Goddesses of Empowerment

It is a time of many decks.

I don’t remember ever before being in the position to juggle (in the best sense possible) so many different manifestations of Tarot. Just in the last few months I’ve acquired – either through gift or purchase – the Cosmos Tarot and Oracle, the Dark Goddess Tarot, the Ancestral Path Tarot, the Fountain Tarot, the Tarot of the Holy Light, the Wild Unknown Tarot, and the Steampunk Tarot. Needless to say, I’ve got options. Not that I didn’t before – I haven’t counted lately, but prior to this new lot I had somewhere around 50 or 60 Tarot decks to choose from (not counting oracles). The difference is that I love every single one of these new acquisitions. There is not one that is underwhelming, or “not my style,” or just “nice.” There are no qualifications when I say that they are all wonderful. They all have a unique voice; they all draw me in and excite me with what they might show, and how they might show it.

This, of course, is a fantastic conundrum to be in (that of “which deck to use now?”), and I’ve thought several times recently that I could lose my entire collection, save these, and be quite fulfilled (well, I wouldn’t like to lose the New Orleans Voodoo, or my Thoth..! But you get the idea).

So over the past several weeks I have often found myself using one or two one day, and then switching it up the next. This way I am tasting them all, feeling them out in fairly regular intervals.

So it was that last night I decided to pull a card from the Ancestral Path Tarot – the Hermit – and immediately felt the relief of that simple reflection wash over me. In fact I had just leapt onto my bed for a much-needed (albeit brief) moment of alone time amidst what had been a busy-but-lovely Sunday. I drew the Hermit in the moment I was most aware of my need to embody that quiet, solitary energy.

This morning I decided to draw a guidance card from the Dark Goddess Tarot (this is such a rich, profound, wise, and moving set of cards) and I drew the Magician – Isis. This is my soul card (in terms of Tarot Birth Cards) and also one I’d drawn over the past several months as I moved through the change from my previous teaching position into one of departmental management. It all fit; it was as if the universe was saying: “This is you, it’s your time, you got this.” And here it was again.

I closed the previous week with an important meeting at which I provided a pile of evidence in support of a change that I knew needed to happen. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but in the end the upper management team agreed with me and approved the change. I was walking on air (appropriate for the Magician!). I felt that I’d accomplished something that was as monumental as it was simple, and I was elated to have been able to pull it off. Today I will be sitting in another meeting where I will be explaining this change, and later this week I’ll be doing it yet again, so Isis was very welcome encouragement.  The guidebook for this deck reads:

“See what needs changing and step up to change it. Because you can. Energy is flowing through and around you now, available for you to shape and direct.”

It gave me shivers to read that. One thing that has been most satisfying for me as I walk this new path has been the ability to make positive change where I have seen the need for it for so long – change that benefits the faculty, the students, the program, and the school overall. It is extremely empowering, and there is a breath of liberation within that experience that I have not felt before quite in the same way.

I took a look at the bottom of the deck, and smiled at Baba Yaga, the Hermit, flying through the air in her mortar. It was a gentle reminder that I am still in Hermit-space, and that much of the work I’m able to do now has come from all of the time I’ve spent alone, gathering data, investigating, testing out my theories and making new discoveries. It’s funny because as I thought about my Hermit tendencies in relation to the workplace I recalled how I often call my office “the cave,” and when an instructor wishes to talk in private I often say, “Let’s do it, come into my cave!” The irony, of course, is that my office has no roof, and only three walls. The fourth wall is also a sliding door made entirely of transparent glass, which means that I’ve got a fish-bowl thing going on. Still, there is something to be said for boundaries, and these walls at least give me a designated space in which to sit alone, and a door that, while clear, can still be closed.

On the top of the deck I found Epona, embodying the 6 of Fire. When I made this rather large change last week I was nervous about what the global reaction would be. Would my team understand? A few that knew about it were supportive. I was very confident that they would all feel the same way after I presented the evidence, and yet I still battled some anxiety. Would a partner department be on board with it? It turns out that they are just as happy about it as I am, which was both a surprise and a tremendous relief. The 6 of Fire is not just “success” (though it is that, too). In the Dark Goddess Tarot it is about transformative work that comes about through caring leadership and working as part of a team. This is how I see myself – not as a boss, but as a leader, and honoring the role, value, and strengths of each member of my team is of utmost importance to me.  The guidebook reads:

“Sometimes it takes a herd. And a herd needs a strong, sensitive, balanced leader. Especially when the herd is not of docile sheep but swift, spirited horses.”

