Red and Green Cup Craziness

I just could not help myself with this one. 

Disclaimer: I am not attacking any religion, it's body of followers, or corporations. 

Warning: I am pointing out utter ignorance and insanity.

Home from work and not feeling well, I see on the news about some pastor being offended by the colors of a Starbucks cup.....in my head is a big WHHAAAT???

What is this madness? You can't be serious!?

I go online to check my email and of course the infamous social network feed, and I am bombarded with this cup color crisis.

Anti-Christian the pastor states. Says that Starbucks has made an anti-Christian statement with their choice of the seasons design, or as some are saying specifically, 'lacking Christmas iconography'. 

This is where I start to laugh. Apparently this guy (and others) really failed at thinking things through before they cried 'war'.....not one bit of thought what so ever....(giggle)

I also came across support of this opinion coming from GQ....really?....or was that just a joke, I'm so confused!....I just don't know; it's so hard to tell these days any more. Some things are such a waste of energy and completely stupid that I have a hard time believing that someone is actually being serious about it.

So let's take a look at this cup controversy and the cry that it is an offensive anti-Christian statement.

What is there in all this madness that supports this guys outcry.

Item #1 - Cup is red and green (and white). These colors have been associated with the holiday Christmas for generations. It is so embedded in our culture that these two colors dominate the decorations, wrapping paper, and other holiday gear. No one has ever made a stink about these two colors being anti-anything before. 

Verdict- Does not support

Item #2 - Cup is void of any and all common holiday symbols. The only symbol is the company logo. In years past there have been snowflakes, reindeer, ornaments on tree branches, people and pets sledding, snowmen and carolers. I don't associate any of those with the birth of Christ. Yet they are well known and apparently acceptable iconography for the holiday. If the lacking of these symbols are anti-Christian, what is a snowman? Why wasn't Starbucks called out when reindeer adornd the cups, or a tree with ornaments. Those are associated with the pre-Christian festivities and traditions of Winter. To be more specific, they are historically pagan. 

Verdict- Does not support

Item # 3 - Some 'Christians' are manipulating the employees of Starbucks, in protest, to write 'Merry Christmas' on the cups by using that as their name. I found a timeline of past cups, none had any sort of holiday phrasing. At most, ornaments had single words such as, hope, joy, peace. Those words are fitting on any given day. So to my knowledge, Starbucks has never 'catered' to any one religion with their cup designs. Now correct me if I am wrong, protests are supposed to hurt the intended target. How is boosting the profits of a corporation (buying a drink just so 'Merry Christmas' will be written on the cup) supposed to hurt?

Verdict- Does not support

As is said, any publicity, bad or good is still publicity. Starbucks is getting a fine kickback from this protest.

A Tarot Bag ~ Made to Fit ~ In more ways than one!

Decks in their bags from L to R:  

       Waking the Wild Spirit, Infinite, New Vision, Spirit of Flowers, Cat People, Pagan Cats, Hidden Folk, Fantastical, Fey

Custom Made Tarot Bags ~ Because Your Tarot Deck Deserves It!

        I came up with the pattern for these bags out of a need. I was not happy with the majority of bags that I found that were deck sized. All these bags were flat and either too long, too wide, or both. The cards would slide around in the bag. I did not like this rubbing of my cards. They get a lot of handling and rubbing against each other during the shuffling and reading process. I have decks that are many years old that I bought new and they have 'dull' spots on them form use. I did not want my decks in times of non-use to be subject to wear and tear. 

Here is an example of these 'flat' types of bags. This is not a bag I bought for my deck. Some publishers throw in one of these mass produced organza  bags. Which is a nice thought, but they really do not do anything to protect the deck. Plus, these bags really do not hold up for very long. This one is already starting to tear out at the seem on the right side. and this is one of the newer decks. It is need of a real home, and a real home I shall give it. I kind of like the fabric I happened to pick up at random to take this picture. 

Perhaps I will use it for the deck. Oh, picking the fabric. What a fun part of the experience! Which we will see more of later on.

        I also encountered another fault of the flat, unfitted bags; bent and wrinkled cards. Because the cards have room to move around, they do not stay together in pack form. Those cards that stray off to the sides are subjected to accidental bending. Now I take very good care of my cards, but there are times in transport or other events that a deck gets put into a bad situation and can be damaged. On two occasions a couple cards in the deck got bent while being stored in one of these kinds of bags. While I did find one bag were the deck fit near perfectly, I did not like the corners at the bottom of the bag that stuck out. I wanted to cut them off!       

