Hey hey hey

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

Our last draw of the week from Morgan's Tarot, US Games 1970. 'What's Happening?'

This phrase reminds me of the TV show I used to watch when I was a kid, called 'What's Happening?' It was a sitcom centred around a group of young African Americans and their silly misadventures. Each of the characters had a catchphrase. The kid called Dwayne always used to say, 'Hey HEY hey!' every time he entered a scene. And now I can't get the theme tune out of my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpBhrjfetkk

If anyone reading this is American, did you watch that show? :D

Okay, back to the card. What have we here? A circle, a triangle, a square. 'What's happening?' Well. A stable base, then a precarious balance. Helpful as always, the LWB says, 'Who knows what the figures on the card mean? Or this is an innocent question as to why you are allowing this nonsense to occur.'

Actually, that is kind of helpful. Whatever the shapes on the card might mean (and I doubt very seriously it's earth, fire and water), the message is pretty straightforward. Look around and make a wide-awake assessment of your current situation. If there's something there you don't like, what will you do next? Maybe a bubble of yours is about to burst. Maybe a temporary stability is about to topple. Or maybe right now everything is in balance. But until you open your eyes and look at it, how will you know? When you're sleepwalking, all three situations look the same. A circle, a triangle, a square.

The Faerie Tarot: New Deck Exercise

I don't like new deck interview spreads. I find them contrived and silly. But I do like a technique I found on Aeclectic Tarot called 'Balancing the Moment.'  You go through a new deck and identify your most favourite and least favourite cards, and read the shadow meaning for your most favourite, and the upright meaning for your least favourite.

I thought I'd try this technique out on my new Faerie Tarot by Natalie Hertz, US Games 2007. The kit consists of box with slip sleeve in which nestles a tuck box containing the deck and a Little White Book. A fold out spread poster of the ubiquitous Celtic Cross is included. To be quite frank, I'd have been happier with just the tuck box. In my opinion, there is too much packaging in tarot decks. It's a waste of resources, a waste of storage space, and makes the deck more expensive than it might otherwise have been. Does anyone use those spread posters they include in these sets? Or those dreadful organza bags? I don't know.

Om mani padme hum

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

O, thou jewel in the lotus, hail.

Today's card from Morgan's Tarot (US Games 1970, 1983, 2009) features a lotus. The title of the card is 'Right'. But inside the illustration of the card is 'Whatever's'. So the card moves from possibly being a statement of the 'Right' thing, the 'Right' way, to 'Everything is right. Anything is right. Whatever is right.'

Whatever happens, it's the right thing to happen. Whatever we do, it's the right thing to do. It sounds like a load of old cobblers, doesn't it? How can 'whatever' be right? What if something bad happens? Is that right? What if we make a choice that has unpleasant consequences? How then could that choice have been right?

It's right, not because it's good, but because it is real. 'Whatever' is happening in this moment IS what is happening. (Maybe that's why we call it 'right now'.)

This moment, regardless of how we got here or how we feel about the situation, is our reality. If we do not accept it as 'right', we waste the moment by being in denial about it. Any changes we could have made will be lost. The first step to changing a situation, is accepting that it is actually happening. This is a truly tough lesson. Sometimes we think we have accepted something, but we're really in complete inner turmoil, anger, grief, or denial about it. We may look placid and accepting on the outside, but inside we are at war. We don't realise the war is a battle of one, and there will only be one casualty.

The lotus is a symbol of peace. Make peace with right now. Whatever's right.

Sorry, what were we just talking about?

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

Okay, I have to admit something. I've nearly overrun the bathtub twice in the last 6 months. The first time it was right up to the edge. Second time, it was about 1/3 full, which is 2 or 3 times deeper than I usually run it. *sigh*

I've also developed a new method of cooking. Put the food in a tin, preheat the oven. Wander off. Go back to the kitchen in a half hour to see how it's going and find the food still sitting on the stovetop. Swear and put food in the oven.

Alternate method: put food in oven and go back in an hour to find it blackened and smoking.

Advanced method: Take food out at perfect time and have meal as normal. Return to kitchen at bedtime to check on things and find the oven is still on.

Optional bonus: decide it's a good idea to swap two items from one rack to the other. Take the first item out, put it on stovetop. Use the oven glove to pick up the second item, stand up and try to pick up the first item with your bare hand. Yes I did this last week. I then spent the remainder of the evening sitting with my hand in a bowl of ice water, which prevented it from actually developing a blister. I let go of that pan REALLY quick, but still. What the heck is this all about? At the rate I'm going, I won't be able to take care of myself by the time I'm 55, let alone 85. I've heard that absent-mindedness is a symptom of peri-menopause, so I'm hoping that's all it is. My GP doesn't seem too concerned. But then, he doesn't seem too concerned about much. Still, how excited can you get about a forgetful middle-aged woman when you've got 5,000 people in your practice, and 30 of them are in your waiting room right now.

