Dwariko

The Scales - Balancing Dualities using the Justice Card - Dwariko von Sommaruga Workshop
Report by Sally Anne Stephen

One of the most difficult tasks of attending the World Tarot Congress was choosing which workshop to attend. I was delighted to see that Dwariko von Sommaruga would be a speaker at the conference and, although I would have liked to have been at any of the other lectures that session, my choice of attending Dwariko's presentation was not difficult to make. The description alone was enough to sway the scales of this Libran in her favor - appealing to not only my innate desire for balance, but the promise that "we will be creating and drawing our own Tarot card for the year" sparked my creative interest. Never mind that I'm also a big fan of the deck she created with Catherine Cook, Songs for the Journey Home.

Dwariko has such a kind and gentle spirit. I had been in contact with her through e-mail in the past and was happy to chat with her in person while cruising by her table in the conference's Trade Room. I looked forward to her presentation on Sunday. There were not a large number of people in attendance but we all greeted her with enthusiasm as Liz Hazel made the introduction.

Dwariko started by telling us a bit of background of her life and her experiences in creating the Songs' deck with Catherine. She then took us on a meditational journey. Using slides of her tarot art projected large on the screen, we were invited to venture into each image and then close our eyes as Dwariko's soothing voice (and wonderful New Zealand accent) encouraged us to explore our own visions. We had a sheet of paper which had outlines of leaves scattered around a round wheel of the year, dividing the 22 major arcana cards into each season. After each meditation, we sketched out thoughts we brought with us from the journey, addressing different aspects of our life, goals, obstacles, etc... onto each leaf. These were quick doodles, but we were given the opportunity to jot down as many as we wanted before she gathered us up to explore the next card. The time went quickly, but I was in such a relaxed state of mind from the meditations...a welcome oasis during a fast paced weekend of rushed excitement.

At the close of the session, we had a bit of time to gather our leaves together and sketch out a design for our own personal tarot card. We were given blank sheets of paper with circle outlines (I assume no coincidence as Songs for the Journey Home is 'tarot in the round') and Dwariko also had colored pencils available for us if we wanted to use them. Since our time was limited, I sketched my idea out in black and white and promised myself to transform the concept into full blown color once I got home.

I chose Justice for my card...the card the lecture was based upon - and the card that guides my Libra Sun sign. Balancing and embracing Nature and the elements was my vision. A woman rises up from the Earth in wearing the gown of a tree's trunk and her 'arms' span out to balance the Sun and the Moon. Flames of Fire and Waves of Water dance in the background behind their respective celestial symbols. Justice bows her head in reverence to Nature as bright stars stem from her crown to swirl through the Air.

As we departed from the session, Dwariko gave each of us scrolls of paper with Catherine's interpretations for their deck's Homecoming card (card 21, traditionally The World). We then ventured back out into the frenetic wonderment of the remainder of the conference.

Click here to view cards from Dwariko & Catherine's Songs for the Journey Home or to order the deck.

Sally Anne Stephen has been captivated by the tarot throughout the past decade, although a serious student and novice collector for only the past few years. She has participated in three collaborative decks and someday hopes to create a deck of her own. Sally Anne helps moderate the Comparative Tarot e-list
and in her spare time gathers up favorite links to post on her website, Moon Arcana.