Deck of The Week: Sign-up Thread: Week 248 : April 9 - April 15

[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. sweeneyish - Jean Noblet (Flornoy)

2. Bodhiseed - Legacy of the Divine and the Tea Leaf Reading Cards

3. AJ-ish/Sharyn - Enchanted Spell Oracle

4. Amberjune - Lightseers Tarot and the Green Wheel Oracle

5. Wyrdkiss - Arthur Rackham Oracle

6. VGimlet - Sugar Skull Tarot + Mystic Martian Oracle

7. vulprix - Lua Tarot

8. Mi-Shell - Nature's Healing Oracle

9. Rachelcat - Splendor Solis Tarot.

 

 

(558)

Edited April 14, 2022 by VGimlet

[VGimlet]

ACK!    Sorry I missed last week, and thanks to Amberjune for stepping in.  

 

I totally spaced on the thread last week, and didn't remember I hadn't made a new thread until Wednesday.  Almost spaced this week too.   Bad, bad VGimlet.    However, good news is we almost have all the t's crossed and i's dotted, so hopefully life will calm down a bit, and I can focus on my real life again.  

Going to figure out what deck I'm going to use a little later  - maybe tomorrow. 

I did set reminders on Alexa to remind me for next week's thread.   (Hopefully I won't go to bed too early, and not hear it...)

 

[sweeneyish]

Thanks for getting us started again this week, @VGimlet, and glad you’re doing well! And hey, we all space sometimes. I quite like space! So vast.

 

I’m in with the Jean Noblet (Flornoy) this week. My first ‘true’ Tarot de Marseille. I’m throughly enjoying the depth of it so far, and it has definitely helped me to read more intuitively, since I’m basically dropping the whole system I learned on to read with it. 

[sweeneyish]

My reading for today:

 

 

I approached this with the open reading style Ben-Dov suggests in his book. So first, the over all picture, without getting into the specifics of the cards: The World draws me as the central figure, appearing to choose between the other two cards: X of Coins, or VII Victory. To reach the completeness of the World today (which I tie strongly to my main meditation practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Dzogchen), I should acknowledge and focus on what I already have in abundance, and what I have already accomplished, rather than any sort of samsaric (ordinary world) victories. 

 

Tellingly, the Chariot also looks to the X of Coins, showing that even success in the ordinary sense today will come from acknowledging what I already have. 

 

X of Coins: Abundance, completion, success - mirroring much of what the other two cards describe. 

 

XXI: The World. Completeness. Perfection. Unity of the spiritual and material,

of male and female. Just to tie to my note on my meditation practice above, Dzogchen can be translated in English as “The Great Perfection” or “The Great Completion”. 

 

If we take the figure in the World as the mirror

image (rather than the rest of the characters

of the Tarot, who I imagine facing head on), the left hand, passive, intuitive side is pointed to the X of Coins, showing to me that success

will come from non-striving and stillness. 

 

VII: The Chariot. Victory, but in the material

realm. There is a disconnect between the physical and spiritual - His lower half,

perhaps the unconscious, is cut off from his upper half, the intellectual and physical. 
 

In this spread (maybe in general) he doesn’t look too satisfied, and also looks to the X of Coins, perhaps needing to acknowledge what he already has. 

[Bodhiseed]

@VGimlet, I hope you have some time for relaxation and fun this week! 💓 I'm in with the Legacy of the Divine and the Tea Leaf Reading Cards.

[Bodhiseed]

This week I'll be using the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, created and self-published by Ciro Marchetti. I'll pair with it the Tea Leaf Reading Cards, created and self-published by Karin Dalton-Smith. Today's draws are the Eight of Coins and the Lion:

 

Being a craftsperson of any stripe is an ongoing effort. Even if you've had some success, there is always a question of what to do next. Most people attempt to branch out into something new every now and then. Yet that requires leaving the comfort of our proficiency and moving back into the beginner's chair. Feeling inept and confused when we attempt to learn a new skill or add to our knowledge can deflate our confidence. The Tea Reading offers Lion, a symbol of courage and strength. I have a small network of friends (most older and wiser than me) who I can turn to at such times. They don't tell me what I want to hear but what I need to hear, however they also prop me up with plenty of encouraging support. They often have faith in me until I can have faith in myself once again.

