River is back after an unexpected hiatus. She shares how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her personally this winter, and she reviews the major events of the past three months. And then she asks the Tarot: what's important right now? When death is swirling around us and we may not have the energy to deal with all of our life's challenges, it's important to understand our priorities and to address them. Using a three-card, body/mind/spirit spread, River draws the Queen of Cups, the Nine of Cups, and the Four of Swords. These cards are asking us to pause, to open our minds,  to truly reflect on our most basic needs, to prioritize meeting those needs in whatever way makes sense for us, and to be grateful for what we do have. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

It's December. The moon is waning, we’re approaching the end of the year, and winter is also coming  here in the northern hemisphere. The ongoing strain of living through a pandemic, combined with all of these natural and temporal milestones, should perhaps motivate us to go inward, to truly think about the things that are no longer serving us, and to identify what we can release, let go, or move on from. With everything we have on our minds, River asks the Tarot: What should I release? And looks for what we should separate ourselves from that's weighing us down. In response, she draws the High Priestess reversed, and the Five of Pentacles. Focusing on the interplay between inner wisdom and social interaction, between abundance and scarcity, these cards suggest that what is weighing us down is inside of us, and what can cause us to rise up is outside of us. For some added inspiration this week, River looks to Dorothy Hunt's poem, Peace is This Moment Without Judgment. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

This week, River confesses that she's not her best self right now, but she leans into the spirit of Thanksgiving in the hopes that a good dose of gratitude will cause a cosmic shift. She asks the Tarot, how can I give thanks? and in response, she gets the Ten of Swords, the Ten of Cups, and the Seven of Wands reversed.  As we continue to deal with COVID-19, if an attitude of gratitude can trigger an upward spiral, finding the right way to express gratitude seems like a worthy endeavor. Special thanks this week go out to fellow podcaster, Marco Timpano, without whom this podcast would likely not exist. Check out Marco's podcasts in your favorite podcast app: The Insomnia Project, Eat and Drink, Born on this Day, and Every Place is the Same. 

This week, River is contemplating the nature of truth, something that we think of as empirical, quantifiable, and verifiable, and yet that often we can't agree on. Since we can't always know exactly WHAT the truth is, River asks the Tarot, where's the truth? The cards that reveal themselves in response are the Two of Wands, the Hierophant, and the Nine of Wands reversed. While the Hierophant suggests that our current systems are asking us to defer to dogma and to block our ability to think critically, the Two of Wands reminds us that learning and thinking and contemplation can help us know the truth, but that we must get out into the wilderness of the Nine of Wands to truly find it  and defend it if we must. In this episode, River relies on some words from the Buddha and Theodore Roosevelt. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

Since the last episode, the US presidential election has happened, and it looks as though Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been elected. With this apparent seismic shift in the political landscape, River wonders what will happen next. She asks the Tarot, "What now?", wondering how we should deal with this historic moment. In response, she draws the Knight of Wands reversed and the Four of Pentacles. These cards are indicating that there is tension between change and stability that needs to be navigated very carefully in this troubled time. As we continue to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, the Tarot is asking us to pace ourselves and to work from our true intentions. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

This episode comes at a very important moment in time. We've just marked Halloween, Samhain, and the Day of the Dead. In the northern hemisphere, we're headed towards winter. And, in the United States, we're about to find out the results of the 2020 Presidential election. With all of this in mind, River asks the Tarot: where does it hurt? with the intention of discovering what most needs healing right now. In response, the Tarot deals the Hermit, the Tower, and the Seven of Swords -- all reversed. The cards remind us that in a moment of upheaval, we must re-examine our relationship with solitude, and remember that there are no shortcuts to creating a safer and more peaceful world. This week, River recommends the Tara Brach podcast and references two poems: "What They Did Yesterday Afternoon" by Warsan Shire, and "No Man Is An Island" by John Donne. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

River is back from her fall break and is trying to generate some motivation by looking ahead to Halloween and to the Presidential election. However, the daily grind is getting to her, and she's wondering how to move on from that feeling of being trapped in the COVID-19 edition of the movie Groundhog Day, in which every day is the same, and  moving forward feels impossible. To gain some insights, she does some role playing, stepping into the shoes (or perhaps onto the rock) of the Greek titan, Prometheus, who was damned by Zeus to be chained down and to have his liver pecked out by an eagle each day, for all eternity.  She asks the Tarot, what would Prometheus do if he were living through 2020? In response, she gets the Knight of Cups, the Three of Wands reversed, and the Ace of Swords reversed. In a spread with uncanny references to Prometheus -- adventure, eagles, a rock, and fire -- we get the suggestion that we can't live from our deepest, most creative intentions unless we slow down, quiet our mind, and wait until the moment when our plans can be fulfilled. Since the Day of the Dead is also coming up, River also recommends trying out a death meditation using the Insight Timer. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

During a particularly ugly week in which the Hating, Superspreader President of the United States has doubled down on his enthusiasm for White Supremacy and has come down with COVID-19, spreading it among his staff and supporters, host River Rose is doing some counter-programming by asking the Tarot: Where is the Love? In return, she draws the Queen of Wands reversed, the Page of Swords, and the Nine of Pentacles reversed. In this cautious but mind-opening spread, we are reminded that our best source of love is each other, and that we must keep an open mind and pursue truth to find it. Among River's sources of inspiration this week are David Attenborough's Twitter account, Twinsthenewtrend's YouTube channel, and the co-opting of the #proudboys hashtag. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

Life can be a lot to deal with at any given time, and in the midst of a global pandemic, while you're also dealing with social and political upheaval, it can feel impossible to keep going. To address the state of overwhelm that so many of us are dealing with, host River Rose asks the Tarot: what can I do to get unstuck? In response, we get the Six of Cups, the Eight of Pentacles, and the Seven of Cups reversed. What wisom do these cards of water and earth have to share in a moment of overwhelm? Join River to find out. This week, River recommends The Daily podcast from The New York Times, which recently did a two-part episode about Breonna Taylor; you can check it out here. To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].

In the tenth episode of Tarot for a Troubled Time, River Rose reflects on the transitions we're going through right now, from the new lunar cycle to the changing of the season and to the loss of Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In honor of Justice Ginsburg, who made incalculable contributions to women's rights, human rights, and justice, River asks the Tarot a very important question: how can I be an ally? In response, the Tarot deals the Four of Cups and The Moon, both reversed. What do these cards have to tell us about supporting others so that we may advance equality for all of us? To connect with River, follow her on Instagram (@callmeriverrose) or Twitter (@callmeriverrose) or send her an email at [email protected].