Balance Point
In an effort to address my thoughts on where to take my Tarot practice, including this blog, I drew one card for a nudge in whatever direction would be best. I chose my Hudes Deck, because I was feeling very stressed out at the time. Mentally, I had climbed the high-dive ladder at the pool, and I was finding it difficult to take that last step into the air, anticipating the plunge into the shock of cold water. I have not turned to the Tarot for my own needs in quite a while. It was a bit like going to an old friend and adviser for help, after a long period of not speaking to them at all.
Tarot can have a quirky sense of humor of it’s own sometimes. Seeking a card to focus my actions, I drew a card that is hardly an ‘action card’. And yet, upon reflection, there is the ghost of action here. As actions can occur in the imagination, there is action to be found in the Six of Pentacles from the Hudes Deck.
The first thing this card said to me was, ‘balance’. This image is one of symmetry. The perfectly balanced pentacles, both on the scales and in the air around the gentleman’s head. The center post of the scales, pointing perfectly at the chin, through the center of the face and on into the infinity above, divide the image neatly in two. After all, what else is necessary to move forward than to be perfectly balanced? Indeed, while riding a bicycle you will get nowhere without a good sense of balance.
There is an element of choice here as well. Which one is better, or are they the same? Items are weighed on a scale to determine which is heavier. In the mind, things are weighed to determine which is wiser, saner, more desirable, or less likely to fail in some manner. Sometimes the choice is one of ‘a lesser of two evils’. It is still a choice, and choice is an action. A mental action, but an action nonetheless.
He certainly looks bored, doesn’t he? Hesitation in life can lead to ennui, to endless stalling. Once that malaise sets in it can be difficult to shake it off, and accomplish the simplest tasks. One would rather sleep on, than arise and greet the day. Depression can be a deep pit that is very difficult to escape.
The pentacles deal with material, corporeal things. The body, possessions, money and practical considerations relating to these things. One of my motives for asking where I need to take my practice, is a need to discover a means to earn my keep in this world, to be of some benefit in this life, using my Tarot cards. I believe the card is telling me that I need to put things in order first. I need to seek a balance within, as well as in my daily life, as a foundation from which to act. It seems ‘getting my act’ together seems to be the first step that I must take, before I can travel any further.
Unfortunately, this is not one of my strong points. But it’s likely that is the very reason why I am being directed to do so.
Oracle of the Grail Code – Contest Giveaway
I would like to find a new home for my copy of the Oracle of the Grail Code.
This deck was created by Amy Sophia Marashinsky, and consists of a deck of 33 cards that are meant to correspond to 33 qualities and principles of the Divine feminine. The images are reproductions of classic paintings. The cards are packaged in a cigar-style box along with a 176-page hardcover book. You can see all of the cards here.
I bought this deck at Barnes and Noble a while ago. It’s a really lovely deck and book, but I just cannot connect with it for readings. So I would like it to go to someone who would enjoy having it. It is in brand new condition, almost as if you’d just removed the wrapper yourself.
The rules are the same as my previous giveaway. If you’d like to enter, leave a comment on this post with your choice of one of the seventy-eight cards from a standard Tarot deck. On the morning of November 13th I’ll shuffle, cut and draw one card from one of my Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot deck.
Only one card per person, please. Just leave a comment below this post with your choice of Tarot card. If your comment does not appear right away, don’t worry. It may be caught in my spam filter, which I check a few times each day. There is no need to leave a duplicate comment.
I will announce the winner on Tuesday the 13th of November. Good luck!
The Fantod Pack
I mentioned elsewhere that I would love to see an Edward Gorey Tarot. While not a Tarot deck, there is something called the Fantod Pack that uses Gorey’s artwork to create a deck for Cartomancy.
From the Gorey House website:
Each of the 20 cards forecasts a list of outcomes for the user ranging from the merely unpleasant (loss of hair, breakage, thwarted ambitions) to the downright horrible (catarrh, spasms, shriveling). The 32-page booklet provides interpretation of the cards courtesy of one Madame Groeda Weyrd
This deck is a re-print of the original, and reportedly of much higher quality. Described on the site as “a kaleidoscope of catastrophe”. According to the Free Dictionary, the definition of the word fantod is, 1. a. A state of nervous irritability. b. Nervous movements caused by tension. 2. An outburst of emotion; a fit. Certainly understandable if you are caught in a kaleidoscope of catastrophe.
