International Icon Tarot by Robin Ator
Topic: Tarot Reviews
The International Icon Tarot is a Rider-Waite-Smith clone done with the figures that you see on signage, the most familiar of which would be bathroom doors. These "international icons" are like stick figures but more filled out. You get a vague idea of gender, but any sort of ethnicity or facial expression is entirely in the mind of the reader. That is one of the greatest gifts of this deck.

In a reading, you don't get caught up in the facial expressions of the figures on the cards so you have more freedom to interpret. For me, this means that I focus more on the background details of the card. I see the buildings and landscapes behind the figures in more detail. For example, the King of Swords has butterflies on his throne and the figure in the 2 of Wands faces a lake. I never noticed those details in other RWS clones, and those details make me want to learn more. Why are those symbols there? What do they mean? Before this, I was never interested in the RWS deck (although I do enjoy many of its variants), but now I'm starting to come around. That, in and of itself, is a wonderful gift of this deck for me. Also, without the restriction of specific facial expressions, you can use your intuition to fill in the details of how a person might feel in a specific situation.

The artwork is of course greatly simplified, but as mentioned before, that's the wonderful part of this deck. This simplification doesn't detract from the artistry of the deck, either. The colors of people, backgrounds and symbols are all harmonious. The overall effect is quite nice.

I only have a few nitpicks, and they're very minor. On the figures, the heads are slightly detached from the bodies. I found this to be a little strange, but it's most likely my own aesthetics. Also, the Knights and Death have their plumes issuing right from their heads and not from any helmet. Finally, I found the cardstock to be a little flimsy. The edge of one of my cards was already slightly chipped from a good shuffle. On the plus side, the cardstock is rather easy to shuffle.

I recommend this deck to anyone, but especially beginners and RWS lovers (or those who want to learn more about it). You can order your own copy here.

Stats:

• Illustrated minors
  
• Strength is 8, Justice is 11
  
• Reversible backs
  
• Cards are about the size of standard US Games decks; easy to shuffle
  
• Comes with a little white booklet but you can use any Rider-Waite-Smith book with it

OUCH!
Topic: Piercings
So I still love my new piercing, but it was a close one. The day before yesterday (Wed) my ear swelled out from my head, turned red and hot, and HURT really badly if I ever so slightly bumped it. Oh, and when it wasn't excruciatingly painful due to me inadvertantly bumping it, it would throb painfully. Advil was doubly my friend, but it only took the edge off. My piercer had not warned me about this, and it didn't happen with my nose. On the upside, however much it hurt, there were no signs of infection.

BMEzine is my friend. It's a website where you can read about other people's experiences with their piercings and a lot more. It's very useful if you have a body piercing or are researching one.

Now my ear is pretty much back to normal size. Yay! It doesn't hurt anymore either. YAY!

In other news, I had the folks (parents and grandparents) up for Thanksgiving. It was really nice, and I now have enough turkey left over to feed an army.

In other other news, I received 4 tarot decks in the mail and the reviews should be up soon. Keep an eye out.

Piercing Fun
Topic: Piercings
Last night, I got another piercing. This time, it's in my upper left ear, which actually hurt worse than the nose. Who'da thunk? I'll probably still do it again though. Piercing is strangely addictive.

While I was on my way to the piercing studio, I decided that I would set an intent for the process. I decided that the piercing would represent me trying to be more grounded and to manifest things better. When I got there, they actually had jewelry with hematite on it! I couldn't have picked anything better to align with my intent so I took that as a sign that it was a good idea.

Needless to say, it hurts pretty badly today, especially if I accidentally bump it. You never realize exactly how much you touch your upper ear until it hurts when you do. Advil is my friend. But I'm definitely happy that I did it!

The Connolly Tarot by Eileen and Peter Paul Connolly
Topic: Tarot Reviews
I'll admit, I was surprised to have bought this deck. In fact, I had never really looked at it before because I had read Eileen Connolly's book Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice. It's not a bad book but it is steeped in Connolly's Christian approach to tarot reading. I think her book is great for Christians who want to read tarot, but I personally prefer books that are non-religious or have a pagan slant. I just assumed that her deck would have a very Christian slant as well. I already have Tarot of the Saints, and I wasn't looking to expand the Christian section of the tarot collection. Then a friend of mine who also reads tarot mentioned that he enjoyed the deck. I'm bored at work so I decide to check out the sample deck. Surprise! It's not Christian-based imagery and I actually like it!

