In this course with Ken James – our marvelous teacher and Jungian Analyst- will focus on developing skills in reading the Tarot, an ancient tool of divination.
The Tarot enhances communication between the conscious and the unconscious mind and can be thought of as an evocation of synchronicity. Synchronicities are phenomena of meaningful coincidences.
Each individual Tarot card illustrates in rich detail a quality of human experience that is both personal and transcendent.
The Tarot becomes even more revelatory when the cards are placed in various arrays, which are called “tarot spreads”, whereby each card gains new meaning when viewed in relationship with the other cards and with the meaning added to the card by virtue of its position in the spread.
In this course, several spreads will be presented, and you will be encouraged to practice reading the Tarot using these spreads to construct narratives of insight for themselves and others.
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Learn how to do tarot reading and use spreads that you can apply to a variety of situations: for clarity, for relationships, for healing, for individuation, and so on.
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Deepen your relationship to the Tarot images by constructing “narratives of insight” that address specific questions or concerns.
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Gain fluency in your ability to read the cards within the context of two widely-respected spreads.
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Master the use of the “Three Card Spread” and the “Celtic Cross Spread”, two common and very flexible ways of garnering meaning from the images.
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Enhance your understanding of synchronicity and intuition through consistent and dedicated study of the cards and the spreads.
Class 1. Short review of the TarotIn this first class the structure of the Tarot will be reviewed, and participants will discuss cards that they find meaningful and/or puzzling. Beginning or resuming the daily practice of drawing one card and journaling about it will be discussed, as will the use of the cards to construct a Tarot-informed autobiography.
Class 2. Reading Pairs of Cards and the Past-Present-Future Three-Card Spread
In this class, beginning exercises in reading the cards will be explained, and methods of giving mini-readings using two cards will be demonstrated. The use of a three-card spread to address questions from the perspectives of past, present, and future will also be explained.
Class 3. Reading Reversals and the Overview-Challenge-Action Three-Card Spread
In this class, the traditions around reading reversed cards (cards that appear upside-down in a reading) will be discussed, and some examples will be presented. The class will then expand on the three-card spread, this time reading the cards to amplify the Overview, a Challenge, and a recommended Action relative to a question or concern that is brought to the Tarot.
Class 4. Celtic Cross: Reading the Central Quaternity
Starting with Class 4, participants will build skill in using the traditional Celtic Cross spread. The Celtic Cross is a spread of ten cards arranged in two separate sections, a central quaternity composed by a cross-like pattern surrounding a set of central cards, and a column of four cards forming a “staff” to the right of the central quaternity. The entire spread will be presented, and then specific practice will be offered in setting up and reading the “central quaternity” of the Celtic Cross.
Class 5. Celtic Cross: Reading the Staff
In this class, participants will gain facility in reading the second portion of the Celtic Cross spread: the “Staff” of four cards signifying one’s own relationship to the question, the influences of the environment, including friends and family, one’s hopes and fears relative to the question being asked of the cards, and the ultimate outcome of the situation.
Class 6. Celtic Cross: Reading the Entire Spread
In the last class of this course examples will be presented to demonstrate how to read the entire Celtic Cross spread, relating the “central quaternity” and the “staff” to the question brought to the cards.
