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General Notes on the deck you're using for 78 Weeks of Tarot


Trogon

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So here's what I am planning to do for the 78 weeks of Tarot - Feb 14 2021 reboot / start for me! 

 

I will be be working with the Fifth Spirit Tarot, created by Charlie Claire Burgess. Ever since I had the Collective Tarot, back in the glorious days when I owned that deck (but I don't regret giving it away, to someone who deserved and needed it more) - I have rarely had a deck that I connected with so easily and nicely on first contact. But I want to go deeper with it, and really explore the deck, so I will be working with the deck and guidebook. 

 

In parallel I will use it as a sort of entry way to learn more about the Smith-Waite deck. Some background: I started reading with the Tarot de Marseille, and was always fascinated by historical decks, and pip decks inspired by them. The freedom of the unillustrated minor arcana is something I really love, and I have come to develop my own system of how to read them, between elemental and numeric references, visual storytelling style reading, etc. So i never learned about the esoteric / Golden Dawn decks with illustrated minors, in a mix of ignorance and laziness and slight arrogance, coming from a feeling that TdM style decks are "the real thing", without the added overlaying systems of meaning from Kabbalah, Astrology etc. But by now my understanding has changed. Now I am curious to learn about the Smith-Waite deck and why it became so immensely popular and influential. If so many people connect to it in so many different ways, there must be something to it. And, going even further, I now see Tarot as a vessel that is wonderfully adaptable to accommodate a lot of different sets of meanings, of visual styles, of worlds really, in the structure of 4 x 14 + 22 cards. Charlie Claire Burgess, the creator of the Fifth Spirit Tarot, puts it more eloquently into words in their guide book, in the introductory chapter "Tarot: What It Is and What It Was", page 4:

 

While there is little reason to believe the original tarocchi deck created in Renaissance Italy had its roots in esoteric mystery cults or was secretly intended for divination magic, or mystical initiatory purposes, the Tarot that we know and love today certainly does. Modern Tarot is a densely layered text of esoteric symbolism and spiritual significance that pulls from numerous and varied sources, from classical astrology to Phythagorean numerology to Christian Gnosticism to Greco-Roman mystery cults. Tarot has been created collectively over centuries by the flawed and philosophical and mystical minds of many, many humans. In fact, it's still being created today, re-conceptualized and evolved by Tarot practicionerslike me and you - yes you reading this. Each of us who handle the cards leave our own imprint, our own insight. Each of us is a part of Tarot's life and breath and growth, each a part of it's co-creation. 

 

So I will be using the oversized Deluxe edition of the Smith-Waite deck, published by AGM Urania under the name "Tarot of A.E. Waite" as a reference, the cards are really big and I like the colors - it's not the original lettering by Pamela Coleman Smith, but I can live with that. And I will finally read a book that I never read, and always felt I should: "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom" by Rachel Pollack.

 

On the side I might also refer to "Reading the Marseille Tarot" by Jean-Michel David, "Mystical Origins of the Tarot" by Paul Huson, "Guide to the Phythagorean Tarot" by John Opsopaus and "Queering the Tarot" by Cassandra Snow (sort of my go to Tarot reference books so far), as well as old threads from the AT forum. And I might experiment with the ideas from "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" by Mary Greer - even if I don't have the book, but as posted on the instructions thread

 

There is a picture of my "main" set up attached - I selected the Page of Swords as significant card for this moment, starting on a journey of learning and discovery. I am excited about it, and happy to have this group here, for motivation and accountability and exchange!

 

21DAE78A-4106-40F4-B267-CD9A887B2FC4.jpeg

Edited by le_charior
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Wow. Sounds awesome. I loved 78 Degrees and use it often in reference along with 21 Ways and a few others. I joined this forum out of a longing for a return to AT. I’m so glad I found this group. I’m excited to get going. 

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7 hours ago, SheBeast said:

Wow. Sounds awesome. I loved 78 Degrees and use it often in reference along with 21 Ways and a few others. I joined this forum out of a longing for a return to AT. I’m so glad I found this group. I’m excited to get going. 

Thank you @SheBeast! Me too, happy and excited, and curious to discover what everybody else will be doing! 

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For the "78 Weeks - joining the reboot" I will be working with the True Black Tarot deck by Arthur Wang. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with this deck.  I was looking for something that really mirrored l how I feel about Tarot.  TBT hit all the marks for me and now its pretty much the only deck I seriously use.   The Major Arcana are all brilliant ethereal beings, the Courts typify their personalities and I actually enjoy the use of animals and the lack of people represented on the Minors.  What ties it all in for me is that it is a child of RWS which is currently the only system I truly know.  While I'd like to explore other deck systems I'm not quite there yet.

