Image ©Copyright 2009 Lisa Hunt & Llewellyn Publications. Used by Permission. This deck is "in my blood" so to speak. It's hard to "get away" from the cards...I carried them with me to work today and then divided them so I only had a stack of the 22 Major Arcana cards. Then I looked through them...whenever I needed a bit of a break...okay I confess...I looked at them when I wanted to....they sat there on the corner of my desk, like a lovely vase of flowers, colorful and inviting. And yes...they are going with me again tomorrow!!
I will fully admit that I am a tarot novice. My attraction is to oracle cards, although I do realize that tarot cards are a type of oracle. I am drawn to the creative free flowing intuitive interpretation of oracle cards. I own a couple tarot decks: Inner Child Tarot (which is also fairy tale based) and Elves Tarot. So I guess I am drawn to decks with a fairy tale or fantasy type theme.
What I am feeling with this particular deck though is a sort of flowing "creativity" and growth. The layers of meaning are not tied to traditonal tarot meanings, although those coincide nicely. Yet the "messages" of the cards seem to me, at least, to be much deeper. It's hard to explain at this early stage of exploration so we will see how it all unfolds over time.
I'm not sure I'll stay in any particular order when I write about the cards and fairy tales. Instead I perfer to present them as they "call" to me....as an aspect of the card surfaces in my life and has essential personal meaning for me...that is the time to rambling on about it. Of course, thrown in amidst all my personal thoughts about the cards will be some readings along with interpretations and suggestions for good spreads to use with this deck. As I have mentioned, I tend to get off on tangents, so there will also be musings, reflections, thoughts and ramblings about fairy tales in general.
0 Innocence (Little Red Riding Hood) This card is The Fool in traditional tarot decks but in the Fairy Tale Tarot we have The Fool represented by Little Red. In my opinion, The Fool is complex. Always representing the querent in readings, The Fool is about the journey through life with opportunities and challenges.
The tale of Little Red Riding Hood is a perfect choice. She starts out with a purpose but is easily distracted from it. She is innocent and trusting without the ability to "read" the wolf's intentions. She is also filled with hope and good cheer. She is joyous in her journey. So like any of us, young or old, who embark on a new adventure, a new phase of life, new dreams, or simply a different outlook on life. It makes us feel more fully alive!!
The tale reminds us that there are dark forces (evil, perhaps) or distractions on our journey through life and if we are to reach our "destiny" we must "learn" from our experiences. Not be stiffled by them, not frozen with fear...simply aware of them. I would not suggest we lose our positive outlook or belief in the beauty of life. But rather we embrace it more fully through our awareness of the realities of life. In the end of the tale, the woodcutter, saves both grandmother and Little Red. Bringing full circle the journey....a beginning, a purpose, distraction, challenge and certain failure, then rebirth.
Honestly, there's even more I could say about this card and fairy tale but this is a beginning. That is why I started with Little Red....the beginning of a journey. When the time is right, more details, more connections, more possibilities will present themselves. That is the multi-level quality I have been describing. But like a good fairy tale, the story shall unfold in due time.
This card speaks to me as well. Perhaps, because I was in a musical called "Into the Woods". This musical had a mix of fairy tales in it, including Little Red. Red is a perfect fool for this deck. She is foolish for straying from the path like her mother warned her, she is foolish for believing in and befriending the cunning wolf, and she is foolish up until the very instant that she is swallowed. Also, the fool can be represented as selfish. Indeed, LRR is selfish for eating the sweets intended for granny, and also for picking the flowers and lazily eying the birds. This is also represented in the musical I was in. She was the well-intentioned fool who relied on her mother's guidance and Granny's wisdom, but once they were gone and the baker(woodcutter in the story) rescued her, she began to grow and become stronger through experience. So much depth, truth, and beauty is in this one card, it makes the entire deck seem like a vast library, waiting for someone to delve in to it's contents. I can't wait for your analyzing of the other cards. :)
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