Blogs

1. 

   Natural Mystic Guide

   A blog by Natural Mystic Guide in Member Blogs

   • 152
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   • 36
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   • 21275
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   Recent Entries

   • Tarot Astrology Capricorn 2025 Jewish & Western Hermetic Correspondences according to the Tarot Netivot system.
   • Tarot Netivot Star of the Week Reading Sunday December 28, 2025 - Shabbat January 3, 2026
   • Tarot Netivot Star of the Week Reading Sunday December 21 - Shabbat December 27, 2025
   • Rosh Chodesh Reading Tevet 5786
   • Tarot Netivot Star of the Week Reading Sunday December 14 -- Shabbat December 20, 2025

   

   Latest Entry
   

   Tarot Astrology Capricorn 2025 Jewish & Western Hermetic Correspondences according to the Tarot Netivot system.

   

    

   Feedback, comments and questions are welcome.

    

   We entered the astrological month of Capricorn on December 22 of this week.

    

   The bottom row, representing the Jewish calendar according to the Tarot Netivot system has already been featuring Major Arcana card XI Doreshet ‘The Seeker’ since December 21; and the Matriarch of Wands for the beginning of the week of the Full Moon December 31.

    

   The Major Arcana card XV Babylon ‘The Devil’ represented the December Solstice in the Tarot Netivot system.  It now continues as the card that represents the entire month of Capricorn.  Cards which represented animal, plant, gemstone/metal correspondences for the Solstice — Dog and Birch; and Dolphin and Willow remain on the board.

    

   The top line features Tarot cards as they relate to today’s Western Hermetic Astrology using primarily the Tabula Mundi Tarot Silver Edition by M.M. Melleen.  This works with the Solar Calendar.  These are the correspondences that Benebell uses when working with the SKT and astrology.

    

   The bottom line features Tarot cards as they relate to the Hebrew calendar according to Tarot Netivot.  I am using the Lurianic Tarot by Basilikon — one of the few truly Jewish Tarot decks out there and certainly one of the most beautiful; and the hand painted Illuminated Tarot Starlight Rainbows edition by Carol Herzer.  These work with the Lunar Calendar.

    

   The middle cards are animal, crystal, and plant correspondences according to T. Susan Chang in the book ‘Tarot Correspondences’.  These are tied to the Major Arcana cards as they appear in Tarot Netivot representing each Jewish month,  Jewish holidays, and major lunar and solar events as well as to the Western Hermetic Major Arcana in the top rows.  These are taken from various decks in my collection.  New additions:  Elephant, Mountain Goat, Scorpion, Eagle, Snake and Dolphin.  We have black Onyx, Turquoise, Obsidian, Silver, Pear, Aquamarine, and Peridot. Plant representatives are  Poppy, Thistle, Water Hibiscus, and Lotus.

    

   We have two cards that overlap the two systems here:  Dolphin and Willow.

    

   Benebell Wen, in the Book of Maps notes that in Biblical symbolism, the willow tree represents a perpetual source of nourishment and resource.  She writes, ‘Willows are also sacred in Tibetan mysticism, believed to hold powerfully magical properties and can be used in divination.’  Dowsing rods — used to locate water sources, are commonly made from willow branches.  The willow is also paired with Kuan Yin as a symbol of truth.

    

   Existing cards will be exchanged with new incoming cards as the wheel of the year turns.  Lunar phases change every 3 - 4 days; decans change every 10 days.  Months change every 28 - 31 days.  Note:  I am working with 2 different systems to mark the months, one solar and the other lunar.

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2. 

   The taxonomy of decks of cards

   A blog by Scandinavianhermit in Member Blogs

   • 4
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   • 15
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   • 2600
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   Recent Entries

   • The cradle of tarot (So many decks 2)
   • Just a few notes to myself, out of the sequential order of my 'normal' blog posts
   • What does middle eastern judges have in common with German Jacks and Spanish playing cards? (So many decks 1)
   • The main idea with this blog

   

   Latest Entry
   

   The cradle of tarot (So many decks 2)

   By the time playing card decks had become prevalent in Europe, the Kingdom of Sicily was the Korea of its time: There were two political entities claiming to be the real Kingdom of Sicily. This reminds us, that there was no unified Italy at the time. The old kingdom of Sicily split in 1282, and it wasn't until 1816 the two claimants reunited into one kingdom, the strangely named Kingdom of the two Sicilies. 

