New Look

I decided to dust off and spurce up...Once Upon a Time....I haven't fallen off the face of the earth ...(YET)....just busy with other endeavors. I have many blogs and I am constantly thinking about deleting some and consolidating them...but alas....I can never do it...they are all meaningful and I enjoy them ...so I just keep puttering along...writing when I can!

I am still planning on exploring the Chinese Thunder Dragon Tale...there is just so much to read and learn about the different fairy tales. It is very interesting to explore and compare them between different cultures. Many tales seem to
"cross over" between different cultures. Fairy Tales that teach lessons of value for all human kind.

So next on my list (still) is a post about the Thunder Dragon Tale, which of course is card I The Magician in the Fairy Tale Tarot.

Fairy Tales and Life

Life is like a fairy tale.....rolling along with trolls under bridges and big bad wolves luking outside the door. Life can turn from shining carriage to pumpkin in a split second. Life can be harsh like the story of the Little Match Girl or warm and sunny like Cinderella. Life can be fast paced and unpredictable.

Fairy Tales offer us guidance, inspiration, and a sense of comfort....reminding us of childhood joys and sweet memories. That is the beauty of the Fairy Tale Tarot....it takes the aspects of tale-land and weaves them into our world of today....tiny glimpses of life seen through the magical lenses of time and different lands...

Fairy Tales speak of human spirit, human folly, human reality....yes...reality....for even with talking creatures and magic dragons....they speak of the essence of mankind. They are vibrant tales of the journey through this world and timeless proof that a good tale never ends...

My Fairy Tale Path

Well I'm back from my blogging vacation. I had to take a little break from blogland for several reasons...the holidays, time, writers block, etc. etc....but I'm feeling like writing again so I was thinking it might be fun to examine each of the fairytales in The FairyTale Tarot...one at a time and examine how the fairy tale speaks to me...what direction it sends me on in the search for self discovery and an understanding of the human experience....

I'm sure my thoughts will differ from others and that's okay. The neat thing about fairytales and the FairyTale Tarot is that they can speak to each person on a personal level...they can teach us the same lesson and different lessons all at the same time.

To simplify matters I will just follow the order of tales as presented in the book ...soooo...first up will be Little Red Ridinghood...one of my faves...so in the next few days I'll get a post or two up about this classic tale of a girl "gone bad"....haha...just joking...sort of!!

The Little Match Girl

This picture sort of reminds me of the Little Match Girl (all grown up). Shivering in the cold at the bottom of a Cinderella type staircase. Cinderella could be the Little Match Girl, she did clean the fireplace and shivered from the cold of the stepmother's hatred. It reminds me that our "frosty attitudes" toward people can plunge us into the bitter landscape of life just as the Match Girl collapsed in the cold of her own inner world. For maybe the story is not about really wasting away in the bitter cold of a real physical world but rather of freezing in our own inner worlds of doubt and self neglect. Just something I thought of as I was mulling over the cold snowflakes falling into the dark landscape of our yard.

Once Upon a Time Update

October will be a GREAT month here at Once Upon a Time...

• I'll continue with Tarot Spread Tuesday's and since it's Halloween this month we wil be looking at some good spreads to use with a little Halloween twist to them.
• Fairy Tale Fridays are a good way to look at each fairy tale from the Fairy Tale Tarot in a bit more depth...with some links to other sources and some different versions. I'd like to get into some of the history of the fairy tales too but honestly it will just depend on how much blogging time I have!!!
• In honor of Halloween, I will host a blog give away...hmmm not sure of the details yet so check back....something fairy tale related though!!!
• Next up....Comparing the Princesses.....
• Another fairy tale character poll.....
• Write up on my Full Moon Hello October reading using the Fairy Tale Tarot

I hope readers are enjoying my ramblings here at Once Upon a Time....sometimes it is so hard to tell if those random thoughts that present themselves to me are really worth blogging about or not...Hope you have a great weekend....

Once Upon A Time

As much as I'm enjoying the element study...I feel a need to get some new stuff going here at Once Upon A Time...

