I am sure many of you Soul Spacklers are well-versed in Tarot and are probably already familiar with Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot deck. As for myself, I’ve only ever dabbled in Tarot, never quite making it a regular practice. I was, however, familiar with the Major Arcana of the Gaian Tarot from the online oracle. So I had already found myself drawn to the earthy warmth of this deck. Joanna has generously gifted me with a deck to be given away to a lucky Soul Spackle reader. Please see details at the end of this post to find out how to enter.
My resistance to the Tarot probably goes back to my mother’s own religious superstitions, and as such, despite owning a deck or two and reading the books that went along with them,Tarot remained an esoteric and darkly mysterious thing to me for quite some time. No matter that my whole life I have been attracted to symbology and mythology and the Jungian concepts of archetypes and the collective unconscious, which is precisely what Tarot uses to tap into your internal guidance while bypassing the logical mind. Still my mother’s superstition held sway.
I’ve had some gorgeous decks -- the art used in any oracle is very important to me -- that actually managed to frighten me when I tried to use them. Always I seemed to be in some oddly fearful frame of mind when I would pull cards, and in response I got rather negative readings. It was a bit of a self-fulfulling prophecy for me, and I set my decks aside, preferring friends to do readings for me, since they always came from a much more grounded place.
The beauty of the Gaian Tarot is that, from the first time you lay eyes on it, it is a grounding experience. This is not to say you should not do an actual grounding process before using it, but I found the warmth in the artwork and the apparent love for Mother Nature that comes through in the deck to be a healing balm that erased my fears.
The cards themselves are wonders: it is clear that Joanna’s love has been poured into them during her painstaking hand-coloring of each image. And that is after the time and care and thought as to what symbols to include. The book provides lists of corresponding symbols for each card such as animals, moon phases, time of day, flowers and goddesses to help you deepen your connection to the message of each card. There are also journal questions. I simply have never had an easier time understanding the meaning behind each card and my practice has deepened. I have a much better grasp of tarot and a deeper trust in my own intuitive abilities from working with the deck daily, pulling a card or three -- after grounding myself!
The beauty of the Gaian Tarot is that, from the first time you lay eyes on it, it is a grounding experience. This is not to say you should not do an actual grounding process before using it, but I found the warmth in the artwork and the apparent love for Mother Nature that comes through in the deck to be a healing balm that erased my fears.
The cards themselves are wonders: it is clear that Joanna’s love has been poured into them during her painstaking hand-coloring of each image. And that is after the time and care and thought as to what symbols to include. The book provides lists of corresponding symbols for each card such as animals, moon phases, time of day, flowers and goddesses to help you deepen your connection to the message of each card. There are also journal questions. I simply have never had an easier time understanding the meaning behind each card and my practice has deepened. I have a much better grasp of tarot and a deeper trust in my own intuitive abilities from working with the deck daily, pulling a card or three -- after grounding myself!
After having worked with it for a while as a relative beginner, I think the Gaian is a wonderful introduction. The changes made to follow the Gaian theme honor the traditional structure: The Minor Arcana are divided into the elemental suits of Air, Fire, Water, Earth. I find these easier to relate to and understand than the traditional suits of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, even though the correspondences are the same. The traditional hierarchy of the court cards is replaced by stage of life cards: Children, Explorers, Guardians, Elders. Again, the correspondences are easy to relate to when we see that we are part of Nature, just as the elements are. We all follow the rhythms of the seasons and the cycles of the moon, whether we are consciously aware of this or not. The symbology of Mother Gaia is, quite simply, in our blood and breath.
This is why I also appreciate that there is no “toning down” of the cards considered to be more negative in the Gaian Tarot; the shadow aspects are honored and respected. In any moon cycle, there is the dark moon. In any life cycle, there is Death.
I would recommend this deck and book to anyone who loves Nature and has an interest in Tarot, and that it is why I am so excited to be able to give one of these decks away!
This is why I also appreciate that there is no “toning down” of the cards considered to be more negative in the Gaian Tarot; the shadow aspects are honored and respected. In any moon cycle, there is the dark moon. In any life cycle, there is Death.
I would recommend this deck and book to anyone who loves Nature and has an interest in Tarot, and that it is why I am so excited to be able to give one of these decks away!
The Giveaway!
What: (1) Llewellyn Mass Market edition Gaian Tarot Deck & Book by Joanna Colbert Powell
How: You can enter this giveaway *once* by leaving a comment below with a valid email address, stating why you are drawn to the Gaian Tarot.
Full Disclosure: My Museletter subscribers have been given the chance to gain additional entries to this contest, so there are more entries than those you see here. You can sign up for my Museletter anytime before 2pm EST on Tuesday, September 20th to also receive instructions on how to enter additional times.
When: Entries close at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, September 21st. This means your friend must have signed up by this deadline for your entry to be valid.
Winner will be notified by email and announced on the blog Thursday, September 22nd at 9am EST.
What: (1) Llewellyn Mass Market edition Gaian Tarot Deck & Book by Joanna Colbert Powell
How: You can enter this giveaway *once* by leaving a comment below with a valid email address, stating why you are drawn to the Gaian Tarot.
Full Disclosure: My Museletter subscribers have been given the chance to gain additional entries to this contest, so there are more entries than those you see here. You can sign up for my Museletter anytime before 2pm EST on Tuesday, September 20th to also receive instructions on how to enter additional times.
When: Entries close at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, September 21st. This means your friend must have signed up by this deadline for your entry to be valid.
Winner will be notified by email and announced on the blog Thursday, September 22nd at 9am EST.
