6 of Wands - You again??

Morgan Greer Tarot 

Look who's back. 6 of Wands is stalking me, so I'm using Pearl Annie's stalker technique this morning.

I've shuffled 6 of Wands back into the deck and divided the pack into five piles: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Spirit. I found the 6 of Wands the 5th card down in the Earth pile. So the area of my life where the 6 of Wands has concern is Earth, the material, physical plane.

But what is his message in the material, physical plane? Could he be telling me there's nothing victorious about blogging at 5.30 AM on four hour's sleep and the best thing I could do is go back to bed? Maybe...

I'll ask him to write me a letter, which I learned at Over the Moon Oracle Cards:



Dear Seeker,

When I show up in your readings, I'm giving you a message about THIS (Card 1). I'm showing you THIS (Card 2) is what's happening and I want you to be/feel THIS (Card 3) about it. When I appear, I'm asking you to release THIS (Card 4) and embrace THIS (Card 5). When you see me, it's time to take THIS (Card 6) action.

Sincerely,

Tarot Card Stalker

Dear Carla

When I show up in your readings, I'm giving you a message about how your thought life traps you. I'm showing you that are focusing on the negative. You're so gloomy about stuff! I want you to be more grounded and optimistic -- explore aspects of your physical existence and world. Approach your life with the spirit of an explorer. Get back to basics. Make some new discovery. Make some mud pies, or whatever the grown up equivalent of that is. Whatever happened to those colouring books for grown-ups you bought?

When I appear, I'm asking you to release the need to be the one holding the reins and making things happen, and embrace taking a break from your whirling thoughts. Get some rest! When you see me, it's time to take quick action--move yourself from your thought life to quiet self-care, and don't waste any time about it! If you follow my advice, you'll feel more triumphant in your life. 

Sincerely

The 6 of Wands

So on that note, I'm going back to bed. 

See ya. 

Page of Cups - Unabashed delight

Morgan Greer Tarot 

This was my Card of the Day on 26th May, though it turns out I didn't blog that day. I do have a note of it in my new bullet journal ('bujo' for short).

Here are some previous blogs about him:

Page of Cups, 26 June 2015 

Lesbian Vampire Killer of 1871, 1 Oct 2014 

When Aniruddha met Usha, 8 July 2014 

Peace like a river, 14 June 2014 

What would Butters do?,  29 March 2014 

Wonder and delight, 17 Feb 2014 

Love bubbles -- have you sent any lately?,  7 June 2013

Looks like 2014 (pre-October) was a big year for Page of Cups. His happy naivete was shattered that month, and I disappeared from this blog for a time. He disappeared from my draws. Perhaps his reappearance heralds the return of delight in my daily life.

'This card typically expresses the theme of being enchanted by the mysteries of life, and we may see it as urging us to embrace that which is mysterious, unknown, or even unknowable,' writes James Ricklef in The Soul's Journey: Finding Spiritual Messages in the Tarot. I don't quite agree with that. I think the Page of Cups lacks depth where mysteries are concerned. What he has is the ability to greet each inexplicable thing with complete acceptance and delight. He doesn't bother with why or how -- how could a fish pop out of my cup? -- but just laughs with joy when it happens. Like a baby who is surprised and delighted during a game of peek-a-boo, or who thinks the sound of ripping paper is the most hilarious thing on earth.

He also represents innocent love, an openness to the joy of interaction. Again, we can learn from very young children who look at us with wide eyes and inspire us to making funny faces just to see their hearty laughter and unabashed delight.

We could use more of this.

Morgan Greer Judgment

Morgan Greer Tarot 

Awakenings. Rebirth. Realisations. Fresh starts. Renewal. Heeding a call.

The Judgment card from Morgan Greer Tarot intrigues me with its depiction of the nuclear family, facing us rather than away from us. The man and woman seem to have revisited us from Lovers and Devil, and the kid reminds me of the Sun card. They arise in shadow from a box which appears to be afloat on a yellow sea, and there's no angel in sight. Instead, the man appears to be holding a fiery trumpet in his upraised arms, or maybe it's descending from the cloud of fire in the yellow sky.

