The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot - 19 Gros Bon Ange

Honour and respect to the night.
Outside the city's bright veil, all sleep secure in bed and house.
The roads are empty and clear, save for those who walk in the darkness.
First light breaks,
And all begin to stir.

Gros Bon Ange is the sun. The light.

It is love, but I feel, unconditional love, rather than a specific love.

Influx of helpful energy.

Success possibly earned by effort or possibly not.

Love freely given without regard to object.

Happiness and joy.

Universal love, rather than particular love.

So this is a card that means love without any direction. It is just that. So it may brighten and reassure your day - especially after the darkness of the Magick Mirror. I see it as honesty and truth. A helping hand. A gift from the universe, to all - be that a sunny day or a feeling of inspiration or warmth.

LB

I really like this card - I've only seen a small scan of it but it looks lovely and alive. The purple in the background looks like its moving, you could all most feel the heat radiating off it.

They look like streams of liquid fire coming from the Sun - What is in the end of them?, I can't make them out on the scan.

It says that they are little figures. They are not that recognisable in the card infront of me, either.

Do you have a link to the full deck, Emily?

LB

Hi LB, thanks

Yes here is the link


http://www.facade.com/tarot/description/?Deck=voodoo&Card=1

In the address just change the card number - it shows card one, then change it to 2, then 3 and so on.

Cheers Emily

There is also this one. The cards are a little larger here I think, so that might be more help for the future.

http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/album/165

Just out of interest, I was just wondering what draws you to the deck. Obviously, I know your work with the Old Path and Morgan Greer. I know we all look at different decks, but I was just interested in how you view it. I don't mean it in an offensive way. I just know you get into decks very closely and was interested in how you came to this one.

LB

Hi LB, thanks for the link.

I've been interested in the NOVT for a while now but I've always given it a wide berth, it worried me. But I took the time out to really look at the cards, not look away at the cards that caused problems but really look at them and I find that they don't disturb me like they did.

I think it may be me changing again - I loved the Morgan Greer for the masculine colours and the feeling of authority about the deck, it came to me when I was close to giving up on tarot and it gave me heart again. The Old Path is a bright lively deck that never fails to work with me but I'm looking at decks with a harder edge now. The Archeon is one of my newer buys that comes close and I love working with it but I still don't feel that I've found the hard edge that I'm looking for.

The more I find out about Voodoo and Santeria, the more I'm finding that I had very negative and unfounded feelings about these religions. These cards look like they are a challenge to use, I can't read them without reading up on them first and they are so different from anything I've used before - it a real challenge not to order them now but I want to wait for a while and see if the pull I feel towards them is real - sometimes when I fall for a deck, I fall really hard LOL

I cannot read with them either.

But that is down to not giving them the attention they deserve - not because they are unreadible.

I have tried many times, as you can see if you search, to get back into the NOVT. And company does help. Lyric has been supplying some great info.

But at this point in my tarot journey, I am less interested in learning to read another clone or something that is fluffy and bouncy. I want to visit those rooms that so far I have avoided. And I think this deck's constant whispers are why I continue to return to it.

Like you, it worried me also. I cannot remember how many times I viewed that link I just gave you. I remember, many years ago, stumbling on some samples and thinking 'now that style is definitely me'. But when I had dug deeper, the cards sent shivers.
But they continued to seduce. For years. I would occasionally look at the full deck on line. Then 'occasionally' became 'consistantly', until I started shuffling them in a London new age shop.

It took about three attempts to buy the deck. I literally took it to the counter twice and chickened out. And when I finally got it, on leaving the shop, my first thought was 'what the hell have I done?'.

But now, I feel so much less bothered by the reputation that hangs around both it and Voodoo. Rather than worrying me, it intrigues me. I look at pictures of New Orleans and I get a flutter in me - a feeling of mystery. The eyes of the characters are haunting. Out of all decks I have bought, this one's calling was far different. It wasn't about 'that's really pretty, I gotta have it', or 'that looks authentic, I gotta have that one too'. It was something about it's heart of darkness. It feels like there is so much to explore, good and bad. I want to know about the people inside it.

But right now, I cannot see it being used as a regular tarot deck. Infact, I hadn't thought much about how to use it as I have never done any readings (aside from one with Helvetica in the pub) with it.

What I love is that the plot gets thicker and the interest just gets deeper, the more we speak about it. It is exciting. I am using playing cards primarily at the moment, so this deck adds a nice balance. It is tarot .. but not as we know it.

LB

Hi LB,

I think that underlying feeling of there being a hardness to the deck is what might be calling me too - I have RWS clone decks - I read with those best but I'm looking for something different. I don't think its pretty, some of the cards are attractive but not pretty. Also I seem to be having readings from 'The Voodoo Queen' site just about everyday now and they have been real eyeopeners.

I'd love to see these cards in the flesh before I bought them but I don't think that will happen, I already have them in my cart at Amazon - just have to wait and see how long I can hold on before giving in.

They are quite dinky Emily. A bit bigger than playing cards but smaller than the RWS. They have borders but it actually doesn't offend me, like some. It has many titles but they also do not annoy because I need them there.

If you have sustained this much interest, I think it is going to be 'when' rather than 'if', so why not go ahead and order them? I really don't think you would be disappointed. There are some that I find the artwork a little naive in, but I have realised that that is not the point of the exercise. I have enough pretty decks that I get nothing from. This one has substance, pure and simle. And even though it may be frustrating that I only know a small handful of them well, I like the fact that a challenge is involved - that I am not going to run out of possibilities in a couple of weeks. It is like doing the harder crossword, rather than the 2-minute-quickie-crossword.

LB

Hi LB,

Yes I think its going to be a sooner rather than later thing with ordering this deck.