Taking the Incandescent Tarot Blog into 2019

I can hardly believe that I’ve been maintaining this website and blog going on three years now. What started as a home for my new tarot business has become the home to a full catalog of tarot card meanings, over 100 weekly forecasts, and a whole bevy of musings and more.

I almost wish you could see me when I first started to work on this site. I think my husband actually has a photo of me typing away while visiting my family in Hawaii, but I’m very sweaty in it and wearing a voluminous muumuu, so I’ll just let your imagination fill in the blanks!

Needless to say, there’ve been some lulls and spikes in action, and I’m now at a much different phase in my business and tarot practice. Which means… a few changes for this lovely blog that I hope will a) be more sustainable as my business grows and b) be more delightful for you amazing readers.

Seriously, I am so awed and honored to have you along for this journey. When I first started blogging it definitely felt like screaming into the internet void. How many people were actually reading about my takes on the court cards? As it turned out, not very many! But as I’ve stuck with it my readership has grown and each person who looks at my site is such a gift. It never gets old for me.

I recently posted an instagram story about what new content people would like to see here. (Despite the fact that whenever I say “content” a small part of me wriggles with discomfort. Because let’s be real, I’m less of an international tarot brand than a single person typing from their home in the woods of North Carolina.)

It turns out that a lot of you would like to see:

• more pieces about working with intuition

• more tarot spreads

• and more personal reflections

So far, I’ve had a much more educational approach to tarot here. It’s been lovely and I’ve built up a sizeable database of resources! I’ve been reluctant, however, to tie in the cards’ meanings with my personal experiences with them. Well, that won’t be the case moving forward, and it’s true: I’ve found that real-life personal connections with the cards are the most helpful when it comes to forming our own connections.

In other words, real-life stories are far more resonant than another set of card meanings to memorize.

So look forward to writing about my tarot practice, how I see the cards, and ways to integrate them into your daily life, as well as some deep-dives into the tricky topic of intuition. Not to mention a whole new handful of tarot spreads.

And my sincere and resounding thanks for being a part of Incandescent Tarot throughout this journey. (Yes, I mean you, too, person reading this blog for the first time!) It means so much to be able to do what I do and to share the joy of tarot with others.

Now let me know what you’d like to see below! And stay tuned for more tarot magic.

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Samhain Reflections

I lovingly joke that counting the times I hear “when the veil between the worlds is thinnest” during this season would be a full time job. It’s true that October, home to the holidays Halloween and Samhain, has a strong association with the otherworldly. I’ve always loved this time of year because it seems extra magical: when else are we permitted to play with the spooky, imaginative, and uncanny sides of the human experience with such abandon?

This is also the busiest time of the year for a professional tarot reader, so finding time to squeeze in my personal celebrations has been a bit of a challenge. And what’s more, there’s some tenderness and pressure tied to Halloween as well.

A quick trip through “witch instagram” will give you hundreds of examples of rituals and tarot spreads to conduct for Halloween or the pagan holiday Samhain. And, in true instagram fashion, all of these are laid out and photographed alluringly with candles, crystals, flowers - the whole ritualistic shebang.

So you won’t be surprised to hear that I was pressuring myself to come up with something meaningful, elaborate, and photogenic. And, as seems to always be the case, my internal judgment and expectations lead to… nothing.

To be fair, I’d been running around hosting a big party and reading at several others the weekend before. When the 31st came around I was plum tuckered out. And, since Halloween and Samhain deal with all things ancestral (what’s behind that thin veil), I had a lot of emotions tied to contacting them.

I think it’s easy to get caught up in the “shoulds” of any situation, and witchcraft and magic are no different. With instagram things get trickier. Those photogenic altars are meant to telegraph profound and developed personal practices. Many of them are. But they often gloss over the more challenging aspects and experiences.

For me, ancestral reverence and communication can be an emotional and complicated practice. Not all of us have straightforward or uncomplicated relationships to our ancestors. Many were complicated people making the best of a complicated time. Working with them can be an emotional experience and that side, I’ve found, is rarely shown online.

