Archive for the ‘learning tarot’ Category

If I Could Talk To The Animals….

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

If you are in my life for any extended period, sooner or later you’ll discover a little secret: my routines are not dictated by me. In fact, my life often marches to the beat of a furry pulse. Or like I prefer to say: “it is ruled by two cats with iron paws”. They are both quite expressive and efficient at letting me know what they want or need at any given moment. I’ve learned to tune in and follow their lead.

My current buddies: TaoZen and Monkey

Many other pet owners can attest to the same connection. Our four legged friends link to our hearts and find ways to communicate with us as effortlessly as we do with fellow humans. (And in some cases, better!)

The tarot can be an effective tool for ferreting out more information about our animal companions and often my clients will come in specifically to ask about them. Questions can range from “will we get a dog” to health concerns or messages from deceased pets. I find that using the tarot in this manner can help the pet owner to make better decisions or to find peace in any situation.

Let me demonstrate a few different examples so that you can see how your tarot reading could shed light on any animal related question.

Sometimes a family may be considering getting a pet for the household. For a simple yes or no, I look for cards that may suggest a “green light” such as the Ace of Cups. This would be a good sign that the time is right for welcoming a pet into the family. If they are needing more details about what kind of pet, I’ll look for the animals present in the cards – such as the dog at the heels of the Fool or the black cat sitting by the Queen of Wands. This may give a clue as to what kind would be best for the family. Court cards can also give an idea of personalities (Page of Swords for example could be a highly intelligent puppy) so the prospective pet owner can be aware of what type of temperament they may encounter. Knowing what you are getting into could prevent issues due to personality conflicts. These creative examples are a great way to help the querent make informed decisions for the best results.

If a client wants to know about a pet’s needs, I read for the pet in the same way I would read for a human. I feel that animals have feelings and needs just like us so I see little difference when I read the cards. Here’s a sample so you can see how this works. I asked tarot “what does my cat, TaoZen, need the most right now?”

The card I pulled was the King of Pentacles. This serious card reflects TaoZen’s stoic and noble personality quite well. I have often considered him to be rather mature and dignified in his mannerisms. TaoZen also likes to be in command of his fiefdom, much like a king. This card suggests to me that he wants to feel “in control” and needs to be treated with a lot of respect. The King of Pentacles is quite well dressed and seems to be living lavishly – an indicator that TaoZen likes the good life so perhaps I need to keep those treats coming and continue to give him praise, comfort and high quality items. Apparently, my cat is a yuppie. Hmmmm……

This same rule of reading tarot as if you are reading for a human can be applied to deceased pets. I believe that spirits can communicate with us. So why not the spirit of a beloved pet? Why should this be limited to humans?

To show you how well this can work, I pulled a card to ask tarot if my dear Sparkle had any messages for me from the other side. The card I picked was the 2 of Cups. This is a beautiful image of two people bringing their cups together as if in a toast. The caduceus symbol sits between them with a winged lion figure above. This card speaks of love and healing. To me, this is a sure sign that Sparkle is sending his love and letting me know that we are still connected in spirit. I always like to say that if there was ever a true soul mate in my life, it was that cat. He understood me like no other and was my fiercest protector. He didn’t like to share me with anyone and we had a bond unlike any I have ever had with any other pet. He’s been gone for 2 years and I still think of him all the time. This was the perfect card to symbolize our relationship.

I hope these creative examples can give you an idea of how you can also use tarot to find out more about your four legged or winged pals. Look beyond the package that we come in and you may see that these animal companions are no different than us. We share the same ability to love, to feel and to understand.

‘It often happens that a man is more humanely related to a cat or dog than to any human being.’  ~Henry David Thoreau

Blessings!
Theresa

I’d love to hear your insights about using tarot to read for animals. Please post your stories in the comments section below!

PS If you’d like to see an example of a reading I did about a horse’s health, please check out this link for more.

My beloved Sparkle

I dedicate this post to my late animal companion and best bud, Sparkle.  Still miss ya, Botz.

