BTP37: Be Your Own Life Coach with Kate the Daily Tarot Girl

>> DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT AND FREE PDF: HOW TO BE YOUR OWN LIFE COACH WITH TAROT BY THE DAILY TAROT

Have you ever faced a challenging time in your life where you felt stuck and didn't know what to do?

Sure, you could hire a life coach to help you define your personal goals, remove obstacles and chart a path forward.

Or, you could turn to your Tarot cards and become your own life coach using the Tarot and your intuition as your guide.

In this episode, I invite the Founder of the Daily Tarot Girl, Kate Fisher, to share how you can become your own life coach with Tarot. It's a beautiful process of self-inquiry, intuitive connection and vision creation.

In this interview, you'll learn:

• Why the Tarot cards can be the best life coach you'll ever have
• How the Tarot cards can help create your vision for your future
• How to overcome your obstacles and identify your best path forward
• How to connect with your intuition for personal guidance and clarity

Let's get into it…

Additional Resources:

• Kate's website: The Daily Tarot Girl
• Join the Biddy Tarot Community
• Download your Free transcript and content upgrade:
  HOW TO BE YOUR OWN LIFE COACH WITH TAROT BY THE DAILY TAROT

Podcast Transcript

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 37: Be Your Own Life Coach with Kate the Daily Tarot Girl

Introduction

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.

Brigit: Hello and welcome!

Have you ever faced a challenging time in your life where you felt stuck and didn't know what to do?

Sure, you could hire a life coach to help you define your personal goals, remove obstacles and chart a path forward.

Or, you could turn to your Tarot cards.

Yes, your Tarot cards!

You see, you can become your own life coach using the Tarot cards as a guide.

In this episode, I invite the founder of the Daily Tarot Girl, Kate Fisher, to share how you can become your own life coach with Tarot. It's a beautiful process of self-inquiry, intuitive connection and vision creation.

Let's get into it… Welcome, Kate!

Brigit:  All right, welcome Kate from Daily Tarot Girl. How are you going?

Kate:   Hi Brigit. Thank you so much. I'm doing excellent.

Brigit:  Wonderful. Well, let's just get straight into this. I would love to hear about how did you get into Tarot in the first place?

Kate:   Well, I got into Tarot quite a few years ago. I was in kind of a transition period in my life. I had just left the job that I had been in for about three years.

I wasn't really sure. I was kind of finding myself and kind of figuring things out. I had a couple friends who were into Tarot and there was just something about Tarot that intrigued me.

When I found myself unemployed and soul searching, I had a lot of free time, so I thought, “Oh, maybe I'll learn the Tarot.”

That's kind of why I got into it. I had the free time and there was just something about Tarot that was so mysterious and seductive. It just kind of called to me. That's why I kind of decided to pick up the cards.

That's basically how I got into Tarot.

Then I read a couple books on Tarot. I started practicing with my friends. I just got really kind of obsessed with Tarot actually. I just got really, really into it. Before I knew it, I was giving readings.

Brigit:  Yeah. Wonderful. Were you giving readings online or in person?

Kate:   I started doing in-person readings. Then I started doing online reading. I liked that because I was doing email reading. In some respects, they're a little bit easier. You feel more anonymous. You're not as vulnerable when you're giving those kinds of readings as you are with the live in-person readings.

But I started out with doing in-person readings and then kind of moved on to email readings.

Brigit:  Yeah. Wonderful. If we sort of fast-forward to now, how are you using Tarot in your daily life these days?

Kate:   Honestly, I mostly write about Tarot. I make videos. I write posts about it. I actually don't do readings for myself super often. I find I go through phases where if something is really bugging me and I'm really wanting to get to the bottom of something, then I'll be doing lots of readings and really be working with the cards.

At the moment I haven't been reading for myself much at all, but I've also incorporated Tarot into almost like a, I don't want to say a spiritual practice, but I guess it kind of is, where you spend time with a card each day just kind of contemplating it and meditating with the cards.

