The Tarot Connection » Bonnie Cehovet

Episode 69: Become Your Own Oracle with James Wanless

leisa — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:05:20 +0000

Intuition, symbols, synchronicities and tarot to create your future.

From the Class on Friday November 30th 2007 in Portland Oregon

Experience modern, progressive tarot with tarot master, James Wanless, Ph.D. No longer a medieval fortune telling game, tarot is a spiritual and psychological tool that gives you a holistic map for how to create the fortunes you desire. Rather than a passive, deterministic old world process, tarot is an empowering, proactive compass for navigating your life in this changing, complex world.

In this hands on tarot evening, you will pick take-home cards and symbols from the Voyager Tarot Deck, and find your path and action to manifest your visions and dreams.

About the Presenter:

James Wanless, Ph.D. is the noted creator of Voyager Tarot, and also the author of Way of the Great Oracle, Strategic Intuition for the 21st Century, New Age Tarot, Wheel of Tarot and his latest book, Intuition@Work.

He has often been called “Mr. Tarot” or the “Tarot Revolutionary” because of his enormous contribution to the field of tarot. With his magical blend of personal charisma, humor and pragmatic enthusiasm, he is thought of as a “corporate shaman” and an internationally known authority on intuition.

He keynotes, trains, and consults with organizations throughout the world. He has also developed a groundbreaking technique for using the tarot as a proactive tool for “Life Coaching.”

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - the Star and the Moon

Let’s complete our journey through the symbols of the Sun, Judgement and the World.
Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be continuing on our journey through the symbols in the Major Arcana. As I noted in the first Pod Cast of this series, that of the Fool, the imagery and symbolism in the Tarot is what connects us to its archetypal qualities and wisdom. It acts as a gateway between our conscious and our unconscious worlds. Each deck carries with it its own unique brand of imagery and symbols. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to the Waite-Smith Tarot (also known as the Rider-Waite Tarot), as it is a traditional reference, and quite often used for teaching purposes. Interpreting the imagery and symbols is done in two ways: through the intent of the author/illustrator (and here we need to remember that the background for the Rider-Waite deck is that of the Golden Dawn), and how the Seeker sees it through the veil of their own personal life experiences.

Let’s continue our journey through the final cards of the Sun, Judgment, and the World. The major theme for the Sun is that of renewal. The energy of the Sun is intense masculine energy (as opposed to the feminine energy of the Moon).

The Sun itself symbolizes life force, and its twenty-one rays symbolize the twenty-one cards of the Major Arcana, with the center representing the Fool.

The four Sunflowers, sacred to the Sun, represent the four elements.

The wall indicates a boundary of some sort - the child being outside of the wall indicates that he is beyond limitations.

The white horses are solar symbols, as well as symbols of our inner self. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson also indicates that the white horses represent force subdued by reason.

The naked child riding the horse has nothing to hide. The red banner symbolizes action and intent. The red feather goes back to the card of the Fool, showing that the Fool has been transformed through a mystical death and is now an innocent child.

When the Sun appears in a reading, the Seeker may be bringing a childlike innocence tot he situation. Take a look at the surrounding cards to see if they need to balance this by paying closer attention to their environment. The force of the Sun’s energy also represents the potential for unbounded creativity - the thought here is that the Seeker not burn themselves out….

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (www.magnatune.com)
Closing Music: Wish Fulfilling Jewel by Sibelian from the Soul Rush (Magnatune)

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Episode 68: The Skeptic & Spreads

leisa — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 18:35:20 +0000

The Process by Dan Pellitier

Chapter 6: The Skeptic from the upcoming audio book by Dan Pelletier read by the author.

The woman stepped over to the booth where I was sitting; she was well dressed and coiffed, and carried a look of concern.

Linda, the bartender told me to talk to you. She said you read cards. Can you read mine?”

“It would be an honor.”

“I don’t believe in this psychic stuff, you know… the only reason I’m talking to you is because Linda spoke so highly of you. She said if anybody could help me find answers, you could.” She slid into the booth.

Most people believe that as Tarot readers, we are all “psychics.” Few are aware that there are different styles of reading. There is (for lack of better terms) the ’standard reading’, whereby meanings are ascribed to each card, and to each position where a card is placed. The memorized meanings are translated into a’ reading’. Archetypes provide a venue into which the sitter is able to see their life and experiences.

