Tarot Tuesday
Take a moment and take a deep breath. Get centered, and grounded, then pick a card. By get centered I mean to get calm, focused, and to be present in the moment. By get grounded I mean to uncross your feet and arms, with feet flat on the floor. It is also beneficial if you can quickly imagine roots shooting down from your root Chakra and feet into the Earth. Allow these roots to anchor you in a supportive way that neutralizes negativity and draws up nurturing Earth energy for stability. Sometimes more than one deep breath is needed to feel ready. Often three nice, slow, deep breaths are just right. Do what feels best for you..
Once you are ready pick the card that you feel the most drawn to. This week’s tarot deck is the Universal Waite Tarot, published by U.S. Games systems, Inc. With drawings by Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson Roberts. The three crystal hearts above the cards are used as markers and included in the mini-readings. From left to right the hearts are Fluorite, Sunstone, and Blue Calcite. I obtained these three hearts from Crystal Intuition Arizona.
Tarot Reveal
From left to right we have Fluorite above the Ten of Pentacles on the left, Sunstone above the Two of Swords in the middle, and on the far right Blue Calcite above the King of Cups. Pay attention to your initial reaction upon seeing the card you were drawn to. See if this reaction lines up with how you feel after getting the information from the mini-reading about the card. Being aware of our thoughts, and feelings helps us to understand and hone our intuitive skills. It starts with paying attention, and then you learn to trust and use your intuition. Like a muscle the more you exercise it the stronger it will get.
Fluorite Crystal
Fluorite is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, it belongs to the halide minerals. It is a widely occurring mineral with deposits found worldwide. Industrially it is used as flux for smelting, and in the production of some glasses and enamels. Fluorite is a very protective stone, good for grounding and harmonizing spiritual energy. It connects the mind to universal consciousness, and helps develop links with spirit. It helps bring intuitive insights into the physical plane. Fluorite balances mental and physical energies and can clear negative energies from the aura. It is said to enhance mental abilities and has been called the “genius stone”. It stimulates the electrical charge in the brain and increases prana energy. This stone works well with the upper Chakras. It needs to be cleared often as it is always working to absorb negativity from its environment. In divination this crystal is said to assist in making decisions that are practical, but also ethical and do not go against your principles.
Ten of Pentacles
This card is the tenth card in the suit of Pentacles in the Minor Arcana. It carries the energy of Mercury and Virgo, with a mutable modality and Earth element. The image is of a male elder seated amidst his family and pets (the dogs). Tens in numerology are about endings, but the number contains a one also so these endings are typically more cyclic than abrupt and permanent. Some keywords for this card include success, legacy, finances, wealth, foundations, home, and family. It is known as the “wall street card” as it often shows up to represent wealth and windfalls. It could be a change for the better of your living status through buying or selling property, or travel for work that leads to more money. This card is about satisfaction but this is not just financial, but there is an emotional element to it as well. We are generally able to be more emotionally generous when we are feeling secure with our place in life. If you were drawn to this card this week no matter the details you should expect the winds of change to blow in for the better for you.
Sunstone Crystal
Sunstone is a plagioclase feldspar. It has been found in southern Norway, Sweden and various locations around the U.S. It is known as a joyful stone that assists in the nurturing of self in order to be of service to others. It is said to increase vitality, abundance, and luck. It carries the energy of Solar Deities. It will clear and cleanse all chakras, but works particularly well with the base and sacral chakras. In divination Sunstone heralds luck and health, our challenge is to enjoy this period of time without worrying if it will last.
Two of Swords
The Two of Swords is the second card in the Minor Arcana suit of Swords. It is astrologically attributed to the energies of Moon in Libra, and its modality is cardinal and element is Air. Twos in numerology are about communications, dualities, and balance. The image is one of a blindfolded female holding two swords. Some keywords associated with this card are decisions, balance, planning, strategy, and awareness. The suit of swords represents Air element, which has to do with thoughts and mentality, as well as communication. If you have been drawn to this card this week then you may want to write up a pros and cons list if you need to decide something. Use your all your abilities to be clear and concise when you need to communicate what you have decided. As long as it passes the final litmus test of feeling (moon) right as well as making sense, it should turn out to be beneficial for you.