My “herd” (I’m not sure they’d appreciate that title, ha!) is most definitely the spirited type, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Accept the accolades, take in the blessings, and store that sunshine. Let it give you strength as you go forward.”

Experiences teach what instruction cannot. Often it is in the doing that the deepest learning takes place. I’m certainly “doing” these days. I don’t have a mold to fill, and every day presents new opportunities for growth and expansion. I will store this sunshine as I continue to walk my nebulous path that materializes with each step I take; and I am grateful.

Game of Hope Lenormand Arrives! (And a Reading)

I was so happy to receive today in the mail two copies of the new Game of Hope 2.0 Lenormand deck! A year ago many Lenormand readers/artists of all talent levels joined together to produce a deck, and the card I chose to create was the 28-Man card. I wrote a bit about this project in a previous post (click here if you'd like to check it out).

All contributors received a mini deck, and I chose to purchase an additional poker-sized deck, both of which came in a black tin. It's hard to describe the satisfaction involved in holding the finished product in my hand after nearly 12 months (which really, for deck creation/production, is a pretty short amount of time!). My younger daughter, Lourdes, was elated to hold my Man card in her hand, and she ran down the hall to my bedroom to compare it to the canvas hanging on the wall. She said, "Mom, how did your painting get FAMOUS??" I had to explain that it's not necessarily famous, but it is still pretty cool to see the painting as part of a deck of cards!

Here is sneak peek at some of the cards in the deck (including the Man, of course!):

Here you can see the Man, Ship (which is a Venetian boat), Star, Sun, Key, and Scythe.

I love how the different artistic styles and media came together in this deck. The idea of reading with a deck comprised of so many stylistic variations seems like it might be a bit dizzy-making, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it reads quite clearly and smoothly, and it's fun to experience the aesthetic diversity present in a single line of cards!

I had to break the deck in, of course, and I had the perfect subject matter: our ESL department is going to have a rather tight month in December, and we don't have enough instructors to cover all of the laboratory hours that our students need. As a result we are "borrowing" instructors from a different department for a series of four weeks. These instructors will facilitate activities with the students for 6-hour periods of time. I've had to run some trainings for the teachers so that they're comfortable with the task for the month ahead, and though preparations are going fairly well, I'm admittedly a bit cautious about how things will unfold. So I asked my new deck how things will go with the lab situation in December, and pulled:

Garden - Clouds - Fox - Tower - Child - Crossroad - Mice

Woohoo! Looks like an interesting month! Above this line you see the Snake, which is the "theme" card from the bottom of the deck. Complications - things may not flow as smoothly as I hope!

Rather than pull apart the line I'm going to give my impressions upon looking over the layout. I see confusion in the network of teachers we have lined up. It may be that not all of those who have signed up to help will come through in the end (perhaps in part due to their own busy schedules). I also see anxiety on the part of our students who will face some divisions in their schedules that they'll have to attempt to navigate with their limited English ability. I'll have to stay on top of things this month in order to nip any issues in the bud (as they say). Better forewarned! (They also say that).

If you are interested in purchasing this limited edition deck, it is available at present for $11 (plus shipping) from Delphi's Chamber.

Game of Hope 2.0 Lenormand: A Deck Being Born!

It was a pleasure to participate in the creation of a new, collaborative Lenormand deck. This was a project coordinated by Edmund Zebrowski, and each participant developed the concept and artwork for one or more of the 36 cards in the deck.

I created the image for the 28-Man card, using acrylics on canvas. I have to say that it's immensely rewarding and satisfying to see how it turned out as a printed card! A long list of other artists/readers gave of their time and artistic ability to make this deck happen, including Carrie Paris, Bridgett Trejo, Maree Bento, Tierney Sadler, Angela Shikany, and Dennis Ng, to name just a few.

The demo version has been printed to make sure that all the details are in order, and soon a full order will go to print. I'll be sure to post more information about it when it's available!

My Own Playing Card Lenormand

Last week I finally acted on an urge I'd had for a few months - to create my own, personal Lenormand deck with a regular pack of playing cards. This is something that plenty of people have done, and it felt like a really good way to establish a special connection with a deck by putting my own "mark" on it, and in addition to work on improving my knowledge of playing card correspondences.

So after putting it off for a while, I finally snatched up a pack of two decks the other day while out on an excursion with the kids. I decided that the double pack was better because I could make one into a Lenormand, and use the other to do playing card readings Tarot-style. 

