Which Tarot Deck Should I Use?

I get asked this question all the time, which is not surprising since there are hundreds of versions of the Tarot in existence. My key criteria for choosing a Tarot deck is that it should form a complete working system of symbology.

Magically, when we use the Tarot, it represents a microcosm, a smaller version of the Universe. Therefore, everything in the Universe has to be able to be represented by the cards in the deck.

There are three major magical uses for the Tarot:

1. Straight divination
2. Spell work (these decks are especially designed for spell work)
3. Working the Tree of Life (for doing a great work)

Very few Tarot decks can fulfill all three of these requirements. There are only three modern Tarot decks that I know of: the Waite-Rider, Morgan-Greer and Thoth decks. The other decks are incomplete for these endeavors. For instance the Aquarian deck is a beautiful tool for divination if you are used to working with Zen or Hindu concepts, but it's virtually useless for spell work and has no relationship at all to the Tree of Life.

Who Created These Modern Tarot Decks?
All of above-mentioned Tarot decks were created by members of the Golden Dawn. Arthur Edward Waite created the Waite-Rider deck (Rider was the name of the publisher) and Pamela Smith, also of the Golden Dawn, did the artwork for the cards.

Lloyd Morgan and William Greer disagreed with Waite's approach, arguing that the Waite-Rider deck was too austere, too mental and too intellectual. They created the Morgan/Greer deck by adding fancy symbols, such as vines, to the top half of all the cards in the Waite-Rider deck.

Aleister Crowley created the third deck, the Thoth deck, which has some notable differences. For instance, there are no Kings in the Thoth deck because Crowley felt that men never reached maturity, but were always stuck at the level of the Prince, or adolescence.

Learn More About the Tarot
Although the teachings of the Tarot were originally given orally, in more modern times people have written down some guidelines as to the meaning of the cards. However, the true use of the Tarot is to allow the cards to represent something different and specific in each reading. There is a magical ritual to "key" your deck to your energies, so that the cards will do this. To learn how to key a Tarot deck and use it so it actually does act as a microcosm of the Universe, check out our Tarot Home Study Course.


Home Study Tarot Course
Tarot Resources and Supplies

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Clockin' Time on Earth

Cell phones, pagers, day planners, guru seminars, life purpose workshops, self help videos, aura cleansing CDs … all of these ostensibly help us live happier, more directed, more productive lives on Earth. They are supposed to help us find our life direction, plot our course, and keep going until we get "there."

And it's all good … until it isn't. If you find that your absolutely nuts because you knew your life purpose but forgot it, or you know your life direction and don't want to go there, or you've cleansed your aura until you're absolutely clear (and empty), or your just plain confused, take a breather!

Other Alternatives for Clockin' Time on Earth
We live in such a driven society that sometimes we can drive ourselves right into depression or panic. When you feel just a little crazy about your life purpose or lack of it, check out some of these thoughts on life purpose from various sources:

• We are here to sound a joyous note to Creator's ear (Hopi Indians).
• We're required to be on Earth for a certain amount of time. What we do with that time is up to us. We have no pre-destined purpose to fulfill (anonymous).
• Earth is a school and we've chosen our own curriculum (translation: life lessons). We have free will so we can change the curriculum any time we want-like now (Paxton Robey).

Hmmm … these sound like some relaxing alternatives to the "hurry and worry" approach to life purpose.

Do enjoy. Whatever your life purpose, it will go better when you enjoy life!

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Magic: Why Bad Effects Are Almost as Good as Good Effects

Why Bad is Sometimes Good

Sometimes the people who "have the worst luck" are in the best place to use magic to the greatest effect. It's odd, but people who always seem to have a black cloud hanging over their heads are more magically powerful than the people who have smooth-running lives with very few problems.

The reason people who appear to have "bad luck" are inherently more powerful magicians than people with average luck is because the bad luck people already know how to create an effect in the world.

Think about it. There are many ways to measure a person's magical ability, and one measure of magical power is how strong an effect the person creates in the world. People with bad luck often wreak a path of destruction wherever they go. They create a lot of effect. Their effect isn't, per se, "good," but it is strong.

Having said that, people who create a strong negative effect in the world also tend to have trouble using their magical abilities. In other words, if they had learned to channel their abilities they wouldn't be living under such a black cloud. But, when and if they ever do learn to channel their abilities to create effects they actually wanted, they are fairly unstoppable.

Good News About Bad Magical Effects

1. If you are a person chronically living under a black cloud, you have powerful magic. You just haven't learned how to use it.

2. If you are living a good life with no black cloud, it doesn't mean you can't develop your magical abilities, but you may not need them if life is good.

Powerful magical practitioners tend to be fairly extreme in some ways. You will rarely find a practicing magician, good at the craft, who has a milk toast personality.

The $64,000 Question
Now for the $64,000 question. If you are one of those black cloud people, how do you channel your power so that it produces useful rather than chaotic effects in your life? The answer is that you have to start small. If you are one of these people, you probably have a strong will and a strong personality. Going head-to-head against that personality won't do anything but you give a flatter head.

