Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
“Learn the Tarot Card by Card” is a 17-video educational series on the tarot cards.
Closed captioning is provided for all videos in this series.
Four different systems of the tarot will be showcased: the Tarot de Marseilles (TdM), the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), the Thoth, and my own self-published deck, the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot (SKT).
For the full course description and video contents listing, visit: wp.me/p32or0-4n4
Companion blog post on the Aces: benebellwen.com/2019/07/29/the-aces-tarot-card-meanings
For a tarot primer keyed to the Rider-Waite-Smith, consider Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using the Tarot for Personal Growth (North Atlantic Books, 2015) by Benebell Wen, amzn.to/2LHDYT4
BUY THE SKT DECK: Order your copy of the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, Vitruvian Edition, benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/order-the-deck
26 July 2019 Note: There are only 111 decks from a 2,000 limited edition print run left.
Interested in a video course series on the SKT?
Video Course Series II covers the architecture of the deck: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/video-course-series-ii
Video Course Series I, keyed to the black-and-white First Edition SKT, shares deck creator's intentions and the esoteric study based constructs that the Keys of the SKT are founded upon: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/video-course-series
Free download of the 200-page Medium White Book, a companion card meanings guidebook for the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/free-tarot-book-download
Decks Pictured: Tarot de Nicolas Conver (Marseilles 1760, France) derivative based on public domain images of the Conver deck; Scans of the “Pam A” Rider Tarot Deck (1910), the original Rider-Waite-Smith; Thoth Tarot Deck (or “The Book of Thoth”) by Aleister Crowley (U.S. Games Systems, Premier Edition, 2005; first published by Ordo Templi Orientis, 1969); Spirit Keeper’s Tarot (Vitruvian Edition, 2019) created and illustrated by Benebell Wen.
“Learn the Tarot Card by Card” is a 17-video educational series on the tarot cards.
Closed captioning is provided for all videos in this series.
Four different systems of the tarot will be showcased: the Tarot de Marseilles (TdM), the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), the Thoth, and my own self-published deck, the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot (SKT).
For the full course description and video contents listing, visit: wp.me/p32or0-4n4
Companion blog post on the Aces: benebellwen.com/2019/07/29/the-aces-tarot-card-meanings
For a tarot primer keyed to the Rider-Waite-Smith, consider Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using the Tarot for Personal Growth (North Atlantic Books, 2015) by Benebell Wen, amzn.to/2LHDYT4
BUY THE SKT DECK: Order your copy of the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, Vitruvian Edition, benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/order-the-deck
26 July 2019 Note: There are only 111 decks from a 2,000 limited edition print run left.
Interested in a video course series on the SKT?
Video Course Series II covers the architecture of the deck: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/video-course-series-ii
Video Course Series I, keyed to the black-and-white First Edition SKT, shares deck creator's intentions and the esoteric study based constructs that the Keys of the SKT are founded upon: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/video-course-series
Free download of the 200-page Medium White Book, a companion card meanings guidebook for the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot: benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/free-tarot-book-download
Decks Pictured: Tarot de Nicolas Conver (Marseilles 1760, France) derivative based on public domain images of the Conver deck; Scans of the “Pam A” Rider Tarot Deck (1910), the original Rider-Waite-Smith; Thoth Tarot Deck (or “The Book of Thoth”) by Aleister Crowley (U.S. Games Systems, Premier Edition, 2005; first published by Ordo Templi Orientis, 1969); Spirit Keeper’s Tarot (Vitruvian Edition, 2019) created and illustrated by Benebell Wen.
![Ziran 自然 (Taoist Path of Least Resistance)
This is a video lecture on the Taoist principle of ziran 自然, commonly translated into English as “of its own accord,” “the natural way,” or “spontaneity.” It is the free and unfettered natural course of events.
In the beginning, notes Zhuangzi, yin and yang were in balanced harmony, and because of this balanced harmony of natural forces, there were no cataclysms and no corruption, and no need for knowledge, though the ancient ones possessed great, profound knowledge. This is what we call the state of perfected unity ziran. [Outer Chapters]
Lets explore the many facets of what ziran means. Within Taoism as a school of thought, the meaning and the way we interpret ziran is not static, and in fact has been quite dynamic throughout the dynasties.
