Mary Greer and my weekend in T.O.

I had the experience over the weekend of working with a group of Tarot enthusiasts in Toronto under the guidance of Mary Greer. The weekend was nothing short of amazing. For those of you who are unaware, Mary Greer is one of the most renowned Tarotists; full stop. On Saturday, we explored Tarot and Magic and how to use the cards in the deck itself to create sacred space.  We finished off our session with a power Venus ritual that left many of us both inspired and awestruck.

One of the most valuable exercises of Sunday’s session was to draw a card in response to a querent’s question and provide them with a worst-case scenario, elimating the sugar-coating that Tarotists often provide whenever we encounter a challenging card.  I’ll take some time to synthesize the weekend’s workshops and will definitely be revisiting the information soon and posting reflections on my blog.  Now I can proudly state (with my daughter chuckling behind me): “I hugged Mary Greer!” 🙂 Thank you, James Wells, for making this wonderful weekend possible. I look forward to future visits.

Also, on a different note, I want to ensure you, faithful blog reader, that I will respond to your inquiries when possible, even if weeks go by in between posts. The best way to keep current is to subscribe to my blog.

After a previous post, a reader questioned the value of gaining inspiration from simple cards, “pieces of paper, printed in China”.  I don’t think anyone should ever feel compelled to be inspired by the Tarot, but, before being overly critical of those who do (and please keep in mind that the posted comment was not critical, it just raised my own defenses), remember, there are many things that appear to have minimal significance in the way they are made or presented, yet they provide loads of insight and inspiration to some. I can think of several examples: the young musician who hangs a simple piece of paper on her bedroom wall. On the piece of paper is a picture of her favorite artist. Or the person who scribes the simple words of a favorite poem on a piece of parchment and sticks it on the bathroom mirror as a source of inspiration or even still, a hockey player’s (or die-hard fan’s) simple act of not shaving during a run for the Stanley Cup. Talk to most players and they will tell you that the unshaven face of a teammate creates a solidarity of sorts, a reminder of what is possible.

 The fact is that the Tarot has inspired thousands over the years to explore themselves as well as guide others in this exploration.  They have been the basis of esoteric systems, magical societies and inspired artwork. Not bad for a simple grouping of card stock.