Monthly Archives: March 2011

Come, Meet the Sidhe

Posted on by

Interview/Review – Tarot of the Sidhe

Illustrator/Author – Emily Carding

Publisher – Schiffer Publishing, LTD.

Copyright 2010 – Emily Carding

ISBN :  978-0-7643-3599-0

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with several members of the Tarot of the Sidhe.  Please join me now as we discuss their role in this delightful and sometimes mischievous oracle.

I am so happy to finally make your acquaintance and that you, Maker Queen, were chosen to represent the collective Sidhe of this deck.   You are famously known for your organizational skills and practicality – virtues that I admire and aspire to.  So, let’s get down to the business at hand, shall we?

Maker Queen – Certainly, and just to be clear, Sidhe is pronounced Shee. Please do say it correctly.

You look like a deck that has many secrets.  Do you think this is true and are you willing to share your secrets?

Maker Queen (Gift of Healing) – Yes, we do have many secrets, but we are always willing to share them.  The seeker only need ask the right questions.  Our secrets are not to be kept, we want to share them.  A seeker needs only to believe and be sincere in their questing.  They also need to be prepared for the answers they receive and be willing to accept them as they are given.

Ok, that sounds fair.  (Moving on)  The very first thing that jumped out at me is the card backs.  The glyph I believe you called it?  What can you tell me and our readers about this mysterious looking symbol?

Maker Queen – The Great Glyph of the Sidhe?  Well dear, it is a visual representation of a gateway, a focal point.  The Glyph enhances the ability of the card to act as a gateway, which runs both ways.  It will help you to connect with the otherworld and we will find it easier to contact you in return.  You will also find it, sometimes hidden, in the face of the cards as well.  Be sure to look for it as you visit with us.

Thank you, I certainly will.  Now, who do you think might best describe for us the true nature, the important characteristic(s) of this collective?

MQ – Oh, no question about it, that would be the Dreamer Princess.  She has the Gift of Telling.

Dreamer Princess – It’s true, I do have a gift for telling stories.  My natural wit is only a small part of my charm.  Some don’t appreciate my candor, and telling everyone, everything I know, (shrug) go figure.  On one hand, I am a very good communicator, but, I may encourage you to manipulate the facts just teensy bit to make things a little more interesting.  I am quite willing to tell you anything you want to know and lots of things you don’t want to know as well.

Hmmm, quite a mischievous group, aren’t you?  Thank you for stopping by, Princess.  MQ, you don’t mind if I call you MQ do you?  Who will be explaining the biggest advantage of working with the Sidhe?

MQ – Ahhh here they are now.  May I introduce Strength, The Rider of the Dragon.

(Conspiratorially she whispers to me) “She takes that dragon everywhere she goes.”

Strength – There are numerous advantages to working with us, but I feel the most important ones would be learning the art and ability of facing your fears and the self-confidence you gain from overcoming them.  There is nothing quite as liberating as standing up to something that is terrifying.  Once you make up your mind and muster the courage, we will help you harness your dragons.  Then maybe you can ride the solar wind as I do!  Become the mistress or master of your demons!   I am the……..

Excuse me dear!  I’m sorry to interrupt, but we do need to continue with the interview.  Thank you so much for stopping by, you have been quite helpful.   By the way….. nice dragon.

I see that Strength is XI, I wonder if we will have a chance to chat with VIII Justice?

What would you say is the best way to approach the Sidhe?  How can we best learn from and collaborate together?

MQ – I think the Magician may be able to shed some light on this question.

The Magician – First you must trust us.  Trust is a two way street though, you need to gain our trust as well.  Come to us honestly and humbly and you will have earned that trust.  We honor the opportunity to share our world and knowledge to help you realize you have the power to change your world by changing yourself.   We are the potential of your inner power.  Both individually and collectively, we can help you discover You.

Very good, very good.  Thank you Magician, for that wise piece of advice and for taking the time to share with us today.

Are there any final words?  I believe I saw someone lurking just beyond the door.  Ahhh, another Princess.  Please come in and introduce yourself.

Maker Princess – Hello.  I just wanted to share with everyone the Gift of Creativity.  That IS my specialty after all.   We, the Sidhe, are presented quite creatively in this Tarot kit.  Our portraits are displayed on 78 separate canvas of quality card stock (3 ½ x 5 in.) with a gloss coating for ease of use and protection.  Our container is a very sturdy box that will stand up to a lot of use and includes a 96 page beautifully bound booklet with an introduction to the Sidhe, a little history, three spreads, keywords, poetry, and artist’s notes, completes our package.


