Sasha Graham’s Tarot Blog – Bad Romance Spread inspired by Lady Gaga

Bad Romance Tarot Spread

Gaga-oh-la-la! A peek at Lady Gaga’s addictive song and video reveals obsessive love. Sigh, we’ve all been there . . .

Are you currently obsessed with a lover who is no good for you?

Are you obsessing over someone you can’t have?

Are you in a long term, commited relationship but harbor a dangerous crush on someone else?

If you answered yes, this spread is for you.

Shuffle your Tarot cards while thinking seriously about the situation at hand. When you feel the cards are mixed, select six cards and place in front of you. Look below to discover what each card stands for and glean some information about what you can do . . .

Card 1 – Your Bad Romance as It Stands.

Card 2 – What Should I Do?

Card 3 – How Long Will it Last?

Card 4 – What You are in Danger of Losing.

Card 5 – How to Temper Your Obsession.

Card 6 – What You Take Away from the Situation.

Good luck little monsters 🙂

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – New Year, New Decade Tarot Spread

Icy December wind is shaking this old farmhouse to its foundations, the weather matching my mood . . . one minute sun peeks from behind a cloud, next minute, the sky spits snow. Mountain weather is as unpredictable as the emotions that play across my six-year old daughter’s face. The bizarre week suspending between Christmas and New Years Eve always makes me edgy and nervous, like the Death Tarot card. This week feels like a vague netherworld, stop motion animation, a moment’s pause before the wheels of time continue their relentless chugging and churning.

To combat my restlessness, or perhaps in a desperate act of self-preservation, I’ve created this New Years Tarot Spread/Exercise/Contemplation.

You will need:

The Wheel of Fortune

The Ten of Swords, Pentacles, Wands and Cups

The Four Aces

Eight Post It Notes or Small Pieces of Paper

Your Remaining Tarot Deck

In this spread you will be looking back at your last decade, picking four new goals for the approaching decade, and flipping cards on how to achieve those goals.

The Wheel of Fortune card comes to mind as the calendar flies to 2010, The Wheel of Fortune being the 10th Major Arcana card.

Stop and become very still. You may just hear the whirring and spinning of the wheel of time. Is that the Wheel of Fortune ball dropping amongst the revelers in Times Square at midnight? The Wheel reminds us of the trajectory of physical time upon our bodies and lives. Wasn’t it only yesterday you eagerly ripped and tore open the Christmas presents? Now, you calmly sip coffee while watching little ones tear through gifts. Thanks to the Wheel of Fortune, our souls remain eternal but the face reflected in the mirror changes . . . with the wrinkles, hopefully, comes wisdom.

1. Put The Wheel of Fortune in the center of your spread.

Let it remind you that there is a constant energy moving your life forward. Let the Wheel energy bring you luck and good things.

2. Place each Ten card at the corner of the Wheel of Fortune.

Tens in Tarot, on a very basic level, represent the end of a cycle.Think back to the beginning of this decade. Recall where you celebrated the Millennium. I was at a bonfire in Vermont and certain every computer would crash, plunging the modern world into chaos and darkness. What were you doing? Who you were at the turn of the Millennium? Were you you but I a little different? Were you a student? Working a different job? Living in a different place?

3. Write your decade’s accomplishments.

Take a moment to think of the events and accomplishments of the past ten years in the context of the four Tarot suits. Gazing at the Ten of Cups think about the events that have occurred in your emotional, artistic, romantic and family life. Write them on a post it and place on the card. Do the same with the rest of the Tens.

Gazing at the Ten of Pentacles think of the financial issues you have overcome, properties and things bought, changes within your body. Write these and place on top of a card.

Gazing at the Ten of Wands and think of where the passions, fire and energy of the last ten years have brought you. Ponder your career, your evolving sensuality, your increase or decrease of spirituality.

Gazing at the Ten of Swords and think of the hard decisions you’ve made, strong actions you’ve taken. You may even ponder some things you are sorry you have done. Write them down and place on card.

