Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com ISSN: 1529-0565 Vol. 14 #7 July 1, 2022
In this Issue: - Welcome
- Tarot Tip: XX Judgement — The Critic - Wald's Words of Wisdom - Diviner's Corner: Graphology - Meet the Reader: James Divine - Best Practices: Self-Employment and Retirement Savings - Upcoming Events Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
This month you came from: Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We're glad you're here! Believe it or not, the part of preparing Tarot Tips that I find hardest is what to say in this Welcome section. This month, I was tempted to skip it altogether. Instead, I wound up writing what could be used as an entire article. But if I did that, I'd still have nothing for this section so here goes.... For someone who is mathematically challenged, I'm rather obsessed with numbers. There are certain numbers that have a message for me, help me with decisions, or act as a memory prompt. I know I'm not alone in noticing "angel numbers" such as 11:11, 2:22, etc. Have you ever done that? I'll notice numbers related to my birthdate (which is also probably not all that unusual), and certain numbers signal greetings from my deceased parents. There are also important numbers specifically related to tarot. 4: The number of suits in a tarot deck, 4 is also the number of Mercy on the Tree of Life. It signifies an outpouring of positive energy in whatever context it occurs. 10: The total of numbered cards in the Minor Arcana, 10 reminds me of the qabalistic maxim "10 and not 9, 10 and not 11." Although specifically referring to the number of sephiroth on the Tree, I find this saying to be extremely helpful with making decisions, where 10 is a possible answer. For example, "Should I buy 8 cups of yogurt or 10?" It really comes in handy more often than you might think. 9 and 18 are the numbers of my Birth Cards so I'll notice where they pop up. Another use of the numbers of the Major Arcana is a trick that Mary K. Greer taught me. She visualizes cards associated with her airline flight and hotel room numbers as a way to remember them. Since I sometimes have trouble remembering number sequences, I find this very helpful! And then there's 78. The total number of cards in the deck, this significant number doesn't come up very often so it's special when it does. Our most recent Tarot Salon was the 78th class since we started teaching over Zoom! How cool is that? There are probably lots of ways tarot- related numbers show up in your own life. When you notice them, see what kind of guidance they have to offer you. Knowing the numbers associated with the Major Arcana cards is a good place to start. Today's date is July 1, 2022. The total of those numbers is 2030, which reduces to 5. This is the number of The Hierophant. I hope this issue of Tarot Tips will teach you something useful. And one more thing...
A million thanks go out to all who have
helped Wald's granddaughter, Isabella after her awful car accident! We are all truly grateful. She's doing a bit better but is still unable to work and meet her expenses. If you would like to help out, we set up a GoFundMe page for her here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/44mw5-please-help-my-granddaughter Wishing you joy along the tarot path, 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
PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN TAROT:
XX JUDGEMENT – THE CRITIC by Katrina Wynne, MA, CTM, CTI, CLC As many know, the teacher is the perpetual student, and in my Professional Tarot Consulting program, I’m often inspired by my students and their questions. Recently, a student was stuck on the literal meaning of the word “judgment”, afraid of feeling judged, and associating that meaning to the XX Judgement card. To help broaden her knowledge and experience of this challenging card, I gave her the homework assignment of researching multiple Tarot decks and Tarot books, noting the various interpretations of this image exemplar. If I alchemically distill the message of this card into a simplistic form, its essence, I would call it “Beyond Judgment”, going to that field beyond rightdoing and wrongdoing, as portrayed by the Sufi mystic, Rumi. Judgment is what keeps us in dualism, one-sidedness, division, separation, and lack of connection, which perpetuates a belief that we are not whole, lovable, loved, or connected. It is the me vs. you, us vs. them, as well as the Inner Critic, or the Shadow. These perceptions and experiences of disconnection are what tend to be at the root of most mental illnesses, leading to the development of “coping mechanisms” to survive, which then congeal into aberrant, neurotic, or psychotic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may last a lifetime… or more. I know this is a huge topic and we live in a dualistic 3D world, yet, many psychological modalities, as well as spiritual philosophies and practices show us ways to work through the limitations in our Doors of Perception, clearing age-old judgments that locked us into viewing ourselves and life through a distorted lens. Here are a few suggestions that I have found to be helpful in moving beyond Judgments: 1. Practice self-awareness to observe how habitually you may divide the world, people, and experiences into “Good” or “Bad.” Please keep in mind, these are relative terms and only express your perspective or attachments. (See Tarot Tips May 2022). 2. Take your own studies of XX Judgement into Tarot decks and books you have not explored to expand your understanding of this card’s application in readings. 3. In his simple, yet profound book, Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg extends the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi into our everyday language and shows us a method to heal this lack of connection in a loving way. 4. Most important, notice your inner dialogue, inner voices, ancestral messages that send you negating, defeating, or strongly critical messages. Find ways to turn your inner critic into your inner advisor, someone with a loving tone of voice who only wishes the best for you. There is a reason the Judgement card is placed near the end of the major arcana of the Tarot sequence, for it prepares us; it helps us step through the doorway of dualism, to return to our non-dual realization of The World, the World Wide Web of connectivity, back to our natural home…which is the same goal of counseling and psychotherapy…to love and embrace our wholeness. About Katrina: Katrina Wynne, MA, CTM, CTI, CLC is an internationally renowned Transformative Tarot Counselor™ and trained psychotherapist with close to 50 years’ experience living the wisdom of Tarot. Contact Katrina at: TarotCounseling.org - website MySacredJourney.org - weblog OracleSoup.org - podcast Facebook.com/katrina.wynne/ Wald's Words of Wisdom Diviner's Corner
GRAPHOLOGY
