Harmony Tarot

Marketing Ploys in Tarot

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

Okay so I want to do a bit of a rant today that was inspired by my use of the Harmony Tarot this month.

Although the Harmony Tarot is not the only one guilty of this. And I guess before I start, I should define just what exactly tarot is…. and isn’t.

Tarot is a specific system of card reading. This specific system has a structure of 22 trumps (called the Major Arcana) and four groups (suits) made into 14 cards which are collectively called the Minor Arcana.

Each card is numbered in this deck has a specific meaning attributed to it, and that meaning is the same across all tarot decks. The Magician, for example, is card #1 in the Major Arcana, and in all tarot decks it means the same thing. Readers can then intuit more from the cards through imagery, but the base meaning of the #1 card in the Major Arcana is always the same. That holds true for all 78 cards in the deck.

An oracle, on the other hand, does not share the same structure. Each deck is it’s own system, it’s own structure, and builds it’s own meanings on the cards. If you have the structure of tarot, but not the meanings attributed to match the tarot system, it is not a tarot deck.

It irritates me when decks are marketed as “Tarot” that are not tarot. Examples of this include (but are not limited to) the Morgan’s Tarot, Dreams of Gaia Tarot, Osho Zen Tarot, Wildwood Tarot, Merlin Tarot, Harmony Tarot, Daemon Tarot, and Jane Austin Tarot. None of these decks should have the name “Tarot” in the title as none of them are actually tarot decks. They are oracle decks with their own structures and their own system. This isn’t to say that they’re not excellent oracle decks… but they aren’t tarot decks and thus shouldn’t have that word in their titles.

I feel that the use of the word “tarot” in these decks is a marketing ploy. They know that people who read tarot are interested in new tarot decks, and that more people out there read with tarot decks than with oracle decks, and so they use the word “tarot” in their title to draw these people in, even though the deck isn’t a tarot deck at all.

And that? Pisses me off. Oracle decks are NOT tarot decks. Anyone that is making a tarot deck -or- an oracle deck should know this, or they haven’t done enough research and shouldn’t be making a damned deck in the first place in that case.

The word is not interchangeable and I feel that using the word in the title of a deck that’s not a tarot deck is false advertising. A marketing ploy. Essentially? A lie meant to fool people into spending their money.

Fostering Forward Movement

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped because I was tired and ended up sleeping instead. I very much need to get back into doing this daily, but… yeah.  Today wasn’t it.

Harmony Tarot and Thera-Pets Emotional Support Animal CardsToday’s draw is the Four of Autumn.  This is not a tarot card, and the meanings on these cards are not cohesive with a tarot system.  I wasn’t aware of this when I purchased the deck (because, hello, the word “tarot” is in the title yeah?) but this deck is an oracle deck.

(Mini-rant about marketing ploys now over.)

Right, so.  The Four of Autumn is about a time of healing from a mental health ailment, distressing situation, or conflict.  It carries elements of the Four of Cups within it’s meaning in that there is a need to step back from others in order to heal, and a bit of the Seven of Pentacles in that  this healing can take a bit of time to develop and patience to bring into fruition.  It is about acceptance of where you are and taking time to yourself to find your focus and where you want to go.

When combined with the Thera-Puts card for today, the message is that sometimes when you’re working on healing from difficult times or circumstances, it can feel like it’s taking forever and the progress can sometimes feel so slow that you wonder if you’re ever going to actually heal fully at all.  Patience can be a hard thing, especially when stuck somewhere that is unpleasant.  The message here is to take a breath and practice that patience, accept it’s going to take some time yet, and do what you need to do to foster that forward movement towards a healthier you.

DECK USED:  HARMONY TAROT AND THERA-PETS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL CARDS

LionHart’s Whispering Woods Tarot Challenge Prompt
Question: How can I nurture my dreams into full growth over the next few months?

Gregory Scott Tarot

 Reading Summary:  In times of struggle (Three of Swords) and strife (5 of Swords) make sure that you are focusing on finding balance and connection with the earth and your spiritual self (Temperance).

Take Away:  This message is a re reiteration of my COTD for today.  It’s a reminder that sometimes you need to take a step back and pause… breathe… focus on finding your balance and the connections that help you find solid ground within yourself.  This is especially important when dealing with times of struggle and strife.  In order to nurture my dreams over the next few months, this is a lesson that I will need to keep in mind.  Don’t allow the crappy shit to keep you from doing what you need to do to feel balanced, complete, and connected.

DECK USED:  GREGORY SCOTT TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMar2021 Challenge Prompt
Philosophical Question: Why do we dream?

Harmony Tarot (Oracle)Reading Summary: To rise above and improve upon ourselves (Nine of Winter), find happiness and acknowledge those things we take pleasure in in our lives (Le Soleil), and to seek out truth in those people and things around us (Two of Summer).

Take Away:  The answer here is that dreams are to give us something to strive for, something to grow towards, and a way to connect with the world around us in healthy ways that will make us happier and healthier. 

If you don’t have dreams to strive for, then the stagnancy of where you are without the drive and desire to move forward, will cement you in place and allow decay to begin to take root with you.  Our dreams are the drive that keep this unhealthy stagnancy from happening.

DECK USED:  HARMONY TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I took a nap when I really didn’t want to.  I’m a little frustrated at being more tired lately than usual, but I’m trying to be accepting and understanding of this, and allowing myself a bit more rest to help in perhaps healing whatever it is that’s keeping me from the full energy I usually have at my disposal.

Emotional Balance

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Today’s meditation was skipped.  Yes… I know that last weekend’s Self Care Saturday specifically encouraged me to pick things up in this area, but there was just so much annoying shit going on and I couldn’t settle and do it.  I might do a short one before bed, though.

Otto Schmidt Tarot and Thera-Pets Emotional Support Animal CardsToday’s draw is the Queen of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s emotions, creativity, intuition, and relationships. Among other things, this often translates into themes that have to do with compassion and emotional support.

What stands out to me the strongest in the imagery of this card is equally the swan, and that the look on the queens face looks very… clever.

These aspects remind me of the literary roleplay that Gideon and I used to do based on the Anita Blake series where we played were-swans and had a cove.  There was a particular player in the realm that wanted to come in as the queen of the swans, but we were concerned because she had a tendency to become overly emotional and allow it to screw with her roleplay as well as bleed over into screwing with other’s play and emotions.

The message here is that sometimes even those in charge have moments where their emotions are in control.  At times, this can be good and create a calm and comfortable, almost serene environment.  But only if there are checks and balances in place to make sure when emotions run  high things don’t get out of control.

When my own emotions run high?  I struggle a lot.  Today’s card, combined with the Thera-Pets card for the day, is a reminder that having an emotional moment (or hour… or day… or week) is not the end of the world.  At these times, find what anchors you (that foot the queen in the card still has on the ground) and use it to find your balance once more.

DECK USED:  OTTO SCHMIDT TAROT AND THERA-PETS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL CARDS

The Marching Into Darkness Tarot Challenge Prompt
Question: When do I make others feel guilty, manipulated, or pressured into doing what I want them to?

Harmony Tarot

Guilty: When I am feeling discontentment in a relationship and the need is arising to re-establish or re-evaluate boundaries.  This card indicates that during these moments, I may feel tempted to use guilt to snap the other person to attention and  get things moving and the restructuring started. (Four of Summer)

Manipulated:  Times when I feel the temptation to use manipulation on others or make them feel as if I am are when I am trying to motivate people out of their moments of stagnancy and into a place of inspired movement, often by speaking to them and using what is important to them to drag them out of that stall and into action. (Dusk atop Knight of Spring)

Pressured:  When I am feeling pressure and the strain of upheaval, there are times when I can unintentionally spread that pressure and strain to others either through the projection of my energy, or through how I interact with them or the things I say. (Two of Winter)

DECK USED:  HARMONY TAROT

#DiscordTarotolicsMar2021 Challenge Prompt
Question: What is my greatest weakness?

Otto Schmidt TarotReading Summary:  The Tower and the Two of Wands are connected through color scheme and through the contrast of the Empress between them.  This speaks to me of bypassing the energy and themes of the Empress in times of chaos and trouble (The Tower).  Instead of focusing on self care and nurturing energy (The Empress), I focus on finding a way to move past the chaos as soon as possible (Two of Wands) even if it is at my own detriment to do so.

Take Away:  Distancing myself from chaos is a habit that has worked for me in many ways.  The problem comes when you have to run over hot coals just to add that distance and get away from that chaos.  Then, is it better to linger in the chaos and destruction?  Or is it better to run over the hot coals?

The cards here indicate that there are times when it’s better to linger in the chaos, allow the destruction to happen around you, and focus instead upon your own self care and nurturing yourself and those around you rather than seeking out the fastest escape plan.

DECK USED:  OTTO SCHMIDT TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I specifically and consciously chose to not reach out to someone in need of mental health support because I knew that I was personally not in a place in my own mental health where it would be healthy for me to do so.  Putting myself first in this manner is extremely difficult for me.