February 2025 – Spirit of the Wolf

The Emerald Tarot – A Review

February 28, 2025 by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot, Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks

I saw a few images of The Emerald Tarot and bought the deck mostly sight unseen. The truth is, normally when I spot a deck that I’m drawn to, I research the heck out of it and watch videos, read reviews and whatever I can learn about the deck and its vision before clicking buy now. With The Emerald Tarot, there was none of that to be found. I’m not sure why, it’s a brilliant and gorgeous deck that deserves all kinds of praise.

It looks like it should be a pip deck, but all cards are illustrated. It reminds me a lot of the Tarot de Marseilles and has the same feeling to it. Despite having illustrated minors, it doesn’t lose that Tarot de Marseilles feel that it has. The Emerald Tarot is at once timeless and yet it’s also something new.

The deck is published by Ratti Incantanti and is based on The Emerald Tablet, a philosophical source of myths and legends. The box is beautifully designed and looks like an emerald-coloured book with an old clasp. When you open the box, you are invited into the words and images of The Emerald Tarot and what a story it has to tell.

Now, a word to the tarot purists out there. The Emerald Tarot changes quite a few things about the tarot structure that we know and love. In the Major Arcana, a lot of cards have been moved around. The deck begins with the Fool, but that’s followed by the Emperor, not the Magician. The Magician doesn’t show up until card 7. Likewise, the High Priestess doesn’t show up until card 20. It’s got a completely different order to things, and it tells a different story than the one we know so well.

The different order of the cards doesn’t take away from the power of them. More, it follows the ebb and flow of life great moments and the harsher cards like the Tower and Death are mixed in with Temperance and Justice. The Major Arcana starts with the Fool and ends with the World, so the beginning and ending are the same, it’s just the events of the Fools Journey that’s different. When I first started going through the deck, I wondered where everyone I knew was. I was looking for the Magician and the High Priestess and was overjoyed when I found them later within the cards.

The Minor Arcana has been shifted and moved, too. The events that we are familiar with in the Minor Arcana that we know are still there, but the Wands and Swords have traded places. The deck is patterned off of the Rider Wait Smith imagery that we know so well, but Wands are now Air and Swords are now Fire. What’s more, the imagery of the people within the cards have been changed, the Swords taking on the poses of the Wands suit and visa versa; the people within the Wands suit look as if they belong to the Swords suit.

This takes a bit of getting used to and really challenges the reader to take a moment to pause when looking at the cards. The images are familiar, but both suits have been swapped with each other. This didn’t take me too long to get used to as I’ve often associated the Swords with creativity. The Ace of Swords often reminds me of the clarity I find when I’m writing, and I always say that my pen is my Sword. I can understand why some people might not like this shift in the way the Minor Arcana was told, but it works for me. Tarot is fluid, right?

Now, the Cups and Pentacles suits have been left alone, and they are Water and Earth respectively. You wouldn’t expect the suits to all work together so well, but I think that changing Wands with Swords makes the Minor Arcana even stronger. The story that the cards now tell is a different one that we’re used to, but it’s a tale well told. With all the changes to the placement of cards and the suits, it is nice to see that some things have been left alone.

The only complaint I have is a very small one. It says on the website that this deck is tarot and astrology driven. From the website: Where previous tarot systems have many layers of interpretation, including meaning from the Bible and the Qabalah, the Tarot of the Emerald Tablet focuses simply on Astrology. This deck is intended for readers who want a more honest approach to the astrological themes in tarot without the sacrifices made for its other interpretations.

That’s all well and good, but the only cards that have been linked to astrology are the Major Arcana and it’s been beautifully done. I was expecting more of a astrological focus to the cards, but it’s artfully done. If you don’t read astrology, don’t worry. The astrological symbols on the Major Arcana don’t get in the way of a reading, but nor does the deck have much to do with astrology aside from the Major Arcana and the changes in the Swords and Wand suits.

