SGSD: Zombie Tarot & Tarot Activities

Today, I'm showing off the Zombie Tarot, created by the same fine people that make the Housewives Tarot (one of my favorite decks).  Both decks come in lovely recipe box style boxes and have a wonderful humorous sensibility. Like the  Housewives Tarot, the Zombie Tarot is set in the fantasy version of the 1950s created by Hollywood.  But if Housewives depicts the world of Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best, the Zombie Tarot harks to every B-movie directly and indirectly about Cold War fears and anxiety about The Bomb.

A quick look through the Major Arcana shows a story old horror movie fans will find familiar - opening scene, The Fool - a man walks to a graveyard with flowers for a loved ones grave - not noticing the disturbed remains and the walking dead following behind him. Uh oh!  The Magician shows the scientist creating the disease that starts all this.... the Hierophant is a TV showing emergency broadcast instructions, and on we go until Judgment is finally delivered with a dropped nuke, and the World depicts a happy 50s family living 'normal life' - in an underground bunker on the Moon, while the Earth explodes in the distance.

The Minor Arcana of the Zombie Tarot most uses the usual names - Cups (pictured as neatly sliced skulls cradling tasty, tasty brains),  Wands (bones and limbs which tend to get yanked off in Zombie World), Swords (shown as knives and other weapons for fighting the brain-munching horde), and Hazards (Pentacles - depicted as a 'hazard' symbol, and showing some interesting attempts to use the Zombies rather than being eaten by them.  The practicality of living in a world overrun with animated corpses).

Zombie stories are, I think, about how things fall apart - they hook into our fear that unseen things are happening that are going to shred the facade of normalcy and civilization we take for granted.  There are two horrors in the zombie genre - the first is that Death itself has stopped working (how is that for turning a fear of death on its head?) but not in the sense of eternal life.  Rather, zombies are animated meat with a chronic hunger for flesh - our dead loved ones don't rest in peace. Instead, what's physically left of them shambles around, dropping rotting flesh all along the way, and try to mindlessly eat us.

The other horror is the ruin of civilization itself - you might get eaten, sure - but you might also just as easily wind up killed by a living person because all the social structure has disappeared and everyone's creating their own rules as they go.

This theme of 'Things Fall Apart' makes the Tower the obvious choice of card to share, as that is what the Tower is all about in Tarot - the understanding that sometimes, that carefully constructed reality you think protects you just crumbles, and you're left with nothing but rubble.

Little wonder the Tower is one of those cards in Tarot that makes people nervous!  In the Zombie Tarot, the lightning has struck.... Tower moments are always sudden mayhem. There you minding your own business and ZAP, it all falls apart.  In this depiction of the Tower, the walls hold, but these folks, securely thinking they are sheltered away from the Zombie Apocalypse, suddenly find their fortress breached - the zombies are here, they're hungry, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Things fall apart, and your security measure are useless against the forces of chaos.  Scarrrry, eh?  I don't think it's a coincidence that zombie tales are popular right  now - they feed into current fears that things are, indeed, falling apart and our old fortresses are more fragile than they seem.

The book I'm sharing today is The Tarot Activity Book, by Andy Matzner who is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist as well as tarot reader.  This book uses Tarot in concert with various journaling ideas, 'conversation starters' and ideas for therapeutic art projects.  The result is a treasure house of ways to use Tarot in a different way than divination for self exploration, growth and healing.  Fair warning - while this book does not require any previous knowledge of Tarot, neither will it directly teach a beginner anything specifically about Tarot. Most exercises involve going through a deck and choosing a card or cards as a part of the activity, by using visual cues rather than 'standard' meanings.  I honestly think that's a pretty great way to learn Tarot - but don't look for key words or even any explanation about what a particular card 'means'.

The activity I chose to try with the Zombie Tarot was Poetry Time.  Very simply, pull a card at random, and use it as inspiration for a poem.  An alternative suggestion is to use the title of a Major Arcana card, spelled out vertically, so that the letters become the first line of the poem about the card.

