YouTube - Balthazar's Conjure: Using the Tarot for Spirit Communication

This is right up my alley! A detailed and lucid explanation of how to converse with spirit using this particular method PLUS clear guidance on how to phrase questions for Yes/No enquiries.



I have a majors only deck I bought last year that told me I shouldn't use it for ordinary readings. Perhaps it was meant for this type of spirit communication.

Maybe I should ask. 😉

I've been thinking, and having thunk...

(This relates back to my previous post, where I began to look at why I don't read with my cards more...)

... One thing that struck me is that I love my cards. Really love them. All of them.

I love to touch them, look at them, aimlessly shuffle them. I've arranged my personal space so that I am virtually surrounded by all of them. They make me feel happy and cosy and safe. Sacred space.

They all have individual voices, and one or another calls to me from time to time. And then I want to take it from its resting place and sit with it, talk to it, look into its "eyes". Do I want to do a reading with it? Not necessarily. Sometimes my hands will pull a few cards without my conscious direction. Other times I'll just commune with its essence for a while.

I'm trying make sense of this by relating it to relationships I might have with other inanimate objects. The only thing that's similar is my connection with crystals and stones.

Sometime I'll deliberately work with a specific crystal, applying its particular energies to a situation. But very often I'll just get the seemingly random urge to put one somewhere in my space or wear one or hold one in my hand for a while. They also sit near me, and are dotted here and there on the decks I have out, not to enhance or protect them, although I'm sure they do, but simply because they called to each other.

Maybe I don't read as much as I think I "should" because my connection with cards is less about divination and more about magick. My decks are sacred objects, talismans, spiritual companions.

And I think that's where I need to start...

My mother can use Sibilla better than I can!

Back in April I took part in an Instagram tag called #sibillaprile, where we looked at the Italian Sibilla card meanings and used the cards for daily draws and short readings.

At the same time I was beginning to try to communicate with my mother in order to resolve past issues (daughters, mothers - there's always issues). So I invited her to speak to me through the sibilla cards.

Mistake.

She took over! No matter what I pulled cards about, she was in there. I'd be like "How the heck does that relate to--?!... Oh. Hi Mum."

So we came to an agreement. I would have a card conversation with her every morning, and she would leave my cards alone the rest of the time. So far that seems to be working.

But dang! if she isn't better at using the cards to get her point across than I am at interpreting them. And she was never into cards when she was alive. How does she do that?

And here is a prime example that I just had to share with you. Yesterday was our granddaughter's first Communion (that side of the family is Catholic*). That morning I asked Mum if there was anything she wanted to talk about and La Fedeltà fell out. So I put it back in the deck, shuffled a bit more and then pulled the two cards before and the two cards after that card in the deck. I noticed that the next card was Donna maritata, the mother card, so I put that down as well - it seemed to be saying "Listen to your mother".

There was to be a garden party/buffet after the event, and I knew it was going to be a very hot day, so I took this to mean keep an eye on the granddaughter (Bambino-La Fedeltà) so that she doesn't overdo it (La Leggerezza: recklessness, Disperato per gelosia: get frazzled) at the party (Allegrezza al cuora). I also noted the tent and hat in la Fedeltà - stay in the shade.

I often check the card on the bottom of the deck for extra details, and this time it was Ammalato: Sickness.

Soooo, guess who got heatstroke, was violently ill all yesterday afternoon and evening, and had to take to her bed. Yep. Me!

I should have known the message was meant for me. I am my mother's Bambino after all, and she even appeared at the end of the spread.

To top it off, when I made a note of all this in my journal, I wrote that I was "sick as a dog"...
Oh haha, Mum, very funny.

*Apologies for the distancing tactic, but it matters to me, and I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Frankly, whenever I witness a Catholic ritual, I can't help but notice how much it resembles witchcraft. I mean - candles, bells, incense, recitations, transubstantiation... Just sayin'. 😉 

Thank you, Ganesh

15/2/18 

Thank you for helping Beastie again,

Ganesh the Merciful

26/12/17

Thank you for helping me even when I don't deserve it,

The One Who is Easy to Appease

5/6/17

Thank you, Ganesh, for helping Beastie,

Remover of Obstacles

Repost - Myth & Moor: The Peace of Wild Things

"When nature is personal, the world is peopled by rocks, trees, rivers, and mountains, all of whom are actors and agents, protagonists of their own stories rather than just props in a human story. When Earth is truly alive, the world is full of persons, only some of whom are human."

Myth & Moor: The Peace of Wild Things

image credit: Terri Windling, Myth & Moor

Speak up, I can't hear you...

