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That came together faster than expected, 18 hour from first record button to upload. (and I worked an 8 hour day and slept some). I’m still trying to figure out if I want to make this part of the iTunes stream and what resolution to release it out.

You can visit my new YouTube channel by clicking the logo below.

Supply List:

• 12″ Portable Paper Trimmer by Fiskars – These are available every where. I also have the 9″ which is annoyingly small if you want to trim an 8×11 page.
• 1/8″ radius Corner Rounding tool from Oregon Lamination
• Sharp Scissors
• Elmer’s Painters Gold Metallic Pen [Edges]
• Sakura Pen-Touch 1.0 mm in Gold and Silver [Writing on Cards]
• Acrylic Paint (Liquitex Basics Acrylics in Gold and Silver, Liquitex Iridescent Medium) [Decoration]

This is what I’m trying out for distribution of Video, HD for YouTube and you can subscribe to the channel. And a lower res for mobile devices on the iTunes feed. Love to hear your thoughts on this and to see your decks if you modify them.

I honestly didn’t know how I was going to overcome the inertia. I have 3 audio podcasts that need to be edited. That part became drudgery, I had played around with the idea of doing something live, like Blogtalk, but couldn’t stand the quality down grade, they release lower quality mp3′s than I like and everything sounds better edited.

When I started up the Tarot Connection, distribution Mp3 was a big deal. Not everyone could get them, I even had people wanted me to accommodate dial-up internet at the time.  Times have changed!When I thought about video I felt the same thrill of adventure that I felt six years ago when I released my first podcast. What a welcome feeling and a long time coming. Last time I looked at non-tape camcorders there were only two on the market and they didn’t look very good.  Times have changed!!!!!!

To chase the thrill, I bought a rocking VIXIA HF M32 Camcorder, which arrived Tuesday. On Friday, I set it up and tried recording for the first time. I went with modifying tarot decks to start with, not because its ground breaking, the last time I blogged about it was 2007, but because I think there was something to be shown visually and I needed to face the learning curve of recording, processing, mixing, and uploading.

I hope you enjoy the first video and plan on making more and am excited to look at other mixed media presentations.

Oh, and I appreciate sound editing much more right now.

Each card of the Minute Tarot is unique – it was drawn and colored in just five minutes to help the artist overcome a creative block. The full 78 cards were completed in just over nine hours to make a charming and very usable set in the Rider-Waite tradition.

• Size: 3.75″ x 2.5″
• 78 Cards
• Title Card
• Silk Bag in Assorted Colors
• Mini Sand Timer
• $40

Buy your copy of the Minute Tarot in the Tarot Connection Shop

All Hallows Tarot

The All Hallows Tarot is a modern, Halloween-themed art tarot featuring goths, ghosts, punks, mediums and more. The images evoke all things mysterious…the idea that on All Hallows eve, strange people come out of the dark, and the veils between worlds and realities tend to melt away…

Drawn on blank playing cards, The All Hallow’s Tarot was originally meant to be a one of a kind thing…sold to some anonymous higher bidder on E-Bay to raise money for the artists mothers medical bills. Now in print due to popular demand.

Pre-Order from the Tarot Connection Shop – $40

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

Exquisitely rich and magical, this new Rider-Waite-Smith-based tarot deck by digital artist Ciro Marchetti takes you into the heart of fantasy. You can use this legacy from ages past to discover what you need for your own life as it guides you toward hope, wisdom, and inspiration.

The companion guidebook, Gateway to the Divine Tarot, presents the author’s interpretation of each card’s significance, along with additional perspectives from experts in the tarot community, including Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone, James Ricklef, and Leisa ReFalo.

I would like to thank Sean Tierseron and Debi Scott for their help as contributing editors. My part of the book would not have been possible under the very tight 4 week deadline without their tireless effort and support.

The Annotated Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery: a Renaissance Magical Tradition

The deck started with Robert Place’s  love of the paintings of the 19th century painter Burne-Jones. Like all magical works, this deck falls in the cracks between common definitions. It can be used as a deck of cards for divination but it is also a book of unbound pages that explains the philosophy and allegory of the Tarot. The written message on each card explains the symbolism and the theme of the card but not necessarily its divinatory meaning. The text is open ended and invites us to contemplate the image on a deeper level.

