Traveling AT Member Deck ~ Journal ~

[gregory]

For Saturday I drew the Seeker of Swords. That IS funny. He is on his rearing horse – in a circle of stones ! This was to be the deck's Big Day with me !

We went into town to get a towbar put on the car. I took the deck with me while we wandered around – it didn’t feel right leaving it in a strange garage with an oil-covered man who I'd never met, nice though he was.…. It went out for coffee (I think it prefers black, as do I ! ) to a bookstore and to the bank (where I found there was more in my account than I thought – do you suppose ???? no, I guess not !) and in the end, picked up the car and drove through back roads on a sunny but overcast day, through autumn leaves, tractors, mud, sheep, copses and the remote English countryside – to Long Meg and her Daughters – a Druids’ stone circle in an out of the way spot in the Pennines. And fascinatingly, someone had recently had some kind of ceremony there – Hallowe’en, maybe – and left a marrow, a satsuma and some soft dried apricots at the foot of the tallest stone, Meg. It made our visit seem that bit more significant, somehow.

We walked around a bit, and took some photos – which are attached. I'm afraid there are rather a lot, so some will be in the next post.... the circle is huge; you would be hard put to get it all into one picture without great skill and either a helicopter or a camera even better than my absent one. But the light was eerie at times; I have tried to get this across on a view FROM the circle – perhaps it will show up. I also took one of the card I signed there. I would have done more; maybe even laid out a reading on a stone – but it was so windy I was afraid of losing even that one card, so thought - best not ! I could just imagine what everyone would do to me if I passed on an incomplete deck....

 

[gregory]

And some more photos of the visit to the circle. It really is a magical place; we love it. Superstition has it that if you walk around it and count the stones, the number never comes out the same twice. So far, this has held up for me; I've been there many times, and....

The light effect may come across in one of these; it was just gorgeous. I'm not sure anyone but a professional photographer could have captured it properly.

 

[gregory]

Sunday. Because Post Offices don’t open after noon on Saturday, I had asked Daizdy if it was OK to keep the deck till Monday, and she said that was fine.

The card I drew was the Sage of Cups. A very reflective card; interesting as I was thinking about doing a three card reading today – I still may! Lots of water too; I do like water – and very blue.

It is very windy again. I took a selection of my decks into the garden - as the camera I have isn’t good on flash and low light – and took pictures of them with the traveller. I included some favourites – including the Dodal Marseille, just to show people I have one ! And also one of the traveller with my copy of the deck, as it hadn’t worked too well when I did it inside. The view from the garden is quite lovely.

 

[gregory]

Still Sunday November 5th

I decided I would take the deck on another little trip as SO wanted to go for a walk. So Hadrian’s Wall it was. And WINDY………… On the way there (in my beloved Bluebell) it started to drizzle – but it stopped in time. Just as well – it was also very cold; we were in hats, gloves and winter coats !

We went up to Cawfields milecastle. There was actually a quarry near there up till 1944 (the year of my birth!) which demolished part of the wall, though it left a little lake which is quite nice. We walked up the wall eastwards from there. On the way up, I put all the Seekers out in a niche (I think it maybe used to be an old stone bench cut into the wall for centurions to sit on when they got tired from all that marching) so they could pretend to be Roman soldiers…. And we took photos of the wall, of course, and of the sunset. And I decided it would be nice to have a photo of me fanning the deck out a bit – SO almost had a fit considering the wind; he asked how I would explain it to the other participants if they all blew away, but it was OK (luckily !) Jeannette’s signed card is at the front in the photo; that seemed appropriate!

It really WAS windy, though. I’m no skinny Minnie, but I was actually afraid at times there that I would actually blow over and do myself some damage in some of the most exposed bits. I was reminded of those posters when I was a kid, saying things like “Skegness is very bracing.” But the views are stunning, of course. So is the wall – and very atmospheric. I think the deck felt some of the cobwebs had been blown out of it; it has spent a lot of time in envelopes and boxes !

And going for broke – I slipped up here. As I said in the main thread, I wanted to do a three card reading. I solicited a volunteer by the simple expedient of asking my friends (the kind of people I knew would bear with me through any disasters I hit…)

Wouldn’t you know, both those I asked agreed. So I shall soon post general readings for Netzach (who posted an excellent one for me, and has received feedback, though it seemed inappropriate to put it in this thread) and Queen of Pentacles, who missed out on taking part in this in any other way. Thanks to both of you for being brave enough to agree…. They are/will be brief….. I don’t want to clutter the thread with huge ones, and I do want to get the journal posted !

After I did the readings, I packed the deck up ready to mail, and took it to bed. A useful lesson I learned – don’t do that. The packing box is really uncomfortable under the pillow – and anyway, as I had forgotten to scan the cards for the readings, I only had to take it out again in the morning ! I could have done them from my own copy – but it would have felt like cheating.

 

[gregory]

Sunset at Hadrian's Wall..... A sort of fitting end to the day....

 

[gregory]

A reading for Netzach

For Netzach – a general reading.

7 of Wands, Sun, 10 of Pentacles, in that order.

