Tarot of Trees & Tree Affirmations - Confidence in any Weather

Today I drew the Knight of Wands, Justice and The Empress. The Tree Affirmation card of the day is Self Esteem (Mallow). Click on images to enlarge.

I saw myself in these cards. I immediately identify with the Empress as my role as a mother. The Knight of Wands shows a tree daring to grow where no trees grow. Right in the middle of the road. It looks as though the tree is actually trying to cross the road. It's not allowing its roots to keep it held in one place. This is the risk taker, the adventurer. I have made many choices in my life, and the most adventurous ones have been since becoming a mother, regarding my parenting. I don't do things like everyone else does, I certainly stray from the norm, and even sometimes from certain laws that I don't agree with (Justice). These cards made me think about how I haven't done anything adventurous lately. I think I'm long overdue.

Another thing I saw in the cards was a snapshot of a potential future. Ever since deciding that I wanted to move, the Knight of Wands has been my token card for that issue. I'm the Empress, and the beau in my future is Justice (In my soulmate reading with the Archeon Tarot, the Justice card came up to answer the question, "Who is he?") Guess he's just popping up to remind me not to forget about him!

The Tree Affirmation card, Self Esteem, made me take inventory today on my self worth, and how much of it is tied up falsely in what I do and how I do it as opposed to who I am. The book describes the Mallow shrub as ordinary for most of the year, suddenly blossoming in the summer with full exuberance. Like this tree, I realize it is possible to be ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. The passage also speaks about how self worth is directly related to self acceptance, which fosters confidence. The affirmation is, "My self esteem grows when I accept myself as I am." The last sentence of the passage reads, "Recognize and affirm that which is most beautiful in you and watch it flower."

Tying this in with the tarot reading, I need to appreciate where I am right now. Whether I am in the middle of a risk-taking adventure, or just sitting around with nothing but the mundane to do, I'm still me. My worth doesn't rely on what I'm doing, but who I am. Life is cyclical, so there is a time for adventure and a time for relaxation. Accepting myself during every cycle is the key to confidence and self-esteem. I need not identify exclusively with one or the other.

Decks: Tarot of Trees (by Dana Driscoll, published by Artistic Journeys)
and Tree Affirmations (by Vicky Lewis, published by Yellow Seed Media)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Tarot of Trees - The Hidden Obvious (& Tree Affirmations - Reconnecting)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Today I drew The Fool, King of Wands and Six of Wands.

I see the sun and clouds in the Fool card, continuing in the Six of Wands. They are interrupted by the huge trunk of the King of Wands. This made me think that there is something big getting in the way of a successful new start (Fool + Six of Wands) for me. This is very interesting to me because I have been thinking a lot lately about making a fresh start at something, but there is this resistance there that I haven't been able to put my finger on. The King of Wands has a huge presence. I will need to think this over today, because it seems as though there is something enormous standing in my way, right in front of my nose, but I can't see it. Sometimes something is so big that you overlook it. That's what this feels like. So these cards have helped to to discover that the resistance that I'm looking for is something more obvious than subtle. There is something staring me right in the face, I just need to step back to get a wider zoom on it.

When I went to shuffle my Tree Affirmations, a card fell out of the deck. Peace (Olive Tree). For some reason I wanted to draw another card, so I cut the deck, and instead of cutting once, the deck actually fell and cut twice. So I took the two top cards, Love (Apple Tree) and Friendship (False Acacia). (Click on image below to enlarge.)



I looked at the three cards and they complimented each other beautifully, as though they were one singular message. Peace, Love and Friendship. How beautiful is that!? I have been missing the contact I usually have with friends and family online. I don't have a phone, so all of my long distance contact is via email and video chats on Skype. I have missed communicating with my loved ones, much more than I normally would for some reason. One day last week, I drew the Community card from this deck, and it really made me realize how much I depend on my different online communities for support and friendship.

So, today I will focus on being peaceful in my heart while I wait for regular internet access to be available to me again. I will think about those I love and treasured friendships and how I can keep in better touch with them from now on. I'm usually really bad about my response time to emails from friends and family, and this being out of touch has made me want to change that. So there's the silver lining to this computer upset.

Decks: Tarot of Trees (by Dana Driscoll, published by Artistic Journeys)
and Tree Affirmations (by Vicky Lewis, published by Yellow Seed Media)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Tarot of Trees & Tree Affirmations - No Computer? ... Plan B

(Click on image to enlarge)

I'm posting yesterday's draw, since my desktop wasn't cooperating yesterday (I'm all too eagerly awaiting the UPS guy's arrival with my new laptop. It'll be a struggle to refrain from throwing my arms around his neck with glee when he arrives!)