A Wisdom Reading: What is happiness?

PCS Commemorative, 2009

What is happiness? 6 of Pentacles

Were you expecting The World? Something really BIG at least. Such a big question. WHAT IS HAPPINESS??  And then what turns up--a mundane pentacles card. A card about charity. Oh, wait. 'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' (That was old St Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:13).  The word 'charity' here means love, the sort of love that reaches out rather than turning in. It is conventional wisdom, 'better it is to give than to receive'. We hear it, but do we do it?

Giving--though depicted here as of a very material nature--need not be about money or material wealth. Many things are more precious to us than material things. What about our attention? What about our time? How would it make someone feel if when he stands before us he becomes, in that moment, the most important person to us in the world? And perhaps more significantly, how would it make us feel to treat them that way? The next time someone talks to you, stop what you are doing, turn to face them, look them directly in the eye and think only about what they are saying. Then think beyond what they are saying (because you might not actually like what they are saying), and go to the common humanity between the two of you. Your eye contact becomes your namaste to the universe. Make them the most important person in the world for that moment. I know people who have this skill. I wish to develop it. I admire those people who seem to come by it naturally. I feel that it is one of the true keys to personal happiness, though it does not seem to be our primal, instinctive response. It is, as Abraham Lincoln called it, one of the 'better angels of our nature', and requires conscious development before it becomes a habit.

On reflection, maybe it is our primal, instinctive response. I was just thinking of the way a baby pays attention to someone. Complete honed-in eye contact and full attention. Have you ever locked eye with an infant? There's some serious connecting going on there!

Why rush? There's a bigger picture, you know

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

'Slow down, you move too fast
You've got to make the moment last
Just kickin down the cobblestones
Lookin for fun and feelin groovy

La dadada da da da, feelin groovy

Hello lampost, whatcha knowin?
I've come to watch your flowers growin.
Ain't you got no rhymes for me?
Dootin dootoo, feelin groovy

La dadada da da, feelin groovy

Got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you

All is groovy'

Spinning around

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

What would you do if you found yourself encircled by pigs and fish like the poor guy in this card? I'd say putting my hands on top of my head in confusion and distress would be a natural place to start.

Although the LWB says that this card 'is said to mean inner truth', the figure in the card doesn't seem to be finding inner truth there. He seems to be in some sort of turmoil or quandary. The LWB also offers this cryptic gem: 'Pigs and fishes represent those aspects most difficult to influence in the polychromatic bubble of dualism.'

Okay, so dualism is the idea that, for a particular domain, there are two fundamental kinds or categories of things or principles. If we think about pigs and fishes, it would seem to be a mind-body dualism. The pigs most likely representing the earthly, physical realm of the appetites, and fish, being creatures associated with water, would represent emotions and so on. This seems to me to be reinforced by the one pig having a six-pointed star on its side--one triangle pointing up ('as above'), one triangle pointing down ('so below').

I believe this card is continuing on from yesterday's draw, which referred to the 'war between Atlantis and Mu', which I interpreted similarly as material, earthly concerns in conflict with more spiritual matters. Fortunately, today they seem to be aligning themselves better--they're balanced in number and alternating neatly. Three of each is a good sign, three being such a powerful number.

OR maybe it just means I'm going to be surrounded by confusing bullshit today.

Have you ever been Biff Tannened?

Morgan's Tarot, US Games

Okay, today's 3-card draw from Morgan's Tarot (US Games 1970, 1983, 2009) is nothing short of slap upside the head. It has the usual cheeky attitude seen in all the cards in the Morgan's Tarot oracle deck. I haven't sat for meditation --formal, sitting meditation complete with candles and timer and all my usual rituals-- since 9th November. I haven't been paying much attention to anything, to be honest. I've worked out only three times this month. Yet I've stopped at the shops on the way home from work for chocolate...well, let's just say rather more frequently. 

Peaceful easy feeling

Morgan's Tarot, US Games 2009 (1970)

My first draw of the week from Morgan's Tarot (US Games, 1970, 1983, 2009) is perfectly apt for today. I have to be honest with you, I drew this card, put it back in the deck thinking it might not be that exciting to look at and hoping for one with more detail for you. I sat and looked through the deck for a while and then shuffled again. This time I fanned the cards instead of cutting. And I drew The Valley again. So, it's definitely the card of the day.

