Podcast available on Apple Podcast, iTunes and pretty much wherever you download your podcasts.
Published: August 12, 2018
Aloha! We have been on a bit of a summer sabbatical but we are back and excited to get this episode out to you! As ever we invite you to be part of making the podcast magic happen by joining our Patron team! Just visit tiny.cc/tarot for more information.
This episode features a conversation with Barb Kurkas Lee. Barb is a certified clinical aromatherapist and archetypal consultant. Her service is to partner with people to help them nurture and connect to their inner lives. Check out her very cool blog and info on her service at barbkl.com.
We discuss her work which combines archetypal discovery with essentail oils to help balance and heal. Our conversation ranges to various archetypes such as the Victim, the Mother, the Alchemist, Healer and more. Toward the end of the show Julienne and Barb celebrate practices which feed the soul and encourage listeners to discover and keep doing the things that feed their soul even if they seem silly – all the better!
More on Barb Kurkas Lee:
Barb creates specific essential oil blends to support people as they connect to their soul’s compass. By learning our soul’s contract in working the archetypes, we find inner sustenance and peace. The interior work for a person is a labor of love. Barb’s education as a masters prepared nurse, retired nurse midwife, experience in other areas of healthcare, and hospice bring a deep dimensional witnessing of a soul’s journey on earth. Her ability to assist people and groups in their own labor of love is one of her callings.
Visit her website: https://barbkl.com/
Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbkl/
Part 1 is a conversation Julienne had with Archetypal Astrologer Shawn Nygaard. Shawn is an astrologer based in Minneapolis. He is a Tutor for MISPA (Mercury Internet School for Psychological Astrology), and has presented at conferences and different astrology schools as well as at The Minnesota Jung Association. His writing has been published in The Mountain Astrologer. Shawn is also a graduate of the CMED Institute in Chicago, where he studied archetypes and symbolism with Caroline Myss.
Their wide ranging conversation reflects on The Star card of the Tarot as our lens for looking at 2018, some of the major astrological aspects just ending and those for the near future. And of course, movies, music and culture.
Topics discussed:
Moana
Black Panther
Super Heroes
Pricilla Queen of the Desert
You can find out more about Shawn at his website ImagineAstrology.com Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and look for the Giveaway post where you could win a recording of A Brief Introduction to Archetypal Astrology by Shawn Nygaard.
Part 2 of Julienne’s conversation with Archetypal Astrologer Shawn Nygaard. Their conversation focuses on the archetypal symbolism and history the upcoming Saturn in Capricorn in 2020.
Our first ever triple header – super extra bonus size podcast – all about the High Priestess! Over 2 hours of wisdom from some of our favorite people, Rashunda Tramble and Melissa Cynova.
What in the world does this mysterious figure have to do with these crazy times we are living in? How do we hold things as sacred in daily life? We ask two very wise women their take on this and more.
Part 1 is Cyndera and I starting things off. Pop culture references abound! Who knew that this stoic character could be seen in The Matrix, Too Wong Foo, Star Wars, The Dark Crystal, Never Ending Story and more…
Part 2 of the Low Down on the High Priestess is a conversation with Rashunda Tramble of Stay Woke Tarot. Rash is an African-American immigrant living in Zurich, Switzerland . If you haven’t already, check out her website and blog at staywoketarot.com, where you can book mp3 audio file and in-person / video readings. Follow her on Instagram @StayWokeTarot.
Part 3 is a dialogue with author and card slinger Melissa of Little Fox Tarot. She been slinging tarot cards and teaching classes since 1989. She can be found in the St. Louis area and online for personal readings, parties and beginner and advanced tarot classes. Her first book, Kitchen Table Tarot was released in 2017. Her next bookTarot Elements: Five Readings to Reset Your Life will be out February 2019. You can find her atLittleFoxTarot.com
Go ahead and schedule a reading – she already knows you want one.
We know you could have done something else with the last 2 hours of your life but we are SO glad you spent it with us. Be sure to check out our guests Rash at StayWokeTarot.com and Melissa at LittleFoxTarot.com and Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
If you would like to become one of our most favorite people in the world become a Patron! just visit tiny.cc/tarot and you too could be like these awesome humans: Richard, Sara, Talia, Hilary, Peter, Rash, Christine, Cat, Alli, Geneva & Yvonne! Thank you guys! you make us smile every day!
The first episode of 2018 has Cyndera and Julienne discussing the archetypes and mythological themes in the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi and the parallels to current events. Archetypes include The Priestess, The Hero, The Hermit, The Empress, The Chariot and the subverting of the Princess archetype. *SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t seen the film yet we go deep into the film so spoilers abound.
They also pull a card to reflect on 2017 and one to work with for the year to come. The results might surprise you.
This is how we win. Not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love.
– Rose Tico as played by Kelly Marie Tran in The Last Jedi
Find out more about becoming a Patron of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast by clicking here Tiny.cc/tarot
Connect with the podcast team on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram or email tarotpodcast@gmail.com
This episode features a high voltage conversation with Julienne and Melissa Cynova, owner of Little Fox Tarot. Melissa has been slinging tarot cards and teaching classes since 1989. Her first book, Kitchen Table Tarot was released this year, and her next book is underway. We are giving away 2 copies of Kitchen Table Tarot! The next Patron to sign up at a $2 a month or higher level will get a copy of the book! More info an to sign up visit Tiny.cc/tarot Or find our entry posts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram .
The conversation ranges from tarot in current events, pop culture and let me tell you we filled the swear jar in this episode. If you are sensitive to expletives this might not be the episode for you.
More about Melissa: She lives in St. Louis with her outstanding kids, her sweet husband, Joe, two cats, two dogs, and a tortoise named Phil. When she’s not slinging cards, she’s enjoying her tribe and probably watching a superhero movie while reading a book. She is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Go ahead and schedule a reading – she already knows you want one. LittleFoxTarot.com
Julienne talks with Weston, creator of Root Lock Tarot and Root Lock Radio Podcast – a course on Tarot. They discuss the most difficult suit in the Tarot – the Swords. But it’s not all tough stuff, they geek out on Game of Thrones which is SO the suit of swords. Topics range from pop culture to politics in this lively discussion of the symbols in the sword cards. Weston has also generously offered to give away a 30 minute reading with him. Check out our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from September 21st – October 15th, 2017 to find our entry posts. (If you are a Patron you are automatically entered into every giveaway!)
Help keep the Archetypal Tarot Podcast alive by becoming a Patron! Just visit Tiny.cc.tarot to find out about all the nifty rewards for joining our Patron team.
This episode features T!M Freke is a pioneering philosopher & bestselling author of 35 books. In Tim’s latest book ‘Soul Story’ he offers a revolutionary approach to awakening for the 21st century and a visionary new understanding of the nature of reality.
Tim and Julienne discuss the ideas in Soul Story, evolution from the Fool to the World and how the Tarot works – like really HOW TAROT WORKS. More info on Tim on his website TimFreke.com
Enter to win an ebook copy of Tim’s book Soul Story on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @TarotPodcast Find entry posts and submit by August 18, 2017.
Sign up to be a part of the Archetypal Tarot Patron Team! tiny.cc/tarot
Cyndera and Julienne bring their provocative archetypal and tarotic insights into the new film Wonder Woman. The archetypes in The Priestess, The Sun and the Chariot are at play in the film. They also discuss how listeners can become a part of the Archetypal Tarot team by signing up to be a patron of the show. https://patron.podbean.com/atpodcast
In an attempt to add a poster of Wonder Woman to my office, a new colleague of mine expressed her reservation to the addition of this image to the office environment, which, to her credit, did contain a speech bubble from Wonder Woman’s mouth saying “No Time for Naughty.”
She articulated: “I feel it’s important to celebrate real women, brave and courageous historical leaders who had an actual impact on the world.”
I felt as though wounded, as if a spear had gone straight through my heart, as if she was saying I
wasn’t real. Why on earth did I feel this way? Wonder Woman is not, in fact, flesh and blood, and I am certainly myself not Wonder Woman.
The poster did indeed stick out like a sore thumb on the wall, she did not match the drab green walls, the muted tones of the overhead file bins. Would my own personality clash as brilliantly as this to the work culture? Wonder Woman seemed protected in her plastic cover, the natural light causing her to emit an armor of reflected light. I was speechless, tears came to my eyes, I left early from my first official day, along with the poster.
Today, in Wonder Woman’s defense, these words have come me:
You speak of the courage of suffragettes, the immensity of emotion portrayed in Frida Kahlo’s artwork, but who would these women be without the forces that came alive within them. We speak of these forces in abstracted terms all the time – they are real and present even after each historical woman exhales her last breath – Courage, Leadership, Imagination, Vision. Fictional figures such as Wonder Woman, illustrate and actually embody these forces for us.
The gift of Fiction, the gift of art, that percolates through our culture in various guises – depicts for us these forces we hope to ourselves enact. We can celebrate the lives of historical women AND embrace the inspiration of of the figures of fiction – who try on possibilities, dreams and visions that our not-so-humble humanity has not yet dared.
Scientists look to science fiction for ideas of invention and innovation. Teachers and psychologists look to literature for an understanding of human behavior. Mathematicians have found formulas from their dreams (another source some may call “not real”)
“The Gods have not died, they have just gone underground.”
The forces within us are Real – Love, Hate, Courage, Passion, Intelligence. Allow us to celebrate and be educated by history and Imagination alike, for one teaches of the past the other of the future.
Since her creation, Wonder Woman has been resurrected many times, always reflecting the struggles of the age. Her tiara and dark tendrils rise again, along with a voice that is once again trying to be heard.
What do you believe in? What do you wish to stand for?
Do you act from Love or do you simply hide and take cover from fear?
Wonder Woman’s name is Diana Prince – Diana connects her to the name of the Roman Goddess of the Moon. Like the light of the Moon, her power is a reflected one and thus reminds us of REFLECTION – the power to look within yourself to see your own shadows and your own light. Prince – though she is a woman she also embodies the sacred masculine. She is in touch with her noble male capacities (the animus in psychology). And thus Diana Prince, Wonder Woman, is a marriage of opposites, the holding of a tension between differences, and thus a medicine for our deeply divided times.
