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Hello @MoonHermit welcome to the TT&M Family.

What about the water/liquid flowing from one cup to the other at an awkward angle? I've always regarded that as attempting the impossible.

@fire cat pickles I'm so glad you spoke up! Often people who enjoy the talents of others don't realize the heavy cost of time and effort expended! ❤️

AI decks - definitely not in my house. Aside from the ethical issues around them, there is just something about the “artwork” that makes my skin crawl with uneasiness. I’m also not a fan of cartoony decks, or sickly saccharine sweet decks that are overly positive. I like my decks to have a darkness to them as well as that is a truer reflection of reality in my opinion.

Hi everyone. My name is Michael and I’ve been interested in tarot since the early 1990’s. The original Mythic tarot was my first deck. I have a keen interest in all branches of tarot (rider Waite Smith, Thoth, tarot de Marseille etc). I live in Cairns Australia.

I so agree with you about artwork that is difficult to SEE, or distinguish between cards while reading. (Especially important because I usually read with reversals ...if a card is hard to distinguish upright, it's more or less impossible to read when it's reversed.) I know what you mean about Lisa Hunt in this direction. In fact, I gave away one of her decks simply because when I laid out the cards, they didn't give me an overall picture. Just soft colours, and all of them pretty same-y. Nothing wrong with her interpretations in my view, but 'in my view' was a problem! I may initially like these kinds of decks ...but I don't use them for readings after the first initial tries. I also agree with @Misterei regarding the unsuitability of cartoony decks for serious readings. A good point. It probably wouldn't matter if the querent never sees the cards during the reading, but still....

Ohhh but this a VERY cool deck! I like it! I mean, I can understand it when a deck is meant to be a whimsical homage to a cultural thing. The Gummy Bear, which I love, is kinda like that. This Elvira tarot has a similar feeling. I have more of a problem when the deck follows the 'trendy, cartoony, cute' aesthetic but takes itself more seriously than it should. Or when it's just more or the same, to grab money from Tiktok baby witches and whatnot.

But, but... Elvira!? No seriously, I mentioned I'm not into these decks either. But if I knew someone who was a massive fan of Elvira, Goddess of the Night, I'd probably get it for them. Not for a professional reader, but just someone who might get a kick out of it. These decks are not for me when the theme is plugged into existing PCS art. Or maybe no one has hit on a theme so perfect for me that it would make me crumble. Even then it would be more for the novelty than a reading deck. (omg I just had a crazy thought; can you imagine if people did this with the Thoth! 🤯😵) Also agree with you about AI, but I forgot to say it because it's such a given for me.

They agreed to the service with the extra fee for the guest organist. They also agreed to have readers for the Lessons and Carols service so I won't be doing the reading in between the carols. One of the board members even agreed to pay out-of-pocket if there is a shortfall in funds to pay the suggested amount for the organist.

How will the meeting go today. I am stepping down as music director at my church after Christmas. It will not be well-received. Also, I am requesting that we have a guest organist so that I can be song leader (cantor/singer whatever you want to call it) for the pre-service and Christmas Eve services. Year after year it is becoming too stressful for me to sing and play two back-to-back services, particularly this year since Christmas Eve falls the days after I work a 24 hour shift. On top of all this, I am still getting paid the same rate I was about 7 years ago and they haven't offered any more money. I am not one to beg. I feel taken advantage of. Not too many organist (if any!) are expected to sing and play to lead their congregations... Anyway I prefer not to walk away mad, just to walk away. Again, how will the meeting go. Tarot de la rea 7 of Cups. I am not one to us RWS meanings with TdM. The 7 is the perfect, holy and mysterious number often associated with perfection, finality and endings. The six cups build a path to the seventh cup at the apex, with this top one representing what I think is the meeting coming out "desirable" with flames coming out perhaps after a bit of heated discussion. (Last year they offered a nice stipend for a guest musician.) The question or problem that I will have is paying Keith extra for the service following. I have to make the argument that he needs an additional payment for the church service following the Lessons and Carols--a tremendous amount of music that should not be included in a standard fee. If I look at the card this way, then the seventh card could be seen as a fiery disruption in the flow-path of the six. For my mental health I am prepared to pay him out-of-pocket! Anyway, the meeting is this afternoon at 4, so if you want to add anything or make a prediction you have a few hours...

Welcome back @Rachelcat!

