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BTP30: Co-Creating a Tarot Reading

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A common perception among many first-time Tarot reading clients – and even readers – is that the Tarot reader will do most of the talking, telling them what the cards mean and what to expect in the future. But, as we'll learn today, it doesn't always have to be this way.

In fact, as Tarot readers, we can ‘co-create' a Tarot reading with our clients.

What is co-creation exactly? It's about bringing the client into the Tarot reading process and facilitating a two-way conversation about what the reading means for them.

Now, there is one professional Tarot reader and teacher who does this to perfection – James Wells. He's a Toronto-based tarot consultant who uses one-to-one consultations and group experiences to help people remember their innate creativity, wisdom, resourcefulness, wholeness, and personal power.

In this podcast interview, you'll learn:

  • How, at just 12 years old, a book about ESP started James' life-long journey with Tarot
  • The powerful questions James asks the Tarot on a daily basis, to guide him towards clear decision-making
  • Exactly how James works with his clients to ‘co-create' the reading and deliver specific insight and actionable advice
  • Why you want the client to do most of the talking during a Tarot reading – and no, it's not about being a lazy Tarot reader!
  • How Tarot brings people back to their ‘wholeness' in a profound and impactful way

Plus, so much more! Let's dive in…

Additional Resources:

Podcast Transcript

Brigit: You are listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 30: Co-Creating a Tarot Reading.

Voice-Over

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot podcast, where you will learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide.

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. And now, here is your host Brigit Esselmont.

Introduction

Brigit: Hello and welcome!

A common perception among many first-time Tarot reading clients – and even readers – is that the Tarot reader will do most of the talking, telling them what the cards mean and what to expect in the future. But, as we'll learn today, it doesn't always have to be this way.

In fact, as Tarot readers, we can ‘co-create' a Tarot reading with our clients.

What is co-creation exactly? It's about bringing the client into the Tarot reading process and facilitating a two-way conversation about what the reading means for them.

Now, there is one professional Tarot reader and teacher who does this to perfection. He's a Toronto-based tarot consultant with an avid interest in what makes humans and the universe tick. People have often referred to him as a soul-whisperer, a vision-maker, and a motivational listener, who uses one-to-one consultations and group experiences to help people remember their innate creativity, wisdom, resourcefulness, wholeness, and personal power. He is none other than James Wells.

Brigit:   Welcome, James Wells, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here.

James: It is a real treat to speak with you Brigit. It has been what, a couple of years since we have spoken, I think. I am thrilled.

Brigit:   I know, I've been looking forward to this conversation all morning.

James: I always love chatting with you, it is terrific.

Brigit:   Oh, wonderful. Ok, let's just get straight into a I'd love to hear a little bit about your story with Tarot and particularly, how did you find Tarot, or maybe its the other way around, how did Tarot find you?

James: Well, it is probably a bit of a mix as is with a lot of us. I have been interested since childhood, in what makes people in the universe tick, or possibly tick.

I was reading mythologies from various cultures, mythologies from various religious backgrounds, interested in symbolism and the unseen, so to speak, in as many forms and guises. When I was 12 years old, I was reading a wonderful book called “Let ESP Work for You” by a woman named, Patsy Ruth Welding. I think the book came out in 1976, mid-seventies, anyways. One of the sections, had about, and still has, about six to eight pages talking about the Tarot. And just the way that she described how it could be a reflective tool, and sitting with it and really taking in the image of the card and applying it to what is on your mind and in your heart. Really spoke to me, even at the age 12, something in me sang, as it where. And, so I saved up my money, as a 12 year old, and went to a local game store and purchased my first deck of Tarot cards, which was the 1JJ Swiss pack.

And then, just practiced with friends and cousins and myself. When I was going through high school, several of my teachers asked for readings after school and so I would sometimes stay for half an hour or an hour after school, and some of my teachers would consult me with the cards. My grade 13 English teacher even had me over to her house to do sessions for three or four of her friends and her one Saturday and it was great fun.

Brigit: Wow, can you imagine that would that even be possible these days?

