HallowQuest - anyone working through it?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 31 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

grailmaiden	31 Mar 2002
Hi all, I'm new here and new to tarot. My first deck is the Arthurian Tarot and I have the HallowQuest book that accompanies it. Am trying to be a good student (!!) and am working through the Hallowquest exercises - having started at the Spring Equinox. I would love to find someone else out there who is learning the same deck, who can share experiences and problems.

Lee	31 Mar 2002
Hi, grailmaiden -- I don't intend to make it a habit to put links to stuff I've written, but in this case I think you might find it helpful, so here goes: http://www.tarotpassages.com/arthurianlegendlb.htm Take care -- Lee

truthsayer	31 Mar 2002
i've ordered the hallowquest from amazon but don't expect to receive it until sometime in may. i do have the legend arthurian and there are some similarities b/t the 2 decks. i collect decks based on the arthurian or celtic legends. i don't know how much i can actively participate in study of the legends but it is a long time interest of mine.

Martin	01 Apr 2002
Hello! I have the hallowquest book, and I have started the course a thousand times over, but I've never been able to see it through, too many other things to do! However, I have read the book & tried a few of the meditations, although I don't really like guided meditations, I prefer to just see what comes. It is a very good compliment to the deck, and goes to show the amount of thought that went into it, which is more than can be said for the Legend tarot, which I personally find repugnant. Martin

grailmaiden	01 Apr 2002
What appeals to me about the tarot at this time is it's potential as a spiritual development tool. As Lee indicates in his link, the Arthurian, with it's accompanying course book, is designed by the authors primarily for this purpose, so that's obviously why I've hooked up with it. In the past, I've not been able to make any progress with private meditation, but with the use of these cards I've had much more success. I like the guided meditations, but I particularly like the design of the cards with their "archway" to walk through into the world of the tarot archetypes. The most powerful exercise on the course for me so far, was to lay out the whole 78 cards on the floor in a specific pattern representing the Hallowquest landscape - called a Gwynnhywll board (like a chess board). With all the cards laid out in their "realms" with the major arcana as "guardians of the hallows", something really clicked into place for me. During that meditation I could really see the Fool's Journey mapped out clearly ahead of me, and felt the encounters with the Arthurian characters as very real. If anyone else out there is interested in the potential of these cards for spiritual development and self-examination, then I can recommend a link I've found by a lady called Moonchild. She has completed the course and has been brave enough to publish her accompanying journal for scrutiny. http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/personal/hq/index.htm Grail

Aerin	02 Apr 2002
I have that deck and book - it is my favourite for reading with. I have never made the time to complete the course though, although I have done some of the lessons and meditations. I find the deck calls to me far more than the Legend deck, which (according to me) romanticises everything. Thanks for the link to the diary, it may inspire me to do more of the course. Aerin

truthsayer	09 Apr 2002
i just my hallowquest today. i'm not convinced that i will like more than my LAT but i am interested in working w/ the cards. right now i just have the book that came w/ the deck. is there a workbook beyond this? HQ seems to be more intellectual than the LAT but on the right occasions that's good! i'll let y'all know what i think as i examine this deck further. LAT's draw for me is that it is so romanticized. sometimes fantasy is more appealing to me that something that is more factual. the opposite is also true. i'll see what i think after 6 months.

moondust	10 Apr 2002
I started the course many years ago when I lost my job. I was back to work in the middle of the course, but did manage finish it, even if I didn't get to work with it as closely in the end than in the beginning. Still, it was a very spiritual experience for me. The meditation exercises were great. I was never able to meditate very well when I started, and that ability increased as the course went on. At times and in many ways, it felt as if you were actually dwelling inside those cards. The deck is still one of my favorites. Once that rapport is established, it seems to stay. Wishing everyone who is or has started this journey a very meaninful and special one. moondust

grailmaiden	10 Apr 2002
The book, for Truthsayer and others, is "Hallowquest, The Arthurian Tarot Course", by the same authors, Caitlin and John Matthews. (ISBN 0-7225-3448-5). The course is full of rituals and meditations for getting to know the cards and for self-development. It has been designed as a study programme that completes in a year, starting at either a solstice or equinox. I am attempting to complete it, having started with "The Quest for the Sword" on the Spring Equinox. Hope you enjoy your cards, Grail

Kaz	12 Apr 2002
this looks interesting, does anyone has a link where all the cards of this deck can be viewed? kaz

