nature

This “Gaian Soul Chat” is one in a series of interviews with interesting people I know whose life work is intrinsically involved with Nature, Creativity and Spirituality. And, quite often, the Tarot.

Many of you know that I based the number system in the Gaian Tarot on material I learned from Teresa Michelsen, author of one of my favorite Tarot books, The Complete Tarot Reader. Teresa will be leading a teleseminar discussion on the Gaian number system for the Gaian Tarot Circle on November 3rd.

Tarot

Tell us a little bit about your relationship with the Tarot.

I’ve always been fascinated by images and their deeper meanings – as well as by cards, games,and systems of thought. Tarot combines all of these with psychology, mythology, art, and mystery, and each person redefines it in her own way, whether she is interpreting the tarot or drawing a new deck. Just the ways in which tarot has been reinvented over the centuries and on new continents tell us about the evolution of societies during that time. There is always more to learn and always deeper places to go with tarot.

That said, a long-term disappointment with tarot was that it did not seem to incorporate nature to any great extent. It was all about people, places, and symbols. The few more modern decks that did were hard for me to connect with, since they were typically Celtic or Southwest Indian in design. Then along came Joanna’s deck, with images of the Pacific Northwest that I have had imprinted on my psyche since childhood, and which I see reflected all around me. It also uses the elemental energies more directly, which has been my preference in working with tarot and the world at large recently. That this deck should come to exist I view as a personal gift from its creatrix and the Universe.

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