tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61373310061354037292024-03-05T13:47:39.442-08:00Sacred TarotChris Butler: Tarot Teacher, Deck Creator and Author. Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-23814378777220918932020-01-12T16:25:00.001-08:002022-09-23T08:58:01.258-07:00 Damaged but determined to survive. Strength for gay men in the Nine of Wands<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPEvsEKQtWosR-XRBoUabmk0X0f7BMNQ1uPfedpJcb-3_V87zOY7efyxJyMIs20_sP9mIEUIqhCMh3-Iu_c3evqWnKRUlrYvR7XA1KdStOCnYpyfHUwFEV9Qsq80cz-rrR9K8w8lZxdg/s1600/04_09_Wands.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPEvsEKQtWosR-XRBoUabmk0X0f7BMNQ1uPfedpJcb-3_V87zOY7efyxJyMIs20_sP9mIEUIqhCMh3-Iu_c3evqWnKRUlrYvR7XA1KdStOCnYpyfHUwFEV9Qsq80cz-rrR9K8w8lZxdg/w280-h400/04_09_Wands.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nine of Wands. From the Son Tarot<br />
by Chris Butler.<br />
Published by Schiffer Books.</td></tr>
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We're all damaged goods and all of us enter the LGBT+ family wounded when we come out of the closet. I can only speak as a gay men for that's where my identity lies. That said, I hope what I'm writing will resound with the rest of the LGBT+ community and maybe even for others. After all, straight and queer folk are more similar than we're given credit for.</div>
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Each of us bring our own unique wounds, fears, weaknesses and defensive postures to the mix when we come out. The first three generally speak for themselves and for the most part, we're likely to find understanding from our fellow gay men. It's more complex with our defensive postures however and these take courage to overcome.</div>
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The problem is, we forget to stop defending ourselves, even when we're in a safe space. Before we know it, we've hurt each other through bitchiness, being on the defensive or through overt emotional toughness. It's too easy to adopt a loud, even ferocious persona than to let your gay brothers see the real you. When everyone's doing the same thing, our supposedly safe community becomes a dangerous place.</div>
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The defensiveness I'm talking about often manifests through prejudice. Femme shaming, fat shaming, body fascism, ageism, racism, class snobbery etc; these are all hallmarks of people assuming a superiority mask to conceal their shattered sense of self worth. The Son Tarot Nine of Wands shows a battered, bruised and wounded man clinging steadfastly to the nearest of nine wands to steady himself. The remaining eight form a defensive wall. In effect, he's on guard against future conflict and when it comes, the wands will be his weapons. </div>
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We really have to ask ourselves though; are we still on guard when the real threat has disappeared? Maybe we're fending off friends instead of potential enemies. We need to learn who to let our guards down to and when to stop fighting.</div>
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Let's take 'femme shaming' as an example of the dark side of this card's message. How many times have you seen a gay man proudly proclaim himself to be 'straight acting' on a dating profile? The assumption here is that it's shameful to display what society would deem as 'effeminate' behaviour. Furthermore, these guys would have you know that they'd pass for straight in the outside world. I'd like to challenge this whilst admitting to having behaved similarly in the past. Firstly, why is it so shameful to be obviously gay? Why should any of us have to pass for straight?</div>
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Secondly, what's so shameful about effeminate behaviour? Maybe this attitude is rooted in misogyny and that by 'femme shaming' our gay brothers we're upholding the very homophobic attitudes that repressed us all in the first place. Some guys display both masculine and feminine traits so we need to get over it. What's so shameful about behaving in ways similar to how a woman might behave? Do you seriously believe that female typical behaviour is inferior or a sign of weakness? If you do, then you need to look at your own internalised sexism. </div>
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Letting our guard down involves acknowledging that the world was wrong for branding us 'sissy faggots' and accusing us of being less than a man. It also means we can stop fearing those very qualities we were once berated for; in ourselves or in other gay men. </div>
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The Nine of Wands is sometimes called the card of Great Strength. Genuine strength incorporates being honest about your weaknesses. Becoming vulnerable or honest when appropriate is one of the bravest things you can learn to do. Real strength isn't just about toughness, although that's a part of it when needed. It's also about transparency and authenticity. It's the courage to be yourself and to let others do the same, regardless of what other people may think. The exclusion barrier shown in the card can be a good thing but it needs to be there for the right reasons. Healthy boundaries keep those who want to hurt or shame us at bay. If we're using them to segregate ourselves from people we feel are different or somehow inferior, then we need to think again.<br />
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Another example is ageism in the gay community. It's still rife (and in both directions before you say anything). The young often deride the more mature to bolster their own sense of beauty, whilst the mature deride the young for their immaturity. Very often, both young and old are sexually objectifying each other simultaneously. 'Sleeping with a Daddy is the next notch I want to carve on my bed post' or ' I got off with a Twink - he was dumb but hot'. Do these sound familiar to anyone? </div>
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We need to cut the objectifying and start listening to each other. If we could just dare to be vulnerable and learn a little respect, those of us who are more mature can learn a lot from our younger brothers who, let's face it, have evolved in a different world from us. Likewise, younger guys can learn a few good lessons from the mistakes us older men have already made. It's called co-operation and listening. </div>
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It's no small thing learning to be wholly ourselves without the approval of anyone else. That said, it's an essential path for us all. It's only when we become unshakeable in ourselves that we become able to love others fully. If we've moved beyond judgement, comparison and condemnation, we're secure enough to let others be themselves too without asking them to change. That doesn't mean turning a blind eye to bad behaviour, but it does mean allowing everyone to be unique, even if that uniqueness isn't what you're looking for.</div>
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This is what the Nine of Wands is about. In its positive aspect, it shows the wounded healer and the scarred protector. This is who we can all be if we try. He doesn't hide his wounds - far from it. These are the wounds inflicted by people who wanted to keep him in the closet and keep him from being who he really is. His wall of Wands keeps those people at bay. If he's protecting anyone, it's his brothers and sisters who've been through similar experiences. With any luck, they're looking out for him too.<br />
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In his negative aspect however, he can be someone who lashes out at anyone he fears, or anyone who shines an uncomfortable light on the parts of himself he can't face. Feeling inferior, he'll try to belittle others to build himself up and he'll build walls to keep the wrong people at a distance. We've all met this man. Worse still, we've all been this man. It's time to leave him behind.</div>
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Great Strength is the ability to erect healthy boundaries, for ourselves and for others. Great Strength isn't just about toughness. You can be tender and vulnerable too but your boundaries can exclude anyone who might abuse that vulnerability. It's the courage to tell people they've overstepped the mark and to demand respect when necessary. It's also the courage to walk away from individuals when they refuse to show the respect you deserve.<br />
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Dare to be yourself. Let others do the same and learn to show respect for difference. We'll never all be equal - that's what diversity's about. What we do deserve though is equal respect and the right to be loved and accepted in equal measure. This should be who we are as gay men and that's what the word 'community' really means.<br />
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Chris. xx</div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-44054934405195508472017-11-13T13:20:00.001-08:002022-09-23T08:57:37.646-07:00Gay, male and conflicted. Positive inner strife in the Five of Wands.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZup_hQI6YvkwfO-BgjujEKK9nUREzPOgLtMUajfLShNJQ-pO8PImxTNGUv5ZqY-efGP8eeL018atQmhgcdyFmR6DnY1GMXFX9h-oAnSMC0OYsA_oww-7X2-KGwWa0pXGybKi_d-LkTNY/s1600/04_05_Wands.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZup_hQI6YvkwfO-BgjujEKK9nUREzPOgLtMUajfLShNJQ-pO8PImxTNGUv5ZqY-efGP8eeL018atQmhgcdyFmR6DnY1GMXFX9h-oAnSMC0OYsA_oww-7X2-KGwWa0pXGybKi_d-LkTNY/w280-h400/04_05_Wands.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five of Wands, from the Son Tarot<br />
by Chris Butler. Published by Schiffer</td></tr>
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The Five of Wands has traditionally been known as the card of strife. It may denote discomfort, struggle and exertion but these are battles worth fighting. Stick with this and you'll find yourself strengthened through your battle. Just as in nature, a butterfly's wings can only be strengthened through the struggle to break free from its Chrysalis, we as men must often grow through life's bumps and bruises</div>
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<b>The shadow side of ourselves</b></div>
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For gay men in particular, many of our conflicts are internal ones, particularly as we navigate the rocky road to coming out, and learn to move past societal prejudices to a place of self acceptance. When designing the Son Tarot, I wanted to reflect this inner struggle through the Five of Wands so here, you see the man's main opponent is his own shadow self. This 'negative' figure is the embodiment of all his internalised fears, along with a fair few prejudices he may not even have realised he's developed over the years. The Five of Wands encourages us to actively engage with these inner struggles, for the sake of our own growth and development. The truth of the matter is, we don't have a choice, unless we're prepared to stagnate and let our lives drift past us before we've even lived. </div>
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<b>Who are your demons?</b></div>
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The first step is to identify our inner demons. Who is that shadow self you fear so badly? Is he the man who so desperately wants to live the life of an out gay man with no secrets? Maybe he's the one you daren't give a voice to for fear of rejection by family, friends, wives or children. Alternately, he may be your 'angry self'. You won't want to let him have a voice because he may make you face the pain and resentment of that recent relationship break up, or even the anger you feel towards those bullies who hurt you at school. He could also be your 'critical self', for the shadow in your life may constantly lurk beyond your field of vision, whispering in your ear. His observations can be quite pernicious at times, constantly undermining your validity when he tells you your body isn't quite toned enough. Maybe he keeps telling you you're fat and unattractive. maybe he's telling you you're too old to be sexy. Maybe he's constantly critical of your camp behaviour and telling you you should be more straight acting, just like the men you admire so much. At his worst, this shadow version of you won't just be undermining you. He'll be undermining and belittling others as well. Of course you'll never act like them or be like them, he says. You're so much better. Is that what you're really thinking? If so, maybe it's time to come face to face with your shadow opponent.</div>
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<b>Look him in the eye and tell him you care</b></div>
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The first step to dealing with your shadow is to admit that he's there and he's part of you. Furthermore, you also need to show him some love rather than pretending he's not there. This may sound strange, but despite your best efforts to pretend nothing's wrong, his voice is still there in your ear, although you keep your back turned to him. Furthermore, you're listening to him as his opinions are affecting your actions. You may fear to face him and you may even hate what he stands for deep down, but it's time you acknowledged him and brought him into the light. Face him square on and say hello. Most importantly, if you're going to acknowledge the negative effect he's having on your life, do it with some gentle compassion and a little understanding. This is no stranger after all. He's your inner self and he's as vulnerable as you are.</div>
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<b>You thought he was your enemy. Well, actually he's your friend</b></div>
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Believe it or not, the judgemental, bigoted, fearful, prejudiced, wilful inner self is a valuable part of who you are and, despite his failings, he's as open to learn as you are. Sometimes, the unconscious self takes a while to catch up with the conscious and in situations like these, we need to show a little patience with ourselves. That inner part of us will tug us backwards if left unchecked, but rather than let him do that, you need to give him some gentle coaxing, along with reassurance that the world won't collapse if you don't go where he says. Even if it does, let him know that your bravery will be enough to carry the both of you through. In some instances, your unconscious self actually knows better than you do and at times like this, you need to learn from him. If you're lurking in the closet and he's longing to come out freely, which of you understands better the nature of authenticity? I think you already know, so hear him out.</div>
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<b>The fight isn't easy and things won't change overnight</b></div>
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You may have acknowledged your inner adversary and that's a fantastic start, However, if you've spent a lifetime at odds with him, he's not always going to give up without a fight. What's most important is that you show patience and leave your judgmental attitudes towards yourself outside in the cold. If you've spent years functioning from a defensive centre, then there may well be a good reason for it. That said, behaviours that once served to protect us become destructive if maintained when the world around us has changed. There will be times when your shadow self re-asserts himself in the most negative ways and you're powerless to stop him. It feels like a long, uphill struggle. Three steps forward then two steps back. That's absolutely natural and all that matters is this: The number of forward steps remains greater than the backward ones. Dealing with internalised fear, prejudice or homophobia is both painful and difficult. Allow yourself to fail from time to time and when you do, just pick yourself up, brush yourself down and try again.</div>
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<b>Some battles are worth fighting. You come out stronger</b></div>
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When we make peace with our inner shadow, we can begin to integrate him back into ourselves. Once done, we're no longer living as conflicted men. We begin to live as powerful men. Think of the energy that's potentially wasted on inner conflicts like these. If you're in one such struggle yourself, make it count for something. Face it fair and square. face yourself and learn from the experience in the process. To do so takes courage, because you'll be facing some of your greatest fears. It's worth it though, for if you can successfully challenge your fears then you'll be able to live a freer, less troubled life. Prejudice comes from a place of fear as well. If you can overcome your prejudices, not only will you be kinder on yourself; you'll be more caring and tolerant towards that great and diverse world around you. The Five of Wands may be a challenging card for us as gay men to contemplate, but ultimately it's an encouraging one too. It's a testament to human strength and the ability to change.</div>
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<b>Chris.</b></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-11187392305114355572017-11-12T08:35:00.002-08:002022-09-23T08:57:20.840-07:00The one we really don't want to talk about: Facing the Death card.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">XIII - Death. <br />
From the Healing Light Tarot <br />
by Chris Butler. <br />
Published by Lo Scarabeo</td></tr>
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In the Healing Light Tarot, The Grim Reaper takes the form of a skeletal apparition wandering through a twilight graveyard. He is swathed in mist yet crowned with a bright star and surrounded by a mandorla halo. This is the archetype we often fear the most; that of death, transformation and the finite. The card represents change, decay and fragility.</div>
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<b>The mythology of the grim reaper</b><br />
