Surprise! You get one extra day to enter our CARD OF THE WEEK contest!

Hey, all! Guess what?

I'm offering an extra day for you to get your contest entries in, and I've repeated all the instructions below!

Please be sure to reach me with your guesses by tomorrow afternoon--Tuesday, February 1, 5pm Eastern Time.

And Happy Lunar New Year!

Your hostess, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

  

Card of the Week???

It's a mystery!

 

January 31-February 4, 2022: 

Surprise! 

Today, you can enter this contest to win a free reading!

How?

Guess the Tarot CARD OF THE WEEK (January 31 through February 4), posting your guess to me today via the Contact Eva form, Facebook Messenger, Twitter direct message, or direct email, if you have it.

Your entries must include your email address and reach me by 5pm Eastern today, February 1.

******

To win the top prize--a free 60-minute Zoom reading--you must guess the exact card.

Note: To make this easier and more uniform, the card will be drawn from a deck based on Rider-Waite-Smith structure and imagery.

Daunting, I know. But do give it a shot!

******

Plus, you have other chances to be a winner! Check this out:

If your guess fits either of the following criteria, you will win a free one-card reading that covers one specific question by email or brief mp3 recording:

• if the correct card is a Major Arcana card, and your guess is another one of the Major Arcana cards (e.g., The Empress is correct, and you've guessed The Chariot)
  

• if the correct card is a court card (Queen, King, Knight, or Page), and you've guessed the exact court figure even if it is from a different suit (Swords, Wands, Pentacles or Cups). So, if the King of Cups is the correct card, and you've guessed the King of Pentacles, you win.

If your guess fits either of the following criteria, you will win a free generic one-card reading by email or brief mp3 recording (note: not covering a specific question):

• if the correct card has the same element (Sword/Air, Wands/Fire, Pentacles/Earth, or Cups/Water) as the card you guessed, you win. You guessed Six of Wands and the correct card was Four of Wands.
  

• if the correct card is a number card with the same number as the card you guessed. So, if the 10 of Cups is the correct card, and you guessed 10 of Swords, you win.

******

Again, here are the contest instructions:

You must post your guess to me today via one of the following:

• Contact Eva form (in the right column of this blog)
  

• Facebook Messenger

• Twitter direct message

• Direct email, if you have it. 

To be eligible, your entries must include your email address and reach me absolutely no later than 5pm Eastern today, February 1.

The CARD OF THE WEEK will be announced in a hummingwitch post and on social media on the morning of Wednesday, February 2 and arrangements can then be made with all winners by email for either the one-hour Zoom session or a brief one-card reading.

Please play along! Don't stress! Have fun!

GUESS THE CARD OF THE WEEK! January 31-February 4, 2022

Your hostess, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

  

Card of the Week???

It's a mystery!

 

[Click here for an important update to this post!]

******

January 31-February 4, 2022: 

Surprise! 

Today, you can enter this contest to win a free reading!

How?

Guess the Tarot CARD OF THE WEEK (January 31 through February 4), posting your guess to me today via the Contact Eva form, Facebook Messenger, Twitter direct message, or direct email, if you have it.

Your entries must include your email address and reach me by 5pm Eastern today, January 31.

******

To win the top prize--a free 60-minute Zoom reading--you must guess the exact card.

Note: To make this easier and more uniform, the card will be drawn from a deck based on Rider-Waite-Smith structure and imagery.

Daunting, I know. But do give it a shot!

******

Plus, you have other chances to be a winner! Check this out:

If your guess fits either of the following criteria, you will win a free one-card reading that covers one specific question by email or brief mp3 recording:

• if the correct card is a Major Arcana card, and your guess is another one of the Major Arcana cards (e.g., The Empress is correct, and you've guessed The Chariot)
  

• if the correct card is a court card (Queen, King, Knight, or Page), and you've guessed the exact court figure even if it is from a different suit (Swords, Wands, Pentacles or Cups). So, if the King of Cups is the correct card, and you've guessed the King of Pentacles, you win.

If your guess fits either of the following criteria, you will win a free generic one-card reading by email or brief mp3 recording (note: not covering a specific question):

• if the correct card has the same element (Sword/Air, Wands/Fire, Pentacles/Earth, or Cups/Water) as the card you guessed, you win. You guessed Six of Wands and the correct card was Four of Wands.
  

• if the correct card is a number card with the same number as the card you guessed. So, if the 10 of Cups is the correct card, and you guessed 10 of Swords, you win.

******

Again, here are the contest instructions:

You must post your guess to me today via one of the following:

• Contact Eva form (in the right column of this blog)
  

• Facebook Messenger

• Twitter direct message

• Direct email, if you have it. 

To be eligible, your entries must include your email address and reach me absolutely no later than 5pm Eastern today, January 31.

