Some of you may be new to Tarot, others may be experienced and wise. The advice in this post is directed to anybody who picks up a pack of Tarot cards and starts to read them. This blog post may appear heavy, dramatic and doom and gloom to some of you. Yet if you go into the psychic world, aware of what can potentially occur, you are wiser and ready.
There are unfortunately dangers when working with your Intuition and Psychic abilities. It seems to be the fashion today to ‘open up fast’. To get our kundalini roaring up towards our third eye. To channel spirits and do automatic writing overnight. To buy a pack of cards and start reading for everyone. I really understand the need to fast track everything – I was there once too.
Not a good idea.
There are reasons that traditional healers trained their students over years and not in a weekend.
Listed below are the issues that can come up when you are using your Tarot cards and a description of suitable remedies / solutions. They are by no means all of the issues that arise, but the most common that I see over and over again.
They are listed in order of commonality – the last being the least common…. There is actually a lot more I could say about psychic stuff and its dangers but that is a blog post for another day.
Today we will just focus on issues that come up when using the Tarot cards…
ONE – FEELING SPACEY DURING A READING
This is very common, especially for beginners. I do not necessarily see it as a bad thing because for those of us who channel spirits, angels and a persons power animals it can help to be a little bit ‘out of it’.
The problem is when you are ‘out of it’ every time you read the cards and after when you put them away. Then you are basically un-grounded. What that means is that you are not in your body. Your psychic body is floating out of your physical body in order to access information. You need to learn over time to be able to be psychic, channel and stretch your intuitive muscle without floating into space. This takes practice and training.
One of the easiest ways to get into your body is to eat but as you will see later (under FOUR below) this can be a problem. Another quick way to get into your body and stay centered and grounded is to breath and visualize.
Here is a very simple exercise I do to help me stay in my body just before I do a reading. It sounds very simple, but trust me, it works! If you an do this outside in nature even better, but we do not always have that luxury.
I stand feet shoulder width apart, hands by my side with my back straight. I keep my eyes open and staring ahead. I raise my hands to the sky and ask for universal energy to come into me and enliven me. Then I imagine the energy coming in through my head and down my body to my toes. I touch my body all the way down as I imagine the energy descending. Then I touch the ground and imagine pulling earth energy up my body to my heart where I let it sit. I ask aloud to be grounded, centered and calm and then I go out and start my day. All the time I breath normally. If during the day I get spacey I simply put my hand on my heart and remember the grounded feeling in the morning and that usually works immediately.
TWO – FEELING CONFUSED AND SPACEY AFTER A READING
Again, this is common especially when you are early on in your Tarot reading path. When we open up to our psychic abilities we can tend to float out of our body, as described above. When the reading /s are finished we can feel confused and spacey. We can describe it as a ‘cotton wool sensation in our head’, or a sense of ‘floating’ when we walk. We might be extra confused and forgetful. We might need to recheck things we just completed many times because we do not trust that we did it correctly the first time. We might even find it hard to walk in a straight line. The psychic body has not aligned back with the physical body.
Again the simple exercise above can help to get you back in your body.
Other tips include:
– lighting incense/sage stick/ or other strong smelling herbs such as rosemary, lavender, rue and smudging your body. Basically you wave the smoke around your body. This can cleanse you of negative energies and help you get back into your body.
– have a shower and while wet, vigorously rub course sea salt over your skin. All the time imagine cleansing your aura and coming back into your physical body. Stamp your feet in the shower and make low grunting sounds if you need to. Maybe just warn your family before you do it:)
– going outdoors and being physical, in other words getting back into your body. Walking, running, going to the gym, gardening, swimming.
– doing something with your hands. Gardening, crafts, woodwork, ceramics, painting. It creates relaxation and brings you into the moment.
THREE – EXHAUSTION
It is very common to feel utterly exhausted after we read the Tarot cards. We are connecting with ourselves in a deep way and the information that can come up can sometimes feel like drawing blood from a stone (old Irish expression). Being psychic, tuning into our-self or others has a tendency to make us tired, especially at the beginning.
Other reasons for exhaustion can be:
– reading for a skeptic or closed person. They intentionally stay closed and so it is harder to connect and get information. It takes more effort to extract information and thus is more exhausting.
– trying too hard to get psychic answers. Someone is sitting in front of you and you do not want to disappoint. If you happen to read the cards for someone on a day when you are not feeling psychic or intuitive you should recognize that and try not to squeeze your brain too much. It is one thing to practice, its another thing to try and climb Mount Everest on your initial training.
– reading for an emotionally disturbed person. Do you know that most people do not want or need a Tarot card reading when they are super happy and satisfied with their life? People often want Tarot readings when they are emotional, confused, grieving or hurt. Can you hold the space for them? Do you know how to be present and supportive without trying to fix their problems (which nearly always leads to exhaustion).
What is the best cure to avoid exhaustion?
Go gentle with yourself. Learn your limitations. Do not push yourself too hard. Be aware of your emotions when reading for others. In order words, as the Delphic Oracle advises us – Know Thyself.
FOUR – HORMONAL ISSUES AND WEIGHT GAIN
This is so common especially in women that I wonder why it is not discussed more often. As you read Tarot and do psychic work you will find you are often ravenous afterwards. Our blood sugar drops because of the effort (energetic and physical) and we need food NOW. When we feel like this we tend to go to the quick fixes – sugar, chocolate, processed foods, chips and greasy stuff. You will notice over the months and years that you slowly gain weight.
