Alchemy and the Tarot
with Tarot Scholar and Reader Robert M. Place
designer and author of The Alchemical Tarot, The Buddha Tarot, The Tarot of the Saints, The Angeles Tarot, the Vampire Tarot, and The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
An Advanced Tarot Class on Alchemical Symbolism and the Tarot
Saturday, August 7, 2010
12 noon to 6 pm
in lower Manhattan
(the address will be provided to registered students)
Price: $100
Paid in advance by: Visa or Master Card, Check, or Pay Pal
(The class is limited to 20 students)
The Alchemical Tarot is designed to illustrate that there is a close connection between alchemical symbolism and the Tarot. The Fool and trumps in The Alchemical Tarot each relate to an alchemical material or process, which is part of the Great Work or Opus of alchemy that leads to the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mystical catalyst that transforms what it touches to its highest form. Composed of the mysterious fifth element, it can cure any illness, turn lead into gold, and turn an ordinary person into an enlightened sage. The four minor suits relate to the alchemical elements and to four related temperaments. To achieve a deeper understanding of the deck it is, therefore, necessary to study alchemical symbolism.
It is not surprising that the word gibberish originally referred to texts written by the Medieval Arabic alchemists Jabir, known in Latin as Giber. Many people find alchemy a daunting and confusing subject and this impression is not entirely unfounded. Every alchemist explained his or her work in personal terms and symbols that were derived from unique visions. Descriptions of the alchemical process, therefore, vary considerably from alchemist to alchemist. Often the same symbol has a different meaning from one text to another. For example, a green lion in one text may refer to the ore from which antimony is extracted and in another to vitriol, while in The Alchemical Tarot, it symbolizes Mercury in its raw or poisonous state. On top of this, alchemists intentionally used deceptive language in their texts to hide their secrets. Also, alchemists use the same symbolic language in texts that are entirely philosophical or theoretical as they do in ones describing lab work. Most alchemists, however, agreed on several basic concepts and principal stages of the Opus, which evolved over the centuries but remained framed by a mystical, mathematical system of number symbolism derived from the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras. In this course, we will learn the basic concepts of alchemy through their relation to number symbolism. We will learn the alchemical symbolism of the Fool and 21 trumps and see how it captures the alchemical Opus. We will explore the relationship between the four elements and the minor suits and learn what alchemical symbols they contain. We will learn how the Alchemical Tarot can be used as a psychological tool and practice a transformative alchemical spread.
Tarot and Relationships
with Tarot Scholar and Reader Robert M. Place
designer and author of The Alchemical Tarot, The Buddha Tarot, The Tarot of the Saints, The Angeles Tarot, the Vampire Tarot, and The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
An Advanced Tarot Class on Using the Tarot to Devlope Empathy, Gain Insight, and Create better Relationships
Saturday, September 25, 2010
12 noon to 6 pm
in lower Manhattan
(the address will be provided to registered students)
Price: $100
Paid in advance by: Visa or Master Card, Check, or Pay Pal
(The class is limited to 20 students)
A Tarot card reader quickly finds that most often people want a reading to obtain advice about their relationships with their loved ones, with people at work, or with their job or career itself. The relationship spread, therefore, is one of the most useful spreads that a reader has at his or her command. It is a useful layout for analyzing a situation and giving advice. It deals with a specific question and brings it into focus. It can be applied to relationships between two persons, or between a person and a job, home, family, culture, city, or other environment. It can also be a health reading showing the relationship between the querent’s mind and body. It not only gets to the heart of a situation but it can be used creatively to solve problems and, as always, its goal is to obtain wisdom from the Higher Self.
This class will cover the relationship spread but effectively, when we are using the relationship spread for a querent we are acting as a Tarot counselor and instead of offering predictions we are involved in a type of therapy. Of course, unless we have received the proper training, we are not psychotherapists and we are not attempting to diagnose mental illness but we are providing intuitive advice to help our client to evolve psychologically and spiritually and to make better decisions in his or her life. Before we start learning the actual spread, it will, therefore, be useful to let a psychologist teach us about the nature of relationships. And we cover the four basic stages.
The relationship spread can ne used to obtain insight into any relationship. It can cover relationships between the querent and a loved one, a workmate, or a boss. It can cover relationships between the querent and their career or workplace, or to any body or institution. It can even become a health reading discussing the relationship between the querent’s mind and body. But best of all it is an excellent way to obtain empathy, insight, and guidance from the Higher Self.
An Introduction to the Tarot: Guidance and Wisdom for Our Spiritual Journey
three weekly sessions on Wednesdays, July 28, August 4 & 11, 2010, 8-10 pm
at The New York Open Center, 22 East 30th Street, New York
with Robert M. Place, creator of The Alchemical Tarot and numerous other decks and the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination
The Tarot is a deck of cards that can be used as a tool for developing intuition, but it is more than this. The cards in a Tarot deck contain symbolic images that express a mystical philosophy, a philosophy that stems from the mentors of Western culture, Pythagoras and Plato, and that has been cherished by mystics and sages over the centuries. The philosophy is expressed not only in individual pictures but in the structure and organization of the deck. Effectively, the Tarot is a map of the spiritual universe, a mandala, divided into separate components but maintaining the pattern through the relationship of each component to another. When this philosophy and structure is understood and the cards are used as an intuitive device, a communication happens between the conscious self and a source of wisdom in the unconscious that I call the Higher Self. Used in this way, the Tarot is like a personal sage that one can converse with whenever guidance is needed. As day to day decisions are made from this place of wisdom, using the Tarot becomes a spiritual path.
In this three-part class we will first study the symbolism of the Tarot as its Italian Renaissance creators intended and come to see the spiritual message contained in the deck. Then we will learn and practice techniques for developing intuition and reading the cards as a message from the Higher Self. Students will need a Tarot deck created by Robert Place, the Waite-Smith Tarot, or one based on the Waite-Smith Tarot, and some unlined paper.
Members $90 Nonmembers $100
For Information:
call: (212) 219-2527
Tarot Treasures
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
A lecture and private viewing of the complete Tarot holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Tarot expert Robert M. Place
produced by Sasha Graham
Featuring:
-Three sheets of Italian woodcut Tarocchi cards, circa 1500, from Ferrara, possibly the oldest printed Tarot cards in the world.
-a complete Tarot of Marseilles by Conver, printed in Marseilles, circa 1760, The historic French deck that influenced the occultists.
-rare 16th century Minchaite cards, the variation of the Tarot, with 40 trumps and a Fool, produced in Florence.
-An interesting assortment of Victorian fortune telling cards
Stay Posted for the Next Lecture
2:00 to 4:45 pm
cost $50
To register, email Sasha Graham:
sashag@nyc.rr.com
First come first serve
or contact: Robert M. Place at: (845)246-0180 or robroseplac@aol.com
|