Daily Draw - Justice, The Devil, Five of Swords (& Page of Cups)

Early this morning, I drew Justice, The Devil and Five of Swords. I was still tired because it was pretty early, so I said to myself, "What is this about?" and I turned over the deck to see the bottom card for a clue. It was the Page of Cups (the card that represents my son). I laughed, because it was crystal clear. The cards were acting out a situation that had just occurred.

About five minutes earlier, my son told me that the girls (who are younger than him) sometimes hit him, but they never get in trouble for it. But when he hurts them on accident, I tell him to stop. He said it wasn't fair that they don't get in trouble for hurting him on purpose, but he gets talked to if he hurts them accidentally during play. I normally don't get involved in their fights, I let them work it out themselves. They are always play-fighting, so someone is bound to get hurt. But they get into it voluntarily, so they know the risk involved. Also, if the girls are pissed, they will sometimes hit him, whereas he would never hit them out of anger. Although they don't hit him hard enough to hurt him, it's the principle of it. This must really have been bugging my son if he brought it to my attention, so I told him he was right, that it wasn't fair at all. So I talked to the girls about it. I told them that they couldn't hit their brother, unless it's in self defense. They reluctantly agreed, but we'll see if they actually acquiesce.

While I was looking at these cards, my son came over and started laughing. He said, "Hey! That looks like what I was just talking to you about the girls, and me asking you to make it more fair." I told him I was thinking the same exact thing. The behavior of the "Devilish" girls compared with his behavior towards them is unbalanced and has left him feeling taken advantage of (Five of Swords) so he brought it to my attention so that I could do something to make it right (Justice). I saw the girls in the Devil card as the two gummies being chained... they need to be restrained a bit in this situation and not free to do whatever they please to their older brother, just because they are smaller than him. And I, serving as Justice, need to be more aware about the fairness being even all around.

It's amazing how dead-on these cards were this morning!

Deck: Gummy Bear Tarot by US Games

Daily Draw - Eight of Wands, Ten of Wands and Page of Pentacles

Well, after the heaviness of last week, I wanted to choose a deck this week that would be lighthearted and cheerful and silly. What better than the Gummy Bear Tarot? Although I don't even like to eat Gummy Bears, you can't help but smile when you see the traditional roles of the RWS cards being portrayed by these squishable, edible little guys.

Today I drew the Eight of Wands, Ten of Wands and Page of Pentacles.

Yesterday I made the announcement that I was offering tarot reading services via email again. The results from that announcement came flying in very quickly, just like the Eight of Wands.

The gummy fella in the Ten of Wands was strolling along with his two wands, when suddenly he was attacked by a flurry of eight additional wands. He picked them up, picked up his pace and rushed home to show his family his good luck! While it would be a heavier load to carry, he was now much more abundant than when he started out on his journey. This is me, with my now suddenly busier schedule, having more readings to fit into my day, but it makes me happy, so it's good news.

The Page of Pentacles holds the coin for services rendered. The wands are the readings, which I exchange for the pentacle coin. (Maybe now I can afford a snazzy new hat/scarf combo like this fashionable guy!) This Page always makes me think of someone with a love of learning and service. Reading tarot is a constant learning experience, and with every reading I give, I also gain. I gain new insights into the cards, new methods of reading and the expansion of my intuition. I also love the feeling that results from helping others gain more clarity or perspective into their lives.

The Gummies are right on target with what's going on today and how I'm feeling about it!

Deck: Gummy Bear Tarot by US Games

Book a Reading with Me!

Details

I offer email consultations, which means that your reading will be emailed to you as a .PDF file. (Most likely you already have Adobe Reader on your computer, but in case you don't, it is a free download.) Your reading will include scans of the cards drawn for you.

Tarot Reading:
PDF Reading (Including images)
$55

My readings vary with each client. I have several favorite, time-tested layouts that work very well for me with most questions. Depending on your inquiry, I will choose a spread that is best suited to your needs, or I might just lay out cards free-form and see what I see.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you should be somewhat familiar with my reading style. Sometimes I will see a "traditional" meaning in a card, while at other times I will read purely intuitively. Most readings I do for others are a combination of the two.


Payment
I accept Paypal, which means that you can pay via credit card, debit card or bank account. You do not need to open a Paypal account to send a payment through them. If you have any questions, email me!

To book a reading with me*, click on the "Pay Now" button above, or send the appropriate payment via Paypal to me at TarotDame@gmail.com. When I have received payment, I will email you so you can pose your inquiry and I will let you know when I can schedule your reading (which will most often be within a week).

(Note... My readings are not computer generated. I am a real person, using real cards... so please remember that I do sleep at night, and am not always attached to my computer. Rest assured that I will get back to you as soon as I have received notice of payment.)

Alternative Payment Options
Not a Paypal fan? I might be open to receiving payment via an Amazon.com gift certificate. Email me and inquire before sending payment.


Things to keep in mind:
I will not do health readings to diagnose any medical conditions.
I will not do readings that are intended to replace legal advice.

The readings I offer are tarot consultations for those seeking clarity and guidance in a situation. Your future is not set in stone, so the readings I offer will help guide you in a positive direction. But taking those steps will be up to you. I take no responsibility for the outcome of your life.

*By booking a reading with me, you are agreeing to the terms above, and also confirming that you are at least 18 years of age. Also, I am required to disclose that readings are for "entertainment purposes only".


Kiki
Tarot Dame

TarotDame@gmail.com

Tea Leaf Fortune Cards - Weekly Reading

Sunday... Tea Leaf time! Here's an update from last week's drawing:

Candle: You will be shown the way.
Dragon: Beware of self-delusion.
Leg: Stepping into a new experience.

