The Red Tent

I decided to commit myself to use one deck only for three months. I chose the Tarot de Marseilles.

For now, i have only one Marseilles deck - the Universal TdM. But i have the Hadar and the Fournier coming through the mail. The more i study the TdM, the more i want to learn. It’s a fascinating deck, and that’s why i’m using it during my Intensive Deck Study.

Here is my  pledge:

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• From today (March 27th) until June 27th i’ll only read tarot using my Tarot de Marseilles. In this moment i have only one version of this deck (Universal TdM), but as i know other two are arriving, i’ll allow myself to be open in this aspect - i can use any Marseilles, but JUST Marseilles. No RWS, no Mythic, no nothing!

• I’ll use books related to Marseilles, and general tarot books, if needed. But it’ll also try to read the cards without relying on books too much.

• As for oracle decks, i’ll only use The Playing Card Oracles during the three months. It’s a deck that share some of the Marseilles characteristics, and will be a good oracle friend to it

• I will…really WILL…read for other people. I will, i will, i will! And i’ll not have a coronary just because something went wrong! Humph! I’m going to be brave!

• I’ll try to journal, though i don’t know very well how to start this. I have one…old notebook…in which i write down some of my tarot readings and my Playing Card Oracles studies. But i’ll have to find a new notebook and dedicate it to Marseilles only.

• I’ll try to improve my abilities using the Camoin Method now and then.

• All non-Marseilles decks that arrive will be handled with the purposes of checking quality and completeness. Then they will be put in my tarot drawer and forgotten until i have completed the ISD.

Wish me good luck! I know i’ll need it…

A surprise. I found The Phoenix Cards by Susan Sheppard in a local used book bookstore. I was there to sell or possibly trade some of my books for something new. I found this set - will all cards intact (gasp!) - and had no other choice: i had to take it home. It was cheap, so no problems. And, as i just found out, it’s OOP here in Brazil.

The idea behind the deck is quite interesting. Twenty-eight cards show you different cultures, and help you to explore different past lifetimes. I know that 28 cards are hardly ever enough to show all the cultures in the world - a hundread still wouldn’t be - but then, i don’t want to figure out every single life i lived. Just some would be nice. And the deck seems useful for that.

You have to lay all the cards face up, and choose the seven that best get your attention.You shouldn’t think too hard - let your unconscious pick the for you.

I decided to try it. But i thought seven cards was way too many lives to explore all at once…specially because the ‘conclusion’ of each card’s description is about the querent’s personality.I thought it would make the reading more confusing than enlightening, so i picked four cards instead.

I don’t have the scans to show you, and i only have the names in portuguese. I’ll try to give you an idea of the cards, in case you’ve got the deck. They were:

1. Card XX - Medieval Illuminated Manuscript
2. Card XIV - Elizabethan Dancer
3. Card VII - Gypsy Amulet
4. Card XII - Viking Stone with the Runes

I was quite surprised to read the descriptions. The cards matched, mostly, to the places/cultures i imagined i had lived in once. I remeber going to Paris and knowing part of me belonged there…that’s the place shown in the first cards, for instance.
The surprise was the Viking Stone…can’t imagine myself a Viking, lol! But then again, this was lifetimes ago. In the ‘Gypsy Amulet’ description, she says that the people who choose this card probably wash their hands many times during the day, specially when they are going to deal with divination. Bingo! I started laughing because it’s so true. Many description were accurate, except for the Viking one…but i figured it might be a side of myself i deny. Reading it again, it probably is.

And of course, the descriptions will never fit you 100%. I was surprised that most made sense to me.

As i said, i’m still just playing with this oracle. And, surprisingly, i’m enjoying it. I’ve read many reviews saying it’s a limited deck, because once you do this past life reading…well…it’s over. I don’t think so. I think the cards may have other uses, even for the everyday divination. You just need to be open minded.

I don’t know if i recommemd this deck or not…if you are curious about this past life thing, you may feel like trying it. If you think it’s bullshit, don’t bother…unless you have this secret curiosity inside yourself. C’mon, you know you have it…

PS. The first picture is the Brazilian edition; the second is the English one.