Tarot card Archives

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Dena DeCastro & I talk about Uranus and Uranus Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Uranus By Dena DeCastro

The force of transiting Uranus has to do with change, liberation, and freedom.  Uranus transits often involve a “roller coaster” kind of feeling, and surprising and unexpected events.  Uranus helps us in our process of individuation, showing us where we stand apart from the herd.  This can manifest as an “itchy”, restless, and rebellious feeling that leads ultimately to breakthroughs and liberation from longstanding ruts in the area being impacted.

Uranus-Sun Transits
www.cafeastrology.com/uranustransits.html

Spread

Uranus Decision Spread

  1. Me
  2. The Situation
  3. Cons (Three Cards)
  4. Pros (Three Cards)
  5. The Decision (Three Cards)

Dena DeCastro

Evolutions of AstrologyA professional astrologer in the Portland area for several years, Dena has appeared on local radio shows, taught workshops, and given lectures on topics in Evolutionary Astrology. The evolutionary perspective is that our souls progress from lifetime to lifetime. The focus of Dena’s readings is upon your chart as the dynamic representation of your highest potential, and the guide toward achieving it. Dena hosts the podcast Evolutions of Astrology featuring interviews with astrologers and other readers, as well as discussing various topics of astrology and chart interpretation.

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

  • Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight Get Music
  • Closing Music: Freedom by Jeff Wall from Guienevere Right Click to Download this Song

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I just don’t understand where some people come up with certain meanings for tarot cards. As far as I’m concerned they just pull them out of their underwear and parade them around like it should be perfectly evident from looking at the card that it means just that. So many times I just scratch my head and think: WTF? Let’s say the Three of Wands shows up in a predictive position and the reader goes, “Well, she’s going to go out and buy herself a new pair of earrings.” Um. Mkay. Whatever. So then I start, painfully, trying to fit that interpretation to the card. I think, well, it is Wands and it could mean she goes out to actually do something. But it’s a three, not a two, so I don’t know where the pair of earrings comes into play. And it’s not pentacles, so what’s with the tangible purchase? And earrings? Ok, so maybe the card being used has a figure wearing earrings, what do I know? There are so many decks out there, maybe the reader honed in on the earrings in the image. So I try, hard as I might, to fit that to the Three of Wands. Finally I throw up my hands and give up. I can’t do it. It feels wrong anyhow.

So then I hear, oh, it was an INTUITIVE reading. There. Now everything’s all better.

Hell not!  (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self.

Music Credits

The Star is one of those cards in tarot that feels good when we see it, but we’re not always sure why. I see it as a light at the end of the tunnel, a signpost that tells me I’m heading in the right direction, no matter how lost I may feel at the time. The disappointing thing, and probably the only disappointing thing about the Star is that the thing or event that you’re heading towards and hoping for is a ways off. It’s not going to happen today nor tomorrow, but sometime in the future. For those of us who adore immediate gratification, this can be almost as frustrating as seeing The Hanged Man show up.

The symbolism of the Star is curious. Often there is a naked woman portrayed pouring out two jugs of water, one onto the earth and the other into the water. One immediate sense is that of abundance. But as one friend of mine noted, this woman is pouring herself out to a ridiculous degree: “She’s watering the water, for heaven’s sake!” my friend said. When we look at what water symbolizes in tarot, the emotions, we can see a dual meaning here. On the one hand, there is emotional healing going on. She’s pouring out, releasing her emotions, both for their generative qualities and just for the sake of releasing them. Her nakedness suggests both a vulnerability and a healthy sense of self. Being transparent and not hiding one’s feelings is imperative for emotional health and healing. Yet it does leave one vulnerable to further injury, so it takes a good deal of courage to do what this woman is doing. Going back to my friend’s observation, women especially tend to overextend themselves emotionally and give rise to the need for the Star’s emotional down time. Someone represented by the Star in a reading could signify someone who is an emotional giver, sometimes to their own detriment. The advice then is to take some real time for oneself and attend to one’s own emotional waters and dry, parched soul.

The Star is an incredibly peaceful card and brings with it a sense of wholeness. It’s a relief, a breather, on a long arduous journey. It reminds us to slow down because any amount of stressing out about when you’ll get there isn’t going to make the trip go any faster. It quiets those voices in your head that sound like children in the back seat chattering, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes. It answers soothingly, “No, but we will get there at just the right time, now relax and enjoy the scenery.” It’s the kind of card that makes you stop and experience the present moment in all its peaceful beauty and reminds us that the journey IS the destination. (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self.

Music Credits

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 2008

SF BATS is proud to present:

  • Wald & RuthAnn Amberstone, East Coast powerhouse teachers, authors (The Secret Language of the Tarot) and producers of the Readers Studio
  • James Wanless, groundbreaking teacher, coach and creator of the Voyager Tarot system
  • Monte Farber & Amy Zerner, divination pioneers (The Enchanted Tarot, The Enchanted Spellboard, Breathe Easy Deck, and so many more)
  • Joseph Ernest Martin, acclaimed psychic and creator of the Quest Tarot
  • Julie Cuccia-Watts, superb Tarot artist (The Ancestral Path Tarot, the Ma’at Tarot, and many other works)
  • Pamela Eakins, priestess, teacher and co-creatrix of the Tarot of the Spirit
  • Arnell Ando, visionary Tarot artist and facilitator (the Transformational Tarot, the Tarot Museum )
  • Holly Voley, well known expert on the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck
  • Sasha St John, creatrix of Gentle Wisdom of the Faerie Realm, worker with angelic, faerie and mermaid wisdom
  • Corinne Kenner, popular Tarot author (Tall Dark Stranger, Simple Fortunetelling with Tarot Cards, and many more)
  • Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, creatrix of the Tarot of the Crone
  • Kooch Daniels, popular local reader and author of Tarot d’Amour
  • Susan Gold and Evelyn Pine of The Magician’s Table
  • Calyxa Omphalos, creatrix of the revolutionary divination system, Elemental Hexagons

Saturday, October 4, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
First Unitarian Universalist Centre
1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA

Visit the BATS Fall 2008 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.

Follow the Yellow Brick Royal Road Spread

Based on the movie the Wizard of Oz

  • What is your goal, what is your emerald city?
  • Where are your brains (scarecrow swords or mental game)?
  • Where is your heart (tinman, cups)?
  • Where is your courage (lion, wands)?
  • Where are your ruby slippers? What gets you from one place to another? (Pentacles)
  • What is your little dog (toto) What do you need to pay attention to?

