The Readings by SunChariot Newsletter

August 2014 Edition

Volume 6, Edition 8

Welcome back to the Readings by SunChariot newsletter!

I'm happy to have this time to be here with you this month. Especially as it's such a good period in my life right now. And at those times in life, sharing's good. :-)

I have to say that I am a bit excited about my life this month. I did something good for myself lately.  I am now one of Weight Watchers' newest members. I joined 2 weeks ago. And it's just been a remarkable two weeks so far. 

I am really very fond of them. It's a bit of work, but delicious foods, and you never really have to deprive yourself of anything. I wanted to get back to eating healthier too, and you can't beat Weight Watchers for that, It even incorporates exercise into the plan. Just what I wanted at my age, to look after my health a bit better. And best of all so far I have lost 9 lbs in the past 2 weeks, which I am quite happy about as you can see. And with how easy it was in reality. LOL

And the meetings are great fun and motivational too. Very encouraging.

 

To change the topic, here is one more thing that I wanted to share with you this month. I saw this ad recently. It was a poster in a store window near where I work. And I thought it was so amazing that I had to take the photo, and then to include it here. It was this: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It touched me. In English it would say. "Alien (the name of the product I suppose, probably a perfume) Do you believe in the extraordinary?"

 

It just really made me stop and think. The photo itself feels like a reminder that we are all beings of love and light. She is just radiating light everywhere.  But is that extraordinary or is that just what life in general ism what it means to be a human being? Or is it extraordinary because we often get so lost in the mundane that we forget to look and see it?  If you know what I mean. Does it really feel alien to most people to believe in the extraordinary?  There seems to be something sad in that to me, if so. 

So the image and words touched me. And I wanted to share them here. :-)

 

Interestingly the idea of this also came up in this month's Asking about Life section, very much so in the last card of that readings. And I did write that before I wrote this section.

 

Maybe that is meant to be the theme of this month's newsletter then?  I know I certainly believe in the extraordinary. Tarot has always been that for me.  

 

I will leave you with that this month, about the idea of if you believe in the extraordinary in life and what that means to you.. And wish you beauty and warmth and radiance this month.

All the very best to you,

Warmly,

Babs

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

(This Blog version of my newsletter is available to be viewed by anyone at anytime at this site. It will come out once a month, near the last Saturday of every month. But, if you'd like an e-mail reminder each month to let you know when the new edition has come up, just click here and  let me know and I'll get that out to you)

Quote of the Month

 

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

--Joseph Campbell

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 

I loved this one when I first saw it, and felt like I wanted to share it. It's so much what I believe. I believe that the world needs each one of us and that that is why we are here. That as unique individuals, each of us have some important roles to play. And of all the millions and millions of people on they world each of us was the one chosen to be who we are, the person best suited to be us. And to me, that's both an honour and privilege, and helps motivate me to try to be the best "me" that I can. 

August 2014 Contest

This month's contest will be for a 3 card Tarot reading. I haven't done a Tarot reading here for a little while and they have always been popular. :-)

To enter the contest this month, just click here.

In the Comments section, just write "August 2014 contest" along with the country you are in (feel free to just put the first initial of your last name if you want).

The drawing will take place on Sunday, August 24, 2014  and will be announced in the September 2014 edition of this newsletter.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Last month's winner

The winner of the July 2014 contest is Nancy H. from the USA. The prize was a 3 card angel reading.

Congratulations Nancy! Very much looking forward to reading for you, We'll be talking again soon. :-)


Warmly,

Babs

 

Tarot Demystified

Tarot as something that isolates us vs something that connects us

This is something that I think about sometimes, and it just seems interesting to me that something that has so much potential to create and maintain connection in life (as does Tarot) can also have the opposite effect and disconnect people.

 

Of course there are still so very many superstitions, misconceptions and misunderstandings, and just faulty information out there about Tarot, and what it is and can or can't do.  It seems that because of that for most people who have no first  hand experience with it, and even for some who do, that is all they know. And it forms their beliefs on the topic. Which is why I write this column every month, to try to undo some of that and to show a more accurate vision of it. What we tend to see in movies and books that mention Tarot, when it is mentioned at all, tends to lean towards the negative and very inaccurately so.  

 

Eery/scary music and the Death card is pulled. And then sometime dies. When there ARE no negative card OR scary cards in Tarot. It's a tool designed to help us live our best lives, so what purpose would it serve to include that kind of thing in such a system?  And no the Death card does not mean actual death. That is not even it's meaning at all. And no the cards cannot make anything happen and anything they do show in the future can pretty well be changed if you decide we want to change it. There really is nothing scary about it, in reality. Tarot is a tool to help us create and live our best lives. And an excellent one, at that.

