Vol. 10 #7 / September 1, 2018
In this Issue:
- Tarot Tip: Making Friends With Your Cards
- Tarot School Aphorism
- Diviner's Corner: The Oracle Speaks
- Best Practices: One Hit Wonders: First-Time and One-Time Customers
- Upcoming Events
Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
In September many of us return from vacation or breaks
and recommit to paths of learning and discovery. Some
of you may remember the excitement of seeing special
friends and favorite teachers when school started again.
Are you friends with your deck? For some users of
tarot, the deck is just like a really good friend who
listens and advises. For those looking to enter into a
special connection with your cards, contributor Avalon
Cameron suggests how to do so in this issue’s Tarot Tip.
The Diviner’s Corner gives some overall meaning to
the term oracle; and Best Practices for Professional
Readers discusses how one-time and first-time customers
may be the key to your business success.
Enjoy and have fun!
It's September –– and that means the start of
another school year or semester for many students.
We like to call it "Back to Tarot School" season!
Learning keeps us young. It boosts our brain
power, and can add joy to life –– especially if
it's something we love, like tarot. The Tarot School
has many in-person and distance-learning
opportunities to start your September off right!
Check us out at TarotSchool.com. We look
forward to welcoming you as a student!
With love and gratitude on the tarot journey,
Ruth Ann, Wald, and 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
MAKING FRIENDS WITH YOUR CARDS
by Avalon Cameron
Modern Tarot has quite a structure these days. There is
a tremendous body of written material on the Tarot, and
there are writers and readers who are continually
pushing its boundaries, launching it into the modern
age. Make no mistake, the modernization of Tarot is a
good thing, but it can also be confusing because there
is a strong intuitive difference between what is
considered traditional Tarot wisdom and its modern
eclectic counterpart.
With so much available information, questions may
arise, such as: Must I use the Rider Waite Smith
system? Do I need to study astrology, numerology,
Kabbalah and Jungian psychology? Do I need to know all
the keywords? What about reversals? Do the Court cards
still represent people and appearance? Do I have to
explore the Hermetic traditions and figure out who the
hell Huru is? Why is Tarot so complex? There is so much
to learn, where do I begin?
These are just some of the questions I have been asked
over the years, and my answer to all these and other
compelling questions is simple. Ask your deck. But,
when I recommend this solution to a student of the
Tarot, I'm met with a perplexed gaze. So please allow
me to explain what I intended by my statement.
Here's what I mean –– make friends with your cards.
Get to know your deck. Flip through it often. Get used
to the look and feel of the cardstock. Get to know the
images and any peculiar little quirks hidden in the
artwork and associated symbolism of your deck. Really
look at your cards. You might be surprised at how many
students out there don't really look at their cards.
Instead, it is typical to glance quickly at the card
name and then immediately begin to interpret it.
Building up a sense of familiarity, comfort, and
recognition with the deck you are using is imperative,
and I'll tell you why. When you are in a relaxed state
of mind, and you are shuffling an "old friend" type of
deck –– a deck you have taken time to get to know,
a deck you have made your solid buddy –– you will
find that your internal overthinker will not have the
audacity to interfere because you have got this!
When you know your deck, your trusty favorite,
performing a reading is second nature. And when you are
in that state, what happens is quite beautiful. Some
call it wisdom, or your higher self, or your guides,
gods, guardian angels or beloved ancestry. Through
whichever lens you personally choose to view it, the
situation is the same. Your intuition is activated, you
have allowed it to step forth and be felt.
That state is what thrusts a reader into a sweet
condition of "flow." In this space, the only source of
influence is you and your cards. The “what is right
or wrong” questions fade away, and you naturally
embrace a state of openness, and with it a quiet
confidence that comes with being sure of yourself in
sacred space.
Your relationship with your cards is personal. Your
style as a reader will only emerge when you are sure of
yourself in sacred space. The propensity to reach into
that vast body of literature mentioned previously, will
surely dull your shine. But more than that, it will
cause an over-complication of something quite natural,
and that is, look at your cards, and read what they say
to you. After all, the conversation is between you and
your deck, is it not?
There is plenty of time for introducing critical theory
into your tarot reading. There will also come a time
where you might like to merge modalities, and before
you know it, you are the reader who knows about
astrology, numerology, Kabbalah and the Hermetic Order
of the Golden Dawn. But until then, make friends with
your cards. Look at the images, pay attention. What you
see in a card is not what others will see. These
differences in perception are essential and are worth
nurturing.
There are some outstanding sources of information on
the Tarot, and it is well worth exploring that vast
body of knowledge. But my advice to students is to take
your time, don't rush, sit with what you learn, take
the time to digest the information you encounter
completely, and be discerning about the information you
accept. Making friends with your deck does not mean you
must discount the opinions of others. It merely implies
that it is also important to value your own experience
and perception.
