THE ANIMATE TAROT:
COURTING THE SPIRIT OF THE CARDS
with Sami Knowles
September 17 & 24, October 1
6-8pm PST
Online via Zoom
The universe is continually offering cues, messages, and signs. The Tarot is an ancient system of visual and archetypal language which can bring insight and offer counsel. But what if the Tarot was not simply a deck of cards with fixed meanings and definitions? What if we engaged with each deck - each card - as if it had a spirit of their own, with vibrant and varied wisdoms to impart?
In this series we'll cultivate a relationship with the Tarot from this point of view. We'll create kinship with our cards; explore ways of reading their unique languages vis-a-vis context, and curate meaning based on their visual cues. Maybe we'll even find new ways of seeing the wider world of medicine and magic that surrounds us, and embrace the many ways in which we are supported and guided in our journeys.
SESSIONS
Items students will need to arrive with:
One tarot (or oracle) deck
Notebook, writing utensil
Candle and incense are encouraged, but not required
An experimental mindset & open heart
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Here we begin the journey and gather our tools. Focus will be on entering into courtship with our cards, creating space for the relationship to develop, and harnessing our magic. What do we wish to experience through our engagement with the cards?
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The midpoint. What unique wisdoms do our cards have to share? This class includes a discussion on the history of the cards, and an invitation to reflect on how we might best engage with them for these particular times. If change is the only constant, how might the cards assist us in navigating this ever-shifting world?
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Expansion, broadening our horizons. In this final class we'll explore ways of letting our relationship with the cards inform other aspects of our lives. Practices such as ritual-crafting and communicating with the ancestors, as well as applying the awareness of visual cues to reading broader signs from the universe. Messages are all around... how do we wish to complete this phase of the journey and open to what's next?
*All classes will have homework, reflections, practical examples, live readings, and time to give and receive feedback as a group.
Register for The Animate Tarot
Sign up below for this three-part course in cultivating a relationship with the animate spirit of Tarot, taught by Sami Knowles.
* Please note that this class is subject to cancelation if a minimum number of registrations are not met.
We encourage you to sign up promptly.
Sami is an earth-loving, eclectic folk witch who weaves movement, rhythm, and incantation into all of her medicine and magic. Her spirituality is deeply tied to communing with place, nature, and theanimate world. Sami brings her love of plants and soil into her daily work; she is the co-founder of SF Garden Design, a boutique gardening business in San Francisco, and creator of Ritual Herb - a space for sensual unfolding through plant spirit magic.
She has many kindreds in the plant world; the ones she has initiated with are White Sage, Brugmansia, Tobacco, Bay, Rose, and Ginger, as well as the spirits of fire, land & place, and the folk practices of her ancestors.
Sami has a deep respect for indigenous ways, and feels tethered to them through her Celtic roots. She courts the otherworld, invokes the elements, seeks wisdom from animals, and lovingly feeds the spirits of the land. She has a Master of Arts in Women's Spirituality, and is an enamored student of Haitian and Afro-Cuban folkloric dance, drum, and song. She has been working with Tarot for insight, divination, ancestor work, and ritual-crafting for over 18 years.
IG: ritual.herb
Website: ritualherb.wordpress.com