A Town That’s Right For Me

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

One of the hardest things about working in the tarot field is the isolation that some of us feel.  Often times we find ourselves without peers – especially those who may live in a rural area.  It’s not easy to connect but thanks to the advent of the internet and social media in particular, the game has begun to change.  Many of my fellow tarot readers have been delighted to find each other through this medium – and it has made our world a little more inclusive and a lot less lonely.

Recently, a new site launched that has stepped it up a notch and created a true community for us tarot lovers.  It’s called “Tarot Town” and is the brainchild of Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin of Tarot Professionals .  Tarot Town is fun but don’t be fooled by the light tone – there is some SERIOUS tarot stuff going on here – classes, forums, discussions, groups and more!  Not only can you connect and make friends here – you can improve your skills, ask questions, learn about events and more.  If there was ever a Tarot Nirvana for us tarot freaks, I think I have found it here!

Of course, I had to ask Marcus and Tali about the creation and inspiration behind Tarot Town and this is what they had to say to me:

We were inspired to create Tarot Town by listening to the members of Tarot Professionals. We had been asked to provide a service to allow our members to network and socialise outside of the focused studies of Tarot such as Gated Spreads, the Diploma Course, Tarot Houses and other projects. When we looked at our existing forum we realised that it did not fulfil this purpose, although it is where we will continue to hold our Tarot course discussions.

We then considered our vision to promote high levels of Tarot education, and realised if we could find a way of providing such a social network, we would serve our own vision by opening it to the wider community. We also recognised that as our members had such a great deal of Tarot knowledge and experience we could connect them to those looking for help in their studies in an open and friendly fashion.

This resulted in us looking at many ways of accomplishing this aim – we reviewed existing sites, new technologies, voice/video systems, on-line teaching systems, and much more. We decided on a package of the “best of the best” even though this required a significant technical and financial investment. The site TAROT-TOWN was born from this research and our desire not to re-create the wheel.

With regard to what can we offer, there’s a line in Keat’s Hyperion which asks of the Titans, “What benefit canst thou, or all thy tribe, to the great world?” We asked ourselves the same question – as Living Oracles, what is it we bring to the world? In Tarot we remind ourselves that the Story is bigger than the individual images that arise in front of us – whether it be life or cardboard. In every divination, we are divined. We hope that Tarot Town will lead to more people coming to that experience of Tarot sooner, and deeper, through an accessible introduction. We are also shaking off the cobwebs – the Tarosophy book is all about mythbusting, and promoting brand new ideas, and Tarot Town is a reflection of that ethos, research and experience.

We’ve primarily aimed to make the Town vibrant, fun and free. There’s an optional Citizen rate of $1/month which ensures we can start to make the Town viable in the long-term and at the same time not exclude anyone on the basis of cost. Participants get access to great teaching experiences, video lessons, a one-stop window on selected Blogs and news, and most importantly peer guidance in a supportive environment. Citizens get special courses and privileges.

We are delighted that Rachel Pollack (age 13!) and many of our other Hon. Members of Tarot Professionals have joined to assist in connecting and sharing their wisdom. Our Deck Study groups are likely to have the deck designers and artists themselves in residence – such as Emily Carding in the Transparent Tarot Study Group.

There’s a readers exchange which has the unique feature of double-blind requests (you offer a reading to someone, but they don’t get informed of the request unless they offer a reading to you also) and peer-review feedback system – the Tarosophy STARS rating. We are also privileged to feature Beyond Worlds Radio Show as the Town’s official Radio Station!

Most important to our hearts is that we have provided a space for Tarot Townsfolk and Citizens to make their own home. The future of Tarot Town is in the hands of its inhabitants – it is an agile environment which will respond to the requirements of its citizens in an organic manner:

There once was an architect who did not build roads, or paths, or paving. He did not even include them in his plans and drawings. He laid grass down between the buildings which were open for all to walk.  Then as time went on, he watched where the grass was thinnest, and for where the beautiful curves and shortcuts, straight lines, dells and grooves that the passage of many people created. This was where he then created his paths – where feet naturally walked.

