Recently I had an opportunity to attend a tarot class run by an acquaintance of mine. He goes by Skagi and has been doing tarot readings for far longer than I have. I had had a few readings from him before and often ran into him while visiting the area during tarot nights at a shop called Books, Beans, and Candles. He’s usually the one that hosts those nights (when I’ve been able to attend, anyway), and he is the tarot reader at the shop on Sundays and Tuesday nights according to his hours.
The class was called Full Contact Tarot. It was a 6-7 hour long workshop where we discussed everything from the very basics of the tarot, to its history, and to the various spreads and methods of interpretation available. It costed 75 dollars, and was an interesting class overall. We’ll discuss the specifics, some of what was taught, and talk about tarot, before focusing in on one thing that I felt could be particularly useful to people who are engaging in a relationship with a spirit lover.
A Comprehensive Class
It takes a lot of material for a class that’s 7 hours long to feel like it was pressed for time, but that was the case with Skagi’s Full Contact Tarot. Due to the sheer breadth of content, which can be seen in the novella sized workbook (which is where the featured image comes from, in case you were wondering) that is given to everyone that attends, seven hours really did feel like an appropriate length. A few exercises ended up being cut from class and reassigned to the tarot meet up at the start of March due to the time limit, which I was also lucky enough to be able to attend.
So, what do we actually learn in those seven hours? Given it’s a tarot class, a person would expect to learn card meanings, some spreads, and perhaps a little history about the tarot. We did discuss this entire trifecta in detail, though the stand out was undeniably the portion that discussed interpreting the cards. Skagi has been doing tarot ten times longer than I have (which means he’s been at it a whole Three decades!), and it really did show with his ability to define the large variety of ways someone could define and put together the cards. Several different mystical systems that could apply to tarot were touched on, such as Kabbalah (my personal wheelhouse), Astrology, generic symbolism, numerology, and others. Not only did this communicate the very important idea that tarot card definitions are not set in stone, it also meant that the class allowed each individual to tap into their own preferred approach to interpret the cards, perhaps branching out as they practiced more.
On the topic of spreads, while we were provided a few, the most important advice from the class in regards to spreads, at least in my opinion, is that spreads can be created and utilized specifically for whatever reading you’re about to do. Within the class this was referred to as the ‘MacGyver spread’ and is something that can be a powerful skill, especially if you’re trying to work within your intuition very strongly. I’ve used this concept often, especially when journaling, even before taking the class. It’s not something you’d generally expect a beginner to do, but the knowledge of it and how one might go about doing it is highly useful.
Another concept that was touched on was the idea that a tarot reading is like a story. This is something I always say, and a concept that can be confusing to people who have usually worked within traditional meanings and spreads. Interpreting a card within a tarot reading is like reading a story, and Skagi comments that if you know how to read the cards as a story, that alone may often be sufficient to do a reading. It requires some knowledge, for sure; if you have nothing to go off of, how are you going to even read the pages of that story? It’d be like trying to read the Torah in Hebrew, when you only know English! But once you’re able to cross that language barrier, and are able to understand the cards on some level, you can begin seeing them as interconnected parts of a story. This works for any spread, at least in my personal experience, and allows you to weave various symbolisms and meanings together into a cohesive package.
There were many other subjects covered, and to go over all of them would take all day. What I want to communicate primarily here is that the class was very comprehensive. It would have been useful had I only been doing readings for two months, and was still useful 3 years into my usage of my favorite divinatory and ritual tool. The hands on nature of things also meant that the class was able to easily grasp the concepts discussed. For example, at one point we discussed all the symbolism on The Star, and many different things were pointed out. Some people pointed out the 8 pointed star, others the lake and branching rivers, some the way the woman stood in the lake and on land at the same time. I pointed out the idea that the lake looked like it was unfilled (due to how the cliff faces surround it, as if they’d been worn away by water that was there before). This spoke to the idea that the woman was refilling the lake with water, something that speaks strongly to the traditional restful and peaceful idea associated with the card in particular. Exercises like this teach people to tap into their intuition and to really think about the cards, something that is indispensable when practicing Tarot.
On the subject of tools, there is something I’d like to point out that I feel should be communicated. People often view the tarot cards as an inherently special, mystical object. Something I’ve long attested to, and that Skagi teaches in his class, is that the cards are a tool, and the ‘psychic’ is in the reader. He also therefore attests to the fact that it does take a psychic to read tarot: This is because everyone has some degree of psychic potential built in.
