This fiery throne I sit upon
(or stand next to)
is an accumulation of all the desire I was able to follow through on.
And some that I haven’t.
Because sparks know naught of direction
Only that there is bursting to do
Stars to emulate
With their cycles and spin
Their swirling arcs of destiny unfurling.
While it’s no mistake that I stand where I do
There have been mistakes aplenty along the way
And myriad opportunities for more
If we’re lucky.

~~~~~

Today’s deck is the Mucha Tarot by (kind of) Alphonse Mucha. He was a Czech painter who really embraced the Art Nouveau movement, and made it accessible through adverts and theatre posters, particularly for Sarah Bernhardt, a most celebrated actress of her time.
I got this deck because I realized I didn’t have any typically traditional Smith-Waite (Please note that I put Pamela Coleman-Smith‘s name first because she deserves all the recognition for what is possibly the most well known deck among card readers, and it was way too long before her name even made it onto the deck. The meanings of the cards are broadly-ish interpreted but her imagery is incredibly consistent, I’ve found.) decks in my collection. I really like Mucha’s art and this deck does a really nice job of showcasing that while creating a connection to the original deck. To be clear, this is a deck not comprised of his art so much as a tribute to the style of his art. There are some cards which feature direct crossovers (Sarah Bernhardt as the Magician comes to mind, as well as the Wheel of Fortune) but it is someone else’s interpretation of a Smith-Waite deck using his art as inspiration. So don’t be all, I’mma get that Mucha deck and then be disappointed when it’s not strictly an art deck(o).

The Kings can be difficult for me. If Pages are an embodiment of that first spark that started with the Ace, and Knights are the drive which carries the message forward, and Queens are the result of the heart being involved, then Kings are the head and I dwell there both too much and not enough. I still get heart and head tangled in a mish-mash of should I or shouldn’t I. I know it’s not uncommon, but sometimes I really wish for the broad perspective and decisive energy of the king, which is honestly probably just a fool with a different hat and I would do well to be gentler on myself.