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BTP100: What I’ve Learned From 100 Episodes

100 Episodes

Today’s episode is special—we’re celebrating the 100th episode of the Biddy Tarot Podcast. For the past two years, I’ve been sharing with you stories of Tarot readers, healers and intuitive readers from all over the world. In this episode, it’s just me and the microphone. I wanted to tell you about why I started the Biddy Tarot Podcast, how much it’s grown, and four things I’ve learned from this experience so far. Thanks for 100 episodes, my faithful (and new) listeners—here’s to 100 more! 

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 100, and it’s all about what I’ve learned from 100 episodes. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you'll 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. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

INTRODUCTION 

Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. We are having a big celebration here because it is indeed the 100th episode of this podcast. Oh my goodness! I cannot believe we made it this far—amazing! 

Now, in today’s podcast, I’m going to be celebrating our 100th episode with you, talking about what I’ve learned from not just interviewing our guests but also my own process, I suppose, of doing this podcast. 

THANK YOU 

But before I get into all of that juiciness, I want to share some of the reviews, feedback and comments that have been coming in through iTunes. 

We’ve got one from Jenny R., who is in Canada. She writes: 

“Brigit does such a great job of breaking down how to read the Tarot. Additionally, she has fascinating guests on. This is a great podcast for anyone interested in the Tarot.” 

Awesome! Thank you so much, Jenny! 

This one is from Kelly D., who is in the U.S. Kelly writes: 

“I just love the Biddy Tarot Podcast. I’ve found the interviews to be so inspiring and informative. Brigit has introduced me to so many other resources to help guide me on my journey into the world of Tarot. She’s always got such interesting guests, and her strategies for learning Tarot are incredibly useful and doable. Thank you, Brigit.” 

Well, thank you, Miss Kelly D. Much, much appreciated. 

And, of course, I share these comments because I want to express my appreciation for you leaving these comments and sharing them as well. If you haven’t done so already, I would love for you to leave your review on iTunes. It helps us get the message of Tarot out in a really big way, and get it in front of people that might not have considered Tarot before. So, please leave a review and a star rating. 

WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM 100 EPISODES 

Let’s get into today’s podcast, which is really celebrating 100 episodes of the Biddy Tarot Podcast. Don’t worry—this isn’t all navel gazing. I’ve got some really cool reflections that I want to share, which I think will also be valuable for you, too. 

STARTING THE BIDDY TAROT PODCAST 

Now, I started the Biddy Tarot Podcast way back in January 2016, which is almost two years ago. When I started this podcast, my intent was really to bring Tarot into a new way of being. 

Podcasts are definitely on the rise, and a lot of people are doing them, but when I would be listening to podcasts, I was often listening to business podcasts. I know there are plenty of other types of podcasts, but there weren’t a great deal on Tarot, so I wanted to get out what was really a modern podcast on Tarot and to start profiling some of the really cool, funky people who happen to use Tarot in their lives. 

For me, the Biddy Tarot Podcast was very much about sharing stories from other Tarot readers as a source of inspiration and as a way of normalising what Tarot really is because I think there’s a lot of misperception about what Tarot is, who reads the Tarot cards and so on. But my intent with this podcast is that I’m bringing to you regular, ordinary, everyday people, so I hope that’s a great inspiration for you. 

Now, the other reason I started this podcast, again, as I said earlier, was to get Tarot in front of a wider audience and not just Tarot readers. You know what’s really neat about this podcast is it is reaching a much wider audience. We’re attracting folks who might have been a little bit Tarot curious and are now learning so much more about Tarot and how to integrate it into their daily lives. 

And, of course, the other reason I started this podcast is I wanted a new way of connecting with our audience. I love listening to podcasts myself, and I tell you what—it’s kind of like having a conversation in your mind with the person who is hosting the podcast. I found just from the feedback from listeners that you're also experiencing that as well. It’s great to have a more personalised connection here through the podcast. 

So, I’m so glad I started this podcast—that’s for sure! And I am so grateful that you're also an active listener of this podcast. It means the world to me. 

HOW WE’VE GROWN 

Now, since I started this podcast almost two years ago, we’ve had half a million downloads, which is pretty cool, and we’ve had over 40 guests on the podcast, including Mary K. Greer, Benebell Wen, Kelley Knight, Susannah Conway and the “Being Boss” girls, Emily and Kathleen, plus a ton of others. I tell you what—every single guest I’ve spoken to I have been so engaged with and so fascinated by not just their story but just the way that they play with Tarot. I also hope that you felt that way, too. 

