Empowerment Through Tarot – Book a Reading

Posted in Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

If you are looking for clarity, insight, and information that can help you make empowered choices in your life, a tarot reading can help. I am a professional tarot consultant and use the cards to help you access your own higher knowledge, looking at an issue from different angles and presenting options and insight to bring you to a more conscious way of living.

I look forward to working together with you, using my skill and knowledge of this intuitive art in helping you to see your situation in a new light. For more information about how to book a reading, email me at shelley@sparrowtarot.com, or visit this page for more details, including pricing and reading options.

18May2013

Handling Thoughts of Lack During an Economic Crisis

Posted in Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

The idea for this post has been rattling around in my head for a while, but until now I didn’t quite feel ready to approach it.

For years I’ve been interested in the idea of “thought forms.” Honestly I can’t remember where I first encountered this idea, but obviously I can’t take credit for it. I read a lot, as you might have noticed from the list of books that have influenced my tarot practice here. That’s why I can’t pinpoint the first place I encountered this idea. But it possibly emerged either in a book by Gregg Braden (The Divine Matrix or The Isaiah Effect), or, one of the most influential books I’ve ever read, which sadly I haven’t been able to find in English, Schicksal als chance – “Destiny As Choice” by Thorwald Dethlefsen (I read the Italian translation Il Destino Come Scelta — why this isn’t translated into English I have no idea, I’m about ready to write the publisher and suggest it myself!) I certainly know that my mentor Paola Pierpaoli talks about it in her books about working with your spirit guides and angels.

What are thought forms?

To sum it up though as an introduction to this post, in my way of thinking, “thought forms” can be explained as thoughts becoming actual matter, albeit invisible. Stick with me here because this is a really “out there” sort of idea. But if you want to hypothesize this idea, it would be that if there’s a sort of thought that many people are thinking, and continue to verbalize, obsess over, and worry about, all the energy behind the thought is constantly sort of swirling around us, bombarding us with its particular vibration. I know, this isn’t science. So be it. But I for one can say that the energy behind all this talk, for at least five years now or more, about “the economic crisis” is becoming harder and harder for me to defend myself from.

Think about it: how many times recently have you or someone you know mentioned or thought about this omnipresent “economic crisis” and the general idea that no one has any money right now? How much time do you think you’ve spent recently contemplating the general lack of money and abundance and resources in our current society? Perhaps you or someone you know is out of work, or can’t pay their bills. True, this is a problem that can happen at any time. But personally I feel like this world economic crisis and all the news and talking about it has us at a point where we’re beginning to incorporate the belief into our daily lives that there’s simply not enough to go around, and furthermore, that there might never be enough for everyone, ever. This kind of thinking, in my belief, isn’t innocuous, it’s damaging. I truly believe that the more we and others think about, talk about, and obsess about how little there is to go around, and the more we worry about losing our jobs, or the fact that people we know are losing their jobs, the more we are actually enhancing the lack of material resources.

Our thoughts create our reality – where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go. -Peter McWilliams

Possibly you’re saying this is new-age mumbo jumbo, and “how can just thinking about there not being enough make me lose my job?” I don’t have any answer to that. But I simply want to bring attention to the fact that I think most of us live our lives in a state in which we are nearly unconscious about what we think, and how what we think contributes to creating the reality around us. I don’t mean that you can become rich by simply repeating positive affirmations. I am very skeptical about new age type treatises like the pop culture phenomenon “The Secret” and the bandying about of the so-called “Law of Attraction.”

But by the same token, I certainly don’t think that constantly reinforcing the idea that “I don’t have enough money” is going to help anyone on the path to opening to the Universe’s unlimited abundance. We can’t receive what we don’t believe exists, and we open ourselves to the realities that we believe exist. This is covered in depth in the fantastic book by David Spengler, Everyday Miracles: The Inner Art of Manifestation, which I also mentioned in the post Tarot and Non-Attachment to Outcomes. If you don’t think the Universe is unlimited in its abundance, and you honestly believe with all of your heart and soul that you’ll never have enough, and that there’s not enough to go around and never will be, then it’s difficult to imagine that you can allow and accept abundance into your own life.

Living in a time when economic lack is everywhere

All of this is what has led me to pose some questions to the tarot. Because I personally was becoming overwhelmed with these thoughts. While I myself am blessed to have enough financial stability to live without lack of the basic essentials and enjoy a life that’s comfortable for me and my three children, I am constantly plagued by thoughts of worry regarding “what if?” “What if I lose my job? What if I can’t pay the bills? What if there’s not enough money?” Because so many people, everywhere I go, are constantly talking about and reminding me of this. “No one has money right now…economic crisis.” “There aren’t any jobs out there…economic crisis.” “What if I never find anything else…economic crisis.”

Lest you think tarot is simply a tool to predict whether or not your lover is going to leave his or her partner, think again. Tarot in my practice is a tool for expanded consciousness and active awareness.

With this in mind, I developed a spread to gain insight to this challenge, and how to actively confront it. Now, in my view, we could generally produce the same advice the tarot gives. It’s not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination. But what I believe tarot helps us do is to detach emotionally from our subject or question. Since what we are dealing with is causing us anxiety, or stress, or some type of emotion, by turning to the tarot we let go for a moment of our emotional attachment for a more objective look at the issue.

Here is the spread I developed (each number represents one card in the spread):

1) What do we need to know about this economic crisis?

2) How can we respond to the constant barrage of negative thought forms that tell us “there’s not enough to go around”?

3) How can we cultivate faith in the natural and unlimited abundance of the Universe?

4) What advice and guidance can be given to those of us who are struggling with lack in our lives (no jobs, fear of not having enough)?

5) What can this economic crisis and its thought forms teach us?

Here are the cards that came up:

In the position of 1, “What do we need to know about this economic crisis?” we see the 2 of Cups, reversed. We need to know that this financial recession or period of resources being taken away, or not being enough, is about sharing, or lack thereof. The 2 of Cups shows a man and a woman offering each other full cups, which in the context of the tarot suits represent heart-centered love and giving, the emotional and not rational side of things. As it’s reversed, it shows that this free giving and sharing is blocked. We need to know that this crisis is a blockage of the free sharing of heart and giving without expecting anything in return. There’s a lack of giving for the sake of giving, and there’s not recognition of the fact that giving freely is what generates abundance. The card of the 4 of Pentacles comes to mind here, of holding on tightly to what one has. It would appear here with the 2 of Cups reversed that there’s a fear of sharing freely from a heart level with others, and that’s what we need to know about this economic crisis. I think in practical terms we could relate that to the lack of consideration for people shown by the financial machine that triggered the world economic meltdown. It’s a question fundamentally of misplaced values, a lack of heart in business practices, a lack of compassion and a lack of feeling, that resulted in the physical manifestation of a lack of financial resources. Until values change at a fundamental level in terms of doing business on a global scale, the outward manifestations won’t change.

Card 2 asks “ow can we respond to the constant barrage of negative thought forms that tell us “there’s not enough to go around”? This is the challenge I face on a daily basis. I don’t want to think these worrisome thoughts, but at the same time, simply telling myself “don’t think that” isn’t doing it for me. Here the tarot gives us the image of The Star, upright.

