Delicate Client Situations: A Radio Interview with James

Last night, Theresa Reed and Bri Saussy had me on their radio show, Talking Shop, to talk with them and their listeners about delicate situations with tarot clients.  We spoke about boundaries, creating a safe container, honouring oneself and the client by being clear about one’s practice, what to do when a client breaks down into tears, and so much more.  You can listen to our chat at http://ds1.downloadtech.net/cn1086/audio/89218781024750-001.mp3

Feel free to leave comments and questions in the Comments section of this blog entry.  It would be wonderful to have a conversation here around such a rich topic.

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A Tarot-Based Prayer

I just listened to a recording of a teleseminar given last night by Jason Muck for the Gaian Tarot Circle. It was about using the tarot to create prayers. Below is one I created based on the Child of Air (pulled at random from the deck).

O Wingèd Young Ones,

You who kiss wide cloud-deck’d skies

with dulcet wonder;

grant us appreciation

for our multi-hued, multi-faceted,

multi-creeded, multi-loving species

that we may foster

the spaciousness of respect.

Blessed be.

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Mapping Business Goals with Tarot

Last night, I attended the monthly Prosperous Healer gathering hosted by the skilled and delightful Mary Davis.  Mary kindly asked me to co-facilitate, and I offered a process called Mapping Your Business Goals with the Tarot.  This exercise is based on the numerical and elemental structure of the suit cards (minor arcana) and some simple math to discover a trump card (major arcanum) to sum things up.  Some people at the gathering had tarot experience while others were new to it.  Either way, the procedure was designed to be user-friendly to all solopreneurs regardless of their previous exposure to the cards.

For simplicity’s sake, I asked people to choose and work on a single goal for their business, but to keep in mind that it is wholistic — a single goal is connected to every other aspect of business and life.  So the first step was to identify an intention or aim and to write it down.  Then, using a handout called Some Business Themes in the Four Suits of the Tarot, people identified which suit was most connected with their goal.  For example, their business name, their logo, or their role as a practitioner would be a Wands-related target or their financial income, work space, or administration would be a Pentacles-related matter.

The next step was to state in one word or phrase where they currently are on the journey toward their goal and one word or one phrase to describe their realised goal.  Using a handout entitled The Stages/Steps of the Minor Arcana they lined these current and ideal stages up with key words for the values (numbers and courts) in their chosen tarot suit then jotted down the corresponding card names.  For example, if someone felt they were in the planning or figuring out phase of their finances, they picked the Three of Pentacles/Stones/Coins and if their aim was to grow or expand their finances, their final card would be the Seven of Pentacles/Stones/Coins.

Everyone laid out their two cards and the cards that come between them in order on the table.  This array of minor arcana was their business target map.  For each card in the array, they named constructive, helpful attributes that they perceived, then turned those qualities into concrete, doable actions for the coming week and the coming month.

By adding up the values of the cards in their map, people came up with a major card.  In partners, they told “Once upon a time” stories employing the trump card as a pictorial story book.  Then each person summarised their story in one sentence such as, “This is a story about finding my power spot after being guided to it.”  Everyone was encouraged to write down what their trump story told them they will learn as they make their business goal a reality.  For example, “By making my business goal a reality, I will learn the graceful dance between steering and following the process.”  I reminded everyone that by integrating the larger lesson inherent in their business objectives, they will contribute to the wellness of the human collective with regard to the issue brought forth.

It was an intense and enjoyable evening that energised me.  If you would like to engage in this process, let me know.  I’d be very happy to work with your group or with you on a one-to-one basis. 

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Like, Don’t Like, & Neutral

Last week, several people began my Essentials of Tarot Reading course.  Here’s a deceptively simple activity that we did on our first call to help people become more familiar with their tarot decks.  Here are the steps:

1. Turn your tarot pack face up, so you can see the card images.
2. As you go through your deck, notice which cards you like, which cards you don’t like, and which cards feel neutral to you, placing each category into its own pile so that you end up with three piles.  Don’t overthink this, just notice your gut reaction and place each card in one of the three stacks.
3. After you’ve created these three piles, go through them and pay attention to the qualities you notice in each.  What seems to be the predominant attribute to your “like” pile?  Write it down.  What quality do you most notice in your “don’t like” stack?  Write it down.  When you review your “neutral” pile, what characteristic stands out for you?  Write it down.
4. Reflect on the qualities you jotted down for each pile.  How does each relate to your life right now?  What story do they tell you?  What in your life do you want to enhance, and what do you want to change?  Act accordingly.
5. What do the characteristics of your card stacks tell you about the type(s) of tarot deck that most appeals to you and will be most useful to you?  Seek it/them out.

I appreciate that such an uncomplicated exercise can offer a tarot practitioner personal insight and clues about the tools that will work best for hir.  Please try this activity and let us what emerges for you.

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Link to Free Teleseminar: Please Listen!