The woman has her arms across her chest. This is a traditional posture for being laid to rest, and the X has been associated in medieval and renaissance art with the coming of the Messiah. It is also a symbol of Osiris, an Egyptian god of regeneration or resurrection.

How are you feeling refreshed today? In what way is today a new start for you? If it isn't yet, how could it be? What are you awakening to today? In your life in general? What are you realising? What is calling you? Are you willing to heed that call?

2 of Wands -- Who knew he was about boundaries, too?

Morgan Greer Tarot 

I drew Chariot yesterday and found that there was a quite literal interpretation for it -- my train home was cancelled! So I had to walk to the bus station and pay AGAIN and take the bus, which took 45 minutes to cover the ground the train covers in 6 minutes, and cost me twice as much. There were only two people on that bus, me and one old man. I often forget to consider the most literal interpretations of the cards.

Today I've drawn 2 of Wands from Morgan Greer Tarot. It's an interesting one because there is a second person depicted in it. In the traditional RWS, the figure has one of his wands bolted to a wall so that he can hold the globe, but here there is clearly a second person, wearing ornate yellow gloves, accompanying the main figure. They do not appear to be atop a tower, nor is any water in sight. They seem to be moving through green hills, and the wands are like walking staffs. The main figure carries the rose and lily emblems on a shield, but they do not seem dressed like warriors. Maybe they are some sort of pilgrims. The figure has a feather in his cap, which is an English idiom for having earned some sort of success or achievement that may help you along in the future. His apparent wealth and his well-dressed companion could both be feathers in his cap. Maybe he owns that green land, and that could be a feather in his cap. And the glowing orb might represent the bright future that is also a feather in his cap.

I have to admit that both the 2 of Wands and the 3 of Wands are difficult for me to interpret on their own. It's important to have a context and surrounding cards in order to pick up on what it's getting at. Do you find that?

James Ricklef, in The Soul's Journey: Finding Spiritual Wisdom in Tarot, says that it represents domination over others, conflicts about personal power, and decisions about where we should direct our passion. I don't really see that in this card, as there seems to be a real spirit of cooperation here, and certainly no discernible signs of domination.

On the other hand, the Thoth tarot gives this card key word 'Dominion', a different kettle of fish entirely, in my mind. Dominion is your power or right in governing or controlling, and to govern is not necessarily to dominate by force. Ricklef points out, your dominion could be as vast as an army or as small as a schoolyard. I don't agree with him, however, that dominion is an illusion. Surely there are times when assessing those things over which we do exert some influence and control is a healthy and good thing to do. It is useful to assess where your sphere of influence lies. And sometimes it is good to survey your 'demesne,' as this chap appears to be doing. Maybe he is walking the borders of his patch, contemplating what is his. This is not a bad thing to do, as long as we realise that borders are abstractions and maintained only by agreement with one another. In that sense, perhaps it is illusion, but observing these sorts of illusions is what creates a civil world. Without them, there would be anarchy, queue jumping and all sorts of madness! :)

Today, may I take care to observe my own sphere of influence, and be careful not to overstep the boundaries laid out by decency and expectation, so that I may cooperate fully with those on this journey with me.

Divination 3 x 3 x 3

My friend Chloe at Inner Whispers has done a You Tube in which she shares her three favourite divinatory tools and invites us to do the same: tarot, oracle, Lenormand/other. After much deliberation, I have selected my 3 x 3 x 3. Here they are in random order:

Top Three Tarot Decks 

1986 Blue Box Thoth Tarot

My journey with the wonderful Thoth Tarot has been chronicled on this blog. If you look on the right side bar and click on 'One Deck Wonder: Thoth' you can read all about it.

I have three copies of this deck. My first copy was the small purple box Thoth, purchased for a workshop at a TABI Tarot Convention. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear the presenter (she wasn't on mike) and the people around me all had a negative reaction to the deck, which reinforced my perception of it as cold and unreadable.

When I at last decided to confront my fear and distaste for the deck, I made a commitment to using it exclusively for a time. I did all my blogging with it, my personal readings with it, and my client readings with it. I tried to ready Crowley's guidebook, The Book of Thoth, but found it impenetrable. I bought Tarot: Mirror of the Soul by Gerd Ziegler, but even with my limited knowledge, I knew his was an idiosyncratic and unhelpful take on the deck. Finally, I found Lon Milo DuQuette's book Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot and I was on my way.

