—keep that energetic. So, the Magician in this conversation, we would have him sitting up front. How am I going to master the four elements? And how will I integrate the lessons that we’re talking about with astrology, the Saturn cycle? 

I think there is a video that you could probably request that we could give to you that will explain the 7-year cycles because if you get that one simple thing without knowing astrology and its complexity, but… Am I in the 7-year cycle? How do I know? Well, wherever your Saturn is, every 7 years, the Saturn in the heavens will square it. It will do a 90-degree angle. It goes 7 years old, 14 years old, 21 years old, and at 28, it comes back. Every 7 years, it does that 90-degree angle. That’s the short version, but in order to learn that and apply to the Tarot—oh, my God—that would be such a powerful, helpful tool. And then to know your missing element. Those are really the two things.  

BRIGIT: And then, of course, there’s a lot of connection with the Major Arcana. Oh, I hope I keep my phrasing right here, but the astrological… Is that connection directly with the houses or the planets? You know the planets, right? 

DEBRA: OK, ready? This is going to be very simple, and this is an “Aha!” moment. There are 22 Major Arcana. There are 12 signs, and 10 planets.  

BRIGIT: OK, good.  

DEBRA: And this was done in the 15th century. I don’t know—what do you believe, Biddy? When do you believe that the Tarot was first designed? 

BRIGIT: Yeah, I would say, I mean it’s such an evolution, and what we have now is a very evolved thing, but you have 14th, 15th century, we can certainly see when Tarot started to come into being. But I think it’s definitely changed over that time. 

DEBRA: OK, but listen to this. It’s so bizarre. The 22 Major Arcana, which were taken out of the deck, you know, when you play cards, it’s a 52 cards because… Is it 52? Is that what it is?  

BRIGIT: 56, I think. 

DEBRA: 56, that’s it. That’s right because there’s 22 Major Arcana and 56 cards. But when you take out the Major Arcana, and there’s no longer any of the spiritual, that was the spiritual door. The 22 of them are, each card has a planet or a sign related to it, but they didn’t know about Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, or they couldn’t see before the 15th century, but they left out… For example, Pluto is the planet in our system that rules death, and that’s what rules the Death card. And Neptune was only found in the 1780s, and they left out the Hanged Man who is upside down, which is Neptune turning everything upside down. 

The interesting part is you only understand deeply Tarot and the cards when you begin to understand the planets and the signs. And then when you know them both, it’s like… I look at the card, the Hanged Man, and I think Neptune. They’re so interrelated for me, and I know so much about Neptune, and then I know so much about the Hanged Man, and suddenly the door opens, and there’s a treasure chest of magic that unfolds because I’m accessing not just the card but this incredible archetype. It’s an encyclopaedia of ancient wisdom.   

BRIGIT: Again, that’s what I think. There are kind of these little easy ways of getting to know one to the other, right? Elements was one, and then, with the Majors, it’s interesting because I’ve always steered away from astrology. I’ve got the books, I can see them from here, and I think, “Oh, man. It’s all a new system,” and like you, I need to be expert from day one, right, and I get frustrated I can’t learn it.   

DEBRA: I can teach it to you because of the way you think. You’re very practical, and you’re very systematic. In my whole way of teaching, I really want to give you the school as a gift, to do it together with you because your mind… Well, for one thing, you know the Tarot so you automatically know the 12. You’ll be so amazed at how significant the relationship is between each card and each sign. 

BRIGIT: And that’s what excites me is that when I think it’s going to be really challenging and difficult to learn astrology, I actually don’t think it will be because of that connection point between Tarot and astrology. 

And I’m sure for the folks listening as well, you know, if you’re sitting there thinking, “Oh, I’ve been thinking about astrology. Do I do it? Do I not do it?” Well, I think this is a big fat yes because knowing Tarot is going to make it so much easier to get a grip on what astrology really is and in ways that I think just will blow your mind. And how can they not then just support each other? I think for you, in particular, having knowledge of both spheres, just being able to bring that together, there’s no doubt, just beefs up one to the other and then the other to the other.  