4. Take out the four Aces and place each Ace on the outer edge of the Tens.

5. New Goals:

On each Ace make a Post It note of something new or a goal you would like to invite into your life in the context of the suit. For instance, upon the Ace of Pentacles you may place a specific financial goal. Upon the Ace of Swords you may write the resolution to an issue that has been troubling you. Upon the Ace of Cups you may write the goal of a trip you expect would bring great happiness. Upon the Ace of Wands you may write an idea for your business. Sky is the limit here.

6. Shuffle your remaining cards.

7. Pull one random card for each Ace.

This is your advice card. The card you pull will help successfully bring this goal into your life in the new decade. Write down the first piece of advice this card evokes in you. Carry this advice with you into the New Year.

Good luck, a happy, cozy New Year to you all and always remember, the magic of the future rests in your hands!

Tarot Treasures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

On October 14th, I organized a very special Tarot event. A small group of Tarotists, scholar Robert Place and I were swept behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to glimpse at their Tarot collection.

Robert Place, creator of the newly released, “Vampire Tarot” http://thealchemicalegg.com/VampTarot.html led us through the Met’s collection. The collection included three sheets of Italian woodcut cards. These sheets are, essentially, uncut sheets of Tarot cards made for widespread distribution in the 16th Century. We looked at a deck of the Tarot of Marseilles from the 18th Century and a 16th Century deck of Minchiate cards. The Minchiate cards are a close relative of Tarot, which contains 40 trump cards! They include Trumps for every sign of the zodiac, the elements and additional virtues. After Robert’s lecture and close inspection of these items, the curators let us look through a box of random cards, including fantastic fortune telling cards from the 18th Century. Sadly, photos were not permitted but it was a glorious afternoon!

I gave each attendee a gift bag that included a Tarot activity and Tarot spread I’d created based on our day. I would like to share this with you, dear Tarot lover . . .

Tarot Treasures at The Met

On this blustery, windswept October month we venture into The Metropolitan Museum, one of the world’s great institutions, to peek at Tarot’s past. Art collections, more than artifacts, paint on canvas, sculpted clay . . . are treasures bestowed on us from those who have gone before. More than a mere psychic impression, the artist leaves behind a tangible piece of psyche, point of view, lesson, and experience. Don’t believe me? Wander through an echoing gallery near closing time. Feel the energy reverberating from the canvases.

Message from the Artist Activity

Armed with this knowledge, we may freely converse with Van Gogh, Matisse or Picasso. I challenge you to take your Tarot deck and pick a painting. Sit before it, quietly observing, for at least fifteen minutes. Focus only on the painting. When you feel ready, randomly pick a Tarot card. This card holds a message for you from the artist. What are they whispering to you?

Secrets and Passages Spread

The Print Study room at the Met is a hidden space, not available to the general public. Today you were whisked behind the scenes. Secret passages are available to Tarot readers on a daily basis because a Tarotist is constantly piercing the veil into their subconscious, into other worlds, into murkiness, so we can illuminate what was once muddled and dark.

Secrets lie scattered around us like crunchy autumn leaves. A secret, after all, is only something hidden from knowledge or view. We need only acknowledge them. Once you recognize a fact or thing, it is a secret no longer . . .

Let’s use the metaphor of today’s museum trip to discover a hidden passage, a secret hiding within our own psyche. The secret you uncover may be predictive or it may be a new way of experiencing your reality.

Shuffle your deck while acknowledging there are worlds of possibility you are not yet aware of.

Select five cards to answer the following questions.

Place the cards face down, turning them over as you answer each question.

1. What secret must be revealed to me?

2. How do I integrate this secret into my life?

3. What can I do now that I know this?

4. How will this secret help me resolve conflicts?

5. What will happen know that I know this?

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – The Haunted Castle Spread

Breaking Into Haunted Castle Spread

This past weekend, during the height of summer, I planned a Tarot Slumber Party Weekend for some Tarot friends. The highlight of our gathering was a visit an abandoned old castle, pictured above. The stone mansion, built around the turn of the century, is nestled into the Catskill Mountains and is currently owned by a group of rogue Freemasons.

