Quite a long introduction to him, and then a meditation.

Also a large (13 cards) reading, entitled Merlin's Mirror Reading

A quick word of explanation - this is not just a deck study, it is a place for discussion and sharing the lessons from the course book “The Arthurian Tarot Course - a Quest for All Seasons by Caitlin Matthews using the Arthurian Tarot. There are 60 lessons in all, and the course could be completed in the space of about a year, although it can take as long as you wish. I’ve been working on it, on and off, for a long time.

Discussion began on this course on the now closed Aeclectic Tarot forum more than a decade ago, and I thank the owners and moderators of this forum for the chance to continue the conversations here.

The deck and the course material have been released in several versions, I am happy to give more details of these if folks would like - I do have them all and love to talk about this, my favourite deck.

I will post each of the initial lessons of the HallowQuest - these are designed to be done first, at any time of year. Then the course falls into four parts - one linked to each Hallow/suit, and which CAN be done seasonally, to help align with the energy of the season, although this is not absolutely necessary. I am working in the Grail Hallow section at the moment, so I will be posting those first. I am using the very first version of the book for these postings.

Because this is something of a fresh start, I have not tried to copy across all the previous discussions by other folks on Aeclectic, but I would like to thank each of them for their input and encouragement - I hope some of them might resume their journey here.

I thought we could use this first thread for general talk about the course, about the deck and book variations, even other reading material that we’ve found helpful. Please feel free to join in at any time, even if it’s been quiet here for a while, that seems to be the way this journey works.

Blessings to all

PathWalker

Or you tried the book course, but didn't feel it worked for you, and stopped.

How about jumping off and doing things a different way?

Here is my version of a walk through the Stone suit for the winter, as my new journey through a previously traveled landscape. You can do anything you want - I just wanted to inspire folks to pick up their deck again and re-imagine. I took the whole suit, and laid them out randomly. Then I strove to forget what I knew, and simply put them as images in an order that made sense to me . . .

Hallow - the inspiration, the vision, the impetus to journey again.

Stone King - late autumn sunset behind him, beckons me on before winter sets in.

Stone Four

Stone Three

Stone Eight

Stone Nine

Stone Seven

Stone Five

Stone Maiden

Stone Two

Stone Knight

Stone Queen

Stone Ten

Stone Hallow - the end, time to rest in this place before the next journey.

Take out your cards and see what order speaks to you. Maybe write a line or two about why each one comes in where order it does?

I flicked through the majors and pulled out those which seemed to fit with the winter theme, without considering which cards they were. I ended up with the following card combinations

The Tower with the Stone Five

Washer at the Ford with Stone Two

Round Table with Stone Six - I might drop Grail Nine in here too

Green Knight and Cauldron with Stone Ten/Stone hallow combination at the end

After a few opening paragraphs at the time, I'll now move through each card in this new sequence, and see how that journey unfolds in the winter weeks.

If you try some new work with your deck, do write about it here and let us all share.

With blessings for the winter journey

PathWalker - November 2020

There are 12 multi-card readings linked  with the year-long study of the cards, but not evenly spaced. Still, this might prove a useful reference to them all, if anyone wants to seek them out in the book pages for a specific inquiry.

In the Winter/Stone section:

January 5th - Pursuit of the Soul reading

February 9th - Gift of the Totems reading

February 23rd - Merlin's Mirror reading

March 2nd - Stone of Wisdom reading

In the Spring/Sword section:

May 2nd - Nine-fold Sisters reading

May 30th - Sword of Fire reading

In the Summer/Spear section:

July 5th - Seven Caers reading

August 23rd - Maze of Sovereignty reading

August 3oth - Spear of Light reading

In the Autumn /Grail section;

October 5th - Gawain's Shield reading

November 2nd - Spiral Tower reading

November 30th - Grail of Love reading

Perhaps if we use any of the readings outside of the year-long study itself, we could discuss them here 

PathWalker

They are a celebration, a commitment, and a formal rite. The instructions for them is quite long, but is well laid out in the book, and is very similar for each sign.

May the journey through the seasons bless you

PathWalker

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There's a meditation.