DEBRA: It’s kind of like I tell everybody that yoga and astrology are also best friends. If you write down “yoga,” it ends with an A; if you write “astrology,” it ends with a Y. They’re just one word, yoga and astrology. They’re both ancient sciences. Yoga takes you into your body, and astrology takes you into your soul. The Tarot and astrology are best friends on another angle, because to use the Tarot without understanding the timing from the cosmic, which is very simple… 

You know the problem with astrology, because I’m a little slow—you can’t tell because I talk fast, but I’m a little slow. You are too. What the word [inaudible 00:22:58]. What I mean by “slow” is I learn things experientially. If someone shows me the Tarot, which is how I learned it, but I had the best teacher, and I got in to every single card, and they became my friends, and I felt them and smelled them and touched them and kissed them, those cards became my best friends. And of course, when you turned one over single day for years, you just know the cards like the back of your hand. But it took me experience. 

The same is true with astrology. We teach that the first level is all about you studying your chart. Well, what’s more interesting than you? Raise your hand if you have an ego. Oh, look, everyone is raising their hand. The first class is learning astrology… It becomes fascinating when it’s all about you.     

BRIGIT: Beautiful. Let’s say, for Tarot readers… I mean we’ve talked a bit about making sure we’re across the Saturn cycles, the elements, and the astrological connections with Major Arcana. Is there a particular entry point that is helpful for people when it comes to astrology? And actually, I’m going to guess, it’s your own birth chart, isn’t it then? How you can learn to read your own birth chart? Where do people begin? How do people start? 

DEBRA: I think the first thing you do… You’re right. The first thing you do is you go on Astro for free, astro.com, and you click on Free Horoscopes in the left-hand corner. And then in the left-hand corner, it’ll say Chart Drawing, and you put in your birthday, time, and place, and up comes this funny looking chart. I wish I had your chart or I could get it for you. Up comes Biddy’s chart.  

The first thing you do is look at and go, “What was that? It’s a picture of the sky in a circle with 12 pieces of a pie.” Literally, it’s a circle, and then you don’t know what you’re looking at. Good news is there’s a little English side thing where it says, “The sun is in Taurus,” and I think you’re in double Taurus, “and the moon is in Taurus,” and it gives you some information. 

But the easy thing to start with is to… My suggestion is, you go online to one of my certified astrologers, and you say, “Just give me an hour-long reading, and let me begin to see the information.” 

See, I’m experiential. If you’re on a phone with a certified astrologer that I trained, and they’re brilliant… I’m rigorous. I don’t do anything that makes things easy on people because I’m a quality control person. But they will be able to look at you… And then you hear somebody say, like in your case, Biddy, you’re super quality control. You can’t stand mediocrity, right? One of your big things? 

BRIGIT: Yeah. 

DEBRA: And if something is not done right, you’re like, “Can we all slow down and do that again because that’s not going out?” I can only imagine the quality, like I can see how good you are at what you do. If you’re given permission in your first reading like, “OK, Biddy, guess what? We have to go really slow.” You have guilt-free cards to be super thorough, and do not ever let somebody make you rush. 

And you’re like, “Oh, that feels so good,” like the way you eat, the way you walk, the way you go into your bed at night, the rituals you do, everything, getting the kids up in the morning, slow it down. 

And then you’re like, “That’s a simple one indicator from looking at all your earth,” and that’s what happens with astrology. 

At the beginning I’d say, “You’re going to get your chart and look at it and think it’s Egyptian hieroglyphics,” and it is. 

Then you’re going to go, “How do I get more information?” 

And then you’re going to call someone, and then they’re going to go tell you in a very elemental way, “Here is your missing element, I’ll help you with that,” and then you go and start your research.  

BRIGIT: OK, yeah. Yeah, I see. It’s very similar to Tarot in that starting from that personal experience, your own personal chart and what that means, will start to teach to you through your personal lens, which will drop in a lot more than, let’s say, if you’re just reading a book. I think that’s why I’m freaking out every time I go to pick up just a book and go, “I can’t learn this.”  

DEBRA: I’m like, “Yeah, what did I just tell you?” The way I learned… There are all those books in the backseat. I never opened one. I’m an auditory learner. When I saw her do these charts of my family—this eccentric, wild family that I couldn’t even try to explain—I was like, “This is experience. This is not theory.” 

