Dear reader of signs,
Welcome to the Thursday, the 29th of June’s observation from my daily ‘Reading the Signs’ June challenge, an exercise of paying attention with a focus in mind as the day unfolds.
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve purchased several decks via crowdfunding — which is a terrific way for a talented person (or group) to overcome the large outlay involved in creating a tarot/oracle deck. Usually, this means that I’ve no idea when I’ll get the deck. Problems can occur with production, shipping etc. so you can wait from nine months to three years to receive the deck.
I don’t sweat it. I pay for the cards, and like the Tarot Fool, I step away and trust that it will arrive when I need them. Sometimes it’s been so long that it’s a surprise gift from my past self.
So it is with this deck, The Literary Tarot, which I ordered back in June 2021. It arrived a couple of days ago, just squeaking in to make an appearance on the penultimate day of my challenge. For this inaugural draw, I picked The King of Light and the High Priestess (but it wasn’t quite that straightforward, more on that after the picture).
This deck pairs literary characters with a card from the classic Tarot deck, as selected by 78 different writers/creators. There was a different artist for each of the suits and the major arcana, and they were: Shan Bennion, Isabel Burke, Bradley Clayton, Sam Down and Ejiwa Ebenebe. As a writer and reader, the concept immediately charmed me.
In this deck the minor arcana suits are named as Quills (Swords), Ink (Cups), Light (Wands) and Parchment (Pentacles). The packaging is lovely, and the card stock is thick with a lot of gold foil. This caused an issue as ‘warming’ up the deck took a while. The cards were clumping and not separating correctly.
I noticed this with my first draw, in which I got the King of Light first, and then two cards together. I know when this happens and it’s correct, but in this case it felt wrong when I realised they were two cards in sequence that were slightly stuck together. So I shuffled all the cards back into the deck and returned to ensuring they were not adhering to one another.
Finally, I was satisfied that I was getting a clear shuffle, and out popped The King of Light again. I took that as an affirmation of it being the correct card all along, and when the High Priestess appeared I also took that partly as a confirmation for trusting my instinct.
In this deck the King of Light is Odysseus, the Greek king and hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus is a seasoned leader and fighter, but he also believes in prophecy and paying attention to signs. He knew he was fated to have a much-delayed return from the Trojan War, and tried to avoid his destiny, to no avail. After the war it took him twenty years and many adventure before he regained his home and family. This is about steadfastness, dedication and having faith in your abilities and those in which you trust.
The High Priestess character is a strange choice: Cordelia and King Lear from the Shakespearian play, King Lear. The High Priestess is always depicted as a powerful oracle in her own right, not dependent or beholden to others. She speaks her wisdom from a place of inner connection. I can understand the reason she was chosen, in that Cordelia (a princess not a priestess) is not swayed by the prospect of power or wealth, but speaks honestly to her father. She’s penalised for this, and her ultimate outcome is death. In this regard, Cordelia’s truth and loyalty is a terrible lesson her father must learn (after all, he is main character in the play). So, I think it’s incorrect to depict Lear in this card, as it’s making Cordelia the second character in the card, rather than centring her in her powerful role as the truth teller. The moment being depicted here is when Cordelia forgives her father for his injustice to her, and with that forgiveness wakens him from his insanity.
Many people connect strongly to the High Priestess, and as a major arcana I feel this is a misstep by the creators. I get what they are trying to depict here: the importance of sticking to your inner guidance and not succumbing to the pressure of others. Yet, I think they’ve chosen the wrong image for their portrayal. My instinct is to bridle at this configuration.
When it comes to the Tarot, understanding the symbols and their deep connections to vital archetypes is important. Forcing an incorrect fit throws off the balance of the deck, especially in the major arcana.