Tarot Tips: The Tarot Journaling Process
Published: Wed, 03/01/17
"The final countdown has begun before Readers Studio blasts off!..."
You're receiving this email because you expressed interest in
The Tarot School. PLEASE DON'T MARK IT AS SPAM.
You can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this page. If you have
trouble reading this issue of Tarot Tips, you may see it and other back issues
at http://tarotschool.com/Newsletter.html
You're receiving this email because you expressed interest in
The Tarot School. PLEASE DON'T MARK IT AS SPAM.
You can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this page. If you have
trouble reading this issue of Tarot Tips, you may see it and other back issues
at http://tarotschool.com/Newsletter.html
![]() Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com ISSN: 1529-0565 Vol. 9 #3 / March 1, 2017
In this Issue: - Welcome
- Tarot Tip: The Tarot Journaling Process
- Tarot School Aphorism
- PsychWise: The Ace of Swords and the Powers of the Mind - Best Practices: Selling and Promoting for the Soulful Entrepreneur - Upcoming Events
Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a special welcome to our new subscribers.
![]() The final countdown has begun before this year's Readers Studio blasts off for an amazing voyage through tarot time and space! If you've never been to a Readers Studio before, get ready for the ride of a lifetime! Just ask all the people who are coming back again for more! Remember the famous quote from the TV show, Dinosaurs? "AGAIN!!!" Baby Dinosaur just couldn't have enough fun –– and neither will you. But you have to register first and time is running out! Do it now: http://ReadersStudio.com In this issue, we feature a tip from Katrina Wynne (one of the presenters at the Tarot and Psychology Conference) on Tarot journaling — a great way to chart your tarot journey. In PsychWise, Dr. G looks at the Ace of Swords, and Best Practices returns with advice on how to sell your services without sounding like a salesperson. And one more thing...
Tarot Tips will be on "conference hiatus" for the next couple of months. See you in June! With love and gratitude on the tarot journey, Ruth Ann, Wald, Gina & Elinor
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
THE TAROT JOURNALING PROCESS
by Katrina Wynne Tarot or have years of experience with this oracle, if you want to get to know a new deck on an intimate level, my first suggestion is to commit to a six-month daily journaling process. Why Tarot journaling...because to invite a Tarot deck into your life is to make a new friend who you are excited to get to know. Each deck has its unique personality with various levels of meaning, through the intention of the artist and your own understanding. Journaling is a daily commitment to learning your deck—card-by-card—diving into the details, connecting the cards to your personal understanding, while working at your own pace. Journaling traditionally is a process of self-exploration and reflection. Tarot cards are tools that are often utilized for similar purposes. By combining these two we open ourselves to deeper connections and meanings in life…and beyond. The Tarot Journal First, find a notebook that you will enjoy using. It can be a blank page sketch book or lined page bound book. You can also use a ringed notebook if that is your style. Here are the key features you will need for each individual page or facing pair of pages: • Room to write (preferably a whole page). • Space for a sketch, collage, picture, or card; or • Space for a spread or layout. If you are using a physical notebook, find a safe place to store it. Of course, with modern technology, you can also use a word processing program or other journaling app. I prefer the tactile experience of writing and drawing, but there are many creative new ways of accomplishing the same tasks. The Journaling Process Your journaling book is your space to explore private thoughts and revelations as you document and study each card in your daily reading. Here is the process I recommend: • Divide your deck, separating the major trumps from the minor suits. • Use your favorite ritual to select one card from the 22 major cards as your card-of-the-day. • Write and/or draw a first impression of the card, perhaps an intuition or some aspect of the image that jumps out at you. • Next, write down the name of the card at the top of your journal page. • Now pull out the book that goes with your new deck and look up the card that drew your attention. Additional books can also be used as reference sources. Write these details in your journal. • Since this is a one-card daily reading, try to start your journaling ritual at the beginning of your day so you can observe how the message from the card interfaces with your experience. At the end of the day, reflect on the meaning of the card and how its message may have appeared. Write those observations in your journal. For the first two months I recommend that you randomly select exclusively from the major cards, paying special attention to those that repeat. If at the end of the