Be Here Now: The Peaceful Empowerment Works Show with Angie Yingst

It was such an honor to be invited as a guest onto Judy Forder and Janice Leonard’s podcast called Be Here Now: The Peaceful Empowerment Works Show. When Judy asked me what I want to talk about, I responded with I’ll talk about anything, but I am really passionate about turning your wounds into your medicine or maybe it is best to say, “Turning your Wounds into your Wisdom.” That might be an old Oprah quote. I don’t know. I have a sign saying that in my healing room, because I am so passionate about this.

Later Judy said she thought I meant something else, which is interesting, but I jumped right into it on the show. About how everything doesn’t necessarily happen for a reason, but we make meaning out of everything that happens. That is what humans do. That is what I do. And all that I have experienced in life brings me right back to connection with others, circles of humans holding and supporting each other, peace and love, and then ultimately, deep deep compassion.

In this episode, I talk about my beautiful daughter, Lucia Paz, born 12/22/2008, death date 12/21/2008. She was stillborn, but she was still born at 6lbs, 20”. Still my daughter. It was an emotional episode, but talking about my deepest wounds has always reminded me that where it led me in those dark days is light, connection, creativity, and ultimately service to others.

I can tell you so much about what I know and how I was trained to heal others, balance your chakras, bring awareness and wisdom to you in times of transition, but it always comes through my experiences—the death of my daughter, being an SA survivor, my recovery from alcoholism, my cancers and autoimmune challenges, my experiences as a compassionate, god- and earth-centered individual.

One thing I didn’t say, which I wanted to say is that I live the earth medicine path. This isn’t something I do once a month when I show up for a class. I don’t just offer lip service about what I talk about, I have a spiritual practice that is part of my life, that is active and activated every day. If I can offer anyone any advice about being a healer, it is this—we live this path. It is not an easy path, but it is a peaceful path, because we choose peace every day.

Centered Episode 86: Tarot Questions Answered by Angie

Have you ever wanted to know what Tarot really is—beyond the fortune-teller clichés and Hollywood mystique? In this Ask Me Anything episode, Angie is answering your most curious beginner questions about Tarot:

  • What even is Tarot—fortune telling, psychology, or something else?

  • What’s the deal with the “scary” cards like Death and the Devil?

  • Why would someone want to study Tarot instead of just getting the occasional reading?

  • How can Tarot actually support self-discovery, intuition, and spiritual growth?

Whether you’re brand new and just Tarot-curious, or you’ve had a deck sitting on your shelf collecting dust, this episode will give you a grounded, approachable introduction to the cards—and maybe inspire you to shuffle them up yourself.

Ready to learn Tarot with me? I’m opening the doors to my nine-week beginner course, The Complete Tarot (2025)—a step-by-step, Spirit-first approach to learning the cards, building confidence, and discovering your own Tarot voice. We start September 1st. Learn more and sign up here: ⁠The Complete Tarot 2025

Centered Episode 85: August's Astrology + Earth Medicine with Angie

In this episode, Angie—your cruise director through the cosmos and lover of lion-hearted wisdom—guides us through the astrology of August 2025, a month pulsing with retrogrades, portals, and a quiet kind of transformation.

With Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, and Chiron all retrograde, the skies are asking us to slow down, look inward, and do the sacred work of integration. We're not meant to push forward this month—we’re meant to listen to the rumblings beneath the surface.

We explore the Lion’s Gate on 8/8, a potent spiritual portal of renewal and soul alignment, followed by an emotionally clarifying Aquarius Full Moon on 8/9. Mercury stations direct on 8/11, Venus conjoins Jupiter in Cancer, and by mid-month we’re pivoting toward Virgo’s grounded energy with a deeply healing New Moon at 0° Virgo on 8/23—our official threshold into Eclipse Season.

 Alongside the cosmic currents, we’re held by earth medicine:

  • Sunflower teaches us to follow the light, even when it's hidden—and to lean toward each other when we can't find it on our own.

