Grail Tarot says... today is the day to make it different!

I decided to do another 3-card reading today, while I still have time. Who knows? I may get lucky and find a job, and then I'll probably have time to one card readings only. Might as well use my free time to learn something.

But I digress. My blessing for today is the Six of Stones... in the image, we see the Novice on his knees, praying for the Virgin so that he may find what he has lost, and also learn to see the real value of what he has. I think the meaning here is pretty mundane - it relates to the fact that today I'll go to the mall to buy my family some easter gifts. And the fact that yesterday I received the money I needed to do so - just in time. I have what I need, and now I can share this with others.

Grail Tarot says... get yer arse in gear lass!

I used the Daily Mission Spread today.

The first card is the Four of Stones... it is my blessing today, but for some reason, I didn't like much this blessing. Call it denial. Yeah. The man is red in the card is the Brother of Stones (page), and the man who is giving him the horse is the Preceptor of Stones (knight). The Preceptor is literally telling the novice to get on that horse and go do something for real. The novice has spent all this time learning and getting known for his great knowledge, but he hasn't experienced life itself.

Spread: Daily Mission by Saturness

I was never a big fan of daily readings, but I've been needing to experiment lately. So I created a spread to help me in my path, not only mundane, but also spiritual. This spread can be used with tarot and oracle decks.

I'm sharing this spread here, maybe other people will like it too!

Daily Mission Spread

1. What is my blessing for today?
2. What is my challenge for today?
3. What is my mission for today?

The blessing is about the good things that you'll have this day. It may be an inner ability to deal with the challenges, or a help from outside.

The challenge, as the name suggests, is the no-so-good things that you may have to face. Again, it can be   an inner problem or a challenge that comes from the outside.

The mission is what you should try to accomplish today - how you may best use your potential. It's a suggestion, not a must-do.


Just one thing: I don't mind if you post this spread in your website, or share it in a tarot forum, just please link back to my blog. Thanks!

Drained after reading? Here's the solution!

This was posted in a thread at AT, in which someone asked why did they feel so dizzy after reading for many people. This advice was posted by Umbrae, but it's so brilliant I decided to post it here as well, so I won't forget it.

If you’re dizzy or tired after a reading or two, that’s because you’re being an energy terminal. You’re using your own energy.

Cut it out.

What you want to do is tap into the boundless universal energy.

Reading is actually not unlike Reiki.

You are to be a conduit. Nothing more.

Sit down, drink some water, and be a conduit.

Dizziness and being tired are symptoms of ego-speaking, you’re ‘trying’ to do. You don’t want to try to do, you want to be. And be nothing more than that conduit.

When folks tell you to ‘ground’, what they are telling you is to shut down ‘ego’, or self, get out of your own way, and be nothing (but a reader). It is difficult, and takes practice.

And it all begins with Water.

Your brain is 97% of the stuff… 

~ Umbrae @ AeclecticTarot

Hanson-Roberts Tarot © US Games System, Inc.

Review: Oracle of the Grail Code - By Amy Sophia Marashinsky

I've been wanting to review this deck for ages, because I consider it so underrated. The edition I own is the brazilian one, but it looks just the same as the american edition, box, book and cards. And the fact it's not the amidst the most reviews decks out there entitles it to be reviewed here. Hehehe.

First, lets talk about the outer aspects of this oracle, which is one of my favorites. It's made of 33 cards that comes in a sturdy lift-lid box that allows you to carry it with you without problems - just not in your purse, because the set is heavy. The book is hardcover; I'll talk about the contents later. And the cards... are beautiful. And HUGE.

I don't mean "slighter bigger than most" or "bigger than playing cards" or "tarot standard big"- I mean real big. They measure 11cm  x 15.5cm (4.3 x 6.1 inches) - that's even bigger than the Druidcraft Tarot! The size would usually put me off in the first moment, because I'm one of those unfortunate human beings cursed with small hands. But thankfully the deck has only 33 cards, so despite the size of the cards I can still shuffle them (clumsy, yes, but I manage).

About Playing Cards by Ana Cortez

This small video was released recently by Ana Cortez, the author of The Playing Card Oracles, my favorite divination method along with the Tarot. It explains the principle of the calendar behind the playing card's apparent randomness and teaches us a bit of it's story. It features images of the deck designed by C.J. Freeman.

PCO career reading

This was a career reading done for one of the AT exchanges. It's posted here, along with the feedback, with permission from the querent. The querent is a hairstylist and runs her own business - a fact I only learnt after the reading.

~*~

A few things before we go.

First of all, there are three 7s here. The 7s are all swords, because they indicate a great amount of personal power. I wonder if you are the boss where you work, or someone of great influence. It also made me think that maybe you are some sort of freelancer, and that your working place depends a lot on you to keep going. Maybe you don't have a fixed team, and work in a more lonely fashion, with the occasional help of other people.

Secondly, This reading is pretty much balanced. We have the four suits, but there are more red cards than black. It makes me think that you work in a creative area... a place that doesn't have many rules, so you depend a lot on your personal discipline to keep things in order. This job help you to be disciplined, and you help the place you work to maintain it as well.

Half of the cards belong to the Heart suit. Whatever is your job, you have an emotional attachment to it.

