My new IG life

So I've finally created a tarot account for myself on Instagram! I'm there as @wolfofcoins if you would like to find me :)
It's a very good platform for my needs, because I never write very long blog posts anyway. And I like pictures! Lots of pictures :D I don't think I'm abandoning this blog completely, I only wanted to let you know that Instagram is a place were I'm most active at.
And because of social media I'm buying more and more decks... That might be a drawback for my minimalistic side, huh?

"Botanical Inspirations" by Lynn Araujo.

Hello to Mary-El

I have wanted this deck for a long time and I kept convincing myself I don't have to buy it. I kept being convincing for quite a while (some 1.5 years), but finally I gave up and got the deck. Then it sat for over a month on the shelf, waiting for the right moment. Today I decided to start working with it and do an interview spread I found on Katey Flowers's page .

I decided on starting with reading it completely intuitively, without reading the companion book. That's because I have a tendency to get overwhelmed and constricted by very deep meanings I find in books. I need a more relaxed approach at first.

1. What can you teach me? 9 of Wands

To show my fangs, how to be more free and brave.

2. Describe yourself. XVII The Star

I'm an inspiration.

3. Describe me. Page of Swords

I'm in a phase of putting fitting puzzles together, filling empty spaces. At the beginning of my path (so the inspiration is very much needed!).

4. How can we work together? The Fool

In various ways, aiming for deep changes and rebirth.

5. Your strengths. XV The Devil

I'm not afraid to go to dark places.

6. Your weakness. Queen of Wands

I'm not good at being a fluffy kitten. Things might get harsh.

7. Our potential together. Ace of Swords

If we work together, we'll cut to the bone, get right to the essence of the things. Without sidetracking.

So... this looks very promising (just like my reading with TdM promissed!). I only wanted to say one thing about the card stock: it is a bit disappointing :( I'm annoyed by some flawes in laminating, which are very visible on the black backs of the cards. It looks like flawed foil was used. Other than that: very excited to have this deck and to finally start working with it!

Tarot doodles

Do you doodle? I do doodle (another "Buffy" reference here ;)). Sometimes I like to add some doodles to my reading records. It's fun. Do you recognize these cards? :)

They are capybaras...

Queens from Jaśniak Tarot.

From Crystal Tarot.

Magical Forest Tarot.

TdM and Magical Forest.

TdM.

There's the girl with the cup

Sometimes it happens that a particular card starts "stalking" us. It appears in almost every spread, it jumps at us from the deck, it winks to us from the bottom of it (I almost always read the card at the bottom, as a "background/atmosphere card"). It usually symbolises something we should pay attention to, it's like a message to us. For me it's been the Queen of Cups recently. She's also my card for the next month. I wonder what she brings.

And lookie at this cute postcard I bought when I was at Castle Chillon. It reminds me of my cup lady :)

Happy Winter Solstice 2016!

I'm packing today, because we're leaving tomorrow for two and a half weeks - we're visiting our families for Christmas and New Year. This of course means I have to decide what cards to take with me. I decided on this:

Crystal Tarot and Jodorowsky-Camoin Tarot de Marseille

Jodo-Camoin is my all purpose deck I couldn't part with and from Crystal (that I also love a lot) I'm pulling cards for Sacred Days Of Yule Spread by June Kaminski. I started yesterday and plan on continuing till December 31st, so I need the deck with me. I might also do some New Year spreads with it, we'll see!

1. Mother Night of Dreams: - Dec 20th This card reminds us to look for a particular message in our dreams tonight. The ancients believed that our dreams on this night foretold some of the important events in the coming year.

I pulled out 4 of Cups.

To be honest, I didn't feel like my dreams were very profound. I did see my grandfather in the dream and he was telling me that all the signs show that the winter will be very cold. We'll see about that!

2. Yule - Winter Solstice: - Dec 21st This card shows us how best to connect to the Light within and without - it symbolizes the Birth of the Sun.

Today I got 9 of Wands.

I probably should focus on looking for new paths and new ways. I think it's a good message for the new year, especially because that's exactly what I intend on doing. Five of the Wands form a pentagram - it can be a suggestion that I will be under protection and guidance in my search, so I can proceed without worries.

Reading outside in December - tips

My first tip about reading outside is: if you only can, do it! It's a great experience and the message sounds clearer, when you're surrounded by nature. At least that's how it is for me.

Last weekend I went to read outside twice. It's December already, so I got quite cold after a while, but it was totally worth it.

If it's cold outside, I recommend taking something you can sit on (in my case it was a thick, reusable grocery bag :)) and a piece of cloth to spread your cards on (that's no matter what season you have, you always want to protect your cards). Fingerless mittens are a good solution for shuffling cards in the cold - paper gets surprisingly cold! Depending on how long you're planning to be out, you might take a thermos with hot tea or coffee inside. Plus a pen and a journal to write down your readings!

My first oracle deck is here!

Sooo, my very fist oracle deck has arrived! I'm so excited to work with it. I'm not planning to use it for divination purposes, I just want to pull one card every day (if possible) and reflect upon it. The deck is "Soulful Woman" by Shushann Movsessian and Gemma Summers (she has the last name like Buffy from "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"! How awesome is that). My purpose with these cards is to work on my self-esteem and self-love, because I'm lacking these quite a bit. This deck is a bit too "we're a part of the great universe" for me (meaning the affirmations sound too vague and I never know what to make out of such messages), but I'm planning on turning these very vague sentences into something personal and useful to me.

A card I randomly pulled to work first with was number 9 (a-hah! And I wrote about The Hermit today!). I've already started working on it, using colorful pens and pencils and all. To be honest, at some point I got quite moved in the place where I went with my musings. So I'm very hopeful for the future!

I didn't start with the card number 1, because I prefered to work on them in the order I randomly pick. It's more exciting this way. You know how it is with working on Major Arcana, always starting from The Fool and you're fed up with The Fool soon enough? Exactly.