 Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com ISSN: 1529-0565 Vol. 8 #7 / September 1, 2016
In this Issue: - Welcome
- Tarot Tip: 5 Traps to Avoid When Reading for Yourself
- Tarot School Aphorism
- Community Outreach: When "What If?" becomes "What Now?" - What's Gnu?
- PsychWise: How to Use the Four Tarot Suits as a Personality System Part 1: An Introduction and the Suit of Wands - Best Practices: Business Hiatus
- Upcoming Events Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
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! This issue's tip gives you a set of traps to bypass in reading for yourself, Dr. G offers the start of a 4-part series on the tarot suits a a personality system, and although it may be challenging to fathom time away from tarot, The Best Practices column talks about how to approach a hiatus away from your professional practice. There’s more too, so keep reading! And one more thing...
 Wald had a great time teaching in Beijing, China last month! 110 students turned out for his intensive on our Hidden Face tarot technique and an introduction to The Green Deck, which Wald created with his father. The Hidden Face is one of our Tarot Psychology techniques that primarily uses the backs of the cards to examine the flow of energy in the moment, and show how that energy can be manipulated to the querent's best advantage. The cards are then turned over for more detailed information. The Green Deck is comprised of red, white, and black solid color cards, with a single green card symbolizing that which is unique. The students used these cards to create a personal portrait. We were delighted with their creativity! The event was lovingly produced by Giselle Gao. If you're curious to see what it was like, we put together a slideshow here: https://youtu.be/pGq70VyUN2c With love on the tarot journey, Ruth Ann, Wald, Gina & Elinor
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5 TRAPS TO AVOID WHEN
READING FOR YOURSELF Should I read for myself? This resounding question can be heard across many tarot groups and forums. The rule for reading for oneself does not conform to any standard in the craft of reading the cards. There are many pros and cons to reading tarot for yourself, but is it not true that learning tarot begins with insights about your own life? Interestingly, many seasoned readers choose to read tarot for themselves only for introspection and, in some cases, for personal ritual. The best thing to hope for in exploring insights for yourself is that you can remain objective in the process. At the outset of a self-read, the goals and reasons should always be considered. That way these traps can be avoided: 1. Losing control or focus. If you feel out of sorts and experience lack of clarity, put the cards away until you feel more in touch and can focus. 2. Reading under duress. Stress or anxieties around pressing matters are always cause for seeking advice. It would be best to avoid reading for yourself during these times. But if reading the cards helps you to cope, enlisting the help of other readers could prove worthwhile. 3. Card Exchanging. Don’t cheat the process by exchanging out cards that you don’t like for cards that are more agreeable. 4. Readings about serious health/mental concerns, dangerous environments or personal safety. This one is a no-brainer! If you are concerned about these situations, seek professional help. 5. Reading when not prepared. This means there is lack of knowledge about the cards and using spreads, and possibly being too new to the art of divination. Tarot School Aphorism  Community Outreach WHEN "WHAT IF?" BECOMES "WHAT NOW?"
At the 2016 Readers Studio, Wald teamed up with Theresa Reed
(aka The Tarot Lady) to lead an incubator session on how we as a community can deal with the difficulties that often pop up as we go through life. They also produced an excellent podcast series on the topic, which they called “What If?…” You can find the episodes on The Tarot Lady’s website here: http://www.thetarotlady.com/what-if/ One of the episodes deals with the importance of community. That support is never more crucial than when one is facing a serious health problem or other disaster. We now have an opportunity to come together to support Beth Owl’s Daughter, one of the tarot community’s bright lights, as she battles an aggressive form of cancer. Beth is grateful for any prayers and healing energy you wish to send her. If you’d like to connect with Beth and follow her journey, she’ll be posting periodic updates on her CaringBridge page at: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethowl Also, please consider contributing to the GoFundMe drive that has been set up to help her and her family contend with the medical bills: https://www.gofundme.com/bethowlsdaughter Don’t know who Beth is? Swing by her website to see: http://www.owlsdaughter.com/  Let’s come together as a community to help this very special woman! 
