reading the lovers card

I just pulled a card to talk about here today. The card I pulled was #6 - the Lovers. My first thought was romance, the romantic dream of union, choosing commitment to the self and/or another. Commitment itself is such a romantic concept - full of sacrifice and devotion. It's also full of bright hopes and honor, loyalty and trust. I'm wondering what it might mean to me right now. Two humans are pictured on the card, a man and a woman, both naked, and an angel above them arms outstreched, pink wings open. The sun shines high behind the angel. There's a tree on either side - by the woman, an apple tree with a snake, and by the man a tree of fire. There's a mountain behind the humans, seperating them from afar. I wonder what they might be saying to each other and why is the angel so happy. What would I want to say to myself, what would make me happy. What's the snake about and the apples? A flaming tree? What do they mean to me? I'm snakey about apples and burning hot. It's all quite interesting, gets me to thinking. Each card has something to say to us, and it's usually not in it's title. It's more ofen in the picture and how you describe it. What do those words mean to you, especially in the order that you say them. There's no right or wrong answer, just what you see and how you feel about what you see at that particular moment. Only you know what a snake means to you, or how the sun feels on your skin, or whether an apple is a tasty treat or a poisoned fruit. Pull a card now and see what's in your picture. It's fun, and you might end up finding something out about yourself you didn't realize you knew.

a weekend with mary k. greer

A couple of weeks ago I had the fabulous opportunity to attend two days of workshops with tarot expert extraordinaire Mary K. Greer. The event was hosted by Toronto’s own Worker of Oracles, James Wells at WonderWorks in downtown Toronto.

Mary’s been reading and studying tarot cards for over 39 years. She’s written many books on the subject, and presented at countless workshops and seminars through the decades. Her credentials are incredible. If there are superstars in the tarot field, Mary’s certainly one of them.

On the first day, we worked from Mary’s newest book 21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card. Very interesting! Especially if you’re just starting out with tarot, this is an excellent book to get you on you way.

The second day of workshops focused on reading incidents from your conscious life as if they were a dream. It was appropriately entitled – Life As A Dream.

I’ve always felt that anything can be read as a tarot card is read – noticing the symbols presented and interpreting them within the context of your personal life story. This seminar provided actual techniques to read moments from your daily life in the same way.

Not only were the insights achieved quite amazing, it became blatantly apparent that everything in our world has meaning beyond its literal level. It’s only a matter of paying attention. Messages from the universe can be found everywhere you look.

If Mary K. Greer shows up in your town, and you’re a tarot reader, I’d encourage you to take the time to go hear what she’s got to say. Even if you’ve been reading for a long time, you’re guaranteed to learn something useful.

revealing our shared human core

Sorry I've been gone so long. Though I haven't been posting here lately, I did manage to write an article for the American Tarot Association's Quarterly Newsletter. It was published in their Fall 2006 issue. Take a look here if you're interested - the tarot: revealing our shared human core. In the article I talk about how reading the tarot for other people offers the reader a unique opportunity to see how life's pains and joys affect all of us, if not in the details certainly in the quality of energy faced. Through our lives, all of us draw each of the 78 cards at some time or other.