So instead of having a lush Samhain ritual, I simply sat and experienced my feelings. Grief, love, emptiness, and searching - all of them were enough to handle as I focused on making a very ancestral meal of pierogis/vareniki and relaxing the best I could.

And this morning? I got up early, clearer and more focused, and called my beloved ancestors into a circle for a tarot reading. The time was right and it was more than enough.

We're All Creative Creatures

“I’m just not a very creative person…”

How many times have I heard this phrase, both inside and outside of my tarot studio? It seems that most of us have a strictly “paintbrushes and poems” vision of the creative process. If we’re not engaged in the arts of music, painting, photography, etc. well, we’re just not creative.

I have a major bone to pick with this idea. Most of the people I meet have already made several creative decisions before they make it to my office. Maybe they took a new route on their way over or found an innovative solution to an argument with their partner from that morning. Maybe they tried a never-before-seen combinations of toppings at the salad bar! What I’m saying here is that creativity can be so interwoven with the mundane that we’re not even aware of it.

Take a look at tarot, for example. The Minor Arcana consists of four suits: wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. We embody all four of the suits as we move through life and the wands are most commonly associated with creativity. In the broadest sense they mean motion and putting ideas into action. In other words, simply moving through the world requires it. Many of the things we do have never been done before. They started as ideas and we bring them into being through our actions. It’s all part of being human.

Reclaiming our creative identity is massively healing. Behind all the statements of “I’m just not creative” is a secret longing. Simply be reframing our experience to include creativity in our everyday existence we open up further avenues for expression. That could lead to picking up watercolors as a hobby or just gaining the confidence of seeing ourselves as an integrated person, one whose creativity isn’t limited to the arts or our output.

Tarot Card for Creativity

• The Suit of Wands

• The Magician

• The Fool

• The Sun

• The Empress

• The World

• Three of Pentacles

• Seven of Cups

Creativity can look like…

• Problem-solving

• New projects

• Taking initiative at work, home, etc.

• Communicating ideas

• Organizing

• Decorating

• Artistic pursuits

• Planning

Grounding Techniques for Healers, Intuitives, & Highly Sensitive People

In the early days of my spiritual journey I remember going to an energy healer. I was still quite skeptical about all things woo and had a lot of resistance to the concept. During our first session, as she moved her hands over my body and checked my energetic systems, I remember staring at a wire tree hung with colored glass prisms thinking, "what on earth is going on right now?"

At the end of the session, however, she said something that profoundly changed my outlook and stated me on a rewarding exploration into energy work. And it was pretty strange. She said, "You're completely cut off from your legs. It's like they're not even there."

In all my questioning and skepticism I had to admit she had a point. I never thought about my legs. I felt like they were an immobile pedestal upon which my actual self was perched. I was taken aback. "What, those things down there?" I honestly started my concept of myself from the hips upwards. 

This started me off on a journey of reconnecting to my sense of groundedness. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking, I was clearly comfortable living in my head. But this got me into trouble. I was easily swept away by other people's ideas, feelings, and words. It was easy for me to lose myself since I had no connection to earth - my sense of actually, physically, being here.

For those of us who are drawn to all things intellectual, spiritual, and intuitive, grounding is an essential practice to add to our toolkit. It's an excellent form of self-care and, for those who work in healing professions, it's priceless when it comes to maintaining boundaries and doing our best work. 

Below are some of my favorite techniques for grounding that I've used over the years. I highly recommend them for anyone who finds themselves overwhelmed with emotions, energy, and sensory stimuli and wants to connect to their calm center.

My favorite grounding techniques for tarot and beyond:

1. Use Water

Engaging with water is a quick way to return your awareness to your body. In a stressful or stimulating moment, take a deep drink of water and notice how it feels running down your throat. Imagine it slowly percolating all the way down to your toes, cleansing you and returning you to the present. I like to keep a glass of water next to me during all my sessions so I can reset as needed and deepen my awareness. Added bonus? You'll be wonderfully hydrated.

