In the cards - 5 of Diamonds

Introducing a new series: "In The Cards" will give short daily mediation style readings based on ordinary playing cards instead of Tarot Cards - to give you a glimpse into the art of cartomancy.

If you like what you see, and would like to order a full "Modern Oracle" 5 or 7 card cartomancy reading, please visit www.ModernOracleTarot.com for full details.

5 of Diamonds: 

Wealth dwells in the realm of mind, logic, wisdom - and compassion. A fortune is easily squandered. A little can feel like a lot if you manage it well. What you give comes back to you in one form or another. Money can't buy happiness, but generosity, compassion and connection can.

Pathway Money / Wealth Reading.

Q:  I have a lot of money concerns right now. My mind is spinning, I feel so stressed - I don't know what to do next. Do you have any insight?

A:  When I read your questions, the "mind is spinning part" caught my attention.


My intuition is that is part of the problem as much as a symptom of it. Often times money and career issues need logic more than tarot readings. The value of the reading will be focus, more than anything specific.

The first card (lessons from the past) that comes up for you is the knight of cups: It's traditional meaning is "sufficiency" or "enough". Here is where logic comes into play. What is enough? How much money do you really need to get by, realistically. What can you live without? What can you really live with? More than hopes and dreams, what is it you realistically need to get by with enough in the next week? Month? Year? What do you need to do to get that amount? Is THAT something you can live with? Do you need to find a temporary strategy until you can get the work / income that you really need? The key here is knowing what is NEEDED and what is WANTED. Meet your needs - then go about figuring our how to get what you want. "First things first" as they say. Have you ever had a tendency to want to do everything at once, solve everything at once? Has there been anything in the past that helped you overcome that tendency? Maybe that can help agian.

Forgive me if this is wrong, but the feeling I get here is that the spinning and confusion comes from mixing needs and wants, and getting things jumbled. Are you familiar with the process of "triage".  Tend to most urgent things first. There is a basis for this in science. Psychology shows that people who are most stressed are ones that have a hard time prioritizing things...everything seems like equal importance. When you can sort things out, tend to the most important things first, take things one step at a time...they become much less stressful.

Next card is the King of Cups: (Lesson now) It is a card of mentoring and guidance. If you need to get help or advice about putting things in order...to put the important things first, then don't hesitate to seek that help. Even the most experienced entrepreneurs need ideas sometimes. Nothing wrong with "brainstorming" or finding someone with your expertise or greater to "bounce ideas off of" and so on. "Find an expert" is the feeling here...not a tarot reader on the internet, but a real flesh and blood expert in finances or in your career field to help you get things back on track. An expert in money / finance / career can help you figure out what to put first, even if you are an expert yourself, especially if you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Finally the third card, the way forward,  is the King of Coins. The lesson here is akin to the idea of the "spiritual law of attraction" Focus your energy on solving problems...first problem first. Focus on the possible bad things that could happen and you call them too you. Focus on concrete solutions to concrete problems, and you call those to you too. Allow the good. Work for the good. Looking at the "big picture" can help you, but the "big picture" doesn't include all the stuff that MIGHT happen. The "big picture" approach can help best when it is pragmatic and realistic. If you include all the things the "might" be, that "could have been" , and all the "could haves" "should haves" and "would haves"...then the "big picture" is overwhelming, stressful,  hopeless. Sometimes after you look at the big picture only to decide where you are, where you want to be, and how to get there. Once you've made practical, realistic decisions about those three things, then go small...take it step by step. One step at a time, first things first. 

I hope this helps point things in a better direction. Good Luck!

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Today's Tarot - The World

Since when is money and success the same thing? Define success in your own terms, not other people's, and chances are you'll discover how successful you ARE right now.


Just because someone is wealthy does not automatically mean they are moral, wise, enlightened, compassionate, has common sense or is a good leader.


www.ModernOracleTarot.com

Money, Romance and Stress

Q. Thanks for your last reading, it really helped. Since then, I've found someone new. ****** is great, and we are really happy together. Now I want to know about money. Finances and school have been a huge stress for me lately. Do you see any calmness coming my way? What can I do to deal with all of this stress?

