Before unfolding and reading Wish Thirteen on January 2, I drew cards for insight: “How will my wishes manifest in 2026?” Less a chronological and more a procedural spread, the 12 cards showed me how wishes are about habits; fulfilling them is a labor of love. New habits comport changing behaviors inflecting proportions of action, thought, mood, trajectory, embodiment. Manifesting wishes requires an agreement with self to feel and respond to the changes they offer. Building new patterns of life can mean letting go of old habits. Some die hard. Despite grief, releasing, untangling, parcing, retooling ‘bad habits’ can be heartbreaking, require will power, and promise joy. Ultimately shining on habits makes room for wishes to come true.

A word about Bad Habits

Good and Bad are clunky words. Like any polarity, it paradoxically offers an infinitude of variation. The space between a Good Habit and a Bad Habit is fuzzy, vibrates with oscillation, stretches across a continuum of possibilities. There are always good things intrinsic to bad habits and vice versa. Some people may consider habitude undesirable inandofitself.

For example, one of my wishes was to intentionally listen to music. I’ve started tuning into Trouble at home and the local oldies station in my car. Manifesting this wish invites less listening to NPR, turning off the television, and appreciating differently the silence of my home. When this wish comes true I dance, tap my toe, and sing along.

I love it when the Guides wink at me in a reading. Occasionally it feels like… ask a silly question, get a silly answer! It happens in my Flaming Wishes spread, twice.

At the changing of the year, I wished “to be open to the fish of imagination” inspired by the energy of the Page of Cups. The Fish of Imagination says “SURPRISE! I’m here! Now, what will you make of this heart’s project?” The Page of Cups appears as the last card in my Flaming Wishes spread.

There are many Marys in my life. My mom, sister and niece are named: Mary Jo, Mary Grace and Mary Faith. My sister MG, introduced me to to Janet Selby, who is an excellent therapeutic massage practitioner. Recently, Janet needed some graphic design help. We agreed to a trade: I would create her business cards, and promotional pieces, she would release my swimmer’s shoulder and sitter’s hips.

During our first meeting about the trade, Janet handed me a bag full of vintage Tarot decks. “These belonged to my sister, I’ve had them since she died and am not sure what to do with them.” Janet invited me to take a look, “Could I sell them?” she wanted to know. I became excited by the decks which were clearly well used. Janet suggested I choose a deck for myself. I asked if I could think about which one I wanted, and offered to do research on the decks’ values.

I shared my findings with Janet. There were several similar decks for sale on Ebay and Etsy; I estimated her Dali Tarot was probably the most valuable. I told her I couldn’t possibly choose one deck, there were four of interest to me for my collection. We agreed on a price.

I chose the Aquarian Fool, Toth, Golden Dawn and Medieval Scapini decks. They are utterly cool, utterly classic! As I set about cleansing and charging them under a full moon, I asked Janet her sister’s name. It was Mary!

I have been integrating Mary’s cards into my practice. Each one is super-charged with her energy; handling her decks is an absolute gift. I wanted to know more about Mary and asked Janet for an interview about her sister. We meet for tea in my kitchen, a couple days after Christmas, and I heard the remarkable story of Mary, JoAnn, and all the members of Janet’s immediate family.

Her full name was Mary Elizabeth Selby, she was known as The Plutonian: a Scorpio through and through. I learned about Mary’s habits. She loved creative and worldly men. Janet is still in touch with some of them. Mary trusted her gut, which was never wrong. She carried Tarot cards with her, everywhere she went. Janet remembers her frequently reading from the Aquarian deck. Her reputation as an intuitive reader developed when she managed a spa at a local resort. Many massage therapists sat for readings by Mary; (in)famous guests sought her advice, taking it to heart and action.