The Star is a card of renewal, regeneration, and of course the biggest key word associated with The Star is always hope. Already here we’re seeing this idea of abundance being expressed. The Star pours water from her jar onto the ground, it filters back into the pond, she pours water from her other jar into the pond, it mixes with the trail of water on the ground. She doesn’t hold the water or try to keep it for herself, but lets it freely flow. She’s not clothed, not concerned with material objects. What she has is already enough. In terms of the pressing negative thoughts about lack of abundance and fear of not having enough, here The Star is telling us “what you have right now is exactly what you need, no more, no less.” I know that this is totally counterintuitive and you aren’t going to want to hear that if you don’t have enough to eat. But I think here we need to look at this issue on a more spiritual level. We all know that the world isn’t a fair place, and that economic disparity will always exist. But when we begin to let fears of not having enough creep into our awareness, we can meditate on the image of The Star, who simply gives back in order to receive. If you’re in a position of financial lack, or fear not having enough, how can you cultivate faith and hope in the reality that receiving comes from giving? When you reach outward your focus shifts from “I don’t have enough!” to “How can I give to others?” This is a paradigm shift and lifts the emphasis on “me and what I need” to “what unique gifts can I contribute to the world I live in?”

Card 3 answers the question “How can we cultivate faith in the natural and unlimited abundance of the Universe?” and the tarot responds with Temperance.

At first glance, doesn’t Temperance seem so similar to The Star? My first impression in relating these two cards to each other is certainly the vessels of water being poured, and the two pools of water shown in each card. Note how in The Star, the woman’s foot is on the water but not immersed in it, and then in Temperance, we see the foot both in the water and covered by it, water flowing over it. We could interpret this as taking the abundance represented by the limitless flow of water and immersing ourselves in it, a sort of taking the “theory” of The Star represented by hope and faith, and then living it, as shown by the action taken in the Temperance card. Temperance takes the ideas represented in The Star and puts them into action, by taking the elements at hand and combining them into something new. The direct and deliberate mixing now of the water in the two cups (which also calls our attention back to the 2 of Cups itself) is that we can identify elements in our life that seem to be incompatible, and combine them skillfully into something entirely new. Temperance does bring to mind compromise and balance, but in this context, as to how we can cultivate faith in the limitless abundance of the Universe, Temperance is telling us to actively put the theory into practice. Begin by noticing where abundance flows freely in your life. Even a person who is unemployed or can’t pay the bills should be able to find one area of their lives where abundance flows freely. Are you healthy? Is your family healthy? Do you have people who love you? Do you have love for yourself? Focusing on where abundance already exists, even in the smallest form, is a key to creating more abundance. Then, using the magic of Temperance, one can take that small seed of abundance and mix it with the seemingly incompatible areas that aren’t abundant, to produce and cultivate new faith in the fact that the Universe wants to give to us if we are open to receiving. In practical terms, this means that faith is cultivated by experience. “Blind faith” means believing in something you’ve never seen or had proof of. The faith cultivated by Temperance is one that is born of practical, live experience. If you take the theory presented by The Star and put it into action in small ways in your daily life, you’ll start to see results and as you observe these small miracles, you begin to grow your belief in the fact that the Universe does in fact provide for your needs.

So what then is the tarot’s advice to those who are currently struggling with physical lack in their lives? What can be said to those who are currently experiencing unemployment, financial hardship, loss?

Here we have The Wheel of Fortune, reversed. The Wheel of Fortune is the quintessential card for life cycles. Think about a wheel turning. Sometimes I imagine a roulette wheel in a casino when I see this card. The wheel is spun, and no one knows exactly when it will stop or where the ball will land. It’s also akin to another phrase that comes from the casino “it’s a crap shoot.” In craps, one throws the dice, a game of chance, not knowing the outcome, not having control over the outcome. In simple terms, the advice would be “Accept that you aren’t in control of all the circumstances in your life.” It’s a very Zen sort of approach, an approach of acceptance, of observation, rather than fighting. Learning to accept that life comes in cycles, and that the cycles are necessary and not to be avoided, is essential when going through periods of hardship and lack. It goes without saying that no one wants to live a life of struggle, of not having enough. But at the same time, trying to run away from the practical and psychological realities that joblessness or financial loss presents is simply a form of denial. It’s obvious that someone without a job or without enough money wants to have a job or get more money. I think The Wheel of Fortune here is reminding us as its advice and guidance to be aware of the larger scheme in life, to be aware of the fact that giving and taking away are natural cycles in life, and that everything is transitory and has a necessary lesson to teach. I interpret the reversal here to mean that the advice is to let go of blockages and resistance to life’s natural cycles. Find ways to accept loss in your life, without turning away from it in fear. As with all cycles, this too shall pass, but the way you confront the situation, with either a resistant or an open approach, can accelerate its passing or prolong its stop in your life.

In summary then, what can we learn from all of this economic hardship?

Well, certainly it could have been expected that the 5 of Pentacles would show up in a spread addressing financial loss and hardship, as that is generally what this card represents. “Falling on hard times,” struggle, not having enough to get by. And yet, here we see the card reversed, turning all of that on its head. This financial crisis can show us new ways of looking at what is typically viewed as a negative situation. We can turn around our ideas about the difficulty inherent in struggling from lack of resources, and create new opportunities from what at first glance appears to be a very terrible situation. The economic crisis is forcing people to rethink their careers, their values, the way they look at money and resources in their life. Although the lessons come from hard experiences, the ultimate outcome can be seen as positive and a source of new growth. Who’s to say that the loss of a job isn’t the first step in the creation of an even better, more prosperous and rewarding career or vocation? I don’t say this as a generic cure-all or a Pollyanna outlook. The 5 of Pentacles reversed in this situation is asking us to see financial struggle and difficulty in a new light, and to look outside of ourselves for the solutions, drawing on the advice and insights already presented by the other cards in this spread.

20Apr2013

I’m Scared of Tarot Readings

Posted in Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

In the few months since I’ve come “out of the closet” with my tarot practice, I’ve heard this more than once from friends of mine.

When they find out I read the tarot, I sometimes offer to do a reading for them for free. I like to introduce the way that I read tarot to people that I know, because of the unique ability it has to give insight and empowerment in facing life situations, decisions, or simply self-knowledge.

But I tell you what, I keep hearing from close friends of mine, “I’m too scared.”

What?!

I suppose I’ve worked with the tarot for so many years now in my own life, and seen its positive impact in such a profound way for giving me some objectivity when I’m trying to step outside of my own drama, that I can’t possibly imagine why something so helpful could be seen as scary.

But then again, pop culture isn’t much of a help when trying to educate the public about what tarot actually is, or does.

Wow. That was painful to watch on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin.

(PS If you are not familiar with my unique brand of sarcasm, you can find a primer over at my other blog where I dispense a lot of it. Tarot doesn’t lend itself as well to my sense of humor as the city of Rome does.)

Seriously though. If that’s how tarot gets generally disseminated into mainstream culture, it’s no wonder that people think it’s something ridiculous, or even capable of revealing somewhat ambiguous but always somehow ominous foretellings.

The Young & Restless cast of brilliant actors aside, I’m here to tell you: People! It doesn’t have to be like that! And quite frankly, you don’t even need a thunder and lightning storm outside either. Although it does add to the whole overall “super scary” effect, no?

Pssst! Come in close. Because I have something to tell you:

TAROT IS NOT SCARY.

No, really. Trust me on this one.

The tarot, in its most basic description, is a pack of 78 cards with pictures on them. In the hands of a soap opera actress, it becomes an embarrassing caricature for debased and cheap fortune telling. But in the hands of a skilled practitioner who uses intuition, thoughtfulness, and study, the pictures on those cards can be seamlessly woven into a story that becomes a unique sort of “mandala” or snapshot for a particular moment in your life or a particular situation.

By that I mean, tarot doesn’t need to be used as a party trick to scare people into believing nonsensical predictions like “He’s going to leave you” or “She’s cheating on you” or “You’re going to die at age 33.” Unfortunately people do this, and unfortunately people believe this.

But where does that leave the possibility for using tarot as a practical tool for gaining perspective into life’s never-ending challenges, questions, conundrums and perplexities? From the mundane (“I cannot figure out how to get along with my colleague at work–help!”) to the divine (“What is my soul’s purpose in this lifetime?”) tarot is as versatile as the person who approaches it and their particular way of using the cards.

