 The Lua Tarot and Lenormand have been nominated for the 2021 CARTA awards!
The Lua Tarot has been nominated for the following categories: *Best Tarot Deck *Best Self-Published Tarot Deck *Outstanding Artistic Achievement The Lua Lenormand has been nominated for: *Best Oracle Deck I'm so grateful and honored to have my work be included in the International Tarot Foundation judges' nominees list among some really incredible decks!
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 The Lua Tarot has been nominated Best Indie Deck at the WDA 2021 Awards! What an honor to be included in this group of incredible deck creators! Thank you to the folks who nominated it.
If you'd like to support Lua Tarot, please take a moment to vote at the World Divination Assoc. Awards poll. To be counted, vote soon as the poll closes Sept 15th (London midnight), Tues., Sept 14th, 4:00pm PST. Thank you!  Lua Tarot Chariot 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.  Lua Tarot Three of Coins The Three of Coins shows two men singing the Gregorian Chant, an abbot who is stroking his chin, 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.  Lua Tarot Emperor 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 and engravings, I seek out images that fit intuitively and functionally with the collages that 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.  Tarot Decan: Lua Tarot 5 of Wands, World and Strength. We've entered Leo Season (Strength energies) today. I’m exploring the 1st decan of Leo in the Minor Arcana. Leo I is associated with the Five of Wands, which starts today and ends August 1st. Put the Five of Wands on your altar or reading table during this time to see how it shows up for you.
The Five of Wands can reflect anything from disputes to competition. Because this card is considered the “Lord of Strife” we see struggle between two or more parties, but it does not necessarily have to be negative, as we can look at this as friendly competition and sportsmanship, if we shift perspective.  The Lua Tarot cards and the Divine Muses Oracle sets have been restocked locally in the Portland area at Raven's Wing and Invoke (now in Silverton), and in Seattle at Tenzing Momo.
If you're a brick and mortar shop who would like to carry my self-published creations, please contact me. If you'd like to see my work in your favorite local mystical shop, let them know I have decks for wholesale. Thank you.  Yesterday, we entered the third decan of Cancer, represented by the Four of Cups—the Moon in Cancer decan. The High Priestess (Moon) and Chariot (Cancer-ruled). The Golden Dawn title for the Four of Cups is The Lord of Blended Pleasure.
Four of Cups can bring up feelings of boredom, apathy and discontent in one's life. As we see in the RWS Cups Four, an angelic hand reaches out to show the young person the bounty that sits right in front of them. But, they don't even notice the miracle of this divine hand.  Decks have landed! I have some organizing to do, but orders will open for both the Lua Tarot and Divine Muses Oracle decks this Friday July 9th, on the New Moon, which is a Cazimi Moon!
I’ll share more details later and also be sending out an email to my notification list once the decks are live in the shop. You can subscribe you’d like to receive that email. It’s amazing that both of the decks arrived at the same time! Making this an unintentional double release of these second editions.  36 Secrets. Tarot Decans: Lua and Antiquarian Tarot We've entered Cancer II, the decan of the Three of Cups tarot card that lasts from July 1st - July 11.
This is the Lord of Abundance card, associated with Mercury in Cancer—and the Magician (Mercury ruled tarot card) and the Chariot (Cancer ruled tarot card). Three of Cups is a card of celebration, friendship, community, creativity, fun, and abundance. Consider how this energy may reveal itself to you in the next 10 days. Is it showing up for you yet? >>>  Tarot Travel Altar Blessings to all this Super Strawberry Moon in Capricorn! I’m about to go on a little vacation and I always pack a travel altar with me. I usually use a small metal box, which I store my little altar items.
I’ll be using the Lua Tarot’s box as my travel altar this time. It’s like a diorama shrine. I’ll pack my altar items in a velvet bag to protect them and put the deck back in the box. The 2nd edition Lua Tarot will be back in the shop second week in July! I'll post here when it is available, please subscribe to be notified.  Lua Tarot Review The Lua Tarot has been featured in PARQ Magazine, a Portuguese trends magazine dealing with art, photography, fashion and urban lifestyle.