Lenormand decks only have 36 cards - just the sixes to the Aces, like a traditional piquet deck, but with the addition of the extra four six-cards. So I used my Blaue Eule deck as a reference, and went right on ahead with my Sharpie, drawing little pictures and numbering the cards from 1 to 36. I had space issues on certain cards where there wasn't much room to fit in a good image, where I had to improvise a bit, but it worked out fine, I'm happy to report. I've heard that you can also use a razor blade to scrape off extra blank surface area in the middle of the card to free up drawing space. If I create another deck in the future perhaps I'll try that, but all in all I'm happy with the final result:

Homemade Lenormand from a deck of playing cards

So what do they look like laid out in a spread? 

Line of 5 with homemade playing card Lenormand

They're easy on the eyes, clear and I've had some great readings with them thus far. If you're considering jumping into Lenormand study but aren't sure what deck to get, keep in mind that you can make your own for a very small cost ($1-$3) and the process may well help you become more familiar with the Lenormand deck style and features, which is an added plus!

Deck Review: New Orleans Voodoo Tarot

I recently became aware of this deck (by Louis Martinie, Sallie Ann Glassman/Destiny Books) through a Facebook forum post that I read, and I was intrigued - I've considered some Orishas and Lucumi decks in the past, but I wasn't impressed with any I saw. This was a Voodoo deck, but there are many parallels between Voodoo and Santería, so I wanted to learn more. Upon doing some light investigation I found that the deck art was created by a Mambo (priestess) of New Orleans-style Voodoo, and she had in fact incorporated Santería into the deck! While many reviews I read were positive, I saw some potent criticisms as well.  Since I was so pulled in by this deck, I decided to find out for myself what it was all about….

This deck has 22 Majors and 56 Minors for a complete 78 card deck. The Majors embrace aspects of Voodoo that pair closely with traditionally understood meanings of each card. For example the Fool card is called the World Egg, and represents the beginning of creation, unformed energy full of promise. I adore this representation of Fool energy, and it works very well with its "zero" numbering. The Wheel of Fortune is called the "Market" and depicts exactly what you would imagine - an outdoor market of vendors meant to symbolize the ebb and flow of the resources on which our lives depend. A creature that looks a bit like Anubis stands in the center of the circle of tables, arms outstretched. The image is shown from almost a bird's-eye view, and the vendors are arranged in a circle, which maintains the sense of cyclical movement. One of my favorites is XV Courir le Mardi Gras. This card carries energy of Pan and the Wild Hunt, and depicts the Mardi Gras Run held in southwestern Louisiana on Fat Tuesday.

New Orleans Voodoo Tarot
Martinie/Glassman

The Minors are separated into four suits, and three bear the names of different branches of Voodoo, while the fourth represents Santería - a neighboring religion stemming primarily from Cuba (whereas Caribbean Voodoo developed in Haiti). Rada is Air, Congo is Water, Petro is Fire, and Santería is Earth. For the three Voodoo branches, Kings are the "Houngans" (priests), Queens are "Mambos" (priestesses), Princes are called "la Place" (masters of ceremonies that serve the houngans and mambos), and Princesses are "Hounsi" (female ceremonial servers). For the suit of Santería, the King is "Santero" (initiated male), the Queen is "Santera"(initiated female), the Prince is "Oriaté" (priest in Lucumi prayers) and the Princess is "Yaguó" (initiate). Many cards carry meanings close to the traditional, though some are significantly different. For instance 1 Congo (Ace of Cups) is about the flow of pure emotion and happiness. On the other hand 9 Rada (9 of Swords) speaks of messengers between earth and spirit, and even can signify house moves.

New Orleans Voodoo Tarot
Martinie/Glassman

Even for people who practice Santería or Voodoo, or are interested in African-diasporic religions and spiritual systems, this deck doesn't satisfy everyone's tastes. Some critics have denounced the inclusion of Santería in this deck (I however appreciate it). Yes, there are significant differences between Voodoo and Santería, however I don't feel it takes away from Voodoo, and it honors a closely-related spiritual system that has experienced a very similar history, creating what I consider to be a lovely complement. Other issues relate to some small but important differences in the presentation of certain lwa (also called "loa" - the spirits of Voodoo), or orishas (the important spirits/saints in Santería). For example, Eleggua in Santería is typically understood to be a small boy. In this deck the book calls it a small girl. There is no explanation for this change, however I don't feel the image is difficult to work with - if I think of Eleggua as a boy (and I do), the picture on the card definitely can be seen as a boy.  Another issue is the depiction of Damballah Wedo, from Voodoo. One of the cards in the deck shows Damballah Wedo as a red snake, which seems to have upset some people due to the traditional and sacred association with the color white. (There are other cards in the deck that show this deity as a white snake). I wrote to a practicing Mambo to inquire about this issue after learning that she uses this particular deck regularly. She told me that this deviance was in part an artistic interpretation, and in part was due to the way in which spirits appear to people in different ways. She said that Damballah Wedo might appear to me as a green snake, and to my friend as a purple snake. That made sense to me, and satisfied my curiosity.

