So I got this sheep gal from @redeyedryu a few days ago and decided to try and flesh her out a bit. Her name is Sirius (Siri to people she likes) and she's super fun to draw and chibi-fy.
Thank you again @redeyedryu! I absolutely love her!
Did a 3-card spread today because while I do wanna get to know the deck better I don’t wanna burn it out, especially since I might be doing multiple readings today?
Anyway, this spread was about witchiness.
First impressions: we’re transitioning from one bright color to an even brighter, almost sterile color with a lot of darkness in between.
1. “What kind of witch am I?” Sun. Aww thanks deck! This may only be because I’m currently getting a lot of sun (and am thus keeping the wolf of depression from my doorstep for a little while longer), but I do feel like a very positive, lively witch! I like this one because she’s also one of many bees in a hive; much like our sun, which we now know is by no means the center of the universe or unique, this Sun card is part of a larger network of equally bright minds! Honestly it’s a huge self-esteem boost for me.
If we look at the spot gloss, we can see hands extending from the sun, outstretched and as giving as a bee is of their honey to the rest of the hive. One hand, however, is reaching toward the Sun. To help? To take? Givingness can sometimes go too far…
2. “What kind of witch could I be?” Uh. Hm. It’s another one of those odder cards, the ones that have no in-booklet explanation but are nonetheless a legitimate part of the 99-card deck. It’s the same as the backing card, but on an all-white background and the spiral done in spot gloss. If the (VOID) represents absence which is filled with the potential for presence, then…well, this looks like presence, choked so full that there’s no room for growth. It certainly is a powerful image (and, I suspect, hints of being a powerful witch), but where the (VOID) is scary in that you never know what company might be lurking in the dark, this one is terrifying because it’s everything stripped bare to remind you that there’s nothing accompanying you.
I am both drawn to and very unsettled by this image. If this is a witch I could be, I don’t know that I want to take on that mantle.
3. “What action could I take to get to that point?” The Hermit. I mean at first glance it looks like a fairly obvious case of “isolate yourself and get in touch with your inner guidance,” buuuut I notice a small eyeball (camera?) floating into this extradimensional space with her. I see the same eyeballs (but two of them) on each of the 4 Fool cards, meaning that the journey of the Hermit is an extension of the journey of the Fool, which is to fall again and again. This Hermit, though, lacks the spot gloss wings of the other Fools. So. After failing repeatedly, the Fool retires to an area where they can gain knowledge on their own? Does that protect them from the fall? I don’t know maybe they’re about to fall again? Do they know about the eyeball? Did they choose for the eyeball to be here, or is this a thwarted attempt at isolation? Or is she maybe walking into that isolation while following the glowing light, not realizing she’s been cut off from the rest of the world? Is this really just an indication that my depression cuts me off from people, leading me to be an embittered witch, utterly alone?
More importantly, the spot gloss highlights yet more gears on this card, as its original design was likely derived from Father Time. Does that mean I need to spend a certain amount of time in isolation to become the white card, or that the march of time will isolate me on its own? Maybe this isn’t a path that will come to me soon; maybe just when I’m old, crotchety, powerful, and when all my friends are dead. The white card does remind me of Granny Weatherwax.
All right, so here’s my really long interview spread for my new deck.
While I’ll put most of the interview under a cut, I just wanna laugh at the fact that I initially asked “What is your nature” and pulled the King of (VOID) card, which is basically “knowledge, never passed on.” And I was like “??? that’s...depressing???” But then my next three cards were consecutive cup cards, so I guess it was actually “you haven’t shuffled me well enough to do anything.”
Anyway, on to the interview while bearing in mind that I’ve literally never read tarot before. I’m linking to fuller-sized images of the cards in my analysis in case anyone wants to see them in a little more detail (it doesn’t show the spot gloss, though!)
My initial reading of the spread was that there was a lot of red, associated with fire/spirit, and a number of court cards and major arcana. I did feel like the deck was excited to see me and put importance on this interview, but I’ll admit to significant bias.
0. The first card I pulled wasn’t strictly a part of the interview, since the question was “What tone would you like me to set for our interview?” So over to the left is the Princess (this deck uses Progeny instead of Pages) of Wands (which has its elemental and spiritual association swapped with Pentacles in this deck), inverted (which means the first card I’ve ever pulled has to do with reversals...................)
So like if I were to read this as a purely traditional variant of the Rider-Waite deck (which it’s definitely not), then I’d be looking at an inverted Page of Pentacles, then I would be looking at “you’re bad at planning and also have ADHD,” to which I would say TRUE, and especially fitting given that my next shuffle brought all the cups cards bubbling to the surface.
But the Princess of Wands is a card that features a tree girl joyfully falling back to Earth. This deck associates all Progeny with Earth (growth, physicality, etc.), so the Princess of Wands is the Earth of Earth; the ultimate in growth! So what does it mean that it’s inverted, especially in this deck?
If she’s falling back to Earth when upright, then doesn’t inversion look like a joyful leap into the (VOID)? Egypt Urnash states in her booklet that she considers (VOID) and Wands to be the suits that are closely interrelated and possibly inversions of one another in her deck. (VOID) is a suit of absence, but it’s also a suit of potential much as Earth is. So I took this first card to mean “jump in!” which I did, without shuffling well, and then I had to pause and shuffle properly.
