San Diego Fabulousness

San Diego has once again, been fabulous. The Oracle of Initiation book continues to take up the majority of my time, and I send love to the friends that I will have to catch on the way back round. The Ocean is cleansing me in her own unique ways, such a welcome contrast to the desert. Below are a few of the highlights of this trip…Jo in touch with her awesome; Eshu/Ellegua/Santo Nino and I at my Controversial Bookstore Shape-Shift your 2011 Oracle of Initiation Workshop; attendees contemplating the Oracle at the workshop; Violet a magnetic friend; and Mother and daughter beauty. OH- and I am taking FILM images these days, with an eight lensed camera, and as you can see below the disposable camera with fortunes printed on the images. The oracular accuracy of the fortunes on the images was uncanny. LOVE IT as Alee and I say.

and a teaser, look for the faux Banksy graffiti blog post coming up about master manifestation.

Melissa Weiss Steele’s Oracle of Initiation Events in San Diego March 2011

Hello San Diego! I have returned from the desert and am back to share the gifts of New Mexico’s magical inspirations. I have 3 events here in San Diego the first week of March, and have limited spaces for soul purpose readings that week. Two of the events are at Controversial Bookstore and one is at Chris Brittian’s The Art of You Expressive Arts Studio.

I am thrilled to share my new understanding of my Oracle of Initiation deck with you through what I have learned writing the extended book to accompany the 88 limited edition copies. The book is due out in April before I am off to Central America on a Medicine Walk for 5 months. There a few copies left if you want one of these fierce sacred tools. www.OracleofInitiation.com

Sunday March 6^th at  4pm Pacific time I will be interviewed on the influential Beyond Worlds Tarot Tribe radio show. It will be archived if you want to listen at a later date. My website also has a ton of juicy articles about my The Oracle deck, my ritualistic photography work, solo adventures and spiritual transformation and will soon have  new videos of the Painted Body work.

I look forward to supporting you shape-shift and redefine all of the intense turbulence we have been experience to claim our unique brilliance. E-mail me if you have any question, and come play with me and the startling Painted Body Spirit Beings in the deck at any of these events. earthenbody@gmail.com

Art & The Oracle- Explore Creative Shape-Shifting with Melissa Weiss Steele & The Oracle of Initiation.

Tuesday March 1^st, 2011 6-9pm  $50. All supplies included

Come explore the powerful insights available through using art, imagination and divination. We will be working with the Painted Body ritualistic photography images within Melissa’s original Oracle of Initiation deck to creatively dance with the many energies, inspirations and potentials we each carry when we access the full range of our fierce, shape-shifting abilities.

@ The Art of You Expressive Arts Studio

3060 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116

www.TheArtofYou.com

Shape-Shift your Destiny in 2011 with The Oracle of Initiation

1.Introductory Lecture Thursday March 3^rd 7-9pm $25.

2.Workshop Saturday March 5^th 1-5pm $60.

@ Controversial Bookstore

3063 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

http://controversialbookstore.com/

We each have the powerful ability to choose how we respond to these challenging times. Turbulence becomes a gift when we learn how to navigate and harness the fierce and fluid transformational energies currently available.  The Oracle of Initiation divination deck by Melissa Weiss Steele is a magical and inspiring tool, illuminating the dynamic opportunities available through shape-shifting your own shadows and complexities.

Learn how The Oracle can reveal where you are currently at in your own process of awakening; how to redefine previous struggles as the keys to your unique offerings; and where to focus your passions to bring forth these precious gifts to the collective.

Beyond Worlds-Your Tarot Tribe Radio Show

hosted by Donnaleigh de LaRose

Sunday March 6^th 2011 7pm Eastern 4pm Pacific

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondworlds

Melissa will be interviewed about the creation of The Oracle if Initiation deck and share how to use this visionary new tool over the air. Host Donaleigh was inspired to created a video about using the Oracle of Initiation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcp8JM2eYc8

On an Adventure!