Red, White and Blue are the colors of Wonder Woman’s classic costume. In one comic, she is actually dressed from a tattered American flag. Since WWII Wonder Woman has stood for what is noble about the United States, a symbol of liberty, justice and truth. She rises in the face of what is most ugly about our country, which has always been equipped with the teeth of greed, bigotry, narcissism and blindness.
Wonder Woman rises with only the weapons of truth, and her own strength to remind us of the hope we must not lose hold of. Hold tight to the Lassos of Truth! Feel the bondage of those bracelets encircling your wrists, reminding all deeds done by these hands to be for the liberation of self and others.
Feel the tiara, placed upon the crown of the head, framing the third eye of Insight, Intuition and crystallized concentration. Most of all, feel your heart, beating with life, beating with love for life bursting in each moment with your passion…
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Julienne and Cyndera are back together again recording in the same space at the same time! Out of their recording closet in San Francisco the Aloha edition of the podcast was recorded in Julienne’s new home on Maui, Hawaii. This tropical edition of the podcast discusses how our sense of place influences our lives, what to do when you are caught between our head and your intuition and the joys of adventure learning to live in a new place.
Cyndera shares her experience visiting the fiery beauty of a live volcano and the mythology of the Hawaiian Goddess Pele and the two discuss the foreshadowing events found in the Mana Cards deck years before Julienne’s move.
Synchronicity, sun and learning to integrate symbols, intuition and are the themes of this show! Sorry no ukelele serenade this time!.
BIG NEWS The Archetypal Tarot Podcast invites you to become a participant!
Pic of the Maui card mentioned in the podcast. And surprise! This deck of Hawaiian wisdom is available to purchase! You can buy they direct from the authors from their site or get them via Amazon.
Cyndera Quackenbush interviews Angelo Nasios, author of the book Tarot: Unlocking the Arcana. Temperance is the card under discussion; a card whose angel symbolizes the “middle way” path as a solution between extremes. The need for this in today’s culture, a political and lifestyle landscape of polarities, is explored with an eye on the upcoming election (some cussing ensues US Presidential naturally as a result!). Angelo and Cyndera also take a deeper look into how tarot works, identifying spiritual and psychological components in its understanding.
This month Julienne is in conversation with Archetypal Counselor, Spiritual Director and film buff, Jim Curtan. Jim and Julienne discuss some of their favorite topics – Archetypes and Movies. The focus on the Tower card in particular and the many aspects of change that it symbolizes. They discuss the good, the bad, the scary and as well as the grace that change can bring when we fully allow ourselves to grieve the loss of the past and dive into what the change brings us. They also discuss the Tower card in relationship to popular films such as The Hunger Games, Castaway, Inside Out and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Jim has just released a self-guided audio workshop called Embracing the Grace of Change using the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as a contemplation on the choices and opportunities presented by the kinds of change that the Tower card can present.
Jim has combined his 20 years’ experience in the entertainment industry with more than a decade as a retreat leader and spiritual director to develop a unique and entertaining approach to using film as a gateway to rich spiritual experience.
He is a spiritual director, archetypal counselor and retreat leader. He has taught extensively with New York Times best-selling author Caroline Myss and has been a faculty member of the Caroline Myss Educational Institute (CMED) since its inception in 2003. He has also taught at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, The London Centre for Spirituality, St. John’s Seminary, Stillpoint Center for Christian Spirituality and The Crossings in Austin, Texas among others.
His lectures and workshops have been well received throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France and Indonesia.
In his prior career as a talent manager, Jim advised such prominent actors as John Malkovich, John Travolta, Patrick Swayze, Geena Davis, Willem Dafoe, Andy Garcia and Melanie Griffith.
Since 2014 Jim has produced a series of self-guided workshops using films for archetypal and spiritual contemplation of situations that affect our daily lives. Each comes with an audio course commentary on the film and workbook available to download immediately from his online store. Courses include:
A word of warning about this episode – we were drunk and we used quite a bit of foul language. This is the first and probably only drunk edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast where we needlessly besmirch our reputation. Why? The Devil made us do it. Explicit language and ukulele music – you have been warned ;).
The Devil Made Us Do It – The Tipsy Tarot Podcast
Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush raise a glass of wine (or four) and revel in Dionysus and all horned gods. Your favorite archetypal tarot podcast hosts unleash new wild and vulnerable aspects of themselves as they celebrate the Autumn season and spirit of Halloween with the Devil card. What results? An exploration of the need for ecstatic experience and letting loose to be yourself (complete with cuss words). A brief drunken history of Crete (the F*cking Minoans!) is reported as the creators of labyrinths and worshipers of the Minotaur. Also featured is a ukulele lost and found, stories about Raccoons and Outlander outfits. Heck, there’s even some live music and marital arguments.
A midst the revelry there is some actual information and discussion of The Devil card of the tarot, mythology and meaning.
This is a podcast (foolish or funny?) to shake your tail at – and you’re just about to learn what that means.
Quickie Edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast!(Quickie Editions are 30 mins or less)
Too late for the podcast recording but we found an article on an Alcohol Tarot and a reference to drunken tarot in a book called The High Heeled Guide To Spiritual Living – we couldn’t help but like the title and add it to our reading list.
