Why the Prophets are Human

In my last tarot reading I quoted a Rumi poem - Rumi is a Sufi poet who rhapsodizes over Spirituality and love, but the poem I was recalling was more prosaic than that - it was about why the Prophets are human -

A Woman came to Ali, "My baby has crawled out
on the roof near the water drain,  where I cannot go.
He won't listen to me.  I talk to him,
but he doesn't understand language.

I make gestures.  I show him my breast,
but he turns away.  What can I do?"

Take another baby his age
up to the roof."

The woman did so,  and her child saw his friend
and crawled away from the edge.

The prophets are human for this reason,
that we may see them and delight
in the friendly presence
and crawl away from the downsprout.

(Mathnawi, IV, 2657-2669)

We were talking in the reading about how much do you have to know,  how self evolved do you have to be,  before you can help others.  And I said,  you can't be too far from the person,  you can't lead from 100 miles away,  it's easier to follow if you are only a foot or so ahead.  So as we are now, today,  we can help others,  because we are close to them,  close to the struggle. 

We don't have to know all the answers,  we only have to be a foot or two ahead;  and we can be over taken,  and helped ourselves.  It's much easier that way,  than chasing a perfection a hundred miles down the road... 

Nostalgia

I've been chasing this version for years.  I first heard this song in the 70's,  when my parents bought the original album.  It's haunted me ever since.  

I've heard Leonard Cohen sing it,  I've heard many others,  but this is the version that I heard first,  and like an imprinted duckling,  this is the one that holds true for me.   And then we moved and the record was misplaced and I hadn't heard it in years (decades!)  I've done the occasional search for it,  but never found it again. 

And then today, not even looking for it,  I finally found a perfect version of it on you tube.  Happy day! So I'm sharing my serendipitous find with you... 

I came across this on a forum I like,  and I've definitely been there - so I am sharing it with you,  because knowing that other people have been there too, makes the journey far easier! 

Relax
Ellen Bass

Bad things are going to happen.
Your tomatoes will grow a fungus
and your cat will get run over.
Someone will leave the bag with the ice cream
melting in the car and throw
your blue cashmere sweater in the drier.
Your husband will sleep
with a girl your daughter’s age, her breasts spilling
out of her blouse. Or your wife
will remember she’s a lesbian
and leave you for the woman next door. The other cat—
the one you never really liked—will contract a disease
that requires you to pry open its feverish mouth
every four hours for a month.
Your parents will die.
No matter how many vitamins you take,
how much Pilates, you’ll lose your keys,
your hair and your memory. If your daughter
doesn’t plug her heart
into every live socket she passes,
you’ll come home to find your son has emptied
your refrigerator, dragged it to the curb,
and called the used appliance store for pick up—drug money.
There’s a Buddhist story of a woman chased by a tiger.
When she comes to a cliff, she sees a sturdy vine
and climbs halfway down. But there’s also a tiger below.
And two mice—one white, one black—scurry out
and begin to gnaw at the vine. At this point
she notices a wild strawberry growing from the crevice.
She looks up, down, at the mice.
Then she eats the strawberry.
So here’s the view, the breeze, the pulse
in your throat. Your wallet will be stolen, you’ll get fat,
slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel
and crack your hip. You’ll be lonely.
Oh taste how sweet and tart
the red juice is, how the tiny seeds
crunch between your teeth.

Celtic Cross

I've been reading the cards for years now,  and I always start the same way - with a cold reading of the Celtic Cross.   In my skype readings,  I still make you shuffle the cards - that's where the magic lies for me.  So you have to have your own deck - either borrowed from a friend,  or one that you own,  and you shuffle it while we speak and then I direct you how to lay out the cards.

Basically we will build this shape: -

We start with the circle,  with the cross and a circle of cards around it,  and then have the staff grow along side it.  

After drawing 10 cards,  I then have the 'cold reading' - where I don't know anything about the situation (or you,  if it's our first reading) and just tell you what the cards tell me. Basically I do all the talking for the first 5 to 7 minutes.  Then you tell me what resonated the most for you,  what needs more unpacking, how accurate you feel the cold reading was.

Then I can answer any questions you may have.  Usually I can do 4-5 questions in an hour reading,  depending on how fast we talk.  Some people power through to seven questions,  some people are satisfied with exploring one. 

Usually after the reading I direct you to further explore one card or image,  to keep it around you (as a phone cover page,  by your computer,  in your wallet) to allow the energy of that card to remain around you.

Looking forward to reading for you,

warmly

Liat

Life's mysteries

I wrote on my facebook page that the other day I had made myself the perfect cup of tea,  and then today,  using exactly the same ingredients... not so much. Tea is a mystery.

It created a lot of chatter,  with all my friends having opinions and thoughts on all things tea (and coffee) but also on everyday mysteries.  Why is something perfect one day and imperfect the next?  What was different,  the tea or me?  I am always bringing myself into the room,  but which self am I bringing... all sorts of philosophical and metaphysical questions - all of whom go very well,  with a good cup of tea. 

I have seen the future...

I love science fiction.  The best of it can hold up a mirror to us today and show us what is possible, probable,  actual...   So Black Mirror is perfectly named.  It's a British series about disturbingly possible futures.  Season Three has come out on Netflix and I just watched the first episode,  Nosedive.

It felt to achingly,  truly possible.  We are in a pastel pretty society where all that matters is your social rankings,  and most exchanges with others are ranked.  Everyone walks glued to their phones,  watching their rankings climb or fall and some (not all,  but certainly our sweet heroine) longing for a higher slot that would get her into a better class of apartment, job, life.

So my heart ached for Lacie and the tortures she put herself through.  This episode felt completely real and possible to me and I don't want it.  It's easy for me,  I'm not really a native of this internet age,  and can take it or leave it.  But for those born in it, it's hard to shrug off.  This show reveals the dangers of that.

I recently read an interview with Pixie Geldof,  a girl born to both fame and tragedy,  and how she says it was so hard to turn into herself when the media was selling an idea of her when she wasn't even fully formed yet (the wild child,  the crazy named Geldof girl)

I think that's true for all girls (and boys) growing up on facebook, instagram and snapchat etc...  those images create perceptions and then all of a you is trapped in that box.  That's why I like tarot,  it's a multi faceted reflection of you,  there are so many cards to pick,  and all of you can be expressed through it...

Skype Readings

Life changes and you change with it...

In the near future I will be spending a lot more time in Sydney, Australia.  But I can still do readings for you,  where ever you are! 

We can read via skype or facetime.  But I need you to shuffle the cards,  that's where the magic lives.   You can use any deck you want (as long as it is a proper tarot deck with 78 cards.) If you are buying one specifically for our reading I recommend the Rider Waite Radiant.  

Once you have a deck, just email me - tribecatarotreader@gmail.com or text me (but no phone calls,  sorry) on 646-241-8244 and we'll set up a time and then the reading can happen in the privacy of your own home - or office,  or where ever you would like!

My readings are usually $120 for an hour or $70 for half an hour.  If you are buying a deck to read with me,  I'll pay for the deck and our first virtual reading will be $100.

Looking forward to reading for you!

warmly

Liat