Tarot – About Things That Matter

My Tarot Journey from Priest to Satanist

Well, it’s happened. My practice of Tarot reading has converted me into a satanist.

On the one hand Tarot has caused me to recognize that the God I was raised to worship (and to preach as a priest) is more like the devil depicted in Tarot’s 15^th Major arcana card.

And on the other hand, the cards have helped me see that the devil represents a suppressed aspect of my dark side that (in the understanding of Carl Jung) contains a kind of gold I’m being called to mine. In some sense, Satan is my friend.

All of this has led me to reject the God of my youth (and to some extent of my priesthood) while embracing as a quasi-friend Satan himself.

Let me explain.

The Devil Card

To begin with, here’s the Devil as depicted in the Rider, Waite, Smith (RWS) Tarot Deck.

What do you see here?

Straight away, I notice that its number 15 stands for a trifecta of strife (3 X 5 – with 5 being the Tarot’s number of conflict). The card depicts conflict with (1) the world, (2) the flesh, and (3) the devil himself.

Next, I see that black is the card’s dominant color – representing one’s dark side, death, destruction, and negativity.

The main figure in the card is a satyric monster half man and half beast. His face is fear-inspiring with monstrous horns jutting from his head. His right hand is raised in a mudra which says, “what you see is what you get.”

An inverted pentagram (which in upright form represents virtue and good) forms the monster’s “halo,” but in its inverted form is just the opposite.

In the card’s depiction, the monster reigns over a naked man and an unclothed woman. The heads of both are horned – a clear connection to the horned devil’s mind. The female figure’s tail is tipped with grapes, a vineyard sign of pleasure and intoxication. The tail of her gender opposite is inflamed directly from the torch the devil holds inverted in his left hand. The man’s passions are on fire in the presence of the disrobed woman.

Both the man and the woman are chained by their necks to the pillar from which the monster presides. The chains are loose and could easily be removed. But evidently, the humans either don’t perceive this or don’t want to escape their bondage.

In summary, the card portrays the human body and sexuality as somehow problematic. Both are intimately connected with the Spirit of Evil, with enslavement, and ambiguity about the whole affair.

God As Enemy

Personally, the more I contemplate the card, the more I see Christianity’s traditional God rather than the devil. That God was presented as creator, lawgiver, judge, condemner, and punisher.

He was fear-inspiring, wasn’t he? After all, his principal concern was understood as connected with the “sins of the flesh.” And he made us all feel guilty (or at least uncomfortable) with sexual thoughts, words, and deeds.

All of that flew in the face of common-sense recognition of sex and propagation of the species as humanity’s second most powerful drive (after self-preservation).

It was as if devilish priests and theologians had transformed an unparalleled good into an unparalled evil to keep penitents under their control, coming to confession, and paying for the indulgences that Martin Luther and others found so odious.

III

Satan As Friend

Don’t be turned off by the idea of Satan as friend. It’s quite biblical. For instance, in the book of Job, Satan is portrayed as God’s counsellor. He’s a realist who for instance (in the Book of Job) bets the Divine One that if Job comes on extremely hard times, he will abandon his virtue and show his true colors as just another fair-weather saint.

For his part, Carl Jung saw the devil as representing aspects of God. The former as well as the latter is part of the Life Force. As a psychological phenomenon the devil embodies suppressed dark forces that are part of every human personality. In Jung’s sense, he’s the “Left Hand of God.”

Think of what we’ve been taught about the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Tradition has it that they’re pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, sloth, and gluttony. None of us wants to acknowledge that such forces are inevitable parts of our personalities. So, we spend a great deal of time pretending they belong to others but not to us. We spend our life force suppressing their influence on us. Inevitably though they bubble to the surface and express themselves periodically.

Jung calls us not only to face our inner destructive forces, but to embrace them. There’s gold in our dark side, he teaches.

What did he mean by that? Yes, he acknowledges that in the extreme any one of the Seven Deadly Sins can destroy our lives. But under conscious control, they can also enrich us with the gold they contain. For instance, properly acknowledged, accepted, and controlled

Pride can be a source of self-esteem that preventing one from acquiescing to abuse by the disrespectful.
Greed under control can cause workers to organize in pursuit of higher wages and safer working conditions.
A productive amount of Envy can drive us to imitate the Christ, and saintly figures like Gandhi, King, Malcolm, Dorothy Day, Rosa Parks, and Mother Theresa.
Justified Anger can lead us to demonstrate against the genocide now perpetrated by Zionists and the United States in Palestine.
Lust can help us appreciate the gift of sex and the pleasure it brings.
Holy Sloth can keep us from endorsing our culture’s worship of “productivity,” the rat race, and overwork. It can drive workers to organize for more time off, longer vacations, and family leave for new parents.
Gluttony can help us become slow food cooks and appreciators of wines and spirits. It can turn us against fast food saturated with sugar and salt.

Conclusion

So, the next time the devil card turns up in your Tarot reading, don’t be frightened. It can serve as a reminder that God is not primarily creator, lawgiver, judge, condemner, and punisher. All of that is diabolical. Instead, the Divine One is the total of all the energy in the universe and in the universe of universes. That includes the energy of consciousness even to the extent that She is aware of each one of us and can be addressed as Thou. She wants only the fullness of life for each of us.

