Looking to the Future

A different day, and a different deck. For this frosty Monday, I am using the Adrian Tarot by Adrian B. Koehi. A lot of people see it as a cold pack, which it can be, but for today's draw, these two cards burn into my blog.

I have owned this set twice. I can't actually remember what happened to the first one. I can only imagine that I traded it with someone on an online forum for something else, but I do remember that I had initially hunted for it for some time. Back then (I think it was published in 1997), computer-designed decks were few, unlike today. And I think that this was one of the first that I had seen. It felt modern and fresh, and at the time, I was desperate to get hold of it. I remember being out for a drink with my old housemate from university in Finchley. I had just purchased the pack and we went through each of the cards in the bar. I can not remember why my interest finally waned, but some years after letting it go, I saw a battered and open set in a bookshop in Oxford Street and begged the seller to let me take it off of their hands for a low price. I know that I got it for less than a tenner. That was my second and current copy. You never see it about anymore. I just checked on Amazon to see how much it is being sold for now, and they have it listed at just under £80, but the average price seems to be around £35 on international ebay sites, since it is now out of print.

There is a darkness to the Adrian Tarot. At times, it can be foggy, but on others, it shines like the blade of a sword. I think that because there are so many digitally designed decks out there right now and it has become something of the norm to push pixels, I like the rawness and originality of this particular one. It isn't particularly slick, but for it's time, it broke some rules, down to standing out like a sore thumb next to the usual overly-mystic and occult decks. Having said that, with non-scenic minors and rather static majors, it is probably more true to the design of early tarot decks than the majority of what else is on the market.

For today, I have drawn the 9 of Coins (sometimes known as Pentacles) and the 6 of Cups. I mentioned that the minor cards are not scenic, but this pack is unusually deceptive. The arrangement of the suit symbols, held together by white overlaid line drawings, tell a story of their own. For example, in the 6 of Cups, the lines create a star from the centre of the card. Stability is mimicked by the circle in the middle, which holds together just four of the six vessels. Together, they explain that security from our past has an influence on today. With the 9 of Coins beside it, I would guess that I can draw on some kind of achievement, comfort, or contact from a time gone by.

It is really cold today. When I awoke, I could see very small flakes of snow falling outside my window. Just a handful were blowing around, but as the day has gone on, they have disappeared; as has this morning's frost. I have a busier week than usual to plan for. I have my appointment with Pathways tomorrow, my interview at Age Concern on Wednesday, and my trial shift at the charity shop on Thursday afternoon. Because of my tiredness, I need to use today to get things ready for each - be that doing laundry or reading through my notes for tomorrow. I will follow that up with some drawing, since my own tarot designs have been neglected in the last few weeks. Could that be my return to the not so distant past? If not, the cards might just be dragging me into the present. I do have things to and must look to the future, rather than dwell on where I have been and the things that haven't worked out. This could be a relatively exciting week, if I just give in to my ego and try to enjoy it. It's one step nearer to where I want to be - which is back to being well and earning some cash.

Illustrations from The Adrian Tarot by Adrian B. Koehli