The CARD OF THE WEEK will be announced in a hummingwitch post and on social media on the morning of Tuesday, February 1 and arrangements can then be made with all winners by email for either the one-hour Zoom session or a brief one-card reading.

Please play along! Don't stress! Have fun!

 

Something fun arrives for you tomorrow! Don't miss it!

 

The Canoe and Four of Water

Gaian Tarot

by Joanna Powell Colbert

 

Hey, hummingwitch readers, be sure to check out tomorrow morning's post without delay!

For now, that's all I'm saying!

See you bright and early tomorrow! In the meantime, have a lovely Sunday!

 

******

UPDATE: Click here for more information.

CARD OF THE WEEKEND: January 29-30, 2022

 

Six of Cups

Above: from Dragon Tarot by Peter Pracownik

under the direction of Terry Donaldson

Below: from Universal Waite Tarot, Pamela Colman Smith art for Rider-Waite Tarot,

recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

January 29-30, 2022: Dragon Tarot is best for folks who love dragons and dragon lore from cultures around the globe. As a reader's deck, though, it requires you to really know your Tarot structure and traditions as the images either do not show enough specific and relatable symbols to help a novice reader or are idiosyncratic. It's part of my collection--a review copy, if I recall--though I have never used it for readings for myself or others. I almost did not include it in this series.

Flipping through it, however, I deliberately chose, for this weekend, the Six of Cups, a card that actually has a specific, non-traditional meaning for me. Whenever this card comes up in a one-card draw or within a layout, it signifies the immediate loving, helpful, and protective presence of one or more spirits, ancestral or otherwise. This works for me, and it can sometimes prove relevant in readings for others.

As you see above, Peter Pracownik's Six of Cups differs dramatically from the bucolic setting of the Rider-Waite-Smith model. It's one of the deck's dreamier, more enjoyable images--a dragon ship, with its dragon herald, leading a fleet of others out to sea, their way lit by the full moon and stars.

Honestly, though, I don't know how any of that squares with what this deck's Little White Book (LWB) tells us about "learning to live in harmony with those around you," but that's in the nature of a lot of these tiny, inserted guidebooks which are best to ignore.

Maybe this dragon card can suggest a fleet of fierce and loving spirit guides coming to take care of you and navigate the way for you--a fun way to interpret it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 28, 2022

 

The Fool

from Golden Tarot

by Kat Black

 

January 28, 2022: At first glance, the Fool figure from Kat Black's Golden Tarot appears to calmly play her goat-skinned frame drum to the apparent delight of her guardian dog. Look more carefully, though, at the bottom of the card, and you'll suddenly notice where these two friends are standing. She has walked to the very edge of a precipice and, as she plays, she gazes far beyond.

Inspired by the art of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, the gilt-edged Golden Tarot has always felt to me more like a precious collector's piece than an everyday, workhorse deck. But it can also be a good storytelling deck for active readers, and this Fool captures my imagination.

We can imagine any number of things that might have led The Fool to this place of urgency. Unlike so many more traditional Tarot Fools, this one does not carry a sack or small satchel of belongings--only her drum. Her magick is worked through sound--the drum, perhaps the voice--and one can imagine that these vibratory energies carry for miles into the space before her and around her.

Having a history with both Middle Eastern dance and Women's Spirituality rituals that often incorporated the playing of frame drums, I can hear The Fool's playing and know how that instrumental and vocal music may be adaptable to many needs.

How does it sound to you today? What sound(s) do you need?

This card heralds the unfolding journey of Tarot. What does it signify for you today?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 27, 2022

 

Justice

from The Wild Unknown Tarot

by Kim Krans

 

January 27, 2022: At a quick first glance, this card from The Wild Unknown Tarot might look like an Ace of Swords, but it is really Justice.

The tip of the sword at the center of Kim Krans' image points towards and balances in the air over a small, geometrical object split into a dark half and a light half, just as the two kitty cats turning to gaze in your direction are color opposites--white and black. Their tails sweetly overlap. And there is no judgment in their difference--just difference. Both are needed here.

Krans conceived of this image as a reflection on Justice's exacting quest for harmony, for leveling the playing field, and correcting imbalances. As your Card for the Day, Justice could be asking you to find a way to take a little bit of everything and pull it all together. In doing so, you might make something larger, stronger, more durable, and certainly more interesting.

Aside from possibly asking for treats, like any cat will do, what might these felines be asking of you as they stare?

My wife gave me this Valentine's Day card in 2013!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 26, 2022

 

Page of Cups

Morgan-Greer Tarot

art by Bill Greer under the direction of Lloyd Morgan

 

January 26, 2022: Page of Cups is a gentle soul--loving, expressive, dreamy, creative, tenderhearted, vulnerable, all so well evoked by the sweet image in Bill Greer's Morgan-Greer Tarot. The flow of all of that beautiful blue color speaks to the element of Water symbolized by the Cups cards. (Astrology folks, think Pisces.) Deep rose and red colors symbolize the heart and a rush of vitality. The radiant gold goblet with its leaping fish is an emblem of abundance and generosity.

