Sasha Graham's Blog, page 3

 

Are you a fan of the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck?

I am thrilled to let you know my latest book Llewellyn’s Complete Book of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot  is available for pre-order on Amazon.

This is a journey into the Rider Waite Smith deck like you’ve never seen before. It is part of the “Llewellyn’s Complete Book of” series. Titles from other authors include; chakras, astrology, etc.

Pamela and Waite are the main sources for the card meanings as I take you into the heart what Pamela and Waite were doing when they created the deck.

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Waite’s Pictorial Key and his other commentary is deconstructed to discover Waite’s essence in each card.

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There’s no way around the Tree of Life when it comes to understanding the Rider Waite Smith deck and that includes the astrology, numerology and Golden Dawn’s esoteric secrets that come along with it. You can’t examine the Golden Dawn without understanding Freemasonry and its influence. Everything is explained in simple, understandable terms.

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78 Spreads are included ~ you know I love spreads, ha! Each spread is built around a specific card. Questions and themes come from each card.

Writing this book was a life changing experience, like no other. The historical research at the New York Public Library and London, leafing through Pamela’s original artworks and colorings, holding Bram Stoker’s letters in my own hands along with YB Yeats’ own letters and pamphlets, the deeply spiritual river coursing through Waite’s words all made for an extraordinary journey!

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Synopsis: Originally published in 1909 to little fanfare, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot went on to become the bestselling tarot deck of all time. This thorough guide shares an in-depth exploration of the fascinating history of this important deck, a complete analysis of what each card means, and 78 spreads to help you integrate each card’s unique spiritual energy.

Explore Waite and Smith’s involvement in the Golden Dawn, the most influential magical order of the time. Discover how they combined their knowledge of astrology, Kabalah, metaphysics, mythology, and theater to realize their profound vision. Llewellyn’s Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot delves deeply into the roots of these influential cards, exploring how artist Pamela Colman Smith and occultist Arthur Waite brought together an enchanting and beguiling set of esoteric symbols and formed a magical deck that continues to serve as the model for most other tarot cards that have been published ever since.

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If you love tarot, Llewellyn’s Complete Book of the Rider Waite Smith deck this is a must have book.

Cast your cards well!

Xo

Sasha Graham

How do you end one of the craziest years in recent memory? With a party, of course! Family and friends, current and former students of The Tarot School gather in Manhattan every January for our annual keep The Holidays Going Party. Bill Brady, my hubby, makes a fun poster for us. This year, being the year of the Jedi, we stuck with a Star Wars theme.

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We gathered at my favorite local organic and sustainable wine bar Lallisse on Madison and 30th Street.

[image error]The Tarot School’s Keep the Holidays Going Party, January, 2018

Tarot authors peppered the table. There’s Scott Martin, author of Bringing the Tarot to Life sitting next to me at the head of the table.

Angelo Nasios, author of Tarot Unlocking the Arcana and the fabulous new Tarot Tracker, A Year Long Journey is sitting three spots behind me.

Ruth Ann Amberstone and husband, Wald Amberstone sat at the other head of the table. They are the creators of The Tarot School, The Readers Studio and authors of The Secret Language of Tarot and Tarot Tips.

I am the proud author of Tarot Diva, 365 Tarot Spreads and 365 Tarot Spells 

[image error]Tarot author Scott Martin and me at the party. We are both Tarot School alumni.

It occurred to me, all of us published authors at the table had Wald and Ruth Ann to thank for it. Their Reader’s Studio was the venue where I met Barbara Moore and pitched her the idea for my first book, Tarot Diva. A few years later, I watched Scott Martin do the same thing. I’m pretty sure Angelo began his relationship with Schiffer Books at the Readers Studio as well.

[image error]From left, me, Angelo Nasios and Ruth Ann Amberstone of The Tarot School.

It was a gorgeous night, wonderful to see old friends like Dina Berrin and Ferol Humphrey and make new ones.

