Heart of Faerie: A Day-Long Project

Today's cards got straight to the point. I had "the day off" today. I had no obligations, no work to do, nothing scheduled. This is what I saw in the Queen of the Day. Today was My Day to spend how I wanted to, completely free. This was my blessing from the Queen. And what I chose to do with it was shackle myself to the computer for nine straight hours, literally breaking only to feed the kids. The Smith works on melding things together, and that's what I was doing, in the form of a book. I was working on creating a book for my stepdad's birthday. It was full of photos and writings by me and my kids. The Big Behind represents the past, and digging into the past was a big part of this project, as I had to dig through boxes to find old photos that I wanted to include in the book.

Half of me is thankful I had this day free to get this project done, while the other half of me feels like I wasted a whole day away. Now I'm going to sit down and watch "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" with my kids. Then American Idol. And tomorrow is a new day... a new month!

Deck: The Heart of Faerie (by Brian and Wendy Froud, published by Abrams Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Heart of Faerie: What is my Question?

Today I asked the faeries to give me a message I needed to hear. What I got was a riddle, which is the way the faeries like to answer questions sometimes. I would say that a riddle is the last thing I need right now, but maybe it's just the thing I need. Riddles are interesting and mysterious. I can see myself up for a good mystery.

In the center is my favorite card of the deck. The Question. I love the creature in this deck. He and the boy with him are also featured together in another card (my other favorite). Instead of giving me a message, the faeries are asking me a question. What is it I want to know? What is my Question? And to that, I can only say I don't know. Right now, I feel a bit disconnected from my life. My daughter's ER visit through me for a loop, and it took me days to calm my nerves about it. On top of that, or exacerbated by that, I feel disjointed from my life right now. I feel like there's a question I need an answer to, but I don't know what that question is. So right now, the question is, "What question do I need to be asking?" This reminded me of a quote that I love by Rainer Maria Rilke, which I'm sure I have quoted here before (the bold is my doing):

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

So even without a question, I find this series of thoughts comforting and inspiring. For, without a question to love, I have yet this question: What is my question? and that is the inquiry I need to live and love at this moment. The desire for a question.

The Lady of Leprechauns has been popping up a lot for me in my readings with this deck. In one hand she holds a crystal ball, and in the other... a mask with a crystal point where the third eye would be. She's asking me if I would rather be able to see into the future, or to know the present with crystal clarity. Do I want to know what's awaiting me in the near future, or do I want to know more about what is going on around me right now? Thing is, this Lady's arms are crossed... she's not handing out the options in a straightforward manner. Instead, she has mixed up the two offerings, and holds them with her arms crossed, making it seem like a trick. The leprechauns are tricky folk, and not entirely trustworthy. What she's doing reminds me of the Battle of Wits scene from the Princess Bride (see below). Both choices are a trick. So this is telling me that right now, I should be focused on neither of these options as questions to ask myself.

So, while I am no closer to discovering my question, I can rule out the future and the present. What does that leave me but the past? I try my darnedest not to live in the past. I like to let it stay where it belongs... in the rear view mirror. But maybe there is something I need to resolve that is still lingering in my life. Something that is holding me back from living the fullest present and future that I can. Even though I don't feel like I live in the past, perhaps there is something that I have not yet let go of, and I am unconscious of how this is still affecting me.

I look to the first card for more insight, and I don't get very far. In Two Minds can't make a decision to save his life. It's no use asking him anything. He's the master of indecision. He's both Yes and No. Right and Wrong. Go and Stop. I can see that I won't get anywhere with him. And that's what he's telling me. I'm not getting anywhere. Bingo! I was right! There's something stopping me from getting where I need to go. I'm stuck, and the key to this stagnancy involves something in my past that I am still clinging to.

Very interesting. This reading took me to places I least expected them to today. So I am still facing a riddle, but I have more clues on where to look for the answer. Or the question, I should say. Then the answer. I love, love, love the faeries. Bless Brian Froud's heart.

