Just the Tarot

A Closer Look at the Star Card – We Are Stardust

This post takes a closer look at The Star card in the Tarot, tracing its origins through medieval thought, astronomy, and spiritual symbolism. From ancient ideas of “ensouled” stars to today’s view of The Star as a card of guidance and renewal, this article explores how the meaning of The Star has shifted through time — and what it offers us now as a symbol of hope, healing, and inspiration.

Have you ever seen the movie Stardust? A star falls to earth, wicked witches chase her to steal her essence, and — improbably — Robert De Niro appears as a pirate captain who does the can-can in drag. It’s a wonderful, magical adult fairy tale.

Oddly enough, it also gives us a few clues about what The Star card in the Tarot is really about.

Origins of the Tarot

No one truly knows where the Tarot came from. Some intriguing hints suggest it may have roots in Egyptian Hermeticism, but there’s no hard evidence for that.

What we do know is that the first recorded Tarot decks appeared in the Italian royal courts around 1450. That makes it very old. And when we interpret the cards, we need to remember that the words and symbols meant something very different to people in the 1400s than they do to us now. The Star is a perfect example.

Modern Astronomy

When I was in the fifth grade, I spent nights in my parents’ backyard with a little Edmund Scientific telescope. Peering up at the moon and stars, I felt pure awe. Even then, though, I knew stars were “distant suns,” cousins of the one that kept me warm every day.

Today, with the Hubble telescope and modern astronomy, we know even more: trillions of stars scattered like glitter across the cosmos, being born and dying every day.

But in the 1400s, that understanding didn’t exist.

Ancient Skies and Ancient Eyes

Back then, knowledge of the stars was still rooted in Greek philosophy and medieval theology. To those eyes, stars were perfect, flawless jewels glowing in the heavens. Perfection, of course, meant divinity.

And to many, they weren’t just divine — they were alive. The “wandering stars” we now call planets were believed to move of their own volition. Movement meant life, and so they were seen as gods. That’s why their names — Mars, Venus, Jupiter — are still with us today.

Angelic Souls

In the 1400s, though, talk of pagan gods could get you burned at the stake. The compromise? Stars weren’t gods — they were “ensouled.” They were divine presences, not quite angels, but spiritual beings with enormous influence.

Astrology was deadly serious business. People genuinely believed their destinies were written in the stars. Contrary to Shakespeare’s later declaration, many in the Middle Ages were convinced their fate was determined above, not within.

Spirit Guides

So what does this mean for The Star card?

Most likely, it was originally meant to depict something very close to what we’d call a “spirit guide” today.

It’s not an angel — Tarot clearly marks angelic figures with wings. Instead, The Star suggests a subtler, quieter presence: a flow of spiritual influence and inspiration. The woman pours water upon the Earth and into the pool, symbolizing a constant infusion of energy, grace, and renewal into our lives.

The Star Today

Seen through modern eyes, The Star becomes both timeless and practical. It’s the card of healing, guidance, and hope. It invites us to trust that the universe has not abandoned us, that unseen currents are still at work.

When The Star appears in a reading, it’s like a deep breath after a storm. It reassures us that life always offers another chance to shine. Whether we call it divine presence, spirit guidance, or simply the return of hope, The Star is a promise that the light will return — and that we, too, are part of that light.

“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair – A kindle ebook available on Amazon.

Love, Limerence, and The Ace of Cups? How to Heal Obsessive Attraction with Self-Generated Love

Ever fallen in love with someone you couldn’t have? Psychologists call it “limerence,” but spiritually it’s more than just a crush. This post explores the difference between obsessive attraction and true love, why we sometimes fall for the “wrong” people, and how to heal by generating love from within. Featuring insights from psychology, past-life theory, Ram Dass, and the Ace of Cups, it’s a guide to shifting from longing to self-created wholeness.

Ace of Cups – A Tarot affirmation poster available at Synergy Studio.

Did you ever fall in love with someone you shouldn’t have? Someone who was unavailable, but you still felt intensely attracted to them?

Maybe it was your next door neighbor who was happily married. Maybe it was a co-worker and you KNEW that a work place romance would be a disaster. Hell, maybe it was your 8th grade teacher who was just SO perfect in every way.

GETTING CRUSHED

We used to call that, “getting a crush,” on someone. We meet someone and we just know that we’re supposed to be together, even though everything else is saying, “No, you’re not.”

Psychologists – as psychologists tend to do – have invented a new term for it which is, “limerence.” Here’s a definition:

“Limerence is an involuntary, intense, romantic obsession characterized by intrusive thoughts and a longing for emotional reciprocation, often leading to emotional suffering due to unmet romantic needs.”

In other words, having a crush on someone you probably shouldn’t have a crush on.

IT’S ALL PERFECTLY NATURAL

Now, this has been going on ever since the world began and, of course, it’s caused a passel of trouble. Marriages end, people lose their jobs, reputations and careers are destroyed. All in the name of love.

Which is puzzling, isn’t it? Love is supposed to be this grand, wonderful adventure that lets us soar to new heights on the wings of the person we’re in love with. So why is all of this so painful and frustrating?

THE CALM, INNER VOICE

I had a teaching dream once about spirit guides and spiritual guidance. I call them, “teaching dreams,” because they’re very lucid, very clear and they usually have to do with some issue that’s really bothering me.

The subject of this dream was, “How do I distinguish true spiritual guidance from my own desires and ego?”

And the answer was that spiritual guidance is never harsh, never critical, never ominous. It’s always gentle, loving, and kind and leaves us feeling nurtured rather than criticized or beaten up.

The same principle applies to falling in love. If it feels sweet and kind, it’s probably real love. If it involves obsessive thinking, insecurity, self-doubt, or criticism . . . hey, it may be a hell of a crush, but it ain’t love.

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?

Why do we fall in love with people who aren’t, “right,” for us?

