Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com
ISSN: 1529-0565 
Vol. 13 #9 / May 1, 2021

                                                                  
 In this Issue:
- Welcome
- Tarot Tip: Insights from Justice Spread
- Tarot School Aphorism
- That's Cool!: Tarot Card Stickers
- Diviner's Corner: Divination with Stones
- Best Practices:
  Elevating the Online 
Client Experience
- Upcoming Events

 
 
Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.


        Readers Studio Tarot Incubator Session












(photo by Beverly Frable)

Once again, we had to cancel our Readers
Studio tarot conference due to the pandemic,
so once again we're publishing a May issue.
Facebook has been full of pictorial memories
–– a wonderful reminder of happier times. 

We thought long and hard about our options
for 2022 and have decided to go ahead with
plans for an in-person reunion next April.
We sent a detailed email to everyone who
registered for RS20 so please check your
inbox, gmail promotions tab or spam folder
if this applies to you. We also posted it on
Facebook in the public Readers Studio Group.
We have gotten our C19 vaccines and
encourage you to do the same if you haven't
already! 


In this month’s Tip, the Justice card is the
inspiration for an introspective spread. Liz
Dean introduces us to using stones as an
oracle in The Diviner’s Corner, and the Best
Practices column considers how to improve
your clients' experience when they visit
your website and online store. (Be sure to
follow the Resource link for lots of specifics.)
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events, too! 

 
 
 
And one more thing...

 Robin Wood Tarot

Sadly, another tarot luminary has ascended
to the heavens. Robin Wood died of cancer
on April 19th. The Robin Wood Tarot is one
of the first decks I purchased, and is still a
favorite. She is also known for her portraits
of characters from Anne McCaffrey's
Dragonriders of Pern series and the cover
art for several of Scott Cunningham's books
on neo-Paganism.

Wald and I were honored to have her lead
the closing ritual at the New York Tarot
Festival in 2002. This was our first tarot
conference, during which we got married.
It's very possible that Robin was in
attendance. (There were a lot of people
there and I was a bit pre-occupied, so I
can't be sure.) 

Robin Wood also became heavily involved in
content creation within the virtual world of
Second Life; she created a texture tutorial
and library available within the game, and
provided templates and other information on
her own website, https://robinwood.com/.

May she find peace in the Summerland,
and may she live on in the hearts of all
who love her and her work.

 

Take care, stay whole and healthy and
move forward on your 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
INSIGHTS FROM JUSTICE:
A RE-BALANCE SPREAD



XI JUSTICE



The Justice card is the inspiration for this
spread. Depending on the tradition, Justice
is numbered as Key 11 or Key 8. In almost
all traditional decks, such as the RWS,
Justice is depicted as a robed female seated
between two columns, wearing a crown and
holding a sword and the scales.

Most people think of Justice as a reference
to impartiality in determining guilt from
innocence and truth. The path of Justice in
terms of spiritual study goes beyond the
personification of moral law. Justice in
readings can be indicative of legal matters,
court proceedings, legal documents, etc. but
can also suggests karmic ties, or bringing a
sense of normalcy and balance to one’s life
or situation.


Justice Spread

Start by removing the Justice card from the
pack and take a few moments to thoroughly
examine the card. Take a few deep breaths as
you reach a centered state.

While looking at the Justice card, focus on
a situation which you feel needs balancing,
or for which you would like a harmonious
outcome.

When you have the focus of your reading
in mind, return the card to the deck.

Shuffle the deck, select four cards and lay
them out in a square pattern, following your
own instincts.

Position 1:
How has the energy of this situation
affected me?

Position 2:
What am I truly seeking in terms of a remedy?

Position 3:
What is the best course of action?

Position 4:
What does this situation teach me
about my own sense of justice?      

Use a personal journal to record your insights.
  
                 
    


 Tarot School Aphorism
 
 
            The Magician is tarot’s version of both the origin and the agency of deity, the beginning and the source of all manifestation. The Magician is that agency in you.

           
            
 


That's Cool!



     

     TAROT CARD

          STICKERS!