Melissa will be leaving the country for 5 months in April 2011 on a personal Medicine Walk. Limited edition decks will still be available {until sold out}, and a selection of certain fine art prints. She will be scheduling readings and Spiritual Initiation Counseling work when she returns in September 2011. There may be a delay in answering inquiries depending on her internet access. When Spirit calls, we may not answer e-mails!

www.OracleofIntiation.com

e-mail earthenbody@gmail.com

Off to The Ghost Ranch to Finish the Oracle of Initiation Book

I am off to one of my all-time favorite places on the earth..Abiquiu. I will be staying at Casa del Sol, the zen-calm retreat center away from the main campus on the Ghost Ranch. Abiquiu is where Georgia O’Keefe spent here last 50 years of her life exploring the land and doing art, as I too love to do. It has rainbow-colored canyons, a lake, and a sense of home I have not felt anywhere else. All of the above ground Painted Body images in the Oracle deck were taken there, and most of the Painted Body collaborations with others. A sacred, sacred place for me. I am bending time and finishing the text to accompany my Oracle of Initiation deck this next week. I just moved, my e-mail is down…a lovely and productive Universal time-out. Send me happy bee energy to finish the project and get it to the editor, and I there may be a snow storm taboot!

Albuquerque Tarot Meet-Up with The Oracle of Initiation

59. Expansion from The Oracle of Initiation deck by Melissa Weiss Steele

 

“This was by far the most inspirational meet-up ever! Melissa, and the images of her Oracle of Initiation deck, evoke the deepest part of your psyche in layers that allow you to become one with your feelings. Her presentations have you hanging on every word and shaking your head in agreement as you come to realize THIS is your place in life. Thank you, Melissa, Asher & Wisdom Moon for the insights presented on a power-filled afternoon!”

Gloria Vinskey, Albuqurque Tarot Meet-Up

 

“Fabulous! I never thought I might come across another deck and love the purity of it, as I do James Wanless’s Voyager. However, Spunky clear hearted and visionary Melissa and her Oracle of Initiation deck have won me over.”

Early Gardner, Albuquerque Tarot Meet-up

 

We had a wonderful day divining with The Oracle of Initiation yesterday at the Albuquerque Tarot Meet-Up. I got see some familiar faces from LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium held last October in Santa Fe and some new friends as well. This was the last presentation I will be doing on the land of The Oracle’s emergence before I am off to the Ocean and Central America.

During the event we got to consult The Oracle’s wisdom about  what our true happiness is as a way to center and focus our intentions and dreams. We also examined what outdated stories we are carrying offers us access to our Rainbows in the Dark, the potential to reframe the initiations we have encountered to find our true power and gifts.  Thank you to Margaret & Robert for organizing the group, and Amy & Meekah for being fabulous Guardians while I offered my sacred work. life is good.

27. Gathering; 46. Reliance; 3 Instinct from The Oracle of Initiation

Top TEN in 2010

2010 was incredible. I felt optimistic about this year like I had never experienced. I felt all of the work and dedication I had been putting into my life was truly grounding, and it was TRUE! I am so grateful for all the beautiful friendships, family connections and co-conspirators dancing this crazy TRUST WALK of a life with me. Blessings to all….and 2011 is already shaping up to be extraordinary.

I am finishing the book for My Oracle of Initiation deck, and am thrilled about the caliber of contributors I have offering their insights into the cards. I will be off to the West Coast to teach in March & April and then down to Central America for 5 months this spring/summer. Thank you for all the ways you each touched my life, making this a sparkly, juicy, DY-NO-MITE year. Here is my top ten list of the rock star brilliant things that occurred…

1. I published my first edition of my Oracle of Initiation Deck!!

Boy was this an experience. Almost four years into the project, I went into the zone and in 13 days time I designed, graphically set up and wrote the text for the  first edition of 88 decks. Thanks to MaryBeth for all her amazing help in this crazy, madcap caper of Oracular joy.

2. Joyful success during the West Coast Oracle tour

Spring 2010 I took the show on the road and taught with The Oracle of Initiation on the west coast. It was the business success I had been palpating for years, and it finally landed. I can feel things YEARS before they manifest, so it very cool when they materialize on the earth plane. I met amazing people, had a BLAST doing what I love and came home feeling empowered and proud of offering my sacred gifts. I want to thank everyone who showed up to my workshops and lectures in San Diego, especially Lisa, Trevahr, Jade and Xana for being my fabulous Guardians. I look forward to this springs tour, go to the event section at www.OracleofInitiation.com for the locations of the groovy gatherings with The Oracle in March and April.

