Table of Contents
Disclaimer
The material in this book does not replace therapy by a licensed professional.
Copyright 2013 by Gina G. Thies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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Published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
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ISBN 978-1-5073-0049-7(EPUB)
DEDICATION
FOR MY HUSBAND DANIEL
FOR MY SONS JEREMY AND JORDAN
FOR ALL MY TAROT FRIENDS NEAR AND FAR
AUTHOR NOTE
A WORD: MOST OF WHAT I AM DISCUSSING HERE WORKS IN THE REALM OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE SOME SORT OF SEVERE MENTAL DISORDER.
TAROT READINGS ARE GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF SOUL EVOLUTION.
UNLESS YOU ARE LICENSED, PLEASE MAKE REFERENCE TO A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL WHEN THE SITUATION CALLS FOR IT.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Tarot Coupling provides details of my professional work. Trying to understand human behavior as explained through card meanings and spreads, I have explored different possibilities that seemed to ring true, both for myself and for my clients.
These possibilities began to emerge as I noticed a link when I applied psychoanalytic theories to Tarot card readings. I became aware that other Tarot users corresponded personality types and psychological functions, too. Nobody, though, seemed to be clear in its usefulness in helping the querent.
If youre new to Tarot study, does it all seem overwhelming?
I thought so when I was learning, not to mention that all of the information in those little white books did not help much in practical terms of explaining human interactions.
Humans are complex creatures. I began testing the waters with my findings while reading for clients experiencing crisis in love relationships.
For me, Tarot started as a tool for predicting the future. Through it, I discovered that many people are concerned with the existential facts of life: the reality of living and staying alive, which is why most people want to know what do you see in my future?
My goal in writing this material is to engage you, the reader, in considering Tarot through the lens of an insight-oriented counselor who oversees an introspective process.
The intention is not to write another howto-read Tarot-cards book, but write one with the purpose of conveying information about intimate relationships and dilemmas that emerge within the context of Tarot consultations.
Tarot perfectly explains the human emotional experience and seems naturally integrated with psychological perspectives. However, intimate partnerships are the platform where characteristics and dynamics of human nature are acted out in transformational theatrics.
Performance is not always perfect. When emotional turmoil disrupts the flow of happiness, people reach out for direction. We, as readers, are often called to the task, so I also felt it beneficial to write from the perspective of the professional reader and in the spirit of those who guide others as agents of change, while also avoiding prescriptions for guaranteed success.
My hope is to appeal to those who may consider Tarot consultation as a career path, new readers, and seasoned professionals. For those who seek an advanced approach to reading the cards, Tarot Coupling aspires to meet that need.
One of the biggest challenges in the topic of relationships would be to avoid offending a select group, or establishing generalities about human sexuality in all its diverse arrangements. I think I have done this nicely as will be evidenced as you read further.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have happened without the great patience and love of my family and friends. I would like to thank Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone of The Tarot School for being the greatest Tarot teachers in the world.
Thanks to the students who took my study group at the 2010 Readers Studio and to the BATS Queen Thalassa.
To the wonderful PJ Gunter, who graciously worked hard with initial edits and manuscript preparation.
To my friend, Tammy McInnis, for all of your encouragement and the shoulder I cried on for a long time.
To Beatrice Scaffidi, my mentor and the most gifted reader in the universe! Thanks for all the readings and guidance you have given me since 1994.
My cousin, Donna Brazile for being a role model to me now and while growing up in Kenner, Louisiana, and to her father, my late great-uncle Lionel Brazile, for opening the door I entered that awakened my gifts.
I would like to also thank my clients who have shared their lives, allowing me to give guidance and trusting me.
Many special thanks to Katrina Wynne, M.A. and Dan Pelletier.
To everyone else who helped in publishing this book and to the many masters of Tarot who taught me so much about the cards; and a heartfelt thanks to everyone at Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
INTRODUCTION
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, therefore
is winged Cupid painted blind.
~William Shakespeare
Mid-Summer Nights Dream, 1595
Many of lifes essential lessons may be drawn from the writings of William Shakespeare. The above quote from one of Shakespeares famous plays seemingly describes Major Arcana card 6 The Lovers.
The Lovers card is traditionally depicted with two or three figures along with an angel, Cupid or Eros, as the Romans called him, hovering above and poised with an arrow ready to be released, its goal the unsuspecting victim. This winged boy, armed with his love weapon, was a very familiar figure featured in Hellenistic and Roman art. In some depictions, the figure sometimes carried a torch.
In literature and art, Cupid is painted as blindfolded, but it is not meant to imply that he is without eyesight.
The ancients considered the god of fertility, desire, and love to have blind reasoning, just as lovers are blind to the defects or faults of the one whom they love.
The allegory of The Lovers card featuring this winged creature, which became an angel on most modern decks, symbolizes Divinitys union with humankind. While assumed to represent harmony, relationships or union through marriage in the exoteric context, The Lovers in esoteric circles are explained by dualism rather than ordinary human love.
Falling in love is such a natural act of emotional expression; we dont tend to think of it as a choice. Certainly, theres free will and right in choosing a mate to date or marry in the majority of cultures, but how often have you heard, you cant help with whom you fall in love? Certain psychological perspectives propose that a person cant resist whom they love based on a number of factors.
The way we come to fall in love has a great deal to do with the heart, but also the mind. When this happens, people tend to question the mind and, because of the emotions involved with falling in love, often find it difficult to rationalize their own affections objectively.