The intuitive (or psychic) reading uses the cards as a focal point - information comes to the reader from “out there” (different folks have diverse theories on where the knowledge comes from).

Both styles, and you may disagree with me and that is fine, are valid. When I read, it may be either type or both, and my regular clients not only cannot tell, but do not know …

Dan Pelletier

Dan Pelletier lives north of Seattle Washington with his wife of 22 years, Jan, his two cats, Spook and Pookha, and 32 rosebushes. He has been reading Tarot for himself and others for over thirty years.

Dan is also co-owner of The Tarot Garden, a highly respected resource for tarot decks and related information on the Internet. He has written articles appearing on the Tarot for Life website newsletter, Seeker’s Journey, and Tarot Passages; and has published interviews with deck creators on the tarotgarden.com website library.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - Tarot Spreads

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. This is Bonnie Cehovet, and today I will be discussing Tarot spreads … their purpose and how to develop them for yourself. I love using different spreads, and am very grateful to those in the Tarot world that are willing to share their own creative endeavors. I really enjoy the act of creating spreads … something that I began doing primarily to enhance my client readings, but discovered that it also allowed me to view my decks from a fresh perspective.

What do you get out of designing your own spreads?

The right sized spread for you … whether that is three cards or thirty-three cards.
Spreads that provide options, rather than outcomes.
Spreads that represent your own thought process.
Spreads that are tailor-made for the Seeker, and the Seeker’s issues.
The ability to modify existing spreads.
The ability to work sequentially with several smaller spreads.
Spreads tailored for use with specific decks, or geared towards special times, such as holidays.

There are probably as many ways to design a Tarot spread as there are people designing them. Each person is going to develop their own individual process … one that works for them, and their clients. The process that I am going to discuss is one that I have developed over a period of time, and one that works for me.

Whether I am reading for myself, for a friend, or for a client, the first thing that I want to know is what area of life the question is addressing. It can be romance, relationship, finances, career, decision making, spirituality … whatever it is, once I know the area that the question is in, I can determine what kind of answer the Seeker is looking for. (I use the term Seeker for the person being read for, as the term Querant … just makes me cringe, and is a term that I never, ever use!) Soooo …is the Seeker looking for insight into a specific issue or problem? Are they looking for actions to take? Are they looking for tools to work with? What the Seeker is looking for helps me determine how the questions should be worded.

Your question may be very general (as in “Is this the right time to make a move?”), or it may be quite specific (as in “Is it in my best interest to move to Florida next month?”). Work with the Seeker until both of you are satisfied with the question. As Teresa Michelson notes in “Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads”, one of the first things that you want to decide when formatting a question is the nature of the question: do you want it to be predictive, or empowering. A predictive question would be: “When is my house going to sell?” An empowering version of the same question would be: “What can I do to make my house more salable?” Go over this with the Seeker (or yourself, if the reading is for you) until both of you are sure what you want. Clear as mud doesn’t get it!

The next thing that you want to do is word the question so that the answer will be as specific as possible, and give as much information as possible. If the question that the Seeker is asking crosses ethical boundaries (i.e. legal, medical or financial, or personal boundaries in that they are asking about a third party) speak up. Either suggest a rewording of the question, or refuse to read for it, and explain why to the Seeker. If the question that the Seeker is asking is either vague, or very general, and this is what they want to ask, then work with a general spread, rather than one that is specifically created for the question. From my personal experience, a general spread puts this type of client in their comfort zone, and some truly empowering questions can come out of it.

Rather than asking a straightforward question, sometimes the Seeker will essentially tell you a story about their situation, and then ask you what they should do, or what they should know. Michelson points out that in such a case, make the different parts of their situation positions within the spread. Another thing that you can do here is to do several smaller spreads, collating the information into one flowing story once the individual readings have been completed.

Questions that I really hate run something like this: “Will I get the promotion, and if I do, will I get the salary that I want?” Here there are a couple of options: Break the questions down into separate questions, and/or separate the questions and reword them to be more empowering, something along the ones of: “What do I need to know about applying for this promotion.”, and “How can I best present myself to get the salary that I want?”