Reflecting on the evening’s laughter and joy, it was a testament to the community Wald and Ruth Ann have fostered over the years. The Tarot School opened its doors long before the age of the internet, before tarot lovers connect inside online communities. They offer live Monday night Tarot Salons and a slew of tarot courses. Year after year, they host the Readers Studio where friendships are made, book and tarot deck contracts are signed and where deep, transformative tarot work is engaged in. I am deeply grateful to call them my teachers.

Check out these books from the Tarot School and their alumni:

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P.S. ~ If you are a fan on Facebook Live Streams, this FB LIVE  broadcast with Anthony Guy Parker happening Monday night, Jan. 15th at 9pm on Facebook.

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What is a Tarot Card a Day?

A Card a Day Tarot is a standard and enjoyable practice for many cartomancers. A Card a Day is setting aside about five minutes each morning to quiet your mind and pull a random Tarot card. The information you gather from the card can be used for contemplation, a head’s up for the day’s energy, a possibility to reflect upon or anything you like.

I’ve been doing it every morning for more than ten years and always look forward to it. It’s usually performed after a flurry of morning activities when I reclaim space for myself.

Had a run of dark cards, recently. Tarotists usually recognize each card has light and dark, no card is “good” or “bad.”  But sometimes, you wake up, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the last thing you want is the Nine of Swords staring up at you (or crying onto her hands). Especially, if you are in a great mood. That’s when I came up with a “Choice Card.” The Choice Card has been officially ingrained and I love it!

What is Choice Card?

A Choice Card is a second card pulled after your Card of the Day.  The Choice Card reflects an option that will be available to you all day long.

Example:

[image error]Pulled a Card of the Day – The Five of Swords.  Reflecting on the card, it looks like negativity might be flying around. I may get sucked into it. Fives in Tarot always reflect challenge and the Five of Swords suggests watching your powerful words carefully.

[image error]Pulled a Choice Card – The Eight of Cups. I decide the available choice is ~ no matter what I do today, I can push myself further ~ denoted by the figure walking away and taking a “high road.” Today, opportunities for advancement are available. The solar eclipse on the top left of the card reminds me there’s a unique magic to this day.

Why is a Choice Card Awesome?

A Choice Card is a reminder that the future rests firmly in our hands. We are not slaves to fate, fortune and destiny. We create our life. We can choose love, peace, passion and pleasure.

A Choice Card is the ultimate daily reminder of your personal power!

Xo

Schedule of Sasha’s Upcoming Tarot Classes and Retreats:

Tarot Master Class

July 22nd, NYC 1 – 4pm 

[image error]Aum Shanti Tarot Masterclass and Panel with Rachel Pollack, Robert Place and Sasha Graham.

Master of the Tarot Retreat

August 4th – 6th, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY

[image error]Omega Masters of Tarot Retreat with Mary Greer, Rachel Pollack, Sasha Graham, Theresa Reed, Barbara Moore.

Northern New Jersey Tarot Meet-Up

September 21st, Butler NJ

[image error]Sasha Graham is the guest speaker at the Northern NJ Tarot Meet Up at Soul Journey Bookshop.

UK Tarot Conference

October 13th – 14th, London England

[image error]Sasha Graham Key Note Speaker. Friday, “Tarot and Your Shadow Self,” Saturday “Tarot, Romance and Your Highest Self.”

Lo Scarabeo’s 30th Anniversary Event

October 20th, Turino, Italy

[image error]Lo Scarabeo is celebrating its 30th anniversary and I’ll be on hand for a slew of exciting events and classes.

Cast your cards wisely!

This article first appeared on SheKnows.com.

[image error]Energy is energy in the magical practice. It has no moral compass. Your challenge during difficult times, once stress, anger or angst takes residence inside you, is to work through the emotion without passing it on to someone else. If you allow yourself to wake up angry, hurt or stressed over what someone did to you (even if it was unfair and unjustified), you inadvertently become the owner of that anger and hurt.