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Death as a force of nature has been personified in countless religions and cultures across the ages. In Hindu Scriptures the Lord of Death is King Yama, who is seen riding a black buffalo whilst wielding a rope lasso to snare his captives. In Judaism, we see the Angel of Death as described in the book of Exodus. This manifestation is sent by God to destroy the first-born children of the Egyptians. The Grim Reaper as we know him in the traditional Tarot comes from 14th Century Europe; the time of the Black Plague and Europe's worst ever pandemic. A third of the population was lost to the plague, so death as a concept was a constant companion within medieval culture. As such, the 14th century reaper has stayed deeply engrained in the culture and art of Europe. </div>
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<b>Skeleton and Scythe</b><br />
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Sometimes wearing a black funeral robe, he is shown as a skeleton, wielding a grain scythe. The funeral robe would be an all too common sight in plague times, reminding people of the Reaper's constant presence. The scythe is a tool of harvest, but also a tool of slashing and cutting down. This speaks of the harvest of souls, but also of the indiscriminate ruthlessness of death. Most importantly, the Reaper is shown as a skeleton, for this is the framework of the human body, and all that remains when the corpse has decomposed. This is what remains when personhood has passed beyond the gates of death. For its form to become the living embodiment of death in medieval European mythology is a natural progression.</div>
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<b>The Nameless Card</b><br />
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The earliest decks (from the mid 15th century) have no numbering or titles on the cards. Even when it became the norm to number and title the cards, the Death card, though numbered 13 would more often than not be left caption-less. Even through to the 19th century, death was still a fear not to be named in the cards. In modern Tarot, the card carries its rightful name like all the others, but maybe that's because for us, the Death card isn't a literal portent of death in readings. It's a wider reminder of change and that above all, nothing can last forever.</div>
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<b>Everything changes. Everything ends</b><br />
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In the natural world, all things die but in the process they make
way for something new. Everything we have is given to us on loan and won’t be ours forever. Change
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renewal, as is the human race. Maybe that's what we fear the most when we see the Death card. Most of us fear physical death for a number or reasons. For me personally, it's because I love my life, I have a lot to live for and there's still so much I want to achieve. As I grow older, maybe I'll begin to fear it less. On a deeper level, what is death but the stripping away of all we have? I think this is what we fear the most, for as human beings, we posit our security in physical possessions and relationships; the very things that provide constancy and continuity in our lives.</div>
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<b>A reminder of our own fragility</b><br />
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Ponder this – there isn’t a single member of the
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Yesterday’s humanity is no longer here, but they paved the way for us. Hold
things loosely and let go when necessary, for the very change you fear is exactly what makes the human race so enduring. When the Death card appears in a reading, it doesn't predict an person's literal physical death, nor should it ever do so. Certain secrets, like an individual's time of passing remain in the realm of nature and with the Gods. It's not for us to know these things and no ethical reader would attempt to predict as much. By contrast, I'd advise you to look inwards when this card appears, and ask yourself what it is you fear being stripped away. When you can answer that question, you'll be on the way to understanding your authentic vulnerabilities. Knowing what we fear to lose is the first step in being able to let go of it.</div>
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<b>We can't erase the Reaper</b><br />
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There's been a trend in recent years to sanitise some of the more uncomfortable cards in certain modern decks. Where the Death card is concerned, this has ranged from presenting No.13 as a comforting angel coming to take you away from your worldly strife, right through to re-naming the card as something less threatening, such as 'change' or 'transition'. I'm firmly in the school of making no apologies for the presence of the Grim Reaper in a Tarot deck. He represents an essential truth in all our lives; a truth that none of us can avoid, despite our fears. The Reaper isn't just a symbol of our physical death. That's just a fraction of what he represents. On our plane of existence, time is both linear and forward projecting. We can't go back and change anything and we can't stop its forward movement. All is new.</div>
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<b>Making peace with the Skeleton</b><br />
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Seen from this perspective, our day to day lives are a constant journey with death. As each day passes, we both lose and gain. Nothing stays constant and nothing lasts forever. This letting go of things on a daily basis is our training and preparation for the day when we will relinquish everything. Make peace with the Reaper, for although he's an uncomfortable companion, he may ultimately be your friend. This is the meaning of the star that crowns him and the mandorla halo, for change and decay are the very things that bring healing and renewal to the world. </div>
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<b>Chris.</b></div>
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<br />Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-13872375791464434042017-11-06T11:04:00.005-08:002022-09-23T08:56:50.426-07:00Celebrating the Quantum Tarot. Chris's first published Tarot deck<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">Back in 2008, I was privileged to have my first deck published by Kunati Inc. Although that publishing house was to prove short lived, the same deck and book set - conceived and written by Kay Stopforth and illustrated by myself, was soon re-published in a revised second edition by <a href="http://shop.loscarabeo.com/index.php" target="_blank">Lo Scarabeo</a>. </span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">The Quantum Tarot 2.0 has become a classic in its own way. It's been reprinted several times, has become one of Lo Scarabeo's best selling decks, and to my surprise, it shows no sign of slowing down. It's the project that launched me as a tarot artist, so my collaboration with Kay Stopforth mean a great deal to me. </span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-55888655959535714002017-10-31T08:29:00.003-07:002022-09-23T08:55:53.875-07:00The Son Tarot: A gay man's road to self acceptance and confidently coming out.<span face=""helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in 2005, two days before my 38th birthday, I began work on what would become the Son Tarot. Of all my projects, this was the most life changing and it attests to the healing power of the Tarot. As I created the Son Tarot, I had to meditate deeply on what it would mean to put myself 'inside' each card. By doing this progressively for each image as I designed the deck, I emerged from a dark period of depression which had lasted several years, as well as dealing with my self acceptance issues. In effect, the Tarot taught me my worth and gave me the ability to enjoy and celebrate being me. As this deck is so personal, it was a great privilege to have it published, along with its companion book by Schiffer in 2012. Here's a new Youtube video I've just created to showcase the deck. If the Son Tarot does nothing else, let it remind you that every time you pick up any one of your own decks, you're holding one of the most powerfully transformative tools you're ever likely to encounter. </span><br />
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-40170137261831865252017-10-28T08:37:00.001-07:002017-10-31T16:16:50.224-07:00Lenormand Cartomancy. An alternative to Tarot.Apart from my longstanding interest in tarot, I've also been working for sometime with the cartomancy system named after Marie Anne Lenormand, the celebrity fortune teller of the Napoleonic Era and personal sybil to the Emperor himself.<br />
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Kay Stopforth, my collaborative partner for the Quantum Tarot gifted me my first deck of Lenormand cards back in 2007. The card images and the system of cartomancy behind them intrigued me, being so utterly different from the Tarot. There were few resources available back then; indeed, I could only find one available text in English. As a result, I decided to learn all I could, develop my own deck and eventually write an easy, how to guide in order to make this truly remarkable alternative to Tarot more widely available.<br />
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Schiffer Books published the deck and book as <i>Lenormand Cartomancy</i> in 2013 and thankfully, my publication became one in a number of roughly contemporary publications that heralded a Lenormand revival in the English speaking territories.<br />
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The imagery on my cards follows the traditional symbols of the <i>Petit Lenormand</i> oracle deck, but the style of illustration is colourful, vibrant and utterly modern. Take a look at the deck in this, my latest Youtube video.<br />
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Fair Fortune.<br />
Chris.<br />
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<br />Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-69361604796830921422017-04-13T16:16:00.001-07:002017-10-31T16:24:49.130-07:00Introducing the Healing Light Tarot.The first advance copy of my new deck and book set, the Healing Light Tarot has arrived! Have a look with me as I browse through the cards. The deck will be published by Lo Scarabeo on May 25th 2017.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVWFpc_LSzcemluey_cbBHHgSaMPgVKOwwUPaIqWOONh6lfKSON4z2cV6jPIsupEQyBQpb2FYI57qLnfsD1xtRgWJ_cmkepxgZuHoHRkCUeTeDoAQSR3MFX0SZLtDEtC-6nTb6WblsIg/s1600/01_18_Moon.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVWFpc_LSzcemluey_cbBHHgSaMPgVKOwwUPaIqWOONh6lfKSON4z2cV6jPIsupEQyBQpb2FYI57qLnfsD1xtRgWJ_cmkepxgZuHoHRkCUeTeDoAQSR3MFX0SZLtDEtC-6nTb6WblsIg/w233-h400/01_18_Moon.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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A full moon rises between tall and ancient towers, casting its rays over a dark expanse of water. On the near shore, two dogs howl at the rising sphere whilst a crayfish emerges from the depth and swims towards it. When it reaches the shore it must crawl onto dry land, journey between the towers. with the Moon as its guide and reach the Mandorla gateway, for this healing portal is its journey's end.<br />
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Lunacy as a phenomenon is well named, for human beings have long understood that the Moon can affect human behaviour in a powerful way. The female cycle of menstruation and ovulation is strongly influenced by the gravitational effect of the Moon and its monthly cycle. Furthermore, the full moon has long been known to induce states of anxiety, madness and rising tension.<br />
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The Moon card shown here comes from my forthcoming Healing Light Tarot and its design differs little from the traditional patterns found in the Marseilles and Rider Waite traditions. The only addition of note is the mandorla gateway between the towers.<br />
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<b>Exploring the Unconscious</b><br />
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Think of this card as a depiction of the human unconscious where the Moon becomes a sphere of illumination. The darkened lake holds many unseen creatures, some great, some grotesque, some unspeakable and some that can only be encountered at your peril. For the most part, these dark and nameless beings remain hidden, swimming in deep waters while only making their presence known through surface ripples and currents.<br />
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The Moon itself is the symbol of anything that enters our lives and stirs up the lake. We've all experienced those moments when something happens to trigger a long buried fear or vulnerability. We may lash out in a way that seems inexplicable to those around us yet in reality we are acting from the deepest, darkest recesses of our unconscious.<br />
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<b>Facing our fears</b><br />
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The Crayfish represents the very things we fear to face or struggle to integrate into our conscious existence. Drawn by the rising Moon, it leaves its hiding place like a moth attracted to a flame. As with our unconscious impulses when triggered, it has no choice but to react. It will feel the pull of the Moon and follow it blindly. The barking dogs are symbols of rising tension, both within ourselves and also within those around us as this emergence takes place. Facing our fears is never easy. Being close by when someone else's unconscious insecurities are triggered can often be worse. We can all relate to the backlash of unwittingly touching someone's 'soft spot' or venturing unintentionally into a 'touchy subject' whilst in conversation.<br />
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Despite the pain and sensitivity such times are a healing necessity. The monsters of the deep can only be acknowledged, faced and integrated into our conscious lives when they emerge and show themselves. The path of the crayfish is a healing path therefore. The Towers mark the way and on the horizon between them is the Mandorla gateway; the healing portal through which it must pass to complete its journey.<br />
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<b>Hope for healing</b><br />
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As always, the Mandorla is a symbol of healing, wholeness and completion. Furthermore, it is the protective womb where fears and vulnerabilities can be unpacked in a constructive healing manner. In everyday terms, it represents those safe spaces where we can begin to understand and face our irrational impulses. On one level, this could be in therapy space, where the therapist is providing protective boundaries for the unpacking of vulnerability. On another level, it could simply be the support and love of friends that makes it safe to be open.<br />
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Whatever the case, listen to your heart, dare to be vulnerable and let your fears begin their journey to find their rightful place in your lives.<br />
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Fair fortune dear hearts as we leave behind 2016. I wish you joy, prosperity and freedom in 2017.<br />
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Chris.<br />
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<i>The Healing Light Tarot will be published by Lo Scarabeo on the 25th May 2017. It will be available for pre-order on Amazon.</i></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-33944700523613152782016-05-02T13:08:00.006-07:002022-09-23T08:52:12.774-07:00A thank you to all who attended my gay men's tarot workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWg1DgxJx8XlCYpkqAdEZ8aKsTlxTs0B5f5zeFYgB09jzE8j3Oap-b6fFltBI2nqD_iwZKwXB4OM77yKmkNlLjKOiMa1y7ou2vG4GM5hoCGTc8HdJVotSA5JkVUwsBHv-D8XrbIy1dwKY/s1600/Radiant-Rider-Waite-in-a-Tin-3-600x600.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWg1DgxJx8XlCYpkqAdEZ8aKsTlxTs0B5f5zeFYgB09jzE8j3Oap-b6fFltBI2nqD_iwZKwXB4OM77yKmkNlLjKOiMa1y7ou2vG4GM5hoCGTc8HdJVotSA5JkVUwsBHv-D8XrbIy1dwKY/w400-h400/Radiant-Rider-Waite-in-a-Tin-3-600x600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Facilitating a tarot workshop is daunting and exciting in equal measures. It's always good to share something so close to my heart and in presenting my personal take on the Tarot, I'm also sharing a large part of my own inner journey. That said, it's also nerve wracking to stand in front of a group of potential strangers in the hope that what you have to offer will be worthwhile to them. </div>
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This is why I want to thank all the men who attended my gay men's tarot workshop in London last Wednesday. Working with you was a joy and from what many of you said afterwards, I think you enjoyed our exploration of the cards as much as I did. I look forward to catching up with you all in the future (both individually and collectively) and do keep me posted as to how you're getting on as you journey further. In the meantime, I'd like to make a couple of recommendations for further reading as some of you asked for these at the end of the evening.<br />
