Tarot For Beginners

Marketing & Publishing, ,

When I need a distraction, I mostly turn to writing. Except during Covid, I had a massive case of writer’s block, so I inexplicably drummed up two hobbies: Dollhouses and Tarot Cards.

Long story short, beginning in March 2020, while Covid was infecting and killing, I refurbished an old family dollhouse and then built three more while simultaneously learning and practicing tarot card readings.

I happen to love playing board games, so why not try my hand at tarot cards?

In reading up on Tarot, I discovered that people used the cards as far back as the 1400s as a parlor game, and since I had a sh*tload of time on my hands, I thought it would be a playful way to spice things up socially.

Or I should say antisocially since I wasn’t socializing with anyone except my husband for way too many months during Covid when I decided the best strategy for staying alive was staying inside.

And since my husband called tarot cards “hogwash,” I was stuck practicing tarot solo.

In between hiding from Covid and dollhousing, I would pull one tarot card daily and read up on their meanings. But most of the time, the cards spoke for themselves with their stunning imagery and allegorical symbols. Plus, it became a fun diversion at a time when fun was not in my vocabulary.

Four years later, I feel I can finally read the cards reasonably well, but I still refer to my notes—now my latest book—for guidance.

One of the best things that came out of Covid for me was writing my most recent release—a 96-pager that I had no idea I was even going to write!

Tarot for Beginners is a helpful guide for interpreting the Rider-Waite®Tarot Deck and an enjoyable pastime to share with friends. I also threw in a touch of numerology and astrology to make it more interesting.

And to set the record straight, Tarot For Beginners is NOT a book about the occult, witchcraft, or fortune-telling. That would be giving me way too much extra-terrestrial credit.

Plain and simple, my book is a unique and quirky way to add some amusing entertainment to a social gathering.

I hope you give it a try!

Click here to order Tarot For Beginners, or for more information about my latest release.

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider Fiasco

Family & Relationships

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider was my daughter’s favorite nursery rhyme.

She sang it non-stop.

Wherever we went, she would belt that song out like a professional, and she had a cute little voice.

But I was mortified.

Why?

Because instead of Itsy-Bitsy Spider, she would melodiously chant Itchy-Bitchy Spider.

Repeatedly. And over-the-top loud.

As you can imagine, her nursery rhyme cussing did not reflect well on either one of us.

And did I mention that I was non-stop humiliated and hugely embarrassed?

Who wouldn’t be? It wasn’t a good look. At all.

But she didn’t care.

No matter how often I tried to correct her or how many times I tried to shush her or explain to her that she was using a “dirty word,” my beautiful but spunky little girl continued to call that spider an itchy bitch.

As I wandered through grocery store aisles, stood in line at the bank, or dropped her off at nursery school, she would croon about that bitch of a spider who never seemed to make it to the water spout.

♪♪ ♪ ITCHY ♪♪♪ BITCHY ♪♪♪ SPIDER ♪♪♪

Some people laughed, others stared blankly, but most just gave me dirty looks.

What could I do? Gag her?

A gazillion years later, she’s still precocious, with an itsy-bitsy potty mouth.

Hide and Seek

Family & Relationships

On Father’s Day, one of my granddaughters asked me to play hide and seek with her and eight other cousins and grandkids.

I found some great hiding places. And so did they!

While hiding in what was later voted the best hiding spot ever, I had time to think.

Too much time.

That’s how triggers work.

They pop up out of nowhere.

My hiding spot made me think about where I would hide my little loved ones if Hamas terrorists were seeking to find and butcher us.

As I sat quietly, my anxiety shot through the roof.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” the kids screamed out mischievously.

The game took on a whole other meaning, and I was terrified.

For them. Not me.

Scent Memories

Observe & Ponder,

My scent memories immediately bring to mind the French word “sillage,” pronounced “see-yahzh,” which translates to the word “wake,” like the trail left by a boat as it moves through the water.

In the fragrance world, sillage refers to the trail a scent leaves long after the wearer is gone, like someone leaving a car or exiting an elevator.

Sillage creates a poignant image: The lingering scent a person leaves behind is a memory, yet the smell is very much alive.

The fragrance wheel, created in 1949 and modernized in the 1980s, divides fragrances into four distinct families: Fresh, Floral, Amber, and Woody.

Each fragrance family shares similar aromas and characteristics that complement each other.

It is indeed a family affair—from the scent choices our loved ones make to the memories and emotions those scents evoke.

Additionally, every family has an outlier. Fragrance outliers are unique in that they can fall into any or all of the scent families.

THE SCENT FAMILIES AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES:

FRESH (Classic, subtle, laid back, zesty, cooling, vibrant, inoffensive, light, bright and aromatic).

FLORAL (Feminine, timeless, light, powdery, delicate, gentle, flowery, pretty, citrusy, velvety, romantic, and old school.)

AMBER (Sensual, dramatic, lush, dusty, warm, bold, exotic, musky, and rooted in nature.)

WOODY (Rich, elegant, opulent, intense, earthy, sensual, spicy, crisp, dry, clean, smoky, unisex, and potent.)

My French grandmother wore L’air du Temps (a Floral developed in 1948), and her mother—my great-grandmother wore English Lavender (also a floral that debuted in 1799). They both chose Florals as their go-to scent.

My mother wore Shalimar (an Amber created in 1925) and Chantilly (a Floral launched in 1941). Her scent preference varied between flowery and musky.

I have ancient, near-empty bottles of all four perfumes in a small display box, and I smell them when I’m feeling untethered, nostalgic, or simply want to be taken back in time.

I used to wear Chamade (an Amber launched in 1969) and Love’s Baby Soft (a Floral from 1974).

Some of my other go-to scents included Heaven Sent (an Amber launched in 1941), White Shoulders (a Floral from 1943), and Youth Dew (an Amber launched in 1953, the year I was born).

And then there was Wind Song (a Floral, also from 1953), Emeraude (an Amber, circa 1921), Cachet (a Floral from 1970), and Anais Anais (a Floral from 1978).

And finally, Je Reviens (an Amber launched in 1932), White Linen (a Floral from 1978), Ysatis (a Floral from 1984, the year my first child was born), Coco (an Amber, also launched in 1984), and White Musk Perfume Oil, which I just wore yesterday (an Amber created in 1981).

An old boyfriend once bought me a bottle of Joy (a Floral from 1930), and for years after we broke up, every time I smelled it on someone, I got depressed.

Until writing this blog post, I had no idea the only scent families I have ever worn are Amber and Floral. Is it possible that genes determine our scent preferences?

The sense of smell is most closely related to memory. The scent memory that impacts me the most is my son’s cologne, Davidoff Cool Water (an Amber from 1988, the year my second child was born).

I don’t know if he still wears it, but I keep his old bottle in my medicine cabinet and smell it often—a fragrant instant replay.

The American poet, prose writer, and aspiring musician Christopher Poindexter said it best: “Nothing brings to life a forgotten memory like a fragrance.”