I would say that's how I work with the cards now is just I use them for contemplation and for inspiration for writing.

Brigit:  Yeah. Wonderful. I love playing with them in that respect. I totally resonate with it being like, it is a spiritual practice. It's something that does bring you closer to your spiritual self and then brings that back into your sort of every day, so you get this nice alignment.

Yeah. Wonderful.

Of course, you've got the Daily Tarot Girl, which is just going nuts with all of the great content that you're sharing and as you said the blog posts and YouTube videos and so on.

How long have you been doing the Daily Tarot Girl for?

Kate:   I think it's been three and a half years.

Brigit:  Yeah.

Kate:   I was trying to think of it the other day. I should go online and look. I think it's either been three and a half or four years, something around there.

Brigit:  Yeah. Wonderful. We'll make sure that we post a link to your website in our show notes as well.

Just coming into how you're using Tarot in your everyday life. You mentioned sort of a bit more around the daily insight. Do you ever use it for things like coaching yourself or giving yourself some guidance?

Kate:   Absolutely, absolutely. I do. I find that Tarot is a wonderful way to get guidance for yourself and really contemplate things on a deeper level.

I have a particular formula for doing a reading for myself when I really feel like I need help or when I really feel like I need good advice and some coaching.

This is the kind of reading I would do for myself when I wish I had a life coach or something like that, but I don't. Instead, I'll pull out my Tarot cards and do a reading for myself.

Brigit:  Yeah, which actually ends up a lot cheaper than having a life coach, doesn't it?

Kate:   Totally.

Brigit:  Yeah, wonderful. Tell me a little bit more about how you're using your Tarot cards for, I guess you would call it personal life coaching or being your own life coach.

Kate:   Yeah, like a life coach. Maybe I should explain what life coaching is because it's not always obvious to people what that means.

When you go to a life coach, basically they kind of guide you and maybe ask you particular questions to get you to really explore a particular topic or issue that you're dealing with and then also help you get inspired and really help you resource yourself.

They help you find your own inner resources and outer resources to help you get to where it is that you're wanting to go, whether it's a goal that you want to achieve or whatever.

That's kind of what life coaching is. I hope I've explained it in an easy to understand kind of way.

Brigit:  Yeah, because I think life coaching is one of those things that is such a broad term.

There's often sort of that cynical view of well, anybody can call themselves a life coach and maybe they can because maybe, I think, at the essence of it, as you're saying, it's about connecting with what tools and resources are available to you. How can you use those in order to manifest the kinds of outcomes that you most want in your life?

I think that certainly when we look at coaching from that lens, you can definitely see how the Tarot can help provide some sort of personal level coaching as well.

Tell me about the way that you use your Tarot cards for helping you in kind of a rough situation.

Kate: Okay. When I was first learning Tarot, I can't remember if I read it in a book or someone told me, but they said, “Don't do a reading for yourself if you're really upset or if you're reading about a topic that you're really emotionally invested in. It's going to kind of taint the reading. You're not going to be able to be objective for the reading. It's just not a good idea.”

But what I found is that most of the time when I wanted to read for myself, I was really emotionally involved in whatever I was reading about. It didn't work for me to just leave my cards alone when I was upset about something.

I kind of played around with different ways of doing a reading. I found the perfect kind of formula for doing a reading when I feel upset or stressed out about a particular issue.

I don't know if listeners want to do this at the same time as I'm talking about it. What I like to do is I'll ask myself either the question that's on my mind, or you can ask a general question about the future. One of my favorite questions to ask for this is ‘what will my life be like in one year?'

Then I consciously choose a card. I choose a card that I want.

One thing I find frustrating sometimes when you're doing a reading for yourself is the cards that come up aren't necessarily the cards that you want, but with this exercise, you don't have to worry about that because you're choosing the card that you want.

You go through your deck and choose. You might have a card in mind that you know that you want or you just go through the deck and you choose the card that jumps out at you or makes you feel really positive.