I'm no poet, so excuse the raw (brainns!!!!!) effort here.   The card I pulled is No. 6: The Lovers.

Zombie Love

Til Death, we vowed,
Hardly believing such limits truly exist
Even as the world faltered around us.

Look at us now.
Our love perfumed with roses and rot,
Visions of the one I once adored
Even as you decay in my arms.
Relish the taste of my beating heart,
Sweet gift I gave you long ago.

~ Lynda H

~~~

Don't forget to head over to Pagan Culture, and look down the sidebar for many wonderful creative entries for the So Good, So Dark Blog Party. Don't forget to explore the giveaways!

And take a moment to hop over to the Samhain's Sirens entry today - a delicious recipe for baked squash, a tutorial on creating a spider web, and a unique bracelet up for giveaway.

SGSD: The Vampire Tarot & Tarot: Get the Whole Story

There are several vampire-themed Tarot decks on the market, but until recently, I didn't have any of them.  While I enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer a whole lot, and I enjoy Stoker's Dracula, and True Blood (although I'm a lot behind on that)  I'm not a 'fan' of vampires as sympathetic characters, so I've never been drawn to the motif in Tarot.

The Vampire Tarot (US Games Systems, Inc), Nathalie Hertz

Recently, though, a friend of mine passed on her copy of The Vampire Tarot, by Nathalie Hertz (US Games Systems, Inc.) - since it is seasonal, I've been exploring it a bit, although I am far from 'literate' in its imagery.

Vampire tales seem to me to be about passion and desire that utterly overrides every other consideration.  They seem to embody  the energy of dysfunctional relationships, where one person 'feeds' on another - where people are seen as both repellent and charismatic, takers of one's energy while promising eternal life of a sort.  Vampires are portrayed as being pure passion and romance while having no beating heart at all, and no pulsing blood other than that which they steal.

In this deck, the Devil has to surpass all these qualities typical of the Tarot Devil - here he is depicted as pure beast, human qualities nearly entirely gone.  He is pure predator, pure desire in search of what it hungers for, long fangs to feed, long claws to clutch, wings to better pursue.  No persuasive allure is left here - he's not interested in convincing his prey to come to him.  He'll just take them, and be done with it.  In this image, he occupies all the space - the way behind him is blocked and closed.

The Devil in Tarot often points to intense materialism, addiction, and an imbalanced level of sensuality.  You may fall for that sparkly, broody vamp you write about in your diary, but if you find yourself in the hands of this Devil, you're just food.

The book I chose to work with today is a Tarot: Get the Whole Story, by James Ricklef.  This gem of a book focuses on spreads with solid explanations of how to compose a spread that will best reflect what a person is seeking guidance for.  Ricklef does this in a really creative and interesting way, by demonstrating spreads for various historical and fictional figures, so that each spread has a 'what if' story about familiar characters.

This can be a very fruitful way to practice spreads - read for 'characters'!  It also helps show how Tarot might be used in storytelling - to get at the qualities of a character, to understand motivations, or to lay out a plot.

Because I so strongly associate vampires with relationship issues,  I chose to try out Relationship Transformation Spread, intended to help a person understand why their relationships don't work.  Ricklef applied this spread to Scrooge.  I'm going to use it to have a little talk with Spike,  the incorrigible vampire with the longstanding love/hate crush on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

1.  What are Spike's problematic patterns in this relationship?
6 of Cups
Honestly, Spike has a LOT of problematic patterns in this relationship, some of which go with the territory when you're a soulless vampire.  But his core pattern goes back to before he was turned, when he was an over-earnest writer of bad poetry, trying to convince a woman to love him and being told that he was 'beneath' her - he's been the hapless lover ever since, falling for women who won't or can't love him in return.  Choosing the Vampire Slayer as the object of his affections - could there possibly be a better set up for dysfunction than that?

The 6 of Cups often has to do with nostalgia, and sometimes overly positive memories of more innocent times gone by.  In this card, we see the Cups - carriers of emotion and love (and in this deck, blood) overturned.  Reliving the patterns of his past, Spike wound up, among other things, being 'chipped' and unable to feed, and still not really getting the girl - because his pattern is to chase love from people who are unattainable, and lose.  Perhaps he even beliefs the pain of that constant cycle of loss and hopelessness is what makes his love 'real'.

