This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

long with thousands of other people, I was made homeless due to the Olympics in Sydney on 2000. Landlords were kicking people out and renovating places, so many people like me who didn’t have a lease ended up without anywhere to live. An online pal, a fellow free-ware developer, offered me a room in his place – in Arizona. So I jumped on a plane and set off. Since I wasn’t allowed to work in the US, I decided to work on some pet projects on the web. One was a site on fork bending http://fork-you.com and one was a tarot deck. You can ask Dan Pelletier about the fork bending

Digital graphics were still pretty new, and I’d been playing around with it since the very beginning – I made my first digital tarot deck on dPaint on an Amiga in the early 90′s. I think I had 32 colours to work with, and there was no ‘anti-aliasing’ or ‘feathering’ so it looked pretty much like Lego blocks. Technology had improved in those 10 years or so, and now it was possible to use millions of colours and layering, so digital collage was by then a feasible option.

2000 doesn’t sound that long ago, but I’d be surprised if there were 10% as many decks on the market then, compared to now. Anyway, I had this idea that I wanted a deck that LOOKED like my Visconti Sforza, but that READ like a Rider-Waite. There are probably scores of decks now that would kinda fit that bill, but then, there were none. Even Brian Williams ‘Renaissance Tarot” didn’t look remotely Renaissance – more like a pastel Art-Nouveau fantasy of the Renaissance. Anyway, I had this idea to digitally collage old artworks to created easy to interpret tarot cards. It was as much about my love of International Gothic style art as it was about tarot, and they weren’t heavily collaged. I was working on a tiny little laptop with a touchpad, didn’t even have a mouse, so it was pretty rough. You can still see it on my site http://goldentarot.com

The deck developed quite a following online. I think I’d really struck a chord that a lot of people, like me, liked the feeling of tradition and the heritage of the tarot in the Renaissance without wanting the difficulty of trying to read a deck without illustrated Minors.

About a year after the deck came out, I started getting emails to congratulate me on getting Golden published. It turned out that it had been pirated in Germany, as part of an annual calendar/deck set by a publisher who had previously pirated other artists’ work. My Agents at the time said it ‘wasn’t viable’ to sue the German company, and the German copyright agency said it wasn’t a breach of copyright as the images I’d used was public domain. Of course this is rubbish – collages are NEW works of art, and copyright belongs to the collagist. But I can’t afford to sue someone myself, especially on the other side of the world. So, I was very annoyed but there was little I could do.

Then, unbeknownst to me, a fan in the US took up my case in the forums. Judy Sidone Tillinger had studied medieval and Renaissance art in College and now worked as an editor at a newspaper in New York. She started an email campaign, and I got swamped with hundreds of emails of support, and also requests to publish the deck legally so people could buy copies. I was flattered, but didn’t want to go through that whole rejection-slip process as I had with earlier projects. I sent everyone a polite standard “thanks, but it’s too hard to get published” reply. What I didn’t realize is that people must also have been sending the major tarot publishers similar requests, as both US Games and Llewellyn asked me to submit formal proposals, which I did. USGS very quickly send me a contract, which required that I sign copyright over to them. I’d always sworn as an artist that I’d never give up my copyright, but US Games were insistent, and pointed to the piracy of my work and said they needed to own copyright in order to legally protect against future piracy attempts. I still wasn’t too sure. I went to a great copyright lawyer, who pointed out that the contract also gave them full, exclusive digital rights – so they could technically make me shut down the website that had got me the fan base in the first place.

Then, late at night a few days after I got the contract, I got a call from US Games. A woman said she was just checking the number and that I was home, and that Stuart Kaplan would ring me back shortly. Kaplan took long enough to call me that I was completely freaked out and feeling quite nauseous by the time the phone rang. STUART KAPLAN! CEO of US Games, author of the huge Tarot Encylopedias, father of the modern tarot in many respects. Love him or hate him, tarot owes him a huge debt of gratitude for its current popularity. I heard his voice and didn’t know what to say. I don’t think I was very coherent, but I basically got the message. He liked my deck, and would I sign the contract? I explained about the copyright issue and he said that the contract wouldn’t be changed – I could sign it and be published by US Games, or not. I had a week to decide.

After a sleepless night, I got in contact with Llewellyn, who had been much more communicative throughout this whole Proposal process, and told Barbara Moore about the deadline (I’d say ultimatum, but that’s really too harsh a word). She understood, and offered to rush it through – but said that it was very unlikely with such short notice, that normally their assessment process takes months of market research etc. And as it turned out, she was right – they said no, and so I signed with US Games and they got copyright of the deck.

Two Strength Cards

As soon as I signed the contract, I got to work. I had to start again from scratch to create the deck at high resolution for publication. Given the limitations of working from low-resolution files, it was a difficult task. Many of the original designs were impossible to do at the higher resolution. In addition, I had to make it ‘more Rider Waite’ – a requirement for US Games decks, and also something I wanted to do. After all, making a beautiful but easy-to-read deck was my main intention.

I worked obsessively. Pretty much sixteen hours a day at least, seven days a week for about 4 months to finish the deck. Over 1600 hours in a very short space of time. My friends were worried about me – I’d ignore the phone and glare at them for bothering me and not invite them in when they dropped in to check if I was alright. Luckily I was single and living alone then

It was partly because that’s the way I work best, completely immersing myself in something, but it was also economic necessity – I got one small Advance when I signed the contract, but then no more money until it got published. My credit card held out for awhile, and then my brother helped out with bills and rent.

Finally it was finished and I sent it off, expecting a long, drawn-out editorial process of amending cards. To my surprise, they only asked me to change one card. Then, it was a case of them doing their end of the process. I got on with my life. I enrolled in Art School to get a qualification to teach, met Jasper there, became a VJ (live video performance artist). During that period, I had very little to do with tarot. At Art school, they pretty much look down on anything as commercial and graphic-design related as a tarot deck, so I just didn’t really think of it as part of my life. There was delay after delay with the publication and I think it was coming up to two years before it finally made it to market. After many and varied reasons for delays, the last straw was when it got pulled from pre-order on Amazon because they basically just didn’t believe it was really going to happen any more. I tried to explain to them that it WAS on it’s way, on a train across Northern America… it should have arrived by now…. then I heard that the train had got derailed by an avalanche and that the freight (including my decks) had got cleared off the rails so that other trains could get through…

It ended up seeming more and more like it would never get to market, but finally it did. And it looked WONDERFUL. Probably many of your listeners have seen Golden – the majestic blue box, the deck’s gilded edges. Kaplan had wanted it to be their ‘deluxe’ product and I’d said I wanted an affordable, budget edition made as well, so that everyone could afford a copy if they wanted it. The compromise was what had taken the 2 years – US Games went to great lengths to find a publisher in China who could make such a high quality product at such a budget price. They’d had to experiment a great deal to get the gilded edges not to flake and chip. Usually, a gilt-edged book is only read a few times, but a tarot deck is constantly handled. I don’t know HOW they did it, but it’s a technical triumph. I still can’t believe that they made such a stunning package for RRP of $25 (and I hear you can buy it for as little as $14 in the US). It’s got to be their least profitable product, considering the quality of the production.

I was very worried that it would get written off as a bit of a Show Pony – lovely to look at, but sniffed at by tarot professionals. Although I’d put a huge amount of research into tarot tradition for the deck, I’d also added in extra symbolism of my own so it wasn’t 100% ‘traditional tarot’. I’m not a dedicated tarot expert – I haven’t dedicated my life to tarot the way many people have. I’m really in awe at the mastery of people like Stuart Kaplan, Mary Greer, Rachel Pollack, Dan Pelletier etc, but my interests are too varied to concentrate on becoming an expert in one field. So, I’ve been very surprised by the acceptance of the deck by tarot experts. When I heard that it was one of Mary Greer’s favorite decks (long before I was lucky enough to meet her in person) I was stunned, as her ‘Tarot for Your Self’ was the first time I’d read a book that explained use of the tarot how I’d used it myself since my teens – intuitively, for personal insight and self-awareness.

I’d never read for other people – I don’t think I’d even had my tarot read professionally. That’s not what it was about for me – it was always about archetypes and analyzing the world around you – where you fit, how you affect the things that happen in your own life. A tool to assist personal responsibility, not to surrender it. It still makes me very uncomfortable when someone turns to a tarot reader to ask something like ‘should I take this job?’ and wants a ‘yes or no’ answer. They may as well toss a coin, if they’re not willing to consider the complexity of the situation, and face all the additional questions a proper tarot reading may raise. Anyway, I know a lot of your listeners may disagree with me there, so I’ll move on

Golden Tarot finally hit the shelves in 2004. By then, there were already many, many new decks flooding onto the market, including many medieval and Renaissance themed decks. I was thrilled when it was voted one of the ‘Top Ten’ decks on Aeclectic for 2004, and then it happened again in 2005. By the 2006 vote, I was just plain shocked to see it still in the ‘Top Ten of All Time’. There must be hundreds and hundreds of decks on the market now, I find it hard to think that mine is still so popular. My rating on Amazon is still a 5-star average after over 50 reviews (and they’re not all personal friends of mine I guess that goes to show that if you research something well, and put in your own personal passion and vision into it, there are going to be other people who share that passion and vision.

I get the most amazing fan mail for Golden Tarot. It’s funny, because I feel that what I’m doing, say, with my video art, is more important (that sounds so pretentious! Don’t know how else to put it though), more creative, more innovative. But then, golden really touches a lot of people – enough to get them bothering to email me and say so.

A lot of people have asked me when I was going to make another deck. That always seemed a bit weird because I’m not a collector, and I think that now I’ve created the deck I wanted, why would I bother making another one? And from a financial point of view, it would be crazy. even if it IS a popular, successful deck, I know it’s never going to make me enough money to be worth the hours spent making it. At least, with a traditional publiching model. I make about the same as unemployment benefit from Golden. I’m not complaining – I mean, at least I’m making that much, I don’t starve. And as I mentioned earlier, I doubt it’s a cash-cow for US Games, considering the luxury packaging, gilding etc. But after I read ‘The Long Tail’ I thought there has to be a better way. I have a sizable online following and the most wonderful, dedicated fans – many of whom have been with me since the pre-publication days. Lots of people around the world share my love of tarot and the Renaissance, and I can digitally collage old-master paintings better than anyone (Hmm, come to think of it I might be the only one doing it…). I must be able to make a better living

I’ve been a digital developer for a long time – running free graphics websites like http://retrokat.com/medieval/ since the 90′s and with new media like mobile phone content becoming more widespread, that’s where I should be looking to make my main living. Since I don’t own the digital rights to Golden, I can’t just adapt that for mobiles. Also, that wouldn’t work very well anyway – you need to design completely differently for the small screen. Which gave me the idea for a new deck…

Leave the RWS layouts out of it. If they were so tiny, then it’s just going to be a memory trigger and no more – and I want more than that. I want something that has a chance of connecting with the person, a trigger for reflection and personal insight. And what can possibly do that with so few pixels?…

The human face. It’s the first thing we recognize as babies… and regardless of language, we can read a lot about what someone’s trying to communicate from their expression. And if there’s one thing they did well in the 16th and 17th centuries, it’s painting faces.

So.. it was to be a deck of portraits. Maybe a few symbols here and there, if they didn’t detract too much from the person’s facial expression or body language, but predominantly, faces chosen to communicate the meanings of the card. Faces you can become familiar with, faces you can read. ’78 friends you can hold in your hand’.

I popped a website up saying that I was considering this new deck, and showed a few draft samples. Behind the scenes, I was trying to get a mobile-content deal. Ack, now there’s a hard market to break into. People started to ask me when the deck would be finished, and I explained that it was on hold unless I could get a deal for it. Then, along came a very generous benefactor who offered to pay me to finish the deck. This person wants to remain anonymous, understandably, as they don’t want to get swamped by requests for money. Fishing for a private benefactor was the furtherest thing from my mind. The person doesn’t want a percentage or anything, just a copy of the deck when and if I can get a deal. Incredible! Like a fairytale. So that’s what I’m working on at the moment.

Cielo Preview

You can see some of the cards on tarotcielo.com – although due to piracy of my work, I can only show a few. At least, until/unless I get a deal

Another market I’ll be looking to with the deck is use of digital images for online and 900 line readers. Some of these readers use digital images of cards, but there are very few public-domain decks, and the commercial deck publishers are very strict about use of images from their published decks. For example, you couldn’t show a client images from Golden Tarot through online chat or by email without paying a usage fee to US Games Systems. And if you’re thinking that some of that will go to the deck creator, that’s not true in my case.

I think if I can create images that work well with online and phone readings, and if the reader knows that a payment (no matter how small) goes to the creator of the cards, then they’d respect that. That’s how the music industry is evolving. I have friends who sell their own tracks, for example through sites like Martian Music, and their fans will happily pay $1 a track rather than pirating the music, because they KNOW that most of that goes to the band. Digital rights are really empowering like that – you can use that more direct connection between artist and consumer to make a more fair deal for both. That’s an exciting for both creatives and consumers.

In particular, I think tarot people are concerned about fairness, karma etc. eg, ebay sellers email me to ask my permission before they list copies of the pirated German pre-US Games version of Golden Tarot. And if anyone tries to sell pirated versions or unapproved products related to Golden, immediately someone will recognize it and email me from my website. That sort of dedication and direct relationship with my fans has been there right since the beginning with Golden. I’m sorry if any of your listeners have emailed me and not got a reply. I always mean to, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Gold & Gilded Tarots

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. This is Bonnie Cehovet, and today I am going to be talking about a specific type of Tarot deck – those that fall into what I call the “Gold” or “Gilded” category. Sometimes these are viewed as art decks, sometimes as collectors items, and sometimes they are published as Special Editions of a regular Tarot deck. They all have one thing in common – they feature the color gold. This can be done through using the color to highlight different parts of a card, or it can be done through the application of gold foil. I adore the gold foil decks – but I absolutely dare someone to get a decent scan with them!

One of the decks that is unique unto itself in this category is the Golden Tarot, by Kat Black (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.). The imagery is a collage of artwork from the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance, featuring the color gold prominently, along with the use of a gold border and a gold back to the cards. The most stunning feature of this deck, however, is the gilt card edges – when you take the top off of the box (which is one of the most elegant – and sturdy – Tarot boxes that I have ever seen!) the gilt edging transfixes you – it is so incredibly mesmerizing, you just want to sit there and look at it! Bravo Kat!

Gold Leaf Tarot Decks

	Golden Tarot of Klimt Golden Tarot of Klimt at Aeclectic Tarot
	Golden Tarots of the Pyramids The Tarot Garden Database: General Search
	Golden Tarot of the Renaissance Golden Tarot of the Renaissance at Aeclectic Tarot
	Golden Tarot of the Tzar Golden Tarot of the Tsar at Aeclectic Tarot
	Mantegna Tarot (silver foil) Mantegna Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	Nefertari’s Tarot Nefertari’s Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	Tarot of the Visconti Grand Trumps Tarot of Visconti Grand Trumps at Aeclectic Tarot
	Basara Gold Tarot The Tarot Garden Database: General Search
	Golden Botticelli Tarot The Tarot Garden: Upcoming Releases / Preorders
	I Tarochi Egizi (delux gold edition) The Tarot Garden Database: General Search
	Visconti Tarot Visconti Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot

Gold Editions

	Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot The Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot Gold Edition
	Golden Man Tarot The Tarot Garden Database: General Search
	Golden Rider Tarot Golden Rider Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	Golden Tarot Deck Golden Tarot of Deck at Aeclectic Tarot
	Medieval Scapini Medieval Scapini Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	New Century Tarot deck New Century Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	Stairs of Gold Tarot (aka Tavaglione Tarot) Stairs of Gold Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot
	Victorian Romantic Tarot (Gold Edition) The Victorian Romantic Tarot

William Wilde Zeitler

William Zeitler is a composer and professional musician. He has numerous published and commissioned works to his credit. A classically trained pianist, he earned his music degree from the California Institute of the Arts.

The Glass Armonica is the musical instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761. Said to be the invention that pleased him the most, Franklin’s Glass Armonica is a series of glass bowls mounted on a horizontal rod. Tapering in size, they are played like wine glasses as they spin.

William’s instrument is custom built and was a year in the making. It contains 44 glass bowls mounted on a hand crafted stand of cherry and oak.

