Joy – Reflective Tarot

August 13, 2017August 14, 2017

Inspiration From the Cards

Inspiration. It comes unexpectedly. From unassuming places. It is when we don’t look for it, when we don’t have any expectations, that it shows up. When we look, search, force ourselves to find inspiration, it hides with all its might.

Simply allowing things to ‘just be’ creates space for Inspiration to have the comfort of showing up. It doesn’t like to be squeezed. It doesn’t like being demanded. It doesn’t like being preconceived. It will just float in on the breeze, awaken you from a dream, pop up like the proverbial lightbulb.

I just pulled three cards to inspire me to write a blog post. The first was the Knight of Swords. It looked exhausting. I put it down and pulled another. It was the Three of Swords. It looked painful. I put it down and pulled another. It was the Eight of Swords. It looked stuck. I was about to put it down and stopped myself. I decided to allow. I would allow myself to sit with these three challenging cards. Allow space to open up and just see what was there. Without my judgement. Without my preconceived notions. And just look at what showed up.

What showed up was acceptance. Of what difficulties they held. What showed up was relief. I didn’t have to be bothered with picking any more cards. What showed up was ease. I didn’t have to keep hoping for ‘better’ cards. I didn’t have to fight it. What was. Was.

And it inspired me to write this post.

It doesn’t even matter what the cards meant. The acceptance of them without a fight is what was invaluable.

When we allow inspiration to happen, it will happen. When it comes to tarot cards, the inspiration is always there. It just may not be what you expect. And how wonderful is that? You get to engage with something totally new and unexpected. Tarot cards inspire us by showing us new, something we hadn’t previously thought of. We can see things from a different angle.

Even now, you can allow inspiration in. Without the cards in front of you. Look around you. What do you see? Pick something, anything, it doesn’t matter if it is a bird at the feeder or the laundry waiting to be folded.

What colors do you see?
What do like about it?
Dislike about it?
What attachments do you have to what you are seeing?
What would you like to change?
What memories does it bring up?
How would you change it?

Don’t overthink, don’t look for meaning, just look. Don’t force an answer, just observe. Allow those observations to play in your head without an end result, without a goal of being inspired. Just allow.

There you go. That’s all you need to do. Don’t look for it, don’t ask for it, and maybe now, maybe later, inspiration will just be there. Your answers will come to you down the line, as you have created space for, allowed, and played with inspiration.

Love,

Vaike

(card images from U.S. Games: Centennial Smith Waite)

February 6, 2016February 12, 2016

How Adding Tarot to Life Coaching Can Bring Out Your Best Self

Tarot and life coaching? Some people give me funny looks when I tell them what I do. They can’t quite put the two together, and look at me in puzzlement.

I would like to share with you how tarot and coaching is an amazing combination.

As we deal with life, work, family, exercise, and so on, there is one thing that I see so often getting neglected: Your true creative self. The part of you that is playful, joyous, free. Your actual soul, heart center, true nature.

Adding tarot into coaching is simply tapping in to your creative self. The work becomes playful. You find your answers to how to achieve your goals through your own creative nature.

When is the last time you looked at a picture and saw yourself? When is the last time you created your own story? Or even just saw your own story through the drama and distractions of life. When did you last remember yourself? Your true nature?

When you work with a Reflective Tarot Coach, we go through your cards together. You get to actually look at your own story through the images of the cards. And, even better, you get to create your own story moving forward! Really, this is your own life, there is no reason why you should not get to design it. Its all we have. Let’s make the most of it.

When you tap into the creative part of yourself, that colorful place where you get to draw outside the lines, that is where your freedom lies. Away from the ‘shoulds’, the ‘mustn’ts’, the ‘have tos’. There are ALWAYS other options, other ways of being, other choices. When you engage in play those new ways of being, of joy, will show up. Play can be something that is sorely lacking in us as adults. We forget the joy and magic of it. We created our identities as children when we were at play. Now is the time to find that place again.

Answers show up because when we use stories, when we play, when we color, we use different brain muscles. And these muscles will engage in new ways. And these new ways will find amazing paths through the forest. To our true natures. Our true desires.

Life coaching gets you the life results you want: new job, new business, more time, less clutter, better relationships, new relationships, etc. Adding Tarot lets you tap into your heart to really know the depth and true nature of those desires. And that makes creating your life so much more powerful.

Let’s see what life we can create for you…Vaike.com

Love,

Vaike

February 2, 2016February 3, 2016

10 Tarot Cards to Keep You on Your Path

Doing the right thing for ourselves. Sometimes it is hard to remember. Sometimes it is hard to figure out. We get lost and we forget our path. The path we know we should be on, we belong on, we want to be on. It is so easy to get lost in the woods with so many trees of distraction.

Here are 10 things we can learn from tarot to help guide us on our path to awesomeness…

1. Page of Wands. What do you dream of? What is your ideal? What would bring you joy? These are questions that we need to ask ourselves. When we get caught up in the daily grind of life, we tend to put these on the back burner. Bring them forth again. Start to dream. Start to question. Start to learn. Go back to the beginning and look at this very moment as an invitation to bring your dreams into your life. Take a minute. Answer the above questions without boundaries. Freely. Write down what comes up for you. Put is somewhere that will remind you to remember. To dream.

