You know how some people get brilliant flashes of inspiration in the shower? My completely un-brilliant flash went like this:

By all evidence, history shows us that Tarot originated in the mid-15th century as a card game called tarocchi. Each card in the Major Arcana represented a different rule that applied to the actual game. There's a lot of discussion about whether the Tarot also hid certain pagan ideas (unlikely, since earlier decks were very medieval Christian), or was used in teaching religious allegory to kids. But as far as history suggests, Tarot became used for divination because a lot of things are used for divination: tea leaves, entrails, playing cards (a method that pre-dates Tarot cards as a game or an oracle, I believe). 

Now, this doesn't overturn Tarot's legitimacy one bit. First of all, Tarot spoke to people as a teaching tool and an oracle because it works with archetypes, very universal figures and ideas. The images were inspiring, and really that's all divination takes: taking a look at something as a lens through which you view your life and your future. You can divine using toothpicks, coins, or clouds, so long as you have a consistent meaning attached to them. The magic is in you and in the Universe. Tarot is just a very creatively inspiring tool, one that happened to link up very easily to a lot of pre-existing ideas, and became a very effective method for teaching them.

So effective, in fact, that Tarot's popularity as an oracle grew in the 1800s, when a man named Antoine Court de Gebelin was convinced that Tarot originated in Egypt and represented Egyptian mysteries. He wrote a paper alleging a lot of connections, and others picked up on it. (Scholarship was like that a lot, back then, and Egypt fever was alive and well.)  And the idea that Tarot came from Egypt, and even Atlantis, survives to today.

Now, my grand revelation? Tarot started out as a card game with a series of characters that can alter the rules of what each player is allowed to do. And amazingly, we have card games like this all the time today, mainly in the form of trading cards. Pokemon has a card game similar to this, and an American version is Magic: The Gathering. And my absolute favorite weird bit of synchronicity? A card game from Japan called Yu-Gi-Oh, where the game's fictional mythos is that it was originally played in Egypt, commanding real magickal forces, and slowly evolved into a children's game years into the future.

In some ways, Tarot is a reverse-engineered Yu-Gi-Oh - a game my now-adult brother played a lot as a kid. When I informed him of this connection, he burst out laughing. And then, after a pause, he added: "History is weird."

I had to agree.

When you're first starting out while reading Tarot cards, there's a tendency to second-guess yourself. I can still remember all the things I used to say to myself in the beginning.

"I haven't shuffled enough, that's why this card keeps reappearing." 

"There's too many reversals for this to really be accurate."

"I really need to learn to shuffle better, a card just flew out from the deck mid-way through. Now I can't possibly draw it or it's a biased reading in some way."

Here's the thing: in Tarot, there aren't really mistakes.

I'm not saying you can't give a bad reading. And not everyone's going to agree with me - I remember Dan Pelletier's "The Process" saying that once a card flies out of a deck during shuffling, "you've lost all credibility with your sitter," and I can understand exactly why he'd say so.

But I also remember The Devil practically shooting out from my hand during one shuffling. And I proceeded to lay it on the table, and ask if addiction had recently come into play for my sitter. As it turned out, her son was in prison for some of the things he'd done while on drugs. I pay attention to the cards that shoot out of my hand as additions to the reading now, and it never fails.

Repeating cards? Those are a capital-M Message for you, one you need to really grasp the meaning of when they show up. They'll haunt you across multiple decks until you really figure it out. Too many reversals? Maybe see reversals in a different light for this reading - as cards that are blocked/scattered energy, or energies you need to pay attention to.

Ask three Tarot readers and get five different answers. But the important thing here is that Tarot reflects what's going on in the world, and inside you, so it's a beautifully adaptable tool to whatever might happen. What's important is really your reaction, the connections you make. Your mistakes might tell you more about your question than a reading that's perfect, smooth sailing.

Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear your personal interpretation of events like these in the comments!

Everywhere you go, it seems like there are different Tarot readers with different styles and approaches. And there's a ton of information about the cards on the Internet, with a lot of different approaches and ideas. It's a bit easy to get caught down the rabbit hole when you're getting started.

Here are five of my favorite Tarot resources that I use over and over again, all of which are really great for beginners - but can also provide some new ground to cover for experts, too.

Aeclectic.net - If you want to review a deck before you buy it, this is place to go. There are thousands of decks sorted by categories, types, trends, and even the top-voted decks for each year. The site also has a really big, popular forum that can be overwhelming at first, but has a ton of information on pretty much everything Tarot you can think of - and takes a look at oracle and Leormand decks, too.

