Intuitive and intelligent Tarot readings with Liat, an experienced and accurate Tarot Reader (it also can be fun)
Want to know more? contact Liat at tribecatarotreader@gmail.com
I put poems and songs up all the time. But everytime I see this image, it just clarifies everything so well for me, so I thought I would share it with you...
Sometimes equality doesn't help at all, or helps the already tall get taller but doesn't help you, the smaller one.
And equity can feel unfair - why don't I get a box when that shrimp gets two, but you can so easily see what's going when you look at it through this lens.
And finally, why was there a fence there in the first place? To protect the audience? to protect the game providers? to keep people out? Always good questions to ask...
It's really not good and not going to get better, I said. The only good news is, that you are not as trapped as you feel and you can get out of this situation.
He was making her feel very guilty about not moving in together, as his health deteriorated. But that is exactly what she was afraid of. They had never lived together, more his choice than hers, but now that he was frailer he wanted to move into her apartment. Her adult children were vehemently against it and when she looked at the cards, she could see that she didn't want it either.
I hope she listened to her intuition and the cards and didn't let these swords continue to dominate.
So there's a journey here. She's spinning right now, the wheel is moving, it could stop anywhere, but at least it's change. She's not stagnating. There is a warning about the Queen of Cups, who can sometimes get lost in her own dreams/ desires and not look around clearly enough. And then there is the sadness of the 6 of swords, a moving on with sorrow. No one wants these cards! But all this difficulty leads to the Ace of Cups, the card she really does want, a yes to love, a yes to emotional intimacy.
So the message for her was, she needs to go on this journey, she needs to let go of some of her dreams/ fantasies, she needs to let go of her past relationship and really let herself move on. I tell people that the 6 of swords is a moving on with sorrow, but at least it's not being stuck with sorrow! And then, and only then, once this hard work is done, does she get what she really wants.
People sometimes get upset with this kind of news - they want what they want, but they don't want to do the hard work to get it. And then it won't happen. The cards and karma are relentless like that. And she looked into my kind tired eyes and saw that there was no escaping the work of letting go of the Queen of Cups and the 6 of swords, but it would be worth it. And she sighed and agreed.
(These disney tarot cards are cute, but I wouldn't read with them, they didn't feel serious/nuanced enough. Though I did like Ariel as Queen of Cups, a girl willing to give up her voice in order to get her legs, is a girl who needs to look at the costs of her dreams!)
This can be a wonderful, celebratory day, or it can be something far more complicated.
One mother of adult children came to me to tell me how distressed she was because her adult children have planned nothing special for her this weekend. Another adult woman told me she hated this day since her mother had passed six years ago and her remarried father wanted her to celebrate it with his new wife.
Like Christmas, like Thanksgiving, complicated family dynamics can make for a complicated festival. If you are not getting what you want from the day, try to sort out for yourself what it is that you need, what can you do that will make it better for you. Perhaps coordinate a hotel brunch with your adult children, perhaps tell your father that are busy today but will see them next weekend. Perhaps go out with your childfree friends, perhaps acknowledge that your adult children are celebrating with their children and this is a more young child's festival.
But absolutely do something that gives you joy today.
Some days are difficult, some weeks are full of tasks that you don't want to do. It can feel overwhelming. The 8 of swords dominating.
I really do feel that when these times happen, lists are such a friend! I write lists just for the joy of crossing things out. I write lists so I have things timed and dated as to when I did something, so if need be I can look back and see how and when things were done. I write lists because the edges of the notepad contain the anxiety I have, and make it manageable. Yes, there might be 20 awful things on the list, but if I do one a day, then in 3 weeks, it's done!
For a minute there I felt like I was living in the world of "there's a hole in my bucket" (that reference was old in my childhood, I know!! Also talk about weaponized incompetence, that song is dreadful!) But slowly I got all my papers and everything I needed, and now my tasks, while annoying, are doable.
So that's what I tell my clients when they are feeling overwhelmed. Shrink each task into small manageable bites, don't overcommit, do a small bit every day, and set yourself up to succeed - don't try to do C when you know you need A or B completed first. Break it down so you know what you need and start with the simplest things and build upwards.
Today I closed a foreign credit card, I had all the paperwork in order, I stayed on hold for 45 minutes, and then, voila, it was done! Small triumph but sweet indeed! Use that Queen of Swords energy, and get things done!
Every so often I come across a new to me idea or approach, and I write about here a) so I don't forget it and b) when I inevitably mention it in a future reading, I have a good link to share.
L.A Paul is a philosopher and she became famous writing about transformative experiences, with having a child as a key example. The you that you may become post child is unknown and unknowable to the you that is thinking about whether or not to have a child. The act of having a child is so transformative that the you that decided to have a child just could not formulate how much this would affect you and what it would do to your life. Even if you thought about it very carefully and rationally, the unknowns are too unknowable in each particular instance, that on some level, you operate without truly knowing how this will impact you.
