A new book

My new tarot book has arrived!

It's "Tarot. The Open Reading" by Yoav Ben-Dov. In this book he explains his way of reading tarot - what interests me the most is his way of reading the pips (although I'm sure the other chapters will be very interesting as well). He seems to use a visual way to assign meanings to the pips, e.g.:

"4 of Swords - Restriction. The static number 4 brings out the blocking and limiting aspect of the Swords. Two pairs of curved swords create a solid border around the center. In the middle, a branch in side view completely fills the enclosure. It looks constrained, with a narrow top flower and the tip of the right-hand leaf touching the swords. Emerging on the left of the branch is what seems like a tiny white berry on a stalk". Then he gives interpretation for the card in the upright and reversed position.

Looks interesting! More on the topic when I've read the book!

Both the CBD Tarot (Tarot de Marseille restored by Dr. Yoav Ben-Dov) and the Jodo-Camoin deck I own are restored from the Conver deck, so they are similar enough for me to use my deck to work with this book :)

My year card for 2015

My year card for 2015 is VII The Chariot (I summed my birthday day and month with 2015, then summed the numerals until it gave a number between 1 and 22). It should be the time to be active, to win my goals. I will have a lot of energy and maybe a lot of travelling this year. I will regain some control over my life and gain courage for everyday struggles.

TdM Majors reflections - XV LE DIABLE and IIII L'EMPEREUR

I wanted to write down some reflections on the Tarot de Marseille Majors. I chose XV that I like a lot and IIII that I don't really like. I thought it a good exercise and opportunity to think deeper about the cards. Tarot de Marseille catches my heart by it's minimalistic look, but there's the Devil in the details!

 I must admit, I absolutely love LE DIABLE card from TdM! First of all, it's totally weird and thus making a person uneasy. It warns us about indulging in carnal pleasures, but also shows how deeply the flesh and its desires are connected to our human nature. The two horned creatures hide their hands - hands, with which we can perform so many things animals cannot. The creatures go into the world of animal instincts. We're bound to this devil/goddess and denying it, averting our eyes won't make it disappear. Moreover - it would make matters worse. Denying our own nature is lying to ourselves and stops us from finding illumination. Only after we acknowledge needs of the flesh, after we learn to respect them, can we go further on our path.

Personally I think this card holds an important lesson for me, for I used to dismiss needs of the body as less crucial to my development.

 Whenever I see the L'EMPEREUR card, I sigh inwardly. It seems that I'm a numerological Four and somehow it doesn't make me happy. I have a feeling Fours are boring, down-to-earth and stubborn. No place for imagination and adventure. I subconsciously see the Emperor as an oppressing ruler, who always wants to have his way. I'd like to find in me some warmer feelings for him.

The Emperor is well organized and likes to plan in advance, what let's him to be in control of his life. He has a strong personality and shows the way for others, he's leading the way. He learns from past events (he's facing left, the "past" direction) and uses this knowledge to built better future. In my Jodorowsky-Camoin deck (I'm using the CBD TdM in this post - it's great quality, it's free for non-comercial use and webpage-friendly! Thank you, Yoav Ben-Dov!) his eagle sits on the egg we previously see with LA PAPESSE: the Emperor builds his rule on wisdom and wise counseling.