Deck of the Week Sign-up Thread, Week 293: Feb. 18 - Feb. 24

[fire cat pickles]

A thread 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, some use two. 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 chosen deck 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 anytime—reality and life permitting. New to tarot? Long time reader? Come on in.

 

Participants:

1. fire cat pickles: Napo Tarot
2. Nemia: Oriens Tarot
3. Mi-Shell: The Winterseer Oracle in tandem with the Alchemist's Garden Tarot
4. Bodhiseed: The Prairie Tarot paired with the Medicine Cards
5. BradGad: Tarot de Rivesaltes 
6. Rachelcat: The Incidental Tarot and the Celestial Influence Altar Cards
7. Drake_Winterfell: Witchling Academy Tarot
8. MichaelH: The Transparent Tarot
9. Akhilleus: Osho Transformation Tarot

 

Click here for DoW 292 (2/11- 2/17)

Click here for DoW 294 (2/25 - 3/3)

Edited February 24, 2023 by fire cat pickles

[Nemia]

I'm looking forward to a week of working with my Oriens Tarot! It's gorgeous and quite new in my collection. I haven't read with it yet but I think I'll really enjoy it. I love decks in dark colours. 

[Mi-Shell]

This week I will use the Winterseer Oracle in tandem with the Alchemist's Garden Tarot.

The Winterseer I know very well, while the Alchemist's garden is completely new with many plants I have never seen or used.

 

[Bodhiseed]

I'm in with the Prairie Tarot paired with the Medicine Cards.

Thank you FC! ❤️

Looking forward to seeing some of these decks I'm not familiar with.😊

[BradGad]

So, I have this really cool deck, the Tarot de Rivesaltes, by Ben Gross. 

 

When I got it, I thought/feared that it would just be for show and looking, but early runs suggest not. 

 

Let’s put that to the test this week.

 

[BradGad]

No wait… the Marshmallow Marseille is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Maybe that.

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by BradGad

[fire cat pickles]

@Nemia, @Mi-Shell, @Bodhiseed welcome back! @BradGad welcome to the group 🙂 (I really like the Marshmallow 😉 either one will be fun to see in action though...)

 

I enjoy seeing all of your decks each week!)

 

 

[Rachelcat]

Hi, everyone, and our fearless @fire cat pickles!  This week I’m back with pairing tarot and oracle, the Incidental Tarot and the Celestial Influence Altar Cards.  Cat-free readings this week (unless there are some hiding in these decks).

 

 

Incidental Tarot is a lovely pipish deck by Holly DeFount, an art every day for a year project.  Cards are largish, 3¼ x 4¾ inches, copyright 2011, signed by creator on the inside flap of the box 2012.  There’s a two-page pdf of meanings.  Some majors are renamed, and there are two extras, Labyrinth and Ariadne.  The suits are arrows, roses, quills, and oaks.  Aces are “keys,” and tens are the doors with locks that the keys fit into.  Pages and knights are also renamed. 

 

 

Celestial Influence Altar Cards are by Annasbreath, Anna Briggs, copyright 2021.  I got them from the creator’s booth at NWTS.  The cards are of the planets and signs, and are quite large (and long), 3½ x 7½ inches.  The guidebook has correspondences for, an “ode” to, and an “in ritual” section about each planet and sign.  The set includes two very nice wooden easels for altar use.

 

Separate interviews, I think.  I’m also going to use the Incidental to finish off my moon dailies with the Spirit de la Lune.

 

 

Most important characteristic:  VIII. Gryphon

The deck goes its own way, but with power and a powerful effect.  Even though this is Strength, it reminds me of the combining of the lion and eagle in the Thoth Art (Temperance).  (But it’s not a hippogriff!  And only part a cat!)  Which works very well with the next pair, fire of fire and water of water.

 

Strength:  Arrow King

Fire of fire:  again power and strength.  The deck is strong in its strength.  It is unapologetically itself.

 

Weakness:  Rose Queen

Water of water:  it’s not great at relationship or emotional readings.  It’s not nuanced or wishy washy.

 

What can deck teach me?  X. Triskelion

It can teach me to get back to more predictive readings, focusing on what could happen, even when anything can happen.  I’m also getting a butterfly effect vibe here.  It can teach me how events and happenings are intertwined, and everything has a cause, but we can’t always see all the causes and relationships between them.

 

How can I learn it?  Oak Queen

(I love her oak leaf necklace.  I like all leaf-depicting jewelry.  That’s a thing of mine.)

I can learn about chance and change and cause and effect by being practical about it.  It’s not a woo or airy-fairy idea, but something that’s obvious that you can see (oaks/earth) and feel (queen).

 

Outcome of our work together:  Five of Arrows

I should expect some conflict with my usual reading style, but that crossing of methods can cause a spark of new ideas!

 

This looks great!  I look forward to more with this deck!

 

Now Celestial Influences.  A short interview because there are only 22 cards, 10 planets and 12 signs.

