The Tarot Your Guide to Tarot Mastery

Edition 18 Summer 2014

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

I’m confused. When you look up

references to The Moon card in books and on

websites, one of the most common

interpretations is ‘confusion’. Why? It doesn’t

make much sense to me. The card called The

Moon is near the end of the Major Arcana,

which means it’s getting to the higher end of

the sequence of spiritual values and

enlightenment. Surely this must have a more

positive effect upon the card’s meaning?

To me, ‘confusion’ is a negative trait.

It means a lack of awareness within your

emotional, mental, or spiritual state. Why is

this lovely card encumbered with such an

undesirable meaning? I must admit that in my

workshop notes I sometimes include the word

‘confusion’ amongst my handouts for that

card, but I always mention that it’s a standard

interpretation and one that I’m not fond of.

Apart from the word confusion, in

some of the Tarot books in my collection I

also found descriptions such as illusion,

deception, sorcery, intoxication, falsehood,

fears, anxieties, and uncertainty…and that’s

the upright interpretations!

When I look at this card I see symbols

of change, femininity, dreams, and messages

from the subconscious. I don’t know why this

card has been given such a troublesome

reputation. In A. E. Waite’s book ‘The

Pictorial Key to the Tarot’ he does not

suggest any of the negativity mentioned by

later authors. I think it’s time we strip away

the ‘confusion’ associated with this card and

look at it from a fresh perspective. Let’s

honour the mystery of The Moon, not fear it.

Tarot Blessings, Don McLeod

www.MisterTarot.com

Page 1 – Editorial

Page 2 – New Year Resolution

Page 3 – Remembering Pamela Colman Smith

Page 4 – Tarot Conferences in 2015

Page 5 – Tarot Videos

Page 6 – Next Tarot Workshops

Page 7 – Love & Happiness & Court Cards

Page 8 – Interpretations for The Moon

At the beginning of a new year we’re all inclined

to reflect upon the previous 12 months. We

celebrate our achievements and think about the

areas that need improvements. Which brings us to

New Year resolutions!

Most of us will have goals we’d like to aim for in 2015

(usually it’s about getting fitter and healthier) but I’d

like you to consider adding another objective: how

about aiming to improve your Tarot reading abilities?

Here are some suggestions for you.

Choose one of these goals for 2015 - and

by the end of the year you will have

doubled your understanding of Tarot!

Do a reading a week for yourself or a friend.

Read a new Tarot book from start to finish,

instead of dipping in and out.

Pick a card a day for insight about the most

significant events or energies affecting you

during the next 24 hours.

Choose a Tarot subject and research it. For

example, decide to become an expert on the suit

of Wands and check websites and books until

you know all about its qualities, meanings, and

correspondences.

Choose a day (e.g. this Sunday) and make sure

that every week on that day you will pick a card

and look up its meanings in a Tarot book. Make

decisions as to which meanings suit your own

ideas and experiences for that card.

Pick a card a day and use its meaning to create

an affirmation for the day.

Do a meditation once a week on each of the

cards, starting with the Major Arcana. Do them

in sequence to get the best results.

Look at my Tarot Affirmations video every

week to give inspiration and to help you learn

the meanings of the Major Arcana cards. Click

here to view it.

Becoming a better Tarot reader in 2015 is a great

New Year resolution. By following one of the steps

I’ve just listed, you will gain confidence in your

readings, have a deeper understanding of the

meanings of the cards, be more sure of your

interpretations, and feel a sense of accomplishment

at the end of the year.

Start now with a reading

for yourself for 2015.

Here’s how…

Step 1) Focus on the question, “What can I expect

over the next 12 months.”

Step 2) Shuffle with this question in mind and then

deal out 12 cards in a row. The first card represents

the most significant energy associated with the

month of January. The second is for February, etc.

Step 3) Take the time to look at each card and give

at least 3 sentences of interpretation about the events

and energy associated with that month.

Step 4) Write down the results of your reading.

