Deck Review- The Fenestra Tarot

Created by Thai artist Chatriya Hemharnvibul, The Fenestra Tarot is an elegant blend of soft mauve, cream and olive watercolor tones influenced by elements of Egyptian history, Japanese manga, western art and classical mythology. This is a truly beautiful deck both graceful and artistically appealing.

The card stock is nice and sturdy yet flexible when shuffling and the cards have a wonderful glossy lamination that really makes Chatriya's artwork pop. The deck itself measures 2 3/4' x 4 3/4" making it a perfect for any sized hands to shuffle. Each card has a wonderful border around it which makes a wonderful window like frame around the images and the word Fenestra itself means window which I found both enlightening and charming at the same time.

The Major Arcana features a stylized and gorgeous border with two graceful roses at the bottom of each card. This deck follows the Rider Waite tradition with it's imagery and makes it a very nice deck for beginners and experienced alike. The Moon card is quite lovely and features two female figures above and below a moon showing half and full phases. The Moon is always one of the first cards I look at in a deck and Chatriya has painted this card exceptionally well in my opinion.

The Minor Arcana are equally as beautiful with their ornate yet distinctly different border from the Majors. It is in the Minor Arcana where you can really notice the Japanese manga influence in the imagery of it's characters but the modern depictions are quite pleasant and comfortable to look at. This is a great deck, I love the colors and it's imagery appeals to me. It is very easy to read with and gives pretty detailed and accurate readings. I definately would encourage one to add the Fenestra Tarot to their collection!

Publisher: US Games Systems

Artist: Chatriya

ISBN: 1-57281-560-4

Images used with permission by US Games

Serenity Sunday

Before I was a Mom,I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night

Before I was a Mom,I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mom,I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom

Before I was a Mom,I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body..

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

Before I was a Mom!

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) My pets

3.) Opinions

4.) New tarot bags

5.) Home made vegetable soup

6.) Patience

7.) Sage

8.) Funny videos

9.) BBQ's

10.) Sweet tea

Tarot Tuesday

I drew these cards one day last week, as I have a routine of doing everyday and found myself quite surprised. I usually sit and ponder my daily draws as I sip my morning coffee and this day was really not much different this day until their meaning suddenly came to me...it was the Serenity Prayer. I'm not sure if many are aware of this prayer, it's one of the sayings from Alcoholic's Anonymous and goes something like this...

God, grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change, 

the Courage to change the things I can

And the Wisdom to know the difference.

It was so surprising because my little inner voice came through loud and clear and there was no doubt in my mind that this was their message to me and as I glanced at the calender, I happen to notice the date...May 19th, my mother and step-father's anniversary. Tarot never ceases to amaze me because you see, my parents met at a meeting many years ago and are still happily married today, it had slipped my mind but my cards knew. I was reminded to call them and wish them a very Happy Anniversary.

Deck Review- The Medieval Cat Tarot

Being a tarot lover and cat enthusiast, I get to combine my two most favorite things with a deck illustrated by Lawrence Teng and text provided by Gina M. Price and Lawrence Teng called The Medieval Cat Tarot offered by US Games Systems Inc. This is a charming deck featuring dapper little felines, all in elegant fifteenth century finery.

This is a 78 card deck measuring 2 1/2 "x 4 3/4" based loosely on the Rider Waite tradition but differing in the aspect that it depicts images of folk art style illustrations and limited symbolism. That, however, does not affect this decks ability to convey concepts and feelings found in more symbolically detailed decks.

The Major Arcana are not numbered but do have the name of each card found at the bottom so that if one were to prefer Strength and Justice to be in a traditional or reversed order this can be accommodated. The one thing I did notice about these little kitties is that the usually titled High Priestess and the Heirophant are called the Popess and the Pope respectively which adds a certain flair, given the unique nature of this deck.

The Minor Arcana are also not numbered but have each suit in the appropriate number shown on each card along with a small cameo in the middle expressing the feeling or concept of each card. The Courts Card images are richly pictured with the Pages in renaissance style cloaks, each holding the symbol of their suit, the gallant Knights on their decorated steeds, the Queens primly sitting on their thrones with imagery of each suit along side of them and the regal Kings, also sitting on their thrones showing the nature of their suit in the background behind them.

All of the cards are bordered attractively and the shiny lamination is absolutely perfect for showing of these little cats at their best and comes with the standard LWB ( little white book). This an excellent deck for beginner to intermediate tarot readers and the cards read wonderfully and quite accurately too. I absolutely love this deck, not just for it's subject matter of cats but the style of the cards and colors used in the deck. I highly recommend this deck for any collection.

Serenity Sunday

Tolerance


Tolerance refers to an attitude of openness and respect for the differences that exist among people. Although originally used to refer to ethnic and religious differences, the concepts of diversity and tolerance can also be applied to gender, people with physical and intellectual disabilities, and other differences, too.


Tolerance means respecting and learning from others, valuing differences, bridging cultural gaps, rejecting unfair stereotypes, discovering common ground, and creating new bonds. Tolerance, in many ways, is the opposite of prejudice.