On the other hand (God’s Left Hand?) Satan is in some sense our brother and friend. True, he is never satisfied with temperance, harmony, and balance (Tarot’s 14^th major arcana card). However, there is gold in his Seven Deadly Sins. With controlled expression, they can drive us towards healthy self-esteem, just recompense for our work, the idealism of imitating the Christ, unwillingness to endorse genocide, an appreciation of sexual pleasure, the joy of doing nothing, and appreciation of the gifts of food and drink.

From Italy

Greetings from Rome!

Apologies for not attending to my blog for so long.

I’ve been busy getting ready for this two-month trip as well as rehabbing from my knee operations and another unexpected surgery. I’ve also been preoccupied with Tarot readings for an increasing number of clients – not to mention readings for my immediate family.

All six of us (including my son-in-law) have birthdays in the span of a single month – from September 6^th to October 5^th. And this year I’ve decided to give each family member a 10-card Tarot reading. It’s been a lot of fun, but has taken time, since each reading (including visual representations of each card) runs to about a dozen pages.

With that behind me, I can now return to blogging.

So, again, greetings from the Eternal City.

Peggy and I are here visiting our son Brendan, his wife Erin, and their three children, Genevieve (4), Madeleine (2), and Sophie (8 months). We want to get to know those kids.

You may recall that Brendan works for the State Department. He operates out of the embassy in Rome and is doing quite well following previous postings in Mexico, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

You might also realize that in a sense, this visit represents my “return to the scene of the crime.” I mean, as a newly ordained priest, my first assignment was to get my doctorate in moral theology here in Rome. So, between the years 1967 and 1972, I obtained my licentiate in systematic theology at the Atheneum Anselmianum and that doctorate at the Academia Alfonsiana.

Those five years changed my life.

Having educated me for 12 years (from a callow high school freshman in Silver Creek, New York to an ordained priest in Milton, Massachusetts) the intent of the Society of St. Columban (my sponsoring organization) was for me to return from Rome and teach moral theology in its major seminary.

However, studying post-Vatican II theology and living abroad for five years radically changed my world vision and understandings of God, Jesus, church, priesthood, politics, etc. Consequently, without my knowing it, the rector of our Rome house eventually wrote to the Columbans’ Superior General that I was “too dangerous” to teach in the organization’s major seminary.

So much for that.

In any case, I’ve written about all that elsewhere in these pages behind the “personal” button in my blog’s table of contents.

I won’t bore you with repetition.

So let me do so instead by simply noting that:

We’re here.
We’ve been generously received by our hosts.
The grandkids are a lot of fun.
I’ve forgotten most of my Italian (confusing it with similar languages I’ve learned in the meantime, viz., Portuguese and Spanish).
At this very moment, Peggy and I find ourselves aboard a high-speed train heading from Rome to Turin, where we’ll attend a conference on the world’s food system.
Afterwards, we’ll spend three nights in Venice.
Then we’ll return to Rome and the adventures that await us there and elsewhere in the country.
And oh (by the way) around Thanksgiving and our planned trip home, the two of us will return to Spain’s Granada for a week. That’s where we spent about a year in 2022-23. It will be great to reconnect with friends there.

Till next time arrivederci!

Here’s What I’d Say If President Biden Asked for a Tarot Card Reading about Gaza

Recently, Rob Kall, the editor-in-chief of OpEdNews (where I’m a senior editor) asked me, “But what does one of your Tarot card readings look like?” It was a fair question. So I’ve decided to give an example of what I do according to the following procedure: (1) The querent (seeker) asks for a reading; (2) I do a spread with her questions in mind; (3) I write up the reading as fully as possible; (4) I email the reading to the querent; (5) we establish a SKYPE appointment where (6) we discuss the reading for an hour or so, (7) supplementing it whenever necessary with “clarifying cards” chosen by the querent in real time; (8) I send a final email summary of the entire interaction.

To show you what I mean, you’ll find below an example of one of my readings — this a fictitious one on behalf of President Joe Biden. It’s a spread responding to questions I imagine him asking about Gaza.

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your request for a Tarot reading about your dilemma in Gaza. I know you seek an answer from the cards hoping that they have access to the will of the Great Spirit that grounds all our lives. I for one am sure they do.

With that in mind, I take your question to be “What do I need to know about myself in relation to the ongoing conflict in Gaza? And what should I do?”

Seeking a response and using the World Spirit Tarot deck (based on the standard Rider-Waite-Smith deck, but much more dramatic) I did a “Celtic Cross” 10-card spread (see immediately below). Before beginning, I held the cards close to my heart. I reminded myself that the cards represent a marvelous packet of divine energy and light – and that you do as well, and so do I. Grounded in those convictions, I made the following invocation: “O, Great Spirit of Life, our Divine Mother and Father, let President Biden’s energy and light (channeled through me) meld with the energy and light of these cards so that the images chosen might reveal his current life’s situation and choices relative to Gaza. Let them show the deep unconscious source of the circumstances that concern him. Let them also reveal their more proximate and probably conscious source along with Mr. Biden’s present motivation, his immediate future, the relevant image he has of himself, the external influences on his life, his hopes and fears, and finally his destiny should he continue his present path.”

I then shuffled your questions into the cards and drew ten of them. This is the way they fell:

Before proceeding, please enlarge the spread and take a careful look at it to see what it says to you.

Now let me examine each card one-by-one. Before reading my interpretations, try to understand their meanings on your own.

