your guide to tarot mastery · your guide to tarot mastery ... - from “tarot masterclass” ......
TRANSCRIPT
The Tarot Your Guide to Tarot Mastery
Edition 8 Winter 2012
This edition's theme is based on
the card called Strength.
Over the last few months I’ve been drawing
upon the qualities of the Strength card; I’ve used
commitment and quiet determination to prepare my book Real Tarot for the printed market.
It’s been a challenging experience because
I’ve had to learn all about Amazon’s requirements for book layout and design. I’ve encountered the marvels
of mirrored margins, the specifics of styles and
sections, the awfulness of alternating headers, and the chaos of creating a colourful cover. It’s not for the
faint-hearted, but it was very satisfying to see the end
result.
Real Tarot was initially only going to be released as an e-book, but I recently discovered the
Print On Demand option offered by Amazon. It made
book printing affordable, and increased the possibility of a wider audience for this book.
As I write this section of the newsletter a
proof copy of the book is being printed. After I approve the layout and design in its physical form, I’ll
give the go-ahead for the printing presses to start
rolling!
A few days ago I attended the Tarot Guild’s monthly meeting. The organiser, Martha Adams,
prepared an interesting topic for discussion (small
spreads) and gave us an opportunity to dissect a reading and do interpretations for each other as well.
These meetings are now being held at a new venue
and at a time that will suit most people. See page five
for all the details. Tarot gatherings like these help us to tap into
the qualities of the Strength card. On a cold winter
evening it’s so easy to brush off the thought of driving across the suburbs to meet with other Tarot readers.
But if you draw upon your inner resources of fortitude
and determination, then you can easily make that extra effort to attend, and you’ll be rewarded with new
knowledge, and you’ll probably get a free Tarot
reading as well!
Tarot blessings,
Page 1 - Editorial
Page 2 - Strength & Affirmations
Page 3 - Insights from Tarot Gurus
Page 4 - Historical Interpretations
Page 5 - Workshops & Events
Page 6 - Difficult Cards
www.MisterTarot.com
Strength & Affirmations
Edition 8 Winter 2012
Tarot cards are not just for seeing what the future may bring. That’s a passive way of working with Tarot.
The active method is to use Tarot to create your future!
Do you desire to be more intelligent, healthier, more confident, or wealthier? Whether you realise it or not,
you probably aim for these qualities every day. Most of us
strive to improve our lives and make personal and spiritual
progress. Along with affirmations, your Tarot cards can help you to achieve greater success in all of these areas.
Affirmations are one of the best ways to restructure
your life and gain momentum for self-improvement. They create positive images in the mind, which produces
encouraging feelings in the body. Because of Tarot’s
archetypal imagery and their system of corresponding
symbols, it has become a wonderful tool that gives extra power to personal affirmations.
Here’s how you can use Tarot cards to create
affirmations. Hold the Tarot deck in your hands and fan them out. Make sure the pictures are facing away from you,
so you don’t consciously know what you are choosing. In
your mind, hold the following thought, ‘This card will form the affirmation I need today.’ Choose a card and have a
look at it. Now interpret this card as an affirmation. For
example, if the card called Strength comes up, perhaps use
wording such as, ‘I am strong in body, mind, and spirit!’ Always phrase your wording positively, and keep it
in the present tense. It’s much better to say something like,
‘I am wealthy,’ rather than, ‘I don’t want to be poor anymore.’ By using words of a positive nature, you are
focusing on what you want and you are reinforcing this
concept in your mind. Negative phrasing only helps you to hold on to thoughts and images of those things you want to
release from your life.
Keep your affirmations short and to the point.
Repeat this affirmation at least twenty times consecutively, and do this at least five times during the day. Say it out
loud, or to yourself while showering, or while walking to
work, or while waiting for the traffic lights to change. You’ll find plenty of opportunities if you look for them.
Like muscle building for the mind, repetition reinforces the
idea in your subconscious mind, which then accepts these
ideas as facts. Even though you may not
believe some of these affirmations at
first, eventually they will help you to focus on the attitude you are trying to
generate, and this will be reflected in
the improving circumstances of your life. Use your imagination, be creative,
and have fun.
Of course, you can also consciously choose a Tarot card to match an affirmation you want to use. For
example, if you know that you need more inner strength
to fight the demons of sugar craving while you are on a diet, then find the Strength card and look at it while
repeating your affirmations.
