You Pick the Card! -- Osho Zen, Vampire Tarot, Llewellyn Classic Tarot

Happy Friday! Here is our You Pick the Card for this week.

I have an interesting selection of decks to choose from this week: the Osho Zen, which is a very tranquil, mellow, wonderfully contemplative deck; the Vampire Tarot by Robert Place which is very dark and gothic; and the Llewellyn Classic Tarot, which I just purchased about a week ago. It follows the Rider-Waite system and the colors are refreshing, vibrant and beautiful. They really pop out at you.

Have fun picking your card and see you on Monday for our weekly draw. Have a great weekend!

Weekly Reading -- February 23-March 1, 2015 -- ANNA K TAROT

Hello and thanks for checking in for your weekly reading. This week I'm using the Anna K tarot.

As I explained in my video I have decided to start reading the cards as a whole rather than as segments of each particular week. I find that it's much more natural for me to read that way and it makes more sense to me. From now on I'm just going to let the cards tell us a story about the theme surrounding the upcoming week.

This week is all about work and developing your legacy. In order for us to enjoy that secure nest egg and enjoy time with our family, as well as hand down our money and traditions, we need to work hard to develop that base. It's much easier to do this if you enjoy what you do and see work as an extension of yourself, something you can be proud of. Do you enjoy what you do? Can you see yourself doing it for many years? Do you dread Mondays and going back to your routine or do you feel like you are following your path and fulfilling your calling? Obviously the latter is the far better option. If you're not doing what you love, find a way to do it. Make it your mission.

We could encounter a challenge in the workplace from a co-worker but if we treat this as the minor glitch that it is, it will pass us by with little effect. This could also be a family member, friend, or even a stranger. Don't allow the pettiness or immaturity of other people to affect you. Above all, don't let it jeopardize your work or concentration.

Hope you enjoy this week's reading and I'll see you on Friday for our You Pick the Card reading.

You Pick the Card -- Oracle Card version :)

Happy Friday everyone!

I decided to switch it up a bit this week and use oracle cards rather than tarot for our You Pick the Card reading. Oracle cards have a different feel than tarot cards. They are not as specific when it comes to a particular issue. Their messages are far more broad and general. I love them because their messages are simple to discern and their artwork is usually very soothing or playful. They just have a lighter feel than most tarot cards and they are a lot of fun to work with.

This week's decks are Denise Linn's Gateway Oracle, Doreen Virtue's Goddess Guidance Oracle (she calls them The Girlfriends because they have a real woman-to-woman feel), and the Fairy Tale Fortune Cards.

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Reading: February 16-22, 2015 -- Rumi Tarot

Thanks for checking in for another weekly reading. This week we are using the Rumi Tarot, a beautiful deck that features the poetry of the Sufi mystic Rumi.

Our cards for the week are the Knight of Staves (or Wands), Justice, and the King of Staves. Two main interpretations came to me.

Firstly, the Knight of Staves means that we are going to start the week with a very strong sense of drive, accomplishment, and purpose. The Knight is a person who is ambitious and driven. He has a task to fulfill. You could start out your week feeling very ambitious in business, career, or some kind of aspiration. You feel like you are on fire, driven to succeed.

By mid-week the Justice card shows up. Justice is all about truth, the black and white of an issue. The FACTS. This could mean that you need to pay a lot of attention to detail in what you're doing, especially in business. Be careful before signing any contracts or committing yourself to anything.

The King of Staves is our final card. Kings are masters of their realm, people who have reached their peak in whatever suit they represent. The Staves (Wands) are a suit all about action, creativity, inspiration and energy. This King is a master of accomplishment. He is someone who is very successful at whatever he does, whether it's in business, sports, or in some creative endeavour.

Interpretation #1: With the Justice card coming right before the King, this tells me that truth and facts are going to be crucial in order to progress to this level of success. Once again, pay attention to the details. Be cautious before signing any legal documents or verbally committing yourself to something. You might even want to seek legal advice or the wise counsel of someone you trust.

Interpretation #2 (and I think this interpretation is even stronger than the first): One very important detail I forgot to mention is that the Justice card also represents karma. Karma is all about reaping what you sow. How you treat others is how people will treat you. When it comes to your aspirations this week, no matter how ambitious or success-driven you feel, make sure you don't sacrifice your morals or step on other people in order to get ahead. That kind of behaviour will always come back to bite you in the butt. If you treat people fairly and behave with honesty and intergrity, success will be yours.

I think the Justice card is our main focus this week. How do you treat others? Are you behaving with honesty and integrity? Are you being vigilant not only about your own behaviour but about the truth, the facts? Are you seeing a situation clearly? If all is clear, we can do a lot of growing this week and it will end on a very high note.