James: You got to wonder. I mean, that was back then, I think I did pretty well to get it into my life and into my town at that point in our history.

Brigit:   Yeah, that's fabulous.

James: And the rest is history. I just started doing workshops and reading good books and practicing more and more and so forth.

Brigit:   Yeah, wonderful, yes it's really interesting to hear that you encountered Tarot at 12, because I think it seems to be some common ages, actually a lot of people find it around that 12, 13 mark. Others find it around 18 or so. Then even, sort of around 60 years old, these must be like these critical turning points where we're looking for something. That reflection shows a lot of maturity, as well, for a 12 year old to really connect with the Tarot and its ability to allow you to reflect.

James: There is something about that age, a classmate of mine, named Crystal, she also began to study astrology at the same time. She is still, these days, a professional astrologer here in southern Ontario. So, there is something about that. I encountered my first really, understandable, serious Tarot book at age 18,you brought up the age of 18. That was “Choice-Centered Tarot” by Gayle Fairfield. There is something about those points. I think at the age 12, we are about to enter puberty. At age 18, we are going into what passes for adulthood. Perhaps, for some of us it is a rite of passage, making our own way, we are connecting with the symbols as a way to give ourselves a rite of passage in a culture that doesn't give us a lot of rite of passage these days.

Brigit:   Yeah, spot on. Definitely. These days, how do you integrate Tarot into your daily life?

James: Most days, I pull a card of the day and use it as a journaling prompt. I use it to gain some insight into myself, who I really am that day, because we can all go into denial. And so, I can sometimes ask myself: “Oh, who do I need to be today, or what wants to come to my awareness today. Or how can I succeed in every aspect of my life today?” And then I just use the card to prompt ideas and journal about those and highlight the ones that really stand out for me. I keep the image of the card and the concepts of the card in my mind throughout the day. And it really helps to guide me in making clearer decisions.

If I encounter something that is really not congruent with that particular cards concept of the day, I really need to double think for a moment, is this going to be a good decision or is this a good avenue for me to take, or is this a good offer for me professionally for me to take, or is this a good person to connect with on a social level, etc. I am not saying that I rule my life with the cards, let's not get into that, because I think that is garbage. But it does help me think about what my strongest resources are that day and which part of my personality is most active that day. And then I encounter something in the course of my daily life, I can ask myself whether that is aligned with a piece of me or with that piece of wisdom for the day, or could it maybe wait another day or another week?

Brigit:   Yeah wonderful, yeah and again, you just sort of touched on not getting into that sort of unhealthy dependence on the cards to say: “What's my day going to be like? What can I expect?” But more so just as a gentle guidance or a gentle nudge from you know your spirit self I suppose.

James: Yeah, I have a student who, one time, she picked the Rider Waite Smith version of the five of wands as her day card. I am just using this as an example, suddenly her face came into my mind and this story. And so she is going, all these people are kind of whacking at each other and looking like there sort of fighting, sort of not. When she went into her work place that day, she encountered some really stressful interactions with people and she was about to dive in and just say: “Look people, shut the F-up.” And then suddenly she thought, no wait a minute, she says the fives can be about change, maybe I need to change my approach to this, maybe I need to stand back and watch the sticks fly a little bit and only when asked I will step in and make the change as it is requested of me. It really saved her sanity for that day and for the rest of the week because apparently the other people involved in the kerfuffle were just at each others throats all week long and it would have distracted her from some very important work she had to do that week. That card of hers on Monday, not only held her for the day, it held her for the entire week.

Brigit:   Yeah, love that and what I love about is she didn't take that victim mentality of, oh, here's conflict, oh, well Tarot told me I would have conflict so, let's just do it.

James: Yeah.

Brigit:   She's seen as an opportunity to go: “Ok, here's conflict, but what's another aspect of these cards that will help me move it into a more positive or constructive space?” I think that's such a good example.

James: Yeah, yeah and because I know, the golden dawn tradition calls it the card of strife, and strife is an old word for anxiety. And so, I think for her, it was just a warning bell, of be conscious of moments that can bring anxiety to you, and then change something about yourself to do something about it.

