Q&A: The Secret to Making Dreams Come True

Q: I've read the book "The Secret". I have a clear vision of the career I want, and how well it will turn out. I can see myself as an officer in the military, wearing the uniform, and having a good career. How can these visions help? How does this means of making your dreams come true actually work?

A. Good question!  The answer is a little complicated - a little yes and a little no.  In my opinion, you can create your own future...but it doesn't work quite the way it they make it seem. You DO create your own future, BUT you create it through your choices, what you do, what you say...or what you choose not to do or not to say...not by sitting around thinking about it. Magnetizing, drawing things to you has its place, but it is not everything. You know that yin-yang symbol in marital arts? It's true...you can't have yin without yang and vice versa. Just effort won't get you where you want to go, you have to use your head and your heart too. By the same token, mind without action and effort won't get you there either. 

I believe visualizations are important and useful. But they are to guide, decide and motivate NOT to do the creating all by themselves. 

You mentioned visualizing yourself as a successful military officer.  That vision, and your intuitive response to it, can help you decide if this really is the right career path for you. It can guide your choices in working toward that goal. You might want to choose to do ROTC instead of football for example, or choose not to throw the punch that keeps you out of trouble and gets you into officer training. Those are just examples...nothing literal...but you get the idea.

If your goal requires a lot of sustained work, effort, difficult choices, or sacrifices, it's easy to get down and discouraged sometimes. Visualizations can help you stay motivated. If you are in the middle of some really suck-ish basic training, visualize the end result that you've seen before to help you hang in there. 

The law of attraction and similars is a real thing...like attracts like. It doesn't magically deliver a particular future, and visualizations won't give you the exact details of what the future holds, BUT your heart and mind-set will attract like minded people into your life and will make your journey easier and more fulfilling. As you learn, grow, work, visualize, love and live your dream - you might find old friends fall away and new like-minded people start to come into your life. This takes away the drag of some negative energy people and adds positive energy people to your life. So focusing on light, compassion, your goals does help bring those things into your life, but in this supportive way, not a direct POOF magic way.

That's how I think you can make your dreams into reality. Focus, meditation, visualization can help guide you to good choices, and help keep you motivated to do the things you need to do in order to make your dream a reality. Aligning your thoughts and energies with positive thinking, love, compassion, optimism - that will help clear the way, and draw supportive people into your life...but you still need to act. Visualizations show you the right path, and motivate you to keep going, but you still have to do the walking. 

Does that make sense?

Best Wishes to you!

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Today's Tarot - The Sun

There is nothing wrong with allowing yourself to be happy. Try it!

Q&A: Where can we have a happy marriage?

Q: We like where we live now, but my husband has better job offers in two different places. We've decided we want to make the move for the promotion. They are both pretty equal job offers, so it has come down to location for us, but we can't decide between xxxxxx, where the housing costs are better than here (we could get out from under our mortgage) but the weather is hot and humid, and we both hate that. The other offer is in zzzzzz, but the housing there costs a little bit more, but the weather is just gorgeous  We really can't decide between the two, can the cards offer any guidance? Where can we go that would give us a happy marriage in the years to come?

A: Hello ******.

Let's look at this with a simple yes/no reading...but before we start I have to say this...

It doesn't matter one tiny bit where you live. It looks to me like the heart of your question is wanting to keep a happy marriage...that happens in your heart, not in where you live.

 You can live anywhere in the universe, and be happy with a happy marriage. If the relationship is good, it will be good in a shack in the middle of a swamp. If the relationship is in trouble, then it would be troubled in a free mansion in paradise. 

Also, before pulling the yes/no cards...think about the criteria you already mentioned...cost and weather. Which of those two things is more important AND which of those two things will affect your happiness the most? Is hot an humid going to wear on you over the years or will money concerns be a bigger strain? 

