This is a listener question, so thank you to Kaytee for asking!

We'll get deeper into the individual cards of Strength and Justice in later episodes, but why is Strength 8 and why is Justice 11? Why is there a numbering difference and how can it change your interpretation of these cards?

For further reading:

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack 

Strength

Pages 72–74 of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom

Justice

Pages 91–96 of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom

Who Are You in the Tarot? by Mary K. Greer (2nd edition; 3rd edition is titled Archetypal Tarot)

Justice as Number 8 for a Year Card

Page 190 of Who Are You in the Tarot?

Strength as Number 11 for a Year Card

Page 193 of Who Are You in the Tarot?

How to Read Tarot by Hilary Parry Haggerty (yup, that's me!)

Please note: if you have little ones around, you may want to use headphones because I do drop the occasional S-bomb in this episode.

While it’s a rarity, the question of “Why didn’t my reading come true?” has been asked of me and of my fellow tarot reading colleagues. It’s normally asked as a hypothetical question, or asked of me from someone that went to a different reader than me, but still… it’s asked, and I’m here to give answers. Being asked this question is not the reason that I shy away from the word prediction… it just simply isn’t my reading style, most of the time. There are several reasons why a predictive tarot reading doesn’t pan out. I have listed them here from most likely to least likely. You may be surprised by the answers…

Read the article here: http://tarotbyhilary.com/why-didnt-my-reading-come-true/

I Got Scammed by a Reader: How It Happened to Me, and How You Can Prevent It: http://tarotbyhilary.com/i-got-scammed-by-a-reader-how-it-happened-to-me-and-how-you-can-prevent-it/

Cardslingers Coast to Coast Episode 66 Spammer Be Gone: https://cardslingerscc.podbean.com/e/episode-66-scammer-be-gone/

“How did the use of the significator card come about? How do you choose a significator? Do you use only Major Arcana cards, or all 78 cards?”

Historically… well, this required a little bit of research, and what I found out is suspect at best, and flat-out wrong at worst. I tend to take anything found on the internet with a grain of salt, and I ask my readers to do the same. Wiki Answers™ claims that “The use of a ‘significator card’ stems from the early practice of using Tarot cards at parties. Each party guest would select a card, and the rest of the guests would tell why that particular card fits the person who selected it. In many predictive Tarot spreads today, the ‘significator card’ may still be suggested. The ‘significator card’ represents the client for whom the reading is being made by the card reader. For this reason, many card readers invite their clients to sift through the cards of the Tarot deck, until they find a card that they feel represents them best.”

Now, I don’t know if that first part is true… (the whole “early practice of using Tarot cards at parties” thang… all I know is I was not invited to those kinds of parties!) but I DO know that most of the time, a significator IS used to represent the client… it’s used as a focal point for whatever tarot spread is being used.

Read the article here: http://tarotbyhilary.com/get-to-know-the-significator/

The Art of Choosing a Tarot Significator: https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2172

The Relative Tarot: https://carrieparis.com/relative-tarot/

Astrology & Tarot: The Decan Wheel https://thothblogs.blogspot.com/2018/12/decan-wheel.html?m=1

Cardslingers episode What are significators? https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ARkgj6tbxz1xHI8UmuGzE?si=a27afa64850e4332

This is an episode in a series …. the “The Major Arcana In-Depth” series! Every few weeks I will be featuring one card of the Major Arcana, from the Fool to the World. Come take a tarot journey with me!

The Emperor is the ruler, the father figure, the head honcho of the tarot. He is the one that ultimately decides things and sees fit on how to rule. He may be a figurehead, or he may be someone with all the power. The Emperor, on a good day, realizes that he is nothing without loyal subjects, and that it is often the will of the people that keeps him on his throne (dictatorship or not… majority rule is a big factor). He also knows, if he is wise, that though the power may seem to come from him as well as the decisions, he chooses to surround himself with a great staff, cabinet, conglomerate, or round table of associates to bounce his ideas off of. If you are looking for an Emperor figure in mythology and legends, look no further than Arthur of Camelot or other mythical kings. Depending on the deck you use, you may find that those very same kings ARE depicted as the Emperor card for that deck, such as Bran the Blessed in the Llewellyn Tarot based on Welsh mythology.

Read the article this episode is based on here: http://tarotbyhilary.com/the-major-arcana-in-depth-iv-the-emperor/

Stuck in writer's block? You better whip out your tarot deck!

