The. Turkey Conundrum. Holiday Tarot Spread

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1 The Turkey Conundrum Holiday Tarot Spread By Joy Vernon Presented to the Denver Tarot Meetup Tuesday, November 12, 2013

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Spread 5 The Symbolism 9 Chiromancy 12 Qabalah 16 Druid Ogham 20 The Turkey Conundrum Holiday Tarot Spread 25 Sources and Resources 26

3 Introduction Deciding where to spend the holidays can be a very complicated decision, as we try to balance what we want, what we need, and what others expect of us. Sometimes the healthiest way to approach dilemmas like this is to focus on what s best for ourselves (while remembering that honoring and respecting others is almost always in our own best interests!). For many of us who are more energetically open, it can be difficult to set personal, emotional, and psychic boundaries at this time of year; and failure to do so may result in feeling drained and depressed during or after the holidays. I have designed the Turkey Conundrum Spread to provide insight into the different parts of the personality as they reveal themselves during the holiday season. I hope this spread helps guide you in making your choices about how to spend this holiday season. 3

The Spread My solution was the Turkey Conundrum Spread. I designed a simple, five-card spread that delved into the psychology of the client, elucidating the self as it relates to others.

4 The Spread My solution was the Turkey Conundrum Spread. I designed a simple, five-card spread that delved into the psychology of the client, elucidating the self as it relates to others. At the same time it provided simple metaphors for considering each holiday separately and for examining the two in relationship to each other. The pattern for the cards is fun and simple: you can even do this yourself. Place your hand on a sheet of blank, unlined paper. Trace around it with a pen or pencil. You ll probably remember this from about 2nd grade: you can now add a beak and feet and it looks surprisingly like a turkey. 5

The card positions are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Thumb Forefinger Middle finger Ring finger Pinky We ll read this spread on three different levels.

5 The card positions are: Thumb Forefinger Middle finger Ring finger Pinky We ll read this spread on three different levels. In each interpretive layer: Cards 1 and 3 (green and red) read together represent Christmas. Cards 2 and 5 (blue and orange) represent Thanksgiving. Card 4 (yellow) is the self in relationship to the two holidays. 6

6 Qabalah Interpretation Layer 2 The color symbolism in this spread is based on the qabalah. Thumb: Your heart s desire for the holidays Green Netzach Venus Emotions Forefinger: Memory of holidays past Blue Chesed Jupiter Memory Middle finger: What is your major motivation this season? Red Geburah Mars Will Ring finger: What is your ideal vision for the holidays? Yellow Tiphareth Sun Imagination Pinky: What logical considerations are necessary? Orange Hod Mercury Intellect The qabalah is a complex system of symbolism, sacred texts and spiritual techniques developed throughout two millennia of Jewish mysticism. The Hermetic Qabalah, which is the focus of this section, is derived from the Jewish tradition, but synthesizes this ancient mysticism with the esoteric studies of the Western Mystery Tradition. To derive the symbolism used in this spread, I focused on the five faculties of the personality, as comprised in the level of the soul known as the Ruach. 16

7 The kabbalistic tradition considers there to be five levels of the soul that extend beyond the physical body, which is referred to as the guph, located in Malkuth, at the bottomofthetreeoflife.(seediagram,p.19.) The lowest of the soul levels is the Nephesh, which means the living soul or the soul at rest. This is the part of the soul that rests in our body, giving us life. It is compared to the part of the breath that rests within the finished vessel of the glassblower. The Nephesh corresponds to Yesod on the Tree of Life. ThenexthigherlevelofthesoulistheRuach,whichmeanswind,orairinmotion.This part of the soul is compared to forceful air that gives the glassblower s creation its shape. It is associated with the emotions, the part of us that is not at rest, which yearns for and can be directed toward the Divine, or toward any less lofty object of desire. The Western Mystery tradition interprets the Ruach as comprising the five sephiroth below the Abyss and above Yesod. These five are assigned to five of the functions of the personality: Memory, Will, Imagination, Emotion and Intellect. This is whatwewillbeworkingwithforthisspread. Neshamah means breath and is the awakened soul, associated with the intellect. This is the breath of the glassblower as it leaves his lips, the moment of translating his vision to the shaping of his creation. The Neshamah is associated with the three supernals on the Tree of Life, Kether, Chokmah and Binah. In some cases, Neshamah is only associated with Binah, and two additional parts of thesoularepostulatedabovethis,buttheyaresoabstractthattheyareseparatefrom a person, surrounding like an aura but not penetrating into the body. Chiah, at Chokmah,meanslife,and isthementalimagetheglassblower holdsof whathewants the glass to look like. Yechidah, at Kether, means will, and is the Divine Will that creates in the glassblower the desire to make a vessel. The positional meanings in the Turkey Conundrum spread are based on the Ruach. The Ruach consists of five sephiroth which are said to make up the personality. These five sephiroth are as follows: Chesed Jupiter Blue Memory Geburah Mars Red Will Tiphareth Sun Yellow Imagination Netzach Venus Green Emotions Hod Mercury Orange Intellect 17