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<b>The New Tarot Handbook</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dpvLxvQlUn2R_RpWUHiQUH7QHDjMfz_QyXI3v-UEyIp9Z4j1x2Wxw1aiyfvflDM27As87CmwOA3ttowKdzcmIfhL3m9A9P4h23xAbAEjflbuItmryQUwU7aZuiF-qdJx_ZQP7monjOM/s1600/Pollack_Tarot_Handbook.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dpvLxvQlUn2R_RpWUHiQUH7QHDjMfz_QyXI3v-UEyIp9Z4j1x2Wxw1aiyfvflDM27As87CmwOA3ttowKdzcmIfhL3m9A9P4h23xAbAEjflbuItmryQUwU7aZuiF-qdJx_ZQP7monjOM/w259-h400/Pollack_Tarot_Handbook.jpg" width="259" /></a>During our workshop, we used the Rider Waite Tarot deck. Created in 1909, it's become the most widely known deck in the world and the blueprint for most of the decks that have followed. Learn with the Rider Waite deck and in future you'll find it easy to adapt to most others. For further reading, I'm recommending Rachel Pollack's New Tarot Handbook (Llewellyn. Reprint Edition - 2012). Rachel is widely viewed as the mother of modern tarot, having worked with the cards for 45 years. She's also a Nebula Award nominated Sci-Fi author and was an English Professor in the sixties and seventies. Her understanding of the tarot is in my opinion, unparalleled yet her books are easily approachable and of great value to beginners and the experienced reader alike. Make this your first port of call as Rachel's wisdom will give you a firm foundation to build on. You can purchase this book from Amazon by following the link below:</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Tarot-Handbook-Master-Meanings/dp/0738731900/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462216485&sr=1-4&keywords=rachel+pollack">The New Tarot Handbook by Rachel Pollack. Purchase from Amazon UK.</a><br />
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<b>Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot</b></div>
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If you're fascinated by the rich symbolism and beautiful artwork of the Rider Waite deck, you may wish to explore a recently published book by authors Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. The Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot (Llewellyn. 2015) is a groundbreaking, in depth guide to the Rider Waite deck, delving into the deck's history and creation. Within its pages you'll learn much of the stories behind individual cards and how artist Pamela Colman Smith's background in theatre fed into so many of the card scenes we now take for granted. This is a fascinating book that sheds new light on what have become classic images. If you enjoyed Rachel's book, Marcus and Tali's offering will significantly enhance your understanding of the deck. It's also available on Amazon UK:</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Waite-Smith-Tarot-Worlds-Popular/dp/0738741191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462217895&sr=1-1&keywords=secrets+of+the+waite+smith+tarot">The Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. Purchase from Amazon UK.</a><br />
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<b>The Son Tarot</b></div>
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Finally, we come to my own deck and book, which many of you saw and chatted to me about during the workshop. With the Son Tarot (Schiffer Publishing. 2012), I've created a deck and book set specifically designed for gay men to use as a personal development tool. Taking your knowledge of the Rider-Waite tarot, you'll find yourself easily stepping into the system of this deck as I've used traditional tarot concepts and adapted them to fit our aspirations, experiences and hopes. From coming out to self acceptance and body image issues, I've attempted to show our daily concerns reflected in the cards. Once again, it's available through Amazon UK but you may want to check out the 'used and new' section as several Amazon affiliated dealers currently offer the set at more competitive prices.</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Son-Tarot-Christopher-Butler/dp/0764342274/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462218712&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Son+tarot">The Son Tarot deck and book set by Chris Butler. Purchase via Amazon UK.</a></div>
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Once again, I can only say thank you to those who attended the workshop last Wednesday. I had a wonderful time facilitating and as I always find when facilitating these events, I learned as much from you as you did from me. </div>
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For those of you who couldn't make it, particularly those who had to cancel last minute due to the train strikes, don't worry as Andy and I are looking to organise the next tarot workshop very soon. I'll keep you informed as we work to schedule a date and in the meantime, look out for 'Love, Sex, Gay Men and a Deck of Cards' in your Meetup events listings.....</div>
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Fair Fortune,</div>
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Chris.</div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-66085530835542140892016-04-22T04:55:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:51:31.989-07:00A male priestess. Meeting the Mystic from the Son Tarot<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mystic. From the Son Tarot <br />
by Christopher Butler. Schiffer Books. 2012.</td></tr>
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and maybe’s. Between black and white temple pillars</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> we see the figure of a man; arms</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
outstretched, rising from dark waters. His crown is the three-phased moon and he
holds a spinning disc, emblazoned with the word TORA, the Hebrew word for
sacred texts and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">divine wisdom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It’s difficult to tell where his body</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> ends and the waters begin, for the whole scene is veiled
with interlocking lights and shadows. At the foot of the card, there are hints
of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">flowers, crystals, wheels, and spirals, yet all is</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> mysterious and uncertain. We are face to face with
The Mystic. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Man embodying the Divine Feminine</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a traditional Tarot deck, this card would be the
female figure of The High Priestess. The essence of the card embodies
traditionally feminine qualities but people from across the gender spectrum can
also embody her energy. That’s why I portrayed the figure as a man when I
created the Son Tarot. As the deck was designed specifically for gay men, I
wanted this card to show the possibility of their embodying an archetypal force
that can often be revered and feared simultaneously. Drag culture celebrates
the female within but the parody element of drag is the very thing that often
makes such potent inner energy safe to acknowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drag is an ancient, wonderful and richly humorous
tradition but ultimately it’s a mask that veils deeper realities. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Honoured Intercessors</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In modern monotheistic faiths, lesbian, gay, queer,
bisexual, trans and intersex folk have rarely been validated with purpose, and
have frequently encountered ridicule and hostility. In earlier traditions, you find
a different picture. Queer folk were often viewed as mystically bridging the
gender gap and given special roles within the spiritual life of the community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In Native American tribes, such folk were known as ‘Two
Spirit’. In ancient Europe, there were the Galli priests, and in Africa, you
would have found the witches and gatekeeper shamen of the Dogara tribe. The social
prejudices encountered in modern society have resulted in many queer folk
carrying an ingrained spiritual homophobia. Some, like myself have emerged from
religious doctrines that declared our sexuality to be evil and abhorrent. Dogmas
like these cause spiritual low self-esteem that is </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">difficult to dislodge. By contrast, many ancient tribes</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> saw such people as possessing both a unique role and
great spiritual power. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Bridging the spiritual chasm</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As queer folk sit somewhere on the bridge between the
genders, they were also seen to bridge the gap between the material and the
spiritual world. The time for them to reclaim this heritage and to celebrate their
spiritual uniqueness is long overdue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As we progress into the Major Arcana, we realize </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">that we are not just flesh and bone.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> There is a hidden, transcendent part of us too. We
are body, soul, and spirit. Our spirituality is a vast and undiscovered
landscape that cannot be fully explored through the traditional, rational ways of
thought. The realm of the spirit must often be touched through the intuitive ways
of knowing and through the sixth sense. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the Son Tarot, I portrayed the The Mystic standing
in a two-pillared gateway similar to that of the traditional High Priestess. The
pillars are emblazoned with two as yet separate symbols for masculinity and
represent the complimentary opposites that the Mystic reaches out to connect. When
they meet in his touch, the two symbols of Mars can be fused together,
realizing the connective power of bodily and spiritual union. For gay men, I
wanted to show our unions with each other are not only forged on the physical</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> plane but also on one of spirit. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>The beauty and mystery of sex</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Our cultural concept of the celibate priest or nun is
an unhealthy and relatively modern concept that you won’t find in the ancient
traditions I’ve mentioned above. To bond with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">a
lover is to walk through the gateway into temple</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">space where love serves a higher purpose and</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">connects us to unseen realities.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Physical union also involves the intermingling of
minds, hearts and spirits. The queer community has long been fed a narrative
linking sex to shame. The High Priestess in all her rainbow gender
manifestations, including the Mystic, shows that sex should be embraced and
respected as a mystical act and a deeply enriching experience.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b>Straight or gay, we all embody the Mystic</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "nÎE\0027A8ÔˇøÂ\002791Â\00271"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I also hope my depiction of the Mystic shows straight
men that they can also embody this archetype. Although different in expression
from their queer male counterparts, straight men also embody the capacity for
second sight, intuition, empathy and receptivity. Ingrained misogyny and
concepts such as ‘machismo’ have progressively taught men to both fear and shun
their feminine side, thereby distorting the role of men in our society. To be
whole, all people need a healthy, dynamic balance of masculine and feminine
qualities within their psyche. The confrontational, patriarchal politics we see
on the modern world stage, along with the rise of heartless capitalism are in
my eyes, a reflection of the unchecked and unbalanced masculine, afraid of the
true feminine and in flight from its tempering influence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">This
card encourages you to explore your spiritual dimension. It’s much</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">bigger
than the physical dimension you are so well</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">acquainted
with. It also</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">denotes
the hidden aspects of your life path for by their very nature, the Priestess
and Mystic are representations of unseen realities. Have</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">faith.
The answers are all there, even if it isn’t yet time for them to be uncovered.</span><!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">Chris.</span></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-65736776314661422262016-03-24T16:31:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:51:06.191-07:00Full Circle. The bittersweet wonder of a project completed<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyORo8AOPnzozI9fFty8W7srQMJnghWvN_LSAY0D3mdCN0P88viicdUtMfT_K4MgJxe8MttiNWWEW_YLpjA_T71Wb8UaI9n_iOa1RhCpI2yrzP15YDQ5rd3ei9oEB9WM0HBUlN3TpDTts/s1600/01_21_World.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyORo8AOPnzozI9fFty8W7srQMJnghWvN_LSAY0D3mdCN0P88viicdUtMfT_K4MgJxe8MttiNWWEW_YLpjA_T71Wb8UaI9n_iOa1RhCpI2yrzP15YDQ5rd3ei9oEB9WM0HBUlN3TpDTts/w233-h400/01_21_World.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">XXI - THE WORLD. <br />
From The Healing Light<br />
Tarot. Lo Scarabeo. 2017.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been fairly quiet on this blog of late, mainly because my energies have been channelled into completing The Healing Light Tarot and writing the accompanying book. The day before yesterday was a landmark as I finally sent the finished project to my publisher, Lo Scarabeo.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Like the dancer on the World card, I'm experiencing my own process of completion as I hand my child to its adoptive parent and wait for it to take form with ink, paper and card stock. I'm beginning a new journey of trust as I hand this child first to the publisher and eventually, to you, the reader, the collector and lover of tarot.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As yet, I have no idea what relationship you will form with this child when you meet them. Will you understand its language? Will its images and symbols touch your heart and resonate with your soul? More importantly, will this baby give you clear readings and sound guidance?<br />
<br />
<b>A child who brings healing</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These are all things close to my heart and in formulating the deck I aimed to create a clearly focused traditional tarot whose images may transport you to a place of divine healing. The Time Between Times is a Celtic description of dusk and dawn; the portal between night and day when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. The almond shaped mandorla is a similar portal; a sacred space where we find healing and commune with the spirit world. Both feature heavily throughout the deck and I hope that when you finally hold these cards and begin to read with them, your journey will be as healing as the one I made while creating them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It seemed especially fitting to focus on the World card today; not just because this project has reached completion, but also because it was the first card created specifically for the deck. It started life as the poster design for the first Sacred Tarot workshop, co-facilitated with Petronella Devaney last June. At the time, I had in mind to create a hand painted deck but the preliminary images felt wooden and unauthentic. Creating the poster was the turning point as it showed me a stylistic way forward and brought me back to an old lesson: stick with what you do best. I'm an artist of many media and especially a painter of portraits, but as for Tarot, my inspiration has always flowed best through Photoshop. If I am ever to create a hand painted deck, now is not the time. Once I'd embraced this, the deck began to take shape with heartening speed.<br />
<br />
<b>Cards waiting for their true home</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The World card also highlights another form of fulfilment where this project is concerned. Over the last few years, I've worked on several deck projects that I eventually abandoned. None of them proved feasible but all contained images that I was immensely proud of in their own right. Following on from the World card, I re-opened the old files and eventually salvaged or adapted thirteen further cards, bringing them into the new deck. Everything has its time and I now realise these cards were waiting patiently for their real project to be born.<br />
<br />
<b>Healing fire</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The gestation period of this deck proved to be a time of transformation in my own life and I think it shows through the cards. I presented my first workshops in over ten years and overcame huge barriers in terms of self confidence. I also got involved with the Radical Faerie movement and whilst experiencing an extraordinary sense of homecoming with the Faerie tribe, I also found myself connecting on a new, deeper level with my raw masculinity through ritual, sharing and celebration. A Faerie gathering aims to create safe nurturing space for LGBTQI folk and in effect, the community becomes its own healing mandorla for the duration. So much of the fire, light and movement connected to the mandorlas in these cards was inspired by my experiences at the Faerie gatherings and the artwork I created for the Albion Faeries web site had a huge influence on the subsequent development of the deck. My Faerie experience modelled healing to me, in all its wonderful but challenging forms. I hope it shines through these cards. This is no fluffy or feel good journey to wholeness, but it is an authentic one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I now have my own hand printed test copy of the deck to do readings with. Several close friends also have these home produced copies so I've been able to give and receive readings now the deck is complete. To conceive, create and complete such a large scale project (78 images plus back design) leaves me feeling triumphant like the World Dancer; magic wands in hand as she dances on top of the World Tree. Completion is a place of healing and like her I feel surrounded by a glowing, protective Mandorla, knowing that my sense of fulfilment spans from having been able to freely express my inspiration and give birth to it in artistic form.<br />
<br />
