Asking the right questions

It’s interesting how you develop your own technique and then go on line and see that you are doing the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing! I always tell people when they ask questions to try and be as specific as possible, if they are too vague I always get annoying cards of ‘look to your intuition’, which doesn’t feel helpful at all!

I can’t answer a question like ‘what career should I follow’ but I can answer a question like ‘is teaching a good idea for me?’ So I’ve been encouraging people to ask ‘yes/no’ questions - specific questions, like will my relationship work out? Should I do an MBA? Is this the right job for me? Should I look for a new job right soon? Will I find love soon?


Then I read on line how some people think the tarot doesn’t like yes/no questions… I guess tarot cards respond to what the reader feels comfortable with. I like clarity, so when people ask me clear questions, I can help them find the answers.

Third Anniversary

Today is the three year anniversary of this blog. I’m very happy about that. I’ve put a lot of love and effort here, and feel really proud of it.

If this is your first time to the blog, I discuss all matters tarot here, as well as some themes that recur in my tarot readings. I started it to show people that I am serious and informed about the tarot, although the readings themselves are often full of laughter.


I use tarot to explore what is going on in your life in the here and now, and to see how where you are putting your energy today is affecting your future. I always stress that nothing in the cards is set in stone, there is always free will or random chance. But the cards do accurately reflect what is going on in your life today, and can predict from that what is likely to happen in the near future, and from that many discussions can flow…

Please explore around the site. In the beginning I wrote about what tarot means, and then about each of the 78 tarot cards, and then I explored what groupings of cards meant, and I’ll continue blogging about the readings I have the issues that come to light. Enjoy…

8 Measureable things…

I have read so many relationship books that I can’t remember where I read this or if it is an amalgamation of many books, but this is one thing I’ve often recommended in the past for couples who came to me for counseling.

Create a list of 8 measureable things that you would like your spouse/partner to do for you. Being kind or listening more doesn’t count, it has to be something concrete and quantifiable – e.g. Empty the dishwasher every day without being asked or thanked - or let’s have a designated night in the week where we go out separately, with our own friends – a clear measurable task or event where everyone can know if it has happened or not.. Women often write about household chores, men often write about sex, but not always…

Then you read each other’s lists and each agree to do 3 things on it. People often find their partner’s list fascinating – so this is what you really want from me, right now…

If you can’t manage that, then the relationship is in a sorry state and you need quick intervention/counseling. But most couples can agree and it’s amazing how quickly they feel better about things, as these needs start to get met in a way they can both recognize.


Of the literally hundreds of relationship books that I’ve read, one that stands out and that I happily recommend is Getting the Love You Want, by Harville Hendrix

Using Tarot for Personal Gain

A while ago my sister sent me this interesting article… and in it Alexander Chee was writing about how Tarot no longer worked for him, because he had been leaning on it too heavily as he read for himself how lovers felt about him and then no longer felt the need to clarify things with them, and not surprisingly his relationships started to fail.


I have to say it’s been years since I’ve even tried to read for myself. I can read really well for others, but whenever I tried to read for myself, I got mud, and couldn’t see anything. One thing I think, without trying to sound too pure, is that Tarot works best in service. If I serve others, it works, if I use to serve myself, it doesn’t. And that’s the kind of tarot I’m comfortable with.


The author in the article was like the one eyed man in the kingdom of the blind, giving himself too much power and then everything got blurry. But if you understand we are all short sighted, but the Tarot helps us look ahead with more clarity, that’s how it works best.

Beautiful top painting is by Ariel Brearly

Lots of queens

I’ve gone through the cards individually and am now looking at what groupings of cards mean – what does it mean if you draw lots of queens? Drawing lots of any card intensifies the message of each individual card. If you draw lots of Queens it can mean that there are a lot of women in your life, or a lot of feminine energy. It may mean you want more male energy to balance all these Queens or that each queen is a different aspect of yourself.



The Queen of Wands is fiery and sensual, The Queen of Swords is intellectual and can be cutting, the Queen of Cups is intuitive and empathic and the Queen of Pentacles is grounded and nurturing. And all these Queens relate to the Empress, who is fertile with possibility. I always stress that the court cards are really complex and need the context of your individual reading to make true sense of them. (of course, that applies to all cards, but court cards in particular!)

New Year's Wishes

Neil Gaiman said it beautifullly a few years ago:- May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.


Wishing you all good things for the new year...

Liat

My Current favorite review

I am so grateful when people write reviews about our readings. I'm up to 90 reviews at Citysearch right now, and if Yelp didn't filter most of the reviews, I would have 60 there (you can read all of them by clicking on the word 'filtered')

This is my favorite current review - from Citysearch
I went to Liat 6 months ago and I was so mad about my cards that I just wrote off our first meaning. Half the things she said were thing I didn't want to hear or thought they were completely wrong. After 6 months everything she said would happen has happened. I decided to go back to her and tell her everything and this time I had an open mind. She is truly understanding and you can tell she only wants the best for you and that you may not get the cards you want but take it in and do something about it. I will definitely see her again and have already recommend her to my friends.


And I loved it because it was completely true about her feelings. I remembered our first reading and I could see she didn't want to acknowledge what I was saying... but I can't change the cards. If that's what I see, that's what I report... So I was so happy when she returned and told me that she hadn't believed me and didn't like what I was saying and then everything I said came true and now she's ready to listen again...

A lot of the reviews talk about how I don't sugar coat things. But I've come to the place in life where I really do prefer a hard truth to a soft lie. If we start with truth we can get somewhere, but if we hide in lies, it's all soft and sinking quicksand and there's no way out...