2. What are Spike's fears in it?
King of Pentacles
The King of Pentacles is the guy with all the power over material things.  Spike is afraid that this King isn't him - that someone better, more worthy, more stable and with more to offer, will take his place.  He knows that he's the guy who probably understands Buffy best, but that's because she, herself, is not very well grounded and she, too, yearns for a simple, down to earth life and relationship, while living in such a way that it is impossible.  If it ever happens that she's able to find someone to share that sort of life with her, Spike will be deposed, and he knows it.  The only way Spike can keep his crown is to keep her convinced that she'll never do better - classic vampire style dysfunction, and it's rooted in his own fears about not being good enough.

3. How does Spike block love in it?
II - The High Priestess
The High Priestess is intuitive wisdom, but she is also a keeper of secrets.  She doesn't reveal all that she knows, and in order to access her wisdom, one must be ready to hear it.  She is mysterious and holds the key to the subconscious self.

Spike is a masterful keeper of secrets - from himself.  He can be the model of living in denial, always painting his own actions as either more heroic or more villianous than they are - and if that doesn't work, he's ever ready to blame others for making him do something he shouldn't.  He blocks love that could happen in his relationship with Buffy by living so deep in his own head and own reality that it simply isn't possible to really get close to him - he is far too protective of his own vulnerability to really allow it without resisting.

Deep inside, he really does crave love - but that is a solidly locked door if he thinks you might hurt him.  And the only way to be intimate is to be willing to risk being hurt. Poor Spike.

4. What does Spike need to let go of in order to make this relationship work?
8 of Cups
We can see the cups upright now, but they're drained of the fluid needed to keep this relationship alive.  If Spikes wants a relationship with Buffy to work on any level, it's time for him to get real and acknowledge that when it comes to any sort of healthy romance, there is no 'there' there.  Not only is he never going to be the Right One for Buffy - but she's never going to be the Right One for him either.  Because of who they are - vampire and vampire slayer - she can't overlook what he is without betraying what she is, and the only way he can stay near her at all means he has to be her neutered dog.  This is not ever going to work.

The 8 of Cups typically has to do with walking away from situations that are no longer emotionally satisfying.  If Spike is willing to accept that this romance can never be healthy and look for something more meaningful to let him feel his own worthiness, then perhaps he and Buffy can develop a real relationship as friends, but if he insists on trying to make it into a romance, it is going to continue to be dysfunctional and unsatisfying for them both.

5. How can Spike heal this relationship?
9 of Cups

Here we see the cups overflowing and filling one another, and the curtains flung open to see the wider universe beyond the confines of this space.  Spike can heal this relationship by moving away from pouring all his thwarted love/hate insecure feelings into Buffy, and toward caring about and being emotionally generous to many people.  Instead of grasping and taking, he can redirect himself to giving to others.

As it happened, Spike sacrificed himself (however grudgingly - he was, after all, a vampire to the end) for the sake of the town he'd regarded as his personal feeding grounds, and in doing so, he gained the love and gratitude of many, and more than redeemed himself in the eyes of Buffy.  In  that heroic act, he healed the relationship that had caused them both so much pain.

So there it is - thanks for indulging me, and apologies for inflicting any pain on anyone who really, really wanted those two to be the romance of the century!  If you enjoyed this, try reading for a fictional character you love, and see where where it takes you,

~~~

As a reminder, head over to Pagan Culture, for several wonderful giveaways, and tons of creative posts with a spooky bent for the So Dark, So Good Blog Party.  Magaly's giveaways are always so fun - not only has she rounded up some great items, but she encourages creative and thoughtful comments by asking questions as a part of entering.  Go check it out!

