Tarot Tips: Family Dynamics and Tarot
Published: Tue, 03/01/11
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Vol. 3 #5 / March 1, 2011
In this Issue: - Welcome
- Tarot Tip: Q&A with Caitlín Matthews - Tarot Card Showcase: 10 of Cups
- Upcoming Events
- Best Practices: Capturing Family Dynamics and Tarot
- Featured Tarot Blog: Tarot Today Radio Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new readers.
We continue to be in high gear as the momentum builds
for Readers Studio 2011. Tarot Tips is excited about
the opportunity to give you a glimpse of the tarot
masters that will make this international event very
special. This event is a homecoming for many tarot
lovers. It connects us to our extended family in the
tarot community.
Caitlín Matthews will be traveling all the way from
England to join us this year! You are in for a special
treat - in this issue she has graciously granted
Tarot Tips a special Q & A interview. Caitlín will be
teaching a Master Class, along with Barbara Moore
and Corrine Kenner at RS11 this coming April.
Find all the details at http://www.ReadersStudio.com
In this issue the featured card is the 10 of Cups, a
card that could be thought of as a snapshot of happy
familial relationships, community and fellowship.
We talk about using tarot to handle underlying family
issues in the Best Practices column, and feature a popular
tarot radio show for more great tarot learning. Yours on the tarot path,
Ruth Ann, Wald & 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 Q&A WITH CAITLÍN MATTHEWS
If anyone could teach about the mystical traditions of
the British Isles with its rich mythologies and
esoteric heritage, it would be Caitlín Matthews. She
is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic Wisdom
and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She
is the author of over 60 books, including Singing the
Soul Back Home, Walkers Between Worlds and, with John
Matthews, the StoryWorld series of storytelling cards.
Her books have been translated into more than forty
languages from Brazil to Japan.
Caitlín is the originator of three tarots: The Da Vinci
Enigma Tarot, The Celtic Wisdom Tarot, and The
Arthurian Tarot, which she co-created with her husband,
John Matthews. They pioneered an approach to exploring
the tarot in it's companion work Hallowquest. A lot
of thought and long meditation went into the process of
creating images for the Arthurian Tarot. In the lessons
of Hallowquest, the tarot student is encouraged to
discover the deep truths of the legend of King Arthur
and how it applies to their own spiritual evolution.
She has also created many divination systems including
The Celtic Book of the Dead, Celtic Wisdom Sticks: An
Ogam Oracle and the forthcoming Celtic Ancestor Oracle.
This prolific talent has also collaborated with Rachel
Pollack on Tarot Tales.
Caitlín is an amazing storyteller who understands the
importance of oral traditions and conveys it through
her work. She has played an important role in revealing
the ancestral heritage of the Western mystery
traditions through practical, scholarly research.
Caitlín continues her work in a shamanic practice in
Oxford and, along with husband John and partner Felicity,
runs shamanic training programs that honor the oral
sacred traditions at The Foundation for Inspirational
and Oracular Studies of which she is co-founder.
We are anxiously waiting her Master Class presentation
at the 2011 Readers Studio. In the meantime, here is
what she shared with us concerning tarot:
TT: What would you say is the most important thing to
learn about tarot?
CM: That in tarot there are no rules and that the
perceptions that you have when consulting them ARE the
way you receive information and understand things!
TT: What keeps tarot fun for you?
CM: The endless variety of applying the question of
the issue to the eternal solution of the cards' wisdom.
TT: Is there anything missing in tarot?
CM: If so, I've never felt the lack.
TT: How does tarot stay relevant in today's world?
CM: Necessity and flexibility keep tarot eternally relevant.
I never get this question -- which always seem to imply
something is going of out usefulness. We don't need to
keep reinventing the wheel when it's turning perfectly fine.
TT: Having been around tarot for many years, what does
the future of tarot look like for you?
CM: Most of my work is done in 'otherworldly mode,'
which is a constantly evolving present. I am using the
cards more in Systemic and Ancestral Ritual work, as
well as in prayer.
TT: Do you have a practical tip for our tarot audience
in terms of study or practice?
CM: Enter the doorway of the cards and embody what's
inside to read them really well.
Thank you so much for sharing Caitlín! We look forward
to seeing you very soon!
To learn more about Caitlín, please visit http://www.hallowquest.org.uk
Tarot Card Showcase In this section we will feature tidbits on a specific tarot card. While there are many systems and decks to choose from in
the world of tarot, here we use the Universal Waite Tarot
images and symbols.
Copyright 1992 U.S Games.
10 of CUPS
Astrological Attribution: Mars in Pisces
Qabalistic Attribution: Malkuth in Briah
Esoteric Title: Lord of Perfected Success People really love it when this card appears in a spread.
Perhaps because it evokes a sense of community,
harmony in family, and achieving a grand state of
emotional abundance.
The energy of Mars in Pisces makes the experience
of this card very intense. Goals and desires that are
attained in the material world bring about an
indescribable elation. Take one thing that makes you
happy and multiply that by 10 and you'll experience
the energy of the 10 of Cups.
The rainbow at the top above the family is a symbol of
God's covenant with man. It is a Divine kindness
extended to humanity promising peace and plenty and a
significant promise of peace. It was a way that God
demonstrated the connection between the Upper Realms
and the Earth.
The family of four represents the masculine and
feminine principles of the Tetragrammaton. While the
number ten is often the focus here as correlating to
completion and wholeness, the number four as
demonstrated by this family shows manifestation in the
real world and a solid and balanced foundation.
