Tarot Diva, page 2
showed me what it means to be a diva. My sister, Juniper, the
Snow White to my Rose Red, forever my champion and very
best friend. Mom. for your awesome love, an endless supply of
Nancy Drew books, naming me after Tolstoy’s daughter, and
everything else. My husband, Bill, the Magician, for believing
in me when I didn’t have the strength to do it for myself; you
knew. The artists, mavericks, and ghosts of my family in whose
footsteps I gingerly tread. The awesomely gifted tarot community for their inspiration, ideas, and support.
Above all, I would like to thank my clients for trusting and
sharing their beautiful lives, hopes, and dreams with me as I
walked, skipped, stumbled, and flew down the tarot pathway.
Thank you.
[contents]
How to Use Tarot Diva
My heartfelt belief is that tarot is meant to do two things in our
lives: one. tarot—more than a deck of cards— is an experiential
formulation meant be lived and breathed; and two, tarot can be
used as an instrument of massive internal growth, revealing the
directions our hearts want us to follow.
To foster an active tarot practice in your life, the pages of this
book contain tarot musings, meditations, journeys, card explanations, exercises, recipes, spells, and charms.
Tarot Meditations: Read each meditation carefully. Some
readers may want to read through and then imagine what I
have described in their meditative space. Others may read
aloud and record or have a trusted friend read to them while
in a meditative state. The meditations are a jumping-off
point for your imagination. Where you venture when my
words cease is entirely up to you.
Card Explanations: Each tarot card carries an infinite well of
interpretation and understanding. I’ve offered up some textbook definitions and a few perhaps you haven’t heard before. Like the meditations, they offer a jumping-off point.
Dive in— attach your own personal meaning.
Exercises: Scattered thoughout Tarot. Diva are exercises inspired by the energy of the cards. Performing these exercises, you’ll become a living embodiment of tarot.
Recipes: The smattering of recipes included are connected to
some Major Arcana cards. Cook and enjoy. Use them in
conjunction with the energy7 of the assigned card to whip up
magic in your kitchen.
Spells: Magical spells are your intention put into action. Tarot
contains a treasure trove of energy7 you can use to weave enchantment into your life. These simple spells may be performed by anyone, anywhere.
Charms: Charms are magically charged items that aid you in
attaining a specific goal. Discover how to charm a card, then
harness its power all day.
FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE AND DO IT ON PUR
POSE.
Dolly Parton
Invoking: I talk often about invoking a card's energy. To invoke tarot energy is to access the card’s vitality, apply it to yourself, and receive a power boost.
Weaving the magic of tarot to life, connecting the cards to
your words and actions, empowering yourself and others, you’ll
become a true tarot diva, sprinkling stardust wherever you step.
[contents]
Welcome to a Diva’s Chamber
A full moon beckons in a bruised black and purple evening sky. Icy
wind tickles your hair and neck as you walk toward a looming stone
mansion. The mansion is set aside jagged cliffs and overlooks a lusty
ocean. Dancing shadows leap, flying before your feet, paving passage
as you move forward. Walking to the mansion door, you n otice it is
wooden, with strange engravings. You knock softly. It slips open with
a sigh. Leaving raw twilight behind, you enter a yawning great
room. It is illumina ted with flickering candles and dark, hidden spaces. Instinctively (you've been here before?), you make your way down a corridor to the library where I sit. “Hello and welcome,’’ I
say. “Take a seat. I ’ve been waiting for you. The cards are on the
table; you've pulled yourself quite a hand. The fire is blazing, the
blinds are drawn, its just, us two, and I've got so much to tell you ...
;;
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have your own personal fortuneteller—some-one you could chat with whenever you needed insight or guidance, a sage you could check with when you are unsure of the future? We’ve all faced confusion and uncertainty. Wouldn’t it be helpful to find the person who could see the truth of your life and know what is best for you and how
things will wind up?
M agic in You
Darling reader, I am here to tell you that you already have this
intuitive psychic/witch/oracle/wise woman in your life. She’s
not hidden away in a castle or meditating in a desert cave. In
fact, she’s been with you since the day you were born. She’s
watched you, cared for you, and been with you every step of the
way. She’s right there in front of you. Don’t see her yet? If you
are having trouble, walk in front of the closest mirror and take a
nice long glance. Do you see that beautiful person in the looking glass? That is your sage. She is you.
When you know yourself... when you know
who you are ... you'll know more than the best
psychic in the world could ever tell you.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret I learned from tarot
master Pattie Canova. This secret has been known by fortunetellers through the ages, but most of them would rather
you didn’t know it. It’s a secret that just may change your life ...
