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author: James Wanless
A few years ago I did a review on Strategic Intuition For The 21st Century, which can be found here. I thought that it might be interesting to revisit this book, in light of the expansion going on within the Tarot world, and a growing interest in working with the business world as a client base.
In the first chapter of Strategic Intuition For The 21st Century Dr. Wanless discusses what Tarot is, and how it connects with the business world. One of the ways that the Tarot works is through empowerment. For me, this definition is what this book is all about!
"Empowerment
The modern business environment demands empowered people. Only those who are competent and confident can make it. Ultimately, of course, confidence must be generated from within. When we trust and act on our intuition, we've got it! As an intuitive practice, tarot is a way of valuing ourselves and gaining necessary self-esteem and self-worth.
Our worst enemy in life and in business is the inner voice of the critic that puts us down. This voice is not our true intuition but other voices that come from the negative socialization in our culture. Tarot symbols are positive and affirming - even heroic. It mirrors back our natural brilliance, our natural talent, our natural successfulness and our mythic heroicness for thriving in a challenging and competitive environment full of sharks, pitfalls and uncertainty.
Intuition is your best friend, like a guardian angel that supports and protects you. Tarot cards are symbolic of your own inner allies and trusted partners. Tarot helps you help yourself." 1
The strategies presented in this book are accompanied by examples using cards from three different Tarot decks. Some people choose to see the use of the Voyager Tarot in conjunction with this book as a form of self promotion for the deck. There is balance here, however, as the Crowley (Thoth) and Waite decks are also presented, including a template at the end of the book for card-a-day draws for each of the three systems - Voyager, Crowley and Waite. In fact - it is more than a balance, as Dr. Wanless "piggy-backed" from these two decks to create his vision of the Voyager Tarot.
From the book:
"Voyager operates on the premise that success begins as an inside job. The answers and resources are within us. Success is our birthright - it's in our DNA. Inherent within us are the qualities and powers needed to prosper. Like its namesake - the Voyager spacecraft - the most successful venture to the stars in our human history - Voyager Tarot is a journey into the star that each of us is. It is a vehicle that illuminates what we already know within ourselves through picture symbols that reflect our radiance. Like any exploration, the Voyager mission is to reveal the hidden wonders of the self. It brings forth new ideas and different perspectives, new information to help us create a bold new professional path of prosperity." 2
Dr. Wanless tells the story of the publication of his Voyager Tarot deck, and how the process of being turned down by several publishing houses acted as a catalyst for him to keep going, until an investor appeared from nowhere, and he was able to self-publish his deck. The spreads/strategies offered in this book reflect in the Tarot world in two ways: they can be used by the Tarot professional to work with the Tarot within the business world, or they can be used by the Tarot professional to focus on their own business strategies and goals.
Using the Voyager Tarot deck, I would like to work with a couple of the strategies that Dr. Wanless presents as an example of how t his book works. The first spread that we are going to look at is entitled The Basic Game Of Question And Answer. 3 The steps are defined as follows:
Step 1: My Quest
In Step #1, the reader helps the client determine exactly what the focus of their quest is for this reading. In Step #2, the reader helps the client formulate a focused question. In Step #3, the client shuffles the deck and picks a card, either at random or by going through the deck face up and picking a card. In Step #4, the reader and the client go over the card, starting wherever the client feels comfortable (i.e. either with the card title; with the picture on the card as a whole - or focusing on one part of the picture that draws the client; or with the reader giving the client information on what they perceive the meaning of the card to be in this situation). In Step #5, the reader and the client work together to determine a "doable" action that will help the client place the energy of the Tarot in their life. Step #6 is picking a reminder symbol for the client, preferably from the physical world, that relates to the card drawn.
In this example, we will define the Quest of the client as setting the tone for their business life for the next year. The question being worked with is: "What direction do I need to focus on over the next year in my career in order for me to feel whole?" The card that the client picked was Man Of Cups, which is entitled Surfer. The description of this card from the accompanying LWB (Little White Book - which in this case is Royal Purple!) is:
"You are the surfer who feels exhilaration and excitement from riding the emotional highs derived from challenge and danger. The great courage you show as a thrill-seeker is symbolized by the horse drinking horn of the Thracian voyagers.
Keep your emotions under control so that you do not lose your balance. Be calculating and discriminating in choosing which emotional waves to ride and which to let pass. Keep your cool as you negotiate the emotional roller coaster of life."
The client choose to focus on a part of the picture - the drinking horn that dominates the card with the horse on one end and a flower on the other. For the client, the horse represents power, and the flower, in it's beauty, says that "All is well."
The doable action that the client and reader worked out was that the client was going to focus, in their business life, on whatever brought them joy. The client had been contemplating going in a different direction with their work, one that would put them in closer contact with their own clients, which would take them out of their emotional comfort zone.
Two reminder symbols were chosen to be put in place by the client. One was the placement of a sea shell, containing sand and smaller shells and artifacts, in their work area. This is an item that had been gifted to the client a couple of years before the reading, and held great meaning for them. The second reminder symbol was to purchase a small indoor waterfall, and place it in their work area.
The answer that the client received was not the one that they expected, but it was one that reflected their career situation, and that did result in a direction that was comfortable for them, with supporting symbols that came easily to them.
The second spread that I am going to work with is Adversity Into Opportunity. 4 Dr. Wanless has defined a group of cards within the Tarot that represent challenges within the business world that show a positive potential for change. They are: the Five of Crystals (Negativity); the Six of Crystals (Confusion); the Seven of Crystals (Dullness); the Nine of Crystals (Narrowness); the Ten of Crystals (Delusion); the Four of Cups (Anger); the Five of Cups (Disappointment); the Six of Cups (Sorrow); the Seven of Cups (Fear); the Eight of Cups (Stagnation); and the Five of Worlds (Setback).
Remove the cards above from the deck, and have the client shuffle them. They may draw one card at random, or look at them face up and choose the card that seems to best represent their current business challenge. We are going to use the same client as above, and draw a random card. The challenge card that the client drew was the Five of Cups, entitled Disappointment. That fairly well described how the client felt about the future of their career at the time of the reading. Each Tarot card contains the energy of adversity/challenge, as well as the inherent energy to overcome the adversity/challenge. From the book:
"Disappointment: We all encounter disappointments in business. So what? The opportunity is to accept, to allow and receive the greater order and reason for things. So, instead of getting depressed and down, look for the hidden message. Let go of your ego, and its attachment to a certain expectation and you will discover a higher power that will take you to an even higher level of achievement." 5
These are but two of the many specific spreads/uses that Dr. Wanless presents as tools of empowerment in Strategic Intuition For The 21st Century. There are many more examples in this book that a Tarot professional can put to very good use - no matter which deck they choose to use. Try them for yourself, and see if you don't start coloring outside of your personal envelope!
1. Ibid page 3.
Bonnie Cehovet
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