The Tarot Tarts

Ah! September is the beginning of Spooky Season for me! I was having a bit of late summer lull and was drawing a blank on a theme for this month when my Tarot partner had a brilliant idea: Lightness and Darkness or Joyful and Somber. Balanced decks that exemplify a positive view and are more happy-go-lucky, and serious contemplative decks that are dense and “deep” readers. Interesting! This is the perfect back to school theme. I have done black and white deck themes before, light and shadow of the self as well, but this is more specific to the way the deck tends to read. I love this juxtaposition because it is asking for overall well-rounded decks.

I’ve used all of these decks rather extensively with the exception of the new Verdance Tarot, the second Tarot child from Stephanie Pui-Mun Law who made my beloved Shadowscapes Tarot. Verdance is just a gorgeous deck with great cardstock, and while there are similarities with the Shadowscapes, it definitely has a much lighter feeling to it. I’m looking forward to really getting to know it this month! While it is an “animal” deck, it also has plenty of humans and fae AND it is rather watery with it’s colors so it feels plenty summery as we enter the first balmy days of September.

My True Black Tarot seemingly needs no introduction on this blog. If I had to choose a somber and serious deck out of all my decks this one would always take the prize. It is certainly not a mean deck (unlike The Lubanko or The Corrupted Tarot which definitely have some…sharpness to them), but it takes itself seriously.

Tarot of the Golden Wheel is like that friend who can always see the silver lining, no matter what the situation! And, despite using it for many years it still gives me pleasant surprises. While it isn’t a “fluffy” deck, it always remains bright and intriguing.

The Terra Volatile has been my deck love this year. After just adoring the large collectors edition I broke down and purchased the regular edition when they ran their most recent printing run. I also sprung for the VERY large companion book. This deck is really deep. While the cards are classic RWS/Thoth/Marseilles, the images bring more questions than answers at times. This is a complex deck for sure that makes you stop in your tracks. And think.

One of my biggest struggles with Oracle decks in general is I dislike lack of balance in the content. The Seed and Sickle is an incredibly neutral feeling deck, where the cards can have positive, negative, and neutral readings. I take issue with the two separate books, but because I love the idea and the art I get over it (mostly) and use both in a reading.

Lets get on with the reading!

A very interesting blend of backs.

We open with thoughts of Spring! My monthly oracle card is lucky number 7, with the Cherry (and cuckoo). The cherry tree is one of the earliest blooming trees and often is romantically associated with spring, but it’s blossom period is very short lived. This can speak to a new period of activity, a short window of opportunity, a fleeting happiness or renewal of happiness, and springing forth on a new endeavor. There apparently is a myth that the cuckoo will continue to sing until it has thrice eaten its fill of cherry blossoms. This myth makes me think of self care, enjoying the moment (carpe diem), being an early actor, and using the situation to your benefit. Okay! Nice way to start the draw.

From the Verdance I drew the 7 of Cups, which in the guide book is titled “The Illusionist.” It acknowledges the imaginative power of inspiration but asks us to “discern wishful thinking from reality.” Opening with the very dream-like cherry, I see this as abstract ideas taking root. Grounding ideas that have only prior been in the mind. There is some work that has to be done to decide which ideas are most viable. Everything looks very pretty and nice in theory but in actual practice can fall short. I also notice the dragonfly, which to me is a powerful symbol of transcendence. I must not only look at which “lotuses” have strong roots but I must also view the bigger picture from above, removed from my self. Interesting.

This is paired with the Terra Volatile’s traditional Empress. She looks very regal but incredibly exhausted! She has the trappings of a classic Tarot Empress, the throne, the wheat, lush vegetation and with that the unbridled, almost primal creativity and ability to birth something new into the world. Paired with the Seven of Cups I see her as having the courage to choose a path of action amidst many choices and having the faith to mother that concept because you believe in it. But, as seen with the flaming pierced heart on her shield, there is heartache in creation, and the pain of letting other ideas go. There is definitely something that I’ve been thinking about I’m going to take action on!

