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« New Moon Notes - March 4, 2011 | Main | ArkLetter 72 »

NewMoon Tarotlogy Reading - March 2011

By Christine Payne-Towler
ArkLetter 72, March 4, 2011

The Steele Wizard Tarot

Pamela Steele has recently gifted me with a copy of the very unique Steele Wizard Tarot, and it has been a pleasure to experiment with it on behalf of my readers. Let me say right up front that the presentation is maximally classy, with every detail attended to, from this sturdy "vault" of a two-part box to the beautiful ribbon-trimmed bookmark in the square-bound accompanying booklet. Steele accomplished every step of this creation herself, making this pack a true labor of love and homage to the Art of Tarot.

This pack reminds me very much of the Cary-Yale Visconti set, in that this Tarot has an extra course of Royals (known as Maidens) and six additional Trumps (called Weaver, Universe, Truth, Evolution, Soul Twins, and I AM), adding up to a pack of 88 cards. The pack is also oversized in card weight, height and width, making it quite a handful to manipulate.

The heavy cardstock forces the user into a modified shuffle, which Steel kindly describes in her booklet. Once that adjustment is made, the deep gloss on the cards allow them to 'handle' quite nicely -- although, truth be told, I have large hands and am used to oversized packs.

The substantiality and heft of the individual cards with their deep dark borders and super-shiny surfaces means that each card has the impact of an icon. The images are strong enough, both physically and artistically, to stand alone on one's altar or bedside table, speaking directly into the unconscious in the manner of a "visual spell".

Historically this is one of the earliest non-gaming uses of Tarot images. We have descriptions of individuals drawing a particular card out of the pack and using it as a window into the spirit world, often lighting a candle, saying a prayer and meditating with the energies under consideration. Steel's artistic device of surrounding each image with a wide border of blackness and then outlining the action with twining-vine frame or crystalline bars creates the perfect imaginable context for an alchemically-activating visualization to spring up from the printed image. This aspect of the cards is what earns it the moniker of being a 'Wizard's Tarot', to my mind.

It is a courageous thing to make a Tarot deck, but especially so if one is going to add new ideas to the traditional canon. Having cut my teeth on the 78-card packs and specialized in the oldest models, I would be at a loss to propose new values to add to the sequence. However, there is a steady history of experimentation and modification that swirls around the 78-card pack; there have been multiple historical instances of ideas being added and subtracted from the classic Tarot pantheon.

Steele's choices all resonate with me easily, stemming, as they seem to from a worldview and cultural matrix quite similar to my own. I don't have to work too hard to interpret them in the context of a reading even on first acquaintance, which is a blessing. The newly added Trump concepts are all drawn from the contemporary New Age worldview instead of a classical source, but Steele has focused on universals that we can all relate to. Despite all the pop-psychology buzzwords and half-digested magical thinking that saturate our contemporary mass culture, Steel sidestepped the temptation to be obscurely metaphysical or conspiratorially obtuse. Her additional cards feel spiritually authentic, accessible and inspirational to even the neophyte reader. More we cannot ask!

The art is a lively blend of alt-culture Renaissance Revival, modern mythopoetic, neo-Pagan, and steampunk-Goth, especially the suit cards. Some cards are classically traditional (The Star, Justice, Hanged Man), while others are radically re-conceptualized (#13 = Transition; #15 = Materialism). The jewel tones on the Trumps as well as the we-can-work-it-out approach of the interpretations assure that Steele is fostering a path of healing and inspiration. This impression is increased when we open the book and discover that Tarot Ethics is the first topic covered after the introduction. Right there I get the feeling that I could trust this person in a client session!

Steele’s addition of the Maiden series across the four elements draws attention the catalytic action of newly awakened human potential that's currently surging towards realization in the human experience. Current events are literally forcing humanity to re-conceptualize our survival stance at a species level. We see this energy positively boiling forth through the young adults of every nation, especially this new breed of women rising up on all sides. Therefore, among other things, the Steele Wizard Tarot makes a deliberate and conscious outreach to what's been called 'the New Humanity'. (And given the sturdiness of the individual cards and their box, I have no doubt that some of Steele's packs will survive the Apocalypse! Could this be part of the overall design plan?)

