New Major Arcana Tarot Deck

To see the big beautiful images of this new Major Arcana deck go to
humboldtartiststarot.blogspot.com/p/about-envisioning-tarot.html


Humboldt Artists Interpret the Major Arcana

This loving tribute to Tarot as Muse is a fundraiser for Ink People Center for the Arts, conceived by Kathryne DeLorme, Carolyn Ayres and Libby Maynard. The twenty-two images seen here have been made into a collectible Major Arcana Tarot Deck which will be sold on this site and other venues in Humboldt County. The original art was seen at the opening, July 7th,  at the new Ink Annex, 47B West Third Street, Eureka, California.

What you see here is the text of the book that comes with the deck.  Includes a general interpretation of the card and a statement by the artist

0. The Fool

The Fool can be seen as the symbol of our essence of spirit who incarnates through the archetypal energies of the tarot. Not of this 3D reality, the Fool has no expectations and so is never disapointed, has no attachments so feels no competition, has no fear, so ventures where no one knows the outcome. This is the choice of a joyful appreciation of the opportunity of incarnation in a human body.

Key Words: The Big Bang/Pure potential/ Evolutionary Impulse/ Child like nature/ Risk taking/ Carefree/ Innocent/ Naïve/ /Total trust in a benevolent universe/Relax! Have Fun!


The Fool Karen Santos

“The night before drawing the Major Arcane cards for this project, I dreamed about drawing the Fool card. I woke up thinking, NO, NOT THE FOOL! , I don’t want to be the Fool! At the ritual, I reached to pick up a card, stopped and said to myself, “No, not that one, it’s the Fool Card,” and moved my hand to the other end of the pile and chose a card. Eagerly turning over the card, confident that I had beaten the possibility of drawing the Fool Card, I found myself looking straight into - The Fool.

After days of frustration, I settled in with the idea that the Fool chose me for a reason. I did my research, learning that the Fool’s energy begins with our first breath of air. That this energy is pure, fearless and “childlike in nature.” I came to the conclusion that the Fool chose me to restore the purity of my first breath of air, for I had entered this world pure and fearless, but soon after that first breath, there was a need to create a safe and controlled environment for myself which left my “childlike nature” behind. I realized that what had happened to me in childhood was affecting me in my adulthood, as I continued to control my environment for safety.

Coming into my life through this process, the Fool has given me the courage to open up to life as it is and take the journey without self-made barriers.”

1. The Magician

The Magician can be seen as the emergence of the conscious mind with all the tools of physical manifestation, the four Aces of the tarot suits, on the table. The Magician realizes the possibility of manifesting the desires of the conscious mind, showing us the map of our journey of manifestation.

Key Words: The Animus / Visionary/ Say YES!/all types of communication/ creating something out of seemingly nothing/ great Beginnings


The Magician Kathy O’Leary

“One of my favorite signs on 101 is near Laytonville: “Don’t Forget The Magic”. I feel there has been “magic” afoot in my life because of experiences I can’t explain any other way. Drawing the Magician card for this project seemed like another example of that “magic”.

Delving into this card I came upon this quote: “The Magus receives inspiration from the Soul of the Universe whose message he spreads on Earth” (Aleister Crowley). So for me, the Magician is the personification of feminine energy, since, symbolically, women represent that creative energy with their historical connection to the earth and as the bearer and nurturer of each generation.

Coming up with symbols to represent the energy of this card was the easiest part. The colors I chose, the egg, the rainbow, the chakras, the pentagram, my brush strokes and directions all represent the Magician’s role in bringing the Soul of the Universe into human consciousness. The difficulty for me was accepting my own role as a “Magician”. The audacity of including myself in that magical process! As I worked with this image, it also became clear that while the potential is there for everyone, it is up to us, to me, to open up to receiving that gift (for that’s what I believe it to be), and act with courage, love and passion as a channel between the Cosmos and life here on earth. Drawing this card means I can no longer ignore this work.”

See more of Kathy O'Leary's work on her website kathyoleary.com

2. The High Priestess

The High Priestess can be seen as our unconscious, that part of us who has access to all knowledge, whose wisdom within us speaks with our intuitive hits. You might meet her deep in meditation for she reflects the light of Divine consciousness too brilliant to behold, offering an image of source to reflect upon. As the Number Two the Priestess marks the beginning of duality, the necessary contrast for evolution. She is the invisible guide on our journey.
Key Words: The anima/Deep intuitive knowing/ receptivity/You have the answers within


High Priestess Libby George

“After drawing my card from the deck, I wanted to learn what the High Priestess represented historically. I scanned the Internet for images (and there are many) and talked with people who practice tarot. I read article after article and decided there was too much to learn in just one year. So I let go of research and began working in my studio. I didn’t know what my High Priestess would look like or how I would find her.
It was a messy long slog. I changed the image a dozen times. I made carborundum plates, drypoint plates, and monoprint plates. I would get close only to crack the plate and be forced to start again. At some point during this chaos of disappointments I found an old yoga book and felt compelled to stretch. I had not practiced yoga in thirty years.
The creative process was not easy and in February, failed prints scattered everywhere, I let go of all expectation. I went home thinking ‘this is not going to happen’. I came back the next day prepared for more of the big nothing but instead the High Priestess began to show up with birds, the moon, and the earth and I recognized her.
I cannot say if it is her face or stretching again, but I feel good about the journey now.”

