Making a Grand Tableau Mat

I've been dreaming of the Ciro Marchetti Grand Tableau cloth available from his website, ever since I saw Donnaleigh de LaRose use it in one of her amazing video tutorials. As I worked my way into practicing with this massive spread, I realized that I needed some kind of mat with the Houses all situated. The Marchetti cloth is beautiful, but also a bit over my budget for now, so I decided to take an idea from yet another of Donnaleigh's videos, and use some printer paper to create my own mat. Durable? Not so much..!  But it serves the purpose very well, and for practicing it's perfect!

First I dug out some printer paper. I lined some cards up on a single sheet so I could see the best fit, and then I lightly traced the cards out with a pencil. Then I put the cards away and retraced the pencil lines with a Sharpie. For following pieces of paper I just laid a new piece of paper over the original, and traced the Sharpie lines that were visible:

That took five sheets of paper (I did the mat in the 8x4 +4 structure). Then I wrote the House and number on each card spot, and lined all the pages up to make sure they matched up with each other:

Finally it was time to try out a Grand Tableau! (Not for the faint of heart!!)

Grand Tableau with Gilded Reverie Lenormand

I expect that eventually I'll have to replace the paper mat, though for now I'm storing it in pieces in a folder for safe keeping.  But it took only about twenty minutes to create, and it's really invaluable!

Taroscopes for the Week of December 8-14 2013

We're getting closer and closer to the big holidays! Last night we got our tree and this morning we put on the lights and decorations. Our house is looking quite festive now, I have to say! Most of all I'm enjoying the pine aroma wafting through the air! So this week we have all the elements represented, along with two Majors and two Courts. I used the Halloween Tarot by Karin Lee and Kipling West....just because I love it! Let's see how it's panned out!

Capricorn - 3 of Ghosts (Cups): Get out of the house this week and enjoy the company of others, whether it's tea or beer with friends, a holiday party, or even simply a shared lunch at work.  It's a good way to let off steam, and the friendly vibes this week will contribute to a good time!

Aquarius - 3 of Bats (Swords): Again!? You must have a lot going on lately, Aquarius! Don't let any disappointments get the best of you this week. "Mind over matter" will help you deal with things, even if it's not the most enjoyable process.

Pisces - Wheel of Fortune: Expect the unexpected this week! Things will probably flow smoothly for you, and whatever projects or plans you've been throwing together should go off without a hitch.

Aries - Emperor reversed: Structure is good, but sometimes too much of it can take the fun out of things. You may be feeling a bit constricted this week, but don't forget to enjoy yourself and try to keep things in perspective. Imperfections and disarray can provide excellent learning opportunities.

Taurus - Ace of Imps (Wands) reversed: Your best opportunities this week will come from you rather than your environment.  If you're feeling frustrated because your creative flow just isn't flowing, then try a new approach and perhaps a new project that might reignite your spark.

Gemini - 8 of Pumpkins (Pentacles): Your axe will be all over that proverbial grindstone this week. It may be a busy work week that requires a lot of your attention, and you may also be developing your crafty skills making fun, hand-made treats to give as Christmas gifts.

Cancer - King of Pumpkins (Pentacles): Enjoy your environment this week, and allow yourself to bask in the comforts of home and hearth. You'll be the master of your world, and will find a way to resolve any issues that may arise, and still have plenty of time left over to enjoy a soul-satisfying meal by the fireplace.

Leo - 7 of Ghosts (Cups): You have many exciting opportunities this week, where do you even begin?? Well, make a list, prioritize it, and get to work! You definitely want to harness the energy surrounding you - so much potential!

Virgo - 8 of Ghosts (Cups): If you're feeling "meh" this week, spice things up a bit. Get Chinese take-out instead of pizza. Break your routine, whether at home, at work, or hey - in both places! The change may be just what you need to refresh and inspire you.

Libra - 10 of Bats (Swords) reversed: Last week your 4 of Swords encouraged you to find time for more rest, and this week you just may manage to find a way to rest that pretty little head of yours and refresh and renew your mindset. Just take a deep breath and let things flow - transitions are good for the soul!

Scorpio - Knight of Bats (Swords): This will be a fast paced week! Don't forget to be mindful of your ultimate goal, and avoid making any unnecessary sacrifices on your way to gittin' 'er done. Focus your intentions and enjoy the ride! 

Sagittarius - 6 of Bats (Swords): If it wasn't working the way you wanted it to, let it go and move on! There are new opportunities in the challenges you face this week, and all it takes to capitalize on them is a perpective shift.

Whew! You might have noticed that these are a bit shorter than before...I enjoy doing them so I want to continue each week, but I also wanted to find a way to make it more practical (less time-consuming)!  Have an amazing and empowering week, everyone!