A. Hi ***

I'm so happy to hear about you and *******. My first instinct is to say treasure that, and put your energy into that. If you have a happy loving supportive relationship, you can cope with all the rest. What would pay for a relationship like that?...it's priceless! So finances and school stress take a back seat to love and relationships sometimes. The important thing is don't let the school and financial stresses put stress on the relationship. Don't let the other bad things corrupt the good thing...give your energy to the relationship, not the stress. Focus on the loving good things and take refuge in that to let you cope with the other stuff and keep it at bay.

But all of that is easier said than done. Another thing that springs to mind, even before picking up the cards, is to work on calming your nerves and dealing with the stress rather than worry about what is coming down the road. More often than not, that's what stress IS, worrying about things that might or might not happen, rather than paying attention to what you have right here, right now. Look at the good things you have now, like ******. Are you familiar with aromatherapy? A blend of lavender and roman chamomile with a drop of sandalwood in a lotion comes to mind. My hunch is that it would be more effective in a body lotion rather than a room scent for you. If you make your own, use good quality oils, 12 drops chamomile, 10 drops lavender, 1or 2 drops sandalwood in 2 oz of whatever unscented oil or lotion you like. Apply it whenever you feel stressed, or at the very least, rub some on your hands, and inhale the scent deeply when you are feeling stressed.

That being said, you probably remember from our other readings that tarot doesn't predict a single thing....so can I see calmness heading your way? No...tarot doesn't see the future, it helps you create it.

So I'm looking at this as a "pathway to happiness" reading, NOT a looking at what is coming.

First, in the general pattern, we start with minor arcana cards then move to a major arcana card. The suggestion there is act now...manage things now to prevent bigger problems later, or at the very least, prepare for what may come in the future. My feeling is that this is a crossroads. Choose your priorities (cherish and take care of things with Angel, don't get so caught up in money stress that it damages things there). Choose well, act wisely, and you can prevent problems later.

The first card is the page of swords. It traditionally means faith. Sometimes I also associate it with trust. Being in the "lessons from the past" position, my instinct is to ask if there is someone you trust to give you advice about the finances. In my mind's eye I see an older man, with white hair. The hair could be literal or just symbolic. But it is something to think about. If you get guidance and make a plan about what to do with school and money, and plan for the various outcomes that are causing you stress, then they won't seem as stressful anymore.

The "lesson now" is the 4 of wands meaning a strong foundation. This card is more cautioning than the advice of the last card. This seems to say 'rely on your foundation' 'go with what you know'. Now may not be a good time for risk or searching the unknown.

This may seem like a paradox compared to the final card, the High Priestess. Traditionally, this card is read as "mystery" or "mysteries of the universe". I get the feeling that learning to see hidden meanings may help you move forward. If you learn to read the subtitles of a situation, that makes them feel less risky and stressful too. What is a mask, and what isn't? What is the hidden messages behind the things that worry you? What is undue worry about the future, and what is your intuition giving you a warning that something may be wrong now, or may go wrong soon if you don't act. You've learned difficult lessons about romance. Now is the time to learn cunning, wisdom about the world at large...less focus on the emotional, more focus on the "nothing personal" "it's just business" work-a-day (and sometimes very cut-throat competitive world)

As I look at this without the cards, I again get the image of you and ****** in a bubble, light, light blue, a separate thing from the other stresses.

I get the sense of protecting that through advice, logic, learning the "street smarts" of things...but not dragging that mud and dark into your place of light and love. Kind of the emotional equivalent of taking off muddy boots before you go inside the house, if that makes sense.

And there it ends.

I certainly wish you and ****** all the best, and good luck with school and everything else too!

Baihu
http://www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

(Sometimes I do readings for a volunteer online consulting site...I use the pen name "Baihu" there.)

Tarot "Predictions" 2012

Remember those 'fortune tellers' that kids fold out of paper? That's about the level this is at...just tongue in cheek fun...on one hand. On the other, if we collectively stop and think, if we collectively choose more wisely, then together we can create a better future, no matter what psychics "predict" here at the new year. Yet it is a fun game we all play at this time of year.

