The Death Card: The End Is A New Beginning
by Christopher Penczak
(Originally appearing in Kaleidoscope.)
Samhain is the time of year when witches honor the spirits of those who have passed before us. The veil between the worlds of the living and dead are the thinnest. Images of death surround us. As a professional Tarot card reader, I find most people frightened by the concept of death. The Death card evokes strange images for us. Skeletons, scythes and the grim reaper come to mind. Most people do not want to see the Death card in their reading. But in the world of the Tarot, Death, usually the thirteenth card of the Major Arcana, is not what it seems.
The Death cards does not often indicate a physical death as one might think. Rather it refers to a more metaphysical death. The Death card can be a blessing. Although change and especially endings can be frightening to many people, the Tarot teaches us that with every death comes a rebirth. As Wiccans, we seek to understand the lessons of nature. Just as Mother Nature has her cycles of death and rebirth, so do we.
Samhain is associated with the Death card. Astrologically the Sun enters Scorpio at the end of October, right before this holiday. Scorpio is the sign of death and transformation. I think the Sun sign is the true reason why this time of year has always been associated with death, spirits and the otherworld. Through the darker totems of the scorpion and serpent, the sign goes through a rebirth, hopefully becoming the phoenix, the mythical bird of fire. This phoenix represents the power to change, break limitations and transmute your past hardships, obsessions and negative energies into purest light. This transformation represents Scorpio in its highest form, taking the dark and transmuting it. Scorpio is very powerful, often associated with will, psychic abilities and intuitive insight. On the darker side, Scorpio can indicate obsessions, secrets, hidden danger and a desire to control others. Power is a two edged sword, used to help and to harm. In the Tarot, the Death card is associated with Scorpio. Many decks have Scorpio's astrological symbol on the card, because this card has all the associations of Scorpio, both good and bad.
When the Death card makes an appearance in a reading, it comes as a friend preparing you for unexpected change. It signifies the end of a cycle. All cycles end eventually, but the beautiful thing about their nature is another cycle will always begin again. It may be different, but different can be good. Don't fear the changes in you life. Even the physical end so may of us fear is just another change leading to a new world.
The cycle ending may be an unhealthy relationship, situation or way of being. It marks possible illness, unhealthy attitudes needing change of danger from an unexpected quarter. If you head the warnings from the Death card, you can avoid these trials, or flow gently with them. Often it is the death of self, when applied to the "old you" and outdated ways of thinking. You release the old patterns of behavior and break new ground. You transform yourself into someone closer to who you want to be. I find these readings to be very empowering for my clients, confirming and affirming the new choices they are making. In these cases, Death is not the end of it all, but a new beginning.
The fall season is a great time to teach us about cycles. In the fall, the leaves wither and die. The land is fallow and the trees no longer bear fruit. It looks pretty bleak by all accounts, but we all know winter is followed by spring in a few months. The end of the warm weather may feel like a death, but the trees are resurrected every year without fail, like the phoenix. The phoenix is the Egyptian bird of fire, sacred to Osiris, the resurrected king. Every year the phoenix's flames would consume itself. But the bird of flame would rise up from the ashes completely reborn. Like the vegetation and the phoenix we are all born again. Each choice we make is a chance a rebirth, to change our lives for the better.
Tea with the High Priestess
by Christopher Penczak
(Originally appearing in Kaleidoscope.)
The pictures in the Tarot deck are not just pictures. They are real. They are living energy. They represent the archetypal forces in our collective unconsciousness. They appear in our dreams, our religions and our vision quests. They are points on a journey. And each has a lesson or message. The archetypes come to us as we go to them.
Each deck expresses these images differently, but the Tarot records the journey of our spirit through many worlds. When a reader uses the Tarot to tell you information, you are looking at the scenes and forces working in your life now. For those choosing to work deeply with the Tarot, sometimes the best teachers are the archetypes themselves. Through the cards, you can contact the unconscious powers directly. Use the card as a door way to this new reality.
You can start this exercise with your favorite card, or the one you need the most at this time. I'm starting with the High Priestess. She has many lessons for us all, no matter where we are on the path. You can pattern your own meditative journey after this one if you choose not to start with the High Priestess.
Start by looking at the symbols of the card. Reflect on their meanings. I'm using the traditional Rider-Waite deck, but use your own deck. Look for your own personal messages. The High Priestess is the strong feminine force, the charge of the Goddess. She sits on her throne, a foundation of wisdom and strength. Her crescent crown marks wisdom and power. In her hands she holds the scroll of ancient wisdom. She stands between the pillars of duality, of light and darkness, of creation and reflection. She lifts the veils to otherworlds as priestess of the Moon, magic and psychic powers. She holds the crescent Moon under her foot, reflecting control over emotions, but her heart is opened and balanced with the equal armed cross.
