Crow Tarot Deck - Introductory Spread

[radiantfracture]

I am drawing a card from yhlee's deck, in that I've long admired the practice of meeting a new Tarot deck by using the Fool's Journey spread, and since I've got a new deck for the first time in ages, I thought I'd try it out. yhlee also has the Crow Tarot deck, and interviewed it here, but of course decks have different lessons for different people.

Sigh.

At some point I started to avoid Tarot readings because they always seemed to come out very, very sad, and I decided I just didn't want to know. This deck is so lovely that I ordered it anyway.



Frac meets the Crow Tarot

Note: I tend not to read reversed cards as such because again, so sad. So, so sad. Someone told me once to read reversals as the upright card meaning, but blocked/stalled/delayed/mitigated, so that's what I usually do.

Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?

Two of Swords
Indecision -- feeling stuck, difficulty making an important decision, missing the full picture

Okay, well, that's grim but good, in that this is my central problem right now and possibly always.

What are your strengths as a deck?

The Hierophant (Major Arcana V)
Conventional approach, education, higher learning, mentor and spiritual teacher

As a good anarchist¹, I always feel leery of the hierophant, who defaults to representing conventional spiritual authority. However, the Crow Tarot booklet also says this: "he is deeply connected with the divine and could represent guidance that comes from connection with our higher self through a professional healer" (14).

So: a spiritual guide, somewhat rule-bound.

What are your limits as a deck?

Queen of Cups
Compassion, self-love, intuition

This I found very difficult to read -- did it mean that the deck would lack compassion? That it would offer an excess of compassion? I drew a clarification card, and got

Knight of Cups
Creativity and intuition, dreaminess, creative thinking

I took that as a positive sign.

What are you here to teach me?

Three of Swords
Heartbreak

Neat. One of the top six Cards of Agony² in the Tarot.
Still, I can't say it isn't a useful lesson.

How can I best learn and collaborate with you?

Seven of Wands
Self-defense, the need for courage

From a position of strength and self-determination.

What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?

Two of Wands
Travel, change, initiative, choice

This is a particularly attractive card in this deck, and I liked it as an outcome -- it looks like collaboration and success to me, and a transformation of the initial Two of Swords.

* * * * * *

If you'd like me to draw a card for you sometime this weekend, just for fun or to see more cards, comment below. No promises of a speedy turnaround.

{rf}

1. Okay, a terrible anarchist.
2. I chose the number six only because five didn't sound spiritual enough.

Comments

[sonia]

Yes please! What a lovely deck. Although your conversation with it has an ominous tone to my ear/eyes.

[radiantfracture]

Although your conversation with it has an ominous tone to my ear/eyes.

Yeah, me too, but I was sort of expecting it.

A card for you!

The Crow Tarot Empress

[sonia]

Thank you! That feels like a generous card. Does the text for it say anything unusual?

Best wishes for collaboration and success with the deck! I am a bit tempted to get a copy for myself, although I haven't used the decks I have in a long time. I kinda flounced on tarot, now that I think about it...

[sonia]

PS: I found the Empress meaning in an online sample of the booklet.

KEYWORDS: Motherhood, Abundance, Business success, Creativity ELEMENT: Earth

The fertile Empress flies over the abundant lush landscape of Mother Earth. She is uplifted by the warmth that radiates from her connectedness with the planet. The Empress sends a loving message to take time to pamper yourself and to embrace the feminine energy within all of us. Her spirit is pure love and bringing things to life; she asks that you go into nature to feel the soothing and healing power that invigorates the soul. When the Empress pays a visit, she may bring a message of a new birth.

[radiantfracture]

Hey, good sleuthing. It seemed like a really positive card. At least the deck likes you.

[sonia]

:-) I do so like to be liked. Just now writing up a post on my relationship with tarot over the years.

minor semantic panic

[radiantfracture]

N.B. I meant the stress there to be "At least the deck likes *you*" (since it could be read as being a bit iffy about me) not "at least the *deck* likes you," which would be inexplicably horrid and hadn't crossed my mind until just now.

Looking forward to the post once my panic subsides.

Re: minor semantic panic

[sonia]

No worries! I took your words in the friendly way. And my sympathies, I tend to panic like that too over my words coming out wrong.

[green_knight]

I'd love a card - what a lovely deck! I'm definitely bumping this higher on my wishlist.

Someone told me once to read reversals as the upright card meaning, but blocked/stalled/delayed/mitigated, so that's what I usually do.

I used to read reversals and have stopped doing so because I find it interferes with my interpretation of the cards in their context; there are as many ways of reading them as there are card slingers, and the only one that I'd reject outright is 'it means the exact opposite'. I find books that do this (ahem, Crystal Visions) tend to feel far too simplistic. (The reversal of the 3 of Swords, for instance, is given as either refusing to deal with grief/heartbreak or coming out of it: which is it? They're both 'opposites' but also opposites of each other.

My favourite book of interpretations is The Heart of the Tarot by Sandra Thomson and Robert Mueller; it's out of print and not easy to find, but I don't regret hunting it down at all - it offers a fairly in-depth discussions of the various symbols hidden in the cards, along with discussing how different tarot authors have described it, and several interpretations depending on whether the card falls as a situation or challenge card, and I can usually find _something_ that resonates with me. (I, too, refuse to accept doom and gloom readings.)

The three of swords, for instance, has an aspect of 'letting go of old heart-aches' which, as a lesson, sounds quite useful.

[radiantfracture]

I ended up pulling two cards because reasons:



5 of cups: looking at losses rather than what remains
Strength: Inner strength, passion, virility, confidence

"The positive energy she radiates enables the crow to balance confidently on the lion's nose, not in conquest but out of mutual respect."