Facade.com - Online Tarot readings work just as well as the in-person kind, and this site offers the biggest variety of decks and spreads I know to give incredibly detailed Tarot readings. The site also provides readings for runes, I Ching, biorhythms, and more. It's easy to spend hours there!

Learntarot.com - This is one of the main sites I used to learn Tarot, and it's still one of the most comprehensive sets of free beginner lessons I know. Joan Bunning provides helpful exercises, great insight, and useful sets of keywords for each card. The only problem with this and any Tarot site is it's easy to get caught up in one author's version of keywords, and not explore the full complexity of what the Tarot has to offer. Make sure you keep things diverse!

Masqued Man's Tarot Bible - Sadly there isn't really a hub page for this awesome resource, so I've got to start you with his page for the Magician. But this site shows comparative images from hundreds of different Tarot decks, spread across the entire deck. It's great for looking before you buy, and also for comparing different ideas and symbols across the various decks, deepening your understanding of each card. (I have to confess, I'm not sure how copyright works for the images this site uses, or if it does. So if that worries you, by all means, don't visit. But it's out there, it's free, and I've found its resources make me a better reader - and more likely to buy a deck because I know I'm going to love it.)

Tarotguild.com - The Tarot Guild is the best site for Tarot professionals I know. It has tons of great podcasts, classes, and resources for both students who want to learn, and professional readers who want a boost in their businesses. There are classes exclusively on social media, which is a huge part of online Tarot these days, and there's an Endorsed Readers Program where you can work for the guild in providing readings for pay. It's taught me so much in the time I've been a member, and while there's a fee for membership, it's very reasonable. And the podcasts are all free!

Sorry I'm not really tackling individual readers here, but I wanted to keep this as more of a learning resource. What are some of your favorite Tarot sites out there? And yes, you're free to link to your own!

There are hundreds of sites out there talking about how to read Tarot, and how each reader personally sees the cards. Personally, I love them all. They enhance my own insights and style, they make me a better reader. 

But there's so much more the cards can do. Italo Calvino's book The Castle of Crossed Destinies has his characters unable to speak, telling their stories purely through Tarot images. The archetypes are so powerful, they can do a lot of speaking for us in the ways we least expect.

Here are five ways Tarot can be turned into a game or a creative tool. 


- Cast your favorite characters into roles.
Think of your favorite piece of media - TV shows, movies, books. If they could fit into Tarot cards, who would they be? My nerdy little heart loves to do this with Disney characters, imagining Dumbo as the Fool, Bambi's mother as the Empress, and Doctor Facilier as a wicked, reversed version of The Magician.

- Create a storytelling Round Robin.
You can do this alone or in a group. It's a lot like campfire stories: after shuffling, one person draws a card, and says "There once was...a great and glorious hero, who drove a fearsome Chariot." (Just for an example.) Then the next card drawn continues the story: "One day this hero came across two children, giving each other gifts." See what comes out of the story you tell!

- Have an interview.
This is especially great to do if you're writing a book. Come up with a handful of questions for a character you're writing, and see what cards you draw for each question. Or reverse it - interview one of the Major Arcana about what they have to teach you, or their philosophy on life. You may be surprised at the new depths you find.

- Expand your vision.
One deck I need to get my hands on is the "Tarot of New Vision", a deck that takes familiar images from the Rider-Waite Tarot and turns them 180 degrees, so you can see a new perspective on the card. Imagine what's happening in the cards just offscreen, or behind the figure you see. Or look at one special detail in the cards, and zero in on it. How did the Magician receive his ouroboros sash? What's in the boats the figure in the Two of Wands is looking at? Write a journal entry or a story about it!

The best part of all this: while you use these games and story ideas to have fun, you're also learning to get closer to the cards, and be a better reader! See what new insights open up for you.

Day 2 of the challenge, and I'm coming in today juuust under the wire, but today has been exhausting. It is roasting out here in Boca Raton, and just a few hours of errands in the heat left me feeling wiped out. But I'm here in all my night owl glory now, hard at work!

The card featured here is The Fool from the Morgan-Greer deck, one of my favorite beginner-type decks. The Fool's always been about the Hero's Journey and the quest through life to me, so he seemed only appropriate to include today.

Like I said yesterday, I've been working on something really big, which is why I've gone so quiet - but I'm really excited about it, so i want to give a little preview to you all. I think I'm really creating something unique here, and if you're a course junkie like I am, you're going to feel like you've had a really awesome, transformative experience. 

