CARDS FROM THE DORFLINGER TAROT

The Wheel & Force in The Dorflinger Tarot, by Johannes Dorflinger (b. 1941), granolitho prints on paper.

The Dorflinger Tarot is what can be termed an "artist's Tarot." Still a divinatory device, but also "a more self-conscious means of artistic expression..." (p.203, The Art of the Tarot), like the Salvador Dali deck. I don't know how I'd fare trying to do a reading with the Dorflinger Tarot. (I haven't even been able to determine if the Courts and Minors were ever printed, though reading with just the Majors is often done with Tarot decks.) But I do know I really like the art work, as art. The scans in this post do not do full justice to these wonderful pointillist art cards. Unfortunately, I could not post some of my favorites because the prints are so softly colored my scanner did not pick up on the subtle shadings at all. (See "Resource" at bottom of this post for a link to a site with smaller scans of all the majors.)

Judgment and The Devil in The Dorflinger Tarot.

The designs are so reduced and abstracted that on first viewing I was hard pressed to relate them to the more traditional Tarot images, though I liked them immediately anyway. There is something archteypal about them that draws me. Many put me in mind of ancient Goddess statues, like the famous Venus of Willendorf. I find them very moving and powerful. Sometimes as I view a print for the umpteenth time more of it's Tarot life begins to come through. However, that is gravy as I so love savoring these designs simply as very pleasing and stirring art. And that is just as well since they are not available as a deck. Sigh.

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Resource: Asian site with Dorflinger Majors. Be patient, it can take quite a while to load. Also note that although the cards are not identified, they run from left to right, starting with I, top left, and ending with 0, bottom right.

‘til next time, keep relishing the art that is The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****

TAROT DREAMKU ABOUT THE STAR CARD

I'll have to flag
this meaning for The Star card:
the risk is worth it

My two most recent posts are both about The Star. The dream this dreamku is based on is one I had about two nights ago. It's delightful to have The Star card as a consistent presence at any time, but especially in times of more than usually intense changes. And especially when She (I always think of The Star as female, and it is most often female in decks) visits with such encouragement, as She did in that dream. Of course, I'm too savvy with respect to dream work to be certain that the last line indicates a positive outcome to the risk. Only that, no matter how it turns out, it will have been worth it. :-)

The two versions of The Star at the top of this post are from two different decks by John Star Cooke in his boxed triple deck set, The Word of One Tarot (Catalyst Enterprises, Visalia, California: 1992). The male (!) version on the left is from his Tarot for the Aquarian Age (a/k/a The New Tarot) and the one on the right is from his Atlantean Tarot. (You can see The Star from the third deck, The Medieval Tarot, at the link below by "Resource," as well as a couple other from The Atlantean Tarot, and several additional cards from The New Tarot. I will eventually do a post covering this triple deck set, with a sample reading. For now I'll simply add that the three decks cover the three ages of humankind so far.)

For many years The Moon card stayed by me. It remains to be seen how long The Star will now accompany me on my path. But however long She stays out in the open like this (She's always there, just not always in line-of-sight :-D), I'll be delighted and encouraged.

P.S. If you want to find out more about dreamku, there are links to A DREAMKU PRIMER near the top of my dreams and poetry blog (link below my signature here).

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Resource: Images in both The Atlantean and The Medieval Tarots and Images from The New Tarot.

‘til next time, keep dreaming and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)****My other blogs ROSWILA’S DREAM & POETRY REALM and ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT.

THE STAR (XVII) REDUX

The Star (XVII) in The Celtic Dragon Tarot by D.J. Conway & Lisa Hunt (see "Resource" at bottom of post for more info)

Today on my dreams and poetry blog, someone commented on a dragon image in one of my collages. As I answered, I've loved dragons since childhood, and when I first moved to this apartment, 22 years ago, I started a dragon figurine collection. Years into my stay here, I learned that my landlord family's last name, Leung, means dragon in Chinese. :-) So I decided to post a card from the dragon Tarot today and what better card than The Star, as not only is it all dragons with Saturn in the sky -- I'm a Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn, but my previous post here is a poem based on The Star. Oh, and a wonderful new Tarot layout by a friend I tried just a day or two ago had The Star as the central card.

As to what this all may "mean"? I'd like to think what the book accompanying the deck says for The Star's "Divinatory Meaning":

"Personal spiritual experiences give you a glimpse of universal consciousness. You need to stretch beyond what you think is your potential. New opportunities will present themselves to you. Divine guidance is available if you listen."

Traditionally, and very briefly put, The Star is about hope. To see my previous post on The Star with images of it in two other decks and some less common meanings, click here.

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Resource: Celtic Dragon Images on aeclectic.net.

‘til next time, keep listening for spirit's voice and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****