P.S. If you want to put your name in the hat for a free reading, it's not too late! Drawing will be held next Sunday, December 15th. For more info, click here!

Taroscope Spread with Halloween Tarot

                         

The Good and the Bad

My weekly draw for the first week of December was the Tower reversed (Paulina Tarot/US Games). It wasn't the most encouraging card to see. And I really wanted to draw another one on the off-chance that I'd get something different and perhaps more....positive.  But I didn't. When I drew cards for Sunday's Taroscopes, which also cover the first week of December, my sun sign draw was the Lovers, and had a good feel about it. So, which is it??? Would I have a lovely, loving week or one where I'd experience a minor disaster??

Well I can report that both in fact have been major energies this week! 

Last Sunday Jorge and I finally made time for a daytime date, which was really nice; we haven't had one in probably almost two months, so it was definitely overdue!  In the evening we even drank tea and watched a series premier on TV together, with no distractions from kids or technology, which was blissful. We managed to repeat that last night - we stayed home but it still felt very date-like….Lovers card in full effect!

Monday morning Jorge left to take Lourdes to school, and suddenly the doorbell was ringing. I heard him ask Isa for the other car keys, and figured maybe Lourdes had wanted to ride in the other car for some reason, and Jorge was relenting.  When he got back he came in the house and notified me that our main car wouldn't start. It's not too old, so that was concerning.  We jumped the battery and it started but an electrical light was on and blinking and the car was making a strange noise. While Jorge was investigating, he leaned over and his brand new smart phone slipped out of his shirt pocket, hit the cement, and the screen shattered.  So when all was said and done, the car had a major battery issue which we were fortunately able to take care of for a price, and Jorge will be able to replace his phone...for a hefty sum. Needless to say he'll be making calls with a cracked screen for a while yet. So the Tower reversed made its appearance in the form of very unexpected mini-distasters. Nothing we couldn't handle, but something that definitely throws a wrench in the normal flow of the day and week.

So what is the benefit of all of this? One benefit, I think, is the understanding that the Tower rx and the Lovers can coexist, and despite the drama, I'm still giving baths to rowdy kiddos, still thinking about what to make for dinner, still taking evening strolls around the neighborhood (read: life goes on, and it ain't all bad).

While I enjoy using Tarot for guidance and advice, I do sometimes look into aspects of the future, and what happens when the future doesn't look very bright? I think the key is in understanding that you can handle it, and come out on top in the end.  Things will be alright.  No, it's not nice to see a bleak-looking outcome, but anticipation is far worse than reality. You actually can roll with the punches, and there's a good chance that not all aspects of your life will be painful.  Joy is never entirely absent, even when it seems harder to find at the time. If you focus on the good in your life, it really provides very healing energy that helps weather the challenges.

It also brings to mind the very important point that if you inquire about potential future courses of events, you must be willing to accept the news you receive. I was really depressed to see the Tower as my weekly draw.  If I had pulled that card for a client, I probably would have felt really bad about passing that message along, and some people hope desperately for wonderful news, and are down-trodden when a potentially "negative" card arises in their future. So if you want to see where the future is going, be prepared for anything, or else don't ask. (I myself struggle with that - do I really want to see what my month ahead holds in store??).

Don't forget there are many positives to all readings. What are the positives of my Tower week? Well, the car has a new battery, and it didn't cost nearly as much as it might have. Thankfully it was only the battery and not something more serious. What if the car died when we were on vacation, far from home? Thankfully it happened when we were right here and could easily take care of things.

And the truth is that despite those incidents I had a pretty good week with a lot of laughs, and plenty of positive energy flowing through it all.

Paulina Tarot/US Games

                                                

My Magical Tea Cup

There are many divination tools in this great big world of ours: cards, runes, bones, stones, candle wax drippings, crystal balls, scrying, and astrology, just to name a few.

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to try my hand at reading tea leaves. It sounds so quaint! In fact lately it most often brings to mind the two elderly ladies from the movie Coraline, who foresee “great danger” at the bottom of Coraline’s cup.

I’m always open to trying new things, especially new forms of divination, so I was all for it when my mentor presented the idea to me.  She said that normally you would actually drink the tea first, and then, when the last dregs remained, you’d flip the cup, swirl it around a few times, and then peer in to see what you could see. She wasn’t in the mood to drink tea, so she threw some peppermint leaves and a little bit of hot water into a couple of newly purchased white tea cups, and set them to steep for a few minutes. Once the leaves had rehydrated, she poured out most of the water (there wasn’t much to begin with) and flipped the cups – first one, then the other. She turned the saucers each three times, and then turned the cups right side up.  I spent some time gazing into my cup, and bit by bit started to make out some minute images… a palm tree…. a series of Ws….a gun…..as I revolved my cup I suddenly saw that I had a visitor perched on the edge of my cup: a crouching figure that very much appeared to be a Green Man.  That was pretty cool!  I was so pleased that I took a picture:

Green Man crouched in my tea cup!

