Abe's Tarot Cards

Grendel's Coffee House Presents: Abe Nelson's "The Tarot" (major arcana) On: September 1st At: six-o-clock pm Located at: 729 E. Burnside Portland, OR 97214 ...or maybe you already knew that.

9.28.2006

CARD 2: THE PRIESTEST (picture to come)


The Picture:
A youthful crowned woman sits on a throne, her face covered, between a dark and light pillar behind her is a hill. In one hand is a pomegranate and her other hand points at a page in a mysterious book in her reach is a filled silver cup.


The Meaning:
(Note: in being true with the meaning of this card I decided to just talk about the over all meaning. I will not be going over any of these items that are in this card; cup, pomegranate, book, or her crown of waxing and waning moon…you don’t need to know, but if you want to know I encourage you research it for yourself.)
The Priestess (or High Priestess, Female Pope, ect.) inhabits a quiet spot between your actions and in-action on severity and mercy (light and dark pillars) and is the adviser of climbing the hill behind her to your spiritual goals…she tells you the path you must climb but never answering the whys or showing her source, that’s our responsibility if were interested. She sits and patiently waits until we are ready to be sensitive, listen and heed to her advice. Her voice is the goal when we meditate, it is the still small voice we should strive to be sensitive to as much as possible in order to be the rose we want to become.


In a Reading:
In a reading this card is telling you to listen, and look with-in. it is time to reach inward and develop a stronger inner connection with yourself.(as opposed to the physical dynamic application of the magician.) Let your intuitive nature carefully guide you along as you explore who you are and why.

9.21.2006

CARD 1: THE MAGICIAN (picture soon)

The Picture:
This card shows a youthful man posed with one arm up to the heavens and one arm down to earth, a symbol of mercury at each palm. His head is surrounded by a halo of infinity as he looks down at a table with the tools of magic before him (cup, pentacle, dagger, and wand) the world is divided almost in half showing earth and heavens.


The Meaning:
The man in the card shows himself as a divine messenger between the heavens and earth. In mythology he is represented as Mercury, or Hermes. He is the representation of us as communicators, of bringing our will of the spirit to the physical plane. The black and white background represents the yin and yang of our will and the physical world and that proper balance and technique is needed to control both equally for perfect communication. The halo represents that this communication between both is always present in our lives, whether we know how to control it properly or not.
The items showed on the table show us the means as which to bring things about in the physical. Each item on the table is a representation of our basic elements in the physical plane; Cup = water, Pentacle = Earth, Dagger = Air, and Wand = Fire (this is a basic overview, there’s much more to these items then that.). I feel that these items can be represented by ALL means of our taught communicative skills (the tools of an artist, a cook, cyclist, musician, even a carpenter.) anything that helps brings a thought of your will to the physical. The reason I don’t show anything specific (like frying pans) is because you should always be open to new ways express yourself. You never know what opportunity life will bring. I felt the traditional elemental tools blanketed this idea.


In a Reading:
This card tells you that you may have some new opportunities and decisions ahead so this is a good time to, take all your intuitiveness, focus in on your initiative, make a decision and follow through to achieve those goals and dreams. Apply those innate talents to make things happen.

9.20.2006

CARD 0: THE FOOL


Card 0: The Fool
NOTE: First off I should state this about the fool .This is not the first card of the deck as it is most commonly placed. It is the embodiment of your approach to all things of the heart. The fool is a reminder of how to approach the tarot itself, it needs to be the representation of your outward perspective as a whole. This card represents the nature that you should be reading the cards at zero with a natural Zen-like spirit of "no-nothing". This card should be you; mind, body and soul.

The Picture:
On this card is depicted a child atop a wild wolf as the wolf guides him along a cliff he is stopped in mid stride as the boy looks at the highest point of a fully blossomed rose.

The Meaning:
The child represents our basic mind; using logic it can say go and stop but is unable to gain any real ground without our raw nature (our primal urges, basic motor skills, and our body) of the wolf. Our minds (child) carried by our raw nature (wolf) guide us (working together in some degree) ahead through the ups and downs of life (the cliffs) but our minds have now stopped us to focus on the potential of our soul, the rose. (Note: at this stage we do not fully comprehend the cycle of the rose, the hard work that it takes to blossom nor the decline of it back to seed. we can only see what we want to obtain.) The outward drive has now become an inward one and we now see the urge to heighten our inner beauty even though we might not be sure how to obtain it.

In a Reading:
In a reading this card will a notice that opportunity is just around the corner for you if you don’t let your "adult self" get in the way too much. Approach life with an openness and innocence as to experience it to the fullest right now. Its okay to just stop, put your worries aside, bring yourself back to center, opening up and looking around to find the awe and amazement in the world around you.

9.05.2006

HEY!!
Well, if you weren't able to make it, the event at Grendel's Coffee Shop on Friday went well. Not only did I have a wonderful time, but most of you came up and told me that you were enjoying it, which is what truly made it a success.
.
HONESTLY?...
In this show I really focused hard on the idea that if I made everything I did with 100% love, honesty and passion that that love, honesty and passion would be recipricated back... (In weeks before the show I was VERY concerned about this and that this "idea" of mine was too far-fetched in todays socitey...people wouldn't feel what I was giving them they would only see the surface of it all and all the heart I vested into this would be lost.) What I got in return I wasin't prepared for. Now looking back I can only describe it as a cannon blast of Karma...a force exploding back all that I packed into it. I dont even know what held me up through it and often felt like falling to my knees, weeping. It acually hit me so hard that by the end of the night I was angery at myself, thinking "What did you really expect?"
I guess what I'm trying to say out of all this is thank you all. ...THANK YOU
If you didin't make it on Friday it will be up all this month so go down and check it out. you can still order the decks and t-shirts...and I think a couple of paintings are still available. I'll have ordering info up here by the end of the month, if you want to order on-line.
I also really want to take time out to thank the people who was there through everything and really helped this show get off the ground. No man is an island and that applys double when you put a show like this together. (this is starting to sound like the back of a rap album...but really, I mean it.)
ERIC-Thank you for the space...and your MEAN bagle sandwhiches and coffee.
JODI- If you dont already know this all was really Jodi's show. she gave alot of her time energy money and concern (way more then she needed to)...Jodi MADE this show...I was just the dancing monkey at it.
CAROL and FAITH- The "WOO WOO'S" Who both did Tarot readings for the show. Carol also did my first reading that night and has been always in the back of my mind while drawing and carving. Blessings upon you both.
ADAM- Designer extrodinare! For doing my flyers...they were AWESOME!!!better then anything I could of ever done...thank you, thank you, thank you!
RAE- for letting me use her extra papercutter and corner rounder when I was going NUTS cutting them all out by hand.I will say nothing bad about Scrapbookers again.
FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU- I just always wanted to say that :)
I know I said I'd have THE FOOL POST today but I have ALOT of orders to fill and I want to get on those first...I'll try for tonight...by noon tomorrow for sure...thanks for understanding...
abe