September 2009

We don’t give readings in a vacuum. Whatever is going on of a seasonal nature, whatever grief mother nature is giving us, whatever the positions of the planets brings (such as retrograde energy), these will all affect our readings. It behooves us to pay attention – to drag the calendar out and check a month or two ahead. In this way we will know when Mercury goes retrograde, when a Blue Moon is going to occur, when the New and Full Moons are, when the change of season comes into play – all the neat stuff that makes up life.

We can place this information in our newsletters, post it as conversation on Twitter and Face Book (Linked In could care less!), post an article on our site or write a blog (yes, like this one!) that shares what the upcoming energies are. If we read in person or through e-mail, we might want to make some kind of handout for our clients.

September is going to be quite an interesting month. We have a Mercury retrograde in Libra, moving into Virgo (with the Sun in Virgo), and a unique energy day on September 9th (the 09/09/09 that is popping up everywhere!). The retrograde energy starts on September 7th, and lasts until September 29th. (It is also the fourth Mercury retrograde in 2009 – usually we only experience three in any given year.)

Retrograde energy means that we need to pay attention to all forms of communication, anything having to do with travel, and things mechanical – such as forms of transportation, fax machines, printers … all the things we depend on daily! With the retrograde energy in Libra, we will be looking at relationships and the quality of harmony in our lives. When it moves into Virgo, we will be focusing on accountability and the ability to analyze the issues in our lives.

The energy of September 9th (09/09/09) still carries the retrograde issues, but takes us deeper into acknowledging and resolving issues from the past. The quality carried by the number nine is that of humanitarianism, equality, justice, idealism, creative thinking, compassion, and selflessness. As the last single digit number, it can be seen as the number of completion.

Add to this a more esoteric thought – on 09/09/09 some believe that earth will receive a charge of spiritual light energy that will anchor it in spiritual love. This surge of energy will bring into consciousness negative energy from the past, negative beliefs that we have developed and accepted, and issues that we have not gotten resolution to. This is going to create a lot of chaos – especially if we choose to fight it. If, on the other hand, we choose to work with it, we can bring resolution to these past issues and move on, having learned our lessons.

The energy of 09/09/09 is considered universally to be conducive to relationship. To that end, many couples worldwide are planning to be married specifically on this day.

What can I say – September should bring readers a boatload of customers, with a myriad of issues to deal with. A little preparation, and we should be able to help a great many people!

© August 2009

Affirmations For the Everyday Goddess

Affirmations For the Everyday Goddess –
Spiritual Guidebook & 22 Wisdom Cards For Contemplation & Prayer

Author: Pamela Wells
Artist: Pamela Wells
Independently Published – ArtMagicPublishing
2009
ISBN #978-0-615-24049-7

We are, indeed, all Everyday Goddesses! To help us celebrate this, Wells has combined the archetypes of the Tarot with the art of Affirmations and the energy of the Divine Feminine. “Affirmations For the Everyday Goddess” is a 22 card deck and 110 page companion book set that presents each archetype in feminine form. This is a Collectors Edition, with the cards and box done in gold leaf overlay.

The companion book, entitled “Spiritual Guidebook For Contemplation & Prayer”, is much more than a presentation of the cards. In her introduction, Wells talks about understanding our life within a spiritual context, a context that gives us the answers to our own personal challenges. The purpose of this deck and book is to help us see our personal issues with greater clarity, and to explore life’s meaning and purpose. How much we learn, and the depth of what is revealed, is dependent upon our depth of study and intentional focus during contemplation, meditation and prayer.

The goddess imagery in this deck honors the highest aspirations of all beliefs, cultures, traditions, and religions, and celebrates the principle of the divine feminine. Affirmations are seen as tools for personal growth that can lead to positive re-imaging, taking personal responsibility, and recognizing your personal potential, amongst other things.

Wells gives suggestions for using the deck, for consecrating it, and for learning to recognize when your own intuition is kicking in. She addresses the archetypal energy of the cards, and the journey to self-knowledge. She discusses the concept of non-dual awareness, the return of the feminine (the Archetypal Goddess), and exploring our inner world (looking behind our eyes).

Each card is presented with a black and white scan, keywords, affirmation, a section on how to affirm each archetype, a list of questions for contemplation, an inspirational quote, sometimes a poem, an exercise, and a final question to ask of each of the archetypes.