  • Mountain Lion offers courage, presence, and sovereignty, especially in moments when we feel uncertain or unseen.

  • Peridot brings heart-cleansing, solar plexus-strengthening clarity—reminding us we don’t have to carry what’s not ours.

This month is about emotional recalibration, intuitive trust, and preparing the soil for the eclipses to come. Grab your peridot, light a candle for your inner mountain lion, and meet us in the sunflower field between fire and stillness.

Blessed Litha

Blessed Litha, or as I call it: Midsummer (a few days late)!

Celebrating another turn of the Wheel with Summer Solstice celebrations means gathering late into the night, burning the brush in a bonfire, releasing the shit in the way of an awesome harvest season. Some call it Midsummer, Summer Solstice or Litha or Leetha, as others pronounce it. I could not get a clear pronunciation of it. I found an Irish speaker who said Litha, but Wiccans will sometimes say Leetha. Ultimately, the word for the holiday comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of June — Ǣrra-Līða. That essentially translates to “the first liða” — and July is effectively named “the second liða.”

I am holding an online healing circle and guided shamanic journey with dragon in honor of Midsummer! You can find more information here.

ch-ch-changes...and growth and little deaths

To be honest, I have been struggling to write, like I’ve been struggling to sleep and not sleep. I thought I had some kind of deep illness and my cancer was back a few weeks ago, because I couldn’t get up and go. I had to nap—once, twice, three times a lady. I called my primary care physician and asked her to test me for anything that causes fatigue—anemia, infection, mono, Lyme disease…anything. Turns out there is nothing wrong with me.

But all I want to do is sleeeeeeep…and rest me eyes, like a pirate on holiday on a deserted island.

Maybe it is depression, then I was like, of course it is depression. So, yeah, that is the conclusion I came to. It is situational as my life has been chaotic this year. During my yearly tarot pull, I have been using the Alleyman’s Tarot, which is my current favorite deck…Goddess bless, that deck is perfect. (Sidenote: the Alleyman pulled cards from all kinds of decks to make one chaotic, strange, and totally insightful deck of mismatched cards and cohesive interpretation. I pledged on a whim on his Kickstarter, and fell in love with it when it came.) This is a deck with an insane amount of Death cards, or Death-like cards, and out of the 9 cards I pulled, 6 of them were Deaths or Death Adjacent, like a card called Bone Fire, which is equivalent to the Tower. As a Tarot Reader, you sort of start laughing and shaking your head. By the end of the reading, you can only say, “What. The. Fuck. Seriously?” Or “I am fucked, seriously.” Or some combination of those words.

Then February came, and the bomb dropped in my life, and I go—okay, Angelica Maria de las Vulturas, you picked the word Change for the year, then pulled Death 9 times, and you are surprised that devastation is here? You asked for it. The truth is, I root for Death when my clients come to see me—it is about release and letting go of the dead things, but when Death comes for me, I freak out. “Why do things have to change?” I whine at the same time I am lighting the fire on the bridge of life. Don’t get me wrong, I love to be on the other side of change. I love when things shift and evolve and grow to meet me. Everything that has happened to me in life has led me to the place I needed to go.

One of my favorite sayings is Stop Watering Dead Plants. And as a plant lady, I have watered plants past their death, begging like Kisa Gotami to bring back my baby. I have watered so many dead things, like Persephone, praying my Goddess of Spring era works in the underworld only to see flowers die from being overwatered, then the water keeps coming and coming and coming, until the whole of Hades is flooded.

Things are changing. They needed to change. I just hate not know how it will look at the end of the changing.

I must change too. I have babied myself, nurtured me, taken deep care to rest me, and nap me, and feed me good things. But all that time away from work, made me realize that I miss work. I miss holding space for people in real life, or sitting with a client and pulling cards, drawing on their beautiful spirit and desires. I love distant work too, which puts me in contact with so many amazing humans around the world.

