Tarot of the Sidhe ~ Review

 Posted by
Aug 312011
 


I have spent the last month playing with Emily Carding’s Tarot of the Sidhe. (Sidhe is pronounced Shee) It’s an interesting and creative deck not unlike Ms. Carding herself.

The deck follows the standard tarot format with a few exceptions. Pan replaces The Devil and The Elder replaces The Hierophant. The suits are Dreamers/Air, Warriors/Fire, Dancers/Water and Makers/Earth. Pages are Princesses and Knights are Princes. In the ‘little white book’, which is actually black, Ms. Carding has written extensively about the Major Arcana cards. Each card gets an explanation followed by Artist’s Notes explaining the image and symbolism in each card along with the inspiration for the various components of the image. The Minor Arcana are each given a four line poem followed by keywords.

The deck itself is printed on very sturdy stock and after a month of being handled the cards are still fairly stiff. They are a nice size giving plenty of room for the images to be clearly seen within a generous black border. The back of the cards are solid black with a large central image of the Great Glyph of the Sidhe. This glyph is also present in each of the Major Arcana. Shiffer packs this deck and its book into a sturdy box that is more than adequate to house this deck for a long time.

I find the artwork rather striking. It is bright and dark, primitive and complex, cheerful and frightening, not unlike the Sidhe it represents. As a reading deck I had some challenges early on and I had to change the way I read in order to work with this deck. That’s not a bad thing. I purchased this deck last winter and had done nothing with it. In the intervening months I kept coming across it and told myself it was foolish to spend money on a deck and never even get acquainted with it. August is a down month around here and I chose to use some of that downtime getting to know the Tarot of the Sidhe.

The best way to learn this deck is one card at a time. Don’t try to read them just study the image. As you let go of the keywords in your head and the preconceived meanings you associate with each card these cards will tell their story. Each time I revisit a card I get a deeper and sometimes different spin on the story. Some cards are still keeping their secrets. Here’s what I do know: these cards would be great for meditation and they are fantastic at weather readings.

My birthday is August 28th. My husband was planning to barbecue dinner for me. I invited my son up from the city and planned a nice end of summer evening with my husband and children. Early last week there was concern about Hurricane Irene and some uncertainty about her track. I asked the Sidhe what weather I could expect for my birthday. I pulled The Hermit.

This was kind of jarring. The Hermit on this card is kind of creepy. I generally like The Hermit in most decks and it is the card for Virgo, my sun sign. This guy is kind of ominous. I live in New York. We haven’t been hit by a hurricane since Floyd 1999. Until I pulled this card I wasn’t really concerned about Irene. Look at this card. The Hermit is very serious and pointing toward a distant hill. I live on a hill in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. There is also the red sun and sky in the direction he’s pointng. “Red sky in morning, sailors take warning” is an old seafarer’s rhyme that warns of impending bad weather. And while those clouds could be moving in or moving out, I asked about how concerned I should be regarding Irene. I took it to mean the clouds are moving in. He’s in a boat in the water and between him and the shore there is a giant spiral. It is the Great Glyph of the Sidhe but it looks like the wind pattern of a hurricane. Then there is the nature of hermits to consider. They are alone, isolated from the rest of the world. By their own choosing, yes, but isolated nonetheless.

So what happened? I waited a few days and sure enough Irene was making a beeline for the Northeast. All the projections put her path right on top of us. I cancelled the visit with my son because I was concerned he wouldn’t be able to get back to the city for work on Monday. That turned out to be the right move. New York City shut down their public transportation at noon on Saturday. Irene landed here as a slow moving tropical storm. The wind and the rain knocked out our cell tower and I was without service for three days. So I had no interaction with the outside world except over the internet and that was spotty. We didn’t have our barbecue and didn’t leave the house all weekend. Our county has been declared a disaster area. There is widespread flooding, bridges and roads were washed away in the storm and the flooding afterward. I haven’t ventured too far from home since then because of the road damage and flooding. I’d have to say this card was pretty spot on.

All in all this is a very interesting deck. I don’t see it becoming a deck I use to read for others but I won’t be putting it back in storage either. I think it’s going to take some time to really get to know these cards and I think it will be worth the effort.

