I LOVE September. It's my Birthday month and it see's the mood shift from swirling Summer to a slightly more chill Autumn. Spiritually it takes the pressure off. It helps us doze a little longer and start to go inward ready for the hermetic power of Winter. Which basically means you are off the hook, you will feel you have more choice in what you do, and you can protect your heart and mind better from the relentless energy of 'doing' that is beginning to wear thin after a busy Spring and Summer. 

AUSTRALIA / NZ Of course if you inhabit other parts of the world where Spring is coming, reverse that. For you it is time to jump up and be busy, with all the energies and ideas incubated over Winter... The tarot below remains true no matter where you are in the world! 

Our card for September 2019 is... The Princess of Cups. Scroll down to see what that means for you...

September 2019. Let's pull no punches here, your heart is aching. Though not in a painful way, but more a song of longing, mourning and hope. We are moving into a period of true awakening to the power of our hearts, physical and etheric. We are not ruled by our brains in the way humanity has understood in modern times. Indeed our brains, cold and logical and full of worry have brought more pain and anxiety and trauma than we care to think about.

The way forward is the heart. You are opening and awakening to that forgotten wisdom. So if you feel a juddering, an energy,  a sweet heaviness in your chest, acknowledge it, learn to abide by it. For it is not wrong my sweets.

Of course, you can easily overrule the wisdom of your heart, the feelings and knowings she whispers. As you have been doing for too many years. But right now, this very month, she is making herself known and it is in your power to feel her. From this point on, everything, everything, everything changes. Your understandings of self, your belief in your intuitive knowing, your ability to be in the moment and to be empathic, solitary, empowered and loving. All of these things are up for grabs, for the better. 

This month, go with what your heart knows. Give her space to expand, which she will do when you acknowledge what she is trying to say. She is not wrong. She knows all. She is connected to your spirit in ways your mind never truly can be. She is making herself known so that you can move forward. Be(at) with your heart.

A beautiful card for our month ahead. For personal guidance I have reopened my tarot readings and healing practice, purchase yours here... READINGS AND HEALING

How is your heart burning and opening - please share in the comments below and let's really talk... 

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What does August 2019 have in store for you?

Well first I want to speak intuitively (without the cards). Here I connect to spirit and receive a powerful overview of the mood, the themes and the type of energies we can expect.

August 2019 - This month is one of two halves. One folding seamlessly into the other. The first half, the first couple of weeks, will see us stalled and waiting. It's not an unpleasant experience, circumstances are just not quite ripe for movement. We are busy and distracted with everything and anything else that comes our way! 

As the full moon approaches (15th Aug), this stilling will start to melt and rapid movement will occur. Which means that things you have awaited, will begin to pop into your reality. Rather than jumping with excitement, it is very likely you will simply roll happily towards these long awaited movements and changes. The pause you were in had purpose. It set you up for calm, pleasant seas going forward. Because you were made to wait, the action you enter into in the second half of the month will make you mellow. All that crazy burnt itself out, and now you are ready for business. Keep the momentum and move forward with a new empowered confidence. 

Tarot for August 2019 - Two of Wands

You stand at the precipice of something greater than you can actually imagine. Which for some may be exciting, for others it may be terrifying. You may wish to see the future clearly before you move forward. But that is not really an option. Instead you must dig deep into your heart and find the trust, the hope, the weird wonderful sense that this situation is imbued with. 

You are not meant to play it small. Nor are you meant to wait much longer. The change you prayed for is here. And it is your job to move towards it, no matter how scary or unexpected it's appearance. Get brave, be bold, trust that this moment is perfect and that the circumstances you find yourself in, are exactly as they should be. One foot in front of the other, as you move in this way, so the view will become familiar and you will acclimatise to the changes that are afoot. You may not know the exact future, but your heart has a feeling all will be well. Let that rule. 

Book your personal reading with Alice...

Love is one of the core reasons a person turns to tarot. So many of my clients come to talk about their life path, and more often than not, this turns into the inevitable discussion of their love path.  Perhaps they have love, but it doesn’t feel right. Or maybe they lost it, and have no idea how, when, or who they may find it with again. The connection of love, or a lack of love, is the one thing that fuels so much of life, and indeed a spiritual path.

After 25 years of tarot practice, and an 18 year relationship with my partner hat has endured through all manner of chaos, drama, trauma, childrearing and cat parenting, I trust and know that tarot can offer, guidance, resolution, hope and enlightenment to any relationship (or lack thereof).

Tarot prompts us to understand our foibles, habits, worries and potentials in truly astounding ways. The images speak truth to our weakness,  and they offer hope to our fears. Tarot represent the gamut of dirty and divine in our everyday, and in doing so, gives us the opportunity to get better, wiser and create a life we would dream about (with or without a significant other). Tarot hold an astonishing mirror up to our hearts, and speak the intuitions that we struggle to hear (or blatantly ignore).
 
