The Tarot Your Guide to Tarot Mastery

Edition 20 Winter 2015

This edition’s theme is based on the card called ‘Judgement.

Are you awake? Or are you walking

through life as a zombie? So many trudge

along with no motivation, no passion, no

goals, and without those big, bold dreams

that make it easy to climb out of bed in the

morning.

When you find the card called Judgement

appearing in your readings, it’s time to

evaluate your life and be ready to ‘follow

your bliss’. This card is all about

awakening to your desires and following

your heart.

In this card’s image, the angel Gabriel is

blowing his trumpet to blast you awake.

This is a biblical scene representing the

last judgement.

When this card turns up, be prepared for

some life-changing notions to dominate

your thoughts. The angel is saying that the

universe is waiting for you to re-awaken to

all the possibilities you used to imagine

were your ultimate destiny.

Wake up to your own potential. The time

is right. Take the steps required to live the

life you know you could be living. Rise up

and make your dreams a reality. It’s up to

you.

Tarot Blessings, Don McLeod

www.MisterTarot.com

Page 1 – Editorial

Page 2 – Conferences & Events

Page 3 – Interview with John Matthews

Page 4 – Next Tarot Workshops

Page 5 – Interview with Caitlin Matthews

Page 6 – The Necessity of Clear Questions

Page 7 – Rachel Pollack’s Story

Page 8 – Interpretations for Judgement

2015 Living Tarot Conference

The International Tarot Conference will be held

in Melbourne this year.

Last year’s event was sensational, so if you are

serious about Tarot, then start planning your

attendance at this event.

It will be held from 7th to 9th August 2015, followed

by 2 days of workshops on 10th and 11th August.

Guest presenters include, Amber Jayanti, Evelynne

Joffe, Caitlin Matthews, and Mark Ryan.

Learn how to combine Tarot and Palmistry with Trev & Cinzia. It’s an innovative, five week course that only costs $125 — and it is followed by free practice sessions. It’s now held in North Adelaide as well as Hahndorf. Email Trev: witchabilia@hotmail.com

UK Tarot Conference

(London)

9th and 10th October 2015

Some of the presenters for this year’s event

are: Caitlin Matthews, David Wells, Susyn

Blair-Hunt, Wicca Meier-Spring, Sue

Farebrother, and Chloe McCracken.

Caitlin Matthews’ workshop is called

‘Which Way Are Your Cards Facing?’ She says that noticing the way the subject of

a card faces helps us to skilfully read cards,

adding depth to our interpretation. Caitlin

Matthews is the author of four Tarots

including the Complete Arthurian Tarot,

and of several oracles, including The

Enchanted Lenormand Oracle.

The workshop by David Wells is called

‘Tree of Life Experience’. David suggests,

‘The ancient symbol of the Tree of Life

carries within it the mysteries of the Tarot,

so what better symbol to use as a grid for an

in-depth reading?’ In this workshop, David

will take you on an adventure through the

Sephiroth of the Tree, and using your own

deck of cards you will be able to use the

union of Tree and Tarot to bring a new

perspective to your readings.

Susyn Blair-Hunt’s workshop is ‘Let the

Tarot Cards do the Talking’. This

workshop focuses on learning to trust the

messages you receive from the Tarot,

visually as well as spiritually. Getting the

cards to ‘talk to you’ opens the door to

richer and more predictive messages during

your readings.

Edition 20 Winter 2015

An Interview with John Matthews UK Tarot Conference 2013

John and Caitlin Matthews live in Oxford, UK, so

it was relatively easy for them to be part of the UK

Tarot Conference in 2013. Their partnership has

resulted in more than 150 books featuring

mythology and oracles. At the conference, John

Matthews had an impressive range of his books

and decks on display.

He was happy to share stories of his involvement

with Tarot, and my first question related to the

number of years he’d spent working on Tarot and

Oracle decks…

John Matthews: The first one we did was the

Arthurian Tarot, which is about seventeen years

ago, then we had a long gap between that and the

next one, but in more recent years I’ve started

doing some on my own. Now we’ve started doing

a whole new series, and in the last five years we’ve

done about five Tarots. Recently we did the

Steampunk Tarot, which was a bit of a diversion

for us.

Mister Tarot: Could you tell us more about the

Steampunk Tarot?

John Matthews: We’d always been interested in

the idea of Steampunk—the whole idea of

dressing up and becoming a Victorian character,

or pseudo-Victorian character. And the whole

thing now has become a big cultural movement, so

we thought, well, what archetypes are there in the

Steampunk world that might work for this, and we

created the Steampunk Tarot. Since then, Caitlin’s

just done The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle, the

first of the vast realm of Lenormand decks that are

coming your way, and I’ve just done The Oracle

of Dr John Dee.

