The Tarot School: Tarot Tips Newsletter

Welcome to 2014 and a new issue of Tarot Tips!

And a special welcome to our new readers.

The New Year is the only universally celebrated event in

the world. It is a happy occasion for everyone, a moment

of optimism, the feeling that life and the world are new

and everything is possible. It can be a rapturous experience.

The New Year is here, and in this issue we pay homage

to what is or can be new in your life, not only at this
particularly happy time, but at any time. And we show you
ways that tarot can reveal the newness in every moment.

To further celebrate our theme of newness, we've re-vamped
the Tarot Card Showcase section, and will start off with the
Ace of Swords. Aces are beginnings after all. :)

Here at The Tarot School, we have some big new projects

and plans for 2014. We'll tell you about one of them in the
What's Gnu section. We think you're going to love it, so be
sure to take a look!

This month's Best Practices column helps you with
information on setting up a merchant account. And, as

usual, we have a new blog that provides fresh insights

and interesting commentary on our beloved tarot.

And one more thing...

If you're in the New York City area, we cordially

invite you to the Tarot School "Keep the Holiday

Going" Party on Wednesday, January 8th!

The very lovely Tarot Diva, Sasha Graham has

once again graciously offered to coordinate the

festivities to help us start the New Year off right.

Time: 7pm til whenever

Where: Bella Napoli, basement party room

130 Madison Ave. between 30th/31st Streets

http://www.bellanapoli.com/Madison.html

(Bella Napoli has generously offered us use of

their downstairs private party room. All guests

are responsible for payment of their own check.

Our waiter will write separate checks, so please

remember to tip generously.)

Bring your Tarot Cards!

RSVP to Sasha at sashatarotdiva@gmail.com

Yours truly on the tarot path,

Ruth Ann, Wald & Gina

Tarot Tips is here to help you with the practical side

of your Tarot journey. In order to take the greatest

advantage of this newsletter, please send us your

questions regarding any aspect of your tarot study

or practice and we'll do our best to answer them

in an upcoming issue.

Spread the experience of tarot - share this newsletter
with other Tarot Enthusiasts!

Tarot Tip

BECOMING NEW

Here are some questions for you...

        - What's new?
        - What does new mean?
        - What is newness?
        - How does it happen?
        - Where does it come from?

We're going to give you our answer to those questions.

Newness is not a re-arranging of something that already is.
It is not re-combining or re-assembling old material or
ideas, even if it's something you have never done before
personally.

Something new, truly new, can only come from the unknown,
and it can only come once. Newness is creation from out of
nothing.

In Kabbalah, it is called "BRIAH MEI-AIN-SOPH." Creation
from out of Ain-Soph, the endless No-Thing that precedes
creation or any act of creation.

To create from out of nothing is the very first mystery. It
is something you can do, because you were created in the
image of that mystery. It is out of that mystery, in an
original creative act, that tarot came into being.

It could be said that tarot, and you, are made in the image
of that mystery, and the possibility of continual newness is
embedded in tarot in every card, and in you in every act, if
you know how to see and how to be.

Each new year emerges from that mystery, and every personal
act and response brings the energy of that mystery into
manifestation. The following spread will act as your guide
as you create your life again and again throughout the days
ahead.

New Year Spread

1) Draw a card by any method of your choice from a shuffled
deck and lay it face-down in front of you and to your right.

2) Draw a second card, and lay it face-down to the left of
the first card, with a space between them about one card
wide.

3) Draw a third card, and lay it face-down below and between
the first two cards.

4) Turn over the first card. It will reveal what will be
given to you in the year ahead.

5) Turn over the second card. It will reveal what will be
demanded of you in the year ahead.

6) Turn over the third card. It will reveal what path will
open up before you in the year ahead.

7) With each card, look for what is new in it and what
creative opportunity it offers.

You may, if you wish, use this spread at the beginning of
any cycle, such as the monthly New Moon or a birthday.

May it offer you guidance and insight!

Tarot School Aphorism

7 minutes with...

One great question, one great answer!

Wald asks interesting questions of interesting

people in the tarot community, and Ruth Ann

creates 7-minute content-rich videos for you

to enjoy.

We're starting with Readers Studio instructors,

but will be talking with many more tarot authors,

deck designers, readers and teachers in the months

to come. First up...

7 minutes with Sheilaa Hite

One of the RS14 master class instructors, Sheilaa answers the question:

In addition to being a tarot author and practitioner, you are a very highly

effective intuitive. Can you teach someone to be as effective as you are?

See how she answers at http://tarotschool.com/7-minutes.html

Enjoy the video and feel free to share it with your friends!

