The 22  Trumps are associated with 3 Qabalistic Elements (Water, Air, Fire), the 7 Classical planets and the 12 Zodiac signs.  Find the cards that relate to your sun sign, rising sign and moon sign.  These three cards will hold key lessons for you in this lifetime.  Your date of day/month of birth is also associated with 3 of the small cards and a Court Card.  Charts for finding these are in the back of Lon Duquette’s “Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot”
 
The Moon is said to rule your personality, the Sun sign to rule the way you express your individuality and the Ascendant/Rising our outer appearance and mannerisms.”

Aleister Crowley, DOB: Oct 12, 1875. 
 
Sun: Libra (Trump: Adjustment)
Rising: Leo (Trump: Lust)
Moon: Pisces (Tump: The Moon)
 
2, 3 & 4 Swords, esp 3 Swords
Queen of Swords
Princess of Wands

Discover how this transformational spread can shift stagnant energy and move you forward in life. This two hour workshop is a journey into the 4 Aces of the Minor Arcana:

Wands - Fire
Cups - Water
Swords - Air
Pentacles - Earth

Develop a deeper understanding of the symbolism, how to interpret it and how to understand the elements/suits within yourself. If you have a deck, bring it along.

Date: Sunday 25 October, 2009
Time: 1-3pm
Cost: $25
Location: Newtown (address provided on registration)

For more info or to book your place:

Call: 025 206 489
Email: info (at) tarotcraft (dot) com
Facebook: Tarot Meetup (Sydney Area)

Find us on Facebook - Tarot Meetup (Sydney Area)

Join us for monthly meetups, study groups and workshops. This is a social gathering for informal discussion, sharing ideas and comparing decks. Those new to Tarot won’t learn to read the cards by coming along, but they will be able to observe others doing readings for each other and pick up some pointers. We’d love to meet you and introduce you to Tarot so please don’t be shy!

Next meetup: Sunday October 18, 2-4pm

Topic: The ‘Death’ card. Do you tell people if you see bad news in their cards? Do you want to know if someone sees bad news in yours?

Fairtrade Cafe, 33 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, NSW (near Sydney University and Broadway Shopping Centre)

If you get lost, call me on 0425 206 489.

The Rider Waite Hanged Man is depicted hanging upside down from his ankle, one leg crossed behind the other, arms behind his back. He is shown in the pose of a medieval punishment for traitors, known as ‘Bafflement’.

My perspective of this card is that it shows a descent of ‘spirit’ into ‘matter’ – the lower self is sacrificed to allow the birth of the Higher Self, or your true spiritual nature. We grow and evolve on our journey through life and the appearance of the Hanged Man indicates a ‘re-birth’ of some kind.
This card is connected to the Hebrew letter Mem which means ‘water’ and its planetary correspondence is Neptune, a watery planet who rules the feet. Neptunian energy encapsulates the qualities of dissolution, creativity, spirituality, compassion, sacrifice, universal love and understanding.

Since The Hanged Man’s feet are uppermost, spiritual energy is being absorbed or received, traveling downwards to be given expression through the head, which corresponds to the Hebrew letter Shin, meaning Fire. The head is Binah descending into matter, initiating separation.

Given the watery nature of this card, and the feminine nature of Mem, he reminds me of a baby waiting to be born (we descend into life headfirst), with an “umbilical cord” wrapped around his ankle connecting him to the cross, or Tau. He patiently waits to take his first breath (Aleph) in order for the synthesis of Fire and Water to occur.

The Hanged Man represents not the act of redemption, but the willingness to be redeemed by sacrificing the lower self. He represents all forms of life-giving sacrifice, rejecting self interest in favour of the greater good. When he is negatively aspected, Neptune may be inclined towards alcoholism or the avoidance of mundane responsibilities and realities.

The Hanged Man also brings to mind the mystics and shamans who enter trance states and other worlds for the purposes of healing, prophecy and knowledge. In a divination, the Hanged Man can represent a time of waiting after the adjustment required in Justice and before the massive change to come in Death as a result of that adjustment.

When negatively aspected, apart from looking like he’s a member of the cast of River Dance, he may be indicating punishment or unwilling sacrifice. Be on the look out for deceit and lies.