I want to share now with you what I’ve learned from doing these 100 podcast episodes. There are four things I’ve extracted from this. 

 

  1. MOVEMENT TOWARDS TRUSTING OUR INNER WISDOM

Number one, what I’ve discovered by speaking with a number of people about Tarot, our guests on the podcast, is that there is this movement towards trusting our inner wisdom. 

A lot of people think of Tarot as just a fortune-telling party trick. “Tell me my future!” “What is my husband’s name going to be?” All that kind of stuff. 

But we know, again, as Tarot readers, that there is so much more to Tarot than it being just a frivolous fortune-telling tool. We can really connect with the Tarot on a much, much deeper level. 

In speaking with my guests, there’s this real consensus that Tarot works beautifully when we do it in combination with our inner guidance system, our intuition, our inner wisdom, and it’s when we start to trust ourselves that we get the biggest results in our lives. 

I remember, actually, talking with Holly Whitaker on… Which one was it? Episode 72. Now, Holly Whitaker was going through a massive journey. She was an alcoholic, and she had all sorts of turmoil going on in her life. She finally moved towards a place of sobriety, and Tarot supported her on that journey. 

I remember Holly talking about how, first, when we she was trying to become sober, she was trying to listen to all of the advice of the doctors and so on. She explored Alcoholics Anonymous. What she really struggled with was there was all of this advice outside of her, but really, what she needed to do was just trust her gut and listen to her inner voice. It was when she started using the Tarot cards that that really clicked into place for her. 

The biggest takeaway I got from that conversation was that Tarot is so incredibly powerful when we use it as a way to connect with ourselves, and I’ve seen that across the board. 

Also, when I was talking with Michelle Tea, who is the author of Modern Tarot (that’s Episode 82), she talked about this, too. She said, “I think that people come to the Tarot because they want to learn more about themselves, and they want a tool that gives them the space and the ability to think about the universe in a spiritual and personal way.” I think that’s really neat. 

The other conversation that I was remembering here was the one with Susannah Conway (that’s Episode 70). In that episode, Susannah shared a lot about how she uses Tarot for daily journaling and other creative exercises and processes. She finds that the Tarot just helps bring her energy and her focus back inward. It was really sweet. She said, “It’s warm inside. Come inside!” That’s really nice, and I just see that as a lovely metaphor for when we’re coming home to ourselves and really connecting into that deeper inner voice. 

That’s thing number one. I’ve really seen that movement towards trusting our intuition, trusting our inner wisdom and Tarot being a vehicle to help us do that, to get to that place where we’re not having to rely on other people to tell us what to do; we’re actually really tuning in and connecting with our own inner wisdom. 

And look, a side note: it goes along with the Tarot cards. You can read the cards in a way that you say, “Well, the cards told me to do that.” Well, that’s not really listening to your inner wisdom, is it? That’s still paying attention to something that’s outside of you. What we want to do is just really bring that back into ourselves. 

Goodness! We’ve got some builders here right now, so if you hear a little bit of banging and so on, I apologise. I tried very, very hard to find some quiet time, but given we’ve got builders here for the next few weeks, it’s very, very difficult. Anyway, stick with me! 

  1. EVERYDAY TAROT BRINGS MAGIC

Here’s number two. I have learned that there is magic when Tarot is integrated into everyday life. There have been tons of examples of where our guests have really integrated Tarot into other aspects of their daily lives with huge results. 

One of these conversations was with Lisa Frenkel on Episode 85. Lisa talked about using Tarot for mindfulness. What I love about Lisa’s approach is she has a PhD in mindfulness—what an awesome PhD to have! She lectures in it and is so engrossed in mindfulness. 

Plus, she also understands Tarot, and what she’s done is she’s married these two up beautifully. She can actually teach your regular, ordinary person mindfulness but using Tarot as a way to create mindfulness. 

What I just love about this is we’re not just going, “Here are Tarot cards. You must learn the meanings, and then you must be a Tarot reader.” She’s actually going, “OK, how do we integrate this into daily life? How do we become more present? How do we become more conscious, more mindful?” 

That conversation that I had with Lisa was incredibly inspiring for me personally. She talked about a simple technique. Stop in the middle of the day. You can even set a timer on your phone. You just stop. In order for you to bring about a greater sense of mindfulness, you just draw a Tarot card. 

That Tarot card isn’t telling you what’s coming up in the future. It isn’t telling you why you feel like you do right now. It’s just simply bringing your attention back into the now. It’s purely the process of looking at that card and going, “Hmm, where am I at right now?” And that is all you need to do. That’s mindfulness, and I love it. 

