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Little Fang
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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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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.
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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.
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Is, "Minor Arcana" a common term referencing the Rider Waite Smith tarot's 56 Cards of the Four Suites?
Yes, it is. As a historian, in our sense of the word, Christian/Pitois is sorely lacking. So is Eliphas Levi. On the other hand, Christian/Pitois and Levi were surprisingly good at forming coherent systems of symbolism. All those people who read The Star as "hope" these days are resting on the foundation of Christian/Pitois, and the sequence of moral strophes, he associated the trumps + wild card with, forms a useful tool for meditation.- Scandinavianhermit replied to Wyrdkiss's topic in Tarot Talk & Technique -
64Your Thoth Library
I started with Banzhaf because that's what was available back then (in German), and it's not bad, but for a better understanding, nothing beats DuQuette. I find Arrien irritating and unhelpful, Gerd Ziegler even worse, but Snuffin is good as well. For people just setting out with the Thoth, buy the DuQuette book and start working with the cards themselves. Lay them out according to their astrological associations (all Saturn cards together, all Venus cards together etc), and get used to the Tree of Life. There is a lot of wisdom in the cards themselves. Two other excellent books are M.M. Meleen's books for her Thoth-based decks: Book M for the Tabula Mundi and the Book of Seshet for the Rosetta. I'm re-reading the Book of Seshet right now, and it's great. Even if you don't have her decks, the books are a great resource for the Thoth system. The decks are wonderful as well. I would also recommend that beginners draw their own Tree of Life - it's not difficult if you start with a Flower of Life as described here. All you need is a simple divider (is that how it's called in English?). It's a great feeling when things start falling into place. Don't rush it, enjoy the process, and you can read with the Thoth deck even if you don't understand the whole theory behind it. By working with it, you'll understand it better. That's at least my experience.- Nemia replied to EmpyreanKnight's topic in Thoth -
13Do you see the Major Arcana as the Fool's Journey?
@Misterei Thank you for this response! I really liked the video interview with Robert M. Place. That is the kinda' stuff I was looking for. Although, I'm not familiar with the deck they were showing I really liked his thoughts and interpretations. I'm going to get mine out and "play along" the next time I watch it. I may have to watch it a few times, because I want to take some notes. 😊- Darrell replied to Darrell's topic in Tarot Talk & Technique
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