So the next time you are given an opportunity to have a tarot reading, before dismissing tarot as something that’s “too scary” or saying “I’d never do that, I don’t want to know,” consider this: would you leave your house without knowing your address? Would you get on a plane without knowing where it would touch down? If you saw it was raining outside and your umbrella was sitting by the door, would you go outside without it?

Rhetorical questions. No.

That being the case, if you have a tool at your disposal that can facilitate a solution in your life (key = open door, destination printed on plane ticket = knowing how to pack for trip, umbrella = stay dry when it’s raining) then why not make use of it?

Hence: tarot = when in the right hands, a magnificent and mysterious tool for gaining perspective about self, situations, and life in general.

“It all depends on how we look at things, and not on how things are in themselves. The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.” -Carl G. Jung

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30Mar2013

Tarot on the Streets of Rome

Posted in Card Meanings, Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

You never know where you might find tarot inspiration. Imagine my surprise at seeing the Tarot of Marseilles’ Temperance holding court in the tunnel of the overpass of the Ostiense train station:

“Every Angel is Terrifying” by Ozmo, Via Ostiense, 2013

How might we interpret this street art tarot reading?

It looks like there’s a possibility for a new beginning in terms of a creative project, and Temperance is the best way to handle the challenges that will come up in the very initial stages and as the project progresses.

Aces in the tarot teach us about the seed energy of the suit, about potential for realization, about energy to actively harness and consciously direct. Here, with the wands, we are at the very first stages of a fiery, powerful creative energy. If you’re astrologically inclined, you can think of it as Mars in Aries (I know because that’s where I have Mars in my chart!) It’s that energy that totally burns with passion at the beginning of a new phase, a new project. Unbridled enthusiasm, and that capacity to plunge head first into a new venture while losing all track of time.

And yet, what of Temperance? The wand is being offered to Temperance and she seems to be saying kindly in response, but wait just one minute there. If you really want to see your project through, you need to take a breath and step back, slow down just a bit. She doesn’t necessarily want to “put out our fire” with the water she’s so carefully mixing between her two cups, but at the same time, she wants to gently remind us that if we let that burning energy consume us, we’ll literally “burn out” — a term that is so often used in the creative professions. Here, Temperance reminds us that we need to “temper” our enthusiasm with the ability to compromise as well, with the ability to see all sides of an issue or a project and then be the source for creatively combining them into producing something of unique and lasting value.

In life, don’t let anyone pour water on the fire of your dreams! But at the same time, remember that you can’t get anything of a long-term nature accomplished by using sheer determination and fire alone. You also have to know how to be a sort of modern alchemist, using all the elements at your disposal to your advantage, mixing a little bit of this and a little bit of that, until you come out with just the right blend to bring something totally new into the world. We use air–our creative breath–to stoke a fire and make it grow even bigger, we use water–our emotional intuition and capacity for empathy, understanding and compromise–to tame its power, we use earth–our practical resources and our ability to manifest ideas into the material realm–to bring it to closure.

See folks, who knew that you could learn a profound life lesson while riding on the 766 in Testaccio? But I’m telling you, tarot is everywhere, just like Enrique Enriquez so eloquently demonstrated in his documentary Tarology, walking the streets of NYC with the eyes of a true storyteller for this ancient art.

And, before you go bemoaning the vandalism of street art, this was a work of art by Ozmo, an internally-known street artist, along with several other artists, sponsored by the neighborhood as a way of beautifying an otherwise awful underpass. Here’s a time-lapse video of the work from start to finish:

27Mar2013

Queen of Pentacles & How to Stop Negative Comparisons to Others

Posted in Card Meanings, Inspiration, Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

Something that’s been nagging at me since I launched my online tarot practice is a feeling that I have trouble defining exactly. If I had to try, I suppose I’d say inadeguatezza, which translates literally as inadequacy, but in Italian feels more like a concept to me than simply a word. It represents to me a nebulous feeling of not being quite good enough, of not having what it takes, or somehow being just out of reach of success.

Frankly I have no idea why these feelings are bothering me, because I’ve been fortunate in my life to have had success in various careers and in various projects. I’ve always been an extremely hard worker and always dedicate myself to the task until I see it through and succeed. What’s more, and fortunately, my tarot practice doesn’t serve as my sole source of income from work, so therefore I don’t have to and shouldn’t approach it from a place of desperation, need, or fear.

Nonetheless, something about launching my tarot practice has me confronting an indefinable feeling of shaky ground beneath me. I suppose part of it is because this is an entirely new field for me to venture in professionally: the metaphysical realm and all the ambiguities that come in a field with such a wide spectrum of practitioners ranging from dedicated, caring professionals all the way across to rather shady characters looking to make a quick buck. In addition, it seems to me as I look out from my starting point in the professional reading world, that there is so much competition online and such a wide range of truly talented professionals that one could choose from for a reading, that I end up asking myself where I might possibly fit into the mix, despite knowing from my clients and my own experiences that I have something valuable to offer as well.

This got me to thinking of the larger picture, and an issue that many of us face at one time or another in our lives in various areas whether it be career, or relationships, or as parents, or any number of other areas in which we might be tempted to see others as somehow “better” or more capable than we.

How can we stop comparing ourselves to others and start nurturing and expanding our own unique talents and gifts to share with the world?

For a response to this question through the assistance of the tarot I drew one card, and it was the Queen of Pentacles. One-card readings allow us to focus on a message more closely and in more detail than we might normally do in a reading with multiple cards. Because it stands alone here, it can tell its story directly. By observing the Queen of Pentacles in depth and “full strength” as the answer to my question, I allowed it to reveal its specific messages about my uncomfortable and inexplicable feelings of inadequacy, and what it wants to tell me regarding this.

Of course being that I practice the tarot professionally, I have a range of responses to this card that come to the surface immediately, based on years of practice. Clearly we’re going to get certain baseline impressions of the Queen of Pentacles right off the bat: abundance, nurturing, being taken care of and taking care of others. In fact the Queen of Pentacles is very similar to The Empress in this sense. There are lots of ways to define the subtle differences between these two cards, however, and here’s just one example of a forum discussion of this very topic.

Now though, let’s take a broader look at what this card can tell all of us about how we can stop comparing ourselves negatively to others, and why we don’t need to–and shouldn’t–do so.

Look first at how lovingly the Queen holds and gazes at the pentacle, or coin, in her hand. The pentacle here represents our inner gifts and talents and how we manifest them in the external world, the material world, the realm of the suit of pentacles. The queen’s energy here is a caring energy that gently reminds us to be compassionate both with ourselves and in respect to our own very unique, very individual talents that we alone can contribute to the world.

The queen here is telling us that we don’t need to compare ourselves to others, because what we have to offer the world in terms of our practical skills and gifts can only come from us, and so we need to honor and nurture our own unique contributions.

This message is particularly important when comparing ourselves negatively to others in terms of career or vocation, because it reminds us that comparing is useless: every individual possesses their own unique treasure (here in the form of the pentacle itself) to bring into the physical world. By comparing, we neglect to honor our unique value and skills, thereby bringing ourselves down while at the same time diminishing the very energy and power we could be feeding to grow our personal talents.

This queen is surrounded by a variety of blooming plants and flowers, rich soil from the ground, the colors of spring, and a flowering that extends to the very borders of the card itself, giving the impression of unlimited growth that extends outward from her very being. This queen already has everything that she needs in order to be successful. Her external environment supports her in helping her manifest her unique contribution in the physical world, and the throne that she sits on stabilizes her within her nurturing environment. (Quite in contrast to my own feelings of “shaky ground beneath my feet”!)