Now palm tree, guns, Ws….all of these things hold little meaning for me, but the point of the practice is to grow accustomed to identifying symbols, and then associating them with various meanings, and then applying them to a particular context or issue in order to provide clarity and guidance.  In this way it’s much like card reading, where each of our cards holds a multitude of meanings, and on top of that endless intuitive meaning potential, and we allow these disparate elements to come together to create a meaningful story for our clients, based on their concerns and unique situations.

The Green Man, however, was pretty cool. This does hold meaning for me, as a representative of the deep connection I feel with nature, with forests, with trees, with the wild parts of our own human nature. So I was very pleased to see him sitting in my cup, poised to leap.

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

Tea reading was fun, though I’m not necessarily going to make it a focus of extensive studying at this time. Tarot itself is a never-ending journey, and recently I’ve added Lenormand to that.  Runes are high on my list, but I’m trying to pace myself!

If you try tea leaf reading, please feel free to share your experiences!

Lenormand-Ho!

The journey continues!  And I'm not sure I'm gonna like it!!!!

My husband surprised me with Ciro Marchetti's Gilded Reverie Lenormand yesterday. It was pretty cool, really.  I've been wanting to enter the world of Lenormand card reading for a while now, thanks primarily to Chloe McCracken.  She's currently in the process of creating a Celtic Lenormand, with Will Worthington, and as she is the one to start my thinking about "Lennies," and because I love Will Worthington's artwork, my plan was to wait until this deck is released…alas as fate would have it, Ciro's deck has been bestowed upon me, and it looks like the journey has begun a bit earlier than I'd intended!

So I've been following Lenormand study groups on Facebook, and I've spent time reading up on various websites to get a feel for how to work with these cards. For any who are unfamiliar with them, they are another method of cartomancy but very different from Tarot. They have a more linguistic structure complete with nouns and adjectives and verbs.  If you want more information than that you'll have to do a Google search, because this is all totally new territory for me!

So I decided to throw out a series of three cards last night as a "day ahead" forecast. I won't lie. I was stumped and went to bed with more or less "WTF" flowing through my mind the entire night (yes, I spent the entire night with some portion of my mind trying to work out the meaning of those three cards!!!)  Needless to say, I am really tired today!  So here they are:

Gilded Reverie Lenormand/Ciro Marchetti - US Games

Clouds (6) + Rider (1) + Crossroad (22)

Well, they certainly are pretty!!! So after a lot of puzzling this is the best I could come up with:

Uncertain news leads to a choice?

Promising news leads to a decision?

Interesting news leads to new options?

The fact that clouds are darker to the left and lighter towards the right seems promising.  I feel very confident as a Tarot reader, but boy these Lennies are making me feel like a wee bitty babe! :) Which I love, because it's a cool challenge to explore!  If any Lenormand readers wants to weigh in on these three cards, please do! 

I haven't received any news yet today but I'll keep my eyes open! I suppose that, as it's a daily read, it will probably be a mundane choice, like… plastic grocery bags, or paper!  I will keep you posted…. 

Free Reading Alert!

Dear readers!

It's December and I'm giving away one free Tarot reading! It can be used for yourself or given as a gift, if you like. To put your name in the proverbial hat, please go to my First Earth Tarot Facebook page and "like" it. Then "like" and share the reading give-away post.

On December 15th I'll randomly draw a name and announce the winner via the Facebook page.

I'm not a marketer by nature, so this is attempt at putting my self out into the world, and a way to say thank you for the support you've all given me thus far! :)

Morgan Greer Tarot/US Games

Taroscopes for December 1-7, 2013

Okay, I'm giving it another go! I realized that I'm spelling Taroscopes without the second "t" in Tarot and I'm okay with that. It's a silent "t" anyway, so I think it flows better on the eyes ;-). At least, that's my excuse.

So last week was full of Majors and this week we have just a few, however again there were a vast majority of upright cards (10 out of 12!) which is promising. I'm hoping it's a relative smooth week for everyone following the holiday and shopping extravaganza of last week!

Capricorn - Lovers: Have an amorous week, good goat! Focus on your love connections, and make that the theme of your week ahead. If you have a significant other, make time for a date - you deserve it, and you need it (and so does your partner!). If you have a big decision to make don't be shy about getting a second opinion - you want to make sure that you're doing what's best, and what will give you the most promising long-term results.

