by Lisa | Mar 11, 2016 | Intuition, Intuitive living, Tarot Readings
Mystified by how to learn to read the tarot?
Are you fascinated with tarot cards but have no idea where to start? I mean, how the heck are you supposed to memorize the meanings of 78 cards and the endless combinations in spreads anyway?
You’ve had your deck since your were a teenager. You used to pull them out at sleepovers and giggle over the meanings you would read in the little booklet that came in the box. It was all fun and games, but there was a part of you that knew that there was much more to these mysterious and ancient cards, but you could never quite put your finger on it.
Then you put them in a junk drawer for ten years.
Once in awhile you would remember they were there and take them out, dust them off, and maybe even shuffle them. You may have even done a little three card spread and looked up the meanings in a book.
And it was pretty bang on. But still, there seemed to be a key missing.
I get it. This was me too! I knew that “reading” the cards was not the same as “reading” the meanings in a book card by card. Oh sure, there was always that audible gasp like, “Holy crap! Yes! That is ME!” But I never really felt like I was using tarot cards in the way I knew they could be used. So, I started to dive deeper and began to really study, and do readings for myself every single day. For years.
And then it started happening.
The cards started to “speak to me”. I know, f-ing nuts, right? But it’s true! After twenty years of reading tarot I can safely say that I have developed some unique ways of learning the cards and how to actually read a spread… without using a book. And you can too!
Sign up for my FREE Dabbler to Diva Mini Course! You will get six lessons delivered each day straight to your inbox. In these lessons you will learn:
- What tarot actually is, and how it works
- Top tricks to reading the tarot fast!
- What are “suits” anyhow?
- The Bad Boys of Tarot – what to do when you get a “bad” card
And much much more, and you can get started today!
See you inside!
[hr]
I’m Lisa Jemus and, whether it’s in my office or in class, what I love is teaching people how to use the amazing ancient tool of tarot to transform their lives and business. I have been a tarot reader for over twenty years and have helped entrepreneurs and creative types from all over the world align their selves with soul. I believe that we are all works in progress with endless possibilities!
[hr]
by Lisa | Feb 24, 2016 | Tarot Readings
I don’t know about you, but for years and years and YEARS, I would pull out my dusty deck of tarot cards out of my drawer, and get all excited. I would take out my Learning the Tarot book by Joan Bunning, and I would sit down to learn how to read these god damn cards once and for all.
And thirty minutes later be all like, “GAH! IT’S SO HARD! What the F do these stupid f-ing cards mean anyhow?!!!”
No really, it was rough.
I would then toss my deck back into said drawer, and forget about them. I knew that I was missing a huge piece of the tarot puzzle. There had got to be a way to connect the cards somehow, to make sense of a spread, to actually… you know.. do a reading. But I had yet to get anything to click, and it was driving me nuts.
Fast forward a few years when I stumbled across a technique that changed my tarot reading angst forever, it’s one of many things I teach in my upcoming beginner’s tarot class Dabbler To Diva, but right now I’m going to share that technique you.
Have you ever read a children’s book? Like a Berenstein Bears or some other picture book with illustrations on one page, and words on the other page? Well, you can do the EXACT SAME THING with tarot cards.
No, really, stay with me here.
You can tell a little story using the images on the cards, and guess what? This is actually a very powerful way to access your intuition and get some bomb diggity insight into a situation!
Let me show you what I mean.
Let’s say you are having problems with your hubs, like he is not listening to you, or you are feeling unhappy but can’t put your finger on it. You have been unhappy for AWHILE, and you just don’t really know why. He’s a great guy, a good father and husband, but there’s just something. And you decide to pull a couple of cards to help uncover what that could possibly be. (This is exactly what happens in a reading, by the way, we work with the cards to help uncover exactly this kind of thing.. but I digress). So, you pull these two cards and put them side-by-side like this:
And then all you do is put yourself or the person asking the question as the central character in this “story”:
You are grieving something you have lost, perhaps a way of life, or a light hearted way with your husband. You feel that you have lost some of your feelings, and are focusing far too much on what is missing or gone, as opposed to what is still left standing. Focusing on the negative in your relationship (the spilled cups) and not lifting your head and focusing on your many blessings, is what is contributing to this feeling of unhappiness. The Ace of Cups is literally your cup runneth over with love and many many blessings. Turning around and focusing on what you have, will lead to MORE gratitude and love and positive feelings!
See?
Easy peasy……
Try it for yourself! Think of a situation and flip a card over, and just use the image like an illustration of a story and give it a whirl! Comment below how it went!
And if you are interested in learning to read tarot for yourself or others in a fast easy way, from the comfort of your own home, registration is now open for my very popular beginner’s tarot course Dabbler to Diva! You can find out more right here!
by Lisa | Sep 20, 2015 | Tarot Readings
Good lord my brain is dumb. Listen, I’m not saying I am all stupid and stuff, but I cannot TELL you how many times my mighty intuitive self is literally screaming eternal wisdom at me, and my stupid brain overrides these directions and leads me astray.