Steele has a palpable love for the art of reading, for the people who practice this art, and for the clients who will be counseled by this pack of cards. Her experience in the medium shines through from the interpretations. Not only does Steele make every effort to offer a bright side to each card (sometimes as the upright meaning, sometimes as the reversed meaning), but also, even as she is pointing out problems, she's emphasizing the ways that taking personal responsibility can open up new directions for resolution.

I get the feeling that Steel has put many years into refining the jagged edges of the Waite and Crowley interpretations to arrive at this level of well-digested, therapeutic insight. For this reason the Steele Wizard deck is quite easy to read right out of the box. The book can also serve as a helpful tutor for the plethora of English-style packs around that are beautiful and novel but not very deep.

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your beautiful pack and loving labors with the Tarot ArkLetter family!

New Moon Tarotlogy

For an introduction to the World Servers' Spread see ArkLetter 5
For an introduction to Tarotlogy, see ArkLetter 62

As I shuffled the cards this time, I pointed myself at the original premise for this spread. We are examining the five visible Planetary Governors that have since antiquity ruled the Signs of the Zodiac. Long ago, these five were looked at as adversaries to spiritual progress, energies to be managed on the path to enlightenment. We do not include the Sun and Moon in our spread because they are the Lights, the literal sources of enlightenment, therefore always benevolent in whatever they do. (For example, the Lights never go retrograde.)

The significance of the Sun and Moon in these articles always stems from their conjunction, which this month is happening in Pisces. This NewMoon marks the end of the old agricultural year, the ‘darkest hour just before dawn’, so to speak. We’ve reached the end of the past cycle, but we’ve not yet launched into the future. We are in the crack between worlds. This NewMoon we pause, take stock, rethink our needs and therefore our goals for the whole coming year, and then start over with as much grace as we can muster.

The Planets, meanwhile, not only suffer from retrograde periods but they also have double sign rulerships. This produces twice the interactive dynamics (and resulting complication) as they cover their courses. The innermost Planets (Moon, Mercury, Venus) are also quite fast moving, which means we experience them as fickle and changeable, always stirring the pot. There is an aura of ambiguity and trickiness to the Planets that means we can't place complete trust in them the way we do with the Lights. Like ball bearings in a paint can, they just as often disturb the harmony of the heavens as contribute to it.

Our theory in doing these Tarotlogy readings is that, by watching the Planets closely month by month (including their dynamics with the very slow Invisible Outers and Nodes when relevant), we can keep current with their shifting attitudes and prevent their changing faces from taking us by surprise. We work up the NewMoon chart and then use Tarot cards as guidelines for approaching the planetary challenges of the month. By combining Tarot with the astrological transits, we get both objective and subjective inputs on current events.

Here are the cards and the text as Pamela Steele gives them, along with a few remarks about how each card strikes me. Remember that we are asking about how the month of March plays out here, taking for granted all of the vectors that were discussed over in the NewMoon Notes article. The question is how shall we conduct ourselves during this time when the path going forward seems to be taking an unannounced detour?

Venus (in early Aquarius) -- Hierophant

"Wisdom, intelligence, and good counsel. Inspiration built on the foundation of previous work and experience. Receiving and accepting blessings, guidance and healing from an older and possibly spiritual source. Need for conformity. Seeking stability from tradition and habit. Guidance from an outside source provides a temporary solution. Need for social approval. Remember the best answers are always found within."

The first words that came into my head were "Get right with God" (or Whatever you think is in charge here). Venus is the figurehead of sympathetic magic, in the sense that like attracts like. So the more we strive to resemble those things that we hold most sacred, the more we come in contact with those higher energies due to our increasing affinity with them.

I also resonate with the idea of inherited wisdom coming through tradition and older sources of guidance. By turning towards the time-tested and familiar font of received wisdom, we rescue the best of the past and strengthen ourselves through our elder's experiences. Let nothing that might be of benefit to the future be lost!

Jupiter (in early Aries conjunct Uranus in late Pisces) -- Fool reversed

"Innocence. Thoughtless action. Indiscretion. Inexperience. Fear of the unknown may hold the Seeker back from the wonderful new experience. Lack of experience creates poor choices or a wrong turn. The Seeker has made an ill-considered move and needs to reevaluate the situation. The choices have been based on fear as opposed to a feeling of safety."

This is exactly what I was writing the NewMoon Notes article about this month! Our collective human history is a story of immaturity and overreaction writ large, and seemingly the plot wants to continue in that vein.