Music Credits


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A long time ago I asked my mother why so many songs were about love. She smiled as she answered, “Because love makes the world go ’round.” At the time I didn’t get the irony that she was answering my question with song lyrics, probably Perry Como’s given her musical tastes. But she probably didn’t realize she was referencing medieval theology either, which held that the power of love literally set the universe in motion. I wasn’t fully satisfied with her answer, actually, and I’m still not. I vascillate in my airy Libran way between being a full on sucker for love and examining it under a microscope with proper scientific objectivity. It’s a curious subject, love, and it is no less curious in tarot when it appears as the Major Arcana card: The Lovers.

This card has no problem showing up when a romantic relationship is in question, but doesn’t it make you scratch your head a little when it shows up when you’re doing a reading about something completely non-romantic? You stare at the image of the passionate couple and think…wtf? The fallback meaning is of “choice” and of following one’s heart to make that choice, so at least there is that. (read the full post at 78Notes.blogspot.com)

Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self.

Music Credits

The Process is written and read by Dan M. Pelletier © 2004-2008

Produced by Leisa ReFalo for the Tarot Connection © 2008
Opening  & Closing Music: Ukiyo by Queenie, www.queeniemusic.com
Theme Music: Cabin Fever by Robert Kotta
Cover illustration from The Alchemical Tarot by Robert M. Place © 2004-2008
Running Time: 5.4 Hours

Prologue

“Hello…yes…you want to learn about reading Tarot? Well, be here tomorrow around noon. Dress warmly, very warmly. Wear raingear, work-gloves, and a rain hat. Eat a good hearty meal before you get here. Do you have the address? See you at noon then. Goodbye.”

Join master storyteller, Dan Pelletier on a completely unique take on the Tarot – how to read the cards, and how to place the wisdom in your life. Voiced in first person, you become Dan’s apprentice as you listen to The Process. Beginners and experienced readers alike will find fertile material for contemplation and experimentation for their own unique path of the way of the Tarot Reader.

The Process is available in two formats:

The Process The Process
Single Mp3 CD-Rom $45 Six Disk Audio CD Set $60
  • Track 1: Title and Copyright
  • Track 2: Cabin Fever Part 1
  • Track 3: The Call
  • Track 4: Prologue
  • Track 5: Chapter 1: Beginnings
  • Track 6: Chapter 2: Beginnings Part 2
  • Track 7: Chapter 3: Numbers
  • Track 8: Chapter 4: In the Camp of the Enemy
  • Track 9: Chapter 5: The Suits
  • Track 10: Cabin Fever Part 2
  • Track 11: Chapter 6: The Skeptic
  • Track 12: Chapter 7: Decks
  • Track 13: Chapter 8: The Question
  • Track 14: Chapter 9: Spreads
  • Track 15: Chapter 10: Shuffling
  • Track 16: Chapter 11: Flashes
  • Track 17: Chapter 12: Card Interpretations
  • Track 18: Chapter 13: Ethics
  • Track 19: Chapter 14: Reading for Others
  • Track 20: Regular Playing Cards
  • Track 21: Chapter 16: The Blank Sport
  • Track 22: Cabin Fever Part 3
  • Track 23: Chapter 17: The Moment
  • Track 24: Chapter 18: Timing
  • Track 25: Chapter 19: Reading and Your Health
  • Track 26: Chapter 20: The Event
  • Track 27: Cabin Fever Part 4
  • Track 28: Chapter 21: The Business of Tarot
  • Track 29: Chapter 22: Reading with Majors Only (Right Click to Download a Sample)
  • Track 30: Chapter 23: A Spiritual Approach
  • Track 31: Toothpicks
  • Track 32: Chapter 25: Readings from the Journal
  • Track 33: Chapter 26: ROTA
  • Track 34: Cabin Fever
  • Track 35: Credits

Dan Pelletier

Dan Pelletier lives north of Seattle Washington with his wife of 22 years, Jan, his two cats, Spook and Pookha, and 32 rosebushes. He has been reading Tarot for himself and others for over thirty years.

Dan is also co-owner of The Tarot Garden, a highly respected resource for tarot decks and related information on the Internet. He has written articles appearing on the Tarot for Life website newsletter, Seeker’s Journey, and Tarot Passages; and has published interviews with deck creators on the tarotgarden.com website library.

Music Credits

  • Opening Music & Transition Music: Narcissus by Queenie from Dream of Flight Get Music
  • Closing Music: Cabin Fever by Robert Kota


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Domenic Robertazzi is a Sargent and Councilor at a Juvenile Detention Center in New Jersey. He shares his experiences reading with the youth which began with his Thoth deck flying out of his shirt pocket in the computer classroom.

Music Credits

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About Touchstone Tarot

Touchstone Tarot, a new deck by Kat Black, author of the popular and critically acclaimed Golden Tarot, is coming soon. The artwork used in the deck is digitally collaged composites from the artwork of the European Old Masters from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, with expressive and surprisingly modern looking faces to communicate the meanings of each card.

The name of the deck Touchstone Tarot – was chosen for it’s metaphorical meanings. Something small, that can be held in the hand… a tool used to assess if something is true… sounds just like the Tarot!

It’s creation was funded by a private benefactor, a Patron of the Arts who wishes to remain anonymous. This person’s generosity meant that the deck can be created just as Kat intended, without commercial pressure to make it yet another RWS clone. This is a limited edition of 500 decks and is 3″ x 4″.

$56.00 + S & H.

Visit shop.tarotconnection.net to request your copy today!

Touchstone Links

Kat Black

Australian artist/author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Golden Tarot and forthcoming Touchstone Tarot. See website touchstonetarot.com for more biographical info. Also a VJ in partnership with my lovely partner Jasper Cook – see VJzoo.com – we tour around the world doing visuals for festivals and bands.

A few Cards

Music Credits

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Download audio file (TarotConnection86.mp3)

Episode 86

I know this goes without saying but … Always respect copyright laws.

I have made dozens of decks by hand over the years. I like to make prototypes to flesh out ideas, to find mistakes and to get feedback from other people. I only really know if I like something for size, layout and color if I’ve seen it and held it in my hand.

I’ve also made copies of very rare decks that I’m to afraid to use. I helped my friend Linda make a usable deck with her BOTA cards that she spend years coloring. (more about that later when we talk about embellishments.)

