Thursday, November 29, 2012

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card - Step 16 - Drawing

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Mary K. Greer

In step sixteen of our journey, we explore drawing.

The purpose of drawing your card is to give you a deeper look at the image and to discover what truly expresses the card's message.

Mary K. Greer mentions this isn't something you'd use while reading for others. This is a process for your own benefit and will appreciate after the experience.

Activity 16:1: Do a basic sketch of your card. What did you discover that you hadn't noticed before?

(No laughing please, I'm not an artist.)

 
Did I discover anything new? Can't say that I did, but I have been studying this card intently during these steps.

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In The Way of the Adept section, you move into drawing whole spreads, combining different card elements, and working with your drawing.

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If you haven’t already, grab a copy of the book for a deeper understanding of 21 Ways to Read the Tarot. Available in Print and Kindle.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Thanksgiving Tarot Spread

Thanksgiving presents us with time to share great food, love, and conversation with our relatives and loved ones. On this Thanksgiving Day, I offer you a moment to look upon yourself and discover your current blessings through the way of tarot elements.

The Thanksgiving Tarot Spread offers a look of what you have to be thankful for and an additional look at how to accomplish an elemental balance.

Card 1: Water/Cups - What fulfills you emotionally?
This card represents blessings in the area of relationships and emotions.

Card 2: Earth/Pentacles - What sustains you physically?
This card represents blessings in the area of money and material resources.

Card 3: Fire/Wands - What feeds your passions?
This card represents blessings of work, career, and creative interests.

Card 4: Air/Swords - What are your thoughts, ideas, and challenges?
This card represents what you think about your life, ideas to explore, and challenges you face.

Card 5: Spirit/Major Arcana - What is your greatest blessing?
The card represents the greatest blessing in your life right now. This could also be an important life lesson.

In a perfect world, each card in this spread would correspond with its position. Although, you may have a perfectly balanced spread, for the most part it is unlikely. No need to worry.

If you find there are missing elements in your spread, this may mean you need to work a little harder in that element to find balance.  To further explore this, draw from the remaining deck for the first card representing the missing element. Use these cards to see 'HOW' to work on getting more of that element into your life.

My Thanksgiving Tarot Spread



Deck - The Rider Tarot Deck

Card 1: Water/Cups (Relationships, Emotions) - 7 of Cups - The Dreamer's Card - This card shows a lack of focus and a sense of confusion. But, it is also the card for visionaries, artists and creative people. One may be thinking unrealistically, or her imagination may be in over-drive.

How am I fulfilled emotionally? I fulfill myself emotionally by allowing myself to dream, to imagine, and to create.

Card 2: Earth/Pentacles (Money, Material Resources) - 10 of Wands - This card represents the burdens of success, the weight of ambition, and the task of doing it all. It is the card for ambitious individuals, overworked or hardworking individuals.

What sustains me? My work and ambition sustains me in my physical world. I am no stranger to hard work, or carrying the load. The burden I carry is by choice.

Card 3: Fire/Wands (Work, Career, Creative Interests) - 3 of Pentacles - I've always thought of this as the Writer's Card. I even have an image of this, from the Mystic Dreamer Deck hanging at my workstation. I've written below the image: Accomplishments. The act of turning plans into creative results.

What feeds my passions? My fiction writing feeds my passions. As I put my talents to use, learn new skills, and write more words, I become even more passionate about my writing journey.

Card 4: Air/Swords (Thoughts, Ideas, Challenges) - 5 of Swords - This card speaks of empty victories and negative energies. I look upon this card as a challenge to defeat negative thoughts concerning my life. Everyone has them from time to time. In the creative zone, the voice of negativity can be a strong distraction when it comes to working on one's craft.

What are my thoughts and ideas? My challenge is to accept the negativity is only a way out, a road away from my goals. I will need to reinforce positive thoughts when this challenge appears. Squash the pest.

Card 5: Spirit/Major Arcana (Greatest Blessing) - 9 The Hermit - Searching within. When this card appears, it shows a time of inward searching, connecting with one's higher source, and solitude.

What is my greatest blessing? My greatest blessing is my ability to connect with my higher source and the opportunity to grab moments alone.

As all the elements appeared in my reading, no additional cards are required in this case. If you have missing elements, this would be the time to pull for additional guidance, beginning with the first missing element and then moving to the next (if more than one.)

As a quick overview of this spreads results, I look upon the cards and find myself much more balanced than I'd believed myself to be. If I'd done this spread months ago, I believe the results would have been very different.

Reading Summary - My imagination fulfills me emotionally, my ambition sustains my physical security, and my creative skills feed my passion. My challenge is to quiet the negative voice which sometimes slips through. My Greatest Blessing is found within the Hermit - the ability to see beyond the physical, to look within myself, and the rewards of solitude and meditation.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and a balanced life.



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Sirian Starseed Tarot

The Sirian Starseed Tarot
The Sirian Starseed Tarot, a tool for higher consciousness and soul awakening, is simply amazing.

The images in this deck are vibrant and stunning – full of energy. Even the card backs, featuring the Sirian Seal, give off energy. Patricia Cori and Alysa Bartha have created an amazing deck with unlimited possibilities.