See more of Libby George's work on her website libbygeorge.com

3. The Empress
The Empress can be seen as the archetypal Mother, perpetually pregnant with creative life force. Her energy of pure Universal Love brings the dualism of the Magician and High Priestess to fruition. As our creative imagination, the Empress gives birth to possibilities out of seeming chaos and imagines the world into being, pushing us forth into the birth canal of authentic becoming.
Key words: Mother Nature/Abundance/ Unconditional Love/ creative feminine imagination/Eros/ Creative imagining



The Empress Nina Wolf

“Swirling
Motes of dust
drops of water
flickers of flame
circling ever circling ever tightening until form Be Comes
Time begins
The Empress, as we know HER, is in beauty.
Curatress, nurturer.
Allowing all life to evolve
Accenting limitation, then
NOW
the terrible
STOP
Has the next evolution begun?

The Queen of life has dominated my life, as she has yours. I began my conscious connection with her at the onset of menses, at the age of 11. Her consciousness has dominated my maturation as a human being, a tribal member, an artist. She has informed and guided me on this long journey,

So may it be yours.”


4. The Emperor

The Emperor can be seen as the manifestation of the Empress’s wild creative imaginings. The archetype of leadership at its best, one who serves the people first, sacrificing the self for the whole, the Emperor signals the maturity of the mission, a stabilization of purpose. This is the point on the journey where all seems possible.

Key words/ authority/ structure/ leadership /stability/containment/ the creative masculine imagination



Lyn Risling The Emperor

“After reading about the Emperor, I immediately thought of my father who embodied the positive characteristics of the Emperor, a charismatic, trustworthy and rational leader who was respected and admired, but also loved by many.
The man depicted is not my father, but he represents one who believes in the law and order of the natural world rather than one created by mankind. He understands the balance and cycles of life and gives thanks for the gifts from the Heavens and Earth. He realizes that his main purpose in life is to 'Fix the World,' to be a role model for others in how to live in balance. He takes his responsibility whole-heartedly and is willing to fight and die for it.

The Emperor is also very wise in knowing that the world is not in balance without the Empress. He knows and respects her power, wisdom and characteristics that are not his own. He knows his own balance comes partly from her and hers from him, and without each other there could be chaos.

For me, the Emperor represents my own journey to not only find balance in my own life, but to be part of the greater responsibility of humankind to restore the balance in our communities and to our world. He is a reminder for me to work towards becoming a role model for our younger generations, through hard work and sacrifice, as well as prayer, ceremony and love.”

Learn more about Lyn's work lynrisling.com

5. The Hierophant

The Hierophant can be seen as bridging heaven and earth. Interpreter of the Cosmic vision, the Hierophant ushers in initiates to their own higher knowing, teaches and brings structure to the incomprehensible for the human mind. Here on the journey we turn to our teachers within and without as we struggle to understand and bring forth our purpose.

Key Words: enlightened teacher/ channeling/ organized spirituality


Donvieve The Hierophant

“When I was eight I remember my aunt reading my fortune with her cards, backed with red and black emblems. I remember her turning up queens of hearts and diamonds, beautiful faces with ominous looks, the ace of spades and those kings looking very stately. I wondered, what do they represent? To this day I enjoy listening to my intuition while looking at the Tarot cards. When the Hierophant chose me, this poem came to me.

Awake sleeping one
Dawn is the time
Center your being
Trust intuition
Follow your inner child’s curiosity
Walk the spiritual/mystical path
Using practical feet.

These thoughts have inspired my design of my Hierophant card.
Standing in a yoga pose called vrksasana, the tree pose, balancing on one foot on top of the lotus flower, I stand serene and balanced in the midst of my life’s challenges. The meaning of yoga is union, the union of body, mind and spiritual awareness. I realize that though I play a small part in the major play of life, when I join forces in cooperative alignment with others, my Hierophant sends out golden rays of sharing, good will and love. The key to finding happiness is to do all I can to uplift the lives of others.”

Learn more about Donvieve here maskmakersweb.org/Donvieve/

6. The Lovers

The Lovers can be seen as the realization of Free Will, of our separateness and how we choose to be as one again. Here the feminine seeks balance with the masculine as we learn that we must first fall in love with ourselves as Divine beings before we can truly love one another. We learn as we make choices in our loving that we are all interconnected, that we all mirror each other and we come to a much higher loving than we ever imagined.

Key Words: Discrimination/ alchemical wedding of masculine and feminine consciousness/ finding God in sexual ecstasy




Walter Pence The Lovers

“A long standing opposition in me manifests itself as a conflict between reason and art. I have lived this contradiction. Making this card has helped me to create a mythic harmony which I explain as follows: The force of love in nature is already present in us at birth as a seed waiting to blossom when the time is ripe. The sun’s warmth, like a smile, spontaneous and unbidden, is also love; its heat generates in earth the myriad forms of life. As complementary opposites, human beings become one in their love for one another. Their need for wholeness is expressed, first in erotic desire, but also in the tenderness and appreciation each shows for the other.

Still, no relationship can exist without difficulties and problems. Enter the serpent. The serpent is wise because it knows both darkness and light. Moving in the unknown world below ground, as well as above, ancient peoples saw it as a messenger between the two worlds. Since the snake sheds its skin and grows a new one, it also has the ability to transform and heal divisive elements in both body and psyche. Hence its presence in a romantic relationship. Humans share the earth with other beings making up the web of life. Just as the force of love is universal, so are the empathetic/symbiotic connections holding all things in interdependent relationships. Love unifies, imparting purpose and meaning to life. Thus everything attains a wholeness of being.”