When we first met, I asked Janet how she became a massage therapist and healer, she told me a story that stayed with me. Turns out the story was about Mary! Here’s how Janet tells the story: “The only reason I am a massage therapist today is because of Mary. When she came to visit me at my new place in Norfolk Va I took her down to VA Beach. We passed the A.R.E. and she pointed it out saying how much Rita was crazy about Edgar Cayce. She talked me into going to the visitor center and bookstore. Afterwards she said ‘Apply for a job here. If you work here I feel that it will change (the whole trajectory of) your life.’ I did not apply-it was 24 miles away-and forgot about it but Mary persisted. She called a month later and asked if I had applied, yet. I hadn’t but I made an effort and called the place to be told nothing was available and I promptly forgot about it. About 8 weeks later Mary called again and told me that I needed to physically go there and apply. She had a feeling. Sure enough when I went the next day there were two temporary positions open and I got one. Then they asked me to stay on in a permanent spot and then I learned that they had a massage school on the premises and staff got 50% off tuition! So here I am today!”

Mary was fearless. She took herself to London England as a teenager, earning funds to pay her own way. After a few weeks she returned home to Maryland, but only for a while. She lived many places before settling in Santa Fe to make a life for herself. Her nomadic ways and cross-country move were partly motivated by Mary’s grief and horror at her older sister’s death. JoAnn was a victim of domestic violence. Her murderous husband never really answered sufficiently for his crimes.

Mary lived in Santa Fe from 1974 to 76, when her father called. Mary’s mother was recovering from a stroke and he needed her help. Two years later her mom was recovered, when her father had a major stroke. Mary became the legal guardian of her younger siblings, Janet and Jean.

Mary was a great judge of character and situation. If she had a feeling and shared it, act accordingly. Janet told me: “I certainly looked up to Mary and sought her insights and guidance but she did expect a lot from people in return. Not in a wishy washy way either. She would spell it out for you. Often times I found myself lacking in my ability to meet her expectations or needs.”

Mary was frank. Don’t ask her a question if you don’t want to know the answer. Once, Janet challenged Mary’s support for the ERA. “Why bother?” Mary pulled a copy of the text out of her purse and said “Have you even read it?” One of the many powerful lessons Janet learned from Mary: keep your mouth shut when you don’t have all the information. Indeed.

Mary loved music and film. Janet took Mary to New Zealand for her 50th birthday; Mary made mixed tapes for the journey. She was foiled though, when the rental car had a CD (not cassette) player. Mary came with a sound track! Still, it was a great trip to a place where Mary always wanted to live. She wanted to immigrate to NZ but was discouraged by the restrictive immigration requirements. She was compelled by their progressive laws protecting the environment and women’s rights. Janet said Mary wanted to live in a place with “more sheep than people”.

In the early 70s and 80s, Mary took Janet and Jean to the Kennedy Center to see classic films at the American Film Institute. She loved John Waters and got to meet him at the Baltimore premier of “Desperate Living.” Mary frequently toured her sisters past his home in when she lived there. Mary was a huge fan of Jackie Chan, too. Janet said she would watch his Kung Fu movies with no subtitles or dubbing. Later she and Jean studied Mandarin. Mary advised: “China is the future, the next superpower. You’d better learn Mandarin now before you get left behind.” 

Mary passed away far too soon, at the age of 57. She died from Inflammatory Breast Cancer on New Years Day, 2010. I was very sad to learn that her life might have been extended had Mary access to health insurance and other resources for a necessary surgery.

This year, I lived by the moon and with candle light. Every time I lit a candle, I imagined literally holding the light, handling it. I offered light for peaceful transitions, in meditations, during card readings, at ceremonies, in promise, and remembrance. I light candles to help set other things on fire: sage, paper, dried flowers, incense, a charcoal…

Rauhnächte is a practice of casting 13 wishes around the time of Yule. As I imagine walking through the practice of setting my wishes to flame, I think of how many other hands have held light over the centuries. I wonder how many are holding light these last few nights of 2025.

Many hands make light work. Do it.

Craft 13 wishes. Write each one on a small piece of paper and fold it, so you can’t see which wish is which. Put the folded wishes in a bowl, live with them. Look at the bundle of wishes, write about them…or dont.

