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Rosh Chodesh Reading for the month of Sivan 5785
Feedback, Comments and Questions are welcome.
The Past Month, card No. 1 gives an opportunity to look back over the entire previous month with an eye to what theme(s) played out and what lessons were learned. Cards 2 through 5 look at the energy for each of the four upcoming lunar weeks. It’s a snapshot look at what to expect and what to look out for. Developing an awareness of the phases of the moon is a great spiritual practice. This is the Mystic Mondays Tarot by Grace Duong.
Card No. 1: III Eim 'Mother'
Card No. 2: VI Ohevet 'Choice/Lovers'
Card No. 3: Three of Wands 'Expansion'
Card No. 4: IX Mekasharet 'Mystic'
Card No. 5: Matriarch of Cups 'Inspiration''- Read more...
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Things I've done for protection.
So, I've been doing a lot of research on protection, since I hear that it's really important, and these are a few things I've done.
1. I made this thingy, I'm not sure if it counts as a ward, but I hung it up above my bed to protect me while I sleep. I took part of a paper towel roll (The cardboard part) and sealed one end of it. Then I put some stuff in it that are associated with protection- eggshells, salt, and herbs. (for the herbs I just used Italian seasoning since it has sage, rosemary, thyme, and a bunch of other herbs I've heard help with protection.) Then I closed the other end, and tied a red string around it to make it hang.
2. I cleanse my space a lot. I try to do it every Sunday, and I use this tiny broom I made out of a rose stem and pink string. I open my window and sweep all the negative emotions out of my room. (I'm not allowed to do it to the rest of the house, since my parents aren't exactly supportive of my practices)
3. I put salt at my door. I usually do this after cleansing, and I scatter a bit of Himalayan pink salt at my door.
Are these good forms of protection? I'm still new, so any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you! 😄
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A Crystal Mix for Sleeping
You've finished your homemade tea (or just tea from a box, or even no tea at all, I don't judge!) and it's time to go to bed. It's probably later than you'd like to admit, and you know it'll be tricky, so here's a mix of crystals to help you get a good night's rest. I like to keep mine in a little bag under my pillow, but you should do whatever works for you!
- Amethyst
- Selenite
- Clear and Rose Quartz
- Hematite
- Black Tourmaline
- Obsidian
I hope this helps!
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The Cardinal Virtues and the Tarot
We see two different approaches to the Cardinal Virtues in the Tarot. There are a set of them displayed in the Major Arcana, but there are also cards in the minor arcana that also address them.
Most of us are familiar with the major arcana ones:
Justice (VIII or XI)
Wisdom/Prudence (the Hermit, IX)
Strength/Courage/Fortitude (VIII or IX)
Temperance (XIV)
The Cardinal virtues come from Classical Antiquity. They predate Christianity and were debated by Socrates and Plato, sometimes even to the point where he and his fellow philosophers had to agree to disagree. The OT writers had their version written into the Wisdom of Solomon in the 2nd c BCE, but that means it's already Hellenistic in origin, as Egypt belonged to Greece in the middle of the Hellenistic Period, as did Israel and Judah. The Greek understanding is, in fact, older by quite a bit. Aristotle, taught by Plato, tutored Alexander, after all.
This is all part of Virtue Theory, the idea that morality and ethics defines your character. For the Socratics, natural Reason was more important than any supernatural source. They might have been monist, but theirs was a natural philosophy. Reason was a human concept, not a divine one. It's different from the philosophical Abrahamic viewpoint, which places the god of Abraham as the source of morality and ethic. Teleology is really the aim of oracular Tarot, regardless of the arche of existence. People are always trying to find the intrinsic or extrinsic Reason for the things and concepts they encounter.
Tarot's oracular use is is syncretic. There are plenty of people who take a deistic stance with the cards and that's valid. Hermetic thought really baked into the most popular kinds of cards, but with the caveat that Modern Tarot's concepts are specific to Rennaissance Hermeticism. That's how we can have Thoth decks and Rosicrucian decks and pagan decks and gnostic decks and so on. Hermeticism is also deeply rooted in Christianity, starting in the 2nd C. CE.
Hermeticism starts in the 2nd c. BCE as Greek thought and Egyptian thought meld. That 500 or so years in there is where Alexander made his conquests, the ancient empires of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant unified and separated and then got conquered again under Rome are the origins of pretty much everything we consider Western Philosophy until we hit the Industrial age.
This is the time of Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535), was trained in Albertist and Neoplatonic thought and philosophy. He was born just 40 years after the Visconti-Sforza decks were commissioned in Milan (1442-1447), right at the time Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1517) was painting. Leonardo, of the Order of St. Luke was also a Neoplatonist. The Last Supper, commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, was around 1495-1498. What does this matter and how to connect these, the man that wrote on Occult Philosophy and the tarot deck that is the precursor to the modern one? The Second Italian War. 1499 Ludovico Sforza flees to Austria. The French take over Milan the same year that Agrippa is entering the University of Cologne.
It's hard to imagine such philosophies being passed around the HRE right in the middle of nasty conflict, but that's how human progress tends to go. And where soldiers go, gambling goes. Agrippa was a soldier under Maximillian I for a time and then patroned by Margaret of Austria in 1509 from there to Würzburg and England and then Pisa. Leonardo during the same time (1509) was in Venice, Austria also working as a military advisor, then back to Florence and then to Rome and to Paris.
To add to this, Leonardo dies but Agrippa is still alive and well when Luther nailed up his Theses in 1517. And you know, you don't have the secret societies of the Reformation era starting up a century and two later without that.
Did they know of one another? More to the point, did they play Tarot? It's not something they would have mentioned in any biography. Both working for the HRE, both Neoplatonists, both associated with the military, both in Austria around the same time. Both patroned by the highest houses, Agrippa by the Hapsburgs and Leonardo by the Borgias among their many respective patrons.
But it's that Neoplatonic and Hermetic thought that runs through both that unites them, even if they were almost literally like two ships passing in the night. And Tarot, as a card game, is getting popularized right there along with them, even if they never played it, brought around Europe not only by soldiers and mercenaries but the Romani and the Calé. It was definitely also a diversion in the court of Vienna as well as Rome and Milan. And it was definitely connected to Hermeticism there. The Sola Busca deck was from Vienna, fully illustrated in 1490 with definitive Hermetic designs.
So, by the 17th c. the Rosicurians are picking up the deck and assigning their meanings to it. It relates. They are the ones that kind of tied all of it together with Hermeticism and letting Tarot be legit in a divinatory use in a way that isn't resulting in getting stiff fines or getting burned, pilloried, or tortured. And they are the ones that are also picking up Agrippa and Da Vinci and Michealangelo's ideas. They're rich and literate men, so they have that privilege. By that time, there were actual divinatory decks away from the Tarot that these men didn't get hold of. There were even oracle decks. But these guys had control of the presses so they got the popularity. Meanwhile there's stuff like the Hooper Deck, the Leonormand, Proverb Cards and the game of Hope which are mostly forgotten unless you deep dive into cartomancy.
But as to the virtues, as they appear in the Majors, are there because of that Neoplatonism. Triumphs and Follies of the Fool is the allegory that goes with them. And it really is allegory, quite similar to other allegorical literature of the time: Dante's inferno (1300) written right at the time the very first recognizably Tarot game decks were being put out all the way through Pilgrim's Progress (1678) for example. The allegory is the triumph procession, a Roman Parade from antiquity blended into the Carnivale. and then made performative by the 12th c.