The queen’s surroundings support her compassion for her unique gifts. When we compare ourselves to others and look longingly or enviously to what others have, we neglect to see what supports us in our immediate external environment. We are then unable to appreciate and draw on the resources that we already have at our disposal for nurturing our success.

Have you ever noticed the little brown rabbit in the lower right-hand corner of the card? It’s a detail that could easily be overlooked if one wasn’t careful about considering the value of everything in the card of the Queen of Pentacles.

Rabbits are often associated with fertility because of their ability to reproduce so quickly. Of course they’re also in Western culture traditionally associated with spring and Easter, so therefore with new growth. They’re adventurous and leap quickly at opportunities without letting them pass by. They’re grounded and close to the material resources of Mother Earth.

What does this symbolism tell us about not comparing ourselves to others? Again, we are shown to trust in and honor our own innate ability to produce and reproduce abundantly what only we ourselves–not others–can offer the world. We’re encouraged to become acquainted with, intimately know, and then have unshakeable faith in the necessity and wisdom of the cycles of the Earth and of life itself: death as an inevitable and necessary part of winter followed by growth and rebirth upon the return of spring.

In short, the Queen of Pentacles reminds us and teaches us that we are all one-of-a-kind beings, and as such, each of us is endowed with an intrinsic, natural worth and inborn value. She shows us that it’s our own responsibility however to cultivate our talents, gifts, and interests with both compassion and nurturing.

Because no one else can do this for us, the Queen of Pentacles calls us to be our own best friend. A best friend wouldn’t say cruelly to us “Look at how much better X is than you are! You’ll never make it like they do!” and so, we shouldn’t be our own worst enemies either. This queen isn’t looking at others, but rather is lovingly focused on and secure in her own abundance and the abundance of her surrounding Universe, trusting innately that she is taken care of, by virtue of the unique gifts she brings to the physical world.

21Mar2013

Tarot for Tat

Posted in Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

Hey, ever heard that saying tit for tat? Wikipedia says it’s like “reciprocal altruism” in biology. Whoa. That means:

a behavior whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism’s fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar manner at a later time

Well this is tarot for tat and you can be a part of it! You won’t even have to reduce your fitness temporarily to do so, I promise!

Basically here’s the deal: I’m offering a limited number of 3-card and 10-card readings at discounted rates to help me achieve my goal of getting my second tattoo!

All the juicy details follow:

Although I’ve been reading the tarot for 12 years, my online practice is just starting out and needs help to grow, thrive and flourish. Think of it like the Ace of Pentacles. I need your nurturing, folks, in order to make my practice shine!

This gorgeous Ace of Pentacles is from Mary McClelland’s Star Tarot, still a work in progress.

Also, let me share with you a story of my journey. Last year for my birthday I got my first tattoo. It symbolized much for me, but in short it sums up a new philosophy on life and the survival through struggle and challenge. You can read The Story of Leggerezza here and see the process of me getting tattooed!

So, I got to thinking as one often does when in Page of Swords mode, which is who I’ve been characterized as in this period by the brilliant Spike of Spike Tarot, who recently did a lovely, insightful and thorough reading for me (and who I will soon be getting on the blog for you guys!).

The Page of Swords from the Robin Wood Tarot.

And this is what came out of it. Tarot for Tat is a way we can be “reciprocally altruistic”!

I want to get my second tattoo for my birthday this year, which is May 1. My second tattoo is going to be a Sailor Jerry black panther. I’m a single mom of three preschoolers, as well as a mystic seeking truth, a coordinator for international study abroad programs, and an expat living abroad. The black panther symbolizes so much for me, so many of the multiple roles I play and various hats I’m called to wear in this life.

This image recalls the original Sailor Jerry design, of whom Don Ed Hardy was a student. From Hardy Marks Publications, this is "The Black Panther Rips the Veil of Uncertainty Off the Face of Beauty" 1988

This image recalls the original Sailor Jerry design, of whom Ed Hardy was a student. From the Hardy Marks Gallery, this is “The Black Panther Rips the Veil of Uncertainty Off the Face of Beauty” 1988

Of all the panthers, the black panther has the greatest mysticism associated with it. It is a symbol of the mother, the dark moon and the power of the night. The black panther encourages us to understand the shadow powers available to us all, to acknowledge these powers and to eliminate our fears of the darkness. When the black panther totem appears in your life, it is also a symbol of releasing your passions, and starting a new phase of your life. A phase in which you are discovering your desires, and living your dreams.

source

For the month of April, I’m offering a limited number (15) of 3-card readings for just $15 (regularly $25).

I’m also offering a limited number (7) of 10-card readings for just $35 (regularly $50).

If you snag one of these discounted readings, you’ll be contributing to my black panther tattoo fund! And I’ll be using my experience, passion, and intuition, just like the panther herself, to use the tarot as a tool for helping you gain insight about yourself or a current issue in your life.

Help me grow my business, get my tattoo, and come out of it with insight and clarity about yourself and your life! Pass on this post to anyone you think would be interested and let’s see if I can reach my goal!

To book your reading, email me at shelley@sparrowtarot.com

14Mar2013

Pope Francis and the Tarot

Posted in Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

Not that Pope Francis reads the tarot, mind you!

You may know that I live in Rome. I first moved here 12 years ago so I have a very deep and loving attachment to my adopted city. Rome, in turn, has a deep and historically tumultuous attachment to its neighbor city/country the Vatican. And, as you probably know, yesterday history was made once again for the 2nd time already this century, as a new pope was elected.

When I first saw the new Pope Francis (in a photo as he had just stepped out onto the balcony) my intuitive reaction was strong. His energy is completely different than Benedict. And in fact once I read more about him, I understood why. He is the first Jesuit pope, from Latin America, and has a long pastoral background as opposed to a career as an intellectual insider of the Church. And above all, he is the first to choose the name Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, a very humble religious figure with a social worker’s heart, in whom we’re now likely to see a revived interest. It’s a blessing for me to be able to visit Assisi and St. Francis’s tomb, an incredibly spiritually powerful place that many religious pilgrims may only visit once in a lifetime.

Now, to give you some context, I am a non-practicing Catholic. I would love to feel deeper ties to the religion I was brought up in, because the further I go along in life, the more I realize that a spiritual community is something that can bring great richness and sustenance to life. That being said, I have trouble accepting a lot of Church doctrine and aligning it with my personal views, so I’ve chosen to “pick and choose” aspects of various religions that resonate with me, and have resorted to creating my own hodgepodge of spirituality and religion to sustain me.

It’s interesting to mention the Catholic Church and tarot in the same post, especially because there are still those who believe tarot is a “product of the Devil” or “Satan at work” or other fear-based nonsense. The tarot, when used in a pure-hearted and consciously inspired way, is none other than a tool for personal growth and insight, which can work directly with higher powers, angels, and spirits of light.

Not to mention, historians have proved time and again that the tarot didn’t originate in Egypt as was popularly believed but rather in Christian northern Italy in the early 1400s. The belief of Egyptian origin came from a myth perpetuated by Antoine Court de Gébelin in his 1781 work “The Primitive World.” Interestingly enough, Court de Gébelin also told that the tarot was then brought from Egypt to Rome, where tarot secrets were supposedly given to the Pope there, who then transferred the knowledge to Avignon in the 14th century. While this is interesting folklore, the historical truth is that the tarot is a product of the medieval Christian world. A thought-provoking article by “tarologist” Enrique Enriquez, with more historical links, can be found here. For even more about tarot history check out this article by Mary K. Greer: Egypt, Tarot, and Mystery School Initiations, and also What Every Tarot Newbie Should Know About the History and Myths of Tarot on Greer’s own blog.