Also, Samhain's Sirens is still going strong!  Today's entry includes a mouthwatering recipe for Slow Cooker Pork and Apples, a lovely essay on Samhain as the New Year, and an adorable witchy tote bag being given away.

Until next time, when I'll be looking at the Zombie Tarot!

~ Lynda

So Good, So Dark: Halloween Tarot

For the next eight days, Magaly Guerrero of Pagan Culture is hosting an All Hallows Grim Blog Party with the theme of So Good, So Dark, with the aim "to use our artistic power, intellect and heart to create posts that show the delicious goodness that blooms in the dark."  Participants will be sharing all sorts of creative spins on the darkness - artwork, stories, etc, along with a few giveaways.  Check back to Magaly's website - she'll be offering giveaways throughout the week, and you can find participants' entries in the sidebar.

For me, I'm going to share some of my Tarot treasures - a few of my darker decks (or at least seasonally themed) and books that lend themselves especially to creative exploration or working with darkness and shadow.  What I have is absolutely not the limit of what is available (I find I am not a particularly dark-oriented person these days!), but perhaps it will inspire an interest in working with a new deck or two, or to use Tarot in a different way than simple divination.  For each deck, I'm going to share the Death, Devil or Tower card (the ones most likely to be considered dark and scary) and the back.  And I will also share an exercise from each book I am highlighting using the chosen deck.

The Halloween Tarot
Karin Lee & Kipling West
US Games Systems, Inc.

Our first experience with October darkness tends to not be too frightening - most of us, at least those of us in the U.S. have memories of Halloween, and the (mostly) safe thrill of costumed figures in the darkness of our own streets, our neighborhoods transformed into spooky haunted houses where we are lured in with the promise of sweets, and almost, if not quite, sure that the cackling crone and Frankenstein handing out the goodies are really our best friend's mom and dad.

The first deck I want to share takes us back to those intriguing days of sweet spookiness - The Halloween Tarot. 

This deck is an utterly charming Rider-Waite Smith clone.  The four suits are Pumpkins (Pentacles), Ghosts (Cups), Bats (Swords), and Imps (Wands).  I have found this deck not only to be great fun to read, but also a wonderful introduction to Tarot for children, and those who are a little afraid of Tarot - that little thrill of Halloween fright is there, but in a familiar and non-threatening package.  As a person gets comfortable with these images, they can then compare them to the standard RWS deck, and will find they have developed a good grounding in the symbolism of the system.

But besides all that - it is simply a fun, slightly spooky deck to play with at this time of year.

Death in Tarot usually does not indicate physical death (although it can).  Instead it has to do with transformation - specifically the transformation that rises out of things that have ended.  It's not a comfortable card but it needn't be seen as a 'bad' one, either.

The Death card in the Halloween Tarot is rich with symbol - in the night sky, we can see Saturn (Cronus in Greek - a deity related to Time and a reminder that everything has a timespan).  The vulture and the rat are each scavengers, feeding off the remains of that which has died - and a good thing they do, too, if you think about it.  In the bottom left of the card is a Death's Head Moth and tacked onto the fence is an ankh, an Egyptian symbol thought to mean Eternal Life.  In Death, matter is transformed, not lost.  Death itself - here a skeleton - is shown here as a gardener.  As anyone who has ever grown anything, what dies becomes compost and fertilizer - dirt, which becomes the soil in which new life can grow.  Without death, there could be no life.   The pumpkins and flowers in this garden seem to be quite happy to be there, even if they know it cannot be forever in this form.  Finally, for those familiar with the RWS Death card, the watering can has the five-petaled rose so familiar on Death's banner.

Oh and the black cat?  He's on every single card - try this deck with children.  Even very young kids will enjoy looking for the cat on each image.

Tarot Games
Cait Johnson & Maura Shaw

Tarot Games: 45 Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together is a delightful book by Cait Johnson & Maura Shaw.   Rather than the 'usual' look at each card, this is, truly, a book of games that can be played with Tarot.  Some alone, some in a group setting, and some specifically designed to be played with children.  Most of these do not require any previous experience with Tarot, but can also be used as a way to shake things up for those who have long experience with reading.  I highly recommend it!

