A Deck Interview with the Tarot Mucha

As always, this delightful Deck Interview spread comes from Beth at Little Red Tarot! Enjoy the stream of consciousness analysis... and sentence fragments.... AND the shitty iPhone photos. =D

Questions:

1. Tell me about yourself: what is your most important characteristic? Knight of Staves (Wands)

The Knight of Wands is passionate, active, reckless, and driven. This deck is not afraid to make things exciting and even a bit dangerous at times. This deck is not going to hold back. It's all about diving in head first, joining the fray, in pursuit of finding the truth, in pursuit of a noble goal. This deck won't pull its punches. But its motivation is always going to be to seek the truth. This deck will be honest and passionate and will expect me to be honest with myself and to put in the passion and the creativity to get the most out of it.

2. What are your strengths as a deck? King of Cups

The King of Cups is joyful and exuberant. He is compassionate and open-hearted. He brings harmony, love, and acceptance. He urges us to set out on a spiritual path, promising support in the form of solid emotional and spiritual guiding energies. This deck will have strong feelings about things. This deck will be very much concerned with the emotional and spiritual aspects of what it is telling me, perhaps it will not be very literal or concerned with practical aspects. It is worth pointing out that there are NO pentacles showing up anywhere in this Deck Interview Spread, which could support that theory.

3. What are you limitations as a deck? Five of Swords

Tension, conflict, and disagreement. The cards may not always play nice with one another. Maybe the deck will seem like sometimes it doesn't know what it is trying to say. The cards may fight one another. It's my job to find the compromise. And, looking ahead to the Ace of Cups and back to the King of Cups, it means I need to follow my intuition and inner guidance to find the harmony among the cards. It won't work to try to force them into submission with logic and spreadsheets (at least not only those things). 

4. What are you here to teach me? Eight of Swords

I have more control and power and agency in my life than I realize. Maybe it's telling me to be grateful for what I have in my life, and realize that I have everything I need. If I believe in myself, I can easily cast off the bonds that are holding me back and give myself more freedom. I don't deserve to feel shitty, basically. Nothing will ever come from giving up or giving in to depression. If I am honest with myself and willing to tap into my intuition, creativity, and passion, I can better my circumstances and come to a heightened place of confidence and contentment. 

5. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you? Ace of Cups

Have an open heart, don't hold back, trust your instincts, your intuition. Come with a full heart and be emotionally invested, be willing to be vulnerable. 

6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship? The Hanged Man

Astounding realizations, enlightenment and understanding. For me, I think this means understanding myself. But also, attaining a higher level of spiritual fulfillment and satisfaction. I will be able to gain a completely new perspective on life, one that leads to greater happiness. 

Further Thoughts

I'm interested by the fact that not only did I get two Cups cards, but I got the Ace and the King, representing one completed cycle. I think it goes to the idea that the supportive, intuitive, and emotional energies of the King as the strength of the deck, and the Ace as the way in which I can best work with the deck, will be what help me with the more challenging aspects like the Knight of Staves and all that Swords energy. I also think of the fact that there are cycles within cycles, and also that when we reach the completion of the journey, we begin anew. I think it means that I will always find something new to learn in this deck.

Two Court (The King and the Knight) cards gives this deck a lot of potency and power. Those swords are troublesome for me. Maybe this indicates I've been putting too much stock in rationality/logic and need to embrace my intuition and creativity. I love the Hanged Man because that is exactly what I am seeking: a deeper understanding of my spiritual and emotional self. I think another aspect is saying that this deck will give me back what I put in. It's asking me to put in cups energy, and it will help me grow in that area. Similarly, I'm being called to tap into strong passionate energies and be willing to be uncertain and take risks sometimes by the action of the Knight of Staves. I really relate to the idea that the Knight of Staves is single-minded and even possibly reckless and ruthless in his pursuit of his goal, but in addition to this he is 100% loyal and honest. I think this deck will ask me to face difficult truths and will require me to be completely honest with myself in order to get the most out of the relationship.

Daily Card 4/13/16 - Eight of Cups

Today I drew the Eight of Cups. That's a lot of Cups energy coming my way recently (I actually offered to draw a card for my boyfriend today as well, and he got the Seven of Cups!)

I'm struggling a little bit to get a good grip on this card's meanings. I've seen interpretations that indicate a sense of sadness or dissatisfaction with life that prompts one to set out on a pilgrimage for deeper meaning. There's an indication that physical and material pleasures are not enough to truly satisfy one's soul. Once again, I think of connection. Perhaps the figure in this card is out seeking a deeper, more meaningful connection to herself and her world. 

This is a very beautiful and peaceful image. I don't feel sadness from this card, more of a determination and desire to seek out something new. When I see a cups card, I am always looking for the water, because I find that the way in which the water is depicted and the way in which the figure in the card interacts with the water, if at all, really helps me get a feel for what the card is trying to say. In this card we see in the background a stream or river, strewn with rocks. I think that she is following the path of this river. Although she appears to be walking away from it, I imagine that it is curving around to her right and that she continues to follow its direction. This card is about pilgrimage and connecting to one's higher calling or intuition. Trusting where it leads. 

Further in the distance is a beautiful, misty mountain range, presided over by a moon. Are we looking at an eclipse here? The moon always brings me back to the High Priestess, who I think always has a connection to the cups suit. I also like that my deck is telling me that the High Priestess is very much in force in my connection with it at this time, in an almost reassuring way. My deck is encouraging me to explore the suit of cups first and foremost. I like the mountain range, the high peaks make me think of reaching spiritual heights. 

