Snow White, the Wicked Witch and the High Priestess -
Using mythology, fairy tale, the bible and popular culture, we explore the underpinnings of the mysterious tarot arcana the High Priestess.

The ancient idea of the 3 stages of Woman as Virgin, Mother and Crone, is contained within the Tarot’s Empress as Mother, whilst the High Priestess holds both Virgin and Crone. It is she who encompasses youth and age, naivety and experience, new and old, future and past, potential and memory.
Card number 2, the High Priestess denotes the idea of both relationship and polarity. We will discover the tension between the Virgin and the Crone beautifully told in the fairy tale of Snow White. Delving deep into the symbology of Snow White, we unfurl the story’s links into the fabulous High Priestess archetype.

We shall use both the Grimms Brothers 19th century version and Walt Disney’s 1936 animated movie to extract the layers of meaning that lie hidden within this old fairy’s story. How can a fairy tale or a tarot card guide us into richer roles to play in our own life story?

New Spreads, Reading exercises suitable for new and old hands of tarot. Bring your own cards to play.

The Papess
Visconti Tarot

The High Priestess and her Big Brother the Hierophant
The relationship between the Papess and the Pope - past and present - has been troubled and polarized. The first Papess was stoned to death and her would-be successor burned at the stake in 1300. Our present-day High Priestess with her romantic title conjures an optimistic vision of female spiritual authority with Jungian overtones of equality with her Brother High Priest – at least within the confines of the internal world of psyche.

In the outside world however, it’s a different story.
My role of Tarot Reader is much like that of pagan Priestess, yet unlike nun or priestess, I have no temple or Mother Church to instruct, guide or confess me. Practicing as I do on the margins of mainstream society, I operate much the same as the old witch dispensing folk therapy on the outskirts of the village, peering into the crystal ball of prediction at fairgrounds.

The Hierophant however, has it all his own way within conventional society. He fixes the rules, the protocols and is situated firmly as his name suggests, within a hierarchy. He is indeed Big Brother to his marginalized, individualized sister.

If we want our practice of Tarot Reader to come in out of the cold, we will need to work on reconciling the tensions between Pope and Papess. I suggest we look to our fellow Priests - the traditional yet sibling professions of therapists, counselors, mental health workers and healers - who all operate within conventional systems. If we learn how to integrate the best of their methodologies around for example, supervision and codes of practice, we could provide more support and protection for our profession as well as become more accountable to self, our clients and our calling.

However, do we, the High Priestesses want to regulate our profession? Can we live with Big Brother breathing down our necks, laying down the law and interpreting our visions? Is the reconciliation of Papess and Pope possible?
New Spreads, Reading exercises suitable for new and old hands of tarot.
Bring your own cards to play.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Adventure, Romance, Mystery!
Plunder our feminist heritage and discover the keys to the tarot arcana High Priestess and the Empress.
Romp with Cleopatra, Hildegard of Bingen, the Saleem witches, sirens, vamps and gorgons, not to mention Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark.
Get the gossip and the old wives’ tales by mining the rich veins of buried treasure that lie within legends, history, popular culture, art, politics.
Use the High Priestess and the Empress to reframe your destiny as a woman in a man’s world.

New Spreads, Reading exercises suitable for new and old hands of tarot. Bring your own cards to play.

Information and bookings phone Fern 361 3292 or fernmm@ihug.co.nz

EXPLORING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TAROT AND ASTROLOGY

Astrology is a very dynamic player in Tarot’s enigmatic pictures. Fern stimulates an active dialogue between these two disciplines to find useful and creative connections that both widen and deepen our treasury of symbols.
We uncover the tarot’s use of sacred geometry and hidden graphic structures to reveal the astrological glyphs and symbols contained within.
We discuss how tarot constructs the classical elemental system within the deck, to highlight the differences between astrology and tarot’s understanding and use of Earth, Water, Air and Fire.
We won’t work with one system of set correspondences (ie the Waite/Smith set) between astrology and tarot, but explore through practice and experimentation how many different signs and planets can be found in just one card. Thus, when weaving the cards together, there can be an endless play of new information.
Astrological layouts work well with the Tarot so we workshop a few different spreads.
You don’t need to be an Astrologer to attend.
Suitable for both new and old tarot hands.

