Vol. 10 #9 / November 1, 2018
In this Issue:
- Tarot Tip: Tarot for Meditation (Part 1)
- Tarot School Aphorism
- What's Gnu?
- Diviner's Corner: The Light of The Moon
- Cool New Event: Rune Wisdom Telesummit (last chance)
- Best Practices: Balancing a Small Business and Creative Pursuits
- Upcoming Events
Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
The holiday rush is almost upon us. Now is a good time
to take a deep breath, center ourselves, and express
gratitude for the blessings in our lives. You are one
of those blessings for us, and we are grateful for the
opportunity to share our tarot journeys with you.
In this issue, Carolyn Cushing gives some insight
as to how you can use tarot for meditation ––
with even more coming next month. The Diviner’s
Corner features a look at the moon and The Moon
by Pamela Steele, and in Best Practices for
Professional Readers, Gina tells of her need to
balance life and career, while creating her
new deck. There's also an announcement of our
exciting new Winter Intensive!
Enjoy!
One of the things I love about the tarot community
is how supportive we can be of each other's work.
Kickstarter has been a wonderful platform for both
budding and seasoned deck creators to bring forth
their labors of love. I've supported a number of
campaigns myself and have always been delighted
with the finished projects.
I'm thinking of including a crowd-funding section
in Tarot Tips to let you know what's out there.
If you know of a tarot-related campaign that you
feel has merit, drop us an email at tarot@tarotschool.com
and I'll check it out.
~ Ruth Ann
With love and gratitude on the tarot journey,
Ruth Ann, Wald, and Gina
Tarot Tips is here to help you with the practical side
of your Tarot journey. In order to take the greatest
advantage of this newsletter, please send us your
questions regarding any aspect of your tarot study
or practice and we'll do our best to answer them
in an upcoming issue.
Spread the experience of tarot - share this newsletter
with other Tarot Enthusiasts!
Tarot Tip
TAROT FOR MEDITATION (Part 1)
by Carolyn Cushing, Soul Path Sanctuary
There is a tradition of using Tarot for a meditative
encounter with the wisdom figures in its images,
though when the cards began serving this purpose
is uncertain.
One of the oldest, nearly complete Tarot decks from
fifteenth century Italy was created for the powerful
Visconti-Sforza family as a wedding gift. The
hand-painted, gold-leafed cards were preserved
because they were too beautiful for frequent use
in playing the bridge-like card game that was the
Tarot’s first known purpose.
At the top of each of these Visconti-Sforza cards
there is a ragged little hole punched. We don’t know
the reason for this hole, but they inspire me to make
a leap of imagination. I think someone – let’s say,
Bianca Maria Visconti who married Francesco Sforza
in 1441 - yes, Bianca pinned the cards to her wall and
meditated upon them. Perhaps to connect with the
Christian symbols and stories upon the cards, or to
escape from the violence of this time of warring
republics through their beauty, or even as a gateway
into the more esoteric and mystical wisdom that is
rumored to have been taught at the Italian courts of
the time. I don’t care so much what she sought,
as that she was a seeker in the images of the Tarot.
We can imagine her as our ancestor in using the
Tarot for meditation and tending the soul.
We, too, can pin our cards to the wall metaphorically
and surrender to the wisdom of their images through
meditative practices.
Spiritual and religious traditions offer a multitude of
practices that share a similar pattern:
Prepare yourself. Focusing on the breath and closing
the eyes are simple time-honored steps for stepping
away from current demands and entering into a more
relaxed, receptive mental state.
Cross the threshold. To receive the wisdom from the
encounter, you need to make a commitment to do so.
It is like knocking on the door and being prepared for
someone to answer. As you begin your practice, you
might set an intention by articulating what you seek or
say a prayer that connects you with the Greater Than by
whatever name you use.
Accept what you encounter. An important way of
honoring the process is to take in whatever comes to
you. We often have judgments that we are not doing
meditative processes in the right way, and it is true
that sometimes what we receive seems odd or is not
clear. But this guidance from the wisdom figure on
your card is not coming from the rational realm. Take
it all in and see what you can decipher in the moment.
