For those who have been keeping up with the work we’ve been doing around here, you’ll be familiar with our Musickal Meditation series, now available on YouTube. This set of meditations is designed to get you in touch with each of the 22 Major Arcana - as a way to connect, integrate and ritualize those archetypes. However, now that we’re a few in we thought it would be interesting, for further study, to add a short list of Qabalistic correspondences to each. We feel that this will offer the practitioner a chance to explore each card in a number of additional ways as listed below:

• It allows us to observe the interrelationship between the cards, the elements, the signs, the planets, and other important esoteric symbols and concepts, so we can absorb and integrate their properties as we construct our own personal image of the Tree of Life in our psyche.

• Each individual piece of information provides a window into the deeper meanings of the cards, and can thus be used as an aid for meditation or contemplation along with its corresponding musickal composition.

• The Hebrew letters in particular can either be visualized or used as mantras. (We have included phonetic pronunciation guides beside each letter name to eliminate any guesswork.)

We are delighted to share our newest Musickal Meditation, designed in the essence of The Emperor! This series is rolling along much quicker than anticipated. As it stands now, we have the next 4 Major Arcana sampled and ready for mastering. I suppose that is a testament to the energy available when a project feels really aligned.

As with all meditations, you may opt to simply enjoy the music on its own, or work with some of the suggestions provided to perform a fuller ritual. We do hope you enjoy the sounds! We will be updating the YouTube page regularly as we add more tracks as well as storing all links on a separate page of this site, so they are easy to find! Keep reading to learn more about connecting with The Emperor.

Earlier this month I shared a collaborative project I’ve been working on with my partner Tim and my dad, Don, combining tarot and meditation. The purpose of the series is to bring listeners into alignment with the Major Arcana card they have selected to work with. Today we’re pleased to share our third track, a musical embodiment of The Empress.

While you may opt to simply enjoy the meditation on its own, we have also provided some suggestions should you want to incorporate it into a fuller ritual. We do hope you enjoy the sounds! We will be updating the YouTube page regularly as we add more tracks. Feel free to follow along - we’ll likely use the space for other content as well. I also plan on storing all meditations on a separate page of this site, so they are easy to find! Keep reading to learn more about connecting with The Empress.

At the end of April, Tim and I started a new series called 78 Connections, which I’ve been sharing on Instagram and saving to a dedicated page in this space ever since. It’s essentially an exercise that takes two cards and attempts to find as many connections between them as possible. Most of those links are of a visual nature, but inevitably we end up exploring numerical, astrological, and qabalistic similarities as well.

On the surface, this all appears rather simple and straightforward and I’m not sure that the value is immediately obvious. But what I can say is that this practice of comparing and contrasting scenes has been one of the most interesting, eye-opening, and integrative methods I’ve so far found to squeeze as much information as I can from the cards. It’s a general principle that follows us daily; if we want to really know something, to truly define it, we will benefit from examining it next to something else.

However, that wasn’t the expected outcome when this activity was born. This all began while trying to work through something that was irritating me. Inevitably if you spend enough time online, and around social media, you’re going to be exposed to a world of thought that clashes with your own. Without getting too specific, I will say that it touches a nerve when I see people putting an unnecessarily negative slant on something without having a basic understanding of its history. This is especially the case when it devolves into declarations around who can and can’t read tarot, which decks should or shouldn’t be worked with, or otherwise making dictations based on presumptions. Dogmatic attitudes, opinions presented as absolute facts, don’t settle comfortably with me regardless of the topic. But I realize that’s none of my business and partly my problem. I also don’t need to confront misinformation directly. But, what I can do is sit longer and look harder at this tool that has done so much for me and, I’m assuming if you’re here, for you as well. In doing this, I’m either going to see what they’re seeing too or reinforce what I already hold to be true, and as far as I’m concerned, either is a fair outcome.

Last week I shared a new collaborative project I’ve been working on with my partner Tim and my dad, combining tarot and meditation. The purpose of the tracks we are creating is to bring the listener into alignment with the Major Arcana card they are wishing to focus upon. Last week we shared our piece for The Magician, and today we bring you The High Priestess!

While you may opt to simply enjoy the track on its own, we have also provided some suggestions should you want to incorporate it into a fuller ritual. We do hope you enjoy the sounds! We will be updating the YouTube page regularly as we add more tracks. Feel free to follow along - we’ll likely use the space for other content as well. I also plan on storing all meditations on a separate page of this site, so they are easy to find! Keep reading to learn more about connecting with The High Priestess.

