Chariot wisdom part II

The Reader's Studio 2010 began on Wednesday, April 21, but the biggest part of the event starts tomorrow, with classes and activities from morning 'til night. Because I spent the entire last night in an aircraft, I'm very tired right now. But I can't wait for tomorrow! It's my first time here and I'm sure it'll be a unique experience!

As for the Chariot wisdom, I must say it was right. First, because before I left my father hugged me and gave me exactly the same advice the card has given me! Second, because we had a problem with the aircraft and our flight was cancelled at first. They said we would only leave the next day, at 11 AM, which upset me a lot, because I should already be in New York by this time. I had plans for the day! But thankfully, they managed to fix the airplane, and so hour flight left 4 hours late.

During the whole ordeal, I had very opposite feelings, and had to keep a tight reign on them, since I depended entirely on myself and could not afford to fall apart at the seams. I did feel very bad sometimes and called my mother, specially because I felt so lonely.

Chariot wisdom for a journey...

Today, at 5:35 PM, I'll start my long journey towards New York, to participate of the Reader's Studio 2010. It's a unique experience for me... my first in the US, my first time traveling abroad all on my own. Is it daunting? Absolutely. And exciting.

I was going to do a reading to see how the journey would be like, but I decided against it. I don't want to go with expectation ,good or bad. There's a moment in which you need to leave the cards in your bag and live. Experiment. Allow yourself not to know what is coming, not to expect what is coming.

Because the unexpected is also a part of life. And important one - it reminds us of the fickle personality of Lady Fortuna, as she turns her great Wheel. We need to respect her.

I decided to draw one card as an advice - how may I best enjoy this journey? Using the Universal Waite, I got The Chariot.

This card always reminds me of a mastery that comes from the inside out. The perfect control of the charioteer doesn't com from his external victories only, but from all the battles against his insecurities that he has won in his spirit. This card tells me to maintain this control, even in the hours of stress.

And this card is also one of the great indicators of travel of the tarot! It's telling... above all, enjoy the trip! You are going to new places, to live new things, don't let your insecurities spoil the experience.

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

And with the Chariot's message, and da Vinci's wisdom, I bid you all adieu. For a while.

Universal Waite Tarot © US Games System, Inc.

The RWS says... use your time & energy wisely!

Today, the last preparations for my trip to New York City tomorrow. I barely slept last night, because I'm so nervous! So I did a reading as to know how may I best enjoy my day. I used the Daily Mission spread.

My blessing for today is The Magician. Now that's a card I seldom get for myself! I think he's telling me that today I have the energy and the time (both things that I haven't had much lately) to finish packing my stuff (like the Magician ought to do - how can he leave all hist tools scattered on the table like that?) and to take care of the last details before my trip. The yellow background screams "energy" to me!

My challenge is the Page of Swords. He too stands for a kind of energy, but it's a nervous one, like a crazy wind blowing in every direction but arriving nowhere. Like the birds above his head, flying chaotically. My challenge to today is to use the Magician's energy without falling into the Page of Sword's trap or confusion and anxiety. Hell, I'm nervous! I must say that this feeling is a bit petrifying...

Today's mission is the Knight of Wands. The knights' energy is always focused, so this cards is telling me that my mission is to find my focus. The Page of Swords stand on that hill, staring at nowhere and wondering "how can I possibly do it?". The Knight of Wands jumps on his horse and says "I'll do it!". I think this card is telling me to do more and think less today. Focus the Magician's energy in getting it all done, once for all.

Funny thing is that, of all Knights, the Knight of Wand is the one that really screams "travel" to me. Maybe it's because of the pyramids in the background?

Review: Tarot do Amor (Tarocchi dell'Amore) by Molinero & Pradella

I've been in a reviewing mood lately. I must be saving my reading energies to the Reader's Studio 2010!

Keeping up with the tradition, I chose a rather unknown, but high-quality, brazilian/italian deck. The most attractive thing about it is it's Dali-like art, courtesy of the italian artist Vinicius Pradella. The paintings were done specially for this deck and were inspired by the artist's home town, Verona. As for Molinero, he's actually spanish, but has lived in Brazil for 48 years. He has written many books on tarot, yoga and tantra.

