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The High Priestess: An intuitive approach
As I look at the Pagan Otherworlds High Priestess my focus is drawn to the open book. But why? I’m not sure yet so I just simplify things. How? By asking basic questions. What sort of book could it be? Since she’s the High Priestess I’m imagining it’s a book of secrets so I’m going to say it’s a journal. But why is she holding it like that? It doesn’t look natural. She’s gripping it. Is it someone else’s journal and she has just discovered something she wishes she hadn’t? Then a thought starts to form. How often do we go searching for truths that we don’t want to find?…
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The Relative Tarot
I bought The Relative Tarot on my Mum’s birthday. It’s twenty-eight years since she passed and this year I will have lived longer without her than with her. So, while I have been drawn to ancestral work for a while now, in all honesty, this was a comfort buy. Though, having worked with it I now feel it was a guided purchase. When I flip through the deck it feels like home. That probably sounds a tad odd, but it is honestly the best way I can describe it. These aren’t cards, they’re people, and they want to be heard. So they talk. They talk a lot, and I love…
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Tarot Tableau Revolution
I became aware of Tarot Tableau Revolution through Dina Rosenberg (creator of Crystal Keys Tarot). Dina runs a podcast called Apothecary After Dark with her business partner and one of the episodes she pointed me to was an interview with Maria Alviz Hernando, author of Tarot Tableau Revolution. While still listening to Maria speak, I grabbed my phone and ordered her book. While much of her teachings aren’t applicable to how I approach tarot, I found the book fascinating and I picked up some new ideas that I’ve since incorporated into my practice. I’ll be writing individual posts on those, but I will touch on a couple of them later.…
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20 Great tarot decks for beginners
While I’m about to present a list of the decks that I personally consider to be great beginner decks, I want to preface this list by saying, the best beginner tarot deck is the one you connect with. After all, to learn tarot you have to be keen to pick up your deck. Generally the things I would suggest you look out for when buying your first set of tarot cards, is an RWS based, fully illustrated deck. There are three reasons for this. My current list Below is my list. It is in no way exhaustive. Nor is it presented in any particular order. I have included the beginner…
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Tree of Life Spread
Recently someone reached out asking for assistance in understanding how to work with the Tree of Life Oracle when laid out in the Tree of Life Spread from the guidebook. Doing so reminded me of two things: this is a beautiful oracle deck and this is a great spread. Uses Most spreads can be tweaked to make them suitable for a variety of uses. That is definitely the case here. For me though, this is a fantastic spread to use when: The spread I have shared below is a slight variation on the version shared by David Wells in the Tree of Life Oracle guidebook. Considerations The Tree of Life…
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Cottage Magic Tarot
I bought the Cottage Magic Tarot because I felt that it matched what I wanted my life to look and feel like – calm and cozy. The uncomplicated art style offers a snap shot of how things could be. You don’t have to try and find meaning. It’s not “hidden” in a plethora of symbols. It’s just there in solid blocks of colour. Nothing feels busy or overwhelming. Put simply, in a chaotic world, it feels manageable. About the Cottage Magic Tarot Deck When I opened the Cottage Magic Tarot and saw the chicken at The Fool’s feet I knew this deck was going to surprise me. I’m a very…
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Using tarot to unlock the power of story
It is hard to partake of any story-based research without coming across the name Joseph Campbell — for good reason. The man knew stories. He dedicated his life to them. In his book, A Hero with a Thousand Faces, he claims that “deep-seated archetypes lurk in stories created by all kinds of cultures.” Anyone who’s picked up a tarot deck knows they exist there too. That is why tarot is such a powerful story-telling tool. But why is that important? Importance of story I’ll let Jessica Macbeth, author of the Faeries Oracle guidebook start the conversation. She wrote: First and foremost, for many of us, we learn, grow, and lead…
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Hidden stories spread
Recently I wrote a short article called Using Tarot to Unlock the Power of Stories, (you may have even come to this from there), and it inspired this Hidden Stories Spread. Uses Everything we do, think and feel revolves around a story, yet sometimes we are not aware of what those stories are. This spread can be used to help you uncover, explore and understand those stories. I would use this spread across many areas but the underlying intention remains the same — What am I not seeing? Below are some possible applications. Considerations Firstly I would suggest that you have a point of focus when asking your question as…
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Crystal Keys Tarot
Some decks have a theme you can really relate to. Others have artwork that speaks to you, or a guidebook that makes you feel like your sitting down talking all things tarot with a close friend. And some decks, well they combine all three. For me, the Crystal Keys Tarot is one such deck. Some general information Packaging Now I have a lot of decks but there are only a few that have made me gush over the packaging. But, from the moment I pulled the Crystal Keys Tarot from the bag I was impressed. My initial notes read “Packaging – stunning.” The colouring, the artwork, the spot gloss accents,…
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Getting to know your tarot deck
As I was reading through the opening pages of The Faeries’ Oracle guidebook I came across an idea that I thought would also be a great way of getting to know a tarot deck. So, having tried it with The Faeries’ Oracle, I then tried it with the Golden Tarot. And wow, the notes from three of my five categories feature the same word — surprised. To put this into some context, the Golden Tarot isn’t a deck new to my collection, but, during this exercise, it felt like it was. The exercise So what’s the exercise? It is simply to divide your deck using categories of your own choosing.…