Posted by Regina Case at 7:20 PM 0 comments

7. The Chariot

The Chariot can be seen as the emergence of the ego whose job is to help us navigate this physical dimension. The Charioteer takes the Divine Will revealed in the Hierophant and expressed in the Lovers and takes it on the road. Here on our journey we learn that the art of keeping your chariot on the path is knowing when to surrender the reins and when to take control.

Key words: Begin Now!/ focused intention/ sense of purpose





Annie Reid The Chariot

“I approached the Chariot image intuitively as is my practice. I envisioned the lovely spirals of the double helix, those coded messengers we call DNA, carrying critical messages from the ancients through time. I glimpsed the spiraling energy of the 3rd Chakra, driving our passions forward with the strength of our Will. I repeatedly recognized the 'Spira mirabilis', the miraculous logarithmic spiral that mirrors the movement of the universe. With all these wheels in motion, I wondered how I might possibly capture the essence of Chariot in a still painting?

Then, in late August, I was unexpectedly called to sit with my beloved Mother-in-law as her spirit struggled to leave her body. With her last breaths I witnessed the light of her soul lifting. As wings of angels fanned the air, I held the stillness and power of the Chariot driver assisting her transition between Spirit and Earth.

When I returned to the Chariot image it was with a heightened sense of devotion. The words of the spiritual, 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' rang true, yet with alternate insight. In the stillness of my sorrow I committed The Chariot's journey into art. In the process I found such peace and pleasure I never wanted to stop. When I traveled to Hawaii in February I brought the unfinished Chariot painting with me. There, I was mesmerized by the curling waves as they repeated the timeless spiral of universal momentum and I began to lay the final brushstrokes onto the image.”

See more of Annie's work on her website anniereid.com

Thursday, May 17, 2012
8. Strength

Strength can be seen as the loving acceptance of our animal nature which holds much of our raw power. Here the Divine feminine consciousness lovingly guides our more unconscious desires for the strength to hold the Self to a higher standard. The Charioteer continues on his journey without being carried away or controlled by ego desires. Compassion for who we are, spirit in an animal body, strengthens us, creating a more refined whole.

Key words: Integration of anima and animus/control of instinctual responses



Christy Mueller Strength

When the Strength card arrived in my life I wasn't exactly surprised. A series of surgeries to identify and correct a disease process within my body have left me contemplating my physical and emotional strength. But I also have had significant doubts about my strength as an artist.
As I learned about Strength, visual metaphors seemed abundant: trees, mountains, eggs, spines all came to mind, as well as people that embodied the archetype. But in my studio I found myself struggling. With all my artistic might and force I tried to make the strongest strength card ever. Yet image after image failed to capture the essence of the card. One day in tears, with the deadline looming I just gave up.
That evening, reflecting on my work and accepting that I was unable to make some sort of profound statement about Strength, I found some humor in the situation. I was trying to power my way through the work and make a strong artistic statement. I was approaching this work exclusively with my ego.
Returning to the studio the next day the image for this card came effortlessly. The masculine strength of the king of beasts (ego) and the strength of the woman (intuition and heart) working in a harmonious balance become a greater strength than when either works independently.
Personally I am grateful for the months that I have spent meditating on this card and honored to be a part of this amazing project.

See more of Christy's work on her website christymueller.com

9. The Hermit

The Hermit can be seen as the need for a side trip on the journey to take the “road less traveled,” moving away from the “herd mentality.” Here we are compelled to take the light of love and compassion and go within to find the authentic Self, the self beyond the egoic mind and society’s expectation, for deep insight and healing.

Key words: withdrawal/ a seeker/the spiritual path/Way Shower/ inner axis/the teacher within




Kacie Flynn The Hermit

When I drew this card comical images of what I perceived a hermit to be swam into my mind. The modern day hermit: the crazy cat lady, the girl who got dumped and retreats into pity, or the gamer glued to their console substituting reality for fantasy. But all my negative connotations placed my hermit in a pathetic self-wallowing light.

It wasn't until i started searching into the meaning of the card that I saw past the cliche. To the religious the hermit becomes the anchorite, withdrawing from secular society to lead an intensely prayer-oriented life. To the skeptic they become the misanthrope, full of anger and hatred towards mankind.

At some point we all find ourselves with that desire for peace and solitude: to think, organize, ruminate, and take stock. In tarot the Hermit is almost always shown on the move. He's never hiding away in his cave. Rather, he's out wandering and searching for clarity. Like an artist who hides away for days then emerges to paint a masterpiece, this quiet time allows all the pieces to fall into place.

"After a long and busy lifetime, building, creating, loving, hating, fighting, compromising, the Fool feels a profound need to retreat. In a small, rustic home deep in the woods, she hides, reading, cleaning, organizing, resting or just thinking. But every night at dusk she heads out, traveling across the bare, autumnal landscape. She carries only a staff and a lantern."

10. The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune can be seen as a fork in the road of the soul’s journey. Here the consequences of our choices come to create fortune or disaster because it’s up to us how we choose to perceive our reality. If we see disaster then we will continue spinning in our illusions. If we choose opportunity and growth, we can sit in the center of the wheel, observe, learn and begin to flow with the cycle of events and take the first step of awakening to our Cosmic Self.

