One of three things, Part 1

When people come to see me,  they usually want to talk about one of three things - Love,  Work or Am I on the Right Path.   They can talk about all three of course,  but one of these is usually the initiating factor.

Before heading to the holiday season,  I though I would talk about love for a minute.  (I'll talk about work and path in January,  whose new year of 2020 is a benediction for clearer insight)

Sometimes people come to me,  saying they want to meet their soul mate.  I usually respond be careful what you wish for.  A soul mate usually arrives to teach you a soul life lesson - something which will fundamentally shift your perspective and force you towards growth.  It's never simple.  

People want the lovers card,  all fireworks and glory.

But anyone who has been in a long term relationship can tell you that love,  life long love,  is a marathon, not a sprint.  There is no couple that has been together for a significant amount of time,  that hasn't had downs as well as ups in their time together.  

That's why I prefer the two of cups for relationships,  where you face each other and give equal amounts of energy,  drinking from each others cups,  and filling each other up.

Much to be thankful for...

Thanksgiving is my favorite festival.  I hate the way Christmas has been co-opted by gift giving and Valentine's can feel so competitive or isolating.  But here all we have to do is think about what we are thankful for and eat together.  

I love that the meal is the same or similar every year.   I like traditional foods.  The very first time I cooked a turkey was our first thanksgiving in the US and I was in my 30's.  I went to the New York Times, found a recipe,  followed it to the letter and hey presto,  we had Thanksgiving.  Over the years I have modified recipes and my son has become the turkey master (as well as baking a really fabulous apple pie) 

And then to the gratitude part.  I love the idea of dedicating time to being thankful.  There is much to be thankful for,  even during the hard years.  It can be easy to focus on what is wrong,  harder sometimes to shine a light on what is good.  So I'm grateful to have time where the focus shifts and we think about what we are thankful for.

Here is one charming Thanksgiving story,  about chance meetings via text and continued friendship.  Which to my mind is what Thanksgiving can be all about... 

I'm wishing you light and goodness and a year that gives you much to be thankful for. 

Listening to your old readings

I always encourage people to record their readings.  If later they find that they don't want it,  they can delete it.  But if they do want it,  and they haven't done it, it's a disappointment... 

A regular client of mine said she realized it had been six months since her last reading and she felt like another one.  So she listened to her previous reading. She very sweetly told me she was amazed by how accurate it was in retrospect, the cards had picked every shift and had clearly seen what was going on at work long before she had.  

We did our first skype reading and that worked very well.  If you are looking to explore your current situation,  try the skype readings,  they work far better than people expect.  You need to have your own tarot deck, and then I get you to lay out the cards and we talk...  

Looking forward to reading for you,

Liat

So many tarot cards!

A friend just told me about the new Ikea Tarot Deck.  I love their blurb:  “Ikea is a place of transition, a journey, a source of light and comfort, but also strife. Ikea contains the universe. Harness that power to understand your own life with these cleanly designed Ikea themed tarot cards."   I may even get a deck.  

I love how many tarot designs there are.  I have a pintrest page full of designs that have caught my eye.  I own a few decks but do my readings with the traditional Rider Waite deck - it's the one I know best and easiest for me to read. 

Breaking in a new deck

In the past,  people have asked me to do skype readings for them,  and asked me to shuffle the cards,  while they look on,  a world away.  And all I got was mud.  I really need you to shuffle the cards,  that's where the magic lies for me.  So in order to do a reading with me,  you need to have access to a tarot deck.  You can use one you already own,  borrow one from a friend or buy one.  Often people get a new deck solely to have a reading with me.  

I ask that if you get a new deck,  break it out on the day you get it and start shuffling immediately.  It will feel strange. The cards are new and sticky and they are also weirdly large (nearly twice the size of a normal playing card) and it's not easy or smooth to move them around.  

That's why I ask that you shuffle them and rearrange them for about 5 - 10  minutes a day,  three to four days before our reading,  so you get the mechanical order out of the cards,  and get your own energy into them.  

Any way you want to shuffle is fine - some people crack them like card sharks,  some people smoosh them around,  some people are painstakingly thorough,  some people spill them out and pick them up again.  All of these are as good as each other. 

If you are borrowing a deck from a friend, just make sure you shuffle them frequently,  so that they become yours.  And then get your friend to reshuffle them when you return them. 

First reading

If this is your first reading with me - Welcome!  I'm currently in Sydney Australia.  Most of my clients are in New York City.  I now do most of my readings via Skype or FaceTime.  

For me,  the magic of the cards comes through the energy of you shuffling.  So in order to have a reading with me,  you need your own deck of tarot cards.  Any deck will do,  as long as it is a full 78 cards (some of the more decorative decks have fewer cards,  and that doesn't work for me.)  If you are buying a deck in order to have a reading with me,  I recommend you get the Rider Waite Radiant Deck 

My readings usually cost $120 for about an hour.  If you are getting a deck for a reading with me,  I'll buy it for you,  and the reading will only be $100 

Once you have the cards,  we set up an appointment.  Usually after 6 pm for you,  after 9 am the following day for me. (I find time differences weird!)  

You shuffle the cards we start the reading with the Celtic Cross.  I talk you through it,  but essentially you lay out the cards in this shape:

I start with what I call the cold reading,  knowing as little as possible about your current situation,  I go through what the cards tell me.  It usually takes about 5 - 10 minutes.  

Then you get to tell me if you what you thought of it - if you agree/disagree/have questions/have comments and the reading progresses...

I can usually answer about 3 questions during the reading as well. 

I encourage people to record the readings,  as we go through a lot of information, very quickly.  

If any of the cards are especially significant,  I will encourage you to look them up online but especially on my blog.  There is a wealth of information here and every card is gone through in detail. 

After the reading you pay me via paypal. 

I'm so grateful to my repeat clients who have bought their own decks and keep coming back to me for readings, so that even though I am far away,  we feel close. 

Absorbed by Light

I read this article the other day - about phone addiction and it's something I've been struggling with myself - I found myself getting headaches at the end of the day,  and realizing that a day without my phone games and voila,  the headaches are gone!  So my pastime is now causing me pain,  quitting should be easy,  right?  Well, not so much.  That's why this resonated with me.  

One of the reasons I love tarot is that it is a dedicated hour with no interruptions.  You have a conversation about yourself and what matters to you,  and it's focused and clear and all yours. 

I am now living in Sydney,  Australia.  I've been giving readings to all my regulars via FaceTime or Skype.  It's worked very well.    My tarot readings are dense - we cover a lot of information and get to clarity.  If you are considering having a reading,  drop me a line and we'll sort out a time,  you can have the reading from the privacy of your own space.