Telling You About It

I think the class was designed very well to mold us into college students. You gave us very helpful and insightful tips every class; many of which, I think will come in very handy both next semester and the next few years. Unfortunately, the "College Success" book was least helpful - listening to your advice/experience was much more enlightening. I know you talked about maybe having everyone get the same deck next year... I'm torn on this because I think it's sort of a good idea considering some people had trouble with their decks, but on the other hand it was so cool to have our own, distinct deck and see others' different decks. I liked the daily chats and going around the room talking about "what's good."

What Is (Or Isn't) Missing

I genuinely liked the material in the class, and I'm glad it was an interesting class to introduce us to a typical college class. The only thing I think was missing - but we did cover it a little after others brought it to your attention - was doing readings both in and outside of the classroom. Perhaps one blog post or assignment could have been doing a reading both for oneself and for someone else and taking mental notes (how we felt, what was interesting, could we make connections in real life) to be written about later.
One of my favorite classes was when we were given the word match assignment and went around the room talking about which cards we associated with each adjective. It was interesting to hear others' inputs and it brought our attention to the cards we may not see often in our deck.

My Art Work

I created a very simplified version of The Star. I took a piece of cardboard and used it as the background. I cut out a string of bokeh lights from a photo in one of the magazines, and used them to shape objects from the card. I used pink ones as the sky, and spread purple glitter glue around them. Then I used the yellow lights to make 2 cups. I drew water with a blue marker, emerging from the bottom of the cups. I used green lights below one cup, to represent Earth and blue lights to represent water, or the lake. Finally I topped the card off with a single silver star, created with silver glitter glue.

I didn't know what I wanted to do, but when I saw the photo with bokeh lights I immediately wanted to use them because a) they were very colorful and b) I love photography so it felt meant to be haha! I wasn't sure how to place everything until I had all the circular lights cut out and just started to mindlessly arrange them. I was thankful for this experience because I didn't really know what I wanted to do for the final so this project gave me inspiration and I drew ideas as I thought about what I did and didn't like from this piece of art.

Word Match

The most mysterious card in my deck appears to be the Three of Cups. It features just a single, big ship in the middle of the sky, taking up the majority of the card. Nobody is seen on the ship - it looks abandoned or sort of lonely. Below it sits the three cups. It makes you ask questions: where is the ship going... is anyone on the ship... who is in charge?
My Page, or "Princess," of Swords card looks very sad. There is a woman sitting in the middle of a barren field. The leaves on the trees have fallen - it is Winter according to the top of the card - and there is a layer of fog. Two black crows sit next to the woman as she looks off in the distance with a depressing expression.
I think Strength is the most empowering card in my deck. There is a woman standing up next to a lion. The woman has bright yellow hair and her hand in on her hip. She looks to her side, with her head held high. She seems prideful, like she knows she has power. The lion appears to look straight ahead, right at the reader. It almost looks ready to attack; or maybe it's tamed but protective of the woman.
The Chariot screams "healing" to me. It features a woman holding a baby, looking lovingly at it. I think the baby is either crying or looking for help because its hand is reaching out towards the woman. Behind the woman is a wolf and a white ghostly-looking horse chariot. The wolf may be protective like the lion in Strength, and the horse seems to be giving someone a ride. The woman - presumably the baby's mother - just looks very calm and caring: she is helping and taking care of the baby.
Lastly, The Empress is very peaceful. A woman stands atop a cloud, with a calm and carefree expression. Her arm is extended towards a winged baby - perhaps Cupid - shining light. Above her, a white dove flies around her. I have always considered a dove to be a gentle creature, and associated it with love and peace.

Poetic, Violent, Fierce

I thought of my "Page" of Pentacles as the most poetic card in my deck. (I put quotations around "Page" because my deck doesn't use the words "page" or "knight," instead replacing them with "princess" and "prince".) The Princess of Pentacles card pictures a woman walking through a meadow (it almost looks like she's dancing or skipping) of flowers, and dropping more flowers along the way. In her other hand, she holds a pentacle. Behind her there are big trees covered in more flowers. The card has a lot of pinkish purple colors which isn't very common in my deck. Another nontraditional aspect of this card, in terms of my deck, is that the woman is on the ground as opposed to in the sky (Edit: upon closer inspection, on all 4 of my Princess cards, the woman is on the ground, but there are no other other cards in the whole deck where the illustration does not take place in the sky).

I chose the King of Cups for violent. There is a man sitting on a throne holding a cup releasing a terrifying scorpion/crab and violent winds rushing around. Below him there is some kind of monster and an open clam. I don't know how, but the illustrators managed to even make the clam look scary. The deck's book says the card is about dominating and taking responsibility, but I think the card's picture gives a much darker meaning to it.

Finally, I think the Eight of Swords is fierce. There is a large dog sitting on top of 8 swords - I think it is a Boxer. Boxers are typically headstrong, loyal and protective. The dog in the picture has his chest puffed out and his eyes set on something - he looks proud, but focused.

Jung and Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune

The book mentioned so many different ideas and symbols about the card that it was hard to follow along. However, Oedipus was brought up very frequently, which I thought was interesting. Ultimately, the card has so much more to do with it than just fate/fortune - it gives reason to why things happen in our lives and helps the card-reader almost to the point of finding meaning in life. I think this is something that everyone struggles with at some point. Who has never philosophically asked "what is the meaning of life?" or "why did this have to happen to me?" Reading made me think of Life, the classic board game. Things happen, it is what it is and you have to understand that it's okay.

