TarotCraft

The big storm on Sunday washed away a few of the regulars to the class. Still, we had fun with some new people and some regulars. As I explained to one of the new folk, the exercises are quite straight forward and anyone, at any level of development, can do them. The difference is that the people who have had more practice get more information and more specific information. However, everyone gets something, no matter how small to begin with.

One thing I don’t let people get away with is saying ‘I don’t know.’ It’s a cop out! Here is how to get past an ‘I don’t know’ moment.

Say you are interpreting the card below for someone, or even yourself, but you have no idea what it means or any idea of what to say about it.

Start by simply describing what you physically see in the card. For example:

“I see a serene faced woman with blue eyes looking out from the card. Her heart is glowing and out there for all to see. She seems very calm and relaxed and not at all afraid. There are butterflies around her face, and one is right near her ear and looks like an earring. Butterflies symbolise transformation to me and ears symbolise hearing, so perhaps she will hear something that helps her to transform.”

Literally describe the scene in the card and as you speak, you will find that you have more to say that you thought at first. The act of speaking starts to move energy and generate psychic impressions.

When you are reading cards for someone they act as a filter between the two of you. The person’s energy is represented by the images in the cards. Look for the images that jump out at you, that catch your eye, and just start talking about them. Don’t censor yourself or give into self-doubt. Just open your mouth and start talking.

The Tree of Life is a spiritual concept that forms part of the Jewish mystery tradition - the Kabalah.

You will find Kabalah spelt a number of different ways - Kabbala, Qabalah and a few more. For the purposes of Tarot study, we usually use the spelling Qabalah. This differentiates it from the Kabalah, which is the spelling usually associated with the religious study of the Tree of Life.

Please don’t walk up to the next Jewish person you see and tell them you know all about the Tree of Life and Kabalah because you read Tarot. It’s not very PC.

Elphias Levi (1810-1875) was a student of religion who left the church and became a practitioner of magic and the occult arts. He popularised an idea that the 22 Trumps of Tarot corresponded with the 22 Hebrew letters and the paths and Sephiroth of the Tree of Life.

So basically Tarot has been overlaid on the Tree of Life and Judaism, but certainly doesn’t form part of the Jewish religion or beliefs.

Qabalists believe that God created existence through ten emanations of energy (Ace to 10 in the Minor Arcana).

So we can say that the TOL is a ‘blueprint’ of sorts for the model of creation, and God’s advice on ‘How To Live’. An instruction manual, perhaps.

The TOL has three pillars which support ten spheres which are known as Sephiroth. Each Sephiroth represents an aspect of the human spiritual evolution and are connected by 22 lines or paths.

Each path carries one of the Hebrew letters (and it’s associated Major Arcana card).

The 22 paths and the 10 Sephiroth are collectively known as the “Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom”.

This arrangement is most likely derived from the second century book, The Sepher Yetzirah (the Book of Creation) but it has no doubt evolved over time, as all things do. There are many esoteric and spiritual groups who provide teachings based on some version of the Qabalah.

A lightning flash is sometimes shown superimposed over the TOL. This represents the Divine descending into physical being and it’s reverse is we humans ascending toward the Divine.

The Pillars of the TOL are asid to represent the pillars of King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. You can see them in the High Priestess card.

The left hand pillar is the pillar of form, judgement, or severity. The right hand pillar is the pillar of force, mercy, justice or love.

In the HPS card, the pillars bear the letters B and J. This stands for Boaz, which means strength and Jachin which means wisdom.

The third, or Middle pillar, is balance, or mildness.The HPS represents this balance.

I’d very much like to know if my channelling abilities will ever develop. I’ve had such a deep and strong sense involving channelling divine guidance to help others reach their highest potential, yet feel blocked from ‘natural ability’ in this area. It’s my heart’s greatest desire to connect with spirit in this way. If you could offer any insight i’d appreciate it. - Kate.

Hi Kate,

Channelling can be a very subtle thing. There are many levels of channelling from the slightest whisper of inspiration from your Higher Self or a Spirit Guide, to a full on ‘possession’ where your own consciousness takes a back seat to a Guide and the Guide uses your body and voice to communicate.

I’d say you are already channelling but probably at the lighter end of the spectrum, which is fine. I would recommend joining or starting a channelling group or even a psychic development group as it will give you the forum to practice and hone your talents. Psychic information is frequently channelled information, so it’s good practice, plus it ’stretches’ and expands your energy field which makes it easier for your GUides to connect with you.

On your own at home, you can practice channelled writing, which basically means you will sit down in a quiet room, do a little meditation and then write down a question you want to ask your Guides. I recommned you then swap pens and write down whatever answer comes to you, even if it doesn’t make sense to begin with.

It takes time and practice to become a clear channel, as well as a sincere desire. Personally, I find channelled information comes in bursts, not in perfect sentences or paragraphs. Additionally, I tend not to recall channelled information once I have passed it on.

Interestingly, I decided a few hours ago that my development group would have a lesson in channelling today so your question was quite a ‘coincidence’.