Psychologists, philosophers and playwrights have been trying to figure that one out for hundreds of years and really haven’t made much progress.

My personal theory is that these are relationships that are, “out of time.” And I don’t mean that in the sense of, “Whoops, we’re out of time.”

Rather, what I’m talking about is old relationships from previous incarnations that have been displaced in time. The feelings are still there, but they’re no longer appropriate in their old form.

Perhaps we were married to someone or had a super, sizzling hot sexual affair with them two lifetimes ago. Because of that intense attraction, we meet them again in this lifetime.

Only – guess what? – they’re married to someone else. Or they’re our teacher or mentor. Or perhaps we’re straight, but they’re the same sex that we are.

The feelings are just as intense. The desire to be with them is just as strong. But it just ain’t happening this go-round.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Well . . . nothing, in most cases. Just observe it and sit with it. Realize that you love this person but that the love has to take a different form than romantic love.

We can feel it. We can cherish it. But we don’t have to act on it. If there’s a huge internal conflict about getting romantically or sexually involved with someone, that’s not a very good way to start out, is it?

FILL YOUR HEART WITH LOVE

Ram Dass said that we frequently mistake other people as the source of love, rather than realizing that they’re just vehicles that get us to the love.

When we’re seriously crushing on someone we shouldn’t be crushing on, we feel that as a loss, as a deficit, as if we’ve got this Grand Canyon sized hole in our hearts that only they can fill.

Fortunately, we’ve got this wonderful part of our energy systems called, “the heart chakra.” It can generate an infinite amount of love because love actually IS infinite.

We can sit down at any time or place and just meditate on love, meditate on that chakra filling up with that sweet, kind essence that is love and the feeling of not being complete immediately goes away.

IT ISN’T THEM, IT’S US

We’ve been programmed into believing that love always flows out of someone else and into us. That if someone, “out there,” doesn’t love us, we won’t get the love we need.

That’s really the source of the pain in limerence. We’re convinced that without that other person’s love, we’re just going to be miserable and unfulfilled. We can’t get to the love we want and so it hurts.

Not true.

We create our own love, in our own hearts. We receive love when we open our heart centers and intentionally, consciously fill them up.

THE ACE OF CUPS

When we look at the Ace of Cups we can see this message very clearly. The cup is our heart and the love isn’t flowing out of another person into the cup. It’s flowing straight out of the Universe. Love is everywhere. It’s a Universal energy and we just need to open ourselves to receiving it. If we occasionally receive it from another person, that’s great.

But if we don’t, that’s not a tragedy and it doesn’t need to be painful. The source of love is always in our own hearts.

The Wheel of Fortune and Flowing with these Strange Rhythms

This post explores the deeper meaning of The Wheel of Fortune Tarot card and its connection to the Kybalion’s Principle of Rhythm. Life’s ups and downs are not random but part of a greater pattern that ultimately arcs toward the positive. Discover how to maintain perspective, rise above collective fear, and navigate dark times with love, compassion, and inner strength.

Let’s face it: we’re all a little exhausted from the constant insanity in the world right now. Whether you’re right, left, or middle-of-the-bird, it can feel like we’re adrift in a sea of chaos. When it goes on long enough, we start to lose our perspective and wonder if things will ever be “normal” again.

The message of The Wheel of Fortune is that everything passes and everything changes. The people who are at the top of the wheel right now will eventually be cast down, and the people who are at the bottom will eventually be elevated again.

Life is always cyclical — and this, too, shall pass.

The Principle of Rhythm

As I discussed in my book about The Kybalion, Western Occultism calls this The Principle of Rhythm. Here in Earth School, everything is rhythmic, and we only have to open our eyes to see it.

The tides come in and then go out.

The Moon waxes and then wanes.

Life explodes into the richness of spring and then recedes into the cold bleakness of winter.

Even great nations expand and then ultimately diminish into shadows of what they once were.

Everything rises and falls — and then rises again.

The same principle applies to human beings and all our affairs. We may have a string of incredibly good luck and then a period where we can’t buy a break. We may feel joyously happy for a while and then deeply depressed and anxious before we find our way back to happiness. We may fall deeply in love with someone and then end up despising them.

The Pendulum

The Kybalion envisions this process as the pendulum of a clock. It swings to the left, and then it swings to the right. And as the Principle of Rhythm states: “The swing to the left is always equal to the swing to the right.”

Modern science recognizes this in Newton’s Third Law of Motion: “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

When we think about human life, we can see it in terms of alternating energies. We may go through incredibly negative periods — full of stress, sadness, and anxiety — only to be followed by times of great happiness, when everything seems to go our way.

We may have moments where we’re counting quarters to buy groceries, followed by periods of real abundance when the cash flows in like a river.

The collective energy of politics follows the same law – a hard swing to the right is inevitably followed by a hard swing to the left. Hatred is eventually replaced by compassion.

But It’s Not a Closed System

If that was all there was to the rhythms of life, it would be a pretty depressing scenario. It would feel like: “Okay, things are going well right now, but I can’t really enjoy it because it’s all going to turn to shit again.”

If life were nothing but good/bad/good/bad — ad infinitum — it would be the spiritual equivalent of one step forward and one step back. We’d be living, but not progressing. Stuck in an endless cycle of growth and degeneration. A closed system where nothing ever really improves.

The good news is that, as The Kybalion puts it, “nature favors the positive.” Positive energy will always overcome negative energy. Love will always be stronger than hate. Compassion will always conquer cruelty.

Put another way: yes, as long as we’re in Earth School, the pendulum will appear to move equally in both directions. The truth, though, is that it’s always arcing just a little more toward the positive — whether we can see it or not.

So What Should We Do Right Now?

We are, right now, in dark times. As Asha Nayaswami says in this wonderful video, there is demonstrable evil in the world, and some humans are acting out their darkest impulses.

