So… I live in central PA and spent much of my life trying to pretend that I didn’t!  While small towns are quaint and much safer than many larger areas, their secluded nature seemingly creates a rather gigantic obstacle for the tarotist wanting to read professionally.  There is no local metaphysical store.  There are NO meetup groups of any kind.  No psychic storefronts.  Not even a Borders or Barnes and Noble bookstore unless I drive almost an hour!  Imagine if you will, an enthusiastic tarot reader set up at the community festival, waving her treasured decks at passerbys, asking if they would like a reading.  She is surrounded by churches (yes in my town there is a church and a bar in EVERY block), the unemployed, the highly skeptical, and the “I want something for nothing” crowd…  Can we call this a potentially hostile environment?  Perhaps I should carry a few of those wands and swords for real and not just on the cards!

I decided to look at my situation as a reversal that needs to be turned right side up to manifest my desired outcome – to start a lucrative tarot practice!  Pulling a card from the deck (and deliberately holding them so as to get a reversal) to represent the current situation, I got the 4 of Cups Reversed.  Gotta love the tarot!  What a great card to represent starting to look at opportunities that were previously rejected or ignored.  To opening up to possibilities that are there, but that I just was not able (or willing) to see…. Kind of a tarot “kick in the butt” to get out there and do what I want and stop being my own biggest excuse as to why this won’t work!

On to a card for the next step.  How do I really manifest this turn around?  On stage, the 8 of Pentacles.  Pretty much another no-brainer.  Use my skills and knowledge and GET TO WORK!  The tarot fairy is not going to drop in, wave her wand, and grant me a thriving tarot business (darn, I so want to have a tarot fairy godmother!).  I need to put in the work to get the result.  Time to put my obsessive nature (sounds nicer than being anal/retentive, doesn’t it!) to work and make things happen.  The good news is I have already been lining up those pentacles.  This past week I created my new website, new business cards, and a facebook page for In Touch Tarot (does that count for three of those Pentacles?).  I am diligently learning all about how to do things on a website that I never thought I would be doing (Sitebuilder was so much easier albeit much less flexible).  I am being a good little 8 of Pentacles person!

Now that I know I am on the right track, time to toss down one last card to see what I can expect for the future given my new outlook and motivation.  And guess what – there must be a tarot fairy godmother after all as I pulled the Star!  The path I have started traveling to develop my tarot business is lined with hope and possibility.  I just need to keep my goal in sight and maintain my course of navigation.  Better yet, the Star means I am a star!  So… small town, schmall town.  The size of the town really doesn’t matter.  What matters is the size of the tarotist’s heart, her desire to achieve what she most wants, and her dedication to her craft!  I hereby affirm “Today and every day I will do one thing to either enhance my tarot skills or promote my tarot business.”  And I will do it proudly in a small town!