Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Seven of Cups — Victorian Trade Card Tarot

Marcia McCordDeck by Marcia McCord

 

This Seven of Cups depicts an apothecary mixing medicines with his gigantic mortar and pestle. His own chosen potion peeps from the back pocket of his pants.

 

The occupation of apothecary dates from some of the earliest written records— at least 2000BC in Egypt— through the 19th century. In addition to selling medicinal compounds, he offered medical advice and services now performed solely by medical specialists. The apothecary is mentioned in the King James Version of Exodus Chapter 30 verse 25: “and thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.”

 

The Oxford translates this same chapter: “and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; a holy anointing oil it shall be.” A perfumer is an artist trained in the concepts of fragrance aesthetics, capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with fragrance compositions. The word perfume comes from the Latin “per” meaning “through” and “fumus” meaning smoke: the first form of perfume was incense. Perfume was initially developed to attract the goodwill of the gods. For many years, perfume use was restricted to religious ceremonies performed by priests— and to the very wealthy. This gives the Seven of Cups a bit of a smoke-and-mirrors feel I associate with it.

 

Both the perfumer and apothecary were chemists, the difference between the two occupations being historically nebulous at times. Both perfumer and apothecary used potions in attempt to bring dreams into reality: dreams of health, dreams of heaven, dreams of love.

 

With every dream, there is a risk of illusion. Those prone to intoxication and escapism have no clear boundary between reality and fantasy and thus fall easy prey to the claims of the snake-oil salesman. The goal to distill the workings of a highly-developed imagination from the substance of every day life.

Tags:
Posted in Cups, Tarot, Tarot Decks, Victorian Trade Card Tarot | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

The Hanged Man — Pearls of Wisdom

Pictures & Words: Roxi Sim & Caeli Fulbrite

 

This is one of those decks about which I read, “I really wanted to love this deck but I found it so cluttered.” I would not complain about the clutteredness. I would complain more about the fact that every face has the same smile and that the quantity of curls and spirals in the bodies makes them look like articulated mannequins. It is difficult for me to see beyond that to other details, such as the fact that much of this card is upside-down. In the background, the water is the sky and the upside-down mountains are reflected therein. The potted plants in the upper corners grow inverted. This gives the impression of leaves falling upward.

 

“How will I fare in business?” I ask, and draw The Hanged Man. I am immediately tempted to throw it— hide it in the middle of the deck— deny my draw in one way or another— maybe use another deck altogether— but I manage to control myself. What can I learn from this card?

 

The Cute Little Book that comes with this deck tells me:

“The surrender to water, representing the deep emotional content buried in the subconscious mind and made available to consciousness through the shock and exigency of the situation, opens the way for new wisdom and transformation while in physical form.¶

 

“The Hanged Man, though bound, is available to the totality of the experience. He is free from fear of loss. Able to sense the fullness of his own divinity, he is emancipated. In that sensing, all the exigency of sacrifice and difficulty is lost and forgotten. What is left is the wisdom and knowledge of who he is and who we all are. ¶

 

“The snake reminds him that the shedding of skin, though difficult, brings beauty and blessings. Paradise is wherever you are, not a place from which humans are exiled because of stolen knowledge. Knowledge that leads to wisdom is ours by right of being human.”

 

So, how will I fare in business? I have always been terrified of doing business for myself. There are too many decisions to make. If the business fails, I am a failure. I don’t want to be a business person because I want to be a _____ (fill in the blank). Sheer terror! Running my own business has always been the most unappealing thing I could possibly do.

 

Whether or not I am going into business for myself is not a question I am asking at the moment: to a certain degree, every artist or writer is in business for his or herself. I cannot be successful at what it is I enjoy doing if I remain too timid or lazy to market it. In order to be successful at business, should that be what I choose to do, I need to shed the skin of fear that surrounds what I believe I can and cannot do and perhaps even my ideas of what I like and do not like to do.

 

While it is relatively easy to invert my body and gain a different perspective on the world around me, it is a bit more difficult to gain a new perspective on my own self. No matter which way I turn, my own body still appears in the same orientation to my eyes. Perhaps the first step would be to stop reciting an old mantra sculpted of the primordial clay of my formative years: “You will never be successful as an artist. You will never make money as a writer.” Although it is true I do not personally know any “successful” artists or writers, it would be failure indeed to spend my entire life refusing to give myself a chance at following my heart because I have labeled myself doomed to failure from the start.

 

The Hanged Man need not hang his own heart in preemptive failure.