President Biden’s Present Situation in Gaza

What do you see in this card? It is the five of pentacles. Pentacles are concerned with material reality, with work, health, poverty, and wealth. Here I see you out in the cold. You are isolated, and in a fetal position that contradicts your advanced age. Does your posture represent your deep desire to be born again – to change your position? In any case, you continue crouching outside a barred door with a golden handle you seem afraid to turn. The stained-glass pentacles behind you are arranged in a way that suggests spirituality and Kabbalah’s Tree of Life. It represents a summons to higher consciousness that contradicts the death and destruction so rampant in Gaza. Yet you seem to be shielding yourself from the Tree’s invitation. In fact, you’ve turned your back on it. Does the dark shadow behind the door represent your true self inviting you towards the golden horizon you fear to confront? Tell me, on which side of the barred door is freedom found? Who’s in prison here — you or the figure behind the door?

2, Challenges to the President’s Situation in Gaza

This is the 13^th card in the Tarot’s collection of 22 Major Arcana (mystery) cards. The major arcana speak not merely of life’s changing circumstances, but of one’s character, one’s archetype. Sadly, this card suggests that an Evil Spirit has gotten hold of you, Mr. Biden. It may be what prevents you from opening the door to new life pictured in the previous card. The spirit in question is governed by base impulses (indicated by the serpent, goat, and the card’s inverted pentagram). It all supports a patriarchy that keep men and women frozen in hostile and defensive positions relative to one another. The reference may be to the IDF’s attacks on mothers and grandmothers deprived of their murdered children for the sake of power and the riches that lie strewn at the bottom of the card. The Evil Spirit depicted here is profoundly anti-woman. Does its appearance suggest a summons to honor the specifically female wisdom of martyred Gazan mothers, grandmothers and their children?

3. The Deep (probably unconscious) Roots of Mr. Biden’s Problem in Gaza

This is the Seven of Swords. Swords are about ideas and ideologies that control us. Sevens are about causal energies. This Seven of Swords shows you again isolated and out in the cold – this time waist deep in a freezing body of water with its dangerous whirlpools. Water, of course, is a feminine element. Swords are masculine. This card has you withdrawing your masculine swords from the feminine element. Relative to Gaza, the Seven of Swords asks you to recognize that ultimately (and unconsciously, I’m sure) the genocide you’re supporting there represents a war on women and their children. The card says, “Remove the swords (in the form of weapons and the ideologies behind their provision) from the hearts of Gazan mothers, grandmothers, their babies and children.” Such extraction means changing your ideas and the approach to Gaza your ideas support. There’s a suggestion of swapping military force for diplomacy here. Finally, this card communicates a sense of urgency. Do you see the dark ship in the card’s upper left corner? Your ship is coming in, Mr. Biden, but you’re ignoring it. The ship says your remaining time on earth is short. Drop the old ideas, change horizons, do what right despite ultimately irrelevant masculine concerns conditioned by false perceptions of “a man’s world.” Ultimately, it’s just the opposite. You’re waist deep in feminine energy!

4. The Proximate Roots of Mr. Biden’s Gaza Dilemma

Another Major Arcana card. It is a card of hope and healing. Its female image dancing on the water reiterates the call to lift your head from the frigid waters of the previous card and scan the night skies for transcendent guidance. Miracles (like walking or dancing on water) are possible and within your grasp. The answer to your Gazan dilemma is mirrored in the sky’s celestial order – in healing rather than continuing support of war and destruction. Follow Bethlehem’s star of peace, not war.

5. Mr. Biden’s Motivation vis a vis Gaza

Yet another Major Arcana card addressing your essence. This one is about a coming Judgement regarding your policies in Gaza. The card centralizes the Egyptian Hermanubis (god of judgment) weighing your destiny against the Feather of Truth. Surely it refers to history’s judgment of your presidency which by all accounts is being importantly and negatively shaped by your policy in Gaza. Will you be remembered as “Genocide Joe?” Surely, you don’t want that. The card also anticipates a more proximate judgment coming on November 5^th. If your driving motivation comes from your desire to be re-elected, the card suggests you must change policy in Gaza.

6. President Biden’s Proximate Future Relative to Gaza

This card suggests that young people will determine your immediate future (in November). It is a “court card” that refers to important “Seekers” (young 20-somethings) among us. In the context of your Gaza dilemma, this card inevitably recalls the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campuses throughout our country. They are determined to play a determinative part in your proximate destiny. Their attire in this card suggests Native American sensitivities to the ways of nature. It recalls peace pipes, and diplomatic discussions around a campfire. This is a call to diplomacy and dialog, to listening to your young constituents. Heed what young people are saying or else! That seems to be the message here. [BTW, please note that horse of the card’s Seeker has its hooves firmly rooted in the feminine element of water. The Seeker is calling attention to a mysterious Cup suspended above him. Cups are not about confrontations but about the creative relationships that women typically pursue more than men. Do you see a unifying theme here?]

7. Mr. Biden’s Image of Himself in This Situation

Here you are with your sword again, Mr. President. Surprisingly, the card says that despite your status as an octogenarian, you imagine yourself as somehow a contemporary of the Seekers pictured in the previous card. With sword aloft you’re riding a horse raring to charge into the future (framed by two rough pillars) despite the storm on the horizon. In the Gaza context, this card seems to say, “Take heed of that storm. Act your age. Back off from the trouble that inevitably lies ahead should you continue your sword-led charge.”