In any case, I felt inspired to do a 3-card reading about the new pope and the outlook for the Church under his guidance and leadership. I chose three cards for my reading:

1 – What we need to know about this pope
2 – Direction he’ll take the Church, his contribution
3 – Future outlook for the Church under this pope, potential outcome of this choice for pope

The cards came up as:

In terms of what we need to know about this pope, he is the Page of Swords for the Church. Despite his elderly age of 76, as a page he is bringing a youthful energy and drive to the position. There’s something blessedly clean and clear about him, and we need to know that he’s going to cut to the chase in terms of scandals, communications, and mystery shrouding the church. He’s direct and to the point, and he is going to clean house. He’s honest and there’s a spirit of innocence about him, a paradoxical wise naiveity that is most likely going to be a “breath of fresh air” for the Church. He speaks his mind and has lots of ideas and intellectual energy that isn’t bogged down by dogma or outdated concepts.

His contribution to the Church is shown by Temperance. He is going to be an excellent mediator for the Church, and he’ll be able to handle the most difficult task of taking opposites and blending them into a new form to produce something entirely unique. It would appear from this card that he is going to have a very significant impact on the direction of the Church and in a “new dawn” of the Church doctrine. He is solidly balanced in both practical Church teachings and protocol, while also being open to more intuitive and fresh, modern approaches.

I find it interesting to note the similar stance of the feet in both the Page of Swords and Temperance. Notice how in both cards, one foot is firmly balanced and stable on the ground, while the other foot is slightly lifted off the ground, and how in each card the opposite is reflected. In the Page of Wands, the red shoes show action and decisiveness, while the left foot is the one solidly grounded on Earth. Left-brain activities represent masculine yang energy: logical, rational, active and intellectual, like the energy of the swords, also the red boots here remind me of the Pope Benedict’s famous restoration of the tradition of wearing red papal shoes!

In Temperance on the other hand we have bare feet, showing humility and native intuition, with instead here the right foot, not the left, solidly placed not on the ground, but rather in water. Right-brained activity represents feminine yin energy: intuitive, “watery,” creative and non-linear. I think with this pope we’re really going to see some interesting diplomatic finesse and a fascinating blend of practical and spiritual. He’s really something unique it would seem, from this point of view. Also interesting to note that Temperance has angel’s wings. Perhaps this pope is going to be seen as a sort of “savior” or angelic force for good in helping the Church and its mission, coming as it is from a heavy, scandal-laden recent past that needs the purification shown in the card of Temperance.

In terms of future outlook for the church, and the potential outcome of this choice, we have the only reversed card in the reading. Interestingly enough, the 3 of Pentacles is often described as three men discussing ambitious plans for building a cathedral — by any definition, a massive undertaking requiring serious collaborative skill. It would appear to me that this pope has an intense drive to unite (as shown also by Temperance) and he has the diplomatic skill and finesse to effectively and clearly communicate his ideas, cutting through the crap, so to speak (shown by the Page of Swords), but at the same time, he’s going to face blockage and resistance to his attempts to skillfully find compromise and collaboration in “building his cathedral.” That probably goes without saying, but here I think it’s significant that the reversal is showing us that despite his best attempts for collaborative effort, it’s not going to be smooth sailing, and he’s going to have to seriously rely on those other two cards in order to “flip the 3 of Pentacles over” so that he can accomplish in the real world what he has in his plans or “blueprints” for the Church and where he wants to take it.

In any case, there’s a real sense of fresh energy about this pope and I think here we have someone who is skilled and gifted at diplomacy and bringing opposite factions together, which is going to be sorely needed in this particular moment in the Church’s history and development.

Any additional thoughts on this? Please share in the comments section!

13Mar2013

Tarot and Non-Attachment to Outcomes

Posted in Inspiration, Shelley Ruelle by Shelley Ruelle

Have you ever heard that saying about finding love, that it happens when you aren’t looking? Most people, if not all people, that I’ve casually talked to about this theory, have confirmed for me that it’s proven to be true in their own experience. Why is this?

Theories abound as to why this might be so. “When you’re looking, you’re desperate, and people can sense that desperate energy and they shy away from it.” Ok, possibly. But that doesn’t explain why when we’re actively looking, we often do find people with whom to get involved in romantic encounters.

I think the core issue here is the quality of the result or outcome. People here are intending that you don’t find the so-called one when you’re looking. Putting aside for a moment our ideas about “the one,” which could open an entirely different post, let’s examine the idea that what we want comes to us when we aren’t attached to having it. When we aren’t “looking” to have something specific in life, our focus changes, and we tend to accept things as they come, living experiences moment to moment for what they are, without a particular investment in the outcome or specific expectations about what we’ll “get” from the experiences.

Tarot Questions and Attachment to the “Answer”

In my experience, people are deeply emotionally invested in the questions that they pose to the tarot. Emotionally, and/or physically, financially, logisically, and probably any number of other “ally”s. A querent is involved in an affair with someone with whom they want a relationship, but they’re married and can’t leave the stability of that situation. Desire (I want this new relationship) versus logistical investment (can’t leave stable situation). Life is full of these choices, dilemmas, challenges — this is the stuff of life itself and what makes life both exciting, and at times truly excruciating.

It goes without saying that people come to the tarot looking for answers.

But how many people come to the tarot without a pre-conceived investment in the answer? How many people approach a tarot reading consciously prepared to accept whatever the cards highlight to them? I’d venture to guess not a large majority. And this can present difficulties in the process, at least in the way I approach it, which I’ve talked about in co-creating your reality.

When the Client Isn’t Ready to Accept the “Answer”

I put “answer” in quotes because it’s a fundamental point in this discussion. If a client approaches the tarot looking for a passive answer to their issue, they won’t get much out of it. My style of reading puts responsibility on the client for accepting the constructive ideas presented in the tarot and then integrating them into their life (or not!) in whatever way they see fit.

However, not everyone wants to do this. Sometimes there’s such an emotional investment in what the querent wants to have as an answer, that they aren’t psychologically or emotionally willing to see or hear what the cards offer them. That’s ok. But it’s one reason why it’s always a very good idea for a querent to go into a reading with as open a mind as possible. If they are so attached to a particular outcome that they will outright dismiss or even become defensive or hostile to anything in the cards that goes against that, it can become a very negative experience overall and even contribute energy to the own client’s block, even though on the outside it would appear that they’re ready to confront it (by the simple act of posing the question).

Important point to remember is that everyone is at a different point in their journey and every experience is in service to that journey. At the same time, we can often times accelerate our learning with a simple shift in perspective.

Avoiding Yes/No Questions as a Method to Reduce Attachment to Outcomes

I won’t answer yes/no questions straight out. I simply don’t know how to go through a deck of 78 cards (156 if you include reversals) and put green light/red light over every single one. How limiting and generic is that?

Instead, I personally prefer to rephrase yes/no questions into open-ended questions (more information in this post about forming questions). “Will we get back together?” is limiting, and the underlying hope and assumption is most likely that the querent wants to get back together, otherwise they likely wouldn’t bother asking! So, as I’ve said before, anyone with or without tarot has a 50% chance of being accurate on the answer.

Rephrasing to an open-ended question reveals insight that can help shift the querent’s attention from their desired outcome to how they can actively take responsibility for the situation in their life, and what they might do to manifest the outcome they desire, or accept the reality that a desired outcome might be unlikely to happen for various reasons.

Transpersonal Will

I mentioned above that when we aren’t attached absolutely to having what we want, it can often open up energies that sometimes paradoxically bring exactly what we want to us. But there’s one more point I’d like to make here, and that has to do with the “inner art” of manifestation, following the practices and ideas brilliantly laid out in David Spangler’s book Everyday Miracles. Manifestation is a powerful practice that works from the principle of focusing and cultivating an image of what we desire, but it goes deeper than simply “thinking positive” or wishing to have what it is that we want. In fact the process is so profound that it truly does require an entire book to explain the intricacies involved. That’s why it’s easier to simply talk about “non-attachment” to outcomes rather than how to manifest a desired outcome.

