Wicked Tarot Deck Review

It is with great reservations that I write this Tarot review at all. I finally received the Wicked Tarot deck the other day, after months of waiting, and little to no updates.

The Wicked Tarot started as Kickstarter project that launched sometime in September, and I wound up helping/ funding it, back in October 2015. Mind you, it is the end of May 2016 now. There were very few updates about the work of the deck during the time myself, and anyone else awaited their arrival, and when we did start getting these updates, it wasn't until the very end and they were being shipped out within the week,

"Tarot has never been this..wicked!"

(An actual quote from their page)

That quote alone really inspired me, and set my heart aflame when it came to the deck, and the images that were shown to represent the art of the cards blew my mind. I will always say I have a love for the darker things, and these cards knocked it out of the park! Skeletons, creatures, and spooky-cool colours, how could I not be in love?

The above are just a few of the cards, such as the Kings of the Minor Arcana, my favorite card in any deck, The Hanged Man, and Death just happens to look like a skeletal centaur. There's no way I', going to deny being smitten with such a card.

As excited as I was for them, even upon arrival and holding the deck box in my hand, I was still over the moon, however, it quickly fell into despair... Now, I don't have a fancy camera or anything, but other than cropping the photos, no adjusments have been made, and while I noticed some issues right off the bat, they became ever more clear as I laid out the cards for this post in general.

Right off the bat, after removing the shrink wrap from the cards, I noticed the edges of the deck. In the second picture you can see all the white dotting the edges. I didn't know how to explain it at first, it tends to be a look of wear and tear, at least in my case, after a long handling and shuffling of decks in general. Cards get beat up, it happens, not brand new, right out of a book they don't.

They could have been printed or cut badly, either way, it's not quality work, and upon a friend's recommendation, the people behind the project were emailed the same day the cards arrived.

Some other things to note, the card stock is light weight and the cards themselves scuff easily. I actually damaged a card lying it out for the photos. The guide booklet doesn't have much in the ways of inspiration or explanations, just the basic info about each card. Yes, the booklet is meant to be a guide, but I', the kind of person who like a bit of background to the cards, who they are, where they came from, the mindset of their creator. Hell, they even went about adding additions to the well know Celtic Cross spread without reasons as to why (see below).

The last thing I ever want to do is to complain about someones hard work. At some point, I have to believe that there was love and time invested into the art and these cards but at that same time, everything looks and feels completely rushed. The cards themselves give off more of an abandoned feel and there's certainly no means at the moment for them to be worked with. I've already thought about setting them aside, or putting them together like a giant picture and framing them, but then, there's still the issue of all the scuff marks...

So, while I love the art and the idea of these cards, I'm not happy with them in the slightest, and I actually ache for the beings in the cards themselves. Now maybe if I hear a response back from the team and something changes, my attitude will change, but until then, they're going to sit in their box and I'm going to be glad I didn't spend much more money on them or the offered Kickstarter rewards then I did.

 In all hopes though, I just received a bad deck and everyone else out there will be pleased with theirs, as well as any prints or inked guitars and everything else that was purchased between the tiers.

When in Doubt, Write up Your Tarot Pulls

   Why the hell not? How else do I expect to have some sort of keep-up, or any sort of regularity to my writing and maintaining a blog? Plus, I'm still hoping to do more with Tarot, and lately, I am really enjoying combining it with my book posts as far as Instagram is concerned. So, while I didn't pull cards for every day, I did pull a few and I do think they are worthwhile, and yes, definitely worth mentioning and reflecting on.

    

     I know they're not the easiest to see in the photo, but that's the whole point to explaining them I suppose. The cards I've pulled are from the Fountain Tarot, and this deck is absolutely stunning (I'm sure Iv'e said it before), and while I have a few tarot decks at this point, this is only the second one I've really connected with. 

    That being said... 

    Ace of Cups (the top card). The Ace of Cups is about an emotional connection or the beginning of something beautiful. It can be spiritual or earthly, ranging from connecting with the Divine and or our spirit guides, to connecting to a person in our day to day life. Perhaps even ourselves. There is an opportunity for growth here, and it's important to trust in ourselves, trust our intuition. 