Valleys are so attractive to us. They make good settlements because there is usually a river, the ground is fertile, and the surrounding hills provide natural shelter from wind and elements. The tops of the hills provide good lookout points for those tasked with protecting the people settled below. But also, they are a supremely feminine aspect of earth's topography. They are both the cleft between the breasts and that created by the vulva (if that's not too graphic for a Saturday morning). A valley also could be seen as like the cupped hands of the Lord, a place to shelter, a place of safety and security. A place where you feel protected enough to be able to really let down your guard and just relax.

10,000 Words in a Cardboard Box

...or...I am the eggman, they are the eggmen. I am the walrus.

Goo goo g'joob.

Yes, this week we're going back to the psychedelic 60s, as we explore the trippy hippy truths of the Morgan's Tarot by Morgan Robbins, 1970. Actually not a tarot at all but an oracle, the deck consists of 88 black and white line drawings inspired by counterculture philosophy, New Age and certain strains of Tibetan Buddhism. Created by Morgan Robbins, illustrations by Darshan Chorpash. My deck is the 3rd edition, printed in 2009. (I'd love to have one from 1970, obviously. I'm sure it would be curled at the edges, worn soft as silk, and smelling of patchouli!)

Lenormand Quick Draw

Postmark Lenormand, Melissa Hill

Today's draw from the Postmark Lenormand showed 'a message about money and work'. I then opened my email to find an email from a customer about payment through Paypal. So that was 100% accurate!

I wonder if this reading will continue through the day or if that was it.

The saddest cow in the history of cows

Book of Shadows, LoS 2012 

Wouldn't you know I would draw this card on the last day of our week with Book of Shadows Vol 1 by Barbara Moore. It's got to be my least favourite card and 'almost' a deal breaker for me.

The Earth suit of this deck is meant to embody the magic and wonders of the earthly realm, and the 9 of Earth is supposed to represent land animals. I cannot for the life of me figure out why 1) the deck creator chose domesticated animals to represent all land animals, 2) only cows and sheep stand in for domesticated animals, 3) the whole card is dominated by one huge cow, 4) this  cow has such a weird expression on her face; and 5) what the heck those gnomes are doing. But then to be honest, I don't even want to figure it out. I am so put off by this card that I don't even care what it means.

 But for the sake of continuity, let's have a go. Okay, 9 of Earth is the 9 of Pentacles. The 9 of Pentacles is a card that represents security on the physical, material level. The LWB says, 'The wisest thing to do is nothing but savour the moment and all its sensual pleasures.' Right, let me get this straight. A cow with a completely gormless expression on its face, standing in an empty field chewing its cud, watched at close range by a gaggle of crouching gnomes, is supposed to make me think of 'the moment and all its sensual pleasures.' Sorry. So not working for me. If I turned this card over, my first thought would be, 'Oy, wake up! Stop standing there in a stupor like some stupid cow!'

However, the savouring of sensual pleasures I am happy to indulge in. It's Friday, and tomorrow is my actual Saturday off! (I only get two a month). So bring on the choccies and the movies, time to settle in with the Hubby for some quality cuddles.

Have a great weekend, everyone. :D

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side...

Lenormand Oracle Cards, LoScarabeo

A 5-card draw for today. This combination of cards suggests that stability in my community comes from positive attitude to change. Wow, that sounds like a phrase from a CV. In other words, it appears to be telling me, for a stable, happy experience at work today, have a positive attitude toward change coming from on high. Not easy, but I suppose it makes for a smoother day and a happier life in general both for me and those around me.

The cards play off each other. For me, Anchor stands for stability, Garden for community, groups, the public, etc. The Tower is always authorities, bosses, institutions. Rarely, it can mean isolation. The Stork represents change, new beginnings. Its associations with birth seem pretty obvious.  Then of course the Sun is all about positivity, good vibes, good outcomes, a sunny disposition, a positive spin, and all that sort of thing. Strung together, they give me the message for what will be most useful for me today. There's no use complaining of the changes on the way, so I might as well look for the positive.

Okay. 'My hands are small, I know, but they're my own', as Jewel has been warbling to me this morning. Let's go forth into the world and be sunny.

Dreams and hands

Book of Shadows, LoS 2012 

The Book of Shadows Tarot Vol 1, Barbara Moore, gives me Ace of Air today. It's timely I should draw this card today, as my mind has been in complete overdrive for the last few days. I'm completely stressed out and the overthinking isn't helping me at all.

The card here, Ace of Air, shows a sylph orchestrating dreams for the sleeping figure. These dreams might be happy ones, or they might be nightmares. The card is ambiguous. Is he dreaming of his bright future--a lovely house, a new car, a fulfilling career--or is he having nightmares about his mortgage, car payments, and failing investment portfolio? Could be either, depends on the surrounding cards, the querent, and the question. The expressions on the faces of the sylph and the sleeper are giving nothing away.