We have exciting plans already in pre-production for Tarot Town. We will be integrating our existing WIZIQ Learning Environment from Tarot Professionals into the Town Hekademia very soon for online courses in the Town. We are already well advanced in a 3d-Avatar environment for Tarot Conferences, Rituals, Discussions and Socialising! If you watch our promo video, you’ll see a sneak preview of the 3D world which will be ready by 2011.

Marcus Katz is the author of Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It (pub. Salamander & Sons, August 2010) and the founder of Tarot Professionals. He is an MBA graduate, M.A. holder (Western Esotericism, University of Exeter) and currently 3-years into a 6-year PhD Thesis on the Teachings of Occult groups in the Western Esoteric Tradition. He is a therapist and trainer.

Tali Goodwin is the Marketing Director of Tarot Professionals and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Her career has also involved healthcare and occupational therapy. She has also practised Reiki healing.

No matter if you are a tarot professional, a newbie, or just curious, I’d invite you to stop by and take a look around.  You can find me as what else?  The Tarot Lady.  Hope to meet you there!

Blessings!

Theresa

Image property of Tarot Town

Top Ten Tarot Blogs

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

I’m always on the hunt for new ways of looking at the tarot.  You’ll always find a tarot book on my reading table but I have discovered that some of the best tarot writing actually exists on the web.  There are some fantastic blogs that I visit on a regular basis because they never fail to enlighten me and expand my own abilities.

Here are my top ten recommended tarot blogs:

1.  Mary Greer’s Blog – no list would be complete without Mary’s blog.  This brilliant tarot scholar engages her readers with a wide array of subjects from tarot history to different spreads to tarot references in pop culture.  It is obvious that Mary is constantly learning and we are lucky that she is sharing her knowledge with us!

2.  Tarot Eon – this smart blog is written by Douglas Gibb and I can honestly say that his writing has changed my view on tarot more than any other writer out there.  He is deep, philosophical and playful.  Whenever my tarot brain gets too lazy, all I need to do is hop over to his site and in no time, I am thinking deeper than I have ever before.

3. Tarot Elements – I’ve been consistently impressed by Catherine Chapman’s stellar blog. Excellent tarot writing and delightful guest bloggers (I even got the honor of writing a post here!) round out this blog wonderfully.  There is a cornucopia of knowledge here and I’m always discovering new things!

4.  Tarot Pathways – This is a blog at Llewellyn, new age publishers, written by tarot expert Barbara Moore.  Witty writing, deep insights and so many different ways of working with tarot – it seems as if Barbara is an endless well of ideas and concepts!  One of the things I really enjoy about her writing is her conversational tone – I feel as if I am sneaking a peek at someone’s tarot diary and getting the “real dirt” on what tarot is all about!

5.  Bonnie Cehovet – Bonnie is a prolific writer and deck reviewer.  She takes great care to provide detailed reviews of tarot decks and books and this is the place I go to before I buy a deck.  I know I’ll always get an honest and thorough opinion without any hidden agendas.  Before you plunk down your hard earned dollars on your next deck, be sure to look here!

6.  Corrine Kenner’s Shuffle – This popular blog has it all – deck and book reviews, spreads, and get this – American Idol predictions!  I LOVE this!  Corrine is also a well known tarot author and has written one of my all time favorite tarot books:  Tarot Journaling.  Make sure you stop by here and see what she’s up to.  It’s always entertaining!

7.  Supertarot - If you want to learn  more about the Golden Dawn system as well as get more familiar with the Thoth Deck, then Paul Hughes Barlow is your man and this is the site you want to visit.  I am really new to the concepts he presents here and one thing I can tell you – Paul explains these methods in such a clear and concise manner that even my stubborn brain can ‘get it’.

8.  Melissa Tarot – you know what I really like about this blog?  Melissa has a great sense of humor and an excellent way with words.  She explores cards in depth and melds philosophy with wit for a fun yet serious look at the tarot.  I’m looking forward to watching this blog continue to grow.  Good stuff so far….

9.  Musings On Tarot – Arwen Lynch has one of the freshest tarot voices on the web.  She makes me laugh out loud some times, she makes me think and she makes me hungry.  What you ask?  Well, she sometimes writes about tarot and food!  I love her recipes and for me, this is the Holy Grail because there is nothing I love more than food – imagine reading about a tarot card and getting a recipe for guacamole! Fun!  Don’t let that make you assume the blog is silly – there is some super intense tarot interpretations too!