Now that the Halloween season is approaching, this deck has created quite a stir on one of the Tarot forums I read.
Here is where you can get a reading from the Fantod, or view the entire deck.
My Deck Family
I can’t tell you how many decks have come to visit me at my house. Some stay for a while, and then they move on. Only a few have have been adopted into the family.
For the Tarot collector, it’s really just a matter of acquiring decks. Not that they don’t have criteria. Some collect cat decks, some collect old decks, some collect decks from a particular publisher. Some simply look for decks that please them aesthetically, as any art collector would.
In my experience, it’s a bit different for the serious Tarot reader. I am always looking for decks that will speak to me personally. I look for decks that may bring a different perspective to my reading table, but that I can understand and relate to. I also look for decks that are aesthetically pleasing, as I find it difficult to read with decks that are unpleasant to look at. But at the same time, not all cards are pleasant, and that’s to be expected. Life offers both pleasant and unpleasant lessons, what matters is how we deal with them.
There really is no way to know if a deck is going to be ‘a keeper’ until you’ve taken it out of the box, unwrapped it, and spent some time getting to know it. That’s one of the hazards of buying Tarot decks, as it can be an expensive enterprise. But it’s worth it, because even if you end up eventually parting with the deck, you have the knowledge and experience that came from understanding and working with it.
It takes time to get to know a new deck. Whether you sleep with it under your pillow or not, you need to actually spend time with the images on the cards. My initial introduction is to take look through the deck, find the cards that I react strongly to, either positively or negatively, and spend some time meditating on them. I journal our ‘conversations’ and whatever thoughts or feelings the card gives me. Then I begin small readings with the deck; simple daily questions, or maybe just work with a daily card for awhile. If the deck and I work well together, I’ll keep it. If not I try to find a home for it. This can mean eBay, trading forums, or a friend whom I think might appreciate it.
It doesn’t always work out this simply however. Sometimes a deck will seem at first to be a ‘keeper’ only to reveal itself as unreadable after a while. These decks, depending on how much I like them, either get put aside for awhile or move on to someone else. At the moment I have the Fey Tarot put aside for this reason. I originally loved the energy in this deck, and we had some very productive ‘conversations’. But it has become uncooperative lately. (Isn’t that just like the Fey?). There are also a few decks in my collection I have no intention of reading with, but because I find them charming or very beautiful, they will always be part of my collection. The Gatti and I Cani Majors are in that category.
But there are really only a few in my reading family. There about ten of them altogether. I will carry a particular one with me when I go out, I usually have one on my beside table, and the rest reside in a carved wooden box on my bookshelf, or in bags. They cycle around a bit. The Halloween Tarot is on my bedside table at the moment. I have the Hudes in my main reading bag, and the Vanessa Tarot is usually somewhere close at hand. The other afternoon the Housewives Tarot insisted on being read with to answer a particular question, and answered it very well and very clearly.
The Gummy Bear Tarot is by the computer. I use that when I read online. It’s very clear and easy to read with, it’s small and easy to shuffle, it brings a light-hearted spirit to the readings. Therefore it is just what I need when doing fast readings for faceless strangers in the chat format.
As you can see, I don’t really have a system, per se. Not one that I am cognitive of anyway. But this is what works for me.
The Phantomwise Tarot
Here is a new deck for my wishlist. Take a look at The Phantomwise Tarot. It is beautiful and dark. The artist, Erin J. McCauley used a palette of blacks and warm grays to create the artwork for her deck.
One of my ‘fantasy decks’ has always been an Edward Gorey Tarot. This one puts me in mind of Gorey’s style, but I find the figures and faces on Phantomwise are less severe and more lifelike. The suggestion of sepia in the coloring, and the facial expressions give this deck life and character that would be missing in a deck made of Gorey artwork.
Ms. McCauley says her deck was influenced by, “…myth, fable, fairy tales, the works of Lewis Carroll in particular and the phantasmagorical in general.” In fact, Alice from Lewis Carroll’s stories opens and closes the deck as the Fool at one end and The World at the other.
The deck consists of the 22 Major Arcana only. It is available from the Art Tarot Website. But at the listed price of $99, it will be some time before I can add this one to my collection.
Halloween Tarot
I know it’s still officially Summer, but I can feel Autumn is very close. In fact, the Autumnal Equinox is Sunday. This is the time of year that I always use my Halloween Tarot Deck.