    The Ace of Cups is also a 'fleeting gift' and talks about us taking the opportunity as it is presented, since it doesn't stick around long... You can say that one definitely stumps me. I guess some things are a lot more obvious than others and in this case, it's one of those where I probably have to dig a little deeper to find, and yes, face it. 

    I say I have to face it because nothing has been easy lately, and as I know I've said before, I'm well into my little dark hole of despair again and I have no idea how to pull myself out. Though it is something I am going to keep focusing on, climbing out of that hole is more than just a goal at this point.            

    

    The Hermit (the middle card), is all about quiet observation and solitude. It's about a  willingness to let go of fixed ideas to find peace; To focus, to illuminate, and use our silence to find understanding and (maybe) peace.

    The Hermit is a card I cannot help but Identify with. Always feeling alone and like an outcast, I automatically distance myself. While I know that's not what the Hermit is about, it eventually leads me down a similar path, to look inwardly, to let go of what I know and see if I can't find a better way. There has been much of that again this week, lots of thinking, lots of hiding myself away someplace quiet. Sometimes, it's just to bury myself away in whatever book I'm reading, and sometimes, and it's the whole reason I'm writing this now, it is so I can pull out my cards, and question everything. literally. Life.

    King of Swords (the bottom card). "The king has reached the height of his professional life. A powerful person of esteem, he has honed his ability to control his mind, and holds all people to the highest of ideals. His brilliant intellect generates endless energy. Considered cold by his closest relations, he's fair and can foresee well into the future as his knowledge grants him. Wisdom that is both fair and perceptive. Harsh. Sound truth// advice. One who has earned authority."

                                                                                                                    -The Fountain Tarot

     As of now, I cannot say why the King of Swords has graced me with his presence. When it comes to the Kings of Tarot, I do not often find them in my company... So for one, he's here for a reason. Though, I cannot help but think he is telling me at the same time that I am being too hard on myself. However, the little bit I do know about the king, he's a judge, though nothing like the kind we see in our day and age... He plays fair, however there still has to be something else on the scales I'm in need of balancing out. 

    These may be card pulls from the other day, but just hours ago I received a Grand Tableau Lenormand reading from a friend that definitely sheds more light on what I'm in need of balancing out. This post is long enough already without me adding that much more about it,  You can find her blog over at http://thebookishfox.blogspot.com.au and her etsy shop where she provides all sorts of Tarot readings from there as well. 

     Thursday night, I pulled the Knight of Wands. While I don't see the Kings often, I'm quite certain I have some sort of love affair going on with the knights. That, however, is a story for another time.

    The Knight of Wands is considered a restless spirit, and if that doesn't sound like a true Sagittarian to me, I don't know what does. Yes, that just so happens to be what I am  as well, except, I'm restless and completely and utterly stuck.

     The knight is moved by passion. He's young and determined and seeks the truth inside of him. Being young doesn't stop him, and I wish the tarot was based on real life with things like bills and debt, and how old was he when he finally got to follow his heart and discover himself? As he is now, he represents a change, and or a journey and I only laugh as I make eight-hundred promises that he has nothing to do with me, but then again, one of my spirit guides is male, so, can this be him?

     Friday's pulls and here we have the Ace of Cups again, which, I suppose make more sense today then it would have the other day, or I completely missed the message, which, in my case, is highly likely. However, after speaking with Jo the night before, and some further research, I've come to the conclusion to stay away from all things Aleister Crowley.

     Let me back up a bit. 

     All week I've had it in my head that I wanted to pick up the Thoth tarot deck, which yes, was written by Crowley and designed by Lady Frieda Harris. While the idea of the deck sounds intriguing and I love ancient civilizations and sketchy cults being depicted in things, Crowley gives me the creeps. The breathing down your neck kind of creeps, not the he might be a few screws loose kind. Those creeps, and plenty of others, I can handle. 

     I don't know how often my guides are out there, the divine, or whoever and whatever else have sought to keep a metaphorical eye on me, but I know I have to trust my gut, and whatever opportune moment the Ace of Cups feels like heralding me towards, it is not this deck. 