This deck is also a work of art that is larger than an average Tarot, 8½” by 5½”, and printed on archival rag paper. Each card is suitable for framing. Lastly, it is a deck for meditation or contemplation and each card can be displayed on an easel for this purpose. The Fool and all 21 trumps are represented. There is also a title card, three cards containing introductory text, a glossary of unusual terms, and a card with a chart of the seven ancient planets and their correspondences: 28 cards in all.

Available from the Tarot Connection Shop – $50

The Seven Soul Centers with with Robert Place – Feb. 18, 2009

$25.00

The Symbolic Origins of the Tarot: Mar 18 & 25 2009

$50.00

Hieroglyphs From The Soul with Robert Place: April 1, 2009

$25.00

The Relationship Triangle Spread with Robert Place: Apr 15, 2009

$25.00 ]]> http://tarotconnection.net/winter-class-schedule/feed/ 0 http://tarotconnection.net/preview-of-the-annotated-sevenfold-mystery-by-robert-m-place/ http://tarotconnection.net/preview-of-the-annotated-sevenfold-mystery-by-robert-m-place/#comments Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:16:26 +0000 leisa http://tarotconnection.net/?p=306

The Tarot Connection is listed in Chapter 18: Top 10 Type of Podcasts to Check Out, in the Spiritual Podcasts. The other two mentioned are Catholic Insider (www.catholicinsider.com) and ZenCast (www.zencast.com).

The Tarot Connection (www.tarotconnection.net): If your understanding of Tarot doesn’t reach beyond the 007 classic Live and Let die, you need to know “There’s more to the cards than your realize, Mr. Bond”. A podcast like the Tarot Connection dispells many of the myths and misunderstandings of what card readings really mean and how they work. Host Leisa ReFalo, an author of two Tarot decks herself, talks Tarot on The Tarot Conection but also explores Journeywork, Astrology, Numerology and other studies.

Spiritualist Minister … Clairvoyant … Herbalist … Cerified Reiki Counselor … Numerology … Dowser … Shiatsu … Foot Reflexologist … Spirtuial Response Therapist … Theraputic Touch …. Energy balancer

Judith Beaudoin, CEO of Crystal Cavern has worked for the last 30 years to bring Harmony, Knowledge and Wellness to her clients. Judith has lectured at the Oregon Herb Society, Women’s Military League of Oregon, Churches in both Oregon and Washington, Readings at Events, Private Functions, Classes, Workshops and Private Sessions. She has appeared on Town Hall on Channel 2 in Portland, Oregon and as guest Speaker and Reader on Vancouver’s Cable Network.

Crystal Cavern

14915 SW 72nd Avenue Tigard, Oregon 97224
1 Mile North of Bridgeport Plaza
(Between Bonita and Carman Drive on 72nd Ave.)

Phone: 503-597-2688

Hours:

• Monday to Saturday: 12 pm to 6 pm
• Sunday: 1 pm to 4 pm

Incense and Associations

There are many different associations for incense and different associations/attributions. Here is one example.

Chakras

• 1st Chakra: Violets
• 2nd Chakra: Sandal Wood
• 3rd Chakra: Honeysuckle
• 4th Chakra: Musk
• 5th Chakra: Carnation
• 6th Chakra: Lavender
• 7th Chakra: Wisteria

Elements:

• Air: Leaves – Patchouli
• Earth: Roots – Valerian, Vervet, Ginger, Spikenard
• Fire: Flower: Clove
• Water: Stems & Branches: Sandalwood, Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedar wood
• Ether: Fruit – Star Annis

Astrological Signs

• Aries: Frankincense, Carnation, Musk
• Taurus: Rose, Magnolia, Ceder wood, Patchouli, Rosemary
• Gemini: Lotus, Lilac, Star Annis
• Cancer: Myrrh, Violet, Bayberry, Patchouli
• Leo: Frankincense, Sweet Orange, Musk, Cedar Wood
• Virgo: Lavender, Narcissus, Honeysuckle
• Libra: Lilac, Rose, Magnolia
• Scorpio: Violet, Bay wood, Clove, Vanilla, Frankincense
• Sagittarius: Myrrh, Rose, Carnation, Sweet Orange
• Capricorn: Magnolia, Honeysuckle
• Aquarius: Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Frankincense
• Pisces: Cloves, Honeysuckle

Books on Incense & Aroma Therapy

Music Credits

• Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
• Closing Music: The Calling by Solace from Iman (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Join visionary artist, scholar, and teacher Robert M. Place in a journey through the imagery and symbolism of alchemy.

