The Secrets of Dr. Taverner

Fun and engaging, Dion Fortune's short stories seem perfectly suited for adaption into a PBS television series filmed in England's misty countryside.

Dr. Rhodes narrates these tales of an unconventional doctor. He is Watson to Taverner's Holmes.

This collection of stories, published in 1936, begins shortly after World War I. Dr. Rhodes has been honorably discharged from the British Army and accepts a position as a medical superintendent in Dr. Taverner’s nursing home.

The large, old manor and its full, colorful garden are a refuge in the middle of “wild and barren country,” reminiscent of the moors near Baskerville Hall. The nursing home is a sanctuary for patients who might otherwise have been abandoned to mental institutions.

Dr. Taverner is a healer of souls who takes in patients other doctors of his era simply label insane and lock away. His method of healing is based on esoteric and magical knowledge.

You can curl up with this book on a cold night and get your fill of Halloween spookiness: the ghost of a vampire, a changeling, a spiritual con man, a mermaid, secret societies, reincarnation, mind control, and the Wild Hunt of the Faeries. Ooooh-oooooooh. I had no trouble suspending my disbelief and enjoyed every story.

Until the stories are produced for television, you can read the book online.

Just remember, there are only twelve stories, so don't read them all in one night!

Nothing to Hide – Airport Security

The last time I left Israel, guards at Ben Gurion Airport stopped me. Familiar with U.S. airport security, my heart instantly started racing.

I had waited in line to check in for my flight while young women, looking delicate and harmless despite their military uniforms, politely questioned passengers with almost Japanese sweetness. When I had reached the front of the line, I put my suitcase in a large, inelegant machine that looked like it belonged in a 1950s movie. As luggage moved along the short conveyor belt, it was scanned for explosives.

When my suitcase came out of the machine, a security guard claimed it and directed me to follow him to a nearby table. I was very nervous, but another young woman in an IDF uniform quickly put me at ease. She asked me if I spoke English and joked with me when I answered in Hebrew. Then she asked, “Do you have honey in your suitcase?” I did. She watched my face carefully when I told her where I purchased the honey and that I had packed my suitcase myself. Then she simply handed me my suitcase and I walked to the ticket booth to check in for my flight.

It had never happened before, but on this occasion, a woman, not in uniform, stopped me just before I boarded the plane. She was matter-of-fact when she stated that she needed to pat me down. It was quick and inoffensive, unlike the pat downs I've received from Homeland Security officers.

After I arrived in the U.S. and was waiting in the “Holders of U.S. Passports” line, I could see a Homeland Security official opening his booth for the “holders of foreign passports.” A young woman, perhaps of Indian descent, approached the booth. The official was immediately aggressive. He took her passport and she nervously answered the questions he barked.

Hoping not to gain the attention of anyone in Homeland Security, I cautiously looked at another American in line next to me. I caught her eye and then moved my chin slightly to indicate the scene.

“She looks really nervous,” the woman whispered.

“I would be, too,” I murmured, trying not to move my lips.

“Well, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about,” she replied sanctimoniously.

The official continued his interrogation. Then he had the young woman put her eyes up to an impressively modern machine so her irises could be scanned. I could see her legs trembling. The official returned her passport and she walked into the baggage claim area.

After my passport had been stamped, I hurried on, hoping for a chance to speak with the young visitor to my country. She was just picking up her bag. I apologized for what had happened. She was still upset and we spoke for a little while. She was meeting a college friend for dinner in the airport before catching a connecting flight to visit some of her relatives.

I claimed my bag and then waited in another security line. The sanctimonious woman I’d spoken with earlier was ahead of me in the line. When her bags went through the x-ray machine, they attracted the attention of security. She was pulled aside and a guard began unwrapping all the gifts that had been in her suitcase. She was shaking.

Our eyes met and I hoped she could read my mind, “If you’ve got nothing to hide...”

* * *

I was unhappy with U.S. airport security, its tone and its effectiveness.

