It's Cinco de Mayo - Celebrate Your Own Personal Achievements Today

Happy Cinco de Mayo and pass me that Margarita - LOL. Well, it's WAY too early to be drinking a Margarita, but I'll stash the thought and maybe have one on Sunday. A later celebration. Of course, "Cinco" is one of those holidays that actually didn't mean much when it happened, but it became a symbol and celebration in later years. Actual Mexican Independence Day is September 16th, but people around the world celebrate "Cinco". I'm raising a virtual glass for the victory of the Battle of Puebla. 

The problem with 'Cinco' is that it plays into the sterotypes of 
the "Mexican Peasant" or "drunken Mexican" all too often. 
It's a celebration worth celebrating and a nation well worth 
it as well, but having the celebration be a drunken haze 
isn't necessary at all. 

Today's Tarot lesson quickly went through the suit of Wands - a suit of creativity and achievement, a positive suit leading to accomplishment. Although I had an easy time with yesterday's suit of Swords, I had a much more difficult time with Wands. I'll have to listen to the lesson once more and see if I can push them a bit more into my intuitive base instead of my conscious base. 

Today we reviewed the suit of Wands. Wands are creativity, 
a bright spark, positive aspects in many cases, as well 
as positive outcomes. It's a hopeful suit, but will require 
some work to get into my head and hands. 

Today is the last swimming day for the week. It's been a really good week so far, so I'm hoping to end it on a high note. Of course there are no guarantees. In my writing, our newest prompt was announced yesterday morning and although I started a tale, I'm probably going to trash it and try again. It's due on Tuesday, so it's not a major rush, but I'm finding this one a bit more challenging. What is it? We're supposed to write a story based on the prompt "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." It's a quote that's attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, although he merely quoted the words of a different author. 

Although the quote is ascribed to Teddy Roosevelt, it 
didn't originate with him. He said it though, and it took 
off from there. Every photo I looked at for this quote 
named him as the author. He had a large personality, 
so I guess it's OK for him to say this - it's a good one 
for all of us to live by. 

I did spend quite a lot of time re-taking photographs of my Swarovski crystals yesterday. It's quite a bit more intensive now - a total of ten photos for each page on Etsy. I got three pages done yesterday, and have a LOT more to go. I also changed my photo setup and I think I'm getting better photos. I'll see. I'd be delighted to show you one, but they're not loaded onto my computer yet, I'll be moving them from my phone to my computer while at work today. 

So, I'm out of here. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. In the meanwhile, please be kind, celebrate the small victories, help those who need help, and Slava Ukraini. 

Tarot and Alkagizers - Mixing Things Up

Yesterday's Tarot lesson went through the four suits - Swords, Wands, Cups and Pentacles or Coins. She touched on the major meanings and directions of each of the suits and how they would work interpreting the same event through the filter of each of the suits. I listened to the lesson again later in the day, wanting to really understand the slants that each suit can bring to the same person/event. 

The Tarot deck I'm currently using and that I'm 
totally in love with is this one - the Tarot 
of Dreams. The pictures are outstanding, the 
cards are heavy and will last for years, and my
fingers itch to handle them, so I know it's a 
total winner for me. Today we reviewed 
Swords, and of course, the cover photo is 
the Ace of Swords. So beautiful! 

Today's lesson was a quick run-through on the cards in the suit of Swords - the choices that Swords poises for each session where it is drawn. Although she suggested not listening to it again until all four suits have been reviewed, I'm probably going to take advantage of my "day off" and take one more listen. Of course, I also have a Zoom call at 11:00 am with my Living Wildfit group for "Cinco de Mayo Foods" and my regular 4:00 pm call with Aearwen, as well as grocery shopping. Ogre Juice making, and lots of work pending for my Etsy crystals pages to do. "Whew"! When I add in my three loads of laundry, it starts to look like a very busy day - LOL. 

Alkagizers are normally quite green (not as green 
as this photo, but green). Putting one small beet 
into the mix changed everything from the flavor 
profile to the color. Suddenly instead of a definite 
green color, it was pinkish/brown, like adobe 
bricks. It was very tasty though, so I call the 
experiment a win. 