This study course on CD-ROM focuses on the images in the Alchemical Tarot and its sources. It includes a 50 page companion book in pdf format, 13 additional handouts, over 100 illustrations and three and one half hours of audio, recorded in live teleclasses.

It is available for $50 at shop.tarotconnection.net

The Relationship Spread

June 18, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST
$25.00

Register Here

Tarot readers are most commonly asked for advice about love or career. By treating these questions as a relationship between the querent and another person, company, or institution this spread can handle both topics. This spread can be applied to relationships between the querent and a lover, a boss, or another person, a job, a home, a culture, a city, or another environment. Instead of predicting the future, it gives insight into what each party is thinking and how they are interacting. Then the cards can provide insight from the Higher Self and tell the querent how to improve the relationship or other advice. This is a truly versatile spread that is capable of bringing insight and guidance to any situation.

The class will include an introduction to the spread, the three stages of relationships and how they relate to the Tarot trumps, and sample readings. This class builds on the lessons learned in Hieroglyphs From The Soul and will expand on the three-card reading.

Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and The Alchemical Tarot will be used.

The Symbolism of Numbers

June 25, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST / 9:00 – 11:00 EST (Call opens 15 min. early)
$25.00

Register Here

Besides describing quantity and sequence numbers have inherent psychological meaning and symbolism. The meaning of the number five, for example, is tied to the fact that humans have five fingers. This natural symbolism has been added to over the centuries by Babylonian astronomers observing the numerical patterns of the planets, Egyptian magicians applying numbers to their magic formulas, and Pythagorean mystics observing abstract mathematical patterns. In the Middle Ages, Christian mystics and alchemists added more layers and this accumulated symbolic wisdom was passed onto the creators of the Tarot in the Renaissance. Besides the numerical symbolism suggested by the trumps, the symbolism of numbers is at the heart of traditional methods of divination with cards, particularly when we consider that the pip cards traditionally contained repetitions of the suit symbol on each card and not much else.

This class will explain the symbolism of the of the first ten numbers, covering their natural, astrological, mystical, and mythological associations, and apply this knowledge to the meanings of the Tarot’s trumps and pips. A knowledge of numerical symbolism is essential for a deeper understanding of the Tarot and its use in divination.

Teleclass Information

You will be responsible for the long distance rates or tolls will be charged by your phone company. For most people, this usually runs about $3-$6 for an hour. Calling Cards can also be used. (Note: If you are a Tarot Professional, your tuition may be tax-deductible as a training expense. Consult your tax advisor.)
What you need:

1. Telephone (land line if possible, we will be recording the class)
2. Quiet Room
3. Tarot Deck
4. Handout (provided)
5. Notebook
6. Pencil

You will be notified by e-mail with the conference call number and passcode. Please write in with questions for a reading. Robert Place will select a couple of questions for use in the class.

register for these classes at shop.tarotconnection.net

May 7 & 14, 2008 -6:oo – 8:00 PST – 8:00 -10:00 EST
$50.00

Register Here

Alchemical symbols are connected to a wisdom tradition that is derived from the Higher Self. Therefore, the alchemical images in The Alchemical Tarot magnify the symbolic purpose of the Tarot and unveil the transformative wisdom of the Higher Self.

In these two classes we will walk through the alchemical imagery of the Alchemical Tarot with its creator, Robert M. Place.

Sample Page from Class Notes:

Hieroglyphs From The Soul

June 11, 2008 -6:oo – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST

$25.00

Register Here

Robert Place sees the Tarot as a spiritual tool that works, through its archetypal images, to assist our Higher Self to guide us to enlightened choices and spiritual wisdom. He recommends three card readings as a Tarot staple, and sets out a guideline for interpreting them called “The Seven Patterns.” These patterns include: linear, choice, central origin, central destination, the central problem and the central teacher.

