ISSUE #4

Summertime Whimsy

The Fey Tarot

The Fey Tarot is the astonishing result of the collaboration of Riccardo Minetti and Mara Aghem. As an artist of great skill and spiritual insight, Mara’s cards present traditional Tarot meanings blended with unique vision. Riccardo’s text illuminates the wisdom of the Tarot and mythology of fairy traditions.

So many of the cards in this deck deserve to be showcased. As space does not allow that, I have selected one. When I first saw The Fey Tarot, Death was among the first cards that I saw and loved. Notice how the chess pieces represent different Tarot cards. This card found an even deeper place in my heart after I read Riccardo’s text:

The face of Death was greatly influenced by [the] Sandman [graphic novels] by Neil Gaiman. When this card was still in progress I asked Mara to give it a face I could fall in love with. Nature has worked so that beautiful things do not induce terror and that in the beauty of the spirit there is deep promise and great trust. This card represents change in its novelty, in its hope and promises and also in the fear that it creates and in the uncertainty of not being able to see beyond it.

Wit, beauty, spirituality, intelligence — this deck has it all. Check it out.

Take Action Tip
One of your goals as a reader (whether for yourself or others) should be to leave seekers feeling better at the end of the reading than they did when it started. Does this mean that you should never give bad news? No, but you should be very careful how you discuss difficult issues and challenges. It is best not to dwell on the trouble, but to reveal things that the seeker can do to help their situation. One of the best ways to do this is to end each reading with an “action card.” This card will suggest a concrete action that the seeker can take to help the troubling situation. It may involve others, or it may simply be a way for the seeker to nurture himself or herself until the difficulties end. Not every situation can be changed, but sometimes just having something constructive to do in the meantime can be a great anxiety reliever.

The Spirit of Flowers Tarot
At first glance, you may think this is nothing more than a novelty deck. However, during the Victorian era, it was the height of fashion for lovers to send messages through bouquets of flowers. Books of etiquette assigned meanings to flowers. The creators of this deck, Laura Tuan and Antonella Castelli, used traditional structure and symbolism and put them in a wooded fairy-tale world. The effect is charming.

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Whether you read for yourself or others, the space you read in is important. Christine Jette provides tips and ideas in
Your Reading Space: Choose With Care

Upcoming Tarot events

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

What Tarot Can Do For You author:
Barbara Moore
Workshop: "Introduction to the Tarot"
June 16, 2004, 7 p.m.
Bound to be Read, St. Paul, MN
For more information call: 651-298-0378

The Quest Tarot creator:
Joseph Martin
Psychic and Healing Arts Fair
June 27, 2004, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Join author and artist Joseph Martin at the Psychic and Healing Arts Fair. Joseph will be giving a free lecture, signing books, and doing Tarot readings. Entry to the Fair is free with a coupon from the author's web site: www.questtarot.com
Holiday Inn, Sacramento, CA
For more information call: 1-800-722-7330

An excerpt from "Tarot For the Green Witch"

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BY ANN MOURA

The most common reason I hear for reading cards is to "divine the future," but I do not consider this a totally accurate description of what is actually going on. There are states, and counties within states, in the United States that view tarot or other card reading the same as fortune-telling, and require that, in order for you to do public readings, you must have a license indicating that you are an entertainer affiliated with an entertainment corporation or business, or a person of moral character if reading independently, usually with a number of signatures from people who will vouch for your integrity. Again, this is not what card reading means to me. While there are instances of people being mistreated through the use of cards, generally involving turning over large sums of money to the reader to avert a disaster or remove an alleged evil influence, I feel there are sufficient laws in existence to treat such cases the same as any other scam or swindle rather than directing the laws at the process of reading the cards.

For me, reading cards - be they tarot or regular playing cards - is part of the spirituality of the Craft, so much so that even as a child, visions and perceptions used to leap out at me in card games as innocuous as gin rummy and solitaire. The very act of divination in Witchcraft requires a link with the Lunar aspect of the Divine, such as with the Goddess Hecate, Cerridwen, Bendidia (Bendis), Artemis, Diana, or Isis, each of whom is considered a Goddess of Witches. When you read the cards, you are connecting with the energies of the Divine for insight and guidance. You also connect with the Elementals through the process of grounding and centering before a reading, thus aligning your internal energies with those of Nature and the Spirit, while opening your psychic sight for a consultation for yourself or someone else. The cards do not of themselves tell the future, but they offer the reader a focal point through which to access Divine energy and gain visions or interpretations of influences surrounding a particular question or person as illustrated by the cards that are pulled.

READ MORE ...

Great Tarot decks on sale!

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ON SALE THROUGH JUNE 18 ONLY - BUY NOW!


The Fey Tarot ISBN: 0-7387-0280-3 Sale price: $23.96 (save 20%)	The Fairy Ring ISBN: 0-7387-0274-9 Sale price: $23.96 (save 20%)	The Spirit of Flowers Tarot ISBN 0-7387-0411-3 Sale price: $15.96 (save 20%)

Cool links

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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.corrinekenner.com
(Lots of interesting articles including one on doing public readings or working at psychic fairs)

Definitions of Tarot terms from the Llewellyn Encyclopedia

http://www.geocities.com/~ninalee/tarot/assume.htm
(An excellent series of articles by Nina Lee Braden about finding your voice and focus as a reader.)

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