I want to start a little tarot blog. I actually have / had an IG for tarot a few years ago, but I don’t really use it anymore, partially because typing everything up on my phone was a pain.

Some brief information:

I’ve been fascinated with tarot for close to a decade now. I got my first deck 8 or 9 years ago—it was a Rider Waite and it was not gifted to me. I respect people’s ideas of tradition around gifting decks of course, but I don’t think we should feel bad or worry about what it means to get ourselves our own decks. I still have my first deck. Since then, I have obtained and given away several decks.

1. Rider Waite--This is the most well-known deck probably in existence--certainly in English speaking countries.

2. Smith Waite--this got damaged recently and is still usable but part of why I got two new decks recently. It’s also my smallest and most portable deck, though it really isn’t that small. This deck is named to pay homage to the original illustrator. It has the original color pallet.

I also had several learning decks at some point, that I have since given away to CS (I believe I gave her a version I added extra annotation to), DW, and AJK (received a slightly different, larger learning deck than the other two.)

3. I still own a learning deck I've annotated heavily. It has keywords for Upright and Reversed, a short meaning, an affirmation, the number, element, zodiac, time period / dates, chakra, yes/ no, and Hebrew character it is associated with for each card as well as a few key words for the card as relevant to the categories of Love, Career, and Finance. I've only barely begun to dive into numerology, element, and yes / no. I don't know a whole lot about how to utilize time period, zodiac + planet, chakra, Hebrew, with it. I definitely take these with a grain of salt because the manufacturer of this deck isn't clear, and even the information found on the deck differs on other annotated decks sometimes. I really do like this deck for the affirmations though

5. Modern Witch Tarot—This is a beautiful, female-first deck that provides modern (for example, the Chariot is a motorbike) and diverse imagery of women throughout the typical RW context. I encountered it first in a reading I received and later got my own, but didn't find it quite suited me so I ended up giving this away (CS). I would argue it's a queer deck--which is part of why it called to me.

6. Tarot of Opposition— I don’t use this deck much but it is very interesting. I think because there’s no clear orientation, just depictions of the positive and negative aspects, generally as if viewed across a looking glass. I’m not familiar enough with RW to remember when those correlate to Upright or Reversed which makes it harder to look up and interpret. This is a deck that requires more familiarity with the visual symbolism, numerology, and elements and lends itself to intuitive reading. It is all about duology and two perspectives, and does feel less binary than RW to me.

7. Tarot of the Divine—This was the first deck gifted to me by KR, a good friend of mine. It's entwined with many mythologies from across the world and each card correlated to a different myth or folk tale. For example, The Fool is the Little Mermaid. I find it sometimes hard to read because of how nuanced it is, with both the trappings of traditional tarot and the nuance of the story each card embodies. I think it’s best suited for 1-3 card holistic draws, but really probably mostly 1, at least for my current skillset.

8. CBD Tarot de Marseille. This is a French Italian deck from the 15th century I obtained recently. It’s unique because of how the majority of the Wands and Coins suit cards do not have clear orientations. Several of the Swords cards also lack this. The Cups are the only suit where orientation is clear throughout. On the whole, the deck is very different from RW but the Maor Arcana Sun card is why I chose it. The Sun in RW is the source of light, but in Marseille, the people are. Generally, the lack of orientation means that I approach this more thoughtfully and it also means that it’s less binary. On the whole Swords in Marseille is also less negative than in RW. I'm still learning quite a bit about this deck.

9. Trickster’s Journey by Jia Sung. This is a beautiful watercolor deck that draws from the Chinese classic Journey to the West among other things from Chinese mythology. I love the reinterpretation and recontextualization of tarot, since our own mythologies inform our experience with it. It's a beautiful deck and I feel drawn to it. Notably, the Fool has been renamed Trickster, and the Monkey (who references the Monkey King) is not gendered past the initial acknowledgement of the homage.

I might end up doing a mixture of daily draws for myself and going back through old posts on my IG to see how I can recontextualize my interpretations. I also think I'm at a stage in life where I won't just draw obsessively until the deck gets mad / I hear what I want to hear. I think tarot is a really powerful tool for self-reflection though, if we can be aware of why we want to pull what we pull.

