Lots of ten's

Over the past few years, I’ve gone through every single card of the tarot and looked at their meanings (just type the card you are interested in the upper left hand corner and it should appear!) Now I am looking at the numbers. I’m just finishing the pip cards – the numbers cards, and then it’s only the court cards left! What does it mean if we draw lots of 10's in our reading?



It means life is particularly action packed and intense right now. The 10’s link to the Wheel of Fortune, the card of karmic change. Tens are about completion but of course we’ve only really completed when we are dead, so at the same turn of the wheel, we start again…


10 of cups is when we want to hold the moment, have the ‘happy ever after’; 10 of pentacles is when growth and stability are hampered by tradition/family demands; 10 of wands is when the burden is too much and we feel like we are endlessly pushing the rock up the hill and the 10 of swords is when change is inevitable, we can’t survive the current situation, in order to be able to get up, we must change.


I read somewhere that the 10’s were the culmination of the physical and spiritual aspects of each suit, the end of the long road, and the last of the pip cards. If you draw a lot of tens, then you are coming to the end of cycle, but it’s an intense ending, with a bang, not a whimper…

September 11th, 2011

I live a few blocks from the World Trade Centre. We moved to the US in January 2002. I knew, of course, that 9/11 had happened, and felt horror and sadness and shock, but I didn’t understand what it meant that the city below Canal Street was closed; I didn’t know where Canal Street was. I did know that I found the Upper West Side completely overwhelming, and that when we moved into Tribeca in February, a mere 5 months after 9/11, at a time when most people were moving out, it felt like a small, quiet haven. There were often times when there were no cars on the streets at all in the middle of the day (almost impossible to conceptualize now) and when I walked around with my then 4 year old, people noticed us, said hello, seemed glad someone was moving in.


I’ve lived in Tribeca ever since, feel very much part of the village life here. I was president of the PTA at the local public school; I served for a few years on the Community Board, I’ve attended many meetings about restaurants and community growth, several meetings on the World Trade Centre specifically.


One year I accidentally booked some readings on 9/11, but I won’t do that again. The energy is too weird: too many people, too much grief, excitement, anger in the air. I won’t walk down there today. It’s too crowded and there is too much security. But I am glad that they are getting the pools filled. I look forward to walking by them one afternoon. My hope is that it will give a chance for reflection.

It’s all in the cards

Sometimes well meaning friends try to tell me that it’s not the cards that give information, rather it’s my training as a therapist, or my ability to read people, the cards themselves are so general and vague and the person can see whatever they like in what I say, they argue. But, I reply, I read for strangers every day, and every day I tell them something I could not possibly know, and it’s not vague at all, it’s specific and personal.

Recently I did a reading for a woman, and after 40 minutes of chatting she asked one last question about her mother. She had not mentioned her feelings toward her mother at all throughout the reading and this last question was almost an afterthought. She drew Star reversed/ 5 of swords Reversed / 2 of pentacles Reversed.


I looked at her and said you have a relationship where neither of you get what you wish for, either she or you feel like the other one is stealing their swords, and that you feel you are always dropping the ball around her and letting her down. And she gasped and said, ‘how did you know?’

I didn’t know… I only described that the cards told me…




The two gorgeous paintings are by Chidi Oyeke
Procession
Pot of Life

All information is useful…

I have been reading cards for over 25 years, both here and in the UK and in Australia. When I got to the US, I started reading for friends, and then friends of friends, but eventually that group started to wear thin. One day, in late 2009, I looked at the latest Groupon email and thought, maybe I could expand through them…

When I contacted them, their representative was not receptive. "No, we won’t consider you, you’re not professional."
What do you mean I’m not professional? I’ve been doing it for years.
"You’re not on Yelp, you’re not on City Search, we’re not interested."

And she hung up, leaving me feeling very unsettled and rather depressed. It took me a week or so, as I mulled over it, and I came to realize that she had given me really good information. So I looked up Yelp and Citysearch, and, shaking off any anxieties, I got myself listed on both of them.


In a full circle, about 7 months later someone from Groupon rang me - "We’ve seen your amazing reviews on Yelp and Citysearch, would you like to be on Groupon?" Their offer didn’t work out financially for me, but was I very pleased that they had rung!

That’s what I mean when I tell people all information is useful. Even when it is something you don’t expect or want to hear, once you know it, you can use it, and improve your situation.

Lots of 9’s

When we get 3 of one number, it usually intensifies the message of each card. If you get lots of 9’s, the end is within sight, but we are striving harder to get there.

The 9 of cups is contentment, striving towards the happy ever after of the 10 of cups. The 9 of wands is striving towards victory, but facing one battle after another. The 9 of swords is when the swords we carry turn against us, and the battle must be confronted before your anxieties ruin everything. The 9 of pentacles gaining entrance to the garden of luxury - the reward after the striving.


But if you get a lot of 9’s it means that there is an edge to your energy, a striving that isn’t being satisfied and isn’t complete yet. You need to go to the Hermit, the major arcana card associated with 9, and start to work through your own journey to get to the next state. 9’s are about figuring out what you are seeking and then finding it.



The first picture is by Ocean Surf Life by Gay Jefferson
And the second image is Striving for a Composed Image by Jason Altobelli

What is the difference between an astrologist and a tarot card reader?

Recently a few people have asked me what is the difference between astrologists and tarot card readers.


Both require in depth knowledge of their own particular field. I always say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I don’t know much about astrology, so I immediately tell people that I know nothing, rather than act on the small amount of knowledge that I do have. Essentially, both astrologists and tarot readers are looking at the patterns in your life, but astrologists are looking at it via the movements of the stars and sun and tarot card readers are looking at it through the energy revealed by the cards you draw.


I usually give the analogy that we are both musicians, but the tarot card reader is playing the piano while the astrologists is playing the violin. We can appreciate each other’s skills and don’t always replicate each other’s results, even though we are both making music…


I always like to credit the images if I can
The first image is Jack Frost by Christopher Mir the last image is from Alan Scheurman's CD cover Old Patterns and sadly I don't know who created the middle image.

Lots of 8’s

I've gone through all the individual cards and the suits, now I am looking at the numbers. What does it mean if we draw lots of 8's in our reading?


Whenever I think of the figure 8, I see it lie sideways, and make the shape of infinity… Eight in tarot is a number of karma and destiny. It also asks us to see things clearly.


I like the progression from the 8 of wands, energy wasted, to the 8 of swords, feeling trapped, to the 8 of cups, walking away with wisdom, to the 8 of pentacles, solidly back in the groove. The eights encourage us to evaluate our situation, let go of what doesn’t work, and make way for the new.

The image of the 8 in crop circles comes from psychedelic adventure
The beautiful quilt of the 8 of cups was made by Joyce Hartley