BOOK REVIEW: Tarot Diva

Tarot Diva, by Sasha Graham                     

Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, Minnesota

http://www.llewellyn.com

ISBN #:  978-0-7387-2604-5

PB:  $18.95

300 pages

Tarot Diva is written in first person, which causes the entire book to read as though you and Sasha are sitting down in your living room having a nice long tarot chat over several cups of coffee.   First person for a tarot book presents the reader with a fresh perspective written in a personal voice and this causes the entire text to be easily readable and accessible, even to tarot newcomers.

For a newcomer to tarot, Tarot Diva has it all:  brief interpretations, meditations, exercises, spells, tarot charms, cooking recipes, and more.  The book provides a wealth of information all in one place that is easily readable, understandable, and is presented in a charming and friendly manner.  For anyone, the book is an enjoyable read.

The word, “diva,” is Italian for “goddess.”  The term is used “to describe any woman of unusually glamorous and successful talent …  anyone who walks the walk, talks the talk …  A diva is not to be crossed or messed with” (p. 6).  The chief premise of this book is that tarot cards can help you to discover and to release your inner diva by cultivating your intuition.  

Sasha Graham presents information on how to keep a tarot journal, creating tarot charms to manifest desired outcomes, the major and minor arcana experiences in life and how to tell the difference between the two, kitchen tarot focusing on how to apply the tarot archetypes to your cooking, and how to discover and refine your sense of personal style through the tarot archetypes.

Specific to tarot, Sasha Graham presents information on how to choose a deck that best fits you, creating sacred space and tarot ritual, archetypes, and the four suits and their associations.  What I found enjoyable was her discussion of the court cards as though they were personality types one would actually know.  For example, the Knight of Pentacles as the good looking popular boy who drives a nice car and comes from a family with money.  In other words, “beefcake dreaminess” (p. 154).  Her descriptions of the court cards brought them to life for me.   Her discussion of the minor arcana is thorough.  Ace – ten of each suit is discussed in terms of not only their basic interpretations, but each is accompanied by one or more of the following:  journaling exercises, spreads, beauty tips and practices, charms and spells, methods to strengthen a card’s energies in your life, even health and diet are all topics addressed and connected to particular cards.  

Regarding the process of doing a reading, basic topics are included; such as, how to shuffle (many people do wonder about this), spreads (1 & 3-card, Stairway, Celtic Cross), reading for yourself and others.   What I found particularly enjoyable about this section was how the author broke down the 10-card Celtic Cross spread into several smaller readings with question prompts to ask yourself that will help a reader to learn the deeper meanings of each card position within that spread.  

All in all, Tarot Diva, is not only informative, but the information is presented in a very entertaining manner.  This is a book to enjoy and then to keep on your tarot bookshelf for years to come as a good reference.

Lillies of the Field: How the Universe Takes Care of Us

From Luke 12:27 - 28:   "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you"  ~ Jesus Christ.
 

A little story to demonstrate in what wonderful ways the universe works.  In mid-July I performed an enchantment for myself regarding the upcoming Mercury retrograde period.  My business always takes a nosedive & I end up getting sick at some point every time Mercury goes Rx.  I focused on being prosperous, even if it was just $50 a day, every single day of the Rx & of course, focusing on my health. 

The Rx hit & the orders just never stopped coming in and I've been incredibly busy to the point I have no time for myself.  However, I am NOT complaining!  Far from it!  I'm very grateful, especially with Ariel starting school . I always buy her school clothes so that's where most of it has gone, plus I had already enjoyed such a good summer I was able to pay off all my debt. 

The other day I had a painfully swollen lymph node under my chin.  I began rubbing it.  I felt it "move", but I guess maybe I popped it.  The gunk in it moved up along my jawline until it found an outlet.  I'll spare you all the gory details.  Still, I feel that was going to be an infection starting, but since I massaged my neck/chin area I got it to clear up.  I never even felt sick from it, but there was a lot of pain.