Today, I decided to try a simple game from the children's section, called Autumn Leaves:

"The player mixes the cards, then stands on a chair and drops ten cards, one by one, from this height. Only the cards that land face up are read.  These may indicate attitudes or beliefs that the player is beginning to outgrow or needs to let go.  Let the child tell you what he or she sees in the "autumn leaves."

 

Out of 10 cards, I had 8 show up upright.  These could be read separately, considered as various things that it might be time to put away as the season turns toward Winter.  Or they could be arranged as a narrative.

My inclination was to pay a little extra attention to the 10 of Pumpkins overlaying the 9 of Pumpkins - it is burying the qualities of the 9.   

The 10 shows a party where a pumpkin is being used as a pinata - the tree is full of jack o'lanterns and there is a crowd of people in costume waiting their turn to take a whack.  It's a social setting and looks fun.... but on the other hand, little is as it seems.  Who are these people under their masks?  What do the jack o'lanterns waiting to be hit represent?  It's a lot of activity, but it could be pretty stressful and noisy.  This 10 generally has to do with family legacies, and it makes me worry about things being broken open 'for fun', and not so nice games being labeled as good times and social obligations where no one is really open at all.

It's burying the 9 of Pumpkins, which shows very nearly the opposite scene - a pleasant, well dressed woman stands alone in her thriving pumpkin patch, keeping company with an owl, a symbol of wisdom.  Her pumpkins are still growing, not cut into jack-o-lanterns, and she wears no mask.  She's found a place of serenity and quiet - a haven from the noise and gameplaying.  With the 10 hiding this, I see here a suggestion that it what may be needing to be put away is social experiences and family dynamics  that disrupt peace.  It can be a wonderful thing to enjoy the company of others, but make sure it's the people you want to spent time with.

~~~

A couple of giveaways to point you to, today:

Samhain's Sirens has a tutorial for making seasonal masks and is giving away two of them, one for Fall and one for Spring.

Meanwhile, Pagan Culture has a gorgeous chest by Eliora called "Reach Through the Darkness to Those You Love", full of things to help honor our Ancestors.  Lovely!

See you tomorrow!

~ Lynda H.

A Weekly Tarot Spread

I pulled out one of my decks at random to do a weekly spread I've been working with for awhile.   The deck I chose is called simply "Tarot" - it's one of the Running Press Mini Kits that you can often find on the display racks near the checkout at book stores.  It is a shame they never gave it a more specific name, and it bugs me to no end that the artist gets no credit - it's actually a sweet little deck that packs a lot of symbol into some simple images.  The bright colors on a black background have a folk art appeal I like a lot.  It comes in a sturdy little box, complete with a small but attractive booklet and makes for a good portable deck, since the cards are only about 2.5"x 3.5".

So here's the spread (and my reading for the week)

Weekly Challenge Spread

1.  Main Challenge of the week.
2. Lesson that this challenge calls me to learn.
3. Best approach to learning  this lesson.
4. Outcome of integrating this approach into my week.

So the first thing to look at is that there are no Major Arcana cards here, nor any Pentacles - this has to do with daily level living, and is mainly in the realm of attitudes and thoughts rather than outward things.

1.  Main Challenge of this next week.
VIII Wands
Here, we see the 8 of Wands portrayed as a wheel - wands (energy and will) make up the spokes and the axle at the center is a clock or stopwatch.  This has to do with getting things done - a desire to get rolling on projects.  This card tends to be about speed and fast momentum toward one's target.  Often, this card will be 8 wands flying through the air like spears, but I rather like the idea of them as parts of a wheel - a vehicle for forward motion.  That the stopwatch is what holds them together also works well for me - having deadlines is a good motivator for getting things done.   I think many of us do better when there is a little tension.  A deadline keeps us from simply spinning our wheels and procrastinating.

So - the main challenge of this next week is setting and meeting my deadlines, and avoiding procrastination!

2. Lesson that this challenge calls me to learn.
VII Cups
The figure on this card is the opposite of grounded - she's balanced on a tied around a pair of stacks of cups.  The cups aren't stabilized at all, and the whole thing looks very fragile.  The figure carries an additional cup in one hand and hides behind a mask on a stick (wand) - energy is being put into portraying herself unrealistically, and her precarious walk not only isn't going anywhere real, but it's likely to shortly fall down.  These cups are emotional in nature... hopes, and fears and dreams and moods.  The sense here is one of performing according to how one 'feels' like doing, shifting one's balance with every shift of emotion, rather than steady progression toward any real purpose.

The lesson, in terms of setting and meeting deadlines and especially avoiding procrastination is to not be distracted by whim and feelings, and to ground myself in a more solid and disciplined path.  Stop 'playing around' and focus.

3. Best approach to learning  this lesson.
X Swords
Here we have a figure seated on the ground, with ten swords (hilts like spades) stabbed into his back. This is one of those cards no one likes - being stabbed in the back hurts!  But because it is the 'best approach' to the learning the lesson of better grounding and discipline, it first calls to mind for me how often procrastination leads to betrayal of self and others, and how many great plans are 'murdered' because of slipped opportunity.  In addition, looking at it from a basic elemental level, we see that swords are mental energy and 10s are he end of that element's influence, so we can also see that it advices that it is time to stop thinking about things and just do them, already.

And so, the best approach to learning the lesson of grounding and discipline as a way to meet the challenge of avoiding procrastination is to use one's honoring of commitments to self and others to take action rather than merely 'thinking about' getting things done.

4. Outcome of integrating this approach into my week.
Ace of Swords
This Ace, also with a spade hilt, has to do with mental potential - fresh ideas and attitudes, new understandings.  The Ace is wrapped in living greenery because it is the seed of mental growth.  It is a gift that comes from keeping to right thoughts, and opens the way for new challenges and rewards to come.

The takeaway here is that by clearing away poor attitudes and habits, remembering the integrity of keeping commitments as a way to develop a good grounding in disciplined action, in order to keep deadlines and avoid procrastination, one can clear away old tasks and open the way to new mental challenges and lessons. 

The outcome is a clear vision for the future.

