Rosa of Swords

A Tarot Blog by @ussrosalind

[rosaofswords]

Hey guys. I am just popping in to say:

I’m probably not coming back to this blog with new content any time soon. Possibly ever. I am leaving it up for posterity, because I think I did a lot of good work here that may be useful to others on their tarot journey. 

I still love tarot but, as I have mentioned in other posts, it’s gone back to being a more private piece of my life. I’m still happy to read for and with friends, I definitely pull my cards out for myself all the time... but I am not on a part of my journey where I feel the need to share it publicly. 

I started this blog because a friend asked me how to read the tarot. I had no idea how many new friends this blog would, in turn, bring me. I am so grateful to have had this journey. 

If you want to see my cards in action, I still occasionally post readings that call to speak a little bit louder over on my instagram (ussrosalind). 

I am still absolutely happy to answer asks, if people have them, so feel free to reach out. 

Hope you are all doing well. 

- Rosa

[sarakipin]

Three of Swords 

For my second senior thesis, I’ll be completing the Suit of Swords from the Minor Arcana Tarot card deck! It’s an excuse to draw sad fantasy knights 

[crowberon]

@rosaofswords

[rosaofswords]

I actually bought the print of the Four of Swords from this series a couple years back :D @sarakipin does such cool work and this series delights me to no end. 

(I would like to also get the Six of Swords print at some point. We’ll see!!)  

[myeviltwincorvinnia]

@rosaofswords

[rosaofswords]

:O 

[corvinnia]

@rosaofswords you might find this video interesting

[rosaofswords]

<3 yes good!!!

[ussrosalind]

Seven Birds Tarot Deck: A major arcana set

Original digital art inspired by The Adventure Zone (TAZ) characters. 22 tarot cards in total with a unique back and tuck box.

[rosaofswords]

Signal boosting this campaign because the choices are extremely on point. 

I was talking with @nicstoirm yesterday about how the match ups for each card are on par with the amazing Justice League Tarot, which is kind of my gold standard for decks like this. 

If you have an interest in The Adventure Zone: Balance, fan art, and tarot.... consider giving this deck some support. :) 

[gefdreamsofthesea]

I have lost all confidence as a tarot reader. How did you personally learn tarot?

A combination of practice (a lot of practice) and a couple books: 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer and Tarot 101: Mastering the Art of Reading the Cards.

I actually started reading for my friends’ RPG characters. Fictional characters won’t judge you or call you a fake like real people. Another thing you can do is just draw daily cards for yourself (if you’re not doing that already). I know people say “don’t read your own cards” but most people pull one for themselves every day.

[rosaofswords]

The Hermit: A Tarot Mentors Reflection

featuring the Moonchild Tarot

Hi guys, let’s start with the elephant in the room, shall we: I have not been sharing a whole heck of a lot on here. There’s a lot of reasons for that (new job, lots of personal stuff, my practice is a lot more private, tarot is not my main interest at the moment, etc.) and there are some mixed results from that. 

I just spent the last week with The Hermit in the Moonchild Tarot as my mentor card. (If you don’t know what a mentor card is/how I use them... I am pretty sure I have tons of posts on it if you just search tarot mentors on my blog?) Last night was my wrap up reading, because I am currently doing my new mentor draw and card study on Sundays. 

From the start, I loved THIS Hermit, because it speaks to my own interpretation of the card really well. Because the figure is a shadow, you cannot really tell if they are entering the cave or leaving it. And that is, really, the crux of my interpretation “there’s a time to go into the cave and there is a time to come out.” 

I’ve been doing a lot of “going into the cave” this year. I’ve had to. Partially this is practicality and actual social withdrawal, I work in a very public and social place and that is extremely taxing on an introvert. But, it’s also been a matter of seekership and wisdom finding. When I first joined this community it was like when I was first learning to draw: I was so excited to find other people who were doing it and I wanted to learn their ways. Where I was at this year was probably where I was mid-high school with art: turns out I have different tastes and approaches that work for me and I really wanted to hone those and work on my personal style/practice. 

Last night’s draw (pictured above) was a bit of a shakeup of that course. I drew the Page of Wands (finding your THING, enjoying your own lantern light) and the Four of Wands (embracing the community that shares your fire) -- and I am realizing I may be ready for a more balanced approach. 

I say ready, because I know I needed to take the time I did. There were some very serious shadows I needed to face alone. No one will fight your dragons for you. But, as I said, there is a time to go into the cave... and there’s a time to come out of it. And there’s a time to commute between the two because there’s stuff in both worlds, the cave and outside, that bring you value. 

Anyways, my personal practice is still... pretty freaking personal. But, I want to share some of the breakthroughs with you guys again, when I have them. Like this one. I miss sharing with the community. I miss the chatter, the sharing of ideas and the knowing that we aren’t as alone as we sometimes feel. 

