January 06 - 12, 2018 ~ The Whispering Tarot

The Whispering Tarot
Elizabeth Hazel
Playing Cards R Us / 2008
EMH © www.kozmic-kitchen.com

I revisited The Whispering Tarot by Liz Hazel.  It was a great find and it is still a great deck.  The original blog post is here, if you'd like more detail. 

I have been sick all week, and I think that the deck reflected that quite well.  Rather than answer any of my requests for deep thoughts, it threw back my physical condition as well as the irrational bit of fear mongered up by the fear-mongering news regarding the flu.  I do not have the flu, but it was always a worry.  My favorite set of cards basically told me I was drowning in snot, over-reacting, and to take cold medications.  Seemed to help.

I am not sure if this deck is still available, but if you do happen to come upon one, buy it. 

January 01 - 07, 2018 ~ Cat's Eye Tarot

Cat's Eye Tarot

Debra M. Givin, DVM

U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 2011

Originally, I used this deck for the week of August 25 - 31, 2012.  I did not post that to the blog, but I did have the original notes in my spreadsheet.

Off to a bit of a rough start, but I think that as I got used to working with the cards again, things settled down.  The cards are absolutely lovely and really do mirror cat behaviour.  

I did use the deck this week and while I was off to a rough start (again!), it was due to not using tarot cards for several years!  But this is a simple deck with well chosen images.  For the most part, the symbolic imagery was apparent.  Two cards that I really enjoyed were the Three of Wands and the Fool.  In the Three of Wands, I really got that feeling of starting out with confidence and innocence (or naivete).  The journey was there and it was a big undertaking.  The ginger cats brought the "fire" to the wands as well!

The Fool really had that feeling of teetering on the brink! That kitty is looking towards an immediate "want" without regard to the bigger picture.  There is a great big world out there and it might be a real leap of faith to reach it.  Or - it might just be a lucky mistake.

The card stock is typical of mass produced decks:  sturdy and coated.  Given the number of wrinkled and stained non-coated tarot decks I own, this is not necessarily a bad thing!  Cards are too big for my hands (as usual), but I have small hands.

Deck Available at: U.S. Games Systems, Inc
Card images are © Copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Rediscovering My Inner Squirrel

It has been a long couple of years.  Many changes.  Not important now, but what is important is that I am coming into this new year (2018) with a real desire to jump back into the tarot world.  I was so burned out and had withdrawn in so many different ways.

AEON ~ Thoth Tarot

To start out this new year, I drew a single card to kind of give me something to think about.  And what a card!  Of course, being who I am I figured I would just start right back after, what? four years, with the Thoth.  Not a problem at all, right? Should be easy!  But after the first couple of days, I realized that this was not a good idea.  It was overwhelming.  That little voice said, "NO! just quit.  It is too hard, too much, you'll fail!" but the louder voice said, "Just grab a different deck and ease into it.  No problem!"  This is one of those changes that I was speaking to.  That new and louder voice that says things like, "Go ahead! Try it!" and "Nothing wrong with starting small!"  and "Failure only happens when you don't try."  So, I switched to the first deck I saw that didn't give me the heeby-jeebies.  The Cat's Eye Tarot.  That tarot hasn't even been reviewed on this blog!  So that is good.  It will help me get back into the practice and we will see what comes in the future.

On January 1st, I drew my first card of the year.  The first card of my ridiculously ambitious (and over-achiever) plan of a deep and intellectual Thoth study.  The Lovers.  I just looked at that card and had feelings of dread.  Then, I decided that since I am here, I might as well as make a go of it.  The next day, I thought, why don't I do a three-card draw?  Like I was doing 6, 7 years ago when I was really deep into the tarot world?  Sure, let's dig that failure hole even larger!  Woohoo!!  So, I drew the cards.  And made that decision to find a different deck lest I just chuck all decks into the bin and call it a day!

As I did before, I will likely post a summary / review at the end of the week.  It will take some practice and I might change up everything, but for now, that is what I plan to do!  I have to reinstate the other pages of the blog (2011, 2012, and a list of my collection) so that I can keep track of the ones I have already used.