Yesterday, I offered a free tarot teleseminar, a preview to my soon-to-be-here course.  I posed some questions about tarot’s relevance, responded to them, and told a story to illustrate tarot’s usefulness.  We also did a simple activity with the cards.  This activity is something that’s easy to do, yet so empowering when problem-solving and creating goals.  Please listen!

http://rs3104.freeconferencecall.com/fcci/cgi-bin/share.mp3/40417950-3.mp3

And just a reminder that the Essentials of Tarot Reading course begins on Monday.  You can sign up by emailing me at circleways@yahoo.ca and sending a PayPal payment.  See you soon!

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Essentials of Tarot Reading: Why Join?

It’s been a couple of years since I offered a tarot course for beginners and for those who want to refresh their minds around good basic tarot use, so I’m thrilled to be teaching the Essentials of Tarot Reading, beginning next week.

Symbolic tools such as the tarot can be extremely supportive in many ways.  For a person who wants to know more about hirself, the tarot can catalyse personal insight in ways that promote growth.  For a business person, the cards make excellent brainstorming and strategising devices.  For those who desire an intimate relationship, the tarot can help clarify the qualities they seek in another person and how they can go about creating that relationship.  People in the arts find the cards to be wonderful doorways to the creative Muse.  And so much more!

One thing to remember is that the tarot is simply a language, a map, a template.  In order to tap into your wisdom, you just need to learn the language, how to read the map.  Essentials of Tarot Reading is a class that allows you to do that.  Over the course of eight weeks, you’ll have the chance to learn in a variety of ways: PDF handouts with information and hands-on activities, eight weekly teleseminars, discussions on a secret Facebook group, and the opportunity to pair up with a study buddy.  The teleseminars will all be recorded, so if there are any calls you need to miss, you’ll be able to listen to it and participate in your own way later on.  All of this in the comfort of your own space!

What will we cover in our time together during the Essentials of Tarot Reading?  Session One, “Getting to Know You”, will give everyone the opportunity to share a bit about themselves and their goals for the tarot journey as well as helpful basic tarot history and structure.  This will provide a sense of trust, honesty, and basic grounding that such a course asks of us.  You’ll also be doing simple hands-on exercises with the cards right away to get better acquainted with your tarot cards.  Session Two, “The Art of the Helpful Question”, will guide you in how to phrase questions that will net you more specific and helpful insights, ideas, and responses to your your life situations.  In Sessions Three and Four, we’ll delve more deeply into the structure of the tarot deck and how that structure provides a framework that allows you to interpret the cards with ease.  You’ll enjoy the imaginative ways of gaining your own interpretations as well!  Every process needs a good framework and tarot reading is no exception.  Sessions Five and Six will teach you how to design and choose spreads/layouts that make your readings sparkle with personalised meanings and put your interpretations into a coherent story that makes sense to you and those for whom you read.  The last two sessions will tie up loose ends as you engage in practice sessions with your study partners, put all the pieces of knowledge together, find out how to continue to improve your tarot skills beyond this course, and discover that you really CAN use the tarot effectively.

Just yesterday, I received this touching message from Beth Lenco, a wholistic practitioner in Chester, Nova Scotia, who took my autumn tarot counselling class: “I tell you, that course you taught was life changing for me. I have so much confidence and awareness with how I read now. It’s a strong part of my work in the world, instead of something I pull out for myself and the odd client here and there. So thank you!“  Wouldn’t YOU love to feel as confident as Beth with your tarot skills?

Essentials of Tarot Reading promises to be enjoyable and rewarding on many levels.  You and your circle of friends will benefit from the rich understanding of the ups and downs that life brings as you engage with the cards in a skilled and conscious manner.  It’s an ability that you’ll be able to use for the rest of your life.  The material in this course will also provide you with the solid groundwork you’ll need to take more advanced tarot workshops and classes.  You’ll benefit from my 34+ years of living with the tarot and my 19+ years of using it with clients professionally.

The first set of handouts will be emailed to participants on Monday, February 10 and our first call together will take place on Thursday, February 13 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (10 a.m. Pacific Time).  Sign up now to make sure you get in on the first session.  You can register by emailing me at circleways@yahoo.ca and by sending a PayPal payment of $335 to the same email address.  You can also pay with your credit card; I can send a PayPal invoice to your email address and you simply use your card.  Easy!  (Please add $10 for credit card processing).

Will you join me on this eight-week voyage of discovery, enjoyment, and insight?  Please do!

*** This Thursday, February 6, I’ll be hosting a free teleseminar to give you a sense of the course and to respond to any questions you might have about it.  It will take place at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (12 noon Pacific).  Simply call (661) 673 – 8605, then enter Pin Code: 197286#  And, as I said, this introductory session will be free.  After that, there will only be three days left to sign up. ***

Again, please join me for Essentials of Tarot Reading.  It will be an honour to journey with you!

Image: The Fool from the Ancestral Path Tarot by Julie Cuccia-Watts.

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