In any case, one idea I think is useful to briefly touch on here. The idea of transpersonal will is an idea that I was introduced to in Spangler’s book. As opposed to what we typically think of as will power, which requires force and resistance, transpersonal will is what comes into play when we almost subconsciously will something to happen with ease and grace, allowing the desired outcome to find its way to us out of a sense of joy rather than a sense of need, or lack. It’s the feeling we get when we’re doing something that causes us to lose track of time, when we proceed without fighting but rather in a cooperative spirit of non-resistance towards a goal.

In order for transpersonal will to enact these “everyday miracles” however, we have to be able to let go of our attachment to getting what we (think) we want. We have to realize that we do have free will, but that there are also forces that work in and around us which interact with our ability or not to have a desired outcome.

The point is, we can’t always have what we want just because we want it! And if our approach to tarot is one in which we simply want the cards to tell us “Yes, don’t worry, she’ll come back,” or “Yes, within the next two weeks you’ll have the job,” then we might be just as well going to a toy store, buying a Magic 8 ball, and being done with it! At least there we can shake it until we get the answer we’re looking for. Or at least until so many bubbles form on the surface that we can’t read anything anymore!

Life is a co-creative process. If we want to live consciously, creating rich lives for ourselves full of joy, passion, and LIFE itself, along with the tools to deal with fear, challenges, and doubt, then we must be active co-creators. In so doing, we must accept the responsibility that our thoughts and actions are intrinsically intertwined with our external and internal realities.

Tarot is a way to tap into these invisible energies and work constructively with them, allowing us to bravely let go of attachments to specific outcomes and rather to open ourselves to the divine possibilities of a larger plan for our lives that is continually unfolding around us and within us.

10Mar2013

The High Priestess, Neptune Transits, and Fog

Posted in Inspiration, Shelley Ruelle, Tarot and Astrology by Shelley Ruelle

The High Priestess trusts her intuitive impulses and her way of knowing defies rational explanation.

I belong to a group on Facebook with other practicing Tarot readers, in which we help each other with sticky spots, and mentor each other. It’s a group that I collaboratively formed and I feel blessed to be a part of it, because it gives me a sense of community, solidarity, and support in my practice.

Recently I chatted with another member about the overlapping inputs I get when I feel astrological energies in my cards, and we both agreed that knowledge of astrology and astrological principles can be a nice complement to card interpretation. Because I’ve spent many years studying humanistic astrology (along the lines of writers such as Stephen Arroyo, Robert Hand, Liz Greene, Dane Rudhyar, Alexander Ruperti, Zipporah Dobbyns), I take the same approach with astrological aspects, transits and energies as I do with my approach to the cards: it’s an approach of constructive working “with” the energies at hand, rather than trying to resist them. So this post will delve a bit into the mixture and melding between tarot and astrology and how it is currently playing out in my own life.

The High Priestess and Neptune

I mentioned a bit in my recent post about how The Hermit energy is hitting me hard right now, that The High Priestess is also playing a significant complementary role. In that reading, The High Priestess came up as the outlook for the upcoming near future of my love life, which accurately reflects how I’ve completely stopped dating and instead am now using all the time I used to devote on cultivating my love life to now literally “fall in love” again with all the energies surrounding The High Priestess: intuition, initiation into sacred mysteries, hidden truths, deep inner knowing. In another recent reading I did for myself, in the initial card representing me, there again was The High Priestess. Now not only was she my love life, she was completely melding and intertwining with my self-identity.

At the same time, I was feeling a sort of nebulous, mental fog. It was as if the road wasn’t clear anymore. I’m a very goal-oriented and “earthy” person. I’m a Taurus, and I have Saturn square my Sun, so discipline, hard work, and achievement are all facets of my personality at its core. Suddenly I started feeling rather drifty, unable to concentrate, and having lots of exploratory thoughts about spiritualism and esotericism and how to bring those into the world in a practical way, in terms of an actual career goal so to speak, in service to others. I returned to my meditation group after over a year being away; I felt compelled to once again have the immediate support of a like-minded group focused on a practice aimed at higher-level consciousness.

I have a stable “day job” but as my hours were recently reduced, it prompted me to begin thinking about how I could supplement my earthly day-to-day job with something that was more fully in line with my passion for intuitive knowing and spiritual seeking. In fact, I serendipitously ended up connecting with a very important tarot professional: the wise, insightful and throughly lovely Brigit, who gave me the courage and encouragement to take the leap in putting my skills to work for others, and I launched my tarot website towards the end of January. It was no small feat for me to “come out of the closet” with this, because I was quite concerned about how I’d appear to the outside world and especially to all of those who knew me well as a very rational, down-to-Earth thinker. Would they think I’d gone crazy? Would they see me as some sort of flighty fortune teller? Despite my ego-based worries about social status, I felt truly compelled to push forward. There was a strong compulsion to make a contribution to others in this way.

I took a look at my birth chart and especially looked at transits, since this nebulous feeling had come up on me rather out of the blue around the end of last year, coincidentally right around the time The High Priestess started showing up in my personal readings for myself. Sure enough, there it was: transiting Neptune was conjunct my Midheaven, right there on the cusp of the 10th house, the house dealing not only with work and social status in the world, but the Midheaven itself representing, according to Cafe Astrology, a site I like a lot for its explanations of astrological elements:

The soul of the native per se, the so-called “ego”, therefore the most important point in the horoscope. The “I”, the spiritual. Intellectual and social impressions. The minute, the moment.

Beautiful image to represent Neptune in Pisces from MyGreekSpirit.com

Neptune as “Ego Wipeout”

So let’s think about the incredible impact of this transit and how it relates back to the tarot card of The High Priestess. Noel Tyl refers to Neptune as “ego wipeout” in this excellent article by Kathy Rose about Neptune transits. Then we have the Midheaven as representative of the ego itself, along with social status, vocation, and meaning in life. Meanwhile, here I am feeling like I want to completely delve into esoteric topics, and I find myself deeply researching religious practices, mythology, and any other forms of approach to the world from a non-ego perspective, searching for how to transcend this world and the self, and wondering how to incorporate all of this into a viable vocation in service to others.

A Note About The High Priestess Vs. The Moon

Here I put 2 and 2 together and started to recognize how The High Priestess was seemingly the tarot manifestation of this very strong and significant Neptune transit to my birth chart and Midheaven. Those who know the tarot might be asking, “What about The Moon?” and true, that might also be a suitable card in some aspects. However, The Moon hasn’t surfaced in any of my readings for myself in this period, and I attribute that to the fact that the way I’m personally experiencing this process is not in feeling bewildered like The Moon so much as compelled to explore “underworld” topics like The High Priestess. I feel like The Moon is more an energy that borders on deep anxiety and insecurity, it’s never really a comfortable energy for me or a welcome one, it almost feels hostile in some respects, while my perception of this time is more one of necessary exploration of the subconscious and the mysterious, but without accompanying feelings of insecurity or anxiety. I think this is an important point to clarify, because it shows once again how tarot is deeply connected to the individual’s own perception of their situation. Some people, placed in a similar astrological transit, might feel The Moon in relation to Neptune, and I do think the qualities are very closed related, but there are subtle differences that a perceptive tarot reader can intuit and clarify for the querent.

Turning New and Unknown Energies into Constructive Periods of Growth

While I am enjoying this new compulsion and passion to delve very deeply into these topics (as evidenced by my prolific writing on my journey), at the same time it isn’t an easy energy for me to navigate. Neptune, given my strong natal identification with Saturn, can be really frustrating at times, because it is so “foggy.” At first I thought it must just be the fact that we’re in the midst of a Mercury Retrograde, but then I realized it was more than that, because this mental fog has been pursuing me for a few months now, and looking at the ephemeris, that’s been ever since Neptune came within about 3 degrees of my Midheaven.

