On this blog you'll see some articles about running your tarot business in the traditional way to read tarot.  That's because back in the day, that's what I did, I was a traditional tarot teacher who taught traditional ways of running your tarot business.

Today, on the other hand, I am more about introspection and using the tarot as a tool to excavate your authentic self from the hidden depths of  your soul (those parts covered in the muck that has accumulated from years and years of negative experiences).

If you've read my About Me, you'll see how I came about to reading the tarot.  And from that you can see how I found the traditional way of reading, probably just like all of you.  Maybe our journey to the tarot is different, but getting out tarot card meaning books and applying them to the cards is a pretty much universal way of reading.

Some books will tell you "Card 2 means A".  Some other books will tell you "Card 2 means A with lots of different things you can apply to it".  And others will tell you "Card 2 means A, but also feel deep inside what the card could mean that could pertain to your client (aka, using "psychic ability").  The last one makes me think of those Miss Cleo commercials, which, dear reader, was a total crock of doodie.

"Oh I see your boyfriend is cheating on you right now!  You better go home and see if he's there with another woman!"

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  Seriously.  If your tarot reader says this to you, run for the hills and call the cops because you are with a con-artist. 

Miss Cleo was sure entertaining, though.  Stick that gorgeous Jamaican accent on anything and we'll believe it! (As of this writing, Miss Cleo actually just died a few days ago, which saddens me.)

I used to be the reader that would rotate between the first two types at will.  I would use book meanings mixed with some insight.  I honestly thought I was helping my clients.  And the worst part was that they thought I was helping them as well.

As the years went on, I got better and better and better at reading, but I had no idea why.  Perhaps I was getting "psychic-ier"?  That's not a real word but it's funny to say anyways...

Alas, I wasn't more psychic.  And when I finally figured out what it actually was, I realized:

It's time for a reinvention.  

When I started with this transformation, I literally stopped reading the cards completely.  I felt that if I wasn't doing it legit, I wasn't going to do it at all.  No more pretending (though I wasn't pretending consciously) to be psychic.  No more bland book meanings.  And no more fake-ass cold reading techniques (even though as unintentional as they were).  I had pulled back the curtain and saw that the wizard was only a mere human and there was nothing magical going on at all.

I was disillusioned.  And let down.  But most of all, I felt I had cheated every single client I ever read for.  Were my readings on spot?  Yes.  But only because I was already putting into practice what I was evolving into without even knowing it.  So when I quit the tarot and got rid of my website, let my domain name expire, took everything off Facebook, deleted my classes, and threw my business name in the garbage, I was purging my old form and unintentionally making way for the new. 


And now, slowly, little by little, I've been coming back to the tarot again.  But I am not coming back as the same person I was when I started.  Hell, I am not coming back as the person I was last year.  I am reinventing myself, my way of reading tarot, and my way of teaching tarot.  Granted, I already started my way of reading the tarot, but now I am honing it so I can be more honest, more real, and actually help my clients rather than telling them what they want to hear.



How does one reinvent themselves? 

Usually there is a breakdown of some sort.  Not a mental breakdown (rarely) but a breakdown of something you thought you once knew.  All your walls fall down.  Makes me think of that song "Torn" by Natalie Imbrulia:

I'm torn
I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel
I'm cold and I'm shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I'm wide awake
And I can see the perfect sky is torn

I feel that this exemplifies exactly how the Tower card in the tarot makes us feel.   What we once thought to be true is now replaced by silence and fear.

"What's next?" you ask the Tower, desperate to not feel like this anymore. 

It replies, "Just wait.  Just wait and see.  Something is coming to change you and you won't ever be the same again".

The tower is about breaking down the walls and rebuilding them into something new.  A reinvention.  A brand new you.

But the difference between the traditional way of reading the tarot and my way is that the Tower isn't something that happens to you.  It happens because you choose it too.

Let me reiterate:

If you get the Tower card in a reading, you can either choose to make a huge change or maybe it's already happening somewhere in your life.

So let's take this tower thing for a spin and figure out how YOU need to be reinvented, shall we?

Do you feel stuck?  Do you feel like you need a change in your life?  Do you feel bad about yourself or that others make you feel bad about yourself?  Do you want to take some steps to bring about real change in your life? 

If so, I have developed a worksheet for you to download and print to use in your leisure.  But don't be too leisurely about it.  Work on it a little at a time, because reinvention takes awhile.  But don't shove it into a drawer and forget it about it.  Instead, commit to answering one question a day for a week.  Journal about it in your journal.  Ponder the question all day, and see what ideas you come up with.  If you come up with something, put a note in your phone or jot it down. 

And get out your Tower cards to view as catalysts for change.  Make some Tower art or jewelry to remind you that at any time you like, you can change your life.  Let's just immerse ourselves in this card for a bit and see what we come up with.  If nothing, then you are no worse for the wear.  BUT, you also may come up with something amazing and realize, it's time for a reinvention :)


Download Your Worksheet Here

Emma's Top 15 Tower/Reinvention Playlist

1. Blackbird by the Beatles
2. I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff
3. Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie
4. Lose Yourself by Eminem
5. Warrior by Demi Lovato
6. Do or Die by 30 Seconds to Mars
7. Revolution by the Beatles
8. The Middle of Starting Over by Sabrina Carpenter
9. Begin Again by Taylor Swift
10. One Day by Matisyahu
11. Live Like a Warrior by Matisyahu
12. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (because DUH)
13. Empty Bottle by Ingrid Michaelson
14. Rule the World by Walk Off the Earth

Reinvention isn't always easy, but always is necessary.  Without change, we become stagnant, we do not grow.  So never be afraid of the reinvention process.  For when you go through it, you grow both spiritually, and mentally, which is needed to become your most authentic self (which is what Soul Archeology is all about!). 