So as you step towards your hearts desire a little spirited guidance will not go amiss. Indeed it can help carve through drama and slice right to the clarity, courage and creativity you need to spiritually devour your best love life. I have hand chosen pertinent cards taken from the Cosmic Mother Deck, the deck I painted with my daughter, that will connect you back to the inner wisdom that sits inside all of your choices. These cards were crafted in the bowels of marriage, motherhood and un-conventionality; they speak to the gypsy, queen and sorceress in your soul.  They help to align you with your best self, and from that point, move forward towards your greatest hopes for your romantic pursuits.
 
WHAT TO DO... 

Peruse the images on the cards, ask a question in your mind concerning your current love and romance quandary, and when it feels right, allow yourself to be pulled towards 1 or 2 of the images. Hover over the image to see the name of the card. The answers to your current queries, conundrums and confusions will lay within… Scroll down to read the answers to your whispered words.

Princess of Cups – You know, you could rock up on any beach, stage or platform and they would all feel the same. For what needs to be brought to the party, is not a destination, or a thing or a perfect view, but rather, it is you. And the love you are bubbling over with. This is the most exciting thing here. So don’t pin your heart on the ‘perfect’ day, the ideal ‘home’ or the most wondrous ‘honeymoon’ or even the perfect 'lover'. But rather, recognise that the real celebration is you and all that you have to offer. So allow the party of love to start with the unconditional, potent and inspirational emotions that flow not from a thing, but from a heart, your heart. Let your love rule your world, with or without a partner. For this is what makes the change, power, glee, and transformation that you need.

​Eight of Cups – Your expectations are wonderful; they are formed from that which you already know, the life you have lived, the experiences you are familiar with. You are comfortable, safe, things are easy. There is however, so much more. This card asks you to plough past the familiar and look outside of your own personal box. Look beyond your limitations of this moment. For there are great things just beyond the horizon. Get uncomfortable as you plough towards the next step in your happy ever after… Do not settle for the same old same old. Trust in foreign shores and new beginnings. Alter your expectations to suit your dreams, rather than just your reality. For the potential you house is vaster than you recognise. Expect surprises, expect not to know it all, be ready for events, people, ideas coming from the ether and taking you to new intriguing understandings!
 
The Chariot – You have overcome so much, and yet you may at times feel pulled into all that old drama. Remember, you have survived, you have thrived, you have been guided to this new time, this new moment. It is okay to embrace it, to feel it as real, as true, as deserved. That which went before allowed for you to grow and to become a stronger version of yourself, so that you can fly forward with hope, faith and a big beating heart. And yes, that feels vulnerable. But there is no other way to be. Recognise the strength in your vulnerability. It would be weaker to cower away and refuse your blessings. Do not be that person. Stand tall. See how far you have come. Be wondrous and empowered in the path you have laid and allow it to carry you forward in glorious ways.
 
The Hierophant – The way forward is found in a mingling of the wisdom found in the past, and a sincere hope for the future. Somewhere between these two particular magics, you can uncover the path you need. For we cannot ignore what our past has taught us, nor can we blindly step into the future without some, careful reference of that past. Furthermore, we must not let the blights of the past blind us. It would serve you well to remain effervescently positive, always seeking the best in what life brings. whilst allowing your experience to be the wise guide necessary. This is a careful balanced recipe that you are capable of applying to your  love life and your general life as you move towards the next step. Trust that you hold the key to the life you create and with these words in your heart, applied by your actions, you can create as you wish.
 
Three of Cups – celebration is vitally important right now. Have you taken to the dance floor, to the restaurant, to the coffee shop with your best friends, your beloveds, your kin and had a full on connection party? Just for the sake of it. Just because happiness is best found when we share it with others. This card calls you to connect with those you adore and party out the next feeling, the next outcome. Be in commune and concert with your besties, your friends, and your most adored family. Particularly, you are called to connect with women, for their wisdom, laughter and guidance is the balm to any hurts or concerns you currently have. And they will treat you with joy, with humor and in a way that only women can. So plan a get together, a celebration of your place in life, one that will bring the handholding, healing and belly laughs that are so direly needed.
 
Eight of Wands – events, energy and ideas may be overwhelming you. The demands of creativity, planning and inspiration are overwhelming and dizzying. Allow the ideas to flood through you, hear them all. You need not decide a damn thing just yet. Allow the magic of momentum to carry you to an inevitable outcome. There is no point attempting to stop the stream of excitement as it presents itself to you. Let it wear itself out. Step back, be as objective as you can, know that all will come right, as and when the choices are clear. Clarity is hard found right now. So let the bushel of crazy wear itself thin, in the meantime, enjoy the ride. It is indication that all is well, that you are being guided, and that the spiritual muses have a lot to say to you! So take it onboard gently, trust the pace, don’t fight it.
 
