The Tarot Connection

leisa — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:28:48 +0000

Podcast – Readings – Shop

Episode 100: Tarot Trends 2010

leisa — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:21:17 +0000

Discussion of trends and issues in today’s Tarot Community.

Certification
Legitimizing Tarot vs.Reading on the Fringe
Individual Expression
Spiritual Elitism
Tarot Police
Counseling
Rephrasing Questions
Insurance Fraud
Copyrights & Trademarks
Fraud
World Tarot Day
Intellectual Property

Surgeon Generals Warning for this episode is:

“Chock Full of Ranty Goodness! An opinion in every bite” – Thalassa

Donnaleigh

Radio podcast personality, professional tarot reader & psychic artist with a gentle reading style.

Donnaleigh.net
Beyond Worlds
Our Educational Tarot Podcast: http://TarotTribe.com
Fridays with Storm Cestavani at http://StormOnAir.com/

Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. 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.

Storm Cestivani

Storm Cestavani is a Celebrity Psychic that has been reading professionally for nearly twenty-five years and has amassed great skill at the divinatory arts, such as Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Empathy, Astrology, Dreams, Channeling, Numerology, Past Lives, Automatic Writing, and Tarot.

Storm gained international notoriety as the former radio host for syndicated talk show Psychic Friends Live. He appeared in five infomercials for the Psychic Friends Network, reading for star Dionne Warwick on the show, and has been seen on a number of television and radio shows like:

* Jenny Jones * Montel Williams * Rikki Lake * Latifa! *Cinemax * HBO * The Real World * Showtime * CNN * NBC News Style. * E! * Howard Stern * Extra! * Art Bell * Travel Channel * Blind Date* *Oprah*

Thalassa

Thalassa is the producer of the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium – the oldest established, permanent floating Tarot Symposium in the world (actually, the longest continuously produced Tarot event) and founder of the Daughters of Divination (DOD). She has been living, working and playing with the Tarot for more than 40 years (she was an infant prodigy).

She is also active in the production of Pagan and Divination events across the country, and her writing has been published in a wide range of publications, including the Llewellyn Tarot Reader almanacs since their inception. She has been involved in standup comedy, choreography, and stage management, and currently teaches improvisation and physical characterization for performers of Renaissance and Victorian festivals.

Her other interests include historical recreation, needlework, and plotting global domination. Thalassa lives in San Francisco with her long-suffering husband, a herd of semi-feral dustbunnies, a sword collection, and more Tarot cards than is safe to assemble in one place. She is working on a book (on Tarot, of all things).

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Transition Music: We Throw Parties, You throw Knives by Los Campesinos! from Music Alley

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 99: Significators

leisa — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:27:47 +0000

Taking another look at Significators. A Significator in Tarot is a card, typically a court card chosen at the begging of the reading to represent the the person getting the reading. Depending on the spread the card may be placed back in the deck or set aside.

You can review the handout from Episode 26 in 2008 for some of the systems of selecting a Significator. In this episode, I talked with an number of tarot readers about what they have chosen for themselves and why.

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 connection 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.

Fred West

Fred West has over 30 years of experiences as a Tarot Reader. What first started as a childhood hobby has turned into a lifelong passion. Fred’s knowledge and passion for Tarot is like no other, he has read hundreds of books from various famous tarot authors and possess a variety of decks he uses with his clients during readings. Fred’s clientele ranges from Famous actors in Hollywood to the stay-at-home mom in Oregon.

Donnaleigh

Radio podcast personality, professional tarot reader & psychic artist with a gentle reading style.

Donnaleigh.net
Beyond Worlds
Our Educational Tarot Podcast: http://TarotTribe.com
Fridays with Storm Cestavani at http://StormOnAir.com/

Valerie Sherill

Valerie is the assistant manager for Tarot for Life forum. She became interested in the art of Cartomancy around the age of 14 when her aunt taught her how to read with a regular playing deck. Thirteen years later, she discovered Tarot classes were available at a local metaphysical shop in the town she was living in at that time and immediately enrolled for the course’s extensive five month study. “I had tried to learn Tarot on my own when I was 15,” Val says, “but found it too overwhelming and lost interest. That course I found at The Alhambra Institute in Dearborn, MI, was like a gift from the Universe. Alexia was an incredible teacher – I will never forget her.” With the discovery of online Tarot communities in 2000, Val’s love of Tarot quickly blossomed into passion as she learned more about its rich history and endless avenues of Tarot exploration. It’s an adventure she expects to embark upon for the rest of her life.

Sean Tierseron

Sean is a certified & licensed Rainbow Reiki Professional Practitioner II and Usui/Tibetan Reiki Master Teacher who provides deep physical and emotional healing for your life empowerment. He uses the loving energies of Reiki in union with ”Sound Healing” & Crystal work for a more complete and lasting healing. He has also been working with Tarot for 20 years. Sean enhances your Tarot Reading with Reiki to clairvoyantly tune in to your Spirit Guides, Archangels, Angels, and Spirit Animals. He primarily uses Tarot for readings; Angel and Animal Oracle Cards may be used too. Sean works very closely with the Archangels and is able to channel. His Website is SeanHealswithLight.com

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 leads the Portland Tarot Study group. You can find out more about his reading practice at his website Sylvan Creek Tarot.

Ginny Hunt

Thalassa

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Transition Music: Who the Hell Am I by Albert Lee Fitz from Music Alley

Albert Lee Fizz is a Dutch singer/songwriter, influenced by the 1980′s Brit pop. His music is published by No Tie Generation and some songs are now also available on iTunes. Albert Lee Fizz is a licensed busker in the London Underground and raises money for charity (www.justgiving.com/AlbertLeeFizz)

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 98: Jupiter with Dena DeCastro

leisa — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:55:32 +0000

Dena DeCastro & I talk about Jupiter and Jupiter Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Jupiter Notes by Dena DeCastro

Positive: faith, expansion, growth, optimism, luck, opportunity, abundance, fortune, confidence

Negative: overindulgence, over-extension, arrogance, narcissism, pretentiousness, hubris

Rulerships: Sagittarius / 9th House, and Ancient Ruler of Pisces / 12th House

Jupiter transits can last from just a few weeks to a longer period of several months, depending upon where and when Jupiter turns retrograde. Jupiter transiting one of your natal planets points toward the need to take a leap of faith, and search out new experiences and adventures in the area ruled by that natal planet.

Transits Through a Sign or House:

Jupiter takes about one year to transit through one sign, and will take about the same through one house in your chart, depending upon the size of the house. When Jupiter is in a sign, it shows us where we collectively need to take a leap of faith, and go beyond our current limitations. As it transits through a house in your natal chart, it points toward the themes of that house as they are activated by Jupiter. The message of this year-long period points toward believing in yourself, not settling for less-than or what is just adequate, taking risks, and pushing yourself to grasp opportunities that are heading your way.

Your natal Jupiter’s placement can also indicate where, when you take that leap of faith, you are able to tap into a source of good luck, wealth, and opportunity. Its house and sign placement can also point toward where your own “inner life coach” resides: what activities help you to gain a sense of confidence, faith and optimism.

JUPITER Handout

Invoking Jupiter Spread

1. What Opportunities are Available?
2. Something to be Optimistic about.
3. How Can I Be Generous?
4. What Brings Good Luck to Me?
5. Where Will I get an Even Break

Resources:

Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain
Jupiter in the Signs
Renaissance Astrology Planetary Magic Mini Course

Preview of Tarot Mandalas

See images in a Flicker Album
Buy Candles and Spread Cards at shop.tarotconnection.net

Dena DeCastro

A professional astrologer in the Portland area for several years, Dena has appeared on local radio shows, taught workshops, and given lectures on topics in Evolutionary Astrology. The evolutionary perspective is that our souls progress from lifetime to lifetime. The focus of Dena’s readings is upon your chart as the dynamic representation of your highest potential, and the guide toward achieving it. Dena hosts the podcast Evolutions of Astrology featuring interviews with astrologers and other readers, as well as discussing various topics of astrology and chart interpretation.

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Transition Music: Planets by Cat Malojan from We’re Allright

Play or Download the Episode

Minute Tarot is Now Available

leisa — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:40:10 +0000

by Robyn Tisch-Hollister

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

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

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

78 Notes to Self: For Shame

leisa — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:33:02 +0000

For Shame: The Hanged Man

This is one of my least liked tarot card trumps. I’m not sure it’s anyone’s favorite given its uncomfortable depiction of torture, but my main beef with this card is not only does it tell me that what I want requires a very long wait, but in the meantime I’m not going to be enjoying that wait. Unlike the Star that also depicts that my goal is afar off, this card says the intervening time is pretty much going to suck for me, though I will learn a lot from it. Bah. Take your life lesson and hang that from a tree, ok?

To even attempt to understand the meaning of this Major Arcana card, one really does need to get the historical perspective. Times have most certainly changed since the creation of Tarot and this card references something that people of the 1500′s would have readily recognized that we in the 21st Century have no current context. Well, we do, but not in this manner. This picture of a man hung upside down by one foot is what was known in Italy as a pittura infamante, a defaming portrait. It was used as a kind of rag publication that showed thieves, traitors, those guilty of bankruptcy or fraud in this punishing position and displayed in centers of public view. Those paintings weren’t literal, in that the depicted victims were not actually hung in this manner but were shamed by the portrait. They were akin to our political cartoons except that they were approved and even requested by the municipal civil authorities as a form of public punishment. They began to lose popularity when they began to be appreciated more as an art form, like the political cartoon, rather than be seen as a form of punishment. The intended effect, shame, was lessened, and the practice diminished. (read the full post)

Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. 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.

Music Credits

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

Elements, Dignities and Psychology

leisa — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:00:12 +0000

With Dena DeCastro and Storm Cestavani

http://www.tarotconnection.net/handouts/LeisasNotesElements.pdf

Leisa ReFalo and Dena DeCastro join Storm to discuss the difference of the elements in different traditions. Whether you are an Astrologer, Taroist, or a Psychotherapist the elements of fire, earth, air, and water are used to describe certain areas of life, personality temperament, and modes of expression. Join this group of experts for an enlivened discussion and find out how understanding what mode of expression you most associate with can provide you with startling insight into your life. Example readings will be provided for further understanding.

Episode 97: Saturn with Dena DeCastro

leisa — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:15:50 +0000

Dena DeCastro & I talk about Saturn and Saturn Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Saturn Notes by Dena DeCastro

Saturn

Ruler of Capricorn

Ancient Ruler of Aquarius

Your Natal Saturn:

Saturn in the natal chart is the function within us that makes it possible for us to develop discipline and maturity. Saturn’s house and sign placement indicate where and in what way you are to enact your earthly responsibilities, and where a sense of duty lies.

Saturn Transits:

Saturn times are times in which we are invited to step into a role of authority and maturity in our lives. We must learn to choose decisively and act upon our decisions. We are asked often to shoulder more responsibility, and perhaps “toughen up” in the area being touched by the transit. There are no magical solutions available, nor any “get out of jail free” cards during this season. A Saturn transit offers the lesson of facing reality head on. The gift of this time is in learning that you actually can do it. A successful integration of Saturnian medicine shows you that you are more mature, wise, and capable than you thought possible. This leads to a sense of accomplishment, and the strength to move forward.

