The theme of my life this year has been regaining my confidence.  So this class is fitting because I’ve started to see the confidence building lessons melt over into all areas of my life.

Tarot Foundations I was really easy to sum up  but Tarot Foundations II is a little more difficult … and not in a bad way. I guess you could say that I’m still processing the information because it’s making me really sit down and think about what kind of Tarot reader I am, where there is room for new growth and how these two things can help me provide the best readings I can to my clients.

We pulled some self discovery cards in class to help us answer questions about who we are as Tarot readers. Here are some of my answers and what I think about how they apply to my Tarot journey. Thought I’d switch up the decks a bit so here’s the beautiful Art Nouveau Tarot by Lo Scarabeo.  Once again, sorry about the crappy, crooked, fuzzy pictures. As an aside, I really need to get a better camera to improve the quality of my blog

1. What is the Tarot (to me)?

I’ve been getting a lot of wands lately which is good because my passion and drive to reach my goals are flowing freely (a little too freely because I’m starting to exhaust myself — downside to the Wands). I’m currently talking to a spiritual center about teaching my first, four part Tarot class (EXCITING).  So the wands energy of passion, drive, go getting, new business and creative ventures is really playing out right now. 
Tarot is also something I use as a bargaining tool. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve traded a Tarot readings for something that I want. Barter Tarot readings have also helped me make new friends and network. Brigit cautioned against loose boundries between the client and reader in class, but if I have a good trade based Tarot reading with someone, I have no problem striking up a friendship with that person. A money based tarot reading, however, adds a different level of professionalism to the mix though, so I can see where she’s coming from. 
In short, Tarot has been a big part of new beginnings for me creatively and socially and will possibly be a new beginning for me financially if the class I teach ends up doing well.

2. What Energies Can I Tap into to Reach My Full Tarot Potential

The wands energy came up again when I pulled the Knight of Wands. This card is me right now. My boyfriend said that my creative ventures are about my to “blow up” (for those who aren’t familiar with the slang, it means that success is going to come quick and overnight for me when it drops) and I do have to say that the Knight of Wands is probably the card that best describes me in all aspects of my life. I’m a go getter, take no prisoners kind of gal. I know what I want and I chase it down without hesitation. But I do need to balance my enthusiasm with practicality.   As a reader, taking a moment to really look at the whole reading and figure out what it’s telling me before I rush into what I think it means is the key to delivering a good reading.  I was actually reading for a client not too long ago and I jumped in without considering all the cards first.  I broke down the entire reading for her and only at the end of it did I realize what it was actually about. I went over it again but it was like giving her two readings instead of one.  From a teaching point of view, I need to make sure I have a good lesson plan for every class before I go in there and teach. I learned about developing a lesson plan when I was a teacher in Japan so that should be easy peasy.  The real danger of the Knight of Wands, for me, is wearing myself out and making myself sick from all the energy I’m expanding.

3.  What are the Natural Talents and Gifts I Bring to Tarot Reading?

I was sort of confused because I really don’t see myself as the Queen of Pentacles. But the Queen of Pentacles is down to earth, which I am  when I read and I do have a way of making my client feel confident and comfortable. I’m also a Capricorn, which is an earth sign and the earthy influence of the Queen of Pentacles also comes into play. I wish I was good at making money like the Queen of Pentacles, but I guess that will come in time. She is a hard worker, and  I do work hard for what I want.

Taken altogether, I am an action packed Tarot reader full of passion and energy but I can also be down to earth and comforting to my clients. It’s interesting because although I’m a Capricorn (earth sign), most of my houses are in Sagittarius ( fire sign) so the wands (fire) and pentacles (earth) tell me that in everything I do, I will find my success in balancing my earthy Capricorn energy with my fiery Sagittarius energy.  I need to make sure when my passion runs away with me, that I remember to stay grounded and focused both.

Wow, I learned a lot about myself in Week I and I didn’t even really absorb that lesson until I wrote about it. I just finished sitting in on the webinar for Week 2 where we explored how to give awesome readings, how to hear what the client really is asking and Tarot spreads.  I’ll be writing about my insights into that over the next couple of days so stay tuned.