Tarot for Troubled Times by Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed

When You’re Feeling Lost: The Compass Spread

Surprise. I know I said here in this video that there would be no Sightsee the Tarot episodes over the summer. However, everybody makes exceptions for The Tarot Lady, amiright? I’m so excited about this newly released book, Tarot for Troubled Times (Weiser Books, July 2019) by Shaheen Miro and The Tarot Lady herself, Theresa Reed. So I just had to set aside everything else, make time, and share with you my impressions of the book.

This installment of Sightsee the Tarot walks us through The Compass Spread and then offers some insights into post-reading candle magic, per the guidance and tips you’ll find in this book.

When you’re feeling adrift, like you’re just floating along with no sense of direction, use the Compass Spread by Miro and Reed to chart a steady course.

In this companion post, I want to showcase the book.

Shaheen Miro is the creator of the Lenormand-based Lunar Nomad Oracle, which I’ve reviewed before here. Miro is a psychic card reader, energy worker, and intuitive coach. You can find him on Instagram at @shaheenthedream. He’s one of the course instructors for Tarot Summer School 2019 at the Tarot Readers Academy–Awakening Intuition with Oracles. Be sure to check out that course description and enroll if you want to up your reading levels with oracle cards.

Theresa Reed needs no introduction. I don’t even know where to start or what to say about her credentials that won’t turn into a book! She’s a tarot reader, astrologer, business mentor, podcast host extraordinaire, and someone so many of us can turn to when times have gotten rough. Those of us in the tarot community know we can count on her, so we go to her during our own troubled times.

This collaboration between Miro and Reed comes at the perfect time for our global society. This is a handbook every professional reader needs so that each of us can do our part to contribute to the shaping of our world in a better, more compassionate direction.

The contents of the book parallel The Fool’s Journey. We start in Chapter 1 with “What’s in Your Knapsack?” Here we get journaling prompts where you ruminate on what points in your life you’re feeling stuck or blocked, but also identifying the positive, where you feel blessed and in the flow.

Next is the exploration of shadow and a lot of great insights on what shadow work entails is offered here. Like the first chapter, at the end there are journaling prompts for you to work through.

Then we get an introduction to meditation from a Western New Age perspective, something called Emotional Freedom Technique that sounds like simplified acupressure, and how to create sacred space for yourself. Though I probably come across more flippant than appropriate here, I do acknowledge that this chapter is absolutely valuable and insightful to a beginner.

What I really appreciate about Tarot for Troubled Times is it removes the saccharine-sweet fluff that usually comes with the New Age movement of alternative spirituality while encouraging personal exploration of New Age concepts. I also like how it address psychic vampires and what to do when you encounter them.

Finally, by page 77, we get to the tarot part. Tarot archetypes are explained fully and cogently, and linked to the concept of birth cards. Learn more about yourself by exploring your own tarot archetypes per your date of birth.

I love the way tarot card meanings is presented in this book. It isn’t the old well-hashed glossary in every other tarot book, oh no. Here the meanings are practical, appear multiple times in each chapter as applied specifically to the topics addressed in that chapter, and so you can work with the various facets of inner exploration and look up card meanings from that chapter only, because they’ll be specifically relevant to the exploration.

We then get into techniques for personal healing with the tarot. This is about how to use tarot as a mirror for reflecting your inner world out, so you can see what it is you look like on the inside.

Then there are some of the most emotionally intense tarot spreads you’ll ever encounter. There’s a two-card easy spread to work with when you’re feeling low. There’s the Grief Spread, Tarot for Addiction, how to do a reading for when you or someone you know who is an addict has relapsed, the Compass Spread showcased in this installment of Sightsee the Tarot, and so much more.

The episode also combines the Compass Spread with spell-crafting, which is featured in this book. Chapter 7 is all about magic and integrating magic with the tarot. You get a condensed spell book with a lot of wonderful tips and techniques in the world of folk magic.

Tarot for Troubled Times has a strong social conscience. The book closes with how you can look up and out into the world around you to see how you can personally contribute to positive social and civil change. There are instructions on how to calculate your Year Card in tarot and the significance of your Year Card.

For instance, my Year Card for 2019 is Key 9: The Hermit. I look up The Hermit in this specific chapter and see that this year, I support my community by taking care of my own well-being. Positive themes this year are wisdom, introspection, focus on education and spiritual growth, and fostering peace. Negative themes are repeating history’s mistakes and not learning from erroneous judgment.

The book does not shy from politics and underscores the importance of political consciousness in personal spirituality. I love this. I can’t get over how much I love this.

There’s a lot to learn here about how to use ritual work for fostering social consciousness and using magic and tarot for social justice.

We close with this beautiful blessing from Shaheen and Theresa:

Let this book be the first step in your revolution and let’s change the world.

Tarot for Troubled Times by Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed comes all too synchronistically. We need this book right now. Our tarot community needs this book right now. This is one of the most dynamic and poignant modern handbooks on the tarot I’ve come across.

Two masters of the craft team up to be your guide as you navigate the shadow side of your own being. The exercises in this book will help to liberate you from old patterns of thought and habit, and break through limiting beliefs.

This is a magical book filled with spell-crafting, journaling exercises, dealing with psychic vampires, dealing with addiction or depression and anxiety, ritual work, and so much more.

Absolutely superb.

Order Your Copy of

Tarot for Troubled Times

FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 255, “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” I received Tarot for Troubled Times from the publisher for prospective review. However, I was ready to buy my own copy and was just waiting for the release date. Unforeseen by me, the review copy was sent to me prior to that date. Everything I’ve said here is sincere and accurately reflects my opinion of the book, though in full disclosure of potential biases, I count Theresa Reed as a friend.