Just as a fair warning it is very expensive and time consuming to make decks in this manner. Appreciate what a value your commercial decks are.

Supplies

There are some basic supplies that you will need.

There are a number of considerations when making the deck and the qualities can work against each other.

  • Beauty
  • Durability
  • Usability (how well it shuffles)
  • Deck Thickness

The Methods

  • Very Heavy Card Stock
  • Lamination
  • 2 page Adhesive
  • 2 page Adhesive/Lamination Com

Download the Handout

Music Credits


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About the Mystereum Tarot

2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ playing card size decks in a great looking box complete with 46 page booklet (lwb) + fold-out intro cardlet. The Mystereum Tarot deck is playing card size! Great for small hands and for shuffling.

$28.95 + S & H.

Visit www.mystereum.com to request your copy today!

Inception Story

The concept of setting into the creative adventure of this tarot deck began several years back when I made a connection between the meaning of architecture and The Magician and The High Priestess. And when I say the meaning of architecture I am literally looking to the word architecture itself. There is a four-point mode of being that I enjoy for the general purpose of architectural analysis which I will use to preface this connection for conversation’s sake, and to provide just a moment of suspense. This four-point mode is somewhat existential, and I have to honestly say I don’t think about these four points much anymore unless a building really perplexes me. Things incorporate over time, are amended into the soil so to speak:

  1. How does a building stand on the ground?
  2. How does a building extend to the sides?
  3. How does a building open and close?
  4. How does a building meet the sky?

Now, for just a bit more suspense. I won’t go in to whether something has to be a building to be considered architecture. That’s another story, and tarot is the order of the day here.

OK. Architecture. The meaning of architecture. If I disassemble the word into its Greek roots, I get arche and techne, and I STILL can’t remember how to make the accent over a letter work on my keyboard. I ask that you please imagine the accent and play along. Further for your imagination, that the accent starts low on the left and ends high on the right. Accent ague? Accent grave? Imagination. Arche, techne. Say ar-kay. Tek-nay. And, here’s where I made a connection.

Arche is the first inkling, the creation, the first spark of an idea. Arche is the place of inception. Techne is the giving form to the formless, the making, the putting together of the idea that has been created. Techne is the place of conception. And, I saw The Magician and The High Priestess with their respective 1st spark, the creation of the Magician, and then the giving form, the making of The High Priestess. And though I remained fascinated with the deck and stayed my course with architecture and art, the connection didn’t stick. Or, so I thought.

Scroll forward several years to the summer of 2006 while I’m gardening, and I look up at my turn-of-the-century Victorian house (1906) and realize that I’ve been working on the cards here and there, reading text and history when I can, or simply come across it, and …rush inside and rinse the dirt off and open up the folder on my computer, and there I saw…just down the page!…The Empress carrying to full term! The Emperor overseeing! And, it came to mind that I was thick in the middle of the largest scale project I have ever undertaken, had been walking right on the burial as I amended the soil in my garden. Imagine my bright , wide eyes when I eventually came to looking at the Judgment card having a The Hanged Man moment!

Though architecture provided a form-giving metaphor for the creation of this deck, from which I lifted arche, techne, identity, place, and context, the architecture may or may not stop right there. The warm-up is oftentimes not a member of the performance. Either way or neither, though, one’s path is experienced and built, built back in upon and re-built, expanded and contracted…one’s path continually pulses through the scales of life, driven by life itself. The tarot cards are wonderful trail-markers as well as storytellers along the path. Sometimes there is the soliloquy of a single card as the context. Sometimes a card or cards speak with the chorus of the other cards to flesh out context. Most all tarot decks present a visual vitality that speaks to the mind – you can call it consciousness or anything else for that matter…but in this regard, never-mind the research in this area(s)in this regard though fitting and inspiring even…in this regard there is no proof or re-proof but life itself. In this regard we each have our own say. With vitality at a variety of scales, and incorporating the concept of all similar, each unique to the cards, to ourselves, a whole world is present and complete at each and every scale.

And there, at that point is a shell in my garden cracking open of its own accord underground, the story of the creation and making of this deck sprouted, remembering origin and destiny as one and the same maybe. Or not. The roots of tarot and architecture will flower perennially in my garden, naturalizing over time as this deck is completed and becomes dog-eared from use, naturalizing. I will move from there now to the fruits that began to come from my garden in the summer of 2006. Enjoy!

– Jordan Hoggard, January 2007

The Context Spread


click on the images to view the pdf

Jordan Hoggard

Jordan Hoggard is an artist and architect. He is the Principal of J. Jordan Hoggard Design which is a small architectural company established in 2002 devoted to providing disciplined, responsive, and respectful service to every client, no matter how big or small the project. Jordan works directly with every client to assure their continuing satisfaction throughout the design and construction process.

  • “Architecture is for everyone…” © 2003
  • “ Form Follows Priority” ® 2007

Jordan has been working on award-winning projects singe 1991.

Graduated in 1991 from Texas Tech University with the degree of Bachelor of Architecture. He was honored with numerous scholarships and awards, held the offices of Vice President and President of the American Institute of Architecture Students, and was named by the Dean of the College of Architecture to the Faculty Search Committee.

Jordan spent five years as a professional painter of fine art oils and watercolors and continues to pursue special studies in architecture and art.

Max in a Mystereum Dog Shirt

Music Credits

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‘Flowing Through Inner Essence’

www.mystereum.com

Spiritualist Minister … Clairvoyant … Herbalist … Cerified Reiki Counselor … Numerology … Dowser … Shiatsu … Foot Reflexologist … Spirtuial Response Therapist … Theraputic Touch …. Energy balancer

Judith Beaudoin, CEO of Crystal Cavern has worked for the last 30 years to bring Harmony, Knowledge and Wellness to her clients. Judith has lectured at the Oregon Herb Society, Women’s Military League of Oregon, Churches in both Oregon and Washington, Readings at Events, Private Functions, Classes, Workshops and Private Sessions. She has appeared on Town Hall on Channel 2 in Portland, Oregon and as guest Speaker and Reader on Vancouver’s Cable Network.

Crystal Cavern

14915 SW 72nd Avenue Tigard, Oregon 97224
1 Mile North of Bridgeport Plaza
(Between Bonita and Carman Drive on 72nd Ave.)

Phone: 503-597-2688

Hours:

  • Monday to Saturday: 12 pm to 6 pm
  • Sunday: 1 pm to 4 pm

Incense and Associations

There are many different associations for incense and different associations/attributions. Here is one example.

