The newest deck in my collection is THE ARCHEON TAROT. As is my wont with a new deck, I have been studying it card by card. However, this is the first time I found succinct little speeches popping into my mind for some of the cards. As if they were speaking to me, the audience. Maybe it's Timothy Lantz's sometimes different takes on certain cards that prompted these words. That, and the cards' artful, shadowy, suggestive depths.So far, I've studied the Major Arcana, straight through in one sitting. (And look forward to the rest of the deck.) Below are four of the Majors, each followed by the little speech that came quickly to mind as I studied it. Although each "speech" relates directly to some aspect of this particular deck's card design, I think each also works for that card in a more general sense in other decks.
XV: "You may see my face, hear my voice, puzzle over my wings, and appreciate the long curve of my bare back, but remember, you cannot see my hands and what they do, nor how far or deep their taloned grip may reach."
XVIII: "All who perform under the Moon's full light, beware. Much is exposed whether laid bare or not."
XIX: "Do not be concerned. My smile only appears to be a stiff mask. Even joy can become a strain on the senses after a while."
XX: "Bow your head. No, you'll not be beheaded nor even knighted. I am here to cut you loose from that weighty, impossible bag of memories you drag behind you into every moment."
I make no claims to great or even minor insights in these words. Though of these four above (including all the others I wrote about but do not share here) I am most drawn to XV's "speech." I also think that XV is one of the best designs in this deck. (Maybe I should also own up here to being a Sun sign Capricorn, the astrology sign usually corresponded to The Devil card. :-D) I now wonder if any of the Courts and Minors will also "talk" to me when I get to studying them. In any case, this is an intriguing Tarot deck as a whole, one I'm pleased to add to my collection.
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'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
Labels: The Archeon Tarot