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Decks I used in July 2023

No reviews this month, there's simply too many! But here's the list!!!

Tarot Decks

Traditional Manga Tarot

Haunted House Tarot

Tarot of the Witch's Garden

Linestrider Tarot

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Tarot

Tarot for Kids

Heavenly Bloom Tarot

Star Seeker Tarot

Oak, Ash, and Thorn Tarot

Botan Tarot

Very Little Tarot

Paulina Tarot

Jonasa Jaus Tarot

Playing Card Decks

Faunae Playing Cards

Seafarers Playing Cards

Vonnart Royals Playing Cards

Diviners Court Playing Cards

Odyssey Playing Cards

Majesty Playing Cards

Joker & the Thief Playing Cards

National Playing Cards

Aviary Playing Cards

Oracle Decks

Citadel Oracle

[acompassrosa]

July Tarot Wrap Up

Okay okay okay!!

I fell off the tarot (and journaling) train for awhile there. Life was very life, as it happens, and it's only natural that any practice will wax and wane.

BUT: We're back! And I do mean 'WE'!

Starting in July, some friends on my discord server and I started a Daily Draw Club where one of us (admittedly usually me) tags the others with a reminder to Draw Some Cards. It's been working out beautifully. We might not be reading literally every day, but the practice is getting more regular. It's been lovely to do this in solidarity with my besties.

As the result of more readings: I have been using more of my decks. 23 decks were used in my personal practice alone last month! (I remember being very jazzed at having used 9 decks back in January, so color me shocked.) And what's more... they aren't all tarot.

It started as a choice for a D&D character. My fighter, Julian, does know how to read the tarot... but carrying a fancy tarot deck with him didn't suit his vibes. He canonically had a playing card deck on hand and it seemed a natural fit. Then, when doing some down time rp with another character it actually was put into action... and I fell in love. Yes, I was still using tarot meanings, but the reads were snappy and I really enjoyed myself. 9 of the 23 decks I used in July were playing card decks, all of them in the later half of the month as a result of that D&D scene.

I have collected and loved playing cards all my life, so it's been delightful to fall back into this side of my collection.

Anyways, that's the check in. I'll post my list of decks used in a separate post.

#tarot #tarot journal

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distressing things to say to your friends

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A little preview of the wrap up ahead: my July totals!

#tarot #tarot journal #tarot tracking

[acompassrosa]

Y'all, I am coming back to this blog!!! Soon!!!

There will be a deck roundup for July as well as a Stats overview. WE ARE BACK.

The thing is that the hobby waxes and wanes for me. It does always come back and I try to at least keep my reading skills in practice reading for like... D&D. (Do y'all want my D&D readings?) But my actual personal practice is very off and on.

We'll see how it beeee

[acompassrosa]

Decks On My Desk - February 23, 2023

It was an intensely messy week for my desk this week. Technically, there were more decks on my desk but I started cleaning before work this morning and forgot I was starting this little series. Whoops!

Left hand column:

Light Visions, Prisma Visions, and Cosma Visions in both standard and little editions, all by James Eads. It's been a James Eads week here on my desk in general. I still want to do a full overview of my feelings on these decks another time, so for now just know I am still in love with the Littles and it is giving me a new appreciation of the full size decks. (Not a deck, but the Geomantic Visions coins are also out on my desk, I am that committed to it being a James Eads week.)

Top Row, left to right:

Mystical Manga Tarot. This was a big one for me in January-- somehow I actually haven't read with it at all in February! It's actually out because I was rummaging through some other decks and it happened to land on my desk in the process. Lovely deck, just not in current use.

Mermaid Tarot. Covered this one last week, it is still out because it is one of my workhorse, all purpose readers and I am feeling that watery energy. (Can I blame Pisces season even though I don't know what I am talking about? Sure.)

The Zerner-Faber Tarot. Also known as the really small version of the Enchanted Tarot, a deck made of textile collage images. This one I actually found at my old job and it is one of my personal favorite small decks. It's packed with little details and the Two of Hearts (Cups) has a wee little Eros and Psyche on it. (The full size version of this is on my display shelf for Valentines this month.)

Bicycle Aviary Playing Cards, black backs. As noted last week: there's almost always a playing card deck on my desk. This one is actually the most common culprit, I like the coloring and the font of it. Plus: cute barn owls on the back.

Bottom Row, left to right:

Sefirot Tarot, standard and playing card editions. A new arrival-- the playing card size actually comes with the Sefirot board game, which I am very keen to try next time I have a free afternoon. I missed the kickstarter and was super worried I would have to wait for the Mass Market edition and miss out on the board game entirely. Luckily, extras exist!!! (If you are interested the link is HERE.) I am really liking this deck so far. The guidebook definitely follows the Marseilles/numerology tradition of tarot, which I am less familiar with as a die hard RWS reader... but it's so beautiful and I never mind hearing a fresh take on the cards.