• I'll be getting a new fairy tale character poll up...I've been a bit lax with that...however our new poll will feature none other than Taylor Swift...yes the teenage swooning love song singing inspirational Taylor Swift (I mean she might has gotten upstaged by Kayne West at the VMA but we aren't going to make that same mistake here at Once Upon a Time..) ....so be thinking...what fairy tale character is Taylor Swift!!!


• Next we will be featuring Fairy Tale Fridays here at Once Upon a Time....I'm not sure exactly how that is going to unfold...but I'd like to do a bit of fairy tale comparison...versions I mean...using some of the ones from the Fairy Tale Tarot as well as others...so we will take it week by week and see how it works out!


• Comparing the Kings....sort of got off track with that....I wrote about Comparing the Queens and now I need to get started on the Kings...Kings...fascinating cards...depth and color...well....more about that later


• Tarot Spread Tuesdays....a new spread to try or a review of one I have discovered somewhere!!

We will start with these items and once I have them completed or at least have them underway...I'll be back with another grouping of things to explore.

Let's Tie It Together

First I'll start with a few thoughts about today's pair and the link to the weekly draw. The earth plus fire played out about like I read it. The change process is slow and hindered by rules, regulations, the "old way" etc. I think that the Air + Fire weekly card is still on target...the atmosphere is one of change and trying to move forward with plans...but it's sort of one of those two steps forward and one back things!

Card meanings for today's pair...

Four of Pentacles: Material gain, Security

Princess of Wands: Creative energy, determination, self confidence, adventure

Adding in the elements....I am going to say: The need for security creates a situation in which change is slowed but with determination and creativity some progress will be made.

Wow I like the way the elements help round out the card meanings.

Fairy Tale Friends

Just a quick side note....I will be back to blogging about the Fairy Tale Tarot shortly. I have a holiday site and forums that have experienced some technical difficulties so I am working on getting that project back online quickly...I mean the holidays will be here before you know it. So just wanted to let you know...I'm still around...just super busy at the moment.

Naming the Nameless

I will write about why the Fairy Tale Tarot reminded me of the older post. The way we experience emotion in our lives and the way the emotions both make us who we are and have the potential to make us question who we really are.

The Fairy Tale Tarot reminded me of the earlier post, Life is Like Landing on the Hudson because of the wide range of emotions experienced by the passengers on the plane and the similar range of emotions that can be evoked by both the cards and the fairy tales.

When one is “introduced” to a new deck, there is a thrill of new adventure or the beginning of a journey just as the passengers on the plane experienced. Anticipation and possibilities await, whether it’s a business trip or a vacation. The same is true of a deck. (Although I must say…some decks are better “flights” than others.) Then, of course, there is confusion, just as the passengers struggled to understand what was happening on this flight of terror, the Fairy Tale Tarot may create some confusion as one struggles to understand the cards and the messages they are sending.

Now let's think about the fairy tales themselves. They provide snapshots of every human emotion imaginable. They are like mirrors reflecting fear, sadness, loss, terror, wonder, joy and relief, as well as, hundreds of other feelings. These stories evoke in us deep emotions, and these very emotions and how we experience them are what makes us who we are. For example, the strong silent type, the whiner, the Pollyanna, etc.

People have been being described by their emotional states since the beginning of time. But to me the really interesting aspect is HOW these same emotions, the ones that shape who we are and how we face the world....can challenge us at our core, can give us such pause that we take off in new directions and discover new things along this journey of life. It is this aspect that plays out in the Fairy Tale Tarot, for the art, the stories, and the way we use them in our lives encourages a deeper understanding of self. It is in the questioning that we grow.

And just like the people on the plane, we have to decide if the "shock" of our life experiences are going to leave us paralyzed and stuck in a plane filling with water. Or if we will move forward in the moment and let a "calm" sense of purpose settle over us.

In some ways the cards provide this calm sense of purpose. They give us a framework for considering more than just this world but the inner world also. It's hard to explore something that has no name. And the soul, our inner world, our personalities, our emotions, are illusive...they are nameless. The Fairy Tale Tarot allows us to give them a name.....Tatterhood, The Sorceress, Hok Lee, The Snow Daughter, Coyote, and many, many others. They are all reflections of us. Are at the very least pieces of a puzzle. A Puzzle called SELF.