Brigit:  Yeah. You could look at say the imagery. You could connect in with the energy of the card or you could go with what is a traditional meaning or maybe even sometimes once you've got the cards laid in front of you, there might be one that's kind of really grabbing your attention that maybe you didn't expect.

Is there a particular way of going about this or just go with what feels right at the time?

Kate:   Yeah. You can do any of those things that you mentioned. Usually, when I do this, I have a particular card in my mind before I even pick up the deck.

For the question that I just posed, ‘what will my life be like in one year' or ‘what do I want my life to be like in one year,' the card that was in my mind when I thought of that question was the High Priestess. That's the card I picked.

But, yeah, you could just look at all the cards and spend time noticing what cards kind of draw you in. There's no right or wrong way to do it really as long as you're choosing the card consciously and as long as you're choosing the card that you want.

Don't just choose a card that looks interesting for you. It has to be a card that feels good for you, like that you really want.

Basically, what you've done is you've chosen a card that ultimately represents what it is that you're wanting in your life in one way or another, so you have this nice visual symbol of what it is that you want to go for.

Now you can spend time really contemplating that card and going into it. Almost like you would if you were analyzing a dream or interpreting a dream.

I think this exercise kind of seems shallow at first because you're choosing the cards, so it's not really like a real reading, but then when you start to go into the card you can get surprising depth. It's almost like you're going into your psyche a little bit when you explore the card that you've chosen.

Brigit:  Because I think we can be making a conscious choice about that card, but there's also stuff going on at a subconscious level and that's probably the mystery side of things, where the depth is. Yeah, sort of diving into that card a little bit more will tap into that subconscious side.

I think it's exciting.

Kate:   Yes, Absolutely. It is. It's so exciting.

Once you've chosen your card, the first step is to ask yourself what does this card represent to me.

I'm a big fan of writing, so I like to journal and jot things down, but everyone's different. I like to explore what does this card represent. What does it mean to me?

The card that I've chosen for this for ‘what will my life be like in one year,' I've chosen the High Priestess. To me, the High Priestess is about going within and also knowing secrets and knowing the mystery. That's kind of what pops into my head with the High Priestess.

Then you ask yourself, “How can I create more of this in my life?” What are some things that I can do? This is where the life coach part comes in because now you're kind of brainstorming. What can you do today in your life to create more of what this card represents?

The High Priestess to me represents meditation, going within. I automatically think it represents having a lot of free time to do whatever you want, lots of time to meditate or journey or do art or whatever, so how can I create more of that in my life.

I might brainstorm maybe three or four things that I could do. Stop overcommitting to things that I don't really want to do. That would free up more free time. Make more of an effort to meditate. You can go on and on coming up with different ideas of how you can create more of that.

There are so many different ways to explore a card in this context. You can also ask yourself what activities or what things make me feel like this card already in my life? When do I feel like the High Priestess? What kinds of activities make me feel that High Priestess energy?

Then I might make a list of all the things in my day-to-day life of where does the High Priestess show up for me in my day-to-day life.

I think that's just a neat way to really see how the cards show up for us in our everyday lives.

Brigit:  Yeah because you could probably explore that card along the time continuum as in maybe what elements of the High Priestess has been present in my life in the past. Where have I experienced the High Priestess in its most positive way in the past? How am I experiencing it now? Maybe, what do I want to grow more of to really embrace this card in the future?

That could be another way of looking at it as well.

Kate: Mm-hm. Absolutely. Yeah.

Another question you can ask is are there any obstacles to this. Are there any obstacles for me in having more of a High Priestess-y kind of life? What's standing in the way? What's stopping me from inviting more of that energy into my life?

Then I might write down a list of some of the things that get in the way and then make an action plan of how can you maybe overcome those obstacles. What are some ways of maneuvering around them or going through them?

That, again, is a very life coach-y thing. If anyone had life coaching, they'll ask you that. What gets in the way? Let's make a plan to deal with that so that it doesn't stop you from getting to where you want to go.