Tarot of the iPod

There are issues using the shuffle setting on some iPods if the file are ‘podcasts’. I’ve created this download archive: symbolism.zip

It has all of the files from the first edition Symbolism of the Tarot. The other reason you might want this copy is that the Artist shows who read the card. The iTunes feed removes this information. I will create an archive of the Pictorial Key to the Tarot when it is complete.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Transition Music: Serpent’s Kiss by Solace from Nagari (Magnatune)
Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (www.magnatune.com)
Closing Music: Sorrow & Veil by Solace from Nagari (Magnatune)

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Episode 64: Seven of Cups and the Imagery of the Gaian Tarot

leisa — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:41:08 +0000

Seven of Cups with the Portland Tarot Study Group

Excerpt from a Portland Study Group session on the Sevens.

One thing that I like to do when the 7 of Cups comes up in a reading is to ask the Querent to pick one of the cups. This may give insight into the situation or advice. Each of the Cups corresponds to a planet/major arcana card.

Play along, and choose one for yourself.

If you know this material or have difficulty selecting a card take out the planetary trumps, shuffle them and draw a card that way.

Planetary Trumps:

Magician
Priestess
Empress
Wheel of Fortune
Tower
Sun
World

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - Gaian Tarot

Today I will be discussing one of my favorite Indies - the Gaian Tarot, by Joanna Powell Colbert. I followed the creation process of this deck online, and was impressed not only by the theme (Gaia - Mother Earth), and the artwork (which is stunning!), but by Joanna’s inherent understanding of our personal relationship to Gaia. I do have to admit that it doesn’t hurt that the inspiration for the cards comes from nature scenes on one of the San Juan Islands, here in my very own Pacific Northwest! This deck is mystickal Tarot at its very best!I carried the excitement of a small child as I waited for this deck to arrive in my mailbox. I hurried back to the house to open it, cradling it in my hands - I knew this package would be filled with wonder and magick - and was it ever!

The presentation of this deck was so amazing, it was hard to take in all at once. The cards came in a royal purple velvet Tarot bag (made by Elaine Nichols), lined with a green and purple patterned silk, with a gold drawstring. In the bag with the cards was a small sachet of mixed herbs (sage, sweetgrass, cedar and lavender), as well as a stone, shell and beach glass that were hand picked from local beaches. (I have since added a rose quartz crystal - my personal gift to each deck that I own.) I have not seen a presentation this good since I received my copy of Ellen Lorenzi-Prince’s “Tarot of the Crone”. The quality of the Tarot bag is so breathtaking that I want to take time to note that Elaine offers Tarot bags through the “Gaian Tarot” site. Elaine will soon be offering one of a kind Tarot reading cloths, also through the “Gaian Tarot” site.The “Gaian Tarot” that I purchased was a 22 card, Majors only, Limited Edition deck. Since then there has been an additional printing. Joanna is currently working on the Minor Arcana and Court Cards, which can be found on her site, so that the deck will eventually be a full 78 card deck. The magick grows and grows!

Gaian Tarot

The Gaian Tarot celebrates the living Earth and those who seek to live in harmony with Her. It is an evocative and powerful tool for accessing inner guidance. The imagery of the deck combines multicultural Goddesses and other numinous beings with the mysteries of the natural world. Each image features birds, animals, plants, trees, rocks, constellations and other aspects of nature that amplify the meaning of the card. With its structure rooted in Tarot tradition, the Gaian Tarot is the perfect deck for those who honor Gaia, the earth, as a living, sentient being and who practice an earth-centered spirituality. (from GaianTarot.com)

The Gaian Tarot is a work in progress. The 22 images of the Major Arcana are finished. The Limited (First) Edition of the Majors-Only Deck is sold out, but the Second Edition is now available for purchase.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Seven Promises by William Brooks from Fowl Mouth (Magnatune)

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Episode 60: Teaching By Teleclass with Bonnie Cehovet

leisa — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:52:53 +0000

Bonnie Cehovet (Washington) is a Tarot Educator, a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, a Reiki Master/Teacher and a writer.