At Ben Gurion, the young, female guards had obviously been trained in “good manners” and in searching facial expressions for lies. They didn’t resort to intimidation. (Two Europeans who were in line near me at Ben Gurion had acted suspiciously. Red flags were raised even for me, but the IDF girls never raised their voices. Eventually, the two passengers admitted to being a couple and to speaking one of the languages that the guards spoke. I was curious about why they had behaved so strangely, but when Israeli security let them on the plane, I wasn’t worried.) The guards had been polite but persistent.

U.S. Security is harsh and, I worry, less effective. Once years ago, after being pulled aside, searched, frightened, and then released, I realized that that the U.S. security guards had not confiscated my bottle of water. Despite their show of testosterone, they’d let me pick up and openly carry a potentially lethal weapon.

I have less experience with Israeli airport security guards, but they seem more interested in catching terrorists than in bullying innocent travelers.

Reading Tarot Cards Is Easy

Many of my tarot students tell me that they have owned a tarot deck years ago but could never use it. I suspect this is because they turned to the words in a book instead of relying on the images in the cards. Since tarot is a visual medium for accessing our intuition, we need only focus on the cards' images.

In my short, introductory class, I begin the morning by asking everyone to exchange readings with the person across from him or her. People who had been certain they couldn't read the cards find themselves offering brilliant insights into the tarot images. Beginning students always teach me something about the cards.

Relying on your intuition is the best way to read the cards. There are set meanings for the cards, but relying solely on those interpretations is less fruitful than relying on your own feelings and life experiences. Many excellent tarot books are available, but you should not turn to them during a reading. You know your own answers, you just need to listen.

Have you ever had an intuition or premonition that came true or that you wish you'd relied on? The more you rely on your intuition, the more often it will speak to you.

Always respect the first impression you have when you see a card, whether you're looking at it for the first time or the fiftieth. Here are some guidelines for reading the cards that will help you get to know them.

• Remember that tarot is a visual medium for accessing your intuition; resist the temptation to rely on the words in a guidebook. 
• Discover your own interpretations of the cards. Develop your own relationship with them.
• Trust your first impressions and any ideas that just pop into your head.Play with the imagery as a child would. What is happening in the pictures? Why? What does that story tell you about what is happening in your life now?
• Note what emotions the image evokes in you.
• Describe the card literally, using lots of adjectives. This process will help you uncover its meaning.
• If an image reminds you of something, explore that association further.
• If one of the details of the image jumps out at you, take especial note of it.
• Look for details and colors that appear in several cards.
• Make connections between the stories you see in the cards.
• Go with the flow of your intuition; if you don't understand what a card is saying, move to the next card and come back later.
 •Do not ask the same question over and over again. Be open to hearing what the cards and your intuition have to say to you. If you stop listening to your intuition, your intuition will stop speaking


You don't need much tarot knowledge to read the cards.

It's useful to recognize the different types of cards in the deck. The twenty-two cards Major Arcana cards represent significant influences in your life; they are lessons we learn as we go through our lives. The fifty-six Minor Arcana cards are divided into four suits; each suit has ten numbered cards and four face cards.

The numbered cards may represent day-to-day events. Face cards may represent people, attitudes, or advice.

Not all decks use the same names for the cards. What are the names of the four suits in your deck? (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles?) What are the names of the face cards in your deck? (King, Queen, Knight, and Page?)

The four suits of the Minor Arcana can represent different aspects of our lives:

• Earth - physical and financial issues (this suit is often called Pentacles)
• Air - ideas and challenges (this suit is often called Swords)
• Fire - passion and work (this suit is often called Wands)
• Water - emotions and relationships (this suit is often called Cups)

That’s really all the information you need. You can rely on your intuition for everything else.

If you are new to tarot, do you recognize any of the images in your deck? Do you have a strong reaction to any of the cards?

Reading tarot cards is easy. Start doing readings regularly and trust yourself. Do readings with a partner so that you can share ideas. If you don't have a partner, pull a card in the morning then, in the evening, look at the card again while reviewing your day. When you need a particular energy, meditate on a card that seems to represent it.

Get to know the cards and what they mean to you.