10.  Donnaleigh – This is a fun page with a potpourri of information and a tongue in cheek attitude at times.  Donnaleigh’s colorful blog is never boring! She writes about her own experiences with tarot and she’s never afraid to take it to places I would never dream of!  And if you’re too lazy to read (I know plenty of people who claim to be), she also includes an audio file “Tarot Minute”.  Listen in and learn!

While this list is big, it is by no means complete.  Be sure to check out these other blogs: Auracana, Big Tarot, Tarot Dame, 78 Notes To Self, Cat ‘N Owl and up and coming awesome tarot blogger Mike Hernandez

I also hope you check out the other blog I contribute to with my good pals Astrogrrl, Starcana and TaurusRising: Astrocreeps and Tarot Freaks.

Keep learning and keep reading!

Blessings!

Theresa

Lessons Learned From RS10

Monday, April 26th, 2010

I am currently back home after an eventful week at the Reader’s Studio.  What a week it was!  New faces, old friends, lessons…so much to digest.  I am sure it will take me  while to process this life changing conference!  Even the last day had plenty to do.  I started out my morning attending Donnaleigh’s Breakfast Roundtable.  She gave a lively lecture about “tarot bridges” and explained how the cards can connect with each other to provide insights.  This did not disappoint – she had a lot of information to pack in an hour but seemed to do it seamlessly.  (I must confess that I really enjoyed the Roundtable events – both Donnaleigh and Paul Quinn had a lot to share!)

Donnaleigh teaching about tarot bridges

Afterwards, we met up with our original partners for the “Foundation Reading” to revisit the original reading we did for each other and see how the new insights we learned at the conference enhanced our interpretations.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that what I had learned from these different teachers did indeed add a lot of depth to my reading!  Wow.  That was a powerful revelation to me.  Although I have been reading for many years, this was an eye opener.  It clearly pointed out that tarot has many layers and one can never learn enough!  (I was also happily surprised to discover that Andy and I had the same penchant for industrial music which helped me to see him as a kindred spirit in addition to being a reader that I respected!)

Myself with my tarot partner, Andy Matzner

The day finished with a ceremony to hand out certificates and prizes.  Ironically, I won a membership into a tarot organization which was the universe’s way of winking at me.  I am not affiliated with any tarot organizations as I am a lone wolf and have no intention of joining any group.  So, I had to laugh out loud at this turn of events.  What kind of cosmic joke was this to my anarchist nature?  Hmmm……I think I’ll have to ponder that a bit before I come to a conclusion.

After saying my goodbyes, it was time to head to the airport and get home to a very needy (and messy) household.  Although I am glad to be home, I am grateful for all the things I learned at the conference.  Here’s my epiphanies:

Mary Greer, Robert Place, Dr. Elinor Greenberg, Ruth Ann Amberstone

1.  You can teach an old dog new tricks. I’ve been at the tarot game for almost 3 decades and have never had any formal training.  While I do believe I know the tarot pretty well, these classes all gave me new tools.  The class with the Amberstones revealed symbols and subtleties that I took for granted.  Dr. Elinor Greenberg pushed me outside my comfort zone with a therapy technique that challenged my beliefs (although it was not my cup of tea, I will be first in line to buy her book “Tarot Counseling” when it is published next year as I now realize that what she is teaching is groundbreaking and invaluable).  Robert Place humbled me with his vast knowledge and is making me rethink some of my assumptions about chakras.  And Mary Greer is a delight.  I have read Mary’s books in the past and thought her interactive method of tarot reading was too different from my “style” to incorporate into my work.  Lo and behold, this wise woman taught in a surprisingly effective manner and I may never look at tarot the same way again.  She’s amazing and now I can’t wait for my next opportunity to learn from her!

Myself with tarot author Mary Greer

2.  Resistance limits you.  I’ll admit that I am rather set in my ways.  In fact, I am rather fond of my own opinions.  The RS10 challenged me to rethink some of my own beliefs.  That doesn’t mean I am going to abandon my ideals but I am certainly going to open my mind to new insights.

