Tag: ronda snow

Announcement

TaoCraft Tarot will be closed June 3 to June 9 due to a family medical need.

You can still schedule individual and party tarot via email, but response times will be slowed.

You can leave voicemail, but calls won’t be returned until June 9

Online ordering will be open both on the website and the etsy shop, but orders will not ship until June 9 or later.

Please stay tuned on Instagram…I’ll probably be on there a lot to ward off waiting room boredom, so don’t hesitate to to say hello

Thanks! Talk to you on the 9th…R

 

Varieties of Reiki

Q: Are there different kinds of Reiki sessions for different needs, like one for night to relax if you have trouble sleeping or one for morning if you need more energy?

A: Surprisingly no. It isn’t guided or prescriptive like that. The energy is like a raw material that the body uses where ever and however it is most needed. On of my teachers told the story of a gentleman with tennis elbow. He was very skeptical of Reiki, didn’t think it would help at all, but came to the session to placate his wife. He would’t let the Reiki master touch him anywhere except his left elbow. After a couple of sessions it didn’t do anything for his elbow….but it greatly improved his blood pressure. Nothing else in his life had changed to explain the improvement…no change in his medication or diet or activity or anything else that they could think of except the Reiki sessions. The body puts the energy where it needs it the most. Timing isn’t an issue, either. Reiki can be sent with the intent that it activate at a time when it is most needed as well. Like gravity, Ki is everywhere, all the time, and Reiki simply helps you draw from that energy in a time and a place and a way that is for your best health. For example, if problems sleeping is the main concern, a morning Reiki session might help the underlying reason for the insomnia, and in turn help the sleeping problem when bedtime comes around.  Like the tennis elbow, the blood pressure was a more important issue. We trust the body (in its physical, mental and emotional aspects) to put the energy where it is most needed. Like the morning session that helps bedtime insomnia, the body guides when the effects of the energy are felt. Thanks for the question!

FAQ: A question of your own

Have a quesion? Ask HERE to have your question added to the new FAQ page

So far, I’ve kept these classics….

Q: Will my ex- and I get back together?

A: That depends on what you and your ex decide to do. Tarot can’t read your ex’s mind or how they feel about you, or predict what they will do. The only way to know for sure is to talk to them directly. If you aren’t talking to each other, then there is little or no chance you will get back together. If the two of you haven’t fixed whatever caused the breakup then no, getting back together is very unlikely. That is just common sense. You don’t need a Tarot reading for that. BUT if you want advice about how to heal from the breakup or how to have better relationships in the future, then Tarot can definitely help.

Q: Nothing you said came true. Why not?

A: I. Don’t. Make. Predictions.

I’ve said it a thousand times. Tarot doesn’t predict the future. That is the dark ages, flat earth way of using Tarot. It doesn’t matter if predictions are “true” or not.  I could sit here and make perfect, on-target, 100% accurate predictions all day long, but then you could go out five minutes later and do something that changes everything. (See: Predicting the Future and a Big Cube of Jell-O) Remember Yoda from Star Wars? The future really is fluid and always changing. Life is cause and effect. If you drop an apple, it will fall down. If you strike a match, it will catch on fire. If you pour water on something it will get wet. Cause and effect is the way Nature works. It is science. Your future is created by what you choose and do. Tarot is a way to look at options, then choose the flow of energy that is more likely to take you where you want to go in the long run…not tell you every ripple of everything that will happen along the way.

Q: How can you do readings by e-mail? Don’t you have to be with the person for the reading to work?

A: I read universal energy, not the person themselves, so no, they don’t have to be with me for the reading to happen as it should.  Energy and spirit is everywhere, all of the time. I read that universal energy and listen to spirit on that person’s behalf. It doesn’t matter if someone is across the table or across the world when I connect to that universal energy. It doesn’t matter if I say the words of a reading or type them. It doesn’t matter if you hear the words now or read them later. The same core message still gets through either way. I connect to your specific energy message when we talk about your question vs an open reading. That conversation & connection happens the same way when I read your words as it does when I hear them. The difference between a distance and an in-person is the way you experience getting the message, not in the message itself.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: It blows my mind to say it, but a little over 25 years. I started reading oracle cards around 1992 as I began my new spiritual life as an ex-christian (after an evangelical upbringing.) At the same time, I started Taijiquan training which introduced me to Taoist philosophy and meditation.  In 1996, I began Reiki training, certifying as a Reiki Master-practitioner in 2000. In the early 2000s I started working part time as an online Tarot reader while I worked toward a Ph.D. in Natural Health and started a family. That was followed by working for myself locally under my old website Modern Oracle Tarot. In October 2018 I introduced meditation and Reiki to the Tarot website to become the new TaoCraft Tarot. I’ve been at this for a while, and now teach other people to read cards in local workshops.