Several of the exercises are presented as Tarot reading templates (The Emperor, Temperance, The Moon, and The Sun). Other exercises include writing your life story, making a mask, seeing behind the veil, archetypes and dreams, consciousness visualization, individuation with totem animals, learning from past choices, being of service, visualization embracing death, shadow work, and reconnecting to your joy.

At the end of the book there is a table listing each card and the wisdom prayer connected with each one.

The cards themselves are large – 3 ¾” by 5 ½”, glossy, and laminated, with rounded corners. The backs show a jungle scene, with lush green foliage, red flowers at the bottom of the card, and a jaguar coming straight out of the leaves, meeting the readers eyes. The backs are not reversible.

The card faces have a shimmery gold border (thanks to the gold leaf overlay), with the card number and title in black lettering at the top of he card, and the card affirmation at the bottom, also in black lettering. The titles are traditional, with the following exceptions: the Hierophant becomes the High Priest, and the Hanged Man becomes the Hanged One.

The models that posed for this deck are mothers, teachers, artists, therapists, students, lawyers, businesswomen and friends of Pamela Wells that have devoted their lives to the Goddess, service to others, and the well-being of the planet. The images are meant to portray strong, self-confident, powerful everyday goddesses.

The colors used in this deck are intense, but do not overwhelm the imagery. The imagery and symbols within the card are all part of the story, all meant to help the reader connect with their own feminine within. I was impressed by many things with this deck – the naturalness of the imagery, the flowing nature of the gowns that the women are wearing, and the repetition of symbols throughout the deck, such as the snake (seen in the Empress and the Tower), and birds (the Empress, the Emperor, the High Priest, the Wheel of Fortune, Death and the Star).

Specific cards that I was drawn to were the High Priestess (shown wearing a flowing black dress, holding her arms p over her head, with peacock eyes showing on the material flowing from her left arm, with the sky showing through the material flowing from her right arm), the Empress (a female figure surrounded by a wreath of greenery and red flowers, with an abundance of fruit held in her robes, the Lovers (a winged angel in white robes, gazing into a globe that she is holding sowing a male and female figure). the Hermit (which shows a night scene with a female figure in white robes walking through the forest holding a candle)), the Devil (showing a female figure emerging from the roots of a tree, roots that are connected to a male and female figure).

This is a deck that works well as a spiritual focus, for working with affirmations, and for doing personal work with each of the archetypes. It is also a collectors deck, and a deck that can be appreciated for its wonderful artwork and imagery. A unique feature of this deck is that it is also available as an iphone app –
(http://www.artmagicpublishing.com/ipapforafgoc.html ).

This is an independently published (self-publishes) deck, that is of absolutely top quality. The box that it comes in is heavy duty, with a lift off top. The inside of the top shows a white background, with gold leaves. The bottom shows a gold background, with white words representing spirit (i.e. Divine, Yahweh, Infinite, Govinda). The top, sides and bottom of the box were all designed by Wells herself (a definite upside to independent publishing!). For more information about the process, see Well’s interview with Kris Waldherr – http://www.artmagicpublishing.com/s20inwikrwa.html .

This is definitely a deck worth checking out! More than a deck, more than a series of affirmations – it is a tool of empowerment for anyone that chooses to work with it.

© August 2009

Goddess Energy

I recently had the privilege of reviewing Pamela Wells “Affirmations For the Everyday Goddess” (Independently Published, 2009, www.ArtmagicPublishing.com , which combines Tarot, Affirmations and Goddess energy. It is a 22 card Major Arcana deck with each of the archetypes portrayed in feminine form. This started me thinking about the various decks that I have worked with that are based on Goddess energy.

Wells discusses what she terms as “non-dual awareness”, which embraces both emptiness (masculine) and matter/form (feminine) aspects of being. An integrated self contains both the “being” and the “becoming”. She sees the feminine principle as reemerging in the collective consciousness of humanity. Feminine tasks are seen as the ability to look inward (to “see behind our eyes”), and integration (bringing all of our parts together). For Wells, the feminine is all about knowing ones self, imagery and truth. I found this a strong foundation for a very workable deck.

In the “Goddess Tarot” (Kris Waldherr, U.S.Games Systems Inc., 1997), each of the 22 Major Arcana is named after Goddesses from various backgrounds (i.e. Magic/Magician is Isis, Sacrifice/The Hanged Man is Kuan Yin, The Star is Innana). The impetus behind the creation of this deck was to present a tool of empowerment that was connected with the feminine energy in life. The very cool thing about this deck is that it is now an iphone app (http://www.artandwords.com/gtapp/index.html )!