Water can also be used after a healing session, difficult conversation, or stimulating event. This can be via a cleansing shower or bath or, more simply, washing your hands. At the end of each tarot session I like to wash my hands deliberately, picturing all the energies I've experienced being rinsed away.

I finish by making the shape of a triangle with my hands, joining the thumbs and pointer fingers of each hand around the stream of water from the faucet. I picture the water rushing up through the space around me. Whether you think of this as your aura, energetic field, or simply the air surrounding you makes no difference. It's a uniquely energizing way to clear and ground yourself before jumping back into the world. 

2. Touch some dirt!

You can ground yourself by touching the ground? Who would've thought! 

Interacting with the earth is a classic technique for a reason. It reconnects us with our physical being and the solidity of the world we inhabit. Simply make some time to walk around outside barefoot, preferably on some soft grass. Spend time gardening or tending to plants, allowing your stress to fall into the background and dissipate. 

Rocks and crystals are also excellent ways to get in touch with the ground. Carry one with you and hold it when you feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, or as if you're drifting away from your center. Imagine the stone absorbing all this energy. Afterwards you can recharge the stone by placing it outside in the sunlight or moonlight or simply on top of the ground itself. 

3. Visualize

There are many methods of using visualization to become grounded ranging from meditation to spellwork. Have fun researching them and asking around. Almost everyone has special tricks up their sleeves.

My favorite method is to visualize a stream of water exiting at the base of my spine. I picture all the energies I'm experiencing flow through me and then exit through the stream.  We often "hold our breath" energetically, allowing emotions, thoughts, and more to accumulate and build pressure. Simply turning on the tap is a surprisingly powerful way to keep yourself present and free of stress or buildup.

4. Focus on the Feet!

...and legs, and pelvis, and tailbone. You get the gist. Bringing awareness to our lower bodies is amazingly effective (take this from someone who avoided doing so for most of their early life!) 

If you find yourself drifting off, becoming stressed, or too deeply entrenched in another person's energy, think about your feet. Flex your toes, activate the muscles in your legs, and notice the points of your behind touching the chair if you're seated. I even like to kick off my shoes when I give readings.

Like the example above, it can be helpful to visualize energy entering and leaving your body from the soles of your feet. Think of the energy flowing with your breath and expand into all the corners of your body.

5. Get Moving

Think of it like shaking off excess energy. Go for a quick walk, do a little dance, or simply wave your arms and hands around as if flicking off something. 

Squats are an especially effective way to ground oneself, awakening our entire lower body and giving a satisfying sense of truly being here. And don't worry if you're unable or unwilling to do something epic. A quick gesture can be powerful as well. Imagine throwing off the energy, angst, or stress with whichever movement you choose. 

What about you? What techniques do you use to ground yourself? How have you found it useful? Please share in the comments below!

The Importance of Rest & The Four of Swords

I've just gotten up and am sitting here typing at my computer, bleary-eyed and just two sips into my first cup of coffee. It's shockingly late for me to be getting started with my day since I'm usually aiming to be up by six. Now, at 8:45, I'd normally be starting along a familair narrative of pressure. "It's time to get started already!" But this morning I'm not.

Instead, I'm wrapped up in the bliss of my body. I feel good. I can feel the heaviness in my limbs that comes when we really let ourselves go and get a full eight hours of sleep. And, to be honest, that hasn't happened in a while. Maybe it's the upcoming eclipse and full moon, but I've been spending lots of time tossing and turning in bed. Is there anything more frustrating than not sleeping well when you're so, so tired?

Not last night, hallelujah! And I'm feeling so much better for it. But there's a funny ticker-tape of information that's coming along with my newfound relaxation, and I think it has a lot to do with our culture's anxiety about rest. And, as with most anxiety, it's scattered and somewhat illogical. But the message is this: "Now I'll have to start over again," and "I'm missing out."

In other words, when we rest we're loosing opportunities.

This reminds me of a book I read while working as a salesperson in a jewelry store. The place was teensy and, due to the high price point of the jewlery, frequently deserted. Because of this I had a) boatloads of spare time and b) immense pressure to convince one of the few customers fo buy something.