She currently has articles and reviews appearing in the World Tarot Network newsletter, and reviews appearing on the Meta Arts e-magazine site and on Aeclectic Tarot . Her website is The Crystal Gate - Tarot .

1. What are tele-classes?

2. What makes tele-classes a viable teaching venue?

3. What is the cost of a tele-class?

4. What kinds of classes are suitable for tele-classes?

5. What is your target student?

6. Where would you advertise a tele-class?

7. What information would you include in your advertising?

class name
instructor’s name
venue
length
fee (be sure and note that for a tele-class the student also pays their own long distance phone bill)
CEU’s (if applicable)
Course Material: What the class will cover.
What the student can expect to take away from the class.

8. How will you organize your class?

Class Objectives
What you will take away from this class.
Introduction
Main Class Material
Summary

9. How will you present your class?

Introduce yourself.
Ask each person to introduce themselves. (On a tele-class it is fun to also tell people where you are from.)
Ask your students what they hope to get out of the class.
Begin presenting your subject. You can do the major portion as a lecture, but class participation is a lot more fun! Note: I like to include handouts whenever possible. They make great visual aids, and present a place for people to take notes.
Encourage questions.
Try and end the class on a high note … some kind of exercise or discussion.

Teleclass with Robert Place

This is the introduction to the class Hieroglyphs from the Soul with Robert Place. This class will be offered again on October 24th. Topics covered include the history of Tarot, how to read Tarot and why Robert doesn’t use reversals.

There is still time to register for the class later this month. In the class, you will learn 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

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Transitional Music: Come When I Call by Emily Van Evera from My Lady Rich (Magnatune)
Closing Music: And Is It Night by Emily Van Evera from My Lady Rich (Magnatune)

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Episode 56: Aeclectic Spreads with Alissa Hall

leisa — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:16:43 +0000

Aeclectic Tarot Spreads

written by members of the Aeclectic Tarot Forum, edited by Alissa Hall.

Available for purchase and instant download at Aeclectic Tarot

About the Book

Why me to edit this book?

From 2003 until early 2005, I was a volunteer moderator at the Aeclectic Tarot website. During that time, one of the forums I moderated was the Tarot Spreads forum. As a former librarian, I have a keen interest in indexing and making information accessible to the public. For fun, I began to index the Tarot spreads forum, providing categories for users to choose from when searching for spreads. Until the creation of that index, the only way a user could find a spread was to search through hundreds of threads using a keyword search, and relying on personal memory of previous threads.

Fast forward to December 2006, there was a thread started by another AT member suggesting an eBook of Tarot Spreads, and I contacted Solandia and expressed my interest in compiling such a work. Providing examples of other eBooks I’ve created (primarily from my henna design work) she and I negotiated our contract, our work flow and deadlines, and the project officially began in February 2007 with the initial selection of spreads to be potentially included in the work.

Choosing spreads to be included

The index I started has been expertly maintained and added to by the moderator who took over the forum when I stepped down years ago (her logon is “Moonbow”). When going through the current index, I considered which categories were the most helpful as a Tarot reader, which ones were used most often either by a professional or personal reader. From this, the categories of : Love and Relationships, Career and Money, Spiritual Path, Family and Pets, Self Awareness, Creativity, General Outlook, Daily and Spreads for Tarot Readers were created.

Each spread to be potentially included had to be universal - it could not reference a specific religion (such as spreads for certain Pagan beliefs, etc.) nor holidays (secular or religious) as certain parts of the world may not observe these events. The only exception was Chronata’s “Chakra Cross” a variation on the Celtic Cross which references chakras, a Hindu belief system, but one which is observed by many countries and religious persuasions.

I also had to push myself to overcome personal bias in my preference for shorter spreads. Spreads in the book range from 3 cards, to 14 cards, in length.

Once selected for potential inclusion, there was a lengthy process of contacting each individual spread author to query their interest in the project, coordinate the contracts to them, and compile information to be included on their page.

What else beside the spreads were included

Each page also includes a “blurb” written by the spread author themselves, limited to 50 words or less. This was something I specifically wanted to do for the authors, since many spreads included some background or users’ information within the AT thread that would be lost in the eBook form. I felt it also helped to personalize each authors’ contribution to the book.