Lukumí is my religion and that of my husband, our children, friends, and extended family both in the United States and in Cuba. While I love this deck, I wanted my husband's opinion as well. After looking through the deck, he's also given it his seal of approval. He saw the child on the Eleggua card as male (I didn't tell him about the book description!). His only hang-up was the fact that the Olofi card shows the image of a pregnant woman, when this manifestation of God-on-Earth is often seen as male (there are some practitioners that see Olofi as female). I read the book entry and it says that Olofi's creation-energy was combined with Earth energy, leading to the use of the symbol of the pregnant woman. It did not say that Olofi was female or male, or that the image itself was supposed to be Olofi. So no matter how you conceive of Olofi, there is room for interpretation in this card.

New Orleans Voodoo Tarot
Martinie/Glassman

The artwork in this deck is beautiful, and looks to be perhaps color pencil or oil pastel, on excellent card stock. The energy reminds me somewhat of that of the Wildwood Tarot in that it carries a deep, shamanic feel that appeals to me and my spiritual worldview. In fact the only two decks I've worked with, to date, that have caused a tingling sensation in my crown chakra upon working with them have been these two (yes, cards are "just" ink on paper, but some decks reach into us more profoundly than others). The drawings are colorful, soft, flowing, textured and rich, and most cards maintain the right balance between simplicity and complexity of detail that help engage intuition.

So how does it read? Well, I've done one reading with it so far, and it was stunning. I found that I seemed to read almost exclusively using intuition, and that, in part, may be due to the different correspondences and energies of this deck. For instance, Yemayá was one of the cards. She is the orisha of the ocean and motherhood, and I know her as deeply connected to water, which is represented in the card image as well. But her suit, Santería, is connected to the earth element. I honestly didn't pay much attention to the number or element. Yemayá was the only thing that mattered, and she gave deep meaning to the reading I was doing.  Another card was the Hounsi of Congo (Page/Princess of Cups). The picture of a young person pouring water out of a vessel melded with the cards on either side, creating a sacred story. The traditional Page meaning provided insights, but the image itself and its connection with the others in the reading spoke loudest of all. The colors and images flowed together, and provided such depth of meaning - it was beautiful "conversation" of sorts.

This is a special deck for me, and one I look very forward to reading with, and further connecting with. For readers interested in or connected to shamanic practice, or African-diasporic spirituality, this deck is a valuable one to own and work with. As there are a few non-traditional elements to some of the depictions and representations, it would be beneficial for the reader to either already have an understanding of Voodoo and/or Santería, or be willing to study it in addition to careful review of the accompanying book (which is hefty and quite nice). There is great wisdom available here, just waiting to be tapped.

My Favorite Lenormand Deck (so far!)

My very first Lenormand deck was the Gilded Reverie, by Ciro Marchetti, an early Christmas present from my husband. I loved it. And I still love it. Not only are the stylized images very clear and beautiful, the size of the cards is perfect. Many Lenormand decks tend to run a bit small because the largest common spread is the Grand Tableau (GT) which utilizes all 36 cards; if you have large cards, there are few large-enough work spaces aside from the floor in which to set them out (and the floor is a'ight but not ideal!). The Gilded Reverie card size is larger than most Lenormands, but still small enough to be workable in a GT. And I love cards produced by US Games - they are by far my favorite in terms of the quality of card stock.

I have two other Lenormand decks - soon to be four (I can't wait to receive the Vintage Lenormand by Kendra Hurteau very soon!). One is Caitlin Matthews' Enchanted Lenormand, and the other is the Blaue Eule, a very traditional deck. Both of these decks are pretty small - not much larger than a mini-Tarot deck I have - and in my case this is not always preferable for shuffling because I have hands that are a bit on the larger side of average!  I must admit I never use my Blaue Eule, and don't really like it very much. Despite its size, I really like the Enchanted Lenormand, and the card stock is really high quality - it's durable, thick, smooth, easy to shuffle - all the good stuff.

Enchanted Lenormand - Caitlin Matthews

So in a fight between Gilded Reverie and Enchanted Lenormand, which would win?