Society was founded on freedom from religious persecution and on tolerance of differences in beliefs and cultural heritage. The differences (or diversity) that come from people from all over the world enrich our culture, bringing new ideas and energy.


But does tolerance mean that all behaviors have to be accepted? Of course not. Behaviors that disrespect or hurt others, like being mean or bullying, or behaviors that break social rules, like lying or stealing, should not be tolerated. Tolerance is about accepting people for who they are — not about accepting bad behavior. Tolerance also means treating others the way you would like to be treated.




My List:


1.) My kids


2.) My pets


3.) Uneventful Saturdays


4.) Comedy


5.) Tarot


6.) Scented candles


7.) Koi


8.) Ponytails


9.) Ficus trees


10.) Baseball

Deck Review- Preview

I'm working with some pretty amazing decks right now that I will be reviewing in the upcoming weeks...here's a preview of the deck titles!

The Medieval Cat Tarot

The Old English Tarot

The Hanson-Roberts Tarot

The Connolly Tarot

The Fenestra Tarot

Tune in next Monday to see just which deck I'm reviewing!

Serenity Sunday

Lemon Thyme

A sweetly scented, evergreen herb and a cultivated form of wild thyme. It is a popular culinary herb due to its mild citrus flavor and is often used in stuffings, with chicken dishes or added to fruit salads and jellies.

Lemon thyme has therapeutic effects as well and is popular as an alternative to standard Western allopathic medicine for a variety of problems, including anti-ageing properties, relieving muscle spasms as well as easing a tight chest and promoting relaxation.

I have a couple varieties of Thyme in my herb garden and highly advocate adding the Lemon variety to yours, it's creeping and mounding nature adds a wonderful, scented addition around water features such as a pond or just as a terrific contrast along with other herbs.

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) Great friends

3.) LOTS of laughter

4.) Frogs serenading me from our pond at night.

5.) Weeding the flower beds

6.) The scent of Hyacinths 

7.) Roses bursting with foliage

8.) My readers..you guy's are the BEST!

9.) Mowing the lawn

10.) Smudging the house in honor of Spring

Deck Review- The Kingdom Within Tarot

The Kingdom Within Tarot is a truly unique deck based on the restored tree of Life as put forth by Charles Stanfield Jones, a star initiate of Aleister Crowley. It's based upon the ancient systems of Astrology,  Qabalah and universal archetypes as well as sacred myths. It is a great deck in which to study these systems while discovering spiritual truths that had previously been hidden.

This is a little larger deck and comes in a beautiful hard covered box that you can use for storage. The lamination is glossy and wonderful, making the images almost seem 3-D. It comes with a 176 page companion book that gives very detailed descriptions of each card's symbolism as well as general meanings.

The Major Arcana cards are filled with detailed images and symbols like colored spheres, relating to a different path on the Tree of Life, astrological symbols as well as planets and other information. the images are unique and thought provoking, aiding to a deeper insight into life's questions. The colors are vivid and bright and pleasant to look at.

The Minor Arcana are just as detailed with many symbols seen in each card. The Courts are an interesting group, the Kings each have four grey spheres, one in each corner, correlating with Chokmah, the Father, the Queens have four black spheres for Binah, the Mother, the Princes have golden spheres representing Tiphereth, the Son and the Pages have four spheres divided into equal colors for Malkuth, the Daughter.

As detailed as the information is in the companion book, there is a much larger more in depth book that goes along with this deck called The Alchemy of Tarot Practical Enlightenment through astrology, Qabalah and Archetypes of Tarot which in itself is a wonderful study guide not only to the cards but of The Tree of Life itself and all the other symbolism found within the deck. This is an excellent reference manual for study and understanding and I was quite in awe of it's contents.

I found The Kingdom Within a truly wonderful deck with it's associations and symbolism and the companion book's information is very valuable to anyone who would like to study The Tree of Life and other such detailed concepts. I'm not sure if I would recommend this deck for an absolute beginner as some of the information is a lot to take on when just starting out but I highly recommend it for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Tarot and it's rich symbolism.

Publisher:Schiffer Books

Authors: Juno Lucina and Shannon ThornFeather

ISBN: 9780764337109

Serenity Sunday

Usually every day it is my custom to grab my tarot deck and draw three cards for that day and see what they have to tell me. Tarot cards are funny things, they have a knack of telling you what you need to hear whether or not you are ready to hear them. I drew the three cards you see above Friday and I knew by the Star (my birth card) that this message was for me and I knew by the Queen of Wands (Kali) that it involved a strong female figure and some sort of renewal indicated by Aeon.

I sat at my desk pondering these cards for several minutes, just trying to figure out just what they were saying and for a long time their message eluded me so I let my attention drift over to my computer screen where I had TweetDeck running so I can keep up on all the latest Tweets. All of a sudden a Tweet appeared...it was about Mother's Day and in a flash that little light bulb in my head clicked on. I know what they're trying to tell me...and it was pretty simple too...I needed to resurrect my efforts to connect with my mother and call her on Mother's Day. 

