Who goes there? Please leave comments so (An Aries Knows)!
Pictured is a chakra bracelet of stones that Tom gave me for my birthday, and next to it, a vintage wooden box that Lynne gave me for our Christmas 2021 & ’22 gathering.
Inside the box, my birthday gift from Tim of the Jane Austen Tarot deck has found its home.
It’s been a while for this category, but thanks to my birthday and Timothy, I have some new stuff to share. Like this coloring book.
Some of the sketches are Tarot cards. Others are just really cool celestial sketches. Or character-type sketches like this one.
I’ve noticed on some people’s posts of coloring pages on Instagram, they put something over the page to keep people from being able to just blow it up and reproduce it. The pencil is my way of trying to respect copyrights, too.
In addition to the beautiful coloring book, Tim gave me this Jacqui Oakley deck, perfect for a Jane Austen fan like me!
I picked The Magician card to share, with its description.
King of Clubs/The Magician: Skill. Jane Austen makes magic with her pen at her writing desk, using her prowess to begin something new.
Of course I believe writers are magicians, creating galaxies, worlds, beings of all kind, and stories. So many stories. I’ll have more to say about stories later in another post.
I did get some good writing done today, finishing one chapter and beginning another. I forgot to listen to music, though!
Had some drama with my website again last night as I was closing down. Seems to happen frequently these days, so I’m glad for their 24/7 customer support, but I’d be even gladder if whatever is causing these problems would be found and become a distant memory.
I had a bunch of home business stuff to take care of this morning, so I’m not getting started writing until after noon. My problem with this character is I KNOW the ultimate resolution of his story arc, but I’m not altogether sure how to get there. Since he likes to think of himself as having characteristics of a crow, I took out MJ Cullinane’s Urban Crow Oracle deck for fun.
I pulled Distance, Risk, and Balance. These happen to all be important elements of the character’s life, so I figure the message is that as long as I write him true to who he is and was created to be, we’re all good regardless of where my thoughts may be straying.
CDs are in the changer because I’m in the library, with dogs (like Eva) taking turns hogging the fire. Tonight before I stop, I’ll post my day’s playlist (assuming the site cooperates).
I hope good actions, good feelings, and tech cooperation are part of your day.
ETA: Today’s playlist. A lot of CDs. Maybe some were not as long as others, because it doesn’t seem like I got an abundance of writing done while all these played. (Of course, I also left them playing while I ordered a few household items and prepared and ate dinner.) I think I can bring the chapter to an end by the time I go to bed. The next chapter should be more fun and faster.
Lana Del Rey, Lust for Life and Norman Fucking Rockwell; The Doors, Waiting For The Sun; Eagles, Their Greatest Hits and Hotel California (my other Eagles albums were drowned and some have been replaced with albums); Steve Earle, Guitar Town (Steve Earle is so talented; this one is Tom’s, but I really like it); The Escape Club, Dollars and Sex; Melissa Etheridge, Yes I Am; Your Little Secret, Breakdown; Lucky, and Skin. Tom’s the bigger Melissa Etheridge fan, but I like her, too.
Continuing to send all good thoughts to those in Florida recovering from Ian, including an artist I know through social media who can’t get back to her home, in a city where the extent of the destruction isn’t yet known.
It’s been a while since I did a Tarot Thursday because I finished sharing all my various decks. However, you may recall that I have a couple of books from Adam J. Kurtz that I’ve featured on here before.
I knew that in 2018, Adam used a Kickstarter campaign to create a simple, fun Tarot deck using his unique approach to art and illustration, but I was trying NOT to get more decks, so I never ordered it. In September, Penguin reissued the OK Tarot: the Simple Deck for Everyone.
This time, the offer was too good to pass up, and I really like supporting Adam’s creativity. If I ordered from an independent shop, I’d get a scarf/cloth that could be used either to lay out readings or wrap the deck or tie around a dog’s neck, if any of my dogs would put up with such shenanigans. (They won’t.)
I opted to order the deck from Adam’s OWN local store, and by doing so, my box was signed by him. So I got the scarf, extras like a couple of free stickers, and the deck itself.
This is a deck that is, as Adam intended, Brimming with hope and good energy… [and] avoids depictions of race, religion, or gender to help YOU focus your intention, find clarity, and remember that even if things aren’t perfect, they’re still going to be OK.
The cards have simple meanings for the reader to decipher on his or her own terms. Kelsey Anderson provided the card interpretations that are in the accompanying booklet. She’s a spiritual counselor and an advocate of using spiritual tools for self care.
I’d hoped to do a reading so I could feature the deck today, but since I’ve mostly spent this week in bed trying to sleep my way through being ill, maybe another time, like when I have a character who needs direction. Meanwhile, the cards are tucked safely away among the boxes that house all my decks of tarot, oracle, and related cards.
