On World Tarot Day (May 25th) You Will See one of the Rarest Tarot Images -- Ever.
Before I talk in this guest blog post about World Tarot Day on May 25th, imagine the scene, if you will -- it is a foggy evening in England, November 1921 ... so foggy that travel is being disrupted across the country. Elsewhere in the world, the Japanese Prime Minister is assassinated, and Hitler and Mussolini are as we speak establishing groups which will soon plunge the world into yet another war. However, a spiritual seed is also being sown -- by
It has long been said that the Tarot was created to protect the mysteries against the conflicts of superficial men and their wars -- to preserve the teachings of the few for the eventual good of the many. Such history has never been proven -- until now. This story is of such a project, albeit not in the ages of antiquity, but nonetheless, before the shadow of war destroyed the hope of a generation.
Still back in time, cast your gaze to London ... now down to a small suburb of the city, perhaps Maida Vale, on the other side of Paddington Recreation Park ... and see emerging out of the fog three figures, dressed against the cold. Follow them into the house which they enter -- and find hidden there a temple of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross ... perhaps they were met by the author Charles Williams, who was a member of that order of Christian Mysticism at the time -- perhaps they met alone.
We know that one of them, A. E. Waite, had worked with artist Pamela Colman-Smith some ten years prior on a Tarot deck, which over the following century would become the most widely sold, used and recognised Tarot in the world. We know that one of them would become a highly respected stained glass artist, whose work adorns many churches and abbeys across the south of England. We know that the third illustrated Christian communion books and local folk-tales. All were immersed in the teachings of esoteric Christianity, alchemy, magick and Kabbalah.
What you may not know, and is just one of the incredible things we are going to share with you to celebrate World Tarot Day this year, is that over the next two years, these three men would design and execute a new set of Tarot images, likely 32 illustrations, in the most beautiful and profoundly spiritual Tarot ever created. A "deck" called The Great Symbols of the Paths which has remained secret for almost a century, other than to a few initiates, collectors and a few incomplete and mis-labelled black and white reproductions in one book...
You will get to see one of these images on the main World Tarot Day site throughout the day itself -- and be one of the first people in almost a century to see the full-colour version of one of this most rare of Tarot decks. This is A. E. Waite's second Tarot deck -- and we have acquired one of the few colour copies whose time has come to be revealed to the world. Ahead of our full showing of the entire set of images and our long research into the life and work of its creators at our Tarosophy conference and the ATS Conference in France, you will be transported into a whole new era of Tarot.
All that have seen these plates already have been brought to tears by the sheer depth of the images and then staggered by the stunning teachings and revelations they have held locked in secret for so long. On World Tarot Day, we will start to bring them back to the world.
So on May 25th it is World Tarot Day, a day on which we truly celebrate the diversity of divination. It is also a day on which we can re-capture the magic and mystery of our hidden story, and connect to the deeper journey which we see in our cards. This World Tarot Day, the 9th since it was founded in 2003 by Den Elder, here at Tarot Professionals, we have many special surprises in store, which you will see on the World Tarot Day site at http://www.worldtarotday.com.
You can join in the celebration in any way you choose -- the more creative the better! To help, we've provided a suggestion sheet of activities which can be downloaded from the main site. We have also provided a press release which you can present to your local media or other sources in order to inform them about Tarot, its history, use and cultural significance.
This year we are also proud to support the launch of a totally innovative online tarot reading system, Shindig Tarot. If you are a professional reader, you might like to register for this service which offers the world's first video reading system with an integrated reading table and virtual decks. You can get to the site directly at www.ShindigTarot.com or through the World Tarot Day site.
If you have something you'd like to share with the world, let us know! We can update the site and related pages with any activity which is Tarot-related to showcase the many different faces of Tarot. In fact, if you have a moment to contribute a small video from your webcam of your own view on what Tarot is -- or offers others -- that will go up onto our exciting new Tarot Video Wall.
You can also take part in a one-hour FREE Tarot lesson from myself, using the same system we use for our 2-year Tarot course (now on its second enrolment on May 27th -- you still have time to enrol if you are interested!) and which will be recorded for later viewing. It will happen at 9pm UK time, which is 4pm EST. The course is designed for beginners, however even experienced readers may be interested in the way I teach Tarot in ten minutes …!
We're very keen to "bring Tarot to the Table" this year, by extending the awareness of Tarot beyond its usual borders. Whilst not expecting Tarot to ever become dull and mainstream, we would like to dispel some of the silly superstitions people have, whilst retaining its mystique and spiritual integrity -- we say, "Commercial Common-Sense and Spiritual Sensibility" is a good guideline!
What else is happening on World Tarot Day? Well, we also have an exclusive clip to share from Chris Deleo's documentary on Tarot and the work of Enrique Enriquez. You'll hear many authors and teachers share the most useful function of Tarot -- see if you agree or offer your own viewpoint!
Also, Tali -- the Marketing Director of Tarot Professionals -- and myself will be hopping on a quick flight over to Europe from England in order to record a unique Tarot video, which we'll share with everyone on World Tarot Day itself -- we're hoping this will be very special too!
There's even more happening on the main site this year, with a live Twitter feed, Facebook page, and competitions and offers. In fact, there is a Fool's Fair site which is a site that is only available on the day itself, and then it vanishes for another year! Who knows what special offers, goodies or news you will pick up in the Fair -- but be quick, the Fair changes throughout the day -- some offers may only be there for a few minutes …!
So, check out http://www.worldtarotday.com and especially on the day itself, World Tarot Day (May 25th) -- see you there!
Marcus Katz
Author of Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It, and Founder of Tarot Professionals Ltd and Tarot-Town.com, the social network for those who simply love Tarot.
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