Chakras

  • 1st Chakra: Violets
  • 2nd Chakra: Sandal Wood
  • 3rd Chakra: Honeysuckle
  • 4th Chakra: Musk
  • 5th Chakra: Carnation
  • 6th Chakra: Lavender
  • 7th Chakra: Wisteria

Elements:

  • Air: Leaves – Patchouli
  • Earth: Roots – Valerian, Vervet, Ginger, Spikenard
  • Fire: Flower: Clove
  • Water: Stems & Branches: Sandalwood, Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedar wood
  • Ether: Fruit – Star Annis

Astrological Signs

  • Aries: Frankincense, Carnation, Musk
  • Taurus: Rose, Magnolia, Ceder wood, Patchouli, Rosemary
  • Gemini: Lotus, Lilac, Star Annis
  • Cancer: Myrrh, Violet, Bayberry, Patchouli
  • Leo: Frankincense, Sweet Orange, Musk, Cedar Wood
  • Virgo: Lavender, Narcissus, Honeysuckle
  • Libra: Lilac, Rose, Magnolia
  • Scorpio: Violet, Bay wood, Clove, Vanilla, Frankincense
  • Sagittarius: Myrrh, Rose, Carnation, Sweet Orange
  • Capricorn: Magnolia, Honeysuckle
  • Aquarius: Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Frankincense
  • Pisces: Cloves, Honeysuckle

Books on Incense & Aroma Therapy

Essential Oils Desk Reference Magical Aromatherapy by Cunningham, Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series) Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series) Flower Power: Flower Remedies for Healing Body and Soul Through Herbalism, Homeopathy, Aromatherapy, and Flower Essences (Henry Holt Reference Book)

Music Credits

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Ellen Lorenzi-Prince led a Portland Tarot Study Group session on the Major Arcana of Tarot of the Crone. Click on the image to the left for a larger view of the Major Arcana.

The Major Arcana of the Tarot of the Crone represent times when the Crone is speaking directly to your soul. Rather than addressing an aspect of everyday life as in the Minor Arcana cards, the Majors require you to look at the deeper forces working within and upon you. They are challenging and powerful opportunities when they appear in a reading.

Ellen Lorenzi-Prince has been a reader and teacher of Tarot for over 15 years. She is the artist and designer of the Tarot of the Crone. She writes tarot-related articles, poetry, short stories and meditations for herself and for several online study groups, as well as for printed newsletters. Her latest tarot is Pandora’s Tarot, which can also be seen on her site.

Glitter Ball

Music Credits

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Oh, how I love the Mitelli Tarocchini.

I think it really might be the most beautiful deck in the world. Ever time I look through it I’m simply astonished by its delicacy and grace. I also love the mix of simplicity in presentation and incredible detail.

I can understand why this deck isn’t more popular. It’s “non-traditional”. To begin with it is a “Tarocchino”, a deck that has the 2-5 pips removed. Also, being a deck from Bologna, the “Popes” are different than the more common tarot decks. Instead of a Popess, Empress, Emperor, and Pope, we have a Bearded Emperor, Emperor, Seated Pope, and Standing Pope.

Other subjects are non-traditional as well.

The Bateleur is a street performer; The Lovers is shown with just Cupid, or “Love”; The Chariot has a seated Venus; “The Hermit” here is the older subject of “Time”; rather than a Hanged Man, we have a very scary Traitor; The Devil has no minions; “The Tower” goes by it’s old subject of The Lightening; a rag picker searches (with lantern!) under The Star; Diana is The Moon; Apollo The Sun; Atlas The World; and finally, instead of “Judgement” we have the older subject of “The Angel”.

For me, these unusual subjects have a very natural feeling to them. I really like the “classical” feel of this deck. I like the elegance and nobility of the characters. Somehow, I feel less distracted when looking at the subjects than I do with any other deck that comes to mind.

Yet, the deck is very detailed. Every card is so lovingly crafted, there is an abundance of detail to savor. This is true for the pips as well.

There is so much to explore in this deck, I think it’s very worthy of a good discussion.

I’ve placed the entire deck here for you to view: http://www.tarothistory.com/mitelli.html

Please join me in exploring the iconography of this treasure. What do you like? How do your thoughts when viewing these images differ from when viewing more traditional tarots? What details do you find interesting? What do you think of some of the choices Mitelli made?

The discussion on this deck is on the Tarot Forum: http://forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=79

Do you use iGoogle for a home page and want the Alchemical Tarot on your home page? I’m learning how to create Google gadgets but in the mean time you can use this general gadget. It displays a random image from a photo album of the Alchemical Tarot images.  Set the username to: leisa.refalo and the Title to what you want the title bar to display.  I chose “Alchemical Tarot”.  The refresh rate can be Never or a range of  5 sec to 10 minutes. 

Dena DeCastro & I talk about Neptune and Neptune Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Neptune By Dena DeCastro

Neptune is the planet which represents our ability to transcend our ego-self and connect with what we would perceive as mystical – that which is beyond mundane reality. This has its potentially positive and negative effects when it touches us by transit. Under its influence, we can experience heightened states of awareness, such as meditation, the perception of other realities, and mystical visions. Our psychic awareness may also increase, along with our sensitivity to other’s thoughts and feelings. Our dreams and other contacts with the unconscious become very prominent under a Neptune transit. Because it is a force that leads us to contemplate what is outside our every-day reality, the visions and insights we gain can lead us to experience epiphanies, but also confusion. In its dark aspect, Neptune’s influence can leave us vulnerable to delusion and self-deception. Being in the middle of a Neptune transit (especially by hard aspect – conjunction, square, or opposition) can engender the feeling of being in a “fog.” Neptune’s force is that which dissolves what it touches, like that of a large body of water. Its action is strong but subtle, and usually happens over time. Neptune transits last 2 – 3 years in its aspect to a planet in the natal chart.



Spread and Readings

Neptune Higher Purpose Snapshot

  1. Who Am I?
  2. What is an Illusion/Delusion I face?
  3. Salt (Past) -What is Contractive?
  4. Mercury (Present)-What is Changing?
  5. Sulpher (Future) – What is Expanding?

Dena DeCastro

Evolutions of AstrologyA professional astrologer in the Portland area for several years, Dena has appeared on local radio shows, taught workshops, and given lectures on topics in Evolutionary Astrology. The evolutionary perspective is that our souls progress from lifetime to lifetime. The focus of Dena’s readings is upon your chart as the dynamic representation of your highest potential, and the guide toward achieving it. Dena hosts the podcast Evolutions of Astrology featuring interviews with astrologers and other readers, as well as discussing various topics of astrology and chart interpretation.

