This wonderful collage was assembled by
Mary K. Greer. For a time, over 40 years
ago, I created a number of collages. This
was before digital collages were possible.
In fact, glue stick hadn't even been
invented yet! All the images were laid
carefully on the backing board until I
was satisfied enough to glue them down.
This was OK until my cat decided to
walk across a piece, scattering my work
all over the place. Arrrgg!!

I had thought to do tarot-themed collages
but didn't get very far. When James
Wanless' Voyager Tarot came out, I was
delighted (and a bit jealous) to see a
beautiful collaged deck –– the very first
one. Since then, there have been others
and collage has been embraced as a
valid art form by tarot deck creators,
readers, and collectors.

Even though it is no longer necessary to
work with paper, scissors and the fumes
from glue and fixative, a successful
collage takes a discerning eye, a strong
design sense, and patience. Mary has
done a beautiful job!

Take some time to really look at what
she has done. See how the vertical and
curved elements work together, how
the star in The Hermit's lantern shines
directly above the moon in The High
Priestess' headdress. See how the woman
from The Star card is watering the flowers
from The Magician card.

As with everything in tarot art, the
imagery as a whole is wonderful in
its own right. But there is surprising
beauty in the tiny details. In our new
Tarot Salon classes, we've been doing
Close Examination of the cards to
find those surprises. They are there,
even for those of us who have been
reading tarot for decades. It's great
fun to do as a group and see what
we've missed.

It was a wonderful surprise to be granted
this honor by the World Divination
Association in recognition of our lifetimes'
work. We truly appreciate it!

As November ushers in a season of
reflection and thanksgiving, it's the
perfect time to explore how tarot can
help us connect with gratitude in
meaningful ways.

Whether you're looking to appreciate the
small blessings in your life or cultivate a
deeper sense of fulfillment, tarot offers a
unique path to uncovering sources of
gratitude from your past, present, and
future.

This 7-card spread will guide you in
recognizing the gifts you may already have
and open the door to even greater abundance
and peace.

Tarot Spread for Gratitude (7 Cards)

1) Source of Gratitude – What in your life
is currently providing you with a source of
gratitude, even if unnoticed?

2) Block to Gratitude – What is preventing
you from fully experiencing or expressing
gratitude?

3) Past Gratitude – What past experience
or relationship has instilled a sense of
gratitude within you that you can draw upon?

4) Future Gratitude – What future
blessings are coming into your life that
will bring new opportunities for gratitude?

5) Gratitude Practice – How can you
actively cultivate more gratitude in your
daily life?

6) Gratitude's Gift – What is the spiritual
or emotional gift that gratitude is bringing
or will bring into your life?

7) Overflow of Gratitude – How can your
gratitude positively influence others around
you?

Sample Tarot Reading

1. Source of Gratitude: The Sun (Upright)
This card indicates that you are in a phase
of clarity and joy, whether you fully
acknowledge it or not. There are bright
moments of happiness and success in your
life that are ripe for celebration. The Sun
highlights a time of personal growth,
positivity, and optimism, suggesting that
you have much to be grateful for in the
present, even if small details seem
overshadowed by daily stress.

2. Block to Gratitude: 9 of Swords
(Reversed)
In this position, the Nine of Swords
reversed suggests that your worry and stress
are starting to lift, but lingering anxiety
still prevents you from fully feeling
grateful. Negative thought patterns or
unresolved fears may keep you from
focusing on the good. However, the
reversed card indicates progress -
you're becoming aware of how your
mind may be the biggest block to
experiencing gratitude.

3. Past Gratitude: Strength (Upright)
Strength represents the inner fortitude and
resilience you've cultivated over time,
especially through challenges. Even if your
past was fraught with difficulty, this card
encourages you to look at the courage,
perseverance, and inner strength that have
developed as a result. The gratitude here
lies not in the circumstances themselves,
but in the power you've discovered within
yourself to endure and grow. Strength asks
you to honor the bravery that has carried
you through tough times and to find
gratitude in your own resilience.

