This is the sixteenth post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project (also known as "Exploring the Tarot:  23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana").  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as new photos are published and the show travels).

NOTE:  This is likely to be a lengthy post, as this card is one of the most misunderstood cards in tarot.  If you just want to see the image of the tarot card rug, scroll down to it past all the verbiage below.

DEATH:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

                                                            

                                                                OMG, AM I GOING TO DIE???

Before we get to the tarot rug interpretation of the card, let's first clear up some misunderstandings about the card itself.

This is one of the most anxiety-producing cards in the deck.  And usually for the wrong reason!  It does mean death, but not in the way you may think.  In my experience, it has very rarely meant physical death unless it shows up in combination with one or both of two other cards in the deck (which I will not be naming here), even if you are asking a question about a health issue. 

For example:  In 2010 I was diagnosed with a life-threatening, aggressive, and serious illness.  It was tense.  I did a reading for myself (yes, I read for myself as well as for others) and the Death card came up.  Now, for years I've been studying tarot and reading for clients and I have seen the look on their faces when this card presents itself.  And I've done my best to truthfully reassure them that it's saying something other than, "Prepare to meet your doom." 

But there I was--looking at the card in my own reading about my own health, and in a life-or-death situation.  Could I take my own advice?

In fact, I did.

Was it easy?  No!  Especially when the Death card showed up in EVERY reading I did for myself for the next 8 or 9 months.  It got to be a joke.  I did a reading for myself about once a week...and there was Death staring me in the face.  I'll shorten the rest of the story by saying that after the early diagnosis, further tests proved things were even more serious...so I chose to have every aggressive treatment Western medicine could provide. 

It wasn't a fun year. 

But here I am, six years later, in good health.  Am I going to die?  Sure.  Possibly even from that very illness diagnosed in 2010; although I seem to be "cured," it could just be hiding. 

But the fact is, we're all going to die, and despite the fact that the Death card turned up in every reading, I knew it was about the death of my former relationship to the way I thought about my body.   It was the death of the illusion of immortality, but it wasn't telling me I was about to die.  Not right then.  Did I believe that the entire time?  No--I had moments of pure terror.  But I did believe it most of the time...all the other cards were suggesting that I would be fine.   It's always important to look at the card in the context of all the other cards you are getting (I do not think 1-card readings are generally useful).

Do NOT make the mistake of jumping to conclusions about this card.

It commonly shows up when something in our internal lives--some internal process--is ending.  It's about ending a relationship...but let's bear in mind that this can include but goes well beyond a person-person relationship.  It can be ending a relationship with school (graduation), or ending a relationship with a community (moving), or ending a relationship with a particular interest or hobby.  Or it can be the ending of a relationship with a company or department within that company (changing jobs).  Or an ending of a particular belief system ("I'm immortal!"). 

The type of ending this card signifies might better be termed a transition--something that normally happens gradually, organically.  It's often about step-by-step change of a profound nature. 

Most people do not resist change. What we resist is transition. Change is a situational shift. Transition, on the other hand, is the process of letting go of the way things used to be and then taking hold of the way they subsequently become. In between the letting go and the taking hold again, there is a chaotic but potentially creative “neutral zone” when things aren’t the old way, but aren’t really a new way yet either.  --William Bridges

There is another card, coming up soon, which is also about change, but sudden, shocking change that is external.  We'll be discussing that when we get to card #16.

Here is Doug Rankin's interpretation of the Death card in his tarot rug:

Let's have a quick look at these two complex images side by side:

Doug Rankin is an internationally known teacher and artist, based in Canada and teaching at his business, Highland Heart Hookery, and at many other venues.  While he doesn't have a personal website, I did find these photos of Doug with some of his rugs and with the work of many of his students HERE, in the "Shaded Flowers" and in the "Maud Lewis" workshops he offered at the Museum.

In the catalog for the tarot rug show, Doug explicitly states that he searches out artistic challenges, and that he took this card on for that reason.  And in looking at the original image, you can see why.

The classic image is packed with symbols--the pale horse, the white rose, the four figures around the horse (king, child, bishop, maiden), the two towers, the rising or setting sun, and of course, Death itself in full armor.  Doug's interpretation has turned the image so that horse and rider are coming straight at you.  And is that Charon's boat coming across the River Styx?   You can see so many of the other symbols have been skillfully worked into the design. 

I like this in-your-face presentation of the symbols, as the endings and transitions signaled by this card truly feel challenging and "in-your-face" when we come up against them.  Endings are often obvious; it's the beginning of new things--promised by this card--that are more of a mystery at first.

Let's look at some quotes that may illuminate the card:

"Life is one big transition."
Willie Stargell

“How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change.  And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.”
― Elizabeth Lesser

“To say goodbye is to die a little.”
~ Raymond Chandler

"...Every beginning ends something."
Paul Valery

"There is a time for departure, even when there’s no certain place to go."
Tennessee Williams

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
I think that's been covered!  It doesn't mean you are going to die.  It's a reference to the fact that something in your life is passing away:  a relationship with something...or some one.

When you get this card, ask yourself:

• What is ending in my life?  What transition am I in?
• How am I handling it?  Am I resisting it (the king), accepting it (the child), turning so that I'm not really looking at it (the maiden) or trying to bargain with it (the bishop)?
• Which of these attitudes, if any, would work best in the situation?  How might I end this with the most grace?
• What are my feelings about this ending and how am I handling them?
• What kind of healing and renewal might this ending offer me?

One final point about this card:  As I said early on in this series, I don't believe that tarot is well-suited to prediction.  Others may feel differently, but I believe if someone is "predicting the future" with tarot cards they are either genuinely psychic--which is a different process from using tarot--or they are misusing the cards.  The future is never fixed.  Never base any important life decisions on your interpretation of one card, or even an entire reading.  These are, after all, just pieces of painted cardboard.  If you want a medical (or legal or relationship) opinion, go to a medical professional (or attorney or therapist).  Then be sure to get a second opinion and confirm with multiple sources if it's a critical decision.

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom of that post to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome.

This is the fifteenth post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project (also known as "Exploring the Tarot:  23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana").  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE HANGED MAN:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.”
Steven Covey

"I like to turn things upside down, to watch pictures and situations from another perspective."
Ursus Wehrli

"Take a walk with a turtle. And behold the world in pause."
Bruce Feiler

"When things don't happen right away, just remember it takes six months to build a Rolls-Royce and thirteen hours to build a Toyota."
Chad Hymas

The quotes above show two of the common interpretations of this card. 
Now let's have a look at what Kathleen Herbert did with this card in her tarot rug:

Kathleen Herbert is a longtime textile artist, certified teacher, and collector of and speaker on the history of antique hooked rugs. I met Kathleen years ago in Connecticut and it was great to reconnect with her through this show. 

What I did not know about Kathleen until I saw the rug is that she also has another hobby--collecting gravestone rubbings and epitaphs, or "Mourning Art."  I love her whimsical take on The Hanged Man.  Many people, when they first see the classic image on the card, feel quite nervous about it; they don't notice that the Hanged Man looks untroubled by his predicament.  He is hanging by one foot, after all.  The other foot is free.  There is no indication that his hands are tied.  With a bit of effort he can likely return himself to an upright position.  Does he wish to?  Is he deliberately suspending himself upside down to gain another perspective, as with an inverted yoga pose?  Or has he come to a place in life where he is, literally, in suspension--even stuck--and is being forced to wait something out?

In Kathleen's rug we see a cheery looking and acrobatic Hanged Man, with that halo or sun-like hair about his head.  I like her brilliant sun and shooting stars, and the trees with their "mourning art" branches and leaves.  Is that a raven we see, and is there a hint of Edgar Allen Poe in this rug?  Kathleen has added her own traditional headstones, complete with epitaphs, and the whimsical multi-colored skills and fire.  Her rug makes me smile.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
When you get this card, ask yourself:

• Where might I be feeling stuck in my life, or as if someone has hit the "pause button"?
• If I am not feeling that way:  Is there something in my life on which I may need to pause, need to gain a very different perspective?
• There's a notion that when standing on one's head, one can allow all the usual thoughts to fall out and onto the ground.  ...What typical thoughts do I have about this situation that I may need to put down, and how can I make room for some fresh thoughts to enter?
  
• If I am feeling particularly blocked in a situation, could it be that I'm not recognizing several possible remedies?  (The unbound foot, the untied hands)  How might I help myself?
• Can I be comfortable and accept just coming to a complete stop for awhile? 
  
• What is the best way to gain a very different perspective on this?

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom of that post to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome.

Today's suggested tarot resource:  Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot, by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin.

This is the fourteenth post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project (also known as "Exploring the Tarot:  23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana").  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

JUSTICE:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”
― William Penn

Let's have a look at Lisa Chaloner's interpretation of the classic image:

"It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do."
Edmund Burke

"An inconvenient truth..."
(Movie title and idiom which captures some of the meaning of this card.)