How it all began…sort of

 Posted by
Jul 122011
 

Two years ago on this day I made the decision to get serious about “going pro” as a tarot reader. I’ve been reading for years but it was not my main focus. Reader’s Studio was the impetus. Commiting to attend a conference with all the readers, writers and artists I admired was a huge step for me. Actually spending three days with them all was nearly mindblowing. It was a dive into the deep end and I came out the other side clear and energized.

 My love affair with Tarot actually began many, many years before. It was during a highschool love affair that I came across my first deck. We were in a bookstore together, waiting on the checkout line when I saw the stack of Rider-Waite decks. I pointed them out to him and he suggested I buy one. I waffled. He laughed. We were in front of the cashier when I finally made up my mind and added a deck to my purchase. He smiled at me because he knew I would do it. It was thrilling.

I still have that deck. It came with me to Reader’s Studio though I didn’t read with it there. It’s become almost a talisman, a good luck charm. When I first brought it home from the bookstore and thumbed through the images it was a little frightening and it unnerved me. Now it’s comforting. A few weeks after my first Readers’ Studio I was reading with it for a friend and we concluded I needed to be doing this for real. She was right. I knew she was right. I waffled. She laughed and Coneflower Tarot was born.

I am sure he had no idea what he started by goading me into buying the tarot deck I wanted. I’ve had it for nearly thirty years. It amazes me that it was so long ago. I’ve done many, many other things with my life in that time, picking up the cards now and then to gain some insight or clarity. Tarot has slowly become a big part of my life and connected me with a larger something I can’t quite explain. I have learned a lot about myself and about life but the community of friends I’ve gained is the sweetest gift of Tarot.

On Facebook a friend posted that the card of the day was Death. No matter how many times it turns up, or that I know better than to do so, I recoil from that card; but only for a second. 

July 14th 028

This one is from the Shadowscapes Tarot, a visually stunning deck done by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. Way back when I was first learning tarot I associated Death with the phrase “change from within”. I think that phrase still holds up but there is so much more to it. Death is part of the process. It’s sloughing off the old and moving onto the new. The phoenix in this card captures that idea so well and the image expresses it beautifully. Snakes outgrow their skin; chicks outgrow their shells; people outgrow aspects of their lives and themselves; the phoenix outgrows it’s feathers. It is a natural progression. Death precedes rebirth. So it is fitting that the card of the day is Death. Two years ago my life was different and I’ve let that go so my life can be what it is today.

I’ve noticed over the years that when cards come up they mean one thing at the time of the reading and frequently mean different things in different ways over the course of the day. Tarot has a sense of humor and irony. I was playing with my first deck today and wondering what he would think of where this has taken me. I can’t ask him because he died about ten years after I bought that deck. It occurred to me that the Death card referenced his passing and change that brought about too. 

So, as an homage to him and the wonderful gift he didn’t realize he gave me I launched Coneflower Tarot on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Bern and thank you, wherever you are.

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Farmers’ Market

 Posted by
Jul 092011
 

I like everything about the Farmers’ Market. The produce, naturally, and the variety of vendors but mostly I like the actual farmers. I’ve been going to this market for years now and have become friendly with quite a few vendors. It’s easy when we all live in the same community. That’s the nicest thing about this market: these farmers are my neighbors. When I first started going to this market it was just a unique shopping experience. Now I spend an hour or more there catching up with Doris and Diana. Doris is a riot. She keeps a space in her booth for the vegetables that get deformed in bizarre ways. They are perfectly edible just weird looking. Some of them are nearly pornographic. Those she shows only to certain customers. Diana has the best potatoes and our youngest children are in school together.  Maddy and her husband, Joe, the bread vendors, ask after my husband and have him on their prayer list. He’s in the Reserves and they put him on their list when he deployed a few years ago. They keep him there just in case.