The course will include an introduction to the method, description of the patterns, and sample readings. For the three card spread. Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and Alchemical Tarot will be used.

Read a review of this class by Cynthia Tedesco.

The Relationship Spread

June 18, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST
$25.00

Register Here

Tarot readers are most commonly asked for advice about love or career. By treating these questions as a relationship between the querent and another person, company, or institution this spread can handle both topics. This spread can be applied to relationships between the querent and a lover, a boss, or another person, a job, a home, a culture, a city, or another environment. Instead of predicting the future, it gives insight into what each party is thinking and how they are interacting. Then the cards can provide insight from the Higher Self and tell the querent how to improve the relationship or other advice. This is a truly versatile spread that is capable of bringing insight and guidance to any situation.

The class will include an introduction to the spread, the three stages of relationships and how they relate to the Tarot trumps, and sample readings. This class builds on the lessons learned in Hieroglyphs From The Soul and will expand on the three-card reading.

Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and The Alchemical Tarot will be used.

Teleclass Information

You will be responsible for the long distance rates or tolls will be charged by your phone company. For most people, this usually runs about $3-$6 for an hour. Calling Cards can also be used. (Note: If you are a Tarot Professional, your tuition may be tax-deductible as a training expense. Consult your tax advisor.)
What you need:

1. Telephone (land line if possible, we will be recording the class)
2. Quiet Room
3. Tarot Deck
4. Handout (provided)
5. Notebook
6. Pencil

You will be notified by e-mail with the conference call number and passcode. Please write in with questions for a reading. Robert Place will select a couple of questions for use in the class.

register for these classes at shop.tarotconnection.net

Tarot Table Talk Episode Number 6: Interview with Leisa ReFalo of The Tarot Connection

Susan Gold interviewed me for her podcast. She was able to get me to talk more about myself than I am usually willing to do. This interview helped me to get motivated to launch the Tarot of the iPod project.

Here are a few pictures that related to the conversation.

The Osborne Computer

Some of my Lace

Hieroglyphs From The Soul

11/28/07 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST
$25.00

Register Here
Robert Place sees the Tarot as a spiritual tool that works, through its archetypal images, to assist our Higher Self to guide us to enlightened choices and spiritual wisdom. He recommends three card readings as a Tarot staple, and sets out a guideline for interpreting them called “The Seven Patterns.” These patterns include: linear, choice, central origin, central destination, the central problem and the central teacher.

The course will include an introduction to the method, description of the patterns, and sample readings. For the three card spread. Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and Alchemical Tarot will be used.

The Relationship Spread

12/12/07 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST
$25.00

Register Here

Tarot readers are most commonly asked for advice about love or career. By treating these questions as a relationship between the querent and another person, company, or institution this spread can handle both topics. This spread can be applied to relationships between the querent and a lover, a boss, or another person, a job, a home, a culture, a city, or another environment. Instead of predicting the future, it gives insight into what each party is thinking and how they are interacting. Then the cards can provide insight from the Higher Self and tell the querent how to improve the relationship or other advice. This is a truly versatile spread that is capable of bringing insight and guidance to any situation.

The class will include an introduction to the spread, the three stages of relationships and how they relate to the Tarot trumps, and sample readings. This class builds on the lessons learned in Hieroglyphs From The Soul and will expand on the three-card reading.

Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and The Alchemical Tarot will be used.

The Four Elements and the Four Functions of Consciousness

1/9/08 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST
$25.00

Register Here

The famous Swiss Psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, is best known for his theories about the unconscious mind but Jung mapped the conscious mind as well. In the conscious mind he found a mandala of four personality types that he called functions. Although Jung started by examining the four humors of classical medicine, he quickly realized that they did not describe true psychological states. He replaced them with the four qualities that he did discover in the human psyche and labeled these qualities: thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. Although Jung veered away from the theory of the humors, it is still possible to make a connection between his four functions and the four elements of the alchemists and through this connection to link them with the four minor suits in the Tarot.