A life event, media story or nasty behavior on your newsfeed can striking powerful emotional chords and stress you out. Acting out of anger, even while defending yourself, passes the energy on. It is like a ball being tossed back and forth or like the child’s game of Telephone except instead of a message you are passing on anger and stress.

Does this energetic rule mean you should stay silent when people treat you unfairly? Does it mean you should roll over and pretend nothing bad is happening? Absolutely not! The key lay in how you react to negativity. You can state your case, be proactive and make seismic changes in the world when you come from a place of peace and calm. What’s more? Peace, calm and love is what you start passing into the world.

Recently, many people feel like they’ve woken up in some strange Alice Through the Looking Glass Netherland where up is down and down is up. Tsunami like waves of emotion have echoes across the country in recent weeks. How can you get a grip and become proactive? How can you fight against feelings of helplessness? Below are a slew of delicious morning rituals that will empower you, heal you and make you and the world a happier, healthier place.

The Physical Soul – Revenge Body[image error]

Does stress make you want to get your body moving? Nothing clears the mind and body like a morning exercise routine. It doesn’t matter if you unroll a yoga mat, head outside for a thirty minute walk in the woods or try a new group fitness class. Exercise and endorphins literally change the chemistry of the body. You will feel amazing and accomplished.

*Magical key ~ In magical practice, intention is everything. Take a moment to set an intention before you begin your morning movement. Envision your desired goal. Are you a runner? Imagine you are running to your desired intention. Revisit your intention at the end of your workout.

The Activist Soul – Morning Phone Calls, Postcards and Action

[image error]Do you desire immediate gratification? Are you the type who jumps in to fix a situation? Set yourself up for success each morning to perform even five – ten minutes of activism. Have a call list ready to go, get postcards, stamps and your favorite pens, study up on actions you can take to make a real difference at the local level. Assess personal talents and figure out how to use them.

*Magical key ~ Take a moment to center yourself before any phone call. Imagine the intern/answerer on the other end and see yourself speaking from your heart to their heart. Do the same thing with any postcard, finding just the right expression for your feelings or point of view. Consider your talents and imagine what positive effect they will have on the world as you move forward.

The Artist/Writer Soul – Morning Pages

Do you love to paint, write, read and express yourself? Julia Cameron, author of the Artist’s[image error] Way, created an innovative system for creative breakthrough. Morning Pages cut through the “noise” in the head and the emotions in the hearts so artists can get down to their creative work first thing. Morning Pages consist of three pages of handwritten pages of blurt, stream of consciousness writing. No worries of spelling, punctuation, no need to ever read them again. Grab a notebook and start writing what’s on your mind. You’ll be amazed at how light and free you feel by the time you are done.

*Magical Key ~ Pure energetic expression frees the soul. Blurt writing, releases stress, anger, and angst onto the paper. This leaves the writer with a fresh blank slate state of mind. Possibility is unleashed. Space is created.

The Enlightened Soul – Gratitude Practice

[image error]A Gratitude Practice is a simple and effective morning ritual that has the power to change your entire day. Choose a partner to join you in your practice. Make a commitment to send a gratitude email to this person every day. Write a list of things you are honestly grateful for no matter how big or small. Never censor your gratitude and allow your instinct to guide you. Hit the send button.

*Magical Key – All of life is a projection of how we feel. A mind space of gratitude is powerful medicine for the psyche. There’s no room for fear and anger when you are in a space of gratitude.

The Curious Soul – Oracle/Tarot Cards

Do you delight in finding messages and clues? Flipping a daily card is meditational, quiets the mind and helps practitioners listen to their inner voice. Find a deck of oracle (oracle cards are usually centered around themes like Angels, or Mermaids or concern healing and/or uplifting messages, etc.) or tarot cards. Shuffle the deck. Randomly pull a single card every day. Consider the card’s message with your morning drink, perhaps journal on it. Maybe you revisit the card’s message at the end of day. You may also form a question for your card based on how you feel each morning.