A reading, entitled The Augury of the Stone of Wisdom (five cards)

Questions

1.  What new cycle do you foresee coming into operation in the next ten years?

2.  When all is dark, what are your personal strategies for stimulating hope?

Meditation.

Tasks and Questions:

1.  What is your definition of 'tradition'? Now look up the derivation of the word 'tradition' in an etymological dictionary. In what way does it's original meaning accord or differ from your current understanding of the word?

2.  Looking over your recent life, trace your apprenticeship on the spiritual path. What are it's major signposts, achievements and practical applications in your life?

3.  In an ideal world, how would you most like to spend your time? What qualities do you derive from practicing this/these pursuits?

Meditation.

A five card reading entitled Gifts of the Totem reading.

Questions:

1.  What do you fear most about death?

2.  If you had one day of life left to you, what situations, relationships, ambitions would be left unresolved?

3.  What are you clinging onto that needs to fly free in your life?

Task:

This week, attempt to face up to or bring towards a better resolution, one factor which your death would leave unresolved.

A meditation

1.  What is your relationship to the land in which you live/

2.  How do you share your gifts and resources with others?

3.  What are your present strategies for keeping things in proportion?

And a meditation in which we travel from the glade of the Hermit to the Queen's castle, and eventually to both the other card scenes.

(I can write more detail about the meditation if anyone needs it)

Enjoy your winter journey

PathWalker

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Today we meet the Grail Hermit - the Arthurian tales are full of helpful hermits in the woods who serve to explain the happenings to those who are questing and have missed the point!

So a paragraph about this major arcana figure, and then questions, a task and a meditation.

Questions.

1.   Looking over your work so far, what is the clearest theme or message which runs through your diary?

2.   Bring to mind the times you trusted or distrusted your inner voice. What led you to trust or distrust yourself at those times? what do you learn from this that you can draw upon in the future?

Task.

Make a list of the many different people i your life who have acted as special counsellors in times of confusion: note what kinds of qualities drew you to consut them, e.g. 'Y' person for clarity and kindness; 'Z' person for analysis and dependability.

Meditation.

Where you will meet the Grail Hermit - full versions of meditations are in the course books.

1.    What are the best spurs for you to continue a course of action when the way ahead seems impossibly hard?

2.    In what ways are you rich and achieved?

3.    In what ways are you impoverished or insecure?

"In questions 2 and 3, concentrate upon your inner qualities as much as your material possessions."

Then we are set a task, which I really like the look of - for it's practicality I guess

Task:

Spend one morning/afternoon/evening this week sorting out one intractable part of your lie, e.g. a messy cupboard, an unruly schedule or plan, an unresolved inner state of confusion. If you decide the latter, make sure you ask many pertinent self-questions to clarify your condition.

Meditation.  Following a familiar pattern, we meditate as a journey through the actual cards, meeting the Stone Knight and traveling to the sites on the cards.

Enjoy the journey

PathWalker

After a short reading of text there's a meditation for us to do, and then a tarot reading, using a 9 card spread called "The Pursuit of the Soul reading".

This is the first specific reading we are doing for ourselves in this section of the Quest, and is interesting in that it divides the "greater powers" (major arcana) from the "lesser powers" (minor arcana) and 8 of the cards are laid from the minors, and the last card from the majors.

I can add details of the card positions and so forth if folks would like.

PathWalker

We are asked questions:

1. What is the best, most practical reason for your quest?

2. Which different spiritual directions or esoteric methods jockey for your attention? Which do you intend to pursue right now?

3. What are the pre-eminent qualities of your spiritual craft? How do you reflect these?

We are given a task - planting each night a 'seed of intention' into the squares of the chessboard, for fruition in the months ahead.

There's also a meditation where we move through the cards, with the guidance of the Stone Maiden, to help us journey and clarify intentions in ourselves.

This is the first lesson of the Stone Realm, in which we visit the Stone Castle in meditation, do some considering of our own selves, and - if we wish - conduct a ceremony to welcome in the Stone Hallow .

I had begun working with stone suit years ago and then left it. Here is a link to the original entry on the Aeclectic Tarot forum. I don't think anyone else was joining in at this point!