Good grief, did these cards ever come true! Here's what I wrote last week:

Well apparently this week I will be shown the way into a new experience, but I will need to watch out for the delusions I sell myself, so that they don't interfere with this new venture. The accompanying book refers to the lilies surrounding the candle as representing spiritual love, so maybe the "way" will be shown to me spiritually. I must make sure that I allow myself some quiet time each day this week to meditate and allow myself to be open for such communication.

My post yesterday explained the spiritual experience I had this week. When re-reading last week's Tea Leaf thoughts, the phrases "spiritual love" and "open for such communication" really struck a nerve. I had no idea what I was in for! I think the Dragon of self-delusion was warning me not to try to fabricate reasons for my melancholy, which I was wondering about in the absence of an explanation for my experience.

Now for the week ahead... (click on image to enlarge)



Diamond: Gift of jewelry.
Horse: Short journey.
Goldfish: Increase in material wealth or spiritual growth.

Well now this looks like it will be a better week for me! The Diamond card is pretty specific. A gift of jewelry. Last week I received a gift of two gorgeous hand painted tarot necklaces from Hannah (which I will be writing about in more detail soon!) But these cards are for this coming week, so there seems to be more jewelry on the way! Receiving jewelry isn't a normal part of my everyday life, so I'm thinking one of my girls will probably present me with a paper necklace or something that they created for me to wear.

The short journey of the Horse card can be anything really. A trip to the library or grocery store I'm guessing. I'm not expecting anything too thrilling there.

As for the Goldfish... well, I'm hoping that it indicates an increase in material wealth, rather than spiritual growth, because quite honestly I need a little spiritual break after last week's events. So a bit of money rolling in would be a very welcome outcome from this card.

We'll see how it goes... I will update next week. So far, once I scaled my Tea Leaf readings down to three cards per week, they have been right on the money every time!

Deck: Tea Leaf Fortune Cards

Ferris Wheels and Melancholy... Finally Explained

I haven't written for several days. I have had a difficult and rather unique week, to say the least. The story starts back on Tuesday, with my last blog post. The story of the ferris wheels begins with that post. so if you haven't yet read that one, please start there.

The evening of that post, a strange melancholy swept over me. I went to bed. I woke up Wednesday morning to find that the inexplicable feeling of sadness was still with me. All day I felt apathetic about life, like nothing at all meant anything to me. Feeling this way without any reason, without anything provoking it, was such a foreign feeling to me, so it was very uncomfortable to experience. I drew my daily tarot cards, and the first card I drew was the Nine of Cups. The only thing that popped into my mind was that it was just a larger version of the Seven of Cups I had drawn the day before. The cups were arranged in the same way, there were just more of them. A bigger ferris wheel, I thought. I didn't even bother with the other cards that came after it. I just put the cards back in the deck and turned on the TV. The movie that happened to be on at that exact time, on that exact channel was The Notebook. And I had turned it on at precisely the Ferris Wheel scene. But I was feeling too icky to be curious and intrigued about it. As the day passed, I wondered where this funk was coming from. It was disturbing to me that I couldn't shake it, and as nothing was provoking it, I felt nothing could be done to get rid of it. I wondered if maybe, for the first time in my life, I was experiencing PMS. But that was far fetched... I mean, why now, after all these years? I went to bed, hoping for a better next day.

Thursday morning... The cloud of melancholy greeted me in the morning, only now it was stronger. This is nothing I have ever experienced before. It was so uncharacteristic of me. I just don't get sad for no reason. So how could I possibly be feeling sad about nothing at all? I took out my cards, and drew the Nine of Cups again, and again I disregarded the following two cards. I saw only the "bigger ferris wheel" again.

After pulling that card, I put the deck away and turned to an envelope my daughter had made. It was full of little things she had made for my mother for her upcoming birthday. I opened it, and there was a drawing she had made of a ferris wheel. I called her over and asked her what made her draw a ferris wheel. She shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't know. She just thought Grandma would have fun riding on one.

From there, I went straight to my computer and went to Amazon to look up some new chapter books to read to my kids at night. I wanted to write down some titles to take with us on our next library trip. As I was searching, I followed links for recommended books based on the genre I was browsing. In the next few minutes, I came across two books featuring ferris wheels on the covers. My search had absolutely nothing to do with carnivals or anything of the sort.

I spent the day in the same sad state, wanting desperately to just snap out of it. That evening I turned on the TV. I never watch the news, but as I flipped the channels, I caught a glance of CNN. Michael Jackson was in the hospital. Then minutes later, he was reported to be in a coma. Then a couple minutes after that, his death was confirmed. My melancholy had found its match instantly. It wasn't there for no reason anymore. It was the exact same vibration. It felt almost like something clicked into place. Finally my sadness found its reason. It was horrible and a relief at the same time. I cried. I cried for Michael, not because of his death, but because of his life. I imagine he must have been such a lonely, lost soul feeling so out of place here. I sensed that his death could only have come as a welcome release for him.

I only watched the news reports on his death for about an hour. But in that span of time, they showed footage from his Neverland ranch. I was struck, quite powerfully, when the image of his giant ferris wheel was displayed. Again, there was that immediate click. A match. Everything that I had been experiencing for the past few days, all the ferris wheels, the unexplainable sadness, it all came together and everything was suddenly clear.

I lit a candle for Michael Jackson, I lifted a prayer for him, I sent him my overwhelmingly heartfelt wish that his spirit was finally free and at peace. I took a bath, shed my tears in the bath water while feeling a very intense spiritual connection with this man I had never met, and deliberately released this oddly strong connection I had with the time leading to his death. I watched a funny movie with my kids and went to bed.

