As we roll into 2025, it’s time to take a collective breath, look within, and ask ourselves: What’s next? The numerology of the year adds up to nine, aligning us with The Hermit card in the tarot. This isn’t the kind of card that throws glitter and confetti—The Hermit’s vibe is quieter, deeper, and a little more brooding. But don’t let that scare you. This card brings wisdom, clarity, and a chance to get real with ourselves.
The Good Tarot by Colette Baron-Reid
The Good Tarot
“The Good Tarot doesn’t shy away from the truth of our sufferings. Instead, it gives us hope that no matter how many times we stumble, we nevertheless find immense treasures as we discover our true natures as spiritual beings expressing ourselves through the art of living in the realm of form.”
From the Good Tarot by Colette Baron-Reid
So, let me say upfront, I so did not want to like this deck.
The title of it annoys me, just a little bit…
I mean, if there is a ‘Good Tarot’ does that mean that there is a ‘Bad Tarot’? If so, could someone direct me to the bad deck? Further, what are the qualifications for a good tarot and a bad tarot?
Is this like Good Witches and Wicked Witches? Are ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ real or simply in the eye of the beholder?
The good news (or could it be bad news?) is that I decided to give the deck a chance. After all, I have several decks by Colette Baron-Reid, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them.
Before I read through the LWB (that’s tarotspeak for Little White Book that usually comes with a tarot deck), I looked through the deck. It’s a beautifully designed deck that features mystical, feminine empowering, and fantastical imagery. There are a few changes that have been made to the card names. Lovers is now Love, Death is now Transformation, Temperance is now Patience, The Devil is now Temptation, and Judgment is now simply called Call. Further, the traditional swords, pentacles, cups, and wands have been be replaced with their elemental correspondences air, earth, water, and fire, and there are some minor tweaks to the titles of the court cards. Otherwise, the deck is easy to understand, and the cards are easy to designate for people that are more familiar with the cards.
After reading through the LWB, I loved the approach that CBR (Colette Baron-Reid) uses. Instead of designating cards to traditional meanings, she uses simplified keywords and affirmations. If I am understanding her correctly, she wants to empower the client and instead of showing archetypal trends that normally may be challenging, she wants to help the end-user see how challenges can be opportunities. I feel that this is very creative and is a rather productive use of the deck. This deck could be used by traditional tarot practitioners, but opens itself up to life coaches, psychologists, or other modalities that do not ordinarily use cards.
Let me give an example.
The 5 of Air (5 of Swords) is a card that is associated with strife and arguments. In the ‘Good Tarot’, CBR’s keywords are still tension and conflict. However, here is the affirmation that she uses:
“Conflict is a good way to see my motives and intentions. I can use this experience to grow into a more authentic version of myself. It’s not important to win. It’s important to have integrity. Other people have different ways of thinking and may not always be in agreement with me. I open to this opportunity to live and let live.”
Usually, conflict occurs when two people have differing ideas about a situation. This can be personal, social, or political. When someone steps over the line of wanting something that you believe you should have or should be able to attain problems can occur. Of course, the key to all of this is whether the conflict is worth it or not. If it is worth it, then strife should not be something that consumes you and you should be able to proceed forward with confidence. However, if you do not feel its worth it, then let it go and fight for something you feel strongly about.
I feel that the most powerful part of this deck is giving the querent (a fancy word for a person that is asking questions) the opportunity to choose how they wish to proceed. If you choose to fight the good fight, then obstacles or outside influences shouldn’t matter. You are either all in or you are not. If you choose to walk away, then you have learned how to pick your battles. Either way, you are more psychologically sound for making personal choices.
In the back of the LWB CBR gives a bit of insight into spreads. She recommends only doing one card or three-card spreads with the deck but emphasizes that they can be used to do larger spreads. Her main point that she pushes throughout the LWB is that this oracle is used to co-create with the universe in a constructive way rather than just being passive to its energies or messages.
Here is one of the spreads:
Three Card Reading: (From the LWB)
Card 1: Represents where you are now and what energy is affecting the situation.
Card 2: Represents what is coming in to influence the situation
Card 3: Represents the energy that will come into the situation if you continue along the same path you are on.
I decided to do a reading of my own with this deck.
My question: Should I work on the project?