Although I don't necessarily sense sadness, there is admittedly something solitary and remote about this wandering figure. It's as if she is striking out on her own, despite the fact that her world is clearly very close to full, as evidenced by all those cups to her right. I suppose this brings us back to the feeling of not being satisfied with the things in life that represent, perhaps, shallower or temporary happiness. She's determined to follow her intuition to bring a deep emotional and spiritual connection to her world.

So I think this card is telling me, once again, keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right path with tarot. I also get a sense that maybe the deck is telling me, sure it's nice that you have your pretty altar and your pretty cards and all your nice things that make reading the tarot a pleasant sensory experience, but don't forget that it's about much more than that. It's about connecting to your journey and your intuition. Point taken! 

I wonder if we'll continue with this cups energy tomorrow?

Daily Card 4/12/16 - Ace of Cups

I'm continuing to draw energy and inspiration from The Star and I will most likely continue to hold this card dear to me over the next month or so. That being said, I'm open to doing a daily draw as a specific aspect to focus on throughout that particular day. Today's card was the Ace of Cups.

This (like almost every single card in the Tarot Mucha deck) is a really beautiful card.

Today I pulled the Ace of Cups

I'm trying not to think of the aces as being somehow diluted or weaker than the other cards in the suits. I'm sort of stuck in the mind-frame of Kings being the strongest example of the suit, with aces being the weakest, but I think it's more accurate and more helpful to think of Aces as being in some way the purest form or the simplest, fullest form of what the suit represents. It's the introduction to the suit so it's telling you what to expect from the suit, and when you pull an Ace I think it's telling you that you are getting the true essence of what the suit represents, whereas with higher numbers and with the court cards, other factors are coming into play to alter the meaning of the suit itself. Basically I'm super intrigued by aces in general, so I'm glad I drew this card.

Cups is the suit of emotion, intuition, and spiritual energy. Water generally represents emotions and emotional connection, and I take my cue as to the meaning of the card from the way the water is portrayed. Now, there's a lot going on in this card. All of the aces in this deck have this hand poking out, almost like God's hand or a god's hand, and with cups this especially strikes me as having a spiritual or religious message. Though, perhaps I shouldn't read too much into this as it is a traditional way of illustration the aces. 

This card just makes me take a deep, calming breath. I think this card may be telling me today might be a good day to fit in 15 minutes or so of stretching/yoga to calm my mind and connect with my body. I can almost hear the gentle rushing of the fountain falling into the pool.

So, here we have a lake or a pond strewn with lily pads and lotus blossoms. Lotuses generally represent spiritual awakening and attainment, and you will find this lotus motif echoed in the borders and imagery throughout all of the cups cards in this deck. Here we have a large, still body of water. There's something very peaceful and serene about this card. So, one thing I think of is quiet reflection, serenity, and calm. The emotions here are soothing, but still powerful and deep. We have the cup up above, continuously refilling and feeding the pool, and I immediately think of a fountain. The waters from this eternal spring of emotion and intuition continually replenish our spiritual selves. It's a very hopeful and peaceful card.

An interesting element is the bird, which appears to be a dove, and I am immediately thinking of the dove of peace. The bird appears to be bringing something to the fountain, perhaps an essential ingredient. I'm definitely getting strong hints of Christianity here but I certainly wouldn't interpret it exclusively in this way. Instead, I think that what the bird is showing us is that even though we have this eternal wellspring of hope and serenity and spiritual and emotional depth within us, sometimes our spiritual experiences can be heightened and complemented by outside influences which can serve to inspire us and spark the outpouring of intuition and connection.

To me the cups are as much about connection as they are about inner spirituality and intuition. Whether it is connection to others, to our inner selves, to our work or our communities or whatever it may be, I think that the cups are about fostering deep, meaningful connections that sustain and replenish us. It's interesting to me that I think of the ace as being about connection, as that usually comes in with the next card, the two of cups. But I think this bird in the image is really pointing to the existence of forces outside of the self that are just as important to emotional and spiritual well being.

So I think that in terms of how the Ace of Cups is asking me to think about my day... well, it's a continuation of the energy of the Star in some ways. It's supporting that hope and replenishment and optimism. I think it's a little bit of encouragement letting me know that I'm on the right path. This journey into tarot has really taught me a lot about myself already and it has given me a lot of joy and excitement. The Ace of Cups may have a calmer energy, but this pool is infinite, this fountain is overflowing with emotion and intuition and spiritual energy. I think it's a sign that I should continue to be open to these forces which are currently acting in my life and I should continue to embrace the deep feelings that are springing up out of my self-investigation. On a more specific level, I think that the Ace of Cups is reminding me of the importance of community and connection as a means of spiritual renewal, as evidenced by the bird. Finally, I like how in this image the emotions are bubbling up out of the chalice exuberantly and freely, and I think it's a gentle reminder that I could do a better job of communicating my feelings, and that I shouldn't keep my emotions bottled up and contained all the time. I've been feeling a lot of stress recently and I think it's just a reminder that I can reach out to those I love and trust to express how I'm feeling, and that doing so may give me a little more serenity and calm and will replenish my energies.

On a final note, I think that this card points to where I am in my journey with tarot. As I mentioned previously, I feel like I am moving on from the Magician phase into the High Priestess phase. As I try to connect more with the mystical and intuitive side of myself to access the secrets of the tarot, I'm encountering the High Priestess. The Ace of Cups is highlighting this intuition, this spiritual side, seeking a connection to something higher and deeper.

I also want to say that I'm feeling very optimistic and energized today. I'm just generally feeling happier and more excited about engaging in the things that feed my soul. Reading, knitting, yoga, etc. I've been feeling the promptings lately to get back into yoga and this card seems to be an extension of that. Maybe when I start my yoga practice again, I'll use a tarot card to focus my intention in each session.