Inspired by the Tarot: Haiku, Part 2

I am pleased to share the next installment in the “Great Haiku Experiment” undertaken by Helen and me. We took turns choosing the deck for each card, then wrote alternate lines of the Haiku. To read the first set of poems, click HERE.

Ghost Tarot with artwork
by Davide Corsi (Lo Scarabeo)

THE HIEROPHANT

In darkness, faith shines, 

a comfort in times of need.

We walk towards the light.

Wonderland Tarot by Christopher & Morgana Abbey

Artwork by Morgana Abbey

Published by U.S. Games Systems Inc.

THE LOVERS

Love, your choice to make.

Look both ways before you choose.

Life can change for you.

Tarot of the Mystic Spiral by Giovanni Pelosini

Artwork by Giuseppe Palumbo (Lo Scarabeo)

THE CHARIOT

On the road of life,

draw on courage and your strength.

Steer a steady course.

Tarot Bella

Unfinished deck by Helen Howell

STRENGTH

Face the lion within,

your touch gentle, your voice firm

a quiet strength prevails

Morgan-Greer Tarot

illustrated by Bill Greer

(U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

THE HERMIT

Hold high the lantern.

The path to enlightenment 

is clear to you now.

_Part 3_

_Part 4_

Review: Journey to the Goddess Realm Oracle Deck

R E V I E W

Journey to the Goddess Realm Oracle Deck

by Lisa Porter

_U.S. Games Systems, Inc._

39 oracle cards; 48-page guidebook

Cards measure 3.5" x 5.75"

ISBN  978-1-57281-730-2

_About My Reviews_

TOP LINE (formerly Bottom Line)

With its skillful blend of whimsy, substance, and charm, the Goddess Realm Oracle Deck is a feast for the eyes and the spirit. I found myself being drawn into individual images, feeling a connection with many of the goddesses, and thoroughly enjoying my interaction with them. Part of the beauty of this deck is that I am strongly attracted to some of the images and somewhat repulsed by others. I believe it will be beneficial for me to further explore both.

With Journey to the Goddess Realm, Lisa Porter has brought us high-powered feminine energy from pantheons in all parts of the globe, including Japan, Wales, Crete, Russia, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Egypt, India, Africa, Scotland, the Arctic, North America, Italy, and Australia. In my book, that gives her bonus points for being inclusive of many cultures. Also, I really like the snapshot Lisa gives us of the history and cultural background of each goddess and her comments on the symbolic details she has included in the images. I think this could be a great deck to use in conjunction with The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.) and I intend to give that a try. Stay tuned for a deck interview with the Goddess Realm oracle deck as well.

THE PUBLISHER'S PRODUCT SUMMARY

“As you journey with the Goddesses, call on these ancient deities for help with all your daily decisions and challenges. Inspiring you with their ancient wisdom, they will help you strengthen your intuition and guide you toward enhanced conscious awareness. Journey to the Goddess Realm 39-card deck includes 36 Goddess cards, three Confirmation cards, and a 48-page booklet. This pantheon of Goddesses depicted with vibrant artwork includes: Ishtar, Isis, Kali, Quan Yin, Rhiannon and others. Includes 39 cards and a 48-page guidebook.”

BASIC INFORMATION

This 39-card deck includes 36 Goddess cards, three Confirmation cards, and a 48-page booklet. The booklet is not illustrated except for a grayscale rendering of the Baba Yaga figure from Card 6. There is no Table of Contents. For each card, the booklet provides the name of the goddess, the card subtitle, a paragraph describing the goddess and explaining the illustration on the card, keywords for the card, and “shadow” meanings for the card.

Lisa Porter is a self-taught artist and illustrator. She was raised in the central wheat belt area of Western Australia, in the small farming town of Northampton. She has drawn and painted all through her life, employing a diversity of methods and techniques. Her creative explorations have also led her into many philosophical and spiritual areas.

In her Introduction to the guidebook, Lisa answers the questions “Who are the Goddesses?”, “How can the Goddesses assist me?”, and “How/Why do we use these cards?” Basically, her position is that “the goddesses are here to assist in activating your higher conscious awareness. Since your individual goddess resides in your spirit, it is necessary to reintegrate your spirit back into your body to discover your own inner goddess.” We can use this oracle to reveal exactly where our “conscious/subconscious energy field resonates the strongest.” Readings can be done with any number of cards in any layout desired by the reader, including the traditional Celtic Cross spread. Lisa notes that after using these cards for some time, we may find that we “begin to have visions, knowingness, sparks of inspiration, intuitions, lucid awareness, signs and deeper understandings of matters that once appeared confusing or meaningless.”

APPEARANCE, SIZE, QUALITY

The cards are printed on sturdy stock and packaged in a flip-top box. They measure 3.5" x 5.75", which is too large for people with small hands to “poker shuffle” but other shuffling methods, such as the push-pull method, will work just fine.

Card fronts feature an illustration centered on an indigo background. Each image is framed in a color that complements or matches a color in the illustration. The name of the goddess appears centered at the top of the card face in an attractive script-style font. Centered below the image are the card’s subtitle and number.

