Deck of The Week: Sign-up Thread: Week 240 : February 12 - February 18

[VGimlet]

This thread is for those who would like to work through their collection of decks.  Each week we will be picking a deck (or decks) to work with for the week.

 

All are welcome. Please join us!      The only rules we have are the Tarot Tea & Me rules; be respectful to each other.    

 

You can drop in and out anytime,   time and real life permitting.   New to tarot?  Long time reader?   Come on in.  

 

1. Please post with your chosen deck for the week. 

 

2. Chat away about your deck, how you're finding it etc., or not - it's all up to you.  

 

Participants:

1.  VGimlet - Waterfall Tarot

2. Amberjune - Arthurian Tarot and the Roar Oracle

3. Rachelcat - Visconti di Modrone Tarot

4. Bodhiseed - Shining Tribe Tarot paired with Animal Tiles

5. vulprix - Lua Tarot

6. AJ-ish/Sharyn - Peanuts tarot

7. Wyrdkiss - Barbara Walker Tarot

9. Mi-Shell - Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle

10. sweeneyish - Cosmic Slumber tarot

 

 

(550)

Edited February 18, 2022 by VGimlet

[VGimlet]

I'll be trying again with the Waterfall tarot, another week of not touching any deck.   I'm making a promise to myself to be more active with my decks again. 

[Amberjune]

VG, I am wishing you an inspired week....and steady recovery from the root canal. I for one am looking forward to the weekend. It's been busy.

 

My deck companions are the Arthurian Tarot and the Roar Oracle.

 

Many blessings to all 🙂

[Rachelcat]

Hello, crew!  I hope everyone has a great week ahead!

 

Roar Oracle, that sounds interesting!

 

This week, I'll be using the Visconti di Modrone Tarot, the Lo Scarabeo 2019 reproduction of the Cary-Yale Visconti.  The cards are the size of the originals, which is a huge 7.5 by 3.5 inches (19 by 9 cm), so I don't know how I'll use them yet.  I'll be back tomorrow with more intro and interview!

[Bodhiseed]

Thank you for the thread, VG! Hoping you have some calm down time to do some readings.❤️

 

@Amberjune, the ROAR Oracle is my top favorite for the oracle decks I've bought this past year. 🤩

 

I'm in this week with the Shining Tribe Tarot paired with Animal Tiles.

 

 

 

[vulprix]

Hi all 🙂

 

I’m in with the Lua Tarot again! This deck and I get along really well 🌓

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

Peanuts tarot for me this week, thanks VG

[Rachelcat]

Here’s my intro to the Visconti di Modrone:

 

There are three extant Visconti decks.  One is the Visconti di Modrone, also known as the Cary-Yale Visconti because it was sold by the Visconti di Modrone family to American collector Melbert Cary in 1947, whose wife donated his collection, including the deck, to the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Yale University upon his death.

 

The original was made 1442-1447, so it’s one of the earliest extant tarot decks (possibly the latest of the three Viscontis).  It has 11 extant trumps and features male and female pages and knights, along with kings and queens and the 40 pip cards (all of which survive except for 7 courts and one pip).

 

The existing trumps are:  Empress, Emperor, Love, Chariot, Fortitude, Death, Judgment, World, Faith, Hope, and Charity. 

 

This reproduction adds all the missing regular trumps (and the missing courts and pip), for a grand total of 89 cards.  (The extra 11 cards are the 3 theological virtues and the 2 extra courts per suit.)

 

The repro is full bling (as is the original).  Trumps and courts have a shiny gold background and other gold touches and some silver touches; pips have a silver background with gold touches.  Also reproduced are the pinkish borders with tiny silver gilt flowers.  The artist has tried to make the replacement cards look a bit weathered so that they blend in with the repros of the existing cards.  This is much better done than the US Games reproduction, but to be fair that was done in the 1980s, so they didn’t have the printing resources we do now, including mass-market-affordable gilding. The sources for the replacement majors look to be from the other Visconti decks and I think the Mantegna deck.

 

Wands are arrows, except on the courts, where they are fancy knobbed scepters.  Some cups are capped, some not.  Straight swords, my favorite!  Most of the coins are florins minted by Filippo Maria Visconti, fronts and backs; a few show the Visconti viper, a family crest; on the courts, they are sunbursts.

