The Star

IMG_6404After the storm of the Tower, comes the healing power of the Star.

Feel the soothing presence of this card. It comes as a balm for your wounds. Everything will be okay.

The Star is the card that makes wishes come true, if you hold your wish in your heart. It is there to guide you, to tell you there is a good outcome to what you have been going through.

If you are asking a yes/no question, the Star answers with a resounding yes. Open yourself up to opportunities.  Let things happen. Make things happen.

For me, this is a card of self-compassion. It is there to remind us that we can be fragile. We deserve the kindness we usually save for others.

I am constantly in awe of the world. The good and the bad. The Star is there to comfort me, to tell me that even though it doesn’t always feel like it, there is hope.




The Tower

IMG_6403This does not bode well. The Tower doesn’t mess around. Yikes!

An event outside of yourself is going to hit hard. Or an event inside of yourself will be the wake up call that you need.

I love this card, because it means that things are finally moving. No more stagnation, doubt, waiting. Things are really happening now.

If it is outside yourself, it will be a big shift in your life. Your work, your family, anything that has been seemingly safe is going to change. This could be a very welcomed change if you have been stuck in a stage of life.

Usually though, this card is a personal wake up call.  You’ve neglected part of yourself and now it’s time to pick up the pieces. It’s too late to back up now.

This can be a scary card as we don’t usually like change very much. But it’s also an opportunity to burn it all down and start again. A catharsis. Ready or not, the Tower is there to make sure you get the message.





The Devil

IMG_6402The Devil asks: What has you chained down? What is keeping you from being yourself?

The Devil is about doubts, self-imposed limitations, addictions. When this card appears, it’s time to do some self-examination. What are you attached to so much that you are missing everything else in your life?

Addictions could be your phone, alcohol, work, sex, shopping, not stopping, anything that keeps you from you. What are you doing to avoid the void?

We can get so caught up in what is going on around us, that we forget to make time for ourselves. When this card is present, it tells you it’s time. It’s time to stop the nonsense and look at what is there inside you.

Time to accept what is there. Is it pain? Self-doubt? Guilt? Bad memories?

Turn off the automatic pilot. Sit down. Breathe. Write down what is really going on.

Where can you spend time to replenish yourself? What actions can you take to feel what it is to be you? What do you like to do just because it feels like you?

You have a great opportunity to check in with yourself. Take that step. Unplug. Be still.





Temperance / Tempérance


temperance2My temperance card is about melding two opposites together, and the art and craft it takes to pull it off. Temperance is named Art in the Thoth deck, and it has influenced me in the painting of this card.

Temperance is about work, about finding solutions, thinking, working, solving. It’s about taking what you have, putting it with something else to create an encompassing solution.

It’s about finding the right recipe.

When this card shows up, it’s to remind us of our power. Of digging deep to see what we can do to help the situation.

In my painting, my witch is mixing water with fire to create something other. She is in control. She is finding the balance. She is measuring, fixing, tasting, experimenting. It’s all about trying, and trying again.

On our journey to finding who we are, what we can do in certain situations, we learn more about ourselves in the trying part than in the solution part. Temperance is there to remind us that we have to get dirty once in a while. We need to try. Our problems won’t solve themselves on their own.

Own your power. Don’t be afraid to fail. Try and try again. This is the way of finding out what we can do. Nobody else can help us. We are on our own.

Like tempered glass is stronger after a bath of fire, so are we when we face challenges and find ways to surpass them. Temperance tells us to try, even though it seems impossible.

You are much more capable than you think.




Ma carte de Tempérance parle de fusionner deux choses opposées, de l’art et le talent que ça prend pour le faire. Ma peinture de la Tempérance est beaucoup influencée par la carte de l’Art dans le tarot de Thoth, et diffère de la tradition de voir la tempérance comme la modération de soi.

La Tempérance parle du travail, d’essayer de résoudre, de penser, de travailler. C’est à propos de prendre ce que tu as, ajouter un autre concept, pour terminer avec quelque chose de complètement nouveau.