Beginning on the Winter solstice, light a candle after sunset. Hold the light every night. For 12 nights, safely burn one wish each night – without reading it. On the thirteenth night, light the candle and unfold the remaining wish. Read it outloud by candle light. Place it where you will see it every day – next to your toothbrush, under your pillow, in your pocket…internalize it.

make it so.

I’ve spent a few days deciding how to construct my wishes. With a little help from friends and neighbors, I have decided wishes aren’t resolutions, or to do lists. They are general and self-resourced! They are sensed, when we get close to a manifesting a wish we can feel it. Wishes come from the heart and are deeply related to habitual behavior. I’m writing wishes that feel real and plausible. So far, I’ve got six solid wishes folded up, seven more to go.

Many hands make light work: another manifestation of Flaming Wishes..

Mom always says “Many hands make light work.” It was a way to encourage her children to collaborate in the mundane labor of cleaning: redding  up, spring cleaning, laundry and dishes all went swiftly with six little hands at work! Over the years, I’ve leaned into the idea many times in my life. Yes, with doing dishes after a holiday meal, moving house, building an exhibit, or striking a stage.

A few years ago, I brought mom’s voice to life differently. My friend invited me as a plus one, to a holiday gathering. It was around Christmas time and the room was filled with creatives who cared deeply for each other. Once we were all gathered, our host asked everyone to create a short performance for the party. We were invited to pair up and take 15 minutes to devise some action or another, to engage or entertain. 

My friend and I claimed the closet as a work space and stage. We put our heads and hearts together.

The walk-in closet was the size of a bedroom in a Manhattan walk up; it felt like our host, beautifully textured with their clothes, shoes and bags. The large space had two doors, it was a walk through, from the hallway to the bathroom, which also had two doors and led back to the hallway. We took only a few minutes to plot and rehearse our offering. We collected a box of tea light candles, some matches, and a chair.

Our instructions to the group were simple. Turn out all the lights at the party and come into the closet through the hall door, one at a time. 

When a guest entered the closet, we greeted them by candlelight and handed them an unlit tealight. We invited them to sit on the chair, situated in the center of the closet. Once seated, we lit our guest’s candle and walked clockwise around the chair whispering ‘love’ in the guest’s ears. “love” “love” “love, love, love, love” Then, we asked our be-loved friend to exit through the bathroom door, return to the party and send in the next guest. 

Our vision was that the darkened party would come to growing light as each person emerged from the closet with a candle. When the performance ended, I hugged my friend. We returned to the party and the room, our hearts calibrated through light.

Many hands make light work. Do it.

If you’ve read this far and think you will put your hands to work Flaming Wishes, I offer a personal note of caution: the wishes must be attainable, we must believe we can accomplish them. Otherwise, as my father said many times…”Wish in one hand and shit in the other. See which one fills up faster.” I’d always laugh and threaten to get his advise tattooed on my arm. Then he’d laugh. We laughed a lot.

He was right, in some way. We have to be careful what we wish for.

Each lunar cycle, I read from my annual forecast under the new moon. The cards are always crystal clear, and Tuesday’s reading was as accurate as ever. The Death card is in the mix.

It was a busy day before I turned to my cards, though. Grocery shopping, a car wash and a quick trip to the veterinarian. My beloved Xotichl has developed a troubling cough. Doctor P thought an X-Ray was in order, to understand more about Xotichl’s condition and the news was most unwanted. Several metastatic growths, in and around her lungs and heart, mean my little sweet potato was not long for this world. The doctor gave her days, maybe weeks if I treat her with steroids. Sadness gripped me. I thought she would outlive our Frankie, who is older and a much bigger dog. I cried my way home.

That night under the darkest sky, I turned to the cards and read them as I wept. Yes, death is surely arriving. I would be guided toward a vision of clarity and this happened, too. A dear friend reminded me that I had time to prepare for what was coming. She suggested I focus on gathering the resources necessary to assure Xotichil’s peaceful transition. I also talked my neighbor, a former hospice nurse. He advised me to make the most of my time with my familiar. He spoke as if he were the Queen of Swords himself, “Put your grief on a shelf, now is the time to take care of business – you can be sad once she’s gone.” These conversations helped me. I started building an altar to honor the unconditional love we’ve shared for nearly 10 years. I resolved to fill her days with as much pleasure as possible: cuddles, beefy bones, cheese, and slow sniffy walks. There has been and will be plenty of writing.

