Tarot card for 14 May 2008

Tarot card for today, 14 May 2008

The Tower....Chaos

This card always reminds me of the old Chinese proverb that in

chaos lies opportunity.

This idea has come up in several readings I've done lately, so I am

sharing the idea with all of you, hoping it will give you a little hope

and inspiration.

It also is a prime example of the Modern Oracle reading philosophy.

Here is what I mean:

"In chaos lies opportunity"

Almost everyone has stressfull times in life where it seems everything is

in chaos...there are lots of changes and lots of decisions to be

made, lots of demands on your attention and your time...

Times like that are a decision point...and a major lesson to learn.

That is why the lesson of the Tower card is part of the Major Arcana...

It isn't an easy lesson, change isn't easy, and many of us would rather

avoid it.

But here is the opportunity part...

when you are making a lot of changes and decisions, you may be

under stress buy you are also exercising a great deal of control. The

choices you are making now will impact....will craft and

create...your future. Yes, work may be stressful....but that might be a

gift. It might be the situation that forces you to take a realistic look

at your career, how satisfying it is, whether it is time to change or

not. Stress and chaos gives us the gift of mindful deliberate decisions.

When we decide, we control...where there is control there is in time

less stress.

The only way chaos can keep you stressed is if you release the power

of choice that comes right along with it.

Chaos in itself isn't the problem. Change and upheaval gives us a

chance to re-evaluate things and make different choices...even if

that choice is to stay where we are and decide NOT to change...at

least it was a deliberate and mindful choice, not just static, hum-

drum, stuck-in-a-rut inertial. If it weren't for chaos, we may not

appreciate what we have or how we like things the way they are.

When change and chaos comes, then we are given the chance to

choose...those choices help you create a new life if you want one,

Those choices help you create and manefest the future that YOU

want - not one predicted by a psychic or consigned to you by fate.

Towers are also navigation points...like lighthouses, or old fort

watchtowers...

The times of chaos in our lives can serve as navigation points. Look

back at the times when things got out of synch and stressfull, and

what can you learn? What are the common denominators? What

can you learn about yourself? Do you need to go a different way or

are you on the right track? Looking at these things doesn't

necessarily mean that you need to make a change...sometimes life

will give us confirmations...spiritual pats on the back to let us know

we are on the right way. These times are an opportunity to be

touched by the light, and touch base with the essence of who we

are and where we come from.

Wishing you beneficial chaos, and reassuring towers just when you

need them along lifes way...to give you light and help you craft a

wonderful future.

*************************

Please visit www.modern-oracle-tarot.com for new summer online

specials!





Thanks!

Ronda "Baihu" Snow

7 May 2008 a one card reading for you

7 May 2008

A one card reading for you...

Queen of Wands

A traditional meaning for this card is one of "Nurturing"

This is a perfect card for this time of year, the height of spring. Anyone who plants a garden is busy planting, pulling weeds, setting things up for summer and nurturing things along.

It's no accident that this time of year is Mother's day...this is the ultimagte in nurtuing. We seek nurturing long after childhood is over. Those of us who are parents know the joys of nurturing our children

Nurturing, protecting, helping someone or something else to grow...it is an inherant part of the human experience.

The suite of wands often symbolizes relationship with self, and our personal growth and internal spiritual journey.

This card is, for many of us, a reminder to care for ourselves. It is ok to be gentle with yourself, to nurture and care for yourself - at least every now and then.

The flowers are blooming. It is ok to smell them, see them, appreciate them.

Wishing you all the highest and best

Ronda Snow
www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

2007-10-26 Zen and the Art of Appreciation

It is what it is - and what it isn't.

Today I'd like to revisit some of the ideas in the "balanced philosophy" entry from last month's Autumnal Equinox entry. The intent is to build a conceptual foundation both for the blog, but also for the intuitive work I do through Modern Oracle Tarot.

I love it when there are parallels and common ground between seemingly unrelated things. I've talked about concepts common to both psychic work and quantum physics on the Modern Oracle website. Today, let's look at spirituality, dogma and art appreciation.

Yes, art appreciation. My degree is in science...but my minor is art. Even then I belived we should embrace both sides of our brain.

