Tarot Blog Hop Ostara 2015: The High Priestess

Gentry Smith

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Well, this quarterly themed Hop seemed to come round rather suddenly, don't you think ? 

No ? 

Just me then. OK.

 My Eviller Twin is the Hostess with the Mostest this time, and the theme that arose from her twisted creative mind is this:

 The Theme

Welcome to the Spring Fling Tarot Blog Hop. It’s the Vernal Equinox and daylight and night hours are equal; time to Fling caution to the wind and get creative. For this edition of the Hop, I have chosen a theme to get your creative sap rising. 

The standard Tarot deck is over 500 years old and the cards are very much a product of that time, particularly the Major Arcana and Courts. So I am asking you to consider which cards you think need to be updated, removed or added to reflect our modern society? 

Are there any glaring omissions? What is redundant? Which card has you scratching your head wondering where it fits in today? Or do you think that archetypes are so universal that there is still a relevant place for all, be they Hermits, Pages, Knights or Emperors? 

You can focus on a single card or overhaul the lot if you wish. You can be academic and serious or utterly frivolous, rename the cards in modern context or create a completely new one or several, the choice is yours. Have fun :)

Universal Waite

Well. Because I'm in a generally grumpy mood right now, I decided that in fact nothing needs changing, the cards have remained the same for 500-odd years, and quite frankly who are we whippersnappers to change something that has worked so well for so long just on a whim, our modern fascination with all things new, our modern consumerist values: it's old, let's bin it. If we followed this urge uncontrollably, many museums would be empty. This is the Fixed aspect of my sign speaking.

However. Let's examine the question more closely. What about such cards as II The High Priestess, X The Wheel of Fortune, XVI The Tower, XX Judgment ? Are they arcane ? Old-fashioned ? Inappropriate to modern life ?

I think not. And we'll use II The High Priestess to illustrate why. Here she is in her original Rider-Waite glory, stuffed full to the brim with symbolism, dripping cold detachment and mystery:

Rider-Waite Tarot

What applications could this Persian-looking maiden leader of a temple and cult have for us today ?

I shan't delve into the symbolism, much as I love it.

I shall show you how modern artists can take an old image of an archetype and breathe new life into it for the modern generations, making it more accessible and applicable for our times:

Erik C.Dunne

Druidcraft Tarot

Victorian Romantic Tarot

                                   
Each of these version remains true to the original portrayal, still chockfull of symbolism and meaning, but with a distinct modern and individual twist that the modern tarot user may find far more appealing than the somewhat garish colors and flat linear art of the original Rider-Waite deck.

It is these differences, the alternative slants, the new insights brought by modern creators and artists .... these are why deck choices are so personal: what resonates for one reader may disgust another.
      
Of course, let us not forget the downright odd and weird, so far outside the original box they can hardly see it, let alone remain chained to it:

H.R.Giger Tarot

Tarot of the Magical Forest

Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

I know, right ? I am very grateful for the interwebz which makes all these uniquely superb artists and their decks so readily visible. And these are only 6 versions of The High Priestess - there are SO MANY out there waiting for you to discover. And buy. 

Wait - did I say that last bit out loud ? 

Yes ? Ooops.

 But before you go shopping exploring, check out the blog before me and the one after ...



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Spring Spree

Housewives Tarot

 Oh my, how time flies !

We made it to the end of term - just. And an odd weekend it was, too - with both snow falling at the coldest Easter for 50 years, the clocks changing to British Summer Time and DH home for all four days  ....

In addition, Belo had the kids on Saturday, for their requested sleepover, and took them to Auntie Fashion's on Sunday in order to OD on Easter chocolate, so we luxuriated in most unusual child-free silence and too many hours of sleep.

But that was after our little foray to Franklins in Colchester; and we had a little venture out to Twist in Woodbridge a couple of weeks ago for their sale: all totally justified as one trip was my Xmas present, and one was for my birthday. You'd think I'd be replete with yarn. But .... no. I am confident we can convert the Mushroom Incident into yarn too ....

My secret birthday present to myself, I bought 800m of this most amazing merino/tencel laceweight in the colorway 'Pumpkin Spice' from the lovely Kirsty at Wharfedale Woolworks; great yarns, great colors, great service. No, it wasn't the first time I've bought from her ....

