Not everyone knows that tarot appears to have originally been created as a trick-taking game related to whist or bridge. It is still played today on the European continent, where it is called Le Tarot in France, Tarocchi in Italy and Tarock (or some variation of that) in Eastern Europe. Most people play with a specially designed double-headed deck with French suit markers and completely different trump illustrations featuring large numbers on them, as these decks are more conducive to game-playing (see here and here). You can learn more about the game at Tarocchino.com, which is the source of the following excellent video on the history of tarot and gaming. See also John McLeod’s website on Card Games, especially Tarot Games. You can download a reasonably priced shareware computer version of this game (with free trial period) in English or French for both Mac and PC at LeTarot.net. I’ve posted simplified instructions for playing the game here.
Jay Leno read the tarot on Thursday, April 29th’s Tonight Show (thanks to Paul Nagy for the heads-up) in which the literal level of the cards (no matter how absurd) come to life right before our eyes. Leno says he learned to read tarot from his two Italian grandmothers. He’s using the Morgan-Greer Tarot deck (the artist is Bill Greer – no relation to me).
The Jay Leno show for April 29th, 2010 is no longer available on-line—although the tarot scene was incredibly well-done and laughingly irreverent. If anyone finds it please let me know. A stuntman clip from the scene is available but doesn’t include any of the tarot material.
André Blas’ introduction to his documentary, Introspections and Reflections, explores the relationship between Niki de Saint Phalle’s work and her life. Here is the story of the origins of de Saint Phalle’s Giardino dei Tarocchi (Tarot Garden) in Tuscany:
This section gives us her early biography:
UPDATE 2/2/2011: I just heard that the deck is back on track – see what Nick Farrell has to say about this in the comments.
Here’s a preview of the Golden Dawn Temple Deck from Nick Farrell and Wendrich artHouse (see also Nick’s website). Arranged to the song “It All Comes Down,” from the album “Venus Awakening,” by Wendrich artHouse, featuring Steve Hackford on Keyboards. Images and music copyrighted by Wendrich artHouse 2009.
Kim Arnold arranged an outing for the UK Tarot Conference to Smallhythe Place, the country home of Ellen Terry, where Pamela Colman Smith visited often. When Kim and I went there last December we thought the surrounding landscape looked very much like that found in several of the Minor Arcana cards. Kim, who lives only about about an hour away, commented that the trees were unusual and totally unlike those found near her home, so we came up with the theory that Pixie had retreated to Smallhythe when she had to complete “a big job for very little cash” in very little time, and that she used some of the local views in her cards. Here’s a detail from one of her drawings left at Smallhythe.
Kim asked the archivists if they could find all the Pamela Colman Smith works that were in storage and have them on display for the tarot group. It turned out that there were several pictures that had had not been documented previously. Kim has thoughtfully arranged these for everyone to see on this youtube video.
You can find a list of the documented PCS material kept at Smallhythe here. Katharine Cockin sent word that you can find more references to PCS at the Ellen Terry and Edith Craig Database (just search on her name).
See more pictures and commentary from this outing at the Students of Tarot website.
My main list of Pamela Colman Smith resources is located here.
Come to the UK Tarot Conference in London, October 2010.
Get a blast from the past with this tarot scene from Dynasty, Season 2, Episode 10 (1982). While in Rome, Alexis (Joan Collins) gets a reading from the “prophetess,” Adriana. The Visconti-Sforza deck is featured and, of course, DEATH!
The original video has been removed but you can still see the tarot segment in two pieces at minute 8:30 here and at the beginning here.
But, it’s much sexier when dubbed in French.
Amnesty International has called on the King of Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a Lebanese national, who was sentenced to death for charges relating to “sorcery.”
Ali Hussain Sibat is the former host of a popular call-in talk show on the radio station Sheherazade in Beirut, where he would predict the future and offer advice to his audience. One report said “he gave counsel and encouragement to troubled callers by “predicting” good things would happen to them.” He was arrested by the Mutawa’een (religious police) in May 2008 while he was in Saudi Arabia to perform a form of Muslim pilgrimage, the ‘umra. Last week his appeal was denied and he could be executed at any time.
Amnesty International called on the authorities to release Ali Hussain Sibat and another unidentified man immediately and unconditionally if they have been convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Information is also available at CNN. NPR reports that sorcery charges are on the rise in Saudi Arabia.