Last week when I made my Ogre Juice, I decided on the spur of the moment to add one fresh beet to the mix because the beet looked pretty awesome. It was definitely a different addition. Suddenly there was a serious sweetness to the veggie smoothie, and instead of being green in color, it was closer to the color of adobe bricks. Chickie called it mud, but I termed it adobe because there was this undertone of pink to the smoothie. It was lovely, though. Very tasty. I'm back to the old "all veggie" recipe today, though, when I shop for my veggies. Unless I see something else that calls for me, I'll be sticking to the norm. 

I loved the imagery of the "Steampunk" Tarot, 
and found it was offered in two sizes - standard 
and mini. I had been looking for a smaller 
deck, so I decided to get both of them. I want
 one that's easy to carry along, but I also 
love the artwork and like large format at 
times. 

I ordered two Tarot decks yesterday from a supplier I used a long time ago with a VAST selection. I had been looking for a smaller-sized deck - I have small hands and sometimes handling the standard decks can be hard for me. So I found two of the same deck that appealed to me - the standard and the small "Steampunk" deck. So, I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow for Cinco de Mayo. Slava Ukraini. 

It's A Wild Day and Clothes That Fit - What a Concept!

I actually got a lot done yesterday, but didn't get a chance for any of the photography I needed/wanted to do. Still, I did get the new 3x3 grids set up and labelled for both the 8mm and the 6mm cubes and did a lot of errands to and fro and fro and to. As always, it was a busy, busy day. But I can say, it was also a very good one. As a final touch for the day, the Minnesota Wild won their final game of the season and carry home ice advantage into the playoffs for the Stanley Cup. So happy! 

I would dearly love the Stanley Cup to come 
to Minnesota, and we've got a team this year 
which is a strong contender. One step at a 
time. St Louis has been a problem all year, 
so hopefully the Wild will prevail. Obviously, 
given the dates on the puck, we've danced 
this dance before (but without the final 
success). 

Earlier in the week I had received an Amazon package with two new turtleneck and two new button-up shirts. I did an unscheduled laundry load yesterday to get them washed so that I can have some clothes that actually fit me instead of looking like I'm wearing my older, heavier sister's hand-me-downs. I'm slowly replacing or fixing my wardrobe (something that hasn't been done in more than a decade) and it's a lot of fun to actually fit comfortably into a size small. I'm at my High School weight and couldn't be much happier. 

I love this new shirt - the material, the 
cut and the color. I have one in a light 
grey also, and ordered a golden yellow 
and a deep red one yesterday. It fits 
really well and it's so nice to be wearing 
something that's the right size. It's not 
me in the picture, but the shirt fits me 
as well as it fits the model. 

The voting for LJ Idol stories is again open, and if you feel so inclined, I'd certainly appreciate your vote. If it doesn't count, I'm sure it will be thrown out by the moderator. Here's the link on Dreamwidth if you feel that my story about the theme "Pursuit" deserves your vote. As always, I am floored by my fellow writer, Hwango. So extremely talented! It wouldn't surprise me if s/he won the whole thing. If you get a chance to read any of her stories, you won't regret it. 

https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1114047.html

Today's Tarot lesson was one of two that concentrates on the Major Arcana - those 22 cards that stand alone in the deck. The deck I'm using has one additional card that intrigues me, although I'm unsure how to use it. It's called the "Tree of Life" and it isn't part of the Major Arcana or the four suits. It's not numbered and the format is different. I'll have to study it as an aside because I've never found this card in any other Tarot deck. But right now I'm supposed to concentrate on the one or two Major Arcana cards that call out to me. In my case, that's Strength and The Hermit, an interesting combination. (After a bit of research, the Tree of Life is the Kabballah, it also works with the Chakras. This will be fun to spend some time researching.) 

This isn't the deck I use, but Strength usually depicts a person 
and a large cat - lion or tiger. Sometimes it is only the cat, but 
that's less common. Mine is a beautiful, aloof woman with 
a fierce tiger. 

So I'm off to study some cards, wrap up some words, read some posts and generally start my day. It's starting out very well for me and I hope your day will be totally fabulous. Happy Saturday, have an excellent day and I'll return on Monday. Also, safe travels to my friend Cairistona who will be leaving to visit her daughter in Florida for a week. Have a great time! 

Revamping, Resizing, and Restoring - That's Been My Week

Today is the first day we're actually working with the Tarot cards in my course on Tarot. I'm relieved that today is a "day off" because I'll actually have a bit of down time to settle, relax, and work with them for a little while. Of course I'll have to fit that between various other errands and I also want to get some more work done on my Etsy pages. 

