30 Days of Tarot — Day 4: How long have you been reading the Tarot?
Not as long as most people assume. I’ve noticed that folks on the Internet assume that to speak with the confidence I have, I must be, like, totally ancient and a matriarch of some powerful secret coven, or some fad-chasing teenager that has yet to escape high school and just downloaded a Fluff’s Guide To The Tarot list of meanings.
The Universal Waite is Mary Hanson-Roberts’ recolored rendition of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Nearly identical lining is softened by gentle coloring. Some faces have been reworked to be more pleasing to the eye.
A young man stands on small rise of land. He appears to have been turning sharply to look behind him, which is the viewer’s left. He holds a two-handed sword before his torso which is still facing the viewer’s right. Bound hair reveals a sharp face. His right foot is tipped to follow the turning motion. Behind him, puffy clouds dominate the sky and give the impression of a passing distant storm. Birds fly high above him. Far in the distance, trees appear dominated by wind. Continue reading Page of Swords→
30 Days of Tarot — Day 3: Do you have more than one deck that you use, and, if so, do you have a favorite? If not, why do you like the deck you have chosen?
I currently have six unique tarot decks and my favorite depends on what the question is at the time. But to answer everyone’s favorite “stuck on a desert island” question, it would be the Universal Waite. Continue reading 30 Days of Tarot: Day Three→
Atanassov’s The Bosch Tarot supplies the cards for today’s “What Does The Deck Say”. The images are collages from various works of the painter Hieronymus Bosch. Bosch’s works are visually stunning for his approach to displaying the embodiment of moral and religious principles. The Bosch Tarot keeps the visual tour-de-force that is sometimes “not safe for work”. The LWB for the Bosch deck contains meanings that differ from Waite and Crowley, leading to some amusement when comparing interpretations.
The interior of a solemn room. Three swords hang in decoration on the wall, point down. The fourth appears engraved lengthwise on the side of what could be a casket. Lying supine on the casket is an armored figure. His hands are held above his chest with the palms pressed together. The scene is somber as the stained glass window shows a saint receiving a kneeling penitent. Continue reading 4 of Swords→
30 Days of Tarot — Day 2: What was your first deck and why/how did you get it?
My first tarot deck is the US Games’ Universal Waite. It uses the line work of the Rider-Waite-Smith but the coloring is by Mary Hanson-Roberts, the designer of the Hanson-Roberts tarot. It is a deck I still have and has become the primary deck in my small stable. Continue reading 30 Days of Tarot: Day Two→
What Does The Deck Say was a daily feature at the Tumblog: Three More Cards. A fun little exercise, I will be restarting the series here. Each day will have a random pull of three cards from one of my cartomancy decks for public perusal. The goal is not to set the tone of the day, nor attempt any serious prognostication, but to have a context-free, fortune-cookie style, newspaper quality phrase of the day that we can all enjoy. Continue reading What Does The Deck Say? May 16 2014→
A lone man stands as if on a high place, looking down. His hair and beard are visible, appearing gray as if from age or experiences. Robed and hooded in an enveloping nondescript cloak, he stands towards the viewer’s left. He holds a staff as if to steady himself, and a lit lantern is raised to his face as if he was searching, or signalling, for something or someone. In the distance of the scene are what appears to be mountain tops. The vantage point implies the figure is standing in a high and lonely place. Continue reading The Hermit→
30 Days of Tarot — Day 1: What introduced you to/got you involved in Tarot?
It all started with a dream. A daydream with the potential to be much more distracting than it already was suddenly offered me a choice. Continue to idle pleasures, or see what’s behind a rose covered door.