The art of The Emerald Tarot is so beautiful. It feels like I’m using a deck from long ago, but with a slightly modern twist. It has a cute factor that never goes into a sugary overdrive which is something I really appreciate. It’s a hard balance to do. It’s not a deck with a lot of diversity, but none of the Tarot de Marseilles decks were either so I don’t feel like that should hold anyone back. The cardstock is lovely, thick and buttery soft. There has been a lot of care put into each area of The Emerald Tarot and it’s all tied together with the gorgeous card backs.

The Emerald Tarot shines like a beautiful gem. Though the deck makes us rethink how to connect with our spirit through the cards, there is enough that it similar here that the deck will entertain and amaze novices and seasoned tarot card slingers. It is timeless, modern perfection.

Design: Jesse Gros-Louis
Deck Art: Nicole Raskin
Booklet Art: Ben Farnell

You can find The Emerald Tarot here: https://rattiincantati.com/products/the-emerald-tarot?srsltid=AfmBOopemj86BXLFzo0uKASm9eupw2pHGtWZvPFs_MqDS4GWLddetNB1

Chapter Eighteen – The Moon

February 25, 2025 by Jamieson Wolf, posted in A Tarot Guide, Tarot

The world always looked different at night.

I was completely myself within the darkness of the streets. There was no need to hide myself because I was already hidden in the shadows. Renee was the first person to notice this. “Why do you avoid the light?”

We were walking in the square. The Ottawa Mission had a truck that would drop by the square and give out clothing, blankets and warm food like prepared soups. Renee and I walked around the square, our bags a little heavier with soups for later and new blankets. I wore a pair of socks over my hands as the cans of soup were quite hot. I had forgone the spoon for now and sipped the soup out of the can.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said.

She gave me a look that I could discern even in the half light. It was one of exasperation and patience. Renee did something then that I wasn’t expecting; she took my hand and wouldn’t let go when I tried to pull away. “You know exactly what I mean. Why do you hide?”

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of fucking vampire.”

“You might as well be. Anytime that someone asks you a question directly, or focuses on you, you tend to go inward. You’re fine with the people you trust, but you shrink away from the people you don’t know.”

I shrugged. “It’s a learned habit. Being noticed before tended to get me hurt. It was easier to hide.”

“Well, I don’t want you to hide.”

I thought of how comfortable I was in Sunshine’s apartment, hiding from the world. Or amongst the kids that gathered at the YSB, or the crowds that gathered for lunch and dinner at the Mission. I could disappear in those places and seek to be unseen. I said as much to Renee.

“You must be joking!” She said, her eyes sparkling with merriment. “You are the one person that everyone sees.”

I shook my head. “That’s not true.”

“Of course it is,” She let go of my hand and turned her head skyward to look at the stars.

I was drawn to look at the moon. I always marvelled at the fact that it seemed so large, but it was so far away. I never felt afraid of the dark when I could see the moon. I had always been drawn to it, but more so lately. I thought of the moon as the all-seeing eye, more so than the sun. The sun brought light into the day, but the moon helped me sit with my truths

“You carry your brother’s mystique,” Renee said. “There’s that. He left quite the impression here, but you’re doing one better. You’re making your own path.”

I looked up at the stars then and they looked like they were dancing for the crescent moon. They looked unafraid to find their way forward. “Did you know my brother?” I asked her.

She nodded. “I only knew him by reputation, but he seemed okay.”

I often felt like I was walking with his shadow beside me, and I could reach out and take his hand, letting it guide me to where I needed to go, but of course every time I went to take his hand, he wasn’t there. We had always been two halves of the same whole. I had been cast into the role of the good son and my brother had been made into the bad son. We had always been good and bad, light and dark, sun and moon. Whenever the moon was full, the shadow of my brother that walked with me seemed the clearest. I looked beside me now and saw only a thin wisp of an outline, all smoke and no shadow, but he was still there.

“You don’t have to be afraid of the light, you know? Like the moon? Look how bright it is and it’s not even a full moon! Shows us where we are right now. It’s different every night, like it gives us a chance to take in what it’s shown us?”