8. The Context of Mr. Biden’s Gaza Situation

Another Major Arcana card – the Empress. Another reminder to change from male-led policies to those guided by feminine beauty and principles that should form the context of any Gazan policy – of any beneficially imperial order. And what might those principles be? The card says they are based on harmony with nature (signified by the Tree of Life sheltering above the empress). Similarly, the snake that appeared as a force of evil in the Devil Card now appears transformed into its traditional goddess meaning as a perpetual life force (since it repeatedly sheds its skin). The Empress’s own skin color reminds us that the world should be governed by its non-white majority rather than by white European colonialists. Her large breasts also signify a different kind of governance – this one by nurture, not destruction. This theme is continued in her shepherds crook and the unthreatening whip in the card’s foreground. Together, they suggest deemphasis of force in favor of gentle correction. And of course, the beautiful flowers and soaring birds, as well as the abundance of fruit all connect with sharing the earth’s cornucopia regulated by the scale of justice at the Empress’s feet. All of this relates to the ultimate feminine signified by flowing water. In summary, this card calls for a planet-wide change of context from masculine force to feminine gentleness, joy, and harmony with nature. What would that change of context look like in Gaza? The answer is largely up to you, Mr. President.

9. Mr. Biden’s Hopes & Fears Relative to Gaza

This entire reading could hardly be more feminine. In Tarot all aces are about new beginnings and about unperceived potential. In the World Spirit Tarot deck we’re using, its aces consistently present us with the feminine yoni as a portal to life and new beginnings. And that’s what we have here. A feminine yoni, a portal to a new reality, where relationships (the essence of the suit of cups) are overflowing with life (water), not death (the reality in Gaza). I know, Mr. President, you’re hoping for something like that in Palestine. However, this card suggests you’re on the wrong track. What you’re doing is too male, too much based on force. This card calls you elsewhere. Enter its gentle female portal to New Life. Doing so will help you transcend your fears and offer hope to all of us.

10. President Biden’s Destiny Relative to Gaza

Do you see what I meant about the feminine character of this entire Tarot reading? Look where we finish. Again, a yoni frame. Again, a fruitful goddess centralized. Again, a call to harmony with the world’s elements – fire in the lion, air in the eagle, water in the dolphin, and earth in the ox. This card asks you, Mr. President, to adopt a universal (rather than a narrow national) perspective. It says align with the forces of nature and the universe. Doing so will help you see beyond distorted views of “American Exceptionalism” and the destruction of the earth’s elements by use of modern weapons of war.

Summary

Surely, I don’t need to again call attention to the female thrust of this reading. The cards are calling away from patriarchal, violent, and outdated thinking and action. The cards summon you away from a white colonial world towards one governed by the world’s non-white majority. They call you to empathy with Gazan mothers, grandmothers and their babies, children, and grandchildren. Another world is possible, Mr. Biden. And with your incoming ship on the horizon (along with the fast-approaching November elections) you haven’t much time left to change course. But (according to the cards) change course you must!

Tarot and Catholic Spirituality: Let Me Read Your Cards!

Believe it or not, even though I’m a Catholic liberation theologian, I’ve also become Tarot card reader. And this despite the teachings of my beloved meditation mentor, Eknath Easwaran, who always characterized Tarot as “Terror Cards.”

In fact (pace Sri Easwaran), it’s much more focused than that. I’m now using my ability to read Tarot as a fund-raising project for an impoverished women’s cooperative in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Let me address all that by first explaining my understanding of Tarot cards. Then I’ll show you how Tarot fits in with Catholic theology and my fund-raising project. Finally, I’ll issue an invitation to read your cards.

My Introduction to Tarot

To begin with, I was introduced to Tarot during a year-long sabbatical that my family spent in Spain. There in Andalusia, I unexpectedly fell in with a group of street musicians and gypsies. Most of them made only five or ten dollars a day as buskers. As self-described troglodytes, they lived in caves without running water or electricity. They explained the cards and their interpretations to me in ways that made me drop my preconceptions and defensiveness. If you’re interested, you can read about all that here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In any case, I learned that Tarot cards represent a divinatory tool usually understood as helping “querents” (seekers) answer existential questions connected with work, relationships, anxieties, and what the future might hold. As expressed by Tarot master Joe Monteleone, those consulting the cards typically want to know about getting paid, getting laid, and staying unafraid, so they might reach a happy conclusion of their parade through life.

But as Monteleone insists, Tarot cards are about much more than getting paid, laid, overcoming what makes us afraid. In fact, the 78 cards of the Tarot deck represent a dynamic book about you, me, and anyone who opens the “book.” Tarot cards are dynamic because as packets of the universal energy filling the universe, they meld, tap into and blend with the energy packets of those reading and seeking guidance from the Tarot cards. Put otherwise, like the cards themselves, each of us is a bundle of energy that can select from the deck individual cards addressing our true identities and the granular circumstances of our lives.

Accordingly, the Tarot book is divided into chapters addressing the archetypes just mentioned, as well as spirit, relationships, thoughts, and our physical circumstances such as work, money, and health. All those elements come to light in suits of wands (for spirit and creativity), cups (for relationships), swords (for ideas), and coins (for physical circumstances). Additionally, a final chapter (called “court cards”) explores relationships with important others in our lives under images of pages, knights, kings, and queens.