~~~

Before I go, I'm going to point you over to Samhain's Sirens once again - today's entry includes a neat craft project to help us honor our Ancestors, as well as a giveaway of some lovely flourite earrings. Te giveaway is open throughout the weekend, until Monday morning. Go check it out!

~ Lynda

Our Samhain Shrine

Far too late into the season, we finally got our seasonal shrine decorated for Samhain/Halloween. Our actual altar (laid out in ADF Druid style with the Well-Fire-Tree configuration) doesn't really vary and is on a smallish surface that doesn't allow for much seasonal decoration.  The shrine, on the other hand, provides a surface to put things during ritual, as well as room enough to explode the room with some seasonal lushness.

This year, it's got a bit of a witchy feel to it, and a good bit of whimsy - because as much as  I love the serious intent of Samhain, I am and always have been a big fan of a good secular Halloween.  As a kid, Christmas only trumped it as my favorite holiday because there were presents - otherwise, Halloween was by far more fun and interesting!

The tree always operates as our seasonal centerpiece - here covered in autumn leaves and flowers, and decorated with a few lacy plush pumpkins, witchy shoes and hats.  There is also a couple Day of the Dead skulls (one homemade by me, another a gift from my daughter Jackie), and an owl ornament.

I am badly in need of some ravens, I think.

The vase contains more autumn color - sunflowers and wheat, as well as some light-up twigs and peacock feathers from our wedding, and to either side are some tin witch hats that can hold votive candles inside, and a couple dollar store skulls resting in more fall foliage.

Resting on a clay leaf is a wand made by Eliora of Enchanting Elegance, and beneath the tree is my crystal ball.

This corner of the room makes me happy with it's bright color and magical goodies.

