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BATS

Started in 1991 by Thalassa, and currently produced in association with the Daughters of Divination, the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS) is the oldest continuously produced Tarot even in the country. It has been the inspiration and/or the model for virtually every large Tarot-centred gathering in this country for more than a decade.

SF BATS is a day long event devoted to covering all areas of Tarot and related topics. Many established authors and teachers use SF BATS as an opportunity to try new and different approaches and projects as well as polishing existing work. Exhibitions of new (and often as yet unpublished or privately published) Tarot decks and artwork are an especially important feature of this event. In addition to providing networking opportunities and community building for Tarot enthusiasts of all levels of interest and experience, SF BATS has facilitated or furthered the careers of several noted Tarot artists, authors, and teachers, as well as being instrumental in the publication of several books and decks.

San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium Fall 2007

Saturday, October 6, 2007 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
First Unitarian Universalist Centre
1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA

Visit the BATS Fall 2007 web page for more information

Thalassa

Thalassa is the producer of the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS), founder of the Daughters of Divination (DOD), and publisher of The Belfry. She teaches and produces divination events in the SF Bay Area, and has presented at the World Tarot Congress, the New York Tarot Festival, PantheaCon, and LATS (LA Tarot Symposium). She lives in San Francisco with a collection of swords, too many books, more tarot decks than one can safely shake a stick at, and a tribe of semi-feral dust bunnies.

• Thalassaland.com
• Daughters of Divination
• Belfry
• Bay Area Tarot Symposium

No more borders

This is my jumbo Thoth deck without the ugly gray borders on it. The links below show the process in greater detail. The Universal Waite Deck posts details the supplies I used to modify the cards.

I know the process is a little scary at first. You might want to practice on the extra cards in the deck or color copy your decks on card stock to practice trimming.

You might find, like I did, that the deck becomes more attractive and nicer to use.

• Thoth Deck
• Universal Waite Deck (with Supplies)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Devil and the Tower

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be continuing on our journey through the symbols in the Major Arcana. As I noted in the first Pod Cast of this series, that of the Fool, the imagery and symbolism in the Tarot is what connects us to its archetypal qualities and wisdom. It acts as a gateway between our conscious and our unconscious worlds. Each deck carries with it its own unique brand of imagery and symbols. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to the Waite-Smith Tarot (also known as the Rider-Waite Tarot), as it is a traditional reference, and quite often used for teaching purposes. Interpreting the imagery and symbols is done in two ways: through the intent of the author/illustrator (and here we need to remember that the background for the Rider-Waite deck is that of the Golden Dawn), and how the Seeker sees it through the veil of their own personal life experiences.Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of The Devil and The Tower. The major theme for The Devil is that of acknowledging the hidden parts of our personality – our shadow side. These are the forces behind how and why we imprison and limit ourselves.

In “The heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson notes that the Devil is perched on what is considered to be a one-dimensional pedestal. This is the illusionary base of many of our decisions. The bondage of the two humans in this card is also seen as illusional – i.e. self imposed chains. Thomson further notes that the figures look not at each other, nor at the Devil figure – they are totally alone and vulnerable.

At the pit of the Devil’s stomach is the sign of Mercury. The Devil’s right hand is upraised and extended, the reverse of the benediction given by the Hierophant. A reversed Pentagram is on his forehead. His wings indicate that he is a creature of the night. His goat-like body connects this card to Capricorn.

The torch in the Devil’s left hand represents will directed at the material plane.

The tails on the human figures are symbolic of their animal nature. The tail on the female bears the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and the tail of the mail figure bears a flame, like the Tree of Life.

When the Devil appears in a reading, we are being asked to acknowledge hidden aspects of our personality. We are also being asked to note how and where we may be projecting those hidden aspects in our lives. This card is also very connected to the physical, material world.

The major theme for The Tower is that of change – abrupt change that is thrust upon us without warning. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson suggests that the Tower represents the defensive aspects of our personality. The falling male figure represents rigid attitudes based on ego, while the falling female figure represents rigid emotional attitudes.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

Closing Music: Points Between by Robert Rich from Open Window (Magnatune)

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I was drawn to Tarot initially, because I knew that, with some adaptations, the system could work for me. Methods like scrying and runes seem almost impossible, while the cards are manageable. Also, it is important for you to realize that I have been blind since birth, so, lacking the visual element of the Tarot isn’t new to me. I just went about it the way I go about everything else: without sight.