PLUS don't forget, nothing is permanent...if you get somewhere, and don't like it, you can move again. Instead of buying right away, why not rent a while to see if you like the area? What other things besides mortgage and weather would make you happy where you live? What do you want to avoid? Maybe it would help this decision to expand your list of pros and cons. If you consider lots of things, it might be easier to see which location has the more plus - things and which has more minus - things.

..and also lift the burden of permanence. Stay mobile, and wait to tie in to a mortgage once you are sure it is the right place for you. That way you can make your decision about where you want to live based on something other than the weather... like lifestyle, recreation, taxes, schools (if that applies), career opportunities etc etc

So leaving marriage and happiness totally out of it (that part is up to you two, no matter where you live)...

"Should ****** and spouse move to zzzzzzz"... (one ace, two minor arcana cards)leaning toward no...this is the patter of you COULD...but SHOULD you? Things to consider here is balance, and clear-thinking. Would you lifestyle here pull things out of balance? Would you have to work such long hours to afford the house that other parts of your life would suffer? Are you seeing this area as it really is? Or do you have an idealized real estate booklet and tourist attraction sort of impression of this place?

"Should ******* and spouse move to xxxxxxx"?... (two aces and a minor arcana card) leaning yes...the drawback might be that it will take some daring and mental toughness to make it work. It may be rocky at the start, but you can overcome the challenges. It may feel like you made the wrong choice to begin, but be brave, and you will be rewarded in surprising ways, personal growth, awakening, happiness ways...in time, if you have courage. There is great potential for spiritual lessons and soul-satisfaction here, independent of finances.

I hope that helps the decision making process along for you. Good Luck!

Baihu

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Today's Tarot - Ten of Coins

You are the only person in the whole universe who really has the power to make you happy.

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Daily Tarot Meditaion - The Empress

You can't help others if you are a wreck yourself. Sometimes the best gift you can give is a healthy, happy, self-sufficient you.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day and a nod to all the girlfriends out there...and to the guys and kids they love and love 'em back. Happiness all around!

Lighten Up - The Fool / The Innocent card

If you could pour life through a strainer, and take out fear and anger, all that would be left is happiness and fun.

www.ModernOracleTarot.com

Celebrate easily

3 of Cups: May you have a day where finding an excuse to be happy and celebrate life is no harder than finding an excuse to eat your favorite candy.


If today is the Easter holiday for you...enjoy! If it isn't a holiday for you...enjoy! Another's happiness does not diminish our own, it enhances it. 


www.modernoracletarot.com

Today's Tarot - The Innocent

Take a deep breath, take five minutes and just play.

Be happy in spite of it all.

Valentine's Day 2012 - How to Find Your Soulmate

I first wrote about "How to find your soulmate" in 2009. Soulmates, and finding that special someone is always a popular topic. Here is the latest edit - Happy Valentine's Day!

I get the question a lot. I ASKED the question a lot when I was younger and first started going to get psychic readings. I had no idea at the time that I would wind up doing readings and be asked that self-same eternal question - How Do I Find My Soulmate? After seeing the soulmate question from both sides, here are a few of the ideas that I've found to be most helpful.

My soulmate is a he, so I refere to "soulmate" in the masculine here. Gender doesn't matter. The same principles apply, either way.