Enter: The Little Red Book of Sales. The owner pointed out this small book on the shelf and suggested I read it as soon as possible. "It'll teach you everything you need to know about being a salesperson," she said. 

Now, as you may have guessed, I have a slightly rebellious and stubborn streak. Especially towards pressure-filled, capitalist sales techniques. So I managed to avoid this book for a bit, until I ran out of things to polish, sweep, or rearrange. And then I dove in and, hoo boy, was it full of gems.

The most disturbing statement, one that's stuck with me ever since, was a section about gaining the advantage over competitors that, to paraphrase, argued, "While everyone's wasting time sleeping, you can get the upper hand by learning as much as you can about sales/your position/business!" 

So... don't sleep, you'll miss out. 

What a rough message! And this is where I (finally) tie in some tarot wisdom. Rest isn't just a frivolous waste of time. It's a precious, biologically necessary period to reset and regenerate physically while opening up our minds and spirits. And what tarot card could that reflect? Cue the Four of Swords!

I love this card because it integrates the mental acuity of the swords with slower-burning realizations that can only come when we lay back and rest. Known for being academic, rational, and even a little cold, the swords often get tied to the negative aspects of thinking. We get treated to the stabby heartbreak of the Three of Swords or the ruthless conflict of the Five. These are moments where words and thoughts hurt. 

But we can also have a tender and constructive relationship to our thoughts. They can be dreamy, ethereal, and poetic. They can bring us essential dimension and meaning. And, as the Four of Swords teaches us, we need space and rest and relaxation to invite these other forms of thought into our lives.

In the Rider-Waite-Smith image of the Four of Swords we see a figure laying down in a peaceful room. They're so peaceful, in fact, that they look almost dead. Light streams in from a beautiful stained glass window and three swords hand on the wall. These represent our conscious thoughts - things we're aware of and are now giving ourselves space to contemplate.

Yet there's another sword, hidden underneath the resting figure. This sword shows us how hidden information, realizations, and insights lie just below the surface.We need rest and repose for them to slowly bubble to the surface. Far from being a waste of time, sleep and other ways to recharge are utterly necessary to gain a true, embodied understanding of what's at work.

If we rely on the easily-identified facts of waking life to guide us we're ignoring deeper and more important truths. Why skim along the surface when we can both care for ourselves and tap into something deeper? 

Can I Be Rational and Get a Tarot Reading?

You may be surprised with how many clients I get who feel nervous around tarot because they consider themselves skeptic, highly rational, and intellectual. It's a common fear that as soon as we dip our toes into the woo-sphere we're somehow going to have our "rational human being" card revoked. Believe it or not, I can personally relate to this feeling.

I began reading tarot as a young and tender teenager. I had always been drawn to the spiritual, but after that experience began clashing with the very secular and intellectual world around me, I found myself reflexively scoffing at any and all things woo and mystical. In my mind, the two simply couldn't co-exist. Luckily, I've not only found that they can live together harmoniously, but that they're highly compatible as well.

One of the most healing, beautiful, and fascinating aspects of reading for others professionally is seeing people who have some of the same blocks around intellectualism and spirituality engage with the cards. Despite its occult background and evocative symbolism, tarot is, at its root, a remarkably effective tool for discovering and identifying patterns active in our lives. AKA tasks that are highly suited for rational problem solvers. 

I'm always so energized by clients who come in looking wary and anxiously at the cards. Once they realize that I don't require all new clients to sign a form declaring their undying belief in astral projection, fairies, and past lives, they start to relax. Many of them want to know the ins-and-outs of the system. How does it all work? Once they have a general feel for it, they often dive into the cards with zeal and uniquely piercing insight.

So often we place rigid boundaries around facets of ourselves that dont' do anyone or anything justice. Who says you can't be intellectual and spiritual at the same time? Who says we can't bring our seeking, discerning, and questioning selves to the table when we get a reading?