And the example she came up was the Vampire Problem. Let's say you are debating whether to become a vampire. You won't really ever know what it's like to be a vampire until after the event. So all your foreknowledge or research is not really useful, because the being that you are after the transformation may be so different to the one who made the decision and that being may have completely different values/agendas - because of the transformation that the old you decided!
What makes a transformative experience?
1. The choice is irreversible - in the case of having a child, it's probably one of the few one way doors in life (Love that phrase, it comes from Sebasatiano Merlino on threads. )
2. There is an experience gap: It is impossible for you to know how the experience will impact you until you go through it.
3. It is transformative: the you that is deciding is not the same you that will deal with the decision.
I like this. It's just a way of look at transformative experiences and giving us some idea of how to think about them.
I think I'm drawn to this right now because I am going through a transformative experience of my own - from wife of 38 years to widow, and it soothes me on some level to know that it doesn't matter what I try to control now, the me I'll be down the track may be so different, that these decisions may have completely different resonances. And that helps me to let go of anxiety. I can't control for it, I'm in the midst of it, it is happening no matter what.
“I want to stay hungry, but not in a way where I’m always chasing something I can’t quite grasp, telling myself my life will be better once I have ‘that thing’.”
It's so important to not be complacent but also let yourself be fulfilled. Hard balance to strike. To help, I focus on the tarot card Temperance
A client came to me and talked about how ashamed she feels about the state of her apartment. And I was so pleased to be able to give her this excellent line - "shame is the enemy of functioning" which comes from the very kind and gentle book, How to Keep House While Drowning, by KC Davis
We often moralize over things that overwhelm us - so not sticking to a diet, not keeping a spotless home, not going to the gym - these aren't matters of life choice and scheduling, but instead feel like moral failures of the worst kind.
So I'm here to tell you that you are not an immoral person for not doing these things. But if there are things you really want to do, and you are not doing them, then perhaps instead of judging and being mean to yourself, you look for support. And yes, sometimes support looks like going to a tarot reader. And often support looks like taking a helpful book out of the library. And then scaffolding yourself (great phrase learnt from my son's preschool!) to help support this new habit you want to establish.
So read this book - or any other that takes your fancy. Grab the one or two sentences that help you, and let yourself do a small helpful thing once a day, until the mountain shrinks back to a molehill, and it all feels more manageable.
One of my main defences against anxiety is to name it outloud to myself - I am feeling anxious and I need to do something about it. So what do I do? There are many studies that show that going into nature - walks, swimming, gardens - can definitely help. Putting your feet into sand or grass, into the water's edge or earth, that can help ground you.
But sometimes nature is far away, and sometimes getting dressed to go out into nature feels a bridge too far.
I have found guided visualisations enormously helpful. I've been recommending Belleruth Naparstek for years! And I'm still happy to recommend her.
But lately I've been listening to Kenneth Soares, who I found on Apple. I mentioned to him to a client recently and she excitedly said she listens to him too. We both discussed how we can't place his accent (he's definitely not Australian, as some have suggested!) I said how I found his comments that I don't have to relax at this moment, just gave me permission to relax; whereas others telling me to take a deep breath and commanding me to relax just made me more tense! (I'm so contrary, I know.)
I always stress to people that I find the ideas of guided meditations very helpful, but many individual speakers don't work for me at all. If you don't like these recommendations, don't feel bad. There is a whole world of guided meditations out there. Find one that you do like, and that should help soothe you.
Grief is such an odd creature. It just swoops in, at unexpected moments, to wash over you.
And I guess I just have to remind myself that I'm on the beach, and grief is a wave that sweeps in and splashes me, and then sweeps out again. And the next wave may contain joy, or serenity, or more grief, who knows... but the beach is a healing space for me and I like waves.
Maybe I can step back a bit and not get splashed so much, but what's the sense in that. I always want to be in the mix of life, so I just let the water flow...
I did my first tarot reading since my husband died and it was good to talk about something other than me! It was good to feel competent and professional once more.
One thing I find difficult in my life right now is that people don't want to talk about their realities, because mine is so pressing. But all of our realities are important to us, and I want to share in other people's life and stories. I can't bear it being only about me, it's both too heavy and too boring! So I'm happy to hear about my friend's family weddings, meet a new grandchild, see the photos from the zoo. And I'm happy to hear from clients too! I love tarot readings and doing them makes me feel more normal.
So if you are thinking of getting a reading, drop me a line, or whatsap / text me and let's see what we can work out...
My husband has been ill for many years now. It was a slow progressive illness which kept branching off into new and terrible complications.
He died last Wednesday, April 1st, Erev Seder in the Jewish Calendar.
I veer between calm and sadness, between acceptance and grief.
Or all at the same time, sadly calm, acceptingly grief struck. I cry a lot and then just as suddenly stop, like a tap that doesn't know whether it's off or on.
Just want the universe to know, what a magical man he was, and how sorry we all are to lose him. He was much loved.
I revisit this poem from time to time. The first time I read it, I was still menstruating and I kind of smiled at it. But having reached menopause some years ago, this poem grows stronger for me each passing year. I think this is why we need poets to write about our own experiences. Otherwise we just miss their amazing perspective and reframing of our lives...