    

   North of these two rivalling southern countries, the Papal States (Holy See) were located. Today, the Holy See oversees the world's smallest country, the principality of Vatican City, consisting of a few city blocks in the middle of the city of Rome, Italy, but in the Middle Ages, the land-claims of the Papal States were quite substantial, running from the west coast (Tyrrhenian Sea) to the east coast (Adriatic Sea). The bishop of Rome had become a head of state in 756, after a Frankish army defeated the Lombards, but the 14th and 15th centuries eroded some of the Pope's secular political power. From 1305 to 1378, popes resided in the Avignon enclave surrounded by Provence, and, in his absence, local aristocracy strengthened their secular power  over city states such as Ferrara, Modena and Reggio (House of Este) and Rimini (House of Malatesta). Another semi-autonomous city-republic formally under papal rule was Bologna, significant for its old university, founded in 1088 AD. The ecumenical council of Basel had begun its first session in 1431, but moved to Ferrara in 1438. Its purpose was to mend the schism between the Eastern Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church. 

    

   Tuscany, north of the Papal States, had fallen apart in 1115, at the death of Matilda, Margravine of Tuscany, and was replaced by several long-lasting city-republics, the most important of which were Florence, Lucca and Siena. The Republic of Pisa was absorbed by the Republic of Florence in 1405. The House of Albizzi and the House of Medici were influential in Florence. Cosimo de' Medici, who was an aristocratic banker, returned in 1434 to Florence from exile in Venice and expelled the Albizzis. The ecumenical council of Ferrara moved to Florence in 1439, in order to avoid bubonic plague, and lated until 1445. The presence of learned Greeks in Florence made Greek literary works available, such as Corpus Hermeticum, the dialogues of Plato and the works of Plotinus and Proclus. Cosimo de' Medici attended lectures by the Byzantine neopagan philosopher Gemistos Plethon (1360-1454). After decades of intermittent war with Milan, Florence entered a period of peace when its neighbours, Milan and Venice, signed a peace treaty in 1454. From 1462, Medici sponsored the Florentine philosopher and translator Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), who gathered a circle of thinkers, the Florentine Academy, around himself. One of the members was Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), one of the first Christian Kabbalists and a cousin of the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441-1494), the latter famous for his chivalric epic Orlando Innamorato. Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence in 1445. Leonardo da Vinci was born in the Republic of Florence in 1452. Michelangelo was born in the Republic of Florence in 1475.

    

   Milan had been a city-republic, governed by several wealthy families, among them the House of Visconti and the House of Sforza, but became a duchy in 1349. A republic was proclaimed at the death of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti in 1447, but  in 1450, Francesco Sforza (married to Bianca Maria Visconti) dropped all pretense of governing a republic, and proclaimed himself Duke of Milan. He defeated Milan's eastern neighbour Venice in the following years.

    

   The Most Serene Republic of Venice was a very old country, founded in 697. Yes, 697 CE! Padoa and Verona became close allies after 1405. Trade with the East Roman (Byzantine) empire had favoured the economy of Venice for ages, but, when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, Venetian economy took a hit. Intermittent naval war lasted from 1423 to 1571.

    

   West of the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Genoa (lasted 1005-1797) was located. It controlled Corsica 1284-1755.

    

   North of Genoa, in a mountainous region, there were the Duchy of Savoy, the Duchy of Aosta, the Principality of Piedmont and the County of Nice; all of them ruled by the House of Savoy (much later kings of Italy).

    

   Sardinia was under the Crown of Aragon (one of the Spanish kingdoms) for many centuries.

    

   There were also a few dozen other small political entities, but, of those, only The County of Monaco (since 1612 The Principality of Monaco) and the Republic of San Marino (independent 301 CE) ought to be mentioned, because they are still independent sovereign countries, but, as far as I know, none of them never developed any separate card deck or tarot deck of its own. 

    

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3. 

   If You Ask Me----

   A blog by Grizabella in Member Blogs

   • 12
     entries
   • 89
     comments
   • 7279
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   Recent Entries

   • More Gold Foil
   • Gold Foil Tarot
   • Info in, Info out---Presto Change-o
   • Huh??? vs Well....Duh!
   • Why Couldn't I Find the Right Spread?

   

   Latest Entry
   

   More Gold Foil

   I've been browsing the gold foil decks on Amazon. To my surprise I found that there are lots of them but they're all called Gold Foil so I just figured they were all the same.  I was wrong.  I've now ordered three more decks, all different patterns and trimmed with all different borders and backs.  These are spectacular decks so of course I'm collecting them now.  I can't help myself.  They're so mesmerizing that it's almost like they're alive.  

    

   The cards are very slippery so you have to develop your workable shuffling tactics but once you get the hang of it they're nice to shuffle.  If you drop cards during a shuffle, you can just scoop them up any old which way and you'll have reversals.  

    

   Speaking of reversals---I don't like just turning a section of cards upside down for reversals. Then you always have the same cards reversed.  I've decided to have the sitter draw

    cards from a fan, keeping all the cards face down. Once they've drawn their cards, then I'll have them draw X number more  from the first cards they've drawn, keeping the cards face down and those will be the reversals for that spread . Once the reading is finished, I'll put all the cards all upright again and shuffle a couple times and then put the cards away till the next reading.

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