As those images indicate, the relevant cards are replete with references to history, mythologies, sacred scriptures, astrology, and akashic records.

Relative to all that, I’ve discovered that my background in the classics, history, poetry, and theology has prepared me well for reading Tarot cards. So, I’ve done it for family members and friends who have recognized (and have helped me see) my ability to interpret card meanings.

In fact, while still in Spain, I did so for two professional readers, who subsequently encouraged me to “go professional.” Since returning home, I’ve even read for my therapist (whom I consider my spiritual director), and she has very generously sent my way several “clients” for whom I’ve read on ZOOM and SKYPE.

[Oh, and recently during a three-month stay in Florida I read for many absolute strangers poolside at the Regatta Beach Club in Clearwater Beach. (Subsequently, however, I was informed by the Club’s authorities that such activity “for monetary gain” was forbidden.)]

What the authorities in Florida didn’t understand is that I’m forwarding ALL “monetary gain” to a women’s cooperative in Costa Rica. For clarification, here’ a flyer I’ve made to explain my project: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:173ab9ae-7e78-406a-87e0-d8b16002fe46

As the flyer indicates, our (very poor) Costa Rican friends manufacture simple solar ovens and instruct their neighbors how to make them. They also maintain a large organic garden that provides food for themselves and their neighbors. (By the way, our friends in the co-op find themselves amused that I as a deinstitutionalized priest and theologian should be delving into the occult on their behalf.)

Theological Connections

It turns out, however, that no one should see any contradiction between Tarot cards, priesthood, and/or theology. That was brought home to me several months ago when I came across a book called Meditations on the Tarot: a journey into Christian Hermeticism. The book was published anonymously in 1985.

[By the way, the word “Hermeticism” refers to the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, a reputed contemporary of Moses who lived 1600 years before Christ. Hermes explored the relations between human experience and the divine. Many have seen him as the wisest man who ever lived. It turns out that ancient Fathers (and Mothers) of the Christian Church have long explored connections between Hermes and the Judeo-Christian tradition. They are the Christian Hermeticists referred to in the title of Meditations on the Tarot.]

In any case, I found the enthusiastic endorsements on the book’s cover to be astounding.

They came from the Trappist abbot Thomas Keating (the colleague of Ken Wilber of Spiral Dynamics fame), from another Trappist Basil Pennington, as well as from the mystic and leader of the Christian ashram movement, Bede Griffiths. Even more surprisingly, the book’s afterword was penned by the great Catholic theologian and cardinal of the church, Hans Urs Von Balthasar.

The endorsements from all four men contained superlatives such as “the most extraordinary work I have ever read” (Pennington); “simply astonishing” (Griffiths), and “the greatest contribution to date toward the rediscovery and renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition of the Fathers of the Church and the High Middle Ages” (Keating). Cardinal Von Balthasar’s afterword praises the “formidable power of his (i.e. the anonymous author’s) spiritual vision.”

What surprised me about such testimony was not only that monks, mystics, theologians, and even a cardinal knew anything about Tarot cards at all, but that they knew them well and saw them as tools for spiritual growth. My interest in reading cards had put me in good company indeed.

My Work as a Tarotista

So, I decided to become a card reader — a Tarotista. Here’s how I do it:

I receive a reading request in which the querent identifies the session’s focus (e.g., a relationship, a question about work, income, children, about a fork in life’s road, etc.)
We set a time to meet on SKYPE.
I ask the querent to hold her hand to her heart, while I press the tarot cards against my own heart and pray something like this: “O, Great Mother-Father let my sister’s energy and light (channeled through me) meld with the energy and light of these cards. Let the cards chosen reveal her current life’s situation, the deep unconscious source of her circumstances, the more proximate and probably conscious source, her present motivation, her immediate future, the image that she has of herself, the external influences on her life, her hopes and fears, and finally her destiny if she continues on her present path.”
I typically do a 10-card reading and we discuss it for an hour.
As suggested above and depending on the “spread” I use, the 10 cards in question usually identify (1) the querent’s present situation, (2) the challenges to that situation, (3) the situation’s deep (usually unconscious) roots, (4) it’s more proximate origins, (5) the querent’s true motivations for presenting the question, (6) what the immediate future holds, (7) the querent’s present image of herself, (8) the context influencing her question, (9) the querent’s hopes and fears, and (10) the outcome to be expected if the querent stays on her present path.
Finally, I write up a detailed summary and email it to the querent.

With good success, I’ve also simply:

Received a request with identification of the area of inquiry.
Done the prayerful reading ahead of time.
Emailed the reading to the querent.
Met with the querent online for a one-hour discussion.
Wrote up a summary of the entire process.

Conclusion

The summaries I’ve just mentioned are important, so that the querent might recall, review, and meditate upon the outcome of the Tarot reading.

The amount of time I invest in the process just described is approximately three hours. For this, I ask a donation of $100 for that women’s co-op. So far, I’ve been able to help them substantially.

So that’s my new endeavor. In future postings here. Next time I’ll give an example of my reading style by imagining that Joe Biden asked for a reading about Gaza.

The Fools’ Card Game: Won’t You Play Tarot With Me?

I'm a Fool who reads your Tarot Cards
To find the Magic in your soul
I see a Priestess there
An Empress, King, and Clown.
A Preacher’s within
And Lovers too
In Chariots down Life's road
Paved with Courage, Light, Fortune and Justice 
Turned Upside Down.

