damnskippygf

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The Fool

The Fool : a muggle guide to tarot      -Who’s more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?                Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars episode IV A New Hope

Our first real post! Because let’s be honest, an introduction isn’t really a post. How exciting. This will be an in depth talk about one card: The Fool. It is one of the most enigmatic cards of The Tarot de Marseille; it is both the first and the last card in the Major Arcana. The what now? The tarot is divided into two parts: the Major Arcana with 22 numbered cards called ‘trump cards’ with one figure or symbol, and the Minor Arcana of 56 cards (4 suits of 14 cards each). The Fool is sometimes unnumbered, sometimes it has number 22, sometimes zero. The Fool is both the beginning and the end of the tarot, the alpha and the omega. Hence, this card is the first post of this blog and at the end I will talk about it again, in a new light. Confused yet? Let’s get systematic. 

In this blog we will talk about the tarot from two different perspectives, because you can handle that, you’re an intelligent person. One perspective isn’t enough:

1. The tarot cards with their meaning relating to the card in a spread, while doing a tarot reading. This is the most classic approach to tarot and will get the most attention. One of the goals of this blog is to make sure you can do your own tarot readings, both for yourself and for other people, because knowledge is useless if you don’t use it for something good. Today you will know what it means when the fool suddenly appears in a spread. If not then I’m a lousy teacher. 

2. The tarot as a metaphor for a journey, in which the Major Arcana functions as a path, starting with the fool (0), then continuing on with the magician (1), the high priestess (2) and so on, ending again with the fool when we make full circle. Each step poses different questions and challenges on which to reflect. It is a journey, a journey made by the fool. Today we will take the first step in this journey, because the fool, that’s us. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, believe me. In this way tarot can be a starting point (and nothing more) for meditation. A one card spread if you want. 

Each time I will use different examples of cards, but I’ll make sure to include at least these three decks each time:

> a few examples of the Rider-Waite Tarot

1. The Rider-Waite Tarot: because it is very traditional in its symbolism and very simple. It was published in 1910, at the peak of the mysticism craze of pre-world war Europe.  I want to get you acquainted with the standard symbolism of tarot and its meaning. This is a very good deck to start with. You might fancy very artsy tarot decks that interpret card meanings differently and use different symbolism but let’s start with walking before we start running, shall we? If you can interpret the Rider-Waite cards, you can interpret 95% of tarot decks. If you are just beginning with tarot, this is the ideal deck to start learning. You can choose your own personal and favourite deck later, there is no hurry. First learn the meaning of the cards, look around, let it sink in and then decide on a deck that is truly you. Also, it’s quite cheap and you can find it anywhere, certainly online. In my days, before the internet, I had to visit a witchy shop and fearfully ask an elderly woman reeking of incense what would be a good tarot deck to start with. In silence and with a frown, she pointed one of her long fingers at the Rider-Waite deck. I paid her, didn’t wait for the change, and got the fuck out of there. The shop is now an expensive burger restaurant. I wonder what happened to the woman. 

> a few examples of the Renaissance Tarot, my favourite deck

2. The Renaissance Tarot: because it is the deck I use for readings. I love it completely. It is still quite traditional in its symbolism but deviates on several smaller details. It is a good compromise between a traditional deck with clear symbolism and a certain simple and elegant aesthetic that speaks to me. It works for me, and that is the only thing that matters in the end. Fun fact: people didn’t do tarot readings during the renaissance, it’s so totally an 18th century thing. Yeah, the age of Enlightenment has a few surprises in stall for you.

> a few examples of the Wild Unknown Tarot, drawn with freehand, featuring a lot of animals.

3. The Wild Unknown Tarot: as an example of a deck that still uses all the traditional names and numbers of the cards but with a completely new symbolism, created and interpreted by the artist Kim Krans. These days there are a lot of artists who take up the challenge of creating a tarot deck, which is a huge undertaking because you need to create 78 artworks. But beauty isn’t everything. There is a lot of the artist himself and how he or she interprets the cards in the artwork, which often occludes other meanings of the cards. There is something to be said for the universal, timeless symbolism of traditional tarot decks. It is very exceptional when an artist succeeds in making a new kind of universal symbolism that includes all different meanings of traditional cards. I will show you the pitfalls of such ‘personal’ decks and its often-surprising advantages. The Wild Unknown deck is the one all the well-dressed witches on Tumblr are posting pictures of, but it is truly beautiful nonetheless.