If this were the only tarot deck in the world, it could easily keep you busy for a lifetime.

Yellow Box The Rider Tarot Deck 

Edward Arthur Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created what is now the classic tarot deck, and it is available in all sorts of colorations. There are clones (exact same images but with lines and coloring revised) and their are 'RWS-based' decks (too many to count! - Druidcraft, Anna K Tarot, Hudes, Aquarian, just so many). But when I have a tough question or am reading for a client and want to be able to answer clearly and confidently, the old standard yellow box Rider is just the ticket. Could not do without it.

Morgan Greer Tarot (US Games 1979)

This deck is special to me because it was the third deck I ever bought. It is a RWS-based deck, notable in its day for being borderless. It is the deck I turn to even before my yellow box Rider (or other RWS clones). It's not particularly beautiful, but I like it. The backs have no relation to the fronts in style or coloring and not reversible, but I like it. It's full of mustachioed men like something from 'The Joy of Sex', but I like it. It's a workhorse of a deck, shuffles like a dream, I've had it from the start and I like it.

(Honorable Mention: Druidcraft
I have Druidcraft and I used it a lot for years, but I hardly ever pick it now. I won't get rid of it though. However, I hardly ever use it so I can't really say it's a favourite.)

Top Three Oracles
I have to be honest and say most of my oracles were bought either to use as altar decorations or just totally on a whim. I do occasionally use a few of them for divination and here they are:

Morgan's Tarot (Morgan Robbins)
Read my introduction to this fabulous oracle here: 10,000 Words in a Cardboard Box. And it gives wonderful readings such as this: Have you ever been Biff Tannened?

I love this deck. Here are a few of my favourite cards:

Teen Oracle (Cinnamon Crow Dixon)

I learned about this oracle from Steven Bright of Tiferet Tarot. It is a very straightforward deck when you just want an answer. Black and white images with red text give it a 'you can't ignore me when I'm being this literal' feeling, and cards are simple as: Stop, Speak, and Relax.



Oracle of the Shapeshifters (Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket-Griffith)

I may be the only person in the world who actively dislikes the artwork of Jasmine Becket-Griffith. I do not like these cards. I don't like any of her work. I do not like these bug-eyed, button-nosed, big-headed girls who like aliens suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. BUT...Lucy Cavendish must be some sort of world-class witch because I have never used a more uncannily accurate oracle. For me, the book is indispensable. The cards are useless without it, and in fact, I often don't bother with the cards but just use the book, opening it at a random page instead of drawing from the deck.


Lenormand and other 
I do not use any 'other' types of divination, having given up dealings with runes, crystals, herbalism, and such like. I'm pure cartomancy these days. Here are my three favourite Lennies and 'other':

Esmeralda Lenormand

I didn't even know about this deck; it was a gift from a friend, and has become my favourite Lenormand. I use it for all my client readings and it is my go-to for my own personal Lennie readings as well. I love the rich colours and textures, and the little prompts and icons. All the information you need is right there on the card, and when laid out in a grand tableau, they look like a glorious patchwork quilt.



Titania's Fortune Cards
This was my first Lenormand, before I had even heard the word 'Lenormand'. If you buy it, ignore the companion book. It bears no relation to any traditional Lenormand system and will only confuse you. (I actually threw mine away.) They have a crazy, 'flashing colour' thing going on with them, making them look like lurid photo negatives. You get a sort of tatwa thing going when you use them. Here's a draw I did with them: Lenormand Daily Draw.

Psycards

The Psycards are a set of 40 cards inspired by Carl Jung's work, and based on the principle of 'archetypes'. I used to have the book but I traded that set, then a few years later decided I wanted the cards back and bought the deck only. It's okay, the book is not really needed.

Here's a reading I did with Psycards: Emperor Energy -- Not Welcome Lately.




Well, that was exhausting. :)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourite decks. What are your faves? I'd love to hear! If you do a You Tube or write a blog, please link to it in comments below. :D

USA, UOA, ULA

After my very positive draw yesterday, I had quite a bad day emotionally. Sharing this new program with a loved one was followed by words and tears. Where did it go wrong? What could I have done differently? How should I change the way I approach or handle things next time? 