2. Five of Cups. Regrets. Loss. We all have them. It is part of life. But when we focus on them at the cost of neglecting and appreciating what wo DO have, we are doing ourselves a disservice. What would it take to turn you around? Stand up and look in front of you. What do you see? Now turn around? What do you see? You are in the same time and place but the view is different. All it took was turning your viewpoint around. Name a regret. Or two. Now turn around and name something you are grateful for. And a second thing. And a third. Fill that list. Find gratitude. How does the view look now?

3. Queen of Cups. Acknowledging your feelings. They are just feelings. We honor them, but we also know they pass. This knowledge can get you through your challenges. The Queen of Cups in you is mature with her feelings. She can be with them and not be run by them. You are that Queen.

4. Six of Wands. You have victories. Plenty of them. Stop and absorb them. You deserve it. What are your victories? How have you celebrated them? What is a victory you can celebrate right now? And how are you going to do that? What is a reward you can honor yourself with right in this moment? Go do it!

5. Ace of Swords. Now that you have celebrated yourself, your awesomeness, regroup. Get back to thinking about your dreams, your values. What is at your core self that you truly believe in? What can you cut away with this sword? What no longer fits in your life?

6. Eight of Pentacles. Moving forward. To your dreams. To who you want to be. Baby steps and focus. Keep on keeping on. Be conscious of where you need to put your energy. What will move you forward? What is a baby step you can take towards your goal?

7. Ten of Swords (my card!). What can you be done with? What can you let go of? What heavy weight is holding you down? If you can’t let go right now, can you just give it acceptance without judgement? Can you focus on the sunrise? How will you do that?

8. Eight of Swords. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of a misstep. Afraid of making the wrong decision. How has fear been holding you back? What is it costing you? What else is it costing you? What would it be like to be fearless? Try it on. Play with it. Fantasize.

9. Three of Cups. Friends. Love. Support. As you move towards your life, towards your dreams, who can support you? Where can you find an ally? Who will rally around you and root for you? Those are who to bring in close.

10. Ten of Pentacles. The end goal. The big picture. This card shows the fruits of one’s labors, the result of the personal foundation you are creating now. This card shows family, community, security. That may or may not be what your desires are. What do you want your success to be? What is your personal end result? Go back to your dreams, your desires. How can you make it a solid vision? How do you imagine yourself in it? Take this vision and keep it with you. Wear it like a cloak, a mantle. Watch as the world changes around you and aligns…

And, of course to take this deeper for profound change, please book a session.

Love,

Vaike

September 15, 2015

The Wheel of Fortune, Life, Change

It keeps turning.

It keeps changing.

That is what it means to be alive.

Change. Growth. Movement.

We can’t stop it. We can’f force it. But we can make a choice.

We can choose how we will react. We can choose how to respond.

The coming of falls such a stunning reminder of change. The end of summer brings its own kind of new beauty.

It is our human nature to fight change. To protect ourselves from it. But wouldn’t it be easier to roll with it? To weather the slings and arrows with grace and ease?

That is where self reflection comes in. Once we see how we are fighting, it gives us the tools to move forward. With grace. With ease.

vaike.com

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015

Anxiety and The Hanged Man

Anxiety. It sucks. That’s all there is too it. When we get caught up in it, it can take over our world. Anxiety can affect every aspect of our lives.

The problem is, is that it is a vicious cycle. The more you have anxiety, the more your anxious brain creates reasons to be anxious.

This is where The Hanged Man comes in. “Let go, and let be” is a wonderful way to look at this card. When you are trussed up with so much that is beyond your control, relaxing and letting go will often allow you to see things in a different perspective. Just like hanging upside down shows you the world in a whole new context.

When things are overwhelming, you can either spiral up with all the overwhelm, or you can just let go. Let it be. Allow knowledge to come to you.

That being said, we all know that “letting go and letting be” is the absolute hardest thing in the world to do. But once we have knowledge, once we can tap into ‘why’, we can sit and process with much more ease.

When you can look at your anxious moments through the cards, that awareness will help give you a space to rest. And when your anxiety can rest, it can recede. And when it can recede, solutions, results and actions can come take its place.

And then you can move forward powerfully.

Then you can create your world.

Then it becomes awesome…

This is one of the ways we can work together with the Reflective Tarot Coaching process to create solutions, so you can move past whatever is stopping you and move forward to an amazing life.

If you are ready, let’s book a session together!

January 13, 2015October 23, 2015

I Saw the House of the Hermit Last Night.

I took a walk in the darkness last night.

There was a light midway up the black night of mountain.

A new light. Amber. Homey. Warm.

I had never seen it before, and thought, “that is where I would like to live.” Slowly, as I kept walking, the light slowly, slowly disappeared into nothingness. I could see no place on the mountain. It was dark. Black.