I did more and more of that after our conversation, so I was definitely inspired by that. That was Episode 85. 

Then, of course, we had my good friends Emily and Kathleen, who are from the “Being Boss” podcast. That was on Episode 60. We talked a lot about how both Emily and Kathleen are integrating Tarot into their business. I know from having a chat with them after that episode, they are doing it even more, particularly Emily. I’ve checked out your Instagram feed, Emily, and I can see you're holding Tarot cards! So, it was great. 

And in that episode, what we saw was that both Emily and Kathleen are using Tarot to help keep in check on their entrepreneurial journey, and it’s really neat. I resonate with that a lot because it’s also how I like to use the Tarot. I use the Tarot a lot in my business to help me strategize, to set goals, to give me clarity around how to manifest those goals, and just to help integrate my business mind with my more spiritual mind as well, to really bring those two together because I think that’s where really powerful business lies. 

Of course, I mentioned Holly before. I want to mention her again because Holly was a wonderful example of how Tarot can be integrated into everyday life. Again, in Episode 72, Holly was talking about her journey to sobriety using Tarot. 

On a bigger scale, what Holly was also talking about was how to use Tarot to heal yourself. Whether it’s about getting over an alcohol addiction, or whether it’s getting through a traumatic emotional event, Tarot is one way of supporting that journey. Now, of course, if you need therapeutic advice or a psychology or what have you, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do that, but what I am saying is that Tarot can certainly support that journey in a really beautiful way. 

That’s all about Tarot being integrated into everyday life, and I hope that you’ve seen that, too, in our episodes, particularly in our guest episodes, with how much we can integrate Tarot into our lives. 

  1. SIMPLE STRATEGIES CAN CREATE BIG RESULTS

Now, thing number three that I’ve learned from 100 podcast episodes is that simple strategies can create big results. 

In a number of these solo podcasts, where it’s just me on the mic, I’ve shared my favourite three-card spreads in Episode 10. I’ve shared how to read the Celtic Cross in Episode 14. I’ve also shared how to read a Tarot card quickly and easily in Episode 5. And I’ve shared a ton of other really simple techniques that you can put into practice with your Tarot cards. 

Now, when I record these episodes, I think, “Oh, is this a little bit too simple and straightforward?” But what I found from reading your podcast reviews and just hearing from our community is that these episodes have had big results. 

Here’s just a little bit of an example. We had Darkshifter from the U.S. write on iTunes: 

“I’ve been fascinated by the Tarot ever since I got my first deck in high school, but every time I tried to learn the cards, I got flustered and frustrated at just how much there was to learn, and I would put them away for years. Biddy changed all of that. With her great advice and soothing voice (although not really today because I’ve got a bit of a cold), she reignited my love of Tarot and showed me how to truly start my Tarot journey. She’s been there every step of the way. Give her a listen, get your deck out, and start your journey.” 

Oh, I love that comment, and I’m super grateful. There are a number of other folks who have said very similar things, that they’ve really appreciated having the advice and, again, these simple strategies to read Tarot, and it’s really helped them in their journey. It’s a huge honour to be part of your journey and our community’s journey with Tarot. Certainly, if I’m helping just one person through this podcast, then my job is absolutely done. 

I think what this really goes to show is that just by focusing on one thing at a time and doing things nice and easily, nice and simply, then you can make huge leaps in your Tarot reading progress. So, I hope that those episodes on how to read the Tarot have been helpful for you as well. 

And, of course, I’m being a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but I hope that you’ll also buy my courses, too, so you get to learn even more! 

  1. EXPRESSING MY AUTHENTIC VOICE

All right, moving on to the final lesson that I’ve learned from 100 podcast episodes. This is perhaps more of a personal one for me, and that is learning how to express my authentic voice. 

There’s this idea out there that being an entrepreneur is the best personal development course you’ll ever take, and I totally believe that is true. 

Ever since I started Biddy Tarot way back in 1999, I have had so many learnings about who I am, what I stand for, how I want to express myself, how I can channel my energy in a powerful way and so on. 

When I first started, this was just a hobby. It was just this little fun side project, just putting up some ideas and not really taking stuff too seriously, just putting out there and seeing what happens. I certainly did not wake up one day and go, “Right, I’ve got a business. Let’s go!” It was much more evolutionary than that. 

But at first, I kind of took more of a secretive approach, I suppose, because I didn’t use my real name. I used “Biddy,” and I kind of spoke a lot in the third person. I would detach myself quite a bit. 

