Tarot de Marseille for Modern Life: Five Webinars by Five Modern Teachers

This series of live webinars is one of the most exciting things to happen in my tarot life since I first learned to read with the TdM over a decade ago. Instead of registering for a conference and paying for transportation and hotel, I sat in my California living room with teachers from Chile, Denmark, Toronto, NYC and Tel Aviv, learning about their cutting-edge techniques for reading with the TdM.

Here are highlights from the five videos, which can be purchased from The Hermit’s Lamp (Link at bottom).

Enrique Enriquez is famous for his “visual eye rhymes” method of reading card combinations. He shows us how to notice repeating details in a spread, and to see details in one card changing into something on another card. The angle of an arm or foot, or the direction of a figure’s gaze, leads us to details in adjacent cards that amplify the message of the spread.  The Sun might turn into the Emperor’s crown, which is blown off in the adjacent Tower card. The people falling from the Tower could end up chained to the Devil, or pulling the Chariot. We’re advised to stay with the material reality of a card rather than resorting to book meanings and occult correspondences.

Camelia Elias, with roots in folk cartomancy, approaches the cards from a different direction. She transfers traditional cartomancy meanings to the suit cards of the tarot deck, giving each card a sharply defined meaning which she applies to a clearly-defined question. To get a handle on a spread, she suggests asking what each card’s function is, who the active agent is, where the querant is in the spread, and who is doing what to whom.

Christophe Carozza, a close associate of Alejandro Jodorowski, tells us to pay attention to number repetition in adjacent cards: the points on the crowns of the Tower and Emperor, or the steps up the towers in the Tower and Moon cards. He also suggests we look for the psychological complex in the cards. The Empress might point to mother issues, for instance. He says the first step to healing is being aware of your unconscious complexes; and the purpose of a reading is to reveal these.

Yoav Ben-Dov also studied with Jodorowski. He tells us the 1760 Conver deck has power because it’s the distillation of over 300 years of development before occultists starting adulterating the deck. The images are not just signs for pre-determined meanings; they generate meaning in your mind.  He suggests paying special attention to the eyes and feet in the cards. Where are their lines of direction leading you? How do they connect with adjacent cards?

Andrew Kyle McGregor, creator of this series, reminded us that just telling a client what they need to do next may not be enough. He gave a very useful technique for amplifying a spread to determine what acts of magic would bring about a desired result, and what ingredients would empower the magical act.

I’ve only given a few high points of each 90 minute webinar. Watch this transformational series of videos and I guarantee you will never see a TdM spread the same way.

Classes are sponsored by TheHermitsLamp.com

Get a more detailed description of each class and purchase video or audio recordings of the classes at this link.

A second series with the same teachers is starting up February 24, 2015. Sign up here: HermitsLamp.com/mmt2

Pope/Il Papa card is from the Stefano Vergnano Tarot de Marseille, printed in Turin, Italy @1830. Facsimile deck produced by Giordano Berti.