HallowQuest Lesson One: Meditation and Diary Keeping

Dancing Bear

I have needed a change in reading deck and the Arthurian Hallowquest screamed at me :D I have just found these threads , and am excited to get started.. Before i found these threads.. I did draw a card to asked how me and this deck will get along..
I received the Grail Six :)
I am quite happy with that card... It means to me we will get along splendidly, It will take me deeper into not only the Tarot but my ancestral path.. helping me understand more than ever before. The doorway for me represents secrets to be found..it also represents strength to me.. it is the safest place to be in an earthquake as it is the storngest part..the water coming from that doorway is not in the least threatening nor a hinderance if i were to want to explore inside.. water is alsway emotions to me.. so in saying this i feel this card says also that this deck is saying we wil get along quite smoothly blending quite weell wihtout much fuss.. in this card i saw a beautiful black , bird.. I want to say crow or black butcher bird.. both of these birds are from the same family and both of their calls are hauntingly beautiful to me.. my heart actually sings with the notes..so ifeel this deck , this card is going to have a very special place for me, not only as a reading deck, but also a study deck..
also thankyou Aerin for putting so much time into helping us learn this lovely deck..

So, what preparations do I need to make ?
Not many! I already have the deck book and journal (box set)
Not that i read the books that accompany decks much..and if i do i normally tweak the book meanings to match my own.. so me and the deck sing together so to speak.



So now i need to do the three card spread..

I shuffle the Greater Powers, the Courts, and the Lesser powers separately and ask 'what is the most important factor in the course for me in terms of my:
Ok I got for ; Experience; XlV The Couldron, lll Guinevere also jumped out at the same time oops!! Guidance; Stone king
and learning : Grail Ten

K to interpret these , I am not sure whether to interpret Guinevere and the couldron together because they certainly do intertwine in many ways , but i will try keeping them separate for the moment..
The Couldron.. to me says this deck is not only going to take me deep into the depths of tarot but into the depths of ancestral legends.. Through my experiences with this deck i feel it is definately going to take me back to my Roots, , which is Celtic ..in a much deeper, steeped with tradional sense..
I feel with the chains attached to the three different worlds, i feel they are representing to me the ability to bring all aspects together.. making it whole. this card is allowing me to see there is an abundance of knowledge to be gained here, from all points of view..the maiden, the woman , the crone..the stirring of the couldron says to me, this deck will show me how to blend it all together..these are the women behind great men.. these are the women behind all the great decision that were made by these great men,, reminds me of the saying.."Behind each great man there is a greater woman" :)

Hmm is it going to be the deck behind the reader or the reader behind the deck in this instance LOL!!

I feel this is a good card of favourable outcomes.. a little work on my behalf, ,is what is needed by me , but nothing that i dont already possess..snakes are to do with trust to me.. so i would say if i were to interpret that little critter.. i would say i should trust my instincts, and this deck, to acheive my desired outcome. this card gives me a peaceful feel..no stress at all. ooh a little cat just rubbed up against my leg upon entering this card, how sweet, this card has such a homey feel .




Hmm Guinevere.. to interpret her. as experience as well to me she says i will certainly understand this deck.. that is; it will all come together , this is the link with the couldron.. Guinivere is said to be all three women, the three wives of King arthur.. the maiden, the woman, the crone.. she had the wisdom, all three possess.. to me the spinning of fibre here, again says bringing it all together..ability to be able to understand, to manipulate and control, but not in a bad way..having the ability to be able to be followed without telling others to do so..I think this is going to a well loved deck..this card also reminds me of spring, a breathe of fresh relaxing air..upon entering this card i hear a load of little birds, no bird in particular but the songs of many birds..to me this is joy...


I asked who amongst you is going to guide me, when shuffling the court cards.. Stone King presented himself..
he also is linked to the couldron..I think i will have to study him a little more to see how.. he is such a handsome thing.., he exudes strength, composure, patience and protective..
its like he is sitting in the doorway protecting that which is the other side..
his faithful hound by his side..alert and on guard at any slight movement.. the king putting full trust in his hound , enabling him to relax a little..but i dont feel this king expects a challenge any time soon he seems too laid back for that.. I feel he is the law, he can command without malice. Upon entering the card it morphed.. the king became an old man sitting by a fire..I sat at his feet, the old hound came up and snuggled besides me, the king began to tell me stories of old.. I feel this king of stones is most certainly going to help me with the traditions of this era,. He is defiantely going to be a great Guide.