So how do we deal with that? What should we do right now?

The advice of The Kybalion is to “rise above it.” We can’t control the Principle of Rhythm or the turns of the Wheel of Fortune. Those are built into the fabric of Earth School. We don’t have to be swung by the pendulum, though. We can rise above it spiritually.

What we can control is our reaction to it. We can make a conscious effort not to be swept along in the collective energies of hatred, fear, and anger. We can maintain our own little bubbles of love and compassion and keep putting out as much positive energy as we can.

As Nayaswami says, that doesn’t mean we become spiritual doormats. It doesn’t mean we avoid confronting evil when we encounter it. It means we confront it with truth, with as much gentleness and understanding as we can muster, and that we refuse to join it in any way, shape, or form.

Perspective

Above all, it means maintaining perspective. Keep your eyes on the horizon, not just on the dirt road full of potholes. Remember that the pendulum will swing back in the opposite direction.

When it does, life will not only be positive again — it will be more positive. People will learn from these experiences, and they’ll use that knowledge to build a better world.

We just have to be patient… and wait for the wheel to turn.

The Hierophant Card, Spirituality, and That Time That Ram Dass Got Conned

In this candid exploration of The Hierophant Tarot card, I unpack both the light and shadow sides of spiritual authority. From my own rocky history with organized religion to cautionary tales of gurus gone wrong, this post looks at how The Hierophant can represent both guidance and manipulation. Learn how to spot the difference between a true spiritual teacher and a false one, and why, in the end, your own connection to the Sacred should always be at the center.

The Hierophant Card from the Waite Tarot Deck

I’ve always had a hostile feeling toward The Hierophant card. I was raised in the old, Latin, fundamentalist Catholic Church, and like many a recovering Catholic, the mere sight of a priest, pope, or prelate is enough to make me start hissing and spitting.

The image of the Hierophant sitting on his golden throne while tonsured followers bow before him is a perfect example of what I don’t like about organized religion. It’s not the Sacred Divine that’s central to the image—it’s the priest. The priest is the intermediary you have to go through to get to the Sacred.

This setup isn’t limited to Catholicism, of course. We find it in all religions. There are countless priests, rabbis, pastors, vicars, imams, and gurus who claim to hold the Key to the Kingdom—and you’ve got to drop them a little sugar before they’ll let you see it.

Religion Versus Spirituality

“I’m more spiritual than religious.”

We’ve all heard that one—so often, in fact, it’s become almost a cliché in New Age circles. In very simple terms, religions claim to hold knowledge from God/dess—usually in the form of a book or oral teachings—and you have to pay someone (priest, rabbi, guru, etc.) to interpret it for you.

Spirituality, on the other hand, involves direct knowledge of the Sacred through personal meditation, taking psychedelic drugs, or having some other form of mystical insight. You don’t need to pay anyone to interpret it because you’re the one having the experience.

In Tarot terms, that’s the polarity between The High Priestess and The Hierophant: The High Priestess represents direct spiritual experience, while The Hierophant represents organized religion.

The Good and the Bad Faces of The Hierophant

I recently had a discussion with another Tarot reader who seemed mildly shocked by my open hostility to The Hierophant. I could have jumped right in with thousands of examples: pedophile priests, pastors who are sleeping with members of their flocks, imams and rabbis calling for each other’s destruction.

Organized religion makes that all too easy, right? There really are a lot of creepy critters living under that rock.

But I held off and listened to her. Her point was that The Hierophant can also represent the spiritual teacher who is genuinely a spiritual teacher. Examples might include yoga teachers, meditation guides, or instructors at temples and spiritual retreats.

And yes, I suppose that includes priests and pastors who sincerely try to teach compassion, love, and charity.

There are plenty of people who don’t know how to even begin their spiritual journey, much less reach the destination. For them, spiritual “instructors” can be a vital step on the ladder.

Still… be very, very careful.

The Guru Who Got Conned by a Guru

I’ve long been a fan of Ram Dass. Maybe it’s because he was a fellow Aries and I understood him on that level. Maybe it was his gentle, self-deprecating humor. Maybe it was because about 80% of what he said was solid truth.

If I were to name a “good” spiritual instructor, he’d be near the top of my list.

Despite all of that, he wrote an astounding article in a 1976 edition of Yoga Journal outlining how he had been thoroughly and totally conned by another guru named Joya.

This was years after receiving his own spiritual transmission from his original guru in India. Despite that grounding, he stumbled right into Joya’s web. Within months, he was having sex with her, convinced she was channeling Indian goddesses, and buying her gold bracelets and rings to “protect her energy.”

He bought it—hook, line, and sinker.

Add to that the drunken sexual abuses of Chögyam Trungpa, the murders and kidnappings that evolved out of the Hari Krishna movement, and, of course, the horrors of the Bhagwan Rajneesh compound in Oregon, and you begin to get the picture.

Even the “good” face of The Hierophant can turn bad. No one following these leaders woke up and thought, “Hey, I’d really like to find a guru who’s going to rip me off, sexually abuse me, and get me involved in criminal activities.”

Who’s in the Center?

We can actually learn a lot just by looking at The Hierophant card.

A. The pope figure is in the center. If the spiritual teaching you’re receiving revolves around a particular person—if that person’s existence is central to the teaching—you’ve got a false teacher.

B. The figure is being worshipped. Unless your teacher can levitate six feet into the air and float around the room, don’t buy the idea that there’s something “divine” about them. Even then, check for wires. Real teachers may have siddhis—extraordinary spiritual powers—but they don’t flaunt them, expect worship, or claim to be gods or goddesses.

C. The figure sits on a throne wearing a golden crown. There’s a reason people contrast the spiritual with the material. Real spiritual teachers don’t hoard treasures. As the old country song asked, “Would Jesus wear a Rolex?”

Um… no. He wouldn’t.