 While I haven't (yet) had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Chaloner, I did find the following statement from her on her Etsy site: 

"Traditional Rug Hooking is my obsession. I picked up a hook in 1991 and haven't put it down since. In 2009, I completed the Pearl McGown certification process for traditional rug hooking. I teach rug hooking classes for 8 months of the year.  I love to let the color in my rugs express the silent part of personality, so I began dyeing my own fabric 10 years ago. The adventure of hand dying is always exciting and satisfying."

In the catalog for the Tarot Rug Show, Lisa has done a great job describing why and how she interpreted the classical image in this way.  I don't want to spoil Lisa's statement in the catalog about the meaning of the various symbols she has put into her interpretation.  To buy a catalog--the proceeds from which will help the rugs to travel from venue to venue, contact Michele Micarelli at [email protected]  -  catalogs are $18 US plus shipping and Michele can fill you in on shipping costs. 

However, I can say this:  In both pictures we have the sword of truth and the scales of justice (harking back to the scales of Ma'at in Egyptian mythology).  In many tarot decks, Justice is portrayed as blind (blindfolded).  That's not how the classic Rider-Waite-Smith deck portrays her, but it is how Lisa portrays her in her rug.  Each of the animals in Lisa's rug has a symbolic meaning and specific purpose in her image.  And I love the way the single foot peeping out in the classic image--grounding the figure--becomes a small bare foot in Lisa's version. I also like the richness of the sky in her rug, and the perfectly portrayed stone wall Justice is sitting on.  Finally, I like the fact that her Lady Justice is outdoors, something she addresses in her write-up about the rug in the show catalog.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
"Fair's fair!"  <-- Remember the times you have said this yourself in a dispute, and all the times you've heard kids shouting it to each other?  That's the core meaning of this card.  The truth, symbolized by that upright sword, is often not only true but also inconvenient.  Although "inconvenient to whom?" may be the question.  The truth might be welcome to us but inconvenience someone else...or vice versa.  The point is, it's time to look at the situation from the perspective of what is fair, what is a just solution.

When you get this card, ask yourself:

• What situation in my life is requiring some type of adjustment to create an ethical solution?
• What type of adjustment must I make in this situation to ensure justice?  Am I willing to do this?
• If the situation calls for me to fight for justice--standing up for myself or for someone else--am I willing to do that?
• Actions have consequences.  Am I considering a particular action, and have I thought through the consequences of that action?
• Is there an ethically challenging situation arising in my life that I haven't recognized and need to address?

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom of that post to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome.

Today's tarot resource:  Two books.  Tarot for Yourself by Mary K. Greer and The Forest of Souls by Rachel Pollack.

This is the thirteenth post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project ( also known as "Exploring the Tarot:  23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana").   To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

There are so many symbols in The Wheel card I won't be able to cover them all in a short post.  However, it's my belief that anyone who looks at this card has an immediate, instinctive sense of what it means. Don't you feel this as you look at it?  You know what it means, even if you do not understand all the figures and letters portrayed.  You have been "around the wheel" before in your own life.  You get it, just from looking at the card.

This is the power of symbols, which speak directly and instantly to our subconscious minds.

However, if you would like a short and well-done synopsis of the symbols and their meanings, check this Wikipedia page and you'll be off to a good start without too much overwhelm.  Believe me, there are thousands of pages written by various authors about this and each of the other tarot cards.  Best to start simply.

One thing to note when considering the card is that, from the alchemical symbols just outside  the wheel's center, to the letters that surround them--Hebrew and English--to the mysterious creatures around the edge...all are rotating.  The only fixed images are the four creatures that stand in each corner of the card (a.k.a. the "Tetramorph"--another quick lookup on Wikipedia.

Oh, and there's one more fixed point in the card; we'll get to that soon.

But let's first have a look at Rae Harrell's interpretation of all this on her tarot rug.

Rae Harrell is very well known in the world of textile artists.  For ten years or more she owned an art gallery in Vermont (recently closed, alas) and she has a phenomenal website HERE.  Be sure to view the Gallery of Rae's rugs, paintings, and sculptures.  I love all of it.   

And check out the video she made on another rug show she hosted and curated--on a very different topic--HERE.  Miss the 9-minute video at your own peril; it is just wild and showcases the work of many other textile artists besides herself.  (Please remember to come back to this page afterwards, once your brain stops spinning.) 

I recently discovered that Rae has the world's greatest laugh.

I particularly like what she has done with The Wheel of Fortune rug--the way the Wheel itself appears to be rolling right off the side.  The motifs on her Wheel spin of their own accord.  And in the center, barely visible in the picture but eye-catching in real life, the outlines of the star are extremely shiny.  The multi-colored bird (a falcon?) and the pyramids complete the mystery and fun of this inspired piece, which is set off by a beaded border that serves to frame the picture as it reaches the black edges.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
You already know this one, as I said above.  A few additional relevant quotes:

"Let it be, my friend! Man grows to a certain point and then descends."
- Maori proverb

“Fortune, good night; smile once more.  Turn thy wheel. ” 
Shakespeare, King Lear

"Sometimes the wheel turns slowly, but it turns."
Lorne Michaels

But here is one thing that most people do not consider when working with this card:  There is one other place on the Wheel, besides the figures in the four corners, that does not turn.  The center.

"Your true home is in the here and now," says Thich Nhat Hanh.  If you can remember this (not so easy for us, eh?), you can allow the world to turn around you and gain some true perspective on the ups and downs of life.

There is often a sense of luck turning, or of something set in motion when this card turns up.  Some process is underway; some change you may not have even seen yet.  Stay in the center and observe carefully while you see what is shifting.

So when you get this card, ask yourself:

• Where am I now on the wheel?
• What change is underway in my life?
• How can I move into the (my) center?
  
• What centering practices can I use at this moment?  (Many people think, "Meditation!  I can't do it..." but what you may not realize is that meditation takes many forms.  Hugging someone; patting the dog or cat; your daily run or a walk in the woods; working at a craft and/or doing art; listening to great music.  Anything you do with present awareness will qualify as a centering practice.)
• My life experiences up to now tell me that everything changes, no matter how horrible or how wonderful.  If I look at my current situation from this perspective, what can it teach me?
• Looking around me right now, is there something I can designate (an object, a color, a sound) that I can use to remind me to focus on the present moment?

"Don't be so loyal to your mind; the mind is not loyal to You.”
― Bert McCoy

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom of that post to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome.

Today's tarot resource:  The Tarot School, here. 

This is the twelfth post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project (official name:  "Exploring the Tarot: 23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana").  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE HERMIT:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

“I want to be with those who know secret things, or else alone.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

And so let's have a look at Liz Alpert Fay's tarot rug, THE HERMIT:

"And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb." 
- Kahlil Gibran

"If you light a lamp for someone else, it will also brighten your path." 
--Buddhist proverb

Liz Alpert Fay is another in our long line of incredibly talented textile artists participating in this show.  Please check out her website HERE.  Don't miss the "galleries" tab with more on her rugs and other textiles.  She began hooking rugs in 1998 and never looked back.  She is a highly experienced teacher as well.  See her formal bio on her site, then read an enjoyable Country Living article on her HERE--it too has wonderful photos, and although I suspect this article is ten years old, it's really interesting.  A more current article and interview with photos of her recent work is HERE.

I'm guessing that by the time you check out the sites above, you may forget to come back to this one--you'll be lost in cyberspace looking at Liz's other works.  But let's return to the original card and her interpretation of it.

On the surface, the original Rider-Waite-Smith card's image is clean and simple.  An elder stands on top of a mountain, holding a staff and a shining light.  And that's it.

In one sense, of course it's not that simple, but in another sense, it really is.  The Fool (whose journey we are tracing), has learned much, and now retires from the world for a bit to have a think.  When we go on retreat, even for a short time, we really don't need much.  A simple room, or a quiet bench in the park.  We shut off the phones and tablets.  We sit.  We think.

               "It is only in solitude that I ever find my own core."  (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)

              "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."  (May Sarton)

This card does not portray a lonely hermit; it portrays a wise one, someone who has deliberately and thoughtfully stepped off the beaten path, gone their own way, and now stands at the summit of the mountain shining a light on the path for other seekers.  This is the essence of The Hermit.  It is not a card of loneliness but of quiet wisdom accumulated over time and of offering service to others.

We all need "time-outs."  Even the most extroverted of us need time for integration occasionally, and will seek it out.  We go for a walk.  We go to a yoga class.  We may even meditate or go on a retreat.  We knit for an hour.  We sit on the porch and stare into space.  We curl up with the dog or cat.  The busiest among us just shut ourselves in the bathroom for five minutes!  It is getting harder and harder to do this in our overly busy world.

As I have said with all the other cards, there is only room for a surface interpretation here.  While you may find it hard to believe, this simple drawing is full of other symbolism--the posture of the figure, the symbol of the lantern, the staff, the mountain, the astrological attributions and the Hebrew letter assigned to the card all contribute to its layers of meaning, which we can't go into here.  Just the idea of a hermit is laden with centuries of symbolism.  But let's move on to Liz's take on the card.

