Tag: Schiffer

Oh Shit! What Have I Done?

Tattoo_BirthCardsToday’s card isn’t a card. It’s me showing off some new Tarot art that I picked up this weekend. The artist is Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoos in Aurora, CO. No, I wasn’t in Colorado this weekend. Dirk was one of the invited artist for the Body Art Expo here in Austin. I’ve been friends with his wife for a while now so it was a prime opportunity to see him. And I decided to get a tattoo while he was here.

Dirk asked me to name two to three cards so I went with my birth cards. You can learn more about yours reading Bonnie Cehovet’s excellent book Tarot, Birth Cards, and You: Keys to Empowering Yourself (Schiffer, 2011) [aff}. Mine are the one triad. Interestingly, my best friend shares the same birth card combination.

Sitting for this was not easy. It is a large piece and the largest I have. I would love to say that I tranced out going on a beautiful metaphysical journey.

That would be a big fat lie.

It hurt. Not as bad as others because Dirk really does have a light hand, but by the end of the three hour session, I was ready to bounce off the table. 😀 I did laugh like a loon for parts of it–endorphin rush. And had to catch a pedi-cab to find where I parked my car. 🙂 Seriously.

Then when I got home, I ate, walked the dogs and crashed for about twelve hours. But I’m so glad I did this. It’s on my outer calf (right side) so anyone who sees it will know Tarot is important to me. I love that the cards are Dirk’s interpretations. The Magician is captured beautifully for me. I forgot to ask him if he meant to represent the Heiros Gamos that way.

Tattoos are one of those decisions you can’t go back on. Once the first line is laid down, you kind of have to let the artist finish. I had a serious OH SHIT moment walking the dogs this morning because this really is a large piece. I guess you could say it is a signature tattoo. It’s mine and there won’t be another like it ever. I had to wrap my mind around the fact that I just put a large “I’m different” stamp on my body where everyone could see it.

What about you? Ever make a decision that couldn’t be revoked? How did you handle that? Did you have any “oh shit what have I done” moments? How did you work through those?

In this life we are given, there will always be those “oh shit what have I done” times. The key is understanding that what’s done is done. Now you move forward.

Luckily for me, I get to move forward with a really impressive tattoo representing me and my love for the art of Tarot. No more oh shit. Just a lot of leg gazing. 😀

Birth Cards Tattoo by Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoo (Auroro, CO), July 27, 2013, photo by J. Mellot

Have You Researched Your Fate?

GreenOracle_Ash002Today’s card is from a brand-new oracle from Schiffer Books. The deck is called the Green World Oracle. As with most decks, I opened the box and flipped through the cards. The names are associate with, wait for it, plants.

The art work works for me. A lot. It is unusual and there is a lot to be seen in every card. This one caught my eye on the first run through. Then I shuffled and drew.

And out popped Ash. That made me smile. One of my dear friends is called Ash. He’s my Thursday husband. I wasn’t sure about the women in this card. I thought they were a tri-Goddess but they didn’t fit the normal Maiden, Mother, Crone. That along with the deer in the tree (although I thought they looked like Duk Duks), I grabbed the book.

Not Duk Duk (not even sure I have that name right) but stags representing the four winds. The woman are the Norns or the Fates. The tree represents Yggdrasil which is a tree I associate with the Hanged Man (Odin hanging from Yggdrasil).

So there is a lot in this book for each card. I mean, a lot.
The mythology, the botany, the meaning of the card and then there are footnotes. No, I’m not kidding. In the seven pages dedicated to this one card, there are twenty-three footnotes.

This is in-depth, y’all. Based on this one card alone, I would recommend this deck to those interested in the magic of our natural world. It’s only got thirty-three (now there’s a magical number) cards but it ranges from the Greeks to the Norse to the African to the Japanese. I’d say it covers the world from my cursory look.

These three women remind me that those heroes of old were the ones who were fated to do something and did it their own way. Many of them “beat Fate” as it were.

How do you live your life? As if your Fate were already sealed or as if you were captain of your own ship? How would your life change if you knew someone else was driving?

I think the truly brave are those crazy enough to understand that we were each given lives/ships to take our journey in but where we go is up to us.

