EALAIN TAROT

– DEATH CARDIssue 1 – September 2014

Almanac

Commentary ‘A death Card’ by Musae P Adumbratus

‘Because of Me’ by David B. McCoy Tarot Decks ‘Judith’s last Song’ by VH Fitzhugh Tarot on screen: Carnivàle ‘Release” by David B. McCoy Rachel Pollock – an author and poet Credits

CommentaryThis issue is my first, but by no means my last. I will explore art in all its

forms, and bring it to you.

I want to give a voice to art, to the poet, the writer and the artist, who

pours his heart and soul in his work.

I believe in the approach of “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say

anything”, therefore I will only feature the art I love and NOT criticize the

ones I don’t.

Somewhere, someone does love them.

I am also giving an open invitation to all artists out there, to send me your

work. Be you a professional or a amateur, it matter to me not. I want

YOUR work.

A death cardBy

MP Adumbratus

“Stop worrying…” Her face in a frown.

“But…”

A finger silences me.

“Stop worrying.”

I try to stop but the old voice of the gypsy resonates in my ears. She turned the card around, the death card. I could see kindness in her eyes.

“You are still thinking about that old hag.” An accusation, not a question.

She grabs me by the arms, shaking me.

“Stop worrying!”

I nod.

She knows best. She always knows best.

“Anyway, I read that the death card is not necessarily about death. It could also mean the end of something and a new beginning.”

I nod.

“You should have known better than to drag me to that hag. You know I don’t tolerate nonsense like that.”

I nod and mumble an apology.

“I do believe that the future can be seen, but not by her. Did you see her fingernails?”

This is a rhetorical question. I know this and don’t even attempt an answer. It is rude to interrupt someone.

“She knows as much about the future as… that bum begging on the street.”

Her finger points to an old man. He is a bit haggard looking but I can see the dignity in his eyes. He also looks hungry.

I have a chocolate bar in my pocket.

We walk past him.

“I once went to a medium. I had to pay a pretty penny but she was the real deal…”

Silently I slip the chocolate bar to the old man. He smiles and nods.

“She told me I would be famous one day. People will worship me.”

I follow her down an alley. It is not the safest route home, but she must know best.

I frown.

Silence?

I look up and she is gone.

Where is she?

“Cheryl?”

Nothing.

“Cheryl!”

I walk back and then I see her.

I did not notice the hole. I waked past it and did not notice.

The police says that the hole was covered with plywood and when she walked over it, the decaying wood gave way.

It was no fault of mine, the big policeman assures me, over and over again.

I know that it is not my fault.

Much later in our huge bedroom, all alone, I think about the events of the day. The death card and her death.

I smile to myself.

She was right, the death card is not necessarily mean death. It also means the end of something and

the beginning of something new.

BECAUSE OF MEBy

David B. McCoy

The Search need go no further.             --William Vernon 

It is because of my buying milk in plastic bottles,

drinking from plastic cups,eating with plastic forks,

using plastic lunch bags, trash bags,   garbage bags,

using plastic-backed disposable diapers   on my son;

 it is because of my

 cooking with the electric range,

cooking with the microwave,watching color TV in the family room,

   the bed room, the kitchen,listening to the compact-disc player,

turning on the lamp light, the   hall light, the ceiling light, the   garage light, the outside light;

 it is because of my

 heating the house in winter,

cooling the house in summer,  

burning wood, burning leaves,burning trash, driving my car;

 it is because of my

 buying beer in cans,buying soda in cans,buying food in cans,

eating foil-wrapped TV dinners; 

it is because of my 

fertilizing the lawn,fertilizing the garden,

spraying ants with Raid,Deconing the roaches,

pouring Drano down the drain; 

it is because of me 

there is air pollution,there is water pollution,there is global warming,

there are oil spills,there are toxic dumps,

there are poisoned aquifers,there is death, there is death,

   there is death. 

It is because of me

there is death.  

 

Tarot Decks

There is a lot more Tarot Decks than I could ever imagine, a lot more!

There are the old and trusted ones. I know some who swears by this deck.

The Rider Waite Smith Deck This deck was created in 1909, by AE Waite. The artist was Pamela Colman Smith.

Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot Deck

If you like fantasy and art, this is the one for you! Anne Stokes is a wonderfully talented artist, as you can see from the cards!

I personally prefer the Cosmic Tarot deck. I love the rich and colourful images.

There is a tarot deck for every individual.

If you are gothic…

Or flowery…

Or maybe have witchy?

Whoever you are, there is a deck for you! RELEASE

ByDavid B. McCoy

-We are citizens of one world only when we apply to the next.

                                                -- Mark Strand

I. 