The cards told me I have all the resources, discretion, and discernment to shelter Xotichl and myself through the inevitable transition. They illustrate how the effort will leave me bruised and wary. True enough, I already find myself crying in public and sleepless. The cards told me to find my way by relying on my intuition, and seeking clarity of thought without emotion. Finally, they show me the need to hold fast to the hope promised by the Star’s Aquarian energies.

That night I had a dream. A familiar counsel was gathering to make mysterious decisions. They convened in a home near the ocean to set a course of action, while I waited outside in tall beach grass. It was sunny, the air was fresh and chill. Along came a pack of well healed dogs, one was carrying a dove in its mouth. The bird was still alive and turned it’s head to look at me. I wanted to jump up and free the bird, but stopped myself. This was the way of the world, I said out loud. The dog is doing its dog thing, the bird had done it’s bird thing, and I am present to witness them making their way.

Xotichl started steroids on Wednesday and suddenly my little monkey seems her normal self on our daily walks. One of her most endearing habits is to bark loudly while walking, even on the emptiest streets. She is the town crier, delivering the good news, greeting trees and plants, the birds, and any human lucky enough to cross her path.

Xotichl on our walk this morning: bringing the news.

Death is always so near. This month, I send gratitude to the guides for revealing it to me through the Tarot. Cards I spread last December are playing out right on time, 10 months later: death is here, remain clear, lose my fear and gather my resources, trust my intuition, and maintain hope for a future together in spirit. Our neighborhood will be much quieter without dear Xotichl, but I have faith we will be together after she’s free of the leash.

To be sure, the Death card can serve as a metaphor when it occurs in a reading: a mishap, a clearing out the old to make a new way forward, or a bad investment gone to dust. Despite an urge to gloss into these metaphors, my readings of the card always deliver a reality check. “In my experience,” I will say, “this card often appears at the occurrence of an actual death.” I try to assure that death is a constant, around us all the time whether we consider it or not.

Ask Jeaux is thrilled to be bringing Tarot to the first Found + Made Market on October 11, 2025 from 10am to 3pm at Rocket Space Gallery.

I will be offering Yes? No? Threaux! readings on the spot, and a 20% discount on advanced purchases for longer readings.

Designed to inform an entire year of Tarot guidance meted out according to the lunar calendar, the New Moon Shuffle is spread for the first new moon of a calendar year and read on each new moon.

The New Moon Shuffle generates 13 individual spreads of six cards each, designed to be read on the new moon. The monthly readings offers insights into spiritual influences, specific tasks to accomplish, and people who will play an important role during your lunar cycle.

Add on a 30 minute Chart Interpretations for more information or a fresh reading of each cycle’s cards, or keep your own counsel and research the cards on your own. Either way, the New Moon Shuffle will shed wisdom from every card of the deck; prepare to be amazed by the synchronicities!

New Moon Shuffle 78-card threaux and annual chart (PDF): $200

New Moon Shuffle Chart Interpretation 30 minute reading: +$60

Contact me to book a New Moon Shuffle reading.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

Thank you to the querants who offered a review of my services! Here are a couple recent comments offered by my Tarot clients.

S.R. Said…

I’ve had three readings by Jo and each time I was humbled by her gift. I found the readings to be so impactful that I continued to revisit my notes and began the work of integrating the wisdom. One of the spreads I chose was her “Thank You Now Go,” which crystallized what was needed to release a disempowering habit. I believe Jo connect to the guides, which allows her to access the deep insights that flow through her. From what I know about her, she is constantly learning and growing and I think that is a good quality to have in a tarot reader.

T.J. Said…

Thank you so much for the reading and hospitality! I was really stunned, in a good way, by how insightful I found it to be. Totally different from my past Tarot experience. The wisdom of your reading has really opend a door that I never saw before, I’m just so grateful!