In fact, as I've discovered, tarot is a system where the spiritual and intellectual combine to an amazing effect. Of course, we don't even have to adhere to or resonate with any concept of "spirituality," but simply by engaging with the subjective world of the cards we open up our rigid definitions of thinking and problem-solving to richer input and fruitful exploration. 

So, to answer the question I posed in the title, yes, you can absolutely be rational and get a tarot reading or read tarot for yourself. Explore the cards and see how they open up new thoughts, insights, and realizations. Call on that pattern-seeking skill you're so adept at to look at your life from a wider vantage point. You'll be surprised at how much you can discover. 

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Feeling Tender around Spiritual Topics

I was sitting at a cafe the other day and found myself observing an unintentional social experiment. Across from me was a shelf of free books that people could take and read while at the shop. Amongst the books, many of which were by John Gresham, was a happy-looking, yellow volume on Astrology. As people stood by the counter waiting for their coffee they'd pick up one of the books for a quick browse. By far, the most popular was the book on astrology.

Each time I looked up I saw a different man pick up the book. One even brought it to the table to give it a quick perusal. All of them had a sheepish, furtive look to them, as if they were loathe to be seen in public appearing interested in astrology. As soon as they saw me looking, they put it away. 

I see a similar phenomenon when I read tarot at larger public events. People will walk by my table, looking over at me shyly. A lot of people feel nervous when approaching anything that could be percieved as "woo woo" or esoteric. It's understandable and I've been there before. We're swimming in a society that values the rational above all else. Expressing interest in something that's not 100% cut-and-dry makes us feel open to ridicule. 

And yet we're still interested. We feel drawn to pick up a book even if we'll put it down quickly if someone notices. Or to read our horoscopes, even seek out a tarot reading. I can't tell you how many times I've been offering readings in public to have someone sit down before me and immediately proclaim, "I don't believe in this." I always have to laugh to myself (internally and subtly, of course) because despite this loud proclamation of disbelieve, there they are, sitting across from a tarot reader, cash in hand.

All this makes me think of the poster behind Agent Mulder's desk in the X-Files that reads, "I Want to Believe." As we can all vouch for, life is a strange, delightful, and confusing experience. We all have personal knowledge of its mysterious nature, things that tell us not all meaning lives on the surface of our lives. There's things we don't know, dreams and mysteries to explore. 

Unfortunately, there aren't as many avenues to express the joyous and confounding mysteries of life. And I think we miss it. We miss ways to tap into what we don't know, to engage with our love of symbols, stories, and signs. So I can't begrudge anyone their nervousness and justificaitons around esoteric practices like tarot and astrology. I've been there myself - despite being a deeply spiritual person in practice and belief, I found myself broadcasting a hyper-rational and intellectual persona because I felt vulnerable appearing spiritual.

Sometimes the word "spiritual" can feel so general it's overwhelming. "If I read tarot does that mean I believe in spirit guides/reincarnation/ghosts etc.?" Again, I think that because we've neglected this important part of humanity in our current society, all these beliefs have been unfortunately lumped under one big, broad term. To answer clearly, no. Reading tarot doesn't require any adherence to a school of thought, religion, or dogma. That's why I love it so much. Sure, it combines well with all of the above, but at it's purest, tarot is simply a tool with which we can explore what's not immediately visible to us. 

So I have a great deal of empathy for anyone feeling anxious about dipping their toes into the "woo pool." No, getting a tarot reader doesn't make you anything other than a person curious about examining their life creatively and, if you're comfortable with the term, spiritually. I welcome anyone to my tarot table, wherever they're at in their journey. Tenderness and all.

Does Tarot Have to be Serious?

You're probably already guessing where I'm going with this post judging by the photo to the left.

What I love most about tarot is it's skill at probing into deep issues, but that doesn't mean that I'm all frowns and furrowed brows when I turn over the cards. (Though I do think that would lend me some imposing gravitas!)

I think that approaching readings with excessive seriousness dampens the cards' insightful power. It's like putting a concrete box over a budding garden. Wanting to seem serious over letting the cards speak for themselves can cut off the conversation before its even started.