Another deck that comes to mind is the “Triple Goddess Tarot” (Tara McKinney, Mara Friedman, Isha Lerner, Inner Traditions Bear & Co., 2002). This is a 26 card Major Arcana deck (the four extra cards are termed alchemy cards – Infinite Bliss, Infinite Truth, Infinite Potential, and Tinity), with the addition of seven Chakra cards. It is based on the energy of the Tarot archetypes, the chakra healing, and the divine feminine. The work presented in this book is based on a question that Isha Lerner posed: “What would it be like if I lived each day as if I were the Goddess?” This deck is focused on integrating spirit (the 26 Major Arcana cards) and the physical self (the seven chakra cards). Each image is accompanied by rituals, prayers and guidelines for invoking the Divine Feminine.

I have found that working with each of these decks brought something different to me. They helped me to grow in large part because of the tools of empowerment that they combined (and the gorgeous artwork they all contained!). There are times when we all (male and female) need to work with our feminine energy. We need to be able to accept ourselves as who we are, and be able to integrate those various selves.

Where does the Divine Femine fit into your life?

A New Day

Thanks to Stephanie Arwen Lynch (@TarotByArwen), Twitter crossed my radar just before it became so immensely popular. I have found a wonderful home there, have made many new friends and have come across incredible working information in the Tweets from the people that I follow.

Therein lies the problem. I felt that if someone was following me, I should follow them (unless they were just too far out, or not really in my interest zone). At over 600 and counting, I decided to cut back to my main Tarot peeps, and a few other people that I truly enjoyed following. At under 150 people, I can actually see the Tweets that I want to see! That was a huge step, and a huge relief. Now I was enjoying Twitter again!

I have been engaging in #followfriday, and #women2follow out of respect for the people that I was following. I felt that they had something to offer, and that if I could bring them to the attention of others, this was an easy way to do it. This was a Martha Stewart “good thing”, until I realized that I was almost going into panic mode on Wednesday and Friday until I got out my appropriate Tweets. It reminded me of a time many years ago when I realized that every day I was driving to work with my teeth clenched – I loved my job, but my boss was a type A physician that was difficult for everyone to work with.

I looked at why I was engaging in the # scenario, and felt that it was for the right reason. But I had to admit that it was taking too much time, and that I also had reservations about the “air space” that these Tweets were taking up. I looked for a better way to show my respect for those that I felt had something to say.

I decided to stop doing the #followfriday and the #women2follow, and focus on responding to Tweets in a conversational manner, and on ReTweeting. In this way, I would be showing respect for my fellow Tweeter’s, and getting their information out there.

This works for me, although it may not work for others. Twitter is a social media, the same as Face Book, Linked In and My Space. Each of us has to define how we want to present ourselves, and what we want from each venue. While some people will work with the Twitter apps, enjoy doing so, and benefit from them, just chatting works for me. I can share what needs to be shared, and promote what needs to be promoted, within my personal time constraints and still enjoy myself.

For those that have been on my #followfriday and #women2follow lists, please do not regard this as disrespecting you. We will still chat, and I will still RT your Tweets! I would also ask, in turn, that I be taken off of your #followfriday and #women2follow lists. I deeply appreciate being there, but it is time to move on.

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

Author: Ciro Marchetti
Artist: Ciro Marchetti
Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN #978-0-7387-1565-0

The “Legacy of the Divine Tarot” was first published as a Special Edition deck, prior to being mass published by Llewellyn Worldwide. It comes as a set, with the traditional 78 cards, the companion book “Gateway to the Divine Tarot”, and a black organdy bag to hold the cards. The box is a cigar type box that opens lengthwise. The cover shows the imagery from the Queen of Wands (which many of you will recognize from Leisa ReFalo’s “Tarot Connection” site). On the back is printed the following:

“Step into a lost world from long ago …

A world veiled in darkness after a cataclysmic collision that stilled the earth. Millennia have passed and only humankind has survived – through the divine gifts of dreams.

Exquisitely rich and magical, this new Rider-Waite-Smith based tarot deck by digital artist Ciro Marchetti takes you into the heart of fantasy. You can use this legacy from ages past to discover what you need for your own life as it guides you toward hope, wisdom, and inspiration.”

