Tarot by Hilary Podcast

After a planning meeting of the Cardslingers Coast to Coast podcast, I asked Jaymers and Lis about what to record on my own podcast. Here are some of their thoughts, and mine, about holiday retail burnout, rest, unfiltered opinions about the “algorithm”, and more.

Some people wonder if they are “allowed” to talk about their readings after they are complete. I don’t know about you, but I am a blabbermouth sometimes with my own information… and that’s exactly what your reading is: your information. It is for you to do whatever you wish with it. Ignore it. Do your own thing. Take it to heart… or not. Share it with your friends… or not. But that choice to share or not to share doesn’t rest with me as the reader… it rests with you, and you alone.

Is tarot the answer to everything? Life, the universe?

Short answer is no, tarot is a tool just like any other, and cannot be the be all end all. 

Get your towels ready for this episode of Tarot by Hilary with guests Melissa Cynova and George “Bag O’ Noodles” Cynova.

In this episode, Hilary and Jaymi talk about their relationships with social media platforms. 

The summary is, don’t chase the algorithm: it’s a game no one seems to win.

My advice to other tarot readers who are looking to use social media to grow their business is to be yourself. Don't try to be someone you're not. Be genuine and authentic, and people will be drawn to you.

There’s no formula, at least not in my opinion. Everyone has to figure out their relationship with social media for themselves.

We also pull a tarot card each to inform our relationship with social media and it’s eye-opening (man, I love tarot!).

Mentioned in this episode:

Stories are POWERFUL. It takes a lot to dismantle the incorrect ones, especially if you’ve been telling yourself the same ones for years.

Especially powerful are the stories that keep you from going crazy that you tell yourself when you are in survival mode. Usually, they are stories of denial, of convincing ourselves out of what we are feeling or intuiting so as not to deal with the ugly truth that sometimes rears its head. Denial is immeasurably powerful in those moments, but then so is the moment of truth that cuts through all that denial.

This episode is about a client reading that eventually cut through all the denial.

This is an episode inspired by our reluctance to record the Tower card deep-dive on the Cardslingers Coast to Coast podcast.

This is from a workshop episode on creating a psychic journal to record your intuitive impressions, and the reason why it is important!

I was heated about this... so I created an entire episode about it! Please note that there may be cursing in this episode, so if you have littles, make sure you listen to this episode with headphones.

How do you spot counterfeit decks? This episode is dedicated to the subject. I will help you! And even if you get through this episode and are still not sure if you purchased a counterfeit deck, message me with a photo of the deck, and I'd be happy to try to help you determine whether your deck is legitimate or not.

What is EFT tapping, how does it work, and what are the tapping points? Find out in this introductory podcast episode. I'd recommend starting here, and then trying out one of the tapping videos available on my YouTube channel.

A "questions from the mailbag" episode!

Tune into my livestream every week on YouTube or Facebook, 6:30 p.m. EST on Fridays!

youtube.com/@tarotbyhilary

facebook.com/tarotbyhilary

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!

Note: you may want to listen to this episode with headphones, and turn your volume down when I mention to in the episode. Unless you want to be blasted with music from the Canadian Power Trio Rush!

Spin baby spin… but what is the Wheel of Fortune card really about?

Lots of show notes for this particular episode! We run the gamut on topics, from birth cards and year cards, to bibliomancy from How to Read Tarot, to a final reminder that the High Priestess is not your filing cabinet. Sacred amnesia is a beautiful thing... I'm like a priest, but more fun (and I cuss).

Books recommended in this episode:

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!

Going within and just being left alone with your thoughts is something that seems trite or too simple to be truly wisdom. The Hermit tells us that the best of way of knowing ourselves and our inner truths is to be by ourselves and retreat from the noise of the outer world to hear what’s within.

When writing about the Hermit card, I had a perfect setting for it: a rainy drizzly night in which I was home alone while hubby was out at his darts game. A perfect time to write and reflect and contemplate and read books and dream.

It is often said that extroverts are outgoing, loud and boisterous and generally fun, great at networking and making friends and working a room. Introverts on the other hand are timid shy creatures like scared churchmice that would rather fade into the wallpaper when faced with a crowded room full of strangers. In this dualistic world, you’re said to be one or the other as your general nature or basic falling-back-to point. But really? Extroversion and introversion are truly based on what your source of energy is. As Sophia Amoruso writes in her book #GIRLBOSS: “Research over the last few years has been focused on how the two personality types are actually more defined by what energizes them. Extroverts get their energy from being around a lot of people, but introverts find large groups draining and require time alone to recharge.”

When we come to discussing the Hermit card, it is the introverts that perk up their ears, and the extroverts that get bored! But all of us can learn a great deal from what the Hermit card has to teach us.

Books mentioned in this episode: #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso

Content warning: If you have littles, you may want to pop on a set of headphones before firing up this episode of the podcast... there may be some swears.

“I know what I need to do. I just don’t want to do it.”

My client’s voice echoed on the other end of the line. It’s a familiar line, and while I don’t want to sound cavalier… I’ve heard it before. Many, many times, often after I complete a tarot reading with someone. Most people are not willing to admit that fact before the reading, but it all comes up after in light of the cards.