Tarot card stickers

Found on Facebook:

Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Full-Color
Tiny Tarot Card Stickers


A total of 680 stickers. There are eight
stickers for each of the 78 tarot cards.
Also included are four stickers for each of
the zodiac signs and two stickers for each
of the four elements.

• These stickers measure 1in X .6in. on
   premium white matte paper.

• Helps You Recall And Research Patterns
  In Your Spreads

• ​Discover Connections Between Past And
  Current Readings In Your Journal

• Makes It Easy To Remember The Meaning
  Of Tarot Cards 

• Gain More Confidence In Your Tarot Card
  Reading Ability

• Effortlessly Journal Your Favorite Spreads
  For Future Use

• Quickly Determine Which Spreads Work Best
  For You

The offer also comes with 7 Bonuses!

https://tarotcardsticker.com/


You can also find a selection of tarot card
stickers on Etsy here:

https://www.etsy.com/market/tarot_card_stickers




Have you found something cool?
Tell us about it! 
Email tarot@tarotschool.com



 

Diviner's Corner
DIVINATION WITH STONES –
TAKING YOUR TAROT SKILLS FOR A WALK


By Liz Dean

Nature's Hidden Oracles by Liz Dean
             



When you are walking, set out with the
intention to find stones you will use for
divination. Ask that you find what is right
for you today. Pause, and look closely.
Your treasure may lay on your path: gravel,
quartz chips, pebbles. In open fields,
countryside or in your garden, hidden stones
await. Feel the ground beneath you; lower
yourself more closely to the earth. Be
impulsive. Let your fingers touch and pick
up a stone unthinkingly. The body expresses
our unconscious wisdom, the part of us that
knows what we need, and it often responds to
stimuli before the left brain responds to
analyse our choices. 

Here are three simple ways to divine with
stones. If you’re not close to water, opt
for fivestones – all you need are five small
stones, and you can divine with them
wherever you find yourself – sitting under a
tree or pausing mid-walk.

Ritual 1: Stone and Water
Interpret the ripples made by stones cast
into still water 

If you come upon a puddle, a water-pool on
the beach or other still water you can
safely reach, find a stone nearby. Connect
with your stone or pebble by holding it in
your palm and asking for guidance. Now just
watch the water’s surface, and see how it
moves according to the air. Look for bubbles
and ripples – this is preparation practice
for divination, bringing you into the
moment. When you are ready, take your stone
and drop it into the water. Interpret the
ripples, counting them as they emanate from
the stone. 

For a yes or no answer to a question: 
Odd number of ripples: yes
Even number of ripples: no. 

For further insight, half-close your eyes
and gaze upon the water’s surface. Then
fully close your eyes, and let images form.
This technique is known as scrying, or
divining with reflective surfaces – water,
mirrors, and metal.

Ritual 2: Fivestones
Throw five stones for divination

Also known as chuckstones, jackstones, dibs,
dabs, tally and knucklebones, this
divination ritual derives from the game of
fivestones, which was probably a forerunner
of dice. It’s believed to have been first
played with small knucklebones from sheep;
for practical reasons, we use small stones. 

Take five small stones and cup them in your
palms, and gently shake the stones as you
ask for insight into a situation (for a yes
or no question, see below). Then hold them
in one hand, toss into the air, and catch as
many as you can on the back of the same
hand. If you need to, repeat until you have
one stone remaining. This stone has a
message for you (put aside those you didn’t
catch). Hold it in the palm of your hand,
connecting with the stone’s vibration. You
will sense a message as an image, words or
an inner knowing. 

Ritual 3: Fivestones – Yes or No
Reading odd or even numbers

As above, take your five stones in both
hands and ask your question. Then hold them
in one hand, and toss into the air, catching
as many as you can on the back of the same
hand. If you catch an odd number of stones –
one, three or all five – the answer is yes.
Two or four stones means no. If you don’t
catch any, the answer is not yet known.


Extracted from Nature’s Hidden Oracles by
Liz Dean (Godsfield Press, $16.99/£10).
Available from Amazon and your local
bookstores.