Blue Calcite Crystal
Calcite is a carbonate mineral. There are over 800 varieties. Most on the market these days comes from Brazil and Mexico. As a blue stone it is aligned with the Third Eye, or Ajna Chakra, and the Throat Chakra. While it is an overall soothing stone, it amplifies energy in these chakras. This stone will clear out negative energies from physical bodies and environments. It clears out old patterns so healing and new patterns can be established. It also assists with increasing intuition and emotional healing and balancing. This stone represents female intuitive yin energy. In divination this stone suggests that you might need to work on healing self-talk right now, making sure your inner dialog speaks to you as you would speak to your own best friend. This is a time for healing your emotions, before you worry about making anyone else understand them.
King of Cups
This card is a court card in the Minor Arcana suit of cups. This card carries the energy of fixed Air and mutable Water (some systems say Fire in the Suit of Water, Fixed Water, Scorpio). Kings are power and authority, Cups are feelings, emotions, intuition, and creativity. The image is a King sitting upon his throne holding a cup and his scepter. Some keywords include sensitive, enthusiastic, creative, caring, and artistic. This card can often signify an actual person in your life, usually but not always a male. It may also represent you, or a situation. If you have been drawn to this card this week it is likely that you will need to start thinking of yourself as the final authority on your emotions, and any intuitive or creative urges. Know that your emotional life is deeper than most in your sphere, so you are the “King” of these depths right now. If this card represent another person in your life, then you may want to allow them to do what they need to do to heal or create at this time.
I hope that you have found these mini-readings helpful. If you have any questions about this, or would like to book a full personalized reading feel free to contact me at april@lodestarphx.com.
Gardening is a perfect metaphor for life. Life that starts with a single seed, or cell and grows and develops into a full-fledged being or entity. We need the same things the garden needs to thrive. Plenty of sunlight, clean air, water, and nourishing soil are the basics. In addition the climate, environment and seasons also play their part in our experience. If any of these things is missing or too harsh or extreme for us to handle – our outcome isn’t so great.
Making a list of what you want your garden to do for you, like a list of what you want your life to look like is a good first step. Now is a good time to do this if you haven’t already. We are about halfway between Imbolc and Ostara, two of the three Spring fertility Sabbats on the Wheel of the Year. Ostara this year will be March 20th. This time of year is also called the Vernal or Spring Equinox and signals the start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere (it is opposite in the Southern Hemisphere). So right now is the time to make plans before Spring is officially underway. What do you want your garden to look like? What do you want it to provide you with? What are you willing to do to start and maintain it? These questions should be considered for both your backyard garden and your life in general.
With both gardens and our lives there are optimal times to plant certain things, for both short and long-term. Long term thinking might include planting fruit trees that may take a few years to provide fruit, but will be around providing for many years to come. In our lives long term planning might include a plan to attend a University, or enter into a marriage. Short term plans are just as important and can be used to build toward or support the longer term plans. Friends or projects that maybe only last a season can be just as helpful as say planting flowers like nasturtiums under your fruit trees. These flowers will attract beneficial insects and act as trap crops for non-beneficial insects, they are also entirely edible so could even go in your salad. Get the most benefit from even short term associations by having the long range plans in mind and working seasonally with the intention to move toward your goals.
In gardening some things can be grown in some zones, and some things can not. Know what your particular 
If we want to produce beautiful roses, or a delicious squash we need to provide the plants with the nutrients they need. This is equivalent to nurturing yourself and your relationships with others. It starts at the very basic level of your thoughts, or mental diet. If you are putting good healthy thoughts and media information in to begin with it is much easier to get good healthy results. How you spend your time is another way to build your soil. Are you spending it in ways that add to your life? Or are you doing things you either don’t want to be doing, or you know aren’t good for you? Our relationships with others can also be building or depleting our soil, this goes both ways don’t deplete anyone else’s soil either. 
So how does your garden grow? Have you planned it out? Are you tending it, and building the soil? It is an explosion of life, or barely surviving? How rich, rewarding, and fun can your garden and your life become? As 
Take a moment and take a deep breath. Get centered, and grounded, then pick a card. By get centered I mean to get calm, focused, and to be present in the moment. By get grounded I mean to uncross your feet and arms, with feet flat on the floor. It is also beneficial if you can quickly imagine roots shooting down from your root Chakra and feet into the Earth. Allow these roots to anchor you in a supportive way that neutralizes negativity and draws up nurturing Earth energy for stability. Sometimes more than one deep breath is needed to feel ready. Often three nice, slow, deep breaths are just right. Do what feels best for you..