Brigit:  What I love about this is that you're working off of just one card. That card, again, is being consciously chosen. It's not like you're doing full Tarot reading like, “Oh my goodness. What are the Tarot cards telling me to do here?”

You're actually working in with your intuition and you spirit and what you really need versus the Tarot telling you what you need to do, if that makes sense. I think that's a really neat way of using the Tarot to reconnect in with your own inner compass or inner guidance.

Kate:   Mm-hm. It's very empowering, for sure.

Brigit: Yeah.

Kate:   Yeah. I mean there's a lot you can tell about yourself by looking at that card that you chose.

You can look at it and ask, “Okay, did I choose a Major Arcana card or a Minor Arcana card?”

I find that most people tend to gravitate towards choosing a Major Arcana card for this exercise. But if you chose a Minor Arcana card, then look at the suit.

Oftentimes it might represent what might be lacking in your life, what you're wanting more of. If you chose something from the suit of cups, you might be wanting more freedom to express your emotions or to connect more with others. If you chose the suit of swords, maybe you're wanting more intellectualism in your life or more time for thinking and contemplating things.

I think also, looking at the card and asking if it's masculine or feminine. Is there a dominating energy to the card? I think, again, that can tell you a lot about what energy it is that you're wanting to invite into your life.

Brigit:  Yes. This is triggering all these other ideas to go along with it too.

But I wonder if you could even then bring out let's say for some very strange reasons you chose the Nine of Swords. I don't know why that's coming to my mind. Actually, let's choose the Nine of Pentacles because that's a little bit more likely.

If you chose the Nine of Pentacles, maybe you draw out the Eight of Pentacles and the Ten and put that side by side, so you can almost look at what's kind of the evolution or the journey that we're following here. What has come before the thing that I really want and what's coming after the thing that I really want?

Maybe that sort of gives some extra insight as well.

Kate:   I love that. Yeah.

Brigit:  So many different ways that you can play with this. Again, this is all coming from like one card. This is not a full Tarot reading. It's one card that could have you playing with your soul and spirit for hours. It's quite fabulous.

Kate: Yeah. And I love it too because it doesn't overwhelm. It's just one card. It's not going to overwhelm you or confuse you or anything like that.

There are other things too you can look into like the colors of the card. Is there a particular color you're drawn to? Then looking up the meaning because every color has a kind of spiritual meaning.

Then, at the same time, we have associations with all the colors too and ways that we think about the colors and the way that different colors make us feel.

Then also looking and seeing if there's action on the card that you chose. Is this a really active card like the Chariot or is it like a still card? Like the High Priestess, to me, is a very still card. Strength still to me kind of looks still depending on what deck you're using.

The Magician to me is a card of action. I think that, again, will tell you more about yourself and what it is that you're really wanting to go for. Are you going for action and power, or are you wanting more stillness and time to go inward and reflect?

Brigit:  Yeah, that's really interesting. Could you use this technique if you're working with a client? I guess the second question to that is if that client knew nothing about Tarot, would this still be an effective technique?

Kate:   Oh, yeah. You can definitely do this exercise if you didn't know anything about Tarot.

I think if you know a bit about Tarot it just gives you more stuff to work with, but I think you could easily do this if you didn't know anything know about Tarot because you're really looking at the figures on the card, the colors, the symbols, how that card makes you feel. Things like that.

I've never actually used this reading technique with a client during an actual reading. Although, I know I've done readings before where I've asked my client, what do you see in the cards or what card stands out to you or what does this color mean to you or something like that, but I've never actually done this exercise with a client, although it would be really interesting to try that.

Brigit:  Yeah, absolutely. That card could be the thing that's kind of holding a space for the client session, if that makes sense.

Imagine asking all kinds of questions that are related to that particular card and it's the question process that actually creates a transformation for the client. I think that could be so fascinating.

Kate:   Yeah. I find quite often when I'm doing readings for people I get so frustrated when they ask me, “What's going to happen?” It's like what do you want to happen and let's figure out how you can get there.