Deck: CBD Tarot de Marseille. This is an Italian made deck that is in French (probably because of linguistic drift) from the 15th century. It predates Rider Waite and is intriguing for the work that went into restoring this printing as well as the lack of clear orientation for the minor arcana.

I did a reading on E and myself, C.

E: 4 of Coins Reversed

C: Queen of Coins

Together: Queen of Swords

It's definitely worth noting that the first few readings I did with this were very confusing because my French is Not Good (tm) and I didn't expect all the minor arcana to look as they do

I also want to note the blank card in the deck. I think of it as a blank slate, bringing in some of my exposure to blanks in other things, and also an indicator of limitless potential. I shuffled many times, not knowing there was this blank and yet it was the first card I pulled. I set it aside and continued drawing as normal, but I do think it's as good an omen as anything. Upon looking at the restorer of this particular deck, he says

treat the blank card literally as a “carte blanche” – meaning, the universe is giving you an open card, anything is possible for you now. whatever you ask for, you will get.

which I love.

Now, onto the analysis.

First of all, the things that stick out to me is the presence of two queens, the presence of coins twice, and the presence of the queen of swords. I have received the Queen of Swords in other readings but was told specifically by the practitioner who introduced me to the Marseille deck that the Queen of Swords can mean being overworried or overthinking, but it's also about planning ahead, preservation, and protection. This is additional nuance that RW often doesn't provide (/ the positive aspects of swords are underemphasized in rider waite) This reminds me, each suit has a high and low road in theory, another thing to talk about.

Coins appearing twice: coins are associated with hard work, dedication, commitment from my understanding. This suit is also associated with the steadfast earth. It deals with the physical and external, how we interact with our surroundings and how we shape and grow with them. They also deal with ego, self-esteem, and self-image (this surprised me, since I would probably associate that with cups first).

The predominance of the element of Earth is significant to me in this reading as well. "Earth is tactile, earthy and tangible. It creates the foundation from which the planet can grow and develop, and it supports and nurtures the plants and trees. Earth is grounded, stable, supportive and fertile. It is a feminine element that is receptive – it takes in nutrients and sunrays and then uses this energy to sustain the life that grows out of it."

The appearance of coins and swords (swords being associated with air and intellect) is interesting, given that this is a relationship reading.

Four as a number is something that always gives me pause, but in the context of western tarot, it represents stability, power, and manifestation.

THE FOUR OF PENTACLES REVERSED (positive card)

This four of pentacles reversed (with curiously, 3 fleur de lises) should be interpreted as such in my opinion:

The reversed Four of Pentacles can appear when you are re-evaluating what’s important to you. You may have misprioritized.

In the page I'm excerpting from, it indicates misprioritizing money / career over love, but I don't think that is the applicable interpretation in this case. I do thing the profound shift in priorities is important to pull from this though.

Given this shift in priorities, I want to look back at the 3 fleur delises depicted--three is associated with movement, teetering--rebalancing if you will. Sometimes it's associated with coming together or unity as well, but I think the more typical rebalancing interpretation is apt here. Further information on the 4/ Pentacles reversed:

it can appear when you are in self-protection mode. You have a strong desire for security, stability and certainty and you are doing everything within your power to create a stable environment for yourself. Even when your outer world seems chaotic and in a constant state of change, you can create more certainty for yourself by controlling your inner environment

Further Information;

In a general context, the Four of Pentacles reversed Tarot card can indicate that you are ready to let go of people, possessions, situations or past issues. You may be releasing toxic people or situations that are no longer healthy for you, shedding old issues or letting go of regrets or fears. This website also delves into specific meanings in the spheres of love, money, and health.

In general the 4 of Pentacles reversed is a POSITIVE card to get.

The Queen of Coins (positive)

The Queen of Coins is a positive card to pull whether upright or reversed, in my opinion.

There's a lot of information to wade through on this, but some things that stuck out to me are that the Queen of Coins is an affirmation to trust in the forces that have taken care of you thus far. That the Queen of Coins is a balanced and nurturing individual. I particularly liked this:

In every case, she does not see the benefits that exist in her life as belonging solely to her. She feels the needs of her people and will spend freely of her time, energy, skills, money to see that nobody is left out. 