So don't be shy, step right up...out onto the wing of the plane, if you will. Don't stay behind in the useless plane with water seeping in around your feet. With the confidence of the Summer Queen, assert yourself. Bring warmth to the seasons of your life. Pick up the deck and introduce yourself, one card and one story at a time.

Life is Like Landing on the Hudson

The post below I wrote and originally posted on another blog of mine on January 26, 2009. I share it with you here because of some parallels the experience (Landing on the Hudson) has with using the Fairy Tale Tarot....for now I will leave you with the original post...and later I shall post my thoughts comparing the two experiences.

The recent landing of a plane on the Hudson River without any loss of lives was amazing. So amazing that it made me think about the array of emotions the passengers experienced during that short 3-5 minute flight. Over the course of just minutes people experienced anticipation, confusion, fear, sadness, loss, terror as the "Brace for Impact" message sunk in, wonder that they were still alive, panic as they realized the icy waters were an extreme danger, hope at seeing the light of day, and joy and relief at the sight of approaching rescuers.

And then it didn't take me long to realize that those emotions...that constantly changing array of feelings are often experienced during life. Life is like landing on the Hudson River. There are many times in life that we ride the same plane full of emotions. Times in our life when we dip from extreme joy to profound despair, whether it's over the loss of a job, a death, or the complications of a relationship that we treasure but do not know how to fix. Life is like landing on the Hudson.

And just like the people on the plane, we have to decide if the "shock" of our life experiences are going to leave us paralyzed and stuck in a plane filling with water. Or if we will move forward in the moment and let a "calm" sense of purpose settle over us. Experiences in life, the way our families interact, our beliefs about life, and our own emotional turmoils shape our ability to move forward. Often we do not recognize the significant impact our relationships with others have on our ability to manuveur that plane down for a safe landing. The most important element in our lives is unconditional love and so many people have no one providing it and no idea what it feels like.

Without someone who truly cares for us and accepts us, it is pretty hard to land the plane of our life in the Hudson without fatalities. Life is like landing on the Hudson....the range of emotions can be terrifying but it is in the way that we handle those aspects of our lives that can make all the difference in a safe landing or a crash that ends our lives.

In a future post I will write about why the Fairy Tale Tarot reminded me of this older post. The way we experience emotion in our lives and the way the emotions both make us who we are and have the potential to make us question who we really are.

My Soul Card Part 2 The Sorceress

Owdscrat left a question on my first post about the mention that this card can mean "lack of patience" I had printed some pages off the internet and have been using them to learn more about the cards. It lists upright and reverse meanings so perhaps it is a mistake from that source. I hope it does mean patience...makes me even happier with my soul card!! That's why I LOVE comments...they help me correct any errors in thinking/knowledge, give me more to ponder, and inspire me to think in new directions.

So I looked at the Sorceress Card in the Once Upon a Time book....Key Words: Intuition, Secrets, Mysteries. "The Sorceress can help you become more connected with the universe." Hmmm as my soul card it would be my purpose through all the lifetimes...very cool...I love it! I like to think that perhaps in some of my many ramblings....someone might gain a small bit of insight or help....so I suppose that might fit.

It's sort of strange because in this story the fairy mother also leaves her human children and returns to the lake in much the same way the "seal" in the Sealskin fairy tale does. (Queen of Cups) But this story doesn't haunt me the way the seal one does. In the Sealskin the fairy comes away as deeply longing for the true essence of herself.....to be who she really is...and I suppose that speaks to me. It is such a core emotion/condition for many people.

In the Lake Maiden, I'm actually a little unclear of the self imposed rule of the husband not striking her three times..it wasn't like "hitting"...that I would understand...but it was one of the parts of the story I found puzzling. Here the Lake Maiden set clear boundaries, they were broken and she left. But it was her choice. Perhaps the fact that she had a choice made the difference in feeling. While the Seal longed for her underwater home...she really never had a choice. The fisherman stole her sealskin so she could not return. Also at the beginning the Lake Maiden chose to go with the man, not so with the Seal.