Right now I have photos similar to this for my Swarovski 
crystal cubes. It's good, but it can be better. I'm going to 
cut it down and do overall and in-depth photos for each 
one. I think that'll be a better direction to go in. 

After living with my Etsy 8mm Swarovski crystal cubes pages for a couple of weeks now, I want to change them. But I'll start out by revamping and rephotographing the 6mm cubes first, because I have those here and can work on them without having to pull from the shop bins. I'm not really looking forward to re-photographing them - it's actually a lot of work. But good pictures bring buyers in, and I think they're really important. 

We have a bunch of old Tandy Leathercraft 
kits similar to this that we need to sell. I think 
this type of product is better suited to Ebay than 
to Etsy, and DH was in charge of photographing 
and getting them up on that website. He took 
a lot of photos (not very good quality), but 
never got as far as getting them listed. I guess 
I'll have to take over, but not until after I've 
got the crystals completed, and that's going 
to be quite a long time. 

DH was supposed to be working on our Ebay stuff. I don't think he's done anything for at least two months. I'll have to be a bit more pushy. I can't do both - I'm quite filled up as it is. So, it's back to the drawing board on my computer and with my photos. I think I'll enjoy my working time with the Tarot cards much more than I'll enjoy going back to the beginning with a category of crystals. *sigh*

Treasured Garment Restoration has excellent 
reviews and a good reputation. Another plus 
is that I can drop the gowns off at any 
of the St Croix Cleaners locations and it'll 
get picked up and then dropped off again 
by Treasured Garment. My Mom's gowns 
are drop-dead gorgeous and need some 
tender loving care. We'll see how they do 
with this first one, but I have confidence. 

I got a phone call on Wednesday from Treasured Garment Restoration. I had brought one of my mother's cocktail dresses in to the cleaner associated with them on the 22nd. As I was leaving the shop, the clerk said she would just sit there and drool over the gown until they came to pick it up later in the day - LOL. So ... the owner of Treasured called me on the 27th, totally over the moon at the construction and condition of the gown. She said for a gown that was almost 80 years old, it was in phenomenal condition and the actual construction of the gown had floored her. So detailed, exact, and beautifully done. She had never seen anything like it before. 

I chose this gown for the test run. I knew it was 
in excellent condition and if there were any 
repairs, they were very minor. It's a side zip 
gown, and I actually can wear it. I just don't have 
any occasion to put something like this on. 
It's original velvet - long before the fake stuff, 
boned in the bodice, size zipper - metal of 
course - and absolutely stunning, one-of-a-kind. 

I said my mother had designed and sewn the gown, and it was unlikely she would ever see another one like it, but I had several more of her gowns, so if they did a good job on the one, they would eventually get all of them. I ended the conversation feeling very good about how they will care for my vintage gowns. I can't wait to see how they do with it. 

Looking at the full view, you can see the 
gown isn't draping properly. It was stored, 
along with the others, in a steamer trunk 
for decades, then in boxes in my attic. In 
a way that was hard on them, but they 
also didn't get handled, so they're actually 
almost all in excellent condition. 

Last week, I also decided to try on every skirt in my closet and cull. I ended up giving nine to Goodwill, taking four to a local tailor for resizing so that I could wear them without them falling around my ankles, and hanging 15 back into my closet. I'll pick up the resized skirts on Friday next week. I can't wait to have clothes that fit me again! 

So that's what's happening in my life right now - not drop down excitement, but at least not boring either - LOL. By the end of summer, I hope to have my whole wardrobe revamped and sized properly. It would be nice to be able to wear clothes without adding pins to keep the waistlines tight enough. Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

The Eight of Wands and What Decks Do You Like?

The Eight of Wands for direction and decision was today's guide for meditation. Thoughts about why I'm taking the course and what I want from the Tarot were the focus, and it was a valuable exercise in analyzing those two questions. Of course I know why I'm taking the course. It's been a long time since I've worked with the cards and I want to get familiar with them once again. But what I want from the Tarot is quite another question. 

One of the more standard definitions for the 
Eight of Wands is what you read above. Of 
course this isn't for the reversed card, and it 
most certainly isn't a definition carved in 
stone. But it can be helpful. 