Yesterday I didn't receive a single order.  However, to show you how the universe still took care of me & how my enchantment still managed to manifest prosperity for me - I took Ariel to Kohl's for her school clothes.  I had 3 expired $10 Kohl's Cash coupons.  The nice lady took all 3 so that removed $30 off the top of my bill, plus I had a 15% off coupon.  I ended up saving $78, not to mention everything we bought was also on sale.  Grand total of savings was around $340.  I never buy anything full price anyway so I don't pay much attention to that, still it was nice to see.

Stuart brings in the mail yesterday evening & says to me, "This is intriguing."  I look and it's from HP saying "open immediately."  I have an HP laptop & printer.  I figured it was a recall notification.  Instead, it was notification that a rebate check for $50 from 2008 had never been cashed.  HP wanted to know if I still wanted it.  Oh, yeah! 

Later in email a new client of mine, Julie, offered to send me a book, so a day of no orders ended up being filled with prosperity anyhow, plus a present.  This just goes to show me how the universe was still taking good care of me.  Overall, a really great day.

Where Have I Gone???

Greetings Everyone!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything other than a review.  Things have been crazy this summer & I'm very thankful for that.

This time last year I was in a full-scale panic.  My business (Magickal-Musings.com) had not generated more than $150 in income during the month of July, 2010.  My husband had been unemployed earlier in the spring and into early summer for 7 weeks and we were struggling to catch up with necessary bills.

Due to his job loss, my near lack of an income for July (and not much more came in during the month of June), last year my husband gave me an ultimatum.  On a THURSDAY he told me if I didn't bring in $500 by MONDAY that he would consider my business defunct & have me shut it down & hit the pavement on Monday to look for a new job.

All this occurred last August.  I sent out a plea to all of my contacts asking them if they had been thinking of ordering anything from my site, to please do so ASAP since I was in immediate danger of losing my business.

The response I received was immediate and it was also very touching.  One client, Henri, sent me $11 saying the numerology of his donation would help me to manifest more.  He didn't order anything.  Another client ordered a $150 Tarot Annual Forecast.  She told me to get it to her "whenever" as she knew I had a lot on my mind.  Many who could not afford to order at the time sent me encouraging emails, most of whom begged me not to close my business and said I was the only one they trusted for enchantments and readings.  Many of those people went on to say how much I had helped them and some people have been clients for a decade.

I received 114 supportive and loving emails, some from clients I hadn't heard from in years.  Along with those emails orders began to trickle in.  A $45 reading here, a $50 enchantment there.  I was amazed that after sending the mass email out on Thursday evening that by Saturday I had received orders totaling nearly $400.  I was only a mere $100 from my Monday goal of $500.  By that Monday, not only had my clients come through for me, but they did so with flying colors.  My business generated just over $700 in a mere 4 days.

It is due to my clients that Magickal-Musings.com is still here and I am still able to do the work that I love so much, which is helping others and being of service in a spiritual manner.   I sent out another mass email thanking everyone for their support and informing them that my business was safe.  In fact, after removing the names, I allowed my husband to read some of those supportive emails.

You see, I'm like a Catholic priest or a lawyer.  I believe in client/practitioner confidentiality. I do not share ANY details of any case with my husband, daughter, or anyone else.  People come to me with very sensitive issues and I have enough respect for my clients to keep all the information to myself.  So my husband was really clueless as to exactly what I did or how readings or spells could be of any help to anyone.

Once he began to read those emails he got tears in his eyes.  He kept saying, "I had no idea!"  He then told me that I was providing a highly valuable service and that if anything ever got that bad for us again he assured me that I would be able to keep working and to maintain my business.  So I never have to worry again.

Now, flash forward to now, August, 2011, just 1 year after I nearly lost my business.  Summers are notoriously slow for me.  People go on vacation, the kids are home wanting to be taken to the movies and the mall.  Come August it's time to shop for school clothes and supplies.  During the summer people just don't have the disposable income they have during other times of the year.  A business like mine, you see, depends upon "disposable" income, which is that part of your income you do not have immediate need for in terms of getting bills paid, keeping a roof over your head, or food in your tummy.  When people have a few extra bucks, that's when they order from a site like mine.