Julienne and Cyndera are back to the closet (aka Archetypal Tarot’s secret headquarters) for an in-depth discussion on superstition and all-around “woo-woo,” which the urban dictionary defines as “unfounded or ludicrous beliefs.” After using these terms in a few podcasts, they received an email from a listener asking just why they are so down on anything ‘woo-woo’ or superstitious. Always happy to hear from listeners and taking this question to heart (and mind), J and C clarify what they mean by superstitious and philosophize on the subject of the tarot, astrology and other systems as both sacred and important learning tools for discernment.
While studying astrology I have applied it to concrete cases many times. … The experiment is most suggestive to a versatile mind, unreliable in the hands of the unimaginative, and dangerous in the hands of a fool, as those intuitive methods always are. If intelligently used the experiment is useful in cases where it is a matter of an opaque structure. It often provides surprising insights. The most definite limit of the experiment is lack of intelligence and literal-mindedness of the observer. … Undoubtedly astrology today is flourishing as never before in the past, but it is still most unsatisfactorily explored despite very frequent use. It is an apt tool only when used intelligently. It is not at all foolproof and when used by a rationalistic and narrow mind it is a definite nuisance.
– Carl Gustav Jung: Letters, volume 2, 1951-1961, pages 463-464, letter to Robert L. Kroon, 15 November 1958
In the last podcast on The Moon we discussed being lost and the creative process in relation to the Artist archetype. In this podcast we delve into another aspect of this shadowy archetypal stage – the feminine archetype of deep knowing, agency and connection to nature. Artemis, also known as the Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, Midwifery and Wilderness.
The Moon card from Kris Waldherr’s Goddess Tarot
The Moon & Transitions
If you think about it, you are probably in some kind of transition in your life right now. It could be small and less noticeable or it could be a huge life transition which leaves you feeling lost and unsure of what will happen next. This ambiguous stage of life is often associated with The Moon card of the Tarot when things are not quite what they appear to be and when we often feel lost in the wilderness. Along comes an archetype that embodies this situation to guide you through. She is called Artemis and she is part of the pantheon of mythological Greek Gods and Goddesses replete with stories to nourish you during this time.
A Recognition of Feminine Aspects
Cyndera and Julienne discuss The Moon card of the Tarot in relation to Artemis who some interpret as a Three-in-One Goddess with different aspects embodying cycles of transition. The new moon seen as Artemis herself (also known as Diana in Roman mythology), the full moon seen in Selena and the waxing moon seen as the goddess Hecate. This triune goddess takes a page out of the archetypal Maiden/Mother/Crone iconography and presents the middle stage as not simply woman as Mother but as woman in full bloom with or without children. It’s a model we have had scarce references to in the past but one that is coming into fruition in the 21st century when a woman can be valued for herself with or without offspring.
Together C & J talk about a recent workshop they attended with the venerable Jungian Psychiatrist and Author Jean Shinoda Bolen. Her new book, Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman delves deeply into the archetypal powers of this feminine character and how her energy is showing up in our lives and the greater culture.
The Indomitable Spirit at Any Stage
The indomitable spirit of Artemis can be seen more and more in films such as Hunger Games with it’s very Artemis inspired Katniss Everdeen, Merida the heroine of Pixar’s Brave as well as icons from years past Wonder Woman and the Six Million Dollar Woman. All of these characters contain aspects of Artemis and work with the adversities and the challenges of the Victim archetype in a way that not only empowers themselves but dedicates them to the protection of others.
The Goddess Seleneis seen as the woman in full, empowered with autonomy, generosity and the fulfillment of her choosing. We can see Selene in Minnie Driver’s character Skylar in Good Will Hunting, Gina Torres’s Jessica Pearson in the TV series Suits and Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope in the show Scandal and many others in film, television and literature.
Goddess Hecate the sage, fair witness and wisdom keeper who no longer gives a d@mn about what other people think, can been seen in Maude from the 1970’s cult classic Harold and Maude as well as in many roles played by both Helen Mirren and Judi Dench.
Do you have an example of one of these indomitable archetypes from film, television or books? Leave it in the comments.
Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman by Jean Shinoda Bolen is a groundbreaking new book that explores the archetype of the activist. Indomitable means untamed, unsubdued. It is the one-in-herself quality in girls and women who will not be victims, no matter what. To bring the Artemis archetype to life, Dr. Bolen delves deeply into the myth of Atalanta, the famous hunter and runner in ancient Greek mythology, a mortal woman who is identified with Artemis the Greek Goddess of the Hunt and Moon. Atalanta began life abandoned and left to die because she was born a girl. She faced the Calydon Boar and drew first blood; she was the runner who would demand to be beaten in a footrace by the man who could claim her as his bride. Atalanta exemplifies the indomitable spirit in competent, courageous girls and in the women they become. This is grit, the passion and persistence to go the distance, to survive, and to succeed.
Dr. Bolen paints a vivid picture of Artemis women in current media, including Princess Merida from the animated film Brave and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. In all these examples and those of real-life women who grow into their Artemis spirit, she provides the means through which readers can navigate their own personal exploration to become their authentic selves. Bolen dedicates this book to women and girls who embody the archetype of Artemis, who discover her uncrushable spirit in themselves or others.
