Deck of the Week Sign-up Thread, Week 297: Mar. 18 - Mar. 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: Tarocchi delle Stelle - La Porta Celeste (Tavaglione)
2. Akhilleus: Magickal Botanical Oracle
3. Nemia: Considerate Cats
4. Dreamreader: Steampunk Tarot
5. Bodhiseed: Ferret Tarot paired with the Nature's Wisdom Oracle
6. Rachelcat: Woodland Wardens Oracle and DruidCraft Tarot

 

Click here for DoW 296 (3/11 - 3/17)

Click here for DoW 298 (3/25 - 3/31)

Edited March 24, 2023 by fire cat pickles

[fire cat pickles]

I'm giving the Tavaglione another go this week since there was no time this past week for it!

[Guest]

I'll continue reading with the Magickal Botanical Oracle this week. 

[Nemia]

I'll continue to participate, even if it's only with a minimal input, but haven't decided yet which deck to use... I'll have to plan a bit because the Vernal Equinoxe is around the corner and I want to use my Ostara for the Passover/Easter/Ostara days... and for the next two weeks I want to work with decks that reflect some kind of Spring spirit. 

 

I'll go with the lovely Considerate Cats for next week, and the Zillich for the week after. They're both springtime decks. And for the Ostara week, I'll use the Ostara. Yeah for seasonal matchy-matchy obsession! 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Nemia

[Dreamreader]

First-timer on this...I'll be using my recently acquired Steampunk Tarot (that is, the 2012 deck done by the Matthews of Arthurian Tarot name, not the more recent one) for this week and possibly the next after. I'm intrigued by the possibilities of it.

[fire cat pickles]

Welcome back @Akhilleus and @Nemia 🙂 

 

Welcome to the group @Dreamreader!

[Bodhiseed]

Time to inject some humor into my week. 😄 I'm in with the Ferret Tarot paired with the Nature's Wisdom Oracle.

Thank you Fire Cat! ❤️

[fire cat pickles]

Welcome back @Bodhiseed!

[Rachelcat]

Hi, all and fire cat!  Darn it.  I deleted my intro.  So, long story short, this week will be Woodland Wardens Oracle and DruidCraft Tarot.

 

   

 

Let’s do separate interviews.

 

 

Most important characteristic:  Frog and Lotus, metamorphosis

This deck is all about change.  A frog makes an almost 100 percent change from tadpole.  Lotus is more metaphorical:  it changes from roots in mud to a beautiful flower above the surface of the pond.  Plus they live together in a pond.

 

Strength:  Porcupine and Anemone, boundaries

A porcupine has well-defined boundaries!  Not sure about anemone.  I’ll have to read up on that.  Anemone closes up its petals in a storm to protect itself.  The deck teaches about boundaries, and also has good definition on the differences between cards, which I appreciate.

 

Weakness:  Otter and Cattail, peace

How is peace a weakness?  Also my favorite, otter, in a negative position!  Otters and cattails hang out in peaceful marshes, not fast moving water.  The deck doesn’t have a lot to say about peacefulness.  It’s more about change and conflict?

 

What deck can teach me:  Lizard and Pitcher Plant, stagnation

It can teach me the risks and rewards of staying the same instead of changing.

 

How can I learn it:  Chipmunk and Laurel, success

Laurel for victory!  Not sure about chipmunk.  I should go in whichever direction, staying the same or changing, that are the best for me.

 

Outcome of our work together:  Hawk and Thistle, graceful persistence

First two-word keyword.  Hawks and thistles are definitely survivors.  They stay where they need to be even when a lot is done to get rid of them.  I will continue to use the deck long after this week is over.  It is beautiful and helpful.

 

 

 

Most important characteristic:  Strength

There’s not doubt this is a powerful deck.  And it’s had a strong influence on modern tarot.  She’s dropped her sword to tame the beast with her bare hands.

 

Strength:  Prince of Swords

He looks like a fairy to me.  Or maybe he just wants us to think he is by wearing that helmet and horse’s helmet.  (I have an issue:  The shield is based on a real one from the pre-Roman era.  But it’s obvious it wasn’t meant for carrying on a horse; definitely a foot soldier item.  But maybe the prince has picked up whatever was at hand when he rushed into battle!)  The strength of the deck is it goes long on Celtic culture.  There’s a lot of thought behind it, but that doesn’t stop it from being forceful.

 

Weakness:  Five of Cups

He’s going through a bad time, but the salmon of wisdom can jump for him out of it.  The weakness is that it’s too RWS in some places?

