Real Tarot

“The soul thinks in images”, Aristotle said and it is through the understanding of these images, or symbols, that the wisdom of the subconscious mind can be assessed. While the tarot provides us with a way of transferring this wisdom into our everyday consciousness, many people shy away from learning how to use these cards, believing that it is a tool only to be used by the “psychic” or specially gifted. Don McLeod however disagrees.

Having studied the tarot for over 25 years, Don McLeod has written an exciting, informative, yet easy to follow, guide to learning the tarot. From the outset, “Real Tarot” engages the reader by exposing techniques as how to identify the picture keys contained within each card, how to use one’s own intuition to expand upon these keys, and most importantly, he encourages the reader to trust their own interpretation and intuition.

Using the classic Rider Waite deck, “Real Tarot” contains invaluable information and provides an in-depth insight into the symbolism of each card in a straightforward manner without confusing the reader with too much information. By openly sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience with respect to the tarot in a friendly, down to earth manner, Don McLeod offers what feels like personal instruction that benefits both the beginner and the more experienced student alike.

The techniques taught within “Real Tarot” allow the reader to easily access, interpret and understand the wisdom contained within the tarot, making this book a “must have” for anyone interested in learning the tarot or expanding upon their own understanding.

Reviewed by Frances Billinghurst

Frances Billinghurst has been a student of metaphysics, Hermetics, Goddess spirituality and the occult arts for most of her adult life. An initiate of the Alexandrian tradition of Wicca, she founded the Temple of the Dark Moon in 1999. Frances is a regular contributor to Australia's Insight magazine and was published in the 2008 Llewellyn Witch’s Calendar. Frances can be contacted through: www.templedarkmoon.com

To learn more about this book, see: http://www.mistertarot.com/

Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom

“The application to Tarot is clear.
It offers us a great gift, a way to understand the wonders of life,
a form of guidance when events or our own souls trouble us.
To receive that gift, we must open ourselves -
not just emotionally, but also conceptually.” R Pollack

Rachel Pollack has written over a dozen books on the subject of Tarot, including the classic guidebook Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, so I expected to be impressed with her latest offering. But I didn’t expect to be so surprised, delighted and awed by it!

Since publishing Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel has spent the last three decades exploring the deeper aspects of the cards, and this book overflows with insights and esoteric knowledge.

Actually, the term “book” doesn’t do it justice, this is more like a manual of cartomancy - one that seamlessly blends Kabbalistic and Pythagorean concepts with astrology, fairy tales and grail legends. It was an ambitious undertaking, but one that is unequalled in its scope and brilliance.

Tarot Wisdom will transform the way that you look at each and every card. It’s a fresh approach to a fascinating subject, and no serious student of Tarot should be without it.

Author: Rachel Pollack
Published by: Llewellyn
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1309-0

Meeting Fairies: a true story

Robert Ogilvie Crombie (known as Roc to his friends) strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh in 1966 and made an astonishing discovery. ‘I saw a figure dancing around a tree about twenty yards from me - a beautiful little figure about three feet tall...it was a faun, the Greek mythological being, half human, half animal. He had a pointed chin and ears and two little horns on his forehead. His shaggy legs ended in cloven hooves and his skin was honey-coloured.’

The faun’s name was Kurmos, and according to Roc, he had an ‘infinite, mature wisdom - combined with the naiveté of a child.’ During their conversation, Kurmos stated that many of the nature spirits had lost interest in humans because they had been made to feel they were, ‘neither believed in nor wanted.’ One month later, in a nearby street, Roc felt the presence of Pan, the god of the fields and countryside, who was ‘radiating a tremendous power’ and who smelt of ‘pine woods, damp leaves, of newly turned earth and of woodland flowers.’ Roc’s meetings with Pan became more frequent and each visit led to a deeper understanding of the Horned God’s personality.

During one of Roc’s walks, ‘the woods became alive with myriad beings - elementals, nymphs, dryads, fauns, elves, fairies and so on.’ Most of Roc’s encounters in this book relate to these nature spirits, so the title could just as easily have been called ‘Meeting Elementals and the Pagan Gods’!

Apart from the nature spirits mentioned earlier, Roc also met and interacted with fire and water spirits, sylphs, gnomes, goblins, imps, and even the Elf King! And regarding all of these creatures, Roc wanted it known that they were not the ‘cutesy and delightful fairies’ of children’s stories, but ‘vastly powerful beings’.

