Photograph by Alison Jeavons
These timeless Tarot and Lenormand collective readings combine with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to journal a reflection of the previous week and forecast the energy of the next. Be empowered to explore the spiritual signs that guide your life and to trust in your self authority.
In this article:
Reflecting on: Collective readings
Our seven-day forecast: Owning what you know to break the cycle
Shower thoughts to ACT on: Frenemies, fears and judgements
I always use discernment when deciding whether or not a collective reading is for me. I favour a couple of readers but I don’t consistently listen in because I don’t consistently resonate with daily messages on a collective scale. Instead I’ll be guided by an inner pull to tune in.
Often, I’ll pull my own cards in the wake of a general reading to explore the resonating parts for my truth, or whether my ego is looking for a party to join. And my own cards are never wrong.
Sometimes, some or all of the cards I pull will repeat those in the collective reading providing confirmation, validation and additional perspective.
Quite often I’ll go days, weeks or even months without attendance, but suddenly I’ll get a feeling there’s a message for me and sure enough, it’s as though the reader is talking directly to me. Other times I’ll notice that my own experiences reflect only mere elements of the general reading but it’s enough to spark something within me that maybe I’ve been repressing and the reading serves as a nudge. I can never hide…!
And that’s the nature of collective readings with my own being no exception. Some stay, some go. At times they can provide comfort in the knowing that whilst we all walk our own path, there are others who are walking that same path at the same time as me. Until they head off in a different direction, and that’s OK because I will too. And I’ll then be amongst a new set of others.
“We long to connect, but we fear that if we do, our freedom and individuality will disappear".”
- Mark Doty
Collective readings always mirror something within me that generates deeper intuition in the knowing how to, what to, or what not to, listen to. Even in the ‘what not to’, there’s treasure and intuitive fodder.
Whether you subscribe (thank you), or have landed here by a disruptive means of space time continuum on a cloud of aromatic white musk and gold dust, be OK with taking all, part, none, some, most or bits of whatever resonates for you. Come back to it, save it, delete it, park it, screenshot it, print it or highlight it. Whatever works to remind you to listen to yourself.
Never force something to fit.
We rarely arrive in a place by accident, so whether you read these every week, or duck in or out, or land here once, pay attention only to what generates a gut feeling for you. It is my intention that you’ll take what lands to explore more fully and work with.
My values for this publication are to promote avoidance of any kind of ‘should’.
I write these for one main reason: to teach you, and show you how to use tarot and/or lenormand to reflect on what has come to recently pass in your life; your experiences, so that you can learn to trust your intuition for when the present moment demands it. We can only really learn the importance of this by hindsight and by bringing our attention back to the present moment to make an intuitive, self-trusting choice.
How many times have you said to yourself, ‘I wish I’d listened to myself’, or ‘I knew it!’.
Exactly.
So by pulling a couple of cards at the end of the day, or week, and reflecting on them, you’ll get insights into how your cards talk to you and be able to reference actual events in your day, from conversations, to collective readings, to muddy boots-on-the-ground experiences - from which to draw your own reflections.
From here you grow your plethora of intuitive knowing so when you notice a sense, or feeling in the moment, you’ll trust yourself to act intuitively, and not second-guess yourself only to fuel regret.
At that point you may find you’re pulling cards for guidance because you’ll have become trusting of your personal wisdom and won’t need to think what the cards mean; you’ll simply get a soft inner knowing the moment you look at them.
As I’m typing this, I’m wondering why I’m being called to reflect on this now instead of my week. But - looking at the cards from last week now, it’s obvious to me within a split second: The Page of Swords and Justice in reverse with the Four of Cups can represent a time when you didn’t listen to yourself, and that time is likely representative of the pivotal teenage years. You had probably been taught to not trust yourself because you weren’t old enough to know better. It was also way more convenient if you did as you were told. This might have led to an injustice and an apathetic unfolding of derailment where you no longer knew where to turn as you left childhood. Scrambling for a sense of self and with attempts to reclaim your identity, we can stagger from one choice to the next misaligned with values. Did most of us even know what a value was back then?!
“The degree to which we connect to a community is in proportion to our individuality.”
- Rodney Mullen
And that is why I’m being led to talk about collective readings and how they can be the backbone and springboard into our own intuitive growth and life transition.
Imagine now a world where everyone is connected to their own wisdom and love in their heart, instead of being at the mercy of the unhealed traumas of their raisers. Most of my childhood was like that. I knew. I just knew. But I didn’t trust myself because I was taught that everyone around me knew better than I did. So I abandoned my knowing to my detriment.
Sound familiar?
So now it’s time to shut the door on the past. Now is your time to answer to you. No one knows you better than you do, and whilst your nearest and dearest can appear to know you beyond all other, it’s only because you may still be in the process of re-identifying with who you are, so you borrow their knowing.
However, well-meaning perspectives are still being delivered to you through the lens of their own filter. That is why you can find yourself going along with something that on occasion, doesn’t quite feel right. You’ve come to trust external voices over your own.
Tarot and Lenormand are one of the best methods of visual representation that echo your inner voice. Use them alone or with meditation, or alongside any other methods that are right for you (no one else!) to really see, and hear yourself.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be able to listen to yourself and be OK with no one else understanding.”
- Christopher Barzak
However you view Tarot, Lenormand, Oracle, Runes or whatever tool you use to connect with yourself, it’s a private practice that’s sacred to you. You don’t need to talk about it unless you feel the need, or compare to others. Collective readings teach that we’re all connected but that we are categorically individual. We don’t all interpret the same. Keywords are just that; a starter to nudge your intuition. The best way to learn is through experience gained by hindsight and reflection on your day.
