When it comes to numbers, there are endless ways to approach their significance as it relates back to tarot. The first layer involves having a basic understanding of the spiritual significance of numbers as a way to further understand each card. The second layer involves various calculations to make better sense of your landscape at large i.e. adding up all the numbers and reducing to a single frequency.

But how else can numbers play a role (even intentionally) in the way we approach our practice? Below, I will share 3 techniques to help you incorporate the power of numbers into your work. Please note that at the end of this article I have shared a quick reference chart that addresses number meanings.

This is the second edition of what I hope to be a regular feature on this site - Reading In The Flow: Cards in Combination. If you missed the first post, “Reading In The Flow” is a term I use to describe taking a bird’s eye view of a spread to observe all the ways in which the cards interact.

Earlier in the week, I shared the first post in this series which looked at The Tower, the 8 of Swords, and the 10 of Pentacles in combination. Today, with the help of my partner Tim, we will be breaking down another 3 cards in combination. I’m pulling Tim into this because a) we love to look at this stuff together and b) he brings a depth of knowledge that will allow for some advanced exploration and another layer of understanding.

The three cards we’ll be using for today’s exercise came by way of a suggestion on Instagram. They are The Hierophant, The High Priestess, and the 2 of Cups. I have arranged them in triangle formation like last time and have not ascribed a question or positional meanings. This is a general reading where the cards are meant to be read in tandem.

When it comes to reading cards, I get most excited by taking a step back and assessing the landscape as a whole. I’ve typically called this technique “Reading In The Flow” as it allows one to get out of the details of a singular image and instead, observe how the cards interact with one another. I have taught courses on these techniques in the past, shared plenty of resources and written in depth about how I apply this method in my own practice.

Recently, I disassembled one of my free resources to give myself an opportunity to reflect on my reading style and update the approaches detailed in the document.

One way I want to bring this back though, is to start writing more on the blog about the practical application of this style of reading - a style I of course did not invent, but which has become a staple to my practice.

So here is the first of what I hope to be many segments to feature the Reading In The Flow style. In these short posts, I will share three cards and then detail how I may read them in tandem. The cards I will be working with were selected at random by way of my standard shuffling method. I will share the picture first, allow readers to make their own assessments, and then highlight all of the pieces of the landscape that jumped out and what I think it may all mean.

For today’s exercise, we will be working with The Tower, the 8 of Swords and the 10 of Pentacles..

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!

Exploring the cards that are visible in our spreads is the obvious way to approach any reading. But what about the cards that didn’t make an appearance? Could they also lend some insight into the bigger picture?

I’ve talked a lot about the concept of “reading in the flow”, which is essentially looking at any reading from multiple angles and perspectives. It is a way of observing how the cards interact with each other, where they connect, and also where they repel. Using this method, which examines many variables, we combine intuition with what is visible and ultimately walk away with a much broader understanding of the message.

One aspect of this approach is noting the cards that didn’t show up and considering what implication if any, that may have to the interpretation of the reading.

Let me highlight exactly what I mean with some scenarios below and then we can play around with two visual examples!

2020 was a collective year 4, which we arrive at by adding the digits of the year together and reducing until we have a single one. In this case, 2+0+2+0 equals 4, which is associated with The Emperor among other things. There is much that can be said about what The Emperor meant for our year and how we could apply its lessons. I wrote a good chunk about this in my 2021 Personal Year Guide which you can still grab if you want to know more about the collective and personal energies for the coming year.

The Emperor, besides its obvious implications around building foundations, enforcing stability, creating boundaries and understanding authority - harbors another auspicious aspect, and that is its relationship to vision. The Hebrew letter associated with The Emperor is heh, which translates to window, and the physical sense associated with this key is that of sight. The year 2020 (as in, 2020 vision) may be interpreted as one where we had the opportunity, even through challenge and chaos, to see with more clarity. Yes, there were many distractions and a lot of the outside vying for our attention - but beyond this, what else were you able to glimpse? In the comfort (or discomfort) of our personal homes (houses as well as bodies) maybe we had the chance to look out and witness things about ourselves or our worlds that we haven’t noticed before.

I have written a bit on tips and tricks to learning the tarot, but I’ve been having so much discussion around the idea of other aspects of life influencing our ability to read the cards well, so I wanted to add to those posts.

It is my perspective that our spiritual growth moves in tandem with our development in all other areas of life. I also believe that tarot is a tool that works through us as much as we work with it. This is why, for as many books as we read or people we consult, we can only go as far as our inner guide is able to take us.

