News Post 22- 7-16 Jenne Perlstein www.tarotastrocounselling.com
Thanks to the Tarot Guild Australia – Victoria: who invited me to facilitate a workshop on Saturday 16th July, on the topic of Tarot and Psychology of Relationships. This was a shortened form of the http://tarotschool.com/RS16/tarotpsychologyconference.html presentation in New York at the Readers Studio April 28th 2016. In my last news letter, I wrote the following about the Workshop with the drawing of 3 cards about the Workshop , and it is curious to see how it manifested!
Cards for the workshop on Sat 16th July to see what learning would come from the experience for participants and myself.
Wheel of Change Tarot Deck by Alexandra Genettii
The cards I drew were – The Chariot, 10 Cups and Lovers. I would see this as movement and progress, connecting to family, their past and present influence manifesting in a eventual constructive way, integrating and aiding more conscious choices in romantic relationships both for the Tarot Reader and client in readings!
Genettis’ interpretations are: the Chariot bringing fortune in relationship, but also seeing how your decisions and power connect to the well being of others creating future loss or gain.
The Ten of Cups is about multi-generational family influences, with repeated patterns and the need to take into account others feelings in the role of parents, and as our ‘inner’ children, a rather apt summary of the Workshop content. The Lovers can be seen as the Self and Other ,with the connection between them being what is meaningful for each;the relationship teaching differentiation between what is part of you and what is outside.
These cards bode well for the learning experience of the workshop, with cards that are central to the content of it… action with responsibility, influence of family , emotions and distilling self from the other.I see this latter as crucial for not only the client , but the reader also. It also indicates a balance in what I present , allowing the group to contribute , to be sensitive to feelings and be conscious of the relationship between facilitator and audience members.
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Response :The Lovers card, was quite accurate as the key to the topic I was presenting! For each client, it represents the need for inner integration . Participants in the workshop were deeply engrossed in the spreads exploring either their own or anonymous clients relationships, not just romantic ones! , from the attachment style dynamic within the relationship, to the exploration of the Parent/Child balance using the Parent Adult Child spread. This often indicates where co- dependency might be occurring within the relationship , as well as exploring why this is happening, and what might be done about it. Key to this is the individuals willingness to do the ‘inner child’ work of walking the path we see in the Moon card, and to face the fearful aspects in the Devil. It also connects with the Ten of Cups family /inter-generational card in the spread . The Chariot energy was also present as the workshop , as we forged ahead and people were very active and could perceive the sometimes adolescent energy in the pursuit of romance, but the need for balance with that pursuit. The rhythm of the workshop felt like the Chariot with energy from myself, but to and fro with the participants.
Participants commented that they found the article I wrote in the TGA magazine The Magician -link below, helpful in enabling greater depth and reflection about clients relationship dilemmas . There were enthusiastic comments about the workshop, as it related to gently challenging clients, who were at times unwilling to see, for example, their tendency to rescue ( over nurturing Parent- Empress,) or to continue in destructive relationships ( inner needy vulnerable child- Moon/Devil, Page of Cups..) Another commented that this workshop enabled them to go deeper than the literal surface meaning of the card eg the sacrificial aspect of the Hanged Man relating to the ‘ rescuing ‘role partners sometimes play.
Ethics was discussed, where we are exploring the relationship, with only one of the partners there. This is very valid, and the focus needs to be on the client’s reading, where relationship dynamics though, might emerge that are flavored by the clients perspective, and are not going to be necessarily accurately predictive about the partner’s behavior eg being able to tell that they are having an affair or not ,or do they love me? Rather , it is about the energies within the client, reflected in the partner. Here too, we discussed the need for the reader to be aware of their own projections and triggers occurring, when with clients.
We explored the deeper aspects of cards meanings and combinations indicating unbalanced relationships. eg The PAC spread was incredibly useful for experiencing the dynamic between 2 people , with such imbalance. An example was the Chariot for one person , the The Fool for the other, in the Child positions. Here the energy of the Chariot may mean impulsive, forward moving feelings or behavior from partner A, with open , maybe naive, overly trusting feelings/expectations/behavior from Partner B., particularly as they are both Major Arcana cards.Thus, I would consider there being some tension between the 2 , both wanting a great deal emotionally, possibly impulsivity and Partner A’ rough shodding’ over Partner B. Both their inner emotional needs, may over whelm the relationship. Resources would need to be drawn from the cards coming up in the Parent and Adult positions for each individual , as well as from the respective Partners.
Overall it was great afternoon, and we all continue on the path of these knotty and deep, complex relationship issues with our clients and ourselves!
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To see some recent relevant articles ( Below) about this subject and the Magician article, and my recent news letters, please go to: http://www.tarotastrocounselling.com.au/news/
- Tarot, Psychology and Relationships published in The Magician TGA magazine March 2016 Jenne Perlstein 28-2-16
- Tarot Tip: RELATIONSHIPS – THE THORNY QUESTION:
What if a client can’t find love? http://www.tarotschool.com/TarotTips160601.html
