I needed my copy ofThe Egyptian Book of the Dead for research purposes recently and couldn’t find it - which is what happens sometimes when you have too many books for your bookshelves!  I went through a few books in the attic and a few more in other spots, got frustrated and decided it would be easier to order another copy.

I picked a Faulkner translation out on  Amazon and then, on impulse, decided to pay a few more dollars for an illustrated edition.

When the book arrived a few days later I was disappointed to see that it was very over-sized.  “Great,” I thought.  “It won’t even fit on the shelf.”  My disappointment evaporated however the minute I opened the book.  This edition, created by James Wasserman, is breathtaking.  My review of this amazing edition with some general background on The Book of the Dead follows.

Wasserman’s book is indeed a work of art, reproducing the 3300 year old, 78 foot long scroll in full with complete translation directly beneath the images it describes.  This beautiful edition allows us to not only read the incredible story but to view and understand the artwork in the context in which it was created.   A display volume worth displaying, this edition is perfect for anyone with an interest in ancient Egypt, ancient religion, mythology or any sort of art.

Fortune Stellar by Christiana Gaudet is not just another how to read tarot book but a guided journey into defining and structuring your own tarot reading business.

The book begins with four very different business case studies: Joe, a retired Social Worker, Lucy, a single mom, Dana, a successful business woman suddenly down-sized and Eugenia a 70 years young experienced reader just making the jump to professional tarot.  Fortune Stellar traces their progress as they conceptualize and initiate their unique tarot businesses through a series of wonderful tarot based exercises design to encourage intuitive thinking and creativity. 

The book covers a wide range of topics including vision and mission statements, structuring your business, branding, the media, ethical issues specific to tarot, creating (and closing) sacred space, and establishing a connection with clients.

Christiana offers great nuts and bolts advice on dealing with dis-empowered clients, giving bad news, working with dependent or dishonest clients, rephrasing questions, strategies for deciphering confusing arrays and your reading comfort zone bottom line.  Hands on intuitive tarot exercises to help the established or would be reader define and manifest their own tarot reading business and  succinct essays on related disciplines such as numerology or Kabbalah make this an extremely well-rounded book.

Not only for tarot professionals, Fortune Stellar can be applied to almost any spiritually based business by anyone who relies on the cards for advice and direction.  In addition to providing wonderful practical and intuitive business advice, the book encourages the spiritually inclined businessperson to empower themselves by looking within as well as to spirit for direction in their chosen field. 

Please Note:  I am thrilled to announce that Christiana will be appearing on The Mystic Review Radio Show Thursday @ 11PM EST on BlogTalkRadio.  We will be taking calls on professional tarot, ethics and spirituality in business.  This is a great opportunity to get some targeted intuitive business advice from one of the best!  And even if you don't catch the show it will be available at the above URL in the archives on an ongoing basis.

About Christiana:  Certified Tarot Grandmaster Christian Gaudet has been a successful, full-time tarot professional since 1994.  From her office in West Palm Beach, Florida, she offers reading and instruction to a world-wide clientele.  Christiana is the founder of Tarot Circle study groups In CT, PA and FL (how we met), and is currently the organizer of the Tarot Circle Meetup of the Palm Beaches.  Christiana has performed readings on nightclub stages, broadcast radio and network television.  She is a sought-after speaker and teacher at conferences and festivals nationwide.

I consider myself so lucky to have such a dear and thoughtful friend.   Everything about this gift was perfect from the lovely gypsy graphic with the tiny purple third eye sequin to the gift of a deck I have long admired.  It's rare to find such a giving and supportive person, let alone one who is so alike in spirit  and has such wonderful energy!  Actually the only person besides myself, I allow to handle my cards.  I will always treasure this deck!

I read an interesting article today on Llewellyn's blog page called Jumper Cards.  Not only do I love the topic but was pleased to see that it was written by Tarot author Barbara Moore who has written fantastic guides on a number of decks including one of my own personal favorites The Mystic Faerie Tarot.

I enjoy Barbara Moore's blog and thought that Jumper Cards was a great article.  It got me thinking too, which is always a good thing.  A short time later, it inspired this post.  

So what are jumper cards?  Jumper cards are what many Tarot readers call cards which fall or spring out of the Tarot deck when a reader or client is handling the cards.  Sometimes these cards seem obviously dropped through carelessness.  Other time they seem to almost have a life of their own.

Some readers disregard jumper cards.  Most, however, assign them varying levels of importance and this is my approach as well.  How seriously do I take jumper cards?  Pretty seriously, actually, though the degree of significance I accord them is dependent on several factors.