Here's the scene from The Princess Bride, which I was reminded of by the deceiving offering of the Lady of Leprechauns:

Deck: The Heart of Faerie (by Brian and Wendy Froud, published by Abrams Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Heart of Faerie: My Daughter's Stitches

I'm back! For those of you who haven't heard, last week my sweet little 6 year old daughter had to get seven stitches in her leg. (It was my first ER visit as a mom.) So I have been taking a blog break, needing to spend my time taking care of my babe.

This week I'll be working with the Heart of Faerie oracle deck. This is the newly published sister deck to the Faeries' Oracle. I'm a huge fan of Froud's Faeries, and was thrilled to find that this new deck is every bit as enchanting as the first.

This is a reading I did for my daughter last week, the night she got her stitches. We had gone to the emergency room in the early afternoon, and got home in the evening. It was a horrifying day, and everyone was emotionally and physically shaken up (including my daughter, myself and my two other children). When we got home, and I settled my daughter into her new role as Queen of all Goddesses, I asked if she wanted to hear from the faeries. She said, "Yes! They always tell me the truth. I want to know if I will be feeling pain tomorrow."

As I was shuffling, I was thinking to myself that there is a Queen in this deck that deals with physical healing. I didn't remember which Queen it was, but wondered if she would appear. And sure enough, she was the first card we turned over. The Queen of Owls. I told my daughter she was the Queen of healing, and she smiled and was very happy to see that.

The next card was The Maiden, who I saw as my daughter. Although she would be more aptly represented by The Child, since she's still so young and small... she handled the whole emergency situation with a great deal of maturity. My other daughter and son were crying, and she was trying to console them. She asked the doctor a whole bunch of questions, and although she was nervous, she was still very strong in her inquiries.

The third card, Hope, shows a moment of quiet, dark despair. It was indeed a dark day for us. I can still hear my daughter's chilling and heartbreaking screams of pain when the doctor injected her wound with the anesthetic. That pain was like a dagger straight into my heart. It was the longest 30 seconds of my life. But after she was numb, she was fine, physically. But the trauma of the day was still palpable for all of us. It's interesting that this card shows a female faerie holding one knee to her chest, while her face is turned to her right. My daughter's injury was just above her left knee. While the doctor was stitching her up, I sat on the bed with her, holding her hands and reminding her to look to her right, towards me, instead of seeing what the doctor was doing. The faerie's leg that is down is the same leg my daughter had to keep still for the doctor to work on.

The faerie in this card is sitting on a creature of darkness, whose face is hard to make out clearly, but it is definitely not a happy face. The faerie has her head down, in the direction of this darkness. So she can't see the Faerie of Hope flittering right above her. It looked to me like the emotional aspect of the emergency would still be with my daughter the next day, but the physical healing would begin, and although she might be a little sore, the worst of it was well behind her.

The next day, her stitches were a little sore, but not too bad. She also had a tetanus shot, and oddly enough, that left behind a more painful aftermath.

Deck: The Heart of Faerie (by Brian and Wendy Froud, published by Abrams Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Undersea Tarot: Swords Family Moment

Wow. I don't think I've ever had a daily draw like this before. The Queen, Knight and Page of Swords... in exact descending order. And yes, the cards were properly shuffled. They haven't been in order since I first got the deck back in '08. So this was a pretty neat draw. What I saw in them was this: The Page has discovered something, and the Queen sent the Knight to go take care of it. The Page of Swords is the card I usually relate with one of my daughters. The Knight of Swords is the proverbial Knight in Shining Armor, coming to the rescue. The Queen of Swords in this scenario could be me, as I sometimes relate this card to single moms. Beyond that, I didn't really know how these cards would play out today. As it turns out, they were incredibly accurate.

This afternoon, my daughter (the one I think of as the Page of Swords) yelled from the bathroom that there was a fly buzzing around the window. She wanted someone to get rid of it. I immediately delegated the job to my son, who loves insects of every kind. So there I was, as the Queen of Swords, commanding my son, the Knight of Swords, to take care of the situation discovered by my daughter, the Page of Swords. He caught the fly and escorted it outside. (He doesn't kill bugs.) Pretty cool how the cards manifested so clearly today.