Card 1: 10 of Earth Card 2: 10 of Water Card 3: 9 of Air
The Reading:
I have recently pondered whether I should work on a new project. Although this is not part of my career as an astrologer or life coach, I still have been drawn to this type of creative work before. I will admit that I was gob smacked when I drew the 9 of Air, which has a notorious negative connotation.
Card 1: 10 of Earth: Affluence, material abundance, mastery, financial security, inherited wealth and knowledge
Affirmation for 10 of Earth: I am now able to step back and observe the results of what I built through my dedication and hard work. I claim ownership of the castles I built that have taken form in the material world. I have achieved mastery and inherited treasures of knowledge and experience thanks to all I have been through. I smile appreciatively at my run of good fortune.
This card made a lot of sense. I have been in my profession for 30 years and have built a sizeable practice and have been able to do astrological/intuitive counseling exclusively for 3 decades. It’s home to me and I have a vast knowledge of the industry and how to market within it. However, this can also be a bit scary because working on another project might take time away from my business practice and I need to figure out whether I would like to take that type of risk.
Card 2: 10 of Water: Serenity, peace, good fortune, well-being
Affirmation for 10 of Water: All is well with the world and with me. Well-being is my natural state. Everything I need comes to me easily and effortlessly. I feel joy and express it to others as I look around and see all the love that we share. I take pleasure in all I have accomplished. Whatever attention I receive or don’t receive, I am serene, for I know good well what it took to get where I am. I celebrate myself and all who traveled down this road with me and feel grateful to Spirit for being my companion always.
Card 2 represents what is coming in to influence the situation. I feel that this card reflects that I am happy and content with what I am doing and that I should realize that even if the project that I work on doesn’t produce much fruit that I need to do it because I already have accomplished a lot with my career and profession. There is much to celebrate. Not many people have the luxury of working in the same profession for three decades. I feel that this card also reflects a positive support system that will be around me as I travel this new path.
Card 3: 9 of Air: Shifting negative self-talk to self-compassion, from fear to possibility, a call to faith.
Affirmation for 9 of Air: With a gentle, mellifluous voice, I tell myself that I will be okay, that I am okay, and that any fear is merely false evidence appearing as real. I forgive myself because I know I am a human trying the best I can and need only call on Spirit to remember that I can and will do better as new possibilities begin to gather on my horizons.
Card 3 represents the energy that will come into the situation if you continue on the same path you are on. Traditionally, the 9 of air is associated with fears, phobias, nightmares and other nasty mental situations that may plague me. Starting a new project is difficult and challenging, and I have already experienced some of the 9 of air elements. However, using this affirmation technique, it tells me to attempt to push past the thoughts and call upon my spiritual beliefs in those moments when fears may overwhelm me. Ordinarily, this card might encourage someone to abandon ship, and focus on the tried and true safety of the 10 of earth. However, the Good Tarot encourages me to press in and press on.
Conclusion:
After spending some time with this deck, I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to seek gentle clarity that offers you options and positive self-talk to push you beyond your problems. It’s a great deck for people that are going through struggles and need a little extra boost. I’ve already made a list of people that I feel would benefit from this deck and will purchase several copies as gifts during the holiday season. My only complaint is that I wish CBR had created an actual book to go with the deck rather than the LWB, it would have given her an opportunity to really flesh out her ideals, which are highly creative, yet could have been so much more.
Great job, CBR. Keep them coming!
Here is where you can get the deck — The Good Tarot by Colette Baron-Reid
[wpipa id=”3748″]
Trick or Treat Divination
Trick or Treat Divination (Top 5 Creepiest Halloween Candy Remixed)
I just love Halloween! Out of all the holidays, this one is especially meaningful to psychics because our connection to the “other” world is heightened. On Samhain, a veil is pierced that allows the spirits from the other side to whisper into our ears if you listen closely. Also, it is a time for spooks, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, and just good old fashioned “trick or treating”.
A Bit of History:
Although the tradition of guising and wearing seasonal costumes stretch back to the Middle Ages, the first appearance of “trick or treating” (warning of the homeowner/resident of a trick if a treat is not given) began in 1911 in Kingston, Ontario. Eventually, the practice spread to other parts of Canada and ultimately made its first American appearance in Chicago in 1920. By the 1930’s, the practice of trick or treating became a widespread practice in the United States, and eventually permeated the media in 1939.