*Magical key – Pulling cards takes the focus off of yourself and places it on the table before you. This distance gives the psyche room to cultivate solutions, make intuitive discoveries and encourages personal revelations. Morning habits, devoting five minutes of time to pulling a card, is quickly ingrained. This become the basis and building block for a serious meditational practice.

The Mindful Soul – Balancing Media and Social Media

Do you strive for balance? News and social media are forms of communication. We all want[image error] to stay informed. But the mindful soul sees that news is created to provoke emotional reactions and social media does not replace real time, in-person human to human communication and interaction. The Mindful Soul resets their news and social filters so they do not become bombarded with messages. They know that they are the ones controlling their technology and not the other way around. Choose a morning activity that promotes balance. Perhaps a guided meditation on your mobile device and streaming service replaces a morning news broadcast. Perhaps, a single message of love and empowerment is sent on out social media networks each morning. Perhaps, you write morning emails to people you love and admire telling them why they inspire you.

* Magical key – Harnessing personal power means exerting control over what you allow into your body. This includes food, media and technology. Owning your power, balancing it out, gives you the ability to shine your beautiful light across all who cross your path.

And with that, you will change the world.

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Tarotists specialize in deep listening. It is what we do best.

We listen and observe by cherishing our intuition and feeling empathy for our clients. We are often Empaths ourselves, picking up on the emotions of others and feeling them as if they are our own.

Tarotists harbor the unique ability to examine our reality as if the events of our life were cards in a spread. We can dissect and deconstructed everything that happens around us.

We deftly cultivate meaning behind symbols.

[image error]The Unites States and other countries are experiencing a Tower moment. The irony of Trump’s actual name being the same as the Trump or Major Arcana is not lost on any of us Readers. It doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum you rest, support or lean on, you can see it.

Protestors are in the streets. Immigrants are being denied entry to the country. Trump and his people are bullying, yelling and firing anyone who disagrees with them with dizzying insanity. They use “shock events,” like the immigrant ban, to throw the country into chaos.

What are we to do? How do we react? Cry? March? Freak out? Move to Canada? Applaud? Cower in fear? Is the new normal binge watching the news instead of “The Crown?”

The day after the election, I was asked to perform a Facebook LiveStream for the New York Post. It was filmed, ironically, inside the Fox News Building on 6th Avenue.

[image error]The post-election Facebook LiveStream was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do for two reasons.

One – Reading Tarot on Facebook LiveStreams is, by nature, chaotic and confusing. The producer yells out questions from across the room as they appear on the Facebook feed. Hundreds of questions and trolly comments come in at once. The producer sees the feed, the Reader (me) only sees the camera and cards. It’s awkward.

Two – The producers and myself were heartbroken from the election results. Everyone wanted to know what they should do now that a narcissist, racist, and misogynist had been elected. Plus, I had just walked through the halls of the Fox News corporation. Fox News was responsible for so many Republican talking points and they are so skewed to the Right that I was riled up just being inside the building.

I was unable to deeply listen to questions on that LiveStream. And I wasn’t deeply listening during the election because Trump appeared so absurd, I thought no one in their right mind would vote for him. I was wrong. But since that day, I have been listening.

Listening to the hundreds of people I walk past on NYC sidewalks every day.

Listening to people who voted for him.

Listening to the pain and anger behind their reasons.

Listening to the ocean and trees for their wisdom.

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Deeply listening to the machinery happening behind the scenes.

Deeply listening to those with specialized knowledge of politics and conflict.

My activism, like all of us in this moment, is a work in progress. I’ve never been confronted with events like this. Not even waking up on September 11th (we live about 50 blocks north of the Financial District) felt like this. I’ve never seen Americans pitted against each other. Never seen such venom and poison coming from elected officials.

