Decks I Use

 Welcome, here is a list of decks I use in my readings as well as other divination systems. This is a list for curiosity and interest as well as for clients who purchase a reading from me. 

TAROT DECKS

The Light Seer’s Tarot (Chris Anne)

Crystal Visions Tarot (Jennifer Galasso)

The Steampunk Tarot (Barbara Moore)

Tarot de la Santa Muerte (Publisher: Berbera Editores)

Rider-Waite Tarot (Arthur E. Waite & Pamela Coleman Smith)

Tarot of Haunted House (Sasha Graham & Mirco Pierfederici)

Golden Tarot of Marseille (Lo Scarabeo)

Mystical Lenormand (Regula E. Fiechter)

Witches Tarot Mini Edition (Ellen Dugan)

Tarot of Sexual Magic (Laura Tuan & Mauro De Luca)

Golden Art Nouveau Tarot (Giulia F. Massaglia)

Thelema Tarot (Renata Lechner)

Da Vinci Tarot (Ghiuselev/Atanassov)

After Tarot (Corrine Kenner)

The Halloween Tarot (Kipling West)

 

ORACLE DECKS

The Anubis Oracle (Nicki Scully, Linda Star Wolf Ph.D. & Kris Waldherr)

Healing with the Angels Oracle Cards (Doreen Virtue)

Angel Answers (Doreen Virtue)

Romance Angels Oracle Deck (Doreen Virtue)

Archangel Oracle Cards (Doreen Virtue)

Healing With the Fairies Oracle (Doreen Virtue)

Gateway Oracle Cards (Denise Linn)

Wisdom House of Night (P.R. Cast + Colette Baron Reid)

Cat Tarot (Julia Smillie & Megan Lynn Kott)

The Chronicles of Destiny Fortune Cards (Ellershaw & McKinney)

Gypsy Witch Fortune Telling Cards (U.S. Game Systems Inc.)

The Love Pack (Chuck Spezzano)

Crystal Oracle (Toni Carmine Salerno)

The Plutonian Oracle (Monique Kirkley)

The Pet Oracle (Monique Kirkley)

The Faeries Oracle (Brian Froud)

Astrology Cards (Gift Republic)

  

LENORMAND

Gilded Reverie Lenormand – Expanded Edition (Ciro Marchetti)

 

KIPPER

Fin De Siècle Kipper (Ciro Marchetti)

 

OTHER

Astrological dice

Dowsing rods

iamkcrafts

Hello everyone! I'm back with another update: I've been working on my brand here and there. Now that I've gotten a little more time on my hands, I'm currently in the process of undergoing a name change with my brand! I wanted something that would cover a variety of themes and hopefully this brings more simplicity to the merch front. 

I've also placed some new items in my Ko-Fi shop called companion dolls. Please check them out as there are more to come. 

You can check them out here: https://ko-fi.com/iamkcrafts/shop.

Thanks again and...

Happy 4th of July!

Monique

Moving to Ko-Fi from Etsy!

Hi everyone. I know it's been awhile. Being a full-time mom hasn't been easy, but I've been in the process of making products for my shop. These include more voodoo dolls and junk journals. As soon as I am able, I will be creating videos and putting these items up for sale in my shop. For now, I hope everyone has been doing well. 

Happy Caesar Chavez Day, America! 

Introducing The Plutonian Oracle

You made it! Welcome to my blog. Here I will introduce and talk about The Plutonian Oracle and give you some ideas on how to use it. At first, it may seem like a complicated deck, but it's an oracle that is as simple as you'd like to make it. :) All I ask is that you forgive the lousy image quality in this post, but hey, it might just prevent image theft, right? 

In my background post about The Plutonian Oracle, I talk about its origin. Click on the link if you'd like to know more about how I created this deck and why. 

Now, onto how to use the oracle! This deck was created to be used on many levels. The first level focuses on the central symbol of each card. Take for example the crescent moon on the Hidden card (see above image). It's meaning is traditional in that it indicates hidden things, i.e., secrets. 

Second level reading is designed to give you specifics on the general message. For example, knowing whether the person in question is male or female, or if something is short lasting or long lasting. Extracting specifics can be done using the extra set of symbols (or what I call indicators) located at the corners of a card. Depending on what card you get or use, there may be only one indicator or several.  

