Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Seduced by Darkness available for purchase

Seduced by Darkness is now available at eTreasures Publishing.

Blurb:

Geneva Chilton, warned against human contact, betrays her family in order to be close to the world she longs to join. Intrigued by an artist’s work and his ability to capture life on canvas, Geneva steps too close to the boundaries and discovers love, but what price will she have to pay?

Lewis Hunt, intrigued by Geneva’s beauty and determined to capture it on canvas, discovers he needs more. Lewis needs the real woman behind the beauty. His course leads him to her, but also to danger. How hard is he willing to fight for a woman of darkness, a vampire?

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Trouble connecting?

Are you having trouble connecting during your tarot reading? Do the cards not feel right? Does the reading feel completely off? Do you feel your mind wondering elsewhere while shuffling, rather than on the question at hand?

One of the most important aspects of performing a reading is to have a connection, so what's wrong?

First, you should look at the cards.
  • Is it a new deck? You may need more time with them before you feel the right connection. Or, the deck may not be for you. Using the right deck is important, and the choice of decks will vary from one reader to another. Decks are not equal. One reader will find one deck useful, while another may find no connection at all.
  • Is it a deck you use often? The cards may need to be cleansed. The quickest way to do this is to move the cards through the smoke of burning incense.
Next, look at yourself. If you are stressed, the energies will corrupt your reading. There are many ways to improve your own energy, which in turn will improve your reading ability.
  • Burn incense or candles.
  • Use totems. (an object to better connect yourself with the situation of the reading)
  • Use crystals. Placing crystals near you will absorb negativity. Different crystals specialize in different areas.
  • Meditate. Take a few moments to free your mind and ground yourself.
  • Relax. Take a walk. Read from your favorite book. Anything to give your mind a moments break.
Finally, look at your environment.
  • Make yourself comfortable. Your work area should suit you, whether it's a chair and desk, a bed, the floor, etc. Most readings take a while, the more comfortable you are, the less distraction.
  • Remove the clutter. Is your area large enough for your spread? Having to move items around as you lay your cards out is a huge distraction.
Happy Tarot Reading!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Can you have too many tarot decks?

Can you have too many tarot decks?

I ask myself this question as I order two more decks: Crystal Visions Tarot and Tea Leaf Fortune Cards.

Sounds like a trick question to me. In my defense, the second deck is fortune cards.

Seriously, you can't use them all at once, but you can learn from each deck. Also, you will find special connections with certain cards. You can always gift the ones you decide you don't bond with.

My list of deck grows longer with each year, but my two main decks remain Legacy of the Divine and Mystic Dreamer Tarot. With these two decks, I found an automatic connection. I do however enjoy all of my decks, and have favorite cards in each.

What decks do you own? Do you have a favorite? Do you use them all?


Saturday, November 5, 2011

Technical Difficulties

It seems I've managed to mess up both my blogs. The images are gone, replaced by icky black boxes. I guess when I moved ownership over to different email addresses and deleted the old account, I managed to do away with whatever links Picasa Web Albums to the blogs.

Have patience, this may take quite a while, but I will get it all back in order.

Thanks,

Cher

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Story Creating with the Tarot

Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti
Tarot cards are tools. The jobs are numerous.

For writers, the tarot can help activate creative muscle, ignite a story idea.

One layout is the beginning, middle, and end. The cards you see are an example of this layout. All stories contain these three parts and one card represents each.

Here is an example tarot reading for creating a story.

Beginning - 21 The World (reversed) - This card represents a reluctance to let go. One is unable to reach the goal, because of unfinished business.

The main character of this story has unfinished business to attend to before moving forward.

Middle - 7 The Chariot - This card represents the need to balance opposing forces to move forward.

So, let's say the main character is struggling with the need to complete something from the past and the need to complete a current project.

End - Knight of Wands - This Knight is all about change - physical, emotional, spiritual. In the image, you notice two dragons fighting. Could this be the opposing forces at the climax of the story?

The main character, unable to balance the forces, is faced with the clashing of the two, which leaves him a changed man.

Story Overview - The main character is stuck in the past, unable to move forward. The only solution is to find balance, but he can't. In the end, the choice is made for him as the forces collide. He must gain control of these forces before it's too late.

Could these opposing forces be two women? An ex-wife, who he still cares for, and his current wife, who he loves but only married to find closure to his failed marriage.

This is how stories begin, with just a spark.

Give this a try and see what creative thoughts you can ignite.