Calculating your tarot year card

For those of you who may be interested in what kind of a year is coming up in 2014, calculating your tarot year card is a fun way to predict the overview of the events and happenings for the next 365 days. To begin with:

What is a tarot year card?

A tarot year card is a specific tarot card from the major arcana deck, not drawn at random, but calculated through numerology, used to outline the events (at a general level) of the upcoming year. 

How do I calculate my tarot year card?

First, add the day and month of your birthday together, along with the year you want to get the year card for. For this example, I will use December 24. 

        12

        24

+  2014

_________

    2050

Next, add all the numbers of this sum together.

2 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 7

If your birthday is on December 24, your tarot year card for 2014 would be 7!

Great, I have a number. Now what do I do with it?

Every card in the major arcana of a tarot deck is numbered, up to 21. Find the card that relates to your number. Learn Tarot has a list of the cards, as well as a few key words for each, so that you can get an idea of what the card represents. 

Cool, but what does it mean?

You've looked up the meaning of your card, but are still unsure of how this relates to your upcoming year. Sticking with the example of the 7, we see that it relates to The Chariot. The key words listed were Victory, Will, Self-assertion, and Hard Control. Based on these keywords, one might predict that their 2014 will be filled with a "No more!" attitude. Taking a stand for what you want and what you believe in may lead to victories both on a universal, macro level, and also on a personal, micro level. This could lead to big changes and a whole lot of movement (just like the chariot!). However, on a deeper level, the chariot also means many hard choices may also be in your future. (Thanks, could you vague that up for me??) No, seriously! If you look at The Chariot, you can see two sphinx figures (or in other decks, two horses), one black and one white. These figures represent change, choice, and decision. Just remember that it is the Charioteer's job to steer them in the right direction and take control of the situation. Now look back at the keywords. Are you going to be a victorious, self-assertive charioteer that projects his will onto the choices and hard decisions in his upcoming future? Or are you going to let the obstacles, choices, and changes control where your life goes?

This is my interpretation of the chariot. This is by no means, the only way to interpret this card. If you feel that your card means something different to you, no matter what any books or blogs have to say about it, then that is what the card means to you. That's what's so great about tarot! It's completely up for interpretation. 

Have fun calculating! And if you have any questions, just ask a friend that is into tarot. I'm sure they'd love to answer your questions.

Happy New Year

Lindor truffles will be the death of me. That being said, happy New Year! Lots of people get really excited about the new year, but for me, New Years always seemed sort of anticlimactic. In an attempt to wrap up the last year of my life, here is a list of the good things that happened in 2013:

• I actually stuck to my exercise regiment I set up for myself last December, and have lost 15 pounds! (Although the holiday cookies have definitely not been helping)
• I have turned my wardrobe into a personal reflection of myself, and each day when I pick out my outfit, I dress like the type of person I want to see out there in the world
• I went to Disney world, and went on a plane for the second time in my life (and loved it!!!)
• This year, I became an official member of a local Rotary Club, aiming to help the community on both a local and international level.
• I learned how to hula hoop
• I started planning for, and finally got this blog up and running

I've decided not to list the bad things because there were too many and no one ever likes reminiscing about the bad stuff...unless you are Wednesday Adams. 

So what will 2014 be like? I guess that really depends on my mindset. So to set up some aspirations for the new year, here is a list of GOALS:

• My family and I have set up the starts of what will be a beautiful vegetable garden in our own back yard. We plan on growing tons of fresh fruits and vegetables that will help promote a healthier lifestyle for us all. My family attended a MEN fair to get some useful gardening tips.
• With that, I plan on continuing my exercise into 2014 to get healthy, sexy, and fit! (stay tuned for a post of my favorite exercises)
• I saw this great idea on Facebook where you take a jar and fill it with all the good things that happen to you during the year, and at the end of 2014, you empty it and reminisce! 
• I will be participating in Gala Darling's Radical Self Love project, which is an ongoing lifestyle project that promotes self love, healthy living, and kindness in all forms, both for yourself and for everyone around you!
• I hope there will be some travel in my future. I absolutely loved New York and would love to go back. I'd love to go to comicon next year, and maybe even somewhere overseas! (At the very least, I can start saving for these trips)
• I hope I get kissed. Lots. 

And as always, some mandatory goals as well:

• Be kinder
• Be less diffident (A new word I learned from following my friends amazing blog, which can be found here)
• Get rid of toxic relationships
• think positive
• eat more vegetables
• drink more water
• engage with the world more and be less passive
• let my uniqueness shine
• love myself more 

What are some of your goals and resolutions for the new year?

I'm not a shop boy.