Brigit:   Yeah, wonderful.

James: Mhmm.

Brigit:   Excellent, well let's switch gears a little bit because I invited you to the this podcast because I know that you have an amazing talent with your Tarot readings. To, I guess is kind of like to support your clients, to help them see their own answers and to generate there own insight from the Tarot Cards and I guess you could align that with more of the counseling approach. So perhaps in your own words, how do you work with your client when you are doing a Tarot reading? What's kind of your style?

James: It varies a little bit depending on the individual and how much time we have booked together. That said, in general, I am very conversational, so that I am not just talking at somebody. And now, I am not saying that style is wrong, I am simply saying that is not my style. So, I tend to be more conversational, I let people know from the get go that it will be a conversation. I send them a little series of intake questions, for first timers they get a series of five questions. Which I won't get into now because I am not sure we have time for that. And for people who have worked with me before, I just have a pair of questions, two questions that I send them. Just to help us really focus on a clean, clear intention for the session or series of sessions, as is the case for some people. And to help me design a spread or a process that I think will best serve what comes up in their responses to the questions. And so that is how we begin, so immediately there is dialogue, even before we begin the session. And then when they are with me, I do a quick check in, does this thing, this little map that I have put together for you seem to serve your needs. And I think 99.5% of the time, people go: “Oh my god, I would've never thought of asking these questions and putting them into a map like that, great idea!”

So, already half the work is done, and then we get into the cards themselves. We mix them, lay them out in the pattern and I look at the whole pattern, I know some people like to lay cards out one by one, turn them up one by one, and that works really well too. There is a good rational for that. I like to look at the whole array of cards in front of me, just to notice general patterns. How many of each suite is present? How many of each number is present? What is the balance between the trumps and the minors? A balance of uprights and reversals and so forth, and then just put that together in a quick general observation get their feedback on it. And then we go into a card-by-card analysis.

So, I might talk a little bit about each card, one at a time. I might invite them to give me an observation about the card. What do you see going on in this picture here? I'd love to hear what you see going on here, what do you perceive is happening here? Or what is the story going on, if this picture where illustrating a page of a book, what would it be saying? And, you know, let them talk about that for a minute or two and then sometimes try to turn their observations into open-ended questions about themselves and about the position and the spread that we are exploring. So, let's say, let’s go back to the Rider Waite Smith five of wands, just because it is fresh in our minds. Maybe they say: “Oh, I see a bunch of kids out in a school yard and they are play fighting and they don't really want to hurt each other but they are getting awfully close.” And, so, it might be in the spread position that is about, what is my most helpful resource in my week for my work this week. That really makes us think, and I might say: “Oh, ok, so what I heard you saying is that there are people who are sort of play fighting, they don't mean to hurt each other, even if they get really close. So, if we apply that as a help or a resource about your work this week, what might we say about that?” And maybe they will say something about: “Oh, well maybe I need to engage in a little more healthy competition with the people in the stores around the area where I work. Or maybe, I need to kind of have a debate session with some of my mentors, and teachers, and students and colleagues to get people really interested in what it is I really do.” We take that basic story, ask a question or two about it, apply it to the spread position and come up with something that is pretty uniquely theirs in the moment.

Brigit:   Yeah.

James: Then toward the end we try to sum everything up. Then I usually give people some kind of home play or homework. I tend to refer to it as home play. I usually ask them to pick a card that they most like out of the spread and then we set the rest aside, then I say: “Can you name some qualities about this card that you like? Just give me three or four qualities?” They will say: “Oh, it looks invigorating, it looks healthy, etc.” And, so I will just say: “Ok, what is something you can do over the next 24 hours that sounds healthy and invigorating?” And then let them come up with something, and then over the next week what could your do that feels healthy and invigorating? And they come up with something for that, an activity, a doable action, not just airy, fairy, up in the sky, up in your head stuff.