This is only one example of the epidemic of witchcraft and sorcery prosecutions and murders of witches taking place around the world. It has become so rampant that the United Nations Human Rights Council is finally seeking to do something about it. According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union, “Accusations of witchcraft [in Africa], targeting mainly the old, the weak and the most disadvantaged in society is a world-wide scourge. And horrific though the actual practice of witchcraft may be [in some cases children are killed for their body parts for use in spells] the number of these victims is exceeded many-fold by the number of children tortured and killed after having been falsely accused of being witches. The problem is indeed worldwide. We heard at a seminar organized by the High Commission for Human Rights of abuse of those accused of witchcraft from Nepal to Tanzania. And from Papua/New Guinea to the United Kingdom. The UN High Commission for Refugees has published a report highlighting the scale of the problem in refugee camps.”
In Nigeria it was found that unscrupulous pastors, many linked to Pentecostal churches, have a lucrative trade in making unfounded accusations of witchcraft against young children and then agreeing to “cure” the witches for a substantial fee. In her book ‘Unveiling the Mysteries of Witchcraft,’ Helen Ukpabio, the leader of Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, states that a child under the age of two that cries at night and has poor health is ‘an agent of Satan’. More information at MSNBC.
The Omega Institute Catalog is now out and can be ordered from their website.
Sign-up information for the June 11-13 Omega Institute Tarot Conference: Tarot & Intuition is available here.
Sign-up information for the June 13-18 workshop—Tarot Magic: Using Images and Symbols to Create Change with Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack is here.
See more updates to the EVENTS page with conferences in San Francisco, Brisbane Australia, and London.
James Redfield’s book The Celestine Prophecy recently came up in a discussion.
I read the book when Redfield first self-published it (he couldn’t find a publisher at the time), as he had given a copy to my brother-in-law. I saw it as a parable consisting of “new age” lessons made palatable through its story form. None of the ideas were new to me and the story was nothing more than a teaching device, but I enjoyed being reminded of things that I had experienced myself when “in the flow.” Reading it reminded me of how it is possible to live in that kind of “reality” (at least for short periods) and what magic can arise from it.
Flying home from a trip to visit my then-husband’s parents, as I read the book on the plane, I was especially intrigued by one section. Having just seen his parents, I asked my husband the same series of questions that the protagonist had been asked about his parents. As a result, Ed and I had one of the most deeply meaningful discussions ever about his life purpose or quest (as revealed through his beliefs about his parents).
When I got home I turned the process into a tarot spread that I’ve since used in many tarot workshops and occasional private consultations (always giving credit). I found it far more powerful to do with Tarot, since the cards suggest what may be, at first, a confusing possibility that, once comprehended, can contain a major breakthrough. This spread/process has resulted in significant insights for people. And, for siblings, and those who never knew one or both parents, it has fostered some remarkable healings.
Part One
For each question draw two cards—placing them in two parallel columns: one for your father and one for your mother (keep face down). Turn over and read the cards for one parent first and only after that for the other parent.
The key is to realize that this is not about your actual parents but about your perception of them. The interpretative process should be more about brainstorming possibilities than about applying set meanings. What memories or associations do the cards trigger?
Cards 1 & 2: What did your father(1) / mother(2) stand for and believe in?
Cards 3 & 4: In what way(s) did your father(3) / mother(4) achieve this?
Cards 5 & 6: What kept your father(5) / mother(6) from doing it perfectly?
Cards 7 & 8: What meaning or truth did YOU learn from the above experiences of your father(7) / mother(8)?
Cards 9 & 10: What would you have changed about your father(9) / mother(10) that would have enabled him or her to have a better life?
Part Two
Use the same cards received above (moving them to their own area of the table) and apply the same conclusions you’ve already drawn (although feel free to add new ones). You’ll be looking at these cards from a different perspective.
Cards 7 & 8 (from Part One): What is the Higher Synthesis or Truth for YOU based on what you learned from your parents? You derive this by blending Cards 7 & 8 along with the insights you had about them.
For instance, a summary of your earlier insights might be: My Higher Synthesis or Truth is that I believe in 7:”standing up for” 8:”the beauty of life.”
Cards 9 & 10 (from Part One): What do you want to find out how to do? This is based on your being able to integrate and do what you believe your father and mother SHOULD have done to live a better life.
Summarize this as:
My Life Quest is to find out how to ________. Combine 9 & 10 into a statement reflecting what you think they each should have done.
For instance, My Life Quest is to find out how to 9:”live my own truth” while 10:”caring deeply for others.” This might also be stated as, “. . . know the truth in myself about caring for and being sensitive to others.”
From this perspective, your Life Quest is to fulfill what you perceive as lacking in your parent’s lives—what you see as their unfulfilled potential or destiny. You combine these perceptions, deriving from the combination something that is unique to you. Thus, it is a kind of spiritual DNA.
As Carl Jung noted: “What usually has the strongest psychic effect on the child is the life which the parents . . . have not lived.” (The Red Book)
I’ll always be grateful to James Redfield and The Celestine Prophecy for this process.
Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me
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