So where will you go today? Will you tempt the Fates by doing things your way? Will you please the Universe by living a well-lived life?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Ash, Green World Oracle, Schiffer Books 2013 [aff]

Tarotscopes for June 9-15, 2013

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  • AQUARIUS Five of Wands Some obstacles are there so you can prove to yourself how much you can overcome. Joy, right? But seriously! OVERCOME OBJECTIONS!
  • PISCES FOOL Oh yeah! Time to take a few risks. Time to trust in the Universe. Time to GO FOR IT. Ready? Set. GO! Believe in your dream.

Someone won a free reading in my June newsletter. Was it you? Check to see!

  • ARIES Knight of Swords It may be a go-where-the-wind-blows week. Let your mind go on beautiful journeys even if your body has to stay home.
  • TAURUS Death Time to make changes to habits/thoughts/lifestyles that don’t nourish you. Stop making excuses. Start making changes. NOW.

Today’s deck? The Dream Raven Tarot With pretty colors, these intense cards from Schiffer Books are a knockout!

  • GEMINI Three of Swords Careful your thoughts don’t mess up an emotional connection. Check yourself. Are you looking for the worst? Try working it out first.
  • CANCER Two of Swords Time to make that decision. Ignoring it will NOT make it resolve itself. You must engage your brain. Mediation may be best.

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  • LEO Four of Cups Longing for someone who has long been gone wastes your emotional resources. Stop with the wanting. Start with the loving what you have.
  • VIRGO Eight of Cups Well, baby, you do have an emotional hill to climb. Trust issues are hard but your star is waiting. Battle those old fears to win.

Have you heard your in-depth yet? Listen to my podcast to hear what June has in store for you. Happy birthday to you Geminis and Cancers, too.

  • LIB Four of Pentacles Money isn’t magic. You have to do the work to make the bucks. BUT you will find the work finds you this wk. Be available. Be willing.
  • SCORPIO King of Cups Some emotional secrets are meant to be kept. Don’t divulge too much. Your heart’s desire should be protected for now.

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  • SAGITTARIUS Three of Pentacles Put it into action. Make it happen. You will need others on-board. Seek like minds who understand how to expand. Innovation.
  • CAPRICORN Six of Cups Oh yeah baby! Great week to look up old pals. Make coffee dates to reminisce. Long lost “how the hell are you” ‘s imminent.

Do You Fly Into Mudbanks?

MaoriOracle_Kekerewai001Today’s card is not a Tarot card. It is from a new oracle that honors a specific way of life. I’ve specifically chosen this card because it’s a reminder I need today.

You see, I’ve been suffering (and making everyone around me suffer along with me) from a back issue. I’m going to have an MRI done. The procedure includes an iodine injection. I’m not sure why but it amps up my stress. I’m already a basket case because of the MRI. I’m extremely claustrophobic.

So in addition to the pain (which makes me cranky), I’ve been allowing that stress of the coming MRI to just send me into the stratosphere. Add to that the muscle relaxer that I’m only taking when I must, and you have a really moody joy seeker. REALLY FREAKING MOODY. It’s a wonder anyone talks to me at all right now. LOL

Because of the stress, I took a day off from my 40hr a week job. I relaxed and did some video reviews. One of them was for this deck[aff]. You can see that here –> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3yLYHO5BtE <–

As I looked at the cards, I pulled the ones that visually interested me. One was this card. I laughed when I read the meaning.

“Some of your ways may be keeping you where you don’t want to be.”

Yah thanks Universe. I didn’t want that slap upside the noggin but I certainly deserved it and needed it.

I am, as my grandmother would remind me, borrowing trouble. I don’t KNOW that the MRI will be bad. I THINK it will be. I IMAGINE it will be.

I’m creating my own 9 of Swords anxiety-ridden, tail-chasing vortex of fear.

Sigh.

So I must not be this little Maori beetle. Because it refuses to change its flight path, it often flew into mud banks which allowed it to be caught and eaten.

Uh, yeah…I get it. I get it.

Change my view. Change my position. Change my thinking.

I’m on it, Universe.

Today’s mantra is…

“Today I am focused on learning new ways of finding joy. I discard outmoded ways of thinking that emphasize negativity. I embrace seeing life in the most positive ways. I breathe in. I breathe out. I love. I am loved. I understand that pain is my body’s cry for help. I will honor my body by seeking that help. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.”

Kekerewai, Maori Oracle[aff], Schiffer 2013
———————-

Are Happies Expandable?

