Take a walk through your own elemental universe, using a labyrinth as a map and the tarot as a camera to record the journey. Tarota offers a completely new and innovative approach to the primordial art of divination. It successfully fuses two ancient traditions that have ascended from the quintessential circle: the spiral path of the labyrinth and the wheel of life, or ROTA. This dynamic union opens a lucid dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious mind that can be tapped and translated with tarot cards. The Seminar and Workshop promise to be an experience that is as interesting for the novice as it is for the experienced tarot enthusiast.

During his last visit to the cathedral of Chartres in France, J. Philip Thomas (author and illustrator of the Tarot de Paris), was deeply moved by the famous labyrinth inside. He compares the method of ‘slow-walking’ through a labyrinth to other meditative disciplines he has studied over the years where the 'monotony of the walk' subdues the conscious mind while simultaneously activating the unconscious mind.

Thomas was compelled to construct a labyrinth on his property in Maui to test the idea.   In the planning stages, he often reviewed many classical labyrinth designs from around the world. But, increasingly, he felt that following the path to the center and then having to walk out the exact same way was unprecedented in the natural universe. Reasonably, if transformation is truly the case, then returning via the old path' should not be an option. With a deep respect for the past, but not encumbered by it, Philip redirected the paths to allow a 'walker' to pass through four elemental sectors before arriving at the 'Sacred Way', a straight path that forms the east - west radius of the labyrinth. Matter, Air, Water, and Fire, form the elemental quadrants of this labyrinth where they represent the latent and active influences in our lives. In his Tarot de Paris, Philip also relied on the elements to animate the four suits of that deck's Minor Arcana.

The 'Sacred Way' is the most important alteration in the Elemental Labyrinth. It offers the 'walker' the opportunity to face their Fate and design their Destiny. As they walk to the center they are asked to willingly accept all that the labyrinth has exposed, release whatever does not exist in that moment and then exit on a straight path into an unscripted future.

Philip convenes the workshops by asking all the participants to join hands in a walk through the labyrinth to OPEN it. Every participant will be able to 'slow-walk' this large seven circuit, Tarota labyrinth (22 ft. diameter), the first of its kind made for the tarot / labyrinth journey.

The 'walker' chooses six cards as they traverse the circuits of the labyrinth:

Especially for Tarota,  JPT designed a set of domino sized 'tarot chips' that forgo the need for actual tarot cards. These are put into small containers and placed as follows: 1 - next to the entrance, 2- as the path exits MATTER quadrant, 3-as the path exits AIR, as the path exits WATER, 4-as the path exits FIRE, 6- as the path exits the SACRED WAY. The 'walker' draws a 'chip' (printed on both sides - one side represents a reversed card) from a container at each of the six spots in the labyrinth. The 'walker' writes the 'chip' number on the Tarota worksheet they carry and then tosses the 'chip' back into the container thus allowing the next 'walker' to draw from a full set. The 'chips' have no imagery and therefore they create no distraction for the 'walker'. Upon exiting the labyrinth, JPT examines the worksheet in relation to the Tarot de Paris cards and briefly advises the 'walker' about the areas of greatest concern. Most importantly, he proposes a clearing strategy for their next walk. After completing three of these labyrinth journeys the participant will begin to see a pattern emerging from the cards listed on their worksheet. The physical, mental, and spiritual involvement required by this system tends to produce a divinatory experience unlike any other.

Voila Tarota!