Liz's tarot rug is a masterful interpretation.  She has taken the simple drawing and stripped it down even more, removing the colors except for that one small patch of blue.  She focuses instead on the ice and air, the jaggedness of the ice and sky.  Unlike all the other rugs in the exhibit, the border of this rug is white...this hermit has truly stepped aside from what others in society are doing, and has moved to a place where he can be alone, a place where he can think differently and integrate his knowledge. 

The hermit has become a simple triangle with a star (Light) at the summit--the two interlacing triangles of that star symbolizing (among other things) the adage, "As above, so below...but after another fashion."  And the large Hermit-triangle reaches upwards towards the heavens, drawing down wisdom to the earth, and shining it out through that grand Light for any who have eyes to see.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
When you pull this card, ask yourself:

• What do I need to stop and synthesize at the moment?
• How have the major lessons in my life come together for me?  If I have been taking in information/experience, how can I pause now and deeply reflect upon it?
• How do I feel about being alone on occasion--am I lonely, or can I value the solitude?
• What lessons have I learned that I may share with someone else who needs them?  (NOTE:  The Hermit is not forcing anyone to learn anything.  The Hermit simply holds the lantern--it is up to the seeker to look up and be willing to see it.  Remember not to impose yourself on anyone else.)
• Where are my favorite spaces for reflection, and how can I take advantage of one of them now?

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom of that post to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Your comments are always welcome.

Today's tarot resource:  James Well's website, here.  James is a Canadian tarot practitioner and gifted teacher.  Enjoy his site!

I think I accidentally started the rug today:

I just meant to drop by the studio briefly with the background yarns I had dyed, and the other yarns that are "possibles" for the motifs in the rug.  I thought I'd be there 5 minutes.  But somehow I got tempted into sitting down and starting to punch, and before I knew it, I had tried two rounds of the background.  You can see my frame with the punching begun, and the background yarns I dyed, and also my chair with its punched chair seat.   Oh, and my messy table.

Here's a closer look at the background:

I'm still debating whether or not to include the green in there; I'll have to work with it a bit more and see what I think.  But overall, I'm liking this so far.  The entire thing is one giant experiment.

I'm not sure if that green is reading as too bright (or maybe what I'm seeing there is one of the lighter purples, and not the green). 

Next I will have to try various "test colors" that I've dyed on the motifs and see what I'm going to use.  And then it will be time, once I've settled on colors, to go back to the dyepots and finish dyeing the yarn for the rug.

I'm actually quite surprised that I got this started, and really pleased.

TAKE A PEEK AT A WONDERFUL BLOG WITH A SEASONAL THEME TODAY...
For those of you who are holiday celebrators, this is certainly a strange year here in the Northeastern US.  It was 70 degrees F today.  I seriously considered putting on the a/c in my car.  Needless to say we have roses in bloom, trees starting to flower, and absolutely no snow. 

So I was pleased when I received the following blog post this morning:  Click this link to read a short blog from one of my favorite textile artists, Mary Jane Peabody.  Today she's sending holiday wishes with a wonderful post on Maxfield Parrish's landscapes, and the illustrations she's chosen are exactly what nostalgia says this time of year should resemble.  She consistently writes one of the most interesting blogs I see and I make an effort to read it regularly.  Don't miss her rug gallery on the same site.  Enjoy!

This is the eleventh post in a series about the Tarot Rugs.  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

STRENGTH:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
― Plato

And now let's have a look at Jennifer O'Rourke Lavoie's tarot rug, STRENGTH:

"The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination..."
Maya Angelou

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength."
Saint Francis de Sales

“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”
Arthur Schopenhauer

Ok, so already you may have two questions: 

1) Is this a card about animal rights?  (The Schopenhauer quote just below Jen's rug photo). and
2) What does it say at the bottom of her rug--what IS that?

Before I get into some background on Jen, let me address those two questions. 
1) No, it's not a card about animal rights!  But it could be, couldn't it, as you look at both the original card and at Jen's interpretation?  If you read the Schopenhauer quote carefully, you'll see that it's really about kindness and compassion for all things, and that is a PART of what this card is about, though not the whole story. 
2) The writing at the bottom of Jen's rug, in addition to the Roman numerals for 8 on the left and right bottom, is the word Strength in Sanskrit.  Jen says about this:  "I had to really search around for that text/font for the word so I pray that it truly means strength!  I did not want the text to distract from the visual or beat the viewer over the head with what they were 'supposed to think.'  Text can be very directive and it was my mission to show rather than tell."

She adds:  "Also, when this exhibit is finished traveling I plan on hanging this rug in my own home with another portrait of my other daughter.  She chose the Magician card and as she is a scientist I really like that.  But if one card says Strength and the other card says Magician I felt that this was not a good balance for a pair of portraits. ...I am allowing their portraits to show the whole story of who they are rather than say one specific thing about their natures.   So the Sanskrit is more of a mystery and decorative bit rather than a title."

So from what she has said above, you already know that the female figure in the rug is one of Jen's daughters.  [I won't spoil the really lovely story behind this rug because Jen has written about it in the show catalog.  If you would like to buy a catalog of the show--all proceeds help the rugs to travel from one venue to the next--please email Michele Micarelli at [email protected]  Cost would be $18US plus shipping--Michele can guide you on shipping amount.]

Jennifer O'Rourke Lavoie is one of my rug hooking idols.  (Several of my other idols are in this exhibit as well.  I am trying not to play favorites!)  Jen doesn't have a website, but you can get a sense of how powerful her work is by looking at some of her other rugs that have posted online, such as her This Train rug here, the Corn Stalks rug here, or the Sumac rug here.  Please honor Jen's talent by NOT reposting or pinning any of those without permission.  Jen is an award-winning artist and rug hooking teacher, another in our long line of phenomenal artists in this tarot rug show.  Rug Hooking Magazine did an article on her in their November/December 2013 issue that is well worth getting.

Comparing the two images above:  In the original card there is more detail, but Jen's rug has fully captured the essence of the card's spirit.  She has focused on the central figures of the card, the woman and the lion.  In both images there is a feeling of gentle strength.  There is a sense here of kindness and respect in working with the animal, rather than command or force.  And the animal in both images looks eager to follow the guidance of the woman. 

Looking at Jen's rug, don't you have the same feeling about the way she hooks?  The subtle coloring and gentle-but-patient ordering of the details result in a phenomenal rug.  While I have never met her daughter, there's no doubt in my mind that this looks just like her.  I am drawn to the delicate tints of the skin on her face and hands, the shades of color in her hair, the carefully-hooked bark on the tree (including the lichens), the water, and the mountains in the background...each is hooked with such care and attention.  Jen's lion is an extraordinary mix of wildness and tenderness, and we get the idea that there is a strong bond of respect and affection between the two.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
"When you are required to exhibit strength, it comes." Joseph Campbell
"Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong."  Leo Buscaglia

In tarot, the lion in this card is generally thought to represent our own animal nature.  It is from our animal nature that our deepest instincts and desires arise--and so this card is about what we truly want.  But it is also about balancing head and heart.  The woman embraces her animal nature; she does not flee from it.  This takes Strength.  This takes Courage.  But while embracing it, she also guides it.  She has what some would call good "impulse control," and it's not achieved through violence but rather by respect and compassion.  She recognizes the wisdom of her animal nature, and heeding its wisdom, she blends it with her intellect and channels it wisely.

When you pull this card, ask yourself:

• What is my deepest desire at this moment?
  
• Where does it come from?  Is it what I truly want, or am I not listening deeply enough? 
  
• How can I use my inner instincts to fuel the courage to go after what I truly want?
  
• Where might I need to exhibit more courage?
  
• How can I respect and still guide this inner animal-self, if what it wants is not a wise choice for me now?  (Is this a familiar compulsion--perhaps not a healthy one?)
  
• How can I enhance joy and passion in life at this moment?  What does this lion of desire have to say to me, and what do I have to say in response?
  

Remember that you can catch up on all the other rugs in the exhibit at the link at the very top of this post.  If you are curious about what's behind the exhibit, there is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here (scroll down to the bottom to get to the FAQ).

Thanks for reading.  Comments always welcome.

Today's tarot resource:  The amazing Joanna Powell Colbert's website, here.  Joanna is the creator of the Gaian Tarot, one of my favorite decks.

This is the tenth post in a series about the Tarot Rugs.  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE CHARIOT:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

"Out beyond our ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field.
I'll meet you there."
- Rumi

And here is Lynne Fowler's interpretation of THE CHARIOT in her tarot rug:

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.”
― C.G. Jung

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. ”
― William James

“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

Lynne Fowler is a longtime rug artist who has written many articles for Rug Hooking Magazine, and has had her work accepted into Celebrations several times, including last year's edition. 