I woke up on Friday morning happy. And so, so thrilled to discover happiness again. Happy for no reason feels SO much better than sad for (apparently) no reason, let me tell you. There was, of course, some sadness still, but again, not for his death as much as for the painful life he suffered through. But my melancholy was gone. I was back to myself, albeit a little weak from the last few days. Feeling normal again was an astounding feeling, I felt so grateful just to be back to a place where my emotions actually made sense to me. I took out my cards and the first one I drew was the Nine of Cups again. For the third day in a row, it was the first card that I pulled. That has never happened to me before. The Nine of Cups is the wish-come-true card, so I can only believe that this means that a wish has come true. I like to think that it is Michael's spirit, finally in a wonderful place.

I look back to the last post I shared on Tuesday. The original ferris wheel card, along with the Two of Wands and Six of Swords. The Two of Wands can be seen as a doorway through which one walks through. And I did see that when I first looked at the cards, but didn't write it. (At that time, the cards didn't appear to me to be about anyone else.) And the Six of Cups is moving on to a more peaceful place. I do so hope, with all my heart, that he has indeed passed on to such a place.

I don't know why this happened to me this week. Of course, as a child, I loved Michael Jackson. My mother played his music all the time. But he wasn't someone who I would consider one of my favorite artists. Maybe it's because I know what it's like to be misunderstood (though by no means on the same level as he was). Wanting to live a life of love, yet facing criticism for my choices because they weren't mainstream. No one can ever know what this man felt in his heart and soul, but for some reason, I feel like I can physically and spiritually sense a bit of what it felt like for him. However, I will probably never know why my spirit was aligned with his this week. Maybe his spirit was reaching out to others in its last earthly days, those in whom he could find acceptance and love, and I happened to be open at the time to receiving him.

This experience took a lot out of me, as it was very physically and emotionally draining, but it's something I will always remember with awe.

Daily Draw - Seven of Cups, Two of Wands and Six of Swords

The first thing I thought when I saw these cards was how boring the reading looked as a whole with nothing but unimaginative pip cards. Then I looked at the individual cards and a story unfolded for me. For some reason the Seven of Cups reminded me of a ferris wheel. I could actually see the cups moving around like a ferris wheel and hear the carnival music! At that moment, I was called away from the cards to do something for my kids... the cards would have to wait. During that time, my youngest daughter was watching a show on TV, and I looked up just in time to see a toy ferris wheel turning around on the screen. Then less than an hour later, I was reading an article where the woman mentions her first date with her boyfriend where they rode... yep!... a ferris wheel! What is going on with all the ferris wheels today? I mean, in the span of just an hour! It's not like ferris wheels are something I normally see pop up all over the place on a daily basis. Very bizarre... but when synchronicity is kind enough to be as obvious as that, I have to take it as a definite sign.

A ferris wheel spins around and around but doesn't really go anywhere. And really, that's pretty much like the Seven of Cups... all ideas, but no forward movement. Spinning your wheels.

The Two of Wands is another card asking me to make a decision, but it's much more promising than the previous card. The Two of Wands gives me a choice of direction, and the power to make that decision. I need only take stock of where I have come from, where I am now as a result, and where I want to go from here. This will help me decide what the next step should be.

The Six of Swords follows the theme of progression. This card actually indicates forward movement in a positive direction. Yay, we have progress!

So the message here is of progression. With all the ferris wheel signs today, I'll take that to mean that unfortunately, this is where I'm currently stuck in an area of my life, and I know that a large part of it has to do with where I am directing my energy. The next step is to get myself to the Two of Wands and actually make a solid decision, choosing the next path to take. Only then will I be able to deliberately move forward a la Six of Swords.

This reading was very eye-opening and helpful to me regarding something that I hadn't even realized I needed help with!

Deck: Cachet Tarot

Daily Draw - Death, Page of Cups and The Sun

This week I'm working with the Cachet Tarot. (I enjoy much of the Major Arcana and Court cards, so it's a real bummer that the Minor Arcana cards aren't scenic.) This cards I drew today relate to a reading my son recently did for himself, so before I display today's cards, I will share the reading that this one is referring to.

Last week when we saved the two caterpillars, my son was worried that they wouldn't grow well in captivity. He thought they might die. So he got out his Tarot of the Pirates deck and asked if the caterpillars would live or die. The Knave (Page) of Wands fell out of the deck. Then he drew the Nine of Pentacles, The Lovers and Death.


Here was his reading in his words:


Nine of Pentacles: "We found the caterpillars, and they are a treasure to us." (The card shows a treasure being discovered.)
The Lovers: "We love them."
Death: Brief silence, followed by: "Death... when I was shuffling the cards, that's the card I was hoping wouldn't come up, but it did."
Knave of Wands: "I don't know what this one could mean."

Before giving him my thoughts, I asked him if he thought the cards had an overall good feeling or bad feeling. He said the Death card was the only one that sounded like bad news, but the rest of them were good. But he was not happy to see the Death card, when asking a life or death question! I quickly explained the Page of Wands to him, and said that it looked like a strong, healthy, energetic young man, and this seemed to point to the well-being of the caterpillars' health.

Then I explained that while the Death card could possibly mean that the caterpillars would die, there were two things that made me think otherwise. Firstly, the other cards were very positive, so physical death would seem out of place. Also, and more interestingly, I often see Death as the metamorphosis card. Now, seeing that we were talking about the lifespan of caterpillars, there couldn't be a more fitting card in the deck to tell us that they would live to transform into chrysalises and then butterflies.

Now for today's draw with the Cachet Tarot... (Sorry for the poor quality photos. Will make a better attempt tomorrow.)