Here are some affirmations that are
appropriate for the Strength card...
Whenever I need it, something always comes
along to provide the inner strength I need.
I can summon up the inner strength and
determination to keep going forward.
I patiently persevere and resolve conflict.
I use my courage and strength to take new
risks.
I overcome challenges with grace.
I accomplish difficult tasks with ease.
I am strong and safe and always feel
protected.
I am always connected with the strength of
the Universe.
I am responsible for my life and I always
maintain the strength and power I need to
be positive and have a joyful life.
While looking at the Strength card, summon
thoughts of how your vitality or instinctive animal nature
can be transformed into inner power that will unleash your potential to the world. Speak your affirmation out
loud; say it with intensity. Maybe chant your affirmation
with a single tone or a melody. Hear it echoing through your mind and vibrating your body to its core.
And remember to visualise your affirmation with
all of the reality your imagination can muster. See
yourself already having achieved your goal. Connect with the feeling of reaching this level of success. Affirmations
work when your imagined accomplishment is so visibly
and emotionally charged that your subconscious mind is motivated to act on your vision, and the universe then
responds with manifestation.
The Strength card is just one of many Tarot cards that can be used as a visual motivator to enhance
affirmations. Many other cards, especially those from the
Major Arcana, are suitable too. Use Tarot cards in
conjunction with affirmations to build a better life. Draw upon their energies to lift your life into the awesomeness
that you deserve.
Edition 8 Winter 2012
Insights from Tarot Gurus
“In readings the card of Strength indicates the ability to face life, and particularly some difficult problem or time of change, with hope and eagerness. It shows a person strong from within, experiencing life passionately yet peacefully, without being controlled or carried away by those passions.”
- from “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack
“A woman soothes a lion using her mental courage, while the lion displays the emotional courage required to trust her. The spiritual meaning of this card is: you have the necessary inner strength to face life’s obstacles now, and current circumstances offer you the chance to prove yourself.”
- from “Tarot Masterclass” By Paul Fenton-Smith
“Alchemically the woman is white, the higher feminine aspect of the soul, and the lion is red, the lower aspect. She gently, but firmly closes the lion’s mouth. The higher aspect controls the physical strength, but this is accomplished through love, not force. This is shown by the lion licking the woman’s hand and by the chain of roses that connects them. This card represents self-mastery through love.”
- from The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, by Robert M. Place
Tarosophy UK Tarot Conference
September 22 & 23, 2012
This year, in a series of integrated workshops, you
will learn how to develop your Tarot reading using antique Tarot such as the Marseilles and the
Lenormand decks.
Special guests: Barbara Moore, Mary K Greer,
Marcus Katz, Enrique Enriquez
This conference is ideal for beginners wishing to
find the best information on Tarot, and great for
experienced readers seeking development. You will get to see rare Tarot decks and materials from
private collections rarely available to public eyes!
Email [email protected].
__________________________________
UK Tarot Conference October 12 & 13, 2012
Key speaker from the USA: Rachel Pollack.
Also, Juliet Shaman-Burke, Alfred Douglas, Cilla
Conway & Tiffany Crosara
__________________________________
TarotCon 2012 Dallas, October 20th-21st 2012
Are you ready to see the future of Tarot and
discover its most ancient mysteries? Tarosophy
TarotCon 2012 brings Tarot-Town to life around you, with the leading speakers, authors and teachers
of Tarot.
Special guests are: Barbara Moore,
Bob O’ Neill, Mary K. Greer, Robert M. Place,
and Marcus Katz.
For those who love Tarot, live Tarot and breathe Tarot. You’ll be taken on a journey into the very
heart of the divine practice of divination. You’ll
meet mysteries and wonders at every turn, and learn as you have fun in supportive company.
With a social network in Tarot-Town itself, the
virtual and real worlds will collide in an incredible
living mystery.
Global Spiritual Studies
Learning experiences to nourish your soul.
www.globalspiritualstudies.com
Historical Interpretations of
Strength Pratesi’s Cartomancer (1750): Violence. Christian (1870): In the divine world, the Principle of all strength, spiritual or material; in the intellectual world moral Force; in the physical world organic Force. Mathers (1888): Strength, or fortitude. Power, might, force. Golden Dawn (1886-96): Daughter of the Flaming Sword, Leader of the Lion. Courage, strength, power not arrested in the act of judgment, but passing on to further action, sometimes obstinacy. Grand Orient (1889): Vitality, tenacity of things, high endurance. Waite (1910): Power, success, energy, action, magnanimity, and honours.