Spread

Invoking Saturn Spread

Combat Inertia
Conquer Fear
Seek a Solution
Set Goals
Get Organized

Resources:

Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain
Astrology, Magic and Alchemy in Art
Astrology for Dummies
THE MINCHIATE TAROT The 97–Card Tarot of the Renaissance, Complete with the 12 Astrological Signs and the 4 Elements
Saturn in the Signs from Always Astrology

Dena DeCastro

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Transition Music: Saturn, the Prime Mover of the Spheres by William Wilde Zeitler from Music of the Spheres

Play or Download the Episode

All The News That’s Fit to Predict!

leisa — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:20:59 +0000

(I was a guest on the Storm Cestavani Show)

Original Air Date: 10/22/2009 10:00 AM
All The News That’s Fit to Predict!

Radio has Ryan Seacrest, Television has Oprah, and Tarot has Leisa ReFalo. Leisa is the owner/operator of The Tarot Connection and has the most successful Tarot Podcast on the Internet. She will join Storm and Robin to discuss The Tarot Connection’s latest release “All Hallowed Tarot,”. Also, we will be giving away decks throughout the show! You can listen to Leisa’s wonderful podcasts by going to http://www.tarotconnection.net.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/StormCestavaniShow

Episode 96: Boardwalks & Laundromats with Barbara Oliver

leisa — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:02:04 +0000

Barbara Oliver

I was born and raised on the Jersey shore, where I enjoyed a life of sun and surf. I was always aware of the fact that I was a “tad different” then most of the kids that I hung around with, when I would challenge them on their thoughts or tell them what they were thinking. I was promptly labeled “freak.” LOL. At 16, I began watching the soap opera Dark Shadows and was fascinated with the character Magda the Gypsy and her skills as a card reader. Of course, I knew these were fake readings for the script, but I became intrigued with the cards that were being used. Once I got enough money together (in those days, a tarot deck cost about $10.00), I bought two decks; a Swiss IJJ and a Rider-Waite Smith. I quickly put aside the Swiss and concentrated on the Rider-Waite-Smith and started a notebook with my thoughts on the cards because trying to read the Little White Book, you needed a magnifying glass. Once I started, I never looked back. That was 40 years ago.

You can contact Barbara on Facebook. This picture is of her beloved cat (RIP) Ginger, aka Mushie-mushie, aka Poochie-poo, aka Booga.

Reading One: How will this go?

Subject, Verb and Direct Object

Reading Two: Should I Offer Assistance to a Friend?

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Under the Boardwalk by by Bob Rowe from The Podsafe Music Network

Play or Download the Episode

78 Notes to Self: OMG

leisa — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:38:25 +0000

O-M-G by Ginny Hunt

I know you know at least one. I know you’ve probably even been one at some point, though it may be embarrassing to admit. At least once and probably many more times you have made that proverbial mountain out of a molehill. You Drama King/Queen! It’s ok, really. I have a side that inclines toward the dramatic. Ok, maybe more than a side. A whole flank of my being perhaps. Enough that a friend of mine, who also relishes the fair amount of drama sprinkled through out her life, will call me out, “O! M! G! You’re being so drama!” At least we recognize it in ourselves and can laugh at it when it rears its entertaining head. This fact makes us decidedly not Drama Queens. The true Drama King or Queen does not accept the fact that he or she is being ridiculously melodramatic nor do they seem aware that they are consistently creating situations that result in exhausting drama for themselves and others. So my friend and I were talking last night when she wondered aloud, “Which tarot card would represent drama?” We had been discussing the Moon card and the dramatic side to that card and the question made us both stop, mid-convo, and mentally rifle through the deck. At first we were rather nonplussed. I said the Fool and Moon combination would make me think “drama” but I wasn’t satisfied with my answer. We continued our conversation and somehow the Ten of Swords was mentioned and she interjected, “There is the drama card!” I laughed, “Oh yeah! For sure!” Talk about over the top, that card screams “Woe is meeeeeee!”(read the full post)

Ginny Hunt

Music Credits

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

Episode 95: The Art of Tarot with Robert Place and Ciro Marchetti

leisa — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:26:43 +0000

Explore Art and Tarot with professional artists Robert Place & Ciro Marchetti, including what is Beauty, Symbolist Art, and Meaning. The share a few of their favorite decks as well.

Please be warned there were some difficulties with recording. The worst part is on my end with voice distortion. But the episode is mostly a conversation between Robert & Ciro.

Robert M. Place

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 2008.

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.

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.

Ciro Marchetti

Ciro Marchetti (Florida) is an award-winning artist from the United Kingdom. He studied art in London, followed by a career working in Europe and South America before settling in the United States where he opened a design agency in Miami. In addition to managing his company, Ciro also gives workshops and lectures on digital digital imagery and illustration at the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute, and continues to create his own visionary art.

His new companion site for Legacy of the Divine Tarot is launching this month.

Website: http://www.ciromarchetti.com
Companion Site: www.legacyofthedivinetarot.com.
Empress Card: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoSTPd–Nik
Wands IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX-cFCxPu2U

Available Decks

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight

Closing Music: Fortune Laisse (Attaingnant) by Edward Martin from Art of the Lute in Renaissance (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

New Tarots

leisa — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:17:45 +0000

After a very long hiatus, I am finishing editing the next episode. In the meantime, please be informed of these new tarots:

All Hallows Tarot

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

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

Pre-Order from the Tarot Connection Shop – $40

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

A world veiled in darkness after a cataclysmic collision that stilled the earth. Millennia have passed and only humankind has survived-through the divine gift of dreams.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Available from the Tarot Connection Shop – $50

Classes with Robert Place

leisa — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:48:49 +0000

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

$25.00

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

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries occultists competed with one another in the creation of spurious histories and associations for the Tarot. Not all of their insights were wrong but their histories, were wrong, and their alphabetical and astrological associations for the trumps are clearly an arbitrary code that mostly ignores the historic symbolic intent of the illustrations that appear on each trump. At their worst, the occultists’ associations have become a wall of confusion that blocks one from appreciating the mystical heritage that is preserved in the deck. Historic evidence indicates that the Tarot was created in northern Italy in the early fifteenth century. It was a work of popular art and matches for all of its icons can be found in the art of that era. In this class we will examine this evidence and we will attempt to clear away false assumptions and see the allegory presented in the Tarot as the artists who created the earliest decks would have viewed them. What will come to light is that one need not embellish the facts to demonstrate that the Tarot does express a mystical philosophy and in spite of its birth in the comparatively recent fifteenth century it is connected to an ancient Neoplatonic wisdom tradition.

$50.00

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

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

$25.00

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

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

$25.00

78 Notes to Self: The Tens

leisa — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:43:13 +0000

The Tens by Ginny Hunt

So if nine is the finale, why the ten? Because ten is neither the end nor the beginning, but a transition between an ending and a beginning to a higher order of things. See, the number ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the culmination of the numbers that come before it.

All the base ten numbering systems in existence from ancient times such as Hebrew and Greek systems use the number ten as this natural transition between the numbers that come before into the numbers that come after. A look at the number values assigned to the Hebrew and Greek letters show that the letters were given values from one to ten, then increasing in tens to 100 then increasing by 100′s and so on. Numbering by tens is natural for us given our ten fingers which are quite useful for adding and subtracting. You have to re-use fingers when you get past ten, so it starts a new “order.” So ten represents “completeness of order.” It symbolizes a cycle has completed and all is where it should be. As such it represents the perfection of divine order. (read the full post)

Ginny Hunt

Music Credits

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

Episode 94: Tarot for Novel Writing with Stephanie Arwen Lynch

leisa — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:49:50 +0000

Stephanie Arwen Lynch uses the The Hero’s Journey mono-myth as an outline for using tarot to plot novels. The Hero’s Journey is a description of a basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world.

The Hero’s Journey

Card 0: The Theme

ACT I DEPARTURE, SEPARATION

Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing First Threshold

ACT II DESCENT, INITIATION, PENETRATION

Tests, Allies & Enemies
Approach to Inmost Cave
The Ordeal
Reward (Seizing the Sword)

ACT III RETURN

Road Back
Resurrection
Return with Elixir

Cocktail Spread

Takes these three cards and introduce your character at a cocktail party.

Job
Personal Live
Quirk

Stephanie Arwen Lynch

President of the American Tarot Association Stephanie Arwen Lynch has been reading the Tarot since 1979 and began reading professionally in 1982. She has taught workshops on Tarot for the Professional Fiction Writer as well as How To Create Your Own Spread.

A self-confessed tarotaholic, Arwen owns a collection of nearly 75 decks to date. She is intrigued by the various ways artists express the archetypes of the Tarot. She subscribes to the Jungian archetype philosophy in her reading. One of her passions is designing Tarot spreads. Currently she is engaged in writing a series on fairy tales and spreads that examine the underlying archetypes found in fairy tales.

Arwen reads for everyone but she specializes in reading for the writing community as well as the GLBQT community. As a queer femme, she feels that it is important to be sensitive to everyone’s personal gender preferences.

She has run her online Tarot business since 2005 and reads online as well as in person and over the phone. She has read on the Free Reading Network as well. She is the past editor of the ATA Quarterly journal. Tarot By Arwen is Arwen’s professional site.

Arwen is also a published romance writer. She is part of the writing team of Marilu Mann whose first novel, an ero tic paranormal romance, will be released by Ellora’s Cave. She sold two books to EC last year and the first one, Changing Times, will be released May 7, 2008 as book one of the series Lusting Wild. Book two, Changing Hearts, will be released later this year.

Marilu Mann

Marilu Mann brings the steaminess of the Louisiana bayous to her books and she doesn’t stop there. Willing to travel to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin to heat up those northern nights and melt a little snow, she’ll also circle the globe to Wales, Ireland, Scotland and back just to bring you books that make you sweat.

Currently residing in Texas, Marilu is an avid armchair traveler. Her sexy shifters will set your blood to boiling in no time. Owned by one Diva Teen and various animals, Marilu keeps busy writing the novels her readers beg for.

Marilu is thrilled to be a part of the Ellora’s Cave family and loves to hear from readers. Drop her a note at Marilu Mann or visit her website or her MySpace for more info.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Journey to Now by Paul Avgerinos from Gnosis (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Robert M. Place on Darkness Radio

leisa — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:04:42 +0000

I thought you would be intersted in this episode of Darkness Radio. Robert M. Place was a guest in the 2nd hour on December 28th 2008. Recently I watched an episode of the Next Food Network Star and they were very focused on the contestant’s food point of view. I’ve been wondering how my ‘tarot point of view’ informs the Tarot Connection. I found this episode very interesting because they asked questions I would never ask and different information came of it. You can find Darkness Radio on iTunes and on the Web.