Unfortunately though, because of all these misconceptions and some mistrust that comes from them, the beautiful tool that is Tarot does at times seem to disconnect us, even though it has enormous potential to do just the opposite.  I know very few readers who openly just tell anyone and every one that they read the cards. Most of us have grown a bit wary of the reactions we may get.  And pick and choose who we let in on our little secret.  

 

And that is sad a bit.  I probably would not volunteer that information on a job interview for example, or when first meeting my potential in laws.

 

In my experience, when I do tell people there are a variety of reactions. Some people are actually accepting and even fascinated by it. I've also gotten a lot of just plain misunderstanding. It's happened to me a number of  times that I tell someone I am a Tarot reader and they thrust out their hand to me, palm side up and ask me to read their palm. It's almost a bit funny I have seen this happen so many times. I then tell them I do not read palms, I read Tarot. And they just stare at me blinking as if I just told them I was about to fly around the room. :-)

 

And then you get the people who get angry about your being a reader. And some even quite  insulting, about how you can be so stupid as to get into that. (sigh)

 

And you get the looks to mistrust and fear, The people who back away and look at you funny. Or the ones who try to warn you and beg you not to get involved with reading the cards, as don't you know that is voodoo, or connection to something negative. Which believe me NONE of this is true. Just more misconceptions and superstitions.

 

So yes, unfortunately, being a reader still in this day and age can separate us. Telling people you are a reader, can serve to push them away from you. It can create a wall or barrier between you. Many of us have loved ones too who reacted rather badly to us becoming readers and it created some discord between us. I personally had a lot of that with my mother and boyfriend.  It's unfortunate, because it's so unnecessary, and the reasons for it are all based in misunderstanding.

 

But yes, Tarot can also be a great tool to create and maintain connection in our lives. And that can be and is an amazing and empowering thing. Of course there is the connection between the querent (person the reading is being done for) and the reader. But Tarot can bring a sense of connection to each of them individually as well.

 

Tarot can be used to ask about how to better our relationships, how to resolve conflicts, how to better and more deeply understand loved ones, how to have more patience, how to feel better in any life situation....the questions we can ask are almost endless. The answers we get in these types of readings help of deepen our relationships and our connection to the people in our lives.

Questions about our life purpose can help us connect more to that purpose. And direct questions about our connection, eg about our connection to nature, can help us sense that connection more deeply as well. And just seeing Tarot at work, seeing it work, infers that there is something in life we can connect to that will answer us if we ask. Seeing that in action can help strengthen our belief in and connection to that (although opinions vary greatly as to exactly what that is.

 

Being a reader (and even the act of learning to read) is greatly connecting as well. It can connect you to parts of life you never knew existed, beautiful wondrous parts.  It teaches you about, and connects you more deeply to the "magic" within yourself. We all have it, it's part of what it means to be human. But Tarot is a tool that brings it out and strengthens it.  There is something magical about the cards telling you the exact right answer. And as a reader that answer is coming from and though you. The cards are just paper. The magic is something coming through you. You are the one who finds inside you how to connect to that. And that truly feels magical.

 

I've found that being a reader gives you a deeper understanding of life and a deeper connection to the world. For me that is a side effect of being a reader. And a good positive one. As I need to be in an open calm state of mind to connect and read, it keeps up to date on my meditations, which is even more connecting.

Reading Tarot is very much one of life's greatest and most fascinating gifts to us. And it tends to lead us to curiosity to open up and explore other areas of who we are as humans. We all have the ability to make that connection with us. The cards are a tool to let us do that. And when you do do that, worlds open up to you. Worlds or wonder that you never imagined existed. 

 

 

Coming next month: Sharing our hopes and dreams (and sometimes what lies beneath them)

 

Asking about Life


I think that we all get busy in our lives and sometimes don't get to take enough me time. Or have to focus on one thing that needs to get done ASAP.  I thought I would ask the cards this month about that.

Related to this topic,. I thought I would ask for us :What do we need to remember to do to keep things in balance in our lives? I thought the answer would give us something useful to keep in mind at those times. 

I used the Voyager Tarot here, by James Wanless. It's a deck with a unique kind if imagery, but one that I find reads very well for me (I am already on my second edition of the deck).

