Sometimes a positive outcome is as simple as turning cards.
My teenage daughter, (who was thrilled to be included in my first blog post and who loves it when we explore the Tarot), taught me a valuable lesson about the power of the querent. The querent is the name often used in Tarot that is given to the person asking a question. After a particularly challenging reading, she asked me what she could do to make the outlook better. Of course, as any parent would, I began to struggle with the already blurred line of objectivity and responded very generally.
The song “World” from Five for Fighting has been my ‘earworm’ for the past few weeks. It has been begging me for a Tarot reading. J Just as an FYI, this song was also used in an episode of the apocalyptic and short-lived series ‘Jericho’ (one of the best modern series in a long time, IMHO).
The chorus to this thought-provoking song is as follows:
“What kind of world do you want?
Think anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now…”
As I contemplated this chorus, the song asked me three questions. “What kind of world do you want?” is the obvious one and became the first position in this Saturday morning Tarot spread. “What does ‘Start[ing] at the start’ look like?” quickly followed. The final question focuses on the outcome by asking, “What do we need to know about our ‘masterpiece’? Each question stems from lyrics in the chorus.
I selected the Osho Zen Tarot deck for this reading. My reasons were two-fold. The Zen philosophy of mindfulness in daily practice seemed to lend itself well to such a pressing question. Secondly, the Osho Zen Tarot, as many of my long-term readers will know, is my currently study deck.
Thus, the cards fell.
Transformation
What kind of world do you want?
– Transformation
We want a changed world, one which requires an overhaul. This is transformation with a capital ‘T’. The card in the 13th position in many other decks is ‘Death’, a card that screams ‘out with the old’.
Four of Fire - Participation
What does ‘Start[ing] at the start’ look like?
– Four of Fire (Participation)
To “start at the start’ requires action; it is not a passive activity. Contemplation and speculation are actions of the past.
Ten of Clouds - Rebirth
What do we need to know about our ‘masterpiece’?
– Ten of Clouds (Rebirth)
Our chef d’oeuvre will be something totally new, perhaps even outside of our current realm of understanding. Rebirth is the logical next step after transformation.
Just a reminder that I am hosting Free Tarot Talk in my space (Orangeville, Ontario area) on Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 p.m. Contact me at whitesagetarot@gmail.com for more details.
It doesn’t happen often, but to increase my own Tarot ‘energy’ in preparation for the Readers Studio in April, I am temporarily lowering the cost of a 60 and 90 minute consultation. Please see “About Peter, contact and fees’ tab for more detail.
On Thursday, January 7th, a handful of Tarot enthusiasts assembled to discuss the journey of the Fool through the lens of the Tarot. We explored the Major Arcana through the use of key words, beginning with “tabula rasa” for The Fool and culminating with the World and “acceptance”. We explored several journey stories, in part or in whole, and began to compare the Fool’s Journey to the Hero’s Journey. Participants brought up various examples from religion and mythology. We finished off by assigning significator status (a significator is a card used to represent someone, usually the querent, but in this case,the card represented the fool through his journey) to the Fool and placing him at various points along the journey as depicted by the cards of the Major Arcana, laid out in ascending order. (My self-gift of an oversized RWS deck came in very handy here! 🙂 Willing attendees took up the tale of the Fool from the point of placement. At times the stories were fictional, at other times, semi-autobiographical, but always engaging.
Join us for the next Free Tarot Talk on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. This talk is a beginner’s talk and will overview the history, structure and uses of the Tarot. Contact me at whitesagetarot@gmail.com for more details and directions.
My daughter and I both received the Hanson-Roberts Tarot deck as a gift over the holidays. We spent a lovely couple of hours looking at McGregor and Vega’s 20-card New Year Spread over the weekend, just before she headed back to her Mom’s. As I’ve mentioned before, my Tarot time with my daughter is most cherished. One of the cards that revealed itself was the 10 of cups. “That looks like a good card, Dad”, she says, “and, I bet it’s still pretty good, even when you turn it over. See, it makes a smiley face.”
Sure enough, I reversed the card and, when you combine the two joined heads and the rainbow of cups, you clearly see her smiley face. Ah, the refreshing wisdom of youth 🙂
The start of another new year is approaching. What a great time to take stock and plan for 2010. Why not use the Tarot as your planning tool? White Sage Tarot is offering several great New Year’s incentives!
My New Year’s two-hour consultation uses an adaptation of Trish McGregor and Phyllis Vega’s “New Year’s Spread” and is available as a one-on-one consultation for only $75 CAN! Hurry, this offer and service is only available until January 31st, 2010. In-person, telephone and Skype consultations are available. Cash or cheque is accepted or, for your convenience, payment can be made by major credit card via Paypal.
If you’re in the GTA, (I’m in Orangeville – 30 minutes due north of Mississauga), on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., I’m leading a workshop exploring the same 20-card layout based on MacGregor and Vega’s work. This 6-hour interactive workshop will use the Tarot to have some fun and explore overall goals and monthly foci for 2010. This workshop will be geared to all levels so knowledge of Tarot is not necessary! The cost of the workshop is only $50 CAN and, since it takes a lot of room to work with 20 cards, space is limited to 8 people. Book soon. Chart paper, writing utensils and cards will be provided for your use but, of course, you’re always free to bring your favorite Tarot deck and materials.
If you’re a Tarot student or enthusiast and love the idea of a chatting with other like-minded people, I am hosting a Free Tarot Talk on Thursday, January 7th at 7:00 p.m. The topic for the night is ‘The Fool’s Journey”. It is intended to be interactive so bring your favourite deck. We’ll review various renditions of the Fool’s Journey (bring one if you have one), explore some of the repeating symbols of the Major Arcana and begin the construction of a ‘personal dictionary’ for the Majors. Bring a journal or a laptop, if you can. Of course, anyone who is interested and has not attended previous talks is always more than welcome to attend. Although the talk is always free, I am asking for small donations to cover paper, printing, coffee and tea. Any sum, if you can, is appreciated. Please contact me at whitesagetarot@gmail.com for details and directions.
The Empress - Gilded Tarot
And finally, 2010 is the year of the Empress (2+0+1+0 = 3) so may it bring you abundance and fertility, whether it be of mind, body or spirit!
