Curious about tarot and oracle card readings? Me too! I keep saying I'm a skeptic who doesn't believe in anything except physics and what I can see or touch myself. And yet … I find the mysteries of the clairvoyant world irresistible. What if there really is energy I could tap into, forces I can't see that are at work? The autumn equinox fell on this weekend, which seemed like the perfect time to do my first card reading.
I reached out to Yolanda Shoshana, "clairvoyant, courtesan curator, author, witch, and seduction alchemist." I happen to follow her weekly card readings on Instagram. I've always liked how inspiring her insights were, and I wondered what she would "see" in the cards for me. Our session was utterly surprising, totally different from what I'd expected.
To begin with, Yolanda uses oracle cards instead of tarot cards because she feels oracle cards are more open-ended. I liked that! Yolanda told me she was feeling the Mermaid deck for me. There's more than one set of cards? Yup. Different decks focus on different things. The Mermaid deck is about the "divine feminine." She also drew a card from the Conscious Spirit deck.
Yolanda read my aura. We did this reading over the phone, by the way. How could someone pick up on all of this via phone? I don't know, but it seemed like as long as we were dealing with the supernatural, why would a lack of physical presence be a barrier. Know what I mean? Anyway, Yolanda was feeling a pink undertone from me, varying from a light pink to salmon to a deeper reddish. She said this seemed like passionate energy — sometimes I'm very laid back, sometimes that passion gets cranked up. That sounded about right to me. But then she added that she also sensed some cherub energy around me, baby angels that are giggly and fun and that want to show me things in a playful manner. Wow — I wasn't expecting anything like that at all!
Getting your cards read isn't supposed to be spooky, by the way. "If something is scary," Yolanda told me, "it's because you can handle it and you kind of already knew it was there, so there really are no surprises."
Change happening a lot for you this season, Yolanda told me. She said this is the case for fall in general, but it's especially true for me. She saw the words "change" and "shift." She also saw me kind of flashing back and forth, with energy pulling me one way while I keep trying to stay in the same place. She assured me the shift I'm being pulled toward is actually good. I need to breathe deeply into life, bring in that energy, and be aware of what my environment is doing to set the ground for what's about to happen. What am I doing to create the "what's next" in my life?
The first card is about what's been happening in my life. For me that was air: There has been a lot of breathing deeply into my life, bringing in energy and bringing new people. That made sense to me. About a year and a half ago, I'd separated from my husband (major change!) and had spent a lot of time doing some introspection, thinking, becoming more independent, and recovering — and yes, doing a lot of deep breathing. And sure, there were new people in my life.
The second card is about what's happening now, and for me that was the time and tide card, which is about spells and rituals. She said it may seem subtle up to this point, but soon I'll be more aware of messages in the form of words and numbers (for other people it might be images). I need to think about what rituals will help me tune into these messages.
The third card is what's coming, and for me she saw a yearning, a longing for someone. I'm getting set up for something to blossom. Oh … ehrm, this is where I start shifting uncomfortably, because after a 16-year marriage, I've only been single for a little over a year — it feels like five minutes, really. Isn't it too soon for me? But this could also be about other changes in my life.
"Before 2014 begins you're going to see some shifting," Yolanda told me. "You want to make sure you get out of your comfort zone." That's how I would begin to see other things I can do and what I can accomplish. She sensed that I may be resistant to change — and she's right. I am in a VERY comfortable zone right now. I feel like I've figured a lot of things out and my inclination is to ride out on the plateau. But — that's literally not in the cards for me.
If I can break out of my comfort zone, I'll "break free and release more of the passion (I) have stored," she added. "The energy is there, but what are you going to do with it?" Even outside the context of an oracle card reading, this is excellent advice that I definitely needed to hear.
Yolanda moved on to the oracle card deck because she felt like there was a message the conscious spirit wanted to get out to me. She pulled the root shakra card, which is about the spine, grounding, survival, and family. (Perfect — that's ALL I've been working on for the past year or so!) What I need to know is that I have everything I need to survive and grow.
Wow … what a message for a single mom to get. I almost started to cry with relief. I have everything I need, not just to survive, but to grow! "So now it's all about what you're going to do about that," Yolanda said. She emphasized again that I needed to move out of my comfort zone. Don't play it safe, don't get in my own way, and don't be in my head so much. (Oh boy, does that last one sound like me …) Just go for it. I don't have to have it all figured out before I take a chance. I can play around and live a little. This, by the way, is not my usual MO. I do not play around. And I can't remember anyone ever telling me to just play around. Can I take this light-hearted approach to life? It would be a major shift for me.
And I think that's what was most surprising for me — not so much the way Yolanda described my life and my current state of mind. And not even that change is in my future. That's life! But the way I approach those changes, through playfulness, was totally unexpected — in a wonderful way. I'm starting to feel more excited about the fall!
Yolanda recorded my reading, by the way, which she does for all her clients. Through her business she helps women "have amazing love, unleash the magic in their lives." In addition to readings (check out her weekly card readings on YouTube), she does what she calls "courtesan curation" and makes perfumes and potions. And she has a radio show called Courtesan Candy. And she officiates weddings. And she's writing a book about witches and spells. Basically Yolanda has the funnest career ever. Here's Yolanda on Twitter and Yolanda on Facebook.
Have you ever had your cards read? What did you think?
Image via YolandaShoshana/Instagram