This Page can be, as is traditional to Tarot, a youngster, literally, but could also apply to qualities in a person of any age that are traditionally associated with youth. The Page can even describe the early stages of an object, issue, or situation--for example, the first iteration of a creative project or early samples of a business product in development.

So, the task today will be to see how any of this broad spectrum of possibilities might apply to you specifically (or someone around you) and to watch for ways in which it plays out, which could be more or less positive.

Are you feeling unusually sensitive today? Are you feeling less sure of yourself (or of something) than usual? Are things or ideas seeming are little more watercolored or even foggy than you are accustomed to them being, less sharp and boldfaced?

The challenge for the Tarot counselor is to catch a vibe from you and your questions and narrow down a huge range of possible meanings for any card or combination of cards. And guess what? That's fun!

The Page of Cups, as it happens, is particularly skillful at exactly that. So, let this Page be your guide. If you've been following these hummingwitch posts and trying your hand at card divination, today would be a good day to soften and settle into your intuition, your vibing abilities, and release the need to immediately analyze.

Gaze at a card, and notice how you are feeling. No need to get an interpretation right away. For the moment, just be there. Be there with yourself. Being there, fully, will prime the pump; eventually, information will flow.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 25, 2022

 

 Above: Four of Wands

Below: Queen of Pentacles and Queen of Swords

Morgan-Greer Tarot

art by Bill Greer under the direction of Lloyd Morgan

 

January 25, 2022: You've been following hummingwitch's CARD OF THE DAY since last November, and I hope you've found it not just an entertaining feature but, in its own way, a mini-course in Tarot reading. I suspect a lot of you have picked up good tips and tools from the examples I've offered. I certainly hope you've been inspired by what you've found here.

So, now let's put some of this knowledge to fun use!

Your cards of the day come from the vivacious (and, to me, very talky) Morgan-Greer Tarot.

Our top card--Four of Wands--can express collaboration and the good feeling of doing things with the support of reliable and resourceful friends. A positive sharing of energies and responsibilities. 

Our other two cards--Queen of Pentacles and Queen of Swords--might represent two very powerful friends, indeed. The queens differ in nature but are both brilliant and wise, having a 360-degree, multidimensional knowledge of their realm of influence: all things suggested by the element of Earth (Pentacles) and all things suggested by the element of Air (Swords).

If they were to have a conversation, what would be the energy vibe around each, what would be their primary concerns, and how would each express herself?  What might they say to each other?

What do you think it means that the Pentacles queen is gazing at the Swords queen while the Swords queen is gazing directly at you?

There are so many questions we could ask, but these should get you started somewhere. Let them take you wherever you feel moved to go. Observe, listen, have fun.

If you'd like to share with me, I would love to hear your thoughts about this conversation which, perhaps, might include you as a third conversant! Write to me here (using the Contact Eva form) or post your comments on Facebook or Twitter so we can all learn together.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 24, 2022

 

The High Priestess

from Morgan-Greer Tarot

Art by Bill Greer under the direction of Lloyd Morgan 

 

January 24, 2022: I didn't know how much I missed Bill Greer's Morgan-Greer Tarot until I recently laid eyes on some images from it online. This deck was an old favorite, saturated in luscious color--I am a color girl!--with clear illustrations of figures that seem to pop out from their backdrops and spill their secrets. And can they chat? Honey!

I consulted it often, and happily, for myself and for my querents.

I don't recall the circumstances under which I gave it away years ago. Maybe I'd become convinced I needed to work with more sophisticated-looking decks, I don't know. But, after a fruitless search, I realized that I no longer had Morgan-Greer in my collection. I went back online. Relieved to see that it was still available and at a normal price, I snapped one up.

Today's card--High Priestess--might be saying, "There's a reason for delay. I'm getting things ready. And, most important, I'm getting you ready."

Pointing to her scroll of secrets, HP adds, "I have the plan right here. Don't worry."

Whatever lies beyond the veil stretched behind her will be revealed only when the time is right. Only then.

In the meantime, prepare. Here's a test to take, and you would do well to take and pass it. You're going no further until you show respect for the process and ability to rise to the occasion--which is nothing less than becoming a more you-er you, in the best sense.

The next step will require much of you. Get serious. Pay attention. She's there to help. But she will hinder and hold you back unless you do the work. It's time to face the next challenge and grow through it.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE WEEKEND: January 22-23, 2022

 

Ioho/Yew

from The Celtic Tree Oracle

by Liz Murray and Colin Murray with art by Vanessa Card

 

January 22-23, 2022: This soulful deck, though technically owned by my wife, lives in my stash of collected decks. Although I had quite forgotten its existence, I can tell it's hers and not mine because she inscribed the side of its book with her name!