This class will explore the symbolism of the four minor suits and demonstrate that they contain a mandala like structure that relates to the four directions, seasons, elements, and other fourfold systems including the four Jungian functions. We will learn more about the functions through examples and each student will attempt to discover their dominant function. Through their relationship with the functions, the cards become a valuable psychological tool that can point out difference in personality and harmonize relationships between different personality types.

Dream Divination

1/23/08 & 1/30/08 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST
$50

Register Here

We spend about one third of our lives sleeping. When you are asleep you are naturally communicating with the unconscious part of your mind, where the archetypes live and your dreams are that communication. The ability to dream evolved in mammals about 130 million years ago. Like all mammals, humans dream and have always dreamed as long as they have been around. It is not surprising, therefore, that dreams are the oldest and most natural form of divination. They are also one of the most insightful and reliable. Dreams can heal us mentally and physically, they can teach us, they are a source of inspiration, and they can predict the future.

In these two classes we will learn about ancient oneiromanic practices and the modern theories of Jung. We will learn about the principle archetypes and some common dream symbols. We will learn how to remember dreams and we will make use of the methods devised by psychiatrist Montague Ullman to hold a group dream discussion. Bring a pad and pencil and some dreams.

Vampires and the Tarot

2/13/08 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST
$25.00

Register Here

Although the Vampire of modern literature and film is a blood sucking monster he or she is also the focus of sexual desire. This is exemplified by the fact that although Bela Lugosi made his reputation playing Dracula, the most famous vampire fiend, women all over the world swooned for him and he received hundreds of proposals of marriage. This paradox illuminates the fact that the modern Vampire of pop culture, particularly Dracula, is in reality an ancient mythological figure who has covertly entered a culture that is consciously attempting to cut itself off from myth. The story of this mythological Vampire is also related to the Tarot trumps.

Stoker’s biographer, Barbara Belford, points out that Dracula author Bram Stoker, was aware of the Tarot and seems to have based many of the characters in Dracula on Tarot trumps. In this lecture we will explore how and why this is so and find out why Pamela Coleman Smith and Stoker were friends, who influenced who, and if Stoker was a member of the Golden Dawn. We will also find that an appreciation of Dracula can deepen out understanding of Tarot symbolism.

New in the Tarot Connection Shop

Susan Gold

Genre: Spirituality
© Copyright 2007 Susan Gold. All rights reserved.

Teleclass with Robert Place on October 24th 2007

The power of the Tarot comes from the fact that it communicated with pictures, the same way one’s Higher Self communicates and the same way that a dream communicates. As the Tarot images are highly symbolic and archetypal they may be considered a type of picture writing, like Egyptian hieroglyphs, that can be used by one’s Higher Self to communicate ideas and describe events. If one thinks of the Higher Self as the wiser spiritual part of his or herself it may also be referred to as the soul and these hieroglyphs that emerged from the visions of Renaissance artists in the 1400s can be considered hieroglyphs from the soul.

Robert Place will be teaching a teleclass on three card readings as a Tarot staple. He sets out a guideline for interpreting them called “The Seven Patterns”. These patterns include: linear, choice, meeting, central origin, central destination, the central problem and the central teacher.

• Date: Wednesday October 24th 2007
  
• Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PST
• Cost: $25

For more information and to register visit shop.tarotconnection.net

Vist the Gallery at gallery.tarotconnection.net

Pre-order at shop.tarotconnection.net

Our presenters and topics for the day are:

GAIL FAIRFIELD.

Choice Centered Tarot and Relating
Hardly a reading goes by that doesn’t include a question or comment about relating. Whether the person is asking about a child, partner, parent, or colleague, relationship questions are fraught with more emotion than any others. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to evaluate:

• what works or doesn’t work in a relationship
• what to embrace or avoid
• key questions to ask yourself or the other person
• the purpose of the relationship

As we identify the key questions to ask, we’ll also consider the layouts that could answer those questions. We’ll also keep the focus on empowerment rather than predictions.

RACHEL POLLACK.

Archaeology of the Tarot.
Many card meanings we have today are not the original interpretations. The Fool did not originally mean a wise innocent journeying through life, but rather a crazy person driven from place to place–like the homeless beggars we see in our big cities. Are these older meanings just a curiosity or can they enrich our readings today? In this session (based on her series of Tarot Intensive workshops, and the forthcoming Intensive book) Rachel will trace the development of meaning in the tarot, and we will look together at how to use this knowledge in practice.

