Teh Ten Commanments of Ceiling Cat

An Ceiling Cat say: Mozus, I be too lazyz to be rytin on stownz so yooz hamerz my wordz on da stownz. So Mozus cut stownz an brung dem in hiz pawz in da morningz up da litter mount. Ceiling Cat got dere ina clowd and meowed hiz own name reel lowd. He floated in fronta Mozus meowin: Ceiling Cat is nice, slow ta growl, gives lotsa cheezburgerz, chillz out an duzzint sweat da small stuff. But, he gives da lazer eye to bad peeps kittenz, litter after litter. Watch yer bak! An lissen up: dese are teh Ten Commanments of Ceiling Cat --

1. I iz Ceiling Cat.
2. Ceiling Cat comz 1st.
3. Don' lissen to Basement Cat.
4. Don' use mai name to do eveil tings.
5. Remember Caturday n keepz it lazy.
6. Drive ur hoomin as crazy as possibl.
7. Don' kill. Unless hoomin makez u dress up.
8. Don' cheat n hook up wit crazy kitteh down teh street.
9. Don' lie. Unless u has to.
10. Don' steel. Jus take stuff wiffout permishun an put it back b4 they kno.

[Compiled and adapted from various sources on teh interwebs. Blessed be da teechins of Ceiling Cat.]

My Tarot Journey, Part 5

I feel that it is time now for me to move on from Morgan-Greer and to start using a new tarot deck. Ciro Marchetti has created a new deck called the Legacy of the Divine Tarot and I bought a copy at the Readers Studio. It is a darker, more fantasy-based deck that nevertheless appeals to me greatly. Ordinarily I'm not a big fan of fantasy art because it's usually very sexist -- lots of big boobs, tiny waists and scanty clothes: fantasy women to fuel some adolescent boy's wet dream. But the Legacy of the Divine Tarot is pretty respectful of women, although it still does not have a lot of diversity of race or body shapes. With that shortcoming noted, I intend to use it as my new reading deck. It will mark the start of the next part of my tarot journey. Because of course, tarot is a life-long journey, as those of you who read tarot know perfectly well!

Next week I'll be starting a five-part series on what I learned at the Readers Studio 09. But for the next couple of posts -- it's time for something completely different!

My Tarot Journey, Part 4

After using the round Motherpeace deck for a few years, I wanted to use a rectangular deck so that the positions of Upright and Reversed would be unequivocal. That's the problem with a round deck -- the lack of clarity about reversals can make reading more difficult. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck still didn't do anything for me, but I found a RWS clone that I really liked -- the Morgan-Greer deck. It has bright colours, no borders and nice artwork (although some find it a bit cartoonish). I've been using Morgan-Greer for the past decade or so.

My private tarot studies continued, albeit rather sporadically. However, I was not doing a lot of reading for other people. But over the past year, I've been making a real effort to do more readings in order to keep up my skills. Part of the strategy for improving my reading ability was to attend the Readers Studio 09. Although I do not have any ambition to be a professional tarot reader, I want to have the same skills as one!

My Tarot Journey, Part 3

In 1993, I started to study tarot seriously. I took a 9-week course from a respected Winnipeg tarotist to learn how to read tarot using the Motherpeace deck. The Motherpeace emphasis on women, feminism and Goddess spirituality made it the deck for me! In addition to using the book Motherpeace: A Way to the Goddess through Myth, Art, and Tarot by Vicki Noble (one of the creators of the Motherpeace deck), my teacher also taught us from the works of Mary Greer and Angeles Arrien. The course was wonderful and I learned a great deal. In the years following, I continued tarot studies on my own, reading lots of different books and taking notes. Occasionally I would read the cards for family and friends. But a major aspect of tarot's attractiveness to me during this period was its lessons on spiritual growth via The Fool's Journey.

My Tarot Journey, Part 2

My tarot journey really picked up steam in 1990. I was just starting to walk the Goddess path and had joined a circle called the Lesbian Spirituality Group. It met once a month at the Winnipeg Gay and Lesbian Resource Centre and was led by an ex-nun who was now a lesbian activist. She introduced us to the Daughters of the Moon Tarot -- the original edition, which was black and white. You were supposed to colour all the cards yourself and then laminate the deck for use.

The cards fascinated me! I wanted to know more about the Goddesses they portrayed. I finally understood that there was spiritual meaning behind tarot cards, which had not been apparent to me from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. I wanted to know more about mysterious tarot concepts like "major arcana" and "minor arcana." I was hooked.

(Incidentally, the second edition of the Daughters of the Moon now comes already laminated in vibrant colours, ready for immediate use. I guess the whole "colour it yourself" idea didn't really work out in practice. My Rare One bought me a second edition deck a few years ago, so I feel like I've come "full circle" now with the DOTM deck).

My Tarot Journey, Part 1

Before going into more detail about new tarot tips and teachings that I learned at RS09, I thought perhaps people might be interested in hearing a bit about my own tarot background and history. So in true self-centred blogger fashion, here's a five-part series on that very topic! As always, thanks for your patience.

My first tarot deck was, of course, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. It's the standard deck that probably everyone first encounters. Someone gave it to me as a birthday present in the late 1970s or early 1980s, if I remember correctly. It came as a boxed set with 3 small paperback books which were extremely unhelpful, being basically just a list of contradictory and confusing keywords for each card. My sister and I tried to read for each other a few times and then gave it up. I didn't find the cards particularly attractive or intriguing. Clearly my tarot journey was off to a slow start.

Readers Studio 09

The Readers Studio was great! I learned some new techniques which will deepen my reading skills. But the most wonderful thing was meeting so many people who love tarot:

Men, women, young, old, professional readers, amateur readers, those who have been reading for 30 years and those who just started a few months ago.

Those who have written the definitive books on tarot, like the legendary Mary Greer and Rachel Pollack, along with other notable tarot authors like Geraldine Amaral, Corrine Kenner, Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone.

Those who have created amazing tarot decks, like James Wanless (Voyager Tarot), Ciro Marchetti (Gilded Tarot), Emily Carding (Transparent Tarot), Robert Place (Alchemical Tarot), Joanna Powell Colbert (Gaian Tarot), Ellen Lorenzi-Prince (Tarot of the Crone), Sage Holloway and Katherine Skaggs (Mythical Goddess Tarot).

Those who must struggle against negative judgments by family and friends because of their interest in tarot and those who are exuberant gypsies in their celebration of all things tarot!

Dreamers, artists, bellydancers, wiccans and goddess worshippers! And yes, a few blowhards and attention seekers too.

RS09 had them all!

[RS09 poster by Ciro Marchetti]