Deck of the Week : Sign-up Thread: Week 4 : August 5 - August 11

[Bodhiseed]

From the Sasuraibito Tarot, the Six of Cups; from the Soul Cards, New Beginning:

Clinical psychologist Rick Hanson wrote, "In effect, the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. That shades 'implicit memory' – your underlying expectations, beliefs, action strategies, and mood – in an increasingly negative direction." He suggests purposefully reliving joyful, gratitude-inducing events in the mind using sense memory to make up for this tendency. This is what I see the young man doing in the Six of Cups. Does doing this mean I will forget the lessons learned from the traumas and pain of the past? No, it's simply a way to balance out the darkness with more light. The vesica pisces shape seen behind the woman in the Soul Card is created when two circles with the same diameter overlap at each center point. The resulting almond-shaped figure has been seen as a symbol of birth and new beginnings - a doorway to a new frame of mind. Such a re-framing of how I think can change my habitual reactions to more skillful responses.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  ~ William Arthur Ward

 

 

[Trogon]

So, I've gotten to do a few readings for friends with the Light and Shadow Tarot. It had been quite a few years since I'd used it and I'm glad I picked it ... well, glad my pendulum picked it for this week. ;D

 

The deck is fairly large, about the same height as my large Thoth deck, but even a little wider - maybe 1/2 inch wider. Fortunately I do okay with larger decks. But the card stock is a tad flimsy, about the same as some of the thinner LS decks. The finish is a little sticky I guess? The cards don't slide over each other very well when shuffling. A slightly astringent smell with some kind of earthy tones. ;D

 

Anyway, for practice I did a reading for the title character of the webcomic Niku. I enjoy doing readings for webcomic characters, they're good practice and tend to be a lot of fun. The reading I did for Niku is here; https://www.thetarotforum.com/tarot-readings/tarot-reading-for-the-webcomic-character-'niku'/

 

Of course, I'm still working with the A'HA Oracle deck. It is definitely different working with an Oracle deck than a Tarot deck. There's a ... I don't know, different energy with the A'HA deck from any of my Tarot decks. And maybe that's just because it is "not" Tarot. I do find that, since it is new and I'm not completely familiar with it, that I have to refer to the book more often than with Tarot decks. But, this is my first Oracle deck, so that is to be expected. However, many of the images on the cards are quite intuitive and I have gotten a good idea of where the card is going (interpretation-wise) before I look it up. And ... I have now had a couple of repeat cards. "Snake with Eggs" has come up twice in readings, as has "Unfurling".

 

Unfurling has been interesting to get. It shows several ferns in various stages of unfurling. The card seems to be speaking to the fact that, since I've been away from my spiritual studies/work for some time, I am, in a sense, in a starting stage. I have a ways to go to get back to where I was. It's a good reminder to not push too hard, too fast ... pace myself so I don't overdo it. Seems like good advice to me. ;)

[Bodhiseed]

The finish is a little sticky I guess? The cards don't slide over each other very well when shuffling.

I've had good luck with fanning powder (often sold at magic shops):

https://www.amazon.com/Fanning-Powder-Manip-Quick/dp/B008Z23D40

[DaughterofDanu]

I'm really liking my choices this week. The colors of the Cute Little Lenormand go well with the Starchild's pastels. The Spirit de la Lune is also a really deep oracle with it's own beautiful system.

 

I may have another go at the Dreams of Gaia Tarot next week as it's been recommended that I watch TheTruthInStory's video about it since she goes into detail about the cards. People seem to get a lot out of personal self development readings with it which is just what I need.

[Guest rakusribut]

the runes and the Vertigo are a match made in heaven....! i created a 24 card spread with the Vertigo  and added a rune to every card. i am now in the process of reading, letting the Vertigo give the message and using the rune to clarify or support that message.

first three combo's were:

me: emperor reversed and fehu

heart of the matter: 5 of swords reversed and berkano

clarification: 2 of swords reversed and nauthiz

today i worked with the 4th card in the spread: what is blocking or covering me

(situation: i want to escape from under the emperor (embodying the sorrows of the world around me) who has been turned upside down and has landed on top of me, throne and all, keeping me prisoner;  the only way i can escape my fate is to start speaking out on my own behalf, focusing on my side of the story instead of always considering both sides of every coin)

card: the tower reversed, rune: kenaz

(to help with the runes i use runesecrets.com)

i am scared to rock the boat, to generate upheaval, to turn my world upside down. the tower in de Vertigo is a machine built to eradicate all change. it needs to be destroyed to allow transformation to take place, so the path towards the star can be laid open again. i need to let that destruction happen in order to move on to the next level.

kenaz means 'torch', it is the fire needed to light the explosives that will break down the tower's walls, as well as the illumination of the road that lies ahead after the tower's destruction. just the right tool needed in this situation!

 

 

 

[Trogon]

the runes and the Vertigo are a match made in heaven....! i created a 24 card spread with the Vertigo  and added a rune to every card. i am now in the process of reading, letting the Vertigo give the message and using the rune to clarify or support that message.

 

That was a very interesting reading rakusribut! Even when I've read other's descriptions of working with different decks, it wouldn't have occurred to me to use Rune Stones. I love how you used the Runes to add to each card.

 

Hmmm ... I'll have to check and see if I still have a set. I had actually traded my first set years ago (for a Tarot deck of course). But then another friend gave me his set shortly before he retired (it had been in his deck at work, but he'd never used it). Very cool idea.

[Trogon]

The finish is a little sticky I guess? The cards don't slide over each other very well when shuffling.

I've had good luck with fanning powder (often sold at magic shops):

https://www.amazon.com/Fanning-Powder-Manip-Quick/dp/B008Z23D40

 

Hey Bodhiseed, thanks for that! DevonCarter had mentioned using baby poweder, but I personally don't care for the smell of it. My brother had dabbled in stage magic for a few years ... wonder if he has any fanning powder ...