4 Full album are available at www.williamzeitler.com

You can download the mp3s free of charge (click to play, right-click to save) with no copy-protection. If you like the albums you can purchase them or make a donation.

Music Credits

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

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

People consult Tarot for many different purposes, from business decisions to their personal life, or when faced with difficult decisions or situations. Sometimes recent events in their life may leave them feeling as if they have momentarily lost direction, or cannot see ahead clearly.

Josephine uses Tarot to provide guidance, in order that you, the person receiving the reading, can make better informed decisions and proceed with more confidence. The reading usually reflects what will happen if you proceed upon your existing path depending, to a certain extent, upon how far in motion events already are. If you don’t like where it’s heading then you can take active steps to make changes.

For Josephine Ellershaw, the Tarot has been a constant life companion on a personal journey that now spans three decades. She has provided guidance to others since her teens and professional consultations for more than fourteen years. Professionally she has many years of experience providing readings, healing, and metaphysical guidance to international clientèle.

She lives in North Yorkshire, England with her family and a large menagerie of pets, including waifs, strays and rescues.

Visit her website at: www.learn-tarot-cards.com

Easy Tarot

“You don’t need a special ‘gift’ to read tarot,” insists Josephine Ellershaw. And to prove it, she has boiled down thirty years of experience into a straightforward, easy-to-use tarot guide for beginners. More than just a manual, Easy Tarot is a boxed kit that also includes The Gilded Tarot–a stunningly beautiful and popular deck by the well known Ciro Marchetti.

Ellershaw gently guides novices to become proficient, sensitive, and responsible readers. Suit by suit, she introduces the distinct characteristics of the minor arcana, court cards, and major arcana. You will learn how the cards link to one another and produce insightful relationships as their unique energies merge in the Cross of Truth, the Celtic Cross, and other spreads. There is even a list of card combinations that commonly indicate specific events-such as pregnancy, a wedding, a new job, and more.

A quick guide to card meanings, sample readings, safeguards, ethical guidelines, as well as tips for keeping a tarot diary, are all covered in this well-rounded introduction to tarot.

Life Spread and Anchor

Josie shares a reading using the Life Spread and Anchor from her new book. Use these handouts to follow along. You might want to layout the cards yourself as well.

Life Spread		Anchor
2 of Cups IX The Hermit IV Temperance 9 of Swords 2 of Swords 10 of Swords XVII The Star 2 Pentacles XVIII The Moon Page of Pentacles XVI The Tower XV The Devil 8 of Swords XXI The World Ace of Wands Page of Wands Ace of Cups Queen of Swords 7 of Swords 10 of Wands 5 of Swords		Hanging Man The Star The Chariot Judgement The Magician The Devil The Lover

Tarot by the Numbers: The Fives by Ginny Hunt

Five’s in Tarot are hard. They depict loss, sadness, treachery, arguments, and difficult times. Or do they? See, that’s one of the problems with scenic pips, such as seen in the Rider Waite Smith decks and their generative offspring. Fives are complex and often only a few facets of this number can be illustrated on any given tarot card. The main thing to remember about the fives is this: Change. Sometimes change is difficult, which is why, I think, so many of the fives feature challenging scenes. But five really does encompass so much more than that.

Fives signify adventure, change, freedom, exploration, and expansion. It is the number of the curious, the experienced, the knowledge seeker and the knowledge teacher, the traveler, and the one with grand imagination who is child-like and playful. Huh? Five? Yes. The Major Arcana V is the Hierophant, the knowledge teacher, the experienced one who leads initiates into new experiences and exploration. While we don’t often see him as adventurous, he is the one who ushers fresh new minds and eyes into mysteries. He guides the adventures that bring change and growth. Often we see him as one too entrenched in rules and rigidity to possibly be someone who brings freedom, but he is the one who instructs and disciplines so that the mind and self can be free to explore new things. Think of it this way: if he teaches a person to read, then how much freer to explore is that person who once could not read books? See? There is a whole lot more to fives than you may have thought.

Five is the number of the human being. The human body forms a pentagon when arms and legs are out stretched. The pentagon is endless, sharing the symbolism of perfection and power of the circle. Five is a circular number as it produces itself in its last digit when raised to its own power. The number five symbolizes meditation, religion, and versatility. It represents the five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing). The five pointed star represents individuality, spiritual aspiration, and education. The planet associated in numerology with five is Mercury, the planet that rules commerce, education and communication. Leo is the natural ruler of the fifth house in astrology which has to do with one’s creative self-expression, pleasure and entertainment. It includes all forms of play, gambling, pastimes, hobbies, romantic relationships, lovers as opposed to partners, and one’s attitude towards having fun. This is where the playful and creative aspect of the number five comes in. This nuance of the five is seen primarily in the Five of Wands, but it can be considered when looking at the other suits as well. (read the full post)

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

Closing Music: Anchor by Flemming

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

One major venue for reading in for other people is events and parties. Ginny Hunt interviews me about doing this. It can be a great environment and you can reach a large number of people this way. There are a few things to consider and workout before you get started.

• How much to charge
• How many people you can read for
• How & When to Accept Payment
• Contracts & Invoices & Deposits
• What you need provided (Tables, Chairs)
• What to Bring

Small Tarot to Go Kit

• Attractive Box
• Tarot Deck
• Aromatherapy
• Tea light and Holder
• Business Cards
• Matches
• Sacred Object
• Post-It
• Pen
• Podcast Promo Card

Large Tarot to Go Kit

• Candles
• Clock
• Tissues
• Lighter
• Red Silk Cloth
• Golden Hand Candle Holder
• Purple Silk Wrap for Tarot Deck
• Tarot Deck
• Red Leather Box with Office Supplies
• Business Cards
• Paper
• Pen
• Aromatherapy
• (Add Water & Goblet)
• (Crystal Ball)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Hermit and Wheel of Fortune

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 Hermit and the Wheel of Fortune. The major theme for the Hermit is that of doing inner work. His is a solitary path … that of self-learning. He represents individual effort, and the knowledge that comes as the result of such effort. The Hermit is the energy that we need to work with when we need to work alone. His tools are contemplation and individual effort.

… The theme for the Wheel of Fortune is that of cycles … universal cycles, and personal life cycles. It represents a life in constant movement, and the lessons learned … or not learned through our life experiences. The sphinx at the top of the wheel acts as the guardian of mysteries, asking us to put our wisdom to best use. It also represents a sense of equilibrium in life.

The snake at the outside edge speaks of kundalini energy, moving up through the chakra system to allow us to express our creative natures. The snake also speaks of renewal.

On the four corners of the wheel are symbols representing the four elements, and the four fixed signs of the Zodiac (Aquarius, symbolized by man; Scorpio, symbolized by an Eagle; Leo, symbolized by a Lion; and Taurus (represented by a Bull). They also represent the four winged Archangels … Raphiel, Gabriel, Michael, and Auriel.

The Terminator by Ginny Hunt

“All but Death, can be Adjusted—
Dynasties repaired—
Systems—settled in their Sockets—
Citadels—dissolved—
Wastes of Lives—resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs—
Death—unto itself—Exception—
Is exempt from Change—”
-Emily Dickenson

What does that card image say to you? Hi, I’m Death, right? It’s all there, the human skeleton, the scythe, cutting a swath through the remnants of human affairs. The lives of noble and peasant alike laid waste: the artist, the scholar, the kings and queens, the laborer, all meet the same end. The great equalizer: Death. Is there anything in this image suggesting rebirth? Fun things on their way? I don’t see it, do you? Call me a party pooper, but Death means end, finale, termination. “Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” This card is from the Classic Tarot deck, a reproduction of a Milanese deck, dated 1835, but it’s a very typical, historically accurate portrayal of death symbolism in art since the early Middle Ages.

So why do so many tarot readers insist this card does not mean what it clearly portrays? That look of terror in a client’s eyes in the middle of a reading is one reason. Nothing can cast a pall over a for-entertainment-purposes-only tarot reading faster than having Joe Black make an appearance. Readers are quick to say, “Oh no, Death doesn’t mean literal death, it’s symbolic, you see, calm down…have a mint.” Soft-peddling death is a natural reaction. We don’t like death. It’s unpleasant. It hurts. It’s scary. However, no matter how you candycoat it, death represents an end. True, that end doesn’t have to be the literal end to someone’s life, but it certainly means an end to an aspect of someone’s life, be it a relationship, a career, a phase or way of life. It’s an ending that cannot be resisted, it’s going to happen, like it or not, and the attending grief likewise cannot be avoided. (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: Monkey Party by The Headroom Project from Cira a Doro (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Myths, legends… Each myth, each legend had a basis for beginning. To simply say, Ah it’s a legend, don’t believe it’s is a knee-jerk reaction.

It’s a mythtake in my opinion. A blind knee-jerk in the name of rationale.

Stating something is not true because it’s a legend, or a myth, may be as heinous as blindly accepting a myth or legend as fact.

In fact it may be worse.

Debunking myths blindly (Hey I bought my first deck and it didn’t affect me!) does few any favors; students find no wisdom in such lessons. You may very well obstruct growth by imposing your world view upon them as opposed to allowing students to find their own view.

For instance, why SHOULD someone be given his or her first deck? Does it make a difference? Will they be a better reader? Will the deck work better?

Without exploring the root of the myth your syllogism is fallacious. Or as we said as a kid, Are-Oh-En-Gee WRONG.

I really want to see folks stop simply stating, It’s a myth! Don’t believe it!

I used to be one of those folks. And I now know that my prior stance was wrong. I no longer hold those beliefs.

Myths have a root.

Fables and myths are what we use to describe what we don’t comprehend. They are our attempts to make the impossible possible.

Wisdom often lies in the undertones. That’s where we find truth.

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 – Symbolism of the Chariot and Strength

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 Chariot and Strength. The major theme for the Chariot is that of independence and self-sufficiency. As the Charioteer, each of us attempts mental control over our emotional and physical selves. This is a card of challenge, of confidence, and of being prepared, of developing our innate skills. The Chariot is the final card in the first series of seven Trump cards, and indicates that the Fool, the one taking the journey, has emerged from this phase a victor.

In Tarot Symbolism, Robert V. O’Neill places the Chariot as symbolic of the body, the horses as symbols of human instincts, and the Charioteer as symbolic of the mind. The horses pulling in different directions indicate that duality is still present.

In The Tarot – History, Symbolism, and Divination, Robert M. Place notes that the chariot is the cubic stone, and the Charioteer is the spirit emerging from the stone.

In The Heart of the Tarot, Sandra Thomson speaks of the Charioteer’s shield, with the symbols of yoni and lingam (tantric sexual symbols) below the winged sun, showing that he has the power to move energy from the base chakra to the crown chakra at will. The Egyptian winged solar disc itself represents aspiration.

… From the Chariot, and the ending of the first third of the Fool’s journey, we move on to Strength, and the beginning of the second third of the journey. Strength is where we begin to refine our personalities. The theme of Strength
is that of dealing with contradictory emotions – of acknowledging them, and then either resolving them, or bringing them into some sense of balance. We exert control over our world by using the right form of strength at the right time.

The female figure in this card represents feminine spiritual energy. Her purpose is to tame the masculine energy of basic instincts and brute force.

Tarot by the Numbers: The Four’s by Ginny Hunt

I’ve always liked the number four. Not sure why, but I do. Fours have a certain nice sound to them and they’re orderly and you can pair it off into two two’s. It’s just a nice number. And it’s true that fours represent stability, orderliness, practicality, patience, responsibility and all those nice things, so it’s no wonder our dear Mr. Emperor of the Major Arcana is the supreme IV of Tarot. Fours are very solid and dependable, like a square. In fact, the word, “square” has come to mean things like “fair, proper, honest, and straightforward.” We say we got a “square deal” if it was an honest exchange, a “square meal” is a proper one and if you’ve won something, I hope you won it “fair and square.” (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: Only Begun by Artemis from Gravity (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Fairy Decks with Jeanette Roth

Jeannette Roth has been collecting and studying tarot decks for over 20 years, and has presented lectures on topics related to tarot evolution and imagery around the Midwestern U.S. for nearly 15 years. She is the co-owner of The Tarot Garden, which maintains the largest publicly-accessible database of 20th and 21st century tarot and cartomantic decks in the world.

The Faeries Oracle

Faries Oracle by Brian Froud © 2000 Simon & Schuster

Using the enchanted art of Brian Froud as your guide, enter into the wise and wonderful world of the faeries. The Faeries’ Oracle calls on sylphs, pans, gnomes — and, of course, faeries — to lead you on a delightful journey of adventure, discovery, and enlightenment that will illuminate the future and heal the heart and soul. This beautifully designed divination set contains everything you will need to explore this mysterious realm, including:

A complete deck of 66 radiant cards by Brian Froud featuring goblins, moon dancers, pixies, boggarts, and other faery folk we first met in Good Faeries/Bad Faeries

Mystic Faerie Tarot

Mystic Faerie Tarot by Barbara Moore & Linda Ravenscroft © 2007 LlewellynStep inside the enchanting world of the fey. Rich watercolor images by renowned artist Linda Ravenscroft capture the vibrancy and grace of faeries, sprites, elves, and nymphs in their lush gardens.Each suit tells a faerie tale as the nature spirits embark on magical adventures. A water nymph and wood elf learn that love is a gift not to be taken lightly, while a foolish faerie queen and her kingdom are nearly overtaken by a magical blue rose. These stories offer lessons and fresh insights in all matters of life, while remaining true to tarot archetypes.The Mystic Faerie Tarot kit includes a 288-page book that introduces tarot and describes the major and minor arcana in detail. Perfect for beginners, you’ll also find faerie-themed spreads to use, along with sample readings and a quick reference guide to the cards.

• Mystic Faerie Tarot (Deck Website)
• Linda Ravenscroft (Artist’s Website)
  
• Barbara Moore (Author’s Website)

Fairy Tarot

Fairy Tarot by Antonio Lupatelli © 2000 Lo Scarabeo
Distant relatives of the gnomes, the fairies are very playful beings who carry out naughty jokes at times. The fairies, however, also like to help humans in very practical ways like through these cards.The Fairy Tarot is actually enchanted: it allows reality to be confronted using a positive attitude, it helps play down all kinds of trouble and easily overcomes problems objectively. The suits reflect the Fairy lifestyle (Acorns, Hearts, Leaves, and Bells).

Fey Tarot

Fey Tarot by Laura Taun © 2002 Lo Scarabeo

The universe of the fey is seen here in powerful colours, expressing joy and happiness that grows card after card. With great attention given to the symbols and the divinatory structure, the fey move freely through cultures and mythology to bring life to an extraordinary world that enchants and fascinates.

Spirit of Flowers Tarot

Spirit of Flowers Tarot by Laura Taun © 2003 Lo Scarabeo

Fairies and little magicians peer out from the cards in this deck that pay homage to the celebrated Anglo-Saxon tradition of the “spirit children”. The charming illustrations combine the meaning of each flower with that of the arcana, the classical iconography of which is underlined by the floral choice.

Tarot of the Lepidopteran People

Tarot of the Lepidopteran People by Lynyrd Narcisco © 2005

The artists says this is a reflection of his personal interest in insects. Lepidopterans are butterflies and moths. It was created in the spirit of Tarot of the Cat People and those Faerie Decks. This is a 23 card deck. The extra card is unnumbered and titled “Lepidoptera”.

Interview with Barbara Moore

The tarot has been a part of Barbara Moore’s personal and professional lives for over a decade. She is the tarot specialist for Llewellyn Publications. She is a Certified Tarot Reader through the American Tarot Association and has spoken at tarot conferences around the United States. Barbara’s articles on the tarot have appeared in several tarot publications and in Llewellyn Publications New Worlds of Mind and Spirit magazine.

She has also sat on the Tarot Journal editorial board. Barbara’s own education in the tarot has been and continues to be broad and enlightening. She has studied under renowned tarot scholars Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack, and she has taught the tarot to all manner of would-be tarot readers.