PARANORMAL RADIO SHOW

Contact Darkness Radio:
Studio: 651-989-5855

Email: dave@darknessradio.com

Website: www.darknessradio.com

Website: www.KTLKFM.com

Website: www.MySpace.com/thedarknight

Live Show Chat
www.para-investigators.com/chat/

Preview of the Annotated Sevenfold Mystery by Robert M. Place

leisa — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:16:26 +0000

Episode 93: Cold Readings with Mary Greer

leisa — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:18:30 +0000

Cold Reading Definition from The Skeptic’s Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll

Cold reading refers to a set of techniques used by professional manipulators to get a subject to behave in a certain way or to think that the cold reader has some sort of special ability that allows him to “mysteriously” know things about the subject. Cold reading goes beyond the usual tools of manipulation: suggestion and flattery. In cold reading, salespersons, hypnotists, advertising pros, faith healers, con men, and some therapists bank on their subject’s inclination to find more meaning in a situation than there actually is. (read more)

Mary Greer joins me to talk about Cold Readings and Mentalist techniques with the aim of taking back some of the territory taken over by those with ill intentions.

From Mary’s Blog – Cold Reading and Tarot, Part 2

December 4, 2008

Part 2: Hijacking What It Means to Be Human

(Read Part 1 to learn about mentalists, skeptics and cold reading.)

Imagine my surprise when I discovered there are at least a half-dozen extremely expensive books marketed by mentalists on tarot, of which I’d never heard in my forty-plus years collecting tarot books. And, they were written by and for professional tarot readers that I didn’t even know existed as a self-identified group. Of course, I was aware there are fraudulent tarot readers who deliberately used cold reading techniques to con their marks. Naively, I had assumed, though, that cold reading was used mostly by fake mediums and clairvoyants (as in the 19th century) and by mentalist entertainers. I had no idea that tarot was regularly taught as a scam except among some phone psychics and those storefront psychics who used it to extort money for removing curses, etc.—a whole different, albeit related, enterprise. [Note: some mentalists are also ethical tarot readers, and not all mentalists deny the paranormal. I am also not referring, in most of what follows, to ethical mentalists who are honest about using mental tricks.]

Read the Rest of the Post

Mary Greer

Mary K. Greer is an author and teacher specializing in methods of self exploration and transformation. She has practiced tarot for over thirty-eight years, has taught at the Omega Institute for twenty years, and is featured at most Tarot conferences and symposia in the United States and abroad.

Active in Tarot associations and internet discussion groups, she also teaches and writes for the women’s and pagan communities, and is an Arch-Priestess/Hierophant in the Fellowship of Isis. Tools And Rites Of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) is a learning center founded and directed by Mary for the study of divination, women’s mysteries, and the transformative arts.

Visit Mary K. Greer’s Tarot Blog

Her most recent book is entitled 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (May 2006).

Other books include:

Understanding the Tarot Court (2004) with Tom Little.
The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals (2002)
Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation (1984, 2002)
Aromatherapy: Healing for the Body and Soul (1998) with Kathi Keville
Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses (1995)
The Essence of Magic: Tarot, Ritual, and Aromatherapy (1993)
Tarot Mirrors: Reflections of Personal Meaning (1988)
Tarot Constellations: Patterns of Personal Destiny (1987)

Mary has an M.A. in English literature and was on the faculty and administration of New College of California (San Francisco) for eleven years. As a world traveler, she has lived in Japan, Germany, England, Mexico, six states in the U.S., and currently leads workshops around the world. She resides in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Mentalist-Gerry McCambridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_UDaahAd5o

BBC – History of Magic – Mentalism (1 of 6)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_EjG-Oa3hE

Debunking “Psychics” and other Miracle Workers #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAO3dyabvQ

How to Make People Like you in 90 Seconds or Less

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: I Married a Magician by the Dust Poets from The Podsafe Music Network

Play or Download the Episode

Podcasting for Dummies

leisa — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:32:39 +0000

I was working on the Amazon listing for The Process and noticed my name referenced in 2nd Edition of Podcasting for Dummies.

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

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

Episode 92: Quantum Tarot with Kay Stopforth and Chris Butler

leisa — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:12:28 +0000

Available at Amazon.com

The Quantum Tarot combines the revolutionary theories of 21st century physics with the traditional Tarot Card archetypes in a 78-card deck. Quantum mechanics, Einstein’s theories of relativity and modern superstring theory offer new and wonderful ways to visualize tarot themes. The Quantum Tarot shows how New Age wisdom can mesh with New Age science.

The deck and book set features 78 borderless, gilt-edged cards and a 208-paged perfect bound paperback book with black-and-white illustrations, packaged in a sturdy, elegant cigar box.

I The Magician – The Electromagnetic Force

The Quantum Magician is the Electromagnetic Force, encompassing the whole spectrum of different rays, including visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, gamma rays, X-rays, radio waves and microwaves.
The Magician manipulates and formulates energy, making the invisible visible. He has the ability to make something out of nothing – to act creatively – which can seem magical from the outside. He brings consciousness and illumination to mystery, acting as a bridge between the inchoate sea of the unconscious, and material reality. Whenever we create anything we invoke the Magician archetype.

Read Kay’s Blog on the Magician: http://quantumtarot.blogspot.com/2008/04/bring-some-magic-into-your-life.html

XVIII The Moon – Extra Dimensions

If string theory (see the Star card) is correct, all the fundamental particles in the universe comprise of tiny loops, or strings, that vibrate at different frequencies. The early versions of string theory suggested that strings have only one dimension, but then superstring theory proposed that strings might vibrate in ten dimensions! How is this possible? Well, apart from the three dimensions of ordinary space, and one of time, the theory claims that the other six dimensions are curled up, or compressed into a very tiny space. The strings wind themselves around these “curled up” dimensions like a kind of cosmic cat’s cradle.
Because these other dimensions occupy such an unimaginably small space, we may move through them all the time without realizing it. The Moon represents this idea that there is much more to the world than we are usually aware of. These inaccessible extra dimensions are like the extra dimensions of our lives; hints, hunches, movements out of the corners of our eye. The Moon represents a fearful mystery to those who like everything to be explained. To the more intuitively or psychically-minded, this sense of something extra, something more than we can detect with our everyday, physical senses, is no surprise. The Moon shows up when the indefinable starts demanding attention in our consciousness – and to the conscious mind this can seem like a threat.

Read Kay’s Blog on the Moon: http://quantumtarot.blogspot.com/2008/08/strange-phenomena.html

Kay Stopforth

Kay bought her first deck, the Mythic Tarot, in 1990 and has been fascinated by the tarot ever since. Kay is a Film Studies graduate, a former geek who trained in electronic engineering and information science. Kay has worked as a recording studio technician, pop video editor, waitress, documentary maker, IT systems manager, librarian and professional tarot reader.

Inspired by photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope, Kay created her first deck, the Universe Cards, in 1999. She is a regular blogger and contributor to the Aeclectic Tarot Forum. Kay is currently working on her first novel.

Chris Butler

Chris Butler is a UK based artist and illustrator. He has illustrated five tarot decks and two oracle decks to date. Chris discovered the Tarot through watching a James Bond movie at the age of thirteen. Now, almost thirty years later, his fascination with the cards remains undiminished. Apart from his digital illustration work, Chris works as a painter and a portrait artist. He has also worked as an assistant to Tony Raymond, one of Europe’s foremost decorative artists. He now lives in his native city of Liverpool, England

Relativity Spread

from the Companion Book pg 31

Space: where you are at the moment
Time: what will change in the near future
Gravity: what is attracting you
Relativity: key to integration

Quantum Tarot Wallpaper by Chris Butler

(image links to full sized wallpaper)

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Borealis by Robert Rich from Calling Down the Sky

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 91: Self Publishing Decks & Books

leisa — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:36:37 +0000

Self-Publishing Tips and Tricks (My BATS presentation)

Have you ever fantasized about having a book or deck in print. Do you want to have complete control on the creative process. Self-publishing may be your best option. I discuss how to publish Tarot Decks, Books and Audio including:

Download the Handout

Designing the Deck
Types of Printing & Getting Quotes
Preparing Artwork
Formality & Legality (ISBN, Barcodes)
Selling
Pricing
Order Fulfillment
Wholesale, Retail and International Distribution
Packing
And many lessons learned.

Lou Lorenzi-Prince at my table at BATS

This was my first time setting up a vendor table and I didn’t have a sign of any kind. While I was setting up my husband went out to get us espresso after carrying the boxes in. He was gone about an hour. In that time he went back to the hotel room, e-mail the banner graphic from my website to FedEx-Kinkos and came back with this huge vinyl sign.

The Seven Soul Centers with with Robert Place – Nov. 26, 2008

$25.00

The theory of the seven psychic centers in the body, commonly called the Chakras, is thought to originate in India. However, the oldest writing in India that describes it dates from the second century AD. In the West we can find them described in detail in the writings of Plato in the fourth century BC, and can find similar ideas in The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Greek philosopher, Pythagoras – the first man to call himself a philosopher – used the seven notes of his musical scale to bring the soul centers of his patients into harmony and health and realized that these seven centers figured in our spiritual development as well.This class will include a lecture demonstrating that the theory of the Chakras is a universal truth found in all cultures and focusing on the Western theories about the centers. It will also included meditative exercises designed to heighten sensitivity to the energy centers in the body and demonstrate how this sensitivity can be used to improve ones ability to use the Tarot cards for divination. The students will also learn how to use the Tarot for analyzing the health and balance of the seven soul centers.

Date: Wednesday November 26, 2008
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 Pacific Time
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 Eastern Time

Dena DeCastro

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Why You Wanna Do it by Boo Boo Harris from The Name of the Game

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 90: Uranus with Dena DeCastro

leisa — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 06:37:13 +0000

Dena DeCastro & I talk about Uranus and Uranus Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Uranus By Dena DeCastro

The force of transiting Uranus has to do with change, liberation, and freedom. Uranus transits often involve a “roller coaster” kind of feeling, and surprising and unexpected events. Uranus helps us in our process of individuation, showing us where we stand apart from the herd. This can manifest as an “itchy”, restless, and rebellious feeling that leads ultimately to breakthroughs and liberation from longstanding ruts in the area being impacted.

Uranus-Sun Transits
www.cafeastrology.com/uranustransits.html

Spread

Uranus Decision Spread

Me
The Situation
Cons (Three Cards)
Pros (Three Cards)
The Decision (Three Cards)

Dena DeCastro

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Freedom by Jeff Wall from Guienevere

Play or Download the Episode

78 Notes to Self: Squirrelly Intuitive Readings

leisa — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:54:03 +0000

I just don’t understand where some people come up with certain meanings for tarot cards. As far as I’m concerned they just pull them out of their underwear and parade them around like it should be perfectly evident from looking at the card that it means just that. So many times I just scratch my head and think: WTF? Let’s say the Three of Wands shows up in a predictive position and the reader goes, “Well, she’s going to go out and buy herself a new pair of earrings.” Um. Mkay. Whatever. So then I start, painfully, trying to fit that interpretation to the card. I think, well, it is Wands and it could mean she goes out to actually do something. But it’s a three, not a two, so I don’t know where the pair of earrings comes into play. And it’s not pentacles, so what’s with the tangible purchase? And earrings? Ok, so maybe the card being used has a figure wearing earrings, what do I know? There are so many decks out there, maybe the reader honed in on the earrings in the image. So I try, hard as I might, to fit that to the Three of Wands. Finally I throw up my hands and give up. I can’t do it. It feels wrong anyhow.

So then I hear, oh, it was an INTUITIVE reading. There. Now everything’s all better.