Way astray.
Like, cray astray.
Let me give you an example. About ten years ago, I started looking for another career that was related to the career I have had for twenty years in the film business. The hours were so long and I had a small daughter, and my husband being in the biz and made a LOT more money than me, I realized I needed to find something else, less hours, and more flexibility. I was on a commercial with all of these little wee puppies and started talking to this friend of mine who happened to be the animal trainer on set that day.
ME: Hey, I think I might like to do this, work with animals.
HER: Yeah, you’d be great at that! We should talk about that!
CUT TO: SEVERAL YEARS LATER AFTER SPENDING $5,000 ON A DOG TRAINING CERTIFICATION AND LAUNCHING A DOG TRAINING BUSINESS
My intuition was virtually shrieking at me throughout my training, even before I hit BUY NOW on the five grand shopping cart, something inside me was yelling: this is not you.
But my brain was all, “Um… yeah. Makes sense, it’s still the film biz, you can work from home, you can work on set. WINNING.”
So, I listened to my stupid brain and forged ahead. Spent another $3,000 on a website, and then about two months after my biz was launched, I freaked out and realized I made a HUGE mistake and closed it down.
And then I hibernated for THREE YEARS.
If I had had a tarot reader available to me, I would have went to them when I was 
in the considering stage, you know, before I spent a ridiculous amount of money, to get some guidance from my Inner Wisdom, cuz guess what? When you get a reading from me, this is what happens. It’s not me saying, “Hey you need to do this, and this, and this, and then this will happen and you will avoid this and this and this…”
Nope.
It’s more like this: I see this in the cards for this situation, what do YOU see? How does this make you FEEL? (Okay, well, sometimes I DO say, you should do this and this to avoid this and that, but not without the input from your own inner guidance!)
I ask questions, and your intuitive self is all perked up and ready to talk to you, and you know what?
You’ll be ready to listen.
Your brain, though I know you are truly a smartypants, is kinda dumb because it tends to create a lot of NOISE when you are trying to make a decision. Not only that, there is a REALLY annoying part of your brain called your Inner Critic that will outright sabotage you cuz it’s in fight or flight mode and feels like anything out of the norm is a ferocious creature wanting to rip your throat out. Even though you just wanna create a new opt in for your website, or buy a cat. Whatever it is that you want to do that is new for you, it’ll pipe up… it always does.
What tarot does is cuts through all of that noise. It just bypasses it and your intuition is able to directly communicate to your conscious mind and help you see things clearly, sometimes for the very first time. This can help you avoid a zig when you should have zagged. It can help you take that leap when all your brain wants you to do is crawl under your covers and take a nap.
I love naps.
Your intuition is your compass, your inner GPS, your inner guru that is ALWAYS there to take you from the A to B of your soul’s journey in this life. It’s just there, hidden beneath all of the appointments, the soccer practices, the arguing with your hubby or your teenager, your to-do list, or your mother’s “helpful” advice, “So, you think leaving your job is a good idea?”
It cuts through all of that.
Right to the heart of your inner awesomeness.
Trust me. Once you get your first reading, you will be hooked. But more importantly, you will have more confidence in your decision making because you will suddenly have a clear communication pathway to your intuitive self. Sure you can consult your brain, it likes that, but it will work in concert with the most ancient and authentic part of you when making those big decisions in life.
And isn’t that what we all want? I know I do.
Tarot readings. Get ’em right here.
To sign up for FREE weekly readings right to your inbox, click here! Plus I giveaway stuff to subscribers. Cool stuff. Stuff you need in your life. Sign up right here.
by Lisa | Jul 18, 2015 | Self Care and Personal Development
I had a client today, and they were just awesome. I love it when sessions go like this one did! We laughed, we cried, we kabitzed. Andsomething came up for them that was kind of like…
HOLY.
CRAP.
IHAVETOWRITEABLOGPOSTABOUTTHAT!
I know many of you have heard the saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Life is not a rehearsal.” Or some such thing. Well, this was more about how we tend to try to plan out IN ADVANCE how conversations or experience are going to go with the people in our lives. This could even be as simple as going to the store to return something. WHICH SUCKS. I can’t tell you how much I hate The Return Conversation. ANYway, the conversation with a client in this predicament goes something like this:
ME: So, why don’t you just ask him?
THEM: What?! If said THAT, than he would do THIS, and then I would have to cry and wail and then we would break up and GAH.
So, even though you do not have Crystal Balls at your disposal, you seem to be able
to describe exactly how so-and-so would react to you saying/doing something. Like a director of a screenplay, which would look like this:
INT. LIVING ROOM OF FABULOUSNESS – NIGHT (cuz all dramatic things happen at night, am I right?)
