Welcome to the True Black Tarot! This deck is amazing, high end, exquisite to see and touch, but my favorite thing about this deck is the way the cards speak to each other. Let's get started! As usual, I will throw two cards; for now, as I get to know this deck, I will not be interpreting reversals.
My two cards are The Tower and the Queen of Cups. Now that is an interesting start. The True Black Tower shows a figure that is literally cracking apart, as if made from porcelain. I cannot tell for sure if this figure is male or female (one of the nice things about the images on these cards is that many are somewhat gender-neutral) but Arthur uses the pronoun "she" in the card description, so I will go with that. She is holding a glowing sphere (which is also cracked) between her palms. Floating next to her on the left is a crown and on the right is a flower blossom; both are cracked in half. Behind her are vines heavy with grapes, and at her feet is a fox. Behind her head and somewhat hidden in the darkness is a large eye.
The Queen of Cups is standing in profile to the viewer, her hair flowing around her as if she was immersed in water; she is wearing a ribbon around her neck, and the ends of the ribbon are also floating. She holds a clear glass cup in one hand, with her other hand over the cup, creating golden angelfish after angelfish. They float upward, circling over her head and creating her golden crown. Above the crown floats an oracle ball; at her feet are two koi fish, one black and one white.
The shattered figure on The Tower really personifies the sudden and violent change that this card signifies. She is vivisected by a large crack, one knee is cracked, both elbows and one shoulder are cracked, and one eye socket is shattered. Whatever has happened to her has been uncomfortable at the very least, and more likely life-changing. The grapes and fox are a homage to a parable in which a fox tries to jump up and grab the ripe and juicy grapes hanging just out of reach and when he fails, declares that the grapes are sour and he doesn't want them anyway. Arthur describes this as cognitive dissonance, which is defined as the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or attitudes, especially relating to behavioral decisions and attitude changes. The danger is that you will adjust your beliefs to the point that you are not connected to reality, and will hasten a sudden and chaotic adjustment because of this. The Tower is not always a bad card, at least in the long term. After all, in order to build a home on raw land, a builder must first clear the land, destroying what is currently there. The keywords for The Tower are change, cataclysm, danger and epiphany. Yes, there is danger when dealing with The Tower and the lack of power and control over the situation can be frightening, but sometimes the shattering of what is currently in place clears space for something new. We just need to keep our eyes open so that we can learn from our mistakes.
The True Black Queen of Cups seems gentle and warm and nurturing. Indeed, nurturing is one of her keywords, along with intuitive, understanding, and tender. She gently creates the tiny golden angelfish through her own giving and selfless love, and they manifest that love, following her to be near. The oracle ball above her head reminds us that the element of Water is also about dreams and visions, and the image on this card does have a dreamy feel to it. The two koi circling at her feet symbolize the balance of the dark depths of the deep water along with the sparkling glimmers of a fountain in the sun, balanced in harmony within the energies of this lovely Queen.
Yes, sometimes we need to destroy in order to create. Perhaps I am being warned today that I need to keep my eyes open and my senses alert, for even if things crumble around me, I can make lemonade from lemons by learning from the experience. I must do this through love, not through anger or resentment, and be grateful for the opportunity to create something new. The reward for enduring through the discomfort and fear could very well be an epiphany.
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