Deck: Undersea Tarot (by Frank Fradella and Jeziel Sanchez Martinez, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Undersea Tarot: Internet Withdrawals

This week I'll be working with The Undersea Tarot. I love the Death card in this deck, with its cloaked figure, imposing scythe and lethal Box Jellyfish (which reminded me of the end of the movie "Seven Pounds"). There is an ending symbolized here, and a painful one at that. I do believe the cards are being quite melodramatic, explaining my situation today. The cable guys were working on the street today, so I was without internet for most of the day. I kept checking my laptop throughout the day like a compulsive addict.

The Nine of Starfish (Pentacles in this deck) is the feeling of being comfortable, and having everything just so. Death's scythe points dangerously in the direction of this card, which today symbolizes the luxury of the internet which had temporarily ceased to be a given for me.

The Ace of Shells (Cups) illustrates the majestic, sweeping motion of a hand dramatically emerging from the sea holding a shell in triumph. Ta da!!! Peace is restored! I'm back online... though now I'm headed off to bed, and will have to do my catching up tomorrow. (This card, with its hand/shell combo also reminded me of photographs I took today of my son holding a snail.)

Deck: Undersea Tarot (by Frank Fradella and Jeziel Sanchez Martinez, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

DruidCraft: A New Journey in the Cards

The Three of Wands is back again today. Yesterday, what he had been waiting for had finally come to him. And by him, I mean me. And after writing that blog post, I was presented with a wonderful opportunity which further emphasized the good news message.

Today, in the Three of Wands, I am looking out yet again, this time at the Fool who represents the brand new journey I am embarking on. I am excited to begin, and look forward to all I will learn from the role. Behind me is Temperance (in this deck, Brighid, The Fferyllt). The secret to her alchemy is everything coming together in perfect harmony, which sometimes includes that magical ingredient of synchronicity or serendipity. As this card is behind me, I feel the universe had a hand in arranging this connection for me behind the scenes, and that little bit of mysticism always adds an enjoyable touch to any situation.

As a side note, in this card Brighid mixes fire with water. I'm a water sign. I'll have to find out if the person I'll be working with is a fire sign! Either way, Temperance augurs that we will compliment each other well.

(Once the details are ironed out, I will share more relevant info here, as it has to do with divination.)

Deck: DruidCraft Tarot (by Will Worthington, book by Stephanie and Phillip Carr-Gomm, published by St. Martin's Press)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

DruidCraft: Man Power

The DruidCraft Tarot feels very masculine to me, and today's cards in particular have a lot of male energy in them, which is something I don't have a lot of in my life. But I welcome it today, as the cards are favorable. What I saw in the cards today was the guy in the Three of Wands looking expectantly at the road, waiting. The feeling I got from this card was that of casting out a fishing line and waiting for something to bite. Then, before he knows it, there's the Prince of Pentacles. This Prince is sometimes slow going, and it seems like the guy in the Three of Wands has been waiting awhile. I had a vision of the Prince arriving so suddenly that while the 3W guy blinked, he missed it. He's gonna have to turn around and see that what he's waiting for has already arrived.

From the other side, there's a procession headed this way, celebrating the arrival of the Prince. The Prince of Pentacles is a card that I often see come up to indicate news of good fortune, usually financial. I can relate with these cards today, on a small scale. But a small scale is better than no scale, so I'll use it as an opportunity to practice gratitude for what I have received today.

Deck: DruidCraft Tarot (by Will Worthington, book by Stephanie and Phillip Carr-Gomm, published by St. Martin's Press)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Heart of Faerie: The Green Man... on St. Patrick's Day!

I wanted to take the faeries out today, since it's St. Patrick's Day and it seems only natural. I completely expected the Lady of Leprechauns to appear. However, the faeries had a different representative in mind today. The Green Man. On St. Patrick's Day! I had to laugh out loud when I drew him! Guess the faeries didn't want to be too predictable with the leprechaun card I was expecting, but still wanted to WOW me with an incredible relevant card.