“Portuguese American deck creator Maree Bento’s Lua Tarot is unusual in the way it manipulates obscure 19th Century engravings and is an attempt to create deck which appears at first glance historical yet is contemporary in its diversity and inclusiveness...” Read the full article in English by tarotist Roger Winstanley.  Lua Tarot and Lenormand Cards Full Moon is exact tonight at 8:31pm PT (11:31pm ET). This Moon’s influence is under Scorpio, which is associated with the Tarot’s Death card—the Child of the Great Transformers and the Lord of the Gate of Death.
Scorpio’s ruling planet is Pluto and Pluto goes Retrograde tomorrow (1:03pm PDT) for 6 months. ALSO: The USA has been in the thick of its first Pluto Return, currently 26° Capricorn (within 1° orb of US’s exact natal Pluto).  Pluto stations Retrograde (Rx) on Tuesday, April 27th at 1:03pm (PDT). The Pluto energies have been so intense lately. Especially for the USA, as an immense astrology transit has been nudging ever slowly forth for the past year.
The USA has been approaching its first Pluto Return, currently 26° Capricorn (within 1° orb of USA’s natal Pluto). Many people have heard of their Saturn Return, but what's Pluto Return?
While I was creating a Reels for Instagram, The High Priestess card came up to remind us of the Dark Moon energies we are entering.
The Dark Moon is the Moon for priestess magic. The time to tap into your mystical or spiritual discipline, to quiet down and hear / understand the teachings intuitively. Moon entered Pisces early this morning and the New Moon in Pisces is Saturday at 2:21am PST! This is an invitation to recharge your mind and body if you've been feeling emotionally drained. May you be restored during this time.
 Lua Tarot and Antiquarian Tarot Reading Spread Anyone else feeling this Swords-y energy at this Lunar New Year? Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun & Moon are ALL currently vibrating in Aquarius energy.
With the Aquarius vibes, most Tarotists would think of The Star card, which perhaps does reflect the macrocosmic reality, but I’m not sensing that as strongly right now. I am sensing microcosmic mundane world in these three Swords cards today.  Judgement and Evolution (alternate Judgement card). Seeker/Fool from the Lua Tarot Don’t you love when the cards show up with the obvious? A message from the Lua Tarot as we wrap up the Gregorian calendar year shows shift & change.
Key 20 (Judgement/Evolution) keywords: renewal, liberation, Aeon, a new era. Key 0/22 (The Seeker/Fool) keywords: fresh start, trust, pure potential, opportunity, leap of faith. Trust the realizations that have been made this year, and take them into 2021. There’s pure potential to plant seeds for a new era. Focus your intention to awaken them. “The prettiest flowers grow in the biggest pile of shit.” May 2021 bless you with the most beautiful blossoms! Happy New Year!  Jupiter and Saturn come together in a most auspicious way on the 21st of December! This “Great Conjunction” will spark a turning point at 0° Aquarius on the Solar New Year—the Solstice.
This is a wondrous rebirthing energy converging in the astro heavens that is signaling to us a renaissance! One can see why some astrologers are calling this the “official” entrance into the Age of Aquarius.  Total Solar Eclipse Collage © Maree Bento 2020 We have walked through the fire that has been 2020, and we have been transformed. While this year has felt like the biggest setback of our lives, it truly has been a monumental catalyst for our evolution.
This morning’s Total Solar Eclipse is exact at 8:17am PST. The Sagittarius Eclipse brings an intense and quiet power. Can you feel the inner stirrings of change?  Lua Tarot ©2020 Maree Bento Another magic Monday! Full moon magic on the Gemini/Sagittarius axis. Did anyone sense the lunar eclipse early this morning? I caught a glimpse of it through the clouds here in Portland, as drops of rain speckled my face with their penumbral infused lunar magic.
Penumbral eclipses are more gentle as the moon moves behind the Earth’s outer shadow. They don’t hit us in the same way that Total eclipses do. They reflect a more subtle power. |
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