Live every day the tarot way
Archive for September, 2011
Quote of the day reading 9/29/11
01 year ago
“We employ the mind to rule, the body to serve.”
Sallust
The mind rules our body, how does your mind rule you? Pull a card from your favorite deck and ask the following question “How does my mind rule/influence me” .
I pulled The Fool. My mind likes to take risks and I will often jumo without looking. I think in an optimistic way hoping that everything will come out fine.
Who are you?
21 year ago
Who are we? What is our identity? How do you view yourself to be and does it match with reality? What about how others view us? Do people view us as we view ourselves? Our persona or social mask can be different from who we actually are.
Lets explore these three aspects to our identity.
1) Who do I think I am?
2) Myself as I really am.
3) What others think/view me as
My Cards are The High Priestess, 9 of Cups and 7 of Swords. I see myself as an introvert. The High Priestess is passive and withdrawn. She is also sensitive to emotion which I am. 9 of Cups shows that I am in reality someone more social and outgoing. The man in the 9 of Cups is a social person. He is also a wishful and hopeful. He likes instant gratification and I sure do to. Others see me as 7 of Swords, maybe they see me as sneaky, a lone wolf someone who likes to be on their own and do things their way.
What cards did you get?
Tarosophy – Book Review
31 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Review
“Tarosophy will be sure to become a new instant classic in the tarot community that in 50+ years people will still be reading & learning from it.” – Angelo Nasios
Unique, comprehensive, ambitious, fresh and elegant, these are just a few words you could use to describe Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It. Even these words limit how excellent this piece of tarot literature truly is. Tarosophy combines the words Tarot & Sophia (Greek for Wisdom) which simply means Tarot Wisdom / Wisdom of tarot. This book is packed full of wise words and excellent information, the material in here lives up to the name Tarosophy.
Marcus Katz author of Tarosophy has done the almost impossible, compiling 30 years of studying, reading and teaching tarot into one book that is suitable for beginners to advance readers.
Tarosophy is not another Tarot 101 beginner’s guide/ card meaning cookbook. This book is more like a professors lecture. If that sounds boring trust me this book is no dud. The writing style of Marcus is one of my favorites. In the world of Tarot books most authors are female, there is a small percentage of male tarot authors simple because there is a small percentage of male readers. I love to read a tarot book that is written by a man, simply because of the clean, cut and the less “woo-woo” airy aura, that female readers often attach to their work. Marcus is a down to earth author who presents tarot in the right way to new readers without them feeling they are getting into something that requires special spiritual lexicon or understanding.
Tarosopy is broken into three sections, with each section broken down into separate parts. The first section is for beginners. The second section is for intermediate and the finale third section is for advance tarots, which focus in on spiritual/progressive subjects like astrology and Kabbalah. I will talk about section one mostly for this review.
Marcus introduces us to tarot and goes to work throwing out the myths of tarot like the requirement that a deck be gifted to you and the like. What is the Tarot? Marcus goes on to explain that tarot is a metaphor, a map, compass; it’s a mirror and can be used in many ways. It can be used for casting spells, making talismans, telling fortunes and to discover yourself. Marcus says, “tarot is not a solitary system, it likes to make friends”. The tarot has been connected and associated with astrology, kabbalah, psychology, magick, Gnosticism and much more. Simply put, tarot is a lot and has no limits to how you want to use it and what to apply it to. It is flexible.
Marcus then goes to talk quickly about Tarot History and those dam pesky gypsies and bunk and junk in that is floating in the air about tarot origins.
After than comes some very good information that all readers should read. The parts about Metaphor, Symbols, Archetypes and How does Tarot Work were very enjoyable to read and very fresh. Marcus explains what a metaphor is (via three qualities) and how tarot is a metaphor by way of the symbols in the images. Symbols are components of the metaphor, which are seen as clues and triggers to something hidden or unknown to us.
How does Tarot work? Marcus takes his own jab at this with the help of some quantum physics (based on Itzhak Bentov’s description of holograms) I wont go into detail about this, you need to read it yourself. Synchronicity is next talked about as a way tarot may work and Marcus explains it better than any other person. There is some confusion as to what synchronicity is and how it relates to tarot and Marcus clears the air about this.
Archetypes are touched upon quickly, mainly to explain what they are and are not in the tarot. Marcus makes it clear that The Fool is not an archetype its self. “The Fool is an example of an underlying archetype of which the fool, jester, clown, trickster are all arising images”.
This is all just a small part of Section one. Now just imagine the rest of the book! Tarosophy is filled with exercises (50 of them!) as well as illustrations. Tarosophy is also sourced and footnotes are everywhere, so if you can look at Marcus’ sources for yourself. Tarosophy will be sure to become a new instant classic in the tarot community that in 50+ years people will still be reading & learning from it.
Tarosophy is currently sold only directly from the publisher on their website.
http://www.salamanderandsons.com/shop/
Tarot and Astrology – Corrine Kenner – Book Review
01 year ago
by Angelo Nasios
in Review
Tarot and Astrology are two disciplines that are interconnected with each other. It is often said that Tarot is an art while Astrology is a science. Astrology is closely interwoven into the tarot cards, that many people would miss it if they did not look close enough. In “Tarot and Astrology: Enhance Your Readings with the Wisdom of the Zodiac” veteran tarot author Corrine Kenner brings out the Astrology in each of the cards to gain a deeper knowledge to why mean what they mean. Astrology can be a weak spot for many tarot readers; Corrine’s book is a excellent medium for tarot readers to get acquainted with the astrological associations in the tarot. Don’t forget this book is also good for Astrologers wanting to better understand tarot.