First of all, Tarot decks are quite inaccessible, when first purchased. Before I can do anything with them, I have to Braille the cards, along with whatever documentation comes with them. If it’s an actual book, I can put it through a scanner, which speeds up the process, but those little, white books that come with most decks don’t scan well at all, which means that someone has to read them to me, while I copy them out. Needless to say, it’s time-consuming.

I put the card into a Braille typewriter, and write the name of the card. So, for the fool, I would write:

0
Fool

For the four of pentacles, I write:

4P

Once the deck is Brailled, I can begin to use it. When I lay out a spread, I think about the meanings given for each card. I also think about the suit of the card, whether it is reversed or not, and whether it is a major or minor arcana card. I apply all of this information to the question that is being addressed. I then move on to the next card, and do the same thing again, until I’ve interpreted the entire spread.

I know that, for those of you who can see, the pictures on the cards are a great help when it comes to interpretation. Usually, I have no clue what the cards even look like, and so, I rely more on intuition and the meanings I know to be true for the particular card.

I also pay close attention to experiences that people have told me about. On another list, there was a discussion of how to interpret the Moon card, and I gained a lot of insight that way.

Brighid’s Daily Spread

To Explore:

• Things I need to focus on Today?
• What do I need to work on?
• What am I supposed to learn?
• What issues am I dealing with?
• What is key for me today?

Card 1 , Card 2, Card 3

Card 4*

 

* Shadow Card, (Unknown or Undercurrents) from the Bottom of the Deck

Brighid is a Tarot Reader who practices Feminist Dianic Witchcraft. She currently resides in Texas while completing a social work degree. She shares her apartment with 2 dogs, a cat and a pregnant guinea pig. Brighid has, on occasion, tricked people into reading Tarot books for her. Her favorite decks include the Goddess Tarot, the Medicine Woman Tarot, Goddess Guidance Oracle, Magical Unicorns Oracle and Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards.

Decks that don’t work as well:

Check out the Braille Spanish Tarot at Aeclectic Tarot.

Titles Only Tarot

It is an interesting exercise to try reading with out pictures. It can be done to test your knowledge and memory of the cards. You can see how you have internalized card meanings and explore what comes to mind when any given card comes up.

One thing to try is to do a reading with the Titles only then pull the same cards from various decks and see how you interpretation changes. You can make your own but writing on 3×5 cards. Here is a pdf of a deck I created for this purpose. It can be printed out on card stock and trimmed to make a set of cards.

For instance, what is the Knight of Wands on its own.

This is a deck I made with the printout on nice paper with golden fish on the back.

 

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Death and the Temperance

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be continuing on our journey through the symbols in the Major Arcana. As I noted in the first Pod Cast of this series, that of the Fool, the imagery and symbolism in the Tarot is what connects us to its archetypal qualities and wisdom. It acts as a gateway between our conscious and our unconscious worlds. Each deck carries with it its own unique brand of imagery and symbols. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to the Waite-Smith Tarot (also known as the Rider-Waite Tarot), as it is a traditional reference, and quite often used for teaching purposes. Interpreting the imagery and symbols is done in two ways: through the intent of the author/illustrator (and here we need to remember that the background for the Rider-Waite deck is that of the Golden Dawn), and how the Seeker sees it through the veil of their own personal life experiences.

Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of Death and Temperance. The major theme for Death is that of transformation and new opportunities. Inherent in a new beginning, or new opportunity, is the leaving behind of that which no longer serves us well.

The skeleton of Death moves from left to right, from unconsciousness towards consciousness. His pink saddle symbolizes that his mission of transformation is based on love.

His black banner shows a five petaled white rose, symbolic of Mars, the five senses, and of life.

In the distance, the Sun is shown between two pillars, symbolizing immortality. A ship, symbolizing the afterlife, is shown sailing towards the Sun.

The four figures in the scene represent the temporal and the spiritual, old and young, male and female … death comes to everyone.

The red plume (as seen in the card of the Fool) represents will and power. The river represents the River Styx (the river that the Greek’s believed led to the underworld), and the constant movement into and out of materialization.

In a reading, Death alerts us that major changes are happening.

The major theme for Temperance is that of balance and control. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson refers to this as representing the purification and tempering of our own inner processes.

The crown at the end of the path represents mastery and attainment. The silver cup represents the unconscious, the gold cup consciousness. The water being poured back and forth is the essence of life.

