Liz Worth ~ Tarot + Astrology

Please allow me to go on a little rant for a minute.

The spiritual industry has a problem with instant gratification.

I see it all the time in courses and workshops that lure you in with quick certifications, or that promise you spiritual attainment or mastery over a specific skill set in just a matter of days.

What am I talking about?

Beginner tarot programs that promise to give you the basics of tarot and teach you how to start charging for your readings…

Reiki classes that fast-track students through levels 1 and 2 within the span of a single weekend…

Priestess trainings in a matter of hours…

The list goes on.

Before I start to sound like a gatekeeper, I’ll say this: Taking a quick class or weekend workshop to get a taste of something is fine.

If you don’t have the time to commit to a longer training, or you’re not sure you’re ready to make a long-term commitment to a divination practice or spiritual path, there is nothing wrong...

Twin Flames are a divisive topic.

But first: What are twin flames, anyway?

The idea suggests that twin flames come from a single soul that split into two. In this Vanity Fair article, the researcher was only able to trace the term to 1886.

It sounds similar to soulmates, but the beliefs around twin flames seem to drive more conflict – or even encourage it within relationships as a pathway to spiritual growth. Turmoil, pain, and on-again-off-again affection are considered signatures to the twin flame journey.

There are plenty of twin flame gurus, cults, communities, and coaches out there to help guide people to their twin flames, and through the subsequent ups and downs of these relationships.

And it’s a lucrative corner of the spiritual industry.

I don’t want to get too far into the explanation of twin flames as that’s not the purpose of this piece, so I’ll stop there with the intention of expanding on these thoughts more in the future.

What I wanted to...

Happy New Year!

I hope you are doing well, all things considered.

Thank you so much for joining me here. I’m excited to start the New Year off with you!

What intentions, hopes, dreams, and changes are you bringing with you into 2021?

Personally, I’m bringing in a few new and old plans: I’m going to take clarinet lessons, for one.

Two, I’m bringing back my annual resolution to read all the un-read books I have at home before buying new ones. (It’s the third year in a row I’m setting this resolution – let’s see if I can keep it this time around.)

There are also a few spiritual trends and beliefs that I would be happy to see disappear in 2021:

1. The belief that tarot readers, energy healers and other intuitive workers shouldn’t charge for their “gifts.” This idea only serves people who don’t believe in paying someone for their labour.

Energetic and intuitive work are skills like any other, and many people who...

A couple of blogs ago, I shared why I’m no longer talking about astrology here as much I used to.

(You can read it here if you missed it.)

I didn’t come to that decision quickly, or easily.

When you put years into something, it can feel disorienting to realize you don’t feel the same way about it as you used to. Given that astrology is part of my spiritual practice, it was a decision that went beyond just a newsletter.

For a while, I questioned myself:

Do I not believe in astrology anymore?

Do I not think it’s important?

Do I not want other people to discover it and see it the way I do?

I do believe in astrology, and I do think it’s important. But I want to have a different relationship with it now.

And to do that, I need to take a bit of a step back from working with it so publicly.

This isn’t an easy thing to do these days, with our lives so out in the open online.

This is a reflection of what happens when spiritual practices evolve. Our...

I have been feeling frustrated lately.

And impatient. And tired – not physically, but intellectually and emotionally.

Especially by what I see in so-called spiritual communities, from so-called spiritual people who push conspiracy theories and promote paranoia, suspicion, and careless information.

I know that conspiracy theories exist in all types of circles.

And spiritual work is not my only work. But it is a place I spend much time in, and a place I choose to lead from, so it’s what I’m going to address today.

I am expanding on some thoughts I shared in a previous post that bears repeating, and bears witness with the astrology of the moment.

I always encourage discernment, logic, and groundedness in all that we do. My life's work is based in spiritual practices, art, and magic, but that doesn't mean I don't have space in my life for critical thinking, science, and rational thought.

If you study tarot, astrology, or other spiritual practices deeply...

One of the most problematic beliefs that comes from the spiritual industry is that everything is your fault.

If you’re not happy enough, successful enough, or in love enough, then it must because you’re not thinking the right thoughts.

Or you’re not raising your vibration high enough to attract what you really want.

Or you’re just not putting in the work to be who you want to be.

Sometimes there are things that are holding us back that we did not – and would not – choose for ourselves.

For years, I struggled with crippling shyness when I was growing up. It held me back from opportunities that I desperately wanted – but I couldn’t bring myself to be the way I wanted to be.

But that shyness wasn’t just mine. It was part of a coping mechanism that I’d developed over the years, and it was a behaviour that I’d been programmed to adopt into my identity.

The environments I’d grown up in had told me that girls should be...

One of the most common questions I get from other tarot readers is, “Do you read reversals?”

It comes up whenever I teach a class, whether it’s to a group of beginners or advanced readers.

(And for anyone not familiar with reversals, it’s when a card is upside down in a reading.)

I don’t read reversals – but I used to. I picked up the technique when I was studying tarot, and used it regularly by the time I started reading tarot professionally.

But I gradually stopped reading reversals.

Why? It’s not because they don’t work – they do (if you’re clear and consistent in how you’re using them).

The reason reversals dropped out of my tarot practice is that I just didn’t need them anymore. I had started to develop new styles of card reading and the way I was working with tarot didn’t require reversals anymore.

I started to see that the way I was looking at a reversed card – whether it was a challenge,...

Should spiritual leaders “get political”?

Should your favourite tarot reader, astrologer, or witch share their political views on their platforms?

Some people believe the two should be kept separate.

But it’s not always so easy to figure out where the lines can be drawn – and whether they should be drawn in the first place.

I mean, what is considered “political” anyway?

I’m not just talking about elections and political parties – that’s just one part of it.

Sometimes I think that everything is political. Maybe that comes from living in a woman’s body: From day one, my appearance, my choices, and my lifestyle have been politicized no matter what I do.

But then I challenge my own belief on that when I encounter an opinion on what is political that I hadn’t considered before. Like what we’ve seen this year in regards to the pandemic.

Suddenly, hygienic practices are seen as political. Some people see masks,...

In the spiritual and self-help worlds, we often hear encouraging words to strive for more, to change for the better, to edit out our messes and flaws...

But – and this is a big BUT… it’s important to remember that not everything needs fixing.

And not everything is a teachable moment in the cult of self-improvement.

I had to remind myself of this the other day.

I was out at a store. I saw something I wanted to buy for myself: It was something that I very much wanted, but did not need.

And as I picked that item up off the shelf, a very clear thought went through my head: “I really should work on buying myself fewer things.”

And then I followed that up with a big why: “Why should I stop, when it makes me happy?”

Why is it a problem – or perceived as one?

There is a major tendency to pathologize our behaviours these days. To self-analyze, and over-analyze. To self-diagnose ourselves as problematic.

To decide that everything about...

Do you ever ask for signs?

I sure do.

One of the most powerful omens came to me just last year.

I was doing some work with spirit guides, through a course I had purchased with a shamanic healer. A lot of the work involved meditation, and one of the first assignments was to ask your guides to confirm their presence.

After that morning’s meditation, I did my homework and put my question out there, not knowing what might come about.

Later that day, I decided to go for a walk. It was early spring, and the weather was just starting to get good after a long, hard winter.

I had no destination in mind. I ended up walking east, away from my downtown apartment towards an old residential neighbourhood. There, the streets are quiet, and some of the roads end with a great view overlooking the city.

I turned one corner after the other, simply enjoying the sun on my face. As I crossed the street, something flat and shiny caught my eye. At first, I thought it was a quarter. As I...