NEXT TOPICS:

My Personality Card: Justice
Comparing the Kings
And any other thing that strikes my fancy...here in fairy tale land.

Fairy Tale Memories

Since I'm becoming so immersed in fairy tales, I swear I see a fairy tale connection in everything in life...so I wanted to offer an idea for getting kids to talk. I work with middle school kids and mostly they talk a lot but well...in some situations they ramble on without much insight. Well they are middle school age....but it's really a time in life to start developing some insight.

Well, way back when....a long time ago....I started using this idea, can't remember where it came from.

Me: "Hey you know you remind me of Alice in Wonderland....you know that book?"

To which they typically roll their eyes and say, "yeah".

Me: "Well, there's a part of it that reminds me of you."

More eye rolling but they usually lean forward and start to at least look a tad interested. Then when they say, "What part?" I know I've hooked them.

Me: " Well, why don't you guess."

Then no matter what they guess..."Oh I bet it's cause I'm always late like the White Rabbit." or "Hmmm probably because all the teachers say "off with his head" Or whatever.....I always say...

Me: "That's exactly right...have you always been like the ___________(white rabbit or something that fits) or "That's exactly right, do you always evoke that response from others?" They are always "exactly right" no matter what they pick.

And then the conversation is off with a little leap and it can go amazing places. I use Alice because most of the kids know the story (but you can use any common story)...and with all this fairy tale stuff...well...there's some real possibilities here. Now one would mostly need to stick to commonly known stories or perhaps offer it as a bit of intrigue and say "You remind me of Tatterhood." and when they ask why or what then direct them, "It's a fairy tale, you might want to look it up on the internet." Yes the things that could happen...just like Dr. Seuss....the places you will go....

Well the school year starts tomorrow so I think I shall give it a try this year...I'm thinking the twists and turns might make it a most thought provoking year. Working with kids can be inspiring but well honestly, I'm sorry to say......a little depressing sometimes....there are many a sad tale...so the fairy tales might be just the trick to weave a little magic in life.

Fairy Tale Ramblings

Well I know I said my next post was going to be about Comparing the Queens...and I shall get to that. But there are just so many thoughts about Fairy Tales, the cards, the spreads, the readings and the fairy tale messages that I'm like a ping pong ball bouncing here, there, and everywhere...wow. So I thought I'd better make a list of the things I'm wanting to do and write about so they don't float right out of my mind and far far away!!!

Things to Ponder and Write About:

Comparing the Queens (Ditto the Kings, Princesses and Princes)
Different versions of Little Red Riding Hood (from other countries)
A Reading Using the Little Pigs Spread
More Lessons from the Tales
Reflecting on the Female Aspect of Fairy Tales (this is part of my study of the Inner Child cards but I want to apply it here also)

Oh ....there are more and more and more...everywhere I look there is something that ties to the Fairy Tale Tarot....this deck is a gold mine of creative inspiration and has opened up many new doors for exploration!! And of course, sometimes all I do is just sit and look at the cards....lol.

Fairy Tale Notes

Tonight I only have a few minutes to write because I'm off for the weekly Girl's Night Out...it's actually amazing how much more inspired and creative I am after a bit of fun and good conversation. Just think how Cinderella must have felt when she escaped her duties cleaning the hearth and other manner of mundane chores. Her magical moments at the castle must have been doubly so because of the dreariness of her "normal" day.

In notes for today, I'm working on another fairy tale spread to use with the cards. For some reason, I really have a lot of fun doing it. Currently I'm working on a spread called The Three Little Pigs. I hope to get it up here on the blog soon. It's a simple little choices one that could open some doors in your thinking.

Today I did not really get the opportunity to look at the cards....geeeeeee...work was hectic and things were just too crazy....hmmmm...perhaps thats why I'm feeling a bit grumpy tonight....no fairy tale fun....Well....perhaps tomorrow.