About Avalon:
Avalon Cameron is a hereditary Witch who was born and
raised in Brazil and now lives in the Far Northern Tropics
of Australia. She is a Coven-based Witch, and a professional
Cardslinger, Creator and Writer.
At present, Avalon is working on the Bonestone & Earthflesh
Tarot deck with artist and illustrator Ana Tourian. It is the
first fine art Tarot deck to be created LIVE on YouTube
in a series of iconic Bonestone Bashes. The Bonestone is
due for release in December 2018. The 2018 Summer edition
of the Cartomancer, the international Tarot magazine, will
feature artwork from the Bonestone on its cover.
Website: avaloncameron.com
YouTube: youtube.com/user/TheElementalWitch1
Patreon: patreon.com/avaloncameron
Instagram: instagram.com/avalonsapothecary
Facebook: facebook.com/avalonsapothecary
Tarot School Aphorism
Diviner's Corner
THE ORACLE SPEAKS
Oracle is a term that comes to us from antiquity. Today, this
term is used in reference to a variety of intuitive practices and
tools. Oracle translates as “speak” or “answer.” It can be used
to describe a person, place, tool or response.
As a person, it describes one who practices the art of prophesying
or divination and was often one that acted as the vessel through
which deities or spirits could deliver messages.
Oracular consultation is found in every corner of the world and
throughout world history. In many references, oracles have been
mainly female and are called prophetesses, sibyls or priestesses.
In other religions and cultures, men who preformed oracular
divination were priests, wise men or soothsayers.
In the ancient world, many places had oracular centers. One
famous oracular center, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, was
where the high priestess or The Pythia served as oracle. This
Delphic Oracle was the most renowned and influential oracle
among the Greeks, and has gone down in history as the most
powerful woman of the classical world.
There are many types of oracles including interpretation of
dreams and speaking with the dead. Depending on who you
ask, an oracle may be psychic, or do predictive readings, or
act only as advisor.
In our time, the word oracle is rarely used to describe
readers. Oracle decks have become increasingly visible in
the metaphysical market and many artists and enthusiasts are
inspired to create more just because these decks veer away
from the traditional structure of tarot.
Resources:
• 22 Tarot and Oracle Decks You Need in Your Life
http://spiritguidesmagazine.com/22-tarot-and-oracle-decks-you-need-in-your-life/
• Oracle Decks available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=oracle+decks
We’d love your suggestion or submissions for this
column! If you have an idea or would love to
contribute, please contact us at tarot@tarotschool.com.
Best Practices for Professional Readers
ONE HIT WONDERS:
FIRST-TIME AND ONE-TIME CUSTOMERS
By Gina Thies
www.tarotadvisor.com / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders
www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org
In every corner of marketing strategy and business
growth advice, you’ll find that when it comes to
revenue, the focus is often on customer retention and
loyal clients.
It’s true that repeat business is a serious factor in
growth and keeping a business alive, but marketing
experts are giving more attention to those “one hit
wonders” –– the one-timers or first-time customers.
In the business of tarot readings, there can be a lot
of loyalty from querents. However, I’ve seen a lot of
“psychic hopping” amongst customers.
Another thing I have noticed as I have worked on
growing my clientele is that my loyal clients were
spoiled and resistant to fee changes or increases.
Author Doug Hall in his book, Jump Start Your
Marketing Brain: Scientific Advice & Practical Ideas,
explains how it is a common mistake in marketing
to focus all your energy on loyal customers, even
though a great percentage of profits come from
short-term and non-loyal customers.
Don’t think it’s true? Take a look at the wireless
or cell phone industry. The commercials and
advertisements are all about offers to new
customers. The best deals are designed to attract
new customers and rarely provide any incentives
or special rates to existing customers.
Take note of where the majority of your clientele
comes from. If you are noticing that your regulars
or loyal customers are taking more of your time but
not spending as much, it may be time to look at
increasing profits through new clients.
This means creating strategies and services that new
clients would be interested in, and not necessarily
raising your rates or reinventing your whole
business model.
You can dedicate some of your time and available
resources to uncovering business opportunities.
The point here is test, test, and test!
Upcoming Events:
• September 10, 17 and 24, 2018
Forest Hills, New York
Our popular Monday night Salons are the
hottest thing in tarot instruction!
http://tarot.salon
• April 25, 2019
Divination Day
(Website coming soon!)
• April 26 – 28, 2019
2019 Readers Studio
(Sold Out! Contact us to get on the waiting list)
http://ReadersStudio.com
(Note: This is still the RS18 website. The new one
won't be ready for a little while yet, but much of
the information is still useful.)
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