Emily Carding, our illustrator and voice for this project, has captured the essence of our noble race to share with all who would seek our ancient wisdom.  You may notice that a few of us have adapted our names to better suit our purposes, such as The Elder, sometimes known as the Hierophant,  and Pan, who is commonly referred to as The Devil.  Our courts are made up of Princess, Prince, Queen and King and the four suits are renamed as well.  The suits are:  Dreamer – Air, Dancer – Water, Warrior – Fire, and Maker- Earth.  You can easily see how they relate to more traditional suits.

Come along and discover our world, as we will endeavor to help you understand yours.

“Deep as the sea we sing,

As high as the moon we sing!

Dreaming of golden skies,

We try to forget your lies…

As old as the hills,

As young as the rain,

We sing through the joy

And dance through the pain”

(excerpt from, “Song of the Sidhe” by Emily Carding)

I would like to express my gratitude to the Sidhe, and especially Maker Queen,  for joining us today and for sharing a peek into their realm.  Please note the colored borders were added here for affect.  In their original form the borders are black but, I did not feel the green background of this media did them justice.  See more images below.


Fair or Foul? with the Sidhe

Posted on by

Today’s message for me from the Sidhe, (pronounced Shee) is about a situation with my oldest son and his wife.  I was pretty sure that is what I was seeing, and about two hours after pulling these cards I talked to him and the message was confirmed.   They have been in the market for several months for a new home.  As anyone who has purchased a home knows, there can be many delays and obstacles, not to mention the endless paper chase that goes along with the whole process.  Especially for a young couple just starting out, the process seems daunting.  So everything seems to be going well, son has good job and daughter-in-law is freshly graduated and working as a respiratory therapist.  Now we have arrived at the week of the long awaited closing and WHAM!  He quite suddenly and unexpectedly loses his job and on the same day finds out at the last hour they now make too much money for the specific loan they were applied for.  Are you kidding me?

I feel horrid for them; I know how disappointing things like this are.  I am a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason” which is easy for me to say, but I have been down this road before. The Dancer, (Ace of Cups) and The Dreamer, (Ace of Swords) seem to balance each other.  It shows  the need for tempering high emotions with cooler logic.  The Wheel of Fortune turns on a whim, landing on either fair or foul.  Sometimes things just happen and we don’t have any control, nor can we see the why of it.  If the wheel has landed on ‘foul’ this time, their chances improve for ‘fair’ next time.  I’m not saying that we are just pawns on a chess board, but it can certainly feel that way sometimes.  Everything really is fine, although it may not seem that way right now.  Things have a way of working out and usually for the best.  Warrior Four, Foundations Blessed, is one of the most beautiful ‘Four of Wands’ cards I have seen.  Although the picture is quite pretty, it is more to do with the feeling it evokes within me.  I believe this is a promise to them that their foundation is already blessed.  As long as they keep building on that foundation, wherever they are together is Home.

Deck images are from the Tarot of the Sidhe by Emily Carding and Schiffer Publishing.


Full Moon and Letting Go

Posted on by

My friend Mary Nale of  “Tarot With Nale and Company“  posted three cards she drew asking, “what three things should I let go of this Full Moon?  She used the Pears of Wisdom Tarot deck, for her meditation.   Taking my queue from her, I drew three cards from my POW, to see what advice I might find in the same context.

What is locked up inside all of those chests?  The artist appears content and fulfilled working on her craft.  Do I have a talent or ability that I keep locked away?  Locked away even from myself?  Or is it something that needs released that is locked away, something that may take several keys to unlock and get to the heart of.

The Fool is about to head over the falls and doesn’t seem to notice or care.  What needs to be let go of here?  Releasing my inner child and having more fun?  Or to stop fooling myself?  Release of inhibitions?

The King of Swords is a bit bossy and expects to be obeyed.  He holds his emotions in check and makes logical, even detached, decisions it seems.  He needs to release some control.  Not everyone sees their lives and situation as a leaning experience, and even though that may be difficult for me to understand, it is equally hard for others to see my point of view.  My ‘pick-yourself-up, dust your self off, and start all over again’ attitude may appear to be callous, but in fact it isn’t.

Meditation with these cards will hopefully clarify more of what I need to release.

Happy Full Moon (Super-moon) to everyone!  And Happy Tarot’ing!

*images: “Pearls of Wisdom” Tarot by Roxi Sim and can be purchased here.

Eight of Pentacles – The Fool – King of Swords

Jekyll & Hyde

Posted on by

Today Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have come to visit in my little garden.  Not very surprising that my cards for the day reflect this too.  Me and my precious babies have all three fallen under his spell, going from one extreme to the other with lightning speed.  Hopefully the afternoon will go smoother, after nap-time.  Naps  usually tame the beast with-in, right?  If that doesn’t work, I’ll be researching to brew a magic potion!  Hmmm, wonder where I can find an Anti-Jekyll-Hyde potion?  Any suggestions?

