Five-Card Elemental Influences Spread

As promised in my _REVIEW_ of the Magical Times Empowerment Cards, I did the Five-Card Elemental Influences Spread described in the Little White Book that comes with the deck. This spread is subtitled "Who are my allies? Who walks beside and within me?"

Although Jody Bergsma mentions the five Elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Spirit), this reading uses the Four Directions: East, South, West, and North. I don't see any information in the LWB explaining which element is linked to which direction. Since the spread is called the "Elemental Influences Spread," it seems like we should incorporate some sort of directional-elemental correlation. I am using the following correspondences:

• South = Fire
• West = Water
• East = Air
• North = Earth

Following the instructions in the LWB, I pulled five cards into the following positions:

(1) New Beginnings (Air: Who helps me, who is beside me in the East?)
(2) Personal Power and Strength (Fire: Who helps me, who is beside me in the South?)
(3) Manifestation and Flow (Water: Who helps me, who is beside me in the West?)
(4) My place in the world (Earth: Who helps me, who is beside me in the North?)
(5) The Spirit Within (Who is within me and gives me guidance?)


(1) New Beginnings: CHANGE (Air: Who helps me, who is beside me in the East?)

CHANGE is a wonderful card to see in the position of "New Beginnings." After all, the word "New" implies change. This card is about embracing transformation, letting go of the past, eliminating negatives, and making room for all things positive and beautiful. This is a change that is much needed and welcome.

(2) Personal Power and Strength: PROSPERITY (Fire: Who helps me, who is beside me in the South?)

This card tells me that true prosperity comes when I am able to focus on the good and happy moments. I have the power and strength to expect and receive good things in life.

(3) Manifestation and Flow: CREATION (Water: Who helps me, who is beside me in the West?)

My life has always been about finding ways to channel my creativity. This card reminds me that I am the creator of my dreams, and only I can make the choices that create my life.

(4) My place in the world: ANTICIPATION (Earth: Who helps me, who is beside me in the North?)

My place in the world can be a place of Anticipation -- expecting the best at all times, looking for the guideposts that show me the way to unknown blessings.

(5) The Spirit Within: METAMORPHOSIS (Who is within me and gives me guidance?)

This card brings me full circle, as it (like Change) represents transformation. By being open to Metamorphosis, my Spirit is able to accept that change has its own timing, and everything is a process, an evolution from one state to another. I can be patient and trust the process.

In general, the creatures depicted on these five cards are not ones that I normally feel attracted to. We have three insects, a bird, and frogs. I don't sense that any of these creatures are "totems" for me, but I will not ignore their presence in this reading. Two of the cards feature fairies. I am not a huge fan of fairies, but I am going to try to be a little bit more open to their messages because of this reading.

REVIEW: Magical Times Empowerment Cards

R E V I E W
 

 Magical Times Empowerment Cards
by Jody Bergsma
U.S. Games Systems Inc. (March 31, 2013)
44 cards / 28-page booklet
ISBN-10: 1572817232
ISBN-13: 978-1572817234
TOP LINE (formerly Bottom Line)

There is a lot to love about this deck, with its pleasing colors, evocative art, and empowering messages. I like the way certain words in each inspirational message are emphasized by printing them in the calligraphy-style font used for the card's title/keyword. The keywords chosen by Jody Bergsma appear to cover every possible aspect of life, tuning in to common human emotions, perceptions, desires, and needs.

I'm looking forward to trying the spreads from the Little White Book, especially the Five-Card Elemental Influences Spread, which is designed to answer the questions "Who are my allies?" and "Who walks beside and within me?" Watch this blog for the result!

THE PUBLISHER'S PRODUCT SUMMARY

"Created by popular artist Jody Bergsma, this beautiful deck presents 44 inspirational images and affirmations. Bergsma's unique watercolor art combines her love of native wildlife, fantasy creatures, and geometric design. A 28-page guidebook accompanies the deck, and provides gentle yet powerful messages to help you achieve your greatest dreams."

