Sep 27 2018

Cardology vs. Tarot vs. Oracle Cards

Is Cardology Like Tarot? Oracle cards?

How is it different?

As a weekly Reader at a metaphysical store in Asheville, many times someone will sit across from me and expect to experience something similar to a Tarot reading. Granted, all Tarot readers have their own style and way of reading and even how they interact with the client, but for the most part, they do a spread of cards and start talking about what they see. Sometimes the client shares what is going on, sometimes they sit quietly and see if what they came to talk about is indeed the topic the Reader focuses on.

Cardology is more similar to Astrology or even Numerology in that it focuses on what you have going on currently in your blueprint. (Your yearly forecast)

It is a system that is based on your birthday and is unique to you, not a random draw. (I don’t believe tarot draws are random- my distinction is on a forecast verses a spread draw in the moment.)

That said, the playing cards can be used in so many ways, just like tarot or oracle cards can.

When I do a reading at Raven & Crone, I pull up the client’s current forecast (and I can look forward or backwards in years for further insights) and I do a 3-card spread to go along with it.

This lets me see what energies are at play in their lives and typically what they are dealing with is evident in their forecast. The 3-card draw lets me give them specific insights into what they are needing in that moment.

This is one of the many reasons I love Cardology. The forecast can show the broad generalities, while a spread in the moment can pinpoint specifics.

When using the playing deck as divination, first insights (intuitive guidance) is important.

When I learned to read the Tarot, I was taught to use the first thing in the images that popped out at me. Especially with all the beautifully illustrated decks out today, the overload of imagery can be…well…an overload and hard to narrow the focus of the meaning of the card.

How can you interpret a card that just has a number and a suit? is a common question when one begins to delve into using the cards.

Of course, each card has a basic meaning just like each tarot card does, but without images to pull from, does each card only mean that basic interpretation?

No. It has its low side, its high side, where it sits in the Earth spread and where it sits in the Spiritual spread.

As a Reader, just as you intuitively feel what symbol or part of the tarot card image to focus on, it is the same when reading the playing deck.

A Queen of Hearts can be about being a Mother, it can be about romance, great sex, sensuality, taking care of and nurturing yourself or over-indulging in fantasies or an addiction.

So when that card shows up-what do I focus on for the client?

Obviously, I take into account the other cards and their forecast because it invariably connects and I can see the whole picture at play, but I might clearly see when that Q♥ pops up that the client needs to take care of and nurture themselves and that is what I will talk about.

The deck can be used just like any Oracle deck

Before I knew about the Forecasting system of Cardology, I would draw a card each morning and journal about its basic meaning and how that applied to my life. I noticed a pattern emerging. I was dealing with issues around stability, loyalty and faithfulness and for days on end, I would draw a 4 card. I even got so sick of drawing a 4 card that I threw the whole deck on the floor in anger and guess what? All the cards landed face down accept one – a four card.

That happened many times during the years that I used the cards as divination. I needed to truly understand the card, work on that situation in my life, change an erroneous belief and THEN that card would stop showing up!

I’ve used the cards as an oracle game

One of my favorite things to do is to use the dice from Rory’s Story Cubes.

I do this when I feel I need to take action on something but I’m unclear on what ‘to do.’ While I have the whole collection, for inquiring on an action, I use the Action cubes.

I randomly pick a cube from the Action cubes (from a bag, so I’m not seeing them) and toss it onto my printed sheet of the Earth Spread and see where it lands.

This has given me such cool insights!

This kind of divination puts our creativity function in gear.

I asked the question: What can I DO to help increase my finances?

I drew a cube and tossed it on the sheet for the Earth spread.

You can see what cube and where it landed.

I laughed when I saw the results. The cube was an image of someone taking another by the hand and leading them. The card it landed on was the 2 of hearts – the card of heart connection.

It said to me to put more time into one-on-one and Coaching/Readings work as that allows me to make deep connections and work closely with others.

Our brains will make connections where connections don’t seem likely and come up with an answer for us.

In the same way that you can ‘play’ with tarot cards with creative spreads, you can incorporate most anything and play with the regular deck for unique and creative divination. Even drawing an oracle card to go along with a regular deck draw for an added layer of understanding.

Of course now when I play any regular card games (I’m a lover of Canasta!), it is hard for me to just see the cards as cards…I always see a story playing out!