4. Four? You said there going to be three? At the end of this year I will include a fourth, stunning deck. It will be glorious. It will also be artsy as fuck. The eye wants something too. 

You can see I am inclined towards more traditional decks because I believe it is you who should be interpreting the cards and not the artist who made the cards. Once you have mastered the meaning of cards, you will soon be aggravated by the shortcomings of many of these ‘alternative’ decks. But if it works for you, great. Although I doubt a SpongeBob SquarePants themed tarot deck will serve its purpose of guiding you in your troubled existence. So, we will discuss a traditional card, a semi-traditional card and a new card. Other decks will make guest-entries to show you the vast diversity of decks and to inspire you. 

If you already have a tarot deck, it’s now the ideal moment to take out the fool and place it next to your screen or in front of you. That way you can see if your card matches any of the symbols we will talk about or if the artist interpreted things differently. Do it NOW. If you don’t have a deck, no problem, I included pictures. 

Symbolism

Most cards depict the fool as a young man on a journey, walking towards a cliff, looking up or backwards (at anything but the gaping abyss in front of him). He is often accompanied by a faithful dog that follows him wherever he goes and tries (and fails) to warn him. He is dressed in simple robes or sometimes in the complete attire of a jester or harlequin to emphasise his humorous take on life.

In the renaissance tarot we see some elements of the rider-waite return but the fool is surrounded by white roses, often signifying innocence, purity and renewal. He also carries a lute, referring to wandering minstrels (a figure that has a lot in common with the jester or harlequin) and the instrument of Orpheus, who took a journey to the deepest of abysses, the underworld. In general, it depicts joy, frivolity and optimism. 

Here we see the artist taking a spin on the symbolism, depicting a chick about to take its first flight. It is also young and optimistic and knows little but must dare the first leap into the air. It must start flying someday but it might be plunging towards its death as well. 

Remember the fool is a set of glasses you put on to look at things, it doesn’t predict anything. The fool doesn’t care about a lot of things, he has fun, sings, dances and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. In his jests there is often truth though. In Dutch we have a saying: al lachend zegt de zot de waarheid. Roughly translatable as ‘The fool tells the truth while laughing.’ As in Shakespearean tales it is often the jester who, hidden behind layers of humor and riddles, can criticize the ruling powers, but in order to do that he must be outside the established order. The fool is a non-conformist, a weirdo, a loner in some way, with his own frivolous take on life. He challenges common beliefs and cares not for them. 

Upright meaning 

When this card refers to a situation it speaks of new beginnings, the first step of a journey, releasing the inner child, play, instability, excitement and spontaneity. It shows a leap of faith without overthinking. 

When this card refers to a person it means he or she (or especially with the fool, someone in between or not on the gender binary spectrum altogether) is a non-conformist, unconventional in one or many ways, punks, rebels, activists. someone spontaneous and frivolous. A person who puts aside warnings like ‘you can’t’ and ‘you shouldn’t’ but just believes in themselves and continues on. The fool has no plan, no long-term vision or commitment and lives in the now with all its five senses. Whether that is smart or not, will end in a huge fall or not, will be made clear by the surrounding cards. 

Reversed meaning

When a card appears in a spread in the upside-down position it means something else completely. Some people tell you not to do reversed meanings but in my view, that renders the tarot an overly optimistic story (except for the suit of swords, which we will discuss much later). Reversed meanings offer a chance to give the negative in life a place and reflect on that. Life sometimes gives you lemons, sometimes it crushes you under a container of lemons. It’s no use denying the darker aspects of life like sorrow, loss, grief, sadness, anger, greed or hopelessness. They are as much a part of life as joy and hope. When a card appears reversed; it can do one of three things with the upright meaning:

1) It can mean the exact opposite of it, the shadow-side of things. 2) it can denote the positive of the upright meaning is blocked by something. 3) It can be the positive taken too far. (too much of a good thing) 

In this case this means these three things:

1. Here the fool is naïve, innocence is ignorance, not caring for anything is not caring enough about the right things. 2. It means you don’t dare to take the leap of faith, that you are beholden to old, dusty beliefs that no longer serve you, ideas that have outgrown their use. A choice is right before you but you don’t dare due to fear of the unknown. But sometimes not all knowledge is available or needed to take a decision. 3. This denotes the absolute fool, the untrustworthy, the one that takes it too far. You are losing yourself in excess and temporary escape. When pointing to some else he or she is the one that in its blindness and foolishness will also be blind to you. In this case, the abyss is right in front, one step away. 

The path of the fool

I promised you to also interpret the card as a start of a journey we will embark on together. Call it a spiritual journey, call it a self-awareness trip, personal development or whatever. At the beginning of this journey the fool asks us to trust ourselves without looking at the past, at shortcomings, at traditions or conventions (within society or within yourself). Doing something new is often difficult, not because we dislike new things but because we like the old far more. It asks to leave behind the life as we have known it thus far and go further. There is no clear destination (yet). It asks us to be fools and just dare to jump, to do something. This doesn’t have to be tarot but you need something to reflect on life, make choices, be silent and listen to yourself, not all the voices and noises around you. To truly be yourself, whatever that may mean (that’s for later). 

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

If life is hard, and even if it isn’t, it doesn’t hurt to escape for a bit and relax. Sure, have a glass, smoke a cigarette if that’s your thing, watch your favourite series, party like there is no tomorrow, fuck a stranger, have an orgy, take a knitting class out of the blue. It’s ok not to face things right away. It’s only in excess that these things hurt. You can’t escape forever. Turning into an alcoholic, drug addict, bingewatching 5 seasons with nothing but junk food or procrastinating for months will inevitably plunge you into the ravine. As a wider view on life you can sometimes be the fool, wandering around without a plan, burdened by just what you take with you. It can be very refreshing. But heed the warnings and don’t fall into the abyss; it’s bound to be out there, somewhere. 

TLDR: Upright meaning: a leap of faith, innocence, non-conformity, spontaneity, frivolity Reversed meaning: plunging into the abyss, foolishness, naivety, ignorance

Hollander, P. Scott, Tarot voor beginners, ‘s-Gravenhage, 2004. P123-126. Lyle, Jane, The Secret Tarot, New York, 1998. P12-15. Krans, Kim, The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook, New York, 2016. P158.

[damnskippygf]

Here it is y’all!!! Bet none of you expected THATYup, the 26th was my birthday and I got tarot cards! So I’ve been doing some simple tarot spreads for practicing!!!! This is one of them, thought I’d share with y’all since the toobgly website kids seem to love sharing tarot spreads, I mean why not???

I call it the Fourth Apprentice Spread!

It’s a spread made for understanding something that you just can’t for some reason and don’t know what to do about it! Giving you the sight and strength you needed to see it’s true nature ;) based off Warrior Cats! I. Holly - It’s false nature If you can’t understand it, it must be hiding or pretending to be something else, this card represents it’s lies, can be optional. II. Dove -  It’s true nature This card represents the truth, what it really is. III. Sight - How to see it The next two cards compliment each other as they both represent what you need to deal with it, this card however represents what you need to understand it and it’s surroundings. What has been missing on you for you to comprehend it? What has been stopping you from really seeing it? IV. Strength - How to deal with it And at last, what should be your next step, an advice, complimenting the Sight.

Hope y’all like it!! It’s 3 am and I’m very tired!!! If anyone by any case uses it I’d love to hear about it, I’m very new to this and I’m just trying out stuff to get experience and knowledge!!! All help is appreciated, good day and night y’all!!!  Time for my snooze

[damnskippygf]

Found these simple, easy to understand Tarot card cheat sheets 💫

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Why are ‘witch tips’ always like “use quartz as a substitute for any crystal!” and not the good stuff like “River spirits are almost always looking to fuck shit up, so if you rile em up and then feed them a name, they’ll lay someone tf out.”