Tarot and music (or sound/vibration) share an inextricable link. In a sort of subtle manner, the language of music is well fused into the cards. We refer to them as keys; we divide the deck into a Major and Minor arcana. When approaching the principles that tarot preaches, we are confronted with more along the musical lines - ideas of balance, harmony, vibration etc. In addition, many systems apply musical attributions (notes) to the major arcana - further alluding to the connection.

So is this just metaphorical, or is there a more literal implication? Many spiritual and philosophical systems will tell you that the study of sound will reveal greater mysteries of the universe. Pythagoras said “there is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres”. Hazrat Inayat Khan is quoted as saying “He who knows the secret of sound, knows the mystery of the whole universe”. These are just two examples.

With this in mind, my partner Tim and I have been exploring this connection for some time, and recently we approached my dad to get a musical perspective because my dad is a musician. Coincidentally, he was in the midst of his own meditation project, and being a lifelong pursuer of the strange and occult, he was quite excited to see just what could be done with a single note attribution and a vision.

This subject is so dear to me, but it’s been a long time since I’ve written about it formally. I think the reason is I could sense I was experiencing a shift in terms of what these concepts meant to me, and out of respect for it and out of respect for my own growth too, I needed to just sit with it.

As a little historical overview, I became interested in the subject of spirit guides in 2014 when I had, what I consider to be, the first of many wake-up calls. I read books, practiced communication, had lots of personal experiences, and even explored workshops on the topic. In 2016, I was working heavily with tarot and had this epiphany that the two elements would go beautifully together. That was when I devised a system to connect with guides with the aid of tarot. I went as far as to designate certain cards to represent different guide types, and then I took that concept and created an online challenge, inviting others to participate and get to know their spiritual teams too.

Following that, I continued to share my learnings with others, provide resources, and even ran a second version of the challenge at the beginning of 2019. Even at that time, I found it more and more difficult to put my understanding of these ideas into words. I became very aware of the inclination to “over-form” these connections and I began to consider that communication with “the unseen” may be more vast than what I’d so far been able to conceptualize.

So I began to reconsider what it all meant and how I’d describe it now, which is the culmination of lots of contemplation, direct experience, inspired insights, the work I do in conjunction with my partner, and other such things. One night as I was considering this specific post, I set the intention to receive some information in my dreams that could help me. That night I woke up around 2 am from a dream that, while technically fuzzy, left me with a more fulsome understanding of the spectrum I will soon describe, and even gave me the title for this article. It conveyed that rather than referring to this phenomena as “Spirit Guides” in sum, it would be clearer to separate the words. In this way, we are dealing with Spirit as a whole, messages or entities we perceive as being guiding forces, and then the “beyond” (that which remains ineffable and intangible).

I think words and precision are important when it comes to these concepts. This is also why I have removed older pieces, taken down resources, and added addendums to that which remains. I simply found myself in a situation where I believed in something so deeply, but no longer knew how to adequately talk about it.

I am hoping this explanation will prove helpful or at least interesting to those who come across it. The remainder of this post will be formatted as follows: A list of general principles that I uphold as it relates to my understanding of this subject, an overview of the “spectrum of spirit communication”, and then responses to the FAQs I receive on this topic.

Dreams are one of the most interesting things to me. I’ve written about sleep states here in the past and it’s a theme that comes up over and over again on my Instagram as well.

Today, my partner and I did some brainstorming and came up with a few tarot spreads to assist with dream interpretation, which we hope will enable seekers to explore their dreams in different ways. One is very general, one focuses on symbols and one explores our complexes and patterns. We felt this covered a broad enough range of approaches for most dreamers. I would encourage you to use your intuition or understanding of the dream to determine which spread makes the most sense to use. Or try a couple!

Did you know that 2021 is a Collective Year 5 (corresponding to the The Hierophant) and that each of us, based on our month+day of birth, enter into a new personal number each year? If you want to find out where you are for this coming year, simply add your birth month + birth day + 2021. Keep adding and reducing until you get a single digit!

For example, if you were born on Dec. 22, like myself, the formula would look like this:

1+2+2+2+2+0+2+1 = 12
1+2= 3

What does this mean though? Below I will provide a VERY brief overview of the themes for each year, but for a comprehensive outlook you’ll need to grab the guide!

Our charts are really individualized things, and one of the simplest ways to really get to know yours is to explore what is often called the Big Three. And because I like to weave everything back to tarot, we’ll also look at what the cards can add to this understanding. To begin, you will want to determine what your big three are - your Sun, Moon and Rising sign. To do this, you can find an online resource to create your chart, but you will need your time of birth in order to get an accurate read on the Rising sign in particular. I use Cafe Astrology though you can find other sites that offer similar services.

Knowing what your signs are for each aspect, we’ll explore what those aspects mean to the whole of our personality below.

