I Love J. K. Rowling … and Joey

I, Joey, have taken the liberty of rewriting this conversation (which happened through AIM).  It’s more fun this way. Haha!

Sitting at their respective computers, the dual headed creature of R. J. Spindle ponders and dreams of their future.  They are talking about their favorite books, and how much fun it is writing their commentaries.  Joey perks up and says how he can’t wait to hear what his readers have to say about their stories.

“I wonder how many ideas JKR got from her readers?” Joey says.

“We’ll ask her someday,” answers Rhiannon.

Joey plants a devilish grin on his face, “And then I’ll say, ‘Here’s another idea from a reader … write another Potterverse book!’”

“NOOOOW,” Rhiannon bellows.  “SIT–HERE is a pen–GO!”

“Haha!” says Joey.  “We’re going to be SO cheeky.”

Rhiannon lets out a cackle, “Poor British Rowling isn’t going to know how to handle us.”

They both laugh heartily.  Then, Joey expression becomes serious.  “Something tells me we’ll both be slightly terrified at the same time.”  He sticks out his tongue.

“Hell yeah,” says Rhiannon.  “but I’ll channel it into being even giddier … like a do.”

Joey laughs again, and starts bouncing around his bedroom.

“And she’ll be like OMGCRAZYAMERICAN!”

“AAAAAAAAAH!” Joey runs and hides under his bed-covers, frightened by the loud noises coming from the Rhianno-Monster.

“And she’ll fight me with a handbag that she stole from the queen!”

Joey then pokes his head out from under the blanket, not being able to resist adding his two cents, “and I’ll be like, ‘HEY! YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY YOUR OWN … leave the poor queen alone.’”  He sticks his tongue out again.

Rhiannon then lies on the floor, defeated by a fit of giggles.

And that, my friends, is you’re normal, everyday, conversation between Rhiannon and Joey-seph.  Thanks for reading!

Tarot 101 | Choosing A Deck

The First Lesson

Our first lesson is how to choose a Tarot deck – you can study as much as you want, but if you don’t have a deck in front of you, it’s rather difficult to put your study into practice. We’ll save the history of Tarot for a later lesson.

It isn’t easy, choosing a Tarot deck. There is an old wives tale spread by the almighty “They” that says your first deck should be given to you as a gift. Others go as far as saying a Tarot deck won’t work AT ALL unless it’s given to you. Personally, we don’t ascribe to either of these beliefs. A gift Tarot deck can have extra energies, especially if you are connected to the person who gifted them to you, but the real special connection should be to the cards themselves.

That Special Connection

NOTE: Tarot cards are a tool, not the vehicle of divination.

The deck commonly considered the standard and starter Tarot deck is the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.  It’s full of beautiful symbolism and is necessary to study for all those who plan to take Tarot seriously. If you’re out there just to have fun with this (like we are) then you don’t need to bother with the Rider-Waite. So which should you choose?

Like all tools in magic, it needs to feel right. We’ve both been through many Tarot decks before settling on the ones we use now (Sorcerers Tarot for Joey and Celtic Dragon Tarot for Rhiannon), and it’s possible that we may find ones later on that we connect to even more. Tarot is built on symbolism, and symbolism thrives only in the mind of the one interpreting it. Some of you may find great satisfaction in the Rider-Waite, but it is our own experience that a deck with your interests will be a lot easier to connect with.

We recommend you go to your local magical bookstore, or even Borders or Barnes & Nobles, and start looking through as many different sets of cards as you can. You can look online as well but it’s hard to find full decks to look through. Most stores that sell Tarot cards have display decks for your perusal.

Just remember that it’s most important you connect with the deck you choose. If the cards don’t speak to you when you pick them up, then it’s not likely you’re going to get much out of them when you’re first starting out.

If you already have a deck you want to start with, that’s fine. Buying Tarot cards you connect with is a commitment but feel free to change decks as you learn. You may see things in the cards of one deck you’d never see in another. Tarot decks, like human beings, have attitudes and temperaments and if you clash with the one you are working with, it can make learning how to read them REALLY difficult.

A Test Exercise

Here is something you can try if you’re looking at a deck and you’re not sure if it’s a fit for you. Joey has done this at Borders and at Pyramid Books in Salem, Massachusetts, many a time.

Take the deck in question and shuffle it a few times.  Have a simple query in mind while shuffling.  Ask the cards do describe you.  Once you are finished shuffling lay out three cards.

The first card should describe you as other people see you.

The second card should describe you as you see yourself.

The third card should describe something hidden about you.

When interpreting these cards don’t – I repeat, DON’T – use the book of definitions that comes with the deck. These are traditional interpretations for the cards, but we’ve found that they rarely have to do with reality. We’ll get more into how to interpret the cards in a later lesson. For now, we want you to look at the images in the cards and if they don’t fit your personality, or if they don’t describe anything about you, then they are probably not the right cards for you.

For this interpretation you want to look at the cards and let them tell you what they mean. What is your emotional reaction to the images in the cards? How do they feel to you? Do the images tell you a story? These are the most important things to look for when choosing Tarot cards. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel connected to any particular deck at first because it takes practice to let interpretations come to you naturally, but if you don’t start now, you’ll never get better! Good luck and we hope you find your perfect deck easily.