Teachers Are Stepping Stones

If you’re involved in a religious practice—whether Tibetan Buddhism or American Christianity—and you feel it’s making you a better person, more power to you.

But remember: we are meant to evolve beyond teachers. We absorb what we need from them and then move on to the next plateau. Organized religion can be a stepping stone at the start of the journey, but it’s not the destination.

And no… I still don’t like The Hierophant.

The Empress and Remembering Creativity

We’re all born creative—but somewhere along the way, we forget. This post explores how to reconnect with your natural creative spark by nurturing it gently, playfully, and without judgment. Centered around the Empress Tarot card and the affirmation “Nurture Creativity,” this is a soulful guide to reclaiming your artistic joy, silencing your inner critics, and remembering who you really are.

*A tarot affirmation poster available at* *Synergy Studio*

Nurture Creativity: A Message from The Empress

We are born creative. That’s not poetry—it’s biology. The moment a child is given space, they draw in the dirt, sing nonsense songs, build forts out of chairs and blankets. As Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

Substitute the word artist with creative and the truth holds. It’s not just painters or poets or musicians who are creative—it’s gardeners and cooks and problem-solvers and dreamers. Creativity is our birthright. The trouble is, somewhere along the way, we forget that.

That’s why when I created the affirmation poster for The Empress, I chose the words: “Nurture Creativity.” She’s not just a symbol of beauty or abundance—she is the Earth Mother of inspiration itself. Her power doesn’t lie in striving or perfection. It lies in growing, tending, and trusting.

So What Happened?

If we’re born creative, why do we have to learn how to nurture it?

Because somewhere along the line, that light was dimmed.

It happens early—often by people who love us. Well-meaning parents may tell their children, “You can’t make a living as an artist,” or “You should do something more practical.” The message is subtle but clear: creativity is fine for hobbies, but not for life.

Teachers, too, can unwittingly squash that spark. A child who colors outside the lines, who doesn’t draw a tree the “right” way, or who writes odd little poems that don’t rhyme may be corrected, redirected, or even shamed. In the name of order, achievement, and conformity, imagination is often sacrificed.

Then there’s the school system itself, which tends to reward left-brain thinking—math, logic, memorization—while cutting funding for art, music, poetry, and play. Creative expression is often treated as an “extra” instead of a core part of human development.

Add to that a culture that idolizes productivity over process, perfection over exploration, and we end up with generations of adults who believe they are not creative simply because they were never given the space—or the encouragement—to grow.

But that creativity didn’t vanish. It just went quiet.

The First Step Back

The first step in being creative is remembering that you already are.

You were born that way. Creativity isn’t something you have to earn, or prove, or qualify for—it’s part of your wiring. Despite all the conditioning you received growing up, despite what teachers, parents, or critics may have said, your creativity never left you.

It’s not gone. It’s just… misplaced.

Think of it like losing your car keys. You don’t panic because they’ve stopped existing—you just start retracing your steps. You check your pockets, your coat, the kitchen counter, under the couch cushion. And eventually, you find them right where you left them. Creativity is like that: it’s tucked into your daydreams, your doodles, your half-finished journal entries and quiet longings. It’s waiting for you to remember.

You’re not starting from scratch. You’re simply coming home. Here are some simple steps to get you there.

Remember It’s Play

One of the most important things to remember as you reconnect with your creativity is this: it’s supposed to be fun.

You’re not going to get a work evaluation. You’re not going to be graded. There’s no report card, no gold star, and no panel of judges waiting to declare whether what you made is “good enough.” There’s no wrong way to write a poem or paint a picture or design your garden. If it feels good to your spirit, you’re doing it right.

If you catch yourself getting tense, self-critical, or frozen with perfectionism, think back to finger painting as a kid. You weren’t trying to master composition or worry about the light source. You were just joyfully smearing color across a page—ooey, gooey, and gloriously free. You didn’t second-guess whether it was “real art.” You just made it.

That’s the energy you want to invite back. Not pressure. Not performance. Just play.

Get rid of the critics in your head.

Those voices telling you you’re not good enough? They’re not the voice of truth. They’re the echo of someone you met along the way—probably in childhood. Maybe it’s creepy Mrs. Finglestermer, your second-grade teacher who chewed with her mouth open and told you you weren’t “doing it right.” Or maybe it’s your perfectionist father who criticized how you made your bed—so of course now you think your sketch isn’t good enough either.

Whatever form they take, those voices don’t belong in your creative space. Tell them to sit down and shut up.

Second: protect your creativity from external critics too.

Don’t ask people what they think of your poem, or your painting, or your dream, unless they’ve earned the right to hold it gently. If someone mocks or dismisses your work, they never get to see it again. Your creativity is like a small child—it deserves to feel safe, encouraged, and loved. You wouldn’t leave your kid with someone who belittles them. Don’t do that to your art either.

Create in sacred space. Share it only with the people who nurture, not the ones who nitpick. The Empress doesn’t seek approval—she creates because it is her nature.

Return to the Garden

The Empress reminds us that creativity doesn’t thrive under pressure—it blossoms in safety, in slowness, in love. When we nurture our creativity, we’re not just making art—we’re healing the part of ourselves that was told to be quiet, to be small, to be practical. We’re reclaiming the joy of making for its own sake. So whether it’s through paint or words or music or movement, give yourself the grace to grow. You don’t need permission. You only need space. And a little bit of faith.

You are already creative. You always have been. All that’s left is to remember.

*“Just the Tarot,” by Dan Adair.* *A kindle ebook at available at Amazon.*

Dreaming Big vs. Building Bridges

Why don’t manifestation techniques work for everyone? This post explores the pitfalls of one-size-fits-all manifesting advice, including why “dreaming big” may backfire for some people — and how “bridge affirmations” and quiet repetition can be just as powerful. Learn how to tailor your visualization style to your own emotional wiring, and find a manifestation method that actually fits you.

