Tarot Touchstones

Question for June 2021: How can we live more consciously and mindfully?

Summer arrives this month and with it comes the yearning for new goals, new work, a new health mindset, or simply just trying something new (Page of Pentacles). It feels good to look towards the future with renewed hope and to have a chance to live more “normally” as more and more COVID-19 vaccines are distributed and administered.

As you move forward with new activities, goals, and ventures, remember to balance your emotions (Queen of Cups) with your logical mind (Queen of Swords). We are still living during an unprecedented time. Uncertainty is our constant companion during this precarious period.

Beware of the tendency to veer towards superficial, fleeting, and ultimately unhealthy desires (The Devil) simply to feel and experience something new and exciting during this long pandemic slog. Self-sabotage is an easy trap to fall into when we become addicted to dopamine hits such as gaining more likes, followers, adulation, power, etc.

If you’re having difficulty knowing what to do and are wondering how to handle this next stage of living, ask yourself this: Am I shutting off my emotions and/or ignoring the truth of what’s in front of me?

The challenge is to face life using both sides of yourself. You can combine your intuition and emotions with your intellect and logic. All these skills lie within you. Take off the blindfold (Two of Swords) and view the situation with honesty. When the veil is lifted, and you can see the situation clearly for what it is and not what you wish it would be, you will know which steps to take next.

Cards: Page of Pentacles, Queen of Cups, Queen of Swords, The Devil, Two of Swords

Deck: Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle

Journaling prompts for this month:

• I am blinded by…
• I can see clearly…

Recommended books for this month:

• Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• Bloodline by Jess Lourey
• The Year of Less by Cait Flanders

ps. If this month’s touchstone has sparked your interest, join me and my friend Anja for Tarot Writing Prompts on June 27! To give us more time to write and reflect, we’re extending the workshop to 90 minutes this time. Register today to save your spot!

Tarot Writing Prompts

Sunday, June 27, 2021 from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time (30 min longer this time!)

Hosted by Peg Cheng & AS Renner

Want to get to know yourself better? Enjoy journaling but never seem to find the time for it? Curious about the metaphorical imagery in tarot cards?

Tarot and oracle cards are a great tool for diving into your subconscious and unleashing your creativity. In this workshop, Peg Cheng and AS Renner will draw cards from their favorite tarot and oracle decks, creating on-the-spot writing prompts for you. Bring a pen and notebook, and get ready to have fun writing with other like-minded folks.

This workshop will be taught online via YouTube. NOTE: To participate in the live chat, create a login on YouTube prior to the workshop.

REGISTER NOW

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

AS Renner is the author of the novel, City of Lies (in German). Under the pseudonym Sina Jasur, Anja has published several non-fiction books on minimalism, self-publishing, and nutrition. As a writing coach, she helps her clients to finish their novels. Anja currently lives in Dresden, Germany with her husband and three kids.

This page contains affiliate links to my shop on Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you make a purchase using these links, I will earn a 10% commission and a matching 10% will be given to independent bookstores. Thanks for shopping indie!

When I write these monthly Tarot Touchstones, I ask the cards a question that I really want to have answered. I figure if I want to know the answer, maybe other people want to know it too?

For this month of May 2021, the question I asked was, “What do we need to pay attention to as we enter the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic?”

While not everyone is going through a fourth wave, I wanted to be more specific, rather than general, with my question. It’s my hope that the following touchstone may still apply to you, no matter where you are.

People, get ready.

Hope is on the horizon. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s not all smooth sailing ’til we get to the Promised Land. In fact, you might be feeling restless and ill at ease–like your mind is okay one minute and racing the next. Your feet may feel as if they’re constantly walking on rocky, shifting ground. But clarity–even a revelation–is coming (Ace of Swords).

You will need your intellect and logic for this new journey because–I’m sorry to break this to you–it’s going to be challenging. But if you keep your wits about you, and don’t ignore the problems present during this unusual time, you will make it through. Yes, there are people going to parties, shopping for hours, traveling, and eating in restaurants. These people might be thinking, everything is FINE. Really. What does it matter that there are invisible swords piercing my entire body (Ten of Swords)?

And yes, we are in the middle of spring and natural bursts of energy (Page of Wands) may be infusing your body as the days get longer and vitamin D lifts your spirits. Everything feels possible. This might give you the urge to do something wild, weird, or kinda crazy (The Moon). COVID fatigue is real (lawd, is it real). I hear you. Harness that energy and channel it, but please keep yourself safe while you do it.

