Well. It has been too long since I posted anything. I figured better late than never though. April for me is the month of the trickster, and in classic fashion this April did not disappointed, as you can tell by my much belated post! Our theme for the month was “magical mischief.” So, lets jump right in!

Sticking with the theme, I pulled out the relatively new Yōkai Tarot deck which is charming and a little spook with a fantastic guidebook that not only gives Tarot information, but also provides a short Yōkai folklore that relates to the RWS meanings. This mass market deck is absolutely top tier mass market with its linen and dry finish (reminds me a lot of my beloved Yokai Yochi Tarot), and fantastic illustrations. Staying with Japanese folklore magic, I also brought out my two Seasonal Fox Tarot decks, both Day and Night, to play. These decks are very sweet, but still full of sneaky Kitsune tricks. The wonderful Victorian Faery Tarot, a much anticipated (by me) deck is making it’s debut on this blog, and while I LOVE this deck, it has much, much more depth and complexity than I anticipated and after using it for near a month, I have quite the mix of feelings about it. Another completely new deck that I ended up unexpectedly including in this months decks is The True Sight Oracle. I was hesitant to back this D&D based deck seeing as I don’t play myself, but I am so glad I did back it because it is such a unique oracle and the guidebook is excellent. And, it has been a long time since I pulled out my beloved Tarot Deck Moonlight (by Ilisvidess). This tarot deck, which is a Thoth and RWS hybrid, is spicy, magical, and definitely has a naughty streak. This is a deck that I have used extensively and I still am a bit obsessed with it.

Now, normally on this blog I stick with the cards to make my posts short (kinda) and simple (not really), and I tend to focus more on Tarot and cartomancy, but IRL I do actually utilize a variety of divination forms, even if I’m not exactly adept at them. For fun (well, actually because it was dead on point), I decided to include my Wonderland rune coins (by GoGoStudio) for this month as well when I share this draw. I threw Fehu and Nauthiz. Fehu, the top left rune coin on my first two cards, speaks to new beginnings, abundance, self-esteem, and creative energy. The Nauthiz rune is at the bottom right and is the rune of need, patience, resistance, difficulties and challenge. Lets check out the cards!

So, because I included both the Day and Night versions of my Seasonal Fox Tarot, I flanked my oracle card with the Night on the left asking “Truth that is in the darkness/what is unseen” and Day on the right asking “what is plain as day/what does everyone see?” The oracle from True Sight I drew is Performance. This is a card speaking to the act we put on, whether consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes we have to act against our nature to achieve our goals, like putting on a brave face. It can of course also speak to an actual performance, or social event. Or acting “like everything is fine,” when it is not in order to get through the mundane.

Flanking Performance, from the Night Fox, which I asked for the truth that can be found in darkness, it gave me the Magician, and very adeptly paired with it is Fehu the rune of beginnings. The truth that isn’t obvious is that I am at the point of a new beginning and I’m prepared with everything I need. I have self confidence and actualization and I am ready to strike forth! I’m brimming with creative power now. I notice how the fox is looking away from Performance, as if it doesn’t accept this action, or is rather ignoring it.

Then on the other side where I ask “what is plain as day?”, we have The Devil. How appropriate. We can see the devil is also looking away from performance, and the two other foxes are suffering too much to be able to even notice Performance. I guess I’m left wondering how must I perform, if at all in the face of the Devil?

We then from the Yōkai Tarot pulled the 7 of swords, where the crafty weasel is classically taking swords from the encampment. interestingly, though he has two in the ground next to him, he seems perfectly capable of taking them all. Who is a crafty bastard weasel in my life taking resources?

The Nauthiz rune fell between the Knight of Pentacles (Moonlight) and the Herald of Autum/Page of Pentacles (Victorian Fae). Both of these cards are interesting in that they visually relate to harvesting grown crops, and both are in a state of rest, though certainly the knight has already done some serious labor, while the Herald/Page seems to be considering his options (I get strong Seven of Pentacles vibes from this Page). Together, with the rune of challenge between the two, I read this as “carefully measure and placed efforts.” There is certainly work to be done, but remembering to rest and thinking critically about what exactly that work entails is the key to success.

So together, I see this reading as a series of juxtapositions; being one’s self vs putting on a mask in the face of adversary, keeping up the hard work and forward-thinking even one someone is taking the proverbial rug out from under you. It may be a true challenge to keep working at something when it seems like there is no difference being made. I’m sure this resonates with many people in this past April!

What decks have you been bringing out these past few months? Are there cards that seem to be haunting you in every draw? The Knight of Pentacles and seven of swords seems to be mine!