(For those of you reading this who aren't rug hookers, the Celebrations' annual publication is a gorgeous print edition of the results of a judged competition.  It attracts all the best rug artists and is very tough to win.  Being included in Celebrations is one of the top awards a rug artist can achieve.  Several of this show's participants have been in Celebrations one or more times.)

When I googled Lynne's name and "+ rugs" I did see plenty of her spectacular rugs and suggest you do the same.  Like most of our artists, she is a highly experienced and certified teacher of rug hooking, although she is no longer teaching.  Via email, she has told me, "I think it is the color and texture of hooking that fascinates me. I like to let the wool do the work and I no longer color plan or use the fixed swatches that I started with.  Where I once was afraid to run out of a piece a wool, I now embrace the challenge it gives me."  She collects John Nieto's work and was inspired by it in creating this rug, saying, "He uses these simple blocks of color for backgrounds and I decided to use that. For me it emphasized the power of the horses by having this contrast."

In the show catalog, she states that the figure in this Chariot is one of her feminist granddaughters.  And that fits right in with the meaning of this card...

As you can see, the original image is elaborate and highly complex.  One of the things I've always found most interesting in the original image is that the charioteer has no reins at all.  S/he controls the Chariot simply by force of will.  It would take me quite a few paragraphs to name and discuss all the symbols in this card, and I don't have room to do so here (and likely you don't have patience to read it either).

Instead, let's contrast the two images.  Lynne has wisely pared the design down to its absolute basics.  Otherwise, she might have been hooking a look-alike rug for years!  As I view the rug, I particularly like the subtle, unexpected-but-perfect colors of the horses' coats, the sense of rushing movement in the horses (but under good control), the confident smile on the charioteer's face, and the loose, barely-held reins.  This charioteer is having fun, getting on with her goals, and obviously very competent.  The dark and light horses echo the dark and light mythical animals of the card.  In both images, the chariot is able to move through different planes of existence--in the card, it can move through water (the river behind it) and on land.  In Lynne's image, the various planes are illustrated by the blocks of color she has used.  This is a very versatile chariot indeed, and it is in very safe hands.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
The Chariot is a card of movement and action.   I'll stick to some basic, surface meanings here for the sake of practicality.  In the last card (The Lovers), the Fool--whose journey we are tracing--has made a choice.  Now, at this stage of the journey, S/he is acting on that choice.  This is a person in motion, working towards a goal.  And remember how in the previous card we looked at the notion that "all choices are blessed?"  In this card there is a sense that the charioteer is likely to successfully follow through with that previous choice.

In addition, this is someone who is controlling her animal nature simply by a skillful use of the Will.  In the original image...no reins at all.  In Lynne's image, reins held so loosely they aren't even being used, and yet the "wild horses" are clearly focused and going where they should.

When you get this card, ask yourself:

• Where am I (or where do I need to be) taking action?
• Am I clear about my goal and my intention?  (Do I know where I'm going?)
• Am I using my will skillfully here, or am I letting these horses run away with me?
• If I am stuck, what can I do to get started?  (The old adage states, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"...what is that first step?)
  
• In the original image the charioteer could be perceived as sitting inside some type of heavy block, which would be hard to move.  Am I feeling that way?  What needs to be overcome?
  
• Once that chariot gets moving, though, there will be tremendous momentum.  Now that I am moving, can I sit back, enjoy the ride, and avoid over-steering my steeds?

These tarot images are rich and layered, and a short blog post cannot give an indication of all the meanings of each card.  If you are looking for deeper knowledge about the tarot, I've been recommending some of my favorite tarot authors and experts in the last few posts.  Today I'm going to mention Tarosophy Tarot Town, a site set up by British tarot-ists and authors Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. 

To learn more about the Tarot Rug Project, including how to help send the rugs to additional venues, go HERE.  Scroll down to the bottom of that post for the FAQ.  And thanks for reading!

It was Mah Jongg insanity at a tournament held this afternoon at a local temple.  The temple auditorium (this was only half of it) was a terrific venue.  58 people attended and played!  I was simply a volunteer, known as a "Maj Minion," there to register participants and assist in any way possible.  I don't play well enough to even think about being in a tournament myself (too new to the game to know what I'm doing).

The height of Mah Jongg fashion.  I spotted this and immediately whipped out my camera, and then got permission from the wearer (I don't know what I would have done had she refused me).

The front of the same lovely lady.  A Mah Jongg cruise?   I love it.  We all have our obsessions.  Guess this is no different from a painting cruise or rug hooking cruise.  Must have been fun!

The fearless tournament organizer.  She did a fabulous job.

My two wonderfully patient teachers.  Trust me; they need a saintly amount of patience to get the concepts through my head.

Who knows if I will stick with this, but it's been fun so far and today was a riot!

This is the ninth post in a series about the Tarot Rugs.  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE LOVERS:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

All choices are blessed.

Now let's have a look at what Liz Marino has done with her rug based on this card.

"...Banish Air from Air
Divide Light if you dare..."
- Emily Dickinson

“I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.”
― Veronica Roth

“But until a person can say deeply and honestly, 'I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,' that person cannot say, 'I choose otherwise.'"
― Stephen R. Covey

Check out a bio of Liz Marino HERE, including the story of her work at Ivory Pond Farm.  Do not miss her portfolio of rugs on the site.  There's also a tab with an excellent brief history of rug hooking. 

As is the case with most of the other artists in the show, Liz is a long-time rug designer and renowned teacher.  She particularly loves to use photographs as an inspiration for her rugs.  Although clearly she did not use a photograph for this one.  (Sorry, Liz...I couldn't resist!)  But you can see the influence of photography and realism in the limited palette she chose and the strongly realistic technique.

Liz's interpretation of The Lovers card focuses most on its relationship symbolism. 

Or, does it...?

In the Rider-Waite-Smith image, we see an angel (Archangel Raphael) seemingly blessing both Adam and Eve, after they have made the choice to eat of the Apple of Knowledge and leave Eden.  The Solar Logos dominates the upper part of the card, shining its blessing on the earth, and behind the two figures are trees--the apple tree behind Eve and a tree with flames behind Adam.  Between them is a path that leads toward a high mountain.  Since mountains often represent places of spiritual power, they seem to have left Eden and are about to set out on that path, a spiritual path involving much hardship and effort.  They are sure to acquire and apply knowledge along the way.  They have made their choice--to be with each other.  To seek Wholeness.

In Liz's rug, we see that the two lovers are now organically growing up from the deepest roots of a stunningly beautiful tree.  In fact, in their union they actually become the trunk of that tree, the tree of life.  They are grounded.  They are on the path; they have left Eden behind.  They have made a choice to come together, and from that choice arises this tree of life and knowledge.  Another, more fragile-looking tree grows nearby, perhaps much younger, almost as though it hopes for the same kind of experience with them--to be blessed in that way.

And just look at what arises from Adam and Eve's choice--has there ever been a more lovely flowering than we see at the top of the trunk of this tree?  The richness and shelter of those opulent branches? 

If you know Liz, you know her connection with the natural world, her deep connection to the earth.  It's obvious on her website.  I've known her since we met in the late, great Maggie McLea's rug hooking classes in Hartford CT a thousand years ago.  Liz and Maggie were good friends and Liz never fails to acknowledge Maggie's influence, but I'm guessing it's Liz's experience on her farm that really infuses this rug with its power.

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
This card is related to the sign Gemini, and sure enough, we see two people and two trees here (on the original image).  There is a sense of polarity.  Since I can only talk briefly about this complex symbolism in a short blog piece, I'll just say that the card is about relationship, and about choice.  Wait--how are those two things related?  The need for choice is constant when we are in relationship with another person.  In relationships, we are often making choices moment-to-moment. 

In many ways, I think that the card is far more about choice than it is about relationships.  When people ask about significant relationships in their lives, this card comes up with amazing frequency...and then asks them to think about their choices in that relationship.  Note that Raphael, who is an angel in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, has a name that means, "God heals."  I believe that this means that all choices are blessed, as Raphael is blessing the couple in this card.  Even if we choose badly.  A bad choice would be painful; it could be awful.  But in the end, a bad choice will bring major lessons for everyone involved.  It depends on one's perspective, and Raphael is "above it all" on the card--so has a different perspective from those of us on earth.  This does not excuse us from the need to make thoughtful, heart-full choices.

When you get this card, ask yourself:

• What is the real choice I am facing?  (It may not be the first one that comes to mind)
• What would assist me to move towards wholeness in making this choice?
• If I were looking down objectively on the alternatives--as Raphael does in the card--what would that perspective suggest to me?
• From my (admittedly limited) perspective, what would be the most healing choice?
• How can I remain true to myself, and still respect the other person? (If this choice is about relationship)

In the last post I included a link to one of my favorite practitioner's websites on tarot.  Here are two other such links, the first links to the wonderful Rachel Pollack's site; and here is a link to Mary K. Greer's tarot website.  I have been fortunate enough to know and study with them both; I hope you will check the sites out for additional information if you are interested.

