Daily Draw - Nine of Chalices, The Moon and The Empress

This week I'm using my new Gothic Tarot of Vampires. My mother recently sent me this deck, and it's not one I'd have bought for myself, but I'm glad to have it. It's very interesting and intense, and I was pleased to find that the majority of the cards aren't gory. I am currently involved in a temporary situation where I have to deal with someone who is an emotional vampire, so this is a very timely deck for me to use right now. To immerse myself in the mood of the deck, last week I began reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is my first time reading it, and I'm completely captivated by it so far.

Today as I was shuffling, a card jumped out of the deck... the Nine of Chalices. I then drew two more cards, The Moon and The Empress.

The Nine of Chalices shows a well dressed, studious vampire wearing glasses. He is laying in his coffin and sets his finished book aside. He appears to be very tranquil and at ease.

The Moon shows a woman looking in a mirror. I suppose she is a vampire because the reflection doesn't show her reality, and from what I've heard, vampires' reflections don't appear in mirrors. She is holding her hands up to her face, but the mirror shows her holding her hands out, and there are many phantoms behind her. The LWB for this deck provides some interesting subtitles for the Majors. The main keyword for this card is "The Memory".

In the Empress card, a female vampire holds a man close to her. Her fangs and sharp nails tell me she's the one in control, despite the man's well-built stature. The main keyword provided for the Empress is "Passion" and another, "rapture". I often think of the Empress as the "mother" card, and it actually makes sense here in an unusual way. This vampire is about to give this man a new life, which makes her a mother of sorts to him.

Looking at the three cards as a story, I see the vampire in the Nine of Chalices setting down his journal, which features his memories of how he got to where he is now. I see him in the Empress card, which shows us how he became a vampire. It was through the passion and allure of a female vampire who seduced him into everlasting life. In the Moon card, I see her also looking back at the memory of what she's been through to get to this point. The man seems to be more at ease with his new life, while the woman appears more troubled by what she's become. She's been at it longer, so perhaps she has seen much more than the man has and so she knows more about the pain and hardships that come with a never ending existence.

These cards remind me that there are two ways to look back at the past. With regret or acceptance. Nothing can be changed about the past. It is what it is. I currently find myself in a less than desirable situation, and I can either look back at how I got here and curse the events that I let myself be led by, or I can calmly accept what is and find a way to move forward, learning from my mistakes rather than blaming myself for them. These cards have provided me with very helpful and timely advice today.

Side note: I'm a little disappointed that the Moon card doesn't show an outdoor scene with the actual moon, as this seems the perfect deck for that sort of imagery.

Deck: Gothic Tarot of Vampires