I know there are many ways to use Tarot. Some people choose a card for the day every day. That card will guide their actions and direct their thoughts, steering their courses of action through the choices that face us every day. Other people actually carry a small deck with them and use a card to help them make decisions about things that may be important in their lives when those times crop up. I've usually not carried a deck along with me, but I might look into a small pocket deck. Having something handy might not be a bad idea. Still ... I love the deck I've chosen to work with and it doesn't come in a smaller, portable version. 

My friend Aearwen, during our weekly 
chat yesterday afternoon, mentioned that 
the Tarot deck she always loved the most 
was this one - the Aquarian Tarot. It's 
rather art neauvou in appearance, but it 
does have lovely imagery. It doesn't 
speak to me, however. 

I once knew someone who would choose a card first thing in the morning to guide their day, and then choose another at mid-day and another at sun's setting to fine-tune that guidance. Some people I've heard of will always consult the cards when major decisions are in the balance - "Should I buy a car?" "Should I get a puppy?" "Should I look for a new job?" etc. Those types of questions are certainly good reasons to ask the cards for guidence, but I'm not sure that's for me. I tend to be a decisive person all around anyway. 

The deck that most people are familiar with is this 
one - the Rider-Waite deck. I come firmly down 
on the side of "I don't like this deck" school of 
thought, although I'm quite sure I own at least 
one with this imagery. It's a good basic deck, with 
very clear images. But it really doesn't resonate 
with me at all. 

So today I'll be thinking about why I want to work with the cards. Although it might be something as simple (or complex) as scratching the psychic itch I get whenever I think of picking a deck up again, it might also be something that has a deeper rhythm behind it. It's probably beyond time for me to take a serious look at why I've wanted to work with Tarot for decades, and then actually dedicate myself to working with it more seriously. In any case, a good deck takes a long time to become an extension of thought and process, so I'll continue to carry my deck along with me and see what card I draw today for personal guidance. Have an excellent day, please spare positive thoughts for those suffering in Ukraine, and work, consciously, for peace - a goal so many state and so few achieve. Slava Ukraini. 

Tarot and Imprinting - Working On Resonance and Vibrations

It's so easy to get sucked down the Rabbit Hole. For some people that might be watching a film and trying to find other films with those actors, using that director, or in that genre. For some it might be searching out other books by a favorite author (I admit to falling down this rabbit hole fairly often). Today I got sucked down the rabbit hole of wanting to find other available courses by a spiritual instructor I'm currently listening to. And, of course, I chose this morning - a morning without extra time, to make that dive. 

It is so very easy for me to jump down into an internet 
rabbit hole. Without a firm deadline or time frame, I 
can stay searching things out for hours. It's my own 
personal hamster wheel. 

I did remember that I had to wrap this up within 30 minutes, and that's not easy to do across three platforms and adding illustrations to my off-the-cuff text. So ... I'm rushed, and I was silly, but I also found there were several additional courses or single lessons she was teaching that I might find interesting after I'm finished with the full month of exploring the Tarot. 

The new deck I purchased is this one, and I really 
love it so far. I bought it from TarotArts, although 
Amazon has it for the same cost. It's stunning. The 
illustrations are totally nom. 

I did take my new deck to the shop with me yesterday and did a thorough shuffle of the cards. I find shuffling, or even handling Tarot cards to be difficult in most cases. I have small hands - great for the intricate work I sometimes do (although my eyes aren't as good as they used to be for in-depth color work). Small hands and large cards makes for difficult shuffling. And it was a new deck. So I spread them onto the countertop and mixed them. Then did that again, and continued, until I had performed the ritual four times. Now they are thoroughly mixed and turned this way and that and I can begin to infuse them. 

I've worked with Tarot on and off for 50+ years. I 
know that the cards can resonate with people - 
differently for each one. I am attracted to some 
decks, pushed off by others. I've learned to 
follow my intuition in these matters, and I'm 
quite pleased with my new deck. 

I believe that the cards need to have a resonance. I knew from the time I opened the cards and looked at the imagery that I had chosen correctly. This will be a good deck for me to work with. But the cards have to understand me as much as I have to understand them. That will take some work. For the next week (or more), I'm just going to carry the cards along with me. They'll be in my backpack to and from the shop, they'll sometimes be in a pocket when I'm running an errand. They'll be in their protective bag, but they'll be with me. Eventually we'll resonate well together. That's my goal at least because I really want to use this deck. Being impatient, however, will accomplish nothing. Patience will pay great dividends. 

