tarot of the hidden realm

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Lovers

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Prompt: Pull the Lovers card from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the Lovers card from the Tarot of the Hidden Realm and the Lovers card(s) from your own deck(s). Based off the imagery, how would you read them differently, and why?

The Lovers - Tarot of the Hidden RealmTarot of the Hidden Realm – There is a sweetness here, and a loving innocense.  This is the anticipation of first love with a moment’s hesitancy due to innocence.  There is trust in this moment and irresistable attraction. Here we see depicted a moment caught in time where a bridge is created between what once was… and what will be. A decision made that will forever change everything. How do you make the right choice? Where does the decision come from?

Tarot of the Hidden Realm, Eros Garden of Love Tarot, Blood Moon Tarot, Tarot de Maria Celia

Eros Garden of Love Tarot – So wrapped up in each other they can’t see the serphent tangled among them, here we see depicted the distraction that sex, attraction, and passion can become when one dives in care free and careless. Others watch on (the angel) but don’t interfere, like a friedn that wants to warn their friend that the “other half” is bad news but won’t because they either don’t want to butt in or fear damaging their friendship by pointing out the obvious. This card asks… what has your passion blinded you to? What warnings and dangers lurk that you are ignoring because you are too caught up in the moment?

Blood Moon Tarot – To me, this card is very reminiscent of the Tarot of the Hidden Realm’s Lovers card. The same irresistable draw of opposites, but with less innocence, and more passion with a gritty “tangled roots” sort of feeling. There is heat here in the connection between the two figures, familiarity and pulse fluttering intimacy, as well as a sharing of resources that speaks of nurturing energy, love, and care. Union flavored with passion, emotion, and support. Where in the Tarot of the Hidden Realm the card depicts a choice in the moment it is about to be made… here we see that choice made once and over again and again.

Tarot de Maria Celia – Let us not forget the Marseille depiction of the Lovers, which we see here in this card. A man and his bride stand together as a mother figure tries to pull him away.  Sometimes, this mother figure is an alluring “other woman” instead.  In both cases, this imagery is all about choices and making decisions that are best for you and alligned with your values and what you want in life. This imagery is asking if you are allowing yourself to be distracted from what is best and healthiest for you. Do you make the good choice? Or let distractions, temptations, and other influences pull you away and off this path you’ve invested in?

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, EROS GARDEN OF LOVE TAROT, BLOOD MOON TAROT, TAROT DE MARIA CELIA

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Judgement

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Prompt: Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided and the card from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why? Share your card(s) with us and your interpretation differences between the imagery on them cards.

Tarot of the Hidden Spirit - Judgement - Life RenewedTarot of the Hidden Realm – There is more than rebirth in this card. There’s hope.  Hope in the features of the girl and in her seeking gaze, as well as in the delicate unfurling of the seedling in her hand. She offers new life, rich and tender, bright and strong.  New life that will grow into a mighty oak, strong and resilient, if given the chance.  In this card I see the promise of greatness… if we are willing to believe in it and foster it’s growth within us.

The Spacecaster Tarot, Irish Mythology Tarot, I 22 Arcani Fiabeschi

The Spacecaster Tarot – Maat’s scales lie in the background of this card, indicating that the imagery is about being a good person, for it is only then that one’s heart can be weighed against a feather and come out on top. In the foreground, two figures with multiple eyes tell us that we are always watched, and there is nothing you can hide from your own heart. This card asks… What are you doing that is a weight on your heart? Stop pretending it is okay, listen to your heart and make the reparations necessary to lift that weight.

Irish Mythology Tarot – [The oghams on the sides of this card read Nuada.] Depicted in this card is Nuada Airgetlám, a king that lost his arm and his throne, only to be given a new arm by the gods and come back to reclaim his throne once more. It is a story of redemption and homecoming. In this card I see a message that speaks of what you’ve lost along the way on life’s path. What has been left behind that, if reclaimed, can make you feel whole once more?

I 22 Arcani Fiabeschi – Here we have a very classical image of the judgment card, but instead of the figures below looking up towards Gabriel who’s blowing his horn to call them home, they are focused on each other. The figures below are so focused on the physical world around them, that they discount the spiritual side of themselves and of life. This card begs the question… what elements of life are you ignoring that would help you to develop into the person that you want to be?