It's called "Tarot Journeys".

Imagine taking a journey through the Major Arcana, card by card, working with the archetypical figures of each card as your mentors. While you explore the in-depth meanings of these cards, you'll get stories, quotes, prompts, Tarot spreads, exercises, and meditations to connect you to each card and establish their places in your life. I want to really show how Tarot can be used as a meditative tool, teaching you the lessons that will make you blossom and thrive.

In the first e-course in a series of four, Mentors and Magic Wands, I envision you:

• Climbing the Fool's cliff face and talk with him about taking the leap. 
  
• Learning the power of your personal elemental tools with the Magician.
• Developing your intuition with the High Priestess.
• Rediscovering your creativity with the Empress.
• Learning how to own your personal power with the Emperor.
• Finding rituals that support you and breaking harmful traditions with the Heirophant.

Okay, now the plug: the course isn't ready yet. This is a really big project, and my goal is to have everything developed and ready within the next two months. But, if you sign up to my list (and get my awesome free e-book, "Five Ways to Connect With Your Tarot Deck"), you'll get a first look at Tarot Journeys. News about its development through my newsletters, a first look when it premieres, a discount for early subscribers, and a look at an accompanying coaching package that'll really enhance your experience.

I am really, really excited about this, and as I'm putting the material together, I keep finding new ways to really bring home the themes of each card and put together a totally new, unique experience. It's going to be fantastic.

Let me know what you think of it in the comments! Once again, thanks so much to everyone from the Ultimate Blog Challenge for stopping by. I really loved getting to know some of you yesterday, and I hope we'll all be good friends friends by the time the month is up!

Hello, loyal readers, readers-to-be, and everyone who's taking a look from the Ultimate Blog Challenge, which I'm super excited about and is beginning today!

A lot of this blog has been an experimental process up to now - testing different styles and formats, things to talk about, ways to share my thoughts and my skills. I'm taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month at the fabulous Amethyst Mahoney's suggestion, with the goal of developing writing that's crisper, clearer, and more enjoyable to everyone looking to learn about Tarot and themselves. 

A little bit about me: my name is Kim DeCina, and I'm a Tarot reader and life coach living in sunny South Florida. I help spiritual seekers and creative types to illuminate the path to their best possible selves, using Tarot cards as the guide. That's why I've chosen to call my work and business "Mirror Moon Tarot" - because to me, Tarot is both a reflective and illuminating process.

I've been a bit quiet this month, but that's because I've been hard at work - getting some new skills through training so I can add it to my Masters in Social Work, and put together some awesome life coaching sessions for you all. And I've also been working on writing a brand new project I'm super excited about. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.

Now, to the prettiness:

So a huge hello to my new readers.  I love everyone who stops by, and I'd love to get to know you all better! Leave a comment at the bottom with a little about you, how you found me, saying hi, a question, whatever. I promise I'll get back to each and every one of you!

The Sun is one of my favorite cards, because it's pure joy. Simple, uncomplicated. Your inner light is burning like a torch, and the whole world is ahead of you. 
It's no wonder there's often children in the imagery (like here, in the fascinating 78 Doors Tarot), because rarely do we have that attitude of "I can do anything" once we've grown up. 

Yes, that's partly because children think they can do anything without the planning, focus, and learning from past mistakes. But it's partly because after a certain age, we don't really get the room.

We do a lot of things because we "have to." Because that's how it's done - jobs that bore us but bring in the money, holidays with family we hate, wearing uncomfortable shoes because they give us a certain "image." We're told we need to do these things to be succesful or  to have respect. 

And pursuing our hobbies and loves? Taking a vacation? Actually, gasp, making money? That's selfish. It means you aren't serving other people, and what they need. You ought to be ashamed. 

Somewhere along the way, our society decided that misery was a sign of responsibility. That we couldn't follow our bliss without sacrificing everyone else along the way. And we couldn't be more wrong. The bliss we pursue, and the stability of the people and things we love, are completely connected.

There's a scene in the fabulous satire "Good Omens", where the demon Crowley talks about designing an overly-complicated highway system. He says that all he needs is some backed-up traffic. Because that means a thousand people go home stressed out and angry. They take it out on their spouse or significant other. Their spouse takes it out on their kids. The kids yell at the dog. 