Cards made stories accessible. Tarot in its own way kept the classical virtues in the hands of the people when the reading of it by the layman was only to be had through a church education. Even when the church clamped down on public spectacle, they couldn't keep the cards out of the hands of the laity.
Three overt virtue cards and one obscured. But do they have to belong to the majors alone? They kind of did when the Majors and courts were the only ones that had illustration for most people. Sola Busca, with images clearly aligned with Renaissance alchemy, made in Ferrara for a Venetian client (1490-1) is a huge exception but you don't see the full illustration of the cards in common use until printing became cheap and RWS got to see the Sola Busca in black and white photos at the British Museum. And then you don't see full color SB printed for the masses until 1998 (thank you to the publisher Wolfgang Mayer) even if that print was only 700 copies.
With that exception They had to stay there for the sake of the allegory. But with the fully illustrated RWS deck, based on the SB deck, and then the Thoth deck there are echoes of the cardinal virtues also in the minor arcana.
Prudence/Wisdom: The Eight of Coins/Pentacles/Disks --Thoth deck identifies this as the Lord of Prudence
Fortitude: The Seven of Wands/Rods/Batons --Identifies with courage and Perseverance and therefore, also the Strength card
Justice: The Four of Cups/Chalices/Bowls. --this is a hot take, admittedly. But the card of evaluating choices is the work of Justice rather than the seat. We are not always satisfied by it. But we still have to deal with it.
Temperance: The Four of Swords-- also a hot take, but the idea of tempering is about the quenching and hardening of metal after its shaping, and that is what this knight is doing to himself, a knight being a living weapon of his king.
That's the traditional placement. But cards do change and the minor arcana treatment of them is kind of odd. Travail does shift things around along elemental correspondences and makes the Cardinal virtues a true hinge, not for the Major arcana but for the minor. It forces an explicit commentary on the interpretations. I chose the four of each traditional suit to place the four cardinal virtues, as the number four is also the four classical elements, the seasons, the compass points. To be a hinge, a cardinal point, is to be a concept that all the others revolve around. It doesn't have to be the midpoint. Levers and cantilevers show that very basically in physics and construction.
The minor arcana's classical illustrations are honestly not that far off already across the fours. It was just the right place to put them where the weight of the three preceding cards offers sheer stress, the four is the bending moment, and the rest of the cards in the suit are the structural load. The virtues do also have elemental correspondence, and they are listed correctly in the Majors that way. So if they are correct in the majors, they should also be correctly assigned to the minors.
That's why you will see if you go back a couple of posts, names changed in the Major arcana where these concepts would usually go. Cardinal virtues are Universal virtues so they really do belong in the minor arcana which deals with universal, syncretic concepts of humanity, whereas the Majors are about individual, idiosyncratic encounters. For the Majors, where they are changed because of this, the card is an agency rather than a virtue card.
Like the Lawyer, which is replacing the Justice card, ordered VIII in Travail. What the Justice card (4 of Cups) deals with is the universal concept, more akin to karma. It is the idea very akin to the trial of Anubis. We see this man with three damaged cups and one cup held in the clouds. Travail commentary on this is that whatever is left there in those ebbing three cups needs emptying into that one in the clouds so that the man can continue into celebration with a single full one. Of those three cards, they are each a third full, which is why he is so dissatisfied, in the Travail, Cups is read from highest to lowest, so this man is the man who has just come through grief, the 5 of cups. And indeed, grief is the reason for a cry for justice and if your three cups do not fill the singular cup offered, there is a burden still to be put to balance.
These are the contents: After a time of sitting with grief (5 of cups) You fill the past with yourself. You fill the present with empathy, you fill the future with support. None of these can be completely full because you can’t abandon yourself, ask another to abandon themselves, or be completely helpless. So the figure in the card seems dissatisfied. Sure, the cups are all upright and whole and there is something in them. But it is not the fullness he expected after coming through it. The Universe (hand in cloud) gives suggestion that instead of sitting in apathy with ebbing cups, all of them should be poured into the cup of Justice it offers. Justice is the promise that balance will be restored if you let go of what is instinctively personal. It does not force this lesson. It just offers it. Forcing the issue, just like forcing people to move past grief, is in Justice the source of conflation with law and order; control. But only after you fill the cup will you understand how to move forward into the celebration of Fidelity. (3 of cups)
On the other side, what the Lawyer card in Travail's Major Arcana does is the agency of justice, not as common law justice, but as Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat,-- Justinian, Digest, 6th c. CE. It is the presumption of innocence. Let he who accuses bring the proof. This take on the Justice card of the major arcana is desperately needed to not only fill the role for Justice, but to counterbalance the Devil card. So in the allegory, Justice becomes the Defense Lawyer to stand with the Fool while the Devil plays the prosecuting lawyer before the heavenly court. Just more simple nuance.
Mechanically, What putting the virtues at the fours does is to balance the weight of three universal personal ideals against six universal interpersonal concepts and that's consistent across all the pips.
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Christianity and Divination
There are topics like that... I will write a little on it, can't post there as we can't edit our posts in the forum and I assume I will delete this one later on, as it is very controversial topics, so why go there too much... But could be good idea to cover a little of my view to it here.
If we view the new testament there is very little mention of devils, satan or anything like that, I think it was few dozen in the whole thing and most of them are very unclear, as to what is being addressed.
All this description of Hell, Satan, all of it, none of this is from either parts of the Bible. Where it comes from is long to go into, however, and easy to check in sources about that.But there was a vast framework that was added to the story there, later on.
Not to mention that they are clearly written long after the events, the gospels that is... Since Roman Empire was not very friendly to Christians back then, its fair to assume it was passed in secret for a long time until recorded... So having some doubt on the clarity of the text is a good idea, as the sources are not very clear. Even today there isn't a single page of the original texts and even today we still aren't sure on what language the gospels were written, as far as I'm aware. Although people interested in the esoteric part of it, would have good reason to guess its Aramaic, but that is another story.If we look the main message of Jesus in the texts, however, its for non judgment, acceptance and loving unconditionally. That I don't see contradicting with Tarot or most other system out there.
His disciples, didn't seem so clear, but looking at his view to them, listening to them too much seems unwise. He wouldn't, why would we do so...If we dig more into it... Jesus came as part of a specific religion back then, we call Judaism, so much so that he was initiated in it. His main message seems to be for people part of that. Some view that his idea was to play a role they were expecting there for a long time and still do today, actually. That is also important to keep in mind, as with all remedies, some of them are tailored to specific problem, aren't that easy to use for any problem one could have...
And today Christians view that the old testament is part of Christianity, yet haven't spend much effort to actually learn what it is.
As if we read Kabbalists, people that are on the inner part of Judaism, the Torah(most of the old testament is called that) is actually showing us Sephirot by Sephirot how it all works.