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

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Join visionary artist, scholar, and teacher Robert M. Place in a journey through the imagery and symbolism of alchemy.

This study course on CD-ROM focuses on the images in the Alchemical Tarot and its sources. It includes a 50 page companion book in pdf format, 13 additional handouts, over 100 illustrations and three and one half hours of audio, recorded in live teleclasses.

It is available for $50 at shop.tarotconnection.net

The Relationship Spread

June 18, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST
$25.00

Register Here

Tarot readers are most commonly asked for advice about love or career. By treating these questions as a relationship between the querent and another person, company, or institution this spread can handle both topics. This spread can be applied to relationships between the querent and a lover, a boss, or another person, a job, a home, a culture, a city, or another environment. Instead of predicting the future, it gives insight into what each party is thinking and how they are interacting. Then the cards can provide insight from the Higher Self and tell the querent how to improve the relationship or other advice. This is a truly versatile spread that is capable of bringing insight and guidance to any situation.

The class will include an introduction to the spread, the three stages of relationships and how they relate to the Tarot trumps, and sample readings. This class builds on the lessons learned in Hieroglyphs From The Soul and will expand on the three-card reading.

Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and The Alchemical Tarot will be used.

The Symbolism of Numbers


June 25, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST / 9:00 – 11:00 EST (Call opens 15 min. early)
$25.00

Register Here

Besides describing quantity and sequence numbers have inherent psychological meaning and symbolism. The meaning of the number five, for example, is tied to the fact that humans have five fingers. This natural symbolism has been added to over the centuries by Babylonian astronomers observing the numerical patterns of the planets, Egyptian magicians applying numbers to their magic formulas, and Pythagorean mystics observing abstract mathematical patterns. In the Middle Ages, Christian mystics and alchemists added more layers and this accumulated symbolic wisdom was passed onto the creators of the Tarot in the Renaissance. Besides the numerical symbolism suggested by the trumps, the symbolism of numbers is at the heart of traditional methods of divination with cards, particularly when we consider that the pip cards traditionally contained repetitions of the suit symbol on each card and not much else.

This class will explain the symbolism of the of the first ten numbers, covering their natural, astrological, mystical, and mythological associations, and apply this knowledge to the meanings of the Tarot’s trumps and pips. A knowledge of numerical symbolism is essential for a deeper understanding of the Tarot and its use in divination.

Teleclass Information

You will be responsible for the long distance rates or tolls will be charged by your phone company. For most people, this usually runs about $3-$6 for an hour. Calling Cards can also be used. (Note: If you are a Tarot Professional, your tuition may be tax-deductible as a training expense. Consult your tax advisor.)
What you need:

1. Telephone (land line if possible, we will be recording the class)
2. Quiet Room
3. Tarot Deck
4. Handout (provided)
5. Notebook
6. Pencil

You will be notified by e-mail with the conference call number and passcode. Please write in with questions for a reading. Robert Place will select a couple of questions for use in the class.

register for these classes at shop.tarotconnection.net

Ciro Marchetti (Florida) is an award-winning artist from the United Kingdom. He studied art in London, followed by a career working in Europe and South America before settling in the United States where he opened a design agency in Miami. In addition to managing his company, Ciro also gives workshops and lectures on digital digital imagery and illustration at the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute, and continues to create his own visionary art.

Gilded Tarot

The Gilded Tarot was my first attempt at creating a tarot deck and much like the leading character the Fool himself, it represents the beginning of my own personal tarot journey. It reflects some naiveté and innocence certainly, but also respect and enthusiasm. Despite not being particularly well received by some critics and the more traditionalists of the tarot world, it nevertheless seems to have struck a positive chord with the general tarot community, both readers and their querants.

Tarot of Dreams

The Tarot of Dreams was self published in 2005. A follow up to the Gilded, this deck built on the learning curve that resulted from its predecessor. Instead of the standard companion book, the ToD comes with an interactive CD that includes numerous features that are unique to the Tarot genre, such as animated cards, video intro and background music etc, along with a full book length PDF document that provides full explanation of the decks imagery and esoteric symbolism. The ToD was voted most popular deck of that year by the leading tarot web site Acelectic.net

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

My future deck will be the third and almost certainly the last. This project is quite extensive and will be accompanied by a book that will comprise of a short story as well as the usual guide explaining the various card meanings. Its a very personal approach to Tarot and the images incorporate many elements from my other illustrations which will within the context of this project now find a new home and meaning. Nevertheless their inclusion and incorporation remains relevant and stays withing the basic structure of tarot and specifically that of the RWS. Anyone comfortable with that system should be in familiar territory.

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT

Legacy of the Divine Tarot Wallpaper

Click on the image to show the full sized wallpaper. Right Click and Save As to download.

Available Decks

The Gilded TarotEasy Tarot (deck& book) by Ellershaw/ Marchetti

Music Credits

Hear more of Queenie’s music featured in the Forever Fifteen Podiobook

Play or Download the Episode


Legacy of the Divine Tarot from Ciro Marchetti on Vimeo

YouTube Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRmhU3jTgI0

Postcards from Seattle

I’ve been out of town for the last 3 weekends. This week it is Seattle for the Karmapa’s visit. I spent my time not in the program working on Episode 80. I thought this is kind of a cool place to work on a podcast (though not a creative way to spend a vacation).

Pensione Nichols at Pikes Market

Pensione Nochols Bed & Breakfast

Pensione Nichols at Pikes Market

What makes a good spread?

  • Appropriate Number of Cards
  • Spread positions should follow a logical or easy to follow order.
  • Symmetry
  • Interesting relationships between cards that are next to each other

Spreads

1 Card

What do I most need to know about <this> right now.

Choice Centered Relating and the Tarot2 Card Focus by Gail Fairfield from Choice Centered Tarot

  1. Major – The What of the Situation
  2. Minor – The How of the Situation

The Pro & Con Layout

  1. Pro-Whats the best thing about this. What are the benefits.
  2. Con – Whats the worst thing about this. What are the costs.

3 Card: by Zoe Matoff

2 – 1 – 3

  1. Whats the basic issue here
  2. Don’t do this
  3. Do this

Deeper Learning Layout by James Wells

  1. Larger Deeper Learning for me in this situation.
  2. What’s appropriate to release, exit, or leave behind?
  3. What’s appropriate to embrace, enter or move towards?