This series of CARD OF THE DAY posts has been a great excuse to revisit the many decks I've collected over decades--some bought, some delivered as review copies, some dearly loved, some regretted. (There are some you'll never see featured on this blog because...Tarot artists, what were you thinking?) It has also given me a longing for at least two decks I gave away years ago. I just bought a new copy of one of those, happily still available at a normal price, and we might take a look at that one next week!

For this weekend, here's a card--Ioho, or Yew--from The Celtic Tree Oracle, which pleases the tree-hugger in me. To hug this particular tree, though, you might find yourself mystically transported into an ancient cemetery where--authors Liz Murray and Colin Murray tell us--the Breton Celts of France believed these yews "grow a root into the open mouth of each corpse." A fascinating image I now cannot shake. Okay...

Ioho/Yew brings word of life springing from death and decay. In that way, its Tarot equivalent might be the Judgement card, number XX. Both are cards of awakening, rebirth, regeneration. The human figures in Judgement answer the angel's clarion call to arise. All hope is not lost.

Your contemplation for this weekend: 

What--in yourself, in your life--needs a wake-up call? What wishes to bring forth new life, a new beginning? What has been stuffed away--like this deck!--and wants a fresh chance out in the world?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 21, 2022

 

The Magician and Four of Earth (Four of Pentacles)

Gaian Tarot

by Joanna Powell Colbert

 

January 21, 2022: Your cards, today, come from Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot, and I am totally here for her depiction of The Magician with all of the elemental tools of magick and a lemniscate of eternity floating above--all of that traditional. In Gaian's charming image, though, this mage is Black, dreadlocked, and shown joyfully playing a djembe drum.

Don't miss, if you can make it out in this photo, the ghostly hands, also at work, in the card's background. These are the hands of the ancestors directing The Magician's actions. Know your tools, and know your power, but know your tools and power are not entirely your own. They serve more than just you.

Your additional card, Four of Earth (Four of Pentacles), is also charming and advises you to gather your well-deserved rewards for every effort you've made. Don't settle for less.

On a mundane level, the Four of Pentacles most often refers to compensation for work done or the fair exchange of money or material goods. Otherwise, though, you might use this card to reflect upon issues you might have with worthiness, unfairness, imbalance within exchanges, theft of what's rightly yours--including credit for your achievements, inability to ask for what you want or need, or finding the right approaches to advocating for yourself.

These cards work together for you today! Our squirrel friend has done the labor of gathering what it needs and knows exactly where to go to find and enjoy this stash. The mage has every element necessary arranged on the altar before the drum and plays the drum to call down as well as celebrate the inspiring and fortifying presence of the ancestors.

******

I know some of you have been following these postss since I revived hummingwitch and started this series back in early November 2021. You've been dusting off your once-forgotten decks or trying out card divination and contemplation as new, exciting practices. I really appreciate the affirmations and comments I've gotten on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you!

Should you have questions about working with the cards, please don't hesitate to ask for my counsel. I've been at this practice for decades, and I'm sure you can tell I totally love this stuff and love sharing it! :-)

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 20, 2022

 

 Eight of Cups

Spiral Tarot

by Kay Steventon

 

January 20, 2022: Kay Steventon's Eight of Cups from Spiral Tarot beckons you towards the as yet unknown.

Although there is an abundance of satisfaction in one's place of comfort--so many golden goblets gained, so much rich fertility--it's time to move on.

Yes, pluck a flower. Just the right one. For memory. But moonlight calls, and a night of undiscovered wonders. You are meant to find your way, and you will.

Carefully examine all that has been. Sort things out. Choose what stays behind. Choose what is worth carrying with you. Be clear in these distinctions. And then, friend, move forward.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 19, 2022

 

Five of Cups

(above) Universal Waite Tarot (Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts)

(below) Oriens Animal Tarot (Ambi Sun)

 

January 19, 2022: Periods of disappointment, regret, emptiness, and grieving come as natural parts of life.

Against a featureless, colorless, joyless sky, Pamela Colman Smith's classic Five of Cups offers an image of sorrowful resignation and reflection after loss. Though three goblets have tumbled, spilling precious contents, the river--life--though seemingly distant, flows on. Two shining goblets stand ready behind the shrouded figure. A future, though not initially recognized as such, is already within reach.

For the modern Oriens Animal Tarot, Ambi Sun's art re-imagines an ongoing, dynamic process that unites past, present and future. A small but representative "plague" of locusts munches on intertwined stems of ivy, this plant a symbol of forever-ness. A pair of crystal goblets has been turned upside down. Another goblet is now in the process of toppling. The final two--for now, at least--rest upright on their bases.

