New Tarot Bags

I have been having some fun recently,  making new bags for my favourite decks.... knitting, stitching, crochet...... whichever medium seems to suit at the time.

Each deck has its own personality and has to choose where it wants to sleep when not working.... so the latest ones I have made are pretty eclectic in style!

I made one for my Witches tarot by Dugan & Evans, it is knitted in several different yarns and ribbons blended together. I tied it with torn silk and added a silver Moon charm inlaid with Paua shell.
The charm came from a pair of earrings I had in my twenties and wore and loved for many years, so it adds some of my life to the deck too.

Bag for my Witches Tarot Deck

Then my Faeries decided they wanted a bag, and of course we know how fussy they can be! They had a ball choosing wools and ties, as well as some stones and charms that they insist live in the bag with them!!

The Faeries' Bag with Bling!

They wanted lots of mossy textured wool and although I made them a lovely silk tie they wanted this purple and gold blingy cord which they found on my workshop floor, instead!!

Faeries' Bag

Once the Faeries were happy.. I had the bag bug....

I found a silver Ankh that had been given to me a few years ago by a close friend. The Ankh reminded me of my Ludy Lescot deck.. so ta-da..! another bag was born!

Bag for Ludy Lescot Tarot

The dark colours and the frayed hand dyed lace and muslin ties and the sombre colours seem to suit this deck very well.

Ludy Lescot Tarot Bag with Lace Tie

Watch this space for more of my bags, and I do custom make bags in many styles to suit different decks. One of these days I will get a proper shop online but until then feel free to contact me if you have any requests!

The Moon

I have a very different opinion of this deck than I had a week ago, I have to say. The Witches have proved themselves beyond their duty, and I take back all bad words said. Botox, murk up and all, they are here to stay! Also if I look slightly cross eyed at the offending cards I can almost see the bad plastic surgery job as brush marks of a pre digital era ;)

Today I drew The Moon... and I realised that I had dream't of this card last night. Totally out of the blue I had a dream about being offered all these drug cocktails, especially LSD, and everyone around me was taking them... but tho half of me thought about it, something deep down inside screamed NO..! You don't need those... you re way better without them. So I walked away from them, knowing the voice was right. I just bought Thirteen's ebook on Aeclectic Tarot and this is a little of what she has to say about the Moon:

With Pisces as its ruling sign, the Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. At its darkest this can be a very scary card warning the querent of hidden enemies, mental illness, alcoholic blackouts or a bad drug trip. At its very best, however, the Moon is a card of genius, of mental breakthroughs, astonishing creativity, powerful magic, and intuition.

The querent who gets this card should be warned that they may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial, a time when they’ll do things that seem to make sense to them, yet when they come out of it they’ll wonder, “Why did I do that? It makes no sense!” Their mind will be playing tricks on them, and so this is not a good time for making decisions that require rational thought and a clear head.
This card can, likewise, signal a crazy time for relationships. Whirlwind romances, powerful and dreamlike, but not trustworthy. For families and friends this is a time of emotional ups and downs.
If the querent has any past mental problems, they must be vigilant in taking their medication and seeing their therapist. They should avoid recreational drugs or alcohol, they will have a bad reaction if they take either. At the same time, the Moon signals great creativity, enhanced psychic powers, visions. The querent’s judgment may not be trustworthy, but they will have intuitive flashes that are remarkably accurate.

Note the mention of the drugs ....  The dream was also very illusory, and kind of like going through the looking glass. So many things were the total opposite of what they are in the waking life, and I chose to reject that. Even though it was a dream I feel pretty cool about it!

I am a Cancerian, we are ruled by the Moon and it fits me perfectly. We are headed fast for the New Moon and the total solar eclipse, so it is even more fitting. It is a pretty big thing for us lunartics when the Moon eclipses the Sun, I am sure there will be a certain amount of madness in the air! I am looking forward to seeing what I can of it, although it wont be the totality some lucky folk will witness over Cairns. For those of you in New Zealand we should see maybe a 75% eclipse of the Sun round about 10.30 on the morning of Tuesday 14th November. The current weather forecast for Tuesday is cloud and rain, so in that case we probably wont notice much.

But I will *FEEL* the power!!!

The Moon - Witches Tarot

Ten of Cups

I wasn't really surprised to see this card coming after my reaction to yesterdays Five of Cups! Everything I wrote yesterday seems to be even moreso in this card today. The following is quoted directly from keen, as I was interested in the positioning they explain and how it relates to my current thoughts. Especially the relevance of this card in the Past position:

The Ten of Cups in the past position is actually the card's strongest presence in a Tarot reading. This card representing happiness functions best with that representation as a memory. Recalling happy times is actually clearer than experiencing happiness in the moment or finding fulfillment in wishing to be happy in the future. This card in this position represents a powerful foundation of faith in the world and a belief that things will work out. You are strong because of positive values instilled early in life.

