I just got home from the 2nd Annual World Tarot & Towel Tea Party at my friend Ember’s. We had a lovely 4 hour party sipping tea, drooling over our new tarot decks and books, and co-reading spreads for one another. Read more to find out what we did and what I learned this afternoon!
I arrived just after 2:30 and before the pacNW storms could get any wetter. Ember had lovingly set up a spot in her living room for our activities, complete with a red parlor theme. The tea was already stepping and cups of honey and lemon sat ready to sweeten the deal. After greeting the kitties, I set about to ploofing out my gear and setup a small nook for me to call my own. I brought The Herbal Tarot, the Shadowscapes Tarot, and the Tarot of the Divine Legacy to play and share. We love to have a “show and tell” with our new decks and I got to experience the pretties that is the Wizards Tarot and the Mona Lisa Tarot while she looked over my offerings.
Once we stopped oohing and aaahing over the decks, we set down to “serious” play. We decided to use the handbook that comes with the Wizards tarot to base our day around. We spent time looking through the book until we settled on three spreads. Our first spread was the Strength’s Familiars Spread, which was a fun and unique look at “selecting” a familiar to use. Ember drew The Lovers Card, while later on, I drew the Chariot. Surprising (or not) our readings were rather spot on and we both agreed that we’d do further investigations with our familiars.
We scanned the book again, this time selecting two more spreads. Ember decided that Transfiguration’s (aka Death) Past Life Spread looked interesting; while I wanted to play with Alchemy’s (aka Temperance) Spread. I won’t write about the Past Life experience but it was rather insightful and I can’t wait to see what insights Ember receives when she meditates on the lessons and “anvils” the cards gave her.
I chose the Alchemy Spread because this year I plan on working with the “element” of Alchemy to focus my energies and transform and manifest myself and my magical practice into the image I have inside my head. I’ll be writing more about this process and the elemental working later. I used my Shadowscapes deck with the Alchemist’s Spread and was NOT disappointed. This three card spread helped me to understand what energies I have in carrying out “creative” projects from idea to draft to completion (or publication).
The first card I drew was the Two of Wands. I see this card as the brainstorm generator card. In the Sulphur spot, this card defines and shows exactly how I work to start new projects. I don’t think I could’ve picked a better card. The figure in the card is myself, sitting with my cat (one of my kitties loves to snuggle as I write) looking off into the swirling yellow and orange “creation mists” waiting for inspiration.
The second card I drew was The Chariot. Which was funny and fitting since I received it in Strength’s Familiar Spread. This “Mercury” position shows my ability to nurture and develop new projects as they bloom in the early stages. There’s no doubt about it, when my ideas fully form, I go go go with them until they’re done. I set my mind to it and do whatever it takes to finalize it.
The third, and final, card I drew was the 3 of Cups in the “Salt” position. This card displays the ways in which I take ideas and move it from start to finish, transforming the vision into a manifested product. The 3 of cups, at first glance, seems a bit odd here but for me it makes perfect sense. I rely a lot on my editors, friends and colleagues to help me solidify my ideas, generate missing bits, and hone my writing via editing to present it to the world. The power of community helps me publish my book and as I have an extensive network of professionals, I’m at no loss for publishing my work into the world.
All in all, I was impressed by this little reading and can’t wait to find a copy of the Wizards Tarot for my own study. We finished our spreads and then headed to dinner where we had a lovely steak dinner. As Ember works really early in the morning, I collected my gear, towel, and decks; scritched the kitties; and headed home.
World Tarot Day was a success this year. I had such a great (and long) day of participating: chatting with my mentor Wald, networking with my community on Twitter, winning a copy of Tarot for Manifestation by James Wells, and sharing tarot love with one of my closest friends. As we draw World Tarot Day 2011 to a close, I want to thank everyone who’s had a reading from me, or attended my class, or spoke with me about tarot. You all inspire me and help keep the fuel for my tarot obsession burning.
I’ll be heading to San Jose and PantheaCon this Thursday. PantheaCon is a wonderful, 4-day pagan festival celebrating all types of craft, ritual, and everything in between. It’s a top-notch event and I’m going to be knees deep in all sorts of fun this year. Here’s where you can find me during the event:
