Learning tarot can be a daunting experience so does learning it on a Greek island make it any easier? We worked our socks off at a tarot course in Lefkada...

Sitting on Joanna Watters' sunny terrace in Nidri, Lefkada, I was surprised to find myself feeling a little apprehensive. After all, the other people on the tarot course were all lovely, I had a very welcome cup of tea in front of me and the warm terrace felt as comfortable as home. I should have been utterly relaxed but, in truth, I was rather panicked at the possibility of being exposed. This was the intermediate group (Watters runs courses for beginners and more advanced level students too) and we were about to revise the traditional meanings of the cards before adding our own intuitive meanings. I learnt the tarot entirely intuitively as the meanings from books never stuck in my head and I was often relieved to discover that my intuitive interpretation was also traditionally correct. However, here I would be expected to know the traditional meanings properly - eeek!
I needn't have worried as the relaxed surroundings also stretched to the way the course is taught. There's very few lines dished out and no standing in the corner for bad behaviour. Instead we split into pairs and worked through the traditional and intuitive meanings together before reporting back to the group. This meant that my traditional meanings weakness was covered by my partner Teresa's extensive knowledge and my intuitive insights also got an airing.

Dialogue not monologue
Jo Watters has a completely different take on tarot reading than most people I have met. Having been brought up in the Eastern method of divination, I am used to the belief that you go to a 'fortune-teller' and sit cross-armed and silent in front of them, expecting them to tell you your future. No confirming or denying anything they're saying beyond the occasional grunt. This, says Watters, is not what tarot is about for her. "It's a dialogue not a monologue," she explains. "This isn't clairvoyance, that's a different thing. You don't have to be psychic to be an effective tarot reader. You have to work with the person you're reading to get answers from the cards."
You mean communicate with the person you're reading? What a novel idea! Some of us weren't convinced by this but we soon got to see it in action. The course is very practical and so, apart from the handouts that you read, you also have lots of exercises to do. For example we were encouraged to ask the person we were reading to come and sit beside us instead of directly in front of us. This not only made the whole experience seem more collaborative, it also got rid of the awkward 'my right or your right' issues of how to lay out the cards and which direction to read them in.

Spiritual shenanigans
Watters also has no truck with the idea of woolly spiritual guidance. "People don't have readings to find their soul purpose," she says emphatically, "they have readings to find out if they're going to have sex next week." This earthy way of looking at the problems that people may come to a tarot reader with has certainly yielded success for Jo Watters, with a tarot book that is selling like hot cakes.
Looking around the resort town of Nidri, I can see why Watters remains so down-to-earth. Nidri has a large English ex-pat community. While there are things like aromatherapy massages available, they are administered by straight-talking people like the lovely Colleen. One of the great things about doing the course in another country is that you get to discover a new place at the same time. Indeed there's ample opportunity for exploring with a break in the middle of the teaching day and a day off on the Wednesday. Plus with so many Nidri residents being English, you don't have the barrier of language or culture keeping you from making friends. It's a job to avoid spending all your spare time at pleasant places like the Tree Bar where locals like Vicky, the beautiful barmaid, and gorgeous regular Paul soon become your friends.
You get to meet more of the locals at one of the more scary bits of the course - practice readings on the Friday. This is where you get to take all that you learnt during the week and do a reading for one of the local guinea pigs. You get marked by them on a variety of different points.
Luckily the guinea pigs are all well briefed with Watters' 'dialogue not monologue' mantra and so they sit down ready to share. I got top marks on some things and not as high as I would have liked on others. The important thing was that it didn't feel like an exam and I felt that my technique of reading people was vastly improved by the feedback that I received. What was really interesting was that all of us in the group had different areas that we could work on. It was as if we each had something to learn from the group as a whole.

Tarot and astrology
One of the aspects of the course that I found most interesting was how often Watters added extra depth to readings through reference to astrology. Much of the symbolism of the deck will be lost on you unless you have a basic understanding of astrology. However, there's no need to swot up beforehand as Watters clarifies, "there's a limit to how much you can learn in advance. The course is more about developing your intuition and your connection with symbolism is far more key in learning the tarot."
While most people will be aware that cups are connected to the water signs, swords to the air signs, wands to the fire signs and pentacles to the earth signs, there are many more references to astrology to be found in the Rider Waite deck (which is the one that is used in this course). For example cards like The World show images that represent the four fixed signs of the zodiac; Aquarius, Scorpio, Taurus and Leo. Watters guides you through the symbolism and explains how to interpret it. You might on this basis be able to understand that the person you were reading for was being indicated if the Queen of Cups came up and she was a Cancerian.
No points are horribly laboured and there is a sense that you can take with you what works for you. The mid-week day of rest is a fantastic idea as it gives you an opportunity to have a wander round this beautiful Ionian island. I didn't get much rest on my day off as I immediately hired a taxi to take me all over the island. There are turquoise beaches straight out of brochures on the West coast of the island and mountains that afford some stunning views. Alternatively you could use your spare day to take a boat trip out to Skorpios, the famous island home of Greek shipping magnate Onassis. The day trip that most appealed was a night time 'sea and stars' tour that made for some amazing stargazing.
Food and drink
If you love Greek food, you'll be seventh heaven as Nidri has some terrific chefs. If, however, you're not very adventurous with food, then there is also a wide variety of English, Italian and even Chinese restaurants and cafés available.
Naturally being an island, the seafood is particularly good and I would recommend you ask for the catch of the day as fresh fish is hard to beat. Watters does organise group meals together most nights of your stay and a nod and a wink from her to the owner of whichever taverna you're in means that you will have one of the tiniest bills imaginable for some of the most delicious food.
Local wine is incredibly cheap and very good. Included in the cost of your course is a 'sundowner' glass of wine in the last hour of your working day. This makes it a very pleasant end to the learning day, at a time when the old brain cells might be flagging.

All the extras
You can also book a reading with Jo Watters while you're there. This is a fantastic opportunity as you get lots more from a face to face reading. I had a number of dilemmas resolved and she does actually explain all the things that are happening in your chart and your tarot cards to you. There is a useful combination of readings here in that your basics are laid out with your astrological progressions and transits and then specific questions are answered with the tarot. I'm sure there must be others who work in this way but it was decidedly new for me and very informative.
There is a lot to be said for working on your tan while studying the tarot but perhaps the most important thing is that you get to have some head space while you learn something new. Lefkada itself has a strange attractive quality about it that makes it a place that people often return to. "Everybody goes away at the end of the week taking something away they didn't have before," confirms Watters. "Something in this place changes people." I'm inclined to believe her as I came away with a deeper understanding of the tarot and a regular holiday destination for the future.

Further information
Joanna Watters runs courses on tarot and astrology at beginner, intermediate and advanced level. She operates as a faculty for the Company of Astrologers. She is running two courses on tarot in September, email joannaw@otenet.gr for more information.
If you can't get to Lefkada for a while, why not try one of the Company of Astrologers' UK-based courses? Call 01227 362427 or email: admin@coa.org.uk or you can visit www.companyofastrologers.com

This article has been taken from the September issue of Prediction which also included features on: Whether Fairies Really Exist, Tips on how to Sort Out Your Life, Shocking Psychic Secrets and Goddess Magic. For all back issues of Prediction call: 01733 385170