The Grand Tableau

It's been a while. I've been, let's say 'distracted' the past couple of months, but here is another "Judy says...", this time on the topic of the GT or Grand Tableau.

Madame Seaqueen, of Ask My Cards, posited in her Facebook group Zigeuner Cards Community, "One needs to remember that in yesteryear these Gipsy cards were quite frequently read in the GT layout using the near & far technique... Lines of 3, 5 or even 7 are a more modern option." 

To which I responded -

Yes, the Grand Tableau was the norm. That was simply "How it was done". My grandmother read Swedenborg cards, always in a GT. That's the only method given in the instructions and the meanings depend on whether a card is near or far from a significator. 

I wish people weren't so intimidated by GTs. You don't have to read every single card and use every single technique. You can ask a question, throw a GT and then simply read the line or square around the appropriate sig, just like a line of 3/5/7 or a 3x3. But, and this is the important bit, you then also have the opportunity, if you want, to look beyond those cards for more information. I think the GT should make a comeback. :)  (Although I suspect that in many parts of the world it probably still is the spread of choice or habit.)

Paying It Forward (hehe)

I don't see why I should be the only poor schmuck who's seduced into buying (yet another) tarot deck I don't really need simply because some other poor schmuck with equally little self-control dangles pictures of its gorgeousness in front of my nose.

I made the mistake ;) of visiting Le Fanu's blog, My Curious Cabinet, when he posted a review of Le Tarot Noir, a Marseille deck, by Justine Ternel and Matthieu Hackière.

And now I am the, admittedly proud, possessor of said deck.

I love the size of these cards - 10.6 x 14cm, 4 3/8 x 5 1/2". Chunky! Good, substantial card stock so they don't feel flimsy. With their 'picture frame' borders, they look like fine art miniatures ready to hang in a gallery. In fact, one of the reasons I bought them was to occasionally place some on display. I can just barely get my hands across them lengthwise to shuffle. And I do so very carefully, as I don't want to chip the black borders.

The colours are lush and velvety, but I would have liked a bit more intensity (they do appear more vibrant on screen). Love the "gilt" edges. Wish the "gold" of the borders was gilt, too. The backs, sadly, leave me cold. They might have benefitted from being the same gold as the borders rather than a dull dark buff.

Minor whinges aside, I am glad I bought this deck. Maybe I've tempted you to buy it* now, too. Just to make me feel a bit better about myself, LOL!

*But if you're thinking of putting one aside as a collector's item, be warned. Like Le Fanu's, my book fell apart on first opening. Do not do more than peek inside.

Quote - C C Zain

What the Tarot can be made to reveal
is limited only by the understanding of the reader. 

-- C C Zain

Reading for yourself

So, true to my word, at least this once - an "info-post". :)

Is it advisable to read Lenormand for yourself when "feeling very emotional or worried about something"? The asker had been told not to read Tarot under these circumstances, as the cards would just reflect their chaos and make things worse. Better to have someone else read for you.

My reply, which applies to Tarot, Lenormand, et al. -

If we can't read for ourselves when we're feeling emotional or worried about something, i.e. when we really NEED a reading :) what good is the ability? Yes, a reading by someone else would be great, but it's not always an option. In order to read effectively for others we have to be able to set our ego aside, focus on the process and read what the cards say without attachment. If, with much practice, we can achieve that for others, we can achieve it for ourselves. No way is it easy, but you have to find a way to let go.

That's it. No blinding insight, but it might be helpful to someone.

Judy says...

When I began this blog I said that "...this is where I'll be housing my growing list of cartomancy links and snippets of useful info." I haven't been very good at keeping up with that. I confess, most of my online cartomancy activity takes place on Facebook.

Sometimes someone there posts an interesting idea or question and I am compelled to share my wisdom. Ok, maybe not wisdom, LOL - but at least what I've been able to glean from other knowledgeable practitioners or what I've found to be true through my own practice. It struck me that, if I were a better blogger, those replies are the sort of thing I'd be posting here. So, that's what I think I'll do - repost some of those comments here.

For now, I'll share links to my favourite Facebook groups.

Fortune Telling with a Pack of Ordinary Playing Cards - all kinds of playing card meanings and methods are explored. I'm an admin in this group.

Cartomancy Study Group - an active group that focuses mainly on playing cards as well as other forms of cartomancy.

Lenormand and Cartomancy - a very relaxed and friendly group.

Give me a wave if you're there. :)

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Andy Boroveshengra: Shuffling and Cutting Naked Under the Moon!: Questions on how I shuffle, and how I deal my cards are topics that find their way into my inbox, often.  All too often, at least to my mind...

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 New Testament, New International Version - UK 

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Lucky me!

Every month, the American Tarot Association (ATA) runs a contest in their e-zine. And every month, I enter it. Me and 10,000 others, I always think. But guess who won the March contest?

I've already spent some of it on a new tarot deck - Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot. A friend of mine posted a reading with these cards recently and I was intrigued by the use of Etteilla's meanings. Can't wait!

Deck cleansing for the cartomante of limited means

I belong to quite a few cartomancy groups of Facebook and the question of how to cleanse a deck of negative energy has come up several times recently.

I'm not the type to have a supply of smudge sticks, dragon's blood or dressed candles to hand (I do have Florida Water, mind you - love it!). If you're the same and you find yourself with a troubled deck then this may be of interest.

My Thrifty Witch method for cleansing a deck – when all you've got is salt and time!

Place the offending deck ;-) face down on a clean level surface. Place your hand, right or left, you decide, flat on top of the stack and begin twisting the deck. Keep putting your hand back and twisting to mix the cards. As some escape to the sides, push them back into the pile and keep twisting them all together until you're satisfied they've had a thorough blending.

Gather up the cards and place them in order, whatever "in order" means to you – by suit or by number, etc., turning any reversed cards upright.

Get a clean dish or tray and sprinkle some salt on it. Sea salt if you have it, or just ordinary table salt. Place the deck face up on top of the salt and sprinkle it with a bit more salt. You don't have to bury it. Now place the tray and deck on a windowsill where ideally it will get some sunlight, and better yet moonlight, and leave it there for 5 days.

While you're waiting, use another deck. This bit is important. It keeps you from anxiously waiting for your other deck to be ready (so your energies won't be disturbing the resting deck), keeps your divinatory engine ticking over, and potentially releases any negative energies you yourself may be holding into the stand-in deck.

As you can see, there’s a fair bit of leeway in these instructions. Take what you find useful and make the process your own. Like all magic, Intention is the key.

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Read and inwardly digest.

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