Death comes even to the Self-controlled,
To Devils Fallen and to Stars,
To howlers at the Moon
And in the Sun.
Till finally comes our Judgment Day
After mastery of the World
So we fools can start again
Our wayward run.

Chorus

Yes, I Play the Fool with Tarot.
Won't you play the game with me?
There are no rules.
We're all just fools
We're playing
Don't you see?

Just playing
Don't you see?

So, I throw the cards,
You read with me,
But not the way you think.
You see, the Tarot cards
End up reading you.
Wands speak of your power,
Your life evolved,
Of eros, strife and grace.
They open heart and soul,
To show what's true.

Cups tell of your loves, 
Your friendships,
They overflow; they break.
Sometimes they empty out
Their bitter dregs.
Does she still love me?
Will he say “yes?”
And why am I alone?
Tarot gives the answers
Every player begs.

Chorus

Yes, I Play the Fool with Tarot.
Won't you play the game with me?
There are no rules.
We're all just fools
We're playing
Don't you see?

Just playing
Don't you see?

Swords are about what's on your mind
Thoughts that wound, confine, and kill
About freedom from blindness, 
Nightmares and from pride,
About trickery and hurt feelings,
Crossed hearts and wounded souls
About blindfolds dropped
To see what others hide.

And then at last, 
There are those coins
“Pentacles” they’re named
About the world of matter,
Poverty, and wealth
About old age,
And days gone by
What's been lost and gained
About work and building
Children, choice, and health.

And finally we come to the Court Cards
Kings, Pages, Knights, and Queens,
Who stand for those in life
Who sometimes cause you pain,
Or for those at home or in the world
Through bitter and through sweet
Offer kindness and hope
Without any thought of gain

Bridge

Yes, the Tarot Cards
Reveal it all:
What’s inside,
And what’s out,
The future, past, and present,
Good and bad.
They open up the darkness,
So light can walk about
To show what makes us happy
And sometimes sad.

Chorus

So, join me in this Tarot game.
Yes, play the game with me.
There are no rules.
We're all just fools
We're playing
Don't you see?

Just playing
Don't you see?

Tarot: Last Six Cards of Major Arcana

In this final posting on the last six cards of the 22 Major Arcana (including Card # 0, the Fool’s) we’ll look at the remaining portrayals of the classic stages of spiritual growth. Remember, the first of those seven cards was The Devil reviewed at the end of my last blog entry. The Devil represented the Fool’s realization that something is deeply wrong within himself and in the world.

16. The Tower: With that realization, the Fool’s inner world comes crashing down. Discouraged and devastated, s/he sees that structural change and rebuilding (both inner and outer) is required, because his or her “tower” though apparently founded on rock is crumbling nonetheless. S/he looks to the stars for help. [This is a highly symbol-rich card. To begin with, its number, 16 = 1+6= 7; and that connects with#7 of the Major Arcana, viz., the Chariot card which is all about movement and finding control and mastery over opposing forces. Here the movement is downward and deconstructive as symbolized by the card’s black background and prominent gray clouds. Also centralized in the card is the couple we’ve already met in card #6 (the lovers) and in card #15 (the devil). We’re evidently watching the downfall of the basically masculine (phallic symbolled) ivory tower which has been struck by a bolt of lightning and is on fire. There are two crowns in this image, one at the top of the tower signifying the dissolution of some imperious order and the other on the head of the female figure who is falling upside down (i.e., in the hanged man position) on the card’s right. Her crown remains fixed firmly on her royal head. However, her spiritual viewpoint (designated by the color blue) is in complete transition. The same is true for the male figure whose accompanying passions are signified by the color red. This card suggests radical change.]

17. Star: The priestess’ star reappears when the Fool needs it most. The new, healthier ideas the stars represent guide the Fool into the future. “Follow your star” is the message here. [As opposed to the previous card, # 17 is calm and encouraging. This card is about cosmic order, hope, peace, ease, relaxation, persevering, and hanging on. The unclothed female figure has dropped all the pretense of royal robes, crowns, and symbols of power. She is concerned only with heavenly order, purifying water, connecting with the collective unconscious (symbolized by the pool) and with the earth itself (shown by her left-side intuitional knee kneeling on the earth’s surface). There are seven prominent but minor stars in the card’s image referring to the body’s seven chakras — as well as a large and bright golden central star that connects with the golden hair of the card’s central figure. The card’s protagonist is enlightened and following her star. Though her weight is on her forward foot, that foot is not submerged. The figure can walk on water. In some sense, she is the card’s star. In the background perched in something like the Tree of Life, a scarlet Ibis bird is about to take flight. In Egyptian mythology, the scarlet Ibis was considered the earthly manifestation of Thoth, the god of wisdom.]