JAMES WELLS.

Tarot In Action!
We know how rich and meaningful a tarot consultation can be. Imagine this insight and wisdom creating positive change in your psyche and in your ‘real’ world! Learn creative and powerful methods to bring the energy of your readings down to earth so that you and your querents not only learn about life, but also transform it through consciously sculpted actions.

Plus opening and closing Q & A panel discussions with all three presenters!

10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at WonderWorks, 79A Harbord Street, Toronto (just west of Spadina).
Please arrive between 9:30 and 9:55 so we can begin on time. Thank you.

You’ll need to bring:

• a tarot deck of your choice
• a notebook
• a packed lunch or money to buy lunch nearby

Only $100 for a day of stretching your tarot skills and meeting other great tarot people. Open to people of ALL levels of tarot experience. First-paid first-served basis.

PRIVATE TAROT CONSULTATIONS with our presenters will take place on Sunday, September 9. These one-hour sessions are $150 each and will take place near Castle Frank station in Toronto.

Presenter Bios:

GAIL FAIRFIELD (Choice Centered Tarot, Choice Centered Astrology, Choice-Centered Relating and the Tarot) was born in China and raised in Japan by missionary parents. She was encouraged to find her own answers to life’s questions. Gail was introduced to the tarot in 1973 and was hooked immediately! Gail’s studies in psychology and education contribute to her choice-centred manner of living life and using tools such as the tarot, astrology, and NLP. She currently makes her home in Bloomington, Indiana.

RACHEL POLLACK (78 Degrees of Wisdom, Forest of Souls, Shining Tribe Tarot, and more) is a poet, award-winning novelist, authority on the modern interpretation of tarot cards, and a tarot card artist. She began her journey with the cards in 1970. Since then, Rachel has written thirteen tarot books, including “78 Degrees of Wisdom”, often called the “Bible of Tarot Reading”, and the “Shining Tribe Tarot”, designed and drawn by Rachel herself. Rachel resides in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley.

JAMES WELLS (Tarot for Manifestation) is a Toronto-based consultant, teacher, and facilitator devoted to merging soul and strategy. Through tools and processes such as tarot, reiki, council circle, and journal writing, he and his clients and students are inspired to become more of who they really are. Tarot has been a part of James’ life since 1979. His insightful, down-to-earth, proactive style makes him a popular practitioner and presenter at home and abroad. James enjoys writing, reading, walking, and good martinis.

Astrologer Dena Decastro, who has been a regular guest, has a new Astrology podcast.

I’m the guest for Episode 3 which explores the differences between tarot readings and astrology readings. You can listen here, download the mp3, or subscribe via iTunes!

Download or Play the Episode

Running Time: 49:22 min | File Size: 56.5.X MB

Download audio file (EvolutionsOfAstrology3.mp3)

This Podcast Episode has been archived.

It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

My guest is Mary Carter who’s latest book Accidentally Engaged protagonist Clare Ivers is a psychic tarot reader. Clare ignores her intuition which is telling her to decline reading for a woman who is getting cold feet about her upcoming wedding. Clare is asked to give a phony reading in favor of the wedding (by the sister-in-law) and to break the engagement (by the future bride). Clare obliges her customer and comes into possession of a 3 carat wedding ring that needs returning.

Accidentally Engaged

By Mary Carter
PROLOGUE

It all started that fateful evening when I allowed myself to turn over the first card. It was from the Major Arcana, Trumps Zero, The Fool.

He’s the grinning idiot, the class clown, the one who eats oysters despite the Red Tide warning, the guy who lowers his car for increased speed and agility, despite the fact that it’s a Saturn.

Most Tarot card decks show The Fool standing at the edge of a cliff, not watching what he’s doing. He’s daydreaming, he’s staring off into the sky, he’s mentally composing his grocery list. In other words, he’s terminally out of milk.

He’s also one step away from plunging thousands of feet to his death.

And it’s not like anyone didn’t warn him. (Hence, his name.)