Then let the more mysterious things rest and rise.
Insight might come to you in a dream or from a passage
of a book opened at random.
Give thanks for what you have received. You’ve just
been given a gift, so it is important to acknowledge it
with words of thanks.
Re-cross the threshold and leave with intention.
You need to return to the everyday world with the same
level of commitment with which you left it. This allows
you to put the insight gained in the imaginal world to
use in your daily life.
Re-ground yourself in the reality of your body and
environment. Encounter processes can leave us dreamy,
so plan for time to reconnect with your body and come
back to daily consciousness as an important last step
of the process.
About Carolyn:
Carolyn Cushing loves to work with people to
make positive life transitions, grow spiritually,
and develop creatively. In addition to working
one-on-one with seekers, she has taught and
facilitated Tarot classes and groups in Western
Massachusetts; been a guest teacher at the
Northwest Tarot Symposium, HATHOR Forum,
and Gaian Tarot Circle; and led meditations and
co-created rituals at Readers Studio.
Carolyn creates learning environments and circles
where deep sharing and exploration are possible.
She is a co-founder of the Massachusetts Tarot Society,
and contributes a regular column on Tarot for soul
practice to the Cartomancer.
Find her online at soulpathsanctuary.com
Tarot School Aphorism
TAROT SCHOOL WINTER INTENSIVE!
The Lords of Tarot:
Esoteric Titles of the Minor Arcana
There was such a great response to our recent
Tarot Telesummit session on the Esoteric
Titles of the Minors that we decided to hold
a more in-depth weekend intensive on the subject.
Here's a description...
The first and possibly the final question that every
student of tarot asks is, “What do the cards
mean?”
One of the many functions of meaning in tarot is to
alter our everyday perceptions and give us options we
never knew we had. We might see universes in the cards
we never knew existed, and discover powers we never
knew we possessed. Then life and understanding on a
grander scale become possible.
The Esoteric Titles of the cards contain mind-altering
perceptions like that.
A special weekend intensive on the Esoteric Titles of
the Minor Arcana is coming in December 2018. When you
see what these titles can show you, the cards will
never look the same to you again.
It will be an adventure, we promise! Come and join us.
Seating is Limited.
DATES: Sat/Sun December 8-9, 2018
TIMES: 11am - 7pm both days
TUITION: $300
LOCATION: Forest Hills, NY
(Directions provided upon registration.)
TO REGISTER: Click Here
For more information, or if you have any questions,
email us at tarot@tarotschool.com or call 800-804-2184
Diviner's Corner
THE LIGHT OF THE MOON
by Pamela Steele
Image copyright Steele Wizard Tarot (2006)
I find it interesting that an oversized piece of rock
trapped in orbit by our planet's gravitational pull can
have such an impact on our world. Since the beginning
of Time mankind has gazed at the heavens and marveled
at the austere beauty of our closest celestial neighbor.
She (yes, I think of the Moon as 'She') has a deep
and profound influence on all things liquid in
our lives. From a woman's monthly cycles, to the
oceans' tides, to our fluid thoughts, this Heavenly
Body governs much more than simple or complex
water products and by-products. The phases have
a direct impact on our moods and behavior as any
law enforcement, hospital or bar tender can tell you.
Extra staff and diligence are mandatory under a
full moon. Anyone who doesn't believe, simply
has to cruise by the hospital emergency room
during the event.
In tarot, I was originally taught The Moon card
represented the Card of the Psychic. One who could
'divine' and intuit events and occurrences with their
natural abilities. That was over 4 decades ago, and
since then it's come to mean much, much more.
I see the Moon as constantly shifting and evolving.
Much like the cycles of our lives, it is in constant
motion.
The Moon has no light source of its own but reflects
the Sun's light back to our planet. Where the Sun
gives us life, the Moon gives us Dreams. With the
Power of the Dreamer, we are able to see beyond
ourselves and our perceived limitations in earthly
bodies.
Each phase of our lives represents the constant
ebb and flow of our growth and journey. Her full
brightness guides us by night, when darkness
shrouds the world in subtle shadows, lending
mystery and depths not visible by the light of day.