The Golden Wheel’s Six of Swords may be by favorite portrayal of this card out of all my Tarot decks. I’d actually have never drawn this card from this deck until this monthly reading. I love this image of a child being lead through the windy forest by an elder towards a beautiful glorious body of water. This card speaks to me personally with some past experiences, but it’s also just beautiful as well. With this cards, I see a new wind is blowing. I have the opportunity to use it to my advantage. There is something that looks beautiful and great ahead. It is both somewhere I want to go and someplace that is a safe haven. A brave person will help me to this place, but in the end only I have the ability to bring myself there if I so choose. I will have concerns and reservations about going, I worry not about what is ahead, but what remains behind me. It feels very much like the cusp of an adventure, but there’s always that hesitation of going forth into the unknown.

The partner card is the beautiful Justice from the True Black Tarot. It is an ongoing joke between my Tarot pal and myself that Justice really does haunt me in my personal readings. It’s not often though that it appears in my monthly readings. I typically read justice as facts and truth, discerning the “right” choice, answering for wrongs, trying to right a wrong, and accountability. Paired with the rest of this draw, I see this Justice advising that the choice(s) ahead is not easy. Each path has unique sets of challenges that I’ll have to answer for. But its important to strike a balance between my personal goals and ideas and what is necessary to be done. Sometimes things in the past have no good solution and are left unresolved. I may see that as I move forwards, others behind might refuse to come to terms with where I am going. There is an aspect of having to see the truth clearly, how denial will not shelter one from repercussions. It also assures me that things will be righted in the end.

Now that I’m looking at this from the “birds eye view” as suggested in the seven of cups, I’m going to go ahead and briefly look at the other pairings.

7 of Cups paired with the Six of Swords: I have many choices; will I stay where I am or will I move forward with this new wave? There is an overall positive, invigorating feeling. I am naturally creative and driven so it makes sense I will go forward, just make sure I’m leaving behind the right things. I also feel the ability to see both above and below the water—lilies that bear flowers need to have roots that connect them to the earth—there is more beneath just a good idea. Be realistic and set realistic goals–with this attitude you can sail beyond the horizon! Be willing to litmus test by going into deeper waters, taking calculated chances.

And then looking at the III Empress and Justice pairing: I envision the age-old struggle of the heart vs the mind. Having hard truths, yet being able to love despite the reality. I see these two as holding space for both things, you can be just and still profoundly love and care. You can be creative and bring newness into the world and still be truthful and honest. Letting that which does not help you, go. Keeping true to yourself. Holding space for the inner truths and emotions as well as the hard cold outer truths and realities. The heart burning in silence, and the truth winning out. Certainly a powerful and strange juxtaposition.

I see this month as being a precipice on which I will make a decision of what to do next, an action that will happen either with or without me and it will happen quickly and the window of action is small. It is both exciting but also sad because there are aspects that I need to let go of and dreams and ideas that will die and be left behind. I’ll have internal struggles as well, having the need to balance both my needs and desires as well as facing the reality of situations and needing to act fairly. Geez, lot of stuff! How about you? How is September looking for you?

Hello and greetings! After an absolute wild and hilarious month of a “D&D” party of decks (maybe one day I’ll share the crazy draw my Tarot friend and I came up with), it’s time to slow down and savor the final (hopefully) month of the hot summer—with decks that encompass the idea of movement! That may sound like an odd theme, but while using my last months decks I found it interesting how the juxtaposition between “action” and “inaction” portrayed in art had on how I felt about an image. So of course I need to look at it more closely in the Tarot world! And I wanted to start with movement, to experiment and explore what this does to a tarot reading.

I didn’t have a difficult time at all choosing decks for this month’s theme as I tend to be drawn to decks that are, well, not exactly stagnant in their art! I tried to pick some decks that have had very little time on this blog in general, except I had to bring out an old favorite!

Right to left: The Tarot of the Silicon Dawn, The Whisper of the Stars and Garden Tarot (“Self” edition), Spiritual Cycle Oracle, The Riderless Tarot, the Shadowscapes Tarot (Czech Edition).

