Crisis in the Circle
Last week I wrote about the Circle Readings workshop taught by Mary K. Greer. I mentioned that it was one of my favorite activities of the weekend.
Now here is the thing about Readers Studio and why it is more than just an educational opportunity and why it is an experience that cannot be replaced by a book or even on online class. Almost everything that is taught is then practiced and experienced by everyone there. You perform the technique and you are on the receiving end of the technique. In addition to honing your skills as a reader, you receive intensely powerful readings that can change your life.
There is something about being physically present with someone that adds to or affects the energy present in your experience. And, as we discovered by sitting in a tight circle with our knees touching, there is something about physical connection that intensifies that affect.
What happened to me? I was sitting in a circle touching knees with Rachel Pollack, Joanna Powell Colbert, Beth Owl’s Daughter, and Judy Nathan. Add to that mix Mary Greer, who was leading the workshop, and you’ve got an awful lot of powerful tarot energy in a very small space. These are women I’ve admired and respected for years and I was honored, humbled, and a little nervous to be sitting with them.
After we arrange ourselves, Mary tells us that each group has to pick a leader, someone to keep things moving and keep an eye on the time. Almost in unison and before I can react, my groups decides that I am to be the leader. Right. If Rachel is in the middle of giving an answer, do you think I’m going to interrupt her, telling her that her time is up? But what can I do?
We begin. We move quickly around our circle, asking and answering questions at lightning speed and with a brilliance that dazzles my mind. When it comes time to silently ask a question, I think “Give me a message that will rock my world.” The answer came from The Gaian Tarot and was the High Priestess. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that the High Priestess and I have issues. The answer I was given (and I honestly don’t remember who…either Rachel or Joanna) was this: People believe in you and see the wisdom you don’t see in yourself.
Later, I asked another question: “what was that High Priestess message about?” The answer (and I do not remember the card, a court card of some sort) was: You are afraid to wear the crown.
In the court cards, the kings and queens, we say that the crowns represent not just authority but responsibility.
I’m still not sure what it all means yet, but it is still working its magic in my soul and it was an experience that I’ll never forget. It was, I feel, a turning point in my struggles with the High Priestess, one that will force me to face issues of both confidence and of responsibility.
Care to share one of your profound tarot experiences?
One of my most profound moments was my first tarot readings. I’d never had a reading, and I’d bought a deck on a whim. I tried a Celtic Cross with the Lord of the RIngs deck. I’d barely shuffled the deck and barely knew what I was doing or what to expect. i had just walked out of an abusive marriage and was living on my own and very scared of what the future held, and what I was feeling.
And then I did the reading about the roots of my fears.
And it scared me, because when I was honest with myself, I knew the cards were right. I knew what I had to face. And I had to make a decision- put the cards away, or go deeper. As I recorded the reading in a little notebook I’d bought for that purpose, the dust began to settle and I realized what a powerful tool I had. A powerful ally. I began to ask more questions, look for insights into my own inner workings. I read books, bought more decks, learned tarot magick, took classes and most of all read. I read for the Free Tarot Network, I read for friends. I do daily meditations. Now I teach. But that first reading made me a believer.
Hi Barbara
I loved that part of the Readers Studio as well. I have to say that Mary K. Greer was a big reason for me going this year. The tipper of the scales so to speak. Our group felt a closeness right off the bat and when it was suggested that someone may want to move to a different group we all became somewhat territorial, not wanting to move and protecting our spots. I think that the closeness created an imediate bond. The readings were insightful and fun. I loved it so much that I have already tried it within my meet up group back here in Rochester and plan to do it again when more people are in attendence. There’s nothing like the real thing baby!
Two moments come to mind.
1. Mary Greer was here in Toronto offering a workshop called “Tarot Reader as Midwife of the Soul”. She took us through several processes with a single card. Mine was the Six of Science from the “William Blake Tarot”. At one point, we had to tell a story or fairy tale based on the card image, then redescribe the story in the first-person present tense. Half-way through the retelling, I burst into tears as I had an insight that opened my heart.
2. Once a year, around my birthday, I get a tarot consultation over the phone with Gail Fairfield. On my 40th birthday, Gail said something about one of the cards that was like a huge “ka-thunk” on the side of the head with a big stick. It related to something I was carrying unconsciously that was not even my issue to carry. It was stuff from the last generation that I had absorbed at/near birth. The sense of relief and “aaahhh” that came over me was immense.
Feel your natural leadership. Feel You as Queen. Wear the crown! I think your froof drinks at Uncle Peter’s restaurant were FUN! Like yellow bucket and blue shovel in the sandbox kinda fun! Crown yourself. Raise a toast to yourself! Here Here!
That WAS a great exercise!