It is important to remember that we all have magic inside
us.
J. K. Rowling
In tune with your higher self and intimate with your hopes
and dreams, you will make gestures to invoke those dreams and
walk with kindness toward yourself and others. You will become the weaver of your destiny. You will work magic in the world and sprinkle delight all around you.
Do you see the tarot deck spread upon the table? Those seventy-eight cards resonate with magic, mystery, esoteric information, secret codes, religious dogma, symbolic images, and reserves of miraculous power. But the cards are useless on then-own. They need a power source: you. You are that source. They
need you. You are full of such unbelievable potential. You are a
cascading fountain of power, light, magic, and wisdom.
We seek out tarot readers and psychics because we want to be
seen by another. We want confirmation, someone to recognize
and understand us. There is an assumption when you step into
a reader’s chamber that they can "see” you and your life’s
events unfolding before them—things you cannot see for yourself. What’s more, they will tell you what they see. A reader taps into the cards and unseen forces to garner knowledge about
you.
Reading tarot, I meditate, open energetic channels, and tell
clients what I see. Often, profound and valuable advice is given.
Guess what? I’m no different than you are. I didn’t descend
from a long line of witches (no matter how much I wish I did),
and I wasn’t struck by a lightning bolt, awakening my super
psychic powers. I work with tarot to guide me, to kindle the
magic and intuition that lives inside me. This same magic is
thriving in you this very moment!
Nestled between the pages of this book is all the information
you will ever need to begin a fantastic journey with a legendary
and mysterious pack of cards. Consider this book the dusty old
grimoire you’ve uncovered in the attic—a book of secrets. Dare
to open these pages, and you set off on an exciting path to
becoming a certified tarot diva.
Viva la Diva
A tarot diva works with tarot the same way an herbalist works
with herbs or a crystal healer works with gems and stones. A
tarot diva releases the power and magic of tarot into her life,
and everyone asks: “What’s different?”
Tarot Diva offers more than mere definitions and instructions
on how to read tarot for yourself and others. Inside this book,
you will be given the keys to turning on parts of yourself—to
switching on your inner light. The exercises, meditations,
recipes, and musings are meant to be interactive and inspiring.
You see, tarot cards are so much more than pictures on cards.
Tarot is meant to be lived and experienced. And when you can
see the deck as a living, breathing entity and expression of yourself. you’ll become a certified tarot diva.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A DIVA, ANYWAY?
The origin of the word diva comes from the Latin term meaning “goddess” and is a derivative of the word divine, or divus, meaning “god” or “godlike.” In Italian, a diva is a distinguished
female opera star and celebrated singer. The term diva made its
way into English language in the late nineteenth century, coincidentally around the same time Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith began collaboration on a tarot deck that
would become our modern standard of tarot: the Rider-Waite
deck.
The word diva evolved in American culture to describe
women of outstanding talent in the world of theater, film, and
popular music. The gay culture embraced the term diva to describe fabulousness. We now use diva to describe any woman of unusually glamorous and successful talent. You can attach the
word diva to anything you are passionate about; a fashion diva,
a food diva, and, here and now, a tarot diva.
Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did,
but she did it backwards and in high heels.
Faith Whittlesey
What goddesses do we worship in today’s modern culture?
Well, if the ancient Greeks and Romans were transplanted to a
modern supermarket shopping aisle or were sitting on the
couch next to us watching the telly or flipping through a magazine, chances are they would say we worship the cult of celebrity. The women who command the stage and screen fascinate us. Our modern-day goddesses transform themselves and float
down red carpets. We watch with delight, glimpsing the drama
of their private lives unfolding before us. We become these
divas when we are transported by their films or their music. We
judge, idolize, knock them down, built them back up, and use
them for inspiration.
Diva definition has crossed over from singers and entertainers to describe anyone who exhibits fierce, fabulous behavior—any-one who walks the walk, talks the talk, knows what she wants and will get it. A diva could be a writer, a nurse, a teacher,
even your mother. Apart from the talent a diva possesses is the
idea that a diva can write her own ticket. What a diva says goes.
If she wants cream-colored pillows, vanilla candles, and calla
lilies in her dressing room, that’s exactly what she gets. A diva is
not to be crossed or messed with.
However, the darker side of divahood—bad behavior or hissy
fits—is not what we are interested in. We are not encouraging
behavior that shuts other people out, knocks people down, or
creates negativity in the world. And let’s not go down the long
road of double standards—a man can say or do as he pleases
and he’s being assertive, but a woman is pushy or bitchy if she
does the same. We are interested in a diva who stands up for
herself and what she wants and who reaches out to the miraculous— diva who is authentically tine to herself.