We highly recommend getting a copy of this book – it’s rich in detail, insight and empowering examples we can see in ourselves. If you are going through a transition, this book is a valuable resource.
The Artemis triune:
Artemis (Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen – Hunger Games)
Selena (Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson – Suits)
Hecate (Helen Mirren – as whatever the bloody hell she wants)
Lupa is an artist, author and amateur naturalist in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of a number of books published by Llewellyn including her upcoming book Nature Spirituality From the Ground Up: Connect With Totems in Your Ecosystem out in January 2016.
For those unfamiliar with Tarot, the Death card can feel ominous and terrifying. What if there was a deck that faced it directly and in every card of the Major and Minor Arcana?
In this brave new Archetypal Tarot podcast, Death is embraced early on with an interview with Lupa Greenwolf, artist and creator of the Tarot of Bones .
Lupa is the author of a number of books including her upcoming book Nature Spirituality From the Ground Up: Connect With Totems in Your Ecosystem out in January 2016. Lupa is also working on a new tarot deck The Tarot of Bones, a natural history themed divination deck, which will make its debut in the summer of 2016. The full 78-card deck will feature photography of Lupa’s artwork made from animal bones and other natural materials.
Cyndera and Lupa discuss stones, bones and how relating with these natural presences can deepen the human connection to nature. A naturalistic interpretation of the Death Card allows us to get in touch with the ignored presence of Death in our lives and how it relates to our current relationship with the environment.
Topics covered in this podcast:
– the process of working with animal remains as an artistic and spiritual medium
– how to make art for both major and minor arcana
– How to work with Death in tarot readings and combat superstition
– How encountering bones assists with deepening a connection with nature
The Magician Card of The Tarot of Bones, featuring nature-found moss and a corn snake skeleton.
In the continuance of the new Archetypal Tarot Podcast series, Julienne and Cyndera break the linear mold of the Tarot order and jump all the way to The World Card!
He is also a contributor to the Huffington Post, AlterNet, The Journal of Critical Psychology among many, many others. Craig is a Certified Master Gardener, teacher to many, passionate advocate of cultivating a sustainable relationship to the planet and all around bad ass of depth psychology.
Freud vs Jung! (with Cyndera egging them on)
Topics discussed / fun had:
The momentous effect of “earthrise” the first photograph of the earth taken from space and how it forms a new mythology.
Hobbits & Heroes (guess which we need more of these days?)
How Craig started teaching the Hero’s Journey and why he seldom does anymore.
My co-host Cyndera and I are very excited to announce a new format for the Archetypal Tarot Podcast. We will be revisiting the Major Arcana but this time with special guests giving their insights on the themes and ideas presented by these ancient yet totally relevant archetypal stories.
We start the new year off on the topic of Passion, it’s nature and how we can actually nurture a sense of vitality and adventure in our lives.
Where his first book Callings was about finding passion, Vital Signs picks up on the why’s and how’s of losing our sense of passion & vitality and how to regain a passionate life with creativity and abundance. We love this new book and recommend you get a copy – it’s available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and many fine bookstores. Visit Gregg’s site and check out all of the resources in “Wow!” images, books, music and films to help you connect to passion and excitement. http://gregglevoy.com
Ultimately, passion is a life skill—a stance—that helps bring vitality to all our engagements: from work, family and school life, to creative, social and spiritual life. And it’s a survival mechanism—critical to health and well-being—because your attachment to life depends on your interest in it.
-Gregg Levoy
We think you will really enjoy Julienne’s conversation with Gregg about passion, creativity, the call of the wild, the archetype of the Fool, Vampires, Zombies, Intuition and the practice of living our lives fully.
Passion is an unstable element and will naturally degrade over time but some very simple, yet powerful practices have the ability to heat things up again. Not only is passion something we start to miss over time but it’s important to our overall health. As Gregg says in our discussion “Our attachment to life depends to a great degree to our interest in it.”. Without interest, everything fades, including our health. It’s no wonder Zombies and Vampires have been of such an interest in the last few years – we fear the life being sucked out of us by routine and a lack of creativity.
You can listen to the entire podcast below or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and never miss an episode. We have a very exciting line up of authors, teachers and creators lined up for future episodes.
Gregg’s List of 5 Things You Can Do To Beef Up The Passion & Quality of Your Life:
1) Pay attention to what is trying to emerge in your life.
2) Remember that you have a ‘use by’ date.
3) Come up with a bucket list. (Check out this from Artist Candy Chang: Before I Die)
4) Always give yourself something to look forward to.
5) Look for where you’re restless – ask yourself: What wants to move? And where does it want to go? Julienne’s addition:
6) Turn something upside down. (The Trickster archetype can be very useful in this.)
How can you use the archetypal images of the Tarot to release limiting beliefs? In this special edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast, Cyndera has a conversation with Stephanie Megan of Soulshine Tarot about just that.
Stephanie Meghan a Tarot Archetypal Hypnotherapist and owner of Soulshine Tarot an online personal development practice that uses the archetypal images of the Tarot. Meghan is an ivy-league trained scientist who takes a no-nonsense approach to reading Tarot and helping her clients release limiting beliefs.