But first, some housekeeping.  In the process of transferring this blog from a defunct account, the images migrated but not the links! I will endeavour to fix those a little at a time.  <---- See!! Progress.  Before, I would sit up all night and make it all perfect.  Now, I will deal with it in chunks and no reason to overwhelm myself in the process!

Welcome to 2018 and Welcome Back, Squirrel!

Easing into Moving Forward

It has been years(!) since I have updated this blog.   I have deleted the original account, but did transfer the blog to my new account.  It is a serious bummer as I have had that gmail account since the 90s.  :(

Sadly, the photos of the decks are gone.  I will see what I can do to rebuild them, but until then, you are stuck with a boring blog with no images.

I am trying to move forward in my life.  I have become mired in situations and have lost track of who I am and what I mean.

Six of Cups
Mythic Tarot

As I ease myself back into the groove, I returned to my old favorite Mythic Tarot.  I bought this deck in the early 1990s at a shop called the Open Door in Spokane, WA.  I had recently separated from a very nasty boyfriend and was living in fear for my life.

When I look at this card, I see regret.  And it is true, I have been mourning a number of things that I have lost over the years.   However, one thing I do notice is that the cups aren't tipped over.  The contents are spilled.  They may be refilled.  There is always hope and there is always the chance that the empty cup can be filled with something new and different.  Life changes, people move on, people move in, attitudes shift.  But it is never the end of all.  It is just an opportunity to take a moment of reflection before starting over again.

More White Cats....

So, continuing on with yesterday's reading, I am trying to figure out this whole career thing.  I like what I do, but I think I can do better or different.  Maybe I am ready to make the big plunge.  Maybe not.  Anyway, 3 more cards...

The Knight of Cups tells me that perhaps this Air of Water would be a good place to start.  Have Air, can think.  Have Water, can care.  Bring that to Earth and you gotta pretty well rounded package.  Except Fire, though.  Something to think about, maybe.  And then sitting in the middle is a rather fat King of Wands.  I was a bit surprised that he is so fat.  Nothing wrong with being fat.  But it just struck me as odd that the Fire of Fire would be fat and lethargic.  And hmmm.....well, maybe that is the message.   Maybe this is what too much Fire can do.  Make a person greedy and wanting to consume everything around them - all the money, all the power, all the everything.  So, here we have the missing Air and Water in the Knight, but a surplus of Fire shown in the King.  These are things the Lovely Queen of Disks was missing - but the warning is clear.

What warning?  Why that little 2 of Disks!  He looks right out and says to beware going too far in any one direction.  I do think he is supporting Air and Water - seriously, look at all the Air and Water in that card!

November 17 - 23, 2012 ~ Tarot of the The White Cats

I have had this deck for some time.  I think it was the 'mini' part that made me interested.  That and the cat theme.  However, it is so very RWS and I am not enamoured of it at all.  I have tried to read with it and the cards are so small that I can't see them at all.  I have put this deck off for all this time, but now that I am down to the last few decks in the collection, I have to deal with it. 

A quick 3-card reading this evening netted:

Queen of Pentacles ~ Ace of Chalices ~ 2 of Pentacles

I used no spread, no positional meanings, and had no focus.  But the first thing is Career - TADA - Career.

That is what it looks like to me, anyway.  I am striving to be the QofP at my job. I want to be calm and confident.  I want to nurture as well as educate.  And yet, that isn't happening.  Or more realistically, it is tending to go all QofP to the extreme.  TOO nurturing.  I get mired down and can't answer questions without sounding stupid.  I end up doubting myself and my future.  But then again, this is what I want to do.  And that means something.  And given that, the Ace of Cups is telling me that there is a starting point, even for things that bring joy.  One doesn't just start out all perfect and ready to go! No, there is a bit of a maturation time.  So what's the trick?? The trick is in the 2 of P.  Finding that balance, being comfortable, and making the little changes that can allow for maturation into something more meaningful. The Q of P can happen - but it needs to find some balance with some other "stuff."  Air and Water would be good to add.  Get the emotions under control and focused and also allow the mind to be sharp.



