Love Spread

Another girl I know is keenly interested in her love live, or rather, the possibility that she'll have a love life. This reading was a bit more difficult for me, because I know of this girl's struggles with finding love. I prayed before the reading that both the God and the Goddess would help me to give a clear reading, and not put my own feelings into it.

I, of course, chose to do a Love Spread. Here's the layout:

(Card 1)

(Card 2)

(Card 3)

(Card 4) (Card 5) (Card 6)

And here's the reading (using the Whimsical Tarot):

Card 1: Your past experience in love.
Ten of Cups shows a prince carrying a princess over a threshold. I think you have a rather romanticized idea of love, based on what you may have seen in your family. I also get a feeling that you may have had a very good relationship with someone in the past. Whatever the case, it has left you with a rather idealized version of what love is/should be.

Card 2: Your current experience in love.
Seven of Cups. This card shows several forks in a road, and a road sign with arrows pointing in all sorts of different directions. I think that you've been getting a lot of mixed signals lately. It's left you feeling confused and lost.

Card 3: What you want from a love relationship.
Seven of Pentacles: This shows a girl tending to her garden. I get the impression that you'd like someone to tend to, and someone who will tend to you, too. I also get the impression that you want to grow *with* someone.

Card 4: What you need from a love relationship.
Ace of Cups. Interesting card for this position, as Ace signifies the beginning, and Cups is the emotions suit. In some ways, I guess that applies, as I feel you just simply want to begin a relationship in general. The caution here is that you may just choose anyone in your haste. Be careful, exercise good judgment. The Ace of Cups also signifies that the cup runneth over; I think you want a love relationship that fills you up so much that you will bubble over with joy.

Card 5: What you have to give to your lover.
Nine of Rods. This card shows a boy sleeping next to his horn. I think it serves to remind you to take responsibility and keep a watchful eye on your emotions in a relationship so that they don't go away. This card doesn't seem to directly apply to the position (i.e. what you have to give your lover). I think you have a lot to give, and this card reminds you to keep it all in check. Don't overwhelm your lover, so that he falls asleep.

Card 6: Possible future experience in love.
Eight of Swords. Swords is usually a suit of conflict and/or intellect. This card, once again, shows someone sleeping. The man looks as if he had been running, and fell down. He had been hunting; his dog is sniffing his injured leg. My impression is that you're the hunter, and you're looking so hard for love that you end up getting injured in the process. I caution you to take it easy, and let it come to you. Don't hunt it down, because by chasing it so fast, you may be blinded by what's right in front of you (like this guy; he fell over a stump or something, and it knocked him out).

Keep in mind that Card 6 is "possible." You can make changes in your life to prevent this from happening.

Take a step back. Don't chase love; let it come to you. Be yourself and be happy being yourself. Then and only then will you get the type of love you're looking for.

Moving On Spread

I've been doing readings for people via email for trade. I haven't written them down, and it dawned on me that I'd like to have a record of these readings, so I'm going to post the two I did today here.

First up, a woman who is thinking about changing careers and who also wanted to know if a man she just met might "be the one." Well, I concentrated on the career part for the reading, and then in the end pulled a single card to tell me more about this guy she just met. The spread looked like this:

(Card 1) (Card 2) (Card 3) (Card 4)

(Card 5) (Card 6) (Card 7) (Card 8)

(Card 9) (Card 10)

Since your main question was about your career, I did a "Moving On Spread" for you. Using the Whimsical Tarot, here are your results:

Cards 1 & 2: What you are moving away from.
The Chariot and Eight of Cups. The Chariot shows you are being torn in two different directions, and the Eight of Cups shows Little Miss Muffet fleeing from the spider. I get the impression that the situation you are in now is not a happy one. I think it was at one time, but now you feel torn and just want to flee.

