Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com ISSN: 1529-0565 Vol. 13 #16 / December 1, 2021
In this Issue: - Welcome
- Tarot Tip: Double Winter Solstice Spread - Tarot School Aphorism - Meet the Reader: Theresa Reed - Just For Fun: Tarot Meme - Diviner's Corner: Water Divination - Best Practices: Preparing for Tax Season - Upcoming Events Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
The month of December is often filled with contradictory feelings. The holidays can be a time of joyous celebration. But at the same time, this month can be especially stressful. In an attempt to be helpful, I created the "Help for the Holidays Technique," which we published a couple of years ago. You'll find it in the Tarot Tips archives here: https://tarotschool.com/TarotTips191222.html Whether you're in a celebratory mood or just need to take this time for yourself, we send you our fondest wishes for a peaceful end to 2021. A bit about this issue... This month's Tip describes an unusual type of spread. Although it was designed to work with the "12 Days of Christmas," it's actually a versatile technique you can use at other times as well. Use your creativity! Also in this issue, there's a lovely aphorism from Wald Amberstone, and a really funny tarot meme. Learn about different forms of divining with water, meet Theresa Reed –– The Tarot Lady, and get some end-of-year tax preparation tips in the Best Practices column. Enjoy! This past week, we celebrated the 1st Anniversary of our Tarot Salon! Moving our weekly classes to Zoom is the only good thing that came out of the pandemic for us. But we love connecting with our students, both local and around the world. We've had the chance to re-connect with those we haven't seen in a long time and meet new ones as well. Since we don't follow a set curriculum, it’s not possible to publish a list of classes in advance but we do reveal each week's topic in the notification email we send out a few days before. Get on the list at http://tarot.salon. We look forward to seeing you there! Wishing you health and bright blessings, 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
DOUBLE WINTER SOLSTICE SPREAD
The Midwinter Solstice is celebrated in many traditions especially in the West. Acknowledgement of the season by way of rituals and festivals dates back to pre-Christian times and, colored by various places and customs, became what is simply Christmas, Christmastide or Solsticetide. Christmas is marked as a single day in December but the season is actually twelve days long. These 12 days are part of a carol sung during the season but other than the gift-giving part, leaves the core meaning of the celebration lacking. This spread incorporates the essence of the events celebrated from December 25th (sometimes December 24th) through January 6th. The concept of the double spread is to look at what has been learned from the past 12 months (Positions 1-12) and visions or expectations for the upcoming 12 months (Positions 13-24). The spread positions correspond to the customary days for honoring certain saints but the meanings are accessible for both Christian and Pagan traditions. The spread presented here is large, so you’ll need ample desk/table space and your tarot journal. To begin, find a space and time away from disruptions. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths to ground and relax. Once relaxed, open your eyes and grab your favorite deck and shuffle to begin the spread. The spread will contain two “circles” consisting of the twenty-four positions of one inner circle and one outer circle. Begin laying out the card from the far left for position one going counter-clockwise laying out the first 12 cards. Starting from the left again, lay out a second set of twelve cards, also counter-clockwise. Cards should align so that there are two set of cards for each or the twelve positions, a total of 24 cards. Positions 1 and 13: Day 1 (Christmas – Birth of Jesus): Beginnings, focus, roots, emergence. Positions 2 and 14: Day 2 (St Stephen – Boxing Day): Assets, material goods, charity. Position 3 and 15: Day 3 (St. John – Mother's Night): Communication, writing, contemplation fertility. Positions 4 and 16: Day 4 (The Feast of the Holy Innocents – Childremass): Family, children, home, childhood memories. Positions 5 and 17: Day 5 (St Thomas Becket – Feast of Fools): Sacrifice, creativity, entertainment, courage, emotion, challenge to authority. Positions 6 and 18: Day 6 (St Egwin of Worcester – Bringing in the Boar): Prosperity, work, service, farming, gaming, justice. Positions 7 and 19: Day 7 (New Year’s Eve – Hogmanay): Agreements, assessment, cleansing, purification, tying up loose ends or unfinished business. Positions 8 and 20: Day 8 (New Year’s Day – Kalends of January – Mary, Mother of Jesus): Festivities, gathering, endings and beginnings, transformation. Positions 9 and 21: Day 9 (St. Basil & St. Gregory – Evergreen Day): Philosophy, asceticism, religion, legal affairs, travel. Positions 10 and 22: Day 10 (Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus – St. Distaff’s Day): Duties, careers, professions, honor, fame and social status. Positions 11 and 23: Day 11 (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – Three Kings’ Day): Group activity. Congregation, associations, wishes, hopes, aspirations. Positions 12 and 24: Day 12 (Epiphany – Twelfth Night): Endings, undoings, completion, triumph, achievements. Although this spread is holiday-specific, the technique is one you can use in any context where a look back and a look ahead is useful. For example, a review of the past year and a peek at the 12 months to come can be done in December or at any other yearly cycle such as a birthday. If you're feeling creative, come up with your own spread positions to be used with any number of cards you choose! Tarot School Aphorism Meet The Reader THERESA REED By Sharonah Rapseik, Ph.D., CMAP Theresa Reed is a world-renowned