The Cards From Within

By Mark Pemburn

Any truly useful system of divination—such as Tarot—opens the portal to the Higher Self and gives us the possibility of understanding the reality that lies beneath our mundane perceptions. In order to make use of the messages from this Source, it's necessary both to know and understand the elements of the divinatory system and to be willing to discard the time-worn “meanings” when appropriate so that the wisdom of Spirit can come through.

"The Cards From Within" provides a path to understanding the messages of the Tarot as they resonate with our own inner wisdom. In this way, it serves not as a manual of how to do, but of how to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Pemburn
• Release date: Jan 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301192038

Mark Pemburn

Mark Pemburn is seeker after things little sought, a dreamer and a maker of dreams. He lives in the woods with his wife, Leanne, a dog, a cat, some chickens and some bees. As a member of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, he seeks to re-enchant the world at every opportunity and has some evidence to suggest that this is working. Mark makes his living writing software and watches the seasons changes from his office window.

Book preview

Introduction

This is a book of brief meditations on the 78 cards of the Tarot. It began as a journal of cards, drawn one per day, as part of my journey toward Third Degree initiation in my tradition, the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. Although I had some knowledge of Tarot under my belt before starting the journal, I had let my study of the subject lapse for nearly a year, alternately promising myself that I would start again soon and resenting the necessity of spending time learning a subject that, frankly, I had lost interest in. By August of 2012, I had begun to doubt that I would ever finish my degree work. Sensing my condition, my High Priestess told me that I needed to finish the work before the end of the year or I would have to start the entire process from scratch. It was a challenge, and I determined that I would rise to it.

The first card I drew in this pursuit was the Ace of Cups. I consider this an auspicious start. You may recall this Cup from the Arthurian legend: the Holy Grail. It is the quintessence of an object that is sought but never found. The earliest mention of the Grail in literature was the 12th Century romance, Perceval le Gallois, by Chrétien de Troyes. In this tale, Perceval, who is portrayed as a young innocent, searches the world for the Grail, finding it only briefly in the mysterious castle of the Fisher King. He becomes entranced by the strange proceedings in the castle and forgets to claim the Grail while it's within his grasp. Upon leaving, he looks back to see that the castle has vanished, along with the object of his quest.

We speak of the paths of the Tarot as The Fool's Journey and surely, the quest for the Grail was a journey undertaken by a Fool. In our search for spiritual understanding, we are well served if we proceed as fools, open and innocent to the wonders of the universe and to the mystery that lies just below the surface. The scenes depicted on the Tarot cards have been explored and interpreted in many ways across the years by all manner of experts and enthusiasts. In writing this book, I fully recognized that I could not hope to add anything of value to that body of knowledge at my present stage of understanding. Instead, this book is intended to act as a catalyst to spark the reader into looking at the cards from the inside and by inside, I mean inside you.

The words that accompany each card were the result of a process of drawing the card early in the day, mulling it over as I went about my business, then sitting down to write in the evening. At the start of each writing session, I wasn't really certain of what I was going to say, but soon found the words flowing out of me, almost beyond my control. It is my conviction that I was engaging with my Higher Self at these times. The words are not a result of my store of knowledge, or even the kind of wisdom that one accumulates over a lifetime. Rather, it was something speaking through me; using my mind and hands as a vehicle.

I believe that each of us has a continuous connection to our Higher Self—that part of ourselves that links us to the larger being of Spirit whom we truly are. It is the part that persists from lifetime to lifetime. For most people, the existence of a Higher Self is not even suspected and for many who do know of it, it is something they see as mysterious and inaccessible. I maintain that it is neither; you are receiving the wisdom of all of your lifetimes in a continual stream but don't recognize it because it's not speaking in words.

Any truly useful system of divination—such as Tarot—opens the portal to the Higher Self and gives us the possibility of understanding the reality that lies beneath our mundane perceptions. In order to make use of the messages from this Source, I believe that it's necessary both to know and understand the elements of the divinatory system and to be willing to discard the time-worn meanings when appropriate so that the wisdom of Spirit can come through. To do this effectively and consistently requires that you do enough of the hard work and study to gain the vocabulary of the system. It then requires a leap of faith that you are worthy of