To learn more about the Tarot Rug Project, including how to help get the rugs to additional venues, go HERE.  Scroll down to the bottom of that post for the FAQ.  And thanks for reading!

This is the eighth post in a series about the Tarot Rugs.  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE HIEROPHANT:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

Wait, you say...  "A Higher-oh-WHAT??!!"

What the heck is a Hierophant?  See an easy definition HERE. 

As you can tell by that definition, the picture above isn't quite accurate--as he is portrayed in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, he looks more like an official of the Catholic Church.  Which puts some people off.  But in fact, this card has a long history of being pictured as a Wisdom Figure.  It's sometimes pictured as--and named--the Pope, just as the High Priestess card (Card II) is sometimes titled "The Popess." 

But most often, it's just the Hierophant, a word that literally means "to show."  Just as the word Pope (from "Pontifex") means "bridge-builder."

Ok, so with that under our belts, let's treat ourselves to Stephanie Allen-Krauss's version of this card on her tarot rug:

“When we allow our conscience to be our guide, then our purpose in life will be fullfilled.”  Donna A. Favors

“You can no longer hide from me. I am your soul-ache, come to guide you home.”
― Karen Clark

Stephanie Allen Krauss is a fourth-generation rug artist, and has been working with rugs since she was a teenager.  Please take a moment to read her biography HERE.  And at that site you will also see some of her amazing rugs.  Stephanie has even created a FIFTH Generation of rug artists--her daughters Mariah (See The Magician tarot rug in this series) and Lindsay are both creating rug art as well.  Quite the legacy!

I have had the pleasure of knowing Stephanie since around the time she opened her store in Montpelier in 2000, perhaps even before then.  What a lovely person she is, unfailingly kind and helpful.  Her store is Green Mountain Hooked Rugs, and if you are ever in the Montpelier Vermont area, stop by and you will be charmed (and leave broke).  Drink lots of water before you enter, as you will become dehydrated from drooling over the gorgeously-dyed colors of wool on sale there.

But oh yeah, we were talking about the Hierophant.  (Pronounced "higher-o-fant," accent on the first syllable)  Stephanie has a wonderful story about the connections between this card and that of the Magician card, which was done by her daughter Mariah Krauss.  I don't want to spoil the story that is in the catalog, but it's intriguing.  (Sales of the catalog support the traveling show--rugs are expensive to ship!  If you would like to buy a catalog, email Michele Micarelli at [email protected]  (Cost of catalog will be $18 US plus shipping)

In Stephanie's rug, the two pillars of the original image are now two tablets behind the figure, showing that he's balanced between the moon and the sun.  The throne upon which the original sits has now become a table on which are represented some of the topics the Hierophant has studied.  Perhaps he has even written those books?  And in front are two Seekers who have come to acquire knowledge, just as in the original card.  Stephanie's version has softer colors than the original, and there is a real feeling of blessing in her image.

"The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciples."
-- Amos Bronson Alcott

Truthfully, I wonder how well Alcott lived up to his own quote above.  I think he may have been a bit of a tyrant.  Just as many people, on seeing the Rider-Waite-Smith image of the Hierophant at the top of this post are sometimes repulsed by what they perceive as a judgmental know-it-all figure talking down to everyone else. 

In fact, a true Hierophant is more like a mentor or guide.  This is a being who has undergone serious training, who has studied and researched, who has "walked the walk" and is willing to share their experience with those who ask.  A true Hierophant is unlikely to FORCE knowledge on anyone; he or she will always wait to be asked, and may have to be asked more than once to believe you do want to hear what they have to share.  And a true Hierophant doesn't preach; they only guide...when requested.

So I often think of the Hierophant as our Soul.  Our Conscience.  Our deepest values.  Our inner GPS system--if we consult it with sincerity, it will share what it knows.  Some people see this as our inner connection with God  although that is not the only possible view.

“I know not the way he leads me, but well do I know my Guide.”
― Henrietta C. Mears

“God has no boundaries, including those of religion.”
— Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?

When you pull this card, ask yourself:

• What inner value(s) do I need to pay attention to today?
• Am I acting as a guide, or am I forcing my way on someone else?
• Is there a tradition, or an institution, or some external structure that I should be paying attention to as I go through the day today?  (The Hierophant can represent all these things)
• Am I doing something because I think I "should," or because tradition says I "should,"or am I doing it because my inner values are guiding me to do it?
• What does my conscience tell me?  What is it trying to communicate?  (Oh come on, you almost always know the answer to this!)
• Where may I be preaching to myself or to someone else, rather than waiting to be asked for my opinion?

As I keep saying, these tarot images are rich and layered, and a short blog post cannot give an indication of all the meanings of each card.  Some of you may be looking for deeper knowledge about the tarot than I can give you here.  I'm going to begin recommending some of my favorite tarot authors and experts, in no particular order.  So since I've quoted him a couple of times, start with a look at James Ricklef's blog HERE.

To learn more about the Tarot Rug Project, including how to help getting the rugs to additional venues, go HERE.  Scroll down to the bottom of that post for the FAQ.  And thanks for reading!

This is the seventh post in a series about the Tarot Rugs.  To view the entire series, go HERE (that post will be kept up to date as the photos are published and the show travels).

THE EMPEROR:  Here is the "classic" Rider-Waite-Smith image below:

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
― Peter F. Drucker

“Power isn’t control at all — power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.”
― Beth Revis

Those two quotes should give you a hint about this card.  Here is ELISSA CROUCH'S interpretation of The Emperor in her tarot rug:

There is a wonderful article on Elissa Crouch's background HERE, along with photos of some of her other rugs.  As is the case with so many of the other artists featured in this show, she is a longtime textile artist and certified rug hooking teacher who is obviously beloved by her students.  I found it particularly interesting that she comes from a long line of women artists.

Her interpretation of The Emperor is a bold departure from the traditional image, as you can see when you compare the two pictures above.  In the RWS image, you see the ram's heads, the jeweled crown, the armor, the orb-and-sceptre, and all that RED and ORANGE (relating to the astrological attributions of the card to Aries, a fire sign).  This guy rules.  We can only hope he rules wisely and well.

In Elissa's version, she has chosen to focus on Wise Rulership, and we see cooler colors.  He is authoritative without the possible rigidity seen in the original card.  We see "royal purple" here, rather than the emphasis on reds and oranges.  The same mountains are in the background, but white-capped and under the influence of the moon.  I loved the addition of the Firebird of myth and legend (aka The Phoenix, in some cultures).  You can read about the symbol of the Firebird here. 

This is a very different, softer, and hopefully very experienced and wise Emperor. 

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?

Just as the Empress card is a leader/ruler of all things creative and of the natural world, the Emperor is a leader/CEO-type for our external lives.  He's all about ruling, about POWER, about making decisions and delegation.  Fueled by the creative impulses of the previous card, he wants to organize things and get them done.  He wants to rule...and/or, he's willing to rule.  On James Ricklef's wonderful tarot blog, he uses the following quote to describe this tarot card:  “Order marches with weighty and measured strides; disorder is always in a hurry.” (Napoleon I)

Okay...but as you can tell, there are bad and good sides to this type of energy (a statement which is true for EVERY card and the energy it portrays).  A skillful use of Emperor energy results in just enough power-wielding, and just enough organization, to have things run smoothly.  It can also include the conscious and graceful sharing of power.  An unskillful use may mean a flat out power-grab, misuse of power, or can mean that things are over-organized to the point of being rigid.

(Yes, this is a simplified look at the card meanings, due to space constraints.)

When you get this card, ask yourself:

• What do I need to "rule" today?  What might I need to plan and organize?
• Or, am I overdoing the organizing bit?  Where might I be getting rigid on a project I'm working on, or in a relationship?
  
• What's my relationship to power--how do I use it well, or abuse it? 
  
• Or, is someone else in my life "in power" at the moment, and are they using it wisely? 
  
• If I am The Emperor today, how am I leading--am I decisive, kind, and empowering myself and others in a good way?  Am I in a rush to grab power and hold onto it at all costs?  Am I a flexible leader, or a rigid one?
  

I'll end with this quote from one of the world's longtime leaders.  People often see this card as very male, but consider this:

To learn more about the Tarot Rug Project, including how to help getting the rugs to additional venues, go HERE.  Scroll down to the bottom of that post for the FAQ.  And thanks for reading!

The picture at the left is of some of the rugs in the gallery where the show opened (see the first bullet below).  Each rug can be viewed close-up by clicking on the title of the card/rug in the list below.  I hope you enjoy the show.

NOTE:  Skip to the bottom of this post for answers to basic questions about the show--where to see it, how long it will be at each venue, how to bring it to your town, and more.  To start at the beginning of this series of posts, go HERE.