So, as a Tarotist I continue to deeply listen and observe.

I observe your archetype, Trump. And it’s not the Tower.

It is the Emperor.

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The despot, tyrannical, impulsive, manipulative aspects of the Emperor.

We know that the Tower card represents the destruction of that which never fit to begin with, i.e.  Pamela Coleman Smith’s vision of the circular crown atop a square tower.

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My deepest prayer is that you are the wound that lets in the light. And that we will emerge a stronger country when you are gone. I truly believe we will be.

Because every Tarot reader knows that people are more alike then we are different. We recognize the destructive ability of fear because we help our clients work through their fears.

And we see you for what you really, truly are.

In the meantime, we’ll keep deeply listening… watching … observing … and reading events as they play out like the craziest Tarot reading of all time.

And we’ll tell our grandchildren about it someday.

http://visualtarot.com

“May the magic in your world leap into your heart like drops of fire and pulse through your veins making you feel just so good to be alive.” – Barbara Moore

2016 Reader’s Studio attendees will well remember Barbara’s exceptional master class on the art of magical blessings. Barbara’s recent blog struck me deeply. It offers a proactive solution in confusing times. It inspired me and I’ve included her words at the end of my post.

The last few weeks have been unimaginably challenging. The magical practitioner recognizes that anger and rage holds the same destructive power ~ no matter which side of the political spectrum one rests on. As above, so below.

The looming question? How do I counter the grief and anger that wells up with each disturbing headline?  How can I make a difference amidst the complexity? How do I clear a path toward peace, protection and respect for all people?

Each of us, holds a key. This key strikes at the core of the magician’s work. As above, so below.

For example, most of us have lived long enough to observe people we know repeat the patterns of those who came before.  Well-meaning, sensitive, smart individuals vowed never to act like their parents. But repetition occurs, the abused becomes the abuser, when people seek to fix external aspects of the problem rather than internal.

If anger, pain and grief is not dealt with on an internal level, it continues to thrive. It simply takes on a different external appearance. This is the trick and illusion of the material/physical/pentacle world. As above, so below.

The child of strict, rule bearing parents, grows up plagued by feelings of helplessness. They vow to do the opposite with their own children. They parent on the polar opposite side of the spectrum, imposing zero parental limits on their child. But the child’s end result remains the same. Given no limits, the child feels as helpless and as out of control as the parent-child who was forced to live with imposing rules. The paradigm flips but the outcome is the same. As above, so below.

To counter the internal grief, angst and anger of each morning’s disturbing headlines, I have vowed to acts of proactivity until my anger and/or fear is replaced with peace. As above, so below.

Some days I make financial contributions to charity. Other days, I write emails or make phone calls to politicians. Each and every day, I attempt acts of kindness to counter my angst. New York City’s pedestrian lifestyle offers ample opportunity to pass random smiles, hold someone’s gaze a few extra moments in kindness or make a joke.

Laughter is sacred, it breaks barriers and opens us up. Kindness is a drop in the pond. Love counts. Its ripple effects are infinite. 

Above all,  I am deeply listening. It is what we Tarot Readers do so well. It is the best thing I can come up with for now. It is what Tarot has taught me. Tarot teaches us to listen and observe. To look past the external and see beneath the veil. As above, so below.

Barbara Moore shares her recent experience. If you like it, please click on her bog and share her virtual blessing:

From Barbara Moore’s Tarot Shaman Blog :

“I had a really amazing experience last night and even in the midst of it, I knew I wanted to share it with you.

In the face of overwhelming headlines about the state of our world, it can be hard to know what to do to make a difference. Over the past few years, I’ve found little ways to make if not big differences at least small differences that could yield larger resonances. 

For the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve begun a little blessing practice. With all the fear, hate, and anxiety coursing through our society, I knew I couldn’t gather everyone into my arms and hold them to my heart until they calmed down. Instead, before going to bed, I bless my neighborhood and everyone in it. Each night it is different and I never know ahead of time what the blessing will be. Inspiration always came, like some wise and caring being whispering in my ear. Even though no one hears the blessing, it feels like some of the most powerful work I’ve ever done. 