• Don"t worry about time...love is one of those cosmic truths beyond time. It doesn't need, want or respond to our time schedules or expectations. "it happens in its own time" and "you can't hurry love" are both very true. So don't worry about WHEN. After you take that pressure off of yourself, and off of your soulmate out there, then that creates more energetic space for the relationship to step into.
• Why not let your soulmate find you? "Finding" hints at action, searching, seeking, struggling. "Finding" a soulmate is often counter-productive. If it is meant to be, it will happen naturally, and in the flow of things. Fighting the current, not 'going with the flow' only makes things harder. Think more in terms of a light in the darkness. If you are happy, relaxed, loving, compassionate, and being your genuine self, then you are more likely to attract your perfect mate to you. Not to sound like an e-harmony commercial, but they got that one right...you want to find someone who loves you for the real you - and the best way to have that happen is just to live fully, and honestly, and just BE your genuine self...not be someone on the prowl, hunting for a mate, like a wolf hunting for a rabbit. BE yourself, let your light shine, and if it is meant to be, your soulmate will be drawn to you. You might have heard that called the "law of similars"...like attracts like. If you are loving, you attract love. If you send out signals you are a hunter, you find preditors. If you send out signals of wanting to be with someone, then you find someone who mutually wants that too.
• Do things that you love to do. Going to bars or whatever with the sole purpose of "finding a soulmate" seldom works. Do something you love, and you might meet someone who loves that same thing and viola! you find someone where you have something in common to help you get things rolling. For me that was martial arts. I LOVE doing tai chi. So now I'm married to a certified national martial arts tournament judge. Same is true for any hobby, sport or activity you really enjoy. That vibe of enjoyment will help the attraction process.
• Love life. Be happy. Compassion, confidence and joie de vie are sexy and attractive.

If you have any questions, please e-mail them to faq@modern-oracle-tarot.com to be answered here in the blog. If you like what you read here, and would like a private reading with the author, please visit www.modern-oracle-tarot.com for details.

Romance, Relationships and the Ace of Cups

At Valentine's Day, those of us who aren't thinking of chocolate are probably thinking of romance one way or another.

  

When it comes to Valentines day and the tarot deck, most people think of "The Lovers" card from the major arcana. When you get to the layers underneath, that card is really about lust, a moment's passion and any strong desire in the abstract. It isn't about finding a real, long-lasting relationship, or about celebrating /preserving such a relationship if we have one.

There are a number of cards that relate to established relationships...cups, wands, even swords, reminding us of wisdom, and loyalty and steadfastness and compassion...the many things that impels us toward wanting a relationship beyond the initial passions of the Lover's card.

All of which begs the question: What card does lead the way to love and romance?

To my way of thinking, it is the Ace of Cups.

That isn't as much of a break with tradition as you may think. Cups cards have long been associated with water, intuition...intuition is a very helpful thing when it comes to affairs of the heart, one place where science and reason doesn't seem to apply as much. Some believe that, historically, the suite of cups in the tarot deck became the hearts suite of our modern gaming card deck because of that connection with the heart. I can't believe that it is just coincidence that "heart" is associated with generic love (I heart NY t-shirts), romance (see everything Valentine's related) AND intuition (a.k.a. "follow your heart").

Ace of Cups means "let your inner light shine". It has to do with your own inner voice, your inner knowing, your true self.

So what does that have to do with finding true love?

The best way to attract your best mate is to be your true self. Being your true self is the path to true love...not hunting, posturing, lusting or any of the other difficult lessons associated with the "Lover's" card. (Although those things can play a part in the early stages of the relationship, it may not help much in finding it in the first place).

There are old and respected spiritual principles at play here. We've all heard of it:

First there is "like attracts like" and "birds of a feather flock together". If you LIVE to show who you are, then it is easier for a truly compatible person to find you.

Second there is what some call the "Rule of Threes"...what you give to the universe returns to you threefold. What goes around, comes around...do unto others and all that. So if you wallow in loneliness and focus on what you don't have, what will or won't MAY be...then you can make yourself pretty miserable, pretty fast. Miserable attracts miserable.

If you want love an happiness in your live...then love and be happy. Only YOU can do that for yourself.  ONLY you can make you happy, if you let yourself. If you are loving and happy, you attract loving and happy. The ace of cups trumps the lovers and you win. Easier said than done, it's true, but simple just the same.

I wouldn't blog if I didn't really think it, and I believe it because I've lived it.