I drew a card for you and it is the Queen of Cups. The Queen of Cups has the ability to channel and work with spiritual energy. SHe can prophecy, heal and counsel. Good luck

This site has some great self published tarot decks and you can even get a free online reading for most of them. Check it out. My favourite is the Ma’at Tarot.

Feng Shui works on the basic principle of creating a balance between the natural environment and the man-made environment around us. If you want to get cracking on what Feng Shui is all about and learn how to manipulate the art to your advantage, then you must begin with a basic knowledge of the various schools that Feng Shui comprises of. Before you begin to inform yourself about the various schools of Feng Shui you ought to know something about the five elements based on which the Feng Shui principles work. No matter which school of Feng Shui best suits your requirements it is imperative to know about the elements of Feng Shui.

The Five Elements of Feng Shui

The principles, rules, and laws of Feng Shui are based on five elements. Each of these elements is associated with a direction. Manipulating the knowledge about these elements and the directions associated with these elements can bring you assured peace and prosperity. The elements and the directions associated with these elements are as follows:
• Wood: East
• Water: North
• Earth: Southwest
• Fire: South
• Metal: West

The proper balance of all these elements in each room that needs to be affected by the art of Feng Shui will create the required harmony. The matter in the room made of these elements ought to be placed in the direction associated with it. The more accurate is your balance, the more effective role the art of Feng Shui will play.

The Various Schools of Feng Shui
A list of the various Feng Shui Schools along with a brief description of each is given as follows:
There are seven schools of Feng Shui in all.
• The Compass School
This school is based on the science of directions. Each direction is associated with a particular kind of Chi, or energy.
• The Form School
This one is based on shapes just like the previous one mentioned is dependent on directions. It is based on four basic shapes.
• The Black Hat Sect
This school includes theories on psychology and Buddhism.
• Eight Mansion School
Each individual can be associated with a particular set of numbers and unlucky numbers. The Eight Mansion School works on the knowledge of these numbers.
• The Nine Star Key School
A numbers of complicated mathematical formulae are used in this school. It is a lot like astrology.
• Flying Star Philosophy
This school relies upon numerology and astrology. The future can be predicted using this branch of Feng Shui.
• Four Pillar
This school has faith on the time of a person’s birth. This school of Feng Shui is not commonly practiced today.

Our Psychic Development is swimming along nicely. We have a nice mix of old and new students, so as a teacher it’s a challenge for me to come up with exercises that both groups can work with and benefit from.

I said to one of the regular students “I feel sorry for the new people!” because learning to work with your intuition and psychic faculties is not a linear process. The learning is in the doing. We are very used to learning by reading books, memorising facts and following a formula designed to lead to the knowledge of a particular subject.

This pattern just doesn’t work for psychic development. Students need to start where they find themselves and gradually learn to recognise the small, subtle voice of psychic knowing. They need to learn to listen to their intuition, and for most people, learn to recognise intuition when it occurs.

We are constantly picking up information about everything and everyone around us. Is it any wonder we have tuned it out? Imagine what your life would be life if you had no barriers between you and the next person. You would be swamped by their memories, their thoughts, their feelings. Not a very practical or satisfactory way to live.

So rest assured that the connection is already there. What we need to do is gradually, gently tune into that connection at an appropriate time and in an appropriate way.

People sometimes call me to ask about readings and occasionally say “Can you tell me something now?” as a way of ascertaining if I really have the ability I claim to. My answer is usually “No.” I might be on a bus, or in a shopping centre or otherwise engaged in my regular life or left brain activities. During a phone call from a potential student or client, I am in my left brain space. I have to answer the phone, answer questions, write things down. I simply can’t enter into deliberately intuitive space at the drop of a hat. It needs to be in a ’safe’ environment where I won’t have to perhaps drive a car five minutes later, or go into a meeting. I try and contain my psychic work to specific times and locations because that is the way that works best for my energy. Other readers may work differently. It really is very difficult for me to switch to an intuitive space in the matter of a few seconds for the purpose of telling the caller ’something’.

I am naturally very left brain. This should reassure the majority of people who are also the same way! If anyone wants to know how I work or what my ‘credentials’ are, they are welcome to request a one card reading via this blog or come along to a class. I feel very strongly about ‘appropriateness’ with regard to psychic work. Over the years I have been involved in the industry I have seen dozens of readers come and go. So often they shine brightly for a few months or a year or two, only to crash and burn feeling overwhelmed and wanting to get as far away from psychic work and people who want readings as they can. This is because they don’t have strong boundaries when it comes to how they do their psychic work and when they do their work.

Even from the beginning, I urge students to set their boundaries and have some structure in their readings. The reader is always in control of the reading, whether or not the reading is being paid for. Readers particularly need to set boundaries around time, what kind of questions they will and what style of reading they choose to do. Some readers simply view the cards and give their interpretation, other readers work more as counsellors or coaches. A good reader can give a useful and practical reading regardless of their style, but shouldn’t feel compelled by the expectations of the querant to be something they are not.