And then, maybe, as a final thing: “Ok, think ahead over the next month, project yourself into the space of the next 30 days, what can you see yourself committing to that looks healthy and invigorating?” And let them come up with some kind of action. If they need a little help, I sometimes will prompt them: “Oh, well that sounds a little bit like we need to narrow it down just to one activity.” Just so they don't get to fancy or to elaborate with it, because some people want to go whole hog and then they don't do the action and then they don't transform.

Brigit:   Mhmmm, yeah, wonderful. Oh, I have got so many questions out of this. One thing I'm really curious is when you're in the process of the reading, what it is that you think that you are working, and what I mean by this is, are you working with your intuition, are you working with some magical mystical force, are you working with the clients subconscious? Collective consciousness? You name it, what do you think it is that you are tapping into when you are in that dynamic?

James: Short answer is yes. I really feel that it is mostly the client’s unconscious and also my awareness of the present moment. I am making observations, I am listening, I am watching, I am trying my best to be present, to breathe with them, to be aware of them, to notice the words they use, to notice the gestures they make if we are in person. If we are on the phone, obviously, the gestures aren't there. If we are on Skype, yes, I can, we see each other.

I don't bill what I do as a psychic reading, not that there is anything wrong with that, but if I were doing a straight psychic reading, why bother with the cards as far as I'm concerned. I do have occasional moments when something flies into my head that has absolutely nothing to do with a card or with what is going on in the room and I preface something like that: “You know, as we are talking about this, I am getting this mental picture of such and such and I just want to get it out of my head, so I am going to deliver it to you and if it has meaning for you in this context, fantastic. If not you can chew on it later at home.”

Once I remember getting a very specific name come to me, that is not a common name, so I won't use it here, because it might pin point who the person is, but I remember when the person sitting with me and we are talking about a certain aspect of their life. This very uncommon name in my part of the world popped into my head, and I said: “I think this is a name, I am going to speak the word to you, and you can let me know if it is relevant or not and if not, that's fine too it means it is out of my head.” And I said the name to him and he just got gob smacked, I mean his mouth popped wide open and he said: “Holy crow, that person is intimately connected with this particular project that were talking about.” He says: “There is no way you could…” It's not like it was John Smith or something like that.

Brigit:   Mhmmm, yeah, wonderful. Oh, I have got so many questions out of this. One thing I'm really curious is when you're in the process of the reading, what it is that you think that you are working, and what I mean by this is, are you working with your intuition, are you working with some magical mystical force, are you working with the clients subconscious? Collective consciousness? You name it, what do you think it is that you are tapping into when you are in that dynamic?

James: Short answer is yes. I really feel that it is mostly the client’s unconscious and also my awareness of the present moment. I am making observations, I am listening, I am watching, I am trying my best to be present, to breathe with them, to be aware of them, to notice the words they use, to notice the gestures they make if we are in person. If we are on the phone, obviously, the gestures aren't there. If we are on Skype, yes, I can, we see each other.

I don't bill what I do as a psychic reading, not that there is anything wrong with that, but if I were doing a straight psychic reading, why bother with the cards as far as I'm concerned. I do have occasional moments when something flies into my head that has absolutely nothing to do with a card or with what is going on in the room and I preface something like that: “You know, as we are talking about this, I am getting this mental picture of such and such and I just want to get it out of my head, so I am going to deliver it to you and if it has meaning for you in this context, fantastic. If not you can chew on it later at home.”

Once I remember getting a very specific name come to me, that is not a common name, so I won't use it here, because it might pin point who the person is, but I remember when the person sitting with me and we are talking about a certain aspect of their life. This very uncommon name in my part of the world popped into my head, and I said: “I think this is a name, I am going to speak the word to you, and you can let me know if it is relevant or not and if not, that's fine too it means it is out of my head.” And I said the name to him and he just got gob smacked, I mean his mouth popped wide open and he said: “Holy crow, that person is intimately connected with this particular project that were talking about.” He says: “There is no way you could…” It's not like it was John Smith or something like that.