Key words: Karma/ cycle of life and death/ creation and destruction/ cause and effect/ opportunity



Frank Speck Wheel of Fortune

The theme: change, good and bad. The setting: Humboldt, between the Redwoods and the ocean. The time: twilight, between day and night.

The Wheel symbolizes the chance of perpetual golden opportunities, resting on the resources we have now, with the stumps representing fortunes past that have been made but now have gone.

The creatures aboard the wheel are monochromatic to signify a place between life and death. The rabbit in the ascendency represents good fortune, the snake being jettisoned, bad luck or evil. Atop the Wheel is, in my own personal experience, my most fortunate encounter, my ever-present companion – Bullet, an Italian Greyhound -- majestic, impartial, and a creature capable of unconditional love.

See more of Frank Speck's work frankspeck.com
k11. Justice

Justice can be seen as the first step after our realization of the Wheel, when we cut away all that is not needed as we begin the seeking of a higher level of existence. This is Cosmic Justice that asks us to “lighten up,” to cut to the truth of the matter in all aspects of our lives, leaving no trace of false illusion to clutter our path as we bring about exquisite balance.

Key words: Clarity/detachment/assessment/ adjustment of Karmic balance/inner discipline/self-regulation



Orr Marshall Justice

As I left the building, after the tarot artists' meeting where Justice chose me, my attention was caught by the show window of a shoe boutique next door. Could Justice be depicted as an imperious persona, I mused, wearing extreme shoes? Crossing the intersection on the way to my nearby studio, I glanced down the street and there past the buildings, the view was dominated by an immense fog bank filling the background and stretching from the horizon up to a dark gray, fast-moving edge high above. The sky directly overhead was still blue, but the sheet of fog below it was suffused with a strange orange glow, probably from the sinking sun hidden behind the fog.

What a setting for a colossal figure of Justice, I thought! With one giant shoe planted in the middle of the street and the other shoe perched atop the city buildings, her figure would tower against the glowing fog and her head would reach the height of the blue zenith! It then occurred to me that she wouldn’t need clothing at all; she wouldn’t even need a body. I could make an opening through the glowing fog in the shape of her silhouette, uncovering the low sun from behind the fog and let its rays stream forth. Justice would be made of sky, the sun at her knee, stars in her eyes and the moon in her hair.

I realized that my Justice was already speaking to me, guiding me toward the painting of her picture.

See more of Orr Marshall's work orrmarshall.com

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
12. The Hanged man

The Hanged Man can be seen as a time when we ask for transformation, purposefully putting our selves into a situation where we must surrender to the circumstances so that we can gain an entirely new perspective. The Hanged Man has hung himself upside down in an attempt to break out of old ways of thinking that are no longer useful. Forced to reexamine his reality, he can choose to be stuck or to begin to see another way of being.

Key words: capitulation/surrender/victimization or the falling away of the ego


Connie Butler Baffled: The Hanged Man

I chose the name Baffled for the Hanged Man because the image represents the old sentence meted out to traitors who were hung upside down publicly. As a child, growing up during WWII, I watched the movie newsreel of Mussolini and his mistress being hung upside down and beaten to death by the mob. That ferocity of collective rage left a deep impression on me of shame and fear, of bafflement. Later I came to understand that we risk being baffled if we ignore our dark side, our hang ups of power, ego trips and taking the easy road. We risk collective baffling if we fear the unknown, risk our hard earned security and cannot wait for guidance from within. I realized if we baffle our own individuality, we sacrifice our priceless soul’s journey.

But my baffled woman has an enigmatic smile on her face. Balanced delicately in a cosmic dance, she is listening carefully to the inner music of her soul. Hidden behind her is the glyph for the inexorable Pluto, Lord Hades. “Better to master your dance and not fear death,” whispers Pluto.
My woodblock image is colored in with ink pens. I thought it would be simple to do, silly me. I struggled to capture the image and it has still left me - Baffled.

So, here is a work in progress, as is my life.

See more of Connie's work on her website conniebutlersculptures.com

13. Death

Death can be seen as transformation, enormous change but rarely physical death. This aspect of the journey is more about ego death, when we die into our greater expanded Self, transcending our limited view point of who we are in this solid reality and begin to see opportunity in surrendering to what is. Having developed the outer personality up through the Chariot, maturing and overcoming the ego through the inner journey of the Hermit and surrender of the Hanged Man, the Fool now dies to a Higher Self.

Key Words: Transformation/ ego death/ transmutation/ surrender



Kati Texas Death

There is a quote from the Tao Te Ching that rings true with me, so much that I find myself sharing it often. “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”

For a time, sorrow was my constant companion. I was feeling pretty carved up. Then one day I found something to hold onto: Change.

Suddenly I saw my situation differently. No longer was I plummeting helplessly toward an inevitable crash. Instead, I was a fledgling bird, spiraling out of control, but already possessing everything I needed to fly. Some lessons are harder to learn than others and some little birds hit the ground before they figure out they've got wings.

My interpretation of the “Death Card” isn't about the end. It's about the beginning.

Joy is meaningless without sorrow. Creation is not possible without destruction. The cultivation of roses requires handling shit.

See more of Kati's work on her website katitexas.com

Monday, May 14, 2012
14. Temperance

Temperance can be seen as the true integration of the personality with our higher consciousness as this card straddles the physical and the higher spiritual realms. Here begins the hard work begun with the Death card, the alchemy of turning lead into gold or our gross physical self into the gold of our higher Cosmic Selves.

