The Moon Meets Venus

The Crescent Moon has been in a sweet conjunction with Venus for the last few days and it's been gorgeous. These two space bodies often hang out, but every now and then they look especially good together. This is one of those times.

It was too snowy here for me to see the sky myself, but when I saw the pictures, the tarot’s High Priestess and Empress came to mind. In the Priestess card, the Crescent Moon sits at the foot of her robe. The Empress has Venus in a heart by her side.

It strikes my magical fancy to imagine these two tarot goddesses floating around, shining down on us. What gorgeous feminine energy.

The High Priestess is wisdom, contemplation, understanding, and subtlety. She listens and hears. Intelligence and intuition are in perfect balance.

The Empress is love, fertility, beauty and compassion. She manifests what’s real, what can be celebrated with all five senses. She’s the creative mother, preparing to bring us spring.


I like it!

If you missed the show though, don’t despair. The sky-gazers say it’ll be even more beautiful next month. Apparently a 1o conjunction is ‘much prettier’ than last night’s 3o. Hard to believe. I guess we’ll have to mark February 27th on our calendars and see for ourselves.

Let the Ground Hogs Sleep: Page of Swords Predicts an Early Spring

Sunday’s a great day for at least two reasons – Mercury finally goes direct after a three-week slowdown, and it’s Ground Hog Day. Mercury going direct should help get communication, electronics and travel back on track. But Ground Hog day is even more exciting! At least for me here in the snowy north.

Whether Punxsutawney Phil or his Canadian cousin, Wiarton Willie see their shadows or not, February 2nd promises that winter will be over in no more than six weeks. If there was ever a reason to celebrate, this is it. Six weeks isn’t tomorrow, but it’s only a month and a half away.

Since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil (and his ancestors) have predicted six more weeks of winter 90% of the times they were dragged out of their holes and asked. Poor things. It hardly seems worth it to keep waking them up just to hear the same message. Why don’t we let them sleep in this year and I’ll pull a card instead.

My question is the same one we ask the ground hogs – will there be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? The cards say: an early spring. Yay!!!

Could it be true? Here’s my reasoning…

The card I pulled was the Page of Swords. A brave young warrior stands on light green turf – looks like new grass to me. There are birds in the sky and wind in the air. But most importantly, it’s really cloudy. Isn’t that the omen we’re looking for?

If it’s sunny on Ground Hog morning, Phil and Willie cast a shadow. When it’s cloudy, they don’t. The Page is the ground hog (or us) looking around for clues about the weather. No sun, no shadows, it’ll be an early spring.

I might be wrong and this whole read nothing more than wishful thinking. But I’m going to stick by my cards and get my spring clothes out for early March. Why not? If it’s still cold by then, I’ll see about getting a flight south.

Reading Tarot for Friends and Family

Reading tarot cards for friends and family can sometimes be tricky, especially for a new reader. The challenge lies in how close you are to the situation. If you know a lot about what someone is going through, it can certainly add clarity, but it can also mess you up.

For a useful tarot reading, impartiality is essential. And it’s not so hard to achieve when there’s a stranger sitting in front of you. You don’t know their story, you’re not attached to the outcome, and the relationship is generally confined to the reading itself.

With friends or family it’s not so clean. You often know at least part of their story, you might be attached to the outcome, and there’s every chance that you’ll be involved in their lives after the reading.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t read for those you know and love. To avoid the pitfalls, all it really takes is to remember the mantra of tarot card reading. Stay with the cards. Don’t assume you know anything more about the situation than the energy being described in the spread.

Of course, if you think a card indicates something specific about your friend’s life, go ahead and mention it. Just don’t take for granted that you know everything about what it means. You might know them well, but it’s likely they’re keeping some things to themselves. Let them.

And it goes without saying that whether or not you like what the cards describe, it’s not the tarot reader’s place to judge. Even if you’re reading for your child or partner. If you’re afraid you’ll react to a friend’s reading with negativity or anxiety, it might be best not to do it.

When trust levels are high, readings can be extremely powerful. But though there might be a lot of trust amongst friends and family, there can also be an elevated level of vulnerability. Sharing a reading can encourage closeness, but it can also make people feel too exposed.