Tarot can be intimidating, especially when you're just starting out. It carries a lot of esoteric history that can be tough to navigate, not to mention the many myths surrounding the cards. (Can we just all agree that nobody has to be gifted their first tarot deck? Talk about limiting!) 

If our idea of tarot starts with a fortune teller's parlor, shrouded with mystery and draped tapestries, it can be scary to look at tarot as a more casual and fun tool. Will we be cursed? Will we anger the cards? (Short, definitive answer: no.) I'd like to stress that tarot is a tool - its power comes from us. How we approach it, how we practice it, and how we interact with it. 

Sure, if we approach tarot with... how to put it? douchey?... energy it's no good. But I think the idea of starting with respectful intentions leaves plenty of room for all types of experiences and that includes the fun ones, too.

I've read tarot for breakups, I've also read tarot when deciding what to cook for a dinner party. Each was enriching and illuminating. (Fun fact: the card I got for the dinner party question was the three of swords and I immediately burst out laughing. I have the terrible habit of taking on overly ambitious cooking projects and then melting into a frazzled puddle halfway through a three tiered cake. Thanks for seeing me, tarot - I'm working on it.)

My main point here is to have fun with tarot readings! Let your curiosity and creativity guide you. As someone with a tendency to do big, spiritually probing readings for myself, opening up to quicker, lighthearted readings has greatly helped me understand another side to the cards. Laugh during your readings if you feel the urge, explore the light side of things along with the dark, and don't forget to ask the cards for low-stakes advice as well as guidance during tough times. 

Tarot & Community: The First Tarot Club Meeting

As a beginner I had a very solitary practice; it wasn't until I read for others that a lot of the depth and nuance of the cards were revealed to me. After seeing this same need in my tarot classes (the reading swaps were the most enlightening and active) I decided to start a free group where we could do just that. I called it The Tarot Club a) because it sounded fun and alluring and b) because I wanted to intentionally create an inclusive space where the only requirement for membership was enthusiasm and interest. The special space of a club without exclusivity if you will. 

I had to take a day or so to process the magic and insight from our first tarot club meeting. It was a beautiful coming together of tarot enthusiasts of all stripes. In all honesty, I didn't have a clear idea of what shape the first meeting would take. I like to let things unfold in the moment, dictated by the curiosity and needs of the group. You could say I'm allergic to hierarchy. I wanted The Tarot Club to be a truly community driven space where anyone who shows up is a co-creator and co-learner. I simply offer the space (and a little light refreshment.)

I truly believe we are our own best teachers; when we can come together as a group we get a beautiful array of teachers with their own unique insights and wisdom. Setting the intention and then stepping back to let it unfold is an amazing thing, indeed!

So what happened? It was cozy, supportive, and quite surprising. We began with casual snacking and catching up, and maybe a little rosé, after which we chatted about our recent tarot experiences.

Next we dove into readings. Led by a question from one of our lovely participants, we began with a group reading where each of us chose a deck (I had a large chunk of my collection out, plus decks brought by others) and shuffled the cards with our question in mind. We decided to do a reading on the struggles unfolding in the wake of the Weinstein scandal and subsequent reveleations about sexual assault, harassment, and abuse perpetrated by men in power. Yes, go big or go home! What could we do to work with this energy to effect lasting change and how could we deal with well-meaning supporters unaware of their contributions to these issues?

As we each pulled a card and read it together we drew deeper and deeper into the trancelike state I access during readings. It was a powerful experience to travel to this place with a group and the experience was, quite honestly, magical. I'm still digesting it and the potential and healing power of community tarot readings. I'm excited to find new ways to facilitate similar experiences. 

Afterwards we broke up and swapped readings, trying out new decks, troubleshooting issues, and experimenting with different decks. In between it all was lots of tea, wine, catching up, and laughter. It was a beautiful night of tarot and community - very three of cups! - that had me glowing afterwards and full of new ideas for the next meeting.

If you're in the Raleigh-Durham area I hope you'll join us next time (the third Thursday of each month from 6-8). No matter your tarot level, we'd love to have you and your insights! To learn more click here or RSVP for future meetings here. 

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