So, as June approached I figured oh dear, here we go again, but I'll have plenty of time to have fun with my 12 year old daughter, plus I knew for my June birthday my wonderful husband was taking me to Maui, Hawaii for a second time (we first went in 2009).

While in Maui many wonderful things occurred.  I fulfilled my life-long dream of snorkeling with sea turtles, whom I dearly love.  As an added bonus on that snorkeling trip I got splashed in the face by a dolphin - who did so on purpose and it thought its antics were hilarious while the splash left another lady on the boat and I screaming.  Another dolphin popped its head up at us and also laughed. It was awesome.  Probably one of the best memories I'll ever have.  I was blessed with the addition of a new spirit guide while on Maui and I received a very strong emotional healing from Nature Herself while there.

However, also while in Maui I had to keep my iPhone handy constantly.  I began receiving a lot of inquiry emails from prospective clients who had found my site somehow.  Then the orders began to come in.  By the time we returned home a week later I was booked solid for the coming week!  I have never in my 12 years of being online have been booked solid a week in advance.

The amazing thing was that the orders - many from new people - just kept coming in.  So by the end of that first very hectic week back at work the end of June I was booked solid for another week. I even had to break my cardinal rule of reserving weekends for family.  I worked the entire 4th of July 3-day weekend just so I could keep up with demand!

The pace has continued and so that is where I have been.  I am "here" as being online, but I've been performing enchantments, doing readings, creating a Manifestation Mandala (which is nearly completed, see the photo at left), plus in between all that taking care of our house, our child, making meals, washing dishes, doing laundry, vacuuming, buying the groceries, and doing all the other "mom" things that I do on a regular basis.  I didn't even have time to focus on my own art work - my Magickal Musings Tarot has languished for most of the summer. I only returned to working on it in earnest this past weekend and a new card, the Ace of Birds, is now nearly complete.

I am incredibly grateful for the huge growth spurt my business has experienced during a time that has been historically very slow.  I don't know what's going on.  Many tell me they find my site through a google search.  If you google "how to contact spirit guides" or "contact spirit guides," my page on how to contact your spirit guides comes up as Number ONE.  I had no idea!!  How it happened, again, I have no idea.

Also, creating a presence for myself on Facebook has been a HUGE help.  I have my regular profile page, a business page, and my groups:  Living in the NOW:  Gratitude & Appreciation Society (the newest group), Magickal Musings (the oldest group), Magickal Musings Tarot, and Manifestation Mandalas.  Through my profile page, business page and groups I have "met" online many interesting and wonderful people.  The Living in the NOW group is very special and dear to my heart.  It's barely a month old and we already have 76 members. The goal is to find three things about which you can express gratitude every single day.  The idea being that the more we express gratitude to the Universe the more wonderful blessings we shall receive.  Due to all my business-related activity on Facebook this has also brought me new clients, plus it helps to keep me in the eye of regular clients who can keep up with what's going on with me through my posts and by joining my groups and liking my business page.

This has been a totally insane summer.  I've had to work every single weekend in July just to keep up with demand, but it's been a wonderful feeling.  I've helped many people over the years on every continent (except Antartica) and I am so very, very thankful that I am able to continue to fulfill my Soul's Purpose in this lifetime, which is to act as a spiritual bridge for others and to also empower them to learn more about spirituality so that eventually they shall have enough information that they will be able to do such things on their own.

Despite being so incredibly busy that I often don't know whether I'm coming or going, I'm incredibly grateful for the faith and trust that total strangers place in me and I endeavor always to do my very best in filling every single order and I also make myself available in email to all my clients.  All these years it's been a real pleasure to get to know many of you and I look forward to many  years of service to come.

I wish you all a very blessed week.  I'll post again in a few days as I have a book review almost ready.