Aria Sparrowsong's TAROT AND STARS

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PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | FIRST BLOG ***(I am the last one on this TarotBlogHop so the "First Blog" hyperlink above will take you back to the first post so you can start at the beginning.) The colors are the most beautiful in the Fall Season. Warm browns, golds, yellows, purples, reds, oranges of all shades. Even reflected in the school buses and Number 2 pencils for the beginning of the school year. Fall Equinox and the celebration of Mabon marks an equal day and night of light and darkness. The Sun enters the sign of Libra, representing balance. Preparations are underway for stocking up food and supplies before the Dark Time of the year. Everyone waits for the brightly colored foliage to make it's much anticipated mark on the landscape. The second harvest is of fruits, vegetables on the vine and new wine. In myths and legends, the story of Ceres aka Demeter, Persephone and Hades represents Mabon. Ceres was the Earth Mother who represented agricul…

I consider the number 13 to be a lucky and auspicious one and a Friday the 13th even better yet! A Full Moon in Pisces is an exalted one in Astrology, the watery depths of dream-time and the subconscious will be especially strong this weekend. Perfect for altered states! This Full Moon is a week before Mabon/Fall Equinox, the second celebration of the Harvest represented by the red and purple grapes for wine making and apples, the fruit of the Goddess! Known by the legends and stories world-wide and with the glorious star inside when you cut the fruit in half. I always think of mulled red wine with cinnamon and apple cobbler or pie at this time of year! 
(Lughnassad on the first of August is the First Harvest representing wheat and other grains, bread and beer.) The Harvest time concludes at Samhain, considered the third Harvest and the last chance to prepare for the dark time and the long winter. At Mabon/Fall Equinox next week, we focus our magickal work on the equal time of light …

Well, it really depends on what you prefer. This is just a short comparison on both decks created by Ravynne Phelan. I love the Dreams of Gaia Tarot, the art work is stunning and the restructuring of the Major Arcana just works for me when doing professional readings. You can find a description of the restructuring of the Major Arcana of this deck HERE. 
Sometimes this deck is more oracle in nature and some of the meanings of the cards are different than the standard Rider-Waite-Colman-Smith based decks, but that doesn't seem to matter when one is reading them in a spread and using one's intuition to divine the blending of the cards. I was drawn to the sigils for the elements and the use of them in lieu of the traditional suits of the Tarot deck.
My favorite difference in favor of the pocket edition is the lack of borders so the art really pops on the smaller deck! Also the pocket edition has the matte type of paper stock; the large deck uses shiny paper stock and the cards f…

Love this book--A Deck of Spells--Hoodoo Playing Card Magic in Rootwork and Conjure! A really great source on cartomancy--using an easily accessible deck of playing cards for divination and simple spell-work. Easily organized to help one learn the meanings of each card for readings to include: the pips and court cards (people or their personalities or qualities) and lots of intriguing history and facts. The spell instructions are varied--for almost every purpose under the Sun and easy to do with items you can get right from a grocery or craft store. Southern lore, hoodoo and root-work predominate in these spells...you don't need to pay anyone to do your spells for you when you can do them yourself--this is much more ethical and teaches you how to set your own intentions! Highly recommend this book if you want to learn these secrets and a great addition to one's spiritual library!

First, the technical stuff! The term ‘supermoon’ refers to a new or full moon which occurs on (or near) the point on the moon’s orbit closest to the earth (known as lunar perigee). It was coined by the astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, when he observed that geo-physical stress seems to be enhanced within three days either side of their occurrence, causing earthquakes and other extreme weather phenomena. However, later research has refuted this claim, so there is some debate in that respect. There are usually between four and six supermoons a year. A full supermoon appears visibly bigger in the sky and can be a truly spectacular sight, especially in the northern hemisphere during Winter, when such moons are at their largest. Nolle established that the moon must be within 90% of perigee to be deemed a supermoon. However, this can designate ‘super’ status to a moon which is more than twenty degrees away from perigee: a very generous orb of astrological influence. In practice I now apply a …

Check out the whole story at the first link...read how this Moon will affect each sign! More about the name of this moon (Sturgeon) and skywatching info at the second link. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa7ezg/daily-horoscopes-august-6-2019 https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1165274/full-moon-august-2019-what-is-the-sturgeon-moon-full-moon-names-meaning

Special Half Hour Analysis of Your Natal Chart for only $50!

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I need your birth date, birth time and birth place to do an accurate chart.
Contact me through my contact form on the left hand side margin of this website or email TarotandStars@gmail.com. You can also call or text me at 813.312.2292.
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Prices good until August 18th, 2019.
15 mins for $25 30 mins for $45 45 mins for $55 60 mins for $75

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The study of names is called onomastics, a field which touches on linguistics, history, anthropology, psychology, sociology, philology, genealogy, ethnicity and much more. When people refer to the "meaning of a name," they are most likely referring to the etymology, which is the original literal meaning. A name is important as it is one's identity. It is the essence of a person. A link to one's culture, family, ancestors and the part of the world they come from. Many times, it is the first thing we get to know about a person who has entered into our sphere of influence. Names are central in defining identity.
What is the very first thing we ask our clients? "What's your name?" And if we are really good at what we do we don't forget their name and during the consultation we will use their name by addressing them or asking them questions a few times. This has a magickal affect on the person getting the reading. It …

Lammas / Lughnassad is the only Sabbat that does not have a major Christian holy day or celebration attached to it. It is still a sacred time--as summer winds to a close it is the beginning of preparations for the Dark Time of the year. The Celtic Sun God, Lugh rules this special time as does John Barleycorn, who puts all of his energy in the crops and lays down to die beckoning the coming Fall season. (Check out this very cool song by the band Traffic--"John Barleycorn Must Die." I also remember driving through a farming area of England that was north of London many years ago and seeing a pub by the same name in a tiny village I passed through and wondering if members of the band Traffic had grown up nearby.) It is thought that in times past, many fairs and festivals were happening during this part of the Wheel of the Year and of course, the First Harvest was the highlight of the Summer. The harvesting of the barley, wheat and corn kept egalitarian people busy and in the f…

July 16 is an astrologically eventful night, bringing us a full buck moon and partial lunar eclipse. What does that all mean? Let’s break it down. First, each month's full moon has different traditional names. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, July’s full moon is called the buck moon or thunder moon, because it coincides with the time of year when a buck’s antlers are full grown and thunderstorms are frequent. Next, a lunar eclipse only occurs during a full moon. It happens when the sun, moon, and Earth align in such a way that the Earth’s shadow moves over the face of the moon. This month brings us a partial lunar eclipse, so the Earth’s shadow will be seen on only part of moon. While much of the world — including most of Australia, Africa, South America, Europe, and Asia — will be able to see the partial lunar eclipse, the majority of North America is out of luck. A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon, because of the reddish tinge that can sometimes be see…

Read about the New Moon, Mercury Retrograde, the Eclipses, the Full Moon halfway through July and so much more by clicking HERE for a good article from Allure Magazine. I will add more links as they are published. Get ready for a wild-ass rest of the summer!

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Timing is always tricky when doing a spread for a client. I have always relied on my intuition for this just like with other elements of the reading. The timing of a specific event is usually a secondary question the client has and most of us probably pull out additional cards for clarification and set those to the side of the spread we are doing after the question is raised. This is how symbology can be used to our advantage. The topic of timing is a huge and never ending study for tarot aficionados. Tarot decks are being created continually with new art, colors, symbols, court cards, suit representations to give us hints and clues. In our standard Rider Waite or Smith Waite--based decks, symbology is determined by the clues we have within the images on the cards; the numbers, the flowers, trees, the sky, including clouds, rain, animals, birds, angels, darkness, light, various colors and the elements themselves that are represented by pentacles…

Superbly packaged in a sturdy box, these are standard Tarot sized cards, border-less, shiny card-stock and easy to shuffle. Not antiqued but with that old school look and design and the use of the original woodcut drawings by Pamela Colman Smith. 

The colors are different, more bold and the backgrounds utilize stunning shades and tints making for more three dimensional art. From what I understand, the art used for the original Rider Waite backs; a beautiful design of red roses and white lilies is what was used for this deck. 

This is now one of my go-to decks that I will always reach for when doing professional readings because they are so beautiful. The book is in several languages and includes upright and reverse meanings--more in depth than with a tiny white booklet. 

Simply put to collectors; this is one deck that will be a stand out in your collection. I always recommend that my Tarot students start with a Rider Waite or Waite-Colman-Smith deck--so this can also be a student's f…

It is that beautiful time of year when we are planting and starting seeds--literally and figuratively, things are growing and the green everywhere seems like a miracle. Intermittent rain showers are just as beautiful--every time it rains, the Goddess showers us with even more blessings. Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year is on it's way.

In certain cultures and traditions, both modern and in ancient times, the Sun is represented by the female, not the male gender. Amaterasu (Japanese), Beaivi (Sami), Bridget (Celtic), Ceres/Demeter (Greco-Roman), Sunna/Sol (Norse), Hathor and Sekhmet (Egyptian) and so many more come to mind.
A special HEALING SUN spread using the Tarot will be offered at a discount rate until the eve of Summer Solstice. What facets of your life need to be healed? A reading with this spread will clarify what options you have and shed some light on your pathway as you move forward. This is a twenty minute reading for $35.

Call or text me to book your appoi…

The first ever Oracle Deck using Saami (or Sami) images and spiritual principles has been created by a Sami Shaman or Noaidi named Astrid Ingebjørg Swart who is based out of Oslo, Norway. She established her practice over eight years ago and teaches Astrology, Natural Healing, Shamanism, Reflexology and much more--she also teaches internationally.

For those of you that don't know, the Sami or Saami people are the only indigenous people of Europe that the UN recognizes and they live in the far northern parts of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia, mostly above the Arctic Circle. The land, spanning four countries that used to have no borders was called Lapland and the people, Laplanders, but this term is no longer used as it is considered derogatory. They are the reindeer herders of the North and many still make their living this way. They are also known for their love of yoiking or joiking, a form of ceremonial singing and chanting. Since many of the Sami are a nomadic pe…

Love this little deck! Small and poker sized, perfect for doing a Grand Tableau spread using all of the cards! 

I am super fond of the orange to red color and design of the back and the rabbit and roses motif throughout the images on the deck. 
The images have the same type of vintage collage artwork that is used in the White Rabbit Oracle decks. I did a review of those last week that you can read HERE. 
This deck has male/female CHILD cards and an extra MAN and WOMAN card, so 39 cards in all. If anyone is hesitating on buying this, don't! Get it! 
Comes in a small plastic case so perfect for throwing in your pocket or purse and not getting the cards messed up or dog-eared. Highly recommend.
You can find the White Rabbit Oracle store on Etsy by going HERE. The website is HERE.

***Click on the images to make them larger.