In the cards this week: Fire

And a little change

Fire and Earth, a lively yet grounded combo for this Monday morning. Nothing earth-shattering, just some good advice and the usual ups and downs of life. To me, that’s pretty good news.

When I was designing this deck, I based each of the Major Arcana cards on a Minoan work of art - a fresco, a gold or stone seal, a figurine. But when it came to the Minors, I had a trickier time deciding how to go about it.

Once I had chosen the symbols for the four suits, I decided to theme each one around a color associated with the suit’s element. So the Fire suit is red, with daggers. The Water suit is blue, with rhytons (ceremonial libation pitchers). The Air suit is yellow, with labryses. And the Earth suit is green, with the famous Minoan sacred horns.

Because of the color-coding, it’s easy to see at a glance which suit a card is. But beyond that, I decided that I wanted descriptive imagery, not just pips, for the Minors. So I began digging through Minoan art again, looking for more inspiration.

The Priest of Daggers shown above is based on the Palanquin fresco from Knossos, which shows a Minoan man in a long robe, seated on a platform or possibly being carried on a palanquin, a type of litter. I’ve given him a dagger hanging from a belt, and I’ve changed the colors to match the suit. Here’s a drawing of the fresco, since I’m unable to find a public domain or Creative Commons photo:

The Two of Horns is based on the tripartite shrine in the center of the Grandstand fresco from Knossos, which shows a building façade that may have been part of the Knossos temple complex:

In order to depict the concept of change that’s inherent in the card’s meaning, I showed two of the pairs of sacred horns tumbling off the shrine - something they probably wouldn’t have done in real life, or else people wouldn’t have been willing to stand close to the building!

Whatever this week holds for you, I hope you let your Fire fuel your passions for all the good things in life. And I hope any change you encounter is easy to deal with and leaves you feeling like you’re better off than before.

This week’s cards:

Priest of Daggers: Live your passion! Let your Fire show in everything you do, and let it give you the momentum to keep going until you've gotten to where you want to go. Don't be surprised if your Fire inspires others, too.

Two of Horns: Life is change. This week, changes that will reorganize some aspects of your life are in the works. The good will balance the bad, have no fear. The best way to deal with it is to make room for the shifts and learn how to dance among the little earthquake tremors.

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About Laura Perry

I'm an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. I'm also the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. My spiritual practice includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write Pagan / polytheist non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. I'm currently working on an illustrated book of modern Minoan myths and a Minoan entry in the Moon Books Pantheons series (publication date available soon!). I’m also an avid gardener and living history demonstrator.