New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
It was an odd situation. I found myself talking to this man, the teacher of my teachers, and all I knew about him was that he had created a wonderful way of reading Tarot cards. John McClimans had passed the Gestalt Tarot technique to the High Priest and High Priestess of the Temple of the Pagan Way, and they had passed it to me. But nothing was in writing; we were back to the oral tradition of the ancient Celts, it seemed, and I was frustrated. "I love Gestalt Tarot," I said."But I'm afraid your techniques will be distorted or lost over time. You should really write a book about it." He smiled at me. His look implied that this idea ranked somewhere with making a giant Jell-O sculpture ...
The Witches Tarot deck began on a cold winter day almost three years ago when I was contacted by Barbara Moore, the tarot acquisitions editor at Llewellyn. She emailed to ask if I be interested in designing a new tarot deck for witches and then writing the accompanying book. Intrigued, I called Barbara for more information and she explained to me what would be involved in the process. She informed me that the project would be kept secret from the general public for a few years until close to its release date. I thought about it for a few days and then decided to dive in. Then I spoke to Barbara about the specifics as to what exactly would be needed in a script. After that, I took a few ...
"Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;? It is the center hole that makes it useful. ?Shape clay into a pot; ?It is the space within that makes it useful. ?Build walls for a room; ?It is the space within that makes it useful." —Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching In Hebrew theology there is the idea of tzim tzum, the act of God withdrawing in order to make space for creation to happen. Another interesting aspect of this idea is that God left creation unfinished and that humans are invited to participate in the continuing co-creation of the world. The famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma says that music exists in the space between the notes. I think that the wisdom of a tarot reading is found in the space ...
The Kabbalah has its origin among the prophets of ancient Israel, though some would propose that it goes back to Abraham and Sarah. Or yet further, back to the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Essentially, the Kabbalah is the inner and mystical tradition within and behind Judaism, which has continued to develop and evolve for thousands of years. The word Kabbalah basically means "the tradition." It is drawn from the root word "kibel," which means "to receive" or "something received," and implies a tradition or transmission that comes by way of Divine revelation. On the most basic level, Kabbalah connotes an experience of higher consciousness and the spiritual knowledge, understanding ...