Because this card speaks so deeply to me of my current state of mind, I thought I'd draw two more cards: Do this. Don't do this. These are 'solution' cards to the current rather intolerable situation I find in my mind. What should I do and what should I not do to ease my mind about this situation, and about my general unsettled feelings and disturbed sleep of late?

The Goddess Suit

Book of Shadows, LoS 2012

We have a goddess on our card of the day from Book of Shadows Tarot Vol 1.

Sarasvati is the Hindu goddess of the arts: music, writing, painting, sculpture performing arts such as dance, drama and so on. She is called the Goddess of the Word and the Goddess of Learning and is identified with culture, language, speech, communication, creativity, intellect, and inspiration. As Six of Water, she is depicted here surrounded by six undines, water elementals that serve in this deck as pips. The Water suit in Book of Shadows Vol 1 is the goddess suit, each card featuring a goddess, an aspect of divine feminine.

Where the Sea Kisses the Sky

Book of Shadows, LoS 2012

What a lovely card this is, the 2 of Earth from the Book of Shadows Tarot Vol 1 (Moore, LoScarabeo 2012).

The Earth suit in this deck corresponds with the Pentacles/Coins suit of a regular tarot, but there the resemblance more or less ends. The Earth suit is concerned with 'the magic of the natural world and our planet', according to the LWB. The 2 of Earth shows a pair of gnomes paddling around in the shallow rock pools near on the coast. The rocks around are dotted with starfish and other shelled creatures, and a blue hermit crab scuttles into the foreground. The lovely mottled lavenders and pinks of the setting sun reflect in the sea and the water.  The card shows a remarkable harmony between earth and water, sea and sky, landscape and living creatures. The LWB simply calls this card 'The Beach.'

Hubby and I love our yearly coastal walking holidays, and this card is very evocative to me of the beautiful scenery we have enjoyed on those visits to the coast. I like the holiday feel of the gnomes wading, exploring and just dipping their feet in the water. That's what we earth-dwelling folk do when we get to the sea. We dip our toes in, dig around, wonder at the strange critters we encounter, climb and clamber and gape at the vastness of the sea, the majesty of the sky, the antiquity of the (seemingly) everlasting rock. A visit to the beach can be a very spiritual experience.

Meditation

Book of Shadows, LS 2012

Today we have another Air card from the Book of Shadows Tarot Vol 1, Barbara Moore, LoScarabeo 2012. This is the 8 of Air, or 8 of Swords in a regular tarot deck. I think it's important to say that I see no resemblance between these cards and traditional tarot at all. It's my opinion that by rights, this deck ought to be classed as an oracle deck.

It today's card, we see a female figure meditating, her chakras alight. She sits in lotus pose, and in fact is sitting in a giant, 8-petaled  lotus blossom. Sylphs are holding up some of the petals. It appears to me that the sylphs are actually opening up the lotus blossom rather than enclosing the female figure. As she meditates, she becomes more and more open to the universe. She floats in space, surrounded by darkness and stars, with the moon, symbol of the unconscious, emerging from behind a cloud above her in the background.

Maybe God is Tryin' to Tell You Something

Book of Shadows, LS 2012

Today's card from the Book of Shadows Tarot: As Above, Barbara Moore (LoScarabeo 2012) is 4 of Air. In this deck, the Swords suit has its name changed to Air, and instead of swords, we see air elementals, or sylphs, used as pips. The Sword suit is usually associated with the element of Air, and with logic, thought, rationality, communication through the spoken word, the voice, and a sense of justice, fairness and right. In the Book of Shadows Tarot, the suit of Air is devoted to the practice of divination. Each pip card depicts a method of divination, 'the art or practice that seeks to discover hidden knowledge, usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers'. Some people shorten this definition to 'communication with the gods/universe'. Or even just 'God', if you like.

The 4 of Air in Book of Shadows Vol 1 depicts divination through noticing Omens, or signs. Wiccans and other pagans (and in fact many, many traditions both religious and cultural) find significance in omens. The 4 of Air card shows a man walking down an urban street at night, an eclipse of sorts in the sky above (itself often considered to be an omen), his way lit by a streetlamp (the streetlamp is a motif seen several times in this deck, actually). He has a scarf around his neck against the cold. Ahead of him, four sylphs are busy placing 'omens' for him to notice: a coin on the ground, a black cat, a crow and a four-leaf clover. These are all very well-known signs or omens, meant to represent all such omens, both those made famous through folklore and tradition, and those that perhaps only an individual attuned to such things would notice or find meaning in. The suggestion here is that such things are deliberately placed in our path in order to communicate with us. It is down to us to learn to take note of them.