The best example I can give you is my own. In my 20s I was working hard being the "good" person that I was always taught was a "good" person...working hard at a social-service kind of job, going the extra mile at church, even serving as a council member and liturgical deacon at one point. I handbell choir, cooked, danced, cleaned and did all the things I was supposed to do to be what I was supposed to be...but what I wound up being was cheated on, alone , bone-crushingly lonely, and miserable.

Be it luck, destiny, or divine intervention, I began to see another way and CHOSE to walk another path.  I the religion that I found to be empty and un-helpful, started on a spiritual path that made sense and helped me be happy. I got a new job that still served, but was more secular / scientific about it, and started studying Chinese martial arts, taoist philosophy, read about Buddhism, and started to do the things that I loved, being who I really was, and focused on building a good life for myself. 

Then I met my soulmate, the light and love of my life, the one who matters most...my husband Jon...in Kung Fu class. Who would've thought. Then came our daughter, and the time to blog, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So this Valentine's week, my best advice to everyone...in a romantic relationship or not....is simply this: Love Life, and it will love you back. Someone else just might love you back too.

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

The Sun - Winter Solstice

It isn't the first thing that comes to mind on a cloudy cold cookie-baking kind of December day, but the Sun has every association with the winter solstice. SOLstice. Without the sun, there wouldn't be one.

Solstice, technically, is when the sun stops or holds still....that what solstice is. Because of the tilt of the Earth as it goes around the sun, sunrise and sunset seem to drift north and south on the horizon. At the beginning of Summer and Winter, this 'drift' pauses ... is at solstice...before starting to go the other way. We are taking a pause before the sun comes north again. From here to June, the days get longer again...the sun grows.

Pagan Yule celebrates the birth of the Sun-god at the solstice. I've seen pictures of lebkuchen (spice cookie, "life cookie") molds with sun motifs.  More sun for today.

One legend is that the Christ legend was assigned to this time of year as a way to c0-op the pagan traditions and make conversions. I don't know enough about comparative religion and anthropology to go there, but no matter what middle-eastern town they appear over, stars are suns, the sun is a star....so we're all one big happy galaxy,yes? But that still gives a sun-association to the holiday season.

The Sun is a great card for today. It is about hope and positivity and light and security and all the things we associate with this time of year.

May the sun warm your Solstice day, no matter what your weather may be.

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

Today's Tarot -

The World card is a hopeful, encouraging end to the major arcana. It speaks of career success, happiness, love, abundance. It hints at an ability to touch infinity, and draw what we need into our lives in an insightful, productive way.


This card is part of the major arcana because it also carries some potent reminders about success. Sometimes there are costs, balances that must be struck. Sometimes that balance is carried on the back of perception. Success comes and goes in an eyeblink when we shift our perception of our life and of the world around us.


The World card can remind us that success doesn't have to be huge or immediate in order to be valid, valuable, and enduring.


May you touch infinity and abundance.








www.ModernOracleTarot.com

FAQ - Why be a psychic?

Last Tuesday, I did an intuition building workshop at the Whitehall Library. It was a great group, and loads of fun. 


Most people just want to know how long I've been reading cards. It is a good question. They should ask things like that. People should be confident that a reader or intuitive teacher is right for them. If experience is what they need, then length of practice is a question they properly should ask. 
Another common question is why I started doing Tarot / intuitive work in the first place. Also a fair question, it speaks to issue of motivation and builds trust. It is a good thing to think about and a great question to ask.


The answer? Well, that takes a little explaining.


To my mind, it begs the question of why does anyone choose any career? I'm firmly in the camp of anyone-can-do-this. "Psychic" ability isn't a special gift, it is a learned skill. Linear logic is a normal, natural function of the left part of the brain. Anyone can learn to do arithmetic. Creativity and non-linear logic is a normal, natural function of the right brain. Anyone can learn to listen to their intuition. From that perspective, the process of choosing to be a tarot entertainer is no different than choosing to be an accountant.