Quite a few towns in this county have a market and they are on different days of the week. This comes in handy on the days I miss my favorite market http://www.goshennychamber.com/wordpress/ but I try not to miss it. (Sorry, the link dohickey isn’t cooperating with me so I put the whole URL in)

Farming is a lot of work and it’s hard work. Everytime I go to the market I marvel at how inexpensive the food is considering the effort to produce it.  No one gets rich being a farmer but there is something alluring about the energy on a farm and it carries over into the market. Being at Doris’ farm, standing in the Black Dirt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Dirt_Region) and seeing acres of vegetables sprouting and growing touches something primal. To be the ones working with that soil to coax those vegetables out takes a certain kind of personality. I’m eternally grateful for these people. Without them I’d have nothing to eat.

When we first moved here twelve years ago, I planted a vegetable garden. I was quite proud of myself. It wasn’t very big but I had lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, sunflowers and they were growing beautifully. In one day a groundhog and a handful of deer ate the whole thing. Ever since any garden I plant has been a battle between myself and the wildlife who think I’ve put out a buffet. I’m not giving up on it but until then I’ll be gladly exchanging my money for Doris’, Diana’s, Maddy’s and Joe’s goods.

This is what I think of whenever I pull the Six of Earth from the Gaian Tarot.

Taking it Personally

 Posted by
Jul 082011
 

Years ago, when I my youngest was starting school, I joined an established book club of local women. Once a month we would get together over lunch and discuss the book we had all read that month. I didn’t last long. They had similar values to each other and I was the odd one out. I relate better with people who have a philosophical bent whether they are spiritual or not and have a very difficult time with people who seem to have no sense of humor. It can be quite a learning experience to be in the company of people who prize things and ideas you don’t care about. They were likeable and somewhat friendly but not particularly warm and I found myself holding back from them. You’ve had this experience, I’m sure. Everyone has. You just know these people aren’t ‘friend material’ and the relationship will never be anything more than superficial civility. When I run into one of these ladies now we are each cordial to the other. There are no hard feelings it was just a bad fit.

I stayed with the book club for a few months until the month we read The Four Agreements. Reading this particular book was not my idea and I was surprised that a member of this group would suggest they read a spiritual, self-help book and even more suprised when they all agreed. I thought perhaps I needed to reassess my opinion of this group. Maybe I’d been a snob, maybe I’d been unfair. The day came when we met to discuss the book and I was very interested to hear what everyone had to say. Let me just say that I think the four agreements themselves are very useful but I found the book a little cutesy new-age. I recommend it to people all the time because the message is, in my opinion, very useful. Well, the book club never got past the second agreement: “Don’t take anything personally.”

When it came time to discuss this agreement I was the first to say I thought it was wonderful. To me it was an ‘a-ha!’ moment. The truth of it seemed so clear to me that I was sorry I hadn’t thought of it on my own. Once I understood the idea it seemed so obvious. They all looked at me like I’d sprouted a second head. The concept of not taking things personally is rooted in the fact that people behave the way they do because of who THEY are not because of you. So THEIR responses and reactions to you, or any other situation really, comes out from where THEY are in life, what THEY believe to be true and so on. It’s NOT about you. Your interaction with a second person may trigger a reaction from them but if a third person were to take your place in the discussion the second person would still behave as they did. YOUR response to any interaction is YOUR responsibility. YOUR reaction is because of who YOU are not because of the other person.

The reaction from the book club was ironic. They all turned on me. For the next hour the discussion centered around things that had happened to each of them that were personal and how that experience invalidated the book. My first reaction was to be stunned. I hadn’t expected such a violent response to a book or for these women to not even entertain my idea. The group dynamic was amazing. Not a single one of them understood what I was trying to say and not a single one of them let me complete a sentence. This group of otherwise cordial women became rude and nearly hostile with one particular woman leading the pack. About ten minutes into it I realized that I was in a situation where I had to put my money where my mouth was and not take this personally. When the lunch was over I thanked the hostess, bid the ladies farewell and ended my membership in this group. That was early 2005.

This past weekend I learned that one of these women, the one who most vociferously defended taking things personally, was involved in sabotaging something I was working on in our community. She told a mutual friend that she was happy I didn’t get what I wanted because she hates me. The actions she was applauding hurt this man, this mutual friend as well and until that was brought to her attention she didn’t realize she’d injured him because she had been so focused on interfering with me. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around this when I learned it. I can’t imagine setting out to undo someone or delighting in another person’s loss. I didn’t really understand what motivated her.