Naturally, all of these decks this month encompass excellent examples of art that portrays movement, but I especially am excited to start learning The Tarot of the Silicon Dawn as it is a deck I have wanted for years and years and only recently was able to snag an affordable used copy! I also have the recently acquired through Kickstarter The Whisper of the Stars and Garden Tarot, which is just drop dead gorgeous and turning out to be an excellent, moderately traditional RWS. The Spiritual Cycle Oracle and The Riderless Tarot I’ve both had and used frequently for quite a while now, but have somehow not ended up the monthly subjects of study (which considering how much I adore The Riderless, is a crime). And of course, the Shadowscapes is the deck that really pulled me into the fascinating world of Tarot and is a deck I still refer to and love for all the motion that is constant in the images.

So I’ll admit, I had a totally different layout for the cards planned this month, but I first drew this intriguing 2 of Cups from the Silicon Dawn (though, every card from SD is intriguing to me!), followed by these double jumpers from Stars and Garden, and I decided to completely restructure my draw to match this 2 of Cups.

When I “read” Tarot for myself, I tend to take a fairly Jungian point of view, or point of meditation, and this image of the dark and light figures, the darker one sinking and the lighter one rising, combined with the cups’ contents flowing down and up, not only do I get strong Temperance vibes, but I also see this as a recognition of our “shadow” self often described in Jungian psychology. We need both the “light” and the “dark” self to function and be healthy individuals, but we often struggle to identify the shadow self and thus struggle to integrate it into our understanding of self. From a card that I typically see as making a new, or refreshing a connection with another, to seeing the “true” inner-self is indeed interesting! I also like this notion of how things must go up and down to achieve a balance. It asks perhaps how is my shadow self nourishing or affecting my conscious self, and how shall I nourish my shadow self?

This concept is further explored with both The Sun (upright) and The Devil (reversed) from the Stars and Garden. Very simplistically (and perhaps a petitio principii fallacy), I might read this as “at your best, you are your best, at your worst, you are your worst”! I certainly think that if the Devil has an “opposite” card, I’d likely pick the Sun, and visa versa. If I think immediately of our Jungian 2 of Cups, I see this as when you are at your best, you can see what you are at your worst, or, of course, the opposite. Speaking personally, I know my best and worse selves certainly coesixt together and some of the things I regret doing or saying tend to happen when I’m feeling “at my best” and I’m most willing to take risks. I can also read this as though I’m enjoying life and living authentically in the sun card, there’s always the undercurrent of my own shortcomings that can change my state of being. Though this is a little bleak, and I like to believe we have agency over how we act towards the outer world. I like how the horse and the child move together across the field of flowers, where as the two people in the devil are stuck, and motionless.

This card came out sideways, and while I up-righted it, twice the wind from the window flipped it sideways again, so I decided to just leave it that way! This card seems pretty black and white (haha!), you either win or you lose. But, it reminds me of one of my favorite cards in the Tarot, the Five of Swords, which is often a “make or break” card for me when I invest in a new deck. I, typically, read the V of Swords as “the cost of winning.” Sometimes that cost is losing a lot before you gain the skills to win. Sometimes is means losing something precious because of winning, or in the attempt to win. It’s important to decide if the risk of wining and the sustained losses that go with it are worth the win. Or, in another way, do the ends justify the means? It also makes me think what in my life am I pursuing to “win”? What are the risks associated with that? What happens if I lose? I see the “win” side is next to my previously drawn cards—I think being honest with one’s self is always a win!

Hmm, and interesting set of three cards! On the far right is the Shadowscapes Knight of Pentacles, the card of “slow and steady wins the race,” unwavering diligence, and methodical work–certainly the most contemplative of the otherwise rash knights! This may be the year of the Knight of Pentacles seeing as I keep getting him. In the sense of movement, it seems like the wyrm he rides is looping back on itself though he looks forwards at his end goal—in what ways are the motions I’m taking not helping me progress? It also makes me think of X The Wheel of Fortune major card seeing as it speaks of a wheel of cycles the human experiences in their life.