Some cards do not have indicators. That's OK. I did this on purpose. For example, indicators like the sun and moon glyphs appear on several cards, but it would be redundant and wasteful to put them on the entire deck. What's nice about the blank corners of these cards is that you can draw in indicators, or simply use them from another card (if not in use). You can also substitute different meanings for indicators.

Third level reading is making use of space, which is a reading method similar to Lenormand. This is where the arrows in the deck come in (see the Unknown Person card below). Arrows help the reader focus on a particular direction in a reading. Depending on where an arrow points, readers can look to the card in that area of the reading or place one there to shed light on the first (arrow) card. Some indicators can also be used in this manner as well. 

Fourth level reading is the use of the deck's optional correspondences. These include elements, astrological signs, planets, colors, chakras, numerology numbers, and guidance messages assigned to each card. Correspondences assigned to the Unknown Person card are: earth element, the number 4, the root chakra, the planet Pluto, the color red, the sign of Virgo and the general guidance message is strength. You can use these apart from the oracle symbols or alongside them.

There is much more information on how to use this fourth level in the oracle manual as well as on how to use the deck in many other ways. I will also be sharing more information on this deck as well as some sample readings in a future post, so stay tuned! 

Free Tarot Journal Pages

Put together a journal using a PDF editor with these pages, or simply print them for your physical journal. Click on the image of the page you want to download. Links to each page and zip file can be found below. 

Enjoy!

                           

Page 1.pdf |  Page 2.pdf | Page3.pdf | Page4.pdf | Page5.pdf | Page6.pdf

ReadingJournal.zip

                                     

Relationship Spread

So I was asked by a good friend of mine to share a relationship spread I stumbled across under natural circumstances - these natural circumstances being the way cards happen to spatially present themselves in readings. This spread provides assessment for a commonly asked question in divination: how does this person feel about me? Not only that, it provides an assessment of both parties - as a traditional spread - at conscious and unconscious levels.

First, a significator card or cards is used to represent the two people in the relationship. These cards are placed in the center of the spread. For example, The Lovers may be used to represent a romantic relationship. Court cards can also be used to represent each individual. For non-romantic relationships, the 2 of Swords may be used. Of course, if you don't want to use any cards from the deck for card-saving purposes, then a piece of paper with the querents' names or other objects may be used to represent the pair. 

Next, cards drawn are laid out behind each individual. Cards leading up to the individual may describe present feelings, or a progression of feelings over time. The initial root feeling/desire/need is the farthest card from the individual, while current feelings fall near or just behind. Here's an example:

Here, the Queen of Swords and King of Cups are used to represent a romantic heterosexual couple. The first cards represent current feelings, while the cards on each end of the spread represent initial or past feelings. However, this may not always be the case. In this example, my initial impression of the cards behind the man reads differently because of the court card (Queen of Pentacles). In this case, the past may not be represented by the man's initial feelings but by someone who has influenced him to feel his current feelings (5 of Wands). (I tend to read courts as people until feedback is given.) 

Cards in this spread may be read as events going on behind each individual as well. It depends on the reader's intuitive register of the cards. For example, behind the man, the 5 of Wands could be read as several women vying for his attention, and the Queen of Pentacles is a potential past lover. To shed some light on the couple's current status, they've been navigating troubled waters negatively affecting their relationship for years now.

Now, let's take a look at the woman's side of things. She has The Sun as her current feelings in the relationship and the 5 of Cups as past or initial root feelings. At first glance, these cards present a self-explanatory assessment. Her feelings about the union are positive and hopeful. The sun provides growth, and that's the energy she's offering. Her past feelings represent disappointment and regret over issues that may or may not have been under her control (5 of Cups). To say the least, she has come out of inner struggle. 

The reader could spend all day analyzing the relationship with this spread; however, the basic concept of its use has been clarified. Can you use this spread to read on two separate circumstances? Why not? I'd love to hear comments about how this reading went for those of you who try it. Better if it's taken out of the box and experimented on in your lab of card reading. Until next time... 

Happy Halloween!  

Are you ready for Jupiter in Aries? A Sample Reading

Jupiter will make its way into the sign of Aries on April 21, 2023 and exit May 1, 2024. (For those of you who go by tropical astrology, Jupiter enters Taurus ;) If you plan to track this transit, have a look at where it will be in your chart this year! Then do this reading to see how it will affect you. 