How were the authors chosen

I deliberately ignored the authors’ names until the time of contact, as some spreads were written by members who were less frequent contributors to the AT forum, and some were “regulars”. I sought every opportunity to keep this from being a “popularity” contest. Some authors have more than one spread within the book. This is due to the superior content of their spreads, the needs I had as an editor to meet my 40 spread minimum quota for the book, and the amount of authors who were able to respond in a timely manner with their interest in being a part of the project.

Some very good spreads were “lost” along the way due to the authors not receiving the query messages in time to make the deadline, and/or their lack of interest in being a part of the project. Regardless, the final product stands as a great example of collective works, and I’m proud to have been a part of its compilation.

The Look

I designed the card graphics, as well as the page layout, as editor and included some Dover clip art to most pages in order to frame the pages’ content, and to give the eBook itself an overall appeal to the eye. This artistic side of me was great fun to express, as well as the shaping of the textual layout, which is meant to flow with the cards’ spreads, all designed to be shown exactly as they would be laid out during usage (i.e. a spread shaped like a spiral is shown as a spiral in the book, of course).

Also, I chose to use bold text to highlight key words for each spread position, in order to help the reader use the eBook at a glance while reading their spreads.

Copyright protection

As a writer myself, I was passionate about drafting up a very complete (some might say Too Complete!) contract for each author to be a part of the project. While Solandia owns the copyright to the anthology, each author granted what are called “one time rights” for their contributions to the eBook. This ensures that each author owns the copyright to their work, and can publish and profit from their work in any way they see fit later in life. Ensuring each author retained their copyrights for their works was something I felt very strongly about helping them maintain, especially since many had never published a work prior to this eBook and were less familiar with copyright laws.

Alissa Hall

Alissa Hall first began reading Tarot over 20 years ago, and as an adult has dedicated years to learning more about various occult paths. In addition to Tarot, she also reads palms and runes, and offers her gift of karmic path (past life) advisement to her clientèle as well. Known to lecture on Tarot and palmistry, she last appeared in Las Vegas for a series of workshops and classes.

A devoted wordsmith, Alissa has published both short and long works of fiction and non-fiction on subjects ranging from Tarot to Tantra, self-help to storytelling.

A resident of New Mexico for over 2 decades, she lives in the mountains with her husband and son, and is currently expecting her second child.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - the Star and the Moon

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be continuing on our journey through the symbols in the Major Arcana. As I noted in the first Pod Cast of this series, that of the Fool, the imagery and symbolism in the Tarot is what connects us to its archetypal qualities and wisdom. It acts as a gateway between our conscious and our unconscious worlds. Each deck carries with it its own unique brand of imagery and symbols. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to the Waite-Smith Tarot (also known as the Rider-Waite Tarot), as it is a traditional reference, and quite often used for teaching purposes. Interpreting the imagery and symbols is done in two ways: through the intent of the author/illustrator (and here we need to remember that the background for the Rider-Waite deck is that of the Golden Dawn), and how the Seeker sees it through the veil of their own personal life experiences.

Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of the Star and the Moon. The major theme for the Star is that of that of intuition and understanding. We are reminded of the need to acknowledge our inner truth. With this card, we see the ability to renew ourselves spiritually.

The figure in this card is nude, indicating that she has nothing to hide.

She has one foot on land (the physical, material world), and one foot in the water (the world of the unconscious, and of Spirit). As the “water of life” is poured, it divides into five rivlets, representing the five senses.

A sacred Ibis, symbol of thought and mind, perches in the tree behind her.

An eight-pointed star (representing power and mental success) floats above her, symbolizing infinity. Seven smaller stars (also eight pointed) symbolize spiritual illumination. These seven stars also represent the seven chakras, and the seven ancient planets.

In this card, we see the Spirit of the Universe, and the Spirit within.

When the Star appears in a reading, the Seeker is being asked to clear/cleanse something in their situation. They need to let go of doubting themselves, and listen to their inner wisdom.

The theme for the Moon is that of cycles, intuition, and inner development. The Moon is also symbolic of the universal feminine principle.

A crayfish coming out of the water symbolizes our conscious growth. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson indicates that the crayfish must get past, or overcome, the dog and the wolf (which represent our domesticated self and our natural instincts).