Hell not! (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Music Credits

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

78 Notes to Self: Wish I May, Wish I Might…

leisa — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:31:05 +0000

The Star is one of those cards in tarot that feels good when we see it, but we’re not always sure why. I see it as a light at the end of the tunnel, a signpost that tells me I’m heading in the right direction, no matter how lost I may feel at the time. The disappointing thing, and probably the only disappointing thing about the Star is that the thing or event that you’re heading towards and hoping for is a ways off. It’s not going to happen today nor tomorrow, but sometime in the future. For those of us who adore immediate gratification, this can be almost as frustrating as seeing The Hanged Man show up.

The symbolism of the Star is curious. Often there is a naked woman portrayed pouring out two jugs of water, one onto the earth and the other into the water. One immediate sense is that of abundance. But as one friend of mine noted, this woman is pouring herself out to a ridiculous degree: “She’s watering the water, for heaven’s sake!” my friend said. When we look at what water symbolizes in tarot, the emotions, we can see a dual meaning here. On the one hand, there is emotional healing going on. She’s pouring out, releasing her emotions, both for their generative qualities and just for the sake of releasing them. Her nakedness suggests both a vulnerability and a healthy sense of self. Being transparent and not hiding one’s feelings is imperative for emotional health and healing. Yet it does leave one vulnerable to further injury, so it takes a good deal of courage to do what this woman is doing. Going back to my friend’s observation, women especially tend to overextend themselves emotionally and give rise to the need for the Star’s emotional down time. Someone represented by the Star in a reading could signify someone who is an emotional giver, sometimes to their own detriment. The advice then is to take some real time for oneself and attend to one’s own emotional waters and dry, parched soul.

The Star is an incredibly peaceful card and brings with it a sense of wholeness. It’s a relief, a breather, on a long arduous journey. It reminds us to slow down because any amount of stressing out about when you’ll get there isn’t going to make the trip go any faster. It quiets those voices in your head that sound like children in the back seat chattering, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes. It answers soothingly, “No, but we will get there at just the right time, now relax and enjoy the scenery.” It’s the kind of card that makes you stop and experience the present moment in all its peaceful beauty and reminds us that the journey IS the destination. (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Music Credits

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

Episode 89: Bats Oct 2008 with Thalassa

leisa — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:05:39 +0000

BATS

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

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

San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium Fall 2008

SF BATS is proud to present:

Wald & RuthAnn Amberstone, East Coast powerhouse teachers, authors (The Secret Language of the Tarot) and producers of the Readers Studio
James Wanless, groundbreaking teacher, coach and creator of the Voyager Tarot system
Monte Farber & Amy Zerner, divination pioneers (The Enchanted Tarot, The Enchanted Spellboard, Breathe Easy Deck, and so many more)
Joseph Ernest Martin, acclaimed psychic and creator of the Quest Tarot
Julie Cuccia-Watts, superb Tarot artist (The Ancestral Path Tarot, the Ma’at Tarot, and many other works)
Pamela Eakins, priestess, teacher and co-creatrix of the Tarot of the Spirit
Arnell Ando, visionary Tarot artist and facilitator (the Transformational Tarot, the Tarot Museum )
Holly Voley, well known expert on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck
Sasha St John, creatrix of Gentle Wisdom of the Faerie Realm, worker with angelic, faerie and mermaid wisdom
Corinne Kenner, popular Tarot author (Tall Dark Stranger, Simple Fortunetelling with Tarot Cards, and many more)
Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, creatrix of the Tarot of the Crone
Kooch Daniels, popular local reader and author of Tarot d’Amour
Susan Gold and Evelyn Pine of The Magician’s Table
Calyxa Omphalos, creatrix of the revolutionary divination system, Elemental Hexagons

Saturday, October 4, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
First Unitarian Universalist Centre
1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA

Visit the BATS Fall 2008 web page for more information

Thalassa

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

Follow the Yellow Brick Royal Road Spread

Based on the movie the Wizard of Oz

What is your goal, what is your emerald city?
Where are your brains (scarecrow swords or mental game)?
Where is your heart (tinman, cups)?
Where is your courage (lion, wands)?
Where are your ruby slippers? What gets you from one place to another? (Pentacles)
What is your little dog (toto) What do you need to pay attention to?

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Simple Pleasures by Jive Ass Sleepers from Getting Down to Business

Play or Download the Episode

Love Makes the World Go `Round

leisa — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:15:30 +0000

A long time ago I asked my mother why so many songs were about love. She smiled as she answered, “Because love makes the world go ’round.” At the time I didn’t get the irony that she was answering my question with song lyrics, probably Perry Como’s given her musical tastes. But she probably didn’t realize she was referencing medieval theology either, which held that the power of love literally set the universe in motion. I wasn’t fully satisfied with her answer, actually, and I’m still not. I vascillate in my airy Libran way between being a full on sucker for love and examining it under a microscope with proper scientific objectivity. It’s a curious subject, love, and it is no less curious in tarot when it appears as the Major Arcana card: The Lovers.

This card has no problem showing up when a romantic relationship is in question, but doesn’t it make you scratch your head a little when it shows up when you’re doing a reading about something completely non-romantic? You stare at the image of the passionate couple and think…wtf? The fallback meaning is of “choice” and of following one’s heart to make that choice, so at least there is that. (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Music Credits

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

Episode 88: The Process by Dan Pelletier

leisa — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:48:51 +0000

Produced by Leisa ReFalo for the Tarot Connection © 2008
Opening & Closing Music: Ukiyo by Queenie, www.queeniemusic.com
Theme Music: Cabin Fever by Robert Kotta
Cover illustration from The Alchemical Tarot by Robert M. Place © 2004-2008
Running Time: 5.4 Hours

Prologue

“Hello…yes…you want to learn about reading Tarot? Well, be here tomorrow around noon. Dress warmly, very warmly. Wear raingear, work-gloves, and a rain hat. Eat a good hearty meal before you get here. Do you have the address? See you at noon then. Goodbye.”

Join master storyteller, Dan Pelletier on a completely unique take on the Tarot – how to read the cards, and how to place the wisdom in your life. Voiced in first person, you become Dan’s apprentice as you listen to The Process. Beginners and experienced readers alike will find fertile material for contemplation and experimentation for their own unique path of the way of the Tarot Reader.

The Process is available in two formats:


Single Mp3 CD-Rom $45	Six Disk Audio CD Set $60

Track 1: Title and Copyright
Track 2: Cabin Fever Part 1
Track 3: The Call
Track 4: Prologue
Track 5: Chapter 1: Beginnings
Track 6: Chapter 2: Beginnings Part 2
Track 7: Chapter 3: Numbers
Track 8: Chapter 4: In the Camp of the Enemy
Track 9: Chapter 5: The Suits
Track 10: Cabin Fever Part 2
Track 11: Chapter 6: The Skeptic
Track 12: Chapter 7: Decks
Track 13: Chapter 8: The Question
Track 14: Chapter 9: Spreads
Track 15: Chapter 10: Shuffling
Track 16: Chapter 11: Flashes
Track 17: Chapter 12: Card Interpretations
Track 18: Chapter 13: Ethics
Track 19: Chapter 14: Reading for Others
Track 20: Regular Playing Cards
Track 21: Chapter 16: The Blank Sport
Track 22: Cabin Fever Part 3
Track 23: Chapter 17: The Moment
Track 24: Chapter 18: Timing
Track 25: Chapter 19: Reading and Your Health
Track 26: Chapter 20: The Event
Track 27: Cabin Fever Part 4
Track 28: Chapter 21: The Business of Tarot
Track 29: Chapter 22: Reading with Majors Only (Right Click to Download a Sample)
Track 30: Chapter 23: A Spiritual Approach
Track 31: Toothpicks
Track 32: Chapter 25: Readings from the Journal
Track 33: Chapter 26: ROTA
Track 34: Cabin Fever
Track 35: Credits

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.

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Cabin Fever by Robert Kota

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 87: Reading in Juvenile Detention with Domenic Robertazzi

leisa — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:06:27 +0000

Domenic Robertazzi is a Sargent and Councilor at a Juvenile Detention Center in New Jersey. He shares his experiences reading with the youth which began with his Thoth deck flying out of his shirt pocket in the computer classroom.

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Shi by Tilopa from Pictures of Silence (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 86: Touchstone Tarot with Kat Black

leisa — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:00:53 +0000

About Touchstone Tarot

Touchstone Tarot, a new deck by Kat Black, author of the popular and critically acclaimed Golden Tarot, is coming soon. The artwork used in the deck is digitally collaged composites from the artwork of the European Old Masters from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with expressive and surprisingly modern looking faces to communicate the meanings of each card.

The name of the deck Touchstone Tarot – was chosen for it’s metaphorical meanings. Something small, that can be held in the hand… a tool used to assess if something is true… sounds just like the Tarot!

It’s creation was funded by a private benefactor, a Patron of the Arts who wishes to remain anonymous. This person’s generosity meant that the deck can be created just as Kat intended, without commercial pressure to make it yet another RWS clone. This is a limited edition of 500 decks and is 3″ x 4″.

$56.00 + S & H.

Visit shop.tarotconnection.net to request your copy today!

Touchstone Links

Kat Black

Australian artist/author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Golden Tarot and forthcoming Touchstone Tarot. See website touchstonetarot.com for more biographical info. Also a VJ in partnership with my lovely partner Jasper Cook – see VJzoo.com – we tour around the world doing visuals for festivals and bands.

A few Cards

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: 07-Tientos (del tercero tono) by Jacob Heringman and Catherine King from Alonso Mudarra songs and solos (Magnatune)
Closing Music: 29-Recuerde el alma dormida (8:07) by Jacob Heringman and Catherine King from Alonso Mudarra songs and solos (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Download audio file (TarotConnection86.mp3)

Episode 86

Episode 85: Hand Crafting Decks

leisa — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:43:58 +0000

I know this goes without saying but … Always respect copyright laws.

I have made dozens of decks by hand over the years. I like to make prototypes to flesh out ideas, to find mistakes and to get feedback from other people. I only really know if I like something for size, layout and color if I’ve seen it and held it in my hand.

I’ve also made copies of very rare decks that I’m to afraid to use. I helped my friend Linda make a usable deck with her BOTA cards that she spend years coloring. (more about that later when we talk about embellishments.)

Just as a fair warning it is very expensive and time consuming to make decks in this manner. Appreciate what a value your commercial decks are.

Supplies

There are some basic supplies that you will need.

Card stock (Type depends on method)
Decorative Paper (for the Backs)
The use of a ink jet printer, color laser printer, or color copier
Laminator (method 2) & 3 mil Pouches
Xyron 900 (method 3)
Sharp Scissors
2? Portable Paper Trimmer by Fiskars
Corner Rounder (You can use scissors with a little technique)

There are a number of considerations when making the deck and the qualities can work against each other.

Beauty
Durability
Usability (how well it shuffles)
Deck Thickness

The Methods

Very Heavy Card Stock
Lamination
2 page Adhesive
2 page Adhesive/Lamination Com

Download the Handout

Music Credits

Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 84: The Mystereum Tarot with Jordan Hoggard

leisa — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:05:09 +0000

About the Mystereum Tarot

2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ playing card size decks in a great looking box complete with 46 page booklet (lwb) + fold-out intro cardlet. The Mystereum Tarot deck is playing card size! Great for small hands and for shuffling.

