Seven of Swords β€” Deviant Moon Tarot

Thursday, March 28th, 2013
7 Swords Deviant Moon Tarot

Illustrated by Patrick Valenzia

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Martin andΒ I are attempting to put a 2nd bathroom in the house. I’m looking on Craigslist and other places for fixtures, because they’re wicked expensive. There was this one ad for a new-in-box faucet that seemed like a really good deal (normally $130 and he was selling it for $55 but okay he’ll let it go for $40). The dude and I wrote a couple letters. I gave him my number because I was going to go check it out. Then he kept calling! He wouldn’t stop calling! He and his fiancΓ©e live above some convenience store in Burlington and they’re both unemployed. She’s the one who posted the ad. He had this really high voice. After about the seventh call I wanted to say, “Look, actually I’m not interested.” It was beginning to be weird. But I was in Burlington andΒ he agreed to meet me in a convenient location. So I met him, this very wide dude with the high squeeky voice and fiancΓ©e who was trying to look like she didn’t know him, hanging out on the street corner facing the other direction, and he handed me the Home Depot bag with the faucet. Well, the faucet had a box, that’s all I can say for it, and the box looked nice. I don’t know where he got the thing. I don’t think it was at Home Depot, tho that’s what he said. I think he just ripped it out of his apartment. The screen was missing (damn stoners! they get it every time…) and the chrome was all fingerprint greasy and corroded and a bunch of other parts were missing. I told him I wasn’t interested and apologized profusely. He asked why why why and lowered the price and I backed off because I felt so bad for him and I said, “It just doesn’t look new.”
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Note to self: avoid purchasing things on street corners.

Page of Swords β€” Deviant Moon Tarot

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Patrick ValenzaArtist: Patrick Valenza

 

I sent out a request for quotes to some printers in China for a run of 500 decks. The printing places in the US seem to go through printers in China, so I’m seeing if it’s possible to eliminate the middleperson. I said to the deck, β€œTell me something about printing in/ working with China,” and drew the Page of Swords, reversed.

 

Patrick Valenza writes: β€œThe young page roams the city. He is skilled in perceiving hidden truths and secrets, however he is often underestimated due to his youth.”

 

Upright: Insightful. Perceptive. Intuitive. Keeper of secrets.
Reversed: Deceit. A liar. False friend.

 

If I am successful finding a printer in China, I can, in theory, save a lot of money. However, I have little experience in business. I have no experience in dealing with (what seems to me like) large volume overseas orders where I have to deal directly with people on the other side of a large cultural divide. If I am not careful, I can easily be duped.

 

I cannot rush into action like the immature Page of Blades. Certainly I will learn a lot if I choose to do business in China, but if I fail to take the proper precautions, the learning experience may have the effect of the close-up viewing of a hurricane rather than a more controlled hike up a tall mountain with a nice vista at the end.

 

Do I have the wherewithal to right this reversed Page of Blades into success? Tune in tomorrow (or the next day or the day after…)

18. The Moon β€” Deviant Moon Tarot

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Artist: Patrick Valenzia

 

I was going to say, β€œTell me something about the moon,” as this is the Deviant Moon Tarot. Then I thought, “That’s too demanding.” As I took the cards out of the box, I thought of asking, β€œTell me something about Quebec.” One card stuck in the box: the Four of Blades: solitude. I took this as a hint and changed my question yet again, shuffled, and said β€œWhat am I afraid of?” I spread the cards, considered them, and drew The Moon, upright. I was back where I had started.

 

Interpretation:

Upright: Brainwashing. Dark influences. Trickery. Illusion. Subconscious control.

Upwrong: Avoiding reality. Strange forces. Delusional thoughts. Lies and despair.

β€œThe deviant moon casts its powerful influence over the city, controlling minds like a puppeteer.”

 

The Moon says: Something is not as it appears to be.

 

The Moon shows itself to a traveler unsure of his destination or the path on which he journeys. This Moon is the light of intuition and of dream that leads to higher understanding of the veiled messages of the unconscious to reveal the way forward.

 

The Moon illuminates the shadow side in each of us, projecting silhouettes of past fears onto our present body. Repressed images, thoughts and feelings cause inner disturbances that overwhelm us with waves of fear and anxiety.

 

Vigilance through the dark night shows the edges of that which is hidden. No matter how one feel about a situation, good or bad, the Moon says: Open your eyes. See what it really going on. Illusion causes error in judgment.

 

Deep memory must be released and the soul dredged to let the shadow side of lingering, hidden truths be pulled to the surface. Let these truths no longer haunt like monsters of the night.

 

Something is not as it appears to be. Open your eyes. See what it really going on. Illusion causes error in judgment.

 

What am I afraid of? I am afraid of losing my mind, of being an only soul, alone upon the dark side of the Moon.

 

Justice β€” Deviant Moon Tarot

Friday, December 16th, 2011
Artist: Patrick Valenza

 
Interpretation: “A great judge balances two swords as he presides over the city. Although seemly fair, corruption often creeps from the seams of a just society. Upright: Balance. Strong character. Fairness. Reversed: Abused. Taking sides. Bias.”
 
I chose this deck because it is moody, like I am. I pulled justice upside-down. What is thisβ€” justice?
 
Justice is cold and unfeeling. Those who feel righteous when justice has been carried out are those who have not felt its sting. Those who feel wronged when justice is carried out are those who have been hit by the blade.
 
Justice is a search for the Truth. Justice is a decision as to what the Truth is. But what if there is no Truth? Certainly, some things seem more true than others, especially in the physical world. Many people insist that they know the Truth. But just as no two objects can be in the same place at the same time, is it really possible for two humans to have the same idea as to what is true and just? We all have different views and viewpoints. We have a myriad of multi-colored gods and eyes and each one speaks a different Truth.
 
It is impossible to get a group of diverse people to agree on what is fair and just. This is why we are supposed to have diverse juries: to decide what the majority of the people might be satisfied with in terms of justice. This is justice as distributed by humanity. Unfortunately, humanity is notoriously unjust, and it is quite difficult to get people to agree on a jury.
 
What is my justice today? What truth do I seek and what lies have I told myself? What decision do I need to make? Yesterday I spent most of the day sleeping: depressed. This seems to be happening periodically in my second trimester. It never lasts more than a day or two. I could blame it on pregnancy, seeing as how I have never felt like this before in my life. (Nor have my fingernails ever been so perfectly beautiful, but I am not complaining.) I need to make the decision to keep moving, to move forward, even when I cannot see where I am going andΒ  I do not see the point. Stopping is getting stuck. The longer I stop for, the more thoroughly I will be stuck. I do not want to get stuck.