Speaking of Samhain magic - Samhain's Sirens has a sweet entry today, discussing familiars and animal loved ones, along with a whimsical cat plaque for the season as today's giveaway.  Go take a look!

~ Lynda

The Hierophant

Today's Samhain's Sirens post is a fun mix of food, spooky craft ideas, and a giveaway of a 9"x7" lined bag (just right for a Tarot deck, says I!)  Pretty isn't it?

Speaking of Tarot, I've been wanting to get back into a daily (or, being honest, as near daily as I can manage) exploration of Tarot.  How that gets defined depends a lot on whim - a look at a particular cards, an examination of a specific deck, a spread here or there...

Today, I pulled out my Housewives Tarot (a deck that never fails to make me smile), and drew a card asking "What is Tarot?"

I drew the Hierophant, which in this deck shows a television set showing a test pattern (something you young'uns might know nothing about - once upon a time, TV stations went off at night, replacing programming with a test pattern, so we'd know they were still properly broadcasting).

The word Hierophant comes from ancient Greek:  ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show."  It was the title given to the priest who conducted the Eleusian mysteries - the interpreter of religious mysteries.  As such, the answer to "What is Tarot?" is that it is an interpretation of mystery, and a way to come into the presence of the holy.


The Hierophant in general can be a challenging card for a lot of people - in its aspect as "The Pope" - religious authority, and for many that has some negative connotation, borne of unpleasant memories of being told what to do, and what wasn't allowed, on penalty of spiritual punishment.  While Tarot does have much to offer in the way of spiritual guidance, it does not demand adherence or else.  But it does speak with spiritual authority, and for some (myself included) Tarot - like the Pope - is a way to hear and understand the divine, however the reader interprets that. 

In Tarot the Hierophant is also a teacher - specifically institutional teachings - academic studies, universities, classroom settings, as well as teachings that have an established philosophy and  course of study.  Here again, the idea of authority comes into play - while many of us are happy to learn as we like on our own, or through an individual mentor, at some point nearly all of us will find ourselves striving to learn - and to show our work - according to some previously set standards, and that is the Hierophant at work.  In looking at What is Tarot, the Hierophant tells us it is a system of learning.  While intuition is vital in reading Tarot, the cards do contain set concepts.  The symbols have meanings that are applied on purpose, and learning these symbols and meanings, and  the history behind them deepens and enriches one's literacy in the language of Tarot, and greatly expands what the intuition can comprehend.

For me, the Hierophant is also the Story-Teller.  The keeper of our cultural and historical myths, urban legends, historical truths (and "Truths") that inform us of who we are, what we stand for, what matters to us as a community or society.  "What is Tarot?" - Tarot is the Bard the tells us the story of ourselves.

So back to that TV, and why I think it is a brilliant visual interpretation of the Hierophant.  In modern life, TV (and radio, and the Internet) has become the medium through which we, as a society, interpret and understand our stories, learn what we need to know, and for many, a major way through which we experience, interpret and/or explain our spirituality - you are reading this on a blog about spiritual practices online, after all.  In today's world, we don't so much look to the Pope (or other gurus) as the primary conduit through which our understanding of our spiritual cultural heritage is filtered.... but we sure run it through the mass media filter, for better and worse.

Last thought on "What is Tarot" -  that test pattern.  Incoming programming takes a break, and via Tarot, we're able to 'test' what it means, and what might come of it.  We can use Tarot to forecast what might happen next based on what we have already seen, but we do so in a space set apart from the steady flow of input. We take a break to contemplate the future, via Tarot.

Samhain's Sirens

You know you want it....

Just a quickie update to share with you Samhain's Sirens, a fabulous month-long Samhain celebration, chock full of music, recipes and giveaways.  Every single day between today and November 1st!

Today's kickoff is awesome!  Head over for a sweet Autumnal granola recipe, and enter for two fantastic giveaways - a $200 weblog makeover by PIP Designs and a stunning handmade blank book made by Lapulia Studios worth $332.98.

And then check back daily for more awesome giveaways and other fun things - Samhain is worth a month long celebration, don't you think?

~ Lynda