<b>Moving forward</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yet for me, this is also an exciting new beginning as the completed project moves to a new and higher level. It will take on a new life when it goes to print and I have many further joys to look forward to, not least the joy of seeing how my publisher chooses to package and present the deck and book. Which card will they choose for the front of the box? Which image will grace the cover of the companion book? Better still, what surprises await me when I finally take delivery of my box of courtesy copies? All these things are a long way off yet but they bear out the connection between the last of the Major Arcana and the first.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The World is the card of conclusions but it is also a card of higher new beginnings. You could say the World Dancer is the Fool transformed, like a caterpillar who has grown and pupated through the course of the Major Arcana, only to emerge triumphantly at its end, ready to fly away on a new journey.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We've come full circle as we stand on top of the World Tree. Within the golden mandorla, end and beginning are all part of the circle of life and this is the portal between one sphere and the next. The dancer herself is very much an inhabitant of the Time Between Times.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chris.</div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-82168810186394646892016-02-13T11:38:00.001-08:002022-09-23T08:50:33.619-07:00My Logical Family.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZE9aPmJf4kjA4s9-RXo945R1sNwI2qLJJF8nzo1O6FEjRkkwDYRXsuhyyLTdgCM7ytkl-2SUFuzOWHn-5J7os0mpNOaZWmGauFUsA0q4Y6vtnLuwHn98HTwyueV6bISr13kNLyrg-2w/s1600/02_10_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZE9aPmJf4kjA4s9-RXo945R1sNwI2qLJJF8nzo1O6FEjRkkwDYRXsuhyyLTdgCM7ytkl-2SUFuzOWHn-5J7os0mpNOaZWmGauFUsA0q4Y6vtnLuwHn98HTwyueV6bISr13kNLyrg-2w/w280-h400/02_10_Pentacles.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Ten of Pentacles from the Son Tarot <br />by Chris Butler.<br /> Schiffer Books 2012</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I recently attended a Faerie Gathering to celebrate the festival of Imbolc. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the movement, Faeries are an LGBTQ collective with an emphasis on community, spirituality and counter-culture. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My discovery of the Faerie movement became the embodiment of the Ten of Pentacles for me. When I designed this card for the Son Tarot some years back, I sought to depict the 'Logical Family' as defined by Armistead Maupin. Often, this is our network of close and trusted friends who through trial and loyalty, become our second family. For someone within the LGBTQ community like myself, Logical family is everything. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For me, the Ten of Pentacles has always been about wealth in all forms, as shared through the network of family, whether that be blood family or logical family. Faerie Gatherings are always such sharings but this
one would teach me a more important lesson. If you're part of the family, you share the rough and you share the smooth. Ultimately, they are both part of the riches.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I felt sad and heavy within
half an hour of arriving at the Gathering. Old insecurities around ageing,
isolation and loneliness began to re-surface and though surrounded by love,
laughter and trustworthy friends, I felt totally isolated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If I couldn’t feel happy here, where the hell could I feel
happy? The sadness persisted for two days, along with an increasing sense of
irritation growing towards a number of individuals that both worried me and
saddened me further. One sentence sums up my experience so far:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Welcome to the Family!”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Logical family isn't always comfortable</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
No one can be
happy all the time and just because I was unhappy didn’t mean I wasn’t in a
powerful and healing space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Lesson no.1: Some of this shit may be ‘them’ but a lot of it
is very much ‘me’ so let’s call it quits</b>.<br />
<br />
I began to see the people pressing
all my negative buttons were also having their own buttons pushed for different
reasons. I’m learning if my inner child hits out, then for the most part I’ll
only be hitting another vulnerable child. It’s taught me that by and large,
hugs are much preferable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigERtGGI3TmddPAvflY-Qk8Mi2JS74LmCv0hTV52Egz_6_QvnUICnbCatQjrawlwSIIBqDvOC4aYc0u1FeZWLHM7QGsX_-UCluxEQTbOh0rfFEaskSwNhgQQcOyT5bvdfGL9gHmvs8Zb8/s1600/02_10_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigERtGGI3TmddPAvflY-Qk8Mi2JS74LmCv0hTV52Egz_6_QvnUICnbCatQjrawlwSIIBqDvOC4aYc0u1FeZWLHM7QGsX_-UCluxEQTbOh0rfFEaskSwNhgQQcOyT5bvdfGL9gHmvs8Zb8/w233-h400/02_10_Pentacles.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Ten of Pentacles from the <br />Time Between Times Tarot<br /> by Chris Butler. Lo Scarabeo 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Lesson no.2: Reliance on friends</b>.<br />
<br />
My wobbly start to the
Gathering has only served to reveal the extraordinary depth of care that flows from
certain Faerie hearts. I experienced the unconditional love of one of my tribal
elders and his gentle, almost unshakeable wisdom helped me navigate through the
minefield of my own feelings. I also discovered everyone needs a Faerie
Godmother from time to time. Mine has proved to be more of an Angel Godmother
in this instance and she carefully wove a safe protective space around me
during my time of vulnerability. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Lesson no.3: Role reversal – even my towers of strength can
have feet of clay</b>.<br />
<br />
On several occasions, the very people who kept me afloat
during my own crisis began to crumble for varying reasons of their own. Ironically,
I found myself as their pillar of strength, giving the same love and support
they had given me. Lesson learned? Neither my friends nor I need be perfect to
be strong. Being weak for much of the time is inevitable and maybe it’s time I
accepted that. My hope is we won’t all be weak at the same time and there will
always be someone to lean on for the person who needs support the most.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Lesson no.4: Most families are dysfunctional - Get over it.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Through the course of any gathering I generally botch my way through a variety
of interpersonal issues. I don’t always get it right. I very often get it
spectacularly wrong. As a community, we also grapple with important issues,
sometimes with heated or frustrating debate. This gathering was no exception.
My lesson learned? I’ll never agree with everyone and I’ll never see the world through
their eyes. Nor will they see the world through mine. I may upset you and you
may also upset me. What matters most is that I learn to forgive and learn to
permit difference. I may even learn to be more sensitive, when I learn to
respect your wishes, even if I don’t understand where you’re coming from.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Lesson no.5: If it all gets too confusing, just bloody well
escape for a couple of hours!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
On the afternoon I hit rock bottom, my Angel
Godmother suggested we go for a walk to clear our heads. This walk was probably
the most important event of the Gathering for me, for by that stage I needed
solitude and detachment to navigate through my own emotions. We walked up
Glastonbury Tor and from that incredible vantage point I could see for miles
around and also spot Paddington Farm, looking small and insignificant in the
wider landscape. For whatever reason I felt lifted and changed by the time we
returned and better still, I felt less isolated.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Constructive struggles</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Having periods of struggle in such a community makes you
appreciate the magical times so much more. These special times with logical
family and tribe have to be experienced first hand. They cannot be fully
described. The joy of this particular family is that it’s always growing, for
each gathering I attend brings new and special individuals into my life, as
well as strengthening and re-affirming previously forged connections. The most
potent magic however was to be found walking up the Tor and around the fires
with the drums. Faeries come alive when there’s drumming and especially this
time as we invoked Brigid on the eve of Imbolc, the first flowering of Spring.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I may have begun the Gathering with a heavy heart but I left
with a grateful heart. Partings and goodbyes are always sad but I know the
Logical Family is always there for me, even though we are scattered throughout
these Isles and further. Like its sister card, the Ten of Cups, I'd always subconsciously seen the Ten of Pentacles depicting a utopian kind of family perfection. Thankfully, that's no longer my view for my week with the Faeries taught me that family doesn't have to be perfect to be healing. What matters is a willingness to be honest and a basic respect for the value and integrity of each family member. I'm truly blessed, for that's what my logical gives me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Chris.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-67742638334813274342015-12-13T11:50:00.003-08:002022-09-23T08:50:06.665-07:00The Healing Light Tarot is to be published!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxo5A_Ndu7L9qNpnFeL4bQwHoGchXRq3nMmJ2PBolCVFclEwExo0nJFFGNqxOWtAMBFEDzvCyocjCOd40v4uQFQ-Ky4_GS8uJaaMeY65JUnBeVS3rPCK3WIw1WCTycfj4zIWec4LHiMo/s1600/Healing_Light_LS_Catalogue2017.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1133" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxo5A_Ndu7L9qNpnFeL4bQwHoGchXRq3nMmJ2PBolCVFclEwExo0nJFFGNqxOWtAMBFEDzvCyocjCOd40v4uQFQ-Ky4_GS8uJaaMeY65JUnBeVS3rPCK3WIw1WCTycfj4zIWec4LHiMo/w283-h400/Healing_Light_LS_Catalogue2017.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
<span id="yiv0154131248yui_3_16_0_1_1441970301303_2581"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">It's wonderful to announce my new tarot deck and book set is to be published by Lo Scarabeo in 2017! </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0154131248yui_3_16_0_1_1441970301303_2490" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0154131248yui_3_16_0_1_1441970301303_2490" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There couldn't have been a better outcome for all the hard work that's gone into this project. I've worked with Lo Scarabeo previously as they published the Quantum Tarot 2.0 by myself and Kay Stopforth back in 2010. That process was both positive and rewarding and it's a joy to be working with L.S. again, knowing full well the effort and dedication they will pour in to making this deck a reality.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Complex beginnings</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="yiv0154131248yui_3_16_0_1_1441970301303_2490" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">The genesis of the deck has been more complicated than any of my previous projects and it's nothing like I set out to originally create. It started back in May 2013 when I travelled to London to receive a Kindred Spirit Magazine Award. A chance online encounter led to me meeting up with an old University friend who I hadn't seen for 19 years. That friend was Petronella Devaney whom I subsequently co-facilitated a Sacred Tarot Workshop with. In all the time we'd been at College together neither of us knew the other had a dormant interest in Tarot. Fast forward 19 years and the pair of us had re-discovered the cards many years before, so it wasn't long before we began discussing collaborations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our Sacred Tarot Workshop was formulated very quickly but we also discussed the possibility of a new collaborative tarot deck and companion book, centred around the concept of</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the Healing Mandorla. Mandorla is the almond shaped space created by the overlapping of two circles. The Mandorla is seen frequently in Western Sacred Art, particularly in relation to the Virgin Mary or the Risen Christ. It even found its way into the traditional Tarot as the oval shaped wreath on the World Card. You could say the Mandorla is the healing space created when the the spheres of the material world and the spiritual world overlap. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">We began work on both projects within a couple of months but though the workshop pulled together quite easily, the deck proved more elusive. I began hand drawing and painting the cards but the results just didn't feel right. Likewise, Petronella produced several written commentaries on individual cards which in themselves were brilliant but ultimately, our individual visions weren't connecting, leaving us both feeling frustrated and disappointed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Added to this, circumstances were about to change with regards to Petronella's work and her recent ordination as an independent Christian Minister. We completed our first workshop with resounding success but found ourselves unable to firmly commit to more in the near future.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">There came a day of total frustration when I'd scrapped the latest attempts at both the Fool and the Tower cards. I'd come to the conclusion it just wasn't working. Petronella had reached the same conclusion yet despite this we both knew that we'd been drawn into collaboration for a purpose. What made me think again was the design I'd created for our Sacred Tarot Workshop flyer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">The flyer was a new depiction of the World Card, showing the traditional hermaphrodite dancer enshrined in a Mandorla atop of the World Tree. Rummaging back through archive files of unfinished work or abandoned projects I realised I had the basis for at least seven or eight more cards so I began adapting these designs for a totally new deck. It wasn't our collaborative deck by any standards but I knew I had to continue. Furthermore, it was a humbling joy to have Petronella's blessing as I continued along this new path; one she knew I had to pursue on my own.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this stage, it's as if the deck had been hiding behind the scenes just waiting to burst out and the project gathered momentum with astonishing speed. I attended a Radical Faerie Summer Solstice celebration around that time and much of the energy and feel of the cards is grounded in my experiences there. I created header illustrations for the <a href="http://www.albionfaeries.org.uk/">Albion Faeries website</a> a week or so after the gathering and it was these that firmly established the tone and style of the deck illustrations. You could say that the deck belongs to the Faeries. After all, there's so much of their Solstice energy and celebrations echoing through the artwork. Leaf through my Suit of Wands and you'll get a good sense of the magic surrounding our Midsummer bonfire.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A symbol of healing</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">I've included a Mandorla in the design of each card and it's placement shows where I feel the healing message of each card lies. The Mandorla is also a powerful symbol of the Divine Feminine, so the healing energy of these cards is meant to be gentle and nurturing. They connect to the traditions of the Goddess and also to "Sophia", Divine Wisdom in feminine form.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">The deck also celebrates the Celtic "Time between Times". This was the Celts' term for Dusk and Dawn. The time when it is neither night or day. These were the times the Celts felt the veil between the physical and spiritual world was at its thinnest. The Time between Times was the time for visions, revelations and Divine encounters. To celebrate this, I've designed the cards to reflect the twilight. They scenes all occur in a space that's in between; neither night or day. Once more I'm drawn back to my Midsummer bonfire experience, where the dusk drew right into the late evening and darkness never fully engulfed the horizon before the light began to grow again. Of all the moments in my life, Midsummer 2015 is where I felt the veil was at its thinnest and I hope that glimpses of what I saw that magical night will come through these new cards to whoever uses them in the future.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So much of this deck's spirit comes from my connection with the <a href="http://www.albionfaeries.org.uk/">Radical Faeries of Albion</a>. It's no accident therefore that I was at an Equinox Faerie gathering when Lo Scarabeo contacted me to express their interest in publishing the deck. Making that announcement to the same people who fuelled the fires of the deck, in the place that had become its spiritual home was one of the happiest moments of my life. The project had come full circle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A Mandorla for both our visions</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">My vision for the Mandorla has been fulfilled, but what of Petronella's? Like me, she had to step into our collaboration to discover its purpose was to seed something bigger and more important than she could have foreseen. In doing so, the Mandorla has become the focussing symbol of her ordained ministry and is included in the name for a new initiative she will be shortly unveiling. Our friendship is closer than ever as a result of this strange path we've taken. We had to journey together for a short while, in order that we encounter our individual destinies.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">I look forward to this deck being published. It's not just from my heart; it's from my soul too. As for its dedication, that's straightforward and complicated at the same time. Primarily its for Petronella, for after all, she's the deck's Godmother. That said, as always there's a nod to my parents whose support and love underpins all that I do. There are also the incredible individuals I've met through the Albion Faeries whose energy weaves its way through these cards. Amongst others I think of Beverley* as a reflection of the nurturing Mother Goddess, Ananga* as a channel for the spirit of the Wildwood and Lulu*. who more than anyone I've ever known sits on the bridge between the two worlds, guarding the veil. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">Finally, this deck is for fond remembrance of Nadine Bernadette Roberts, who left this world all too early in the eyes of those who knew and loved her. She was the embodiment of fun and wonder and I hope she would have approved of these cards.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">Chris.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">* These are Faerie names, not real names. Each member of the community adopts a Faerie name, either something of their own choice or in my case, a name that was gifted to me. They are always symbolic on some level. Faerie names are only kept for as long as the individual chooses. In many cases, they change with changing experience, personal revelation and personal growth.</span><br /></span>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-31230846754351000602015-11-22T17:59:00.003-08:002022-09-23T08:48:26.334-07:00The healing power of Tarot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>"Why a specifically 'gay' themed tarot"?</b><br />
