I recently finished reading The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow. In it, he shows how our lives are ruled by random chance, and talks about the statistics and theories that rule this randomness. I found this book very interesting. Mlodinow did a great job of providing examples of how we view randomness incorrectly in our lives everyday. One particular example, dealing with how statistics are manipulated and the Prosecutor’s fallacy, helped me to really understand that there are lots of ways to look at something beyond what is presented to us. In his example, Mlodinow…
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Not surprisingly, I’m a bit behind when it comes to the exercises with the Gaian Tarot and the online community. When you have a toddler, life isn’t always what you’d like it to be. And, yeah, that is a bit of an excuse, but it is also true. Anyway, today I am having a bit of a hard time with the Seeker. I believe in my last post I mentioned that life is a bit uncertain around here. Okay, in all honesty, life is generally always uncertain. But we are waiting for more information and someone else to make up…
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I recently joined the Gaian Tarot Circle, an online community for Joanne Powell-Colbert’s wonderful Gaian Tarot deck. And, although I have hardly dived into it, I already have this feeling of community. I know all the people there love this deck at least as much as I do, and that they are all intent on learning more about the cards and themselves. Part of the Gaian Tarot Circle is dedicated to a monthly study of one of the cards. And, as befits a new community, the first card is The Seeker. (You can see it here.) In working through the…
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May 25th is World Tarot Day, a celebration of that wonderful wicked pack of cards. For some fun and games, check out the Church of Tarot. Also be sure to checkout WorldTarotDay on Twitter for more events and information.
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There is something about the images on Tarot cards that enchants me. It doesn’t matter which deck, the images still call to me, daring me to discover their secrets, and my own. Every time I look at a deck, I learn something new. Today, I was thinking about The Chariot and Strength. I feel that a corner is turned as we move from card 7 to card 8 (which I always see as Strength). Take a look at the images on most RWS-based decks and their meanings to see what I mean. In the Chariot we have control of our…
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Back in December, I signed up for a free teleconference about an oracle deck I had picked up a little while before. The deck is The Anubis Oracle, by Nicky Scully and Star Wolf, illustrated by Kris Waldherr (who created The Goddess Tarot and The Lover’s Path Tarot). I was really interested to hear what the creators had to say about the deck, partly because I was a little skeptical about it. The deck, accompanying book, and a sister book (Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt) are all the result of channelling. And, as I’ve said before, I’m not sure how I…
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Joanna over at the Gaian Tarot Artist Journal announced yesterday that she has a publishing contract for her wonderful deck: Gaian Tarot Publishing News. The deck is on tap to be published by Llewellyn in 2012. I sincerely hope they do a good job on this lovely deck. But, for those who don’t want to wait, or aren’t so sure about Llewellyn decks, Joanna will be offering a special collector’s edition of the deck. I’m starting to save my pennies already. In semi-related news, Nicki Scully and Linda Star Wolf are offering a free phone lecture about there wonderful Anubis…
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Lately I’ve been reading biographies of Aleister Crowley in an attempt to better understand the man who had a great influence on both the modern Western Mystery Tradition and on Tarot. Of the three books I read, the last, Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley by Lawrence Sutin, was really the only one that dug into his magic(k)al work. In that book, I came across a really interesting quote from Crowley about Tarot. (I believe it actually originates from The Book of Thoth, but I have yet to work my way through that tome.) He says: The…
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The Touchstone Tarot is now available for pre-order through The Tarot Connection Store. (I believe Tarot Garden will be taking pre-orders.) It is a limited edition of 500 decks, which include a signed title card and a lovely handmade bag. The cars will be 3″ x 4″, a great size, I think. While the price is a little steep in my opinion, there is also supposed to be a mass market edition released sometime in 2009 by Kinati. So, there is another option. And, if you love the Touchstone Tarot, there is also a Facebook group you can join. It…
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My interest in Tarot is probably well known to all readers of my blog. For those who don’t know, I’ve been reading Tarot off and on for over 15 years. I’m going through one of my more off than on periods right now, mostly because taking care of little Baby C (now just over 5 months old) doesn’t leave much mental capacity for Tarot. Regardless of my current level of activity with Tarot, I’m still very interested in it, and am actively following the creation process of several upcoming decks. Perhaps my favourite of the lot is the Gaian Tarot…