Tarot's Five of Cups offers us space to contemplate impermanence, release our clinging attachment to that which changes, and come to terms with the natural ebb and flow of all life and our place within it.

Even in times of plenty and satisfaction, practicing letting go can relieve the pain of expectations that things will always stay just the way we want and demand them to be.

Give the grief you're carrying its time, and know that joy will surely have its time as well.

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 18, 2022

 

 

The Devil

(above) from Universal Waite Tarot: art Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

(below) from Neo Tarot: Jerico Mandybur with art by Daiana Ruiz

 

January 18, 2022: You knew it had to happen eventually: the appearance of one of Tarot's scariest cards, certainly part of the Tarot ecosystem. The Devil unnerves beginners and sends some would-be learners--mainly those influenced by mainstream religions--running as far away from Tarot as possible. So, what's to be done?

Kick that pedestal out from under!

Actually, both Pamela Colman Smith (in the Rider-Waite-Smith-based Universal Waite) and Daiana Ruiz (in the wonderfully contemporary Neo Tarot) offer an obvious solution though the answer escapes the two human figures at the forefront of each image.

Take those damn chains off your necks!

Look, folks, they're actually loose. They've always been loose. But you're so distracted by...whatever, that you don't have a clue.

In the case of the Neo, the chains, which issue from the monster's own head, aren't even locked around the humans' necks. They're vaguely attached to the backs of their heads, and I'm thinking they could probably be removed if only the pair would just reach around and yank them out.

The Devil's greatest weapon is our own propensity to be hoodwinked and manipulated.

The Devil card's relevance to the current climate in our society is profound. Is it not?

As is often said, the Devil is liar. And as is also often said, the truth shall set you free.

Arm yourself with the truth and give the Devil a good shove off that pedestal.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 17, 2022

 

 

 

 

Cards from Goddess on the Go affirmation deck

 

by Amy Sophia Marashinsky with art by Melissa Harris

 

 

January 17, 2022: No matter our gender identity, we can all use a little Goddess energy at times, and Melissa Harris's attractive art for Amy Sophia Marashinsky's Goddess on the Go deck comes to our aid with 33 supportive affirmations.

 

Shuffle this tiny deck, draw a card at random for your day--or for the issue that's bedeviling you--and spend some time in meditation and writing about the ascribed affirmation. Here are a few more:

 

I am serving the highest good for all.

 

I am confident and centered.

 

I am in love with the adventure of life. 

You can even start with a regular draw of one Tarot card or a full Tarot layout and follow that by drawing a Goddess card that will suggest a positive path towards facing, embracing, and resolving anything that has turned up in your Tarot operation.

Marashinsky's cards are Lenormand-small. The deck is portable and easy to pull out and consult for a quick emotional/psychological/spiritual pick-me-up. Take a look at the three I've drawn for you today, and choose one you'd like to take to heart.

Goddess on the Go is only one of a number of decks that can provide easy, comforting entry into card divination, especially for daily consultation by beginners. They can also enhance your current Tarot practice--like having a BFF who looks over your shoulder at your Tarot layout and says:

"Hey, it will be be fine, 'cause you're awesome. You've got this!"

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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CARD OF THE WEEKEND: January 15-16, 2022

 

Ace of Swords

from Oak, Ash & Thorn Tarot

by Stephanie Burrows with art by Adam Oehlers

 

January 15-16, 2022:  Oak, Ash & Thorn Tarot is a great "talkative" deck for storytellers, especially for those who love shamanic journeys under the guidance of archetypal animal spirits. Today's card--Ace of Swords--veers far away from Rider-Waite-Smith territory and opens up a story of tantalizing mystery.

In the story it will tell you, whose crown has been discarded on those rocks? Whose sword, plunged into the stone, has been left behind? And the raven perched on the sword's hilt? Has this creature of air--Swords represent the element of Air, the mind, and communication as well as conflict--come to witness the outcome of a dramatic event, or does it represent the murderous agent of that event?

By the way, if all of this stirs your imagination, I recommend The Tragedy of Macbeth (Apple TV+ and in theaters), a masterpiece directed by Joel Coen and starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. I happened to watch it yesterday, and the echo of it in our Ace of Swords card, randomly drawn today, is quite eerie. 

Shamanic Meditating with Tarot

Gaze at a card's image for a short while, at least a few minutes. You can start with this Ace of Swords or, really, any card that intrigues you. Next, gently close your eyes. Bring the card's image to mind with as many details as you can comfortably remember. Don't strain. 

Don't worry if you can't immediately recall all the details presented in the card's illustration. And please don't worry if the image--now, as you're seeing it in your mind's eye--has changed in any way for you. That's actually a positive sign.

What are you seeing? How is this card talking to you and telling you a story that will have a particular meaning for you?

Any changes or developments in the imagery, and details that especially draw your attention, are very important to note.