The companion book, 86 pages, gives you all the information you will need to use this deck. The book begins with a short introductory and an explanation of the term Starseed. It goes on to explain the structure of the tarot. You may think this isn’t an important section, if you’re experience with the tarot, but think again, this is not your normal set of tarot cards. The deck consists of seventy-eight cards: twenty-two major arcana, forty minor, and sixteen people, but the names are not the same as most decks. Detailed explanations for these changes are given within the text.

A brief overview of some of the changes:

 • Major Arcana – Fool = Starseed, Magician = Indigo, The High Priestess = Higher Power, The Empress = Abundance, The Emperor = Reason, The Hierophant = Guidance, The Hermit = Reflection, The Wheel of Fortune = The Great Wheel, Justice = Divine Justice, The Hanged Man = The Hanging Man, Death = Transition, Temperance = Alchemy, The Devil = The Shadow, The Moon = Luna, The Sun = Solar Deity, Judgment = Karma, The World = Ascension
                  o The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Tower, The Star remain unchanged.

Suits – Pentacles = Crystals, Cups = Chalices, Swords = Orbs, Wands = Fire

The People – the Seeker, the Adept, the Sage, and the Master of each suit.

The guide ends with a brief look at reversed keys (the cards are referred to as keys), and a description of the Sirian Starseed Spread. The deck can be used with any spread, but this is a nice new spread - a new approach, reflecting the Starseed’s very special awareness and process.

The deck and guide comes with a sturdy storage box, featuring the Starseed key.

Does size matter? The cards are ‘4x6’ and made of a heavy card stock. I found them difficult to shuffle. To properly separate and mix up the cards, I had to make stacks, rotating the cards around. To shuffle, I did the best I could. When I connect with a deck, there is an evident energy flowing during the shuffling process. With these, the energy was there, but it was slightly interrupted by the awkwardness. If this deck is ever reduced in size, I would purchase without a seconds thought. Till then, I will adapt my process to the size of the cards.

I recommend this deck to anyone searching for a deeper meaning of life. You will find some direction in these cards, whether you use them in readings or meditate on individual cards.

The Sirian Starseed Tarot is available at North Atlantic Books and Amazon.

(Review previously published on Tarot Examiner, November 10, 2012)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card - Step 15 - Dialogs

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Mary K. Greer





In step fifteen of our journey, we explore dialog.

Having a dialog with the tarot card can open yourself up to your many different thoughts and ideas by projecting these hidden aspects onto the card. This process lifts you from your conscious/physical thinking into your higher self's knowledge base.

"A spread often represents these different parts of yourself: the voice from the past, the voice of your hopes and fears, the voice of choice A and the voice of choice B."

Mary K. Greer offers an example of possible dialog with The Hanged Man.

Artwork © Jennifer Galasso, 2011 
Activity 15:1: Dialog with your chosen card. Speak with the figures and the objects.

Me: You shield yourself - from what?

Two of Swords: The truth, your truth. You hide from decisions, from choices. I'm here to help you continue to do so.

Me: What if I'm ready to let down my guard?

Two of Swords: Drop the swords and the feather will fall, along with the other armor, and your wings will spread.

Me: Swords, what are your purposes?

Two of Swords: To keep others from making you choose before you are ready.

Me: Wings, what are you for?

Two of Swords: To lift you when you are ready.

Me: Birds, what is your purpose?

Two of Swords: To guide you when you are ready.

Me: What advice can you give me to help me to step out of the shielding darkness of the feather?

Two of Swords: Trust in the birds to guide you, your wings to lift you. Trust in yourself.

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Mary K. Greer goes into further details in The Way of the Adept section.

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If you haven’t already, grab a copy of the book for a deeper understanding of 21 Ways to Read the Tarot. Available in Print and Kindle.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card - Step 14 - Dignity & Theme

21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card
Mary K. Greer

In step fourteen of our journey, we explore the similarities and differences between the cards.

Similarities and Differences

Comparison and contrast of the details of two or more cards is what makes a reading dynamic.

Activity 14:1: Look at your cards from Step 12. List the similarities and differences. What do these suggest?

Artwork © Jennifer Galasso, 2011 
Similarities - Birds appear in two cards, the colors of The Emperor and the Ten of Wands are similar, all three figures hold an item. These similarities may suggest control and freedom throughout the reading.

Differences- Two figures stand on their own feet, while one is carried. One card has clouds, while the other two do not. These differences may suggest ups and downs and the need to know when to ask for help.

Dignities

Dignities is a term for finding affinities or antipathies among two or more tarot cards that can strengthen or weaken their effect in a spread.

Although most used when comparing suits and elements, dignities is actually a general term for all of the following situations: Suit, Element, Number, Sequence, Location, Astrology, and symbols.

Mary goes into great detail on each of these in the book.

Activity 14-2 : In your three-card spread, are any situations repeated? What do these suggest?

Suits - Swords and Wands are both masculine and active.
Elements - Fire + Air + Fire, Fire and Air are friendly, tending toward compromise and balance.
Number - All even numbers - emphasize balance

These dignities suggest balance and activity in the reading.

Mary K. Greer goes into further details in The Way of the Adept section.

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If you haven’t already, grab a copy of the book for a deeper understanding of 21 Ways to Read the Tarot. Available in Print and Kindle.