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December 20 through December 26, 2021

Merry Christmas! As we count the days up to the 25th, this week should unfold without any surprises or glitches. The Cancer Moon on Monday and Tuesday will have us occupied with putting the finishing touches on any holiday plans, and making sure all is in order for the celebration ahead. The Sun will move into Capricorn on Tuesday, giving us that extra oomph! we need to complete all the tasks necessary before year's end. With the Moon skipping through Leo on Wednesday and Thursday we'll have to be careful and watch our egos! Remember that giving is more important than receiving, and that's not just limited to boxes and bows; people need to know you care, and generous messages from the heart will be worth much more than gold! Christmas Eve and Day unfold under a Virgo Moon, making it essential that you pay close attention to details and adjust expectations accordingly. We are often prone to visualizing exactly what or how things should happen on these very special days, and that can set us up for disappointment. Instead, let's all focus on the true spirit of the season and the joy that can't be wrapped up in colorful paper. Restoring our balance will be much easier under Sunday's Libra Moon, where we can all step back and appreciate the true beauty that dwells in our lives, not just on Christmas, but every day of the year!

How to Use Tarot in Your Daily Activities, by Jaymi Elford

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When most people think about tarot, they view the cards as a device to answer questions or tell the future. I get asked to read someone's cards every time I pull a deck from my bag. Did you know tarot can be used for more than just asking questions? You can sprinkle tarot into almost every activity you do in the day.

Each of the techniques I suggest here do not have to take up too much time in your life. In fact, I recommend you spend less time when you pull cards. Doing so helps prevent the inner editor from leaking in and telling you how you are doing things wrong and that your interpretations aren't good enough. Time is precious, and simple acts of insight can be as potent as ones done in longer, more formal settings.

Morning Routine
Tarot fits in perfectly as a morning intention-setting tool. You can pull your deck out after you wake up or sneak in some journaling time before you settle in to deal with work emails. Shuffle your cards, select one at random, and note the name down. Think about how the card and its meaning could affect you and the events you participate in during the day. Some readers post images of their cards on social media so others can follow along. Others jot their notes into a journal or planner.

Put the card away and go about your day. Don't force the card to remain in your mind. Let the moment soften and settle in the back of your mind. You'll be surprised how much this intention can influence the various activities in your day.

Workout Motivation
Use the cards to motivate your health and workout goals. The power of tarot numerology comes into play here. I've always had a fondness for the Strength (8) card. Gaining strength is one reason so many push themselves at a gym. I always try and select lockers with numbers that add to 8 (for example, lockers 71 and 35 are favorites).

A fun activity to do while you're on a machine is to test your knowledge of major arcana and numerical reduction skills. Most machines include a calories burned area on their displays. These numbers start at one, and as you move the number counts up. Add each individual number appearing on the screen and reduce it to a base number between 1 and 21. Can you quickly tell which card gets associated with that number? Doing this task is harder than you think when your are moving on a treadmill.

When you are finished moving, do a final reduction of those numbers at the end of your session. What card do you get? How might it have influenced your exercise session? For some reason I tend to end on The Hanged Man (12), The Empress (3), or even The Chariot (7).

A Trusty Coworker
Bring your cards into work. This can be done with physical cards, or discreetly with one of the many smartphone tarot apps available. I keep the Shadowscapes Tarot and Beautiful Tarot apps on my phone.

Use the cards to do readings as you go about your daily routine. Need some quick advice on a new project? Draw a card and see what action it gives you. Dealing with a coworker and need advice? Draw two cards on the subject and see what is going on with them and how you can resolve the conflict. Using tarot at work this way gives you the ability to receive some instant advice on dealing with tough questions without needing a full-on reading.

As a freelance writer, I tend to use the cards to interview the potential partnerships with working with various clients. My readings also lend me valuable insights I may not have seen or thought about while I work on short and long-form projects.

A Boost of Energy
Need a self-esteem boost? Have an important deal at which you want to succeed? Look through your tarot deck, or tarot card app, for an image that represents the energy you need to have. You can tuck the card into your pocket or wallet as a reminder of how capable you are. If you are using an app to achieve this purpose, you can always set the background image on your phone, or computer.

Then, when you are ready to propose a raise, or seal the deal, take the card out. Let it remind you how strong and important you are. Let its energy fill you with a confidence boost and go get what you desire!

Creativity Partner
Take your crafting skills to the next level with tarot. Keeping a deck at hand while I feel creative is one of my favorite way to incorporate cards into my daily routines. Try your hand at designing a deck with your drawing, painting, or college skills. Sew "clothing" (aka cases) for your cards. Torn between two different hobbies? Why not let tarot help you decide? You can create a spread to help determine the right path to take each step of the project. Use the cards as prompt generators to get your inner muse psyched for your next crafting session.

As a writer, I'm constantly thinking of new article ideas, fiction worlds, and ways to bring my views to others. Tarot is, hands down, my creativity partner. Use the cards to help you craft well-rounded characters for your fiction. Draw three cards and you have an instant beginning, middle, and end story plot. The imagery can even inspire various settings and atmospheres for your characters to run around in. Torn between two new non-fiction book ideas? Do a quick reading for each project to see which one is better for you to work on at that moment.

Keep those inner editors at bay when they try to derail your writing session. Draw a card at random, or find an image that helps you focus, and set it up against your desk. Once again, this is a good place to let your creative side free and create desktop images with digital tarot cards to help cheer you to completion. Tarot always has my back when it comes to keeping my fingers moving across the keyboard.