In the 21st century, Halloween and “Trick or Treating” remains popular, and each year more events occur to celebrate the magical Eve. Over the years, candy and other assorted edible goodies have been created specifically to cater 
to children who dress up in costumes and visit neighborhood doors to collect their loot. Inside bags across North America, assorted chocolates, lollipops, candy corn, and the occasional piece of fruit are enjoyed by many young and old. However, in certain cases “the trick” might be played on those individuals who are ‘souling’ (the medieval practice of the poor going door to door on Hallowmas receiving food in return for prayers for the dead) when they receive unusual treats.
Forget the Hype — Mercury Retrograde is a Powerful Healing Tool
One of the problems in writing a blog is being concise enough to be informative, yet not overwhelming the reader with information overload. This is daunting, when dealing with a complex subject like Mercury Retrograde (now known as Mercury Rx). Regardless, on June 7, 2014 astrology websites across the internet will begin to echo the reminder that “the trickster planet” has gone retrograde. I’ve written volumes about the effects of Mercury Rx – what I intend to explore here is the natural process of reflection inherent in the configuration to provide deeper understanding of our natural rhythms of life.
What is Mercury? For those that do not have an astrological language, Mercury represents our understanding of life. He is the planet of education, communication, discussion, documents, papers, television, radio and the information you search for on the internet. In Greek Mythology, he is known as Hermes the swift footed communication God and the protector of commerce and industry. Unlike the other planets, Mercury is rather unique by appearing to move backwards 3-4X per year. The retrogradation process is notorious for causing problems with communication, technical problems, plan hassles, and it is not wise to begin anything new or make vast changes during this period.
The Greek Hermes was a two-fold deity as astrological Mercury rules the two signs of Gemini and Virgo. On one hand, Hermes (Mercury) is the messenger of the God’s and the God of crossroads (periods in our life, where we do not know what decisions to make?) and mental connections. He appears in our lives when we suddenly understand something with new clarity and new comprehension. However, Hermes was one of the few deities (along with Hecate and Persephone) that were allowed to traverse the boundaries between the upper world (consciousness) and the underworld (unconsciousness). In his underworld guise, he serves two primary functions. He ushers the souls of the dead down to their final resting place, and in a few instances used necromancy to bring the souls of the dead back to the land of the living. His role of the psycho-pomp, I believe gives us the deepest understanding of Mercury Rx.
In astrology, we can take Mercury’s passage through the zodiac as a cyclical period. Every so often, Mercury turns around and moves the other direction creating a more introverted tone to the mainly extroverted planet. Since I believe astrology is instructional, Mercury sends us a message that we need to turn “inward” and review the past period of direct motion. (To an extent, I believe all the planets when they go retrograde urge us to reflect on certain areas of our lives colored by the sign the planet goes retrograde in)
Activity 1: Get out a piece of paper. Write down the events and circumstances that you have found meaningful or distressful since Mercury turned direct on Feb 28, 2014 . Explore as many areas as you can. Take a look at the significant areas of your life – financial, professional, and relationships, and write down how you feel about these particular areas. What did you experience? Once you are done writing, fold up the paper and continue reading.
Another tool we can use to amplify Mercury Rx is through the tarot Major Arcana card of Judgement.One of the best decks that I have seen that conveys the deepest layers of the Judgement card is the Mythic Tarot.The card makes use of Hermes role as the psycho-pomp, at what appears to be the entrance to the underworld (unconscious).Beneath him are the sarcophagi with three mummified figures reaching up towards Hermes.Many astrologers consider Mercury Rx to be a time where unresolved issues from the past come back to be resolved.Likewise, I believe the Judgement card represents rewards for past efforts, and a deep understanding that we ourselves “create” our own future through the actions and decisions that we make in life.In many ways, we truly ‘reap what we sew’.
Taking ownership of our current circumstances is a powerful healing mechanism. It allows us to take control of our lives, and provides us with the opportunity to make better choices and decisions that create our future. Mercury Rx can provide us a cyclical period to examine our past actions, behaviors, upsets and joys and understand the deeper side of our personality. We may find parts of ourselves that may need improvement, parts we need to work on, and parts we really like. We can use this time to make great inner change! Looking at the Judgment card once again, we can visualize the mummified rags on the corpses as symbols for the parts of our lives we would like to change. Underneath those rags of the past, might be the butterflies for our future tomorrow.
Activity 2:
Take a look at the figure of the Judgement card for a few moments. Now close your eyes. Imagine yourself in the room with Hermes. Talk to him and ask him for assistance in helping you understand the aspects of your life that you would like to change. Take note of any feelings or messages that you may have received.