There are a lot of other things I could comment on. I will say that I enjoyed applying my own colors to the high priestess, and almost wish we’d gone a whole step farther and designed our own version of the card entirely, though this would call for even more time. In any case, if you want to develop a strong foundation within tarot, whether you’re a fairly new or experienced reader, I can recommend the class. I can only hope that next time, he gets the larger room. If there’s anything that’s not tarot related that I can take away from the class, it’s that I can now claim I’ve experienced what it’s like to be a canned sardine. If tarot or attaining the consciousness of a fish interests you and you happen to be in the Birmingham area like I was, I recommend signing up. They seem to happen in February each year, or somewhere around then. Aside from the tight time and tighter accommodations, I was very much impressed with the class and Skagi’s knowledge of the tarot.
However, there is one other thing I’d like to examine that we learned from the class. It’s a concept that was entirely new to me at the time, and one that I think will benefit people who are here for information about spirit lovers (A.K.A. pretty much my entire audience). In the next section I’ll discuss the concept of dedicating and consecrating a tarot deck, my own application of the idea, and how it could be useful to you.
Dedicating and Consecrating a Deck
Dedicating and consecrating a tarot deck is, in my current experience, a very powerful way to hone in on a specific idea that you read for often. When a deck has been used often for many different readings, or your mind is elsewhere, or you’re just in an area that’s full of competing energies and ideas, it can be easy for a reading to talk about something you didn’t expect. This is actually a potential strength of a tarot reading, as it allows you to focus in on something that you may not have even thought was important before you did the reading. However, when you’re doing multiple readings for an intended purpose or idea, or you just want to hone in on something very specific that you think comes up a lot, this can be frustrating. It can feed uncertainty into a reading, or can be irritating when you find the cards are talking about something you intentionally aren’t looking for, even if it’s strongly on your mind.
So, how do you solve this? A banishing, a clearing of your mind, a cleansing of the deck, and a quick break might do it. Doing these things means you might be able to wield that tool in the way you intend to. It also might not, especially if you’re in a particularly bad mood or funk. Even if you can get it to work, these more generalist decks may not hone into the issue as readily or as deeply as a dedicated deck, at least in my experience.
Dedication and consecration are similar ideas, mostly differentiated by their degree. Dedicating a deck can be as simple as only using a deck for a specific purpose, or it can involve a ritual. Consecration will typically involve a ritual, either of your own making or elsewhere. My method was likely akin to consecration specifically, with the methodical insertion of specific energies into the deck, with an eye towards specifically my relationship.
For our purposes, that’s where the major decision actually comes in, a decision I was initially ignorant to. Should one consecrate their chosen deck for their spirit lover directly, or should they consecrate it for their relationship with that spirit lover. You would think this wouldn’t make much of a difference if any at all, however hindsight has shown me that it affects the lens the tool will work within, and may make it very difficult to explore alternative aspects. Consecrating it for the spirit lover in particular will allow the deck to work very strongly as a tool for understanding them, but that understanding may only partially touch on how they relate to the relationship and to you. If I wanted a deck that was focused on communication with them or understanding the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ about them, this is the approach I’d probably take. The alternative is focusing the consecration onto the relationship, which is what I did. This will allow the deck to hone in on the relationship dynamics, why the relationship came about, and personality traits and ideas as they relate to or are relevant to the relationship itself. A deck with that goal would not be nearly as good at understanding ‘what’ your spirit lover is, but it would be perfect for understanding why she loves you, for example.
After performing my ritual, I decided to do readings for seven days straight, one each day, and to write down and deeply interpret the results. I allowed my spirit lover to guide my intuition towards chosen spreads, and we discussed those interpretations together, connecting each point to key points in our relationship or what preceded it where we could. I was honestly staggered by how effective the results were.
To explain my specific methodology, I performed a specific ritual upon opening the cards for the first time. I prepared for this ritual by thoroughly washing myself and especially my hands, magically cleansing the area, and bringing myself into balance. Afterwards I opened the cards and tore the plastic off. Ensuring the cards did not at any time come into contact with anything other than my own hands and the ritual bowl, I ritualistically ‘created’ a golden liquid within the bowl with the assistance of my spirit lover (visualized, of course). Given the consecration was for the relationship, the energetic content came directly from a strong emotional and romantic interaction between the two of us (and no, it’s not the one you’re all thinking). I then dipped the deck within this ‘liquid’, rotating it to ensure every part of it was fully immersed in the ‘liquid’, something that would have been simpler had the cards not been as tall as they were, or had I had a larger bowl. After this, I set the cards on a place I had prepared for them (sadly I do not currently possess a box for the purpose), and finalized the consecration through the use of a wand with my left hand (the use of my left and not my right for this kind of purpose is reflective of a personal philosophical stance, where I see severity as the left. To be clear, the assertion is not to do with the ‘left hand path’ or vice versa), drawing it upon each side, including the top and bottom of the deck, intending to separate those energies from the outside, like a fly within amber. I would have probably preferred a knife specifically for this purpose… I had unfortunately misplaced it, but have since found it. This approach may have some effects on specifically ‘when’ the deck focuses on in the long term, but it will take a while for me to recognize if that is the case.