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This is a question I'm frequently asked with regards to my Son Tarot deck and its accompanying book. The answer is, it wasn't planned; it just happened and it felt like the right thing to do at the time. Stravinsky once said that he didn't compose his masterpiece <i>The Rite of Spring</i>, but was the vessel through which it passed. While the Son Tarot is no <i>Rite of Spring</i>, I still empathise with Stravinsky's observation for my experience was the same.<br />
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<b>Life's too short</b></div>
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It was three days before my thirty eighth birthday when the idea literally appeared in my head, triggered by my discovering the following quote by Armistead Maupin:<br />
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<i>"My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damned short".</i><br />
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As I read this quote I realised his words could have been mine and for the first time I began to acknowledge my suppressed regrets. That in turn led to the seeds of inspiration.<br />
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I'd already realised a big ambition by creating my own Tarot deck the previous year and I hadn't thought I'd ever do another. The ideas also appeared fully formed which was unusual for me, particularly with large scale projects where I'd previously felt my way forward whilst exploring and letting concepts develop. </div>
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There was an urgency about this new deck and when the Gods conspire, everything just slots into place. Within two days I'd connected with an artists' life model who was willing to pose for the images. We both drew in a various contacts and quickly found the full roster of five models I needed for the project. The first photo session took place on my thirty eighth birthday and Photoshop work for the first card began later that day. The deck underwent two major revisions prior to its publication in 2012 but the initial version was completed over a ten month period.<br />
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<b>The Tarot can heal</b></div>
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If I learned nothing else over these ten months, I learned the healing power of Tarot, for the Son Tarot was my own personal healing process waiting to happen. To understand this properly, you need to know a little of my personal history. </div>
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In my teens and early twenties I was radicalised and became involved not only in the charismatic wing of the Evangelical Church, but also in the 'ex-gay' movement that swept in across Europe from the United States. Growing up in a homophobic industrial town in the North West of England during the 70's and 80's, and having attended a strongly religious school, I learned to fear my emerging sexuality. There were no positive role models and fearing societal attitudes I was left scared and repulsed at the thought of coming out. Because of this, I embraced a religious ideology that told me I needed fixing to be made acceptable. In effect, the Church's misguided homophobia gave me licence to run away from reality whilst continuing to hate myself.<br />
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<b>Deluded spirituality</b></div>
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My late teens and early twenties were undoubtedly the darkest period of my life. The religious teachings I was ingesting were cancerous to the core and I can now see both friendships and family relationships were suffering through my deluded worldview. Along the way I experienced some very bizarre 'counselling', some twisted 'therapies' and some very disturbing 'exorcisms', the worst of which involved being held down on a floor by three 'pastors' whilst having a large Bible forced on my head to supposedly cast out demons. </div>
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Salvation came from the most unlikely source. I applied to do a Theology degree at London's Heythrop College, deludedly thinking it would be like a breeze through Bible College on my way to 'happy clappy' ministry. By contrast, Heythrop is a revered, free thinking and highly questioning establishment, at the forefront of academic Theology so, over three excruciatingly painful years, my cult-like brainwashing started to crumble in the face of sound research and scholarship. I kicked and screamed in protest but the truth is I was learning to think for myself. During this period, I also had my first true love affair which, alongside my degree education taught me to see through my monochrome idealism. For once, my world wasn't black and white anymore.<br />
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<b>Emerging slowly</b></div>
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By my early thirties I was more or less living as an out gay man but it took several more years to deal with the fallout of the ex-gay movement. Fear, guilt, shame, unacknowledged anger and above all, un-faced grief were all waiting to be dealt with.</div>
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In all of those dark years, the Tarot had been my guilty secret. My church mentors had made me destroy my original decks when they found out about them but over all those years my fascination for the cards remained. One of the first things I did in my early thirties was to replace those three decks like for like, searching out the exact editions I'd previously owned on Ebay. After that, I began collecting more and more decks, realising just how much comfort, peace and wonder I was experiencing by simply leafing through the cards and immersing myself once again in their landscapes. I revisited an early ambition to create my own deck and within a year or so I'd done just that. It was never commercially published but for me it was a momentous step.<br />
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<b>Owning my rainbow colours</b></div>
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Then came the Son Tarot and that proved to be something wholly different. When I look back, I really was nailing my colours to the mast for the first time but more importantly, I was having to search and question the cards in a whole new way, and that's where the healing comes in. To create a Tarot deck specifically for gay men, I had to get inside each card and ask myself how each tarot character would look if they existed as a gay man. The creative process became a journey of personal encounters and each of the men portrayed in the cards became something very real and powerful to me. </div>
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Years later, I understand the archetypal nature of the tarot far more clearly. I know that each meditation to envision a card took me not only to the finished artwork, but also to a mirror for myself. As each of these archetypes took the shape of a gay man, I learned what it would be like to exist in his shoes. The tarot images taught me what it was to fulfil my own particular brand of humanity and gave me permission to step into my own skin. For ten months I lived, breathed and became these characters and my admiration for who they were moulded my determination to emulate them. I began this ten month process as a hesitant, confused and anxious gay man but ended it as a fulfilled, happy and self accepting one.<br />
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<b>Publication</b></div>
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The Son Tarot was finally published in 2012 and the two revision phases plus the writing of the book served to affirm and solidify the effect of the whole process in my life. Speaking to men who have used the deck has taught me my own experience is far from unique. They too have connected to the unique healing power of the Tarot archetypes and felt their influence as a guide to wholeness and wellbeing. What makes it doubly worthwhile are the messages I receive from men sharing their own healing experiences through journeying with my deck. That's when I know it wasn't just for my own benefit.<br />
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<b>Personally speaking</b></div>
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On a personal level, I stepped into the bravery of the Knights, learning what it was to value myself, my vision and my beliefs and to stand my ground for them. Similarly, I learned to see myself in the Lovers card with another man beside me. The most moving figure for me is the angel above the Lovers. In a previous life, an angel would only have represented condemnation, whereas here, he brings blessing and celebrates the truly beautiful unions of those he resides over. I also learned the defiance of the hero in the Seven of Wands. I got angry over the injustices in the Five of Swords and I began to see a family of gay men on the Ten of Pentacles card. This card usually shows wealth and well-being in strong connection to family and generations. In the case of my community, family is often our support network of friends and that's something I learned to step into as I envisioned this card. Armistead Maupin calls this the 'Logical' family, as opposed to tour biological families.</div>
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You don't have to be a gay to experience the healing and affirming power of the Tarot archetypes. It's just that my journey necessitated me finding the archetypes in the guise of gay men. Kings, Queens, Fools, Empresses and Angels; the tarot characters transcend gender and allow all of us, regardless of culture and background to step into their shoes. In their presence, we may well discover our weaknesses, but then again, we'll also step into our strengths as they give us their blessings.</div>
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The Son Tarot is published by Schiffer Books and is available from Amazon.</div>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-35128054631227766622015-11-06T03:55:00.001-08:002022-09-23T08:47:50.254-07:00The Lord of Prudence. Reflections on the Eight of Pentacles<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96b1cbvp72njLHPJQhus5ybQF-bgioHlLi_Hac6kQPXJ_qhYMUOaPc69J2MKGNqrx8W98_mEn_C0bRFSBG9aarTlTX68baCveYMhyphenhyphen_yl_q9mnQBnKViz_x9OsQF087iktmUb2SJcb8No/s1600/pentacles_08.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96b1cbvp72njLHPJQhus5ybQF-bgioHlLi_Hac6kQPXJ_qhYMUOaPc69J2MKGNqrx8W98_mEn_C0bRFSBG9aarTlTX68baCveYMhyphenhyphen_yl_q9mnQBnKViz_x9OsQF087iktmUb2SJcb8No/w273-h400/pentacles_08.jpg" width="273" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whilst searching the net this morning, I found the following definition for the virtue of Prudence on <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prudence">Dictionary.com</a> </span><br />
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<i style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">Prudence: The quality or fact of being prudent, or wise in practical affairs, as by providing for the future. Caution with regard to practical matters; discretion. Regard for one's own interests. Provident care in the management of resources; economy; frugality. </i></div>
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<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the Tarot devised by the Order of the Golden Dawn, the Eight of Pentacles is known as 'the Lord of Prudence'. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot and the Crowley/Harris Thoth deck are both descendants of the Golden Dawn system, so the Eight of Pentacles in one and the Eight of Disks in the other also depict this cardinal virtue.</span></span><br />
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<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Freida Harris's illustration for the Thoth Tarot</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22px;">Frieda Harris's realisation of the card for Aleister Crowley is a beautiful and apt one. It shows and exotic flowering plant with each of its eight flowers containing a disk/pentacle at its centre. Plants must be nurtured to grow and thrive. In the wild, the weather conditions must be right, rainfall must provide enough water and the soil must yield the correct nutrients for the plant to thrive. In a domestic setting, the houseplant must be cared for and watered by its owner for it to grow and blossom and its this very care that embodies the quality of Prudence. Fail to water or feed the plant and the plant will wither. By contrast, the skilled horticulturalist will bring forth flowers and fruit in abundance. That the disks are shown in the centre of the flowers is no accident. This is the reproductive centre of the plant and as these flowers are pollinated, new seed will be come forth and the plant will multiply</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22px;"><b>The Rider Waite Tarot</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICVSeVF5-7t0Ot0vXC2qSunKiwlwUM-k1XGxi9G7-8kk3yuiz5ObdQrVj7gg2LSEp1hRaKNTldzYxJUELC8LM9ha7e22Ln0X2DRoTxzeorRM4P7BaHzrNbXRnH8_rNo6syKxHrZyHy3Q/s1600/02_08_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICVSeVF5-7t0Ot0vXC2qSunKiwlwUM-k1XGxi9G7-8kk3yuiz5ObdQrVj7gg2LSEp1hRaKNTldzYxJUELC8LM9ha7e22Ln0X2DRoTxzeorRM4P7BaHzrNbXRnH8_rNo6syKxHrZyHy3Q/w234-h400/02_08_Pentacles.jpg" width="234" /></a><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My own version of this card, created for the Healing Light Tarot has been loosely based on the Rider Waite Tarot version by Pamela Colman Smith, mainly because I've always admired her ability to convey the Golden Dawn card meanings through practical imagery. The Pentacle itself is a manifestation of the power of Earth, so the skilled craftsman who creates these magical emblems from clay, wood, metal or stone is symbolically manifesting Earthly power. On a practical level, the craftsman creates something of value; something that at some stage he'll sell for money as a product of his work. This is the wise use of one's talent to practically provide for self and family; the earning of a living wage by the skills given to you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Pamela's choice of of the woodcarver is an inspired one, because the very skill of his hands is also a manifestation of prudence. Each tap of the hammer on the chisel is both cautious and calculated. A single mistake and the design could be marred at best, destroyed at the very worst. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>My own interpretation</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">My card shows a stonemason creating the same designs on the sheer face of a monument. There is no room for error. A single slip of the chisel and the design is ruined, not just for one pentacle, but for all eight as they are all part of a unified work of art. The Mandorla halo about his head shows there is healing power in the slow, calculated thought that controls the action of his hands. His prudent restraint and his patience allow his skills to flow, and its this very process that ultimately will put food on the table and money in his pocket. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ25p3Wh67LQ06UeZ1tUxIrq8HD0JgVtVua8b7NUDJ2l5jFFw8JE0N3AEtUnKGCE8y9TX3_C-E9vczcoPUwCE4LIwsF3YSzAiGSzJUEWXdayr5YRYnPfZ1K3D_LfyTc5YyJUGa9x6Kyvk/s1600/02_08_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ25p3Wh67LQ06UeZ1tUxIrq8HD0JgVtVua8b7NUDJ2l5jFFw8JE0N3AEtUnKGCE8y9TX3_C-E9vczcoPUwCE4LIwsF3YSzAiGSzJUEWXdayr5YRYnPfZ1K3D_LfyTc5YyJUGa9x6Kyvk/w233-h400/02_08_Pentacles.jpg" width="233" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">The message of this card is simple. Act with patience and act with restraint. Gifts and talents must be channelled with care. Your works may only emerge slowly but it's the best way to guarantee they will emerge to their full potential. There's no need to rush.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Chris.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Card images:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Top:</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"> From the Crowley Thoth Tarot © OTO International/AGM Switzerland 144, 1962 </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22px;">Middle: Rider Waite Smith Tarot © U S Games 1971</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22px;">Bottom:: From the Healing Light Tarot © Chris Butler 2015</span><br />