Now, let’s take the term diva and not only apply it to the
Arethas, Angelinas, and JLos of the world but to ourselves as
well. What would it mean to take possession of our marvelous
abilities to live an incredible and enriched life? What would it
mean if we became a fully realized version of ourselves? Can
you write your ticket? Yes! I know you can. Tarot provides a perfect blueprint, a roadmap with which to get started on the road to divahood. Let’s use the term diva to unleash the inner goddess of ourselves and to help mine our inner talents, personality, and glamour!
To become a tarot diva is to use tarot as a tool to unlocking
your tine self and igniting your intuition. When your authentic
self walks hand in hand with your intuition, you’ll find life unfolding in amazing ways. A tarot diva uses the tarot to release her creative potential and let her inner beauty shine. Then you
really can reach for the things you want. Most importantly,
you’ll find great satisfaction in yourself and in life.
At the end of the day, when a tarot diva is tine to herself, the
lights go down, a hush falls over the audience, and there you
are: standing in a pool of brilliance, in touch with your intuition, you shimmer with beauty like the Star card.
Tarot is a mirror always reflecting you back to
yourself. Your joys, hardships, greatest
accomplishments, deepest places, and lightest
dreams are all there within seventy-eight cards.
How Does Tarot Help M e Unleash My Inner Diva?
Easy. I’ll let you in on another little secret:
Tarot will always show you your greatest potential. That is because the deck of cards shows a complete picture of you! So when you are looking at a tarot card, what you really are looking
at is yourself Even more extraordinary, tarot demonstrates you
operating at your fullest potential. Imagine yourself for a moment, working with what you love, content in your body, satisfied in your relationships, knowing you are moving forward and not back.
To understand exactly how a tarot card reflects you, let’s look
at artfulness unbound; the Empress card. The Empress represents utter creativity. She is reflecting you in the light o f your most creative self. Since you are unique, your creative potential
will be different than your best friend’s or mother’s creative
potential. The cards reflect different scenarios for different people. The Magician represents you at your most enigmatic level, the Devil represents you at your most fiendish and devilish self,
and so on. Once you begin to understand each card as a different facet of yourself, you can then put various cards together.
Multiple-card spreads create your story, your situation, and the
narrative of your life.
Besides representing your ideal self, tarot cards contain:
•
Advice
•
Role models
•
Situations
•
Solutions
•
Energy
Unlike dreams, tarot has the virtue of being a mirror that
we can hold in our hands and look at whenever we want.
Elinor Greenberg
A tarot diva understands that tarot can be used in a number of
different ways. Tarot cards can be used for:
•
Honing intuition
•
Making decisions
•
Creative endeavors
•
Meditations
•
Cooking
•
Entertainment
•
Storytelling
•
Magic
a m a g o
IE BATEIEUR
El MAGO
D issecting Divaness
Here’s another secret about famous divas. It’s easy to flick
through glossy magazines or see footage of a star rushing
though an airport incognito and think to yourself. “Boy, do they
have the life!” I’ll let you in on something I’ve observed in my
years of working in and around show biz. Divas work extremely
hard on themselves and their careers. Madonna didn’t just
wake up with her muscular body and sweet dance moves. She
works at it! Janet Jackson didn’t coast on the notoriety of her famous family to be an endearing musical sensation for the last thirty years. No one works harder than Beyonce when she releases a CD. She sweats, struts, and works her butt off to promote, sell, and publicize her CDs and concerts.
I’m not suggesting you suddenly begin a three-hour daily
workout regimen and embark on a worldwide promotional tour.
What I am suggesting is that to become a tarot diva requires
slow and consistent work with tarot. Remember that all great
changes in life are made up of a series of small steps—baby
steps, baby changes. The exercises in Tarot Diva are precisely
the steps you’ll want to be taking.
At first, it can be overwhelming to learn the meanings of 78
cards— 156, if you count reversals. Tarot- Diva makes it easy and
fun to work with tarot, no matter how far you’ve traveled down
the tarot path. You’ll experience the cards via meditation, writing. and play. You needn’t sit and memorize meanings by rote—this isn’t a calculus class, it’s a ticket to a richer life. The
amount of effort is entirely up to you. The truth is, the more
time and effort you spend working with tarot, the more you will
get back. You’ll reap exactly what you sow, and baby, you deserve it all.