As the Oracles of Old, when Time demands,
She hides her Face casting us into total darkness
that we may begin each cycle anew. Fresh with
ideas born of her deepest night, we approach the day
and our lives filled with the Mysteries and the
Knowledge there is More. And that More is us.
Visit Pamela's website at: https://www.steelewizard.com/
We’d love your suggestion or submissions for this
column! If you have an idea or would love to
contribute, please contact us at tarot@tarotschool.com.
Cool New Event
RUNE WISDOM TELESUMMIT
ONE MORE DAY! There's still time to get the recordings!
Love throwing some runes along with your tarot reading?
The Rune Wisdom Telesummit is a multi-speaker event
that will show you how to partner with the primordial
energies of the Runes to energize your life and align with
your own soul purpose.
The event will run October 22 through November 2, with
two one-hour calls every weekday. There's no cost to attend,
and even if you can't attend the talks live, you'll get access
to each replay for 48 hours!
Click here for details:
http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=5627386
Best Practices for Professional Readers
BALANCING A SMALL BUSINESS
AND CREATIVE PURSUITS
By Gina Thies
www.tarotadvisor.com / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders
www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org
When one thinks of balancing a professional life with
creative interests, it may sound very familiar to what
is commonly referred to as a work-life balance.
A work-life balance consists of balancing one’s work
or professional life with time for personal interests,
time for family and friends, spiritual growth, fitness
and other leisure activity.
For some of you, tarot began as a hobby and now it
will be a part-time or full-time business, which may be
inclusive of professional reading, deck creations, book
writing and other creative ways tarot is integrated
into income generating opportunities. But how does one
balance it all?
I have spent a number of years and a lot of time
developing my tarot practice with very strong results.
Because I am a jack-of-all-trades, I wanted to write a
book and also found myself creating a tarot deck!
When I started the creation of my own tarot deck, Tarot
of the Moors, there was a desire to return to my fine
arts roots and create something truly unique. Of
course, at the time, I had not considered the amount of
time I would need to complete a deck. As I had not
touched a canvas in over 20 years, could I truly do
something that was quality? More important was the
consideration of how I could keep up with clients and
events, and still stay on task with painting.
This may be something some of you are challenged by,
too. I can say that I had to really master time
management. Once creative juices start to flow, time
gets away from you, not to mention that once you’re
immersed in doing something you truly find relaxing and
enjoy, work becomes something that can slip down the
priority list.
I’m a stickler for deadlines, but structured
schedules are difficult for me. I really dislike alarm
clocks. Finding a balance that would reduce stress and
allow flexibility was vital.
Since our talents as readers are what we can expect to
be paid for, that needs to consistently be top priority.
Creative passions and pursuits can be balanced with
business interests by making some decisions around
what is most important to you in all areas of personal
and business life. Using systems and tools/apps are
my “must-haves” for keeping it all together. Having
easy access to these tools, and organizing appointments,
generating contracts and other parts of my business
assist me in managing my time and energy.
If I can do it, so can you!
Gina
Upcoming Events:
• November 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2018
Forest Hills, New York
Our popular Monday night Salons are the
hottest thing in tarot instruction!
http://tarot.salon
• December 8 – 9, 2018
WINTER INTENSIVE
The Lords of Tarot:
Esoteric Titles of the Minor Arcana
Forest Hills, New York
Click Here for Details.
• April 25, 2019
Divination Day
(Website coming soon!)
• April 26 – 28, 2019
2019 Readers Studio
(Sold Out! Contact us to get on the waiting list)
http://ReadersStudio.com
(Note: This is still the RS18 website. The new one
won't be ready for a little while yet, but much of
the information is still useful.)
Join our 10,300+ fans and join the fun!
Up to the minute news, mini lessons and more...
Do you have a question or comment on anything tarot?
Suggestions for future topics?
Contact tarot@tarotschool.com
For information on tarot classes, courses,
© Copyright 2018 The Tarot School - All Rights Reserved
Directors: Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone
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