One foot in the emotional world of water, one foot on the physical world of land, we bring balance to our conscious and unconscious selves.

The flower Iris represents the Greek Goddess Iris, Goddess of the rainbow.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

Closing Music: Night of the Goddess Part 1 by Paul Averinos from Maya (Magnatune)

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There are many ways to energize the tarot session in real life such as:

• tangible constructive action
• small doable action
• new personal name
• affirmations
• body posture/movement
• colour
• meditation on the card
• place the card in a special place with a candle & incense
• wear something
• jewelry or talisman to represent the card
• essential oils
• journal writing
• walking a labyrinth
• creativity (sound, clay, paint, etc.)

 

Reading List

• Geraldine Amaral & Nancy Brady Cunningham. Tarot Celebrations: Honoring the Inner Voice.
• Susan K. Cole. “Dance and Tarot: Personal Symbols Set to Movement”, Wheel of Tarot: A New Revolution, James Wanless & Angeles Arrien, editors, pp. 205 – 213.
• Dori Gombold. “The Psychodynamic Effects of Tarot Symbolism”, Wheel of Tarot: A New Revolution, James Wanless & Angeles Arrien, editors, pp. 187 – 201.
• Mary K. Greer. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (especially the chapter called “The Possible Self”, pp. 231 – 238).
• Mary K Greer. The Essence of Magic: Tarot, Ritual and Aromatherapy.
• Cait Johnson. Tarot for Every Day.
• Robert A. Johnson. Inner Work.
• Corrine Kenner. Tarot Journaling.
• Jill Mellick. The Art of Dreaming.
• Vicki Noble. Rituals and Practices with the Motherpeace Tarot.
• Rachel Pollack. The Shining Tribe Tarot (especially the section on “Ways to Activate a Tarot Card”, pp. 305 – 312).
• Rachel Pollack. Tarot Readings and Meditations.
• Karen Turner. “Transformational Beliefs and Tarot”, Wheel of Tarot: A New Revolution, James Wanless & Angeles Arrien, editors, pp. 180 – 183.
• James Wells. Tarot for Manifestation.
• James Wells. “Walking the Labyrinth”, Llewellyn’s 2005 Tarot Reader, pp. 199 – 204.

James Wells is a Toronto-based Tarot consultant with an international clientele. Since age 12, he has lived, worked and played with the Tarot and its rich symbolism. James is also a Reiki Master, publisher of The Six-Rayed Star, musician, explorer of divination systems, weaver of rituals, and workshop facilitator. His job as a Worker of Oracles is to create sacred space for constructive feedback and soul work – a place where dreams, goals, imagination, intuition and magick, have full sway so that you can enjoy insight, support and healing. James can be reached at workeroforacles@yahoo.ca

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Justice and the Hanged Man

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we will be continuing on our journey through the symbols in the Major Arcana. As I noted in the first Pod Cast of this series, that of the Fool, the imagery and symbolism in the Tarot is what connects us to its archetypal qualities and wisdom. It acts as a gateway between our conscious and our unconscious worlds. Each deck carries with it its own unique brand of imagery and symbols. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be referring to the Waite-Smith Tarot (also known as the Rider-Waite Tarot), as it is a traditional reference, and quite often used for teaching purposes. Interpreting the imagery and symbols is done in two ways: through the intent of the author/illustrator (and here we need to remember that the background for the Rider-Waite deck is that of the Golden Dawn), and how the Seeker sees it through the veil of their own personal life experiences.

Let’s continue our journey through the symbols of Justice and the Hanged Man. The major theme for Justice is that of being just with ourselves, as well as with others. In “The Heart of the Tarot”, Sandra Thomson notes that this is not a blind sense of justice, it is a clear sighted one. Before we act, we need to make sure that we are acting in a way that will insure a balanced outcome. We need to make sure that we are not only acting to bring in that which we desire.

Justice sits with her scales in her left hand, ready to weigh what is presented to her. In her right hand is the sword of reflection, pointing to higher truths, and to victory. It is a double edged sword – it destroys as well as builds in cutting through to the truth. It is her decision as to where the point of balance lies. The scales symbolize, as one might guess, our balance point in life. The pillars to the right and the left of Justice are the pillars of reconciliation, and of mercy. They are connected by the purple veil of higher consciousness.

