Spiral wonders

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Aoife	14 Feb 2003
In tribute to Pollux's suggestion [7-1-03]..... And because my impatience has caused me to be without the accompanying book...... I would really welcome any discussion about this deck. I particularly like the court cards - they feel far more expressive than in the other decks I have. Of the majors, my favourite cards are The Empress - such abundance. And the Moon - for the triple goddess symbolism. My least favourite cards are Justice and Judgement - they feel so punitive. The cards I least understand: The Fool - who is the female figure? What's her significance? The picture insert of the horned woman holding out her hand on the Devil card. And the World - it's just so crammed full of symbolism. Eve

Emily	15 Feb 2003
Hi Aoife, First in the Fool, its Perceval on the quest for the Holy Grail, this card is based on the legends of King Arthur and Perceval's search for the Grail, an impulsive youth, learning to become a Knight, the female figure is an angel to watch and protect him, the cat is there to tell the Fool when danger is close, the Eagles fly over an abyss which is deep and dark. All this is taken from Kay Steventon's book, it really goes into detail with the Major Cards, not as much with the Minors, but IMO if you like the deck and really want to know the symbolism - its a book well worth getting. :) Edited to add, there is a lot more to this card, each Major takes up about 3 to 4 pages of an A5 size book. :) I got my book from the Somerville playing card site, they had sold out of it last time I checked but they might have them back in now. ISBN 1-57281-131-5 Published by US Games Systems INC

Aoife	15 Feb 2003
Emily - thank you very much indeed! Unfortunately Amazon.co.uk is out of the book and I'm too mean to pay shipping from the US. I've come across the Somerville site before but I never noted the address - but I'll keep looking. Thank you very much for the information about The Fool. Eve

Emily	15 Feb 2003
Hi Aoife, The Devil card is Lucifer, based on Christian mythology, green scaly skin, black wings to indicate his divine origins, holding a trident symbol of perpetual life, pentacle on his breast, pointing downward to also symbolise life, He is relaxed and confident, his role is to seduce and enlighten us, We are seduced into traps of fear, melancholy, hopelessness, etc, The two figures holding the mirror have turned into stone, they have been there so long in bondage to their limitations and have chosen to stagnate. The Mirror they hold shows a woman who has caught a glimpse of reality and doesn't like what she see's, but now she can work to change herself. The key words to this card as bondage, compulsion, materialism, fear, illusions, sexuality, oppression, limitation, obsession, depression, hoplessness - its very negative in the Spiral devil card lol The Devil is there to tempt us,so that we can know our weakness's and strengths. Some parts taken/copied from the book The Spiral tarot - Kay Steventon

Aoife	15 Feb 2003
Emily - thank you again!! Eve

Pollux	15 Feb 2003
There was another thread regarding the Spiral deck - I decided to close it down and refer to this one only, since the context could be easily discussed here as well. If you intend to add to the discussion here and you don't mind, please take the time to browse the closed twin thread: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11532 Thank you for understanding! :) If this annoys anyone or creates troubles just let me know and feel free to contact me! :) (Merging is not an option cos the messages were posted contemporarily and merging messes them up a bit...)

The Spiral wonders thread was originally posted on 14 Feb 2003 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.