8 In qabalah, the color green is Netzach, which corresponds to Venus and the emotions. Netzach means Victory or Perseverance. The thumb isn t assigned to a planet, so we substitutedvenusbecausethemountofvenusisbelowthethumb.thecardplaced in this position represents our heart s desire for the holidays. The forefinger is Jupiter and colored blue, which relates to Chesed and the faculty of memory. Chesed means Mercy or Love. The card placed here reminds us of holidays past, the love of family and friends, and generosity. By substituting Mars (the center of the hand) for Saturn, this finger is colored red, which in qabalah corresponds to Geburah, Mars, and the personality function of will. Geburah means Severity or Strength. The card in this position helps you understand your major motivation during this holiday season. Alternately, it could give advice on potential conflicts. The ring finger is the Sun, which in qabalah is Tiphareth, the color yellow, and the imagination. Tiphareth means Beauty. Tiphareth also represents the higher self. This card illuminates your ideal vision for the holidays. The pinky is Mercury, which corresponds to Hod, the color orange and the intellect. Hod means Splendor or Yielding. The card here describes the logical considerations that are necessary during this season. 18

9 Basic Correspondences of the Sephiroth Sephirah: Binah Title: Understanding Color: Black Astrological: Saturn Soul Level: Neshamah Faculty:Spiritual Understanding Body: Right eye Binah 3 Understanding Kether 1 Crown Sephirah: Kether Title: Crown Color: White Astrological: Primum Mobile Soul Level: Yechidah Faculty: Spiritual Essence of Self Body: Crown of head Chokmah 2 Wisdom Sephirah: Chokmah Title: Wisdom Color: Gray Astrological: Zodiac Soul Level: Chiah Faculty: Spiritual Will Body: Left eye Sephirah: Geburah Title: Severity Color: Red Astrological: Mars Soul Level: Ruach Faculty: Will Body: Right shoulder Geburah 5 Severity Sephirah: Tiphareth Title: Beauty Color: Yellow Astrological: Sun Soul Level: Ruach Faculty: Imagination Body: Heart Tiphareth 6 Beauty Chesed 4 Mercy Sephirah: Chesed Title: Mercy Color: Blue Astrological: Jupiter Soul Level: Ruach Faculty: Memory Body: Left shoulder Sephirah: Hod Title: Splendor Color: Orange Astrological: Mercury Soul Level: Ruach Faculty: Intellect Body: Right hip Hod 8 Splendor Yesod 9 Foundation Netzach 7 Victory Sephirah: Yesod Title: Foundation Color: Violet Astrological: Moon Soul Level: Nephesh Faculty: Etheric body Body: Genitals Sephirah: Netzach Title: Victory Color: Green Astrological: Venus Soul Level: Ruach Faculty: Emotion Body: Left hip Malkuth 10 Kingdom Sephirah: Malkuth Title: Kingdom Color: Citrine, Olive, Russet, Black Astrological: Earth Soul Level: Guph Faculty: Physical body Body: Feet 19

Joy Vernon is an empathic and inspirational tarot reader who tempers a profound knowledge of metaphysics with the love of helping others discover their truth within.

10 Joy Vernon is an empathic and inspirational tarot reader who tempers a profound knowledge of metaphysics with the love of helping others discover their truth within. Her expertise in qabalah, astrology, and the esoteric tarot helps her guide her clients in their spiritual growth. With over twenty years of experience, Joy is a member of the American Tarot Association and is a Certified Professional Tarot Reader. She is the organizer of the Denver Tarot Geeks, Denver Tarot Meetup and Fort Collins Tarot Meetup, and she served on the faculty of Avalon Center for Druidic Studies. She is one of the Psychics of Isis in Denver and reads at Northern Lights in Fort Collins. She has been featured at SpiritWays, the Mercury Café and psychic fairs throughout the Denver Metro and Northern Colorado. Joy teaches tarot, astrology, qabalah and traditional Japanese Reiki. Her specialty is Empyrean Key Transformational Guidance, which helps her clients break through blocks and align with their higher purpose. For more information, please visit JoyVernon.com. Happy Holidays! From the Denver Tarot Meetup 27

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11 CLASSES FORMING NOW! I specialize in beginning tarot, esoteric tarot, qabalah, astrology and tarot for personal transformation through my Empyrean Key process. The Magician s Tools Beginning Tarot Class The Magician s Tools offers fun and creative interactive exercises to deepen your understanding of the cards and yourself, while your tarot skills flourish in an environment of on-going support and community. Learn new tarot techniques to move past the dictionary definitions provided by tarot books. Engage in practical, systematic methods for decoding the mysteries of the tarot images and connecting with your intuition. Intuitive Astrology Want to understand yourself--and your friends--better? This beginning astrology class lets you dive in without memorizing reams of information. All you need to learn are seventeen basic symbols. We will explore these common symbols and discover how to combine them to read a natal chart. See yourself in a whole new light the light of the stars! Practical Qabalah Practical Qabalahis a way of using the most basic qabalisticsymbol, the Tree of Life, for gaining a greater understanding of and connection to the Divine for personal growth, spiritual development, and energetic healing. Each class specifically address how to integrate the abstract spiritual concepts of the qabalahwith our mundane life to achieve balance, health, and growth. Connecting with Divine Unity is one of the keys to living in a state of authenticity, and the qabalahat its most basic teaches exactly that. Journey to the Ultimate Boon You know you have a purpose, but sometimes you re not sure what it is. Your soul purpose is your Ultimate Boon the gift the universe has for you. Your astrological birth chart is the treasure map to find it. The knowledge to read this map is within you, you only need a different viewpoint to see it. The Empyrean Key process gives you that new perspective so that you can see where you are and where you re trying to go. Combining astrology and tarot with Joseph Campbell s mythological structure, you will develop your own personal road map to your desired success. WATCH JOYVERNON.COM FOR DATES AND TIMES A Publication of Joy Vernon Tarot and Reiki and the Scribe Eadwine Press

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