Step 5) At the end of the year, review this reading

and congratulate yourself on your uncanny

predictions and your accurate insights!

The gift of Tarot is its ability to help you make

decisions and to give guidance and inspiration when

you most need it. A New Year resolution to improve

your ability to give accurate Tarot readings is the

best gift you can give yourself!

Edition 18 Summer 2014

New Year Resolution for Tarot

On Feb 16, spend a few moments in silent gratitude to the artist of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. It was on this

day in 1878 that Pamela Colman Smith was born.

Pixie was born in England, but her father had business ties with Jamaica, and the family moved there when

she was 10 years old. They lived in Jamaica for several years.

Her Jamaican nurse told her the stories of the land and people, and this folklore became an important part of her life.

When she was 15 she moved back to Brooklyn and

during her schooling she was encouraged to study art. By the time she was 19 she had a feature exhibition which was

reviewed in the New York Times. By the age of 21 she had

gone back to London to become a writer and illustrator and she managed to publish four books, three of which were hers

entirely—two included hand-coloured prints and one of the

books was a series of Jamaican folk tales with line drawings. In that year she also toured with a theatre company.

This theatre training obviously paid off as she

created a Jamaican character and she used this as a way of making money. In the Nelson Evening Mail on 4 May 1907,

Pixie was mentioned in the following way: “Miss Pamela

Colman Smith, who made such a success in London a year or two ago as a storyteller, is now enchanting America with

her quaint art. She recently entertained Mark Twain, and he

was so delighted that he laughed like a child the whole time.”

Pamela Colman Smith in the attire of a Jamaican story-teller.

Photo on right taken by Kate Pragnell, in 1912.

Pixie spent several years working with the theatre

company where she helped with costume design and stage

design. One of the members of this theatre group was its business manager, Bram Stoker, the author of ‘Dracula’.

Pixie illustrated his last novel, ‘Lair of the White Worm’.

Pixie also did illustrations for the poet William Butler Yeats.

It was Yeats who introduced Pixie to the occult society The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Arthur

Edward Waite (the designer of the modern Tarot) and

Aleister Crowley were members at the time. Soon after her initiation into the Golden Dawn, the

Order broke up into two groups. Many of the Golden Dawn

members, including Pixie stayed with Waite’s side of the group. At this time Waite was designing a new Tarot deck

which he asked Pixie to illustrate.

Pixie worked on this set of Tarot drawings in a small studio in London’s Chelsea district. She was 31 years

old at the time and had become a small, slightly plump

woman with an exotic appearance. She worked on the Tarot card project for about seven months. A full coloured

set of 80 cards had to be ready for publishing in December

1909 — 78 Tarot cards plus the designs for the back of the card and the nameplate.

Not one of the 80 original drawings for the cards

has been found. This is probably because the Rider & Sons Publishing archives were destroyed during World War II

bombing raids.

When the cards were published, they had minimal

marketing and only a few occultists

took notice—and most of them were stuck in long-running feuds. The

general public did not know what to

do with these ‘novelty’ cards. Tarot was considered to be a French

custom, not English. It was only

when the ‘New Age’ movement ‘discovered’ Tarot in the late 1960s

and 1970s that they became popular.

There is little known about the last 35 years of Pixie’s life. We know that she died in 1951 in Cornwall,

but the location of her grave is unknown. She was in debt

and all of her possessions were auctioned off. Except for a few art exhibitions during her early

career, which had a small amount of success, most of her

artwork has disappeared. Pixie would probably have been forgotten except for the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck.

It is thanks to Pixie’s visionary genius (and

Waite’s direction) that we are blessed with these magnificent Tarot cards that have continued to grow in

popularity.

On the 16th of February remember to say Happy Birthday Pixie! Through her marvellous artwork she will

never be forgotten.

Edition 18 Summer 2014

2015 Living Tarot Conference

The Tarot Guild of Australia has announced that

another International Tarot Conference will be

held in Melbourne in 2015.

