The Hanged Man - the Tarot Series

My original intention was to work on my Tarot series 

in order from card one to card 21.

The Major Arcana represents the journey of the Fool (Card 0) as he gains knowledge, step by step, card by card, until he reaches the end of his journey and, hopefully, Enlightenment.

The Fool is anyone and everyone.  

He knows nothing and is content in his ignorance.  

He is the blissful infant.

Inevitably, that state of perfect innocence must end.  

The Fool must go out into the world.

The Fool begins his journey.

Card One - The Magician represents the physical world.  

The Magician manifests a control of the world around us.  

Card Two - The High Priestess represents the beginning of spiritual knowledge.  

She is the maiden.  She is purity.

And, then,  I stopped creating the cards in numerical order.    

The journey of the Fool is not so different.  

He meanders.  

He doesn't learn each lesson in a perfect sequence.

The world is not so orderly.

I next went to the Wheel of Fortune.  

No matter where you are on your spiritual quest, 

the Wheel can turn against you.

On our journey, we must accept that

we cannot predict the future.

The path may not be smooth.

Which brought me to the Hanged Man.

The Hanged man represents a pause

on your journey.

Sometimes we need to stop and reflect.

Don't abandon what you have so far achieved,

but don't rush on.

You have not fallen behind.

Take your time.

Sometimes we need to just stop.

Remember: it really is just about the journey.

The Wheel Turns - Happy Friday 13th!

My Tarot Card project is progressing nicely.  

In case you missed my recent blog post, I think connections are important.  To know who we are, it helps to know where we've been, or where we come from.

In exploring the Tarot deck, I can connect with the Romany part of my family past.

I love the sense of connection going back through the generations of all the women who came before me.  My grandmother and great-grandmother supplanted the money they made at their boarding house by telling fortunes and helping out with the odd bit of  spell work.

I love holding  a deck in my hand and feeling that sweet mystical thrill down my spine.

A shuffle of the cards and the fates arrange and re-arrange themselves for my perusal.

What influences are at work in the greater world?

The Wheel card has been much on mind the past few days.

The Wheel of Fortune sometimes turns in  your favor.  Sometimes, it does not.

The Fool has set out on his (or her) journey to gain wisdom and find enlightenment.  

By the Wheel of Fortune Card, he has realized that the Universe will not always make his path easy.  Sometimes Fortuna throws obstacles in his way.

If you truly wish to find Enlightenment and follow your chosen path, you have to deal with the ups and downs of life.

Last Saturday morning I was keenly disappointed to miss my art market because of an unkind spin of the Wheel, but that night, Chez Fab opened with some of my pieces on display.  I had a wonderful time, met fantastic people, and loved being able to talk about my favorite obsession, art!

The Wheel spins.  

Are you ready for it?

The Gypsy Connection

Lately, I have been feeling an increasingly strong connection to my past lineage.  My father's mother descends from a Romani background.  While I've always had a streak of mysticism in my nature, reflected in my enduring love of the Tarot, I've also been most comfortable in familiar surroundings.  I like having a stable home base.  I never felt the need to travel or constantly change my environment.

Traditionally, the Romani people live out of a caravan.  They travel, almost constantly, selling and working each new day, and at each new stop, to survive.  I never felt a connection to that type of life.

And, then, I began to market my art.  Almost every weekend, now, I load my car and travel to an art market.  I set up a tent.  I hang up my wares.  I have established that connection.  It's only a mere glimpse, and a weak shadow reflection of their lives, but I can feel that long road of women, traveling, and selling, connected all the way to me, and my new life as a traveling artist.  

Last year, one of my long term project goals was to create my own interpretation of the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot.  I wanted to honor my past in my present vocation.

I started, made the first three cards, and then stopped.  I wasn't satisfied with the images.  I couldn't feel my great love for the Tarot and its mysteries reflected in my work so I stopped.

I've received a lot of positive feedback for my first card of the Tarot, the Magician.  I took a new look at this project, reflecting again on my new found sense of connection with my Romani past and realized that I really just needed to re-visualize my plans for the cards.

With that in mind, I re-approached the High Priestess card and came away with an art piece that I like.  It inspired me to re-boot the whole project.

I'm pleased to be exploring that part of my life and my past even as it reflects who I am now and what I envision as my future as an artist.

Look for more of my Major Arcana pieces as the year unfolds!

The High Priestess wears a Crescent Moon - TAW challenge

There is something delightful about that moment when an art challenge intersects perfectly with a personal project.  I challenged myself to create a version of the Major Arcana of the Tarot with some Louisianan flavor.

 I started working on the High Priestess card. This weeks challenge at Take A Work was the Moon.  In some versions, the High Priestess wears a Crescent Moon crown.  Serendipitous!

Colour Me Happy! - 3Muses Challenge

I thought it would be ideal to combine one of  my New Year project goals (a series of Louisiana based Major Arcana Tarot cards) with the Colour Me Happy!  theme from the Three Muses!

So this is my brilliantly colored Fool with some uniquely inspired Louisiana details!