 

Fear and anxiety many times indicate that we are moving in a positive direction, out of the safe confines of our comfort zone...

― Charles F. Glassman

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Bodhiseed

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

Enchanted Spell Oracle for me, thanks VG

[Amberjune]

VG, I was happy to step in 🙂

 

My decks for the week are the Lightseers Tarot and the Green Wheel Oracle

[Wyrdkiss]

@Bodhiseed interesting deck on the left there. Not possible to read your text, however. Too dark.

 

VG let's visit with the Arthur Rackham Oracle this week. Thank you! 

[Bodhiseed]

55 minutes ago, Wyrdkiss said:

@Bodhiseed interesting deck on the left there. Not possible to read your text, however. Too dark.

 

VG let's visit with the Arthur Rackham Oracle this week. Thank you! 

Sorry about the dark text - I copy it directly from my blog. A fellow blogger has eyesight issues and requested the darker text to make it easier to read. I'll try to change it here.

[VGimlet]

@Bodhiseed Well, not much fun this week, now I need to do something about the house before the health department comes calling.   (Not completely untrue, either, ugh.)   

 

But I plan to have next weekend to chill out, and do some of the things I love that have been getting neglected.    

I've finally decided to use the Sugar Skull Tarot along with the Mystic Martians this week, and then I'll be both caught up with the BASIC house and all the new tarots for next week.  

And spring has sprung here, which is both lovely and allergy inducing at the same time - but I'll take it.   Even with rumors of snowflakes still scattered in the upcoming weekly forcast, LOL.  (It is FAR to late in the season for snow, here in the greater Seattle area, IMO.....)   

[vulprix]

Hi everyone 🙂 I’m using the Lua Tarot this week! 🌓

[Bodhiseed]

@VGimlet, glad you're at least planning a weekend for yourself. Hope you can make a lot of progress until then.🌻

[VGimlet]

Wow, you are all using some of my favorite decks this week.  🎯    I was going down this list saying, oh, I love that one, and that one....

I'm tempted to switch to a deck I love, but I'm going to persevere with my original picks. 

[Wyrdkiss]

8 hours ago, Bodhiseed said:

Sorry about the dark text - I copy it directly from my blog. A fellow blogger has eyesight issues and requested the darker text to make it easier to read. I'll try to change it here.

That was helpful, thank you.

 

Soooo many good decks this week. Cheers and everyone, have a nice evening.

PS -- is anyone here familiar with my selection, the Rackham Oracle?

[Bodhiseed]

11 hours ago, VGimlet said:

Wow, you are all using some of my favorite decks this week.  🎯    I was going down this list saying, oh, I love that one, and that one....

This group has enabled me on more than one occasion with it's wide variety of wonderful decks!😂

[sweeneyish]

Seriously, @Bodhiseed. This thread is part show and tell, part enabling, part knowledge sharing - all that good stuff! 

 

My reading for today: 

 

 

I drew the Magician through to the Knight of Cups first. Then, based on a technique that Enrique Enriquez uses, I drew a card to the left of the Magician, to complete the picture (i.e. show what he - and the Knight of Cups - are looking at). This was the Emperor, which definitely helped complete the story.

 

 We have the Emperor, looking above the heads of the other figures, perhaps strategizing or planning the future. The Magician seems shifty here. He is building some kind of illusion to undermine the Emperor, but if the Emperor lowers his gaze, the Magician will be found out.

 

The Star is looking below, at the sub-conscious, and pouring her healing waters, which we can actually see continue into the Magician and Emperor cards. 

 

Finally, the Knight of Cups rides forward, his cup offered to the Star in the sky (at first, I thought he too was looking at the Emperor, but his eyes actually line up with the Star.)

 

So far, almost every reading I have done with the Noblet has been connected to my spiritual practice, and this appears to be connected as well. The Emperor is the structure and seeming stability of ordinary life as we tend to see it. The Magician attempts to undermine that by seeing it for a dream, an illusion (a common practice in my tradition), but the Emperor is quite strong and could easily defeat those efforts.