I also want to thank one special client who has been a dream to work with. We met at Esalen during my tour and she has moved mountains within herself during our time together. It is such a gift to have a receiver for your work. I love yah IVP in Paris.

3. I won a year of free dance at EmbodyDance Santa Fe’s 10th anniversary party!

I magnetized my raffle tickets, energetically twinkled the little girl who was drawing the winner, and then put my hands out, palms up, to receive, and they called my name!!!! May abundance shower down upon you in the ways that feed and serve you best. They have for me. And much love to the beautiful dance community here in Santa Fe.

4. The Bachelorette & Amma & New Visions of Relationships

I am both a romantic and a cheese-ball. Its true, I enjoy  watching the Bachelor and Bachelorette. Part of it is psychological voyeurism, but the main attraction is the idea of true love. I know, I know, it rarely works out on that show, but I have always carried a torch for great romantic unions. Because of the struggles I see so many contemporary people having {me included} with finding suitable mates, I am refocusing my work towards why this is happening. I have been interviewing men about their perspectives on what has happened with relationship over the last decades.

Men are my main subject at this time because my work has previously been with women’s empowerment, and I am  wondering where the men are at. Thank you to all the lovely men who allowed me to peek inside their psyches and share their ideas on women, love and commitment. May we all evolve beyond the Madman version of gender roles and expectation. I am bringing Amma into this because my heart was blown open when I saw her for the first time this spring, and I believe energetic expansion may be the pathway to reclaiming the sacred within our intimate relationships. I will keep you posted on what I learn.

5. My Painted Body ritualistic photography work

This was a bang up year for my Painted Body ritualistic photography work. I had some fabulous shoots in Abiquiu and my first collaboration outside of New Mexico in Joshua Tree. It is such a primal joy to share my relationship with the land through initiating others into their unique brilliance. I shall miss the arid desert lands when I dance by the sea, but will always return to one of my true loves, magical, magical New Mexico.

6. Eating Coconut Ice Cream

For 10 years I did not get ice cream because of a lactose intolerance and the sugar. And then it came, the crazy-good coconut milk ice creams sweetened with agave. Lord have mercy. I have died and gone to heaven. HEAVEN. God and Goddess are good.

7. Yraceburu EarthWisdom-Family of my HEART

I have had a very good year with the family of my heart, Yraceburu EarthWisdom. In July I was initiated during The Otter Ways Women and Girls Rights of Passage weekend  in Las Vegas, NM. I was then a Guardian at  the incredible Grandmothers Summit Celebrating Turtle Island honoring our Elders and Wisdom Keepers this October . The Dream Circles have also been very juicy for the women to reclaim the ancient visioning ways. It is good to find your family. Very very good.

8. Tarot World FUN

Boy was this a fun year for Tarot community events. I got to go to The Readers Studio in NYC in April meeting delightful folks. The 2nd photo below is of Mary K. Geer, a prolific researcher and writer on Tarot and divination, Joanna Powell Colbert of the fabulous Gaian Tarot and Marilyn Shannon a crystal ball expert. We were all headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the secret back room to see ancient Tarot decks with Robert Place. Good stuff, thanks Sasha Graham-cool Tarot chick-for setting it all up. I also got to meet J. Jordan Hoggard of his magical Mystereum Tarot, being released any moment by Schiffer!!

The Oracle was also a cover girl, having 3 limited edition covers for Marcus Katz’s Tarosophist Tarot Professionals magazine.

And then…here in Santa Fe over Halloween weekend, we had LETS- Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium!!!! So way way cooool. I was the opening speaker, and all the other presentation were top-notch. If you would like to see the story of how my Oracle deck was created, you may watch this 55 minute video with  images of where my ideas and influences come from.

http://vivu.tv/portal/archive.jsp?flow=397-654-7677&id=1291578442700

If you read this Blog in the future, I believe the video is only cataloged for 9 months {August 2011 it dies}. Thanks Carrie Paris, Margaret Letzkus and Robert Hahn for organizing such a worthwhile event…watch out for next year.