Part of it is the fact that I'm a sucker for bright colors. The cards are drawn with colored pencil in lovely bright colors without crossing the border into garishness. The coloring reminds me a lot of the Hanson-Roberts deck, but I like this deck better because the human figures are more proportional with the background of the card. The artwork is pleasantly like Boticelli but with more color. I like it.

For the most part, the cards follow the Rider-Waite-Smith example, but there are some significant differences. Death has been changed to Transition, which shows a man leaving a dark building for a sunrise outside. I think this subtracts from the power of the card, but at the same time, this particular depiction would be good for those who might be intimidated by the more traditional symbolism. It's the same with the Devil, which has been replaced with Materialism. A man chained to representations of the elements still gets the basic point across while avoiding more controversial or potentially scary imagery. Yet it does narrow the potential meanings of the cards quite a bit. Still, I don't mind the changes too much.

The only changes that made me scratch my head a little were to a few of the swords cards. For example, the 7 of Swords shows two musicians playing near 5 swords in the ground with 2 swords poked into a dark cloud above them. When I looked in the little white booklet for some explanation, all I found was a traditional RWS meaning. The 9 of Swords shows a man walking in the snow with 9 swords, which reminds me more of what the 7 usually looks like. I don't really understand these changes, but perhaps Connolly's book (mentioned above) explains them better. As with the majors, I don't really mind the changes that much. It gives me a chance to read more intuitively, and I feel like the swords got a bad rep anyway. It's nice that someone is trying at least a little to take away the association of swords with gloom and doom.

Because of the changes I've mentioned, I can see how people might not like this deck due to "fluffiness." Maybe it's because of the nice artwork but my purist self isn't objecting that strenuously to the changes. I can even see how they might be appealing to some people.

The only thing I'm really disappointed with is the card back design, which is white marble veined with grey. It's really too plain for a deck with such lovely color, but that's my only really big complaint. Not bad for a deck I wasn't even considering.

The stats:

• Illustrated minors
  
• RWS ordering of majors - Strength 8, Justice 11
  
• Reversible backs (if you don't look too closely)
  
• Standard size deck, flexible cardstock but takes a little breaking in
  
• Can use Eileen Connolly's Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice as a companion book
  
  Posted by swordsqueen at 21:01 EST

  Updated: Monday, 8 November 2004 21:07 EST

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Tarot of the Dead by Monica Knighton
Topic: Tarot Reviews
Before I get into this review, make sure you VOTE today. Get your voice heard!

That being said, on to Tarot of the Dead. First off, the packaging for this deck is very nice. It comes in a nice clamshell box with a smaller box for the deck and a black mesh bag. I personally am very glad that Llewellyn has started including bags with their tarot decks, but I do wish that they would have colors other than black. Still, I can't complain since it comes with the deck, and in this case, black is rather appropriate. The deck has a little white booklet instead of a full-sized companion book.

As for the cards, I found them to be quite charming. All the figures in the cards, including the animals, are skeletons. The artwork reminds me of a tattoo or comic book drawings although the colors are a little more watercolor in nature. This deck has a great sense of humor and the cards will make you smile without losing depth of meaning. A great example of this is the Hanged Man, who, because he is a skeleton, is forced to hold his head on. It's cute but it also emphasizes that Hanged Man periods are those times in your life when you're getting your head back on straight. The Emperor is a suited skeleton in an office, looking up expectantly at the clock. Hey, sometimes the office can make you feel like the walking dead. The Death card is very clever. It features a heavily pregnant woman, and she is the only figure in the whole deck that is not a skeleton. Think about that one for a bit. Insightful, but with a spicy bit of fun.

The court cards are equally interesting. Like playing cards, there are 2 figures on the card facing different directions. The really great part is that the 2 pictures are different and express the various aspects of that particular court. If you read with reversals, this helps you narrow in on a particular personality nuance. If you don't use reversals, you still get to see the whole range of meanings, positive and negative, for that court card. It's a neat idea and Knighton executes (pun not intended, but it is pretty good, eh?) it with charm and artistry.

The only problem that I have with this deck is that the minors are not fully illustrated. The 9 of Pens (Wands) has 9 pens on it, which makes it hard to read. However, these cards are wonderfully drawn even though they don't have scenes on them. And, heck, I was going to start trying to read with non-illustrated minors anyway. Still, because the minors are pips, I cannot recommend this deck for tarot beginners.

For collectors and those who read with Marseille-style decks, this will be a lovely addition to your tarot collection. It's charming and fun and still packs a lot of meaning.

