YouandTheTarot

Remember those documentaries we watched in culture class about primitive tribes. A snippet would focus on laundry day. Women from the village spent the time by the river talking and laughing with one another as they washed clothes. For years that same sense of a get-together also prevailed at the laundromat. Part of the ethos were those bulletin boards on which we hunted for love, roommates and information about what to do after-work.  This Friday, having just blew into this midwest large city from a border town in Arizona I went to the laundromat a few miles from my residential complex. I bypassed the machines on my floor. See, I was hoping to effortlessly meet folks I could talk with. Anyone on anything, after 1,200 miles of isolation on the road. Who doesn't want to complain about laundry day. No one looked up when I came in. All eyes were on their screens. For the total 90-minute process, no one talked with each other. Incidentally, that laundromat, totally high tech, has the l...

  Both orphan Lilo and rogue alien from another planet Stitch believe they are bad. You don't need a degree in criminal psychology to realize, in itself, that reinforces the antisocial.  What they learn together in this blockbuster film is that it's their behavior that's bad, not themselves. Through the power of love, they both become capable of changing their behavior.  As a result, Lilo escapes the foster care system. She's allowed to live with loving neighbors. Stitch gets to remain on earth. The government, both on this planet and what we're introduced to from another planet, shifts to being portrayed as able to recognize transformation.  What has occurred would be described in Christianity as the gift of grace. Through grace, we are gifted with what we don't deserve.  The trick is to be open to grace. In the tarot that's symbolized by the Death card. That's about the willingness to accept abundance. Notice that the horse has his hoof raised, poised ...

With some exceptions, there's a glut of every kind of worker. That includes tarot readers.  It was the hard way that I came to see the wisdom of quotas. Last weekend I participated in a psychic fair. Unlike the ones I had previously been a part of there was no limit on the number of psychic vendors.  You know the rest.  What drives quotas is the common sense need to protect 1) the profession and 2) the ability of its member to get and grow their business.  Before I accept an invitation to do readings at a fair I will ask how many others will be participating. If it's more than three, that's too many. Better that I pitch myself for private readings at my location and for house parties. Thriving in difficult times starts from the inside. Tarot Readings. Faith-based Coaching. Mediumship. Remote and in-person. No minimum booking time. Affordable Rates. For confidential complimentary consultation please contact Jane Genova at 203-468-8579 (text, voice)   or jan...

Forgiveness is the meme in America, a nation imprinted with the teachings of Jesus Christ, as they are presented in the New Testament. While dying on the cross, Jesus exclaimed: Father,  [meaning God the Father in the holy trinity] forgive them, they know not what they do.    America is also a capitalist economy in which the legal system supports property values. Without that, capitalism couldn't hold on. Part of the legal infrastructure is the role of the defense lawyer. The mission of law firms such as Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss is to put in context the alleged wrongdoing. Judges and juries can deliver forgiveness, in whole or in part. Forgiveness can also be earned. The old-line ethos, an offshoot of the Protestant Ethic, is that hard work can bring salvation. In prison, Watergate rascal Chuck Colson labored on behalf of the spiritual needs of the inmates. In the process he found redemption - and a post-release new career path as a founder of a non-...

OpenAI's ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms are producing not only amazing answers to queries. They have developed a sense of style which makes the content engaging. Given this accelerating capability of Gen AI I decided to test out its performance in doing tarot readings.  Into the ChatGPT prompt I keyed that I had pulled the Death card. What did that mean, I asked. The answer  covered all bases, just as an experienced tarot reader would. For example, it started out with the standard explanation that the card is often misunderstood. No, it doesn't signal that a physical death is on the way. Instead, as it reports, the message is: Transformation Endings leading to new beginnings Letting go Rebirth In addition, it is comprehensive. It interprets both the upright and the reverse meanings. The latter occurs when the card is pulled upside-down.  No, Gen AI will not necessarily eliminate the role of human tarot readers. People come to the tarot sess...

Evangelical churches are surging in growth.  A fundamental is the embrace of Jesus to fill every human need. At the top of list is having a sense of safety, especially in these upside-down times.  The charismatic interactive services include turning one's life - every aspect of it - totally over to Jesus. If anyone in the congregation has trouble with that kind of surrender, after the service you can go into the prayer room. You'll join hands with another human being who'll assist you in leaving self-will behind and follow the message of Jesus. While in the prayer room you'll probably be given a free bible. There's no jar for donations.  The dominant presence of the evangelical has delivered the meme of Jesus as a sort of all-in-one DIY tool for emotional enlightenment, connection with what's outside the realm of rationalistic human experience, templates for leadership, intimacy that can be trusted and plenty more. That, of course, can take away market share fr...