Biddy Tarot had a lot of interesting text, but it was a little ard for me to synthesize it. The Tarot Guide seemed a little too specific too, or perhaps typing about it feels too self-indulgent to me. The different emphasis on caution and entrepreneurship (vs problem solving) from site to site intrigues me. Labyrinthos stuck out to me because of the emphasis on independence and self-sufficiency. Ultimately my takeaways are stability, abundance, and nurturing. Labyrinthos and Tarot Guide have quick reference keyword tables for card in the context of love, career, and finance (and health and spirituality on tarot guide)

Finally, we have the QUEEN OF SWORDS

I think this is a positive card, or at the very least is not a negative one. In this instance, as a card drawn on the interactions / synergies it should be used to examine the context / situation. I hesitate to use it to be prescriptive of anything but I do feel that the key words make quite a bit of sense, especially "clear boundaries, direct communication." In RW, the Queen of Swords is associated with Wind and the suit is associated with ongoing change, which feels appropriate.

I draw Queen of Swords for myself frequently--to refresh, RW often emphasizes the negative aspect of overthinking, but it is also associated with planning and protection. The Queen of Swords represents clear boundaries and no bullshit. Her left hand is prepared to receive the future, as is she. Her sword is straight, pointing towards an unerring desire for truth. With the emphasis she provides on boundaries, she can also indicate a need for freedom and independence. The Tarot Guide (I referenced this less for Queen of Swords). This website, which idk what I think of it.

Here's a website on the Queen of Swords in the context of Marseile deck specifically. Here, we really see the aspect of protection, rather than overthinking, come into play.

OVERALL I would consider this a positive reading, with indicators of solid grounding, but nothing too prescriptive. I think that it makes sense in the context of the query even if the lack of Wands or Cups seems a little odd, given the sphere of concern.

I won't speak to how I feel any more about the draw of the 4/Coins reversed or the Queen of Coins, but I will say that the Queen of Swords speaks accurately to clear boundaries, old wounds and protection, openness to the future and compassion, and truth.

The queens themselves speak to having your shit together and I love that.

An additional note on coins

The 5-5-5 technique: Name 5 things you can hear, 5 things you can see, and 5 things you can touch. Helps move your thoughts away from spiraling and into your body and the present moment.

Anchoring statement: My name is ___. I'm X years old. I live in City, State, Country. It's 10:30 in the morning. I'm sitting at my desk. Especially when the spiraling is around identity, I find it calming to ground myself in the facts.

Count backwards from 100 in 7s -- so 100, 93, etc. I do this in Mandarin (my second language) to make it harder. Since my brain has to struggle to calculate + translate, it helps to take my main out of whatever thought patterns are starting to run rampant.

Hold something cold/warm and notice the sensation. Most commonly people recommend ice cubes, which I don't really have access to, but it can definitely be calming to focus on the sensation of ice in your hand. I usually hold a cup of tea/warm water and notice how the warm ceramic feels against my skin.

- Total lack of atmospheric perspective (things don't fade into the distance)

- Very realistic shading but no or only very faint shadows cast by ambient light.

- Limited interaction between objects and environment (shadows, ripples etc)

- Flat textures and consistent lighting used for backgrounds that would usually show a lot of variation in lighting, colour and texture

- Bodies apparently modelled piece by piece rather than drawn from life, and in a very stiff way so that the bodies show the pose but don't communicate the body language that would usually go with it. They look like dolls.

- Odd composition that cuts off parts that would usually be considered important (like the person's head in the snowy driving scene)

- Very precise drawing of structures and perspective combined with all the simplistic elements I've already listed. In other words, details in the "wrong" places.

What's fascinating about this is that in early or bad CGI, these things come from the fact that the machine is modelling very precisely the shapes and perspectives and colours, but missing out on some parts that are difficult to render (shadows, atmospheric perspective) and being completely unable to pose bodies in such a way as to convey emotion or body language.

my impression is that colville did see the world as an unsettling place and a lot of his work was fueled by this general ~malaise?? but in a lot of cases, he was trying to express particular fears or traumas. for instance, this painting (horse and train) was apparently inspired by a really tragic experience his wife had:

2: Personally, what do you believe happens when a person dies?

3: If faced with the opportunity, would you ever kill a criminal whom you don't know if it meant you could get anything you want in return? (Keep in mind you do not/can not know what said criminal has done to become a criminal until after you've made your decision)

4: The funniest nickname you can come up with for ___________ ?