 

 

I didn’t divide these into planets and signs, but that was done for me!

 

Strength:  Sun

The deck is open and honest (now reading the illustration) but also provides real insight.  It helps outline a path to growth.

 

Weakness:  Neptune

I like how the swirls of water turn into little blue fish.  Not sure what that means, but?  Maybe that’s the weakness.  The deck is a little too touchy-feeling-watery and personal to the artist?  It sometimes wants to stay in its own shell?

 

What I can learn from deck:  Capricorn

On the mountain goat heights, there are lots of candles and crystals.  The goat and lady are high up, close to a falcon in flight.  The beginning of Capricorn is the winter solstice.  I will learn about increasing the light in my life and the world, possibly through esoteric means, or down-to-earth means (crystals).  It’s cardinal earth, so that makes sense.

 

Outcome of our work together:  Aries

Cardinal fire and beginnings.  Here a sword is definitely fire not air.  The new flowers of spring are bright but also thorny.  Spring is not for the wimpy.  You have to struggle to push above the earth’s surface.  Not sure about the lady-heart-birds thingy.  I’ll have to think about that for awhile.  In the meantime, I will be challenged by this deck but will learn something from it too.  

 

Well, let’s see if that’s what happens!

 

I’ll be visiting my mom this week with no internet, so you won't see me around, but I’ll post my readings when I return.

[Bodhiseed]

This week I'll be using the Prairie Tarot, created and self-published by Robin Ator. Paired with it will be the Medicine Cards, a deck and book set published by St. Martin's Press and created by David Carson and Jamie Sams. Today's cards are the Two of Cups and Snake:

  

When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.

~Joseph Campbell

 

This cowboy appears to be shy, allowing the woman to take the lead. At the start of most relationships, whether they're based in business, friendship or romance, one partner seems to take the initiative. Yet once established, the best partnerships (and generally the most healthy) allow each partner to take turns leading the dance. There's usually always something one partner is better at than the other. Snake is given the keyword 'transmutation,' meaning a change to a higher form (suggested by the snake shedding its skin). As Campbell points out, our greatest transformation can come when we step out of self-centeredness and include others in our orbit.

[Drake_Winterfell]

I've decided to join in this week with my Witchling academy Tarot. It reminds me a bit of Harry Potter. The characters in the cards are predominantly females so it's imbalanced in that respect. I'll post the deck orientation spread soon.

 

[fire cat pickles]

Welcome back @Rachelcat and @Drake_Winterfell 🙂 

[BradGad]

@Drake_Winterfell

 

> It reminds me a bit of Harry Potter. 

 

A bit? Ya think? 🙂

 

I will say this: those pics genuinely made me smile. That's always a good sign.

 

[BradGad]

@Rachelcat ... I find both of those intriguing. There is definitely something tugging at me.

 

You don't have internet this week, but if you take your decks, you'll still be connected.

 

[MichaelH]

I'm going to jump in here this week, using the Transparent Tarot which landed on my doormat last week 🙂

 

 

[MichaelH]

This week, because of the nature of the Transparent Tarot deck, I've decided to pull three cards every day and overlap them either as a composite image or a 'film strip'.

Yesterday was the first one.

The Seven of Pentacles, The Tower, Ten of Swords

 

This makes a very striking composite image. The Tower is represented by the lightning, which strikes between the two figures on the Minor Arcana cards. 

As a reading, it may signify making a break between attitudes to my life represented by the two figures. The guy on the left is preparing for harvest, developing skills, keeping his feet on the ground and making steady progress. The one on the right represents 'rock bottom', the sense that all is hopeless and connection to the higher self is lost. Maybe the lightning is a warning not to stray down the path of despair.

 

 

[MichaelH]

Today's three card draw using the Transparent Tarot.

 

Page of Swords, The Empress, Page of Wands

 

Very different to yesterday's image.

 

I think this one works better as a film strip image, as otherwise the two Pages overlap completely. The Empress is represented by a fertile landscape, with flowers and new growth in the foreground.

The Pages might represent new learning, both intellectual represented by the Swords, and physical represented by the Wands. The fertile landscape of The Empress provides a background of gentleness and support for new growth. 

 

 

[MichaelH]

Today was the New Moon (at 7.06am this morning Irish Time to be exact.

 

The Pisces New Moon is the perfect time to let your imagination run wild and dream big. Tap into your intuition and set intentions to bring your visions to life.
1. How can I connect more deeply with my intuition?
2. What can I do to bring myself into alignment with the highest good?
3. What am I currently manifesting in my life?
4. How can I align my emotions to support positive manifestations?
5. What new creative projects am I called to begin now?
6. How can I further develop my spiritual practice?

1. Four of Wands. I am creating strong foundations for the future. I've found my place in the world, and can show gratitude and appreciation. I need to be at peace with myself and feel blessed for what I have.

2. The Moon. Face and integrate my shadow self. This is a card of mysteries and magic. I can align myself with the lunar cycles.