This is the sixth the series on the Tarot Rug Project.
Here is the classic RWS image of The Empress:

And here is Loretta Scena’s tarot rug interpretation of the card The Empress:

“You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have.” 
--Maya Angelou

Loretta Scena is half of the duo of creators and organizers of the Tarot Rug Project.  As I recall, she and Michele Micarelli, her co-creator/organizer, came up with the idea for a tarot rug series in 2009 on their way back from a rug hooking camp.  Loretta is a well-known and highly respected rug hooker/fiber artist, designer, teacher, and bead artist, and lives on Long Island (New York, USA) with her husband Ed and daughter Caitlin.  Ed and Cait both spent many hours supporting her vision to make the exhibit happen; it was definitely a family affair.  Loretta's website can be found HERE and includes many of her gorgeous rugs; more rugs can be seen on her blog.

I met all three at the exhibit opening for the first time and just fell in love with them all.

Nearly all the symbols from the original Rider-Waite-Smith card are on Loretta’s tarot rug.  The Empress tarot card falls right after the High Priestess in number (High Priestess is #2, the Empress is #3), and here we see that the pomegranate veil behind the High Priestess has been brought into focus as one single pomegranate.  This particular fruit is the ultimate symbol of fertility, and is central to Loretta’s interpretation of the Empress.  Here, the Empress herself is the infant, about to be born from within a pomegranate womb, and cushioned by the lush seeds/eggs of creativity. 
 
And that is what the Empress is all about--endless nurturing, endless creativity.  The lushness of the original Rider-Waite-Smith image is all there within that womb, along with the rich and peaceful color of the background.  Various symbols of the original card can be found around the rug--the stars from her crown, the wheat, the waterfall, the scepter (with its Venus symbol, to which the Empress is so connected), even the pearls at her throat become the tiny pearl bracelet on the infant Empress.
 
Loretta says, “The baby is the Empress in her infant state, ever growing and reproducing.”  The Empress has a very strong connection with nature and with the natural world.
 
WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
In a short post I can only offer surface meanings of these deeply-layered symbols.  But The Empress is all about love, nurturing, and fertility (creativity in the physical, and also creativity of ideas).  In the original card she is pregnant, and that pregnancy symbolizes all the fruitfulness and possibilities of our world.

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” 
--Plato

Can you feel the Wheel of the Year ramping up and spinning faster as we head toward the end of 2015? 

I'm not a holiday celebrator any more--Solstice is the closest I come, and I celebrated that for years with others.  Now I just celebrate it quietly, in my heart, and wish well to everyone else.  So my holidays are generally peaceful but...

I do find it hard to watch friends (and complete strangers) getting more and more stressed by the pressure and commercialization of this time of year.  It is hard to see people who are so caught up in the madness that they cannot enjoy any one moment of it. 

To all I say:  Peace.  Just, Peace.

So last night and today I was noodling around, doing some tangling, trying out a new-to-me tangle called Oybay by CZT Antonine Koval.  Here was my first try:

That was done in my Tangle-a-Day calendar by Carole Ohl...I'm still finishing the 2013 one!  I'm a little behind.  But that's ok; I"m nearly done.

So then I got busy with the Rainbow Lead Pencil and did some shading and embellishing:

Just having fun.  I've gotten all serious about the Tarot Rug Project posts, and have neglected some of the other parts of my creative life.  I needed to give myself a little reminder not to ignore them.

Don't miss the terrific blog post by Lindsay Price that goes with this illustration:
http://12most.com/2014/04/07/12-pervasive-lies-creativity/

NOTE:  Skip to the bottom of this post for answers to basic questions about the show--where to see it, how long it will be at each venue, how to bring it to your town, and more.  To start at the beginning of this series of posts or to locate other rugs in the show, go HERE. 

This is the fifth in the series on the Tarot Rug Project.
Here is the classic RWS image of The High Priestess:

The wordless voice,
The whisper in the soul,
The sudden knowing--
All arise from Silence.
 
And here is Wanda Kerr’s tarot rug version of the High Priestess:

Wanda is a Canadian textile artist who is well-known not only for her original rugs and her tireless teaching of rug hooking, but also for her dyeing skills and her long running column on dyeing wool in Rug Hooking Magazine.  She is a master dyer and an endless source of creative ideas in her writing, videos, and with her students.  Have a look at her site HERE.  She also runs The Welcome Mat, an online rug hooking school that’s jam-packed with information and well worth the subscription.
 
I found her interpretation of this card fascinating.   The black and white pillars of the original card are still there in the rug, but presented so differently (black wrought-iron on the left, white birch on the right).  The pomegranate veil that is so prominent on the original is now the very subtle veil suspended from the birch…and the Priestess is facing it, whereas in the original she has her back to it.  The waters flowing from her blue robes in the original are now the lake in front of her.  The moon headdress of the original is now the full moon in the rug.  And of course, the fully-clothed Priestess, facing us in the original, is now the unclothed, truth-telling back of the Priestess in the rug.  The scroll she holds in the original has become the stack of books she sits upon in the rug.  The mirror is a Wanda addition—since to get the full effect of the message of this card, one must look within oneself.

Wanda adds her comment:  "If people like they could look closely at the wrought iron for crescent moon, scroll, ying and yang and pomegranates, it was a great catch all for symbols!"
 
As usual, I’ll avoid spoiling the artist’s statement she has published in the catalog (you can find out how to get a catalog at the bottom of this post—proceeds go to helping to ship the rugs as the show travels).
 
WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.  We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
— Albert Einstein
 
“Intuitions are like migratory birds, they come without a map without a reason.”
― Amit Ray,
 
“There are other ways of knowing than just through reason.”
― Gerald Morris

Among other things, the High Priestess card is an image of our subconsciousness.

As I’ve said in every post, the many layers of symbolism in the cards mean I can only touch on surface levels of meaning here, but the High Priestess is the voice of intuition.  She is the voice that can only be heard in Silence, and the normal din of everyday life makes it hard for us to hear her.  She’s the voice that speaks when we listen deeply, when we take a moment to be quiet, when we are suddenly given an insight that has an immediate ring of truth. 

I always find that a genuine intuition is accompanied by a clear, pronounced physical sensation:  a felt sense that what I am getting is deeply true.  Goose-bumps, or a sensation of utter shock and certainty.  Without the physical sensation, I generally don’t trust it.  Of course, I will always double-check any intuition if possible (a good idea anyway). 

When you get this card, ask yourself: 

• How can I slow down for a few moments and genuinely listen to my inner voice?
• When in the past have I recognized this voice?  (This can give you clues to how it may be recognized)
• In the past, when it’s been a genuine intuition, how have I known that?  What were the sensations in my body that let me know it was true?  (If it's genuine, there is usually an immediate, instant sense that "The truth has landed."  You KNOW.  And a genuine intuition doesn't arise from fear, it just arrives.)
  
• What is my subconscious, my intuition, telling me right now?
  

 
We all have intuition.  Yes, we all have it.  It’s simply a matter of listening for it.  If you don’t trust yours, feel free to rigorously double-check it.  As I said, that’s a good idea anyway.  But first, you have to allow it to speak.  Listen first; then evaluate.  Otherwise you'll be warring with yourself, commenting at the very moment you are getting the intuition, "Oh, this is just my imagination."  Yes, it IS your imagination, which arises from subconsciousness and is an underrated faculty--imagination may hold substantial truth.  Practice with it, and you'll be richly rewarded.

Ayup. 

I'm still at it.  Still dyeing background for the next rug. I'm using several values (and hues, actually) of dark purple, and here I am finishing one batch.  This is actually the lightest purple I'll be using as background.  A closer look is below:

I really have to be ready to do this--meaning, up for it.  Here's a shot of the kitchen, the counter in between the stove & the sink with the dyeing process underway (my only area for food prep, so you can understand why it's completely covered up).  The dyes are in their beakers, but I haven't added water yet:

Oh, for a dedicated dye kitchen.  As you see, this creates an unbelievable mess.  But the results are worth it.

I lived with this mess yesterday and today.  In total I was able to get thirteen skeins dyed, completing two of the five dye-lots I need for the background.  I am feeling accomplished and highly virtuous.

And if that wasn't enough, here's a shot of a guy who passed me on the street yesterday as I as out for a walk.  Bear in mind that it's December 12th in the northeastern US, in a city where last year we had over 10 feet of snow.  This guy was appropriately dressed for the weather yesterday.  Very strange days indeed.

Rug pictures will resume next week.  Meanwhile, here are answers to a few more questions I've received about the show, plus a few other things more along the lines of what I usually post.  TO SEE ALL POSTS ON THE TAROT RUGS SO FAR, CLICK HERE.

[The focus on the Tarot Rug Project will only last until I've shown the rugs, and then I'll go back to my usual topics.]

WHO TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE TAROT RUG PROJECT?

They are pretty special, and so well done.  Anne-Marie Littenberg, who is also a textile artist and author (of several books) is the photographer for all the rugs.  In this short Burlington Free Press article, she talks a little about how rug hooking brought her into photography.  We are lucky to have her skills in taking these photos. 

She teaches rug hooking and her approach to the art is entirely original.  If you ever have a chance to go and see her rugs, do it!