5: What type of art could you always appreciate but never see yourself actually doing?

6: You've been given the option to choose how the human race reproduces. How would we reproduce, which sex would bare children, and how would we bare them? (Eggs, litters, etc)

7: What's the weirdest thing you've ever experienced, may it be just reading about it or experiencing it in the flesh?

8: You can choose any world to go to from any book, movie, video, fanficion, etc, and the option to become the main character. Where would you go, and would you be involved in the main story, or just watching on the sidelines?

9: What is one thing in this world you would get rid of if you knew it'd be erased from the entire history of the human race?

10: Describe ___________ in your own words.

11: You're in hell! One song is playing on repeat for eternity. What song it it?

12: You get to create a entirely new species. Describe the name of them and what they look like.

13: You're now allergic to EVERY animal except for one. Which animal is it?

14: What's on your mind right now?

15: Try and describe your closest friend in the silliest way possible.

16: You can stop doing one of the following-- Eating, Using the restroom, Sleeping-- without any consequences. What do you choose?

17: You have to live on a world famous landmark for the rest of your life. Which landmark would you live on/in?

18: You can babysit 6 extremely poilte and kind kids for not very much money or one extremely rude and disrespectful child for a high amount of money for a week. Which do you choose?

19: You have to use one word in every sentence for the rest of your life. What word is it?

20: Go on a vacation forever or never leave your home town?

21: What would your character be described as in an upcoming anime?

22: You get to redesign the whitehouse. Describe how your fabulous revisions would make it look?

23: You're now inhabiting the body of the last person you talked to. Who is it, how how weirder out are you?

24: Add a letter to the alphabet! What's its name and what does it look like?

25: Weirdest fetish you've ever found out about and how?

26: Every mosquito drops dead and they are never found again or every wasp?

27: Fear you had when you were little that you grew out of?

28: The ability to make everyone listen to you when you want to say something or have no one notice you when you don't want them to?

29: What's your favorite meme?

30: Best surprise you've ever gotten?

31: Do you no longer listen to a song because it reminds you of someone you don't talk to anymore?

32: Write a full paragraph about yourself without being negative (or just a sentence if you don't want to write a full paragraph!)

33: Describe the most attractive person you've ever seen without mentioning their name.

34: Upload your all time favorite picture!

35: You wake up tomorrow and end up having NO responsibilities to do, including work, school, cleaning, projects-- Nothing!-- As well as full access to an endless supply of money for an entire week. How do you spend it?

36: Write a plot for a TV show that you would most definitely watch.

37: If you had to choose between only wearing shorts and long sleeves or pants and a tank top for all of winter, what would you choose? (No coats allowed or other garments under or over the shorts or pants!)

38: One thing you'd love to wake up to?

39: You can choose to learn one talent to master or choose many talents that you're somewhat okay at. Which do you choose?

40: Favorite quote/saying?

41: You say one sentence to go down in history and be remembered years after you pass, even centuries into the future. What's the sentence?

42: Favorite video you've ever watched?

43: Type/act like you did when you were 13 and describe your plans for tonight.

44: You're a baby with a very deep voice. What would you say to startle everyone in the room with your very deep baby voice?

45: Funniest joke you've ever heard?

46: Ever pulled a prank, and if you did-- What was it?

47: You can be a human with fur or a dog with hair. Which do you choose?

48: In your own opinion, the weirdest advertisement you've seen?

49: Did you answer honestly to these questions?

taurus: hot

gemini: frbgthyjumj

cancer: vrhjbthjtbrbrmmrki

leo: dfghjkuytgfc

virgo: asdfghirrd

libra: pdlljsdnfkgkk

scorpio: bitch

sagittarius: ghvfhjgukhbg

capricorn: rgtmkghjyklyn

aquarius: hyjujkuikiik

fanfiction.net before they removed the NC-17 stories

going to fanfiction.net at all

going to adultfanfiction.net in the fallout of the great “purge”

figuring out that ain’t nobody actually monitoring NC-17 stories there anyway so just rate it “M”

“please R&R! concrit appreciated!”

warning: lemon

though it may be more on the limey side of lemon

“summary sux just read it”

replying to reviews in the author’s notes

Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling

Read about the ruling in The Guardian