I think it's interesting to compare the same card from very different decks. Each deck creator puts his/her own interpretations into the artwork; sometimes there isn't much deviation from the standard RWS meanings - a little extra flourish here or there, slightly different colors, but nothing that changes things too much. Other times, the art (and the LWB) really change or add greatly to the meanings. A reader can choose to ignore those changes and interpret the cards according to what he/she has learned and is accustomed to, or he/she can work more by intuition and the specific deck creator/artist's interpretations in the LWB or companion book that comes with the deck. I am going to compare the Moons from three decks: Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), Chyrsalis Tarot, and Thoth Tarot.
First RWS- A night scene. Two large, foreboding towers are shown. They also can be seen as tombstones, because the same symbol appears on the card of Death. Two wild beasts, a dog and a wolf, howl at the Moon and a crab appears in the water (as the Moon rules over the zodiac of Cancer) and crawls from onto the land. The Moon is shedding the moisture of fertilizing dew. The figure in the moon is seems to be frowning and reflects obviously displeasure. The card can be considered as the fears of the natural mind. There is a pathway into the distant, dark unknown. The light of the Moon illuminates all the things you can't see in daylight. Overall, it's strange and uncomfortable scene. The standard indications of this card are possible deception and illusory situations , moodiness, hidden truths, and the rising of intuition. Overall, it's not a very positive card in RWS. In Chrysalis Tarot, we find an ornate quarter moon in forefront of the card, smiling as rays of white light radiate off it, illuminating the water beneath and faint ornate patterns in the sky around it. There is a tiny green island in the middle of the water with a lone standing figure with arms raised. The key word in the LWB is "Reflection" and the moon is described as embracing "the tiny island as a mother might embrace a bewildered child." This Moon is about creative reflection and (again in the LWB) "joyful celebration of your success" in energizing your goals and aspirations with positive thoughts." The Chrysalis moon here too is about diving deep into intuition through inner voice, dreams, etc, but it is also an empowering and embracing figure, rather than disturbing as in RWS. In the complex imagery of the Thoth Moon we find the two towers from RWS with two wolf-headed figures of Annubis, Egyptian God of Death, each with a jackal, standing guard in front of each tower. The moon here is a waning moon and it is clearly the land of the dead. The jackals are scavengers and ready to fall upon and devour the corpses of the dead who pass between the two ominous towers. It is all shadows and uncertainty and danger; it takes great courage to pass through this threatening dark landscape. It is not for the confused, uncertain and faint of heart; here there is no benevolence of the embracing Chrysalis and the dark aspects of RWS have been heightened. However, within this dark imagery is a glimmer of light and hope; there is also the sacred Egyptian scarab beetle holding a symbol of the sun between its pincers, a renewing positive sign, indicating there is light in the darkness - the light can be understood as consciousness illuminating the illusory shadows. One of the messages is to open up to what is hidden - again through listening to intuition, dreams, shadow work, though it may be difficult and frightening. We can say that all three Moons do encourage tapping into one's intuition and unconscious to reveal what is hidden, though RWS and Thoth do present the experience as frightening and dangerous. As the moon can be seen as a metaphor for the feminine, visible in these two decks is an inherent fear, then, of that aspect of being - the female. The female is the unknown darkness, the unconscious, emotions, uncertainty. The Chrysalis is by far the most female/unconscious/spirit-friendly. All three, however, are ultimately about embracing the totality of one's complete self, the darkness and the light, which will lead to transformation, though in RWS this possible transformation is not apparent within the card itself. RWS is a warning regarding not only oneself, but others and exterior situations; . It is quite interesting to see the similarities and differences of these three decks. I'm sure with all the many hundreds of decks out there, this one comparison could end up as a book, and an interesting one at that!
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Ok, so just a few days ago I wrote here that the honeymoon with Chrysalis Tarot was waning. Well, I'm not giving up, I've decided! Yes, the meanings are different in many cases from RWS for sure, but this means I need to call on my intuition more strongly with this deck - precisely what Chrysalis is meant to do. Precisely what I need to do even though it feels like diving deep sometimes, instead of relying on the tried and true RWS interpretations I've got in my mind-vault.