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So, I don't discount those moments, if and when they happen, I am open to whatever is going to be the most helpful to the person in the moment. Basically I am helping them tune into their own wisdom inside themselves. I believe every person is resourceful at their core, is creative at their core, is whole at their core. I don't feel that people are flawed at their core. I think that they are whole and part of my job is to help them tap into that wholeness through the use of the Tarot imagery and the Tarot concepts, maybe that I speak to them, the questions that I ask, the questions that they ask, the observations that they make about the images and the answers that they come up with based on stuff that I say to them or ask them in that context. Anything is fair game during the session.

I have had consultations, where somebody has sat with me, one that was particularly fun was we were sitting out of doors on a picnic table. I met my client outdoors; sometimes I do outdoor sessions with people and call it a card-o-matic medicine walk. We were sitting under a beautiful tree, on a picnic table, spread the cards out, we got the, I think it was the high priestess from the Gian Tarot, with the beautiful white and black and that splash of red in the middle. And we were talking about it and the person said something that really seemed to hang in the air. It seemed really important, so I didn't want to jump in with anything and right over our heads a woodpecker started tapping very loudly, black and white, with a splash of red, just like the high priestess. And so, there was something about that moment, when I said: “What I am aware of is that all of nature seems to be agreeing that what you had just said has great import in your life. I want you to say it out loud again and out do that wood pecker, because it seems to be really important.”

Brigit:   Mhmm, that's beautiful.

James: So, everything that comes in is fair game. I think our unconscious and the collective unconscious are very wise. And the world unconscious, there is a theory even with people like Dr. Steven Isenstate, who is, I think, in California, who talks, not only about the conscious and the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious but also the world unconscious that planet Earth and all the beings, can in some way communicate with us. Particularly through dreams and through symbolic experiences.

Brigit:   Yeah, absolutely and it's becoming more conscious of those experiences and finds I think that can be really helpful for our lives as well.

James: Absolutely.

Brigit:   Do you ever have the case where say, particularly maybe first time clients, or clients who have never worked with you, they come in and because, I think the natural perception around Tarot is that Tarot reader will sit down and will tell you your future. Do you ever have someone who is a little bit taken off guard, I suppose, that your asking them questions and sort of expecting them to contribute to that Tarot reading as much as your contributing to it. And then also, if that happens, how do you deal with it?

James: Right, toward the beginning of me working in the style, I had a little bit more of that, but as my work has evolved, I have to come realize that we need to be clear upfront whatever our style is, with people, before the session so that they can gauge whether it is an experience that they need or want beforehand. So, I rarely have people who are surprised, even first timers.

One of my regular clients recently had a friend visit her from out of town and she treated this friend to a Tarot session. And her friend loved it because she loved having a dialogue, she said “Oh my god, I love being part of this.” she said: “I don't feel left out, I don't feel like I’m just an audience, I really love this.” And so I said to her: “Well, I am glad you do because ultimately you’re the greatest expert on your own life.” I made suggestions, I talked about the cards, even if I am in a situation where a person is a little less loquacious, shall we say, and they talk a little less than some people, I can still say well, this full spectrum of this card in this context can be A and B and C and D. When you hear those things, what is your response to them? What comes to your mind in the context of what we are talking about? And then that opens them up too.

Brigit:   Yeah, wonderful.

James: As I said, I don't think it is the only way to work, it is just the way that I work.

Brigit:   Yeah absolutely yeah, I think it's good to have a healthy respect for all different styles.

James: Yeah, I do too.

Brigit:   If you were working with say a beginner Tarot reader, who maybe a little bit more like nervous or restrained around moving to that model of asking questions in the Tarot reading, what would be say, your top two or three tips for how you can start to transition to a style that is similar to what you shared today?

James: Hmm, well first of all, know your cards.

Brigit:   That's a good place to start, yes.

James: It is surprising how many forums online and other places and workshops and so forth, right here, people just say: “Oh well, you don't need to know anything, just say whatever comes to your mind.” And for some people that might work, I suspect, but for the greater majority of us, it does not.

Have some kind of grounding; ground yourself in the structure of the cards. You know, what to you are pentacles about? What to you are swords about, etc.? What to you are aces about? What to you are fives about? What do nines suggest to you? What do queens and kings suggest to you. Piece those together in some way, just have something you can fall back on. It doesn't mean you have to spout out rote meanings, but do have something to fall back on. So, know your stuff, know your cards.