She said this like a question, and it got me thinking about the traits I shared with my brother. We were identical mirror image twins, but so incredibly different. My brother had been unafraid to go after what he wanted, I didn’t even know what I wanted out of life yet, but looking up at the moon, I imagined it showing me a little of the path forward.

I tried to see where my path had started, but that part of it was lost to the clouds and the movements of the stars.

The Change Tarot

February 23, 2025 by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot Books, Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks, Tarot Writing

I got The Change Tarot sight unseen. I’ve been going through a lot of changes lately, and the road has been bumpy. It’s been a lot.

When I saw that it’s a deck geared towards psychological and spiritual exploration, I knew that I had found a tool to get me through whatever came my way.

I adore the color pallet of soft muted shades. It welcomed me into the Rider-Waite Smith world I know so well but gave it a fresh take that changes things up.

The guidebook is where the deck really shines. Each card gives you the interpretation of the card through a psychological lens that gives you bite-sized advice and comfort.

The cardstock is matte, thick, but bendy, and there is no gloss, just the way I love. The box is a sturdy two part clam shell box, and the production is top notch.

The deck exists because of the book Tarot for Change by Jessica Dore, but you need not read the book to use the cards. The Change Tarot does make me want to dive into Tarot for Change again.

Jessica Dore and Xvaiera Lopez have created something beautiful here, and they have helped to give me clarity as I make my way forward through the mountains, and I can’t thank them enough.

#thechangetarot #jessocadore #xvaieralopez

Chapter Seventeen – The Star

February 18, 2025 by Jamieson Wolf, posted in A Tarot Guide, Tarot

We ate almost every day the Ottawa Mission.

Sunshine and I would go there to eat lunch and dinner. “The food is amazing,” he said. “It’s like its food being cooked by your mom. It’s that good. They let you leave with sandwiches and sometimes some soup. Every Wednesday, you can go and take three pieces of clothing from the warehouse in the back, and you can take as many books as you like.”

He said this with a smile because he knew that books were where I found my peace as much as tarot cards were where I found my wisdom.

I just remember the crowd of people waiting to get in the first time we went. Everyone was pleasant and even neighbourly. These were people I would have turned away from in my previous life and now I was one of them.

I looked at the cross that sat above the door of the Mission. Normally, the cross would have made me turn away. The cross was one of the symbols from my past that still didn’t sit well with me. The people that found comfort sitting under the cross didn’t make room or give tolerance to people like me. To me, the cross symbolized hatred.

However, there was no hatred here. The crowd held all kinds of people from all walks of life: teenagers like me, mothers with their children, men talking in groups and sharing a moment of laughter or one last cigarette. The crowd of people waiting was full of those who were trying to find their way back to the life that they had come from or those who had made peace with where they were.

There was no malice in the crowd though it began to grow, spilling down the stairs and along the sidewalk. No one pushed each other and there was this soft murmur of conversation that sounded like music. The door opened and as I made my way up the stairs into the main hall of the Mission, I eyed the cross above me. Part of me tried to imagine it was a pair of arms, offering a welcoming embrace. I needed to feel more comfortable in this place and my walls were coming up.

When we got into hall, the music of people’s voices rose higher so that it was steady hum. I closed my eyes and found comfort in those voices, and it was like my body was being swayed along, carried by the music. I looked behind Sunshine and myself and saw a sea of people, all filled with song. The hall was filled with round wooden tables and Sunshine and I took a seat. We were soon joined by several others and all of them were kind. They asked where Sunshine and I grew up and one man’s face opened up as if it had been lit from inside when I told him that I had been born in Ottawa.

“Me too, son. We Ottawa born and bred are few and far between. Everyone here has come from somewhere. No one was content to stay where they were and went off looking for the great wonders of the world.” He tapped his nose. “You and I know the truth. Ottawa is full of magic, so why leave?” He smiled and he looked years younger, his eyes looking like jewels among the hills and valleys of his skin.