Key Words: Alchemy/dissolution/mixing of polarities


Libby Maynard Temperance

My knowledge of and involvement in the tarot was minimal, no preconceptions either way. So when Kathryne DeLorme and Carolyn Ayres asked me about the idea of mounting an exhibition of original artist interpretations of the major arcana, I thought it was a great idea.

When I finally made it to a “choosing” meeting, my card had been waiting for me till the end. The card was Temperance. After Carolyn gave me the nutshell explanation of its meaning, my first thought was: “Busted.”

Although I’d had that immediate connection with the card, I was then unmoved to explore it further until November 2011, when I had a strong urge to research more about its meaning. What I learned about it helped me successfully resolve a difficult situation. I was grateful and promptly lost the urge to work on the card again.

Finally, in January, the need to research and understand came back strongly and images drifted into view. The concept that resonated strongly with me was alchemy – combining unique elements to create something new. My image is of two “mountains” merging and creating a new reality. Both mountains overlay rainbows, but the black mountain (the Void, pregnant with possibility) obscures it, while the waves of the blue mountain (the material Earth, abundant) let it show through. The new reality is born of the alchemy wroth by the universe. The background is the light of a Big Bang, full of potential and energy.

The process and outcomes have been a wonderful journey.

Learn more about Libby http://blog.artsusa.org/?author=411%22
Posted by Regina Case at 7:25 PM 0 comments

15. The Devil

The Devil can be seen as our illusion of limitation, the ego at it’s most dominant when we are chained to societal mores and our own fear of breaking out and following our desires. It’s about our love of the material and though there is nothing wrong with enjoying all the food, distractions and stuff, at this point of the journey, these distractions are holding us back from the liberation we seek, the freedom to be ourselves. It’s important at this point to not take ourselves too seriously, enjoy it all but also know this is not our true reality.

Key Words: the Shadow/ Dweller on the Threshold/ hedonism /ego inflation / addiction / inertia /materialism /oppression/untapped creativity


Connie Rose The Devil

“The Devil card chose me at a time last summer when the accumulated stress of 40 years of living on the edge emotionally and financially finally hit critical mass. Although energy and action toward a major personal shift had been building for five or six years, now I could finally let go of my reliance on the workworld, society and our culture of materialism in an attempt to meet my spiritual survival needs. I had sold my soul for too long and my body started to break down.

The Devil pointed out to me that the choice to live the life I really wanted to live was mine alone and that I had the power to do it. The alternatives were allowing myself to remain inured to the allure of modern culture, or being willing to let it all go to the largest extent possible so I could take care of my soul. I clearly saw my personal journey portrayed in the Devil card.

My interpretation of the card is that the forces of evil -- our personal dark side, the dark side of society and civilization, materialism, overindulgence, dark political powers, etc. – are below us, and we have the choice to rise above them. There are mountains to climb on every soul journey – it takes great courage to stand outside the dominant paradigm while living within it. Yet the rewards are to be able to see life as the spiritual adventure it really is and to live it freely.”

Learn more about Connie http://constancerosedesigns.blogspot.com/

16. The Tower

The Tower can be seen as the illusion of our security, the Devil card again which whispers, “If you follow the rules, you will be safe.” The tower is built of fears and worries, our need for security and with our fear of change. This is the ego/personality we build as a buffer, to protect us, that keeps us from taking responsibility for what is going on in our lives. Unless we are willing to take the risk and pull our tower down ourselves, we risk being blasted apart by a difficult insight or tragedy. After the fall, it’s up to us whether we find the positive effect and so see the gift and healing that is offered when our lives fall apart.

Key words: God speaks/ sudden awakening/ liberation /blasting insight/ divorce/ breaking up of the status quo/grave illness/death



Madeline McMurray THE TOWER

“My first response to the tower card was one of excitement. For me, the deeper meaning of life is often discovered in the “falling apart” moments of my life. The image of lightening splitting the tower in half speaks of divine power and the complex mystery of death and rebirth, the message of destruction which is one I accept and work with on a daily basis. This is the territory of psychotherapy which is my calling and my profession.

The image of this card came to me at the moment I picked it up as I know this card to be a statement of reality. Breakdown and collapse as symbolized by the destruction of the towers is actually natural to our human condition. Every life stage; birth, growth, relationship, family, maturity, old age, and death involves the destruction of our old patterns to make room for life’s next step. Our psychological and spiritual work is to let go to the falling apart of life.”

Learn more about Madeline's work http://www.dreamandimage.net/

17. The Star

The Star can be seen as the place we come to after our world of the Tower has been blasted apart. Here we are free, dissolved to a fluid where only the present exists. No more worrying but only a deep healing, for all we have now is the expansive reality of connecting with our authentic Cosmic Self. We have lost our false sense of reality of the Tower and can now rebuild on a more honest foundation.

Key Words: Divine revelation/ Meditation /Trust / Receptivity/ Peace after the storm



Regina Case The Star
“I had no experience with Tarot when I agreed to do this project, but the card that came to me could not have been more perfect. I love everything about water; walking along it, sunlight patterns on it, looking down into all the amazing colors of it and most of all swimming in it. I live it, paint it, dream it. In long walks upriver my mind becomes quiet and I am aware of my connection with the planet, a sort of timelessness, being. I was amazed to read that what the water represents in the Star described much of the focus of my life for years, learning to ignore the noise of the ego to allow for stillness and presence. The Star’s water symbolizes connecting with the earth, inspiration, knowing we are part of something greater. It is about letting go of your concept of self and trusting in the process, that something more than you can come through you.