If that happens with a stranger they just leave and there’s a good chance you won’t see them again. If it happens with a friend or relative, things can be uncomfortable for a bit. Being sensitive to personal boundaries and clear about your commitment to privacy can go a long way in easing potential fears.

Sharing tarot with people you love can be a great experience. Not to mention, if you’re a beginner, your friends and family might be your only guinea pigs. Just focus on the images and avoid projecting what you already know. The cards themselves will show you all you need to say.

Reading Tweet Clouds

All sorts of free applications are available for Twitter users. You can get them to organize your messages, track your growth, automatically follow and unfollow, lurk on cursers, or rate tweets on a happiness scale (apparently mine would lead people to believe I’m ‘ridiculously happy’).

Twitter Grader is another one. Just plug in a Twitter account name and it generates a stat page with a grade from one to 100. The grade is a percentile based on various twitstats, ie. number of followers, power of followers, pace of tweeting, etc.

It’s kind of fun and sort of interesting. The more followers you have the higher your percentile will be. And if you post a lot, your grade is likely to rise. That doesn’t mean that you’re posts are interesting, or that your followers are paying attention to anything you’re saying. Only that they haven’t unfollowed you and you keep talking.

For me, the rating aspect of Twitter Grader isn’t so exciting. What I really like about this application is the ‘Tweet Clouds’. From what I can tell, they're a jumble of words from your recent tweets with those you use a lot appearing bigger than the others. With every post they change.

The grade is just a number. The Tweet Clouds are more like poetry. As a tool to get a sense of who's behind the profile picture, I’d choose the clouds over the grades any day. If you saw mine (pictured above) and didn't know I was a cheery tarot reader . . . .

Take a look below to see some other clouds I visited. If you’re on Twitter, check out your own. If you’re not, you still might enjoy looking around. Reading apparently irrational words in a meaningful grouping can be almost as fun as reading pictures on cards.

It Was the Blankest Year of the Space Age

Astronomers say that 2008 was the blankest year of the space age . What they mean is that there were fewer spots on the sun last year than there’s been since 1954. Sunspots come and go in eleven year cycles and from what they say, we’ve reached the end of one of these phases and are just getting started on another.

Information about sunspots and other spaceweather is of course very important to life here on earth. Major spaceweather activity can really mess with everything from satellites to toasters. With our world as wired as it is, if there were a space storm as severe as the ones recorded in 1859 and 1921, the cost of damages could be in the trillions of dollars.

As interesting and important as that is, what draws me to the sunspot research is talk that humans behave differently during various times in the cycle. Stocks, styles, jumps in technology all might be affected by the magnetic movements of the sun. Did an important pattern in your life start in 1996? Is it one that‘s been in transition since some time in 2007? What about political trends or artistic movements?

Spaceweather.com just added an application to their website that lets you look at sunspot activity from 1755 to right now . You can plug in any date and it’ll show you what the sun was up to that day. It’s fantastic.

I checked out my birthday (pretty low level activity) and the birthdays of a few other key people. Interesting. But even more so are trends from one time to another. Take a look yourself. If you like pattern seeking as much as I do, you’ll have a great time.

It's Cold Outside

So the cold hasn’t let up. I was hoping it might, but when -5 degrees C is the warm front it gets discouraging. Every morning it’s the same. Cold. And more often than not, snow. Since it looks like this icy weather might be here for a while, I decided to see if the cards had anything to say about it.

Sure enough they do. The RWS Tarot has two cards that show snow, the 5 of Disks, and #9, the Hermit. In the 5 of Disks, two people, ragged and beat up, trudge through the snow passing what might be a stained glass window of a church. They look pretty cold. The one that’s lucky enough to have shoes is on crutches. It’s a tough scene.

Though I personally have a great pair of boots, a very warm parka and the most fantastic new hat anyone can imagine, I, like many others, have been feeling a bit like these two. Economically and meteorologically challenged. How the heck are we going to get through this winter?

The cards' advice - Get inside! Just joking, but not really. I think the message here is to remember your spirit, that light on the other side of the stained glass window. Every season feels like winter when all you can think about is how to pay the bills and feed yourself.

This card is reminding us that our energy for living actually comes from within, whatever the circumstances are. The spirit on the other side of the wall is really just our own fire. The flame inside that lets us laugh and sing even when things are tough. Hard times, aren’t enough to break us down. Only forgetting why we like living can.