Ace of Pentacles – A Tarot affirmations poster available at Synergy Studio.

Why some manifestation advice doesn’t work — and what to do instead

One of the sillier ideas floating around in the world of visualizing and manifesting is the notion that “one size fits all.”

The way this usually goes is that a manifesting guru announces they’ve been studying this stuff for decades, and they’ve refined all of that knowledge into THE ONE TRUE METHOD that will make us rich, famous, and sexually irresistible.

A variation on that is the guru was visited by beings from another dimension who gave them the real lowdown. A variation of that is that the guru is now channeling spirit guides, divine beings, angels, or ancient Atlanteans who have imparted secret knowledge for the good of all mankind.

Now, I happen to be a huge fan of manifesting, visualization, and affirmations. But there are a couple of big fallacies baked into these presentations.

Fallacy #1: One method works for everyone

If any one guru truly had the one method that worked for everyone, we’d all have signed up for that seminar by now. We’d all be millionaires. And we’d be so busy in bed we’d have to replace our mattresses every three months.

And… um… there still seem to be a lot of us who aren’t millionaires. Have you noticed?

I know that the last time I looked at my bank balance, I was shocked — shocked, mind you — to discover I still wasn’t rich.

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience.

Fallacy #2: Any method works for you

This is the one I want to dig into today: the idea that any particular method is going to work for everyone who uses it.

It’s understandable that the gurus would push that narrative. After all, the more seminars, books, and videos they sell, the more fully they manifest their vision of wealth. If they came right out and said, “You know… this might work for some of you but not all of you,” their book sales would definitely decline.

But the truth is: we’re all different, and we need to find the method that fits us best.

Dreaming Big vs. Building Bridges

One helpful concept from the psychology side of affirmations is the idea of “bridge affirmations,” also known as “ladder affirmations.”

Here’s the basic idea:

Your visualizations need to at least resemble your current reality enough that your brain doesn’t reject them outright. If you’re living under a bridge, eating beans out of a can, and you’ve just lost your can opener, it’s going to be really hard to visualize yourself living in a mansion with a butler serving you caviar.

A more realistic visualization might be:

• You have a brand new can opener

• That can opener lives in a drawer

• That drawer lives in a kitchen

• That kitchen lives in a cozy little apartment you can afford

Bit by bit, you’re bridging the gap between your present and your vision.

I won’t get too deep into the science here, but our brains have a filtering system called the reticular activating system (RAS). It decides what information to notice based on what we already believe is possible.

So if you try to visualize something your brain sees as ridiculous, the RAS stands behind you whispering: “Uh, uh. Not happening.”

“I’m a wildly wealthy kazillionaire!”

No, you’re not.

“I attract money like a magnet!”

Then why can’t you pay your bills?

“I’m irresistible to the opposite sex!”

So why don’t you ever HAVE sex?

Now, it’s possible that you are one of those super-manifesters the gurus talk about — the kind who visualizes a million dollars falling from the sky and then has to wear a helmet for protection from the cash downpour.

But if you’re not? That’s okay.

You may just be a bridge manifester, not a straight-to-the-moon manifester.

Sometimes your subconscious doesn’t need the big dream — it just needs the next step.

“Feel It Big!” Doesn’t Work for Everyone

Another favorite bit of advice from the manifestation gurus is: You have to really FEEL it.

Like, really really.

Don’t just visualize the million dollars — visualize all the wonderful stuff you’re going to buy with it.

Visualize how damn happy you’re going to be.

Do a happy dance.

Flap your arms.

Howl at the moon.

Shake your booty and cackle because you’re rich, rich, RICH, I tell you!

The idea is that emotion supercharges visualization — the more passion you inject, the faster it manifests.

But what if you’re just… not a very emotional person?

Maybe you’re a trauma survivor.

Maybe you’re neurodivergent.

Maybe you’re just a pragmatic flatliner who feels fine but doesn’t emote like a Broadway actor.

Does that mean you’re out of luck when it comes to manifestation?

Absolutely not.

Some of us don’t feel our way to manifestation — we focus our way.

That’s where repetitive affirmations come in.

What we’re trying to do is impress the visualization on the subconscious mind so that it starts working on it behind the scenes.

Yes, a giant burst of emotional energy can plant the seed deep.

But so can steady repetition — even without fireworks.

Write:

“I am attracting abundance into my life.”

Twenty or thirty times every morning.

Or listen to gentle affirmation recordings while you go about your day.

The subconscious doesn’t need drama. It just needs consistency.

Find Your Flavor

So if you’re not rich, famous, and ravishing just yet — relax.

Maybe you don’t need to “dream bigger.”

Maybe you just need to cross the next bridge.

By all means, try the big, bold, wildly emotional manifesting techniques. If that works for you — congratulations! (And maybe lend me a hundred grand while you’re at it.)

But if it doesn’t work?

Don’t give up.

Just try a different route.

Build bridges.

Use repetitions.

Focus instead of forcing.

As Ram Dass said:

“Ultimately, we’re our own gurus.”

And nobody knows you better than you.

Shine Your Light: The Star Card, Shame, and the Courage to Be Seen

This post explores the deeper meaning of The Star card in the Tarot and reflects on why so many of us struggle to shine our light in the world. Drawing on the work of Brené Brown, Tibetan Buddhism, and real-life dynamics like shame and codependency, I look at the messages—both cultural and personal—that lead us to dim our brilliance. The Star invites us to pour our gifts into the world, not for recognition, but because it’s who we truly are. This is a reflection on healing, self-worth, and the sacred courage it takes to be seen.• shine your light

This image is from one of my new Tarot Affirmation posters, now available on my Etsy art site. I really love how it turned out—but even more than that, I love the message it carries: Shine Your Light.

And yet, for so many of us, that’s easier said than done.