Things just go in waves around me. I read something online and the next day someone talks about exactly the same thing in a reading.
So this weeks theme is Adulting. Who's good at it, who isn't, what does it even mean?
Online a person was upset that all their friends appeared to be moving forward career wise, while they weren't. During the reading my client didn't get into the MA course she really wanted, while her friend got into hers.
And I said that the old saying - Comparison is the thief of joy - is just so true! Of course we don't know what else is going on in the other person's life, but I like to mention Bob Fosse, who after winning both an Oscar (for Cabaret) and a Tony (for Pippin) in the same year (!) had a small nervous breakdown afterwards, because who could ever follow that up again?
So try not to let your own or other people's successes overwhelm you. Try to find joy in the small moments and let yourself breathe. It's tough out there and contentment is a real gift you can give yourself.
I often encourage my readers to get self help books. For a minimal cost, if you get just one sentence out of it, it's a fabulous payoff.
I watched a video (of course it's about Heated Rivalry, but the topic is much broader than that) about facing your worst fears.
And the one sentence I took away is Self judgement doesn’t debate, it stamps a verdict.
And that is so true. I meet people for tarot readings and their self judgement so often puts them in a corner that they can't seem to find way out. And the cards are often so clear for them. And kinder to them than they are to themselves.
Self judgement feels like facts, like reality. If you can give yourself a bit of space from these core self judgements (eg I'm a loser, I always pick the wrong guys, I'm bad with money) you can start to see that they are not reality, and you can shift them. Hard work but so worth it!
I had a conversation with a client the other day and it reminded me of an old post I had written some years ago. I looked up that post, The Universe Hates Me, and it was from 2012, so I think I can repeat it now!
Sometimes we are really struggling to find something - a new job, a new friendship, a new anything, and it feels like all the winds of chance are blowing against us. It's uphill and difficult and successes are few and far between. A real 10 of wands feeling.
So one question we have to ask ourselves is - are we walking in the right direction? My 2012 article was about work - he hated work, and it hated him back. To me, it was clear that he was in the wrong job, and it was time to move on.
With love, sometimes people want an idealized figure to give them status, or to make them feel better about themselves or fill something up inside them. They are looking for something a loving relationship really isn't meant to give, and so they can't find it. All those young men who want a gorgeous, submissive perfect woman, without thinking about what a real relationship looks like, well they don't find it. And that's because they are looking in the wrong direction.
Life, fate, karma, whatever you call it, has very strong lessons for us. And if we don't listen the first time, it comes back with reinforcements! So if the wind is blowing really strongly against us, is the wind wrong or maybe we should turn around and let the wind give us momentum.
Recently a client used a phrase I hadn't heard before and I just thought it was perfect. She was complaining about her husband and said he just has this 'want a cookie' energy. She caught my puzzled look and said, every time he does anything, just normal adult stuff, like unload the dishwasher or move clothes into the dryer, he acts like he should get a cookie/reward for it. (paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it) She's tired of him wanting praise and cookies for just doing basic stuff, while not giving the same back to her.
That was a really good observation and one hard that's hard to fight. It's hard when things feel unbalanced. Her 2 of cups was reversed and the 5 of swords was hovering. We had a serious talk and I recommended counselling. These feelings can so easily lead to contempt, and contempt is the marriage killer.
I’ve been writing it for over 17 years and have put a lot of love and thought into it.
There is lots of information about individual cards, groupings of cards, and how I read them.
I also keep a facebook page, and they don’t overlap, so if you’ve been coming here regularly and want more, please go to my face book page – I put twice weekly updates there, some funny, some serious, hopefully all inspiring…
How to make an appointment
Want to have a reading?
I lived in Tribeca, downtown Manhattan, for over 14 years but have since returned to Australia. I do all my readings virtually. If you want to have a reading please email me at liat@albanyconsult.com or text me on +61 477 043 555 and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Please note that readings are by appointment only. At this point, all of my readings are virtual. You get to the do the reading from the comfort and privacy of your own home. The only thing I need you to do is shuffle the cards. So you need to access or own a deck. At the reading you shuffle and lay out the cards with my help, and then I read them for you...
Tribeca Tarot Reader offers something deeper and more profound than most tarot readings. Tarot is not so much a way to see the future as a way to see how the present is creating the future, and gives you the opportunity to change the present to create the future you want.
Tarot looks at the energy flowing in your life, where is it strong, where it is stickier and we talk about options you have. I am the only reader at Tribeca Tarot Reader and have a diverse background - 2 degrees from 2 different countries, years spent as a psychotherapist, and addiction counselor. I've also worked in recruitment and a dating agency and have a deep and abiding belief in the tarot.
I see amazing coincidences, details I could never have known revealed by the cards. Come and see your connection with the cards and what they reveal...
All my readings are virtual, so you can have a reading from the comfort and privacy of your own space. I also encourage people to record their readings if they want (on your phone or computer) so you can listen to it again as we go through a lot of information, and it can be helpful to hear it again.