And then there’s the Hermit. It’s a very different feel in this image. There’s snow on the ground but the sky is clear. He’s wearing what looks like a warm hooded cloak and with all that hair on his face he hardly needs a scarf. What’s most important though is the lantern he holds in his right hand.

This guy’s got his stuff together. He’s knows it’s the light that leads his way and he carries it with him wherever he goes. He’s calm, unflinching and comfortable in the snow. He internalized the lessons of the 5 of Disks a long time ago. They come in handy when the sun sets and the temperature drops.

The forecast says tomorrow’s high may reach -3, with a 40 percent chance of flurries. I look forward to it. Almost balmy relative to the -14 we’re expecting Saturday. I’ll take the messages from the cards to heart and wear my new hat. It’ll be spring soon enough.

Bundle up and smile.

Hope, Change and the Page of Disks

With the Presidential inauguration coming up Tuesday, and all this talk of ‘hope’ and ‘change,’ I decided to ask the cards for some advice. As citizens of the world, not just the USA (after all, I’m Canadian), what can we personally do to start fulfilling the hopes so many of us have been projecting onto the President-Elect? How might we create for ourselves the changes we’ve been dreaming of?

The card I pulled was the Page of Disks. This Page is a young person just embarking on his journey. He’s eager, practical, determined and willing to work hard. Everything is new, bright and full of potential. The fields around him are perfect for planting and this young man isn’t afraid to get down and dig. He wants to learn, build and see if he can make a difference.

While traveling from Philadelphia to Washington yesterday, Barak Obama made a number of speeches. When describing the expectations he had for himself and the American people, it sounded an awful lot like he was describing the energy of the Page of Disks.

On the positive side he used phrases like 'perseverance and idealism,' 'patience' combined with a 'fierce urgency to act', 'hope and opportunity', and 'ignoring easy instincts' in favour of our better sides.

Regarding the challenges, he warned of potential false starts, frustrations and the occasional mistake. He asked people to avoid small thinking, selfishness and bigotry; all potential pitfalls of this Page.

The message from the cards seems to echo that of the new President. Embracing the upbeat, ‘get to it’ attitude of the Page of Disks would be an excellent step towards building the world we want to live in. Together we’re facing some significant challenges and it’ll definitely take a lot of eager learners and optimistic hard work to succeed. This earthy Page can serve as a wonderful model to all of us.

On-Line Tarot: does it work?

People often ask me if those free on-line tarot readings work. ‘How could they?,’ is the usual perspective, ‘a computer can’t see my future.’ I agree with that. Of course a computer can’t see your future, but for that matter, neither can a pack of tarot cards. Though microchips and cardboard aren’t magical, tarot readings, on- or off-line, can still be very rewarding experiences.

Rather than foretell your future, a typical tarot reading usually validates, or at least brings to your attention, experiences from your past and present that are relevant to your question at hand. On a ‘future’ level, a reading can and most often does, provide some direction going forward.

What matters most though, is your interaction with the tarot images, not the medium in which those images are presented. A skilled reader (or computer program) will of course help with the interpretation of various elements in the pictures. But it’s always about your perspective, not the cards themselves.

So back to the initial question – do free on-line tarot readings really work? Yes – of course they do. It’s not like they’re trying to channel the dead or anything. They’re simply supplying random tarot images for your review. It’s hardly different than pulling cards from a real deck. If in-person readings resonate with you, on-line ones are likely to as well.

On the plus side, these readings are free, fast and mostly private (assuming the site you’re on isn’t some sort of scam portal). One thing I avoid though, are those ‘what is your question’ blanks. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I never fill them in. Why would a computer need to know what I’m asking about?

On the more negative side, the card descriptions can sometimes be stilted and hard to align with your question. They’re typically short and provide hardly more than key words or phrases associated with a particular card. Really though, that’s often all you need.

In person or on-line, taking a good look at the cards themselves will likely be the most valuable part of your reading. What do you see? What do the images mean to you? How might they be relevant to your question? Really look. It’s amazing what you can find. Remember, tarot cards are a series of images – not words. They’re meant to be looked at. The words, if any, are are best used as guides.