Tarot Card Showcase

In this section we will feature tidbits on a specific tarot card.

While there are many systems and decks to choose from in

the world of tarot, here we use the Universal Waite Tarot

images and symbols.

ACE OF SWORDS

Attributions:

Name: Crown
Element: Air
World: Formation
Season: Spring
Direction: East
Esoteric Title: Root of the Power of Air

Traditional Meanings:

Rule by divine right -- the symbol of the
Sword is the link between all earthly
rulers and the divine kingdom. Ascetic;
austere; always capable of anger,
cruelty and pride. Always reaches beyond
itself for what is higher, grander,
better, larger.

In love with justice, it is prone to law. In love with excellence, it is afraid of

mediocrity. In pursuit of victory, it fears defeat. Prizing nobility and courage,

it is given to cruelty and cowardice. Given to stoicism, it inflicts and

experiences pain.

Abstract clarity; curiosity, skepticism, objective believability; principled but

self-righteous; a breath of fresh air.

Communication, decision, solution. Words and numbers, plans and ideas.

Imagery:

Sword: Symbol of the Sword with all its attributions. A
single picture that evokes its entire range of attributions,
meanings and issues.

Hand coming from Cloud: Symbol of offering or divine gift.

Cloud: Symbol of divine origin, the veil between matter and
spirit.

Hand: Expresses the idea of action, power and dominion; the
word "manifestation" derives from "manus," the Latin word
for hand. In Qabalah, the right hand is the hand which
blesses, the hand of mercy.

Crown: Represents Crown (Kether), the first sephirah or
position on the Qabalistic Tree of Life (the number 1), and
one of the symbols of Air, which is the element associated
with the Suit of Swords.

Nine Jewels in Crown: Represent the remaining nine numbers
of the Minor Arcana and the Tree of Life.

Olive and Palm Branches: Represent peace and suffering
respectively, as the two edges of the sword.

6 Yods: Represent Beauty (Tiphereth), the sixth sephirah of
the Tree of Life (the number 6), which is another
association with the element of Air. Also symbolizes the six
numbers in the center of the Tree of Life from which the
three dimensions of the Cube of Space -- symbol of measure,
limit and the mind -- is created.

Blue & Purple Mountains: The colors of Foundation (Yesod),
the ninth sephirah (the number 9), which is also associated
with the Element of Air and is the location of the astral
plane on the Tree of Life.

Mountains: Symbol of the horizon, the place where Heaven and
Earth meet; purity, transcendence and duration.

Excerpted from The Tarot School Correspondence Course
http://tarotschool.com/Course.html

THE READERS STUDIO
April 25 - 27, 2014
LaGuardia Marriott Hotel, New York

ReadersStudio.com

Best Practices for Professional Readers

GETTING PAID: SHOULD YOU HAVE A MERCHANT ACCOUNT?

By Gina Thies

www.tarotadvisor.com

/
www.facebook.com/tarotreaders

www.tarotcoupling.com / www.facebook.com/oraclesoup

We all like to shop and have convenient ways to pay. So do
our clients. This is especially true for shopping online. If
you are considering accepting payment by credit card, you
may wonder if you will need a merchant account.

The answer is yes.

Just about everyone who does business online accepts credit
card payment. Not only are credit cards the most used means
of payment, technology makes processing easier than ever.

So what is a merchant account? Rosemary Peavler, writing in
an online article on About.com explains:

"A merchant account is a bank account established by a
business to allow the business to accept payments from
customers by credit and/or debit cards. The merchant account
also includes an agreement between the bank, the retailer
involved, and the payment processor for settlement of the
debit or credit card transaction."

You may be able to establish a merchant account with a bank
you already have a relationship with, or start a separate
bank account just for business.

You may want to investigate other options as well, like
PayPal or Skrill.com, so that you can accept all forms of
payment. One of the things to research is the rates or fees
associated with having a merchant account and how
settlements, refunds and charge backs are handled.

If you are, or are considering, doing business as a tarot
professional, these are things you are going to want to
know. After all, getting paid is at least as important as
anything else you do in business.

Resource:
Merchant Maverick: Reviews, Ratings, Comparisons
http://www.merchantmaverick.com/merchant-account-comparison-chart/

Featured Tarot Blog

ETHONY TAROT BLOG

Canadian born tarotist, Ethony seeks to challenge what

people know and think about tarot. She enjoys seeing people

gain clarity and purpose through the wisdom of tarot. She
presents weekly musings on tarot and other magical
practices. Great info!

http://www.ethony.com/