Reality Check Spread by James Wells

  1. What am I imagining on the bad side?
  2. What am I imagining on the good side?
  3. What’s the reality of the situation itself?

Tarot for Dummies4 Card Psychological Spread from Tarot for Dummies

  1. Your subconscious or child self (reactive)
  2. Your conscious or adult self (intentional)
  3. you superconscious or wise self
  4. Overall comment

The Spread of Changes by James Rioux

The first card can be drawn at random or intentionally selected based on something you want to focus on and consciously pick a card to represent it. You can pick any of the position’s intentionally.

1-2-3-4-5

  1. The past or root cause
  2. Your state or attitude or how you thought about yourself before the change
  3. The change itself
  4. The after change attitude
  5. The result of the change or desired outcome

2007 Tarot Reader: Your Annual Guide to News, Reviews, Tips & Techniques (Llewellyn's Tarot Reader)Elenore Greenburg from 2007 Tarot Reader

  1. What the client needs to learn about the current situation
  2. What he or she needs to learn about how it plays out in their life in general or the bigger picture or pattern revealed by the situation
  3. How learning the situation can further their spiritual growth
  4. What’s appropriate to leave behind
  5. What’s appropriate to move toward

Tarot and Psychology : Spectrums of PossibilityArthur Rosengarten from Tarot and Psychology

  1. Whats’ working for you
  2. What’s working against you
  3. What you know
  4. What you don’t know
  5. What’s needed

The Shining Tribe Tarot: Awakening the Universal SpiritThe Leap Across the Abyss by Rachel Pollack from the Shining Tribe Tarot

  1. Where do I start?
  2. What is hidden?
  3. Who helps me?
  4. What do I fear?
  5. What must I give up?
  6. What must I take with me?
  7. What will I experience?
  8. What will I find?

Every Day Tarot: A Choice Centered BookClarifying Options by Gail Fairfield from Everyday Tarot

Layout 9 cards for each option including an option you having though of. The third card will help identify the new option. Please refer to the book Everyday Tarot for the shape of the spread

  1. your reason for considering this option
  2. what this option represents for you
  3. the true nature of this option
  4. the resources that support this option
  5. the obstacles that block this option
  6. the advantages of pursuing this option
  7. the disadvantages of pursing this option
  8. what will probably happen if you choose this option
  9. the Key Factor with regard to this option.

James’ 10 Card Layout

  1. The External Experience of the Situation.
  2. The Internal Experience of the Situation.
  3. My contribution to it.
  4. Other’s contribution to it.
  5. What challenges blocks or problems are connected with it
  6. What blessings, gifts or resources are connected with it.
  7. What does soul have to say about the situation? (Soul: Personal Sacred or Sacred Self)
  8. What does spirit have to say about the situation? (Spirit: Transpersonal Sacred or Sacred Other)
  9. What’s the wisdom emerge from me from the situation? What can I learn?
  10. (Optional) Based on the above information, what is the most likely way this will unfold in the <timeframe>

Freestyle Q&A

Initial question. Pull a card. Dialog. This generates another question. Pull a Card. Continue until it feels complete or resolved.

Custom Design Layouts

  • Step 1: Pick a Topic (Subject)
  • Step 2: Brainstorm Questions (Quantity)
  • Step 3: Refine the Questions & Wording (Quality)
  • Step 4: Put the Questions in an order that makes sense and number the Questions (Order)
  • Step 5: Draw a Diagram (Shape)

Draw and Layout the Cards. Interpret. Finish with a summary card.

Your first step to a helpful insightful Tarot Session is ask empowering open ended questions such as:

  • How?
  • What?
  • Where in my life?
  • In what ways?
  • What do I most need to learn about?
  • What do I most need to know about at this time?
  • What is a more evolved perspective on … ?

Avoid:

  • Yes/No Questions
  • Negatively worded questions
  • Questions about other people’s lives

James Wells

James Wells 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 workshop presenter at home and abroad. James is a contributor to most of Llewellyn’s Tarot Reader almanacs. In his “me time”, he enjoys writing, reading, music, walking, and good food.

jameswells.wordpress.com

To book private consultations and to set up a workshop in your area, feel free to contact James at (416) 966 – 2685 or at evolutionary_tarot@yahoo.ca

JAMES WELLS — Merging soul and strategy through tarot, Reiki, journal writing, council circle, workshops, & classes.

Music Credits


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Born out of the mystical vision of artist Robert M. Place, The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed demonstrates the close link between alchemical symbolism and traditional Tarot imagery and illustrates that the Tarot, like the alchemical quest, is designed to lead one to the gold of inner wisdom. One of the most beautiful and sought after modern Tarot decks, the out of print first edition Alchemical Tarot has sold at auction for over $2,000. Now it is back in print at an affordable price.

The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is a digitally redesigned version of the original with improvements in the drawings, more vibrant colors, and reproportioned so that the art is more prominent. The cards are 4.75 x 2.75 and come in a tuck box. It is printed on standard card stock, like a poker deck, with the same durable finish and die-cut edges. The deck includes the original Lovers card that was censored in the first publication as well as the Lovers that was published in that edition and a little-white-book that lists the meaning of each card. Each card in The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is beautifully drawn and captures the enigmatic symbols of alchemy that are natural vehicles for communication with the unconscious mind. It can be used my Tarot readers at any level.

The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed is now available at shop.tarotconnection.net.

Other Alchemical Tarot Materials

Robert M. Place

Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist and illustrator, whose award winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan and graced the covers and pages of numerous books and publications. He is the designer, illustrator, and co-author, with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, of: “The Alchemical Tarot” and “The Angels Tarot“, which are both published by HarperCollins and have received international acclaim particularly for their skillful and illuminating graphics. He is the designer, illustrator, and author of “The Tarot of the Saints” and “The Buddha Tarot“. And, he is the author of “The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination“, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.” He is currently working on the “Vampire Tarot“, which will be published by St. Martins Press in 2008.

Divination

Robert is recognized as an expert on Western Mysticism, the history of the Tarot, and as a gifted teacher of divination. He has taught and lectured at the New York Open Center, Omega Institute, The New York Tarot School, and the World Tarot Congress. He and his work have appeared on Discovery, The Learning Channel, and A&E. He has been a guest on numerous radio shows including The Woodstock Roundtable on WDST-FM, People are Talking on WKZE-FM , and Mystic Musings on KKUP FM.