Learning.. grail ten.. I am going to just enter this card and see what it says to me..
I feel its been a long journey and the light within the building ahead is welcoming.. to song of the gull is heart felt and happy, its like a celebration of sorts.. like conquering , acheiving a desired affect..feeling of happiness and joy.. and a drink from that grail was well deserved.. a swim in the sea is also on the cards, it is a feeling like i have just come home..a peace. hmm is that a cave? will i now go explore that cave along the foreshore.. tells me there is more :D
i do feel the breeze and smell the sea in this card.. a really nice peaceful feel to this card..

i think this card is saying to me in terms of me learning this deck , is that i will enjoy it.. I am going to find it easier than i thought.. and i will reap the rewards in a big way at the end of this.. I will become emotionally attached to this deck...O OH!! :bugeyed: and also there is more to it than meets the eye and the book that accompanies it!

anyhoo I have started my first lesson.. If time permitting i will be back for the second lesson tomorrow..

DB xx


oops i think i got those cards mixed up for the questions... suppose to be lesser poweres for the experience
and Greater powers for the learning.. oops.. i hope that doesnt matter..!!
 

circlewalker

Hello Dancing Bear

Did you carry on with your studies - I've been working with the Arthurian Tarot reprint with the black window border but have just ordered the 1997 card version of the original Hallowquest to work along side it.

Adjusting to the different ways of reading this deck is very challenging - I find the imagery takes a bit longer to work through in a modern context but defintely worth the effort

in light

CW
 

witchychris

Well as people may have seen from the other thread I am new to AT but have had this deck for years and whilst I love it I have never really gotten to grips with it. So, Now that I have found this study group I am intending to start again (I have tried before but fallen by the wayside) to work through the Arthurian Tarot Course.

What preparation do I need to make?
Not too much really. I already have the deck and the companion book and also the Hallowquest and The Arthurian Tarot Course books. I have decided to keep my diary, meditation records etc on the computer to make it more like an 'official' course and help my discipline.

What is the most important factor in the course for me?
I did a three card spread and cam up with :

The Sword Knight, Gawain and Grail Seven. I'm a bit of a novice at tarot as a whole and particularly this deck so I have drawn on the meanings from the book. I outlined these meanings for each card and then tried to draw the threads together.

The Sword Knight is a fearless, skillful defender of the weak. And asserts the idea of right.

Gawain is all about application of strength and will. Also the balance of physical and spiritual.

The Grail seven is a card of self deception, illusion, and over active imagination. Unrealistic fantasies and the need for emotional discipline.

So what are these cards trying to tell me?

I think this is a message of personal empowerment. It is about dispelling unfounded fears and views, improving my self confidence and having the strength to face obstacles that are not illusionary.
If anyone has any other interpretations of this feel free to chip in. I'm sure I'll get more out of my studies by listening to other peoples ideas than working in solitude.


The card I chose to meditate on was Gawain. At first I found it difficult to step it to the card. I had a feeling of hovering in the doorway. It has been a while since I last meditated so I am a bit out of practise but I felt that it was more than this. When I did enter the card I was in a lovely secluded valley in the mountains. The sun was really warm and there was just a hint of a breeze which stopped the heat being oppressive. It was an incredibly peaceful place, all I could hear was the breeze and bees buzzing on the flowers in the grass. I should have been relaxed and at peace here but I wasn't. I felt on edge waiting for something to happen.
As I was wandering I came across Gawain. At this point I looked down and found a sword in my left hand and a round shield on my right arm. (Much as I right with my left hand I do tend to be right handed for most things so I think was some significance in the shield being on my right arm and the sword in my left hand.) Gawain came at me with his sword and I quickly raised my shield. It wasn't an attack as between enemies rather I had a sense that this was more a training bout. He was in the role of trainer or instructor. Time and again he challenged me and every time I raised my shield and no matter how much he shouted at me to attack back it was my shield I raised not my sword.
Suddenly I was an eagle flying over the valley. I was looking down on the scene but kept finding myself flying ever higher. Eventually as the scene faded I had a sense of plummeting downwards and came out of the meditation.