     I was looking at Thoth as my next big pick up too. As much as I love my Fountain Tarot deck, and my Steampunk deck (both are the decks I mentioned being the only two I've connected with), I feel like there's something missing.

     I haven't been able to connect with a few of my decks lately, mostly oracle at this point, and even though they were hand created by some very talented individuals, I can't help all the negativity that surrounds these cards, and perhaps it has come from myself, from being wronged and hurt, even if it seems childish it's there and I'm not quite sure how to move past it, or clear the energies. It's why I pulled out my Enchanted Map Oracle Friday, along with my Tarot in the last photo... It's sort of a small hope towards /something/ as well as trying to find a fit between the Fountain and whatever else that's going on.

      I suppose this is where I ask for Tarot and Oracle card recommendations! 

    Anyways, the Movement card, is not just a thing to do, but also a state of mind, one I'm in desperate need of. Though again, the Knight and his adventurous self comes into play again, and perhaps the Ace of Cups, fleeting moments be damned, whatever it is, it has yet to arrive, and maybe this is here, this blog, tarot, writiing in general, this is how I prepare. 

It's Just One of Those Days

    I had no idea how hard it was to come up with five positive things about myself. I say this because an ask came through on Tumblr to do such a thing, and while I have three things down, I'm stumped on four and five. It's rather depressing, but at the same time, I know I need to work on 'me' that much more. This piece, this was supposed to be me kind of venting I suppose, about finding inspiration to write in the oddest places, maybe not so off, but just as moving as say the sun peaking through the clouds. I hate when I know I sounds so full of myself, that I'm the last person who should write about anything inspiring or sounding like I might be giving advice, but this ins't that (I don't think) and this really isn't for anyone but myself (even if putting it on the internet makes it for the world).

    It hasn't just been this week that I've felt so off, so... so something I don't really have words for, but it is definitely this week the depression has hit so incredibly hard again, and that anger that has come with it, at the world and at myself, it's almost unbearable and I've been on the verge of tears for days now and I still cannot begin to comprehend a thing. 

    Work takes a lot out of me, but it's a job, it pays the bills and I'm close to home.  One day I hope to do better, but there are things I have to do first. It's a really big stair case and I might as well be rock wall climbing just to get to the next step. That doesn't mean I'm not doing it, it just means things get a lot harder here and there and sometimes I don't know how to deal and or get passed them; Which I guess is the whole reason to this post.

    I'm still working on the other two answers I need while I write this post too...

    You know, for the longest, I was doing pretty well keeping up on my tarot, and if I wasn't posting about it, I at least had it for myself, I'd pull a card or cards, drag it around with me. Even if I didn't have a chance to interpret the meaning, I had the image, I had the initial reaction and the way it made me feel overall. Sometimes, I could come home and look more into it, sometimes i would completely forget. This past week, I may have pulled a card once. I did actually. Just one. It was a werewolf reminding me to embrace my wild side, and let me tell you, I feel more like a sloth needing to hibernate because they've never seen nor been anywhere near the cold and snow. Whether or not this is a proper comparison, I don't really know, but that's what I've got. The whole point to any of this I suppose is the fact that I haven't done anything, I can't even motivate myself. I hate the next day before it even begins and my cards just sit on my shelves. 

    It must sound silly, that I put so much stock into my cards, that I feel guilty leaving them and not looking to them for guidance when the past year, starting in April, it was all I did, it was how I pulled through after leaving the man I was with and moving back in with my family, with my dad after six years of not speaking to him, of kicking him out of my life, after letting a whole side of my family disappear and let myself fall into the shadows and have regret to live with now. Now, I'm rambling, point is, I had all these things to come back from, finally felt like I was getting somewhere and then I had a week like this, and everything is so unclear again. 

    When I started writing this, there was supposed to be more of a flow, but I guess when you have to ramble you have do what you have to do. 

    So, the whole drive to write any of this came from reading a post about a person reflecting on their livejournal days and how far they've come now as far as writing, and the online friends they've made, lost touch and managed to reconnect with one. It was one of those things that make you stop and 'aww' and while I don't exactly have experiences like that, there are things I can relate too. 

     Here's to the little things, to trying to push forward, to venting and not caring who is listening because it's more toxic keeping it in. Here's to trying again.