A Way to Remain Objective When Doing Divination for Yourself

Using the guidebook to remain objective for personal readings...

I just read an excellent suggestion for a way to remain objective when reading Cards or doing Divination for yourself. A person in a Tarot Facebook group said someone told her they utilize the deck's accompanying guidebook meanings when reading for themselves. They stick with the guidebook meanings only for interpreting personal readings. That way the message isn't affected by their own personal thoughts and biases. I thought this was a great idea.

I often use the deck guidebook when doing readings for myself, even though I feel very proficient with Tarot, for a couple of reasons. One, I like to get the deck author's take on the cards. Another is that due to chronic illness, I often deal with limited energy and brain fog. Using the deck guidebook for personal readings saves me some of my limited physical and mental energy. This lets me read for myself even if I'm dealing with symptom flares. I've still found these readings to be applicable and accurate for myself, even when using the guidebook.

Far too often I hear the recommendation to "throw the book away." I've always disagreed with this as I'm a book learner. Now I have another reason to ignore that advice and keep and use the guidebook that accompany decks and divination tools.

**Do you ever use the guidebook when doing a divination reading for yourself? Why or why not? Feel free to reply in the comments.

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Spring Equinox Crystal Grid (A Little Late...)

Spring Equinox Crystal Grid

Sorry this is a little late, but Happy Spring Equinox. It was on March 20th.

On the Equinox, day and night are of equal length.

The Spring Equinox is about finding balance, rebirth, renewal, new growth, new beginnings, new potentials, new possibilities, and resurrection.

This Crystal Grid for the Spring Equinox is made with Selenite, Green Aventurine, Citrine, Moss Agate, Tree Agate, and Black Tourmaline. The Spring Equinox card comes from the Earth Magic Oracle. The Green stones symbolize growth and abundance. The Yellow symbolizes the Sun and energy for growth. The White and Black symbolize the balance of equal day and night.

**What new beginnings are you planning and looking forward to? Feel free to reply in the comments.


Earth Magic Oracle (c) 2010 Hay House

When Having a "Mediocre" Life is Enough

What if All I Want is a Mediocre Life?

What if I have chronic illness that limits me every single day so I'm not able to think of a life "that" big because I'm not physically capable of it? So I just want to be content with a simple life... Because that's me. All this "dream big, there's no limits" just doesn't resonate with me because for me, in my life, there ARE limits, inescapable ones. So those platitudes ring false to me every single time I hear them.

I don't write that to make people feel sorry for me. I write it to give voice to the many of us who HAVE to live with limits and limitations and can't just "dream big, BIGGER!" For many of us, there's a limit to what and how much we can do, and no amount of "RAH! RAH! Yelling positive affirmations" is going to change that. Can't walk up stairs if you need a wheelchair, and that won't change just because you think positive.

For so many of us, the limitations we cope with are inescapable. Doesn't mean we can't contribute or do big things. But for many of us, that's just not our reality. For many of us, a "mediocre" life is what we aspire to because it represents an improvement on our lives or maybe even the best life we can achieve. And that's ok.

Right now, I'm working my way through Esme Wang's Ass Kicking With Limitations course It's a short, 5 day email course, to help you think about how to work better within your limitations. I'm enjoying it. It's simple, but makes you think. It's taking me longer than 5 days to finish because I need to work on it on "good" or "better" days. Been having some ups and downs a lot lately, especially due to trying to find allergy meds that work for me and that I'm not sensitive to. I'm looking forward to finishing the course soon.

We all have to figure out how to live the best life we can, given our own personal circumstances. All we can do is try and put in the effort. Everyone is different. Everyone's view of a good and successful life is different. Don't let what others are doing make you feel discouraged because it's not what you want or are able to do.

Right now, what I want to do is get my Tarot reading business going and work towards being a Crystal Energy Healer. Toward that end I'm blogging and posting on social media when I'm able to. A lot of the "conventional" business wisdom just doesn't help or apply to me, as it's not designed for those with limitations. So I'm stumbling my way through, learning as I go along, finding what works for me.

How do you "kick ass" given your own personal limitations? Feel free to reply in the comments.



Please also consider following me on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest): @RenaraTarot

My Top 10 Favorite Tarot Books

Here's a list of my favorite Tarot books. They are in no particular order, with the exception of number 1.

1. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer (Probably my favorite Tarot book. So incredibly helpful.)
2. Tarot 101 by Kim Huggens (Deeper than many 101 type books. A comprehensive course in Tarot, with exercises and journaling.)
3. Tarot Spreads by Barbara Moore (Covers a wide variety of Tarot spreads.)
4. Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen (This is a monster of a book, over 900 pages! I haven't read it all yet, but what I have read so far has been incredible. A comprehensive reference for the serious Tarotist.)
5. Tarot for Yourself by Mary K. Greer (An excellent Tarot workbook with LOTS of exercises)
6. Who Are You In Tarot by Mary K. Greer (A very interesting book on Numerology and Tarot that covers personality archetypes.)
7. Tarot Tour Guide by Christiana Gaudet (Tarot and the Four Elements)
8. Practical Tarot's Quick Start Guide to Learning and Reading the Cards by Barbara Moore (two short ebooks that are decent and inexpensive)
9. Your Tarot, Your Way by Barbara Moore (helping you to figure out how you best work with Tarot)
10. A Magical Course in Tarot by Michele Morgan (My very first Tarot book. Great for helping you start with Tarot without getting bogged down in lots of card meanings.)