As you know from the lack of posts lately, I've been on blogcation from cyberspace. I haven't read any of my favorite blogs or other yearly predictions. I did see a tweet from one of my favorite mediums and astrologers....Joy Star....that she has posted her predictions with a particular eye toward numerology and astrology. Numerology and astrology are not my strong points, so if you are any smidge interested in those things please feel free to check out  www.psychicjoystar.wordpress.com

For me, its all tarot. What I'll do is what I call my "four seasons" reading. Each of 4 cards represents each of the upcoming four seasons to give a look ahead at the coming year. It can start at any time of year...it doesn't have to be at New Years.

Shameless self promotion: If you want a four seasons reading personalized just for you, send your name, age, questions and "four seasons 2012" in an e-mail to ereadings@modern-oracle-tarot.com. No appointment needed...available by e-mail only. You'll be invoiced a low total $20 for the reading via PayPal for your privacy and security. I never see your private information other than your email....and you have the reassurance of using a nationally known, secure way to pay. I'm an "identity verified" vendor with them, so you can order with confidence.

Now that the business is done, back to the fun. This reading with be done with the idea that it will apply globally, but keep in mind I'm an east coast American, so I probably will be a bit more dialed into the path and energy here in the U.S.A. But keeping as wide of a focus as possible, as I shuffled the cards, the question in mind was "show me truth for 2012".

Being at the beginning of winter, the first card will relate to winter...now through roughly mid-March or early April. The winter card is the 9 of wands. This has to do with acceptance. I always remind everyone when this card turns up, that there is a difference between "acceptance" and "acquiescence". It is the difference between taking a pragmatic, realistic approach to what is happening and giving up, giving in, blaming others and hiding from the truth.

Wands have to do with our inner, individual journey and personal growth.

When I apply the 9 of wands to a general, collective look...my mind is drawn immediately to American politics...to politics of any democracy.  Wands is internal, individual...the nine is accepting the reality of things-as-they-are. The message here is for each individual to trust their own evaluation of reality, of things as they are here and now...DISREGARDING THE PROPAGANDA AND "MAINSTREAM PARTY LINE".  Trust your own evaluation of the situation, accept it is what it is, not necessarily what you want it to be...and then act and vote accordingly.

Here is where my personal bias shines bright...Republicans have been lying through their teeth and out their backside...look at the facts, look at the data, accept the reality of things as they actually have happened over the past 10-12 years. See and accept reality...not the story and spin. Whether it matches your hoped-for reality or not. In spite of any get-Obama sentiment you might have, look at the historical facts and numbers.

This card is encouraging all of us to ACCEPT THE FACTS of our situation and deal with it pragmatically in a realistic, practical sort of way over the next several months, at least.

SPRING, March through May basically has drawn the "Wheel" card. The sense I have of this card is twofold...first that things will change because of the pragmatism of the winter season....we collectively take that cold, hard look at the way things are, and begin to act, feel and believe differently because of that.  The other is the momentum caused because of that...first we 'hike up our skirts' and MAKE things better, then further change is brought about because of that initial action causing a chain-reaction of optimism. Things finally start to change for the better and we get a collective glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel...the tunnel being both the economic concerns that have been going on since 2008...and in general spirit, spiritual growth, a sort of brightening of the collective spiritual consciousness as we shake ourselves free of the propaganda and mental shackles . The phrase "THE AGE OF THE FREETHINKERS BEGINS" comes to mind. I deeply hope this is true. It is my wish that all people be free from suffering, both physical problems and mental / emotional oppression.

Summer is the Tower card. It generally means chaos, but the feeling with this card continues in the mental - internal- philosophical - perception tone set by the first wands card. I don't see it as any sort of uprising or physical chaos. My sense of it is more an upset of the old guard of thinking, rather than outright war and conflict. The idea of the occupation of Iraq finally ending, and the potential for drawdowns inAfghanistan begin to take root in the world psyche, and peace again becomes at least a viable IDEA. This throws the old-school 'war hawks' off their guard. The shift toward peaceful freethinking make those with the fundamentalist mindset feel like the world is in chaos, or even coming to an end. 2012 isn't the end of the world...it is the beginning of the end of certain ways of looking at the world.  "NEW AGE" comes to mind...not so much the 'woo woo' spirituality we know from the 70s and 80s, but a true new age, another renaissance that to some is the beginning of something wonderful...to others, it seems chaos, mayhem, disaster.

