Total Tarot Issue 7

Welcome to Issue 7! We've completed our Harmonious deck and received the Golden Art Nouveau Two of Wands.

Reading the Tarot this issue talks about how, as well as interpreting each card, a Reader should be paying attention to the suits, numbers and relationships between cards as well. I know that sounds like a lot of information, but it's actually really useful! A spread with mostly Pentacles, for example, lends itself to an earthy, practical interpretation, while mostly Cups might mean the Querant is reacting too emotionally and not rationally. It's a fascinating way to look at a spread! There's also a small amount of information on what the numbers on each card mean and on the Court Cards, both topics I hope we'll revisit in more detail later. Illustrations here are from the Arcanum Tarot, a sister deck to the Themela and due to be received with Issues 18 and 19.

The Card in Detail today is the Lovers, a card which does not always signify romance! It can be about choices and decisions on other matters as well as romance.

The Tarot Spread is the Elemental Key, a complicated spread that needs quite a bit of learning and memorising elements and how they react to each other. I can see that it would be useful but I think it would need quite a bit of practise before I felt comfortable trying it in person! The spread uses the Harmonious for its' gentle, unthreatening images.

Our Visual Reference is to the Harmonious Minors. These cards don't vary their palette for the Minors, as some do, but seeing them lined up is always lovely.

Tarot Techniques in this issue is about Preparation Rituals. I'm a mood reader, so I'll grab a deck and get right to work, but I know that some people like to set the mood, burn some incense or a candle, perhaps meditate first. It's fascinating reading about how different people like to do it!

The World of Tarot article is looking at the difference between pip and picture decks - that is, between decks with illustrated minors and non-illustrated. I always think beginners should go for a picture deck - I started on a pip deck and it was so hard I put them away for nearly a year! But the article makes a good point that some illustrated decks are so busy and complicated that it's hard to make out what we're meant to be reading. To illustrate, it uses matched cards from the Thelema, an illustrated deck, and the Marseille, a pip deck. Thelema has already arrived in the collection and Marseille is due with issues 8 and 9.

The Glossary covers R and S - almost there! - and there are a few practise tips, and that's it for another issue!