During the past few years, I have been doing a lot of self-love work; it came to a head with my health issues. I'd always needed to deal with it, began to do the work and am now here. I knew almost no resources for this and I wanted to find ones where there could be space for me, where I would not feel marginalized.
I would love to share what I know about these works in the hope that you might find something to lift your spirits or help you along.
In my work, I like to use Tarot cards, runes or other decks to kick my mind into making new connections and ideas; I find it inspirational. The most recent deck I have used is The Collective Tarot.
This deck has been a wonderful surprise. It is published by the Tarot Collective in Portland, OR and its focus is on inclusion of queer culture, visibility of people of color, the disabled and ideas and concepts not visible on other decks.
The Collective Tarot succeds brilliantly. A great deal of work has gone into the cards and the thought behind them. As for inclusion, all I can say is "Inclusion: You're Doing It Right." There are images of all shapes, sizes, types, ethnicities and sexualities and it does not feel shoehorned in, tokenized or pasted over a regular tarot format. It is excellent as well as a phenomenal accomplishment.
The four suits have been reviewed as Bones, Bottles, Feathers and Keys noted as objects that one can find in an urban setting and some of the Major Arcana have been renamed and remodeled to fit the objective for the deck. Those show considerable thought and resonance-I always find it risky when a deck changes those, but these work at incorporating the idea of the card as well as its current representation.
It is a pleasure to work with The Collective Tarot; the cards have a great deal of insight and are open to many interpretations and ideas. I currently use it for readings but it would work great as a daily draw or for meditative purposes. As far as self-love works, The Collective Tarot is especially beneficial because of its wide representation of people, gender and sexualities since it is likely that there is someone like you within it. I find it feels very warm, wise and comforting. I highly recommend it.
The Collective Tarot can be purchased
here for $25.
NB: As always, any book or product is never a substitute for professional help. I am not trained in medicine or psychology and I make no such claims about this product. Unless otherwise stated, this was purchased by me and not a gift or review copy. Management not responsible for ball failure.