 

The Star works in a different way - accessing the consciousness directly with naked awareness and simplicity.  These waters will purify both of the overly rigid world of the Emperor and the weaker attempts of the Magician. 

 

Finally, the Knight of Cups offers his cup in devotion to the Star. Devotion is another important part of the tradition, and powers many of the practices. 

[VGimlet]

18 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

 

PS -- is anyone here familiar with my selection, the Rackham Oracle?

Yes, and it's a beauty.  I don't usually like keyword decks, but I love his art.   

[Mi-Shell]

Hi you all! 

I am late to the party this week - 

We are getting ready for some travelling - in the motor home along the North shore of the St. Lawrience River - all the way to the icebergs and the end of the road.

Until Friday I will have to have the "Turtle" packed and ready to go.

 

Until then my deck is the Nature's Healing Oracle.

 

 

Cards of today are:

♥ what a well fitting combination !

[Rachelcat]

Super late to the party this week!  I was on travel and then catching up on work, so here we are. 

 

@Wyrdkiss, I have the Duck Soup's Rackham Oracle and definitely need to play with it more.

@Mi-Shell, come on over with your basil and olive oil and I'll provide the pasta.  Or bread.  You pick!

 

On my trip I visited the Magick Cauldron store in Houston.  They have a pretty wide selection of decks (and rocks and herbs and books . . .).  I ended up with the Splendor Solis Tarot.  So that's my deck for this week!  I'll be back here with an intro shortly!

[Rachelcat]

For efficiency, I’m copying and pasting bits and pieces from Wikipedia:

 

Quote

Splendor Solis (“The Splendour of the Sun”) is an illuminated alchemical text attributed to Salomon Trismosin dating from around 1582. Twenty versions exist worldwide. The work consists of a sequence of 22 elaborate images with decorative borders like a book of hours, meticulously painted and highlighted with gold. The symbolic process shows the classical alchemical death and rebirth of the king, and incorporates a series of seven flasks, each associated with one of the then-known planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, the white and the red tincture.

 

With 22 elaborate symbolic illustrations, it was just a matter of time before someone connected it with tarot.  I have heard various stirrings thereof in the past, but this is the first produced deck that I know of. 

 

The Full title is Splendor Solis Tarot: Inner Alchemies of Mithraic Light by Marie Angelo.  The production is wonderful, with a sturdy two-part box, muted gold edges and very shiny gold touches on the cards.  And a chunky card-sized booklet with gold touches on the cover.  The cards are thick and seem to stick together a bit, but maybe that will wear off with use.

 

The majors match up the 22 SS plates in order with tarot majors in order (Strength is 8; Justice is 11).  I must say that’s a bold move.  Because we end up with some odd correlations:  “Fountain Knight” is “Alchemy of the High Priestess” seemingly simply because it’s third in its order as the Priestess is in tarot’s (with the Fool as first).  Here are other oddities:  Lovers is “Golden King” and Empress is “Royal Pair.”

 

I admit I haven’t read the booklet, but it looks very kabbalistic. It mentions the path titles related to tarot majors. 

 

Minors are interesting in that they use the same kabbalistic planets for numbers that I do!  Each pip card has a tree overlaid with a gold tree of life diagram with the appropriate planet outlined in a triangle.  For example, all 5s have Mars outlined in a triangle.  Also, the frame of the pips is the frame illustration with chariot representing the planet at the top.  The chariots themselves are kind of too small to see, but the frames are beautiful.  The suits are “Living Fire,” “Starry Water,” “Sparking Air,” and “Golden Earth.”

 

The courts are “Priestess Royal,” “Priest Royal,” “Priestess Queen,” and “Priest King.”

 

 

So I think the challenge for reading this deck is the majors.  It seems silly to read them like regular majors when the illustrations are so very different than their tarot attributions, so I need to study up on alchemical illustrations right quick!  The minors will be a breeze, since as I said, I read with the same number system.