Morgan Greer 

Looking at this spread, a theme certainly emerges. In two of the cards, I see cooperation. And in one card, a warning against its opposite. 

Funnily enough, I have been reading as part of this new program this morning, reading about three key concepts of the program:

Unconditional Self-Acceptance

Unconditional Other-Acceptance
Unconditional Life-Acceptance

The key word in each is 'acceptance'. Acceptance is not love. Acceptance is not approval. Acceptance is allowing something to exist, just as it is. If I can allow something (or someone -- and that includes myself) permission to exist just as it is, I can work with it. But if I don't, I can't. I end up fighting myself, fighting the universe, fighting the wind. Simple as that. 

In the first card, 2 of Wands, we see the familiar figure holding the globe or royal orb and looking into the distance. We have the rose and lily (passion and purity). We have the two staves. The chap even has a feather in his cap. We usually interpret this card to represent a visionary with vast and expansive ideas, achieving a balance between stillness and activity, etc. But today I notice something in this card that is absent from many other depictions. The man holds the globe in one hand, a staff in the other, and the second staff is held by another person -- a third hand is in the image. The man is NOT staring out into the distance. He would appear to be staring into the eyes of the figure outside the image, the one who is holding the second staff. Or perhaps they are standing side-by-side, observing the horizon together. Together, not separately.

And in the second card, we do not see a family exulting at the view of their little house with a rainbow overarching the scene. No, the card is dominated by a male arm and a female arm entwined to grasp the 10th cup together, and out of this unity the rainbow arises.

And this is where the concept of unconditional acceptance converges. The Emperor, who could be said to embody the opposite of self, other and life acceptance. He does not accept. He demands, he creates laws, he enforces them, he controls. He takes vengeance. He rules.

The Emperor has got to go. I'm as fond of him as I am of the Queen of Swords, but both of them have served their purpose. Time for a new way.

Unconditional Self-Acceptance - 

I accept myself because I'm alive and have the capacity to enjoy my existence. I am not my behavior. I can rate my traits and my behavior, but it is impossible to rate something as complex as my 'self.' My self consists of innumerable traits, not just this one. I strive for achievement only to enhance the enjoyment of my existence, not to prove my worth. Failing at any task cannot make me a failure.

I can choose to accept myself even if am unwilling or unable to change my 'character defects' because there is no law of the universe that says I can't. My approval of myself cannot come from pandering to any external source or bowing to any external authority. My self-acceptance can only come from me, and I am free to choose it at any time. — Nick Rajacic

Unconditional Other-Acceptance -

Similar to USA, UOA is the processes of acknowledging who an individual is without placing a weighted, global judgment upon them. Personally, I believe this concept requires more effort than USA. After all, people must be considerate, right? Unfortunately, no. I do not control the universe and if you haven’t noticed, other New Yorkers are not eager to follow another individual’s personal guidelines. Ok, so maybe “must” is too strong of a word. How about others should be considerate? Wrong again. Where is it written that someone should behave one way or another? Some would say the law; however, people break the law all the time. It would be nice if others were considerate, but it does not mean they must or should be.

Unconditional Life-Acceptance -

Ultimately, you may have some control as to how things pan out in life; however, you will be more at peace once you give up the belief that you must have total control of the universe and insist that things should be a certain way. If you are able to change your thoughts about an event, you can change your world. Although this cannot guarantee pain and suffering vanish, it might just be more bearable.

The Emperor is not very good at practising USA, UOA, and ULA. So he can sod off. Ha! 

Crossing over

Morgan Greer Tarot, 1979

Is it going to be rainy again today?? I think so! But I hope this card means we're going to be seeing the backside of it soon. We've been lucky here in Warwickshire; we haven't had the sort of flooding and devastation they've had in Somerset and the south of England.

I'm also heading into the home stretch of my notice period before I start my new post. Two more weeks. I guess this is the winding down period. The card suggests being rowed away from the familiar and toward a new horizon.  It is a traditional interpretation of the card, but can be applied to so many transitional situations. What's left behind can be either good or bad. What's in the future can be either good or bad. It's a neutral card as it is. The interpretation comes both from context of the question and the cards surrounding it, if part of a larger draw.