Further to our discussion I'll note that the 5 of cups was drawn reversed, but Strength was not.

[green_knight]

Thank you!

Yeah. Well. Strength was my card of the day yesterday. The five of Cups was my card of the day the day before. I obviously have some work to do with both of these. Ooops.

The five of Cups is a card I see as dealing with grief and loss. Sometimes you wallow (and shouldn't). But sometimes you need to sit with it a bit, and mourn. If those three cups _meant_ something to you, you don't go 'well, I've still got two others'. I mean, it's great to be able to pay your bills despite losing your job, but you've lost your job and you need to mourn that. Etc.

And if the loss isn't of a person (who won't come back), some of that contemplation is how you can bring that hobby/career/energy back into your life. I know exactly what this is about. And strength, well, the only way of fixing this for me is to putting myself out there at my most vulnerable, risking rejection where it hurts me most on so many levels, so this is not an easy fix, and I need to find the strength to tackle it.

That was unexpectedly hard-hitting and spot on. Thank you.

[radiantfracture]

I get the feeling that this deck is not messing around.

[kenjari]

I'll take a card.

[radiantfracture]

I pulled two cards for you, too, because I couldn't just leave the Hierophant in charge:



Hierophant and High Priestess, major arcana 5 and 2. Two kinds of spiritual power: formal, orderly, structured, hierarchical, and intuitive, unconscious, transcendent

Of the hierophant, the booklet says "seek knowledge from a well-regarded institution or person. The Hierophant's role is to stand before others as a mentor and spiritual teacher" (14).

Of the High Priestess, it says "your connection with the High Priestess is active at this time and should be utilized. She comes ready to deliver the answers you seek through dreams and symbols. Pay attention; she is with you" (10).

I'm reading something like a perceived conflict between two (spiritual) approaches that could actually be powerfully complementary?

[kenjari]

This makes a lot of sense. I'm supervising/mentoring an intern for the first time ever, and I have only the vaguest idea of what I'm doing. And the two different approaches represented by the two cards are very much the two things I hold in balance or tension when approaching problems and challenges.

[sabotabby]

I should practice tarot again. I never did it often enough to get good at it, but I have a nice deck.

I’d be honoured!

[radiantfracture]

I love "the coffee" in your icon a lot.

This deck seems to be good at it without much help from me.

Cards for you:



Six of Wands: I know this as the Victory card.

I didn't choose it consciously, but if I were going to pick a card for you, that's the one I'd pick: a parade of you. Not just success but credit, and a reward for hard work.

The booklet notes "acknowledgement of your hard work (!!!) and an encouraging message" (40).


Ten of Wands: I know this as the "burden" card. The booklet says: "From a distance, the Ten of Wands didn't appear so big to the crow.... you may have taken on responsibilities that could prove to be a bigger burden than anticipated," but also notes that "the Ten of Wands ... may reflect an inner strength that will assist you during a time of struggle" (37).

[sabotabby]

Well fuck. I can't think of much more perfect right now.

I just got two notifications from the course I'm taking.

Notification 1: High grade + encouraging comments from the prof that made me feel really validated.
Notification 2: The next eight assignments are now open and I need to start working on them.

[derien]

That's a beautiful deck. I'm taking the gestalt of all the questions and hoping it helps you intuit a way to have courage through heartbreak. We're all going to have some heartbreak soon enough, I think. I keep trying to tell myself that this life is all about seeing how we handle the low points, because highs mean nothing without lows. Victory feels greater if the challenge is large. Attacking a large challenge means accepting the potential consequence of defeat, which may also be large.

But I blither... pull a card for me, why not, let's see what I get.

[radiantfracture]

That's a beautiful reading of the deck interview, and more capacious than the interpretation I had, which was more about my personal psychological burdens and less about the whole world's grief, so I really appreciate the reframe away from my own head.

A card for you:



Queen of Wands: A bold, fearless, determined person. "The Queen appreciates the potential each journey offers and takes the opportunity to learn something new about herself with every challenge.... she moves through the world with a vibrant flair.... she uses her creative, quick-witted mind to discern the finer things in life" (34).

Traditionally read as a successful woman, or as success in career ventures in general.

Always hard to know what that means for someone else, but maybe more generally, maybe, positive energies for ambitions of whatever kinds.

[derien]

I love that. :) I'm not sure about vibrant flair and creative, quick-witted mind (wish I had more of that) but I do try to learn something about myself whenever I can. ;) And one thing I have learned is that when I let my tastes lead me I will find the most expensive item, so perhaps I do find the finer things.... I just can't afford them. ;)

[boxofdelights]

Will you pull a card for me? I'm worrying about what kind of advice I should give my child, who is deciding whether to apply to grad school this year or wait another year.

[radiantfracture]

Hey there. I will, gladly, though keep in mind I'm not a qualified anything.

Question: "What advice do you have for boxofdelights in giving advice to their child about whether to apply to graduate school this year or wait another year?"

(Sorry about the awkward phrasing)

Card: 6 of Swords



In most decks, the 6 of swords is a positive card with the general meaning of movement towards something better; travel or relocation; easing of troubles.

The version in the Crow Tarot is a little tougher, as you can see, but with similar meanings. Most literally, the card depicts the result of a struggle (lost feathers), followed by a journey over water.

From the book: "through the snow, the crow makes a trip over choppy waters to a better life ... a chance to rebuild and start over" (64). It also suggests that "focusing on the new opportunity instead of the loss will help ease the transition" (64).

[boxofdelights]

That is a beautiful card. Thank you.