 The Lua Tarot has been nominated for "Best Indie Deck" at the WDA 2021 Awards! What an incredible honor to be included in this group of amazing deck creators! Thank you to the folks who nominated it.
If you would like to support the Lua Tarot, please take a moment to vote at the World Divination Association Awards poll. To be counted, vote soon as the poll closes September 15th (London midnight), which is Tuesday, September 14th, 4:00pm Pacific time. Thank you ever so much!
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 I’m excited to announce that Divine Muses has partnered with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every deck order! Starting with the second edition releases of the Divine Muses Oracle, Lua Tarot, and Lua Lenormand decks last month. If you purchased a deck in July, your order went to planting a tree! This organization gives me so much hope! One of the biggest news of the year for them was their partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to plant 3 million trees in the Albertine Rift Forest of Uganda to help protect the chimpanzee habitat! They partner with many organizations all over the world, including those restoring the Oregon and California forests devastated by wildfires. Which has been completely heart-breaking to witness, as they get worse every year. So, all orders from July will go to plant trees in Oregon due to this devastation. Oregon is near and dear to my heart, as it has been my home for over 20 years.  We all know that the climate crisis is big and it may sometimes feel as though one tree won't make much of a difference, but it does! Putting all those trees together creates forests to benefit people, nature, and wildlife for years to come. One can feel helpless in the face of all this, but small actions can and do make a difference. It lifts my spirit to say, for every order that includes a deck, Divine Muses will plant a tree for you!  One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to global reforestation. They plant trees to restore nature and biodiversity. They also raise awareness about the importance of trees, offer businesses like mine a simple sustainability solution, and motivate younger generations to do something positive for the environment.
 The Lion's Gate, a celestial stargate, is when the 2nd brightest star in the heavens, fixed star Sirius (aka our "Spiritual Sun"), aligns with Earth; and it is “activated” with the New Moon this weekend. As I continue to read and travel through 36 Secrets, A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot by T. Susan Chang, I keep finding fascinating connections between the cards and the stars. For example: The Lion’s Gate happens during this Leo II time, the decan of the 6 of Wands “Lord of Victory” card (Jupiter in Leo). (Also, Sirius rises in the sky on August 11th, within the Leo II decan, which is 8/3 - 8/12.) The Lion’s Gate is an abundant & creative time to tap into the opportunities that abound. This New Moon opens the Lion's Gate portal and gives our magical work and intentions an extra zap of mystical potential. As Leo is about shining one’s light and Jupiter is about expansion and optimism, we can see how a positive attitude and confidence can lead to opportunities! Because if you believe you will succeed and trust in the abundance of the Universe, manifestation is within reach. So, the Lion's Gate energies are ripe for the success we see in the 6 of Wands card!  Wheel of Fortune (Jupiter), Six of Wands (Jupiter in Leo), Strength (Leo). The Antiquarian Tarot. One of the influencers of the "Lord of Victory" is the Wheel of Fortune card, which is ruled by Jupiter. It is all about opportunity, luck, and the cycles of change and getting into the universal flow of life.
This really feels like the energy of this Leonine New Moon coupled with this most potent portal. The energies of which are most powerful on August 8th, but can also be harnessed up to the Full Moon and through the rest of the month! This convergence on August 8th is fortuitous! 8 is a blessed number. In China, the number 8 is a most lucky number of success and wealth. 8 also reflects the Strength/Leo card, which is the number VIII Major Arcana (in the RWS Tarot). In the card, there's a sideways 8, a lemniscate, that hovers over the lion tamer’s head, a symbol of infinity linking her to Universal Wisdom. So, this New Moon is potent! Whatever intention setting you do today, whatever work you harness, or endeavor you set yourself upon, will have extra cosmic fuel! May you have a blessed New Moon through this most auspicious Lion’s Gate portal!  Today's Lua Tarot “In the Card” description: The Chariot.
The charioteer is a Martinique woman wearing Madras headdress and a beautifully embroidered dress. As I’ve written before, many of these 19th century images are often unidentified and include captions like, “Martinique Madras.” This portrait came from a book about the French Antilles. The horses are from a British children’s weekly called Chatterbox. The original image depicted one horse actualIy, so I digitally added the other horse to reflect the RWS Chariot. Though here, they are black and white horses to represent the opposing forces, which the charioteer harnesses to propel herself forward with her purpose. Those opposing forces are Receptivity & Will—forward movement with the empathetic and sensitive energies of Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon. (Symbols are engraved on the Chariot like a license plate.) I added the curtains to build out the rest of The Chariot. This acts as a shell of protection, or home, and reflects the meaning that one’s body is a vehicle for spirit. I added the stars to symbolize the cosmic forces at work in this card.  The Three of Coins shows two men singing the Gregorian Chant, an abbot who is stroking his chin in contemplation, a six-pointed star from an architectural feature that I multiplied into the three that you see, and an arched hallway.
