Weekly Card – King of Cups

This week we have the King of Cups from the glorious Touchstone Tarot. Cups are associated with the element of Water, and emotions. Here’s a guy who’ll wine you and dine you, nothing’s too good for the ultimate romantic experience. All the Kings are associated with Fire, so this guy is Fire of Water. Steam. He’s no pushover, despite his loving heart. He signifies a successful man, one who is the fatherly type, very concerned with keeping those he loves happy. And this is a guy who’s up to the task. He may even dote on you a little too much, but it makes him happy to see you happy.

This is a good time to listen to the advice given from such a person, he has your best interests at heart. He will lead by example, rather than trying to crack the whip. Pay attention and he will point you in the right direction. I swear he’s been hovering nearby ready to lend a shoulder to cry on.

As a point of interest, the man depicted in the painting is Charles de Solier, Lord of Morette (1534-35), painted by Hans Holbein the Younger.  The original is in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden. The rest of the elements – the cup he holds, the pie, the seashells, the table, and the blue curtain in the background – each come from other paintings. Kat Black blended them all seamlessly into this beautiful image.

I hope you all find your King of Cups this week.

Weekly Card – Two of Wands

Ok. I pulled this a few weeks ago in another reading I did for myself over at my Tarot blog. And well, it appears the wait’s not over yet. The Wands are associated with fire, and in the Two we are sort of in a holding pattern. The Wands show some green leaves, so although they’re not in the ground, they still have energy and growth. A wealthy merchant has sent her fleetest ships out on a trade mission (maybe), looking to expand and open up new opportunities. So she stands on the balcony, waiting for the ships to return (when does my ship come in?). I’m sending mine out again, ’cause the others didn’t find the trade routes I was hoping for. There’s always another place to try.

So, let this be a week of launching new projects, and looking toward the future with optimism. Have a great week, everyone!

The Greater Part of Life is Sunshine

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. – Thomas Jefferson

Sun Card from the Touchstone Tarot

The Sun card is exactly what you would think: Success, happiness, achievement of goals and dreams. The sort of feeling you get when everything seems to be going your way. Standing in the sunshine, basking in the wonderful warmth and life-giving light. With spring around the corner we should all be seeing more sun (well, most of us. Maybe not here in the Northwest for awhile yet). The card speaks of more than literal sunshine, it’s dreams coming to fruition, joy. Like the innocent baby merrily sitting astride the lovely white pony, sunflowers reaching to the sky, we’re about to experience abundance, strength, vitality.

White horses have been long held as sacred in many cultures, and heroes and gods and goddesses were often described as riding white horses. Even Gandalf’s horse in “The Lord of the Rings”, Shadowfax, lord of all horses, was white.

So, saddle up my friends. Brighter days are coming.

Pick-Me-Upper

In an attempt to get myself through this period of the blahs, I did what any red-blooded American woman would do: I went shopping. Well, just a little. I treated myself to a new and fabulous Tarot deck, the new Touchstone Tarot by Kat Black. I’d seen the main Web site for it, along with 78Friends site that shows each card, and I have to say they are more beautiful in person. I’ve never seen gilt edging quite like this, it’s almost a mirror finish. I tried to get a photo of the side so you can see how reflective the gilt is. You can also see in this picture how thick the companion book is. (click to enlarge)

The cards measure 5″x3″, larger than many decks. They come in a sturdy hinged box covered in decorative paper. The little book that comes with the deck is nearly as tall as the deck, and is half an inch thick. It’s all black and white, but lists the source paintings for the collage images used in the deck, as listed on the 78Friends site. It’s really gorgeous, the colors are rich and the cardstock is good. It’s not quite as thick as that used in playing cards, but not paper thin either.

I’ll definitely be spending some time working with this deck over the next few weeks.