4. Future Gratitude: The Star (Upright)
The Star represents hope, healing, and
renewal, suggesting that your future holds
immense spiritual blessings. You are being
guided toward a sense of peace and
rejuvenation, where you'll find new reasons
to be grateful. The Star brings a promise of
better times ahead, where you'll experience
deep emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

5. Gratitude Practice: Ace of Pentacles
(Upright)
The Ace of Pentacles encourages you to be
mindful of the material blessings in your
life. To cultivate gratitude, focus on
grounding practices such as appreciating
your health, finances, and the opportunities
for new beginnings. This card suggests
starting something tangible, like a
gratitude journal or dedicating time to a
practice that fosters security and growth in
your physical world.

6. Gratitude's Gift: The Empress (Upright)
The Empress in this position suggests that
the gift of gratitude will bring you an
abundant sense of nurturing and creativity.
As you cultivate gratitude, you will
experience an expansion of love, fertility
(whether in ideas, relationships, or
projects), and a deep connection to nature
and the world around you. The Empress
indicates that gratitude will help you feel
more grounded, connected, and in tune with
the flow of life, offering you a nurturing
environment where growth and beauty
flourish. Through gratitude, you'll feel
more abundant and in harmony with the world.

7. Overflow of Gratitude: Queen of Cups
(Upright)
The Queen of Cups indicates that your
gratitude will be felt deeply by others.
Your emotional intelligence and
compassion, when fueled by gratitude,
will create a nurturing and healing space
for those around you. Your warmth and
understanding will ripple outward,
allowing you to uplift and support others
through the power of your empathy and
kindness.

This spread reflects both internal and
external aspects of gratitude. It emphasizes
personal awareness and spiritual growth
while also acknowledging how your practice
of gratitude can impact the people around
you.

If you would like to engage in a year-long
gratitude practice, assign each position to
a day of the week. Draw a single card for
that day's focus and contemplate it
throughout the day. Then see what happens
as a result of this powerful immersion in
gratitude!

Wald's Words of Wisdom

Oculomancy is a unique form of divination
that delves deep into the soul by reading
the eyes. Known as "eye scrying," this
practice involves a diviner gazing into the
eyes of the querent (the person seeking
insight) to find reflections that may reveal
hidden truths, emotions, or answers to
life's pressing questions. This ancient
technique is grounded in the belief that
the eyes are the most direct pathway
to the soul, with their reflections serving
as mirrors to our innermost thoughts and
desires.

How to Practice Eye Scrying Oculomancy:

Create a Quiet, Reflective Space
Begin by creating an environment that
promotes calmness and trust. Use soft
lighting a single candle is ideal, as it
provides enough light to see reflections
in the eyes without being too harsh. If
performing eye scrying solo, have a mirror
at eye level.

Ground and Connect
Both the diviner and the querent should
take a few moments to ground themselves
with deep breaths, clearing their minds of
distractions. This helps open the connection
and establishes a trusting, receptive energy.

Gaze Into the Eyes
The diviner should then look deeply into the
querent's eyes, focusing specifically on the
pupils, where reflections will appear. Avoid
forcing a stare; instead, hold a soft, natural
gaze. Allow your vision to relax slightly so
reflections or subtle movements within the
eyes become more prominent.

Observe Reflections and Movements
As you gaze, watch for tiny reflections in
the querent's eyes. Sometimes, you may see
symbolic images or abstract shapes reflected
back, much like gazing into a crystal ball.
Notice any sparkles, shadows, or images
that appear and consider what emotions or
themes they might symbolize. For instance,
a flickering shadow might symbolize
hesitation, while a spark of light may
indicate hope or clarity.

Interpret Visions and Reflections
Interpretations can vary widely and often
depend on intuition. As reflections appear,
consider what they evoke emotionally or
symbolically. Perhaps you see a shape that
reminds you of an animal, which could
signify certain traits (e.g., a wolf for
strength, a bird for freedom). Trust your
instincts; the reflections often reveal what
needs to come forward.

Share Insights with the Querent
If the session involves a partner, gently
share your interpretations and let them
respond. This can deepen mutual
understanding and provide the querent
with new insights into their life or
question. For self-readings, jot down
your observations and reflections.