Graphology is a technique used to reveal characteristics, traits and personality from a person’s handwriting. interpreting handwriting has been of interest since handwriting symbols have been used as a means of communication. Although graphology has been regarded as a pseudoscience, much like other types of divination. Determining the characteristics of a person based on their handwriting has been mentioned as early as the eleventh century in China. Much later, it was considered a science in France by Father Jean Hippolyte Michon who published his findings on handwriting interpretation in The Mysteries of Handwriting in 1869, followed by The Practical Method. Michon founded Société Graphologique in 1871, which furthered the study of graphology. A complementary study to psychoanalysis, graphology helped to diagnose various mental and physical conditions. It shares some similarities with chiromancy, in that it reveals a portrait of person’s disposition. But unlike other tools used in parapsychology, graphology is a technical procedure rather than one employing communication with the supernatural. Companies have utilized handwriting analysis to determine a prospective employee’s potential. The study of handwriting requires examination of the loops, slant, strokes, connectedness and size of the script, letters and pressure of written samples. Graphologists employ the tools of white paper, preferably a ball point pen, a ruler, a protractor and a magnifying glass. The nuances of written script have been developed for divinatory purposes, as its own skill set. As such, it has been useful in avoiding difficult or painful situations, and helps with understanding the possibilities of human behaviors. Resources: Graphology https://occult-world.com/graphology/ Association of Independent Readers & Rootworkers: Graphology https://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:Graphology We’d love your suggestion or submissions for this column! If you have an idea or would like to contribute, please contact us at tarot@tarotschool.com. Meet The Reader JAMES DIVINE By Sharonah Rapseik, Ph.D., CMAP James Divine performed his first palm reading at age 11 after finding a pamphlet on it in his grandparents’ attic. At age 16, he started reading professionally and has studied the art of Palmistry ever since. James never used to think that there was a connection between Tarot and Palmistry until a fateful day while pursuing a vendor table at a witchy conference in New Orleans, when he met Madame Pamita. She offered him her book, Madame Pamita’s Magical Tarot and replied that there are hands in the images of the Tarot cards, perhaps he could read them, and offer insights into the card meanings. James was so intrigued, that he gave it a try and what followed was the beginning, not only of a lifelong friendship with Madame Pamita, but also one of a field of study of the amazing connection between the Tarot and the hands. Sharonah Rapseik: James, what makes your tarot practice unique and how do you express it? James Divine: The artwork that is created in any Tarot deck, be it illustration, collage, photography, mixed media, or digital rendering, is created using the hands. Often the images in the cards include images of humans and their hands in certain positions, some decks more than others. The depictions can tell us a lot about what the artist was channeling into the symbolism, sometimes consciously, but usually unconsciously. Blending Tarot and Palmistry has been a source of great joy and revelation, and I have developed three primary things so far: • First, I have discovered that analysis of the hand gestures, shapes, and lines in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck reveals additional and secret meanings in the cards (this is a class I teach with Madame Pamita on my website). • Second, I have realized that there are 16 elemental hand types based on shape and size of the hands, and they match up with the court cards, giving clients an amazing way to discover a significator card for themselves, which I offer to them in readings. • Finally, I offer Tarot readings using my "Divine Hand Spread" which places the cards in the position of the planetary mounts of the hand, giving clients a unique insight into their situation from an archetypal perspective. These are just the start. As I am exploring more with Tarot, and Cartomancy in general, more ideas are germinating! ...and please don't get me started on Astrology and Palmistry!!! Sharonah Rapseik: Thank you James, it’s been a pleasure to meet you! To follow James Divine: 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/ Best Practices for Professional Readers SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT SAVINGS By Gina Thies www.tarotadvisor.com / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org Many self-employed people are enjoying the fruits of creating their own income by making positive impacts on the community they serve and working many hours to keep their business thriving. It is essential to any business to plan for growth. But the not so thrilling part of business planning is thinking about post-business retirement. The first area to consider is if you are profiting enough to save, whether that is for an emergency or for when you are no longer able to or choose to stay in business. Financial planning is challenging for self-employed individuals, especially when it comes to retirement, because there is no standard workplace retirement plan typical of a commercial enterprise. As a sole proprietor, you need to think about retirement as part of your business plan and the sooner, the better. Unfortunately, many self-employed people don't even follow a savings or emergency fund plan, which is having a reserve income of about 3 – 6 months of money saved up. Retirement, of course, requires much more. Don’t go at it alone or take your parents financial advice on planning for your future. Talk to a local professional tax advisor or financial planner to get help with your future financial success. Check out the following resources on Social Security and types of retirement plans for the self-employed: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/ self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/ questions-answers/self-employed-social-security-medicare-taxes.html https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/best-retirement-plans-for-the-self-employed/ The content shared in this article is purely informational and not to be used in place of advice of a licensed tax or financial professional. Upcoming Events: 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. Classes are recorded and all levels of experience are welcome! July: 4 - NO CLASS (Independence Day) 11 - The High Priestess 18 - The Empress 25 - Birth Cards: Death / Emperor Get on the notification list to see what we'll be teaching each week. Find the form and register here: http://tarot.salon Readings with Ruth Ann Running The Tarot School with Wald keeps me pretty busy, but I still love giving readings! My specialty is using your Birth Cards and Elemental Array (techniques Wald and I have developed) in conjunction with random draws to give you an extremely personalized and powerful reading. I excel at giving Readings for Readers so if you're always giving readings to others, let me help you with some self-care for a change! To book a private reading with me over Zoom, send an email to me at tarot@tarotschool.com and we'll discuss it. Do you have a question or comment on anything tarot?
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