I have believed in an afterlife for many years. It never made sense to me that we live then that’s it, we are gone forever. I believe in reincarnation, again that has always made sense to me, there is so much to learn we simply cannot do it all in one lifetime.

The only evidence I have of this is so many people come back, with good evidence of who they are and who they belong to. I know it isn’t my imagination!

So what is death? I believe that death is simply going from one existence to another, I believe that when our spirit reaches that other life we spend time healing ourselves and forgiving ourselves, for the many mistakes we all make in this life, then we decide if we are going to come back again  and as who, where and when. Of course we don’t remember our past lives when we return so we do start from scratch again, we will continue to make mistakes but eventually we do learn whatever it is we need to learn.

Many children are psychic up to school age, they have an open mind and see things and people, often these are referred to as imaginary friends. Who amongst us has never seen a child playing happily and chatting away, answering questions even. We assume they are playing with their toys, it is only when we listen to what the child is saying that some of us can sense they are talking to someone else. The beauty of a child is that the world hasn’t interfered, yet, they retain their innocence and their ability to associate with people from the existence they recently left. These children are not harmed or worried by these contacts.

Not everyone has a past life, there are new souls born every day, not everyone who passes over wishes to return to another life here.

When our time to go arrives many experience a feeling of their loved ones being close by, loved ones they may have lost long ago, one of those loved ones will take the new spirits hand and guide them to their new life. There have often been reports of Near Death Experiences where people see a bright light ahead of them. This is the light of spirit (or so I believe).

Over the years I have done many Tarot readings and Past Life readings, death is different for all of us, how we go, quick or slow, illness, accident, taking of our own life, or age related. Most of the time death is not something we actively choose. It is a simple fact of life that we are born and our body will die.

Personally I do not fear death, I don’t want it to happen yet as there are many things I still wish to do in this life, I do wonder how it may happen but I have no fear of passing to the other life.

There are lost souls, those who go too quickly maybe, or those who have done terrible things here, they are not truly lost they simply go to what they percieve as their final destination. They are offered help and it is up to them if they accept it or not. I don’t believe in ghosts the people I have seen certainly don’t wear white sheets and go ooohhh! I do believe that some are so attached to where they were at the end they simply can’t leave, again they can be helped.

Of course I cannot prove all this, it is just what I believe. Noone can prove or disprove life after death until we experience it for ourselves and then it is too late to say see told you so!

I have been asked what happens to babies who don’t make it to this life, or live here for such a short time. I have had contact with some of these children. When they leave here whether by miscarriage or other means their spirit returns to the afterlife, someone, usually a relative, will care for them and bring them along to see their families back here, the child grows knowing who it’s parents are and any other siblings they have.

I have also been asked why so many young people leave far too early. Teenagers, people in their 20s, 30s etc.  All I can say is that they are cared for, they do come back to see their families, they often explain that they didn’t want to go but had no choice, perhaps an accident or a terminal illnes. Or in the cases of taking their own life these people are simply at the end of their tether, they feel sad for the hurt they have caused but couldn’t stay any longer. I don’t want to sound heartless but It is preordained when we will leave here before we ever arrive here, some have much longer than others, no I don’t know all the answers I can only say what I feel and what I have heard from those people.

There is so much that we don’t know, there is so much more in this Universe than just us.

The job of the medium isn’t to predict the future, it is to show the sitter that there is life after death. Future events do become part of the reading as in due time when they do form, they then become part evidence to the sitter that there is more than just this one life. After a reading it is important that the sitter does take future predictions with them but also very important that they carry on living a life, not set with said predictions in mind,but to allow what the medium has said to have the time to naturally unfold before them, thus enriching every aspect of life for the sitter.

With thanks to Brian Cook.

Many believe animals do not have a spirit. I disagree with that, many many times an animal is present at a Reading, I have had dogs, cats, rabbits, a parrot, budgerigars, a goat and horses. The animals are missed by their owners and are often there simply to make the person smile at happy memories.

I have a friend who lost a small dog a while back, this little dog was elderly and ready to go, when younger she was a determined little thing and always saw herself as superior to her other dog.  Whilst sitting in my friends garden recently we were chatting and her little dog was yapping to go in the house, I could see her past dogs, and cats, a relations parrot, quite a menagerie! It is luckily a fair sized garden!

I often feel my little dog on my bed at night, she refused to accept she was a dog and was spoilt rotten, but very much loved. Pets are family members and, as far as I am concerned, always welcome to *pop* in.

Of all the cards The Death Card is the one a lot of people dread seeing, the misconception of it’s name can be alarming, in 99% of times it appears it is a good positive card to receive, it often means the end of something that has been worrying you. In the odd 1% it can mean additional assistance maybe required. It truly isn’t a scary card.

