A quick look at the Knights of Tarot in a short video:
We hope you like it! Feel free to share with your friends.
This deck can be bought from our SHOP
Cheer me up, tarot!
Cheer me up, tarot! I’m feeling blue.
Is it possible? Well, let’s do this properly and not just grab a few cards out of the deck and ask ‘what’s gonna be good today?’ In fact, sometimes pulling a few cards can be downright depressing, and the more you do it the worse it can get. But that’s because the cards need direction from you – they’ll pick up all sorts of underlying issues if you aren’t much more specific.
So…….let’s get prepared:
Choose the tarot deck you want to work with. What else have you got? Crystals, candles, little ornaments, Reiki power symbols, dragons? I went through my own crystals, carefully choosing which of them appealed to me colour-wise and which appealed to my intuition. I have a sweet angel wing bowl which I chose to place them in. I spread a tarot cloth and sit the bowl in the centre. Then I stare at it.
I’m connecting with the Universe, and the Divine Source of All Power and Creation. I want the energies to heal me and make me feel good.
I say “I lay myself humbly down before You and the energies of the Universe. I feel sad (you could choose ‘hurt’ ‘unwell’ ‘trapped’ ‘guilty’) and so I open my mind, body and soul to the healing and help you can give me. I want to be cheered up. Thank you.”
Just looking at this bowl of cystals gives me a sense of happiness – it’s pleasing to my eye. I can see the space around the bowl and I’m beginning to see where I want the tarot cards, but first……….I need more colour, I need more ‘pretty’ before I am ready for the cards to come out.
I have some flower tea lights that my sister bought me, all different colours and flower shapes. I choose three, and, as I am thinking and forming this picture with these tools, I feel really peaceful. This is a weird analogy but it’s a bit like putting cucumber on tired eyes….a balm. 
The tealights look so pretty and they create a satisfying triangle – This is me at the base and all the pulls and tugs of life and the tip is the Universe and The Divine Source of all Power. They also represent my Mind, Body and Soul. So that is what the tarot cards will tell me about. There will be three cards on the left about me, from the top my Mind, my Body, My Soul. Then three cards on the right, showing what others see in me, Mind, Body and Soul.
But don’t forget I want cheering up. I don’t want these cards to be telling me what I need to do to get better at doing this, that, or the other! I want the cards to give me a pat on the back and tell me “Well done!”
I should make sure then, that I view the cards with a purely positive perspective, they will tell me (I hope) that I’m doing well in a sort of cosmic ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ way.
I’m pleasantly surprised. The cards are interesting and the whole set up is pretty as a picture! I’m enjoying faffing with the camera and taking photos as I go along. I’m feeling and enjoying the colours, and am loving the way the spread is looking, so, I’m not that miserable anymore, and I haven’t even read the cards yet. Let’s go:
About me: Mind: (The Sun) You are the sunshine, you are loving, thankful, optimistic, and lovely (Awww thank you!) Your mind is a pleasant place to be. Keep it that way and don’t go down dark alleyways. Stick to the light – it is where you belong. Body: (Nine of Cups) You are the kingpin in so many relationships – successful ones at that! You are really loved and really loving. Know that the effort you put in is what makes this happen. Be proud. Soul: (Two of Swords) Your Soul is as strong as your Ego. It’s a good balance. Intuition with discernment. You’re equally a being of light and a grounded earth person. You will not take things to extremes because each holds the other to account.
I’m pleased with this. After all, I’m only blue because I’ve done my back in slightly, and tired because there was quite a lot of childcare for my grandchildren needed last week. Generally I bask in the sunshine of my mind!!! Yay! I know this to be true – I am an optimist 😀
Hang on though, how do I come across to other people around me?
Mind: Queen of Cups. You are much admired, you’re approachable and easy to connect with. You make people happy. You’re beautiful (oooohhhhh). Body: The Devil. You face your demons and don’t allow yourself to be chained to unnecessary darkness. You are an example of how to be strong, finding ways to overcome things that would bring other people down. Soul: Six of Swords. You appear to be able to traverse difficult times with patience, and have the ability to see things through no matter how tough. You would be good to have at one’s side.
I feel good about this. But has this cheered me up? Well, I don’t feel like a magic wand has erased all my woes.