Q: Do you read for the LGBTQIA community?

A: Of course! Anytime! Consider me an ally. Readings are naturally gender/orientation neutral. I intuitively “see” people as energy signatures, kind of like a silhouette made of light. Intuition doesn’t tell me anything about gender, orientation, identity, race, hair color, height, or any other specific attribute. I don’t mean to use wrong pronouns in your reading. They are all just completely interchangeable on an energetic level. If I get that sort of thing wrong, just clue me in and we’ll move on. It’s all good.

Q: Are there different kinds of Reiki sessions for different needs, like one for night to relax if you have trouble sleeping or one for morning if you need more energy?

A: Surprisingly no. It isn’t guided or prescriptive like that. The energy is like a raw material that the body uses where ever and however it is most needed. On of my teachers told the story of a gentleman with tennis elbow. He was very skeptical of Reiki, didn’t think it would help at all, but came to the session to placate his wife. He would’t let the Reiki master touch him anywhere except his left elbow. After a couple of sessions it didn’t do anything for his elbow….but it greatly improved his blood pressure. Nothing else in his life had changed to explain the improvement…no change in his medication or diet or activity or anything else that they could think of except the Reiki sessions. The body puts the energy where it needs it the most. Timing isn’t an issue, either. Reiki can be sent with the intent that it activate at a time when it is most needed as well. Like gravity, Ki is everywhere, all the time, and Reiki simply helps you draw from that energy in a time and a place and a way that is for your best health. For example, if problems sleeping is the main concern, a morning Reiki session might help the underlying reason for the insomnia, and in turn help the sleeping problem when bedtime comes around.  Like the tennis elbow, the blood pressure was a more important issue. We trust the body (in its physical, mental and emotional aspects) to put the energy where it is most needed. Like the morning session that helps bedtime insomnia, the body guides when the effects of the energy are felt. Thanks for the question!

NEW: FAQ page

Have a question about the inner workings of Tarot? Wondering what the heck Reiki is? Curious about mindfulness or meditation? Read the new FAQ page or ask a question of your own HERE

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Q: Aren’t you supposed to tell me things about myself that happened, like “you just bought a new car.” 

A: Wait. What?

I have to admit, this one stopped me in my tracks for a minute.

I mean, how is THAT going to help anything? Who pays good money to have a psychic predict the past? Weren’t you THERE when it happened to…. you?

Obviously, this person wanted me to “prove” my “psychic ability” with her notion of “psychic” being pulling impressive random facts out of thin air.

This is the kind of thing that gives actual spirituality a bad name. Sincere intuitives get lumped together with stage mentalists and performance psychics all too often.

We stopped the reading on the spot. Clearly it was a mis-match.  She didn’t want anything to do with my style of advice, personal growth or spirituality and I don’t want anything to do with razzle dazzle trickery.

That isn’t to say razzle dazzle is bad. There is nothing wrong with some good old Vegas style entertainment. Especially since outdated blue laws keep so many of us chained to the “entertainment only” disclaimer. The problem comes, as I see it, when people confuse the two. Things go pear shaped when people expect the two totally separate practices to be exactly alike. If you think all intuitive work is scammy stage shows, then you miss out on the chance for personal growth and genuine insights. If you think all “psychics” are serious spirituality, then you risk being taken in by a scam.

So let’s do what all good academic types do at times like these. Let’s define our terms so we don’t get stage magic and sincere spirituality confused.

Stage Magic: See Penn and Teller. No, really. See Penn and Teller. The way they debunk things and encourage healthy skepticism is a good thing.

Cold Readings: Cold readings take subtle clues like body language, appearance, and verbal cues to steer the conversation so that the sitter (person getting the reading) to think the reader knew all of the details through supernatural means. An obvious example would be noticing someone wearing an engagement ring and asking them if there was a wedding coming up in their family. A fast series of questions going from vague to specific is a good indication that a cold reading is in progress.

I use cold reading to a lesser degree, with one important difference – I TELL you when I’m doing it.

I say things like “I noticed _________.” Or I’ll straight up bald faced ask you something, like what you do for a living?” Then we’ll use that as background context. “In that case” X card meaning is probably more likely than Y card meaning….that sort of thing.

Mentalism is slightly different. Instead of gleaning subtle information from questions and clues, a mentalist will actively insert ideas and deliberately lead the conversation to a certain conclusion that also seems supernatural. One is derivative, the other is manipulative but both lead to a similar illusion.