 

What deck can teach me:  Eight of Cups

It can teach me to really let go.  And move on to higher things.

 

How can I learn it:  Justice

Strength and Justice together again!  We have the sword and scales, but also a spider, and owl of wisdom, and a feather to weigh our hearts against.  I can learn to let go because when I realize it’s the right thing to do, and what’s right and wrong in the situation.

 

Outcome of our work together:  Two of Wands

I will be able to put what I learn with it into action.

 

Well, we’ll see about all this.  I look forward to learning with the decks this week.

 

 

[fire cat pickles]

Welcome back @Rachelcat 🙂 

[Guest]

On 3/18/2023 at 1:23 AM, Nemia said:

I'll have to plan a bit because the Vernal Equinoxe is around the corner

 

I forgot that the Spring Equinox is this coming week. I'm glad that by some happy coincidence, I'll be focusing on my favorite plant deck during this occasion. Thanks @Nemia!

[Bodhiseed]

This week I'll be using the Ferret Tarot, created and self-published by Elaine Moertl. Along with it, I'll be drawing from Nature's Wisdom Oracle, created by Mindy Lighthipe and published by Schiffer Books. The cards for today are the Knight of Pentacles and Passion Flower:

  

 

Moertl calls the Knight of Pentacles "Mr. Dependable." And while he is responsible, dedicated, and willing to tackle tough jobs, he's not fast. He will stubbornly check the details of things for errors or signs of problems before finishing. I can imagine this ferret saying, "Just two more hours!" Yet rarely is anyone displeased with his results unless they miss a deadline. The Passion Flower is weirdly beautiful, though this illustration just shows a part of it. Here's a better picture. First discovered in Peru, the monastic scholar Giacomo Bosio referred to it as “the flower with the five wounds,” referring to the Passion of Christ. Both these cards suggest that when it comes to being of service, whether to individuals or a community, we each have a unique sacrifice involving our time and energy to offer.

 

A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation and encourages perseverance.

~Gary Hamel

 

[Rachelcat]

Here's my Sunday reading!

 

[Bodhiseed]

Wanted to show a better Nature's Wisdom card (I really like the borders):

From the Ferret Tarot, the Eight of Wands; from the Nature's Wisdom Oracle, Oak:

 

 

Scientists call them FRAPs (Frenetic Random Activity Periods), but pet owners know them as the 'zoomies' - times when our four-footed companions make laps around the house like NASCAR drivers. Ferrets (who always seem to have energy when awake) are not immune, running, jumping, and twisting in the air. Oak has wood that is dense and durable, but the tree itself is impressive as well. Their roots generally lie only 18 inches under the soil, yet they may spread four to seven times the width of the tree's crown. The strength and stability of Oak suggest we prepare for the energy expense we'll need ahead - eat healthy, get enough rest and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[Guest]

I started posting this week's draws using the Magickal Botanical Oracle in my day book here:

 

 

[Rachelcat]

Here are two new moon readings (in the new moon thread) for Tuesday and Wednesday.  I skipped over Monday, but I might go back to it.

 

[Rachelcat]

And here's the Monday.

 

[Guest]

I had a delightful fortnight working with the Magickal Botanical Oracle. It seems strange that I'm only conducting a deck interview with it now, but I've had such a productive time with it that I'm now enthused to learn more about it, seeing how we'll be working with each other again the future. This is my reading:

 

 

[fire cat pickles]

Nest week's thread:

 

 

[Rachelcat]

Sliding in late again!  This was a truly hair-tearing week at work, so I'm perennially catching up!  See you in this week's thread!

 

[Dreamreader]

First and foremost, sorry to be late on this. But I have to admit that the Steampunk Tarot has been an intriguing deck to work with.

 

Much as I like the traditional RWS setup for most decks, I'm even more intrigued when one decides to recontextualize everything around a deck's theme. And much as the Matthews did just that with their legendary Arthurian Tarot,  so they do here.

 

As you can see in the second pic, the Major Arcana (called "the Imperium" here) are given steampunk appropriate titles ("Brazen Head" being Justice and "Cosmic Blueprint" standing in for The World). Suites are Submersibles (Cups), Engines (Wands), Airships (Swords) and Leviathans (Pentacles).

 

As the late 20th Century cliche goes, but wait, there's more! In addition to the usual custom spreads in the back, each Imperium card ALSO contains its own spread structured around the card's theme. So I'm thinking next week, I may go through each of these 21 additional spreads in order.