You need a direct experience. You are someone, and I’d love to give you a reading… You’re someone that needs to touch it. You can’t learn from a book. Then it will catch your attention because it’s so simple. That’s the other thing by the way. They make it seem so complicated. Those books complicate me. I can’t figure out those books.  

BRIGIT: Yeah. And I think just not having, like when I read it, I think, “OK, this information, I just have to memorise it,” which I get bored with.  

DEBRA: You want to touch it so the way that we teach it, the very first class of my school is the elemental class. It’s that simple, like, “OK, we now know you’re earth. We’re going to talk to you about earth,” like I’m doing here today. 

The second class is very simple, which you and I have something similar… Where’s your Mercury? How does your mind process? Well, you and I are similar. We process by concrete experience. We do not process from words. Well, that’s a wake-up call because in school they told me I was slow. I was like, “Are you trying to say I’m dumb, because I think you said it without saying it and now I’m feeling really bad?” That’s how I felt, like I’m a little slower, I guess. But that wasn’t what it was. I learned I had the most amazing memory of the Tarot cards, and my memory is so spooky, but it’s only when it’s relevant.  

BRIGIT: Absolutely. And I think what I love about like what I’ve seen of your videos on YouTube, I mean, of course, I watched the Taurus video, and it is an amazing experience, so you’ve got to watch Debra’s videos. Find your star sign, look up Debra Silverman, any star sign, watch the video because what you do is you start to embody that star sign, and you speak it as if that’s you. Oh, it’s just fabulous. Your whole mannerisms change to match that star sign, and it’s so relatable. It’s magical. I love that.  

DEBRA: You go on to YouTube, and you put in “Debra Silverman Taurus,” and then there’ll be a version that comes up. The way you’ll know it’s the one she’s referring to is it will be at least 300,000 hits. If it’s not 300,000 hits, it’s the wrong one. 

And then you watch that one, and it’s 5 minutes long, and you’ll be like, “Was she in my house this morning? Why does she do that?” And that was what I called public schizophrenia; I don’t know how that happened. 

I was so embarrassed, you’ll appreciate this, because I have enough Taurus in my chart to make me shy. You can’t tell. I was so embarrassed when I first produced them, and the person that did them made me watch them, and I was like, “I can’t. She looks nuts, this girl.” And for 5 years, I put them in a drawer, and then it was my first website and someone said to me, “Do you have any videos?” And I was like, “Well, I do but they’re embarrassing.” And I heard her in the other room hysterically laughing. And she was like, “Are you OK if I put this on YouTube?” And now they’re about 7 million hits, just those videos.  

BRIGIT: Yeah, crazy. And they are just absolutely brilliant.  

DEBRA: You love embodiment, because you love when something’s real.  

BRIGIT: Yeah, that’s true.  

DEBRA: Do you know about yourself? 

BRIGIT: Pardon? 

DEBRA: Do you know that about yourself, that you love when things are concrete or practical? 

BRIGIT: Yes. Yeah, I’m learning that a lot more particularly in the last few years. I definitely need to see it before I can go ahead with it. And I think that even like I’m even saying in a business, when people will just talk about something, I’m like, “No, no, just show me. Show me the whole thing, and then I can tell you if we’re going ahead with it or not.” 

DEBRA: That’s where the Tarot is so rich, because you look at those cards… You got to think about the history (I call it “herstory,” but it used to be history). Her story comes out of those cards, and they’ve been on this planet for now… I hate to compete, but astrology is 5,000 years old. But the two of them as friends… 

I have this fantasy—this is what I’ve made up—that there was this chamber somewhere in Europe where they gather all the wisdom keepers from astrology to the Egyptians, to the Chinese, to the Hebrews, to the Arabic, and they got into a cave, and they came out of the cave with this deck of cards.  

BRIGIT: I’m so with you. I just remember, once I really got to know the Tarot, I was absolutely just floored by the… I want to say the truth in the cards, the inside, like the integration of everything, as if like these 78 cards are just 78 pages of your whole life and the way that we live life. I think it’s absolutely stunning, just how much intelligence and knowledge is in the cards. It’s crazy.  