Ace of Wands – passion is nothing to be ashamed of, in whatever way it arises, be it lust, creativity or ferocious frustration. They all have deep purpose in carrying us to the next story of our life. Allow whatever is burning within you to be aired, to find it’s way, to carry you to the next destination. The worst thing you could do is pour water on your hot ideas and your passions. Instead, find ways to stoke the flames and move forward with self-belief and wonder. For the inner flames are not going to consume you, but they will clear the way for new projects, ideas, new ways of loving and intense self love and understanding. Burn baby burn.
 
Two of Swords – The decision you are trying to make may be best left to its own devices. Often in life we reckon we have more control and choice than we actually do. The outcome, being, in the end, rather the same. Meanwhile you expend all our energy in trying to make the right choice. When in fact, the choice has already made us. Do not become closed down to a bigger picture because you are obsessed with petty issues. It’s a false offering. The real issue at hand is far bigger, and this choice is but a distraction. Are you ready to jump, to leap, to take yourself in hand and act with total and utter faith? That is the real question. Whether you are ready are not, you are poised to take the biggest step of your life thus far. There is no arguing with that. So shift your attention from the small details, to the bigger story here. And then call upon your inner strength, your guides, your angels or highest self. See where you are at, and engage faith, hope and happy intent. Make a wish and leap! Do not be held back by getting stuck on one question, when there are a million other possibilities you could be embracing.
 
Nine of Cups – is it possible that you are so lost in the party, the celebration, the rave, that you have lost a little of your center? Perhaps so overjoyed with your circumstance, you have lost track of your own inner self, your hopes and dreams, your compass on reality? It’s not such a bad thing. But this card asks you to step back a little from the planning, momentum and crazy, and spend a few moments with you. Realign with the person you truly are, the hopes you hold, the feelings and intuitions that you have neglected in the relationship merry go round. Get into a deeply indulgent moment of me-time and check in with yourself. Are you okay, are you missing anything, are you dizzy with it all? A little rest and self love is called for so that you can retain a very vital sense of self. Don’t lose yourself in the joining with another. Come back to you.
 
Alice Grist is the author of tarot journal Dirty & Divine and the creator and artist of The Cosmic Mother Tarot Deck.

Regular Tarot Guidance on Alice's busy Instagram page... www.alicegrist.co.uk

Mine certainly was... Like many a white woman before and since me, I thought it was cool to parade through a bunch of indigenous religions and take what I liked...To transfuse their sacred practices into my perspective...To tokenise and treat the difference as quirky, novelty, something for my spirited entertainment and fodder for my first published book...

​And of course I didn't mean harm... But. But. But. That was my privilege, to do what I liked and mean well... Which is not good enough. Not at all. So last year I spoke to my publisher and took my first book #thehighheeledguidetoenlightenment out of print because it was just too full of my harmful borrowings. And now I aim to do better. Every day. To find my own spirituality without trampling over another's or expecting it to serve me in ways that are not mine to take. 

My work since that book has focused on how we all have spirituality within us, and how it is best explored from the events and emotions and instincts of our own experience. It is a hard trip to dismantle our white privilege and to overcome our internalised racism gifted from a culture that hasn't walked its talk yet. But if a spiritual life is anything, it is finding ways to get higher, to connect without harm, and to raise others up when we find them harmed or in need of the power that we have. ​

if you want to work with me, to find your way into your own, unique and personally evoked spiritual practice, please explore my site, check out my books and work with me here... 

Have you seen Doreen Virtue's epic list of all that is bad in the world of the New Age? When I first read it I was mildly miffed, and then, more amused. This 'oh please lady' turned to empathy as I pondered how hard and painful it must have been for her to turn against her own body of work and faiths. Then I forgot all about it, until, prompted by a FB challenge from the lovely George Lizos, my apathy turned to anger as I realised that to denounce a whole host of practices, done by a large number of perfectly good people, who are doing no harm, and simply seeking to find meaning in their lives, is tantamount to hate speech.

Not just hate speech but hate speech that dehumanises the people she critiques by suggesting they are lead by demons. The suggestion being therefore that they are lesser, bad, evil even. Ya' know, because they watch Harry Potter, collect crystals and allowed a self help guru to inspire their lives... 