I drew Death, Page of Cups and The Sun. (The Page of Cups is the tarot card that represents my son.) This morning we woke up to find that the caterpillars had transformed into chrysalises. We were all so excited! They stopped eating two days ago and have been hanging from the top of the enclosure. The Death card reminded me of my son's reading, and how I interpreted it as metamorphosis. It was so neat to have it come up again in my cards on the exact day that the next stage of the caterpillars lives occurred! Closing out the reading with The Sun is just perfect. This is my son, overjoyed with the outcome.

Decks: Cachet Tarot and Tarot of the Pirates

Tea Leaf Fortune Cards - Weekly Reading

It's that time again! I'll start with an update from last week's drawing:

Door (opportunity) + Tankard (celebration) + Pineapple (reconciliation)

When I drew these cards last week, I was unsure what the Pineapple could have been alluding to. It wasn't until Thursday's daily tarot draw did this Tea Leaf reading make sense to me. The tarot cards I drew on Thursday referred to my realization this week that the recent reconciliation with my father has given me the opportunity to realize that I was better off not having him as a father figure when I was growing up. This revelation was certainly something to celebrate, as I can now release the years of past hurt and resentment, and instead be grateful for what was missing, instead of regretful.

Now for the week ahead...(click on image to enlarge)



Candle: You will be shown the way.
Dragon: Beware of self-delusion.
Leg: Stepping into a new experience.

Well apparently this week I will be shown the way into a new experience, but I will need to watch out for the delusions I sell myself, so that they don't interfere with this new venture. The accompanying book refers to the lilies surrounding the candle as representing spiritual love, so maybe the "way" will be shown to me spiritually. I must make sure that I allowy myself some quiet time each day this week to meditate and allow myself to be open for such communication.

Deck: Tea Leaf Fortune Cards

Three Day Reading with the Nature Spirits Oracle Cards

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon an oracle deck on Amazon that I had never seen before... the Nature Spirits Oracle Cards. The cover drew my attention, so I did quite a bit of online research about the deck but came up completely empty handed. I could find no mention of the deck anywhere, nor could I find any scans of the cards. So I contacted the deck creator (Elizabeth J. Foley), and asked if I could feature the cards on my blog, so that more people could become familiar with the deck, which she agreed to very sweetly.

I decided to use the cards for a few days and post my readings with it. I will write up another post with a more detailed review, but for today I'm sharing my first readings with the deck.




Friday
Yesterday when I got up and got dressed, for some reason I dressed in exercise clothes. I felt motivated to work out, though I hadn't planned to. Exercise is such a tough issue with me because I'm lazy. I'm not an athletic person. But yesterday for some reason my body was inspired to get moving. And oddly enough, it wasn't even something I realized until I unconsciously picked out my clothes in the morning!

Soon after getting dressed, I drew a card from this deck. I pulled the Body Movement card! I was pretty amazed. This card urges the querent to exercise in order to gain good health and vitality. It seems to me that the nature spirits were the ones picking out my exercise clothes in the morning, which was why I wasn't even aware that I was doing it!

Drawing this card was a pretty impressive first start with the deck!






Saturday
This morning I woke up early and was laying in bed thinking about lots of things. My train of thought led me to realize how addicted I am to the computer. I realized that I waste way too much time dilly-dallying online every day.

How many times a day do I really need to check my email accounts? Certainly not as many times as I do. And how many times do I need to check for blog updates? Once or twice a day, tops. And forum visits? That surely could use a cap as well. I thought of all the things I do online, and I gave myself a new limit on computer time so that I would have more time to get other things done.

When I got out of bed, I drew a card and was again surprised to see such a relevant card appear. The Web of Life card shows the nature spirits on computers! What were the odds of that? I see one of the faeries slouched down at the computer, as though he's been there for awhile and has no intention to leave it anytime soon. This was a very clear sign that my decision to limit my visitation with my darling laptop was a good and timely one.

So far I'm two for two with this deck!


Sunday
I decided to draw tomorrow's card today. I don't know why. I have never done that before. I drew Abundance. Nice! Tomorrow is the first day of Summer, and I will be giving my kids little gifts to celebrate, so they will certainly be feeling abundant. Tomorrow is also Father's Day and I'll be cooking special meals for my father, so he will also be feeling abundant. We might also head to the library and get our usual bags full of literary goodies, so that's another pot of abundance to go around. I will have to wait and see if there is anything else that occurs tomorrow that I am not yet aware of, but so far Abundance seems to be the theme of the day, just as the card says.

Here's a quote from the booklet regarding this card:

As the Nature Spirit walks confidently with his pot of gold, you may ask, "Where is my pot of gold?" Well, the Nature Spirits assure you that it is right around the corner.

I like that!! Sounds good to me! Some of the additional meanings include extra abundance coming your way through various means, organizing your finances, seeing abundance everywhere, and more...

It sounds like tomorrow will be a fabulous day which I can now look forward to with joy. Maybe that's why I felt called to draw tomorrow's card today... so that I could have something great to look forward to!

Three days, three cards, three very accurate readings. I am pretty darned impressed with the connection that this deck, and perhaps the nature spirits themselves, seem to have with me.

As I noted above, I will soon be writing a review of the deck with more specifics as to the card stock, artistry, accompanying book, etc. Stay tuned!

Deck: Nature Spirits Oracle Cards

Daily Draw - Empress, Temperance and Eight of Wands

When I saw these cards today, the Eight of Wands jumped out in my mind as something specific going on in my life, and the Empress confirmed the subject.