When we're dissatisfied with our lives, an aura of stress and frustration spreads out, ripples in a pond. And those little pebbles of anxiety do more damage than one person's bad decisions ever could. It means that our whole world is the result of our collective self-love. The way you feel, the story you tell about your life, sets the stage for the whole world. Being happy is one of the most unselfish things you can do.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not shaming someone who has, say, clinical depression.  But it's all the more important, when you need to make it one day at a time, to imagine something you want even a little better. Because at our highest and at our lowest, a little goes a long way.

I'm not saying to neglect everyone else's feelings. No man is an island. How happy will you be until the people you love are happy too? Make them a part of your dreams - but there needs to be room for you.

Imagine the happiest possible future for yourself. What does that look like? And more importantly: why? Even if you imagine yourself zoned out on the couch watching TV all day, what about that appeals to you? 

A love of entertainment? Take that love, study it, and turn it into a part-time stint as a critic. 

A lack of responsibility? That's harder.  How about this: craft a world where responsibility feels that effortless. 

The more you listen to your "inner light" as a possible reality, instead of a hypothetical, the more you find out about yourself. The more you can craft yourself into the best possible person you can be, with the best possible life for you. That's our real job. Our constant learning, growing, and blossoming is what we'll need when we're six, sixty, or six hundred. It's not a destination, it's a journey. 

 So let's get to work.

When I first entered online business, it didn't take me long to discover the "guru train". Everyone has a free hour-long call telling you how you absolutely need their coaching. Everyone has the top five mistakes you can make if you do things the hard way. 

There's nothing wrong with that. Marketing is marketing - I care if what you're selling works. And so many of their insights have been smart and valuable and helped me along. 

But there's so much of it.  I learned quickly that if I spent all my time learning, and none of it doing, then my time was worth absolutely nothing. So how to pick the right course for me, on the budget I have?

Enter Goddess Leonie. You might have seen her around: colorful hand-lettered banners, showing serene-looking art of women? Or a picture of the lady herself with a smile as huge as the sun? I've seen a thousand business courses out there. But something about Leonie's just tugged at me. With her creativity and her spirit, I knew her course was the right one to choose, and I haven't been disappointed.

Let's get this out of the way: yes, I'm affiliated with Leonie. But I wouldn't be affiliated with anything if it wasn't 1000% fantastic. And in just a few weeks, Leonie's course has been helping me move forward in my business with confidence, creativity, and real, insightful ideas! 

The course is designed so you can leap into it at any stage, with awesome worksheets about ideas for your business, ways to advertise, the practical end of setting things up, and how to care for yourself in the process. Leonie's life-affirming spirit gives real confidence and ease to the whole thing, but it's all working for her: she's making six figures at her own business, living her dreams.

But the best part of Leonie's course is what you get in the process. Leonie gives her entire set of classes away, for just $99 a year. Courses on creativity and self-care, meditations and chakra healing guides, and of course the business course - it's all there! And you get the Goddess Circle, an awesome forum with hundreds of creative, inspiring women working through the courses and sharing their experiences. The support you'll get and the connections you'll make is worth the cost alone.

I've picked now to tell you about this because Leonie is actually raising her rates on July 3rd. You'll still get an incredible amount of content for one fee all year, but the prices are going to be raised to $199. Which is still more than your money's worth for everything she offers - but you can avoid that extra $100! If you enter the Goddess Circle before July 3rd, you're still going to be paying at the earlier rate, kind of like an Early Bird Special. 

And honestly, guys, that's why I'm picking right this second to talk about why the Goddess Circle is amazing - because now's the time to act - but Leonie's work is incredible any day of the year. It is so, so worth it to check her out, join the Circle, and access the incredible body of work she has to offer.

Just click the Business Goddess image in this blog post, or the image on my sidebar - the one that says 'Click to Discover the Goddess In You'. And I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

If you ask witchy types what a "Fluffy Bunny" is, you'll get a hundred different answers.

They talk about white light, and the people who hate them are just cynical jerks. They talk about white light, and judge anyone who shows anger or pain. They judge spiritual paths that are too "scary". They're too accepting of just about anything in their spiritual path, without doing the proper research and work. They trust authors that are inaccurate - no one can agree on which authors, mind you, or just what the inaccuracies are .  

Really, the only way I made peace with my fear of being a "fluffy bunny" was when I ignored the conversation altogether. Historical accuracy was something I could gauge, so I checked if that was up to snuff, and the rest? Whatever works for you.  And it all seemed to, so why should I care?