Even before I get out my fall decorations, I begin using the Halloween Tarot for my daily readings. I know there are some readers who use this deck year-round. It is certainly a fine deck any time. It’s cute, yet under the cuteness it is a very practical, honest deck. It has fun with the symbolism, but not to the detriment of the interpretation. It’s like receiving serious council from someone with a wry sense of humor.
There is a little black cat on every card. You feel as though he’s your constant companion as you journey through the deck, often commenting on the card in his expressions or posture. I also like the use of the moon’s face in many of the cards, also reacting to the events in the image. It gives the deck a friendly, conversational feel.
So as the days get shorter, and the air grows cooler, I’ll be making a cup of tea and spending some time with my Autumn friend, The Halloween Tarot.
Cleansing Negative Energy From Your Deck
If you read the Tarot for others, do you let the querent handle your deck? Many readers like to let the querent shuffle, cut or even draw the cards themselves. I know of one reader who hands the cards to the querent and does not touch them at all himself throughout the entire reading. He lets the client handle and draw the cards, which the reader and querent then interpret together.
I don’t usually have a problem letting others handle my decks. I often like to involve them in the shuffling process, usually by having them cut the cards any way they like, and then re-stacking them in a pile from which I draw the cards for the spread. One woman that I read for a few years ago, liked to hold the deck in her hands and slowly mix the cards using an overhand shuffle, while sitting quietly with her eyes closed. I always enjoyed reading for her, because the cards seemed especially responsive after that.
This was never a problem for me, until one particular afternoon in the New Age bookshop where I used to do readings. A new client had arrived and as I took him to the reading room I could sense his frustration. It ended up being the most difficult reading I’ve ever done for anyone, I felt as if I was struggling with the cards and him at every turn. He remained surly, refused to give me any feedback of any kind. I finally gave up in frustration, and did not charge him for the reading.
I felt so drained, both emotionally and mentally afterward, all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. After I saw him to the door, I went back to pack up my things and leave. As I gathered my cards from the table, they felt very heavy and very dark to me. Almost as if they didn’t want me to handle them.
Now I know some people feel this is nonsense, that they are only bits of cardboard and ink, and there isn’t any way they could ‘feel’ dark and uncooperative. However, this was a very real feeling for me. I sensed that the cards had picked up his negativity.
Never having to deal with this before, I went online to see what others had done about this situation. I found various techniques for cleaning decks. Smudging was a favorite, as well as leaving them out in the light of the full moon, or in full sunlight for a day. Shuffling and re-ordering the deck was another suggestion. One person advised burying them in the ground for several days. I ended up setting them on the windowsill in the sunlight with a quartz crystal on top. Afterward, I placed a small piece of lapis in the bag and put them away for awhile. They were fine after that.
Since then I’ve heard one experienced reader suggest to simply hold them in your hand and say ‘this deck is cleansed’. I think that one is my favorite.
He also gave some advice about handling difficult querents. He said there is absolutely no reason one should ever feel obligated to continue in such a situation. He told me a story about a lady he knew who read tea leaves. One session a client was being particularly demanding and difficult and the reader simply slammed the cup down on the table and said “This reading is over!”.
Nowadays, if I get particularly strong negative vibes from someone, I won’t let them handle the deck at all. If they do happen to touch the cards, I will simply re-order the deck afterward just so that it feels ‘reset’ to me, hold it in my hand and declare it cleansed.
Seeking Clarification in a Spread
What do you do if a spread just doesn’t make sense, or seem to relate to the question you asked?
There are a few schools of thought in this matter. One is that you should never draw a second spread if the original doesn’t make sense. Some feel it is wrong to ask a second time.
Now if you choose to do this, you can make note of the cards you pulled, wait to see what happens in the matter you inquired about, and then check back to see if the cards relate to what happened. In this way you may gain some new insights into the cards you pulled. You would, of course, want to journal this and possibly add the new perspectives to your meanings for these cards.
Another idea is let the spread ‘steep’. You can leave it out for a time, and come back to it later. If you can’t leave the cards out, you can note the cards and their positions, sketch them or even take a snapshot. This way you can recreate the layout for future contemplation. Some will do this for a few days. But you may certainly benefit from ‘sleeping on it’ and find a new perspective in the morning. This may be an opportunity incorporate dream journaling in your interpretation, as often your dreams will access your unconscious for you and help you solve the puzzle of a tricky layout.