Fear-based reflexes will always diminish our potential rather than expand it. So now, as individuals, we have to re-conceptualize our situation in a way that shrinks the exaggeration, hysteria, paranoia and chaos we are creating (and therefore experiencing) down to manageable proportions. Only then we can start looking for our silver lining and the 11th-hour turnaround that is Jupiter's specialty.

Mercury (conjunct NewMoon and Uranus in Pisces) -- 7 swords reversed

"Good advice and counsel. The liar and their lies are revealed. Return of what is rightly owned. Truth comes to light. What was lost is found. What was stolen is returned. The Seeker brings more to the situation than is required."

Here is one of those cards where the reversed meaning is more optimistic than the upright. Traditionally this card symbolizes putting the categories of life into order. It’s the kind of thing we do when we are budgeting our time and money across the workweek, or doing our taxes and balancing our books.

This can supply one obvious meaning of this card in this position: it’s tax time, so let the government know how much this year has hurt you financially and how little you owe in taxes. Lay all your cards face -up on the tax table and take that refund in good conscience!

But also, in general, be fiercely accountable with yourself. Look straight at your situation, get organized, accept any losses and adjust your course going forward. Don't be heading into the upcoming days without undergoing that fearless moral inventory we keep hearing about. In a time of tight margins, every bit of waste must be eliminated. Submit to self-discipline now so the future can arrive according to plan instead of by accident.

Saturn (retrograde in Libra, handle of the bucket pattern) -- Chariot

"Triumph of will. Victory. The uniting of Divine will and human will to achieve a common goal. Motion. Travel in comfort. Self-mastery. Control over your own nature. You are functioning as a total being. Energy that cannot be directed or controlled but can be ridden to help achieve your goals."

I know that Saturn is trying to do this in the nicest possible way (Saturn is exalted in Libra), but he is still the bill-collector of the Zodiac and he has work to do with all of us. To the extent that we have made promises and created obligations, we now have to follow through and fulfill those expectations. If you owe anybody anything, this is the time to make good on the deal.

We are really being challenged to live up to our own fantasy of ourselves. If you've been listening to your mouth say "one of these days I'm going to blah, blah, blah", then now is the time to stop talking and make it happen. No more procrastination -- we’re on the verge of spring so just do it! Saturn doesn't listen to excuses or pleadings for exceptions -- you either succeed or you fail on your current merits, no do-over’s.

Saturn is also inconjunct the NewMoon this month, implying the strong possibility of getting caught out in a vulnerable position in front of everybody, with Saturn's 'help' of course. Just be a person of your word and follow through as your best intentions direct, and you will win points for sincerity and grace under fire. Since Saturn is the planet that swings the whole chart this month, getting this part right will make everything else work out better too.

Mars (in early Pisces, wide conjunction with Neptune in late Aquarius) -- 5 wands

"Ordeals, tests and trials. Competition. Maybe a lawsuit or other contest in which the purpose is to establish one's self in a situation. Assertive action to establish position, identity or truth necessary for evolution in a situation. The forces of change create the chaos necessary for evolution. Courage is needed to change things for the better. You are on your own."

In the oldest packs this is the card of Alchemical Gold. The reference is to the refiner's fire that separates the dross from the gold in the alchemist’s cauldron. Over and over the molten gold is skimmed to remove the scrim of foaming rock that bubbles up to the top of the basin.

This smelting is a violent and intense process, but the end product is nothing less than the pure Mineral Light, infused with the intelligence of the whole Solar System. Consciousness is the true Alchemical Gold. It must be cooked down and smelted out of the dross of daily life, and only after long suffering and challenge do we find the true spiritual Sun that's been imprinted into our souls.

Summation

In sum, we need to improve our intuitions and upgrade our willingness to submit to spiritual leadings (Hierophant). That way, when our Foolish impulses try and take over, we might have a chance to remember ourselves and not fall prey to our own self-fulfilling prophecies of fear and loathing. By cooperating with current circumstances that want to call us to account and make us clean up our act (7 Swords), we lighten our load and become more efficient, whatever we are doing. This liberates more energy and motivation to share with others in support of our important relationships (Chariot). Ultimately, by sincerely and willingly undergoing the meltdown and recasting process that we are all going through right now, we can outgrow our old limitations rationalizations and fears, to step into a new and golden version of ourselves. As Pamela reminds us "Courage is needed to change things for the better. You are on your own." There's your permission folks, go forth and become yourselves!

Happy Equinox to all!

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