 

I have looked at 21 Ways as an inspiration for what and how I will be writing each week.  I'm not sure yet just what that will look like but it will be fun to find that rhythm.  Certainly I will be using 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card, 78 Degrees of Wisdom and Holistic Tarot as reference material as well as AT forum threads (I really loved Thirteen's clarity) and others.  I'm most excited to hear from others as I know that will get me thinking of other ways to look at the same card and inspire me to dig a little deeper.

 

I've added here Justice, the Knight of Wands and the Ace of Cups deck images from True Black Tarot

justice.jpg

kow.jpg

aoc.jpg

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On 2/13/2021 at 9:28 PM, le_charior said:

So here's what I am planning to do for the 78 weeks of Tarot - Feb 14 2021 reboot / start for me! 

 

I will be be working with the Fifth Spirit Tarot, created by Charlie Claire Burgess. Ever since I had the Collective Tarot, back in the glorious days when I owned that deck (but I don't regret giving it away, to someone who deserved and needed it more) - I have rarely had a deck that I connected with so easily and nicely on first contact. But I want to go deeper with it, and really explore the deck, so I will be working with the deck and guidebook. 

 

In parallel I will use it as a sort of entry way to learn more about the Smith-Waite deck. Some background: I started reading with the Tarot de Marseille, and was always fascinated by historical decks, and pip decks inspired by them. The freedom of the unillustrated minor arcana is something I really love, and I have come to develop my own system of how to read them, between elemental and numeric references, visual storytelling style reading, etc. So i never learned about the esoteric / Golden Dawn decks with illustrated minors, in a mix of ignorance and laziness and slight arrogance, coming from a feeling that TdM style decks are "the real thing", without the added overlaying systems of meaning from Kabbalah, Astrology etc. But by now my understanding has changed. Now I am curious to learn about the Smith-Waite deck and why it became so immensely popular and influential. If so many people connect to it in so many different ways, there must be something to it. And, going even further, I now see Tarot as a vessel that is wonderfully adaptable to accommodate a lot of different sets of meanings, of visual styles, of worlds really, in the structure of 4 x 14 + 22 cards. Charlie Claire Burgess, the creator of the Fifth Spirit Tarot, puts it more eloquently into words in their guide book, in the introductory chapter "Tarot: What It Is and What It Was", page 4:

 

While there is little reason to believe the original tarocchi deck created in Renaissance Italy had its roots in esoteric mystery cults or was secretly intended for divination magic, or mystical initiatory purposes, the Tarot that we know and love today certainly does. Modern Tarot is a densely layered text of esoteric symbolism and spiritual significance that pulls from numerous and varied sources, from classical astrology to Phythagorean numerology to Christian Gnosticism to Greco-Roman mystery cults. Tarot has been created collectively over centuries by the flawed and philosophical and mystical minds of many, many humans. In fact, it's still being created today, re-conceptualized and evolved by Tarot practicionerslike me and you - yes you reading this. Each of us who handle the cards leave our own imprint, our own insight. Each of us is a part of Tarot's life and breath and growth, each a part of it's co-creation. 

 

So I will be using the oversized Deluxe edition of the Smith-Waite deck, published by AGM Urania under the name "Tarot of A.E. Waite" as a reference, the cards are really big and I like the colors - it's not the original lettering by Pamela Coleman Smith, but I can live with that. And I will finally read a book that I never read, and always felt I should: "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom" by Rachel Pollack.

 

On the side I might also refer to "Reading the Marseille Tarot" by Jean-Michel David, "Mystical Origins of the Tarot" by Paul Huson, "Guide to the Phythagorean Tarot" by John Opsopaus and "Queering the Tarot" by Cassandra Snow (sort of my go to Tarot reference books so far), as well as old threads from the AT forum. And I might experiment with the ideas from "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" by Mary Greer - even if I don't have the book, but as posted on the instructions thread

 

There is a picture of my "main" set up attached - I selected the Page of Swords as significant card for this moment, starting on a journey of learning and discovery. I am excited about it, and happy to have this group here, for motivation and accountability and exchange!

 

21DAE78A-4106-40F4-B267-CD9A887B2FC4.jpeg

 

I love that Fifth Spirit tarot!

 

It turns out that the person who created it also has a podcast, 'The Word Witch': I listened to one episode so far and I thought it was great, one of the better tarot podcasts around (and I listen to a *lot* of podcasts!)

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19 hours ago, SheBeast said:

I've added here Justice, the Knight of Wands and the Ace of Cups deck images from True Black Tarot

 

What an interesting deck - I have never seen it or heard of it, @SheBeast! Really cool Justice card, looks like a badass!

 

2 hours ago, Hedera said:

 

I love that Fifth Spirit tarot!

 

It turns out that the person who created it also has a podcast, 'The Word Witch': I listened to one episode so far and I thought it was great, one of the better tarot podcasts around (and I listen to a *lot* of podcasts!)

Ah thanks @Hedera - I will check out their podcast, I haven't listened to it yet! Glad to know there's other folk here who likes the deck! 

Edited by le_charior
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