There's Just Too Much Time Cannot Erase

Card 11 of 14 in the Minor Arcana of the Swords. It's the Knight of Swords. The deck is the one I've had for several years, called the Balbi deck. It was created in the 1970's and features both Spanish and English text on most of the cards. It's fairly easy to tell what's what in the Minor cards without the English. The deck belonged to my Mother, and she gave it to me. I kept them for years steeping in an old steamer trunk with my most favoured childhood possessions. My sister raided the trunk at some point, and destroyed the box that houses them. You can imagine how angry I would be.

Apparently such poor treatment makes the cards angry themselves. I'm not sure I believe that entirely, since the cards are simply cards with illustrations and the power to read them as they fall comes from the reader and from the questioner. It's impossible for the cards to be "evil". They're cards. It's in your mind.

So why am I posting about Tarot cards? Over the long weekend, Keith and I travelled to the big city and he bought a new deck of cards for himself. I liked a few of the decks on display but I truly enjoy the Balbi deck most. It is said that cards which are a gift are better than ones you buy for yourself. I asked Keith to do a reading of the cards with his new deck, but we didn't get to it until last night. He ended up using his older deck of Vampire cards.

Not sure I really liked the overall reading. He used a spread I'm not familiar with, I can't recall what one. The cards told him that I was going to have an issue with a close friend of mine over a moral issue beyond my control. It was based on something the friend would do, and I would either have to compromise something or the friendship is going to end. Not sure what could happen morally with a friend, and I dare to not speculate as to which friend it is. Another round of cards said that during a family celebration in October (possibly Thanksgiving) that it would be spoiled due to a heart condition with a family member. This has me worried, as my great grandmother passed away in October of last year due to a heart attack. I'm hoping he was picking up on past events. I really hope. If my Dad has a heart attack...I don't know what I'd do. The third round of cards said that my career would stay the same but the routine will change. So maybe stay working here at the station but afternoons, or news or something. The other things the cards revealed in their final phase of the spread was that if I get a raise at all, it'll be tiny (I expected that anyways), that my love life will take some shape but to wait it out.

Afterwards, I got my Balbi deck out and the book I've been using to guide me and I showed him the spread I use, which is the Celtic Cross. It's one of the more detailed spreads a reader can do. I felt super self-conscious doing a reading for someone who's been reading cards for as long as Keith has. He was taught by his grandparents. But he was patient with me while I sorted it all out. I've done a few readings before and they've been accurate but something strange happened this time. I got a powerful feeling from one of his cards. I'll say it was one of the 3's but not which card (for his privacy). It was very overwhelming and I could have even shed a few tears had I let myself fully embrace the feeling of the card. It was based on his past, and it was sad. Not like death sad, but heartache.

I know...I know. I said cards aren't evil, so how can they FEEL like something. But the cards can feel evil if the reading is a bad one. The cards themselves, though, as a deck, are not evil. And if you're afraid of Tarot cards you should be afraid of playing cards. The art of reading playing cards began when the Catholic Church banned the Tarot deck. So readers would read the decks we play with now so that if someone came over, it would look as though the reader and questioner were simply playing cards. This is known as cartomancy.


On a somewhat lighter note...got a few new aquistions over the last few days. Saturday, in the city, I bought a copy of "To Light a Candle" by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. It's book 2 of the Obsidian Trilogy. I got the first book for Christmas and couldn't put it down. The Third and final book has been released in hardcover but hasn't hit soft yet. I wanted it but couldn't justify spending $50 on a book that will be $12 in softcover in a matter of months.

I also picked up "The Best of She-Ra" which is a 2 disc dvd collection with "The Secret of the Sword" the movie on how Force-Captain Adora quit the side of evil and became She-Ra Princess of Power. It's also got 5 episodes of the show, 2 art cards and special features. I was so excited that I'd found some She-Ra on dvd. He-Man, Thundercats and other 80's tunes are out, but She-Ra hasn't been released.

Last night Keith brought over the Acer 19 inch flat panel LCD monitor. I traded him my Behringer Euro-Rack audio mixer for it. He's a musician and already loves it and plans to have a few songs recorded by the week's end. He's not bad either, I heard a song of his recorded a few years ago. The lyrics could use a bit of work but he's skillful with the guitar.

Oh yeah! My parents celebrated their retirement/being morgage free on Friday with lobster and an expensive bottle of Dom Perignon Champaign they'd been saving for years and years now. Lobster was great, champaign was somewhat of an aquired taste. Good to spend time with my parents and grandparents.