RJ Stewart

Robert John (R J) Stewart was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is known today as a composer, author, and teacher, with 40 books in publication, translated into many languages worldwide. R J Stewart’s series of books on the Underworld and Faery traditions (which he has restored and presented to the public almost single-handed over the last 20 years) have encouraged many people worldwide to work with these ancestral land-oriented spiritual paths. The Well of Light: From Faery Healing to Earth Healing contains a wealth of meditations, visions and ceremonies on earth-based spirituality, including unique material never before published.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Transition Music: The Fairy Rownde by Heringman from Holburns Passion (Magnatune)

Closing Music: The Fairy Queen by Da Camera from A Celtic Celebration (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Ellen Lorenzi-Prince led a Portland Tarot Study Group session on creating Tarots and the Creative Process. Ellen Lorenzi-Prince has been a reader and teacher of Tarot for over 15 years. She is the artist and designer of the Tarot of the Crone, a sold-out, limited-edition deck, which will be coming back into print in 2007. She writes tarot-related articles, poetry, short stories and meditations for herself and for several online study groups, as well as for printed newsletters. Her latest tarot is Pandora’s Tarot, which can also be seen on her site.

Recommended Greek Sites

• theoi.com
• Perseus Project

Creating Life Spread by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

This spread was presented at the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium, October 2002.

First focus on a creative work of yours. This work might be a tarot deck, a book, a relationship, or an identity.

1. The Calling

2. The Spirit 3. The Form

4. My Doubts 5. My Faith

6. Finding Depth 7. Adding Breadth

8. Inner Obstacle 9. Outer Obstacle

10. Starting Over

11. Inner Gift 12. Outer Gift

13. The Last Word

1. The Calling – What is your motivation? What is calling you, pushing you, pulling you to manifest this particular vision?

2. The Spirit – What is the spirit, the vision? What helps you connect with spirit, the genie behind the work? What desires or requires expression?

3. The Form – What is the form best suited to your vision? How might the spirit best be made manifest? What is the labor required?

4. My Doubts – What makes you doubt your vision? What denies you the right to your work and the rewards of your work?

5. My Faith – What makes you trust your vision? What helps you believe in yourself? How do you maintain flow through completion of the work?

6. Finding Depth – How much of yourself can you put into this work? How much emotion? What events of your past might illuminate your work?

7. Adding Breadth – How much of the world can you put into this work? Where can you find resources and inspiration outside of yourself?

8. Outer Obstacle – What are the habits and responsibilities that keep you from your work? How might they be overcome? How might they be changed?

9. Inner Obstacle – What shadows might rear their ugly heads during this work? What attitudes and emotions should you beware?

10. Starting Over – What needs rethinking? Where are you straying from your vision? Where might you need to abandon your vision?

11. Inner Gift – What strength and knowledge will you find upon completion of this work? How will continuing your work change you for the better?

12. Outer Gift – What rewards can you look forward to? How will continuing your work change your circumstance for the better?

13. The Last Word – Just what it says.

Tarot by the Numbers: The Three’s by Ginny Hunt

For some reason, three’s seem a little hard to grasp in Tarot. From the delightful Three of Cups to the painful Three of Swords, what do they have in common? It helps me to imagine a three-legged stool. From the tenuous decision-making and pondering of the two’s, something begins to manifest in the three’s. While a two-legged chair wouldn’t support one’s weight without tipping over, the addition of that third leg allows the seat to support something as solid as your posterior. While the type of manifestation is dependent upon the suit, what is common among the three’s is that first manifestation of something real, supportive, and true.

The Major Arcana each of the three’s echo is The Empress. This is related to her procreativity and abundance. She is the generative force behind bringing life and creation to fruition and the three’s each show a manifestation of that creative energy by the coming together of various elements in due measure. Astrologically, Jupiter and Venus are represented by the number three and Venus is the planet of The Empress as well. Venus rules our feminine side as well as relationships and the things we desire. Three’s also represent manifesting that which we desire through working with others, bringing things into relationship with one another to produce and create something. (read the full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Comparative Tarot

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we are going to be taking a look at reading with the Comparative Tarot technique. This technique was defined and made popular by Tarotist Valerie Sim, who was the founder the e-group Comparative Tarot, and the guiding light behind its companion site of the same name.

For those of you who might wish to join the Comparative Tarot e-group, it is currently under the ownership of Tarotist Teresa Michelson, and can be found a yahoogroups.com/group/comparativetarot. The Comparative Tarot can be found at www.comparativetarot.com.

Valerie also has a book out that discusses the Comparative Tarot method, entitled “Tarot Outside The Box” (ISBN #0738702773). This part of Llewellyn Publications “Special Topics In Tarot” series. (Slightly off topic – if anyone can tell me why they now have both ten digit and thirteen digit ISBN numbers – for the same product – I would really appreciate it!)

I am going to take a moment to talk a little bit about what the Comparative Tarot technique is, and then we are going to examine a three card reading, comparing the “Rider-Waite Tarot”, the “Gaian Tarot”, and the “Tarot of Dreams”.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

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

Closing Music: Sunflower by Yongen from Moonrise. (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Download audio file (TarotConnectionEpisode45.mp3)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

This journey is part of Episode 45 and has been released separately for your listening convenience.

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.

Music Credits

• Music: by Hans Christian from World Loops 1 (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Michael W. Ford began a path to Luciferian Witchcraft at an early age. Having resonated with the dark aspects of life and found a psychological interest in the ideologies of Nietzsche and Darwin, Mr. Ford began a practice of Satanism. Soon finding a deep spiritual connection with the spiritual aspects of the Adversary, Michael soon explored various Satanic Orders and the practice of Vampirism. In 1999, Mr. Ford, having practiced what is “Chaos Magic” began Book of the Witch Moon which was published in 2005-2006. Michael has studied at length the works of Austin Osman Spare, specifically his “Ugly Ecstasy” era illustrations and relates much of his initiation via artwork.

Mr. Ford is also a musician who has worked with numerous known bands, Black Funeral, Hexentanz, valefor, Psychonaut 75 and Ordo Tyrannus. Michael has produced ritual music albums and numerous other venues in music as well.

Michael resides near Houston, Texas with his fiancee, Hope Marie, who is his business manager and they are co-owners of Succubus Productions, the current publishing house and e-commerce operators of two websites. Mr. Ford is also presiding Magister of The Order of the Phosphorus and THE BLACK ORDER OF THE DRAGON.

Michael W. Ford is currently publishing THE LUCIFERIAN TAROT and Book, designed by him and painted by renowned artist Nico Claux. Mr. Ford is also continuing the path with numerous Luciferian works, including several on Vampirism and horror fiction as well as a Satanic Medieval Tarot.

• Succubus Productions at LuLu
• LuciferianWitchcraft.com
• Yahoo Group for Luciferian, Sorcery and News
• Luciferian Apotheca on Myspace

The Luciferian Tarot

78 Card Deck by Michael W. Ford and Nico Claux

A full 78 card deck, a beautiful and articulate expression of the Spirit of the Adversary from a trans-cultural perspective. This is the first Left Hand Path tarot deck published. Full color with a focus on the shadow or dark side of the feminine and masculine within the mysteries of the Luciferian Witchcraft gnosis.

THE FIRST BOOK OF LUCIFERIAN TAROT is the first published tarot based on Left Hand Path or Luciferian topics. This tarot book defines the practice and study of the Luciferian path of initiation, divination and the hidden or shadow aspects of the mind.

The First Book of Luciferian Tarot presents the Adversary Samael as the spirit of self-liberation, wisdom and power. The Adversary in the form of Lilith, the dark feminine instinct and motivation for humanity. Forecasting the future is only one possible use with the deck: a full grimoire of initiation is presented with this deck. You will find full descriptions, symbolism and methodology behind the Luciferian Tarot. You will find the Watchers and Grigori, the fallen angels who taught mankind the art of Witchcraft. The Various forms of the Adversary and the importance of balance with darkness and light. The daemonic feminine of Lilith, Hecate and Kali may be found here, how they relate to the Tarot and the associated Qlippothic Shadow forms corresponding to the deck.

Beautifully designed by Michael W. Ford and painted by Nico Claux, The Book of Luciferian Tarot gives full descriptions of the path of tarot. Descriptions of Major and Minor arcana, definitions and many tarot spreads makes THE FIRST BOOK OF LUCIFERIAN TAROT essential to any occult enthusiast and a darksome gift from the powers of the Adversary.

Cult of Zir

cult of zir is the primary auditory endeavour of portland-based artist nolon ashley, a performer whose applications and affiliations span a diverse spectrum, ranging from the accessible to the ineffible.

cult of zir’s sound depends heavily on abstract electronic soundscapes and textures countered with resonant melodic sequences, attempting a balance between intensity and sensitivity. a game-rule of intent is held in high priority, applied to a sonic medium often deliberately undisciplined.

in the barbarous tongue of the angels, “zir” translates to “i am.” such is described by dr. john dee and sir edward kelly, who pioneered the territory of enochian magick, a system of communication with spirit representatives of the divine.

• Cult of Zir Website
• Cult of Zir Myspace

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Closing Music: Requiem from the Cult of Zir. (a reflection on the loss inherent in refinement, in sacrificial discipline of yama. a goodbye kiss to attachments and aversions proven no longer useful.)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Virginia. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self and reads professionally through Kasamba.com.

Jeanette Roth of the Tarot Garden

Jeannette Roth has been collecting and studying tarot decks for over 20 years, and has presented lectures on topics related to tarot evolution and imagery around the midwestern U.S. for nearly 15 years. She is the co-owner of The Tarot Garden, which maintains the largest publicly-accessible database of 20th and 21st century tarot and cartomantic decks in the world.

Abysmal Tarot

22 Major Arcana based on the theme of the Prince of Darkness. 10 Artist contributed using a variety of techniques. The first edition was published by Collection Palestrina June 6, 2006 in a limited luxury edition of 333 copies. Images from the Abysmal Tarot are used with permission. (Abysmal Tarot at the Tarot Garden)

Vanessa Tarot

Taking their inspiration from pop culture, the sassy but sage characters of Vanessa Tarot playfully reinterpret traditional female roles as they share all their arcane secrets. Presented in a keepsake tin, Vanessa Tarot includes 78 cards with 30-page instruction booklet. Cards measure 2″ x 3.5″. (Vanessa Tarot at the Tarot Garden)

Love Tarot

(50 Ways to Divine Love by Liz Dean)

In “The Love Tarot”, Liz Dean shows how this ancient system of divination can be used to explore and predict love. The card pack and colour book draw upon the traditional division of the cards at card X, The Wheel of Fortune. Choose from cards 0 to IX to divine the nature of your lover. By choosing from the higher-numbered cards you divine your past, present, or future situation. The cards present 50 ways to receive true guidance in matters of the heart. This kit includes 1 96-page paperback book and 25 cards. (Love Tarot at the Tarot Garden)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Hierophant and Lovers

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 Hierophant and the Lovers. The major theme for the Hierophant is that of the inner teacher, that part of ourselves that questions authority, makes us think, and helps us to develop our own core beliefs, the beliefs that act as the foundation for our lives.

In many ways, the Hierophant, through the auspices of formal religion, helps us to place the teachings of the Emperor into our lives. Where the High Priestess represents the esoteric and the hidden, or mysterious, the Hierophant represents the antithesis of this, the exoteric, ritualistic side of life experiences.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

Closing Music: Acceptance by Jeff Wahl from Meditative Guitar (Magnatune)

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

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist and illustrator, whose award winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan and graced the covers and pages of numerous books and publications. He is the designer, illustrator, and co-author, with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, of: “The Alchemical Tarot” and “The Angels Tarot”, which are both published by HarperCollins and have received international acclaim particularly for their skillful and illuminating graphics. He is the designer, illustrator, and author of “The Tarot of the Saints” and “The Buddha Tarot”. And, he is the author of “The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination”, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” He is currently working on the “Vampire Tarot”, which will be published by St. Martins Press in 2007.

Robert is recognized as an expert on Western Mysticism, the history of the Tarot, and as a gifted teacher of divination. He has taught and lectured at the New York Open Center, Omega Institute, The New York Tarot School, and the World Tarot Congress. He and his work have appeared on Discovery, The Learning Channel, and A&E. He has been a guest on numerous radio shows including The Woodstock Roundtable on WDST-FM, People are Talking on WKZE-FM , and Mystic Musings on KKUP FM.

Together with his wife Rose Ann, he has been creating hand crafted jewelry for over twenty-five years. Their work has been exhibited in the White House, in the American Craft Museum, The New York State Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Delaware Art Museum, The Montclair Art Museum, The Irish American Heritage Museum, the International Wilhelm Muller Competition, (which toured Museums in Germany), Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, England, and in numerous galleries in the United States, Ireland, Britain, and Japan.

The Vampire Tarot

I started on this deck after creating The Alchemical Tarot. I saw that the Vampire myth was the shadow version of the Alchemical quest. Instead of looking for immortality by transforming the psyche and identifying with all of creation verses a limited ego and mortal body, the vampire looks for immortality in the body and ego and creates a horror story. – Robert M. Place

The Vampire Tarot Copyright 2007 Robert Place

• Visit the Alchemical Egg
• Schedule a Reading
• See the Vampire Tarot
• See the Tarot of the 7 fold Mystery
  

To receive The Restored Temple of Hermes, the free newsletter of the Alchemical Egg, with articles, a question and answer section, and news about up-coming lectures and workshops, e-mailed every other month, send an e-mail to Robert with The Restored Temple of Hermes in the subject line. Also, please let include know what state or country you live in.

Vampires and the Tarot

April 27th 2007: A Two-Hour (+) Lecture with Robert M. Place, Creator of The Vampire Tarot

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. This mythological Vampire is also related to the Tarot trumps! Like the Tarot, the Vampire myth also seems to relate to the alchemical quest for the red elixir, called the philosopher’s stone, which may also be portrayed as a liquid. Like blood to a Vampire, the red elixir was said to prolong life indefinitely.

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 Colman Smith and Stoker were friends, who influenced who, and whether Stoker was a member of the Golden Dawn.

Alchemy and the Tarot: A One-Day Workship with Robert M. Place

April 28th 2007

In the summer of 1987 while studying an alchemical image, I had an epiphany. In a flash of insight, I realized that the esoteric symbolism of alchemy was interchangeable with the symbols contained in the Tarot trumps. If this is true, I asked myself, then isn’t it also true that the Tarot is an expression of the same spiritual quest? The answer came to me as a revelation of the alchemical message in the Tarot, and although it lasted only minutes, it led me on an eight-year journey that culminated in the creation of the Alchemical Tarot.

In this workshop I will illuminate that revelation, examine the alchemical process as it evolved from the ancient Hermetic philosophy of Alexandria to become incorporated into the world view of the early Renaissance, and explain in detail the alchemical process outlined by the Tarot. Making use of number symbolism to make alchemical concepts accessible, the underlying pattern of the hero’s quest will be illustrated from the single unity of the Monad to the cycle of twelve operations and back again.

The class will continue with advanced Tarot reading practice designed to make alchemical transformation relevant in one’s life.

In Love with Love by Ginny Hunt

You know these two. You may have even been these two at one time. Maybe you’re even part of this pair now, but if you’re not it’s all you can do to not say,”Get a room.” With fluttering eyelashes and deep gazes that invisibles everyone else from the stratosphere, the Two of Cups is a budding romance in its first flushes of engagement. No, not engagement engagement, unless they’re crazy, but that first meeting, that first date, the initial contact where both parties are twitterpated. “Whatever,” I say, with dismissive gesturing.

Wot? Not romantic? Moi? Sure I can be, but you know, this is the stuff of infatuation that those rogue Knights are so fond of, particularly that Knight of Cups and we all know how dependable they can be [insert derisive snort]. Oh sure, it’s sweet, it’s cute, and I can’t help but smile when I see a couple so obviously smitten, but I suppose I’ve had a few too many kicks from the back end of that horse that I look with slightly jaded (yes, I said slightly) eye on this card. Sure, it’s nice and all, but hello, it’s just a two. They’re being swept along by the rush of the Ace of Cups and while that’s a heady cup of spirits there, I say watch for the hangover sure to come ohhh around say, the Four of Cups, if it lasts that long.

Maybe I should have posted this on Valentine’s Day, but I have an internal boycott on V-Day that has nothing to do with whether I’ve personally been involved with someone when that day rolls around. It’s cheesy and forced and my knee jerk reaction to anyone telling me I gotta luuurve someone on February 14 is, again, “Whatever,” with dismissive hand gestures. Maybe that’s the root of my problem with the Two of Cups. I’m far too much a Queen of Swords to admit to any twitterpating on my part, however that underlying water element belies a romantic heart that cries at love stories and whose favorite movie is Ever After.