PROGRESS REPORT! Wald has been working on a Birth Card correspondence course. It's a long project but he just finished writing the lesson for the Star-Strength Birth Card pair! There's a special mailing list for people interested in this course. We'll be sending out an update soon. If you're not already on the list and would like to be, you can sign up here: http://www.tarotschool.com/Birth-Card-Course.html PsychWise – Tarot & Psychology Q & A with Elinor Greenberg, PhD, CGP, CPTR HOW TO USE THE FOUR TAROT SUITS AS A PERSONALITY SYSTEM Part 1: An Introduction and the Suit of Wands My PhD psychology major was Personality Systems, but none of the ones that I studied in graduate school worked as well for me as the one embodied in the four Tarot Suits—Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. My interest in using the Tarot Suits as a way to describe different personality types emerged rather organically as I studied Tarot and practiced psychotherapy at the same time. I would be sitting in clients’ sessions listening to them tell me about their lives and find myself thinking about them in Tarot terms. For example, one client was perpetually starting new projects, but lacked the detail orientation necessary to ever finish them. I found myself thinking: “This guy is really high on Wands, but definitely needs to develop his Pentacles.” Another client was always falling in love, getting hurt by something her lover did or said, and then backing out of the relationship without ever expressing to her lover what she did not like. As she told me yet another story that ended the same way, I thought: “She leads with Cups (her heart) but has trouble verbalizing negative feelings (Swords) and standing up for herself (Wands). Perhaps we should work on the verbal dimension of Swords and how she can use her fine mind and verbal acuity to confront what she does not like and ask for changes, instead of just fleeing the situation. All of this was intensified when I learned the Tarot School’s projective technique that uses the four Aces—“The Elemental Array.” In brief, this technique involves removing the four Aces from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and making a small pack of them that you give face-down to your querent. Your querent shuffles the pack and then turns over each Ace one at a time and quickly decides whether he or she likes or dislikes it. By the end, the four Aces are arranged from left to right in order of most liked to least liked. The first two Aces represent the innate talents and approach to life that the querent uses most of the time, the third spot is an approach that is desired, but challenging for the querent. The last spot is the least liked or least energized card. This is a very simplified version of this excellent technique. I recommend that you look at the Tarot School’s website for more detailed information. You can also find an article there that I wrote about how to use The Elemental Array in psychotherapy: “Move an Ace: Change Your Life.” My Personality through the Lens of the 4 Tarot Suits When I did The Elemental Array for the first time, my Aces from most preferred to least preferred were Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. When Wald and Ruth Ann Amberstone explained what this meant, I realized that It fit me perfectly. My tendency to initiate and boldly charge into new projects (like this column) is typical of Wands’ behavior. I knew that I could rely on my analytical and creative ability (Swords + Cups) to come up with something to say. Overall, although I am creative (Cups), I am more involved in my projects (Wands) and thinking about things (Swords) than I am in my emotional life (Cups is third and in my Challenge position), but I am still interested in love and friendship. I sometimes think that I am sort of like a very warm alligator: cold- bloodedly analytical (Swords) + friendly and happy (Cups) + able to move forward on new projects quickly (Wands). I have always known that I have little interest in the details of concrete reality and engage at that level very reluctantly (Pentacles). One of the things that delighted me about my husband of 39 years was that he is very high on Pentacles. When we first met, he was an accountant. Oh Joy! He wanted to take over all my bookkeeping. Oh Shit! He wants me to pay more attention to keeping the house neat and what we are having for dinner. Oh Well! That is Pentacles for you. PERSONALITY TRAITS AND THE 4 SUITS Everyone is complex and the four Tarot suits are in all of us. What is different is the degree to which a particular suit is expressed and how natural and immediate its expression is by us. And, of course, different situations and people may “call out” different sides of us. For example, even though I am low on Pentacles, as compared to Wands and Swords, I can finish projects, such as my PhD and this column. However, when I look closely, most of these projects are in the realm of Swords—mental work! My house can be messy and I have to make a real effort to know today’s date. I find the types of details that I am assigning to Pentacles difficult and not very interesting. Therefore, when I speak about “Wands