Our trip was a success! It was exciting, a bit scary and fascinating. The only ghosts we encountered were spirits of teenagers past who’d used the castle as a party spot. Exploring the turrets, peeling rooms with great ornate fireplaces and old hallways we made a pact to stick together. After all, the first rule of a horror movie – don’t split up.

We ended the day by venturing to an old Catskill resort that was abandoned about 11 years ago. There it stood, room keys scattered, hotel rooms left in tact, swimming pools full of old lounge chairs. To stand amidst the shattered glass one could faintly hear the echo of summers past, the clinking of champagne flutes, laughter, dancing . . .

What haunted all of us was the fact that the castle and the resort, once so beautiful, were now abandoned. Left for nature, left for vandals and left for dead. It was no accident when I pulled a Tarot card at the castle, I pulled the Death card. Then again, Tarot cards are never accidental.

It stands as a greater metaphor for our lives. We can look at ourselves to see what we have abandoned. Say, we loved writing poetry as a teenager and can’t find the time to write as an adult. Perhaps, we got angry at a friend and decided to abandon the relationship. A quick survey of our lives shows there are many things we’ve let slip by the wayside. The structures are still lingering, still waiting. Will we put our attention to them again? What is worth resurrecting?

I created this Tarot spread, so we could use our excursion as a metaphor for something greater. You can play around with this spread any time. Don’t feel the need to plan a madcap adventure to do this spread. Then again, maybe it’s time you created a little devilish fun for yourself . . .

Haunted Castle Spread

Pull one card to answer each question below:

1.    What sort of adventures should I embrace?

2.    What authority issues do I struggle against?

3.    What ghosts am I haunted by?

4.    What is to be discovered in my darkness?

5.    What lessons lie within my castle?

6.    What is worth dusting off and resurrecting in my life?

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – The Shamrock Spread and the Three’s of Tarot

three-of-cups  three-of-swords1  three-of-wands  three-of-pentacles

Green people are stumbling around New York City with beers hidden in brown paper bags. St. Patrick’s Day must be upon us . . . A million questions race through my mind. I wonder what this booze fest is all about anyway? What are the roots of St. Paddy’s? Will I accidentally step in pile of puke?

I called up my sensible Irish friend, Jillian Dougherty. Jillian grew up in Ireland. I listened to her soft Irish lilt as she said, “I’ll give ya the short version Sasha. Saint Patrick was a sheepherder. Whilst out with the sheep, he got to be very religious and spiritual. Probably all that time in nature.  Becoming a devout Catholic in England, Patrick went back to Ireland and converted all the Pagans (who were living like the American Indians) to Christianity. Then, for good measure, banned all snakes in Ireland.” I suppose killing off all the snakes was meant to banish evil?

I asked Jillian what was behind the symbolism of the Shamrock, “Oh, the Shamrock is a three leaf clover – not a four leaf like many people think. It is an allegory for the Cross. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

Wow! She mentioned the Shamrock as the Cross and I thought about the power of a triad and the number Three and how it all relates to Tarot. Father, Son Holy Ghost/Mother, Maiden, Crone/Mind, Body, Spirit/Three Pillars of the Tree of Life.

I teach my Tarot students that all Threes in Tarot suggest creativity. Three is the result, the offspring, of the Twos that have come before. The Empress, who represents complete and utter creativity, is numbered Three.

Think about a creative project you are or will be embarking on. The Shamrock Spread will tap into and examine your inner creative process.

 

     3

 

1         2     

 

    4.

 

1. Your conception of creative work (passive).

2. The actions you take (active).

3. The result of your creative efforts (the child, offspring).

4. A negative aspect you can expel, like St Patty did with the snakes. What hinders your creative process? What can you get rid of?

 


Take out all the Threes in your Tarot deck. What do they have in common? How are they different?

Notice the difference between the Three of Cups and the Three of Swords?  Why do you think this is?

Notice the difference between the Three of Wands and the Three of Pentacles?

Why do you think these are so different?