I say I’m realistic. Lovers don’t care. They don’t give a damn about reality and I don’t blame them at all. It’s all very nice in that pink bubble with hearts and glitter floating about. Because this is the card all the hopefuls want to see who come to a tarot reading asking, “Will I meet someone?” or “Does he like me that way?” So when I see this card for a sitter, I smile and say, “Yes. For sure. Yeah he does.” And that’s really nice. But get this, falling in love is a lot like drug addiction and temporary insanity, at least chemically speaking. (read the full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Emperor

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and in this Pod Cast we will continue 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 for the Emperor. The major theme of the Emperor is that of authority. He teaches self- control and discipline in making decisions and taking action.

In a reading, the Emperor indicates a time of decision making for the Seeker. It also indicates that the issue or situation revolves around male authority, or male authority figures. Organizational ability is also part of the Emperor’s energy.

Which of the symbols attract the attention of the Seeker, and how does he or she feel about them? Are they anxious? Are they afraid? Do they feel supported? What part of their situation or issues do they see the Emperor as representing? Is this energy that they need to bring in, or is it energy that they need to release?

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

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

Closing Music: Vampires by Briareus from the Podsafe Music Network.

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

On Halloween 2006, I did a reading for a friend who was considering a career change. I’m sharing part of this reading including a yes/no spread, an 3 card exploration reading and a journey into the High Priestess.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Right Speech

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. I am Bonnie Cehovet, and today I am going to be discussing the concepts of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. This topic came out of conversations that Leisa and I have been having about the many things that are going on within the Tarot world, and about the responsibilities that we each carry, to ourselves and to our clients.

This is reflected in the Code of Ethics that each reader is encouraged to develop, but it goes far beyond this code.

The concepts of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood come from the essence of Buddha’s teaching. They are part of what is termed the Noble Eightfold Path: (1) Right View, (2) Right Intention, (3) Right Speech, (4) Right Action, (5) Right Livelihood, (6) Right Effort, (7) Right Mindfulness, (8) Right Concentration.

Right View and Right Intention are considered to be part of the discipline of Wisdom; Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood are considered part of the discipline of moral/ethical conduct; while Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration are considered to be part of the discipline of Mental Development. Together, they act as a foundation to allow the individual to free themselves from attachments and delusions, and to lead them to an understanding of the basic truth about all things.

What place does this serve in the professional world of Tarot? The same place that it serves in all worlds, and that is to act as a tool to guide the individual in making decisions and taking actions that are right for themselves, without causing harm to themselves, or those around them. It is living in harmony with our environment, and all that comprises that environment.

Tarot Realizations – from Bill Vincent

Knowing When to Take a Break…

Tarot can be challenging. Everything from doing readings, to studying the symbolism, to finding the proper balance in your life for Tarot can be challenging. I am what I would consider an Intermediate Tarot student. I feel I have come a long way in my intellectual understanding of the cards. I have read and studied several of the classic books on the topic. I have worked with the cards doing readings and flexing my intuitive muscles. But, over the course of time I have been working with them, there have been times when I felt the need to take a break from them, in order to be able to process all of the input that the cards themselves and their study present to me.

The first time this happened I had let myself get mentally over stimulated to the point where I put everything out of sight for a few weeks. At that time I felt a sense of frustration and failure at my inability to handle all of the information that was coming my way. I needed a vacation from the intellectual study of Tarot, and I took one. When I finally returned to my cards, books, and thoughts on Tarot, I was much better prepared to understand my limits, and how much I could do without overload. (read the full post)

Strange Bedfellows by Ginny Hunt

Christianity and tarot make very odd bedfellows indeed. One might even say they need separate bedrooms at the very least. That opinion is held not only by many Christians but also by many Pagans and neo-pagans who reject the Christian symbolism in the cards and claim the symbology to be corrupted forms of earlier pagan symbolism. While they have a valid point, I think it’s interesting that both Christian and Pagan belief systems reject the Christian historical roots of tarot.

The Church took offense with the deck almost immediately. Card playing had associations with gambling ever since playing cards had been introduced to Europe and various laws and decrees were enacted to discourage that. However, the earliest known disparagement of tarot cards specifically comes from an anonymously penned sermon, known as “The Steele Sermon” or “Sermones de Ludo cum Aliis,” c. 1480. This sermon detailed the Trumps of tarot and asserts that the Trumps were invented and named by the Devil and as such hotly discourages their use. The blasphemous depiction of The Pope, the inclusion of a female Popesse, the imagery of The Devil, The Tower and so forth created objections and banning by the Church. But it likely wasn’t just the pictures that caused such a ruckus. The politics of the time were more than probably the driving force behind the opposition.

The characters in the tarot “triumph” or trumps were seen in the many Roman Catholic pageantry processions, not too unlike what we see preceding Lent at Mardis Gras and Carnival. These pageants were evangelistic devices of the Church designed to convert. Indeed, the Church has used various forms of earlier pagan imagery in its quest to convert the heathen, so the imagery these pageants used were designed to place the Christian story in a pagan context. As the Reformation took hold in Europe, these pageants disappeared from France, Italy, and England. All religious plays were banned in France in the mid 1500′s and with them went much of the historical truth about what those original tarot trumps actually represented. A very sad loss, indeed. (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: Dolphins from Restrung by Reza Manzoori

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

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.

A few of the decks mentioned:

• International Icon by Robin Ator
• Gothic Tarot of the Vampires
• Gothic Tarot by Joseph Vargo
• Tarot of the Underworld
• Japanese Egyptian Tarot

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Empress

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and in this Pod Cast we will continue 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 Empress. The major theme of the Empress is that of abundance. The symbols that surround her reflect that abundance. The first thing that catches the eye is the literal field of abundance that surrounds this figure. The lush grasses, trees and plants speak of fertility, life and living. The Empress represents the feminine principle, fertility and sensuality.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

Closing Music: Dark Tower from music of the waters by Shira Kammen

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – 900 line readings

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. Is 900 line reading a viable option for Tarot readers? I think so, and I speak with an insiders voice, having read for them for over twelve year. Over the past few years great strides have been made in the Tarot 900 line business. The Miss Cleo’s of the 900 line world have faded away, leaving behind lessons learned. Some of the smaller companies that were not built on solid foundations have fallen away, leaving those that had better vision, combined with solid business basics. Most lines now have an Internet presence, and offer multiple services, along with value-added items such as short articles and free horoscopes to help attract clients.

There are many reasons for considering 900 line reading as a career option. The primary reason is often the fact that you are working from home, with a close second the ability to arrange your own schedule. Finances are also something that you may want to consider: you do not have to pay for advertising, or for work space, and you will be drawing a clientele from a larger area (this is especially important if you live in a small town, or a rural area, and the potential client base is limited).

My interview guest this week is Amanda who shares with us her insights and experiences of a professional phone reader. The handout contains three of her favorite spreads.

Amanda is a healer, artist, spoken word poet, and professional tarot reader. Her primary reading deck is the Osho Zen Tarot. As a reader for the public, her goal is to inspire healing, assist with personal-growth work, and to encourage individuals to take a keen interest in who they are beyond their conditioning. Born and raised in Kentucky, she now resides in Northern California with her partner Chris and their 4 cats. She is currently in the development and design process of creating her first tarot deck.

Her website is: www.EmpathicAmanda.com

Papermoon by Ginny Hunt

The Moon. Mother of mysteries, forever linked to dark forces; natural, untamable forces, the feminine, the tides, and unstable currents, moods, and times. The myths surrounding her cannot be shaken loose, though statistics, science and rational thought have debunked the notions that homicide rates, birth rates, menstrual cycles, earthquakes and lunacy are effected by the moon’s gravitational pull. Nevermind science and rational thought. What have they to do with the moon anyway? We humans are a funny lot and we will persist in what we feel to be true regardless.

The only one out of my four babies’ births I predicted correctly, against the doctor’s little wheel-chart thingy which gave a date entirely too early, I calculated by counting lunar cycles. He gave me a due date of November 26 and I sat eating Thanksgiving dinner with the bun still in the oven. I knew, however, that moonwise she was more likely to make her grand entrance sometime around December 5. She hesitated but two days and birthed herself on December 7. So don’t get me started on science. (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: Sarah Calling by Nezecus (podsafe music)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Dena DeCastro joins me to do a Zodiac Houses reading for listener Brad Jacobson. This is based on the second operation of the Opening of the Key.

The mode of performing the Divination called “The Opening of the Key” is by five consecutive operations of laying out the cards, they having been previously well shuffled, and, in addition in the first and fourth cases, having been cut as well, and in a certain manner. These five operations answer respectively, the first to the Dominion of the Four Knaves under the presidency of the Four Aces; the Second to that of the Kings, Queens and Knights, referred to the Twelve Houses; the Third to that of the Twelve Keys attributed to the Signs; the Fourth to that of the smaller cards answering to the 36 Decanates; and the Fifth and last to the rule of the Sephiroth in the Celestial Heavens. – The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic by Israel Regardie

The cards are shuffled and not cut. Starting with the first house (ASC.) the cards are dealt out in order around the wheel (counter-clockwise). This is where I depart from the Opening of the Key. We interpreted the top cards of each stack in relationship to the houses.

1. First House (Aries) – House of Self: Self-Awareness, Self-Expression, Individuality, Personality, Outward Appearances & Stimuli.
2. Second House (Taurus) – House of Possession: Sustenance, Resources, Money, Self-Worth, Wealth, Values, Luxury, Talents.
3. Third House (Gemini) – House of Communication: Logic, Mental & Spiritual Development, Curiosity, Hobbies, Short Journeys, Siblings.
4. Fourth House (Cancer) – House of Family & Home: Domestic Scenes, Environment, Roots, Security, Comfort, Tradition.
5. Fifth House (Leo) -House of Pleasure: Beauty, Creative Expression, Romance, Social Activities, Recreation, Children.
6. Sixth House (Virgo) – House of Health: Work, Duty, Responsibility & Personal Growth, Employment, Service.
7. Seventh House (Libra) – House of Partnership: Marriage, Friendships, Business Relationships, Karma, Compromise, Contracts.
8. Eighth House (Scorpio) – House of Sex: Sex, Death & Rebirth. Shared Resources, Inheritance, Support From Another, Regeneration.
9. Ninth House (Sagittarius) – House of Philosophy: Expanding Inner & Outer Selves Through Travel, Education, & Spirituality.
10. Tenth House (Capricorn) – House of Social Status: Career, Society, Public Reputation, Place In Community.
11. Eleventh House (Aquarius) – House of Friendships: Friends, Society, Philanthropy, Aspirations, Free Time, Ideals & Goals.
12. Twelveth House (Pisces) – House of Subconscious: Psychological Health, Emotional Experiences, Unconscious Memories, Seclusion, Secrets.

Handouts

Cafe Press Shop

And Justice For All by Ginny Hunt

When we think of what is “just” we often equate it with what is “fair.” However, what seems fair to one person is often not how another would envision it. Enter, Justice. She is the embodiment of the moral virtue that would not be swayed by personal interest, nor an individual sense of fairness, but an overarching global, cosmic sense of what is “right” because in the end of it all it is just and fair.
No idea in Western civilization has been more consistently linked to ethics and morality than the idea of justice. From The Republic, written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, to A Theory of Justice, written by the late Harvard philosopher John Rawls, every major work on ethics has held that justice is part of the central core of morality. So where does the concept originate? Social justice is likely as old as the first humans as they structured their communities and fought among themselves for their own conflicting interests. Without the cooperation and equity justice provides, we would quickly extinguish our own species. Egyptians knew her as Maat, the one who weighed the hearts of men. Greeks knew her as Themis, goddess of order and oracle at Delphi who was the mother of Dike, goddess of justice. Romans knew her as Justitia. It wasn’t until the 16th century that images of justice showed her blindfolded to represent impartiality, but the sword and scales have shown up in her various incarnations over the ages. (read the full post)

Tarot Realizations – from Bill Vincent

Tarot is a somewhat remarkable thing. I find myself marveling at it’s beauty, and entrenched in it’s symbolism. But Tarot has also given me something else, too. It has made me really understand that there is a unique quality to Tarot that goes beyond the 78 cards. It has given me a sense of hope that someday we will better understand the energy behind it.

In my experience, Tarot is the most interesting and powerful of all divinatory arts. Through it I have discovered that there is indeed a unique power that plays between myself and the cards, a power of synchronicity which cannot be explained away. It does not have every answer, and does not control my life. Yet, it provides the closest thing to tangible proof in my eyes that there is truly an unseen intelligence that plays a part in our existence. (read the full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the High Priestess

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and in this Pod Cast we will continue 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 High Priestess. Here we see represented the feminine mystique, higher wisdom, and a connection to the Moon and our unconscious selves.

The wisdom that the High Priestess represents is universal wisdom that we connect with by accessing our inner self, our unconscious self. This is the wisdom that helps us to develop the potential inherent within the skills and abilities of the Magician.

In a reading, the symbols within the card of the High Priestess address the spiritual nature in our life. We are being told that before we can find a solution to our issues, we need to look deeply into them, and deeply into ourselves.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

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

Closing Music: Eastern Sky-Touching Grace from eastern grooves by DJ Cary

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Join the Portland Tarot Study Group as we study the cards associated with the Empress and the Tower in the Golden Dawn System. The Empress is the Venus and the Tower is Mars.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Transition Music and Closing Music: Empress by Paul Avgerinos from Words Touch. (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The “Music of the Spheres” is credited to Pythagoras (c.569 – 475 BC) who was a musician, mathematician and a mystic. The philosophy is that the proportions in the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets are a form of music. Those ratios could be expressed as the intervals of plucked strings.

Liz Hazel explores some of the ideas central to the Music of the Spheres including numbers, numerology, ratios, polemic ratios, proportion, harmony and dissonance an how you can use them in reading tarot cards.

Liz Hazel

Liz Hazel is a professional astrologer columnist, and taroist who lectures throughout the country and writes for various astrological and tarot journals. Her other life-long interests include music and art.

As Lady Vala, she has created incenses, perfumes, flower essences, and other products that are astrologically correct and smell fabulous! Some of these products have been designed specifically for ritual use.

Her highly acclaimed book, Tarot Decoded (Weiser Books, 2004) is the first handbook of tarot dignities, and gives a wide range of techniques for expanding tarot readings using numbers and astrology.

• Kosmic Kitchen: This site features rituals (under “Spiritual and Magick”) and spells written over the years. She practices in a coven, and also as a solitary mystic sorceress.
• Vala Tarot: original tarot deck, drawn with crow quill and India ink, then hand-colored with Prismacolor markers. The deck took five years to create.
• Stars and Cards: Mercury Retrogrades from Tarot Reflections 2003 with Mercury Retrograde Spread
• Stars and Cards: Fighting the Law of Gravity, An Essay on Saturn for Tarotists
• Stars and Cards: Nobody Nodes the Troubles I’ve Seen from Tarot Reflections

The Rhinebeckian Institute for Tarot and Esoterica presents “CATs”

Charms Amulets and Talismans – Saturday April 7 – Sunday, April 8, 2007
Two days of magick-making with Elizabeth Hazel
(High Priestess and Mystic Sorceress Lady Vala Runesinger)

With optional Friday April 6th evening lecture and discussion forum on
“Pagan Dogma and Why Magic Works”

Learn the wonder of charms, amulets, and talismans under the careful guidance of Lady Vala Runesinger: what they are, what they can do, and how to create them. Our work together will include information about magical systems, purposes, materials, correspondences, timing theories, layering, charging, incantations, and consecration rituals. Ceremonial magic and practical magic procedures will be taught and followed throughout the workshop.

The timing of this workshop has been carefully correlated to correspond with some of the most beneficial planetary alignments for this kind of work in many years. Also, in order for Lady Vala to facilitate greater learning and deeper understanding in our time together, registration is limited to only 12 participants.

This magickal weekend culminates on Saturday night with a full-blown talisman-making ritual in the medieval style of Henry Cornelius Agrippa on Saturday evening: dress up, dress down, be there or be square!

