This time of year is always good for going indoors and cozying up with friends and giving Tarot readings. It's good too for going within and allowing the cards to show you how your relationship with the universe looks through meditation. To help both readings and meditation, I review two Tarot decks following, the Enochian Tarot and the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot.
The Enochian Tarot, created by Gerald and Betty Schueler,
illustrated by
Sallie Ann Glassman
The Enochian Tarot, created by Gerald and Betty Schueler and illustrator Sallie Ann Glassman, is a most unusual deck. Its 83-card size as well as its spiritual foundation is unique. The basis of the deck was taken from channeled information received by Dr. John Dee and his partner Edmond Kelly. Dee was the court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, and with the help of his psychic friend and partner, Kelly, recorded hours of information channeled from a group of angels in the language of the angelic, which Dee called Enochian. The symbols, words and numbers used in the Enochian Tarot deck are taken from this channeled information.
This deck has a higher purpose, like most decks, which is to connect with the human psyche and illuminate its place in the universe. The scholars of magic who created this deck saw divination as truly a secondary use for the cards. Instead, following Dee, they were very interested in the formation of the universe and of our place in it. Dee and Kelly had a desire to connect with that which is beyond comprehending on the mundane level and worked tirelessly to refine techniques for accessing this information as well as developing rituals to help change and shape the universe in a good way, and the deck reflects this energy.
Steeped as the deck is in this particular magickal tradition, it is a little hard to grasp without some serious study of the accompanying book or other books on the subject. Also, the Enochian symbols and numerological associations and a cast of angelic and demonic beings from the Enochian magickal universe inspired Glassman to illustrate the deck with lots of murky browns and images of demons and water monsters, as well as angelic forms that look like how I imagine aliens look.
I have to say that on first encountering the deck, I couldn't get it. I thought it was awful. I tend to go for decks that look like illustrations from fairytales, and initially my judgment was that the illustrations were ugly. Also, the learning curve was high, and because of both it took a lot of willpower to try and bond with the deck. I will also admit to a great resistance because of the deck's heavy use of the Qabalah and channeled information. I have been reading cards for quite a long time and have usually used what I would call traditional decks. Although I do understand that the Qabalah has the same basic language as the 22 cards of the Tarot's Major Arcana, the Enochian Tarot presents this information in a totally different way. I admit that I had become used to seeing the same or similar images in all the decks I use, and I felt quite lazy about having to learn something so new. Then the effort needed in reading with the deck to make the information come out flawlessly seemed impossible.
The first readings I laid down reflected that negative judgment. In a word, they were horrible. Images arose of negative forces oppressing me and burning down my town and of a deep undercurrent of monstrous forces at work to stop me from achieving what I wanted.
Then I took a break, rested, ate dinner. Coming back, I thought about how I would like to be approached when getting acquainted with a new friend. I would appreciate a slow and careful look, a warm voice of encouragement and greeting. I realized that I hadn't been fair to the deck and went back to just sit with it. I slowly took each card and let myself really be with each symbol, each figure and all of the colors and environments drawn by Glassman. I realized that there were positive cards in the deck, not just cards depicting doom and destruction. The cards I drew had merely reflected my state of mind so accurately that I was frightened of what I saw.
After I felt completely that I had honored the deck and developed a relationship with it, I did a couple more spreads. It was like the sun had risen over the black horizon and brought a sense of peaceful, loving warmth. I felt supported, informed and lifted up out of the ditch of laziness.
In retrospect, I can see that my attitude had been so negative and resistant to the stories these cards could tell that the cards reflected that energy back at me. Accuracy and unflinching clarity are essentials in any Tarot reading. My job is to keep my sense of humor and to allow the information received to help me, not hinder my sense of hope.
I think this deck is going to be the one I use when I need a merciless yet accurate assessment of where I am stuck, or blocked.
I highly recommend this deck if you are a serious student of the Qabalah and of the Enochian movement, or even a novice; the accompanying book has a very clear and open way of explaining their basic principles. But if you simply want to use a deck to get started reading cards, I would definitely think twice before diving into this one.
The Golden Dawn Magical Tarot, created by
Sandra Tabatha Cicero
and Chic Cicero
The Ciceros have created the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot as a tool for people who are interested in the teachings of the Order of the Golden Dawn. The deck incorporates the structure of the Qabalah, astrology and a color scale that was developed by the Golden Dawn for use in meditation and ritual. The deck is intense in color and has very stiff illustrations.
Although my first impression of the deck wasn't enthusiastic because of these illustrations, I knew from my previous experience that I would only give an accurate review by allowing myself to spend time with the deck with an open spirit.
It only took a couple of hours to read the enclosed booklet, and when I took a second glance at the deck it was as if I was looking at a completely different deck. Bright as the colors were, I now understood why the artist had chosen them. The color scale was used extensively by the members of the Golden Dawn to create certain states of mind in meditation, to assist in astral travel to the different realms of the universe and in their rituals. Red, black, yellow and blue are the four colors in the scale, and they represent the four suits of the Minor Arcana and their accompanying elements of fire, air, earth and water.
I did a couple of spreads and felt immediately rewarded with honest, powerful and solid answers to the questions presented.
The creators of this deck encourage its use as a tool for your rituals, meditations and spiritual development, with divination as a secondary use. Just sitting with one colorful card proved to be mind-bending. The colors are contrasting, and if you take the time to meditate on the illustrations they begin to change before your eyes.
I discovered this deck was an excellent tool for learning all of the basics of the teachings of the Golden Dawn. I felt that I had greatly expanded my knowledge of the beliefs of this groundbreaking group of spiritual seekers in a way that was relatively effortless. A desired thing for an impatient Gemini!
These cards are wild and wacky, and the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot is now definitely a part of my family of decks.