Tags:
Posted in Hanged Man, Major Arcana, Pearls of Wisdom, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Monday, March 19th, 2012

Three of Cups — The Lovers Tarot

Jane LyleArtist: Oliver Burston
Book: Jane Lyle

 

Although I am not a fan of the Lovers’ Tarot per se (see my previous rants here and here), I generally like what Jane Lyle has to say about cards even if I was sarcastic last time and critical about the art the time before.

 

Because I am using the Lovers’ Tarot, and because I do not particularly like asking questions, I recite “I love my baby” over and over while shuffling this deck then draw a card: Three of Cups, reversed.

 

Three of Cups says:

Cup, cup, & cup: joy, laughter, & celebration. Positive energy brings on positive energy. Be careful about over-doing the celebration, tho, Barefoot (& Pregnant) Fool: you know you’re prone to over-eating, and it doesn’t help any.

 

B. Fool hides her dish of food behind the computer screen & wipes her hands on her pyjamas.

 

Three of Cups continues:

And watch that spending because— income? what income? If you’re going to spend money, try to classify the expenditures as investments or necessary. For example, how many new tarot decks do you really need?

 

The Fool gets defensive and cries:

Investment! Necessary! Support the Arts! I promise to forego adding to my striped-wool-sock collection! —Tho if there are really cute ones in baby sizes, they’re technically not for me.

 

Three of Cups rolls three gold eyes & has the final word:

It is possible to have fun while remaining balanced. Be honest with yourself and with your partner. Eat green vegetables in addition to chocolate. Cook for your lover and eat together. Do some yoga tomorrow, go for a short walk, and it will feel good. Admit your accomplishments. Love your friends. Enjoy these fat and happy days. Life will change in a minute.

Tags:
Posted in Cups, Lover's Tarot, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Sunday, March 18th, 2012

Two of Cups — Tarots Oreste Zevola

Artist: Oreste Zevola

 

Excellent! Two of Cups again. I admit, I still find this deck’s artwork slightly unnerving. My younger sister, who is still visiting, points out that that the cups are smiling and that it’s not their fault if they have pointy teeth. I don’t want her to leave, but I haven’t told her so. Perhaps she will only find out if she happens to read my blog. Before tomorrow. Morning. She is my Two of Cups buddy.

 

Connect
with another—
in union
in friendship
in partnership
in working
in sharing
in helping
in seeing how
two are the same.

 

Make peace
in a relationship.
Opposites
are gone.
Agree
and forgive
and forget.

 

Bond.
Accept.
Drawn in.
Move forward
together.

 

 

 

 

Tags:
Posted in Cups, Tarot, Tarot Decks, Tarots Oreste Zevola | No Comments »
Saturday, March 17th, 2012

Ace of Swords — Tarot of a Moon Garden

Artist: Karen Marie Sweikhardt

 

This is one of those decks I got because it was on sale. I decided I didn’t care about it, so I brought it to all the wet and messy places I went. I’d learned my lesson with a precious deck. Unfortunately, because we’ve spent so much time together, I’ve formed a bit of an attachment to this deck. I still don’t particularly care for it, but I use it a lot. I mean, more than others.

 

I like reading deck reviews where people comment on whether or not they like a deck and how it makes them feel and how accurate the readings they get from it are. I always find it interesting when people say that they don’t like a deck but they find it gives accurate readings. I’m too inexperienced to make such assessments. I don’t particularly enjoy asking questions. I do like thinking about something that’s on my mind and seeing how it relates to a card I draw. Maybe someday I’ll be more advanced.

 

I am still thinking about publishing my deck. I draw the Ace of Swords. This is a card of pure intellect and great mental clarity. Whether those powers are to be put to good or ill is up to the one who holds the blade.

 

I hold the blade

to my forehead—

one side good

and one side ill.

 

I tap the blade

upon my brow.

I tap the blade

upon my brow.

I tap the blade

upon my brow—

Tags:
Posted in Blades, Tarot, Tarot Decks, Tarot of a Moon Garden | 3 Comments »
Friday, March 16th, 2012

Four of Wands & Two of Cups — Napo Tarot

My younger sister was willing to pick a card, although she was not willing to ask a question. She likes this deck. I asked her what the picture made her think of. She said, “Not a thing.” I think it’s great that she specifically does like the colors and shapes of the deck but attaches no meaning to the image because it is too abstract. I have trouble liking something that I find too abstract to attach meaning to.

 

Interpretation: “Completion of work. Activity at a standstill, work unresolved. Union of equal forces.”

 

I need to make a story for everything. Sometimes, the story is particularly boring. These people are cheerleaders, shaking their pom-poms of fruit and leaves because they are happy to be done with what they set out to do.