The "Tarot of Love" has only 26 cards, the Major Arcana plus the four aces. The aces in this deck have a special function - they are not readings cards, but rather part of the spread layout. Each of them mean an area of our love lives, so you lay them on the table before the reading, with the faces up. And then you lay two cards of the Major Arcana (these one randomly selected, as usual) on each of the aces, plus one card in the middle of the "square", thus making a 9-card spread.

This is the only spread he teaches. I had never seen the aces being used as part of the layout before, but I find it immensely interesting. He also recommends using a green reading cloth, because it's the "color of spring and the hope that never dies". Lovely.

Review: Tarot Cigano (Gypsy Tarot) by Jahn Brasil

It always pleases me to see a high-quality brazilian deck. Recently it's has become more common, because there are more people interested in decks. Even so, we still have to endure a few decks with bad printing and terrible card stock.

Happily, this is not the case.

I found the Tarot Cigano during my last trip to Bento Gonçalves, with my boyfriend. This deck is self-published by the store in which I found it, and thus, hard to find. I was glad I could see it before it became OOP, which may happen soon if a bigger publisher doesn't adopt it.

Despite the name, the deck isn't tarot - it's actually a Petit Jeu Lenormand deck, with 36 cards. Here in Brazil, this deck is popularly called Baralho Cigano (Gypsy Deck), and sometimes, Tarô Cigano (Gypsy Tarot), but it is just like any Lenormand deck out there.

This is a set, with medium-sized cards (11cm x 7cm - 4.33 x 2.76 inches) and a book with 170 pages, both enclosed in a kind of flimsy cardboard box. The book is all printed in colors and gives very detailed information not only on the cards, but also in the whole process of becoming a card reader... the ethic codes and all. Jahn Brasil teaches how to purify the deck before starting to work with it and also gives three spreads to use, one of them being the famous Lenormand spread that used the entire deck. He also dedicates three chapter to his own history, how he got in touch with the cards, how he started working with them professionally and when he had the idea of creating his own deck. It's an interesting read - somehow, it brings the author closer to the reader, making him more a friend than a distant teacher.

PCO - Got hired. What should I expect from my first month in this job?

After a couple of months sending resumes and going to interviews and tests, I finally got an opportunity at a local book publisher. They'll hire me for three months as a trainee and if they like my work, they might keep me. I start on May 10th.

So, I did a playing cards reading asking what should I expect of my first months there. I removed the first three cards from the top of the deck (as they represent the three weeks from here to the day I start working) and read the four following cards, according to Ana Cortez's method.

Head (♦/Fire): 5 ♦

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Throat (♣/Air): 9 ♣

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Torso (♥/Water): 2 ♠

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Feet (♠/Earth): 7 ♥

Well, the reading is very balanced... all suits present, and the same amount of red and black cards. I think the experience will be complete... it'll touch me in all aspects, emotional, mental, physical etc. Each card represents not only an area of our lives, but also a week in a month. In this reading I'm considering each position both things.

3 of Diamonds - A wish? A luck charm? Or things that are still being created?

Traditionally, the 9 of Hearts is the card known as "the wish card". But in the Playing Card Oracles, the 9 of Hearts (Gilles de Rais) is a kinda creepy character, showing the excess of emotions - good and bad ones. So I was wondering... if I had to pick one card to be the "wish card" of the deck, which would it be?

The first that came to my mind was the 3 of Diamonds (The Necklace). Curiously, this is one of the most confusing cards for me... I never know exactly what is it supposed to mean, but then I decided to think more about it... and it began to show in the readings. Forcing me to think about it even when I didn't want to. Oh well - cards can be demanding sometimes, "decipher me or I will devour you"...

In Ana Cortez's book she says:

"The 3 of Diamonds suggests an alignment of energies that creates something new, something vibrant and transformational. People possessing "The Necklace" have a calling, so to speak. They are messengers of light." (page 39)

That's the first thing that lead me to think that this could be the wish card of the deck. This alignment of energies, this calling... these are actually the sort of thing that help our desires to come true. To be ready at the right moment. This card is about the right moment knocking on your door - answer it now or miss it.

The Decision Game Spread by Hajo Banzhaf

I found this spread in Hajo Banzhaf's Das Tarot-Handbuch (which should not be mistaken for The Tarot Handbook, a different book by the same author), amongst many interesting ones. It's very helpful when you wish to see both the good and the bad side of a situation when making a decision. Very enlightening and simple.