BASIC INFORMATION

The creator of this deck, Jody Bergsma, began painting at an early age, encouraged by her mother to express her emotions and illustrate her dreams. A love of mathematics prompted her to earn a degree in engineering. After she graduated, she realized that she could combine her imaginative art with geometry, and a career was born. The creator of thousands of paintings and inspirational sayings, Bergsma has written and illustrated fantasy books. She also illustrated the Spirit of the Wheel Meditation Deck published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Each of the 44 cards in this set bears a title/keyword at the top in an elegant, calligraphy-style font. Examples are Elegance, Partnership, Cycles, Destiny, Strength, Friendship, Nature, and Expectation.

A circle in the center of each card contains the central portion of each illustration, but the illustrations extend, in paler color, beyond the confines of the circle.

At the bottom, Bergsma provides an inspiration saying or words of encouragement, set in plain type, all caps, except for certain words, which are rendered in the font used for the title.

For example, the card titled Dance shows a fairy dancing with a winged frog in the center. At the bottom are the words: "Find your heart's rhythm. Step lightly and swing with the melody. Close your eyes and let joy lead the way." The words "rhythm" and "joy" are emphasized by using the calligraphy-style font. The entry in the LWB reads: "Today is my day to dance lightly with life. I will sing wild songs, find my rhythm, and follow the drumbeat of my heart. I will dance with my friends and family...and sometime I will dance alone. I will invite moonbeams and dragonflies to come out and play. My spirit will soar and no matter what happens, I will find a reason to dance."

APPEARANCE, SIZE, QUALITY

This deck is packaged in a high-quality, very sturdy flip-top box, much nicer than the thin, lightweight boxes often used for Tarot and Oracle decks.

The oversized cards measure 5 1/4" x 3 1/2". They are printed on reasonably sturdy stock, although not very thick. I have seen the finish described as "matte" by other reviewers, but I consider it glossy -- perhaps not as "high gloss" as some decks, but certainly not a true "matte" finish.

Card backs feature linked circles in bright rainbow colors on a dark background.

Each card features gorgeous watercolor images and each has its own "color scheme" from green to blue to lavender to reddish brown to mauve to yellow. There is no apparent relationship between the color of the card and its title, message, or illustration. Depicted on the cards are animals (both real and imaginary), various beings such as fairies, mermaids, and humans, and geometrical designs.

The Little White Book includes a brief section titled "To Begin Your Readings," in which Jody Bergsma describes how to use the cards, how to interpret reversed (upside down) cards, and how the booklet is organized. At the end of the booklet we are given a Single Spread Card idea, a 3-Card Empowerment Spread, a 5-Card Elemental Influences Spread, and a page "About Jody Bergsma".

ART

The watercolor paintings are truly lovely and inspirational. The animals and people are realistic yet have a fantasy feel. On one of my favorite cards, Pilgrimage, a white-haired, bearded man (who reminds me of "Father Christmas" or perhaps Merlin) appears to be moving forward, accompanied by several white animals including a wolf, bear, fox, deer, owl, and hawk. Another favorite of mine is Humor, which depicts a young fairy girl in a rainbow-striped dress dancing with a winged cat. A white dove flies overhead, spreading rainbow colors across the sky.

In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, I hereby disclose that this product was provided by the publisher for free. Other than the occasional review copy, I receive no monetary or in-kind compensation for my reviews.  The substance of my reviews is not influenced by whether I do or do not receive a review copy.

Week at a Glance: 8 of Rods

The purpose of drawing a "Week at a Glance" card is to get a sense of the sort of energy, circumstances, or personal qualities I might need to be aware of during the upcoming week. I also use this opportunity to become more familiar with decks I don't work with a lot, so you will often see me quoting the creator of the deck or someone who has a closer relationship with the deck than I do at this time.

For the week of May 26, 2013 I am using Tarot of Northern Shadows by Sylvia Gainsford and Howard Rodway (AGMüller).

My card is the EIGHT OF RODS.   

Tarot of Northern Shadows

For the 8 of Rods, Sylvia Gainsford has painted a picture of a "wild hunt." We find many stories about a wild hunt in folklore and these chiefly involve phantom horsemen and dogs. Gainsford has chosen Herla=s Hounds for the 8 of Rods. The hounds are white with red ears and glowing eyes. Here they race across the countryside as two huntsmen soar above in the sky. The purpose of "the hunt" varies from legend to legend, but in all cases movement is swift. One of the hounds on the card is traveling so fast he knocks down one of the eight wooden posts in his path.