     
About Liz:

Liz Dean 

Liz Dean is a former commissioning
editor who reads and teaches tarot at
Psychic Sisters within Selfridges,
London. She has authored of over 20
books and tarot decks, including The
Ultimate Guide to Tarot, The Ultimate
Guide to Tarot Spreads
, The Victorian
Steampunk Tarot, as well as the official
HBO Game of Thrones Tarot. 

Contact her at:


http://lizdean.info/
https://www.facebook.com/liz.dean.773

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


 

Best Practices for Professional Readers
ELEVATING THE ONLINE CLIENT EXPERIENCE

By Gina Thies
www.tarotadvisor.com  / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders 
www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org



More than ever, clients are seeking virtual
therapeutic or spiritual assistance. Online
and now virtual readings have been a part
of the virtual help trend for awhile and it
seems virtual therapy is now a “thing”.
Whether it's telemedicine or telepsychology,
practitioners have had to adapt, especially
since the availability and use of smart
phone apps.

In the early 2000s, I was part of a 24-hour
psychic website that provided seekers access
anytime or anywhere. Of course, the
technology has advanced since then, but
I believe the service was ahead of the game
in terms of virtual connection.

To attract the right client for your online
services, you’ll need to optimize your
website. Website optimization is beneficial
to you and the client experience. Why?
Almost every person uses a search engine to
find services when they encounter a problem,
need information or have choices to make.
So how can you obtain a competitive edge,
improve your search rankings, and elevate
your potential client’s experience?

First, you’ll want your website to provide
the information clients are seeking. Are
they on your site just for information or to
take action?

The key is to make your site appealing to
your ideal client. You’ll only know who that
is by first deciding on the type of clientele
you want to work with.

The user experience is important because
most people are using smaller devices to
find and visit websites. You’ll want to make
sure that your site is mobile friendly. 
Clients want to know what to do on your
site, so make sure that it is easy and
simple to book your service and/or contact
you.

Resource:

There is some great specific information
on how to implement these ideas in this
article by Mathew Maniyamkott:

9 Ways to Improve Customer Experience
on Your Website


https://surveysparrow.com/blog/ways-improve-customer-experience-website/



          
Upcoming Events:
 

The Tarot School's Tarot Salon on Zoom!


• May 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2021
  (There will be no class on Memorial Day, May 31)

Tarot Salon on Zoom!
7:00 - 9:00 pm EST

Our popular Monday night classes are
now online so you can attend no matter
where you live!
 
http://tarot.salon


 
 
Astrology in Tarot: The Minor Arcana w/ Wald Amberstone


• Saturday, May 15, 2021

The Magic of Astrology in Tarot: 
The Minor Arcana and Court Cards
w/ Wald Amberstone


Cheryl Ryder and the Albuquerque Tarot Tribe
Meetup are excited to host Wald's newest
presentation on astrology as it specifically
applies to tarot.

This is what he has to say about it:

Meaning in tarot is many layers deep, and
each layer is a whole discipline unto itself.
Qabalah, alchemy, astrology, numerology,
psychology — all these add their wisdom
to the knowledge of self and world that
tarot gives us in such abundance.

In this class, we’ll look at how the basic
symbolic elements of astrology fit so
perfectly into the structure of a tarot deck.
We'll be looking at how each Minor
Arcana card fits into the structure of the
Zodiac Wheel of the Year, the Decans, the
Modalities of the signs (Cardinal, Fixed,
Mutable), and how to blend them together
in tarot readings.


2 classes for the price of one!

When you register, you will be sent a
Dropbox link to the recording of Wald's
previous presentation on The Magic of
Astrology in Tarot: The Major Arcana.
You will also receive a link to the four
session handouts. 


Time: 2:30 pm EDT 
Location: Zoom
Tuition: $20
Register at: https://bit.ly/3wqeyNY


Note: You do not have to join the Meetup
if you don't want to. Just make sure to
indicate that the money is for "May 15th
Wald Amberstone Class"
 in the comment
section for PayPal or on your check in
order to get confirmation for this event.


          
 

 
 
   Find us on Facebook
 
Join our 11K+ 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,
events and more, go to TarotSchool.com
 
© Copyright 2021 The Tarot School - All Rights Reserved
Directors: Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone