Yule Blog Hop | The Joy of Gifting

Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog hop!  Before we go any further, this is your navigation link to the blogs that flank me for this hop *waves to Mary and Stella*

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Our blog wrangler is the lovely Arwen Lynch and she set us the following questions which we are to answer through a Tarot spread:

• Card 1:  What gift would you give the world if you could?

• Card 2: What gift would you want from the world?

• Card 3: What gift have you gotten that has brought you joy?

• Card 4: What gift have you given that has brought you joy?

• Card 5: What is one last thing you would like to share about this season?

Because Tarot-thones.com is all about the court cards, I decided that my answers would have to come from the Court Cards.

Since I have not managed to sneak in another blog post using Alexander Daniloff's amazing Tarot for aaaaaages, let me take this last blog hop of 2014 to use them one final time!

I have removed the 16 Court Cards from the deck and will now shuffle the Courts only, asking each question and drawing a card as an answer to that question.

No fancy layout required for this one!

Card 1:  What gift would you give the world if you could?

The King of Swords

As a blend of Fire and Air, this guy's actions and thoughts must be consistent in order for him to be healthy.  He likes to know everything about what he's involved in so that there are no nasty surprises.  Clarity and honesty are watchwords with him.

This King will organise everything, from the multi-million pound company take-over strategy right down to the family picnic, to the finest detail. All this thinking (he's a person of lists - pros and cons) can slowly paralyse him and that's when the King of Swords starts to become unhealthy.

He also has high personal standards and expects other people to live up to them. When people fall short, he can be scathing in his criticism. However he is equally tough on himself when he too fails to live up to his own standards.  And since none of us are perfect, he often makes himself unnecessarily miserable.

But in a week where we have experienced the horror of the school massacre in Pakistan and the Sydney Lindt Cafe seige, the gift that I would give the world, if I possibly could, is the discernment and wisdom of the King of Swords.

Card 2: What gift would you want from the world?

The Page of Pentacles

This is the first of THREE of the four Pages in my spread! The Page of Pentacles is Earth of Earth.  This Page begins new experiences.  This could be in health, in wealth or in the home.

What would I like him to bring me healthwise? I'm too heavy for my height and a nice gift would be to start taking better care of my health.

Wealthwise? I could do with bringing in more money in 2015 and am hoping that my Year in The Wildwood Tarot e-book will still be able to go ahead, despite the changes to tax on digital products in Europe.

Homewise? Perhaps I could do with being more present at home, rather than living most of my life virtually?  I could start focussing more on the modelling that I'm doing for my son (stuck in front of a computer, messy desk, lack of interest in keeping home nice.  I am not overly keen on house-work, what can I say?)

Card 3:  What gift have you gotten that has brought you joy?

Page of Wands

Ah this can only be my own little Page of Wands!  Fourteen years old and obsessed with Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program (don't ask) he is a ray of sunshine in my life.  He is sunny-natured, always walks with a bounce in his step (as a child he skipped everywhere!), developing a nicely warped sense of humour, creative (you should see the space ships in Kerbal and the palaces in Minecraft!) and keen as mustard to grow up!

Please don't be sick, but the gift that the world has given me that has brought me the greatest joy is my son :)

Card 4:  What gift have you given that has brought you joy?

The King of Pentacles

I try to give people practical gifts and (typical Leo) I am prone to spending too much money!  Money and generosity - King of Pentacles!

For example, this year, my mum is getting a water floss (like a toothbrush, but for flossing).  Hubby is getting a cover for his Kindle.... and, no doubt, brake pads or a suspension-enhancing kit for the car.  Not mentioning anything about my son.  Just in case he reads this...

The gift that I have given that has brought me greatest joy, ever?  The actual wrapped-up-you-shouldn't-have pressie? I honestly can't think of anything specific.

But, want the schmaltzy answer? Giving my old racing greyhound a home and the gift of life to Sonshine were pretty unbeatable as far as bringing myself joy!

Card 5:  What is one last thing you would share about this season?

Page of Cups

Gentle and affectionate, the Page of Cups comes up to show us the last thing that I would share about the season.  He is as open-hearted as his Cup.

This Page, whose tender feelings and flights of imagination are so easily bruised and battered by cynicism, ridicule and downright cruelty deserves to be the standard bearer for the season, just as much as his suit.

Ignore the Scrooges, says the Page of Cups!  Wear your Christmas sweater with pride!  Kiss beneath the mistletoe! Call out 'Merry Christmas' to strangers in the rain!

His message is the title of the biography of one of my favourite comics, Bill Hicks:  Love all the people.

Have a lovely time!


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The Knight of Cups | Movie | Terrence Malick

Well, it's not every day that someone takes their inspiration for a film title from a Tarot card - especially a Court  Card.  And obviously, as a Tarot blog that focuses on court cards, I couldn't let it pass.

What do I think of the trailer?

I have to say, the trailer contents look a bit more Knight of Wands - Someone who doesn't like to hang around in the same old relationship. He's constantly questing looking for New Stuff - new sexual experiences, new conquests.  

Who is the Knight of Cups?

The Knight of Cups is someone who is into romance and the idea of love, not the blood-and-guts hard work of a real relationship.  He's on a quest to find the Holy Grail - in the case of this film - his Grail is the man that he should have been. 

He stands and sings love songs (self-composed) beneath your window at 2am and then taps you for cash because he's forgotten to fill his car up with fuel.