I don't care about what Doreen's particular faith is. I'm sure it has always been this intolerant. What I care about is her jumping on that bandwagon and using her very public and powerful position to laud fear in the name of 'love'. Because this is where shit starts to go bad. It is by finding demons in others that we start to create divisions, that we make them other, wrong and to be feared. We know where this leads don't we? This kind of grotesque judgment of others, based on what? Her faith, her God, her holy book? Leads to anger, divides, wars, violence, abuse, gas chambers in the name of... There is a dire lack of perspective in her new stance, a blinkering to what is really good and bad, a closed circle that see's only it's own perfectionism and the damnation of all else. 

So no I can't sit back with "love and light" and say, 'each to their own', because she is not affording a whole planet of people that same right. Cos it's not just the hippies she is coming for. It's everyone who is not a fundamentalist like her, it's not just the culturally appropriated beliefs that new agers tend to take, but the faiths that lay behind them, hindu, buddhists, 'eastern mysticism', shamanic faiths, whomever and whatever. (I fear the New Age is a soft target, and I dread to think what she will come out with next, for this route, leads to stronger routes of intolerance as she is buoyed up by fans... I'm guessing Homophobia, Islamophobia, Transphobia as dictated by her God)

​According to Virtue, all faiths, other than hers are demons waiting to pounce. If it's not her precise way of seeing, it's demonic and it's not coming in. Her A-Z, amusing as it might may be, is dictatorial and dangerous. She will be wearing a MAGA hat next and doing Hitler salutes. Strong words I know, but better than saying she is cursed by demons at every damn move she makes, which is basically what she accuses everyone else of. 

I've seen hate. My mum was Gay in the 1980's and my Dad was a priest who became a Wiccan. I've personally been privy, and subject to fear and torment based on those two differences. I've witnessed worse too, I've studied the pain caused by 'isms' at university for a depressing three years. I've sat silent and been tolerant of it as people in power make jokes and make it 'normal'. And from all this experience, all of the hate, so epically, tragically infused into our humanity, it starts from fear. And that fear comes from powerful, well positioned people who speak about divides and demons and difference. 

If you want to use your faith to rail against something, how about crime, war, prejudice or sexual abuse? Because getting your knickers in a twist, publicly, with power, about Star Wars, or Feng Shui, Aliens or Unicorns, or a bit of burned sage, because it is 'of the devil', is an odd way to go. Denouncing things that make people feel better, and as if they have some control, as being based in evil, is a heck of a strong road to take. Whilst in many respects, it is absurd and ridiculous, it is hate, made real. People will suffer as a result of this, as their choices and preferences are called out as dangerous by ordinance of Queen Doreen. 

This A-Z is I hope, where many people will take their 'demons' and flounce off empowered. For there is no other reaction to this. It is pain and fear made manifest. We don't need it. We can be better and rise above this low level, critical, judgemental, fear inducing drama. I'll take my chances with my 'demons' because I've seen real life devils and they don't look anything like what she is lauding. Doreen is now priestess of propaganda, and hate mongering in my book. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Alice's latest book Dirty and Divine for more fierce real life spiritual talk... 

The Hierophant

The direction of your life is beyond you. Higher forces are plotting and pulling you in some truly intriguing directions. Let them. This can be a hard message to take because Free Will is a feisty little minx. How often have you railed against the flow, but perhaps not ended up where you intended? how often have you ignored intuition and chosen something else, to be frustrated or disappointed? Free Will is a wonderful; thing, but sometimes it becomes a burden, presuming you have to fix and plot everything. The good news is that you don't... There is a bigger picture at play if you allow for it... 

2019 has big plans for you and this sometimes means trusting the paths, opportunities, and even the boredom that ensues. There is always something happening in the thick mists of unknowing. You don't need to 'know; the plan for it to work for you. This week you are being asked to hand it over to your highest self, step back and trust that life will, in time, do something wonderfully new and different. You arrant winning by thinking the situation into anything. So you have permission to step off, sit back, let the world carry you for a bit. It may just lead to bigger understandings and happenings than you could ever have envisioned. 

Love Alice x

Book your 2019 Report Reading Now... A fabulous and insightful 12 months ahead forecast divined just for you by Alice Grist. A wonderful way to plot and plan your moves and grooves as you travel through 2019. This is received as a report PDF by email and makes an exciting and intuitive reference tool to help you to access your highest wisdom through the year.

What you get...
Using my Cosmic Mother Tarot, and several of my other most trusted resources (and a big dose of my intuition) you will receive... 
A theme for the year.
An animal guide for the year.
A breakdown of each month in two parts, Theme and Events. This guides you through the feeling and potential happenings of each month, gifting you insight, wisdom and spiritual tools to cope and make the most of all that occurs. 
​A final closure card, to wrap up the year with powerful insight. 

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