ISSUE #5

The Past, the Future, and Different Points of View

Past Life & Karmic Tarot Techniques
Many people use the Tarot to glimpse their future. Using the Tarot to determine your past, that's another thing entirely ... but just as useful. Karma, whether from a past life or this life or even yesterday, can be examined with Tarot cards. You can then make amends or corrections that free you from the bonds of karmic debt in that particular instance.

A Spread to Identify & Rectify a Karmic Issue
If you have an issue that you feel is the result of an action in your past (this life or a previous life), this spread might help identify the cause and give a possible solution.

Go through your deck and select a card that represents the issue in question and place it in the center of your reading area. Shuffle the deck and draw a card, placing it to the left of the first card. This card represents the action responsible for the current situation. Shuffle again and draw one more card, placing it to the left of the first cards. This card indicates an action you can take now to bring balance or correction to the situation.

Meditation
Many Tarot scholars note that the Justice card is closely tied to the idea of karma. Most of us are familiar with images of Justice adorning courthouses all over the country: a blindfolded female figure holding a set of scales. This symbolizes that legal justice is blind and does not discriminate, that the same laws apply whether someone is rich or poor, weak or powerful. Justice in Tarot decks is usually not blindfolded because this card represents karmic justice, which requires clear-sighted understanding coupled with action. Karmic justice is based on understanding how our past actions have defined our present, and how our present actions will define our future.

Meditating with the Justice card can help you understand either how your past actions have influenced your present situation or how your present actions will affect your future. The following technique is well-suited to find guidance in a current dilemma.

Focus on the Justice card from your Tarot deck. Memorize every detail so that you can picture it with your eyes closed. Prepare yourself for meditation in your usual manner. If you don’t have a regular practice, lay or sit comfortably and consciously relax every part of your body starting with your toes and working your way up. After you are fully relaxed, picture your Justice card. Let it grow larger and larger in your mind’s eye until it becomes a landscape. Enter the landscape and approach Justice. Ask for her guidance. Explain the situation and the various possible courses of action as you see them. Ask her to weigh each on in the scales and give you feedback. Ask her to help you see the long and short term ramifications of each course of action.

More Karmic Help
In her new book Past Life & Karmic Tarot, author Edain McCoy shares lots of ideas about using the Tarot to understand our karma. Her techniques will help you fix your past, improve your present, and lay the groundwork for a good future.

Looking at Things Differently
Tarot is - among other things - a visual activity. Doing Tarot readings helps you to literally "see what you think." Sometimes we know what we think. Sometimes we're in a rut and cannot think of a way out. Sometimes we cannot see another person’s point of view. Sometimes we need to think differently.

Seeing Both Sides Spread
If you find yourself in a situation where you are at loggerheads with someone and are seeking a way to facilitate communication, try this. Select two cards, one to represent you and one to represent the other person. Determine the main points of the conflict. Let's say there are three points. Lay down your card and the other person's card. Then, underneath both cards, vertically lay out three randomly drawn cards to represent the three main points. The cards under your card represent your thoughts or feelings on each point. The other three represent the other person's point of view. Finally, in between the two columns, lay out three randomly drawn cards to represent possible compromises or areas of understanding. These cards should help you bridge the gap and establish communication.

The Other Side of the Story
The Tarot of the New Vision gives us a behind-the-scenes look at each Tarot card. Sometimes things aren't what they seem to be. Ever wonder what goes on behind the Magician's back or behind the throne of the Queen of Wands? What exactly is the woman in the Two of Swords trying to ignore? Is there a downside to the perfect contentment pictured in the Nine of Cups?

Many Sides of the Story
The Comparative Tarot Method (popularized by Valerie Sim; see Cool Links) relies on using at least two versions of each card in a reading. Part of the theory is that no one artist can capture the full complexity of the cards' meanings. So by comparing several versions of each card, you develop a fuller knowledge of the card's meaning. The Comparative Tarot deck makes this easier by providing four cards in one. Each card features the Tarots of Marseille, the Universal Tarots, the Tarots of the Sphynx, and the Tarots of the Origins.

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Learn more about karma in Tarot from author Edain McCoy in:
The Many Lives Tarot Can Show

Upcoming Tarot events

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

Everyday Tarot Magic author:
Dorothy Morrison
Spirits of the Earth Festival
July 6, 2004 to July 11, 2004
Belmont, Ontario, Canada
For more information visit: http://www.spiritsfest.com/festival/what.htm

The Quest Tarot creator:
Joseph Martin
Psychic and Healing Arts Fair
July 25, 2004, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ramada Inn, Fresno, CA
For more information call: 1-800-722-7330

Putting the Tarot to Work author:
Mark McElroy
Workshop and book signing
August 7, 2004, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Magus Books, Minneapolis, MN
For more information visit: http://www.magusbooks.com

An excerpt from "Tarot For the Healing Heart"

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BY CHRISTINE JETTE

TIME Magazine estimates that Americans spend $30 billion each year on alternative health practices. With the start of the new millennium, attitudes toward health and healing are changing. People are beginning to take an active role in their own well--being. Many are trying Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, herbal remedies, and natural medicines. Some hospitals are now offering massage, healing touch, reflexology, aromatherapy, chakra balancing, Reiki, acupressure, and hypnosis.

Modern medical science excels at repairing broken bones and organs, inventing prostheses, and using diagnostic technology. It successfully doses conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Perhaps its greatest contributions are preventing childhood illnesses such as polio and eliminating contagion----small pox is an example.

Medical science falls short in treating chronic stress--related illnesses: migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel, gastric ulcer, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Yet these conditions respond well to "alternative" types of therapy such as meditation, acupressure, reflexology, massage, biofeedback, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, and healing touch. "Alternative" treatments focus on the mind--body connection, as both a cause and a cure of illness. The emphasis is placed on the total well--being of the person--body, emotions, mind, and spirit are inseparable and interdependent.

Good health depends on many factors: emotions, psychological makeup, heredity, health habits, lifestyle, financial support, social support, and diet as fuel for the physical body. Each plays an important part in our ability to live well--what affects one affects all.

Healing is an ancient tradition based on the feminine, spiritual qualities of empathy, nurturance, and intuition. The most sacred tool we have for healing is the intuitive ability to listen to the still small voice within that tells us what health and happiness mean to us. When you use tarot for healing you are linked to a timeless rite. Wellness is mind, body, and spirit in balance. Tarot reveals areas that are out of balance and gives advice on the best ways to restore order.

Healing heart tarot offers a way to step outside ordinary consciousness and discover a connection between you, the healer within, and a universal healing force. The cards' images are filled with healing energies that direct you toward wholeness, and this book guides you step--by--step through the process. Holistic healing, including the use of tarot for healing, is more than a vague philosophy--it's a way of being fully alive every single day.

READ MORE ...

Great Tarot decks on sale!

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ON SALE THROUGH JULY 19 ONLY - BUY NOW!


The Quest Tarot ISBN: 0-7387-0195-5 Price: ~~$34.95~~ $27.96	Tarot of the New Vision ISBN: 0-7387-0413-X Price: ~~$19.95~~ $15.96	Comparative Tarot ISBN0-7387-0281-1 Price: ~~$19.95~~ $15.96

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

www.questtarot.com
(Website of Quest Tarot creator, Joseph Martin)

Definitions of Tarot terms from the Llewellyn Encyclopedia

www.comparativetarot.com
(Learn more about the Comparative method and join an online Tarot community to share experiences.)

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