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An Excerpt from Tarot by the Moon by Victoria Constantino

Human beings have been attempting to peer beyond the veil for time immemorial. Foretelling one’s future through cards, or cartomancy, is one of many methods of divination. Divination itself is defined as “the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers” and alternately, as “unusual insight” and “intuitive perception.” That is the dictionary definition. A further look reveals the word divine implied in the prefix divin-, which comes from the Latin divinus, meaning “of a god”; in the suffix -ation is implied the bringing forth (-ation indicates the product or result of action); therefore, the word, at its essence, means “to bring forth the divine.” Who better than the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful divine to connect with in our asking of what the future may bring?

Whether you use the tarot with the intention of tapping into the divine, connecting with your own divinity, working with guides, angels, and high-vibrational allies, or if your goals are to provide guidance for practical, everyday questions and to further your own self-knowledge and growth, there is something in tarot for everyone.

Appreciators of cartomancy might argue it is one of the most beloved of all divination methods for its incisive pictorial history, which is distilled into archetypal renderings of the human experience. The oldest decks we are currently aware of date from the 15th century, but it’s only in the last few hundred years that it has gained traction in common use. The 21st century has seen a dramatic upsurge in the number of new tarot and oracle decks, coinciding with tarot’s rise in popularity. While the tarot is a type of oracle, which is simply a means of predicting the future, oracle cards are structured differently, as they are typically not beholden to suits and not separated into the Major and Minor Arcana.

Divination itself is classed into four categories—pattern divination, trance divination, omen divination, and symbol divination; tarot finds its place in the latter category. Pattern divination is sometimes defined as a means of producing patterns in an artificial way to determine the outcome of future events, such as reading coffee grounds or interpreting the shapes of wax poured into water. However, the interpretation of patterns does not have to be artificially derived. Gazing at the leaves in a tree or the arrangement of stones on the ground to spot patterns of significance is a natural means of pattern divination. Trance divination infers what is to come through messages received through the physical senses in a trance or dream state. Omen divination is based on the idea that naturally occurring signs, such as a sudden peal of thunder or planetary alignments, have some bearing on what is to come or offer information about the state of things. Symbol divination uses a fixed system to analyze the outcome of a situation or provide information about a specific question. Because the I Ching and tarot are based on fixed symbols, they fall under the umbrella of symbol divination.

Among the many methods of divination are tasseography, or the reading of tea leaves, palm reading or palmistry, the use of runes and pendulums, scrying with water and black mirrors, and numerology, to name but a few. What they all have in common is the use of intuition as an interpretive method. Tapping into the intuition is more art than science, and is rewarded by practice. Like a muscle, the more you put it to use, the stronger it becomes.

That being said, you don’t have to be psychic to be a good tarot reader, or have a direct channel to the divine (although it certainly doesn’t hurt). Of primary importance is the energy with which you approach a reading. In other words, when you are open to receiving the messages that come through, whether in the form of cards, tea leaves, or anything else, you can tap into your chosen method of divination to assess predicted outcomes and deliver a more useful and accurate interpretation.

When we consider, not only our own energy but also the energy of the moon, its documented effects on our planet (and on our lives), and tarot as an energetic conduit, then things get really interesting. Each moon phase has its own energy. The new moon, for instance, is a time of setting intentions and planting seeds for what we want to manifest in the cycle culminating with the full moon, which brings the lunar energy to its peak. In pagan belief systems, the triple goddess is represented in the moon phases: new (maiden), full (mother), and waning (crone). These primal energies correspond with the phases of our lives. Just as we often plant seeds of intention during the new moon and harvest during the full moon, we release and clear energies during the waning moon. You can think of tarot as your energetic companion for every season of your life, just as the moon is always in the sky, in one form or another.

Victoria Constantino is a longtime tarot practitioner and seeker of visionary wisdom. She spent more than a decade as an editor and publisher of literary fiction and nonfiction, and was the managing editor for a prominent women’s lifestyle magazine. She left the field of publishing to focus full-time on her writing and spiritual practice. Her previous publications include poetry and fiction, and instructional guides for a business publisher. She attended the University of Oxford and holds a Master’s degree in writing. She is the author of Tarot by the Moon from Llewellyn.