Mister Tarot: What’s the story behind the Dr

John Dee deck?

John Matthews: It develops the whole idea of the

Elizabethan magus as a way of enquiring into

your own mysteries.

Mister Tarot: You seem to be on a roll with

Tarot decks at the moment—why do you think

you are driven to create so many?

John Matthews: It’s a way of thinking…when

you’ve done several you start looking at every

theme and thinking, ‘How would that be in Tarot

terms?’

Mister Tarot: Are there any other new ones in

development yet?

John Matthews: The next one, which I’ve almost

finished now, is a Sherlock Holmes Tarot. That’s

a very interesting example of the kind of thing I

mean, because as soon as you start thinking about

Holmes, the enquiring detective looking for

answers to clues, I thought, well, isn’t that exactly

what Tarot does? So, it fit into place very well.

Once I’d sat down and started to think about it,

within the space of a day I discovered that all of

the archetypes were there. All the characters from

the Sherlock Holmes stories are all in my Tarot

deck…you’ve got the bumbling inspectors,

you’ve got Holmes’ brilliant brother Mycroft,

you’ve got Mrs Hudson, you’ve got all of the

characters that everyone knows so well, and they

all work perfectly as Tarot archetypes.

Mister Tarot: Are there any other decks planned

for the future?

John Matthews: After the Sherlock Holmes deck

there will be the Byzantine Tarot, which looks at

the very early Western Magical Tradition before

it really became formulated, and how the Tarot

images might fit into that. So lots of interesting

things are on their way!

Mister Tarot: We will keep our eyes open for

these new creations. Thanks for your time, and

thanks for bringing such interesting concepts into

reality.

Click here for more info about John Matthews.

A Tarot reading can help you to…

See the past more clearly.

Understand the present.

Work out best choices in the future.

Clarify your goals.

Discover what you really want and

why you want it.

Tarot is a way of tapping into your

subconscious mind and the universal-

consciousness to provide answers and

direction. The answers are already there…

and Tarot gives you a way to bring that

information into your consciousness.

Seeing Mister Tarot for a reading gives you

the power to manifest change in your life.

If you’d like a Tarot reading from Mister

Tarot, he’ll be available on occasional

Sundays at Crystal Wave, Grange, South

Australia.

It’s time to take charge of your destiny. Phone

8235 1817 for bookings.

Tarot Workshops with Don McLeod

Session # 1 - Tarot Simplified

Sunday 5th July from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Held at Crystal Wave 677 Grange Road, Grange, SA

How Tarot Works

Demystifying Tarot

Insightful Tarot Spreads

Learn Easy Interpretations

Practical & Spiritual Uses

By the end of this workshop you will feel

comfortable using Tarot cards and you will

have a better understanding of their meanings.

6 hours training for only $99

Requirements: Rider-Waite Tarot Deck

Bookings essential: Phone 8235 1817

Followed by…

Session # 2 - Intermediate Tarot

Sunday 12th July from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

@ Crystal Wave

Continue Your Tarot Adventure

Use the Major Arcana in Spreads

Become Familiar with the Suits

Connect with the Cards’ Numbers

Understand the Court Cards

Gain more confidence in

your ability to read the cards.

6 hours training for only $99 Bookings essential: Phone 8235 1817

Edition 20 Winter 2015

The Spiritual Lesson of the Judgement Card

The attribute for this card is Evaluation, and the lesson here is to awaken to your responsibilities as an enlightened soul.

Being selfless is a wonderful quality, but being selfless to the detriment of your own health, safety or wellbeing, lacks awareness. Your lesson at this stage is to discriminate with wisdom and clarity.

Be generous with your time and energy, but be astute in its direction. Be charitable, but keep a roof above your head and food on your table. Being kind to others is dependent on being kind to your own self.

An Interview with Caitlin Matthews UK Tarot Conference 2013

When I was learning about Tarot from books in

the 1980s, it was standard practice to choose a

‘significator’ card, which represented the querent.

This card was placed upon the table, and other

cards for the reading were placed over that card,

covering it completely! I was never a fan of this

practice, and I soon decided to ignore that rule.

But at a recent Tarot conference, Caitlin Matthews

ran a workshop called “Rejoicing in the

Significators” which promoted an innovative

approach to this concept.

At the UK Tarot Conference I talked to Caitlin

Matthews about that workshop on significators,

then we discussed the rise of interest in the

Lenormand Oracle within the Tarot community,

and the future of Tarot in general…

Mister Tarot: On a personal level, what do you

think are the advantages and disadvantages of

using a significator in a reading?