He's Orpheus who theatrically turns back to look at Euridice at the last moment, consigning her to Hades for eternity, but getting himself a ton of great material for songs in the process.  It's all about him and how HE feels, not about you.

But trailers can be misleading and so the main Christian Bale character might be a perfect Knight of Cups.

I'm sure that I'll watch it on Netflix.

One of the review sites, Inquistr, illustrates their review with this guy:

Whom we all know and love.

US Games could do pretty well out of this movie if this guy becomes the image associated with the title!   

What do you think of the Knight of Cups as a person?

One singer but which court?

Just before we get started, there is a parental advisory lyrics thing on this one.  But Paolo Nutini is Scottish, so you might not necessarily pick it up. I'm Scottish and I don't know where they are either.....

So here we have National Treasure Joanna Lumley playing a fading star, who has needs that only her side-kick can fill.  The whole thing is vaguely Let The Right One In.

Which Court Card could represent the Cabaret Singer and which Court card does her bidding? 

There's no right answer, so don't be afraid to chip in!

AND BY THE WAY....

... did I tell you that I MET the divine Paulo Nutini? One of the UK's most eligible bachelors apparently!

Yeah, that's NEVER going to get old for me, NEVER :-D

Tarot of Delphi | J D Hildegard Hinkel | Review

Another beautiful Tarot birth, midwifed through the process by the astute backing of many Kickstarter supporters!  The tag line for this project was 'Know Thyself' which is inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, but it could just as easily be 'Know thy Neo-classical artworks'!

This is a 79-card deck (with an additional card permitting a choice between two Empress card styles) based on the sensuous and sumptuous classical visions of Victorian and Edwardian artists.  The card-stock (and lift-top box!) is of excellent sturdy quality and the glossy cards slip over each other beautifully.  The deck measures 3.07"w x 5.04"h and comes with a small accompanying book 66 pages long.

Looking first at the 22 Major Arcana cards, we mostly have the traditionally titles with five exceptions:

The Kings of Shoes

Let it not be said that I stooped to sexist lows and only gave you the shoes that the Tarot Queens might wear.  Let's take a look at the shoes that the Kings might wear.  This blog post has the potential to save you from many insufferable dates....*

Since all the Kings are Active in the world - walking their talk - I felt that they would all wear fairly stand-out shoes. Stand-out shoes do exactly that - make you stand out and so people will NOTICE the Kings and that's what ALL the Kings (yeah, even the sympathetic and helpful King of Cups wants to be spotted in a crowd)


The King of Swords

This guy is a sharp dresser, so I picked these.  Brogues are trustworthy and sensible shoes and so are Swords.  However, the pointed toe adds an additional little Swordsy frisson, yes?  And the monochrome colour-scheme? What other suit likes to see things in black and white?

King of Swords - sharp and sees things in black and white!

The King of Wands

If anyone wants to stand out from the crowd it's the blazing King of Wands with his expansive, passionate approach to life.

Gucci, darling

Appearance is important to the King of Wands - after all, when he bursts into a room he's pretty magnetic.  So I figured that he would want everyone to SEE that he is the top dog and thus picked Gucci shoes with the iconic Gucci colour bar that will make him instantly stand out from the rest of the room.

It's got the look of a driving shoe with that pebble sole, automatically making me think that he's got a red Italian soft-top taking pride of place out front of the hotel!  Exactly what the King of Wands would want you to see :-)

And it's a slip on shoe - something that he can kick off or pull on quickly, if his passionate nature results in a hurried rendez-vous in a cupboard somewhere (Boris Becker, I'm looking at you).

Ladies - if you meet a man wearing these shoes, be wary - you'll never be as important to him as he is.  And if he's not wearing socks  either just..... RUN!

The King of Cups

Watery and empathetic, the King of Cups needs something that shoes he's connected to his emotions, but knows how to manage them - what better than a deck shoe?!  Worn on all the finest yachts, dontcha know?  Need to control your craft on the water - get deck shoes!

I would have picked a flipper, but thought that it was toooooo obvious!  I thought that this was a 'friendly' looking shoe.  THIS one can be worn without socks without you needing to be worried - he'll need to be out and in the surf with these and you don't want a water-logged white M&S sports sock to ruin the image, do you?

The King of Pentacles

Mr Practical is also Mr Money and I was torn as to whether we would see him in a Birkenstock or a power shoe..... and went with the Birkenstock as you can see.

comfy and right on, man

These are comfortable, practical shoes - but also VERY identifiable too - and fairly 'spensive.  So you should get a fair idea of this guy's earthy connections and also perhaps that he likes his comfort and has got the cash to spare for the best footwear.

Of course, he would wear a welly - but the BOOTS of the courts are for another blog post.

What sort of shoes would you have the Kings wearing?



*a guy wearing a slip on shoe without a sock is to be avoided at all costs. Unless he's got a yacht.  Avoid any man not wearing a sock with his shoes.  Just take my word for it.

But a man that can handle a lace-up can handle putting up shelves.  This is my 'suitable boy' advice to you. You are welcome :-)

Full Moon | Gemini | Knight of Swords

The sun has swung into Sagittarius, so the silverly light of December's full moon falls on the glinting armoured outline of the Knight of Swords, Gemini.

I haz serious hat envy for this Knight of Swords.

That's peacock feathers by my reckoning and just the thing to be seen in around town this Christmas.  Also, you won't need an umbrella with a hat brim that wide.

One high wind, however, and you will end up in the next county...