Once you feel ready pick the card that you feel the most drawn to. This week the card deck is the 
From left to right we have the Green Agate pyramid on the far left above the High Priestess card, in the center is the Selenite pyramid above the Ten of Swords, and on the far right is the Shungite pyramid above the Emperor card.
This is the second Major Arcana, or Trump card in most traditional decks. The element is Water and the ruling planet is the Moon, which rules the sign Cancer(which rules home and family). This card represents the female indwelling presence of the divine, or anima. This card contains suggestions of it’s connection to the Moon with the crescent moon at the Priestess’ feet. This hints at cycles of not only the moon, or the female, but cycles of all kinds are subtly suggested. Water is generally seen as emotions and feelings, and they can ebb and flow like the tides. Two in numerology represents communications and relationships among other things. With this card the communication could just as likely be from or to your subconscious as another person. This card has keywords like mystery, secrets, silence, stillness, and hidden. They suggest not only the possibility that something is being kept from you, but that perhaps your best course of action is to not “lay all your cards on the table” either. I have seen this card show up in readings representing the ideal, or “perfect” woman. With this in mind it may be time if you have been drawn to this card this week, to trust your inner feminine, your instincts and intuition. (also all keywords for this card) To work on communicating with and building relationship with that part of yourself.
This card is the tenth card in the Minor Arcana suit of swords. It’s element and modality are mutable air, with the energy of the Sun and sign of Gemini. The number ten is often associated with endings and conclusions, but it also contains the number one within it hinting at a whole new beginning. The image of this card is of a figure face down on the ground with ten swords impaled into the back. Swords are the element of Air, which is thinking and mentality. This might show faulty thinking being the cause of this unexpected ending. It might also point to the need for new thoughts or ways of thinking about things in order to avoid a repeat of this kind of painful experience. Sometimes I have seen this card appear in a reading when not only a new way of thinking were needed, but new methods as well, like trying meditation, or acupuncture(as the image looked at literally might suggest). In any case if you were drawn to this card this week it might be time to carefully examine your thoughts and belief system, then look around you to see what might not be alignment with your highest good and if it is time to clear that away so you can begin a new cycle.
This card is the fourth card in the Major Arcana. Fire is the Emperor’s element, cardinal modality, and it is ruled by the planet Mars. This card shows an Emperor sitting upon his throne, holding a scepter, or staff with a globe, and a sword. This tarot card represents security, and stability, as well as power and control. It is about control of self, and the world around you. The Emperor is in charge, and makes the rules. This card can represent a father, or father figure, a leader, a boss, or other authority figure. This card may also represent you if you are in a position of authority, or taking control of some thing, or some aspect of your life. The number four in numerology represents things like foundations, and security. Some keywords connected with the Emperor card include law, order, power, authority, rules, boundaries, and promotion. If you have been drawn to this card this week it might be a good idea to set some clear boundaries with others, and focus on building secure foundations for yourself including relationships and your environment.
Take a moment and take a deep breath. Get centered, and grounded, then pick a card. By get centered I mean to get calm, focused, and to be present in the moment. By get grounded I mean to uncross your feet and arms, with feet flat on the floor. It is also beneficial if you can quickly imagine roots shooting down from your root Chakra and feet into the Earth. Allow these roots to anchor you in a supportive way that neutralizes negativity and draws up nurturing Earth energy for stability. Sometimes more than one deep breath is needed to feel ready. Often three nice, slow, deep breaths are just right. Do what feels best for you..
From left to right we have Pietersite above the Six of Wands on the far left, Purpurite above the Page of Pentacles in the center, and Chrysocolla above the Queen of Swords on the far right. Take note of which card and crystal you were drawn to, and your first reaction to it. You can compare this initial intuition of yours with how you feel after you read the information in the mini-reading. Did the card you were drawn to make sense for you at this time? Did your initial reaction to the card prove to be aligned with the card interpretation? The more you pay attention to your own intuition and internal guidance system the stronger and more accurate they become.
This card carries the energy of the planet Jupiter, and the sign Leo. Its modality is fixed and its element is fire. The image on the card depicts a man on horseback with a laurel wreath not only on his head but also on the staff he holds. This card is considered a card of victory and success. Keywords include completion, success, reward, recognition, good news, and triumph. While the victory may be an internal one, it usually is one that will be recognized by those around you. You have summoned your inner fire of will and inspiration to win the day. The message of this card is that even if challenges are apparent you will overcome them.