Whether you are an expert or a raw beginner, come along and join in the fun.

This is our first meeting so we look forward to meeting you and having a discussion about topics people would like to see in future.

When: Sunday 20 September 2009.

Time: 2-4pm.

Where: Fair Trade Cafe, 33 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

Topic: Bring your favourite or most interesting tarot deck.

Cost: Free.

Contact:

Phone: 0425 206 489

Emai: info at tarotcraft dot com

Join: ‘Tarot Meetup (Sydney area)’ on Facebook.

Time: 7pm to 8.30/9pm

Location: Newtown (Sydney, NSW)

Cost: $120

The Thoth tarot is the most popular tarot deck in the world and is certainly one of the most enigmatic and beautiful decks available. Join our study group and learn to read Tarot for yourself and others,  while on a journey of spiritual and magickal growth. The programme is aimed at the beginner but people of all levels of experience are welcome.

- Explore the Tree of Life through discussion and practical work such as scrying and path working

- Investigate the astrological and Qabalistic correspondences of each card

- Study each of the Major Arcana and their Paths

- Study the Minor Arcana with their related Sephira

- Develop clairvoyance and intuition

- Find your personal Tarot cards

- Learn how to read Tarot for ourselves and others

22 weeks might seem like a long time but chances are we’ll barely scratch the surface. The study of Tarot opens a door a new Universe. Something about working with Tarot, whether you delve into its esoteric aspects or not, will propel you into a higher level of consciousness and psychic awareness. You will see your own soul reflected in the Tarot and as your understanding of one grows, so grows the other.

We will also be doing some exercises to develop psychic senses and those who are so inclined will find that the daily practice of Qabalistic rituals such as the LBRP (or it’s variants), Middle Pillar etc will help them assimilate the material and develop this aspect of themselves.

Qabalah underpins the Western Mystery Tradition and is the foundation of magickal theory and practice but if you’re eyes are already glazing over rest assured there’s nothing boring or difficult about it.

The Qabalistic Tree of Life is a perfect map of the human psyche and you’ll recognise yourself in every aspect of it. It’s the perfect tool for personal and spiritual growth and Tarot makes it very easy to grasp.

You will need to get your own Thoth deck. It comes in a couple of different sizes. The larger one is good for studying the images, but the smaller one is easier to handle. A magnifying glass might help too as the cards are packed full of symbols that can be hard to see if you don’t have great vision.

I recommend you get ‘The Thoth Companion’ by Michael Osiris Snuffin as well as the ‘Book of Thoth’ by Aleister Crowley.  If you only get one to start with, get the Snuffin book because it’s easier to understand.

Contact:

-email to info at tarotcraft dot com

- Tarot Meetup (Sydney Area) on Facebook

- 0425 206 489

I was reading through your posts and was fascinated by them. I noticed that you mentioned that it was possible to request a free one card reading.If possible, could you please do a reading for me to tell me whether I am heading in the right direction as far as my career path?
Thank you in advance! Best Wishes, Kate

Hi Kate,

Glad you are enjoying the site!  The cards I drew for you are the 4 of Swords and the Page of Cups.  I’m feeling that you might be a bit stagnant or at a crossroads presently.  I do feel that you are on the right track but you might need a bit of down time.  Everything in life has an ebb and flow and you might just be experiencing a bit of a low point.  There is no doubt that it will swing the other way sooner or later.  Just keep your sights on your goal.

You are very sensitive and intuitive and it’s important that you respect that aspect of yourself.  It can lead you to becoming burnt out or into addictive behaviours if you don’t take care of yourself through meditation and ‘quiet time’.  You probably feel things more deeply than a lot of those around you.  I get the sense that there is one person, probably a dark haired girl, that you are close to you who understands and shares your sensitivity to energy and people.

These two cards also indicate that you are a natural ‘healer’.  People are instinctively drawn to you when they are in emotional or spiritual pain.  Don’t feel you have to ‘fix’ everyone.  The best thing to do is to work on your own Self and to cultivate inner peace.  This will have a positive effect on everyone around you and will stop you being drained by the energy or issues of others.