NEXT SPREAD: The Three Little Pigs

NEXT POST: Comparing the Queens

Fairy Tales From Around the World

One of the things that I am finding the most awe inspiring is the sheer number of fairy tales from all around the world. I see that one of my favorites...Tatterhood is Norwegian. I think that is another level of meaning just waiting to be explored with the Fairy Tale Tarot...of course the tales in the book aren't ALL the fairy tales in the world...good grief....I am discovering that there are thousands...and each one is fasinating to me in some regard...oh I have my favorites of course.

As I mentioned somewhere archetypes resonate with me. When I was exploring the Faeries Oracle by Froud, I spent a lot of time thinking about some of the cards and their archetypical history...Like the Dark Lady...Dark Madonna ...and other references. Not all of the faery cards were archetypes...at least that I could figure out. But many of them were. When different cultures, countries, societies, and groups of people all come up with similar representations independently of each other....I don't know...it gives me pause...there is something there. A greater scheme to things. I am finding that with the fairy tales also...Some countries have "different versions" of the same tale...like Cinderella. I just find it intriguing. it could just be based on common human experience but I am not willing to rule out that it is something even bigger.

Fairy Tale Thoughts

Well as I wrote about yesterday....my weekly card is Justice...and believe it or not....I drew that very same card as my daily today. I can only assume that there is a strong pull to learn something from this particular card.

As Moncia wrote in her comment....it is a rather hideous story....I do feel for the poor horse who was only trying to be a good horse and got murdered for her trouble....so like in the real world where innocent bystanders are drug into things they do not even want to be involved in.

Souljourney was asking about least faves...and that's something I need to give a bit of thought to...actually I like them all so it will be a task...perhaps I will have a few minutes this evening to sort the cards and try to pick two least faves. I think there's lots of different ways to look at the faves and least faves....for example...a least fave...does it somehow touch on a shadow aspect of myself and thus gives me negative vibes....sort of like avoiding the "truth" about ones self?

Something else I did today....I took the court cards...and I put all the Queens together, all the Kings etc. Then I layed them on the copier and copied them...so that I have four sheets. One sheet is all four Queens, one is all four Kings and so forth...They are in black and white but it serves my purpose. I wanted to be able to put the sheets in my Decks notebook and look at the four together...yes I can do the same with the cards themselves..but IDK....it just came to me....so I did it...I then jotted down by each card the title of the story that went with it. I'm planning to learn the stories and see if I see connections between the Queens, Kings, etc...It's really just another way of connecting with the cards and engraining the stories in my heart.

I am doing a couple readings a day with the deck and it reads so nicely...there are so many layers of meaning and yet they all blend together nicely. I am working on another spread...need to play around with it a bit first. It is called the Once Upon a Time Spread....and I just need to work out a few kinks and then I'll share it with you here.!!!

NEXT POST: Least Favorites

NEXT SPREAD: Once Upon a Time...

One Negative

Okay I thought I better write one negative or someone will claim I am being paid by Llewellyn Publications to promote the deck/book. LOL...and it's not really a negative about the art, research or anything major.

I wish there was an index or table of contents....like at the front or back of the book....a table that showed the Card/Story/Page (where you could find the complete write up). So nothing major but if they reprint and allow revisions....it might be something to consider. I am forever thumbing through the book looking for a particular story or card. Let's just say...the book is getting well loved...like the Velveteen Rabbit.

Okay that's my one negative, so far. I'm loving the way the cards read. They are just wonderfully expressive!!

XV Temptation

Image ©Copyright 2009 Lisa Hunt & Llewellyn Publications. Used by Permission.


Here's a card that's been haunting me...well at least puzzling me for a bit now. Temptation traditionally The Devil. Well, temptation is definately the tool of "the devil" so to speak so that fits. The image itself is a wonderful rendition....at the door...deciding...enter or not....good versus evil....looking over her shoulder, just as every human I have ever observed, doing something they aren't quite sure of....or that they know for a fact is wrong. So it is not the card concept or the art that has me in a quandry. It is the tale itself.