Getting a deck imprinted isn't quite as easy or as 
blatant as imprinting on an animal, but the cards, 
inanimate as they are, still have resonance. That 
resonance can be fine tuned so that it works 
easier for the reader. That takes time, but I've got 
plenty of time and the desire to really have a good 
deck that I'm comfortable with. 

So, I'm off to the swimming pool. Sorry about the brevity and single focus of today's post, but"tempus fugit". Please spare prayers for Ukraine and all who are oppressed around the world and I'll be back tomorrow. Namaste and Slava Ukraini. 

Tarot - I Can't Find My Decks, So Here's a LOTR Deck For You to Drool Over

It's finally Saturday, and after three days off work (two scheduled days off and a day off because of our computer issues), I'm heading back into the shop today. It's probably just as well. DH awakened at 4:15 am with sinus issues, so he's seated at his desk behind me, working/playing on his computer, earphones plugged into the TV while he listens to the news channel. He knows I don't want to listen to Ukraine at 4:45 am, so wisely made it silent. 

While doing a quick search for existing LOTR 
tarot cards, I came across these. I'm giving you 
information about the artist and several images 
in today's post, because they're stunning. I 
always enjoy sharing good art. 

Here, Gandalf is "The Hermit" and I think 
he makes a stunning one. I could also have 
seen Radagast in the role, but there are 
only so many slots available for our 
favorite wizard. 

I was going to start an on-line exploration of the Tarot this morning - a mindfulness course I've been looking forward to, but of course I'm not able to put my hands on any of my more than eight decks of Tarot cards. Argh! It's going to take some hunting to find them, so I switched to a different course for the time being while I track them down. 

I love that "The Fool" is Merry and Pippin. Those 
two irrepressible Hobbits are perfect for the 
role. "The Fool" is no fool. But the fool does
tend to walk in where angels fear to tread. 

Thinking about where I could have my Tarot cards stashed made me think about decks I'd love to use and Lord of the Rings came to mind. I visualized how I would construct it in my mind. Frodo would be "The Fool", I can't think of a better image for that. The major arcana would represent the four races - Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits. Swords for the men, trees for the elves, pickaxes for the dwarves and pints of brew for the hobbits, could work well for the minor arcana. This might be something I'd be interested in working on down the line, although there are already several very nice ones available. 

Frodo gets his moment in the Major 
Arcana during one of his darkest hours - 
trapped in the silken webs of Shelob. 
"The Hanged Man" is a powerful card, and 
having Frodo on it is highly appropriate. 

The deck I like the best is by a Russian artist. I'm not sure if it was ever actually published, and if it was, it's probably not very available any more. I've put a few of her Major Arcana pictures throughout this post just to allow you to see her work. Her name is Sceith Ailm on Deviant Art (Sceith-A) and she's well worth a look. 

Having Gollum for the "Wheel of 
Fortune" is brilliant. With Gollum, you 
never really knew whether you would 
have Gollum or Smeagol. The red/black 
of the wheel comes through beautifully 
in his character. 

There are other LOTR Tarot decks out there, and I know I won't have time to develop a deck of my own, so I may break down and find one to buy (not that I need yet another Tarot deck). Or not. I might just take a serious hunt for my own decks. I miss them - the feel of the cards, and that sense I get when working with them. It's been a few years since I've worked with them, I think it might be time again. Have an excellent weekend, I'll be back on Monday. Peace! Slava Ukraini. 

It's Hot - But Much Better, a Kickstarter Project and the Olympics Are Starting Soon

We've just finished our 10th day of temperatures over 90 F (32.2 C and up). Although we sometimes get extended hot days in July or in August, having this in June is unusual and unwelcome. I want temps back to the "normal" 70 F - 85 F range again, please, and today the Weather Gods are expected to finally deliver a bit of cool! After my run this morning, I took a cold shower, and still had another hour mopping my face and head with a towel before I was finally cooled off. Ridiculous! It makes me want to wander in the forests, but there aren't any forests nearby, and I'm sure the mosquitoes in our more northern forest lands are almost unbearable (along with other flying insects that will adore our heat wave). I guess I'll stay in suburbia, encourage my baby tomatoes to grow big and strong and red, and live with our temporary heat wave. 