I agree with what you all said about AI decks…. hard and big NO. The art has no personality whatsoever, and I find nothing more MEH than seeking intuitive hints from a robot generated "artwork". For me, I don't have hard and fast rules… it all depends on how the art itself and the whole deck feels to me. But I do have my own irks and quirks in regard to decks: Very soft and watercoloury art - nothing against the art style itself, but in decks it tends to not move me much. I actually have one deck that fits this description (looking at ya, Legend Arthurian), which I love, but I confess I can seldon go by the art alone. I usually need the book (which is very good by the way). Lisa Hunt's decks had this problem for me, even though I wanted to love them! Convoluted and confusing art - my eyesight is a bit crappy so decks in which there is a ton going on in the same card or that have a very detailed art that got shrunk to fit in the palm of my hand aren't really for me. It's what made me give up of the Magickal Botanical Oracle. Manga or Comics-styled art - if the deck's art is too manga-like or reminds me of a Marvel comics, I find that I cannot take it really seriously. The LS Pagan Tarot had this problem for me… actually, most modern witchy decks seem to have this problem. Creepy or horror decks - not big into the theme in general. Decks in which the "people" look like, I dunno, the Nun, the Crooked Man or Slenderman (think Deviant Moon) are… nope. Not into really dark decks either. Note: The Halloween Tarot (love it!) and Vampire decks with decadently gorgeous gothic art NOT included in this category! Erotic decks - it would have to be extremely good taste for me to want one and we all know it's usually a boobfest (as in, ladies a lot more exposed and objectified than gents). This is what I can think of now… THAT SAID, I DO love some decks whose art many people find unappealing, such as the original Mythic Tarot (NOT the Caselli travesty!), the Fergus Hall Tarot, the Wicca Pack, the Grail Tarot, even the Playing Card Oracles… so it's really not about "pretty art" for me. And @Nemia , you should DEFINITELY get the Gummy Bear. It's cute but in an authentic, no BS way, and the booklet is soooo good and detailed! AND it comes in a tin, what else do you need?

AI generated decks. Hard NO. Collage decks that depend more on photoshop skill than artistic skill--NO. I want decks illustrated by an actual HUMAN. One who made efforts and practiced to learn how to draw. I don't mind Ciro Marchetti digital art but that's my limit. As others mentioned I exclude decks that lean too far toward dark and demonic or light and fluffy. Tarot should be balanced. My favorite dark deck [Trionfi della Luna] has such a sense of humor and pathos--it's dark but balanced in its own way. Trendy, cartoony, cutesy, theme decks? NO Allcento Tarot rides that line for me. I find it a bit too cartoonish. And at its heart its a serious deck. People come to me with real problems. I can't imagine reading some cartoonish trendy deck for a person struggling between the marriage their parents arranged vs. the other person they fell in love with. Or someone dealing with an important career decision that involves moving to a different state. Someone wondering about dating again after the death of their spouse. Which begs the question--who are these insipid shallow unbalanced decks even made for? Who would read on a serious question using a cartoon vampire demon cats christmas cheer deck?

Hi crew! This week will be The Brotherhood of Light Authentic Egyptian Tarot Cards. Box says Copyright 1936, Renewed 1964, Distributed U.S. Games Systems, Inc. “Instructions for use in divination may be had in the book The Sacred Tarot by C.C. Zain.” Card backs say The Brotherhood of Light, © Church of Light 1936. Somewhere online I found that the deck was designed by Gloria Beresford. I’m not at all enamored of faux Egyptian anything. I had the lovely trying-to-be-more Egyptian LS version illustrated by Silvana Alasia but let it go. I compromised by keeping her Egyptian Gods Oracle Cards (and making up my own keywords for it). And I’m currently trying to resist the matching Egyptian Sacred Animals Oracle because I have SO MANY animal oracles. But it’s pretty! The original b&w deck is part of (more recent) tarot history, so I’ll give it a try. Quick analysis of astro attributions on the cards: All the majors have unique attributions, definitely not Golden Dawn. Moon and Sun are not moon and sun but are the signs they rule, Cancer and Leo. Swords are earth; coins are air. Courts have sign attributions consistent with elements but not modes. Each 1-9 has two signs and a planet, all according to their elements. 1-3 are cardinal; 4-6 are fixed; 7-9 are mutable. Hs (horsemen) and 10s are the odd men out (instead of more common aces and pages) and are labeled as the four cherubim (lion, bull, man, and eagle). Majors also have transliterated Hebrew letters, starting with 1. Magician, ending with 22. Fool. Interview time! What is your most important characteristic? 4 Scepters, Leo Leo Sun It’s internally consistent. It celebrates a certain time and place in tarot history. It’s itself and is happy for the world to see it as it is. What is your strength? Judgment, Moon It is a higher level of tarot, even if that higher level isn’t all that clear. Your weakness? 5 Swords, Taurus Virgo Mercury It’s confusing but, again, follows its own way. It’s a physical manifestation of very esoteric ideas. What can you teach me? 5 Scepters, Leo Sagittarius Jupiter The deck can teach me to fight for what I know and believe. How can I learn it? Tower, Mars Burn down anything I disagree with. What will be the outcome of our work together? Horseman of Cups, Eagle I will romanticize this example of early esoteric tarot. Ok, we’ll see about all this!