two months some cards have not appeared, then select them purposely in order to journal about them. Whether it takes two months or longer, keep working with the major keys exclusively until you feel familiar with them and confident about their meanings. When ready, add the minor cards to your random daily readings. Shuffle the entire deck together, and then repeat the card reading and journaling steps. By the time you have reached the suggested six-month journaling period, you should have received each of the 78 cards at least once. For those cards that did not yet appear in your daily draw, choose one per day until you have completed your study. When you have reached a point where you feel confident about your chosen deck and no longer need to pull a daily card for journaling, you are left with a personalized notebook that reflects your unique understanding of Tarot in general, and your deck specifically, that will serve as a resource you can reference as needed. There are so many wonderful aspects to Tarot journaling that I am excited about and have written into my book, My Tarot Journey — A Personal Journal, which I plan to have available again in 2018. ============================================================ ![]() is an internationally renowned Transformative Tarot Counselor™ and trained psychotherapist with 45 years’ experience living the wisdom of Tarot. Katrina will be a featured presenter at the 2017 Tarot & Psychology Conference! Contact Katrina at: www.TarotCounseling.org - website www.MySacredJourney.org - weblog www.OracleSoup.org - podcast www.Facebook.com/katrina.wynne/ Tarot School Aphorism ![]() PsychWise – Tarot & Psychology Q & A with Elinor Greenberg, PhD, CGP, CPTR THE ACE OF SWORDS AND THE POWERS OF THE MIND Introduction As every Tarot reader knows, the suit of Swords in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck represents the element of Air, the powers of the Mind, and more specifically: our thoughts, our worries, our judgements, and our decisions. However, when I look through my deck and take out the cards in that suit, I see a very one-sided view of the mind. Almost every Minor Arcana card in that suit shows some form of mental distress. Only the Ace of Swords captures all the possibilities of the suit. This reminds me of all my clients who enter therapy with anxiety as their main symptom. Instead of using their mental powers to help themselves in life, they have been using the power of the Sword against themselves—often in the most cutting ways possible. Much of their therapy is spent in helping them learn how to stop stabbing and cutting themselves with the sharp edge and instead use the powers of the Sword to solve their problems and protect themselves when necessary. The Ace of Swords and the Elemental Array I thought that a good way to introduce the mental powers of the suit of Swords would be through the “Elemental Array.” My first “Elemental Array” gave me a quick introduction to the role Swords’ powers played in my life. The “Elemental Array” is a projective technique developed by Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone that uses the four Aces from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. It is extremely simple and instantly gives the knowledgeable user a great deal of useful information about the talents and proclivities of the querent. For those of you who would like to try it right now, or are unfamiliar with it, I will briefly outline it. Much more information is available on the Tarot School website www.tarotschool.com. I also wrote on an article that is posted there on how to use the “Elemental Array” in psychotherapy (see below). INSTRUCTIONS
What the Positions Mean—the very abbreviated version:
My First Elemental Array (1) Ace of W (2) Ace of S (3) Ace of C (4) Ace of P My Ace of Wands in the first position often leads me into trouble, as I impulsively take on some new project because it “burns brightly” and I am drawn to its new and fiery energy. The Ace of Wands in the first position suggests that I have no problem initiating projects. However, after I impulsively plunge into some new enticing project, my next reaction is likely to be “Oh, God. What did I get myself into?” The Ace of Swords in my second position in my “Elemental Array” is my rescue card. It reflects my innate confidence in the power of my mind. I know from experience that once I actually sit down and think about what I have to do, my mental powers will kick in strongly and I will actually be able to know what to do. This column comes to you today by virtue of my Ace of Swords. The Ace of Swords I think of this card as my psychotherapy card. It contains all the powers of the Mind, which also includes the verbalized thoughts that we call words. I have found that very few of my clients (or querents) really use their Sword properly. When I started to study the Western Mystery Tradition as taught by the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), I was delighted and amused to find that in essence many occult secrets deal with the same issues as modern psychology: the right use of the powers of our mind. Much of what we think of today as very modern and newly discovered principles of psychotherapy—the power of words to affect our emotions, the use of visualizations and hypnotic suggestions, the concept of forming an intention, positive thinking, and the use of affirmations—are really rediscoveries of the Ageless Wisdom in modern dress. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) —The right use of the Ace of Swords Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which was invented in the 1960’s by Aaron Beck, teaches that our thoughts directly affect our emotions. Its basic premise is simple: If our thoughts are irrational and negative, we will create painful emotional states within us, reach erroneous conclusions about our life, and suffer unnecessary pain. If we correct our thoughts, we will find it easier to be happier and productive. CBT therapists have identified about twelve categories of irrational thinking that reliably lead to depression and anxiety. I have found that most of us use the same ones over and over again.. If you would like more information, you can look at David Burn’s book: Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Below are three very common categories of maladaptive thought distortions and an example of a client using them: • Over Generalizing: This involves jumping to a larger conclusion than is actually warranted by the data. • Personalizing: This involves making something about you that is not personal to you. • Fortune Telling: This involves predicting a negative future for oneself based on little or no evidence. (Amusingly, if she were an experienced Tarot reader and actually read this in “the cards,” this would count as evidence in my opinion). Example: My client Sharon applied for a job that was a bit of a reach for her and she didn’t get it. She was understandably disappointed, but the conclusions that she drew from her experience made her feel even worse. She told herself: “This always happens to me (Over Generalizing and Personalizing). I never have any good luck (Over Generalizing). I will never find a job (Fortune Telling). I might as well quit now (Over Generalizing and Fortune Telling).” First, I sympathized with Sharon’s disappointment and then I asked her to express her disappointment in a more nuanced and accurate way. (In Tarot terms, I was asking Sharon to put down the blunt club of a Wand that she was using to bash herself and instead pick up her sharp and pointed mental Sword and use it to speak more accurately about her situation). Fortunately, Sharon has a sense of humor and we had worked on these types of thought patterns before, so I was able to point out the exaggerated nature of what she was saying: “This always happens? You never ever have any good luck? You will never ever find a job? Did the wicked fairy curse you?” Sharon laughed and rephrased her feelings in a more nuanced and realistic way, “I wish I had gotten that job. I don’t want to have to keep on looking. I am afraid it will take me awhile to find a job that I actually like. I had hoped it would work out and I am sad that it didn’t.” The reality was still negative, but now she was no longer the passive recipient of blind fate or inevitable bad luck. The Ace of Swords Spread What do I need to think about in a more nuanced way? This is a very simple variation on the center of a Celtic Cross spread. I developed it to focus on how I should use my mental powers right now. I decided to test it on a question that I have been thinking about. The Issue: I have a new book out in print form and I am exploring the idea of reformatting it for Kindle in the future. My Question: What do I need to think about with regard to this idea? INSTRUCTIONS: Take the Ace of Swords out of your deck and put it face up on the table. It will be the center of your spread. Shuffle and cut the rest of the cards as usual. Draw five cards from your face-down deck and lay them out as follows:
My Cards:
My Interpretation: Everything feels as if it is going a bit too fast for me (8 of W). I want to sit back and enjoy what I have done without taking on anything new (4 of C). If I let myself take my time, I will develop even more mastery and gain self-confidence (Q of S). I shouldn’t worry about this issue (9 of S). Instead, I should let myself be the beginner that I am (P of S). Conclusion: This reading made a lot of sense to me and it gave me an immediate feeling of relief. I am not yet ready to reformat my book when it just came out in September. I do not know enough yet about publishing to know if that is even a good idea for my book. I am extremely busy right now and I feel a bit overwhelmed with all my other writing assignments and things that I am doing to promote my book. This definitely does not feel like the right time to do this. The Page of Swords: By the way, those of you who have read my other articles or know me, may remember that the Page of Swords comes up for me regularly every time that I decide to put myself back into the beginner position to learn something new. It represents for me, among