Yesterday I drew the Two of Swords, Knight of Swords and Three of Swords. I knew when I saw these cards that my desktop wouldn't be working. I was just too lucky that it allowed me to post the day before. The Two of Swords shows stunted growth. There I was, that little tree, just starting to get back online, when the two swords came down upon me with a big fat NO to that. Despite my most valiant efforts to get the computer to work again (Knight of Swords), I knew it would be a waste of time, because the Three of Swords shows my despair. So, although I did try to get my computer to work, I didn't spend all day at it, because the cards had already warned me against wasting my efforts.

And notice how bruised all the cards seem! All three Swords cards have the same purple/pink/yellow coloration in the background, which all feel like painful bruising.

The Tree Affirmations was ready with Plan B. I pulled the Celebration card (Tulip Tree). Usually the oracle cards blend cohesively with the tarot, but yesterday the card was quite contradictory with my tarot draw. However, it made perfect sense, because it was providing me with an alternate outlook to the day's disappointment. I could find something else to celebrate instead. So I did. And I had a great day. I had fun with my kids and read an entire novel, start to finish. It's been a long while since I've had the time to do that!

I have to note that tulips are my favorite flowers, but I have never heard of a tulip tree before!

I will work on posting today's draw with the cards as well, depending on how long my computer allows me!

Decks: Tarot of Trees (by Dana Driscoll, published by Artistic Journeys)
and Tree Affirmations (by Vicky Lewis, published by Yellow Seed Media)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Tarot of Trees and Tree Affirmations - A Happy Ending!

(Click on image of cards to enlarge)

Wow... what a week I've had. I have missed my online community so much! I am awaiting a new laptop computer in the mail, which should arrive by next week. Right now I'm typing this from my old desktop which acts like a cantankerous old man, working only when it feels like it. Some days it won't boot at all. Some days it will turn on, but will automatically reboot every minute or two, leaving me precious few seconds to do anything. Today, it is allowing me to actually be online so I thought I'd post something. I'll continue posting this week as my desktop allows. I'm continuing with last week's decks, since I didn't get to share my draws with them.

This morning I drew the Queen of Cups, Ten of Cups and Five of Wands.

I have drawn the Ten of Cups from this deck numerous times over the past week. I think the cards have been trying to comfort me during this stressful time of trying to figure out how to fix or replace my laptop. The Queen of Cups is me, and today also represents my mother, who is also a water sign. She is the one who is gifting me with a new computer. The water overflowing from the cup is my tears of joy and relief that I experienced this morning when she told me she had ordered me a new laptop. The Ten of Cups shows a happy ending to the Five of Wands week I have been experiencing.

The Five of Wands in this deck reminds me of the angry trees in the Wizard of Oz, which my kids and I watched the other night. Over the past week, I have frequently felt like pulling my hair out (to say the least!) as I have struggled with my failed attempts to fix my laptop. I am thrilled to see the Ten of Cups overcoming the Five of Wands today.

My Tree Affirmation card for today is Flow (Japanese Maple). Such a gorgeous card, with a serene feeling. I placed myself in the card this morning and felt a sense of peace. It was exactly what I needed to see today. This card suggests that we be like water and flow right through difficulties. The quote "This too shall pass" came to mind when I saw this card today. I have been trying not to let stress get the best of me this week.

Funny thing is last week when I was unable to blog, I drew the Orange Tree (Prosperity) card from this deck THREE days in a row! It felt like the cards were telling me that a big surprise was waiting for me, but when my computer died, I couldn't figure it out. Now, a week later, I have a newer and better laptop on its way to me. The cards were just telling me to trust in the abundance of life!

Funny, over the past week, I have done a few readings about my computer situation with my Legacy of the Divine Tarot, and I kept getting the message that I would be receiving a new computer as a gift, which I really didn't see coming.


P.S. Thank you so, so much for all of your concerned emails. I can't get back to everyone just yet, but I promise I will just as soon as my new computer shows up and I'm back online next week. I miss everyone so much!

Much love,

Kiki

Decks: Tarot of Trees (by Dana Driscoll, published by Artistic Journeys)
and Tree Affirmations (by Vicky Lewis, published by Yellow Seed Media)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Computer crashed

My computer crashed so I don't know how long I will be offline. Don't have another computer or resources to purchase a new one. I am painstakingly typing this and posting from my Wii, believe it or not. Will be back as soon as I possibly can. Send my computer some miracle healing vibes...

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Tarot of Trees & Tree Affirmations - A World of Abundance

This week I'll be working with two beautiful tree-based self-published decks. Dana Driscoll's new Tarot of Trees and Vicky Lewis' Tree Affirmations.

