Episode 30: Relationship Readings with James Ricklef
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This Podcast Episode has been archived.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)












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February 13th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Leisa:
The work that you and James did with the cards here was sensational! I loved all of the examples presented – both of the spreads, and of the interpretations. This Pod Cast will work in many ways – through the audio that the listener hears, and through the important action of their “doing the work”, and placing the information in their lives. The book that James references here is one that is of great help in learning to work with spreads, and in interpreting meanings.
I had never thought of devoting a notebook to personal definitions of the cards solely related to one topic, and I find it a worthy one. Love and relationship, career, finances, health … whatever type of Seeker you draw to you as a reader, you can develop a deep understanding of the subjects that are important to them through journaling.
Ginny … a sexy Devil! Gives whole new leaning to tall, dark and handsome! It also makes us less afraid of that part of ourselves, because, after all, he is only human.
Bill, I was fascinated by your take on symbolism and the cards. I hope that you come back again, for a more in depth discussion.
Kudos to Leisa, James, Ginny, and Bill … what a great Pod Cast!
Blessings,
Bonnie
February 13th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I started a relationship notebook after talking with James and it is countless hours of fun. I think it is good to contemplate relationships card by card.
I did a reading with a woman where the card for the foundation of her relationship was the 10 of Swords (ouch)
What she said was that described the current state of the relationship her husband stopped working and was going back to school full time. She felt everything in her live had fallen apart and she was trying to get her bearings.
What I’m thinking at this point is that Majors would be ‘true’ foundations and Minors a transitionary but fundamental state. Maybe a contracted lesson.
February 13th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
I like this episode alot!! As I do with all your episodes