Learn Tarot

  • Learn Tarot, Uncategorized

    Working With Tarot To Relieve Your Anxiety

    For those of us who have anxiety and depression, struggling to get through a Bad (with a capital B) day can be excruciating.  We start to spin negative thoughts in our heads: What if I said the wrong thing to my neighbor? Why don’t I feel successful? Do I pay enough attention to my kids? Was that the right way to handle that situation? I should be weeding/folding laundry/dusting. I can’t do anything right. I’m a failure….

    As someone with acute anxiety, I’m familiar with the soundtrack that sometimes repeats all day. It expands and contracts according to my mood and the season, what I’ve been eating, how much stress I’m under, and for various other reasons.

    When the walls start to close in on me, I’ve learned to reach out for support. Sometimes support comes in the form of a conversation with a good friend.

    More often though, especially when my anxiety is crushing my social skills, I reach out to my Spirit Guides as the first wave of support to get me out of a funk. I get out my cards and have a nice conversation with my Higher Self and my Spirit Helpers.

    Create Rituals to Ease Anxiety

    Making a little ritual out of connecting with your Higher Self and your cards can be super calming. I take a moment to light a white candle, get settled into a comfortable position, take a few deep breaths… really get into the moment.

    Inhale deeply, filling your lungs and belly. Exhale fully, til there’s no air left. Repeat the process a few times.


    Here’s my ritual for starting to work with my cards:

    • I invite Archangel Michael and my Guardian Angels to protect my space and my being, keeping out any negative influences—including my own thoughts—that would disturb my reading.
    • I ask my Spirit Guides to join me.
    • I tap out my cards and focus within myself.
    • I really get into the moment, grounding myself, focusing on my breathing and the cards helps me to stave off the peaks of my anxiety.

    Get Clear On Your Question

    Then to bring a moment of clarity. I ask: 

    What am I stressing about? or What do I need to know about (what is stressing me out)?

    Pick ONE Card

    Pick just one card—maybe two MAXIMUM—to keep the message simple and straightforward.


    The cards that come up are usually quite clear in their messages and a bit cheeky, if you ask me. Yesterday, it was the Seven of Pentacles reversed. The fact that I feel like I have sowed seeds and nurtured crops and tended fields, yet I have yet to see an abundant harvest. Part of this is due to self-worth issues, I know. And part is honestly due to grit and consistency—or a lack thereof.

    And part of it is sheer overwhelm; with Covid and back to school, regular mom-stuff, being an entrepreneur, and feeling like I. need. To. Do. It. All. RIGHT. NOW!! No rest for the weary here.

    OK. Message clear. Got it!

    *You could stop there, especially if you need to meditate on your answer or how the card fits into your current situation.

    What Can You Do To Ease Your Anxiety?

    If you want to explore potential solutions or find a way to deal with your anxiety, you can ask:

    What can I do about it?

    Pick just one card again.

    The Page of Wands comes up to tells me that I likely have to light a little fire under my tush, first. Second, focus on the things that get me excited, the things that fire me up. I have to look at things from a new and innocent perspective, finding wonder in my work again.

    And I might need to take a day off to pursue ONLY those things that light my fire.


    Is There A Shadow?

    I might also look at the bottom card on the deck after pulling a card for the above-mentioned questions. This would be the Shadow of the situation, or what I am avoiding.

    Oh, hello Six of Wands reversed. Fear of failure, big time!

    Am avoiding defeat and not looking good to myself and the others around me by not giving 100%?

    After working with my cards yesterday, I came down from an upwardly anxious spiral. I got the message about what I needed to do to put a dent into what was bugging me. I also got some clarity about what my problem was to begin with.

    My Higher Self spoke to me through the cards. Honestly, it was easy to decipher what the cards meant for me because they were so on point.

    Now I know what the issue is, I know how to solve it. I know what I am avoiding.

    Get Out Your Tarot Journal

    From here, I can get out my journal and write about exactly what I want to accomplish, getting rid of the “shoulds and the musts”, focusing on a few things that truly move ME (3 maximum for the day). 

    I also take a moment to recognize the negative voice in my head that makes everything so urgent and wants it all NOW! NOW! NOW! I can even talk to that voice in my journal:

    Dear Sue,

    I know that you want to help us get to a better place and that is why you are scared that if I don’t do everything right now, we won’t get there. I want you to know that we have to take things one step at a time, with purpose and focus. If we do things step by step, we’re less likely to trip and fall and more likely to really feel good about what we’ve achieved. It will also help us to do better work, as we’ll be much more mindful of the work we do. Thank you for caring so much.