9. The photo album revealing My Destiny from my Mother

My mom hit it out of the ballpark this Christmas. When I opened my presents from her she had complied a photo album of my life from zero to twenty-five. The astounding thing about this was SHE FOUND NEW PHOTOS I HAD NEVER SEEN…and through this surprising new vision of my life, my DESTINY was mirrored back to me. I have to explain why new photos are so special. I am obviously a photography nut. Its part of what I do. But I have always had this energetic connection to images, I feel the depths in them, I draw on the energetic signatures and travel through them for memories and connections. They are alive to me. So at 42 to have my mother bust out some new representations of my story, my myth shocked me. I KNOW all of the family photos, so I thought. Re-visioning is so great, that’s what my Oracle deck is about, reclaiming the power and gifts in the challenges and misperceptions. And then I was able to see all the threads, all the tendrils to who I have become…SINCE I WAS AN INFANT. I am working on a video to share these connections, be patient, its a technology upgrade in me…i-movie…I am giving my mother BIG LOVE  {no-not the polygamy folks people!} for all her work feeding those negatives she has drug around for 40 years into her Wolverine machine to bust out one of the best physical gifts I may have ever gotten.

10 Azul my LOVE

I am an animal person. I had cats for 28 years straight, and then I moved to New Mexico. I need animal love, and Azul my roomie has been a light in my life. I thank her for all the joy, delight and holding of the space she offers. She is a Angel.

Rest in Peace Beautiful Julie Rivers, I honor your radiance and see you glowing in Chochiti canyon.

And Santo Nino, Eshu, Ellegua, Poppa Legba, Thank you for opening the doors and gateways to my destiny this year, and I appreciate all your support as a messenger and a scribe. And the abundance rocks. love yah….and Ogun, Shango, Oshun, Yemaya and beloved Obi, Obatala who has my head. Much respect.

Final words of wisdom…

LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of The Birth of The Oracle of Initiation

My Oracle of Initiation LETS presentation with the image "Sanctified"

I want to share the wonderful video Carrie Paris and I created today from my presentation for LETS- Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium that was here in Santa Fe this October. Below is also an update about The Oracle and my travels, projects and upcoming adventures. Life is good.

LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of the Oracle of Initiation’s Birth {use either headphones or plug into external speakers…the audio is low}

http://vivu.tv/portal/archive.jsp?flow=397-654-7677&id=1291578442700

Carrie Paris Tarot Goddess and co-organizer of LETS

I want to share some wonderful new videos about The Oracle of Initiation deck and keep you up to date about my travels. I will be leaving Santa Fe at the end of January 2011 to go to the west coast to teach and divine and then will be off to Central America for 5 months to learn Spanish. I am currently finishing the book to go with the Oracle deck and look forward to telling you more about that project and the wonderful contributors I have gathered. The deck is a vast and Mysterious creation that has called forth a variety of voices to help illuminate its potentials.

Lisa with one of her De St. Croix Tarot images

Tonight on the Sagittarius New Moon I was doing my manifesting through Beatrex Quntanna’s incredible 2010 Moon Book { to order your 2011 copy:

http://www.beatrex.com} She and Susan Lennox have created a workbook to utilize the moons incredible power to co-create the destiny we desire. The reason I am bringing this up is because there has been some really interesting synchronicities with this moon’s symbolism and my stepping out into videos offerings.

The ladies goofin' it up

Today Carrie Paris, local Tarot Goddess and I recorded my presentation for the LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium conference that happened in October. The initial talk had technical difficulties and did not work. Part of the LETS conference’s magic was the potential to see the main presentations online, from anywhere in the world. Carrie and I tried to record my talk again, and the sound was silenced. So today, our 3^rd try, we recorded a great presentation on the birth of my Oracle deck, and the sound is low on some computers. Hmmmmm. here is the link again….

LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of the Oracle of Initiation’s Birth {use either headphones or plug into external speakers…the audio is low}

http://vivu.tv/portal/archive.jsp?flow=397-654-7677&id=1291578442700

Jordan Hoggard with his soon to be available Land of Mystereum Tarot Deck- The Death Card

So I am reading about the Sagittarius New Moon in Beatrex’s book and the manifestation Goddess featured is Saraswati. The description speaks of her as “fusing our personality with the light of our divinity…When this fusion occurs, the Law of Sound is made available and we have the ability to manifest our vision through the resonance of our voice!!!!!”  So….it gets better…As Carrie and I created the altar backdrop for the LETS video today we PUT HER SCULPTURE OF SARASWATI BEHIND ME!!!!!