Have a great week!

The Tarot Journal: An Essential Tool

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all enjoy some heartful, loving energy today regardless of whether you are paired up or single.

As promised in my You Pick the Card draw, I've done a little video on tarot journaling and why it's such an excellent practice for any reader or student of the tarot. As readers, we're always learning, whether you've only been reading for a year or whether you've been reading for twenty years. Tarot has a way of deepening your understanding as time passes and revelations are constantly coming. This is why tarot journaling is so valuable. It's a great way of adding to your knowledge base and I've always thought the actual process of writing things down helps to hardwire it into your brain. :)

I hope you enjoy the video. I included some long-lost footage (well, not lost, but it was recorded several months ago) of me in a Target store browsing for a new tarot journal.

Have a great weekend!

You Pick the Card! -- Angel Tarot, Rumi Tarot, Connolly Tarot

Hey there! It's Friday and time for another You Pick the Card!

This week our decks are Doreen Virtue's Angel Tarot, the mystical and magical Rumi Tarot, and the gorgeous Renaissance art themed Connolly Tarot. Pick your card and see what personalized message you get from the cards this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

5 Ways to Use the Tarot (Other Than Readings)

Hello everyone! I published my first newsletter today and wanted to post a sample of it here and invite all who are interested to subscribe. My newsletter will be published on a bi-weekly basis and it will feature articles and assorted little tarot goodies from me that you won't find anywhere else. If you would like to subscribe, here's the link from my website.

Fill out the form and be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss anything! In the meantime, here's a sample of my first feature article:

Five Uses for Tarot Cards

(Other Than Readings)

Tarot cards are extremely versatile and can be used for a myriad of different purposes. Here are just a few you can try.

1. Meditation

If you are interested in learning how to meditate or expanding your sense of a card, a great exercise is meditating on the card. Make sure that you are in a quiet place where you will not be interrupted for at least 15-30 minutes. Go through your deck card by card and see if any one card seems to “call” to you. There will usually be at least one card that you can sense is vying for your attention. Select that card and look at it. Study it very carefully, as if you are committing every detail in the card to memory. When you feel like you have a perfect picture of the card in your mind, close your eyes. Picture the card in front of you as if you are standing in that landscape. Look around you. Expand your vision of the card beyond the borders of the card. What are the sounds? What are the smells? What is the weather like? If there is a person in the card with you, watch them come to life. What are they doing? What are they saying? You can even interact with them if you choose. Spend some time “in” the card. When you are ready, say goodbye and walk away. Open your eyes.

2. Inspiration

If there is a particular trait that you would like to enhance in your life – for example, Strength – take out the corresponding card that represents the trait or theme you want to explore. Repeat the meditation exercise above but this time really concentrate on a dialogue between you and the person, animal, landscape (whatever is pictured in the card). It doesn’t matter if the card doesn’t have a person in it. You can have a dialogue with inanimate objects as well. What do you want to ask the card? What is the person or landscape in the card saying to you? What advice would it give you? Take your time and ask it whatever you want or need to ask. Keep a notebook handy so that you can record the messages you receive.

3. Breaking writer’s block

If you are a writer, tarot is a wonderful tool that can really jumpstart your imagination and get your creativity flowing. If your writing idea has stalled, take out your tarot deck and pick out cards that could represent the characters or situations in your work. Place those cards on a large table with plenty of room to play. Once you have your characters/topics laid out, go through your deck and pick three random cards. Do not look at these cards. Blindly select them. Now figure out where they could go and imagine how those cards relate to your writing. How could they change it? How could they affect the characters and the plot? What would the characters say to each other? Can you hear a dialogue between them? Keep going if you wish and pick more cards. Keep a notebook handy and jot down whatever comes to mind. This is a fantastic exercise to really get your creativity flowing … or get a piece of writing started.

4. Dream exploration

Tarot is a great way to connect with your dream world. Just for fun, pick a tarot card you would like to explore in a dream and put it under your pillow or on your bedside table. Take a good long look at it right before you put out the light and go to sleep. Set the intention in your mind to meet the character or explore the landscape in the card. See what happens. Keep a dream journal handy so that you can record any dreams when you wake up.

5. Just for fun

Tarot is a fantastic conversation starter. If you’re feeling bored when you’re hanging out with friends, bring out your tarot cards and have everyone pick a random card. Ask them to relate the card to something in their life. This can really spark some fascinating and fun discussions.

I hope you enjoyed this first issue of my newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and look for new issues on a bi-weekly basis.