Here is what the Voyager Tarot had to say in answer to the question I asked:
 (Something worth noting here is that 4 of the 5 cards that came up here were from the Major Arcana. That says right there that keeping things in balance in our lives is very important)



Card 1:Woman of Cups

I JUST LOVE the answer given by this card. Looks like a great card to start off this reading with to me. :-)

The Woman (or Queen in other decks) or Cups to me is about opening sharing your feelings. And so the first part of your answer says that holding in feelings that need expressing is not going to help you achieve of maintain that feeling of balance in your life.

But this card is suggesting doing so in a specific way. The  keyword on this card is "Rejoicer". And it is a card full of joyful images and beauty. While letting out angry feelings loudly may well be sharing feelings, it is not the kind we are talking about here, not the kind of communication that will help keep things in balance in your life.

As you can see from the image, we're talking about beautiful cleansing conversations that come from the heart, And not just conversations, a good hug or a gentle touch are also ways of communicating feelings. Or a loving look. These all connect us to others. So really we are talking here about connection, that feeling of being cared about and connection that we all need.

So part of the answer here is to make sure you make time for that when you get busy, schedule that into the plan, to take time outs to stop and put it down and rejoice in what you do have and to share caring feelings with others. And to really connect. 


Card 2: Chariot

I've always loved The Chariot. Some don't like to see it come up, but to me it's a very positive card. It talks about some form of difficulty BUT it says that it can and will be resolved if you keep at it. The Chariot says that if you don't give up and keep working at things you WILL succeed, and in a huge way. Big victory, and think how proud you will be when you do. It's the card that says that your persistence will pay off.

 

What this card is saying here in relation to the question asked is that when things are busy and you have deadlines: envision success and expect/believe/know that if you keep at it you can and will succeed. .Know you are on the path there. You may need to take a short rest of two,. You may have to take a little detour on the road you're on. But know that in the end if you keep at it you will succeed. 

And let the light of that knowledge shine from you and lighten the load, let your spirit fly and free your mind to be more and more creative. And to think in new ways that it can only do when freed. 

 

 

Card 3: Balance (reversed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This card coming up here just made me laugh. I asked about keeping things in balance in our lives, and up pops the Balance card. LOL.  I love when those things happen, just a little proof that the cards are listening! (even though of course they always do).

 

This card does have an important message. It is once again a Major Arcana card AND it was a reversed card. The way I used reversals here a flipped card on a Major strengthens it's meanings and makes it more important. 

Since it's a bit obvious to say that the best thing to do to keep a sense of balance in our life is to maintain thing in balance, the answer is more to be found in the card image here.

 

And the first part of the answer I see in the image is the diamond. It says that one thing you have to remember to do to keep your life in balance is to truly value balance. To see it as something truly precious and valuable to you. Something that you need to keep as a constant in your life (diamonds are forever, after all).

 

The more you value it, the less likely you are to let go of it, or to not take the steps you need to to maintain it. Logical enough. If you just see it as something not worth focusing on and that you can put aside when too busy and not think about, that attitude will lead you to do just that.

 

Next the ballerina (representing you), is talking about not over-extending your reach. We can't already reach as high if you are overtired or exhausted from the dance of trying to achieve what you are working on. The bird doing a nose dive on the other side of the sword, says that's just is not good for you inside. It can make you your goals feel "fragile"

 

The middle path, the path of balance as it is shown in the image is shown by the face in the middle coming out of a shell with a castle on top. All this says is that no matter what we are doing, it's still important to still take time to think thoughts that make us feel comfortable and at home. And to make some time to engage in activities that make us feel that way. These will relax us and let our natural wisdom float naturally out of us. And help us more easily glide towards solutions.  

Cards 4 and 5: flipped Moon (reversed) and Star (reversed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last two cards here are also important ones to this reading. They are both flipped cards, meaning that they have a deep meaning, that might be better understood after thinking it over a bit. And they are both Majors and reversed Majors at that. Which gives their meaning a strength and importance.

 

The pair also form a card duo, meaning they came out of the deck together. That says that their meanings are very closely interconnected.

The first card, Moon, says that part of keeping things in balance is related to maintaining your sense of awe in the magic and beauty of life. It about keeping your ability to see the miracles of life all around you alive and well. So often, maybe too often things get too busy and fast-paced for us to make the time to slow down enough to look around and see and really notice the unusual, the inspiring, the creativity around us...This is not a path to keeping things in balance. 

 

I believe what is being said here is that making that time to see all this will have two different, but both very worthwhile, effects:

1. to see the beauty and magic and miracle so life opens us up to think more creatively. To experimenting with new things.  And that is good for achieving our goals.
2. to see all this gives us more confidence to try new things and believe they can work.

