A Card before Bedtime: Gran Ibo

Ok. You're either not going to believe this, or you probably won't think it is much of a big deal. Usually, I wouldn't think too much of it either, but because I have such a fascination with this deck (and still find it kind of uncomfortable), what just happened jolted me a little. While shuffling the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot, I thought back to the cards that I could remember from the last time that I used it. I haven't used this tarot in years. As I continued to shuffle, I repeated the name Gran Ibo (who is one spirit that I can remember and liked) in my head and consciously said to the pack 'If the lwa (spirits of Voodoo) would like to work with me, send Gran Ibo my way'. Intuitively, I picked a number and counted through the face-down pack until I got to it. And yes, it was Gran Ibo who I turned over as the 49th card. It would seem that Gran Ibo wants me to give this set another go.

When I think about tarot decks that have made a big impression on me over the years, this is probably one of the first that comes to mind, since it had started to work on me long before I even bought it. There is a great tarot store in central London, which I always used to find myself in on my way home from work. They held this deck there, and being intrigued by some of the online scans I had seen, I often glanced at it on the shelf, amongst the hundreds of other titles. Around that time, I had begun to ask questions about it on an online forum, and rather than put my mind at ease, I heard personal horror stories from previous owners of the pack. One in particular had said that his life had fallen to pieces very soon after beginning to use it and had it locked in storage, with no intention of ever opening the box again.

I'd like to say that these stories didn't affect me, but they did. As well as them giving me the willies, they also strengthened my curiosity. So much so, that I drew the exact amount of money out of my account and went into the shop to buy it. I must have dawdled about for at least fifteen minutes with the box in my hand, putting it back on the shelf time after time out of worry, and then grabbing it again in case someone else picked it up. Eventually, I made it to the cash desk and handed it over. The woman was having some trouble with the till and needed assistance from a colleague, which unfortunately was just the excuse I needed to waver. When she finally got it working and told me how much it was, I pretended that I didn't have enough money on me and left the shop without it. However, I was back in the same shop the next evening with it in my hands again, undecided. On that occasion, I parted with my cash. Buying it had seemed like a wonderful idea until I sat on the train and unravelled it's packaging. The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot has quite an eerie feel to it. It's not like most other decks I know. It doesn't pretend to be creepy or play-act at being dark. It is what it is.

Once I started to read about Voodoo (or Vodou), a lot of my worries began to slip away, since I realised that it's reputation is probably it's biggest threat. I began to learn about the different voodoo spirits used in the deck and paid my respects to them in different ways. I have not known so many readers of this pack, but the ones I have spoken to all view it in the same way. They respect it like they don't any other. After each reading, I would perform some kind of sacrifice to say thank you for whatever brought the cards to me. I might light some incense and say a prayer. I'd drop a few coins in a charity box. Or maybe I would go and water the plants in the garden. I just felt that I needed to give something back to the universe. I began to email with a Vodou priest in Haiti, who said that he thought that my intentions and actions towards the lwa were acceptable.

My boyfriend went home early this evening. The dreaded snow finally arrived, and even though it seems to have stopped now, at the time, it was coming down pretty hard and I was worried about him getting home safely if he left it too long. He doesn't have a very long journey, but once off of the motorway, he does have the smaller roads to deal with which could be potentially dangerous in this kind of weather. With nothing much else to do, I pulled out the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot.

Gran Ibo sits on a balcony. You can't really see her face, but you can see that she is talking to a canary. Around her are the many plants of the forest. This spirit always used to make me feel comfortable when I used this deck before, due to her connection with animals and nature. She is the wise old woman of the swamp and is a force that can be trusted. In the accompanying book, by Louis Martinie and Sallie Ann Glassman, we are told that she understands the language of all the life forms that surround her. For me, this makes the card very important as it links in to the psychic characteristics of the watery tarot suit she is part of. It is about communication without words. Like the 'High Priestess' in conventional tarot, this communication could be with the depths of the soul [or symbolic swamp, as shown here], as much as it might be about communication with another human being. This is a card of emotional connection. It is contact that is based on feeling. It is unspoken knowledge and trust, through love and care.

I guess that Gran Ibo takes us to a place where we begin to forget about ourselves, and lay our thoughts in another. As much as I wanted my boyfriend to stay longer this evening, I was more concerned about his drive home. With all of the charity work I am planning on investing time in soon, I am not surprised that Gran Ibo has connected with me as my card before bedtime.

Illustration from The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot by Sallie Ann Glassman