Brainstorming fairy kingdom houses for a project I'll be working on. #art #artstr #sketch #drawing #fantast #fairy #draw

Torso boxes practice. #art #draw #sketch

I am literally #dead #harryPotter

#news #comedy

This is a brief article discussing the most important parts divination using Tarot. # Nomenclature - Divination - The practice of seeking information using means not yet explained by modern science. (author's definition. For other definitions, feel free to google or use a dictionary) - Cartomancy - Divination using a deck of cards. - Tarot - A deck of cards that was based on an old late Medieval, early Renaissance period game that was itself based on standard playing cards. This deck later started being used for cartomancy. While Tarot decks differ a little bit, they all share common elements of symbology and lore. The most common Tarot deck today is the Rider White deck that was designed by Arthur Edward Waite based on older Tarot designs and symbology of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (which Waite was a member of) and painted by Pamela Coleman Smith. This deck incorporates elements of Qabbalah, the Zodiac, and the 4 western elements. - Oracle Cards - This term describes various decks used for cartomancy that do not fall under Tarot or playing cards categories. - The Diviner - The individual performing the divination # Sources of Divination Where does the information received via divination come from? Based on my understanding it can come from one or more of the following: - Gods or spirits (intelligent non-corporeal entities that are not the diviner) - The subconscious mind of the diviner - The diviner's "higher self" - the spiritual and intelligent part of the person their conscious mind usually does not have access to. # Elements Necessary for Effective Divination No matter what type of divination is used, most of the following elements must be present in order for it to be effective: - Altered state of consciousness - Use of intuition - In the case of systems of divination that have a long-running tradition and lore around them, like Tarot, for example: Knowledge of the symbology and lore associated with the divination system. ## Altered state of consciousness This can be but does not have to be deep trance. An altered state of consciousness should be reached in order to put your conscious mind into the background a little bit and pull your intuition and subconscious more to the forefront of your mind than it usually is. You can use whichever method of reaching the altered state of consciousness you prefer. When using necromancy as a system of divination, a good way to do it is via card shuffling. The reason this works is because it is an automatic repetitive action, which is an effective way of reaching an altered state of consciousness or a very light trance. ## Intuition Intuition is necessary for a couple of reasons: - Knowing when to stop shuffling - In the case of cartomancy where you don't pick cards off the top but arbitrarily pick them (without knowing what they are, obviously): Knowing which cards to pull. - Interpreting symbols that do not have a standard meaning or knowing when to discard the standard meaning and use a different one. - Knowing which standard meaning of a symbol is applicable and which to discard. - (sometimes) Picking a layout to use. - Putting the interpretation of all of the separate symbols into one coherent whole. ## Tarot vs Oracle Decks: Lore and known symbology The thing that differentiates Tarot from Oracle Cards (see definition above) is the fact that tarot cards have a lot of common symbology and standard meanings. A lot of these meanings are based on one or more esoteric systems that have power in their own right. So using Tarot gives you an advantage of being able to use that existing set of symbology in addition to your intuition. This way you do not have to rely 100% on your intuition and have extra information. Probably the worst advice I've ever heard for those learning Tarot is: "Throw away the book, don't learn any of the standard card meanings and just use your intuition for everything" This is bad not because it'll lead to completely ineffective divination (people using this method might use it ok), but because you are missing out on an important feature of the deck. If you are only going to go with intuition and don't care about the standard meanings of the cards and their symbology, just go with an Oracle Deck. Another benefit of using a Tarot deck vs some random Oracle Deck is the fact that it's fairly balanced. It gives you a wide range of archetypes to use and a good balance of "bad/negative" card meanings and "positive/good" ones. Why is the last one important? Because life consists of events and other things that we usually consider bad as well as those that we consider good. If a deck is skewed (a common failing of a lot of Oracle decks), such as only having "good" cards so that the diviner and the person being read for doesn't get sad, you will be missing a lot of information. This is not to say that all Oracle Decks are unbalanced, but you're really relying on the creator of the oracle deck and their skill in making it. Some will be all "love and light" fluff, others might be well balanced. You'll have to look through the cards and judge for yourself. # A Good Way to Learn the Tarot This is the method I used to learn the Tarot myself. It does involve having at least 3 different decks and more than one book, but if you can't afford it, just use the standard Raider Waite deck and one book (or the internet if you can't afford a book). ## Tools needed - Raider Waite tarot deck (because almost all other Tarot deck are based on it so they will have most of the symbology you'll be