Caitlin Matthews: Well, I don’t like the passive

significator which you just choose and it sits on

the table and then you put some cards around it…I

much prefer that it dances into the deck and then

dances out with some friends. And what falls next

to them is always very significant! If you’re

reading by old methods of juxtaposition, you

really do need to have a significator, but modern

Tarot has relegated it to a negative, passive place

where it’s not doing anything.

Mister Tarot: There has been big interest in the

Lenormand Oracle at recent conferences. What do

you think will be the next big thing to interest the

Tarot scene?

Caitlin Matthews: I don’t think we’re done with

Lenormand as yet. It’s a 200 year old oracle

whose history is still being discovered…there’s

so much more history to be discovered…and

some of it is perilously close to being lost…

Mister Tarot: Do you mean that some of the

history of divination is likely to be lost?

Caitlin Matthews: Yes, divination in general. I

would love to see small Piquet card oracles being

better researched and put together. It would be

lovely if all the researchers would sit down

together…unfortunately a lot of people just want

to be the first at the trough, but it’s so much nicer

when people talk to each other.

Mister Tarot: Where do you think Tarot is

heading from this point in time?

Caitlin Matthews: There are an infinite number

of ways that it can go. I hope that the old oracular

ways of speaking divination will come back up

again. Personally, when I’m not reading cards,

I’m actually reading from nature. That sense of

getting omens from nature is a traditional skill

that I’d like to see more of. Also, I hope that air-

brushy, very photographic Tarot does not take

over…I want real art…I love real art...that’s my

personal wish for Tarot. I hope that real art still

remains alive and vigorous.

Mister Tarot: What do you mean by real art?

Caitlin Matthews: Real art that is done by hand,

as opposed to being done on the computer. I know

that there’s a lot of photographic collage-style of

Tarot being done at the moment, but they don’t do

a lot for me.

Caitlin Matthews is a prolific author of more than

60 books and hundreds of magazine articles.

She’s also an avid blogger, and I recommend

visiting her site called, ‘Soundings’ in which she

explores, myth, divination, and the Western

Mysteries. Click here to find out more about her

work. And click here to read the full interview.

Edition 20 Winter 2015

Let’s Be Clear About This!

What’s the number one mistake that I see beginner readers (and some experienced ones) making with their Tarot cards? They don’t take time to work out EXACTLY what they want to know from their reading. If your wording is broad and generic, then your reading will be too!

I see it time and time again in my workshops. It’s not unusual to have asked someone to think of a question and then deal out the cards for a reading, only to find that the cards displayed are not telling a consistent story. When I ask them to verbalise the exact question they were thinking as they shuffled the cards, I find that their question was not concise, or it featured two or more situations.

When doing a Tarot reading, you need to decide on the purpose of your reading. In order for your subconscious to be able to offer a definitive answer to any query, it needs to be directed through a simple, clearly defined, unambiguous question.

You need to be able to hold a clear question in your mind if you want your subconscious to be able to give some straightforward direction, therefore, you must work out in your mind the basic essence of the question you would like answered. It’s vitally important to reduce your question to its simplest form. If you need to ask about various situations, do a different reading for each part.

If you ask a vague question, you will have a difficult time interpreting the cards you select, because they will relate to a hazy situation. If you ask a question involving two scenarios, or two different areas of your life, then you will have a mixed answer relating to both areas. This will not be easy to interpret.

A clear, focused question gives a plain, direct answer.

Perhaps you might think, ‘If my subconscious is so smart, then it should know what I’m really trying to work out. Why does it need to be spelled out in such detail?’ Sure, it knows everything, but at the time of the reading you are directing it to give you a specific answer, and if you are not focused upon a specific question, then it cannot do it effectively. It’s a bit like using an Internet search engine: the more details you give for your search, the closer you get to the information you desire.

When you are shuffling the cards, you must only have your query in mind. If your thoughts stray while shuffling, then stop, think back to your question, and reshuffle. Do not allow your thoughts to wander to other topics while shuffling. And don’t think about possible outcomes while shuffling, or your subconscious will feel as though you are asking it to find cards relating to this outcome.

When working out your question, be clear and concise. Find the essence of the question! You might like to say it out loud, so that you can hear whether it’s a good, succinct question. Spending a few moments focussing on the wording for your question will pay off when you see a layout of cards that immediately makes sense and tells its story before your eyes!

Rachel Pollack—gifted author and revered Tarot

Master, has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma.

Living with cancer is expensive, even with health

insurance. Rachel makes her living by teaching and

writing—unfortunately she cannot do this until she

recovers her health. She has spent her life generously

giving her time and energy to others, now we have a

chance to give something back. Please consider

making a donation to cover her expenses during this

illness. You can click here to make a donation.