We had had a minor confrontation in 2006 where she came after me and I defended myself but that was five years ago. I thought that was that.  We almost never interact and I can’t remember the last time I even thought about her let alone spoke to her. She told our mutual friend that her intense dislike of me stems from that confrontation. That was amazing to me.  I sat in our booth on Sunday, in the rain and pondered this. I wasn’t hurt by this revelation but I was angry for a few minutes because of the callous way my friend was treated. It’s actually quite a waste of energy to be so vindictive and petty that you hurt innocent people to satisfy yourself. As the rain fell and I thought this over I pulled a card to find out where this woman was coming from. I got the Five of Cups.

She’s focused on what’s not there, what is lost. The cups are about emotions and the empty cups can be symbolic of places of need or emotional injury. The two full cups behind the figure are being ignored. This figure prefers to focus on what’s missing, what’s lacking and so that becomes their world view. There is a flowing river right nearby and the cups could easily be refilled but instead they are left where they fell and the figure stands there, cloaked in sorrow, staring at them. I thought of that Richard Bach quote “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours” There is no real reason for this person to be in this situation beyond the personal decision to stay there like holding a grudge for five years. Kind of sad isn’t it.

The Gaian Tarot

 Posted by
Jul 012011
 

It was May, 2005 and I was wandering the net checking out artists’ blogs. I was specifically focused on sketchbooks. I wanted to see how others use their sketchbooks and how much detail they include and how often they work in them. I came across Joanna Powell Colbert’s blog and was captivated. She was creating a tarot deck based on Earth Spirituality and featuring people of all variations set in the beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. From that day in 2005 until today I have followed Joanna’s words and art and watched the birth of this amazing deck, The Gaian Tarot.

I probably read her blog for a year before I commented on any of her posts and she was so warm and friendly that we started to communicate that way. Over time we became friends and we actually met in person at The Readers Studio in 2009. Last March the limited edition of the deck became available and I snapped one up. This September the mass market version of the deck will be released to the public by Llewellyn. Joanna has gladly and graciously given her permission for me to use the Gaian Tarot as my deck of the month for July.

This weekend I will be reading with this deck at The Great American Weekend come on by and see it in person. If you can’t make it to Goshen, NY you can stroll through the deck on the Gaian Tarot site.

I’ll post a review on Tuesday.

What was the meaning of June?

 Posted by
Jun 302011
 

We come to the end of June and I, for one, am happy to see it go. It wasn’t a terrible month but it was challenging and irritating and a bit frustrating. The Wildwood Tarot will retire as our deck of the month but before he goes I had a question: What was up with June?  This is the answer I got

This is the spread I use when I don’t know which spread to use and it’s one I learned from Donnaleigh de LaRose. The four positions are from left to right: the current situation; the challenge; the advice; and the likely outcome of following the advice. Interesting, no?

The third of my five children graduated from highschool last weekend. Now what? It’s a new beginning for her and for us too(Ace of Arrows). We have more children out of school than in. She will be starting college in the Fall and that’s part of the new beginning as well. This card brought to mind the quote from Kahlil Gibran. In The Prophet he wrote: “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”

The challenge (Seven of Stones) reared its ugly head just as May ended. The same daughter was on the Senior Class trip to Disney World and she had a severe allergic reaction to something. She broke out in hives that came and went the first day there. The second morning she awoke with her tongue and all her extremities swollen. She had trouble breathing, couldn’t dress herself or get her shoes on. Thankfully the school nurse was on hand to help her, treated her right away with some medication and rushed her to the nearest Urgent Care center. Several trips to various doctors, an allergist included and we’ve discovered she is allergic to sunscreen. Specifically parabens. Do you know how many things have parabens? This card, Seven of Stones, is about healing and it’s also assessment. It’s about checking in with yourself and seeing what needs healing. Aside from the allergy there was stress making everything worse.

