My cards are possessed

You cannot tell me there is not something “conscious” at work with cards.

A week or so ago I was shuffling the Balbi while contemplating out loud what deck I intended to take away with me in May. No sooner had the words “I think I’ll take the RWS” left my lips when the 4 of Swords literally flew out *at* me. In this system it represents ‘a declared evil’. Balbi was clearly not impressed that I had just declared my evil intention to leave him at home! 

So when, for #WithinWithoutAdvice, I asked if I should continue to work with only the Balbi for a while I wasn’t surprised to see the 4S again, occupying the Without position. My betrayal has not been forgotten. 

Within: I’d made a written commitment (letter, decree) to work with only the Tarot Balbi. I did say for just two weeks but the concept of time seems to be lost on Balbi, at least on this occasion. 

Advice: ‘Shared love’. Looks like I’m expected to be faithful a while longer.☺

What a team

Tarot Balbi, using Eudes Picard's* meanings: A collaboration will give birth to a woman who earns her money in an unusual way.

Backstory:

1) Taliesin McKnight recently posted a video about Sigil Magick and encouraged viewers to give it a try. I thought "Why not?", so I scratched around for something to manifest and decided on "It is my will to make money reading cards." New decks don’t pay for themselves. 

2) During a guided meditation one of my spirit guides, Daisy, reappeared after a long absence.

3) I'm taking part in the #WithinWithoutAdvice Tarot challenge on Instagram and decided to pull three cards asking Daisy if she had anything she wanted to tell me.

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*Using only this deck for a few weeks has been very useful, as it’s drawn to my attention that Balbi (or whoever actually wrote the LWB) redefined a fair number of the cards while staying somewhat true to Picard’s images, which has led to some weird visual mismatches.

So having translated almost all the Spanish, I find I now have to translate all the French. But when I'm done I intend to share my findings here. So if you're at all interested in the Tarot Balbi, watch this space.

Side note: Yes, I do have a candle labelled "Spirit Team" - what of it? LOL! I burn it for a short time every morning to "check in". And the crystal is the one I've charged to aid me in connecting with them.

Chatting with my grandmother

This is why I love working with cards. Gentle reader – allow me to introduce my grandmother.

I was listening to WitchUpTheRoad talking about how important it was to her to remember her family history and honour her ancestors, and I was moved to ask my ancestors to give me a message for today's #WithinWithoutAdvice.

I use my grandmother's, Oma’s, playing card method and she sometimes “drops in” as the Queen of Spades. So imagine how delighted I was when she appeared in this spread in such a familiar and unambiguous way. And notice the zodiac sign on her chest? No prizes for guessing what sign Oma was.

My ancestors are always Within.

The Balbi '8 of Coins' speaks of legacies, and the fair distribution of property or inheritance, as well as perseverance. Value my inheritance and continue to share it Without.

The Hanged Man confronts the various possibilities between the past and the future. It is the balance of power between necessity and freedom, between that which is an essential part of us from our past and that which we make for ourselves in the future. I’m Advised to acknowledge that balance.

Thanks for stopping by, Oma. x

#WithinWithoutAdvice

Patrick of In The 78 Cards and Kelly of The Truth in Story are "hosting" an Instagram Tarot challenge for the month of March.

Dig out one of your meaty, intense, challenging decks and go deep with it, using the Within Without Advice spread created by Marie White for her Mary-El Tarot companion book, hence the hashtag #WithinWithoutAdvice.

My deck of choice will be the Tarot Balbi - because a) I've already committed to using it exclusively for the next 2 weeks, and b) I'm not drawn to "challenging" decks, so the Balbi is as challenging as it gets for me at the moment.

All the details are in Patrick's intro video. I'm weirdeye on Instagram - hope to see you there!