HealingTarot_10CupsToday’s card is from another brand new deck from Schiffer. This time it’s the Healing Tarot by Juno Lucina and Monica Knighton. I’m a huge fan of Monica’s work. She happens to be here in Austin so I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting her once at an event (and snatching up some of her wearable art!)

I’m really torn on how I feel about this deck. On the one hand, it’s black and white which I love. On the other hand the images seem to be lacking something.

However, as I study this card more, I find that what is lacking is me. It’s not that there is no color. It’s that I am not filling in the color in my head. Once I start doing that, this card comes to life.

I love the small things on this card. There are three mushrooms (which I think might be the poisonous angel’s cap). Those remind me that a loving relationship has bumps. It has things that need to be negotiated and navigated.

There is so much to adore in this card. The children at play. The loving parents watching. And it looks as if those parents are discussing expanding something to me. That’s the energy of the 10 of Cups here. Expanding happiness. Letting it spill out and grow.

So my challenge to you today is to take three minutes to examine your current happies. Where can you expand them? Where can you allow them to spill out so they can grow even more?

Three minutes is only 180 seconds. Can you commit to that? Let me know in the comments (and let me know where you are expanding!) I love hearing from you.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is my tangling work. I know it makes me happy. And, grin, I know where I want to expand it. We shall see if that works.

The more I look at this deck, the more I love it. Just so much to see in each card. Lovely.

Seek joy, y’all. Expand your happiness. Pass it on.

10 of Cups, The Healing Tarot, Schiffer Books, 2013 [AFF]

Balancing Prosperity With Budgets

DreamingRaveb_2PentaclesToday’s card is from a really pretty new deck. I’m fast falling in love with it. In a strange way, it reminds me of Dana Driscoll’s Tarot of Trees. I can’t really place my finger on exactly WHY it does but it has something to do with the intensity of the colors, I think.

Here we have the Two of Pentacles. Traditionally a card of choices, I see this raven as something of a trickster. There is a connection between the twos and the Major Arcana II the Magician so maybe that is why. Of course, the Raven CAN be a trickster in many beliefs.

Still, here it looks as if he is pulling coins out of thin air. It can certainly feel that way when we are making money choices, can’t it? As if we don’t have enough and will never have enough?

I think this card is a reminder to me to think abundantly while living carefully. I have a lot of good things going on right now so I am able to afford things I couldn’t in my 20’s. But that doesn’t mean I need to buy the whole horse when I all I want to do is ride one hour a week. 😀

How do you balance your abundant living thinking with your carefully budget life? Do you think one negates the other?

I don’t. I think carefully budgeting myself while calling in prosperity is my “Yes, okay” to the Universe. I’m making a promise not to squander the abundance. I’m making a choice to be careful with my wealth.

And? I don’t see wealth as money alone. Pentacles are the suit of community and earth as well as money. So my friends and family and pets are all covered in this abundant life.

Today I accept that I live in abundance. I acknowledge my right to a prosperous life. I embrace the wholeness of my wealthy, healthy self.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Two of Pentacles, Dream Raven Tarot, Schiffer Books, 2013

Will You Camoflage Today?

Maori_NgararaToday’s card is from a brand new oracle deck from Schiffer. It’s the Maori Oracle {aff| by P.A. Minnell. This is one of those decks where you actually DO need the book. 😀

“Sickness. Take better care of yourself and allow those around you to know their preciousness.”

My random draw is an interesting one since I am on my way to the doctor today. Have to discuss my back.

This card represent an animal thought to be a representative of the Maori God of Evil, Whiro.

So today let’s hold on to the knowledge that we are ambassadors of our own health. We have to know when to reach out to ask for help. We are fully in charge of taking care of us.

I do NOT believe illness is a choice. I do believe it is a manifestation of the world we live in. Sometimes our bodies are forced to live with other people’s poor choices. And sometimes it is our own poor choices. 😀

But this card also makes me think of the little anoles that run everywhere here in Texas. Most call them chameleons because they have the ability to change their color, but anole is the right name.

How will you change your color today? How will you manifest your own perception of your inner self in the outer world? Will you choose to camoflage or stand out? Either choice is right because it is your choice.

Today I choose to not blend in. Today I choose to be who I am as I see myself. Today I choose to live for me and to know my own preciousness.

Ngarara, Maori Oracle, Schiffer [aff]

Tarotscopes for May 26 – June 1, 2013

This week’s Tarotscopes for May 26 – June 1, 2013.

