Your Future Self

Sometimes I don't want to do something minor,  and I make myself do it by telling myself that my future self will be grateful for this.  My future self,  busy in the morning,  will be glad that the dishwasher is empty and she can just load new coffee cups into it, so I'll empty it before I go to bed.  My future self,  coming home from work,  will be grateful that the coffee cups were put away and not making the apartment smell of stale coffee all day.  Those sorts of discussions.

My future self is also sometimes happy about big things.  When you spend all those years studying for a degree,  when you take that second job so you can save a deposit.  When you sacrifice now to get rewards later,  then that's a big thank you to past self,  for being so organized for future self. 

In tarot,  we look at how the past affects the present,  and colors the future.  We can't do much about changing the past,  but we can do a lot about how much we let it color the future.  And we can do things that help out our future selves,  whether it be tidying up or eating better or the big things - letting compound interest work it's magic on our savings,  or walking away from toxic/destructive situations. 

So think about your future self,  and how to best support them,  when acting in the present.  And your future self will be grateful. 

Royal Musings

I moved from Sydney to London in the early 1990's.   I told people it would have been easier for me if I had moved to France.  I would have known I was in a foreign country then.  But I was Australian and we had shared history and language - and the same Queen! - surely I was 'home'.  England was very different to Australia and for the 8 years I lived there,  it was like wearing a shoe that never quite fit,  and always gave you blisters.  

One thing that was easy to follow was the flood of images about the Royals.  I lived in Notting Hill for a time,  literally across the road from Kensington Palace. Diana and Charles were at the nadir of their relationship and the press was all over it.  To find a topic of idle conversation at a party or a bus stop,  we could talk about the weather or the Royals and often we did both. 

So I've followed the Royals for some time.  After the birth of my son in 1997,  the first time I went out of the house without him, on my own,  was to see the waist high mound of flowers outside Kensington Palace gates, in mourning for Princess Diana.  The thing that struck me most was the smell,  that cloying, rotting smell of dying flowers.  It was overwhelming. 

And I've followed Diana's boys as well,  as a sort of follow on.  I always thought Harry should marry a nice Scottish girl,  to firm up the connection to Scotland and keep them in the loop.  If we were organizing dynastic marriages, that's what I would have done.  But in the real world we marry for love, spiritual connection, healing,  so many things.  And Harry chose Meghan. 

And of course,  every move they made,  every breath they took,  was spun one way or the other in the tabloids.  I kept thinking to myself,  stop monitoring the Press.  That's how other Royals do it. They sweep through their days,  go to their endless openings and closings and meet hospital folk and well meaning government employees and drink endless cups of tea,  and stop for a photograph and then don't read the press.  But Meghan and Harry were too of their generation and simply could not avoid the sordid mess. And it drove them crazy.

If they had retired to an estate in the UK,  to lead their quiet lives,  I would have been 100% supportive.  But they wanted to use the Royal Sussex branding and sell goods on line?  I could see why the Queen would say no to that.   And if they wanted to do humanitarian work,  well surely that's what the Royals do best.  Why leave then,  if you want to use your profile to shine light?  Instead they wanted to be celebrities in California,  and that seemed a far less noble goal to me.  To sell their story/their truth/ their version of events endlessly.  

I often do tarot readings for people who have had really difficult childhoods,  that continue to influence them. And I say you can blame your life issues on your childhood but after 33,  the year of the crucifixion and resurrection, you have to take responsibility for your own actions and can't keep blaming your past for your present decisions.   You can be an adult.  That's a saving grace.  You could have had a terrible childhood but you don't have to recreate it or be guided solely by it.  You can start to make other choices.  

I'm sorry that Harry is collecting grievances and examining them endlessly.  And I'm really sorry that he is doing to others what he claims was done to him - exploiting private conversations,  not respecting others right to privacy.  I fear that this won't stand him in good stead in years to come. 

I hope for all the Royals that this furore will die down soon,  and we can all go back to reading terrible news about war and misery. And that explains why it's so soothing to read about the Royals instead - it feels important,  but it's not.  It's a bit of delicious schadenfreude to read about the miserable rich,  and not focus on how very hard some of our fellow humans are having it right now.  

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New Year Wishes

Evaluating the past year was easier pre Covid.  Now surviving seems accomplishment enough!  I'm speaking to a lot of people who have some anxiety getting back to the world as it was before.  Others are just pushing forward, having run out of energy for Covid precautions. 

Frankly,  I'm glad 2022 is nearly over and looking forward to a fresh start with 2023.  My blessings for everyone is safety and warmth.  May you get what you wish for in the new year.  