Instead, start using your abilities in areas where you don't have a lot of significance, where things don't matter so much. Start attracting little things into your life. For instance, every morning when you wake up, think of something insignificant you want to bring into your life. Pick anything that doesn't matter, ranging from jello to the color green to a poker chip. Spend a minute or two calling that item to you, whether you speak a little prayer out loud or you envision it showing up. Then, during your day, look for it to come to you. Wait for it. Expect it. When you get it, celebrate. If it doesn't show up, either you didn't recognize it or it didn't happen to come. No big deal. That's why you pick something that doesn't matter to you.

As your ability to bring small items into your life improves, your ability to channel your magical power will, too. As long as you stick with things that don't matter to you, you'll keep the energy light and joyful. If you find yourself "caring" too much about whether you succeed with this exercise, move on to a different exercise, like some baby steps.

Baby Steps
Cloud Magic: Just send an email to info@shamanschool.com with CLOUDS in the subject line and we’ll reply with instructions on how to move clouds. Yup, it’s baby steps for weather working and more!
Daily Rituals Ebook
Over 40 beginner level rituals to help you start game playing with magic.

Energy Healing for Self and Others
Basic magical healing techniques that are safe and effective for anyone.
Four Element Courses
The four elements of air, fire, water and earth are the building blocks of our universe. Learning to work with these elements allows you to work with anything in the universe. Look for the Basic Magic Home Study Course in our store.

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Awaken Your Native Wisdom by Hiring an Angel

What do you get when you cross an obsession with self-improvement with an expert culture? People obsessed with expert opinions - and people who have lost their native wisdom! As a society we have become so accustomed to seeking expert opinions that we no longer know how to access our own intuition and knowing.

In ancient tribal times people didn't run to the medicine man or shaman for every ailment or life problem - they had spiritual tools for solving their own problems. They knew how to handle elemental energies of air, fire, water and earth to create healing, abundance, harmony in relationships and much more. They knew how to work with weather spirits, devas and other beings in the hierarchy. And they used their inner wisdom and guidance to make both everyday and major decisions.

The good news is that you have that very same wisdom and connection to higher powers and beings - all you have to do is awaken it. How? With practice, of course! No, we can't tell you how to do the equivalent of spiritual jumping jacks but we can give you exercises that will help you develop and exercise your spirit abilities.

Hire a Parking Angel
Ready to stop snoozing and start using your native wisdom? Try this little exercise of hiring a Parking Angel to help you find a parking spot in a busy lot.

1. Say out loud or in your mind, "I would like to a request a parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue."

2. Wait a few moments until you feel a presence, or, if just wait a few moments. They don't take long to get there.

3. Say, "Parking angel of sun yellow, grass green, and powder blue, I would like to request your help in getting me a parking spot [specify where and when]. Thank you in advance for your help." When you receive that which you have asked for, then thank the angel again. It is VERY IMPORTANT to thank angels so they will be willing to help you later.

There are angels for EVERYTHING, from dealing with particular people to telling you how much salt to put on your food. You can ask their help in absolutely anything. Part of their job is to help us - they can't move on to the next level of their evolution unless they help us, and they can't help us unless we ask for help. So there are groups of angels just waiting, begging, for us to ask

Fun, right? Also, check out Everyday Magic, a weekly email course that offers you simple ways to awaken all of your magical, psychic and shamanic abilities!

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Protection Symbols in Magic

Acorns, Elk, Earth Squares, and More
When it comes to magical protection symbols the variety is endless, depending on the magical or shamanic tradition with which you work. For instance, according to the Druids, the symbol of an acorn is said to bring protection into a Druidic symbol. Certain Native American tribes use the symbol of the Elk as protection against psychic spirits. Earth religionists often reply upon the Earth Square (a cross within a square) to draw on protection energies from the four directions of the earth. Needless to say, when it comes to picking protection symbols the variety can seem overwhelming.

Guidelines for Choosing Symbols
It's not possible to review every magical symbol out there but here are a few guidelines you can follow when choosing protection symbols to use in your magical practice.

1. The protection symbols should come from a fully-working and complete system that has a history of success, such as the Tarot deck (we use the Waite-Rider deck), the Futhark Runes, or a specific tribal tradition.

2. Your chosen protection symbols should relate to the areas you want to protect. For instance, if you want to protect something large and physical, such as your property, you would want to choose a protection symbol like the Disc (a star surrounded by a circle) or the symbol of three mountains. Both of these symbols relate to anything on the physical plane. If you wanted to protect and nourish your Spirit, you would want to choose a symbol like the Sun from the Tarot. In the Tarot the Sun card nourishes and protects the Spirit.

3. Put your protection symbols where they can do their job. For personal protection, many people wear their protection symbols as amulets, rings, or earrings. For protecting your property, your can put the symbol up around your property or just at the entry points, such as over the doors. For protecting people far away, you can put the person's picture on a keyed plate and put the protection symbol on the plate with the picture.

Choosing protection symbols to use for various magical purposes can take some real thought and research. If you are not sure whether a protection symbol is right for your needs you can always use your pendulum to test it. If you are trying to choose between different protection symbols, you can lay them all out in front of you on a keyed plate and let your pendulum show you which ones will be the best for your needs. Last, but not least, if you start using some protection symbols and they don't seem to be working, go back and do some research and choose some different ones to try. Remember, magic is always an experiment in progress. While you may not get everything right the first time around, remember that you can always go back and fix something that is not working.

See talismans and amulets we have in our online store.


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