Happy To Meet You – The Ink Witch Tarot 2nd Edition
Hi Musers, I confess I had a different blog post planned but two things happened to change it. Firstly, one the tarot decks I backed on Kickstarter last year arrived – The second edition of the Ink Witch Tarot by Eric Maille. I’m not gonna lie, it was pricey, but I fell in love with it and love it even more now it’s here.
Mike
The second thing that happened was a fairly big problem with my husband Mike. He has been off work for several weeks due to a mini breakdown. I believe this breakdown is due to undiagnosed neurodivergence and I’m currently in a battle to find somewhere to get a diagnosis. His company is good in many ways but their sick pay is pretty terrible. I’m freaking out more than a little about bills next month.
As well as these problems with work we then got a horrific bit of news about his family. I can’t specify but it’s a destroys lives sort of thing. Mike isn’t great with processing his emotions in general and combined with his work stuff he’s quite lost.
Normally when Mike is off sick he tries to stay busy. As a bare minimum he keeps the house tidy and tries to go to the gym. For the last four weeks he’s hardly done anything. Most days he doesn’t get up til lunchtime and I’ve still been doing the majority of housework and looking after our cats. When you combine this with a full time job, a freelance job, supporting Mike a lot and starting therapy I am running on fumes.
Disaster Strikes
Things came to a head last Thursday. Mike’s mood plummeted even lower. I couldn’t get him out of bed all day, he wouldn’t talk to me about it and I felt at a loss to know what to do. I was worried about him but also angry and frustrated. I had been able to see for weeks that lying around wasn’t helping him and here was the final result! This may not be true but it’s very much how I felt. After work I went to my sister’s had a good vent as well as the obligatory cup of tea. We’re British, it’s what we do in a crisis!
I also brought round the Ink Witch Tarot which had arrived the day before. I was so stressed and miserable I hadn’t even opened it. We went through the cards together. The Lovers and The Devil cards came with several alternatives so I chose the ones I liked best:
Aren’t they lovely?
I also ordered the two expansion packs which featured different artwork and different card names and chose my favourites there too. Looking through these beautiful cards and talking things over let me regain my grip on my sanity and I went home. Mike finally got up, I unilaterally decided we were having Dominos for dinner and we re-watched Star Trek Lower Decks. It’s hilarious and if you haven’t seen it go watch it now! All of this lifted Mike’s mood a bit and he seemed a lot better the next day.
My Spirit Waves A Little White Flag
THe next day was Friday and I was relieved that Mike was happier and it was the end of the week. I needed some down time. Sadly, on Saturday, all the stress caught up with me and honestly I felt like shit all weekend. No one could cheer me up and while I certainly didn’t wallow, nothing made things better. My mood was still the same on Monday. I managed 1.5 hours before my brain said “nope, not doing this!” And so I ended up taking the rest of the day as a holiday.
I’m happy to tell you that my mood lifted over the last couple of days and I’m feeling a lot better. I am still very tired though and I’ve decided it’s best if I just give myself a break. So, instead of doing the spread I planned, I’m going to share the spread I used to interview my Ink Witch Tarot.
Interview Spread?
I explained in my tarot for self care post I have a range of activities I carry out when I get a new deck to help me bond with it. I didn’t go into detail in that article, but one of these activities is doing a deck interview spread. It’s designed to help me get to know the energy of the deck, what readings it’s best for etc. Some people only have one deck and use it for all readings which is absolutely fine. I’ve found though that each of my decks has their own personality and is better for different types of questions.
I’ve tried out various interview spreads since I started reading tarot and the one I use now is based loosely on them.
The Ink Witch Tarot – The Interview
How would you describe yourself? – The Witch. You’re here to be the mentor I’ve been looking for aren’t you? You’re here to share your knowledge with me and help me explore myself and my power.
How do you see me? – Six of Swords. I’m someone coming to the end of a phase of my life that no longer serves me. I’m ready to move on to pastures new. Endings aren’t always easy but I’ll pass through the rough seas into smoother waters with your help.
What types of readings do you kick ass at? – Queen of Swords. You spill the tea! No sugar coating, you’ll just tell it like it is. However, you might also call to the inner heroine in me. This card features Joan of Arc so there maybe times you tell me to straighten my back, hold my head up and remind myself just who the hell I am.
What types of readings are you not so hot? – Queen of Pentacles. You’re not a hug deck! No nurturing or there, there. I’ll get the facts and a kick up the ass. The Queen of Pentacles is a loving nurturing mother, always there with a hug and a cake fresh from the oven. You are not like that so I shouldn’t come to you looking for sympathy, kind words or anything but the truth.
How do you see our relationship going? – Seven of Cups. To be determined! There are lots of options so we will choose as we go. Interestingly, when i shared this post with my sister she saw it that the deck will help me see all the options available to me.
Her read of the spread as a whole was “A clear headed, insightful and (possibly painfully) honest one. And working together will open up choices and new ways of thinking about things 🙂”
One of the things I love about tarot is that five people could look at a spread and all come away with a different message.
Over To You
I hope you enjoyed my interview spread of the Ink Witch Tarot. If you have any alternate interpretations please do let me know. I’d also love to hear from you if you have this wonderful deck and how you’re getting on with it. That’s all from me for now but take care xx