It was at that moment that the mission began to design a tarot bag that fit any deck in every imaginable way.

The bag pattern I ended up designing I am sure is nothing new to the world of sewing, it is really pretty basic. But regardless of that fact, these bags are still truly unique and one of a kind.

No two bags are ever the same and they totally fit the size of the deck it is made for. As well as the fabrics used fit the personality of the deck and deck owner.

The bag is like having two bags in one! This means that when the bag is turned inside out it becomes a whole different bag. 

Bags can be made in all kinds of ways with one to four different types of fabric. They can have a layer of padding as well.  All kinds of embellishments can be added to the bag such as beads, bells, charms, and anything else that you may think of.

THESE ARE THE ULTIMATE 

CUSTOM MADE BAGS FOR TAROT DECKS*

     *also good for runes, crystals, dice, cellphones, etc.

        The majority of fabric that I have in stock are natural fibers such as cotton, rayon and silk. But I do have some synthetics and blends because the fabric is just too wonderful to pass on just because it is not 100% natural. And really, when one thinks about it, polyester and nylon is still 'natural' coming from oil, it is just highly processed. But, I know what it feels like to wear cotton or rayon and then wear polyester. I am not fully comfortable in synthetics, I need a natural layer between me and the polyester. I certainly want the same for my decks. And it is with the fabric that this process of creating a personalized one of a kind tarot bag begins.

Once I know the deck I am making a bag for and I have the measurements, I gather up the fabrics that I have that I think would go well with the deck and have you look at images of the fabric. I already have a bunch of fabric images posted for just this purpose. 

You can view some of my fabrics in my Photo Gallery - Tarot Textiles

Once it is determined the fabric to be used I start with the cut and sew part of the process. Once sewn, the bag gets it's drawstrings and any requested embellishments. I then smudge the bag, inside and out, with a special incense & herb blend.

You can request your custom bag at Owl Ka Myst Tarot 

Tarot of the Cat People ~ Owl's Eye View

Tarot of the Cat People

My first ever experience with a deck of tarot cards, but not card readings, was with this deck. A friend had this deck and as it would be, her name was Cat.

She did a Celtic Cross reading for me and then gifted me with my first deck. 

I sure do miss her....anyway...

It would be several years and many decks later that I would eventually own the Tarot of the Cat People. I got mine by trading a deck I just did not vibe with. My deck traveled across the Atlantic ocean form the U.K. Across North America to the West coast and into my hands.

The deck has given me some wonderful and sometimes interesting readings. 

While I was developing and practicing a past life spread I created, I did a test reading with my Leo daughter as the subject. The cards showed a life time in the South during the time of slavery. Her life (it was unclear if she was the male or female in this past life) in this time was about forbidden love. 

Yes, that of the slave and the slave owners offspring.

This reading was done when she was about 6 years of age. Over 10 years later, I can certainly see some parallels in her personality of not allowing the ideas of others and what is taboo socially stand in her why of what feels right.

She is one tough kitty too!

XVIII The Moon

This deck has, at times, be described as dark. Visually, it is a bit that way. The artist, Karen Kuykendall, used a lot of dark and muted colors. In a divinatory manner, with the reading of forbidden love in a past life, it sure does seem it would be on the dark side. However, that past life reading did have a happy ending. They ran away from the south and headed north-west.

In other readings I have done with this deck. I would not call them dark. I would call them very matter of fact. These cats don't mess around. Perhaps it is the 'telling it like it is' attitude of the deck that gives it a dark feel. Even when people know the truth of a matter, they do not want to believe it, but still know it is so. With the cards verifying this known factor, our inclined reaction is the 'energetic slump'. This is that, "Well, &#!^" moment. We knew it was so, but now we have to accept it and deal with it. 

Queen of Swords

With all that said about the deck. I would not call it dark. I would say it is lurking in the shadows on the edge of dark. It's 'dark nature' also all depends on the person holding the cards and their own way of communication and understanding of the deck. Some may not feel it is dark at all, for the art of the characters show a very richness and finery that is beyond dark. These people honor beauty and design, the earth and of course felines.

VI The Lovers