One of my favorite tarot decks is my "Gilded Tarot" deck. 
It's a beauty - wonderful illustrations, heavy gilt-edged 
card stock and a good, sturdy case. When I use my 
Good/Evil avatar, those two illustrations are from my 
Gilded Tarot. 

I know I have some friends who read my blog and who might be interested in a new Kickstarter project called "The Literary Tarot". You might remember that I adore Tarot decks. I have quite a few different decks, currently somewhere in the chaos of my studio. But I know they're there somewhere - LOL. As interesting as this deck looks, I probably won't buy it. It's got a different slant to the illustrations, and I thought some of you might be interested. It has more than 7000 backers as of this morning, so it's obviously hitting a chord. There are 78 cards, and there will be 78 authors and 78 pairings. How does that work? Let me try to explain. 

The Literary Tarot's pictures are lush and stunning, 
with literary references throughout. If you're 
interested, they have both a digital version and a 
hardcopy version available at various price points, 
coming in at around $50 for the physical 
version

The Literary Tarot works with classic literature, some amazing authors and top-level cartoonists. Each author was asked to pair one Tarot card with a seminal book that portrayed and embodied the meaning of the arcana. How did this work? For example, Margaret Atwood paired Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" with The Queen of Light card. Chelsea Cain paired Agatha Christie's "Poirot Investigates" with The Explorer, Patrick Rothfuss paired Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote" with The Fool, and Roxane Gay partnered Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" with The King of Parchment. As you can tell, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on in this Kickstarter project. If you're interested in learning more, simply Google Kickstarter and search for "The Literary Tarot". If I was in the market for yet another Tarot deck, I'd be nabbing this one. I'm sure it will remain perched in my mind as a possibility for quite a long time to come. There's even a Tolkien who contributed - Simon Tolkien, to be precise - JRR Tolkien's grandson. 

I have loved watching the singles and the synchronized 
diving competitions since I was a small child. I never 
had the inner ear balance to achieve success in diving, 
nor the speed for racing, but I do love the water sports. 
I'm starting to get excited about the Tokyo Olympics. 

It's hard to believe, given how difficult it was to cool down this morning, but I just took a look at my outside temp and we're actually in the mid-60's, instead of the upper 70's or early 80's. We might be cresting out in the upper 80's today instead of the upper 90's or over 100 as the previous few days. OMG - it's a cold snap - LOLOL. I spent an entertaining few minutes this morning watching the Olympic trials for men's synchronized diving - it's always such a pleasure to watch. I'm starting to get into an Olympics mode now ... are you? There are new events this year including skateboarding, which has two 12-year-old competitors and a 42-year-old. Massive age spread that has only been surpassed by equestrian events in past Olympics. We're also getting close to July, when I'll be wrapped up in Tour de France. Summer is just flying by, and it's only mid-June! 

These are the members of the USA Skateboarding Team for 
this year's Olympic games. They are running two different 
courses - street and park. Want to know more about this 
new discipline? There's an article here - 
https://www.boardworld.com.au/articles/olympic-skateboarding-6-things-we-know

Have a wonderful, excellent and marvelous day and a glorious weekend. I'll be back on Monday. Meanwhile, please stay safe and be kind. 

Good Inbolc and Happy Groundhog Day

Today is the beginning of Inbolc - the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It's also Groundhog Day, so let's hope that furry critter forecasts an early Spring. In a specific Tarot spread of the Celtic Calendar, Inbolc is IX - The Veiled Lamp. The reading of the man passing through non-physical worlds silently, his lamp showing him the way. He seeks wisdom and walks through with detached perception. 

I'm not fond of the Rider Waite Smith
deck, but have many other Tarot decks
I prefer. Here, The Vailed Lamp is from
 an Egyptian-styled deck and the lamp 
is an ancient-styled oil lamp. 

In the Standard Calendar Tarot spread, February is VIII - Justice - The Balance and the Sword. It denotes the search for truth and justice without prejudice and works towards  balanced interpersonal relationships with harmony as the ultimate goal. So either way you look at it, it should be a pretty good month. 

In a different Egyptian-influenced Tarot 
deck, this is VIII Justice - Ma-at, who 
was associated with justice at the final 
weighing of the heart. I don't own 
this deck, but the pictures are stunning. 