Card 7 - What is the situation/problem really about.

Cards 1, 3 and 5 - What is favorable about the situation.

Cards 2, 4 and 6 - What is unfavorable about the situation.

The RWS says... show them your smile!

And I said... what the hell is that Devil doing there?

I got lucky today. I have one job interview and one test for a job! Both made me sorta nervous, so I decided it was time for a reading. This reading I did for the interview... I made up a 3-card for it.

I'll probably do a reading for the job test as well, but I'll post it later.

The first position is 'what should I expect from this interview?'. The card here is Eight of Pentacles, a good card for this position. I believe the employers want to know if I can learn what is needed for this position and if I have what it takes to work with them. They want to see not only if I have the skills, but also if I can just sit down and do what I'm told.

The second position is 'how can I improve my chances at the interview?'. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the Ten of Cups was 'optimism' - "be cheerful", the card was saying. The small group of people under the cups told me that I should let them know about my ability to work in groups. The 10 of Cups always strikes me as one of the most stable cards in the Cups universe, though not as magical as the 9 of Cups. The cards mean I must control my emotions without looking grumpy.

The third position is 'what is the most likely outcome of this interview? '. Here I got The Devil. I'm not sure if I like this... I'm not even sure if I understand it, in the first place. The people chained at the devil's feet make me think that the result is favorable - I may become 'chained' to them, which means they'll hire me. But the overall look of the card gives me the impression that things will not go as planned. I get the feeling that the employers may not like me much, even if I show them my brightest smile. Uh-oh.

Of course, I may be wrong here. I'll have to see how it goes and possibly this situation will teach me more about The Devil card! Wish me luck!

The RWS says... life is made of parties and fights.

I've been feeling sorta uninspired to write lately. Sorry! Lets see if a daily reading will put me back onto the blogging wagon!

First card is the blessing for today... Three of Cups is an interesting blessing. I see here reunion and moments of sharing with friends. I'll have the opportunity to have a bit of fun, which is welcome. It makes sense, because I have plans to meet one of my best friend today :). It's also interesting to see that the card depicts women celebrating outside, or in a garden... this friend and I always meet in parks!

Second card is the daily challenge... Nine of Wands. I'll have to defend something, to fight to keep something. I believe this is related to one of the companies to which I've sent my resume. I just got the message that they have tried to get in touch with me, but I never received anything... thus, they might have thought I'm not truly interested (which is not true, I desperately need a job). I've been urged to contact them immediately, to still be able to get the job. I already did it... funny how this card already showed it's purpose so early in the day.

I also find it interesting how the man is the card seems to be staring suspiciously at the ladies in the Three of Cups... as if thinking "what is all that celebration about, bitches?". It shows my inner conflict - between the moments of pleasure and the moments of stress. You can have both in less than 24 hours, and you gotta handle them well.

Third and last card is the daily mission... The Fool tells me what I should try to accomplish today. I think this card is telling me to not take anything too seriously... just follow the impulse of the moment. The Fool walks towards the two other cards, but doesn't look at them... he looks beyond. This too shall pass. Enjoy the good things, try to fix what's wrong, but don't take either things too seriously...

Grail Tarot says... pas a pas, se va luènh!

I was going to do just a daily reading, but I decided that I actually have something specific to ask today. During this whole week I've been feeling slightly panicked, as though something bad is about to happen. Some would say trust your intuition, but this isn't the case... it has psychological roots that I've been exploring through therapy. Even so, I wanted to know which is the origin of this fear I'm feeling and what can I do about it. So I did a 3-card reading with the Grail Tarot. 

The first card is the root of this fear, its origin. The card is 19 - Bors (The Sun), which is a strange card to show in a fear reading, as the Sun symbolically stands for courage. In the image, we see the round table knight Bors inviting the Grail Seeker to a friendly wrestling as to remind him that even though he's in a spiritual search, the physical part must not be forgotten - it must be enjoyed too. As the root of my fear, I see the Sun as exposure... as though I was wrestling against someone and they thought it was friendly, but I don't see it this way. Under that clear sky and the shining sun, I feel like my lack of abilities is exposed. I don't have what it takes for this fight, even though it isn't meant to be serious.