I think this has a lot in common with the reading that I did for the start of the course. It was showing how I tend to fail to engage and am often putting myself on the back foot, defending myself and my beliefs. My message is that I need to step forward and have the comfidence to promote myself and challenge others. See myself as equal and not keep withdrawing.
 

Aerin

Thank you for posting here - it's really interesting for me to review what I said *gulp* in May 2002!!!

This deck taught me a lot about meditation - I have more than one edition of it now. I still prefer the black doorways to the new white ones though.

I feel like I've been through two lives since then.
 

witchychris

Thanks for that. It's good to know that I'm not posting on a totally redundant thread. Although I think the act of posting is a good way of keeping to the course (particularly as I have started in the past and let life get in the way) even if no one else is looking at the thread.

I have the old version of the cards with the black doorways (I didn't even know that there was another version). I also have the old versions of the books. 3 separate ones Hallowquest, The Arthurian Tarot Course and the companion book that came in the box set with the deck (all from 1992). I suspect that all the same material is covered though but just filed in different places.
 

Aerin

Well, far be it from me to enable but the new version of the deck comes with a cute little baby book and a couple of new spreads :D, and the green box is very good too. A solid little set that is easy to carry around.

Cards: 80 pages
Publisher: Connections Book Publishing Ltd; New edition edition (18 Sep 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1859062105
ISBN-13: 978-1859062104

It's available on amazon.com/ amazon.co.uk and probably book depository as well, haven't looked. The other set I have is the black doorway cards but it came with a journal.

I look forward to seeing what you make of the later threads too, life got in the way quite quickly... I would say I'll join you once you get past the early threads but being honest I'm not sure if I will have the time. Typing everything up from the book took me ages, but then you probably won't need that as you don't have people without book.
 

PathWalker

I've made a start on this too, several times, and always stall before I get very far. I will try and find my writings for this first lesson and post them here - even if it takes me ages to finish, you're not alone witchychris :)

Like you I have all the different books, and I have both sets of the deck too. I use the black edged versions for readings, and the white edged versions is the deck that's spilt into sections for daily work.

Be back at some point........
Pathwalker
)O(
 

Aerin

PathWalker said:
Like you I have all the different books, and I have both sets of the deck too. I use the black edged versions for readings, and the white edged versions is the deck that's spilt into sections for daily work.

Be back at some point........
Pathwalker
)O(

Now THAT's a good idea. I usually spend ages sorting the deck bck and forth because mostly I read with my original black edged deck. Good to see you here!
 

tigerlily

PathWalker said:
I've made a start on this too, several times, and always stall before I get very far.
My stumbling block are the rituals. I feel incredibly silly when trying to do them, so I don't... and then I feel I can't start, because I've left out a step (yes, I can be a bit obsessive-compulsive with these things :rolleyes:)

Also, I can never decide which parts I would feel comfortable to post here, and which parts would be too personal - that varies with my mood and how insecure I am... I'd probably go back and edit out everything, and then go back again and repost it when I'm in a "oh, what the heck!" moment *sigh*
 

PathWalker

Cards

At some point early in the course i.e during the first 5 lessons, I noticed that I didn't really feel comfortable with the "experience, guide &teacher" thing.
I kept trying for a while, afraid of 'doing things wrong' but it just didn't make me feel that I understood what the cards were expressing.

Then I thought, hang on, this is meant to be about helping me move forward on the journey, these aren't set rules I'm sure, they're helpful giudelines. So if they don't work for me, what does?

So I made it more simple, and this is currently what I do ( I realise I may have to change this as I get further into the course). I divided the cards into two piles only; one pile is all the number cards. There are no figures at all on the number cards, they are all scenery. So this is where I am, or has something to say to me that links to a natural type of place or energy. This works for me, links with my own spiritual walk. Of course there are the Aces/Hallows in this pile, so sometimes a slightly different message.

The other pile is all the courts and the majors. These are often figues, these will accompany me on that journey, or speak to me. Occasionally there are non-figurative cards, but their major arcana energy has something to say to me. I find the little green book from the current printing useful here too, as it actual poses questions for the cards, this helps if I'm wondering how the cards link together for any one day.

For now this works for me :)
Pathwalker