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to hear that I needed to call my mom on Mother's Day because you see, to say that our relationship was tenuous at best would be an understatement, which is probably why I didn't connect the Queen of Wands with my mother right away. So, what did I do next? I sent a text to my middle daughter asking her if she had spoken to Grandma Ginger lately and if so, how was she doing...I learned that she had surgery quite recently and was in the hospital (I guiltily glanced at my cards feeling rather unsettled at their message) so I knew that I needed to gather the courage and give her a call.

I called my step dad to see which hospital she was at and found out that she had been released and was staying with a relative during her recuperation and he gladly gave me her cell number (my mother has a cell phone, would wonders ever cease?) I called her and surprisingly she answered almost right away. I asked how she was doing and I could tell that she wasn't immediately sure who was asking but I forged on and she realized it was me. I wished her an early Happy Mother's Day and I could tell that I had certainly caught her off guard but she cordially said thank you and I felt a little better since the conversation went well.

It felt good to hear her voice, she sounded well and strong as ever and hopefully my call gave her something to think about. I never have forgotten about her, I think of my mother often...not just on her birthday, Christmas or even on her anniversary to my step dad but usually I'm  too much of a coward to call and just let sleeping dogs lie. I really miss my mom, I wish that we had been able to have a relationship. I know she'll never read this post but Happy Mother's Day mom, I love you.

My List:

1.) My mom

2.) My kids

3.) Great Friends

4.) My Tarot cards

5.) Hand made Mother's Day gifts

6.) Memories

7.) Courage

8.) Cell phones

9.) Rice crispy treats

10.) Second Chances

Plant Of The Week- Anemone

There are many different species of anemones so knowing as much as you can about anemone flower care is crucial if you want them to survive and thrive. The plant is a perennial that can be found in three different varieties. These are the spring flowering type, the tuberous Mediterranean, and the larger fall flowering type.


Although these are all different types of plants, there are some commonalities in anemone flower care. In general, anemones should be planted in the fall. The tuberous types should be separated in the spring as should those with rhizomatous roots. The anemones with fibrous roots can be separated in spring or fall, but should be kept in the pot for a year to ensure that it is well established before transplanting them to your garden.


It is important to water your anemones regularly. They need to be planted in well-drained soil that is moderately fertile. They need either full sun or sparse shade. Soak the flowers overnight before planting them and plant them 3-4 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart. In the fall you can cut them back to the ground and they will grow again in the spring. You should also divide the clumps every 2-3 years.


The anemones produce pretty flowers in varying colors, including purple, red, blue, white, and sometimes yellow. These flowers are cup-shaped and grow on elongated stems. The anemone is used medicinally to treat emotional distress and menstrual cramps and other related menstrual problems.


Anemones are a common plant that grows wild throughout North America, Japan, and many countries in Europe. The most common anemone is the Japanese anemone, which is due to the fact that they are not only beautiful, but relatively easy to care for. These anemones do well in many soil types, from sandy to clay-rich, and they can easily do well without a lot of supplementary irrigation. You can grow these plants in partly shaded areas.


The Japanese anemone is not really from Japan, but was developed by botanists in England, France, and Germany. They used Chinese species from which to develop the Japanese anemone and these plants are completely manmade. However, they are seen in abundance in many gardens and most varieties that exist are more than 100 years old.


Anemones are exceptionally beautiful flowering plants that serve to enhance the look and feel of any garden. So if you are looking for a new addition or to experiment with something new just for the fun of it, then you can take on anemone flower care in your garden and see the fruits of your labor grow into exceptional brilliance. 

Deck Review

It's been very hectic around here lately so I haven't had much time to work with a deck that I'm going to be reviewing  and I want to give it time to talk to me and be able to work with it a little more, so my review will be posted next Monday. Tune in to see The Kingdom Within Tarot by Juno Lucina Shannon and ThornFeather. This is a great looking deck and there's a lot to work with so thank you for your patience.

Serenity Sunday

Beltane Recipes

Fried Honeycakes


These cakes were left in the garden to please Faery visitors. If you plan to leave an offering to the Faery, double the recipe to keep some for your family. They're scrumptious.


1/2 cup sweet white wine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 cup honey
2/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Oil for frying
1/8 teaspoon salt


Beat the wine & egg in a medium bowl. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt & sugar in a small bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Let stand 30 minutes. Combine the honey & nutmeg in a small bowl.


Heat 1/2-inch of the oil in a frying pan until hot, but not smoking. Drop the batter into the oil 1 tablespoon at a time; fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip into the honey.


Yield: 1 1/2 Dozen.




My List


1.) My  kids


2.) My pets


3.) Fantastic friends


4.) Bagels and cream cheese


5.) Chocolate


6.) Blooming plants


7.) Text messaging


8.) Science fairs


9.) Crystals


10.) Sleeping in