I asked my cards two questions the other day. ‘What is Tarot good for?’ and ‘What is Tarot not good for?’
For the first question, what Tarot is good for, I got the 3 of Disks.
Hmmm … I would have thought it would be something more dramatic – like the Fool, the World, or maybe the Magician, or High Priestess. I didn’t really expect this rather humble card about developing mastery.
But really, isn’t that what Tarot is best for, working on ourselves, trying to actively make our world a little bit better?
The 3 of Disks asks us to care about what we’re doing, on both a physical and spiritual level. It’s a card about step-by-step development, creativity, and the willingness to work hard to achieve something worthwhile.
What a beautiful way to see the cards, as a helper in our work.
Now for the second question, ‘what is Tarot not good for?’; the card I got was the 4 of Wands.
In the Rider Waite Smith deck, this is a card of celebration, which makes me think right away – Tarot’s not really a very good ‘party trick.’
But for this question, the idea in the Thoth version of the 4 of Wands speaks even louder to me.
The key word on the card is ‘completion’, and that’s exactly what the Tarot is not good for – completing things.
It’s not trying to settle all our questions, or give us the final answers to anything. It’s just there to help us figure things out as we go.
Tarot is more like a friend to ask advice of, than a Guru with all the answers.
For people interested in learning to read both Tarot and Lenormand decks, Donnaleigh de LaRose has been putting together some great videos at her YouTube page.
In the one posted below, she compares Tarot and Lenormand by asking each deck to describe a story most of us know quite well – Little Red Riding Hood.
As you can see in the video, the Lenormand cards tell a more detailed story, while the Tarot provides a fabulous overview and motive for what’s going on.
Take a look! And if you want to learn more about reading the Lenormand, be sure to visit Tarot Tribe Beyond Worlds on YouTube.
Fox is trying to create a cohesive and readable deck filled with stunning artwork, and I think he’s succeeding.
The deck will include paintings by Franz Von Stuck, Gustav Klimt, John William Waterhouse, Edward Burne-Jones, and many more brilliant artists. The cards are absolutely gorgeous.
For fans of the Symbolist style and of the Tarot, this is the deck for you.
Late last month, the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter all got together in the sky for a little party. It was pretty spectacular if you were lucky enough to see it.
And though the Moon is out of the picture for a few days, Venus and Jupiter are moving even closer together.
Tomorrow and Tuesday night they’ll be within 3˚ of each other, close enough that if you put just two fingers up to the sky you could block them out of your sight. Not that you’d want to, they’re something to see.
Through the eyes of the Tarot this meeting would be like the Empress is taking a spin on the Wheel of Fortune. Or maybe she’s meeting Fortuna herself. Two lovely ladies shining above.
Creativity, compassion, new opportunities, and good luck – this could be a really nice couple of days. I hope it is for all.
If you get a chance, look up to see the goddesses for yourself. And if it’s cloudy don’t despair. Whether we see them or not, they’re sending down their magic and having a good time.
Last year, the Court of Appeal in Brisbane, Australia, upheld an appeal by a man jailed for allegedly committing arson.
A new trial will be set for him later this year, but reasons for the court’s decision were made public earlier this month.
Officially, the appeal was upheld because the accused had not been given the chance to present expert opinion on some vital evidence.
What’s more interesting though was a second grounds for appeal that was not considered by the court, though it would have been had the case not already been decided.
Apparently, one of the jurors was a psychic medium. She told the jury speaker, and then the judge, that though she was not trying to use her psychic powers to make judgment on the case, she had a strong sense of what really went down with the fire.
Though the defense requested that the entire jury be dismissed in case the psychic had influenced them beyond the evidence at hand, the judge decided to dismiss only the psychic herself.
I’m particular interested in this case because a number of years back, I was deemed ‘unacceptable’ as a jury member because I told the court I was a Tarot reader.
It was a bit insulting at the time, especially since it was the other jury members who rejected me, not the lawyers or the judge.
Ultimately though, it was probably a blessing in disguise. I didn’t really want to sit on a jury.
And truth be told, if they were worried I might pull cards on the case, they were probably right to be concerned. I’m sure I would have controlled myself from doing so, but it would have been very tempting.
I’ve posted before about some guys riding bicycles down a mountain and how they reminded me of the Fool card in the Tarot.
Well today I have another example, almost just like it, but not quite. In this one the lone rider is on a motorbike and the mountain is covered in snow.
He literally rides along the icy precipice as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Like the Fool from the card, he’s sure he’s going to be okay, even as he heads towards the edge of a cliff. His only concern is finding something new and being free.
Fortunately, the rider in the video is safe, and never takes the Fool’s leap.
And though I think he’s crazy, I have to admit, the view from the ledge is incredible.
On Saturday morning I discovered that The Tarot Room had suddenly disappeared. It wasn’t anywhere to be found no matter how many times I clicked on the link.
It was a Tower situation, or maybe the Wheel of Fortune going the wrong way (as demonstrated by my cat Carl). I was very concerned.
Was my blog gone forever, with all my Tarot musings? How about my email … did people know I was still here?
I wrote my web mistress to ask her what was up, only to discover that I wouldn’t have my site back till some time on Tuesday. At least she sounded sure.
And I guess she was right – because here it is. Posting will be back to normal tomorrow and I apologize for the disruption.
If you tried to contact me and your message bounced back – please try again. I’ll respond as soon as possible.
