REVIEW: The Kingdom Within Tarot

R E V I E W

_About My Reviews_

  The Kingdom Within Tarot
Juno Lucina (Author)
Shannon ThornFeather (Illustrator)
79 cards; 176-page paperback book
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication Date: February 28, 2011
ISBN-10: 0764337114
ISBN-13: 978-0764337116
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.5 x 11.7 inches
TOP LINE (formerly Bottom Line)

I really enjoy decks that incorporate astrology and the Qabalistic Tree of Life. If you have an interest in either of those areas, you are more likely to appreciate this deck than someone who has no interest or knowledge of those fields. I feel that a beginner would likely be overwhelmed and confused by this deck -- although the accompanying book is thorough if you want to take the time to study it.

As an eternal student (Sagittarius), I am drawn to complex decks like this. I like how the artist uses astrological attributions in the images. For example, Temperance (Trump 14), which is linked with Sagittarius, depicts two centaurs and the planet Jupiter. In a nod to the traditional RWS card, one centaur pours blazing light (Fire) from one goblet into another.

I also appreciate the parallels with Crowley's keywords for the Minors. For example, the Seven of Wands in this deck has the words "Valiant Resistance" at the top, where Crowley's Thoth deck uses the word "Valour." In the Kingdom Within, the Eight of Wands is "Fleeting Force," whereas Crowley calls the card "Swiftness." The Ten of Wands in both the Kingdom Within and Thoth is labeled "Oppression."

I'm sure there are those who would complain about the inconsistency of cultural and mythological references (The High Priestess is a Hindu woman; The Empress is a Geisha; and The Hierophant is "a wealthy Elizabethan patron"), but I don't have a problem with that.

If you would like to listen to a broadcast by Beyond Worlds Tarot featuring Juno Lucina and Shannon Thornfeather, you can do so by clicking on this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondworlds/2011/11/21/the-kingdom-within-tarot

THE PUBLISHER'S PRODUCT SUMMARY

"Remove spiritual blindfolds and illuminate mysteries of the soul through the visionary art and expansive interpretations of two adepts. With archetypal roots in every image—from the ancient systems of astrology to humanity's universal archetypes and sacred myths—this Tarot deck is crafted to help you reclaim your own personal truth. Not only a practical method of divination and practical for both beginners and experienced readers, The Kingdom Within Tarot is an accurate map to guide you in remembering and reawakening to the absolute and the divine, and ultimately restoring your own Kingdom Within."

BASIC INFORMATION

Author Juno Lucina is described as "ever fluid and changing. . . more a verb than a noun, more a blank canvas than an outcome." She is the author of The Alchemy of Tarot: Practical Enlightenment Through the Astrology, Qabalah, & Archetypes of Tarot (Schiffer Publishing), which is recommended reading for those who desire more information about the spheres, Qabalah, and their use within Tarot readings.

The 176-page book that accompanies this deck contains a true wealth of information. For the Majors, we are given two to three pages of details about the image, Path, Hebrew letter, Qabalistic associations, and astrological associations, along with Key Phrases, Upright Divinatory Meaning, and Reversed Divinatory Meaning.

An "extra" Major is included in the form of the unique, unnumbered Kingdom Within All, which has no Path, Planetary Attribution, or Hebrew letter.

Concerning qabalistic associations, Lucina notes in the Introduction that "The Paths of The Kingdom Within Tarot are distinctive in that they are based upon the Restored Tree of Life as put forth by Aleister Crowley's star initiate, Charles Stansfield Jones." Hence, these Paths do not correspond to the traditional Paths as they are generally taught by many metaphysical texts at present."

The Courts are described in terms of Level of Power (the amount of energy that is available to accomplish the matter at hand), astrological Sign Correspondence, and Actual People. We are also given interpretations related to archetypes and upright and reversed positions.

For the Minors, the book includes Qabalistic association, astrological association, Description of Illustration, Key Phrase, Upright Meaning, and Reversed Meaning.

APPEARANCE, SIZE, QUALITY

Like other high-quality Schiffer products, this deck and book set is packaged in a hard cardboard box with a lift top, magnetic closure, and ribbon on either side.

Illustrations in the book are black and white. Lined pages for Notes appear at the end of each major section.

The sturdy 5 x 3-1/2 inch cards are borderless, with a glossy laminate coating. They are too large for me to shuffle them "poker style" but the push-pull method works just fine.

The Majors display the card number (in Roman numerals), card Title, and astrological symbols in white across the top of the card. In the upper left hand and lower right hand corners we see colored spheres representing that card's Path on the Tree of Life.

Court Cards feature the Title in white, centered at the top, with astrological symbols and the identity of the character beneath that. Colored spheres are shown in each of the four corners as follows:

• Kings -  gray, correlating with Chokmah (the Father)
• Queens - black, correlating with Binah (the Mother)
• Princes - golden, correlating with Tiphereth (the Son)
• Pages - equal divisions of russet, navy, citrine, and olive, correlating with Malkuth (the Daughter). Keywords are printed across the bottom of each card.

The Minors have the card number/title centered in white at the top. Beneath that are astrological symbols and a Keyword or Phrase. At the bottom center of each card is half of a colored sphere, representing one of the Sephirah on the Tree of Life.

The reversible card backs show a smiling sun in front of a leafy, green tree. Stars glow in a dark sky. Planets hang in the tree and sit on the ground. Also depicted are the colored spheres of the Tree of Life.