I feel like that's what I want to say a lot of the time and this exercise kind of lets you go there.

Brigit:  Yeah. I have yet to find a Tarot reader that loves being asked when am I going to meet my future husband.

Actually, I should set that as a challenge to find someone who loves it because I love hearing different perspectives.

But that's certainly a common thread. A lot of readers like to play more in this space of where you can tease out what's going on for you and how can you manifest the kinds of outcomes that you want versus what's going to happen to me.

This kind of technique, it's almost like a self-inquiry process as well that could go very, very deep if you wanted to take it to that level.

Is there ever an instance or a case where maybe this wouldn't be appropriate, where using the Tarot as your own sort of life coach may not be the best approach.

Kate:   I feel like this particular reading technique is actually pretty safe. You're choosing the card. You're using it to direct some self-inquiry. I don't think we can ever go wrong with self-inquiry.

With Tarot readings, I think when we're trying to do a predictive reading, I think if we're not in a good mental space or a good emotional space, it can be really stressful and maybe not a good thing. Whereas with this technique, it's about self-inquiry, so I feel like I'm not sure if you can ever really go wrong with self-inquiry.

However, I think if you do this exercise and for some reason you find it extraordinarily upsetting or stressful for some reason, then that might be an indication to, I don't want to say seek help, but seek another opinion.

Run it by someone else, someone like maybe a counselor or even a trusted friend if you know this exercise for some reason really stresses you out. Normally I would never discourage anyone from doing a bit of self-inquiry.

Brigit:  Yeah, absolutely. I think that's actually a really nice idea to have a conversation with a trusted friend. They don't have to know anything about Tarot.

But I you take some of the questions that you've been using for the self-inquiry process and have a conversation with a friend even more insight may come out through that way.

Sometimes just the act of talking about something, you go, “Oh my goodness, where did that thought come from? Oh wow, that just showed up so much new stuff.”

Or, even posing the question to a friend. I'm trying to think of what an example with the High Priestess might be. Maybe you ask your friend, “What are some of your tips for becoming more reflective or more intuitive or do you think I'm an intuitive person?” That's probably getting into a bit more approval seeking, but you know what I mean.

Yeah, it could be an interesting way to have a conversation around that card.

Kate:   Yeah, for sure.

Brigit:  Wonderful. As we're talking I was thinking, this would be great to have maybe, do you reckon we could do a one-page handout with some of the techniques that we talked about today and then we could have that as part of our show notes.

Kate:   Yeah. Absolutely.

Brigit:  Wonderful. As you're listening to this if you head on over to Biddytarot.com/37, we will have PDF handout so that you can easily print this out and follow through Kate's techniques that she's shared here. I think this is such a beautiful practice to do.

Whether it's at a time where you are feeling a little bit challenged on something or if it's just simply it's that time where you want to connect in with your soul and your spirit. I think these kind of techniques are wonderful at any time.

Is there anything that we haven't covered that you think is essential for Tarot as a life-coaching tool?

Kate:   I think just to keep an open mind and be willing to be creative as you look at the cards and as you brainstorm ideas. To be as relaxed and open as you can possibly be.

Brigit:  Wonderful. Excellent. Kate thank you so much for this conversation. It's been absolutely lovely. Where can people find out more about you?

Kate:   You're welcome Brigit. Thank you so much for having me. People can find me on my website Dailytarotgirl.com. That's where they can find me.

Brigit:  Fabulous. We'll make sure that we add your link to our show notes as well. Of course, you'll be able to find the handout there so that you can print it off and use your Tarot cards as a sort of self-coaching tool.

Thank you so much for today, Kate. We'll chat soon.

Kate:   Wonderful. Thank you, Brigit.

Wrap – Up

If you loved this podcast, you'll love the Biddy Tarot Community. Connect with your Tarot tribe, improve your Tarot skills and become a more confident and intuitive Tarot reader. Head on over to biddytarot.com/community to learn more.

Thank you so much for listening today. I can't wait to connect with you until next time. Bye.

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