Hi, I’m Ailsa, and I draw pictures

[Ailsaek]

Hi all. I’ve been slow about posting an intro because I don’t really *remember* the beginnings of my tarot story. I was into palmistry as a freshman in high school, astrology and drawing up natal charts as a young twenty-something on into my thirties, and bought my first Tarot deck, the Morgan Greer, somewhere between after my daughter was born (1986) and 1990, but I honestly don’t recall exactly when. My second deck was the original uncolored Daughters of the Moon deck, then the Voyager deck, and then I just started slowly accumulating decks.

In 2000, I remarried and had a son. He has Down Syndrome and was born with a heart defect, and I just didn’t have the time or the energy for tarot, so sometime in the early oughts, all my cards got boxed up and put away.

Fast forward seventeen years. We moved from MA to NH, things with the movers went badly, we ended up losing a lot of stuff, including all but two of my decks (Voyager, and POMO, which I had been trying to sell). I replaced my Osho Zen deck almost immediately, as that had been the one I had used the most recently and missed the most, or, well, second-most. Morgan’s Tarot was out of print, which gutted me. (As soon as I heard it was back in print, I bought a copy, although I feel sad every time I use it, because the old backs were purple and now they’re black.)

I picked up a few more modern decks (Kawaii, Illuminated, Prisma Visions), and realized that I really missed both tarot and people to talk tarot with. I tried arranging a get-together with local friends, but we never seemed to be able to match up schedules, and then it occurred to me sometime this fall that Facebook has groups for just about everything, I could probably find people to talk Tarot with there. I joined Tarot Nerds, Tarot Study Group, and Tarot Deck Collectors and everything I have been doing since has been from that. (My deck collection has more than doubled since joining, and I have a bunch of Kickstarter decks backed as well.)

This has also kicked off an interest in Kabbalah, but since I’m looking for Jewish Kabbalah rather than Golden Dawn, it’s been slow going. I got my first couple of beginner books from Amazon this week and am working my way through them, as well as roughing out ideas for a Jewish Kabbalistic deck based on the Book of Thoth Etteilla and the Minchiate deck as well as RWS.

And, let’s see, I have a husband, a son, four cats, and one dog in my household. My daughter, her fiancée, and their son live out Chicago way. I draw, I cook, I play Minecraft and Stardew Valley, and I grumble endlessly at the MCU for killing Loki.

[Diana]

Thanks for this great introductory post, Ailsa.

As to the Kabbalah, I have always wanted to go into Greek Kabbalah. I don't really know anything about it (really nothing), but the idea constantly pops up in my mind at unexpected moments "go and look up what Greek Kabbalah is all about". I haven't yet obeyed the injunction.

Is there Kabbalah in the RWS ? (I don't know much about the RWS). If so, is it the Jewish or the Greek ?

[Ailsaek]

RWS definitely has Golden Dawn influences, so there’s at least some of their version of Kabbalah in it. I’m in no way an expert, though, and this is not a Pronouncement From Authority (TM).