Participants should anticipate a rigorous, mentally demanding, spiritually exhilarating, action-filled weekend schedule. All materials for making various CATs will be provided, including a workbook and an extensive assortment of herbs, oils, powders, stones, fabrics, amulets, etc., and tools for the rituals. (read more)

William Zeitler

William Zeitler is a composer and professional musician. He has numerous published and commissioned works to his credit. A classically trained pianist, he earned his music degree from the California Institute of the Arts.

The Glass Armonica is the musical instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761. Said to be the invention that pleased him the most, Franklin’s Glass Armonica is a series of glass bowls mounted on a horizontal rod. Tapering in size, they are played like wine glasses as they spin.

William’s instrument is custom built and was a year in the making. It contains 44 glass bowls mounted on a hand crafted stand of cherry and oak.

Music of the Spheres consists of twelve pieces inspired by the ancient Pythagorean conception of the Universe. It includes a wealth of musical symbolism based on almost a year of William’s research into ancient through modern cosmologymostly reading the ancient writers directly.

• MUSIC CAN BE SAMPLED ON THE CATALOG PAGE AT: www.GlassArmonica.com
• Read the story behind the Album the Music of the Spheres

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Transition Music: Primum Mobile, the Prime Mover of the Spheres by William Wilde Zeitler from Music of the Spheres
• Closing Music: Lux Aeternam Pronounced “loox ay-TEAR-nam”, Latin for Light Eternal by William Wilde Zeitler

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

My guest this week is Regina LaRocca who uses Tarot in her work with homeless youth and wards of the State of Oregon in Portland. She works for Fuego which offers educational and therapeutic experiences to multicultural, underprivileged young people who have cognitive, emotional, behavioral/attitudinal and socio-cultural issues. To learn more about Fuego please visit the website www.gofuego.com

At the end of the interview, Regina leads a guided meditation that can be used with any card. We used the 9 of Swords from the Tarot of the Sephiroth. Do not listen to this episode or segment while driving or other times where your attention is needed.

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 of the Sephiroth is created and illustrated by Dan Staroff. Illustrations from the Tarot of the Sephiroth are reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902 USA. Copyright 2000 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Reviews of Tarot of the Sephiroth & the Heart of the Tarot

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey! My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today I am going to be reviewing two recent entries into my life – the “Tarot of the Sephiroth” (deck by Dan Staroff, text by Josephine Mori and Jill Stockwell), and “The Heart of the Tarot”, by someone that I truly admire, Sandra A. Thomson (co-authored by Robert E. Mueller, Ph.D. and Signe E. Echols, M.S.).

Tarot of the Sephiorth by Dan Staroff
In a card accompanying this deck, creator Dan Staroff notes that this deck was created from a desire to present a more unified and comprehensive portrayal of the Tarot. His wish was two fold: to interpret the traditional Tarot images for a new era, and to highlight the connection between Tarot and the Qabalah. In doing so, use was made of the Tree of Life, its spheres and paths, and associated colors.

The LWB (Little White Book) that accompanies the deck notes that the images on the Tarot cards act as links to connect elements of the human condition and the universal (archetypal) forces that affect all of us. The “Tarot of the Sephiroth” brings the Tarot/Qabalah connection to life through the laying out of the cards as they are associated with the spheres and paths of the Tree of Life. The LWB contains graphics that show the spheres, their numbers, and their associated colors.

The Major Arcana are represented according to their color correspondences. The Minor Arcana represent the energies of the ten spheres, and are shown with circular borders in their respective corresponding colors. The biggest change that this represents for the reader is that when multiples of the same number appear in a reading, it is very easy to see that they are associated, and the energy that they carry. In an overlay of the two’s, three’s, sixes and tens, the borders of these cards will align with the appropriate sphere formed by the joining of the Court Cards in their respective spheres. (read the review at aeclectic)

The Heart of Tarot by Sandra Thompson

Sandra Thompson, author/teacher/lecturer/mentor, is one of my favorite people in the Tarot world. In “The Heart of Tarot”, Sandra and her co-authors bring a background in psychology into the archetypal world of the Tarot. And they do so in the most gentle of manners – the emphasis is on the Tarot, and how to best put it to use, and not on the psychology of Tarot.

The format of this book is focused on the theme of each card – the energy that it carries, and how it fits into a reading. Rather than working with upright or reversed keywords/meanings, we learn to work with the theme of the card. In defining and exploring the different themes, Sandra and her co-authors work with the Rider-Waite Tarot and the Robin Wood Tarot. The “Rider-Waite Tarot” is used because it is a traditional deck, and because it is often used in teaching and in reference books. The “Robin Wood Tarot” is used because of its updated imagery and vibrant colors.

The backbone of this book is the two card reading – symbolically representing the first two cards from the traditional Celtic Cross spread. The first card drawn represents the Situation, while the second card drawn (which is placed crossing the first card) represents the Challenge. (Read the review at aeclectic) “The Heart of the Tarot” is a book that I cannot recommend highly enough! Sandra and her co-authors have done a marvelous job of promoting the two-card reading as an in-depth Tarot tool. The focus of this book is on the theme of each card, and not on upright or reversed meanings. (I should note here that each of the authors has a background in psychology, and the voice of the book is a gentle one that focuses on the connection between the reader and the Seeker.)

This technique was developed by adapting the first two cards from the traditional Celtic Cross spread. An interesting analogy is done between the traditional imagery of the “Rider-Waite” deck, and the more updated “Robin Wood Tarot”. Scans are included from both decks for all of the cards. The first card drawn is represents the Situation, while the second cards drawn represents the Challenge, and is placed across the first card.

Nine steps are presented in developing a reading:

1. Choose a situation that asks for information beyond a “yes” or “no” answer.
2. Acknowledge the Tarot deck as an oracle, and thank it for its help.
3. With your question in mind, shuffle and cut the cards in whatever style is comfortable for you.
4. Turn over the top card, placing it in the Situation position.
5. Consider what it tells you about your situation or issue and jot that down on a piece of paper or in a notebook of readings, if you keep one.
6. Turn over the second card, and place it in the Challenge position.
7. Decide what it tells you about the kinds of tasks or actions you might consider to resolve your situation. Enter that information in your notes.
8. Briefly summarize the two cards.
9. Finally, if you have not answered it already, ask yourself, “What do these two cards tell me about the lesson I need to focus on for maximum growth with respect to my issue?” Enter your insights in your notes.

Sample Reading using the Two Card Spread from the Heart of Tarot

I thought that it might be interesting to do a reading using the “Tarot of the Sephiroth” and the technique from “The Heart of the Tarot”. The question that I asked was: “What do I need to know about my finances?” The cards drawn were the Ace of Disks (Situation) and the Five of Cups (Challenge).

What do i need to know about my finances?

Situation	Challenge

Celtic Cross Storymaker v.3.0 by Ginny Hunt

When I began reading tarot, I learned, as many tarot newbies do, to use the Celtic Cross spread. It’s a 10-card spread that has been a staple of tarot reading at least since Arthur Waite published it, but he claimed it had been used among tarot readers long before he brought it to the masses. The spread is fairly general, but useful, and gives a lot of information, even some you may not need. A lot of people have difficulty with the Celtic Cross Spread. Some say it has too many cards, others say it’s too general and doesn’t answer the questions specifically enough. I understand those objections and there’s no reason to use the spread if you can’t seem to get it to work for you. However, I’ve found a way to read it that helps me, and maybe you, too.

The Celtic Cross Spread is like a story. It has literary elements like a protagonist, antagonist, conflict, climax, and denouement. It also reveals hidden forces at work, for better or for worse, and gives advice to the protagonist on how best to complete his mission. Tarot is story-telling with pictures and this spread lends itself quite well to that method of reading. (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: Eastern Sky-Touching Grace from eastern grooves by DJ Cary

This Podcast Episode has been archived.

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

This journey is part of Episode 34 and has been released separately for you listening convenience. Before beginning this journey spend a few minutes looking at and relating to the card you wish to experience.

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.

Music Credits

• Music: Eastern Sky-Touching Grace from eastern grooves by DJ Cary

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Professional Readings

Continuing the discussion on professional readings, James Wells and I explore the following topics:

• Why Read Professionally?
• How do you know you are ready?
• Ideas for Places to Read.
• How much to Charge?
• What is your mission statement?

James suggests that every reader explores the following questions:

• Who are you as a person?
• As a tarot reader what do you do?
• What is your mission statement as a tarot professional?
• What benefits do/can people derive from a session with you?
• Who would benefit from your tarot services?

Recommended Resources:

• Business Mastery : A Guide for Creating a Fulfilling, Thriving Business and Keeping It Successful by Cherie M Sohnen-Moe
• Making a Living without a Job by Barbara Winter
• The Medicine Woman’s Guide to Being in Business for yourself by Carol Bridges

James Wells is a Toronto-based Tarot consultant with an international clientele. Since age 12, he has lived, worked and played with the Tarot and its rich symbolism. James is also a Reiki Master, publisher of The Six-Rayed Star, musician, explorer of divination systems, weaver of rituals, and workshop facilitator. His job as a Worker of Oracles is to create sacred space for constructive feedback and soul work – a place where dreams, goals, imagination, intuition and magick, have full sway so that you can enjoy insight, support and healing. James can be reached at workeroforacles@yahoo.ca

Matter of Time Mix by Ginny Hunt

It’s only natural. We want to know “When?” You’re waiting on that call, that answer, your life feels in limbo until you hear about that job, that decision. Will the house sell? When? Will they accept my proposal? When? Will he call? When? When will I know so I can make my decision? We really hate being held captive by someone else’s actions or decisions. It makes us feel a loss of control in our lives and if there’s something human beings have a really hard time with, it’s lack of control in their own environment. So we turn to the cards for clues and we hope they can tell us something, anything, about when an event we’ve been waiting for is likely to occur. However, the cards aren’t imprinted with times and dates on them. They speak in symbols and analogies and time, being a manmade construct, is a rather limited box to try and shove allegorical symbols into. Predicting when something will happen with tarot is not impossible, but it’s difficult, and there isn’t one, particular way to do it. (read the full post) (read part 2)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Value Added Tarot

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. Today we will be discussing Tarot as a business, and the place of value-added incentives in that business. As in any other business, Tarot taken to the professional level is dependent on bringing in new business, encouraging repeat business, and creating a recognizable style that lends itself to “branding” – name recognition that encourages word-of-mouth clients.

One of the ways to accomplish all of the above is the use of value-added incentives. What this means is that you client receives something that they perceive as having added value, some service or physical thing, without having to pay more for it. The really great thing here is that value-added incentives do not have to cost you anything, in terms of either time or materials.

What each individual practitioner chooses to offer as an value-added incentive depends on the nature of their business, on the community environment (what is deemed to be acceptable within their own community), and on the tools that they feel comfortable working with.

Value-added incentives create a win/win environment. The client gets something for free, and the practitioner gets good press for their business. New clients come in, existing clients become repeat clients, and word-of-mouth becomes a very magickal thing! An interesting thing happens along the way. As each Tarot professional begins to define in what manner they want to create a brand for themselves, they take a close look at their Tarot work, and often expand their understanding of “where” Tarot can go, and what other tools can be easily and comfortable associated with it.

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (www.magnatune.com)

Closing & Transition Music: Dharma by Will Grega from Breath of Being (podsafe music)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Gate Cards: Tarot Realizations by Bill Vincent

I am always intrigued by the concept of gate cards. Gate cards, as they are referred to in Rachael Pollack’s book Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom are cards that lend themselves more easily than others to the process of active visualization, or entering the card in your mind. This type of exercise can provide deeper levels of meaning within the cards, and your relationship to them. My initial impressions of Tarot was that every card is a gate card, and I still believe that is true. However, some cards do make this easier with their stunning scenes and multiple levels of meaning. To quote Rachael in 78 degrees, They all share certain characteristics: complex, often contradictory meanings, and a myth-like strangeness which no allegorical interpretation can completely penetrate. Rachael talks about several specific cards being gate cards. (read full post)

Professional Tarot Practice

James Wells joins me to explore what it means to be a tarot reader including the following topics:

• What is a tarot professional?
• What is professionalism
• ethical considerations

This is part one of a two part series.

James Wells is a Toronto-based Tarot consultant with an international clientele. Since age 12, he has lived, worked and played with the Tarot and its rich symbolism. James is also a Reiki Master, publisher of The Six-Rayed Star, musician, explorer of divination systems, weaver of rituals, and workshop facilitator. His job as a Worker of Oracles is to create sacred space for constructive feedback and soul work – a place where dreams, goals, imagination, intuition and magick, have full sway so that you can enjoy insight, support and healing. James can be reached at workeroforacles@yahoo.ca

Tarot Dancing by Ginny Hunt

Carol gave me the Three of Cups yesterday because I was such a mess on Friday. And then do you know what happened? I went dancing! I received an invitation last night to go out and see my favorite local band and danced my booty off. This is one of the things I really love about tarot, the layers of meanings in the cards, from the literal to the metaphorical. While Carol’s intention of giving me that card was clearly a way of expressing her friendship and support to me, little did she (or I, for that matter) know that it was a literal prediction, or prescription perhaps, to remedy my state of mind.
There is a dance we do among the meanings when we look at a card, a mental and emotional dance that, as a tarot beginner, feels awkward and out-of synch at first, but which becomes easier and more fluid the longer we work with the cards. I remember becoming very frustrated with the dance when I first started learning the card meanings because there seemed to be so many different choices, how was I to know which one to choose? I could look at the Three of Cups and see, literally, a get-together with women friends, or metaphorically a supportive environment, feeling at one with humanity, friendship, or caring. As I stumbled through the dance steps of tarot reading, I would become frustrated and wonder how I was ever going to actually read these cards. This was a new dance and I felt so out of step with the music. In fact, I couldn’t even hear the music at first. (read the full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Relationship Resources

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey! This is Bonnie Cehovet, and I would like to thank each of you for joining me on my journey. Relationship and finances are two of the biggest areas that readers receive queries about. I can tend to roll my eyes and shake my head when I get too many relationship readings in a row. In thinking about this, I realized that there are some wonderful resources out there that readers can use to recharge their batteries when it comes to love and romance. Today I am going to be talking about a few of the resources available- books, decks, and perhaps a spread or two that specifically address the areas of love, romance, and relationship.

… As readers, we can open up the scope of our readings, and offer our clients tools for healing, and tools for empowering themselves and their relationships. Scans and reviews of the following decks and books can be found on Aeclectic Tarot

Books:

• Daniels, Kooch N. & Victor Daniels. “Tarot D’Amour“. Weiser Books. 2003. ISBN #1-57863-292-7.
• Fairchild, Gail. “Choice Centered Relating and the Tarot“. Samuel Weiser, Inc. 2000. ISBN # 1-57863-143-2.
• Jette, Christine. “Tarot For The Healing Heart“. Llewellyn Publications. 2001. ISBN #0-7387-004306. Visit Finding the Muse
• McElroy, Mark. “Taking The Tarot to Heart“. Llewellyn Publications. 2005, ISBN #0-7387-053605. Visit Made by Mark
• Waldherr, Kris. “The Lovers Path”. Henry M. Abrams.2005. ISBN #0-8109-5785-6. Visit Art & Words

Decks:

• Ma Padma Diva. “The Osho Zen Tarot“. St. Martins Press. ISBN #0312117337. Osho Zen On-Line Readings
• Mahony, Karen & Alex Ukolov. “The Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot“. Magic Realist Press. ISBN #0954500725. Bohemian Cats Website
• Sweikhardt, Karen. “Tarot of a Moon Garden“. U.S. Games Systems. ISBN #1572810955
• Waldherr, Kris. “The Lovers Path Tarot“. U.S. Games Systems. ISBN #1572814683. Lovers Path On-Line Reading
• Zerner, Amy & Monte Farber. “The Enchanted Tarot“. St. Martin’s Press. ISBN #0312050798 Visit the Enchanted World

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (www.magnatune.com)

Tranistion Music: Lunarsheen by Clair Fitch from Ambiancellist (www.magnatune.com)

Closing Music: Ambiancellist by Clair Fitch from Ambiancellist (www.magnatune.com)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

This week we’ll look at several spreads focusing on love & relationships.

Everyone wants it, but how do we get it? Keep it? Deal with the pain it can cause? What are our illusions about it, and what is our truth?

What exactly is this mysterious, wild and wonderful thing called love? Come today and see what you can find out!