You can't always get what you want

Sometimes we want simple solutions to complicated problems.  What I love about the cards is that they can show black and white but also nuance and complexity.  Often we want to draw the Ace of Swords - to cut through the confusion and get to clarity.  But sometimes we don't want clarity, we want the outcome that we most desire,  as opposed to the solution that is evident.  

I was doing a reading for a complicated divorce situation,  and he really wanted his soon to be ex wife to accept the solution he was offering. But the cards kept showing resistance and conflict.  It was not until I asked him to describe the outcome from his wife's point of view that he began to see what the cards were telling him.   He didn't get to the outcome he wanted,  but he did get to clarity,  and from there he could move forward.   Sometimes we can't get what we want,  but if we are lucky,  we get what we need.*  

*with apologies to the Rolling Stones :)

What do you do for a living?

When I was living in Tribeca,  I was a member of Community Board 1,  a form of local government. When I interviewed for the position,  I remember being asked what my agenda was.  And I naively replied,  I just want to serve the neighborhood,  I don't have an agenda.  So I got the position.   It was far more political than I expected, but we were able to speak for public school assistance,  for restaurant licenses (and neighborly consideration) and about new residential development (always political!)  

One of the more established members (I was going to say older,  and he was older than me,  but it was more that he had been around the traps a lot longer than I had) once complimented me on my handling of these diverse and often competing claims and then he asked me what I did for a living.  I told him I read tarot cards.

"But you appear so intelligent!" he exclaimed.  

"I'm intelligent when I read the cards,  as well."  I smiled. 

The other day a new acquaintance asked me what I do and I told her,  and she said do you like it?  I said that I get to talk for an hour about things that matter to people,  and explore how to help them get the outcomes that they want - and that I liked it very much.   

I really do enjoy meaningful conversations and a sense that I can help give clarity.  

So if you want a meaningful conversation and more clarity around your life,  drop me a line - liat@albanyconsult.com or text me +61 477043555 and we can set up a time.

Looking forward to it! 

Questions

A while ago I did a reading for one of my repeat clients - a woman in her 40's with great energy, a bright smile,  but work situations had not been easy for her.  She kept drawing the Page of Cups R,  she feels out of sync,  they don't 'get' her,  she offers her quirky,  out of the box sensibility and they just look puzzled. 

So one day she comes and asks,

Should I wait till I finish my MBA before changing jobs?

And she drew 

Fool R / Strength / King wands R

The fool never means you are being foolish. Rather it is the start of a new journey,  the very first card of the tarot,  where you walk out with a song in your heart and you don't know where you are going.  But her fool is Reversed.  She is not progressing,  and she is not journeying.  Instead, she feels stuck.  

She is strong and capable,  there is no doubt about that,  but her King of Wands,  fiery, passionate,  outgoing, is also reversed,  her bright energy dimmed,  her anger growing. So I said,  no,  stop waiting.  Waiting is blocking you and slowing you down.  Rather,  turn your Fool the right way around,  and move forward,  then your king will also turn and you'll have the kingship you deserve.  

She liked that very much,  she knew her job was pulling her down,  but was scared to move with so much on her plate,  but the job was not easy and her plate was already too full,  a new job could actually energize her more.  She did change jobs and it did work out better for her. 

That's why I like repeat clients.  I get to see how the tarot was used and if the predictions worked! 

New Clients

 

Lately I've had a flurry of new client requests. New clients are always welcome! 

All my readings are virtual now, so you can do them in the comfort and privacy of your own home.  But for me, the magic of the tarot lies in the cards being shuffled by you,  getting your energy into them,  seeing where they land.  So I need you to access your own deck.  You can have one,  borrow one or buy a new one.  If you are buying,  there are so, so many out there,  but please be sure to buy one with 78 cards (some of the prettier ones don't have a full deck,  and that really doesn't work for me.)

So you've bought a new deck - I recommend Rider-Waite Radiant but any 78 card deck will do.  You shuffle them - any which way you like - for a few days before hand,  getting your energy into them.

Then we meet via facetime, skype,  whatsap, zoom at the appointed time.  I talk you through laying out the Celtic Cross Spread - it will look like this:

And then I do the 'cold reading'.  Without knowing much about you or your situation,  I tell you what the cards tell me.  I talk to you for about 7 - 10 minutes   After that,  I ask you what resonated,  what didn't,  and we go through the cards in more detail.  Finally I can answer some direct questions - usually 3.  You are welcome to record these readings.  

Tarot can't predict too far ahead - there are too many variables, energies can change.  But the cards can give a pretty good indication about the next 3 to 6 months,  and show you where your energy is strong,  and where it needs more support. 

The readings take about an hour and cost $120.  If you are buying a new deck for our reading,  I'll pay for it,  and the reading will cost $100.   If you are a new client - or an old one! - grab and deck and text or email me,  and let's see what we shall see... 

Looking forward to reading for you,

warmly,

Liat