I’ve just made a fairly obvious discovery about communicating with spirit, specifically passed loved ones, that I'd like to share. You probably know this intellectually as well, but it bears saying directly.

Ok, here goes - You need to talk to them Out Loud. They don't just *know* what you're thinking or what you're feeling. You have to Tell Them.

I realised this while I was using cards to communicate with my mother. She showed me that she didn't know how my step-father, her husband, was feeling. Now bear in mind, she's been dead 16 years, but apparently this was still an issue. So I spoke to her, and told her that he missed her, that he still thought about her and cared for her very much. The next morning I drew cards for her again, and the joy expressed in those cards was heart-breaking. And I thought, Well duh, Judy - she didn't know what you were thinking when she was alive. What makes you think she's somehow acquired the ability to read minds just because she's changed her plane of existence?

It's good to talk.

(image source)

Want to receive a spirit message through your cards?

Would you like to use your cards to receive a message from a deceased loved one or a particular spirit guide?

Assign them a significator, a card that will be their "place holder" in the deck. For example, for me, my mother always appears as the Queen of Diamonds* when using playing cards, and the Bouquet when using Lenormand.

Shuffle the deck and then thumb through it face up until you find their card. The card before (on top of) it reflects what they want to talk about or how they're feeling, and the two cards behind (below) it expand on the subject or form the message about the first card.

Need more information from them or want to ask a question? Reshuffle and repeat the process. Don't overdo it though. When you start getting jibberish is when you know you've worn them out. 😉

*Because in traditional German courts this Queen is holding a carnation, my mother's favourite flower.

It seems my grandfather is a bit of a dark horse

While communing with my ancestors this Samhain/Halloween just passed, Opa, my maternal grandfather, again let it be known that he wanted to spend more time with me. As I was going to be off work this week, I promised him I'd make some time to "chat".

I had the house to myself for a couple of hours this morning, so I fired up the incense burner and threw on a bit of patchouli. I often use patchouli when working with the ancestors, and Opa has a fondness for it, as do I. To be honest, I don't care for the smell of burning patchouli. I much prefer patchouli oil, but, you know, protocol. 😏

The scene set, I invited Opa to speak to me, and the first spread was a "direct hit". I'm not sharing that one because it was essentially a spirit hug and message from him to me. But "hellos" out of the way, I then asked him if he had anything he wanted to tell me.

As I shuffled, one card flew out face down, so I put it to one side. I then pulled two more cards. Interestingly, instead of cutting the deck and pulling the cards from there, as I always do, I pulled them straight off the top. I did it entirely without thinking, so I'm putting that down to Opa's influence.

I turned over the Jack first and laughed that I was being *told* I was getting a message. This message involved a woman and a change (8D is usually not an easy change). I suspected it was something to do with a relative of a friend of mine. I saw more hints in the cards but, of course, it's private, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, I suddenly got the urge to call her. But first, I checked the bottom card of the deck, to see if what I was reading into this pair was correct, and I got my No card. So I stopped, and I didn't call my friend.

Instead, I reshuffled and pulled some cards for further information, in order to make sense of this trio. The Queen of Clubs appeared again. As I laid the last card, my phone rang.

Said friend shared something that had just happened to her that made perfect sense of the cards I'd drawn. And the second spread turned out to contain advice for her.

It really was (Jack of Clubs) a message about a friend. And I've learned that the Queen of Clubs could represent this particular friend in future. (Who am I kidding? "This particular friend". I'm an introvert; I only have one friend. 😋) Thinking about it, the suit of Clubs is a perfect match for her.

But the big news is that Opa has left me a bit stunned. Who knew? For the past three years I've been concentrating on working with Oma, the card reader, right? (No offence; love you; still want your help!) And there was Opa waiting in the wings for his opportunity to shine. No wonder he came across a bit pushy on the brief, once-a-year occasions that I've called on him. Sorry Opa! I can see us collaborating a lot more in future.

Tell me anything

Client: I’d like a reading, please.
Reader: Wonderful. That will be £xx, please…
        Thank you. So, what is your question?
Client: Oh. I don’t have a question.
Reader: No question?…
Client: I’d just like to know what the cards have to
        tell me.
Reader: …
Reader: Is there an area of your life you’d like some
        insight into?
Client: Not really. [smiles encouragingly]

Okay, this is not insurmountable. The reader could use a spread that would help to define an area of enquiry, giving the reading some context. Or they could take the client at their word and just throw a few cards and see what comes up. And of course, if they happen to be psychic, pfft, piece of cake.

