Father’s Day and The Emperor

June 12, 2012 at 7:57 AM (Family, holidays, Uncategorized)
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Those of us who live in the US will be celebrating Father’s Day this coming Sunday. Since I gave Mother’s Day a shout-out via The Empress, it’s only right that I do the same for Father’s Day and it’s flag bearer, The Emperor.

Card image from the Rider-Waite Tarot (C) US Games Systems Inc.

Immediately some of you just went, “Ugh.” Don’t bother denying it, I heard you.

In some ways, it’s easy to dislike The Emperor.  We can readily associate him with lots of despicable things: abuses of power, “Big Brother,” corporate greed, the outworn patriarchy, the mean Dad who won’t let you go to the prom with 21-year-old Bobbie who’s just dreamy, that boss who is a real prick.

The Emperor can be a real party pooper.

But, and here’s where I’m about to piss off some people, I’ve seen more than my share of Tarot decks that totally disregard the positive aspects of this character, relegating him (and his cohorts in the Tarot deck) to a position of “should be in jail” rather than holding his own within the essential archetypes, which is where he belongs.

In an effort to give voice to “the feminine,” one unbalanced system was replaced by a different but equally unbalanced system. This does none of us any good.

We can’t throw the baby out with the bath water on this one.  The “Archetype of the Father” is not something you can take a personal stand against and say, “No thanks.” If there is a cultural crisis in America it’s, in part, related to the lack of positive Father Archetypes available to us, to both children and parents, to both men and women.

We can’t internalize something which isn’t modeled for us, and when we throw out that bath water a lot of personal power goes along with it. Since this is a blog and not a larger format, I won’t go on and on to belabor the point; you get my drift.

And so in honor of Father’s Day, I’m putting out the challenge to embrace, model, and/or identify a positive aspect of The Emperor:

*Step into a leadership role
*Take command of a situation
*Be the person who makes a change for the better
*Stand up for something that’s important to you
*Build a structure around some chaos in your life
*Create a plan to fulfill a goal
*Be the captain of your own ship, the king of your castle.

Come on, I know you want to.

And if you really want to go big:

*Build something (a shelving unit, a house for the dog, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, it doesn’t matter)
*Start your own small business
*Create a nonprofit, a charity organization, a “Walk for Diabetes” fundraiser
*Become a real Big Brother
*Be a good partner and/or parent

It’s not a crime to own your personal power, but it is a crime to waste it.

And finally: if you have/had a father who actually stepped into the positive energy of The Emperor archetype, be very grateful. You are among the few that are so blessed.

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Parades, Baton Twirling, and Tarot

May 28, 2012 at 8:31 AM (holidays, Tarot, TarotWorks, Uncategorized)
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People often ask how I came to be involved with the Tarot, in the same way that someone might inquire about how a person met their spouse.  “How’d that happen?” – emphasis on the “that”– is what people really want to know.

In the mind of many, since the thought of reading Tarot is about as remote as having gone to the moon and back, an assumption is often made that this particular area of interest has been with a person all their life. This was not the case for me.

I began the college years with intentions as a math major… you heard right. It was the early ‘70’s and my dad advised getting into the computer field. Dad was an IBM-er and was aware that these monster machines were the next big thing.

Had I listened, I’d be sitting on a beach in Cancun right now sipping a lifetime supply of margaritas and being tended to by an adorable cabana boy…..but I digress.  

You live long enough and you can see how one thing leads to another, not in any regular or expected pattern, but that choice #1 has led to choice #2, and on it goes until you find yourself at the present moment.

I can look back at my college years and see seminal bits of clarity that would eventually feed the stream of Tarot: an interest in Art History and the intrinsic power of images and symbols; the realization that any work focused on traditional sciences, facts, and/or figures held no allure (precipitating the inevitable disappearance of computer technology from my resume;) a post-graduate project where alchemy, art, and Carl Jung’s psychology converged.

Much more interesting stuff here! 

But before all this, before college and even before high school, there was baton twirling… and an experience whose relevance echoes through the work as a Tarot reader and teacher. (Who’d have thought?) 

It was somewhere in the mid-1960’s. On Saturday mornings we’d travel to the neighboring town of Johnson City where twirling class was taught by a 16-year old who was just about the coolest girl I’d ever seen. Sherrie was confident and popular and got to hang out with boys and drink soda by the cement wall at the side of the high school during breaks. I couldn’t wait to be sixteen.

One year, the town of Johnson City asked Sherrie if a twirler from her class could lead the Memorial Day parade down Main Street, a procession which would include the usual collection of Girl Scouts, veterans, and community groups, in addition to the remainder of the baton class. And so auditions were held, and we all were expected to try out.