This thing Death confounds me.  Is it a life in heaven for eternity?  A life

reincarnated to some new body?  A dissemination of the soul throughout the universe?  And what of our thoughts and the thoughts of our loved ones?  Do they

travel with us to the next world or do they slip away as a fish returned to

water? II. 

The old man, two rows in front of us, slumps.  We hear the sound of air escaping from his lungs.  Ball players from both teams gather to gaze up at the

paramedics calmly working.  Some of the players are holding bats, all are speechless.  And like the slow disappearance of a hard-hit ball, we watch a bit of

innocence drain from their young faces. 

III.  

At the funeral, my friend says to her deceased mother, “I release you.”  Closing my eyes, I again see the little girl who, with great joy and deliberateness,

released to the blue sky a red balloon.

CarnivàleTarot is not used in movies or series a lot. There are references to it, but only in this show is it part of the plot and in the title sequence. It just so happen that I loved this

show and it is one of many cancelled before it’s time.

“The opening title sequence itself begins with a deck of Tarot Cards falling into the sand, while the camera moves in and enters one card into a separate world presenting layers

of artwork and footage from iconic moments of the American Depression era; the camera then moves back out of a different card and repeats the procedure several times. The

sequence ends with the camera shifting from the “Judgement” Tarot card to the “Moon” and the “Sun”, identifying the Devil and God respectively, until the wind blows away all

cards and the underlying sand to reveal the Carnivàle title artwork”

RACHEL POLLACKAn AUTHOR AND POET

“Rachel Grace Pollack was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1945. She holds an honours degree in English from New York University, a Masters in English from Claremont Graduate School and has taught English at New York State University.

Rachel is considered one of the World's foremost authorities on the modern interpretation of the Tarot. She is also a poet, an award-winning novelist, and a Tarot card and comic book artist. She has published 12 books

on the Tarot, including 78 Degrees of Wisdom (Thorsons, 1998), considered a modern classic and the Bible of Tarot reading. Its marriage of common sense, wide-ranging knowledge, and esoteric awareness have inspired many tens of thousands of readers worldwide to a deeper knowledge of the Tarot.

She is a member of the American Tarot Association, the International Tarot Society, and the Tarot Guild of Australia. With fellow Tarot author Mary Greer, she has taught at the famed Omega Institute for the past fifteen years. She has been conferred the title of Tarot Grand Master by the Tarot Certification Board, an independent body located in Las Vegas, Nevada.”

Okay, that is her bio from her site, but who is she really?

She is indeed an expert on Tarot and wrote a number of non-fiction books on the subject.

She is however much more than just an expert in Tarot. She is also an author and poet.

She uses the theme of Tarot in her other work also.

She uses the cards in her stories and poems. I hope to read some of her work soon.

.

Credits

Cover

Photo of Tarot Cards: Musae P Adumbratus

A Death Card

Words written by: Musae P Adumbratus

Image of Tarot card: Llewellyn Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson

Because of Me

Words written by: David B. McCoy earned his history teaching degree from Ashland University and his graduate degree from Kent State University. His work at Kent explored the influences of socialization on personality development. David is the author of numerous In Your Hand Digital Books available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.www.dbmccoy.org

Image of Tarot card: Celtic Dragon Tarot, by DJ Conway and Lisa Hunt

Image of girl with kite: http://fantasyartdesign.com/free-wallpapers/digital-art.php?u_i=108&i_i=403

Tarot Decks

List of Tarot Decks: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/list.shtmlRider-Waite Tarot Deck: http://tarot-heritage.com/history-4/the-rider-waite-smith-deck/Anne-Stokes Gothic Deck: http://danglingpentaclestarot.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/anne-stokes-gothic-tarot/Cosmic Tarot Deck: http://www.tarot.com/tarot/decks/cosmic/box Photo of Cosmic Tarot Deck: by Musae P AdumbratusAngel Paths Deck: http://www.angelpaths.com/apshop/product_details.php?item_id=410 Spirit of Flowers Tarot Deck: http://innerwhisperscouk.blogspot.com/2014/04/spirit-of-flowers-tarot-overview.htmlWitchy Tarot Deck http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/witchy/

Judith’s Last Song

Words written by: Veronica Haunani Fitzhugh holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia and is currently preparing for her MFA in Creative Writing.

cvillewinter.wordpress.com veronicahaunani@gmail.com

Image of Tarot card: Tarot of Pagan Cats, by Lola Airaghi, Magdelina Messina

Tarot on the screen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0lehttps://www.screenused.com/?sectionID=item-detail&subsectionID=index.cfm&item_id=2189

Release

Also by David B. McCoy – see ‘Because of Me’

Image of Tarot card: The Cristal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso

Rachel Pollock

http://www.rachelpollack.com/index2.html