I don’t use mentalism. I don’t know how to use mentalism. Honestly, it seems like WAY more work than it’s worth.  The direct information spirit/energy/intuition gives may resonate with you now, it may resonate with you later, or it may never resonate at all. I give what I get as I get it…the rest is up to you. If a reading empowers you to move along your life path with a little more ease and mindfulness, then the reading has done its job, no manipulation required.

Do I tell you what has already happened to you? Um…no.

Do I tell you what is going to happen to you? Nope.

Do I lead the conversation or take tricky cues to make you think I’m the second coming of the great Carnac? No and no.

What do I do? Read the new “About Tarot Readings” page and see the 5 card reading example and you will know exactly what to expect from your reading time with me.

 

 

Five Card Tarot Reading

Q: Open reading, please!

A: Thank you for being so open about this. I’ve always gotten the best readings that way, and they feel like they have more energy behind them when giving them. It’s like letting a car roll a little instead of riding the brakes, if that makes any sense as an analogy. In answer to some of the “how does this work” questions I get every now and then, this is an example of how all my readings work, really. This is exactly what you get with an e-mail distance reading. Think of it as a written transcript of a video, phone or in-person session. It doesn’t matter to my intuition whether I give the information with my voice or with my fingers on a keyboard, it all comes out the same. But again, thank you. Let’s take a look at your cards. I shuffled 4 times, keeping my mind on “the highest and best for ****”. These are the cards that we got.

For *****

May 26, 2019

Your Cards Today Are:

  • Lessons from the Past: Three of Pentacles (Coins)
  • Current Situation: Death
  • Moving Forward: Three of Cups (reversed)
  • Advice / Choices: King of Wands (reversed)
  • Alternative Path: The Emperor

General Pattern

Are you familiar with the Tarot deck? On part of the deck mirrors the modern game playing deck with aces, numbers, kings, queens etc. That is called the minor arcana and over time, as I read them, these card are more day to day guidance. There are 22 other cards, called Trump cards or the major arcana. These cards have more wattage behind them energy-wise, and they tend to have a bigger message, something that may ask you to take action or make a serious decision.

In your case you have two majors (Death and The Emperor) the rest are minor arcana. In a layout this small, that is enough of an edge that it gets my attention. This may be a cue that you are in a time of high energy (or stress). It doesn’t give a good sense whether this on the horizon or in progress (remember, Tarot never predicts the future….it helps navigate you to it and through it). If I were to take a guess, things have been busy and this may be a hint that you will have a lot of things on your plate for a little while longer. There is also a feeling that you might actually like it that way….as if you are much more stress tolerant than you give yourself credit for being. You might get bored or feel stagnant if there wasn’t some energy and change bubbling up every now and again.

Of your minor arcana cards, three of the possible four suits are showing. That balance among the suits also hints that if there is stress, in is on the second half and you are closer to return to normal than peak change. Or, if you aren’t feeling particularly stressed, this would underline tha notion that you are a person that is very tolerant of energy and change…a very good thing.

When three suits show, sometimes it helps to look at the one missing, too, in case it has a message and is being conspicuous in its abscence. You are missing swords… the element of air, with hints of action, society, relationship with authority. By not being here, I get a feeling that this isn’t a good energy time for action, certainly nothing rash or hurried. It feels more like “sit back and let things unfold. There is enough energy here, you won’t regret it”

Lessons from the Past

Three of Pentacles

Pentacles have to do with the element of earth, the physical realm, the practical nuts and bolts of living, oftern work or career. The three in particular has to do with projects and group efforts, even though in this deck the three shows only one person, seemingly putting in late hours. The phrase “extra effort award” comes to mind here. I can’t say it is definitely work or school related, but it sure feels like it. Something needing extra work is implicit, not explicit. There is a need for a self-starter, a need for you to take initiative somehow. The reason it comes through as lessons past, feels like this is a lesson you may have learned the hard way. There may of been times in the past (the ‘past’ in question here feels like high school, teen years, a time when everyone is learning these types of things) where there may have been times you did assignments only as asked, or done only the minumum (like every teenager ever) But now you are being asked to take your game up a level. Put in the extra effort…dig a few layers deeper into things before passing judgement, before coming to a conclusion or before turning a project in. Usually this position has a lot of validation flavor to it. This does vallidate past experiences …but as a comparison for now, a lesson in what THIS time doesn’t need. The past is a lesson what not to do this time…a strong sense of “look at here and now with fresh eyes, not old habits.”

