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- Tarot Tip: For When Your Mind Goes Blank
- Wald's Words of Wisdom
- Mind Your Own Business: Summer Slowdown in Your Tarot Business?
- Upcoming Events
This month you came from:Brazil, China, India, Myanmar, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States!
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Tarot makes an excellent shorthand. Just the mention of a card can convey a whole conversation. For instance, when I tell you I recently had a Tower experience, you can instantly sympathize (or maybe even empathize), without even knowing the details. If you've been having your own Tower experience, my heart goes out to you!
The astrological weather has been especially awful lately. One of the planetary perpetrators is Mars, which happens to be associated with which card? The Tower of course.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a very bad fall. What are those characters in The Tower doing? Falling. And it happened in my home -- the structure that has supported me for 46 years. Fortunately, that structure is still standing but a different definition of the word took a hit.
Wald and I have been teaching weekly classes for over 31 years. We've taken off from time to time for holidays and the occasional illness, but it's been a long time since we were forced to take an unexpected hiatus. I have structured my time, and for the most part my life, around the cycles of class creation, promotion, admin and teaching. I was hurt badly enough that we had to cancel class for 2 weeks. It may not sound like a lot but in the context of my personal structure, it threw me badly off balance.
I'm starting to feel a little better and am doing my best to be optimistic that I'll continue to improve. I know that many of you have been sending me healing energy and I can't begin to thank you enough! The next card in the series is The Star -- the place where all is right with the world. With your help, I'm keeping my eye on the prize.
~ Ruth Ann
We'd love to see you in Monday's class!
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Spread the experience of tarot - share this newsletter with other Tarot Enthusiasts!
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FOR WHEN YOUR MIND GOES BLANK:
The Tarot Reader Reset *
©️2026 Cheryl Ryder, Albuquerque Tarot Tribe
* Excerpt from a book in progress
Picture this scene:
You lay out the cards.
You look down at the spread.
And suddenly… nothing makes sense.
Zip. Zilch. Zero.
If you’ve been reading tarot for any length of time, you’ve likely had this moment.
Your mind goes quiet, your confidence drops, and the pressure to say something
—anything—starts to build. It can feel like standing on stage and forgetting your
lines while someone waits for you to perform.
Here’s the truth:
This isn’t a failure of intuition.
It’s a common and very normal stress response.
When pressure rises—whether from a complex spread, a sensitive question, or
simply the expectation to “get it right”—your system can become overwhelmed.
Clarity narrows, words slow down, and your ability to interpret smoothly gets disrupted.
In that moment, you don’t need more meanings.
You need a reset.
Remember this handy matrix for mapping our 4 Life Domain Powers to Tarot Suits:
- Pentacles-The Power to Build & Sustain – Support & Structure
- Swords- The Power to Understand – What is happening in clear, accurate terms
- Cups- The Power to Care – What matters, ethics, values, self-worth, connections
- Wands- The Power to Act – movement, initiative, effectiveness
The Reader Reset with The Four Powers of Tarot
Used in high-stress training environments like SCUBA diving, and absolutely usable in any area of life, a reset is a simple way to regain your footing before responding.
In tarot, it looks like this:
1. Stop — Pause the Momentum – Power to Act
- Before you try to interpret, pause.
- Take your hands off the table.
- Let the silence be there.
This interrupts the urge to rush or “perform” and prevents you from forcing a meaning that doesn’t feel true. Think of cards like the Three of Wands—a deliberate pause that allows recovery before action resumes.
2.
Breathe — Steady Yourself – Power to Care
Take one or two slow, deliberate breaths.
This small shift helps calm your nervous system and brings you back into the present moment. When your body settles, your mind follows. The energy of Temperance or the Queen of Cups is helpful here—balance, composure, and emotional steadiness.
3. Look — Return to What You Actually Perceive –
Now, look again at the cards—but drop the pressure to be insightful.
Instead, ask simple questions:
- What stands out visually? Power to Understand
- What is actually present in this spread? Power to Understand
- What seems to matter here? Power to Care
You’re not trying to be brilliant. You’re reconnecting with observation.
Cards like the Ace of Swords and the Page of Wands remind us that clarity often begins with simple, honest seeing.
4. Speak — Say One True Thing – Power to Understand
You don’t need a full interpretation to move forward.
Just say one grounded observation, one accurate discernment.
It might be:
- “There’s a lot of tension here.”
- “Something feels unresolved.”
- “I’m noticing two very different directions.”
That’s enough to restart the flow of the reading.
From there, meaning can unfold naturally.
The Queen of Swords or the Magician capture this moment—focused, intentional expression, using what’s already present.
Why This Works
When your mind goes blank, it’s rarely because nothing is there. More often, it’s because too much is happening at once—and your system needs a moment to reorganize.
A reset gives you that moment.