The second card here, The Star, is about having hope and faith in life. That trust that things will always work out for the best in the end. And when this card come it, it says that they will. This card is closely related to the Moon card, because seeing the magic and wonder of life can lead you to have that faith that things will work out in that kind of work. And the reverse is true as well. If you have that faith in life and belief that things will always work out in the end, that belief frees you to let go and see the more of the wonders of life all around you.

 

All this has a lot to do with keeping things in balance in your life. 

The image itself is really about finding and holding onto what brings you personally inner peace in your life. Knowing what feels "beautiful" to you in and about your life and making time to connect regularly to that. 

About what makes you feel that fireworks feeling....the one where you're there and expecting something beautiful to come and watching for it. And the not knowing what form it will take. And then there it is and it's uniquely beautiful. And just makes you want to oooh and aaaaw,  and you do inside.

 

Whatever does that for you, a child's laughter, a baby's smile, beautiful music or artwork, caring friends, the touch of a loved one, the beauty and magic of nature. Whatever connects you to that and inspires trust and faith in life, those are the things in life to check in on regularly, and especially to make even a little time for when we feel extra busy. 

August 2014 Friendship Reading


Today I used the Thoth Tarot for you, of course by Aleister Crowley, and Frieda Harris. Very famous and effective deck. :-)

I did use reversals in your reading. This time round I used upright cards to reflect what is going on inside yourself and reversed cards to represent external influences.

I asked for you this time what to pay attention to this month of August 2014, that would help you make the most of it and be the best you can be.

And here is what this deck said:



Card 1: The Sun

The Sun is a Major Arcana card and that tells you that there is something quite important that can be learnt this month by paying attention to what is talked about in this card. There is an important lesson for you there.

The message of The Sun card is related to all the good positive things we think about when we think about the actual sun. Warmth, joy, that feeling that all is right with the world, health, light, enlightenment, seeing things more clearly (in the light of day)...

So the basic message for you here, from this card, is that if you look for these things and pay attention to them this month, ....it will teach you some important and enriching life lessons.

The image shows what looks to me like a seashell. That makes me think of holding that shell up to your ear to "hear the ocean", the ocean representing the rhythms and movements of life, and of your life.

This is the month to put  your focus on all that is represented by The Sun card. All that warmth, joy and enlightenment. But just as we need to put our ear on the right part of the seashell to hear anything,  we are talking here about listening in to all this this month, but in a specific way.

This was an upright card here, saying that the place to look for these is inside yourself. That is the lesson. The answers are there inside you, it's just a matter of finding them and bringing them out.

It's about really connecting to your inner warmth and caring there inside you. Allow yourself to feel it as fully as you can and to shine it out into the world.

As you can see, the two beings are "inside" the shell. With their arms reaching out and upwards. It's about reaching out to others with the inner warmth and your unique inner vision that is inside you. The wings suggest that you should feel free to do so this month and that it will help uplift you and help you fly higher.

Reach out from what is inside you in warm ways to others, spread your beautiful inner light this month as much as you can. Touch people when you can. And see how those actions radiate out into the world and affect the future you attract towards yourself. There is something important you can learn this month by doing all this. It will help connect you more to the wisdom of life, which is right there behind you, and lead to more things to celebrate.


Card 2: 9 of Disks

This is a card from the suit of Disks, which for me is about our goals and the necessary work needed to achieve them. And it is the 9, about taking a time out to really think things out before moving forward.

As you can see, the keyword printed on this card is "Gain". So the question here for you is really about what you hope to gain vs what you are likely to gain on the path you have chosen.

This card is saying that this month of August would be a good time to stop and think all this over. What are your goals that you hope to achieve from where you are in your life? What is the way you have been thinking and feeling and acting actually likely to lead to? Is this in line with what you actually do want to accomplish?

Have you set out a plan to achieve your goals? How is it working and why? Is there an easier or more efficient path to get to the same place? What has been working for you and what hasn't and why?...

The Thoth is telling you here that now is a good time for you to stop, take a deep breath and look around before moving forward again. To stop and take a time out from working on your goals and think it all over before starting up again. See what you can tweak and adjust and do better. Or if you find that your goals  and what feels important to you may have changed since you started, if you take a good look...then to adjust accordingly.

The image here says to look also at how one goal may interact with and affect another.  That is something to take into consideration when planning the best way to proceed. And how the goals you have and how you react to them affect others around you. Also how other people's help can pay off in making things easier for you

This card asks you to think about the energy your are putting out as you work on your goals. Do you feel all alone in working on what you hope to achieve, or do you feel and know your life is working with you (and that others around you are willing to help if you ask).

