Omorka's Lair

12 Nisannu: (Technically, this happened around sunset, so it might have been early on 13 Nisannu instead) Lit ancestor candle, freshened water. Did not light incense because QD was coming over and he's very sensitive to certain smells. Did brief grounding and centering meditation.

13 Nisannu: (Again, close to sunset, so possibly this overlaps with 14 Nisannu) Lit ancestor candle. It's developing an odd layer of soot on the inside rim; need to see if I can do anything about that. Did brief grounding and centering meditation. Lit incense (cedarwood) for the Sumero-Babylonian pantheon as a whole; incense kept going out. Quit fighting, guys, there's enough for everyone. (I should work out a schedule.)

Need to work on libations as offerings, & find out what these deities want. Honey is mentioned a lot, so I imagine mead would be acceptable. Pomegranate juice, maybe?

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Went though a pair of decks I'd been given as gifts. One is a Steampunk Tarot, and fortunately the aesthetic is more Edwardian than Victorian, or I'd have actively disliked it. As it stands, I'm just unimpressed. The other is a Faeries' Oracle; I don't work with the fae folk at all (for what may be good reason; there is some evidence that one of my paternal ancestors may have been considered a changeling), so while it was certainly pretty, as a divination tool it mostly left me cold. Well, they can't all be winners.

( Card Image Behind the Cut )

Also, dang, choosing between the Dragon and Cat People decks was difficult. For those of you who weren't around the last time I talked about Tarot a lot (which, granted, has been a few years), the Cat People deck was my first deck. It's not a good choice for a first-time deck, in a lot of ways - the symbolism is all about the colors, clothing, and jewelry, much more than the background details. But it seems to have worked for me, and I still pull it out on occasion. The Dragon Deck is also not a good choice for an early deck, and I didn't pick it up until after the Universal Waite and Robin Wood decks; I still don't read with it much, and the way Prakownik deals with the wing joints (or, more accurately, doesn't) bugs me, but I love the jewel-tones and the general feel of the art. If I'd gotten the Moon again, I suspect I'd have picked the Cat People deck - there's nothing wrong with Kuykendall's High Priestess, but the card's kind of dark and the Priestess's hairstyle is awfully '20s somehow.

( Large image behind the cut )

Edit: and the in bed lemming ( behind the second cut! )