Another thing I would say, is personalize those. Let's say that your favorite key phrases and words for the empress, for instance, it just comes into my head, are nurturing and care taking, safety, healing, beauty, those kinds of things. Then what are your own experiences of nurturing and being nurtured of taking care of some of someone, of being taken care of by somebody of experiencing safe time and space? And then, maybe you want to draw or sketch that in a Tarot notebook or collage it or something or make a little one paragraph story about the time you where bullied at school and, I don't know, your grandmother's house wasn't to far from there and every time you entered there, the smell of beautiful frying food and fresh baking and her warm hugs as you entered the door, made you forget all of that and let you know that there are safe places in the world.

Maybe you want to do your own sketch of the empress card, or maybe it is your grandma with a pie in your hand. Or maybe, maybe for you, your biggest experiences of safety is watching a mama bird look after her babies and so you sketch a little nest with some eggs in it, high up in a tree, where everything is safe and ok. And so, just doing little things like that, jogging down ideas, jotting down doodles and pictures and sketches or little collage things. Making up little stories will help you remember the cards really well.

Also, the big thing that I am always banging about is context, making the card fit the question, the topic, the intention in the spread position. That's what gives you precision and that’s what personalizes a consultation, a reading, whatever you want to call it. So, if for instance, let's keep with the empress for a moment, if I get the empress, what are the best qualities I bring to this relationship. I could say; “Oh, I nurture and care for others or the other person. I am capable of creating safe space. I like to look after the other person in a healthy, nourishing kind of way. Maybe I like to bring them soup or something.”

If I got the same card in a position that said what are the worst most relationship sabotaging qualities I bring to my connection with so and so and I get the empress, then i need to take all that “nurtury” stuff and flip it around. What can be not so helpful about that stuff. So, maybe, oh, maybe it is suggesting that I smother mother somebody. Or maybe it's saying, I just give until it hurts and therefore deplete myself and annoy the heck out of the other person because I am constantly in their face. Or maybe I am so overprotective of that they barely get out of the house without me glancing after them or following them around.

So, there is where the context comes in. I don't believe in good or bad cards, I think all cards are neutral. All cards, for me, are neutral symbols and it is our context that slants them one way or another. So, being conscious of the layout position and the question we are asking or the topic of the session, so that the card fits in and becomes very personalized, it's not just some sort of generic thing. And then, letting the person fill in what that can be about in the context of their own lives, based on who you are, how can you see that fitting in?

Brigit:   Yeah, yeah, and I think that context piece is so important and yet it is something that I think that a lot of, particularly early on Tarot readers, will struggle with because you can read the book and the book says card means this, you think: “Ok, well card means this.” and then you see it up in the reading and your like, uh oh, that same book meaning isn't what the context of what the reading is about. So, I think applying that sort of flexibility and adaptability is so important to how you interrupt the cards. That just as he said, if you get a so-called good card like the empress in a negative position, you are not left completely stumped. But you are going: “Ok, well I know how to flip this around or work with it in the context of the reading.” And that is the stuff that makes Tarot reading special, isn't it?

James: Yes.

Brigit:   Instead of just regurgitating meanings, we are actually applying it to the reading and the client and I think you have added that next layer of then allowing the client to interpret it for themselves and how it applies to their lives.

James: Right, right, because it is tempting, even for experienced people sometimes to look at  a card and say: “Oh, well there is no problem at all, I don't bring any bad qualities.” and say: “Well, no, you asked a question, you got an answer.” It would be like somebody saying to me: “James, what time is it?” and I can say: “Oh, it's six minutes past seven o'clock.” And they'll say: “Thank you.” I have listened to the context and I have answered their question directly. If they said: “James, what time is it?” and i said: “Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.” That doesn't help. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding might be helpful to know somewhere in my awareness, but it is not helpful to that person in this moment, so there is not point in me regurgitating that. They want the time that is what I give them. They can have roast beef later and same with the cards, if we ask a specific question, we need to pull the card and squeeze and mold it and shape it and play with it until it fits.

