Introduction: Kabbalah, Tarot Cards and Counting the Omer--What''s This All About The Forty-Nine Steps of Spiritual Refinement How long does it take to make an important change in life? For most of us, making a major change to the direction and compass of our lives takes time and practice. You might want to change a bad habit or build up the discipline to start a daily spiritual practice. You may want to break free of an addiction or overcome negative thinking. You might need time to consider a new direction in life or to heal from a personal tragedy. Whatever your motivation, the many wisdom traditions of humanity offer a wide range of effective practices for personal and spiritual growth. One that has resonated for me personally is the forty-nine-day period known in the Jewish tradition as Counting the Omer, culminating on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, also known as Pentecost, the fiftieth day. Pentecost is the Greek word Hellenized Jews used to name this period of observance because it simply means "fifty days." If you''re Christian, you may know Pentecost as the first time the Holy Spirit descended on a group of Jesus'' disciples, including the Apostles.

What both traditions share is the connection between Pentecost and revelation. Whatever tradition you come from, this forty-nine-day period of reflection and meditation is a spiritual discipline that can bring great benefit. When you practice Counting the Omer, you will work to draw down the Divine energies known as the Sephirot in a practice of purification and meditation designed to strengthen your spiritual container. This will gradually open any spiritual blockages so you can feel the Divine flow that is always available to us. The forty-nine steps work in a graduated order, in a kind of spiritual workout regimen, day by day. It is designed to prepare you for a more direct experience of the Divine on the fiftieth day. Using the Cards The heart of this book is based on the forty-nine paired combinations of the Sephirot that occur during the Counting of the Omer. For each day of the count I also provide paired combinations of corresponding tarot cards.

Because the four suits correspond to the four worlds, there are at least four possible pairings for each day, so that each day you can explore how the Sephirotic combinations affect the energy of that day in each world: spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and actively. Each day, read the interpretation for the pair(s) you''re working with that day. In these interpretative essays, I share my own experience with this practice. After each pair you''ll find several questions associated with that pairing. Use those questions either for reflection or your own Pentecost journaling exercise. You''ll probably want to write your own interpretations, questions, and journal entries based on your own life experience. Each Sephira can be approached from a variety of angles. You may wish to focus on a different facet of the day''s pairing than I have.

Go for it! Week 1: Chesed The first day of the Counting of the Omer is the second day of Passover--the first full day of freedom for the ancient Israelites escaping the bondage of Egypt. What better place to begin the count than from a place of freedom and gratitude for the loving-kindness (Chesed) that pours forth from the Divine and sustains the world in every moment. This love colors the experience of each day and subsequent Sephira of the first week. Day 1: Chesed of Chesed--The Fours of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The first day of the count is Chesed of Chesed--to remind us that on this path it is essential to start with a heart of Loving-kindness for ourselves. Because this is a journey that will take us through all the dark places in our hearts, and we need to remember that, just like the Jews in the desert, we''re going to slip sometime. We''re going to forget to count some days. We''re going to go unconscious in response to the issues the Sephirotic energies can bring up.

I''ve done this many times. That''s human nature, and nothing is more in need of Loving-kindness than that. On the second night of Passover, we are figuratively free of Egypt. This was the first day our ancestors were no longer slaves, and since one of the Passover commandments is that we tell the story as though we ourselves were freed this day, we too are no longer slaves. The question is, what are we free from, and what were we enslaved to? It took a forty-nine-day process for the ancient Israelites to learn how to be free from slavery before they could take on the spiritual responsibility of the Torah. In the next forty-nine days, another of the questions to ask might very well be, what am I enslaved to that I am not yet aware of? In the tarot suits, the cards that correspond to Chesed are the fours, and the first card to look at on this, the first day, is the Four of Wands, or Chesed in Atzilut. It''s appropriate that the image on this card captures the outpouring of Loving-kindness into the world. The four wands, with a garland of fruit and flowers, looks like a chuppah.

Thus, this image looks forward to the marriage of Israel and the Divine on Shavuot, the ultimate expression of Love and Mercy. Today is a day to meditate on the energy that is released when we go from bondage to freedom. And, it''s a day to bring our expression of Love into the world in ever more creative ways as we join with the Divine as partners in the ongoing act of Creation. Of course, I''m not always feeling so expansive, so when I consider this card I often ask myself where am I reflexively unwelcoming in my life and how is that keeping me enslaved?.