But…

You the client have just sat down (virtually, if it’s by email) and handed over your hard-earned cash to someone you probably don’t really know… and you don’t have anything in particular you’d like to know about? You’re willing to pay good money for a random message from the universe? Surely the reason you’ve approached a card reader is because there’s something that you’d like the universe to address.

What if the universe tells you to call your mother more often? Or that your next pair of shoes will be blue? Are you going to be happy that you spent £xx for that?

And how do you feel about the message itself? Do you believe it came from The Beyond?

If you have a question and the reading then addresses that question in some sensible fashion, you can feel fairly confident that the information came from Source. If you've posed no question, you have no point of reference, and no way of satisfying yourself that it is indeed a message from Spirit and not just from the imagination of the reader. Still, it may 'feel' right to you, and if so, all well and good.

Mind you, if you really have nothing better to do with your time and your money than to get a reading just for the craic, why not spend them learning how to read cards yourself. You’ll get more out of it, I promise you. 

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How’s this for synchronicity? I was ready to post this when I took a break to check my emails, and there was one from Carrie Mallon offering her “Serving of Synchronicity Reading”:

If you are yearning to receive meaningful messages but don't have a specific "focus area" in mind for a tarot reading, this option is perfect. You will not be asked to provide any notes or context for this reading. Instead, we'll trust synchronicity. I'll ask to be guided to the cards and insights that will be most useful to you, and your reading will be a serving of random (but oh so magical) support.

See? We do try to cater for everyone. 
Find it here --> http://www.carriemallon.com/readings/ 

Repost - Card Reader/Angelo: Fortune telling and Magic

For me, it's essential. For me, it's how it works.

Just relying on the cards is not enough. At least to my opinion. It is like using half of your abilities... Fortune telling and Magic

Family rallies 'round

On this day of my honouring my grandmother's birthday and dealing with Brexit [shudder] I asked Oma to come to me and comfort me.

The Queen of Diamonds/Mum came instead, or rather 'as well' because the shadow card was the Queen of Spades/Oma, and reassured me that everything will be okay soon.

Thank you, I really needed to hear that right now.  ♥ you.

My cards are possessed

You cannot tell me there is not something “conscious” at work with cards.

A week or so ago I was shuffling the Balbi while contemplating out loud what deck I intended to take away with me in May. No sooner had the words “I think I’ll take the RWS” left my lips when the 4 of Swords literally flew out *at* me. In this system it represents ‘a declared evil’. Balbi was clearly not impressed that I had just declared my evil intention to leave him at home! 

So when, for #WithinWithoutAdvice, I asked if I should continue to work with only the Balbi for a while I wasn’t surprised to see the 4S again, occupying the Without position. My betrayal has not been forgotten. 

Within: I’d made a written commitment (letter, decree) to work with only the Tarot Balbi. I did say for just two weeks but the concept of time seems to be lost on Balbi, at least on this occasion. 

Advice: ‘Shared love’. Looks like I’m expected to be faithful a while longer.☺

...She loves me

Ethony Dawn of Ethony.com offers Tarot training through her online Tarot Readers Academy. There is a free module entitled "Spirit Guides and Tarot Training".

Apart from my grandmother, I'm vaguely aware of a few more guides. If I meditated, or at least focused more often, I'd probably be more than "vaguely" aware of them. So I thought I'd take advantage of the free lesson.

The module includes a guided meditation to connect you with one of your guides. At one point during the meditation you sit in your "garden" and wait for the guide to come to you. I wanted to keep my mind clear of expectations, so I focused on the grass and ran my hand over it. Immediately I spotted a tiny daisy flower...

gettyimages

I hadn't thought of my guide Daisy literally in months. You could say I'd completely forgotten about her [my bad]. But there she was, no hard feelings. I was honestly shocked. Part of me knows there are spirit guides, I've seen so much evidence of it. But part of me can still be caught by surprise when it happens so matter-of-factly.

I know I can't force it but I'm going to try and check in with Daisy more often, and I hope she'll work with me for a while.

If you'd like to have a go at meeting one, or more, of your guides, I can obviously recommend Ethony's meditation. Or check out the many available on YouTube. They'd love to say "Hi".

Chatting with my grandmother

This is why I love working with cards. Gentle reader – allow me to introduce my grandmother.

I was listening to WitchUpTheRoad talking about how important it was to her to remember her family history and honour her ancestors, and I was moved to ask my ancestors to give me a message for today's #WithinWithoutAdvice.

I use my grandmother's, Oma’s, playing card method and she sometimes “drops in” as the Queen of Spades. So imagine how delighted I was when she appeared in this spread in such a familiar and unambiguous way. And notice the zodiac sign on her chest? No prizes for guessing what sign Oma was.

