Starting at the left, clockwise, Le Tarot Arthurien, Forgotten Legends Tarot, Asphodelon Mythos Tarot, The Oracle of 11, Legendarium Tarot

When the season is turning noticeably darker, I love returning to the stories I was read as a kid, or read as an adult, or stories in general. I love to read, but often I find I am too busy in the long summer days to linger in a book. Late fall really gives me that chance that I crave. With the anxiety of the tumultuous elections in the USA, I more than ever need a place of solace and stories are that for me. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that one of my favorite “themes” in the Tarot world are decks about stories, or that tell stories, and I wanted to dedicate a whole month (at least!) to decks that are all about myths and legends. I may need to return to this theme seeing as I have so many decks that fit this category!

Look at the variety of gold edging! And the “helper” doing her best to keep out of the way!

This month I wanted to choose decks that are not only myths and legends, but of those decks, ones I’ve used the least. Almost all of these are a year or less in my collection so I’m pleased to get the chance (and challenge!) of really digging in deep to get to know them better.

At the top is the The Oracle of 11, made by the brilliant Ambi Sun, who is the creator of my much beloved Oriens Tarot. This oracle deck is representing South East Asian stories (I believe it was originally called The Oracle of SEAS). This enchanting deck really packs a wallop, as you’ll see shortly. The art is of course just stellar, but I will say that the colors of the card faces are quite a bit darker than the backing and box suggest. In any case, this is a really different and fun deck to use!

The Legendarium Tarot gave me two jumpers for this month. This deck so surpassed all expectations I had of it! It’s very clear that D&D had a huge influence over the card images and keywords, and it deviates at times rather drastically from the RWS, but it’s structure and general “Fool’s journey” is delightful and fresh. I could easily see traveling with this deck for months on end and never getting bored of it! This is a total “cool kids” deck. The art is quirky, charming, and a very interesting nod to traditional Marseilles Tarot and playing card art. The creator is the same who made Tarot of the Golden Wheel and currently has another Kickstarter deck, a sister deck to Legendarium, that is just wrapping up it’s funding! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/montenzicollabs/the-clouds-of-destiny-tarot

The Forgotten Legends Tarot was a last moment purchase. I knew of it for a while, and like many many decks I admired it from afar and told myself I already have Yoshi Yoshitani’s Tarot of the Divine. The art between the two decks are very similar, and obviously the theme of legends and myths is exactly the same, but Forgotten Legends is muted in color pallet and overall has a rather darker tone in many of the cards. I was so surprised when I got it in hand how very different it feels compared to the Divine, and I absolutely love it. It is certainly much more Euro-centric in its choices of myths and imagery, but this deck is very complex, and is a perfect, moody winter deck.

I was gifted the beautiful Le Tarot Arthurien for Christmas last winter, and I’ve used it through out the year but have held off including it in a monthly deck collection. I adore this beautiful and emotionally evocative deck and I must say that Ana Tourian really is becoming one of my favorite deck makers. I was hoping that I’d be able to acquire the English version of the book that accompanies this deck, but I don’t think its been published quite yet.

And finally, the Asphodelon Mythos Tarot, a deck that has been long in the making. I bought the majors from the artists personal shop years ago and was so stoked to see that she decided to finish this awesome Greek inspired deck! I’ve had this deck for most of this year but really haven’t used it all that much so I’m really enjoying the discovery time I have with it! I really like that there are certain myths I know quite well, but others that are totally new to me, albeit this means that when I sit down with this deck to do a reading I need to budget a little more time in case I get sucked down a story rabbit-hole!

This month I did my monthly draw with my Tarot friend and I wanted to take the opportunity to share with the small audience I have on here how she really helped me become more engaged with my cards and think of my reading with fresh eyes. Like with any art, it’s easy to get stuck in a formulaic structure that works well for you, but this can limit your growth when you neglect to try new things. This is a great example of how you can choose to make your reading more creative, and become more engaged with your cards–include your friends in your draw!

So, I’ll first give a short version of my first reading with these cards as seen above, then we’ll talk about Val’s hot take!

We open with the month’s theme represented by the Puteri Walinong Sari story–a beautiful princess has so many suitors due to her looks and power, and she isn’t really interested in marrying them. She herself is an accomplished martial artist, so veils herself and says that she’ll marry the suitor that is able to fight and beat her–well, of course she kicks all their butts! Then a humble man from out of no-where talks to her and, you know, takes a real interest in her. He too is a martial art mat-rat and they inevitably decide to spar and he is winning! In a last ditch attempt she removes her veil and stuns him with her beauty and is able to defeat him and *poof!* he disappears! It is said she was whisked away with him to a far away mountain top and is reunited with him, neither ever seen again.

So, from this I get the “true beauty is within” but also “don’t settle for less.” There’s a lesson of needing to fight the good fight to get what you are worth. Expect there to be resistance. Huh.

Then I have the Two of Coins with the keyword “Rope-Walker” and the Ace of Cups with a charming Nereid. Though you go through this time with a knowing grin, you are playing a balancing game. Things are not as easy as they may appear to others. Nevertheless, you must keep your eyes (see that creepy eye on the chalice? ) and heart open for the genuine and true (similar vibes to our oracle card I think).

And then we end with a pretty exhausted 10 of Wands, a jousting 5 de Batons (Wands), and the cute Page of Cups. You have much bounty but to harvest it is a great chore and perhaps too big for one person, but you have no choice but to persevere. There is a challenge, and neither party is ready to take it on, though there is a “winner,” both knights have no tack and are certainly falling off their mounts. And we end with Hebe, who is carrying the ambrosia of the Gods. You are tasked with an important responsibility, but this doesn’t require you to leave your child self behind–see the world through the eyes of a child, let yourself play and try to find joy and meaning in what you do.

Now, my friend took these cards and did something really simple but interesting with them and pointed out some visual cues:

She pointed out in the oracle card, we have two figures, male and female, who are clearly warring with one another, but we know in their story they end up as dearest lovers.

We see the jester juggling in the Two of Coins the sun and moon, two drastically opposing forces.

In the 5 of Wands, we have on the left the chestnut-horse rider the 10 of Wands (also in warm brown tones), and the opposite black-horse rider is paired with the black haired Page of Cups. She explained that if it was her draw, she sees the Chestnut-riding knight the work-a-holic person fighting the childlike play that is the Black-riding knight.

But, we finish with a mermaid, who is, despite all natural order, is a half human and half fish–two opposites that seem impossible to get along, combined to something new and fresh. So, how can you (me) think of taking these two different approaches to responsibility and marry them together into something that is strange, but beautiful and new? How can you integrate these two parts of yourself harmoniously?

Wow! I was so taken by this interpretation! You can see how just thinking of the cards and what they depict in a different way can completely set a different tone with a draw. I feel like both readings are spot on for me this past month, and I was so pleased I had her with to look deeper at imagery and think critically at the whole of the draw!

How about you? Do you read Tarot with friends? What new ideas do they inspire in you?