$28.95 + S & H.

Visit www.mystereum.com to request your copy today!

Inception Story

The concept of setting into the creative adventure of this tarot deck began several years back when I made a connection between the meaning of architecture and The Magician and The High Priestess. And when I say the meaning of architecture I am literally looking to the word architecture itself. There is a four-point mode of being that I enjoy for the general purpose of architectural analysis which I will use to preface this connection for conversation’s sake, and to provide just a moment of suspense. This four-point mode is somewhat existential, and I have to honestly say I don’t think about these four points much anymore unless a building really perplexes me. Things incorporate over time, are amended into the soil so to speak:

How does a building stand on the ground?
How does a building extend to the sides?
How does a building open and close?
How does a building meet the sky?

Now, for just a bit more suspense. I won’t go in to whether something has to be a building to be considered architecture. That’s another story, and tarot is the order of the day here.

OK. Architecture. The meaning of architecture. If I disassemble the word into its Greek roots, I get arche and techne, and I STILL can’t remember how to make the accent over a letter work on my keyboard. I ask that you please imagine the accent and play along. Further for your imagination, that the accent starts low on the left and ends high on the right. Accent ague? Accent grave? Imagination. Arche, techne. Say ar-kay. Tek-nay. And, here’s where I made a connection.

Arche is the first inkling, the creation, the first spark of an idea. Arche is the place of inception. Techne is the giving form to the formless, the making, the putting together of the idea that has been created. Techne is the place of conception. And, I saw The Magician and The High Priestess with their respective 1st spark, the creation of the Magician, and then the giving form, the making of The High Priestess. And though I remained fascinated with the deck and stayed my course with architecture and art, the connection didn’t stick. Or, so I thought.

Scroll forward several years to the summer of 2006 while I’m gardening, and I look up at my turn-of-the-century Victorian house (1906) and realize that I’ve been working on the cards here and there, reading text and history when I can, or simply come across it, and …rush inside and rinse the dirt off and open up the folder on my computer, and there I saw…just down the page!…The Empress carrying to full term! The Emperor overseeing! And, it came to mind that I was thick in the middle of the largest scale project I have ever undertaken, had been walking right on the burial as I amended the soil in my garden. Imagine my bright , wide eyes when I eventually came to looking at the Judgment card having a The Hanged Man moment!

Though architecture provided a form-giving metaphor for the creation of this deck, from which I lifted arche, techne, identity, place, and context, the architecture may or may not stop right there. The warm-up is oftentimes not a member of the performance. Either way or neither, though, one’s path is experienced and built, built back in upon and re-built, expanded and contracted…one’s path continually pulses through the scales of life, driven by life itself. The tarot cards are wonderful trail-markers as well as storytellers along the path. Sometimes there is the soliloquy of a single card as the context. Sometimes a card or cards speak with the chorus of the other cards to flesh out context. Most all tarot decks present a visual vitality that speaks to the mind – you can call it consciousness or anything else for that matter…but in this regard, never-mind the research in this area(s)in this regard though fitting and inspiring even…in this regard there is no proof or re-proof but life itself. In this regard we each have our own say. With vitality at a variety of scales, and incorporating the concept of all similar, each unique to the cards, to ourselves, a whole world is present and complete at each and every scale.

And there, at that point is a shell in my garden cracking open of its own accord underground, the story of the creation and making of this deck sprouted, remembering origin and destiny as one and the same maybe. Or not. The roots of tarot and architecture will flower perennially in my garden, naturalizing over time as this deck is completed and becomes dog-eared from use, naturalizing. I will move from there now to the fruits that began to come from my garden in the summer of 2006. Enjoy!

– Jordan Hoggard, January 2007

The Context Spread

click on the images to view the pdf

Jordan Hoggard

Jordan Hoggard is an artist and architect. He is the Principal of J. Jordan Hoggard Design which is a small architectural company established in 2002 devoted to providing disciplined, responsive, and respectful service to every client, no matter how big or small the project. Jordan works directly with every client to assure their continuing satisfaction throughout the design and construction process.

“Architecture is for everyone…” © 2003
“ Form Follows Priority” ® 2007

Jordan has been working on award-winning projects singe 1991.

Graduated in 1991 from Texas Tech University with the degree of Bachelor of Architecture. He was honored with numerous scholarships and awards, held the offices of Vice President and President of the American Institute of Architecture Students, and was named by the Dean of the College of Architecture to the Faculty Search Committee.

Jordan spent five years as a professional painter of fine art oils and watercolors and continues to pursue special studies in architecture and art.

Max in a Mystereum Dog Shirt

Music Credits

Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight
Closing Music: Music to Look for Something Lost by Michael Masley from Mystery Repeats Itself (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Mystereum Tarot by Jordan Hoggard

leisa — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:51:32 +0000

‘Flowing Through Inner Essence’

www.mystereum.com

Episode 83: Incense with Judith Beaudoin

leisa — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:45:28 +0000

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

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

Crystal Cavern

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

Phone: 503-597-2688

Hours:

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

Incense and Associations

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

Chakras

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

Elements:

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

Astrological Signs

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

Books on Incense & Aroma Therapy

Music Credits

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

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 82: Tarot of the Crone with Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

leisa — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:34:24 +0000

Ellen Lorenzi-Prince led a Portland Tarot Study Group session on the Major Arcana of Tarot of the Crone. Click on the image to the left for a larger view of the Major Arcana.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot of the Crone represent times when the Crone is speaking directly to your soul. Rather than addressing an aspect of everyday life as in the Minor Arcana cards, the Majors require you to look at the deeper forces working within and upon you. They are challenging and powerful opportunities when they appear in a reading.

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. 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.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Labyrinth Floor by Ichiro NAKAGAWA from (Podsafe Music Network)

Play or Download the Episode

iGoogle Gadget

leisa — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:34:18 +0000

Do you use iGoogle for a home page and want the Alchemical Tarot on your home page? I’m learning how to create Google gadgets but in the mean time you can use this general gadget. It displays a random image from a photo album of the Alchemical Tarot images. Set the username to: leisa.refalo and the Title to what you want the title bar to display. I chose “Alchemical Tarot”. The refresh rate can be Never or a range of 5 sec to 10 minutes.

Episode 81: Neptune with Dena DeCastro

leisa — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:42:03 +0000

Dena DeCastro & I talk about Neptune and Neptune Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Neptune By Dena DeCastro

Neptune is the planet which represents our ability to transcend our ego-self and connect with what we would perceive as mystical – that which is beyond mundane reality. This has its potentially positive and negative effects when it touches us by transit. Under its influence, we can experience heightened states of awareness, such as meditation, the perception of other realities, and mystical visions. Our psychic awareness may also increase, along with our sensitivity to other’s thoughts and feelings. Our dreams and other contacts with the unconscious become very prominent under a Neptune transit. Because it is a force that leads us to contemplate what is outside our every-day reality, the visions and insights we gain can lead us to experience epiphanies, but also confusion. In its dark aspect, Neptune’s influence can leave us vulnerable to delusion and self-deception. Being in the middle of a Neptune transit (especially by hard aspect – conjunction, square, or opposition) can engender the feeling of being in a “fog.” Neptune’s force is that which dissolves what it touches, like that of a large body of water. Its action is strong but subtle, and usually happens over time. Neptune transits last 2 – 3 years in its aspect to a planet in the natal chart.

Spread and Readings

Neptune Higher Purpose Snapshot

Who Am I?
What is an Illusion/Delusion I face?
Salt (Past) -What is Contractive?
Mercury (Present)-What is Changing?
Sulpher (Future) – What is Expanding?

Dena DeCastro

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: The Hideous Realms of Neptune by Jamie Janover from Evolutions

Play or Download the Episode

Symbolism of Alchemy Course Now Available

leisa — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:45:21 +0000

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

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

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

The Relationship Spread

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

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

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

The Symbolism of Numbers

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

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

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

Teleclass Information

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

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

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

Episode 80: The Tarots of Ciro Marchetti

leisa — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:25:05 +0000

Website: http://www.ciromarchetti.com

Gilded Tarot

The Gilded Tarot was my first attempt at creating a tarot deck and much like the leading character the Fool himself, it represents the beginning of my own personal tarot journey. It reflects some naiveté and innocence certainly, but also respect and enthusiasm. Despite not being particularly well received by some critics and the more traditionalists of the tarot world, it nevertheless seems to have struck a positive chord with the general tarot community, both readers and their querants.

Tarot of Dreams

The Tarot of Dreams was self published in 2005. A follow up to the Gilded, this deck built on the learning curve that resulted from its predecessor. Instead of the standard companion book, the ToD comes with an interactive CD that includes numerous features that are unique to the Tarot genre, such as animated cards, video intro and background music etc, along with a full book length PDF document that provides full explanation of the decks imagery and esoteric symbolism. The ToD was voted most popular deck of that year by the leading tarot web site Acelectic.net

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

My future deck will be the third and almost certainly the last. This project is quite extensive and will be accompanied by a book that will comprise of a short story as well as the usual guide explaining the various card meanings. Its a very personal approach to Tarot and the images incorporate many elements from my other illustrations which will within the context of this project now find a new home and meaning. Nevertheless their inclusion and incorporation remains relevant and stays withing the basic structure of tarot and specifically that of the RWS. Anyone comfortable with that system should be in familiar territory.

Legacy of the Divine Tarot Wallpaper

Click on the image to show the full sized wallpaper. Right Click and Save As to download.

Available Decks

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Ukiyoe by Queenie from the Dream of Flight

Hear more of Queenie’s music featured in the Forever Fifteen Podiobook

Play or Download the Episode

Legacy of the Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti

leisa — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:29:30 +0000

Legacy of the Divine Tarot from Ciro Marchetti on Vimeo

YouTube Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRmhU3jTgI0

Postcards from Seattle

I’ve been out of town for the last 3 weekends. This week it is Seattle for the Karmapa’s visit. I spent my time not in the program working on Episode 80. I thought this is kind of a cool place to work on a podcast (though not a creative way to spend a vacation).

Pensione Nochols Bed & Breakfast

Episode 79: Spreads with James Wells

leisa — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:44:52 +0000

What makes a good spread?

Appropriate Number of Cards
Spread positions should follow a logical or easy to follow order.
Symmetry
Interesting relationships between cards that are next to each other

Spreads

1 Card

What do I most need to know about right now.

2 Card Focus by Gail Fairfield from Choice Centered Tarot

Major – The What of the Situation
Minor – The How of the Situation

The Pro & Con Layout

Pro-Whats the best thing about this. What are the benefits.
Con – Whats the worst thing about this. What are the costs.

3 Card: by Zoe Matoff

2 – 1 – 3

Whats the basic issue here
Don’t do this
Do this

Deeper Learning Layout by James Wells

Larger Deeper Learning for me in this situation.
What’s appropriate to release, exit, or leave behind?
What’s appropriate to embrace, enter or move towards?

Reality Check Spread by James Wells

What am I imagining on the bad side?
What am I imagining on the good side?
What’s the reality of the situation itself?