18. Moon: The mystic moon provides relief from darkness. But it is mysterious and uncontrollable. The sleep suggested by the moon generates insights and clarity, but also nightmares, anxieties, and fears. [The moon card represents the 4th stage of spiritual unfolding (after the Devil, the Tower, and the Star). It evokes reflection on sleep and the insights that occur during that inevitable process. Sleep provides time for personal repair and reorganization at physical, psychological, and spiritual levels. In fact, this card means “Sleep Brings Counsel.” Its background mountains remind the querent not to be deceived by the highs and lows of any day or by the past itself. Instead, s/he’s called to advance steadily towards the uplifting mountainous horizons towards which a moon-illuminated golden path wends its way. The card is also about evolution. A dog and its evolutionary predecessor, a wolf, join together to bay at the moon. The dog, of course, has evolved from wolves to become the “best friend” nature has provided human beings. Similarly, the crayfish-like creature arising from the pool of the collective unconscious recalls our mind’s origins from that pool where both imagination and confusion reside. The twin towers that frame the card invite the querent to pursue wisdom beyond the boundaries of the known. The moon itself profiled in this 18th card reminds the attentive reader of the ninth (Hermit) card in the Major Arcana (1+8=9). Like the profiled hermit with his lamp, the profiled moon comes each night to teach us (through dreams and our especially precious thoughts just before sleep arrives) what we have learned during the day as well as during our entire lives.]

19. Sun: But the night doesn’t last forever. The sun shines brightly with a promise of homecoming and return. The Fool can now answer his child’s questions with joy, love, and positivity. At last s/he is at peace enjoying the good, the true, and the beautiful. [This card is about rebirth, happiness, and illumination. The haloed, reborn, and unclothed child finds her/his place bathing in the sun’s illuminating rays and seated on a white horse amid sunflowers. This is a triumphant card evoking joy and new beginnings.]

20. Judgment: The Fool has now returned to his interior ancestral castle. S/he is ready to share with others all that has been learned during a life of wandering, trial, and triumph. The Fool’s inner work has been completed. S/he is at peace with the past. [This card is about a journey completed. Its message is “Forgive yourself; lay your past to rest; let go of all past selves.” It is about resurrection and release. Note that the familiar man and woman from the Lovers’, Devil, and Tower cards have changed sides. The man now stands on the left, the woman on the right. This suggests that they have successfully appropriated their complementary animus or anima. The flag pictured below the angel’s right elbow is that of St. George noted for the bravery and chivalry it has taken to complete the Fool’s journey.]

21. The World: As a final step, the Fool embraces the world while knowing that the whole cycle is about to begin once again in life’s endless circle. However, this time his/her journey will not be foolish, but that of an evolved Page, Knight or Female Warrior — all to be centralized in Tarot’s Minor Arcana [Here notable symbols include those for the four Christian Gospels which we already saw on the corners of the Wheel of Fortune card (#10). Matthew is portrayed as an angel, Mark as a lion, Luke as an ox, and John as an eagle. Their appearance here indicates that the gospels’ overriding concern is Life here below not principally life al di la in the heavens. The same goes for the unclothed woman at the card’s center. We met her most recently as the Star in card #17. Here her presence and the card’s number 21 (2+1=3) suggests the High Priestess (the real 3rd card of the Tarot deck — when including the Fool’s “number,” 0) and the Empress card actually numbered as 3. The reference suggests that women, their mysteries, intuition, and closeness to nature are at the center of Life’s circle portrayed in this last card of the Major Arcana. Note that the circle is actually a green astrological ellipse tied together above and below with red ribbons. Their color symbolizes passion, energy, and fire. That same symbolism is conveyed by the Magician’s wands the card’s central figure grasps in her hands. In this last card the previously unconscious Magician and High Priestess are at last consciously integrated. It is interesting to see which figure attains most prominence at the end.]

Tarot: Cards 11-15

This is the third in my series on Tarot. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover for myself how helpful the cards have become for making sense of my spiritual and material life.

Each morning, first thing, I do a Tarot reading. As previously mentioned, I “throw” three cards. The first yields a preview of the coming day, since it is meant to express the hidden “energy” of what lies before me. The second card is about gratitude; it reminds me of what I’m particularly grateful for in my long life. The final card (which I place between the other two) suggests what or whom I should incarnate during the coming day. For instance, this morning the latter was Card 14 as pictured below. I took it as a call to incarnate my patron saint, Michael the Archangel. (Look below for the explanation.)

During the day, I leave the cards out. I glance at them as the day unfolds. Their meaning deepens as I do so.

As I’ve said before, Tarot is like a 78 page book. It’s living, dynamic, and interactive — and uncanny in its practical inspiration.

What follows are the cards of focus today. Remember, the Major Arcana outline everyone’s story of passage from status as a naive “Fool” (card zero) to deeper levels of awareness.

So far the Fool we’ve been following is unaware of his/her true inner Self, a blended Magician and mysterious Priestess. The Fool has received instruction from the mother figure in his/her life (the Empress), and from a father figure (the Emperor). The Fool has also gone to school and church, where s/he’s learned community traditions and rules from representatives of a Hierophant or Pope. Then came Love, Conflict, and the early dawning of some kind of critical awareness that imparted a kind of inner Strength to think autonomously. This drove the Fool to introspection in his/her Hermit phase which brought wisdom about the nature of life as a spin of the Wheel of Fortune with an accompanying need for self-forgiveness.

The story unfolds from there in the following 5 cards:

11. Justice: From introspection and the wisdom it imparts, the Fool realizes that justice – i.e., balance between worldly achievement and care for others – is necessary to start a new chapter in life. [Here Lady Justice is pictured as a royal figure. She holds the sword of clear thinking in her right hand and the scale of justice in her left (the side closest to her heart and its intuition). The red hue of Lady Justice’s robes indicates her passion for fairness. Her golden crown and corresponding cape as well as the “halo” above the violet background drape call attention to her connection with Life’s Great Source of enlightenment and illumination. Violet is the color of integration of masculine and feminine characteristics. Achieving justice is a highly spiritual affair that combines the best of both genders. The closed-in pillars on either side of Lady Justice indicate a commitment to a path that is “straight and narrow.”]

