Learning Discernment

 

One thing I've learned in my 20+ year journey with reading cards of many kinds is that it takes time to learn what art styles do and don't work for you, what really appeals to you and speaks to you when you're reading cards whether for yourself or others. Some people collect hundreds or even thousands of decks because their tastes are very eclectic and they just love having such a large variety available for use. 

I find that if I have too many decks, then a lot of mine don't get used. For me, and many others, the journey of discernment has taken several years, even a decade or more. There are groups on FaceBook dedicated to buying, selling and swapping decks for this reason, as well as a lot of used/pre-owned decks available for sale on eBay, Etsy, Mercari and other marketplaces where people sell. their stuff, so I know that I'm not alone. Like many things in life, I find this is also a journey, one within the journey of being a cartomancer and deck collector. 

Some of this ends up being driven by FOMO (fear of missing out), something that drove me for a while after a deck I'd wanted was OOP and I learned that decks do stop being made. FOMO is also created when you see everyone on YouTube and in card reading groups getting a new deck and gushing over it and you begin to feel like you're the only one not at the party. I'm still very susceptible to this, but I've learned to bookmark a deck and revisit it occasionally when I'm in the mood to get a new deck to see if it still appeals to me and I really want to add it to my collection or not. Lately the answer is usually "no" because I've been decluttering my collection rather than adding to it.

So how many decks does one really need? Each of us needs to find out how many and what types of decks really call to us and the number to have that makes us happy. I know of one long term reader and deck collector that decided to take her vast collection down to just ten decks. I personally can't imagine doing that, though the thought of it appeals to me on some level that wants a simpler life. However, I acknowledge that I'll never be a minimalist so I don't see the point. There are decks that I keep just because I love the art though I rarely use them, mostly in the RWS system and my Thoth decks. I'm going to try taking some of them outside to connect with Nature and Spirit this year now that the weather is warming up in New Hampshire and see if I can connect to them as oracle decks. If that doesn't work, then I may just sell and/or gift them after all.

So if you're a collector and just love having a huge collection, know that's okay, most of us collect something! Enjoy them and don't let anyone make you feel guilty for having them, it's your money and your collection. But if you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by sheer number of decks that you now own and realize that many don't really resonate with you, start going through and weeding out the ones that you really don't use. Someone will give them a good home!

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki

My Suit Correspondences & Associations

Today I want to talk about my elemental, directional and seasonal correspondences and associations with the suits in both playing cards and tarot, how they've evolved and why what I use now makes more sense to me. I'm not saying others are wrong, just that those don't make as much sense to me as these ones do. You have to do what makes sense to you. However, you don't have to keep certain associations just because they're what you originally learned through some other system! That's actually the point of making this post, because for so many readers that's what we do and we never question the status quo or try something different to see if it works better for us.

I learned my first associations via Wicca when I was practicing that religion so when I learned my first associations and correspondences in Tarot with the Golden Dawn based Thoth and RWS systems, it was the same and I kept them, so my tarot practice and spiritual practice were the same. That was true for years without me questioning it at all until I started to read with the Victorian Fairy Tarot whose guidebook was written by Lunea Witherspoon who had different seasonal and elemental correspondences for that deck. It was my working deck and her changes made a lot of sense to me, so I started to use those for tarot but I was still using the other for my spiritual practices, and that was causing conflicts within me. 

Later, I started to study Tarot de Marseille with Camelia Elias and I was reading all of her books on top of taking her two courses. Her associations for the suits were different from the others, but made even more sense to me and she used them for her playing cards as well. I found others also used those same ones, as they stem apparently from Dawn Jackson's Hedgewitch system, and so I changed again to the associations and correspondences that I use today. So, what are those?

We'll start in the East with the Coins/Diamonds as Spring and Fire. That makes a lot of sense to me because coins are forged in fire. Also, we have a big ball of fire that rises in the East every day to begin the new day. Have you looked at the Ace of Coins in the Tarot de Marseille? In most decks it looks rather like a big sun with flourishes of energy around it! And, like the Sun card in the Major Arcana, it's one of the most positive cards in the deck. Spring is the time that things start to warm up, the days are lengthening so the sun is getting stronger, lending us more fire energy at that time.

