Hello December!

This month's blog post has been in the works for months. I wanted to create a quick guide to help someone recognize whether a deck of cards is a tarot or not. As a tarot meetup organizer, I could see there was a need for this. Along the way I decided it was necessary to make clear what is not a tarot as well. So, if you already know what a tarot is, the section on non-tarot oracle deck systems may be of interest to you. Or the section on historical decks. I really went on a deep dive. Hope it shows in its usefulness.

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An excerpt: So you think you have a tarot deck.

The first time I got my hands on a reliable reproduction of the Sola Busca, I had to laugh at every debate over tarot tradition I’d ever encountered in the same tarot communities that brought my attention to this deck. Its male-dominated Major Arcana read more like a stranger’s family photos to me. And yet, it very clearly meets the basic requirements of a tarot deck and stands as one of the oldest known examples of tarot.

Studying early tarot decks has only strengthened my belief that tradition has always been varied, experimental, and inconsistent. While I still advocate for learning tarot’s history, I’ve found that this study has done far more to loosen the grip of tradition than to bind me to it.

Keep reading here: https://www.kimberlyessex.com/blog/so-you-think-you-have-a-tarot-deck​

Your invitation:

We meet this week for Tarot Reading Practice and I expect we will conduct our year-ahead reading for 2026. It will depend on who is there. You will have a choice between conducting the year ahead reading -- using a 12-card astrological house spread that we conduct together pulling cards from each of our decks -- or reading this month's tarot spread for each person in attendance.

Since I don't expect we'll be reading this this month's spread together, I felt freed up in creating it to be more poetic than usual. There's no explanation. The questions are meant to be thought provoking. Though when I presented readings like this at meetups, they tend to get met with resistance. Feel free to share your honest opinion of this one, or your results from reading it.

I took my inspiration from the season and this particular Sun card pulled from the Cat Tarot by Louis Art Tarot which seems unusually appropriate for winter. A pale cat wearing a dark coat and scarf stands upright, holding a tall sunflower with three blooms under an ominous yellow sky.

This month's Sun in Winter Tarot Spread asks:

1. Where goes the light in the dark?
2. What is the pit in the sun?

This month's art workshop:

Join us on Zoom for Second Sundays Asemic Art Tarot Workshop from 3pm to 5pm ET for some abstract art-making inspired by tarot. No experience necessary. You need only a tarot deck and art materials of your choice to participate.

This month's writing workshop:

Join us on Zoom for Last Sundays Generative Tarot Writing Workshop from 3pm to 5pm ET to write from the tarot together. No tarot or writing experience is necessary. You need only a tarot deck and something to write with to participate.

Meditations:

If you didn't know, I've returned to school full time and also have a full time day job. So meditation offerings are currently on hold. You can continue to explore past live offerings at the Tarot & Meditations YouTube page.

xo kim

Book a Private Tarot or Meditation Zoom Session--for yourself or a small group: https://www.kimberlyessex.com/appointments​

Sign up to attend Tarot Reading, Writing, and Meditation Events: https://www.kimberlyessex.com/events​

View Monday Meditation Replays: https://www.youtube.com/@tarotandmeditations​
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Questions? Something you'd like to learn about in a blog post or workshop? I am happy to help. Email: kim@kimberlyessex.com​