There are positive and negative aspects to all parts of life, the same applies to Tarot, that is why a Reading will give a full *story* of what is happening.

At the beginning of a Reading I usually light a white candle for the person having the Reading. I chose a card which acts as the Significator ( it is a lot easier to chose a card to represent someone rather than have them lie on the table whilst I place cards on top of them). The cards follow showing what is happening now, what issues the person maybe going through, what has recently occured (past issues), the future (short term), the person, their family environment, their hopes/fears and a final outcome. When all read together the story unfolds.

For example if a card showed a recent unhappiness the end result would reflect that sadness does ease, or perhaps the future card shows an easing of the stress.

The messages I receive during a Reading are usually towards the end of the cards being read, they may clarify a situation, they may simply want the person to know they are still around. Sometimes it is a piece of music playing, I have even had glasses tinkling for a forthcoming celebration. Each Reading is different, each Reading is specifically for that one person. If anyone does not wish to receive a message, I fully respect that.

Both tears and laughter occur at most readings, they are both a release, sometimes a relief.

People maintain their sense of humour when they pass over, they often add laughter to show they really are there. Often funny situations are recalled, sometimes just a silly situation is remembered.

The message of the cards can be serious and should be taken as such, but there is no reason not to smile or even laugh along with those loved ones. It can sometimes be embarassing for the *reader*, I gave a reading for a lady who was looking for some reassurance from her recently departed spouse, the cards told her what she need to know and assured her of some matters, towards the end of the reading her husband came along, I passed his messages along, she cried but welcomed the messages, his last words through me were * she snores louder than i did*! The lady screamed with laughter, this apparently had been a long term argument. His way of saying all is well.

Another one that did made us laugh long afterwards, a mans wife came through to chat with him, she gave lots of relevant information and he was smiling through the tears, she then said… Find THAT book! He looked mistified, so I asked what book? She replied Oh he knows which b***** book! A few months later we met again, he was shaking with laughter and said ..do you remember the book issue? I smiled and said oh yes did you find it? The book was actually a Playboy Magazine that he had bought long ago and never did throw away, his son had found it and duly confiscated it to his own room, when his son moved out the man went through the room clearing up a teenagers debris, stuck in the back of the wardrobe was the Playboy magazine! He said he sat on the floor and cried with laughter at his wife having bought that up!

There are often tears, that is natural. I cried like a baby when a Medium told me about my little dog who had recently passed away, she said… her last meal was a piece of Dairy Milk! Which indeed it was

I was lucky enough to go to a lovely friends wedding recently, everyone looked gorgeous and the bride, naturally, looked beautiful. Along with all the invited guests there were many who popped along to join in the fun, when the big picture of all the guests was taken, the photographer asked everyone to wave, wouldn’t it be great if *everyone* showed up on the photo!

Many years ago, 34 years to be precise, I was taken to a Psychometry reading, I knew nothing about this and was quite prepared to dismiss it. ( Psychometry is when a Medium holds something personal to you and focuses on what she/he can see)

At that Reading I was told an awful lot of my past and a great deal about both mine and my families future, she told me that my husband and I would part, this came as a shock to me so I did dismiss it. She spoke about me travelling the World, again I dismissed that as fantasy, she told me that I would live to a ripe old age ( still waiting on that one). Many, many things that she said have happened over the years.

I have travelled to Australia and Africa, my husband and I did divorce some few years later. A guess? I don’t think so, she was very precise in what she said to me, even with times and who I would meet, right down to initials! I did meet this person who turned out not to be so great!

When my Mother passed away in 1978 I was naturally distraught. A couple of weeks after her passing I woke in the night to see her standing at the end of my bed, I rubbed my eyes, believing that I was dreaming, but she was still there. I felt no fear, she was my Mum, she held her arms out to me, as if for a cuddle, she smiled and I felt she said everything was alright. Then she faded from view. I didn’t talk about this much, I didn’t know whether to trust myself or not, when I did tell someone it was dismissed as imagination.

A year later a dear friend bought me a set of Tarot Cards, the same ones I use to this day, they felt right to me, I practised on friends and in time felt completely at home with them. That same year we went to a Disco at a local pub, it was a sunny evening, children were running round  and the music playing quite loudly. I turned to my friend and told her what people were saying and who they were, she listened and then said, very quietly, Carol you do know these people have passed away? I said I can see them and hear them so as far as I am concerned they are here. She confirmed later that everything I said and the descriptions I gave were very accurate. This was my first Medium experience.

I have received no training for this, it came naturally and is always with me. I have seen many wonderful people, spoken to people who I never met in this world, they have reassured many people about personal things, sometimes by their messages peoples lives have changed for the better.

I have a lot of faith in what the cards can show, it is up to each individual how they use that knowledge.

I thank my my friends for all their help so long ago, without their patience and assistance I would not now be me.