Singing Fish Pocket Tarot

The cards are only 2.75 inches (70mm) square, each card

having its picture on the front & its meaning on the back.

There’s only 31 cards because the Minor Arcana (other

than its Aces) is omitted.

This is shamanism by an expert.

There’s a nice selection of free downloads.

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This is also part of the Alphabeticon boxed set .. {-Here-}

Get the Help Sheet .. .. {-Here-}

.. (or from the Download List somewhere on your screen.)

See the cards in an art gallery .. .. {-Here-}

.. (or scroll down to the “See it in action” section.)

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I've finally made a Tarot deck that's perfect

for my own needs.

For one thing: .. I’m a professional reader and time constraints at psychic fairs are always tight.

On the other hand: .. I often close an evening with a few cards before bed, to guide my dreams.

Combining Both: .. Last weekend i wrote a “Help Sheet” that’s now enclosed with this deck. .. .. You see, .. when i first conceived this unusual Tarot, the Big Idea was this: .. .. .. Give the cards highly memorable ALPHABET NAMES!

So last weekend: .. The main thing i put on the new sheet’s front is a list of Alphabet Names i assigned, .. .. And beside that their standard names in most decks.

For example: .. The “Apple” card here, my honoring of Mother Eve, .. .. Is usually named the Alchemy reference “Ace Of Cups”, .. .. .. And so on.

Why is this list helpful? .. It opens the on-line world of precise discussions about Ace Of Cups, and every other card.

On the other hand: .. Turn the sheet over! .. .. Its back leads you deep-deep, far into: .. .. .. Mysterious Primordial Forest for Shamanic Divination!

Leads you with practical instructions titled: .. “Talking With Song Birds”! .. .. “A very ancient way of enriching your divination skills”!

.. .. .. .. .. The other side of the same sheet!

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And it’s SKILLFUL work!

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For example: .. In other Tarots their cards’ backs are the same, a meaningless uniform design that seems wasteful; .. .. Meant to hide them till you’re supposed to look, a DISCIPLINARY Measure really.

While in Contrast: .. The Singing Fish are smaller so they kind of hide in your hands, .. .. And they’re black & white with no borders, so the designs seem to merge till you focus on one; .. .. .. And yet thru art technique, when you look at the dramatic pictures there’s a vague appearance of color, like good black & white movies can give.

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And there’s less than half as many cards! .. For the art’s richness allowed an old design option: .. .. Leaving out the Minor Arcana.

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And of course: .. The Fishes’ backs have their meanings printed right there, so you’re not constantly distracted by glancing in a booklet!

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And besides which: .. The reduced number of cards, and the card size, .. .. and the missing booklet, replaced by 2 ingenious paper sheets, .. .. .. make this deck relatively inexpensive.

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And there’s a durable drawstring bag, not a fragile paper box!

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This is skillful liberated art, whose ambition is to liberate you.

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THE MEANINGS ON THE BACKS:

Each card's meaning is printed on its back, and they are designed for easy reading with fast vivid comprehension.

Each card's meaning is a BLANK VERSE narrative arranged in a compact design of TEXT ART. .. ..

“Bank Verse” being a modern term for the worldwide spoken art in most traditions of Ancient Bards, .. .. (including Shapespeare's plays!) .. .. ... who have always been specialists in vivid fast comprehension.

While “Text Art” is lessons learned by the masters of Modern Painting, but used for Sign Painting, .. .. (by such artists as New York Hip Hop Jean-Michel Basquiat,) .. .. .. another discipline of fast vivid compehension.

Just look at the Text Art here; .. .. You'll see that it both guides your eyes and shapes the text into meaningful rhythms.

Note: To see the cards, scroll down to the "See it in action" section.

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BUT WHERE ARE THESE MEANINGS FROM?

Of course i kept my notes from 41 years of work!

Started with the first little booklet i ever opened, .. me recently home from leading in war & rebellion.

Opened a booklet as big as my palm that supposedly contained the world, .. Held together with poorly stapled staples, .. .. Which came in a box with the fine old Rider Tarot, .. .. .. designed in England while the ghost of Queen Victoria still lingered there.