I love ravens, and this majestic one--wings stretched out and back--has as much dynamic energy as the stormy sky in the card's background. You can almost feel the flap of its wings and the sting of all that autumnal air around it. The leaves fall in silence.

That's actually a bit unusual, tradition-wise. If you'll remember what I've written about the Aces, there usually isn't that much air aswirl at that point in the progression from the Ace through the Ten of Swords. Aces indicate a new, refreshing little breath of air; at most, a beginning, not the brewing threat of a storm. Another sign, then, of Tarot basics upended by a different Tarot vision and a call to make this new vision work for you and your necessary story.

So...what will it be? What will it be?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 14, 2022

 

Two of Swords

from World Spirit Tarot

by Madame Onca O'Leary, Lauren O'Leary, and Jessica Godino

 

January 14, 2022: My Barbados-born dad was a smart guy--and a pretty open-minded one. He taught me some of the best lessons in my young life. One was this: "You have to learn the rules so you can break them."

I remember this often when I think of the basic ingredients that went into my headfirst dive into writing from childhood. It applies to my work with Tarot, too. I don't claim to know everything--for one thing, I am far from a learned Tarot historian--but I do respect the basic structure of the art, and I do enjoy having its basics and traditions close to hand when needed.

Today's card--Two of Swords--comes from World Spirit Tarot. It's a knockout. Such a clear, strong, dynamic image! Not all of the World Spirit images are great; in fact, a lot are murky, visually and in other ways. But this one really captures a sense of being imperiled by conflicting thoughts and impulses within oneself.

What it might not do, though--with its so specific imagery, unlike, say, a more abstract pip--is speak to your facing an external conflict like a disagreement with a co-worker, an argument with a relative, a tough practical choice that goes against your needs or values. Hey, even a literal fistfight!

That's when it helps to be able to know and remember some basic ideas and details that might not be visually represented in the style of the particular Tarot or oracle card you've drawn.

Basically (no pun), learn as much about the cards as you can in whatever way you can--and there are many. In a future post--perhaps the one for this coming weekend--I'll write about how meditating with any card can enrich your understanding of it.

For today, consider what this card might suggest for the need to get out of your own way. How are your own thoughts, ideas, and ways of communicating holding you back or tripping you up? How can you open up your awareness and stop fighting yourself?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 13, 2022

 

Seven of Chalices

from Ancient Minchiate Etruria,

a reproduction of a 1725 Florentine Minchiate oracle deck

January 13, 2022: Yesterday, after discussing a pair of cards from Neo Tarot, I briefly introduced one pip card from Lo Scarabeo's reproduction of the Ancient Minchiate Etruria (AME), a somewhat Tarot-like but actually non-Tarot oracle deck with 97-cards. Here's another image from the AME--the Seven of Chalices (Seven of Cups).

If Tarot is considered by some potential readers to be way too complex, Minchiate decks take that complexity to the max. But it's a story-filled beauty, and we can have fun and get something out of the getting-to-know-you process.

I've been hoping for an excuse to write about Tarot's Seven of Cups, anyway, as my interpretation for that card diverges from tradition.This is the sort of thing I promise will happen for you as well as you explore card divination more and more.You'll learn new things perhaps unseen before, land on meanings that are unusual and for you alone, blaze new trails in the forest. Spirit will get your attention and gently whisper: "Listen, when this card comes up, it means thus and so."

When these sorts of things happen, it means you're forging your own connection to the symbolism, and it's working with (and on) you. Hooray, you're really, really reading the cards now, not just relying on what you've seen in those Little White Books--or any book! You are your own book!

Anyway, back to Seven of Cups--or Chalices--as the AME would have it.

While more familiar Rider-Waite-Smith imagery suggests a plethora of cravings and distractions, another, more positive thought about the Seven might view it as a pause to consider and appreciate the variety of desires or options one has in a given situation. Or the variety of elements that make up the self that you are, each with its particular energy and purpose. Where does a recognition, acceptance, activation, and even celebration of that fluid multiplicity become the right move?

Looking at the relatively abstract AME pip, you're not...ahem...distracted by Rider-Waite-Smith imagery which shows you a heap of colorful baubles, laurel wreathes, a crouching dragon, and other illusory fantasies spilling enticingly out of golden goblets while a shadowy figure, back turned to the viewer, gazes in apparent longing, confusion, and indecisiveness. Oh, my! Which of these goblets to grab?

In doing a reading, should you wish to revert to traditional interpretations--because they accurately fit the question or situation--you certainly can do so. And this, again, is where being familiar with the basics and keeping them somewhere in your hip pocket to pull out as needed can be so helpful. But you're also free to make of the cards what you will, and read them as you need them. They are a language between you and Spirit.

Sure, it will take a dedicated time--with a combination of the basics and the creative--but this confidence will develop. You'll get to the point when you can feel in your bones when your unique way of looking at things is completely on target.