Book of Shadows Vol 1, All Week

For the next 7 days, I will be drawing from the new LoScarabeo deck by Barbara Moore, Book of Shadows Vol. 1: As Above. I bought this as a deck-only, before I realized it was available as a box set with companion book. The book covers the two decks that the set will comprise: 'As Above (Vol. 1)' and 'So Below (Vol. 2)'. I've seen images of the 'So Below' deck, and I'm not sure I want it, anyway, so it works out that I didn't buy the set.

Another reason it's good that I didn't end up with the set is that I'm forced to do my own thinking about each of these cards. 'Each card is a portal that enables us to enter vast realms of knowledge and experience through meditation and study,' writes deck creator Barbara Moore, in the Little White Book. To me, this means I am meant to find my own way through this deck, just as a practitioner of Wicca or other pagan traditions would create their own 'Book of Shadows'. I have been looking through this deck quite a bit lately, but I haven't yet tried to use it for actual readings. So this week will be a good experiment.

Book of Shadows, Vo1 1
Barbara Moore 2012

Today's card is XVII Imbolc, or The Star. We see a female figure at winter sunrise, in a snowy setting. In the background there appear to be standing stones and some sort of large animal. To me it reminds me of a polar bear, but it is probably a ewe, this card being 'Imbolc'.  The red-haired maiden is crowned with 7 lit candles, robed in a white fur robe. (Too bad it isn't 8, which would better reflect the RWS version of the card). She has a fiery cauldron to her right out of which she dips liquid. She pours liquid from another vessel into a pool with her left hand. Her left foot is in the pool, her right knee on land. (This is the opposite to the hands and knees in the RWS Star card). Peeping out from behind her robe is the ubiquitous fluffy bunny that is included in virtually every card of this deck, whereas in the RWS card there is a bird in a tree.  Curiously, there does not appear to be a star in the sky in this 'Star' card.

Silicon Faeries 5

Faeries' Oracle 2000, Silicon Dawn 2011

Today's our last day of looking at Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle (2000) alongside the Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash (2011). We see The Guardian at the Gate alongside the Ace of Cups.

You can see at once how they echo one another visually. Same shapes, lots of blue. Both have a flowy, watery feel. Both of the cards have to do with the free flow of emotion.

Silicon Faeries 4

Silicon Dawn 2011, Faeries' Oracle 2000

Today we've got 7 of Swords from Silicon Dawn and Epona's Wild Daughter from Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle.

Silicon Faeries 3

Silicon Dawn 2011, Faeries' Oracle 2000

Today's cards are pretty powerful. We have 0 of Void from Silicon Dawn Tarot, and Honesty from Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle.

Tarot Wisdom: A Fool Reading for the New Moon

Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck, 1993

Tonight is the new moon, and it seemed like a nice time to try out Rachel Pollacks Fool Reading from her lovely book,  Tarot Wisdom (page 25).

Pollack explains that the Fool represents nothingness, complete freedom, the realisation that we are beyond all boundaries imposed by our various concepts of ourselves. Or rather, simply being beyond all boundaries, without knowing it. And 'Foolish behaviour' is  when we act as if there were no boundaries, unfettered by possibility or consequence.

I will reveal only as much of my reading here as I feel comfortable with. I'm sure you'll understand.

Silicon Faeries 2

Froud Faeries' Oracle 2000, Urnash Silicon Dawn 2011

Tuesday's forecast: If you're expected to do the impossible, you better dig deep and find your inner Captain Kirk!

Silicon Faeries 1

I've decided to draw one card from Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash (2011) and one card from Faeries' Oracle by Brian Froud (2000) Monday-Friday this week. Originally I was going to alternate them. I sat and drew a card for Mon-Fri in the Faeries' Oracle, had a study of them, then drew Mon-Fri in the Silicon Dawn and looked them over. My intention was to select which card would be used for each day. Mon - Wed - Fri Faeries, Tue - Thu Silicon, I wondered? But then I noticed that the cards worked together really, really well for each day, so I'm just going to show you all of them.

Monday 12th Nov - 5 of Wands + Ffaff the Ffooter
When worries about the material start to oppress, ground yourself and get back in the moment!

Silicon Dawn Tetractys Spread --

This is the tetractys spread; there are variations, but this is my version. The bottom row, which I arrange Earth, Water, Fire and Air (because I like them in that order), represents the physical/ material, the emotions/relationships, drive/passion, and logic/intellect/spirituality. Row 2 is based on Hindu concepts of God; Destroyer is aspects of your life that should be left behind, Sustainer is those aspects that keep balance and should not change, Creator is those aspects that may or should be made, new stuff. Can also be read as Past, Present, Future. Row 3 is Yin, the weaker, passive aspect of you, and Yang, your dominant, strong aspect. And the top card is the Premise, the card that ties it all together. I lay the cards out and read them from the bottom up, left to right.