Cards 3 & 4: What you are moving toward.
Four of Cups and Three of Swords. The Four of Cups shows the Emperor With No Clothes, riding through the middle of town on his horse. The townspeople are talking behind his back. The Three of Swords shows two children in the woods, and one of them is crying. My impression is that what you are moving towards is not as easy or as simple as you think it is. It may be a good solution in the long-run, but get rid of any delusions you might have that this path will be easy, because it will not.

Cards 5 & 6: Things to consider before taking action.
Ten of Rods and Nine of Cups. The Ten of Rods shows a maiden all alone, crying near some water. The Nine of Cups shows a genie coming out of a lamp. This shows me that while you will be experiencing some pain in your decision, your wish(es) can also be granted. Again, be aware that this new road will not be easy, but it will more than likely get you to where you want to be.

Cards 7 & 8: Reasons to move on.
Six of Rods and Death. The Six of Rods is Dorothy with Toto in a field. She is alone in this picture (i.e., no Tin Man, Lion, etc.), with a rainbow behind her. I believe this card shows victory for Dorothy. the Death card shows Sleeping Beauty asleep on a bed. Death signifies the end of one journey and the beginning of another. Both of these cards validate that moving on is the right thing to do. The reason, though, isn't as clear, however my impression is that by moving on, you will leave behind the unpleasantness of your current situation and reap rewards in the end.

Cards 9 & 10: Outcome.
The World and Nine of Pentacles. Wow. Two great cards in the outcome position. The World shows that, once you make this change, the world is your oyster. And the Nine of Pentacles shows success (financial security). So, even though the road will not be easy, your outcome will be much desired.

Now, as you can see this spread does not cover your relationship question. So, I decided to pull one card to tell me about this guy you're seeing. I pulled the Magician, who in this card is depicted by Puss 'n Boots. If you don't remember, Puss was very conniving and got what he wanted. He did serve his master, though, which was a good thing in the story. However, be careful; determine who this guy considers his master (God? Someone else?). Be aware; this man is charismatic and charming. He weaves a good tale, and is probably very entertaining. I'm sure he is fun to be around. Just don't jump in wholeheartedly yet. Keep your eyes open to discover what, if any, motive he has. See, it could be good and could be bad. Just keep your eyes open, and I think you'll be fine.

Two New Decks

I am the proud owner of two new Tarot decks. The first is a deck I've lusted after for about a year. It's the Tarot of the Journey to the Orient deck. Now, I'm not normally attracted to Oriental-style art and objects. However, this deck captured my attention and hasn't let it go. So, when Llewellyn sent me an email to let me know they were selling this deck for $5, I had to get it.

Imagine my distress when I got a notice from Llewellyn saying that their sale was an overwhelming success, and unfortunately for me, they didn't have any decks left. They also let me know that it was now considered out of print, and if I wanted it, I should get it from another vendor before this deck dropped off the face of the earth.

I found an Amazon vendor that was selling it for an excellent price, so I jumped on it right away. It finally came today, about three weeks after ordering it. I have to say, I am very pleased with the deck. It's everything I imagined and more.

The other deck is one I only recently became aware of: Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights. This deck has mixed reviews, yet has been in the back of my mind as a potential "must have" deck for a couple of months now. The so-called bad reviews aren't even really bad: they're mostly buyers who are disappointed in the smallness of the pictures. See, the deck has beautiful, intricate, finely detailed pictures, however Lo Scarabeo shrunk them to fit on their standard-sized cards. So... a lot of the detail is difficult to see.

Another complaint is that there is no accompanying book and the LWB that comes with the deck is quite inferior and doesn't supply full meanings to the cards and pictures.

Despite the complaints, I was interested and so when I received a 30% off coupon from Borders, I decided to use it on this deck (as Amazon sells it for list price).

Let me first say this is a beautiful deck. The colors are rich and layered. The detail is amazing. However, I do agree with the bulk of the reviewers: the size of the cards do not do the pictures justice. I know Lo Scarabeo always publishes their decks in the same size, however they would've done well to have made an exception with this deck.

Considering I'm not making any money right now, I really outta lay off the new deck buying spree. I think these decks just might take away my need to buy more...at least for the time being.