The Enchanted Lenormand gets the gold. One of my main complaints about the Gilded Reverie is that after some use the golden edges have started to split apart on some of the cards, forcing me to resort to super glue (and narrowly avoiding laminating to card to my skin in the process!) - what's up with that, US Games?? It's been really the biggest let-down with this deck, which is sad because its small carrying box is excellent and so portable. While the Enchanted comes in a large box, I'll simply have to dig up a little bag for it. Furthermore, I really enjoy the hand drawn artwork on the Enchanted deck. The Sun really leaps off the card, and the expression on its face is of pure joy.

Perhaps my favorite deck will change as I accumulate more, but for now, the Enchanted Lenormand gets two, un-Superglued thumbs up.

Trying Not to Choke on My Glee

Yesterday a deck arrived for me in the mail. It was probably one of the happiest moments I've had in quite a while, and I'm still feeling the glory. In past posts I've mentioned that my mother's Tarot reading was my initial connection to divination at a young age. Recently I acquired the Medicine Cards (Jamie Sams) which were another divination tool she owned and that I held very dear, which has been really nice to have in my hands again. Well her Tarot deck (she only ever had one until recently I gifted her two more!) is the Mythic Tarot (Juliet Sharman-Burke, Liz Greene, Tricia Newell), one of the early publications from the late-80s, early 90s. This was the deck that sort of birthed me into the concept of Tarot reading, and I used to love it when she'd pull her cards out and do readings, working her way through the Greek myths and tying stories together.

I've been wanting to add that deck to my collection for a while, but when the original version went out of print in the early 2000s, it became very expensive and thus fell out of my reach. A new edition, called the New Mythic Tarot (Juliet Sharman-Burke, Giovanni Caselli) was published with a redo of the original artwork, which seemed to earn a lot of disappointed complaints from lovers of the original Mythic Tarot who didn't see a need for the reworking. I wasn't entirely opposed to this new version, but it didn't really attract me either. If necessary, it would "do" but it wouldn't really be the same. So I never purchased it.

Mythic Tarot
Juliet Sharman-Burke, Tricia Newell, Liz Greene
Fireside, 1986

The other day on one of the Facebook Tarot forums, someone posted an announcement about the original Mythic available on eBay for an unbelievably low price (about the cost of three grande lattes at Starbucks), and I jumped all over it. I couldn't believe it. It was a new listing and no one had snatched it up yet! It was my first foray into eBay buying, and I did so with some anxiety, but I figured that the worst that would happen is I'd lose a few cups of coffee, which didn't seem like a major risk. When all was said and done I received a well-wrapped package in the mail yesterday containing a tattered original box, a complete set of cards in great condition, a hard-cover companion book (also in great condition) and a reading cloth (which I probably won't use, but still!).

I think words failed me, hence the title of this blog post. I knew I would be excited about this acquisition, I knew it was important to me to own my mother's deck, that it would be nurturing and comforting and "right." But I had no idea just how fulfilled and joyful I would feel to be able to flip through those images, read through the book, do my own first reading with it. I sent a text message to my mother letting her know what I'd managed to do, and her reply was "I am glad, and touched." I suppose she never thought much about how or why those cards would be so meaningful to me. Hey, I think that in the end, I didn't really realize it either!

So I am full of rapturous joy on the inside, though on the outside probably look very calm and a bit sleepy. This joy is like a feast.

The Best Way to Learn Tarot?

I read a series of comments on a Facebook forum the other day where this was the topic of debate: "What is the best way to teach or learn Tarot?"

The funny thing is that each person has a different way of learning, and I truly don't believe that there is only one, best way to do anything at all, really.  The only thing that I do feel applies to all things one might learn in life, is that to truly understand it, you have to do it.

When I learned Tarot I studied the cards incessantly for quite a long time. I approached it almost as if I were taking an independent study course. I thought that I needed to memorize all the potential card meanings, and I took the "flash card" approach which I know that many people tend to do.  I used a deck that had unillustrated pips (Minor Arcana, excluding the Courts) so I had no images to help me understand anything at all.  I kept detailed notes, I went through the Minors by number (first all the 2s, then the 3s, etc). I would randomly quiz myself to see how many keywords I could remember for each card.  Later I did something similar when I decided to study reversals.

Now this is not a "bad" way of learning, but I don't think it's the best way either.  Tarot as flashcards don't give depth or breadth to a story, and are rather sterile.  It takes experience doing many readings to learn how to weave a story together, and understand the subtle ways that card meanings change depending on context.  Later I read a book called Psychic Tarot, by Nancy Antenucci, and her first step to learning the cards was not to study the meanings, rather to sit with each card and figure out what it means to *you.* How does it make you feel?  What do the images and details say about what the card might signify?  Not having "book meanings" stored in your mind allows so much more freedom when it comes to exploring your personal relationship with Tarot - it's much more organic. And each reader truly has their own, unique, highly personal relationship with the art of Tarot. I found myself wishing that I hadn't memorized all the meanings, and felt I'd robbed myself of this potentially very rich way of starting the learning process. By starting with memorization, it was more of a challenge to let my intuition "speak," because if it was telling me something that didn't jive with the traditional meanings, I hesitated to give it credence.