Instead of reacting, you return to:
- steadiness
- observation
- and intentional response
A Final Thought
Every tarot reader has moments where the cards don’t immediately make sense.
What matters isn’t dreading those moments—it’s knowing how to navigate them.
So, the next time your mind goes blank, don’t push harder.
Pause.
Breathe.
Look again.
Then speak one true thing.
The clarity hasn’t disappeared.
You just needed to reset.
What do you think?
Namaste, Cheryl
About Cheryl Ryder:
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60-years of tarot use and study, a tarot workshop developer and the leader of the Albuquerque Tarot Tribe Meetup Group for the past 12 years. Cheryl has grown the group from 150 members to over 1200 using innovative and interactive teaching methods.
You all know her: a 10-year Readers Studio veteran, 7 years of Coordinating the Tarot Ambassador Team, occasional First-Timer Initiator, Merchant Faire Vendor, and in 2024, the Facilitator of the Sunday morning Tarot Incubator Discussions.
Cheryl’s ongoing programs and discussion groups on the Albuquerque Tarot Tribe’s platform (open to anyone interested in tarot globally) continue to inspire people to expand and deepen their learning of tarot and their worlds.
https://www.meetup.com/the-albuquerque-tarot-meetup-group/
Email: ABQTarotTribe@gmail.com
To submit a question to be answered in a future issue of Tarot Tips, send us an email at tarot@tarotschool.com
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Wald's Words of Wisdom
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Mind Your Own Business
SUMMER SLOWDOWN IN YOUR TAROT BUSINESS?
Now is the time to plan for the October onslaught
By Patti Woods
One thing I’ve come to grips with in my tarot business: the summer is slow. I used to panic about that, but then I realized this was actually valuable space for planning. My schedule gets much lighter in July and August, so I’ve found this is the perfect time to start planning for October.
Thanks to Halloween, tarot always gets a surge in interest in October. It pays to be organized ahead of the game, so with that in mind, here are some things to consider.
1) Are there special types of readings you’d like to offer during this time? Some people like to combine mediumship or ancestral work into their tarot sessions as we get closer to Samhain. If so, make a list of the readings and descriptions of what you’ll be offering.
2) Do you do Halloween parties? This year, Halloween is on a Saturday, so people will be having parties all weekend long. Now is the time to figure out what you will offer and what your rates are. Decide where you’ll advertise (social media, flyers, newsletters).
3) This is a great time to offer incentives to your regular clients. For my top clients, I like to send a Halloween card with a small gift. I’ve also offered referral incentives (refer a friend and if they book, you both receive an extra 15 minutes).
4) Plan out your social media. There are different resources available for creating posts ahead of time. (I use the paid version of Canva, which allows me to create graphics and schedule them for posting).
5) If you’re a tarot educator, consider offering a talk or class at your local library or other event space.
It can be easy to panic when bookings slow down, but I’ve found that embracing the quiet actually helps my business. Using the quiet summer months to brainstorm and get organized helps make the busy fall run so much smoother. How do you like to use your downtime? Do you have any tips or tricks to share? We’d love to hear!
About Patti:
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Patti Woods is a writer and tarot reader with over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. Having served as an editor for both newspapers and magazines, she transitioned into freelance writing, contributing hundreds of articles to major publications such as The Boston Globe, Business Insider, Wine Spectator, Parade Magazine, The Week, Christian Science Monitor, Vegetarian Times, and Health, among many others.
In addition to her writing career, Patti is the founder of Mind, Body & Tarot, a business featured in Business Insider, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, Fodor's Travel, and more.
She is also the author of Lost Restaurants of Fairfield, published by Arcadia/The History Press, and has contributed to several anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Learn more about her services and offerings at www.pattiwoods.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/boozytarot
IG: boozy_tarot
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Upcoming Events: 
Tarot Salon on Zoom!
7:00 – 9:00 pm EDT
Our popular Monday night classes are held over Zoom so you can attend no matter where you live.
Classes are recorded and all levels of experience are welcome!
AUGUST 2026:
3 - The Tarot Angels
10 - Symbols of the 6 of Swords
17 - Symbols of the 7 of Swords
24 - Symbols of the 8 of Swords
31 - Birth Cards: Hanged Man / Empress
Get on the notification list to see what we'll be teaching each week.
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Readings with Ruth Ann
Running The Tarot School with Wald keeps me pretty busy, but I still love giving readings! My specialty is using your Birth Cards
and Elemental Array (techniques Wald and I have developed) in conjunction with random draws to give you an extremely personalized and powerful reading.
If you are familiar with the Tree of Life, you may request a Birth Cards Synastry Reading. I will compare your Birth Cards with those of one or two others to give you a deeper understanding of your relationship with them.
I excel at giving Readings for Readers so if you're always giving readings to others, let me help you with some self-care for a change!
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