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-62177504208679074652015-10-22T11:49:00.003-07:002022-09-23T08:47:08.287-07:00The Fool and the Phoenix. The creative evolution of the Quantum Tarot<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yR0HHXJBQuyby19YwdecSy5SePjBU7-l0zKGW6YKbRN_hiNCa8b16K54KgqGJvKlm5dp2-gqeizzJGba9WxsOFbu0Dw_CqGR3QIvBReEmNEIu1U4ZBUqddPbgiySqGwCKHcqQfYd4QU/s1600/Phoenix_Fool.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yR0HHXJBQuyby19YwdecSy5SePjBU7-l0zKGW6YKbRN_hiNCa8b16K54KgqGJvKlm5dp2-gqeizzJGba9WxsOFbu0Dw_CqGR3QIvBReEmNEIu1U4ZBUqddPbgiySqGwCKHcqQfYd4QU/w400-h351/Phoenix_Fool.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quantum Tarot 2.0. The Fool and the Phoenix.</td></tr>
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Back in 2009, I experienced one of the greatest disappointments of my career. Kay Stopforth and I had worked so hard to create the Quantum Tarot and subsequently to secure a publishing deal for the deck. After several rejections, Kunati Books, a fast growing Canadian publishing house showed an interest and by the Autumn of 2008, Quantum Tarot had been published in a lavish, gilt edged edition with its accompanying book, handsomely housed in a deluxe presentation box. </div>
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The deal was everything we'd hoped for and the deck was a resounding success with the online tarot community. Imagine our disappointment therefore, when just over a year later the financial crash sent our publisher into liquidation and put the Quantum Tarot effectively out of print.<br />
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<b>Blessings in disguise</b></div>
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Our experience with Kunati was a bitter blow but I soon learned the unexpected can always be just around the corner. When Lo Scarabeo, one of the giants in tarot publishing learned of the first edition's demise, they immediately stepped in and offered us a new publishing deal. Quantum Tarot 2.0 was born and came to print by the autumn of 2010. From what first appeared to be a disaster, Kay and I found ourselves in an enviable position. Kunati did an amazing job with the first edition and we will always be grateful for the faith they showed in us. That said, being swept into the Lo Scarabeo stable took us squarely into the mainstream of the tarot market with increased visibility, better distribution and as a result, much wider availability for the deck. </div>
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As an artist, I was also given the rare opportunity to revise and improve the artwork, incorporating many suggestions from users of the original deck. Five years on, Quantum Tarot 2.0 is still in print and remains one of Lo Scarabeo's most popular decks and although our 2009 experience was a bitter pill to swallow, I doubt the Quantum Tarot would have had such an extended life under different circumstances.<br />
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<b>A symbol of re-birth </b></div>
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One of the joys of the revision was the addition of two extra Major Arcana cards at the suggestion of our editor Riccardo Minetti. Kay decided that one of these should be 'The Phoenix'; a potent symbol of death and rebirth which mirrored the deck's history but also represented the Fool reborn as one cycle closes and another begins. The Phoenix has all the freshness, innocence and openness of the Fool but not his youth. It remembers its past lives and brings that remembrance to its new existence. </div>
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I find myself drawn back to the Quantum Tarot Phoenix this week as my experience within the Sacred Tarot project mirrors 2009. Despite our extensive future plans, changing circumstances in work, ministry and family see Petronella reluctantly laying down this project and I am experiencing the sadness of losing a trusted collaborative partner. That said, just as before, unforeseen (and exciting) opportunities have already begun to appear and with Petronella's full encouragement I've decided to continue this exciting journey into the Sacred Tarot whilst recognising it may become a very different journey from the one I originally embarked on.</div>
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If you attended our June Workshop or were waiting for news of the next one, then keep your eyes on these pages. I'm currently working with two new collaborative partners on some exciting new presentations and my hope is that we can carry on the incredible healing journey through the cards that we embarked on earlier this year. If you're also wondering why the Sacred Tarot has been so quiet, both here and on Facebook over the Summer, it's because I've been taking time out to complete the illustrations for my newest Tarot deck. Once again, keep your eyes on these pages for some exciting news in the near future....</div>
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Chris.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-i-ba7lqzcJIUWh-3GJmchWdZfRgtjG9DCkPWgJpU4Y0-skrh5ZSsxxjx7q6tOq007-autjsII1f3LSfxdVsqoTzzqZgWWzjPwHgIUi8EpGTJo5H6ZsIEPASXwXiNMZWR1BUPHa70hg/s1600/Mandorla_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-i-ba7lqzcJIUWh-3GJmchWdZfRgtjG9DCkPWgJpU4Y0-skrh5ZSsxxjx7q6tOq007-autjsII1f3LSfxdVsqoTzzqZgWWzjPwHgIUi8EpGTJo5H6ZsIEPASXwXiNMZWR1BUPHa70hg/w682-h291/Mandorla_01.jpg" width="682" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healing Light Tarot. Major Arcana: Chariot, Strength, Moon and Judgement.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRuEEk_eTzIKV2YdW0BUNX_EI64ZdEqkEyJaemrhIAwFEdT5TTXqXDqZ5R4d4sMWEFVs42S1DqcBH-fOdOHjMf0ZyZIrIXCkQvS5yBBVHBOcb99-V5cWwfwZHpP4Q61Nx9yFgFfHtJBg/s1600/Mandorla_02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRuEEk_eTzIKV2YdW0BUNX_EI64ZdEqkEyJaemrhIAwFEdT5TTXqXDqZ5R4d4sMWEFVs42S1DqcBH-fOdOHjMf0ZyZIrIXCkQvS5yBBVHBOcb99-V5cWwfwZHpP4Q61Nx9yFgFfHtJBg/w680-h289/Mandorla_02.jpg" width="680" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healing Light Tarot: The Four Aces.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3tBLz5sBMSf1d1yanZY9FhH7w2J5vDQqfOwhywZxZHCiFpvm9qd8a_m1STDrmbIuK7HAf9BB5q2xSns5HHMsrWVUULV6A6zfy1HFskZANQH__z6qx_zdmXgaBTbgQSxKAfvjTN2VfCU/s1600/Mandorla_03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3tBLz5sBMSf1d1yanZY9FhH7w2J5vDQqfOwhywZxZHCiFpvm9qd8a_m1STDrmbIuK7HAf9BB5q2xSns5HHMsrWVUULV6A6zfy1HFskZANQH__z6qx_zdmXgaBTbgQSxKAfvjTN2VfCU/w680-h293/Mandorla_03.jpg" width="680" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healing Light Tarot: Pentacles 2, Swords 3, Wands 9 and Cups 5.</td></tr>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-23429273189050138702015-06-01T11:11:00.003-07:002022-09-23T08:44:26.496-07:00Water of Earth. The Queen of Pentacles.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepFuwx3nFX4BmbihZQvdUDtyjeBvjLa1N8GBDopQG4BWiRy8NEhbFEWwXrT0ZpK3y7V2ng-vnFr9tf75gwDv3fvh8yUMm5qaCKNoMydpLYkj04mf6LbzXXgd_vPUcSM7EjA7-j8TcxLk/s1600/02_13_Queen_of_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepFuwx3nFX4BmbihZQvdUDtyjeBvjLa1N8GBDopQG4BWiRy8NEhbFEWwXrT0ZpK3y7V2ng-vnFr9tf75gwDv3fvh8yUMm5qaCKNoMydpLYkj04mf6LbzXXgd_vPUcSM7EjA7-j8TcxLk/w233-h400/02_13_Queen_of_Pentacles.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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As I write this, we are a few days away from giving our first <a href="http://mandorlatarot.blogspot.co.uk/p/upcoming-workshops.html" target="_blank">Sacred Tarot Workshop in London (6th June)</a>, and the choice of card for this blog entry is important to us both. The Queen of Pentacles is of great significance to myself but especially to Petronella, who identifies personally with her. Furthermore, this Queen and Mother of Earth has been our guiding principle as we've put together our Sacred Tarot collaboration and planned this first workshop. I knew last week I would blog about her on the final run up to the workshop but as is often the case with the Tarot archetypes, she decided to take on a life of her own and manifest herself in picture as well as words.</div>
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As I pondered what to write I began to realise this blog entry would be birthed via the process of illustrating the Queen of Pentacles for my forthcoming deck. She is the first of the new Court Cards to be completed and she sets the tone for the others yet to come. As always, pictures speak louder than words and having birthed the image I can now give voice to my inspiration.<br />
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<b>Water in the earth</b></div>
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The Queens of the Tarot Courts represent the watery aspect of their respective elements so the Queen of Pentacles represents the watery aspect of Earth. Figuratively speaking, she is the soil saturated with nourishing groundwater or the Earth washed by replenishing streams. The Earth may be the medium in which plants grow but it takes water to promote growth and liberate the soil's nutrients. Dry soil becomes arid and will eventually crumble to dust but soil with a healthy amount of water within its structure will remain cohesive and bring forth greenery and life.</div>
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The watered Earth is a womb for life. Tiny, fragile seeds are fed and protected beneath the surface until they can grow towards the light, becoming strong plants. In a similar way, the Queen of Pentacles is a symbol for personified protection and nurturance. As a person, she creates a safe space around all who come within her sphere of influence. This is a woman whose love translates to practical, material concern.<br />
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<b>The Mother Goddess</b><br />
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I've tried to represent these aspects within the new design. The Queen emerges from the planet Earth itself, linking her to the Greek Mother Goddess Gaia - Goddess of the Earth. She sits within a cosmic Mandorla, representing her healing sphere of influence, and she also sits at the centre of a giant Pentacle, symbolising her realm of rule. The Queen is pregnant and her arms are clasped gently over her stomach. She nurtures and protects the life within her just as she nurtures the subjects within her sphere. Her crown is a symbol of growth and facility, for its jewelled spires become the branches of a tree as they divide and grow.<br />
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As Gaia, she needs to be nurtured by the light and warmth of the sun as much as she gives nurture to her children and subjects. The blazing Sun is behind her and an orbital map of the Solar System revolves around the highest point of the Mandorla. This depiction of the Solar Family shows the Earth as one of many planetary brothers and sisters. Similarly, The Queen of Pentacles is part of a wider family. Indeed, the nurturing, fruitful concept of family is at the very core of her existence. She is Mother, Daughter, Grandmother, Ancestor and Descendant in the same way that a planet is the child of a star, a star is a child of a nebula and a nebula is born of the galactic womb.<br />
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<b>Water from the stars</b><br />
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To remind us further of this Queen's status as 'Water of Earth', a great waterfall crashes through the heavens, lit by the sun as it falls on the Earth bringing life and nourishment. In this case, art may even imitate life, for modern scientific thought now points to the Earth being devoid of water in its infancy. Our oceans are thought to have been provided by comets whose ice melted on collision with our Planet. If this is so, Our Solar System was the nurturing Queen of Pentacles to our World at the beginning of time as we know it. It gave our world water from the frozen cometary stores at its outer reaches and provided warmth from its centre of gravity. Gaia is our Mother, but she is also a daughter of the Sun.<br />
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<b>A Sacred Totem</b><br />
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In writing this, I acknowledge the Queen of Pentacles to be the totem for our forthcoming Sacred Tarot Workshop and all our future presentations. We both hope and pray that the space we open up on the 6th June with be both safe and sacred; a nurturing space where those who join us can share, learn, teach, celebrate and be nourished. This is the Sacred Tarot and this is the healing power of the Mandorla. We look forward to sharing our journey with you!<br />
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Chris.<br />
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The Sacred Tarot takes place at the Helios Centre, London on the 6th June 2015. For more details and to book one of the few remaining places, visit our <a href="http://mandorlatarot.blogspot.co.uk/p/upcoming-workshops.html" target="_blank">Forthcoming Workshops</a> page.<br />
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The Queen of Pentacles is taken from a new deck in progress by <a href="http://www.butlerart.co.uk/index.htm" target="_blank">Chris Butler</a>. Artwork ©2015. All rights reserved.</div>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-26048293490055130322015-05-25T09:40:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:43:56.021-07:00Containing the Wild Beast. Strength in restraint<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBfC0_EpjnMKx8AbShG_drnvMDJPu-o3eg1T6Xf128V3JlUwr7-Lg69T9qr4eGFDBCOiuqVEGMPLEeWulgYJrB6EOV5Xt4DbN4guhDp5_XxCkPUhTsQWr3OcwyMq6GCPlp982wULtZRk/s1600/01_08_Strength.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBfC0_EpjnMKx8AbShG_drnvMDJPu-o3eg1T6Xf128V3JlUwr7-Lg69T9qr4eGFDBCOiuqVEGMPLEeWulgYJrB6EOV5Xt4DbN4guhDp5_XxCkPUhTsQWr3OcwyMq6GCPlp982wULtZRk/w234-h400/01_08_Strength.jpg" width="234" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strength has always been one of the more enigmatic cards of the Major Arcana sequence for me and across the ages of Tarot history it has assumed a number of guises. In one of the earliest decks, a man is shown violently subduing a lion with a club. By contrast, another early deck depicts a female figure carrying a broken stone pillar, allying the card more closely with the cardinal virtue of Fortitude.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The lady and the lion</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's the Marseille tradition that begins to show the familiar female figure grappling with the jaws of a lion, yet Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith would latterly take up this iconography and develop it further and deeper.</span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The Rider Waite Tarot was one of the first decks I owned and in the
Strength card, a lady in a white dress gently but firmly closes the mouth of a roaring lion with her bare hands. Her hair is braided with flowers
and she is crowned with a lemniscate, symbolising infinite power. What I failed to observe for years was the lady wearing a garland of red roses around her waist. </span>I discovered this deck when I was only thirteen and when you're young, you don’t look at things as closely as you should. As I’ve got older, I
realise I'd looked at this image so often that I began taking it for granted whilst missing the details. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Passion and purity</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The lion represents our passions and our strongest urges; the deep
and powerful energies emerging not only from our subconscious but also from our
primal nature and instincts. If the lady wore only a white robe, the lion would be an abstraction but because she wears red roses, a similar symbol of passion and
sexuality around her waist, she becomes linked to the lion inseparably. She owns it as her
own. She is both passionate and chaste. Her purity comes from her ability to
hold her inner lion under control when necessary. There is no sense of struggle in her facial expression, despite the energy being exerted. This is a woman at peace and a woman who knows her own capability.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The virtue of Strength, Courage or Fortitude is not the absence of human passions. It is the ability to know and
experience those passions without being ruled by them. As the lady in white
illustrates, Strength and Fortitude are an act of will power and a choice, emanating from a healthy heart and soul. That said, the cardinal virtues are traditionally depicted as female, representing a state of being far more than a state of doing. Subduing the lion is indeed an act of will, but it's one that comes from a house and heart built on solid foundations.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
Chris.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">VIII - Strength from the Waite Smith Tarot - 1910 second edition (Pam A). Private collection.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-44534412478925410732015-05-07T14:00:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:43:20.949-07:00The Mirror of Galadriel. A metaphor for the Tarot from the Lord of the Rings.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzmW5BmBeu1yVhDiz-kixRMERYjtwGCL8QTrSJvqOgWlAP6B5kQTa4ks5VvKLrW_pwN8HXkW8ihnx4uMgK5RsXi0GiKf059u5ZhU8Yv2m88kYgGym7RP8e2YOd5hIHb5RJ_vmvBva59c/s1600/Mirror_Alan_Lee.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzmW5BmBeu1yVhDiz-kixRMERYjtwGCL8QTrSJvqOgWlAP6B5kQTa4ks5VvKLrW_pwN8HXkW8ihnx4uMgK5RsXi0GiKf059u5ZhU8Yv2m88kYgGym7RP8e2YOd5hIHb5RJ_vmvBva59c/w242-h400/Mirror_Alan_Lee.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I first read Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien in my teens. It
remains to this day one of my favorite books and one chapter has me drawing
parallels with the Tarot. When Frodo and Sam are invited to look into the
Mirror of Galadriel, they see as she describes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Things that were, and things that are and things that yet may be.