A year ago I made a post comparing the Wisdom of the Oracle cards to tarot cards as a way to better commit them to my memory bank. It worked well and I know that article has reached plenty of people, so I challenged myself to do the same with the Animal Spirit oracle.

I do this because as many of you know, I’m a much bigger fan of tarot than I am of oracle. And while I think these oracle decks can completely stand on their own and need no association to be used thoroughly, I can’t help but always look at things (oracle or otherwise) through a tarot-centric lens.

So please honour the deck as it was intended, but also use some of this insight to help you further understand and assimilate those meanings!

I also want to note that I am absolutely in LOVE with the animal spirit oracle deck by Kim Krans - author of the Wild Unknown. And I’ll even go on record to say that I avoided this deck for a long time because I didn’t actually think we’d get along. It was only one day when I was itching for a new deck and found myself in Indigo that I reached for the package and let’s just say, I’ve basically not put it down since.

And with that, let me share with you how I’ve compared each card. Perhaps if you’re more familiar with this deck than you are with tarot, this list may even help you understand tarot cards in a new way! Some of the associations were very obvious to me and some of them took some flexing on my part. Have a look after the cut and see what you think!

Note: This was the second iteration of a challenge I offered in 2016. Since the time of this post, I would say my idea of spirit guides has evolved immensely. For this reason, I have removed the guidebook I once offered. I will keep this original post in the hopes it serves those who find it, though if you asked me today what a spirit guide is, I’d likely give an updated explanation which you can read more about. In addition, I have added two new Spirit Guide reading options more aligned with my beliefs to date.

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As I readied myself to post a reminder on my Instagram today, I realized I was getting ahead of myself and that it would be worthwhile to post a basic primer in this space for those new to the topic of guides.

Before we get into a couple basics, I’m going to add a big ole disclaimer now so I don’t need to keep repeating myself. No one can tell you what any of this definitively is, what it means or how it works. All the information contained in this challenge has been interpreted through my own filters and set of experiences. If your views differ, it doesn’t mean they are wrong. If you experiences vary, it doesn’t mean they lack legitimacy. I believe we all perceive that which exists tangibly and that which exists spiritually through our own unique lens. And my understand of these things continues to evolve and change. So we must timestamp this to say that on this date, the information contained within fits the framework I’ve come to understand - but that’s not to say things can’t change.

Also, your guide doesn’t care if you know its type or whatever. These concepts are very human in the sense that they allow us to box things in for better understanding. That’s okay - but it’s also okay to just let it be what it is without labels or explanations. Go forward as you feel is best!

I take for granted most days how familiar tarot as a tool has become. Like a riding a bike, or driving a car or using any of my limbs…it’s just something I do and hardly give thought to. I realize this takes time and effort to arrive at such a state and so today, I’m going to try my best to peel back my knowing and step into the landscape of a novice. What do you need to know to get started? Where would one begin? How can someone possibly memorize 78 cards, never mind reversals and then reading more than one at a time - in tandem no less?

It’s no small feat. And if you’ve been able to achieve even some of that, you’re doing very well. Tarot is a dedicated study. It is a life long process of unraveling and revealing and adapting and reconsidering. There is always more to know when it comes to this craft and so yeah, I get how starting out can be extremely overwhelming. But it’s not impossible and also, it’s a lot of fun.

So here we are. Below is a list of carefully curated resources and posts that I’ve developed through the years that I would recommend to anyone just starting out. I’ve placed them in order intentionally, so it is probably best to start at the beginning and work your way through.

At the very end, I’ll list a few additional tips as well as other websites that I think are very helpful in honing this craft. I hope you’ll enjoy it and walk away from this post a little less intimated by the process as well as excited to begin.

P.S. This post has been updated to include a more complete worksheet. All links to the older worksheet have updated below to include the new material.

This post includes a downloadable resource: Flexing Your Cards - Exercise Sheet.

No, this isn't a post about how to get the most of your workout routine with the aid of tarot - though I'm sure it wouldn't be above their ability to assist with this either! When I talk about flexing, what I'm describing is a method of reading that allows you to bend and mold the card's standard meaning to fit the specific question being asked. Whether it be love, career, personal development, passion projects or anything else, a single tarot card can and should be able to provide suitable guidance, if you can adjust your lens ever so slightly. 

Of course, there are some cards that seem to speak fluent love or finances, but even if not; even if the card seems to be themed in an entirely different direction, doesn't mean it can't give you the answer you're looking for. You just need to know how to look at the card.

Tomorrow is the much anticipated Solar Eclipse in Leo and depending where you are in this world, you may experience total-partial darkness for a brief period of time.

Solar eclipses are relatively rare and when they show up, it's a good time for us to take a peek at what's lurking in our shadows and what is attempting to find its way to light. It's also an opportunity to allow for some serious transformation to take place and depending where this eclipse is landing for you in your chart, it could mean a focus on different things.