As a daily card, I see it as a cue to watch for the 'transitional' elements today, and a sign to start tying up the loose ends of my job. Long row ahead to other shore, but it's in sight. These are things I already knew of course. The tarot card is just a reminder, a trigger. It sparks personal reflection. What's in transition in your life? (And how's the weather?)

Anyway, that's it for this week with Morgan Greer. I think next week I'll draw from Elisabetta Trevisan's Crystal Tarot...or maybe that big funny-looking deck I got from the Works the other day. Apart from that hideous Chariot card, I rather like that one! :)

What are you three staring at?

Oh, another watery card from Morgan Greer tarot--though there's no actual water in sight. This card reminds me of the Stepford Wives, those beautiful women with their vacant stares. Here the three traditional lasses of the Three of Cups do not do a dance of joy, but rather gather round a table in what appears to be a vineyard, judging from the grape leaves behind them. I notice the table is not groaning with a feast, but in fact contains a rather light repast. One bunch of grapes, one orange, two cherries, two strawberries, half a peach and a quarter of a honeydew melon, to divide between three grown-ups--that's not much lunch! But wow, look at the size of those cups. No wonder their eyes are vacant.

Today I travel to Warwick to show HR my qualifications and passport, even though I've worked for the organization since 2002, apparently they have to copy them again because I'm starting a new role. The forms must be filled in, whether it makes sense or not! It reminds me of when I went for my citizenship test. Even though I am a native speaker of English and have a degree in English, I was going to have to take an English proficiency test. Then some bright spark realized that taking the test in English was itself evidence of English proficiency, so they dropped that component. Never mind that much of the test was based on the 2001 census and had little to do with life in the UK. I had to learn things like more households in the UK have cats than dogs. Nothing there about dealing with a dividing queue or how to avoid the splodges of vomit on the pavements on a Sunday morning. Essential skills indeed.

I'm taking this card to mean there'll be more rain today (cups) and that lunch might be light (!) but that overall, it will be lighthearted day and my spirits will be high. Fingers crossed!

Queen of Ocean and Emotion

Morgan Greer Tarot

Today's card is Queen of Cups. It's supposed to be very rainy and blowy today. Hope I don't drown! :)

I do think this card has a lot to do with the weather today.

I'm off to the hospital for a first consultation about treatment of tinnitus. Hubby is graciously giving me a lift, because going on the train involves two changes and a long walk. I've been to the hospital on my own several times and have had to walk it, and did tell him it took about 40 minutes to walk, but until he looked at the map last night, I don't think he realized how far it is. It's okay as long as the weather is okay. But today it's supposed to rain a lot--so I'm glad of the lift.

I like this Queen of Cups, though I wish the courts in the Morgan Greer deck weren't all in profile. Well, they aren't all, but most of them seem to be. I don't really like that. It's bad enough they are in close-up and not really doing anything to help you understand them. They then have to be in profile so you can't even seen their faces. No wonder so many people have trouble with court cards. I like the pearls on her dress and crown and earringings, and the sea foam colour of her dress, and how her crown is made of shells. I like her little crescent moon pendant with a teardrop shaped pearl. Nice touches, all, for a queen of Water and emotion.

The left-handed king

Morgan Greer

Nice that the King of Rods should turn up. The full moon is this Friday, and it will be in Leo, and the cards associated with Leo are Strength and King of Rods (or Wands).

This card does not show the King of Rods in action, even though he is definitely an action man. He's seen in profile from more or less the waist up, facing to the left side of the card, which I always associate with the past. I would usually expect the King of Rods to face the right side, which to me is the future. Like several men in the Morgan Greer Tarot, he has a full beard and mustache. His robes and helmet are orange,deep red and gold, the colours of fire. The landscape around him is sear desert sand and the sky is bright yellow. It's a glowing image, but looks rather hot and dry. I am not sure what to make of the shapes in the lower left corner of the card, I assume he is seated on a throne and that is the left arm of it. In his left hand he holds a rod, which appears to be from an oak tree. It has three oak leaves and three acorns attached to it. Of course, the oak is a symbol of endurance and longevity, was a sacred tree to many cultures, held sacred to Zeus and Jupiter, to the thunder god Thor, and revered by the Druids.