For my painting, I decided to turn the traditional view around so the hands holding the water are the viewer’s, giving the viewer possession of that connection to the unconscious and intuition represented by the pool. The nighttime setting was a challenge since my paintings are so much about light. It became a matter of trusting in the process, of letting go constantly of what I’d already painted and covering it over with new layers, trying to let the light come into it in a new way.”


See more of Regina's work on her website reginacase.com

Thursday, May 10, 2012
18. The Moon

The Moon can be seen as the rising up of the unconscious, the world of dreams where we receive messages that are lost in static and we can see where we want to go but cannot see the path ahead. A time on the journey when many turn back for fear of facing their demons in the dark. Sometimes the illusion feels more comfortable and the enormous change feels unbearable. But we have come so far. So, stop a moment, breathe, listen deeply and sink into the deep knowing of the High Priestess we met so long ago.

Key Words: Threshold into higher consciousness/ psychic awakening/ Madness or illumination/ substance abuse/ depression




Julian Lang The Moon

“The Moon has been a part of my life for many moons, and for us all. It was not a surprise to select this card. I have written about the Moon. Recently I created an animation featuring the moon and each year I track the moon to determine certain auspicious times. The moon has been my personal teacher and companion since 1980.

I employed a simple and direct process with this painting. I let the image gel as I carried on with my day-to-day duties. I read about and thought about the moon as an image of the tarot. I talked with others about the differences and likenesses between the indigenous view of the moon and the western view. And then, the "bell" went off: Time to paint!

I first roughly sketched out a composition. Then I turned off all contact with the outside world and began painting. The image morphed and simplified into what I believe are the basic elements of this card: inspiration, sleep, the path leading to the mountain, the rising spirit, the sacred pool, the night, and the Moon itself. The image revealed itself to me and forced me to change the composition occasionally until I saw its interconnectedness and balance.”

Learn more about Julian on his website http://web.me.com/katimiin/Sandvox/




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Ace of Wands from TarotWise

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Tarot Wise 

My latest TarotWise column for Isis Scrolls

In my last three columns I have been focusing on the elements of the suits of the Tarot Earth/Pentacles, Water/Cups and Air/Swords, in no particular order. But, I did leave the greatest element force for last, that which brings all of the cosmos, as we know it, to life, the element of Fire or suit of Wands.  Divine Consciousness, the Spark of life, the Divine Will to be and create, the word of God, the idea of the words, “Let there be light and out of the fiery darkness came life,” all are used to describe the element of Fire. In the tradition of the esoteric Tarot, the element Fire, in the form of the Ace of Wands, is that which sparks the beginning of our existence with a big-bang-Desire-to-BE!  In this tradition the Ace of Wands precedes even the Fool, for it is this desire to evolve which brings forth the potential of this journey of being human.

The fiery wands are the life force that infuses us with wanting, with the need to create and evolve and become and grow.  This is the energy that brings sudden insight, that pushes us further than we thought we could go, that enables us to hold on when we want to drop off.  This is the masculine aspect of directed energy, for the Wands, like the suit of Swords, must be held and directed.  This is the sacred universal semen that shoots forth with pure desire for existence and must be contained in the feminine womb of the suit of Cups. Here in the womb of the feminine, this fiery inspiration gestates and the idea, the plan is born.  Then, with the Swords, the Knowing of the intellect, we find words to describe what we want to create which then enables us to manifest and finally see our idea come into reality in the Pentacles. 

Always of made of wood with the possibility of bursting into flame, wands were originally polo sticks on the first playing cards, then evolved into cudgels or staffs of office, but when the Golden Dawn recreated the Tarot they turned these rods or staffs into Magician wands, Creator wands that Will us into being, that point and direct the energy of Divine Will.  And so the question is always: Where will we direct this fiery, passionate desire to create?  When you receive the gift of the Ace of Wands, what does this mean?  All possibility lies here.  The whole tarot deck of possibilities is in this one card.  Here is the illumination that you truly can create anything you want if you can reach through the limitation of your mind to the unlimited Divine Mind.  This is the searing strength of partnering with Divine Consciousness to create on a very large scale.  With the Waite Smith Ace of Wands, (image at beginning of article) we see sprouting leaves of growth, of possibility.  It looks benign, but be aware of what you are truly receiving and look to the Thoth Ace of Wands, (image just above).  For when you open to this divine fire you are giving over to a Will much greater that your small ego wants and desires.  You are surrendering to your greater purpose.

So how can you use this fiery gift of the Cosmos’s passionate Will to create good in the world?

Reading  for You to receive the Ace of Wands.

1.     A card for you in this moment ready to be set on fire.

2.     Cross card #1 with a card for the Divine fiery Will in your life right now, the life force that wants to come forth.

Read these first two cards together.  What does Cosmic Will look like in your world?

3.     Then, draw a card asking the question: How are you resisting this Divine vision of possibility?

4.     Last draw a card asking: How to receive this fiery message, how to surrender to this higher Will without getting burned? 

Enjoy and as always if you have questions about the article or reading, do not hesitate to contact me.