Its interesting the Knight of Pentacles is paired with the VII of Pentacles (see how the golden apples look like they’ve rolled right down the hill into the center of the knights woodland wyrm?) a card of steady work and application of skill, juxtaposed with the short fused but sharp minded Page of Swords, whose ready for action. If we think back to the 2 of Cups and ask in what ways does these two things exist even if at first look they seem opposite, we can say that the attentive practice of skill is juxtaposed with the new sharp ideas that are different from what you’ve already been doing. It can look threatening when there’s something new, and especially (given its a Page) when that concept is untested. But there is no motive to practice and get good at a skill if there wasn’t that initial spark.

The three together with the “Lose” side of the oracle, I see as a desire to make motion forward but that motion needing room for a new spark to ignite new ways of thinking and ideas! If those new things are repressed there’s no wining that endless grid!

All together, I see this as a reading of the ability to take two paths; one that seems at first glace rather hedonistic, but is really the path of staying true to yourself (your whole self), while the other has an inner argument of the best way to go about things where there’s already established “way things should be” process. Unfortunately this is a path that doesn’t seem to want to progress! Perhaps I should ask myself what ways am I being dishonest with myself that is preventing me from progressing?

Hmm, a very interesting introspective month! What do the cards say for you these days?

I typically write out the titles of the decks, but I think they are pretty clear in the picture this month!

It’s past time to return to the fun game my Tarot pal and I have invented–the monthly Tarot D&D party! We did this in the spring and wanted to revisit it in the summer seeing as we had such a great time. The idea is we assign a number to the different basic twelve classes, and roll a dice to determine what our party looks like. Then we choose decks that exemplify that class and will pair in interesting ways with our other decks. My Tarot partner is an avid D&D player, but I don’t play, so take what I say about D&D with a grain of salt.

This month in our “party” we ended up getting the Druid, the Warlock, the Barbarian, the Ranger, and the Rogue. Let me show you what I chose!

Of course for a Druid one needs a nature-first deck, and while I have A LOT of nature decks, I wanted one that was balanced in feeling, neither too soft nor too hard. My much anticipated Kickstarter rewards for The Children of Ostara arrived on July first and it is the perfect match! So it was meant to be.

Typically, before using a deck in a formal draw, I at least shuffle a deck and do an introductory five card draw. But, with TCOOT I did not have the time and I leapt in with a coarse shuffle and out popped one of the extra cards from the gold edition, “The Below.” For context, the second extra card is “The Above” (you know, “as above, so below”?). Right to the point, huh? I guess I don’t expect anything less when created by Xia Hunt. To start off we’re going deep. It’s time to explore things that are largely unseen and unrecognized, but are crucial to the world’s beating heart. It’s these things that will provide shelter and nourishment for your and your loved ones. Connecting to nature is critical.

It was explained to me that the Warlock class is typified by having their magic powers given to them by a powerful, not always kind, being and that there is an expected payment for these powers and strings attached. This is very ominous to me. We talked about a situation where a warlock thinks they are doing one thing but there’s something unseen behind the actions. The perfect deck came to mind, well, two decks, the Exile Tarots, Silent and Awaken. What is seen and what is unseen. I’ve had these decks for a while and my first few times using them it was rather a shocking and emotional experience, seeing as I was expecting something sweet like the Monsoon Tarot and got something very different, so I’ve held off from using them extensively but it feels right this month! I’m excited to see what comes of this!

From Silent I drew the rather scary Wheel of Fortune. I love the book that goes with these two decks—while it’s RWS, it is a very different take on the system and the more I’ve been using these two together, the more these decks are becoming some of my favorites! For this card, I understand that something unseen is that the absurd and the profound and the beautiful all simultaneously exist all at once, at the same time. It can be easy to think the world is complete garbage with all the wrong things happening everyday because that’s where your attention is focused, but remember to stop and look around! There is plenty more to absorb! And this will give you fuel and hope.

From Awaken I drew the contemplative Queen of Cups. There are many things happening around her—a rain storm, a rainbow, a sunset/sunrise, but she lets all these things wash over her and focuses at the tasks at hand which is protecting her cup and her raven and its eggs! I will need to recognize the roller coaster of emotion and that they exits also together all at once. I need to take action to protect that which is most important to me but also remember to take the time to “fill my cup.”

