Post by caridwen on Nov 15, 2014 17:51:08 GMT
Mary K. Greer is a scholar, writer, teacher and professional tarot consultant. With more than forty years experience in tarot as an author and teacher, she advocates a revolutionary approach to learning and using the cards that emphasizes personal insight and creativity. As an expert tarot reader, she works as a ‘midwife of the soul,’ using techniques that are interactive, transformational and empowering.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
SE: How long have you been studying and reading tarot and what drew you to it?
mkg: I've been working with Tarot since December 1967 when a friend got an Eden Gray book for Christmas. I was drawn to it because, as an English/Theatre major in college, it reflected an archetypal and psychological view of symbols to which I was strongly drawn. It was the first time I discovered I could see into the inner and outer life of a person through pictures that were like a scene in a play. I could see how the core themes that humans have always struggled with and portrayed in the arts were playing out in a person.
SE: Do you have a favorite Tarot deck and why is it your favourite?
mkg: The Rider-Waite-Smith deck has always been my favorite, although I've worked with many different decks, including the Thoth, Marseille, and William Blake. I collect decks and admire the art and ingenuity of many of them, but there's not many that I return to again and again.
SE: What can Tarot be used for and how do you use it?
mkg: Tarot can be used for fortune-telling, personal insight, magic(k), creativity (art, writing, theatre), meditation, and as an entrance & stimulus to history, mathematics, esoteric and spiritual philosophy, psychology, art history, and more. A lifetime study of Tarot can give one a great liberal arts education. The cards can also be used for book marks, collages and making card houses.
SE: Is there a right and wrong way to use Tarot?
mkg: Not really. All indications are that Tarot was originally a card game, and that divinatory meanings were added about 350 years later. So it is not surprising that people would feel free to create their own interpretations and techniques. Of course I would consider manipulative and unethical readings or behavior to be wrong. I would like to see more readers educating themselves in communication, psychology and psychic development skills, as well as the history of Tarot, but I wouldn't call it 'wrong' if they don't. I like rituals and favor certain ways of handling the cards, but I consider these a matter of personal preference.
SE: What interests you in the women of the Golden Dawn?
mkg: I am fascinated by their successful flaunting of what was expected of Victorian women and by their exploration and practice of magic and the occult. I am also curious the extent to which the inclusion of such strong, talented and out-spoken women may have been why the GD became the most notable magical order of all time.
SE: What most struck you (stayed with you) after writing the book?
mkg: Probably the greatest thing was how the magical name, astrology and symbolism in these womne's life events seemed to mirror so perfectly their own personal growth and core issues. I wish I could have explored more deeply how their magical training influenced the remainder of their lives, post-GD. There are hints of it in the biographical materials, but if I could interview them, that's one thing I would definitely ask.
SE: Do you think your life would have developed differently without Tarot?
mkg: Definitely, no doubt about it, but I don't have any idea what that 'differently' would look like. Perhaps, somewhere out there in an alternative universe (or many universes), I am enjoying that other life.
SE: Do you identify with any card or cards and why is that?
mkg: At different periods in my life I've identified with various cards that reflect what I am going through, but I'd have to say that my greatest loyalty lies with the Hermit, High Priestess and Queen of Swords.
SE: What is your most memorable experience with the Tarot?
mkg: There's not one but many: kneeling at the feet of the 90+ year-old Eden Gray, the first class I taught, a Tarot rain ritual that worked in amazing ways, readings that worked at the deepest soul level, journeys around the world with Tarot and the wonderful people I've met, synchronicities when writing my books. Based on 47 years of living the Tarot, I could never pick just one event.
SE: Anything else to add?
mkg: Just that it has been an amazing journey, and I'm so happy to see others exploring all that Tarot has to offer. My advice: follow whatever intrigues you most, and, if in doubt, simply describe the card.
You can see Mary's books here.