But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Mirror is a powerful metaphor for the Tarot. Just as it
reveals glimpses of the past and present, we see our own past and present
reflected in the symbols of the cards. The future is as yet unknown to us so
what glimpses we see are more heavily filtered through our own limited
understanding.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Possibilities, not certainties</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cards reveal possibilities and our reaction to an individual
card image can tell us a great deal about our own issues. If we are honest
enough with ourselves and brave enough to face what the cards are saying, we
can learn much about our hopes, our fears and what drives us. Knowing such
things equips us to let go of the future and bravely face whatever it brings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Sam looks in the Mirror, He sees a vision of his village
being destroyed. In blind panic he wants to go home, thereby turning aside from
his quest. Galadriel counsels against this. She tells him,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass.
Some never come to be unless those that behold the visions turn aside from
their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Choices in the cards</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Knowing the future may not be the best thing for us. There’s a
fine line between making informed choices with a view to future security and
manipulating the present in an attempt to ensure the outcome we want. Also, to
assume that any card gives you a reliable picture of the future is dangerous,
particularly if you fix all courses of action with only one end in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most readings contain cards that speak of the future. This is
good, but hold onto them loosely. We are finite human beings and we may not
always have the capacity to understand what those cards are telling us. Also,
when a card is drawn, it symbolises a single possible facet of your future. Our
lives are much more complicated and one symbol can never contain the
multi-layered truth of reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Look to the future by all means but if you’re fixated on a single
outcome then you need to ask why. This is the sum of what I believe regarding
the Tarot. It’s also the sum of how I believe a good reading should be
conducted. If I’m doing a reading for someone, I hope my role will be to
explain the cards’ symbolism and aid the journey through their meanings. A
reading is about possibilities and choices. For me, that’s far more exciting
than the mere predictive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chris.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Illustration © Alan Lee from the illustrated edition of the Lord of the Rings. Published by Harper Collins.</span></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-15121048372773283092015-04-30T17:03:00.003-07:002022-09-23T08:41:54.969-07:00Four of Swords . The Sleep of the Dead.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskS29bLi7BCzEjBfRY_oFLmEpTZv0KCg4SDEjOVwYZQw4R-yqdM9S9Wj-LTjnTZx9CWFhMiAW_bW0g94vUFbEPwjulILwMkTt8b3uMQoqztvhEPocAtj5tU93kSOX9bur6RKDCsiFtf0/s1600/03_04_Swords.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskS29bLi7BCzEjBfRY_oFLmEpTZv0KCg4SDEjOVwYZQw4R-yqdM9S9Wj-LTjnTZx9CWFhMiAW_bW0g94vUFbEPwjulILwMkTt8b3uMQoqztvhEPocAtj5tU93kSOX9bur6RKDCsiFtf0/w234-h400/03_04_Swords.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
My phone rang the other night and to my surprise, I heard the voice of a friend I hadn't seen in over a year. If I'm really honest, my first response was a trifle indignant, my inner tape recorder telling me I'd been picked up, then dropped and was now being picked up again for whatever reason.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stop the tape, rewind and before pressing play, debunk all personal baggage and insecurities as they say, for the situation was not what it seemed. You see, my friend was in what appeared to be a stable, committed long term relationship. What I didn't know is that things were going awry for several years and after much soul searching on both parts they decided to separate, albeit amicably with no recriminations.<br />
<br />
<b>Coping with the trauma of loss</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I now had to reassess. In my eyes I had been avoided for a year or more. Sometimes calls and emails hadn't been answered. When they had, they were evasive and eventually I gave up the pursuit. I now know my friend was traumatised and in retreat. Despite the amicable split, the demise of the relationship wasn't his choice and he'd spent a painful year doing whatever it took to deal with the changes brought on by the breakup.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My greatest surprise was discovering that he'd moved house; I found it incomprehensible that he could have retreated from everyone in such an extreme manner, both emotionally and geographically. On reflection however, I understand why and in coming face to face with a living embodiment of the Four of Swords, I've learned there are many ways of coping with loss and trauma.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a person I'm the complete opposite. Faced with crisis, pain or loss, I need to talk, talk and talk until I've talked it out of my system. My closest friends know me well in this respect and thankfully they're caring and tolerant. In crisis I become like a stuck record; replaying the same dialogue time and time again to the patient ears of those nearest to me. This is my way of processing it through. I'm like a pressure cooker with the valve released - the steam shoots out consistently, making the same noise for a while until the pressure's released. I'm very vocal and I need to talk to navigate my way through the grief process until eventually I find my way up and out.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By contrast, my friend needs to retreat in order to grieve. In this instance it took all his reserves just to get through and that meant only having the capacity to deal with as few people as possible. Close family and one or two friends have seen him through but the key here is he could trust they knew where he was at. He didn't have to exhaust himself talking.<br />
<br />
<b>Dealing with shock</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What he's been through over the last year is a shock reaction, parallel to how the physical body reacts when seriously injured. When I suffered a serious multiple fracture some years back, I 'blacked out'. I'd heard people talk about this but I'd never experienced it. I didn't lose consciousness but my vision went and my sense of feeling and spatial awareness disappeared. I could still hear but it was like floating in blackness with sound coming at me from a distance. My body was in shock and I now know in such cases that blood flows from the extremities, concentrating around vital organs to keep them functioning, hence the limited loss of sense and consciousness.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To cope with his loss, my friend retreated both into himself, as well as geographically. He withdrew to a secret place, emotionally and physically, only letting a handful of people know his location. In hiding he could survive, learn to cope and eventually learn to rebuild.<br />
<br />
<b>Sanctuary</b><br />
<br />
In the Waite-Smith Tarot, the Four of Swords depicts the inside of a Church. Three swords are mounted on the wall above a tomb bearing the effigy a sleeping warrior, whilst the fourth sword, possibly his own is fixed to the side of the tomb. Above is a stained glass window, showing what looks like an image of Christ blessing the poor. Look carefully and you'll see his halo contains the word 'Pax'; the Latin word for peace.<br />
<br />
The symbolism is powerful indeed. Traditionally, churches were places of sanctuary. If you claimed the sanctuary of the Church you had total physical protection within the confines of the building. No enemy would dare to desecrate the House of God by bringing conflict over the doorstep. The stained glass is itself a symbol of the peaceful, protected environment but what's most significant is the main protagonist of the card is a dead man. We don't see him in the flesh, we only see his statuesque effigy on the lid of his tomb. Nevertheless, the card's Christian setting points to a belief in resurrection and life after death. Similar themes are expounded in the Judgement card from the Major Arcana.<br />
<br />
This man is only dormant and when the time is right, he will re-emerge to live a full life and fight another day. Meanwhile, his sword lies by his side and the weapons that would have done him harm are separated from their owners and hanging on the wall.<br />
<br />
When pain and conflict become too much to bear, retreat and hiding may be essential for survival. My friend has woken again and begun his journey back into the wider world. I may not have known where he'd been hiding but it's reassuring to have discovered he was in a safe place.<br />
<br />
Chris.<br />
<br />
<br />
Four of Swords from the Waite Smith Tarot - 1910 second edition (Pam A). Private collection.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-74012865737777283522015-04-26T10:01:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:41:04.782-07:00Guest Blog: Petronella Phillips Devaney on the Eight of Cups and unrequited opportunities.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Wm_rfpkKy5J2A7-buvWrnifK3Ulg18yE5YYkOG_sNnetfBHW5Cu9_CKOfs5dJjC0i87nBPy2dj3veoJ5ZV5oh_4wQPoaIuUjm7d6JbAls4D9QUkxuHYRf5AinQIksFNKYu7DoutcggM/s1600/05_08_Cups.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Wm_rfpkKy5J2A7-buvWrnifK3Ulg18yE5YYkOG_sNnetfBHW5Cu9_CKOfs5dJjC0i87nBPy2dj3veoJ5ZV5oh_4wQPoaIuUjm7d6JbAls4D9QUkxuHYRf5AinQIksFNKYu7DoutcggM/w234-h400/05_08_Cups.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What on earth, you may ask, are unrequited opportunities? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The phrase arose a few weeks ago in the lively little poetry
group I belong to, that meets one evening every month in my sitting room.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each time we set a new poetic theme to work
on.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put on the spot at the end of one of
our recent meetings, someone (not me!) came up with ‘unrequited opportunities’.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a
phrase without much obvious meaning, a bit surreal, and yet, the more I thought
about it, the more it intrigued me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And being a therapist, naturally I had to dig a bit deeper
to see where it might have originated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It came out so spontaneously that, as with a shard from a fast-vanishing
dream, I could feel the surge of unconscious energy pushing through. Unrequited opportunities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Unrequited</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So here’s how my train of thinking went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started with the word ‘unrequited’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unrequited what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unrequited love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definitely seemed a likely first
connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many thoughts and feelings
and memories of my own started to tumble about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early ones, teenage memories – the classic period for unexpressed
yearnings, unconfident attractions, the longing to be valued, acknowledged,
admired – and the fear of not being any of these things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The need to be the hero in one’s own story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, yes, maybe this was a good place to begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>Opportunities</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And opportunities. An
opportunity for romance, for friendship, for relationship, for travel, for a
special career path, for something - anything - one would have loved to do, that
was missed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An opportunity only now, after
many years, and in the light of greater maturity, fully noticed and
regretted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And suddenly creating a great
big resounding WHAT IF?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A secret desire
to have another look at what might have been?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Social networking sites, apparently, are awash with people
madly trying to locate long lost relatives, friends and lovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve experienced this first hand:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shortly after joining Facebook I re-connected
with my closest friend from high school and we found ourselves picking up quite
easily and happily where we’d left off decades earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>Understanding what's missing</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s only as we get properly into the second half of life,
round about the late 30s, that these ‘unrequited opportunities’ really come
back to haunt us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, like with
my old school friend, it’s a prompt to retrace and recover something that’s
still relevant, still valuable, and worth reviving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">More often, it’s a prod to look at what’s missing and what
we need to create anew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What it might be
good to make room for in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Something of those youthful yearnings we once had pointed to
a more profound sense of who we really are - the true self – and to our deepest
needs, our passions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we’ve settled
for something less, something a bit more secure and sensible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now, looking down the vista of years to
come, that spark of possibility, so strong in our young life, is shining again and
asking whether this time we’re open to adventure,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to a new chance of relating, to following our
heart’s desire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An admission:
I’m afraid I never wrote that poem!