Corrine uses Golden Dawn material as her source for her Astrological associates with the cards so this book can be used with just about any deck. The deck used in this book is the Wizards Tarot, which is a creation of Corrine.
Like any good Tarot book Corrine starts you off with the basics to tarot. The Building Block of the Tarot, Corrine explains what the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana cards are all about. The Elements associated with the four suites and their spheres of influence. So it is safe to say a beginner to tarot can pick this book up and not feel lost. As you progress the Majors are explained via the Sign they are associated with them. The cards are listed in Astrological order. That means The Emperor the first card you will read about, not The Fool. I personally don’t like that it is not in Tarot order (Fool through The World) but this is a book that looks at tarot through Astrological eyes so I will let it slide.
Corrine throws in Mythology into the mix as well. As I was reading about Justice Corrine associated Justice with Themis (goddess of justice), which is who I associate with this card as well. Many would associate Justice with Athena; the Mythic Tarot is a deck that does this. So Corrine has some good points with me on her Greek Mythology.
Progressing me we come to the Minor Arcana to which now we see a section called “Tarot, Astrology, and Qabalah.” Now Corrine is adding Qabalah, I could kiss her! Corrine breaks down and explains how each of the minor cards fits into the Tree of Life. However the Qabalah aspect is not of major focus and plays only a secondary role after the Astrology.
To illustrate how Astrology is used to understand the cards we will sample the Seven of Cups, Venus in Scorpio.
“When Venus, the benefactor, visits the third and last decan of Scorpio, she offers a tantalizing array of possibilities, including beauty, power, wealth, and happiness…..Venus, like the Empress, wants to make dreams come true. She wants to give her children every chance at success…. But Venus is the planet of romantic illusion, and her promise can’t be fulfilled without effort and time…..The Golden Dawn designers of this card called Venus in Scorpio the “lord of Illusionary Success” because it hints at a tantalizing array of possibilities, but it doesn’t offer any guarantees if completion. “
Informational charts are found throughout the book along with spreads. Corrine explains Astrology in depth more towards the end of the book, explain each of the houses, and end it all with Horoscope analysis via tarot.
Overall this book is extremely well done! It has to be Corrine’s best work to date. Tarot and Astrology are two subjects that can fill a lifetime of study. This is not the end all on the subjects but this book is without a doubt a must have for every tarot reader and astrologer. The information in here is valuable, informative and highly useful. After reading this book tarot readers will have a better knowledge of astrology and will have improved their understanding of the cards greatly.
100% Accuracy Guaranteed!
1100% accuracy guaranteed!
Madam Herzog, Master Psychic 100% accuracy guaranteed!
Sorry but no reading/reader is 100% accurate. Stay away from anyone who claims they are 100% accurate. It is very rare for a reader to give a reading or prediction that is 100% on spot with every detail. Most people have a romanticized idea that psychics and tarot readers are these beings that can’t be wrong. We must always be right. If this was true we would not be human. Since we are human we will make errors and be wrong however a skilled reader will have a higher percentage of accuracy in the reader.
There are however times when readings are freaky accurate and predictions come true exactly was the reading says. One of my early experiences with tarot reading was like this. I started reading tarot at 13 and when I was in the 10th grade I tested the cards. I wanted to see what they were capable of. I wanted to see if they could predict a test grade for my math class. I found a website that associated a number with each card. It was weird number associations I never heard of and I don’t have the website anymore but any way I created a formula where I picked out a few cards, added up the values associated with them and divided by the number of cards. The number that resulted from this was 84. That sounded good to me. I took the test and when I got the grade back it was 84! I was shocked and amazed, the tarot was correct! This in my eyes was proof that tarot was for real.
Another experience I had with tarot when I was young and still learning was on the more negative side. I was reading the cards for a friend at school, she asked about her relationship with her boyfriend. She wanted to know how things would be like in 6 months. I pulled The Tower. I said, that in 6 months something dramatic and bad would happen. 6 months later her boyfriend was hit buy a car and killed. Not one of my predictions I am proud of but a accurate one non the less. This reading was all a good example that Death does not have to come up to show an actual death. The Tower was a more suitable card because the event was sudden and traumatic. The Death card is slower and more peaceful in contrast.
How do you get most accurate reading possible?
Don’t doubt your inner voice! If you have something to say that may seem out of the blue you should say it. These out of the blue thoughts are actually psychic! They may provide valuable information. So just say it.
Be open to the cards and the message coming through. Do not come to the cards with any preferred outcome or bias towards an outcome that you desire. It will taint your reading. Let your heart and guy guide you in the reading.
Tarot works in its own mysterious way and if a message is strong enough and clear enough it will be known to you. These readings will be “clear as day” and will make perfect sense.
Practice and practice. The more you work with your cards the more in tune you become with them and the easier you can make better predictions.