TONY is pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table, waiting for Joan to come home. She’s never late. What could be wrong?
TONY
She’s never late. What could be wrong?
(Listen, I never said I was an oscar winning screenwriter)
INT. BOOKSTORE – NIGHT
JOAN is nervous about going home and telling TONY that she maxed out their credit card on books AGAIN. She knows he’s freaking out right about now. She’s never late. This is so wrong.
EXT. JOAN AND TONY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
JOAN pulls up to the driveway, sits in her car for a few minutes. Through the window we can still see TONY, this time he is on his knees hands raised in fists, seemingly shouting something.
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
TONY
STELLLLLLAAAAAA!!!!!!! (pause) STELLLLAAAAAA!!! (he rises) Man, that’s good. (looks up when JOAN walks in) Oh, hey hon, what took you so long?
JOAN enters, hiding her gargantuan bookstore bag lamely behind her back, clumsily shuffles towards TONY, and comes in for a side-ways kiss.
JOAN
Practicing for the play? Looks good, I could see you through the window. ANYway, I was just, you know, doing this and that. (waves unencumbered hand)
TONY
What’s that behind your back?
JOAN
(laughs nervously) Oh, this? Uh, just some, you know, STUFF, for my boss, TOTALLY boring and everything. GEEZ, I can’t believe HE made me pick this crap up… you know… for HIM.
TONY rushes JOAN and kisses her passionately while grabbing for the bag behind her back. He pulls out some of the books.
TONY
“Ex-wives of Rock – The true TRUE not-reality-show-true Story”? The Unauthorized Biography of He Who Shall Not Be Named? The Devil Wears an Asshat. Joan, just come clean. We both know you have a serious book buying addiction.
JOAN
But you don’t understand, hon, these are all classics, and just so awesome, and and… I totally maxed out our credit card. Again.
TONY
WHAT?! THAT’S IT…. GET. OUT! And take your ASSHAT WITH YOU!!
TONY, enraged, throws the books and her hat shaped like an ass out on the front lawn. JOAN slinks out the door, heartbroken.
Now, this is the kind of inner scene that “Joan” – read: me and you – plays out in their mind just at the very thought of bringing home a massive bag of books, or wine, or whatever. But the thing is, we don’t really know how the person at home will react. We have no idea!
That’s because life is in improv, not a screenplay, people.
In reality, Joan goes home and still tries to sneak the book bag in, and Tony surprises her with a gift card to the bookstore because she has had some books she’s been eyeing lately and he just got a big bonus at work. That Tony. He’s so sweet.
So, all of that angst, all of the worry and panic, over this imagined scene we are so sure is going to happen, is all for not. And it robs us of any enjoyment in the present moment when we are swiping our credit card in the thing. Not to mention, you sell your loved ones short by expecting them to react in a negative way.
You can’t predict the outcome any better than that octopus in Europe that has successfully predicted the winning soccer teams for the last eleven… nevermind. My point is this, once you truly accept and realize that you truly do not have a set of Crystal Balls, life will suddenly become easier. You will feel LESS STRESS AND ANXIETY. Right? I mean, good lord, how much energy do you expend coming up with everyone’s actions and lines and stuff? I know I used to expend A TON. Go in fresh.
In improv you are given a set-up, like, “You’re in a phone booth. You have no clothes on. GO.” And that’s it. If you are in a scene with another person, you are both just making it up as you go along. Neither one of you has any idea what the other person is going to do, say, or what direction the scene is going to go.
Um, kinda like life, right?
My opinion is, every single human being should take at least one improv class. It will become clear in this class how often we 
“block”someone else’s idea, and how rigidly we hang on to what we believe is the best outcome in any given situation. In improv, you can’t do that. In fact, there are games where you are “out” as soon as you block anyone’s idea. You have to say ‘YES LETS!” To any crazy assed idea that comes up in the scene.
Any. Idea.
So, this could have you doing contortionism as a Russian spy on someone’s face.
I wish I were kidding about that.
And you know what? It will be FUNNY. There is nothing more funny than unplanned spontaneous improv. It’s exciting, unnerving, and exactly like real life.
So, save yourself stress and anxiety and go with the flow. Play the “yes” game. Put on an Ass Hat and enjoy the ride.
Improv it up, bitches.
Get FREE weekly readings straight to your inbox + my Tarot Meanings Cheatsheets when you subscribe!
by Lisa | Jul 8, 2015 | Self Care and Personal Development
I don’t know about you, but I am always finding ways to quie
t my extremely busy brain. I’ll try pretty much anything, except maybe one of those isolation chamber water tank thingies. I think I would go berserk in one of those!