TAROT HISTORY IN THREE SENTENCES:  (Needless to say, this is hardly complete)

Contrary to the rumors about Egyptian or Gypsy origins, we can find no credible evidence that tarot decks existed before the early 15th century.  In fact, the earliest known tarot, the Visconti-Sforza deck, was created in Italy around 1450 and its purpose was not to tell fortunes but to enable its owners to play tarocco, a card game still played in Europe today.  It was only in the 18th-19th centuries, when the images had become more elaborate, that it began to be used by mystics for divination. 
(At some point I will post a list of books on tarot history for those who are interested.)

WHY WAS THE RIDER-WAITE-SMITH DECK THE BASIS FOR THIS PROJECT?
 
The Rider-Waite deck (aka the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, recognizing Pamela Coleman Smith’s major contribution as the artist behind the images) was published in 1910 and has remained in print ever since.  There were other earlier decks in print, such as the Marseilles deck, but we don’t have room to go into them here. 
 
Most people who have seen tarot decks have seen the RWS (Rider-Waite-Smith) or one of its many available derivatives, called "RWS Clones."  Because it is so common and so popular, Loretta and Michele decided to ask the tarot rug artists to work with the symbolism from this deck when designing their rugs.  We all had plenty of leeway and were allowed to go “off-road” with our designs as needed, but the deck we all originally referenced was the RWS. 

Rather than using original RWS cards here, I’m using the Universal Waite deck, which is nearly an exact copy except that the colors of the RWS have been redone in colored pencil by artist Mary Hanson Roberts.  US Games Systems holds the copyright to the Universal Waite and has kindly granted permission for me to use this deck for this purpose.

WHY THE ODD NUMBER OF RUGS IN THIS EXHIBIT?  (23)
 
A traditional tarot deck has 78 cards.  Clearly, waiting for 78 rugs to be created was not feasible (not to mention the shipping costs involved).  A tarot deck is divided into 22 “Major Arcana,”  56 “Minor Arcana,” including the Court Cards.  You are welcome to click on those links for further information if you wish.
 
Michele and Loretta decided to ask the artists to hook only the 22 Major Arcana, and one artist was invited to hook a rug as a single design for the back of the entire deck, resulting in a total of 23 rugs.

I'VE NEVER HEARD OF RIDER, WAITE, OR SMITH--WHO ARE THOSE GUYS ANYWAY?

Rider was the publishing company.  Arthur Edward Waite was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a late 19th century magical group, as was Pamela Coleman Smith, the artist contracted to do the artwork.  The links I've provided will give you a brief introduction to each.

Waite and Smith based part of the deck on the Sola Busca Tarot from Northern Italy (1491), the first fully illustrated deck currently known. 

The Rider-Waite-Smith deck has been in print continuously since it was published in 1910, and is the deck most people have seen, whether they know anything about tarot or not.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:
I spent the day today dyeing more yarn for the background of my next rug.  I'm exhausted but I have seven more skeins done and it's going very well.  In between all the blogging and yarn dyeing I've done over the last couple of days I squeezed in a tangle or two:

Time to clean up the yarn dyeing mess so that I can have dinner.  It's been a long productive day...
Sweat is the cologne of accomplishment. (Heywood Broun)

NOTE:  Skip to the bottom of this post for answers to basic questions about the show--where to see it, how long it will be at each venue, how to bring it to your town, and more.  To view the rest of the series of posts, go HERE.

Once again I am posting the classic image from a "clone" of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the Universal Waite deck, which uses the exact same drawings but has recolored them slightly).

What is magic, anyway?

Art is a form of magic. 
Hard work is a form of magic. 
Loving kindness is a form of magic. 
Prayer is a form of magic. 
Meditation is a form of magic. 
Right speech is a form of magic. 
Deep listening is a form of magic. 
Learning something new is a form of magic.
The Ten Thousand Things...

Magic is far more common than we acknowledge.  “It's all a matter of paying attention, being awake in the present moment, and not expecting a huge payoff. The magic in this world seems to work in whispers and small kindnesses.” ― Charles de Lint

However--hold onto your hats, folks.  Here is Mariah Krauss’s rug, her version of The Magician tarot card...

 
Well.  Ok, then!  Where to begin with this one?   !!!

First, Mariah Krauss’s artistic biography can be found HERE.  

I urge you to follow that link.  In addition to her bio, you will see two of her previous rugs, both of which have caused a sensation.  Mariah is definitely a genre-bending designer and artist. 

She is a Rug Magician. 

Without spoiling the story behind this rug, which she tells in the show catalog* (and it is a fascinating and moving story to hear), I can say that the above photograph is superbly done.  It is very challenging to photograph a piece with so much black and so much dimension.  Anne-Marie Littenberg, a textile artist herself, photographed the entire show and made all our pieces look wonderful.  I will include more information on A-M in the next post.

But to see this rug in person adds a whole other layer which cannot be contained in any kind of two-dimensional flat image.  Mariah used a proddy technique on the black background and the depth of its texture contrasts with the tight, very low traditionally-hooked loops she used in the high-chroma sections (and the black sleeves and cap).  It is unbelievably effective.
 
Her Magician appears to be sunken into the darkest part of the night, and generating his own Light--he is the a portrait of absolute clarity, focus, and radiance, surrounded by a thick fog.  The intense coloration of his face, hands, and sphere draws our eyes into the action with him.
 
When I had dinner after the Show Opening with some of the organizers, artists, and their families, one group reported that they had shut off the lights in the gallery for a few moments and that the figure actually glowed in the dark. 
 
I bet you can believe that, looking at this photograph.
 
[*To read the story behind Mariah's design, consult the show catalog—see details of how to obtain the catalog in the FAQ at the end of this post.]

WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
 
The word “magic” has so many definitions.  We hear it overused in advertisements.  We long for it when all else fails.  And some people only think of magic as the work of the devil.
 
But I believe the only true magic is based on love. 
 
Love in its highest form is always magical.  Is there anyone among us who has not seen genuine love work magic?  (I include “tough love” here, when that is appropriate.)
 
Because of the richness of the symbols in all tarot cards, there are many layers of meaning for each card and therefore, much depends on where the card falls in relation to other cards when they are used together.  However, if you go back and look at the Universal Waite Deck image I’ve shown above, you can see that the Magician stands before a table on which are placed the four elements—fire (the wand), water (the cup), air (the sword), and earth (the pentacle or disk).  The Magician’s hands are in a position indicating that Wisdom (a.k.a. Love) is being drawn from above and directed down to earth.  The Magician has all the tools needed to achieve the goal behind the focused intention.
 
This card calls us to look at how we use our free will in daily life.  What is our focus?  What exactly are we grounding?  One of the meanings the card brings to us is to ask us to examine our motivations.  What is the actual motivation behind our goals?  A true Magician is guiding the most powerful universal force—love—and grounding it in the earth.  Magic motivated by love will always succeed.  Even in the most troubling, broken-hearted times.
 
Does that mean we will get what we want?  Not necessarily.  As we all know, what we want is often not what we need.  Magic often works itself out in strange ways, through what appears to be coincidence.  And the results can be very unexpected.

And magic has its own timing; results may not come "on schedule".  Love exists outside of time.
 
Does that this mean that people never try to use magic for perverse ends?  No, alas.  Some certainly do, imposing their will on others inappropriately.  Lying, misdirection, narcissistic, cruel words or deeds may appear to succeed, but evil (defined as the absence of love as a motivation for action) boomerangs, and will eventually destroy the perpetrator.  Small wonder that some people view magicians as professional con artists and tricksters.  This card can have that meaning, depending on context.
 
And yet, true magic is everywhere.  “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ― W.B. Yeats
 
So when considering this card, ask yourself, “What is my goal, and what is the motivation behind it?  Where is my focus, and why?  What tools do I have available to me?” 

If you are acting from love, then go ahead.  If not: think twice.
 
[As usual, there are many other related meanings to this card, but space constraints mean I must leave it here.]
 
What do you think about Mariah’s rug?  Please leave your comments on the blog for her to read.
 
NEXT INSTALLMENT will contain:
Additional Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.  For example, who took these fabulous photographs?  Why are there 23 rugs in this exhibit?  Why do we keep showing images from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, and who are those guys anyway (Rider, Waite, and Smith) ? 

ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHOW ARE BELOW:

HOW DO I GET A CATALOG?

• Email Michele Micarelli at [email protected]  (Cost of catalog will be $18 US plus shipping)  NOTE:  Catalog sales support the costs of shipping the rugs from venue to venue.  Thanks for ordering!  (Donations for this purpose also accepted)

IF I WANT TO BRING THE SHOW TO MY TOWN, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

• To bring the show to your town/country (Yes, you can do that—it’s a traveling show!), contact either of the organizers:
  • Michele Micarelli at [email protected] or
  • Loretta Scena at [email protected]
• Both of the organizers have websites and you may also contact them there:
  • Michele at http://www.michelemicarelli.com/
  • Loretta at http://www.lorettascena.com/

WHERE WILL THE SHOW GO NEXT?

