Playing With a Full Deck

I have been intrigued by Tarot cards since high school when I bought my first deck, probably from a novelty store downtown.  This was a very plain deck and I found it difficult to 'read'.  Well groomed to the notion of not wasting money by my Depression era parents, it would be a long time before I bought another.  But I did.  And that's where the love affair started.  Newer decks are so lyrically imaged that the cards will immediately begin to weave a story for me.  Or they will sit in stony silence, the images static.  I can pretty much predict which decks will work for me if I can see just a few cards.  A great source for that is the aeclectic tarot website.  In general, the images cannot be off putting to my eyes.  They must invite me in.  Intrigue me.  And that is a very personal relationship.  Every person will choose a deck that speaks to them.  In general, I have noticed that decks with sinister, CGI, or Alex Grey type imagery do not sing for me.

I recently picked up a new deck, the Wildwood Tarot made by the same artists that did the Druidcraft Tarot which I kinda love.  Both decks are the same size but the images are different enough that I want to combine the decks together into one big mega deck.  I love the idea of duplicates of the cards.  Two Fools especially appeals to me.  But first I need to get to 'know' my newer cards.   I have been introducing myself to them slowly by pulling two or three every week to work with.  Tonight I tried for three and ended up with 5.  Some cards just need to be there and I have learned to let them.  I kinda groaned at the number.  I'm not a fan of the number five.  I think it's the odd mixture of linear and curving lines, but who knows.  

My five cards in order were King of Arrows represented by the Kingfisher, the eight of stones (in this deck subtitled skill), the six of arrows (transition), the wanderer aka the fool and the pole star aka the star.  

Those five cards fell together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  I love kingfishers.  Always have.  They are short sturdy birds with stubby tails that live near water and dive into the water for prey.  I love the color combo, the slate blue and burnt orange.  Love their machine gun birdsong.  They are fearless little birds. I don't see them often, but each sighting has been memorable.  There is also a certain association for me between kingfisher and the fisher king of Arthurian legend.  And their genus species affiliation ties into the Greek myth of Alcyone and Ceyx and who doesn't enjoy a good love story.  In this case, it seems to represent ability, straight up - You can do it.  Dive in and go for it. 

The second card seems to reiterate that sentiment.  Skill.  The kind that comes from long hours of practicing your craft.  In this case it feels like this is related to writing.  

The next three cards are like a one-two-three punch.  Transition.  Beginning a journey.  Navigating by the pole star aka the North star.    

Seems I better fasten my seatbelt because the ride is about to begin.