New moon of July message

 little late but this is what came through as the Message for the Tribe for the New
Moon of July 2013


“So, what is partnership truly about? What does it mean to move from I to we? From us and them to a collaborative mission? Can you suppose that you came here to be alone? To
be with just a few? What would be the point of billions of people here on one planet to just “do their own individual thing” ? Instead of focusing on your own individual need, for
partnership think of the whole. Think of billions of people working and collaborating together to create something very, very large. And, yes, you as an individual have something to
contribute to the whole. Yes, you are All needed. But nothing will be accomplished unless you all Contribute your talents.
You have a story that works as an analogy, the stone soup story.
A village is starving. One individual drops a “magical” stone into a pot and says, ”I will create
enough soup to feed you all.” As the pot is being stirred each individual miraculously finds that they
have a bit of something they can contribute to the pot and now where there was once just a huge pot
of water sits a huge pot of nurturing soup, enough to feed the whole village. And so it is with the world at this time. You are all starving for connection, trying to feed yourselves all by yourselves. It is not enough. You need everyone else to create the soup that will feed you all. The soup of We, the soup that can then spill out and nurture and grow a new society

We ask you to try this activity. Sit and still yourself for a moment.  Now, see the barriers of your body fall away. See yourself partnering with your greater energetic Self. Feel the vulnerability and expansion of the being without a container. Allow the thoughts of judgment,
that separate you from others, to slowly disappear. Now, see yourself
connecting with those you love. See their unique light merging with
yours. See yourselves as fluid energy light that has no limitation
flooding out in to your neighborhood, connecting with all the light
hiding in each separate being, connecting with the energylight that
naturally streams from every living thing. See it blending into a ‘soup’
of light that spreads through out your town, state, country. See this
light of love encircling and nurturing your planet. See yourself
working with others to create a great society of collaboration for the
Greater Good. Begin practicing letting down your barriers to this possibility.
You watch as others in the world risk their lives to break down these barriers. You can support those
in the vanguard of this Great Revealing by relaxing and becoming a more fluid aspect of humanity.
This is all about an enormous heart opening on an individual, national and finally world wide level
but it begins with each of you. Trust in the goodness and beauty of what will be revealed in you and
all of humanity as you walk arm in arm towards a society of Oneness of Spirit.

Here is a Tarot Reading you can do about your individual part of the whole

Card One
What are the barriers you use to protect ourselves from “others” ?

Card Two
What is the “Light” that you have to contribute to the whole?

Card Three
What action is needed to release your
barriers to Oneness of Spirit?

Card Four
If you were to take the time to sit in stillness for the next 30 days, releasing your light to the world, what might be a possible outcome?






working with others to create a great society of collaboration for the
Greater Good. Begin practicing letting down your barriers to this possibility.
You watch as others in the world risk their lives to break down these barriers. You can support those
in the vanguard of this Great Revealing by relaxing and becoming a more fluid aspect of humanity.
This is all about an enormous heart opening on an individual, national and finally world wide level
but it begins with each of you. Trust in the goodness and beauty of what will be revealed in you and
all of humanity as you walk arm in arm towards a society of Oneness of Spirit.

March 2013 Tarot Cups

The Seed of Love

So, what are you feeling right now? You might say, I am feeling my feet on the carpet or you might scan your body to get a feeling.  A tightness in my gut. Or you might try to understand what you are feeling by turning it into an emotion.  I am feeling anger. But how are you figuring this out? With your mind, right?  You are trying to understand what you are feeling on a physical level.  So I ask you to go out of your mind, so to speak, as I attempt to explore the Tarot Cups as pure, watery Feeling.

Many books and tarot readers equate the Tarot Cups with emotions but this depends on what lineage of elements you are referring.  Because I read the Tarot from the view of the Tree of Life, the World of Cups, Feeling, comes before the World of Swords, Thinking.  So fleeting images of the imagination, a constantly running Feeling in our body of all possibility, emerges before we pin it down with understanding through our minds.  We then assign words and states of being which changes Feelings to Emotions, as we try to understand the why of what we are feeling.  We assign words like: anger/sorrow/joy/abandonment/jealousy which immediately  disconnects us from the Source energy/feeling being offered. Cosmic Mind does not relate to emotions.  It is our human minds which try to capture this ephemeral stream.  Feelings are the flowing of Universal energy and we , attempt to contain this flow with the idea of emotion, thinking we can then gain something from this creative flow.  Even as I attempt to write about the Cups, I am experiencing this difficulty of pinning down these watery ideas which come tumbling in like a mountain stream. It has taken hours and pages to finally come to some sort of vague formation of what I want to say. I have to call upon the Tarot Swords to help me solidify my flow of the imagination.

When I look at the Ace of Cups I see this overflowing download of the bliss of Oneness with All.  And the only word we have come up with to describe the indescribable bliss of the Oneness with the Universal Mind is LOVE.  But this assigned word does not begin to encapsulate the small love we know here in physical reality.  Universal Love cannot be categorized and named.  This is the pure force of the Cosmos, ephemeral energy always available to us, flowing through us constantly.  And what separates us from this cosmic flow of LOVE?  Our minds, which bring us back down to earth with the realization that there is no such thing as unconditional love and how were we to think that was possible?  But then think about how our bodies are almost 70 % water.  Why are we so watery?  Perhaps these waterways are within us to carry this Universal flow of Cosmic Love, a Love we cannot comprehend, a telepathic knowing of the bliss of oneness.  And where would this stream of light/love go without the Cup to contain it?   We, as this physical being filled with waterways, are made to catch and direct this LightLove.  We are vessels made for Love.  Made to spread love.  Made to drink it in, absorb and radiate out the nurturance of Cosmic energy. And what do we tend to do with this cosmic LoveLight pouring down on us? Well, look at the suit of the cups. We share it.  We celebrate it.  We forget it’s available, feel awful and disconnected and then we connect up again, tap into it again and we are so HAPPY!    So how to surrender to the flow of LoveLight.?  How to be an overflowing Ace of Cups in your life? 