Edition 8 Winter 2012
Tarot Trivia
Q: Apart from Strength,
which other Tarot card
features the eternity symbol,
which is also known as
a lemniscate?
The answer is at the end of this newsletter.
What Is True Strength? Surely true strength is strength of character; physical strength is fleeting. Even strongest person becomes weaker with age. In contests of strength, there’s always going to be another contestant coming along the next year or the next decade that will do better. Whereas, inner strength—a mixture of courage and conviction—will endure. Those who display an act of courage—those who stand up to the system—those who stand against injustice—will be talked about long after their act of courage has taken place. There are many ways to display your true strength. It can be through acts of kindness; you can be forgiving to those who have wronged you; and of course you can choose to be non-judgemental towards others. This shows strength of character and a peaceful spirit. What about showing vulnerability? Is that a strength, or an admission of weakness? Pema Chodren, a Buddhist nun, suggests...
“The Buddha taught that flexibility and openness bring strength and that running
from groundlessness weakens us and brings pain. But do we understand that
becoming familiar with the running away is the key? Openness doesn’t come from
resisting our fears but from getting to know them well.”
To be vulnerable is to be real to yourself and others, and this is the underlying essence of true strength.
Tarot Gatherings
New Venue!
The Tarot Guild of Australia is sponsoring workshops in Adelaide. They are held on the last Tuesday of each month and are
run by Martha Adams, a Professional member of the Tarot Guild.
Meet like-minded enthusiasts to share, practice and discuss your favourite
spreads, decks and authors. You don't need to be a Tarot expert—all are
welcome!
For more information on each monthly event, please contact Martha on 0403 276 319 or
email: [email protected]
New Venue: The Fountain Inn (in the ‘nook’ of the pool room)
142 Glen Osmond Road, Parkside.
The booking is under Tarot Guild Group. Start time is 7 p.m.
For a state-by-state listing of monthly Tarot gatherings around Australia, see the website
of the Tarot Guild Of Australia: www.tarotguild.org.au
Learn how to combine Tarot and Palmistry in an innovative, five week
course, held once a week at Hahndorf, South Australia. Only $190
Email Trevor: [email protected]
Edition 8 Winter 2012
Tarot Made Simple a workshop with Don McLeod
Sunday 16th September from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Held at Cosmic Pages Bookshop 338 - 340 King William Street, Adelaide
How Tarot Works Demystifying Tarot Basic Tarot Spreads
Learn Easy Interpretations Practical & Spiritual Uses
By the end of this workshop you will feel comfortable using Tarot cards and you will have a basic
understanding of their meanings.
Only $65
Requirements: Rider-Waite Tarot Deck Bookings essential: Phone 8231 9105
The Tarot Journey Continues...
If you have already attended a
“Tarot Made Simple” workshop, or if you feel you already have a grasp of the basic concepts of
Tarot, come with me and...
Explore more key concepts
of Tarot interpretation.
Continue your Tarot Journey
with an “advanced” class at Cosmic Pages on 26th August.
Only $65 Requirements: Rider-Waite Tarot Deck
Bookings essential: Phone 8231 9105
Difficult Cards
5 of Pentacles
This card has an obvious meaning (a lack of money)
but it also has a more subtle meaning attached to it. Being a card of the Pentacles suit, the interpretation is
naturally going to lean towards finances—and because of the
apparent destitute state of the main characters, we are going to see this card as being about a scarcity of funds. However, the
stained glass window in the background provides a clue to
another aspect of this card. It points to a sense of spiritual poverty, as well as being poor in the normal sense of the word.
There is hope for these beggars. When they stop
ignoring the call of a more of a spiritual life, they will be able
to rise above their circumstances and make a better life for
themselves in the physical world.
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Copyright on all articles in this newsletter belong
to Don McLeod unless specifically stated otherwise.
wwww.MisterTarot.com
www.TarotSecretsBook.com www.MisterTarot.blogspot.com/
Edition 8 Winter 2012
“Nothing is so strong as
gentleness, and nothing is so
gentle as true strength.”
- Ralph Sockman
Tarot Trivia Answer:
Q: Which other cards show the eternity symbol
- also known as a lemniscate?
A: The World (red ribbons)
and The Magician