For example, I can learn what the cards mean, but I also recognize that there is much more happening in these scenes than just the basic definitions that we find floating around. To see how the cards play off each other, to grasp the symbolic and visual significance, to be confident in your intuition to know which bits are relevant…well, that’s more an art that evolves over time.

With that in mind, I wanted to present a few ideas with the following concept in mind: It is one thing to read a definition and it is another to have lived it. In this way, I am placing emphasis on integration over memorization (though both are important) and Inner Guide over “must-do” advice.

To honour Valentine’s Day, I’ve put together a list of questions you can ask about love when consulting the cards. I framed these with the intention of getting the best insight possible, meaning, I stayed away from closed- ended questions and any invasion of privacy i.e. “what does he think about me?”

I’ve sorted them into “partnered” and “singled” though some options I included in both categories because they would equally apply. You could tackle just the ones that stand out, or even construct a spread! Of course, if you’re looking for some support in these matters, you may want to order a reading. I’m offering 20% off all love themed questions for the next week. Just use code “love” at checkout! And yes, self-love inquiries apply!

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!

When I was in college, I began seeing 11s everywhere. Most commonly, I would catch the time 11:11 or 1:11. At that point in my life, I wasn’t super connected to spirituality in very obvious ways. I was 19 years old, a bit disconnected, just trying to navigate life transitions.

The numbers happened so frequently though that one day I decided to Google 11:11 and that was when I found entire communities devoted to some kind of so-called “awakening”. It was described as a “key”, “portal”, “gateway” to higher consciousness. We were undergoing a shift, a leveling up, and those sensitive to these energies would see 11:11 as a sign that they were on the right path and a reminder of their true spiritual nature.

I was intrigued. And looking back, I can say that time in my life was pivotal in a lot of ways. A crossroads even, and the decisions I made then, very much link to where I am today.

Since then, the numbers are still a part of life, and I hear many others talk about the patterns that show up for them. Now, it’s not just 11:11. It’s 2s in sequence, or 3s. Personally and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of 4s and 5s - but what does it all mean?

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.

Well before I launched this website, far before I began speaking freely and openly about my passions and practices, I was a student on endless quests to satisfy my curiosities surrounding things I couldn't see but, but only felt. One of my earliest teachers was a series of books by author Jane Roberts introduced to me by my dad. This collection of channeled texts was my very first foray into some of the biggest question marks around this existence, consciousness and the nature of reality.

This is part three of the Delivering A Memorable Email Reading series. You can also go back and read Part One and Part Two if you wish. In the first installment, we focused on tools and techniques to ensure your clients get the most of the reading. In the second installment, we turned the tables to examine practices that will help you get the most of your services as a reader. Today, we'll be talking about ways to sustain your practice and ensure you're maximizing your time and energy. This is critical to examine because if you're not being mindful of your own reserves, your product and ability to deliver will inevitably suffer.

Similar to the advice in Part 2, I learned a lot of this through trial and error. For this reason, I am hopeful I can condense what took me years to sort through in such a way that we can shorten your learning curve and give you some food for thought.

A few weeks ago I posted a dream-states survey and invited those who wished to partake to share their experiences. I received quite a number back and would like to start this by offering a heart felt thank you. Not only was I in awe of the feedback, but I felt a great sense of comfort knowing that this world I escape to each night is not mine alone.

With all that being said, I spent a great deal of time pouring over the participant's birth charts because I wanted to see if there were a few areas in particular where I could draw commonalities. Astrology is complex, and I am not an expert by a long stretch - but it was fascinating none the less. Unfortunately, based on the sample size I viewed, I couldn't conclude any obvious parallels, but I would like to explain what it was I was looking for. Before I do that, let me share with you some of the fascinating experiences some of our dreamers put forth. I've just included one or two quotes for each topic and I've added my own input as well.

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.

The other day, I was playing around with my method for reading probability, when I found myself asking not if something would or wouldn't happen, but what the pros and cons would be, should it occur. In that moment, I began contemplating methods to simply construct a spread that would tackle this sort of inquiry, and that was when this method for weighing pros and cons was born. It is inspired both by my "yes/no/maybe so" system and decision making method for reading the cards.

The idea behind weighing the pros and cons is that with most of what we experience and pursue in life, there are ups and downs. Sometimes those ups and downs are of equal impact, and many times the situation skews one way or another. If you're trying to determine the ups and downs or pros and cons or something, whether that be embarking on a new path, leaving a current relationship or having a difficult conversation - keep reading; this method is for you.