But the act of Death and change and transformation is ultimately an act of creativity. Resurrection is all the rage. Transformation, death, creativity, art, and rebirth that is kind of my vulture-like jam. And by jam, I mean, I want it on every little bit of toast that I eat. I want that jam on surround sound. Creativity breathes and moves. It draws people in and connects us more deeply that anything else…think of your favorite song or poem or painting and all the other people who connect through that world…we need art and creative energy. I need art and creative energy like water.

Maybe I have been feeling like a “mostly dead” plant, because you can start watering a mostly dead plant, and slowly watch the green come back. Yes, maybe some brown and dried leaves will be gone forever, but if you repot, give her some new soil, attention, sunlight, care, love, and just the right amount of water, the plant will thrive.

I am burying the lead again, as I am wont to do, but all of this is to say I have some news. I am opening my in-person practice again at Alta View Wellness Center. I will be taking over the lower level classroom to see clients, do readings, and sell some items in a retail space. My idea is to have more handmade, recycled, used, and upcycled items than new. I thought that a metaphysical thrift shop would be ideal for me to handle. I won’t be open everyday all day, but have weekly hours that are semi-regular on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but I will also open by appointment if needed. I will post weekly hours on my website and on my FB page.

But right now, it is just slowly coming together, but I am planning a Grand Opening celebration-y thing on May 3rd where my shop will be open 10 am to 2 pm. At Noon, I will do a guided meditation, then go into a Tarot Gallery, reading for whoever is there. I hope to see you there. This event is free, and my ten-year-old son Zachary will have a bake sale/pop-up café at the shop to raise money for Four Diamonds Mini-thon, which empowers K-12 students to raise funds and awareness to help conquer childhood cancer. Actually, Four Diamonds covers 100 percent of all medical expenses related to cancer care not covered by insurance for eligible Four Diamonds children. Because of the community’s steady and generous support, Four Diamonds has assisted 100 percent of the childhood cancer patients who have been treated at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. Zach is a Mini-THONs leader, so he is spearheading this, and I am excited for him.

I have an RSVP if you are reading this and might be able to come. Just click here:

So, that’s what I have been up to. No worries, distant clients and members of the Moon + Stone membership, I am still going to be there for you too. I am still doing monthly Full Moon and New Moon readings, sharing the earth medicine knowledge and holding my weekly coffee + cards circle on Monday morning. If you want to join the Membership Group, check out all the deets on the Membership page

One change that might affect you is that I have set up my online scheduler to accept in-person clients as well as distance clients. So, check in and make sure you are scheduling the correct appointment, but otherwise, I am so excited to be reconnecting in person with clients and watering myself just enough. Schedule an appointment with Angie at this link.

Much love,

Angie

Tarot: you asked, I answer.

One of my favorite sayings (and something I repeat quite often) from my mentor Pixie Lighthorse is that we need to name it to tame it, then we need to feel it to heal it. Recently, a friend said that we also have to live it to give it.

Live it to give it hit me right in my truthiness center. YES! This is the nucleus in the atom of my teaching and my work. We have to live it to give it—meaning we can only pass on our experience and truth. This is the principle ethic of recovery—only one addict or alcoholic can help another, because it is inauthentic to share recovery and preach the wisdom of that if you haven’t hit bottom and rebuild your life.

In spiritual circles, this is the same. You have to live the spiritual life, to walk it, to integrate it. You can spot a poser a mile away. Someone regurgitating something they read in a book. Or someone who doesn't practice what they preach. One of the reasons I never hide recovery and my nearly 14 years living a sober, spiritual life after hitting my own bottom is because you need to know that recovery is possible. I am not an unmentionable. I am not living on Skid Row. I recovered. I sought healing.

I found out a truth about myself that meant I had to change, and so I did. Not just from alcoholism, but from desolation, loneliness, isolation, trauma, inner child tantrums, avoidance, unhealthy attachments, stuckness, self-loathing and all the other wounds we carry from the suffering of being human. We can be curious and open and wild and forgiving and honoring not despite our wounds, but because of it.