Part of my resurrected determination and enthusiasm stems from the wonderful interview with Toney Brooks this morning online with Guiding Echoes on YouTube here. If you haven't listened, I highly recommend this. Toney is so knowledgeable and it was great to listen to his background on the Chrysalis deck and sthe deeper meanings of some of the images. I promptly emailed him later and asked for tips on getting more out of the deck and less out of my head and he suggested the Pentagram spread in the back of the LWB. I'd already tried that spread once and liked it, so I tried it again and this time asked for his impressions of some of the positions I got. Needless to say it was all very helpful and I'm hooked and determined to make this deck mine, so to speak. So, from now on for an open ended time, I will be using only Chrysalis and working with it more intensively. It's a treasure for sure, and I do agree with Tonie that it's a mind/spirit opener for anyone and everyone. Stay tuned! The Card of the Day today is from Chrysalis Tarot - Sorceress (High Priestess) perfect for today, Friday the 13th under a glorious once in a century full honey moon (called so because of its yellow color, the moon being quite close in its orbit to Earth tonight). You can read the details on my Facebook page (link above). Needless to say, the gates of perception are opened today and the mysteries are flowing in! Get ready for some interesting synchronicity, creative surges, heightened intuition, revelations, and expanded vision where suddenly a whole picture reveals itself where before it had you stumped. I've already experienced some of this today, with heightened creative thoughts, a synchronicity in pulling the Sorceress after reading someone else's posting of that card on a Facebook tarot group. And yes, it may also have to do with the deck itself, which the creators' think of as magic -inducing. They may be right!
To heighten intuition, try carrying or wearing an amethyst crystal or moonstone and get out under the glorious coming moon and feel the magic! Try choosing a tarot card from any deck that symbolizes or expresses your deepest desire and place it under a bright yellow or orange candle and light the candle tonight, asking the Sorceress for help in manifesting that dream. Tonight of all nights, she'll be listening. Keep your ears open for her messages today! So, I have a great tarot quote I heard last night from Grey, an acquaintance: "Tarot is the signpost(s) on the highway of life." Love it and so true! Tarot can let you know when the exits, detours, closed roads and shortcuts are coming up - important information if we don't have a map! It can help make our journey smoother, less full of traffic jams, accidents and just getting lost. Think of Tarot as GPS - you can follow the directions or go your own way, but at least you know where you're going!
Now to the Magic part. Last night Grey, who has a drop-in tarot discussion group, talked about Tarot candle spells. Now I've done my share of candle workings (though admittedly nothing very deep or sophisticated), but what was new was his suggestion to choose a tarot card from any deck with good illustrations that best expresses whatever you'd like to change or manifest and print out that card (at the size that will fit around a candle in a glass container) and tape it to the glass. Do the usual thing of writing down what you'd like to manifest, adding symbols (like $ for prosperity) fold it and place it under the candle. Light the candle and keep it burning until it exhausts itself, though keep it safe in a fireplace, sand, bathtub, etc. If necessary, put the candle out when you sleep or go out (put the flame out by snuffing it rather than blowing it, as snuffing indicates this spell will continue, while blowing it signals the end of the magic). Another new thing I learned from Grey was that he uses orange or yellow candles to manifest prosperity and success, rather than green, which is the usual choice. He sees orange and yellow as dynamic energetic manifestation energies, rather than the more tame and common green, and it makes a lot of sense. I love those fiery colors and I can see in aspirations and ambitions that sort of energy - the Wands energy in fact. Wands in Tarot as manifestations of fire are usually depicted in red, orange, yellow - hot colors - you want the heat and energy of aspiration, the sparks and fire of will. So, grab that bright candle, choose an appropriate card and fire away to make your dreams come true! Beautiful day today - birds singing, sun shining, gentle breeze, perfect temp, everything is aglow - it's all abundance and I think of The Empress on a day like this. Playing some more with my new Chrysalis Tarot and while I still love the beauty of the art and the soft, bright happy colors and positive spins of most of the card meanings, the honeymoon may be slowly winding down.