It’s emotional graduating from high school and it’s a bit frightening too. Life is getting real and all your insecurities stand up and say hello. There is tremendous pressure put on high school students and it’s not only unnecessary it borders on cruel. Almost no one knows what they want to do with the rest of their life when they are seventeen or eighteen but the faculty and staff at the school act as if these kids should know. The pressure to choose the right school is treated like a life or death decision. As if the wrong school is inescapable and will ruin the rest of your life.  Then there are students who seem to have it all figured out. They’ve made decisions and are following them through. Good for them. Everyone celebrates those kids but if you aren’t one of them you feel as though you are a failure. That’s not good at all. Many of the kids my daughter graduated with she won’t see again until some high school reunion ten or twenty years from now. She has no way of knowing what they will really end up doing. Of all the college graduates I know only one who is working in their field of major study. One! No one really has it all figured out even at forty-five years old let alone seventeen. But these kids don’t have that perspective and the adults at the school have other reasons for pushing them into college that have more to do with the high school than the child’s future. All of that aside, she did graduate and is going to college but her head is still spinning with all sorts of wrong ideas. I think this is where the Three of Stones comes in.

The figure in this card is a Green Woman with her legs turning into roots and her hair is leaves. The thing that struck me about her is that she is grounded and she draws her strength from there. She seems to have lowered her center of gravity which improves her balance and she is centered between the upright stones. The keyword is Creativity which will be required to help my daughter see things more clearly but the groundedness and centeredness of the woman in the image really speaks more to what my daughter needs to get back to. Without the constant barrage from classmates and teachers regarding grades, graduation and college, I think she will relax back into herself. As the distance from highschool increases I can see her gaining the perspective she doesn’t completely have right now. Which brings us to the Stag. Here is an adult hybrid. He is half man, half animal and fully himself. He stands tall and looks you right in the eye. He holds a shield that is emblazoned with a tree like the Druidic tree of life and in the other hand has a double-headed ax. He is balanced. He is brave.

Looking at the cards left to right I can’t help but notice the posture of the figures. The arrow and the two Green Women are looking up but more level with each card. The arrow is higher than the healer who is looking up higher than the woman between the stones. Lastly the Stag is looking right at us. This too tells me that this month was about getting out of our head and into the world. For my daughter it was getting away from other peoples ideas and finding the inner guidance we all have so she can grow into that Stag and stand tall as who she really is.

My Code of Ethics

 Posted by
May 042011
 

Tarot is an amazing tool for clarity and guidance and I am honored to read the cards for others. Should you choose to have a reading with me I’d like to make clear who I am and what I’m about. These are in no particular order.

~ I will be honest and clear with my clients. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. What I see in the cards is what I tell you. If there is anything you don’t understand I will do my best to clarify it for you. 

~ I will honestly represent my qualifications, abilities, education and association memberships.   

~ I will respect your privacy and keep confidential your name, your reading and anything we shared or discussed during a reading unless you choose otherwise. Understand, there is no legal privilege between us but, short of a subpoena ordering my testimony in court, your secrets are safe with me.

~ I will treat all my clients fairly and respectfully regardless of race, color, sexual preference, religion, and political leanings. I seek to create a peaceful space of non-judgement and compassion in which to do the reading.

~ I will only read for the person requesting the reading. I will not pry into the affairs of those not present for the reading.

~ I will act in the best interest of my client not causing or seeking to cause harm.

~ I will always give my client my full attention during a reading.

~ I do not predict the future. What references may come up regarding future events are only possibilities based on the present situation. Your exercise of free will, decisions you make and actions you take determine your future.

~ I do not predict the winning lottery numbers, outcomes of games or races.

~ I do not put curses on people, take curses off people or require you to have any more readings from me if you choose not to.

~ I respect that there are other readers who do things differently than I do.

~ I am not licensed to practice medicine, law or psychiatry so I do not give medical, legal or psychiatric advice.

~  I seek to help my client by working to make this an empowering experience.

~ I respect my clients’ right to terminate the reading.

~ There are no hidden fees. I will be upfront about the cost and duration of a reading before we begin.

~ I reserve the right to refuse to read for anyone if I feel it violates my code of ethics.

~ I will continue my training and education seeking to provide the best readings of which I am capable.

~ In accordance with the laws of New York State I will provide Tarot readings for entertainment purposes only.

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