I love my Hippy Tarot!

The review of Morgan's Tarot begins at 13:06

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REPOST: The Four Queens: 100 Illuminating Journal Prompts: Heal, Reveal and Get Real

The Four Queens: 100 Illuminating Journal Prompts: Heal, Reveal and Get Real
These prompts are designed to help you dig deeper.. They are for those who find themselves on a journey of healing, self-love, shadow work and spiritual experiences. Open yourself up to what is hidden, check your ego defenses at the door and get your pens (or keyboards) at the ready!...

Smellies!

I blame Ember HoneyRaven.

I've been gorging myself on her videos lately - a lot of catching up to do - and I got to her Incense Tag offering the other day. Oh boy.

So when I found myself in Colchester today I had to pop into Traders of the East and check out their supply. It was good. It was very good.

I've used Satya's Nag Champa for years - love it! I bought these three on Ember's recommendation and I lit up a Patchouli Forest as soon as I got home. It is beautiful. And quite powerful. I can't wait to try the others - they smell great in the box. I've just rewatched the video, though, and I'm kicking myself for not remembering Satya Nirvana but I don't actually recall seeing it there in any case. eBay here we come!

But I did find some Nag Champa soap. Couldn't resist.

They also have HEM brand, among others, so I've made myself a little shopping list for the next trip. And maybe I'll even 'achieve' Nirvana. :)

Reading Houses within a GT

Many people like to read the Houses within a Grand Tableau (GT). I've tried it and I know the method has merit. But I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to reading a GT and I don't like to add Houses to my reading process. There's quite enough to do using traditional Lenormand methods without adding general cartomantic techniques to the mix.

This post by Madame Seaqueen, which explains Houses for those of you who may not have come across it before, employs a 6x6 GT layout however. I've seen this layout used before but not really considered it because, purist that I am, I like an 8x4+4 but... [light bulb goes on] I could use this layout for the times I think looking at the Houses would be the best way to tackle a reading. So now I can happily use Houses within a 6×6 without compromising my principles. ;)

So simple, so obvious in hindsight. But this is the sort of thing that highlights that you never stop learning your craft.

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. :)