Some Sephirot are nice to work to, some may need some getting used to... Taking the text from random Sephira, not with the idea to understand, but with the idea to use random sentences as commandments on how to live ones life... That is never going to work, as few pages later when it gets to the opposite Sephira it will write the opposite view.Yet most Christians that step on the idea of devil, hell etc. as they can't really find source for that in the new testament, in a very convincing way, usually look at the old one. And in there the God seems meaner, that isn't the case, however, its just not made to be taken as recommendation for every carefully selected sentence of it, its just showing how it all works, step by step each Patriarch showing one sephira. And some steps are difficult and challenging... Some are easy.
All this are very long and messy topics, though, but considering that the problem becomes lack of interest. Jesus was part of Judaism, in his own view, very clearly. It was something that even later on he still initiated in(as given clearly in the story with John the Baptist).
So understanding the old testament requires one to understand Judaism. Understanding Judaism requires one to understand the Kabbalah.None of that is required for Christianity, only Jesus message seems to be. Non judgement, unconditional love etc. But since good parts of the Christians can't really cover that one and instead put a lot of effort to find base to judge as much as they can others on, the lack of base to do that from could be challenging... But why conform to that, that isn't Christianity, isn't Judaism, either, its some confusing mess people did, as they couldn't do the "unconditional love" part they were only suppose to focus on.
So in my humble view, if one wants to be a good christian, trying to sense what Jesus pointed to is a great start. Trying to judge less, to accept more, to see the good even in our enemies, share with people when they need it and we may not etc. That seem to be the main message.
Digging into the old testament, ignoring that this is Kabbalistic material and taking sentences out of their context(description of Sephirot) to use as a base to judge others on, is so far from what Christianity was suppose to be, in my humble view, that anyone that decided to align their practices with that mess, will have difficult time. But aligning it with the pure message in the new testament is very easy, as there is nothing there that contradicts Divination or most other stuff, people aim in the name of "Christianity" at.
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I will return to the tarot deck of Bologna later on, when I have assembled my mind and my health decently, but just a note to myself here:
Until 1725, Bolognese tarot had two female Popes (no Empress) and two male Popes (no Emperor), and a long succession of Popes had no reason to comment on this stylistic choice, until 1725. The Popesses and the Popes were replaced with four Moors, since exotification of foreigners was apparently all nice and dandy at the time. Bologna, boasting the world's oldest university, was located within the Papal States at the time (long before the unification of Italy), so the Papal administration had a say on what was allowed to be printed.
Another note to myself: Take a closer look at revolutionary French decks without Empress, Emperor, Kings, Queens and Jacks.
Another note to myself: Compare the Paris pattern and the Rouen pattern!!!
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Get The Start Right
Learning the Tarot can be a daunting task, especially in the beginning.
More so, if you want an accurate assessment without paying a competent reader.
A less than ideal situation arises by being in a pinch.
It seems the universe took a liking to such situations, so in the future, if someone asks me what a pinch is, I will state with confidence: "The place where you start to read Tarot".
We have zero experience, want clarity, and are in a pinch.
The question must be "How to get results under these conditions?"
The very first thing we need is an acquaintance with the cards, however small, to create some sort of rapport with the deck (whichever pack it may be).
For that, we skim through the deck and look at each picture for a brief moment.
That finished, put it away for a small time and concentrate on breathing until bored (may happen quickly), then we take to the cards again.
This time, we form three piles: The Good, The Bad, The So-So.
We do this without looking at any meanings.
The important part is to notice how each card hits different when we look at it.
All three piles complete, we equip ourselves with a pencil and grab the booklet attached in order to find something useful.
Take one of either, the "Good" or the "Bad" pile. Leave the "So-So" for last.
Identify each card and find it in the list. There should be a compilation of keywords attached, find and underline the one which makes the most sense for you.
In this step, we get rid of ambiguity - in the beginning, it serves no purpose save making one stumble.
For the cards in the "Good" pile, we choose a positive keyword each, the one which makes the most sense to you when looking at the card's picture.
For the cards in the "Bad" pile, we choose a negative keyword each, also the one which makes the most sense to you when looking at the card's picture.
For the cards in the "So-So" pile, we choose whatever keyword hits home for us when looking at the cards picture.
Now, put the piles together again.
Next, a very important step: We ditch the idea of reversals.
In the very beginning, they often serve no purpose save adding to our confusion.
You need to know how the card hits when its standing before trying to make sense of it upside down.
You also need to know that there are quiet a few readers who do not use reversals at all, to great success.
Tell that to your deck: "I will turn the reversed cards upright."
Now, you do have the basis for a successful communication.
Next, make the first read count by focusing on what it is you want to know.
Boil it down to what it really is, be honest and phrase it into a single, direct question.
Write it on a sheet of paper, large enough to be read easily from a meter away - that is where you place it so you may shuffle while focusing on your question.
Decide on the amount of cards you want to use before actually shuffling the cards, starting from a minimum of three.
If you use some sort of spread, tell it to your deck. If you just want to deal three cards in a row, say that, too.
Vocalisation helps in establishing a clear intent, and we do need that.
Now we may start reading from a somewhat more stable position, and more likely than not, we will be able to get some sense out of our read.
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It's been a while... how y'all doing?
Hello, this is Van.
A lot of things happened in this semester. I got a job as a teacher and I'm having my final exams in college (not the finals of the course just for the semeste). All of this means that I did not have enough time to focus only in the readings, which is kind of sad, but i decided to start over (not all over again, but catching up where I stopped). Even though with all of this I managed to keep doing some reading, I have tried to do some with my significant other and well, just for some of context he's the kind of guy that is skeptical about everything, and even if he made a little fun of me in the beginning I guess right now he respect it.
Well, as being someone so closed about almost everything, it was hard to have some information (this is a belief here, if you don't permit people to see, than no one will ever be able to see it), each time I questioned The Emperor appeared, and I laughed almost every time, because this card is exactly the kind of person he is.
I got more confident, which is great, but I still practice more and learn more so I can get accurate readings. And guys I pretend to bring more stuff, I just don't have that time yet 😅😅😅
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Amor et Psyche: the Oracle that could have happened…
…but didn’t.
This is a bit of a rant, so please bear with me.
At first glance, there’s nothing to dislike about this Oracle, published in 2021 by Lo Scarabeo. It’s based on the illustrations that Georges Barbier did for the 1922 edition of The Songs of Bilitis, a collection of Ancient-Greek-style erotic poems written by Pierre Louÿs and first published in 1894. The poems were so well-crafted and skillfully presented by the author that, for a while, they were taken for original ancient poetry that had miraculously survived for centuries and was recently rediscovered by an archeologist. The illustrations go perfectly with them, and while they bear a definite Art Deco flavor, they convey the particular Ancient Greek lack of embarrassment about depicting the human body and various pleasurable actions humans engage in.
What ruins this harmony is the titles on the cards (and the associated “stories” in the LWB). One of the cards is titled “Body Positive” – a notion much too modern and in all probability incompatible with how Greeks viewed the body. If anything, they were “body negative”, to the point when anything but a young, healthy, athletic, beautiful body was mocked and used as a metaphor for various negative character traits. The card itself depicts two women on what looks like a romantic picnic – they’re both young, beautiful, and quite trim, which makes the title of the card look misplaced. To make it worse, one of the women is a woman of color, which kind of pushes the card’s “body positive” message into some ugly alleys.
There’s a card called “Warrior of Love” – a young man on a horse. I have no idea what it means, aside from the toxic idea that one has to “fight” for one’s love – the idea that, sadly, sprouted quite a few creeps.