T.E. Said…

I was referred to Ask Jeaux by a friend, and thought I’d give it a try. I was a bit curious as to how this would work over the phone, but very quickly, that thought disappeared as my reading started narrowing down my concerns shockingly (for me) well! I didn’t provide any direction, just wanted to see what the cards identified without it. Jeaux took her time, explained each card, even describing what some of them looked like, and kept asking if I had any questions. This was new for me, but the comfort I felt, and insight into some of the decisions I was struggling with, left me with a sense of strength and peace. Thank you Jeaux!

Hindrances of our own making are a special kind of vexation. Querents seeking guidance in releasing negative habits of thought, heart, or attitude will benefit from the Thank You Now Go Tarot reading.

The TYNG spread is a tool for mining unwanted energy for potential aspects worthy of transformation: the diamond in the rough.

Identify and receive a gift from your unwanted hinderance. Let the vexing habit cleave away from your energetic field.

TYNG can define at least one good reason for losing the hindering habit; identify aspects of the habit to transform into a gift, and offer the best timing to release the hindrance and inhabit the gift. TYNG suggests specific actions to aid the release, considers who might assist or complicate letting go, and who will show up out of the blue to play a part in the transformation.

Best suited to a 90 minute reading, TYNG goes deep into appreciation for what you’re releasing and leverages those insights into action through suggested habit building and right timing.

Thank You Now Go 11-card 90-minute reading: $225

Contact me to book Thank You Now Go.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

Wet-Toothpick Rule

that thing when you pierce the cake with a toothpick to make sure its done. crumb stuck to the toothpick? leave it in the oven and watch it.

a note about my recipes

Recently, as part of my lifelong-project to build the habit of putting everything in its place when I have it in my hand, I consolidated all the recipes I had laying about the house on index cards, scraps of paper, torn out magazine pages, etc. I gathered these errant recipes and gratefully wrote them onto plain white paper, in no particular order BUT all in one place.

Uh oh. My latest transcription of the BJC recipe omits the measure of Cold Black Coffee! I called my sister. She’s just moved so: boxes. I called my mom. She said she would look it up and asked my other sister for her copy of the recipe. I started to feel pressured, the BJC batter was setting up.

Then, I figured out I could figure it out. My body remembered, across the decades of baking the BJC: ‘used one liquid measure twice’. Body remembering is a thing and I’m bound to write about it sooner or later. Stay tuned.

My insight was followed by another body wisdom from haircutting experience: ‘you can always go shorter.’ So I began with the smaller liquid measure (1/2 cup) and observed the batter was not nearly thin enough. Problem solved. I added another 1/2 cup of Cold Black Coffee, popped the heart-shaped pans in the oven, set the timer to 35 mins, and edited my recipe before I put it away, while I had it in my hand!

The cake turned out terrific.

---

This morning, I pulled the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge to soften for the icing, poured myself a cup of Cold White Coffee (lots of half and half on hand) and sat down to test out a new Tarot spread I’m developing called Thank You, Now Go. I first imagined this spread on the evening of a waning gibbous moon.

TYNG was designed to seek wisdom for querants who know what they want to release. It might be a compulsion, a way of thinking, or a bad habit. It could be a small cluster of behaviors, thoughts and feelings blocking progress toward a higher purpose. TYNG asks the guides for information toward honoring and releasing, while identifying the gift inside the habit to hang onto and transform.

I fired up my candle invoking the light, and focused on one habit to release while shuffling. I pulled my cards. The guides were as clear as the water at Crystal Springs Florida. Their advice was super funny today, too. I let the cards sit and spent some time with the information they imparted. Doing dishes is a great way to integrate, all that frothy water action. One card in the spread kept raising questions for me as I worked my way through the dirty dishes in the sink. The Hierophant appeared in the position of the gift I can retain when releasing my greater attachment. I wanted to know more.

I pulled off my rubber gloves and reached for my reliable Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom. This book has been with me since 2013. It is my starting point for research when I want to dive a little deeper.

