Today I have been thinking about a relationship I have wherein I feel I have been betrayed. I approached the Tarot struggling with the idea that there are some things that go on in this world that I do not want to face- there are some behaviors so reprehensible to me that I find there are people I do not want to love. I asked the Tarot, how can I open my heart to all Being? I drew the King of Vessels (Cups) from the Wildwood Tarot. It depicts a heron standing in a swampy stream just before daybreak. He has a very stern look on his face and looks regal and resolute standing in this dark water. The tree behind him looks spooky, and he is alone. What came to mind for me is that my path in this life is to walk through every experience, pleasant or unpleasant as it may be to my mind, and be able to welcome everything into my heart. As the heron bravely stands in the flow of water, representing the unconscious, the unknown, and all emotion, he views this water as his opportunity for food. If there is anything in life that I am shutting out from my heart, I am missing opportunities. To shut out some painful emotion or unpleasantness, I have to close my heart a little bit. This closing is itself painful. As Gangaji says, “What we seem to fear the most is the broken heart. Yet the very unwillingness for the heart to be broken is the broken heart… in order to avoid the broken heart, people live in a state of broken-heartedness.” As the Fool in the Tarot, we must take the leap through every experience and really experience everything- let everything in so that the heart expands and we are able to be in love, which is the Truth of our being, no matter what emotions arise or what the mind finds unacceptable.

“Your own self realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” -Sri Ramana Maharshi
I think of this quote often, as I know that if I cannot see what I truly am, I will not be able to know others as what they are, and thus will not be able to experience the compassion that arises from the understanding that we are all one being. This portrayal of the High Priestess from the Medicine Woman Tarot is a great illustration of this concept. She is seated before a beautiful scene in nature , yet she holds a mirror in from of her face. She knows that in looking at the beauty of nature, she is looking at herself. She is the stream, the trees, the moss, the moon. All things arise out of the consciousness of the universe, and this consciousness is who we are. The High Priestess knows that when we behold something of beauty, physical forms as well as concepts such as wisdom, compassion, truth, or peace, we are merely seeing our own selves reflected back to us.

Today I approached the Tarot feeling fearful and anxious. I lost an important client recently and I was feeling afraid of not being able to replace the lost income and pay my bills. I felt the situation was out of my control and that no one would help me. I drew The Creator card, from the Osho Zen Tarot, inverted. It corresponds to King of Wands. The message for me was that the creator in my life is the Universal Law of all things flowing through me and my circumstances. This Law is perfect, all circumstances are just as they must be, and I can shift my focus to feeling this force working in my life and experiencing the peace that comes from this. I took the physical position of the man on the card and meditated on the powerful force of Karma creating my life circumstances. I envisioned my mind at peace in the middle of any circumstance. Suddenly I realized that not only was I afraid of not having enough money, but I was afraid of what that might mean about me to myself and others- that I am inadequate, incompetent, or defective. The man on the card was telling me: Here is your chance to experience these thoughts and acknowledge that they are false, and it is time to let them go. I felt a great sense of peace at this point, a sense of freedom from any negative view of myself and a freedom from complaining about my predicament. This is exactly what I needed in order to face these negative thoughts. I ended my reading with a prayer of thanks. I will carry the image of this card into my day with me. It will remind me of the peace that comes from knowing that every circumstance is just what I need to face and let go of anything that holds me back from seeing the Truth of who I am.

Just two weeks left to register for our next Level 1 Tarot course, “Tarot Foundations”! The Course begins on January 28, 2014.

This nine week course, “Tarot Foundations”, will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of Tarot and essential reading skills. We will go through the Tarot deck in its entirety and cover the meanings of individual cards as well as the timeless journey through life that all decks depict. You will learn how to connect with your intuition and apply your own inner wisdom to reading the cards. You will also learn how to use the Tarot for a lifetime of powerful introspection and experience of the inner peace that comes from knowing yourself as divine consciousness.

The schedule of the course is as follows:
Spring 2014 Course: Jan 28- May 20, every other Tuesday 7-9:30pm
Course Content:
Week 1, Jan 28: How and Why Tarot Works
Week 2, Feb 11: Using Your Intuition: Connect with Your True Self
Week 3, Feb 25: Interpreting the Cards: Getting the Most out of Every Card
Week 4, March 11: The System of Tarot & Numbers: The Hero’s Journey to Enlightenment
Week 5, March 25: The Suits of Wands and Cups
Week 6, April 8: The Suits of Swords and Pentacles
Week 7, April 22: The Major Arcana 0-6
Week 8, May 6: The Major Arcana 7-13
Week 9, May 20: The Major Arcana 14-21
Course Cost: $325 includes all instruction, Tarot workbook and journal

To register for the course, please go to our website: www.SeattleTarotSchool.com

If you would like to get a sense of my teaching style and see the school before you register for the course, our Practice Meetups offer an inexpensive and fun opportunity to come to my classroom and practice Tarot with other students. Our next Practice Meetup is: Thursday, Jan 23. Our topic is “Tarot and Astrology”.
To attend a meetup, click here: www.meetup.com/seattletarotschool

Thank you everyone, and please email me any time if you have more questions!

Seven Star
Executive Director
Seven Star Tarot & Seattle Tarot School

Tarot readings, classes, and monthly practice circles!
For details and registration: www.SeattleTarotSchool.com

At the core of everything, there is Truth.
The Truth is, you are free.

Today I felt a bit of un-ease as I began my morning. I drew a card from the Osho-Zen Tarot to connect with the unease and drew card XVII (The Star), which in this deck is called “Silence”. It shows a picture of a beautiful starry night sky with a face that seems to become the sky itself, and a bright moon reflecting in water below the face. This reminds me that I am the sky. I am the consciousness in which all things arise and disappear, I am what is always present. All elements are represented- earth , water, air, and fire, yet I am the space in which these things manifest. I am not the manifestations. As I look at the reflection of the moon, I realize that my sense of unease comes from a sense that I am being judged by others. This card reminds me that in judging me, others only see the reflection of who I am in their own minds, but this is not me. The reflection of the moon is not the moon itself. What others think of “me” has nothing to do with who I really am, whether “positive” or “negative”. Who I am can never be judged, it is beyond judgment. I am that which contains the sea, and the sky, and the fire of stars, beyond any concept of the mind.
Just to check, I search for the sense of unease I was feeling… I cannot find it!

Today I’ve been needing some extra care and nurturing as I didn’t sleep well last night. To tap into the nurturing part of myself, I looked through my deck for a figure that represented the qualities I was seeking. The card I chose is “Mother of Fire” from the Vision Quest Tarot. This corresponds to the Queen of Wands. She reminds me to tend to my inner fire, being careful not to let it burn out of control nor be reduced to a low flame! When I find myself getting distracted by other “fires” out in the world that I feel I need to tend to, she reminds me that my own fire is my only responsibility.

When you need to focus on self-care, look through your own deck and choose a card that represents a caring, nurturing Spirit to you. It may be someone who represents the ideal mother or father you didn’t have growing up, or perhaps it’s someone who reminds you of the good qualities one of your parents possessed. Let this card advise you on how you can best attend to yourself and your own inner fire today. Let this nurturing part of you take over for a bit today, and honor the part of you that really needs a rest!