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June 28 through July 4, 2021

Whew! After all the chaos in the heavens last week, we can regroup for the next seven days, as there are no astrological events on the agenda. The Moon will glide through Pisces Monday through Wednesday, bringing out our spiritual and reflective sides. We may not get much done the first three days of the week, but what we process internally will be essential before moving forward. We can get back to work as the Moon cruises through action-oriented Aries and most likely, get double completed than anything we attempted at the start of the week, making up for lost time at record speed! For those of us living in the United States, we'll celebrate Independence day under a Taurus Moon, and unlike last year, should be free to join in holiday events with loved ones freely. For the rest of the globe, this is a great weekend to tackle those household repairs or engage In activities that challenge us on a physical as well as mental level. All in all, a good week to rebalance, first spiritually and then physically.

Working with Crystals, Pendulums, and Oracle Decks
An Excerpt from Medium Mentor by MaryAnn DiMarco

There are many types of tools that people use to develop intuition.

Crystals are quite high on this list. Many of my students have a strong affinity for crystals — sometimes even specific types of crystals — long before they come to work with me. Personally, I often find myself reaching for a crystal when I’m feeling out of sorts or I need some grounding. I rarely hang on to crystals for long, because I’m so often prompted to give them away; this makes it hard to really build a collection! But they can be very useful, especially in the short term.

Different types of crystals do different things. There’s a whole area of study around what this or that crystal does — selenite cleans, for instance, while obsidian absorbs. If you’re interested in that, or if you feel called to deepen your knowledge and add crystal work to your offerings for others, you will find a range of resources — such as books, workshops, and online and in-person classes — available to you.

There’s a common saying about crystals: we don’t choose the crystal; the crystal chooses us. For our purposes, whether you end up diving into the expansive world of crystals or not, this saying has a lot to offer. It can be very useful to experiment with feeling that pull toward a specific crystal and intuiting how the energy it holds might help. I’m not saying you’ll be objectively right — perhaps you’ll intuit something that is exactly the opposite of what someone else might say, which is precisely why you’re only working on yourself at this stage. This exploration helps psychic development because the process of checking in with your intuitive knowing and divining what is best in each individual moment is instructive.

While I respect those who are well studied in crystals, I am not one of them myself. There’s little rhyme or reason to the way I use crystals. I generally gravitate toward smaller crystals that I can hold. I sometimes put one on the table when I feel some negative energy around, with the intention that the negative energy be absorbed there instead of in my body. I’ll put one in my pocket or my purse before going out, pulling it out casually in a public space and holding it in my hand. When I’m feeling particularly stimulated or like I’ve done too many readings, I’ll keep a crystal in my pocket even when I’m at home. It doesn’t happen frequently, but when I’m a little off or need extra energy, I always know I can grab a crystal to help me feel better.

Crystals can be very grounding, especially when there’s a lot of psychic energy around or the vibration just feels busy. Many of my students have this experience, too; the right crystal at the right moment can stabilize our frequency, despite the other vibrations present, helping us to stay in our center as conduits of light.

Some crystals have been cut into a symmetrical shape and hung on a chain. This is called a pendulum. Pendulums are for divination. They’re tools that help us answer questions. This tradition dates way back and is not limited to the crystal pendulums that are popular today. In my childhood, I witnessed older generations dangling a needle from thread in front of a pregnant belly to divine the sex of the baby within.

With a pendulum, different patterns of movement — such as swinging front to back or side to side, or circling in one direction or another — are associated with different meanings. Many of my students have gained a lot from the process of sitting with the pendulum, because it gives them a clear experience of what their intuition feels like. For instance, we can ask the pendulum factual questions — usually, ones with a verifiable yes-or-no answer — to see how it swings. That way, we’ll have a better sense of how it feels to land on a right answer, which will come in handy when we need to ask questions whose answers cannot be confirmed.