Stephanie offers customized sessions with guided meditations mixed with a gentle hypnosis. Meditation is an immensely powerful and beneficial tool that can enhance your well-being and can allow you to remove limiting beliefs that cloud your path to happiness.
In this special update of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast Julienne and Cyndera discuss their most recent archetypal adventures. Cyndera discusses her newly minted deck of reflection cards based on some amazing billion year old stones discovered by her Father, Jim Quakenbush in Death Valley, California over 30 years ago. Her rich and unique inheritance has been to use the stones to create Story Through Stone which, along with her reflection cards, also provides workshops to school age children and adults alike. Julienne and Cyndera discuss how interactions with the images of the ancient Tarot, from dreams, and from nature allow for a creative exploration of individual life themes.
Julienne is excited to announce a project about archetypes and film that she produced with her archetypal consulting Mentor, Jim Curtan. A newly released audio course and workbook on Fate, Destiny & the Hero’s Journey as seen in Pixar’s 2007 animated film Ratatouille. This self-guided audio course takes you on an archetypal adventure of an Artist and the choices that transform a life of dreary fate to one of heroic destiny. Julienne’s blog post on it expands further and you can purchase the course and save $5.00 by using the offer codepodcast (good until May 31st)
What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. ~TS Eliot
Finally we reach the culmination of this heroic journey with card 21 –The World! In this last of the regularly scheduled podcast series, Julienne and Cyndera discuss beginnings, endings, rebirth, transformation and fulfillment.
After all these trials and tribulations of the hero’s journey, we now come to know true balance and connection to our destiny looking back across our past and forward into the future. We feel the benefit of the journey thus far and see that our evolution is not just for ourselves but for the good of others. From this stage onward, our sense of risk is different because we have a greater understanding of the richness of life and recognize both the strength and space to hold challenge and loss as well as joy in the days to come.
In Joesph Campbell’s classic definition of the Hero’s Journey, The World card represents the stage of Master of Two Worlds as well as the Freedom to Live.
The Rider-Waite version of The World
Symbols in the World Card:
Ring of laurels tied with a lemniscate (infinity symbol) – The ring of laurels is also called temenos (Gk) a safe place, asylum, a temple, also reminiscent of the Yoni, laurels are also a symbol of victory.
Infinity symbol seen also in: Magician, Strength (also in the 2 of coins/pentacles card)
Androgynous figure/ Dancer– leg crossed over just as in the Hanged Man card (it’s opposite on this Mobius strip) – a dance , balanced opposites, an act of creation – the Self in equilibrium, perfect union of masculine and feminine.
Lion (Leo), Eagle (Scorpio), Bull (Taurus) and the Human (Aquarius) – 4 fixed signs of astrology – 4 elements (air, earth, water and fire). These 4 symbols also appear in the Wheel of Fortune card. these can also refer to a passage in the Bible’s book of revelation
Suspended between heaven and earth – remember the Fool as she fell over the cliff, suspended for a moment not realizing what’s she’s gotten herself into? The symbolism of suspension this time is of balance and trust.
2 wands – balance – command of opposites (references to both The Magician and The Chariot). Wands are about doing – this is a sign of readiness.
Cundi Bodhisattva
The World as the Bodhisattva Card
Bodhi [enlightenment] and sattva [being]. From the Mahayana tradition of Buddhismm, the bodhisattva vow is the commitment to put others before oneself. It is a statement of willingness to give up one’s own well-being, even one’s own enlightenment, for the sake of others. Taking the bodhisattva vow implies that instead of holding our own individual territory and defending it, we become open to the world that we are living in and are willing to take on greater responsibility.
Film and Fiction References
Cloud Atlas, book (2004) and film (2012)
One of the main themes is of freedom and connection. Eventually leading to the realization that all is one. Redemption and evolution. Characters from each of the weave of stories in both the book and film have revelations of oneness:
Sonmi-451: “Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
Robert Frobisher: “And all becomes clear. Wish I could make you see this brightness. Don’t worry, all is well. All is so perfectly, damnably well. I understand now, that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention, if only one can first conceive of doing so. Moments like this, I can feel your heart beating as clearly as I feel my own, and I know that separation is an illusion. My life extends far beyond the limitations of me.”
Adam Ewing:“What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”
Issac Sachs: “These forces that often remake time and space, they can shape and alter who we imagine ourselves to be, begin long before we are born, and continue after we perish. Our lives and our choices, like quantum trajectories, are understood moment to moment, at each point of intersection, each encounter, suggest a new potential direction.”
The Matrix (1999) – In the very last scene of The Matrix, Neo makes a phone call , saying: “When I used to look out at this world, all I could see was its edges, its boundaries, its rules and controls, its leaders and laws. But now, I see another world. A different world where all things are possible. […] I can’t tell you how to get there, but I know if you can free your mind, you’ll find the way.”
With a trumpet blare and a scene depicting people rising from graves as shown in Judgement – card number 20 of the Tarot, Julienne and Cyndera discuss how the hero of our journey is called to leave the old behind – not just Death and those stages in between. This penultimate edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast sees this as a stage of the rebirth process where one is asked to call the old selves back up and with it the old stories to release their particular hold on us and see them in a new light.