What was different about last night is that after I finished the blessing but was still looking out of the window, I saw a car driving out of the neighborhood. As it was driving away, I immediately thought toward the people in the car “and you, you are taking this blessing with you and spreading it wherever you go; it is going viral.” 

Now the magical practitioner in me rose up all ethical and judgmental saying, “It is bad enough that you are blessing people without their permission, but now sending it out into the world like a virus…not cool!” But whatever. It felt right. If felt powerful. It felt like it came from my heart and from something/someone more than just me. 

In addition, it was a really cool blessing. Some that are whispered to me are more poetic than others. Here it is and I give it to you, too. Feel free to spread it or any other blessing. How often do you get a gift idea that is free and actually gets bigger, better, and shinier the more it is shared?

“May the magic in your world leap into your heart like drops of fire and pulse through your veins making you feel just so good to be alive.”

And here is a special additional blessing for you, my friends:

“May you move through this season with ease and grace,

as a walking blessing to the whole world.”

Thank you Barbara Moore for your beautiful post.

And thank you for reading this entry.

May you be filled with laughter, love and joy so that the extraneous falls into the compost making way for a new, stunning reality for all of us. #peace #joy #love

“Cooking food and reading tarot have much more in common than one might think. They both require use of your intuition and instincts. They require you to trust yourself.”

Sasha Graham, the Tarot Diva

In The Kitchen Tarot chapter of Tarot Diva, reader Sasha Graham matches the first ten Major Arcana cards — the personality archetypes — with our personalities in the kitchen.

Are we a topsy-turvy mess like The Fool, all brave with our eating choices and fearless when attempting a new dish? Are fresh herbs and seasonal organic eating the norm, like a High Priestess (and the female half of your radio team, evidently)? Or is the gleaming kitchen of The Emperor, all chrome and by-the-book cooking, more your style? It’s a fun way to bring the cards into our kitchens and more insight about ourselves into our food, too. And the recipes are both achievable for a timid…

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October 24th

We are all about using every tool out there to build our strongest selves and most loving relationships. So in this magical time of year, when the air and atmosphere are changing once again and we get ready to nestle a bit closer to the earth for the winter, how can we use the ancient practice of tarot to gain insight into our ever-changing inner selves? How can the cards offer guidance, wisdom, comfort, and challenge? What about the practice does pop culture misrepresent, and what about the tarot have to offer even the greatest of unbelievers?

On today’s show, tarot reader and author Sasha Graham shares how her experience with tarot has helped her to nurture and guide clients from all walks of life. How the lessons on the cards can inspire everyday moments, including the meals we make (like matching the Nine of Pentacles with a…

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We tarotists understand our journey with the cards is never ending. Whether we dive deep for new meaning after years of practice or are memorizing beginner catch phrases and words, one truth remains constant. We want to keep playing with our cards!

Lucky for us, the divine Theresa Reed has been working hard to create a Tarot Coloring Book to satisfy our hunger for tarot play and thirst for deeper knowledge. The Tarot Coloring Book is hitting bookstores and websites on November 1st.

Theresa is known for being plain spoken, pragmatic and practical when it comes to tarot. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Theresa for years. She’s crazy fun, always unexpected and carries a heart of gold right next to her cards!

Theresa was kind enough to share some thoughts about why coloring tarot cards will take your practice to a whole new level. Consider yourself in brilliant hands. Theresa girl, take it away!

 

Five Reasons Coloring Tarot Cards Will Make All the Difference in Your Tarot Practice. By Theresa Reed

If you’ve ever wondered if coloring might make a difference in your Tarot practice, I’m here to tell you YES. It doesn’t matter if you’re a total Tarot newbie or an old hand – breaking out the crayons (or colored pencils if you prefer) and coloring ‘em in will give you a whole new understanding of the cards…and a few other surprising benefits.