Last week, we noticed baby caterpillars on our parsley plant outside. They were about half the size of a grain of rice. Tiny. Within three days, my entire parsley plant was gone, and the caterpillars had grown astronomically compared to where they started. While we have other herbs growing, they are none of the plants that these Black Swallowtail caterpillars will touch. So sadly, one morning, we saw them leaving in search of another source of food. I didn't know if they would find it, and it was bothering me all morning. I didn't want all the lizards to eat them up before they had a chance to become butterflies. I'm a sucker for helping creatures. So I went back outside to rescue them, and saw that there were only two caterpillars left of the original six. I put the caterpillars in my son's bug carrier and went to the store to buy parsley. Since then, they have grown larger every day, feasting non-stop.

When I saw the Eight of Wands, it instantly reminded me of how fast the caterpillars tore through my parsley plant, completely annihilating it. The Empress card confirms what I saw just this morning. New growth from the plant. There was not one leaf or stalk left on that plant several days ago, but new leaves have just sprouted. This made me happy at first, but ended up worrying me. The new leaves will attract more butterflies to lay their eggs on the leaves, but it won't be enough to sustain them. I will either have to let the future caterpillars be lizard food, or capture them and raise them indoors again, until they turn to butterflies and can be released. But that will just be a vicious cycle that I don't think I have the energy for.

So I look to Temperance for some guidance. I love when this card appears in the middle of two others, because I know I need to blend what is on either side of her. She sits right in the middle of the Empress and Eight of Wands, so I see her as being the moderator between the two. Temperance is about blending opposites to create a compromise, a concoction that will make harmony out of possible conflict. So what do I have to blend from the two cards?

Empress: I want the butterflies to thrive, and on a much lesser scale I want my parsley plant to grow.
Eight of Wands: The caterpillars are too ravenous for my little plant to sustain them, but apparently the butterflies can't gauge this when they lay their eggs on the food.

So how do I use Temperance to strike a suitable compromise that benefits everyone? I think I will just take the parsley plant indoors and see if it will grow in the kitchen. Then the butterflies will have to find another place to lay their eggs (hopefully a much larger plant). Obviously since there are butterflies laying these eggs, there has to be another ample food source nearby. This way they will be taken care of and I won't feel the responsibility of taking them in, nor the guilt if the lizards eat them while they are traveling in search of more food once my parsley plant runs out again.

I just noticed the clock in the Temperance card, showing me that time is of the essence. I took a quick break from writing this to go outside and bring the plant inside, before any butterflies had a chance to spy the newly sprouting leaves.

This draw was very helpful for me today. My kids and I love watching the caterpillars grow, and it will be fun to watch the different stages of its life, but I think one life cycle will be enough for us for now.

Deck: Enchanted Tarot

Daily Draw - Prince of Pentacles, Six of Hearts and Three of Swords

This morning I drew the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles, Six of Hearts (Cups) and Three of Swords. When I saw these cards, three scenarios played out in my mind. But however I looked at it, they all alluded to the same thing:

• Slowly trying to be responsible and make up for a painful childhood.
• A man from my past who hurt me before.
• A man with a painful past.

I see the Prince physically riding away from the past and the pain of the Six of Hearts and Three of Swords. He is now trying to do right and make positive progress.

I saw me and my father in these cards. He was never around when I was a child, and I went 20 years without seeing him. I lived in heartache for most of my childhood, being disappointed by him time after time. Looking at the third scenario in the cards, I see that it might have been painful for him as well, though I never considered that. Now that he is in my life again, it's becoming easier for me to let go of the past. For one thing, I see how cantankerous he is and for the first time in my life, I can actually feel grateful that he wasn't around for me as a kid, because now I realize how greatly I would have suffered from his negative parenting philosophies and close-mindedness. He would never have allowed me the freedoms that my mother did, and my free spirit would have been stunted. What I painfully thought I was missing my whole life turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So I can now let go of the hurt and be thankful rather than resentful, which feels fabulously freeing.

I look at the woman in the Three of Swords card and see that there are designs surrounding her, shielding her from the swords. She can't be hurt by them. The pain is over.

I also had audio coming through the Prince of Pentacles card. I heard the circles at the bottom of the card pop like bubble wrap under the weight of the horse's feet. Popping away the negativity of the past and the delusions I had of how things might have been.

I also see the three children in the Six of Hearts and see my own three happy kids. It makes me happier than anything in the world to see them enjoying a carefree childhood, the way it's supposed to be.

Deck: Enchanted Tarot

Daily Draw - Queen of Pentacles, Princess of Swords and Five of Wands

It always amuses me when cards return so soon after so much shuffling. The Queen of Pentacles from yesterday is back today, along with the Five of Wands from two days ago. Today they are accompanied by the Princess (Page) of Swords.

The Princess of Swords shows a young woman reading a letter. This page always makes me think of a clever discovery. Whatever this princess is reading has led her to an exciting new revelation. Some secret revealed. So it looks like I will discover something new soon. And next to the Five of Wands, it seems like it will relate to something I have been struggling with. And for more information, I look to the Queen of Pentacles. So the thing I have been having conflict with has to do with something pentacle-y, which could be any number of things including finances, health, the house, family, etc. Something tangible and worldly.

My first thought was that I will have an a-ha! moment regarding a new way to bring in income, which is something I have been trying not to struggle with lately. It's funny because last night I did a cleansing, and I had this thought come to mind that I would be presented with a new financial idea, since I was now opening myself up to such inspiration. So for it to play out in the cards this morning is a great sign!

Deck: Enchanted Tarot

Daily Draw - Ten of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles and Queen of Pentacles

Lots of Pentacles today! Today was all about cleaning out a closet. Ya know on TV when they show someone opening a closet and everything falls out? This closet wasn't too far from that point. I had to clear it out and organize it before it got that bad.

The Ten of Pentacles shows a solid, stable home front. This closet was precariously cluttered and did not reflect that secure feeling of the Ten of Pentacles that I desired.