The 295 page companion book, “Gateway to the Divine Tarot”, is a story onto itself – that also tells the story that is Tarot. The beginning of the story is all about a dream – a dream that it seems must be a reality, as there are physical manifestations of the dream in Ciro’s real environment. From there, we go far back into history, where the third planet from the sun collides with an asteroid. This is catastrophic, but some flora and fauna did survive. One species survived above all others, because it had one distinct advantage over other species – it had the advantage of forewarning.

We learn about the Blind Ones, an elite class with great knowledge. They revealed to humankind, to the hour, the time of their passing. A council was called, and the Kings and their courts of the four elements were summoned. The goal was to determine the directions and actions to be taken in the remaining twelve solar orbits.

The Four Kingdoms flourished, and were in balance with their environment. However, they were not always in balance with each other. One realm shared in their activities, but also ruled over them. They were the people that looked beyond the physical to the mind and the universe. The Blind Ones were part of this group of people. They were blessed from birth, and possessed great powers. (Another group came to my mind when I read this – the Bene Gesserit from the Dune Trilogy.) With their guidance, the civilizations that developed after the cataclysm paid homage to their common memories and heritage.

The story now moves back to the present, and to correspondence Ciro is having with a gentleman by the name of Gianluca Colombo de Savoy. De Savoy comments on the “Limited Edition Tarot” that Ciro did, and then he sends him prints, along with a handwritten note. The imagery in the “Gilded Tarot” – is it possibly not unique to Ciro? Could he have seen it before, and not remembered it? Ciro is invited to Italy – in fact, it is more of a command performance than an invitation.

Once he gets there, he hears a fantastic tale about knowledge shared between de Savoy and a small group of colleagues, and now being shared with Ciro. For various reasons, the time was not right, and this information has been suppressed. Part of this story is about gateways – gateways that are very similar to images in the “Tarot of Dreams”.

Ciro had been “encouraged” to visit Italy at a specific time because one of the gateways would be opening, and de Savoy wanted him to experience the museum that it opened into for himself. This is an absolutely wonderful section, showing a great gift for vision and insight into journey work. From this experience Ciro walked away with formative ideas for his next Tarot deck – “The Legacy of the Divine Tarot”.

The traditional names for the Major Arcana are used, with the following exceptions: The Hierophant becomes Faith, The Wheel of Fortune becomes the Wheel, and the Hanged Man becomes the Hanging Man. Strength is VIII, Justice is XI. The suits are entitled Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles; the Court Cards are entitled King, Queen, Knight and Page.

The presentation of the cards in the companion book is text only. Ciro has presented his own thoughts on the cards, as have contributors Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone, James Ricklef, and Leisa ReFalo. Ciro talks about the reasoning behind his choices of imagery for the card, while the Amberstones talk about the basic card energy. James Ricklef provides in depth commentary, while Leisa ReFalo covers each card using the following categories: keywords, reversed keywords, description, meanings, elemental attribution, planetary attribution, gifts and advice. At the end of the presentation on each card Ciro has included an applicable quote.

In a precursor to the Court Cards, Ciro talks about the Court Cards as templates for royal families. In other words, the Court Cards are flexible! In this deck, they all look directly at the reader, making a strong connection. Ciro gives a general description of each card, and the intent behind the card.

Leisa wrote a very comprehensive chapter on how to read the cards. Brief instruction for doing a one to three card daily spread is given, along with a three card Legacy Spread, a seven card Pages (or What is Needed) Spread, a nine card Knights Spread, a five card Queens Spread, and an eight card Kings Spread.

There is an appendix with attributions for elements, numbers, planets, and zodiac signs, along with an in-depth bibliography.

The cards themselves are approximately 2 ¾” by 4 ½”, of good quality card stock. The backs are reversible, with a dark border surrounding a gold and silver mechanical web (the same back as the Special Edition deck). The card faces carry the same dark border, with the Major Arcana showing the card title at the top of the card, and the card number, in Roman numerals, at the bottom of the card. The numbering and lettering is color coded by element.

The Minor Arcana Pips show the suit at the top of the card, and the card number at the bottom of the card. There is a slight difference in style, as the Special Edition used Roman numerals for the pips, while the mass edition does not. The Court Cards carry the card title and suit at the top of the card, with the lettering color coded to the elemental associations.

The artwork is digital, very much in the fantasy tradition. The Pips and Court Cards show the same imagery as the Special Edition deck, while there is some difference in the coloring (but not the imagery) in the mass produced deck. The cards that I noticed significant color changes in were The Magician, The Emperor, Strength, and Justice.