My Silicon Dawn

Silicon Dawn, LoSarabeo 2011

The above photo is what you face when you open the box for Silicon Dawn. At the top of the photo, there is the box itself (with ribbon, space to store the rather thick deck in two halves, a magnetic flip-top lid). To the left of the box you see the companion book. In a large arc beneath the box are the 78 tarot cards. Then in a small arc next to them, the 'extra' cards that I've decided to include in my permutation of the deck (8 extras). To the right of the box are the remaining 'extra' cards -- 11 of them. There was also a title card in there somewhere, but I always take those out and use them as bookmarks, so it's probably stuck in a book somewhere.

Turn and face the strange

(Come on all you rock and rollers)

I've decided to alternate between Silicon Dawn Tarot and Faeries' Oracle. Well, shifting gears a lot is supposed to keep the brain young, right? (Right?)

Silicon Dawn, Egypt Urnash, LoScarabeo 2010

The first draw of the week comes from Silicon Dawn, by Egypt Urnash.  I asked what I needed to know about my seeking help with an issue I've been dealing with (the details of which are unnecessary to go into here). I drew 2 of Swords, 3 of Wands and The Hermit.

What deck would you like to see next week?

Trying to choose and thought I'd ask. What would you like to see next week from this list?

Faeries' Oracle by Brian Froud

Wicca Moon by Shirlee @ Wicca Moon

Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash

Crystal Tarot by Elisabetta Trevisan

Gimli? Is that you?

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, 2012

Our week with The Camelot Oracle ends today, with Bercilak, the Green Knight. I read 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' in Middle English back when I was in university, but alas, my Middle English ain't what it used to be, so I was glad to find a lovely Modern English translation online here:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 

translated by WA Neilson

I hope you do click through on the link and read the full story. As you read, imagine yourself in a medieval hall in candlelight, and read it slowly, hearing the clear, loud voice of an eloquent and expressive storyteller reciting it in measured cadences, and be sure to include the appreciative noises made by the audience around you.

Converted box for Heart of Faerie Oracle

Here is my box conversion of the Heart of Faeries. (Complete with camera strap hanging down in the shot, oops!)

I simply cut the back panel off the slip case and then folded the ends over the flaps and taped them. You can see a bit of clear tape at the bottom (by the word 'Oracle') but overall I like it. The cards seem happy there, too. Which could be a different story altogether once I start working with them. But they certainly were not satisfied with being trapped in a slip case. Too claustrophobic! No quick exits!

Forgive him if he doesn't shake hands

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, Connections 2012

Does this guy look like the sort of man who's in charge of the servants or what? From his squinty eyes to his scraggly mullet to his hand on hip posture, this man somehow has middle manager written all over him.

Sir Kay is Arthur's 'seneschal'-- a fancy word meaning he's in charge of the king's domestic arrangements and overseer of the servants. His character is well-suited to the role, as he is known to be boorish, mocking and cruel, all traits stereotypical of the job. Kay is rude and insulting to nearly everyone. For all that, he is a brave and fearsome knight in battle, and for this he is admired and honoured at the Round Table.

The Camelot Oracle companion book suggests that Kay has particular knowledge of court that only a domestic servant might be privy to, the dark secrets of the lords and ladies at court. When you're in charge of the washing and the cleaning, you can't help but see the dirt, I suppose. And it's this exposure to the seamy underside that lends Kay his cynicism and disinclination to hold back on his observations of the failing of others. Having seen it all, he has expected no better of anyone. Not even the Queen. You can't fool Sir Kay, so you might as well not even put on a pretense for him. Doing so is only going to make you a target of his vicious tongue.

What can he offer? Street smarts. He can anticipate the worst possible behaviour in a person, so his is a good energy to turn to in business negotiations. He is also useful for arbitrations between factions, because he won't be fooled into taking sides with either of them. He can also form a more complete, realistic picture of situations because he must both micromanage (being in charge of even the chambermaids) as well as understand and move within the more rarified spheres of courtliness and statesmanship. Not to mention military strategy.

So even if at first he seems like a cynical arse, he's actually quite skilled and a nice string to your bow.

Meeting the Faeries

Froud Faeries' Oracle in its new bag with the Faerie Notebook

My new Faeries' Oracle (Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth, 2000) is out of the box for good. Funnily, it just didn't want to be in there. It seems very happy in the simple cotton print bag that actually came with my Wicca Moon Tarot, but that alas my Wicca Moon cards won't even fit into properly. The Faeries' Oracle fits perfectly, and as Jessica Macbeth instructed me to do in the companion book (she's bossy, but I like it!), I found a small notebook lying around and ripped out the first few used pages (it had a brief life as a 'food journal in October 2011--the faeries laughed at that as I pulled those pages out), numbered the remaining pages 0-65, and now have my new complete set. I may just chuck the box. (And this after I spent some time the other day converting it from a slip box, which I really dislike, to a lidded box. It's a simple matter of cutting out the back panel and artfully using clear tape to reconstruct the sleeve into a lid that fits over the insert that the cards fit into).

