Tarot Inspire Page 9

  Daleth EMPRESS D

  Heh EMPORER H

  Zain LOVERS Z

  Cheth CHARIOT Ch

  Teth STRENGTH T

  Yod HERMIT Y

  Kaph WHEEL K

  Lamed JUSTICE L

  Mem HANGED MAN M

  Nun DEATH N

  Samekh TEMPERANCE S

  Ayin DEVIL A’a

  Peh TOWER P

  Tzaddi STAR Tz

  Qoph MOON Q

  Resh SUN R

  Shin LAST JUDGEMENT Sh

  Tau UNIVERSE Th

  Your Magical Password

  For example if you selected TOWER, STRENGTH, WHEEL & FOOL your magical word would be Peh + Teth + Kaph + Aleph, PTKA.

  There is no guide to pronounce your word, you will have to decide!

  The Hierophant is Throned

  Having discovered your magical word and using the cards themselves as a reading, you can now take up your magical weapons again, i.e. the four suits.

  Take up each suit and shuffle them back into a full deck with the Majors, saying:

  I take back my Pentacle, blessed in light; in the name [say your magical word]

  I take back my Wand, blessed in light; in the name [say your magical word]

  I take back my Cup, blessed in light; in the name [say your magical word]

  I take back my Sword, blessed in light; in the name [say your magical word]

  Shuffle the entire deck and then place the Hierophant back in the deck saying:

  The Hierophant is re-established in the new light of the Equinox, in the invisible temple.

  Aligning to the Spring Current

  To activate this current in your day, at any time over the next quarter you should take out the Hierophant from your deck and repeat your “magical word” several times strongly. You may even use your craft skills to place the magical name on an object, clothing, talisman, etc. Leave the Hierophant somewhere visible where the card will not be disturbed until you experience a strong “revelation”, surprising helpful event or acceleration in your plans, or synchronicity. Then return the Hierophant to the deck.

  You may wish to try this exercise 3-4 times during the quarter dependent on events.

  We hope you experience some of the profound magical experiences that Tarot can bring about when aligned to the cosmic cycles, the deeper currents, the invisible knots and your everyday life together. The deck is a truly magical device and by activating it with ritual you will explore further of its many mysteries.

  SUMMER SOLSTICE

  The Labyrinth of the Sun

  At the Summer Solstice, corresponding to the sign of Taurus, and the Hierophant of the Tarot, we make our way to align our solar course to what we call the Solar Labyrinth. In myth, this was where the Minotaur was held by King Minos. The labyrinth was constructed by Daedalus, who of course was the father of Icarus.

  We are familiar with Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, and in doing so became an icon of failed ambition or hubris. He was also warned by his father not to fly too close to the sea below, as the salt would also damage his wings.

  When we make our alignment at the Summer Solstice, we use our cards to provide a golden thread through the labyrinth, so we may continue our spiritual journey without losing ourselves to fear (our Minotaur) or pride (our Icarus).

  You will need a “spare” deck for this exercise as it cannot be used for anything else between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox.

  Contemplate the labyrinth and walk your eyes through it whilst shuffling the deck at the summer solstice. Imagine that this is an image of your life, moving to a hidden centre. In that centre is a golden bull, a solar statue, radiating light.

  When you arrive at this centre, stop shuffling the deck and lay it down. If you have a separate image of the labyrinth, you can lay your deck face-down in the centre of it.

  Leave the deck for a day from the Summer Solstice – go enjoy the day and its length from dawn to sunset.

  The following day, take the bottom card of the deck out and turn it up – this is your “Sea”. Take the top card out turn it face up – this is your “Sun”. Lay out these cards above (Sun) and below (Sea) the labyrinth or on your table. For one week contemplate these two cards as the extremes of your spiritual course. What extremes must you avoid, how do you know you are going off-track or getting lost in the labyrinth of life?

  If, for example, I had the 5 of Wands above, and the 3 of Cups below, this might indicate that I tended to get lost on my spiritual journey whenever I was involved in arguments or discord of values, or attempting to get others to do something practically without providing a vision. This is where I might tend to get “burnt”.

  The 3 of Cups below, for example, would tell me that I should also avoid dropping too low into the need for celebrating my own life, as this would corrode (salt) my spiritual wings.

  After a week, leaving the rest of the deck in place, you can now use the deck as an “Ariadne’s Thread” throughout the remaining quarter, until the Autumn Equinox. Any time you feel adrift or lost in the labyrinth, simply turn over the next card from the top of the deck. This will provide you a spiritual thread between the two extremes of life. If you wish, you can use this deck as your “card of the day” – a practice we generally avoid, however here it speaks to a deeper current in a wider context.

  AUTUMN (FALL) EQUINOX

  At the Autumn Equinox, we find our spirit resting from the light, entering into a transition phase prior to the dark of winter. The Autumn Equinox is all about portents of change.