One of the worst cards in the deck is probably this one:
The associated story in the LWB mentions Cupid and “a vision of the ideal romance”. What the author of the deck, unfortunately, didn’t seem to realize is that the winged youth with two downward-facing, extinguished torches isn’t Cupid – it’s Thanatos, the god of death (at which point the title of the card – “Ideal Romance” – looks like dark sarcasm). Ironically, Thanatos makes his appearance not in person, but in the title of a different card – “Eros and Thanatos”, another anachronistic title with its Freudian innuendo.
What is particularly distressing is that none of this has to happen. Both the poems and the illustrations provide enough of various situations, ideas, and moods to make an adequate psychological tool for analyzing relationships. For example, the card titled “The Charm of Simplicity” is reduced to basically enjoying simple pleasures of life (and love). However, the image (censored 😛) and the story behind it tell something much more interesting.
Here, young Bilitis is in love with a young shepherd – she doesn’t know yet that he will first sexually assault her and then become her abusive husband. But in the image, look how differently they’re positioned. She’s standing up, and doves circle around her, landing on her open palm. Doves were associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, – and love is what’s on the girl’s mind here, in its most pure and sweet form. The young man is lying down – his legs are spread, and he’s playing an aulos, a Greek double flute that was connected with satyrs and the cult of Dionysus. He obviously isn’t thinking about love – all he cares about is sex. Some charm can (probably) be found in such simplicity – but the way these two lovers’ hopes clash is much more useful in an actual reading.
What seems to have ruined the potential of this deck is the unfortunate mix-up that exists in the very broad category of Oracle decks – the mix-up between true Oracles (divination decks) and all kinds of inspirational/meditation/affirmation cards (decks that advise and inspire, rather than analyze and predict). In an attempt to make the latter out of this particular deck, I think the author missed a good opportunity to make the former. To be fair, as an affirmation deck, it does work pretty decently – it’s just that it could have been so much more.
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Hi everyone - this isn't really a review, but just some thoughts after receiving the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot Deck. It's a very personal view, and I appreciate not everyone will agree. It's also not an attempt to criticise or blame. Please take it in the spirit of positive critique of two very beautiful contemporary RWS-family decks. 🙂
So, it's been a little less than a week since I received my copy of the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot deck, an impulse buy having seen its gorgeous art online. I almost never buy tarot decks; the Golden Art Nouveau deck is my seventh deck ever, in more than forty years of reading and studying tarot. My working deck for the past 3 years has been the beautiful Radiant Wise Spirit, which I'm still a great fan of, despite certain shortcomings (see below). Before that, I used mostly the Sacred Rose Tarot, with an occasional foray (and back!) into the Thoth.
My first impressions on receiving the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot were unfortunately a bit disappointing. The artwork is indeed spectacular, gorgeous, very original. It's also a very faithful (to 95%+ fidelity) representation of Pamela's original RWS illustrations in a more three-dimensional, art nouveau style. There's a lot of gold leaf, some beautiful illustration, and the artwork is highly attractive.
At the same time, I felt the deck was inferior to the Radiant Wise Spirit. My reasons for thinking that shed light on just how well crafted the original RWS is, probably why it's survived so long as the world's favourite tarot deck, and why the modern clones (including the Radiant Wise Spirit) are standing on the shoulders of a real giant.
But to get into more detail...
My first negative impression with the Golden Art Nouveau was the physical flimsiness of the cards. They're thin. They feel very much like a standard deck of playing cards you might find in a bar or a dime store. The beautiful artwork already has a border of art nouveau tracery (think Moët et Chandon), but the cards have an additional white border around that. This serves to make the actual artwork on the cards smaller. This is a shame, because the GANT deck cards are already quite small in width; they're about the same height as the Radiant Wise Spirit, but about 80% of the width, a good 10% of which is the two borders. My guestimate is therefore that the GANT artwork is about 75% of the size of the Radiant Wise Spirit artwork. As they're trying to fit in the same detail, it feels a little crammed in. The Radiant Wise Spirit is already borderless, and has a larger, heavier, more rigid cardstock, so the whole thing feels bigger and more substantial in comparison.
The second negative impression was that the GANT cards look pretty similar. There are some attempts to put highlights in the borders to differentiate between the suits in the minor arcana, but by and large all the cards use broadly the same narrow palette; golden hues, whites, browns, yellows, with occasional other colours. It gives the deck an artistic unity, but at the same time actually makes it quite difficult to differentiate between the cards at a glance. With the RWS, and the Radiant Wise Spirit, each card is remarkably distinctive; you can tell at a glance, and at a distance, what card you're looking at, which you can't with the GANT. This makes the Radiant Wise Spirit much easier to read and interpret; I found myself having to really "look at" a GANT card to figure out what it was. For me, it simply wasn't as user-friendly.
There were other minor quibbles in the illustrations. The GANT has chosen (I assume deliberately) to leave out certain details that are present in the RWS. I found this a little annoying, as for me the RWS decks are all about visual cues, mnemonics, esoteric details, what-have-you, and not to see them in an RWS clone was disconcerting. Here are a few examples:
- in the 10 of Swords, the Lord of Ruin, the prone figure is no longer making the hierophantic gesture with his right hand.
- in the 4 of Swords, the Lord of Rest From Strife, the three swords on the wall are no longer positioned over the supine figure's chakras, and the word PAX is no longer visible in the stained glass window.
- in VI The Lovers, the man is no longer looking at the woman, and the Archangel Raphael now appears female.
- in the 4 of Wands, the Lord of Perfected Work, all symmetry of the four wands structure is gone, and indeed the art nouveau border is actually covering most of one of the wands, so that only three of them are easily visible.
- in the 6 of Pentacles, the Lord of Material Success, the bandages on the head of one of the beggars are gone.
- in the High Priestess, the Priestess's neutral, almost trance-like expression is gone, replaced by something that appears quite like haughty disdain, even condescension. There's also no longer the tiny glimpse of what lies beyond the veil between the two pillars. The High Priestess has always been my favourite card, but here I found it quite cold and unsympathetic.
- in the Knight of Pentacles, the Knight's horse is no longer stationary, but indeed appears to be in mid-gallop (or at least mid-trot), which runs counter to the general concept of the Knight of Pentacles being the most immobile of the knights.
The GANT isn't all bad, of course! As well as being artistically gorgeous, I very much appreciate there being no text on the court cards, making it easy to apply one's own titles. I did, however, found the undeniable male-ness of the Pages to be a bit of an untimely decision; it's very hard to imagine those blokes as "princesses". They also don't look terribly youthful; the Page of Wands, indeed, looks downright rough (and a bit dodgy).
On the whole, I appreciated the artwork in the GANT much more as artwork than as tarot card illustrations. Some of the symbolism choices seemed odd, and didn't give me a whole lot of confidence that the designs were done with a keen occult eye. Finally, I found the card backs a little underwhelming, and surprisingly unsymmetrical; for me, that's not a thing, but I know people for whom it is. It would have taken little to make the card backs indistinguishable for reversals.
Finally, for balance, I feel I should call out some of the negative things about the Radiant Wise Spirit. For me, it's currently my go-to deck, and the best I've found for my purposes. I love the heavier cardstock, and the fact that it's borderless, as well as its beautiful colours. But there are weaknesses. Here are some of them.