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, THE SPACECASTERS TAROT, IRISH MYTHOLOGY TAROT, I 22 ARCANI FIABESCHI

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Strength

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Prompt: Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided and the card from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why? Share your card(s) and your interpretation differences between the imagery on them cards.

Tarot of the Hidden Realm - StrengthTarot of the Hidden Realm – Together the wolf and the girl stand. Although I do not see persuasion here other than in the dynamic of such an unlikely companionship, what I do see is the strength that comes in numbers. The strength of support as two lend to each other their strengths, and use them to make up for the other’s weaknesses. They are stronger together than either could ever imagine being separately.

Tarot Matryoshka, Flower Essence Tarot, Sortilegium Tarot

Tarot Matryoshka – Here in this card we see savagery not tamed, but in a moment of being controlled The man holds the tip of the serpent’s mandible in his grip. Eye contact is full on as the man holds the serpent still. It appears that it is not the hold of the hands that keeps the serpent from striking here, but rather the eye contact that signifies a battle of wills, perhaps between one’s civilized nature and more savage inner instincts.

Flower Essence Tarot – Figure skating is a skill that takes a lot of inner strength and determination to excel at. Here we see a skater that, from the path of her skates carved into the ice to the posture and pose of her body, has clearly put in the time and effort to improve herself.  Added to this imagery, we have the elements of the Elm and Gorse plants, both of which carry metaphysical properties that speak of the strength of the heart, and in this card speak of having the strength within to follow what is true and right for you.

Sortilegium Tarot – Here we see a lion tamed by a beautiful woman, which is very similar to traditional imagery for the Strength card. The lion sits patiently, pleased by the attention she gives him and soothed by her petting and care. The water below is quiet and calm, speaking of serene emotions.  This card indicates that you can get more with sugar than vinegar.  By being kind and gentle, the woman has created peace, where a more forceful approach would have resulted in resistance and chaos.

DECK USED: TAROT MATRYOSHKA, FLOWER ESSENCE TAROT, SORTILEGIUM TAROT

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Death Card

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Prompt: Pull the Death card from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the Death card in the Tarot of the Hidden Realm and the card(s) from your own deck(s). How would you read them differently and why? Share your card(s) and your interpretation differences between the imagery on them.

The Death Card from the Tarot of the Hidden RealmTarot of the Hidden Realm – This imagery always makes me think of cancer.  The kind that is terminal, but takes its time.

In the image, the winds of change keep the raven aloft, and lift the woman’s hair skyward in wild disarray that reflects the disarray that change can create in one’s life. She is gaunt, speaking of a long period of change, not something sudden.  This isn’t a fall from grace, but something that eats away at the insides, ushering her forward into a new existence with the raven there to escort her on her way.

The Natural World Tarot, Anima: Gate of Memories Tarot, and Tierney's Delight Tarot

The Natural World Tarot – Swirling snowflakes and flowers surround a bird with open chest.  It perches, still and watchful in the image, its heart open to the dance of changing seasons surrounding it.  This card speaks to me of the necessity to stay open to, and aware of, changes as they happen over time. The importance of not closing oneself off to their influence and the constant shifts and adjustments necessary.

Anima: Gate of Memories Tarot – Change isn’t always easy, even when it’s the slow moving and organic kind of change.  Sometimes we fight against it even when life would be so much easier if we didn’t. Here in this imagery I see that fight depicted.  A struggle and the anger that change can stir up when it’s not the kind of change we necessarily want or volunteer for. This card says that change may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.

Tierney’s Delight Tarot – Sometimes when we’re dealing with changes in our lives, we get stuck in the mourning aspect of what we’re losing and are unable to look past that loss to the potential in our lives that it opens up.  Here in this card, I see that mourning expressed.  The card indicates that we are holding on too tight to what is on the way out… and not allowing ourselves to move on to the new possibilities that change is offering us.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, THE NATURAL WORLD TAROT, ANIMA GATE OF MEMORIES TAROT, TIERNEY’S DELIGHT TAROT

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The High Priestess

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Prompt: “Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided and the card from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why?”

