For the last six months I have been hard at work deconstructing my knowledge of the Tarot, a process that will continue for a lot longer, I suspect – probably it will never end. In case you wondered, yes, there is more than enough to warrant spending that length of time. In fact, in any spiritual discipline, the process of deconstructing (and reconstructing), is always ongoing. I hope to be sharing the fruits of my labours over the next few months. Continue reading
Any system of divination should be alive and dynamic, able to take in new methods and insights. And these insights should make those who already know sit up and take stock. In truth if you are a true student of tarot you should be challenged constantly. A big part of my own studies on the tarot is deconstruction: taking apart what I already know and then re-assembling it to see new insights. I find this happening each time I put up a new video on youtube, which is why there are so many hiatuses on that front.
So here is a case in point regarding Elemental Dignities. The other day, James Ricklef contacted me about his idea for “contra-positive cards”; how to deal with difficult minor cards like the 9 Swords etc using a variation of Elemental Dignities. James uses the opposing element (disks in the case of 9 Swords), and a numerological technique to come up with the balancing card. There was a part of me that had problems with this, and it is not because I was being precious about my ‘baby’. People can and should come up with their own ways of interpreting the tarot using the simple rules of EDs – the more the better. It took me a while to realise what the problem was – for balance, it should be a universal law, not just for difficult cards, and a few days later, James second post addressed those issues and develops his ideas further.
What do you think? How can you develop your own ideas on interpreting the tarot that are universal and balanced?
Catherine Chapman has done a brilliant job of demonstrating the tarot techniques of elemental dignities and card counting as first she reads using the Celtic Cross spread, and then the same cards in a string. These techniques form the basis of our book, Beyond the Celtic Cross.
Listening to the radio show I am very impressed with how well Catherine does in demonstrating such a visual medium on the radio.
You can see the tarot spread here. There are lots of good psychological insights demonstrating how tarot is more than fortune telling.
My last copy of Tarot and the Magus is destined for someone in Germany, so please do not ask me for any more – my publishers do not have any either. If you have a copy hang on to it, as it is a collector’s item.
Bonnie Cehovet’s perceptive review of Beyond the Celtic Cross is well worth reading:
“Douglas (Gibb) was quite right when he called the visions that Catherine had after doing this work initiatory visions. (Visions that grew in strength the longer she spent on the journey with Paul.) They involved Pegasus, a dancing High Priestess (sacred dance), and continued visits with the High Priestess. Then there was the child, that she recognized as having come to her before as a baby.”
Both books explore card counting and elemental dignities, and while both techniques are learnt separately, they are in fact two sides of the same coin. Success in integrating and unifying card counting and EDs is the key to the initiatory visions experienced by Catherine. I too had initiatory visions some of which are documented in Tarot and the Magus.
While visions are by definition passive, initiating visions cause profound transformations within the tarot reader- when they happen you are not the same afterwards. A chicken and egg situation arises where there is a need to transform and develop spiritually in order to have the visions, and when the visions happen, even more change is possible. The inevitable consequence is that learning card counting and EDs is not just an intellectual experience, and students may well find that they struggle from time to time. My advice is to keep on at it, practising the techniques and using them in tarot readings as much as possible.
These initiating visions continue, particularly if you continue to read the tarot and work on your own development, which means that your paradigms about the tarot will also change. This has been my experience, which is why I do not subscribe to the common consensus on tarot, divination or magic. The visions often include spirits, some of whom are known, while others are anonymous. Some of these spirits are Goetic, which magicians in particular find hard to believe, as they thought they had the monopoly of such experiences!
Bonnie is currently running a competition to win a copy of Beyond the Celtic Cross, so good luck.
Hopefully there will be a second edition of Tarot and the Magus soon. In the meantime, I would still like to hear about any experiences you have with the book.
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It had to happen… there are no more copies available of Tarot and the Magus… unless of course you want to pay over £200 for a second hand one.
I have been talking to my Publisher about a reprint, and I hope to have news soon on that front.
Meanwhile, you could always get Beyond the Celtic Cross, co-written with Catherine Chapman, which covers the tarot divination techniques of Card Counting, Pairing, and Elemental Dignities.
There are also my videos on Youtube, to which I will be adding to very soon. Also, I have two workshops coming up, one 25th April in London, and the other on Sunday 25th July at the TABI conference in Birmingham.
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I will be speaking and giving a workshop at the TABI Conference this summer. This will be a great opportunity to talk about my new book co-written with Catherine Chapman, Beyond the Celtic Cross. I will talk about the powerful divination techniques of Card Counting and Elemental Dignities, and how they played their part in the creation of Beyond the Celtic Cross.
I will also discuss a very interesting thread that runs between this and my earlier book, Tarot and the Magus, whereby the use of the divination techniques results in spiritual development and insight.
Way back in 2004 I spoke at the TABI conference in Birmingham, and I had a great time, and I am sure I will again. Looking forward to seeing you all again.
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I have only just come across Robert M. Place’s book on the history of tarot. It seems to be very good – at least that is what the enthusiastic reviews say. I did venture on to the tarot elists some years ago with a few comments on the history of Tarot, but it was very clear that everyone was better than me on the subject. Maybe this book will put me on the right track.
There were no plans for a Christmas wishlist – I think I am too old for that, but if somebody would like to have a word with Santa, now you know what would be appreciated.