 

  From our trip to Woodbridge, I managed to snaffle a NDS Dazzling 4ply (55% Blue-Faced Leicester wool, 45% silk) in the colorway 'Apple' from Karen's sale bin; unfortunately the photo on this sunny sunny day does not do it justice - it is a far more lively limey/yellow green.

And oops, look what else accidentally fell into my stash (color chosen by DH) - Schoeller&Stahl Shadow Fortissima Color:

And Franklins in Colchester had Sirdar Softspun DK on sale, so I bought approx 600m of these two colorways, having in mind some kind of end-of-term gift for the kids' teachers:

Faded Jade

Duskie

This was not in the sale, but Mini Diva has requested a shawl in something softer than the Cygnet 4ply I used; so Wendy Happy is a blend of bamboo and acrylic, and was chosen by DH in a blind fondle test as the softest, beating two merino blends:

I am so sorry, I have no more time to sit and chat, there is serious fondling and gloating to be done  ....

Spring is Sprung

So after the ironing was done, the patio cleared, swept, and last year's troughs and tubs emptied into the garden recycling bin, it was time to enjoy the unpredicted sunshine and amble over to the park. 

Enjoy the following very Spring-y photos:

 

Oh my ! What is that hidden amongst the daffodils ?

 

 What a cunning disguise

 

 No-one will ever notice me

Just another flower, keep moving, people, nothing to see here

The Sap is Rising

The final date for mailing out in the Blog Hub Swap is this Saturday, but thinking ahead I have signed up for two new projects: firstly on the 5th March is the KAL (Knit-A-Long) of the beautiful Lily's Slice of Pi Shawl, designed and organized by the lovely Chrissy of Stitched-Together. You can find the Ravelry group for it here, and if you join the KAL, Chrissy gives you a nice discount on the pattern.

I have been pondering what yarn to use to make this shawl, and once I had checked the yardage (1000m), I knew I had the perfect match: gifted to me quite some while back by my friend Steph, this YarnAddict Pure Silk Lace in the colorway 'Jewel' has been patiently waiting for it's soulmate project to announce itself:

So pretty I photographed it twice. You can see there are some interestingly faded looking parts - I'm curious to see how this will look when knitted; I'm hoping for a subtle graduation of color as opposed to oops the dye didn't stick to this bit ...

And secondly - FanFare - Knit and Crochet Blog Week is back for the 3rd time from 23rd - 29th April, 2012. Organized by the fablas Mimi, who is finally back online so that we are no longer Mimi-less, I am really looking forward to it: the blog topics she comes up with are always interesting, and as a result of the past KCBWs I have found some great blogs to read - and made some lovely friends too. You can find my last two starting here for 2010 and here for 2011.

Achey Breaky ...

...Back. The only things I did indoors this weekend, pretty much, was to make the beds and do the ironing. The rest was spent outside sorting out the patch of front garden and overhauling all the tubs and troughs on the patio back garden.

All the daffodils have been pulled and re-planted in the front garden for next year, the wallflowers and pansies went into the brown bin; the tubs and troughs were topped up with fresh compost, and this year's summer bedding planted out - yes, I know there's always the risk of a late frost, but I have nowhere to keep them, plus, the tubs were in a terrible state, I just couldn't look at them any longer - so we have African marigolds, petunias and lobelia; two types of lettuce, two tomato plants (one cherry and one normal) four runner beans, and a jalapeno chilli.













My lemon verbena made it through the winter, but not the marjoram or thyme, so they have been replaced; I also found a white lavender on sale along with a nameless clematis, so they have found their spots in the front. A couple of lupins (DH's choice), a valerian - very sweetly-scented when in flower - a couple of other bits and bobs, most of them found in the 'reduced' section, are now planted and waiting to thrive.



Speaking of scents, I can't recall the lilac smelling as strong as it does this year. There are lots of lilacs in my area, and sometimes the scent as it wafts by you when you're walking is almost as if someone had opened the stopper on a bottle of perfume.

My style of gardening involves not being able to see any earth - if I can see earth, then that means there is room for a plant to go in it; where there is a plant, a weed cannot grow. What I will do in order to be energy-efficient.