 

 

Fancy box and useful book in English and Italian. 

 

I think that’s enough intro for now!  Time for an interview!

 

 

All coins courts.  I really did try to shuffle.  (I washed, uprighted reversals, and cut seven times seven.) 

(The doves on their clothes are also a Visconti family symbol.)

 

Deck’s strength:  Male Knight of Coins

It is a deck to be studied (knight=air) as an artifact (coins), but also one to be used (a knight is actively moving forward).

 

Deck’s weakness:  Queen of Coins

(The cloak of the servant says “a bon droit,” my good right, a Visconti motto.)

Although it’s not likely to be a deck one falls in love with (queen), even for its beauty (coins).  All that bling might even put people off.

 

Outcome of our work together:  Male Page of Coins

I will not be able to reach knight-level use of it; I’ll only make it to page level!  The outcome will be it’s something I want to keep in my collection and appreciate as a well-done effort at reproduction (earth of earth).

 

Well, that’s not such a great outcome, but I’m going to keep trying to read with it this week, including my full moon reading on Wednesday.

 

Have a happy weekend!

[Wyrdkiss]

Greetings all. I'll be revisiting the Barbara Walker Tarot this week.

[vulprix]

5 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

Greetings all. I'll be revisiting the Barbara Walker Tarot this week.

This deck has an irresistible appeal for me (though I have, so far, resisted it 😁). I hope you post some pictures!!

[Wyrdkiss]

2 hours ago, vulprix said:

This deck has an irresistible appeal for me (though I have, so far, resisted it 😁). I hope you post some pictures!!

I'm happy to. Going to dive in right now, actually.  I believe the Walker is now out of print, but I nabbed it for a fair price gently used years ago.

 

 

[Wyrdkiss]

This deck, I did  a free-flow series of pulls. Each question and answer crafted the next inquiry. It took me on quite a ride, and I've forgotten how much I am drawn

to the pack.  It took some simmering time, however. I've never enjoyed it this much as I did this evening.

that doesn't make sense to say, btw.  I do not Identify as Wiccan or goddess based in my spiritual foundation, and the author is heavy on the latter in her deck and book.

But it is so well done, so wildly accurate, and the images can be captivating.

 

The court cards, however, are mythological figures, not the standard suits. I am quite smitten with them as well.

 

Here's a pic:  

Edited February 13, 2022 by Wyrdkiss

[Bodhiseed]

This week I'll be using the Shining Tribe Tarot, a deck and book set created by Rachel Pollack and published by Llewellyn. The oracle I'll be using is a wooden set of Animal Tiles, hand pyroetched by my multi-talented friend Carole. My draws this morning were the Gift of Stones (Queen of Pentacles) and Box Turtle:

 

The two shapes in the center of this card represent the Ġgantija (Giantess) Temples on the Mediterranean island of Gozo in Malta (Pollack's representation of the Queen of Pentacles). The site is considered as one of the oldest free-standing monuments in the world, preceding Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids; some of its megaliths weigh over fifty tons. Archaeological evidence suggests that worship in the temples included fertility rites in dedication to a mother goddess. The Box Turtle's high-domed shell and the lower hinged shell are prominent features of this terrestrial turtle. When disturbed or frightened, most box turtles will pull in their head and legs and tightly close the shell. Both these cards remind me of my grandmother and mother, two women who always created welcoming, supportive spaces for others to celebrate, enjoy fellowship, and be fed spiritually and physically. Like the Queen of Pentacles, they nurtured others in simple, practical ways.

[Wyrdkiss]

Enclosed are a few close ups.  I'll arrange some court cards later.

I haven't drawn any major arcana yet.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Wyrdkiss
Wrong word

[Mi-Shell]

Hi everyone!

I seem to have spring on my mind- as evidenced by me using the Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle again. 

Some cards are a bit stylised for using them for plant identification, so 

I am drawing my daily cards but also compare them with images of the actual plants.

 

 

[sweeneyish]

This sounds like fun! I'll sign up as well - and focus on tillie walden's the Cosmic Slumber tarot. It's the first RWS-ish deck that I've tried to use that does stray from the original symbols a fair amount in some of the cards, so I'm challenging myself to have fun with it, be less by the "book", and more intuitive in my readings. If anyone else here has read with it, I'd love to hear any insights you have. 