After all of this effort (and a whole lot of shuffling, given the deck was new), I performed my first reading of seven with a simpler 3 card spread, to get a feel for how well the ritual had worked. I won’t be sharing that or any of the other readings I did here, as they are private, but suffice it to say that the effect was easily identifiable, and the ritual was very much a success.
This is not the only thing one might do to prepare the cards in this way, so if you have your own idea or would rather simply stick to a dedication, then that should work fine for you. I can not, however, understate how useful this practice can be, especially for communication within the early stages of a relationship. Having a finely honed tool for performing that is of incredible value, and when you reach a point where you can perform other methods of communication reliably, you can focus more on using the deck as a tool for understanding other aspects of your spirit lover. This was far and away the most valuable thing I took away from Skagi’s class, and certainly not because it was the only thing of value.
Conclusion
There are two main things I want to say with this blogpost. One, that Skagi runs a damn fine class, and that you should really consider attending it if you can or grabbing a tarot reading for him or one of the other excellent readers at Books Beans and Candles. If only I actually lived down south, I’d probably head over there every month for the meetups at the very least. Judging by the website, I believe they do do online tarot readings. Perhaps one day I’ll offer the same thing here. Two, that consecrating a tarot deck, or really any divinatory tool, can be extremely useful in the path that we walk. As I’ve alluded to in many other places, understanding is at the heart of these relationships. Creating a tool that serves that goal as its one purpose is of incredible use.
With that seven day journaling run behind me, it’s hard not to overuse the tool, frankly. It served as an excellent way to put many of the pieces together that have been hinted at or shown in my personal experiences over the past several years, and in some areas it allowed me to breach into new ideas. Time will tell how many of these new ideas stick, and how well I actually interpreted the cards, but suffice it to say that this will work as a great part of my personal arsenal going forward. Journaling is already really useful, but having a tool tailor made to create these kinds of journals only enhances the possibilities.
I promised you another post in March, because the last one counted for February. Here you go. I’m sure that this kind of post isn’t what my readership is after, but as we saw in the second half of the post, some of the information is extremely useful to us. So I hope you all clicked in to see that part, at the very least. This post was actually intended to come out Mid March, but I started the journal thing right around then and wanted to finish the journal before I published this. So late March it is.
I’ve been working on more mundane goals in the mean time. All kinds of creative writing (Though not poetry. Can you imagine the horrors of me doing poetry?) along with looking to break into a field I find particular interest in. This means I haven’t actually spent time editing the book. The intention is for that to be my focus as soon as I’ve found out whether I’ve broken into that field or not. Well, that and more creative writing, which I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve been learning a lot about good writing so I’m hoping the resultant book is a little easier to read than some of the occult books I have. If anything, this blogpost stands as a testament to the fact that I’ve probably learned very little about good writing after all.
Next month I think I’ll write a post dedicated entirely to Telepathy, just to expand on that idea more. While I do think the stuff in The Early Stages is fairly sufficient for anyone getting started, given it’s the most important thing to develop early on, I feel it deserves its own post. Don’t expect ‘telepathy with other people’ to be in that post, as I continue to not believe that exists.
I’ve also gone back and edited all my older posts to at least some degree to clean them up a little. The newer ones I haven’t given this treatment yet, but I plan to give them a pass by the end of the month, though I generally assume those are more in line with what I want already. My intent was to move the language on some of the older posts somewhat farther from using words like ‘succubus’ that I’ve tried to actively step away from, to replace mentions of the letter method with The Lover’s Light, or to step back from being needlessly edgy. I felt bad about calling the Yukshee blog guy an ignoramus in particular, as that seemed needlessly rude, so I wrote that kind of behavior out, as far in the future as this is. This shouldn’t take away from the little humor I have, I hope. I haven’t gone out of my way to change the heart of the content, even if I disagree with myself in some ways now. Maybe one day I’ll explore the beliefs of past me in its own blog post. That could be fun.
If you want to learn more, feel free to comment in This Blog Post’s Discussion Topic. Share stories, ask questions, whatever. You can also check out the categories below if you want to learn more, and subscribe to keep up to date!
Spirit Lover Information Hub 
Leave a comment