I love learning how other readers work with the cards.

Do you have a creative way to work with the cards? Please share with me!

Sep 04 2018

Using Your Yearly Forecast Long Range Cards to Achieve Your Goals

A big part of Cardology is the Yearly Forecast. Besides having a Birth and Ruling card, you have a new spread of cards each year on your birthday, called a Yearly Forecast.

I love the term Forecast because, just alike a weather forecast, it reveals the energies (literally) at play for your year- setting the mood, the potentials, the pitfalls, the opportunities and the gifts you will have going on. And, just like with the weather, you can ignore the forecast and put on a tank top and shorts on a icy day and go freeze your patootie off – or, you can dress in your soft lounge clothes, plan a day by the fire and get some much needed R&R. YOU CHOOSE! ?

But, isn’t it great to know?!?

It makes planning so much easier!

Here we are in September. I think of this month as the planning month. It’s the start of Fall and we can feel the shift in the weather, the mood and of course with school starting back up, we have new backpacks, notebook, pens and books and that has me all giddy (even though I don’t have young kids at home anymore!)

In this post, I want to cover one of the cards we each have in our yearly forecast – our Long Range card.

What does it tell us? How can we use it to plan?

Your Forecast Long Range card speaks to the main energy throughout your year.

(In a Forecast, a “year” is one birthday to the next. It begins on your birthday and goes until your next birthday, so anytime I refer to your year, that is what I am referring to.)

This card influences the events, people and thoughts/feelings you’ll encounter, so it is a big part of the plan towards whatever goals you have.

It’s like being given a weather forecast for your year -like looking in the Farmer’s Almanac and seeing what the upcoming winter will be.

The Long Range card is neither good nor bad—but a resource to use as you see how it fits in with your challenges and opportunities

Even when it is a card that might be seen as “hard” (such as a 9 card), because it is a Long Range card, its place as the main theme for your year keeps it as a neutral energy that you can work with to enhance and understand your year.

Remember that all of us experience and are (in some way, at some point) EVERY card in the deck. Therefore, when you have certain cards in play in your forecast, it is highlighting the part of you that IS that card. It is putting the spotlight on that energy within you in the area of its position in the Forecast.

The Long Range card presents you with a theme for your year.

Seeing your Long Range card as the all encompassing umbrella for your year — affecting each period and the other cards in prominent positions — adds knowledge for you to use in your planning.

Will the theme of your year be active or still?

Will it be creative, mental or spiritual?

Will it be focused on your health, relationships or money?

As an example, if your main goal is to increase the profit of your business and your Long Range card is the Queen of Hearts (the card of the Mother, romance and sex) then how can that help you?

If you are a Mother, your motherly duties might take a front seat therefore changing how you go about your goal.

Or, you might encounter a relationship that brings romance into your life, making you realize that even though you were focused on making money, you were also desiring intimacy and your priorities changed.

Or, the Queen of Hearts showed you that while working to make more money, you need to take the time for personal TLC and to nurture yourself.

Keeping your Long Range card in the forefront of your mind each day and seeing how your events and thoughts/feelings relate to it and your goal act as a big help.

The cards in your forecast aren’t some random draw by a human – they are the patterns, cycles and blueprints of the path you chose to walk in this life. The big, higher YOU set up a matrix of energy so you could play out the purpose of your life at this time. It all fits together.

Your cards won’t be unmatched with your goals, rather they can shed light on the best approach to your goals because of WHO YOU ARE and what you chose to have going on at this time in your life.

Aug 12 2018

3 Reasons Why A Venus Connection Goes Awry

Venus Relationship — 3 Reasons Why A Venus Conection Goes Awry

In my last blog post I talked about new parents I know and the relationships of all of their cards. They all have many positive connections and it all sounds so idyllic!

But what if you have Venus or Jupiter connections between you and other friends/family and it isn’t so sweet and loving?

Yes, it happens.

How can that be?

It has happened to me and I’ve seen it happen with several friends. You suddenly aren’t getting along AT ALL or even end a relationship with someone you have a Venus relationship with.

I have many Venus connections with my biological family, yet, there were many years of abuse and NO connection at all.

While there are many reasons for the turning upside down of any relationship, I wanted to address the Venus relationship specifically.