Here are the five reason why you may want to start coloring Tarot cards:

1. Coloring is meditative.

Look around any bookstore and you’ll see rows upon rows of coloring books. Adult coloring books are hot now – and many people report that it’s a form of therapy (http://www.medicaldaily.com/therapeutic-science-adult-coloring- books-how-childhood-pastime-helps-adults-356280). Coloring helps to relax your mind. And here’s how that can help your Tarot practice: the best Tarot readings happen when the reader is in a calm mindset. Many professional Tarot readers have a daily meditation practice because they know how important it is for their work. Start coloring and you’ll find that it’s a perfect way for you to get into that meditative mindset too. (Psst…getting your Zen on also leads to intuitive hits.)

2. Coloring your Tarot cards is an experiential way to grasp the meanings of the cards. 

I’ve never been one of those people that learns well by listening. (Reason why: I have issues with my hearing.) For me, I learn best by doing. I’m not the only one. Many people find that hands-on is the best way to “get something.” If you’ve ever struggled to remember the interpretations, coloring may help you to master them once and for all!

3. Unique and personal interpretations begin bubble  up.

Here’s why: as you begin to relax, your mind may begin to “see” new interpretations, ones that are aligned with your voice or philosophy. This will give your readings your own flavor rather than a carbon copy of every other reader out there.

4. You notice details that you may have missed.

For example: the snail on the Nine of Pentacles, the fish leaping out of the water on the King of Cups, or the battle scene in the Seven of Swords. This might give you additional – or deeper – interpretations.

5. Understand how important tarot colors actually are.

We often gloss over that part but colors have meanings too. Red is passion, blue is peace, and silver is illumination. As you color in the cards, suddenly the significance of those colors begin to come alive…and so do your readings.

Bonus #6.  It’s fun.

Why not take a playful approach and indulge your inner child? Get your crayons out and enjoy this pleasurable, relaxing – and educational – activity today!

Blessings,

Theresa Reed

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Thanks Theresa.

We can’t wait for your book!

 

365 Tarot Spells is shipping!

Please swing by Amazon and drop a review. Amazon reviews dramatically boost book sales. I’d really appreciate it!

Please enjoy the following article, first published in the Llewellyn Journal.

Tarot, Sacred Space and Your Magical Practice

by Sasha Graham

Do you recall the first time you cast a solitary spell? A real spell. Do you remember the moment when you took power into your own hands, lit flickering candles, burned tendrils of incense, called to the corners, created sacred space, and invoked your intention to manifest in the universe? It was memorable, wasn’t it? Like a teenager fumbling through the loss of virginity, there was likely an awkward reference back to the grimoire you were using, a bumbling pause to find right words, the correct order, or the proper invocation.

Your magical results were likely surprising and unexpected, as the best things in life should be. Our desires often lead us to places where unanticipated wonders await. Unforeseen pleasures are akin to synchronicity, the universe’s way of wrapping its arm around us, learning in and whispering into our ear, “Oh yes. You are on the right path.” And a good message is ripe for sending goose bumps rippling across our skin like a lover’s stolen kiss. These unexpected pleasures confirm. They let us know that we chose well.

Sacred space occupies the place between the mechanical aspects of spell crafting and the spell’s manifested results. As an author, I’ll often misspell the word “sacred” on my keyboard. Spell-check usually corrects it to the word “scary.” This correction makes for an interesting contemplation. Sacred space can be scary because it is powerful. Invoking power, transforming and manipulating the space around you (especially if we aren’t used to it) can be fascinating and frightening. It is easy to fear what we do not understand. Exploring and expanding knowledge of the unfamiliar yields marvelous discoveries, especially in magical or spiritual realms. And sacred space is remarkably different than ordinary space.