Technical details:

• Non-illustrated minors
  
• Suits have been changed - Wands to Pens, Swords to Pistols, Pentacles to Film Reels and Cups to Coffins
  
• Marseille ordering of majors: Strength is 11, Justice is 8
  
• Cardstock is sturdy but flexible, cards a little wider than most decks - easy to shuffle
  
• Reversible backs - 2 skulls on a rainbow background
  
• Comes with booklet, no companion book available
  

The Magick of Reiki by Christopher Penczak
Topic: Book Reviews
I really like Christopher's writings for many reasons, but primary among them is common sense. Although his books are all about magical topics that ask you to stretch the bounds of your belief, he doesn't ask you to stretch them impossibly far. He explains things in a way that is practical and makes a lot of sense. The Magick of Reiki shares this excellent approach.

If you already know about reiki, you can skip this paragraph of the review. Reiki is a method of energy healing where the healer acts as a channel for universal life force and sends it into the body of the person being treated. In order to be able to channel the reiki energy, you have to be attuned to it. In traditional reiki (called Usui after the founder) there are 3 levels of attunement - 1, 2 and Master.

The book gives all the necessary background information including reiki history and traditional hand positions. There is a section on each level of attunement, and the information is very detailed and well presented. Because this section of the book is so thorough, it could definitely be used as a manual for a reiki class. I especially like that he confronts common reiki fallacies in an even-handed manner. He talks you through what he believes and why and then leaves the final decision up to you. Like I said, this guy works with a lot of common sense, and it's a refreshing point of view.

The rest of the book is devoted to a dictionary of reiki symbols, new and old, and suggestions for how to integrate reiki into your magical practice. I like having many symbols laid out for me, and I appreciate that the author believes that level 1 reiki practitioners can use the symbols (this is not a common belief). However, I really wish he would have expanded the section on using reiki in magical practice. After all, the title implies that this is the whole subject of the book, even though it's only a section. There are great suggestions in there, such as charging herbs and candles for spells or even casting a circle with reiki. I would have loved to have seen the ideas fleshed out more.

The Magick of Reiki was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to anyone who is both a reiki practitioner and a witch. However, I would have liked to see less reiki manual and more information about integration with magical practice.

Yay!
Mood:  happy
Good news: I will be teaching a beginner's tarot class at the store where I read tarot cards. It will be a 4 session class. I'm really excited and hoping that I get good attendance.

Saved!
Topic: Movie Reviews
I loved this movie! It was bitingly funny but at the same time, it also makes you care about the characters. Well, actually let me slow down and give you a little overview of the plot.

Mary goes to a Christian school and seems to be the perfect Christian girl. She hangs out with her friends, a group of girls who call themselves the Christian Jewels. Everything is great until Mary finds out that she's pregnant (I won't spoil the hilarious circumstances that got her that way). Her world gets totally turned upside down, and most of the movie explores this process in a sometimes touching, often funny way.

Mary's story is not the only one being told though. The side characters are very well-developed. Hillary Fae is the leader of the Christian Jewels, who is perfectly happy with her Christianity as long as she's in total control. We see Mary's mother as well, whose Christianity is closely entwined with her relationship with the pastor. Finally, there are some great plotlines involving Hillary's crippled brother and the Jewish girl outcast from school. All of them touch Mary's life, but you really understand what is motivating them.

I highly recommend this movie. It's really funny, especially if you've ever known Christians like the ones portrayed. Ever seen the bumper sticker that says "God, protect me from your followers"? This movie is that bumper sticker spun out into a story. At the same time, it's not a total rejection of Christianity. It's more about the characters trying to bring it back to its root, which is love.

Memento & Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Topic: Movie Reviews
I got a minor cold so I was out of work on Friday. It gave me the opportunity to watch not one, but two movies. The good news is that they were both excellent - well worth the money I'm paying Netflix.

Memento
Memento is a mindblowing movie on many levels. The basic plot is that Leonard Shelby has a brain disorder where he has not been able to create new memories since he received a severe injury to his head. He can remember everything up until he received the head trauma in an attack by intruders, but since then, he doesn't remember anything for more than about 10 minutes. Despite this handicap, he's on a mission to avenge his wife's death at the hands of the attackers who took away his memory.

Probably the most interesting feature of the film is that it actually runs backwards in time. What this does is to make us see the world the way that Leonard does. All he has is Polaroids, notes and tattoos to tell him what has happened before. For most of the movie, that's all the viewer has to go on as well. As the movie progresses, we see more of what has happened, but does it actually give you more information? The ending is a total mindfuck (not in a bad way), but I don't want to say anymore than that so I don't spoil the story.