4 Card Psychological Spread from Tarot for Dummies

Your subconscious or child self (reactive)
Your conscious or adult self (intentional)
you superconscious or wise self
Overall comment

The Spread of Changes by James Rioux

The first card can be drawn at random or intentionally selected based on something you want to focus on and consciously pick a card to represent it. You can pick any of the position’s intentionally.

1-2-3-4-5

The past or root cause
Your state or attitude or how you thought about yourself before the change
The change itself
The after change attitude
The result of the change or desired outcome

Elenore Greenburg from 2007 Tarot Reader

What the client needs to learn about the current situation
What he or she needs to learn about how it plays out in their life in general or the bigger picture or pattern revealed by the situation
How learning the situation can further their spiritual growth
What’s appropriate to leave behind
What’s appropriate to move toward

Arthur Rosengarten from Tarot and Psychology

Whats’ working for you
What’s working against you
What you know
What you don’t know
What’s needed

The Leap Across the Abyss by Rachel Pollack from the Shining Tribe Tarot

Where do I start?
What is hidden?
Who helps me?
What do I fear?
What must I give up?
What must I take with me?
What will I experience?
What will I find?

Clarifying Options by Gail Fairfield from Everyday Tarot

Layout 9 cards for each option including an option you having though of. The third card will help identify the new option. Please refer to the book Everyday Tarot for the shape of the spread

your reason for considering this option
what this option represents for you
the true nature of this option
the resources that support this option
the obstacles that block this option
the advantages of pursuing this option
the disadvantages of pursing this option
what will probably happen if you choose this option
the Key Factor with regard to this option.

James’ 10 Card Layout

The External Experience of the Situation.
The Internal Experience of the Situation.
My contribution to it.
Other’s contribution to it.
What challenges blocks or problems are connected with it
What blessings, gifts or resources are connected with it.
What does soul have to say about the situation? (Soul: Personal Sacred or Sacred Self)
What does spirit have to say about the situation? (Spirit: Transpersonal Sacred or Sacred Other)
What’s the wisdom emerge from me from the situation? What can I learn?
(Optional) Based on the above information, what is the most likely way this will unfold in the

Freestyle Q&A

Initial question. Pull a card. Dialog. This generates another question. Pull a Card. Continue until it feels complete or resolved.

Custom Design Layouts

Step 1: Pick a Topic (Subject)
Step 2: Brainstorm Questions (Quantity)
Step 3: Refine the Questions & Wording (Quality)
Step 4: Put the Questions in an order that makes sense and number the Questions (Order)
Step 5: Draw a Diagram (Shape)

Draw and Layout the Cards. Interpret. Finish with a summary card.

Your first step to a helpful insightful Tarot Session is ask empowering open ended questions such as:

How?
What?
Where in my life?
In what ways?
What do I most need to learn about?
What do I most need to know about at this time?
What is a more evolved perspective on … ?

Avoid:

Yes/No Questions
Negatively worded questions
Questions about other people’s lives

James Wells

James Wells is a Toronto-based consultant, teacher, and facilitator devoted to merging soul and strategy. Through tools and processes such as Tarot, Reiki, Council Circle, and Journal Writing, he and his clients and students are inspired to become more of who they really are.

Tarot has been a part of James’ life since 1979. His insightful, down-to-earth, proactive style makes him a popular practitioner and workshop presenter at home and abroad. James is a contributor to most of Llewellyn’s Tarot Reader almanacs. In his “me time”, he enjoys writing, reading, music, walking, and good food.

jameswells.wordpress.com

To book private consultations and to set up a workshop in your area, feel free to contact James at (416) 966 – 2685 or at evolutionary_tarot@yahoo.ca

JAMES WELLS — Merging soul and strategy through tarot, Reiki, journal writing, council circle, workshops, & classes.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: The Way by Ishwish from Remember (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 78: The Alchemical Tarot with Robert Place

leisa — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:05:01 +0000

Born out of the mystical vision of artist Robert M. Place, The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed demonstrates the close link between alchemical symbolism and traditional Tarot imagery and illustrates that the Tarot, like the alchemical quest, is designed to lead one to the gold of inner wisdom. One of the most beautiful and sought after modern Tarot decks, the out of print first edition Alchemical Tarot has sold at auction for over $2,000. Now it is back in print at an affordable price.

The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is a digitally redesigned version of the original with improvements in the drawings, more vibrant colors, and reproportioned so that the art is more prominent. The cards are 4.75 x 2.75 and come in a tuck box. It is printed on standard card stock, like a poker deck, with the same durable finish and die-cut edges. The deck includes the original Lovers card that was censored in the first publication as well as the Lovers that was published in that edition and a little-white-book that lists the meaning of each card. Each card in The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is beautifully drawn and captures the enigmatic symbols of alchemy that are natural vehicles for communication with the unconscious mind. It can be used my Tarot readers at any level.

The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is now available at shop.tarotconnection.net .

Other Alchemical Tarot Materials

Alchemical Tarot Website (with 3 & 9 Card Readings)
Alchemical Tarot Notebook (Binder)
Alchemical Tarot Notebook (Spiral)
Alchemical Tarot Prayer Candles
Alchemical Tarot Votives
Classes with Robert Place
Art Prints (from the Alchemical Egg)

Robert M. Place

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Fantasia terza by Paul Beier from Simone Molinaro
Closing Music: Fantasia decima quarta by Paul Beier from Simone Molinaro

Play or Download the Episode

2008 Classes with Robert Place

leisa — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:50:55 +0000

The Symbolism of The Alchemical Tarot

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

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

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

Sample Page from Class Notes:

Hieroglyphs From The Soul

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

$25.00

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

Read a review of this class by Cynthia Tedesco.

The Relationship Spread

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

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

Teleclass Information

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

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

Episode 77: Pluto with Dena DeCastro

leisa — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:39:55 +0000

Pluto in astrology represents transformation, death, and rebirth. Dena DeCastro & I talk about Pluto and Pluto Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Pluto By Dena DeCastro

The force of transiting Pluto brings transformative, life-changing external events OR internal realization (reference the January Podcast on Pluto into Capricorn). Pluto brings the opportunity for us to reconnect with our passions by clearing away things that are blocking us in the unconscious. Pluto offers us the lesson that we are not ultimately in control of everything in or lives, and often we find that there is very little we do control. The issue of power and its locus is up for consideration here, and we must look at our relationship to power – both our own power and how others use power towards us. Pluto often pushes us to face our fears – not to punish us, but so that we may come more fully into our own power and feel a passionate connection to our lives.

Transformation, Regeneration, Rebirth
Destruction
Death
Obsession
Dictatorship
Terrorism, rebellion, anarchy
Secret, Undercover, Hidden
Revitalization

Dena’s Reading

3 Card Change Reading

Resistance (Saturn-Devil)
Struggle (Mars-Tower)
Transformation (Fire-Pluto-Judgement)

Dena DeCastro

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: I’m Your Moon by Jonathan Coulton

Play or Download the Episode

Episode: 76 Tarot of the Masters by James Ricklef

leisa — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:29:31 +0000

Tarot of the Masters

The Tarot of the Masters is from Tarot author James Ricklef, and is inspired by classical paintings from the old masters such as Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bouguereau, Rubens, and Hieronymus Bosch.

In preparation for creating this deck, James perused hundreds of paintings (and quite a few statues as well) in order to find ones that would suit the 78 cards of the Tarot. The classic works of art found in this process have inspired his own illustrations for the cards. (In a few cases two different paintings were combined.

This deck was drawn in pen and ink and colored on the computer. Each card is color coded by suit and the Majors show astrological attributions. It’s been self-published in a first edition run of 55 decks. The first run deck costs $50 + tax (where applicable — California) and shipping. The deck comes in a satin bag. Companion material will be available for download on the website.

Tarot of the Masters Intro – with links to the images
Yahoo Group for Tarot of the Masters
Contact James

A Few Closeups

James Ricklef

James Ricklef is a Certified Tarot Master — a Tarot reader, lecturer, and writer. He has been a frequent workshop presenter at the annual Los Angeles Tarot Symposium, and he has been a guest presenter at the New York Tarot Reader’s Studio, and the annual San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium. He is also the author of the award-winning book Tarot Tells the Tale as well as Tarot — Get the Whole Story, and his new deck, Tarot of the Masters, is now available. For more information about his books or deck, visit his website:

The Nines by Ginny Hunt

In number symbolism, nine, not ten, means completion. This can be rather confusing in tarot when the suits have a sequence of ten cards. But there are reasons for this and once understood it makes things a little easier. In a base 10 system, where all numbers are represented by ten distinct forms (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9), nine is the final number. It then represents a limit, the end, or an ultimate goal. The last among the seven Pythagorean numbers (three through nine), nine is the limit to which the generative principles of number reach. The ancient mathematical philosophers called nine the “finishing post” and “that which brings completion.”

The Greeks called nine “the horizon,” beyond which the Ennead, or “the nothing” or void lay. We colloquially express this by saying things like “the nth degree” or that a cat has nine lives and “the whole nine yards” to mean the very limit of something. Also we say someone is “on cloud nine” or “dressed to the nines” when they are achieving something high. There are nine magnitudes on the Richter earthquake scale, though one has not yet been recorded to go that high and so is only theoretically possible at this time. As such, nine is the completion of a cycle, symbolic of change and reform. In tarot it represents the end prior to a new beginning. So what’s the ten there for? I’ll get to that in the next post in this series.

Nine is composed of three trinities (3 times 3 equals 9) and represents the principles of the sacred Triad taken to their utmost expression. In fact, the Chaldeans believed nine to be so sacred they kept it apart in their numerology from the other numbers. This practice relates back to the Major Arcana IX, The Hermit, who separates himself from others in the spiritual search of the sacred. The Norse God Odin, ruler of the nine Norse worlds, hung nine days on the world axis or Yggdrasil tree to win the secrets of wisdom for mankind and after the seige of Troy, which lasted for nine years, Odysseus wandered for nine years in trying to return home. The Hermit is often pictured standing on a mountaintop, a pinnacle of sorts, the limit of height. (read the full post)

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)
Closing Music: Three Airs from the Dancing Master by Da Camera from A Celtic Celebration (Magnatune)

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Episode 75: Old School Tarot with Penny Key

leisa — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:54:24 +0000

Shuffle the Deck, Cut, Layout the first 10 cards of the deck in two rows of 5.

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

Read the first 10 cards grouping as you feel they should be grouped. There are no positional meanings look at the overall images. Look for relationships between cards.
Then below layout out the rest of the deck (see photo of Penny below) stopping as you see patterns or groups of cards that are interesting. Also look at the row that contains astrological court card for the person getting the reading. If you took not of how the cards were cut, look for where those cards come up.

Sample Reading

2 of Cups, Page of Cups, Ace of Coins, Two of Swords, Two of Cons

8 of Coins, Judgement, Chariot Rx, Knight of Swords, Justice

Book List

Penny Key

Penny Key picked up her first deck of tarot cards while in college in the early 70s, and learned to read by mentorship as well as studying the few books (one) on the subject in the library of her small Southern city. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 70s, and while working in the entertainment industry, she worked at Psychic Fairs as a tarot reader, acquiring a small clientèle. She stopped reading “professionally” because she began to feel like a therapist and felt unqualified to help her clients further. Now, she only read for friends and family. She spent many years in the entertainment industry, including nearly a decade as a talent agent. Ironically it was while she was an agent that she felt the call to actually become a psychotherapist, and returned to graduate school to get a master’s in psychology. Today she’s a Marriage and Family Therapist, working as a counselor at an art college. She also has a private practice in Santa Monica, CA, and has recently joined a small discussion group interested in exploring the psychological side of tarot.