My belief is that there is nothing wrong with drawing more than one spread of cards for a given question. The only caveat I have is that you should not do so simply because you don’t like what you see in the spread, and you are trying to get a different answer. A good practice is to ‘reset’ the deck by putting all the cards in order. My usual order is Majors first – Fool to World – followed by Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles – Ace to King. But any way you are comfortable with ordering your deck is fine. There is no ‘right’ way to do it. If you are using an Oracle deck that does not lend itself to any particular order, you can simply begin making piles of your cards that relate to one another in meaning, color, symbolism or anything you choose. If nothing else, simply sitting quietly and shuffling them for a time, while keeping your thoughts clear and calm can reset the deck quite well.
You can always choose a different deck if you have one, especially one that you have not used in a while. This tactic can have amazing results for giving you a fresh perspective on any reading.
If all else fails, it may simply mean that the information is not available for you at this time. It may also mean that it is best for you not to know. If you are reading for someone else, it may be difficult for them to understand that, but sometimes that is the plain and simple truth. Acceptance is always a good path when all else fails. Meditation, prayer, hope and faith are recommended ways of following that path well.
Making Friends With a New Deck
A little more than a week ago, I posted about the experience of trimming my Druidcraft deck. It was this comment to that post that got me thinking. It is true that one of the reasons people like to trim their decks, is that it becomes part of the bonding process of familiarizing yourself with a new deck. However many readers don’t want to trim all their decks. Many only trim the ones that they feel can be improved by trimming, because of the cards being too large to use or having excessively large borders that ‘drown out’ the images.
There are many ways to make friends with a new deck. The simplest way is to spend time with the cards, just looking at them individually and listening to them tell their stories. Some people start a journal, or a new section of their existing journal, to record meditations done with individual cards. Some folk sleep with the deck under their pillow.
I usually sleep with the deck on my night-table for a while. Occasionally one or more cards will enter my dreams and talk to me. This practice started when I got my very first Tarot deck, the Robin Wood Tarot.
This was before I learned about Gate cards, and entering cards in meditation. I suppose that the dream visitations were spontaneous versions of these techniques. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to. But when it does, I always make a note of the dreams I have.
There are many other ways to bond with your deck. Aside from pulling a daily card and journaling, you can write stories, songs and poems. You can create art based on the colors and emotions that you feel from a particular card. You can carry a card with you as you go about your business for a day, and pull it out occasionally to see what it might have to tell you about the days events as they unfold.
But most importantly, don’t forget to journal whatever experiences, feelings, thoughts and idea you may have while bonding with a new deck. They will be helpful later when you are using your deck in your practice, whether reading for yourself or others.
How do you make friends with a new deck?
An Old Friend
This is the Mystical Lenormand Oracle Deck. The images were painted by Urban Trosch using the egg tempera technique. The interpretations in the Little White Book are by Regula Elizabeth Fiechter. I googled both their names, and came up empty as far as biographies. Maybe someone reading this can supply some information about them.
The interesting thing about this deck is that it is said to be the deck used by the Sybil of Paris, Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand. She was a fortune teller who was very famous during the 19th century and read cards for many of Europe’s most influential people, most notably Napoleon and Josephine. Allegedly there was a scandal when Josephine (or maybe it was Napoleon) didn’t like one of her predictions and had her imprisoned for a while. There was also something about an affair. She apparently had quite a few adventures in her lifetime.
I bought this little deck over a year ago, and after becoming acquainted with it, I put it away and haven’t done much with it since. I bought a cute little bag for it from jozefaCreations a while ago. I’ve had a reading for myself done with it by the excellent Madame Seaqueen, which taught me a lot about understanding and interpreting the cards in this deck. But only now have I felt compelled to begin a study of it to read for others besides myself.
I love all my Tarot and Oracle decks. I feel an odd reluctance to put them all away for the time I plan on spending studying the Mystical Lenormand. (Some of us card readers can be very odd about our relationships with our decks. It’s almost as if they are family – like children, and we don’t want any of them to feel ‘left out’ or get jealous. It’s silly, I know, but there you are). But the structure of this deck is unlike the standard structure of most Tarot decks, and I feel I need to devote some time exclusively to the Lenormand to understand it completely without distractions.
However, I am unwilling to give up using my other decks completely. So I’ll continue to pull a daily card in the morning with decks other than the Lenormand, and continue writing in my journal, and here on this site, about them. But I’m thinking of starting a second journal for the Lenormand study and share bits of that here on as well.
I guess I ‘want it all’. Well, who doesn’t?