So, yes, we have to live it to give it.

As you probably already know, I have lived with the Tarot for over, gulp, thirty years of my life. First as a dabbler, then as a student, then a reader and now a teacher. I have been where you are. Maybe you are curious, or maybe you have a deck and you pull cards, and then look at a book, interpret each card, but cannot make sense of how it relates to what you want to know.

On January 1st, 2025, I start my signature move in my business—the Complete Tarot. It is a combination of a recorded class and a live class. I think that works best for most people, because watching classes can be on your time, the time you need to watch, absorb, do your thing. Pause the recording, take notes. Then we meet live and I demonstrate the readings I am teaching, answer questions, laugh. By the end of the nine weeks, most people will have some mad Tarot reading skills.

So, do you want to study with me?

I am now enrolling for the Complete Tarot

I thought I might answer some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) I get about Tarot.

How did you learn Tarot?

I learned by doing lots of readings on myself and others, reading books, talking to other Tarot readers, looking at the cards, asking questions, and getting Tarot readings. Taking a Tarot class could be an incredibly enriching experience for me, but I didn’t know that was an option (and maybe in 1989 when I got my first deck it wasn’t). I would have loved a Tarot mentor, someone to do readings with, and to help me interpret Tarot, but I learned through my research monkey, introverted book person way. One of the key elements for deepening and understanding Tarot was keeping a Tarot journal.

I have so many journals. So. Very. Many. I journaled nearly every reading I did for myself. I wrote the question or focus of my reading, then the different cards that I pulled in what position. I also wrote any intuitive feelings or thoughts that came to me during the interpretations. I made connections between one reading and another, for example, when a card I'd been getting in the future position came into the present. I could therefore see how these aspects grow and morph. I often pull oracle cards with my Tarot readings, and so I noted them and what messages came through from those sources.

The second journal I kept focused on individual cards. So I would meditate with a card, note any symbols or images on the card that seemed significant. Sometimes I would sleep with a card and then write about the dream I had in the morning. When I looked at books, I often resonated with an interpretation more than another. One thing I find interesting is to look in the background of cards, they can tell you so much about the card's meaning. What is the background color? What symbols do you see? All of this lends to a mood. I just wrote about what I thought all of it meant individually, then together. I cross-referenced them with some books to see if someone else picked up one something I didn't see. I do find it fascinating and amazing how alike my interpretations were with some books. (This picture is me many moons ago when I still had boobs reading a new deck and cross-checking the book.)

This is why I ask my students to journal, because all the Tarot wisdom lie within you dormant and ready to begin reaching for the light. The archetypes of Tarot are universal and ancient. They only need you to activate them by study.

How can I learn Tarot?

You can study with a teacher, or you can study on your own. All of the great Tarot teachers pretty much became obsessed, like me, taught themselves and became students of the Tarot. If you have that gene, awesome, Primo. But if not, you can take my class where all my obsessive research is synthesized into these teachings. The workbook is primarily keywords, but the class is a deep dive and I talk much more in-depth about the cards, their history, etc.

So, wait, I thought as a Tarot Reader, you were not supposed to do readings on yourself?

Doing readings on yourself is the key to learning Tarot. Basically, learning Tarot is learning the symbolic language in which Spirit speaks to you. You already know about you--what you have been through, what you are facing now, what is most important to you in this phase of your life. So, if you know what issues surround your life, you will be able to match that with the card that applies. So, for example, when I pull the Queen of Pentacles, which is the Earth Mama card of the Minor Arcana, I can see how she would represent that aspect of my personality. My identity for the first five years of my parenting has been as a stay-at-home mother. In this way, this would give me hints about the cards around me. For example, if I pulled the Queen of Pentacles in the Past, I could see how I am moving out of this aspect of how I once saw myself, but how it still informs my present situation. Now, if I moved into the Present as the Emperor, the paternal figure of the Major Arcana, I can say that I am finally moving into a place where I know who I am, what I want, what I need to do to follow my soul path, and how to also lead benevolently and compassionately in the next phase of my life. This is because being a mother has helped me prioritize my life and figure out what I truly want in my career.

