Sharks beneath the Surface

I haven't been about much over the past few days. I went to an auction with two friends on Thursday, met my boyfriend in London on Friday afternoon, and from there, I returned to his ... eventually.

Friday evening was good. I was a little tired when I got off of the train in Victoria, but due to the tube line being down, I chose to take a short detour to where he works in the city, passing by my favourite tarot shop off of Charing Cross Road on the way. Believe it or not, I didn't even look through the tarot shelves, but only checked out the small amount of Lenormand packs and playing cards. Once I had met with my boyfriend, we joined his friends in a city bar for a girl's birthday. At first, it was a bit much, since the pub was so rammed with people. We had a reserved table, but it didn't stop the crowds from hemming us all into the corner. With so many people in the bar, the noise of everyone talking rose to a loud roar. Thankfully, the amount of people there started to disperse as Happy Hour finished and the evening became more relaxed. I have met a few of my boyfriend's workmates before, but this time, the crowd was that bit more youthful and I had some really good conversations with a bunch of interesting and attractive people. Even though many were out for a big one, I drank very slowly and just soaked up the chat and atmosphere. My boyfriend was in control of our time of leaving, but with so many people to talk to, time slipped away far more quickly than we though it had, so after finally saying our goodbyes, we got to London Bridge and found out that the last train had left one minute before we got there. Yes, it was that close.

In the old days, I would have seen missing the last train as a green light for an all-nighter. It's something I have done all by myself more times than I have fingers. Even though I probably wouldn't do it now, I do sometimes look back and admire my confidence in taking on the West End of London alone, breezing into late bars, clubs, and coffee shops until the sun came up. However, this wasn't something we wanted to do on Friday. My boyfriend mentioned hotels and taxis, but in wanting to save our money, we ended up opting for what first seemed to be a hair-brained scheme. We took a black cab over the Thames and went back to his office. There was a security guard in the main reception, so we walked in and my boyfriend showed him his work-pass. It took no more than a smile and two muffins to bribe the guy into letting us take the lift up to the sixth floor and spend the night on the sofa in a reception area. We took some food with us and curled up together on probably the most uncomfortable sofa I have ever had the experience of. When we were woken by the building whirring into action at about 6am, we got up, dusted our selves off and took the train home in the sunshine. Because I had had a relaxing evening with such a nice group of people, the end kind of justified the means. It made us smile on our journey home and the sofa wasn't so bad because I slept. It'll be a night together that we won't forget.

So you are probably wondering if I snatched up anything in the good old tarot shop. There were a few interesting sets, but on seeing Lo Scarebeo's Art Nouveau Liberty playing card pack for a fiver, I quickly decided on that. I have been watching a lot of Ana Cortez's videos of late and love her ideas about using the 52 cards as a working calendar. If you haven't seen her videos, go take a look at her site because they really are inspiring and she is a wonderfully humble presenter. I don't use the Playing Card Oracles too often and wanted to try her ideas with a different set of images. I didn't realise at first, but the Art Nouveau playing cards have the same ordering and pictures as the Art Nouveau Tarot by the same artist. In other words, the Ace of Cups uses the same image as the Ace of Hearts. The only difference is the absence of the tarot knights and Major Arcana. I had been thinking about taking 52 cards out of the tarot to use Cortez's method, but with this deck, I don't need to do that and can even use the tarot's Minor Arcana meanings if I wish.

For today, I am using the Art Nouveau Oracle, which is a Lenormand set. I have had this for many years and it reads very nicely. As I hit mid-afternoon, I am not entirely sure where these cards fit. The Whip at the bottom speaks of strife and difficulties. These come through news, as shown by the presence of The Rider. Above them is The Book and The Clouds. There is a worrying fog in that duo, possibly relating to something I am not yet aware of. I think that the cards of the last week have all dwelled on problems which are yet to come to the fore. I think that they are circling beneath the surface, like sharks waiting to strike, and I will see the results of them in days to come.

It has been strange to not blog here for a few days, but I have pulled the odd few cards. I drew The Rider and The Tree on Friday and was pleased to hear from a friend that her mother in laws further scans for Cancer produced the all clear. Those two particular cards speak of news regarding improved or good health. Last night, my boyfriend and I stayed at his sisters and baby-sitted her three children, all under 10. We all curled up on a more comfortable sofa than that from the night before and watched The X-Factor, which they love.

Illustrations from The Art Nouveau Oracle by Antonella Castelli