But a few weeks ago, a conversation popped up about Tarot that brought the whole idea into my thoughts again. The heated debate went: Tarot has been used to teach spiritual mysteries, and has been part of a lot of magickal ceremonies. Now, it's mostly used for "fortune-telling". Has Tarot been turned into a fluffy New-Agey oracle? Has the "real" meaning of things been corrupted somehow?  

I mainly rolled my eyes and ignored the whole thing, as more people slowly broke in: intuitive Tarot isn't as "meaningful." Just teaching the symbolism and magickal meanings aren't as "accurate." And my favorite: we all needed to "admit" that intuition wasn't real, was just an element of our imagination, that there's no such thing as psychic development. Only then can we grow spiritually.

And I thought: Seriously, guys?  Seriously? You just talked about the names of God and the angelic correspondences to the Tree of Life, and you're an authority on whether something is made up or not? We work with the Platonic elements and robes and magic wands. We discuss the meaning of 78 pieces of artwork printed on card stock. Most people think we're ridiculous.

And even if you don't, and you're the most mainstream Judeo-Christian out there: someone still thinks you're just talking to imaginary friends.

The human mind is so vast, so varied, so full of thoughts and ideas. Patterns and symbols and stories, they're part of how we learn and grow. That's what Tarot is all about: seeing what story the cards tell you, and using it to inform your life and the choices you make. So unless you are flat-out inventing stuff, or appropriating cultures and passing it off as "authentic", your spiritual life?  None of my business.

If you want to develop as a psychic, a witch, a Tarot reader, or even just a spiritual person, there are three whole things you have to do:

- Learn as much about what you want to know as possible.
- Practice it.
- Don't be an ass to people who do it differently.

Tarot's a giant spiritual metaphor, a psychic springboard, a set of journaling prompts, the Book of Life, a storytelling kit, a card game, and a set of 78 pieces of artwork. But really, it's a tool. Your magickal, fantastic mind does the work. And that's as it should be. 


How do you Tarot?  And what are your thoughts about fuzzy little lagomorphs and the hardasses who love them?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here's one more look at something we're told not to do all the time that, if you go just a little deeper, may help you understand more about the world - and be more uniquely yourself in the process!

Listen to bad advice (but you don't have to take it!)

Here's a little nugget of wisdom I remembered from Anthropology 101: Everything has a purpose.

That doesn't mean it's a good purpose, or a purpose that's going to help everyone. A lot of the time, what helps one group take power leaves another group oppressed and left in the dust. Get-rich-quick schemes leave you with a burst financial bubble, and corrupt politicians break their promises and betray the people who put them in power.

But here's the thing: you know that phrase "follow the money"? Even if there's no money to follow, follow the "why". Someone is benefitting from all this, whether it's for quick money, more followers, or even just to feel good about themselves. And the people who take the bad advice? What are they getting? A sense of security? An outlet for their anger?  

Sometimes there's an even bigger picture: what's happening in the lives of these people, the schemers and bullies of the world, that keeps them from stepping up and just putting good ideas in those places? Were they the victims of bad systems once before? Are there bad ideas in place that are keeping them mean or deceitful, because they think that's what the world has to really be like - instead of stepping up and changing their own behavior to something that works?

In the Tarot, the Devil card isn't actually about any real figure. You can believe in the Devil, or you can think he's a mythical figure, but the Devil card is about the things that bind us - often by our own choice. He's the addiction, the defeating self-talk, the bad habits, the mental chains we wear. He's what happens when we start listening to bad advice, instead of listening to our higher selves.  

The Devil from the Ceremonial Magick Tarot, by Lon Duquette, is a great illustration of this.  Even if you don't know much about ceremonial magick (and I'm still learning myself!), take look at the crows on  either side of his face.  They remind me a lot of double talk, and negative self-talk, and all the chatter in our lives from all angles.  We may be smart enough to discount it, but we don't really think about what to do instead.

So use this exercise for yourself.  You know the things you tell yourself late at night? The stuff that the musical 'title of show' so brilliantly calls the "vampires", the soul-sucking fear you're not good or creative or brave enough? Don't take that advice, but look at it for a second.  

Where is it coming from? If you follow it, what will it help? Will it make you feel safer? More comfortable? Once you find out why you're telling yourself to just quit and go home, you can burst through the block with the good advice - the source of truth.

Don't take the bad advice. Don't even take it to heart. But if you look at all the bad advice out there, you'll get a lot closer to the good advice that will serve you well. Deep down, you know the difference.