But I think the core of what is meant by this question is this: when you sit in front of yourself for a reading, can you be objective? I wrestle with the answer to this question all the time. I wrestle with it when I do readings for good friends and family, and when I do readings for myself. Personally, I find it terribly difficult to be objective about my own life, easier to be objective with friends and family, easiest to be objective with strangers. There are times I am really hard on myself, and other times where I cannot see my role in a situation no matter HOW much soul-searching I do. And neither of those is objective.

So, yes, I do readings for myself, but I am careful to temper it with other advice and opinions from people I trust to be honest with me.

I heard that I need to be gifted my first deck of Tarot. I keep dropping hints, but no one will buy one for me. Is that true?

I have no idea when this notion of being gifted a deck of Tarot came into being, but it's hogwash. I think you SHOULD buy your own deck and make sure it is deck you connect with.

What kind of layouts do you teach in your class?

Well, I teach a number of very basic layouts in my class. I start with a one card draw. Obviously pulling one card is a very focused Tarot reading, and in this way, I can say I use it all the time. But we build very quickly into the Three-Card draw, which is a very versatile layout and great for quick answers. I teach a number of different ways to approach the Three Card. Then we add the Four-Card layout and I offer two varieties of this layout. A Four=Card Obstacles layout and a Four-Care Goals layout, so it starts giving some depth to the Three-Card. From the Four-Card, we build to the Mystic Seven layout. This is the cross in the Celtic Cross, and then an outcome card. This layout is perfect for twenty-minute readings. We then work with the Celtic Cross.

When I do a full reading for someone, I do what is called the Ancient Celtic Cross. The Celtic Cross layout was developed by Arthur Waite who wrote in his book about the Celtic Cross: “I offer in the first place a short process which has been used privately for many years past in England, Scotland and Ireland. I do not think that it has been published — certainly not in connexion with Tarot cards; I believe that it will serve all purposes.” Arthur E. Waite published the basic Tarot deck that I teach and use and is the base of most of the Tarot decks published in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His seminal book, published in 1910, A Pictorial Key to the Tarot, was the first book about Tarot and it accompanied the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. From all the information I can gather, we thank Waite for this (and Pamela Coleman Smith for the art and archetypes we associate with the Tarot.)

But as a bonus, you get a pdf copy of my layouts book to work with after our class is done.

What do you love about Tarot?

Tarot has deep symbolism, meaning and spirituality. Every piece of the Tarot card has meaning—the color, the elements, the facial expressions, the mood, the pieces of each picture. Tarot combines art, archetypes, history, religious studies, faith, myth, storytelling, psychology and the mystery of existence. It taps into a kind of universal consciousness, esoteric arcane knowledge that alchemizes in the individual consciousness.

Tarot tells a story—the story of your energy. Many people think I have some kind of crazy psychic abilities. I just tell the story of the cards. Storytelling through pictures is as ancient as the Earth. Our society, our political system, our religions, our psychology is entirely rooted in myth & narrative. Tapping into this through the cards helps us tap into something ancient and important.

I love that Tarot helps me get out of my own way. I can sit in meditation, ask the cards, find some insight about my life that just doesn’t consciously occur to me. The wisdom of Tarot, the synchronicity, the “HOLY CRAP” moment, the patterns and connections we make. I love the combination of visual and spiritual, emotional and mental. As my friend Pamela said every class when she took my Complete Tarot class, “You cannot make this shit up.” And you really cannot.

If you are still with me, and you are like, “Yes, Angie, I want to live Tarot too,” then I am here to pass on the medicine of Tarot through my nine-week class called the Complete Tarot

Do you want to join me?

Click here and learn more, register and get in there.