Activity 3:
Take out your piece of paper in Activity 1. Re-read it and make note of how you feel about the past few months. What do you believe you need to change? Print up the black and white version of the Judgement card. If you click on the image itself, a larger version will appear that you can print. Now, get out a pack of crayons or colored pencils and color in the figure of the Judgment card. Use any colors that you wish to reflect your current situation, and the events of the past few months. Use the three figures in the sarcophagi to reflect areas of your life that you have new insight about, or wish to change. Take a look at the figure you have created. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself in the room with Hermes. Talk to him and ask him for assistance in helping you make the changes that you need to make in your life. Ask Hermes to provide you with the information necessary or tools he can provide you with to assist you in your tasks. Take note of any feelings or messages that you may have received.
For your listening pleasure here is an audio companion to this blog post from the archives of Keep It Magic. It’s all about Mercury and his role in mythology, astrology, and magic.
Current Spirituality Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with KeepItMagic on BlogTalkRadio
Storm Cestavani is the co-host of the top rated metaphysical show “Keep It Magic” and the co-creator of the “Tarot Magic” with Coventry Creations. Storm is available for consultations by setting up an appointment to speak with him. Simply click on Book A Reading with Storm at the top of the page.
If you like this post please hit the +1 button at the bottom of your page or the LIKE button. We thank you!
Like Storm’s New Insights In Modern Astrology on Facebook.
Follow Storm on Twitter @StormCestavani2
Spring Cleaning
Spring is one of my favorite times of the year because I like things crisp – always have! I have no clue why, but when things get disorganized, too busy, and feels cluttered, I tend to feel uncomfortable and on edge. I suppose it could be my Mercury conjunct Pluto in Virgo in the 12th house, but when things are not nice and tidy, I get urges to renovate and organize.
Since spring is fully upon us, I have decided to do a small bit of renovation on my blog. After all, this is my home on the web and I like feeling comfortable in my home. I have recently updated some of the photos and over the coming months I may decide to do a complete design change – although to be honest, l like the crisp blue.
The biggest change that I am going to make is moving the daily cosmic weather forecast (my term for my daily astrology musings) and put them on my Facebook page. Now, I will continue to do astrological blog posts on my blog, but I want to focus blog posts on the larger astrological picture and my successful free online astrology course Astro 101.
I am always curious about what the tarot has to say about certain topics. So I pulled a card from the tarot asking the question, “What is spring cleaning?” The card that I pulled is the King of Pentacles! In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the King of Pentacles shows a man sitting on his throne with the fruits of his abundance surrounding him. His robe is covered with plant life symbolizing growth and abundance and he holds a scepter in one hand and a pentacle in the other. He is in control of his domain and is the fertile force of his kingdom. In many ways, the card reflects our need to do spring cleaning in order to continue the harvest. After all, you have to pull out the old weeds in order for the plants to grow. Once everything is all nice and clean, we can sit on our throne like the King and really enjoy our accomplishments.
Storm Cestavani is the co-host of the top rated metaphysical show “Keep It Magic” and the co-creator of the “Tarot Magic” with Coventry Creations. Storm is available for consultations by setting up an appointment to speak with him. Simply click on Book A Reading with Storm at the top of the page.
If you like this post please hit the +1 button at the bottom of your page or the LIKE button. We thank you!
Like Storm’s New Insights In Modern Astrology on Facebook.
Follow Storm on Twitter @StormCestavani2
Psychological Hauntings — Dealing With Our Inner Ghosts and Demons
I don’t like tarot reversals. I never have. I don’t really get them. I suppose I’m a little geeky and prefer elemental dignities or astrological attributions. But, I don’t like reversals.
I mean there are 78 cards in tarot deck and many of them are already difficult. Why would one need to add another whole set of difficult cards to a reading? But, I digress… this is not a post about card reversals.
This blog post is about “Psychological Hauntings”, which is the theme of “Keep It Magic” for the month of November.
However, when I pulled out the tarot and asked the cards a simple question (whatever that means), “What are psychological hauntings?” The tarot card I drew was the Two of Cups Reversed (Rx). Ordinarily, I would just turn the card upright and move right along to interpretation. I must admit that I was “haunted” by this ordinarily graceful card that represents “relationships”.
Sigh.
Before I go into personally being haunted by the “2 of Cups Rx”, let me explain what a psychological haunting is.