So why not be a nice, respectable accountant instead of  an unpaid writer or fringe-element tarot reader? Because I hate detailed math, and have no talent at it. I might not like it but I could learn to do it. Able and enjoyable are two different things. I have the ABILITY be an accountant...but I also have the ability to shove flaming bamboo shards under my fingernails which would be just about as enjoyable to my mind.


AH-HA! That's why anybody chooses any career...because they like doing it. We tend to like things that come easily to us. We choose careers that have some sort of give-back, some sort of gain, otherwise, why do it? The work we do has some benefit, even if it is just a paycheck. Do you something you love and you take home more than just money. You take home happiness too.  


The same is true of "psychics". We like working with people, talking to people, helping people. We just have a knack for taking that non-verbal, non-linear right-brain symbolic, creative, associative thinking called intuition and putting it into simplified, linear, logical language. The "psychic gift" comes from putting hunches and feelings into words that other people relate to on some level. 


Not every enjoys that, just like not everyone has a knack for accounting. Or fixing cars. Or running a business. Or teaching children...or any of the other thousands of jobs we all do.


I enjoy it. It helped me in the past, and I hope intuitive work like tarot readings can help other people too. Sure, it is just "entertainment", nothing earth-shaking...but I see it as "entertainment with a heart". I think of it as a folk art form. Just like a song can lift your spirits and make you feel better, a reading can do the same thing. At the very least it is a temporary diversion from stressful times. At best, it helps you solve a problem creatively, and find a way forward that you might not have seen before. That in itself can ease stress. From that perspective, choosing to do tarot readings is a choice to help and heal...not unlike the impetus to go into the health field or work with holistic health education. 


So there's the answer to that (somewhat) frequently asked question.


Wishing you a day of doing things that you love to do.






www.rondasnow.com


www.modernoracletarot.com

Portal

Someone once asked "how are you going to spend eternity"

"Eternity" includes all time...the infinite past, and the infinite future. Even the short time of the recent past, enlivened by memory alone, is less than an eyeblink in eternity.

NOW is our only portal to eternity. The only time we experience directly is right here, right now. By making the moment the best I can, I spend eternity content and happy.

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

Page of wands: "reciprocity"

I spent the weekend immersed in "Twilight" again...did readings for that promotional even most of the weekend, which sparked my daughter's interest, so also watched both "Twilight" and "New Moon" over the weekend.

Todays card brings (not Alice for a change) but Jasper to mind.

In the books, the vampire Jasper has the extra talent of being able to physically affect people's moods by affecting their physiologic response to the situation...

That speaks mostly to the mind/body connection and holistic health in my mind, but that is another kettle of fish for another day...

Today the page of wands speaks of reciprocity...that sort of give and take that comes with being a part of the whole of the universe.

This card also always reminds me of the "rule of threes"...what you give to the universe comes back to you threefold.

Here is how I connect that idea to the character of Jasper...

Some people think that the "rule of 3" can be interpreted literally, physically - that if you give money or goods or time...then those acts will increase your wealth or the gifts you get from others. That may be true, and that is part of it.

But you give other things to your life and those around you, and those less-tangential, esoteric things reciprocate as well.

What mood do you give those around you? A smile, a warm word, a pleasant disposition might be more valuable and meaningful to someone than gold.

Jasper gave calmness. Jacob was Bella's own personal sun and was just a "happy person". We can give those and have those come back to us. "Birds of a feather" and all that.

Anger and crankiness are self-perpetuating. It is a kind of magic to be around negative emotions and continue to radiate your own calm and happiness...to be your own personal sun. It is a greater magic still to transform those moods to warmer more positive ones....that is where the page of wands starts to become the Magician.

So this card reminds us to reciprocate kindness with kindness, and in the face of adversity, to radiate the things we want reciprocated back to us.