Instead of shining, we hide. Instead of pouring ourselves out like starlight, we dim, shrink, withdraw. Why is it so hard to be radiant in a world that so desperately needs our brilliance?

The Culture of Shame and the Fear of Being Seen

In one of her powerful TED Talks, Brené Brown speaks about the culture of shame we all live in. Even if you didn’t grow up in a dysfunctional family (and statistically, about 60% of us did), we’re still marinated in a society that constantly criticizes, compares, and belittles.

Maybe you brought home a report card with a B, and your parent asked, “Why didn’t you get an A?”

Maybe you’re in a job where meeting your performance goals doesn’t bring a sense of completion—it just earns you a fresh, even more demanding set.

Maybe you’ve internalized the billions of dollars spent by the beauty industry telling you that your face, your body, your age, or your hair simply aren’t good enough.

On social media, the message is constant: unless you’re being validated with likes and followers, you’re invisible.

Advertising tells you your house isn’t elegant enough, your car’s too old, your wardrobe outdated.

Even spirituality isn’t immune. We whisper to ourselves: I should be better. I should care more. I should meditate more. Pray more. Try harder.

Let’s face it: in this world, it’s all too easy to believe that we should be ashamed of simply being ourselves.

As Brown puts it, shame drives two powerful tapes in our heads:

1. You’re never good enough, and

2. Who do you think you are?

And because those tapes run deep, we begin to engineer our own smallness. We shrink ourselves to stay invisible—because visibility feels like a threat. We dim our light so no one will see just how “inadequate” we believe we are. And in doing so, we fail to shine.

Codependency and Dimming Our Own Lights

Sometimes, the reason we hide isn’t culture—it’s relationships.

Too many of us are caught in dynamics where one partner shines while the other fades into the background. It might be dressed up in the language of care or sacrifice, but the effect is the same: one person takes center stage, while the other erases themselves.

It could be a relationship with a narcissist, where one partner is expected to provide constant praise, attention, and emotional caretaking.

It could be a more obvious kind of abuse, where failing to meet someone else’s needs results in punishment, blame, or even violence.

It might even look noble—like staying small to “support” someone who is ill, unstable, or in need. But the underlying belief is this: there isn’t enough light to go around.

And so, we dim ourselves to make the other person shine.

We play down our accomplishments. We pretend we’re not that talented. We take the backseat in our own story. And we tell ourselves it’s virtuous.

But it’s not noble to disappear. It’s not compassionate to go dark.

We were meant to shine.

The Star Card and the Sacred Act of Sharing

The Star card in the Tarot is a card of healing—but it’s not just personal healing. It’s about reconnecting with the world by letting your own light flow into it.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there’s a teaching that each of us carries a radiant jewel inside. It may be buried under layers of dust or encased in stone, but it’s there—glimmering with our true nature. And our task in life is to uncover that jewel and offer it to the world.

That’s what the woman in The Star card is doing. She kneels beside the stream and pours out her water—not hoarding, not holding back. She gives freely to the land and to the flow of life itself.

She’s not asking for praise. She’s not trying to be impressive.

She’s just being who she is: a vessel of light.

And so are you.

You don’t shine for applause.

You don’t shine to prove anything.

You shine because it’s your nature.

And this world is thirsty for that kind of offering.

A Final Thought

You are not just a person. You are a sacred gift.

You are a hidden jewel.

You are starlight in human form.

Let yourself shine.

The Influence of The Magician Card

Today’s post offers a practical tarot reference chart for readers and practitioners, focusing on the influence of The Magician card when paired with each of the other Major Arcana cards. Whether upright or reversed, these pairings reveal powerful nuances about manifestation, power, focus, and intentional action. Ideal for deepening your tarot readings and understanding how The Magician works in tandem with archetypal energies throughout the deck.

The Magician Tarot Card – Magic and Manifestation

In the absence of a regular blog post for today, I would like to offer a chart detailing the influence of The Magician Tarot card when paired with the other cards of the Major Arcana. Please feel free to print this and use it for reference in your readings.

Or, if you’d prefer, you can download this by clicking here. Just click on the link and when it comes up go to your browser menu and click on PRINT.

The Magician + The Fool – Inspired action from spontaneous beginnings. Manifesting through instinct and openness. Reversed: Rash decisions, manipulative potential, lack of grounding.

The Magician + The High Priestess – Balanced mastery of outer action and inner knowing. Power guided by intuition. Reversed: Secrets manipulate outcomes; unclear motives under the surface.

The Magician + The Empress – Creative manifestation. Birthing beauty and abundance through conscious intent. Reversed: Over-controlling creativity, blocked expression, false appearances.

The Magician + The Emperor – Strategic manifestation with solid foundations. Power used with authority. Reversed: Control issues, misuse of power, over-managing outcomes.

The Magician + The Hierophant – Mastery aligned with tradition or spiritual systems. Teacher or ritual magician energy. Reversed: Manipulation under the guise of doctrine; rigidity or rebellion.

The Magician + The Lovers – Manifesting partnership or choice through alignment of will and desire. Reversed: Manipulative dynamics in relationships; choices clouded by illusion.

The Magician + The Chariot – Focused willpower brings success. Victory through deliberate action. Reversed: Scattered energy, ego-driven direction, force without alignment.

The Magician + Strength – Harnessing inner strength to empower manifestation. Quiet mastery. Reversed: Power games, coercion, or internal sabotage.

The Magician + The Hermit – Manifesting through inner wisdom and spiritual insight. Solitary mastery. Reversed: Isolation misused for manipulation; false guru energy.

The Magician + Wheel of Fortune – Intentional action within cycles of change. Turning fate through conscious will. Reversed: Manipulating chance; resistance to natural cycles.

The Magician + Justice – Creating balance through skillful choices. Ethical manifestation. Reversed: Twisting truth, unfair dealings, imbalance created through intent.