Ace of Cups Reading with Waite Smith imagery

As with all the Aces in this deck, the hand coming from the cloud indicates this is a gift from Universal source.

Draw a card for the Dove which can be seen as the cosmic messenger

Draw a card for the Wafer which is how this love is showing up physically in your life.

Draw a card for the Cup or Chalice for how to expand to receive this Love.

Draw a card for the drops falling on the water lilies, the Yods of fiery love and compassion which represent your striving for connection to spirit. Ask: How does this message Feel?

Since this is an Ace with no duality, and it’s the Water of Feeling before the Air of Mind, you cannot read each card separately.  Instead let message emerge.   Read ALL the cards together for the message of how to radiate the pure Feeling of Love to our thirsty world.

 

Carolyn Ayres teaches “Tarot As An Evolutionary Path” classes in Arcata and Eureka.  She welcomes private students and creates Tarot Circles for those who want a deeper knowledge of the Tarot. Private consultations on the phone or at her Tarot Studio in Eureka are also available. For more information about her classes or private consultations, call 442-4240 or check her out at her website: www.tarotofbecoming.com.

January 2013 The Pentacles

I write this in December of 2012 with the assumption that not much has changed physically. That we have not all been swept up in space ships or have chosen to leave our bodies or are dealing with some major upheaval  caused by the Earth’s magnetic pole reversal, major earthquakes  or any of the apocalyptic events predicted. I assume we are all still be here, still in our bodies. But I also assume there is  an acceleration of major changes going on within on a subtler level, in our deepest aspects, on the etheric plane of our and the Earth’s body, that which is the Great Work given to us by the Ace of Pentacles.

So since we are still here, still in this reality of the Tarot Pentacles, what does that mean on a cosmic level? Let’s look closer at what this gift of life on Earth, the Ace of Pentacles with the symbol of the Pentagram truly means.  Thanks to a recent lecture from Walt Amberstone of the New York Tarot School, I am looking at this card with much more depth than I ever imagined. The pentagram you see with the Waite Smith and on many other decks is also known as the Triple Triangle or the Pentalpha because it’s made of five A’s, an ancient protective symbol. The earliest appearance of this symbol is in 3000 BCE when the Pythagoreans adopted it as a symbol of holistic health, calling it the  ‘hugieia,’ which means “health of mind and body.”  For the Pythagoreans, health meant balance of the four elements of Earth , Air, Water and Fire in a harmonious union with the  fifth element,  Aether, or Spirit for  the perfect  wholeness of  spiritual and physical worlds.

The design of the Waite Smith pentacle shows a pentagram of five points, the five elements in balance  within a circle which  is also the symbol of the human in balance as in De Vinci’s Vitruvian man.  The human within the circle is the physical being balanced with the cosmos.  We also call a pentagram a five pointed star and what comes to mind when you think of a Star? Magic ?  Unattainable distance? Boundless ambition?  Searing, brightness of light?   When we wish upon a Star are we not calling forth our universal magic?  Our original being?  For the stuff of stars is what we are made of and we were once as expansive as a Star before we came into incarnation, before our essence became manifest into “unique” matter. Now notice the ‘Star’ is circled twice. What happens with this first containment?  An immediate separation from the cosmic whole.  We’re now in body, limited to our own personal universe, with a more practical magic of creating what we want in the physical world.  Then with the 2^nd circle comes an even stronger seal of separation, a symbol for the ego, so our reality is now seen only from our unique perspective. Sealed off from the cosmos, we are now of this third dimensional reality.  Our greater being and connection to all becomes hidden and for many of us lost and not even remembered.

So the suite of Pentacles /Discs becomes all about you, your uniqueness.  You as substance.  You as a manifester, for without these boundaries and separations, there would be no individual experience or expression and the incredible diversity of our world would be gone. As Walt Amberstone would say, “we are created to be as free as Divinity but we are kept separate to describe Divinity.“  We are here to explore and discover as Divine source, so the Pentacles become the holiest of symbols, as Source is given a chance to experience the world created through you.

So, why are we still here?  We are not finished.  In fact we have just begun for we are now becoming conscious of who we are in physical reality.  We are now becoming conscious that we create our reality with our responses and our unique talents.  We are now becoming aware that we can create a positive future with the genius of our minds for we are Source enclosed in the physical.

So what is happening with you now in 2013 within the circle of your ‘reality’ as a human being?

A reading for you as the Ace of Pentacles      Your unique separateness

1.     Pentagram, the Star

One card for your center, your Star, your magical cosmic essence.

2.     First circle which limits the Star’s scope   

One card for what is possible to do with what we are given, how to use your unique magic for creating what you want in the ‘real’ world?

3.     Second circle   which is your hermetic seal the symbol of your ego separating you from all other manifested things. 

       One card for your unique joy                              One card  for your unique pain

One card  which asks how do I use my unique drama for the betterment of the whole?

4.     The Whole of You as a Star being in cased in the physical

 One card -- You can do whatever you want within your own personal limitations, so what keeps you from enjoying your physicality, your separateness completely?  What keeps you from creating the most positive reality possible?