So, it is interesting that my video is muffled at times. Hmmmmm. Still sitting with what this may mean.

Tarot Maven Mary K. Greer with my Oracle deck

It really is a cool video, I am proud of it, and the images that accompany the fascinating story are gorgeous. Some of my early inspirations are really interesting. It is a 55 minute investment, but watch it instead of a TV show or reading something else. It really is a gift to see how another has enlivened her life and stepped into her unique passions and joys. Inspiration feeds the soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-organizer Margaret Letzkus on her sacred geometry presentation

 

I have also included a couple of animoto videos of my earlier work. Good stuff.

Earthen Body Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle Eye Graffiti-Earthen Body Series

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxEQUY342Og

Weiss Steele Early Art Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire Horse collage

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jYUc7Hgus

Donnaleigh de LaRose created this wonderful video using the Oracle deck. I will be on her Beyond Worlds Tarot Tribe radio show March 6th 2011. Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcp8JM2eYc8&feature=player_embedded

January 15^th 2011 I will be speaking to the wonderful Albuquerque Tarot Meet-up…come play with one of the limited edition decks if you are in the area. We will have both juicy depth and raucous fun. That’s a good combo.

Sifu is so cooollll

So happy holiday, and if you want a reading in-person in Santa Fe, you will need to catch me before mid January. I can always do work over the phone as well.  I am seeing a lot of lineage coding coming up in people to be released and have had wonderful success with other clients in transforming those old messages and constrictions that were never truly ours. Break free from the agony of the illusions of isolation, shame and worthlessness. They are NOT TRUE YOURS.

There are also copies of the first edition of 88 signed copies of my Oracle deck on the website..go get your today to help read the landmarks, challenges and gifts along your glorious journey of awakening. www.OracleofInitation.com

Jordan, Marianna & I

So here’s to the intensity, the turbulence, and the great beauty of this Grand Initiation we are all undertaking. I will see you all dancing under the stars as we embody our true brilliance and divinity, together…MelissaBee

Pegasus collage by moi

Margi Halfon’s Painted Body Initiation into the Hidden Petra-like New Mexico Desert

Petra is a DreamTime place. It is a magical and cloistered city tucked away in the desert cliffs of Jordan. The first time I saw an image of the huge temple facade peeking though a slender opening in the canyon walls I was stunned. I have yearned to walk through that portal into that otherworldly place since that day. I had no idea that through moving to New Mexico I was entering the same landscape as “a rose-red city half as old as time.”

Petra

Like Petra, New Mexico is an enchanted and mysterious place. It has its own hidden canyons, caves and tunnels. I have made it my work to enter these worlds and dance with the energies. The Painted Body ritualistic photography series emerged from these explorations in graffiti strewn tunnels and waterways. Now I am sharing these adventures with other brave souls, and we are embracing our fierceness and joy through these initiatory photo shoots.

Margi Halfon is a complex and magnetic person. She has her own deep cloistered parts, and is also a sparkly and engaging spirit. She and her partner Sean Tebor’s vision is to weave together yoga, dance and Tarot creating a community gathering place where Santa Fean’s can explore and embody their own juicy vitality.

Margi entered this Painted Body Process from a place of surrender and awe. She had recently gone through some intense personal shifts and was ready to meet the earth and herself through this collaborative ceremonial process. Throughout the journey she kept pointing out how much the land reminded her of Petra. She had been fortunate enough to visit as a younger woman when she lived in Israel. I had not shared with her yet that I pulled some of my own Oracle of Initiation divination cards and The Stargate deck by James F. Jereb before we met. Both of our ‘Masters of the Stargate’ cards were Egyptian. I found the parallels between her recognition of Petra similarities to this place and each of our connection through the cards to Sekhmet and Re incredible. The world NEVER ceases to amaze me.

Margi and I in a Petra-like portal created by the camera...life is so fascinating

As we wound our way back into my secret cathedral in the stones I was aware of what a gift I have been given by having such a sacred place for my soul. Margi illuminated how rare it is to have a relationship that feeds and nurtures me so deeply. It really is my hidden sacred temple. It is home. The feelings of love, joy, peace and belonging I experience there is what I have always dreamed of. This knowing of my connection to the land is part of the wisdom I share when I take people on these initiatory journeys; a gateway into their own re-enchantment with the Earth Mother.