This morning, my kids and I all dug through our drawers to find something green for each of us to wear. I'm wearing my green "Everyone loves an Irish Girl" t-shirt (given to me as a gift from a friend a couple years ago... I'm not bold enough to buy myself a shirt which claims that everyone loves me, but I'm not too shy to wear it knowing someone else bought it for me.). My youngest is proudly wearing a (very green) Tinkerbell costume, while the other two don green shirts. The Green Man approves of our efforts, of course. He's telling me that we need to spend some time outside today with the trees and grass and bushes and berries and faeries and all that good stuff. And we shall! Maybe the Lady of Leprechauns and her tricky companions are waiting for us in the yard.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Deck: The Heart of Faerie (by Brian and Wendy Froud, published by Abrams Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

DruidCraft Tarot: Down the Rabbit Hole

Today's cards are a picture-perfect illustration of what has been going through my mind over the past two days. The other day, I spent practically the entire day devouring the book, "Busting Loose from the Money Game", which isn't so much about money as it is about the perspective of life from a holographic point of view. It has changed the way I have looked at things over the past few days. And while it's still too early to give any sort of feedback on the theory, it certainly has me fully absorbed in it.

The book touches on quantum physics and how everything we see is just an illusion. Nothing is real. The book provides a method where you can face every discomfort that comes your way and see it for what it really is (an illusion created by your higher self for the purpose of enjoying the game/movie of life), and then retrieve your power from it. Ultimately, we are beings that naturally have unlimited joy and infinite abundance, but we have hidden that from ourselves, for the purpose of enjoying the seeking and retrieval process. If what the author suggests is true, then this would make Life the ultimate game of Hide and Seek. I'm not doing the book justice here, because there's a lot more that goes into it. While I know that I am a spiritual being having a human experience, sometimes it's hard to remember that when thrown into daily life. The processes in this book are designed to help people reclaim the infinite power that is naturally inherent in all of us.

Back to the cards... The Queen of Cups in the middle is me. That's my card. She is facing the Two of Wands, which shows the Long Man of Wilmington. The Long Man holds up two staves, creating a door, a portal into another world (or reality). This is what I am facing now, the offer to walk through this door, and go down the proverbial rabbit hole.

As the Queen, I have my back turned to the Seven of Cups, which just blew me away. Here we see a man with a cup beside him, but the reflection in the water shows six cups. It's all just an illusion. Cups and water representing emotion, the six cups he sees are feelings that are overwhelming him. It's too much for him to handle. But what he doesn't realize is that they are nothing but smoke and mirrors. They're not real. He has the one cup next to him, the perfect amount of water for him. He doesn't realize that he needn't fret over the excess that's not even really there.

The cards show my back turned away from this illusion. I no longer believe the tricks and traps that "reality" has been showing me and fooling me with. I hold up that one cup, that one Cup of Truth from the Seven of Cups, and I face the portal in the Two of Wands. The cards are a snapshot of where I have been, where I am now, and what I face. I don't yet know what will happen if I take that leap down the hole. But I'm intrigued enough now to take that step and find out.

Deck: DruidCraft Tarot (by Will Worthington, book by Stephanie and Phillip Carr-Gomm, published by St. Martin's Press)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

DruidCraft Tarot: A Hibernating Ex

This week I'll be using my DruidCraft Tarot (trimmed of its borders). When I drew these cards today, right away I thought that I would hear from an ex. The Lovers + Six of Cups made me think of an old flame from my past. The Ace of Pentacles shows a bear coming out of a cave, after a long hibernation. It made me think that I will receive word from someone that I haven't heard from in awhile. I have been having frequent dreams lately about one of my ex's, so maybe I'll be hearing from him soon.