Now close your eyes, relax and visualize the card before you. Effortlessly use your imagination and invite the experience. Feel as if you are day dreaming. Take deep, relaxing breaths to clear your mind. Expand the image with each breath out, until the picture in your mind's eye is the size of a door. The card is a portal, inviting you to step though. Walk through the door and stand in the temple of the High Priestess. Play pretend, noticing all the details that would be in such a place. You can feel the stone floor beneath you and the incense burning. She is before you, looking at you benevolently bathed in a soft moonlight glow. Speak with her. Introduce yourself. What questions do you have for this being? She can explain your own personal relationship to the card and how it appears in your life. The two of you may have an involved conversation, or you may get vague impressions. You may be invited to tea with the High Priestess. Don't judge, just go with your experience. Be open to any messages, emotions, thoughts or intuitions you may have. They are your key to understanding.
The High Priestess may invite you to sit on her throne, so you can feel what it is like to be between the light and dark pillars, so you can be the keeper of the veil. Or better yet, you may find your consciousness, merging with the High Priestess, so you can feel what it is like to be her.
When done, thank the priestess for the experience and return back through the portal. Even though you used the vehicles of visualization and imagination, these archetypal forces are real. And you did have a very real inner experience. Take some deep breaths, and with each breath in, you shrink the image of the card down to its normal size. Relax a few moments before opening your eyes. Before going to bed, place this card under your pillow and see what dreams you have. They are other keys to understanding. Use them to unlock your inner understanding, both for yourself, and if you choose to use the cards to help others.
The Two Faces of the Hierophant
by Christopher Penczak
(Originally appearing in Kaleidoscope.)
A deck of Tarot cards is really the spiritual journey. The Major Arcana, or the Fool's Road, is the path of birth, life, initiation into the mysteries, death and eventually rebirth. We all walk these steps throughout our lifetimes. Out only difference is how these events manifest in our lives. The sixth card of the Major Arcana, the Hierophant, indicates a major turning point on the road.
Before the Hierophant, we walk the paths of innocence and opportunity, with the Fool, marked not with a 1, but a 0. Then cards numbered I IV, the road explores, polarity and gender. The Magician uses the mind while the Priestess works through emotion. The Empress explores femininity while her partner, the Emperor works through masculine energies. The Hierophant blends these qualities into a harmonious whole. No one is a product purely of masculine or feminine energy, or solely of mind or emotion. Everyone contains all of the four elemental qualities, Earth (physical), Water (emotions), Air (mind) and Fire (energy). We each contain all these qualities, only in unique balance. The Hierophant card is numbered with the Roman numeral V, being a synthesis of all four elements plus the fifth, Spirit.
The Hierophant is the teacher, one who comes to guide you on your life's path. Teachers come in many forms. At the Hierophant's highest incarnation, it is the spiritual teacher and leader. All of the great spiritual teachers are part of the Hierophant, including beings not normally associated with the Tarot, like Jesus, Buddha and Krishna. Anyone who brings you into the mysteries of life, showing you the way most often by example, is taking part of the Hierophant energy. The Hierophant teaches us harmony and synthesis by example, but we do not undergo this synthesis of polarities until the next card, the Lovers.
Teaching comes in many forms, and spiritual is not the only avenue. The Hierophant card represents teachers of knowledge as well as wisdom. Mentors, professors, school teachers, and tutors are found here. Passing accumulated wisdom, folklore, science or artistic techniques is very important, and part of our own growth and development, even if we do not consider ourselves on a spiritual path. Finding your life's passion is the greatest lesson of all.
Even though this card represents balance and enlightenment, there is always a reverse meaning to each. Look to our own dark views of society and spirituality. In many ways, learning in the current schools systems is not a labor of love, but just a labor. Education and knowledge is not valued for its own sake, but for achieving high scores on standardized tests, grades and class ranking. Colleges are places were young adults are figuring out their life, often killing time with some subject they do not value. Not all education experiences are like that, but many are. In the search for spirituality, we usually run into dogmatic religion. The Hierophant is the enlightened one at times, but also the unchanging, unmoving and unliving religious icon, distant, remote and out of touch with the spiritual needs of the people. Many institutionalized religions teach fear, discrimination and blind obedience. The keys of enlightenment and knowledge turn into keys locking us into our own prisons of doubt and conformity.