(For some reason Blogger is acting wonky with my images today... the size I usually upload pictures is now too big, so I have to go smaller.)

This morning I drew The World, Four of Pentacles and Seven of Cups. And the accompanying oracle card, Prosperity (Orange Tree).

The first thing I thought of was that the World card came up for me just yesterday. So today I am getting a deeper look into yesterday's cards. The World card in this deck is beautiful. The tree wraps itself around Earth, showing me that this issue is all encompassing. The Four of Pentacles made me think of "pinching pennies" because of the firm grip the branches have on the pentacles, as though they are pinching them. So this confirmed for me that the cards are referring to a financial issue. (Not completely satisfied with yesterday's cards, I had looked at the card at the bottom of the deck, though I didn't post it. It was the King of Coins, so I had the idea the ecstatic joy I'd be experiencing would be financial. Today's cards confirmed this, with the Four of Pentacles and Prosperity/Orange Tree.)

The Seven of Cups shows a different story from the Four of Pentacles. The cups are open and free. There is nothing tight or constricting about them. There are many options, and each tree has the freedom to grow up and out of the cups. This tells me that I need to release my "pinching pennies" mentality, because abundance is all around.

The Orange Tree card titled "Prosperity" rounds out the reading perfectly. In fact, the passage in the book even alludes to one of my tarot cards, indirectly:

"Imagine the smell and feel of an orange picked straight from the tree. Look at how perfect it is, as if the whole world is contained in it. That is abundance: knowing that you, like this perfect orange, contain all that you need within you."

The passage goes on to suggest that we celebrate even the smallest of abundance in our life, as it will then grow. What struck me today was the word "world" in the text, and more specifically, the phrase "the whole world is contained", as today's version of the World card shows the earth contained by the tree's roots.

This is a synchronous message for me, getting the World sign three times now in the past two days. I do believe the universe is telling me that I have a World of Abundance available to me, as I live in an abundant world. This is a mindset that I need to shift toward more and more, until it becomes my personal truth.

I look back at the Four of Pentacles and see the cold snow on the ground. The branches are holding on tightly to the pentacles because they know no more can grow at this time of winter, so they hold on to what little they have so they don't lose it. What I see now is that seasons change. Snow melts and leaves blossom. All the other cards are lush and thriving, sprouting, bearing fruit. I get the feeling that this financial season in my life is about to change... it's time for new growth!

The affirmation for the Prosperity card is "I am rich beyond my wildest dreams." I will be sure to repeat this phrase many times today!

Decks: Tarot of Trees (by Dana Driscoll, published by Artistic Journeys)
and Tree Affirmations (by Vicky Lewis, published by Yellow Seed Media)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.

Deck Review: Legacy of the Divine Tarot

I recently received a copy of Ciro Marchetti's Legacy of the Divine Tarot deck/book set. It was a deck I was interested in reviewing, mostly because the online scans drew me in, despite my aversion to CGI art. When I received the deck, I was immediately blown away. I devoured the entire 295 page book in one (long) afternoon. The first reading I did with the deck amazed me with its crystal clarity.

The Cards
The cards themselves have a beautiful matte finish and are lovely to shuffle. The borders are a perfect fade-to-black which makes you forget there are borders there at all. These are the borders every deck should have. The backs are reversible. The imagery coloring is very vibrant and alive.

One of the first things that stand out in this deck are the Knights, which are depicted by a single helmet and background. There is no body to go with the helmet. This unique concept allows the reader to immediately recognize the knight, yet it leaves the persona behind the helmet fresh with every reading. This is more effective than you might imagine. When looking at the Knight of Wands, I can practically feel the heat coming off the fire in the card and the overpowering feeling of energy the card exudes is almost tangible.

There are far too many fabulous cards to rave about, so I'll share just a few brief comments on some of the cards that stand out for me. The Devil (shown above) is sexy and alluring and all those naughty things that draw you into something you know you should avoid. The stunning Death card (below) is the one that reached out, grabbed me and drew me to this deck in the first place. The Six of Swords (below) was unanimously recognized by me and my kids as the "Phantom of the Opera" card, as it reminded us all of the scene where the Phantom and Christine sail in the boat in his underground lair, singing the title song. The refreshingly inclusive Faith card (below) replaces the usual Hierophant and depicts four different religious leaders.

The Nine of Swords (below) has a nice eerie Jane Eyre feel to it. I find the Queen of Swords interesting and unique because, despite her menacing sword fan, she has...freckles! For some reason, in my mind, that gives her an innocence that I wouldn't ordinarily relate with this queen. The Fool is creatively shown halfway through the Major Arcana, as the Hanged Man. He also appears in the Wheel and Devil cards and shows up again at the end of his journey in the World card.