Some basic info:

- The Complete Tarot runs nine weeks, but you have lifetime access and can finish on your own time.

- There are so many bonuses they are difficult to list them all, but suffice to say, I am extra, and so is this class.

- Yes, it is based on my workbook, or rather the workbook is based on this class

- Everything is recorded if you cannot attend live.

- It is $500 for nine classes, a shit-ton of extra lessons and one-on-one time with me.

- Yes, there is a certification available, but you don’t need a certification to read Tarot. I am just offering that for the Earth signs in my audience who might need a certificate to prove they are ready. (I joke, but with some truthiness as a Capricorn sun with a Taurus moon.)

- Yes, I can answer any questions you may have! Just hit reply to this email or drop me a line at angie@themoonandstone.com

Registration closes on December 31st, so register today to be start your 2025 off on the right foot!

Much love,

PS: I have a few payment plan options for those who are struggling with a full payment. Just check out the webpage for all the deets.

PPS: ALSO, If you already took the class and want to take it again, you can take it for a discounted price. I have students who took the class more than one just for a deeper understanding. LEGACY pricing is only for former students.

PPPS Did you know that if you have a spouse or someone you live with that likes my classes, you get both take it with one registration? I charge a wee fee if you both want to be certified, but it just makes sense to not get all hung up on paying double.

PPPS Did you also know you can give this as a gift to someone you love? Check the gift button at checkout and it will walk you through the entire process!

Episode 75: The Wicked Women of Greek Mythology

Ever wonder why stories of women in mythology and religion so often paint them as the villains? From Pandora opening the jar of evils to Medusa's transformation into a monster, these tales shape cultural narratives that endure today.

In this episode, Angie dives into ancient Greek mythology to unpack how women like Pandora, Medusa, and Circe have been scapegoated for humanity's woes—and how feminist perspectives reclaim their stories as symbols of curiosity, defiance, and resilience. We’ll explore the gods’ messy, human-like flaws, Zeus's power plays, and Hera’s complicated transformation from a powerful pre-Greek goddess to a vengeful Olympian queen. This is part one of a series on “Wicked Women,” examining how patriarchal storytelling turns women’s strength into cautionary tales.

Want Angie to cover Adam, Eve, Lilith, and the Abrahamic traditional takes on women next? Let her know! Email, DM, or comment—because these stories deserve a closer look.

Helpful Links:

Follow for more myths, misunderstood women, and stories that challenge how we think about history and culture! 🌿✨

Blessed Full Moon in Aries

Whew, boy, I missed posting this here yesterday (though if you follow my IG, you would have seen it!), but still useful in that three day window you can really dive deep into Full Moon energy.

In my Membership group, I do a collective Full Moon reading and more for our group, so check out my revamped Membership group and join if you like my approach to the medicine.

Episode 73: Q+A Episode on Existentialism, the Meaning of Life + the Gospels according to Angie

Click here to access Episode 73 on Spotify.

On this week’s episode, I am answering some questions from my listeners, and they ended up being long. Little did they know they hit on some of my special interests as a neurodivergent religion + philosophy nerd. (hello, sailor!) Here are the questions and time where you can find them:

Question 1 : (at 4:35)

from Becky Davis, ACM

How do we find meaning when our day-to-day lives feel empty?

Question 2 : (at 29.06)

from Lee Ann Huebner

This is something I've been meaning to research forever.

When did the quote in the Bible from Jesus saying he was the only way to God first show up? Cause I'm not buying it. One it doesn't seem like something he would say and why would God exclude much of the human souls on this planet with a one line quote.

I also discuss Spirit of Oneness in Harrisburg PA, hosted by Sharon Muzio of Alta View Wellness Center. You can find more information at ⁠http://spiritofonenessevent.com . It takes place Saturday, October 5th from 10am to 6pm and Sunday, October 6th from 10am to 5pm.⁠

If you want to ask a question or comment, or have an idea for a future episode, or want to be on a future episode, send me an email at angie@themoonandstone.com.