The story is Bluebeard. The man that marries the maiden, leaves her in luxury but demands that she not open the door with the golden key. Well DUH....that's like temptation waiting to snag her!! So far so good....but here's the ironic twist (happens in life a lot)...when she opens the door she discovers the bodies of his previous wives who have not followed his directive. Gruesome. In the end, she manages to escape the fate that he intends for her and with his death ends up a very wealthy woman.

Here's where I find the paradox...the man was wrong, I mean he murdered his wives...and yet (in a way) the maiden was wrong too. She gave in to temptation and did something that she had been warned against...but in the end she triumphed. I'm trying to wrap my mind around exactly which way to go with this one....seems a paradox but maybe not. Let me delve in a bit more.

Looking at it from the perspective that temptation will exist...and ironically it can come from both good and bad sources. Well technically it comes from within ourselves but none the less, I'm just musing here. So there is temptation: do we resist it or give in?....here the temptation is created by a cruel man but actually not giving into it would have kept the maiden safe. In the dark so to speak, but still safe. So in this case was giving in to temptation good or bad? Helpful or destructive?

I guess in my mind, temptation is commonly about keeping away from things that are not good for you or at least not good for you in excess. That isn't really the framework of temptation on this card. "Opening the door can change what we know forever." (page 62).... hmmmm. In this tale, you might even say the maiden gave into temptation, discovered awful truths, and then was actually rewarded in the end. So in the end temptation has a dual nature?

Temptation's dual nature? There are times in life when giving into temptation helps us discover things that in truth we need to know. Realities that we may not find pleasant but realities that change the way we perceive life and that bring us to a different level. A reminder perhaps that temptation is found, not just in things of beauty but in things of ugliness. And then the temptor plays a role here also.

Well the very first temptor I suppose was God. I mean he told Eve NOT to eat the apple and satan encouraged her to.....and yet to me both are temptors. They just have different motives behind tempting someone. God's purpose was to protect and satan's to create havoc. In much the same way temptation still plays out today. One can tempt someone to try something new (to bring them out of their shell or broaden their experiences) OR someone can tempt someone to do something for personal gain (thrills, money, etc)

Then again WE are the temptor....it is our way of thinking and looking at the situation that makes it a temptation. For example if the maiden had just enjoyed the party and ignored the golden key. Accepting the fact that there are unknown things in her life would have prevented her from being drawn to the door. End result... good or bad? You decide. In a way...I think this story speaks also about intuition. You know, that little something that tells you something is wrong, an uneasy feeling, that pushes you to look deeper.

Perhaps the lesson from the tale is: ...There are lessons to be learned from the things that tempt us and in doing so we will be changed forever.

Multi-Leveled Readings with the Fairy Tale Tarot

***Please note...this post is not meant to provoke an argument...it is simply offered as an alternative way of looking at the meanings present in this particular deck. Take what makes sense to you and ignore the rest. I am a strong believer that meaning is constructed through our exchanges with others (via conversations, writings, experiences) and as such that is what I offer through blogging. Take Care and Be Kind...!!!!

I have mentioned several times the multi-leveled meanings of the Fairy Tale Tarot cards. Honestly, I’m still in the process of discovering this aspect of the cards myself. The exploration is in the VERY early stages and, as such, it is difficult to explain but I’m going to take a “baby step” toward doing so. I think this is especially important to beginning card readers or those that want to explore deeper levels.

As I stated in an earlier post, I am actually a novice to tarot, so I am sure “expert” tarot readers might have an entirely different outlook. Here’s how I look at “reading cards”, whether it is tarot, oracle, playing cards or the Lenormand cards. You can get caught up in “meanings”, symbolism, and become quite scholarly about readings. Nothing wrong with that, it has a certain “richness” to it that is wonderfully attractive. But in the end, it doesn’t truly matter what the “traditional” or “right” meanings of the cards are.