Thing is, this pandemic with its heartbreaking tragedies, amazing humanitarian efforts, and scientific advances is all part of the wheel of life. It doesn’t make sense and it certainly isn’t fair. Life will always keep moving and changing (Wheel of Fortune). We are not here to control it, but to understand that it’s all a cycle. The medicine is not to say, “Aw, to hell with it!” and do whatever you want. No, the solution is to adapt and ride out the waves even when they threaten to engulf you.

You will make it through. We will make it through. See you on the path.

Cards: Ace of Swords, Ten of Swords, Page of Wands, The Moon, Wheel of Fortune

Deck: Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle

Journaling prompts for this month:

• There’s nothing fair about…
• The craziest thing I want to do…
• One thing worth trying…

Recommended books for this month:

• Displacement by Kiku Hughes
• She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
• Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

This page contains affiliate links to my shop on Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you make a purchase using these links, I will earn a 10% commission and a matching 10% will be given to independent bookstores. Thanks for shopping indie!

This April marks the launch of my Tarot Touchstones series! If you were a member of my Journaling Club on Patreon, you received one-card versions of these touchstones weekly, along with writing prompts. I loved doing them and when I closed the club due to not being keen on Patreon and wanting more time for my writing projects, I really missed them. Then, I realized I could do a tarot touchstone once a month and still have time and energy for my writing projects. So, here’s the first one. Hope you enjoy it.

Why is it always when we feel a strong pull (Eight of Wands) towards a project or venture that calls to us that we often combat our initial enthusiasm and desire by allowing fear to overtake us (Nine of Swords)?

Just when our minds, bodies, and souls want to take flight, our anxiety tramps all over our spirit, causing sleeplessness and negative thoughts, or an equally strong desire to retreat and retract.

Fighting this seemingly clashing set of feelings and emotions can set us on edge, keeping us paralyzed from taking any action.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The medicine is to surrender (The Hanged One) to both sides of ourselves. As Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in Big Magic: “I made a decision a long time ago that if I want creativity in my life–and I do–then I will have to make space for fear, too.”

You can feel fear and still take a step forward. Fear can sit in the backseat of your Creativity Car while you drive toward your destination.

It’s okay if you have to stop often to consult your map. It’s okay if you need to take lots of bathroom breaks. It’s okay if you feel both extreme fear and numbing excitement at the same time. It’s all okay.

As the Hanged One advises us, stop pushing away conflicting feelings and surrender, surrender, surrender.

April is the time to take a step forward.

See you on the path.

Cards: Eight of Wands, Nine of Swords, The Hanged One

Deck: Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle

Journaling prompts for this month:

• I feel ready to take a step…
• The fear that stops me…
• I want to let go of…

Recommended books for this month:

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey
• The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

This page contains affiliate links to my shop on Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you make a purchase using these links, I will earn a 10% commission and a matching 10% will be given to independent bookstores. Thanks for shopping indie!

Happy Year of the Ox! ? Gong Xi Fa Cai! ?

Chinese New Year begins today on February 12, 2021, and I’m wishing you a year filled with good health (vaccines, anyone?) and prosperity.

The Ox is the second of the twelve zodiac signs in Chinese Astrology and represents a year when perseverance, tenacity, and steady, methodical work will be rewarded. It’s a Metal Ox year, signaling a year to hold onto your money and use it wisely. This is not the year for going on spending sprees. Yes, you might have pandemic fatigue (who doesn’t?), but hold onto your checkbook, PayPal, Venmo, and credit cards this year. Stay prudent, save your dough, and spend just on the essentials. Keep a steady head and you will make it through.

The Strength card from the Animal Totem Tarot indicates that this year might be one where you find yourself facing considerable challenges and obstacles. It’s a time when curve balls are coming at you hard and fast and you might feel tested over and over again.

The Strength card is here to say, “Keep going, don’t give up, and don’t lose hope.”

When you’re feeling flustered or frustrated, embody the strength, patience, and steady nature of the ox. You have all the power within you to master the situation and stay the course. You can do this!

Questions to journal on this year:

• What are ways I can be more prudent with money?
• What is testing my strength?
• What can I do to bolster my strength and stay grounded?

Feels like we’ve had many new years in 2021 and it’s only February. How are you feeling this year? Pop a comment below and let me know. ? ?

Card: VIII: Strength

Deck: Animal Totem Tarot by Leeza Robertson & Eugene Smith

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

This page contains affiliate links to my shop on Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you make a purchase using these links, I will earn a 10% commission and a matching 10% will be given to independent bookstores. Thanks for shopping indie!