3. Five of Pentacles. Hardship, spiritual poverty and struggling with life direction. I might abstain from certain comforts to better understand the deeper levels of existence.

4. The Chariot. Victory after a struggle. I need to take the reins into my own hands, exercise self-discipline and willpower.

5. The Hanged One. Pause, take time to see with a change of perspective. I can practise meditation and immersion in the search for spiritual truth.

6. Practise self-love, and increase my intuition. I need to feel my feelings.

 

Overall, three Major Arcana so this is an important reading for myself. Practise gratitude, align with the moon, self-discipline and self-love.

 

The image works best as a film strip sequence of all six cards. The Chariot is represented by the horses facing different directions, and the Hanged One is a cocoon hanging from a tree branch.

 

 

 

 

[fire cat pickles]

Welcome back @MichaelH 😀

[BradGad]

This week I am letting the very pretty cards from my Tarot de Rivesaltes deck out of their box to frolic on my reading mat. 

 

 

I asked the deck for a spread giving a general overview of my current situation. I laid out three cards, a simple triage en ligne. The cards look positive: the King of Wands on the left; the 9 of Cups in the middle; the 5 of Wands on the right.

 

I tend to identify with the King of Wands, and by one system he would be a relatively straightforward choice as a significator for me (mature male + fire sign (Sagittarius)).  Here he is looking forward to the nine cups. Rather than “wish card,” I prefer to think of this as “having everything you want,” and that pretty much characterizes my life. I want for nothing. Nines for me have to do with a last major effort to bring something to a conclusion (not necessarily a final conclusion, but a conclusion, like the end of a cycle).

 

Beyond the cups are five wands. One of my taglines for this cards is “breakthrough.”  Since December, I have recommitted to tarot, and very much want to become a gifted tarot reader. A breakthrough would be great.

 

I think of the plants or arabesques on the TdM pip cards as showing something about the chi or life energy active in the deck at a given point in the progression through the cycle of pips. There are more arabesques in the 9 of Cups than in the 5 of Wands, suggesting that energy has been expended. And this makes sense: if I am in position to achieve a breakthrough, that doesn’t mean it will just happen. It will require some effort, some expenditure of energy, on my part.

 

So, I hope this spread and reading are accurate: “Look at where you are. You have everything you need. With some effort, you can move toward a breakthrough.” 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by BradGad

[Misterei]

12 minutes ago, BradGad said:

Beyond the cups are five wands. One of my taglines for this cards is “breakthrough.” 

Nice borders on that deck. Adds complexity to the TdM color scheme. Curious why/how you read 5 batons as breakthough ...?

[BradGad]

@Misterei

 

> Nice borders on that deck. 

 

Indeed. And even more nifty, they start light and grow steadily darker and more intense as the suit progresses.

 

> Curious why you read 5 of batons as breakthrough… ?

 

OK, good question. Ben-Dov’s book is very important to me. It’s really my starting point. Here is a quotation from him about the card: “Breakdown of equilibrium. Opposition and difficulties but not too difficult to overcome.” So, I said that calling it a “breakthrough” is a tagline… and just a tagline. By that I mean a way to capture a main idea in one easy-to-remember word or phrase. If you’ve got an equilibrium, and are facing/feeling opposition and difficulties, but do manage to overcome them, couldn’t we call that a breakthrough? After the stability of the fours in a passion-project, wouldn’t a change (this is a five, after all) possibly be a breakthrough? (If it’s not everything you’ve built up going down the crapper?)

 

Initially I populated my tarot notebook mostly with stuff I took from Ben-Dov. I try to constantly add to that and to erase and edit what I have to make it better express what I’m getting from the cards. Ben Dove didn’t call it “breakthrough,” but that made its way into my notebook.

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by BradGad

[Drake_Winterfell]

On 2/19/2023 at 10:02 PM, BradGad said:

@Drake_Winterfell

 

> It reminds me a bit of Harry Potter. 

 

A bit? Ya think? 🙂

 

I will say this: those pics genuinely made me smile. That's always a good sign.

 

 

You're right. Understatement of the century. 🤣

 

Yes, that's always a good sign. It's a nice deck. 🙂

[Guest]

Hope it's not yet too late to join with the Osho Transformation Tarot. 

[fire cat pickles]

It's only Wednesday @Akhilleus 😀

[MichaelH]

Yesterday's daily three card draw using the Transparent Tarot. Four of Cups, Two of Pentacles and the Queen of Cups. They look great as an overlapping single image.

 

The Four of Cups guy is looking away from the other two, so missing the gifts and opportunities that they can bring. The Two of Pentacles by contrast seems to be upholding the Queen of Cups. His open arms overlap with both the other figures, including them both in the dynamic of him juggling his commitments and multitasking. The Queen of Cups towers over them both, bestowing her emotional intelligence on them. The Queen and the Two of Pentacles are both looking straight out at me the reader. The message from all three is: don't miss anything - keep juggling and be sensitive to my intuition and then I will see what gifts the universe is bringing.