Sip, smile, sip my Cold White Coffee as I appreciated the history of my reference book. A question pops into my mind: when did Pollack write this, wasn’t it the late 70s, surely no later than 82? This question comes up all the time, I don’t know why I cannot remember the publication date, I think to myself. I opened the cover to find the answer.

What did I see?
A very clear message, but not a date.

What else did I see?
The BJC recipe written on the inside front cover of the book.

What else did I see?
One Cup Cold Black Coffee.

What else did I see?
Tarot offers answers to the most practical questions if we are curious enough to seek the wisdom.

Thank you guides!

Now, about that Hierophant…

I just love this 1978 video of The Who, recording Who Are You? Look how young and enthusiastic they are about the sounds they are raising! I think of this song when I offer clients the the Who WERE You Exercise (WWYE). Who? Who? Who? Who?

PSST!

If you don’t believe in past lives, maybe try a different exercise! If you don’t like The Who, turn to Led Zeplin!

The WWYE asks Tarot querrants to identify with a past life, through their imagination, intuition, feelings, and breath. Have you explored your past lives intentionally? Have they become known to you in surprising ways? Do you have a sense of your most recent former lifetime? If you can’t recall you most previous past life, but have a strong feeling about a long ago past life, you can focus on that one. The key is to choose one, the most recent is ideal. Whether you know who you’ve been or not, you can imagine a past life. The WWYE invites you to try.

The WWYE

Prepare for your experience by setting up for what comes after the exercise. Choose a glass from your kitchen cupboard and fill it with drinking water, add ice if you like. You might prefer to put a pot of tea to steep. Set your beverage aside, next to your writing journal and pen.

Disable your electronic devices and sit quietly to clear your mind. Take a couple deep breaths to center yourself, whatever that means to you, then…

IMAGINE who you were in the last life you lived. What did you wear? Where were you living? Who was your family of origin? What language did you speak? What was the landscape of your past life?

INTUIT what your former self would say to you today. What wisdom can they offer across time and location? Listen with your heart to your past person.

FEEL who you were in your body. Where do you sense your former self? Awaken each part of your body into your past life. Where do you feel a heavy sensation? Any tingling?

BREATH into your former life. Take three full breaths. On the intake, embody the wisdom gifted from the past you, on the outbreath thank yourself for connecting and sharing.

After you take the three closing breaths, carefully attend to your current body and CLAP YOUR HANDS! Drink your water or tea, as you make detailed notes about your experience in your journal. If you didn’t intuit a name for your former self, make one up. Choose something that feels right in the moment.

In the long run, you can refer to your former self for wisdom and strength when their wisdom fits a circumstance. Invoke their name, in your mind or outloud, call them into your actions. Let them provide clarity or guide you through sticky situations.

Adapt the WWYE for a night-time dream.

Try this exercise before you sleep. Ask your guides for help in dreaming about your past life. Maybe you want to dream you meet yourself, or you might dream as your former self. Be sure to thank your guides, and your former self for connecting. Be sure to make notes in your journal before and AFTER your sleep.

Ask Jeaux Tarot Readings offer insights of the moment, informed by the past and suggestive a way forward. Guided by the wisdom of the cards to a multitude of potentialities, I decode habits, am alert to surprising turns and shifting landmarks, and can tune into spaces rich for productive action. 

15 minute Yes? No? Threaux!: $30

1 hour service: $125

90 minute service: $225

Contact me for availability.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

Are you hosting a family reunion? Need a unique gift for a birthday or anniversary party? Is there a festival in your town that would welcome on-site Tarot readings? Invite Ask Jeaux to pop up to read cards! You will provide a table and two chairs and I will bring Tarot cards, a tablecloth, candle, and willingness to read for whoever seeks insight at your event.

Tarot Busking: Contact me for detailed Tarot Busking pricing and availability.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

Do you know a few Tarot-Curious friends? Ask Jeaux will visit with your group and lead a Tarot Salon. Participants are asked to bring their questions about Tarot, a favorite deck, and a journal to record their experience.

Tarot Salons begin with a reading for the group, enhanced with esoteric information about the cards, suggestions for further research, and insights into my reading approach. Salons are always dynamic gatherings!