Why am I attracted to the Shadow?

Why am I not afraid of the dark side of the human psyche?

Why am I comfortable listening to people reveal their ugliest thoughts about themselves?

It’s because I have a Shadow side. It’s been alive and well for nearly my whole life. My parents added to it with force and criticism, along with others that wounded me as a child and as an adult.

Because of this, I know how it feels to be caught so deep in Shadow that you wonder if you’ll ever climb out of the darkness. You wonder if it will haunt you your whole life, and possibly into your next one if you believe in that kind of thing.

But when Marcus and I took a workshop this week from Theresa Reed (aka. The Tarot Lady) on Tarot for Shadow Work, I learned something very comforting. I learned that if I befriend my Shadow, I will discover “the bigger, brighter, and more luminous self hidden right there in the dark.”

This helped me to realize that while I might think dark thoughts–very, VERY dark thoughts–I don’t act on them. Am I immune to angry outbursts or bitter actions? Certainly not. But over time, I’ve learned that it’s better to leave things like vengeance and revenge to the Universe. The Universe has a way of dealing with things gone wrong. Also, if I allow myself to see the dark parts of myself and where they came from, I can interact with life rather than reacting to it.

Which brings me to why I feel comfortable listening to the shadow sides of others. I’m cool with listening to people talk about fear, anger, jealousy, rage, and more. It feels normal to me because I can relate. Even if I haven’t had the same thoughts, I’ve had something along the same vein. I wish more people were cool with this. I think if they were, we’d all be in a much better place. Instead of telling someone (especially their kid) not to be angry or jealous or sad, let them be it. Let them feel it and ultimately, deal with it. Tamping it down will only cause it to come back in a worse way–often a MUCH worse way. We ALL have a Shadow side. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

It gives me comfort to know that every day, if I’m open to it, I can shine a light on me and my Shadow–all the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful–and I can keep being who I am without feeling I’m lesser than or not good enough. It’s okay to see my Shadow in all its glory–in fact, it’s healthy and healing. Instead of hiding it or pretending that it’s not there, I can see my Shadow for what it is and befriend it. I can acknowledge and forgive myself for being flawed and human.

Which brings me to another big thing I learned in Theresa’s workshop. I figured out my Birth Card.

I had figured it out before this workshop, but listening to Theresa and my classmates talk about their Birth Cards helped me to take my understanding to a whole ‘nother level.

Here’s how I did it.

My birthday is September 26, 1971. To find out my Birth Card, I added up my birth date numbers like this:

9+2+6+1+9+7+1 = 35.

The Major Arcana in a tarot deck only goes up to 22 so I need to add these two numbers together too.

3=5 = 8.

8 is the Strength card in a tarot deck.

The Strength card symbolizes the inner power and courage to handle life’s challenges. In the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck, the Strength card shows a woman holding open the jaws of a lion. She is doing this gently, without force.

I can absolutely relate to this card.

Throughout my life, I’ve felt like I have to take matters into my own hands in order to solve a problem or overcome a challenge. But, I’m not always strong. Quite the contrary. You see, the opposite of strength is fear, cowardice, and insecurity. Yep, I feel fear all the time. When it comes to something I really care about, like my writing, I can be brave in writing down my stories, but I often fear it at the same time. This fear holds me back from doing my best writing. It’s a constant battle.

How can I be more like the Strength card?

Can I tame my inner demons–my Shadow–with gentleness and care rather than force and restriction?

Can I do it?

Because this is what I want. This is what I’m reaching for. This is the next level–acknowledging my Shadow, understanding it, and ultimately, being gentle with it and not fighting it.

I want to reach into the jaws of the lion–a frightening place indeed–and gently, even lovingly, open up its mouth. I want to be so gentle that the lion doesn’t fight at all; in fact, it wants me to open its jaw. It wants to be seen and touched with tenderness and compassion.

This is what I want for my Shadow side. If I can do this for the darkest parts of myself, there’s no telling what else I can do. This is what my soul aches to do. I’m on the path.

ps. If this story resonates with you, check out Tarot for Troubled Times: Confront Your Shadow, Heal Your Self & Transform the World by Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed. It was just released last week. Can’t wait to read it myself!

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? Peg is also the creator of Fear & Writing, a workshop for procrastinating writers from all walks of life.

Photo of Peg Cheng & Theresa Reed by Marcus Donner.