the tarot home of jaymi elford: readings, thoughts, and more
Today, March 1st, I’ll be at the Other Worlds of Wonder (OWOW) Psychic Faire being hosted at If the Broom Fits. For today only, you can get a 30-minute tarot coaching session from me at 50% off my normal rate of $40. Half of the proceeds will be donated to OWOW to help provide festivals and pagan services to the community.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written something here. 2013 was a hard year for me and Inner Compass but I am happy to say that I’m back and with renewed energy and goals for 2014. I’ve reassessed my strengths as a reader and am happy to announce that I’m moving forward with offering a unique co-creative tarot coaching sessions to those interested.
I’ve also partnered with a local store to offer my clients a safe and neutral space to hold the readings at. This store is located in Tigard, OR and is open Tuesday through Saturday. Of course, I’m still available for readings at other locations (online and via the phone too); but this gives me a chance to be available in a way that I haven’t done before.
As you can see, I’ve redesigned and updated the website. I’ve clarified many of the pages and moved all the bloggy-posty stuff over to a blog area. I want this site to be useful for you to find out more about me, my reading style, and to access things quickly. I hope this redesign works for you as much as I feel it works for me.
Finally, at the end of 2013 I closed my etsy store. While I love making tarot inspired crafts, I’ve found that it’s not the focus of my time. If you would like a custom journal or case to house your cards in, I’d be happy to make something for you. Just ask and I’ll let ya know what I have.
I’ll also be attending various pagan and tarot conferences throughout the year. Watch this site for more information and posts! Thank you all for the support, the chance to read for you, and visiting. Here’s to 2014 and what magic it brings.
I wanted to welcome the new visitors from the NaNoWriMo site. The Office of Letters and Light asked me to write a Portland-themed article for their blog tour this year and today they launched my post “Roadtrip to NaNo: Keep Your Novel Weird” today.
Next to Tarot, writing is my life. In fact, it’s been my “dayjob” ever since I graduated college. I’ve written essays, test plans, and short stories. But never a book for my own. Until I stumbled on the NaNoWriMo challenge back in 2002. I’ve been a huge proponent of NaNo ever since. It’s a great way for people who want to challenge themselves to write a first draft of a novel, to actually do it, and do it with others who are attempting the same thing. I’ve done it 11 years in a row now and am currently seeking a home for one of those drafts (my non-fiction Tarot manuscript).
Tarot and writing go hand in hand. Not only are they fun to write about as far as meanings go, but you can journal aspects of your day with them. I use the cards to create plots, characters, and settings. I’ve used the cards to act as my writing coach. I’ve even read the cards for other writer’s whose characters had questions about their own actions or directions in life.
This site contains inspiration, stories, and practical items from a 30-something tarot coach who wants to inspire you to attain your dreams. And if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, good luck and have tons of fun! Thanks for stopping by and if you have questions, drop me a line at innowen at shadesofmaybe.com. I’m always willing to cheerlead those on to victory.
Welcome to WTTD (World Tarot and Towel Day) 2013. this year I’m doing something different. I’m on the road and out of town in Santa Clara attending and speaking at BayCon 2013. The hotel provided my towel, and I was pleased to see many other attendees carrying their own towel on this wonderfully geeky (and tarot-tastic) holiday.
I wasn’t able to draw a card today; however, my awesome tarot friend, Marcia McCord, offered free, two-card draws today and this is what she drew for me:
Light and Dark: Light: Sun, your sunshine is spreading like the dawn! Let it rise in steady progression without concern for capacity or clouds. Dark: 3 of Cups, while you’re working on a large scale, keep in close touch with your dear friends. They need a little sunshine in their cups right now.
Honestly, this little reading summed up my day perfectly. I hope you all had a great WTTD and enjoyed your day as much as I did today. Happy WTTD 2013!
Sharman-Caselli Tarot Deck
Connections Book Publishing, 2005
Rating: 2 Decks
The first thing I noticed about this deck was how pink it is. Yes, you heard me… pink. The backs are a bright, solid pink with a single silver rectangle printed near the edges. This brightness comes wrapped in a really nice box that includes a companion booklet. This tarot deck tries so hard to prove that it is THE beginner’s tarot deck that pink seems to be the only thing it accomplishes.
The Sharman-Caselli Tarot follows the Rider-Waite formula but it also borrows “some of its imagery from the earliest decks, such as the Visconti-Sfzora.” The cards are printed on a thick card-stock with no protective finish. Shuffling was difficult, as the cards are stiff, but time and use will loosen them up. The Sharman-Caselli uses a thematic approach with color and symbols tied throughout each suite that help “beginners identify which suit a particular card belongs to and [how] to connect each suit to its element.” The artwork is rich in detail, and features a “line and wash” style. Sadly, the artwork does not evoke much passion from me. If I set this deck down next to one of my other decks, the vibrancy of the other cards just make the art in The Sharman-Caselli deck look flat.
The companion booklet (aka LWB, or “little white book”) gives a short and informative introduction to tarot before going into the meanings of the major and minor arcana. Each card has a half-page dedicated to it. This includes a thumbnail image of the card, a bulleted list of symbols and what they represent, and ends with a one or two word thematic summary for each card (such as “generosity and strength” for the Queen of Wands). A sample reading done with the 5-card “Horseshoe Spread” closes out the booklet.
When I opened the box for the first time things got a bit wonky. The deck was out of order when I received it, so I wanted to put it back into suit order. None of the major arcana have numbers on them, so I wasn’t sure where to place “Justice” and “Strength.” When I referenced the LWB it told me that “Justice” came first. Okay, so it seems that this deck follows Crowley more in with its order and meaning. No worries there. But, after Justice comes Temperance, then Strength, then The Hermit, and then the Wheel of Fortune, followed by Hanged Man and Death. Wait, what?! These cards, number 8-14, appear in an order that I have never seen before. It’s like they completely revised the Fool’s Story for this deck. I know that many decks like to revise the major arcana card orders to suggest how we can interpret the stages of life, but this deck radically changes the order without spending time on the why. Even the LWB doesn’t clue me into why this order came to be. Was it a mistake or intentional? I guess the world will never know.
I typically review decks using three questions:
1.What can I learn from you?
The Four of Cups practically leapt from the deck for this question. It tells me that I cannot learn anything from it because my dislike for this deck obscures whatever insight the cards could offer.
2. What is your speciality?
I then drew the Five of Swords. To which the cards say that their specialty is showing people their limits and victories.
3. How does your personality differ from other decks?
Finally, I drew the Six of Pentacles, and the deck said that what sets it apart is a balanced and generous approach to symbolism. A fairly accurate reading, definitely spot on with the answer to my first question.
Bottom Line
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this deck to anyone. (Although I may use this deck in an altered art collaboration project.) The box’s backside claims that “this deck has been specifically created for the first-time tarot user.” I disagree. I do prefer the Rider Waite meanings over Crowley’s but to have so many of the bigger secret cards out of order just seems like it would confuse any new-to-tarot student. The images, while nicely drawn, fall flat and fail to keep my attention drawn into the symbolism. And the LWB, while being focused more on the symbolism meanings, doesn’t give enough of a range of interpretation for each card. I’m still left wanting to recommend beginners look at the Universal Waite or Robin Wood decks first.
Postnote: I did check other online reviews to see others said about The Sharman-Caselli Tarot. What I found surprised me. This deck was once offered in a 192-page book and deck set and had been consistently given high review marks. However, not many reviewers mention the backs or the strange ordering of the 7 cards noted in this review. Reading what others said makes me wonder if my low rating and review is a result of this printing and edition only.