Automated on-line readings aren’t intended to replace ‘real life’ readings or readers. They’re sort of like getting your picture taken in a photo booth rather than by a real photographer. You’re going to get a likeness of yourself. Probably not the best shot you’ve ever had, but you’ll know it’s you.

Go ahead and enter the words ‘free tarot readings’ (or something like that) into your favourite search engine. You’ll come up with all sorts of options. Enjoy!

Twitter Tips in Tarot – 140

I’ve been on Twitter for about a month now. So far, I’m absolutely loving it. It’s been inspiring and informative. Ok, so some of it’s not so inspiring or informative, but enough people on it are to make the whole thing worthwhile.

And what’s even more amazing (at least to me) is that all this sharing is being done in 140 characters or less. That’s not a whole lot of strokes to get your message across. And yet, as Twitter has definitely proven to me, it’s more than enough.

Since I’m a Tarot Number Nut, I decided to look more carefully at this numeric series - ‘140’. Let’s quickly break it down and see if there might be some Twitter Tips from the Tarot hidden in the maximum character count …

1 - The Magician: communicate with confidence, clarify your ideas, publish your perspective, don’t be a trickster/scammer;



4 – The Emperor: express your personality, carve out your domain, be mature enough to know when to go to battle or not, don’t push too hard;


0 - The Fool: jump in and play, be willing to meet the world, take a leap into (cyber)space, but don’t be an idiot and give away your personal info, etc. to strangers – some people are the tricksters/scammers mentioned above;

and finally: 1 + 4 + 0 = 5

5 - The Hierophant: speak your truth, be sensible, and share your wisdom with your followers. Remember though, they’re all Hierophants too and worthy of as much respect as you are.

Happy Tweeting!

Labradoodle or Water Dog?

Since major news outlets seem to think it’s an important enough issue to cover – I thought I would too. I’ve asked my cards – should the Obamas pick a Labradoodle or a Portuguese Water Dog?

Personally, I (and the CNN online poll) lean towards the Labradoodle, but it seems the cards disagree. The 5 of Cups, a typically sad card of disappointment and unfulfilled expectations showed up for the adorable Lab/Poodle mix. Doesn’t look promising.

On the other hand, when asked about the Water Dog, the cards were far more upbeat. No other than the King of Cups himself appeared. If anyone would get themselves a Water Dog surely it would be this king.

So after virtually no consideration on this exceedingly unimportant question – I'm going to leave it at that. The cards think the Obamas should get a Portuguese Water Dog.

Have fun with your tarot cards – sometimes they just like to play!

Mercury Retrograde - Good Times!

Mercury went retrograde today. It can be a trying time when the planet of communication, travel and quick thinking slows down. Wires get crossed, ideas muddy, travel can take you places you never meant to go. During a Mercury Retrograde, we’re often warned against signing contracts, making holiday reservations or buying computers and cars. If you do, don’t be surprised if you end up having to do it again.

But does it have to be all bad? Of course not. Maybe this energy will find you uncovering old treasures, or at the very least, clearing out the rubbish (metaphoric or otherwise) that’s been accumulating for too long. It’s a fantastic time to get down to organizing your tax receipts, cleaning out a closet, or finally burning cds of all those photos you’ve been storing on the hard-drive. And if you'd like to catch up on emails, phone calls and other long intended but perpetually postponed communications, the power is with you now.

Despite the negative rap they usually get, these retrogrades don’t have to be horrible. Occasionally frustrating perhaps, but not horrible. In fact, if used with some ‘indirected’ intent, Mercury’s ‘backwards’ behaviour can come in handy. Look behind you to see what needs to be re-ordered. Clean up, clear out and get ready for February. It’ll be full throttle ahead then and you’ll be happy you took some time now to finish up with old business.

But just in case there is some Mercurial zaniness, I asked my deck if it had any advice. #14 – Temperance was the card that showed itself. As usual – perfect!

Balance, calm and a willingness to communicate will go a long way to easing any potential stress. And don’t take things too personally. A ‘temperate’ attitude is recommended. Practical compassion can help steady even the wackiest of situations. Remember that you’re not alone – everyone will have to deal with some mess or other. Stay open to inspirational solutions and try grounding them with straight ahead hard work.

Why not buck the trend and celebrate this Mercury Retrograde. If things go haywire for a minute, or you find you can’t do things in the order you originally intended – don’t worry about it. Take a break, have a laugh, then get back to business. Things will be 'normal' soon enough. And when they are, they’ll probably run better than ever.

Obama, January 20th and the Hierophant

My obsession with determining the tarot card that represents birthdays and other important events led me to add up the numbers for January 20th, 2009, inauguration day in the United States. As it turns out, Barak Obama will become President on a day ruled by #5, the Hierophant. Makes sense. A new powerhouse is coming to town. And it looks like he'll be making some pretty serious decisions.

Interestingly enough, the day George W. Bush took the reins in 2000 was also ruled by the Hierophant. And didn’t he actually describe himself as ‘the decider’? The card was just as appropriate then as it seems to be for what’s coming. Looking at the different leadership styles of each man would be an interesting exploration of the hierophant energy, but maybe I’ll do that later. For now I just want to point out that there is an important difference between this time and last. Well, probably more than one but . . .

The card that represented January 19th, 2000 was #4, the Emperor. Inauguration day that year was actually the second day of a new pattern, one that suggested both a father’s influence and the war energy of Mars. This time around, the last day of the old administration is represented by #13, Death. The old pattern is done. Something is really ending and something new is about to begin.

And regarding the return of the Canadian Parliament from prorogue on January 26th . . . that date is marked by #11 – Justice (or Lust, depending on the deck). It should be one interesting year. Don't forget to let your officials know who elected them and why.

Rest In Peace and Joy Maria de Jesus

The oldest person in the world died yesterday. Her name was Maria de Jesus and she was born in Urqueira, Portugal on September 10, 1893. Seeing her birth date, I couldn’t help but calculate what tarot soul card represented Maria. Much to my delight, her birthday adds up to 13 – Death . I say it delighted me because it makes clear that the number 13 and the card it represents has very little, if anything, to do with mortal demise. She was around for a long, long time.

On the other hand, at least in Maria’s case, transformation proved to be a key aspect of her ‘13’ energy. After six children, eleven grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and 11 ½ decades on this planet, Maria watched the world shift. It’s hard to believe, but she lived in three different centuries. She didn’t read or write but wow did she witness transformation.

Just imagine - when she was born, Grover Cleveland was President of the United States and Leo XIII (notice his number) was Pope. Mao Tse Tung was a newborn and the Kingdom of Hawaii became a Republic. A Republic! - not a State – that didn’t happen for another 66 years!

Weirdly enough, Maria’s birth year also marks the anniversary of the first electric car (apparently built in Toronto) and the year Henry Ford (alive and inventing at the time) perfected his first gas engine. After all these years, it looks like the automotive battle is still on.

Of course, anyone who lived as long as Maria de Jesus would have seen a lot of things, regardless of what day they were born and what tarot card might represent them. I just like writing about her because she stuck around for so much more than most of us do and certainly deserves a shout out. And with lucky 13 as her number, her story makes such an excellent point.

There’s a new oldest person in the world now. Her name is Gertrude Baines and she was born in the US on April 6, 1894. Her soul number adds up to 14 . . . interesting, doesn’t fit with my theme, but still interesting . . .

Have fun with numbers and don’t be afraid of 13!

Tarot Economics - 2009

According to news reports around the world, the global economic downturn has led increasing numbers of people to seek out the advice of tarot readers and psychics. My own business hasn’t seen a significant change in either the number of clients or what they’ve been asking, but time will tell. As we enter this new year, the economy certainly is at the forefront of people's minds so I decided to go ahead and ask the cards what they had to say about it, or at least how we might react to it. My question to the deck was: What advice do you have for weathering the economic conditions in 2009?

Amazingly enough, the card that appeared was the Nine of Cups – the one Crowley’s Thoth deck labels ‘happiness’. Hmmmm… what kind of advice is that when the whole world looks about ready to fall apart?

In the Golden-Waite image, there’s a guy sitting on a bare wooden stool, wearing a long mumu-like garment, striped black and white. His face is calm, almost smiling. On his head is a bright red hat and he’s wearing socks to match. His shoes are brown, his stance balanced and confident. Behind him is a high curved table draped in blue fabric, almost like a waterfall. Nine gold cups sit on the table above his head.

