About Me
This blog and its corresponding twitter feed is designed primarily to help me become more proficient with reading Tarot cards and other methods of divination (runes, ogham sticks, oracle cards, etc) while also becoming more involved with the online Tarot community.
Decks I Own
The oracle and Tarot decks I own, in the (approximate) order I got them:
- Faeries’ Oracle by Brian Froud
- Universal Waite by Mary Hanson-Roberts & Pamela Colman-Smith
- Animals Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt
- Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr
- Tarot of the Magical Forest by Leo Tang
- Llewellyn Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson
- The Druid Animal Oracle by Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington
- The Druid Plant Oracle by Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington
- Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law & Barbara Moore
How I Got Involved in This Stuff
My first divination tool experiences were with Brian Froud’s Faeries’ Oracle, which I got as a teenager. I was out shopping with one of my favorite friends. Later, at her house, we looked over the cards and did some readings.
I used them off and on during high school, but got “too busy” in college for spiritual pursuits. Sure, there were short bouts of reinvigorated interest — one can’t simply cut spirituality out of one’s life like I seem to have attempted — including a presentation on the Tarot major arcana by the college’s Pagan student group. I collected a few decks, started using them quite a bit, but within a month or so I always got swept up into more boring things like papers and work study jobs.
Now I’m out of college and not too busy outside of work. My favorite deck is the Tarot of the Magical Forest by Taiwanese artist Leo Tang, which is also the deck shown in the header image above. (I have a Chinese/English version from Taiwan, but it was recently republished with English and some major European languages for a North American/European release.) I am quite fond of two other decks of mine: the Goddess Tarot and Llewellyn Tarot decks. In addition, I have the Animals Divine Tarot deck, and while I love the imagery, I find it difficult for me to read with. I also don’t enjoy reading with the standard Rider-Waite (specifically Universal Waite) deck, but I have it for reference, for which it’s quite useful.
I am not a professional Tarot reader, nor am I very proficient. I would classify myself as an advanced beginner or low intermediate Tarot learner: I have a good grasp of many key concepts, but I still struggle with figuring out cards and spreads. I’m trying to keep at it though, to read the Tarot (and about the Tarot) frequently and consistently as I familiarize myself with the imagery and wisdom of the cards. I hope this blog, which I created mainly to help myself during this learning process, will be useful or at least interesting to other Tarot learners and readers.
I generally only give readings for myself or for friends and family members. If you would like a Tarot reading, you are welcome to ask (you can leave a comment here or on any post). However, please don’t be offended if I am unable to do so due to time restraints in my life. However, I would be happy to refer you to some other (and more experienced) Tarot bloggers I like that offer reasonably priced readings!
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[...] political beliefs. Specifically, they include this blog (my personal/misc blog), my Tarot blog (Counsel of Cards), and my blog on spirituality (The Swallow Alights). When I start teaching, I may also be making [...]