I guess I'm a traditionalist in that I like my decks to mean what I know, what I've studied (RWS mostly); sure I love imaginative variations of the art - as long as the standard meanings are still clear. If a card (or entire deck) is beautiful or edgy, or whatever, I can appreciate the artwork and artist's innovation and imagination, but if the traditional meaning of too many cards doesn't come through, then I likely won't use the deck for readings. It will sit on my shelf, maybe getting very occasional use or no use at all - and certainly never with clients. I might pick it up simply to enjoy the illustrations, but for me, it's not a reading deck. Unfortunately, the Chrysalis Tarot is beginning to fall into this category. The meanings of many of its cards don't adhere to RWS at all, or at best, the meanings are greatly extended above and beyond anything RWS had dreamed of. Most of the cards have positive twists - even the most "negative" or frightening ones (think Tower, 10 of Swords, etc.), which is ok, but often the meanings are so far out of the ballpark that they're almost entirely different. Therefore, working with Chrysalis properly - that is, using it the way the creators meant it to be used - with their meanings and interpretations - means having to use their LWB (Little White Book) for each reading rather than just relying on my own experience and knowledge (and intuition) as I would normally do. While it is usually uplifting to read the creators' interpretations and takes on each card, it feels more like I'm using an oracle deck than a tarot deck. I suppose with repeated use I would eventually memorize the Chrysalis meanings and not have to rely on the LWB, but still, it would be a different sort of reading - a much less predictive and basic nuts and bolts sort (which is what many people want and expect) - and a much more psychological/spiritual one. Granted both oracle and tarot decks are divination tools and are catalysts to tap into a reader's intuition and the spiritual realm; however, when is a "tarot" deck a tarot deck and when is it an oracle? For me, considering the wide deviation of meanings, the Chrysalis deck is really an oracle and should be used as such (not for predictive purposes, for e. You know, there's really something to be said for tradition! Started a new page on this site called "Tarot Art by Me" where I'll be posting images of my tarot deck-in-progress. First pic is The Fool. Keep in mind this is in-progress; the title area on the bottom will not look the same in the final version and I'm sure other aspects will change too. Love to hear what you think, so do drop a line if you're so moved!
Next up - I've been continuing to work with the Thoth deck and am actually warming to it even more! Had a very positive experience with it today - couldn't have wished for more uplifting cards than The Sun, 10 of Cups, 2 of Wands, and 6 of Cups for a reading on trends in my life. This is probably the first time I've felt such a glow after using Thoth. Previously, I'd be puzzled and/or out in the cold with that deck; in fact, I felt it almost as negative. Now, however, after moving along with Andrew McGregor's Thoth classes, I'm noticing the bright colors and at times exuberant designs and appreciating the wealth of detail on each card - even the "plain" minors have more than meets the eye to say. I might just get to the point where I'll be including this deck in my choices for professional readings. I do love the depths to this deck and it's great to expand one's horizons and add to the toolbox! Waiting for the next synchronicity to occur - trying to catch it as it flies by - it's so easy to miss them! Have to pull out the Chrysalis Tarot again - using that deck seems to set things in motion somehow! Toney Brooks, the writer for the deck, calls Chrysalis a healing deck and swears by its synchronicity-inducing effects. He just may be on to something! So here it is again today - another synchronicity! The Card of the Day on my Facebook business page was Queen of Swords (which I go into there); the card of the day for discussion by James Ricklef also on Facebook was - you guessed it - Queen of Swords! Ok, so I'm noticing these, not trying to figure them out - if there's anything to figure that is. Maybe, though, part of the meaning is in the cards. Ok, so The Moon tells us things hidden are emerging, and the Queen of Swords tells us to pay attention to truth, cut through illusions - think there's a correlation there? Taro, the Universe, wants to be sure we hear its messages, so it will repeat them, again and again. I'm listening - are you? Can't wait to see what tomorrow might bring!
Queen of Swords below from Tarot Illuminati by Kim Huggens & Erik C. Dunne Yesterday one of those tarot "coincidences" occurred which I just have to tell you about! The "Card of the Day" for my Facebook page was The Moon, and after I'd posted it, I noticed it was also another Facebook poster's card of the day too. Ok, no biggie - coincidence, right? But then, later in the evening, I read a posting on one of the tarot group pages that this person had been walking in a city park and sat down on a bench and lo and behold, lying on the ground to the side was The Moon card from a tarot deck. Just that card! He was wondering what the significance could be, as he wasn't too familiar with the meaning. Of course I chimed in, along with a few others, and told him it was the card of the day for my page and another's and it fit right in with everything as the card of mystery, intrigue, intuition, emotions, the unconscious, dreams and manifestation. I told him to be on the lookout for coincidences, gut feelings, unexpected reactions or that of others and prepared that something may about to be revealed in a situation.
