(excerpt from Tarot Rapid Read Resource book)

Reading Tarot card reversals (upside down cards) is not necessary, but it can expand the potential for meaningful readings. There are many possible ways to interpret reversed cards, and this is one area in Tarot reading where you do NOT need to be consistent. Check in with how the reversal seems to shift the energy of the card within the reading. 

Reversal Reading: Light & Shadow

Life is both shadow and light, and lots of in-between. Every card has potentially positive/productive AND potentially negative/destructive nuances. Some cards, like Devil and the three of swords use upright imagery that focuses attention on the negative aspects of the archetype or the number/suit intersection. So for cards such as those, the reversed card may be indicating a more positive/productive spin on the card or the promise of resolution. For other cards in the deck like Star or three of cups, the opposite may be true.

Reversal...

Red Clover is a beautiful herb, and it grows wild all across North America, so this is an herb that is easy to wildcraft, and it can be easily grown in the yard.

Unfortunately, it is hard to source quality red Clover commercially. Most commercially available red clover is full of brown flowers and leaves, and that can be a problem.

First, only the flower heads and just the two small leaves right next to the flower head should be used. No other leaves. When gathering, only gather flower heads that look healthy and at the peak of their bloom – never those that are wilted, damaged or sickly looking. When the flowers start to wither and brown, there is a risk of slaframine contamination, a mycotoxin that is produced by a fungal pathogen common in red clover. Never include red clover in anything meant to ferment, as that will also risk slaframine contamination. 

If red clover is gathered and dried correctly, it...

Tarot is a deck of laminated cards with illustrations. The deck is not magic -- YOU are. Tarot is a tool for self-discovery, revealing what is unseen, and yes -- even good old-fashioned fortunetelling.

Research has shown that Tarot card draws done with intention are not random. Dr. Jane English, a PhD physicist, did a three-year study on whether Tarot card drawings were random or not. When she applied statistical analysis to Tarot cards drawn over a three-year period by Tarot readers, she found that there was a 99.97% chance the Tarot cards drawn were NOT random.

Using control groups, Dr. English found that the key to a meaningful Tarot card reading is INTENTION. In order to achieve a meaningful reading, the cards must be shuffled and drawn after a period of centering and quieting the mind, while focusing on a specific situation or question.

Dr. English’s study has been duplicated by others with similar results. Anyone who has worked with the Tarot for an extended time will...

The Tarot has two main parts: the Major Arcana, which deals with more overarching themes of personal and spiritual development, and the Minor Arcana, which deals with more with day-to-day life.

There are many beautiful decks which are majors-only decks (22 cards), and sometimes when an artist is creating a Tarot deck they may release the majors as a stand-alone deck before completing the entire deck. Of course, ANY Tarot deck can be a majors-only deck by separating out the Major and Minor Arcana cards.

There are several ways one might use a majors-only deck, and here are some of my favorites.

As a Deck for Small Spreads

For a 1- to 5-card spread, a majors-only deck can be used anytime, and it's especially relevant if the theme of the reading relates to a spiritual journey or personal development.

As a Deck for Deep Spreads

What needs to be learned from the situation at hand? Pull one card from a majors-only deck for insight. 

Or use a Majors-only deck for any reading...

Once there was a haggard old woman walking in the woods. She was tired and her legs hurt. She asked forest trees for a walking stick to help, but none of the trees would help. She continued walking and finally an old broken stick spoke and offered to be a walking stick to help her. The woman picked the stick up gratefully and continued making her way through the woods. As she reached the edge of the forest, the old woman revealed her true form, a beautiful fairy. She offered to reward the selfless stick, and asked what it desired. The old stick said that more than anything it wanted to be loved by children. The fairy used her magic, and leaves sprouted from the sides of the stick and little flowers popped out from the top like fireworks. The fairy sprinkled some magic gold dust over the flowers, turning them a happy yellow, and as she did so she declared that children everywhere would always love the Golden Rod.  (source unknown)

Use CAUTION! Do not eat/use a wild...

For a free printable recipe, click HERE

Elderberry syrup is a staple in the home herbalists’ apothecary, and like every herb, there is a short window of time to gather and preserve this vital natural medicine. For us here in the Midwestern united states, the berries usually ripen in August.  We use only the black elderberries, and you want to be careful when gathering wild elderberries to be sure they are not near an area that is sprayed, AND you want to make certain you are collecting elderberries, not poke berries – they usually grow right next to one another, and they are both very dark purple. But elderberries grow in an umbel shape – like an umbrella – and poke berries grow in a cluster shape, hanging down like grapes. When I go to collect elderberries, I take my clippers and a big stainless bowl and I hold the bowl under the berries with one hand and snip the stem of the berries with my other hand, letting them fall into the bowl.  Be...

Where did your ancestors hail from? No matter the answer, if you go back far enough they practiced divination, or someone they respected did. Divination is part of our ancestral wisdom, and it has been practiced across cultures throughout time.

The root of the word comes from the Latin, divinare, which literally means "to be inspired by a god." People have always wanted answers, and seeking answers from the Universe either requires being naturally psychic or having some sort of tool to interface with the Universe and understand the messages.

Prayer is talking to the Divine. Meditation is listening to the Divine. Divination is having a conversation with the Divine.

There are countless tools to use for divination, and you have likely heard of many of them: Runes, I-Ching, reading tea leaves and palms, astrology, dowsing, numerology, nature oracles (like what does it mean when an owl flies across your path), reading the entrails of sacrificed animals, tossing...

Here comes the sun... Immediately the Beatles song starts playing in my head and I think of the Sun Tarot card, Winter Solstice and Summertime.

The traditional RWS Sun card shows a naked toddler holding a huge red banner astride a big horse with a wall, the sun and sunflowers in the background. Around the child’s head is a wreath of small sunflowers, and in his/her hair is a red feather. 

While the RWS imagery looks very similar to the oldest known Tarocchi deck (Visconti), the original decks hailing from France had two children and no horse.

Author Rachel Pollack offers some interesting food for thought about where the two children come from and why that imagery might be preferable.

Remember the story of Rapunzel? Most of us can recall the refrain, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” and the image of a dashing young man climbing Rapunzel’s hair to be with his beloved. But there is MUCH more to the story. Were they discovered by the Sorceress who...

Lemon Balm is called “Heart’s Delight” in southern Europe, and for good reason. In the summer, there is nearly always an iced pitcher of Lemon Balm tea on the kitchen counter, and not only is it delicious, thirst-quenching and deeply refreshing, but it also keeps the household chilled out with its calming and soothing abilities.

 To get the best of lemon balm, you need to grow her. She loses flavor when dried, so to get the delicious flavor, snip off the top 6 inches or so of some lemon balm stems, and twist and tear them into a quart jar, filling about 1/3 to 1/2 full with green. Then, fix one of two ways:

Cold water: pour filtered room temperature water over, cap and let sit overnight to draw through.

Hot water: pour filtered hot (but not boiling) water over, cap and let sit an hour to draw through.

Both methods work fine, but the cold water infusion does give a slightly better flavor.

After steeping, strain and dilute to taste, serving over...