Justice wears the crown of authority, with its imbedded square jewel of intelligence seated over the third eye, the wisdom and truth seeking chakra. The four sided jewel, along with the three turrets in the crown, add up to seven, the number of Venus. The olive green of her cape reflects the green of nature, and suggests personal growth. Her red dress symbolizes power – the base from which we achieve our growth. Her white slipper indicates purity of thought is at the foundation of her judgment.

The square brooch with the circular pin at her heart chakra symbolizes the “squaring of the circle”, a symbol of wholeness, and of the Self.

In a reading, Justice asks us to take the time to gather our facts, and to look at all viewpoints. It asks us to see the truth about ourselves.

The theme for the Hanged Man is that of releasing false, illusional images and of learning the natural laws of the universe. His being suspended upside down symbolizes his need to take a “fresh look” at his situation. He is letting go of the rules of society that bind him so that he can see clearly.

The Sevens by Ginny Hunt

Sevens in Tarot once again bring conflict and choice, but this go round involves less something from the outside happening to you, but your own actions and impulses create the change, cause the ruckus, because you have some silly notion inside you that prompts this. You are the one agitating here, but not for no reason. Sevens take a stand based on an unseen but strongly felt inner truth.

Seven is historically a mystical number. Its mythological and symbolic use is broad and deep. Many different religions and cultures view seven as spiritual, lucky, and very significant. It is the number of the philosopher, sage, and wisdom seeker. When a seven appears in any fashion, you can understand there is more going on under the surface that involves the spiritual, faith, and esoteric realms. Seven is an enigma and as such is difficult to define. It’s like the faith it symbolizes: you know it when you feel it.

Some of its significance stems from the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations, which identified seven planets and framed seven days of the week around them. Very early among Middle Eastern peoples, seven became known as a “perfect” number, symbolic of completeness and goodness. Not “perfect” mathematically like the six, but symbolizing perfection and as such is often attributed to God. In the Bible, God rested on the seventh day because his work of creation was complete, entire, perfect. Thus seven represents this perfect completeness and also it represents rest, as in the rest that is taken from work. It is from this same word that the Sabbath, the day of rest comes. In Judaism, every seven years a year of Jubilee is celebrated as well as a Sabbatical year once every seven. The “Counting of the Omer” leading up to the giving of the Torah is expressed as “7 times 7 weeks.” In Christianity, likewise, the number seven continues to be significant. It is the number of churches of Asia to which the “Book of Revelation” is addressed, the number of Deadly Sins and Virtues, the number of terraces of Mount Purgatory (one per deadly sin), the number of sacraments in the Roman Catholic faith, the number of heads of the beast of the Book of Revelation, and the number of seals on The Book of Life. Jesus says to Peter to forgive seventy times seven times indicating an unlimited number of times, but also that it is the spiritual thing to do. (read the full post)

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)

Closing Music: Mystic Chants by Anne Young (Podsafe Music Network)

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If you love the tarot, you need to be in Toronto on Saturday, September 8, 2007!
Enjoy an inspiring day of tarot workshops with three highly respected tarot practitioners and authors.

Our presenters and topics for the day are:

GAIL FAIRFIELD.

Choice Centered Tarot and Relating
Hardly a reading goes by that doesn’t include a question or comment about relating. Whether the person is asking about a child, partner, parent, or colleague, relationship questions are fraught with more emotion than any others. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to evaluate:

• what works or doesn’t work in a relationship
• what to embrace or avoid
• key questions to ask yourself or the other person
• the purpose of the relationship

As we identify the key questions to ask, we’ll also consider the layouts that could answer those questions. We’ll also keep the focus on empowerment rather than predictions.

RACHEL POLLACK.

Archaeology of the Tarot.
Many card meanings we have today are not the original interpretations. The Fool did not originally mean a wise innocent journeying through life, but rather a crazy person driven from place to place–like the homeless beggars we see in our big cities. Are these older meanings just a curiosity or can they enrich our readings today? In this session (based on her series of Tarot Intensive workshops, and the forthcoming Intensive book) Rachel will trace the development of meaning in the tarot, and we will look together at how to use this knowledge in practice.

JAMES WELLS.

Tarot In Action!
We know how rich and meaningful a tarot consultation can be. Imagine this insight and wisdom creating positive change in your psyche and in your ‘real’ world! Learn creative and powerful methods to bring the energy of your readings down to earth so that you and your querents not only learn about life, but also transform it through consciously sculpted actions.

Plus opening and closing Q & A panel discussions with all three presenters!

