Deck Review -- Tarot of the Cloisters

Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt, US Games 1993

The 'rose window' is a detail associated with Gothic churches and cathedrals, a round window characterised by a design radiating out from the centre in spokes or petals. They weren't known as 'rose windows' until the 17th century.

Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt attempts to translate the cards of the Rider Waite Smith deck into 78 rose windows. I'm really not sure why the deck is called 'Tarot of the Cloisters', because there is no cathedral that I know of that features rose windows in the cloister. (The cloister is an enclosed garden in the cathedral or abbey with a covered walkway where the holy orders could stroll in contemplation or meditation. Or maybe to have a barbecue. :) ) I suppose 'Rose Window Tarot' didn't conjure up the cathedral atmosphere in the minds of the publishers.

Apparently this deck is quite hard to find; I didn't how hard to find until after I recently bought it in a little occult shop in Burnham on Sea for £8. There were two of them there -- maybe I should have bought both of them!

Each card of this deck creates its own take on the RWS original, puts it in a round format, divides it into 12-14 wedges, and these are further broken up with black lines. Most of the images look less like stained glass windows than a painted piece of glass that has been dropped and shattered. Some images are more successful than others in creating the 'stained glass' feel, and those are the images which seemed pieced together rather than a whole being broken. But apart from that little bit of nit-picking, it's a very attractive deck.

Here are some of my favourite cards. It's really hard to tell if they're upright when you're putting them face down on the scanner, and when you try to close the scanner, they spin! So most of these are slightly rotated:

This brings up an interesting aspect of these cards -- reversals. It is quite difficult to shuffle a round deck so that cards remain upright, which leaves you with the dilemma of whether to leave the cards in the position they are turned over, or spin them around so they're all upright. My tendency is to turn all cards upright, as you know, but it occurred to me that these degrees of spin can be very telling in a reading. Which way is the card tilting? Past? (For me, that's to the left) Present? (the right) Or is it that the figure in the card is leaning toward one card and away from the other? Is the card looking up to the known, down to the shadow? All of these little subtleties can come into play with the rotation of the round cards. It's an interesting aspect of the deck.

My advice is, if you see this deck on offer at a price that's agreeable, don't hesitate to grab it. It's a good one!

Let yourself be that guy and see what happens -- Knight of Cups

Recently I posted about shining a light, and today in my Daily Greatness Yoga Journal, I was asked the question, 'How can I shine my light more?' I decided this was a good question for the tarot -- and I drew the Knight of Vessels (or Cups).

I must admit my attitude to the Knight of Cups has been a little harsh. He always strikes me as a moony adolescent. But you know, he does have qualities that would help us shine our lights more.

He throws his whole heart into things.

He holds nothing back.

He is completely open in expressing how he feels in the moment, and does not balk from expressing how he feels in the next moment, even if he's changed his heart entirely (much like Romeo's sudden change of allegiance from Rosaline to Juliet.)

He doesn't care what people think about his devotion and passion.

He allows himself to be vulnerable.

He is willing to take tremendous risks in pursuit of what he wants.

He believes that persistence will win out.

His balloon never lands. :)

I can see how his qualities could help us shine a light in our lives. Being the Knight of Cups for a while will help us reconnect with what is really important to us, and fill us with the love and devotion to commit ourselves fully to those things, not out of obligation, but because we adore them.

Allow yourself to be a bit Knight of Cups this week, and let's see what happens.

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What is success? A Wisdom Reading

Sometimes it's good to do a reading on something really big-- to ask the tarot huge, audacious questions. Why shouldn't we? Why not ask the tarot questions that are huge to the point of impertinence? Rachel Pollack calls these 'wisdom readings', and they can be an illuminating tool for self-development and growth.

I've decided today to do a simple wisdom reading about success. 

We all have times when we feel like there's a bit of a cloud hanging over our heads. We feel like we haven't quite got things right.  A bit like we're a let down. Like we just aren't quite up to scratch. Like we are not 'successful'. Why? And what is success, anyway?