For those of you who don't know, my post graduate degree has landed me with a nice receptionist job. It's no one's fault, really, but what do you do with a BA in Anthropology? While being a receptionist was never one of my lifelong goals, i have learned some very valuable skills over the last year.

Growing up, I was incredibly shy. I never talked more than I had to, and didn't care enough to have much of a social life, so my communication skills were practically nonexistent. It was the thing I lacked most, and it was the one thing that I felt was absolutely essential to be successful in anything in life. And then i started working at a hair salon in my hometown, and i was just so happy to be getting a job that i didn't think about what the job actually entailed. My official title is "receptionist"; one who receives people. I am the first thing clients see when they walk through the doors, and i am the first impression they get of the salon when i talk to them over the phone. For the first few months of the job, I was convinced that they had hired the absolute wrong girl. The job was everything i hated or feared in life! (Talking on the phone, making small talk with anyone and everyone waiting for their appointments, telling off salesmen, and doing all of this with the brightest smile) yeah, it didn't sound like me at all. I was used to being the one in the background, no makeup, shabby hair, i wore hoodies and jeans more than anything else, and i understood caveman speech better than smalltalk.

Here I am,  a year and a half later, doing things I would never even considered doing in the past; talking on the phone (and doing it WELL!), starting up conversations with people of all ages, taking a leadership position and being part of a team. I feel like I have grown so much as a person from my experience in the beauty industry.

The Point:

For those of you feeling discouraged about a current life choice or position, just remember:

1. It won't last forever
2. There is something to be learned in every aspect of life
3. Accepting those lessons can help you get the job you daydream about, and they might just make you a more rounded person as well.
4. The people you meet and the connections you make will stay with you as long as you allow them to
5. Have fun!

Just because you don't have the dream job you've always wanted right now doesn't mean that it is unattainable. The only way you will be in a life long career that you hate is if you allow yourself to be there. You don't like your job? Change it. It may be hard, but making excuses won't help you either. Having a positive mindset is pretty important! So you've landed a job that is not using your full potential. What can you do while you are planning your next step, and what can you learn in your current position? Just remember that your social standing and self worth are not defined by the job you have.

And as my favorite author, Neil Gaiman said in Stardust; 

"There are shop boys, and there are boys who just happen to work in a shop for the time being. And trust me Tristan, you're no shop boy."

Hi there!

My first post comes to you in the midst of holiday chaos and festivities. I have camped out on my stairs, bundled in my favorite hello kitty blanket. I always loved sitting on the stairs during the holidays when I was little because of the twinkle light garland that we wrapped around the banister. I always thought the dim lighting was always the most magical part of the holiday season. I also have a mug full of my favorite cran-apple juice, which is being kept nice and freezing cold due to the fact that my father loves to keep the house at a comfortable 58 degrees during winter. As a mini introduction to me, the blogger, I can say that I am very pleased to be starting up this blog and hope that it will help many others as much as I hope it will help myself. I live in the North Eastern United States and the snow has finally started to settle in for the winter. Good thing my family and I are so similar to the Stark family and totally revel in the cold weather. Wow, kicking things off with a Game of Thrones reference. I guess you can already tell what kind of blog this is going to be.

But in case you don't, here is what I have planned for Queendom this year. This blog was designed to follow me through my post graduate career and life, which, in itself, is always packed full of nerd culture, vintage fashion trends, plenty of anthropology research, and artistic inspiration and experimentation. So if any of that sounds interesting to you, stick around because you are bound to see tons of stuff aimed to kill normalcy. Yep, I have a mission, and that is to make everyone question the norms around them, to think differently, and to bring their own unique gifts and traits into the world!

Was that an ok introduction? I hope so.

Now let's get down to what I am very excited to say is my very first post to Queendom!

It's December 14th, and somehow, christmas has snuck up on me this year. Many people are blaming the late thanksgiving, but I really have no excuse. I've always had such an easy time buying gifts for my family and friends, but this year I've hit a roadblock that I just can't seem to get around. Everyone has me stumped this year! So I turned to the internet to help me find those perfect, unique gifts for my loved ones. And I wasn't disappointed. Here's what I found:

• For those nerds who love showing off their fandom pride, superherostuff has some wonderful superhero stuff!
• Heruniverse also had some great geek chic apparel.
• For the more rad steampunk fans in your family, Shanalogic has everything from Cthulu to American-Horror-Story-esque jewelry and accessories. 
• This etsy shop has the coolest patches I've seen so far, for all your punk DIY fashion needs.
• And for the more conservative hippie on your list, these acorn necklaces are not only cute, but incredibly well made! I bought one for my friend's birthday and she loved it. 

Welp, that's all for today. Good luck with christmas shopping! Stay tuned for more cool posts.