I have to admit I've never thought much about the strength of the King of Wands. He's my Captain Kirk card, so I have always thought of him as clever, impulsive, confident, bold, charismatic, forceful, and creative in finding ways that lead to the shortest route to his preferred outcome. I suppose I've seen him as strong in small bursts. He's never struck me as 'strong' -- that's the King of Pentacles, steadfast and true. But I suppose there is a strength in the qualities of the King of Wands.

It occurs to me that facing left and holding the rod in the left hand might point to the nature of his strength. The left hand is associated with intuition, etc, and the King of Rods' strength, I believe, is certainly based on esoteric qualities such as instinct, intuition, that nebulous quality charisma, or X factor, and not on logic or anything systematic, such as we might associate with the right hand.

I hope I am not called upon to come up with clever schemes or show a lot of fiery passion or endurance today. It's just a Tuesday, and my objective is to have as quiet a day as possible.

Homecoming

Morgan Greer Tarot

Ah now, this is a nice cheery card for a Monday. Bright yellow, featuring a keep perched atop a butte, framed by four upright wands and a garland of flowers. It's the 4 of Rods from Morgan Greer Tarot (1979).

In my new timetable (soon to change entirely with a new job!), I've been enjoying Mondays and Thursdays because I've been 'back home' in the library where I've worked since 2004. It's familiar, I can walk there, I know where I stand there, I'm on very comfortable ground. This card does have a meaning of a celebration of home, homecoming, or reunions, personal ties, social concord. It can also mean a harvest celebration, the joy of something being completed, thanksgiving after labour. And that has relevance as well, as my new job starts in just a couple of weeks, so it won't be long until I say good-bye to this familiar work place for at least 12 months, possibly forever, depending on how things turn out.

What are you bringing to completion or fruition? What are you celebrating?

Today, may I celebrate my successes and enjoy my day.

But but but...I don't wanna!

Morgan Tarot

I don't want a card telling me to be patient today. I don't want to be told I need to put the work in and then wait to see what happens. I don't want to then have to do even more work to gather the harvest of my previous work. BUT...that's what I got today. The 7 of Pentacles from Morgan Greer Tarot. Dang.

I want a card that shows a fairy godmother riding a unicorn from a rainbow-filled sky, alighting into my life to make me slim, beautiful, wealthy, confident, owning my own house, with a clear financial future, a flat belly and thigh gap.

But what do I get? A farmer who looks like a refugee from The Joy of Sex telling me anything I want in this life I've got to work for it. Booo!

Oh well. He could also be telling me today is a good day to take stock of my harvest, so let's do that. What have I got?

*My husband
*A new job about to start
*My health
*A place to live, even if I don't own it. (At least the rent hasn't gone up since we moved in here in 2002, and that's got to be a good thing!)
*A pulse

So...it's not all bad. Can you see I've had a mood swing since yesterday? Just a bit!

Look around and love what you see

Morgan Greer Tarot

When I first started buying tarot decks, I used to frequent a few online tarot communities where I picked up various ideas about the 'right' way to do things...and one of those things was to get rid of the box a deck comes in and get or make a bag for the deck. Ideally with a silk lining, or at least have the deck wrapped in silk before you put it in the bag. Consequently, most of my earliest acquisitions are lacking a box. I stopped buying tarot bags after the first 10 or so, and now they all stay in the box they came in...but this was the third deck I ever bought, so -- no box. Pity. (I didn't save the boxes. I don't have storage space for both decks and their boxes, separated. The point of throwing out the box was to save space...)

This week I'm using one of my old work horse decks, Morgan Greer Tarot, by William Greer and Lloyd Morgan (US Games 1979). I love this deck. It was one of the first 'borderless' decks, and is famous for its close-up variations on RWS images, groovy colours and very 70s-looking characters. (The deck contains my favourite Queen of Swords of all time.)

