It was back in 2017 that I wrote my first Mabon Blog Hop, 6 years later and how things have changed for me. Back then Kiss Boglárka, came up with ‘TAROT Characters and Sacred Cooking OR TAROT Characters and Mabon Beauty Products’. Neither of them at that time was a strong point, these days I can cook, and I have an admiration for beauty, but it comes out as aesthetic decks and movement.

My wrangling for Mabon, 6 years later is about enlightenment, so think burning bushes, and esoteric philosophical questions along the lines of are you a good person, and what does it mean to be healed, and can Tarot be a healer? rather a giant leap in topics for a hop don’t you think? 

Back then I remember writing “When learning anything new, we look at the book, so in cookery we're following a pre-planned instruction set, until we get used to it and then improvise.” I also wrote “Likewise with beauty, we follow the guide of the person who sold us the product or watch their online videos…” 

To this day I still hold that it is the same when we learn to work with an unfamiliar deck and its author. While most cards mean the same anyway regardless of the name,  it’s the language of the deck and its energy when we work with it that we kind of need to understand. 

Gerd B. Ziegler, wrote in her book Your Tarot, Your Way "The Major Arcana cards represent major events in your life..." 

It wasn't a concept that I had actually considered until I read that statement...

So while the Nine of Swords, is a minor card causing blocks and issues along the path, we are still able to navigate the road between a good person and one that has taken a wrong turn.

This notion of language and energy of the deck is something that even now I work with, I will always take time to have a look at the authors notes and thoughts about their creation, after all they birthed it and understand its inner workings. 

None more so than Wisdom of the Trees, it was a pre-loved deck that I was called to rescue. When I read the meaning behind Hazel, I sat with the concepts and pondered on the idea of whether the cards are healers. 

The meanings behind Hazel are connected to avoiding distraction and depleting personal energies through involvement with drama. Interestingly that connects to the swords from above, where the card is one of hinderances and in a sense drama. 

So I guess yes, the cards can be healers, this card is offering up protection against getting caught up in the minutiae of petty drama’s and obstacles that can be associated with them, it’s suggesting that we focus attention on what is important to us, which is the question I leave here for you to ponder, what is important to you at this time?.

Recently, as I had said before this whole hop has given me a bad case of the nostalgia, deciding on the decks for this one, I almost revisited a couple of decks from before, but thought against it. 

Instead, I picked up a cross-genre deck, by that I mean it services two purposes; the first is a tie-in to astrology and the second is Tarot itself. 

The second as you saw above is The Wisdom of the Trees, both speak in simple language, about different aspects. 

Trees are a healer, but Tarot also heals, although I do wonder if it is possible to paint a picture of a person’s character based on the Tarot. 

I think back to some of the readings that have crossed my path from events and also 1-2-1 readings from over the years; I think it is possible to get an intuitive ‘read’ on a person or situation, a lot of the time it’s the person across the table that has decided on their views and I just bounce them back but with a clearer answer, or at least I try to do that. 

Emotions can cloud facts, with deeper emotions, like anger or infatuated love being the worst ones to navigate. Thankfully, where the 10 of Pentacles is concerned, answers can be found clearly and concisely as you take a step back from the situation and look at it  as branches or a puzzle to solve. 

Oddly, Holly from the Wisdom of the Trees, makes the same point; it cautions us not to confuse fact and fiction, as when this card is present, it is signifying that we should be diligent and not get caught up in the complexities of infatuated love or anger. 

Perhaps this is because accurate divination cannot truly take place when the mind is clouded.  It's a bit like being hit with a bad case of nostalgia, everything that you type or see reminds you of a time or event from the past.