 

I need a clarifying question, as it is obvious to me that neither my sister nor I are accomplishing what we mean to be doing. “What is the purpose of procrastination?” I ask, and draw the Two of Cups, reversed.

 

Interpretation: “Love, affection, relationship, courtship, friendship, marriage, pleasure, joy.”

 

Procrastination happens when we do not love what we are supposed do and therefore we put off the task at hand by doing something we love to do more.

 

•   •   •

 

I somewhat do not like this deck, perhaps because the Little White Book totally sucks. The introduction starts out, “Argentina is a country brimming with esoteric possibilities. Our aboriginal mythology, rich and profound, always skirts around mystery, destiny and hope.”

[…and finishes…]

“Bringing this deck of cards to the public is the satisfying result of a search for inner symbols. The Tarot cards came out of my imagination, and the drawings by Napo came as a result of the knowledge of the cycles of life. We thus immerse myth in history and find the same meanings, the same question, as in the Tarot of the Middle Ages.”

 

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the book about what the esoteric possibilities of Argentina are, little mention of mythology or explanation of the symbols she used, no talk of what came out of her imagination, no mention about how she and Napo worked together, nothing. Mystery becomes uninteresting when there are zero clues. I’m glad she found her inner symbols. I am sure others of her culture understand the symbols of this deck better than I do. But because she does not help me relate, her symbols do nothing for me. Either that or I’m just grumpy because I’m really sleepy.

Tags:
Posted in Cups, Lovers, Napo Tarot, Sticks, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Ace of Coins — Dragon Tarot

Peter PracownikArtist: Peter Pracownik
Designer: Terry Donaldson

 

“Tell me something about work,” I said, and drew the Ace of Coins.

 

“Work,” replied the Ace, “will entail many things you have never done before. Do not limit yourself to the work of mothering, although that is important. Be sure to notice opportunities that come along. Do not be too content and too lazy to take them. Although it may be frightening and difficult to get over the initial inertia, the work of putting yourself out there will be much more rewarding than the comfort of remaining safe.”

 

Positive Meanings:

 

The Ace of Coins is a positive, prosperous-feeling card that heralds a feeling of being blessed with abundance in all areas of life, in both giving and receiving. On one hand, it may point toward a new business venture or investment; on the other, it could point toward a more holistic, earthy sort of wealth.

 

The Ace of Coins is representative of new beginnings, fresh energy, and inspiration. If one realizes available opportunities, the Ace of Coins is the beginning of a plan that leads to the manifestation of goals which may eventually generate income.

 

Negative Meanings:

 

The Ace of Coins reversed is not a good financial opportunity. There is a significant risk of failure due to lack of planning and foresight. One must be very careful about what can and cannot be afforded. Numerous impediments delay the achievement of (possibly unrealistic) goals. Do not rush into business blindly.

 

Ace of Coins reversed may point toward corruption, greed and theft. Others may be exploited in a blind quest for personal betterment. Financial accumulation and wealth becomes obsessive at the expense of other areas of life.

Tags:
Posted in Coins, Dragon Tarot, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Three of Swords — Fantasy Showcase Tarot

Jim OdbertArtist: Jim Odbert

 

From the LWB*:

Meaning: Sorrow; strife in love.

Reversed: Disarray in love affairs; caution against loss.

 

Again, the same card two days in a row. I said, “Tell me something about printing my tarot deck.” I am really looking for advice. I got a few estimates. I have to decide how many decks I want to print, what size the deck should be, how to package it, and (especially) how much money I want to spend up front. I’m beginning to settle on a limited edition of 500 signed and numbered copies. I would kinda like to package them in a folio-type cover, tied closed by ribbon, designed & stamped. It would take a while to make those folio covers, tho. The printing company I’m thinking of going with doesn’t seem to make card boxes, but they have a reputation for very good card quality and they do small runs. I’m horrible at marketing.

 

So anyhow, I drew the Three of Swords reversed which, according to this little white book, can mean “caution against loss.” I can’t think of what that might refer to other than loss of money. I’m really pretty paranoid about losing money in this endeavor. I’ve already spent so much time drawing the pictures. I mean, I guess it just might not get as spectacular reception as I’ve hoped. That would feel like a loss. Or sorrow. What about sorrow is not loss or loss is not sorrow? I do hope for a lot in terms of what others think of my work, but there are so many people and so many opinions. Like color? Not this deck! “Traditional” tarot symbolism? Not much here! Conformity? Forget it! But if you want some new ideas, a new way of looking at things, I have a story to tell in rich black and voluptuous curves and eventually, some day, words.