Some of the imagery carries through the Major Arcana – for instance, the same figure appears on The Fool, TheWheel, The Hanging Man, and The World. The hourglass that The Fool balances on, and its colored sand, also appears in The Hanging Man and The World.

We see The Fool balanced in space, with the Major Arcana cards arching around him. The High Priestess has eyes so pale as to almost not be there. The Emperor, standng under the sign of the Ram, evokes a sense of great power. The Chariot is a winged chariot, while the Hermit carries with him a sense of the hidden (as does the High Priestess). I love that The Wheel shows the same figure (that of The Fool) in all four of its phases. The Hanging Man is suspended horizontally over a horizontal hourglass (indicating that time is standing still). Judgment shows a larger than life Archangel, while The World shows the figure of The Fool, standing balanced on the hourglass of time, with the twelve Zodiac signs circling around him.

Ciro has created a beautiful, magickal interactive e site to showcase this deck at www.legacyofthedivinetarot.com. Here members will be able to create and save their own readings, work with the cards and much more! He also has stunning videos on You Tube for The Tower), The Empress, and the Four of Wands.

This is a deck that could be used by any Tarot student that had a basic understanding of the cards. It is a deck for collectors, for those that are interested in the theme of fantasy, as well as for those that want to offer their clients a choice of decks that will open up their experience o the cards.

© August 2009

The Rose Labyrinth

The Rose Labyrinth

Author: Titania Hardie
Atria Books
2008
ISBN #978-1-60751-391-9

“The Rose Labyrinth”, by Titania Hardy, contains some of the very best esoteric fiction that I have ever read. I love this book, and know that I will reread it many times over. The storyline centers around sixteenth century astrologer/mathematician/mystic John Dee, and how he hid much of his major writing before his death – convinced that the world was not ready for his truths. For seventeen generations his female descendents have carefully guarded his secrets, waiting for the right moment to make them public. That time is now.

This is the story of a mother’s love for her sons, and her legacy to them both. It is the story of two father’s love for their son’s, and the lengths that they go to protect them. It is the story of physical land, and how the use of it reflects our spiritual and mundane beliefs. It is the story of men who believe in a second coming, and the lengths they go to experience it. It is the story of pure evil, and it is the story of two lovers.

This is such an intricate, well done book that any research that needed to be done I am sure was of a secondary nature. The important segments – the esoteric work – was written by someone who walks in this world, who lives in this world, and understands this world well. (Hardie holds honors degrees in Psychology and English, and is currently completing her MA on Romantic Poets.)

The story is told through the life of Lucy King, a young documentary film maker living in London. She needs a heart transplant, which she gets – along with what may be memories belonging to the heart donor. With the help of her immunologist (who later becomes her lover), and a few close friends, she travels between London, France and New York in a race to decipher the puzzle before the bad guys do.

The timeline moves smoothly between the sixteenth century and current times, presenting each world as a real, working world. Woven through this well written story is a wonderful depth of esoterica – the white rose and the red rose, the gold and silver keys – both of which are needed to open the box that contains Dee’s mystery materials. The recurrence of the number 34, the Fibonacci Code, the Rapture Society, the labyrinth at Chartres, and a lovely knot garden.

Aside from reading this to die for book, you might just want to visit the website – http://www.theroselabyrinth.com . Here you can read a synopsis of the book, play with the riddle cards, key dates in the novel, and their meaning, a dictionary of the symbols used in this book, and a challenge – to decode the message contained in the thirty-four riddle cards. Those who pass the challenge will earn a place at the heart of the Rose Labyrinth, and will receive a certificate signed by Titania Hardie.

Enjoy the site, enjoy the book – and pray that Ms Hardie writes many more!

© August 2009

The Fairytale Tarot

The Fairy Tale Tarot

Author: Lisa Hunt
Artist: Lisa Hunt
Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN #978-0-7378-0866-9

This is a beautifully done deck/book set (complete with a black organdy bag to house the deck in). I think that the name of the companion book (“Once Upon A Time”) sets the tone for this deck – it has a soft, “happily ever after” quality to it that makes you want to start your own journey on this path immediately, if not sooner!

The book and deck come in a cigar-type box with a lift up lid, and a subdued pink/peach background color. The front of the box features The Fool (Little Red Riding Hood), while the back of the box informs us that our “happily ever after” awaits us! The deck is described as transporting us to a faraway land of enchantment – a magical world where wondrous fantasies abound and anything is possible.