School Concert – March 20th 2008

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Transition Music: Mysterium by Blind Divine from (Music for Unmade Movies – Volume 1 (Magnatune)
Closing Music: Paranormal Wonder by Blind Divine from (Music for Unmade Movies – Volume 1 (Magnatune)

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High Priestess Cake

leisa — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:11:57 +0000

Episode 74: Tarot for Business & Creative Projects with James Wanless

leisa — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:36:33 +0000

From a class in Portland, Oregon on February 25th 2008.

Hero’s Journey Layout

M.Y.T.H. Make Yourself The Hero of your life. A proactive reading which shows how to create the future of our choice. Breaking the card into sections allows for very specific answers.

First decide on the Quest.

Divide your deck in to 5 Stacks

Stack 1: Remainder Cards, those not used in the 4 other stacks.

Stack 2: Major Arcana 0. Fool – 10. Wheel of Fortune

Stack 3: Negative Cards: 5 of Wands; 5 of Crystals (Swords), 6 of Crystals, 7 of Crystals, 9 of Crystals, 10 of Crystals; 4 of Cups, 5 of Cups, 6 of Cups, 7 of Cups, 8 of Cups; 5 of Worlds (Pentacles). (If you are using a deck other than the Voyager Tarot you might want to look through your deck and see which minors you feel are negative.)

Stack 4: Court Cards

Stack 5: World Cards except 5 of Worlds. (Pentacles)

Card 1: Present

Where are you now in relation to your quest. Shuffle and draw a card from Stack One (Remainder Stack).

Card 2: Gift or Power

This is your magic, your gift. The gift that you have to archive the quest that you are on. Shuffle and draw one card from Stack Two (Majors 0-10).

Card 3: Obstacle

The noble adversary, the demon, the challenge, the obstacle, that which could stop you. Shuffle and draw one from Stack Three (Negative Cards)

Card 4: Ally

The helper, that which can help you from within, or other people in your life who can assist. Shufle and drew from Stack Four (Family/Court Cards)

Card 5: Action

Earth cards – Pentacles or Disks. All about action. I Do. What action can you take? Shuffle and draw from Stack Five (Worlds-Actions)

Card 6: Outcome

Put the rest of the deck together. Shuffle and draw one card. Where does it take you where do you go?

James Wanless

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

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

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

New Edition of Voyager

Fair Winds Press has published a new edition of voyager tarot. This replaces the previous version and is 10% Smaller.

Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.9 x 1.9 inches

Experience the power of the symbols. Pick a card a day and change your life! Voyager Tarot shows you how to achieve your visions and dreams, creating the success you desire. Use the deck as an intuitive guide to forecast your future, reveal secrets of you subconscious and provide spiritual inspiration. This excellent decision-making tool can help you navigate life, enhancing business planning, relationship building and self-discovery.

Intuition Into Action Podcast

Intuition Into Action is a lively and entertaining podcast dedicated to exploring the ways and wonder of Intuition. Dr. James Wanless, author of the books: “Intuition at Work” and “Voyager Tarot”) is your host, and opens each program with a Theme for the week, followed by a compelling question for Ask the Oracle. The program ends with an Intuition Tip that listeners can use daily to develop their Intuition. Co-Hosted by Linda Woods (producer of Windows to Wellness podcast).

Visit us online at www.intuition-blog.com and www.ahealingvoice.net

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Creative Energy by Charlie Bobus (Podsafe Music)

Play or Download the Episode

New York Times Week in Review

leisa — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:58:29 +0000

A Scorecard on Conventional Wisdom from New York Times: Week in Review

Initiation: The Western Magical Tradition with Lon Milo DuQuette

Maybe Logic Academy
March 24 through May 4, 2008

This course is designed as a six week initiatory experience – Initiation into an informal, (yet I assure you, very real) magical order. Like in other schools of the Western Mystery Tradition, this order is comprised of three degrees, each with its own ritual of self-initiation, secret password, grip, signs of recognition, and jewel.

Sound silly? I confess up front that we will have fun. But the underlying magical power of such silliness has its roots in the Egyptian Book of the Dead – a secret of human consciousness that (properly understood and mastered) is said to be the key to overcoming death.

The course is ideal for both magical novices and adepts. We will undergo real initiations and work real magick. The three degrees are:

First Degree: The Lesser Mysteries
Second Degree: The Greater Mysteries
Third Degree: The Supreme Secret

Find out more at: Maybe Logic

Episode 73: Space/Time Tarot Magic with Taylor Ellwood

leisa — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:38:02 +0000

Excerpt from an upcoming book on Space Time Magic by Taylor Ellwood to be published by Immanion Press.

Chapter Two: Space/Time Divination

Divination is an art of magic that supposedly tells a person the “future.” Many magicians advocate doing a divination before performing a spell in order to determine the outcome of the spell. Others, such as myself, rarely use divination for that purpose. I have my reasons for not doing so, mainly because I feel that divination can obscure probabilities that could occur. If you are willing to buy into the one, two, or three outcomes that are depicted, but are ignorant of the various other outcomes that could occur, and are not represented in the cards, you are limiting your possibilities. However, this is not to say that divination, in its various forms, isn’t useful to the creative magician. It just means you need to take a different approach to how you use divination tools. I only use tarot cards. I know there are other divination systems, but the cards work for me. For those of you who don’t use tarot cards, however, it is still possible to take the gist of the ideas I describe and apply them to your divinatory tools.

Part of the problem with divination is that it might be considered a rather passive form of magic. I put some cards down and suddenly I know my future. However, I have found that divination can be a very active form of magic. Divination can be a form of space/time magic. When most people think of divination, they think of tarot cards, or a crystal ball and a person telling them what will occur in their future. While this stereotype is true of divination, most people don’t understand the dynamics involved, i.e. what is actually happening when their ”future” is “read.” What is actually occurring is not so much a foreseeing of the future, but rather a person choosing to perceive one or two specific probabilities from a field of infinite probabilities. The problems that this can cause mainly comes down to the person choosing to believe in this one probability, as opposed to exploring other probabilities of the future that could be just as useful to them, if they were willing to question what they perceive about their probabilities and the future. Another problem is giving too much authority to the people who tell the ”future.” By giving those people authority, you give away your responsibility and choices.

Taylor Ellwood

Taylor Ellwood is the author of Pop Culture Magick, Space/Time Magic, Inner Alchemy, and Multi-Media Magic, as well as a co-author of Creating Magickal Entities and Kink Magic. Taylor also edited the Magick on the Edge and Manifesting Prosperity Anthologies. He is also the author of numerous articles on the occult which can be found at such magazines as New Witch Magazine and Konton Magazine and on such websites as Key 64, irreality, and Witchvox.

Taylor is the non-fiction Acquisitions and managing editor of Immanion Press. Taylor is also owner of Imagine Your Reality Life Coaching.

Websites:

Recommendations

Invocation

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Folded Space by Robert Rich from Bestiary (Magnatune)

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Episode 72: DIY Totemism with Lupa

leisa — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:20:10 +0000

Excerpt from DIY Totemism: Your Personal Guide to Animal Totems by Lupa

Chapter Four: Open-Source Totem Cards

I’ve been thinking about the concept of totem cards, decks that supposedly help you find your totem animal(s) with just one reading. In Fang and Fur, I explained some of the downfalls of a number of methods used to determine one’s totem. One of the shortcomings of cards is that they necessarily have to limit the number of animals you have as your choices, and even the creators that add a few blank cards for “animals not pictured here” still put the odds in favor of BINABM (Big, Impress North American Birds and Mammals) and whatever other critters they chose to include in their decks. Additionally, unless you read for other people, once you’ve read your cards what do you do with them? Some sets advocate using the cards for divination, but others seem to primarily want to use them for determining your life totem(s).

… I wanted to come up with a system of cards or other symbols that could be used both for seeking totems and magic, as well as other purposes. I saw the limitations as a challenge, and wanted to find a way to answer them. While I’m happy with Andrews’ deck for my own divinatory purposes (he does include a nice mixture of animals), and the Wolf Song cards for evocation, I wanted to create something that was more inclusive overall. I wanted a deck that wouldn’t limit me by what totems I could work with, and that I could use both for divination and for other forms of magic.

What I came up with was a set of thirty-three cards based on taxonomy (specifically phyla), habitats, and other basic categories of information about animals. Not every card would be used in every type of reading, but I managed to create a set that had fewer cards than most decks, and allowed for more animals than any other (Not that I’m bragging or anything…). I also managed to address the issues I’d had with existing decks.

Lupa

Lupa is the author of Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic and A Field Guide to Otherkin. She is the co-author of Kink Magic: Sex Magic Beyond Vanilla with her husband Taylor Ellwood and has also contributed to the anthologies Magick on the Edge and Manifesting Prosperity: A Wealth Magic Anthology. Lupa is also an associate editor, layout tech, and nonfiction publicity/promotions manager for Immanion Press/Megalithica Books.

Lupa’s upcoming book: DIY Totemism

While a basic working knowledge of magic and totemism is helpful, DIY Totemism is written in an approachable fashion. Solid research and proper citation methods are paired with thorough practical results showing Lupa’s work, and rather than being a dogmatic guide to what you should and shouldn’t do, once again Lupa provides you with tools you can integrate into your own practice.
Websites:

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: The Witch Outstrips the Wolf by The Psycho Daisies (Podsafe Music)

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 71: Tarot For Writers with Stephanie Arwen Lynch

leisa — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:03:46 +0000

Come join Stephanie Arwen Lynch for a wild ride into the divination system of Tarot as it applies to fiction writing. Hang on to your manuscripts as she introduces you to the Hero’s Journey spread as well as other tools to help you develop your characters, yourself and your books. Let Arwen show you a new way to approach your writing. Meet your characters as you have never met them before. Learn about their quirks and let your journey through the cards introduce you to their own past. Defeat Writer’s Block with the Tarot cards to give you insight.

Download the sample readings of the Character Motivation Spread and the Pen and Paper Spread.

Stephanie Arwen Lynch

Arwen is also a published romance writer. She is part of the writing team of Marilu Mann whose first novel, an erotic paranormal romance, will be released by Ellora’s Cave. She sold two books to EC last year and the first one, Changing Times, will be released May 7, 2008 as book one of the series Lusting Wild. Book two, Changing Hearts, will be released later this year.

Marilu Mann

Marilu is thrilled to be a part of the Ellora’s Cave family and loves to hear from readers. Drop her a note at Marilu Mann or visit her website or her MySpace for more info.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Howling at the Moon by Kenny Neal (Podsafe Music)

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Episode 70: An Experiment with Sabian Symbols

leisa — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:42:05 +0000

Dena DeCastro joins me to experiment with the use of Sabian Symbols in Tarot Readings.In 1925, Spiritualist Marc Edmund Jones worked with psychic Elsie Wheeler to bring forth images for each degree of the Zodiac. The intent was to capture something essential about that degree.

