OMG I love it!
I am watching the old Bewitched TV show on Netflix and Endora is schooling Derwood on magic, after he boasts how his wife (whom he presumes to have domination over) "doesn't need any of that other nonsense." She replies in a perfect deadpan (and I could not have phrased it better myself):
"What is normal to you, young man, is to us asinine."
Isn't it funny how people who have never studied, witnessed, or experienced the wonders of what we will call "magic" (for the sake of the general populace, to whom any unexplained phenomena is either miraculous or magic) assume that it is some kind of hocus-pocus, or involves the most foul substances and practices.
Magic, especially that involving the Tarot is generally a very clean affair. In fact, we spend more time cleaning the gunk of daily life away in preparation to do magic so that we are clear to "communicate with the divine" than we do actually in ritual, which is sad, because magic really is inherent to life. It is life. It is the spark of life. Magic is not messy. Life is messy. People can be (when they are at their worst) dishonest, rude, judgmental, and malicious, and none of this has anything to do with magic. "Magic" requires you to be clear of thought, focused in your purpose, aligned with nature (or "God" if you need a term that is acceptable to your understanding of the world around you), and you need to expend actual energy, to get results. It is no wonder that faeries (people and the ethereal--enroll in the mystery school if you need clarification) are in tune with magic and laugh gleefully at the thought of limiting your magic to a church, temple, or circle. Spellcasters are such funny people to creatures of magic, but no less welcome in the fun. But this is not a lesson on magic. That would take far too much room to explain to the general populace than a simple blog post. Sorry for the rant. It is just funny that Endora so eloquently stated what should be obvious to the (for serious lack of a better term) "muggles."
Ugh! Derision and prejudice take us all. God, save me from your followers!
:-)
Blessed bees in your garden!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
How to Learn the Tarot -- (The easy way)
Learning the Tarot should be fun, not a mind-numbing chore of memorization the meanings and inferences of 78 cards. The first thing you need to know about the Tarot is that tens years of practice and study will lead you to the point where the Tarot surprised you with new information just as surely as it does when you begin learning it. In other words, you don't have to worry about learning it all at once, mastering every nuance and "hidden meaning." You do have to start somewhere though, and try not to cram your head so full of detached facts, figures, and philosophies that you end up confused, overwhelmed, or bored.
The Tarot did not Spring forth fully formed, like Aphrodite did from Jupiter's (loosely a.k.a. Zeus) thigh. It evolved over centuries as more and more uses were developed for it. First, it was an interesting game. Later, it became a fun fortune telling device. Still later, modern mystery schools built lesson plans around it, to teach ancient knowledge. Today, a growing number of psychologists use its unique beautiful visual symbolism to help patients. So your journey of learning the Tarot does not need to encompass every minute detail of its existence. You do need to decide (at least for the present) what the Tarot means to you, and what you want to do with it (for now).
Some of you will gravitate immediately to an esoteric study of the images, seeking to learn the writings of scholars long dead, while others will look for magical uses of the Tarot, and still others will have fun meeting people at parties by giving fun and lively readings. There is no one right way to approach the Tarot. You have to look at these scraps of paper with pictures on them as what they mean to you, and you have to allow yourself to enjoy the experience of learning more about them--in the areas that interest you. Nothing else matters.
So, with that out of the way, we will be covering various ways of interacting with the Tarot here, interspersed with various possible meanings for the cards themselves. I say various possible meanings, as the Tarot is highly subjective, and there will always be arguments and debates over what each card means and how much emphasis to place on numerology versus Kabbalistic influence, astrology, color assignment, and a host of other subtle influences on meaning. The one, true, correct meaning is the one that works for you right now. Is if works, it is correct. If it does not, then you need a new meaning.
Okay, enough preaching, next time I promise we will be 100% into the lessons.
.
The Tarot did not Spring forth fully formed, like Aphrodite did from Jupiter's (loosely a.k.a. Zeus) thigh. It evolved over centuries as more and more uses were developed for it. First, it was an interesting game. Later, it became a fun fortune telling device. Still later, modern mystery schools built lesson plans around it, to teach ancient knowledge. Today, a growing number of psychologists use its unique beautiful visual symbolism to help patients. So your journey of learning the Tarot does not need to encompass every minute detail of its existence. You do need to decide (at least for the present) what the Tarot means to you, and what you want to do with it (for now).
Some of you will gravitate immediately to an esoteric study of the images, seeking to learn the writings of scholars long dead, while others will look for magical uses of the Tarot, and still others will have fun meeting people at parties by giving fun and lively readings. There is no one right way to approach the Tarot. You have to look at these scraps of paper with pictures on them as what they mean to you, and you have to allow yourself to enjoy the experience of learning more about them--in the areas that interest you. Nothing else matters.