A word about Lisa before we get into the cards. If her name sounds familiar, it is because she has been associated with some of the greatest decks out there – the “Shapeshifter Tarot”, the “Celtic Dragon Tarot”, the “Fantastical Creatures Tarot”, the “Animals Divine Tarot”, and the meditation book “Celestial Goddesses”. She holds an MA in
Interdisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis on Jungian Psychology/Art & Drawing.

This is a 78 card deck, following the traditional Rider-Waite style. The Major Arcana carry the traditional titles, with the following exceptions: The Fool becomes Innocence, The High Priestess becomes the Sorceress, The Empress becomes the Fairy Godmother, The Emperor becomes the Wise Old Man, The Hierophant becomes The Mentor, Strength becomes Courage, The Wheel of Fortune becomes The Wheel, The Hanged Man becomes Entrapment, Death becomes Transformation, The Devil becomes Temptation, The Tower becomes Deception, Judgment becomes Redemption and The World becomes Happily Ever After. Strength is VIII, Justice is XI.

The suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. The Court Cards are Prince, Princess, Queen and King.

The companion book is 299 pages, and provides the reader with a wonderful entry into the magical world fairy tales and Tarot. On the cover there is a beautiful rendition of the card of The Lovers – gentle and inviting. In her preface Lisa talks about her early childhood, spent enamored of fairy tales. In high school, her artwork included creatures hidden in gnarly trees and roots (see Innocence -The Fool – Little Red Riding Hood – for an example of this). She also talks about wanting to include a mix of well known fairy tales and fairy tales from obscure oral traditions, and to be sure that the tales came from different places around the world, to show that fairy tales are an integral part of our world heritage.

In her introduction, Lisa notes that fairy tales allow us to confront who we are, and what we are capable of. The themes, motifs, archetypes and symbols help us to understand the universal nature of the experiences that we ourselves are going through. I loved the following excerpt, and want to quote it here: “In essence, we can learn to visualize our deepest desires. But in order to move beyond our tendencies to dismiss the “impossible”, we have to be willing to recognize the fantastic as a viable messenger of the soul.”

Each card is presented (along with a black and white scan) by title, story, culture, and keywords, followed by an explanation of the fairy tale and a discussion of the symbols and meaning. From the book:

“0 – Innocence
Traditional – The Fool
Story – Little Red Riding Hood
Culture – French
Keywords: Inexperience, Innocence, Spontaneity

The story part of the presentation includes a conversation between Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. Under Symbols and Meaning, Lisa discusses Little Red Riding Hood as representing the unrealized self, her red cape symbolizing potential vitality. The wolf is her animal nature, initiating the awakening of the ego. The forest of trees represents ancient wisdom, and the faces are aspects of our collective unconscious. The ferns are there to distract the traveler from the task at hand. Her braids embody innocence and restrictive thinking. The brown leaves on the trail represent the eternal cycle of life.

In summation Lisa says:

When we first travel down the path of life, we tend to be naïve and perhaps unaware of the dark forces that may lurk in the shadows. At this stage, you are wandering into the unknown, relying more on impulse than decisive action. Your adventurous spirit will help you cross into thresholds of new possibilities, but be aware of tricksters that may cross your path along the way.”

At the end of the book is a chapter entitled “Card Reflections”, which discusses ways to read the card. There is “Telling The Story – The One-Card Reflection”, “The Motif of Three Spread” (three positions of three cards each); and a seven card “Keys to the Kingdom” spread. There is also quite an extensive bibliography.

The cards themselves are approximately 2 ¾ by 4 ½”, of good quality cardstock. The backs are cream colored, with an old fashioned key in the middle, with the imagery of a vine going from top to bottom, with two leaves in the middle. The backs are reversible.

The card faces show the imagery going all the way to the edge, which is something that really appeals to me. It makes the cards a lot easier, for me, at least, to enter. The artwork was done in watercolor, in shades of brown, green and blue, with touches of white, red and lavender.

The Major Arcana show the card number and title at the bottom, in black lettering against a white scroll-like background. The Pips (numbered cards) show the card number and suit, while the Court Cards show the card title and suit, both against the same white, scroll-like background at the bottom of the card.