Here are 3 reasons why a Venus connection can go awry:

1 – Are either of you living the negative side of your Venus?

As with everything in life, the cards and planets have both their positive and their negative aspects. We’ve lived in a world of duality. (<—- yes, that sentence was past-tense, but that is a post for another day!)

Venus is about LOVE. It is romance, connection, beauty, art, pleasure, bliss and Venus energy seeks to create harmony, so you can see how having a Venus connection with someone can create a very easy, loving relationship.

However, what is the opposite of Love? It is Fear.

Astrologer Steven Forrest says that the dysfunctional side of Venus is: Indolence, being manipulative, vanity, spinelessness and chronic abandonment to sensuality.

If one, or both of the parties involved is disowning or suppressing their true pleasure, bliss, sensuality or are fearing LOVE (in any way), then the relationship will reflect back to them any of the parts they are disowning. This creates a repulsion feeling and any of the dysfunctional aspects of Venus will show up in the relationship.

While we can’t do the work for the other person, if any negativity is going on, we can make sure we are clear, aware and healing it on our end.

2 – Are either of you jealous of the other person?

Check in to see if you are jealous of anything they seemingly have in their life that you wish you had. Because Venus is about experiencing our true pleasure and bliss in life, it can bring up issues around our guilt, shame or suppression of genuine pleasure and joy.

Is there any type of pleasure, love or even things they have that you want, but are feeling you can’t ever have?

Are they expressing happiness when you are feeling very unhappy in your life?

Did they reach a goal they were after, yet you are still struggling to reach yours?

Fights, arguments, passive-aggressive behavior and abuse can flair up or even be ever present between two people who have a Venus connection because these issues will be high-lighted when you are together.

The friendship or family bond can start out as sweet and loving, then turn on a dime to never recover UNLESS the disowned/suppressed issues are healed.

It can be devastating when this happens between a parent/child, siblings or even a couple because that original, organic deep love is still there even while both parties ae feeling such negativity. Those are the relationships you can’t just say adios to and walk away to forget it all in a few weeks.

3- Are either of you confusing Venus Love with Sex?

Another reason the Venus apple cart can topple is when one party confuses Venus connection with sex.

How does this play out?

Let’s say a father has a Venus connection with his daughter. His own sexuality is wounded and as she grows up, he starts having ‘unhealthy’ feelings towards her (because he is experiencing the Venus energy, but has it confused with his sexual issues), so what does he do?

He disconnects from her (fearing he’ll do something bad), begins to abuse her, abandons her or directs his frustration at her – or what happened in my case – he puts her in the position of his spouse and forgets she is his daughter and only a child.

They love being around each other, yet, he feels fear and she is confused and feels abandoned and betrayed.

I know other adults who have a Venus relationship with the parent of the opposite sex where the parent ‘worshiped’ them and put them in the position of fulfilling their non-existent (or in constant ruin) romantic life.

Emotional manipulation and the re-occurrence of abandonment was the on-going theme of their relationship.

Because we aren’t taught how to deal with things like this and many think that ‘therapy’ is for the weak and crazy, these issues tear families apart.

Personally, I have HOPE because millennials are more aware and willing to learn how to relate and deal with inner wounds! Families who have Venus connections can support and strengthen one another in upleveling love, the enjoyment of life and all that Venus gives to us–which creates happy, healthy families!

Have you had a Venus connection go terribly wrong?

Jul 23 2018

What would it be like to know the energy between you and your children when they were born?

I didn’t know about Cardology when my kids were little. But one thing I get to do now is to observe the kids of my kid’s friends (I’ve yet to become a grandma!) and look to see what the relationship is between the parents and their new little ones.

I recently looked at the cards of the newest arrival to a young couple my daughter went to college with. It is always fascinating to me to see the family dynamics according to the cards and then watch it play out as the kids grow up!

This family has been especially fun to watch. I wish I could post pics to show their cuteness, but I don’t want to intrude upon their privacy, so will just share the relationships as told by their cards.

Mom is a 2♦/6♣

Dad is a K♣/4♥

Oldest daughter is a 9♥/9♦

(One of the interesting things about this is that my oldest daughter is a 9♥/9♦ and she and the oldest of the young couple have a very special bond.)

Baby #2 for this couple is a 6♦/5♦.