Next we have the South where I have Cups/Hearts as Summer and Water. Lunea Witherspoon and Gary A. Lippencott show a lot of water in their Summer suit because when it's warm is when we tend to spend more time in and near the water, especially here where I live in a lakes region that brings tourists, and drinking more water to stay better hydrated too. 

In the West I have Batons/Clubs as Autumn and Air because the trees grow tall into the air, they provide the air we breathe, and in the autumn we see their true colors for a brief moment before the leaves fall to the ground. While wind may blow from east to west, if you go the west in the USA, you'll see huge expanses of prairies where the wind blows almost non-stop, and the place that's called "Tornado Alley" here is west of me as well. 

Finally, in the North I have Swords/Spades as Winter and Earth. The north is considered cold and snowy in most of the world, and the metal of swords is certainly cold, especially when we use spades and shovels to dig the moist, cool earth. Swords put you into a grave and shovels/spades dig the grave. I also really loved the description that Lunea gave in the Victorian Fairy guidebook of winter being the time the fairies act up and cause trouble out of boredom and confinement, since this is the suit of troubles and conflicts it definitely makes sense that there's more of that in the winter!

I've seen many different associations and correspondences for the suits from all over the world according to the beliefs of a culture at certain times, so in my opinion there isn't a right or wrong set of them, it's just a matter of finding what works for you and then keeping it across systems. I will admit that it's easier to do with the Tarot de Marseille than with the Golden Dawn based decks because most don't have images that contain things that prevent it like images of flames at picnics, etc. I still occasionally use some beloved RWS based decks, but as oracles rather than tarot because of the strong imagery that contradicts my tarot associations, but I will say that I don't use them often for this reason and may one day just get rid of all of those decks.

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki

 

Working on the Psychic Hotlines

I started working on the psychic hotlines in late 2012 after a friend of mine encouraged me to do so and she helped me to get set up and started on one of the largest and most established ones to this day. I had no idea what I was getting into at the time, but I sure did learn fast that this was a whole different type of clientele. I've learned the name for it in the past year, these are people who are--for the most part--are in limerence. 

So, what is limerence? It's a state of involuntary obsession with another person. So these are mostly people who are obsessed with an ex, a crush, a co-worker, etc. to the point that they ask about them frequently and can't accept that the other person has moved on or isn't interested in them. They create a fantasy world.

Why do they call the psychic hotlines? They call there because they have nobody else to feed their obsession. Their friends and family tell them the truth and then get tired of hearing about it, as these people get tired of hearing what their friends and family say about the situation. The hotlines are built upon such people and many readers feed their obsession, intentionally or not.

I do feel that many readers on the psychic hotlines don't know how to detach themselves from the energy of the querent and tune into the energy of the other person, and I admit that I didn't either for a very long time--that took years to learn to do well. Also, many tarot readers who read with the RWS system tend to put a positive spin on the cards at all times. But even psychics can feel only the strongest energy which is that of their querent. 

The trick is to consider. the third party, the other person, to be the querent and use the caller (or chatter) as the connecting thread to get to them. I ask my Guides to assist me with this. And that's the other thing about working on the psychic hotlines, most of your readings are third party and about relationships. If you don't want to do this, and fortune telling, then the psychic hotlines are not the place for you.

Also, if you're considering a career or side hustle on the psychic hotlines, know that you'll be working mostly nights and weekends because that's when the majority of the people who call aren't working, though some companies are worldwide so you may be able to be busy during weekdays as well. Understand too that there's no "average" wage because it varies depending upon the company's pay structure and rate you charge plus how many calls and their length that you receive, and it can flux seasonally and daily. But people do manage to make a really good living on the lines.

I honed my skills for a little over a decade, with one short break, on several of the hotlines, but I finally retired from them this year. I burned out on all of that limerence and I also wanted to build a local business and one can't do both because if you're reading at local psychic/spirit fairs and other events on weekends then you're not available on the hotlines when you need to be.

