It’s nearly St. Paddy’s Day – so I’m busy reading my 3 different Celtic / Irish Tarot decks – always great fun this time of year. I actually will read them most any time, and have them in my hands almost exclusively right now.
The Merlin deck, my first Irish deck, has wonderful art and some very striking images – the warrior / priest with the blue woad tattoos, for instance, or that androgynous Universe. The suit cards are simple line drawings. The Celtic Dragons are great to work with – and I love all the cards with those cute baby dragons. The Hanged Man, facing a gauntlet of perturbed dragons, is one of my favorites. These are thoughtful cards, with wonderful details to catch your eye and your intuition.
The one I use the most is the Celtic Faery Wicca, which also has a great book, full of the ancient stories. These cards illustrate the ancient tragedies and ancient joys of the Celtic races. Powerful energy is unleashed when these are read. And there are a number of cards not found in any other deck.
There are really two ways in which the Celts differed from most other folk during pre-history – and still today. One is that Celtic women could always own their own property, and could choose their own husbands.
The other is that the goal of the Celts is not getting to the top, as in the patriarchal Western civilization, where the guys especially have to beat everyone else in the race in order to feel they’ve accomplished anything. Which means most never feel good about themselves.
The Celtic goal has always been to move from outside in to the center. So the journey is much more in the interior, and much more about personal presence, growth and power. It is great when that journey leads to mastery in the exterior world. But that is not the only goal.