DEBRA: Listen, I love this part. The Fool is the first card, right? The zero card jumping into incarnation. And the first card, number 1, is the Magician, and there he sits with his four elements getting ready to download, connecting heaven and earth. You know how his hand is, and then the first stop (I love this) is the High Priestess, and he goes, “OK, everybody, stop. We must consult the wisdom of the feminine who doesn’t use words because it’s the Moon card, it’s the internal world, I’m going to go in now and I’m going to download.” 

And that’s so interesting that the Tarot was developed by respecting the feminine first. The Magician, he’s androgynous. The Fool, of course, is androgynous; he’s like a clown. The Magician pretended to be a guy but he could shape shift. And then the first thing he did was say, “Let’s go honour the priestess. First stop, everybody, come with me. We’re going to her first.” 

BRIGIT: I love it. 

DEBRA: When I do a reading or when I consult the Tarot, I always start with a prayer because you’ve got to go to the priestess to make sure she lets you into the temple.  

BRIGIT: Yeah, that’s neat. I really like that. Yeah, beautiful. Debra, what’s coming up for you over the next few months in your world? 

DEBRA: That lovely new moon on May 15th, and then we have the new moon at the end of May. I always pay attention to the moon cycles. This is my birthday month, May. I’m turning into a grown up, working on it. Let’s see… I have a school, as you know, that starts two times a year; one is in January through February, one is August through September, so we launch. 

It was so odd when we talked our first time and how we had so many similarities. It’s just so wild that you and I both, I think we start from the same radio station, like whoever downloaded the program to us, that must have been the High Priestess. 

I have a school that goes twice a year, and then I have the TheStarCommunity.com. It’s a platform where for $22 a month, you can come and study the new moon, the full moon, the retrogrades, the eclipses, and once you know that, and you start in every month… I’ve sent out an overview of the month, and you bring out your calendar. 

See, I’m an experiential learner. I don’t like to read, I want to hear it, and I write it down in my book. “Uh-oh, here comes the cycle.” For example, we’re coming from Taurus to Gemini in the month of May. You’ll feel the beginning of the month of May, everything slows down and then, all of a sudden, by May 21st, the energy shifts. And if you can start paying attention, you don’t just regard the energetics of the seasons, of the cycles, of the rhythm; you become very synchronistic. And that’s what psychic ability is. 

The real psychic… And you know my friend is Colette Baron-Reid. I’ve known her for 20 some years. I mean her gift spooks me out, but she’s a moon child. She’s a Cancer. She’s so in touch with the moon. I do a show with her on Hay House every month because she’s so respectful. 

The psychics in the world, any of you watching this, must have a relationship with the moon if you’re going to play with the High Priestess, because go look what the High Priestess card is in the Tarot deck. Go consult that invisible… It’s at night time. The moon shows up in the dark; wisdom comes through the dark, and only a wise woman knows how to sit quietly without being scared of the dark. And if you are scared, that’s why you go see a Tarot reader, like, “Help me clean my energy,” or an astrologer, like, “What’s interrupting me? Why can’t I find my centre? Why am I so confused?” Those are all moon questions essentially. They’re like, “I can’t find my emotional stability—can you help me?” In Tarot readings, you do.  

BRIGIT: Neat. Beautiful. Oh, Debra it’s been such a joy to talk with you and to hear more about astrology and get really jazzed about the connection.  

DEBRA: You and I would sit in the temple together. I can see that you have the similar passion I do. We get women into the temple and remind them how to wear that during the day, that they can come out from the temple and share their goods, without being scared and to know it’s safe. You and I have a very similar mission. 

BRIGIT: I just wanted to touch on that idea of coming out of the temple and feeling safe, because I think, for me personally, that’s been something I’ve been doing over the last few years. That’s an evolutionary process, and there’s always sort of like little… I don’t know—it’s an ongoing learning process, how you bring this out in a really, really big way, and also in a way that you don’t let anything disrupt you from your path, I suppose. And I’m sure many folks who are listening as well, are sort of going through that journey of “How do I really fully embrace this part of myself without worrying about what others think of me?” and also, on the more positive side, “How I can feel really safe and whole in being this person?” 

DEBRA: Well, you put the Emperor card. You grab the Emperor card, and you put that in the front of your mirror, and you take that… You assume the position of the Emperor, whose job is what? To protect the Empress. You need your male energy. 