This is the first time I've made up (or channeled ??) my own meanings for cards, without reading the companion book. It is an interesting process. I am now on card number 25. Forty-one more to go! (I am leaving 'Fairy Guide' for last). After I write my first thoughts, I then take a peek at the guidebook and add anything from it that strikes me as being either similar to my own thoughts, or something I didn't think of that resonates. At the moment I am leaving out anything in the guidebook that doesn't 'sound right'.

The Piper, from Faeries' Oracle, Froud 2000

Above is a sample of my notes. I have front and back of one sheet per card, plus a few sheets at the back where I can make further notes or maybe some card spreads. This is a fun little project.

Over at the Lancelot place (There's a light)

The Camelot Oracle (Matthews & Worthington, 2012) companion book calls The Hero's Path 'the most direct path to your goal.' Maybe this is why the symbol of the Hero's Path is a heart pierced by a sword. The straightest route can be the one that requires the most sacrifice, sometimes. It is often not the easiest way. Sometimes the straightest way to your goal is completely off a path, leaving you to cut your way through the wilderness on your own.

Still, eventually you come out onto the road seen in this card, that leads up to Lancelot's castle, Joyous Gard. Encyclopedia Mythica says this of the castle:

The castle of Lancelot, formerly called Dolorous Gard because of a sinister enchantment, is acquired when he captures it and breaks the spell. When he explores the castle, he comes upon a tomb with his own name upon it,and he knows that it is destined to be his home and eventual resting place. The name is changed to Joyous Gard after Arthur and Guinevere visit there as guests. When Guinevere is brought to Carlisle for execution, she is rescued by Lancelot and taken by him to his castle. However, the tragic strife that ensues causes it to revert to its former name, Dolorous Gard. After Lancelot's death, his body is taken there for burial. 

Because this castle has been a place of both joy and sorrow, it has become a place of balance, where both sides of an issue can be considered, and 'deep life enhancing choices' can be made (Matthews p. 86).

Knowing the history of the castle, the symbol of the heart pierced by the sword takes on more resonance. The joys and sorrows of Lancelot's doomed love for Guinevere and the bitter end that meets their affair are represented here. Still, it was a path taken without regrets. One can't help but think, given the choice, they'd have done the same thing again. The Hero's Path is not an easy one, but at least at the end of it, you know you've lived, you've tasted both the bitter and the sweet.

Perhaps the Hero's Path I'm on today involves diving straight into the Faeries' Oracle. And also some meditation/pathworking I've made a recent commitment to. Certainly the faeries would help balance out the rather serious energies I'm working with in meditation.

First draw from the Faeries' Oracle

The Faeries' Oracle by Brian Froud, book by Jessica Macbeth. Simon & Schuster, 2000.

This deck arrived yesterday and I had to start looking at it. Jessica Macbeth's very engaging book told me to go through the deck and pick the card I find most appealing, the one that makes me most uncomfortable, and then to turn them face down and pick up the one that 'calls' me. Then I was to answer a series of questions about them. I was cautioned NOT to go to the back of the book and look up the meanings, so I haven't.

Into the mystic

The Camelot Oracle, Jonathan Matthews and Will Worthington, 2012

There are several characters in Arthurian legends known as 'Lady of the Lake'. It is nigh impossible to untangle these stories and give a clear identity to these various characters. The Lady of the Lake, as depicted in this card, is the one who gives Arthur his sword, Excalibur. Other Ladies of the Lake (or possibly the same one going by different names?) serve as foster mother to Lancelot, heal Lancelot of his madness when the fellowship of the Round Table breaks up, enchant and imprison Merlin, and take Arthur away to Avalon to heal him after the Battle of Camlan. There are many names given to these figures: Argante, Vivianne, Nimue, Niniane, even Morgan le Fay, all of them called 'Lady of the Lake.' You can get bogged down trying to sort out the details so just know this:

The Fisher King

Matthews & Worthington, 2012

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, Connections, 2012

There are so many versions of Pelles in various Arthurian source texts that it can all get rather confusing. The main thing to know about him is that in all versions, he is wounded and completely helpless, waiting for someone to come to his aid and alleviate his suffering. He is a king, and as a king he is tied to his land, so that when he physically suffers, his land also falls into ruin and decay. In the versions where he is known as The Fisher King, he is so-called because his injuries make him unable to do much beyond  spending his time fishing near his castle, Carbonek. It's a fitting occupation for him. Fishing requires patience and in a way is a rather helpless pastime--one is dependent on the right fish coming along, just as Pelles is dependent on the right man coming along to help him. In his case, the 'fish' he needs to catch is the man who can achieve the Holy Grail, and use the Lance of Longinus to heal him.