I had a real struggle to get these lesson notes completed and I couldn’t work out why. Finally it dawned on me that I was experiencing the imbalanced energy of the negatively aspected Justice card. This card sits balanced at the mid way point, or the ‘heart’, of the Major Arcana.

Although you are probably familiar with the saying ‘Justice is blind’, meaning non-discriminatory, the Rider-Waite Justice is not. Her eyes perceive clearly as she holds the sword of intellect and the scales of Justice. She is the clear headed and objective decision maker and the personification of the impartial force that drives the natural and inevitable order of things.

To the Ancient Egyptians this force was known as the goddess Ma’at, daughter of the Sun God, Ra. Ma’at is the Light that Ra brought to the world. She is Order arising from primordial Chaos. She represents universal order, impartial justice and wears the red feather of truth, showing purity of thought and motive. It was believed that upon death the deceased’s heart, a symbol of the soul or true self, would be weighed on the Scales of Justice against the feather of truth. Thoth was the scribe who recorded the findings and gave the deceased the opportunity to justify their actions.

Some time ago I had a dream that I actually died and found myself facing Ma’at and Thoth. My chest was slashed open and my heart torn from the cavity. It sat red and beating on a man’s hand. My heart was placed on the scales. Thoth made a note in his book. He looked across at me, frowned and said “You need to be more confident.”. My chest was sore for days afterwards.
The Hebrew letter attributed to Justice is Lamed which means oxgoad or whip, as well as ‘to teach’ and ‘to discipline’. Aleph is the Hebrew letter attributed to the Fool and means ox, the creature who plows the furrows from which life giving food will eventually burst forth. The whip corrects, or adjusts, the behaviour of the ox in this activity. Aleph can also be interpreted as ‘life-force’. Thus Justice can be seen as a power that directs and focuses life force in a fruitful way.

When we experience a negatively aspected Justice, we find life unfair and feel a need to lay blame. Arguments and stress may arise. Imbalance is experienced in our lives or our Selves. During these times, we experience a need for adjustment – a change in behaviour or attitude.

Justice gets to the heart of the matter. Her sword cuts away illusion, showing us what adjustments need to be made to create state of balance.

The Fool and The World are the Kether and Malkuth of the Tarot - the Alpha and Omega of the endless cycle of creation and destruction.

It’s Hebrew letter is Tau, meaning ‘cross’ and it’s ruled by Saturn. The Devil is also ruled by Saturn and this creates a link between the two cards that I have heard Ruth Ann of the New York Tarot School refer to as a ’secret path’ - another way to draw further meaning from the cards. Another ’secret path’ is to all the 4’s mentioned below, Minor Arcana 4’s and their home in Chesed - the 4th Sephiroth of the Tree of Life.

The World is one of the best cards to find in a reading. It represents wholeness and completion. The Four Sacred Animals rest in each corner and they represent a number of things:

4 Elements
4 seasons
4 fixed signs of the Zodiac – Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Scorpio
4 corners of the earth
4 four cardinal directions
4 Disciples – the Lion of St Mark, the Bull of St Luke, the Human symbol of St John and the Eagle of St Matthew

The dancing figure in the centre of the wreath is the ‘Divine Androgyne’ who symbolises the union of opposing forces within the Self.

Before we had fancy schmancy telescopes, Saturn was the furthermost planet that could be seen with the naked eye. It represented the end of the Universe, or the end of all things. Hence it’s association with the last Trump.

The appearance of this card is a spread indicates good fortune, happiness and the fulfilment of goals and ambition. Fame and fortune can be indicated as well as success and public acclaim. In a more esoteric reading, spiritual mastery and enlightenment are indicated.

The World is often linked with travel and holidays and can also be advising the querant to get out into the world of experiences.

Another view to consider is that the wreath could be indicating a protective circle, or boundary, so perhaps the querant needs to practice psychic protection, energetic cleansing or simply be prepared to say ‘no’. As always, the other cards surrounding the World will give you more information about the correct interpretation.

When reversed or negatively aspected this card indicates that there is still some way to go before the gaol is reached, but that you are on the right track. It could also indicate that something you have been working toward is now something you no longer want. It could also be advising you that more effort is needed. Perhaps you have been lazy?