All of you listening here, you must have a develop male that says, “You know, honestly, I don’t care what you think. I mean, I know you think the Tarot is weird or astrology is ‘woo-woo,’ but I’m here to tell you the times have changed where we’re turning to the elders, to the mystics, we are not denying this anymore.” 

And then all of a sudden, your fire, your air (the Emperor’s air) is like, “I can do this.” If you need that strength, pull out a card. Honestly, it’s what my teacher taught me years ago, to stick it on your forehead. I always like to walk around with a Tarot on my forehead. 

BRIGIT: It’s a good game, what Tarot card am I? That’s a good way to learn.  

DEBRA: Have courage. Go use the Emperor. If you need some strength to feel like you don’t care, use the Fool card. You’re allowed to say the weirdest things and wear the weirdest clothes. These are all role models for you, and they’re different cards calling your name. And you’ll know because you picked them. Do you how that is when you get the same card that keeps reoccurring? 

BRIGIT: Yeah, definitely. Awesome. Debra, have you got any parting words, I guess, to make this conversation complete today? 

DEBRA: I would just say for any of you who are 28 to 30 or 58 to 60 that are watching this, you are in a critical moment in time, or any of you that are not that age group but you are waking up inside the dream, to know that this is the first time in herstory that we are allowed to be ourselves and not be afraid. 

One of the mantras I like to give women that are magically cultivating their intuition is “That was then, this is now; and in this now, I am so safe. I am so safe.” 

I’ve never been able to talk astrology. Everywhere I go, people wanted me to tell them. I used to be like, “I’m a psychologist with a little bit of…” 

Now, I’m like, “No, I’m an astrologer who uses psychology.” 

They’re like, “What?” 

But we’re free now, so I want you to all assume the position that that was then, this is now, and you can really claim the rights to your Priestess coming out during the day.  

BRIGIT: Beautiful, beautiful. Awesome. Thank you so much, Debra. And if you want to find out more about Debra, head on over to DebraSilvermanAstrology.com or check out the Star Community at TheStarCommunity.com. Thank you so much again. I really, really appreciate it, Debra.  

DEBRA: We really, really love you. I think your radiance and your sweet beauty of the feminine… You carry such a beautiful innocence, and I’m so grateful that you’re sharing with so many of us.   

BRIGIT: Oh, that’s very sweet, thank you. 

WRAP-UP 

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Debra and me. I absolutely loved it. I learned a lot along the way, and I am super inspired to maybe dive into those astrology books again, although then again maybe not… Maybe I’ll just start straight into my birth chart. And perhaps you, too, have been inspired to learn more about your own birth chart. 

Now, I highly recommend checking out Debra’s YouTube channel. Her videos are hilarious, and she is just a wonderful and inspiring and energetic teacher, so I think you’ll really enjoy her videos there. 

Now, we also mentioned her book which is The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition. That is a great book for really understanding each of the four elements. Now, that not only will give you insight into astrology, but it’s going to give you insight into Tarot and how you can use the elements in your Tarot readings. 

All right, make sure you check out Debra, she’s over at DebraSilvermanAstrology.com. We also have the links over on BiddyTarot.com/127, and you’ll find the show notes and transcript for today’s call right there as well. I hope that you have an absolutely fabulous week ahead of you, and next week, I’m going to be talking all about why I am super proud to be a Tarot reader and perhaps why you should be, too. All right, we’ll speak then. Bye for now! 

The post BTP127: Connecting Astrology and Tarot with Debra Silverman appeared first on Biddy Tarot.

Creating the Cosmic Cards Oracle Deck with Julie Catona

There are so many outstanding Oracle decks in the world. Energetically, I feel that Oracle cards hold a lot of ‘big’ energy. They give insight into the greater sense of what is going on. I recently came across the vibrant and beautiful deck that does exactly that: Cosmic Cards.

Today, I’m very excited to share with you an interview with Julie Catona, the creator and artist of the Cosmic Cards deck. In addition to kindly sending us a deck to play with and answering our questions, Julie is also offering all Biddy Tarot fans 5% off the Cosmic Cards deck with a special code!

Interview with Cosmic Cards Oracle Deck Creator Julie Catona
1. At what point in your life did you first become interested in Tarot and/or Oracle decks?