I had already talked myself out of making this post this morning, but then I started watching a YouTube vid by @alethiomancer and she was about to bring up The Hermit and I was like “darn it, universe” so I paused the video and here we are. I’m going to go finish watching that video now, but I wanted to leave you guys with something to interact with:

Tell me about your experiences with The Hermit! Make a post and tag me, or leave a comment/reblog/whatever. I want to know. Let’s take a moment to poke our heads out of our caves and share some of this wisdom we’ve been finding. <3 

[rosaofswords]

Decks that I think of when I think about my tarot practice:

1. The Aquarian Tarot - my first deck, the beginning of a 17 year romance that is still going strong. I spent 15 years using this deck almost exclusively and I’m gonna love it forever. It gave me my first stalker card, the Four of Swords, which is still my favorite card of all time. 

2. The Linestrider Tarot - the deck that taught me how to read without a book. Which, that said, it has an amazing book! It’s just that Siolo’s art made sense to me in a way that most of the Aquarian’s art did not. (It’s also how I started this blog!) 

3. The Dreaming Way Tarot - the deck I started making original spreads for. This deck was bought shortly after the Linestrider and I loved how no-nonsense it read for me. I made my Oz spreads and the Instrospective Gunslinger spread with this deck’s reading style in mind. 

4. The Shadowscapes Tarot - I learned more about myself from this deck than I think I have from any other. I spent December of 2015 with it and it’s kind of just become this piece of December and myself as a result. 

5. The Mountain Dream Tarot - I love this deck, I just love it. If I could live in one deck, I am pretty sure this is that deck for me.The Stars court in particular just makes my heart sing. It feels like coming home. 

[rosaofswords]

Year Ahead Spread Update - October 2018 ft. the Haunted House Tarot

Year Card: The Fool October Card: Judgement

Suggested Listening: Hercules - Sara Bareilles

I’m getting a little tired of saying “this was a hard month” but, you know what? It was hard. But good, actually. 

I got a lot of big things done this month, most notably finally getting my driving licence. But on the smaller scale, I was really intentional about my mental health this month. 

In hindsight, the biggest change was not in what was happening (I literally ended October with another dental nightmare situation) but in how I turned around my response to the situation. 

I’ve been feeling the “call” to work with hero archetypes for a very long time now, probably about this time last year, if not way earlier. (I do some light pop culture paganism with Sailor Venus and Superman from time to time.) But I hadn’t really sorted out the hows and whys until this month. 

After my Moon month and feeling very cornered, stuck, and victimized, stepping into that heroic archetype was more than just empowering. It was life changing. I still struggle to make myself the hero of my inner narrative, definitely, but I am taking a much more active role in getting there than ever before. 

Again, I have to praise my morning pages practice. I made a point of being extra vigilant about doing them in October after the crazy of September, partially because it’s part of my mental health maintenance but also because it forces me to make time for myself. Not for work, not for family, not for the cat: for me. It takes about 45 minutes (sometimes longer if I’m not focusing, I admit it) over my first cup of tea, and it makes so much difference. Sitting down to three pages of whatever is on my mind, generally pretty mundane stuff. Each morning I am faced with my initial mindset of “ugh I feel awful/this thing is bothering me/woe is me/everything sucks/bed is so much warmer than not bed” and either get the complaining out or, increasingly more, manage to talk myself into actionable steps or a change of mindset. 

Let’s talk about the Tarot though because that’s what this blog is actually about supposedly:

The Haunted House Tarot shared the stage with the Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot-In-A-Tin for a lot of this month. I started with the Smith-Waite largely because I was still very overwhelmed after September between the dental stuff and being really short-staffed at work for awhile there. I actually used the Little White Book. For the Smith-Waite. And I liked it. 

I’m pretty pro-RWS in general, but I didn’t really get any meanings that stuck with me from using it early on in my reading career. To be honest, I read with the RWS and Aquarian Tarots for 14 years without having most meanings stick in my head. (Exception: my beloved, the Four of Swords.) It wasn’t until the Linestrider came out (which I bought for the art, with no intention of actually doing a lot of reading) that I finally felt the pieces fall into place, which really just goes to show how important the visual language of a deck can be. But, now that I have that foundation... going back to the LWB for the the Smith-Waite was fascinating. The Star card caught me particularly off-guard because it spoke about having hard/bad things happen to push you back towards your best path. It’s a hopeful card, but that doesn’t mean it comes without heartache and struggle-- which was a really critical concept in helping me grasp this Hero Mindset I was talking about earlier. 

