Badgers Forest Tarot Revealed!

HB_NakishaToday’s card is from the charming Badgers Forest Tarot. What? You haven’t heard about this deck? Quelle Horror! It is from the creator of the adorable TaRat, my beloved Rabbit Tarot and completely talented artist, Nakisha. Her second edition Rabbit Tarot is close to being sold out!

Here is her Hanged Bird card. And a few words from Nakisha herself about this new project. I hope you will join me in helping her make the Badgers Forest Tarot a reality.

Here’s Nakisha!

I let my proof copy of my new Badgers Forest Tarot deck decide which card to talk about, and after shuffling some (It’s going to take a bit getting used to these larger cards!) I pulled the Hanged Bird, which in classic tarot is equivalent to the the Hanged Man. This card shows a sparrow with one foot caught in a vine, hanging upside down from a branch.

This is actually one of the first paintings I did for the deck, over three years ago (I did not paint them in order, but randomly). For me this card has a lot to do with control and lack of control, mental or emotional blocks, and feelings of being stuck or being held back. The bird could easily fly up and away and escape the vine, however for some unknown reason it is suspended. In my mind, I don’t imagine the bird flapping around or struggling, just waiting, observing and trying to make sense of its predicament. I think a lot of time this card symbolizes being stuck in a pattern of thought, or holding oneself back and being unsure or unable to move forward. Sometimes it means waiting until the next move becomes clear, or trying to see things from a new perspective (such as hanging upside down, literally).

Remembering back to my first tarot deck, the Rabbit Tarot, I had some bunny owners not too happy with my image for the Hanged Rabbit, until I pointed out that the noose holding the bunny’s foot was actually quite loose, the rabbit could escape at any time, but perhaps because of the unusual sensation of being suspended it wasn’t ready to go.

The Hanged Bird is indicative of a temporary situation. The bird will fly off, eventually, it’s just the direction that it will take that remains to be seen. In a way, that is where I am now, being in the midst of the Kickstarter to fund this new deck. I am waiting to see what the outcome will be for the funding to print it.

Please consider helping me make the Badgers Forest deck available to everyone by becoming a backer on my Kickstarter here-

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2049847855/the-badgers-forest-tarot

I have until August 2nd, 2013 to make this deck a reality. I also hope, if this is successful, to put together a book based on this deck, and to work towards the third edition of the Rabbit Tarot, as the second edition is getting close to being sold out.

All the Best,
Nakisha

Badgersforest.com
rabbittarot.com

Landscapes of Your Soul by Essence of Wild

My letter would tell me to listen to my heart, to heed my own inner wisdom, my intuition, and to spend more time on the land exploring my connections with nature.

Today I honored to host Day Seven of the Virtual Blog Tour for Landscapes of Your Soul by Essence of Wild. Yesterday Essence of Wild visited Karina’s Inner Space to chat about the healing spirit of the land. I hope you read that one as well.

Below is my interview with Essence of Wild on the topic of ancient wisdom in these lands as answered by Jason Smiley of Essence of Wild.

1. Jason, do you feel that your ancestors would approve of how you are seeking and teaching ancient wisdom through your Essence of Wild site?

I’m sure our ancestors would approve of any connection to ancient wisdom in our modern times. The main thing is that we practice it. Times do change, and with it our way of using ancient wisdom can also evolve so that we are better served by Mother Earth. Whilst it is good to connect physically with communities, an online presence allows us to reach out to a much wider audience and to bring our own particular essence of wild into their lives.

By making our Landscapes of Your Soul meditation pack available via the website we are enabling so many more to deepen into the process. Also, the actual cost to Mother Earth in materials is substantially less than if we made the pack available only as a physical product and in these times of great unsustainability this surely is important.

2. What wisdom would you give your 16 year old selves if you could get a letter to them?

This is an interesting one. I think when I was 16 my higher self knew exactly what I should be doing but I was distracted by life and didn?t have the courage to step up to what I needed to be doing. My letter would tell me to listen to my heart, to heed my own inner wisdom, my intuition, and to spend more time on the land exploring my connections with nature.

3. How do you see the world changing as more people embrace the concept of a sacred landscape as a vehicle for ancient wisdom, Jason?

The ancient wisdom of Mother Earth is all we need in many ways. Surely as more of humanity come to realize this we will begin to live more in harmony with her and recognise her needs are just as important as our own.

Land based communities would be much more sustainable and healthy as they would dip into the landscape for guidance rather than spending countless hours watching tv and reading newspapers in the hope of keeping up to date with what matters.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Essence of Wild and that it has inspired you to deepen your connection with the landscapes of YOUR soul. Click here to buy your own copy of Landscapes of Your Soul for instant download.

Visit the next stop on the tour at Moonlight & Hares where Essence of the Wild is talking about the magic of ancient lands. That’s happening today as well.

Guest Post: Tarot in the Digital Age

This is a guest post from Kris Waldherr. There are images with this post that are larger than I normally use but you need the size.

kriswaldherrauthorphotoTarot in the Digital Age
by Kris Waldherr

Imagine this scenario: You decide to give yourself a tarot reading. You light a candle, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. With each exhale, your body centers and and your thoughts calm. Once you formulate your question, you open your eyes. You take out . . Continue reading “Guest Post: Tarot in the Digital Age”

REVIEW: The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck by Nisaba Merrieweather

cyvfemaleknight

Another intriguing review from my Australian friend, Nisaba. Leave her comments! I know she’ll stop by and respond!

