International Tarot Foundation: Reaching out across the globe
By Richard Avila
Click Image above to Visit the ITF Website
The International Tarot Foundation, or ITF for short, is a newly formed organization based in London, England dedicated to the promotion of Tarot and Tarot education. Founded in 2015 by Lara Houston, the ITF in March of this year reached a milestone when it welcomed its 100th associate member. Members can be found in the UK, USA, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Brazil, India, and South Africa.
The ITF is run by Lara, and Sandra Geddes, another London based reader with over 2 decades of experience with the cards. According to Lara, ITF is the foundation that almost didn’t happen. “I was asked by two other people to join them in setting up the foundation. One backed out very quickly, and the other - who incidentally was building the website - walked away from everything 6 days before our scheduled launch. It took me days to get a new site built and very little sleep. We had members who already gave us their trust and support and I would not let them down.”
Lara’s fascination with divination started in childhood, when she began reading palms, tea leaves, and coins. Her involvement with Tarot however, is more recent. She considers herself an intuitive reader, and honed her skills by doing approximately 5,000 online readings in the last two years. She has also developed a learning curriculum for Tarot which at this time consists of seven courses, and expects to add more in the future. Her experience as an educator aided her greatly in this work. Before embarking on her career in Tarot, Lara worked for 10 years teaching children with special education needs, from elementary to high school age. As she puts it, “What I have found very useful and transferable is differentiating work for students that work towards learning outcomes at different levels. The courses that I write are based on this principle. One builds on another and each exercise is part of the aim of achieving an outcome.”
Sandra has worked with Tarot since childhood. When asked what her goals are for ITF, she says, “Making Tarot accessible to all and a more recognised and respected profession. Too many people discount the value of Tarot , thinking its just woo-woo. Its so much more.” And according to Lara, “Our aim is to successfully teach Tarot and to make a difference in the community. I want to teach readers who are skilled, ethical and know how to guide people in their life.” In addition to the course materials, Lara places a heavy emphasis on journaling as a learning tool.
As to whom the ITF should appeal to, “I'd like to think we offer something for everyone”, Sandra says. In furtherance of that goal, the ITF runs a page on Facebook: The Tarot Reader Development & Study Group. It currently hosts over 6,000 members, and has a constant stream of Tarot related chatter, from card learning exercises, discussions on decks, and analysis of spreads and readings.
The International Tarot Foundation offers Tarot enthusiasts another option for networking, discussion, and education