Rachel recently wrote the following article for the

Tarot Association. It’s another brilliant, thought-

provoking article that will awaken you to the many

functions and layers of the Tarot. The way in which

you use Tarot today, is in great part due to Rachel’s

work with the subject. I hope you enjoy this

thoughtful piece of writing.

Tarot is Story, All Story by Rachel Pollack

Recently I was thinking about what epitaph I might

want if I had a tombstone (sounds morbid, but it’s

actually a kind of fun exercise—trust me). At first I

thought of a line from a Gabon Pygmy song

celebrating life and consciousness—All lives, all

dances, and all is loud. Then I recalled a line I love

from the book Awakening Osiris, Normandi Ellis’s

poetic translation of The Egyptian Book of the

Dead—Give me not words of consolation. Give me

magic.

Then, finally, I came to something more simple and

more personal—Story. It’s all story. I am certainly not

alone in this belief about the world, and people. And

Tarot. The great Italian writer, Italo Calvino, wrote,

“The tarot is a machine for constructing stories.”

More broadly, a famous Hasidic saying tells us, “God

made humans because God loves stories.”

To me, the Tarot has always been story. This is what

I fell in love with the moment I saw it, in early spring

of 1970. A friend of mine offered to read my cards,

and when she laid them down, then found the

meanings in a book (Eden Gray) I found I had no

interest in any predictions, it was the Tarot itself that

fascinated me. Each card seemed a frozen moment in

a story.

Rachel Pollack’s Story

Some people love the cards because they can give

us glimpses of the future. Still others love Tarot as

a spiritual science. To me, these too are stories, for

all time, and all science, are sets of interlocking

stories. For some, this might sound as if I’m

suggesting that nothing in the cards is true, that it’s

all made up. But I’m not sure truth is something

that simply lies there, like a rock. We engage it,

we bring it into being. This holds for our own

future, and it holds for such complex structures as

the Kabbalistic Tree Of Life, and even physics.

When we read the cards there are three ‘people’

present: the subject, the reader, and the cards

themselves. Together, they create a story, or allow

a story to emerge, of the person’s life and

possibilities. If you’re a reader, people will often

ask, “How does the Tarot work?” As if we could

answer that! I just say that nobody knows, but it

does.

Sometimes the story the cards tell is meaningful,

but not precise to that person. At other times,

however, the deck finds the one exact card to

answer someone’s question. And to make the

experience even stranger, it’s usually when that

question has genuine importance, when the person

seriously needs a precise answer in order to make

a decision, or to unlock something in their lives.

And this brings me to something else I’ve learned

through the Tarot, and another line that might

serve as an epitaph: The world is not what we

think it is.

For the full article, and for links to the

donation page for Rachel’s treatment, click here.

www.MisterTarot.com

Mister Tarot is on Facebook! Visit here and click “Like” to get all the latest Tarot news.

‘A symbol can magically bring

an idea to life by appealing to

the creative power of the

imagination. It can also offer

several layers of meaning in a

single image.’

~ Celtic Myths by Steve Eddy

& Claire Hamilton"

~

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter,

simply send an email to: MisterTarot@yahoo.com.au

with the word ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject area.

Copyright on all articles in this newsletter belong

to Don McLeod unless specifically stated otherwise.

“One of the major ways Tarot can help us make wise and responsible decisions is by helping us see deeply into the heart of an issue and reveal the basic inner conflict or motivations within ourselves.”

~ Mark Ryan from ‘The Magician’, Autumn 2015

Symbols and Interpretations for Judgement

Symbols: In a bizarre combination of biblical imagery, people rise from rafts of floating coffins

and praise the Archangel who called them from the dead. This is a scene of the last judgement, and

is symbolic of an awakening to our spiritual nature. The people are naked because they have shaken

off the illusions of the outer world which previously clothed them. The equal-armed cross on the

flag, sometimes known as the Grail Cross, is the symbol of complete truth and perfect balance.

In our world: (In a positive situation) The announcement has been made. Your name is in the

journals and all can give due recognition of your services. You are being acknowledged for your

work, and your awards and subsequent rewards are being publicly displayed to the world.

Congratulations, you’ve made it!

(In a negative situation) The word is out! Your deeds have become known to the wider world.

There’s no getting out of this now. It’s time to face the music and acknowledge the mistakes you

have made. Sure, it’s going to be embarrassing, but at least you won’t have to hide anymore.

In a reading: Transformation—a stirring of the mind to a higher purpose. A renewed sense of

urgency to accomplish important and meaningful tasks. This card can represent settlement, an

announcement, or a decision which is made, leading to a change for the better. It shows an

evaluation of circumstances with its promises of reward and freedom from limitations. Prophecy,

an awakening from illusions, clear thinking, and good judgement on matters of importance.

Edition 20 Winter 2015