[Lantana]

Enjoyed my time with the Idiosyncradeck this week, though I worry the shine on it has worn off since I first got it. I loved using it and the oracle for daily draws in the past, now it's just kind of bleh when I try to use it the same way now. I'm still enjoying using it for other readings though... This deck really makes me see certain cards in new ways.

 

Gonna have to think about what deck to use for next week... It's so tempting just to go back to Thea.  :P

[Carojulie]

I am sorry I posted this message in the wrong thread ! Here it is now.... sorry again :(

 

Hello Friends !

 

So, my week was pretty full of readings but I am bad at journaling :(

I did take a couple pictures though.

 

I am more in love than ever with my three decks.

 

The Baroque Bohemian Cats : what can I say. It is probably the most beautiful, over the top, baroooooque animal deck out there. I am a cat lover, and I would never dream of dressing up a cat or a dog, or any pet for that matter. I am never amused by youtube videos showing cats wearing hats and jumpers. But in this deck ? It's another world completely. The cats are beautiful, the dresses are beautiful, the settings are beautiful, the light is beautiful.... the narrative of the deck is light and fun and beautiful.

It is not my only animal decks, I have others, and they are nice. But this one is totally unique, a little piece of art and humour, and on top of that, it reads like a dream ! It is both a very close RWS deck, and also a deck that likes to be read intuitively. A jewel !

 

The Mystical Lenormand : I like this pretty deck, but it is not my favourite. It is one I do like a lot though. I like the borders on this one (yes, borders CAN be nice ! here they are part of the design anyway :) ) I also like the style of art and the colors.

Some of the cards are not entirely "clear at first sight" though. Nothing that a second glance cannot put right, but I am really looking for a lenormand that would be extremely clear, and pretty, and arsty, and original (I have the Clair de Lune lenormand that fits all these requests, but I'd like another one to go with it !)

 

The Fortitude Playing Cards deck : this is my one and only playing cards deck with art on the cards, that is more than just plain playing cards. I like this one so much that I have a backup for it. It's fun and comforting.

 

So, I was ready to do "three voices readings" this week with these three decks, but I ended up doing mostly two voices readings, with the Bohemian cats as the main deck, and either one or the other as the second deck. It was fun, and the Fortitude Playing Cards deck is very easy to use in that context.

Example : Three lenormand cards around a simple question, short answer, and one card from Fortitude deck to round things up.

Or, a five card spread made of three BBC in the middle, and two lenormand cards.

I also tried to read with only the Fortitude deck, with a nine cards draw (like the 9 cards classic lenormand spread) but I had trouble making real sense of this reading ; it spoke in bits and pieces of ideas, but I could not easily link everything together. I need more practice !

 

See you next week (tomorow !) with some new decks !

Take care :)

[Guest rakusribut]

 

That was a very interesting reading rakusribut! Even when I've read other's descriptions of working with different decks, it wouldn't have occurred to me to use Rune Stones. I love how you used the Runes to add to each card.

 

Hmmm ... I'll have to check and see if I still have a set. I had actually traded my first set years ago (for a Tarot deck of course). But then another friend gave me his set shortly before he retired (it had been in his deck at work, but he'd never used it). Very cool idea.

 

hah! i created my own runes...! beginning of march i stepped into the lake behind my house and handpicked 24 stones lying on the sand bottom. (the water was freezing cold so by the time i got to stone 24 i was screaming,lol!)

i washed them and kept them in a glass bowl with filtered water for a while (which my cats liked very much....) then dried them and used a posca marker to scribble the rune signs on them. good way to tap in to their energy and to bind them to me (better than to stain them with my own blood, as is recommended in certain books....)

maybe that's what makes their messages so intensely helpful. today i read card 5, my attitudes and thoughts about the situation, got the moon reversed, (resistance to explore my hidden self, my shadow side, my unfulfilled potential) and it was paired with othala, the last rune (according to some), relating to the ancestors, the arrow of time that connects the past to the future, confirming my need to look deeply inside myself and follow my lineage backwards, to see what i have inherited that is still unused, unexperienced, untouched.

[Trogon]

So, one last entry for this week regarding the A'HA Oracle. I am thoroughly enjoying this deck. The only thing I don't care as much for is the way the cards are cut ... and this is a minor manufacturing issue which really only affects me because of the way I shuffle. As such, I've had to go with a riffle shuffle for this deck. But I can live with that.

 

But a couple of interesting things have been happening. I've been pulling a single card before I go to bed (usually early morning, as I work nights). I've had a couple of cards repeat on me. Cards that have come up in other readings, will come out when I do my single card pull. "Unfurling", showing several ferns as they uncurl from the fiddle-head stage has been in 1 specific reading and 2 bedtime pulls. Same with "Like Moths Attracted to the Light". And "Meteors" has been in 1 reading and 1 bedtime draw.

 

I get a very gentle "feel" from this deck. I think that if one has an issue that one is still working on, or needing to learn a lesson from, the A'HA deck might just patiently keep reminding one of that until one "gets" the message.

 

Another interesting thing has happened two times now. When I pull my one card for bedtime, I will inadvertently pull two. Admittedly, the deck is still pretty new and it may just be that they've stuck together just a bit. I can not rule out that physical explanation ... but the 2nd card has been pretty meaningful as well and has, so far, added something to the other card.

 

We'll see if this kind of thing continues into next week.

[jema]

I had a rather challenging week healthwise. Energy levels are so low it's a chore to get dressed.

But the decks I picked did get to see some action. I love the size of my mini Jodorowski and the small Transformational and they speak to such different spheres. One more about social structures and the other totally personal.