Oracle cards are also great for yes-or-no questions, though they work for open-ended questions as well. I love working with these decks! Sometimes, on those rare occasions I bring them into a reading, I don’t even ask a question; I just pick a card for someone (or have them pick a card, if it’s an in-person reading) and use it as a springboard for the rest of the reading. It provides a central theme, a way to organize the input coming my way. Near the end of this chapter, I have exact, step-by-step instructions for how to do this on your own.

My dear friend Gabrielle Bernstein’s Super Attractor deck is one of my favorites — I just love the fresh, bright energy Gabby brings — and I also love the whimsical, multilayered artwork on Kyle Gray’s cards. There are many great decks out there, so I encourage you to shop around. I highly recommend that if you’re buying a deck, and especially if it’s your first, you don’t necessarily go for the most famous, the “best” according to someone else, or the one someone else once used on you. Instead, focus on the way the deck makes you feel. Which deck pulls you? Which catches your eye, your attention, your energy? Follow that pull. Consider the possibility that, like crystals, the decks are choosing you. As you work with identifying and responding to this intuitive pull, flexing it like a muscle, you’ll get better at using it to pick an individual card from your deck, too.

Working with cards is a major avenue of study, and most decks come with a book or other material to help you sort through their meanings. Your intuition plays a large role as well. I’ve been told (though I never saw her do it) that my grandmother used to read playing cards like Tarot — she was operating on intuition alone. In fact, playing cards and Tarot come from the same cultural roots. It’s absolutely fine if you don’t know what you’re doing and are relying entirely on intuitive hits, but be humble, and don’t get overly serious about it — remember, this is exploratory, and the main goal is to figure out how your intuition signals you and how to respond.

Finally, we come back to the actual Tarot. I never did learn to use the Tarot properly. But if this is your calling, please go study it! My student Madeline has been working with Tarot for years, and she probably has loads to teach me at this point about the ins and outs of what each card means and how the different positions in a spread work together. At this point, Madeline is incredibly proficient at Tarot. In terms of accumulating knowledge, she’s done her work. Yet I continue to instruct her about how to translate that through her own intuitive knowing, because that’s well within my sphere of knowledge. She knows the literal interpretation of each card, as well as its placement, and I help her understand the message in between — the reason she’s drawing the card, specifically, right now. This is purely psychic work, and it piggybacks on the more intellectual study Madeline does with her Tarot teacher. The Tarot signals something, and Madeline fleshes it out with her imagination, bringing herself into the work and expanding upon the Tarot as she provides readings for others as a psychic medium. If you’re like Madeline, your guides will tell you, and if so, I highly encourage you to bolster your intuitive work with this tool by seeking out the more practical knowledge of qualified Tarot teachers.

MaryAnn DiMarco is the author of Medium Mentor: 10 Powerful Techniques to Awaken Divine Guidance for Yourself and Others.  An internationally recognized psychic medium, healer, and spiritual teacher, her work has been featured in media outlets like The New York Times, The Dr. Oz Show, Women’s Health, Elle, and Redbook. Visit her online at www.MaryAnnDiMarco.com.

Excerpted from the book from Medium Mentor: 10 Powerful Techniques to Awaken Divine Guidance for Yourself and Others. Copyright ©2022 by MaryAnn DiMarco. Printed with permission from New World Library.

I recently had an experience that I can't consciously remember. I'm told that a friend drove me to the ER of our local hospital. Earlier I supposedly seemed very confused and disoriented when she called on the phone; I didn't even know who she was. I spent a couple of hours or more in the ER getting all sorts of tests like CAT scans to see if I'd had a stroke or what had happened. It turns out I had hyponatremia, and I had to spend a couple of days in the hospital until my electrolytes returned to normal. (I'd been drinking too much water and restricting the salt in my diet.) Anyway, I'm told I answered questions while in the ER and even flirted with the docs, but I don't remember any of that. I gave them my social security number, age, etc., yet I don't remember doing any of this! I don't even remember being taken to the ER in the first place! I came to several hours later in my hospital room, hooked up to a saline solution. I'm worried that this could happen again, and have been upping the sea salt in my diet and lowering my liquid intake. How was I able to function supposedly lucidly and yet not be mentally there? Where did the real me go during this time? This has never happened to me before, and I sure hope it never will again!