Success is defined as the achievement of something desired, planned or attempted, favourable outcome, financial gain associated with such outcome, the gaining of fame or prosperity. 

Sometimes we can get so caught up in these dictionary definitions of success that we lose all perspective. We start scrabbling and grasping for a measure of ourselves, trying to figure out if we're good enough. This can be very unsettling!

I decided to ask three simple but profound questions:

What is success?
What is the key to success?
What will success feel like, to me?

Success is not an outcome or an end result, regardless of dictionary definitions, this draw tells me. Success is a process and a feeling. It's actually more of a fundamental drive.

Success itself is represented by the Ace of Wands. It is in the inception of action -- the untapped and limitless potential of it. Success is knowing you have that potential within you, success is acknowledging it and feeling it and accessing it. The card shows a wand with angel wings, floating over a green expanse. In the background is a mass that wavers, to my eyes, as a circle of standing stones one minute, a castle-fortress the next. Both are monuments to vision and fire and drive -- the human drive to do, to move, to create. It is this primitive fire that is success itself. The mass on the right side of the card is a wood, a small forest, a stand of tress. This always represent mystery to me -- who knows what lies at the heart of the forest, in the darkness of the forest floor. And who knows where this divine spark comes from, why we have it, why we, amongst all creatures, seem to have this deep need to make our marks on life. The question is, what is the mark  that will satisfy this primitive drive in you? Because it is different for all of us. Some of us need to have a powerful job. Some of us need to write a book. Some of us need to cook dinner for our family every night and get the kids off to school every morning. All of these are ways to make a mark on the world. All of these are manifestations of success.

The key to success is the Two of Swords. This really is key! The sky and the water merge; only a few bits of land jut above the surface. This is the fathomless depths of the psyche. The figure is blindfolded, swords crossed before her. She has her face turned slightly, in that way we do when we are tuning inward to something. What is she tuning in to? What is she shielding herself from with that blindfold and those swords? She is tuning in to her depths -- something deep inside her that knows what her success is. Is it power? Is it fame? Is it attention? Is it a family? Is it art? Is it dance? Is it the rustling leaves on the trees in the wind and birdsong? She can never find the key to her success if she is always looking out at others, always allowing the thoughts and opinions of the world invade her heart and mind. The key to success is to go deep within, very deep. Deeper than maybe you've ever been, because you've been too busy throwing your efforts into going for what is sparkly, what is perhaps satisfying to some, but possibly not to you.

To me, success will feel like the 10 of Pentacles. The card is lovely, a rose window -- literally. It's pink, a colour that always makes me think of happiness. Everything in this card points to feeling secure, provided for, and stable. The card is very symmetrical, perfectly balanced. There are fruits, roses in red and white, speaking of purity and passion, there are banners and a shield and the ten pentacles overarching all. The 10 of Pentacles is about legacy. And so we return to the first card -- the driving need to make our mark, a mark that will last. My mark, according to this card, is not power, or artistic expression, or even deep Hermit-like insight. It's a legacy of feeling that 'This is enough. This is plenty. The world is beautiful and safe and there is enough to go around -- enough love, enough joy, enough life. We don't have to fight for our piece of it or worry that others have more than their share, leaving no chance for ourselves. This is wholeness.' Success for me is not only nurturing this 10 of Pentacles feeling in myself -- it is helping others to find it as well. It is giving it to them through my thoughts and words and actions, and through my readings. This is why I read tarot -- that is my tool for achieving  'All is well, and all shall be well,and all manner of things shall be well.'  It helps bring me back to this over and over; tarot is the gift and the tool that allows me to help others find theirs, too.

The wisdom reading is a beautiful thing. I believe it taps into the true power of the tarot -- the power to plumb the depths of the insight dwelling within each of us.

True understanding of success, itself a mysterious fire, flows deep. Feel like diving in today? Why not try your own wisdom reading, on success or the topic of your choice.

I would love to hear about your wisdom readings!