-
Welcome to Tarot, Tea, & Me - The Tarot Forum!
TT&M is currently the largest active Tarot Forum on the web, and we are so happy you are here!
Come join us in learning card meanings, browse our growing tarot library, or participate in reading exchanges with other members.
We invite you become a part of our family and read with us!
Little Fang
Forum Owner
-
Deck to Check
-
Blogs
-
- 12
entries - 86
comments - 6216
views
Recent Entries
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.
- Read more...
- 0 comments
- 12
-
Latest Entry
The Reversed Seven of Wands: "Kneecapping" the Enemy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When upright, the 7 of Wands represents "Valour" or extraordinary courage in the face of daunting odds. This is clearly reflected in the Waite-Smith version, which shows a harried warrior being set upon by six adversaries who have crowded him into a corner. At that moment in time he has yet to give an inch even though his prospects appear to be dim.
But all is not lost. He is holding the "moral high ground" as well as the tactical advantage (as any reading of US Civil War history will confirm), although the Golden Dawn interpreted this card as "possible victory" that is not assured. On balance, though, I like his chances to knock a few heads, and he can always invoke the 8 of Wands and high-tail it out of there in a pinch. (See my previous essay on the Seven, Eight and Nine of Wands as a tale of expedient retreat within the larger context of "confrontation, disengagement and redeployment").
However, its reversal could be read as the valiant but woefully over-matched man-at-arms taking a tumble if his foes manage to sweep his feet out from under him, and the best that can be expected is that he will take some of the enemy down with him as he falls. If he's brought low, he can always try to "kneecap" them and thereby reduce them to his level, after which the battle can resume as an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. In that sense, what we see in the reversed Seven is not necessarily impending demise but rather an opportunity for a strategic maneuver that levels the playing field (the military term for it is "feint" aimed at exposing the opponent's flank).
The Thoth definition, which ignores the finer points of orientation, doesn't offer even this small measure of optimism. It talks about the army being "thrown into disorder" by an attack coming from "all directions without systematic purpose." The card carries the robust imprint of fiery Mars in solar Leo, but when married to Crowley's vision of the "weak, earthy, feminine" Seven (the number of Venus in the Qabalistic pecking-order), the flame is fitful and Mars by itself isn't potent enough to carry the day; it suggests grabbing "the first weapon to hand" which is "evidently unsatisfactory" in fending off the forces arrayed against the seeker. (The besieged combatant's mismatched footwear in the RWS card implies that he donned his armor in haste.)
When the 7 of Wands appears reversed in a reading I like to reaffirm the ethical virtues of the seeker's cause that can serve as a "rallying cry" should hope begin to falter. Even if it amounts to escaping the jaws of defeat in an unapologetic "discretion is the better part of valor" and "live to fight another day" frenzy of self-justification, at least up to that point there is still the nobility of "fighting the good fight." We may be stripped of everything up to and including our pride, but knowing we're in the right can take some of the sting out of running away.
- Read more...
- 0 comments
-
- 143
entries - 36
comments - 18663
views
Recent Entries
Feedback -- Questions and comments are welcome.
This reading gives us insight into energies that we can focus on during specific days of the upcoming week as well as throughout the entire week as a whole
This week's reading will use Whispers of The Tao by Dr. Ric Neo.
Here are focal points for our meditation:
Sunday: How Can I Express Generosity: Four of Cups 'Epiphany' Schedule Tea with Beverly.
Monday. How Can I Set the Emotional Tone for my Week? IX Mekasharet 'Mystic' K'li Hanecha for China Creek situation.
Tuesday: What Do I Want to Manifest? Five of Swords 'Karmic Lessons' Consciously move through all interactions with kindness, consideration and tenderness.
Wednesday: What Wisdom is Coming to Me? Matriarch of Swords 'Organizer'. Review available decks in Singapore and make budget.
Thursday: What Do I Want to Develop? XX Gilgul Neshamot 'Ancestral Healing' Continue organizing disposition of belongings to children.
Friday: How Can I Connect with Romance, Friends and Nature? Maiden of Pentacles 'Artisan/Athlete Enjoy laying foundation for mind sport activities.
Shabbat: How Can I Rest? Four of Pentacles 'Conception' Take an entire day just for hanging out doing whatever we want to do.
- Read more...