Mary is the founder of Tools and Rites of Transformation (T.A.R.O.T.) and is a member of many international tarot organizations. She is a featured speaker at tarot conferences and symposia around the world.
The author of nine books on tarot and a biography of four female magicians, Mary’s latest book is Who Are You in the Tarot? (RedWheel/Weiser, 2011). Her previous book, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (Llewellyn, 2008) won the COVR award for best divination book.
Mary is the proud recipient of the 2007 International Tarot Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2006 Mercury Award from the Mary Redman Foundation for “excellence in communication in the metaphysical field.”
SE: How long have you been studying and reading tarot and what drew you to it?
mkg: I've been working with Tarot since December 1967 when a friend got an Eden Gray book for Christmas. I was drawn to it because, as an English/Theatre major in college, it reflected an archetypal and psychological view of symbols to which I was strongly drawn. It was the first time I discovered I could see into the inner and outer life of a person through pictures that were like a scene in a play. I could see how the core themes that humans have always struggled with and portrayed in the arts were playing out in a person.
SE: Do you have a favorite Tarot deck and why is it your favourite?
mkg: The Rider-Waite-Smith deck has always been my favorite, although I've worked with many different decks, including the Thoth, Marseille, and William Blake. I collect decks and admire the art and ingenuity of many of them, but there's not many that I return to again and again.
SE: What can Tarot be used for and how do you use it?
mkg: Tarot can be used for fortune-telling, personal insight, magic(k), creativity (art, writing, theatre), meditation, and as an entrance & stimulus to history, mathematics, esoteric and spiritual philosophy, psychology, art history, and more. A lifetime study of Tarot can give one a great liberal arts education. The cards can also be used for book marks, collages and making card houses.
SE: Is there a right and wrong way to use Tarot?
mkg: Not really. All indications are that Tarot was originally a card game, and that divinatory meanings were added about 350 years later. So it is not surprising that people would feel free to create their own interpretations and techniques. Of course I would consider manipulative and unethical readings or behavior to be wrong. I would like to see more readers educating themselves in communication, psychology and psychic development skills, as well as the history of Tarot, but I wouldn't call it 'wrong' if they don't. I like rituals and favor certain ways of handling the cards, but I consider these a matter of personal preference.
SE: What interests you in the women of the Golden Dawn?
mkg: I am fascinated by their successful flaunting of what was expected of Victorian women and by their exploration and practice of magic and the occult. I am also curious the extent to which the inclusion of such strong, talented and out-spoken women may have been why the GD became the most notable magical order of all time.
SE: What most struck you (stayed with you) after writing the book?
mkg: Probably the greatest thing was how the magical name, astrology and symbolism in these womne's life events seemed to mirror so perfectly their own personal growth and core issues. I wish I could have explored more deeply how their magical training influenced the remainder of their lives, post-GD. There are hints of it in the biographical materials, but if I could interview them, that's one thing I would definitely ask.
SE: Do you think your life would have developed differently without Tarot?
mkg: Definitely, no doubt about it, but I don't have any idea what that 'differently' would look like. Perhaps, somewhere out there in an alternative universe (or many universes), I am enjoying that other life.
SE: Do you identify with any card or cards and why is that?
mkg: At different periods in my life I've identified with various cards that reflect what I am going through, but I'd have to say that my greatest loyalty lies with the Hermit, High Priestess and Queen of Swords.
SE: What is your most memorable experience with the Tarot?
mkg: There's not one but many: kneeling at the feet of the 90+ year-old Eden Gray, the first class I taught, a Tarot rain ritual that worked in amazing ways, readings that worked at the deepest soul level, journeys around the world with Tarot and the wonderful people I've met, synchronicities when writing my books. Based on 47 years of living the Tarot, I could never pick just one event.
SE: Anything else to add?
mkg: Just that it has been an amazing journey, and I'm so happy to see others exploring all that Tarot has to offer. My advice: follow whatever intrigues you most, and, if in doubt, simply describe the card.
You can see Mary's books here.