10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at WonderWorks, 79A Harbord Street, Toronto (just west of Spadina).
Please arrive between 9:30 and 9:55 so we can begin on time. Thank you.

You’ll need to bring:

• a tarot deck of your choice
• a notebook
• a packed lunch or money to buy lunch nearby

Only $100 for a day of stretching your tarot skills and meeting other great tarot people. Open to people of ALL levels of tarot experience. First-paid first-served basis.

PRIVATE TAROT CONSULTATIONS with our presenters will take place on Sunday, September 9. These one-hour sessions are $150 each and will take place near Castle Frank station in Toronto.

Presenter Bios:

GAIL FAIRFIELD (Choice Centered Tarot, Choice Centered Astrology, Choice-Centered Relating and the Tarot) was born in China and raised in Japan by missionary parents. She was encouraged to find her own answers to life’s questions. Gail was introduced to the tarot in 1973 and was hooked immediately! Gail’s studies in psychology and education contribute to her choice-centred manner of living life and using tools such as the tarot, astrology, and NLP. She currently makes her home in Bloomington, Indiana.

RACHEL POLLACK (78 Degrees of Wisdom, Forest of Souls, Shining Tribe Tarot, and more) is a poet, award-winning novelist, authority on the modern interpretation of tarot cards, and a tarot card artist. She began her journey with the cards in 1970. Since then, Rachel has written thirteen tarot books, including “78 Degrees of Wisdom”, often called the “Bible of Tarot Reading”, and the “Shining Tribe Tarot”, designed and drawn by Rachel herself. Rachel resides in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley.

JAMES WELLS (Tarot for Manifestation) is a Toronto-based consultant, teacher, and facilitator devoted to merging soul and strategy. Through tools and processes such as tarot, reiki, council circle, and journal writing, he and his clients and students are inspired to become more of who they really are. Tarot has been a part of James’ life since 1979. His insightful, down-to-earth, proactive style makes him a popular practitioner and presenter at home and abroad. James enjoys writing, reading, walking, and good martinis.

In June 2007, the Portland Tarot Study Group covered the 5’s in Tarot and practiced related spreads. A very popular and meaningful spread is one based on the 4 elements plus spirit. There are many variations and ways to arrange the elements around the pentagram.

For this version, the elements are assigned to points on the pentagram with Spirit at the top. Then if we go around clockwise, Water, Fire, Earth and Air. This is the arrangement used in Ceremonial Magic Ritual to invoke or banish elements.

It makes interesting relationship between positions and allows a variety of ways to read elemental dignities. There is tension between the Water & Fire cards on the right. The same thing goes for the Air and Earth on the left. Cards that are diagonally across from each other are supportive (Air & Fire) (Earth & Water). Horizontal cards are neutral.

If you start at fire and go counter clockwise around the points, the elements are in the order of the Pentagrammaton.

1. Pick an element that best describes the subject of the reading.
2. Does the querent with to increase or decrease the element in their life?
3. Select a pentagram to dictate the order and direction the cards will be read.
4. Shuffle, while thinking about the question.
5. Layout the cards around the pentagram. I like to use the opening of the key to get the 4 natural element cards and calculate the spirit card based on adding the numbered cards up and reducing them to a number less than 22. Having a second majors only deck is very helpful for this. You might get a major card twice.
6. Start reading with the card indicated by the pentagram you picked. Continue in the direction indicated.

Examples

How can i improve communication with my spouse?

(Invoking Air) Start with Water, Move towards Air. Water-> Air-> Fire-> Spirit-> Earth

How can I stop obsessing about my application for college.

(Banishing Air) Start with Air, Move towards Water. Air-> Water-> Earth-> Spirit-> Fire.

I spent a couple of weeks trying to come up with a graphic that would help with keeping track of the pentagrams. This is what I came up with.

The colored paths represent the starting paths for each of the elements.

• Red-Fire: Diagonal Line between Spirit & Fire
• Blue-Water: Horizontal line between Air & Water
• Yellow-Air: Horizontal link between Air & Water
• Green-Earth: Diagonal Line between Spirit & Earth
• Light Violet-Active Spirit: Diagonal line between Air & Fire
• Deep Violet-Passive Spirit: Diagonal line between Earth & Water.

Pick your element. Decide if you want to invoke or banish the element. Banishing always starts at the element. Invoking starts away from the element and moves towards it. The first path is the one with the color of the element. The two spirit paths are represented by violet. Since they don’t touch the spirit point, consider the high end of the path to end in spirit to use the diagram. For example, banishing active spirit starts at Air.