 We've all seen it, in the movies.  A man goes to a gypsy and BAM she pulls out a scary ass card.  "Something evil is coming!!  Something horrible shall come to pass soon!!  You must run and hide!!"  While entertaining for TV and movies, in real life its really not that way.  Thing is......these cards?  Not so scary in real life.
Emma's Rule #1:

 The Death Card never means actual physical death.

Phew!! Right?

It means the end of one thing to make room for something new.  It should be renamed as "Transformation" or "Change", cause that's what it is.  One door closes, another one opens.  The imagery on most decks look like this one (Rider Waite) so while it looks pretty scary, its really not.  The ending of a bad relationship, a useless job, an annoying situation, things like that.  Then the door opens for something sooooo much better. 

Where do you desperately need change in your life?  How can you go about getting it?  How can you view a recent end as a new beginning?

So now that the hardest card is out of the way........

 

Emma's Rule #2

The Tower Card is not as bad as it looks.

Looks scary as hell, though, don't it?  

It means something might take you by surprise.  It might break all your walls down to start with a clean slate.  Now that still might sound scary, but its all in how you see it.  I see it as an amazing surprise and adventure to look forward to.  Look at the people of the world who have achieved everything they've ever wanted to.  How did they get there?  They had to have their slates wiped clean MANY times before their achieving what they did.  Not only that, but sometimes its not a HUGE slate-wiping experience.  It also might be something small.  It just depends on the situation.  But for the most part, I see it as exciting!  All that lightening, pure energy!! 

What do you want to wipe clean in your life?  Where do you need a fresh, new start?  What do you need to shake up in order to wake up those who aren't paying attention?


Emma's Rule #3

The Devil is just a symbol.

Of course all the cards are just symbols, but people need reminders when it comes to this big guy.  He's pretty scary looking and is a symbol of evil in the Christian religion.  But in reality, he's just a story that's told to help explain the of the dark parts of the human existence.  Greed.  Lust.  Addiction.  Toxic relationships.  Bondage.  Materialism.  The parts of us we want to hide from the public.  The secret, dark, and shameful parts.  But we shouldn't be ashamed at all.  Life is not all unicorns or roses.  We can break free from our bondage.  We can shine light on those hidden parts (esp. if the Sun is nearby) and work with them to make them whole again.  This card should not scare you.....by having it show up in a reading, it says "Hey, look at me!  You need to take care of this part of yourself and pay attention to it.  Now is the time for change." 

Where are you lax in your life right now?  Where can you tighten up the reins and do better? 




Emma's Rule #4

The 10 of Swords is actually a positive card.  Mostly.

He sure looks dead!  Haha!  But he's not dead at all.  He's tired.  He's been either stabbed in the back or felt like he was stabbed in the back life itself.  BUT,  if you look closely, you'll see calm, still water, with beautiful skies behind those dark clouds.  So whatever it is, it will soon pass.  Your back-stabbery is very temporary.  Soon, clear skies will reign again and life will feel fresh and new.  So see, its actually a pretty positive card.  You just have to look at it in the right way.  Sometimes its good to know who or what the backstabbers are your life before you stay around them for too long. 

Where in your life do you feel stabbed in the back?  Make sure it's not an imagined situation: like, my husband has ADHD and doesn't always hear what I say, and sometimes, I feel betrayed, as though he's not listening to me....but in reality, I am the one causing the issue, as I am only imagining it as intentional. 


I am sure there are other cards that kinda freak you out.  But if you closely at the imagery, you might see things that make the card more positive.  Or look up as many interpretations as you can, get a good for feel for everything it could possibly mean.  When you read, it will make sense which meaning is coming forth.  But just remember this last rule:

Emma's Rule #5

Everything that looks bad is usually only due to one thing: Attachment.

All sadness, all sorrow, all regret,....they are all due to our attachments.  To people, jobs, expectations of how life should have went.  But if you can look past your attachment (or your client's) to whatever is causing you pain, you can see the good in change.  You can see how life is constantly shifting to make room for bigger and better things. 

So any card that looks negative, can be completely turned into a positive by looking past the attachments we hold on those things that we think we need in our lives.  Truth is, deep down inside, we need nothing.  When you can be okay with change, then there is nothing to fear.  Nothing bad can happen to us.  We can accept change, even hard change, and move forward, excited for the future.

Its easy in some circumstances to accept this idea, but not all.  And that's okay.  But in order to look at a negative Tarot card and turn it into a positive, you need to look past those attachments to find the silver lining.


Happy Taroting friends!  And don't let the scary cards scare you.....cause really?  They aren't scary at all :)




Tell me what card you find scary below, and how you could spin it into a positive meaning instead.