3.  Twitter is a great place to make friends. One of the coolest things about RS10 was meeting many of the friends I have met through Twitter.  Yup, lots of tarot peeps like to tweet.  How cool it was to finally put faces to the names!  I had always been skeptical about meeting people online but this whole experience taught me that there are super people out there and it is worth venturing out of my cave to connect!

4.  Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone are the bomb! I can’t believe what a major effort these two put into this conference.  The Amberstones were a joy to be around – they are approachable, knowledgeable, friendly and really know how to make you feel welcome.  I have the utmost respect for them and intend on learning more with them.  How nice to finally find some mentors that I can look up to!

5.  Room service rocks! For the last four years of my life, I have been busy with care taking.  This was the first time I have ever been in a hotel that had room service as I tend to go the uber cheap route when I travel.  As lame as it sounds, having someone wait on me for a change was a joy.  As the waiter said to me when he brought up my requested glass of wine “You deserve this.”  That was the biggest revelation of all – I do deserve to hang out with cool peers, learn from the best, enjoy my life and be treated well.  This conference has changed me in more ways than one.  I definitely plan on making this an annual retreat.

But now….back to my regular life and my needy cats, my hungry husband, my messy house and my awesome clients.  After the conference, the laundry so to speak.

Blessings!

Theresa

www.thetarotlady.com


More Blogging From RS10

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

Friday was the official start of the conference and all attendees were finishing checking in and gearing up for an action packed weekend.  We started off by picking a partner for a “Foundation Reading”.  This is a very cool idea – we were to give our partner a reading and make notes.  At the end of the conference, we’re going to check back with our study buddy and see what our new insights are!  I had a very nice partner named Andy, who was a sensitive and gifted reader.  I really enjoyed his reading.

We then were treated to a delightful banquet lunch and a presentation by Dan Pelletier of Tarot Garden.  He’s a pretty funny guy and it was a nice light break in the day.  The Merchant Faire was open and many of us were spending dough with the vendors and chatting about their products.  Some great stuff was there including a few highlights:

Joanna Powell Colbert, author of Gaian Tarot

Alchemical Deck author Robert Place

After lunch, it was time for a Master Class with Dr. Elinor Greenberg.  She uses the tarot in her counseling practice and was going to show us methods for turning ‘bad cards’ into a positive experience for our clients.  Her methods were intriguing enough but not my cup of tea.  The second exercise had us using tarot in a Gestalt therapy manner and this was beyond my comfort zone.  The idea of doing personal therapy with a stranger was not an experience that fit with me – but luckily I got saved by the bell as my brother called with an issue regarding Dad’s estate that only I could answer (I’m the executor of the estate) so I had to take the call.  And then I decided it was a sign so I bailed on the rest of the class and headed into NYC to visit an old friend.  This was a wise choice for me as I got to spend quality time with a loved one and hang out on my old stomping grounds.  This certainly made up for my screw up on Wednesday and I was thrilled to be walking around old familiar places, chatting about politics, family and other stuff.  After all, one can only take so much tarot talk!

Once back at the hotel, I grabbed a glass of wine and hit my room for a chilled night.  The next day would be a busy one with two Master classes and the banquet!

Blogging Live From RS10

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

You can’t tell by the photo above but I am in a lovely hotel room in Queens, NY, attending the RS10.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with RS10, it’s the Readers Studio, a tarot conference sponsored by The Tarot School.  For 4 days, tarot readers and fans converge on the Marriot Laguardia to learn new techniques, meet other tarot lovers, take classes with famous tarot authors,  practice reading and more!

I started off this RS10 in a very Mercury retrograde fashion – when I booked my flight, I assumed I checked “morning flight” and forgot about it until I checked it a few days ago and discovered that I was booked for an evening flight!  This meant I would miss the bus ride into Greenwich Village on Wednesday night, much to my chagrin.  I used to live in NY many moons ago and was excited to spend time with old friends.  C’est la vie.  I got in at 11PM and settled in to my room with some chocolate covered strawberries and a glass of wine.  Perhaps I could fit Manhattan in at some other point….