What I tend to do is lay the cards out in a line and read a story from them.
So –

7 of Wands:
It’s night, under a starry sky. A person – I have decided it is a female, but it needn’t be ! - stands holding two flaming wands. In front of her, 5 more unburned wands sort of float above the ground. There is power here; the woman is using the flaming wands in some way to manipulate the others, I think, and is very confident of her ability.

Sun:
A baby (with an adult head !) is sitting in a sunflower. His arms are outstretched towards the sun in the green sky, and flowers are raining down around him.

10 of Pentacles:
A man sits cross legged by a bush full of large pentacles. His arm is around a large affectionate dog. Behind him a river, with a little boat and a house the other side; above him flies a red bird. Before him on the ground are a clay pipe, a cup a feather, a knife and a fruit cut in half. I think he is “supposed” to have all four symbols here ! In front are three children and another dog, sitting on a huge stone pentacle. They have a ball with a pentacle on it.

Wow ! It looks to me as if you have taken on something – or taken something into your own hands – with great confidence and ability, and using all your power to achieve your aims. (7 Wands.) You reach for the sky (Sun) which looks favourably on the project, whatever it may be.
And could there be a more favourable outcome - the 10 of Pentacles has everything – material success, thought not to excess, peace, family harmony (though I think the children may be metaphorical rather than an indication of new additions !) and even cheerful pets. These seem to me very positive cards all round.

I hope that this has some relevance for something, and isn’t too cursory to be any use at all !

 

[gregory]

A reading for QoP

For QueenofPentacles – another general reading.

I pulled Justice, The Ace of Cups and the Sibyl of Pentacles.

Justice:
She’s blindfolded, and holds a sword, point down. Behind her sun and stars are all shining brilliantly. To her right is a pillar with scales – unbalanced – and fire scaling it; to her left another pillar with a burning book on it, and scaled by a vine. It is a little like the two pillars of the High Priestess. Around her feet is a sort of curved pentagram

Ace of Cups:
An overflowing cup, enclosed in a vesica, floats in the sky, among pink edged clouds, between sun and moon. There is water beneath, and a cheerful little flower on the side under the sun.

Sibyl of Pentacles:
A relaxed looking woman is sitting in a chair, barefooted, one arm across her front, the other resting on the chair arm. She wears a stepped crown, and is smiling quietly to herself. There’s a big pentacle on the side of the chair. Behind her a bush covered in pink flowers. There are pink edged clouds under the sun, and a field of maize with a stepped pyramid and a tree behind. In the foreground a rather cheery, mischievous looking yellow striped snake is looking up at the sibyl with interest. She isn’t looking back.

I am struck by the duality in the first two cards. Justice in particular seems to be caught between two extremes somehow, and can’t – because of the blindfold – see which way to turn. Both courses of action have their dangers (the fire) but I think neither is catastrophic; I think the important thing is that one way will have to be taken rather than the other, and something is making it hard to decide which. The Ace is a very positive card – but again, both the sun and the moon are out together – two side of the coin.

But I think the outcome looks very positive. Again – no major material problems; there’s food enough (the maize) and accommodation (well, some people live in pyramid-type buildings – it does feel to me like a house !) What interests me is the snake. She is smart to avoid looking at it. I think it is a naughty little thing – not vindictive – but I think it is a niggling self doubt, something that bugs you, and which shouldn’t be allowed to. I think this card says – there are decisions to be made; the outcome will work out fine, but you need to trust yourself; you are better than your own doubts will allow you to believe.

I hope this means something to you - or interests you at the very least.

 

[gregory]

Monday November 6th

As agreed with Daizdy, today the deck left me. I pulled a card before repacking it. How appropriate can you get ? 10 of Cups. A celebration, lots of people, autumn leaves all around – just like here – clapping, dancing, with an arch of golden cups above them.

I would normally have mailed the deck in Alston – the nearest Post Office. It is a rather decorative one, and I attach photos (the brilliant blue car is my Bluebell, in which the deck rode for most of its outings.) However, in an uncharacteristic fit of vanity or something, on Saturday SO had bought a T-shirt that was too small and had to go back – and as the postmaster in Alston is thoroughly grumpy and not very efficient, the deck and I agreed it would be better mailed in the city. So after taking the photos, we drove into Carlisle with ClassicFM playing away on the radio, and me having a sudden fit of “OMG, did I leave those last three cards in the scanner ?” (no!) and I nervously handed it over the counter, to wing its way to MeeWah. I shall miss it. It was for some reason easier to read with than my own copy has been in the past – very strange.

And it has been rather special to feel that I am last; that I have the deck after everyone else (except its extra trip to MeeWah – and it is nice too that if anyone has to have it again at the end, it should be the first user !) It has also felt like a bit of a responsibility; a bit like those days when you have a friend to visit for a week and suddenly realise on the last day all the things you meant to do and didn’t and should, so you try to do them all ! It was a lovely visit though. And a brilliant project; thanks to Daizdy for thinking it up, and to everyone else who has made it such a success.

 

[gregory]

The journal (with all the pix showing) and a file with all the signed cards scanned in are now available for downloading (thanks, Solandia ) They are pdf files, and the journal is rather large....

The journal is here, and the signatures are here. If anyone can't handle that I will e-mail them to you, if you PM your address.

Thanks to everyone who has been involved in this, and especially Daizdy for coming up with it in the first place.