 

Dare I try an interview?  Dare!  Dare!  Here we go!

 

 

Joke’s on me!  No pips!

 

Most important characteristic:  Priest Royal of Starry Water

It can take one to an emotional place through appreciation of the feeling the art gives.

 

Strength:  16 White Queen

This is one of the flask associated with a planet majors:  Mercury is at the top in his chariot drawn by roosers.  The wheels have symbols of the signs he rules, Virgo and Gemini.  The frame background shows such Mercurial activities as music, studying, and creative work.  I’m going with purity for a white queen.  I know that whitening is a step in the alchemical process.  The strength of the deck is that it’s good for studying!  With a pure intent?

 

Weakness:  Priest Royal of Golden Earth

Another knight.  The weakness of the deck is the work put into it isn’t really appreciated.  The physical presentation is good but also a bit off-putting.

 

What can I learn?  18 Eclipse

The sun is there, we just can’t see it.  But it can symbolize a lack of light.  The grass is green but the trees are bare, even though it’s not winter.  I can learn to look more deeply for the light instead of just on the surface of tarot.

 

How can I learn it?  4 Mountain

By digging deep!  This is where the miner dig for gold or for the basic metal that they can turn into gold.

 

Outcome of our work together:  2 Fountain Knight

Although it doesn’t look like the SS illustrations and tarot are all that good of a match (or mix), we’ll figure out a way to come out of it victorious!

 

I hope this wasn’t too long, but I just had to share all the oddness! 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Rachelcat

[sweeneyish]

2 minutes ago, Rachelcat said:

For efficiency, I’m copying and pasting bits and pieces from Wikipedia:

 

Splendor Solis (“The Splendour of the Sun”) is an illuminated alchemical text attributed to Salomon Trismosin dating from around 1582. Twenty versions exist worldwide. The work consists of a sequence of 22 elaborate images with decorative borders like a book of hours, meticulously painted and highlighted with gold. The symbolic process shows the classical alchemical death and rebirth of the king, and incorporates a series of seven flasks, each associated with one of the then-known planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, the white and the red tincture.

 

With 22 elaborate symbolic illustrations, it was just a matter of time before someone connected it with tarot.  I have heard various stirrings thereof in the past, but this is the first produced deck that I know of. 

 

The Full title is Splendor Solis Tarot: Inner Alchemies of Mithraic Light by Marie Angelo.  The production is wonderful, with a sturdy two-part box, muted gold edges and very shiny gold touches on the cards.  And a chunky card-sized booklet with gold touches on the cover.  The cards are thick and seem to stick together a bit, but maybe that will wear off with use.

 

The majors match up the 22 SS plates in order with tarot majors in order (Strength is 8; Justice is 11).  I must say that’s a bold move.  Because we end up with some odd correlations:  “Fountain Knight” is “Alchemy of the High Priestess” seemingly simply because it’s third in its order as the Priestess is in tarot’s (with the Fool as first).  Here are other oddities:  Lovers is “Golden King” and Empress is “Royal Pair.”

 

I admit I haven’t read the booklet, but it looks very kabbalistic. It mentions the path titles related to tarot majors. 

 

Minors are interesting in that they use the same kabbalistic planets for numbers that I do!  Each pip card has a tree overlaid with a gold tree of life diagram with the appropriate planet outlined in a triangle.  For example, all 5s have Mars outlined in a triangle.  Also, the frame of the pips is the frame illustration with chariot representing the planet at the top.  The chariots themselves are kind of too small to see, but the frames are beautiful.  The suits are “Living Fire,” “Starry Water,” “Sparking Air,” and “Golden Earth.”

 

The courts are “Priestess Royal,” “Priest Royal,” “Priestess Queen,” and “Priest King.”

 

 

So I think the challenge for reading this deck is the majors.  It seems silly to read them like regular majors when the illustrations are so very different than their tarot attributions, so I need to study up on alchemical illustrations right quick!  The minors will be a breeze, since as I said, I read with the same number system.

 

Dare I try an interview?  Dare!  Dare!  Here we go!

 

 

Joke’s on me!  No pips!