Last time we did this monthly deck party we had a Barbarian and we rolled the Barbarian again for this month. I had several Tarot decks I was ready to choose, but I wanted to see if by chance I had an oracle deck to fit the class. Well, I certainly had one that fits a barbaric vibe! While I’ve had this one for a while, I don’t think its been on this blog, so here’s the absolutely hard core Zammer Twins Oracle.

I feel like I connect with the art in the Zammer, especially since it is so reminiscent of the Trionfi Della Luna Tarot, but this is one of the few cards that eludes me. The guidebook gives a fairly good description, but I wasn’t exactly feeling those vibes, especially considering this is my “Barbarian” deck, so I’m riffing on my own for this one. When I hear the term “Red Queen” I think of Alice and Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts and how brutal she is and how she runs a (whimsical) tight ship. I love in this card how our queen has both a red arm and a white arm. She know the balance that must be struck between passivity and activity. From this card, I get the saying “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” While I must go forth with confidence and calm I also must harbor cold ruthlessness. That which does not spark joy must go! I need to be creative and resourceful in utilizing all my tools, and I got to keep my eyes on the prize even if it feels like I’m not heading in that direction.

The Ranger also calls for a nature oriented deck, but one that requires a sense of navigation. I was told a difference between the druid and the ranger is the druid sees the nature as the end focus while the ranger is concerned with the human surviving in nature. The Tarot Landscapes seems absolutely perfect for such a role, and I love how most of the cards take a bit of a “birds-eye view” over the scene!

I pulled the exquisitely tranquil 6 of Swords from the TL. A kingfisher looks on at a placid sailboat in a calm sunny harbor. I get major “enjoy the journey when you have the calm waters” feeling. When you have an easy route ahead, don’t overly complicate things. You are constantly moving so you may not have calm seas tomorrow. Take a higher view. Enjoy what you can today, Carpe Diem. You can choose what boats you board.

Finally the Rogue. I definitely feel like I have decks that are a bit hard, a bit stealthy in how the deliver readings to you, but despite going through my entire collection to chose another, my first gut feeling was the Lubanko, and I could not convince myself to use another deck.

The Lubanko gave me the very shadowy King of Swords. He reminds me of a character from a book series that definitely embodies the Rogue type (Achmed from The Symphony of Ages series, who, lets be honest, was the only character worth reading the darn series for). A Rogue King of Swords feels a bit like an oxymoron as well, but here we are. From this strange dichotomy, I see measuring my actions carefully. The best sword is one that is sharp from sparring use. Truth is sharp and needs to be delivered carefully. This king only steps out of the shadows when needed.

Okay then! Lets check out the puzzling whole:

I see this as a month of finding inner harmony in order to obtain outer structure and calm. In nearly all these cards we see things pausing before action, or a moment of calm. This draw taps into both emotional and logical feelings and making them work cohesively together. I am really enjoying using these drastically different decks together!

How about you? What decks are calling to you this month? Do you do any silly thematic deck choices or even Tarot draws?

V, one of my “helpful” assistants! This past June we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to our youngest cat, who made many appearances in this blog and loved playing with the cards with me. Sadie, you are sorely missed.

Nudity Warning: thar’ be buns of steel on the horizon! Also some graphic violence.

After some wild months, and a particularly colorful and, dare I say, *spicy* month of May in my card readings, my Tarot partner Val and I decided we needed a cool down. This month, we wanted to reach for healing water decks and grounding earth decks. While I’ve used The Flow Tarot extensively, the other four are relatively new to me so I have lots of work getting to know these decks this month!

Clockwise, left to right: Folkloric Forest Tarot, the Flow Tarot, Sirena (Tarot), Coastal Curiosities (Pocket Edition), The Dreaming Waves Oracle

Sometimes I really pre-plan my draws, how I want it to look, if there’s a particular shape I’m going for, do I want a “theme” card, do I have a particular question or worry, etc. This month, I think the laid-back June really got to me (either that or I’m just completely mentally and emotionally exhausted) and I just picked up my familiar Flow Tarot and started mindlessly shuffling. It sent out two cards, so I started here and realized that, like usual, it’s gonna be a heavier draw.

