Tarot Update - Issue #7

October, at least in Minnesota, is often a bittersweet month. We have beautiful, temperate, sunny days. These golden days are tinged with a chill that reminds us to enjoy yellow, orange, and red leaves now because very soon they will fall and…it will be winter.

This time of year brings with it various holidays with similar themes: Halloween, Samhain, and Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). Many people feel that this is a time of reflection, when the veil between this world and the other (however you perceive it) is thin and we have access to wisdom that may elude us at other times during the year.

If you feel this way, you may enjoy this simple but useful spread. It gives a concise snapshot of four aspects your life: Mind, body/health, spirit, and emotions.

Lay out three cards for each aspect. The first represents the past; the second, the present; and the third, the future. If there is a card in the future that you don’t care for, don’t despair. Leave the spread laid out. Go through the remaining cards and select one that represents a future you’d rather have and lay it on top the unappealing card. Shuffle the remaining cards and ask what you can do to help bring about the desired future. Deal one card and interpret it as an action you can take to improve your future.

A Fast and Fun Reading Method
Donald Tyson has written a wonderful book about a simple and unique method of tarot reading, called 1-2-3 Tarot. The key to this system is a three card that reflects a simple sentence. The first card represents the noun; the second, the verb; and the third, the adverb. Each card meaning is broken down to match each of these three positions. You simply ask a question, drawn three cards, and read the answer as a sentence. See the links below to read an excerpt of this book and to receive a special sale price when ordering.

Celebrate the Dead to Read the Future?
Llewellyn has recently released The Tarot of the Dead by Monica Knighton. This deck featuring mostly skeletal figures seamlessly blends Mexican tradition with European divination. Her engaging watercolor artwork embraces the inevitability of our mortality, exploring it with wry humor and whimsy. For example, The Fool hitchhikes with his skeletal dog and The Hierophant sits in a lawn chair among pink flamingos. Monica writes:

“I’ve read tarot booklets that say that the Death card is change and transition. ‘Don’t panic! This card is only figurative!’ But hey, look. These are skeletons, human remains. I make no pretense that I’m implying anything other than human mortality. Yours. Mine. It’s okay. We are all born knowing it…. This isn’t about what happens after you die. It’s not about religious belief, or lack thereof—as Tom Stoppard says, death is for everyone, even you. It’s about letting go of euphemisms and accepting where the parade is headed. The shadow of mortality makes the minor worries of the day sill, petty, and ridiculous. It throws in to sharp contrast what is important, or even that nothing is all that important.”

Intrigued? Get a great deal on this deck…see the sale links below.

A Great Event
Since 1991 Tarot enthusiasts have flocked to the City by the Bay to hear the best and brightest in the field, as well as to network and build community – all while having a grand old time - at the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium (SF BATS). This all day event features lectures, exhibitions and presentations on an astonishing array of Tarot topics, with an occasional lively sprinkling of other divination subjects thrown in. The event is produced by Thalassa in association with the Daughters of Divination.

This year Llewellyn authors Mary Greer, Joseph Martin, Mark McElroy, Jim Ricklef and Monica Knighton will be presenting. Additionally, Ellen Lorenzi-Prince will present her Tarot of the Crone, Holly Voley will give a fascinating lecture on the history of the Rider Waite Smith deck, and Dr, James Wanless will do a presentation entitled "Quantum Tarot." More speakers are expected to confirm as the event draws closer.

This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Centre in San Francisco. More information may be obtained by visiting www.daughtersofdivination.com or contacting Thalassa at airndarkness@yahoo.com