Tarot called me when I was 13 back in 1988, and whilst I’m partially thankful they’re now leaving their insert-flavour-of stigma behind, I’m also observant of the trend that’s been elevating them into mainstream. That same trend that will notoriously be the one that reduces their popularity when a new wave of vogue finds something else to glamorise.
Whatever our view, there’s no denying the desperate calling for people to reconnect with themselves in light of the devastation recent years have wreaked. We’re in a universal numerological seven-year that invites a contemplative truth to be sought, so what better way to embrace this energy than discovering your own deck from the abundance of indies on the market right now if the traditional Rider-Waite doesn’t froth your coffee?
Regardless of the rise and fall of current trends, I hope this era has found you at a time of awakening that’s resonant with your path. And, I hope you make your own cards your best friend because they’re there for only you. Respecting them is respecting your higher self - the self that knows the true you - your soul, your spirit, what you came here for. Because your cards in some respect, are you. Get to know them slowly, one or two cards in hindsight at a time, over a mocha and cake like you would a new friend.
Invite them in with a warm trusting heart. Let them teach you the language of your inner knowing. And, let them be with you through thick and thin so you change your narrative to say;
“I’m so glad I listened to myself.”
Seven-Day Forecast
Radiant Wise Spirit Tarot: L-R: High Priestess, Page of Swords reversed, Six of Swords.
Rana George Lenormand: Snake, Stork, Bear, Garden.
Left: What are we currently learning?
The High Priestess and Snake
There’s way more to the High Priestess than intuition. She’s the vault of secrets between the world you walk right now, and the one you come from. Combined with the Snake, you’re seeing here a situation that is calling you to use your inner most senses and shed an old pattern of being. For what? Because you’ve been bitten too many times. She speaks of lessons you’ve learned and calls you to be honest with yourself having journeyed as far as you so far have.
Not all language is spoken. Communication can be skin deep; found in the way we carry ourselves, our facial expression and our posture. What do you notice when you look in the mirror? When you look at photos or videos of yourself?
There could be a time reoccurring in your life right now that is asking you to get honest with yourself as to what it is specifically about your current challenge or issue that is not being said out loud, but is starting to shout from within.
What may you be communicating outwardly that your inner knowing is yet to own?
Middle: For what reason?
Page of Swords reversed, Stork and Bear
Two Lenormand shot out as I was shuffling, so I take both when that happens. We ask here, “For what reason are we learning to communicate something which lies beneath our conscious awareness?”
The Page of Swords reversed, Stork and Bear refer to powerful instances where thought, fear, and anxiety govern your senses. The clouds in the card may illustrate a storm that arises when defaulting to self protection. The sword is raised ready to attack and without distance, the response becomes reactive that leads to the fleeing of a situation that dominates the way forward.
Our words hang in the air; landing with their receiver and immediately fed into whatever level of understanding they are currently operating at, irrespective of your meaning. With each card comes balance so for growth we can ask here, ‘How can we leave defaulting reactions behind so we may improve our communication?’ And, ‘What questions may we ask that better transmits our meaning?’
Consider being no longer held tight by the hurts of your past. By looking up and putting down your sword, how may you now lead with conscious awareness that promotes values-connected articulation to accomplish your intention?
When we feel ourselves rise in defence, remember; our emotions are like the weather and we must learn to observe them with detachment as they change. How can you use this momentary space to enquire as to how something is meant, before you respond?
The Nutshell
Overall focus guided by Six of Swords and Garden
Breaking cycles is no picnic which is why they are cycles. The Stork can represent repeating thoughts, feelings and behaviour until they’re noticed and actively worked on to positively change in accordance with how we want our lives to be, and who we want to become.
The Garden encourages us to work alongside others, maybe in a support group, or seeking like-minded souls to collaborate with as we transition. This could be anything from joining an art group, to redefining what love means to you, to re-examining your sense of identity, to physical health assistance.
Change is growth, and growth can present fear. It is at this edge of fear that you have a choice; continue as you are and welcome another cycle in, or pull up our socks of courage and take one moment at a time toward changing our lives for the better. If we don’t, another lesson will loop around to give us the opportunity to choose differently.
Fear and anxiety are uncomfortable and indeed there’s a spectrum. Dealing with each notch on this spectrum with all forms of self compassion, will be the start to changing internal language that leads to external change.
How can you use your own strength to your advantage?
What situation do you find yourself in again and again and how will you now draw awareness from within to escape the cycle?
How can you put the experience you’ve gained through your hardships to the betterment of society, or to working with, or walking alongside others?
Shower Thoughts to ACT on…
Frenemies are like The Snake.
Experiences hang out together and can behave in a double-crossing, double-agent kinda way. When a difficult memory or painful sensation next arises for you, pause and notice what else comes with it. Can you notice what your thoughts then tell you to do next?
Emotional Judgement.
Have you noticed how you can judge yourself for having an emotion? To practice the opposite which is self compassion, mindfully breathe, focus on how you feel and any related physical sensations present in your body. Notice any judgements that arise and name them; eg; I’m noticing self-doubt, and I’m also noticing I shouldn’t be because that’s stupid’. Without struggling to eliminate these thoughts, observe them without buying into them. What bothers you more - the emotions you feel or your reaction to them?Fear and Gratitude.
Believe it or not, it is possible to feel both at the same time. We can be fearful of an impending challenge, yet feel grateful for the tools we have or support around us to move through it. We all know we attract what we focus on, so what three things can you now focus on for which you are grateful today, and what sensation do you notice is beginning to stir inside you?
Alison Jeavons is a professional intuitive, certified Transpersonal Coach, Practitioner in Trauma Focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (TFACT), Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), plus a variety of humanistic and alternative models. Founded in 2015, Soulchology is a place where intuition and spirituality meet the grounded support of trauma-informed behaviourism for identity, skill-development, emotional well-being and transition.