:｡･:*:･ﾟ'☆ [Tarot]
May. 21st, 2017 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoI've never done a deck interview spread before, but I decided to do one with the Russian Tarot of Saint Petersburg.
While I find this deck really beautiful, I've been having difficulty connecting to it. This might be because it has a much different aesthetic from what I'm used to, though its form is generally based on the Rider-Waite deck. It might also be because it incorporates some symbolism that I'm unfamiliar with, and which differs in many ways from R-W. ...And then there is the fact that I really need to work with it more, because the cards stick together horribly, and while that's typical of a new deck, it's always really annoying and makes me inclined to reach for my older decks instead. (It actually isn't even really a "new" deck; I've had it for a while, but I haven't really handled it very much).
Anyway. Here we go. I'm using a spread that I grabbed from here. And photos of my cards are here, if anyone is curious about what the cards look like. Behold my halfassed photo skills and very loud spread cloth. (It's a scarf that one of my friends sent me from Poland. <3 )
01. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?
Five of Clubs
In this deck, Clubs (Wands in R-W) represent combative energy, mainly, though other forms of energy are present. It's focused on direction and effectiveness. As for the five of clubs in particular, in this deck, one of its main meanings relates to creative conflict or creative strife. It can be taken to mean struggle/obstacles/difficulties in general, but the emphasis is definitely on art and craftsmanship.
...My first impression is "this deck's purpose is to look pretty", ahaha. But I guess a better interpretation is that it's especially useful for artistic/creative endeavours.
02. What are your strengths as a deck?
The Lovers
Blech, major arcana. I'm not a fan of those. Sometimes I'm tempted to remove all of them. Anyway - in Rider-Waite, one of the main focuses for this card is on romantic love, romance, marriage, that sort of thing. In the Russian deck, this meaning is deliberately broadened through the use of Christ-like imagery (illustrating the male lover as a shepherd) to include all forms of love - romantic, friendship/familial, and love of all things.
To me, this suggests that the deck is good at bringing things/people/ideas together and finding ways to bring out the best in those things/people/ideas. Discovering ways to unite various factors, in other words.
03. What are your limits as a deck?
Two of Cups, reversed
Upright, this card mainly deals with unions such as romantic love or friendship. Reversed, it symbolises relationships in conflict. This is an interesting contrast to card #2, concerning the deck's strengths. Tentatively, I'll assume that what this means is that if consulted about relationships in conflict, it will only be able to give advice that is narrow in scope. Not to be consulted when making any huge decisions about relationships between people.
04. What are you here to teach me?
Five of Coins, reversed
Upright, this card generally refers to loss, failure, or error. Reversed, it can mean renewal, overcoming hardship and despair, etc. The obvious meaning in this particular context is that this deck can be used to figure out ways to get through difficult times. It's useful for finding solutions to the problems that the card presents.
05. How can I best learn and collaborate with you?
King of Swords
This one generally represents controlled person with an active mind. Someone who has many ideas, and the determination to put them into place. In this deck, it's a very cerebral card. ...So, if we're going to take this in the simplest way, the best way to get the most from this deck is "grow some balls, be decisive, and really think through the answers and how to apply them in practical ways". This pairs really nicely with the answer to question #4.
06. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
Queen of Cups
In this deck, Cups represents personal feelings, but also communication and relationships, as well as shared religious belief and traditions. (The particular style of cup used in the Russian tarot is a ritual drinking/offering vessel.) Anyway, for the Russian tarot, the Queen represents what is poetic, imaginative, and wise; also honesty and good relations. I feel that there is also some strong religious connotation here as well, in the image itself - she's holding the ritual vessel aloft, and flowers are growing from it; whether that's intended as an offering in itself, or as a divine response to her gesture, I'm not sure. But I sure get a feeling of something from that.
It's quite a promising possibility. Getting there requires work - I am not a King of Swords type, and getting into that sort of practical, decisive mindset doesn't always come easily to me. But I see a lot of potential here.
Overall
Taking everything together, the impression I'm getting is that this deck is useful for handling issues related to creative endeavours, or interpersonal goals, that require thought and careful planning. It can be used for ideas that require structure. This is useful, because I tend to find that anything requiring lots of structure/planning makes me feel frazzled - and no matter what I do, the result tends to be a little shabby anyway. It's kind of telling that my immediate reaction to being told I need to use my brain in this context is "Ugh, do I have to?" Ahaha... but it's something one must do occasionally, I guess.