Later I took an Intuitive Tarot course which was invaluable to me.  I brought my Rider Waite deck because, knowing nothing about how Tarot courses run, I assumed it would probably be best to bring the old traditional stand-by, even though it's not my go-to.  The instructor surprised me in a very pleasant way, and said "if the deck doesn't speak to you, don't use it."  Why bother working with a deck that you don't connect with?  Now I do read just fine with my Rider Waite, but no, it's not my favorite.  The images can be pretty, but they don't necessarily touch those deeper chords in my soul. She also said "if you want book meanings, use the internet. This class is about developing your intuitive understanding of the cards. So no notepads are necessary - we won't be covering anything traditional."

**So what's the point of your Tarot journey?  Do you want to take an intellectual approach? An intuitive approach? Do you want to become a Tarot scholar? Do you want to simply give accurate readings for other people or for yourself?**

One of the women in the course I took was terrified of learning the cards. She had purchased the Rider Waite out of the assumption that it would be required (much the same reason I had brought mine to the first class). She felt her memory was poor and didn't think she had what it would take to be able to work with alllll those 78 cards.  She *almost* quit after the first day, but decided to give it one more chance, and by the end of those six sessions she was giving wonderful, accurate readings.  Had she memorized meanings? No. Did she study the deeper significance of Rider Waite symbols?  No. What she was doing was using a deck that appealed to her, that drew her in, that "spoke" to her, and that engaged her intuition (like the instructor, she was using the Halloween Tarot by Karin Lee and Kipling West).  It was wonderful to observe, and made me, yet again, wish I'd done things the other way around.

Once you learn the meanings, you can't unlearn them.  And truth be told, I'm glad I know them.  But I  had to work harder to detach from book meanings in order to let my intuition tell me what it needed me to know.  Fortunately I now feel I have a great balance between the two styles, and feel comfortable working in this manner.

Regardless of why you want to learn Tarot, I think a great way to start is to leave the books alone, and start by developing personal meanings based on your own feelings about the images and colors in each card, and by using a deck that you love.  You can, indeed, perform excellent readings based only on your intuitive connection to the cards in your deck.  Later, of course you can deepen and expand your knowledge by studying what the books have to say, and learning about traditional symbols that are featured in decks like the Rider Waite (and as this deck is the focus of so many books, you don't have to own the deck in order to learn them - it still provides background knowledge that can influence your own readings with a non-Rider Waite deck). That said, there are so many Rider Waite clones out there, you may well find a deck that you absolutely love that reflects many of the scenes and symbols in the Rider Waite deck, but that at least features a theme or world-view you hold sacred, or that you simply like to look at.  So if you like fairies, go for it!  If you're into vampires, I'm sure you can find something that sits right with you.

Tarot never stop teaches you new things, and there is never a lack of other people's material that you can peruse.  You experiment, read books, find out what you like and what you don't, what works for you and what doesn't.  What decks you like and which you don't care for. You read, and read, and read the cards more, which is the only real way to integrate your understanding, and to open new doors.

There's no "best" way, but the way I would recommend is to start off intuitively. Spend time feeling out each card using a deck you adore, and try giving readings to yourself/friends/family based on what the cards say to you, before you know what they are "supposed" to mean, and see how you do.  Later on you can dive into more formal study, and explore the millions of avenues of esoteric learning that are available to you, per your interests, desires, and motivations.

Use the Deck

I’ve been thinking lately about how it’s impossible to really know how much you will like (or not like) a deck until you hold it in your hands and start reading with it.

In the Tarot course I’m taking (mentioned originally in this post) we’re focusing on “going into” the cards (i.e. letting our intuitions loose, and trusting what we feel regardless of what the card is "supposed" to mean). Last week the instructor didn’t want us using decks we were comfortable with so she brought some decks with her and had us read with them.  I used her Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti, which is a deck I’d been pondering, and has been on my wish list for a while.  I was teetering toward not purchasing it because the artwork really isn’t my style, and doesn’t vibe with me.  But there I was using it to read for a partner, and I have to say, it was a great experience.  No, I don’t love the machine on the Moon card, and all those little “jewels” on the edges seem silly.  But you know what?  The reading flowed, the colors came alive, there was a lot of forward movement, and it was a very easy, intuitive read.  So despite not adoring the art, I felt it read well for me.