Deck: DruidCraft Tarot (by Will Worthington, book by Stephanie and Phillip Carr-Gomm, published by St. Martin's Press)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Heart of Faerie: The Gift

I had to share this incredible reading with the faeries. My son wanted to open one of his gifts today, on his "Birthday Eve". I asked the girls what they thought, and they both said "He can wait until tomorrow." LOL! After awhile, my youngest gave in and said she thought it'd be okay. So my son said, "Why don't we ask the faeries?" Sometimes he asks me to consult my Faeries' Oracle deck for him, and the advice is always helpful. So today, I got out the new Faeries' sister deck, The Heart of Faerie.

While shuffling, I concentrated aloud, asking several times if he should open one of his "gifts" today. I cut the cards twice and put the deck face down on the bed. All three kids were there, huddled around the deck. I put my hand on the top, and before I turned over the card, I said, "You know, there's a card in here called 'The Gift'". And my son said, "Imagine if that was the card that came up?!"

I turned the card over, and there it was. The four of us sat there in shocked silence, all of our mouths open wide. Incredible. When I was shuffling, I was going to suggest that if The Gift appeared, it meant he should open it. But I didn't say it, because the odds were unfairly stacked against that one singular card coming up. I wanted to leave it more open-ended, leaving room for other cards to also potentially say "yes". I guess by now I shouldn't be surprised by the faeries and the magic they bring into our lives. But I still always am... surprised and delighted when they answer so directly. (Reminded me of this recent reading where The Sage gave us such literal advice.)

Obviously, we didn't even need to talk about what we thought The Gift card meant. I got right up and selected a gift for him to open. Gotta love the faeries!

Deck: The Heart of Faerie (by Brian and Wendy Froud, published by Abrams Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Celtic Tarot: A Milestone Birthday

Today the cards pretty much blew me away. They clearly spelled out what is on my mind today. Tomorrow is my son's 10th birthday. The Page of Cups is the card that always represents my son. The Moon is the card that correlates with the sign, Pisces, which is the sign he was born into, ten years ago. Pretty amazing that both the Page of Cups and The Moon came up the day before his birthday. And the Ten of Coins in the middle shows the abundance he will receive tomorrow in terms of celebration, family, money and gifts. Also neat that he's turning 10, and a "10" card showed up! Another incredible synchronicity is that the card that always represents my son, the Page of Cups, in this deck is portrayed by the knight, Sir Tristan... the very same knight who I named my son after!

I can't believe that tomorrow, I will have been a mother for a decade. It goes by so fast. Too fast. I have often wished for a Pause button that would freeze my kids in time, while they're still young. Instead, I must remember to enjoy every moment that I am lucky enough to share with them.

As many times as I say it to myself (and hear him excitedly repeat it), I still find it hard to believe that tomorrow my oldest child turns ten. Ten! Double digits. He's the most beautiful, amazing, sensitive soul. If I had wanted to design the perfect son, I couldn't have come up with anyone more wonderful. And I mean that absolutely, most literally and with all the sincerity of my heart. I am so, so, so very lucky to be his mom.

Deck: Celtic Tarot (by Courtney Davis, book by Helena Paterson, published by Metro Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Celtic Tarot: Getting Down to Brass Tacks

When I drew today's cards, I knew immediately what they meant for me. The first card, Seven of Coins, shows something that I've been working long and hard at, and now is the time to assess the situation... see how far I've come and whether I want to continue what I've been doing or change course. The Eight of Cups shows me walking away from this, as it is clearly not working for me. And the Three of Coins reminds me to return to what I know... what I do best. Get back to the basics, and do what I do well, instead of struggling to do what I think I'm "supposed" to do. The message in the cards today was short and sweet and got right to the point. I wholly appreciate when it's that easy.

Deck: Celtic Tarot (by Courtney Davis, book by Helena Paterson, published by Metro Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Celtic Tarot: Corey Haim, Rest in Peace...

I shuffled my cards just moments after finding out about Corey Haim's death this morning from a drug overdose at age 38. While I was shuffling, I was thinking about how sad it was, and remembering the role he played in my life at age 13. My best friend and I both had crushes on him with his adorable crooked smile, after seeing him in the Lost Boys. He was one of the boys we enjoyed sharing pictures of from the teen heartthrob magazines. Thinking of him brings back good memories from that time in my life.