The mountains represent spiritual awareness. The path between the towers represents the path into the unknown. The yods represent divine energy, and renewed inspiration.

The Moon has thirty-two rays - the Qabalistic number of the ten sephiroth combined with the twenty-two paths on the Tree of Life. It also is represented in all three of its phases, symbolizing body, mind, and spirit.

When the Moon appears in a reading, the Seeker may not be able to establish a rational response to their situation. Something from their past may be affecting their present, so they need to look at whether they are repeating a cycle or a pattern. Any fears that the Seeker has may be reflected in this card.Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of The Devil and The Tower. The major theme for The Devil is that of acknowledging the hidden parts of our personality - our shadow side. These are the forces behind how and why we imprison and limit ourselves.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

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

Closing Music: Inspiral by Hands Upon Black Earth from Hands Upon Black Earth (Magnatune)

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Episode 55: Thalassa and BATS

leisa — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:30:30 +0000

BATS

Started in 1991 by Thalassa, and currently produced in association with the Daughters of Divination, the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS) is the oldest continuously produced Tarot even in the country. It has been the inspiration and/or the model for virtually every large Tarot-centred gathering in this country for more than a decade.

SF BATS is a day long event devoted to covering all areas of Tarot and related topics. Many established authors and teachers use SF BATS as an opportunity to try new and different approaches and projects as well as polishing existing work. Exhibitions of new (and often as yet unpublished or privately published) Tarot decks and artwork are an especially important feature of this event. In addition to providing networking opportunities and community building for Tarot enthusiasts of all levels of interest and experience, SF BATS has facilitated or furthered the careers of several noted Tarot artists, authors, and teachers, as well as being instrumental in the publication of several books and decks.

San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium Fall 2007

Saturday, October 6, 2007 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
First Unitarian Universalist Centre
1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA

Visit the BATS Fall 2007 web page for more information

Thalassa

Thalassa is the producer of the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS), founder of the Daughters of Divination (DOD), and publisher of The Belfry. She teaches and produces divination events in the SF Bay Area, and has presented at the World Tarot Congress, the New York Tarot Festival, PantheaCon, and LATS (LA Tarot Symposium). She lives in San Francisco with a collection of swords, too many books, more tarot decks than one can safely shake a stick at, and a tribe of semi-feral dust bunnies.

No more borders

This is my jumbo Thoth deck without the ugly gray borders on it. The links below show the process in greater detail. The Universal Waite Deck posts details the supplies I used to modify the cards.

I know the process is a little scary at first. You might want to practice on the extra cards in the deck or color copy your decks on card stock to practice trimming.

You might find, like I did, that the deck becomes more attractive and nicer to use.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - Devil and the Tower

In “The heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson notes that the Devil is perched on what is considered to be a one-dimensional pedestal. This is the illusionary base of many of our decisions. The bondage of the two humans in this card is also seen as illusional - i.e. self imposed chains. Thomson further notes that the figures look not at each other, nor at the Devil figure - they are totally alone and vulnerable.

At the pit of the Devil’s stomach is the sign of Mercury. The Devil’s right hand is upraised and extended, the reverse of the benediction given by the Hierophant. A reversed Pentagram is on his forehead. His wings indicate that he is a creature of the night. His goat-like body connects this card to Capricorn.

The torch in the Devil’s left hand represents will directed at the material plane.

The tails on the human figures are symbolic of their animal nature. The tail on the female bears the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and the tail of the mail figure bears a flame, like the Tree of Life.

When the Devil appears in a reading, we are being asked to acknowledge hidden aspects of our personality. We are also being asked to note how and where we may be projecting those hidden aspects in our lives. This card is also very connected to the physical, material world.

The major theme for The Tower is that of change - abrupt change that is thrust upon us without warning. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson suggests that the Tower represents the defensive aspects of our personality. The falling male figure represents rigid attitudes based on ego, while the falling female figure represents rigid emotional attitudes.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

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

Closing Music: Points Between by Robert Rich from Open Window (Magnatune)

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Episode 54: Non-Visual Tarot with Brighid

leisa — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:27:19 +0000

I was drawn to Tarot initially, because I knew that, with some adaptations, the system could work for me. Methods like scrying and runes seem almost impossible, while the cards are manageable. Also, it is important for you to realize that I have been blind since birth, so, lacking the visual element of the Tarot isn’t new to me. I just went about it the way I go about everything else: without sight.