- first, sometimes the line work is frankly sloppy. In the worst cases, it looks like the originals have been traced over with a way-too-thick felt tip pen, and that obscures Pamela's fine linework and elegant illustrations. A particularly egregious example is the Eight of Cups, Abandoned Success, whose linework should never have made it through proofing. I would happily buy a new version of the Radiant Wise Spirit where this particular deficiency is fixed; it shouldn't be that hard to correct. Another example is the Queen of Cups, who frankly now looks just a bit pissed off.
- second, some of the colour choices appear to have been made without consideration of esoteric significance. A glaring example is that the "white hands" on the Aces have all gone, and have been replaced by flesh-coloured hands, despite Book T giving clear indications to the contrary. Likewise, all trace of haloes around those hands are gone; given that the actual number of rays in the hand haloes has esoteric significance, I consider this an omission.
On the whole, though, my quibbles with the Radiant Wise Spirit are minor for me personally, and don't impact the deck's great effectiveness and usability. In contrast, my issues with the Golden Art Nouveau are more significant, and, at this moment, I don't think I'll be using it for readings. However, I must admit I'm considering whether it might be a good deck for pathworking, at least with certain cards (maybe I'll steer clear of the High Priestess...); their three dimensional nature may make them very effective for creative visualisation as long as you can deal with the occasional missing details and idiosyncratic vibes in certain cases. And, the cards really are very pretty, my above comments notwithstanding, and if you want some serious RWS-related eye-candy, I'd still recommend taking a look. For me, though, I would pay good money for a larger, borderless version of the Golden Art Nouveau deck, on heavier cardstock and perhaps (ideally) with a little attention and tweaking to the colour palette. That could well be a game-changer.
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Latest Entry
A New Deck: The Alchemical Tarot
I bought a new tarot deck, and it was well overdue. I was feeling burnt out on the jumble of symbolic systems found in The Hermetic Tarot, and the imagery of the Rider-Waite-Smith decks and their numerous copies had become stale. On the other hand, I encountered many decks online that didn't resonate with me at all; their symbolism was minimal, and the distinctions between the cards were vague. This left me feeling disheartened, but I must admit that I hadn’t been searching thoroughly enough.
I have two main criteria for a tarot deck, and it must meet at least one of them:
- 1. The visual language must appeal to me aesthetically.
- 2. The meaning system must be structured and intellectually stimulating.
Therefore, it was a breath of fresh air to discover that Robert M. Place's The Alchemical Tarot meets both of these criteria: it is both beautiful and complex. Additionally, it features a theme that has captivated me for years and that I regularly explore: alchemy. I find the idea that material 'reality' can be equated with—or at least serve as a metaphor for—a spiritual truth absolutely fascinating. This aligns with the Hermetic principle "as above, so below," a concept I hold dear.
The deck showcases artwork that appears quite old-fashioned, as if it belongs to a bygone era. The color palette is calm and harmonious; all the cards are similar enough to blend seamlessly together, yet they possess distinct differences that make them easy to distinguish. However, I don’t want this to read as a promotional piece, nor do I intend to write a formal review.
I prefer to delve into the alchemical principles embodied in this deck. First, there are the four suits: Coins, Vessels, Swords, and Staffs, which represent the alchemical elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, and also correspond to Jung's proposed psychological functions. The Vessels represent intuition, emphasizing possibilities and deeper meanings. The Coins are associated with feeling, focusing on values and emotions in relationships. The Swords align with thinking, prioritizing logic and analysis in decision-making. Finally, the Staffs relate to sensation, grounding individuals in the present and emphasizing tangible experiences. Together, these suits provide a holistic approach to tarot readings, facilitating self-discovery and personal growth by integrating various aspects of the psyche. This deck thus combines medieval alchemical views with modern psychological insights.
The major arcana beautifully reflect the alchemist's Magnum Opus, or the search for the Philosopher's Stone. It's not a gradual, perfect progression but a journey filled with ups and downs, illustrating that some experiments may fail, falter, or get abandoned—and that’s perfectly okay; that’s life. Concepts like Nigredo (the stage of blackening or decomposition), Albedo (the stage of whitening or purification), Citrinization (the stage of yellowing or enlightenment), and Rubedo (the stage of reddening or completion) are present, along with the underlying processes of distillation and purification. In some cases, these are represented by glyphs, but there are also more metaphorical images such as the Green Lion (Strength) and the Grey Wolf (Nine of Staffs).
The Green Lion symbolizes the raw, untamed forces of transformation, representing the initial breakdown of materials in the alchemical process. In contrast, the Grey Wolf embodies loyalty and instinct, signifying the journey through the darker aspects of the self. Together, they reflect the balance between primal potential and intuitive guidance in the alchemical journey.
The deck also features the colors red and white quite prominently in many cards. White is associated with mercury, symbolizing the fluid, receptive aspects of transformation and the unifying force of intellect. Conversely, red represents sulfur, which embodies the active, fiery principle of transformation and the spirit's passion. This interplay between red sulfur and white mercury illustrates the dynamic balance needed for true alchemical transformation, merging spirit and matter on the path to enlightenment.
In summary, The Alchemical Tarot connects alchemical concepts with psychological insights, offering a unique lens through which to explore personal transformation. Its rich imagery and symbolism encourage reflection on the processes of change and self-discovery. Engaging with this deck allows individuals to navigate their journeys, blending ancient wisdom with contemporary understanding as they seek to harmonize the various aspects of their lives. Having already begun to work with it, I am curious to see what this deck will reveal to me as I continue my exploration.
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Latest Entry
~Ginger and lemon herbal tea.~
Aaaah, lemon and ginger herbal tea... who has never heard of it? In this issue we will explain how to prepare it, everyone don't worry!
But first of all, why these two ingredients, exactly?? Because this herbal tea promotes digestion, controls bad cholesterol, is very useful against nausea and many other properties. Today we will find out how to cook it at home.---I N G R E D I E N T S---
You will need:
-1 fresh ginger (about 50 g); -600 g of water; -Zest of 1 UNTREATED lemon, clean; - Cinnamon to taste, one stick.
---P R E P A R A T I O N---
First clean the lemon (wash it) and remove the zest without the white part. Also peel the ginger and cut it into sticks. Pour the water into a saucepan and add the lemon peels, then add the ginger and cinnamon. Boil for 10/15 minutes, then filter the infusion and enjoy it.
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The Dandiest Devil.
From Dark Wood Tarot, by Sasha Graham, illustrated by Abigail Larson.
So far in my tarot study, this is the Best Devil Ever. Why? I can hardly wait to tell you!
The Page of Swords was having a quiet, contemplative moment in the woods, sitting solo by his sparkling fire. He is a thoughtful lad, the Page of Swords. But there he was, minding his own business when out of the gloom tromps this large and imposing Devil. Unsure of what's about to happen next the Page rises, his sword at the ready but not yet raised to strike a blow. The Page is guarded, wary, attentive, braced to react as required. His feet are firmly planted, his shoulders squared, he displays no fear or hesitation.