When we got in line to get food, I told the woman I only wanted a small amount, seeing the large crowd of people behind me that had still yet to be served. The volunteer that was serving food gave me a smile as if she had known my thoughts. “Don’t you worry about anyone else at the moment. Here, I’ll give you a full plate, you need to eat.” I thanked her and tried to stop my cheeks from blushing.

The food was as good as Sunshine had promised and I was even able to go up for seconds. As we were leaving, someone offered us food to take home like sandwiches and soup; there was even someone offering essentials like deodorant and toothpaste. I felt guilty for taking these things, but Sunshine had no such qualms. He took a wrapped sandwich and cup of soup for me, so I accepted the deodorant and toothpaste. It felt like I had been offered a meal filled with hope and kindness and my whole body felt more alive than it had in a long time.

As we made our way from the Mission, I looked back at the door with the cross above it. If I squinted my eyes a little, it looked more like a star than a cross, a beacon of hope for all those that needed it, even me. I had to start believing that I was worthy of the kindness that other people showed me, even if it did make me feel uncomfortable.

I let Sunshine hook his arm in mine as we made our way back home, feeling for the first time in a long time that I was going to be okay.

Chapter Sixteen – The Tower

February 11, 2025 by Jamieson Wolf, posted in A Tarot Guide

When I saw her, my first thought was of fire.

She had spiky red and gold hair, brown eyes and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. She was always smiling, and I wondered how a person could be a never ending source of light instead of puzzle or some kind of maze. I wasn’t used to that. Everyone was a kind of puzzle if you thought about it; you had to figure your way through what they held dear and see if resembled yours. It took years to know a person completely.

Renee wasn’t like that. She loved everyone equally and it didn’t matter who they were. Even if you chose to live outside and shunned the shelters, she loved you. If you had an issue with drugs, that didn’t matter. She always talked to you like you mattered.

She saw everyone.

I knew that I always lit up when I saw her as I began to run into her with more frequency. I didn’t know much about where she had come from and how she had ended up on the streets, but from the moment I ran into her in the YSB, it was like were drawn to each other.

I was a moth to a flame when I saw her.

All of my walls would come down. It wasn’t a question of hiding anything or observing their actions so I knew if I could trust them. There was none of that. I was instantly open with her as there wasn’t even an iota of fear. I had only met one other person like that in my life up to that point. Those kinds of people are rare in life.

To say I was enraptured would be an understatement.

“Honey, you sound like you’re in love with her.” Sunshine said. He had just read a page of one of his journals and had asked me what happened during my day. I had spent the last five minutes talking about everything that Renee and I had done that day.

“Yeah, like I love you,” I told him. “Like we’re friends.”

“Do you ever mention to other people how my hair looks when the sun hits it just right?” He asked, giving me a wide grin.

“No, I tell them how awesome you are.”

“I know you do, what’s not to love. But you’re talking like you are in love with her.”

“That’s not possible, I’m gay.” I told him. I sat there looking at him, a new blanket I had gotten draped around my shoulders. I had picked it up at the Mission earlier and I pulled it closer around me despite the relative heat of the evening.

I thought of everything that I had given up to be gay, all that I had left behind to finally claim who I really truly was. I had struggled so much to be true to who I was. I had tried committing suicide twice in my teens, I had survived an abusive homelife and I overcome the mountain of high school, the ledge that should have been a place of safety that would help me see my path in the future but instead was a place of judgement, hatred and isolation.

I had survived everything to be what I was. It had been a secret for so long that finally owing up to the truth of who I was often felt like a waterfall that had been in front of me all this time had finally parted to let me through so that I could see what was on the other side.

“There are all kinds of love, Jamie. You love who you love, it’s your business.” He gave my hand a rub and lit a cigarette. He took a drag and passed it to me. “It doesn’t mean you have to sleep with her, but you can get as close as you want to. There’s no judgement. The normal rules don’t apply here.”

I passed him back the cigarette and when I let the smoke go free from my mouth, I let the blanket loosen around me. Sunshine had gone back to writing and I pulled out my tarot cards to figure out what I should do. I shuffled pulled out the Tower and the Seven of Pentacles. I looked within the guidebook and tried to determine what my future would bring.