I get up and make myself my afternoon coffee (mmmmm). I check my emails, my Etsy shop and website stats. I have a message on Etsy telling me my latest purchaser LOVES her new tarot deck and so does her husband – she’s going to write a review soon. I smile. That’s good news. I see someone has liked my Facebook page. I smile again. I’ve written this blog – I’ve got some work done and I’ve really enjoyed doing it. Yes, I’ve cheered up. Is it a coincidence? Well, you make up your own mind. I know what my Mind, Body and Soul think.
Patricia x
Too late to start an adventure?
My Mum died earlier in the year. My husband and I lost our other parents within 6 months of each other just over 3 years ago.
We have been in a strange place for sometime as a result, and both of us have had to battle our way out of a kind of morbidity – on the one hand dealing with the loss of all of them and, on the other, realising we are heading into our own last third of life (we presume). I was with all of them as they died. You can’t help dwelling on the question ‘How will it be for me?’…………..a quick one I hope! But both my parents died of dementia and that doesn’t bode well for me. They didn’t suffer for too long but it was a really sad end for two really beautiful people.
SO, over the last year, we decided to make some changes. We sold our house, and we are buying a place together with one of our daughters and her family. We will have a large and, hopefully, stylish area for ourselves, whilst they take the main house. The main criteria for this was to pay off our existing mortgage so that my husband would be free of the responsibility of having to work (he likes working, though, so that’s a bonus) as well as freeing up some cash.
Our purchase of the new home has not completed yet, but we had to move out of our old house because it sold at the end of August. My husband and I are currently living in a small dining room, and a hot (when the sun’s out) conservatory at my daughter’s house, till the new one comes through……… so our little part of the new house will seem palatial after this! It will feel more like a bonus, than downsizing which it would have been if it were a straight move in from our old, pretty large, house.
It was important for us to make some changes in our life, to give us something new to think about and plan for, and ultimately it has benefitted not only one of our three daughters, but all of them – they are all going through life-changing situations at the moment, and it would seem the Universe has provided the solution, in terms of timing, perfectly for us all. When things work out well, it’s like getting a great slap on the back for taking a scary leap of faith. Whilst in some respects some of this is not particularly easy, it is becoming clear that it was very much the right thing to do, and, more importantly, we were right to be proactive in terms of making things better for ourselves.
Many of us are trapped in a rut, some hard and gritty, and some fur-lined, but each of them are limiting our lifestyle and capabilities. Finding ways out of that rut can be hard and scary, but often, once we’re free, we find the freedom invigorating and we are given new and even better opportunities.
Naturally, because of our loss, I am now able to focus more on our children and grandchildren growing and expanding into amazing human beings, instead of watching our parents struggle with their situations and illnesses, on a path leading to nowhere. It is a much more pleasing prospect.
I have thought a lot about illness and death just recently, and have been trying to come to terms with my aging body. I felt guided to do some yoga. I couldn’t find a local venue that provided what I was looking for, and so ended up buying a DVD of yoga for the over 50s. I am so chuffed! I found that I can do each of the poses in the sessions fairly easily, and also that I am more agile and supple than I thought! But the amazing thing is, after only two sessions, how vibrant and alive my body feels to me – right down to the soles of my feet; and I feel like each muscle in my body has been gently awoken and it feels amazing! I am not a gym waller, nor can I run (my ankles and knees give up straight away!), so I was struggling to find something that toned me up that wasn’t too excessive or too messy to do regularly.
I have started to suffer with a kind of arthritis, I think, as my feet and knees hurt when I get up out of bed in the morning – except for this morning, they didn’t feel half as bad! It’s early days yet, but instead of feeling that the inevitable onset of old age (I’m 59 – and it’s beginning to tell) can’t be avoided, I am determined to keep my body physically toned, through yoga, if I possibly can. I am so behind the times! I wasted years of not knowing how helpful it is! Ridiculous really!
I just wanted to say I know how easy it is to get stuck in a rut; I know how easy it is to fall into a pit of despond; I also know that no-one else will truly know how you feel physically, or emotionally, so no-one else can start to make those changes happen for you. I now know it’s never too late to learn, or to start a new adventure, or to be ready to flout convention and do something crazy like squashing yourselves into two rooms! We’re like two caterpillars cocooned ~ my husband and I ~ just waiting for the time for us to emerge as butterflies. Exciting times!
Happy Adventuring!
Patricia x
How do tarot cards ‘speak’ to you?
The question ‘How do tarot cards ‘speak’ to you?’ is a good one. Tarot cards ‘speaking’ to you does sound a bit airy/fairy and somewhat mystical, but it does happen. It is not something that can be taught by any particular method, and it is a personal thing, but I can show you how the cards speak to me by example, and this may give you the confidence you need.