Later, as I was about the fall asleep, I happened to glance at my digital clock and it was exactly 11:11; the previous evening just before sleep it was 12:12. Now this has happened before; in fact, some years ago it was happening very frequently, but then it stopped for the most part. I take this to be a sign of the mystery at work, The Moon a reminder to all that very often things are not what they seem and there are depths and layers yet to be discovered. It is a reminder not to take things, life, others, at face value lest we miss the meaningful currents that flow through our lives. That we can never know everything. That in the end, it is all a mystery. Well, I finally bit the bullet and faced Crowley's Thoth monster head on this week. That is, after owning a Thoth deck for years and watching it gather dust on my shelf, I've finally decided to stare into its many faces and try to understand what it's saying. Yes, I've got the books and read through them too, but they never connected me to the deck; part of the reason is that it's a Marseille-style deck, which means the pip cards aren't illustrated. In other words, they don't give me anything to open my doors of perception; in fact, they leave me flat. Now, my tarot taste usually runs to the colorful and demonstrative and to RWS (Rider-Waite-Smith) based decks. The Thoth tarot, while somewhat colorful, is illustrated in abstract designs which are full of obvious, esoteric, and hidden symbols. You've got to know them to get the deck, and they're not easy to know, or sometimes to even visually decipher. The deck used to leave me in the cold with no connection, so the deck stayed on the shelf.
I started a Thoth Tarot video class about a week ago based on a very positive review by a previous class participant, and urged on by the assurance that most of what I'd learn can be applied to RWS or any tarot. My friend Eloise reads with almost no other deck and has hardly said hello to RWS for years, so I felt it might be time to take up the challenge and brave the learning curve of the Thoth. I've gone through all of the Majors so far and have to report my appreciation for the art and depth of meaning in this deck has increased quite a bit. Will I be able to read with Thoth as I do with RWS at the end of this course? Unknown at present time, but I'll keep you posted. Thoth may just appear in my deck choices gallery yet! So, the Card of the Day today is the 3 of Wands from the sumptuous Tarot Illuminati by Kim Huggens (writer) & Erik C. Dunne (artist). When this card appears it usually means "keep on keeping on" or you're doing great, but don't drop the ball. It encourages further planning towards whatever goal(s) you've got your eye on, as well as an expansion of horizons, an opening to new ideas and possibilities, a little thinking "out of the box." It may also be telling you to pay attention to any premonitions or intuitions regarding the future road towards your goal.
Today , though, I had another insight into this card; I was a bit annoyed while driving this morning when I had to stop on a somewhat busy street because a woman had her car door open, as she was getting something out, blocking the lane I was in. I shouted something to her about closing her door and she shouted something back. Just after I detoured around her and got back into my lane, I caught myself. What was that about, I wondered? Why get so riled over nothing? It cost me about an extra minute of travel time in the end! I realized I'd been acting from impulse and habit - a Knight of Swords sort of behavior. Then I thought about the message of today's card the 3 of Wands, regarding planning and forethought. I realized its message could be applied to any kind of behavior - not just the planning of projects or goals, but to daily behavior too. A little pause before jumping into a fray, a little thinking about consequences and results before acting or speaking is good advice. Now this little vinette had no major consequences, though it certainly didn't brighten anyone's day - in fact, it probably was a little negative push in the wrong direction for both the woman and myself. Maybe if I'd kept the 3 of Wands in mind as I left the house and went about my morning, I would have created a better one both for me and the woman on the road. Just my little glimpse of the possibilities of Tarot in daily action. |
AuthorI am an intuitive counselor and visionary artist who has studied and worked with Tarot for over 20 years. I am an avid collector of tarot art, as well as a creator. I am the creator of four oracle decks. I also have an extensive collection of tarot art images on Pinterest.com which you can enjoy. Archives
February 2016
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