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day – Friday the 13th Tarot Spread

Sasha Graham’s Friday the 13th Tarot Spread

18-the-moon

Friday brings us our second Friday the 13th in a row (remember we just had one in February). A full moon shines mysterious energy upon us Wednesday, March 11th so be on the lookout for some weird, wild power rolling and roaming throughout your week.

In the spirit of Friday the 13th, I’ve created a little Tarot Spread you can do by the light of a candle or two . . .

Let’s take a peek at some superstition surrounding the number Thirteen and Friday:

– Phrase “Baker’s Dozen” created to avoid saying number Thirteen out loud.

– 80% of high-rise buildings have no floor numbered Thirteen – they skip it.

– Most airports skip the 13th gate.

– In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12 while the 13th was believed to be the Devil.

– The Tarot Deck’s 13th card is Death.

– Fear of Friday the Thirteenth is called paraskavedekatriaphobia.

– Fear of the number Thirteen is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Are you friggin kiddin a phobia!

– According to numerology, the number twelve considered completeness while number Thirteen is a restless, squirmy number.

– Friday considered unlucky for some because Jesus crucified on Friday.

– Since reference in “The Canterbury Tales”, Friday considered unlucky day to begin new ventures.

Using this lore, we’ll turn it into a helpful spread and examine some odd and interesting things about you. The four questions come from reducing the number Thirteen to four. 1 + 3 = 4.

Good luck my intuitive lovlies . . .


Sasha Graham’s Friday the Thirteenth Spread

Pull one Tarot card for each question below:

1. What, like the number 13, is restless and squirmy inside yourself?

2. What can be done to sooth your restlessness?

3. Many people avoid what they don’t understand. What do I have the power to face right now, at this moment? What can no longer be avoided?

4. What can I focus on to change my luck for the better?

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – The Recession Spread and Random Acts of Optimism.

09-the-hermit

*recession (ri-sesh-uhn) – The act of receding or withdrawing.

A dear client sent an email this morning asking when I might fix the economy. A tongue in cheek question, yet, one not taken lightly. How could I, a Tarot Card Reader, fix the economy?

A reporter phoned recently and inquired, “What impact is the financial crisis having on the questions your clients are asking you as a Tarot Card Reader?” Certainly, the crisis is reflected in client questions. Tarot acts as a mirror first and foremost. And people don’t usually book appointments with Tarot Readers when their lives are looking bright and sunny.

Tarot Card Reading offers solutions, answers and pathways. I always strive to put myself to the Tarot Test. What is the Tarot Test? My Tarot Test is built upon the theory that people come to Tarot Readers in an effort to gain insight, guidance, and knowledge of future events to help themselves. If I use my skills to help others, I’d better damn well use Tarot to help myself. Otherwise, I’d be one big hypocrite. And no one likes a hypocrite. Besides, what good’s an oracle if you don’t listen to it?

Here is how I’m using Tarot to help weather the current crisis.

I’m asking questions!

Reading Tarot, the true power resides in the questions you ask. Ask better questions. Get better results. It’s as simple as that.

What does recession mean?

It means to recede or withdraw.

Who withdraws in the world of Tarot?

The Hermit. The Hermit withdraws and journeys within himself and gains greater wisdom. Once, wisdom is gained, The Hermit emerges and stands on a mountaintop, shining his newfound knowledge for all those below to see. The Hermit is a beacon.

The recession is an opportunity to become a beacon for those around us. That is, if we are willing to take a journey inwards.

A good friend offered a marvelous piece of advice back in November when I got frightened by all the recession talk. Elizabeth Genco Purvis said, “Sasha, if everyone else is shrinking and pulling back don’t you think you can help heal the world by pushing forward?” Hmmm, that sounds like a very good question to me.

How do I expand?

Elizabeth didn’t mean go shopping and spend money, as George Junior urged us all to do a couple years back. She meant take what you do with for a living, what you do with passion and expand it! Extend it. Don’t shrink your biz back. Expand your passion in the face of recession. I took her advice and wouldn’t you know it? I had a season in which I had more clients and booked more parties than ever before!