Inversion Tarot. A US Games "In-A-Tin" deck, on my desk primarily because I was talking to a friend about pip decks and this sure is one of those. It's a cute little deck, blends the RWS and Marseilles imagery really well. The white-on-black art is really fun. That said... I rarely take this deck out. Maybe I will keep it out in hopes of playing with it more this week? We'll see.

Green Glyphs Lenormand (under the Inversion Tarot)-- another James Eads deck. This is one of my favorite lenormand decks in my collection. I am delighted that the full Green Glyphs divination set (tarot, oracle, runes, and lenormand) is coming out this year. As much as I like the detailed Visions decks, the simplicity of the Green Glyphs may just be my favorite art to come from James Eads.

Open Portals Oracle/Playing Cards, also by James Eads. The box has both the light and dark versions of the deck. One of the most balanced oracle decks I have ever worked with, and one of the most beautiful. I may just keep this one out for a bit.

[acompassrosa]

Decks On My Desk - February 18, 2023

I don't know about you, but I am very bad at keeping my desk area tidy. I can do pretty alright with the rest of my space (though putting laundry away sometimes takes a week or more), but it's hard to be motivated to clean the place I know I am about to make a mess again until it hits critical mass.

Today is one of those days.

In addition to pens, journals, dice, and so many cough drop wrappers... the above decks were found hanging out in my space and I thought I'd tell you a bit about them.

Top Row, Left to Right:

Little Visions - a new arrival (this will be a theme) that has, honestly, taken my life by storm. I own all three decks (Prisma, Light, and Cosma Visions) in the larger sizes as well, but actually struggle to get myself to use them. Not so with these decks! I've been using them (together, no less!) basically since the moment they arrived. I suspect I'll be doing a big write up about them later so I'll stop myself from gushing too much right now.

The Diviners Court - Another new arrival-- from this afternoon! I love playing cards both for divining and for games. This actually arrived with the Scrying Ink Lenormand and a print, but I'd dutifully put those away. This deck is out because I had the sudden overwhelming urge to play solitaire.

Star Dragons Oracle Cards - Semi-new arrival here, I think this came in mid-January. I don't do a lot of work with oracle decks, but I saw this one was on sale and I do love me some dragons... so I got it! No regrets, it's worth it for the stunning art alone-- AND it is a fairly balanced oracle deck. If you want to be lovingly read to filth, I cannot recommend this one enough.

Le Beau Monde Tarot, pocket edition - I love her I love her I love her.... *big breath* I love her. I am sad she's out of print, I am so glad I have her in both sizes. This deck is such a treat for the regency inclined. If she came back in a giant/oracle size I'd buy her again. Not for everyone, but 100% for me.

Bottom row, left to right:

Heavenly Bloom Tarot - I used this for a reading for a friend's D&D character last week. I really need to use this deck more, just in general, but golly it's a pain in the butt to shuffle.

Mermaid Tarot - Another D&D reading for another friend, but also here because I used it for the Queen of Cups challenge Lionharts is running on Insta. Love this deck so much!

Fountain Tarot - Another one for the Queen of Cups challenge. I've been following it pretty faithfully, though privately, in my journal. I started the latest chapter of the challenge with this deck but had to change part way through because 2016 me has a lot of feelings about these cards and 2023 me was having a hard time being heard. Still a beautiful deck, definitely one I keep around precisely because of that strong emotional time capsule it represents.

Shadowscapes Tarot - This is the deck I switched to, an old reliable. It actually has one of my all time most favorite Queen of Cups cards. I actually bought the print from the artist ages ago and it hangs on my closet door! A classic, beautiful deck -- definitely would be one of my top mass market deck recommendations.

Seaborn Kipper - Another new arrival! I've look through this but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping to learn a little more about Kipper before I "dive in"-- but I am a sucker for a Siolo Thompson deck AND for merfolx. The deliberate emphasis on the parts of both Thompson and Witholt to make this deck gender inclusive delights me as well.

So yeah! That's what's on my desk. I am going to put these away now.

#tarot

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Back in January I did a Grand Tableau with the Golden Lenormand Oracle and I DID snap a photo because it's hilariously big for a lenny deck. Bulbasaur for scale, I guess.

(This is like a full quarter of my floor space.)

I initially got this deck to use as flashcards for lenormand card meanings and then proceeded to never use it for that. It was very fun and very silly to use it for a full Grand Tableau. It was actually a really lovely reading. :)

#lenormand

[acompassrosa]

Decks I Used in January 2023

I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at what decks I used last month and what stood out to me-- especially since one of my goals this year is to spend more time with more of the decks in my collection.