So, with that out of the way, we will be covering various ways of interacting with the Tarot here, interspersed with various possible meanings for the cards themselves. I say various possible meanings, as the Tarot is highly subjective, and there will always be arguments and debates over what each card means and how much emphasis to place on numerology versus Kabbalistic influence, astrology, color assignment, and a host of other subtle influences on meaning. The one, true, correct meaning is the one that works for you right now. Is if works, it is correct. If it does not, then you need a new meaning.
Okay, enough preaching, next time I promise we will be 100% into the lessons.
.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Free copies of the new Tarot book available for review
Hey kids,
If you know NOTHING (or very little) about the Tarot, but you want to learn the Tarot (absolutely f-r-e-e), you should probably read this particular post.
I thought I'd kick off the new blog with the simple announcement that The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot--EVER!! is being published on the equinox, and therefore I have made a handful of copies available for last-minute student reviews. So far the most respected Tarot experts in the world love it, but the real test is whether students like this book, and whether they can easily learn the Tarot by using it, with-or-without a teacher.
So I decided to open the entire book to scrutiny from anyone who wants to use it, learn from it, and give me their opinion of it by no later than March 7th, 2009. Simply put, if you would like to get your hands on a FREE COPY of this book, you had better email me ASAP, before available copies are gone, and definitely before Valentine's day. I am looking for brave souls who will share their thoughts and feelings about this book--and in turn YOUR NAME and YOUR COMMENTS will be put on the front page, where the world can see what you have to say about this historical and unique method of teaching the Tarot. Will you be compensated? Well, you will get a free book, but you won't be paid, as that would defeat the purpose of getting your feedback. I am not looking for someone I can pay to say nice things about me. I am looking for someone who really WANTS to learn the Tarot, who will enjoy this book and use it (and then hopefully say nice things about me!)
I am not looking for Tarot teachers or Tarot authors at the moment, but if you are either and want to say hello, please, by all means do so. I already have rave reviews from experts. The less you know about the Tarot, the more I want you to learn the Tarot. It will change your life (for the better) and it is fun, easy to learn, and will not bore you, even after years of deeper study.
So, after all that--if you have a 4-20 hours a week to read and practice ("a little bit each day") and you really want to MASTER the Tarot without having to slog through yet another boring book on the Tarot here's what you need to do:
1: Head over to AdvancedTarotSecrets.com and look at the sneak-preview of the book. If you like what you see and you want a free copy of this book (before Valentine's day) you need to:
2: Email me, private message me, join and post in the ATS forum (it's on the website and it is free as well), or post a comment here with a link where I can reach you. But do not hesitate, or your book will not be free.
Okay, next time I will start posting actual Tarot insights and lessons. This free book offer is strictly a one-time deal, as it is costing me money to buy and mail out copies from my publisher, out of my own pocket. All comments are welcome. Thanks for reading.
Dusty White
If you know NOTHING (or very little) about the Tarot, but you want to learn the Tarot (absolutely f-r-e-e), you should probably read this particular post.
I thought I'd kick off the new blog with the simple announcement that The Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot--EVER!! is being published on the equinox, and therefore I have made a handful of copies available for last-minute student reviews. So far the most respected Tarot experts in the world love it, but the real test is whether students like this book, and whether they can easily learn the Tarot by using it, with-or-without a teacher.
So I decided to open the entire book to scrutiny from anyone who wants to use it, learn from it, and give me their opinion of it by no later than March 7th, 2009. Simply put, if you would like to get your hands on a FREE COPY of this book, you had better email me ASAP, before available copies are gone, and definitely before Valentine's day. I am looking for brave souls who will share their thoughts and feelings about this book--and in turn YOUR NAME and YOUR COMMENTS will be put on the front page, where the world can see what you have to say about this historical and unique method of teaching the Tarot. Will you be compensated? Well, you will get a free book, but you won't be paid, as that would defeat the purpose of getting your feedback. I am not looking for someone I can pay to say nice things about me. I am looking for someone who really WANTS to learn the Tarot, who will enjoy this book and use it (and then hopefully say nice things about me!)
I am not looking for Tarot teachers or Tarot authors at the moment, but if you are either and want to say hello, please, by all means do so. I already have rave reviews from experts. The less you know about the Tarot, the more I want you to learn the Tarot. It will change your life (for the better) and it is fun, easy to learn, and will not bore you, even after years of deeper study.
So, after all that--if you have a 4-20 hours a week to read and practice ("a little bit each day") and you really want to MASTER the Tarot without having to slog through yet another boring book on the Tarot here's what you need to do:
1: Head over to AdvancedTarotSecrets.com and look at the sneak-preview of the book. If you like what you see and you want a free copy of this book (before Valentine's day) you need to:
2: Email me, private message me, join and post in the ATS forum (it's on the website and it is free as well), or post a comment here with a link where I can reach you. But do not hesitate, or your book will not be free.
Okay, next time I will start posting actual Tarot insights and lessons. This free book offer is strictly a one-time deal, as it is costing me money to buy and mail out copies from my publisher, out of my own pocket. All comments are welcome. Thanks for reading.
Dusty White
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