The Seven of Pentacles is me all the way. It's the end of the day, and I am exhausted! This closet literally took up my entire day and evening, and I still have one big bag and one box to sort through. I keep looking back in the closet to admire my accomplishment, while at the same time feeling a little bummed that I still have a tiny bit more to do tomorrow. But I'm too burned out to do any more tonight. Definite Seven of Pentacles.

And I guess the Queen of Pentacles is the little bee in my bonnet today that made me decide to tackle this job in the first place this morning. It wasn't a planned project. The domestic Queen of Pents in me just had to get it done today for some reason. (Isn't the Queen of Pentacles in this deck just gorgeous, by the way?!)

Deck: Enchanted Tarot

Daily Draw - The Devil, Five of Hearts and Five of Wands (+ Prince of Hearts)

This week I'll be using the Enchanted Tarot. I have had this deck for well over a year (another gift from my mom) and have never used it. Tapestry isn't a style of art which appeals to me (no offense to the artist... the artistry is amazing), but more than that, the cards are large and made of ultra-thick card stock which is extremely inflexible, making the deck impossible to shuffle. I wanted to finally give the deck a chance, so I decided to just sort them into piles as a way of mixing up the cards, then I fanned them out face down and picked the cards which called to me, rather than shuffling and cutting.

Today I drew the Devil, Five of Hearts (Cups), and Five of Wands. As I was pulling out the third card, the Prince (Knight) of Hearts slid out with it, calling to be used as well. These cards played out this morning, in the exact order that they appeared.

This morning I ran errands with my kids and my father, who always ends up grumpy when we do errands together. On the way back from the store, I wanted to stop really quickly at another store for a couple things. Rather than unloading everyone, I thought I'd leave the kids in the car with my dad, and just run in really quickly. I had a feeling that by the time I got back to the car, he would have upset at least one of the kids. I was right. I was in the store for less than ten minutes, but by the time I got back to the car, my youngest daughter was crying.

My daughter had started drawing on her arms and legs with a pen, and my dad told her she couldn't do that. He told her to stop, or else he would take the pen away. She didn't want to stop, so he told my son to take the pen away from her. She started crying, and according to my son, my dad kept telling her to stop crying. When I got back in the car, they told me what happened. It pissed me off because my dad knows that I don't have a problem with her drawing on herself. He was just grumpy and needed to have his own way, upsetting my daughter for no reason.

I told my son to give my daughter the pen back and told her that she was free to write on herself if she wanted to. Then I asked him why he had told her she couldn't do something that he knew I allowed her to do. This pissed him off, because he had told her no, so he was upset that I went and told her she could. Then he mumbled something angrily about when she has to go to the hospital with ink poisoning then I would be the one to take her, not him. I rolled my eyes, and changed the subject so that we wouldn't get into a heated argument about it.

The Devil card shows my dad's power issues; he was being an arse just for the hell of it, forbidding my daughter from doing something harmless just because he was the man in control for ten minutes. The Five of Hearts was my daughter crying, not understanding why he was preventing her from doing something that I allow her to do. And the Five of Wands was the brief butting of heads between my dad and me after I told her she could have the pen back.

The Prince of Hearts is the card that comes up for me when I receive a gift. When we got home from running errands, there was a package waiting for me in the mailbox.

Deck: Enchanted Tarot

Tea Leaf Fortune Cards - Weekly Reading

First, an update on last week's TLFC reading. The cards were accurate, but ended up predicting something completely different than what I had in mind...

Stork (birth) + Dagger (worries) + Mountain Road (success)

This week we had pet reptile eggs hatch, and new eggs laid (Stork). This was something that I'd been anxious about (Dagger), as we had been getting impatient waiting. So this week was a success (Mountain Road) in that aspect. Though it wasn't what I had expected from last week's draw, it was accurate nonetheless!

Now for this week's reading (click on image to enlarge):



Door: Opportunities are waiting for you.
Tankard: Celebration, fun, enjoyment.
Pineapple: Reconciliation.

When I turned over the Door card, I had to laugh. Here is another "opportunity" card! I am being knocked over the head left and right with the opportunity warnings lately. I don't know if I'm missing something, or if it just hasn't showed up yet and is making sure I'm wide awake and alert when it arrives, so that I don't miss it? I hope it's the latter. I'd hate to think that it's already staring me in the face and I am blind to it! I don't want to miss what appears to be a great opportunity headed my way.

Tankard promises that this week will be a fun one. I think I'll take this bull by the horns, since I can. I won't wait to see what enjoyment awaits me. I'll celebrate on my own, activating the law of attraction in my favor big time this week! I'll have fun without reason, just because I can!

The Pineapple baffles me for the time being. It also appeared as a part of my 7-card layout from last week, which I only focused on the first three cards. So I will have to give this one more thought. Am I supposed to deliberately reconcile with someone, and if so, who? Or will there be a surprise reconciliation that I'm unaware of? (Not quite sure why a pineapple is the symbol for reconciliation.) After checking the book for further meaning, it says that I could be reconciling with someone, or it could mean that I will reconcile to accept a disagreeable situation in my life as something that can't be changed at the moment. Hmmm... I will have to think about this one.

I also wanted to note that yet again, I drew seven cards this week, but am only focusing on the first three. But two of the cards in the seven this week caught my attention because they also appeared in my monthly reading for June. (When I first got the deck, I did a year-ahead reading which required me to draw four cards for each month, for the next 12 months.) So perhaps those two cards from the June reading will play out this week, since they re-appeared. If so, I will update here and share the cards. I find it surprising when cards reappear so quickly in this deck, since there are 182 cards in play.