Working on the psychic hotlines isn't for everyone, many find it feels quite icky because it's not what they want to do. Today it's also getting a lot harder to get started because so many new readers joined the hotlines in the last few years that many of the companies are either no longer hiring or setting very high standards of experience that make it hard to start out now. New companies are also sprouting up everywhere and so it's getting to a point that there are more readers than customers. I suggest that if you want to give it a whirl you do so as a side gig first if possible, or a second income to the home. 

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki

 

 

The Importance of a Well-Framed Question

You've probably heard this before, but whether you're reading for yourself or someone else, a well-framed question is one of the most important aspects of a reading because it gives the cards the framework for answering and guiding you. While a general reading can provide a lot of great insights, the insight received isn't as clear as a reading for a specific question. What many people who mention the importance of the question fail to explain well, however, is just HOW to do this, so I've written this post to provide some good guidelines.

First, don't ask multiple questions in one. For example, if you have three job interviews today don't ask, "How will my job interviews today go?" Instead, ask about each one separately using the company name or interviewer's name: "How will my interview at ABC Company with John Doe go today?" 

Related to this is the either/or questions. If you want to do a comparison, then there's a good comparison spread you can use, but don't ask something like, "Will John or Mike ask me out?" and then put down a line of  3, 5 or 7 cards or do a 3x3 box spread. (I'll cover the comparison spread in a later post and in a video later in my cartomancy and Lenormand series on my YouTube channel.)

Also, it's best to ask a positive question. If you want to know if your partner is cheating on your or lying to you, then you need to ask if they're being faithful or honest. Why? Because if you get a negative response to a negative question you don't know if that's a yes or a no. However, if you ask the positive question and you get negative cards or positive cards then you know. 

Last, it's best to try to avoid the closed yes/no question if you can rephrase it. I usually rephrase questions to ask, "What is the energy and outcome of ______________ ?" For example, rather than asking, "Am I going to get the job at ABC Company?", I'd ask, "What is the energy and outcome for me to get the job at ABC Company?"

My only exception to a rather general question is the one for my daily draw. First thing in the morning, after my meditation, I ask, "What does today bring me?" Usually I use either the Tarot de Marseille or the Lenormand. Just remember to keep any interpretations of those in the mundane because rarely is something truly dramatic happening in your daily life, so there's no need to panic over "negative" cards.

The last thing to remember is to stay detached from the outcome. This is why many books will advise against reading for yourself, but if you stick to the basics of interpreting the cards by remembering to relate all cards back to the question and before you even ask it be willing to accept whatever the true answer is that your'e given. Spirit doesn't lie, but I've seen plenty of examples of people trying to lie to themselves by twisting the meanings of the cards to give the answer they want instead of the truth. 

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki

 

My Journey with Lenormand

Around 11 years ago, before my 50th birthday, my husband and I found a TV show with a cartomancer in it and she was reading cards that I'd never seen before, but I was very drawn to them. Then a while later as my 50th birthday was approaching, the Lenormand deck called "The Original Lenormand" by The Tarosophy Tarot Association, a replica of the oldest known Lenormand deck (The Game of Hope) which is in the British Museum, appeared in my FaceBook feed and I shared it.  

The Lenormand looked a lot like that deck I'd seen and by now the show was off the air. It wasn't exact, but it made me interested in learning more about this system. A good friend of mine purchased that deck for me as a birthday gift and I began to learn Lenormand as I waited for it to arrive. I found a download for a deck that you could print of your own and printed that on rather thin cardstock that I had on hand, and that became my first learning deck. I watched hours on end of videos by Donnaleigh de la Rose on YouTube, which is also what started my journey with YouTube since I'd never watched it before then!

Since it was coming by Royal Mail from England, that deck took two weeks to arrive as it was in a box and thereby sent over via ship. By the time that first Lenormand deck arrived I was already really proficient in the system and active in a forum where I was learning and helping others learn simultaneously. After years of struggle with the esoteric RWS/Thoth/Golden Dawn tarot system, I'd finally found a language with cards that made sense to me! I was reading on the hotlines then and immediately started reading professionally with the Lenormand cards rather than tarot, eventually actually selling or giving away all of my tarot decks because I never thought that I'd return to tarot reading.

