Anyone reading with The Grail Tarot:ATV?

Parzival

Anyone Reading With The Grail Tarot?

This is an outstanding work of art, story, and symbol, a fine deck for meditation and divination and close observation. You can join together clusters of cards, 3 or 4, and see how they make one panel : for instance, 0 and 1 and 2 and 3, major arcana or any suit. The cards do not exist in isolation -- they form a step-by-step journey through the majors or suits. It's our journey from dark to light.
 

Galiana

I used this deck when I did the Sacred Days of Yule spread and verh happy with the results. This is the first deck that I can truly say I connected with.
 

Sir Lance

This is a beautiful deck with brilliant imagery. A must for any serious collector. However, it is not recommended for beginners.
 

.traveller.

Sir Lance said:
However, it is not recommended for beginners.

I'm not sure how I feel about that comment. On one hand, I can see what you mean in terms of a mature reader being able to get the most out of the cards... but that could be said of any tarot deck.
On the other hand, there is something to be said about having little or no preconceived notions of what the cards "should" look like or "should" mean. Beginning with a clean slate allows one to appreciate the deck on it's own merits.

I'm waffling between the two viewpoints :confused:
 

Sir Lance

The Tarot Grail relates the quest for the sacred Christian relic to our desire to understand the puzzle of our own lives. The suits are represented by the four Grail Hallows: stone, sword, lance and vessel. This is from the back of the box. If I was a beginner I would want to start out with a RWS deck. From there I would move on to more esoteric themed decks. Then again what do I know, I just got the Bohemian Gothic Tarot (silver) and trying to get a handle on it.
 

rachelcat

Hi, I have a question for Grail lovers and/or Matthews fans:

What is the significance of pouring water on the (a) stone? (featured on the Priest/Mechiezeldek card).

I'm thinking it is something from Celtic mythology that I can't seem to find. I know it's featured in the Hallowquest deck, in the King of Cups (I think). I COULD look it up in my Hallowquest book but my books are STILL in boxes!

So I'll ask you instead! Thanks for any and all ideas!
 

Mariana

Melchisedek is actually a biblical figure, from Genesis 14. Hah, this is why I knew I had to get the deck, finally something to put my vast knowledge of christian symbolism to use! Anyway, the water on a stone is not biblical though, in Genesis Melchisedek is only associated with bread and wine (a sort of pre-christ). So it seems that Matthews has mixed two symbols here.
Perhaps there could be a link with the Fisher King of the grail tradition, as in a dry land that needs to be healed? And pouring water from the grail stands for the healing through... I don't know, something spiritual I guess?
Just thinking while I'm typing...
 

.traveller.

Upon looking at the two of stones, I noticed how skeletal the hand of the seeker was, which lead me to look at the hand of the "preceptor in disguise".


I swear it looks like he is giving the seeker the bird :bugeyed:

It is now my customer service card.
 

rachelcat

.traveller. said:
I swear it looks like he is giving the seeker the bird :bugeyed:

It is now my customer service card.

We've just started a customer service indoctrination . . . err . . . "initiative" at my work--I don't think they'd go for THAT!!

Hey, Mariana, thanks for the thoughts. I'm reporting back on my research.

I looked up Melchizedek on Wikipedia (isn't it everyone's favorite spiritual resource?!) and Bible Gateway for the actual citations. You were definitely leading me in the right direction. I get the offering of bread and wine as a precursor to Christ (in place of animal sacrifices of the "regular" priests). Also the concept of being a special, newer, better kind of priest.

The celtic legend with pouring water on a stone is the Lady of the Fountain. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab05.htm

The pouring part tells of a giant/monster who is a "woodward" (the lord and protector of the animals of his woods). He directs knights-errant to dip water from his fountain with a silver bowl and pour it on the nearby slab of marble. When they do, a horrible hail storm almost kills them, then the sun comes out and a beautifully singing flock of birds come, closely followed by a black knight who battles it out with the pourer.

So our Grail Priest is a special kind of priest who has powers over and protects the natural world? That makes some sense, given the grail and other hallows are spiritual things, but also physical things that manifest in this world. And maybe that's why the stone is GREEN. It also works with the GD attribution of Taurus for Hierophant. He's a priest for the earth.

(As I'm typing this, I look up at my Llewellyn astrological calendar, which this month shows a lovely painting of Aquarius--A stately woman in white Grecian robes stands on a large granite rock by the sea ceremoniously pouring water from a large shallow silver dish onto the rock!!! What are the odds?)

Now back to your regularly scheduled appreciation of the Grail Tarot . . . By the way, I have read with it again and still find it quite readable by taking into account both the "seeker's journey" and standard tarot meanings.
 

Parzival

Anyone Reading With The Grail Tarot ?

rachelcat said:
We've just started a customer service indoctrination . . . err . . . "initiative" at my work--I don't think they'd go for THAT!!

Hey, Mariana, thanks for the thoughts. I'm reporting back on my research.

I looked up Melchizedek on Wikipedia (isn't it everyone's favorite spiritual resource?!) and Bible Gateway for the actual citations. You were definitely leading me in the right direction. I get the offering of bread and wine as a precursor to Christ (in place of animal sacrifices of the "regular" priests). Also the concept of being a special, newer, better kind of priest.

The celtic legend with pouring water on a stone is the Lady of the Fountain. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab05.htm

The pouring part tells of a giant/monster who is a "woodward" (the lord and protector of the animals of his woods). He directs knights-errant to dip water from his fountain with a silver bowl and pour it on the nearby slab of marble. When they do, a horrible hail storm almost kills them, then the sun comes out and a beautifully singing flock of birds come, closely followed by a black knight who battles it out with the pourer.

So our Grail Priest is a special kind of priest who has powers over and protects the natural world? That makes some sense, given the grail and other hallows are spiritual things, but also physical things that manifest in this world. And maybe that's why the stone is GREEN. It also works with the GD attribution of Taurus for Hierophant. He's a priest for the earth.

Insightful, helpful information. Thanks. It seems to me that the pouring of water over the green stone is a quickening or enlivening of that which is dead into life, so that mere matter, the stone, becomes charged with life-force. In some Grail legends, the Grail itself is a stone charged with the healing power of the Christ ( Wolfram, Parzival, Book IX ). The Hierophant here is the life-giver, a kind of Grail Shaman, not just a keeper of tradition or giver of traditional wisdom. So he is as you well say " a priest for the earth."