Timestamps:
00:00 One of the most significant line statements on ziran (TTC, Verse 25)
00:56 An essential esoteric Taoist axiom
01:32 Ziran as the path of least resistance
01:51 Ziran (path of least resistance) is in alignment with scientific principles; ziran as naturalist philosophy
03:02 Zhuangzi on the “ancient ones” and ziran (Zhuangzi, Outer Chapters 16)
04:27 What we mean when we say “good” vs. “evil”
05:35 Ziran wu wei: relation between ziran and wu wei
07:10 First reference to ziran in the Tao Te Ching (TTC, Verse 17)
07:52 Ziran as political philosophy, per the Tao Te Ching
09:08 Ziran is practicing faith (“without faith, there is nothing to have faith in” defining ziran doctrine)
10:58 Laozi and Zhuangzi laying the foundation for ziran discourse
11:15 Ziran defined as “the nature of things” and “it is what it is”
11:23 The five key verses in the TTC (Laozi) on ziran
13:15 A few of the key passages in the Zhuangzi on ziran
13:59 Zhuangzi on ziran as being indifferent, unsentimental; Huizi’s interrogation
15:16 “The Tao gives the Countenance; Heaven gives the Form” - Zhuangzi
17:11 Ziran as the spontaneous nature before interferences, which is innate goodness; interference with the path of that spontaneous nature is what begets “evil”
17:43 Etymology of the ideograms for ziran
18:31 Selfhood and innate identity as key themes in ziran discourse
20:20 Ziran in Taoist mysticism and occult philosophy; ziran and transcendence
22:44 Question to you for discussion in the comments
See also the companion video lecture on wu wei 無為, the principle of non-action: https://youtu.be/TzAFobogs3Q?si=Cdg8tW8bSshQ7I-S Ziran 自然 (Taoist Path of Least Resistance)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EvXSuKYA_Gg/mqdefault.jpg)

![Tarot of the Bohemians (1889), Condensed [Part 1]
AUDIO WARNING: The sound quality is even worse than my usual amateur level. =) I have no idea what happened. Apologies. Do not listen with headphones.
Tarot of the Bohemians (1889) is one of those classic esoteric tarot texts that tarot enthusiasts say to themselves they’ll get around to reading someday but never actually do. Look, no judgment. Most folks today are so busy, who has time for that? So let me help you out. Sit through this 25-minute video and it’ll be the next best thing to having actually read the book for yourself.
In this installment of Sightsee the Tarot, we attempt to jailbreak Tarot of the Bohemians.
There are several free supplemental downloads that accompany our Papus tour:
- The Three Septenaries
- Meanings of the Cards (per Papus, as found in Tarot of the Bohemians)
- Twelve Astrological Houses Reading Spread (guides the total astrology beginner through the third tier of Papuss three-operation reading method)
- Reading with Significators
Download all supplemental handouts here: https://wp.me/p32or0-3XN
Pre-order the Spirit Keepers Tarot, the deck featured in this video: https://benebellwen.com/spirit-keepers-tarot/pre-order-the-deck/
Part 2 of the Papus tour: https://youtu.be/rbc1-PwL0SA
SIGHTSEE THE TAROT
About the Series
“Sightsee the Tarot” is a series on my channel through which I take you on a tour of tarot books, spreads, techniques and tips, different decks, and more.
Check out the Series Page for all episodes: http://www.tinyurl.com/sightseethetarot
Decks Pictured in the Opening: Tarot de Marseille; Rider-Waite-Smith 1911; Thoth Tarot; Pagan Otherworlds Tarot by Uusi; The Incidental Tarot by Holly DeFount; Golden Universal Tarot; Ostara Tarot; Spirit Keeper’s Tarot
Main Deck Featured in this Video: Oswald Wirth Tarot (reproduced by U.S. Games, 1997); Ancient Italian Tarot (2000 edition by Lo Scarabeo). Tarot of the Bohemians (1889), Condensed [Part 1]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FRXyKEmg03M/mqdefault.jpg)







