This is Brian’s review of the Angel Card Certification Course last year in Pasadena:
Angel Card Reader Certification Class Review
Oct. 24, 2014 – Pasadena, CA USA
I am now a Certified Angel Card Reader and member of the Certified Angel Card Readers Community! This includes Angel Tarot cards and Oracle decks. I also read traditional Waite-Smith (WS) tarot and Tarot de Marseille. What a great and fun course with Doreen Virtue, Radleigh Valentine and Michael Virtue. I am so happy to now add this certification to my resume!
I attended this class with a friend on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 in Pasadena, CA USA. The Angel Card Certification class was sold out with over 500 attendees. This was a pre-conference course as part of the “I Can Do It” conference produced by Hay House. Doreen said that she is retiring from live presentations although she will continue to produce video content. This was the second to last live class. It appears that Radleigh Valentine, her co-speaker, will continue on with live events.
The vibe of the event was kind and positive. This was good for me as I had experienced a bit of consternation with the producers prior to the event having to do with the differences in the perks of the live event and a twin online version of the class that was introduced a couple of weeks before the live class.
I’m glad I kept the live class! There is just no way the connection and energy of the live event can be duplicated sitting in front of your computer.
I’ve been in business for nearly 40 years and respect commercial success. Doreen Virtue is a huge success. She is well-educated with a PhD in counselling psychology. She is a frequent talk show guest, columnist, prolific writer and producer of 27 current tarot and oracle decks with more planned. Her Facebook page has over 40,000 likes.
She has been conversing with angels since an early age. She is a Christian and asks for heavenly guidance every day. I knew that we had something in common!
Oh, about the class: Teaching was presented in a manner which accommodated all levels of Tarot and Oracle card experience. The history of the Tarot was reviewed and the reasons behind the creation of the Angel Tarot deck described. This deck has a standard WS structure, but with Strength and Justice reverting to their original pre-WS positions. Doreen and Radleigh co-designed the deck. In “The Big Book of Angel Tarot” Doreen states:
“It was very important to us that the cards not be some watered-down version of tarot. There’s great depth and breadth in the human experience and we wanted this concept to be fully represented in the deck. So symbolism was very carefully reviewed. When something distressing was removed from an image we were diligent about replacing it with something peaceful that signified the same thing. Card names were changed when necessary to more accurately convey the loving message embedded in even the most challenging cards.
We believe that God and the angels are always trying to guide us toward joy. Since tarot is merely a language for speaking to Heaven, every card in tarot is a message of love and is leading us to happiness.”[1]
As with many other iterations of the WS system, some cards have been renamed, some symbols have been substituted and an overall theme introduced that pervades the cards, in this case kindness and angelic support.
I have been under a regime of “one deck and one spread” each morning for learning purposes as suggested by my mentor for quite some time (Radiant Waite-Smith, Celtic Cross). I found myself translating the Angel Tarot cards into my more familiar cards in the beginning. For me, this process felt similar to the process of learning another language where, at first, you have a constant translation occurring in your mind. The breakthrough comes where your mind gives up this exhausting process and you begin to think in the new language. This began to truly occur with me towards the end of the day of the class.
The Oracle decks are themed with the primary concerns with our lives on earth and in interacting with the Divine. Decks have been themed to deal with health, both body and spiritual, love and other relationships and career and life choices including our spiritual paths.
Instruction included a brief history of the tarot, intent behind the design and creation of the Angel Tarot deck, one and three card reading, yes or no questions and timing questions. We practiced three card readings with each other with lots of ideas and challenges resulting from the readings being shared. I was put way out of my comfort zone in reading for a very young woman who had come from out of state with her mother and brother. I saw and felt something disturbing in the present card, but with a happy and fulfilling outcome in the future card. My client had asked a very generic question about “…how it would all turn out?” On seeing my duress with the present card, she admitted that she was really wondering about a particular serious issue she had been through quite recently. I was so happy to tell her that the reading indicated a very positive outcome. Honestly though, I was really sweating this one out even though her mother was sitting next to her and listening in.
We went to lunch with homework to read for each other and anyone we encountered with their permission. Some funny and touching stories were shared after lunch.
Further topics included more advanced spreads including spreads for romance, choices and, of course, the Celtic Cross. The business end of tarot was covered including the admonition to not be embarrassed to charge well for our services. Readings were given with various tarot and oracle decks including readings about those concerns high on our client’s lists: romance, career, life choices and health.
We were treated to a visit by Dr. Brian Weiss, co-creator of the Past Lives Oracle cards with Doreen Virtue. He explained the use of these cards and did some past life readings for several attendees who were wondering about the source of some challenges they were having in this life.
What a wonderful day. I was humming with energy the entire day and into the weekend. This was truly one of the most uplifting and positive experiences I have had in my life. I hold this group in the highest regard and am thankful to them for enriching my life.
Brian Bailey – Inspired Answers
Santa Barbara Tarot
[email protected]
www.SantaBarbaraTarot.com
[1] The Big Book of Angel Tarot, Doreen Virtue & Radleigh Valentine, pages xii-xiii