Kay

Susyn:

Hyponatremia is not a well known condition, though it happens often to people who are out of balance in terms of their salt and water intake. It is a very serious condition that can result in confusion, loss of memory and hallucinations. Because it causes swelling in the cells of the body (including the brain cells), hyponatremia can cause disorientation and blackouts.

In this state, our inhibitions and sense of propriety fall to the wayside, hence your flirtation with the doctors and your revelation of private information. The real you did not go away; in fact, we might say that it came out like never before. Though we have all learned to maintain certain boundaries, medical conditions and drugs can cause us to forget all about that. As it is our intellect that monitors our thoughts and actions, your condition caused you to bypass learned behaviors to let it all hang out.

Unsettling events like this can affect us on a deep spiritual level. What you experienced has now shifted your awareness and brought you to a deeper understanding of yourself. Although revealing private information to the medical staff and acting inappropriately with the doctors may not be something you would normally do, with your reasoning mind out of the way, your innocent inner child could come out to play. Now that it has been let out, you have learned some important lessons.

First of all, it sounds like you have new awareness of what it means to take good care of your health. I feel this physical imbalance mirrors a spiritual imbalance within you. I'm sure that spending a few days in a hospital made you more aware of your tendency to go too far in trying to be responsible, and encouraged you to reach for a more balanced, moderate approach.

When we focus on one aspect of our lives this intently, it actually allows other areas of our lives to be transformed without us being aware of it. I often say that while we are focusing all of our faculties on addressing a serious problem, the Universe will start rearranging the furniture behind our backs, so I wouldn't be surprised if you begin to notice other changes in the coming months.

Life threatening experiences tend to spark rapid spiritual awakening. For example, just as would be true if you had had a near death experience, you may experience a sudden spiritual awakening or new and unusual psychic phenomena. Life may suddenly seem more vibrant, and you may begin to make big changes in your life or get involved in activities you never considered before.

Though I'm sure you never want to go through an experience like this again, the gifts that come from having gone through it once will be immeasurable. Above all, I hope you decide to let your inner child come out and play more often!

*****

Oceania:

The real you was there all along. The reason you don't remember everything is because your awareness was impaired, much as if you'd had too much to drink. Alcoholics have blackouts and can't remember what they said or did the night before; you experienced much the same thing! Understanding what happened to you physically will be reassuring. Understanding the distress you still feel today will provide a lesson in trust that will last a lifetime.

Every cell in your body has a membrane that allows water to pass in or out. Sodium (salt) can't pass through it. Water migrates in or out of cells until the concentration of sodium is equal on both sides. When you drank tons of water and cut out salt, the concentration of sodium in your bloodstream dropped. As our bodies are always seeking balance, water moved into your cells to dilute the sodium inside, which caused the cells to swell up like tiny water balloons.

Most cells swell with ease, but brain cells are confined by the skull. Swollen brain cells increase cranial pressure and lead to water intoxication with symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication including personality changes, confusion and loss of awareness. Athletes are at risk for this condition because they lose salt through sweating and consume large quantities of liquid to quench their thirst. They can avoid what you suffered by drinking sports drinks instead of water.

At the hospital, sodium was added to your bloodstream, which prompted water to move back out of your cells. Your brain swelling lessened and normal consciousness returned. Even though you've corrected your diet, a year later you're still worried this might happen again. This tells me that what you fear most is being out of control.

It is tricky to find the right balance between surrender and control. This is reflected in the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Some people surrender too much and passively accept anything and everything, while others don't surrender enough and struggle to control everything. I'm thinking you lean towards that end of the spectrum.

Just as your body needs to balance water and salt, your spirit needs to balance surrender and control. To do this, you must learn to make conscious choices whenever you can, but when you find yourself in a situation beyond your control, choose to gracefully surrender to a HIGHER power.

You were not conscious during this event but your observant friend and the hospital staff provided you with loving care. You can use this profound experience to learn to relax and trust that if you do YOUR part in life, the rest will be taken care of!

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.