The High Priestess - Tarot of the Hidden RealmTarot of the Hidden Realms – In this imagery, the High Priestess beacons us into the night as she dances among the moths and moonlight. She has secrets to tell, you can see it in her face and the crook of her finger, but in order to hear her secrets, you have to be willing to dance her dance and listen with open ears and an open mind.

Tarot Manouche Universel du XXIe Siecle, Isekai Tarot, Grand Elixir Tarot

Tarot Manouche Universel du XXIè Siecle – Here we have a veiled woman beneath the moon and night sky sitting among flowers, a bird, and horses. The is an innately earthy quality to this High Priestess, and a studiousness within the book she holds.  The night and the moon speak of the secrets she holds, and the book of her willingness to share.  The animals in this speak, again as seen in the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, a willingness to share if you’re open to hearing what she says with an open heart and mind.

Isekai Tarot – The traditional pillars that stand sentinel before the gateway of secret knowledge are present in this cardx, a carry over from the classic RWS imagery for the High Priestess.  When I first looked at this card, I thought that the young girl kneeled upon water, and in truth?  I can’t let go of that image in my mind. Night’s darkness and water are the overwhelming themes here, both of which speak of secrets and inner knowledge, intuition, and feeling your way.  The girl’s gaze is direct, speaking to a willingness to share, while her body language says “come in closer”.

Grand Elixir Tarot – Here in this High Priestess, I see the least approachable of the female figures.  With eyes downcast, her head tipped forward, and her hands holding her scroll in close, she does not appear to interested in welcoming others close.  Instead, she keeps her knowledge to herself.  The traditional pillars are present, but unlike in the Isekai Tarot card, the figure here stands between them to block passage rather than to invite others in. The crying blind infant suspended behind her right shoulder in this imagery speaks to me of standing one’s ground. Her secrets aren’t free… even if you throw a fit about it.  You have to earn them instead.

Side Notes – The resounding, repeating theme in all four of these cards is in the moon, which in this case is a representation of the unknown and the subconscious, and the female figure in the cards which is a representation of inner knowledge, intuition, and the divine feminine.  The mood of each card changes, but they all hold this central theme between them.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, TAROT MANOUCHE UNIVERSEL XXIÈ SIECLE, ISEKAI TAROT, GRAND ELIXIR TAROT

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Moon

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Prompt: “Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided and the card from your own deck. How would you read them differently and why?”

Tarot of the Hidden Realm - The MoonTarot of the Hidden Realm – The imagery of this card is all about a flagging of confidence, a sense of curiosity, and a moment of uncertainty.  Antlers are unwieldy in moments of vulnerability as the figure explores the barren ground on hands and knees.

There is also determination and strength.  She is not lying down and giving up, but continues to move forward, to seek more, and find her way.

The Moon - Tarot for Middle Earth, Anonymous Tarot, Adventure Arcana Tarot

Tarot for Middle Earth – Like the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, the focus in this card’s imagery is not on the moon itself, but rather on the figure that works to make their way through a dark landscape of shadows and darkness. Here in this card there is a sense of empowerment over doubt and uncertainty.  Her posture and the sword she carries indicates that although she walks through shadows and a landscape of illusion, she is prepared for what may come.

Anonymous Tarot – Abstract and vague, what stands out strongest to me in this card is the moon itself.  Although this imagery is very reminiscent of traditional RWS imagery, the moon dominates everything and appears to be bleeding. The amount of red in this card speaks to me of fear, and of leaving a place of calm and security (the blue) to step into that place of fear in order to follow the beacon of the moon above.

Adventure Arcana Tarot – Here again we see a very classic imagery, and yet the contrast between domesticated and wild is missing in the lack of dog and wolf.  Although the crustacean is also missing, we are still able to draw the meaning of it through the shift from stream to the appearance of a path, as if we are pulled out of the dark water of the subconscious to tread upon the moonlit path through uncertainty, forsaking the security that the towers offer to follow the guiding light of the moon above.

DECK USED:  TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, TAROT FOR MIDDLE EARTH, ANONYMOUS TAROT, ADVENTURE ARCANA TAROT