There are a very small handful of cards that I wouldn't call favorites. The Two of Swords has an uncomfortable hardness to it which gives it an almost robotic feel. A card I can't take seriously is the King of Coins, because he reminds me so much of Billy Ray Cyrus, which is amusing to me. The Queen of Cups has oddly raised eyebrows as though she is surprised, which I find a bit limiting. I think my least favorite card would have to be the King of Cups. He looks so weird to me. He has a bit of a Neanderthal look to him which I find very bizarre. I also have an aversion to the guy in the Lovers card. I think maybe it's because his look is outdated.

That being said, I find the rest of the deck stunning. Ciro Marchetti has previously published two other tarot decks, the Gilded and Tarot of Dreams, neither of which I have ever been interested in acquiring. For one thing, the borders in the other decks are far too loud and distracting for my taste, as they take away from the focus. The borders in the Legacy deck make such a huge difference. Also, I have seen the full scans of the other two decks online and it looks to me as though Marchetti's artistry has matured with each deck, making the Legacy the most polished, refined and masterful of the group.

Not being a fan of computer generated art, I was surprised to find that the Legacy of the Divine immediately took its place in my Top Favorite Decks list, both because of the captivating imagery and the beautiful way it reads.

How it Reads
The Legacy of the Divine Tarot is a reader's dream. The images are instantly relatable and they draw you into this alluring world, as though you are experiencing a parallel universe which is both familiar and new, with enough of a fantasy feel to keep you mesmerized. From the very first reading I did with it, I have received nothing but clear readings. I have yet to lay down cards with this deck and scratch my head, wondering what the cards might be saying. As soon as the cards are set down, they either begin telling a story, or the entire story is flashed into my mind in one quick instant. The images are fluid and have a lifelike quality to them, as though they are much more than pieces of cardboard.

This deck is a fantastic choice for intuitive readings, as they engage all of your senses. I can hear the music coming from the Three of Cups and the splashing sounds the horses are making in The Chariot. I can feel the cool crisp air of the autumn night in the Seven of Swords as the window is opened. I feel the cozy warmth from the fire in the Ten of Cups and the coolness of the water in the Eight of Cups. I can smell the plumeria flowers surrounding the Queen of Coins (above) and taste the mouth watering fruit in the Nine of Cups. It's not often that a deck arouses all of your senses. This adds such a rich additional layer to a reading.

I often find myself choosing a deck based on either the type of reading I'm doing, or the person I'm reading for. Sometimes a deck is too girly for a certain situation. Sometimes a deck is too childish, or too kitschy or too dark, etc. The Legacy is a deck that isn't "too" anything. As Goldilocks would say, this one is "just right". It would be appropriate for any sitter - without being boring or flat like other all-purpose decks (such as the RWS) can sometimes be.

There are also astrological and planetary symbols incorporated in the cards, so this would add another layer to your reading if you are versed in astrology. (I personally am not, but I don't find the symbols intrusive.)

The Book
The book which accompanies the deck in this set is titled, "Gateway to the Divine Tarot" and begins with the story behind the images in the cards. It's a story of an ancient world destroyed. Having their devastation foretold, they were able to plan for survivors and leave behind a legacy of secret portals of knowledge. The bulk of the book, however, is dedicated to commentary on each of the cards in the deck. There are thoughts shared on each card by the deck's artist, Ciro Marchetti, along with tarot professionals Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone, James Ricklef and Leisa ReFalo.

Lisa ReFalo contributed a chapter titled "How to Read Tarot" which gives very basic instructions on tarot reading (formulating a question, interpretation, finding a bag for your deck, etc.). She also includes a few brief breathing techniques and five spreads.

While the book is a nice addition to the deck, it certainly isn't necessary to read it before working with the deck. The Legacy of the Divine stands alone and can be read straight out of the box (assuming you are already familiar with basic tarot.)

The boxed set also includes a black drawstring organza bag to house the cards.

Final Thoughts
I really can't praise this deck enough. I would recommend it to anyone, anywhere, anytime. It is suitable for any type of reading. I can't think of a single reason why you shouldn't run out and get a copy for yourself. And I have other, very beloved favorite decks, that I couldn't say that about.

See below for 12 more images.

Suits: Cups, Wands, Swords, Coins
Court Titles: Page, Knight, Queen, King
Justice/Strength: Strength 8, Justice 11
Cards: 78
Card Size: 2 3/4" x 4 5/8"
Card stock: Matte
Backs: Reversible
Artist: Ciro Marchetti
Publisher: Llewellyn










To see more images, visit my daily draws with the Legacy of the Divine Tarot.

To purchase this deck, visit Llewellyn or your favorite tarot retailer.

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please click here for details.