New readers need to decide what is appropriate for them and their style of reading and remember that they don’t have to read for everyone that asks and they don’t have to solve everyone’s problems.

Feng Shui, which literally means ‘wind-water’, has moved way beyond being considered as a mere superstition. Today, it has become one of the supporting pillars of Interior Decoration industry. Typing the keywords online or trying to find out more about it at your local bookstore or library will give you a fair idea of the amount of popularity that Feng Shui has gained. Though Feng Shui as an art has become extremely real and acceptable, its effects still seem magical and ethereal. Even the greatest believers in Feng Shui at some time or the other would have questioned the viability of changing the order of furniture and a few colors here and there to bring about such a tremendous change in a person’s life.

How Feng Shui Works Its Magic

Feng Shui, as you must be aware by now, mainly works its magic through the manipulation of energies; by getting rid of all negative energies and diverting the positive energies (or Chi as it is called in Feng Shui) for the welfare of the people concerned. By striking a balance between the five elements of water, earth, fire, metal, and wood, in accordance with the directions associated with these elements you can attracted positive Chi to your household or workspace. This balance brings in harmony for all those living, working, or even visiting these places affected with Feng Shui frequently.

The Principles Of Feng Shui

To begin manipulating the art of Feng Shui for prosperity in your personal life, your public relations, and your career, you ought to start teaching yourself a little by little about the rudiments of this three thousand year old Chinese art.

There are seven Feng Shui schools. You need to have some sort of an idea about each of them to know which one would best suit your need and purpose. There are Feng Shui schools dealing with directions, color, symbols, astrology, numerology, and mathematical calculations among others. You need to figure out which school you are most comfortable with and then accordingly study in great depth about that school.

Casual Knowledge of Feng Shui Can be Harmful

Finding out stray pieces of information about Feng Shui from undependable sources and then applying them to your home and workspace could backfire. As the popularity of this art has grown so has the number of people who are trying to make a living off it without actually having much expert knowledge about it. This can be extremely dangerous. A Feng Shui rule not known or used properly could begin attracting negative energy instead of the positive Chi and prove to be quite disastrous.

www.zenhabits.net is one of my favourite blogs. 12 Keys of Emotional Intelligence is a post I thought might be of interest to readers of this blog. Take a look! Which habit do you think you could start today?

Feng Shui is actually all around you. It might have already affected your life without your getting to know of it. You may have felt comfortable in a particular environment as soon as you step into that place. The reason is probably the positive Chi due to the use of the right Feng Shui principles. If you look at the world through the perception of Feng Shui then there are actually only two types of spaces; those that are making use of Feng Shui principles to generate positive energy, and those that are not making use of Feng Shui thus giving rise to negative energy.

Since you know now that Feng Shui will affect you whether or not you are trying to follow it, it would be a good idea to understand the rules and laws of Feng Shui so that you can actually use it to divert the positive energies to work in your favor. A few common ways in which you can make Feng Shui work in your favor are discussed below. By following these simple rules, you will be able to feel a major difference in your everyday life. So read them, follow them, and make a difference to your life. It actually works!

A Few Basic Feng Shui Laws

Feng Shui, to be pronounced as Fung Shway brings positive energy to make your life better. The following simple rules can make a major difference to your life:
• Shoes must be taken off before you enter your house. According to Feng Shui principles, taking your shoes in with you is equivalent to taking your problems within the house with you. This must be avoided.
• Eating outside might be extremely appealing to you. However, Feng Shui would advice you to cook at least one meal at home and eat it with the entire family.
• Sleeping with you feet towards the door of your bedroom is a complete no-no according to Feng Shui.
• Sleeping under a white blanket or sheet can also attract negative energies.
• You must make sure that none of the walls beside your bed have any meter boxes on them.
• Whenever you are sitting or standing try to make sure that you are doing that while facing either the door or at least its reflection.
• Feng Shui advices you against keeping knives as decoration pieces, or presenting knives to other people.

These are a few absolutely basic Feng Shui laws, which can bring you a lot of prosperity. See the change in your lives for yourself by following these principles.

The Ace of Wands is a symbol of conception, of beginnings and new starts. The past is behind you and any difficulties or restrictions are removed. When this card appears in a spread, you know that new, life-giving energy is flowing toward a goal.

If the question is about a relationship, it is likely to be a very passionate one. The surrounding cards will reveal if the passion will continue to smoulder or will burn out in spectacular fashion. All the Wands cards are ‘masculine’, or active, in nature. The opposite of the Ace of Wands is the Ace of Cups. All Cups cards are ‘female’, or receptive, in nature. Together these cards symbolise the traditional powers of the Sun and Moon. Mythology surrounding the Sun often relates a ‘risen’ god, or a god who dies and is resurrected, like Jesus Christ or the Egyptian god Osiris. THe god is a symbol of the Sun, which ‘dies’ in Winter and is ‘reborn’ in Spring. You are likely to find yourself at a long awaited and celebrated beginning when this card appears. Wands are traditionally associated with work and with personal projects.