During the Painted Body process different people need different things. At times the Painted Body shoots have been very shamanic and intense, at other times playful and inquisitive, but always potent and visceral. It really calls forth what transformation that person needs at that time. The process always offers a doorway into delight and wonder through engaging with the raw natural world. The exposure of the nudity, the sensuality of the paints and the soil, the freedom of flowing through the ritualistic container that we create all offer an opening into ones true essence. That really is our work, to reclaim our own inner knowing and engage with life from that innate radiance. We are all creative, passionate, powerful people when we release old programs and constrictions connecting to our pure potential.

Margi met this place of pure potential. She embodied her regalness, her reserve, her exuberance, her vulnerability and her unbridled joy. She danced her own rhythms, she touched her own depths, and the canyon, camera and I witnessed her majestic Spirit. It was an honor to share this experience with her. Life is beautiful. Thank You.

www.OracleofInitiation.com

Oracle of Initiation cards on the land of their emergence

I took these images Sunday in Abiquiu where the “above ground” Painted Body ritualistic  photographs were taken for my Oracle of Initiation deck. The canyons, waterways and mesas of Northwestern New Mexico are my home. There is a calm, a beauty, a resonance for me in that place that rewires my nervous system whenever I visit.

Below I will share something I channeled after serendipitously finding what I call Rainbow Canyon. The piece below is also how I received my new name, Kwahu, from Maria Yraceburu. I had just moved to New Mexico and went to San Diego where Maria & Lynda Yraceburu were living at the time. Maria is one of my Teachers, and I felt it was time for a new name. Horse Dancer no longer resonated, the Horse Spirits had done their work of bringing me to the Southwest and now I was in a new phase. I asked Maria if she had any thoughts, and while reading the last paragraph of the piece below she dashed out of the room and came back with a card bearing the word Kwahu on it. It means “Eagle Prayer.” She said the calling forth the others is the visionary work of the Eagle Clan, and that was my destiny. Great honor and blessings to being seen and may I learn how to gracefully carry that calling. Love to the land, my Spirits, and transformation. www.OracleofInitiation.com

Ghost Ranch December 2007

I sat on top of the ridge looking down into the canyon below and cried. I cried because of how truly happy I am. I cried because it feels so good to be here, so right. This Technicolor climate with foreign topographies. A land I have not known in this lifetime, but am inexplicably drawn to. I would try to stop crying, but would begin again, a heaving sob of joy over learning how to be truly satisfied. Satisfied for yourself; satisfied through the land and adventure; satisfied because you were brave enough to make a new life and your body knows its real.

You are right where you are meant to be. No longer feeling left out or lonely, no longer seeing what is missing or lost, but holding onto what is honestly yours. Embracing the fullness of this time, and living the life you have always dreamed of living. Walking this pristine land alone, in silence, with the wind and sun and the birds.

A remembrance, a coming home to some part of yourself you never knew. Having come so far into yourself that no one, nothing, can turn you back now. You belong, wholly, completely. You are finally sovereign, unto yourself. You have done it, you belong to only you, and now you can truly share, because you are centered in your power.

And the Universe shall meet you from this place, and call your name, and ask you to come forth, offering what you have learned. And it will be glorious, ringing true to those who can hear the call, the call to an authentic life.

Welcome home, you have just arrived.

Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium in Santa Fe with Mary K. Greer and The Oracle of Initiation as a Cover Girl

Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium

Santa Fe, New Mexico

October 29, 30^th and 31^st 2010.

Attendance available in Santa Fe or Online!

Local Tarot Meet-Up hosts Carrie Paris, Margaret Letzkus and Robert Hahn have organized the first tarot symposium in the southwest and you are all invited!

The Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium (L E T S) Meetup site is now up and open for reservations. L E T S will be held October 29, 30, & 31, 2010 in our sweet community of Santa Fe as well as available to our global tarot tribe as an Online option.

L E T S is the first tarot conference in the southwest, and promises to deliver an exceptional divination ‘spirit’ over Samhain, Halloween, and Day of the Dead weekend. Our featured speaker will be Mary K. Greer who is a world-renowned authority on tarot and the author of numerous tarot books. Joining Mary via webcast will be Fern Mercier from New Zealand presenting her informative work on the Oracles of Ancient Greece & the Sybils.

