Please note that the date for our Ancestor Ritual has been moved to November 2nd, 2019. You can find more information on our 2019 Ritual Schedule Page.
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Q: There are so many Tarot Decks, how do I choose?
A: Honestly, you can select whatever deck calls out to you. Some people think that you cannot purchase your own decks, they must be gifted to you… Personally, pish posh to that! If you wait for someone to gift you with one or wait for the perfect deck to hop in your hands you may end up waiting your whole life.
The most infamous tarot deck – Rider-Waite – tends to be the one people gravitate to first especially if you pick up an extended How To book along with the deck as most books work off of that deck.
Divination is a form of knowledge, so lift yourself up by your bootstraps and go get one. Even if the first deck you get doesn’t end up being “perfect” for you, get out there and get learning. It is through trial and error that we find out what does work best for us.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
When you’re touched by magic, nothing’s ever quite the same again. What really makes me sad is all those people who never have the chance to know that touch. They’re too busy, or they just don’t hold with make-believe, so they shut the door without really knowing it was there to be opened in the first place.
~ CHARLES DE LINT, What the Mouse Found and Other Stories
Q: Where did Tarot come from?
A: There is no agreed upon date when tarot cards as we know them came into existence. There is a theory that the origins came into being in the late 14th century with cards used in a game where they person would need to make a poetic story from the cards dealt. It is also around the same time and elsewhere in the world that playing cards depicting royalty were made using the four suits of staves, coins, cups, and swords instead of what would become hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.
We jump a few centuries to the late 18th and the cards have become more widespread and there is a written work created by Antoine Court de Gébelin. He wrote on an analysis of tarot (and many other things throughout the wold in his nine volumes) and attributed their being stemming from a holy book that came from Egypt and appeared in Europe thanks to Gypsies. Despite his baseless conclusions, the Europeans ate up every word of the mystical tarot.
Ten years later Jean-Baptiste Alliette, a known French Occultist released the first tarot deck that was specifically made for divination and wrote a book on how to use the cards as a divining tool.
Moving into the Victorian age, near every well to do family had a tarot deck due to the explosion into mysticism and the afterlife. Most house parties had entertainment that included a séance, tarot, tea leaf, or palm readings.
The most recognizable tarot deck- the Rider-Waite Tarot was first published in 1909. Arthur Waite worked with artist Pamela Colman-Smith to create the infamous deck. Over 100 years later, it is still one of the most recognizable decks and the one that most people use for imagery and symbolism references.
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.
~ R. A. SALVATORE, Streams of Silver
Q: How do I learn to read Tarot Cards?
A: Learning to read the tarot can include going off of the symbology of the cards and what you interpret them to mean, memorizing the book that comes with your tarot deck (everyone seems to have their own opinion with overarching similarities), journaling a daily diary with a meditation on the card and what impressions you get from it, reading books on tarot, taking classes on tarot (paid and free versions are available all over the internet), or diving in through dabbling.
Whatever method you have for your knowledge, tarot in many ways is very subjective. There is an overarching similarity in themes of cards, ie. The World, Death, numerical symbology, etc. however it is up to the reader with the impressions they are receiving with the reading that will likely influence how a card is or is not read. Also, it is the knowledge of the reader that _____ card means _____ that governs what is interpreted. Not all decks are created equally if you only go off of the words of the deck author.
Trust your instincts with the cards and know that there is no “one way” to make tarot work for you. Go forth and TAROT!
This Two Minute Tarot was originally presented by April Kane for White Oak Grove CUUPS August 4, 2019. ©2019 April Kane
The ancient Greeks believed that meteorites were special objects worthy of veneration. Many Greek temples enshrined rocks that had reportedly fallen from the heavens. The Perseid Meteor Shower radiates from the constellation Perseus, and is named for the sons of this ancient Greek Hero. Continue reading “5 Sacred Ideas for Harnessing the Power of Perseid Meteor Shower”