In this card from John Matthews' Camelot Oracle (illustrations by Will Worthington), Pelles sits in a coracle, a small, lightweight boat of a type traditionally used in Wales and parts of western England (but now seldom seen except in tourist areas). The boat is known to be unstable because of its tendency to sit on the water rather than in it, thus making it tend to be carried easily off by currents and winds. So that even the Fisher King's means of transport renders him in some ways helpless, and certainly vulnerable.

Reading live: The Camelot Oracle

Matthews & Worthington, 2012

This draw is about my life as a card reader, particularly in reading for others in live venues. My reading service here caters to readings by email, which is actually a great way to receive a reading, because it allows the person receiving the reading to have it in writing to keep always, so that they can go back and examine it in detail and think about it very carefully, and look at it even years later. Live readings also have their advantages, and I feel led to consider doing more of those.

Path card: The Honoured Path
The Honoured Path is for those who have achieved the Grail, and leads to the Place where only they can go, the earthly home of the Grail, Sarras. This path is for people who 'have striven throughout their lives, doing their best to help others and to share their view of the world with everyone they meet' (Camelot Oracle, Matthews, p. 84).

Deck Review: The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington

John Matthews & Will Worthington, Connections 2012

Camelot Oracle by Matthews & Worthington, 2012

What's included
The deck comes in a sturdy box featuring a large portrait of Arthur on the cover. Inside the box,  you will find a 128-page companion book, a large paper layout sheet referred to as the 'Lands Adventurous', and a deck of 40 cards: 32 Arthurian characters called 'Archetypes' and 8 Path cards.

The cards

The cards are a reasonable size, measuring 7 x 12 cm. They have narrow white borders. The cards feel like cards, not plastic. If there is lamination, it is extremely light. (Certainly you should think twice before getting them near liquids or reading while eating crisps! -- not that you would!)  The texture is very pleasant. The cards are thick enough to feel substantial but still thin enough to easily riffle shuffle, if that's something you like (which I do!). The colours are rich, and more reminiscent of the artwork in Worthington's Druidcraft and Plant and Animal Oracles than his more recent Wildwood Tarot. I am a tremendous fan of Worthington's art; I bought this deck because he painted it, so I am biased toward him. But I find these cards extremely beautiful.

Posh Pumpkin

West, US Games 2008

Friday with the Halloween Tarot by Kipling West

I'm so glad to see this card today. It's one of my favourites, as it is about abundance, security and  contentment. It looks to me like Our Lady of the Nine Pumpkins bought out Mr Turnip Head from yesterday's  Four of Pumpkins, chopped down that silly little tree that was blocking the view of her stately home, and is now reveling in her rich harvest of...Pumpkins. Well, this is Halloween Land, where they set great store by such things.

She is very much like the lady from the RWS 9 of Pentacles. She's got 9 pumpkins in her patch. Her robes are a striking combination of orange (of course) and that colour of royalty and riches, purple. I like her 30s-style bobbed hair and hat, and the red gloves and feather. Her kestrel is an owl. I notice some autumn leaves nestled among the pumpkins. And of course that black cat is there, as always!

I fervently hope that this card indicates a DELIVERY will arrive for me today, my long-awaited John Matthews & Will Worthington Camelot Tarot. Fingers crossed!

Does he look like a miser to you?

West, US Games 2008

The Four of Pumpkins -- ie, 4 of Coins -- in the Halloween Tarot by Kipling West doesn't look anything at all to me like the typical miserly character we see in the RWS deck.

At first glance you think, hey, what a nice guy!  Even if he is a marrow with a turnip head and peapds for arms and legs. He's sowing seeds, he's providing for others. But then when you look closer you see...the garden is walled. It's protected by spikes. The tree marking out the garden wall is posted with a big sign. It might as well say, 'Keep out!' and all the rows of the garden have the same sign. Now, this could be marking out the community pumpkin patch. But somehow I think it marks out HIS pumpkin patch.

In fact, maybe he's made of vegetables because he's so fully identified with his vegetable treasure that he sees it as his only substance.

But that's a little deep for a card featuring a turnip wearing a crown.

Today's 1st November, and thus it is Samhain (which starts at sunset on 31st October and ends at either sunset or midnight 1st November, depending on your tradition). It can be considered the first day of winter, a bad day to be planting, I hate to break it to Turnip Head. But that's what you get when you're so totally selfish. A lot of barriers and defenses, a lot of planning and scheming and worrying, and you come out with very little in the end.