But i had an ambitious study program:

.. Each week taking a pocket full of them out into the world to find them there,

.. .. And seeking parallels from China in the I Ching too, .. .. .. Consulting the spirits with Ouija now and then, .. .. .. .. And learning Yoga, .. .. .. .. .. And enriching my notes, .. .. .. .. .. .. And writing poems of it.

On and on:

.. Stopping to make order of it now and then, .. .. While every reading teaches something.

That’s where the humane compassionate sentiments on the backs of the Singing Fish came from.

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NOW LET'S TALK CARD SPREADS:

Well first, do you like LAYOUT BOARDS?

Also called Layout Sheets; .. Printed pictures you can lay out a Card Spread on! .. .. Yes? We have a Library of them as free downloads, all pics of original paintings.

.. So if you like that way of laying out a Card Spread, as many do, get them dispensed free of charge from the Download List somewhere on your screen. .. .. Then print the ones you like at home, or take them to a print shop. .. .. .. And brief instructions are printed on every sheet.

.. But you don’t get any when you buy the deck, .. .. so i’m sorry and you’re welcome.

NOW AT LAST!: The Singing Fish like to tell you .. LITTLE STORIES.

So you usually, but not always, use simple little layouts.

.. Why do they like doing that?

Their meanings are very !!Action-Oriented!!

.. Like most of Human life is; .. .. thus even complex readings often need fewer cards than with other decks!

.. .. .. So much so, that a typical reading is just 3 or 4 cards!!

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SO LET'S TALK ABOUT SINGING FISH CARD SPREADS:

Let’s start our discussion with this:

A multi-dimensional variation i’ve developed: .. It’s a 9-card square, with a 10th card placed below, and 11th card placed above.

Now notice: .. That’s an enlargement of the deck’s “Basic Spread”,

.. Which is the 3-card series, optionally with a few more cards,

.. .. Which derives from a fact of Human Minds, that we say stories have: Beginning :: Middle :: End.

Then maybe more to summarize related stories:

.. Maybe one each to summarize next or prior stories in a client’s life,

.. .. Or maybe the main story’s cause and effect,

.. .. .. Or the stories of their loved ones,

.. .. .. .. Or etc., somewhere around the main three.

So basically the “Singing Fish Basic Spread” is:

.. : Now or Soon :: Transition Phase :: Final Outcome :

.. .. .. But with some freedom for embroidery as required.

And there’s the basics of Singing Fish card spreads, as i understand them so far.

??Got the picture?? .. .. Thank you.

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FINALLY: THE MAGIC OF THESE CARDS:

Psychological magic, ie: of the mind:

Without doubt, deep in our instincts, divination is an aspect of our human potential for shamanism, .. And i feel the Singing Fish are DEEPLY shamanic. .. .. .. So what do i mean by that?

Please pardon me if this seems too personal, but if i say “Prayer Life”, what comes to mind for you?

In a shaman’s Prayer Life: .. You step out on a twilight landscape in a different reality, .. (maybe your body’s interior landscape?) .. .. a twilight landscape full of a wide variety of Beings.

And you go there for A Specific Purpose, .. to obtain a Specific Good, .. .. for a specific person, or for your entire community, .. .. .. then you bring it back.

Thus we see divination is an aspect of our human potential for shamanism.

And these Singing Fish: .. For one thing: .. .. To me these cards’ borderless black-white-gray pictures, .. .. .. plus the subtle psychological impression of dramatic color, .. .. .. .. portray that twilight landscape quite convincingly.

Also: .. The word “Medicine” is often used for that Good you’re going after, .. .. a vague but vivid visual metaphor:

“Medicine” is a GLOWING SUBSTANCE you must become competent to Find and Handle.

And to gain that competence, .. of course you have to find goodness in yourself.

And the very deeply-sourced humane compassion of the Singing Fish helps me do that.

If you do this good work, my friend, .. you’ll have my blessings.

-Stone

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You can see the cards below in

the "See it in action" section.

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But don't forget "Talking With Song Birds",

on page 2 of the "Help Sheet", free on the

Download list.

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