Decks I Used Only Once:

Golden Lenormand Oracle- I used this for a Grand Tableau reading for the first quarter of the year. If you’re familiar with Lenormand, the readings are often relevant for 3-6 months. As such, I try to do them quarterly. This was a really fun deck to use, I happened to have a free day when my floor was completely clean so I could use HUGE deck. (A grand tableau consists of the whole deck and these cards are oracle sized) I’ve always wanted to do this and I have zero regrets about it. I feel like this 100% justified my having this deck in my collection. The images are charming, Victorian style images with playcard insets. 

Augenblick Tarot- this is one of those decks that I always want to spend more time to but just have not been able to make time for. It’s a square deck on a nice stock and the images are all cropped down tourism photos. It’s definitely one of the coolest decks I own and I love the readings I get with it… but it takes time. I would honestly love to spend a month deep diving into this one, but I have not really had the headspace for that recently. So, I just pull it out now and again for one-shot reads. 

Heavenly Bloom Tarot- A newcomer to the collection, an absolute stunner. I definitely want to work with this one more but there are two obstacles: slippery card stock and a weird, overly long, card shape that makes shuffling difficult. I’m already working with this deck more in February though, so hope is not lost!

Star Seeker Tarot (Pocket Edition)- This was a repurchase that arrived at the very end of the month. I had the full size first edition and passed it along to a friend the moment the pocket edition was announced… and then forgot to actually buy it until now. I love pocket/mini decks and I am thrilled to have this one. I am sure I’ll have more to say on this one later in the year! 

Decks I Used Lot: 

Mystical Manga Tarot- This was such a stand out for me in January! I love it! I got this sometime in the last two years, having looked at it for ages before purchasing. I got the Traditional Manga Tarot at the same time and at the time that stole my heart and shove the Mystical Manga Tarot to the sidelines. I am so glad I gave this deck a change to shine– the colors are so fun and I love the literal framing of the cards so much. It’s a great, fun deck to play around with and the court cards in particular are a lot of fun.

Phantasma Tarot- Gods, this deck is beautiful. I love all of Paulina Fae’s decks but this one is perfect. It’s borderless, which is how all her decks ought to be, so you can really see all the intricacies of the artwork. This was a close second to the Mystical Manga for favorites, falling short only because I feel like I need even more time to fully appreciate this beauty. 

Traditional Manga Tarot- As mentioned above, when I first got this and the Mystical Manga Tarot it was the immediate standout of two similarly themed decks– and I stand by that! In general it’s still my preferred of the two, but it just didn’t stand out as much to me in January. 

Tarot by Caro- I feel like this deck needs more love from the tarot world in general. It is such a fun, funky alternative to the RWS. The art style is amazing, the shuffle is flawless, and it reads like a dream. It’s only lower on this list because I used it less than the other decks. 

Le Beau Monde Tarot (Standard and Mini Editions)- This is an old reliable for me and it is always a joy to work with. I actually read with this one a lot in January, but because I already expect good things from it… it just didn’t stand out as much as the others when I look back on the month as a whole. This deck is not for everyone, being both regency romance themed and a pip deck, but something about the suit choices (candles, parasols, fans, and reticules) just speaks to me. I get such clear images from working with this deck and I love her dearly. 

#tarot

[acompassrosa]

January 2023 Wrap-Up

I am not usually a New Years resolution person, at least not in January, but this year I had a few things that it made sense to start with the new year purely because I knew having a fresh start in my planners would help me stay on target:

Create better routines, especially around journaling, tarot, and other self-care/reflection tasks.

Actually use more of my tarot collection-- in particular to spend time with the decks that I keep saying I want to spend more time with/get to know but put aside in favor of familiar favorites.

Figure out a means of mediation that works for me.

So I set up some trackers and got started.

2022 was a chaotic year for me on basically all levels. Lots of good things happened, but so did a lot of not so good and just plain disruptive things. I am really hoping to ground myself and set myself up with better, more well practiced, tools this year.

This blog is factoring into this as a bit of an accountability measure: am I doing the thing?

In January the answer was a resounding yes. I used nine decks, none of which were my standard go-tos, and made some new favorites out of the bunch. My tarot tracker spread in my journal was robust enough that I could see trends in what cards came up-- Fool, Eight of Coins, Queen of Coins being the most frequent fliers: take the steps, do the work, build the dream! And I used my journal(s) frequently, making a point of jumping back in after missed days-- a big improvement over abandoning ship the first time I got a cold or something came up and feeling too guilty to return.

Didn't touch the meditation goal, though I have found that whenever I run across a TikTok or reel with guided breathing I am super on board for that. Maybe there's hope for me after all?

Anyways, that's the idea. I'm going to add a picture of my tarot tracker for the lolz here. I may do a post on my experiences with the decks I used in January at some point.

#tarot #journaling #january 2023

[acompassrosa]

So, I've been keeping this side blog in a back pocket for a long time and I think maybe it's time to start using it.