Together with his wife Rose Ann, he has been creating hand crafted jewelry for over twenty-five years. Their work has been exhibited in the White House, in the American Craft Museum, The New York State Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Delaware Art Museum, The Montclair Art Museum, The Irish American Heritage Museum, the International Wilhelm Muller Competition, (which toured Museums in Germany), Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, England, and in numerous galleries in the United States, Ireland, Britain, and Japan.

To receive The Restored Temple of Hermes, the free newsletter of the Alchemical Egg, with articles, a question and answer section, and news about up-coming lectures and workshops, e-mailed every other month, send an e-mail to Robert with The Restored Temple of Hermes in the subject line. Also, please let include know what state or country you live in.

Music Credits

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The Symbolism of The Alchemical Tarot

72-alchemicaltarot-button.jpgMay 7 & 14, 2008 -6:oo – 8:00 PST – 8:00 -10:00 EST
$50.00

Register Here

Alchemical symbols are connected to a wisdom tradition that is derived from the Higher Self. Therefore, the alchemical images in The Alchemical Tarot magnify the symbolic purpose of the Tarot and unveil the transformative wisdom of the Higher Self.

In these two classes we will walk through the alchemical imagery of the Alchemical Tarot with its creator, Robert M. Place.

Sample Page from Class Notes:

Hieroglyphs From The Soul

June 11, 2008 -6:oo – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST

$25.00

Register Here

Robert Place sees the Tarot as a spiritual tool that works, through its archetypal images, to assist our Higher Self to guide us to enlightened choices and spiritual wisdom. He recommends three card readings as a Tarot staple, and sets out a guideline for interpreting them called “The Seven Patterns.” These patterns include: linear, choice, central origin, central destination, the central problem and the central teacher.

The course will include an introduction to the method, description of the patterns, and sample readings. For the three card spread. Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and Alchemical Tarot will be used.

Read a review of this class by Cynthia Tedesco.

The Relationship Spread

June 18, 2008 – 6:00 – 8:00 PST – 8:00 – 10:00 EST
$25.00

Register Here

Tarot readers are most commonly asked for advice about love or career. By treating these questions as a relationship between the querent and another person, company, or institution this spread can handle both topics. This spread can be applied to relationships between the querent and a lover, a boss, or another person, a job, a home, a culture, a city, or another environment. Instead of predicting the future, it gives insight into what each party is thinking and how they are interacting. Then the cards can provide insight from the Higher Self and tell the querent how to improve the relationship or other advice. This is a truly versatile spread that is capable of bringing insight and guidance to any situation.

The class will include an introduction to the spread, the three stages of relationships and how they relate to the Tarot trumps, and sample readings. This class builds on the lessons learned in Hieroglyphs From The Soul and will expand on the three-card reading.

Class notes will be provided in advance to illustrate the patterns. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and The Alchemical Tarot will be used.

Teleclass Information

You will be responsible for the long distance rates or tolls will be charged by your phone company. For most people, this usually runs about $3-$6 for an hour. Calling Cards can also be used. (Note: If you are a Tarot Professional, your tuition may be tax-deductible as a training expense. Consult your tax advisor.)
What you need:

1. Telephone (land line if possible, we will be recording the class)
2. Quiet Room
3. Tarot Deck
4. Handout (provided)
5. Notebook
6. Pencil

You will be notified by e-mail with the conference call number and passcode. Please write in with questions for a reading. Robert Place will select a couple of questions for use in the class.

register for these classes at shop.tarotconnection.net

Pluto in astrology represents transformation, death, and rebirth. Dena DeCastro & I talk about Pluto and Pluto Transits and do a reading based on these themes.

Transiting Pluto By Dena DeCastro

The force of transiting Pluto brings transformative, life-changing external events OR internal realization (reference the January Podcast on Pluto into Capricorn). Pluto brings the opportunity for us to reconnect with our passions by clearing away things that are blocking us in the unconscious. Pluto offers us the lesson that we are not ultimately in control of everything in or lives, and often we find that there is very little we do control. The issue of power and its locus is up for consideration here, and we must look at our relationship to power – both our own power and how others use power towards us. Pluto often pushes us to face our fears – not to punish us, but so that we may come more fully into our own power and feel a passionate connection to our lives.

Transformation, Regeneration, Rebirth

Judgement

Destruction

Tower

Death

Death

Obsession

3 Cups5 Cups9 Swords

Dictatorship EmperorKing WandsKing Cups
King SwordsKing Pentacles

Terrorism, rebellion, anarchy

5 Swords7 Swords
Secret,
Undercover,
Hidden
PriestessMoon7 Cups
Revitalization

ace wandsAce CupsAce Swords
Ace PentaclesWorld

Dena’s Reading

3 Card Change Reading

  1. Resistance (Saturn-Devil)
  2. Struggle (Mars-Tower)
  3. Transformation (Fire-Pluto-Judgement)

Dena DeCastro

Evolutions of AstrologyA professional astrologer in the Portland area for several years, Dena has appeared on local radio shows, taught workshops, and given lectures on topics in Evolutionary Astrology. The evolutionary perspective is that our souls progress from lifetime to lifetime. The focus of Dena’s readings is upon your chart as the dynamic representation of your highest potential, and the guide toward achieving it. Dena hosts the podcast Evolutions of Astrology featuring interviews with astrologers and other readers, as well as discussing various topics of astrology and chart interpretation.

To subscribe to “Evolutions of Astrology” via iTunes, click here.

Music Credits

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I think there’s something wrong with the Lovers card in the Marseille Tarots.

I’ve mentioned it before elsewhere, but I think it’s worth bringing up again. Let’s take a look at the Lovers card from the Jean Noblet Tarot, (Paris, 1650):

Jean Noblet Tarot - The Lovers

Notice the area that contains the cupid? The shape of this area has always bothered me. It seems erratically drawn, why isn’t the shape more circular or evenly distributed?

We find a similar design on the Jean Dodal Tarot, (Lyon, early 1700s):

Jean Dodal Tarot - The Lovers

The Dodal strikes me as less odd, but still somewhat strange.

I would have left it at this, but noticed something very interesting one day when examining a set of cards illustrated in Kaplan’s Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume II.

