Mental Exercises Between Readings

While I wait for calls to come in, I try to keep my mind from wandering too far off track. One of the things I've been doing is studying the artwork on the Gilded Tarot, looking for patterns. And it doesn't take long to find them. I like the way Ciro Marchetti, the artist, utilizes elements of design that are consistent between different cards, which helps to illustrate the connection between all the cards in the deck.

For example:

- The top of pedestal depicted in The World is just like the design of the sword hilts in all the Swords cards.
- The ornate design on the bowl of the Cups chalices is repeated in the gazebo above the head of the woman in the 9 of Pentacles.
- The leafy-vine design that adorns all the Wands also can be found on the stems of all the Cups, around the edges of the Pentacles, and on the scabbard in the Ace of Swords.
- The jeweled sunburst on the back of the deck can be found in the center of the Pentacles. Except, that is, for the one borne by the Knight of Pentacles, which has a plain center. But by contrast, the Pentacle borne by the Queen of Pentacles is ONLY comprised of an enlarged version of the bejeweled center of the other cards' Pentacles.
- There are design elements in common between the jeweled sunburst on the Pentacles/back of the deck and the pendant that The Empress is wearing.

I've found some other items, too, but there's plenty of time to list them in a later post. :-)

Other things I do, between readings, is take some advice from the cards in the form of one-card answers. I ask the deck, "What do I need to know for my next reading?", then pick up part of the deck and read whatever card is in the front. Answers have included "Queen of Pentacles", which was my first significator, so I took that to mean "Be yourself! Let your personality shine through!" Or I've had "The Magician", my reminder that I have everything I need inside to read for an answer the caller's question. Gee, now I wish I'd jotted a few more of these mini-readings down. Note to self: post some of these one-card answers as they come up. :-) It's a nice little mental exercise, and I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't sure what to ask when they do a reading for themselves. "What do I need to know most, right now?" is never a bad thing to ask.