This movie will definitely make you question the nature of facts and memory. It's a very well-crafted movie and a really good mind trip. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good, original story and puzzles. If you like your endings to tie up everything in a neat little package, then avoid this movie. For everyone else, you'll love it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I guess I had an unintentional theme for my movie-watching. Eternal Sunshine is also about the nature of the mind and memory, but it explores the topic with more quirky humor and less thrills than Memento. This tale is about the couple Joel and Clementine. After a rough breakup, Clemetine decides to have all her memories of Joel erased from her mind. To get back at her, Joel decides that he will have her erased too.

Most of the movie consists of montages from Joel's memories of his relationship with Clementine. THe director makes being inside someone else's head a very interesting experience. As the erasure progresses, Joel finds that he doesn't really want to go through the procedure so he tries to squirrel away some of his memories of Clem. This, of course, leads to some funny incidents. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the fact that much of the movie takes place inside Joel's head is brilliant, and the director does a good job of portraying the general weirdness/fuzziness of human memory. It reminds me a lot of Being John Malkovich. It's very well-done and touches a lot of emotions. After all, we've all been through relationships and have probably had breakups like theirs too.

There are a lot of questions/themes that this movie raises, but I think the big one is:
What do you really lose when you choose to erase memories?
This movie explores that question with lots of heart and humor and some just plain weird characters. Definitely go watch it. You won't want to have the memory erased. *insert groans here*

Pagan Tarot by Gina Pace
Topic: Tarot Reviews
I have been eyeing the Pagan Tarot since it first came out. For starters, the deck was designed by Rev. Gina Pace aka Wicce, who is a tarot superstar in her own right. (Check out her website.) Also, although the colors in the cards are somewhat washed out, the images themselves are intriguing and even better, new. What Wicce and the artist have done is to take the core tarot concepts and give them a new face with updated images. This is a rare accomplishment for a tarot deck. While many have tried to reach this height, many have failed.

The deck depicts the life of a modern-day Wiccan woman. The images are not shy about showing modern technology and life situations, such as working in an office. In fact, a larger theme throughout the deck is the mixing of magical and "mundane" lifestyles. The Temperance card is a perfect example of this. It shows a woman at her desk at work, but the desk also has a mini-altar on it. She is successfully experiencing her spirituality in everyday life. Most modern pagans can appreciate and identify with such a situation. Another card I love is the 3 of Swords, in which our heroine is sitting on the floor in front of her couch watching TV. The heart with 3 swords in it hovers above her head. I get the sense that her personal heartbreak is only being intensified by it being refelcted back to her on the TV screen. I think that this really accentuates the mental reflection aspect of the 3 of Swords very well. Many other decks miss that nuance. Upon my initial look-through of the deck, some of the images drew a question mark, but most of the time, a closer examination of the picture was all that was needed to understand the meaning.

One thing I was concerned about when reading reviews of the deck was the change in the court cards. The deck creator replaced the Page, Knight, Queen and King with Elemental, Novice, Initiate and Elder respectively. The good news is that most of my concerns about this change were alleviated. Instead of the Page/Princess, the Elemental is exactly that. There is a gnome for earth, a sylph for air, etc. While I do find that using Elemental makes me think more of the role and function of the Ace, it can also work as a Page. I personally do not feel that an elemental covers the full range of meanings that can be attributed to the Page, but it's a change that I can get used to. Also, I don't really feel like Novice gives the same energetic feeling as a Knight, but as I said with the Elemental, it doesn't offend my inner tarot purist too much.

It might be thought that depicting modern situations as this deck does would rob the tarot of its sense of mystery, but I have not found that to be the case. Despite (and perhaps because of) the modern clothes and situations, this deck packs an emotional punch, which, to me, is what tarot is really about. The cards do show magic, but what we see is a woman actually performing magical acts. The magic is not tied up in esoteric symbols. If all the esoterica is what does it for you, then you might want to overlook this one. For pagans who are looking for a deck that accurately mirrors their life experiences, this deck is a real winner.

Now for the stats:

• Illustrated minors
  
• Rider-Waite-Smith ordering and titles of majors, Strength is 8 and Justice is 11
  
• Non-reversible backs
  
• Card size and stock is standard for Lo Scarabeo decks, which means the cards are a little longer and thinner than "normal" and stock is medium
  
• Easy to shuffle
  
• Comes in a box with little white booklet, no companion book available