Examples

• Invoking Fire: Start at Spirit, move towards Fire. Spirit-> Fire -> Air -> Water -> Earth.
• Banishing Water: Start at Water, move towards Air. Water-> Air -> Fire-> Spirit -> Earth

 

The Sixes by Ginny Hunt

Sixes in tarot are a welcome relief after the disruptive, conflicting adrenaline-pumping fives. Sixes restore harmony to the chaos, they offer comfort, nurturing, sympathy, and healing to those battered by the losses of the fives as well. Sixes are the kudos you deserve, the solace you need, the balm on your wounds.

Six is the number of the Major Arcana card VI The Lovers and it represents all the qualities of a secure, loving relationship such as harmony, beauty, nurturing, love, marriage, family, responsibility, understanding, sympathy, healing, empathy, perfection, order, duty, comfort, and service. Even its shape is soft and beautiful, its form is a continuous curve without angle, without line. It is almost a spiral, going towards infinity.

Six is both the sum (1 + 2 + 3) and the product (1 x 2 x 3) of the first three numbers. It is therefore considered “perfect.” In mathematics, a perfect number is one that equals the sum of its divisors (excluding itself), and 6 is the first perfect number in this sense because its divisors are 1, 2, and 3.

In alchemy, the upright triangle represents fire, and the upside-down triangle is the symbol for water. Together they symbolize the unity of opposites. The hexagram is seen in the Seal of Solomon, and this symbol is often used in ceremonial magick. It has been adopted as the national symbol of Israel and is a common symbol in Judaism, as there was a 6-pointed star on the shield that David carried to battle Goliath. Another version is the Unicursal Hexagram devised by the Golden Dawn in order to create a six-pointed star symbol in one movement rather than two. Qabbalistically, six represents Tiphareth, or “beauty.” (read the full post)

Hermit’s Journey with Bonnie Cehovet – Tarot and Personal Growth

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom and The Four Insights: The Wisdom, Power, and Grace of the Earthkeepers

Welcome to the Hermit’s Journey. My name is Bonnie Cehovet, and today we are going to be talking about Tarot and personal growth. I have recently been working with a book by Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., entitled The Four Insights: The Wisdom, Power, and Grace of the Earthkeepers. Since I have a tendency to mix and match my work tools, I immediately placed the intent of this book on a level with that of Rachel Pollack’s Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom.

In “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom”, Pollack sets down a solid basis for the interpretations of each of the card groups – the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana, and the Court Cards. The Major Arcana is further broken down into three distinct areas of life experience: cards 1-7 deal with the main concerns of society (love, social authority, and education); cards 8-14 represent a withdrawal into self-awareness, with a symbolic death and rebirth; while cards 15-21 represent confrontation, followed by a union with the Divine. Working through the path of the Major Arcana can be equated with working through Jung’s process of individuation, the goal being enlightenment. The Major Arcana can also be seen as the fifth element – Spirit.

The four suits of the Minor Arcana are associated with the traditional four elements: Wands with Fire (action, passion, will, career), Cups with Water (intuition, emotions, love, friendship, joy), Swords with Air (conflict, mental activity, wisdom), and Pentacles with Earth (physical world, work, nature, material things), and the unspoken name of God (Yod – Fire, and the creative spark, the energy needed to begin any enterprise); Heh – Water, the actual beginning of the enterprise; Vau – Air, the development of the plan: Heh – Earth, and finished creation). Pollack notes that the Minor Arcana provide the commentary on life in a reading.

The Court Cards are expressive of personality types, defined by their elemental quality. In general, Pollack references Kings as representing social responsibility, power, and success; Queens as representing deep appreciation of the suit, and creativity; Knights as representing action, responsibility to others; and Pages as representing exploration and study.

The Tarot acts as a mirror for our lives, reflecting on many levels the situations we are facing, showing us different ways of looking at them, how we got into our current situation, and what options we have for dealing with it. It is an active tool of transformation, acting as a gateway between our conscious and unconscious selves.

Music Credits

Opening Music: The Oracle Speaks by William Wilde Zeitler from Elegy for Atlantis

78 Notes Music: Steamy River by Rhonda Lorence from Winter Moon (Magnatune)

Hermits Journey Music: Dark Moon by Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

Closing Music: Above the Clouds Suzanne Teng from Enchanted Wind (Magnatune)

Play or Download the Episode