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Astro-Tarot
Method
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Astro-Tarot is a method of divination, which came to me around the time of my initiation as a White Witch, or Priestess of Wicca. To my knowledge no one else had this method before me, though I have heard reports of people who have adopted it and are now using it. This is fine, good things are meant to be shared, and though it was given to me, I did not create it, though you need to have a very special blend of skills to use it effectively.
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The Stones are thirteen in number - the system is based on the number 13 - the 13 moons in a year, the 13th sign of the zodiac which once existed between Taurus and Gemini. Ten of the stones represent the Sun, Moon and planets - Mercury to Pluto. The stones are gathered from a special place - it should be a sacred site, or one with significance for witchcraft. These came from Pendle Water - a stream which washes the skirts of Pendle Hill, famous for its witches. They are heavy with iron, so they tune in to the resonances of the Earth. They are painted in planetary colours, and their size is relevant to the planet they represent. The other three stones can be whatever has significance to you - I chose to paint one as a spider, symbol of the 13th sign, and in the reading this takes on the role of Part of Fortune. The other two represent the four angles of a horoscope - one is ascendant/descendant, the other midheaven/ nadir. The stones were the first part of the Wisdom that was given to me |
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The Tarot will be well known to any of you who are witches or who practise the art. This pack comes from Italy, and was a pledge from me to the Gods after they saved us from near murder (see Como). I left the instruction book with the shopkeeper, as it was in Italian, a language I do not have, and when I got home I found that the Major Arcana had neither numbers nor names, and that some of the symbolism was confusing. That meant I had to look anew at the tarot after some years, and it yielded new insights. The Hermit in this pack is particularly striking, being more a representation of an Old Testament Prophet, than the usual sad character who goes out into the night with his lantern. This Hermit is returning from the Desert, full of wrath! He demands that you listen to your conscience - or else! |
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The Table was given to me by an old lady who also had the gift of second sight. She and her husband lived next door, and told me one day that they knew I was a witch - their proof? My flowers always grew, and when I hung my washing out it never rained! By these signs they knew me! When her husband died, he appeared to me in a dream. The walls between our houses dissolved and I saw him in his kitchen, sitting at the table, eating apple pie and smiling. I told the old lady, who nodded and smiled. "We knew you had the Power," she said, "so when we knew he was dying, we arranged that he would come back through you with a message. Thank you. Apple pie was his favourite meal, and just before he died he said how much he would like to eat some."
The table came to me as an ordinary folding card table, and I designed and marked it up as a zodiac, but it is read by houses, not signs. Houses in astrology are 'departments of life' so are suited to this method more than signs, which are character indicators. |
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The Method
some special alignments of the stones: Moon with Pluto, a death; Mars with Venus, a perfect love; Venus with Uranus, love at first sight; Venus with Pluto, a fated love, one the Inquirer cannot escape at present; Mars with Pluto, danger of physical violence; Jupiter on the Descendant, the Inquirer will usually marry quite soon; Moon with Neptune represents the High Priestess, Mercury with Neptune the Magician, Mars with Jupiter a Good Man (the .Emperor); Mars with Uranus, an adventure (up the amazon, jumping from a parachute) or a titillating sexual experience; Mars with Moon, quarrels, Sun with Mars, a military or physically active man (bodybuilder or athlete); Sun with Pluto, the Inquirer is in for far-reaching changes; Sun with Uranus, a lively and changeable time; - Saturn you know is a Misery. With Venus the Inquirer has to be circumspect in her love choices - if contemplating marriage, it will be with her head not her heart. If she has to choose between two men, she should choose the older, wiser or more established one. It is a time of prudence. With Sun she will have heavy burdens, like a parent becoming dependent; with Mercury the Inquirer should look to her accounts, reorganise her household, rethink her future plans. With Jupiter she is in excellent condition to make sound decisions and should spend time planning. With Moon she is depressed - right now! Or very soon will be. Look in 6th and give medical advice. I have never seen Saturn come up with Mars, but if you do, it means serious enemies. With Uranus either she cannot make up her mind on a course of action, or she is in a good position to combine experimentation with security. With Pluto there are endings to come - separations and divorces usually rather than deaths. Pluto or Uranus on the descendant means a divorce.
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Shuffle
the cards, hand them to the Inquirer, and get her to shuffle or at
least to handle them somewhat. Spread out the cards and get the
Inquirer to pick two sets of thirteen. Do not look at them or permit
her to look either. Spread the two sets and get her to pick one from
each. Put the cards to one side and put the stones on the table. Ask
her to mix them around in her hands and then make a random spread of
them on the table - don't allow them to be individually placed, it
must be random. Though when she looks at them, if she has the feeling
one should be moved, let her do it. This is a very spontaneous method
and whatever the Inquirer feels moved to do is right. Interpret the
stones according to astrological principles, reading them as planets
in houses, not signs. Read the Midheaven as the Inquirer's goal, Nadir
as her Turning Point, Ascendant as the point of New Beginnings,
Descendant as concerning the Partner's present concerns, or where a
new Partner will appear. Read Sun as her present area of
concentration, and Part of Fortune as where her luck lies, and where
she might not have thought to look. Now take the cards she
picked. Put the two she chose last in the centre, and hand her one
pack of 12, asking her to put one in each house, in whatever order she
likes. Do the same with the second set of 12. Now read these
cards as you normally do, but read the middle and the four corners, or
angles, first. These are the important areas and you should spend time
on them. Turn the cards up only as you read them. Centre
cards are very important, but their full meaning may not be revealed
until the four corners are seen. Any cards that do not wish to be
read, leave them till later - they are waiting for other cards to be
revealed first. Read the cards with their own meaning, and also
as relevant to the house they are in. For meanings of houses see any
astrological manual. Use the planets for backup or confirmatory
evidence, or to reveal the sex of a person or child. When you
have exhausted the meaning of these first ten cards, take the rest in
sequence as you see fit. I like to work with opposites, 2nd then 8th,
3rd then 9th. I never look in 12th till last, unless a health problem
is revealed in 6th. Then I look straight away. Sometimes I look in
12th if the High Priestess has appeared, she always hides a secret,
and sometimes you can find what it is in 12th. Work with the
method, and it will work with you. Good luck!
If you are working with the method and want to contact me, to discuss your findings or to pass on what you find out for the benefit of others, write me at astrologer@astrotarot.com
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