In this card I typically see swift, positive progress toward a goal or destination, with Rods being the suit of Fire (passion, energy, optimism, enthusiasm). There may be a danger of rushing too fast to get somewhere, when a more methodical, measured approach would be better. Howard Rodway writes that this card can suggest "a holiday with possible air travel." I don't have anything planned, but who knows?

The Hierophant, The High Priestess, and The Hermit

Please join me in welcoming Helen Howell with another of her insightful, delightful "rambles" about the Tarot cards!


THE HIEROPHANT, THE HIGH PRIESTESS & THE HERMIT
by Helen Howell
The Hierophant, The High Priestess and The Hermit. . . it sounds like I'm about to tell a joke doesn't it! But I'm not. Instead I was going to initially ramble on about the Hierophant, but the more I thought about this card, the more I thought about its connection in various ways to the other two cards: The High Priestess and The Hermit. Especially The Hermit, as both The Hierophant  and The Hermit are 'Teacher Cards' of the deck.

The Hierophant is often seen as a mentor of spiritual guidance. The depiction of Le Pape shows him with the power of the church behind him. This power is an established one, and so the Hierophant becomes an image of tradition, representing those tried and tested ways. Certainly in the Marseille type decks where he is presented as the Pope, it does seem to symbolism how the people of the time looked to the church for guidance. The church had the power and with that came control.

From one of our more modern decks -- The Deviant Moon -- The Hierophant image serves to illustrate that sometimes people were more than ready to hand over their own responsibility and be the doll in the pocket of the church.

The Hierophant, therefore, can be seen to have special powers through the ceremonies of the church. These could be considered to be mystical, and if not that, then spiritual. As depicted as part of the hierarchy of the religious system, he then becomes the link to a higher authority/knowledge/the man upstairs.

This image does sort of tie him in with the High Priestess, who turns within in order to hear the messages of the higher-self.

Another Link that draws The Hierophant and The High Priestess together is within the RWS deck. Both these two cards have pillars that flank the figures. Although Waite tells us that the pillars in The Hierophant's image are not the same as the HP's, and of course they are not. Hers are black and white and his are grey. But if we look at the symbolism of the colours then there is a similarity.

She sits between two opposites, black and white, a symbol of the duality that exists within. He sits between two grey columns, symbolising the harmonising of opposites (black mixed with white make grey). The Hierophant is a symbol of bringing the spiritual down to the physical and manifesting it into everyday life, whereas The HP doesn't reveal outwardly those secrets she discovers. The connection I see between these two is one of a spiritual nature, although our Hierophant represents the exoteric aspects of spiritual/religion and she the esoteric.

But what of the Hierophant and the Hermit -- not forgetting of course that they are both 'Teacher Cards' within the deck?

Well, it's obvious that The Hierophant teaches us the spiritual beliefs or principals in an outer way. He is very often depicted as carrying the 3 cross sceptre, a symbol of creative power over the three worlds of the divine, spiritual and material. In other words, he brings the spiritual down to the material.

The Hermit on the other hand is depicted as a wise old man who lights the way for us with a lantern. His reclusiveness becomes a representation for us of inner awareness. He shows us that wisdom can be gained through introspection and meditation – he is the Teacher who offers us the advice we need in that inner quest for finding a meaning to life. The Hermit stands upon a mountain top indicating that he has managed to reach a height of awareness.

Here we see the contrast and the similarity between The Hierophant and The Hermit – the contrast of Outer spirituality and Inner spirituality, just as we do with The Hierophant and The High Priestess.

The Hierophant is our tangible link to spirituality if you like, where as both The High Priestess and The Hermit are the link to self awareness that brings us closer to our spiritual self.

I think it worth remembering though that more and more in modern decks the Hierophant is changing his image and not necessarily suggesting anymore that one should follow the rules and regulations that have been set down, blindly. Rather, he becomes a symbol of knowledge and a seeker of truth, for it is in knowledge that one is set free. This too becomes another link to The Hermit who quietly examines what he knows in order to see if it is really what he believes it to be.

Now perhaps when I hold The Hierophant in my hand I will not think of him in isolation, but rather as just one small part of a much bigger triangle.


Credits:

• Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 
Published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
• Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza Published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
• Le Tarot De Marseille ~ Fournier Naipes Heraclio Fournier, S.A.
• Tarot Bella by Helen Howell (unfinished deck)