It was a momentary gift. The Hermit stepped out of his cave of reflection to shine a light for me. Maybe an invitation to go in.

Go in to the cave. Be quiet in the light of a single lamp.

Listen.

The only way we are going to hear ourselves is if we listen.

The only way we are going to listen is if we are not distracted.

The only way we are not going to be distracted is if we go in to our cave.

And listen.

Listen in our dark. Listen in our silence. Listen to what is deep and hidden.

There is our voice.

In the darkness. In the cave of the mountain.

Our voice is that beautiful amber light. It will light up the worlds darkness. It will be a beacon.

But we need to hear it first.

That’s what The Hermit tells us…

(Hermit card again from the amazing Wild Unknown Tarot Deck)

January 2, 2015October 23, 2015

A Powerful New Year!

It’s a new year! New growth. New opportunities. New possibilities.

I choose a card for the new year. Consciously. I wanted to be conscious in my choice as I want you to remember that whatever happens, whatever shows up in your world, you still have choice. You still have your own power in how you want to see, to be, in the world. And, by taking on choice, you create your world. You create the world.

We are that powerful. As long as we remember it.

And so I choose the Ten of Cups. Specifically from The Wild Unknown Deck.

It is simple. And in its simplicity it all comes together. Coming together is what this year is about. If we all gather together, if we all create change, both within ourselves and without, that is where the love is. That is where the joy is. That is where the happiness is.

That is where the strength truly resides.

This is what I wish for us to take on this year.

It is time for us to make it all come together.

September 10, 2014

Tarot as Tool

I believe that the tarot is a tool for us. Not magical. Not an oracle. But a tool where we have the power. The future is in our control. The images and stories of the tarot remind us of the path we are going through. As this path is pretty universal to humanity, the symbols in it are common to us all. Maybe different shapes, sizes and colors, but we are still the same.

We all share goals in one form or another. It is this sameness that the images speak to, the collective consciousness. Sometimes this ‘sameness’ is hidden. Under layers of protection. This can even be hidden in the unconscious.

By using the tarot to open oneself up, it can bring back out, from under these layers, our inner guide, which knows what we, as living, loving humans, strive for.

The tarot can help re-guide us back to beauty, love and happiness.

October 8, 2013

Failure. It’s a good thing.

Creating boundaries, and getting great at establishing them, is an ongoing process. From my childhood, I brought with me the idea that I was not allowed to have boundaries, it was selfish, only adults could make those decisions, and a bunch of other crap that really winded up getting me in a lot of really bad situations.

So, I love taking on boundaries! I love exercising that right whenever I can, whenever I want to. But a sneaky thing started showing up. I would state a boundary, but then, in the back of my mind, I would have these long winded conversations, with myself, by myself, to prove to myself (?) that I was ‘right’. It was getting in the way of the joy that boundaries can create.

Turns out, I could establish boundaries, but I needed to be right while doing so.

Why? Because if I was wrong, it was a failure on my part. And failures meant I was a bad person. Failures meant a judgement on myself. Know one might know, but I would know, and that was bad enough. (It’s amazing the stories we make up about ourselves. Makes me want to take a nap, they are so exhausting…)

But was all that true?

Is a failure a bad thing?

It all depends on how you look at it. And how you look at it is everything. What if failure was an amazing gift? What if failure meant you got to move one step forward on the game board of life? It moves us forward. It teaches us. It gives us wisdom. It gives us compassion. It gives us maturity. It gives us another tool in our bag of knowledge.

Failure is something to honor. To say thank you for. We can see it as information. As a lesson that gets us closer to graduating.

We let failure walk hand in hand with shame so often. And we don’t even question it.

Failure can be a hard lesson, a hard gift, I am not going to deny that. But it is also to be honored. It can be celebrated. Why not?

Really. Why. Not? We all do it. No on gets left out. What an amazing thing.

You always have the ability to choose how you want to look at something. What if you congratulate yourself when you fail? What if you start to honor your experience of being human when you fail? What gets better in your life? What things drop away? What would be the most amazing way for you to see a failure?

Try it and see what changes it brings to your life.

January 3, 2013

Living in Your Future Goals

When you want to make a life change, it doesn’t just happen by magic. You need to invest your imagination into it. It becomes alive in your own mind before I comes alive in reality. Just start to imagine. Start to live in the ‘being’ of the future. If you have specific goals, start ‘doing’ them in your head. Imagine what that website is going to look like. Imagine what your new conversations with others are going to sound like. Imagine your outfits. Imagine how you will be wearing your hair, and what jewelry you will have on. Work the numbers of your future income in your mind; how much you will earn per hour, how many hours you will be working.

We create it as we go along. When you ‘live’ it in your imagination, you will find, all of a sudden, that you are living it in real life. It becomes solid in your creative being before it becomes solid on earth. You pull yourself into the future in that manner. It’s not a scary unknown, because you have tried it on already. The stress of change will diminish, because you have worked out imaginary situations already. They do become real in the ether before they become real in ‘real life’.

You can live your future now. Go try it on!