Likewise, the Devil is armed with a barbed club but his weapon is not raised to strike. He carries a chain. His eyes almost seem to not even be looking at the Page, but like they are aimed beyond. If he was looking down at the Page his chin would be tipped to view his puny prey. But it's not. It seems to me that the Devil is very aware of being in the presence of the Page, but not entirely focused on him. Having found a sitting duck that is surprisingly ready to strike in his own defense, the Devil quickly looks ahead to his next target. Someone who has a sword that is perhaps a little more dull and slow. The Devil is, after all, atrociously lazy. The easy way out is his motto and what he's selling.
The Devil does not leap out from behind bushes and ensnare you, like a cowboy roping a calf. Instead the Devil lumbers into your campsite and offers you the chain. Here you go, an easy way out, a quick solution to a thorny problem, a way to avoid the difficult and painful things. An excuse. Poor you. You were the victim of the Devil. But let's be clear, the chain is always an offer, a gift, a quick fix and we, you, us .... we put that chain on ourselves. We take that short cut, that easy out. We believe or tell a lie for convenience. We give in to temptation all the while we bloody well know better. There is no truth in 'the Devil made me do it !" No. He didn't. He merely showed up when you seemed like a target and offered you enough chain to choke yourself. And you, with your own two hands, slipped that link around your own neck.
The Devil card in a reading tells me that the person sitting across from me, wrestling with a thorny dilemma most likely got there through bad decision after bad decision. Short cut after short cut. Responsibility avoidance. Difficult truth avoidance. These are all links in the Devil's chain. What a wonderful, magical chain where the hard parts of life can be skirted, avoided, left to others to solve or blamed on others. This is the Devil's business and people buy it like hotcakes!
The Devil leaves and the Page of Swords is unharmed. Why? Because he recognized that chain for the trap it is. He didn't even have to wave his sword. All he had to do was stand up and think, "Not today, Buddy, I'm not falling for your temptations." And the Devil moves to greener pastures. The Page, intellectually his own master, is not about to be dictated to by what is easy and immediately rewarding. He is immune to the Devil. The Devil knows it.
Yes, there is evil in the world, truly harmful people. But by far the worst damage done to us is often by our own hand and our own bad choices made for bad reasons. I love this card because it so clearly depicts that the Devil is an oaf that stumbles into our happy camping and without anyone getting dirty, sweaty or injured, we have the power to move him along. To stand our ground. No chains for me today, thank you very much. This Devil card is all the things I see the Devil as and so far no other card has come close. -
Latest Entry
introducing
I joined this forum today because I wanted to feel a part of a community with similar interest and passions. I'm in a stormy time of life and seek places that give a still, mindful, sacred vibe to help quiet my spirit and mind.
In perusing some of the topics put forth on the forum I was excited to find that other hobbyist writers (fiction, poetry, RPG) have joined and like I do - use their Tarot for inspiration. It also brought to mind how I've been regularly blogging lately on my other social media and what if I were to combine blogging with a Card a Day?
I've been reading for myself and some friends since 2006, however, I still feel like I have so much to learn. Despite my love of Tarot I do not feel gifted with it. I'd also like to become more confident in reading intuitively now. I've relied on consulting others and reading from books and leaning on traditional interpretations all these years. So, transitioning from that to more intuitive and creative approaches to Tarot will be this blog's direction.
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Two Excellent Books I Highly, Highly Recommend
There are two authors I've recommended in various places before that I definitely respect and appreciate. I recently bought two of their most recent books and I'm very, very pleased with what I've learned and what they've proven by years of scientific research. Yep, I said "scientific" as in double blind studies and all that true scientific proof requires. We're legit, folks. Let me tell you about the authors and these books and why I'm so thrilled to bring this to you all.
First of all, Larry Dossey, MD is the author of a book called One Mind. Quoting what's written on the back cover of the book:
"In the 20th century, we were introduced ro several subdivisions of the mind: the conscious, subconscious, preconscious and so on. But what we didn't know was that there was another level of consciousness, an all-encompassing, infinite dimension of shared intelligence: the One Mind. This universal consciousness connects all of us through space and time.
Emerging studies have shown that the One Mind isn't just an idea; it's a reality. In this book, Larry Dossey shares compelling experiences and research that supports the One Mind concept, such as:
Shared thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations wirh a distant individual
Communication between humans and sentient nonhumans, such as pets
Acquisition of previously unknown knowledge from a person who has died
Hidden or lost objects found through mental means alone
Direct contact with a transcendent domain through near-death experiences
Rev. Wayne Muller, who I'm not familiar with, wrote this on the back of the book, too, but I want to include his comments as well:
"The Buddha said: Isolation is the world's great misery. In an increasingly complex world , we feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and more and more alone. Dr. Larry Dossey, a gifted physician of the soul , relieves the agony of modern isolation. He reveals our deep connections to everything around us, to reassert our belonging with everything everywhere."
This book is absolutely awesome. Worth every penny you pay for it and then some, in my opinion. I can't recommend it highly enough and I'm going to read it again----and probably again and again. I hope many of you will, too. I got mine on Amazon.
The second book is by Dean Radin, PhD. It's titled Real Magic and from the back of the book:
"The chief scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences turns a critical eye toward such practices as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis. Are such powers really possible? Science says yes."
To quote just a little from his first page, he says "this is about REAL magic" and he says "Real magic falls into three categories......" The first category he calls "force of will"and he says it's associated with spell-casting and other techniques meant to intentionally influence events or actions.
The second one he calls "divination" and it's associated with Tarot reading mirror-gazing and other practices.
The third one he calls "theurgy" and it involves evoking and communicating with spirits.
a
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Latest Entry
first post
Hi all, I'm new. I found this forum looking for an alternative to a forum where I used to study.
I learned from learntarot.com at first, with a random crappy Lo Scarabeo deck from a mall. I made my first informed choice of deck, Clive Barret's Ancient Egyptian, from Aeclectic Tarot reviews & studied with the posters there. This is what I typically use to read for others. I like my Ancient Egyptian for combining and playing with both RWS and Thoth traditions. I'm not much fond of RWS itself but I can appreciate its influences in other decks and its clones too; I just don't think the og RWS inspires me.
I have also enjoyed Hermetic Tarot and Robin Wood which I gave to a friend (but I wouldn't mind acquiring it again sometime). Ultimately I got into Thoth. My best unexpectedly good deck is the Game of Thrones Tarot. I have also enjoyed using cards virtually with Orphalese where my favorite deck to use is Neon Moon.This is a pretty consumerist entry. I have a personal relationship with the cards but I'm not great at writing it. I'm not much a neo-pagan at my roots. But thru my study of Tarot and it's connected materials, numerology, astrology, etc, I have appreciated and appropriated some neo-pagan practices. These communities have welcomed me (mostly 😉 ) I would usually describe myself as an atheist but at my most mystical I might try to describe as a kind of psychedelic Jungian techno-animist.
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Latest Entry
Oh.
Silly me forgot to cancel my RWS deck order since I ordered a different deck (White Numen) that wasn't on my wish-list at all (the card that made me gravitate towards the purchase option was my birth card, The Hierophant.)
But, in getting this deck, I figured I'd interview it anyway and see what its strengths and weakness' were since I needed to practice for the next deck coming in.
