The Story Teller

The last few days have been filled with kids and have been good, although exhausting. We made The Smurf Movie on Sunday afternoon, even though I am guessing that out of the nine of us, I got the most from it. I was expecting it to be a hash-up, unconnected to the original stories and cartoons, but it was actually really nicely done. All of the smurf-history was there and the film depicted them as mythological creatures, derived from Belgium and created by Peyo (as they were). A handful of the little blue creatures had found their way to New York (isn't that where every dinosaur, alien or overground ape finds himself?) by being dragged into a vortex and could only return when the stars were aligned and there was a blue moon. Of course, there was all of the usual action and adventure in between, complete with the wizard Gargamel and his cat, Azrael, but the point of the story was how magic happens under the light of a blue moon and that we must listen to our heart when making decisions. Even though some of the younger kids wanted to leave after about two thirds of the movie, I admit to having felt a tad emotional when Clumsy Smurf finally overcame his two left feet and became a hero.

After the film, we drove to a remote little pub, complete with garden and play area, and chatted for an hour or so while the kids played. It was nice to relax out of the movie and the sun was really shining, despite the bad weather forecast. The rest of the evening revolved around popping into my parents for me to pack a bag (where the two little three year olds fed the fish in the garden), dropping my mate off, and then going back to my boyfriends, so that we were ready for the next day's adventure.

We managed to defeat the rain again yesterday. In fact, it was so warm that it was kind of uncomfortable to walk around in. We hit the Tower of London first. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with that. It is a beautiful castle, but on the (very) long walk around it's perimeter, there was not so much for the kids to see. The other problem was the crowds. The queue to see the Crown Jewels was like a long and winding snake, zigzagging up and down the grounds, with about twenty bends. Once we had finally made our way inside, we were greeted with three more rooms of snaky queues before even getting a sniff of the jewels. After taking a look at Traitors Gate and turning our noses up at the next unmoving queue outside the Bloody Tower, the kids had had enough and I was wanting a slice of normality, so we took the tube back into the West End after our three hours in there.

Now you know what I am like; it would have been very unlike me to be in London without visiting at least one tarot shop, so while my boyfriend took the three kids for lunch, I took my friend Sarah to Watkins. We spent a good half an hour dawdling about Cecil Court, before re-joining the others and taking the train to London Bridge. We only had an hour in The Tate Modern, so zipped up to the fifth floor to take the kids to a more interactive exhibition. On one side, we saw some Dufy, Warhol, Picasso and Lichenstein, but on the other, we were greeted with ripped up pieces of paper, chairs stacked on top of each other, and some mud dropped on a plinth. When a 9 year old asks you what is so special about a pile of washing dumped on the floor, it's kind of telling when you can't think of an answer and end up agreeing with him.

Before sitting on a roof garden for a drink by the Thames, which was lovely, I zipped round the main shop and bought some postcards for my overseas friend. It was so lovely to be by the river, since we'd been on our feet for ten hours by that time. We were all tired. In fact, the only thing that was still charged up with no likelihood of failing, was the kids chatter. They were all on pretty good behaviour and it is nice that they all get on so well.

While in Watkins, my friend bought the Edward Gorey Fantod deck. I had considered it myself, but wondered if I would ever use it. Having said that, while we were looking at it on the train home, I saw so many possibilities for the random cards and how my friend could use them. When in the shop, I came across a deck I'd seen there before. It is probably one of the first decks I'd added to my unconscious wish-list, but have never seen for sale until the last time I was in London with my blogging friend. On that time I had passed it up for The Favole, but yesterday, found it hard to resist. It was between it and the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, but the images on The Wolf Pack by Robert Petro (illustrated by Pat Morris) were too strong to ignore.

A lot of people will probably not like this deck for a multitude of reasons - mainly due to it's having the meanings printed straight onto the cards. The deck doesn't follow traditional tarot structure either; it does have 78 cards, but no suits, no traditional titling, and no courts (apart from one card for an alpha male and another for an alpha female). In that sense, it is a little like an oracle. I imagine that you can either take these elements as either it's weakness or it's strength. As Sarah said, the little interpretations add story to what already feels like the illustrations of a child's story book. For me, the images are so beautiful and sensitively done; this is why I have always wanted the 'pack'. It's a real story-teller. When I opened the box on getting home, my boyfriend and I laid on the bed and turned on a film. I wasn't particularly interested in the television, but as I slipped off the decks shrink-wrap, a wolf was shown running towards the camera in the snow. He stopped and looked straight into the viewers eyes. It felt like a sign. Yup, I think I picked the right set.

Sometimes, I choose an oracle based on whether the cards make sense for me personally. There are some really lovely ones in here - so many good ones to choose from, but this morning, I was drawn to Choices (card 52), Compassion (card 38), Emotion (card 19), Obstacles (card 17), and The Well (card 66). For card 66, the few sentences of guidance say "Within yourself is a wealth of information. If you know how to draw from the well within, it will bring you new found skills, talents and strength". Card 38, Compassion, shows a picture of a wolf and a young fawn. It says "You realise the innocence of a person and choose not to create harm. The lesson is to know that you CAN, but choose not to. You may be in a situation that requires compassion from others. It will come".

There is something very calming about The Wolf Pack. It suggests a journey. What I like about it is that with so many new tarot decks on the market reaching out for attention, this one doesn't seem to care if you like it or not. It is what it is. After fourteen years of buying tarot decks and wanting this one, I am so glad that it is finally in my home.

Illustrations from The Wolf Pack Tarot Deck by Robert Petro and illustrated by Pat Morris.