YouandTheTarot

  In the Tarot, The Lovers card is full of stern messaging. That extends from the basic disconnect between the two to the serpent hovering on the side. Given all that peril embedded in romantic relationships, it's no surprise that most Tarot readings about intimate bondings deal with pain. With Valentine's Day coming it's the best of time to focus on what the entity we call "love" is about. And that's behavior. Not feeling. It's about how the two parties treat one another. Not how they feel about one another. Too often distraught clients blurt out: "He/she told me they loved me." My response is: "But did they show you in their behavior that they did?" Usually it's the little behaviors. For example, picking up that their lover's face is a bit clouded with some kind of concern and asking about it.  My recommendation: Bypass the candy or the dinner out this Valentine's. Instead provide three to four hours of deep listening. Tha...

  In America The Land of Possibilities the messaging is all about moving toward goals. You got it, going for the gold. Don't give up on the Dream. That is so cemented in the national mindset that those who aren't moving toward the goals wind up coming for a Tarot reading. In essence, they need "permission" to just cope with what is when it isn't all that wonderful.  Along with the relief they receive during the Tarot session that they can take a pause on achievement is this lesson learned: They are in charge of how they see themselves and feel about themselves. But it is up to them to take charge. Usually that means installing a protective shield against everything ranging from well-meaning advice-giving to cruel hostility.  Incidentally, adulting, that is growing up, is such a difficult rite of passage because you are expected to know how to cope.  Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach. Medium. Don’t Give Up Before the Miracle. Empathy and compassion. N...

  "Everything is going my way." That's what a 73-year-old new entrepreneur blurted out during our Tarot session.  There are no coincidences. He pulled The Wheel of Fortune Card. The shift was profound.  Increasingly I am hearing from those over-65 that this stage of life is the best of times. For most it is the first time they are starting to "peak."  There are a number of reasons for this. Research , for example, shows that in general satisfaction with life increases post-65. We have known that for a while. There is also, even when still working for income, the backing off from the pressures of extreme ambition. No longer are you constantly comparing yourself to others and feeling that you are coming up short. Simple pleasures such as a deep conversation with someone who knows how to listen and respond mean more than possessing the status symbols of the middle years. In addition, what I have noticed is the influx of real gratitude. Overall, you are amazed that ...

It is life in one dimension to sit at your desk indulging in warm-and-cozy fantasies of a career change. It is orbiting in another dimension to actually embark on that journey. As I detail in an article published in O'Dwyer's Communications , changing careers is an ordeal. Poof go your identity, track record, network and ability to feel confident about your knowledge base and skills. No surprise then, the Tarot cards are jam-packed with messages about the two-fold messaging 1) Change is difficult and 2) Human beings have what it takes to create fresh new paradigms for themselves. A major speed bump along the way is the longing for "how things used to be." Actually that is an illusion. Nothing, even in the former career, stays the same. Currently that is more obvious with the upheaval put in play by AI, widespread layoffs in white collar lines of work and so many skills becoming obsolete.  Among those who came to me for direction had been a middle managed forced out of...

  "It happens so often. I go into a 'trance.'"  That's what a very worried new client for a Tarot session confided in me. She was hoping that we would enter a trance together and in it she would find out what had been going on since childhood. What it turned out is that the woman had the "gift." She herself was highly intuitive and her insights would help her and, if she wished to share them, others. Overall, "trance" is widely misunderstood. Actually it usually lacks mystical transcendence.  Regularly drivers go into a trance when they travel the same old roads. Then, there they are in their driveway at home or in the office parking lot and they can't remember getting there.  Artists seem to have to go into trances to generate original material.  Lovers transport themselves into trances when together.  Athletes learn to go into a trance state to bypass performance anxiety. The utility of the trance in Tarot sessions is that it gives the co...

"..as is often the case with iconic runs across sports, Belichick’s reign ended on a low note."   New York Post,  January 11, 2024 Therefore, as the messaging from the Tarot cards hammers: Be alert to the realities of the Wheel of Fortune. That is, everything changes. Apply that to careers and seismic flashpoints of insight should occur. The first one is this: Consider leaving at the peak. Size up if in your line of work it is possible to sustain extreme success. If not, prepare for how and when to hang it up.   That mindset could be called The Johnny Carson Exit Rule. Wisely he left "it" (the excitement, power, influence, fame and fortune as well as the headaches) when he was the king of late-night talk.  Some, however, find the Wheel of Fortune forever on their side. The momentum can continue. They, for example, can stay in until death takes them. Those include investment guru Charlie Munger, actress Betty White and expert on foreign affairs H...

  Now on Netflix, "Leave the World Behind," is an apocalyptic film.  The plot line seems to be pulled along by a cyber attack. Without the internet there is no phone and no digital controls for planes and self-driving cars. Of course that triggers lots of special effects such as a large oil tanker coming right onto a beach. One theory is that a foreign government put this in play.  However, like a Tarot card reading, it's up to the audience to find the meaning. There are too many memes introduced to conclude there is a preordained message. For example, given the contradictory signals about how humans treat each other, it would be reckless to indicate that the takeaway is how awful people really are. What I came away with is a warning how overly dependent we have become on technology. In itself that could be robbing us of what makes us human. When I provide an in-person Tarot reading I recommend that clients shut off all their devices. Otherwise there seems to be an under...

Those who come for Tarot readings get scared when the Wheel of Fortune card comes up. And with good reason.  The Wheel of Fortune card signals change is coming, whether you like it or not. There will be plenty of that in 2024 as global volatility gallops on. Most human beings don't absorb change easily, even if it is a good one. Evidence of that is the middle manager who gets promoted to the C-Suite and struggles with the fit. The message embedded in this card is that change is ongoing. The good, the bad, the mundane - all is transitory.  The trick, though, is to align your mindset with accepting that constant state of flux. The reward is great: You can ignore your enemies, critics and even the intrusive (but well-meaning) advice-givers who will make your temporary misfortune their business. The media is especially adept at that.  Even more importantly, if they do a gush about any of your good fortune, you can ignore that too. The highs can be as possibly dangerous as the...

  The Wall Street Journal fingers retirement for the epidemic of a loss of self among the aging.  However, the process can kick in as soon as anyone senses they are no longer young. Gone is their youthful self. Denying aging, they don't invest in creating a new self - and continually bringing up to date that identity. By time there is a shift from a demanding career to part-time, freelance, entrepreneurial or no work there is no emotional, physical and spiritual platform to keep building on. In the Tarot there are myriad cards which salute moving on and breaking free from the past, even though there is so much uncertainty about the present and the future.  My favorite card for that is the Eight of Cups. It is commonly called The Walking Away card. I prefer to refer to it as The Walking Toward card.  Cups symbolize emotion. There is certainly lots of that in leaving the past behind. The mountains stand for the unknowns. The sitting position recommends not rushing the...