It saddened me recently to see where he was now, with his recent reality show, and to see him in such turmoil, pain and addiction. It shouldn't have had to be that way for him. For anyone. So when I heard the news of his death today, I was left with a melancholy feeling, that he missed out on so much of the wonderfulness that life has to offer. He didn't get to see how good life could be... how much love and beauty and joy there was available to him. Such a sad, sad shame. However, as I felt when Michael Jackson passed, I sense that leaving this world can only have been a releasing, freeing, peaceful passage for him. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to wake up every day in such a hopeless, struggling state of mind.

The cards I drew obviously reminded me of what I was thinking about while shuffling, though I did not intentionally question the deck about Corey Haim.

In the Four of Swords, I immediately heard "rest in peace". This card gave me a sense of relief for him. It symbolizes a period of both rest and peace after a long period of turmoil or struggle. It's not the painful ending of the Ten of Swords, but the peaceful release that I had sensed his death had brought him.

The Sun illustrates how sometimes being in the spotlight can get you burned. The Sun isn't always a good thing. Too much of it is dangerous. Unfortunately, too much exposure sometimes leads to tragic lifestyles for celebrities.

The Six of Cups brought to mind a couple things. First, it made me think of Haim's childhood. Sitting right next to the children and nudity/vulnerability of the Sun card, I think about how he was molested as a youth, and how that experience (mixed with the burden of keeping it a secret and the pressures of stardom) was obviously a factor in what led him down the escapism path of drugs. Also, in this card I see how he seemed to be stuck in the past, unable to move beyond the "child star" syndrome, never quite able to make a name for himself as an adult actor.

The Six of Cups also reminded me of myself and my best friend, in our youth, and how Corey Haim was a bright light in so many of our days. That was the good side of The Sun. Looking back at the Four of Swords, I sincerely hope he is now feeling the peace and freedom of releasing the shell of life that never quite fit him the way it should have. I have much love for the memories he left behind in my life.

Rest in Peace, Corey Haim (1971-2010).

Deck: Celtic Tarot (by Courtney Davis, book by Helena Paterson, published by Metro Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Celtic Tarot: The Vampire of Wish Fulfillment

The King of Swords in this deck looks like a vampire to me. Looking really close up, I can see that it's just the shape of his beard. But I generally don't read the cards within an inch from my face. So this guy will always look like a vampire when I see him. I showed the card to each of my kids, separately, asking them what they saw, and they all said "vampire". So I'm not alone here.

I do NOT like the King of Swords. But oddly enough, the fact that he's a vampire (to me) in this deck makes him more appealing. Funny, that. Lucky for him. I see the King of Swords as a cold authority figure (which I apparently have a problem with), and usually someone who has a feeling of superiority to him (which I dislike immensely in a person.) Worst case, he's Hitler, and best case, Frasier. Frasier's lucky that he has the humor thing going for him, which saves him.

So how can I take this arrogant king and make him work to my advantage? Looking at the other cards, I see that it ties into the manifesting and perspective changes that I am trying to make in my life. This king tells me that I am the one in control of everything that goes on in my life. I am superior to my circumstances and experiences, in that I am the one who has the power over it all.

The Ten of Coins is about financial and familial stability. And the Nine of Cups is that good ol' Wish card. And yes, financial stability for my family is at the tip top of my manifestation wish list right now. The King of Swords tells me that I am the boss of my wishes. I am the leader of my life. My life experiences have no choice but to bow down to me because I am the one in power, in control, in charge. And I'm a vampire too, so watch out!

Vampires give new, everlasting life. And that's what I am on the road to doing with my finances and wishes. The Nine of Cups assures my success, as long as I remember who's boss.