*images are from a Tarot of a Moon Garden, by Karen Marie Sweikhardt and published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Check them out at Amazon.com

My Interview with Tarot in the Land of Mystereum

Posted on by

I can tell right away that as a Tarot deck you are different.  Please tell me about yourself.  What is your most important characteristic?


The Hanged Man:  I am just one step in the Archetypal Imagination on the journey through the Major Arcana, one of the ‘big idea’ guys, if you will.  My big idea and important characteristic for this interview I guess would be vulnerability.  By being vulnerable, to positive influences of course, you open yourself up to more possibilities and may glimpse illumination.  When you hang around suspended as I do all day, you learn to stop resisting, to just Be.  Once this is accomplished, your spirituality, dreams, and intuition are heightened and clearly sensed – you may feel forever changed by a Hanged Man experience.   To experience the full potential of the Tarot in the Land of Mystereum, you will need to be open; to be a bit vulnerable and allow your imagination to go places you would never have dreamed of going before.   For the best results when working with me on a personal level, don’t be in a big hurry.  Relax and hang out with me for awhile.

What would you consider to be your strengths as a Tarot deck?


The Lovers: Respect and love would be our strengths.  Not only respect for ourselves and each other, but for anyone that we may come in contact with.  “Love is indicated as the ultimate, reciprocal respect and embrace of one identity for another.”  Our strength lies not so much in union, but through enhancement and blending.  We complement and honor individuality; we do not attempt to change them.  We honor and respect the differences and through love the result is harmony.  Love and respect are two different concepts, but one does not exist well without the other – joined together though, they create something beautiful.

What are your limits?  Do you feel you have any?


Three of Cups: Limits?  Well we suppose that everything and everyone has limits to some degree, but, for the purpose of this question I would have to answer yes, we do have limits.  We don’t actually have any built in as we neither set nor sanction them.  No, our limits, if any, are found in the reader.  This is a human concept and condition, and one that is thrust upon us at times.  We, on the other hand, are about celebration.  We celebrate you, your ideas, your imagination and creativity!  These are all limitless.  If you don’t set many limits with us, then who knows how far we can go?

What are you here to teach us? (me)


Page of Cups: To have fun!  To follow your dreams!  To remind you to not take yourself too seriously, to be playful and to frolic – when was the last time you frolicked?  You can still grow and learn and be playful all at the same time.  Be open to new and wonderful discoveries and greet them with an open heart.  Embrace all the beauty that life has to offer, and never take a moment for granted.

How can I best learn from and collaborate with you?


10 of Swords: Whoa!! Now, hear me out before you go getting your britches in a bunch!  First, let’s start on solid ground.  “Rock bottom is a strong place to stand.  Plant your feet strongly on solid ground and look up!  Anything visible is probably something better.  Know that you have pulled through.  Take a big breath.  Phewww!”  The worst is over and there is only one direction to go now, UP!  Now is the time to release pain, disappointment, and anguish.   It time to move on and up.  You must realize that your life is full of ups and downs, joys as well as pain, but I will always be there for you, to help you get through the rough times and help you rejoice in the good times.  I will help you see the light of day when you think the storm has blocked the sun forever.

What is the potential outcome from our working relationship?

10 of Cups:  We welcome you to our family.  It may not appear that we are a traditional family at first, but once you get to know us better, we think you will agree that family we are.  Families, as you know, come in many varieties and complexities.  Some parts are functional, and some parts – not so much.  Dysfunctional or not, if we work together we can accomplish great things.  Together we can overcome obstacles, stalemates, and mayhem, or we can love, accept, respect, and sometimes find contentment.   Sometimes, we can even do all these things simultaneously.   No matter the circumstance, we love to count our blessings.  We want to help you do the same.  We have a gift to offer you, to feel the strength that shines inside and out when everything you love works together.

Wow.   I know we have barely scratched the surface in this interview, but, do you have any final words for us?


The Empress:  I would like to leave you with a sort of blessing.  “I would like to give you your treasure from this part of Mystereum.  Before I do, I would like you to close your eyes and remember this:  In The Land of Mystereum and your imagination, you are the boss.  As you learn and grow, you will experience things.  Old things.  New things.  You will experience things that enhance  you.  Things that will change you.  Things that will strengthen you.  You will also enhance things with your influence.  You are strong and aware.  Keep sight of that, Dearheart.  Now please slowly open your eyes.”

“By the way, tell my son, The Hanged Man, hello with love when you meet him.”  -The Empress-

I would like to say Thank You to Tarot in the Land of Mystereum for taking time out for this informative and fun interview.  For more information about this intriguing deck,  its Artist and Author, please visit Jordan Hoggard at  ‘Mystereum Tarot’.

The deck can be purchased here:  Amazon.com

This interview format is based on The “New Deck Interview Spread” created by Fire Raven, and can be found at Aeclectic Tarot.