Tarot reader and expert, who has been reading Tarot and teaching Tarot to students for over 30 years. She is the author of The Tarot Coloring Book, Astrology for Real Life, Tarot: No Questions Asked, and the co-author of Tarot For Troubled Times. She is also the creator of “Tarot for Kids,” a deck created for ages 8 and up. Theresa is a popular speaker at Tarot conferences and workshops. She runs a popular website and blog, where she dishes out advice, inspiration, and tips for Tarot and Astrology lovers of all experience levels. She also hosts two podcasts: Tarot Bytes and Astrology Bytes. Theresa believes that the purpose of Tarot and Astrology is to help you identify creative solutions to life’s many challenges, make wiser decisions, and lead a happier life. For Theresa Reed, the mystical arts are tools for self-empowerment, reminding you that you are always in charge of your destiny... The cards tell a story, but you write the ending. Sharonah Rapseik: Theresa, what makes your tarot practice unique and how do you express it? Theresa Reed: I’m not sure if my practice is unique, but I love using Tarot (and Astrology) for business. I find it an amazing tool for exploring trends, guiding clients, making decisions, and creative brainstorming. I’ve been using the metaphysical arts in my own business for a long time and they’ve helped my business thrive, even during recessions and other challenges. Sometimes it has been uncanny in its accuracy about the outcomes of changes I wanted or needed to make. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but after forty years, I’m still in awe at how useful and accurate Tarot is for me and for the people I’ve served. Sharonah Rapseik: Thank you Theresa, it’s been a pleasure to meet you! Follow Theresa Reed here: https://www.thetarotlady.com About Sharonah: Sharonah Rapseik is an Artist / Designer, Author, Tarot Reader, Radio Host and Producer for Psychic Talk Radio. Visit her at: https://psychictalk.net/sharonah/ Diviner's Corner
WATER DIVINATION
Water is life, and life has much to offer. For centuries it has been believed that water can carry messages from beyond. In more recent history, it has been implied that water can respond to consciousness, according to the research of Dr. Masaru Emoto, who for over 20 years studied and photographed the scientific evidence of how the molecular structure in water transforms when it is exposed to human words, thoughts, sounds and intentions. Diviners used what was available and nearby to use as a tool to aid in forecasting. Anything found in the natural world from the elements to animals became necessity to the toolbox of shamans, teachers and practitioners. Hydromancy involves gazing into a pool of water for psychic messages. Reading the motion or patterns in moving water such as ripples were also used for insight. Scyphomancy, which is associated with hydromancy, uses a goblet, cup or urn filled with water for forecasting. Practitioners tap the container or drop something into the water and watch for ripples in order to derive a prediction. Debris or particles in the water can also be used to read signs and omens. Resources: Dr. Masaru Emoto's Water Experiments https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Messages-Water-Masaru-Emoto/dp/0743289803 Hydromancy for Scrying https://thewitchesbox.com/hydromancy-for-scrying/ We’d love your suggestion or submissions for this column! If you have an idea or would like to contribute, please contact us at tarot@tarotschool.com. Best Practices for Professional Readers PREPARING FOR TAX SEASON By Gina Thies www.tarotadvisor.com / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org The year is coming to a close and you know what that means – tax prep season! Hopefully, you have a great expert to help you with your filing and financial needs. Finding a qualified expert can be daunting given all the designations and abbreviations listed on their businesses. If you are a new business professional filing for the first time, what you’ll need to file can be discussed before you meet with your advisor. If you have a return that is basic and easy, you might be able to enlist the help of regular tax preparer but if you have more complex expenses such as dealing with inventory or an enrolled agent, a certified public accountant is recommended. TIP: Search on "Tax preparation services" to find people who are available in your area. Here are some of the items you may need to have handy when filing: • home office square footage • supply receipts • travel expenses • mileage • expenses related to education • advertising expenses • phone and communication • utilities TIP: Consider making upgrades or capital improvements near the end of the year to increase your tax deductions. By spending more on deductible items, you can reduce your overall income. If you were waiting on that new computer system, you may want to buy it now! Resources: 9 Tips for Small Business Taxes
https://www.nationwide.com/lc/resources/small-business/articles/tips-for-small-business-taxes Small business tax prep checklist (2021) https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/accounting-taxes/small-business-tax-prep-checklist/ Upcoming Events: • Monday, December 3, 13 and 20, 2021 (There is no class on the 27th.) • Monday, January 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2022 (There is no class on the 3rd – Happy New Year!) Tarot Salon on Zoom! 7:00 - 9:00 pm EDT Our popular Monday night classes are now online so you can attend no matter where you live! Get on the notification list to see what we'll be teaching each week. Find the form and register here: http://tarot.salon Readings with Ruth Ann: Running The Tarot School with Wald keeps me pretty busy, but I still love giving readings! If you would like to book a private reading with me over Zoom, send an email to tarot@tarotschool.com and we'll discuss it. 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
|