Weight gain promotes estrogen overload in our bodies which an lead to a range of issues such as PMS, ovarian cysts and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
When I was doing extensive psychic work the only thing that could ground me was steak. Nothing else worked. That was hard for me considering I had been a vegetarian for 7 years! I also wanted sugar and sweets. So be careful of those sugar quick fixes after a Tarot session – you will suffer in the long-term. Incidentally I was my highest weight during my psychic training – I needed extra fat just to stay in my body. I also developed PCOS and hormonal imbalance. Once I was aware what was happening I watched and listened to my body and reverted all the weight and hormonal issues.
I usually advise women when they feel ravenous to drink loads of water until they have prepared or bought a nutritious meal. Protein is the most important element to eat to ground quickly – not fat or carbohydrates. Sources of proteins include: lean meat, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, tofu, quinoa and millet. I usually recommend protein snacks in your bag or kitchen cupboard to help you ground quickly after readings. Muesli bars low in sugar and high in nuts are a great protein snack as are protein bars from the health food store.
FIVE – ADDICTIONS, PEDESTALS AND EGO INFLATION
These are all issues you may experience at some stage. When I say addiction, I mean that someone is ‘addicted’ to you. They ring you or text you every day asking for you to pull a card. Or they message you on Facebook once a week and ask about their relationship. Here you need to learn to have very strong boundaries and especially understand how to say ‘No’ without offending.
Another danger I see all too often is ‘pedestals’. What that means is that another person will put you on a pedestal. You are amazing according to them because of your ‘special gift’. You can do no wrong. They send you flowers. They come for a reading bearing gifts. They send you what feels like love notes to your email inbox and instant messenger. You awake to a beautiful text message from them. I once had a client years ago who did this to me and I told her I was not a God, that I had faults and in fact passed wind like other humans. ‘No’ she replied, ‘…you are more than a God’.
Warning bells!!!
If you feel someone is putting you on a pedestal try and stop it as early as you can. Gently refuse their gifts. Wait a while before you reply to their messages. Remind them that you are human and fallible with faults. If you know someone has put you on a pedestal, be aware that sooner or later you will fall off it or they will pull you off. It is the nature of pedestals, so best to try and avoid them. People project onto us superpowers and when we ultimately do not fulfill their fantasy we fall, and often in a mess with lots of anger, rage and projections towards us.
What happens when you believe what the people say (those who are addicted to you and those who put you on pedestals)?
Your ego grows and grows and grows – you develop ego inflation. You actually believe what they say. You believe you are more special, more gifted, more aware than other people. You start telling people what to do. You interfere when you have not been asked for help. You believe your guides are extra special and that you have a mission to make the world see how great a psychic you are. Ego inflation can get to the extreme stage where you can end up in a psychiatric hospital.
It is good to have friends and family who can remind you that you are human with all the humble issues that come with it. Tell your friends to remind you if you start behaving like an a##hole!
SIX – PSYCHIC ATTACK
Ahhh the dreaded psychic attack.
Psychic attacks can come from other people or entities. It is usually a 95% from other people/ 5% from entities ratio!
People can knowingly or unknowingly send us negative energy. If you are strong, centered, grounded and protected a persons negative energy will bounce off you. If you are weak, grieving, vulnerable, sick or way too open psychically other peoples negativity can hurt you.
Lets say you fall out with a friend or family member. They hate you. You might start to get insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, panic attacks and much more. You are being affected by their negative energy – it is like a psychic attack.
Other people, sick as it is, will go willingly out of their way to psychically attack you and mean it. They may do it with poppets, magic, etc. Thankfully these people are not so common.
You may also suffer psychic attacks from entities. This is not as common as Hollywood movies like to present. Let me describe what you look like on the astral plane. A lighthouse. A big shiny light. Moths like to go to lights – so do spirits. Not all the spirits that are attracted to you will be beneficial. Believe me it is much much more common to get psychic attacks from living people but nonetheless, you have to be aware of all possibilities.
Staying grounded, centered and healthy emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually is your best protection. I find angels to be one of the best forms of protection. Doreen Virtue for example teaches about angels and sells many versions of angel oracle decks.
READ MORE HERE ABOUT PROTECTION WITH ANGELS
SEVEN – SPIRITUAL CRISIS
You open up too quickly and develop all types of issues. You get obsessed about your own issues. You develop strange bodily symptoms and food issues. You develop paranoia and feel psychically attacked. You hear voices. You do not know if you are opening to new realms or slowly (or quickly) going crazy. There is a difference between going mad and having a spiritual crisis (where you question everything in life, have psychic experiences and connections to other realms). Now in the DSM V Psychiatric Manuel there is a section on Spiritual Crisis.
If you feel you are going through a spiritual crisis or simply feel you are going crazy, PLEASE seek help. The process can be understood and supported and you will not feel alone.
Check out these websites for someone in your local area that you can turn to.
Hopefully after reading this post you are not running away from your Tarot deck. Remember however that Tarot is just a tool to help you open up. It is your responsibility to open up gently and slowly. It is your responsibility to keep your ego in check. It is not Tarot that can be the problem – simply unawareness and a lack of education. Understand what can go wrong so you can simply avoid those pitfalls.
