The author mentions that she is Australian and so doesn’t have the traditional Halloween background that Americans do. I find that some odd things are included and others are left out. But it has a black cat card, so we’re all good. When I got the deck way back when, I also found that I wasn’t satisfied with the book’s take on everything, so I typed up some notes of my own and stuck them in the box. So now it’s time to revisit the deck and my notes!
Let’s start with a short interview!
Strength: Midnight
The witching hour. It’s strength is that it’s adequately spooky and portrays the spirit of Halloween, its scariness and attractiveness. It has a darkness and dreamlike atmosphere.
Weakness: Skull of Light
Being meta, the skull cards are a weakness. There are 4, Skull of Darkness, Skull of Flowers, Skull of Light, and Skull of Stars. They seem a bit odd to include when other, more traditional items are not. On the other hand, they do include some light in what might be an otherwise too dark set of ideas.
What I can learn: Skeleton
Strong under the surface. What remains when everything else is gone. Support. Bare bones. Things that frighten us can teach us where we’re strong and where we’re weak, and possibly how to remedy that. From my notes: Bare bones = nakedness = vulnerability. The strength of vulnerability is being able to ask for support.
Outcome of our work together: Lady de los Muertos
I’ll understand better that life and death are part of the same natural process. And not to be afraid of the beauty of the dark.
The deck does have beauty to it, doesn’t it? I look forward to sharing more with you this week. See you tomorrow!