Now the Wildwood is “my” deck – the one that resonates with me most deeply on a fundamental level.  But I was hesitant to buy it for quite a while.  I’d heard about how challenging the animal Court Cards were, and how different many of the cards were from traditional meanings.  The artwork I saw on the internet intrigued me, but it took me a while to jump in.  And then, when it arrived at my doorstep, I wondered what had taken me so long.  The accompanying book just made sense to me, and I felt an immediate connection to the cards.  Why did I ever worry about the Court Cards?  The first deck I ever worked with was the Medicine Card oracle, which is all animals.  I have always felt an innate connection to wild creatures.  So the animal Court Cards in the Wildwood deck were not a struggle for me.  In fact I feel it’s sometimes easier to understand them than the typical human Courts.  And in readings I feel so tuned in, the imagery speaks to me very deeply, and it works well for me intuitively.

Wildwood Tarot
Mark Ryan, John Matthews, Will Worthington
Sterling Ethos, 2011

I recently acquired the Llewellyn Tarot because decks centered on the early Earth-based spiritual systems of the world (and of Europe) resonate with me.  I also loved the incorporation of so many women in the deck.  The artwork is very pretty.  But the cardstock is so thin that I have to be very delicate with using the deck for readings because one false move and I’ll have a pile of bent cards.  It’s really sad and unfortunate!  In addition, while I love how the Major Arcana explore Welsh myths, the Minors are almost identical to the Rider Waite, which makes me ask: why?  Couldn’t there have been some more creativity put forth for the cards that compose the majority of the deck?  While I do like the Rider-Waite, I found this slightly disappointing - I expected the mythology to be wound through the deck, not only the Majors.  Now it does read well for me, and in fact the first reading I did with it flowed really beautifully and was very clear, but despite that, I probably won’t read with it as much as I might have liked.

Yesterday the Halloween Tarot arrived at my door, and I won’t lie, I was both intrigued and slightly wary about it.  I love Halloween, both the fun and scary side as well as the deep and mystical side, so I liked the idea of having a deck with this theme.  But it’s slightly cartoony and doesn’t feel as “serious” and contemplative as I like my decks to be.  But I gave it a go, and I’m so glad I did.  I’m honestly kind of surprised at how much I love it!  I cleansed and charged it and did an initial reading to “break it in.”  And it was great!  The illustrations have a lot going on, so my intuition naturally picked through the cards, zoning in on various elements that felt important.  It was a serious reading, and the process felt profound and sincere, which I was not at all expecting.  To top it all off, because of its theme and the loads of symbolism in each card, I thought it would be fun to use with my kids.  My 6 year old wanted me to show her the cards, and we did a little mini-reading about her experience at school so far this year.  I let her tell me what the cards meant, and she did a fantastic job.  She saw the 9 of Ghosts (Cups) and told me:  “Those ghosts are all my classmates, and the person in front is me.  I’m sitting on a chest full of crafts that I made to share with them, and they’re waiting for me to pass them out.  That one there with the hand out is my friend. I’m deciding whether I want to pass them out now or wait until later.”  So it will be a great deck to use with the kids because it’s fun, Halloweeny but not scary, and there is a ton of material in each card to help them tell the story.

Halloween Tarot
Karin Lee, Kipling West
U.S. Games, 2003

So what’s my point.

My point is that decks can be surprising.  The ones you might think will be amazing may not turn out to be quite as amazing as you’d thought, and the decks you’re suspicious of may just surprise you with how much they pull you in and engage your intuition.

So now I’m in the danger zone – no holds barred!  My wish list is about to get a lot longer!

So Many Options!

This morning I picked the 7 of Cups for my daily draw, from the Radiant Rider-Waite deck (U.S. Games 2003).  I had to laugh.  This fellow stands in shadow before a brilliant display of options and opportunities..... the hard part...which to choose!  So many glittering possibilities are available for the picking.  Does he finally make a decision?  Or does he decide it's more fun to think about them rather than making any into reality?

I laughed because I've been reading about so many different Tarot decks lately, and my wish list keeps

Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot

growing.  You could easily replace the man in the card with my own image, and fill each of the cups with a different style of deck!  I keep trying to decide which I might buy next, but it's just not that easy.  Some days I feel excited about a particular deck, and think I've made up my mind.  Two days later I feel more drawn to something entirely different, and consider changing my choice.  I'm excited to make that final selection and go for it....and then while it's en route to my house, I get lost in thought about the other decks on my list, and wonder if I should have picked something else!  It's really ridiculous and funny.  I love how different decks carry new takes on card meanings according to the thought behind its creation, or the style of art.  I love how illustrations can affect or influence interpretation and intuition.  So it's no wonder so many readers develop major deck collections over time!  I hope to keep it to something I can reasonably work with - I don't want any decks to gather dust.  But it's certainly a lot of fun exploring all the Tarot diversity!

