Maat Tarot - Study Group

Strange2

Glad to have you, magpie9! Feel free to start a thread on whatever Maat card strikes your fancy (and there certainly are quite a few that catch my eye!). I know I often explore the nuances of a particular card that entices me after I do a reading, and then compare the same card from multiple decks to get a range of insights.

Looking forward to everyone's insights...
 

victoria.star

thank you

I recently received the Maat Tarot and it hasn't left my side since its arrival. I have found a comfortable way to shuffle them and am enjoying them immensely.
Although I cannot, due to time constraints, commit to a study group, I am thankful for the people who have been able to do so.
I will try and post when I can.
Thank you for the study group and thank you to Julie Cuccia-Watts for a deck that speaks in such a wonderful way.
I cannot get the images out of my mind! What a lovely, personable deck.
 

magpie9

Does anyone know why there are no threads for the aces and the knights? Does anyone else feel this is somehow incomplete? Does anyone know why Julie stopped posting? :bugeyed:
I hope we didn't do something wrong......
 

juliecucciawatts

I am still here just trying to catch my breath...

Hi Magpie,
Sorry I haven't posted in a while I am sort of recovering from
a whirlwind 16 day shamanic trip to Egypt. My head is spinning with ideas right now and it has been nearly impossible to stay focused...
I agree there are missing card postings and I promise to work on catching up here. Seems my last month has been nothing but catching up. In truth there are some pretty great writers in this group who can write circles around me. I would hope they would feel free to chime in.
Just because I painted the cards doesn't mean all the ideas have to come from me. Tarot is a living and growing entity IMO and it can talk to all us.


love,
Julie
 

magpie9

Yes, Tarot does speak to all of us, especially in your MAAT--I think we crave your voice because you are the Artist, the mother of his deck, and who knows the child better than the mother? You have done so many extraordinary things in this deck, and with your vision of it. You bring your own angle to each card, incorporating your studies and your heart. It is good and right that we each find our own way into each card, but seeing it through your eyes enriches it beyond belief for us. hopefully, we will get back on track with it, and you will join in when you have caught up with your life a bit more.
Love,
Magpie
 

hunter

Kimber, I guess this is the general discussion thread. Did you print out a deck or buy one? I printed out the small and the mini decks. I spent all Christmas day printing and cutting.

My new deck card was the Prince of Coins. I guess I should start a thread on him.
 

hunter

I'm taking down my Winter Solstice altar and want to really devote that altar to this deck.

I first made an alter for a deck, for my Zerner Farber and Tarot of Transformation decks and refer to it as the purple altar. I printed out Thalia Took's Kwan Yin card (Goddess of Compassion) http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/kwanyin.html and she overlooks the altar. I have an Amethyst and some purple lavendar/vanilla candles. This altar and decks are dedicated and particularly suited to self-soothing.

I'd really like this other altar to be dedicated to the moon cycles, seasonal celebrations and the Maat. I'm not sure what to hang on the wall, or what candles or stones to use between special days. I have a Venus of Willendorf replica which I think is appropriate for this altar. For now I just rested the prince of coins (My new deck relationship pick) and the 9 of wands (the card for this week) on it and the rest of the deck over to the side.
 

Kimber

Your altar sounds lovely, hunter! I have a Venus of Willendorf statue on mine too, that I picked it up several years ago in Norway.

I have the actual deck, and the large size of the cards really showcases Julie's exquisite artwork! I already had the Maat Activity Book, and I told my husband I wanted the Moon Signs Guide, Book of Court Cards, and the Maat Teacher's Edition for Yule, so I have been able to spend some time immersing myself in the deck while off from work this week!

Since this is the general discussion thread, I'd like to share some ramblings from my notes; maybe they'll be helpful to others learning the lunar system, or maybe not! But it was really helpful to me to work with the Moon Signs book.

The first thing I had to get straight in my head was the phases themselves:

4 Waxing (increase of energy as the Moon moves toward Full):
New to Crescent
Crescent to 1st Quarter
1st Quarter to Gibbous
Gibbous to Full

4 Waning (decrease of energy as the Moon moves away from Full):
Full to Balsamic
Balsamic to Last Quarter
Last Quarter to Disseminating
Disseminating back to New

So the moon is waxing for approximately 14 days, and waning for 14 days, for a 28 day lunar month. In this month, the Moon travels through all 12 signs of the zodiac.

In the Maat (and Julie - please jump in any place where I'm off track in my understanding!), Julie breaks the phases down into four, so the cards reflect New Moon, First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter.

Then I looked at the Full Moon Cycles. They are grouped seasonally - Full Moon Cycles for Autmn, Winter, Spring, and Summer; which leaves us with three full moon cycles per season.

For example, the Full Moon Cycle of Aries is the first of the three months of autumn, and is represented by the Emperor. Within this cycle, the four weekly moon phases are represented by the cardinal signs of the zodiac (Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer). The full moon is represented by a Court card in each cycle.

Likewise, the other two full moon cycles of autumn are identified with fixed signs and mutable signs, respectively. This correlation is repeated through each season. I hadn't noticed that before and found it helpful to my basic understanding.

Also, the Autumn and Winter seasons relate to the masculine suits of Wands and Swords, while Summer and Spring relate to the feminine suits of Cups and Pentacles.

I think what makes the system difficult for many people to conceptualize is our "in the box" thinking. I know it became much easier for me when I stopped trying to make it all go in the sequence I'm accustomed to and just went with the flow!

Still learning.....

Kimber
 

juliecucciawatts

Yay Kimber!!! You have it exactly right.
 

Penthasilia

Breathing life into an old post

So, I decided to use the Maat tarot for my intensive study group and wanted to post a thank you to everyone who has listed here under the other threads. I may be adding in some thoughts as I go through as well.

I am excited to start- and hopefully this will lead to some further discussions on this forum as well :)

Amy