Through the lessons and experiences of the journey we can now judge what best action should be taken and rise up to the challenges to embrace our life and answer the greater ‘Calls’ of our life beyond the egoic or the mundane. We see now our true calling is in every breath of our lives playing out in every moment.
Julienne regales us with how this story of redemption and evolution is played out poignantly in the 2012 epic film Cloud Atlas with the compelling stories of lives interwoven over 500 years. Cyndera relays how the academy award winning documentary “Searching for Sugarman” captures the essence of a true calling held within the Judgement card.
Throughout the podcast the ideas of redemption, evolution and levels of change effect how we see our true calling. References and a list of symbols, links and images are below.
Redemption: The old story will always be the old story to contend with to make up for – to redeem.
Evolution: The story is bigger – inclusive of what happened and holds space for the purpose of what happened beyond our limited understanding. What we believed was a mistake is included in a larger connected story.
Symbols seen in the card:
Angel – messenger, not of the earth
Arms – accepting with open arms – embracing the new direction – surrender
Trumpet – the call to the new life – to be reborn – out of complacency – awaken
Flag with the cross – announcement or proclamation – staking a claim to a new territory – the equal armed cross is about balance – possibly the balance of the masculine and feminine – of agency and community – also 4 sections reflect the 4 directions, the 4 elements – a meeting place
The Fall (2008)
The Tree of Life (2011)
The Fountain (2006)
Big Fish
Gran Torino
The Fisher King
Les Miserables
Goodwill Hunting
Jerry Macguire
Shawshank Redemption
Popular associations:
Judgement —– Rebirth —– Calling —– Absolution
Restart —– Accepting past mistakes/actions —– Release
Forgiveness —– End of repression —– Reconciliation —– Renewal
Decision —– Salvation —– New beginning —– Hope —– Redemption
Here Comes the Sun! After the dark debacle of the stage represented by the Moon card, the nineteenth card of the Major Arcana shares its rays of light on the Archetypal Tarot Podcast. Inside the protective walls of a golden kingdom, two children (or a child and horse in the Rider Waite) are happily at play. Like Romulus and Remus, suckled from the wolves of the last card, it is as if the birth of a new Rome has taken place as a long-awaited result of this Tarot journey’s recent trials. Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush explore this stage of rebirth by delving into the child archetype in its many manifestations, including its shadow.
Listen as Julienne and Cyndera share a synchronistic moment and find out how to have fun while even riding a city bus. In the Hollywood realm, Robin Williams as Puer (eternal youth), Tom Hanks in the film “Big” and Shirley Temple are discussed as examples of this stage. In the Sun card enjoy yourself in a land somewhere between the Teletubbies and the Secret Garden.
The Child: Innocence, Fun, Trust
The Child archetype resides in us all and is the first that we come to know. The Child archetype is sometimes called the guardian of innocence and it represents our beginning point. This archetype sets up our earliest perceptions of life, safety, loyalty and family. The heart of the Child archetype is one of dependency and responsibility. Addressing the Child archetype within can awaken a new relationship with life, a new start.
After emerging from the water’s edge of the lovely Star maiden, the Archetypal Tarot podcast heads to the eighteenth card of the Major Arcana – the Moon. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? But what’s this – a barking dog, a howling wolf and a …. lobster climbing from the depths?!?! Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush have a WTF moment as they explore the depths of this surprising, surreal imagery incorporating the archetype of the Artist and the penchant for creative madness.
Our hero of the Tarot Journey has reached her dark night of the soul and finds that she has spiraled back to the dark wisdom behind the High Priestess’s veil. In relation to the “lunacy” encountered in the moon, Julienne presents to us the Artist archetype and its shadow. Cyndera shares some highly personal details and a passage from Carl Jung’s Red Book. The following films, discussed in this edition, beautifully illustrate the Moon themes of madness, creativity and dreams: The Hours, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact.
~William Shakespeare
The Artist archetype embodies the passion to express a dimension of life that is just beyond the five senses. The Artist psyche is animated with the energy to express it into physical forms. The nature or relative grandeur of any form of expression is irrelevant; a chef can be as much of an artist as a painter or landscaper. The signature of artists is not in what they do but in how intense their motivation is to manifest the extraordinary. Doing what you do in such a way that you create an emotional field that inspires others also indicates the Artist energy at work, as does the emotional and psychological need to express yourself so much that your well-being is wrapped up in this energy.
The shadow Artist comprises many cliches, including an eccentric nature and the madness that often accompanies genius. The Starving Artist represents the fear of financial ruin or the belief that fame and fortune come only after death, which often cause artists to suppress their talents. In evaluating your relationship to this archetype, recognize that the need to bring art to others, such as dedicating part of the energy of your life to supporting artists, is as much an expression of the Artist archetype as actually holding a brush in your hand.
Archetypal Tarot celebrates its 20th podcast! With some much needed respite after the tumult of the falling tower, Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush cozy up in some Dutch slippers and delve into the nourishing waters of the 17th card of the Major Arcana- The Star.