This is a gentle deck, with the imagery very fantasy/magical. It is also the type of artwork where each time you look at it, you see something new. I probably have 78 favorite cards in this deck! I loved Innocence (The Fool – Little Red Riding Hood), with her red cloak and basket. The wolf appears to be almost innocent, as do the faces in the trees. Hint: who does Little Red Riding Hood remind you of? Artist self-portrait?

The Magician (The Thunder Dragon) shows a very interesting looking gold box being opened by a young boy. Luminous light pours from inside the box. The Mentor (The Hierophant – Puss in Boots) shows a dashing Puss in to die for boots, and an adorable feather in his fetching blue hat.

The Chariot (The Enchanted Horse) shows a young couple astride a white horse, whose tail is braided into three parts, flying high in the sky over a kingdom. Look closely into the background, and see the dragon in the clouds!

The Wheel (The Wheel of Fortune – Twelve Dancing Princesses) shows a curved line of princesses, dancing around an Illuminated castle (with the moon in the background). Boats appear in the water in front of the castle.

The Star (The Star Maiden) is an incredibly magical card, showing the Star Maiden in the center of a tree, connecting the spirit world with the earthly plane. A spiral circulates from her chest, showing her desire to be freed from ego-limited thinking. Leaves are falling from the tree branches, and a full moon is behind her.

The Queen of Cups (Sealskin) is quite an interesting card, with the Queen (the seal wife) appearing to be part of the ocean wave dashing up against the shore. In the companion book, we see that she sits between the rocks on the shore (her conscious reality) and the water (the dreamy, flowing world of her desires). In the background we see a house that represents the Queen’s family responsibilities, while in the foreground we see the seals that call her back into the waters of her subconscious, the waters of her dream world.

In the Four of Swords (The White Doe) we see a female figure sitting up in the middle of a bed, with a doe peeking out from behind her shoulder. At the end of the bed are four swords, blades pointing outward. On the left hand side of the picture we see a window opening onto the forest. There are four golden circles above the window frame, and a picture hanging over the head of the bed.

I found this deck to be easy to work with – a deck that I would offer to any of my clients, no matter their age or cultural background.

On the “Fairytale Tarot” site – http://www.thefairytaletarot.com – Lisa has included some wonderful links to research sites for fairy tales. She has also included, under Extras, desktop images and a screensaver. (Yes – Puss-n-Boots is now my desktop background image!) There is also a gallery of the card images from this deck, as well as a link to her artist journal (blog) – http://lisahuntart.com/blog.

This is a great deck for personal work, for collectors, for those looking for a deck to use with children, for those interested in myth and fairy tales, and for those interested in fantasy/magical art and story.

© August 2009

Art Conservation

On Friday, July 31st, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) ran an article entitled “As Art Ages, So Do the Skills to Preserve It”. I was shocked to read this article, to think that we are in danger of losing some very important parts of our cultural heritage. My thoughts ran along the lines of “With this economy, art (and art restoration) is going to take a big back seat.”, and “What about the very few old Tarot cards that we have in museums – are they being restored in a good manner, or are they being left behind?”

The focus of the article was on conservator Sue Ann Chui at the Getty Museum. The specific artwork mentioned in this article is the 15th century master-work depicting Madonna and Child. Through such tools as x-ray probes, ultraviolet scans, infrared reflectograms and molecular spectroscopy the panel painting is telling its own story. What is showing up is that the panel painting was severely damaged by previous (well intentioned) attempts to restore it.

In doing so Ms. Chui is helping to turn the dying craft of panel conservation into a material science. According to George Bisacca, a leading painting conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, art conservation is a mix of science, artisan skills, and artistry, requiring very sophisticated knowledge and judgment. There are very few experts. According to this WSJ article, there are only a half dozen or so restoration experts world-wide that have the expertise to do such work, with most of them nearing retirement. The only specialized training program for panel painting conservation (located in Florence, Italy) recently closed down.

The Getty has been very active in helping to protect some of the world’s most fragile cultural monuments (including the tomb of Queen Nefertari in Egypt). In taking on such projects the Getty experts hope to “protect the cultural memory of embodied in paintings on wood, such as the Mona Lisa. (It is interesting to note that Ms.Chui’s background includes being a master carpenter, art scholar, chemist and applied physicist.)

How do we translate this to the Tarot world? We have very few of the older Tarot card decks still in existence, and most of them are incomplete decks. It is very important that we preserve this history so that we can learn from it. Our world is changing, and we need to realign our priorities so that what is important to us is nurtured and preserved.

Something for us all to think about – how can we move forward, while preserving the past.