learning in Raider Waite deck) - A non-Tarot Oracle Deck. - A Tarot deck that is not Raider Waite. Pic one whose art or theme you like. You can even pick one that is themed after your favorite show or movie (like Game of Thrones or the Labyrinth) or a theme (like Vampires, or Fairies). - One or more books on Tarot and card meanings. - A divination journal - A 3-ring binder with at least 6 dividers and paper for it For the Oracle Deck you pick, do NOT use or even read the booklet that comes with it. You will be using it SOLELY to train your intuition. The less you know about what the author and/or artist intended for the symbology of the Oracle Deck the better. The Rider Waite deck will be your guide to the standard symbology and lore of the Tarot. You will use it to memorize the symbols and their standard meanings. The non Rider Waite Tarot deck will be used to reinforce what you learn from studying the Ride Waite deck. ## Process - Put the Tarot cards in numerical order with the suits being together. Make sure to put the minor arcana first and the major arcana last. Learn the major arcana last because it's cooler and you'll have it to look forward to as a reward for getting through the minor arcana. - Label the dividers in your 3-ring binder as follows: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, Wands, Major Arcana, General Notes. (note: for your non Raider Waite deck, some of the suits might be named differently, but they will still correspond to one of the above standard suits) You will use these to take notes on each card in order and later refer to those notes as needed. The great thing about 3 ring binders is that you can take as many notes on each card as needed, just add paper to that section. - Whatever books or other resources you are using, read the parts that talk about the cards and divination in general (i.e.: read everything that's not the specific card interpretations first), and take notes in your binder. ### Every day do the following: - Do a small daily spread using an Oracle Deck (again, do NOT look in the booklet. You do not care what the author/artist meant by those symbols, only what your intuition tells you they mean). You are using it to train your intuition only. Write down your interpretation of the cards and the spread in your divination journal. - Which symbols on the cards catch your eye first? - What could those symbols be metaphors for? - Do these metaphors resonate with your current life, fears, hopes and dreams? - When you put your interpretations of all those cards together, what story unfolds? - Does a card's meaning change based on your interpretation of another card that is in the same spread? - At the end of the day (or the beginning of the next one), review your reading. Did what you predict come to pass? Were the symbols that caught your eye important? Should you have interpreted them a different way? - Review the Rider Waite tarot cards you've learned the previous day. Can you identify the symbology you learned and do you remember its meaning? Review the notes you took on that card to see if you missed anything - Grab one, two, or three new tarot cards off the top of your Rider Waite deck (they are in order, remember), read about those cards, their symbology, and standard interpretations in your books/resources and take notes on them in the appropriate section of your binder. I like to start the notes for each of the cards with a list of keywords at the top of the page. That way it's quicker to reference the notes later. - After you are done examining the card, reading about it, and memorizing the symbology of the Rider Waite card, find the same card in one or more of your non Rider Waite decks and examine it. - Which symbology from the Rider Waite is present in this card? - What is absent? - Is there other symbology that is not part of the stand Rider Waite that is present? Does it support the standard meaning of the card? Does it give the standard meaning of the card a different flavor? - Do you agree with the symbology choices that the creator of the deck made? Would you do anything different? - What about the overall "feel" of the card? Do you think it's appropriate for what the card is supposed to represent? ### At the beginning or end of each week: - Review the previous week's weekly spread and see what was accurate, what wasn't, and what symbols would you interpret differently in hindsight. - Do a new weekly spread for the upcoming week. Take notes on the spread and your interpretation of it in your divination journal. # Pro-Tip! Do not do actual divinations with Tarot until you are done learning all of the cards of the Tarot. The reason is to dangle a reward in front of yourself that would motivate you to finish learning all the cards. You are trying to avoid abandoning the learning and memorization of the Tarot symbology part way through. You are still learning how to do divination in general during this process but only using the Oracle Deck. For the Tarot you are only memorizing the standard symbology right now. Withhold the the satisfaction of actually using the Tarot for divination until the end of the process to motivate yourself. #tarot #divination #oracleCard #cartomancy

In case no one else tells you this today: things are going to be ok. #GM #Nostr

Here's what I don't get: rumor has it that the reason the last season of #GameOfThrones sucked so bad was becuse they rushed it, and they rushed it because it was "too expensive to produce". If that were the case, why would #HBO then start up a new series with way more #cgi #dragon screen time: #HouseOfTheDragon? Can someone explain? How are they not able to afford a few more seasons to end #GoT properly but can afford a whole different spinoff series?