 

Anyone out there who wants to tell me what they really like in a deck and how it is packaged is more than welcome to (please) let me know!

 

*Little White Book of Possibly Arbitrary Meanings

 

Tags:
Posted in Blades, Fantasy Showcase Tarot, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

Three of Guns — PoMo Tarot

Brian WilliamsArtist & Author: Brian Williams

 

My younger sister is visiting. Not wanting to wake her with my early-morning kitchen antics, I put the sprouted rye berries in the pot with the 10-hour home-cooked all organic beef broth and did NOT set the timer, despite the fact that I forget everything except my bladder if I do not set a timer for it these days. “I won’t forget this time,” I said to myself. I sat down at the computer and forgot immediately. Soon enough, the smoke alarm went off. It is a bit louder than the kitchen timer, to say the least, and now the house is full of smoke. The worst part is that I ruined the most delightful broth on the planet! Oh! Such love went into that broth—

 

Will I be doomed to setting timers for everything for the rest of my life? I drew a card from my “new” Brian Williams PoMo Tarot Deck for my forgetfulness. Three of Guns.

 

From the book:

MEANING:
Threat, scare, alarm, disquiet. To catch a wolf by the ears, an eel by the tail. To suffer indignities, to eat crow, avaler des coulevres, to swallow adders. Ir por lana y volver trasquilado, to go for wool and return shorn, spare the rod spoil the child. Qui amie bien châtie bien, who loves well chastises well.

REVERSED:
Conditioned aversion; once burned, twice shy; and repression, forgetting all about that hot stove. Dare in guardia la lattuga ai paperi, to trust the lettuce to the geese, raccomandare il lardo alla gatta, the lard to the cat.

 

The deck tells me: “It is better to wake your sister than to burn the house down out of politeness.” There is nothing wrong with setting timers for everything the rest of my life— as long as I remember to set the timer.

 

I love Brian Williams, may he rest in peace.

Tags:
Posted in Blades, PoMo Tarot, Tarot, Tarot Decks | No Comments »
Monday, March 12th, 2012

The Tower — Tarot of the Absurd

Jessica Rose ShanahanArtist: Jessica Rose Shanahan

 

TOWER OF BA’BEL
Entropy: this, too, shall crumble.

 

More words on the subject, from Genesis:
11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and few words.

 

Some called it the First Golden Age of Communication. Others called it Grunt-Grunt language.

 

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

 

Or, perhaps they said, “Grunt, grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt, grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt, grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt, grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt grunt.”

 

And with plenty grunting, much hard work commenced. They started building a tower with bricks of baked clay and mortar of bitumen-tar. Thus began Man’s first attempt at global unity. The tower would be visible from far and wide. Lest Man become scattered, there would always be a beacon to call home.
But the Lord got wind of this. He came down to see the city and the tower.

 

11:6-7 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

 

Yes, God saw that when all Men work as one, there is nothing We cannot do. Was God intimidated by such a show of humane cooperation? He gathered His cronies and set out to cause confusion in order to limit Man’s powers. This was called “The Divine Department of Misinformation.”

 

11:8-9 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Ba’bel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

 

One way of viewing this is: Because God interrupted Man’s initial goal of unity with such forceful intent, world peace can never be attained.

 

Another way of viewing this is: Any power that attempts global domination and dominion is due to be remembered in history books for two things: (1) its construction and (2) its collapse.

 

The city’s name, by the way, was NOT Balal, meaning “to confuse,” but Bab-El, meaning “gate of God.” A third way of viewing this is: The gate of God crumbled, thereby proving that there is no great God, for any great God would have shown support for such greatness on the part of Man.

 

Possibilities will be argued until judgment day without resolve. But let it be known that no ill-will on the part of humanity is mentioned in the Bible. Sometimes, even the best intentions are doomed to failure.

 

But, O! Do not let memory of Bab-El preclude commencement of the plan. Work together. Communicate. Perhaps God wants us to show our dedication to Him through our actions and cooperations with one another.

 

God well noted, “this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” God did not say, “If they are successful at building the tower, it proves that nothing is impossible for them.” No. He placed no such limitations of Man’s ability. He confused the language so that we may not understand one another’s speech. This makes things quite difficult, yes. Persevere. If you are to believe in God, remember what God said first: “…nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”

 

If you do not believe in God, remember the laws of entropy. The universe is a box of marbles. By nature, life forms organized patterns. By nature, structure crumbles.

Tags:
Posted in Major Arcana, Tarot, Tarot of the Absurd, Tower | No Comments »