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!

 

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UPDATE: Click here for more information.

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.

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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! :-)

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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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New reviews: Gaians and dragons

The Gaian Tarot

reviewed by Eva Yaa Asantewaa (http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com)

Now, here comes artist Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot published by Llewellyn (September, 2011; ISBN: 9780738718910). It's a deck that clearly announces, "I have new stories to tell!" And it's right on time.

If you've worked with Tarot for many years, pick up this deck and let its amiable, nature-oriented images take you to these new narratives. If you're a Tarot newbie, never fear: Allow your mind to wander around within this deck, and you will easily find yourself at home inside these many stories. They're a non-traditional but perfectly valid and viable place to start.

Those readers who feel more secure with imagery that hews closer to traditional Rider Waite-style imagery might discover wonderful surprises in the Gaian. Don't ignore anything within the frame of these standard-sized cards; each one is power-packed with archetypal symbolism drawn from the cultures the world over, as are the people depicted within. Take out your magnifying glass--sometimes that's necessary, I've found--so that you don't miss a thing.

I fell for this deck on first sight. Grounded in the natural ways and wonders of Earth, it reflects so much that I love and value. No longer do I have to make do with terminology (Empress? Chariot? Hanged Man? Judgment? Page?) that, over many years, I've grown accustomed to. Now I can enjoy thinking of the Empress as The Gardener and exploring all of the rich implications of that inspired renaming. By the way, Colbert's complete rethinking of The Emperor should be of interest to readers who sometimes find this figure off-putting.

The external structure of Tarot, as rendered by Colbert, remains the same--78 cards; Major and Minor Arcana; four suits, each including court cards. So, even though you might be asked to adjust your thinking in some ways, you will not find yourself too far away from your comfort zone. And don't worry: This is a gentle but never mushy deck, neither in its art nor its interpretation. Colbert's 288-page paperback manual--Journey through the Gaian Tarot, included in Llewellyn's boxed kit--offers meaningful light and shadow sides of each card and suggests a wealth of questions to help you and your querents go beneath the surface of a reading.

This deck came to me just as I felt ready for a fresh approach in my practice, and I look forward to getting to know it better. I think you will enjoy it, too.

To learn more about Joanna Powell Colbert's multifaceted work and watch a video of imagery from the Gaian Tarot, click here. For publisher's information, click here, and to purchase the Gaian Tarot on Amazon.com, click here.

(c)2011, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

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The Dragon Keeper's Handbook

reviewed by Eva Yaa Asantewaa (http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com)

Sci-fi/fantasy writer Shawn MacKenzie has a handsome, astonishing book out from Llewellyn, called The Dragon Keeper's Handbook: including the Myth & Mystery, Care & Feeding, Life & Lore of these Fiercely Splendid Creatures (September, 2011; ISBN; 9780738727851) and it is unlike anything I ever expected.

Call it a rigorous scientific field guide--complete with language accessible to the layperson, helpful line illustrations and delicious wit--sharing every possible factual detail about these magnificent and varied beings which, we all agree, do exist and proudly exist pretty much all over the world. (Right? Agreed?)

Oh, baby, what a joy this book is! Just get it. You won't put it down. Later on, we can figure out how to remove MacKenzie's tongue from her cheek.

For publisher's information, click here, and to purchase The Dragon Keeper's Handbook on Amazon.com, click here. 

(c)2011, Eva Yaa Asantewaa