October 14 - Daily Draw (Etteilla)

Today's Etteilla deck is the granddaddy of them all: the Grand Etteilla, now published by Grimaud and subtitled Egyptian Gypsies Tarot.  It is known as the Type I Etteilla, and was supposedly Etteilla's own deck, first published in 1790.

I drew the Ace of Swords, the Ace of Wands reversed, and the Ten of Swords.  The keywords are 'excess', 'bankruptcy' and 'sorrow'.  Ouch!  I can certainly see the pattern - excesses lead to bankruptcy, which of course leads to sorrow - and unfortunately know just what it means in my own life.  I need to stay off of eBay!  There are so many beautiful and interesting cards I'd love to have, but now is the time to be investing back in my business, not bidding on every pretty thing I see!  A sobering message, but it's nice to have the warning.  These Etteillas are very Lenormand-ish in their interpretations and strings of keywords; not surprising, since Etteilla and Mme. Lenormand were contemporaries.  This kind of fortune-telling was born and thrived in the 18th century; and while Tarot has undergone tremendous change, the Lenormand cards seem to have stayed much more true to their roots.  I like the Etteillas, but using them with the Lenormand almost seems redundant; usually I read the Tarot for personal guidance or exploration of my thoughts, and save the Lenormand cards for the more predictive kinds of readings - but this seems to be the Etteilla's specialty as well!

I used the Gypsy Lenormand for my daily pair today; all these gypsy references in the Etteillas make it seem appropriate.  Tree + Fish seems to tell of more money coming in - hopefully by heeding the warning laid out by the Tarot, I'll actually make some money and be able to indulge a bit sometime down the road!

September 22 - Daily Draw

I'm using the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for my daily draw today, one of my first decks and still one of my favorites.  I especially love it around Christmas-time, all that gold seems so ornately festive; but it's wonderful any time of the year.  Once again I drew the Ace of Coins.  The tarot's message is pretty clear: concentrate on getting this new deck off the ground!

For my Lenormand pair I chose the Gypsy Lenormand cards - these seem to have recently gone out of print, but they're still available fairly cheap on eBay.  These two cards don't quite do it justice - there are many more fully illustrated and absolutely beautiful.  The Lenormand cards have a similar message as the tarot today.  Anchor + Fish tells me that stability and security today will come from my self-employment - a welcome message, as things seem less than stable lately!