In the present position, this card represents a recent breakthrough. You may be in love at the moment of the reading or falling in love with someone. This card carries emotional impact, so there is some wonderful sentiment permeating your life and your world at present. The Tarot reading confirms that you should be enjoying yourself thoroughly.

The future position indicates that your emotional contentment is coming. The Ten of Cups is a card that is the natural climax of the entire Tarot suit of Cups and so it functions well in the future position as a reminder that your goals in life are worth pursuing no matter what the current struggle may be delivering.

I found another wonderful article over on AT by Simone, I love what she had to write about this card, as I love her design. Her card which you can see at the link above, shows a large cup and a mandala of nine smaller cups, which all work together to keep the large cup filled. It shows how one thing cannot fulfill all our desires and needs in life, we need the input and balanc of several things to get it right.

My love for this card has just gone up tenfold!

Ten of Cups - Witches Tarot

Five of Cups

Yet again the card of the day came up twice.. first it fell out of the deck and then it came up in my daily draw ritual! I will be interested to see if the same thing happens next week with a new deck choice!

I have always liked this card ... I see it very definitely as the cups that didn't get spilled rather than the three that were overturned and their contents lost. To me it means be grateful with what you have, and don't dwell on what is lost. It is a card of opportunity, to rethink your situation, count your blessings and see the lesson it brings as a gift.

Today was very definitely a Five of Cups day.... My daughter was unhappy, stuck in a place that had been expensive flight wise, and needed out. Money is not abundant right now, but all that mattered was her happiness ...  so we paid the penalty and changed the flights and now she is happy with her sister for a couple of days before returning home. That happiness is the joy contained in two goblets that were not spilled! And who cares about the 300 bucks that got tipped over? It will go to feed the earth, it's not lost, it is just a contrast to underline the joy of what we have...

I feel joy that Polly is happy and getting a visit with Tabby and Liv. I feel overjoyed in the closeness of our little family, at how my kid's care so much for each other and look out for each other. I have everything to celebrate :)

The five vessels in this card, are assumed to be all the same, but what if the spilled ones contained poison, and the full ones the elixir of life and joy? Another way of looking at the Five of Cups.

In this version from the Witches Tarot, to me the mermaid looks as if she is considering this whole thing, and maybe realising that she has lost nothing and has everything she needs and more.

Five of Cups - Witches Tarot

The High Priest

This guy reminds me of someone I have met. He seems a bit more of a Father Christmas than a High Priest or Hierophant.

Once again, I got the same card twice... I had forgotten to do my daily draw and realised this while I was out. I did a random with an iPhone app and got The Hierophant. When I got home I thought I would just test these Witches.... so I did my usual daily draw method.... and up came the High Priest.. what can I say?

I need wise counseling? Well I have been waiting to see a psychologist for a while now, maybe the appointment will come this week! Another meaning for this card is to join a club or group and have to do things their way. This has been cropping up recently with a local club a friend and I go to. They have suddenly gotten much stricter with rules, almost to the point of making it uncomfortable to go there anymore, it is such a change from how it used to be. But maybe we are seeing things the wrong way and need to adjust a little :)

My son has joined a new group today, and I have to go to pick him up now...!

Happy High priest Day.......

The High Priest - Witches Tarot

Three of Pentacles

I am really getting to like this deck, how glad I am that I hung on to it. I have learned one thing from it already, never be too quick to judge when it comes to Tarot! I am not sure if the deck likes me though, it is very determined and takes no nonsense that's for sure!

Today I shuffled a few times, thinking about the day and where I was at, and asking what I needed to know today, which I don't always do in such length. Three times while shuffling the Three of Pentacles slid out of the deck, but each time I returned it because I am trying to stick to a method of doing my daily draw. I shuffle as long as I need to and I then cut the deck into seven piles, one for each day of the week. I count to whatever day I am on, in today's case it was the third pile, and I take the top card. This is what I did today, and lo and behold, the top card of the third pile was ......... the Three of Pentacles!! Tarot never fails to amaze me.

I do really like this card, even when I wasn't at all keen on the deck I liked this card. I am drawn in by the the colours and the window.. I love old stained glass windows set in thick stone walls.  The art in this car has a really glass like quality to me. The study atmosphere, room full of books and learning, and the magical items on the desk...all are attractive to this bibliophile and eternal student.

The Lord of Works as it is sometimes known, is an apprentice card, a student and learner, who is doing well and whose work has started to be recognised and appreciated. I then thought of how I had just been asked to moderate a circle on Aeclectic Tarot, where after 1000 plus posts, I actually still feel like a new kid on the block. I was browsing this site for years before I discovered the joys of membership. It is sooooo worth the 20 bucks or whatever it costs. Wonderful community.