Relationship can be any intimate or passionate connection; a lover, partner, child, friend or spirit. Ethics may be tested in reading for someone who is not there.

This episode was recorded live on February 4th 2007 at the Portland Tarot Study Group

Ellen Lorenzi-Prince is a talented artist and poet. Her tarot decks are the Tarot of the Crone and Pandora’s Tarot.

• Visit Her Website: Crone Ways
  And Read an Interview with Ellen from ATA’s Reflections
• Interview at Crystal Gate
• Energy Spread at Tarot Passages

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Transition Music: Toccata No 6 in F major by Jeni Melia from the Lost Art of Wooing (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: A dream by Jeni Melia from the Lost Art of Wooing (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Relationship Readings

A relationship reading is the most requested type of reading. My Guest James Ricklef proposes that as a reader we must know one’s self to be able to provide the most helpful reading possible.

There are many ways of approaching a relationships reading. Two really interesting aspects to ponder are “what does love mean to me” and “what is the foundation of my relationship”.

James Ricklef is a Certified Tarot Master — a Tarot reader, lecturer, and writer. For many years now, he has been a recurring workshop presenter at the annual Los Angeles Tarot Symposium (LATS). He has also been a featured speaker at the New York Tarot Reader’s Studio (an annual three-day event) and at the annual San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (BATS). James is the author of the award-winning book “Tarot Tells the Tale” and of a book about Tarot spreads titled “Tarot — Get the Whole Story”.

• Visit James’ Website
• Read his Haiku Poetry
• Café Press, Zazzle products and Books (including a poster with the Lovers and the rest of the Major Arcana)
• Tarot Affirmations Booklet
• Author Bio at Llewellyn
• Review of Tarot Tells the Tale at Tainted Tarot
  
• Ways to Practice Reading Tarot Cards by James Ricklef
• Tarot & Your Spiritual Path:The Wheel of Fortune Written by James Ricklef

El Diablo by Ginny Hunt

We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell ~Oscar Wilde

There are three Major Arcana cards that routinely tend to provoke quite the freakout: Death (dun dun dun!), The Tower (a rather unwelcome shock), and The Devil. He’s usually depicted in very grotesque form and it’s a natural response to recoil from such nasties. Case in point, here is an image from a very early deck, the Visconti-Sforza, the first “official” tarot card deck made in the mid-fifteenth century. It’s pretty typical devil symbolism what with the goat horns and bat wings, dragon-scaled belly, malevolent face, etc., but what is more disturbing about this card are the children. Good God, will someone not save the children? Actually, I don’t think they’re both supposed to be children, per se, as the female figure has breasts, but the male figure is clearly a boy. And they’ve spouted horns, so apparently they’re becoming that which both lures and repels them. Tied loosely, they seem captivated, willing slaves. The young woman looks freakishly like a Stepford Wife and the devil is obviously the Puppet Master. These kinds of images make one wonder what could possibly be so appealing about the gruesome dude that one would stay, willingly, bound.

Tarot Realizations by Bill Vincent

I’d like to take a few moments to talk about my favorite aspect of Tarot, the one thing that keeps me completely dedicated to the cards. Yes, they can be used for divination and can be used lightheartedly or seriously, depending on the situation. They are fun to work with, and fun to collect. But really, the most fascinating thing about Tarot, to me, has to be the symbolism. We are surrounded every day with symbols. You can’t even escape them if you were to move far away from our modern world, because symbols appear in nature as well as in our materialistic world. Symbols captivate us, they catch our eye and we subconsciously notice them, sometimes without even being aware that they are impacting us. Even colors by themselves are symbols that have multiple associations and meanings. (read full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Magician

Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of the Magician. There are two sides to every card. To paraphrase Sandra Thomson from “The Heart of the Tarot”, the Magician can be a sacred magician, or he can mesmerize us with illusion and then disappear (in a puff of smoke). The extensive imagery in this card tells us a lot about this gentleman.

This is a very powerful card to have appear in a reading. It indicates that the Seeker has these tools at his or her command, and needs to make best use of them. It is very important to dialogue with the Seeker when giving a reading, to get their impression of the multitude of symbols within this card … to see what draws their eye, and what place this might have in their life.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Hermits Journey: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)
• Transition Music: Toccata No 6 in F major by Jeni Melia from the Lost Art of Wooing (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: I’m in Love by Yongen from Moonrise (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Relationships with the Cards and a Journey

My guest this week is Rachel Pollack. We discuss tarot as a relationship between you the reader and the cards. Rachel leads a guided journey into the energy of the Fool card. This episode should not be listened to while driving or using heaving machinery! The induction Rachel provides is designed to put you in to a state of relaxation and an altered state of consciousness.

Rachel Pollack

is a poet, an award-winning novelist, an authority on the modern interpretation of Tarot cards, and a Tarot card artist. Her novel Godmother Night won the 1997 World Fantasy Award and was described by Kirkus Reviews as “a magical exploration of the deepest roots of life and death.” Her earlier novel, Unquenchable Fire, won Britain’s Arthur C. Clarke Award, and was described by The New York Review of Science Fiction as “not only the best fantasy of the year, possibly the best of the decade, and the best feminist novel of the decade.”

She has published thirteen books on Tarot, including 78 Degrees of Wisdom considered a modern classic and the Bible of Tarot reading. She also has written on other non-fiction subjects, including The Body of the Goddess, which traces the origin and development of religion in the human body and nature. Her Shining Tribe Tarot, designed and drawn by Rachel herself, draws on tribal and prehistoric images from six continents and 50,000 years. She has had several shows of her artwork, both Tarot and other images. Her books have been published in thirteen languages. She has taught classes and workshops in Europe, North America, and Australia. Rachel grew up in Poughkeepsie, the setting for Unquenchable Fire. After nineteen years living in Europe, she returned, in 1990, to live in the Hudson Valley.

Rachel’s most recent book, Seeker, won the COVR Award for best book on divination at the 2006 International New Age Trade Show.

• Rachel Pollack – the Shining Tribe
  
• Rachel’s Blog
• Book List
  

Rachel’s Teaching Schedule

• Tarot Intensive: Cups, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Feb. 24, March 3. Held at the Starr Library, Rhinebeck, NY. For information email: Rhinebeckia@hvc.rr.com
• Tarot Intensive: Swords, March 10, March 17, March 24, March 31. Held at the Starr Library, Rhinebeck, NY. For information email: Rhinebeckia@hvc.rr.com
• Readers Studio, April 20-22, New York City, . Rachel will be co-leading breakfast discussions with Tarot creator Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman.
• Green Hermeticism Conference, May 18-20–Rachel will speak on the Eleusinian Mysteries at the Green Hermeticism Conference in New Lebanon, NY. More information at www.sulukacademy.org.
• Becoming A Tarot Reader, June 10-15–co-taught with Mary K. Greer, at the Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. This is Rachel’s 18th year teaching with Mary at Omega!
• The Inner Truth of Tarot, June 15-17– co-taught with Mary K. Greer, at the Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY.
• Literary reading for the anthology Interfictions, June 20–KGB Bar in New York City, on E.4th St., west of 2n d Ave. Rachel will read from her story, “Burning Beard: the Dreams and Visions of Joseph ben Jacob, Lord Viceroy of Egypt.”
• Residency at Goddard College, VT, June 25-July 3–to begin the semester for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. For more information on getting an MFA at Goddard (and studying with Rachel), write Rachel@Rachelpollack.com, or go to www.goddard.edu
• Tarot Association of the British Isles annual conference, July 6-8–Bristol, England.
• Wisconsin Tarot Conference, July 13-15
• Between The Worlds Interfaith Magickal Conference, Nov. 9-11–Wilmington Delaware.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Incidental Music: I am by Anyma from volume 1 made available through GarageBand.com
• Closing Music: Voices from the ether by Ascian from the EP Deception made availible through GarageBand.com

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

This journey is part of Episode 29 and has been released separately for you listening convenience. Rachel leads a guided journey into the energy of the Fool card.

Note: This episode should not be listened to while driving or using heaving machinery! The induction Rachel provides is designed to put you in to a state of relaxation and an altered state of consciousness.

Music Credits

• Music: I am by Anyma from volume 1 made available through GarageBand.com

This Podcast Episode has been archived.

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

Tarot Realizations by Bill Vincent

My personal use of Tarot tends to fall mainly within the self-development category. I’m always studying the symbolism from my various decks, looking for new insights. One day I discovered an exercise that inspired me so much that I wanted to share it, and I hope you find as much value in it as I did.

Recently I had a particularly challenging week at work, and by the time Friday came I was pretty beaten down, my energy was low and I needed some inspiration to finish the week on a good note. So while having my morning coffee, I decided to go through my deck face-up, looking for cards that inspired me. After picking a handful of cards, I placed them on the table and just let their positive symbols soak in. Within a few minutes I began to feel better, so much better that I knew I had discovered something really wonderful. By picking cards with symbols that were uplifting to me and meditating on them, I had redirected my thoughts. My focused attention on them caused a real change in how I felt, and as a result I had a boost of energy and good feelings which lasted my entire day.

Like anything that makes you feel good, it’s possible to do it so much that it loses it’s potency, so this may not be something you want to do every day. But, if you’re in a pattern of negative thinking or really need to recharge your batteries, doing this exercise can produce a real change in the way you feel. Good luck, and may the happiest cards be yours

Yes or No? by Ginny Hunt

In the comments section of my Confessions post, Roswila brought up yet another controversial topic in tarot: Yes/No Readings. Should we even do them? Some say that tarot just isn’t the right tool for the job, that the cards are not suited to simple, flat answers like Yes or No. They are archetypes and tell stories and dig up subconscious mysteries, so asking them a simple Yes/No question usually ends up with the cards giving you all kinds of information then leaving it up to you to decide yes or no. Still others say that the oracle is fine for asking Yes/No questions of and it can and will yield an answer and even tell you why it’s so.

TJ McKeown’s Yes/No Approach

My system for Yes/No questions (I’m not sure if you would call it a spread) requires knowledge of the Major Arcana and their order. After shuffling the deck you answer the question by dealing the cards in a pile as you count the cards.

• Aces are Yes
• Tens are No

If you do not get an Ace or a Ten within 22 cards then the Answer is unavailable or the Question was incorrect. As you deal the cards and count you remember which card it was when an Ace or Ten is laid. You stop dealing and Take into consideration which number it was and the suit.

The yes or no is answered by the number (Ace or 10). The Suit gives more information as does the number 1, 2, 3, … , 22). Match the number to the Major Arcana it represents and this too gives more information. So instead of just a yes or No you get a little background being the answer, perhaps a Why or Why not.

I have been using this system for a while and it has proven to be pretty accurate. I have also used it at psychic fairs.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbolism of the Fool

Welcome to all of our listeners. This Pod Cast is going to be devoted to the symbolism 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.”

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: Winter Moon by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Hermits Journey: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Floating Bamboo by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Here is the reading I did with Whitney Leigh Harris. I feel like there is too much background noise to make it part of the podcast. However, I did edit it as much as possible. It won’t be part of iTunes/RSS feed but you can listen to it here or download the MP3 File.

This is a reading using TJ’s Yes/No Technique

Music Credits

• time release by the Droney Tones.

]]> http://tarotconnection.net/episode-28-extras/feed/ 1 http://tarotconnection.net/episode-27/ http://tarotconnection.net/episode-27/#comments Sun, 21 Jan 2007 22:35:38 +0000 leisa http://tarotconnection.net/episode-27/ Archived

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The Tarot Court Series: Kings by Ginny Hunt

It’s said that ‘power corrupts’, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable. – David Brin,The Postman

All-powerful monarchs whose power was said to be a divine right, appointed by God and given free reign over the land and its subjects is, thankfully, a relic of the distant past. For as the above quote references, it seems quite true that power does corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. History as well as current events show that men don’t seem to do well without limits. (more …)

Individual Posts: The Tarot Kings The King of Swords, The King of Cups, The King of Wands, The King of Pentacles

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Esoteric Tarot Decks

Welcome to all of our listeners. This Pod Cast is going to be devoted to Esoteric decks – a category that includes decks based on Alchemy, Ceremonial Magick, Hermeticism and the Western Mystery Tradition. I love to walk this part of the Tarot deck path – doors are opened with the greatest of ease, and the wonders within allow one to, for a short time, live in very magickal world!

Those who are drawn to esoteric decks are often drawn to working with meditation, pathworking, ritual work, and ceremonial magick. A truism here would be that it is best to have at least a basic background in the Mysteries and Esoteric Symbolism before working in any way with these decks. Honor the decks – honor yourself.

Read Bonnie’s Newsletter

Old Greek Stories by James Baldwin. Read by Rob Sheehe

(From the Preface)

Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so often or listened to with so much pleasure as the classic tales of ancient Greece. For many ages they have been a source of delight to young people and old, to the ignorant and the learned, to all who love to hear about and contemplate things mysterious, beautiful, and grand. They have become so incorporated into our language and thought, and so interwoven with our literature, that we could not do away with them now if we would. They are a portion of our heritage from the distant past, and they form perhaps as important a part of our intellectual life as they did of that of the people among whom they originated.

• The Story of Prometheus – II. HOW DISEASES AND CARES CAME AMONG MEN.
• III. HOW THE FRIEND OF MEN WAS PUNISHED.
• The Flood

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes to Self: Winter Moon by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Hermits Journey: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)
• Old Greek Stories: Calliopeia – kithara (Ancient Greek) by Tim Rayborn from Qadim (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Father and Son by Paul Avgerinos from Muse of the Round Sky. (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

]]> http://tarotconnection.net/episode-27/feed/ 1 http://tarotconnection.net/episode-26/ http://tarotconnection.net/episode-26/#comments Sun, 14 Jan 2007 15:04:20 +0000 leisa http://tarotconnection.net/episode-26/ Archived

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

A significator is a card selected to represent the querent (or object) of the reading. It is very common to select a significator from the court cards. In this episode, Dena Decastro joins me to explore ways to select a significator.

Excerpt from the Pictorial Key to the Tarot – an ancient celtic method of divination

This mode of divination is the most suitable for obtaining an answer to a definite question. The Diviner first selects a card to represent the person or, matter about which inquiry is made. This card is called the Significator. Should he wish to ascertain something in connexion with himself he takes the one which corresponds to his personal description.

A Knight should be chosen as the Significator if the subject of inquiry is a man of forty years old and upward; a King should be chosen for any male who is under that age a Queen for a woman who is over forty years and a Page for any female of less age.

Confessions by Ginny Hunt

I am a naughty tarot reader. I break the rules. Oh, I know, there are no real tarot rules. Technically. However, there are some rather strong suggestions regarding tarot usage and I am here to say I’ve disregarded those, too. I say this with neither shame nor pride, but simply to say we each must forge our own way with this tarot reading thing and whatever works for you, both functionally and ethically, is what is best. (more …)

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Shades of Blue by Hans Christian from the Surrender (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Nicole Mohr, CYT
www.nicolesyoga.com

I teach Yoga and have been a little adventurous by using a deck called Tree Magick. I sometimes let the class draw a card before we start so that during the class they have meditative focus, teaching and visualization. I will also offer a card after class. I instruct them to feel and pick a card with their left hand and they may decide to ask a question or simply let it have astonishing comparisons to the cards they draw and the events or themes in their life. Sometimes I pull out a deck of animal cards for my classes and this is wonderful. Many yoga poses are named after animals and I love the symbolism.

In general have found that the study of Tarot has giving me more symbols to work with in yogic philosophy. For example I work a lot with Masculine and Feminine in yoga (yin/yang, sun/moon) This restores the balance through the body, mind, breath and soul. In yoga we would say the balance through the upper body (prana/ masculine) and the lower body (apana/ feminine.) I am have learned to trust my own awareness and deepen what is true and real.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Deck Reviews

The Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot

The Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot takes one straight into the Baroque world – the Baroque feline world! This is one of the finest decks featuring cats that I have come across, one that I will treasure not only because the ever present feline “catattude” has been so lovingly expressed, but because of the stunning world that was created for them. One may wonder why I felt the need to give credit to the costume designer for this deck – the reason is simple – she did an outstanding job of dressing these adorable creatures in intricate Baroque style costumes that to me express exactly what this world means to the felines that inhabit it. (read the review)

The Tarot of Dreams

Tarot of Dreams grew from the work that Ciro Marchetti did with his first (gorgeous!) deck, the Gilded Tarot. This project, from the start, was very “high voltage”, and it definitely shows in the end product! I can proudly say that I was able to be there from the beginning, following the progress of this stunning deck and CD as Ciro shared scans of his work, as well as his thoughts.