The Magician + The Hanged Man – Power in surrender. Shifting perspectives leads to deeper manifestation. Reversed: Stagnation disguised as action; martyrdom as manipulation.

The Magician + Death – Transformation through focused intent. Shedding the old to create anew. Reversed: Resisting transformation; clinging to control in times of change.

The Magician + Temperance – Alchemical mastery. Harmonizing elements to create lasting magic. Reversed: Imbalance, forced outcomes, or spiritual bypassing.

The Magician + The Devil – Mastery misused; power becomes entrapment. Illusion of control. Reversed: Breaking free of manipulation or unhealthy control dynamics.

The Magician + The Tower – Radical awakening through dismantled illusions. Creation from chaos. Reversed: Trying to control a collapse; resisting necessary upheaval.

The Magician + The Star – Inspired manifestation aligned with hope and higher vision. Reversed: False promises, disillusioned effort, manipulation of ideals.

The Magician + The Moon – Magical work through dreams, symbols, and hidden realms. Reversed: Deceptive illusions, manipulation through fear or confusion.

The Magician + The Sun – Empowered creation, joyful manifestation, clarity in action. Reversed: Ego-driven displays, illusion of success, superficial charm.

The Magician + Judgement – Conscious rebirth, purpose-driven action, manifesting a new self. Reversed: Manipulating redemption; resisting accountability.

The Magician + The World – Complete mastery and fulfillment. Manifesting global or life-level success. Reversed: Incomplete projects, scattered focus, illusion of wholeness.

Tarot, Synchronicity, and Cactus Chewing: Notes on Revising My Book

I’ve just released a revised edition of my book, “Just the Tarot” — newly formatted for Kindle, with added quick-reference charts and a fresh cover. In the process of revisiting the material, I found myself reflecting on Tarot as a powerful “synchronicity machine” — a simple but profound way to communicate with the Universe. This post is part update, part spiritual meditation, and part love letter to what Tarot can really do.

I just finished revising and publishing the new edition of my e-book, Just the Tarot, and, boy, THAT was a bitch. After weeks and weeks of writing and formatting, my immediate reaction is, “I’m so happy with how this turned out,” and also, “I’d rather chew on a cactus than do that again.”

There was also a little ambiguity about the content itself. I wrote the original edition during one of the most intense periods of my life. My life partner had just died, I was about an inch away from bankruptcy, and my entire world was crumbling around me.

In Tarot parlance: The Tower and Death.

During periods like that, we’re pulling in a LOT of spiritual assistance and living in heavy archetypes, so I was very pleased with the actual content. As I re-read it, I realized that I’d been channeling some pretty potent insights on the card definitions and really didn’t want to change much at all.

In addition to the longer, more expansive interpretations, I’ve added some quick reference charts for all 78 cards with one- or two-sentence definitions for upright and reversed meanings. I also threw in a couple more layouts, tweaked the writing here and there, and painted a spiffy new cover for the book.

So it remains pretty much what I set out to do when I wrote it eight years ago. It’s a basic, totally dependable, sturdy little book that continues to be a great reference for both new and more experienced readers. No metaphysics. No wild theories about what the Tarot really means. No decoding secret methods or unlocking hidden mystical maps.

Just a book that says:

“If you want to read Tarot cards, this is how you do it, and this is what the cards mean.”

You know… Just the Tarot.

Reflections on the Tarot

As I did the re-write, I inevitably pondered a bit on WHY we read Tarot cards. When we sit down and lay out a reading, what is it that we’re actually looking for?

When we’re young, of course, the two main topics are love and money.

Well… love, money, and sex.

When you’re reading the cards for anyone under 40, the questions usually sound something like:

• Does he/she find me attractive?

• Should we go out on another date?

• Should I go to bed with him/her?

• Should we move in together?

• Is he/she cheating on me?

And in the second category:

• I really hate my job. Should I look for another one?

• Am I going to get promoted?

• How can I make more money?

• Can I afford that new car?

• Should I go back to school?

In other words, the questions are mainly predictive. As in: What’s going to happen? Am I going to like it? And, by the way, am I going to get laid?

That’s where most of us start out in our Tarot adventure.

Synchronicity and Tarot

As the many years of reading Tarot have passed, though, I’ve come to realize that the most important part of a Tarot reading is synchronicity.

I once read a brilliant line in a Tarot forum that stuck with me:

“The Tarot is a synchronicity machine.”

Every time we sit down to do a reading, we engage the field of synchronicity.

I’m not going to get into a long rap here about synchronicity (though if you’re curious, check out my earlier post, Finding Meaning with Synchronicity). The main point I want to make is this:

WHEN WE TALK TO THE UNIVERSE, THE UNIVERSE TALKS BACK.

And that’s actually a big, fat deal.

We’re in a sort of post-religion, post-scientific-revolution phase of humanity. A lot of us have rejected the old, superstitious, patriarchal, hate-based formal religions. Those beliefs have been replaced by the scientific model, which basically says, “There are no gods or goddesses, no angels, no spirit guides, and certainly no magic.”

Which has left a great big hole in our hearts.

It’s left us feeling alone and isolated in what science tells us is essentially a dead universe.

But when we engage with the synchronistic field, the Universe starts giving us answers to our questions. We might ask, “What should I do about my job?” — and suddenly we’ve got clues dropping out of nowhere.

Maybe we get a surprise promotion.

Maybe the jobs section of the newspaper blows down the street and wraps around our ankles.

Maybe a friend opens a new business and hires us on the spot.

And underneath all of that is a HUGE shift away from the old idea of being all alone in a cold, impersonal cosmos. Suddenly we realize that not only is the Universe alive — it actually cares about us and is helping us. Personally.

The whole damn Universe cares about little old you and me.

What a trip!

