EMP 737    V. Noble    3 credits
Motherpeace Tarot

Description

The Motherpeace Tarot cards were co-created in the late 1970s as a feminist revisioning of tarot and esoteric science. Designed by Vicki Noble and Karen Vogel, the contemporary Motherpeace images were self-published in 1981 and have attained worldwide distribution since then (printed and distributed by US Games Systems, Inc.). The round feminist cards function as a shared symbolic language among women (and some men) in various countries around the world, regardless of diverse languages, cultures, and borders. Embedded within the symbolic language of Motherpeace are the paradigms of matriarchal and ethnic studies, shamanism, yoga, and paganism, as well as the core principles of western occult and esoteric studies. The Motherpeace images contain, in a fresh stylized form resembling “folk art,” reproductions of artifacts, images, and knowledge from the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, history, and art. Besides containing a wealth of information and scholarly research, the Motherpeace cards are congruent with other tarot decks and function as a powerful oracle for use individually or in groups. This course is designed for the student to learn the symbols and meanings of the images contained in the tarot cards, and to be able to effectively use them as a divinatory tool.

Objectives

Students will learn to recognize the matriarchal symbolism and principles contained in the Motherpeace images and will be able to read the cards for themselves and others. In particular students will:

• Develop an in-depth awareness of female-centered symbols and missing matriarchal history as depicted in the Motherpeace tarot images.
• A graduate student in a healing profession needs to understand the assumptions and values at the core of her or his knowledge, for this course by developing a personal relationship with the imagery and symbolism of Motherpeace.
• Develop professional skills in interpretation of symbols and in identifying essential factors pertaining to the structure of the tarot, such as differences of substance and value between the Major and Minor Arcana and People Cards.
• Be able to assist clients in understanding many levels of reality by bringing to the surface different intuitions, feelings, sensations, and “knowings” previously hidden from view and allowing perception, clarification, integration, and transformation to take place.
• Develop the critical skills needed to think like a healer or “seer,” displaying basic counseling skills in addition to demonstrating knowledge of history and application of the Motherpeace tarot as a divination and spiritual practice.

Topics

Ancient matriarchal (Goddess) civilizations and the disciplines of women’s history (or “herstory”) and the newly emergent international field of “matriarchal studies;” the substratum of women's religion and culture which runs like an underground stream through most cultures even today, best seen in “folk” art and “pagan” customs; a short history of the development of tarot in general and Motherpeace in particular; the inherent deep structure of the western mandala system of tarot, and the Motherpeace system in particular (Major, People, and Minor cards); how to read the cards for divination, in ritual, and for self-healing; how to have fun with Motherpeace as a form of “sacred play” in everyday life; and how to read the cards for others, including friends and family, as well as reading professionally for clients.

Texts

• Gimbutas, Marija  The Language of the Goddess
• Noble, Vicki  Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World
• Vaughan, Genevieve, editor  Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible
• Goettner-Abendroth, Heide, editor  Societies of Peace: Matriarchies Past Present and Future
• Skafte, Dianne  When Oracles Speak: Understanding Signs & Symbols All Around Us

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