Liz Worth ~ Tarot + Astrology

Disclaimer: I received this deck from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I was in middle school I was obsessed with the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. In fact, Poe’s poetry played a big part in my own inspiration to one day become a poet, too.

So when I found out that an Edgar Allan Poe tarot deck was being released, I was intrigued. If you’re familiar with Poe’s work – dark, brooding, Gothic poetry and mysterious fiction – then it’s easy to imagine how Poe’s influence can cross over into tarot.

But does the deck work? Does it read well? Let’s dive in to find out:

The packaging

I don’t typically pay too much attention to the boxes tarot decks come in, but I do want to touch on this briefly because a) I know it’s an important detail to others, and b) The packaging of this deck is worthy of a mention.

This deck comes as a full package with a 288-page companion book inside a beautiful fold-out box. It’s...

Daytime vs Nighttime Cards in Your Tarot Deck

There is more to reading tarot than memorizing card meanings.

One thing I always stress in my tarot students is to look at the images of the cards.

Every tarot card can hold many layers of meaning, based on the scene it depicts.

A simple way to start studying your cards' imagery is to look at your daytime and nighttime cards.

This can add a layer of meaning to your messages:

Day time cards, like the Sun, might indicate visibility or something that is “plain as day” or “coming to light,”

Nighttime cards may be telling you that something is not yet clear or visible - we can’t see very well in the dark.

If the deck you are using doesn't have these details, you might consider switching to a deck like the Rider Waite Smith, which is what I recommend for beginner tarot readers. 

Tip: Go through your tarot deck and separate your daytime cards from your nighttime cards. Spend some time studying each of...

“You’ve got to be willing to do the work.”

We’ve all heard this kind of advice before.

It applies to pretty much anything in life, such as goal-setting: If you want something, you need to put the effort in to get it.

It also applies to personal growth. We say things like, “He’s done a lot of work on himself,” or, “I’m taking some time away to work on myself.”

What this “work” looks like is so varied and personal that it’s not always easy to know exactly what it is everyone is working on, or how they are doing it.

The work of your life may be very different than mine. We all have our own lessons, journeys, and gifts. We also have our own challenges to overcome.

Some people figure out what their “work” is sooner than others. And some of our work may be work that takes a lifetime to understand.

There is no way to rush through it, no arbitrary deadline you can reach where you suddenly become an...

One of the most common questions I get from other tarot readers is, “Do you read reversals?”

It comes up whenever I teach a class, whether it’s to a group of beginners or advanced readers.

(And for anyone not familiar with reversals, it’s when a card is upside down in a reading.)

I don’t read reversals – but I used to. I picked up the technique when I was studying tarot, and used it regularly by the time I started reading tarot professionally.

But I gradually stopped reading reversals.

Why? It’s not because they don’t work – they do (if you’re clear and consistent in how you’re using them).

The reason reversals dropped out of my tarot practice is that I just didn’t need them anymore. I had started to develop new styles of card reading and the way I was working with tarot didn’t require reversals anymore.

I started to see that the way I was looking at a reversed card – whether it was a challenge,...

Whenever there’s change in the air, such as talk of important astrological transits, it’s normal to wonder: “How will this affect me?”

We often turn to tarot, astrology and other divinations to predict what’s around the corner. It’s not unusual to worry about whether you are making the wrong decision, or to worry about where your future is headed.

I find that whether you’re clear on your own direction, or you’re still trying to figure out your life’s path, uncertainty will always be a companion to some degree.

One of the main reasons why we turn to divinatory tools like tarot and astrology is because we want certainty, clarity and confidence in what we are doing.

Knowing how things will turn out can help alleviate some of the stress of the unknown.

After all, wouldn’t you go ahead and head back to school, start that business, or write that book if you knew for sure that you would be successful?

It would also be so much...

Should spiritual leaders “get political”?

Should your favourite tarot reader, astrologer, or witch share their political views on their platforms?

Some people believe the two should be kept separate.

But it’s not always so easy to figure out where the lines can be drawn – and whether they should be drawn in the first place.

I mean, what is considered “political” anyway?

I’m not just talking about elections and political parties – that’s just one part of it.

Sometimes I think that everything is political. Maybe that comes from living in a woman’s body: From day one, my appearance, my choices, and my lifestyle have been politicized no matter what I do.

But then I challenge my own belief on that when I encounter an opinion on what is political that I hadn’t considered before. Like what we’ve seen this year in regards to the pandemic.

Suddenly, hygienic practices are seen as political. Some people see masks,...

In the spiritual and self-help worlds, we often hear encouraging words to strive for more, to change for the better, to edit out our messes and flaws...

But – and this is a big BUT… it’s important to remember that not everything needs fixing.

And not everything is a teachable moment in the cult of self-improvement.

I had to remind myself of this the other day.

I was out at a store. I saw something I wanted to buy for myself: It was something that I very much wanted, but did not need.

And as I picked that item up off the shelf, a very clear thought went through my head: “I really should work on buying myself fewer things.”

And then I followed that up with a big why: “Why should I stop, when it makes me happy?”

Why is it a problem – or perceived as one?

There is a major tendency to pathologize our behaviours these days. To self-analyze, and over-analyze. To self-diagnose ourselves as problematic.

To decide that everything about...

I was feeling a little bit sad recently. 

The sadness didn’t come from anything specific – it was just there when I woke up one morning.

So I asked it what it wanted, and the sadness told me it wanted to take its time. To not be rushed away or brushed off to the side, which is so easy to do with work or chores or other tasks.

I decided to listen. There have been many times in my life when I have not honoured my feelings, and those are hard lessons that I continue to work through. Some of those moments are wounds that are still healing. They come in the form of tiredness and resentment and burnout that flare up when I have taken on too much or ignored myself too long.

When I was a kid, my mother was so afraid to call in sick to work that she never did. She was afraid of losing face, or being seen as unreliable or being judged as flakey. She came from a different generation where you sucked it up and went in no matter what.

And because she never took...

Do you need to move your tarot business from in-person to online? Here are some tips to help you get going. 

Last week, I had a dream.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a brief mention of it there.

I am sharing it here today, and elaborating on some thoughts I’ve had since.

Before I get into it, let me say that I acknowledge that there is a lot of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty in the world right now.

I am going to be speaking truthfully here. I know you don’t come to me for the “good vibes only, love and light” stuff.

But I also know that many of us are tender right now. Tired, worried, and burned out from checking the news all the time.

So if you need a break, bow out now. You can always come back to this later.

Here’s what I have to share today:

I have had a long relationship with the dream world and believe that when you are called to something in a dream, you need to pay attention and act upon it as best you can.

Last week I had such a dream and was asked to deliver a message.

The Earth spoke to me in my dream.

And She was pissed...