Aquarius - 3 of Swords: Don't let disappointments or heartache get you down this week. Breathe, process, accept, release. Nothing stays the same in life, and you'll probably be glad for that as things may not go according to plans or expectations. This will be a great moment to focus on the support system you have around you. Take a nice bath and drink a cup of the most expensive tea you can find (or a shot of rum - whatever seems like a good idea at the time ;) - that might make you feel a bit better!

Pisces -5 of Cups: The glass is half full, the glass is half full, the glass is half full…keep repeating that in your mind this week, because you may be feeling down about interpersonal relationships, and you'll need a reminder that you do have some wonderful things in your world to focus on.  If last week was amazing and you enjoyed the time off work, you may not be feeling particularly anxious to get back to work. Just don't forget - it's December 1st which means better times really are just around the corner!

Aries - 8 of Cups: Do what makes you happy this week.  Or at least seriously consider what will give you the satisfaction you are craving. You may be daydreaming about brighter pastures, and if you're not enjoying your work, or an important relationship, it may be a good week to think about why you aren't fulfilled, and what you need in order to change that around.  If you're feeling tired just thinking about all the socializing you may have to do this month, just remember that it's just one month of the year, and hey, you just may end up having more fun than you think.

Taurus - Knight of Cups: Woohoo! I felt bad about your Moon last week, and I'm very happy that this Knight is bringing you much love and creativity! This is a great week to work on breathing life into any creative projects you've been considering. The sky's the limit, so think big and let your feelings lead the way. It's also possible that you might have a hot date with a new love interest, and if so, it should be a pretty romantic time.

Gemini - Magician reversed: Are you making use of all of your many talents? If not, find a way to make it happen, and now's as good a time as any to jump in. You are robbing the world by not putting your gifts to work! If you've been thinking about nurturing your spirituality, hey, maybe you should give card reading a try and see how you like it. Also, don't lose sight of the fact that this is a major holiday month, and it'll probably go a lot faster than you think. Plan for activities and gift-purchasing now so you don't end up being one of those lost souls aimlessly wandering the mall looking for presents on December 24th because they forgot that Christmas was almost here!

Cancer - Hierophant: You might be enjoying this fact that we've just leapt into Christmas season. You're decorating the house, listening to Sting's Christmas album, and may even already have started planning the Christmas dinner menu, even though it's still a month away.  You might even consider planning an office holiday party just to capitalize on how much you're enjoying the season this year. Make time to focus on your spirituality this week, in whatever form that takes for you (light a candle, attend Mass, do a walking meditation through the winter wood…)

Leo - Knight of Wands: Ooo… a very fiery card for a Fire sign, I love it!  This is an action-oriented week for you. You may be rushing forth with new ideas, trying to change the world and improve it according to your own standards and expectations. No criticisms will get you down this week. You know what you're doing and there's no stopping you.  The best part of all is that you'll probably make some great head-way, no matter what it is you choose to tackle.

Virgo - 4 of Pentacles: Black Friday madness has come and gone, and now with Christmas looming up ahead you're starting to think more and more about that budget. Don't be afraid to buy thoughtful gifts for family and friends, just make sure you don't overdo it!  And if you're really worrying about how to make your income stretch this month, don't forget that there are a lot of wonderful gifts that you can make yourself for little money (think jarred sauces and oils, or even baked goods, for example) and that people are sure to enjoy. This would be a great week to start planning out these activities.

Libra - 4 of Swords: Have you been busy lately? Indulging in some festivities, or working overtime now that the holidays are approaching?  This is a week for you to consider building in some "me-time." Yes, that actually means rest. Stop checking your Facebook and emails and Twitter and Pinterest and quiet your mind. Take a steamy shower, watch a good movie, spend some time cooking and baking and then eat all of your goodies by yourself. Oh, and try to get a bit more sleep!

Scorpio - 5 of Swords reversed: Make peace, this week. Peace with yourself and peace with others. When you carry grudges or ill will, it really just ends up putting a damper on your state of mind, and you end up not enjoying things the way you're supposed to. We're in December now, it's really time to start letting things go and opening yourself up to positive changes.  If you start now, you should be ready to enjoy all the partying and family time by the end of the month!

Sagittarius - 6 of Pentacles: Balance and flow are the words this week, Sag. You know what reciprocity is all about, and you have a lot to offer the world this week. You have great insights to share, but you also know how to listen. You read a lot of books, but your own writing influences others as well. When a friend is in need you're there, and you know that if you ever find yourself in the same position, that same friend will have your back.  You may be thinking about what to gift people for the holidays, and it may not even matter whether or not you receive something in return.  You are simply enjoying the idea of putting some good out into the world. Positive energy for the week ahead!

Peace out, wonderful people! I hope you have an amazing week, full of light and love!