Black Cow Coffee in Croton-on-Hudson is more than a coffee shop. It is a member of the community; a gathering place with a welcoming, inclusive vibe and positive energy. This summer, in addition to their awesome traditional and seasonal menu, they hosted Progressive Tarot card readings with Joy on July 12 and August 16.
Progressive Tarot tenders a spiritual point of view that empowers, inspires, and provides hope needed to move life forward. Joy, a Hudson Valley resident, describes herself as a highly intuitive empath and visual artist. She graduated from Laguardia High School then went on to earn a Graphic Arts degree at Westchester Community College followed by a B.A. in Media Studies and Public Relations from Hunter College. She says, “The images and symbolism in the tarot deck spoke to me and taught me a lot about myself and how to build a happier life. Now I’ve been reading tarot cards for 7 years.”
Healing meditation raised Joy’s awareness frequency and highlighted her gift to “feel” situations. “The first time I held tarot cards, I was attending sketch classes. The tarot deck was one of the sketch model themes. And I saw 11:11, a spiritual awakening.” In numerology, number 11 is the master number. It is linked to intuition, high energy, and spiritual light. Seeing 11:11 doubles the power of number 1. Number 1 means new starts and creation.
Tarot became popular in 14th century Italy with a traditional deck of playing cards. It was brought into the modern world with the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck created by academic author and mystic, Arthur Edward Waite and illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith. The deck consists of 78 cards—22 Major Arcana cards that represent life themes, spiritual lessons, and standard journeys—and 56 Minor Arcana cards that are divided into four suits that reflect practical challenges, everyday situations, and emotions—Cups (Relationships and Emotions), Pentacles (Money, Work and Material Goods), Swords (Communication and Mental Processes), and Wands (Action and Creativity). There are also court cards in the tarot deck—Page (Learning and Maturity), Knights (the fastest moving energy in the deck), Queen (Conduits and Nurturer), and Kings (Master of their suit.) Fools Journey is a popular storytelling metaphor used to learn the 22 Major Arcana cards. The cards represent life’s sequential steps beginning with the innocent Fool (the zero card) birth or new beginning and ends with the World (21 card) at total spiritual completion.
There is significance in not only the imagery on a card but in the number of specific cards that appear during a reading. Joy says, “For example, when I see more Major Arcana cards, the Universe is trying to get a client’s attention.”
Many see tarot as a means for telling the future. “Most of my clients seek guidance about careers, finances, and relationships. My readings cover the present through 12 months into the future. Readings often reflect the subconscious. When we hear the word energy, we automatically associate it with turning on a light switch. But what we think, speak, write, and the relationships we form create energy. That energy is reflected in card images, symbolism, and numerology.” What makes readings with Joy unique is “I ask the cards about different issues in our world that people aren’t paying attention to, and I also do readings based on planetary alignment.
Joy’s Progressive Tarot is increasing in popularity. Clients feel comfortable with her. She explains the cards, so they fully understand what they show. “They don’t come to me desperate or dependent on tarot. They look for advice about patterns they keep repeating. The energy revealed during the reading gives a client faith to move their lives forward.”
Joy is available for individual readings, private occasions, and corporate events. For more information, to see her pop-up locations, or to book a reading contact Joy at: www.progressivetarot.com