Current Situation

Death

You KNOW the death card isn’t literal, right? It is about a big change, something that changes everything. I see it all the time at Bachlorette parties….that kind of life altering change. And it doesn’t have to be a negative change. It can be very much a change for the better. Off the cuff, I want to associate this with career change…as if the extra effort energy in the 3 of coins card can bring some change in responsibility at work, or some change in self-esteem or the amount that you enjoy your work. Not necessarily wads of cash, but some pleasant benefit or doorway of opportunity for the future. Outside of work, it feels like a subtle but building, important change. Here is where loads of validation comes in. Lots of little life lessons, lots of learning, paying attention, maturing, caring, paying forward…a zillion little things have accumulated to big change. I feel like this card is saying you are not the same person you used to be, and that you are to be commended for the changes you have made little by little over time. The change will last.

Moving Forward

Three of cups

When a card turns over upside down relative to the person doing the reading, it is called reveresed. Some readers will switch card meanings when that happens. I like to consider all the possible aspects of a card anyway. If it turns over reversed then I just think of it as hinting that idea, that area of life, has blocked or turbulent energy. It’s not different per se, just a little more difficult or challenging than it might otherwise be. Cups symbolize our closest relationships, often romances, but in this case it is about your close circle of friends. It has advice energy around it. The reversal makes me wonder if there has been some distance creeping in between you and your closest friends. It could be as simple as everyone being busy, but the feeling is such it makes me wonder about tensions or conflicts. The advice feels to heal…to patch up any little spats so you can all be there for each other. Not necessarily just like before, but there just the same. A more mature group as a whole, but still a group together. Very stage of life feeling, not dire or permanent feeling.

Advice/Choices

King of Wands

Wands are fire, Kings are leadership. It feels like your choice is ennui and ho-hum vs following your passions. I want to connect that feeling of following your passions to the extra work and extra effort idea from before. The inspiration and idea to take THAT initiative my come from your innate interest and passion for something. Follow your passions and take initiatives. I thing the reversal comes from a hesitation or lack of confidence more than being an indication of outdome. The more confident and self-starting, the more of a leader you are, the more you follow your passions the better. Don’t let your doubts hold you back. Think, yes. Make good rational decisions, yes. But don’t let unrealistic or unreasonalbe self-doubt hold you back either.

Alternative Path

The Emperor

Basically, this is give yourself credit. The feeling here is that the current path card moves toward the three of cups, with that card symbolizing private, not-work life. This path, or part of the path, feels work related. When the two cards line up side by side like that, or seem related somehow, I take that to mean that you are on a good path…this card isn’t so much offering a clear alternative as it is emphasizing the cards before, especially the leadership aspects of the 3 of pentacles and the king of wands. This card is less offering an alternative than it is highlighting the idea of taking initiative, digging deeper, and having the courage to follow your passions. The Emperor is often a protector. Protect your dreams. Protect your passions and goals.

Summary

This part always seems to start with a color or color and chakra reference. For you I get rainbow flourite, with lots of purple and green together. It may not be it’s best known property, but it feels like it will give you the mental focus and clarity to do the extra work, the deeper layers you may need to do at the same time helping you stay grounded and clear. Clarity, focus, that may clear the way for you to also find any courage you need later on.

I see pine trees.

Again the purple stone….could be amethyst too.

There the energy steps back. It feels like this part wants to be extra gentle for some reason, and is stepping back with little information given…but nothing is missing “What needs said has been given”

Here I add what I call the “sigil element” You can use it in making a sigil (power symbol) for yourself if you like, or you can write it down on paper and carry it for luck, or you can just think of it as a picture way to sum up your reading. In my mind’s eye, I see wavy lines for energy and movement. The emphasis on change, and the new way of doing things with more initiative reminds me of the greek letter delta which means change in math. Three triangle together show change and flow….change, change again, constant learning and growing

Affirmation: I have the courage and mental clarity to change when needed and to follow my passions.

And there you have it….a typical Five card reading. I hope it helps!

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NEW! second edition of PeaceTarot featuring updated cover art

Remember that new cover art I showed you and the updated second edition of PeaceTarot I mentioned a couple of weeks ago? It’s alive! Now available for affordable, instant download from TaoCraftTarot.shop

was first published in 2013 as a reponse to the Newtown tragedy. The book teaches you to do daily #meditations. The card meanings are all original material written with a calming, peaceful intent in mind. They are a product of my own daily meditation practice over the years prior to the 2013 edition. Sadly, tragedies continue and even came to touch touched our #hometown in October of 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagog in . If this small booklet inspires even a single moment of peacefullness for anyone anywhere, then it has served its purpose. It is my hope that, moment by moment, the thoughts and actions of peace we each bring into the world will be hung on the arc of history to slowly bend it toward justice after all.