But now I’ve written this instead, and it’s given me the chance to pursue
an interesting train of thought set off by a seemingly random idea – much as
one does in therapy - and at the same time reclaim an opportunity I might easily
otherwise have missed.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Petronella.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eight of Cups from the 1910 Rider Tarot Cards (Waite-Smith Pam A). Illustration by Pamela Colman Smith. Deck from a private collection.</span></span></div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-19674216635035503902015-04-14T12:50:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:40:41.284-07:00Reversed cards in the Tarot Court<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15uGOEUg2Qww1gP1yNZ3HQzd5nrlmZKZgPyaC2DYEhoQuC6xw_nT1_UlDNebY98-G8ZsZMDni11ne2mQ_tG8riMPwF8bVAh2qzpluS-D1_F1NGmahuxWtJb9H7XCOrwyiP0pUtbL3ENU/s1600/Enneagram_and_Courts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15uGOEUg2Qww1gP1yNZ3HQzd5nrlmZKZgPyaC2DYEhoQuC6xw_nT1_UlDNebY98-G8ZsZMDni11ne2mQ_tG8riMPwF8bVAh2qzpluS-D1_F1NGmahuxWtJb9H7XCOrwyiP0pUtbL3ENU/w640-h341/Enneagram_and_Courts.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Until recently, I've hardly used reversals in my tarot activities, preferring instead to consider the light and shadow aspects of each card as they appear. Over recent weeks however, I've been fortunate enough to learn a little of the Enneagram system of personality classification and my attitude towards reversals has begun to change, particularly where the court cards are concerned.<br />
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<b>A map with nine aspects</b></div>
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The Enneagram diagram is a symbolic representation of the human personality. Its basic foundation is a circle on which nine equidistant points are interconnected by a web of lines/pathways. Each point represents one of nine personality 'types' and the lines represent their interconnectedness. No individual's personality is ever just one 'type' in the Enneagram system. As individuals, all nine factors are contained within us whilst operating to different levels and in different balances. In effect, it's the circle which presents a holistic view of the human psyche and wholeness depends on the balance of energies flowing within the web from point to point.</div>
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What interested me most in this system is the way each of these nine personality archetypes has a 'low functioning' and 'high functioning' aspect. High function represents the mature, whole and fulfilled aspects of each type whilst low function represents the immature, the wounded and the insecure aspects of each type. We each contain unique strengths but we also carry unique wounds and these individual 'fingerprints' will determine how each personality type plays out for better or for worse within our own unique web.<br />
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<b>High functioning. Low functioning</b></div>
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Learning the rudiments of this system has cast a valuable new light on the Courts for me. When we view a Court Card in a positive light we are potentially viewing an idealised archetype, whereas the reversal can be seen as a diminished or imperfect version of that same archetype. This isn't the only way to interpret the Courts but it's a potentially powerful one, particularly when dealing with issues of growth and insecurity.</div>
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I've used the Knight of Wands as our example. In the realm of fire, he represents aspects of creativity, libido, sexuality and inspiration. Fire is a masculine element and on a more practical level it can represent work energy, transformation and even destruction as well as the energy of life itself. The Knights are always ruled by the element of Air so this is the blast of wind that spreads the forest fire. The Knight storms in and transforms his surroundings. His transformative power is rarely comfortable but it's usually constructive and wholesome. As an artist he can sweep you off your feet with the intensity of his inspiration. As a lover, he'll show you levels of passion you never knew could exist.</div>
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In Enneagram terms, you could equate the above description to a 'high functioning' personality. It's an ideal at the top end of the spectrum. Reverse the card however and you find a person whose fiery zeal becomes angry or power seeking. In his selfishness and immaturity he'll sweep the house clean with no regard for the feelings of those around him. Change may also become a tool of control and such a man, if insecure could be a cruel lover; manipulative on an emotional level and selfish on a sexual level. Other people no longer matter in the face of getting his own needs met.<br />
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<b>Meditation</b></div>
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I'm still not fully convinced over using reversals within a reading but where meditating on the cards is concerned, the conscious act of flipping a card upside down is a powerful challenge to examine our own weaknesses and insecurities. The reality is, most of us experience these realities on a continuum. We are neither wholly broken or completely fulfilled and for the most part, our card is skewed in the downward direction or starting to turn upwards.</div>
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As for the present, my meditations will involve choosing a court card that I can currently identify with while deliberately turning it on its head. Then follows the uncomfortable question,</div>
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"What does this say about me"?</div>
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Chris.</div>
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Enneagram artwork © Chris Butler 2015</div>
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Knight of Wands from the Waite-Smith Tarot 1910 (Pam A) edition. Private collection.</div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-80787693375143136732015-04-05T04:32:00.003-07:002022-09-23T08:41:29.877-07:00Change and the Two of Pentacles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlooIj5Hkuh2hz0iLcYjS1Va-WLEP83z38GIaw2awcbElcSH91U0yjjfyMM9NwU7LurO6cSI5YV0jysVLHJ6ym3PsSYJwxW_P3v8BFnbT6Y0A0_7PWAtPgtakh9wvqx4boL0LFs8js7rw/s1600/02_02_Pentacles.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlooIj5Hkuh2hz0iLcYjS1Va-WLEP83z38GIaw2awcbElcSH91U0yjjfyMM9NwU7LurO6cSI5YV0jysVLHJ6ym3PsSYJwxW_P3v8BFnbT6Y0A0_7PWAtPgtakh9wvqx4boL0LFs8js7rw/w233-h400/02_02_Pentacles.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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I've just returned form a ten day stint in community with the Albion Faeries (an LGBTQ collective) and to say it was a life changing experience is an understatement. I've experienced community living before, having lived in a young people's community when I was twenty. A couple of years later I worked for a hotel chain and as a live in member of staff I became a community member by default. </div>
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Community living strips away masks whilst helping to facilitate the addition of new ones. It can foster warmth, closeness and a sense of belonging but can also lead to feelings of division and isolation when conflicts fail to be resolved. Yet for better or for worse, deeper principles underpin all of these dynamics - the realities of change through interconnectedness.<br />
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<b>Nothing is static</b></div>
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In the Two of Pentacles nothing is static. Ships travel across a surging ocean. The Sun rises to banish darkness from the sky whilst the juggler must keep his two pentacles in the air. This is my own rendition of the Two, taken from a new deck in progress. Whilst many decks show the Pentacles connected within an infinity symbol, I chose to show their overlapping spheres of influence creating a healing mandorla. In both cases, it's the link that's important. The Pentacles cannot move without influencing and affecting each other and here lies the true nature of change.</div>
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In the course of my community experience, I was taken from the singular realm of the Ace towards the dynamic dance of the Two. For ten days, my solitary, hermit like existence as a self employed artist was swept into a pulsating, vibrant, sometimes frightening, but ultimately wonderful connectedness. I stopped being self determining and for the duration of my stay, my life became a collaborative dance with the people I shared a run down Northumbrian Castle with. We cooked for each other, gave of our skills, shared stories around the fire and drummed tribal rhythms in drum circles as we honoured departed friends, now our tribal ancestors. We also bickered, disagreed, let each other down in big and small ways and as we progressed through the week, we learned the art of strength through reconciliation.<br />
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<b>Overlapping spheres of influence</b></div>
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I spent ten days laughing and crying with people and in this process I was both supportive and supported. I come away with treasured friendships and profound connections I didn't expect to forge. I was changed because my sphere of influence overlapped and connected to another and like the two Pentacles kept aloft by the Juggler, I learned that connectedness leads to movement, movement leads to change and change leads to healing.</div>
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My ten day community experience has also led me to question my life back home. Nothing can be the same again and I've learned more than anything else that it's the personal connections we forge that steer our life for better or for worse. Even if we make mistakes, the most important thing is that we remain connected, for our mistakes and inadequacies are also part of the juggle of the Pentacles. We may rise and fall but what matters is our continued movement.</div>
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My Faerie experience now makes me look forward to the forthcoming <a href="http://mandorlatarot.blogspot.co.uk/p/upcoming-workshops.html" target="_blank">Sacred Tarot Workshop</a> with a renewed understanding. The two overlapping pentacles symbolise myself and Petronella, relearning the art of change through collaboration. In pooling our resources we've enriched and changed each others understanding of the Tarot in wonderful ways. The Pentacles also symbolise ourselves overlapping with the community of participants who will gather with us on June 6th. If the same dynamics I experienced whilst in Northumbria are at work, this brief but magical gathering of a community with shared intent will lead to change in the most empowering of ways. </div>
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Chris.</div>
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Two of Pentacles card image © Chris Butler 2015</div>
Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-79205336360039817502014-10-03T07:34:00.001-07:002022-09-23T08:39:21.016-07:00Guest Blog: Petronella Phillips Devaney on Heart Warriors<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The mandorla is a symbol of inner healing that many have been
inspired by in their search for wholeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes this seems like a strange quest, quite contrary to the
materialistic aims of the world at large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It can be hard, feeling as though you’re swimming against the mainstream,
and progress can be slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the very
fact that we are trying to heal our hearts in a world where so many have had to
bury their hurt is already extraordinary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The 18<sup>th</sup> century scientist, philosopher and spiritual
visionary, Emmanuel Swedenborg, wrote about those – and he included himself as
one - who embark on this journey as ‘heart warriors’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heart warrior’s way can certainly seem
difficult and unclear, and we should give ourselves a break when we don’t quite
get it perfectly right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a long path
back to the open heart, one opening at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Petronella</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> x</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UbHgQ-l9lM6gzzVT8VbJgCr_BSnCsKOLAw__btK2C0wrL3gRfyUUR5mpN2wYCssxR6-SMmQ-136xb5ox1Ir1t62xTqD9SG3eOFFIXfQLy-JJ_FV9bGl0yvQGSngBaWyRPPuo7ycKNSE/s1600/KKAceHearts_0002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UbHgQ-l9lM6gzzVT8VbJgCr_BSnCsKOLAw__btK2C0wrL3gRfyUUR5mpN2wYCssxR6-SMmQ-136xb5ox1Ir1t62xTqD9SG3eOFFIXfQLy-JJ_FV9bGl0yvQGSngBaWyRPPuo7ycKNSE/w432-h574/KKAceHearts_0002.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Card image from The Key to the Kingdom Transformation Playing Card Deck by Tony Meeuwissen. Published by Running Press.</span></td></tr>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6137331006135403729.post-21624787440386860742014-09-25T16:53:00.005-07:002022-09-23T08:38:27.250-07:00Even the most painful cards can bring healing.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ofbSelXOM5vnrC4rkyQXmvNnd6eHyuhnappDPxhuBbKfITGNEyJxxi0W5L3t2RQrSy-piuQaG_Kbw2TGHZq0Apf3HeKhCs_KyRIF3nSWtLW6HZqyNvde0irBYIvxX_x5-c4UD2xfuiw/s1600/M_Swords_lowres.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ofbSelXOM5vnrC4rkyQXmvNnd6eHyuhnappDPxhuBbKfITGNEyJxxi0W5L3t2RQrSy-piuQaG_Kbw2TGHZq0Apf3HeKhCs_KyRIF3nSWtLW6HZqyNvde0irBYIvxX_x5-c4UD2xfuiw/w660-h402/M_Swords_lowres.jpg" width="660" /></a></div>
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As I've worked with Petronella Phillips Devaney on our workshop materials, I've constantly found myself returning to the earlier traditions of Tarot. One of the great joys of our working together has come from our differences. We read the cards very differently but find that we're learning from each other in an astonishing way.<br />
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<b>Different traditions</b></div>
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For years, her only deck was an antique Besancon Tarot; a deck very much within the Marseilles pattern but with two important variants. The Pope and Popess (the Hierophant and High Priestess in modern tradition) are replaced by the Greek deities Juno and Jupiter. The pip cards of the Minor Arcana are of course largely unillustrated, featuring geometric arrangements of the suit symbols, embellished with stylised floral and foliage patterns. By contrast, my preferred learning deck was the Rider Waite Tarot, with its fully illustrated narrative pip cards and its richly esoteric Major Arcana.</div>
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I've come to appreciate the power and profundity of the pre Rider Waite tradition in a whole new way through Petronella. Layers of meaning and symbolism within an image can be a powerful tool but then again, so can uncluttered minimalism. A simple image can be an equally powerful trigger for the intuition, sometimes more so, for the card can speak with a more direct voice.<br />
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<b>Swords in the Tarot de Marseilles</b></div>
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This was my experience today, for I turned my attention to the Suit of Swords whilst receiving a simple, direct challenge from the Tarot de Marseille. One of the most distinctive features of the Marseilles pattern is the curved, scimitar like swords on the pip cards of that suit. Lay the cards out in a row and you realise they form a pattern of overlapping circles. </div>
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In effect, the layout of the swords creates a Mandorla on each card and here is both the challenge and the encouragement. The Swords can be a bleak and frightening suit. There are the obvious connotations of conflict but even the notion of cutting through to the truth can be profoundly uncomfortable. Even so, the Mandorla speaks for itself and if you take one of the more painful cards like the Three with its notions of sorrow, heartbreak and anguish, the Marseilles iconography would indicate that even in such blackness, healing and wholeness can be found.<br />
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<b>Painful healing</b></div>
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Think of the sword like a surgeon's scalpel or a lancet. It may be painful to lance a boil but in doing so, infection can be drawn from the body, pressure released from under the skin and eventual relief from pain can be experienced.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI256It0Qpi5z_qZ9C_M_2MapflaxAb-GbUkyF_LEDZxmfqAOeKlXcwCd0RrllIXa1Z7PdKoWGrfm6SM7WEu0A1ZAUsQb02oZepwW7ZeOmf4RchyafPeuoiUJp1Cgz745uCiYb1fyRmk/s1600/Three_of_Swords_lowres.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI256It0Qpi5z_qZ9C_M_2MapflaxAb-GbUkyF_LEDZxmfqAOeKlXcwCd0RrllIXa1Z7PdKoWGrfm6SM7WEu0A1ZAUsQb02oZepwW7ZeOmf4RchyafPeuoiUJp1Cgz745uCiYb1fyRmk/w653-h391/Three_of_Swords_lowres.jpg" width="653" /></a></div>
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My challenge now is to view some of the other equally uncomfortable cards within the suit and discover the personal messages of healing they might have for me. The three card images above illustrate the point. On the left, we see the pierced heart in the Rider Waite Tarot. To the right is a rendition from the Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Losche. Sorrow is depicted as a rose pierced through the centre by the three swords. It sits on a tomb over which three mourners preside. Between these cards is the Three of Swords from the B.P. Grimaud edition of the Tarot de Marseille. A Mandorla is formed by two of the swords while the third golden sword sits at the centre flanked by branches with golden leaves. The gold of the sword and the presence of the golden leaved branches gives me hope. There may be pain but there's also growth here. </div>
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I can see some of my own experiences from 2014 reflected in these cards but more than anything else, it's encouraging to be reminded that my pain is neither senseless nor without healing purpose. As I journey through the rest of this suit I'll not only reassess how I've previously pigeon holed these cards. I'll also ask how I've pigeon holed my own past experiences of pain, conflict, suffering and loss. Maybe those very experiences are some of the ones through which I changed for the better.</div>
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Chris.</div>
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Sacred Tarothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07540144476795816732noreply@blogger.com