I’ve always had a fascination with playing cards (card games/magic tricks) since I was a little child. I grew up being in communication with my angels, but never owned an Oracle or Tarot Card deck.  It wasn’t until a few years ago I purchased my 1st oracle card deck (Archangels) and was blown away by the artwork and positive messaging.

At first, I was hesitant that I may do a reading “wrong”, but was comforted immediately by my guides. Slowly and thoughtfully I began collecting Oracle decks whose artwork, theming & messaging resonated with me. It’s been a phenomenal journey and I’m forever in awe of the variations available and the magical community that has embraced me!

 

2. You’ve done a lot of creative work in marketing, which is fantastic!  But an Oracle deck seems like such a big shift from that. What made you say, “Okay, now I can do this”?

Thank you! That’s a terrific question- I would say that first and foremost I’m an Artist – in both my personal and professional lives. I’ve always enjoyed telling stories with my artwork, whether it be with charcoal, paint, sculpting, digital or animation. Outside of my work, astronomy and creating art are two outlets for me to articulate my own stories and visions. With the overwhelming urge to share [these creations], the thought of launching an Oracle deck really came as naturally as I could have hoped for.

3. The Cosmic Cards and their corresponding text seem to be very intertwined. During your creative process, did you begin with the artwork or the text of each card?

I started with the artworks, many of which I had already laid out the story for in my mind. I really wanted the message on the cards to embody the vibrancy of the design. Putting a quote or message down on paper and making sure the marriage felt genuine was the natural next step. I would meditate on the synergy- sometimes being inspired to alter a design or start from scratch until it became a hybrid that had no beginning or end.

 

4. What was the biggest challenge in creating your Oracle deck?

Right from the inception, it’s been such an incredibly melodious journey. I really wanted Cosmic Cards to be able to stand on their own, individually. If you had only one card, I wanted the viewer to enjoy its composition and caption as though it was a personalized artwork.

Just like any artistic process, the tools and mediums can make all the difference. The biggest challenge was testing the actual print of the cards. How they felt in the hand, size, thickness- the tactile experience is as important to me as an oil painter would assess the quality/variation of oil pigments and canvases. I printed dozens of samples until I found the one that just felt right.

 

5. How do you hope that people will benefit from the Cosmic Cards?

My only desire for Cosmic Cards is that they be thought-provoking, fun and spiritually uplifting to anyone who views/uses them. Before I embarked on creating the cards, I asked myself, “Would I do it if nobody would see it? What if no one even wanted it? Even if I printed just 1 deck?” The answer remained: YES!

6. Cosmic Cards now has an expansion pack with 10 additional cards.  What made you decide to expand the deck?

This is my favorite part of the Cosmic Card deck! The 10-pack was birthed almost out of my control, with artworks & thoughts that I felt needed to be added. Just like our own Universe is expanding, I want this collection to offer growth.

Influenced by artistic and spiritual guidance, along with my intention to maintain relevancy, I will continue to add to the deck.

As an amateur astronomer, I want to keep incorporating images of celestial events that are happening in our “backyard” as well. I am also in the process of designing an augmented reality app that can be used in conjunction with the cards.

 

7. Which of the Cosmic Cards do you most resonate with personally and why?

One of my favorite artworks & the 2nd card of the Cosmic deck- “Rebirth” – depicts our divine ancestries witnessing the birth of our Sun.

I was inspired by the Zoe Skylar quote, “For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse. So collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction. This is your birth”.

And [the birth of a star] is really not something that happens overnight. A star the size of our Sun requires about 50 million years to mature from the beginning of the collapse into adulthood.

We can keep in mind that during this literal phase of destruction, the dust and debris left behind are eventually recycled, providing the building blocks for a new generation of stars! If we want to be a star, we must endure this phase of transformation. Soon we will shine brighter than the light of a 1,000 Suns!

 

8. Where can people buy your Tarot deck?

Cosmic Cards are available for purchase via my website: www.futureillustrations.com/shop. Right now, you can save 5% on all purchases when you use the code BIDDY at checkout.

 

The post Creating the Cosmic Cards Oracle Deck with Julie Catona appeared first on Biddy Tarot.