Other presenters include Melissa Weiss Steele of the Oracle of Initiation, Jordan Hoggard, author of The Mysterium Tarot, and many more.

L E T S activities will incorporate the timing of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with the tarot by giving focus to one of the most charged cards in the deck; the Death card. This will be presented through talks that feature ways in which we can transform and celebrate the meaning of life through the cards.

This event is the first of its kind to be streamed live through a video webcast platform allowing participants the choice of attending in person or on-line. This is truly a gathering of the global tarot tribe! The L E T S Meetup site will also offer continuing live stream video classes to L E T S members with exciting instructors from across the globe throughout the year.

As Santa Fe is know for its art, L E T S will also feature the Caliente Bazaar which will be filled with beautiful tarot related objects and more. Raffles for fabulous prizes will be held for both those present as well as online attendees. We hope you will grace us with your presence and the spirit of your fabulous cards!

All of this for only $100 for the entire weekend in person or $50 online attendance. This is an unbelievable deal, and a precious opportunity to expand your divinatory skills and connect with the global tarot community. Thanks again Carrie, Margaret and Robert for bringing us LETS and all of your enthusiasm, wisdom and joy for the magic of Tarot.

For Additional Information or to RSVP Please Visit – http://www.meetup.com/LETSGOTAROT/

A taste of some of the wonderful courses available in Santa Fe and Online as well…

Mary K. Greer

Cartomancers in Western Art from the 16th to Early 20th Centuries.

Presented by Mary K. Greer

Fern Mercier

Oracles, Sybils & Tricks of the Trade

Presented by Special Webcast Speaker 
Fern Mercier from New Zealand

Melissa Weiss Steele

Dancing with Death 
through the Oracle of Initiation

Presented by Melissa Weiss Steele

J. Jordan Hoggard

Tarot in the Land of Mysterium: An Imagination Primer

Presented by Jordan Hoggard

Robert Hahn & Margaret Letkus

The Birthday of Eternity: A Reading on Death

Presented by Robert Hahn

Sacred Space in the Tarot

Presented by Margaret Letzkus

Carrie Paris & Melissa Weiss Steele

Taking the Message Home:

Creating Sacred Space Mandalas with your Cards

Presented by Carrie Paris

Tarosophist Magazine 8^th Anniversary

Oracle of Initiation Cover images

Three limited edition options!!!

Marcus Katz of Tarot Professionals, Tarot Town and Tarosophist Magazine chose three Oracle images as the covers for his eight-anniversary issue focusing on Tarot embodied and death in the cards. The three images are 11. Embarking; 15. Discovery; and 27. Gathering.

Tarot Professionals is a wonderful organization supporting the integrity of the psychic and divinatory profession. His newest venture Tarot Town is an Online international Tarot community offering the chance to meet wonderful like-minded individuals across the globe. Our tribes are no longer constricted to certain locations, we have the entire world to find our family now. You may order copies of the magazine either as a download or print copy through the Tarot Profesionas website under  “magazines” at LuLu.com. Marcus is a wonderful champion for the expansion of Tarot and the divinatory arts. Thanks Marcus for all you do!

http://www.tarotprofessionals.com/

http://www.tarot-town.com/

Lisa De St. Croix’s Magical Tarot Paintings

Lisa De St. Croix is a fascinating woman. She grew up in South Africa, and has always had the heart of an artist. Her work reflects her deep mystical roots, weaving together her own spiritual journey  with ancient and archetypal imagery. Her series of Gods and Goddesses are incredible ranging from The Guadalupe to Kali to Hopi Kachinas. I am partial to her own autobiographical work of a woman’s deep transformation. The images are raw, gorgeous and completely compelling. In her 10 foot high paintings she may be a woman diving into a pool of water as her legs become a snake, or she is intertwined with her lover, their bodies merging into vibrant fall leaves. Her Kundalini Opening painting with a snake winding up through her body is breathtaking.

