An Introduction to Summer McCarthy by Martine Cullum
Hello again,
Today I would like to introduce to you the youngest member of the Moons & Runes team, talented artist, psychic, animal lover and eco-warrior, Summer McCarthy. Bubbly and enthusiastic, Summer is a 4’ 11’ ball of positive energy who keeps everyone’s spirits high when things are at their darkest. Though her dress sense may turn a few heads from time to time, at just 22 years old and looking a lot younger, she knows exactly who she is and wears it proudly. If only we all had her confidence. Take it away, Summer…
Thanks Martine,
You forgot to mention that I am a supporting character in your books and will be writing this blog ‘in character’. Just wanted to make that clear from the off.
Hi Everyone,
Martine has asked me to write this blog for you. I’m not big on writing but I have done a few articles for the Casslewich Chronicle recently about a campaign to clean up the river Cass and an appeal to stop the Cat Rescue Centre being turned into a car park. (We won, by the way). Mostly though, I work with Thea, Marianne, Barnaby, and Jeremy at Moons & Runes, doing private Tarot readings and using my other divinatory skills to help solve cases.
My Take on Divination and How it Works
So, what to write about. I guess Tarot would be the most interesting thing. Have you ever had a Tarot reading, or been tempted to learn? I guess it depends on how you feel about such things. Some people consider it to be messages that come through the cards from spirit. I don’t agree. For me, thee cards, along with every other form of divination, are a means of tapping into the collective unconscious.
It is a popular misconception that we (humans) only use around 90% of our brain capacity, however, we don’t (thank goodness), use it all, all the time.
The ability to carry out divination, to tap into that collective unconscious, is not so much about access to the relevant part of the brain, as it is about our self-consciousness putting restrictions on what we believe we are able to do.
So, how does using Tarot cards, runes, crystal balls and other divination tools help?
In short, they give us permission, or an excuse if you prefer. We can tell ourselves that it’s not us that is tapping into the vast collection of everything that has been and everything that is yet to come, or every possibility and every unchosen path. We can tell ourselves that the cards, the crystal, the runes have some magical or spiritual power, something we can believe in, when actually it’s us all along. To drive home the point, think about when Harry Potter’s Ron Weasley thought he had taken Felix Felicitas and the confidence it gave him.
I’m not saying it’s the right way to think about it, to give our power over to something else, and in every other aspect of life I would be fighting to hold on to our own power, to embrace and cherish it, but with divination it is different. With divination it is about finding out what works, and using the cards, crystals and runes as a means of opening that door to the collective unconscious. It works, so why not use it.
And if you’re not convinced yet
Another reason that I am happy with this way of thinking about divination, is that, as my friend Marianne is fond of saying, it keeps me humble. I can read Tarot, that’s great and I consider myself fortunate to be able to do it. But do I think it makes me special in any way? Absolutely not. I am just grateful for the way I can help people because of it. (Of course, I’m special in so many other ways, but that’s another story. 😊) Helping others is what I like to do most, and in Moons & Runes I have found the best way to do just that.
How I started
I was around twelve years old when my parents were visiting some of my Romani relatives. They had set up home near to where we lived so my mum took the opportunity to visit some of her cousins.
I admit to being a little bit nervous. I knew I had cousins in the Romani community, but I had never met them before. As it turned out, I didn’t meet them then either, but I did meet Dariana, palm reader and psychic who told me I would do the same as she, but my readings would serve a more practical use. And so began my relationship with all things divination.
Being an artist, or heading that way at the age of 12, I was drawn to the symbolism of the Tarot, so over that summer, Dariana and I spent many hours together exploring the cards and their deeper meanings. It was years before I did readings for other people, but I learned to use my cards to go on a journey of self-discovery. If you are new to the Tarot, I would seriously recommend that this is the way to start.
The Tarot and Self-Discovery
In my years of doing readings for myself, I often used a simple three card spread and focused on one particular area of my life. Allowing myself to spend time with my cards helped my personal growth in so many ways, and I list just seven of them below. A word of warning though; it can be tempting to ask the cards about every little thing in your life. This is not healthy. This is not what they are for. As a rule of thumb, I would say, keep your Tarot questions to times when you feel stuck, or when you could really do with some wisdom around a particular subject. And remember, that wisdom will be coming from you; just a wiser and more insightful you. So here’s the list:
Gain insights into situations that surround you
View things from a different perspective
Gain a clearer, all encompassing, understanding
Tap into your inner wisdom
Learn and grow from your journey
Recognise sources of help or support
Identify hidden strengths
If you have no Dariana in your life
I consider myself lucky, having had the world of divination opened to me by such a wonderful woman, and not all of you will be so fortunate, though the right people do tend to gravitate toward you when you need them.
Fortunately, there are many books and courses available now where you can learn the basics, and the basics is all you need because Tarot, like any other form of divination is a personal experience. You need to be shown the basics, yes, but after that you develop your own way.
Here are a few of the books and courses available to you:
If you’re not a member of Audible yet, you can get a free trial when you download Moons & Runes: Legacy, the first book in our Private Investigator series. I do love to listen to books as well as read them, especially when I am trying to learn something.
Just before I go
The Tarot pack that I (and by I, I mean Martine) practised on before writing the Moons & Runes series, is being put up in a draw. For every copy of the limited edition 3 eBook set of Moons & Runes Private Investigators purchased in the UK between now and 31st October 2023, the purchaser will be put into the prize draw.
Just subscribe to this blog and send Martine your photo with the book on display, She will contact the winner for their address in the UK on 1st November. Please note, she cannot post outside of the UK.
For Martine’s international readers, she can offer a similar prize, but it won’t be the one she practised on. Sorry.
Well, time to go. I have a reading to do for one of the shopkeepers in The Pentacle. Hope to see you soon.
Summer
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