One of the (many) problems that go along with setting up a new piece of computer equipment is getting things set up the way I want and remembering which programs I have linked to each other. That failed me yesterday and will probably cause ripples for a while, when I accidentally ended up changing my Google log-in while searching for a program I forgot I had linked to Google. I had to set up a new password, and I'm probably going to be stumbling over log-in blockades for a while until I've caught all of them. Ick! 

Windows 10 and I are coming to a grudging understanding. I 
do love the variety and photography of the wallpapers I 
can have flashing on my screen. Yesterday's choice was 
Colors of Autumn - stunning and enjoyable. I'll pick a 
different screen saver grouping for today. 

Yesterday was also the first day of "trial by fire" of the new laptop, and I have concluded that I do love it. The screen is quite a bit smaller than my old laptop, but I'm getting used to that because the resolution of the monitor is stunning. I didn't get a chance to pair my wireless earbuds with it yet, but the actual soundbar of the computer is awesome! I've been hitting my Spotify playlists in the early morning - great fun, good music. 

One of the really awesome things about my new 
computer is the cover - it's real leather in a deep black 
tone, textured the way leather should be. It makes it 
tactile and warm instead of aloof and cold the way 
a metal casing would. I was trying out names yesterday 
and "VooDoo" seems to be one it likes. I'll try it 
for a while and see if it sticks. Otherwise, "Anubis" 
is another possibility. 

The new laptop backpack is great. It is smaller than my old carryall, but that's good in a lot of respects. It means I can't stuff it full of paperwork - I actually have to deal with the paperwork I generate and put it away properly. Shock! I'm liking the entire package though, and it came just in the nick of time since I don't think Franken-Smaug will start up any more. I'm not destroying Franken-Smaug quite yet, I may still need something on there that didn't get transferred properly, but after a couple of months, I'll pull the hard drive and smash it to bits. Then I can get rid of the casing. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hope all of you have a fabulous first day of Inbolc and that you are treated kindly by any and all you interact with today. I'm hoping my friends on the East Coast didn't get too pounded by this latest snowstorm. It sounds like it was a doozy! Have a good day, be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Hunker Down and I Got Cards

Today starts nasty weather time, especially on the East Coast of the US, but we'll get our next storm on Saturday/Sunday/Monday. The East Coast will be slammed beginning this afternoon, receiving a speculated one to two feet of snow depending on location. That's a lot of snow for anyone, so my thoughts go out to them, especially those who are still impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Hang in there, spring will come eventually.

We'll get our next snowfall beginning Saturday afternoon, moving into Sunday. The forecast is for a total accumulation of a bit less than a foot over 24 hours. Because it will be over a period of time we'll be able to keep up with it (since I still don't have the snowblower that I was promised years ago - sigh). I guess we'll get our exercise, but I think that most of the action will be on Sunday which is my day off in any case. I can work with it if I have to.

The Gilded Royale deck is just scrumptious. It is

beautifully illustrated, heavy stock, with a full

CD-rom accompanying it. I'm really happy with it.

I now have five wonderful Tarot decks in my possession. I'm very happy :-) They are varied and each one is beautiful in its own way. I opened two of the decks and have started shuffling and getting them tuned. It's rather amusing - I opened the largest and the smallest decks that I have. I have very small hands so shuffling larger decks is very hard for me. But I figure if I really work at it I'll manage to work it out.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore Ancient

Egypt. Although there are many decks with an

Egyptian theme, the Ibis deck was the one I chose.

The Vanessa deck is purely for the fun of it. It's

a small deck in a tin container, so easy to carry

with me, and the illustrations are campy and fun.

Revisions, Retrenches, Rethinking

So yesterday I posted about the difficulties I was having with my newest o-fic story and how it just wasn't working. I put more thought into it and decided to scrap the storyline completely and begin again with a different story track. Now the story is flowing and I see where it is heading. Since today is my "day off", I'll continue working on it between shoveling more snow, shopping for groceries and doing laundry. Tonight I want to work on some beta work that I owe to Lai, so I'll be at my keyboard for the rest of the day, at least as much as possible.

I ordered several different Tarot decks on Sunday night that are on their way to me now. In the interim I've been playing with a daily free reading on facade.com to get a basic feel for the cards again even though I'm not holding virtual cards in my hands. I've got to say that I've never had such negative readings in my life and it makes me wonder if I'm such a horrible person.  I know I'm selfish and can be single-minded and overly focused in my endeavors, but the virtual cards have really been kicking my butt (even though they have chosen some interesting decks.