Brigit:   Yes, definitely.

James: That is good practice for people to just to take a single card and take it through an entire spread, something that has so called negatively worded questions, so called, positive worded questions, neutrally worded questions and notice how the card morphs and shifts as you play with it in each position.

Brigit:   Yes, in fact it is just making me think, I often have people ask: “Can you give me the Tarot card meanings for this card in every position of the Celtic cross?” And I think, I am not writing a book that big to begin with but it's more important that people learn the techniques of how to become flexible and adaptable with the cards versus having them meanings told to you, I suppose. Nobody has time to read a book that big, but also because it is a much better practice if you convey flexible in the moment. So that moving a card through all of the positions on your own is an excellent exercise to do.

James: Yeah, have a core concept, or a core set of words or phrases and then play with them in the context of different questions and see what happens.

Brigit:   Yeah, wonderful.

James: And let your imagination go wild, even if it seems silly just say it. I think that is what we need to do is be willing to be wrong.

Brigit:   Yes, well there is no wrong, really.

James: No, no, no, I often encourage people, don't try to be right, try to be helpful. Try to be useful.

Brigit:   Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Wonderful, James is there anything else that you wanted to add into this conversation that we haven't covered on yet before we wrap up.

James: Briefly, something that is on my mind the last while is taking our personal stuff and applying it to the transpersonal, the collective, what's going on in the world and vice versus, what is going on out there that we might apply in here. So, we are exploring an issue with the Tarot or however your exploring it and we get an insight into something about how we might have been mucking something up or how we can improve something, that little light bulb comes on and we think: “Ah, I know a new path now for myself.” It doesn't have to be dramatic new path; it might just be a slight shift. I think that it's important to wonder about how we might apply that to the community around us and the world around us, because there is so much going on in our world now that is not healthy and so I think applying a personal insight to what’s going on out there in the world, if more of us did that, I think we could help our world and our culture and our local communities, even our households, by applying that.

And also, we can do readings about what is going on in the world; we can do readings on what is terrorism trying to teach us? What is a good antidote on a large scale to terrorism and etc. and questions like that and do these great big wisdom readings, a Rachael Paulick likes to call them. Once we gain insight into that large collective, universal level we can start pulling the stuff down to the personal. Ok, what does my version of counteracting terrorism in my own heart look like? What does my version of counteracting fear mongering in my household look like and how can apply that starting right now?

Brigit:   Hmmm, what a beautiful way of connecting in with the collective consciousness and shifting the energy across the world instead of just worrying about your own stuff, right?

James: Yeah, as one of my mentors said a few years ago, “The time for the luxury of personal neurosis is over.” There is to much to do on behalf of our world.

Brigit:   Yeah, yeah interesting, yeah, I love it. James you will have to start up a Facebook group or something where you can start the revolution for how we can shift the world consciousness.

James: Oh, well let’s hope.

Brigit:   Oh, wonderful, James it has been such a pleasure to talk with you, as always, and I know that our listeners would have gotten a huge amount of value from what you have shared today. Can you just let us know where we can find out more about you.

James: Sure, my site/blog is JamesWells.wordpress.com. My email address is [email protected]

Brigit:   Wonderful, and for those listening, just be aware that you can work with James like in having a reading and I highly suggest that. James and I had a reading; a couple of years ago and I learned an immense amount both from a personal insight perspective but also as another reader learning from another reader. Which was highly valuable and plus, James, You ran some wonderful courses which are quite, I think, unique and different particularly as you apply your style to those courses, I highly recommend them as well.

James: Thank you very much, that is very kind of you.

Brigit:   Again, I want to say a big thank you, James, for coming on this podcast and if you resonating with what James has said, I highly recommend just checking on his blog. You post some really unique and different perspectives again, whether it is in that global consciousness phase or just simple Tarot reading tips, I get a lot out of reading your blog.

James: Thank you.

Brigit:   Please, please join James over there, and big, big thanks and we shall connect again very soon.

James: I hope so, this has been a treat, thanks Brigit.

Brigit:   Thank you.

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