1. In the center of the top is a 5-card spread that’s specifically about the deck, the center being “What is your nature?” The card there is the Seven of Wands, inverted. Again, looking at the traditional interpretation, I would treat it as an inverted Seven of Pentacles, which is “lack of long-term vision, limited success or reward.” This would I guess be an implication that this tarot deck can’t be used for long-term success? But Egypt Urnach explicitly titles this card “Failure” when upright.
So upside down, it looks like the tiniest bit of green holding on helplessly as the encroaching darkness devours everything from below. Is the deck the glimmer of hope in a destructive time, or is it the power behind such destruction? I’m not really sure, but I feel that this card, like the first I pulled, is once again hammering home the relationship between Earth and (VOID).
2. “What are your strengths?” CHEEKY. This is the Fortitude card, which is this deck’s “Strength” card. Thanks for correcting my terminology, bud. Looking closely, though, there’s a LOT to be seen in this card. While the traditional Rider-Waite shows a young maiden petting a lion into submission, this version is focused on holding up a pillar, with the lion an afterthought behind her. Can she let go of the pillar? I personally feel like she kind of can, given that she’s surrounded by people who are doing a similar job. But if she leaves, then...? Will it cause a mass defection? If one abandons her post, will it encourage others to do the same? Certainly, the lion is a tempting distraction. She also looks a little haughty. Is it because she does her duty despite the distraction present, or because she has a distraction where others have none?
And so, despite the initial cheekiness of the answer, I feel that it’s also a legitimate response: this deck’s strength is that it stays on even when others are there to do its duty -- for now.
3. “What are your weaknesses?” The 99 of Pentacles. Hah! An unconventional one! This one doesn’t even have a Rider-Waite counterpart for me to consult if I can’t puzzle it out for myself. This is the Pentacles suit filled past the brim, filled to BURSTING. Given its unconventional elemental association with fire and spirit, and given that it’s a deliberate joke card titled The Lord of Every Extend, it would seem that this deck’s weakness is that it’s like an excited child that prioritizes having fun over taking anything seriously. Same, deck. Same. I would argue, though, that it is likely that this deck’s weakness also plays into its strength; its ability to perform its duty regardless of other distractions is because the deck itself is the most welcoming distraction.
4. “What do you like doing best?” Fortune, inverted. Yikes! This is usually the point in a movie where the music gets all ominous and dark. The possible positive interpretation in the traditional sense is “out of control,” but that’s about it. It’s possible this deck enjoys visiting misfortune upon people. But! Looking at my hazily-scrawled notes from last night, it could mean turning fortune on its head! Better yet, it could mean turning fortune-telling on its head, which is, again, quite in line with what I’ve heard about this deck.
5. “What do you like doing least?” King of Pentacles, inverted. I find it interesting how the “likes/dislikes” cards are inverted where the “strengths/weaknesses” cards are not, making them mirrors to one another; the deck likes turning fortune on its head because of its strength, and the deck dislikes doing...whatever this card means, on account of its overenthusiam.
The King cards are slotted into Air as an element, given their association with knowledge, passed on, so that makes this guy the Air of Fire, or Spirited Mind. This is the guy you meet at parties who always has a new story with which to regale his audience. The reversal, though, indicates a blockage to me. Mayeb this deck doesn’t like when it hogs the spotlight, since it would then be drawing attention to itself instead of passing anything of importance on? The 5-card spread here really seems to indicate a deck that is internally clinging on for dear life while externalizing a monstrous ego.
6. “What is your initial impression of me?” Temperance, inverted. HAH. Okay this one’s a no-brainer. Whether I go traditional or consult the booklet, this one’s about restraint in the face of temptation and excess, which I decidedly do NOT have, especially given that I’ve been researching oodles about tarot since the second I even heard about this deck.
7. “What can I learn from you?” Chevalier of Pentacles. DOUBLE HAH. First the deck says I don’t have restraint, then it says I can learn from this card? The Chevaliers are associated with fire and spirit, so this card is a Fire of Fire, somehow ever firier than the Lord of Every Extend. The meaning of this card is pretty close to its counterpart Page of Wands, which is about enthusiasm and discovery. I feel like it does work, though; my lack of restraint has more to do with consumption, whereas this card invokes adventure, which I avoid like the plague.
8. “How do you want me to work with you?” Princess of Swords. This is a highly contradictory card, as Earth of Air. It hints at growth of intelligence, but also shows someone unable to ground themselves quite as much as they’d like. While I speculated last night that this card meant I should use it with precision, I feel now that it’s telling me its results can be unpredictable unless I ground myself. But it’s also traditionally a card of curiosity and chattiness, so it’s also a request for regular talking?
9. “Where do you see us going together?” Uh. Hm. I don’t have a close-up for this card, but it’s this back with inverted colors and the title of the deck. There are two such cards that are essentially title cards, but are nonetheless a part of the deck. It kind of felt like another brag to me, implying that the best outcome of us working together was me getting to explore this deck! But I wasn’t sure, so I pulled a confirmation card, which turned out to be:
Five of Swords, inverted. Uh. I think the deck just told me to surrender. Which is what I get for reading a really complicated spread until midnight; it’s kind of a big spread to do for the first time meeting a deck, and I probably exhausted it a little!
Anyway, that was my first chat last night with the Tarot of the Silicon Dawn!
little we’re-totally-not-gay things @verifiedlinguist and I did at the beginning of freshman year in college: scroll through a lesbian-run tumblr exclusively dedicated to pictures of women in varying states of undress for the #aesthetic
omg @verifiedlinguist just helped me find the girl who complimented me 4 years ago based on her hair color, graduation year, and the fact that she had a bangin’ figure
