No. 3 The Empress

Here's my latest attempt at the Major Arcana ~ The Empress.



The Empress is a mother figure and this lass is pretty much looks the part of motherly perfection. The arch behind is pattern paper, representing domestic skill. There's also some handmade paper peeking over her shoulders to hint at the wheat fields usually depicted in this card. Usually the Empress is crowned with 12 stars, representing the 12 months of the year but I've given our gal 12 pearls of wisdom instead. Lastly a heart shaped locket signifying her association with Venus and 2 halves of a pomegranate hidden within... a lusty and fruitful symbol :)

GREEN!!!!!!!!!

Just look at that glorious colour! Everything seems so lovely and bursting with life today. *dreamy sigh*

We had our front door fixed today. It's been sitting broken for about 2 weeks. One of the things that distinguishes rural/small town life from the big city is the pace in which things are done. We've waited for the door to be fixed, for our garage doors to be replaced, we wait in line while people chat in shops... we wait for about a million other little things... but it's something that I find I've quickly grown accustomed to and don't mind in the least. As long as things get done eventually we'll be alright. I wonder what the rush was in the first place.

I figure I must be assimilating rather nicely because I even find myself humming along and rockin' my head to the local classic rock station. Hell, I don't even cringe when Rush comes on anymore! Less than a year ago I would have gagged and begged for the station to be changed as soon as Geddy Lee's 'distinctive' voice wavered over the airwaves. My poor husband has lost the button labeled "Tom Sawyer" that he enjoyed pushing at every opportunity :)

In praise of St. Joseph and Thanks to the Gods :)

We've been very fortunate and have managed to sell this joint and buy some new diggs in no time at all (although it felt eons).

After seeing over 20 houses we've decided on this pretty thing...



A 100 year old farm house sitting on 2 acres of rolling hills or 'toboggan slopes' as the husband calls them. Hell, it even has a babbling brook!

We had originally dismissed the house because the price tag was a bit high, there were dead flies everywhere, and it needs some work.... then the price dropped and we had a second look. We held our breath and took the plunge.

So thanks to the Gods, Goddess and Saint Joseph we are ready to move forward and start living a magical life once again :)

The Hierophant

My partner in the 'craft a tarot card' swap left the second card choice up to me. I chose card no. 5 'The Hierophant'.



Looking through my collection of old photos I came across a group shot of a gang priests (Do they travel in gangs I wonder? What exactly do you call a group of holy men?). Anywho I thought this fellow was suitable.

The Hierophant is/was also called The Pope or High Priest in some decks. In the journey of the Fool the hierophant is a wise man who gives advice, helping him to cope with his fears, bringing him back to reality.

I was raised Catholic, and although I never had a priestly sage to turn to, I was fortunate enough to know a few nuns who gave wonderful bits of wisdom. I remember speaking about one of the priests that struck fear into all of us and a sister telling us "A priest is just a man. He is God's agent... but he is not God." Another told us that sometimes feeling lazy might be God's way of telling us to settle down and take a break once in while.

I may not follow the same path as those nuns but they were wildly wonderful people :)

10 Houses in 2 days.

We've seen a fair number of houses these past few weeks and there's not a hell of a lot out there. It's frustrating because I don't think that we're picky, we just expect a reasonable return on the money we invest.

The hubby thought aloud tonight and said that perhaps we were spoiled, maybe our expectations are too high. I reminded him of the house we visited this afternoon with cat shit on the floor.

So far we've seen about 20 houses and nothing has really stood out. We're not looking for something that is perfect, we're open to a renovation project, but within reason. Taking something back to the studs isn't something we want to tackle right now... unfortunately many properties in our budget seem to require that level of work.

We also don't want to be house poor and exceed our budget. We're starting to feel stuck and something is going to have to give or we won't have anywhere to live soon.

Because I'm greedy

Soooo... because I was very pleased with myself and the Star card, I made myself a Star card too yesterday.



The colour in this photo is way closer to the originals than the previous photo I posted.

Next up? The Empress!

Star

I've always wanted to make my own tarot deck, so when I saw a swap on craftster for handmade tarot cards I jumped on board.

I'm really happy with my efforts today. Here's card No. 17, The Star.



There's a few symbolic things missing from the card but overall I'm pleased.

I'm really hoping that by making cards I'll gain a better understanding of the Fool's Journey and a deeper appreciation for the symbolism used (even if I do cheat and forgo using some the symbols in my own deck).