This card is said to be Earth in the suit of Earth. It corresponds astrologically to Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo. It is the perpetual student, an idealist, perfectionist. This card can represent a young person, especially an Earth sign. Some keywords are alert, practical, optimistic, and willing to work hard, and open to learning things, so studious and diligent. When this card does not represent an actual person it often indicates messages, these could be spoken, written, or delivered via the Universe through signs. As an Earth sign these messages can often relate to our physical bodies, money and finances, or our environment. The message this card holds this week is to be be alert for messages about healing. This healing could be around any or all of the topics above like education and study, our physical environment, bodies, or money and finances.
This Minor Arcana court card is said to be Water in the suit of Air. This card also has an affinity for the astrological sign of Libra. A serious woman on a throne holding a sword in her right hand and raising her left hand toward an unseen subject. The element of Air rules thinking and intellect. This card usually represents a woman, often an Air sign. It is thought that she knows suffering and sometimes is said to represent a widow. In any case she is quick witted, and independent. The sword card also can represent writing, an on-line presence, handicrafts, and sometimes even a sharp tongue. Some keywords include independent, intellectual, witty, perceptive, feminist, justice, solutions, and accuracy. This card might represent a woman who is in or will enter your life, or it might even be you. The message of this card is to use some of the Venus ruled Libra energy to include grace and beauty in your expressions this week. Whether you are writing a blog, a manifesto, or even knitting a shawl, do it gracefully and beautifully.
Take a moment and take a deep breath. Get centered, and grounded, then pick a card. By get centered I mean to get calm, focused, and to be present in the moment. By get grounded I mean to uncross your feet and arms, with feet flat on the floor. It is also beneficial if you can quickly imagine roots shooting down from your root Chakra and feet into the Earth. Allow these roots to anchor you in a supportive way that neutralizes negativity and draws up nurturing Earth energy for stability. Sometimes more than one deep breath is needed to feel ready. Often three nice, slow, deep breaths are just right. Do what feels best for you..
Starting on the left we have the Green agate pyramid above the Emperor card, in the center is the Unakite egg above the Judgement card, and on the right is the Shiva Lingam above the Sun card. I find it interesting that all the cards are from the Major Arcana this week. The energy in general this week is certainly strong as we have just had a New Moon in Aquarius, along with the Sun of course but also joined by Mercury and Lilith. Also all the planets are direct with no retrogrades this month. This suggests a time for things to move forward.
This card is the fourth card in the Major Arcana. Fire is the Emperor’s element, cardinal modality, and it is ruled by the planet Mars. This card shows an Emperor sitting upon his throne, holding a scepter, and a globe. This tarot card represents security, and stability, as well as power and control. It is about control of self, and the world around you. The Emperor is in charge, and makes the rules. This card can represent a father, or father figure, a leader, a boss, or other authority figure. This card may also represent you if you are in a position of authority, or taking control of some thing, or some aspect of your life. If you are drawn to this card this week then it is time to make decisions, and take actions that will lead to the outcomes that you desire. Realize that a period of hard work, control, and persistence is needed to create, maintain, and then grow your desire into something even better.
This Major Arcana card is number twenty and it is ruled by Pluto and its element is fire. The image of an Angel blowing a trumpet and grey figures emerging from coffins impresses the idea of being called to awaken, or start living life in a new way. Keywords include Reincarnation, transition, decision making, awakening, renewal, and even success is implied. If you were drawn to this card this week it suggests that it is a time to make some big changes in your life. The Universe is calling you to live your life in a new way, give up old habits and beliefs that are holding you back. Embrace the new ideas that are calling to you. This card shows that now is the time to transition from your old life and into your new way of being.
This Major Arcana, or Trump card is number nineteen, its element is fire and rules itself. The Sun is the central source of light and energy, the primary symbol of the ego, and the full achievement of personal potential. The image on this card is of an infant on the back of a white horse with the Sun and sunflowers behind him. The keywords include joy, happiness, vitality, enlightenment, success, and marriage. This card represents happiness, joy, harmony, and good luck and fortune. It is a time of synchronicity when your inner being is aligned to the same frequency as all the good people, things, and circumstances that you might wish to encounter. If there is a question of whether or not you can do something, or if you should, then this card is a resounding YES. If you were drawn to this card this week remember that it is like the Hermetic axiom of As above, so below, as within, so without. You, and your state of mind, feelings, and emotions is what is creating or allowing(however you want to view it) the good fortune to happen.