Today's card, 9 of Coins, is the only purple card in the deck, and in fact is my favourite 9 of Coins of all my tarot decks. I broke it down pretty well in a previous entry: Tarot Blog Hop-- Lammas. I do love the messages of this card, the sumptuous luxury of our daily life, enjoying what we have, allowing ourselves to recognize abundance in our lives. However modest the details of our lives may appear to the outside world, it can still be a robe of purple and a golden bowl of fruit to us. Indulge yourself in the joy of loving your life today. I think I will do that!

My go-to decks

Tarot readers can be a capricious crowd when it comes to their decks. There are just so many to choose from, and all so luscious! But even the most fickle of us have our tried and true, and for me, here are my top three...

Number 3: Morgan Greer

Morgan Greer, 1979

This deck was first published in 1979 by Morgan Press, by artist Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan. It is distinct in being one of the earliest borderless decks, and is noted for both its vivid coloring and its 70s-tastic sensibility. Predominately of  mustardy yellows, oranges, blues and greens, the deck could be made up of paint chips your mother used to decorate the lounge in 1973. Using the deck makes me want to put on a pair of flair-leg trousers and play a Joni Mitchell LP (vinyl of course!) Most of the characters are shown in close-up, with limpid-eyed women and luxuriantly mustachioed men. Flowers and vegetation abound--roses, lilies, oak leaves, acorns, lotus blossoms, grapevines, sunflowers, even the occasional palm tree. The deck is a straight talker, imminently readable and forthright. It is very popular and widely available.

I also have to add, this is my favourite deck to shuffle! The cardstock and size are just perfect for riffle shuffling and I can sit and shuffle this deck over and over and over and over...it's hypnotic!

Number 2: Anna K Tarot

AnnaK Tarot, 2008

 Self-published by Anna Klaffinger in 2008, this deck has developed a loyal fan base and following. The first edition is now out of print, but there are still copies available of the second edition (2010) at Anna's website and a few other online sources. When that sells out, chances are there will be no more copies of this lovely deck printed. Anna has said that the process is very trying, and I cannot imagine how much work and devotion is required to raise the money for and oversee such a project as this.

The deck is simply a joy to behold. Nearly borderless, the cards are remarkable for their complete lack of esoteric symbolism. While based on the Rider-Waite-Smith system, Anna has managed to reflect the meaning of the cards in scenes unlike any other RWS tarot deck. Her homely interpretations of the cards speak directly to daily life experience. The people depicted in the cards have been described as almost hobbit-like--a simple, earthy people going about the business of their daily lives. Anna is from Austria, and I can get a sense of the place, because there are several cards set in a cold climate, with snow abounding, and many of the cards are dark in coloration, reflecting the long winters there. All seasons of the year are well-represented in the deck, and the deck is dominated by yellow and dark blue. I can't really tell you how much I love this deck. It is a very special thing!

Number 1: Druidcraft 

Druidcraft, 2005

I have to say, though, that my number one go-to deck is the Druidcraft Tarot, by Stephanie & Phillip Carr-Gomm with art by Will Worthington. Published in 2005, it has remained a very popular deck amongst many readers.

To begin with, it is a very large deck, and may people trim off the outer and inner borders to create borderless cards. This makes the cards easier to handle. It is a very colorful and beautiful deck, filled with green, gold and blue. Nearly every card is set outdoors, with grass, wildlife, trees and stones. It is a so-called Celtic deck, and takes many of its card interpretations from Celtic lore and familiar setting on the British Isles and Ireland, such as New Grange in Ireland or the Long Man of Wilmington.

As with all my favourite decks, it is RWS based. I find the characters in this deck beautiful and endearing. They are bit more 'noble' than the hobbity characters in AnnaK's deck. One of the curiosities of the deck is the large feet on some characters, but I have noticed that most of the big-footed people are on cards that represent authority or power, such as Justice, Empress, queens and kings. There are many barefooted figures in these cards, suggesting, I suppose, connection to the earth. It is a self-consciously earth-based deck (ie, pagan) rather than an earthy deck, as with the AnnaK, and some people object to this as smacking of distastefully romanticised/sanitized neo-paganism. Well, it isn't nature red in tooth and claw or anything, but I don't care, I love this deck and find it wonderfully insightful.

At the moment I have some 25 or so other decks that I also use, but these are the ones I select when I need a clear answer with no messing about. I love them!