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Are Tarot Parties the Perfect Night In?

2018-01-13 Claire L. Squire ShanghaiWOWeng

When I heard that one of my favorite jewelry designers, Gloria Lee from Tissh, was also a tarot card reader, my first response was, "what the hell?" but I am not one to doubt without trying it out. So, we went for a coffee and I quizzed her about tarot.



So Gloria, what is tarot?

Simply put, tarot refers to a deck of cards seen as a divination tool used to understand current and future life situations. Many people associate tarot cards with psychics and crystal balls, and all things “New Age-y," yet they have actually existed for centuries. The deck consists of 78 cards: 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards. The minor arcana cards are separated into 4 suits: wands/rods, swords, pentacles and cups.


Can you tell us a bit about the history?

Tarot cards first made an appearance sometime around the late 14th – 15th centuries in Europe. Originally used for gaming purposes, there has been wide debate over whether our standard playing cards we use today evolved from the tarot cards or not. Although some scholars believe that the modern playing cards developed from the Islamic Mamluk cards from the Arabic regions rather than the European ones, the history of tarot is still rich in culture and art, as they were beautifully decorated and held great symbolism. It wasn’t until around the 16th – 18th centuries that the cards were used for divination purposes, using the cards to show a journey of one’s life through specific challenges and obstacles. Today, many people use them to read into situations or current issues they are facing, or to simply see what the Universe holds for them!



How did you first become interested in Tarot?

My older sister used to tinker around with a deck and I remember being fascinated while watching her do readings. It was like we had our own world of secrets and power that the cards gave us. I have always been very spiritual and so, later in life, I got back into it and started reading up on tarot cards and readings. I also became very interested in astrology and numerology, and all things metaphysical. There is definitely more to life than meets the eye!



How did you come by your tarot cards?

I read once that your tarot cards need to be a gift and that you shouldn’t purchase them yourself. So naturally while shopping with my sister, I was like, “Hey, buy me these? Thanks!” I wanted the most known deck, called the Rider-Waite deck, but as fate would have it, the store only had the Aquarian Tarot Deck. Serendipitous actually, since my astrological sign is Aquarius!


Have you visited other tarot readers?

Of course! I love hearing what they have to say and seeing the different ways they read cards. I know of a really good reader (psychic/medium to be more precise) in Toronto, so I often see her when I’m back there. It is quite amazing to hear the predictions as well as the insight into my current situations. 


Do you think having a creative mind links to tarot?

I definitely think there is a link there. Most creatives are open-minded in general, so it may not be such a stretch to think that cards may help in hearing advice you may not have considered before. Being positive and open about the reading definitely results in a better and more insightful reading! Of course there will always be a bit of skepticism when it comes to anything “science” can’t prove, but that’s life. If you are open to the universe and to hearing what it has to say, the form of which it comes out shouldn’t matter. The message is what matters.


How has tarot influence your jewelry design?

Tarot, astrology and numerology have all influenced how I design certain pieces. I like to add meaning into what I design for others and to have that energy come through in the designs. I also tend to like patterns, especially geometric ones, which are more relevant in astrology.

The SPOKE RING resembles the spokes of a bicycle wheel and is linked to the WHEEL OF FORTUNE card. This ring symbolizes how the wheel of fortune is always turning and to continue moving along in life. Life is full of opposites, if you don’t appreciate the lows, you won’t enjoy the highs.

Our ROWE NECKLACE symbolizes an arrow or a chevron – pointing upwards, symbolizing positive energy and aiming towards your goals. This is related to the 8 OF WANDS card where your arrows point towards your final goals, creating a direct path clear of confusion and doubt. 

Our signature TRINE RING incorporates my love of astrology. The triangle in the middle represents an equilateral triangle, where all angles measure 60. In astrology, when three planets are aligned this way, it is called a TRINE and means everything falling into place, peace and harmony.



After having this conversation with Gloria I was really interested in seeing how tarot works in practice. Gloria hosts tarot parties for small groups so I invited her over to my place to give readings for me and my friends. 


She arrived on a freezing Tuesday night and we cracked a bottle of wine and got set up. She brought some books about tarot and numerology as well as some of her jewelry for us to try. People began arriving and we settle down to have our cards read.


Gloria began by working out our numbers, this is adding up all of the dates of your birth into one simple number, these numbers tell you something about your personality. As she went around the group we all sat there in semi-stunned silence as she pretty perfectly described each person in the room without ever having met anyone before. It was spooky how accurate it was! The great thing about doing this with a group of good friends was that often she would describe a person and they would say, "Im not like that," then everyone would burst out laughing and assure them that actually they were exactly like that.


We then moved onto card reading. She asked a person to think of a question whilst shuffling the deck. They would keep the question secret and then she would draw the cards 7 in total. Each card reveled something different be it the past, present or future. 



As the cards were explained the whole group would end up discussing the results, what it could mean, what it could symbolize to do with the persons current situation. It was generally freakily accurate. So accurate that there were gasps from the group, tears, celebration and encouragement. 


One person was told to walk away from a relationship, one person was encouraged to never give up on a new business and one was told to keep their head up at work and to never give up.


All in all it was a really fun night, and an excellent alternative to just sitting around chatting and drinking wine or going for dinner.


As people slowly filled out of my home I was left thinking about the night. Whether you believe in tarot or not this evening was really interesting. It turned into a bit of a group therapy session. I believe that people make the cards drawn fit a situation they’re going through. Doing this with a group of good friends gives people the opportunity to talk freely and openly. It let people talk about their issues without having to struggle to bring them up, or feeling that they were drawing attention. I think it made our friend group feel closer and more open.



All in all I loved the entire evening and will be booking another one in the close future. I loved our night with Gloria, not only was it great for our friendships, many of us also purchased some gorgeous new pieces of jewelry. I would give this night a 10/10 and urge you to book yours before Gloria gets too busy!


If you want to book a tarot party contact Gloria through her WeChat. Quote 'Shanghai WOW!' to receive a 10 on your booking. 


WeChat: gloriainshanghai


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