- 0 comments
- 143
-
-
Recent Forum Activity
-
225: Scorpio 2 (6 of Cups)
There may be a connection to the child on the Sun card - if you have ever watched children enjoying themselves, you know that we adults have lost the ability to give ourselves so completely to the moment. There is an element of naive optimism in children that is comforting to see. I also think that Colman-Smith wanted to include all kinds of emotional states and feelings in the cards, and looking back on old memories has to be there. Where to put it astrologically? Sun in Scorpio seems a surprising choice because if there's a sign that's self-aware, sometimes even tortured by self-awareness, it's Scorpio. The major arcanum of this sign is Death. Childhood is the only time that we have the chance to live unaware of Death (of course, there are children who are confronted with Death). And as you said, the Six of Cups is associated with Tif'eret, the radiant, optimistic sephirah of the Sun. So Waite and Colman-Smith took the daring step to show the innocence of Death in the middle of Death. From the Pictorial Key to the Tarot: A card of the past and of memories, looking back, as - for example - on childhood; happiness, enjoyment, but coming rather from the past: things that have vanished. This reminds me of a saying: Memory is the only paradise from which we can't be expelled. This makes nostalgia such a complex feeling. We look back at a time when we thought our paradise was permanent, but it was not. We long not only for that paradise but also for the feeling that it would last. And in that sense, it suits Scorpio and Death very well to have at its apex a card that keeps memory alive, celebrating the belief in permanence in a world where everything vanishes. For me personally, this card embodies the Inner Child. Finding harmony within myself is only possible when I'm in harmony with the little girl I once was. This is what I see on my tarot calendar in front of my eyes right now: Death on the one side, Pleasure/Nostalgia on the other. And when I zoom in on the Tiny RWS magnets, I see Death riding towards the children. But the children are blissfully unaware of what is coming. Love is as strong as Death, says the Song of Salomo. We all have to yield to Death, but our memories keep love alive.- Nemia replied to Rose Lalonde's topic in Decan Walk 2025/26's The Decan Posts -
5Is, "Minor Arcana" a common term referencing the Rider Waite Smith tarot's 56 Cards of the Four Suites?
I was so suprised when i learned these expressions Major Arcana and Minor Arcana were all from a made-up book. Apparently Histoire de la Magie (1870) is full of fictional fakelore. Although I've never read it, this sounds about right for the times. Lots of made-up "history" of Tarot in the Occult Revival era and before. After learning this, I now mostly call the Majors Triunfi which was their proper and original name. The so-called Minor Arcana 56 cards are basically the same as any euro playing cards. The invention of the Triunfi suit in the 1400s is what made Tarocchi [tarot] different from other decks.- Misterei replied to Wyrdkiss's topic in Tarot Talk & Technique -
12
Do you see the Major Arcana as the Fool's Journey?
I read the book Tarot History and Symbolism by Robert Place. There's also an interview on youtube Vis a vis personal reflections aligning with existing philosophies--this touches upon the idea of collective consciousness. Akashik Records. That sort of thing. Gurdjieff teaches the concept of Objective Art. This is art of any genre that evokes certain states of consciousness in the person who experiences it. In music we might see this with Sufi sema. The music is designed to put listeners into an altered state. And it does [at least in my personal experience]. I see Tarots as objective art. People have all sorts of different ideas--some outlandish--but many, many people travel in a similar direction when they study the cards. The Fool's Journey has various different onramps 😉 In my own reflections, i noticed the 3 x 7 scheme holds a lesson in psychological development. Up to age 7 a child is forming their personality. It crystallizes around age 7. In olden days people often married as young as 14. In any case, broadly speaking we might say the personality matures at age 7 and sexuality matures at age 14. In USA age 21 is considered "adult" for certain laws [age 18 for others]. Certainly age 21 is when a human matures into more of an adult. Impulse control gets better, they are at peak physical strength. Anyway, this is a bit far afield of Tarot proper, but that's part of the fun. Sometimes contemplating the tarots leads me to contemplate other topics in a deeper way. You bring up an interesting distinction. Yes, depending on context, Tower can mean planned demo on a remodel project. Something not particularly life changing or malefic. Or it could be knocking over and breaking your favorite coffee mug. Or not getting that job offer you expected. Or 1001 other small things that don't change the trajectory of your life. But the Fool's Journey isn't about the fortune telling side of things. I've had spiritual experiences which shook me to the core. Internally. Invisible in the exterior world. No one would know just by looking at me. But inside my own soul? I have felt shattered in ways that words can't describe. Tower. This is 2 different ways of reading. if Tower appears b/c client had a tree fall on their roof--I don't get into the Ego Death thing. If a client comes with deep existential questions about the Meaning of Life -- then we have a conversation about spiritual aspects of Tower. What it means and how it feels. Ways to integrate a spiritual awakening that can feel shattering. Also a 3rd method which isn't reading at all. I contemplate cards. In meditation sometimes a card teaches me something about my soul's development and evolution. Sometimes cards appear in dreams which are likewise deeply personal and symbolic. Some experiences are beyond words and sometimes Triunfi illustrate these experiences. I very much consider myself a Fool on the Journey. Going back to original Topic--I dont find it linear in real life. I can't say I experience the triunfi in any particular order. They seem to activate in their own time--when the fruit is ripe it falls from the tree.- Misterei replied to Darrell's topic in Tarot Talk & Technique
-
-
Available Subscriptions
-
-
Current Donation Goals
-
Forum Hosting Fees (Resets 4/28/26)Raised $85.00 of $199.00 target
-
-
TT&M Deck Creations
Collaborative Deck Projects
We Are One
Purchase Deck | LWB | Guidebook -
Staff Online
No members to show
-
Who's Online (See full list)
- There are no registered users currently online
-
Links Directory
-
.png.7a937377d26b65d465a78762c7389153.png)