This is a masterful project, well executed by artist Ciro Marchetti, the highly knowledgeable author/artist Lee Bursten, and the extremely talented Carlos Andres Rodriguez. It consists of an 80 card deck (the traditional 78 cards from the Tarot, a stunning graphic of the Tree of Life, and a front card that is signed and numbered by Ciro himself), along with a CD that is worth much more than its weight in gold. This project is being independently produced, and is not a limited edition. However, each deck will be signed and numbered by Ciro. (read the review on aeclectic)

• Download free ToD reading program for PC
• Download free ToD reading program for Mac
• Purchase the Tarot of Dreams

The Tarot Court Series: Queens by Ginny Hunt

What exactly did a Queen do? Was her role merely as a consort to a King or did she have other specific duties? Well, the answers to those questions depends on the Queen. History is a mixed bag where queens are concerned with some serving as adornment and makers of heirs while others held power and authority at full throttle. Most were the ultimate diplomats and served as negotiators between conflicting lands. (more …)

Individual Posts: The Tarot Queens, The Queen of Swords, The Queen of Cups, The Queen of Wands, The Queen of Pentacles

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Hermits Journey: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)
• 78 Notes to Self: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Queen’s Goodnight by Four Temperaments from Phantasm (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Strategic, open-ended questions,
whether in tarot or in life,
act as gateways to greater wisdom.
— James Wells

James Wells is a Toronto-based Tarot consultant with an international clientele. Since age 12, he has lived, worked and played with the Tarot and its rich symbolism. James is also a Reiki Master, publisher of The Six-Rayed Star, musician, explorer of divination systems, weaver of rituals, and workshop facilitator. His job as a Worker of Oracles is to create sacred space for constructive feedback and soul work – a place where dreams, goals, imagination, intuition and magick, have full sway so that you can enjoy insight, support and healing. James can be reached at workeroforacles@yahoo.ca
Articles on the Internet

• www.theworldcafe.com/askingbig.pdf
• www.crabgrass.org/site/strategic_1.html
• www.javeriana.edu.co/decisiones/PowerfulQuestions.PDF

Hey! Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone! by Ginny Hunt

There are few aficionados of tarot that don’t struggle some with this guy. The Pope. Later decks dubbed him The Hierophant in order to jazz him up and make him less Roman Catholic-centered and more esoteric, associating him more with the Greek mystery religions as one who guides initiates in sacred mysteries. However, in many of the later decks where he’s The Hierophant there’s no mistaking it, this guy is The Pope. The Holy See. Hence the common kneejerk flinching many experience when this card appears. Some of the more New Age tarot decks have tried to soften this character and have renamed him and redesigned him, often smiling and less severe, to counter these reactions, but…sigh…he’s still so terribly rigid, I think I may always respond with a bit of ambivalence with this one. (more …)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Symbols

What constitutes a symbol and what part do symbols play in our lives? We are surrounded by symbols on a daily basis. The stop sign at the corner, team logos (ardent NBA fan here), corporate logos, symbols for the signs of the zodiac that accompany the horoscopes in the daily paper, even the food that we eat. Comfort food exists in all cultures. Symbols are a way of communicating. They are a way of expressing an idea or representing an object. Symbols can be historic in nature in that they remind us of a certain time period. Or they can be archetypal in nature in that people from different cultures will see the symbol as the same thing. …

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

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

Closing Music: Clouds across the Darkness by Suzanne Teng from Mystic Journey (www.magnatune.com)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Roger Tobin discusses reversals in Tarot, which is a topic open to a great amount of interpretation. Going from historical usage through modern interpretations, There are a number of ways to use and look at reversals, coupled with a number of questions for readers to consider in order to develop their own philosophy for using reversals.

Roger Tobin is a Professional Tarot Reader from Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to the Tarot in the late 1980s but started serious study and practice in 2002 after encouragement from his family. He is a member of The American Tarot Association and reads for both of their Networks. Roger is also a Mentor for new readers as well as an active community volunteer. He enjoys both studying and teaching of topics in Tarot, and helps lead the Portland Tarot Study group. You can find out more about his reading practice at his website Sylvan Creek Tarot.

Reversals Class with Teresa Michelsen (Portland, OR 2005)

• Seeing the good, bad, and neutral attributes of every card
• A survey of ways to use reversals, from traditional to modern to highly individual
• Obstacles and challenges
• Unhelpful influences (special discussion of court cards here)
• Hidden, deceptive, and unrealized factors
• Extreme or unbalanced energies
• Internal vs. external Special or assigned meanings
• Entire reversed readings

Teresa Michelsen is a tarot reader and instructor with more than 25 years of experience reading tarot. She is well-known on the tarot e-mail lists under her reading name of Thrysse, and has published many articles on tarot on the worldwide web and in ATA publications. Teresa is the author of Designing Your Own Tarot Spreads and the Complete Tarot Reader.

• Teresa’s Website Tarot Moon
• Reversals Class Information – January 2007
• CompTarot
• CompTarot Yahoo Group

Shake Rattle and Roll by Ginny Hunt

… The main thing about the Tower is it signals the disruption and even destruction of things that you thought were solid. The more comfortable we become in our castles, the more complacent we become, the less connected we are from others and from what is really important in our lives. We begin to believe the illusions of safety and security that we’ve built and start taking some very valuable things for granted. A Tower moment, though rarely welcome, unless it’s happening to someone you dislike very much, brings into sharp and sudden focus those things we thought indestructible and safe, and subsequently presumed too much upon. … Read the Entire Post

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: A Life Worth Living by Royalty Free Music
• Closing Music: Chanter voel par grant amour by Joglaresa from the album Magdalena (www.magnatune.com)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

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)

My guest is Pacific North West artist and author Joanna Powell Colbert. Her art has appeared in print publications for 20 years. She has published essays on mythology and nature spirituality. Joanna also has a web design business called JPC Web Design.

• Gaian Tarot Artist’s Journal
• 3 Card Reading with the Gaian Tarot
• The Creative Process – How the Cards Are Created

Download the Gaian Tarot Spread (by James Wells)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet: Gaian Tarot Review

The Gaian Tarot is an earth-honoring deck in progress. It was created for pagans and others who honor Gaia, the earth, as a living being and who practice an earth-centered spirituality.Available as a majors-only set while the minors are being completed.

• Deck Review at Aeclectic
• Interview with Joanna by Bonnie
• Comparative Tarot Site
  

The Tarot Court: Be Thou a Knight by Ginny Hunt

Part three of a five part series exploring the tarot court.

… Knights, like all court cards, are not necessarily literally young 20-something men. They can be male or female, young or old. It is this exuberant, youthful, get-there-or-die-trying characteristic that is found in all of us, given the right circumstances, that the knights are portraying. Though their energy is admirable, they tend to have that egocentric tendency that younger men have, complete with a distinct sense of invincibility. This makes them short sighted and impulsive, and a bit too sure that they are right. They also possess, with the exception of the Knight of Pentacles, a distinct lack of “sticktoitiveness.” (The Knight of Pentacles has a bit too much of that, he’s not easily swayed from anything he sets his mind to, which can be a problem at times, too.) You can depend on the Knights for the short term, but rarely for the long term. Their immaturity is displayed by their bravado and rash tempers, their lack of thinking things through, and an inability to pace themselves in a realistic fashion… (more …) Individual Posts: Knight of Swords, Knight of Cups, Knight of Wands, Knight of Pentacles.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes to Self: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from the album Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Hermit’s Journey: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from the album Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Gaia by Justin Bianco from the album Forge (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Major Arcana Pod Cast

The Major Arcana act together to form a journey of individuation. This journey can be seen as one of individual archetypes, with the Fool interacting with each of the archetypes. Another way of viewing this journey is to see it as a Triumphal procession, with a natural division at the Wheel of Fortune into an 11/11 sequence. We can also choose to view this journey as a progression, with each card building on the cards before it, and containing the wisdom gained from all of these experiences. The Fool, representing the individual taking the journey, stands above the cards. Cards I-VII represent consciousness and the growth of personality; cards VIII-XIV represent our subconscious, and a very inward search; cards XV-XXI represent our superconscious, and the development of spiritual awareness.

The Tarot Court Series: Pages by Ginny Hunt

Part two of a five part series exploring the tarot court. To understand the meaning of the Pages in tarot, I think a little smattering of history is in order. Tarot cards were created in the middle ages when everyone understood what was meant when someone was a “Page.”A castle Page was a boy of a nobleman or a vassal who, if he did not already reside in the castle, was sent to his lord’s castle to live for the duration of his training. That is, until he became a knight. Lest the romance of it all soften this image, the knight was a soldier. He was trained for war. Thus, very young children were conscripted into training away from their families into a program so comprehensive that as they grew into young men, they would be fully prepared to serve their lord unto death, no questions. (more …) Individual Posts: The Tarot Pages, The Page of Swords, The Page of Cups, The Page of Wands, The Page of Pentacles

Old Greek Stories by James Baldwin. Read by Rob Sheehe

(From the Preface)

Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so often or listened to with so much pleasure as the classic tales of ancient Greece. For many ages they have been a source of delight to young people and old, to the ignorant and the learned, to all who love to hear about and contemplate things mysterious, beautiful, and grand. They have become so incorporated into our language and thought, and so interwoven with our literature, that we could not do away with them now if we would. They are a portion of our heritage from the distant past, and they form perhaps as important a part of our intellectual life as they did of that of the people among whom they originated.

• Persons and Places Mentioned
• Jupiter and His Mighty Company
• The Golden Age
• The Story of Prometheus

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)
• Old Greek Stories Music: Calliopeia – kithara (Ancient Greek) by Tim Rayborn from Qadim (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Lon Milo Duquette is the author of numerous magical & tarot texts including Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot; The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford; the Magick of Aleister Crowley; Angels, Demons, and Gods of the New Millennium; and his autobiographical My Life with the Spirits.

He has served, since 1975 as a national and international administrative officer of Ordo Templi Orientis. He is an acknowledged authority on the life and magical work of Aleister Crowley, the O.T.O.’s founder.

Lon Milo Duquette was born in California, raised in Nebraska, and currently resides in Costa Mesa, California. He is married (37 years) to Constance DuQuette (his high-school sweetheart), an accomplishment he considers his greatest magical achievement.

• Lon Milo Duquette’s Website
• Accidental Christ The Story of Jesus (As Told by His Uncle) – Dec 2006
• Tarot of Ceremonial Magic at Aeclectic
• Lon Milo’s Books
• Lon Milo’s DVD’s
• deo’s shadow #26 – Accidental Christ

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Closing Music: Airs de Demons I, II, III by Philharmonica Baroque. from Rameau and Leclair (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Astrology Modality

The Zodiac can be divided into three modalities: cardinal, fixed and mutable. These represent basic styles and states of activity.

• Cardinal: beginning, independent, enthusiastic, unencumbered, pure. (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)
• Fixed: determined, persistent, stable, solid, resistant to change. (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)
• Mutable: flexible, resourceful, expansive, transforming. (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces)

These two concepts have an important place in Astrology and can be used in your Tarot readings. Dena DeCastro joins me to talk about these ideas relate to the Zodiac and Tarot. We apply the idea of Modality & Elements in Sample Readings.

Download a chart of how the cards fit around the wheel of the year.

Portland Astrologer Dena DeCastro was intrigued by the planets and their surrounding mythologies from an early age. Dena also participates in continuing education in the astrology field through attending conferences and lectures, and most notably is a participant in Steven Forrest’s Apprenticeship Program. Dena publishes monthly articles at denadecastro.com, and also provides individual tutoring in astrology.

The Tarot Court Series Intro by Ginny Hunt

This begins a five part series exploring the tarot court. Court Cards: Oh the Confusion

Tarot court cards, the Minor “people cards,” can be confusing to many tarot readers because they can and do represent so many different possible interpretations. Well, so can most of the cards, but court cards are unique because they can represent a certain individual; or they can imply a particular facet of a person, either someone else or the querant; or they can be recommending a certain kind of action; or they might be telling the querant they are displaying a certain type of behavior; or….well, you see? It can be difficult to know what to make of these folks when they show up in a reading. Read the Full Post or Visit the Series

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
• Closing Music: Signs and a Vision by Paul Avgerinos from Muse of the Round Sky. (Magnatune)

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Leslie Zemenek

The following paragraph is from Leslie’s Kabbalah class description:

“Meaning received wisdom, Kabbalah is the core of Jewish mysticism. Often referred to as the Yoga of the West, it has inspired and enlightened people from all walks of life. At its center is the Tree of Life, a cosmic blueprint of the universe which serves as a powerful and unique tool for understanding the self and the world.”

Qabalah is the spelling generally used to indicate the use of Kabbalah as an occult and practical magical system. This episode begins a conversation on what Qabalah is and why a tarot reader might be interested in learning more about the tree of life.

Download a Tree of Life Diagram

Leslie Zemenek is a psychic counselor, using Palmistry, Astrology, Tarot and other divinatory arts. She is an ordained minister and has her Moon in Pisces in the ninth house and several markings of psychic giftedness on both hands. She has spent many years studying archetypal mythology, Qabalah, the mind-body connection and the mystical traditions of various cultures.

Leslie specializes in helping people at the crossroad, encouraging them to embrace their gifts and lead authentic lives.

Her websites are:

• astropalmistry.com
  
• karmicknowledge.com
• mixedmediacafe.com

You may want to read the post called Student ID at karmicknowledge.com to see what is imprinted in your finger prints. The patterns on your fingerprints indicate which “School of Life” you are enrolled in. Is it the School of Service, Love, Wisdom or Peace?

Crazy Talking Cards by Ginny Hunt

While there are many basic, how-to manuals on tarot reading and classes you can take, and while I’m not devaluing those at all, I have to say they just never worked so well for me. Mind you, I have entire shelf devoted to tarot books and they’ve all helped me understand various facets of tarot, but how I came to know tarot was simply by developing a relationship with the cards themselves. I say “simply” but it really isn’t all that simple. Just like any good relationship it takes time and effort and listening. It takes remembering the details and asking questions. It takes devotion and interaction on a daily basis. Read the Entire Post

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Closing Music: O meu Fad (My Fate) by Anamar from the Album Transfado

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Robyn Tisch-Hollister & the Tarot of the Midnight Masquerade

Once upon a time, Fortuna, also known as Lady Luck, threw a masked ball for all the people she knew. Something wonderful and magical and mysterious will happen when the clock strikes Midnight.

Robyn created her first tarot at the young age of 11 and started reading professionally at 14. Robyn is a Freelance Artist, Actress, Writer, Designer, Psychic and Tarot Reader. She loves costume and theater and has been know to dress as a pirate. Robyn has created a number of Tarot Decks and Oracles including:

• Robyn’s Website
• Tarot of the Midnight Masquerade
• The Minute Deck
• All Hallows Tarot
• Dreamstones Oracle

They all have very interesting stories which Robyn shares with us. The Minute Deck was born from a creative block while working on the Tarot of the Midnight Masquerade. Each card was drawn and colored in under 5 minutes. I’m impressed with how much Tarot Iconography Robyn has assimilated.

The theme of the Tarot of the Midnight Masquerade deck comes from her love of Mardi Gras and Carnival. She has been a costumer, mask-maker and puppet-maker for over 15 years. Each card depicts a scene of guests arriving, or other things that are happening during the course of the evening, leading up to Midnight.