  15 years ago. Maybe from back in college. That first job. Could even be an ex spouse. A former romantic partner emerges from the past and reaches out. Curious, there's a response. Then, there's a call to me for a tarot reading. The issue is: Should this relationship be given another shot? No surprise, the tarot session is filled with sharing "red flags" with me. Or, at least what's experienced in the now as red flags. That's so typical. From the get-go what's obvious is a no-fit. In addition, given all the current stresses there's a reluctance to invest the energy to try to make a fit. The reality is that we change so much. Also the other person has changed so much. The world has changed so much.  Meanwhile the past hovers over. That includes all the disappointments and resentments. The meme of our times is to let go. But matters of the heart tend to be the most sticky of experiences from the past. Over and over again I hear "I was so hurt....

  An eye-roller. On tabloid Abovethelaw Vivia Chen goes on and on about law firms' not caring about young lawyers. So? And she predicts a mental health crisis. So, again?  The Wall Street Journal has already covered that territory for most sectors. Employers actually are making it explicit that you are "replaceable." Another way of putting it is: You're a dime a dozen. Accept their terms and conditions of employment, don't complain or else leave.  As a faith-based career coach and tarot reader I bear witness to these realities in the current struggle to earn a living. No longer do I hear about "getting ahead." It's down to financial survival. What's obvious is that there has to be a shift from all those old-line expectations about work. You know, that it's purpose-driven, that's it's meaningful and that it must be your passion.  Instead, there's a circling back to a time only boomers might have experienced. That was not directly....

Want to find "safety" in the job market? CNBC reports that's what more and more are seeking.  Well, the harsh gallows humor on that one is: Remember when a government job was secure. And, remember when tech was the place to be. The new reality is that safety in employment no longer exists.  Whole sectors also are in upheaval.  Prestigious professional services like consulting in which Deloitte and PwC had been in the catbird seat, law firms like Paul Weiss and Skadden that had high autonomy and public relations agencies like Edelman and Stagwell which had been influential currently are struggling to reset.  So, instead of seeking employment safety or betting the ranch on a certain career path your mindset has to undergo a major shift. That's to a trust in yourself to navigate the growing challenges for finding, holding and moving on to better work or even investing in building a career path.  Should you opt for the MBA or graduate school?  For some, I'm he...

When there were still English majors in college, we read Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." The character in that medieval saga who was the most comically wonderful was The Pardoner. He peddled, for a fee, indulgences which guaranteed your sins would be forgiven. Essentially that was getting your ticket punched to enter heaven instead of purgatory or hell. The guy was plenty busy. The 2025 version of that is the pardon business ramping up during the Trump administration. The fee can be up to a million bucks. Bloomberg Law reports: "Powerful people in business and finance are rushing pitches and stepping up lobbying, catering their appeals to Trump and hiring lawyers with connections to the administration. These defendants with means are spending big for a chance to clear their names, at least in official records if not in public perception." Of course, a version of that is what skilled defense lawyers at brandname firms such as Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis do...

  With so much disruption so many of us are losing so much. Jobs. Career paths ripped up by generative AI. Relationships we're too exhausted to maintain. Savings. Sense of belonging. And more. Therefore, it's expected that the movie Thunderbolts should be a blockbuster at the box office. Also in ratings. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 89. The plot revolves around a group of anti-social losers who are tormented by shame over their earlier behavior. That ranges from the inattentive father who winds up divorced to the former meth addict. Self-hate dominates. It's described as being "in one room." Brilliant symbolism. Therapists should use it in sessions. I'll introduce the metaphor in tarot readings and my faith-based coaching.  The crisis of needing to band together to save their lives from the machinations of the evil director of the CIA forces them to transcend that emotional set. As Yelena Belova tutors they discover that 1) They can cope with life and 2) How to do ...

  "I'm getting all this advice I didn't ask for. And I don't want. Those blabbermouths don't know a thing about business." That's what a client for a tarot reading complained. This entrepreneur was toying with setting up another enterprise. This one in residential cleaning.  His tragic error? In his uncertainty, he was "thinking out loud." Be it in the gym working out or in the stands watching his daughter's game he was playing out various approaches for how to position and package such as new venture. I was compassionate about how anxiety sets loose too much talk. But I was also candid: "You put it out there. You open yourself for unsolicited feedback. That's the way it is." For structured input for those who are in the know, this self-employed man could have posted questions about his idea on professional anonymous networks Reddit and Fishbowl. He would have received a broad range of caring responses. That's free. Also fre...

Passion. Supposedly that's what those hiring want to see and, once on the job, what managers monitor. And too many in the workforce wind up burning out, making serious errors due to such blinding intensity and/or losing the respect of leadership because of being such blatant suck-ups.  The reality, as emerges in this thread on Reddit Jobs , is that those who don't take it all that seriously usually have the edge in professional life. The psychological term for that is "detachment." Some religions describe it as a state of being of "wearing the world like a loose garment." The poster describes himself as devoid of ambition in management consulting. In a primarily remote consulting position they don't scurry into the office for face time and compulsively attend those tedious company social events. Yet, they have continually received positive performance reviews and promotions. One response nails it: " ... maybe that’s why you’re actually excelling at ...