KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

December 26, 2022, through January 1, 2023

With the exception of Mercury turning retrograde on Thursday, this week should unfold in easy and flowing ways. Monday's Aquarius Moon could cause some electronic or communication glitches as it joins forces with Mercury, but keep in mind this is designed to get our attention and alert us to where change might be needed. (For example, if you got a new iPhone for Christmas and it's not working right, might be time to take it back to the store for an exchange!) In fact, if you do have any gifts you are looking to exchange, this is the week to take care of that as Mercury prepares to go backward, ideally Thursday or Friday under the Aries Moon. New Year's Eve and the first day of 2023 unfold under a Taurus Moon, offering us a grounded and loving position from which to kick off the start of a new year. New Year Resolutions will be a snap under this determined sign, as we prepare to greet 2023 with better health, more financial security, and tangible progress towards our new dreams. Happy New Year to everyone!

What to Do When You Draw a Tarot Blank, by Jenna Matlin

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

She was sitting at the edge of her seat looking at me expectantly. "Well?" she asked, unable to contain her excitement, "What do you see?" There was a long line of people behind her wanting a reading at this event, and they were all asking me to hurry up with their eyes. My querent had asked me, "What do you see about my love life?" And while that is often a question that single people ask, the cards were screaming "marriage" at me.

Instead of asking her if she was married, I plowed through the reading as if it was talking about her single love life. It felt like I was fighting the cards. Besides marriage, it just did not make sense. I forced the reading even though my intuition told me otherwise. As I finished, she said, "Oh, that's interesting because I am married."

Instantly, I knew she had intentionally misdirected me to test me. However, as soon as she confirmed that she was married, the reading fell right into place. The reading I had been fighting relaxed into comprehension, and I was able to give her what the cards were telling me all along. What I've learned is that when I draw a blank as a reader, something is off, and it typically isn't because I cannot read tarot!

Yet, many readers (especially newer ones) will blame themselves when a reading is not working. There are many different reasons why we are unable to make sense of what we see, and we can use the device of "drawing a blank" to be a warning sign that something else is afoot. So, instead of panicking, we can remain calm, cool, and very tarot-collected.

Why are we drawing a blank, anyway?

Misdirection: Sometimes, like in my story above, the querent may give us a question that is a trick. It is not the real question, or it is a vague question when the querent wants a more specific one but is scared to say out loud or even consciously to themselves.

Disrespect: If a querent thinks tarot is a joke, or they sit at my table inebriated, it will often cause the cards to go strange. It's almost as if my tarot deck is mad and won't help the querent unless proper respect has been given!

Chaotic Energy: If the querent is highly emotional, confused, or is thinking about two things at one time, it can often show up as a confusing card reading. Also, if the energy around the session is particularly messy—like a loud party—that can have an effect, too.

Jumping to Conclusions: Sometimes I jump to conclusions and expect the spread to talk about something that it is not talking about. This is where my ego gets in the way. If the cards show something I did not expect, then I may not see what it is trying to tell me.

I Was Triggered: Perhaps there was something about the querent or the question that triggered my own baggage. Perhaps it hit too close to home, and I got emotionally involved in a way that kept me from seeing the cards clearly.

I Am Too Close to It: We can draw a blank if we are reading for ourselves for a situation that we feel emotional about. Because we are in the thick of the situation, we can look at the cards and see the trees but not the forest. We simply do not have enough distance to see the big picture.

As you can see, there are many reasons why a tarot reading is making you go, "Huh?" and it rarely has to do with your skill as a reader! The good news is that there are many techniques that you can use to turn that confusion into some solid clarity, instead! Here's what to do when you draw a blank.

First, don't panic. Take a deep breath and slow down. If you are reading for another person, you may feel pressure to start talking right away. If you don't instantly start speaking, your querent may get anxious and begin to prod you for information: "So, what do you see?" Don't take the bait. Let them know that you are listening for impressions and to give you a second.

While you take that second, visualize above your head a glass container of clear, clean water. Focus on the clear water and breathe into it, allowing any worry or stress to fall away. While you do so, visualize yourself as asking a question and ready to receive a response without forcing it. It is important to stay as calm and centered as you can.

As you feel yourself start to settle, check in with your intuition—is anything nagging at you, no matter how implausible or strange it sounds? Is your intuition telling you that the question is off or that something is missing that you need from the querent? Be honest and tell your querent that you are sensing something off and ask whether there is anything else they need to share to clarify the reading. Ask them if they were thinking about something or someone other than the stated question. Or ask if there was something they were worried about in their lives that they did not express.

Asking for clarification as a reader is not an indication that you are a bad reader. It is an indication that you are a careful reader who is not a mind reader. Most querents will end up appreciating your transparency around your process versus trying to force something that does not feel right (and if they aren't, do you want to read for them, anyway?) If the querent reveals a question or worry that they did not express, take a look and see if the reading now makes sense. If the querent expresses no further detail or information, take a look at their emotions. Are they anxious? Do they seem afraid?

If a querent is very emotional while getting a reading, it can often influence what tarot cards show up. I liken this effect to a rainstorm on a lake: the rain is acting to mask the clarity beneath. If you find that this is the case, then you can help the querent center themselves and try again. Usually, the second try from a calmer place will make the cards regain the clarity you are used to seeing.

However, before you fold your confusing cards, try to salvage what you can by sharing what you see even if it does not make sense. As readers, we can lean into dangerous territory if we take on the idea that we have to make everything make sense. That is not how oracles work. Sometimes, we get information that will only make sense later or is meant for someone else. But if we try to make everything make perfect sense all the time at the exact moment we are reading, then we are leaning into speculation. Speculation is logic and reasoning, not a tarot reading necessarily!