Trust yourself, trust Spirit, and you will know.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 12, 2022

 

 

Nine of Pentacles and Eight of Wands

from Neo Tarot

by Jerico Mandybur with art by Daiana Ruiz

 

January 12, 2022: Pip-pidee-do-dah! Today, two pip cards from Neo Tarot display two different ways of communicating a message.

IX of Pentacles brings us another of artist Daiana Ruiz's graceful human figures. Unlike some Nine of Pentacles images, this figure is moving, not so much smugly resting on their assets but actively enjoying them. A bird in the hand is a nifty symbol of all that is needed being reliably close at hand in the Nine's pleasing environment. It's a card of sufficiency and satisfaction.

VIII of Wands, like the classic Pamela Colman Smith pip on which it is loosely based, avoids human imagery altogether. Instead, it suggests turbulent, heavy weather in motion, an atmosphere ablaze with activity (wands equaling the element of fire in Tarot symbology). I often think of this card as the sign of lots of energy roiling around in either a literal or metaphoric environment--sometimes too much, much too much to handle. Things, thoughts, talk, tasks, challenges, people, what have you.

So, here are two cards again reminding us of the value of the basics to any Tarot study. As a Tarot newbie looking at the Nine, you're likely to figure out (no pun) a story to go with the figure that will work for your reading. Looking at the Eight, however, might prove more daunting. There's less here to go on, visually, and there are Tarot decks with pips that are even trickier to decipher--like the very early European ones and modern ones based on them that might show you merely a neat arrangement of six fancy pentacles or four elaborate cups.

Nine of Pentacles

from Ancient Minchiate Etruria,

a reproduction of a 1725 Florentine Minchiate oracle deck

 

That's when you need a clear understanding of what each of the suits are about--swords, pentacles, wands, and cups--and a grasp of how numerology can influence Tarot interpretation and storytelling.

One possible story arising from this particular encounter--Nine of Pentacles and Eight of Wands--is of sheltering with everything you need and staying out of the developing stormy weather. You'll know whether that message should be interpreted literally or metaphorically. It works either way.

An alternative story might show a past or current condition--call it Nine of Pentacles-hood, if you will--that is safe, secure, and even stodgy dramatically changing with a sudden wild infusion of new energy/weather! 

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 11, 2022

 Ace of Cups

Universal Waite Tarot

Art by Pamela Colman Smith recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

January 11, 2022: Tarot's Aces can be viewed, at times, as symbols of gifts from Spirit, right out of the blue--or out of a spirit hand extended from a cloud. Given quietly and with such subtlety that they might be overlooked if you are distracted--as you tend to be--by mundane matters and worries. So small, sometimes, that you can tuck them away in your pocket, or in your subconscious, or in a patch of fertile ground that will prove perfect for their nurturing and future growth. Secreted away where they can't be discovered and stolen from you. But don't forget they're there to be retrieved and activated when the time is right. The key that turns the lock. A dash of the secret ingredient in your great-granny's  recipe, passed down the generations.

From the Universal Waite Tarot, I was gifted the Ace of Cups for you today. Since we're talking a Rider-Waite-Colman image, you'll notice more than a hint of Christian mysticism here--the golden chalice from which springs holy waters of life and to which a white dove descends, bearing a communion host--the Body of Christ--in its bill.

Such a gentle, peaceful card. And yet, the thought that was also gifted to my mind right before I drew this card was about 'breaking the mold" and "upending the order of things." There are Tarot archetypes that speak more directly to those themes.

I will leave it to you radical social justice Christians--and I know you're out there--to take this Ace of Cups in the obvious, quite justifiable direction. But from a different perspective, in which Tarot can speak to one of any or no faith, I want to argue for the power of the element of water as a force that can go from the subtlety of the tiniest teardrop to the mystery, depth, and ferocious power of a wind-whipped ocean.

Don't sleep on the power of the drop. Enough of them over enough time, and they'll wear away stone and create new channels for their movement. They will break the mold. They will upend the order of things.

How does this tiny, heartfelt, powerful gift manifest in your life today? What does it make possible tomorrow?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 10, 2022

 

 

 The Fool

from The Tarot 

by Hoi Polloi, Inc.

January 20, 2022: My first Tarot deck was The Tarot, a brightly-colored Rider-Waite-Smith interpretation created and marketed in 1972 by the game company Hoi Polloi. They called it, simply, The Tarot. With its vibrant, super-clear imagery, it ushered me into a world of symbolism that never ever seemed daunting. I adored everything about it.

"Don't fear!" the Hoi Polloi deck seemed to say, cheerfully. "Tarot really is for you!"

The Hoi Polloi, I see now, is out of print and rare, and one is currently going for $300 on Etsy! I'm sorry I no longer own mine, having long ago passed it along to an eager student.