Join me for this episode on using the tarot for:

✏️brainstorming plot points

✏️character creation

✏️clearing up a bad case of writer's block

NOTE: If you have little ones around, you may want to use headphones because I do drop the occasional S-bomb in this episode of the podcast.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Randomized Tarot Card Generator: https://serennu.com/tarot/pick.php?l=1c

The Pillars of the Earth Starz mini-series (incorrectly attributed to Showtime during the episode)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

For morning pages: 750words.com

Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner

Tarot Journaling by Corrine Kenner

No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty

National Novel Writing Month nanowrimo.org

Journaling the Tarot by Andy Matzner

The Tarot Activity Book by Andy Matzner

Story Arcana: Tarot for Writers by Caroline Donahue

OmmWriter https://ommwriter.com/

Tarot Tracker by Angelo Nasios

Passion Planner passionplanner.com

Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by Todd Henry

Alexandra Franzen www.alexandrafranzen.com

One of the number ONE questions/problems I face as a reader: being confronted with a client that says, “I’m not quite sure how to phrase my question… can you help?” or “I’m not sure if I CAN ask this…” or “How do I ask this?”

This episode is all about how to frame questions for the tarot that lead to an empowering reading experience. 

Covering subtopics such as: 

✨which types of questions are best for the tarot 

✨the tricky issue of determining timing in a reading 

✨a list of sample questions that you can take with you to your next tarot reading

For further reading: http://tarotbyhilary.com/howtoframequestions/

Books recommended in this episode: Tarot for One: The Art of Reading for Yourself by Courtney Weber

The Empress is the mother figure of the tarot deck. Most tarot decks (but surprisingly not the original Rider-Waite-Smith deck) depict her as pregnant, but that is not the only facet to her: She is also the female ruler, the companion to the Emperor card. The Empress can bring up “mommy issues”, and can point to a maternal influence or a need to be more maternal. She can also signify tremendous opportunities for growth and creativity. The Empress is pregnant with potential: this card can also signify giving birth to a project.

Read about the Empress here: https://tarotbyhilary.com/the-major-arcana-in-depth-iii-the-empress/

Have you had a day from hell today? A day where everyone has misunderstood you, had car trouble, trouble with traffic and people driving like maniacs, and/or computer malfunctions? No, you’re not going crazy. It’s just Mercury Retrograde.

I’m no astrologer. My talent lies with tarot, so I will let astrologers deal with explaining the fun of when a planet like Mercury goes retrograde.

This episode we're tackling both the specifics of this Mercury Retrograde September 9th to October 2nd, 2022 and the generalities of what you should and shouldn't do during a Mercury Retrograde.

Mentioned in the episode:

Chani Nicholas https://mailchi.mp/chaninicholas/mercury-retrograde-september-october-2022?e=bff9f9c0d0

Aliza Kelly https://www.thecut.com/2022/09/mercury-retrograde-september-2022-meaning.html

Avoidance of the New: https://tarotbyhilary.com/avoidance-of-the-new-a-few-words-on-mercury-retrograde/

Mercury Retrograde: The Down and Dirty https://tarotbyhilary.com/mercury-retrograde-the-down-and-dirty-from-a-few-people-that-know/

Past episode of Tarot by Hilary livestream discussing Mercury Retrograde https://youtu.be/snIWP71YvVQ

NOTE: There is some swearing in this episode. If you are listening with little ears around, please grab your headphones before hitting PLAY.

I’ll admit it: Motel Makeover on Netflix quickly became my guilty pleasure watch at the end of the summer.

I binged the entire season in a matter of days (honestly, it’s a pretty quick series).

And while I do admit that some of the seemingly invented drama and crunch times was cheesy, I still watched the whole thing and gleaned some interesting home design tips in the process (not to mention some business nuggets).

Also, I fought with my husband asking the question why can’t I buy a Good Vibes Only neon sign? (answer: the jury’s still out, and I may just order one anyway for my weekly lives.)

I was startled by the amount of hate on the web for these two entrepreneurial ladies that made their livings renovating motels into glorious candy-colored havens. Like seriously? What’d they ever do to you, besides going after their dreams?

I’m so sick of these types of revelations. And they seem to be happening more and more as I continue to make “unpopular” choices, like leaving my “safe” dayjob back in February.

But if I hadn’t done it, I would have never made room for the intense and fast writing of my first book from Flame Tree Publishing (a UK publisher). I signed the contract literally the final week I was at my dayjob! Don’t tell me there isn’t such a thing as synchronicity.

More at https://tarotbyhilary.com/haters-gonna-hate/

QUESTION: What precipitates the choice in a reading to use one deck over another? If someone’s asking you a reading for a relationship are you going to choose a certain deck over another due to the nature of the question?

For a phone/skype/zoom reading, how do you choose if it is not client choice?

These are all excellent questions, asked by a listener: my husband! 

In this episode, I've got both a short and longer answers for ya! You also may want to check out the following articles on my website:

A Deck for Any Situation: How I Choose http://tarotbyhilary.com/a-deck-for-any-situation-how-i-choose/

Behind the Scenes: My Tarot Deck Library http://tarotbyhilary.com/behind-the-scenes-my-tarot-deck-library/

Why the Tarot Nova Made Me a Better Reader (and Almost Made Me Not Become One at All!) http://tarotbyhilary.com/why-the-tarot-nova-made-me-a-better-reader-and-almost-made-me-not-become-one-at-all/