In summary, if I were discussing this transit and energies with a client going through them, I’d highlight the positive ways that the influence of Neptune and The High Priestess were actively encouraging esoteric study, looking within, using intuition for guidance, and helping shape the client’s way of interacting with the world, finding new ways other than always using rational methods for life direction. Furthermore, I’d examine how the client was feeling that their “purpose in life” was being fulfilled or not, and how the energies of inner knowing and invisible perception, as well as service to others, played a role in current and future career ideas, and the client’s beliefs and desires around vocation and social status. Time would also probably be devoted to how to navigate the sometimes difficult and confusing feelings of being lost, not knowing the way, insecurity and self-doubt, and how those energies could be harnessed and understood, to see the positive ways that they operate in bringing about new revelations and necessary “seeking” to elicit a deeper self-knowledge. Fear can play a role in Neptune transits because it can feel as if everything that was sure is now up for discussion, and that just when something seems to be clear, it dissolves away and leaves more questioning. Books by Pema Chodron come to mind as excellent resources for learning how to stay present with these uncomfortable and unsettling energies.

I share this example as evidence of why I believe divinatory practices are such amazing life tools. These ancient instruments of wisdom about the human condition can give us substance and structure to help us understand WHY we feel the way we do, and WHY on Earth things start to seem sometimes so incredibly different to us than they “normally” do. For me, being such a rational person, it’s incredibly reassuring and helpful to have validation that there’s reason behind the seeming “madness.”

Knowing how the movement of the planets touches our individual mandala of development known as the birth chart, and how the tarot can reflect these transits if the proper questions are asked, is deeply helpful in learning how to work together with these energies rather than against them. You don’t have to “believe” in astrology or tarot for these energies to make themselves known in your life, just as you don’t have to “believe” in electricity for the light switch to make the lightbulb turn on. These invisible energies are present in our lives regardless of whether we actively acknowledge them or not. However, for those of us who study them and try to understand how they operate in our lives and how they can bring about positive and necessary modifications in our being, the way to navigate them becomes a journey of discovery, rather than a battle of resistance.

9Mar2013

The Tarot Reader as Channeler

Posted in Approaches to Tarot Reading by Shelley Ruelle

I’ve been thinking about this concept a lot lately, this idea that as a tarot card reader, I’m a channel for information that the client needs to hear. When I receive positive feedback, with enthusiastic comments like, “You are a very gifted reader, you have a special gift” etc., while I feel pleased and happy that the client was satisfied with the reading and found it helpful and useful, I always feel strange about accepting this idea of having a “gift.”

Mistaken Concept of Tarot Reader as a “Chosen One”

Truly, I believe with my heart that anyone who has a passion for the divinatory arts can learn how to employ them with skill and compassion. Of course, like learning a language, it’s not going to happen overnight! But at the same time, there’s nothing in this world that endows “chosen” people with a “special gift” for being able to interpret the tarot, read an astrological birth chart, or complete an I Ching reading, to mention only a few well-known divinatory methods. While I don’t deny that some people are more naturally talented at expressing or interpreting these instruments, and some people are naturally intuitive which definitely makes it easier for them to use these methods, it’s really no different than how some people are more naturally talented at playing the piano or understanding complicated mathematical equations. It doesn’t mean that the skill is reserved to a precious few. Not everyone is going to become Beethoven, but everyone could learn how to read sheet music and play it if they were so inclined. I think this is really important for people to understand, because in my opinion it’s dangerous territory when clients start thinking their tarot reader is endowed with a special power that they themselves don’t and couldn’t ever possess. It’s equally dangerous for a tarot reader to somehow get an ego boost from comments like “You’re so gifted,” etc., because the gift that they’re giving their clients is the gift of self-knowledge, and hopefully the ability to make choices in their life in a conscious and constructive way. The tarot reader shouldn’t be getting an ego boost from the service they’re providing, because pure-hearted intention is extremely important in this work.

Why Being a Channel is Key

All of that leads me to my idea and belief that a good tarot reader is simply a channel, and we can compare that to the work of an actual channeler I know, who facilitates a monthly meditation group that I participate in. This channeler, Paola Pierpaoli, who I discuss further in my page about those who have influenced my work and my professional beliefs and values, is a channeler (meaning a person who can communicate with non-physical entities) whose work deals primarily in teaching people how to actively collaborate in their lives with their guardian angel and spirit guides. This might sound odd to many people, and recognizing this, she always mentions in her books something along the lines of telling people that this doesn’t mean that she’s a “psychic” who speaks in weird voices while holding creepy seances where objects move. It couldn’t be further from the reality. Now, whether you “believe” the ability to channel non-physical entities is possible or not is not important here. What is important to understand is the concept of being a channel, being an instrument through which messages are simply brought into the physical world in a way, or from a place, that the client isn’t able to access, but that in theory anyone can have access to, with proper study, training and practice. Certainly those who consult metaphysical practitioners do so because they find value in the practice, but regardless of who “believes” or not, a channel is something through which information is simply transmitted, like a TV channel or a radio. The radio itself doesn’t add anything, it simply transmits the program that it’s receiving through a non-visible format.

Just as I firmly assert that tarot is a skill that anyone can learn, develop, and continually improve, Paola insists and will always affirm that anyone can develop the ability and skill to become a channel for communicating with what she refers to in her latest book as the invisible world. She also makes clear that her purpose is not to have her clients become dependent on her abilities as a channeler, but rather to empower them to become their own channel, so that they can directly contact the energies that can assist them in living a more conscious life.

The Rational Mind and Different Communication Channels

Becoming an actual channeler is not easy for the average person in today’s society, for many reasons. The primary reason for this in my view is that our present world places an excessive emphasis and value on rational thought and scientific proof, and overly negates the value of unseen phenomena and information gathered from scientifically unproven (and unprovable) sources. This obviously isn’t the case worldwide, and wasn’t even always the case in the Western world as a whole (witness Native American cultures prior to European colonization), but it is the case as it stands in the mainstream Western world today.

Not only am I product of Western world socialization and enculturation, I am also naturally a very rational and logical minded person, so intuition and “letting go” intuitively aren’t skills that came naturally to me. Despite this, I’ve always been very attracted to divinatory arts and intuitive practices, so I’ve studied a wide range of them both theoretically and experientially. Through this I’ve proven to myself that training and practice can open and increase natural intuitive abilities. However, my own personal experience has shown me that tarot at this point seems to be the tool that I connect to in a way that’s more meaningful than many other tools I’ve studied. I believe this is because tarot has the ability to instantly overcome the rational mind, because the physical practice of shuffling the cards instantly removes any rational tendency to want to control the process, and then being presented with images clearly and objectively visible to the naked eye instantly puts physical “proof” in front of the reader that he or she can then delineate. This for me is something that comes much more naturally and comfortably than the actual practice of channeling, which requires subtle energy work to identify various vibrational energies that come through in meditative states, and the ability to open oneself to receiving messages in various internal-only formats (as in, only the person who is channeling can “see” or “hear” the message, and the entire process itself is silent) from non-physical realms. Once again, both possible, but some people resonate better with one method over another, just like any other skill or practice in life.