There were probably 20 other girls in the class (boys were not included in baton class in the mid- 60’s). By no means was I the best twirler in the crowd, but I got the gig and knew that I would. 

It wasn’t because of my stellar abilities with the baton, but rather that the others were best able to follow my particular lead and tempo; the most cohesive unit was created as I guided the pack from front and center. I borrowed a pair of white majorette boots and off we went.

In this instance, being flamboyant, flashy, or even “the best” wasn’t as important as being steady, consistent, and reliable. What a great lesson to have under one’s belt when engaged in a non-traditional, highly specialized field (Tarot) where people with a wide variety of personalities and skill sets converge!

For my part, it has been inordinately helpful to remember that I don’t have to be the best Tarot reader on the planet in order to be effective. I am fully aware that there are scads of people who know more about the Tarot than I could ever hope. This doesn’t mean that good work can’t happen in my own sphere of influence, nor should it stop me from trying.

The memory of parading down Johnson City’s Main Street in is a reminder that it’s just as important for people to be able to follow your lead (in Tarot-terms, to grasp the guidance, wisdom, and support in the message of your words) as it is to be the brightest star in the sky.

 Today’s tip then, in case you needed another reminder: Being yourself is always the best bet.

PS: Don’t let the similarities between the two images pictured here escape you!

Tarot card image The Magician from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, (c) US Games Systems Inc.

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Three Non-Tarot Ways to Celebrate “World Tarot Day”

May 25, 2012 at 7:57 AM (holidays, metaphysics, Tarot, Uncategorized)
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You may not have it marked on your calendar, but today is World Tarot Day!

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know May 25th to be an important day in the Tarot world until I saw it posted by a colleague a few days ago on Facebook.

Nonetheless, World Tarot Day, established in 2003 by Den Elder,  is the perfect opportunity for us all to give some conscious attention to the Tarot: what it is, what it isn’t, why it’s still around, and how it can be used  to enhance our life.

One of the things I like the best about the Tarot is that its symbols reflect the basic truths of the universe: the archetypal forces of growth and change, the undeniable power of hope and imagination, the equipoise between the light and the dark in all its forms, the non-personal (and non-judgmental) energies of attraction and instinct, and the drive toward wholeness.

The Tarot is about Tarot, but it’s really about life, the experience of what we call “reality,” and a way to give form to the question “what the heck are we doing here?” This sweeping glance at the system supports the notion that you don’t have to be a Tarotist in order to celebrate World Tarot Day.

Herewith, then, are three non-Tarot-oriented ways to celebrate the day:

1. Look for symbols. As you go about your business during this day, pay attention to the “signs” along the way:

*Did you oversleep and arrive late to work for the third time this week?
*Did you mis-dial a phone call and end up connecting with an old friend?
*Was there a particular bumper sticker or billboard sign that caught your eye?
*Did you catch the significance of a Freudian-slip kind of typo or slip of the tongue?
*When you ran out of coffee this morning, did you suddenly remember that you were going to give up drinking coffee?

As the events of the day unfold, take the time to ask yourself, “What did that mean?” What larger truth is being expressed by these accidents of fate? It seems magical when we begin to become aware of meaningful relationships between seemingly unrelated events; this is the definition of synchronicity and one of the ways by which the Big U consistently speaks to us. I have an expression for it: “Coincidences aren’t.”

2. Listen to intuition. We have eyes and ears on the outside of our head, but we also have “inner organs of perception,” ones which, for most of us, are much less utilized.

Intuition is instinctive, but it’s been driven into the hinterlands by intellect and reason. On this World Tarot Day, lure your intuition out of the woods and into the light of day. See how you might be able tune in to this innate tool of perception:

*What do you already know without having to be told?
*Did you have an immediate “gut reaction” to anything today?
*Did certain physical aches and pains disappear at the same time as did certain people or events?
*Was there someone who brought forth a visceral reaction in you, either positive or negative?
*Did a little voice whisper in your ear? More importantly, did you pay attention?
*Was there an occasion today to say, “I knew it!”

There is much about which we have awareness that has not yet risen to the surface. Intuition holds this information for us until we shine the light of consciousness upon it. Give your intuitive muscles a break and get out your flashlight!

3. Accept your wholeness. Try not to place  a value judgment on anything today, especially yourself. Things are only “good” or “bad” if we’re attached to one experience over another. Make it a point to accept all that you are, even the parts you don’t particularly like: your strengths along with your weaknesses, where you are as well as where you’d like to be, how much you weigh, the amount of money you have … it’s all OK today, and is part of a larger picture of wholeness.

The significance of symbolic interactions; the voice of intuition; the acceptance of and the natural movement toward wholeness.
That’s the Tarot and a whole lot more, and something definitely worth celebrating.

Card image of “The World” from the Robin Wood Tarot

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