Scanner Woes

Ugh so my scanner has decided to stop working and this is distressing for me except that I sagely scanned all of the Deviant Moon deck, so I guess I shall be working with that one exculsively for a bit on the blog. Well, that is one way to force PDR posts!

Daily Draw - Eight of Swords

The Eight of Swords is generally one of my favorite cards in a deck. As much as no one wants to be "that girl", I can relate to her in large part. She is bound, and waiting for someone to save her, when she should be saving herself.

I got this this card in a personal reading I did last night, and I knew instantly what it meant there. The ties that bind people together cannot necessarily be easily broken, even when it hurts to be bound that way, even when it would be best to just move on.

Daily Draw - Ace of Cups

After yesterday's throw down with the love cards, I should not be surprised to see the Ace of Cups as my daily draw card today.

This Ace can represent a good opportunity to express love to another person, and being a mom is full of those opportunities as well.

The lion grasps a golden cup, and is turned grasped by a hand with an unseen body. A snow covered city is in the background.

I am always happy to see Aces with their blossom of energy, and I could certainly use an infusion of love, intuitiveness, and overflowing Spirit.





This card is from Tarot of Prague by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov for Magic Realist Press.

PDR - Soul Card

Tonight, I attended my first Tarot Geeks Meet Up, which was terribly fun. We did the exercises from Tarot For Yourself by Mary K. Greer to figure out personal cards. To figure out the Soul Card, you simply add the days of your birth date together, then reduce them by re adding them until the number is between one and nine. Mine becomes seven, which, as we all know, corresponds to The Chariot.

Some time ago, when I first worked through Tarot For Yourself, I had a very detailed meditation and conversation with the Charioteer in the RWS deck. He told me things like how he could teach me both how to control myself, and how to relinquish control when necessary, because they are two sides of the same coin. It was all very exciting and new for me, and that experience remains a favorite memory because I did not know before then that I had that power. It was heady!

This Chariot is a little difference. He has no steeds to control, no unruly vehicle to force down the path of his choosing. This Chariot is literally his own master, and has to control himself to get to where he wants and needs to go. His confidence and motivation are the driving and determining factors about where he will end up. Not surprisingly, my confidence and determination, and the mastery of the separate parts of myself, are the keys to my success, and I know that. The Chariot is such an interesting card, because it is so often shown as being at rest, but the card should really be all about motion, moving forward, careening even, through time and space, on a collision course with destiny.

"Victory through mastery" is an oft repeated affirmation for this card, and that makes perfect sense to me.





This card is from the Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza for US Games.

Deck Review - Rumi Tarot

This week I have used the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson. I adore Persian poetry, I adore the artwork of Nigel Jackson, and I adore tarot, so it should follow that that I would love this deck.

There are many things to love about this deck, in fact. The colors are sumptuous, and the artist reportedly worked at scale. That is, the original paintings for the cards, done in tempera, are the same size as the cards themselves. This fact only becomes more amazing when you consider the Minors, done in miniature portrait style. I thought the small size of the Minors was going to be a bother, but upon working with them, I have not found that to be the case at all. The Minors are fully illustrated, rather than just being decorated pips, but do know the illustrations are miniscule in relation to the size of the card.

The good- the cardstock is thin and flexible, and lightly laminated, with gorgeous colors and stunning artwork. The backs are equally attractive, in my opinion, and it was obviously a labor of love to sift through the prolific works of Rumi to come up with appropriate matches to tarot symbolism. The gentle words of the poet sometimes hit home rather hard, and sometimes that is just what the doctor ordered. The accompanying Guide to the Rumi Tarot is very good for what it is, and I am so glad it was included. Most of the messages are very upbeat and positive, although there are some that just put it out there, too, which is good. I like to have a balance in my decks, because life is like that, the salty and the sweety combine to make the most flavorful palette.

The bad- Llewellyn packaging is redundant. Black organza bag, useless cardboard inner box. As much as I love Rumi, I do not care for keywords on my tarot cards, and I feel like the poetry on each card is akin to keywords, telling one how to interpret the card. I am having a great deal of trouble reconciling some of the court cards, in particular, to their poetry snippet. In addition, the gold borders on my cards are showing quite a bit of wear for only being used for a week, and I do not riffle shuffle.

I will definitely be holding onto this deck, but I do not see it becoming a main reading deck for me. I think it is beautiful, and I am likely to continue drawing single cards from it, but I am having a difficult time putting the poetry and images into a coherant reading format when an actual spread is used. This is user error, I am sure. *grin*






These images are from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Knight of Cups

Today, I drew the Knight of Cups, and as is my wont when drawing court cards, usually, I also drew a clarifier, the Two of Cups.

Whoa, baby!

I see the Knight as the most intense expression of a suit, in this case, probably about love, as it is the Knight of Cups, which is reinforced with the Two of Cups drawn when I asked for more information.

Why is it we can sometimes be so scared to possibly get that which we most desire?

The twin dragons in the Two of Cups bring to mind my favorite series of books, A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin. There are dragons in the books, and these two could certainly represent fire and ice, the duality of the twos, the harmonic convergence of two seeming opposites, which brought to mind a poem by Robert Frost -

Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Update: As I was shuffling randomly, for no good reason, but only because I like to have something to do with my hands, I was thinking about what these two cards could mean today, when I got a clear and most distinct jumper (a card that JUMPS out of the deck, begging to be read) - The Lovers. I am so perplexed...

Update #2: Well, I did not meet the love of my life today, at least I don't think I did, but a very attractive man with skin like mahogany said, "hey sexy" to me on the street as I walked to the Tarot Geeks Meet Up. I did not stop to talk to him, but I am not yet enlightened enough to not take some small, secret pleasure in that.

These cards are from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Temperance

I am not the most temperate person I know, so I am actually surprised this card does not pop up more often for me, as advice, as what I need more of in my life. Sometimes, though, Temperance is about the blending of opposites, as well as the quality of moderation. So, what opposites do I need to blend?

I am enamored of the angel's beautiful, colorful wings. I think the colors in this deck are surpassingly lovely, all around.





This card is from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Wheel of Fortune

Usually, when I draw this card in the morning, it is an indication of a good, prosperous day at work. I'll take it!

The sentiment expressed in the snippet of poetry is a powerful one - become your own fortune.

The larger context of the poem is thus:

When, O spiritual one, you have become your own fortune, then being yourself your fortune you will never lose it. How, O fortunate one, can you ever lose yourself when your real self is your treasure and your kingdom?

Value of self is a difficult concept for me, but I am not doing myself any favors by not taking care of myself.

Update- It was a great night at work, indeed quite profitable and I was pleased!

This card is from the Rumi tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.