Page of Swords | Gratitude Tarot | Teresa Deek

Page of Awareness

children we are
if we let ourselves be
declaring ourselves

bright stars arisen

will you set your troubles adrift

the meaning for all

radiates joy

Teresa’s site then goes on to provide an interpretation of the card: ‘Youthful passion explodes into your life. See how vital your individual nature is. Rise up in your own fire.’ I say! That sounds positively WANDSY!

Time to ask some questions about this lovely deck!

I read from your website that you were inspired to blend the tradition of the Tarot with the elements of gratitude to come up with this beautiful hybrid!

“Yes!”

Do you associate any elements/colours/seasons etc with the suits as you have reimagined them, Teresa?

“I’ve not yet put a lot of thought into that, although my discovery of the elements happened in the order of Thankfulness then Awareness then Community then Kindness. which I could see may follow the seasons from spring through summer to fall and winter.”

Since we will be talking about the Page of Awareness – what element to you associate with that suit?

“Awareness is that time in the journey when I began to see that there is Beauty in everything, that the light of the Mystery lights every moment, every item, whether it seems beautiful at first or not.”

In trad decks – Swords = the element of Air, does that also apply to your deck or is it a set of associations that aren’t applicable for the Gratitude Tarot?

“Though I don’t focus on the elements a lot when I work with my cards, I’m happy for others to! And so, yes, air would apply to Swords.

“Pages feel like they are all about movement, action, newness….”

So the fiery bit for the Page of Swords is not related to any kind of elemental association? It’s just an expression of his movmennt, action and newness?

“I love that interpretation, yes!  Though I seem to have used more fire imagery in my Awareness (Swords) since I let my heart guide its creation, it is kind of hard to describe the reasons behind my choices and word.”

The Gratitude meanings to the cards are quite different to what someone might be used to working with in a Tarot. How did you decide which meaning to ascribe to which card?

“I did work with keywords at the beginning, nudges towards the traditional meanings. Once I got into the detail of writing the short meanings and then the poems, I let intuition take over.”

So would you recommend that people who use your deck let their intuition guide them or are they best to stick with what you intend for the cards?

“I always feel it’s best that people let their intuition guide them when working with a deck! We really are tapping into a deeper knowing within ourselves and whichever meanings come up when we use the cards is the one we are meant to see.”

The images are very beautiful – did you take the pix yourself?

“Yes – thank you – all of the photos are taken by me, and none of them are photoshopped (except in order to fit them to the card and add the border and title).

“Photography has been the central part of my journey to Gratitude. It is through taking my photos that I discovered the four elements, and it was my desire to share the enlightening experience of taking the photos, of touching Gratitude so closely, that led me to want to share them as a Tarot deck.”

Tell me allllll about your Page of Awareness – why you chose that image, how you decided that THIS was the message you wanted him to convey

“Goodness! It was like the image asked to be included, as so many of them did, tapping my heart as if to say “I have what it takes”. And in the image I saw a reaching forward, upward, into the unknown. I saw the energy of youth, stars rising through the air. This card seeks, longs to be higher…

…. and thank you for asking about my deck.”

You can find our more about Teresa’s deck at her website: http://handsongratitude.com/buy-gratitude-tarot/