We first met when I became part of the Santa Fe EmbodyDance community and someone said we had both done divination decks. Her first deck is a collection of her own paintings with Deities, Elements and Animals Spirits as your guides for and insight and inspiration. I am lucky to have a copy…you can contact her if you would like your own!!! You can friend her on Facebook and see her paintings at her web site…

http://www.lisadestcroix.com/

In the last few months she has been called to a new project that weaves together all that she is. She is painting her own Tarot deck;  following sign, synchronicites and the wisdom of the Universe to create her version of the classic divination tool. Below I have included some of her own writing about this journey and some photos we took in her studio yesterday in Santa Fe with the cards she has done so far. I am so excited to have a front row seat to this magical process. Love yah sista..xoxxx

Nine of Pentacles

I am so excited to pull the Nine of Pentacles as the first card to paint in my new project: painting the Tarot Deck. It is the card about a labor of love, solitary, creative and spiritual work. This deep work will be rewarded by a good harvest – material prosperity.

Synchronicity came up when I pulled an extra card from The Goddess Tarot, created by Kris Waldherr and it was Isis. A year and a half ago I did a shamanic journey to the Upper World and there in a small temple sat Isis – she instructed me to paint the Tarot. She is here with me as a guide. On her arm sits a falcon, the falcon also appears in the Smith/ Rider/Waite deck. It is a symbol of mastery, of harnessing power to manifest.

This card indicates that there will be gain by being in harmony with nature and the elements. Trust the Universe to take care of you, follow what has heart and meaning. It is a card of self- reliance, of pleasure, sensuality and luxury.

I painted myself, grounded in nature, in a beautiful setting – the red cliffs of the Southwest, a pool of water behind me and an adobe home. I am looking at the fruits of my labor – the sunflower symbolizes my soul card “the Sun” – I live up to my fullest potential. I bring beauty and spirit through my art.

The Devil

I woke up and saw a shaft of light hitting my mothers old “Marseille Tarot”. I only use that deck to communicate with her – she died twenty four years ago. Immediately fear came up for me – as a child I had been afraid of that deck, always pulling The Devil, The Hanged Man, Death. But I felt directed to pull a card. Synchronicity again…I pulled the Devil. Oh, no I had made a contract with myself that I was going to paint whatever card I got.

The Devil – what ancient archetype does it represent? Our shadow, the bit’s of ourself we are ashamed of. By keeping these parts of ourselves in the shadow we only feed The Devil and are held down by that energy. But, if we can face our inner demon, enormous energy is released and darkness becomes light (Lucifer means bringer of light).

I realize that my fear, my shame and my guilt hold me down. But my shadow is the Buddah – sit with it and eventually I can throw off The Devil’s hold and move on……

Three of Wands

My son Noah suggested I pull a Tarot card for mother’s day as the next card to paint. I pulled the Three of Wands. I was struck once again by synchronicity; in the Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley gives this explanation of the Three of Wands: The will has been transmitted to The Mother who conceives, prepares and gives birth to it’s manifestations. The meaning is harmonious – for this is the beginning of Spring…the sun has en kindled the Great Mother

I thought about my mother and how she is still with me all these years after her death. She is watching me on my journey. She had a Tarot reading when I was twelve that accurately predicted her divorce, her moving to another country and living by the ocean – Valencia, Spain and remarrying a foreigner and that her youngest child would be famous. That’s me. So I painted her watching my boat come in, along for the ride are my children and loved ones.

The Three of Wands means an enterprise that will end in success. It is a visionary card about manifesting our dreams beyond limitations. The figurehead boat signifies leading others, staying on course and move fearlessly into new areas. The blossoms communicate joy and the promise of fruit from our artistic endeavors.

Ace of Wands

This experience of painting the Tarot has become a gateway to realizing the connection between spirit and present moment. Never before have I felt so guided in my work, what is needed shows up. I was concerned that I was putting too much of my personal story into this deck. The Ace of Wands came to tell me that I am but a conduit for the universal archetypes to express themselves. Shortly before pulling the Ace of Wands as my next card to paint I joined a Tarot site and there was a picture of the Ace of Wands on their home page. These synchronicities that keep happening tell me I am doing my “great work” that the magical spark of life is directing me. I am gaining confidence as this project unfolds that I am a messenger of sorts. This card is here to tell you that by living your passion and being the true expression of who you are, you will succeed. It is the energy of the divine manifesting in matter through you.

The Chariot, King of Cups & Two of Swords too….