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 are said to include, Amber Jayanti,

Evelynne Joffe, Caitlin Matthews, and Mark Ryan.

Learn how to combine Tarot and Palmistry in an innovative, five week course, held once a week at Hahndorf, S. A. Only $190 Email Trev: witchabilia@hotmail.com

The Burning Serpent Oracle a Workshop with

Rachel Pollack & Robert Place

The Burning Serpent Oracle is a Lenormand of the Soul.

Saturday 28th February 2015 Learn directly from the Masters who created this 21st century mythic deck inspired by the 160 year old Lenormand fortune-telling cards. The Burning Serpent Oracle is a deck which has appeal for both Lenormand and Tarot readers. Sunday 1st March 2015 Rachel Pollack: Tarot Reading Techniques: the use of techniques and approaches of Lenormand with Tarot. Rachel Pollack is the author of 78 Degrees of Wisdom. The Burning Serpent Oracle is Rachel’s 35th book, of which close to 20 have been on Tarot and divination. Monday 2nd March 2015 Robert Place: The History of the Tarot and Renaissance Symbolism of the Trumps. Robert Place is a gifted illustrator and author. His books and decks include The Alchemical Tarot, Magic and Alchemy, and Shamanism.

All workshops will be held at

Beau Monde International, 934 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, Victoria.

For registration information, see www.tarotguild.org.au

or email: president@tarotguild.org.au

Edition 18 Summer 2014

This image is from Mister Tarot’s affirmations video…a Tarot meditation filled with

spiritual insight. Settle back and take a relaxing journey through the Major Arcana of the

Tarot. Listen to peaceful music as you view the Tarot cards, which are accompanied by

uplifting affirmations. Repeat these inspirational phrases to yourself as you look at the

images. Click here to view it.

Edition 18 Summer 2014

3D Tarot Video

Here’s a unique experience exploring the

Tarot. You won’t have seen anything like

this before.

The lovely and talented Kim Arnold (of

UK Tarot Conference fame) has created a

fascinating way to experience the cards—

it’s Tarot in 3D!

This first section features only three cards,

but let’s hope she makes some more soon.

Click here to see this wonderful video.

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—

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 Sunday 8th

February at Crystal Wave, Grange, South

Australia.

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

8235 1817 for bookings.

New Tarot Workshops with Don McLeod

Session # 1 - Tarot Simplified

Sunday 22nd March 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 29th March 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 18 Summer 2014

Tarot Quiz Apart from the card called The Moon, which other cards feature dogs?

I heard an interesting interview on the radio the other

day. A researcher (Dr Helen Fisher from Rutgers

University) studied people through a dating agency to

work out which types of people were likely to stay

together, and which types were not suitable.

She said, “I’ve always wanted to know what goes on

in the brain when you fall madly in love. People have

often thought that romantic love was part of the

supernatural, but we don’t think that fear is part of the

supernatural, or anger, or surprise. But somehow we

have relegated romantic love to the stars, and magic.”

So, the big question is, what is it that determines why

we fall in love with one person rather than another?

Helen Fisher explained, “There’s a good deal of

psychological data that we tend to fall in love with

somebody from the same socioeconomic background,

same ethnic background, same general level of

intelligence, same general level of good looks, same

goals, same religious and social values etc. So, in that

way similarity attracts. But I wanted to know if basic

body chemistry, your basic genetics, and your

hormone system drives you towards some people

rather than others. You know people will say, ‘We

had chemistry.’ Well, what do they mean by that?”

In her research she was trying to discover if there were

any behavioural traits that were linked with any

particular brain systems. And as it turns out there are

four brain systems, and each one of them is linked

with a whole constellation of personality traits. She

created a questionnaire which was placed on a dating

site—and so far 13 million people have taken this test!

She was able to study the traits people express, and

who they were naturally drawn to. And it shows that

in two cases similarity attracts, but in the other two

cases opposites attract.

