 Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com ISSN: 1529-0565 Vol. 13 #10 / June 1, 2021
In this Issue: - Welcome + Readers Studio Update
- Tarot Tip: The Hermit - Tarot School Aphorism - That's Cool!: Harry Potter Store - Meet the Reader: Susan Wands - Upcoming Events Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
 Our editor, Gina Thies, is taking a much-needed break so I'm coordinating the next couple of issues. We're looking for contributions and hope you can help! Our regular columns include a monthly Tarot Tip, The Diviner's Corner (offering an introduction to divination systems other than tarot), and Best Practices for Professional Readers, which looks at the business side of reading and/or teaching professionally. We're open to other suggestions as well. Of course, your by-line, bio and contact information will accompany your article. Take a look at some back issues to see how long (or short) it should be. You'll find the Tarot Tips Archives at https://tarotschool.com/Newsletter.html Please email submissions to tarot@tarotschool.com by the 20th of the month. We look forward to hearing from you! Along with this month's Tip on The Hermit, we have an exciting new feature by Sharonah Rapseik. Meet the Reader treats us to a mini-interview with some interesting people you may or may not know. Short and sweet! And one more thing...
 Many of you have asked what is happening
with the 2022 Readers Studio so here's a brief update. The hotel has confirmed that April 21-24 is available and is holding those dates for us. We now have to negotiate a contract that takes our current need for flexibility into consideration. Since Mercury is retrograde, this will take awhile. Once we have a signed contract, we'll offer seats to those who previously registered for RS20. At that time, we will also start a waiting list for anyone else who wishes to attend RS22. Vendors who have previously paid for table space in the Merchant Faire still have those tables. There will also be a waiting list for merchants in case there are any cancellations. In the meantime, we recommend you join the Readers Studio Facebook Group if you haven't already. It's a great way to connect with the RS community and get the latest news about the event. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadersStudio Wishing you health and bright blessings, Ruth Ann and Wald
Tarot Tips is here to help you with the practical side
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questions regarding any aspect of your tarot study
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Spread the experience of tarot - share this newsletter with other Tarot Enthusiasts! Tarot Tip
THE HERMIT
 QUESTION: My question is why the Hermit is the "omen or bad luck" Tarot card not the Devil nor the Death card? Also, is there any possible way that we can contrast or redirect the bad reading (about the Hermit) into a good reading? Sometimes when the Hermit card appeared I was afraid and I could not comment to my friends about this bad thing that could happen to them. I hope you can suggest what I should do if the Hermit appears in a reading. Thank you and warm regards, Jimmy Saudi Arabia ANSWER: I must admit that neither Wald nor I have ever heard that The Hermit is considered bad luck. Perhaps this is a cultural belief? The Hermit has many wonderful qualities and has always been one of my favorite cards. As with all the cards, there is much that can be said about it. What follows is excerpted from The Tarot School Correspondence Course. I hope that it shows you some new ways to look at The Hermit, and that it tempts you to learn about all the cards in greater depth. IX - THE HERMIT Karmic Interpretation: Wisdom, withdrawal, solitude, elevation of spirit. Attainment through austerities, purity of intention, the results of persistence. A long climb following a single path brings the seeker to the summit. Secrets are revealed and the truth becomes known. Believe what you are told. Archetypal Interpretation: Wise man, holy man, Elder, Acetic. The sage in the cave whose words are revered as the vehicles of Spirit. Detachment becomes light, a beacon to those with spiritual ambition. He carries a lamp that dispels the darkness of the shadow self and illuminates the chaos of personality. Persist and climb, purify and elevate. Believe in perfectibility, in the attainment of great heights. Never look backward. Never look down. Completion is your birthright. Magickal Interpretation: Attributions: Name: The Hermit – the one who lives alone. He is the one who has reached the pinnacle of achievement, both inner and outer, through utmost personal effort, and who shares the grace of that achievement in the