Yesterday's random deck chose the Voodoo Tarot of New Orleans for a Shadow Truth 5-card spread, supposedly chosen to illuminate things I would be hiding from myself. The first card, the "Attitude You Assume" was "The Tower" - unforeseeable catastrophe. I usually associate The Tower with throwing out elements that don't work - a psychic cleansing, but decided to go with their definition for this spread. The 2nd card was for "Underlying Thoughts and Feelings" and was the Nine of Cups (reversed) meaning vanity, conceit, smugness and overindulgence. Ick! I don't want to be perceived as smug!

The New Orleans Voodoo Deck is one I would never have chosen.

Card #3 was for "Evolving Attitudes" and the card was a Wild Card (reversed). This is a non-standard card unique to this deck so I have no equivalent in other decks. Their interpretation was "The most extreme of unexpected events, leading to shock and humiliation. The invasion of everyday life by forces primal or transcendental. Sex, violence, and regret." OK...Double ICK!!  No...really don't want this!

Appropriately for New Orleans, the Tower

card is actually called the Deluge card.

So working through to the last two cards, #4 was for "Perception of Others" with the Ace of Swords standing for meeting a challenge and new ideas and information. This was MUCH better. The final card, #5, stands for "What I am Hiding From Myself" and that toppled right back into the negative personality aspect with the Nine of Disks (reversed). This card implies elitism, snobbery (here I go...a snob again), a lack of discipline and contempt for labor. Oh dear...I guess I have to get back into the groove again to get this better.

The Ace of Swords card is rather bizarre in this deck.

So...if others do perceive me as a snob, how best to change that? I'm not saying I'm not one - I can be high-handed and have a delusional sense of self-importance and I am well aware of that. I also know that this is armor that I have carefully crafted year after year that I place between myself and my dark sides of depression and suicidal thoughts. So, maybe I'm not too willing to give up the plate armor just yet. I built it for very good reasons.

It is a little elaborate for my personal armor...but so pretty!

So how would you do? The website is facade.com. Go take a look under Tarot and see what you get for your daily free reading. It can be illuminating, although it may also cause you to think thoughts that might be uncomfortable.

Old Tools Rediscovered

I was reading a novel yesterday that had a Tarot card reader as its main character. It brought back memories of when I used to work with the cards. It's been many years, but I used to work with Tarot cards quite a bit for grounding and meditation. I used the standard Rider-Waite Tarot which is very common, and probably the imagery that most people would think about when Tarot occurs to them. And even though the messages came through, I always had difficulties working with these cards. But I came to realize that it was not the correct deck for me.

The Rider-Waite deck is the most widely used deck in the world.

I want to explore Tarot again and decided to start looking at what was available. The book I was reading was a nice jumping off place, mentioning the Morgan-Greer and Yeager decks as well as the Hanson-Roberts deck so there I had three other possibilities in front of me. I decided to start some research.

The Morgan-Greer deck is Rider-Waite based but brighter.

I spent a very pleasant hour (actually, probably closer to two hours to be truthful) looking at tarot card decks and looking at the artwork. Some of them are so incredible. But I also know that any deck(s) I might buy also have to be something that speaks to me. A deck that doesn't speak will just end up being another Rider-Waite to me and will never be used. So, if I want to actually meditate with a deck and do occasional spreads I have to have a deck that will feel right in my hands, that will have images that I love, and that can be easily neutralized after each reading to allow clarity of thought and process.

The Hanson-Roberts deck is another very popular style of tarot.

So I'm looking very carefully through the decks and making my list of what decks appeal to me. I've decided that I can allow myself to purchase two decks as a celebration. What am I celebrating? My publisher just sent me the contract for the print version of Dragonthology yesterday, so we'll not only be an e-book, but we'll also have a print presence. I'm thrilled about that, and I am going to enjoy looking through these decks of distinctive artwork to determine which ones I want as my special gifts.

Superbowl 2013 features the Baltimore Ravens going 

against the San Francisco 49'ers.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl. For those of my friends outside the US (or some within the US), it is the culmination of the football season. I will be glued to the TV watching the commercials (and some of the game) and I will be noshing on chips and spicy hamburger dip, shrimp and cocktail sauce, and other assorted sundry items. I love Superbowl Sunday and plan to have a wonderful day watching the game with DH and looking at the commercials. Have a wonderful weekend.