Deck: Tea Leaf Fortune Cards

Tarotory

This morning I had my laptop set up on the coffee table, with a bunch of tarot and oracle decks surrounding me on the couch. My kids all came running to me at one point, tripping on the laptop wires, and plopping down on the couch next to me, right on top of my piles of open decks. "Aaaaack!" I screamed. "Everybody up and out of this area!"

I proceeded to point out the area in which I was working, and how it was currently off limits. I said, "For right now, this is my tarot territory. Please stay out of my tarot territory."

My 7 year old daughter replied, "You mean your tarot-tory."

I thought that was such a clever and adorable play on words, and she has now officially coined the term "tarotory" for the area where I'm working with my cards.

Daily Lenormand Draw - Ship, Mouse and Bouquet

I drew three cards today from my Lenormand Astrologisches deck. I drew Ship, Mouse and Bouquet. My first thought was that I would be receiving a gift (Bouquet) from far away (Ship), but that there might be something wrong with it... it might arrive broken or something (Mouse). Either that, or there would be delays in the arrival of the gift.

Then I took out my Grand Tableau reading that I did at the beginning of June, for the month ahead. This is a reading I do at the beginning of every month, using all 36 cards. Right in the middle of the layout, were these exact three cards, in the same order. Ship, Mouse and Bouquet! They fell right between the Lady and House, so it made me think that this gift is something that will be addressed to me, and sent to my house.

I was having trouble accessing Blogger to write about my reading this morning, and before I was able to log on, the cards had already played out. The mail lady knocked on the door with a package from my mom (who lives on the other side of the country). So there was the Bouquet and Ship cards. The box was filled with items for me and my kids. There was a stuffed animal for my daughter that was holding a string of felt hearts. The hearts were ripped off one of the hands. (There was the Mouse... part of the gift was damaged!) And after a minute of holding the bear, the hearts had torn completely off.

So these cards played out very quickly today!

Deck: Lenormand Astrologisches

Reading: What Do I Need To Hear Right Now?

I have had the Lord of the Rings Oracle set for a long while now but have never used it for a reading. The set was a gift from my mom, who loved the books. I have never read the books or watched the movies, so I am completely unfamiliar with the characters, settings and plot. For this reason, I felt that the cards' meanings would be lost on me. There are several cards (mostly the ones featuring trees) that I find stunning, and for some reason today the deck was calling to me for a reading. So I set aside my ignorance of the story, and told myself that I could find guidance in anything, and the cards would tell me what I needed to know without needing the background set up for me.

I simply asked the cards what I needed to hear right now, and drew three cards. (Click on the cards to view them larger.)



Before looking up the meanings in the book, I took a look at the cards for my first impressions. The first card seemed to me to have an eerie quiet about it. The calm before the storm. When all is calm, but you can just feel in the air that something's about to happen.

In the second card, I had the distinct feeling that there was something going on under the fog, that there was something definitely hidden by the clouds. It felt as if something was going to pop out at me any minute. I sensed an uncomfortable lack of clarity, but couldn't tell if what was hidden would be good or bad. (At that time I hadn't yet looked at the titles, so I missed the auspicious clue "Blessed" in the title.)

And the third card shows men on horses, charging toward the two other cards. Yep! Something's a'comin'! And it's coming fast and furious!

So the general feeling I got from looking at the three cards was an unnerving calm, feeling anxious, knowing something is on its way, but not being able to see through the fog just what that thing is. And when it comes, it's gonna practically knock me down with the suddenness of it all.

After I made my observations, I cracked open the accompanying book to see what it had to say about the cards. It was neat to see how well the cards' meanings integrated with my own feelings.

Forest of Mirkwood: The need to remain focused on one's objective(s), and avoid being distracted. Avoiding hasty moves that render it impossible to retrace steps. The need to follow guidelines of those with an experience of this path. Adventurism out of place.

The Blessed Realms: New horizons. Fulfillment after a struggle. The realization of your ambitions. The probability of success. Spiritual love.

The Rohirrim: Moving quickly from A to B. Not allowing anything to stand in your way. Dedication to the mission/tasks at hand. The communication of important messages. The value of fast action/response. Being prepared to bypass normal ways of doing things in order to secure the necessary result. Taking the initiative.

So to summarize, and combining my initial feelings with the book's meanings, the Forest of Mirkwood cautions me to move carefully, not to make any sudden moves that would make me stray from my path. The Blessed Realms, thankfully, shows me that what is hidden beneath the fog turns out to be a good thing! It promises a happy and fulfilling destination at the end of my journey. And The Rohirrim suggests to me that if I faithfully stay the course, and act quickly on opportunity, I'll reach my destination quicker than expected, due to my ability to do things differently than most others. It looks to me like I may be headed down my path, unable to see the finish line, and then... wham! all of a sudden I'll be there! I'll turn a corner and find that the ending was much closer than I thought it was.

This encouraging reading left me feeling energized, enthusiastic and eager to continue on my path with renewed vigor! It was very helpful to me, because I have lately become discouraged about a path that I have been on, and I've been feeling like I had reached a plateau instead of making progress. So I am very happy that I listened to my intuition and got this deck out, despite not knowing anything about the Lord of the Rings!

Deck: Lord of the Rings Oracle

Deck Review: Archeon Tarot

The Archeon Tarot became my main personal reading deck the moment I had it in my hands. I was intrigued by the images I'd seen online, but certainly did not expect to connect with it on such a personal level.