La Tempérance nous aide à trouver la bonne recette.

Quand cette carte apparaît, elle est là pour nous rappeler de notre propre pouvoir. De creuser en dedans pour trouver ce qu’on peut faire pour aider la situation.

Dans ma peinture, la sorcière mélange de l’eau et du feu pour faire autre. Elle est en contrôle. Elle trouve la balance des choses. Elle mesure, répare, goûte, expérimente. Elle essaie, et essaie encore.

Dans le cheminement que l’on fait pour se trouver, on apprend plus en essayant qu’en trouvant la réponse. La Tempérance est là pour nous dire de se salir une fois de temps en temps. Il faut essayer. Nos problèmes ne se résoudront pas d’eux mêmes.

Ton pouvoir est à toi. N’aies pas peur de bafouiller. Voilà la façon de trouver ce dont on est capable de faire. Personne d’autre peut faire le travail pour toi. Tu es seul/e devant la tâche.

Comme le verre tempéré est plus fort après son bain de feu, tel nous le sommes quand on fait face au défis et on trouve une façon de les affronter.

Tu es capable de beaucoup plus que tu peux imaginer.




FullSizeRender 2Death is the thirteenth card in the Tarot deck, and can be scary for some people. It has a dark connotation, and it’s something that can be difficult to confront.

Death means that something is ending, that there is no more standstill. Whatever the situation, it will be ending soon or has ended. It is the card that represents the Scorpio sign, in its absolutes and intensity.

Death can mean literal Death, although I have rarely seen it in my readings. It symbolizes the process of something ending, and being replaced by something new. That is why there is sometimes a butterfly on this card, to symbolize transformation.

It is a card of change. Of accepting that what we have worked so hard to achieve is done, be it a relationship, a work situation, or whatever else that has passed. This is not the card you want when looking if the situation has a future.

In my depiction of the Death card, I painted the foreground very dark, to symbolize the pain that comes with letting go. But the white rose, symbol of renewal, is there to greet us when we are ready. The Sun awaits in the background, after we have done the internal work that accompanies the ending of a situation.

It can be a painful card, a wake up call, but usually, it’s a recognition of a situation that has passed or is on its way out. It demands respect, attention, and serious consideration. It is not for the superficial.

Death is something that we all have to face. We can’t ignore it. The best we can do is invite it in, let it stay with us awhile, until we are ready to face what comes next.






The Hanged Man


Patience, sacrifice, looking from a new angle.

My painting of the Hanged Man depicts a person doing the yoga Tree pose, while having a moment of pure presence. Enlightenment. It means that sometimes we need to give up on our way of seeing things, and letting other perspectives in. It does us good to be silent. Listening to the voice inside us.

The Hanged Man demands patience. When this card shows up, it means you’ll have to wait a while before you get a resolution. You have plenty of time to think about the situation, and see if you’re missing a certain angle.

The Hanged Man can also mean that the situation asks for a sacrifice. What will you have to give up? What will have to change? Are you willing to step into the unknown?

It’s a frustrating card if you’re on a rush to get somewhere. On the other hand, sometimes it’s the well needed break from our tumultuous life that we’ve needed for a long time.

It’s about being still. Stopping. Listening. Introspecting. The calm before the storm.




Justice is about just that: Justice.

When this card shows up, it can mean that you need some self-examination of the situation. What looks right? what seems fair? Are you using logic and self-effacement? Are you being impartial?

The Justice card can also be about balance. A balance between what you want and what you need, or simply to return to a more balanced position of the situation. Sometimes we are so set on one outcome, that we do not think that there could be other ways the situation can develop.

Justice wants us to see with new eyes. With fairness. To ourselves, to others.

If Justice is a person, then you can be sure this person is stoic, fair, with no patience for frivolity. If Justice is a situation, then it can mean that the result will be fair and balanced. This doesn’t mean that the situation will be the outcome that we desire…

Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves that looking at a situation with neutrality can bring us more insights than simply sticking to our opinion.