Either way, spring and summer are dynamic, energetic, full of change. The tower card reminds us that when things seem chaotic, and when we feel like we have lost our bearings in an unpredictable, changing, chaotic world...perspective is the solution. Climb the tower, get the overview...FIND THE BIG PICTURE TO FIND THE SOLUTION. This will be the lesson and tenor of the summer.

Fall is calmer...the Page of Cups. It has to do with reconciling old thoughts, with the new thoughts, and finding balance. It has to do with soothing the chaos that change has brought over the spring and summer. There is still a thread of the reality-pragmatic approach. This card has to do with "dealing with demons"...we pay for past mistakes, but that allows us to let them go and move on. Political chickens come home to roost in U.S. elections. Those who believe in the 'end of the world' notions become nostalgic, think of what they might loose....a "bucket list" mentality for some, bittersweet nostalgia for others. For the newly freed freethinkers, there is greater compassion for those on different paths. Maybe a little more unity as we move past the elections and move into the next holiday season.

Moving away from the cards to general impressions: Still politically-minded, I get the mental image of a U.S. map, no state lines, just the national outline, filling with blue from the west to mid-west, some in the northeast, but the southeast being white, not red as is usual with the news graphics. When I look at that white, southeast region I get the words "empty" "crumbling" "old".

I see buttercups...and feel it is related to spring. Yellow, golden tones...often associated with wealth and money luck, but flowers may have more to do with spiritual renewal than physical wealth.

There is a feeling of quiet strength. Growing calm after the summer. Calm knowing, with a tinge of "I told you so".

I can't say for sure, but when I turn my mind to the natural world...it feels quiet. There is a sense of waiting and listening, as if Earth is waiting to see if we will act to heal, or continue to be mindlessly destructive. It is my wish that we all act to be ecologically responsible....green green greenie green green...it is the path to life for Nature and humans alike.  As the children who have been raised to be more ecologically aware over the past decade or so come of age, ecological protection, renewable energy, green jobs becomes easier, more natural, presumed, matter of course...not the hair tearing debate that some have made it out to be in the past....again that idea of the old guard falling into chaos, while a calmer, more pragmatic, truth-seeing, spiritual (not dogmatic or religious) generation comes forward.

It is the end of the world...for those who hate. May it be so.

Feels like a quiet year externally...with much energy internally, with change and chaos in the individual and the collective psyche more than anything.

Was watching the Rose parade earlier I think their theme captures the tone and direction of 2012 perfectly...Imagine.

What we imagine, hope and work for can be made manifest, if we stay focused on our better and compassionate nature.  That is where the "zone" will be.  Those that hold on to the past, embrace divisive, or bigoted ideas are in for a rough year, with questioning and doubt and chaos as old followers awaken to a new way.

Imagine a better place, and act to make it true. Deal with the old demons so they can be let go to make room for a kinder way of thinking.

May this truly be the year that the world of hate, division, bigotry, and violence comes to an end. There is a world of truth and compassion waiting to take its place.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, abundant, magical, imagination filled new year!

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

knight of coins daily meditation

Knight of coins: "When paradigms shift, worlds change"

from "Triquetra: The Dance of Worlds"

A glass half full, or a glass half empty doesn't change the glass, but it makes our experience totally different. You don't need to change the water in the glass to change your perception of it.

Perception is a coin card because it so strongly relates to wealth and contentment. If we have enough, and appreciate that sufficiency, then there is no need for excess. This is just like the Buddhist notion of non-attachment. It isn't lacking something that makes you unhappy...it is the wanting that something that is the problem...of course this applies to the the extra 'somethings', beyond survival, beyond life necessities. There is a difference between wanting a bowl of rice to survive another day and wanting to drive a bigger car.

I forget where I heard it, but it true..."the wealthiest man is the one who wants for nothing".

Whether that means having so much stuff that you don't want anything...or just not wanting all that extraneous stuff you don't have...well, that is your choice, your perception.

www.modern-oracle-tarot.com

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