Today’s deck is The Wonderland Tarot, not the only Wonderland Tarot I have either.
While I really like the whole Wonderland aesthetic for reasons I cannot quite explain (I suspect blonde in blue dress just hits me in the right place), this one is sadly too much visual noise.
I can clearly recognize the Ace Of Pentacles by the illustration, but the moment I read “Ace of Oysters” I get thrown off, so I notice the trump card corners (a visual thing I do like on principle, mind you) and see a diamond and need to make the mental conversion that diamonds are pentacles.
“Monetary balance will lead to better investments, which will improve your mental balance.”
I like how, for example, so many cards can mean “emotional balance” but then what that means or which of its secondary meanings is relevant comes from the other cards.
So on top of the Biddy Tarot stuff I mentioned, I decided to try out their “Learn Tarot in 31 days” book and share the results here.
Day 1 was mainly an introduction where it talks about how Tarot is more of an internal window than something mystical to predict the future. Very solid advice starting out.
It also adds a few of mentions of JOIN OUR COMMUNITY FOR JUST ONE DOLLAR AT OUR WEBSITE. It’s extra aggravating because I already bought a product, why do you need to rub that on???? Avoiding that sort of thing is why I PAY for a book.
Anyway, today’s activities aren’t card reading related and are instead a few questions.
What inspired me to learn tarot? As much as I wanna say Persona 4, I didn’t play that until after graduating high school and I distinctly remember learning Tarot IN high school. In fact, I beñieve I enjoyed P4 so much because I was already familiar with all the tarot meanings.
Considering how much I liked CLAMP even back then, it feels like something that happened naturally. Especially because I got into it at around the same timeframe that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and xxxHolic were a thing.
Was there any DS or GBA games that featured Tarot heavily…?
What role do I see Tarot playing in my life? A vibe check basically. Giving me things to consider as I go through my day.
Tarot goals? Just learning more, maybe un-rusting myself after not doing it regularly for years.
Today I’m heading out to Tokyo to hang out with E and K.
E isn’t just a friend that was there on what I still consider to this day the lowest point of my life, but she shook self worth into me. It’s the sort of thing where it’s made me want to provide for others what she provided to me in that moment.
A weekend in Tokyo feels like chump change compared to that, and that’s without even taking into account that she’s just really fun to hang out with.
Then I learned she’s returning on Sunday so uh… I might return from Tokyo on Sunday.
I tried dressing up Nadeshiko for the trip but I started feeling like I shouldn’t rush things and just take it easy. So I packed a smaller bag with my laptop and headed out.
My plan was as follows: Leave the luggage on a coin locker, go to Japanese lesson, get food, pick bag, go to Tokyo.
First problem was a predictable one: Shin Osaka’s coin lockers are impossible on weekends.
I actually found one free but it only took IC cards and I needed to load mine. Not only did it get filled by the time I had loaded the card, I arrived right as they were stuffing their bags!
I ended up going down to a section of the station that I never go to for one reason or another which was interesting.
I took Japanese lesson and it was all fine there, nothing particularly notorious.
I went to Osaka Ohsho and had their veggie and seafood Yakisoba which is always good.
This is where the funky bit starts though.
I get an email that a parcel arrived back home, so I walk back in order to pick it up and avoid the situation while at Aomori where Everything arrived while I was gone and I took all the delivery locker to myself.
So I ended up going back to my apartment anyways making the coin locker side quest unnecessary
Oh well…
While in the Shinkansen I actually reread this blog’s other posts and it makes me think about the fact that I really like my writing.
Beyond any ego, it’s more about the fact that the flow of how I write is pleasant to me, I’ve made it so that I can keep my attention from beginning to end without my eyes glazing over anything.
It’s comforting in a very specific way.
It’s already dark at 6:30, summer doesn’t play, when it’s done it’s DONE.
As am I, I was already yawning a lot at 7pm.
A man in Tokyo station carried inline skates and my eyes grew like five times their normal size. I’VE WANTED TO GET SOME FOR FOREVER NOW, THIS MEANS IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THEM.
I had a reservation in Koko Hotel Ginza, turns out I had stayed in that one before. Around April I made a quick Tokyo trip going to be able to meet up with A (another friend from outside the country) but alas the chance didn’t write happen that day.
The recurrent hotel wasn’t on purpose, but it was nice to know where to go immediately nonetheless.
And then as I tried to sleep, construction noises filled the room.
You know I love E because I feel THAT I worth putting up with to hang out with her.
Here’s a random thought, are there any actually good cases of “The villain was right” in fiction? And I mean good as in “The villain being right is a compelling point”.
Because as-is, the only two kinds of times it is brought up is either as a sign that a story is actually not good on a fundamental level to the point the intent is completely lost OR as an argument by insufferable people that decide that maybe you do gotta hand it to ISIS.
You know the types, the kind that will force that maybe the fascist was right because they made disliking heroes their personality.
Only case that comes to mind is Paradise Lost, but that one’s fascinating in execution and very much not intentional no matter how intentional it feels.