First of all... what does Archeon mean? Following is an excerpt taken from the LWB, written by deck creator Timothy Lantz:

"The name "Archeon Tarot" springs from several sources. "Archeons" were regents of ancient Athens, whose jurisdiction covered civil affairs. The word "anarchy" dates from a time when strife and chaos prevented archons from being appointed by the Athenians. "Archeon" also relates to archeology. An archeologist sifts through layers of the past to discover meaning. Those who consult the Archeon Tarot sift through the layers of imagery in the cards, thus finding a way to harvest order and meaning from chaotic or seemingly unrelated events of life. Finally, "Eons" were considered to be emanations sent forth by God, or embodiments of divine attributes.

Consider the Archeon Tarot a window into the mythology of one man's world, or at least how he imagines his world to be."

The Cards
The Archeon Tarot is a digital collage deck, which normally I steer clear of. But the seamless and dreamlike way this one was done appealed to me. It does not scream "collage" in the traditional sense of disconnected images slapped together.

The images in this deck are dark. And by that I mean literally dark in hue. I don't find it to be so much a dark/gothic deck as a deck with incredible depth and layers. What I love about it is that the cards serve as a perfect gateway to your intuition, if you are open to allowing yourself to experience intuitive reading. There are no canned readings with the Archeon. When I pull this deck out, my intuitive muscles are stretched and I read from my soul rather than from my mind.

Now let's talk borders. I always have something to say about borders. The borders on this deck are actually very nice, and I really love the font used for the titles. However, the inner striped borders always distracted me and I couldn't get past that, so they had to go. Once I cut the borders off, I fell in love. The images became so much more powerful without the interference of borders. While this review features images of the borders intact, you can view my daily draws with this deck where I have posted images of my trimmed cards. (After clicking the link, scroll down past this review to see the other posts.)

One of my favorite cards would have to be the Five of Swords (image at left). How hot is he?! I would gladly accept defeat at his hands as long as I could watch him do it. Another card that stood out was the Eight of Swords, because it reminds me so much of me! Not the naked-and-tied-up part, but the actual profile and hair of the woman. It's strange to see your likeness in the face of another, especially on a tarot card!

The Tower is another of my favorite cards in this deck, and probably my favorite Tower card of any deck. It just exudes the overwhelming feeling you're supposed to get with this card. There is a woman crouched down in the forefront of the card, protecting her head with her hands from the inferno ruining the building behind her.

The Four of Wands gives me this powerful "staring fresh" feeling. The Queen of Swords is hauntingly beautiful. The Six of Pentacles is effective in its simplicity. I really like the atmosphere of the Seven of Wands, in which an old house is made into a character.

There are a few cards that I haven't yet found easy to relate to, such as the solitary woman in the Ten of Cups, or the beautiful-yet-somber feeling Three of Cups. But they haven't yet come up for me in any of my readings, so perhaps when they do, I will understand their meaning as I am supposed to at the time, just like I have with the rest of the cards in the deck.

(All cards mentioned are shown in this review.)I must also mention that there is a fair amount of female nudity in the deck which, in all honesty, I could do without because it is a bit distracting, but it's not enough of a deterrent for me to eschew this particular deck.


How it Reads
I clicked with the Archeon immediately on a soul level and the readings I do with it are hard to put into words. It's more of a comprehensive knowing I get, and all the images gel together to create a deep understanding of what I'm supposed to know. For that reason, I have not used this deck to read for anyone else. I would have a very difficult time vocalizing a reading with this deck because for me, it surpasses words. So the deck remains one that I only do readings for myself with.

I have found that these cards do not beat around the bush. They deliver the truth and nothing but the truth, no matter how ready you are to face it. One of the first drawings I did with the deck was inquiring if I could trust a certain man I had just met. I was having iffy feelings about his integrity. I pulled a single card, the Seven of Swords, which shows a raven holding in its mouth a shiny gold piece hanging from a chain. I knew instantly this man couldn't be trusted, and it turned out I was absolutely right.

The deck is not light and fluffy, sparing your feelings. It gets down to the nitty gritty, to the stuff you may have been shoving down in the back corners of your consciousness. So it's not for the faint of heart or mind, but rather for those brave souls who want to gain access to their inner (and outer) worlds, no matter how long the dust has been settled there, or how raw it will make your emotions. The Archeon Tarot surpasses the superficial and gets down to what's real. And for this, I find it an invaluable collection of 78 pieces of card stock!

The LWB and Spread Sheet
The Little White Book which accompanies the Archeon Tarot is deck specific and well written by the deck creator. The Majors give much more detailed descriptions than the Minors, offering with each card a famous quote, descriptive insight into the card, and upright and reversed keywords. The Minors each begin with a brief fragmented phrase, followed by keyword meanings for both upright and inverted positions. The 10-Card Celtic Cross spread is also included.

The Spread Sheet included with the Premier Edition (shown at left) is custom designed to accompany the Archeon Tarot and displays the Celtic Cross featured in the LWB. Spread sheet measures approximately 17" x 21" and folds up for easy storage.

Final Thoughts
I think this is one of those decks that you will either really connect with or not. It's not the type of deck that everyone will be ready for or comfortable with. I happened to bond with it instantly, and wouldn't be without it. If you are looking for a deck that will engage your intuition and you aren't afraid of what you might find there, then I highly recommend the Archeon Tarot.

See below for 12 more images.

Suits: Cups, Wands, Swords, Pentacles
Court Titles: Herald, Knight, Queen, King
Justice/Strength: Strength 8, Justice 11
Cards: 78
Card Size: 2 3/4" x 4 3/4" (trimmed size: 2" x 3 5/16")
Card stock: Glossy
Backs: Reversible
Deck-specific LWB: Yes
Deck-specific Spread Sheet: Yes
Artist: Timothy Lantz
Publisher: U.S. Games Systems, Inc.




To see more images, visit my daily draws with the Archeon Tarot.
Note: My daily draws feature images of the cards without borders, after having been trimmed.


Deck: The Archeon Tarot (published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)