I did eventually start reading tarot again because of a study group that I hosted at my house, and still with the familiar RWS tarot, but my journey with the Lenormand changed me and my card reading in ways that have kept progressing until today when I find myself finally at home in all of my forms of cartomancy. I haven't felt drawn yet into Kipper and Sibilla, they don't hold the same appeal for me as the Tarot de Marseille, Lenormand and Playing Cards, but who knows where this journey will lead me? 

I've also found that I'm not drawn to the deck that actually originally sparked my interest in Lenormand, the one used on that show was the Gypsy Witch deck and while it's also attributed to Mmme. Lenormand, it's just not quite my aesthetic either though I do like the vintage deck more than the modern version of it. 

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki

 

Less Is More: Advice From the I Ching

I've been doing a lot lately to rebrand and build my own business since leaving the psychic hotlines because of all of the negative changes there in the past few years plus my move home to NH where I wish to build locally as well as building it online. Yesterday I did another reading with the I Ching, this time asking what more I could do for my business and the answer, as always with this "Book of Changes", was very on point and interesting.

The hexagram on the left is "41, "Decreasing" and on the right is #29, "Repeating Chasms". Interpreting the change lines of 1, 5 and 6 plus the meanings of these two hexagrams gave me a message of doing less, or decreasing things that added stress, and learning to better use the "chasms", or slow times, for meditation, spiritual growth, self-development and study in order to better be of service.

Interestingly, decreasing something that added stress and not much value happened that day as well because of a change FaceBook made to my business Page. Most of my followers there were friends anyway, and I was sharing everything from it to my personal profile, which is private, so now I only have my personal profile and those who do wish to connect with me on FaceBook will be those with whom I have a more personal connection, which is perfect in my opinion. 

This also eliminated the uncertainty between whether to use "Readings by Diane", which is my domain name and what I wanted to establish as, or "Readings by Diane Jarecki" which is what my FB Page name had to be. My email still has my last name in it because I had the other but closed that account years ago, but that's okay.

I do have a Page on MeWe for anyone who wants a more public access, plus I have a YouTube channel, my Buy Me a Coffee site and this, my blog, which also has a contact form and the ability to follow me in your RSS Feed. These are my happy places for social media and connectivity. 

Don't be afraid to "do" less and "be" more--we are, after all, human beings not "human doings" and we need to start allowing ourselves that space to just be! We also need to be more authentic, trusting that our vibe will attract our tribe, which is better than trying to attract someone else's tribe.

Love and Light,

~Diane

The Council of 13 Layout

This is one of my favorite layouts to use for cartomancy readings because it gives so much information in such a small space. It's basically an expansion of the 3x3 Tableau (9 card layout) because it adds one more position to the top, bottom and both sides. I learned this one from Camelia Elias when I took her Tarot de Marseille courses back in 2019 and it's also in her book, Marseille Tarot: Towards the Art of Reading, which is where I first saw it. It's amazing how that first card really speaks to the central issue!

I start by looking there, then at the first three cards together, then cards 4 and 5, then I go out to both sides, left (past) first and right (future) next, then above and below (the foundation), followed by looking at the diagonal paths. I mirror (//) cards 6 and 7 then cards 8 and 9. I also look at how the group of cards 6, 10, 2 and 13 move through cards 4, 1 and 5 to get to the group of cards 12, 3, 11 and 7. Last I look at cards 13, 5, 11 and 9 as a group in relation to the group of 10, 4, 12 and 8 reading all against those central lines and the center card (1). 

The information I've brought forth from following all of these patterns has astounded many and brought some to tears, especially since this is my go-to for a general reading because it works equally well with and without a framework to read against, so don't be surprised if you get a reading from me and see this pattern form when I lay out the cards! 

I also love wrapping one of these up by laying out four oracle cards using three off of the top plus the "surprise" card from the bottom, echoing what I do with a cartomancy reading when I use the bottom card or pair. It's often just a bit more confirmation of the reading with a little bit of extra advice from Spirit. 

Love and Light,

~Diane Jarecki 🙏💜