Wishing you a repeating loop of happiness

Baihu

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

“The male/female energies within oneself, once balanced, carries over to all affairs of the heart”…Joy Star of www.psychicjoystar.com

That is just like my teacher, Joy. She can put in a sentence things I barely articulate in a page. This is exactly what I was babbling about in the ‘how to find your soulmate’ post.

Once you are whole, balanced and happy in and of yourself…then you are able to be balanced, strong, loving and supportive of someone else. Once you are balanced, healed, and whole within yourself, then you are ready for a soulmate, and will attract them into your life as they attract you into theirs.

Just a quick reminder that blog will be offline for the G-20 summit. E-mail readings are still available no appointment needed, but there may be a 24 hour delay or so due to the summit. Full details available at www.modern-oracle-tarot.com. I’ll be writing blog posts offline next week – so look forward to some longer posts after the G-20. Welcome to Pittsburgh G-20!

4 of COINS

4 of coins: A surprise insight that makes life feel happier and richer. Money luck, but in mind-emotion-spirit connected way, as with any surprise windfall, however small, that also lifts your spirits and the mood of those around you through your lighter energies. A good example is finding a forgotten $5 bill in the pocket of your old winter coat, that puts you in a good mood...then your good mood and unconscious smile makes the world a little sunnier for everyone. That is the secret treasure of the 4 of coins...the human spirit and happiness, not just wealth.

May you find a secret treasure today.

Baihu

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

HOW TO FIND YOUR SOULMATE

I get the question a LOT. I asked the question a LOT when I was younger and first started going to get psychic readings. Little did I know then that I would wind up doing this kind of work. After seeing the soulmate question from both sides, I have a few ideas that I offer to almost every client that comes to me with questions like "how do I find my soulmate". It works the same for everyone, although the he-she in this is written as if the questioner was female. Gender doesn't matter. The same principles apply.

If you have any questions, please e-mail them to faq@modern-oracle-tarot.com to be answered here in the blog. General questions only. Please direct personal reading orders to www.modern-oracle-tarot.com.

First, is to not worry about time...love is one of those cosmic truths beyond time. It doesn't need, want or respond to our time schedules or expectations. "it happens in its own time" and "you can't hurry love" are both very true. So don't worry about WHEN. After you take that pressure off of yourself, and off of your soulmate out there, then that creates more energetic space for the relationship to step into.

Second, why not let your soulmate find you? The outward, struggling quality of "finding" a soulmate is often counter-productive. If it is meant to be, it will happen naturally, and in the flow of things. Fighting the current, not 'going with the flow' only makes things harder. Think more in terms of a light in the darkness. If you are happy, relaxed, loving, compassionate, and being your genuine self, then you are more likely to attract your perfect mate to you. Not to sound like an e-harmony commercial, but they got that one right...you want to find someone who loves you for the real you - and the best way to have that happen is just to live fully, and honestly, and just BE your genuine self...not be someone on the prowl, hunting for a mate, like a wolf hunting for a rabbit. BE yourself, let your light shine, and if it is meant to be, your soulmate will be drawn to you. You might have heard that called the "law of similars"...like attracts like. If you are loving, you attract love. If you send out signals you are a hunter, you find preditors. If you send out signals of wanting to be with someone, then you find someone who mutually wants that too.

Third, do things that you love to do. Going to bars or whatever with the sole purpose of "finding a soulmate" seldom works. Do something you love, and you might meet someone who loves that same thing and viola! you find someone where you have something in common to help you get things rolling. For me that was martial arts. I LOVE doing tai chi. So now I'm married to a certified national martial arts tournament judge. Same is true for any hobby, sport or activity you really enjoy. That vibe of enjoyment will help the attraction process.

I hope that helps a little.

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If you would like a personal reading with the blog author, please visit www.modern-oracle-tarot.com for full details.

10 of SWORDS

Tragedy happens. Good and bad, light and dark, happy and sad: all opposites are part of life. We must have one to appreciate the other.

Adversity will happen in every life: how we respond to it will define if we are defeated, or if we overcome.