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL - LOVE AND DESIRE IN THE TAROT

The quest for love is the oldest story as every tarot reader knows. We shall explore some love stories our culture tells itself to journey deep into the heart of desire and love. We’ll workshop these stories into our tarot cards and let the tarot’s wisdom tell about our yearnings for romance and intimacy.
Every card has something to say about our personal relationships, but some speak louder than others. Discover some easy tarot directions to guide you through love’s maze, and help with the choices that our emotions provoke.
Suitable for new and old hands.

NUMBERS IN TAROT

Numbers and Geometry are embedded in the Tarot, just as they permeate our everyday life. Come on a light-hearted romp following the numbers cycle within our tarot deck. We play around with folk traditions, fairy tales, language, religion, social structures, nature and of course, mathematics.
Tracing the numbers in each suit reveals hidden treasures that underpin the tarot’s esoteric wisdom. Unlocking the secrets of sacred geometry in individual cards as well as within a spread itself enhances and deepens our interpretation of tarot symbolism.
The questions and the layouts we use when we read with our tarot are also deeply affected by number. Every spread a reader uses has a certain number of cards. When questioning the cards, we can consider the most appropriate number and its geometry, to determine the most appropriate structure/layout for the query.
We also use our birthdate to discover more about ourselves via the symbols of the tarot. Clues to life challenges, life resources, and how you can live those in any given year are all in the cards.
Suitable for both new and old tarot hands.

THE EARTH, AIR, FIRE and WATER of the TAROT

Unlocking the secrets of a great tarot reading is simple and fun when you find the basic codes and keys that lie within the tarot's old wisdom.
The Four Suits of the Minor Arcana can be seen to represent the four ancient elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Exploring the elemental meanings and cross-referencing them with the tarot suits helps uncover the deeper esoteric meanings that lie behind the familiar tarot images. We shall also spend time with the number cycles in each suit so we can bring together numbers and elements (i.e. the 4 of Wands - 4 working through fire).
The Fifth Element - our Major Arcana - will not be neglected!
Bring your own cards to play.
Suitable For Beginners.

THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE ALL SUITABLE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Roses, Apples and Pentacles
Cracking the Da Vinci Codes by exploring the symbolism of our everyday lives. Once we start looking it’s easy to discover how our lives are crammed full of hidden codes and secrets. “Seek the orb that speaks of rosy flesh and seeded womb” and come on a guided tour of roses, apples and pentacles.

Is Life a Game of Cards?
An introduction to Tarot - its history, mystery and Lore.

A Day with the Oracles.
Explore a single question through the lens of several oracular tools – runes, goddess stones, the I Ching, tarot cards etc.
Then have a mini- tarot reading with Fern.

Use Tarot to Create your Goals.
Help to create new goals, dream new dreams and how to turn them into reality. (Good for the beginning of a New Year)

Symbolism
Ransacking Fairy tales, mythology, art history and popular culture for a better understanding of how symbolism works. Using tarot and astrology in particular and oracles in general, as well as exploring our dreaming and waking lives. Including colour and numbers symbolism.

The Feminine and the Masculine – Archetypes or stereotypes?
Are Men from Mars and Women from Venus? Are we regurgitating old sexist agendas into the New Age dogma, not to mention the mainstream chatter?

Magic for a Secular Age.
Is there any magic left? Or have the corporate giants of TV and consumerism gobbled it all up? What do we mean when we use the words soul or spirit?
Where did the idea of Love go? Are romance and enchantment just nursery and fairy tales for children?

Fairies are all the rage among little girls. What do Fairies symbolize for us in this secular, rationalist society? Everything and anything you’ve ever wanted to know about Fairies. Suitable for anyone who loves Fairies.

Tarot for two.
Whether exploring your connection with a friend, a relative, or an intimate lover, this talk’s/workshop’s activities will enrich that relationship.

Developing Psychic and Intuitive abilities – Get down with your chakras.
A workshop designed to develop your intuitive faculties. Down-to-earth techniques and support while you uncover your own unique talents.
Self-discovery guaranteed!

Pagan Philosophy for a Materialist Age.
How did people think before Christian ideology colonized the Western consciousness? Is there really a split between heaven and earth as Christian thinking posits? Is matter “dead” as scientists tell us - or is our earth alive as indigenous peoples tend to think? The contemporary Green Movement has been changing our ideas about our habitat, but generally consumers in a capitalist society compartmentalize their ideas about their environment.
Enter a dialogue as to whether the older pagan ideas such as the existence of a World Soul and “as above, so below” have relevance to our urban lives today?