  Corresponding to Virgo, the Hermit, we see in the Heliakos that nature is our teacher; she shines the light from the mountains and the stars, to guide our path into the upper realms of darkness and silence, where there are no words.

  Our alignment for this season becomes one of transition, being responsive and alert to all portents of change. It is a very simple technique, for we do not work during this time, but merely observe.

  The Leaves of Autumn

  Take your deck and shuffle it on the evening of the Autumn Equinox. Imagine that it is 78 leaves of the Tree of your Life.

  Again, you will need to dedicate (consecrate) a deck for use only for this exercise for the following quarter.

  When you feel that the deck has come to rest, simply take the top card out and use it to answer a simple question;

  “Underneath everything, what is changing?”

  Contemplate and if you wish, journal, your response.

  Place the card back and shuffle again.

  Leave the deck until you next require to ask the same question.

  Repeat the shuffle, the drawing of a card, the return of the card and the shuffle.

  Over the quarter, return to this exercise when you wish, always asking the same question. It is one of the rare occasions when it is worth repeatedly asking the same question of your Tarot.

  The cycle then continues back to the Winter Solstice, where we examine the precessions in our spiritual life, and continue the spiral dance of the sun.

  As with many of our longer and more advanced exercises, it may be that you only perform this process once, although you’ll discover that repeating it may give new insight on progressively higher levels.

  The Tarot Shaman

  In this section we provide a series of spreads from our Tarot-Town social network site (www.Tarot-town.com) which has proven very popular. It is an example of what Tarosophy calls a “gated spread”, a series of spreads that are linked by real-world activity. Each spread over the period of time (usually a week) within a gated spread depends on some activity to be carried out from the previous spread. This ensures that you are gearing the Tarot to “engage life, not escape it” throughout the experience.

  As participants report significant events and even changes of life and inner experience through these immersive events, we would like to provide here our beginner version, the Tarot Shaman.

  A Shaman is often a wounded healer, called to their
vocation through illness or strange events in their early life. Whilst varying in practice and belief, they most often function as an intermediary between the mundane and the spiritual world.

  The responsibilities of an Inner Shaman are:

  o To maintain a connection between the Lower and Upper Worlds.

  o Tap uncommon knowledge for socially useful purposes

  o Application of critical judgement to vision

  o To apply new guiding myth to changing circumstances

  o To alter a myth that is failing

  After Feinstein & Krippner (1988).

  The Tarot Shaman

  As we have introduced, what follows are spreads arrayed across a period of time, where each spread is reliant not only upon the previous spead – but on actions carried out in real life (and arising results) which feed into the next spread. Thus a series of “gates” are created through which the activity of life is channelled. As the cards represent fundamental patterns in life, this channelling produces often profound life-changing effects beyond the obvious connectivity of life. It is a way of fully experiencing that the world is indeed “bound by invisible knots”.

  The Gated Spreads already taught within Tarot Professionals include one of Relationships – the Gates of Valentine week, one on Creativity – the Garden of Forking Paths, and the powerful Resurrection Engine – a totally life-changing week experience. You can discover more about this method and many other spreads such as the Palace of the Phoenix (using Alchemy) and the Temple of Thoth (using the Thoth deck and Egyptian mythology) at http://www.gatesofTarot.com.

  In this Gated Spreads we are going to take a gentler journey into the animal symbolism of Tarot and engage with the living life with which we are surrounded. Indeed this may be a powerful week – whilst first writing up this whole exercise I looked out the library window and saw a Deer staring back in at me.

  The Shaman

  In the Teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Castenda gives an account of the requirements of the Shaman, the Person of Knowledge. The Shaman must be:

  1. Learned

  2. Of Unbending Intent

  3. Clear of Mind

  4. Laborious

  5. A Warrior

  6. Unceasing

  7. Possess an Ally

  Whilst we see that the Tarot cards of the Magician, the Chariot, the Hermit, Strength, Emporer and the Wheel may symbolize the archetypal qualities of the first six of these qualities, we may also need to locate an Ally – in this case, the Spirit of the Tarot itself, to guide us further. But first we must encounter the Dweller on the Threshold – the Guardian of the Gate.

  You may like to note in your journal which cards you personally see associated with the first six qualities that Castenda gives for a Shaman. You may also like to record your dreams during this week which will often become more vivid.

  Gate 1: The Guardian of the Gate Spread

  Our first Gated Spread tells us what we must overcome to go onto the next gate – it is a warrior’s challenge. We cannot even begin to approach the mysteries unless we prove ourselves in some serious manner.

  So for your first Gate, take a deck and shuffle, considering everything that frightens you, then lay out 3 cards in a line (vertical or horizontal) as follows:

  1. What is the Guardian?

  2. How must I Fight?

  3. What is the Reward?

  Take these three cards and consider how they might relate to your life over the next day. What is the nature of the “fear” that has been divined by the first card? What is the manner in which you must overcome this fear indicated by the second card? What does the third card suggest you will gain as a reward?