Here are the card relationships:

Baby is the Mars card for Mom (the 6♦ is the Mars card for a 2♦) This makes baby someone who can either trigger mom to anger a lot or be a catalyst for motivating mom towards her passions or even just to get sh*t done!

It will be a dynamic, action-oriented relationship for sure. The interesting thing here is that a 2♦ person can get very caught up in trying to decide between career (or having enough money) and doing what they love. That 6♦ is about financial responsibility and as a Mars card, it motivates them to get fixated on the bottom line of their finances, sometimes to the point of that being their main focus instead of enjoyment or their true happiness.

Baby is also a Mars relationship to Dad’s ruling card, so he will also feel the trigger of anger or motivation with this child.

Dad and baby have a mutual Mercury between his birth card and her ruling card, so they will easily communicate (which will help that Mars energy!)

Dad and oldest daughter also have a mutual Mercury.

Mom and baby have a mutual Venus between her birth card and baby’s ruling card and as well, a Venus between Mom’s ruling card and baby’s ruling card.

Venus between parent and child makes it a very close, loving energy and since it is ‘mutual’ both will feel that same creative, easy, loving energy.

As a Cardologer, if I was doing a relationship reading for this family, I would say that because there is both Mars and Venus energy playing out – that any anger/triggers that Mom might feel, she needs to check in and see if her child is playing out a want or expressing a desire that Mom is suppressing and the ‘anger/frustration’ is acting as an indicator of a need for Mom to LIVE her passions and not suppress them. (This is a very common dynamic that parent/children tend to play out!)

Let’s look at the relationship between the two kids (sisters):

Big sister’s ruling card is the First Karma card of little sister. Oh my! This means that big sister is actually learning to BE/Have or DO what little sister represents as a 5♦! Big sister is here in this life to give to little sister!

Now, we don’t always like or feel comfortable with those who are our first karma card because it is what we are striving to become- it is an aspect we are trying to achieve in this life and it moves us out of our comfort zone and into uncomfortable and sometimes scary territory!

The sister’s have a Venus relationship as big sisters’ Venus card is the ruling card of little sister and there is also a mutual Venus between big sister’s ruling card and little sister’s birth card. So, other than the karma relationship, these two will be close and have a very loving relationship.

Mom and Dad have a mutual Jupiter and Mom is Dad’s Uranus card. A mutual Jupiter means they provide blessings and gifts to one another. A Uranus relationship means it can be a close bond as long as he allows her to be herself.

This is a family that is very close-knit as is commonly expressed. If we look at their cards in the Spiritual Spread (where we find indicators of past lives together), we see a lot of connections there. They have been traveling together through time and space as souls!

I now get to watch this all play out.

I did use the Astrology knowledge I had when my kids were growing up, but if I had known what I know now about the relationships between me and my kids via Cardology, I could’ve made better choices in how I related to my kids.

Just because kids are born to the same parents does not make each child the same in how they view, react and navigate through life! If, as parents, we better understood how they will navigate through life, we can help them create the environment to empower them and not try to force them to see life the same way we do!

In my next post, I continue this topic with another twist to card/family dynamics: What if the cards say family members have a Venus (Love) or Jupiter (blessings and gifts) and everything looks like thy will be close and supportive…but, (as in the case of my biological family) it is far from close and loving?

Every energy has its dark and its light, its positive and its negative…what if that family is caught in the opposite of the Venus love (which is fear)?

Jul 18 2018

Suicide – is it in the cards?

I decided to tackle a delicate topic for my article.

Suicide.

The topic has been all around us recently with the deaths of Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade and the new season of 13 Reasons Why airing – which has schools addressing the topic with parents.

It has also been a real issue in my past. I attempted it several times (unsuccessfully, thankfully).

With regards to the cards, many ask: Can you predict this with someone’s forecast?

Can you predict death with a forecast?

First, I want to say that some readers are good at predictions. It is a gift. Personally, I don’t like giving predictions because there are so many variables and I believe that we can change our course in each second of our life.

But upon looking at Anthony’s current forecast, there are indicators.
Before I get into what they are, I also want to say that I did not know him personally and in writing about this, I am not saying I know all the ins and outs of his particular situation. I loved his shows and am saddened by his death.
Robert Camp says that the cards in a forecast at the time of someone’s death reveals what was going on inside them and sometimes even close family/friends don’t know 100% what that person was going through, thinking or creating.