In taking Elizabeth’s advice I began teaching Tarot classes. Empowering people with the tools to read their own Tarot cards. This is infinitely more helpful to the world than just telling clients what I see in the cards.

How can a recession be helpful?

The true gift of being a poor child is that I know to the core of my bones, as long as I have my health and my family’s health, I will be okay. I’ve had nothing. I’ve eaten the welfare cheese. I was moved from house, to house, to house. I’ve been told “No!” a million times over. I understand that a country house, divine Manhattan lunches and trips abroad are all very, very fortunate icing on the cake. But if you scrape off the icing, what lies beneath is pretty good cake. In my case, vanilla! What flavor is your cake?

I cursed my childhood at the time. I look back as an adult ever so thankfully. You see, recessions hold good, true and valuable lessons.

When will the recession stop?

Common sense dictates, like the Big Bang, everything that recedes will eventually expand again. The solutions you come up during your journey inward will make your expansion that much better.

How can I fix the economy?

We can all fix it.

We can begin by ask ourselves the right questions and then act accordingly. We can arrive at our answers in a way that is healthy, authentic and true. This is how the world will be come a better place. When this financial crisis gets tucked away into the history books, perhaps, we will look back and say, “I learned something.”

Here’s a recession spread to try at home. Lay ten cards in a row and read left to right. One card for each question.

Recession Spread

  1. What do I have that needs protection?
  2. How can I best protect it while expanding forward?
  3. How can I attract more money?
  4. What good will come from the turmoil?
  5. What is the most important thing to remember through the ups and downs?
  6. How can I expand in a time of recession?
  7. What wisdom do I gain when I withdraw?
  8. What is the most unbelievable, exciting change that occurs as a result of the turmoil?
  9. How can I stay balanced and optimistic?
  10. How can I help others around me?

 

What is a Random Act of Optimism?

An act where you behave in defiance of all the doom, gloom and fear that is running wild. A specific, optimistic act. Example – I’m going with my five-year-old to open a bank account in her name this afternoon. We’ll empty her piggy banks and chore money right into an account, paving the way for more money to replace it!

PS – Thanks to my Tarot students who helped me come up with some of the questions!

 

 

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – The Visconti Spread

morgan_librarysforzahermit

 

The marvelous thing about New York City is that hidden gems await you if you know where to look . . .

One of my favorite under the radar spots in New York is The Pierpont Morgan Library, the home and private library of financier J.P. Morgan.

I adore tracing the footsteps of the robber barons of the 19th Century, imagining that I am one! You’ll find me strolling through Central Park pretending it my private family grounds. You may spot me looking approvingly at the celestial works above Grand Central Station, as if to tell the artists they’ve carried out my plans to perfection!

Delusions of grandeur yes – but that is why living in the city is so marvelous. I can venture into The Frick and pretend that the Rembrandt’s painting, teasing me with light and shadow, has been in my family for generations . . .

On Friday, December 12th, I arranged for a group of Tarot lovers to visit The Pierpont Morgan Library for a private viewing of the oldest Tarot deck in existence, The Visconti-Sforza Tarot. An intimate and extraordinary afternoon! The curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, William Voelkle, guided us through the Hogwart like museum  (see pic above) for a tour, showed us a secret passage, into a private room, wowed us with an Egyptian Book of the Dead and proceeded pull out seven cards from the deck including: The Magician, The Chariot, The Hermit, The Queen of Swords, and The Hanged Man!

I created the following Tarot spread in honor of our very special afternoon.

Try it at home and see if the ghosts of Tarot past might inform the ghosts of your very own future!

The Visconti Tarot Spread

December 12th, 2008

The Visconti deck is the oldest known Tarot deck on record. The surviving originals are spread between The Pierpont Morgan Library (35 cards), the Carrara Academy of Bergamo (26 cards) and Colleioni family of Bergamo (13 cards).

Among the originals, four cards remain missing . . .

The Devil

The Tower

3 of Swords

Knight of Pentacles

Today we peeked into Tarot’s past. Now is an opportunity to peek into your psyche.

Let the mysterious missing Visconti cards give us inspiration for this spread. We will take the issues suggested by the missing Visconti cards and let those issues create our questions.

