November 3 - Daily Draw (Etteilla-style)

Here we've got another Etteilla-style deck, and I quite like it, though it's certainly a bit strange!  It's an Etteilla III type deck - of sorts.  The Major Arcana is full of Hebrew letters and Egyptian symbols (though the booklet is unhelpful as to their origin or meaning), and the Minor Arcana has inserts for both Italian- and French-style decks.  I believe that the keywords are Etteilla in origin, but I haven't been able to translate enough of them to be sure.

Today I've drawn the Knight of Coins, the Three of Wands, and the Eight of Cups.  The keywords for the Knight are 'profit' and 'utility'.  The Three of Wands is 'enterprise' and 'initiative', and the Eight of Cups is a 'young blonde'.  I'm not great with Italian; but I think it might be specific to a blonde woman.  However, I've found that when the cards talk of a young blonde it's often my brother, as he's the only one I know!  It looks like he will be reaching the end of some money problems, if he acts on his initiative and stays motivated.

The Lenormand pair for today is Lady + Stork; this seems to be saying I'll be in for a change.  It should be a change for the better, so I'm hopeful!

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 20 - Daily Draw (Etteilla)

Today is the last of the Etteillas, and I've saved the most relatable for last!  This deck is the Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot by Paul Huson and published by Lo Scarabeo.  It is an Etteilla-inspired deck, with a Marseilles-based Major Arcana and Minor Arcana drawn according to Etteilla's meanings.  It's very colorful and fun to read with, and is honestly half the reason I want to learn to read Etteillas - it's just so beautiful and I'd like to use it more!

Today I drew the Three of Coins, the Tower, and the Knave of Cups.  The Three represents someone or something of great importance (Etteilla keyword: 'noble').  The Tower is said by Huson to be the house of the Devil, and the lightning striking it is a blow struck against tyranny.  The Knave of Cups refers to a blonde youth, a messenger of affections and a slave of his or her feelings.  These cards seem to tell the story of a blonde youth conquering over the tyranny of someone placed above him - literally the only blonde youth I know is my younger brother, and I know his boss can be a bit tyrannical at times; so perhaps this heralds him finally getting fed up and quitting his job.  This wouldn't be a bad thing for him - the job is a bit beneath him and he took it because of burnout in his field of expertise; but the family would be happy to see him back in a position he's better suited to.

For my Lenormand pair, I've used Pixie's Astounding Lenormand; many of the cards have bright enough colours to pair nicely with Dame Fortune's Wheel, though I didn't draw any of them!  The Woman + Lilies I interpret as a calm and serene woman; not much is happening in my life right now, and I'm okay with that.