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?p=2983841

Preparing for the Quest - lessons 1 - 5

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/268-hallowquest-lesson-1-meditation-and-diary-keeping/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/432-hallowquest-lesson-2-the-seeker-in-the-wasteland/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/520-hallowquest-lesson-3-the-goddess-of-the-land/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/672-hallowquest-lesson-4-the-flowering-of-logres/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/894-hallowquest-lesson-5-the-four-realms/

Spring - the Quest for the Sword - lessons 6 - 17

Summer - the Quest for the Spear - lessons 18 - 30

Autumn - the Quest for the Grail - lessons 31 - 43

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/521-hallowquest-lesson-30-the-grail-realm/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/673-hallowquest-lesson-31-grail-maiden-grail-two-and-three/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/895-hallowquest-lesson-32-or-33-gawain/

Winter - the Quest for the Stone - lessons 44 - 55

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/8600-hallowquest-lesson-44-or-42-the-stone-realm-stone-ten/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/8633-hallowquest-lesson-45-or-43-stone-maiden-stone-two-stone-three/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/8689-hallowquest-lesson-46-or-44-taliesin/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/8739-hallowquest-lesson-47-or-45-the-stone-knight-stone-four-stone-five/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/8810-hallowquest-lesson-48-the-grail-hermit/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9079-hallowquest-lesson-49-stone-queen-stone-six-and-stone-seven/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9146-hallowquest-lesson-50-the-washer-at-the-ford/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9147-hallowquest-lesson-51-the-stone-king-stone-eight-and-stone-nine/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9148-hallowquest-lesson-52-the-star-of-prophecy/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9149-hallowquest-lesson-53-merlin/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9150-hallowquest-lesson-54-the-stone-hallow/

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/9151-hallowquest-lesson-55-the-investiture-of-the-stone/

The Way of the Hallows - lessons 56 - 63

Each season is the same length of time (and so the lessons and meditations fir neatly in each section) and each season is said to begin at the Solstice and Equinox like so:

Winter 21 December

Spring 23 March

Summer 21 June

Autumn 21 September.

I have realised, after years of trying to work through these "at the right time" that I disagree with Caitlin Matthews' dates! (Oh my, I feel so naughty at this point LOL)

For me the Solstices and Equinoxes are the crescendo of each season perhaps, but not the beginning. I don't "feel the tide ( of energy) come in" at those points, and they are not the natural starting points of the seasons for me. Now it may be that I am taking the word"season" too literally, but as I am observant of nature, and  connected to the land I live in,  I just can't make the book timetable fit.

So I've been thinking abut what constitutes the seasons for me, and how I 'know' that one has turned on the circle into the next. I think it has to do with the quantity and quality of the light - the number of hours of daylight, and how high the sun reaches in the sky (degrees of altitude). Having considered the dates that work for me, I find that in my version of the seasons they are not all the same length - oh horror - and I'll have to be shuffling together or stretching out the lessons, as well as shifting them round the circle of the year.

So for the record, where I live, it's going to be start of Winter tomorrow for me (November 14th 2019). The daylight has dropped to just 9 hours of the day, and the sun has dropped to 21 degrees altitude. That's what my body recognises, and so that's the "tide" I'm going with.

What other thoughts do folks have about the seasons in this context? How do you make it work for you when following the HallowQuest? I'd love to hear.

Blessings as the wheel turns to winter her

PathWalker - Glastonbury

SWORD THREE

The broken bridge. The unbridgeable gap. They can't come back! It's not about me exactly, except that I am on one side and some things I've been caught up on are on the other.  And it's no good waiting (here) because they won't be coming back - they can't!

I can stop waiting.

I can let go, and drop safely into the water, and glide away where it takes me. Because they won't be coming back so I don't have to try and stay here (on my side of the broken bridge) unchanged, waiting.

It's not that there hasn't been heartbreak, but that I can finally choose to let go. I can't turn the clock back, I can't change those others, I can't return and neither can they across the broken bridge.

I know that on another day, and to another situation the card may read differently, but this is one way of reading it for me.

Do chime in with your thoughts if you're a user of this pack

Blessings

PathWalker

Here's my take on the Green Knight . . .

Welcome the arrival of the Green Knight - his teaching method may seem extreme but he cares for you, and aims to empower you to make beneficial changes.

How have you experienced this card?

PathWalker

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