If you scroll through the internet for a bit, you’ll find that there’s a massive industry dedicated to helping people reach that exact point — spiritually and psychologically. Books, videos, workshops, seminars — all trying to teach people how to establish a relationship with the Universe, their spirit guides, their angels.

But really?

All we need to do is pick up a deck of Tarot cards, ask a question, and lay out a reading.

It’s that simple.

You don’t have to be a psychic.

You don’t have to meditate for years.

You don’t need to channel, astral travel, or decode ancient texts.

Just pick up the cards, ask a question — and the Universe will talk back to you.

Yes, YOU.

Learning to Live Without Joy

Many people feel disconnected, numb, or unable to access joy—especially after childhood trauma. This post explores emotional flatness, toxic positivity, and why realness may matter more than happiness.

Did you get ACED when you were a kid?

ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experience, and the odds are fairly high that you experienced one. ACEs include things like emotional abuse, neglect, parental mental illness, substance abuse, and divorce or separation of the parents.

We tend to think of those kinds of negative experiences as relatively rare. Maybe we got the hell beaten out of us by a crazed, drunk parent—but most people didn’t, right?

After all, just look at how happy everyone else seems.

But according to the CDC-Kaiser ACEs Study, 61% of adults across 25 states reported experiencing at least one ACE. And nearly 1 in 6 (16.7%) reported four or more.

The truth is, a sizable portion of the population is living with the long-term effects of unresolved trauma—including dissociation, emotional blunting, chronic anxiety, and difficulty accessing joy.

The Cultural Pressure to Be Happy

One of the strongest side effects of long-term trauma is the belief that, “Man, I must really be fucked up, because I’m just not happy. Everyone else is happy, but I’m a train wreck. In fact, I’m not even a train wreck, I’m completely off of the tracks.”

That belief is especially potent if you’re American.

American culture—especially through media and marketing—places enormous value on positivity, confidence, and personal success. Like the figures in the Three of Cups, we’re all supposed to be dancing with joy, smiling through life, bubbling over with gratitude. The message is:

“You should be happy, empowered, and in control of your life at all times.”

And if you’re not?

Then something must be seriously wrong with you.

This pressure to appear happy, even when we’re not, creates:

• Emotional dissonance: A split between what we feel and what we think we should feel.

• Shame about feeling bad: A second layer of suffering on top of the original pain.

• Social masking: We say we’re “fine” or “happy” because it’s expected—and we believe others are genuinely feeling that way (even when they aren’t).

Antidepressants and the Emotional Economy

A recent Gallup poll reported that a whopping 78% of Americans say they feel satisfied or very satisfied with their lives. The poll even bemoaned the fact that the “happiness index” was down by two points.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is among the highest consumers of antidepressants in the world.

Some people take them for serious clinical issues—but many of us take them simply to cope with lives that feel emotionally flat or chronically overwhelming.

Years ago, psychologists discovered that one of the most useless surveys in the world was asking teenage boys if they’d had sex. The overwhelming majority said, “yes, of course I have,” —even though many of them didn’t have the slightest clue how to unfasten a bra, let alone what to do next. They thought they were supposed to be having sex, because they assumed all the other boys were doing it—even though they weren’t.

In much the same way, Americans seem to be lying to pollsters about how happy we are, because we think we’re supposed to be happy.

After all, everyone else is smiling.

Even if they’re not.

We’re taking pills to create artificial happiness because we think we should be happy, even when we’re not.

Living With “Flat” Emotions

What if, instead of constantly trying to fix our feelings, we first learned to live with them?

Assuming there’s no organic brain issue involved, there’s always a reason that we’re not happy.

As Gabor Maté points out, when we suffer trauma that we can neither fight nor flee from, we dissociate. We leave our bodies. We stop feeling.

Not feeling becomes a survival mechanism—a way of coping with pain that would otherwise overwhelm and break us.

If you’re among the 61% who’ve had at least one ACE, you’ve probably experienced dissociation and emotional flatness.

If you’re in the 16% who had four or more ACEs, emotional flatness may be how you live most of the time. It’s not that we don’t want to be happy—we just don’t know how.

And that, in itself, can be traumatic, because we’ve been programmed to believe that we should be happy—even when we can’t feel it.

But we can reframe that.

Rather than chasing a happiness ideal that may not be accessible—especially after trauma—it’s possible to:

• Honor emotional flatness as a survival adaptation.

• Shift the goal from happiness to authenticity.

• Value calmness, neutrality, or quiet presence as valid emotional states.

• Find meaning not in chasing joy, but in living gently and truthfully with what is.

This doesn’t mean giving up on healing, but healing might not look like “feeling great all the time.”

It might look more like “being okay with feeling whatever I feel.”

A New Emotional Ethic: Realness Over Happiness

Ideally, we need a massive cultural shift—from:

“I must feel good in order to be okay”

to:

“I’m okay because I’m allowing myself to feel what’s true for me.”

But… yeah. Don’t hold your breath on that one.

What is possible—what’s powerful—is to make that shift within ourselves.

If you’ve had the hell beaten out of you, either physically or emotionally, as a child or as an adult, it’s okay to feel sad.

It’s okay to feel numb.

It’s not just okay—it’s rational.

That doesn’t mean we want to live there forever.

That doesn’t mean we resign ourselves to an existence without joy. But maybe healing begins when we stop pretending. When we stop performing. When we let ourselves feel—or not feel—exactly where we are.

In this new ethic:

• Sadness is not a problem.

• Numbness is a messenger.

• Joy, when it comes, is a gift—not a requirement.

Back in the 1960s the Transactional Psychology movement came up with the catch phrase: “I’m Okay, You’re Okay.”

To which Elisabeth Kubler-Ross replied: “I’m Not Okay, You’re Not Okay. And That’s Okay.”

The first step in the path seems to be honestly saying, “This is who I am. This is where I’m at. I hurt when I feel and so I try not to feel. And for right now, that’s okay.”