That’s the downside to empowering readings. You are often stuck with not indecision, but finding the courage to do what you know you need to do. Often it’s something that you’ve known you needed to do for YEARS, and the courage or determination to do exactly that is lacking. But still… it ain’t about getting clarity: it boils down to doing or making the choices that you don’t want to.

Content warning: There may be a little bit of the swearbearing going on, so make sure you wear headphones for this episode.

For some, the Strength card is a source of, well… Strength! When the Strength card comes up in a reading, it can be a tricky card, because it can either tell you that you need strength or you already have the strength to get through the situation that you asked about… Even if you don’t believe you actually have the strength. Sometimes the Strength card in different decks will have a different name, depending on its depiction within the deck: I have seen it be renamed to Fortitude. Also, the numbering on the Strength card can be tricky: it can appear as either the 8th or the 11th (switching with the Justice card, respectively) card of the Major Arcana, at the discretion of the deck designer. However, most modern decks now have Strength as number 8. Remember that the sequence of the Major Arcana is important and can give us clues as to the nature or significance of the card, depending on which cards come before and after the card itself.

In this episode I do a couple of card readings LIVE for listeners, as well as answer some general questions about the tarot, such as reading with reversals, how it feels to have my first tarot book in the world, and choosing a tarot deck for yourself.

Recommend reading or listening:

This is an episode in a series of episodes…. 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!

I decided to produce this episode of the podcast this week because though I’m recording and releasing it in December of 2022, we are rapidly heading to the end of the year and will soon be into 2023. 2023’s General Card of the Year will be the Chariot - 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 7, and the seventh card of the Major Arcana is the Chariot.

Let’s do a deep dive into this card of the Major Arcana.

Do you want an episode on birth and year cards? Let me know!

This is an episode in a series in episodes…. 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!

Oh, the Lovers card. Quite a few cards that are considered negative cards at a glance are misunderstood, but this is a card I consider equally misunderstood, despite the fact that people believe it to have inherently positive qualities.

This is an episode in a series of the podcast…. 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!

Please note that there's a few minor audio glitches in this episode, and I thank you for your patience!

Confession time: I’ve always had a problem with the Hierophant card. Maybe it’s because I think of the Hierophant as representative of dogmatic religion or tradition: religious beliefs for the sake of religious beliefs without understanding of the reasoning BEHIND those traditions. I’m not a big fan of doing something by rote.

From Dec 16, 2011, I wrote about the Hierophant: There’s a reason why you do the things you do. You educate people and help people because underneath everything, you genuinely care about them. Even if you seem like a curmudgeon on the outside sometimes. You are seen as a spiritual go-to person today. Just accept it and go with it. You may not have all the answers (no one does!) but that doesn’t make you less of a person or a guide.

From Dec 28, 2011, I was a bit more glib: The Hierophant: You feel that seeing your spiritual path for yourself is more important than being shown it by someone else. It’s your soul; you get to make the decisions.

The Hierophant can be tricky in determining its meaning as different from that of the Hermit card, because both figures are so dependent on the wisdom gained through study and books. However, the Hierophant is much more of a spiritual teacher or guru, while the Hermit is a being of solitude. Both can teach, but they are different lessons.

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…

“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.

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.

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

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

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.

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:

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:

This episode is the third episode in 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! (These podcast episodes are based on the Major Arcana In-Depth series on my website, www.tarotbyhilary.com.)

This is the one card I better know back, front, sideways, and inside-out… because She is now permanently on my body! Why the High Priestess card? people have asked. My response is that She is a constant reminder to always always ALWAYS trust my intuition. What I really love about both my tattoo and the placement of it is that it does have multiple meanings, including the reversal. When most people see my tattoo, they are seeing the High Priestess card upright (and therefore all the meanings of the upright association). When I look at my tattoo, I am seeing the High Priestess reversed (because I must bend my arm at the elbow to take a good look at her). The reversal of the card is a reminder that every time I haven’t trusted my intuition, I always end up regretting it.

This episode is the second episode in 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! (These podcast episodes are based on the Major Arcana In-Depth series on my website, www.tarotbyhilary.com.)

The Magician is numbered One, making him the very first stop on the Fool’s journey through the Major Arcana. When I say Magician, I’m not talking about “hocus pocus” and “abracadabra”… I’m talking an alchemical worker. The Magician is often depicted with one arm pointing toward the ground and the other arm pointing to the sky, evoking the axiom “As above, so below”. In front of him is a table with representations of the four elements on it. Often he has the infinity symbol over his head.

The Magician is all about will and the nature of change.

On today's episode we are joined by Helena Dominic. Helena Domenic is a lifelong artist and practitioner of Wicca. Since 1994, she has created and taught Wicca in many different settings, including festivals and conferences. Helena also teaches art history and studio art. Her latest book An Illuminated Guide to Wicca: A Complete Visual Manual is available for purchase now.

There are some clients when, after having a session with me, want to purchase their very own tarot deck. More often than not, this may lead to buyer’s remorse and some clients keeping the deck in a bottom drawer, unloved and unused, just because they don’t quite know what to do with a new tarot deck once they take it home. An unused tarot deck is a lonely one, in my opinion.

In this bite-sized episode, I’d like to solve that problem and offer a few handy steps to properly introduce yourself to your new tarot deck.