Picture the Fool (our Hero in this journey) laying on the grass in a field after the sudden liberation of the last stage. She is coming to and is not yet able to articulate what just happened to her. The symbols of the scene represented in the Star feature a naked woman who is both vulnerable and in harmony with the elements as she tends to what needs to be done.
Stripped of clothing (ego identity) and back down to the earthy basics, the beautiful maiden featured in this card helps us to replenish after a shock and (re)discover the true “guiding star” that will help us along on our journey. We see the importance of humility to be open to true guidance.
Another potent symbol of this stage is water. Water is often seen as a symbol of emotions and the unconscious which in this stage flows freely and the woman can been seen as a conduit for letting the waters flow back to their source as well as nourishing the ground. The stars in the sky twinkle above clear and undeniably present, the Fool wonders how she never noticed they were there all along.
Stars have been the symbol of aspiration and guidance since ancient times from the three wisemen following stars to the mythic stories of Mithras. Stars symbolize hope and to look up with an understanding that even we are connected to the stars.
This is a time after the storm where there is clarity. A recollection that grace need only be received and that the first stage of regeneration/rebirth is to be open to follow our true desire – what we are really on the journey for. It’s interesting to note that the word desire itself comes from the old French “of the stars”.
Julienne discusses how the symbolism of the film Beasts of the Southern Wild relates to our taroic hero’s journey so far and Cyndera references the aspect of the Star in relation to Maidentrip, a documentary about a young Dutch girl who completed a solo around the world voyage on a sailboat.
“When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard, it all goes away but when it all goes quiet, I see they are right here. I see that I am a little piece of a big, big universe, and that makes it right.” -Hushpuppy, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Popular associations of the Star:
Calmness —– Free-flowing love —– Trust
Tranquility —– Peace of mind —– Pure essence
Hope – Serenity —– Inspiration —– Generosity
Optimism —– Joy —– Faith —– Regeneration
Good will —– Optimism —– Harmony —– Renewal of forces
Helpful questions for this stage:
• What do I allow to guide me?
• What is the role of nurturing myself and others – is there an imbalance?
• How do I live the connection to nature?
• What can I do to allow more tranquility into my day?
• Am I allowing peace and relaxation to flow through my life?
• How do I acknowledge and take peace from knowing I am a little piece of a big universe?
Is it the Tower of Destruction or the House of God? In card number sixteen of the Major Arcana, we are met with yet another image that often inspires fear and superstition.
This is the first podcast in which Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush are divorced from their own tower (the recording studio) and explore this card’s symbolism from the telephone. With the sudden shock experienced in this stage of the fool’s journey, will those tethered to their addictions be struck from their habits? Does hitting rock bottom ultimately free us?
Cyndera explores how a client once completely dissembled her own psychic castle and Julienne reveals the qualities of the Liberator archetype. A closer look at current events and films such as the Hunger Games, Castaway and Groundhog Day also helps us all to “think outside the tower.” Also, don’t miss this podcast’s first homework assignment to watch Beasts of the Southern Wild through the lens of the Archetypal Tarot Journey. We’ll be discussing it in the next edition along with the 17th card of the major arcana: The Star.
Details and references below.
Questions or suggestions? Email us ATPodcast@archetypist.com
Archetypes related to the Tower card: The Liberator
The Tower from the Marseilles deck
Popular Associations with the Tower Card:
Chaos —– Sudden change —– Impact —– Hard times
Crisis —– Revelation —– Disruption —– Realizing the truth
Podcast available on Apple Podcast, iTunes and pretty much wherever you download your podcasts.
Julienne and Cyndera are back together again recording in the same space at the same time! Out of their recording closet in San Francisco the Aloha edition of the podcast was recorded in Julienne’s new home on Maui, Hawaii. This tropical edition of the podcast discusses how our sense of place influences our lives, what to do when you are caught between our head and your intuition and the joys of adventure learning to live in a new place.
Julienne and Cyndera are back to the closet (aka Archetypal Tarot’s secret headquarters) for an in-depth discussion on superstition and all-around “woo-woo,” which the urban dictionary defines as “unfounded or ludicrous beliefs.” After using these terms in a few podcasts, they received an email from a listener asking just why they are so down on anything ‘woo-woo’ or superstitious. Always happy to hear from listeners and taking this question to heart (and mind), J and C clarify what they mean by superstitious and philosophize on the subject of the tarot, astrology and other systems as both sacred and important learning tools for discernment.
Together C & J talk about a recent workshop they attended with the venerable Jungian Psychiatrist and Author 
The indomitable spirit of Artemis can be seen more and more in films such as Hunger Games with it’s very Artemis inspired Katniss Everdeen, Merida the heroine of Pixar’s Brave as well as icons from years past Wonder Woman and the Six Million Dollar Woman. All of these characters contain aspects of Artemis and work with the adversities and the challenges of the 
The Goddess 
Goddess Hecate the sage, fair witness and wisdom keeper who no longer gives a d@mn about what other people think, can been seen in Maude from the 1970’s cult classic Harold and Maude as well as in many roles played by both Helen Mirren and Judi Dench.
stage of the rebirth process where one is asked to call the old selves back up and with it the old stories to release their particular hold on us and see them in a new light.