12. Hanged Man: Since the world is committed to injustice, the Fool now finds herself/himself suspended between two contradictory worlds. As a result, s/he feels called to adopt a new upside-down perspective on life. Though uncomfortable, s/he realizes that former perceptions of “truth” were nothing but simple repetitions of “teachers’” opinions. [Notice the golden halo around the upside-down figure. This is a stage of enlightenment that is highly spiritual (indicated by the Fool’s blue tunic). Enlightenment also includes coming to grips with the passion of the Fool’s root and sacral chakras (indicated by the figure’s red tights).

13. Death: Seeing the world upside-down makes the Fool realize that spiritual growth will demand “dying” to the inherited opinions which do not belong to the inner Magician/Priestess, but to the Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, and other lesser authority figures. The Fool is now ready for rebirth, improvement, and transformation. S/he is wiser and more confident – ready to begin Life’s next chapter. [Virtually everyone who has ever heard of Tarot know of the Death Card. Close examination, however, reveals nothing to fear. Though the card can be about impending physical illness and/or death, 99.9% of the time, it’s about change — death to old ways of thinking and acting and imminent new beginnings (indicated by the sun rising in the “eastern” part of this card framed by two “Towers of Hermes” — the ancient symbol for the boundaries of the known.) That the card is about spiritual death to the past and subsequent transformation is indicated by the very prominent white horse and the white rose adorning the the black flag. The skeleton riding the horse directs attention to the most lasting part of our physical form. The dead and crownless royal figure beside the horse tells the truth that death is the great leveller; it comes to everyone regardless of positions attained during life. Then there’s the young girl turned away from the approaching horse; she seems to be in denial. Meanwhile, the small child holding out a bouquet seems to be more open to death’s approach (as young children often are). The bishop in golden robes is facing the horse directly. Is he bargaining with death? Notice the river (Styx) in the background with a small boat floating down this traditional image for life’s journey. In summary, the Death Card represents the void between death and rebirth.

14. Temperance: Preparing to enter that void involves living temperately – in peace, patience, balance, and harmony. It invites us to choose the middle path between extremes. [The powerful symbolism of this card is undeniable — especially for someone blessed with the name Michael. Notice the angel’s powerful wings tinged with red, the color of passion, energy, and activity. The angel is pouring water (the symbol of life itself) from one cup to another in a motion of giving and receiving (from the left, heart-centered hand, to the right, intellect-centered hand). Note that the angel has one foot on dry land and the other dipped in the water attempting to balance the mystical and physical realities of life. That same message of balance is indicated by the middle path behind the angel as it wends its way towards the sun. The flowers on the card are irises named after the Greek messenger-goddess. They are symbolic of hope, valor, trust and wisdom. The angel’s golden third eye under a head of golden hair also symbolize enlightenment and illumination. The gold triangle (spiritual energy) over “Michael’s” heart chakra is hemmed in by a black square (earth) again speaking of balance or temperance.

15. The Devil: But transformation and transfiguration also mean confronting the world and its extreme values of pride, covetousness, lust, anger, envy, sloth, and gluttony. It means confronting the devil, evil itself along with addictions and destructive impulses. The Fool now knows that s/he has a choice. S/he does not have to live like everyone else. [This is a very intense card – very dark (the background is entirely black). However, it signifies one’s desire to make a change. This 15^th card is the first of the Major Arcana’s final seven cards that depict the seven stages of spiritual enlightenment. This initial stage is about “Consciousness of Bondage.” (If we don’t know we’re bound, we can never achieve freedom.) When the card comes up, it indicates that one is yearning for freedom. This devil card is about addictions, unhelpful habits, and giving our power away. Note that the man and woman pictured here are the same figures that appeared in card # 6, the Lovers’ Card. Here however they are bestialized with horns on their heads and now wearing long tails. The man’s tail is on fire signifying sexual passion. The woman’s tail relates to grapes perhaps connecting this picture with wine and alcohol. (As we all know, sex and alcohol are major human addictions.) Key to understanding the card is the hand gesture of the pictured devil. It is an ancient mudra that signifies “What you see is all there is.” That of course is the devil’s basic assertion – a denial of the unseen spiritual realm. It has the devil seated on a half-cube signifying his connection with half-knowledge rather than whole. This denial makes it easier for humans to sell their souls and make Faustian bargains. Unlike the Hermit’s lamp in card # 9, the devil’s torch is turned upside down setting aflame the man’s tail (passions?). In terms of escaping the devil’s thrall, it is interesting to note that the chains around the man and woman are very loose and could easily be removed. This suggests that the bondage in question is purely illusionary. Think of this card as the inverse of Tarot Card #1, the Magician, whose right hand was fully extended upward pointing to the reality of the spiritual realm. Questions suggested by this card include:

What am I addicted to?
What primal need are my addictions attempting to meet?
How can I meet them in a more constructive way?
Which addiction am I ready to break free from?
To whom or what am I giving my freedom away?
What fears relate to my addictions and/or unhelpful habits?

Stay tuned for my next installment on Tarot. It will address the final six cards of the Major Arcana.