I recently attended a psychic fair. There, I set up my table and waited for the public to arrive. I did a lot of foot tapping at this particular event. Traffic was sparse. Yet, the night before, I remember feeling that “tomorrow will be a good day”. In spite of the less then abundant flow of traffic, it met my expectations. Many a reader may have felt that, given this money-less day, it was not worth the trip. When I left, I knew that it indeed had been a very good day.

Our world, of late, has been filled with tragedy upon tragedy. The energies have left so many people hurting and bereft. As I pondered this phenomenon, I realized that what has been happening is what I consider a “ripple affect”. Any time major energies disperse, they are like a drop that hits the water. That drop sends a ripple outward from its center, the bigger the drop, the bigger the ripple. Now let us add natural laws. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Tragedy pushes the human spirit to the brink. The energies sent outward can affect people around the globe. We often forget how interconnected we all are while we live in these human shells. Ultimately, we are spiritual beings. We feel what happens in the spirit, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

Our card this month is the Ten of Wands from the Ethyrial Tarot © 2005. We see a well-formed ripple. All around are wands touching the water, accentuating the ripple affect. Water is a common symbol for not only emotions, but also for spirit. The wands tend to represent energy and spiritual matters. The number ten is a number of fulfillment and change. All of these elements fit into this idea. Everything we do has an affect on someone else, whether we are aware of it or not. For “sensitives” around the globe, the natural disasters’ ripples have touched farther then anyone could have expected.

I started this article by talking about attending a psychic fair. Although the day heralded minor financial benefits, it did bring some amazing opportunities to alter the types of ripples thrust into the world. Nearly every person who sat down at my table was in some kind of crisis. Each person bore emotional and spiritual scars. Some had no idea how deeply they ran. Others came looking for some relief. What I was given was the opportunity to change the ripples. When I do a reading, the outcome depends upon the openness and willingness of the client. The more willing the person is to accept some kind of relief and assistance, the better the reading tends to progress. In the cases of those that sought me out at this particular fair, there were many open souls looking for solace.

Another natural law is that when an object is in motion, it tends to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force. The many ripples of grievous nature would naturally continue to grow unless something countered their progress. These people started the alternative course in their lives by looking for someone to help them. There are many people who read tarot. All too many of such are in the business for one thing, profit. Mind you, I see nothing wrong with being paid for services rendered. My discontent occurs when the money is the goal rather then the compensation. Desperate souls have reached out to many such individuals and those that are predators have happily accepted their money, speaking useless words to placate their customers and lead them back to their doorsteps for more fleecing. For the ethical reader, this can make it difficult to reach someone in need. People, who have had the displeasure of being taken for this particular ride, learn to distrust anyone who claims to be a psychic or other type of spiritual advisor. It is appalling how many unethical readers have tarnished the reputations of the honorable ones. Still, somehow, the people who are meant to find the respectable ones do.

As I sat at my table, taking in the myriad of woe-ridden tales, I was humbled to realize that I was able to offer hope and guidance to these individuals. I was entrusted to help change the ripples in their lives. This concept moved me to consider just how far-reaching this kind of action could be. Imagine if every one of us were more serious about how our words and actions affected others. The ripple affect can bring good or bad energies with it. Perhaps we do not think that anything we do will have any affect on anyone else. Ruminate on this for a moment. Have you ever had a bad day? No doubt, everyone has. On one of those days, have you ever had the experience of someone smiling at you? Perhaps it was a complete stranger, but they looked right at you and flashed the pearly whites. Did that small gesture alter your bad day, even just a small amount? Alternatively, did you start out with a mildly bad day, but have everyone and everything around you add pins to an overflowing voodoo doll in your image? Not only did your day get worse, but also it did so to an extreme degree. This is the ripple affect.

To pursue this further, imagine starting out your day behind schedule. You run into a store only to find an old woman struggling with a cart. She is blocking your progress and you are growing ever more frustrated at this delay. You have a choice. You can push your way past this struggling senior, huffing as you go about “old people” and be on your way. Doing this might speed up your progress, but what kind of ripple have you left for that woman and for yourself? Your other choice is to stop and offer to help the woman with the obstinate cart. She thanks you and gives you a smile of appreciation. Now how does your day feel? Not only do you feel better about yourself for having helped someone, but also you have started a “good” ripple for this senior citizen. Giving blesses twice, once the recipient and once the giver.

I recall a movie in which a young boy, for a school project, decides to do something helpful for three people. His instructions are that those people should pay him back by doing the same thing, helping other people. The conclusion is that one kind act could spread around the world if everyone followed suite. Think about that for a moment. One act of kindness on your part could change the world. Is that awe inspiring? It should be. Everything that we do, whether we see the results or not, affects the world around us. Each ripple we send out will eventually return to us. When a wave crashes upon the shore, it sends back out to sea a return of energy. Sooner or later, that ripple will ricochet back toward you. Knowing this, what kind of energy do you want to send out?

Sometimes we tend to see this world as a very separate and disparate entity. Contrarily, there is an ocean of energy that encompasses the entirety of humanity. Each thing that we do creates a ripple. If we hate, the ripple sends out hate father then we can consciously know. I spent one Saturday trying to offer sound advice and counsel to injured souls. I did not reap the benefits of cash. I did reap the benefit of being able to help change the futures of a few people. Surely, some may read the words, “change the future”, and think that I have an awfully high opinion of my actions. In fact, any such opinion is irrelevant. Truth is truth and one truth that holds is that we all affect others around us, whether for good or for ill. I simply made a choice toward kindness.

We have no idea just how powerful our words and actions can be. With great power comes great responsibility. Human beings need to come to understand just how much power they possess. Then we need to learn how to use it wisely. Sadly, the few that seem to understand their own personal power are corrupted by it. They say that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. What seems even worse to me is that so few of us know just how powerful we can be when it comes to touching the lives of others.

Our Ten of Wands depicts how our every word and every action rush outward toward others. Perhaps it is time to take to heart what we do not often consider; that we have the power to offer love and kindness to the rest of humanity. The smallest act can change someone’s day, which in turn, could change his or her life and the lives of those with whom he or she comes into contact. As you complete this year with all of the business that ensues, may you find out just how powerful you are and may you use your power wisely.