Contact me for detailed Tarot Salon pricing and availability.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

Jeaux. It’s a funny way to spell my name. Why? It’s a long story.

My sister MG and I traveled to Paris and stayed with her dear friend named Scott; she had a joyful habit of calling him Scott-Oh! Because it is always such a lovely surprise to see him and say his name. I was studying art history and taking French language classes and Scott-Oh! was helping me apply what I was learning during our visit. I asked him how a Parisian might say “You go girl!” MG and I used the phrase to cheered each other on… The three of us laughed about it for a couple days: word games over wine, fresh bread and cheese. “Allez CoCo!” Scott-Oh! shouted one night, “You go you sassy girl!”! Allez CoCo, indeed.

Another helpful French lesson indulged my amazement at how four letters sound like one: “eaux” pronounced “o”. Croissants and lattes offered a giddy mise en scene for jumping through the possibilities: Bingeaux! Lasseaux! Jumbeaux! …Scotteaux! The name stuck.

All these years later, I’ve taken up the magical vibrations from that trip for imagining my Tarot reading practice. As I reached back across time to borrow the word play, I had a funny dream. It seemed to bless my intuition about the name: Ask Jeaux.

My dream was about Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand (please read all about her here). A writer and renown cartomancer working in Paris during the turn of the 19th century, she consulted with many royals during her career including Napoleon and Josephine.

In my dream, Marie Anne and Josephine were very close; they were co-advisors. I dreamed about a moment when Lenormand sought input from her royal confidant. She wrote a message and sent it by raven to Josephine. The loyal corvid delivered. When Josephine received the rose-scented note, she blushed and smiled. On the envelope, Lenormand scribed “Jeaux”, her secret nickname for the Empress.

I adore this painting by Danhauser, it surely informed my dream! Look how small Napoleon appears in the composition, static and unmoved.

I have a Tarot Habit.

Every day, I draw five cards as a forecast of the day. My daily throw gives me an opportunity to express gratitude to my guides and gather wisdom from my ancestors.

Some days, I will pull three more cards at sunset too. I might read for insight on something that happened during the day, seek deeper meaning from my morning spread after my day is done, or make a decision about one of my other creative projects.

Regular practice keeps my cards fresh!

I read for myself every month, too. Six cards to reveal what’s ahead. This practice employs all 78 cards in a single spread. I read each month’s cards on the new moon. Although I use a different deck for my daily draws, the cards often overlap with my new moon projections. The messages are uncannily synchronous and accurate.

Make Tarot a habit!

How often and when should you get a reading? Wisdom on the question varies. I read quarterly for some clients, divining three months into the future. I have a client who stacks her tarot readings with her tax payments.

Checking in with the Tarot on equinoxes and solstices provides transitional insights to match the seasons. Spreads designed around the energies inspired by and in accord with nature’s rhythms can be very instructive.

Monthly is also a good schedule to keep – reading on the full or new moon, depending on your inclination. I read with a couple close friends at each new moon. Its a powerful practice of reflection and visioning.

Querents seek situational readings, when the need arises, too. I’ve listed a few examples of times when you might turn to Tarot for clarity…

• You’ve become exhausted by thinking through a problem and want a fresh perspective.
• You have a big, emotionally-charged decision to make and you don’t trust your own judgement. How can you move beyond the influence of your own ego?
• You receive conflicting input from trusted advisors. How can you know who’s judgement to trust?
• You sense there’s more to the picture that you are not seeing. What are you missing?
• You are attending (or planning!) a big gathering with lot of egos involved and you’re nervous about the mix of personalities. How will you navigate the room?
• An aching tooth needs to come out. What exactly will you be loosing when they pull that tooth?
• You’ve got doubts plaguing you at work. There’s more to the story, but you can’t put your finger on what’s happening. What’s going on?

Please remember, each of us is responsible for what happens on our live’s paths. I read Tarot cards to see obstacles and opportunities, identify prevailing influences and survey potential actions – but the path you walk is your own and you must assume that responsibility.