The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck (U.S. Games, Inc) illustrated originally probably by Bonifacio Bembo, with repair-jobs and missing cards supplied by Luigi Scapini, has been on my wish-list for a couple of years, because due to a *ahem* quirk of taste of mine, I’ve been collecting Scapini decks, so this was a natural to add to my basket of Tarot. I originally decided that I couldn’t really justify this one given my recent spending spree on Tarots and associated articles like bags and silks, so I acquired the cheaper Lo Scarabeo miniature version, which was Continue reading “REVIEW: The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck by Nisaba Merrieweather”

Guest Review: The Quantum Tarot

My dear friend,.Nisaba who hails from Australia, wrote the following review for the Quantum Tarot. She shared it with the Comparative Tarot email list. I have always enjoyed .Nisaba’s writing and asked her if I could share her review here. I reviewed this deck here as well, but wanted to bring in .Nisaba’s insights as well.

Here are her words verbatim. The only thing I’ve done is add links. 🙂

G’dday. Continue reading “Guest Review: The Quantum Tarot”

GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler

8 of Cups Quantum Tarot
Christopher has graciously offered one commenter the chance to win a copy of Adam McClean’s ltd edition Major Arcana of the Son Tarot. To win, leave a comment or question for Christopher. And if you mention this contest on your own blog, you will get a 2nd entry. Just leave the link in a comment so I know you did this. And congratulations to the winner of the Kay Stopforth Quantum Tarot reading from last week. Garnet, you are the lucky winner!

Please note that the images in this post are not exclusively from the Quantum Tarot. In order of appearance, 8 of Cups (Quantum Tarot), The World (unnamed deck), Fool (unnamed deck), Queen of Swords (unnamed deck), Bountiful (The Son Tarot) and The Mystic (The Son Tarot). I think you will agree that Christopher is a fabulous artist.

As an artist and illustrator I get to work on a wide variety of assignments. Some are fun, some are wonderful and others can be a downright drudge. Once in a while however, projects come along that you know instantly you have to work on them. The Quantum Tarot was one such project. Continue reading “GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler”

GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler

8 of Cups Quantum Tarot
Christopher has graciously offered one commenter the chance to win a copy of Adam McClean’s ltd edition Major Arcana of the Son Tarot. To win, leave a comment or question for Christopher. And if you mention this contest on your own blog, you will get a 2nd entry. Just leave the link in a comment so I know you did this. And congratulations to the winner of the Kay Stopforth Quantum Tarot reading from last week. Garnet, you are the lucky winner!

Please note that the images in this post are not exclusively from the Quantum Tarot. In order of appearance, 8 of Cups (Quantum Tarot), The World (unnamed deck), Fool (unnamed deck), Queen of Swords (unnamed deck), Bountiful (The Son Tarot) and The Mystic (The Son Tarot). I think you will agree that Christopher is a fabulous artist.

As an artist and illustrator I get to work on a wide variety of assignments. Some are fun, some are wonderful and others can be a downright drudge. Once in a while however, projects come along that you know instantly you have to work on them. The Quantum Tarot was one such project. Continue reading “GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler”

GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler

8 of Cups Quantum Tarot
Christopher has graciously offered one commenter the chance to win a copy of Adam McClean’s ltd edition Major Arcana of the Son Tarot. To win, leave a comment or question for Christopher. And if you mention this contest on your own blog, you will get a 2nd entry. Just leave the link in a comment so I know you did this. And congratulations to the winner of the Kay Stopforth Quantum Tarot reading from last week. Garnet, you are the lucky winner!

Please note that the images in this post are not exclusively from the Quantum Tarot. In order of appearance, 8 of Cups (Quantum Tarot), The World (unnamed deck), Fool (unnamed deck), Queen of Swords (unnamed deck), Bountiful (The Son Tarot) and The Mystic (The Son Tarot). I think you will agree that Christopher is a fabulous artist.

As an artist and illustrator I get to work on a wide variety of assignments. Some are fun, some are wonderful and others can be a downright drudge. Once in a while however, projects come along that you know instantly you have to work on them. The Quantum Tarot was one such project. Continue reading “GUEST BLOG: The Artist Side Of Creating The Quantum Tarot – by Christopher Butler”

GUEST BLOG: Creating the Quantum Tarot – by Kay Stopforth

Kay Stopforth
Kay will be giving away a free Quantum Tarot reading to one lucky commenter. Read on to see how you can win and how you can get extra chances.

The idea for the Quantum Tarot came to me in traditional “eureka!” fashion. I woke up one morning and suddenly thought – wouldn’t it be great to have a tarot based on physics? I have no idea why!

Actually, that’s not entirely Continue reading “GUEST BLOG: Creating the Quantum Tarot – by Kay Stopforth”

GUEST BLOG: Creating the Quantum Tarot – by Kay Stopforth

Kay Stopforth
Kay will be giving away a free Quantum Tarot reading to one lucky commenter. Read on to see how you can win and how you can get extra chances.

The idea for the Quantum Tarot came to me in traditional “eureka!” fashion. I woke up one morning and suddenly thought – wouldn’t it be great to have a tarot based on physics? I have no idea why!

Actually, that’s not entirely Continue reading “GUEST BLOG: Creating the Quantum Tarot – by Kay Stopforth”