The first thing that strikes me is the stool. Looking at it, there is a certain austerity to this card. The essentials are what’s important. No extravagance here except maybe the guy’s outfit. The message is about finding love of life in simplicity. Where can we pare down while not cutting out that which is most important, that which truly makes us happy. We need a place to sit, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Of course sometimes the fundamentals are difficult to determine. Each one of us will have to figure out what they are to us. Looking inside is a good place to start.

Despite the serious potential for challenging times in 2009, confidence and a quiet enthusiasm is still recommended. Try to look at all sides of your situation and see how the disparate elements of your life might work together rather than fight against each other. This card reminds us not to let emotions overwhelm, but rather to see them as a continuous flow of potential inspiration. And don’t ignore what you’ve already achieved. So much of your strength going forward comes from the work you’ve already done. Give yourself the credit you deserve and keep building from there.

Happiness has no one meaning, but within this context I think it’s about the strength of attitude necessary during tough times. It can be found in the confidence of knowing that no matter what, you can face your fears, get up again after being knocked down and use whatever is around you to build the physical world you require.

The Nine of Cups is not delivering an airy-fairy ‘think positive in the face of catastrophe’ message. It’s asking us to find our power by looking inside and honestly evaluating what we have, what we need and what attitude we wish to take, no matter what the rest of the world seems to be doing and thinking. A primary theme in all the Nines is the importance of looking within to find strength and direction - whatever the global or local trends are. Remember that trends are nothing more than averages. Where you end up on the continuum of any average is a completely fluid matter, and surprisingly enough, most often up to you.

Tarot Spread - New Year 2009

1. What to Leave Behind in 2008 – Knight of Cups
This is a lovely card full of hope, fun and a growing emotional maturity. At first glance I thought – “oh no, I don’t want to leave love behind”. But of course, that’s not what it means at all. Or at least my take on it is that what we are being encouraged to let go of is the idea of a savior on a beautiful white horse ready to whisk us away to eternal bliss. We don’t have to give up the Knight himself, just the fantasy that he’s going to save us. Let’s try to look at him, or more to the point, our hopes, dreams and expectations realistically. Nothing, nobody and no situation will change our lives unless we take part in that transformation. In this spread, the Knight is moving to the right, towards the card representing what to take with us into 2009. He’s moving away from emotional immaturity and irrational delusions while stepping forward towards a new, more defined energy. One that doesn’t simply wish, hope and talk a sweet line, but acts, and acts with directed passion.

2. What to Take Forward into 2009 – Queen of Wands
After the dreamy energy of the Knight of Cups, the Queen of Wands is a shot of high powered electricity. Let’s take this energy into the New Year and get our internal lights really shining. Spiritual maturity, career growth and a general zest for living are some of this Queen’s gifts. We’re being asked to step into ourselves and stand (or sit) tall. This is a year to let the world know what each one of us is made of. Have confidence that being true to what you believe and directing yourself towards higher ideals, will lead to success, individually and as a society. It’s not about pushing yourself or your point of view on others, but rather about being sure that whatever anyone else is saying, thinking or doing it’s not a threat to who and what you are. Disagreements will surely arise, but there’s no need for winners or losers, one power dominating all. If each of us gets a grip on ourselves in our own simple ways, and acts within the truth of our souls rather than our egos, 2009 could be a powerfully transformative time.

3. Positive Path for 2009 – 8 of Wands
Clear and swift communication is key this year. Be it increased business networking, sharing with family, friends and neighbours or letting our governments know how it is we want our communities run. One way or another, it’s a year to get the word out. We’re forever sending our thoughts into the ether – emails, twits, live conversations, facial expressions, mind doodles of every kind. But so often we do it without consciousness, then appear surprised by how others respond. Take 2009 to seriously consider how you communicate, to whom you are communicating and what it is you’re trying to say. What you put out there is what’s going to fly right on back – and in my experience in greater quantities than what was first sent out. If we communicate a confused mess of passion, ego and ill-considered thoughts, the world will answer in kind. Let’s see if this year we can actively use the incredible new communication tools for good. And in our personal and professional interactions, stay true to ourselves and open to the messages being sent to us by others.

2009 is going to be fantastic. Let Love, Joy and Enthusiasm for Living fill your Heart this year and beyond.