Been Naughty - Feng Shui Tarot

Little Baron

I do have two books on the shelves here. I think I might have to dig them out.

Was just shuffling, and then counting, my Buddha Tarot. A card is missing.

The last time this happened, many years ago, the deck was telling me something.

This time, I think it is suggesting that I give the Feng Shui Tarot a shot. I am sure it will turn up when I am well away with my elements and animals.

I will check those books out. Thanks Moonbow.

LB
 

Logiatrix

Moonbow* said:
I think a 'simple' book on Feng Shui will explain the animals and their positions, meanings, elements etc. I don't think you would have to delve too deeply to understand them, although there are five elements... Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal so I'm not sure how this fits in with the suits. Sounds like an interesting study to me.
I agree with Moonbow; the study of feng shui can be as simple or as deep as you want it to be. If you just want to make the most of your deck,the book for it is clearly the best reference.

However, when I had this deck, there was no book for it. It was fun and educational to improvise, though. One easy-to-use book I found is Feng Shui Symbols: A User's Handbook, by Christine Bradler and Joachim Scheiner. It's a simple, user friendly little dictionary-type guide. Perhaps it would still prove useful along with the deck's book. Anyway, I found it to be the best for looking up the card symbols, without having to sift through a lot of extraneous information.

Of course, the other stuff is only extraneous if you just want to focus on the cards; I'm sure you've already found the tarot to be a great doorway to a myriad of new and continuing studies.
:)
 

Little Baron

Just pulled down the two books I have. Neither have been off of the shelves for about seven years.

The first is 'The Little Book of Feng Shui'. Couldn't even remember what was in it but it actually looks quite good. It seems to act as a directory - a page or two on many symbols - numbers, animals, colours, fruits, flowers etc.

The other is 'Feng Shui' by Stephen Skinner. This also looks interesting. Moonbow, it has a whole chapter called 'The 4 directions, 4 celestial animals and 4 seasons'. Also a section on ancient trigrams and one about using the five elements.

Feeling a little more interested and enthusiastic now I have flicked through these books.

Thanks guys!

LB
 

Little Baron

I've been here before.

Drew a card for tomorrow morning.

Black Tortoise. Ten.

Ok. So we have the 'Ten of Wands', basically.

No imagery that I recognise. No fire. Just snow and ice.

So I look at the trigram. It is K'an.

The element for K'an is water.

Not fire.

Why?

Why is a card from the suit of fire represented by water? Is it water of fire?

Why do artists have to change elements of the tarot and add stuff that just makes reading with their decks twenty times harder than they need be? Trying to be clever, maybe?

LB
 

Little Baron

And why, when I look in the books I have and resourses on the net, does everyone, aside from the Connolley's, say that the tortoise is represented by water and not fire?

This has actually made me feel like shelving the deck and picking up one of my normal ones. At least you know where you are with a Marseille. No changes to suit the artist. No clever twists. No name changes. Fire is fire and water is water.

LB
 

MeeWah

Do not know if this will help, but according to Peter Paul Connolly who wrote some of the material in the text, the deck's Feng Shui elements largely based on the Form school rather than the Compass school.

Apparently, Wands do not represent Fire but the suit of Water in this deck.

From "The Feng Shui Tarot Handbook" by Eileen Connolly & Peter Paul Connolly:

Environmental Element: Water
Site Element: Water
Tri Gram: [unable to reproduce image, sorry, but lines are broken, solid, broken]
Direction: North [said to be traditional association]

A water site in conjunction with a water environment is stable yet flowing and malleable. The tortoise is on a snowy point of land that extends out into the water, seemingly facing the end of his path. Under pressure to continue his effort, the tortoise must not give up. He must be creative during this time of transition and plan his next route to continue into the future. The tortoise must trust that the seeds of enterprise he has planned will manifest at the appropriate time.

This passage followed by a page delineating categories as follows: Core Aspect, Reversed Core Aspect, Contemplation, Reversed Contemplation, Directive, Reversed Directive, Proximity.

As I mentioned earlier, a quite complex system.
 

Little Baron

Yes, Meewah. That does help a lot.

Reading that description that you have given sums up part of my life perfectly. It is so acurate, it is unbelievable. Even the positioning of the tortoise in the card. Everything makes sense.

But why is there no mention of any of this in the lwb?

As well as it not saying that wands=water, it doesn't state the fact that they do=fire either. What is the point? Why not just say the tortoise cards relate to water and the north, and not even bother addressing the wands -besides, they are not shown or labeled on the card. Putting 'wands' in the lwb has just added to the confusion. And p****d me off enough that the deck has been put back in the box and on the highest shelf. Grrrr.

LB
 

Little Baron

So, am I saying that the 'three of wands' is emotional celebrations and growth then? Is that how it works? Because in that card, the picture seems to represent the RWS 'three of wands', as apose to the water cards that would be represented by the three dancers.

What you said made sense Meewah and I appreciate it but I am just a little angry with the creators now because everything seems to be shifted so dramatically, from suits to illustrations, that I would have to shift all I understand to a different angle. I am not sure that that is going to be so easy. And I am not sure I want to. I feel a bit cheated by this purchase now. It may just have to end up being framed - the majors, anyway.

What a shame.

LB
 

MeeWah

LittleBuddha: Not looked at LWB, so clueless about that; however, book indicates following associations, of which I am reproducing or paraphrasing from pages 49 & 41; other pages:

White Tiger (Swords) suit deals with concerns, pressures, effort, legal situations, responsibilities, severance & separation, ill health, overcoming obstacles, new beginnings.

Green Dragon (Pentacles) suit deals with monetary transactions, banking, prosperity, financial obligations, financial struggle/loss, loans, real estate, promotion, investments.

Black Tortoise (Water) suit deals with business situations, boss &/or supervisor, plans, projects, discipline, work or job related, colleagues, organizing, home organization.

Red Phoenix (Cups) suit deals with emotions, happiness, soul mate, children, healing, love, personal relationships, family relationships, karmic ties.


5 elements discussed in relation to environment or landscape of the cards, with explanations of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal & Water & as element applies to individual card.


Each of 4 animals associated with direction & an element of the Bagua, diagram indicating various esoteric correlations & allude to the points of a compass:

Red Phoenix - Fire - South
White Tiger - Metal - West
Black Tortoise - Water - North
Green Dragon - Wood - East

Above correlations based on Feng Shui view of South as the beginning or starting point, & at the top of the compass.

[Edited for clarity.]
 

MeeWah

LittleBuddha: Perhaps my being largely clueless on subject of Feng Shui & also the I-Ching 'helpful'. The deck's artwork & imagery appealing; help to adjust to the definitely different associations.

The handbook contains a lot of fascinating information despite its relative small size. Evident both Connollys invested much thought & preparation for the book as in the detailed explanations, correlations & examples.