Sabian Symbols look a lot like the Magical Images. Aries 3: The Cameo Profile Of A Man, suggesting The Shape Of His Country

The ultimate peace and unity of Kether is represented by a special anthropomorphic symbol known as a Magical Image. Such an image is given for each of the sephiroth, and has been built up over the centuries by meditative work on the inner plane. These images are, along with applicable symbols points of contact with the Sephiorth. In the case of Kether, the image is of an Ancient Bearded King seen in profile. This is a crowned and white-bearded head, seen from the right side, its left being unknown to us as it borders on the Unmanifest. – The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang Pg. 56

I am proposing that we could use the Sabian Symbols in the same way magical images are used and you can associate most Tarot Cards with degrees of the Zodiac (see notes handout below).

Sabian Symbols Resources

Podcast
TURNING OF THE WHEEL
Learning Life Cycles Through Astrology with CHRIS FLISHER

The Sabian Symbols with Lynda Hill 10/25/07

Lynda Hill, FAA Pract. Cert. has been a professional astrologer for more than 18 years. 2006 marked her 22nd lecture tour of the States, in addition to the many lectures she has conducted for astrologers and the public throughout Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Russia, South Africa, New Zealand and Canada. Lynda is the astrologer for Good Taste and Take Five, and writes astrological commentary for publications all over the world. She divides her time between Sydney’s beautiful Northern Beaches and the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains (when she’s not traveling the world delivering lectures!).

Lynda has been a tireless researcher on the Sabian Symbols. Listen to the amazing story of this remarkable divination oracle. Her book, “360 Degrees of Wisdom: Charting Your Destiny With the Sabian Oracle” is published by Penguin USA (Plume imprint) and was released in February 2006 by Sony Japan in Japanese. This is a revised edition of her self-published book The Sabian Symbols as an Oracle, which comes with a special set of divination cards and can still be purchased through Lynda by emailing her at www.sabiansymbols.com

Websites:

Books:

Handouts


Notes	Business Card Size

Sabian Oracle Reference

Using Dice

12 sided	1. Aries 2. Taurus 3. Gemini 4. Cancer 5. Leo 6. Virgo	7. Libra 8. Scorpio 9. Sagittarius 10. Capricorn 11. Aquarius 12. Pisces
6 sided	1. 1st decan (1-10) 2. 2nd decan (11-20) 3. 3rd Decan (21-30)	4. 1st decan (1-10) 5. 2nd decan (11-20) 6. 3rd Decan (21-30)
10 sided	1-1st Degree in Decan 2-2nd Degree in Decan …	… 9 – 9th Degree in Decan 0 -Last Degree in Decan

Example (9, 3, 9)

12d -> 9. Sagittarius
6d -> 3. Third Decan
10d-> 9. 9th Degree

Sagittarius 29: A Fat Boy Mowing The Lawn Of His House On An Elegant SuburbanStreet

Sukhi’s Reading (Calculating a Degree)

Sukhi: Hermit (Virgo)
Crossing: Page Pentacles
Crowning: King of Pentacles
Undercurrents: Ace of Pentacles
Past: Page Cups Rx
Near Future: Six of Wands
Internal: 8 of Swords Rx
External: Death Rx
Hope & Fears: 10 Swords Rx
Outcome: Empress

I selected the Hermit/Virgo as the significant sign on the reading then added the numbers from the spread together and reduced the sum to a number between 1 & 30.

9 + 1 +6 + 8 + 13 + 10 + 3 = 50 (5+0 = 5)

Virgo 5

A Man Becoming Aware Of Nature Spirits And Normally Unseen Spiritual Agencies

My Chart, Tarot Cards, Sabian Cards

I printed out a set of the Sabian Symbols on Color Card stock. This picture is of my Natal Cart with the associated Tarot Cards around it.

For example:

Sun in Aries – Sun/Emperor
Moon in Capricorn – Priestess/Devil

The outer rim is the symbol associated with the degree of that sign.

Dena DeCastro

Dena hosts the podcast Evolutions of Astrology featuring interviews with astrologers and other readers, as well as discussing various topics of astrology and chart interpretation.

Basics of Astrology: Teleclasses with Dena
Have you ever attempted to read your own birth chart, and found you just didn’t know where to begin? Or, have you always been curious about astrology, but found books on the topic to be complex and incomprehensible? If so, these teleclasses are for you (see info to the right on teleclasses).

Each class module will focus on a different topic of astrology. Included will be on-line visual aids, downloadable chart examples, and/or specific hands-on demonstrations of the techniques discussed. There will also be a 15-minute period devoted to Q & A.

Class sessions are 90 minutes, and are conducted via phone.

Module 1: Planets and Signs

This module is geared toward those with an interest in learning the basics of astrology. No previous experience is required. We will explore the archetypes of each planet and sign, and begin interpreting the placements of planets within different signs.

Module 2: Houses and Beginning Interpretation

This module delves into the meanings of the houses, and we begin to combine the interpretation of planets, signs and houses. This is the first step toward chart synthesis, and necessary in order to read a natal chart.

Module 3: Aspects

Aspects between planets in the natal chart add an important layer to interpretation. This module illustrates how aspects to our personal planets and Ascendant give us more information as to how these planets function within the natal chart.

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.
To learn more about Dena’s Teleclasses, click here.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Title and Registration by Death Cab for Cutie (Podsafe Music)

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 69: Become Your Own Oracle with James Wanless

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

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

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

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

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

About the Presenter:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Music Credits

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

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 68: The Skeptic & Spreads

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

The Process by Dan Pellitier

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

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

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

“It would be an honor.”

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

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

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

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

Dan Pelletier

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Tarot Spreads

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

What do you get out of designing your own spreads?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tarot of the iPod

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

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

Music Credits

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

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 67: Difficult Cards with Roger Tobin

leisa — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:52:18 +0000

Tarot Reflections

The Dec 2007 Issue of Tarot Reflections is up and has a couple of articles that feature me & the Tarot Connection.

Difficult Cards with Roger Tobin

What are Good Cards vs. Bad Cards, auspicious vs inauspicious etc.

Popular Tarot Culture would look at certain cards as inherently bearing weight in one direction or another for divination. (Example is face value of Golden Dawn titles).

Spread positions can heighten the effect of what we consider good and bad. (Consider that the Golden Dawn considered nearby cards as having an impact on the card in question)

Reversals can also matter, as can other dignity systems.

What makes a card difficult?

Reaction to the meaning and image, our core values, what we are “afraid” of.

Are “bad” experiences actually good for us?
Why is “bad” in the past better and “good” in the future better?
What does this tell us about what we are willing to think about the lessons of life?

Personal experience with a card over time:

Difficulty in interpretation
Real life experience is often totally the opposite of what we thought.
Comes up often without clear meaning
Never comes up. . .

Difficult Reading for Paul using the Tarot of The Vampires

Is this a good financial move? Cards: 10 of Knives, 9 of Knives, 3 of Knives

Is it worth doing? Cards: 4 of Knives, 2 of Knives, 3. The Brides (Empress)

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Closing Music: Finally by Ion from Future Forever (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode

My interview on Table Talk Tarot

leisa — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:18:36 +0000

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

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

Here are a few pictures that related to the conversation.

The Osborne Computer

Some of my Lace

Episode 66: Tarot Journaling with Amy Lamash

leisa — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:25:00 +0000

Journaling is a great way to work with tarot cards and document your process. Amy started journaling at the same time she learned to read tarot. She keeps separate notebooks for readings and journaling notes and has filled over eight notebooks.

Amy Lamash

Amy Lamash is a passionate Tarot enthusiast who has been discovering Tarot for the past 5 years and loving every minute of it! She has 2 websites, hudsonvalleytarot.com and tarotcalendar.com.

She does occasional tarot parties and paid readings, but mostly tarot is a very enjoyable and fascinating journey. She hopes to pass that excitement for tarot to others via my websites!

Tarot for Your Self by Mary Greer

Originally published in 1984, this classic is the first book to explore and promote the concept of reading the cards for personal insight-for yourself-with detailed instructions how to do so. The exercises can be enjoyed by an individual or shared with others, making it a popular text for classes and study groups. It uses meditations, rituals, spreads, mandalas, visualizations, dialogues, charts, affirmations, and other activities to help you establish your own relationship with the cards. It offers the best in traditional knowledge and know-how. Learn the many variations of three card spreads and ways of moving around the cards in the Celtic Cross Spread to get far more information than you thought possible. Use Mary Greer’s powerful “breakthrough process” with all your readings to turn them into truly transformative experiences.

Journaling Links

Sample Reading from Amy’s Journal

What do you need to focus on during Autumn?

What is your fiercest desire?
What is your rational awareness and long term plans?
The bridge to combine the two.

Tarot of the Crone Available

$35: Includes Silk Bag and 78 Cards. Shipping December 15, 2007.

Order at shop.tarotconnection.net

Alchemical Tarot available for Pre-Order

$30: Includes Tuck Box, 79 Cards and a little white book. Estimated shipping date is Feb 14, 2008.

Pre-Order at shop.tarotconnection.net

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis
Transition Music: Its Here Now by Trip Wamsley from It’s Better This Way (Magnatune)
Closing Music: Finally by Trip Wamsley from It’s Better This Way (Magnatune)

The Tarot Connection

The Tarot Connection

Podcast – Readings – Shop

Episode 100: Tarot Trends 2010

Discussion of trends and issues in today’s Tarot Community.

Donnaleigh

Ginny Hunt

Storm Cestivani

Thalassa

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 99: Significators

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

Fred West

Donnaleigh

Valerie Sherill

Sean Tierseron

Roger Tobin

Ginny Hunt

Thalassa

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

Episode 98: Jupiter with Dena DeCastro

JUPITER Handout

Resources:

Preview of Tarot Mandalas

Dena DeCastro

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

Minute Tarot is Now Available

78 Notes to Self: For Shame

Music Credits

Elements, Dignities and Psychology

Episode 97: Saturn with Dena DeCastro

Saturn

Spread

Resources:

Dena DeCastro

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

All The News That’s Fit to Predict!

Episode 96: Boardwalks & Laundromats with Barbara Oliver

Barbara Oliver

Reading One: How will this go?

Reading Two: Should I Offer Assistance to a Friend?

Music Credits

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78 Notes to Self: OMG

Music Credits

Episode 95: The Art of Tarot with Robert Place and Ciro Marchetti

Robert M. Place

Ciro Marchetti

Available Decks

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

New Tarots

All Hallows Tarot

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

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

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

Classes with Robert Place

78 Notes to Self: The Tens

Music Credits

Episode 94: Tarot for Novel Writing with Stephanie Arwen Lynch

The Hero’s Journey

Cocktail Spread

Recommended Reading

Stephanie Arwen Lynch

Marilu Mann

Music Credits

Play or Download the Episode

Robert M. Place on Darkness Radio

Preview of the Annotated Sevenfold Mystery by Robert M. Place

Episode 93: Cold Readings with Mary Greer

From Mary’s Blog – Cold Reading and Tarot, Part 2

Part 2: Hijacking What It Means to Be Human

Mary Greer

Mentalist-Gerry McCambridge

BBC – History of Magic – Mentalism (1 of 6)

Debunking “Psychics” and other Miracle Workers #1