Do a meditation to meet with your highest teacher or guide. Sit quietly and relax, breathing deeply. Hold the Hierophant card before you. Stare at it for a while, letting the details fill your mind. Close your eye and visualize the card before you, the size of a doorway. Step though the portal and into the realm of the teacher. On the Hierophant's throne is the teacher you need most at this time. It can be a religious leader from your path, spirit guide, someone you know in life or someone from history or mythology. What does that teacher mean to you? Ask this being any questions you have. This meditation will give you clues to your own personal meaning of the card.
Thank this being and step back through the portal, returning to normal consciousness.
When doing a Tarot reading, first intuitively decide if the card feels enlightened or distant. From that point you will have a better idea how the Hierophant fits into the spread. It always means learning, lessons and knowledge. The hard part is determining if it comes with an open hand extended in love and learning, or a clenched fist of control.
Double Your Tarot, Double Your Fun
by Christopher Penczak
(Originally appearing in THiNK! Magazine.)
Ever have those difficult Tarot card readings? You aren't having an off night, at least not psychically, but you are having difficulty getting it across to your client. Some people refuse to see things without their rose colored glasses. If you completely sugar coat it, are you really doing a service? No, I don't think so. But if you tell it like it obviously is, the seeker gets upset with you because of issues they haven't dealt with. What's a self respecting Tarot card reader to do? Double your decks, that's what.
You heard me. Start using two decks instead of one. I got this great technique from an online pagan friend who made the suggestion. By using two Tarot decks, you glean more information than you normally would. Use one deck as usual, to determine the events in the seeker's life and what energies and situations are affecting her. The second deck determines the seeker's outlook on these situations. The outlook could be much different from the reality. Knowing the client's perception gives you a good reference point to explain the situation better and be an asset in making life changes rather than another person causing trouble. People seeking Tarot readings often have enough trauma in their lives. I know I do when I seek out a psychic.
I use the Thoth deck, with the oversized cards, and the size does matter. This is my main deck and was the one I started using. The smaller deck, in my case the Rider-Waite-Smith is put over the larger cards. It can make reading much easier if you can see a bit of both cards at once. I ignore the traditional rule of not touching the cards once they are down. I pick them up and point things out to my clients. If size doesn't matter to you, then use the most comfortable decks for you.
I would suggest using two different decks. First it's easier to mix up the batches if they are the same. If you dedicate one deck to the actual situation and the other deck to the perceptions of the seeker and the deck's get mixed up, you may have some problems in your cards. Besides, it can be a fun challenge to learn a new deck. Even though each card has meanings going across the different decks, each has it's own style. The style and character of the deck can change your opinion about a card. In the Thoth deck, I see the Devil as more benevolent, the good god giving advice or support. A Pan-like goat sits in the realm between worlds. In the Rider-Waite deck, the Devil card seems darker, implying some forced labor or subservience to another. A demon holds a man and woman in chains. Depending on which deck the Devil puts an appearance in will determine how I feel it applies to the reading. I believe in strongly following your first intuition rather than relying on the classical meaning of cards. Look to see what the cards, new and old, are telling you.
Now explain to your clients how the two decks work. Most are very open and intrigued by the idea, since not many people read Tarot this way. Start by explaining the card dealing with their perceptions. Often the seeker will identify strongly with it, so you have a greater confidence in the accuracy of the reading. Often the underlying card will be of a similar nature, indicating the seeker sees the situation clearly. Suppose you had the Sun card over the two of cups in a present or future position, they would be in agreement. Both can represent a strong relationship, love and happiness in your life. But if you had the Sun over the Seven of Cups, you have a new story. The seeker probably thinks they are in happiness, or starting a good relationship, but there is something hidden. They are not thinking straight. Thoughts are muddled. Perception is clouded, perhaps by a substance. The new lover may not be as he appears, but the seeker is either in denial or deceived. Either way it's trouble to tell someone they are muddled when they don't think they are. Starting from their perceptions gives you a good launch pad for discussion and may cushion the blow. If someone is coming to a reader, they are looking for answers. When told in a comforting and supportive way, they are usually receptive to the truth once the initial shock and denial is over.
Using two Tarot decks can be more difficult and time consuming, but I think it's well worth it. If this is your craft, expand your horizons and break new ground. If you can communicate your second sight to the seeker in a gentle and more accurate way, then do so. It makes it easier for everybody. The double deck technique has helped me greatly in my own practice and greatly improved my own understanding of the Tarot.