Back to Tarot for a Moment

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is over.

Spam curds, apple fries, grilled chocolate sandwich and all the ice cold milk you can drink, hotdish on a stick. Sheep, goats, pigs, cows, rabbits, ducks & geese, chickens & roosters, turkey and guinea hens. Pretty Ricky. Knitting, spinning, sewing, baking, canning, all manner of handiwork. Bees, honey, honey ice cream. Fine arts. People watching. Crop art, huge vegetables, seeds, corn, dahlias.

I love the Fair. But it's so very bittersweet. It's the end of summer, an all-too-short season here in Minnesota.

Now my thoughts are turning back to Tarot and our upcoming trip to FaerieCon. Alison and I are going shopping on Thursday to buy fabric and such for our costumes. I have blue and black wings. She has purple. She's tall and thing; I'm, um, not.

On a tarot forum today, someone was asking about another deck and wrote:

~*~Is it like the Mystic Faerie, it gives you a right kick in the pants and then says "but aren't I cute and pretty still?"~*~


That is going to totally make my day. I want to put it on a t-shirt or embroider it on something, with beads.

And speaking of Tarot, have you heard of this deck yet? The Lo Scarabeo Tarot? Read about it here: http://www.madebymark.com/thetarotchannel/2007/08/lo-scarabeo-t-1.html#more

I am really looking forward to it.

Oh, and this weekend, my sister and a friend and I are heading over to that wonderful place, Wisconsin. Madison, specifically. We'll go to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and then spend the rest of the day at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival.

Minnesota State Fair 2007, Visit #1

The Minnesota State Fair opened yesterday. Lisa and I both won several ribbons. She won for her rug hooking and seed art; I won for my knitting and spinning. We both got our first blue ribbons ever.

I also received a special award from the Northern Lights Handspinners Guild as well as a fourth place ribbon for a hat I knitted from yarn I spun myself (wool/silk blend).

And, finally, we tried three of the new foods. Skip the butterscotch cake from the Scotch egg booth...a dried out twinkie with hardly any filling and a heavy coating of overly-sweet, icky hard frosting.

Do try the Apple Fries from Coasters...apple slices breaded in a crumb coating, lightly fried, topped with whipped cream and your choice of caramel or raspberry sauce and served in a waffle cup.

And, best of all, my new favorite Fair Food: Spam Curds!!!!Yes, spam with cheese cubed, breaded, and deep fried. Served with Ranch dipping sauce. Oh, so very good.

Thank you, Stormy Rose and Cricket McRae

You were warned...there will be Minnesota State Fair-related postings from now until after Labor Day.

One of my authors (I'm the acquiring editor for Midnight Ink and I call all our authors "my" authors), Cricket McRae writes a homecrafting mystery series. The first one, Lye in Wait, (soapmaking!)will be out in October. If you are interested in crafts or mysteries, visit her website and pre-order her book.
http://www.cricketmcrae.com/live/home/home/




Cricket is a crafter as well as a writer. Those of you who craft know that accumulating a stash is part of the experience. Cricket cleaned out her stash and found a few alpaca fleeces that she didn't need and very kindly sent them to me. I spun up one, from a sweet alpaca named Stormy Rose, for entry in the Fair. It is my first three-ply and second skein spun on my new Kromski Prelude.

For your enjoyment, here are pictures of Stormy Rose as a lovely lightweight three-ply yarn.

Tarot of the Elves

Tarot of the Elves
By Mark McElroy
Artwork by Davide Corsi
Published by Lo Scarabeo

Delving into the Tarot of the Elves has been one of the most interesting tarot adventures that I’ve had in recent memory. Mark is a dear friend and also one of the most creative and brilliant people I know, so I am not at all surprised.

He has created a deck and mythology that is wholly unique. That he did this within the framework of the familiar Rider-Waite-Smith tradition illustrates his deep understanding of that tradition and his formidable storytelling skills.

Rather than redraw the Rider-Waite-Smith cards with elves, Mark has delved into the commonly attributed meanings of the cards. He presents us with the familiar meanings and helps us go deeper.

Mark writes: “…you may find that your study of the Tarot alters your sense of self and your vision of the your place in the Universe. You will come to see how certain kinds of events are likely to give way to certain people and certain energies, and, as you interact with them, you will receive strong intuitive impressions about what to do and what not to do…even when your cards are not in your hands.”

That’s a lot to expect from a deck of cards. However, the tarot can do all that if the reader wants that. Mark helps us make effective and profound use of the cards by providing a rich and resonating mythology. The Minor Arcana stories are shorter and include keywords and questions for consideration at the end of each. These questions are one of my favorite features.

For example, the Ace of Wands may appear in your reading. Very exciting! A new opportunity will present itself! And that’s good to know. But even more valuable is being prepared to answer that opportunity. Just because it crosses your path doesn’t mean you have to jump onboard. Consider, as Mark urges, if you could have whatever you wanted now, what would it be? What small step can you take today toward realizing your larger goal? Answering those questions may shape your response when that opportunity arises.

The composition and execution of the art is compelling. One of the criticisms I hear of my Mystic Faerie Tarot is that “there are no dark cards.” The Tarot of the Elves has dark cards and light, joyful, uplifting cards. But most importantly, it includes in almost every image something that connects readers to tarot’s past and challenges them to explore further.



The High Priestess, II, is striking. I had an interesting series of reactions to it. I’d like to hear yours, then, next time, I’ll share mine.

Get your own copy and see where your journey takes you.



In the meantime, visit Mark's blog, another very cool journey: http://www.tarotoftheelves.com/blog_index.html/

An interview

A very talented author and lovely woman, Sue Ann Jaffarian, interviewed me. Get the scoop here:

http://sueannjaffarian.blogspot.com/

And get her books, The Odelia Grey Mystery series here:

A little update

I haven't posted in a bit not because I've been too busy or because I have nothing to day (there's always something to say!), but because I haven't wanted to put a post on top the last one. I loved that Joanna's Sun was the first thing seen when my blog is viewed. Alas, it can't stay there forever.

The Mystic Faeries and I went to a Harry Potter 7 book release party. My sister, Jo, is an assistant manager at the B&N in Calhoun in Minneapolis and organized their event. I, and two others, were fortune tellers there. Being part of the excitement was fun and getting an A wristband was a great perk. Getting home by 12:30 am with my very own copy...priceless! I was done by noon on Sunday.

Loved it. And that's all I'm saying. No spoilers here. Yet.

I've also launched www.practicalmagictarot.com and had my first event on Saturday. An amazing group of women, a couple of decks of cards, and me. Oh, and a certain bold fearlessness that allowed them to ask hard questions and face the answers. I do think a good time was had by all.

Coming up:
1. a review of The Tarot of the Elves by Mark McElroy, art by Davide Corsi
2. a comparative reading using the aforementioned Elves and my Faeries. Now that'll be interesting
3. scans of the cards I create for the Swap-bot Fairies, Fairies, Fairies ATC I'm in

And fair warning...the Minnesota State Fair is approaching and you will be subjected to pictures of my entries in the catagories of knitting (socks and a sweater), spinning (a skien of alpaca), preserves (raspberry jam), and sugar cookies. Whew! I'm sure I'll work the Faeries in somehow. Maybe do a reading on how I'll place.

The Sun

This is my very favorite Sun card ever.

Thank you, Joanna, for letting me share it.

See more of Joanna Powell Colbert's deck, The Gaian Tarot at: http://www.gaiantarot.com/