Questions I asked for the interview spread:
1. What will our relationship be like?
2. What are your strengths as a deck that'll help me move forward?
3. What are you not happy to be working with?
4. What type of messages can I expect to receive while working with you?
Well...the first card I pulled for the first question I asked, I feel like I might have misspoke and said out-loud that I needed to practice for the new deck arriving in a few days and may not be using this deck as much anyway. I could just be overthinking it, but I felt like this deck feels as thought it's going to be competing or that it might be argumentative were I to use this for anything else.
Despite the other responses being alright, I feel like it's not too happy with me!
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Latest Entry
Coloring the RWS
I've started coloring the RWS, for fun and study purposes. I know I am prone to abandoning my projects so I thought blogging about it might keep me on track better. 😸
The PDFs I'm working with have two cards to a page, so they're about 7 and a half inches tall (19 centimeters). I might switch to four to a page instead, as there would be much less sky to fill in that way. I only printed out the Cups suit so far, so if I switch I won't have wasted much paper. But I'm going to do a few more before I decide.
I'm starting with the Minors because I'm not sure if I want to do the traditional, "official" Major colors, or strike off on my own. There was a thread on AT where Richard was coloring the BOTA tarot and following Paul Foster Case's color directions, and it was so cool kind of watching the process unfold, I'm leaning that way currently. Here's a link to the thread if anyone is interested. Honestly that thread was a big inspiration for me doing this (the other was seeing someone's self-colored RWS on YouTube).
I'm using colored pencil and slightly regretting it already, but my pencils are ancient and come to find out, they can "go bad". As in the pigments can fade, and/or the wax binder can get absorbed into the wood, if they're stored somewhere too warm. I had to do So. Many. Layers to get any coverage at all. I think I have newer pencils somewhere around here, if not I'll get some new ones. I tried using alcohol as a blending solvent but it hardly made a difference. I do want to experiment with solvents for blending though (odorless mineral spirits seem to be what most people use).
Anyway here's the first one, the Ace of Cups. Not following the original coloring, but not too far off. I'm regretting that pink cloud but oh well. And I meant to leave a white "glow" around the hand but I was on the phone while coloring and got distracted. But I decided I'm not going to re-do any until I at least finish a full suit. My printer didn't do a great job. Uneven coverage, and you can see where it smeared a bit on the borders, but honestly? I am okay with that. It means they started out flawed to begin with, so I'm less critical of my own mistakes.
Also can we talk about how PCS drew that hand? The weirdly long fingers and the bizarre thumb? I will never feel bad about not being good at hands again!
More to come!
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Latest Entry
Moonlit Boons
For the 24, 25;; and 26th of January 2024:
From 9PM to Midnight, take the time to settle down somewhere calm, relax, breathe deeply; and visualise the Full Moon. Beautiful sceneries, beautiful animals... And let the energies they carry flow through you. Those energies of beauty, tenderness, and Love. Be sure to record and remember everything you will feel, see and hear. Let that magical moment imprint itself in you. And if you wish to talk about what you experienced; do not hesitate to let me know. Changes are coming fast, and we must move akingside them.
I will be with you.
With Love and Light.🌜 Mitou 🌛
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We don't need any more decks!
Except, of course, if it is a well made cat deck. Or something with dragons. Or... no, really, i don't need any more decks.
My inventory of both tarot and oracle decks has grown immensely. Initially, we stopped buying decks about 10 years ago due to house hunting (less stuff to transport) and general lack of space. After moving, we bought decks worth about $700 from LoScarabeo, then a few from elsewhere and we thought we were done for at least 10 more years.
Then there were the after-corona spoils where you could bulk buy decks from ebay and elsewhere, as people who took up reading dropped it again after isolation was over. Also, books and other hobby stuff but I didn't go over board with those.
So we ended up with lots of new decks (some duplicates), some of which I had never heard about and would probably not have bought otherwise. Some of them are unusable for my housemate, but I haven't yet found anything I could not ever use. It is a challenge to use some of them. And they made me curious what else is out there I have not encountered yet and - wow. I would be interested in some of them but I have made the decision not to get anymore decks unless we need to fill up an Amazon buy.
I am not sure what to think about the masses of decks out there anymore. If we get more decks we will have to be a lot more critical. No more bulk buys for us I think because we are both really bad at passing decks on as long as we might eventually use them for something. The only one we could part with easily is the Deviant Moon, it gives us both the creeps.
My housemate built 3 colorful shelves for the walls in our inside temple room, but they are almost full and the larger decks fill up the space under the Bast+Sekhmet altar. No, we really don't need any more decks. Chances are, we will still get a few more. I'm just being realistic.
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I wanted to start my first post with bringing awareness to the tarot community about something that has genuinely transformed my spiritual journey and deepened my connection with the cards.
And that is - Notion, a remarkable digital tool, that has not only redefined the way I engage with the tarot but has the potential to ignite a newfound passion and inspiration within the hearts of fellow tarot enthusiasts. Its impact on my practice has been profound, and I believe it has the power to unlock a world of possibilities for anyone who embraces it.
I must confess, I've always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my tarot readings. The mere idea of keeping a tarot journal, meticulously noting down each card drawn, the positions, and my interpretations, always fascinated me.
For years, I used a traditional written journal to record my readings, but it always felt like something was missing. That was until I discovered the powerful world of digital tarot journaling.
In my quest to find the perfect phone application that could efficiently record and organize my tarot readings, I embarked on a journey of app downloads that left me wanting more. I craved a tool that would not only store my readings but also provide the freedom to customize, search, and visualize the magic of my tarot journey. That's when I stumbled upon the game-changer – an application called Notion.
Notion, to put it simply, is like spreadsheets on steroids. It's a digital workspace that allows users to create and customize databases, task lists, notes, and more. When it comes to tarot journaling, it's a dream come true for the modern practitioner.
Here's why:
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Customization Beyond Imagination: Notion's greatest strength lies in its ability to adapt to your needs. You can create your very own digital tarot journal from scratch, tailoring it to your style and preferences. Add tables, tags, links, and images as you see fit, making it a truly personalized experience. Say goodbye to the limitations of physical notebooks and hello to a world of limitless customization.
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Searchability for Insight: One of the most frustrating aspects of traditional tarot journaling is flipping through countless pages to find a specific reading or insight. With Notion's powerful search feature, you can instantly locate any reading, card, or keyword you desire. It empowers you to connect the dots between past and present readings, enhancing your understanding of the cards and their messages.
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Real-Time Visualization: Digital tarot journaling brings your readings to life in ways that pen and paper never could. You can instantly see your readings unfold, complete with card images. This visual aspect adds a new layer to your understanding of the tarot, allowing you to absorb the energy and symbolism of the cards as they appeared in your spread.
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Insights Through Graphs and Stats: With Notion, you can also track which cards you pull most frequently, as well as which suits or themes dominate your readings. The app offers the ability to create graphs and statistics that give you a deeper insight into your tarot practice, helping you identify patterns and trends in your readings.
If building your own tarot journal seems daunting, fear not! There's a vibrant community of creators on platforms like Etsy who sell beautifully designed tarot journal templates for Notion.
Notion has completely changed the way I read and journal the tarot personally. This application has become a trusted companion on my journey, allowing me to explore the cards and their messages with unprecedented depth and clarity. I highly recommend you check out the app Notion. It's more than a tool; it's an enabler of your tarot magic. With its boundless customization, searchability, real-time visualization, and insightful statistics, you won't regret making the switch to a digital tarot journal.