    With love,
    Sue

    When you are facing life with anxiety and/or depression, tarot can be an excellent tool to use to really take a moment to get in touch with your Higher Self. 

    Don’t overcomplicate things. Just pull one card at a time. 


    Get your journal out and write a summary note to yourself based on the cards you pull… and enjoy the moment. Breathing. Connecting. Focusing.

    Conclusion

    The practice of working with tarot can bring you into a much calmer, more connected state of mind. If you are spiraling out on a bad day, working with cards can quickly show you what the root of your issue is and how to resolve it. After you sort out the details, you can return to your life with a focused plan and a little more peace and calmness in your life.

    CONTINUE READING

  • Blog, Featured Blog, Learn Tarot, Tarot

    What Does It Mean When You Have A Stalker Card?

    If you’re anything like me, you consult with your cards frequently. I work with tarot and oracle cards daily, often pulling random cards for my own questions, and of course, using tarot and oracle cards to advise clients. There are times when I start noticing stalker cards in my readings. What is a stalker card and what does it mean when you notice you have a stalker card?

    What is a stalker card?

    A stalker card is a card that keeps coming up over and over in your readings, in card picks, or even as the bottom card in the deck (The Shadow Card). You start to see the card so often, it starts to feel like the card is actually following you around or stalking you.

    There are times when I pick up a deck, shuffle it, and choose a card. I note what the card is, return it to the deck, and shuffle again. Then I pull another card from the deck and… it’s the same card I got the first time!

    And it’s often not just one day that the card comes up; stalker cards can follow a person around for weeks. A stalker card will keep on coming up again and again, though, for what feels like an extended amount of time.

    If I’m working out some sort of issue in my mind and end up examining it from a variety of different angles with different spreads on different days (#dontjudge), the same card might appear over and over again in a prominent position in my readings.

    Why do stalker cards stalk you?

    Stalker cards are often ideas or concepts that you need to deal with in order to move forward in your life or get to the next level. They serve as reminders of the point you might be purposefully missing or honestly overlooking.

    Sometimes, the cards are reaffirming a message they gave you the last time you asked. Sometimes, they are reminding you that you have to do that one thing before you can succeed.

    There are also stalker cards you might associate with the “season” of life you are in or a personality trait that is holding you back.

    If you are co-dependent, for example, or need to hold on to your sobriety or work on your addictions, the Devil card might become your stalker. Or, if you need to step up and claim more power in your life, either Strength or the Nine of Pentacles might start stalking you.

    If you start to get the same deity or idea coming up while using a deck (or a few of them), that is an indication that that entity has a special message for you. For example, if Athena comes up when you use the Goddess Guidance deck and then you get out your Goddess Power deck she comes up again, I think it’s safe to say that Athena has a message for you.

    Read about my experience with a stalker card here: Pele, My Goddess Stalker

    What you should do if you get a stalker card

    If you start to notice a specific tarot or oracle card stalking you, or coming up more frequently in your readings, you should explore what it means to you and your current situation.

    • Get out your tarot journal and either go to the page devoted to that card or find a blank page to note your ideas on.
    • Take the card out and really look at it. Are there any symbols on the card that trigger your intuition? Do the colors evoke any feelings for you?
    • Brainstorm a list of ideas related to what it might mean for you.
    • Free-write in your journal. Let yourself connect with the energy of the card or of the deity shown on the card.
    • Get the Little White Book from the deck and see if the deck’s creator lists any new or different information about the card.
    • Spend some time studying what other people say about the card, what it means, and how that ties in with your current life situation.
    • Make note of any direct hits in your life or your tendencies that the card might be addressing.
    • Note WHERE in the deck it is or how it comes up. Is it a card you pull or one that is always on the bottom of the deck?
    • If the card is a deity, place the card on your altar with some libations to thank it for helping you in your life.
    • After you’re done working with the energy of the card, thank the card for the advice and guidance and return the card to your deck.

    In Summary

    Stalker cards are cards you notice coming up over and over again in your readings. When you feel like a card is following you around or stalking you, it’s a good idea to examine its message more closely and really think about what it means in your life. You can write about your stalker card in your tarot journal or make a special note of it. Oftentimes, stalker cards have a special message for you—that’s why they show up often enough for you to get either creeped out or intrigued by seeing them over and over again!

    Have you ever had a card stalk you? If so, please share your experience in the comments below!

     

    CONTINUE READING