Herbs and Cards

Tonight I'm attending a class on magical and medicinal herbs, primarily for use in teas and for incenses.  I'm pretty excited about it, and it got me thinking about combining herbs with Tarot and Oracle practice.  At this point the main card-herb interaction occurs when I cleanse new decks; I pass each card through sage smoke.  But that's where it ends.

As Tarot is a life-long study, herbs may also end up for me.  When I was a kid I used to roam the nearby forest trying to identify all the plant life I came across, and all the potential uses.  One year when I was 12 or 13 I tapped our Maple tree and boiled it down into (a very small amount of) syrup.  Another time I carefully selected Queen Anne's Lace to bring home to use as a root vegetable at dinner time.  The latter is also known as wild carrot, and I was pretty pleased with myself, although the carrots were not particularly appetizing (preteen cooking skills not really up to par, I guess ;-) ).  

In high school I decided to drink some Senna Leaf tea after dinner one evening.  I doubted its potency, and figured it would probably just be like any standard herbal tea.  I spent the entire next day at school running back and forth between class and the bathroom.  Not so cool when you're 16, but it was kinda funny and a very good lesson about the power of plants.  So herbs have always attracted and intrigued me, and I have been studying them more intentionally recently for healing purposes.

So I was thinking about new ways to combine Tarot and herbal study aaaaaand.....I came across this: 

                                              

Herbal Tarot

                                           

And I added it to my deck wish list straight away! :-D

It follows the Rider-Waite style but each card includes a strategically chosen herb that reflects in some way the meaning of the card.  I hear that some people who have an herb background find this a nice deck to use while initially getting acquainted with Tarot.  I will be using it from the opposite direction.... I think it'll be a great tool to learn about herbs, as I do readings.  I'm curious to see how the plant influence might add a new dimension to card meanings!

Herbal Tarot

          

Quality of Card Stock

I love all of my Tarot decks for various reasons: the artwork is lovely, I love the themes presented, etc.  All of my decks seem to mesh well with my energy, and the readings I do with them are solid.  But I'm feeling kind of frustrated when it comes to the issue of card stock.

I recently purchased the Wildwood Tarot, and I absolutely love it.  I really love it in every way.... I love the art and the theme (Will Worthington), I love the slightly non-traditional take on some of the meanings, and I even love the card back, which is a deep green with an intricate Celtic design.  I think it's probably my favorite card back out of all my decks.  And yet after using the deck 4 or 5 times there is at least one card that's started to peel along one of the edges!  I am so upset!  I am gentle with my cards, so it's not from rough handling, and my shuffle style is not at all aggressive either.  So I'm really troubled by it.  I've already started thinking I'll have to have a back-up deck at some point, which seems lame since I just bought this one!

I also adore my DruidCraft deck for similar reasons - the artwork (also done by Will Worthington) is rich, and I love the earthy theme which "speaks" to me.  When the deck first came and I opened it, I was a little disappointed that many of the cards seemed to have light scratch marks, which was really noticeable across the backs (which are a dull brown and not particularly attractive).  Also I've found this deck really hard to shuffle, because the cards are not very smooth and have a tendency to stick together.

Peeling Rider-Waite-Smith??

My Golden Tarot has held up pretty well.  It's easy to shuffle for the most part because it's slightly slippery, but not too slippery that they fall out of my hands.  Even so, after a couple of months of fairly light use, the edges of some of the cards had started showing clear wear.

But I've noticed that with my two remaining Tarot decks, the Morgan Greer and the Radiant Rider-Waite, they are the most durable and easiest to shuffle of all.  (And speaking of backs, they have my second-favorite backs: dark blue with stars - love it!) The Radiant Rider-Waite is almost bordering on being too slippery, but I still enjoy using it.  The Morgan Greer is just about perfect.  They  are both published by U.S. Games, whereas the other decks in my collection are published by several other publishing companies.

So while I'm sad that many of my decks seem to be showing more than their fair share of wear and tear (wow, say that three times fast), I'm contemplating sticking with decks published by U.S. Games in the future because I think I can count on them being really solid and long-lasting.  If anyone can recommend other great-quality publishers, let me know!!