I learned some valuable life lessons from art. One is the value of a Zen mindset when appreciating beauty. I've often heard that in art there is only one rule, and that is there are no rules! Art is expression. If something, whatever it may be, expresses the ideas or emotions of its creator, then it is an art form. Art is evokative. If something evokes an emotion within you, even if it is one of revulsion, then that something is an art form. In my experience, the best way to really experience the expression and emotion of the world around us is through the "empty cup" of Zen philosophy. If we view art without any pre-conceived notions we can see its expression and emotion in the clearest possible way. Judgementalism is block and a blanket. By dropping it, we can experience art, and life, and beauty in its purest form, and highest potentcy. It is what it is.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I was in my freshman art appreciation class, we learned that good sculpture made effective use of empty space just as much as the space it occupies. The nothingness is part of composition as much as the sculpture itself. It is what it isn't.

And so it is in the realm of spirituality and religious dogma. We are defined as much by what we don't believe as what we do believe. Lynn Andrews gives a powerful example of this in her book "Crysatl Woman". Genivieve, an aboriginal medicine woman, holds up an old tin can and asks her student what she sees. Of course, the student answers that she sees a can. But then Genivieve asks why she didn't mention the firelight, or the shadows. The point being that if all were light, our eyes would be dazzled and we couldn't see the can, any more than we could if there was no light at all. It is the interplay of light and dark that allows us to see.

And this is equally true of spirituality. It is the interplay of light and dark that lets us see. A sculpture is defined both by its subsance and by the empty space that surrounds it. The spirituality and dogma that governs and guides us is defined by both our beliefs and our dis-beliefs. It is easy to chant a litany of beliefs that have been taught to us since childhood. It is far more challenging...and more rewarding...to make a conscientous choice of what we choose to believe. It more challenging and rewarding still to raise that level of conscious choice to include both belief and disagreement. The greatest beauty in this process is when we can look at those deliberate choices, lovingly accept them for what they are, without preconcieved judgements.

It is what it is, and what it isn't.

2007-9-21 "Balanced Philosophy"

It is the yin and the yang of it.

Seems like the idea of the balance of opposites has really been making itself known lately. Sure, it is that time of year. Equinox is always a good time to think about balance. Like we talked about last time, these balanced times, these "turning points" and changing times are fleeting, and sacred.

In these times when the veil is thin and energies are gentle it is natural for our thoughts to turn philosophical. But I've noticed something interesting in other blogs and other conversations. Often our thoughts and philosophies are defined by what we DON'T believe, as much as by what we do.

Yes, it is good to make even that much of a conscious decision about our beliefs. Making a mindful, thoughtful, deliberate decision about what you disagree with is far, far better than mindlessly following what you have been taught before. But it is still only half of the story.

My challenge to you...and to myself...is to make the other half of a conscious spiritual decision. Decide what you DO believe...if you have the guts, write it down. Talk about it. At least think about it.

Like most things here in the physical realm, there is a three-pattern to follow the two-pattern...as it says in the Tao Te Ching, the "two begets three". This refers to how yin and yang together make up a third thing, a thought or a material thing. The grand principles of yin and yang together make up another principle: dynamic balance.

Our topic here is philosophy and beliefs. The yang of it is the things you throw away, the things you reject. The yin of it is the things you accept, and believe. The third part of the triad is the application. The living out of the belief system. The yin and yang of acceptance and rejection brings into being actions. We all act in accordance with our deepest beliefs. That is why "actions speak louder than words". That is why we naturally find it hard to trust people who do not "walk their talk". Action is the child of the yin and yang interaction between belief and rejection of ideas.

It seems to me that if we want to make our life-walk more satisfying, and a more genuine, authentic experience, then it stands to reason that we must on some level face our beliefs, and our dis-beliefs. Once we know them better, then our actions and our daily living become a richer more satisfying experience.

So back to that challenge. Chances are you already have a pretty good handle on what you don't believe. You probably are just as acquainted with what you do believe. But I suggest being more deliberate about it. Sit down and write it or blog it out...you might just surprise yourself.

My guess is that it will be a different experience for everyone. For some, it will be a no-brainer, an easy parroting of long-held beliefs, or a parroting of long-indoctrinated dogma. For others, it may be a crises of faith, coming face to face with your inner being for the first time. For others it will be like stepping into sunshine, reconnecting with forgotten joys. No matter what kind of experience it turns out to be for you, it will be a learning experience at the very least. It doesn't matter what winds up on the list, it is the making of the list that really matters.

Happy list-making!

2007-9-18 "Turning points"

Finally! Some cool weather!