form of the light of perfect example. Key #: 9 (Major #10) – the numbers that are the end of the beginning of the numerology of Tarot. Beyond this point, the Key numbers become double digits, each of which numerologically reduces to one of the single-digit Keys that preceded it, creating the symbol system of the birth card pairs. Hebrew Letter: Yod – the number 10 in Hebrew. Yod means “open hand,” the symbol of divine grace and power. With the letter Yod, creation itself was begun as the first letter of the divine name known as the Tetragrammaton, Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh. Yod, all by itself, may be the single most potent symbol in all of Qabalah, all of Tarot, and all of the Western esoteric tradition. Function: Sexuality (Touch) – sexual desire without either consummation or repression, the burning lamp from the touch of whose pure flame all other lamps are lit. Astrological Attribution: Virgo (the Virgin) – in its purest form it is sublimated desire, the root of all ambition and the source of the energy driving all sublime achievement. Path #: 20 – the experience of the journey between Mercy and Beauty. In the mystical interpretation of the story of Genesis, Mercy is the source of the power of the first divine statement, “Let there be light.” Beauty is the sun in which that light reposes, and through whose grace the entire universe is illuminated. This is the light of pure consciousness. In a reading, the path of The Hermit is the experience of the loftiest ambition. It demands monastic intensity, and complete surrender to both the goal and the process of any ambition. Any kind of champion or super-achiever in the world of performance, power or spirit reach their full potential through the intensity of this path. Intelligence: Will – simultaneously the power to create and transcend, to be both within and beyond. As creation emerges along this path, the Intelligence of Will takes the form of divine immanence. As creation returns to its origin along this path, the Intelligence of Will becomes transcendence. Direction: North Below – the defining edge between North (the experience of The Tower) and Below (the experience of The High Priestess). Title: Prophet of the Eternal, Magus of the Voice of Power – the form of a revelation, the message and example of an avatar or prophet. The voice of a necessary truth or the act of going beyond any possible expectation. Imagery: The Mountain is the Element of Earth at its highest and purest, symbol of the end of the adept’s journey upward. Light ascending. The Staff is a symbol of Will and the Element of Fire. Beginning of the world — “Let there be light.” Light descending. The Blue Background mixed with white is the the dark fire of the Abyss. The Lamp is the instrument of transformation turning Fire into Light, and Light into Fire. The Six-pointed Star in the merging of the upward-pointing triangle of transcendent Fire and the downward-pointing triangle of immanent Light. The Grey Robes are a symbol of the cloak that covers the divine mysteries from the eyes of the unprepared. They are called the Inner and the Outer Robes of Concealment, references to Chochma (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding). The Hood on the robe suggests the letter Yod. This suggestion is fully expressed in the BOTA deck where the hood is clearly in the shape of the letter. The Hermit himself is the Ancient of Days and the Light of the World, two references to Divinity. He is an incarnated beacon, proclaiming silently “Where I am, you may also be.” Transcendent Interpretation: True knowledge, the inner knowledge, is the giver of Light. When it shines in the mind and the intellect, the Lord of the Universe is beheld everywhere. This Knowledge transcends the imaginary distinctions of logic: matter and spirit, the individual and the universal, microcosm and macrocosm, liberation and bondage. It takes one beyond the reach of time and death to the transcendent realm beyond the illusion of differences. The ancient wisdom says, “Where there is no darkness, nor night nor day, nor being nor non-being, there is the auspicious One, alone, absolute and eternal. There is the glorious splendor of that light, from which in the beginning sprang Knowledge of the Truth." The ancient wisdom does not agonize over suffering and sorrow but accepts them as the fruits of ignorance. The fact that reality has a dark side only means that light is missing. When the light of the Truth strikes the darkness, then darkness disappears. --- The Tarot School Correspondence Course is available as a degree program or as stand-alone lessons. For details, visit: https://TarotSchool.com/Course.html Tarot School Aphorism   NEW HARRY POTTER STORE!  