If you would like a reading from me or would just like to browse some great tarot information, please visit my website:

https://tarotwonderland.wordpress.com/

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Weekly Reading -- February 9-15, 2015 -- VANESSA TAROT

Welcome to your reading for the week of February 9-15, 2015. Our reading this week is extremely interesting. Every reading is interesting but this one in particular seems to hold a very specific message for us.

Our first card is The Empress. She is the Divine Feminine, the goddess of the harvest, the lover, the nurturer. She symbolizes abundance, love, and growth. She is also symbolic of Mother, of all things maternal, which I will expand on in a moment.

The middle card is the Eight of Cups which is symbolic of walking away or leaving something precious behind us in order to grow. If we stay in a situation that we have outgrown or that is starting to stagnate, the positivity will evaporate. This card symbolizes that moment in time where we recognize things are about to decline. It's a good time to apply some preventive measures by walking away but we are reluctant or sad about doing so because of the past happiness. A lot of us can get stuck in this guilty energy.

Our final card is the King of Swords. He is the master of the mind -- a truth seeker, a person who thrives on logic above all else, someone who is very objective and rational. He is often a person in a highly respected position such as a teacher or professor, a judge, or a lawyer -- anyone who is known for their vast intellectual capabilities.

I have a couple of interpretations of the cards this week.

Interpretation #1: This week's message centers around the middle card, the Eight of Cups. There could be a situation in our lives that is calling for our attention. Something dear to us may not be working well anymore and it's time for us to acknowledge that fact. It's advisable to take action on it before it turns bad. The Empress and King of Swords on either side of the card suggest that we listen to the guidance of our emotions and our logical, truthful side to help us through this situation. Both are equally important.

Interpretation #2 (similar to #1 but a little more specific): As The Empress is symbolic of the Mother (among other things), this reading could indicate a need to set some boundaries with our mothers. A lot of us have relationships with our mothers that are fraught with enmeshed patterns. Many mothers can become over-involved in their childrens' lives and try to make their decisions for them. If this is the case with you, this reading could be telling you that you need to assert your independence from your mother -- with love, of course. Rely on your logical, objective side to assure yourself that what you are doing is right for you and don't allow any emotional manipulation. Tell your mother that you love her and appreciate her concern and advice but you will follow your own counsel. If you are a mother and you are always trying to control what your grown children do, this reading could be telling you that you need to recognize your behaviour and curb those tendencies. As a mother you want the best for your child but once they are adults you need to realize they are capable of making their own decisions. You simply need to back off and respect their right to choose the direction of their lives.

This week's reading is a great illustration of how tarot cards have many different and subtle nuances and can be read in many various ways. I hope you found the reading helpful. Have a wonderful week and see you on Friday for You Pick the Card!

You Pick the Card! -- FUN FRIDAY #3

Here's our You Pick the Card for this week! We got some very interesting cards, as usual. The decks used are the Simply Deep Tarot, the Vanessa Tarot, and the Anna K Tarot.

Which one will you choose? :)

Have a great weekend.

Quick Tour of My New Website -- Please Come Check It Out!

Hello there, hope you're having a great week!

I did a short little video today giving a quick tour of my new website. Please give it a watch and better yet, come over and visit for as long as you like! There are lots of fun features including info about all my decks, my favorite tarot books and links, links to tarot and oracle card hauls ... there's even a weekly poll!

Here's the link to the website.

And here's the little video I did this morning. Hope you enjoy it and see you on Friday for our You Pick the Card draw. Have a wonderful week.

Weekly Reading -- February 2-8, 2015

This week's reading could not be any more different than our reading last week! If any of you experienced the energies symbolized by the cards last week, then this week will bring a very welcome relief ... and even reward.

We start off the week with Major Arcana 19, The Sun, which is all about joy, freedom, and vitality. It's about feeling like you have permanently gotten rid of any shackles that had previously bound you and now feel free to burst forward with some well-earned confidence and wisdom. It's a wonderful card, symbolizing both physical and emotional radiance.

Our mid-week card is the Nine of Pentacles. This is another beautiful card symbolizing the attainment of financial and emotional security and the ability to enjoy it all. You have worked hard to get where you are and the Nine of Pentacles is telling you it's time to let yourself enjoy it. Bask in the knowledge that you truly deserve what you have earned in your life.

By the weekend, the Two of Cups tells us that we could meet a potential romantic partner or someone with whom we feel a very special connection. This could also be a business partner or simply a platonic friendship but it is a very special relationship, someone with whom you feel a kindred spirit. If you are already in a relationship, this card could represent a resurgence of romance or the feeling of a special connection between you. Enjoy it.

Energy, vitality, financial and emotional security, and even romance ... that's what this week's cards are talking about. It doesn't get much better than this. Have a wonderful week!