I will say first of all that while I disagree with the saying, "there are no accidents," I do believe that life is a lot less random than many people suppose.  I also believe that spirit has the ability to act upon conventional 3D reality.  For me, this makes any card that falls out of the deck significant.  All jumpers are not created equal, however, and I take several factors into consideration when applying these very special cards to a reading.  

The mechanics of the jump.  Cards that spring out of the deck are more notable to me than those I loosely drop.  Cards that fall out when I feel I have a good grip on the deck are more notable too.  Ask yourself, how hard did this card have to work to make itself noticed?  Or more properly, how hard did spirit have to work to bring this particular card to my attention?  

While I do not understand how spirit manifests in the physical world, I am fairly certain it requires significant effort.  It is my experience that spirit will always take the path of least resistance in this regard.  When manifestation appears to require a great deal of energy, it is particularly meaningful. 

The juxtaposition of thought.  I always pay particular attention to what thought is in my awareness at the time of the jump.  This thought may be the reading topic.  Then again, it might not.   When it is not, I accord it additional importance.

Suppose you are about to ask the cards a career question.  You think to yourself, I will never get out of this dead-end job and out pops the Tower.  This can, and should, be interpreted in regard to the reading as a whole but it is safe to say that spirit is trying to tell you that change is possible and likely to be far-reaching if and when  it is realized.  

Surprise and spontaneity are usually very good indicators of credibility in regard to any kind of spiritual phenomena.  The combination of an unexpected jump with a stray or spontaneous thought is particularly noteworthy. 

Trumping the question.   In life and in Tarot we frequently ask the wrong questions.   Contradictory or confusing readings can mean that your question is not the question that spirit wants to address.  Clients hate this, and sometimes readers do too, but if you read Tarot you have to believe that spirit will lead you to the info that most needs to be communicated. And this is often what jumpers do best.

When I get a jumper that seems to have nothing to do with the question at hand, I will usually reflect, rephrase or even change the question completely.  This is largely an intuitive process but if you are unsure, you can let the cards help.  Imagine that you drop the Eight of Pentacles in the middle of a relationship reading.  Should the client work harder at the relationship, or is spirit not particularly interested in the relationship at all and trying to tell the client to concentrate on their career?

One way to deal with this is to set the jumper aside and ask, usually silently, a new or reworded question, drawing a few more cards as you go.  I do this quite often in readings when the cards just don't seem to fit but I find especially illuminating with jumpers.  In the relationship reading above, more Pentacles, Wands or a couple Majors may indicate that the reading needs to go in a somewhat different direction.

Beyond Tarot.  I have had a lifetime of experience with what many people call supernatural phenomena.  The majority of these experiences have been auditory, visual or emotive and there was a time when I believed that spirit could not directly manipulate the world of solid space.  Ten years ago however I had a series of experiences that contradicted that assumption.

The first happened at Walden Books.  I was there to buy a book on whatever historical topic was of interest to me at that time.  Walking down the aisle, a book by medium John Edward flopped off the shelf and fell directly in front of me.  It struck me as odd.  The shelves were closed.  The floor was not moving.  The friend who was with me said, You better buy that book.  So I did.

I read the book and watched the show.  A few weeks later I bought a ticket to see John Edward in NYC.  At that venue, and after, a number of unusual things happened.  During one reading, a rose petal drifted toward the girl who was being read.  There were bouquets lining the stage and Edward pointed that out, seemingly unimpressed.  The girl, however, caught the petal and started to cry.  Her dead uncle it seemed had had a connection to roses.

I caught up with the girl at intermission.  Satisfied that she was not a plant, I wished that someone from beyond the veil could have taken the trouble to send a rose petal my way.  It was a great show but I did not get a reading and I left feeling a little let down.  Outside on the endless concrete of the downtown New York I looked down and saw a single small broken piece of hemlock with a tiny pine-cone attached.  A few steps later, I found an acorn and oak leaf.  

Synchronicity.  The hemlock is my tree, as well as the state tree of Pennsylvania, and it has always meant home to me.  The oak was a tree I had read about pretty extensively, one I had used in a recent art project and whose symbolism was of interest to me at that time.   And trees in general are especially meaningful to me.

Reviewing the events of that day it occurred to me, not for the first time, that significant things tend to happens in threes.  At that time, three was my number. I was a believer in messages even then and this message seemed clear.  However unlikely, I found myself believing that spirit had the ability to physically act upon the plane of our ordinary reality.

That belief has stayed with me and I find myself paying better attention to what goes on in the physical realm.  When something unusual happens, I stop and ask myself what it might mean.  There is no better time to do that, in my opinion, than when we read Tarot.