other things, my determination to use my own mind to evaluate what other people are trying to teach me, instead of simply taking their ideas on faith. I have my own “Sword” (mental powers) and I intend to think for myself and not just uncritically accept what “experts” say. Seeing it here confirmed for me that I was on the right track. Resource: The Elemental Array and Psychotherapy: How to Move an Ace and Change Your Life by Dr. Elinor Greenberg http://tarotschool.com/ElementalArray.html ![]() is an internationally renowned Gestalt therapy trainer who specializes in teaching the diagnosis and treatment of Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid adaptations. She has been studying tarot since 1995 and is psychology consultant to The Tarot School, where she earned a Third Degree in Tarot. She is a member of B.O.T.A. (Builders of the Adytum) and has been certified as a professional tarot reader by the American Tarot Association. Dr. Greenberg is the author of Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptations: The Pursuit of Love, Admiration, and Safety, which demystifies the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders. Best Practices for Professional Readers SELLING AND PROMOTING FOR THE SOULFUL ENTREPRENEUR By Gina Thies www.tarotadvisor.com / www.facebook.com/tarotreaders www.tarotcoupling.com / www.oraclesoup.org If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard, “I’m a spiritual person, I hate sounding like a salesperson!” I’d probably have enough to pay cash for a car. I’m guilty of it myself. I have had a love/hate relationship with the part of business that requires people to pay for my services. But I had to face that this attitude was not going to bring the success I wanted in the long term. There are many coaches that are going to sell you formulas to grow your business and how to land that ideal client but if you can’t get real about your relationship with how to value yourself and what you offer, throwing money at these coaches won’t help. For the soulful entrepreneur, the best tools are the very words we use to motivate and encourage our own clients and students. So when you are thinking about the words you’ll use for your content in an upcoming promotion or if you have to talk to someone about what it is your services will do for them, talk about benefits instead. Take the focus off of you and place the focus on your potential client. For instance, you receive a call and the person inquires about a reading and what it will cost. After you give them a price, they proceed to ask for a discount. Now stop! I can tell you that some spiritually oriented practitioners have been caught off guard and given in to dropping their fees. There is nothing wrong if you choose to discount your rates. But consider the motivation of the person asking for your fees to be discounted. I am going to suggest a few things: • Have a clear, confident knowledge of your talent, service and product. This means have your facts straight and be able to back up what you offer. • Arouse interest. There is a human side to what you do right? This is what you should connect and reach out with, rather than focusing on money. • Screen. I can’t stress enough how your information should always be geared to capture the attention of your ideal clients, but sometimes seekers just don’t know what they need. You won’t sound like a salesperson if you are just asking questions. • Create solutions. Believe it or not, people expect you to have answers. Have pricing options and lists readily available and visible. Also, it may be useful to post a policy about whether or not you offer discounts and other terms of service in order to avoid uncomfortable conversations as much as possible. Tarot Salon
Forest Hills, New York
March 6, 13, 20 and 27 Our popular Monday night Salons are the
hottest thing in tarot instruction!
2017 Tarot & Psychology Conference
East Elmhurst, New York
April 27 This full-day conference explores ways to integrate
psychological techniques into your tarot practice, and ways that tarot can enhance your psychology practice. A single-day pass is available – or you can combine it with your Readers Studio registration for a 50% discount! http://tarotandpsychology.com ![]() 2017 Readers Studio
East Elmhurst, New York
April 28 – 30 Join our international event as over a hundred tarot readers, teachers, authors and artists gather for three extraordinary days of tarot study and play! http://ReadersStudio.com ![]() The last time we offered this intensive it sold out! Due to popular demand, we're offering it again. The Tarot of Obvious Magic Forest Hills, New York June 24-25, 2017 11:00am – 7:00pm Click Here to Register Join our 9,045+ fans and join the fun!
Up to the minute news, mini lessons and more...
Do you have a question or comment on anything tarot?
Suggestions for future topics?
Contact [email protected]
For information on tarot classes, courses,
events and more, go to TarotSchool.com
![]() © Copyright 2017 The Tarot School - All Rights Reserved
Directors: Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone
|