Sometimes these images are from an accompanying story, so there isn't a representation of someone specific. Quite a few of the people in the Lua Tarot are anonymous or unidentified, like this abbot. All that is identified about the other two people in the collage is that they are doing a Gregorian Chant. I put this all together, similar to the RWS Three of Pentacles, under an arch, but with three six-pointed stars it reflects the Hermetic “as above, so below” adage. The idea is that the collaboration of the Three of Pentacles can be spiritual AND material. The meaning of participating in a project with one's community is highlighted. We can almost hear the chanter’s chant being amplified and carried down the hall. The abbot listens carefully to their voices. He’s the director, a master of his craft, refining skills. He reflects the Master Worker, which is connected to the Three of Pentacles card. FYI: I should mention (if you don’t have the deck) that some of the ideas above are written about in the booklet. It’s just that the “In the Card” section couldn’t fit into the 160 pages I had for Lua Tarot (which is still an in depth Little Booklet!) My other projects had full sized companion books, which allowed me to explore my process and write more in depth. I do set up what’s in the image in the Lua Tarot booklet briefly! There’s just not the specific, “who is that?” But in a lot of cases, I don’t know who, as they are not identified. However, there’s still my creative process and some backstory that I can explore further, as I did above.  Discovering the people in the Lua Tarot. This is not Jesus. I know he looks like him, but this is from a photograph of a Persian man from the late 1870s. (That’s a laurel wreath on his head.)
As a deck creator, particularly one who excavates 19th century photographs & engravings, I seek out images that fit intuitively & functionally with the collages I create. It’s hard to explain, but there’s a whole process. I get into a “space” for the card I’m designing and open to a particular flow of creativity. This is often a magical merging of serendipity, intention, and intuition. It can be challenging to find the “right” images for the cards. But when I do, there’s a feeling, a deep knowing. When I found this one, I “knew” this would be the The Emperor for the Lua Tarot. One big reason is because he looks a lot like my partner, David, who is an Aries. And, The Emperor card is associated with Aries. I considered that some people might see Jesus in the card, since any man with long hair and a beard like this seems to be identified as Jesus. But our global ancestors are full of men who wore their hair and beards like this. I wanted to turn this idea on its head. So, the Lua Tarot Emperor is not Jesus, but if you see Jesus, and you resonate with him being your Emperor, that’s great! (Interestingly, there are some who believe Jesus was born in early April, making him an Aries!) The tarot cards are open to your intuitive messages to come through. Reading the cards is YOUR mirror, your life experience. Your feels. There’s no judgment, just observing what comes through. There are many choices that we deck creators have to make for our cards. These choices are not always going to resonate with everyone. I ADORE this Emperor because he reminds me of my beloved Aries partner. I’m the Empress (my soul card). He’s my Emperor. I thought I’d take this moment to share about this card. I didn’t have space in the Lua Tarot companion booklet to include this extra information, as I have in my past projects. If you’re interested in seeing more posts like this, I’d be happy to share more. Let me know if there’s a card you are curious about! The 2nd edition Lua Tarot and Divine Muses Oracle orders are now making their way to their new homes! Thank you so much for your generous support of these decks!
It looks like a lot of work, and it is. But, it was kind of fun to pack them up. You get into a groove and it all becomes a working meditation. I was listening to music and infusing your packages with gratitude and blessings. If you placed an order last night to today, I didn’t get to everyone’s order. I will start working on those this evening. I just need to catch my breath. Those orders will go to the post office tomorrow. If you’re interested, (as of Monday July 12th) there are still a few Lua Lenormand "miscut" gifts available with a Lua Tarot order. Feel free to Contact me if you have any questions! I am taking a break Friday, June 26th - Monday, July 5th. I will not be shipping items from the shop or replying to emails during this time. If you place an order, items will ship Tuesday, July 6th. Thank you for your understanding & patience while I'm away. Stay safe and hydrated. Summertime blessings, Maree  |
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