For this sample reading, I'm using The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck Pocket Edition. I really love smaller deck sizes because they not only accommodate my small hands, but they are great for spreads that need to be photographed! 

THE READING

Overall you can see that the energy is dynamic - matching the fiery combinations of Jupiter and Aries. Keep in mind that the reading is balanced with the element of air (Magician and Ace of Swords).

Between May 2023 and 2024, Jupiter will be transiting my 5th house - which rules children, entertainment, sports, artistic talent, and romance.

1. CURRENT YEAR: 10 OF WANDS REVERSED. The current year brings an end or "loosening up" of burdens. Perhaps these burdens may be from the last 9-10 months. Overall, there is a lightening of stress and perhaps a push back to the 9 of Wands energy. There is less impulsiveness at this point.

2. BEGINNING (MAY-SEPTEMBER): ACE OF SWORDS REVERSED. The way forward with the new transit brings challenges in the area of decision-making. The advice is to be able to have the facts necessary to be able to make a good stand or decision. Mercury will also be retrograde until mid May. Careful planning around entertainment, children, sports, or other 5th house rulerships. Rahu or the North Node will conjunct Jupiter April to October 2023. Rahu shakes things up a lot and so I have no doubt this will make the ride more unstable.

3. MIDDLE (OCTOBER-JANUARY): MAGICIAN. Things start to come together with this card. Having everything I need by October and into the New Year will feel good, especially with respect again to 5th house ruled areas. It will be a good time to take action and make a decision during these months (with respect to artistic talents and children especially). There could also be renewed spark of romance in a marriage. Jupiter will finally unchain itself from Rahu.

4. END (FEBRUARY-MAY 2024): PAGE OF WANDS. The energy tones down, as Jupiter begins its exit out of Aries. The page is about new beginnings and new roles. I also tend to look at the pages as new horizons or embarking on a journey to become something more (King).

Questions, comments, observations? Feel free to leave me a comment below! 

-Monique

Building a Meanings System - Part 2: Questions and Template

To draw or not to on a daily basis? While using the old daily draw system is standard when learning a divinatory system, it can quickly become overwhelming if consistency is hard to maintain. That was me once life started. If you're working the 9-5 and have kids, for example, then it can quickly become difficult to remind yourself to be on the lookout for your theme of the day.

Sometimes, it just isn't easy, even when you've got the time. I used to become stuck when I couldn't think of something that happened in my day, or what I learned related to the card theme. And while I could go back and fill in the blanks with this method, there's a chance I'll forget or won't remember what I was supposed to write. If you're like me, getting to know your divinatory themes at a slower pace may be a better approach. It's like the interview process when getting to know someone. Most employers don't have three candidates sitting in on the same interview for one. That same concept can be applied when getting to know your deck or divinatory concepts. Take the time to get to know each one of them - one at a time.

When becoming familiar with a system, I draw one card for the week. This helps to keep my mind focused on a central theme, rather than on three or seven. What also helps is that I start with a set of questions about the theme. For example, if I draw Path, which is a card that represents a pathway that's opened to me, I can come up with a set of questions like this:

• What pathway is opening up to me this week?
• How do I normally approach opportunities?
• What can I do differently this time when a pathway opens up for me?

You'll want to frame questions based on the classic WH- words: Who, what, when, where, why and how.

You'll also want to stick to the timeframe, a week's time, when asking most of your questions. This helps to keep answers specific. 

I come up with about 3 questions per draw and then work on answering them in my journal immediately. Later throughout the week, l will add more input to questions and answers.

In my last entry, I mentioned part of building a solid meanings system included the practice of asking questions. Questions are vital when learning. For each theme, come up with a set of pre-asked questions.

Another plus to using the once weekly system is that you can gradually turn it into a monthly and bimonthly system - at a pace that's right for you. Take a look at the diagram below:

Diagram for learning a system, fig. 1

Notice that there is a line from the monthly box to the weekly ones, meaning you can skip twice monthly and weekly draws and work with monthly and weekly ones. This simplifies the learning curve while leaving a larger and smaller window to study and understand a few themes in depth each month.