Are you sending out positive love-based energy and acceptance. Or stress-based energy. These can also affect the outcome, So if the latter, try to make things less stressful on yourself. Cut the goal into smaller more achievable bites, expect ups and downs (we all have them after all). Those kinds of things can help.


Card 3: Knight of Swords (reversed)

This is an interesting card here. It's from the suit of Swords, about out thoughts and the way we tend to think. It's also the Knight. And Knights for me are all about empathy, about true feelings of oneness and connection. And being able to clearly feel what it would be like to be the other person in the situation and feeling for them.

What makes this card interesting here is that it's a reversed card. And that makes it not about you, but about the other people in your life all around you. How well do you think THEY understand you and feel for you and feel that connection and oneness with you? How often do you think they stop and think about what it would be like to be where you are now and feel a true understanding and oneness with you because of it.

This card is asking you this month to stop and think about this.  About how often people try to really connect with you and understand. How often you think this is happen and to think about if sometimes it may be happening more than you know.

The image shows the knight just plowing ahead, barely seeing clearly even where he is going (you can't see his eyes at all here). He is just plowing ahead out of habit and as sense of obligation without even stopping to see if the rules of the game may have changed and he may be heading completely in the wrong direction to get to the best place in his future.

Look at all the armour he is wearing here, and you can see the message of this card. You are being asked this month to stop and look if there is something from your past that made you feel you NEED to keep you shields and walls up and wear armour to protect your inner self. And is all that preventing you from seeing real cases where people want to and do feel empathy and caring and oneness with you. And is all that pushing people away at times? And if so is that the best path to get to future you want to? Or does that path just lead to a downhill struggle. If so, you always have the ability to change turn around and change directions on any path you are on. :-)


Card 4: 2 of Cups

And yes, this is the 2 of Cups, the love card of the deck. :-)  Cups are about  our feelings and the 2s are the interaction between two people. So it's really all about love between yourself and others. It can be about the love you feel for specific other people in your life, Or about a general feeling of love for all humankind. This is an upright card so we are feeling about your feelings of love, the love that YOU feel for others.

And this card is telling you here that paying attention to your feelings of love this month will help you to make the most of this month of August and to be the best that you can be.

As you can see in the image, the two beings (the fish) are identical. They are really mirror images of each other. The message from that is to see the other people that way. This month, look for and focus on the similarities between yourself and the other people you love. Look at how you are the same, not at how you differ.

Even, and especially, when it looks like you are facing (coming from) different directions. This card says that the loving (and best) thing you can do is to focus on your similarities and not on your differences. See yourselves both as human beings both with the same need to feel accepted and needed and safe, Not as two people who can't see eye to eye. If you can focus on the similarities you can turn things around so that you can see eye to eye again.

This is also the most loving way to treat strangers, to look for how you are the same and not how you are different. As humans we have a lot of similarities. We are all part or what it means to be human.


Card 5: flipped Aeon (reversed)

This last card of the reading was a flipped card ( card that flew out of the deck during shuffling). Flipped cards are important. A flipped card means that the message of the card contains something a bit deep in it that you will likely understand more clearly and deeply if you stop and think over the message.

This is also a Major Arcana card, so it is talking about a very important life lesson for you. As this card is both a flipped card AND a Major Arcana card, it is really the most important and powerful card in this reading.

And the message of Aeon is all about renewal and rebirth. And also about stepping back so you can see the big picture. This card is asking you to stop and look back over your life. At the things that have become habit for you. We all seem to have things we do and ways we react as if on automatic pilot.

This is the card that says that looking back on all that, on what has been working well so far and on what that you may be holding you back.

The image asks you to think about the times you bent over backwards for someone. How did that work out? It may be that it worked out with some people and not with others. And that is something that would be good to know.

And the last piece of advice here is to think about who and what you were as a child. Did you lose or give up something in growing up that was an essential part of yourself. Did you let go of something or things that brought you joy because you were told you had too. Or maybe become more rigid than you used to be?

 Maybe now is the time to think about that and to reconnect to something you lost that used to bring you joy. It's never too late to got back and pick up something we let go of, or to rebuild something similar. 

Well here we are again, coming to the end of this edition. Thank you for dropping by and letting me share with you. :-)

Please feel free to come visit me on my web site:

www.ReadingsBySunChariot.com

for an in-depth, personalized reading delivered right to your Inbox, whenever you'd like my help with any issues in your life. I'm always here for you and I'd be more than happy to work with you to help you find your answers or just to feel better about things.

Wishing you a month of natural beauty and grace and in which your own unique beauty just shines out into the world and brightens all around it.

Babs