• As of this writing, the show will be going next to Montpelier, VT (May 2016), then to Onancock, VA (July 2016), then to Sauder Village's Rug Hooking Week (August 2016), then to the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild Show (October 2016).  In 2017 it will be traveling in Canada.
• In most cases the show will be at a venue only for a few weeks or for only the duration of an event (Sauder Village, Green Mountain), so there are weeks when it has not yet been scheduled.  If you would like the show to travel to a venue near you, contact Michele or Loretta as detailed above.

Any tarot deck tells the story of the Fool's Journey. 

It is the story of every person; the tarot tells our story--a very human story.

What is tarot?  Objectively, it's just 78 pieces of cardboard covered with images that have been drawn and redrawn by humans for centuries.  Pretty simple, right?  But more about that in another post. 
 
Let's start by looking at a well-known image of The Fool tarot card, which carries the number Zero.

Zero...

Everything.  All of it. 

Nothing.  None of it.

The story of the tarot is the story of the Fool's Journey.  Of our own journey through our lives.  The Fool will travel through 21 stages, growing and learning with each stage.  The journey is too rich and complex to cover in a short blog--many books have been written on the subject (as well as an awful lot of wrong-headed trash).  Perhaps in a future post I'll list some of the better ones.

The Fool is an innocent, and sets out on the Journey with no expectations, no plan.  Much as we do as infants.  The Fool is a great example of what is known in Buddhism as Beginner's Mind.

"When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have."                     - Stephen Hawking

The Fool simply acts in response to each moment, knowing that whatever happens will result in learning and growth.  And somehow, Fools are protected.  They are even considered sacred, like the famous Jesters in history who could get away with imitating anyone, even a King or Queen.

HOW DID THIS TAROT RUG PROJECT BEGIN?
Our two guiding Journey-ers and heroines for the Tarot Rug Project are Michele Micarelli and Loretta Scena, who conceived of, recruited the artists for, organized, and grounded the project at its formal opening in Vermont this month.  Can we get a huzzah for these smart, inspired, fabulous rug artists?  Here they are:

That is Loretta on the left and Michele on the right.

Michele and Loretta are both highly respected artists, designers, and teachers.  They also work in other media.  To see some of their extraordinary pieces, go HERE for Michele's website and HERE for Loretta's website.   Enjoy the eye candy!  Gratitude also goes to their families, without whom Loretta and Michele wouldn't have been able to get the staggering amount of work it took to organize and mount this exhibit done.

Another heroine in this journey is Rae Harrell, who found the venue I wrote about in yesterday's post, the amazing location in Vermont for the Opening.  Here's Rae:

Rae is an artist in several media and you can view her work HERE.  As with Loretta and Michele, she is a well-known rug artist, designer, maker, and teacher.

and now...BACK TO THE FOOL'S JOURNEY

Let’s get to the first rug in the exhibit--The Fool, number Zero.  Here is Diane Philips’ interpretation of the card in her rug, side by side with the original Rider-Waite-Smith image.

To learn more about Diane, go HERE for a terrific article on her work by Rug Hooking Magazine.  I've been lucky enough to take a class with her and see many of her rugs in person; she's a funny, smart, wonderful woman and an incredible artist.

Here is a quote that applies to the Fool:

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what a ship is for.”
— Thomas Aquinas

And isn't that true for all of us?  Since I don't want to spoil what Diane wrote in the catalog of the exhibit (you can find out how to get a catalog below, and note that the proceeds go to help the rugs travel to different venues), I'll just say she has captured the innocence, playfulness, and wisdom of the Fool.  I love the addition of our entire planet, which her Fool seems to be blessing or protecting.  And that dog!  Can we guess that it's Diane's dog, or one that she loves or has loved?

We now begin our own journey through these tarot rugs, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.  I don't believe tarot is very effective for fortune-telling, and the many abuses of tarot by fortune tellers is something we all know about.  My preference is to use tarot as a way to stimulate our inner wisdom.  In this case, that is Fool's Wisdom, or Beginner's Mind.

As you look at Diane's rug, and at the original card, ask yourself:

• Each day, each moment, is a new beginning.  What am I beginning now?  How can I bring Beginner's Mind into this situation?
• Where am I being a Wise Fool in my life--responding gracefully to what IS, rather than having expectations of what "should be" and reacting?
• Where am I being an Unwise Fool in my life?  What Folly might I be allowing?
  
• What risks do I need to take?  Where might I need to follow the axiom "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" and trust that I will be all right?
  
• What risks do I need to more clearly evaluate--which risks might truly be foolish and unwise?
  

There are many, many other levels and layers to this card, but this will get you started.

What do you notice about Diane's interpretation--what strikes you?  Please leave a comment for her and others to read.

A final word in this post, before I get to some Frequently Asked Questions:  Loretta is collecting stories by the artists who worked on these rugs.  There were some very intriguing life experiences that artists had as they created their rugs, each relating to the particular card that the artist had been assigned.  If you are one of the artists and you have an anecdote about something that happened to you as you designed and created your rug, related to the symbolism in the card, please email your story to Loretta (her email is in the FAQ below) so that she can compile them.  She may get a book or at least a wonderful article out of these stories.  We heard some good ones at the Opening!

This is the first post in a series about the Tarot Rug Show--possibly quite a long series, as there is a lot to say and many photos to show.  I'll try to keep individual posts picture-heavy.

I've written about the origins of the show here.  It opened last Friday at the All Souls Interfaith Gallery (ASIG)  in Shelburne, Vermont, and will be there through January 22nd or so.

But before I get into that, I have a surprise to show.  I drove up Friday (4 hours, ugh) and stayed in an Airbnb I had selected because it was near the show location.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered this on the upper landing of the condo, just outside my room:

Not only was the accommodation itself an inexpensive delight, but a hand-hooked rug greeted me.  As it turns out, this little cutie was designed and hooked by the hostess's mother, to commemorate the family's cats Oscar (Peterson) and Miles (Davis), named after the two jazz greats.  Oscar and Miles were very much alive when this rug was designed, but are now sadly long gone, as are their namesakes.

I so loved the original design and whimsical nature of the rug!  Both Miles and Oscar look well-fed and assertive, staring out at us as only cats can do.  I love the padula-posy borders and the wonderful backgrounds.  Everything about this rug makes me smile.  My Airbnb hostess was named Lydia, and Lydia's mom only hooked two rugs--this one and one other which is not of her own design.  I didn't see the other rug, alas, but I'm sorry Lydia's mom is no longer hooking.  Apparently she's now into watercolor.  I hope she begins hooking rugs again, and I hope Lydia brings her to the tarot rug show, as I think anyone would enjoy it--but someone who knows how to hook rugs will enjoy it even more. 

(And of course, if you know anything about tarot, you will also find it thought-provoking!)

You do not need to know anything at all about either rug hooking or tarot to love this show--but more about that starting with the next post in this series.

Before I begin to show the rugs (I can probably only show a few a day, and there are 22 of them, so that's why this will take a while), I just want to say something about the venue.  Namely:  it's EXQUISITE.  Here are some views from inside:

And here are some photos to give you some sense of the gallery space.  Don't drive yourself crazy trying to see the individual rugs here--I'll be posting the rugs individually over the next several days, so you will have a chance to see each one close up.  Just take a moment to get a sense of the space they are in.  Talk about spectacular:

Please remember that photos of the individual rugs are going to be posted here slowly over the next few days, but here's a little temptation for you.  You will soon be able to see each one much more clearly.

My goal today is to give readers just a taste of the gallery itself, not of the rugs.

Oh, and why aren't there any people looking at the rugs?  Because I took these photos "off-hours" before the show actually opened.

In addition to the lovely, elegant interior, the grounds of the venue are beautiful beyond belief, with that amazing view all the way down to Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains.  The property was apparently originally part of Shelburne Farms, which was gifted in a parcel of 1500 acres to a daughter of the Webb family upon her marriage (ok, let's hear it for the power of wealth and the Webb Family in Shelburne--Electra Havemeyer Webb created the Shelburne Museum just down the road, but that's another story entirely). 

This smaller parcel of several acres houses ASIG and was originally built as a home by members of the Webb family.  I believe ASIG has owned it now since the early 90s, though I could be wrong.  It is truly a dramatically lovely site; not only the land, but the buildings are elegant and meticulously maintained.  The Sanctuary is absolutely stunning, even more dramatic than the photos of the gallery above, which are from another building entirely.  I am kicking myself for not having photographed the interior of the Sanctuary.

Why didn't I do that?  because I was giving tarot readings to viewers of the show during the entire opening.  And the following day (an all-day rug hooking event was held in the Sanctuary the day after the opening) I was giving readings to any participants who asked for one.  And nearly everyone wanted a reading, so I'm betting I gave close to 30 readings during the two events. 

Rug hookers are just the loveliest people in the world.

NEXT INSTALLMENT:
More information about the two organizers, the curious story of what occurred during the creation of the tarot rugs, and the start of showing the individual rugs in closeup views.