You can read more about these decks at Aeclectic Tarot. (All Hallows) (Minute Tarot) (Midnight Masquerade Majors) (Midnight Masquerade Minors)

The Blues in Tarot by Ginny Hunt

Tarot encompasses the wide range of human experience and emotion, and as such there are a number of cards where the blues are depicted, but the one I feel most singularly represents the emotional landscape of the blues is the Five of Cups. … To tell people to stop feeling their pain is insensitive at best. To try and move them along to a place where you would feel more comfortable being with them is usually the disguised motivation. Why don’t we just tell those slaves of long ago who first sang the blues to just look on the bright side, then? As I’ve said before, you can’t run from grief. It dogs your every step until you sit with it. It commands your attention, your full attention, for a time. A funny thing happens when we finally sit down with our grief, or the grief of someone you know. It passes more quickly than if we attempt to push it away too soon. There is a time for sad songs and an appreciation of the emotions that create those melodies. Read the Entire Post

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Closing Music: Breton Dance Suite by Panacea from Songs and Dance Music of Europe East and West.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Tarot is a great decision making tool. Tarot outshines out other methods of divination or readings in this arena. I like to think of it as working more or less like a flight simulator, you can explore an idea or course of action, look at the cards and see if you like where it’s going. I’m sharing my favorite method of decisions spreads. Next there will be a sample reading that is followed by some closing comments including a way to work double blind.

The Tarot Aces Series

Ginny Hunt from 78 Notes to Self presents a four card series on the aces. Be sure to visit her blog for a wealth of illustrations and interesting links.

Aces in Tarot are, they say, gifts from heaven. When you get an Ace in a reading, the inclination is to feel like it’s a few days before Christmas and you just know a gift is coming. What is it?

Music Credits

Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

Closing Music: Mythos by Briareus from the Podsafe Music Network.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Sophia from 78 Notes to Self will be a regular contributor to the Tarot Connection. This episode features an introductory interview and 2 segments of 78 Notes to Self.

MapQuest Doesn’t Help

Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation. – William Lyon Phelps

Interview with Sophia

Sophia is a Professional Tarot Reader from Virginia. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self and reads professionally through Kasamba.com.

Coming Out

I just love it when people come out of the tarot closet. Over at Tales From The Reading Room a lecturer in French Lit decided to come clean with a 15 year tarot habit.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• 78 Notes Music: My Personal Moon by Madison Park
• Closing Music: Follow Your Bliss from Gnosis by Paul Avgerinos. Follow Your Bliss was provided by Magnatune.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Polarity is the possession or manifestation of two opposing attributes, tendencies, or principles. Duality is the premise that everything has an opposing force that must be, or will be in balance.

These two concepts have an important place in Astrology, Tarot and countless other applications. Dena DeCastro joins me to talk about these ideas relate to the Zodiac and Tarot. We compare and contrast cards based on attributions and intuitive relationships.

Portland Astrologer Dena DeCastro was intrigued by the planets and their surrounding mythologies from an early age. One of her first memories of really reading was of a book on astrology (Derek and Julia Parker’s famous volume). Dena also participates in continuing education in the astrology field through attending conferences and lectures, and most notably is a participant in Steven Forrest’s Apprenticeship Program. Dena publishes monthly articles at denadecastro.com, and also provides individual tutoring in astrology.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Closing Music: Peaceful Planet by Kourosh Zolani

Founded in 2003, Magnatune http://www.magnatune.com/ is an independent, online record label that hand selects its own artists, sells its catalog of music through online downloads and print-on-demand CDs and licenses music for commercial and non-commercial use. Based on the principle that “we are not evil,” the company offers fair-trade music to consumers by equally sharing all revenue from the sale of albums with artists and allowing artists to retain full rights to their music. All music can be previewed free of charge with a “try before you buy” philosophy. Customers can also choose how much they want to pay for the music with pricing ranging from $5-18 for a down loadable album or print-on-demand CDs

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Join the Portland Tarot Study Group as we study the cards associated with the Sun and the Moon in the Golden Dawn System. The Sun is the Sun and the Moon is the High Priestess. Roger Tobin leads this session.

Music Credits

• Opening and Closing Music by the Droneytones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

In spirituality and personal development, an affirmation is a form of auto-suggestion in which a statement of a desirable intention or condition of the world or the mind is deliberately meditated on or repeated in order to implant it in the mind.

• On Line Tarot Affirmation from James Ricklef
• Tarot Affirmations from Sally Hill

James Ricklef is a Certified Tarot Master — a Tarot reader, lecturer, and writer. For many years now, he has been a recurring workshop presenter at the annual Los Angeles Tarot Symposium (LATS). He has also been a featured speaker at the New York Tarot Reader’s Studio (an annual three-day event) and at the annual San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (BATS). James is the author of the award-winning book “Tarot Tells the Tale” and of a book about Tarot spreads titled
“Tarot — Get the Whole Story”.

• Café Press, Zazzle products and Books
• Tarot Affirmations Booklet

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 .

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Closing Music: One Wish by Jessica King

  

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The Elements: Earth, Air, Fire & Water are the building blocks of Tarot. Astrologer Dena DeCastro explains how the elements work in astrology.

Listen to Deo’s Shadow Episode 22 for history and associations of elements to directions.

Portland Astrologer Dena DeCastro was intrigued by the planets and their surrounding mythologies from an early age. One of her first memories of really reading was of a book on astrology (Derek and Julia Parker’s famous volume). Dena also participates in continuing education in the astrology field through attending conferences and lectures, and most notably is a participant in Steven Forrest’s Apprenticeship Program. Dena publishes monthly articles at denadecastro.com, and also provides individual tutoring in astrology.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Closing Music: Wind & Fire by Gene Loves Jezebel

Play or Download the Episode

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The American Tarot Association is a professional and social organization for Tarot enthusiasts, students, scholars, and readers. It promotes Tarot as a valid and useful tool for personal and spiritual growth and supports the Tarot community through a variety of programs, including the the Free Reading and Free Tarot networks and the monthly newsletter Tarot Reflections.

My Guests are Tracy Hite the Treasurer of the ATA and Manager of both the Free Reading and Free Tarot Networks. And two readers, Roger Tobin and Suzy Moore who share their experiences on the Networks.

Tracy Hite

Tracy began her own Tarot journey while recovering from her first son’s birth on New Year’s Eve, 1996. She tried to study on her own for nearly a year, picking up what she could from books and websites, but she had a lot of trouble piecing everything together. Through membership in the American Tarot Association, she met the contacts and gained the expertise needed to gain her certification as a Certified Tarot Master. Tracy’s LiveJournal

Roger Tobin

Roger Tobin is a Professional Tarot Reader from Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to the Tarot in the late 1980s but started serious study and practice in 2002 after encouragement from his family. He is a member of The American Tarot Association and reads for both of their Networks. Roger is also a Mentor for new readers as well as an active community volunteer. He enjoys both studying and teaching of topics in Tarot, and helps lead the Portland Tarot Study group. You can find out more about his reading practice at his website Sylvan Creek Tarot .

Suzy Moore

Suzy Moore picked up Tarot cards for the first time in 1983, and has had a deck close by ever since. Suzy is a member of The American Tarot Association and reads several times a week for the Free Tarot Network. She is an Assistant Organizer for Living Tarot Meetup, and serves as the Meetup Guide for our live meetings, and am also a member of Tarot Talk Dallas. Suzy also co-teaches both beginner and advanced initiative tarot classes with Ferol Humphrey.

Music Credits

• Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
• Closing Music: Free Me by Cyclop

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Suzanne Graham explains why she prefers non-traditional tarot decks and demonstrates how to add oracle cards to tarot readings. This audio was recorded on August 6th 2006 for the Portland Tarot Study Group. Included is a group reading where we re-word and refine the question and then collaborate on the interpretation.

Music Credits

• Opening music by the Droneytones.
• In keeping with the horse theme of the reading, the Closing Music is a song called the from the bare back of horses by tragic shell suit disaster.

Some of the music provided tonight from the PodShow Podsafe Music Network. Check it out at music.podshow.com

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Learning to read for oneself has its own set of challenges but is a very important part of Tarot work. Join me & the Portland Tarot Study Group as we look at objective and subjective techniques for working with the cards. Create a journal and record of 3 card readings.

Download the Handout

Tarot of the Sephiroth is created and illustrated by Dan Staroff. Illustrations from the Tarot of the Sephiroth are reproduced by permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, CT 06902 USA. Copyright 2000 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited.

Music Credits

• Opening music by the Droneytones.
• Some of the music provided tonight from the PodShow Podsafe Music Network. Check it out at music.podshow.com
• Closing Music is Breath of Gaia by Dreamweaver. Visit Dreamweaver’s site for information about his music podcasts.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

3 Parts of a Tarot Reading

Roger Tobin & I discuss the 3 major parts of a Tarot Reading and Roger demonstrates 2 readings with the Robin Wood Tarot .

1. The Question
2. The Spread
3. The Interpretation.

The Robin Wood Tarot by Robin Wood 1991 Llewellyn Worldwide, 2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989. All rights reserved, used by permission. Card images are protected intellectual property, and may not be recopied or reused in any manner without written permission from the publisher.

Download the Tarot Spreads File

Roger Tobin is a Professional Tarot Reader from Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to the Tarot in the late 1980s but started serious study and practice in 2002 after encouragement from his family. He is a member of The American Tarot Association and reads for both of their Networks. Roger is also a Mentor for new readers as well as an active community volunteer. He enjoys both studying and teaching of topics in Tarot, and helps lead the Portland Tarot Study group. You can find out more about his reading practice at his website Sylvan Creek Tarot .

Robin Wood Tarot

Bonnie Cehovet and I review the Robin Wood Tarot which is a Pagan interpretation of the Rider-Waite Tarot . You can learn more about the Artist Robin Wood at her Website. You can order a Robin Wood Meditation Set if you want to color your own copy. Robin also has a number of Tarot Articles to read including a few spreads.

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 .

Music Credits

• Opening music by the Droneytones.
• Some of the music provided tonight from the PodShow Podsafe Music Network. Check it out at music.podshow.com
• Closing song is Titania, Wake My Sweet Queen by Mark Gunn. Visit Mark’s site for more music downloads.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Is there a difference? Roger Tobin and I discuss Fortune Telling and Divination and define terms.

Roger Tobin is a Professional Tarot Reader from Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to the Tarot in the late 1980s but started serious study and practice in 2002 after encouragement from his family. He is a member of The American Tarot Association and reads for both of their Networks. Roger is also a Mentor for new readers as well as an active community volunteer. He enjoys both studying and teaching of topics in Tarot, and helps lead the Portland Tarot Study group. You can find out more about his reading practice at his website Sylvan Creek Tarot.

Portland Psychic Whitney Leigh Harris talks about Mediumship & Psychic readings. Currently, Whitney offers in-depth readings in person, over the phone and via e-mail. Whitney’s website is WordsforWisdom.com

Music Credits

• time release by the Droney Tones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The card of the day is a very common Tarot practice. Simply draw a card for guidance for the day. You can be very specific in the focus of the card. I have two spectacular guests who discuss how they do this practice and what it means to them. This episode is full of practical techniques to bring a daily card practice alive.My husband Paul & I use the Fairytale Tarot for bedtime card of the day readings.

JAMES WANLESS, Ph.D., creator of the best-seller, Voyager Tarot Deck, has been called Mr. Tarot . He is the author of Way of the Great Oracle and Strategic Intuition for the 21st Century, and his latest work, Intuition @ Work. Dr. Wanless is internationally acclaimed as a master of symbols, creativity and intuition. An empowering and delightful mentor and speaker, Dr. Wanless is an ideal guide for your entry into the world of magic and mystery. His website is Voyager Tarot .

James Wells is a Toronto-based Tarot consultant with an international clientele. Since age 12, he has lived, worked and played with the Tarot and its rich symbolism. James is also a Reiki Master, publisher of The Six-Rayed Star, musician, explorer of divination systems, weaver of rituals, and workshop facilitator. His job as a Worker of Oracles is to create sacred space for constructive feedback and soul work – a place where dreams, goals, imagination, intuition and magick, have full sway so that you can enjoy insight, support and healing. His website is Worker of Oracles.

Music Credits

• Opening and closing music by the Droneytones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

The Tarot Garden Website is a site dedicated to helping persons interested in tarot to learn about and find tarot decks of interest to them. Whether you’re a collector looking for that hard-to-find, out-of-print limited edition, or a reader looking for the perfect deck to spark your imagination and intuition, you’ll find the information you want on the hundreds of decks available.

Browse our library for a wide assortment of articles on the subject of tarot study and collecting. Our on-line, searchable database contains information on over 1.500 tarots and cartomantic decks, with more entries being added every month! In our boutique, you’ll find a wide assortment of wonderful decks — from popular tarots at great prices to rare collector finds not offered anywhere else! We also offer a variety of free and fee-based services related to the world of tarot.

If you visit or shop with us often, consider setting up an online account with us, to take advantage of many other fun and free features of our website. Come join us in the Tarot Garden and explore — and find out for yourself why international interest in tarot has exploded over the last century.

Jeanette Roth

Jeanette Roth of the Tarot Garden gives advice about selecting Tarot Decks as a beginner, for readings and as collector items.

We also discuss two Tarot Decks:

• Sheridan-Douglas Tarot by Alfred Douglas, David Sheridan
• Lunatic Tarot by Evan Yi Feng.

Judy Pattee

Judy Pattee owner of Spirit Feathers Healing Boutique shares what it is like from a shopkeepers perspective to have Readers working at her store. She gives advice on how to approach an establishment to do readings, what it takes to pass her interview process and what she is looking for in a reader.

Music Credits

• Music: time release by the Droney Tones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Fortune Telling

Fortune-telling: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Fortune-telling is the practice of seemingly predicting the future, usually of an individual, through seemingly mystical or supernatural means and often for commercial gain. It often conflates with the religious practice known as divination.

In Episode 3, I talk with Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman about her experience as a psychic tarot reader. Johnanna shares how information comes to her, what kinds of readings she offers and how her Sacred Rose High Priestess ended up on Pamela Anderson’s chest.

Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman the artist/author of The Sacred Rose Tarot © and its companion book Guide to the Sacred Rose Tarot ©. She is an acclaimed psychic whose gift was discovered by noted parapsychologist Prof. Hans Holzer. Johanna holds degrees in art and education from NYC’s HS of Art & Design and Pratt Institute.

Johanna has been a featured guest on National TV and Radio. She has been heralded in print media: The Psychic Yellow Pages, and The Directory of Psychics, both authored by Prof. Holzer; and Woman’s Own magazine, in its article entitled Top 5 Psychics. Her website is: www.johannagsherman.com

Music Credits

• Opening and closing music by the Droneytones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Episode 2: Symbols, Syncronicity and Oracles with James Wanless

Audio from a class held at Spirit Feathers for the Portland Tarot Study group on July 10, 2006

Where do you want to go today?
Who are you becoming tomorrow?

Let the power of Synchronicity and Symbols be your guide.
Explore the Mystery and Trust your Intuition.

Learn the oracular art of using metaphor and the quantum magic of synchronicity to see and create your future. We will explore the intentional practice of synchronicity by your intuition and the power of Tarot visual symbols and archetypal imagery. You will take home a Voyager card for navigating your life journey.

JAMES WANLESS, Ph.D., creator of the best-seller, Voyager Tarot , has been called Mr. Tarot . He is the author of Way of the Great Oracle and Strategic Intuition for the 21st Century, and his latest work, Intuition@Work. Dr. Wanless is internationally acclaimed as a master of symbols, creativity and intuition. An empowering and delightful mentor and speaker, Dr. Wanless is an ideal guide for your entry into the world of magic and mystery. His website is Voyager Tarot .

Music Credits

• Opening and closing music by the Droneytones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Episode 2: Symbols, Synchronicity and Oracles with James Wanless

Explore the Mystery and Trust your Intuition with James Wanless. Class participation and interpretation.

Music Credits

• Opening and closing music by the Droneytones.

This Podcast Episode has been archived. It is available for purchase at shop.tarotconnection.net in the Year One Archive mp3 DVD.

Episode 1: What is Tarot?

What is Tarot? and an extremely brief history.The TarotL Tarot History Information Sheet by members of the TarotL discussion group.

Interview #1 with Bonnie Cehovet (Washington) who recommends the book Tarot Celebrations by Nancy Brady Cunningham & Geraldine Amaral. Bonnie 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.

Interview #2 with Ceal (Colorado) who’s grandmother was a closet kitchen tarot reader.

Interview #3 with Suzanne Graham is an Australian who has made her home in the Pacific Northwest for almost thirty years. She has been working with tarot decks for approximately fifteen years. She is a certified Voyager Tarot consultant, but also works with other decks and intuitive tools. Suzanne likes her readings cold and has a fondness for the Secret Dakini Oracle.

Music Credits

• Opening and closing music by the Droneytones.