Create Tarot Naturally by Gillian Avart - A review

"Create Tarot Naturally" is a book of just over 200 pages of thorough and helpful information on how to learn to create your own personal deck. It is well written and very clear on what to do and how to also help you interpret the cards. Each card section has its own quiz to help you retain the information and I found that useful (I usually have the attention span of a flea). 

Each card is explained and has tips on how to interpret it in the form of keywords or phrases that are helpful for beginners. Pictures of each card are included. Gill explains thoroughly the process of getting to know each card and how she came to create each one. 

The end section of the book explains the process of creating your own deck, from photographing to printing, to choosing the right accessories and software. Gill also delves on what went and could go wrong in the "Learn from my mistakes" section. 

Although this is intended to give advice to anyone wanting to create their own deck, you can also feel from reading the book that this has also been a very personal journey for the author. 

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Tarot, from beginner to advanced, as it is not just a pleasant and useful read, but also an insight on a very personal creative process. From this, one can easily take what is useful to them and then progress on their own personal Tarot creating journey. 

And here's a direct link to the book :) CREATE TAROT NATURALLY

When Tarot goes on strike...

Yeah, you know, Tarot has not got a Union as such but it does go on strike. Have you ever experienced this? It is like losing a trusted friend, someone you turn to every day for advice and that all of a sudden says: nope, no more I ain't talking to you and if I do I won't make any sense.
Oh wait, may be I'll actually frustrate you even more and tell you, repeatedly, what you already know.
I have had a few questions/messages about this in the last few days and it seems that there is a common denominator here. The cards seem to do this when you are either really worried about something or you are asking repeated questions, or not asking the right question.
It's like they are turning around and revolting.
So why is this? Well, here's my take on it:

1. You are obsessing over something;
2. You are not getting the answer you want, therefore rinse and repeat;
3. You are asking the wrong question;
4. Your wish or question is not for your highest good;
5. You need a break and a clearer head.

In 30 years of experience I know when I need to simply throw my hands up in the air, put the deck down (or throw it in the air too), go get a glass of wine or go for a walk. Tarot is an honest friend that can sometimes be blunt. The cards won't tell you simply what you want to know, no matter how many times your try. Most of the times you already know the answer anyway but simply won't acknowledge it. You will get an honest answer, and if you ask again you will be probably told to get lost and take a break.
I would say that, no matter what the challenge is, use the Tarot for what it is. A great tool for guidance and advice when in need of clarity. Nothing is set in stone and things can always be changed, actions cause re-actions and consequences too. Remember that you have free will. Because if you set limitations for yourself based on what the cards tell you, you are simply doing that - limiting yourself -, and why do that when everything is possible?

(deck: Gloria Jean's Infinite Visions)

The Fool and the Treadmill

The Fool stopped running. "Oh my God!" he thought, the bridge has collapsed! But wait. What is it that I can see under that tree? A treadmill? What would a treadmill be doing under a tree?
The Fool walked over to the treadmill and realized that it was not just an ordinary one. Nope. It was quivering. Wait. It was moving, sideways. And then it lifted off! The Fool did not think twice, a magic treadmill! And it could fly, like a magic carpet!
The Fool jumped on it quickly and the magic treadmill flew him to the other side of the ravine, landing him safely.

The Fool in Tarot can be incredibly careless and risk taking, but the point in the above is that, if we do not take risks sometimes, we may never reach "the other side". We may never see what is ahead and we may never enjoy something new or different. As improbable as it is to find a flying treadmill under a tree, life is also always reminding us that opportunities are always around the corner. And they won't come back twice.

Like in this wonderful rendition from Ciro Marchetti The Fool can  balance on more than one thing at once. And if he falls, well, there is always next time. The Magician is just around the corner and has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

When you draw The Fool in a reading perhaps the advice is to let go of your own fears and inhibitions. Take a risk, do something that you would not normally do, carpe diem.

'A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.'

William Shakespeare