I typically dislike key words on tarot decks, AND I’m not a huge fan of photo decks, but the Flow Tarot I think does a really excellent job in that their keywords partner perfectly with the traditional RWS and the watery image that has been chosen for the cards. The Nine of Waves (Wands) shows a rocky shore being beaten by wave after wave. Who will win? The rocks will wear down into fine silty sand, but there they are still at the shore, while the waves break and reform over and over for eternity. It makes me wonder who is persevering? Who wins? The rocks will stand like, well, a rock, while the waves, ever mutating and changing, still persist.

And, I don’t think of the Flow Tarot as mean deck at all seeing as its all about going with the flow, but if it has one challenging card, its Judgement. The sun is setting, and darkness looms. You cannot see what is in the water, how deep it is, or how far out to sea you are. What will happen in the coming night? No one knows. You now get to decide how to proceed, but proceed you must.

Last month had a theme of community that was streaked though nearly all my readings and it seems like it is here to stay! I love all of Junhasiri’s work, but I do think I adore her Dreaming Waves Oracle the most! Which should tell you something seeing as I much prefer Tarot over Oracle cards. From Dreaming Waves I drew the interesting Sailor’s Knot. This card’s keyword is interconnectedness. All the ropes on the ship are needed to steer it through the sea, but it’s not always clear how they interact with one another. It’s difficult to control something as wild as a ship on the wild waves, but by using many ropes together, and tying them strategically you can harness the violent power of the wind and water. One rope on it’s own can do only so much, but with many ropes, connected by many binding knots, the world’s at your fingers!

I love seeing the same knot-like twists the snake makes in the Compassion card from Coastal Curiosities. I’m not sure why it took me so long to warm up to this rather contrary feeling deck seeing as it’s right up my “weird” alley, but I’m glad I backed the Folkloric Forest so I had to think about CC again. The cards in this deck are quite intriguing because the keywords are paired with images that seem, at first blush, not at all be related to the word, but it leads you down an interesting thought path. A snake in the western Christian world is typically seen as a negative image, but snakes long before then had relations with healing, magic, and dreams. Snakes are widely misunderstood and hated for their bite and in a few limited species their venom. How can we extend compassion to a snake? By understanding it, and seeing that it is actually not dangerous at all. In fact, we see this snake is passively holding the arrow in place. Compassion, it would seem, tempers pain and violence. We have an interesting additional pairing of roses and ladybugs, who are easy to love but are part of the same, interconnected ecosystem. I am also reminded by the infamous “don’t tread on me” flag, but in this take, it feels like “don’t tread on me, I’m holding back the real danger.” Hmm.

My left flanking card…

My right flanking card…

I love the old time-y, straight out of the movie Babe art chosen for the Folkloric Forest Tarot. I’d been looking for that exact sort of deck for a very long time. It’s a little disheartening that the first card I draw from it to share on the blog is the Three of Air (Swords)! But it is a very, very interesting take on the Three of Swords. In this image, we see a Woodcock (no, I’m not making a random dirty joke, its a woodland snipe) being shot from the air. For the bird this is a huge loss, but for the hunter it is a gain. For the majority of human history we’ve relied on hunting to survive, so the idea of facing a saddening loss for a gain is integral to our species (an honestly most species). Perhaps this month I’ll suffer a saddening/blowing loss for a greater gain?

Then on the other side from the Sirena Tarot I drew the Ten of Cups. This deck, while not being a nice deck at all, like the Folkloric Forest has a very different take on the RWS and it’s interesting to see this Ten of Cups. Here we see the impossible made possible. A man has wed a mermaid! They succeeded in overcoming their differences and challenges and now they have it all, Earth, Sea, a big fricken castle on the sea, a sport ship and ten flaming flying cups in the sky!

I read this as though you face hardships and challenges, and fear in this journey, keep going (you have no choice)! Stand strong with others and offer them understanding when it seems impossible to think of such a thing. Each person can offer strength to others. Realize that not all losses mean the end, sometimes you have to give up something for the greater goal. You’re going to realize your impossible dreams, in the strangest sort of way!

Alright June, here we come. How about the rest of you? What do your cards say June has in store for you? Have you ever done a water/earth theme draw before?