My ancestors are always Within.

The Balbi '8 of Coins' speaks of legacies, and the fair distribution of property or inheritance, as well as perseverance. Value my inheritance and continue to share it Without.

The Hanged Man confronts the various possibilities between the past and the future. It is the balance of power between necessity and freedom, between that which is an essential part of us from our past and that which we make for ourselves in the future. I’m Advised to acknowledge that balance.

Thanks for stopping by, Oma. x

Divining the Dentist's Decision

I’ve had a tooth that has been giving me all sorts of trouble, frankly for years, but particularly for the past 6 months. This week my husband and I were due for our regular dental check-ups and I’d made up my mind to tell the dentist I wanted that tooth pulled!

Would he agree? Would he do it today or would I have to wait and come back another day?...

The closer we got to the clinic, the more these questions nagged at me. Eventually I thought I’d try a bit of bird augury. If the next bird I see flying across the road is heading right, the dentist will pull the tooth today. If it’s flying to the left, he won’t .

So I sat there, looking up into the sky expectantly (hubby was driving). And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Not a single bird flew across the road in either direction for what felt like ages. It didn’t seem feasible that no birds would be flying anywhere in the vicinity during all that time.

And then finally I spotted him. One lone seagull, fairly high up, flying to the right. Tooth out today, then.

As I lowered my gaze, my eyes fell upon a street sign. Of the road my dentist is in.

Ah, that would explain it. Nice touch, guys.

Was the augury correct? Let me put it this way –

The worst part of having a tooth pulled is the crunching sound.

1

I've just noticed that my last three blog posts all have the word "one" in the title. There's gotta be some deep cosmic significance in that. ☺

Ethony's 31 Days of Tarot Challenge - Days 20-26

The next instalment of responses to Ethony's 31 Days of Tarot Video Challenge.

I've just found out that question #16, which I said in my last video I thought would probably be better as two questions, IS supposed to be two questions - #16 and #17. They've now been split, but I've been working from a list I printed off a couple of weeks ago, so the numbers I refer to in this and the previous video are out of sync. Sorry about that.

And no, I'm still not over this #@?%&! cold.

31 Days of Tarot Challenge - part 4

Edit: I've just found out that question #16, which I said I thought would probably be better as two questions, IS supposed to be two questions - #16 and #17. They've now been split, but I've been working from a list I printed off a couple of weeks ago, so the numbers I refer to in the video are out of sync. Sorry about that.

If you're still with me, here are my Days 14 to 18 14 to 19 of Ethony's 31 Days of Tarot Video Challenge.

So much for looking a bit less peaky. :/ I'm still feeling rough, and it shows! But if I fall too far behind with these questions I know I'll give up and I really don't want to do that.

If you're taking part in this challenge please leave me a link to your channel in the comments!

Downbar info you won't see unless you go to YouTube to watch the video:
Kelly-Ann Maddox - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO3TVUyNxIdMdR9RljTIzaQ
Etteilla - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etteilla
"Tarot Cards in Early Modern Europe", with reference to Etteilla's influence - http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/history-of-tarot-cards.html
Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/dame-fortunes-wheel/

Speaking through skeletons

This summer I bought a deck of Lotería cards. Not your standard ones, but Lotería de la Muerte.

I found them in a Mexican import shop in Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, of all places.

Me being me, I wanted to use them for divination. So I had to come up with meanings for each of the images. Me being me, that had kind of stalled.

Then I read Beth Maiden's article on how to make time for Tarot, in which she mentions using a photograph of your daily card as the wallpaper on your phone. That appealed to me enormously. With that motivation, I regularly select a card and over the course of the day I consider the possible meanings.

Why am I telling you this today? Because this morning, the day after Hurricane Patricia hit southwest Mexico, I was naturally drawn to think of the people living there. While shuffling. I asked Gaia to take the heavy rain expected and absorb it or move it in ways that would not add flooding and mudslides to their misery.

I think she was listening. 

There are no coincidences

I picked up my Osho Zen Tarot to select a card to use as the wallpaper on my phone today. I had literally just begun shuffling when one card flipped over in my hands.

For a split second I considered it as a "jumper" but decided it was the result of attempting to shuffle with half-awake hands. So I put the card back and continued shuffling, telling the deck, as you do, that it was just sloppy shuffling, I wanted to shuffle the deck properly and if it wanted to give me that card again it was welcome to do so.

Yep.

"...'Experiencing' is the feeling of wonder itself, the thrill of communion, the gentle touch of our connectedness with all that surrounds us..."

Even the title of this post comes from the Facebook post which triggered me to pull my card of the day.

This is why I fucking love cards.