Visit Victoria's website at victoriaconstantino.com

Purchase Tarot by the Moon at Llewellyn or Amazon.

My former lover and I were both born in 1987. He committed suicide in May of last year because of his lover betraying him. A few days ago, he appeared in my dream, saying that he'll come back to me but in another body. Is it possible to reunite with a past lover by having him walk into the body of someone who is ready to leave this world, and take that body over? (This would of course happen with the permission of the soul that is leaving the body.) I will be waiting for your reply!

V.

Susyn:

What your former lover proposes in your dream is an interesting idea, but I do not believe it to be probable. It is very rare that a spirit exiting the body will give another spirit permission to enter it, so while I suppose it's possible, it's highly unlikely.

There are spirits who will take over another's body without their permission. These entities are often referred to as discarnates; they are ghosts who have left their earthly bodies through death and refuse to move into the light. You would not want him to return under these circumstances, as he would have to steal someone else's body to do so!

Your former lover was involved with someone else when he took his own life, so it seems a bit strange that he would commit to come back to you. Suicide victims often become earthbound either because they really did not mean to kill themselves or were emotionally distraught when they did so, which certainly seems to be the case here.

Sometimes it is hard for us to accept that a loved one has passed no matter what the circumstances of their death might have been. We try hard to imagine a way around death, but of course, there isn't one. Even if this dream was an actual visitation from your former lover and his intentions were good, he may have promised you he would do something he can't actually do. I would take this dream as a sign that he is able to connect with you from the spirit world, but I would not expect him to return to you in a different body.

Watch for more signs from your former lover. Because he was able to reach out to you in his dreams, he may also try to connect with you by other means. Spirits can make clocks stop or start, turn television channels, knock things over and evoke memories through objects, songs or animals that bring them to mind. Given the way your former lover's life ended, his emotional energy field is still disturbed. I recommend that you pray for peace and acceptance for him, and send him positive thoughts and affirmations.

If you receive any more messages that imply he is trying to return to you, you may want to contact a psychic channeler to get to the heart of the matter. You'll want someone who is able to receive clear messages and help you communicate directly with your ex-lover. Your psychic may also feel that your lover needs to be directed towards the light so he can complete his journey in the spirit world, in which case the psychic should be able to help him move forward to his next big adventure.

*****

Oceania:

Your proposition reminds me of the film Meet Joe Black. When the angel of death yearns to experience life as a human being, he takes over the body of someone who has just died in a traffic accident. (I think Brad Pitt does a great job of portraying two different souls in the same body.) While anything is possible in this universe of endless possibilities, the most likely explanation for your dream is that you're still grieving for your ex and have now entered the bargaining stage, where wish-fulfillment dreams are quite common.

During bargaining, we manufacture scenarios that will magically undo our loss. Some are really far-fetched. For example, maybe our loved one had to escape from some bad guys, so they cleverly faked their own death and will return as soon as it's safe to do so. The reason we love such stories despite their unlikely themes is because they satisfy the bargainer in us. Soap operas are rife with tales of presumed-dead loved ones who return in miraculous manners.

In both Cast Away (a film starring Tom Hanks from the year 2000) and Pericles (a play written by Shakespeare around 1608,) a spouse is presumed dead at sea but actually washes ashore and stays alive for years until fate reunites them with their loved ones. In an equally unlikely scenario, you have conjured up the notion that your ex will return by borrowing a body from someone who has just died.

I think it would help your healing process to remember that we tend to idealize our exes. We feel the bittersweet pain of missing their good qualities and delightful quirks, while we sweep their character defects right under the rug. The fact is that you and your ex broke up for a reason. He moved on to someone else, and when that lover betrayed him, he did not return to you. All of this suggests the two of you were no more compatible than he and his most recent lover turned out to be.

Your ex committed suicide, which means he likely suffered from a mood disorder like bipolar disease or clinical depression. Those who suffer from these serious, challenging mental illnesses do not typically make good partners unless they are firmly committed to treatment that helps keep them stable.

Dwelling on reconciliation with your ex is a canny way for you to play it safe and avoid loving and losing again. You might chat with me here or meet with a live counselor to process your grief; by doing so, you'll come to know that you are equipped to endure and heal from this painful loss.

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.