[vulprix]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:44 AM, Bodhiseed said:

This week I'll be using the Shining Tribe Tarot, a deck and book set created by Rachel Pollack and published by Llewellyn. The oracle I'll be using is a wooden set of Animal Tiles, hand pyroetched by my multi-talented friend Carole. My draws this morning were the Gift of Stones (Queen of Pentacles) and Box Turtle:

 

The two shapes in the center of this card represent the Ġgantija (Giantess) Temples on the Mediterranean island of Gozo in Malta (Pollack's representation of the Queen of Pentacles). The site is considered as one of the oldest free-standing monuments in the world, preceding Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids; some of its megaliths weigh over fifty tons. Archaeological evidence suggests that worship in the temples included fertility rites in dedication to a mother goddess. The Box Turtle's high-domed shell and the lower hinged shell are prominent features of this terrestrial turtle. When disturbed or frightened, most box turtles will pull in their head and legs and tightly close the shell. Both these cards remind me of my grandmother and mother, two women who always created welcoming, supportive spaces for others to celebrate, enjoy fellowship, and be fed spiritually and physically. Like the Queen of Pentacles, they nurtured others in simple, practical ways.

This reading is like food for the soul and a really lovely reflection on the way that hearth and home (and matriarchs!) become sacred.

 

@Wyrdkiss, thank you so much for the pictures!! They are just beautiful. I love the forlorn quality that this deck lends to pretty much…every card… 😄 

 

@sweeneyish, the Cosmic Slumber deck is beautiful and one that I have thought about purchasing in the past. I hope you have a great time with it and I’d love to hear about your experience.

Edited February 15, 2022 by vulprix

[Bodhiseed]

Welcome to the DoW group, @sweeneyish! I'm curious about what you think of the Cosmic Slumber (I don't know much about it).

 

Thank you, @vulprix❤️. My mom actually has box turtles who come to see her in the spring and summer (some right to her doorstep) because she feeds them tomatoes, cherries, bananas and such. 😊🐢

[Wyrdkiss]

This is not your typical wiccan infused goddess deck. I'm honestly surprised it is not back in print amidst this tarot revival.

More Samples:

 

[sweeneyish]

Thank you @vulprix and @Bodhiseed for the messages and warm welcomes. 

 

So far, I'm really enjoying my time with the Cosmic Slumber deck, and I'm appreciating focusing on it so much this week. In general, I've found the readings I've done with it to be very cohesive. The way she has painted the cards and the figures in them really helps to show the relationships between cards. I love the whole feeling each reading has too - Very dreamlike. She also included two spreads in the little white book that I'm using quite often that are dream themed. I can post one of them here later this week. I've included a couple pictures here, one of my four-card daily draw, and a Doorway reading I did for someone else today. 

 

My four card spread today - Past Influences/Present Results/Future Outcomes + Advice (the diagonal card). Taken together the cards tell a really interesting story visually (and of course through their meanings). 

 

A Doorway spread (from Rachel Pollack) for someone else today. I loved especially in this one the relationship between the Four of Cups and Judgement - the empty cups in the Four of Cups are pointing towards Judgement, where the angel is supplying a bunch of water. Quite beautiful. 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by sweeneyish

[Bodhiseed]

Love those bright colors in the Cosmic Slumber!

[sweeneyish]

So colourful! I love how it all reads like a dream. Here is one of the spreads that came with the deck, which I really enjoy - It's creative and a little quirky, and it fits the dream theme well. It's called Of What Does the Universe Dream? . You shuffle the deck as per usual, then turn it over and find the Universe (the World). The two cards before the Universe are in Position 1 (Underlying History) and Position 2 (Recent Concerns). The Universe is in Position 3. The two cards that come after the Universe are Position 4. Immediate Aims and Position 5. Long Term Goal. 

 

Here's a reading I did for someone today, showing off more of those bright colours: 

 

[Amberjune]

On 2/12/2022 at 3:08 PM, Bodhiseed said:

Thank you for the thread, VG! Hoping you have some calm down time to do some readings.❤️

 

@Amberjune, the ROAR Oracle is my top favorite for the oracle decks I've bought this past year. 🤩

 

I'm in this week with the Shining Tribe Tarot paired with Animal Tiles.

 

 

 

It's a new to me deck and I am looking forward to spending time with it!