people” here, I am oversimplifying the issue to look at one set of traits that are always found in combination with other traits as well. Some additional thoughts: The four Tarot suits by themselves do not say anything about the morals or likability of the person being described by them. There are things to like and dislike about the characteristic attributes of each Tarot suit. Our experience with someone who embodies a particular suit or suits depends on more than just the traits of the suit. It is often the result of how well our preferred mode of action and style (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles) blends with theirs. And it is important to remember that you can be bright, beautiful, smart, desirable, witty, and talented in every suit. The preferred suits may affect the style in which the above is expressed, but not the possession of the traits themselves. A caveat: I am writing about how I use the Tarot Suits as a personality system and what I mean by them. Other Tarot theorists may think differently. THE COURT OF WANDS The traits that I most associate with the suit of Wands are expressed by these words: Bold, energetic, enterprising, forthright, open, ambitious, brave, impulsive, competitive, and sexy. I use the Wands’ Court Cards to refer more specifically to the level of experience and type of activity the person is displaying. Below are some examples of what I mean by Page, Knight, Queen and King of Wands. • Page of Wands In my personality system the Page of Wands can be a description of three types of people: 1. Any young person with pronounced Wands traits (1-18 years old), 2. A person of any age with Wands traits who is beginning a new project in a new area where he or she is now a beginner again, 3. Someone who is beginning to develop their latent Wands traits who usually utilizes other elements more easily. Example 1: A Young Person with Wands Traits I was at a friend’s 30th birthday party doing Tarot readings as my birthday gift to my friend. I had read for a few adults when a young boy, about 9-10 years old, approached me. He was serious, bold, and direct. He asked me to read for him. This was the first time a child ever showed an interest in Tarot and asked me for a reading. Key 1 The Magician came up in the center of the spread signifying that he was well described by that card. He listened attentively as I explained the meaning of the cards, particularly Key 1 The Magician. I was struck by how self-possessed he was. Even though this was his first Tarot reading, he didn’t seem at all surprised by the process. My overall impression of him and the reading was that he was a very unusual child who was likely to be successful at any endeavor he chose to approach seriously. Or in my terms: “Wow! That was one Wandsy kid!” (And probably also high on Swords). Example 2: A Wands’ Adult Beginning a New Type of Project Jim wanted a reading because he was about to quit his job in a big company and strike out on his own. He had an idea for a new way to manufacture something, had gotten a patent, and now for the first time was going to be his own boss. The Page of Wands came up as central in his reading. I interpreted it as he was at an early stage of learning about running a company. Example 3: A Non-Wands Adult Starting to Develop her Latent Wands Maria had always led with her heart (Cups). She tended to choose men who bossed her around and she usually fell in line with whatever her current man suggested. She was loving, receptive, somewhat passive, and had difficulty asserting herself. After her last breakup, she realized that she wanted to take charge of her life and identify for herself what to do and where she wanted to live. All of that was new to her and she was not sure how to even identify what she wanted and pursue it directly. She entered therapy with me with the goal of being more of a “self-starter.” I told Maria about the suit of Wands and the traits that I associated with Wands, and she agreed that she needed to work towards developing these traits in herself so that she could function independently of the men in her life. • Knight of Wands A Knight’s key characteristic is that he or she is in motion and active. The Knight is always on a quest seeking something. What he seeks varies with the suit. A Knight of Wands is pursuing his project. He may be searching for a new project or he may be in the middle of one. Unlike the King of Wands who is at rest (for now or permanently), the Knight of Wands in my system represents action in the suit of Wands. This Knight is not content to rest on his laurels. When he finishes a project, he quickly finds a new one that interests him. Example: The Knight of Wands comes for a Tarot Reading My querent Craig came for a reading to see which of the two new jobs he had been offered was likely to work out best for him. Craig is in his late 20’s and very ambitious. One job offer was from a large, established firm that would give him a generous signing bonus and a fixed salary that he could count on with guaranteed raises every year. The other company was a start-up where he would get stock options with a lower starting salary and fewer guarantees. However, the “start-up” offers Craig the chance to control his own hours and the opportunity to make much more money in the future, if he brings in new business and the company does well. He would be getting in on the ground floor of something that might be big. My Tarot reading confirmed Craig’s own instincts and he took the job with the “start-up.” Unlike my typical “Pentacles” clients who would not be able to sleep at night with that sort of uncertainty, Craig felt the opposite: “I am young and have very little to lose by taking a gamble on myself and the new company. I would regret it forever if I didn’t take this job and this company became a success.” • Queen of Wands The Queen of Wands is bold, sexy, and feminine. She embodies mastery over the fiery and willful energy of Wands in female form. Just as Knights can be male or female in my Tarot personality system, you do not have to be born female to be a Queen of Wands. All who identify with her are symbolized by her. Some famous Queen of Wands people are: Mae West (1893-1980) the movie and stage star, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) the explorer, Beryl Markham (1902-1986) the aviator and author of West with the Night, Marie Laveau (1794-1881) the Voodoo queen, Billie Jean King the tennis champion, and Madonna the singer. And, of course, me! Example: The Queen of Wands at Work and in a Relationship My client Janet typifies the Queen at Wands in the work place and in relationships. When I first met Janet she already had her own consulting company. She said that she had always preferred to be her own boss and was good at initiating new projects. These are typical Wands traits. Very few “Wandsy” types like to be told what to do by other people and they are capable go-getters who can both envision their dream job and make it happen. In her personal life Jane was the typical Wands woman: Jane liked men, appeared feminine and sexy, and usually was in a relationship. Her presenting complaint for therapy was also typical: her current relationship was in trouble because her boyfriend found her too much “to handle.” He complained that she was too bossy, too overwhelming, and too independent. He also accused her of flirting with other men and not even realizing when she was doing it! • King of Wands A King’s main characteristic is mastery over the energy of his suit. The King of Wands is a master at initiating and (at his best) successfully completing projects. He is not the person who waits to be told what to do and he is certainly not afraid of a little competition. As King, he has demonstrated his mastery over and over again. This is not his first time at the rodeo. Unlike the Page of Wands who is just starting out and learning how to use his fiery energy, or the Knight of Wands who is in action mode, The King of Wands describes the master of Wands masculine energy as temporarily at rest. You do not have to be born male to resonate with the King of Wands archetype or be described by it. The main difference between the King of Wands and the Queen of Wands is that one seems overtly masculine and the other seems overtly feminine. Example: A Progression from Page of Wands to Knight of Wands to King of Wands and Back to Knight of Wands When John first entered therapy with me, he was in his 20’s, newly married, and working for a technology company learning the business (Page of Wands). He was smart, independent, ambitious, a risk taker, and curiously indifferent to other people’s feelings (low on Cups). After he left therapy, I did not see him again for over twenty years. Then I got a call from John saying he would like to return to therapy with me to work on some issues. I learned that since the last time I had seen John, he had started his own technology company (Knight of Wands), ran it successfully for a number of years (King of Wands) and recently sold it for enough money to ensure he never had to work again (King of Wands). Many people would have been satisfied to stop working at that point and John could have relaxed and spent the rest of his life on vacation. However, John said that he was feeling too restless to stop now. He wanted to develop a new project and was pursuing some ideas that he hoped to turn into another successful business (Knight of Wands). Example: Dating the King of Wands My client Susan came to therapy because the man in her life was quite literally driving her crazy. Paul was the head of the company that she worked for and their relationship had progressed from working together to being in love. Unfortunately, in the process Susan had changed from her normal happy, placid, uncomplicated self into someone who was very anxious and insecure. What had disturbed her is that Paul was treating her the same way that he treated the new companies that he took over: he was trying to remake her to match his image of perfection. Now that they were officially a couple, he wanted her to dress sexier and show more leg and be more ambitious at work. He started to groom her to take a higher position in the company that involved running a department, instead of simply working under her manager. In Tarot speak, Paul wanted to remake her in his image of the perfect Wands’ woman! Susan, however, was a very sweet and unambitious Cups’ type (more about Cups in a later column). Her idea of a new project was knitting a sweater. She found Paul’s demands overwhelming. She was uncomfortable wearing the outfits that he bought for her and could never live up to Paul’s ideas about who she should be at work. She did not have the temperament, ambitions, or education for the position he wanted her to fill. Susan also hated confrontations and did not know how to get out of this situation. Worse, she was in love with Paul and thought that he must be right and that she was somehow wrong and a failure. I call this “Torture by Wands.” THE WANDS CYCLE All of the Court Cards in each suit can be viewed as a cycle in which we repeatedly go from being a beginner (Page), to active seeker (Knight), to attainment (Queen or King), and then often start over again with a new object of interest. I will use myself as an example of how this works for me in my life. As you will see, my Wands side is inextricably intertwined with my Swords side, which is why I describe myself as a “Wandsy/Swordsy” sort of person. And, while I tend to always appear feminine in person, my own sense of femininity varies depending on what I am doing and who I am relating to. Example: Although I often describe myself as a Queen of Wands type, in many ways I am also a very good Page of Wands, Knight of Wands, and King of Wands (and ditto for Swords). For example, I set out to learn Gestalt therapy while I was still in graduate school (Page of Wands, Page of Swords—Wands for the self-starting behavior, Swords for the mental activity involved). Gestalt therapy does not follow a set script, as some psychotherapies do. This meant I had to think on my feet and react quickly in the moment to whatever was going on in session (Wands and Swords again!). I studied it for years with different teachers, even after I started my own practice (Knight of Wands). I never worked in a clinic or hospital. I always wanted to control my own hours and the environment in which I worked (King of Wands). Eventually, I felt a sense of mastery and started to teach my own version of Gestalt therapy, and publish original papers on the topic of personality disorders (King of Wands and King of Swords). I became an acknowledged expert on this topic (King of Swords). Why so many Kings here? Mainly because I noticed an odd thing. When people met me in person, my femininity was evoked and I exuded Queen of Wands—sexy, bold, almost flamboyant. When I write, I feel much less typically feminine and those who read my writing without meeting me first, tell me that they never imagined me as the warm, feminine, light-hearted creature that I appear to be in person. As an expert, my Wands style femininity was not foreground for me or for those people who read my work. After mastering Gestalt therapy, I went on to repeat this process with other types of therapy, and so on till this day. I am full of projects. For me this is a hallmark of Wands. Writing this column (a short, continuing project) is happening in the midst of publishing my book, Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptations: The Pursuit of Love, Admiration, and Safety, which itself is the culmination of a very long project. Elinor without a project would not be Elinor. And there you have the essence of Wands!  Dr. Elinor Greenberg, PhD, CGP, CPTRis an internationally renowned Gestalt therapy trainer who specializes in teaching the diagnosis and treatment of Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid adaptations. She has been studying tarot since 1995 and is psychology consultant to The Tarot School, where she earned a Third Degree in Tarot. She is a member of B.O.T.A. (Builders of the Adytum) and has been certified as a professional tarot reader by the American Tarot Association. 
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BUSINESS HIATUS
By Gina Thies
A business hiatus is more that just taking a few days off to
rejuvenate or to go on holiday. Most people would not dream of being away from their business for an extended period, nor could they afford it. Taking extended time away from your tarot business can happen for many reasons. Burnout is one of the top causes for readers taking a long break. For some, the decision for hiatus is due to personal reasons and for still others, it is not by choice. Often practitioners take a hiatus due to a change in their professional direction or career, and for other life purposes. In making the decision to take a hiatus from professional readings, examine the affordability of being able to do so. This may also determine how long a time away is practical. Also consider the dependability of your clients or other professional contacts and the impact on your immediate family. Keep in mind that the intended duration of a hiatus will depend on many circumstances. The length of time is best decided once you’ve had enough time to gain insight about next steps for your life. Additional Reading: Preparing For a Long-Term Hiatus From Your Solopreneur Business How to Plan a Sabbatical-Style Career Break Upcoming Events:
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