Empowerment is the Goal

Whether you are a metaphysical practitioner or a client of a metaphysical practitioner, I think this concept of being a channel is an important one to keep in mind. Empowerment should always be the goal. For practitioners, it’s apparent that not every client is going to want to devote the time or energy or interest into learning how to “do it themselves,” which isn’t a bad thing, because that in and of itself is what allows us to perform our service. The concept is the same in any service profession: people use professional tax preparers because they don’t have the time, interest, desire, or resources to devote to completing their own taxes, just as the homeowner calls the plumber because they either don’t want to or can’t devote resources to learning how to do it themselves. In these cases however it doesn’t mean that Person A is equipped with a special innate “gift” that allows them to properly fix a toilet while Person B wasn’t given this same special gift at birth or whenever; it just means that Person A decided to study how to do it, practiced, and learned, and then went on to perform it as a paid service for customers. They don’t add their own personal feelings about the toilet or its functioning or usage to the repair service they perform, they simply fix it and then leave it to the client to use!

I think it’s a good practice to always communicate information with the intention of letting it pass through you without adding anything or taking anything away, and to use your knowledge to assist the client in obtaining their own meaning from it. The reader shouldn’t be viewed or promoted as the only and absolute gateway to “hidden” knowledge that only the reader can provide, because this creates a dishonest shroud of mystery that renders it it no more valuable than a mechanical witch hovering over a crystal ball trapped inside a machine at the county fair. Taking the view of being an instrument for providing information ensures that the practice doesn’t degenerate into something that is only self-serving.

8Mar2013

Alone But Not Lonely – The Hermit

Posted in Inspiration by Shelley Ruelle

The last few weeks I realized that my life has taken a rather dramatic turn. Through the end of last year, I was actively seeking a partner. I was dating, really hoping to meet someone special, trying, putting a lot of thought, effort and energy into the idea and reality of partnership. It was a lot of work but it didn’t feel like work. I had the energy, the curiosity, the desire, the need, so it was fine. I was being as social as I could, meeting as many new people as I could, open to getting to know different types of men that I’d never considered. In short, I was a social butterfly.

As an aside, I’ve now been separated for nearly 2 years from my ex-husband, divorced for just over a year. I have three small children and so am basically a single mom, although my ex and I are on great terms and really consciously just realized our incompatibilities in couplehood after 10 years together. This by way of explanation of the context of my situation. Dating for me takes a lot of effort and is quite complicated, but again, when I felt energized and enthusiastic about meeting people, it didn’t feel like work at all.

Fast forward to now, really to about a month ago, when I finally started realizing that I was consciously choosing to step back from the world outside. Honestly. I only have two free weekends a month in which my kids are with my ex-husband, and generally I jealously guarded those weekends to go out. I started to notice a pattern whereby I was purposely choosing to stay at home all weekend. I was literally overjoyed to stay physically in my bed engrossed in a book or multiple books, for hours, sometimes all day until the evening. Being that I’m a super active person, it struck me as a bit odd, but I didn’t make much of it until I realized that it was becoming a really significant force in my current lifestyle. I had no desire to go out, be social, meet new people. I couldn’t wait to have an entire day in silence, and to read any book I could get my hands on that would immerse me in spiritual and esoteric truths that I was seeking to understand. I wanted to know everything I could on a new level about intuition and divination. I launched my business to the world after 12 years of reading tarot privately. I wanted to devour knowledge, had to know more about mythology, manifestation, philosophical musings on alternative religious schools of thought, laws of the Universe, destiny. The books came one after another, totally serendipitously. A quote in one would lead to another, a footnote in another would lead to discovering an entirely new field of thought, a new author’s body of work.

I started to feel distinctly like an honest-to-God hermit. And then, it hit me. That subtle feeling I get when a not-too-distant past reading starts to bubble back up to the surface. This, my dear friends, is why a tarot journal is so useful. It serves as a physical archive to jog your memory about something you may have seen in the cards previously, but then forgot about.

I started flipping back in my journal. I hadn’t had much time to read for myself, but I usually do a reading around the New Year. Flipping back through my journal pages, I kept looking to see if The Hermit and The High Priestess popped up in my recent past readings. Sure enough, Jan. 13, 2013, there it was, in a 7 card spread I designed to take a look at some areas in my life, good ol’ Mr. Hermit smack down in the position of “Love Life” and, lo and behold, The High Priestess in the position of “Love Life Next 3 Months.”

I thought back to that reading and suddenly remembered it well. I remembered my reaction as I flipped over The Hermit in response to love life, and getting that double whammy I usually get when I do readings for myself.

First thought: “Oh shit. I’m going to be lonely.”

Second thought: “Oh thank God. I’m going to be alone.”

That’s the thing about tarot. I tend to believe, based on my own experience, that we already know internally everything the cards show us in a reading. What the cards do is they put it all right out there in front of us, undeniably and unavoidably, which is where those gut reactions come from. It’s the proverbial “a-ha” moment, even when you don’t really want the a-ha. You know when people say “I knew it all along…” or other expressions people use when they feel that something is there, but not tangibly? Tarot is the bridge that spans the conscious and the unconscious mind.

So, back to The Hermit. Now that I’m in the thick of this energy, let’s delineate a bit how it can play out in practical terms.

Alone – Not Lonely

An important distinction to make. The Hermit is a truly necessary energy, as are all the energies and experiences represented in the 78-card deck. Everything in life belongs to the law of polarity. Everything, every situation, every emotion, every thought, has an opposite pole. The social butterfly wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the quiet hermit. When one side is expressed to the extreme, the law of polarity brings it back to the other side.

The Hermit is alone, make no mistake. He walks bravely forward, carrying his lamp to lead his way. He walks with purpose, with determination. He is a seeker. He is seeking knowledge, truth, insight, and to do so, he has to back off from the world, he has to go off on his own to “find himself” once again. He’s alone, but he’s not lonely. The reason is that his constant companion is his conscious goal and mission in his being alone: the search for truth. The Hermit steps back so he can fill himself up again, so he can silence the mental chatter, regroup, uncover interior truths, discard what isn’t working, solidify beliefs, let go of values that undermine self. The Hermit is truly soul-searching, and that isn’t lonely. Lonely is an energy that includes resistance to being alone. Lonely wants to shift to its polar opposite: togetherness. The Hermit is alone, and revels in it, needs it just as much as a person needs air and water to survive. It’s a spiritual solitary, a partnership with self, and it’s an active isolation that permits profound insights and allows unconscious material to come to light.

Going Towards the Light

It’s important to realize that the energy of The Hermit is totally productive. It shouldn’t be seen as solitary confinement. The Hermit is actively following the light of his lantern, the light of truth, of divine wisdom. It’s that light that illuminates his path. In existential terms, the knowledge he seeks in this period of aloneness is the foundation he is laying for his future steps. The knowledge, the insight, the silence, the companionship with self, all of that is what is going to sustain him when he re-emerges from his self-imposed exile.

Only the Essential

We often speak about the “essence” of something, without thinking much about how it relates to the word essential. In this card, we see only what’s essential, only that which is absolutely necessary in this period of interior renewal. There is absolutely nothing frivolous, extraneous (extra) or insignificant in the image represented on this card. The landscape is cold, barren, devoid of distractions, only the peak of a snow-capped rocky mountain. “Cold, hard truth.” There’s a walking stick for physical balance and stability (inner seeking often takes us into a dimension far from our physical reality), and a lantern to light the path. The body is completely covered in a simple, drab garment only as protection from the elements. The colors are somber. It’s solemn. It’s ritualistic. It’s holy.

Taken in this perspective, The Hermit is a constructive card of growth towards individuation and higher expression of self. Periods of activity, periods of rest. Both needed, both valuable.

So, when The Hermit comes up in a reading, welcome him with open arms for the important lessons he can teach. Be compassionate with yourself if you have the same initial gut reaction as I did. We’re human beings, we’re social animals, we’re not designed to naturally stay in solitary retreat as a lifestyle. However, periods of contemplation and quiet time with self that break up the hectic social pace of modern life are more than healthy, they are entirely necessary for balance and integration of life’s lessons.

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