The Haunted House Tarot was bought largely because of a post I saw here on tumblr (I’ll look back later and link it, probably) that intrigued me. I got it to use as my game-master deck for my Pathfinder RPG group. BUT: I fell in love with it as soon as it arrived. It’s a little really cheesy, but that actually works in its over dramatic favor. This deck is basically a gothic novel, which is perfect for both a narrative deck (each suit does tell a bit of a story) and for tarot over all. What is tarot if not a little bit... extra? One of the things about working with this deck that really got me was how often Raven, our white-dress clad heroine, slipped from the role of potential victim to a self-liberating badass. (At least in the cards that came up for me.) This was fantastic imagery for continuing working on this Hero Mindset as well. 

Anyways, It’s been really interesting. I’m finding that The Fool is very much a part of the hero energy I’ve been working with, which makes good narrative sense. Finding that ability and mindset for myself was my Judgement rebirth moment. It’s a thing.

Looking forward to November: I’m working with the Queen of Pentacles. Who, you know, is basically my aspirations in life. I just want a garden, a rabbit, and constant visual reminders that I am making progress. 

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Shadowrun Reading for Cipher, a Sick Decker ft. the Neon Moon Tarot

Advice: The Chariot Shadow: Agent of Arms

Maybe consider where you want to be going before you just GO THERE. You can apply your willpower to a situation without mowing people over. Well, theoretically you can. You’re still... I mean... your charisma is pretty bad. 

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Pathfinder Reading for Cass, a tongues-speaking part-time mermaid, ft. the Mesquite Tarot

Energy - Ace of Cups

Challenge - Death

Advice - Student of Coins

Shadow - Three of Coins

Proper post later, just heading to the game now. Phone accidentally posted this to my main blog so sorry if you’re seeing this for the second or third time tonight. WHELP.

Switched decks because while the Ostara suited the campaign, it didn’t suit Cass. Also, I freaking love the Mesquite, it’s perfect. Fight me. 

[rosaofswords]

looking at my deck collection for one to work with this week like

[rosaofswords]

Having this very silly problem again. :/

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Shadowrun Reading for Cipher, a Sick Decker ft. the Neon Moon Tarot

Advice: Two of Vials- Who fills your cups, boo? Cheers! Shadow: The Chariot- Don’t be a passive passenger, that’s never really been your style. Why start that nonsense now?

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Pathfinder Reading for Cass, a tongues-speaking part-time mermaid, ft. the Ostara Tarot

Energy: Nine of Swords - Ey, it’s all dark and spooky up in here. And that might be stressing you out a bit. 

Challenge: Five of Swords - With the brutality of the situation, some victories are going to double as losses. You’re going to have to figure out what is and is not worth sacrifice very quickly, before it’s too late. 

Advice: Five of Cups - Let your upsets show. No one wants to live in calm waters all their lives, and you are really only ever calm on the surface. Despair in you need to. 

Shadow: Ten of Coins - You can’t, and should not, be responsible for every single person. That reality is going to be hard for you. 

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Pathfinder Reading for Cass, a tongues-speaking part-time mermaid, ft. the Ostara Tarot

Energy: Ace of Cups - New friends, new adventures! It might be a little much, and emotions are understandably probably also running high. 

Challenge: The Empress - Hopefully not the literal Empress, we like her. I think the challenge here is one of nurturance. Be careful what you let grow wild. 

Advice: Eight of Wands - You’re going to be want to quick to react when you are moved to. Weird advice to give my non-gunslinger character... but maybe keep a finger on the trigger? (Cast defensively, THEN move.) 

Shadow: Four of Wands - You tend to hide yourself a bit in your connections to others. Don’t let your desire for friendship keep you from doing what you must. 

It’s really weird to be reading for Cass, since the campaign she was part of was so long ago. (Well before I started this sideblog/got back into tarot.) Cass’s DM chose the deck, because it suits the world very well. :) 

We’re playing a little one-off game tonight! I’m excited to have some adventures on the high seas! 

[rosaofswords]

Pre-Shadowrun Reading for Cipher, a Sick Decker ft. the Neon Moon Tarot

Advice: Agent of Arms Shadow: The Emperor

Never mind the maneuvers, just run straight at ‘em. 

Now is the time for action, not for trying to make sense and order over everything.

[gothicismblog-deactivated201812]

The Major Arcana for my British Gothic Tarot! On sale now at http://britishgothictarot.com! 

Come along with me on a journey into the darker side of literary archetypes–the Rider-Waite playing along with some of our greatest literary creations. This is a deck that rewards deep study and makes for some fun reading.

From now until Halloween, $5 from each deck sold will go to benefit Planned Parenthood Action Committee in celebration of 200 years of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, that awesome book about the necessity of owning one’s own body.

Every little helps, so even if you can’t buy my deck, please reblog this post!