My ministry serves the singular purpose of permitting me the privilege of witnessing performative utterances. My pleasure in officiating emerges from my faith in the power of language to get things done. When you speak a promise out loud and mean it, you change the terms of your relationship to another person. The same is true when you act with your heart to forgive someone, apologize, or lay a bet. I believe speaking truth into the world makes it a different place. As an officiant, I witness spoken gestures, celebrate the transformations they manifest. Every ceremony, even the grievous ones, fill me with hope.

I officiate apologies and forgivings, and will witness any wager you venture to make.

Yes, I also officiate wedding ceremonies, gleefully pronouncing celebrants united, partnered, wed, mated for life, or however they come together till death do they part!

My officiating fee is nominal, and no one is refused service for lack of ability to pay. Contact me to learn more.

Some aspects of our time together are fixed: we will start on time, and end on time. Since we will be on the clock, we want our time to be as productive as possible. Arrive prepared. Bring thoughtful questions that offer opportunities for direction. I consider the following guidance best practices for querents.

Before booking a Tarot Service, read Ask Jeaux’s Policy page.

Book and pre-pay for your Tarot Service by contacting Jo.

Craft your questions a week prior to our meeting. Set aside 1/2 hour dedicated specifically to the process of conjuring a question to ask the guides. Use a pen and paper to draft and journal your way toward a salient few questions. As you write, turn away from technology, put your phone on silent and in another room if possible. Create questions informed by your circumstances and somewhat composed, but open ended.

If you seek spiritual guidance on the path forward in a sticky situation, spend some time mapping out the lay of the land. What are the hotspots? Where are matters cool, or stable? What is your goal in the situation, who are the prominent players in the mix, and how are they related? Sort it through, then compose your questions.

Write your questions on a piece of paper and carry them with you, in your pocket until the day of your reading. You might reflect on them as the days pass. If you want to dream about them, read the questions immediately before going to sleep.

On the day of the reading, read your questions out loud, first thing in the morning. Take your questions with you to the reading, but leave them in your pocket during the consultation. Consider bringing some water with you, too. Water keeps things moving, including messages and information. In my opinion, its easier to communicate when you are hydrated.

During the reading, be forthcoming with details about your circumstances. The more I know from you, the more accurately I can read the cards for details you may be missing. Approach the reading as you would any private consultation: forward moving, in good faith and collaboration. While I do not permit recordings, I do encourage note taking. Beyond generating an extraneous record of our time together, the gestures of writing by hand enhance your integration of the important details.

After the Tarot reading set your questions and your notes from the reading aside and drink your water. Spend 15-30 minutes feeling and thinking about your experience. You might write about these sensations and thoughts, but don’t refer to the notes you wrote during the reading. The information you receive after the reading, is just as potent as the things I might say during our time together. Pay attention for affirming signs in your environment, consider how the spiritual advice resonates with your daily habits.

The next day, return to to the notes you took during and after the Tarot reading. What details did you remember? Which ones stand out as surprising since you wrote them? The idea is to integrate the information into your experience.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.

I might have titled this post “Plans are not for suckers.”

It’s good to be prepared with a road map, as long as you are willing and able to change the route when necessary. In other words, emergence happens along the way, be fluid. When I think about having a plan and deviating from it, I turn to the Situationist International. They would meet up in a large urban center then follow a map from a different city! …Imagine being in Paris, and following the streets to Trafalgar Square!!! These sorts of plans can be very productive.

Yes? No? Threaux! is a blunt tool.

We will spend a few minutes discussing your concern and devising a suitable yes/no question. After a guided, mindful shuffle, I draw three cards and receive a one-word reply from the guides: Yes or No. This spread delivers the most concise advice. If you want more info, extend the reading by adding cards and time.

Yes? No? Threaux! three-card reading: $10

Additional four cards and 10 minutes: +$25

Contact me to book Yes? No? Threaux!.

Read my policy page. My guidance and advice is spiritual in nature, not financial, medical or legal! Clients are responsible for their actions and the outcomes from those actions.