Sacred space is the pliable and expansive place where creative possibility exists. Sacred space, like a crossroads, becomes a threshold where multiple possibilities converge. The place where forest meets field. Where cultivated vegetable gardens meets wild thorn bushes. Where lips conceal unspoken words. Where inside meets outside. Where the known and unknown collide. It is the membrane, the very skin of our psychic reality. The sphere of birth and/or departure. A Halloween-like space where ghosts pass easily between worlds. The space in which we create something or where we leave it behind. This is the space where we readily meet our guides, goddesses, muses, angel, and totems. It is the space where prayers are offered. This is where we go in magic to envision ourselves gaining our heart’s desire. It is where we pass into the interior of a tarot card to interface directly with the Arcana.

http://visualtarot.com

To use the cards as a gateway, simply center the mind and enter the card using your consciousness to explore, as you like. Guided meditations are extremely helpful for this purpose. Tarot cards may be used at a gateway but, then again, anything can. It is important to remember you can enter an herb, plant, rock, tree, or any object just as you would a tarot card. You can even communicate with a piece of food for inspiration on how to prepare it. Have you ever “talked” with your morning egg before frying it up? If not, I suggest you try.

Our creative imagination is enveloped, supported, and cocooned by sacred space. It fosters a safe place for our creative imagination to merges with what is “out there.” When we find ourselves deep inside of a guided meditation and we “know” something is happening, how do we know it? When we are flipping cards and conversing with a loved one who has crossed to the other side, how do we know it is really a communication from them or our imagination? Is that true? Is it real? Did I simply imagine it? When do we realize the sleeping dream is a dream? Because up until that point, we believe it is really happening.

Sacred space is the place where those questions fall away and instinct becomes paramount. Intuition becomes our torchlight and our trusted guide. If there is a line between our personal imagination and reality, it must be fluid one. Perhaps, it moves like the ebbing sands the ocean threshold? We stretch ourselves naked, always the hungry shore, as the salty ocean repeatedly pounds upon us with thundering waves of the possible yet never quenching our thirst. Or is the line gauzy and thin like the earth’s delicate atmospheric membrane where we become the fecund earth and the sustaining oxygen bubble becomes the boundary between us and the possibility of an ever-expanding universe?

Is the sacred space made manifest by casting a spell always at our fingertips, unbeknownst to us? Is it not the sacred space that opens between lovers, bodies entwined, skin caressing skin, souls lit with passion fire? Isn’t this exactly the space that occurs for the painter and between himself and his subject? Between a writer and her journal? Doesn’t a walk in the woods reveal sacred space at every turn? The discovery of a waterfall, an explosion of roses, a craggy old fruit orchard reverberates with the magic of gateways, story and possibility?

When we transform space, are actually transforming the space itself, are we transforming ourselves, or is it a little of both?

If we discern the subtle difference of sacred space and creative imagination we realize how powerful we are. We recognize that our singular point of consciousness, own own point of view, is the filter of that which passes before us. We easily see that what we focus on becomes a reality. Each and every one of us is flush with the natural power that we already possess. Simply choosing to focus on a “thing” gives that thing power. We are a power source that brings other things to life and raises things to the light of the collective conscious.

Magical practice gives us an opportunity to experiment with the nature of how the universe is actually constructed. Science tells us that inside our atomic matter there is more “space” than actual “stuff.” And we don’t just spring from nature. We are nature. Our very bodies the residue of ancient stardust. All that space found inside of our cells and atoms the scientists speak of? My instinct tells me it is sacred. We don’t just create sacred space. We are made of sacred space. We are imbued with it. And creative pursuits and a magical practice help bring it out of us. So when we invoke magic, we really invoke ourselves. Ourselves as we have always been intended to be. Sensitive. Brilliant. Inventive. Authentic. Unique. Powerful. Knowing this, it is possible to weave sacred space beyond mere spell casting and into every aspect of our daily life.

Tarot Cards from Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven’s Prophecy Tarot

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