Bedtime Routine
Wrap up your day and get ready for tomorrow by using your deck to reflect. Take out the card you drew in the morning and look over any notes you may have written. How did the card's meaning and energies fit into the day. What new insights can you add now that the day is almost over?

Alternatively, you can draw another brand new card that contains insights for a lesson your day has gifted you. Look at the card, reflect on the day's activities. When you are ready, get your journal and write a single sentence wrap-up for the day. This exercise is especially good for those who dislike drawing cards first thing in the morning.

Shuffle the cards back into the deck. Put away then pen, journal, and deck. Turn out the light and rest peacefully to begin the day anew.

Wrapping Up
Although everyone's daily journey is unique and filled with an ever-changing palette of challenges, adding a little bit of tarot through out the day can help lighten the stress. Many people talk a lot about wanting to bring spirituality into the workplace. Integrating tarot into various moments each day can help do just this. Repetition of the activities helps build your practice and gives you a small way to invite spirit into every action you take.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019. All rights reserved.

My father has a disease - alcoholism. He has been drinking for many, many years. I love my father greatly, and believe he is a good man despite this condition. I am wondering if he will ever stop. What makes a person choose to be an alcoholic in a given lifetime? What spiritual lessons are being learned by them? What are their loved ones supposed to be learning? How do we handle the many challenges of living with and loving an addict? Thank you very much for your answer.
Maggie

Dreamchaser:

Maggie, I am so glad you asked this question. So many people's lives are touched by alcoholism or drug addiction; we need to discuss it. We need to say it out loud. So many times we keep secrets in our homes and think that no one from the outside can see. We are wrong. Everyone knows when a house is broken, and talking about it can possibly heal wounds or help someone.

The one question I am asked most in this column and in psychic readings is Why would someone choose THAT as a lesson? I have no idea why we even choose to come to live as humans on Planet Earth. I have read that we are the bravest of all souls because we DO choose to come here and learn our lessons the hard way. When there is addiction in our families, each person learns something different and personal to them.

I can only speak for myself. I learned from having an alcoholic father that I could not have someone's bad behavior as a constant in my life, and that I cannot fix anyone besides myself. I did not speak to my father for nine years. I kept trying to fix him, and I would get upset when I couldn't. I tried to be perfect so he would be happy. I would feel like a failure when he was not. The list goes on and on - you know it well. In the separation time, I learned to like myself. That was MY lesson. My brother learned something entirely different. We each have our own lessons to learn, Maggie. There is not just ONE answer.

You are a DO-er too. You want to do something. You keep thinking that there must be something you can DO to make this change. You think if you could just say the right thing, maybe he would stop drinking. Maggie, you could not be more wrong. There is NOTHING you can do to change him or the situation. You have to do for yourself and yourself alone. Until he is ready, he will not quit. It is quite possible that he will never quit. He sees his life laying in ruin and that makes him just drink more. Maggie, one of your lessons is that you cannot do anything here. You are powerless over everything except your own reactions.

Have you tried an intervention with your father? Have you gotten everyone who loves him together in one room so you all can tell him how his addictions affect you and your lives? I know of a few people who had to be shown their actions. Your father does not mean to hurt people. He is a nice man. I suggest you try to put an intervention together. Yes, he will be furious, but it just might help. There are so many that love him. Ask them to help you.

I wish you peace.

*****

Astrea:

I have some personal answers for you. Will your dad ever quit? I see him quitting a number of times over the next ten years. I honestly see him seeking help for this about a year from now, so don't give up hope. He really will begin to try to find his way because HE wants to. I see a tragedy happening in his life that is going to cause him to wake up and have a change of heart. Sometimes it takes a shock. I see hope for your dad in the coming months. Your dad has a chance to evolve away from this slavery and move towards Enlightenment, and he'll take it.

Why would your dad choose to be this way during this incarnation? In the lifetime before this one, your father did some terrible things. I can't give that information to you, but he should seek it. It would help him understand what he's trying to drown out with the alcohol. He doesn't even know why he drinks, because it's a carryover from a past life when his Spirit made some bad choices. Your dad's Spirit is so sensitive that when those past life memories and feelings start to rise, he drinks to push them down again.

As for how to deal with your dad, try compassion. Christians might suggest that you treat your dad the way you would treat Jesus if he dropped by and had too much to drink. Instead of asking yourself, What Would Jesus Do? ask yourself, What would I do for Jesus if HE was my Dad? If you're Pagan, how would you care for the Yule King if he had too much to drink? Try to find compassion. This is YOUR path to Enlightenment, too.

Addiction is a terrible problem, whether the person is addicted to drugs, alcohol or even drama. The person who suffers from the addiction sometimes has no idea what he puts his friends and family through when he is using.

You do NOT have to be victimized by anyone's addiction, your dad's included. Of course you love him; he's your Daddy! I know you want to help him through this, but you're dealing with something that only he can control.

Fortunately, you have a lot of options to help you deal with your dad's problem. Give Alanon a try. They have meetings available wherever there is a chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, and they are listed in the white pages of your telephone book. Even if you don't like it the first time, try more than one meeting. They can give you lots of information about some of the ways you can try to help your dad, but most of all, being around other people who are facing the same challenge will help you deal with all of this in a more positive way.

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.