Making our Own Luck

For today, I am using the Original Rider Waite. I hazard a guess that I have had this deck for about thirteen years, but the copy I am using here is one that was given to me by my friend's father, after a clear out of his home. His is an older printing than my first but is far less used. In fact, the cards appear fresh and like new. Mine is battered and browning from a lot of mileage.

This is probably my favourite colouring of the RWS. I love the greens and heavy black lines. When I look at it's illustrations, I am transported back to the days when I began to seriously learn the tarot. I dragged this deck everywhere; across London, overseas. It has so many feelings, emotions, and memories wrapped up in it. I remember laying the cards across the floor of an apartment in Belgium; I remember pulling Justice on a day in court; I remember studying it's details with Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom in hand while on an online forum. Many happy days.

Before I tackle the more problematic card of today, I will look at the ones that make sense; the bottom three. I can see something in the 8 and 7 of Pentacles which rings true. I detect application, learning and the mastering of skill in the 8 of Pentacles and can see the results of that in the last card, the 7 of Pentacles. I wasn't really looking forward to going for my maths exam this morning. I'd argued with my dad and my boyfriend's situation was on my mind. However, by the time I had walked to the centre, I felt a bit more ready for it. I sat down to the hour and a half test with my lined paper and pen, ready for working stuff out. I managed to do the test in just an hour. When the results came in, I had passed with 88%, so I was pretty pleased with myself. I can see that in the pictures. That's me putting the work in at my bench; and it's also me standing back and looking at what I have achieved, resting on my ruler and taking it all in. The Wheel of Fortune begins the line, so therefore kind of flavours it. Yes, I feel an air of fortune falling over those two cards. In this trio, fortune is dependent on responsibility and the work we put in our self. We make our own luck, perhaps.

Today's key card is The Moon, which adds a layer of uncertainty to the draw. I suppose that this could be a general thing and might be hinting at the uncertainty of my boyfriend's job. Can you believe that they left it until about 1.30pm before taking him in to discuss things? Well, after finally doing so, it turns out that his director understands why he has been stressed and had not intended for him to be doing the amount of stuff he was. It has all fallen down on the guy training him, who has basically been chucking all of the stuff he didn't want to do himself in my boyfriend's direction. I hope he gets reprimanded, since he has made my boyfriend's work life a misery by badgering him with emails and patronising questions. The Wheel of Fortune could flood into this area too, since it's presence provides a total turnaround and has carried my boyfriend out of the doldrums, on his way back to the top of the wheel.

Now I have done my maths exam, I feel as though my day is my own. I had an idea last night about something I could try to make. I won't go into it here just yet, but I plan to orchestrate some kind of creative review for both The Original Rider Waite and The Radiant Rider Waite decks. This is inspired my the amazingly creative reviews of Judith Johnston, who puts her soul into each and every one. Her latest, for the deck The Diary of a Broken Soul Tarot, just made me want to create after I read it. The deck provided so many springboards for her - to the creating of a house of cards and it's painted backdrop, jewellery, poetry, and painting. I have already bought a selection of fabrics, with the Radiant in mind, to make a bag, but if I can pull off my latest idea, I think it could really be something. At this stage it is only an idea, which I am a little unsure how to begin with, but I plan to have a go this afternoon. With maths out of the way, I can try it out, without the pangs of guilt. As useful as it is to sometimes know what the card stock of a deck is like and whether a card back is the same when reversed, I find Judith's approach to tarot in her reviews so much more inspiring and it is a great way of bonding with a set. Her approach is also very original and bypasses the effort that many can be bothered to allow for such a project.

With my exam and my boyfriend's meeting now in the past, the moon is hopefully passing out of my day. She knows how to cover things up and create confusion for an hour or two, but I am glad to say that her energy is possibly passing. I may be going out for a drink a little later. The Moon can take over when alcohol is in play, so that is something to watch out for if I do.

Illustration from The Radiant Rider Waite, based on the drawings of Pamela Coleman Smith and redrawn by Virginijus Poshkus.