There is one tarot card that speaks to how you can quiet your mind in every single moment, and it is often times is one of the most mis-understood cards in the whole deck…
The Hanged Man
Now, I want you to just look at this image for a moment. What do you see?
Well, we can see that this poor guy is tied by his one foot to a tree, and it looks like his hands like he is trapped there, for some unknown reason.
But look at his face. Does he looked stressed? Not even a little bit. Even his body looks relaxed, like his free foot just resting there. And what is with that weird-assed halo thing around his head?
One word.
Enlightenment.
But, Lisa, you’re are probably saying to me. Are you insane?! The guy is TRAPPED for GAWD’S SAKE!
He is and he isn’t.
The only place that ISN’T trapped is in his mind. And this is where the three keys of finding peace in our chaotic world comes in.
The Hanged Man is all about surrendering and letting go to what is. No matter how trapped you feel in your busy harried life, you always have a choice: stay caught up in the stress and busyness of life, or let go and allow what is and just BE.
And what is this practice called? You guessed it: Mindfulness.
Now, yes there is much bally-hoo out in the world about mindfulness, Oprah tweets about it, Russell Brand talks in nothing but a towel about it, but truly the research around mindfulness cannot be ignored. It creates calm waters in your nervous system AND your brain, IN SPITE OF any and all stress and chaos surrounding you!
So, how can you achieve The Hanged Man level of peaceful contentment and enlightenment?
Here are the three keys to help get you there:
- Meditation: You didn’t think I wasn’t going to mention the overused “M” word did you? Well, I’m totally gonna. Meditation is the NUMBER ONE best thing you can do for your brain, your body, and your life. AND it is the easiest and most difficult thing you can do to help you stay present and more calm in your life. I
think what kept me from meditation, or at least doing it very sporadically all these years is because I thought I was sucking at it. The thing is, you don’t have to try to stop your thoughts, cuz that’s ain’t never gonna happen… like, ever. The idea is not to get attached to them as they float on by your consciousness. So, get comfortable either sitting or lying down, and then just pay your full attention to your breath. That’s. It. And when thoughts come, and they totally will, you just watch them without any judgement or interest. Kind of like a floaty in the air going by you outside, if you started to obsess about every floaty that went by your field of view, you’d go nuts. Don’t do that with your thoughts either while focusing on your breath. “Oh, there I go… thinking. Back to the breath.” Over and over and over again. Basically this is meditation…. failing and sucking at it over and over. And with practice, you will have longer and longer periods of that delicious feeling of a still mind. It’s awesome.
- Mindfulness in everyday activities: Okay, so you’re driving your kid to soccer practice… again.. and you’re stuck in traffic… again. Here is a great time to practice key number 2. Immediately shift all of your attention to your physical body, mainly your hands and feet. Really focus how your hands feel on the wheel and how your feet feel on the floor and pedals of your car. Keep your attention on these physical feelings, and also your breath too, as an added bonus. You can also move to your butt in the seat, or your back against it as well. And this doesn’t mean you won’t feel frustrated and stress, but it will not engage your fight or flight system as deeply, and you will eventually not get as triggered by things like traffic, or just driving kids to and fro.
- Mindfulness eating: Oh man, this is a biggie for me personally. I am an inhaler, which means I eat ridiculously fast. I work in the film industry from time to time, and have done for almost 20 years. The first decade I worked a lot more, and my job I don’t really get a real lunch break and work for around 15 hours or more a day. So, I had to get into this habit of eating and entire dinner sized meal in about 8 minutes. I’m totally not even kidding. This has stayed with me, and I eat like a maniac. But more problematic is the mindless chip eating. Oy. I can go through a GIANT Costco size chip bag in minutes. Mindful eating is much like mindful daily activities. You are paying attention to only the food and your eating it. You are paying attention to how the fork feels in your hand, and how the food feels in your mouth. You are breathing gently and savouring every bite. I’m not gonna lie, I hate this one. I just can’t do it. But, I will keep trying!
There are a couple of fantastic books I want to recommend to you if you are interested in learning more about this topic:
Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zin Ph.D
This is a fantastic book for anybody, but particularly if you have some chronic pain, illness or stress in your life. It outlines the 8-week program on Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program.
Mindfulness: An Eight-week plan for finding peace in a frantic world.
This is an excellent layman’s book with a TON of research supporting the awesomeness of a mindfulness practice.
Highly recommend!
I am in a course right now through a non-profit called Global Grassroots, they are a US based organization that offers support and healing for post trauma women around the world, and the first module is all about mindfulness. My main “assignment” for this three months is to have a daily seven minute meditation practice. Seven minutes. That’s it. I’ll admit, I don’t always get to do it, but when I do, I always feel better, and it gets easier to slide into that state each time I do it.
What about you? Do you have a mindfulness practice? If you do, share in the comments below what it looks like, so we can all learn from each other!
Have the Best. Day. E-V-E-R.
