Here's the card I chose from the
Impressionist Tarot to represent the kind of summer I'd like to have. The idyllic
Nine of Cups: waterside, al fresco dining, placid afternoons, boats, cottages. Ah, life is good!
Inspiration for this image came from two Claude Monet paintings: The Luncheon, 1873, and
The Basin at Argenteuil, 1874.
All the paintings for this deck were drawn by Arturo Picca, inspired by various Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists.
The other four cards were dealt randomly, with suggestions for:
My head (Air), my passionate energetic self (Fire), my heart (Water), and the work of my hands (Earth).
Here's how the whole spread looks...
Ideas for my mind (Air)
from the fiery Queen of Wands (the gung-ho hutzpah suit)
Inspired by an 1862 portrait entitled Lola de Valence by Edouard Manet.
Lola was part of the Spanish dance troupe, Lola Melea, which came to Paris to perform.
Manet was captivated by her fiery finesse.
I love her skirt; set up my sewing machine again?
Dress funkily! Don't be a chicken!
Read some historical novels set in Spain.
What's on a queen's menu when she dines al fresco?
Write down a list of tempting summery projects. Use a flamboyant ink in the pen.
Who do I know with a cottage or a boat? Can I invite myself? Maybe if I ask in a queenly fashion?
Ideas for my passionate energetic self (Fire)
from the Nine of Pentacles (the "doing" suit)
Based on the painting Actress before the Mirror in her Dressing Room, by Edgar Degas 1879
She's getting ready for the stage.
Stratford Festival! Book tickets online! Email that cheap B&B!
(Now that I think of it, Stratford sits on the Avon River. It has swans.
I bet they're just around the corner in my 9 of Cups!)
I love ballet. Go to see one! Google possibilities now! (Swan Lake?)
She seems to be putting the finishing touches on her performance ensemble. What unfinished projects that fired me up in the past can be revisited? I bet there's a dress or wall hanging in there,
just waiting to see the light of day!
Tai Chi! It's outdoors, it's sort of a dance! Wanna try it?
Ideas for my heart (Water)
from Death, Major XIII
Inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 1890 Wheatfield with Crows
The dreaded Death card, for my heart. Hmm.
Well, I LOVE crows, so they're not scary.
They're leaving - something, somewhere. Here's what I get from this Death card, for my ideal summer:
Acknowledge the lovely lakeside memories of past summers and fly onward.
Crows are carrion-eaters; they clean up dead messes. Good reminder to sweep up my emotional debris.
The summers of memory are behind me and cannot be recaptured BUT... I have new summer memories to make, and time's flying by. So get going! Follow those clever crows!

Ideas to occupy my hands (Earth)
from the Two of Pentacles (the "doing" suit)
Based on Dancers Practicing at the Barre, 1877, by Edgar Degas
A match! Earthy tips from Pents, the Earth suit.
They're at a barre. I could go to a bar too. Meet friends there.
Go dancing. That one's already started; I began line dancing class last week. Maybe suggest a drink at a patio bar after class?
That sewing machine I talked about in the first card? Make one of these floaty-skirted dresses.
Talk to a neighbour over the fence.
This is a sumptuous art gallery of a deck; 78 framed prints. Have a look at the card backs...
In neighbourhood news
I arrived home on Sunday night to find a manhunt taking place on my block. Guess I can cross that particular thrill off my bucket list.
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