If a non-foolish man were carefully and strategically walking down a path and suddenly plunged to his death due to large foliage, overgrown trees, or poor city planning, we’d all feel sorry for the guy, maybe even drop a bundle of flowers or light an outdoor-only non flammable candle at the accident site. Maybe even shed a few tears. We’re reasonable people. And even if we didn’t go that far, we certainly wouldn’t blame the guy for dying.

But if there were clues pointing to the impending disaster scattered along the way, such as small forest animals running at top speed in the opposite direction, a strange, stale feeling of doom hovering about the suddenly stilled air, or a large, neon sign blinking Danger! This path ends in a perilous cliff!, we probably wouldn’t be so sympathetic when The Fool blindly forged ahead and plummeted off the face of the earth. Most likely we’d say, I told you so.

In my defense (because a fool always has one), at the time I thought I was doing the reading for someone else. It’s only now as I stand at the edge of the cliff, one step away from taking the fatal plunge myself, that I can see everything so clearly.

Mary Carter

Mary Carter is a freelance writer and certified sign language interpreter. She’s a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC) and Rochester Institute of Technology/NTID. Her first novel, SHE’LL TAKE IT, will be re-published by Headline Books/Little Black Dress in the UK in November 2006. Her second novel, ACCIDENTALLY ENGAGED, a comedy about a tarot card reader who messes up the engagement of a very prominent bachelor, will be released in March of 2007 by both Kensington Books and Little Black Dress. Mary currently lives in Manhattan where she is busy writing her third novel.

• Mary Carter Books (Visit Mary’s Website)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Ritual and the Aces

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. This is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be talking about ritual and the Aces. Webster defines ritual as something done in accordance with religious law, social custom, or normal protocol. That is a pretty wide range of thought! I personally see ritual as something that can be either formal or informal something that marks the passage of time, and the important events in our lives. Ritual is a marker that we use to make sense of life.

For me, an important, if informal, ritual is my morning coffee. When the weather is nice, I sit on my porch and gaze into the back yard, which is filled with all kinds of plant and animal life. In bad weather, the ritual takes place indoors, but the result is the same … I have connected with my soul, and with the life that surrounds me.

The Aces represent a world of opportunity. They are unexplored elemental energy waiting to be manifested, waiting to be put into use. What do you wish to manifest in your life? Which Ace, or combination of Aces, will assist you on your path?

Caution: do not listen to this episode in situations requiring alertness such as driving a car or operating machinery. Journey work is designed to put you in to a state of relaxation and an altered state of consciousness.

Tarot by the Numbers: The Twos by Ginny Hunt

I have a very conflicted relationship with numbers. I’m hopeless with math but I can do symbolism. That may seem a contradictory statement, for what are numbers but abstract symbols themselves? I can grasp the conceptual meaning of the symbols easily, but for some reason I will add 2 + 2 and come up with 5. Hey, that’s just me thinking outside the box, ok? Numbers and their symbolism inform a great deal about the meaning of tarot, and there is very little, if any, mathematical skill necessary to understand them. While the suits each have their attributes, so do each number.

There’s a whole field of spiritual and divinatory study called Numerology that goes well beyond the realm of tarot. However, tarot numerology differs in some ways from what has been developed in Numerology numerology. In Tarot, we primarily keep the symbolic meanings of the numbers in mind as a reference to sorting out the meaning of the cards. Understanding these symbolic numerical associations becomes more critical when working with non-scenic pip decks, such as the Marseilles-based decks, where pictured on the card may simply be 4 cups or 7 swords and not much else to go on.

The Major Arcana is numbered 0-21 and the Minor Arcana is numbered 1 (or Ace)-10 in each of the four suits. Each of the Minor numbers are associated with a Major. For example, as we take a look at the Two’s in Tarot, they all connect in some way to the Major Arcana II — The High Priestess. Each number also has a planetary association, so there’s some crossover with Astrology here as well.

