A Great Big Hello to all my Tarot Friends and Supporters Around The World,

2,005,870

2,005,870

Today I bring you some Great News, well Absolutely Fantastic really, but also I bring you some Disappointing News. Which shall I deliver first? The Good News First I think.

Yesterday afternoon, my Site Stats were moving rapidly towards the 2,000,000 hits marker and I felt confident that we would cross the line sometime during the day or night.  Before I retired to bed last night I checked to see, and there it was, already past 2,000,000 and working towards the next by almost 2,000. I couldn’t believe it, over 2,000,000. I was so thrilled and delighted to have achieved so much in so little a time. I sat with my partner over dinner last night, and a bottle of wine, to celebrate, slightly in advance but we didn’t mind. We chatted about the very early days, only two years ago, when I first signed up to WordPress.com and began slowly but surely to find my way around all this Blogging business. I quickly discovered that I could build a complete site along with my Blog and from there on there was no stopping me. We cast our minds back to the initial amazing discovery that people were actually viewing and reading my work. It was admittedly like a building site at that stage, and is still an ongoing building and development project that indeed takes an enormous amount of daily work to maintain and move forward.

I remember chancing upon the Stats Section  one day, another area I had to get to grips with. I was almost shocked to see that I actually had Stats and not a big fat 0 as I thought I was working away unobserved. I got very excited and rushed to tell my partner, Billy that people, real people, were reading my work. Someone had found me and there I was thinking I was flying below the radar. We sat and stared at the screen and discovered that we could see where the viewers were coming from. When I saw a list of several countries I became intrigued by the incredible power of the internet.  There was little old me, pounding away on my computer every day, sitting in the back bedroom of my house in a small country area of Ireland, while in parts of the world, very far away from me, people were reading what I had just written. It was actually quite scary and I went into a bit of a panic trying to tidy my site. I wrote little notes of explanation regarding my progress and the fact that it was not a complete work, but building. I began to push myself too much, spending too many hours on the keyboard thinking I could complete all the work in a matter of weeks. How foolish was I?

I remember reaching my first 1,000 and feeling over the moon about it. I rarely let a day slip by without writing and I lay awake many nights, I still do, thinking of what I would write the next day, or stressing about something that I had forgotten to include in work already completed. There were, and still are, days where I almost forget to eat, so consumed am I about getting more of my work completed. I turn on the computer in the morning, still in my night wear, eye-mask shoved up onto my hair, and intend to do a little bit before I shower and dress. Then suddenly, before I know it, it is 1.30pm and I think, okay, I will take a break at 2pm for  a bit of brunch (never got around to breakfast). 2pm comes and goes and I am oblivious to this fact. I have disappeared into a different timezone and the next thing it is heading towards 4pm and I haven’t eaten, showered or dressed. I may be very disciplined about my writing but I have no personal discipline when it comes to eating regularly and showering and dressing at a reasonable time of the day. Is this the plaque of the writer who works from home?  My partner often has to drag me from the keyboard and to the kitchen table. I do try to get out for a walk or cycle as often as I can though for I have developed neck and weak arms from too much time at the computer.

By the time I reached 1,000,000 I had found my stride and now felt a growing sense of responsibility to my viewing audience and now hate to let a week go by without posting. I am under extra pressure at present due to my moving from WordPress.com to WordPress.org as there is so much work to do to sort it all out. I really should have made the move before my site became so large. It has left me with a huge amount of work to do on top of writing regular posts, course content, and re-working the remaining cards on the course. I am nearly there however, and do hope to make the final transition in the next month, all going well. This will give back to me the time for actually working on the course content and cards.  I have a long list of plans and development for my new site, and once my body holds out, I will be writing for several years to come yet. There is still a lot to be said and new areas to explore which I am very excited about.

What has made all this possible or rather who is it that has helped me along to this momentous stage of my journey? Who has walked with me from the very start and understood the rawness of my site? Who has patiently waited for new content to be added, or the re-working of cards? Why of course, it is you the viewers who are responsible for my being still here and doing what I am doing. I wouldn’t have kept going without you. In fact I couldn’t have got past the first 6 months without having you all behind me. It is a long hard slog at times, yes, a labour of love, but very hard work. Working from home alone and shut off from the rest of the world can be very isolating, but  with so many of you stopping by to study the course or read up on a card or a new post, I never feel alone. And of course all your lovely comments and positive feedback have been overwhelming. They certainly keep me motivated when my neck or arms ache from lengthy computer sessions or my self-belief wavers. Because of your fantastic ongoing support I know that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and that it’s all very worthwhile.

So, indeed, I look forward to heading towards the next million and welcome all the new visitors who have happened upon my site in recent times. It is great to have you all on board and we can look forward to plenty more tarot related coursework, exercises and articles in the coming months.

Again, thank you, not 1,000,000 times but 2,000,000 times!!!!

2,005,870

Vivien (Your Tarot Teacher)

And Now For The Disappointing News……………

Unfortunately there will be no Tarotscope this month and I apologise to all those who were looking forward to September’s issue. I have been quite unwell the last couple of weeks and especially so in the last seven days or so. This is when I had planned to work on the Tarotscopes. Everything ground to a halt while I was forced to take to the bed regardless of how much I wanted to work. It takes a lot to knock me off form and away from my computer but I have been struggling with a chronic condition that now appears to need surgery in the next couple of months. Indeed, I am since last week on the waiting list for surgery as this recent flare up has been pretty awful. So there you are, that is my only excuse, and once more I apologise. I did however manage to complete the Courts Converse Review and Explanation yesterday, as that too had fallen behind schedule.  I am back at my desk once more and am delighted to announce that the revised version of  The Knight of Swords will soon be riding into town allowing us to get up close and personal with this dashing and daring young man.

So that is all for the moment and it is back to work now. Maybe I will have something to eat first, and maybe even shower and dress too before I proceed any further!! We shall see.

Blessings,

Vivien (Your Tarot Teacher)

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