Eye scrying within Oculomancy combines
the mysterious and symbolic with a deeply
personal experience, allowing the querent's
inner world to come into view. With
openness and a grounded heart, this practice
invites us to see beyond the ordinary and
explore what lies just beneath the surface.

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 .

Tarot Meditations Bundle

If you're looking for a unique holiday gift
for your favorite tarot lover, this set is
perfect!

This special Tarot Meditation Bundle
includes:

• TAROT MAJORS MEDITATIONS
Looking for a new way to experience the
tarot? Come along on these guided
experiential adventures with the Major
Arcana and four suit symbols of the tarot.
Throw away any pre-conceived ideas about
guided meditations and fasten your seat belt
for some great tarot fun!

Includes: 26 mp3 recordings + 61-page book
of scripts (pdf)

PLUS…

• TAROT KEYS
These 22 "channeled" piano pieces will
take you on a musical journey through
the magical world of the Major Arcana.
Composed in the keys assigned to the
cards by the Golden Dawn, this beautiful,
relaxing music will bring every card to
life. Perfect for meditation, too!

Includes: 22 mp3 recordings

Listen to some clips here:
https://tarotschool.com/Music.html

NOTE: If you get a pop-up from
Guardio saying our website is
malicious, it is NOT! Please
click on "Continue Anyway"
and then "submit a report" in
the follow-up box. Thank you!!

Meet The Reader
ANNIE ABOULIAN

By Sharonah Rapseik, Ph.D., CMAP

Annie Aboulian is is a literature and
mythology professor as well as a tarot
writer and instructor.

Annie has been working with tarot for
almost a decade, and according to her it
has been such a transformative force in
her life that her mission is to bring its
powers of self-discovery and intuitive
guidance to others.

She is also the creator of "Inquire Within:
A Companion Deck of Daily Tarot
Questions" available to order now at:
https://shop.thetarotprofessor.com

Annie also writes a bestselling Substack
newsletter called "Office Hours with The
Tarot Professor", where she approaches tarot
as a rich and ridiculously relatable text
that can teach us how to lean into our
intuition, approach the ups and downs of
life with compassion and trust, and show up
as our best selves.

According to Annie, she is also an academic
–– an intellectual and even a bit of a
skeptic!

"I'm not psychic, I'm not a fortune-teller,
and I don't read tarot professionally. I
read tarot for myself and teach others to do
the same.

My lens as a literature and mythology
professor allows us to decode tarot as a
rich, gorgeous text: to dive deep into tarot
archetypes and symbolism, illuminate
themes, and apply them to our own lives
to better understand ourselves and the
world around us."

Her unique brand of tarot combines intellect
and intuition as it explores the power of
the cards as a tool for self-discovery,
personal growth, and manifestation.

Sharonah:
Annie, what makes your Tarot
practice unique and how do you
express it?

Annie Aboulian:
My focus is on action. It's just as
important to know why someone
wants a certain outcome as what
they want to see happen.

When we are most clear about our
intention, we have the clearest path
to knowing what is needed to make
it happen.

It's also very important to me that
clients leave with agency. It's not
enough to just know what's going to
happen, but to examine what they can
do about it, for better or worse!

Sharonah:

Thank you Annie, it‘s been a
pleasure to meet you!

To Follow Annie Aboulian:

Website:

https://www.thetarotprofessor.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thetarotprofessor

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/thetarotprofessor

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@thetarotprofessor

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/thetarotprofessor/

Blog:

https://www.thetarotprofessor.com/blog-2024/

Substack:

https://thetarotprofessor.substack.com/

Contact:
annie@thetarotprofessor.com

About Sharonah:

Upcoming Events:



Tarot Salon on Zoom!
7:00 – 9:00 pm EST
$20 per class

Our popular Monday night classes are
now online so you can attend no matter
where you live. Classes are recorded and
all levels of experience are welcome!

NOVEMBER 2024:
4 - Symbols of the 3 of Wands
11 - Symbols of the 4 of Wands
18 - Symbols of the 5 of Wands
25 - The Power of Silence

DECEMBER 2024:
2 - The High Priestess
9 - The Empress
16 - NO CLASS (Winter Break)
23 - NO CLASS (Winter Break)
30 - NO CLASS (Winter Break)

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what we'll be teaching each week.