The number two first and foremost represents dualism which is the existence of two fundamental principles, concepts, things or energies, that are in opposition to each other. It is where thought begins to actually take form. Human minds are geared towards seeing the relationships between two things, usually opposite things. We often express ourselves in this way, using opposing concepts to get at what we mean. We say something is good/bad, light/dark, male/female, sweet/sour. It is said we could not know happiness if not for having experienced its opposite, sadness. So, in that way two’s represent that dichotomy of thought that allows coherent expression of the initial idea begun in the Aces. (read the full post)

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)

Closing Music: Happy Accident from Mystery Repeats Itself by Michael Masley

Three of Swords and Ace of Cups created from the Alchemical Tarot with permission of Robert Place. I enlarged scans of the cards in Photoshop to the size to fit the frame and then applied stained glass to the glass that came with the frame. I used nuggets, mirrored glass and ground some of the pieces to shape them.

78 Notes to Self: A Tarot Journal

Ginny Hunt: I started 78 Notes To Self because I love tarot, I love writing, I have a lot to say and hope there’s someone who wants to listen. I also really enjoy helping people process through their stuff. I’m all about the process. Reading tarot for others is a mutually satisfying endeavor because I get to read the cards and hopefully help you process through some of your stuff, and you get to make a little sense out of something that has been nagging you and making you crazy. See? Win-win.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet

Bonnie Cehovet: Tarot has been many things to me – most of all, a tool of transformation. In the light of the fire we will take a look at the many ways that Tarot can be used to clarify where we are currently, to show the way for the future, and to bringing healing and integration into our lives.

Kathy McKeever is organizing an art show May 5th – June 7th 2007 at Art / Not Terminal Gallery in Seattle, WA www.antgallery.org

and YOU can enter

• any medium is welcome
• $20 show fee per participant ( covers space rental )
• each artist can show up to 4 images
• reserve your cards by April 15th, no images will be repeated
• opening party will be Sat. the 5th with tarot readers
• non-juried and first come first serve

To reserve your cards, contact Kathy McKeever by phone at 206-860-3034 or urbancauldron@yahoo.com

Music: Art vs. Process from Chronic Dreams by Four Stones

Download or Play the Episode

Running Time: 14:18 min | File Size: 13.2 MB

Download audio file (TarotConnectionArtShow2007.mp3)

I e-mailed Ciro Marchetti to gain permission to use an image from the Tarot of Dreams for the show notes. Ciro likes to provide high resolution images files for reviews and he sent along the Queen of Wands in case I might be interested in seeing one of the first cards from a deck that is in progress.

I have wanted for a long time some artwork to use for my site. As you know I’ve been using the Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse which is beautiful and introspective. I would say she would be a combination Queen of Pentacles and Cups.

My quandary has been how do I find something that I have permission to use that can compare to the oil on canvas painting of Waterhouse. Honestly, I couldn’t even picture what I wanted. That wish seemed impossible until I saw the Queen of Wands; sure she is a fair bit feistier. A friend thought she looked mysterious and dangerous. My father said she looked like she was about to start something. I prefer all of these qualities. I also love the use of light and color. Check out the detail on her veil and the golden caps on her braids. It pleases me to no end that she my favorite Tarot Queen.

The Queen of Wands is from his 3rd Tarot Deck. His other decks are the Gilded Tarot and the Tarot of Dreams. The Tarot of Dreams Deck and Giclee prints are available for purchase at ciromarchetti.com. (Including a print of the Queen of Wands)

This paragraph is no longer part of the article but here is how it read in October 2006

The advent of computer technology and the internet is changing the way tarot information is disseminated. For the self-published The WorldTree Tarot, artist Ann Cass provides a handbook as a free downloadable .pdf file from her website. Ciro Marchetti’s self-published Tarot of Dreams includes, in place of a handbook, a CD-ROM which contains a game-like interface supplying animated card images and divinatory text, as well as a full-length handbook in electronic format. Many tarot beginners find information and advice on forums such as Aeclectic Tarot Forum and e-lists such as TarotL. The Tarot Connection is a series of podcasts featuring interviews with tarot practictioners, authors, artists, and others prominent in the tarot community. There is even a Tarot Wiki.

http://www.myspace.com/tarotconnection

or

Steven Ashe has a new podcast and a YouTube video that are worth your time. Steven is my favorite modern occult author and I’ve purchased everything I can get my hands on. Some of my motivation for putting out a podcast is I can’t get enough esoteric/occult audio. I found him on e-bay sometime last year but you can now go to lulu for his books & audio. He is offering an number of his audio programs for download on his web-log.

You can watch the video here.

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