Getting back to the method of questioning, as a student who majored in psychology as well as minored in coaching, I learned the value and strategic importance of questioning. One book I'm currently reading has allowed me to revisit the method while doing a monthly and weekly reading system. Intelligent questioning has opened the door to a new way of thinking about themes as they relate to real life experiences. It's also helped me understand and improve my readings with a system I've always had trouble with: Lenormand.

Addendum: If you want to try something different, try drawing your card(s) at the end of the period. What is the pro? This method actually forces you to sit down and write about your week in relation to the card(s) you got. It can also help you think about any questions you might want to ask after-the-fact. Con: You may not be able to connect an event to the cards you got, but it helps to be mindful of anything important or interesting occurring throughout the week as it happens. So if you don't mind not knowing what exactly to look for but still find this method useful, give it a try. 

For more information on the art of questioning, I recommend Warren Berger's book: A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas. 

In the meantime, if you have questions of your own about this series, please feel free to ask in the comments or contact me via email. 

Happy reading,

Monique

Building a Meanings System Part 1: Categories Method

 

Are you new to reading divinatory systems such as tarot, Lenormand, or oracle cards? What if your system isn’t a cartomancy one? What if you're not new? Well, look no further. This method can be applied to most divinatory systems, whether it’s dice or an oracle you’ve created. It's nothing new, but it's a great way to build a comprehensive meanings system if you’re looking to do pick-a-pile videos or become more organized as a tarot reader, professional or not.

USING CATEGORIES FOR MEANING

Some learning websites such as Labyrinthos and Learn Lenormand have a meaning for almost every common question asked. When you visit these sites, there are several categories listed for a particular card, each dealing with a common set of topics: love, money, and health are a few examples.

While using a category system is great, readers (no matter how experienced) shouldn't rush into building a complex system. Here are some helpful ways you can get your categories system up and running: 

1. Start with basic life categories. Primary categories such as life areas (i.e., love, money, career), reversed cards, and timing – are good starting areas. For life areas, start small. Most website meanings cover love, money, and career. Once you feel comfortable with a certain amount of categories, hunt around for secondary categories such as personality traits, astrological and card combinations. You also want to make sure you can find someone experienced who has these categories covered on their website or in their book. You can also create your own categories and add information to them as you feel more confident about your interpretations.

2. Modify your system as you gain confidence. Start with references from a favorite expert on the system. For example, Rana George as well as Ciro Marchetti share the different interpretations they have for love, work, and money in their deck companion books. Later, as you gain experience (confidence), modify your meanings. 

3. Questions are vital. If you use only one method from these tips, it should be this one. Questions are powerful, especially the right ones. Asking questions in the reading experience helps get your thoughts and ideas flowing about a card. For example, if you get the 3 of Pentacles (reversed) as your card of the day, you might write these questions in your journal: 

How do I work with others?

How can I improve my professional relationship with others?

What has needed improvement lately in my career or job?

Such questions are centered around a card's theme. I will also be posting more about this topic in a future blog entry (see it here). 

4. Experience space. In your meanings system, create a small space for a few personal experiences of your own with the card. Compare and contrast them to others’ interpretations or experiences. 

5. Pick one system. Work on one system if you're new to reading. If you're intermediate, try building on a system you're familiar with.

Remember, things take time. So does building and maintaining a solid meanings system of your own.

Happy reading,

Monique

Pick A Pile | General Reading | WEEK AHEAD

Hi everyone! This Friday (PST) I have a new video coming out. It will be a general reading for the week ahead featuring my two oracles -- The Little Black Deck and The Plutonian Oracle. See first-hand how I use my oracles along with the tarot. Thank you for watching! 

Link here: https://youtu.be/k3k0-Cb7fLY

- Monique

Re-Do

It's been 2 chaotic years, but I haven't lost any desire to publish this deck. For those of you who are STILL following this blog, thank you! I am in the process of re-designing the Plutonian Oracle! I lost all of my original working files a few years ago, made a career transition, started dating, faced the pandemic, took up a new hobby, and got married. Yes, it's been a wild ride! Now that life has settled into some stable routine, I'm able (with the wonderful support of my husband) to continue this project. 

I've been working with small, grainy images of the deck in Illustrator and have made quick progress. While the look of the oracle will stay 90% true to its original format and appearance, there will be small changes to cards that need fixing.

