I've decided to make this personal blog into a Tarot Blog. I wish I could think of a more magickal sounding name for it. Maybe eventually I will. "Tarot Blog" is just so plain and ugly, and I hate the word "blog" with rhymes with "flog"....
Anyway - the reason behind it? I've been in a renaissance with Tarot lately. Long story, which started with receiving Book of Shadows Tarot from a dear friend as a Yule gift in 2013. While it was good to have cards that were Wiccan-themed, many of these cards seemed to have no connection to traditional Tarot images and symbols, which was a challenge. Still, I loved working with it over the past year and half or so. It expanded my horizons with regard to how the basic form of tarot can be used and forced me to consider a broader possible interpretation of the cards in general. Before that, I'd been in a quiet phase of tarot, having lost my entire collection of at least 20 tarot decks in a fire a few years ago. Shortly after that, I received a new Sacred Rose deck from a thoughtful soul-friend, and those cards are still my all-time favorite. I purchased a few of the newer decks, but wasn't quite ready to pursue a regular tarot practice for awhile. I was in a quiet phase with everything, as I rebuilt my life and slowly found my way back home.
What I'd been doing over this past year and a half with the Book of Shadows tarot was simply drawing 3 cards on each New Moon. Then I would check in on the following Full Moon and make notes on how this was working, or not. As the moons passed, I noticed that the 3 cards seemed to coincide with the ongoing lunar phases. The first card, which I was originally reading as "The Past", was a good indicator for the first part of the waxing phase. When I checked in mid-cycle, on New Moon, the middle card, which I'd been reading as "Present" was beginning to manifest effects. The third card, "Future", was an accurate picture of what was going on by the time I did my final look at these three cards on the next New Moon, prior to pulling out the next set of 3. And so on and so forth.
I should explain my methods of tarot reading here before going on to what came next. I am a minimalist as far as card readings are concerned. The fewer cards, the better, and I don't do reversed interpretations at all. If a card turns up reversed, I simply turn it right-side-up, with the philosophy that the tarot is a completely positive divination tool and doesn't intend any of its messages to be reversed. If a card or cards betokens some warning, it should be obvious from the picture presented by the reading as a whole. Besides, reading with no need to reverse a card's meaning makes it easier for me. At one point in my 50 years of off and on tarot studies, I went through the inevitable stage of believing that the more cards you use in a reading, the more accurate it can be. I did readings with entire decks, using every card, major and minor arcana, and all sorts of complicated Life Readings and Soul Readings and other mumbo jumbo. What a mess. Not only was it exhausting and took hours to do, but it was usually a very ambiguous reading in the end with so many possibilities (all the cards!) thrown out for perusal. Finally I gave up on the huge tarot readings and used less and less cards until now I am down to just 3 at a time, which gives me a very clear picture at this point in my tarot journey.
About 2 months ago I started reading posts online about Pamela Colman Smith, the artist of the Rider-Waite tarot deck. Right away, I felt a strong kinship with this woman known as "Pixie", as I learned more and more about her life and her art. I ordered a copy of the book "Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot" by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin as soon as it was published. Then another close friend gifted me with the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set for my birthday, to top it all off! It's a beautifully boxed set that includes the Smith-Waite Centennial Edition deck, a copy of Waite's "Pictorial Tarot" which was originally written to accompany the first publication of the deck, another book "The Artwork and Times of Pamela Colman Smith" by Stuart Kaplan, some postcards and prints of Smith's non-tarot artwork, a photo of herself, and a little folder of layouts for the cards. I've read some reviews of this boxed set that complain about the way the Centennial Edition deck has been printed, presumably with a rather faded effect to make it look old and a bit fuzzy. I have no problem with this, in fact I love it. It gives a feeling of time-travel through the cards, which I thoroughly enjoy.
So I'm off on a new track of my lifetime travels with the tarot. As custom recommends, I've been sleeping with my new Smith-Waite tarot deck under my pillow. It's a new look at an old deck, one that is a classic and has accompanied me off and on throughout my tarot adventures. With the next new moon, I will start using it as my regular deck. Until then, I will draw one card a day. This will help me bond with the deck.
This blog entry sets the stage for future entries to come. If you liked reading this, stay tuned for more. I welcome comments and discussion too.
Try "Laying My Cards On The Table"
ReplyDelete