The Grail Tarot says... there's a flower that blooms in solitude.

I have been meditating about the influences surrounding me in this moment. I began to notice that one of the most damaging influences I have to deal with in my life is cynicism. I don't mind scepticism, because it helps us to question, to think for ourselves instead of blindly following the mass. But cynicism can be destructive... all the people that I know who have been bitten by this bug (and some of them are very close to me), became very dry on the inside. Surely, they have a very active mental and physical life, but they lack something. Even their emotional side sometimes seems to be stilted, because emotions require you to dive and cynics are always afraid to drown.

I saddens me that many of these people, while having a good nature, often feel the need to try to prove you that their point of view is correct. Some of them can be quite active in doing this, behaving like some sort of missionary, and others will do that passively, simply showing their contempt for you. They are the kinds that will say "God/Astrology/Tarot/Divination/UFO/etc. is bullshit" without ever trying to understand what any of these things are. They are just happy to tread on other people's beliefs, because nowadays this is a sign of superior intellect.

But is it?

I don't know. I once had a boyfriend who openly told me he considered me mentally inferior to him, for believing in tarot and for being a woman. I am often treated with contempt by the people around me who do not understand what I do, and are not interested in learning. I find nothing superior about any of these attitudes, but I endure them. Yes, I can accept cynicism (it is a way of living, after all), but no, I cannot thrive in it.

So I asked my Grail Tarot about what can I do to not let cynicism influence me so strongly. The first card, that is the answer to my question, was Prester John (The Hermit). The second card, which is the qualifier of the answer, was Sheba (The Empress).

The first card is very direct... in order to avoid being so affected by the cynicism around me, I will have to isolate myself a bit, or at least part of me. The most sensitive part - the mystic soul. It tells me to observe others, and not jump so quickly to defend myself or my point of view. I have nothing to prove who people who will not accept any proofs. Sheba confirms that I'll find growth in this quiet isolation. Both cards also seem to suggest some sort of retreat, perhaps in nature. I need to be alone to find my inner truth, one that can stand against the pointing fingers.

I should not need the approval of other to believe in what I do. I should not need their approval to live by these beliefs, specially since the don't harm anyone. I may have to learn the art of disentanglement.

The Grail Tarot © REDFeather, John Matthews & Giovanni Caselli

Deck Review: Titania Star Tarot by Titania Hardie

I have a penchant for the bizarre, specially oracle-wise. I enjoy having uncommon oracles in my collection; not uncommon in a sense of rare/expensive, but more in a "different from the mainstream" way. One of my favourite strange decks is the Titania's Star Tarot.

At first, it appears to be a common tarot deck with brightly vivid colours. It has 78 cards, 22 Major Arcana, 56 Minors, 16 Court Cards, 4 suits. The cards have a small size (6.4 x 9.4 cm), wonderful for small hands like mine, and a rather thin cardstock. I was surprised to see that it's quite resilient to intensive shuffling, as long as you are careful not to the bend them (because it marks badly). The cards do not have any sticky lamination to them, so they slide easily against each other.

The images are the real charm of the Titania's Star Tarot. The cards have a clean and elegant design, featuring silhouettes against a strikingly colourful background. The borders are silver, and the backs are reversible.

The package is beautiful. Outside it looks like a silver hardcover book, but when you open it the actual book is a softcover 'glued' to the right side. On the left side, there are two small boxes embedded into a blue frame - these contain the cards. The book is in full colour, displaying good quality scans of the cards along with fairly detailed description for the Major Arcana and small paragraphs for the Minors and the Court Cards.

PCO: Destroying illusions or destructive illusions?

Finally, a sunny day. A wonderful opportunity to sit outside and have fun with playing cards. That's exactly what I did during my lunch break today. No questions, no reading. I was just telling little stories with them, because for me it's a good way to connect with the cards and calm my mind.

Then, in one of my stories, I drew two cards.
First the 5 of Hearts. Then the 7 of Swords.
Hum... interesting.

The 5♥ is called Fata Morgana, a card of illusions and deceit, and the 7♠ is the Sword of Destruction.

At first the meaning of this combination seemed very obvious to me - the Sword of Destruction was "destroying" the illusions cast by Fata Morgana. Duh.

But as I gave it more thought, I began to wonder if the cards were not talking about a destructive illusion instead. Since Hearts & Swords (Water & Earth, respectively) are complementary suits, I suppose these two cards would add to each other's meanings, and not contradict each other. In fact I think Morgana would be positively thrilled to play with the Sword of Destruction!

So, the elemental combination made me rethink my first interpretation.

But if the Sword of Destruction will not destroy the illusions cast by Fata Morgana, who will?

I ask you: which is the most effective way to kill a bit of water? (A bit, because the 5♥ is a low number)

With fire. Right?
And in the playing cards, fire is represented by the Diamond suit.

So, the real "enemy" of the 5♥ is actually the 7♦ - the bold and brave Sword of Truth.

I love when the cards themselves teach me something new!
Watching them interact on the table is SO fascinating.



The Playing Card Oracles © Ana Cortez & C.J. Freeman

Deck Review: Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards by Svetlana Touchkoff

There are many decks that have the word "gypsy" somewhere in their name. You have the Zigeuner Wahrsagekarten ('Zigeuner' means "Gypsy"), the Gypsy Fortune Telling Playing Cards, the Gypsy Fortunes, the Gypsy Bijou deck... and the list only grows, year after year. However, few decks manage to be as interesting - and as unique - as the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards.

This is one of the treasures I brought from Canada, and it was found in a small esoteric shop in Richmond, in my last day. I can't tell you how many times I almost bought this set from Amazon or eBay, only to give up in the last moment. But the deck still found its way to me.

Created by Svetlana Alexandrovna Touchkoff, the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards includes a 182 pages hardcover book and a deck of 25 cards. Both come in a sturdy and beautiful slipcase. The cards are squarish, and have one particular characteristic: none of them contains a complete picture. Wait, what?

Yes, that's the deck's most unique and fascinating feature. Each of the 50 pictures of the deck has been split in half, and each card has four different half-scenes. The way to read is simple: you lay down all the cards in 5 rows or 5 cards and see which images become 'whole'. You cannot move the cards from their original position, you can only rotate them to find any matching halves. And you will only read the images that get formed.

Trust me, it's much less complicated than it sounds, and the book explains this method in detail. It's a fun "puzzle" and even some sitters get engaged in finding the images. You don't read the cards, but the pictures, and the meanings gain different nuances depending on which direction the picture is facing.

The cards have very vibrant and rich colours, and the drawings have a gorgeous Russian lacquer box style to them. Their squarish shape and size (10 x 10 cm) make them very easy to handle, but the cardstock is a bit flimsy, and doesn't seem to withstand a lot of rough shuffling. I confess I always feel a bit weary of letting others shuffle it, something very unusual to me. I suppose that I'll have to use it more to see if the cardstock will hold up over time.