Harry Potter New York is the first official Harry Potter flagship store in the heart of New York City next to the iconic Flatiron building at 935 Broadway. Opening on June 3rd, the store houses the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products in the world from pocket money items to rare collectibles. Spanning three floors and over 20,000 sq. ft., the flagship store offers exclusive lines, magical photo opportunities and lots more! You can also shop from a hand-picked selection of Wizarding World products and Harry Potter New York exclusives in their online store. https://www.harrypotterstore.com/ Meet The Reader SUSAN WANDS By Sharonah Rapseik, Ph.D., CMAP  Susan Wands lives in New York City, where she has worked as a writer, playwright, producer, and actor. A practitioner of tarot cards, she has used them as a resource for inspiration and guidance for over thirty years. She also finds inspiration in the lives of women artists, especially Pamela Colman Smith. Susan is the author of the “Magician and Fool” book series, where the tarot cards of Pamela Colman Smith come to life and battle past dark forces in a renown cult. Sharonah Rapseik: Susan, what makes your tarot practice unique and how do you express it? Susan Wands: As a tarot reader and writer, my tarot practice sometimes needs resources other than cleansing with incense and sage spray to stay fresh and tuned in. Whenever I find history, artwork or research that resonates with me, whether it’s a treatise of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Deck or a biography of Austin Osman Spare, I’ll channel it into my tarot card preparation. As I shuffle the cards, I’ll keep this new research discovery in mind and then lay the cards out in a Celtic Cross or a Three-Card spread. This is when I'll see how influences of the research manifest themselves in the spread. Then I’ll take a photo of the tarot configuration and store it on my computer for future use. I’ll also post images of the inspiration on my Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/magicianandfool Currently, I’m editing the third book in my series on Pamela Colman Smith, “Emperor and Hierophant” and am delighted how frequently cards related to my research also come up in tarot readings. Sharonah Rapseik: Thank you Susan Wands... it’s a pleasure to meet you. • You can purchase the first book in Susan Wand’s book series; “Magician and Fool” here: https://www.amazon.com/Magician-Fool-Susan-Wands/dp/1999764676 • To follow Susan Wands: https://www.magicianandfool.com https://www.facebook.com/magicianandfool About Sharonah:   Sharonah Rapseik is an Artist / Designer, Author, Tarot Reader, Radio Host and Producer for Psychic Talk Radio. Visit her at: https://psychictalk.net/sharonah/ Upcoming Events:  • Monday, June 7, 14, 21 and 28 • Monday, July 5, 12, 19 and 26 Tarot Salon on Zoom! 7:00 - 9:00 pm EST Our popular Monday night classes are now online so you can attend no matter where you live! http://tarot.salon  • Saturday, July 24th, 2021 The Magic of Astrology in Tarot Part 3 The Minor Arcana: Ace – 10 w/ Wald Amberstone Cheryl Ryder and the Albuquerque Tarot Tribe Meetup are excited to host Wald's latest presentation on astrology as it specifically applies to tarot. This is what he has to say about it: Meaning in tarot is many layers deep, and each layer is a whole discipline unto itself. Qabalah, alchemy, astrology, numerology, psychology — all these add their wisdom to the knowledge of self and world that tarot gives us in such abundance. In this series, we’ll look at how the basic symbolic elements of astrology fit so perfectly into the structure of a tarot deck. We'll be looking at how each Minor Arcana card fits into the structure of the Zodiac Wheel of the Year, the Decans, the Modalities of the signs (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), and how to blend them together in tarot readings. You don't have to have attended Session 1 or 2 in person to attend Part 3. 3 classes for the price of one! When you RSVP and pay for Session 3 you will be sent a Dropbox link to the recording of Sessions 1 & 2 which contain materials and references that will not be reviewed in much depth in Session 3. You will also receive a link to the handouts from both sessions. Time: 2:30 pm EDT Location: Zoom Tuition: $20 Register at: https://bit.ly/3vD8IrB Note: You do not have to join the Meetup if you don't want to. Just make sure to indicate that the money is for "July 24th Wald Amberstone Class" in the comment section for PayPal or on your check in order to get confirmation for this event.  Join our 11K+ fans and join the fun!
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