All Is One	12 Apr 2002
Well Kaz: Hello, and you seem to have found my ouch spot for tarot... the only place I have ever been 'allowed ' to view an ENTIRE deck w/out serious cash changing hands is ... well...OK NO WHERE. Sorry, just bought my first new decks in over three years- and I like ONE of them. Thank gods and goddesses for the trading section on Aecletic Tarot- because I have to confess to over about a dozen grevious mistakes and sadly misinformed purchases in the 10-15 yrs I've been slamming Tarot into my veins... (OK- I feel mucho mejor ahorita...) BTW- I liked the extremely intense photo of you that you posted a few days past...you look intelligent and as if you could stare down any life form you might ever encounter! Plus, very pretty. enough of this rant- Alison

Kaz	12 Apr 2002
all is one, thanks for the compliment :-) i always scan my decks and put them online so others can see them. maybe others do that as well, i dont know..... kaz

grailmaiden	12 Apr 2002
Kaz I've found this really useful link: http://www.laylianm.com/reviews/arthurian.htm Follow the links on this page and you can see a slideshow of the whole deck - cool :D. Grail

Kaz	12 Apr 2002
thanks for that link !! ow, this goes on wishlist as well, like this one.... kaz

Zhritza	12 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by All Is One BTW- I liked the extremely intense photo of you that you posted a few days past... There's a place for forum members' photos?

truthsayer	20 Apr 2002
i finally found a copy of the hallowquest book. what i've read so far has really excited me. i really want to do the course. the thought and and work put into this book is incredible. i really don't think i could do a thing w/ the cards w/o this book tho. i just draw a blank. this is definitely a deck for self-exploration. it follows the set up of the tarot but it's more than tarot. LAT is more of a theme tarot deck. it's not set up for self-exploration. i can do good readings w/ it if i don't get lost in the beauty of its images! it doesn't explore the ancient celtic roots of the arthurian legend. this doesn't mean the LAT is a bad deck--it just a completely different purpose than the Hallowquest deck. i hope to start the course this weekend. where are you at in the course, grailmaiden? is there any chance i can catch up and work the course w/ you in the study groups section?

grailmaiden	23 Apr 2002
Hey Truthsayer! Pleased you got the book. Sorry to report that I've fallen behind already :( - but my excuse is that I'm in the middle of a house move. Will not be around this site much more for the next couple of weeks while I sort myself out, but once I'm organised, I'll pm you and we can share our experiences on this "quest". Anyone else that wants to join in at that time, feel free to pm me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Love and Peace Grail

truthsayer	23 Apr 2002
grailmaiden, it's taking me so long to read thru the prelimary stuff to begin the hallowquest that you might be where i'm at by the time you finish the move. this book is really exciting but i definitely would be more inclined to work the course w/ a partner. good luck on your move!!!!

Aerin	24 Apr 2002
Let me know when you guys start working through. Reading this thread again, I have worked out part of why I really like the deck. Because the pip cards are landscapes, I can imagine walking into them and interacting with what is there more easily than I sometimes can with people pictured on the cards. Also, it sometimes seems to me that I glimpse what is happening just out of sight behind the doorway even before I step in..... Aerin

Martin	26 Apr 2002
"this book is really exciting but i definitely would be more inclined to work the course w/ a partner" Why not start it as a thread in the study section? I have started the course so many times, but given up for various reasons, although I have gleaned a lot from the book. Maybe if three or four of us shared what we got from it then it would spur us to the end! Martin

Jewel	26 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kaz ow, this goes on wishlist as well, like this one.... ~Giggles~ Kaz are you going to end up in Taro-holics afterall? ... I'll sponsor you if you would like *ROFLMAO* No seriously, I just got this deck in from Amazon, I had borrowed a friends so I got to make sure I wanted it. I also got the Hollowquest book, as my interest in this deck if to go through the Hallowquest course ... you know me, I like to study things *LOL*. If you get it see if you can find the Hollowquest book as well and we can study together :)

Jewel	26 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer is there any chance i can catch up and work the course w/ you in the study groups section? What a fabulous idea Truth!!! yes start a study group. Faunabay also just got this deck and book. I will try to keep up, but as I am in like 4 study groups and behind in all at the moment *LOL* I may lag a little behind, but I really want to do this. I will start reading the preliminary stuff next week :) YAY!!!!

Kaz	26 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel ~Giggles~ Kaz are you going to end up in Taro-holics afterall? ... I'll sponsor you if you would like *ROFLMAO* jewel, nooo, i try to keep on the safe side of the line by just buying the decks i really like the artwork. but i LIKE this deck, and i want hallowquest as well. kaz

The HallowQuest - anyone working through it? thread was originally posted on 31 Mar 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.