Mock-Turtle, Griffon and Alice by John Tenniel. Image source: wikipedia
Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, feature many weird tales and characters. The ever-despairing Mock-Turtle is one of those strange appearances. She is a Turtle with a Cow's head and feet, and is called Mock-Turtle because of mock-turtle soup being made in the victorian era with something other than Turtle meat (which was expensive).
It is one of the most satirical characters in the books (in my opinion, anyway), and also makes an appearance in the Alice Tarot by Baba Studio.
The Alice Tarot in a vintage silk companion bag.
Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov of Baba Studio have a firm in Prague, the city of magic (although I believe their delivery might have moved from Prague to Ireland but I'm not sure). I visited Prague once, a few years back, and the city is wondrous. I was there with friends, but I hope I might go there alone once more, to breathe in the actual feel of the city. All the buildings are old and crooked, the bridges are imposing and grand, and the whole city is permeated with statues and other remainders of the old town. It's a bit like a visit-the-past tourist attraction. Next to an array of unique and spectacular Tarot deck, Baba Studio also produces bags and silk scarves, and I'm planning to get some one day (once I stop being so broke). Check them out here.
The Alice Tarot is the now sold-out 5th or 6th deck from Baba, and it was very expensive to get even before it sold out. But it was worth every penny. The cards feature a newish technique called cold-stamping, which is a fancy word for saying the cards shimmer - in some places! It's a very nice effect that gives the card something special they wouldn't usually have.
My favorite cards from the deck: sadly, the cold-stamping is impossible to capture with my poor cell-phone camera.
Initially, I didn't even want to get the Alice deck. It was incredibly pricey, and the cards I saw online weren't the nicest in the deck by far (and of course, the cold-stamping wasn't visible). This deck is one that doesn't quite look like its pictures when it arrives. The colors ARE vibrant, but not as bold and near-annoying as they seem in most photographies of the deck. So I had already decided against getting the deck, when I kept seeing it everywhere. In people's favorite lists, in youtube videos, and everyone adored the deck. So I reconsidered. And after seeing what seemed like a million unboxing videos, I needed to have the deck. I got it together with the Companion Book, which I would recommend, because the Companion Book is well-written and adds a lot of depth to these cards.
The Hermit, being my birth-card, is one of the first cards in the deck that I really studied. On it, we see the crying Mock-Turtle looking up at the invisible horizon (or at the past?). Instead of holding a lamp, there is a lighthouse in the background. The shore here is very rocky and the beach is invisible, so the Mock-Turtle is probably on a relief of rocks (or a cliff).
I really like this rendition, even though I don't quite grasp the totality of it yet.
Because we all wear a mask of some sort, we inadvertently become Mock-Turtles, even if we are real Turtles at heart! So I wanted to explore that aspect of the card by creating a spread that would reflect the duality of our selves that do not necessarily represent reality and falsity, but rather, two sides of the same coin.
Top to bottom, left to right: 1 (crown) The Face 2&3 (ambivalence) The (Mock) Turtle 4 (across) The Filter 5&6&7 Vice, Truth, Desire
I chose to do a 7-card spread, with cards 2&3 forming the Heart, that is, the duality of the Turtle that is also a Mock-Turtle.
Here are my interpretations for each card:
1. The Crown. The Face. What the Mock-Turtle shows the world. Or. what the outside world inadvertently views the Mock-Turtle as.
2. The Heart (first half). The Mock-Turtle. The shadow half. The half that is truth, but also denied this truth. The half that we would like to hide but know is there.
3. The Heart (second half) The Turtle. The beatific ideal of your self. The reality we strive for. Something we idealize in ourselves but know is not QUITE right. Unsettling irreality. An identity we own for ourselves but which is only part of the truth.
4. The Filter (Bridge) what is between two worlds, and two halves. The bridge that can unite the Turtle and the Mock-Turtle or divide them forever. Beware of this bridge and its perils. Beware of your own views on yourself.
5. The Way (first part) Your Vices that keep your halves apart and keep you in denial.
6. The Way (middle ground) The Truth. Who you are, what you are becoming.
7 The Way (finality) Your desire. As dangerous as the vice, the desire is often the thing that most keeps you from the truth. It is the aspect you have to work FOR, but also around. Be honest here: can this desire not be achieved without lies?
As you can see, the Mock-Turtle spread is very psychological and very personal. Also, there is no "outcome" card, no direct guidance. No easy way out. I think this is the essence of the Mock-Turtle: the duality is there and will always be there. We can be at one with the universe, in marvellous constellation, but still be torn apart inside into two halves that are the same, but different aspects of both a truth and a lie. I will probably do a series about how different decks work with this spread!
This is a spread for deep meditation and rethinking your current lives. I hope you enjoy this spread and work some deep magic with it!
Blessings and balance ~
Peachess
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