I still wish I could see the cards! LOL

Tarot of Prague - Revisited - Again

November 3 - 16, 2012
Tarot of Prague, 2nd Edition
MRP

I have  eight decks left that need to be go through the "Deck of the Week" process, but they just don't enthuse me.  Sad, huh?

So I reached for the Tarot of Prague.   This is a true "comfort" deck.  I am constantly amazed at how easy it is to read.  Seriously, it shouldn't be.  It is a bunch of pictures of architecture and statuary from a city in Europe where I have never been.  And yet, it is always so clear in its messages.

Like all of my MRP decks, this one is read with a decidedly Golden Dawn / Thoth flavor.  I think this is one of the selling features of their decks for me - I am not forced into a RWS mind set.  One of the projects I have in mind is to go through the Bohemian Gothic (1st) as a study of finding the Thothiness within it.  I find it all the time, but I wanted to do a real study.  With notes.  And possibly pictures and diagrams.

I do need to overcome my current sloth though.

But until then, I will shuffle that dreamy feeling Tarot of Prague and dream about a city in Europe where I have never been.

October 28 - November 3, 2012 ~ Wormweird Tarot

Wormweird Tarot
George Higham
EOS, 2007

Well, this deck is so unique that I can't really do it justice.  I suggest you visit the website and click "START."  Take the tour and enjoy.

It is a fascinating deck and what is amazing about it is that each image is a real set up - it was set up, photographed and destroyed.  I think that is what gives it its charm.  Well, "charm" may not be the right term here?

One thing about the deck is that it is in the tradition where Swords are represented by fire and Wands by air.  It is a bit different at first, but like the other decks I have that are this way, it just takes a moment and then it makes perfect sense.  When I go back to a "normal" deck, it no longer makes sense.  That, in itself, makes no sense.  But there it is!

If you get an opportunity to get this deck, do.  It is deliciously dark and creepy, but reads quite well.  The only problem with it is that the cards are incredibly sturdy and large.  Of course, on the other hand, this is good because the deck is not easy to get, one doesn't have to worry about it disintegrating.  

October 20 - 27, 2012 Medival Cat Tarot

Medieval Cat Tarot
Laurence Teng, Gina Pace
US Games, 2004

I purchased this deck from a member at the Aeclectic Tarot Forum (link at the bottom of every page),  in 2005.  This was the first time I have used it.  Precisely the reason for having a "Deck of the Week" exercise!

For the most part, I enjoyed working with this deck this week.  However, as the week went on, I got the feeling that this deck would never be on my list of favorites.  It is nice for the occasional reading, but not for all the time.  The images are so tiny - the decorative border and backgrounds gets almost too distracting from the rest of the card.  The little image in the center of the card tended to be cute and the cats have great expression.  But they are just so tiny!

The card stock is typical for the time and publisher.  Heavily laminated, reeking of chemicals, and slick.  Plus the cards stick together.   The near monotone of the colors gets a bit much after awhile.  A little white space would be nice.

But overall, the artwork is well done, the kitties are cute and full of expression, and I like the tarot de Marseille representation with the little graphic in the middle. 

Tower Moments and Good Advice

 
Today's continuation started with Tower in the Situation place.  What? "Destruction of old values?"  Really?!  You think? After the conflagration of the Ace of Wands and the Knight of Swords I suppose it would make sense.  But the advice of the day before holds true - bring a little compassion. 


In the Outcome place the 7 of Wands warns about becoming too "fiery" during this time of change.  The Outcome calls for opposition, but with courage rather than aggression.

Advice:  Death.  Seriously.  Best advice for a Tower Situation. Ever.

On a side note, just look at that Death card.  It is one of my favorites.  The butterflies signify inevitable change - no matter what the caterpillar wants, it will change.  Deal with it.