PeaceTarot: Introduction to the Second Edition

From PeaceTarot copyright 2013 Ronda Snow all rights reserved. Used with permission.

The First Edition of PeaceTarot is available both on amazon.com for kindle and in the the TaoCraft Tarot Shop on Etsy.

In 2012 the mass shooting of children in a Newtown, Connecticut school shook the souls of the nation’s parents. For those of us who had young children it was an emotionally charged and terrifying event, even if we were geographically far removed from Newtown. It was followed over the next several years by the Boston Marathon bombing, the Mother Emanuel shooting, Orlando, Las Vegas, Stoneman Douglas High School and our hometown in 2018 with the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. The litany of violence and political inaction continues here in the United States. We can never forget that war and violence have been with the human race across the globe throughout history. 

After many years of doing Tarot readings, I knew first hand the comfort the card’s ideas and symbolism could bring. I’ve seen a reading ease the tension in a person’s face and body language time and time and time again. The comfort I’d personally taken in the cards naturally found its way into “Tarotbytes,” my blog on the Modern Oracle Tarot website and again in this self published ebook.

Now here we are in 2020 experiencing a deadly global pandemic and the worst economic depression in nearly one hundred years. I had intended to use the great stay-at-home lockdown quarantine of 2020 to do other writing and other things. Catching up on some sleep was high on the list.

Yet, as is often the case, the cards have other ideas. Tarot has a role to play again. 

It wasn’t clear at first, but the readings since late February (both for individual clients and generally for the blog and social media) have been overwhelmingly focused on the pandemic. You don’t have to be intuitively sensitive for the feelings of these times to hit you like a tidal wave. Then and now, 2012 and 2020, the point of Tarot work is to help us to honor our true feelings. The process of doing a reading can help clear stress and find a path forward that may have otherwise been hidden behind turbulent times and equally turbulent emotions. One thing is clear. It’s time to bring PeaceTarot out of mothballs and let Tarot work its magic on our current challenges.

All of the original PeaceTarot material still exists in the second edition with two new features. PeaceTarot still begins by teaching you to do one card daily meditation style readings for yourself. It still gives the peace-minded card meanings from the 2010 – 2012 era. For each card, I’ve added the pandemic focused interpretations that have stepped forward in the early months of 2020. Next, the internet allows me to give you a brand new resource for choosing a daily card when you don’t have a Tarot deck on hand. The TaoCraft Tarot YouTube channel has a growing number of videos that you can use to see a card being randomly drawn. You can then reference the reading for that card in the video description or coordinate it with the ones here in PeaceTarot as you build your daily Tarot meditation practice.

The one thing that never changes is that everything always changes.Despite those changes, peace of mind and a quiet Tarot moment are ideas that never go away. Through it all, I wish you health, happiness and many moments of peace.

Ronda Snow

Pittsburgh, 2020

The Un-selfie Psychic

I hate having my picture taken.

Always have, it seems. One of my favorite photos from when I was about 6 or 7 was the whole family seated against the wall at grandma’s house, looking oh so 1970s. Mom, Dad, and my 2 year old sister had enormous “say cheese!” grins. Mom also had her arm around my waist with me in full sprint position making a break for it, fast exit stage right. I won’t tell you how old the picture below is, but it will have to do because I don’t do selfies. I’m trying to make myself do one of those speech to camera introductions for a TaoCraft YouTube channel, but we’ll cross that bridge later. Much later.

It is only slightly less excruciating to write a bio for a book or what have you. I hadn’t updated mine in ages. I copied and pasted the “Meet Your Reader” page right from the old Modern Oracle page. I mean, ewww, right?

But logic finally won. Updated the old bio this afternoon. It’s below.

As long as I’m introducing Reiki and meditation to TaoCraft Tarot, might as well reintroduce myself to you so you’ll know who is coming to your reading or your party, or is behind the cards for your distance session.

*Deep Breath*

Here goes….nice to meet you

MEET YOUR READER

Read Client Reviews

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My name is Ronda. I read Tarot, write things, and make stuff.

I started out with no intention of reading cards professionally. I have a Bachelor of Science in Medical Science, 13 years clinical experience as a physician assistant in psychiatry and interventional cardiology, a non-accredited Ph.D in Natural Health, Reiki Master-practitioner certification, U.L.C. ordination and am a retired Tai Chi instructor. The original idea was to do Natural Health Consultations. Natural, holistic health is all about mind, body and spirit in balance. There are lots of practitioners out there who can help physical heath. As it turns out, my calling is to help emotions and spirit through the art and entertainment of Tarot.

In the early 90s, when I was working in mainstream medicine, I began reading Tarot and oracle cards for my own spiritual development. That, and the fact I was too cheap to pay overpriced phone bills and have psychic friends to do it for me. Turns out I have a knack for it. After reading for friends and family, my best friend encouraged me to try reading online. In the early 2000s I did readings under the handle “Baihu” on Keen, Advice Trader, and Allexperts. When my Ph.D dissertation expenses came along, I took the next logical step, started to work for myself, and Modern Oracle Tarot was born. The extensive Tarotbytes blog archives are still available if you are interested.

In October of 2018, I brought Reiki and meditation under the same cyber roof as my tarot work, transforming Modern Oracle into the TaoCraft Tarot you see today.

That’s the “I read Tarot” part.

Things I’ve written includes the old “Tarotbytes” blog, the blog at RondaSnow.com, Modern Oracle: Hello, Peace Tarot, my dissertation Reiki and Relaxation and Bead Mindful, Begin Meditating. PeaceTarot is available in the etsty shop with other titles coming soon.  PeaceTarot and my poetry collection “Triquetra: The Dance of Worlds” are already on amazon.com for Kindle. I have written  articles about Natural Health for Point of Light magazine, and about Tarot for Find Your Psychic e-zine. My poetry has been in magazines and contest anthologies including Kindred Magazine, Nature’s Echoes, Quicksilver Moon, and Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum.

Now for the making stuff…

I make handcrafted meditation beads (mala) for your meditation practice or to go with the meditation lessons offered here. You can find them in TaoCraft T.arot Shop  on Etsy. I also knit and make handmade jewelry as a hobby. Some of those projects are in the shop too.

Now we’ve come to the part where author’s bios put some jazzy 3rd person comment about where I live and and stuff…

Ronda lives in the Pittsburgh suburbs with her musician / concert photographer / computer genius husband, her yarn stash and a deep dislike for doing yard work.

I hope we can work together soon.