When you just spit it out—when you say what you see without trying to make it all make sense—you could be far more accurate than you know in the moment. And, it is okay if your querent is still confused at the reading; they have the rest of their lives to figure out the meaning after!

Another thing you can do is take the confusion directly to your deck. If you decide to ask your deck what's going on, here is what I recommend: use your deck minus the spread currently on the table. Then, as you normally do, ask your deck, "Why is this spread confusing me?" Pull 3 cards and see what it says. Typically, you will get some information as to what is going on: whether it is you, or something happening with the querent. But, if your second reading is just as confusing, then it may be time to scrap the reading.

Scrapping the reading often feels like a cosmic, "Ask again later" scenario, and who are we to defy the Gods? If, at this point, there is still an opaque feeling to the reading and I have not figured out why, then I tend to see it as something that the Fates, the Universe, the Gods—whomever, for whatever reason, does not want to talk about. So, why would I want to go looking for trouble by asking yet again?

One thing I am constantly reminding myself and my querents is this: I am only entitled to ask the question. But, I am not entitled to how the cards wish to answer that question. I am just grateful when they do. If we expect the cards to always tell us the message, every time, in exactly the way that we want it, are we being good tarot readers or good toddlers? Who are we to demand that all tarot readings come to our beck and call? Tarot is not the servant. I am the servant to tarot. At least, that is how it works for me.

At the end of the day, once we have tried to solve every for every aspect that could be interfering with our desire for truth, we have to let it go. And, letting it go doesn't mean that we are bad readers. In fact, learning when to let go is the mark of a very good reader. So, the most important tip in all of this is that we need to be kinder to ourselves. Tarot readers are working with the magic of this indefinable something, a dance of magic and mystery. It is a wonder we get anything at all, isn't it?

The more we acknowledge that we are merely humble readers trying our best but ultimately, there are a lot of things going on above our spiritual "pay grade," the more we can get out of our way and let the cards do what they will. And as you know, they absolutely will!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

Is there any basis for the idea that spiritual change and renewal occurs every seven years? Are there any other timely cycles that govern our journeys through life? Please advise. Thank you!

Jeanne

Susyn:

According to science, the human body renews itself every seven years. This timeframe can also be applied to spiritual renewal.

There are many different cycles that govern our journeys through life, and one of the easiest ways to recognize them is by studying astrology.

To begin, letís consider the cycles that are most apparent. The months of the year, the four seasons, and birthdays can all be seen as times of change that are dictated and defined by the planets in our solar system.

When you note the physical changes that occur during these phases, you can also see how they affect you emotionally and spiritually. For example, the monthly cycles of the new and full Moons are known to have a big effect on us. The new Moon addresses beginnings, fresh starts and renewal, while the full Moon activates a cycle of release and closure. Because the Moon rules emotions, its cycles govern emotional changes.

The Sun marks the seasons of a year based on its position. We tend to live very differently in the winter than we do in the spring time, and similar changes can be seen throughout the different seasons.

Venus and Mercury create change in one-year cycles that are directly related to our passions and ideals. Awareness of what these planets are up to can help us recognize the change and renewal they create. For example, Mercury travels backwards three times a year, and during these phases, we are primed to review and change various aspects of our lives.

Depending on a particular planetís nature, when it travels through a sign connected with spiritual matters, spiritual renewal occurs. If the planet is moving through a personal development sign of the Zodiac, weíll be focused on self-care and personal growth.

The cycles of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto also affect on our lives in various times and ways. While Mars (movement) and Jupiter (expansion and education) create change and renewal in two-year cycles, the outer planets involve larger timeframes. Saturn brings renewal every eight years, while Uranus, Neptune and Pluto cycles can vary from 12 to 24 years based on their orbits.

Astrological readings are one way to keep track of which area of your life is in transformation and renewal. You can also get daily updates on what cycles are in effect through my horoscopes here at Kajama.

*****

Astrea:

When I was growing up, science taught us that our skin, hair, nails, and other parts of the body that grow and have to be maintained are renewed every seven years. Whether that's true or not, it's probably not the same when it comes to our spiritual growth because some people learn faster than others, and some just never learn. Each Path to Enlightenment is as individual as the person who walks it.

In Nature, cycles tend to be more predictable. Summer follows spring, fall follows summer, winter follows fall, and then it's spring again. Within the natural Wheel of the Year, we all have our own separate cycles, which can be much less predictable as far as time periods are concerned. One person may renew their commitment to their spiritual growth every few years, while another may do it once every ten years. Some people never realize that they're growing at all, and some just fail to grow.

As Global Warming has reduced the time between our seasons and made them more extreme as time goes by, it seems that people on the path to Enlightenment find that cycles of change have sped up as well. Perhaps we don't have the luxury of as much time as we used to, so we are trying to gain more Spiritual Knowledge in less time than ever before.

I think most of us feel more pressure to get it than we did before because the Light workers are trying to figure out how to keep the Earth from dying. At this point, renewal in seven years sounds like a big chunk of time.

Our summers are hotter. Our winters are brutal. Spring and fall come and go faster. Light workers feel the need to come up with solutions in less and less time because time is running out on us and we know it.

Humans follow the Natural Order whether we plan to do it or not, so it's smart to think that we are evolving in tandem with the Universe. Soon the Crystal and Indigo Children will come into adulthood in great numbers and be able to solve some of these problems.

Of course, each of their paths is as different as those of the other humans on the planet, so each individual has to find his or her own way at his or her own pace.

All of this comes down to my advice for you, which is to honor your own schedule regarding your own growth, and avoid measuring your progress by any sort of standardized cycle.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.