What matters are the connections and meanings they have for the individual reader. That is not to say that a basic understanding is not necessary…it, of course, is quite essential. There is a wonderful history to the meanings and symbolism, and it is of value. However do not let “right” or “wrong” meanings limit the scope of the readings. In fact, decide for yourself the approach and meanings and that decision will determine the way the cards “read” for you. Meaning does not exist in a vacuum or in a piece of card stock. Meaning exists in our minds and even more so in our hearts and souls.

So now, back to the topic at hand…the multi-levels of meaning (and again this is just touching the surface). The Fairy Tale Tarot cards have been produced as a tarot deck and while not completely tied to traditional meanings they do coincide. So the deck is wonderfully expressive as a tarot deck. Now let’s add another “level”. The deck can be read as an oracle, with no knowledge of tarot, simply using the rich images on the cards. The reader can simply let the images “speak” to her; the intuitive feeling about the image will provide rich fodder for readings. You can add another level, by observing and using the symbolism present in the individual cards and combining this with the intuitive reading of the card. Then let’s add yet another level and that is the fairy tales themselves. Fairy tales have lessons to teach and these can be used to produce a reading using the fairy tale message. Then of course, all of these levels can be combined with any of the others to produce yet additional levels of meaning and interpretation.

WOW…see what I mean.... multi-leveled. The cool part is that there is potential for just about anybody (with a desire)...…even someone with limited knowledge of tarot and symbolism to read with this deck. They would simply use the images and/or the fairy tale messages.

Now I can hear it already…the arguments, at least…one.... being that to fully bond and provide the best readings possible, you should fully study and know all there is to know about tarot and/or symbolism…that argument is flawed, in my opinion. Here is why. Readings are produced from a person’s knowledge and beliefs about the cards. If readings are about intuitive knowledge and skill, then whatever “framework” the reader chooses, should work. That is not too belittle tarot/symbolism scholars…there is a richness there but it is not so much the readers scholarly knowledge but rather their intuitive skill that makes a reading flow. Plus with this particular deck the "scholarly research" has already been done by the author and is embedded in the deck.

Need I remind you that there are already multiple meanings for most divination methods; Cartomancy alone has hundreds of contradictory methods of reading and interpreting. One might propose that any deck could be read as I suggest, and to a certain extent that is correct. However the images of the Fairy Tale Tarot evoke strong primal messages. Maybe they are part archetype and part collective consciousness or maybe they are just wonderful artwork full of symbolism that speaks to us on a subconscious level. Regardless of the reason, the messages are there and along with the tales themselves, they provide more than enough understanding and insight to “speak” to varied readers with all levels of knowledge and experience.

Fairy Godmothers

Since the Fairy Godmother in Hunt's deck is my favorite, I thought it would be interesting to search for fairygodmother images online. There are literally thousands of them...some rather funny cartoon/joke ones too by the way. The one above caught my eye. It's from the Cinderalla story...and yet has a different sort of feel to it.

I'm not really sure where this image originated but it has a sultry "feel" too it. It's sort of combination Indian Princess....sultry vixen....not really "classic fairy godmother".

This one has a bit of a magical feel to it..but honestly the fairy godmother looks like she is soooo old...she might need to crawl into the pumpkin and take a nap. LOL

I'll stand by my original reflections about the fairy godmother card in the Fairy Tale Tarot...not your ordinary fairy godmother but a woman of age, wisdom, experience and compassion. I think the lure of this card is the gentle wisdom of the face and yet the figure has a certain energy about it, strong and determined...not easily swayed. The fairy godmother on the card is the main figure on the card with a paler woman in the background. Since they are standing among the pumpkins I am assuming the background figure is Cinderella....but hmmmm.

When I look at the card again I wonder...well I think it is Cinderella but at the same time..the idea that it is a younger "version" of the Fairy godmother came to mind. Sort of like the pale figure is a "shadow" of what the fairy godmother was in the past...and that in fact as we age and grow in wisdom....our "past, younger self" fades but is never really gone. We still contain that younger version of ourself. Reminds me of the idea that comes to mind when people say: "they don't "feel" old"...as if that youthful part of a person's spirit is always there. Or perhaps we are both...at times Cinderella and at other times in our lives, the Fairy Godmother.