I want to use Anthony’s forecast to highlight what indicators were there.
Anthony was a 5♣ (Birth card) and a 10♠ (Ruling card)
A 5♣ person has the propensity for depression. Why? The 5♣ sits at Mercury and Saturn. They can get caught up in seeing the glass half empty with negative thinking that affects their self-esteem. This is also a conflicting combination because Saturn is traditional/structure/rigid and the 5♣ card is about breaking the rules and thinking outside the box. Because of this and the fact that they have the A♠ as their Venus card (Mercury and Neptune), they can also be addicts. That A♠ means there are secrets in their life – they actually love those secrets and in many ways is their mode of operation in their love life.

While this doesn’t mean they will end in something as tragic as suicide, these folks many times deal with hidden demons.
His Ruling card is the 10♠ which is almost the opposite of the 5♣ in that because it sits at Mercury and Jupiter, it is about big, optimistic thinking. The person is friendly, out-going and into travel, foreign cultures, higher education and philosophy. They also have a tendency to exaggerating, and sometimes over-looking details. (whereas the 5♣ can get very rigid with their painstaking focus on the details.)
Again, this doesn’t mean they will end their own life and I don’t presume to know what he was truly like – but that birthday/card combination isn’t an easy one, and I would imagine even harder if you are in the lime-light.

In his current forecast, under his 10♠ ruling card, his Long range card (the energetic theme for his 61st year) is the 9♠.

The 9♠ card is about an ending in your health and or lifestyle. It is the big completion card. When this card is your Long Range card, something is definitely going to end in your life.

Sometimes it can be that you experience someone close to you dying, but there will be an ending or a series of endings. He was in his Neptune period and he had his Ruling card (the 10♠) there, sitting in the K♣ spot, (which is Uranus and Uranus). The 10♠ in Neptune can point to health issues with drugs or alcohol. The 10♠ card is also called the Workaholic card. When our own card(s) are in our forecast, it puts an emphasis on our own ‘aspects’ that the planet represents. It acts as a mirror, showing us more of ourselves. Neptune is our illusions, our secrets, our fears, our desires.
It is also interesting to note that he had as his Result card in his 7-year forecast, the 9♠. He was in his Uranus year (in his 7-year spread) and he had a 9♠ under his Ruling card. On his birthday, he would’ve gone into his Neptune period (of his 7-year forecast) and there he had an A♠.
The A♠ is another card that can indicate death and is always about a big transformation – it is a death of some part of us, so something new can begin.
He also had as his Pluto card (in his 7-year forecast) the 9♥, meaning his soul’s challenge was in letting go/experiencing the ending of things that mattered to his heart and/or some relationships.

As the Pluto card for a 7-year period (which means it is an over-arching energy along with your yearly energies at play), the 9♥ can be very difficult for many. Letting go of someone or a relationship can be a lifelong issue and some can’t ever truly let go.
Many times you’ll see the 9♥ at play when someone dies because they are ‘ending/saying good-bye’ in their relationships or it can be their only way to fully ‘let go.’
I currently don’t know any 5♣/10♠’s that are in their 61st year, but it is not an easy year for them and if one sat with me for a reading, I’d check in on how they felt about their life.

When we have the tools to use – such as this system that acts as a blueprint- we can work with issues that are challenges and burdens for us. When we can see our loved ones going through a time that is challenging, this system can be a guide to understanding what they might be dealing with.

It was because of Cardology, that I could heal my past and end my struggles with clinical depression and the thoughts of suicide. I literally owe my life to Cardology.
No one really knows what is going on within the depths of someone who turns to suicide. It is such a delicate topic with many implications.

One positive outcome of tragic endings that make national news is we all start openly talking about it. We pay attention and we look deeper at our own issues or someone we love who might be struggling with depression.
For me, my cards shed light on why I struggled and also let me see the dynamics of the relationships in my life that played a big part in my issues. I could take what was very negative and transform it into something very positive. No matter what card(s) we are and what forecast we have, there is always a positive outcome if we so chose.

I am here if you or anyone you know needs to talk – I DO know how it feels to be that low.

The main thing for all of us is to always be willing to reach out FIRST. Sometimes we can’t sit back and wait for someone feeling that low to reach out to us. Check in on all those you love.