I’m not perfect; but I’ll be okay. Thanks, Adam, for the reminder.
Current Photo Friday theme: Arranged
Today, I arranged cards from a couple of decks to see my characters as archetypes based on animal energy. Then I also started matching them to archetypes from Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s list of twelve that includes Innocent, Ruler, Creator or Artist, Sage, Explorer, Rebel, Hero, Magician or Wizard, Jester, Everyman, Lover, and Caregiver.
From:
Last week I featured the 15 Tarot decks I have. Here are the rest of the decks or similar items I’ve located throughout Houndstooth Hall.
I’ve featured four Oracle decks. If you Google the difference between Oracle and Tarot cards, you’ll find a wealth of information (some of it contradictory–good luck!). My decks are:
Celtic Astrology Oracle Cards
The Illustrated Crystallary Oracle Cards
The Urban Crow Oracle
Messages From Your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle Deck
In addition to my Tarot and Oracle decks, here are other items I have on my shelves. Like these, that I should use MORE OFTEN.
Mindfulness On the Go (2014) is a small book by Jan Chozen Bays with twenty-five mindfulness practices that can be done anywhere. These are meant to get a person into the habit of cultivating “the gratitude and insight that come from paying attention with body, heart, and mind to life’s many small moments” (from the back cover of the book).
The Relax Deck (2000), designed by Henry Quiroga, with illustrations by Katarzyna Klein and Hannah Firmin, includes fifty cards with images on one side, text on the other side, all meant to help the user relax. Here is a sample card:
I think this is one of my favorite decks I’ve ever bought for just making me BE STILL AND BE for a while. It’s very refreshing. Not only does it provide inspirational exercises, but it even shows you how you can use the cards in a game with others. I haven’t done that. Yet.
I also have this box of Mindfulness Cards: Simple Practices for Everyday Life (2018), from Rohan Gunatillake. Again, this is a deck I should use more often. Here are the categories:
And some samples from “Curiosity and Joy”:
Here are some of the other resources I’ve shared on here before.
John Nagiecki’s Animal Spirit Knowledge Cards (2007), beautifully illustrated by Susan Seddon Boulet.
Karma Cards (1991), created by Monte Farber.
Rachelle Charman’s Chakra Reading Cards (2016).
My collection of Rune Stones, that includes The Book of Runes (1984) by Ralph H. Blum.
WHEW! I think that’s everything. As I was compiling this post, I found a few more things that might be of interest to you. They reminded me of the importance of mindfulness, gratitude, and the kindness of friends.
This came from a woman I worked with in 1997. Someone very special in her life was LGBTQ, and I’m not sure if she’d shared that at work with more than a few friends. One day, she overheard my quick, sharp response to someone who made a homophobic remark. You never know who’s listening and how your support might uplift someone who needs it. In return, this little book she gave me has many reminders that I recorded of kind things done for me. They’re a pleasure to read and remember all these years later. I need to start writing in this book again.
I want to reiterate this because of other people’s stories I’ve read or heard lately. BE A FUCKING ALLY FOR MARGINALIZED PEOPLE AND USE YOUR VOICE. You don’t have to yell like I just did. Just please don’t miss an opportunity to speak for those who might not be in a position to speak for themselves.
I was confused when I saw this tiny book tucked away on a shelf, because if you’ve read here for any length of time, you know I’m always quick to say that I don’t put a lot of stock in fortune telling. When I looked inside, I remembered how lively LiveJournal once was for many of us. I knew Todd from there, but once people stopped using LJ, and I stopped using Facebook, I lost touch with many of those folks. Thank goodness he inscribed this book when he sent it, since I’d forgotten how it came to me at Christmas 2008. I hope Todd is doing well.
Likewise, you may have read or heard me say I’m not into spell casting. I’ve seen this go wrong for people who don’t know what they’re doing and are trying to control other people’s behavior instead of working on themselves (did I say that in Church Lady’s voice?). However, the title clearly specifies that it’s a GOOD spell book, and once I read the inscription from our friend Steve V, I realize the fun he had in giving it to me (“Jimmy” is his pet name for our mutual friend James). Steve V is an activist and advocate in Houston’s HIV/AIDS community, and he and James are two of the best people who’ve ever come into my life. Grateful for them always.
Did you make it all the way to the end? I’m thinking that this post marks the end of Thursday’s Tarot Etc. posts. However, I want to transition it to Thursday Thoughts, leaving it wide open for anything you might want to discuss, ask about, or if you want me to look into any of these decks for a specific date or animal or card or crystal or mindfulness/meditation exercise or whatever. You know I read all my comments on every post, so if something strikes you, drop a comment anywhere and let me know anything you might want me to talk about on a Thursday. If you want your interest or question to be anonymous, email becky@beckycochrane.com. If you hit “tarot” in that tags list on the right, you can find past posts of specific decks or similar items. Thursdays, YOU get to choose the content.