 The Three of Pentacles has a very creative side, and ..... applicably ... I have been thinking of possibly getting my art and craft business going again, I lost impetus after getting way too stressed out with the rest of my life, earlier this year. Anyway this card tells that all is as it should be and I have the skills to succeed if I try. It suggests to me that after the struggle trying to balance things (as in the Two of Pentacles), things may be that bit easier now.

Relationship wise, the card is a total blessing.... which may also apply to my life at this time.. certainly matters of the heart and other relationships have been lurking in my dreams.

I am very happy with my card today ... thanks Witches ... Am I forgiven yet ...?

Three of Pentacles - Witches Tarot

Wheel of the Year

This deck really is out to get me, in the most amusing way. Tarot decks really love to play tricks!

This morning I drew the Wheel of the Year card from the Witches deck, which is my current deck of the week, in case I didn't mention that in my previous blog post. This was one of the cards that I liked least from the deck, box excepted! It just seemed too unsubtly collaged, the flowers and symbols just too "plonked on". I am over that now ... holly is used to represent the winter quarter, and I can never resist the holly. The spring has cherry blossom and the summer an oak branch, but the autumn for some reason has maple leaves and acorns.... which feels a little odd, I think I would have had the oak for autumn, but the green man is traditionally clothed in oak and his leaves are green, rather than the golds and russet reds of fall. The golden wheel of the year with the eight Sabbat markers represents the sun and in its centre is silver lunar pentagram to symbolise the moon. All the seasons of nature are here, the whole wheel of life.

Wheel of the Year - Witches Tarot

So all is balanced and all is well and as it should be.... change is on the way, and this card just points out that change is inevitable and the world keeps on turning. No matter how stuck we may feel all that is surrounding us, keeps evolving, revolving.... just like that old much loved Creedence song. This song always comes into my head as soon as I see the Wheel of Fortune card.

I like this card a lot, it feels safe, it shows that change is inevitable and the Wheel can mean big change. A wheel needs a stable centre to roll smoothly and I do feel pretty balanced right now. What I also like about the Fortune card is that no matter how bad things may get, you know they will change. Some things are outside our control, and we have to learn to harness our own power and adapt accordingly. There is a lot of Karma in this card and Karma works two ways .... bad times cannot last forever, if we remain positive we can expect miracles. Similarly if we put out the bad stuff we are going to be rewarded with more, threefold.

Today I will think and visualise changes I want in my life. We are just past Beltane, the time of sowing new seeds, and fertility rites so this is a great time to plant a few miracles!

Nine of Swords

I almost laughed when this card came up.... although most see it as a bad card, I don't mind it...
The 9 can mean being close to the end of a cycle... in this case of tough times. It is also a card of worry, usually needless and I really did smile when I read this quote on James Ricklef's blog:

"Worrying is like praying for what you don't want..."

How perfect is that!!

It can be a drama queen card, and although I am much of a drama queen I have been involved with the drama's of a young drama princess recently !!! I do crave some excitement in my life too, if not quite drama.  I have years of just wanting to be close to hearth and home and then I just want out. Recently I decided I wanted *OUT*.....of my current lifestyle, and that has never really gone away. All my attempts so far have failed, but to me this simply means I haven't yet hit on the right one.

I want to hit the road, be a gypsy, go back to Europe, take cheap journey's on planes and trains, just because I can. Drink coffee on platforms and do some people watching.... sit in the guards cabin between the coaches and feel like I have my own private carriage. Oh yes.....I crave those things. How I love airports and railways stations.... well, mostly, not when you have to say goodbye to those whom you love and you don't want to leave.. that's not so good.

So the 9 of Swords... what is it about for me today? This particular card is from the Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan... the woman has a bite on her neck and looks as though she has given up, although the swords are close to hand they also block most of the view out of the window, like bars on a cage. Beyond the window you can see the moon. Could the moon be speaking of deception here, telling us that things are not as bad as they appear. Presumably the room has a another way out, so the prison could be illusory.

Nine of Swords Witches Tarot

Another side of this card is that of being under attack, a victim of cruel behaviour or maybe a psychic vampire. This has happened to me in the past. Is there a Lord of Cruelty hidden in the wardrobe? Hmmmmm..... that kind of has a 50 Shades of Grey feel about it.... hmmmmmm.

My step dad is dying.....  I am unsettled and have that helpless feeling, because he is at the other end of the world, and I feel bad because I can't be there with him. I don't want him to suffer... I want him to have peace and to know he is loved. This all has a touch of 9 of Swords.... it is a dark card I guess.

The darkest hour, is just before dawn....