Roc is described by one of his friends as ‘a loving man who carried the presence of the invisible worlds with him like a cloak.’ From his writings he seems to be fully aware of the elemental realms, while maintaining an analytical and questioning mind from his scientific career. Although his Christian background influenced his understanding of the Otherworlds, his training in Hermetic Magic helped him to work with the subtle energies in which he found himself immersed.

Mike Scott, lead singer of The Waterboys, wrote the prologue for this book. Mike was born in Edinburgh and is famous for songs with magical themes, including gems such as, Pan Within, A Pagan Place, The Whole of the Moon, and Return of Pan. He now lives in Findhorn, Scotland. Most of the chapters in this book reflect the mystical theme of Roc’s spiritual encounters, for example there are titles like, Magic on Midsummer Eve, The Wild Garden, Pan’s World, and Enchantments of Autumn.

Meeting Fairies was designed to look like a hard cover book of fairy tales from the olden days. It is delightfully illustrated by Elise Hurst, and the text was compiled by Maggie Hamilton, Allen & Unwin’s Inspired Living publisher.

In Roc’s own words, the underlying message of this book is: ‘The nature spirits must be believed in with complete sincerity and faith. They must be appreciated and given thanks and love for the work they do. Let us try in our own ways to make friends with these wonderful beings and ask their help in making earth a beautiful and perfect place.’

Author: R. Ogilvie Crombie
Published by: Allen & Unwin (Inspired Living)
ISBN: 9781741759907
RRP: AUD $29.95 (hardback)

Mystic Medusa's Astroscape 2010

Mystic Medusa is a Sydney-based astrologer who has a witty column in the Weekend Australian newspaper, and the monthly In Style magazine. According to her, 2010 is going to be the year of the Suave Individualist, where you get to explore your leadership potential. It’s a year filled with some stunning and powerful astrological alignments.

Chapters in this helpful book include: Moon Mastery, How Not to Let Mercury Retrograde Send You Mental, and of course, there’s a detailed section showing you when to expect romance, more money and that new job opportunity you have been waiting for.

When I turned to the calendar for my sign (Cancer) I found that an amazing year is lined up for me! Apart from the travel (the week of departure was predicted correctly) a new philosophy will realign my life and revolutionise my everyday reality. Great! But then I looked at the other zodiac signs and realised that everyone is in for a fantastic year. Maybe us Cancerians are not so special after all.

Aries will be the beneficiaries of spiritual breakthroughs. Taurus will have an expansive social life and is ultra-lucky this year. Gemini will be sparkling and unsinkable. Leo scores undreamt-of sex, power & money rewards with decadent, mystical love as well! Virgo may have been struggling a bit for the past twelve years, but now she enters a lucky phase for true love. Libra has a sensationally thrilling time ahead. Scorpio becomes mentally, physically and financially fertile. Sagittarius will have good fortune in real estate and domestic areas. Capricorn begins a 14 year cycle that revamps life in unprecedented ways. Aquarius can expect a status upgrade due to a financial boon. And Pisces has ‘a cosmic dollop of fab luck & opportunities’ with the ‘luckiest year in yonks’!

Maybe Mystic Medusa just wants us all to be fired up and enthusiastic about the changes ahead. Or maybe the planetary conjunctions are just especially favourable this year. I choose to believe the latter possibility.

On the plus side, the book is enjoyable to read, and gives useful tips for dealing with that nuisance called Mercury Retrograde. We get four lots of Mercury Retrograde this year, but it’s not all bad news. Apart from possibly having problems with computers, gadgets, and anything related to communication, we’re told it can be a good time for a wilderness retreat, for reading trashy novels, or for doing ancestor worship! Mystic Medusa also has some great ideas for worthwhile activities for when the moon is in certain signs. For example, when the moon is in Cancer, take naps, bake scones, get a boob check, drink gin and tonic while listening to country music, and reread a favourite book from your childhood.

On the negative side, the overuse of the quirky vocab gets tiresome. It doesn’t take long to become bored with terms like, administrivia, peeps, crappo, shitzone, and festering merde - especially when you consider that most of the above words turned up in one page! And my other complaint is that the pages of my copy have started falling out already. Hopefully that was just a production error that occurred during the printing of my book.

This pocket-sized volume of astro-lore and prediction is an entertaining way to find out about the year ahead, and while you are giggling at Mystic Medusa’s humorous way of expressing herself, you’ll find yourself being educated about astrological terms and trends at the same time. Obviously, seeing a real astrologer and getting a chart specifically designed for you would be the best way to get accurate advice, but the pages of Mystic Medusa’s book will give you an inkling of what’s likely to happen in the coming year.

Author: Mystic Medusa
Published by: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781741759068
RRP: AUD $22.99