Now, onto the cards!

Cards for your girly side, man.

Yesterday my boyfriend and I were sitting idly in my bedroom, playing with some decks from my collection. I was actually annoying the hell out of him by asking him to explain some of the Physics concepts that appear in the Quantum Tarot, by Chris Butler and Kay Stopforth. Boyfriend studied math & engineering for some years, and thus was forced to take Physics class. My curiosity about such matters was reawakened after reading Jonathon Earl Bowser's book The LotusMaiden, which iI purchased recently - and am totally in love with, by the way.

But I digress. Boyfriend could not satisfy my curiosity completely, so I decided I'll ask those questions to his best friend, who actually studies Physics. And we moved to another deck, this one being the most girly deck I have in my collection: The Oracle of the Grail Code - The Restoration of the Feminine, by Amy Sophia Marashinsky.

I like this deck a lot, I love the art and find the cards very straightforward, but it was kinda forgotten in my drawer. One day I shall post a decent review of it, today I just want to tell a story.

As I looked through the deck, reacquainting myself with the images, I decided to make my boyfriend draw a card. Now, the deck is meant to be used by woman... not that a man can't use it, but it's about healing and rediscovering certain aspects of our femininity. I think that the mere idea of using such a womanly deck would make most of men roll their eyes so far back into their heads they may never return to their normal positions again, because not all man are interested in getting in touch with their feminine sides.

So, I fanned out the cards and told him: pick one. This card will be a message from your forgotten feminine side, giving you an advice to make your life better.

PCO reading using the "Little Medicine Wheel"

This reading was done for a fellow AT, during one of the oracle reading exchanges. We used a spead called "The Little Medicine Wheel". I believe it was created for the AGMüller deck Vision Quest Tarot. It was slightly adapted for this exchange.

I'm posting here the reading plus the feedback. The feedback was posted with the permission of the querent. There was no specific question because of the nature of the spread, that allows a more general reading.



1. Messages from your mind ~ 8 of Hearts (The Garden)

This is a lovely card... beautiful flowers of all kind grow in a garden that is nourished with love. The Heart is the suit of water, and in the mind position, it indicated a tendency to act by emotional impulse, because your emotional side is so close to your rational side right now. But it also shows that, lately, your mind have been filled with things that bring you pleasure. Your family, your personal projects... whatever it is, the thoughts and ideas it brings are pleasing.
But, even in a garden as beautiful as this, there's a snake. She reminds us of our temptations... here, i think it related to fact your mind is a good place to be right now. Filled with good thoughts and great ideas... and dreams... be careful not to become trapped in them.

Feedback: I love it when a reading speaks to me. This truly does. I am truly an emotional person. I allow myself to be ruled by my emotions -for the most part. And yes, I have a tendency to daydream and get stuck in my head.
This weekend I have happily wiled away the hours - in between loads of laundry  - by sewing tarot bags. Its new for me, and I am no seamstress, but its loads of fun.

Review: Magic Cards of the Russian Sybil

Keeping with the tradition of reviewing obscure, underrated and unloved decks, it's my pleasure to bring you this weird little deck by Lo Scarabeo: the Magic Cards of the Russian Sybil.

What is in a name? A lot, in this case. The name of this deck draws attention because it sounds exotic. And it tells the truth about itself - the deck is different. Very different. Fasten your seat belts.

The deck has 72 cards and a book with instructions, written by Elena Anapova. Although the book is really a book, and not the usual leaflets by Lo Scarabeo, it's not very detailed. The explanations are in four languages, English, Italian, Spanish and German. In the end, the apparent 126 pages of the books turns out to be just 33 pages - the rest is repetition in different languages.

We know who the writer is, but not the identity of the "Russian Sybil". She could be anyone, Jeane Dixon or Baba-Yaga, the book doesn't say who invented the cards. As a matter of fact, the author, Elena Anapova, doesn't say anything about herself or where she learnt the cards. Or if she created them. It does say "by Avvallon", but I did some research and found that "Avvallon" isn't a person, but probably a publisher of the Lo Scarabeo decks in Russia.

Mysterious and mysteriouser.

Review: Palm Reading by Dennis Fairchild & Julie Paschkis

I found this little kit called "Palm Reading - The Complete Kit" in a local bookstore, about an year ago. I bought it because of Julie Paschkis' art - she is the same artist of Tarot Nova - not because I had any particular interest in palmistry.

I brought it home, looked at the cards (they are not for reading - they are "flash cards", showing the shapes of hands, fingers and the lines, so you know which is which), read the booklet without paying much attention and put it in my drawer. Well, forgive me, I had other worries back then.

But i never let go of it, because I loved the art. And we never know what life is gonna bring us.

So, in one of the many interesting topics at AT, some fellow tarot readers were talking about how to create rapport with your sitter, and how to calm them when they are nervous because of the prospect of having their cards read. Many nice tips and stories... until a couple of people mentioned palmistry. They said they sometimes gave a quick palm reading to the sitter, because touching the hand helps some people to become more tranquil. Not all, of course. I'm the kind of person who hates when someone decides to grab my hand out of the blue. BUT, if the person asks nicely and is gentle, than that's okay. To have someone nice touching your hand can be, indeed, quite relaxing.