 

Most important characteristic:  Priest Royal of Starry Water

It can take one to an emotional place through appreciation of the feeling the art gives.

 

Strength:  16 White Queen

This is one of the flask associated with a planet majors:  Mercury is at the top in his chariot drawn by roosers.  The wheels have symbols of the signs he rules, Virgo and Gemini.  The frame background shows such Mercurial activities as music, studying, and creative work.  I’m going with purity for a white queen.  I know that whitening is a step in the alchemical process.  The strength of the deck is that it’s good for studying!  With a pure intent?

 

Weakness:  Priest Royal of Golden Earth

Another knight.  The weakness of the deck is the work put into it isn’t really appreciated.  The physical presentation is good but also a bit off-putting.

 

What can I learn?  18 Eclipse

The sun is there, we just can’t see it.  But it can symbolize a lack of light.  The grass is green but the trees are bare, even though it’s not winter.  I can learn to look more deeply for the light instead of just on the surface of tarot.

 

How can I learn it?  4 Mountain

By digging deep!  This is where the miner dig for gold or for the basic metal that they can turn into gold.

 

Outcome of our work together:  2 Fountain Knight

Although it doesn’t look like the SS illustrations and tarot are all that good of a match (or mix), we’ll figure out a way to come out of it victorious!

 

I hope this wasn’t too long, but I just had to share all the oddness! 

Wow, so cool! Not too long at all. What an interesting deck. You could probably spend many years getting to know it. It seems like a good way to shake up a reading and the ‘regular’ readings of the cards. 

[sweeneyish]

On 4/11/2022 at 5:43 PM, Mi-Shell said:

Hi you all! 

I am late to the party this week - 

We are getting ready for some travelling - in the motor home along the North shore of the St. Lawrience River - all the way to the icebergs and the end of the road.

Until Friday I will have to have the "Turtle" packed and ready to go.

 

Until then my deck is the Nature's Healing Oracle.

 

 

Cards of today are:

♥ what a well fitting combination !

 

Enjoy your trip, @Mi-Shell! Definitely getting some pizza vibes with this reading! 

[Wyrdkiss]

This Rackham Oracle has been a stumbling bock to me for some time.  Shortly after acquiring, I found myself putting it away.

Now that I'm determined to explore, it is right back to its familiar ways.

This deck hits me hard.  Too hard, sometimes.

 

My pull recently, a general single card "next step" inquiry.

This card, GUILE -- False Promise, forced me to face the fact that I have not been sticking to my yearly goals as much as possible. My promises, to myself, have been somewhat swept aside. Something to ponder and act upon for sure.

 

The card I pulled tonight hit even harder. I am still processing it.

 

This Oracle has a slew of cards -- probably 80 or so.  I'm still trying to decide if it is tough love I'm meant to grow into, or

if it is too uncomfortable of a fit for me at the moment.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Wyrdkiss

[sweeneyish]

5 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

This Rackham Oracle has been a stumbling bock to me for some time.  Shortly after acquiring, I found myself putting it away.

Now that I'm determined to explore, it is right back to its familiar ways.

This deck hits me hard.  Too hard, sometimes.

 

My pull recently, a general single card "next step" inquiry.

This card, GUILE -- False Promise, forced me to face the fact that I have not been sticking to my yearly goals as much as possible. My promises, to myself, have been somewhat swept aside. Something to ponder and act upon for sure.

 

The card I pulled tonight hit even harder. I am still processing it.

 

This Oracle has a slew of cards -- probably 80 or so.  I'm still trying to decide if it is tough love I'm meant to grow into, or

if it is too uncomfortable of a fit for me at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 Sounds like a challenging deck! You know yourself well, so this isn’t advice, but a reflection on my own practice. I find tough love is ok as long as there is (self) compassion as well. It’s kind of like the compassion I feel for the characters in the Deviant Moon. They’re so human and vulnerable, and while they often reveal my own soft spots and weaknesses, they also help me have a little compassion for my human condition. 

 

The deck is super cool. It looks like all of their decks are quite interesting! I love creepy

circus stuff.