We finally were able to wake up to some cool mornings, and it was such a relief from the heat of summer. There is something magical about transition times, those "turning points" of exquisite balance where opposites dance in perfect harmony.

Everyone seems to love those moments...sunrise, sunset, springtime, autumn, an egg standing on one end and ballet dancers turning a perfect pirouette on point...

You know the opposite color dots, in the bigger part of a yin-yang symbol? Those dots are all about these moments. They are a part of the fabric of nature. They are the balancing points, the turning points...that place where one step more, and anything will begin to become it's opposite.

From a metaphysical perspective, these times are thought to be sacred, when "the veil thins" and the physical and spiritual worlds can touch more easily.

The tarot card I pulled today is "The Magician". This time of year can help us all find the magic within us. We all have the magic of transformation and manifestation at our fingertips. That magic can be found in the delicate balance of intention, belief, and action.

There has been a lot of media buzz about the "Secret", and the power of visualization, intention, and positive outlook. But these things are only half of magic, the yin half. They quickly become hollow and empty without real-world actions and decisions.

There is an old saying "I chop wood. I carry water. This is my magic." Action is the yang half of manifestation. It can't be all yin.

By the same token, just all struggle, and effort and action without the yin aspects of belief, rest, visualization, thought, forsight...action alone is empty too, like a steam roller with no driver.

It is the balance...the turning point...where real magic lies. The Magician tarot cards asks us think of that, in this turning time of the year.

Blessed Autumnal Equinox to all!

You'd think I'd learn by now.

One of the reasons that I like the Harry Potter books is, like all great story and myth, it shows some real truths about life and human nature.

One of those truths is that you can get burned by wanting to help people. Have a sincere concern about what is going on and a genuine desire to make it better will get a dark wizard after you.

Not literally, of course, but it is a good way to run up against the dark side of human nature sometimes.

For example:

I've done free volunteer psychic tarot readings on a website associated with about.com. That is where I learned (through the kind feedback and ratings of the people using the site) that yeah...this IS real, and yeah, I AM pretty good at it - good enough that I can do this professionally, and yeah...all the stuff I've been sensitive to all these years really wasn't just my imagination.

So I continue to volunteer there when I can...although time is limited these days...as way of showing gratitude for what I learned. "Paying it forward", if you will. I really need to do the paying work, and concentrate on my school work...

but along comes this e-mail through my website, with lots of flattery about how I seem to be genuine, and give sincere readings, but it is next to impossible to get through to me, how upset and difficult times are for her now, if I didn't want to do the reading outside of the volunteer site for free she'd totally understand...and so on.

I had a few minutes, so I agreed to do a short one card reading for her, AND I asked her to PLEASE review my philosophy about Tarot readings on my profile or website before submitting her question.

And wadda ya know...next thing to land in my inbox is a request for me to read her ex-boyfriends mind and predict when they would be getting back together.

So I do the reading as I promised, telling her in the first paragraph how my readings are about guidance and not predictions...

even thought the reading isn't what you KNOW she WANTS to hear...I put it as gently as possible...basically that she needed to learn some more important life lessons before there could be movement forward with a serious romance...

What do I get for giving her a FREE reading at HER request? She writes back in two seperate e-mails bitching me out because she didn't like what the reading said...that she didn't want ADVICE.

ARRRRARRRRRGHGGGHGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

No more. No more freebies outside of that one site.

You get what you give. You reap what you sow. What you give to the universe comes back to you threefold.

So what can I learn from this...what seeds have been given to me to plant here?

Obviously, it isn't about revenge, or being angry at this person. They have some serious maturity issues, and didn't like being told that. It is a tough lesson to learn...we all know that. But maybe this reading will lay the groundwork for later learning, even if she isn't at a place where she can hear it now.

That's old news..

I think the real lesson for me here, is that it is time to sow some protection. It is time to mindfully create a sacred space for my readings...even if it is just virtual, just a thought-form.

Boundries are important. In the "real" world, we all need boundries...the rules of playground that let us all learn, all know what is allowed and not...rules of play that keeps us safe and gives us 4 minute majors when we need it.

So it is for psychic tarot work. If the reading is to be genuine, and is to be respectful of its spiritual sources...then there has to be some sort of 'ground rules' to protect that reading process. For me, that boundry is a refusal to make predictions. I believe that Tarot and all Psychic work is about guidance. Another word for that is advice...in both cases, it is up to you to take it or leave it. It is about looking at our problems and upset emotions from a new direction, to see them in a different perspective that lets us learn and grow creatively.