I also see a lot of Wheels in the cards. The Coins are shaped like wheels, and there is a wheel in the center of the coins as well. There are also wheel-shaped designs surrounding the Cups that look like lemon slices. There are even several circular shapes in the King card. All these wheels made me think of the Wheel of Fortune, which made me realize that the more I keep on track, focusing my energy where I want it to flow, the more Fortune will favor me, and quite possibly in ways beyond even my own expectations, as the Wheel of Fortune tends to do.

Deck: Celtic Tarot (by Courtney Davis, book by Helena Paterson, published by Metro Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Celtic Tarot: Mastering Manifestation-Meditation with the Moon

Gotta love all those M's! This week I'm going to be working with the Celtic Tarot (the one by Courtney Davis). My aunt recently sent this deck to me, and to my surprise, I clicked with it really well despite the Minors being non-scenic. Must be the Irish in me. ;) The readings I have done with this deck so far have been really spot on.

Today two of my favorite cards showed up. The Hermit and the Moon. The Queen of Swords is along for the ride, and I have to say that I really love when I find a deck that has a beautiful Queen of Swords, such as this one.

Last night I went into Hermit-Manifestation mode. I spent time alone, in meditation and deliberate light-seeking. The Moon reminds me of the time of night when things seem magical and mystical. This rendition in particular has a ritualistic feel to me. Among other things, the Queen of Swords is without a doubt a master of her thoughts. Part of what I did last night was to be aware of my thoughts, because I have been living on auto-pilot lately. I've not been taking the time to be aware of where my energy is focused. Last night I was inspired to get back into a positive groove, and in order to do that, I need to have a sharp mind like the Queen of Swords. Because in order to get to where I want to be, I have to know where I am at all times. Walking around in a fog will get me nowhere.

Early this morning, I experienced such a positive spin to the day that was totally unexpected. It wasn't a specific desire I had planned, but it was a wonderful change of events that left me feeling relieved and happy. So I have already seen the universe working on my behalf from the little bit of effort I put in last night, which is exciting. Just gotta keep myself motivated. (Another M word!)

Deck: Celtic Tarot (by Courtney Davis, book by Helena Paterson, published by Metro Books)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.

Deck Review: SoulCards 1 & 2

SoulCards 1 & 2 are two separate decks, but I will be reviewing them together here, as they are the same premise, just with different drawings. Both decks contain powerfully evocative and soulful images.

The cards were created using a technique called Touch Drawing, a method which was serendipitously discovered by Deborah Koff-Chapin on the last day of her last year in art school, while helping her friend clean an inked glass plate. Moving her hands over the paper towel atop the inked glass, she lifted the towel to discover an image on the underside. Delighted, she continued, and Touch Drawing was born. You can view Deborah demonstrating a Touch Drawing here. It's amazing to me that these intricate and detailed images were created using this unique method.


The Cards
Each deck contains 60 glossy cards, each measuring 3 3/4" x 4 7/8". (The decks are sold separately.) The backs of the cards aren't exactly alike, even when they are all upright, so they are somewhat reversible in their own way.

The cards are housed in a small box, with a booklet, and then additionally housed in a larger box that serves as a frame for a favorite card from the deck. If there is a card you want to meditate on, the outer box allows you to insert the card and put it on display. While ordinarily I would scoff at the wasted resources of the extra box, I think it's an asset in this case because there are so many gorgeous cards in this deck, and they are genuinely little pieces of artwork. The cards can be used beneficially as focal points, reminders or meditation targets, so having a handy place to display them is very convenient. I often like to prop up a card, but propping leads to dropping, and I always have to pick it back up several times. So I do like the frame box idea very much.

The 36-page booklet gives you different ideas on how to work with the decks, including visuals, writing, movement, dreams, as well as verbal and musical approaches to the cards. There are ideas on using the cards for therapy, divination, with children or groups. The booklet does not provide any meanings for the cards. The SoulCards serve as an intuitive tool, so what you see in the images will change with every look. And every person who looks at the cards will see different things, depending on what message the images have for them personally. This makes reading for others a more interactive experience, allowing the querent to connect with the images and pull the significance out of the cards that strikes a chord with them.