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Tarot in Spells

this is a list of magical associations for every tarot card, they can be added into spells to amplify your intentions and strengthen your manifestations

Wands are connected with the Fire element and is centered around movement, direction, energy, passion

Swords deal with thinking, communication, perception, and issues dealing with truth, connected to the air element

Cups are connected with water, and the full spectrum of emotions. every emotion imaginable is covered in the cup’s suit.

Pentacles are connected with Earth and are symbolic of manifestation, rewards,  material wealth and material abundance.

The Fool creates new beginnings and can be paired with other cards. ex: the fool + the lovers for new romance, the fool + pentacles for new opportunities, etc.

The Magician increases your power and capability on all levels, willpower, emotional security, balance within yourself, etc.

The High Priestess increases your psychic abilities, mediumship abilities, and intuition

The Empress will help you with creativity and creative endeavors

The Emperor establishes order, structure, and command

The Hierophant can be used in a lot of ways, my favorites are 1. Pairing it with the fool to attract a new mentor, 2. Using it to summon a spirit guide or ascended master

The Lovers help invoke and attract love, partnership, mutual relationships, and passion

The Chariot is amazing for success, and triumph. I always use this in success spells for exams, tests, and projects. The Chariot will help the best possible outcome for a situation to arise

Strength will help you master your emotions

The Hermit is good for rituals and meditations based going within and gaining a better understanding of your own self, and life purpose.

The Wheel of Fortune can be used for luck, change, and getting a desired situation moving

Justice is great for truth, legal matters, and justice 

The Hanged Man buys you time for a situation you aren’t ready to face, delays events

The Death card works well for ending situations, closing doors, gaining closure, and new beginnings

Temperance will restore balance and serenity to any situation

The Tower is best used for hexing and cursing, brings misfortune, unhappiness and chaos

The Star card is good for when you are casting spells focused on gaining something, The Star card is centered around healing, openness, and hope

The Moon helps develops intuitive abilities and can be used to send bad dreams

The Sun is used in spells for summoning happiness, success, and health

Judgement will help clear confusion and help you with understanding your life mission similar to the Hermit in that aspect

The World invokes wholeness and completion

Page of Wands: works with communication, messages, action, and passion

Page of Cups: boosts creativity, taps into your spiritual nature to bring out new creativity

Page of Swords: amplifies ingenuity and creativity, helps deliver messages from one person to another, can be used to attract someone’s attention to yourself

Page of Pentacles: good for grounding and centering spell work

Knight of Wands: speeds up any workings involving passion, love, and creativity

Knight of Cups: speeds up workings dealing with emotions, psychic development, inner strength

Knight of Swords: speeds up workings involving communication, balance, and thinking

Knight of Pentacles: speeds up workings dealing with manifesting abundance, material wealth, prosperity, and creativity

King of Wands: associated with leadership, command, can help you gain authority

King of Cups: associated with personal feelings, can help you resolve personal conflicts and inner turmoil

King of Swords: aids in strengthening your communication and speaking skills

King of Pentacles: invokes luxury, great card for business success

Queen of Wands: establishes a sense of self security and sufficiency

Queen of Cups: develops your psychic abilities, also helps with understanding/controlling your emotions

Queen of Swords: helps you develop stronger focus

Queen of Pentacles: abundance, creativity, fertility

Aces: used for new beginnings based on the energy represented in that suit

Two of Wands: positive progress in any situation whether it be romance, health, career, etc.

Three of Wands: business prosperity

Four of Wands: strengthens any type of relationship

Five of Wands: used in hexes and curses to invoke conflict, and arguments

Six of Wands: manifests recognition, success,

Seven of Wands: use this card when you’re in a tough situation, it will help you succeed and come out of it stronger

Eight of Wands: directs energy and intentions towards a specific goal or purpose, helps to speed up workings 

Nine of Wands: use this card when you come face to face with a difficult task, this card will keep you brave and strong

Ten of Wands: can either be used to achieve something great, or it can be used in a hex or curse to manifest burdens

Two of Cups: union, strengthens romantic relationships

Three of Cups: strengthens a friendship

Four of Cups: dissatisfaction with surroundings

Five of Cups: causes despair and sadness

Six of Cups: lifts your mood when you’re feeling down

Seven of Cups: illusions and deceptions

Eight of Cups: used to help you move on from the past

Nine of Cups: make a wish and use this card’s power to grant your wish, invokes happiness 

Ten of Cups: brings happiness to relationships of all kinds, friends, family, romantic, etc.