DreamingRaven_3cards001

      • AQ PgPent Reach for what you want. Growth potential is HUGE but take baby steps. Have you actually ASKED for what you want? Do that.
      • PIC 9Pent Rx Hard work for you,dear. No stopping to smell the roses now. Get your butt in gear. Working shoes not party shoes!
      • ARI QPent Rx HEY! Guess what? It’s not your job to take care of everyone 24/7. Do something for you. Make you happy 1st. Please you!
      • TAU HPS Inner reflection time. Quiet your mind. Meditate on what moves/frees yr spirit. Good wk for seeking out Higher Power.
      • GEM Emperor Use your head but make sure your heart is involved. Family needs overshadow personal needs. Be bigger.

I took this class last year. It changed not how I do business but how I view business. Come join other heartrepenuers in learning how to amp your business without selling your soul.

    • CAN Strength Sometimes the small show the way. Leaving your base isn’t permanent but you do need to focus on upward movement.
    • LEO Hanged There are times when you need to take a pass on busy. This is one of those. Make your goal letting go of mind/body clutter.
    • VIR PgCps Party on, dude. Let your inner teen out. Let your emotional guards down. It’s okay to tell them that you love them.
    • LIB AcePent Don’t be surprised by a new opportunity. Examine it carefully. Don’t refuse it without examining it. Hidden treasures.
    • SCO 2Cps Rx Not the best week to work on partnership issues unless you can focus on just that. Better to work on self stuff for now.
    • SAG 6Cps Rx Better to give than receive at least this wk. Extend yr heart. Others may be stingy w/ theirs. Don’t follow their lead.
    • CAP 7Pent Yes, your hard work IS paying off. A small break is okay but don’t harvest too soon. More growth coming. Patience!

Image is from Dream Raven Tarot by Beth Seilonen (Schiffer Books 2013).

Pre-order your copy of this gorgeous deck here. 5/28 release

Whom Do You Impersonate?

Lowbrow_3EmpressToday’s card reminds me that I need to tell y’all one of my guilty secrets. I see this card as a invitation to indulge in that secret. You want to know what the secret is?

I don’t know if I can tell you.

Let’s talk about this card instead. It’s from a 2012 Schiffer deck called the Lowbrow Tarot. It was a compilation of artists who each worked on one of the twenty two major arcana. I am not a huge fan of Majors only Tarot but have been given some great advice recently on how I might turn that around.

This deck runs the gamut from super dark to almost whimsical art. It truly is a miniature art gallery. Here is the Empress from this deck. She’s an unusual Empress to my way of thinking. More High Priestess with her cool gaze and chaste colors, this Empress seems to be challenging the onlooker.

I expect a few things from an Empress. This one doesn’t deliver on all things. She’s so subtle you almost miss that full belly. That’s pretty much a must for me. She must be fertile and show it. She holds something in her hand. Is it heart? A jewelry box?

No. It’s a very traditional symbol for the Empress–a pomegranate. But I have to wonder how she can hold that juicy fruit and not get a drop on her!

Her hair is braided to look like wheat which is a terrific touch. Her breasts are definitely full and her chair could be a throne. She’s portrayed outside which is another thing I like my Empresses to be.

At her feet are the thing that reminds me of that guilty secret.

Poppies, my pretty. Poppies.

Yes, it’s true. I have a fair-to-middlin’ impersonation of the Wicked Witch of the West.

SHOCKER!

I’ve also read every, I think, Frank L. Baum book in that series. I was seriously hooked on Oz as a young girl. I think TickTock of Oz is my personal favorite with Glinda’s book coming in at number two.

So what about you? Do you do any impersonations?

Oh! I can also do a Jimmy Cagney “you dirty rat” in sign language.

Yeah, I’m a special type of talented.

Your 180 second challenge today? For three minutes practice impersonations in the mirror. You have to do it until you laugh–hard. This is one I suggest doing with a pal because you can get them to do theirs as well.

This isn’t about doing it well.

It’s about doing it until you laugh.

Are you with me? You dirty rats!

Empress, Lowbrow Tarot: An Artistic Collaborative Effort in Honor of Tarot,Schiffer Books, 2012

Seek Joy, Y’all. Pass it on.

P. to the S.  Want to become a radiant human being? Check out this online course (aff). I did it and loved it!