Pull a random Tarot card to answer each question. Enjoy!

1.    Devil issues – How you can invite more daring, delicious, devilish fun into your life?

 

2.      Tower issues – What inside you can be released in order to reach your authentic, fabulous self?

 

3.       Three of Swords issues – What you can cut out of your life in 2009 that no longer aids you?

 

4.  Knight of Pentacles issues – A plan you should think about putting into action in 2009 . . .

 

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – The Five Senses Tarot Spread

The Five Senses Tarot Spread

Tis the Halloween season!

There is no better time than right now to start honing your tarot reading skills. I’ve developed a spread to help you do just that.

I discovered a fabulous exercise in a book once (I believe it was in “How to Be a Wicked Witch” by Patricia Telesco). She explains that a great way to become more perceptive in the world is to practice sharpening your five senses. Take one week to work on each sense. Start withyour sense of sight – see further, see things sharply, examine the scope of what your eyes take in. Use the next week to work on your sense of smell – notice the scents around you, focus on how food smells before you dig in etc.

Using Tarot, we search for extra information and it is through our senses that we make our way through this world. Use this spread in a nurturing way and make sure to answer the questions. 

You may lay the cards out any way you like. One Tarot card for each sense. And yes – I’ve included the 6th sense at the end!

1. Smell

Associated with the Root (1st) Chakra – self-preservation, heredity, vitality and identification with the physical body. Smell is a very distinct quality and can evoke intense emotion. How you bring the world inside of yourself and physicalize things. What you have inherited, your strengths.

How can you take better care of yourself?

 2. Taste

 Associated with the Sacral (2nd) Chakra – self-gratification, sexual fulfillment and nurturing. Your tastes are what intrigues you, your likes and dislikes. Your tastes can be refined and made more discriminating. This card will provide information on how you take care of yourself and how you identify with your emotional body.

How can you nurture yourself better?

3. Sight

Associated with the Solar Plexus(3rd) Chakra – Self-definition, ego identity, thoughts and will power. Your capacity to actually look at what is ahead for yourself and others, how excellent you are at interpreting what is right in front of you, and how to clear your vision so that you see what you need to.

How can you see yourself in a fresh, new light?

4. Touch

Associated with the Heart (4th) Chakra – Self-acceptance, social identity, love and peace. How you literally feel the universe, the world around you. Your emotional outlook, your general emotional state. Also, how you touch others. Touch infiltrates every inch of our body inside and out.

How can you make the world a better place?

5. Hearing

Associated with Throat (5th) Chakra – Communication and creativity. How well you listen, to yourself and to those around you. If you sit with a friend or client do you really take their needs inward or do you launch into your interpretation straight away. How can you better open up to hear that which is around you.

How can you better express yourself?

6. ****Your Sixth Sense****

How psychic you are. Your capacity to be an open channel. How much you trust your inner voice.

What can you do to hone your psychic abilities?

 

 

Sasha Graham’s Tarot Card a Day Blog – Fresh Start Spread

Fresh Start Spread

 

I don’t know about you but I love a fresh start. I’m addicted to renewal, new beginnings and a clean slate. Right now, I’m adjusting to the end of summer by getting inspired by the onslaught of exciting things that will happen this fall.

I’ll be leaving my gentle mountain countryside and diving back into the hustle and bustle of New York City! Oh, to savor New York in the fall is to be assaulted on all sides by sensory overload. Gorgeous young things grace the sidewalks in buttery leather and creamy cashmere. Central Park becomes ablaze with color. The nights become crisp, sharp and tinged with unexpected possibility!

So, if you are starting school, embarking on a new business, beginning a relationship, rethinking your wardrobe, or just looking at today as exactly what it is – an opportunity to make a fresh start. Try your hand at this Tarot spread! Enjoy the possibility.

Fresh Start Spread

1. The energy that surrounds you.

2. The lesson you have learned.

3. The lesson you will impart to others.

4. What you’re holding on to that you can release now.

5. What you’re holding on to that serves you.

6. Why you are better than ever!

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