ISSUE #3

Two Tips and a Deck

Bottoms Up!
After laying and interpreting a spread do you sometimes need to find out the underlying influence in a situation? Or maybe a subconscious motive or desire? Look at the card on the bottom of the deck. It never fails to give additional insight.

Not Your Everyday Tarot Reading
If you would like a reading of a spiritual nature, take the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana and perform a reading with them. The resultant reading will reveal the esoteric significance of the events going on in your life and tell you how your soul is progressing along its spiritual path.

The Pagan Tarot
There are so many Tarot decks available today. That is, of course, a wonderful thing. It can, though, make selecting one (or two or three…) very challenging. One way to select a deck is to find one that depicts the archetypal images of the Tarot in a way that resonates with your personal life and beliefs. Many of you are practicing Pagans, Witches, or Wiccans. And others of you may practice an eclectic version of earth-based beliefs. There are many Tarot decks designed for Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans. The recently-released Pagan Tarot designed by Gina Pace stands out from the crowd. What makes this one so special, you may ask? Simply this: more than any deck we’ve seen, it beautifully synthesizes elements from traditional Pagan practices, the design and structure the Tarot, and the experience of a modern Pagan.

Given the marvelous diversity of practices in Pagan and Wiccan paths, this deck does an excellent job of relating to the most basic and traditional practices. The illustrative artistic style appeals to a broad audience. The images represent both Pagan-specific events, such as various initiatory phases, and situations of everyday life common to most of us. Unlike many of the decks designed for Pagans currently on the market, everyday people can see themselves in these cards. And, really, isn’t that what the Tarot is—a mirror that helps us see ourselves and our way clearly?

A Witch today will find herself preparing for rituals, visiting with friends, and interviewing for a job. She will face challenges and choices as she progresses on her spiritual path. And she will face challenges and choices because of her path. All of these experiences are depicted in the Pagan Tarot.

For example, the court cards have been changed to reflect the flow of energy in the Pagan and Wiccan spiritual systems: Elemental (Page), Novice (Knight), Initiate (Queen), and Elder (King). Most Pagans would agree that these card titles and meanings are certainly more applicable to a Pagan experience than the titles of a medieval royal court.

Here’s a sampling of some of the cards:

The Magician: This image will certainly resonate with most Wiccans: preparing and praying, seeking to draw down the power of the Moon to help manifest change in this world. This is a perfect representation of the traditional meaning of this card “as above, so below.”

The Empress: Particularly appealing here is this card shows three generations working together to create abundance. Notice the sculpture in the background, hinting perhaps at the ancient goddess tradition behind the modern Pagans’ practices.

The Hermit: Ah, who hasn’t spent time like this? Reading, studying, analyzing, and finally concluding for yourself the tenets of your faith.

Those of you interested in all things Pagan should be sure to sign up for Llewellyn's Witchy Update, another monthly eNewsletter with spells, author events, and sale notifications!

top

Learn more about meditation and magick from the Llewellyn Journal
The Magick of Meditation by Christopher Penczak

Upcoming Tarot events

top

For more Llewellyn Tarot- and book-related events,
check our event schedule

The Buddha Tarot and The Tarot of the Saints author:
Robert Place
Lecture: "A Celebration of Hermes/Mercury and the Idea of May"
May 12, 2004, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
New York Open Center, New York City, NY
For more information call: 212-219-2527

The Quest Tarot author:
Joseph Martin
Divination Fest
May 15, 2004
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
For more information call: 415-753-5041

What Tarot Can Do For You author:
Barbara Moore
Workshop: "Introduction to the Tarot"
May 20, 2004, 7 p.m.
Mall of America Barnes & Noble, Bloomington, MN
For more information call: 952-854-1455

Understanding the Tarot Court contributors:
Mary Greer and Rachel Pollack
Tarot - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
May 21 to 23, 2004
Atrium Hotel, Irvine, CA
For more information call: 714-734-8626

An excerpt from "Everyday Tarot Magic"

top

BY DOROTHY MORRISON

The Tarot is, without a doubt, one of the most useful spiritual tools at our disposal. That's because it not only bridges the gap between the mundane and spiritual worlds, but also delivers clear and accurate advice that we can use to our benefit. That's good news.

The best news, though, is that people can use it to empower their lives and increase their productivity. It doesn't take special card-reading skills or psychic ability. A high IQ isn't necessary, and neither is a red phone to the spirit world. All it takes is a firm desire, a little imagination, and the ability to follow a storyline. It's as simple as that.

Working with the Tarot comes easily because it speaks to us in images; a subliminal language that the brain not only understands, but uses to process every single thought we think. Heres how it works.

When we look at a picture, the mundane self (the conscious mind) immediately strikes up a conversation with the inner child (the subconscious mind). And as they talk, the subconscious mind searches the memory banks for every image that relates to that picture. The pictures form in the mind's eye and when that happens, both sectors of the spiritual self (the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious) come alive. The personal unconscious processes every bit of personal knowledge that weve ever accumulated in connection with that image. The collective unconscious gets busy, too; it searches out every related instinctual and intuitive reaction, draws its own conclusions, and matches those up with the data collected by the personal unconscious.

Once they have all the information together, they tie it up into one nice, neat little package and deliver it to the conscious and subconscious minds. The brain's work is done and voila! We suddenly understand what the image is saying.

READ MORE ...

Great Tarot decks on sale!

top

ON SALE THROUGH MAY 12 ONLY - BUY NOW!


Enochian Skrying Tarot ISBN: 0-7387-0201-3 Sale price: $31.96 (save 20%)	Cards of Alchemy ISBN 0-7387-0053-3 Sale price: $23.96 (save 20%)	Pagan Tarot ISBN: 0-7387-0243-9 Sale price: $15.96 (save 20%)

Cool links

top

FREE online web Tarot readings

Tarot Passages
(One of the best sites on the web for Tarot deck reviews, useful info, and upcoming events)

Related Tarot articles from New Worlds magazine

http://www.findingthemuse.com/
(Tarot, healing, astrology, and writing)

Definitions of Tarot terms from the Llewellyn Encyclopedia

http://www.tarottools.com/
(Practical uses for tarot to improve your everyday life)

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/
(Deck reviews and lots of lively forums for tarot talk)

I do not wish to receive further issues of the Tarot Update. Please remove me from your mailing list

IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE, COPY AND PASTE THIS URL INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER TO VIEW THE FULL TAROT UPDATE. http://www.llewellyn.com/newsletters/tarotupdate/tarotup_03.html