First of all, Tarot decks are quite inaccessible, when first purchased. Before I can do anything with them, I have to Braille the cards, along with whatever documentation comes with them. If it’s an actual book, I can put it through a scanner, which speeds up the process, but those little, white books that come with most decks don’t scan well at all, which means that someone has to read them to me, while I copy them out. Needless to say, it’s time-consuming.

I put the card into a Braille typewriter, and write the name of the card. So, for the fool, I would write:

0
Fool

For the four of pentacles, I write:

Once the deck is Brailled, I can begin to use it. When I lay out a spread, I think about the meanings given for each card. I also think about the suit of the card, whether it is reversed or not, and whether it is a major or minor arcana card. I apply all of this information to the question that is being addressed. I then move on to the next card, and do the same thing again, until I’ve interpreted the entire spread.

I know that, for those of you who can see, the pictures on the cards are a great help when it comes to interpretation. Usually, I have no clue what the cards even look like, and so, I rely more on intuition and the meanings I know to be true for the particular card.

I also pay close attention to experiences that people have told me about. On another list, there was a discussion of how to interpret the Moon card, and I gained a lot of insight that way.

Brighid’s Daily Spread

To Explore:

Things I need to focus on Today?
What do I need to work on?
What am I supposed to learn?
What issues am I dealing with?
What is key for me today?

Card 1 , Card 2, Card 3

Card 4*

* Shadow Card, (Unknown or Undercurrents) from the Bottom of the Deck

Brighid is a Tarot Reader who practices Feminist Dianic Witchcraft. She currently resides in Texas while completing a social work degree. She shares her apartment with 2 dogs, a cat and a pregnant guinea pig. Brighid has, on occasion, tricked people into reading Tarot books for her. Her favorite decks include the Goddess Tarot, the Medicine Woman Tarot, Goddess Guidance Oracle, Magical Unicorns Oracle and Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards.

Decks that don’t work as well:

Check out the Braille Spanish Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot.

Titles Only Tarot

It is an interesting exercise to try reading with out pictures. It can be done to test your knowledge and memory of the cards. You can see how you have internalized card meanings and explore what comes to mind when any given card comes up.

One thing to try is to do a reading with the Titles only then pull the same cards from various decks and see how you interpretation changes. You can make your own but writing on 3×5 cards. Here is a pdf of a deck I created for this purpose. It can be printed out on card stock and trimmed to make a set of cards.

For instance, what is the Knight of Wands on its own.

This is a deck I made with the printout on nice paper with golden fish on the back.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet - Death and the Temperance

Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of Death and Temperance. The major theme for Death is that of transformation and new opportunities. Inherent in a new beginning, or new opportunity, is the leaving behind of that which no longer serves us well.

The skeleton of Death moves from left to right, from unconsciousness towards consciousness. His pink saddle symbolizes that his mission of transformation is based on love.

His black banner shows a five petaled white rose, symbolic of Mars, the five senses, and of life.

In the distance, the Sun is shown between two pillars, symbolizing immortality. A ship, symbolizing the afterlife, is shown sailing towards the Sun.

The four figures in the scene represent the temporal and the spiritual, old and young, male and female … death comes to everyone.

The red plume (as seen in the card of the Fool) represents will and power. The river represents the River Styx (the river that the Greek’s believed led to the underworld), and the constant movement into and out of materialization.

In a reading, Death alerts us that major changes are happening.

The major theme for Temperance is that of balance and control. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson refers to this as representing the purification and tempering of our own inner processes.

The crown at the end of the path represents mastery and attainment. The silver cup represents the unconscious, the gold cup consciousness. The water being poured back and forth is the essence of life.

One foot in the emotional world of water, one foot on the physical world of land, we bring balance to our conscious and unconscious selves.

The flower Iris represents the Greek Goddess Iris, Goddess of the rainbow.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

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

Closing Music: Night of the Goddess Part 1 by Paul Averinos from Maya (Magnatune)