Today was the first day of the conference and before things commenced, I spent the afternoon with my buddy Astrogrrl, a fabulous astrologer and all around cool chick.  We wandered the neighborhood surrounding the hotel and ducked into a Dominican restaurant for a fantastic lunch complete with extra strong mango margaritas.  I am a very food oriented person and my appetite is always demanding exciting fare when I am on vacation – this place did not disappoint.

I checked into the conference and was greeted very warmly by the staff.  Tarot people are friendly folk and there were plenty of smiling faces on hand to point me in the right direction.  Today’s class was a special presentation by Ruth and Wald Amberstone, the people behind the Tarot School and authors of “The Secret Language of Tarot”.

The Amberstones taught the eager group a very interesting class called “Color, Costume and Choreography”.  They presented new ways to get quick and accurate readings by looking at these details.  Tarot is rich in symbols and a reader can add depth to their readings by bringing more awareness to them.  We had time to practice with partners and we were all pretty impressed with the results.

By the time the class ended I was exhausted….between the flight, the margaritas and lateness (I hate eating later than 7PM), I was ready to drop.  Although the cocktail lounge was filled with fellow convention goers, I knew if I was to be any good for tomorrow I would need to call it an early night.  So here I am, blogging after a light dinner and getting ready to tuck in soon.

Tomorrow’s agenda promises to be intriguing.  (And if I am ambitious, I plan on trekking into NY to visit an old friend….we’ll see how lively I am tomorrow!)

Blessings!

Theresa

Great Sites For Learning To Read Tarot Cards

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

With the advent of the internet, it is easier than ever to learn how to read tarot cards.  There are many good sites and blogs that are dedicated to tarot practitioners of all levels. Whether you are just starting out or wanting to learn some new methods, the world wide web is full of places to enhance your tarot experience. 

My blog is primarily for those who are already reading tarot – especially the ones venturing into the world of reading professionally.  I am all about helping readers become better, saner readers – so many of my posts focus on concerns of professional readers. I don’t teach methods on this blog but I know of a few relevant sites that I heartily recommend.  Read on:

1.  Learning The Tarot – (www.learntarot.com)This fabulous site by author Joan Bunning is based on her book “Learning The Tarot”.  With lessons, online courses, detailed charts, you are sure to learn the tarot effortlessly. I’m a huge fan of her book for beginners – so this is a good place to start.

2.  The Tarot School – (http://www.tarotschool.com/) Founded by Ruth and Wald Amberstone, authors of books such as “The Secret Language of Tarot”, this site offers online lessons, teleclasses and a correspondence course.  They also sponsor a Readers Studio every year, where you can connect with famous tarot readers and improve your skills.  You can’t go wrong with these guys.

2.  Supertarot: Learning The Tarot - (http://supertarot.co.uk/) Based on the Golden Dawn system, Paul Hughes Barlow presents a thorough and readable site that can bring your tarot skills to new levels, whether you read with this system or not.  I like to learn new things and have found his site to be a great read.  Highly recommended.

4.  Musings On Tarot – (http://tarotbyarwen.com/blog/) Arwen Lynch is a talented writer and her insights on tarot are interesting and playful.  If you are the creative type, you’ll appreciate her unique spin on things.  A very different way of looking at tarot. 

5.  Taroteon – (http://taroteon.com/) – Probably my favorite blog of all – Douglas Gibb and a few other writers have put together the most intelligent and intriguing blog I have ever come across.  This is the place where my brain gets a thorough workout and I look at the tarot with brand new eyes as I peruse the offerings.  Superb writing, intense philosophical thought and clever ideas make this a blog for true tarot lovers.

6.  Tarot Elements – (http://www.tarotelements.com/) – Another blog worth peeking at, Tarot Elements is written by tarot reader Catherine Chapman and is chock full of good articles. There is a lot of information on the Elemental Dignities that shouldn’t be missed – she explains this so well that anyone can grasp the concept. 

Blessings!
Theresa
www.thetarotlady.com