Villa Revak
A Tarot Website
By James W. Revak
Villa Revak
A Tarot Website
By James W. Revak
SELECTED LINKS
In addition to the these links, see the article Selected Resources for New Students of Tarot for further details about the following sites and others which may be particularly helpful to new students. The article, which includes descriptions of suggested books, decks, and organizations, also may be helpful to some advanced students.
Illustration (right): The Eight of Wands from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon (copyright © 1997 U.S. Games Systems).
GENERAL Aecletic Tarot by Solandia. This site includes capsule reviews (including many images) of a wide variety of decks.
Divination by Tarot: Introduction by B. Stafford. This guide comprises a brief compendium of divinatory meanings for each card.
Free Tarot Readings by Facade Market Concepts. This site provides readings via the Web using a variety of decks and layouts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tarot and Alt.tarot (Alt.tarot FAQ) by Jess Karlin. Although it is often highly critical of developments in Tarot since circa 1980, this FAQ provides sound answers to many questions about Tarot and the Usenet group Alt.tarot, which is a forum for freewheeling exploration of Tarot. It may be accessed with a news reader or via the Web; however, know that flaming and bickering occur regularly.
Learning Tarot—An On-Line Course by Joan Bunning. This free Web-based course offers a methodical introduction to Tarot.
Michele’s Tarot Page by Michele Jackson. This frequently updated site includes informative articles, deck reviews, information about Tarot software, a suggested reading list, ample links, and much more.
Reference Guide for Tarot Layouts (Tarot Spreads FAQ) by David C. Jones. This sound guide describes in detail a wide variety of ways to spread cards for purposes of divination and meditation.
TarotL. This mailing list provides an excellent forum for the exploration of a wide variety of Tarot-related topics. Tarotists at all levels are encouraged to participate. The list observes a few rules, including prohibition of flaming.
Tarot at Teleperion Productions by Tom Tadfor Little. This site and its sister, The Hermitage: A Tarot History Site, comprise a wide variety of articles, which include informative looks at Tarot history and classic decks.
Tarot for Spiritual Discovery by Nina Lee Braden. These pages include informative essays, suggestions for selecting a deck, deck reviews, and numerous links.
Tarot: Hysteria, Mysteria, and ‘War’ by Jess Karlin. Brief essays on Tarot history and related issues are offered here. This site is also home to the Alt.tarot FAQ.
Tarot Inspiration by Hans Logeskøv. This site is devoted to exploration of the Thoth Tarot Deck. It is not the best site on this list, but one of very few which discusses this important deck.
Tarot: Tools and Rites of Transformation by Mary K. Greer & Ed Buryn. Tips on reading cards, excerpts from Greer’s Women of the Golden Dawn, and a suggested reading list are featured.
Wicce’s Tarot Collection by Gina M. Pace. This site includes brief reviews of a wide variety of decks, numerous links, and a newsletter.
ORGANIZATIONS A variety of organizations exists which may be helpful to Tarotist; selected ones are briefly described below. However, before you plunk money down be sure that the organization offers what you need and want. You may also wish to ask others who have had experience with a given organization for their advice prior to making a commitment.
American Tarot Association (ATA). This group “is organized,” it says, “for the purpose of bringing together qualified students, teachers and masters of the Tarot who are willing to subscribe to a high ethical standard and use the Tarot for the benefit of those for whom they read.” Offerings include correspondence courses for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students; telephone and Internet seminars; conferences and conventions; a newsletter; and personal mentors for students.
Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). Founded by renowned occultist Paul Foster Case, this well-known group reports that it is a “religious organization irrevocably dedicated to spiritual attunement through enlightened worship in the Tradition of the Western Mysteries.” Among its many programs, it has long offered its own Builders of the Adytum Tarot deck by Case and Jessie Burns Parke and correspondence courses which teach Tarot.
International Tarot Society (ITS). “Our purpose is to unite, educate and promote tarotists across the globe,” says this organization. Offerings include conferences and conventions, some local chapters, and a newsletter.
Tarot Certification Board (TCB). This group notes that it is “an independent third party certification board for the American tarot communities” and its mission is “to establish and promulgate quality standards for professional tarot readers and to increase awareness of these standards.” Caveat: Some Tarotists feel that the group lacks credibility. Its board of directors is anonymous and secretive, and some potential customers have been unable to confirm the existence of the the TCB’s accrediting board. You may wish to utilize the TCB only if you personally determine that it and its accrediting board are credible.
The Tarot School. This organization reports that it “has been created to give you a rich and continuous education in the many facets of tarot, while having fun with kindred spirits of a like mind.” Offerings include correspondence and telephone classes, workshops, a degree program, a magazine, and a newsletter.
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Copyright © 2000 James W. Revak. All rights reserved. (8/12/00).