That belief of course stems from the even more basic notion that our time on Earth is a time of learning.

Once in college. while talking about the early books by Richard Bach...a good friend of mine put it simply...

And ever since, this has been my life mantra, my epiphany...

And for that, I'm ever grateful Jeff....

He simply summed it up..."we are put here to learn how to love"

It doesn't matter what form that learning takes...whether it is tarot or kabbalah or christianity or islam or the school of hard knocks...

Learning to love, learning to live...

THAT is what it is all about....

NOT some hokey pokey nonsense about reading ex-boyfriend's minds to see if they really are thinking about you or predicting when the next great romance will come along or guessing tomorrows lottery numbers...

So to create a sacred space, to protect those who really want this kind of learning, to work together with THOSE fellow travelers...

No more freebies. No more readings for people asking for predictions. No my syncophantal attemps to win the hearts (and business) of those wanting this kind of reading. There are thousands of other psychics. The world doesn't need me to work that way. You want that kind of reading, take your fear and anger elsewhere. This is a place of fun and love and learning.

When I say that, I see my own fear...one of not earning, not helping to provide for my family that I love so much.

There is another lesson for ya...not only does this experience teach sowing the seeds of protection for love, creating a place for learning love...

This teaches the seeds of trust. Trust that if I am true to my purpose, the energy exchange will come. If I am lead to do this kind of work by the higher, wiser, kinder energies of the universe...then I must trust that essentials will come, and needs will be met in abundance. By giving love, trust, and protection to what I do, it will be returned to me, perhaps tenfold.

There you have it. The grand rant for the day. If this was to be summed up in a Tarot card, it would be the Page of Wands...the card of "reciprocity"...you get what you give, you reap what you sow, what you give to the universe is returned to you threefold.

May we all sow seeds of love and trust. And so be it.

Bye Bye newsletter...hello Blog!

The best teacher is experience, the best leadership is example, and the best flattery is imitation.

Many times when I'm doing a tarot reading, the conversation is drawn to the concepts of "living in the now" and the advice is to "find and follow the natural flow of things...don't force the issue"

The time has come for me to take my own advice.

Wasn't there an old army recruiting commercial that said "it's a great place to start"? Well, a structured, monthly newsletter is a great place to start...but it just doesn't fit the natural flow of things anymore. It is time to move on to something a little more natural, a better fit for my personality and for the nature of intuitive work.

The solstices are powerful spiritual times for those who follow this sort of spiritual path. This recent summer solstice has been a very hectic and busy time. That in itself is a cosmic hint. But the solstices are a perfect time to pause...as the sun does...and take a look around. See what is working, what's not, what progress has been made and what work there is still to be done.

In this case, I finally could see my attachment to old ideas was holding me back more than helping things along. First is the newsletter. Common wisdom dictates that when you are starting a new business, the more organized you are, the better you will do in the long run. So a monthly newsletter seemed like a nice, organized way to get ideas out to people, and to stay connected.

But it wasn't working. It was turning into more "spam in a can" and less and less genuine feeling and inspiration. That serves no one. Certainly not my need...certainly not the messages of spirit...and least of all, any poor souls that were actually reading the things.

My teacher and friend, Psychic Joy Star, sends out occasional e-mails as she is lead and inspired to do so. She follows her intuition about what to send in when, and keeps her focus more on "service to spirit" than anything else. As a result, her e-mails are, each and every one, an inspirational treasure. I've learned from her example, and hope to show my admiration by imitation.

What that means is that I'm putting the kaibash on the newsletter thing and moving to a pure blog format.

Blogs are more popular and mainstream than ever. "Newsletters"...even the electronic kind... are rapidly becoming obsolete. My gut feeling is blogging is where this needs to be. Anyone who wants to can subsribe and unsubscribe to the blog with no intervention on my part. Easy. For the people on my current newsletter list, I'll send "new blog entry" notices...IF they want me to. But otherwise, it is 'let nature take its course" time. Blogs are natural, honest, in-the-moment things. They are journaling, journalism, and free thought at its most primal. Perfect for an intuitive site like Modern Oracle Tarot. It is perfect for the kind of writing I really want to do. Baihu is back!

Love and light to all...

Baihu