Your tarot practice will flourish in ways you never thought possible, and the magic of the cards will come alive like never before.If you're curious to witness the true capabilities of Notion and how it can elevate your tarot practice, I invite you to take a look at my own digital tarot journal...
Which You Can Check Out Here:
Ultimately, whether you choose a written or digital journal, the act of maintaining a journal is profoundly beneficial for your soul, and it has the potential to enhance your skills and overall well-being. It's a valuable exercise that should be incorporated into your daily routine. The simple act of reflection, whether through words or digital records, not only strengthens your connection with your chosen practice, be it tarot or any other discipline, but it also nurtures personal growth and self-awareness. Daily journaling offers you a space for introspection and the opportunity to refine your skills while promoting a sense of balance in your life.
But this is a journey I'm excited to share with you, and I hope it inspires you to embark on your own path of discovery with this or some other remarkable digital tool to enhance your own tarot experience!
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observations on the suit of swords
Continuing on from my exercise observing each suit as a whole, separately, here are my observations for the suit of wands:
Swords - Air - Thoughts, Conflict, Challenges
- If the suit of swords, laid from Ace to King, represented your emotional forecast for the next two weeks, what would it be saying?
Ace, showing new conquest with great potential, indicated by the crown. However the card's foundation is rocky - it is still merely potential at this point.
Two shows a feminine figure, blindfolded, crossing two swords across her chest. A deep body of water and the moon is behind them, indicating deep intuition/emotion, but they connot see what lies before them, which is why they remain guarded.
Three indicates terrible sorrow and heartbreak. Three swords, plunging through a heart; the heavy rain pouring down behind a further reflection of the situation at hand.
Four shows a potential result of 3's heartbreak. He appears to be made of stone and are lying in quiet contemplation and hands as if praying. The swords surrounding him represent his current situation; in his detached state, he is also failing to see what is being shown to him in the stained glass window - someone recieving aid after having called for it.
Five reminds me of betrayal, or deceit. One main, all swords in his posession, carries a smug expression and looks back at two figures, each cast off separately - alone, devastated.
Six shows a family unit - husband, wife and child. They are turning their backs on the hardships/strife they have been experiencing. There is a deep body of water that must be crossed before reaching solid ground, indicating an emotional journey.
Seven is most definitely up to something; he appears to be sneaking away from a fair, circus or marketplace (or similar) with swords in his posession. Something I find quite interesting is that he is the only figure amongst all the sword cards who is holding their sword by the blade and not the hilt. A forewarning, for sure!
Eight shows someone blindfolded and tied up with rope, representing a situation that is likely consuming them. They fail to see the sources of aid around them - civilization in the distance, many swords surrounding them. Some creative thinking could likely help remove their bindings.Nine shows someone lying in bed, grief-ridden. It's interesting to note the star signs on the bedspread, the situation could be out of their control.
Ten indicates terrible hardship - a red blanket covering up spilt blood. Oddly though, the body of water is completely still, indicating a degree of acceptance despite the overwhelming sorrow.
Court Cards
The Page holds a sword in front of them, but looks behind at what they have just faced. They have seemingly let go of what once burdened them, but the fact that they are looking back at the previous cards of the suit means they may still be a little weary, or hesitant.
The Knight is ready to face strife and hardship head on - charging towards the number cards to face those challenges directly, becase he now has the resources and allies to help solve them.
The Queen reveals only a part of herself - she is reserved. However her throne is adornes with butterflies and a cherub. There is much more to what's on on the surface with this queen, she posesses a gentle kindness within. The direction she faces indicates that she is focused on what is coming ahead.
The King holds a stern expression, ready to face the challenges before him. Similar to the queen, butterflies adorn his throne as well. Despite his stony exterior, he strives to protect beauty and grace.
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Latest Entry
Deeper Connection with Intuition? 4/21/2023
Decks Used
- Trash Panda Tarot by Jennifer Starling Dukehart
- Maybe Lenormand by Ryan Edwards
Question
For my one pull tarot card I set the intention of, "What do I need to know for today?"
For my lenormand spread I set the intention of, "What will happen/play out today?"
I pulled The High Priestess (2),
Book (26), Hands (39), and Eye (46)
Off the bat I can tell today will be focused on my growth spiritually or at least growing my knowledge whether it be tarot, intuition or spirituality in general. The High Priestess lets me know that I can learn more (wisdom) if I so wish to do so, which is interesting because I planned to do some readings for others later on reddit. I also feel like it will be a still day today so probably not going out or anything (typical). I only say this for The High Priestess given the lenormand spread as it focuses on knowledge and learning, the eye reminds me of the third eye, the unseen the unknown and spirituality just like The High Priestess. The hand reminds me of helping or giving a helping hand so perhaps helping others will grow my knowledge spiritually.
Now this could have a totally different meaning it could mean watching (Eye) someone closely that I will meet (Hand) today that will unfold unknown secrets/knowledge (Book) and The High Priestess could add upon that of being still, calm and collected while gathering information and using intuition or my gut feeling and trusting it.
Let me know what you guys think as I believe it could be a fun practice, I will admit I'm not sure if this blog posts is against the rules I mostly want to use my blog to track readings and see what occurs to learn more about divination.
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I'm not a Business Owner
Hello, friends it is crucial to clarify that I do not have an establishment or corporation and therefore does not make me a business owner or own any business. However, from experience I do operate with a business plan and foundation. The full intention behind the use of the word "business" was meant to go into detail about structure and process earnings from tarot associating to a business. I'm sorry for any misinformation or misguidance this may have caused you. Thank you for your support thus far! 😟
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Latest Entry
March (15–31) 2023 — Bi-Weekly Tarot “Money”
Pick a card. :D
For this reading, you will pick a card (choose a jewelry item) and that will be your message on today’s topic. Now let’s begin to reading. ❤
What did you pick? :D
What do you need to know in regards to money/financial concerns for the next 2 weeks?
Moon Earring — Strength, tells me that this month will be an important time for you. I see new career opportunities and more money coming your way. You’ve been working really hard, applying to jobs and doing what you have to do to grab life by the balls and make things happen. I’m sense very strong baddie boss energy and I feel like soon there will be a positive twist and new beginning for you in the career place where you succeed in significant way.
Rose Earring — Ace of wands, shows me that movement is happening and soon. Within 1 week from now, I get things will be improving for you. You may be offered a promotional opportunity or get a pay raise. For some its a new job offer. For others, new clients. Either way, new doors will open and new avenues for money will arise this month.
Wolf Ring — The Hierophant, is a powerful message when it comes to money. This card tells me that you are wise, educate and prepared. I feel like you know what to do in order to thrive in any work environment. You are confident, you are strong, and you are capable. Above all else, I feel like right now you need to believe in yourself because there is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it.
Thank you for your time, I’ll see you again in 2 weeks! :D
~Tolkien
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The Green Lion symbolizes the raw, untamed forces of transformation, representing the initial breakdown of materials in the alchemical process. In contrast, the Grey Wolf embodies loyalty and instinct, signifying the journey through the darker aspects of the self. Together, they reflect the balance between primal potential and intuitive guidance in the alchemical journey.
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