Two of Swords: used in curses and hexes to cause someone to have a limiting mindset

Three of Swords: heartbreak and emotional strife

Four of Swords: used in healing spells, sleeping aid

Five of Swords: manifests conflict, and failed success

Six of Swords: this card will aid you when you face a difficult change, helps you to move on and move forward

Seven of Swords: causes betrayal

Eight of Swords: powerful energy that causes isolation

Nine of Swords: sends nightmares and anxieties 

Ten of Swords: defeat and betrayal

Two of Pentacles: brings balance

Three of Pentacles: strengthens business connections

Four of Pentacles: manifests financial stability

Five of Pentacles: financial problem

Six of Pentacles: prosperity

Seven of Pentacles: material abundance

Eight of Pentacles: if you’ve worked hard this card ensures you that your efforts will be rewarded

Nine of Pentacles: success, luxury, accomplishment

Ten of Pentacles: success, wealth

Negative aspects of the cards can be used for hexing and cursing

[damnskippygf]

my very gay town was blessed with rainbows twice this week and I think that’s great news :D

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What’s up I love pokémon

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I found these saved pictures I took with the poké finder of very good pokémon :]

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I’ve been playing animal crossing a lot!!!!!!! Thought I’d share the cool dresses I made!!!!!!!!! They’re all inspired by lesbian flags!!!!!! The first and the second being inspired by the propositions for lesbian flags that I thought were pretty neat :00 the first being by @theretrowitch and the second one being by @spectralcommunism :DD go check them out!! The last one is inspired by the most popular one of course because I can’t deny the Screaming Femme inside of me, I am very love pink and cute things, that’s why all the dresses are pink and cute!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 

I’m pretty noob on making these for now but I do hope you guys like them!!!!!! Because I do!!!!!!!! :DDDD I wrote some trivia on the captions so go take a look!!!!!! Thanks!!!!! Love y’all have a great day!!!!!

[damnskippygf]

I’ve been training my pokémon to take on the Veilstone Gym and my sweet baby evolved!! So proud <3

[damnskippygf]

Btw this is what my Very Cool Pokémon Platinum team looks like, Russeau is level 30 now and a Luxray, Sundial is level 29, Maritaca is level 28, Bolhas is level 30 and Bambi is level 29 :]

[damnskippygf]

Defeated the gym leader AND evolved Sundial on the same day!!!! Im so happy!!!! Now onward to Pastoria City!

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Well you are not wrong

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HE REALLY MADE IT TO HISTORY….IN OUR HEARTS

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Saw this on Twitter in case anyone else needed it!

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[damnskippygf]

ACNH path edges tutorial

Do you want to create custom edges for the default new horizons paths?

i’ll be expanding on this tutorial by @batriddler​ on custom path overlays, so i would recommend starting there. the nice grassy edge covers part of the overlay path, which isn’t a big deal for all path designs, but is important if the edge plays a role in your design

the red areas will not be visible when overlayed. the yellow areas will be partially covered by the grassy edge

for a path that is 2+ tiles wide you’ll need to make 12-13 tiles: 4 edges, 4 outer corners (rounded or normal), 4 inner corners, and optionally a center if your path is 3+ tiles wide, 

for a single tile wide path you’ll need to mix and match corners and edges to make up to 11 tiles: vertical and horizontal pieces (2 edges each), 4 corners (inner corner+outer corner, 4 3-way intersections (an edge+2 inner corners) and a 4-way intersection (4 inner corners). you could also use the same tile for all of your intersections and corners to save time/effort the possibilities are really endless

i hope this is helpful! feel free to message me if you have any questions :3 have fun!!

check out my designs here if you’re interested