Why is this of interest to Tarot readers? Because

the four personality types are exact descriptions of

the four suits! The qualities of the Kings and

Queens of the Court cards reflect the personality

types in her survey. So, if you know which Court

card represents you, you can work out which type

of person you will be attracted to, and whether

that’s a good choice or not!

Edition 18 Summer 2014

Type A is the same as the suit of Wands. These

people tend to be creative, curious, spontaneous,

energetic, novelty-seeking risk takers—and these

people want somebody like themselves. Helen

Fisher says, “They want somebody who is going

to leap off the couch and go to New Guinea to see

what it’s like there. I call these people explorers,

and explorers tend to seek other explorers.”

Type B is the same as the suit of Pentacles. They

tend to be conventional, traditional, and cautious.

They are sometimes frugal, they follow rules, they

are respectful of authority, they are detail

orientated, and loyal. They also seek somebody

like themselves.

In the other two cases, opposites attract. Type C is

analytical, logical, direct, decisive, sceptical, and

good at things like math and computers. In other

words, they are characters from the suit of

Swords. And they are attracted to Type D -

somebody who is compassionate, socially skilled,

emotionally expressive, imaginative, and

intuitive. This is the King or Queen of Cups.

Sword and Cup personalities are quite different,

but they have a mutual attraction for each other.

When the interviewer asked if it was possible to

predict what relationships will work and what

won’t work, Helen Fisher replied, “I think that

almost any kind of relationship can work, it’s just

that they are going to have different kinds of

problems. But there’s no question about it, when I

hear that a certain type of person is going out with

another certain type of person, I can anticipate

what some of those problems could be.”

Click here to listen to the whole interview.

‘Watching the moon at dawn,

solitary, mid-sky,

I knew myself completely:

no part left out.’

~ Izumi Shikibu

Love & Happiness & Court Cards

www.MisterTarot.com

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

“Become a good noticer. Pay

attention to the feelings,

hunches, and intuitions that

flood your life each day.

If you do, you will see that

premonitions are not rare, but

a natural part of our lives.”

~ Larry Dossey from “The Power of

Premonitions: How Knowing the Future

Can Shape Our Lives”

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.

Tarot Quiz

Q: Apart from the card called The Moon, which other cards feature dogs? A: The Fool, and the Ten of Pentacles.

Symbols and Interpretations for The Moon

Symbols: The changing face of the Moon Goddess (Maiden, Mother, and Crone) can be seen in this card.

The towers from the Death card are also featured in this image, and they represent the passage through

the gates of consciousness, into the realms of the psyche. The domestic dog, the wolf, and the crayfish

stare at the Moon Goddess, and blessings in the form of yods flow to the earth.

The dog and wolf are reluctant to walk along the trail to the mountains. These animals represent the

primitive, instinctual aspects of the conscious mind, barking and howling at the unknown. The crayfish,

representing our darkest thoughts and feelings, climbs from the depths of the subconscious mind. Its desire

is to travel down the path in order to expose itself to illumination, and to ultimately gain enlightenment,

but all previous attempts have failed and it will eventually become submerged again.

The crayfish represents the zodiac sign of Cancer. In modern times this is symbolised by a crab, but in

Renaissance times the crayfish was the usual emblem for that sign. In the astrological charts available at

the time of Tarot’s origins, Cancer was adjacent to Canis Minor and Canis Major (the dog and the wolf),

and the twins of Gemini (the towers) were nearby.

In our world: This card represents the person who is moody and irrational at times. She picks up psychic

impressions from people and is sensitive to her environment. She is emotionally vulnerable and often very

creative. Depending on the phase of the moon, she can be withdrawn, wild, or inspired with visions.

Dreamer, poet, and witch—she looks to the Moon Goddess for wisdom and peace.

In a reading: The Moon represents imagination, instincts, change, fluctuation, and vivid dreams. Because

of the feminine nature of this card, the changes implied in a reading should be regarded as being of a

subtle nature, relating to the inner level of experience. The message from this card is to calm the mind and

find peace within yourself. There is a soft and a gentle energy about this card.

Edition 18 Summer 2014