New Jersey 

Dear Velvet Tarot Column

Dear Velvet 

July 2003

Dear Velvet Angel,
This was such a nice treat to open up and find in my email!!!  One of my wishes was to win a reading from you and I asked the angels to help this come true . . . .  I just wanted to mention how much I truly love your newsletter!   It's wonderful how you feature a deck every month and also all the angels that grace it's pages.

For the past six years going on seven I have been struggling with depression,anxiety disorders and agoraphobia. Through this time I have really gone inward and focused on spirituality.  But, with my health being this way some days I struggle with feeling guilty, shameful, and horrible for the way I am and for the way I am looked at.  I wonder about where my life is going.  I want to believe that I have been this way for a purpose, and for a reason but some days I doubt this is true. The angels have kept me going with earth angels sent to me along my path as well as angelic gifts given to me at just the right moments when I was ready to give up. Because of my health I also am having financial difficulties. I do practice positive affirmations, prayers, meditation on a daily basis, but other days my spirit feels so tired.

My question to you is:  What can I do to overcome my health conditions and move forward with my life? Thank you!

Warmly,
Worried

Dear Worried,

The first thing that I want to mention is that you are still so young and have a whole wonderful life of opportunity and experiences that await you, so I don't want to see you miss out on that!  With the Three of Swords coming up here, it is an indication that your situation is truly a serious one, and you need some help to get through this.  I don't feel that you should try to handle all of this on your own, and so I encourage you to seek a counselor or therapist that you can work with and help you overcome these tremendous challenges in life that you are facing and trying to cope with.  You don't have to do this alone, and so if you are not already seeing a therapist or some kind of a counselor, please, please, please look into this!  If you don't have insurance to cover this and cannot afford it, you can check into some local agencies in your areas that can point you in the direction of free or low cost assistance.  I really encourage you to do so, because it would be to your benefit to start on this sooner rather than later . . . because like I said, there is too much life out there for you to be missing!  The sooner you become stronger to overcome these life challenges that continue to press in on you, the sooner you will be able to enjoy life as you're meant to do!  The longer you put this off, my friend, the harder it can be to take charge!  Your problems can feel like they become worse instead of better if you keep trying to handle all of this alone, and I don't want you to live in this kind of heart-break for even a minute longer than necessary!

This kind of energy that is surrounding you now can be quite depressive, and it can indeed cause health problems for you.  You are experiencing this on an emotional level that has undermined your self-confidence and your selfworth.  So although I wish that a one-card reading could give you what you really need, I feel that what you need most is some one-on-one counseling, which can be a truly wonderful experience that opens your eyes and your faith to rising above this and having more in life that you desire.  You need to find a way to cut your ties to this current way of existence, because right now, you really are just "existing," and this is not the way you really want to live.  You want to "live" your life and not just exist and barely get by from day to day with feeling so miserable no matter how much you try to break out of that on your own.

I am so glad you have allowed the angels to be a part of your life.  And apparently, your prayers were answered in receiving this reading . . . and this is a good sign to show you that they are there with you and that they are listening as your guides.  And now there are issues to be healed in your life so that you can move on in a much happier way of being than you are right now.  And I so want that for you!

Emotional upheavals in our lives can make it so easy to lose faith.  So I can see how there will be times in which you have trouble to continue believing that God is there for you and that He can and will help you in healing your pain, fears, and difficulties.  But just keep in mind that not all things can be solved, remedied, or fixed overnight.  And this is so true for your situation, my friend.  Remember that it takes time to heal and move on.  Be patient with yourself, and don't lose your faith, no matter how difficult times are right now.  And please, most importantly, look into a form of therapy or counseling, because that is the answer to the healing that you need in your life at this time. I know that's not the "easy answer" that you may have hoped for, but your situation doesn't hold such an easy answer in all of this.  And besides, you deserve more than just a quick fix in your life . . . so don't shortchange yourself!  You are worth what it takes to get to a better way of life that I know you will love and can fully enjoy when you take the necessary steps to give yourself this chance :-)

Love and Many Blessings!!

Velvet Angel