Each tarot card comes with an intrinsic meaning which can be used on face value, but if you are asking the cards a question and a card comes out in an unexpected place, or in an unexpected way, a tarot card can prompt you to wonder as to what other aspect its meaning might have morphed into.
For example, I did a reading for someone, recently, who wanted to know whether he was going to get a job he had applied for, and all the cards were pretty positive about his chances…… except for the Three of Swords. This confused me because there is no doubt this is one of the most painful cards in the deck, and that card alone should have been screaming to me ‘No’, but the other cards were all really positive. Alongside the other cards in the spread I couldn’t categorically say that he wouldn’t get it, so I had to say that there would be something that would bother him about the application, that maybe he wouldn’t hear for a long time, or that he would be frustrated about the process along the way. In fact, the job was pulled and not on offer at all, which was really upsetting for him since he had called it his ‘dream job’! Unwittingly, the card had made me think of alternative possible meanings of the card in his reading, rather than the obvious intrinsic meaning which was that the job would never be his. With hindsight it is clear that the card was true to its inherent meaning, but it was not because of my client’s own making, or efforts – in fact the cards were saying he stood a good chance, however, the opportunity was taken away, not apropos of anything he did.
On a deeper level, the cards can speak to you through the images themselves, the colours, the idiosyncrasies, or in any way they give you ‘feelings’, or thoughts, over and beyond the main message of the cards.
Here is a photo of two cards I pulled this morning whilst trying to decide what to tackle in terms of work today. These two cards appearing stopped me in my tracks, because although I know the fundamental meanings of the cards, the images side by side made me look at the common features within them.
The first thing that struck me were the colours: the bold colours of the hooded figures contrasting the mainly blue of the two main figures of the cards and the blue hue of Judgement. The blue made me think of communication. The bold colours and the hooded figures made me think of real people watching and listening.
Secondly, both images are withholding something, they are a bit mysterious. What is being said, thought or read?
Both images are of a spiritual nature – but one heavenly and one earthbound.
There is a book in both images.
The altar is on pillars and there are pillars in the Judgement card.
Both figures are open armed.
There are clouds in the Judgement image which suggest an ‘Air’ card – intellect – and The High Priestess looks as though she is slightly in the air (levitating).
The fundamental meaning of Judgement is about being judged, or judging oneself (self analysis), on behaviours. You will be found out for good or bad. The High Priestess represents a new destiny unfolding in the background which is not quite ready to manifest yet, and the possibility of intuition/spirituality coming to the fore. I didn’t even really consider these meanings, I was too focused on the images themselves. But why?
For me, these cards were asking me to focus on some sort of communication (ie this blog – I haven’t written one for ages). I feel they were telling me I was caught between the unseen spiritual world, and not grounded enough in reality, to get on with my work. The open arms seemed a need to embrace something. The pillars seemed to represent foundations, back to basics on what my business is all about. In other words my head was in another place, wandering around aimlessly looking for what? I still don’t know, and that is why I was being stifled work-wise – I have had such difficulty getting motivated, or to be creative. The books were relevant…I needed to write. The colours of the hooded figures were to remind me of the colourful real world I live in, where others were looking for some help from me, or where I could get some interaction. The ‘mysterious’ aspect, I felt, was that I was not going to find inspiration, or get anything done, whilst my ‘head was in the clouds’, because I didn’t actually know what I was looking for. I have been mightily distracted (it’s true) and I had a blockage with regard to work.
So, this was an inspiration to blog, and how I was guided to write about ‘how do tarot cards speak to you’ and yet again, I am amazed at the power of tarot cards and how they can help us to work, and live, smarter. I don’t really feel I can articulate how all this pulled together because the images, the cards, my thoughts and my brain computed the information, and the thinking, and doing, happened simultaneously, just by being triggered by two tarot cards.
To answer the question asked: When you look at tarot cards in a reading, allow them to speak to you with their colours, items, and visual prompts, and allow yourself to go with your gut feeling as to what a particular card means, to you, at any given time; it may not happen every time you do a reading, and that’s ok. The more you use tarot cards, the more often it will happen and, just as with any personal expertise, you will know when the tarot cards are speaking to you – the next question is ‘Are you listening to them?’.
Till the next time,
Stay happy,
Patricia x
LIKE THESE TAROT CARDS? Buy the deck here for only £16.00