I struggle with 2 aspects of Lenormand in particular Each card has so many meanings. Sometimes I feel at a loss to know which to apply Not catastrophising--and this relates to #1 above. Some of the negative cards--take broom/whip for example--can also have neutral meanings. In some cases broom/whip might be any repetitive motion. Or cleaning your house. In other cases it can be ugly arguments.

Welcome back @Bodhiseed 😀

Thank you, Fire cat! I'm in with the Urban Tarot paired with the Principles to LIve By Tiles this week. In many or most moments these minds are exquisitely coordinated; feelings are essential to thought, thought to feeling. But when passions surge the balance tips: it is the emotional mind that captures the upper hand, swamping the rational mind. ―Daniel Goleman The Six of Swords follows the crisis of the Five; we leave the Island of Unreason and our peace and ease returns. Science is the subtitle of this card because balance is restored (our sanity returns) after the neocortex's hijacking by the amygdala. Emotional swings have been curbed, and problems can now be approached logically and objectively. Contentment is a state of quiet satisfaction and peace that is independent of circumstances. It begins when we accept that challenges and difficulties happen to everyone, including us. Instead of fighting reality, we focus on relaxing our intense emotional response, which can help reinstate clarity. With our mental and emotional balance restored, we can adapt or make changes that are beneficial.

A unique version of Reading Circle for those who would like to work through their collection of decks, participants choose decks from their collections to work with for the week. Some use one deck, others use two or more. Some combine methods: Tarot, non-tarot (e.g. oracle), playing cards, or any other divinatory method is welcome. All we ask is that you use at least one tarot or oracle deck. No collection is too large or too small. The only rules we have are the Tarot, Tea & Me Rules; Be respectful of one other. Please join us! Please post with your choice of deck(s) for the week Chat away about your deck, how you're finding it (or not), etc., it's all up to you Participants may either choose to share their readings here in this discussion thread or opt to have their own journal in the Journals Forum and link it here Yet others may even have an offline journal in paper & pencil/pen form Share as often, as much, or as little as you like. You can drop in and out at any time—reality and life permitting. New to tarot? Long time reader? Come on in! Participants fire cat pickles: Tarot de la Rea Bodhiseed: Urban Tarot paired with the Principles to LIve By Tiles Rachelcat: The Brotherhood of Light Authentic Egyptian Tarot Cards Click here for DOTW 484 (10/12 - 10/18)

This is great! Wings and water: I'm adding "flow" to my list! Thank you!

I DO so agree with you. Also with whoever already said (I'm lazy) decks that pack in too many things from other traditions. There's enough in tarot itself. A deck that prides itself on being "packed with elemental, Hebraic, astrological, Christian and alchemical symbols" - well, I'll collect it, but I won't be using it !

Hello All, I am doing a rare post for me, a general question on the Lenormand System. I will explain a bit further. My go to system is Lenormand. I am fairly well versed on this subject but will always consider myself a student - Lenormand always teaches me something. An example of this was a daily I performed during last week. #7 Snake, #11 Rod/Whip, and #10 Scythe. Not pretty but it is a daily so I wasn’t much worried. #7 confused me as it was a stay-at-home day for me just doing chores and my other hobby. That is when I learned my other hobby was being represented by #7. Long story short, after fighting and reworking and finally ripping the work back to where it could start fresh. Yes, my other passion hobby is knitting. The reading made perfect sense. I enjoy challenging myself to always learn more about the Lenormand System and daily draws are a means for me to do that. Between having to “dial back” the meanings and then answer what is a type of general question to me, it often provides me with some learning. So here is my question; what puzzles you the most with this system ? Let me say timing is tough for many so let’s avoid that answer. I am not asking this to respond and answer your question - in fact I won’t be. I am asking so that I and others can see that there are challenges for all of us and get an idea of what they are. I am also hoping this will highlight areas that I have not given thought to and do need to learn more of. Perhaps the same will happen for you. To give you an example here is my answer “ I sometimes struggle to decide if a card that can represent a person is in fact a person or not.” If at all possible and you have more than one card, technique or spread that puzzles you, try not to duplicate what someone’s already said. I have great hopes that this will prove helpful to more than just myself. Thank you in advance to All who participate in my learning process !

I had an obvious image come to mind, that of airplane wings and the fact that they are constructed in such a way as to flex when moving through bumpy air. They may move up and down, but equilibrium is at a central point that the wings always return to in order to maintain stability in flight. Then something else occurred to me, in relation to the fact that the angel in the RWS image has one foot placed in water. As well as that pointing to the balance of emotional and spiritual elements alongside practical and tangible ones (shown through the angel's other foot still placed on the earth), I thought about the way that water behaves. When faced with an obstacle, it will flow around or over or under, directed to a more extreme position in order to keep moving. Then it will return to it's natural, balanced state of flow following the path of least resistance. Of course, there is also the 'strength' of water to consider, that in its ability to adapt and continue to flow, over time it will erode materials that are harder than it.

I do not like decks where the woman naked, but they show dressed men. If it should be nakedness, both gender should be in the nude.