Meanwhile, I tried working in different art apps on my tablet, such as ArtFlow and Ibis Paint, but these aren't going to do it for this deck. It was originally designed in Illustrator and therefore will be the best medium to finish it with. So far, I'm pleased with the results. :)

I do have a ways to go; however, when I feel confident enough, I will be posting a time table for when I publish this deck. 

In the meantime, I already have a published deck called Little Black Deck. I put this up on Etsy this year. If you're interested in checking it out, please visit my Etsy shop.

Etsy Shop: MKirkleyCrafts

Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

 

What's the Word?

Hi everyone. Well, it's about another year and here's another update. I just can't get myself to break this bad habit! I've been here and there, and nowhere. While I have been making progress in other areas of my life, I have had some time to work on the deck. Those maroon-colored borders are now gone. Additions and subtractions to the artwork have been made. Truly, to be an artist, you never quite feel like what you put out there is good enough. But I'm working on this, and the desire to change things has become less over the recent months.

Last month, I made a mini version of the deck here at home. I have been demoing the cards at the forums and offline with positive results. While I'm happy with the changes, there will be another change to the Life Areas card. I have been having trouble getting the right design on this one. However, it is one of the most complicated cards of the deck.

I've also resumed edits and revisions to the oracle's 90+ page manual. I will be working on a little white book that will come with the deck, and so I hope to have this done before the is month over. It shouldn't take that long, since its purpose is to be brief. So without further ado, here is the result of some of the changes I've made as well as a first look at the mini deck. I'm not sure if there will be a mini version of the Plutonian Oracle because the original size is already small enough. If I do come out with this second version, it will probably be the size of iota game cards, which is quite small.

Thank you for being so patient and keeping up with the deck!

- Monique

I'm Back...

So after almost a year of nothing from this project, meaning crazy busy-ness.. I'm back to finally work on completing this project. I'm nearing the end of my university program with my final class, and now I have some time on my hands to revive The Plutonian Oracle project.

To recap, I had to go digging for my card images on backup (I got a new computer last year), yet they were nowhere to be found. I resolved this issue by going to my card publisher's website, and thank god... they were still saved. The only issue now is that each card has a maron-colored outline in the border and I need to clean this up before resuming work.

I purchased CorelDraw, because Illustrator is just too expensive nowadays. So I have to get used to a whole new way of editing images, but, I think it's similar to Illustrator and I will manage. So far, so good. I have my images, and I do hope I can finally make some progress.

Thanks for following me!

- Monique

Nearness

It's been some time since I talked about the oracle deck. I've had a lot of time to practice with it these last several months and formulate some pros and cons. Aside from the German stock holding up well, this entry is going to be focusing on problems I've run into and haven't had an answer for until now.

About two months into reading with this deck, it became difficult for me to interpret the messages. This being an oracle deck, I'm more familiar with the tarot. About two years ago, I started to rely more on pictorial scenes and the human figure, and I've had some really accurate results from doing this. However, I'm afraid a little too much. The Plutonian oracle doesn't leave much in the way for this kind of interpretation. Finding this more of a drawback, I'd wondered how I might go about resolving this issue.

Because the deck is minimalist, I designed "positions" into it in order to specify information. However, I feel it's not enough, especially for the reader with a visual appetite. I also wondered: Is packing "positions" just a way to squeeze more cards into a 54 card deck? Nevermind rotating the card once (which is how to specify information), it can become a daunting task just after one try. I'd wondered if making the cards a bit more specific in their basic meanings might help, but something told me to just keep the meanings as is. Most of my sitters have already become familiar with them, anyway.

For those of you who rely on figures and gender to tell a story in the reading process, I have come up with an idea to get around this figureless, non-person problem. I am going to assign gender to each card, and perhaps, a tarot card. This will be added to the "Optional Correspondence" list that will be made available with the deck. This kind of reminds me of the way in which gender is assigned to words in languages.

But what about those readers who rely on the more expressive elements such as facial expression, stance, etc..? This can be a huge part of the reading, and this deck may just not end up being for those who want more. This entry is beyond the scope of how to build a deck that can be both tarot and oracle, minimalist and not, and so I will allow the limits I'm facing along these lines to be drawn here. It is, after all, an oracle deck, not a tarot.