One of the original interpretations for this card meant
town, city or place of residence. The figures on the
card seem to be in praise or perhaps celebration of a
common cultural tradition.
In a reading, this card could speak to the realization
that one is not just dreaming of contentment, but that
it has become a blissful reality. The couple extend
their arms in salute to the idea that dreams really do
come true, while the children dance in celebration of a
happy and safe environment.
Positive Keywords: Perfection, happiness, joy, lasting
success, pleasure, goodness, peace, love and friendship,
family, esteem, honor, mercy, a divine blessing, results
are favorable, country, hometown, bounty, and tranquility.
Negative Keywords: Disruption, loss, break-ups,
discontent, isolation, family dysfunction, neglect,
waste, broken promises, resentments and upheaval. Upcoming Events:
The Readers Studio (RS11)
LaGuardia Marriott Hotel
Queens, New York
Presenters include: Caitlín Matthews, Corrine
Kenner, Barbara Moore, Mary K. Greer, Bev
Haskins, James Wells, Carolyn Cushing and
many more!
San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium
(SFBATS)
Golden Gateway Holiday Inn
San Francisco, California
Their 20th Anniversary celebration!
Best Practices for Professional Readers
FAMILY DYNAMICS AND TAROT
Domestic life and family matters are significant areas
of concern to everyone, and they aren't confined only
to married life and love relationships. Sons, daughters,
uncles, in-laws and the dynamics of understanding
and living in harmony with these individuals will be
recurrent questions asked of tarot.
Family issues or issues with specific family members
are as varied as people on the planet, but what I am
drawing attention to in this article is how we as
readers can help querents generally achieve better
relationships and understanding within a family. Family
dynamics in this article refers to a) the structure of
the family unit, b) the interactions between family
members and how they get along, and c) how a spiritual
tradition (e.g. tarot) coupled with education of the
mind and the heart will lend support to soul and/or
personal growth.
One of the interesting things I have observed in my
experience as a reader, is watching a family member
sitting next to a querent during the reading who will
confirm the true behavior of the querent, more than the
querent is willing to admit.
But perhaps the family member is simply "projecting"
in such cases. This made me realize that it was important
to educate myself a bit about the roles individuals play
in family "dramas" and family systems and, to the best
of my ability, correlate them with the archetypal roles
represented in tarot.
This is an area of interest to me that is a "work in
progress." Ultimately, as tarot readers we are best
suited to help reveal inner and spiritual processes
rather than venture into the practice of psychotherapy.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't be informed. A good
reader should be a resource on both the inner and outer
world, an educator of the heart, soul and mind.
How does this apply to tarot readings?
Tarot is already divided into 5 areas that define
spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical and
creative or actualizing capabilities of the human
experience. All cards can be related to real life
experiences of the individual reader that gives a
frame of reference for understanding the querent's
situation and communicating with them.
Let's say your querent, Steve wants to look at an issue
involving conflict about his success. What is and what
isn't being done by the client to contribute to his
success will need to be evaluated, which can be done
through initial interpretation of the cards in the
spread. This gives the querent perspective on his own
process and points to other issues of which he may be
unaware.
During the reading, if he says something about how his
family relationships are being affected, it may be a
clue that there is some long-standing issue with old
patterns of family dynamics. In such a case, a
subsequent area to address might be the emotional and
cultural drives that have brought him to question his
success or lack of it.
The normal way emotions are expressed in the family,
and expectations from parents, may be the underlying
issues. For instance, Steve may start out with a
reading about how he can be more successful in his job.
He has conflicts around success because his immigrant
father is not happy with Steve's career choice. Steve
deeply feels his father's disapproval, so even if he is
relatively successful in his occupation, his father's
comments or criticism may rob Steve of a sense of
achievement.
A tarot reading can be beneficial in assessing the
family system. The constraints of space do not allow
for a detailed exploration in this article but I would
like to recommend a few resources:
The Tarot Court Cards: Archetypal Patterns of
Relationship in the Minor Arcana. Kate Warwick-Smith
(Destiny Books, 2003)
Tarot Psychology. Robert Wang (Marcus Aurelius Press,
2007)
Journal to the Self: 22 Paths to Personal Growth.
Kathleen Adams,M.A. (Warner Books, 1990) Questions arise when developing or transitioning
to professional Tarot Reading status to earn income. These can range from "How can I make money with Tarot?" and "How do I get started?" to more complex technical and business questions.
You may already be up and running and have
questions about how to enhance or ramp up your
business. We would love to hear from you. Send any
questions, or interest in a future class on the
Business of Tarot, to [email protected]. Tarot Lovers Welcome Home!
Join our international event as hundreds of tarot readers, teachers, authors and artists gather for three extraordinary days of tarot study and play. THE READERS STUDIO
April 29 - May 1, 2011 LaGuardia Marriott Hotel, New York Visit ReadersStudio.com
for all the details! Featured Tarot Blog TAROT TODAY RADIO w/ Dax Carlisle and Mark Reed Traditional blogging has taken a new twist through blog
radio. If you love tarot on the go, you can download all
the happenings of the tarot world. Dax and Mark's
radio show features information from the tarot meetup
communities and exclusive interviews with your favorite
tarot personalities. What a fun way to experience tarot! (Be sure to catch our annual Readers Studio Tailgate
Party on Tarot Today Radio -- March 19th at 6pm EST.) Join our 2,860+ fans and join the fun!
You never know what we'll say next...
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