Anyway, I really should do more readings with this deck - it's probably the only way that it'll stop sticking, at the very least.
While I find this deck really beautiful, I've been having difficulty connecting to it. This might be because it has a much different aesthetic from what I'm used to, though its form is generally based on the Rider-Waite deck. It might also be because it incorporates some symbolism that I'm unfamiliar with, and which differs in many ways from R-W. ...And then there is the fact that I really need to work with it more, because the cards stick together horribly, and while that's typical of a new deck, it's always really annoying and makes me inclined to reach for my older decks instead. (It actually isn't even really a "new" deck; I've had it for a while, but I haven't really handled it very much).
Anyway. Here we go. I'm using a spread that I grabbed from here. And photos of my cards are here, if anyone is curious about what the cards look like. Behold my halfassed photo skills and very loud spread cloth. (It's a scarf that one of my friends sent me from Poland. <3 )
01. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?
Five of Clubs
In this deck, Clubs (Wands in R-W) represent combative energy, mainly, though other forms of energy are present. It's focused on direction and effectiveness. As for the five of clubs in particular, in this deck, one of its main meanings relates to creative conflict or creative strife. It can be taken to mean struggle/obstacles/difficulties in general, but the emphasis is definitely on art and craftsmanship.
...My first impression is "this deck's purpose is to look pretty", ahaha. But I guess a better interpretation is that it's especially useful for artistic/creative endeavours.
02. What are your strengths as a deck?
The Lovers
Blech, major arcana. I'm not a fan of those. Sometimes I'm tempted to remove all of them. Anyway - in Rider-Waite, one of the main focuses for this card is on romantic love, romance, marriage, that sort of thing. In the Russian deck, this meaning is deliberately broadened through the use of Christ-like imagery (illustrating the male lover as a shepherd) to include all forms of love - romantic, friendship/familial, and love of all things.
To me, this suggests that the deck is good at bringing things/people/ideas together and finding ways to bring out the best in those things/people/ideas. Discovering ways to unite various factors, in other words.
03. What are your limits as a deck?
Two of Cups, reversed
Upright, this card mainly deals with unions such as romantic love or friendship. Reversed, it symbolises relationships in conflict. This is an interesting contrast to card #2, concerning the deck's strengths. Tentatively, I'll assume that what this means is that if consulted about relationships in conflict, it will only be able to give advice that is narrow in scope. Not to be consulted when making any huge decisions about relationships between people.
04. What are you here to teach me?
Five of Coins, reversed
Upright, this card generally refers to loss, failure, or error. Reversed, it can mean renewal, overcoming hardship and despair, etc. The obvious meaning in this particular context is that this deck can be used to figure out ways to get through difficult times. It's useful for finding solutions to the problems that the card presents.
05. How can I best learn and collaborate with you?
King of Swords
This one generally represents controlled person with an active mind. Someone who has many ideas, and the determination to put them into place. In this deck, it's a very cerebral card. ...So, if we're going to take this in the simplest way, the best way to get the most from this deck is "grow some balls, be decisive, and really think through the answers and how to apply them in practical ways". This pairs really nicely with the answer to question #4.
06. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
Queen of Cups
In this deck, Cups represents personal feelings, but also communication and relationships, as well as shared religious belief and traditions. (The particular style of cup used in the Russian tarot is a ritual drinking/offering vessel.) Anyway, for the Russian tarot, the Queen represents what is poetic, imaginative, and wise; also honesty and good relations. I feel that there is also some strong religious connotation here as well, in the image itself - she's holding the ritual vessel aloft, and flowers are growing from it; whether that's intended as an offering in itself, or as a divine response to her gesture, I'm not sure. But I sure get a feeling of something from that.
It's quite a promising possibility. Getting there requires work - I am not a King of Swords type, and getting into that sort of practical, decisive mindset doesn't always come easily to me. But I see a lot of potential here.
Overall
Taking everything together, the impression I'm getting is that this deck is useful for handling issues related to creative endeavours, or interpersonal goals, that require thought and careful planning. It can be used for ideas that require structure. This is useful, because I tend to find that anything requiring lots of structure/planning makes me feel frazzled - and no matter what I do, the result tends to be a little shabby anyway. It's kind of telling that my immediate reaction to being told I need to use my brain in this context is "Ugh, do I have to?" Ahaha... but it's something one must do occasionally, I guess.
Anyway, I really should do more readings with this deck - it's probably the only way that it'll stop sticking, at the very least.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.