Then when I finally started taking Biddy Tarot a little bit more seriously around 2009 or 2010 when I started writing the blog, I started writing, but it was with a real, corporate voice. I mean, I had my master’s degree. I had a really successful career in corporate land, and what I thought I needed to do to be successful was to speak in a very professional, corporate manner, so I did on my Tarot site. If you ever find those older posts, you’ll notice a very different style of writing—that’s for sure! 

As I started blogging even more, I started realising that being more conversational would be more helpful, so I started to switch my style. Since then, it’s also been conversational but also educational, and it’s always been my goal. I want to add value to you. I don’t want to just shoot the breeze. I always want to be able to give you value when I’m talking or writing and so on. 

Now, as I’m doing this podcast, and as I’m exploring things like Facebook Live and even just my own personal spiritual journey, I’m starting to get even more clear about my source of truth and how to share that truth in a way where I’m not inhibited by fear of judgment. It’s a very interesting journey, especially as the Biddy Tarot Community grows. 

There are more and more people, which means that sometimes when you put a message out there, it may not always be received in a really positive way. I’ve certainly had my fair share of folks who have said, “We don’t like that,” or “We don’t like you,” “We don’t like your style.” 

It’s taken me a little bit, but I realise that whenever you put out a really authentic, true message, there are going to be people who are inspired by it, and then there are going to be people who are repelled by it, and that’s OK. That’s actually a good thing. 

I am learning more and more about how to be authentic, and instead of trying to be all professional all of the time, to be a little bit more… I want to say “truth-centred,” I guess. 

But maybe you’ve even noticed this on the podcast. I’m doing it right now, actually! I’m clearly not being scripted. I’m not doing the script. I’m not going off my bullet points. I’m just talking, and it’s something that I really experimented with in Episode 84, which was about coming home to ourselves and reconnecting with our inner wisdom. It was me, the mic and just having a chat about really what I was thinking at that point in time. 

So, I suspect you're going to hear a lot more of that authentic expression. I don’t mean to say that I haven’t been authentic up until now. I absolutely have; it’s just the way that I’m learning to express myself and to be more open and vulnerable and more sharing, I suppose. 

It’s been really interesting. Very, very interesting. 

WRAP-UP 

Those are my four big lessons from 100 episodes of the Biddy Tarot Podcast. Of course, I want to say a huge “Thank you” to you for being an active listener and supporting this podcast. This might be your very first episode, and if it is, I strongly encourage you to zip back to Episode 1 and make your way through all 100 episodes. Or have a look through the list and pick out the ones that appeal to you. There is so much goodness in there, and I think it will really help support your journey with Tarot, no matter where you’re up to. 

Now, you might be wondering, “OK, awesome! You’ve hit 100 episodes. What’s next?” Well, the Biddy Tarot Podcast will keep going. I feel like it’s an evolutionary journey. Everything is always in a state of change. My intention right at this point is that we will continue to bring on more guests—and guests who aren’t necessarily just full-time Tarot readers but people who are using Tarot in their lives in some really interesting ways because what I’m a huge advocate of is using Tarot in everyday life, not just necessarily sitting down and doing a reading but integrating Tarot in beautiful ways. So, I hope to bring on a lot more guests from all different kinds of backgrounds who have really interesting things to share about how they’re using Tarot or just even how they’re connecting in with intuition and so on. 

I’ll also be sharing more strategies on how to integrate into your everyday life. Again, not just sit down and do a Tarot reading, but perhaps how do you integrate a reading into a beautiful ritual? A gratitude ritual, for example. Or how to use Tarot to manifest your goals or create the kinds of relationships you most want. You’ll definitely hear more of that on the Biddy Tarot Podcast. 

And there’s going to be a little bit more heart-to-heart podcasts where it’s a little bit more about me expressing and just speaking what I feel is my truth and my authentic self. Again, I want to let you know I’ve never been inauthentic, but what I’m doing is more of the authenticity. I don’t want to say “shooting the breeze” because there’s a balance between shooting the breeze and being helpful and valuable, so it will be something in between. 

Anyway, I just want to assure you that the next 100 episodes of the Biddy Tarot Podcast are going to be great, and I hope very much that you enjoy them. 

Let me wrap up here and just say if you’ve enjoyed these Biddy Tarot Podcasts, please, please, please, head on over to iTunes and leave a review and your star rating. That would be awesome. Again, a huge, huge “Thank you” to you if you’ve been listening from Episode 1 or even if this is your first episode. Big, big “Thank you” for being such an active listener. 

All right, much love and big gratitude. I hope you have an awesome week, and I look forward to connecting with you again very, very soon. Bye for now! 

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