Card backs feature a mandala pattern in shades of red, orange, blue and green.

ART

Images are alive with vibrant color and symbolic details, many of which are explained in the guidebook. Many of the goddesses are depicted as tall and slim, with long, slender legs. Exceptions include my personal favorite, the Slavic grandmother Baba Yaga, who is drawn as a generously proportioned older woman flying through the air in a cauldron while smoking a pipe, and the bawdy Greek goddess Baubo, who raises her dress to reveal plump legs clad in striped stockings. All of these ladies have plenty of personality, poise, and power – just what we expect from goddesses.

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.

Mom's House - Reading #2

UPDATE: We sold Mom's house on May 22. The closing is scheduled for June. I don't know too much about the buyer except that she is a middle-aged lady whose sister and another person live with her. According to the realtor, she "fell in love with" Mom's house. When the offer came in, I texted and telephoned with my siblings and sat down with Mom to decide what to counter-offer. We came down quite a lot from the asking price because the house has been on the market for over a year and is competing with new construction in the same subdivision. The buyer accepted our counter-offer.

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For background on this spread (where I got it, how I’ve been using it, etc.) please click HERE .

Having received a response of “not likely” from this spread last month, I am asking the same question for this month: Will we get an offer on Mom’s house this month?

As before, I am using Chloë McCracken’s Celtic Lenormand deck, with artwork by Will Worthington (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

And the answer is:

Birds – Owls (12 / 7 of Diamonds)

Birds – Songbirds (12 / 7 of Diamonds)

Child – Boy (13 / Jack of Spades)

Now, in the method I’m using, the answer is based on the playing card association for each card. Reds (hearts, diamonds) are taken as a “yes” answer and blacks (spades, clubs) as a “no.”

The first thing I notice is that Songbirds (7 of Diamonds) appeared on the reading for last month, and here they are again. As I mentioned last time, the Songbirds can represent siblings. There are three birds on this card, and I am one of three siblings helping Mom sell her house. In addition, the Birds card deals with communication and negotiations, which is very appropriate here.

Being a red card, the 7 of Diamonds suggests a “yes” answer. We have support for that from the Owls (also a 7 of Diamonds). Again we have the three “siblings” perched on a branch. So this plus the idea of communication and negotiation are continuing themes for this topic.

However, Child – Boy is from a black suit (Jack of Spades), which suggests a “no” answer. Who is this Child-Boy and why is he interfering with the sale of the house?!?! (LOL)

In general, the card represents innocence, immaturity, honesty, and playfulness. There is a sense of a childlike perspective or “beginner’s mind” that allows one to see a situation as if for the first time. If we had not already done so very recently, I might think this alludes to the need to walk through the house and look at it as if seeing it for the first time, through the eyes of a potential buyer. As I said, we just did this, and made a lot of small but nonetheless meaningful improvements and repairs.

Is the Child-Boy saying that we still haven’t got it just right? Or perhaps this card is telling me that this is the type of buyer we need – someone who has an enthusiastic, young-at-heart (or literally young) perspective, someone who sees the house as a new beginning, open to seeing the house as he (or she) could make it. And this particular type of buyer has simply not come along yet, and may not come along this month.

I am encouraged by the fact that we have two reds and one black this time, as opposed to two blacks and one red last month. So the answer, perhaps, is “not 100% certain” but there is a chance.

Meanwhile, the birds sit perched on their branches, waiting patiently.

Old English Tarot: 5 of Coins

In today's blog entry, Helen Howell continues her exploration of cards from the Old English Tarot by Maggie Kneen (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

Old English Tarot

5 of Coins

by Helen Howell

The 5 of Coins is such a sad card to receive as it’s a card that very often speaks of difficulties in the material world. Some readers see Coins as meaning money and indeed they do, but they represent far more than money. They talk of the tangible things in life, and the 5 forebodes a sense of anxiety.

The Old English differs from its more traditional brother in one specific way, and that is a lack of sense of hope. In the Rider Waite card we see two people fallen on hard times, passing a church window. Within that image of the window is the symbol of hope, if only the two figures were brave enough to go inside and ask for help. The church window image can  also signify for us a purpose. It could represent something which may give our life meaning, something perhaps the two figures have lost.

The Old English, however, just shows us that sense of loss in its image of dead trees and browned grass. We look at this and can see that all has died. The grass has dried up and the earth has not sustained those trees which now stand leafless on the barren ground.

From this we cannot mistake the message of hardship and loss of something in our material world, whether that be financial or otherwise. The element of hope that exists in the Rider Waite is nowhere to be seen in this image. It clearly shows us that this is a time of uncertainty. 

Does the 5 of Coins just foretell hardship or is it a card that serves to warn one to check that all is well in their world? Perhaps it is and in heeding its warning one may be able to prevent or at least lessen the loss.

This is a number 5 card and I think the Old English demonstrates very well the numerological aspects associated with 5s in a tarot deck and that is, conflict, challenge but also opportunity to change. What 5s very often show us is that it is how we respond to life’s changes that determines the result.

The LWB says:

Material trouble, destitution, loss, error.

Reversed: Reversal of bad trend, new interests.