What are your favorite Tarot books? Feel free to share in the comments.


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My Favorite Oracle Deck/Tarot Deck Combinations

One of my favorite methods of doing readings, especially personal readings for myself, is a combination method I came up with. I draw an Oracle card as a topic card, asking "What do I need to know right now?" Then I draw three Tarot cards to get more information about the topic or message brought up by the Oracle card. I also draw a Rune, asking "What else do I need to know?"

This combination method is really great for when you're not doing so well and need a message but aren't sure what to ask. Using the three different tools helps make sure you don't just see what you want to see, but see the actual messages. If the three tools are all saying similar or coordinating messages, then you can be more sure you're not just seeing what you want to see.

This method really helped me a lot. Using this style of reading, I was able to get myself out of a couple of very deep ruts while dealing with coping with chronic illness.

I like to use decks that have similar or related themes. I looked at my collection of Tarot and Oracle decks and combined those that had similar themes and seem to work well together.

Here is a list of combinations I really love. They are in no particular order.

Favorite Oracle and Tarot Deck Combinations

1. Witchlings/Joie de Vivre Tarot
2. Oracle of Shadows and Light/The Deviant Moon Tarot or The Happy Tarot
3. Oracle of the Shapeshifters/Tarot of the Magical Forest or The Animal Wisdom Tarot
4. The Faerie Guidance Oracle/Joie de Vivre Tarot or The Paulina Tarot
5. The Ceccoli Oracle/The Ceccoli Tarot
6. Earth Magic Oracle/The Gaian Tarot
7. The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle/The Wild Unknown Tarot

Honorable mentions go to:

Favorite Oracle and Tarot Deck Combinations Honorable Mentions

• Wild Wisdom of Faery Oracle/The Crystal Visions Tarot
• The Transparent Oracle/The Transparent Tarot both by Emily Carding
• Oracle of the Mermaids/The Shadowscapes Tarot
• The Oracle of Visions/Legacy of the Divine Tarot or The Steampunk Tarot by Barbara Moore
• Froud's Faery Oracles (either/both)/The Wild Unknown Tarot or the Runes
• Oracle of the Dragonfae/Fantastical Creatures Tarot
• The Faery Forest Oracle/The Tarot of Trees

Do you have any divination tools that you like to use together? Feel free to share in the comments.


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My Top 10 Favorite Oracle Decks

The following list of my favorite Oracle decks is in no particular order.

My Favorite Oracle Decks

1. The Oracle of Shadows and Light
2. Oracle of the Shapeshifters
3. Earth Magic Oracle
4. Ceccoli Oracle
5. Witchlings
6. The Faerie Guidance Oracle
7. The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle
8. The Nature Speak Oracle
9. The Wild Wisdom of Faery Oracle
10. The Oracle of Visions

Honorable mentions go to:

Favorite Oracle Decks Honorable Mentions

• Myths and Mermaids Oracle of the Water by Jasmine Becket-Griffith 
• The Transparent Oracle by Emily Carding
• The Faerie Oracle by Brian Froud
• The Heart of Faerie Oracle by Brian Froud

What are your favorite Oracle decks? Feel free to share in the comments.


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My Top 10+ Favorite Tarot Decks

This list is in no particular order, with the exception of number one.

My Favorite Tarot Decks

1. The Sun and Moon Tarot (This deck is the very first deck I ever learned Tarot with. It is the first deck I ever got intuitive impressions with.)
2. The Happy Tarot
3. The Joie de Vivre Tarot
4. The Gaian Tarot
5. Tarot of the Magical Forest
6. The Steampunk Tarot by Barbara Moore (because there's more than one Steampunk Tarot)
7. The Shadowscapes Tarot
8. The Deviant Moon Tarot
9. The Ceccoli Tarot
10. The Wild Unknown Tarot
11. The Crystal Visions Tarot
12. The Oracle Tarot (has Major and Minor Arcanas but no Court Cards)

Honorable mentions go to:

Favorite Tarot Decks Honorable Mentions

• The Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding
• The Paulina Tarot
• The Animal Wisdom Tarot
• The Tarot of Trees
• The Zombie Tarot
• The Housewives Tarot
• The World Spirit Tarot

What are your favorite Tarot decks? Please feel free to share in the comments.


Please consider also following me on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest) @RenaraTarot.