First things first: Happy May 26 birthday to Timothy J. Lambert (and birthday nods to Stevie Nicks and Lenny Kravitz, who share the day with him). I stole that photo right off his Instagram; nobody tell him. =) This is one of the good dogs he pet-sits for a friend. I’m grateful every single day for the events and times that brought this amazing man into my life, as friend-to-family, writing partner, neighbor, and creative inspiration. No birthday party here tonight; we’re celebrating dinner and cake with him at the Hall next week; tonight he’s seeing other good friends.
I’m trying to regain my equilibrium after the past couple of weeks. May has been quite a month in my own life, the lives of people I know, and in the world beyond me.
I’ve talked about Tarot cards off and on through my 18 years of keeping an online journal/blog, and I created Tarot Thursdays after Mark asked me how many decks I have. I didn’t know.
A recap:
Akashic Tarot and Art Nouveau Tarot
Celtic Tarot and Color Your Tarot
Crow Tarot and Egipcios Kier Tarot
Enchanted Tarot and Lovers Tarot
Medieval Scapini Tarot and Muse Tarot
Rider Waite Tarot and Tarot of the Spirit
Voyager Tarot
The only remaining Tarot deck I haven’t shared is The Good Tarot, although its creator, Colette Baron-Reid refers to it as an Oracle deck in the booklet that accompanies it. The deck does have the seventy-eight cards of most Tarot decks, twenty-two major arcana, called Trumps here, and 56 minor arcana, with the elemental suits of Earth (Pentacles in other decks), Air (Swords in other decks), Fire (Wands in other decks, and Water (Cups in other decks). The court cards are the page, messenger, queen, and king.
The illustrations by Jena DellaGrottaglia are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, and I picked eight to share here.
If you’re comfortable with the layouts of other decks, you could use the spreads you like to work with, but Baron-Reid advises that the cards are best used to put you in the moment. She recommends pulling one card if you’re feeling confused or lost and wondering what you might not be seeing. If you still lack clarity, a second card can be pulled for more insight about the message.
She suggests a three-card reading to discern the energies of a situation that’s evolving. The first card represents where you are now. The second card represents what will be influencing the situation. The third card shows where you’re headed if you continue on the same path. Once again, she says if you need clarity, drawing a fourth card can give you more information.
For me personally, this is a deck where I pull a single card without any questions/situations in mind at all, just the willingness to let my imagination run free for a while. Then I consult the book to see what Baron-Reid says about the card.
Next week, I’ll recap the other systems that I’ve shared here, plus include two or three things I haven’t posted yet. As I’ve said before, I’m no expert aboout any of these things and rarely use them in the traditional ways others do. For me, they’re tools for introspection, meditation, and as part of rituals with scents and stones, often in connection with celestial events like eclipses, full and new moons, and where our planet is in relation to other planets. They’re also helpful to me as tools in my writing, including structure, plot, character development, and the ways characters relate with each other.
Tarot cards can be calming in a stressful world. They offer perspectives I might not have considered. And I am often awed by the art and creativity of the decks and their creators and illustrators.
So Mark, the short answer is: fourteen Tarot decks!
Tuesday, I finished a chapter that’s taken me quite a while. I’m on the verge of finishing another. Now I have to decide once and for all: Should the next chapter be about The Crow or The Magpie?
For a possible direction, I decided to get the Urban Crow Oracle and choose a card at random from the deck.
The card I pulled is “Distance.”
From the guidebook with the deck:
It may not mean anything to you, but when I think about the current circumstances of The Crow and The Magpie, I understand the next chapter belongs to The Crow.
Thanks for the assistance, my corvid friends.
I don’t remember where I got this beautiful box, but it’s one of my favorites. It’s where my rune stones live, kept on a shelf next to the book that came in the set with them.
I keep the stones in the bag they came in.
It’s been many years since I did any readings with rune stones. When I decided to feature them today, I reread all the information in The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum, and it was like it was all new to me.
My late friend John strongly identified with the rune Uruz, which according to Blum represents strength, manhood, womanhood, and the wild ox. John wore a pendant similar to the one on the right as his talisman. I think James kept it and wore it for a while after John died. That one is mine, which stays in a box with special small items given to me by friends or kept in honor or memory of friends.
Some of the reasons runes interested me, perhaps still interest me, is that they are meant to provide us insights into ourselves. While they’ve come to us from many ancient practices, rituals, and philosophies, anyone of any belief system can use the stones as a means to, as Blum quotes the Oracle at Delphi: Know thyself. Rune stones are not meant to explain the past or predict the future, but to keep us in the present. As Blum suggests, whether we see the runes as a bridge between ourselves and our Self, or a link from Self to the Divine, they show us how to be and act in the moment by tapping into our inner wisdom (e.g., subconscious, intuition).