As for the artwork, I need to get a move on. I have had feelings once again of changing the look of the art; however, I don't really want to prolong this phase any more. As for the card stock, I'm not sure if I want to stick with the German stock at MakePlayingCards.com. As mentioned in an earlier entry, it will definitely drive the cost of the deck up, and I wonder if it would all be worth it. If things go smoothly, this deck could be available after the 2017 Thanksgiving Holiday.

Thanks for reading!! :)

Fate

Hi, I'm back with an update. I received my sample deck on the 19th. I didn't realize it had been in the mailbox until Tuesday afternoon. Nonetheless, here are the details.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

There has been a substantial improvement to the quality of the deck's look and feel (not the art itself). The colors are more defined. The white background, for example, is not opaque (first deck), but solid. The smoothness of the cards is quality (what I'm used to when I hold a new deck of tarot or oracle cards in my hands). I think the word I would use is for this deck is "professional looking." The feel (texture) mirrors the professional look as well.

First edition (left) - 2nd edition (right)

Again, not much can be said for the card stock. It's still the same. At this point, I will contact the publisher about a stronger stock. These changes will most likely drive the cost of the deck up, but I would like for my future customers to wait a while before getting to the "black sharpie" phase. :P

As mentioned, the Venus and Mercury retrogrades are coming up, and this will be the time for insights. I already have changes and additions to the deck on paper as well. 

The whole idea with this copy was to enlarge and make the central symbols darker. As mentioned, symbols in the first copy were weak, faded, and small.

1st Edition (left) - 2nd edition (right)

On the down side, there were numerous errors I made, and with both copies. For this copy, smoothness of the artwork (lines) is my first priority. There were a different set of "tweaks," I did with certain cards, and I will have to see which is the best one. I may still need to do some further investigation.

1st Edition (left) - 2nd Edition (right)

The sun and moon placements were reversed (not sure how I missed this). In most cases, the sun is in the upright position of the card, while the moon shows up in the inverse position.

The Longing card is probably the card that needs the most work. Compared to its predecessor, it is not as smooth, and the silhouette effect needs to be re-worked. I trashed this card pretty good!

1st Edition (left) - 2nd Edition (right)

On the plus side, I like the improvements. The smoothness and solid colors (again) are good and this closely aligns with a professionally made deck. I am also happy to have the Pause card back in the deck (though it needs a few tweaks). I was using the old laminated one and it made shuffling crazy. Huge improvements have also been made to the Enemy, Realms, Man, and Ex cards. 

Pause 1st Edition

Ok, this is it. Below, I have left an excerpt from the oracle manual as well.

EXCERPT FROM THE PLUTONIAN ORACLE MANUAL:

READING EXAMPLE #3 - ISLAND READING EXAMPLE

When two arrows face each other, the reading can have a subtext, meaning that the energies reinforce each other. As a result, they can become “islands” and can stand on their own apart from the reading. In this case, the reader can interpret the example as reinforcing energy. One of the cards in the reading may be causing the island to occur. Once the pattern is recognized, either through interpretation, a clarifier, or guidance, the island may collapse or be reinforced. If it's a helping energy, then the pattern is usually reinforced. If it's not a helping energy, the pattern (island) can be broken.

ISLAND SYNTAX: Locked 1 --> <-- Transition (inverse)

In the above example, Locked 1 is facing Transition (inverse). The Transition (inverse) card indicates change that needs to happen, but isn't. Let's say the querent needs for this change to occur and feels frustrated as a result. However, on the mirror side of the reading, Locked 1 points back to the Transition (inverse) card. Locked 1 indicates sensitive information being withheld. Let's say this is your querent withholding information that could lead to the change she needs. Now we have a case where the actions of the querent are the offset of the pattern. So in this case, the cause of the island is coming from the Locked 1 card or the querent's actions. To break the cycle, disclosure of the information is needed. 

If you want to find out why she's holding back (background), you can place more cards behind the Locked 1 card. If you want to find out what this information is, you can place cards below the Locked 1 card in a column. If you want to see what kind of effect the disclosure will bring, place cards behind the Transition (inverse) card.

 ________________________________________________

Thank you for staying updated!

- Monique