ART

Illustrator Shannon ThornFeather has been a practicing Ceremonial Magician, Ontologist and student of Metaphysics for more than fifteen years.

ThornFeather uses computer-generated collages to create images in vibrant, vivid purple, hot pink, green, and yellow. The scenes are mostly fantasy in style, even though some of them do have elements that call to mind the traditional Rider-Waite images. There is an almost 3D quality to the art that I enjoy.

Among my favorite works of art in this deck are the Queen of Cups (Gaia, Mother Earth), Temperance (as mentioned above), the Queen of Swords (Hecate), and The Moon.

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: 3 of Chalices

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.

For the week of January 13, 2013, I am using Tarot of the Mystic Spiral by Giovanni Pelosini and Giuseppe Palumbo (Lo Scarabeo).

My card is:
THREE OF CHALICES

Though unusual, this version of the 3 of Cups nevertheless conveys the sense of cooperation, friendship, sharing, and growth traditionally represented by this card. This could refer to enjoyable activity at a social level or a successful collaboration with colleagues. I'm looking forward to the expression of this energy during the upcoming week!

New Year’s Lessons in the Cards

Today I am delighted to post a New Year's reading by Helen Howell! Thank you, Helen, for sharing these lessons with us!

* ~ *

Helen Howell

Now I know we all like to do a New Year’s Reading, but I also like to work out my Current Year Card represented by the Tarot.  I find this is a great insight into the lessons of the forthcoming year that applies to me personally. You can if you wanted to, do this reading on your birthday but I like to do it New Year to New Year. 

Working out your year card is very easy. Take your birthdate and the current year and add them together like this: Day, Month, Year. For me, the numbers are: 7 + 3 + 2013 = 2023. Next I add  2+0+2+3, which equals 7. My card is The Chariot! 

This year then the lessons for me (and I say lessons, because when we stop to analyse the card we find more than one lesson within its story) are held within the Chariot Card. What does this actually mean for me?
   

The Rider Tarot Deck (U.S. Games)

When I look at the Chariot card I see movement, but not only movement. The charioteer needs confidence, a self assurance, if he is to control those two horses and take them in the direction he wants to go.  A lesson this year is for me to trust and believe in my abilities to take things in the direction of my choosing.

Also a big part of this lesson for this year is maintaining a balance between my thoughts and emotions so that one or the other does not pull me off course.  When we analyse the Chariot card we can see the Charioteer as representing our conscious self, and the horses representing different aspects  of our emotions or impulses.  The trick then to steering a steady course through the obstacles that life throws at me, or if you like, the challenges I have to meet, is to maintain a balance between those forces that oppose one another in order to make them work for me rather than against me.

The one thing that really jumps out at me here is that the drivers of these chariots appear to be in charge. The image shows us a man getting his horses to behave. There is exhibited in these images a certain amount of self assertiveness. Part of this lesson is to acknowledge one’s ego.  The ego is what helps drive you towards success, but this doesn’t mean you must let it take over, just that it plays a part in helping you achieve the success in projects you may undertake. 

Crystal Visions Tarot (U.S. Games)

Now this is a number 7 card and in numerology 7  represents self awareness, self expression and progression.  I can see how all of these fit in with the image of The Chariot. In order to progress forward in your life you need to develop a self awareness that also allows you to express yourself clearly.  The Chariot is a card of movement, but also a card of change - as it can take you from one place to another.  In the Tarot number sequence, 7 seems to indicate reflection, insight, wisdom, confidence and personal growth.  This all ties in nicely with the Chariot card, and the numerology meaning, as it is the balanced achieved through reflection, self awareness and confidence that gives us the insight to understand ourselves better and steer that steady course towards personal growth.

If I put all this information together I come up with at least three strong lessons to learn or continue working on for this year:

1: Maintain a degree of self confidence in my own abilities so that I keep moving onwards and upwards.

2: Don’t bury my ego, but instead acknowledge it and allow it in a controlled way to help me towards successful conclusions of my goals. Don’t be shy about expressing myself or promoting my own work.

3: Continue to learn to maintain a balance between my thoughts and my emotions so that they can work together rather than against each other. 

So you see working out and analysing your Year Card can be a very valuable tool in your own personal journey.  Why don’t you have a go!  Happy New Year to  you all! 

Helen

Week at a Glance: The Hand of Fate

With the New Year I am beginning a new feature at Tarot Notes. Week at a Glance will consist of one Tarot or Oracle card that will be posted on Sunday of each week, the purpose being to get a sense of the sort of energy, circumstances, or personal qualities I might need to be aware of during that week.

For the first week of 2013, I'm sticking with a Christmas gift that I have used for a couple of recent posts: _Madame Endora's Fortune Cards_ (Monolith Graphics; featuring art by _Christine Filipek_).

For the Week of January 6, 2013, my card is:

THE HAND OF FATE: "Forces beyond your control intervene." The Little White Book that comes with this deck goes on to say: "Destiny offers new opportunity. Justice prevails."

Okay... but I drew the card reversed. Uh oh. This deck does not provide meanings for reversed cards in its LWB. But that doesn't mean I can't think about how I might interpret The Hand of Fate, reversed.

Perhaps forces beyond my control will *try* to intervene but not succeed (an opportunity missed or delayed). Perhaps justice will not be served or will be delayed. Or perhaps I am being told not to take a fatalistic view: Maybe the "forces" in question will not be entirely beyond my control, and I will be able to influence matters.