To figure out where the eclipse is showing up for you, you need to locate what house Leo lands on in your natal chart. You can run a chart over at Cafe Astrology, which is an excellent resource that I use frequently since I'm definitely no Astrology expert. Once you've run your chart, scroll down to the bottom and find what house Leo falls in for you. There are 12 houses total and I've included a list below so you can reference what each of them means. Please note that I've included the natural sign that occupies each house to provide more context to that house, but your natal chart will show you specifically where the signs are landing for you.

I've been working with the Wisdom of the Oracle for awhile now and truthfully, it is the only oracle deck that I really consistently use - especially when I'm reading for others. While the aesthetic doesn't sing to my soul, what this deck does deliver for me is no-nonsense practical guidance and cards that are easy to interpret no matter what the question or situation. I don't think this deck is particularly hard to grasp, though the thing with oracle cards (unlike tarot) is that each deck is like a brand new system needing to be learned and that can feel daunting. 

One of the things that made it even easier to assimilate all those meanings was associating them back to tarot cards that I felt carried a very similar meaning, vibe or energy. So, if you're a tarot card reader and new to the Wisdom of the Oracle, I've compiled a quick tarot association cheat sheet. Hopefully you agree with the cards I've selected but with anything, some of these things can be personal and so I encourage you to explore and come to your own conclusions as well. (see chart after cut)

Yesterday I posted on Instagram a quote about letting your intuition lead, and wrote about a recent TED Talk I'd listened to before going to sleep. It's become a bit of a ritual to queue up a talk and let it glide me into sleepytime. If I do this, I am guaranteed to catch at least one in full, and then I generally end up falling asleep part way through the second.

Part of the reason I love TED talks is because they are so bite sized and succinct. They also make my mission to consciously consume my entertainment super easy. What I mean by consciously consume is to pursue entertainment in a very intentional way. That doesn't mean I never watch fluff, because yes, I like to let go of consciousness every once and slip into fantasy land. I'm human. But, the purpose of this post isn't to talk about ways to shut off - it's about leaning into entertainment in a way that can intellectually and or spiritually...turn you on.

Hey Tarot enthusiasts, I've made a fun little quiz to put your knowledge of the cards to the test! There are 4 ranks that can be achieved - Fool, Magician, Hermit or Star; where do you fit in? Take the test and find out!

This entry and topic is born from challenge. This is something that had muddled around in my mind and through the process of thinking, over thinking, and thinking some more, I've finally come to a place in my practice where I know how to confidently tackle this pressing issue and commonly asked question: "what is my life path and purpose?"

Let me first take you back in time, a couple of years ago. It was close to my birthday and I wanted to order a reading for myself. This was before I was providing readings for others (besides friends and family) and prior to me being visible on social media. I looked around online and found someone who I vibed with and ordered a "life path and purpose" reading. The reader worked with the Life Purpose Oracle deck combined with meditation and angel work. It didn't take long to get my report back, and the results? Energy Healer. He also provided some suggestions, divinely inspired, to check out some course offerings and to select something that spoke to my soul. He said I shouldn't spend a lot of money and it wouldn't take much education, but it would be a good way to get my feet wet on a certain bracket of metaphysics that I was drawn to. Well, I didn't pursue energy healing per say, but I did immediately follow his other suggestion and let my gut and heart guide me. It was through this process that I found a spirit guide coach certification course and signed my ass up. I can say with certainty, this was a pivotal and changing moment for me. 

The other day a link landed in my inbox - Top 75 Tarot Websites And Blogs For Tarot Card Readers. Interesting...and I was happy to see, as I scrolled through it, so many familiar faces who I've come to know through the magic of the internet, particularly social media. I was even more shocked to discover that this humble blog made the list!

Well, I wasn't expecting that, but I'll certainly take it so thank you very much. While Tarot has been a love of mine for a very long time, this spot only came into being just over a year ago. You can still read my first ever post and the intention behind it. At the time, I honestly didn't know if I would be able to keep it up. I'd started and stopped things in the past, so I almost prayed that this time would be different. Of course I turned to Tarot for guidance and I was continually shown the Sun during this period and I knew exactly what it was saying. If I was going to do this thing and it was going to grow, it needed sunlight and that meant, I couldn't keep it hidden. I had to approach it as openly and honestly as I knew how and just be exactly who I was. It needed to be an utterly true expression, even if it made me uncomfortable.

Anyway, I'm so grateful to all of you who stop by or care to read my perspective on any of this. I also strongly recommended you check out the rest of the list because there are some seriously awesome blogs included- you won't be disappointed!