  I take out these cards in my reading:

  1 Guardian – The Blasted Tower

  2 Fight – Ace of Swords

  3 Reward – Empress

  I guess I start to see the Guardian as a fear of disruption and sudden failure. The fight is keeping clear to an idea, and the reward is a general natural growth.

  Now – most importantly, decide on a definite ACTION tomorrow that will meet the requirements of this gate. Something in your life – not too dramatic unless you feel called to do so – that will respond to the divination of these three cards. It must be enacted within the following day.

  So I decide in my case that tomorrow, Saturday, I will try and do something extremely surprising, that fits to my ideas, I’ll overturn an expectation and overcome a barrier by starting to write an essay I have been prevaricating over. It’s not much of a challenge in terms of being a warrior, but I’ll determine to do it. The Ace of Swords!

  You are encouraged to share your decisions, actions and experiences on our Tarot-Town forums, but only if you wish to do so. We have found in previous gated spreads that sharing often reveals profound similarities and interesting differences in the lives of those sharing the experience.

  We will then be given the next Gate by the Tarot Shaman below and continue our journey into the Tarot Shaman’s Path and meet our animal guide in the Tarot, having proven our worth at the first Gate.

  The Tarot Shaman II

  There are many forms of shamanistic practice and at the end of this week of the Tarot Shaman Gated Spread we will provide a reading list for those who wish to know more about Shamanism worldwide, from the archaic to the contemporary! Whilst there is no particular connection between Shamanism and Tarot, many of the methods and approaches found in shamanistic practice can be applied to deepen our experience of Tarot in a profound and practical way.

  The Journey

  In this next gate, having overcome the Guardian, we go on a journey to meet our Animal Guide. Of course, we must travel but we must also do so in a relaxed attitude – the world is closer to us than we imagine! There is a great scene in the book based around a re-imagining of Anglo-Saxon shamanism, The Way of Wyrd, by Brian Bates, where the shaman is taking a student through an exercise – he says; “Relax! You are tying yourself in knots with tension. Relax and your Guardian Spirit will cut through the fog of your life like a sunbeam”. He then jokes that the student must have been chosen by an Owl guardian as he is looking so wide-eyed and intent! Humor is an important part of Shamanistic training, as is trickery!

  So in our second day of the Tarot Shaman, our Shaman will take us on a dance …

  Gate 2: The Journey of the Tarot Shaman

  Our first Gated Spread told us what we must overcome to make progress and we acted upon this divination today. You will have received the reward indicated by the spread, or at least deepened your appreciation of what holds you back from progress.

  So for our second Gate, we set off on our journey to prepare for our later meeting of our Animal Guide - which will follow in the week, with further teaching on Animal Symbolism.

  You will need at least 10 minutes or more, your deck & a small notebook and pen/pencil – and suitable clothing for the weather conditions and environment in which you are situated, because you may be going outside!

  To commence the spread, shuffle your deck considering all the journeys you have been upon. Consider what you learnt, who you saw, what you recall.

  When you are ready, stop shuffling and take the top card from your deck. We do not use reversals (upside-down cards, see Tarot Turn for a complete guide to reversed cards) in this particular gate spread.

  Make a note of the card in your notepad, and perhaps a brief note (to be expanded later) as to what it tells you about JOURNEYS.

  For example, I pull the Knight of Cups from Roxi Sim’s Pearls of Wisdom deck. He tells me that the Journey should always be full of delight, and not to miss the opportunity to go on detours to interesting places along the way!

  You then make a journey – even if it is only into another room in the house, or outside, based on that card. For example, I chose to go down into the kitchen from the library (Cups). When you are in that new location, choose the next card, and do the same as before – in fact, I got the Knight of Swords, which told me I must be prepared fo
r a journey and cut through things quickly! So I simply walked across to the drawers and picked out a small (blunt!) knife.

  Continue to work through the cards, taking either small steps, going on long-distance journeys, picking items up along the way, or simply learning about journeying from the comfort of your armchair!

  STOP when you reach a place or lesson from the cards that just feels right. If you are in any doubt, it is not the place. Make a note of the final card which you have received to have brought you to this place or taught you a particular lesson about journeying.

  You may have pulled 3 cards and not moved at all, you may have pulled 30 cards and travelled a hundred miles in the day. It is up to your journey.

  When you are at this place or point – begin to consider how far you have come since you started the journey. Consider what you learnt yesterday about your fears and what must be overcome. Find strength renewed in this place, which is a “power spot” as it is called in the works of Carlos Castenda, who wrote about the Yaqui Shaman, Don Juan.

  When you have contemplated this journey, you can return! You may return to this spot again, or it may just be a one-off visit. You can even make a map of the cards and the locations through which you have journeyed! This is what we call a geographical spread, such as the one you can download at:

  http://www.Tarotprofessionals.com/tarosophy/12Spreads.pdf

  where we teach using your property as a spread!