The Horoscope Spread

This is a very nice, and rather popular spread. Many readers dislike it because it is big, and appears to be rather mind-boggling, but I have seen many readers using it to answer direct and objective questions with great success.

This spread requires 12 (or 13, if you want an Outcome card) cards, and it is based on the Zodiac wheel and the 12 Sun Signs. So if you know a bit of astrology and the 12 Houses, that should add even more depth to your interpretations.

The good side of this spread is that it can answer many questions using only one spread. It helps you to see a certain issue form the point of view of more than one person. Each house is related to one area of the querent's life (finances, love, self-esteem, family, career etc.), so you can see all possible factors that can support or hinder the querent and how they connect.

Divination à la Samuel Hart & Co.

Despite my love for chocolate eggs, they were not my favorite gift this easter. Nope. In fact, I daresay they were pretty much forgotten after my boyfriend gave me one of the decks of his playing cards collection: a historical reproduction of a 1840 playing cards deck by Samuel Hart & Co. The replica was made by Fournier.

I have been looking for a plain playing card deck to read with. I use the Playing Card Oracles deck, and as much as I love it, I wanted to challenge myself by using a deck without any illustrations whatsoever. Just the pips. The problem is that I failed to find a deck that spoke to me... until the Easter. I'm surprised at how this old-looking reproduction is... talkative. I had lots of fun with it over the weekend.

The deck is small (8.8 cm x 6.2 cm), and has very primitive looking images. The pip cards don't have number, but it doesn't make much difference in the end. The background color of the deck is not that stark white, but a lovely beige that makes it even more old-looking. And the corners are not rounded, which I love. The deck has only four colors: yellow, red, dark blue and the light beige of the background. The back of the cards is light blue filled with tiny stars... no, it has absolutely nothing to do with the deck, but it does look cute and mystical!

Playing Card Oracles classes on YouTube - by Ana Cortez

Ana Cortez, the co-creator of the Playing Card Oracles, is posting in her YouTube channel (52cardmagic) a series of movies teaching how to use your normal and apparently simplistic deck of playing cards as a Lunar Calendar and a divination tool.

Here's the second movie, but there's already three more at her channel. Check them out!

Geomancy for tomorrow's trip

Tomorrow my boyfriend and I will go to his hometown, Bento Gonçalves, to spend the Easter with his family. As I won't have time to do a proper reading during the morning, because we will leave early (9 am - it's early for me, before 10 am I'm no better than a Neanderthal) I decided to do a quick reading as to how will the trip be.

I used for this "reading" my Géomancia - Le Tarot de la Terre kit, which is comprised of a very detailed geomancy book by Chantal Mehiel and a set of cards. Don't get excited - it's not a pretty deck, just 64 cards divided in two groups: one with one dot and the other with two dots, that you use to assemble the geomantic figure. You need four cards to make one figure.

Anyway, the book is good because it offers the possible interpretation for the different sorts of questions. All right, not as noble as intuitively interpreting everything, but it helps when you are in a hurry and want something straightforward.

So, I concentrated on the trip, pulled four cards and put together the figure. I got Tristitia.

Review: Voices of Saints by Isa Donelli (Lo Scarabeo)

It's actually surprising that two decks with catholic motifs have been already translated and published here in Brazil - the Voices of Saints and the Tarot of the Saints by Robert M. Place - whereas many more popular decks with celtic and other pagan themes have been ignored so far. Even though neo-pagan movements such as the Wicca become more popular day by day.

Maybe the reason behind it is that Brazil is the largest Catholic country in the world and saints are, in a way, part of the local "pantheon". To attract these people to the Divination Side of the Force, you need to finds something they are already used to. Hence the amount of angel, saints and orishas decks we have here.

But I digress. What attracted me in the deck Voices of Saints in the first place was the art - the cards look like those prayer cards, with a very beautiful artwork. As a lover of religious iconography, I knew immediately that the deck had to come home with me.

The deck is comprised of 78 cards but it's not a tarot deck. It's an oracle. Don't look for a a major arcana or four suits, 'cause you ain't gonna find them. Many people bought this deck by mistake believing it was a tarot deck because of the number of cards. It's just a coincidence. Or a marketing strategy.