October 31 - Daily Draw

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Etteilla reading session to bring you a Halloween daily draw!  For this, I had to get out what I consider to be my 'creepiest' Tarot deck - and I say that with a huge amount of respect and love for this deck!  It's called the Hermetic Tarot, and it's based on MacGregor Mathers writings for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.  It's a black and white deck, beautifully and exquisitely detailed - I could spend forever looking at these illustrations!  Plus it includes the absolutely wonderful titles attributed to each card, which makes this deck so atmospheric.

I drew the Sun, the King of Swords, and the Eight of Cups.  I'm not entirely up on my hermetic work; I've spent a few years away from the Golden Dawn and the Kabbalah, elemental, and astrological attributions they assigned to the Tarot.  Titled Lord of the Fire of the World, Prince of the Chariots of the Winds, and the Lord of Abandoned Success respectively; this deck makes every card sound so important.  I want to say that my day lived up to such lofty titles, but looking back it was a perfect description of my incredibly normal Halloween night!  It was absolutely beautiful weather for the prairie in late October (the Sun), but a stern male figure (the King) combined with over-excited and over-tired children led to the Eight of Cups - a beautiful night which turned a bit sour towards the end.

I used the Gypsy Lenormand for my pair today, and drew the Sun and the Woman.  This describes an energetic and successful woman; but I'm not sure that's me today!  I'm definitely feeling pretty tired after a night out trick-or-treating, and it's time for me to hit the hay.

October 18 - Daily Draw (Etteilla)

Today I felt like going with a more Egyptian theme, so out come the pyramid and the obelisk!  This deck is a strange one, but quite interesting historically.  It is published by the Gamecrafter, a website that sells a few Tarot and Lenormand decks as well as other games, and it is as far as I can tell, the only readily-available Type II Etteilla.  Titled the Z. Lismon Etteilla, it was first published in 1838 by Simon Bloquel, and is very similar to Grimaud's Grand Etteilla.

I drew the Chaos, the Eight of Wands reversed, and the Five of Wands.  The keywords are 'Etteilla', 'destructive dispute', and 'gold'.  The Chaos card is meant to represent the time before creation in Etteilla's conception of the Major Arcana, and also be the significator card for a male questioner.  Since I am not male, I suppose I'll interpret it as Chaos.  I know just what this one is talking about - being unorganized leads to a dispute over money!  No need for details, but suffice to say that my family is living this at the moment.

For the Lenormand pair I once again used the Gypsy Lenormand; it just fits so well with these Etteillas!  The Snake + Anchor tells of the illusion of stability, something I count on that won't be there when I really need it.  Not sure what this one is referring to, but I'll be sure to update if it becomes clear.

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!

October 3 - Daily Draw (spanish style)

For today's draw I'll be using El Gran Tarot Esoterico, published by Fournier in 1978.  It is done in a modern woodcut style similar to many modern Marseilles restorations; but it follows the Spanish system as laid out by Eudes Picard.  I almost suspect this deck is the reason the system is referred to as the Spanish school of Tarot - it was probably the first deck following Picard's attributions to be published.

I drew the Seven of Coins, the Ace of Wands, and the Three of Swords.  The Seven of Coins here is said to represent charity; that is the only keyword given by Picard.  But I think the growing, branching tree can tell us more about this card: to me, it is charity given because you are prospering and growing.  Helping others is incredibly important, but make sure you have your own house in order as well.  The Ace of Wands is the idea of action; the beginning of a creative and fiery process.  As with most every day, I've had a couple of new ideas for decks, but perhaps this is a signal that I ought to follow through with one of them.  The Three of Swords is not a pretty picture here; it seems this is an ill omen in most all systems!  The fish is floating upside down, the plants have fallen to the bottom of a wind-whipped sea; Picard gives the meaning as a "morbid condition, or perverted instincts."  Though our instincts and intuition are often incredibly helpful, there are certainly times as well when they can lead us down the wrong road.  Perhaps this card is telling me to be wary of which of my ideas I pursue, as only one has the potential to root strongly as the tree on the Seven; and pursuing an idea that won't pan out is likely to be detrimental to my motivation.

I used my lovely Gypsy Lenormand again today, with the pair Anchor + Clouds.  My stability, that which I consider permanent and unchangeable, is actually much more insecure than I think.  I tend to start feeling trapped or bogged down when life becomes too mundane; but it's good to remember that the things we think of as everyday, mundane life can be pretty exciting and unpredictable when you think about it.

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!