Not every Taroteer agrees with me, but I’m a firm believer that beginners need decks with bright, approachable art. After all, who’s going to use a deck that scares her?

Cards 1 & 2: Seven of Cups / Magician

An angry gardener . . .

Card 3: Action/Situation: Six of Cups

. . . had grown a beautiful flower that he was going to take to the garden show and hopefully win a prize, but his little son cut the flower and gave it away to his friend because she was sad. He was angry with his son for cutting the flower, but ultimately he was proud of him for wanting to make someone else happy, and really, flowers are for enjoying, not hoarding . . .

Card 4: With / To / Because: Seven of Swords

. . . because when a thief breaks into the house and steals the silver, the gardener realizes that neither silver, nor flowers, are worth getting angry over, and human relationships are the only things of real, lasting importance.

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The Moon is the first of the Majors that I've done; the Moon is one of my very favorite cards, along with the Queen of Cups. In the Tarot, the Moon represents uncertainty, confusion, ambiguity. It indicates that intuition is needed, that maybe it would be wise to listen to your inner voices rather than relying too much on logic or facts. The lobster on this card is a crayfish in many other decks; I've read that it may have started out as a crab, representing the astrological sign of Cancer.

I love this one! I love the cup (I found it at iStockphoto.com, and I also found the heart-shaped steam, coming out of a different cup). I really like the simplicity of this card. The Aces of all of the suits represent the strongest, purest quality of the suit, so in the case of Cups, the Ace of Cups is a cup full of love, joy, and emotion, but particularly love.

The suit of Cups deals with the emotions and relationships, most particularly love. The element of Cups is water--the flow of life, the flowing together of people--lovers, friends, families. They generally signify happiness, peace and joy, and they are passive rather than active. Sometimes that can be a problem, of course, when the events of life require action. But in general, Cups' symbolism leans toward happy things.

The Two of Cups symbolises not only romantic love, but also affection, friendship, partnership, cooperation. Rachel Pollack's seminal Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom calls the Two of Cups "a lesser version of The Lovers," and says, "While the trump shows the great power of mature sexual relationships the Minor card emphasizes the beginning of a relationship." I had originally intended to make a card focusing on romantic love--for Valentine's Day--but it took a different turn. A story evolved as I was creating it. At first I thought about the two girls as friends, but then I decided they were sisters, one just a little older than the other, and a little more adventurous. She has the opportunity to travel, and she goes off and sees the world while her younger sister stays home with their parents.

The older girl (Eleanor, or "Elly,") sends her younger sister (Olivia, or "Livvie") postcards from exotic places like Egypt, where Elly meets a man while visiting the Great Pyramid, and thinks she might be falling in love. The beginning of a love affair seems to fit the Two of Cups perfectly, so it ended up almost where it started.

There's a message, of course, because the Page is a messenger. The plant symbolizes birth and potential, and something that needs, and can benefit by, nurturing. This Page represents creativity, which can also benefit from nurturing.

The Seven of Cups is about choices, specifically, a wealth of choices. Choices can represent dreams and desires that can be made manifest, but they can also represent "castles in the air," and the danger is that with so many choices, one can become paralyzed and not make any choice at all. Great care needs to be taken to make the right decision, but some decision needs to be made, or you're just spinning your wheels. The Seven of Cups indicates that you have great opportunities before you--embrace the opportunities and make the right choice.