For more on the history of Hoi Polloi's Tarot,

click here.

When some people tell me they find Tarot an overly complex, intimidating system--or, even, a somewhat frightening one--I understand, but I'm always a bit sad, remembering my time with Hoi Polloi's deck.

Working with Tarot was never something alien to me but a natural outgrowth of my early interest in the occult and psychological and spiritual matters. Connecting the myriad, intricate symbols of Tarot and applying them to people, places, and situations was a stimulating game that challenged my intelligence and creativity. I could not get enough of it. Still can't!

As you can tell from my posts here on hummingwitch, I love many types of decks within and outside of Tarot, and I do believe readers should go with the decks that speak to their personal interests, values, and aesthetics. There are so many from which to choose and from which to learn.

 

The Fool

from Universal Waite Tarot

Art by Pamela Colman Smith with coloring by Mary Hanson Roberts

 

Universal Waite Tarot (from Stuart B. Kaplan's U.S. Games Systems with Pamela Colman Smith imagery recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts) has played the same role for me that Hoi Polloi's Tarot once played. It takes me--and my clients, when I choose to consult it for them--back to useful basics. This imagery can serve as a launching pad for a journey of knowledge and skill development that need never end for any reader or be limited to the world and symbol system of Arthur E. Waite's Golden Dawn.

Our Card of the Day--The Fool--definitely symbolizes going back to basics and beginning a journey. The journey requires courage (even foolhardiness, if you will, in a positive sense) and faith. The Fool's little satchel contains the basics. You don't have to have much to get started. But The Fool's wreath of laurels declares that our Fool--despite being a beginner or, perhaps, because of it--is already a hero. The very first step on the path is, in itself, a victory.

The last time I listened to someone say that Tarot was way, way too complicated to study, I bit my tongue. That person's experience, their choice, is their own; let them speak. Later, I humbly remembered I had chosen to stay away from studying astrology for the very same reason!

But what I thought of saying to this person--and might yet say, if given a chance--is this: Just start small. Even if you notice one thing--one detail that catches your eye, stirs a memory, makes a connection, makes some useful sense--you're on your way.

Try it out, step by step, and let it teach you. Tarot has a way of guiding you and giving you gifts all along the way. It's so worth it. At any level of ability, Tarot can bring you something valuable and so often amazing!

With all the renewed interest in Tarot and other oracle cards, I'm sure you can find or form a wonderful support group of like-minded beginners. Or connect with a Tarot coach--like me!--to support you as you go!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE WEEKEND: January 8-9, 2022

The Guardian Angel

from The Tarot of the Orishas

by Zolrak with art by Durkon

 

January 8-9, 2022: Having been raised in the Roman Catholic Church, I know the relationship with one's official guardian angel is a pretty big deal. As a spiritualist/pagan adult who maintains a relationship with the ancestors, the Mighty Dead, and Spirit within and around, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about a specific guardian angel. But the concept of a one-and-done vigilant pal who knows you well and has got your back is one that can simplify things for many people.

The artist Durkon's Guardian Angel image--from The Tarot of the Orishas, based in Afro-Atlantic traditions--also has Tarot Temperance vibes, introducing ideas of finding refreshment, balance, cooling, and healing. For this weekend, then, the idea might be to devote time to appeal to your "better angels" for counsel and direction when matters seem especially fraught and heated.

What attitude, decision, or action will bring the most balance to a situation? What will foster restoration of harmony and promote healing?

Of course, straight-up protection from harm--from others or, frankly, from one's own self--might be the prayer. Some angels are warrior angels.

May your loving angel or angels guide you appropriately and well this weekend and always!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 7, 2022

The Ancestor and, below, Page of Stones (Page of Pentacles)

from Greenwood Tarot

by Marc Ryan with art by Chesca Potter

 

 

January 7, 2022: I'm not sure if this much-desired deck is in- or out-of-print at the moment but, when I went looking in one of my baskets for a deck for today, the shamanic Greenwood Tarot--with its mythic, pre-Celtic British imagery by artist Chesca Potter--seemed to leap at the chance to make its presence known.

"Remember me???" 

Ah, yes.

I have not looked at this deck in many years, but one thing holds true. Given what powers my Tarot readings, Ancestor would always be a relevant card to turn up, and I am not totally sure I can say I don't have British ancestors. After all, my ancestral home is the former British colony (and slave territory), Barbados.

So, today, you might be moved to delve into your own ancestral heritage and legacy. What riches (or issues to be faced, addressed, and healed) lie there?

Page of Stones (Page of Pentacles) brings the energy and curiosity of the diligent student willing to put in the time to do the necessary research and put it to practical use.

What are you willing to take the time to begin to explore today and to implement? Allow your ancestors to speak through your intuition, and watch for undeniable clues and synchronicities. Let a little bird tell you!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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