In “Hauntings: Dispelling the Ghosts Who Run Our Lives” written by Jungian Analyst John Hollis, we come face to face with the reality that ghosts and spectral objects don’t necessarily come after us in the physical world (although in some cases they do), yet more often than not the demons we need to exercise live within and are the result of psychological traumas that the psyche has difficulty integrating. In many cases, these are a direct result of the “complexes” we have developed and/or those we inherited.
Hollis has this to say:
“We all have complexes because we have a history, and history charges our psychic life with energized clusters of valence. Some complexes exercise a benign protective role in our lives. Without some positive experience of bonding and trust, we would be prevented from forming commitments and relationships. Yet others bind us to trauma, immaturity, and outdated prejudicial perspectives. The recrudescence of these fragmentary histories invariable usurps our purchase on the present and plunges us into our replicative pasts. Some complexes even dominate an entire life.” (Hollis, Kindle Edition)
In essence, what Hollis discusses is that we are the sum of our experiences good or bad. Our experiences tend to create the foundation of our personality and as such our complexes are built around them.
In my article on “The Psychological Model of the Psyche”, I give three descriptions of complexes as follows:
The Dynamics of Complexes:
- Clusters of feeling toned associations around a common theme
- All complexes have experiences associated with them. We all have experiences with mother, father, money, work and career, and our ego (and many many more).
- Complexes make us behave in ways that are not part of our usual everyday personality. The complex temporarily takes over. This is called ‘complexing out’, and it is where the Ego (center of personality) suffers from a reduced ability to operate appropriately. For example, during your early life you lived poorly, and your family struggled with lack of opportunities and poor job conditions. You grow up and you achieve some success. An event occurs in your life, where you either lose your job, or some form of financial struggle occurs and you go back to the feelings of financial suffering in your childhood. The anxiety you are feeling and the reactions to your situation may cause you to behave in ways that you normally wouldn’t. This is called complexing out.
(Astro 101 fans we will discuss complexes thoroughly when we get to aspects)
Hollis goes on to say:
“When one has resided long enough in a toxic zone, one carries the toxin within, always, and all one can do is flush it out into the realm of consciousness and wrestle with it.”
What a powerful statement! The only way for us to deal with the psychological hauntings (this can be fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, sexual abuse, and lack of parenting) is to wrestle with them. This means we have to pull it out of the haunted house of our psyche and deal with it. Otherwise, the ghosts take over and we are then controlled or for lack of a better phrase “possessed” by our inner demons.
So, let’s go to my personal haunting created by my pulling the 2 of Cups Rx. As I stated, this is traditionally a relationship card and usually a good one. Now in a humorous synchronistic way (also discussed in Hollis’ book), if you take reversals to mean the opposite of what the upright position states, then the 2 of Cups Rx is rather fitting. Rather than being a “happy relationship”, it reflects dysfunctional relationships.
Karen Zondag in her book, “Tarot as a Way of Life,” refers to all of the two’s in the tarot as conflict cards. Although she states that the female two’s (cups and pentacles) refer to a gentler and more graceful way of dealing with conflict than the male two’s (wands and swords); nevertheless, a conflict exists. Why? Every relationship that enters our life on some level reflects a cast of inner characters. In some cases, these inner characters are a “match” and they act benign. However, some relationships stir up our complexes (even parental relationships especially in dysfunctional systems) and can then when we experience “feeling toned associations” that are similar to the initial experience, the complex then will take over or as I stated earlier, “we complex out”.
According to the tarot, the key to “psychological hauntings” is our relationships. Psychology says that our outer relationships are also inner relationships. A cast of our own characters. Creating relationships with these inner characters helps cure our internal hauntings and as a result our “complexes” can be used in a creative rather than a destructive manner.
You can learn more about ‘psychological hauntings’ on the next episode of Keep It Magic which will air on November 12, 2013.
Storm Cestavani is the co-host of the top rated metaphysical show “Keep It Magic” and the co-creator of the “Tarot Magic” with Coventry Creations. Storm is available for consultations by setting up an appointment to speak with him. Simply click on Book A Reading with Storm at the top of the page.
If you like this post please hit the +1 button at the bottom of your page or the LIKE button. We thank you!
Like Storm’s New Insights In Modern Astrology on Facebook.
Follow Storm on Twitter @psychastro
Non public domain images are purchased from dreamstime.com