I definitely like The Wheel of Fortune more than The Lovers card - maybe almost as much as I like The Star. The two cards seem connected by their meanings because The Wheel represents coming to terms with something and The Star is about shining, or staying positive even in the worst of times.

Jung and Tarot: The Lovers

I still choose The Star as my card, but I've also chosen to read the chapter on The Lovers for a second Jung and Tarot blog post.
What I don't like is that the book refers to a card that involves a man with two women which I hadn't seen before. In response to Nichols' question: "Who are these women? How does the Lover feel about each? Will he elope with one of them? If so, does he live happily ever after - or is there hell to pay?" I think one of the women is the man's mother and the other woman is his partner, or lover. Both women have their arm on him as if asking him to choose them, but the man has an arm in front of the woman on the right while he looks at the woman on the left. Cupid above points at the woman on the right. It's hard to decide who the man will choose. I think the end of the chapter sums up the questions asked by wondering if it is worth making a choice at all, but if he does make a choice he "must take himself with him."

Jung and Tarot: The Star

Jung and Tarot brought all the pieces and symbols of the card together. It was extremely detailed and left nothing unaccounted for. The poem before the chapter didn't make much sense to me until much later after I'd read it. "As above so below" refers to the idea that what is above is achievable for everyone and there's always hope. I did like the ideas presented. Every star is unique just like every person is unique, and when someone dies their soul "is elevated to heaven where it shines eternally as a star." However, Nichols kept going back and forth between different ideas - this is both a positive and a negative. She presents different suggestions and beliefs to provide insight and allows the reader to take their own standpoint, but it becomes confusing when she talks about one idea and then another totally separate idea and then back to the original idea. Overall, she had the same concepts and meanings for the card that The New Tarot Handbook gives.

Would I still pick The Star?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: I like what the card stands for. The "Divinatory Meanings" include hope, calm after a crisis, healing and optimism. All of these things are important to me. In the words of an old friend, I try to "Find the good in every day." Almost a year ago, my high school lost someone very dear to us. In the past year, I've tried to stay positive and live by this quote. Of course it isn't always easy for anyone to do, but it's nice to stay hopeful. On the other hand, one more meaning is "Be a star." Sometimes - I repeat, sometime - this can be something I struggle with, mostly because I'm not outrageously outgoing. I certainly don't put on an act; I am myself around people. But I'm not really an extrovert. In the end, Tarot Handbook suggests, "Pour out your waters and discover your natural grace," just as the woman in the card does. I'd certainly still choose this card.

MAP-Works Assessment

I agreed and disagreed on certain aspects of my result. According to the report, I need to work on my time management. Generally I do pretty well with managing my time (I know, how ironic that this post was due last week - but I'm usually better!). I get my work done, I show up to class on time and I also show up to my job/perform my job in a timely manner. However, the test did touch upon the fact that I should work on my campus involvement. In high school, I wasn't very active in social events. Although, I did get much better toward the end. Anyway, it is true that I'm not the super-outgoing type. I'm commuting, so it's slightly more difficult to get involved, but I do intend to do so!

What's in The Star?

          The Star seems to be one of the most positive cards in the deck. It symbolizes faith, hope and inspiration. The card does not so much predict the future, or show a solution to a problem, as it presents hope, like a light at the end of a tunnel. As one source says, "Hope is only a beginning. Now that you have been inspired, you still have much work to do in order to bring your vision into manifestation (3)." The Star illustrates an opportunity and shows you that you have the ability to pursue what you want, but you must also have faith that things will turn out okay.
           In many decks, The Star portrays a naked woman pouring water. She is naked to signify her purity in her natural state, indicating that she is comfortable and calm.

Source 1
Source 2
Source 3

XVII ~ The Star

After a long debate between Strength and The Star, I chose to go with The Star. The card depicts a red-headed woman sitting in space, directly above a planet. She wears a royal blue dress with jewels hanging from her belt. Her eyes are closed and her facial expression appears sad, but also carefree. The woman holds a gold canister upside down, dumping several multicolored jewels onto the planet. Based on the deck's book, I assume the planet is Earth - although it is only blue and white, without any green - because it reads that the woman "pours the invigorating waters recycled from the abundant springs of life over mankind." The woman is referred to as "Hebe," who is the Greek goddess of youth. According to the same book, this card symbolizes renewal, hope and new beginnings after harsh times. Hebe probably appears unhappy on the card, due to tough periods of time in the past.

Photo Source

Celestial Tarot

I bought the Celestial Tarot deck for this class. I was drawn to the artwork, when I saw photos of each card online. The colors in the cards are mostly blues, purples and pinks with a few other colors here and there. I like the nontraditional pictures that are depicted.. Many of the cards have animals on them, and after reading about the deck, I discovered many of the animals on the cards have to do with the zodiac signs. These cards and their artwork were partly influenced by astrology, and that made them stand out to me. They have the same original meanings attached to the cards, but at the top of each one there is a word symbolizing the connection between the cards and the planets/space.