The Passion of Lovers

I know quite a few passionate lovers of Tarot and several have risen to a challenge set out by Oephebia to celebrate international Tarot Day 2018. Participants have been allocated a random card and asked to investigate it and write about its meaning, symbolism, associations and anything else that we can dig up.

I have been assigned The Lovers, rather aptly for a Gemini such as myself, so there you have your first correspondence: the Lovers is traditionally associated with the star sign of Gemini. Since both duality and oneness are associated with twins, and the mythology of Castor and Pollux, the twins on which the sign is based, is fraught with contradiction and inconsistency*, it is hardly surprising that this card’s interpretation can vary widely. 

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Completing the Majors

As you’ve probably realised, there are still a couple of cards pending in the Major Arcana: Temperance and Judgment. I have had several ideas for both – some feasible, others not. The same has been true of some of my ideas for a number of the other cards – The World would ideally have involved a trip into the upper atmosphere, if not actually space! Anyway, I’m almost there for both cards, I just need the weather to pick up a bit, since they are both  going to be outdoor images.

I’ve tried to retain elements of the RWS in many of my cards, so that they will be more easily recognisable and thus easier to work with, whilst at the same time creating something unique. So while I’m waiting for the opportune moment to complete the Major Arcana, I’d like to know what you consider to be essential elements or symbolism for the two remaining cards. For example, does Temperance have to contain water or jugs? Is it the Angel blowing the Final Trump* or the open coffins that says Judgment to you? Or maybe there is something else that evokes the spirit of these cards? 

I’d love to know and, if I haven’t already planned to, I’ll see if I can work in your preferences when I come to photograph them, so please leave your comments below 🙂

*Apologies for any unfortunate associations that may evoke – I promise that this card will  most definitely not have the Orange One on it!

A World View

Welcome to the Solstice Edition of the Tarot Blog Hop. On this occasion we were given the instruction to create a Tarot card from junk mail or “artwork that someone else has done”. Obviously, this is something of a major problem given that this blog is dedicated to my work on a Tarot deck so it would be inappropriate to use someone else’s.

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Root of All…

Welcome to the Vernal Equinox Tarot Blog Hop. Today’s topic, as set by yours truly, is the role of Tarot in relation to money. Before we get our teeth into this meaty and bunny-free topic, here are some navigation links to help you find your way to my neighbouring posts or, if you’re lost, the master list.

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Back to the matter in hand…

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Cornucopia

This post is part of the Tarot Blog Hop and our wrangler, Maureen, asked us “which card in the Tarot most corresponds with your own interpretation of the second harvest of the Autumnal Equinox” and invited us to create this card ourselves. But before we continue to my efforts in this regard, here are the links to enable you to navigate this Hop:

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I must admit that I initially misread the specification for this Hop and was all set to create a new card, but after a long and busy Summer, my muse is off on her holidays somewhere and all I can think about is my planned Devil card. (Coming soon – watch this space!) I think you’ll agree that the Devil doesn’t really fit the bill on any level when it comes to a representation of the Equinox or, indeed, Autumn, and I was left scratching my head. That said, it has inspired me to add some additional cards to my deck to explicitly represent the seasons, so again, watch this space! 😀 Read more “Cornucopia”

Tricksy

I finally arranged my photo shoot for the Magician card last week and have waded through the pictures to shortlist a couple. What can I say about the Magician except that he is a bit of a trickster, a transformer of elements and a puller of rabbits out of hats. “May you live in interesting times” is a Chinese curse and although I see the Magician as largely benign, he can be a right pain sometimes 😉

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Decisions, Decisions

This post is part of the Tarot Blog Hop and our wrangler, Joanne, asked us to write about “your take on the influence of the Sun and/or Mercury in the Tarot or your favorite oracle deck”. Before we proceed onto the subject of my favourite deck, here are the links to enable you to navigate this Hop:

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As you may be aware, I’m a Gemini, so I know first hand about those Mercurial shifts, so I’ll just reassure you now that I’m still very much enthused about this deck and my eyes have not yet slid away to gaze upon pastures newer. Besides, it would be rather rude of me not to choose my own deck on this website, so you may take it as read that I’ll be talking about Meniscus today 😀

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Holy Juniper Berries!

And now for something competely different! This is the first outing for this blog on the Tarot Blog Hop and for this edition, our wrangler, Alison, has allowed us to just choose a card and write about it, rather than setting a specific topic. Before I launch into my post, here are the links for my neighbours and the master list.

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If you are of a certain age and culture, there are a great many things you can’t think of without the overlay of Monty Python humour. If you fall into this category and someone mentions, for example, parrots, the Messiah, lumberjacks, rabbits, Antioch, The Last Supper, getting stoned (in the Biblical…umm…judicial sense) or, indeed, hermits, your brain immediately converts it via the Python Filter. What you hear in your head (in summary) are phrases like: he’s pining for the fjords…pushing up daisies…, he’s not the Messiah he’s a naughty boy, I’m OK – I sleep all night…suspendies and a bra, that rabbit’s dynamite, holy hand-grenade, I may not know much about art…, Jehovah and juniper berries, respectively. Plus a whole host of other associated quotes. It can make it very difficult to take a great many things seriously 😀

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Hanging About

I went in search of my Hanged Man this weekend and after a certain amount of hanging about, on both our parts, I managed to find just the right image of him. It was an excellent performance of aerial theatre and the action was fast and furious on occasion. Thankfully, I have a continuous shot facility (or what used to be known as Motor Drive) so I can take 8 shots per second*.

* This can be quite problematic at times if I forget that the camera is on and that it can also take pictures if you touch the screen. I have had to delete a great many pictures of the ground and people’s feet. Just as well I’m only shooting pictures and not bullets!

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Still in Search of Justice

Opinions seem to be divided as to the Justice card, so here’s your chance to vote for which one you prefer:

The Nostrils of Justice
Halfway There
Halfway and Higher
Blue Skies of Justice
Blue Skies and Plinth
Blue Skies and Plinth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can click on the pics for a larger version of the image 🙂

Which Justice?

  • Nostrils of Justice (20%, 5 Votes)
  • Halfway There (4%, 1 Votes)
  • Halfway and Higher (40%, 10 Votes)
  • Blue Skies of Justice (20%, 5 Votes)
  • Blue Skies and Plinth (16%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 25

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Don’t forget to leave a comment as to why you prefer the one you’ve chosen 😀