François Heri Tarot - The Lovers

The deck that caught my eye was one created by François Heri, a Tarot of Besançon style deck (where the Pope and Popess are replaced with Jupiter and Juno). Like the Jean Dodal Tarot, it was created sometime in the early 1700s. This deck is particularly interesting because it is the only deck I have ever encountered which is similar in proportion to the Jean Noblet Tarot. The deck is shorter and wider in proportion to other Besançon decks just as the Noblet shows the same relationship to other Marseille tarots. The two are obviously related somehow. There are little differences on nearly every card, most of these of a typical Besançon style; (as an example, the Devil is slightly different than in Marseille Tarots, he has hairy legs and his minions are shown in profile).

Because the Heri and the Noblet are so similar, I find it very exciting to compare where they “agree” iconographically, and where they differ. Unfortunately, I’ve only the enlarged black and white images from the Encyclopedia to use for comparison; but it is the best that I have at this time to work with. It was in such a comparison that I first noticed a striking difference between the Heri and the Noblet on the Lovers. The Heri has clouds about the Lovers.

Jean Noblet Tarot - The LoversFrançois Heri Tarot - The Lovers

For me, the Heri depiction makes much more sense.

And that’s odd because in almost every way, the Heri is a generally cruder. Why would Heri add the clouds?

Perhaps the answer is that the clouds are just a typical detail that appears in the Besançon decks, but not in the Marseille decks? It’s true they do appear on other Besançon decks. Here for example is the Marseille Tarot by Jean Dodal, and the Besançon Tarot by J.B. Benois:

Jean Dodal Tarot - The LoversJ. B. Benois Tarot - The Lovers

Notice how poorly the wings of the cupid are drawn on the Jean Dodal; and also the way the upper leg is disconnected from the body? Even though the Jean Dodal is the older of the pair, again I feel that the Besançon Tarot makes more “sense”. It’s interesting as well to note that both the Heri and the Benois Besançon Tarots follow the same “TdM I” style exemplified by Noblet and Dodal. Even the character’s feet which are missing from the Dodal are also missing on the Benois.

The “TdM II” style associated with the François Chosson and Nicholas Conver portrays the Lovers card very differently. Here is the François Chosson:

François Chosson Tarot - The Lovers

Here the Cupid is reversed and without a blindfold, the feel is entirely different.

I’m not sure what to make of this. I’m inclined to think that the card “should” have the clouds on it. The depiction in the Besançon Tarots makes more “visual sense” to me than their cousins in the Marseille Tarots.

To be fair, it’s very possible that when the Besançon style was first being developed, a cardmaker also felt that the cupid could be improved and redesigned the Marseille card to have the clouds.

I’m not so sure though.

I’m more inclined to think that the Besançon Tarots “retain” a feature that probably existed in early Marseille decks, but was “lost” in the Marseille “bloodline” by the time of the Noblet.

There is another possibility that I have been considering ever since I first noticed this years ago. Is it possible that the Noblet and the Dodal are actually modified Besançon Tarots, adapted to meet the style of the Marseille? Is the “TdM I” really a modified Besancon to take on traits of the “TdM II”? I think it unlikely, but worth mentioning.

What do you think? Are there clouds above the Lovers?

Feel free to comment here, or join a discussion on the topic in the Tarot History Forum.

Tarot of the Masters by James Ricklef

Tarot of the Masters

The Tarot of the Masters is from Tarot author James Ricklef, and is inspired by classical paintings from the old masters such as Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bouguereau, Rubens, and Hieronymus Bosch.

In preparation for creating this deck, James perused hundreds of paintings (and quite a few statues as well) in order to find ones that would suit the 78 cards of the Tarot. The classic works of art found in this process have inspired his own illustrations for the cards. (In a few cases two different paintings were combined.

This deck was drawn in pen and ink and colored on the computer. Each card is color coded by suit and the Majors show astrological attributions. It’s been self-published in a first edition run of 55 decks. The first run deck costs $50 + tax (where applicable — California) and shipping. The deck comes in a satin bag. Companion material will be available for download on the website.

A Few Closeups

Tarot of the Masters by James RicklefTarot of the Masters by James RicklefTarot of the Masters by James RicklefTarot of the Masters by James Ricklef

James Ricklef

James RicklefJames Ricklef is a Certified Tarot Master — a Tarot reader, lecturer, and writer. He has been a frequent workshop presenter at the annual Los Angeles Tarot Symposium, and he has been a guest presenter at the New York Tarot Reader’s Studio, and the annual San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium. He is also the author of the award-winning book Tarot Tells the Tale as well as Tarot — Get the Whole Story, and his new deck, Tarot of the Masters, is now available. For more information about his books or deck, visit his website:

Buy this book at Amazon.com Buy this book at Amazon.com Buy this book at Amazon.com

The Nines by Ginny Hunt

In number symbolism, nine, not ten, means completion. This can be rather confusing in tarot when the suits have a sequence of ten cards. But there are reasons for this and once understood it makes things a little easier. In a base 10 system, where all numbers are represented by ten distinct forms (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9), nine is the final number. It then represents a limit, the end, or an ultimate goal. The last among the seven Pythagorean numbers (three through nine), nine is the limit to which the generative principles of number reach. The ancient mathematical philosophers called nine the “finishing post” and “that which brings completion.”

The Greeks called nine “the horizon,” beyond which the Ennead, or “the nothing” or void lay. We colloquially express this by saying things like “the nth degree” or that a cat has nine lives and “the whole nine yards” to mean the very limit of something. Also we say someone is “on cloud nine” or “dressed to the nines” when they are achieving something high. There are nine magnitudes on the Richter earthquake scale, though one has not yet been recorded to go that high and so is only theoretically possible at this time. As such, nine is the completion of a cycle, symbolic of change and reform. In tarot it represents the end prior to a new beginning. So what’s the ten there for? I’ll get to that in the next post in this series.

Nine is composed of three trinities (3 times 3 equals 9) and represents the principles of the sacred Triad taken to their utmost expression. In fact, the Chaldeans believed nine to be so sacred they kept it apart in their numerology from the other numbers. This practice relates back to the Major Arcana IX, The Hermit, who separates himself from others in the spiritual search of the sacred. The Norse God Odin, ruler of the nine Norse worlds, hung nine days on the world axis or Yggdrasil tree to win the secrets of wisdom for mankind and after the seige of Troy, which lasted for nine years, Odysseus wandered for nine years in trying to return home. The Hermit is often pictured standing on a mountaintop, a pinnacle of sorts, the limit of height. (read the full post)

Music Credits

 

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