I liken these cards to visiting an art museum. There are no "meanings" attached to the paintings hanging on the walls, and every visitor who looks at the artwork will see it in a different way, from their own personal perspective. And when you go back to the museum a second time, the painting you saw sadness in previously, you might now see hope, depending on your state of mind at the time of viewing. That's what the SoulCards are like. The messages they hold depend on who is looking at them and what they are going through at the time.

I also wanted to note that when I first saw the images online, I thought SoulCards 1 seemed a bit melancholy and dark, soul-wise. But when I had them in my hands, they didn't feel that way at all. Sure, there is dark to be seen in the images if that's the frame of mind through which you are viewing the drawings, but I didn't get a dismal vibe from them at all. In fact, my children even enjoy looking through the cards, telling stories about what they think is happening.

How it Reads
The first thing that comes to mind when wanting to explain how it reads is how synchronous my readings have been with these decks. If I'm thinking of a particular card just before, or while, shuffling, more often than not it will appear in my reading. I love when this happens with the cards in general, but only having these decks for a couple weeks and having this happen many times during that period is pretty incredible.

I love the fact that the cards have no set meanings, because it frees the reader to see what comes to them intuitively. The cards aren't even titled, or numbered, which allows you ultimate freedom. There are so many little details in the cards that you can see something different each time you look at them, and I always do. One day I see someone screaming at the top of their lungs and the audio coming from that card makes me physically want to cover my ears... and the next time I draw that same card, all I see is a huge yawn (see here). It's spectacular, really, how the messages I receive from these cards don't stick or remain stagnant and unchanging. It's not like "this card always means this, and that card always means that". So while you have 60 cards, you aren't limited to 60 messages. The possibilities are endless. Sometimes even something so utterly and completely obvious might not even show up in my perception until I see the card for the tenth time that day (see this post for a great example)! That post was also the one where I intuitively saw my dad's eye issues, and I later found out that that very morning, he had undergone eye surgery (which I did not know was even scheduled)!

One of the first readings I did with this deck was regarding a fishy email I received from someone interested in placing advertising on my blog. There were a few red flags that went up in my head, and my intuition was telling me that this guy wasn't being totally honest. He left things out of his email that shouldn't have been withheld in such a correspondence. I pulled a card from the SoulCards 1, and received an image that showed a man smiling, holding his hands over the eyes of two other people (image shown below). Right away, I saw that he was "pulling the wool over their eyes". The guy in the card was definitely not wanting these people to see the whole truth. But he was smiling, acting like Mr. Nice Guy. I followed my gut, and turned him down. Afterwards, I contacted the company he claimed to be representing, and they assured me they were not affiliated with him. So the SoulCard I pulled had accurately confirmed my suspicions.

Final Thoughts
The SoulCards are an incredible intuitive tool that I absolutely and enthusiastically recommend. If you are looking for a deck that will liberate your perceptions and free you to do readings based on intuition, you can't ask for more than these cards. The two decks can be purchased separately, and it's just a matter of personal preference which one you gravitate toward more. One doesn't preclude the other. (All card images from both decks can be viewed at SoulCards.com.) You can also use the decks together in a variety of ways. You can mix them together to create one large deck, or you can use them in readings, together but separately, like I did on the blog this week, choosing a card (or more) from each deck.

SoulCards are also available to send as beautiful e-cards for free here!

Both decks are available for purchase directly from the artist, Deborah Koff-Chapin, at her website: SoulCards.com. They may also be purchased in many independent spiritual bookstores, or ordered at your local chain store. *Note to store owners: The main distributors of SoulCards are New Leaf, US Games Systems, and Baker and Taylor.

See below for more images from SoulCards 1 & 2.


SoulCards 1:






SoulCards 2:





To see more images and readings I've done with the SoulCards decks, visit my posts with the deck here.

Decks: SoulCards 1 & 2 (by Deborah Koff-Chapin, published by The Center for Touch Drawing, SoulCards.com)

~ Kiki
Tarot Dame

If you'd like to book a tarot reading with me, please visit my website for details.