The Bright Idea Deck

Today I decided to pull my daily cards from the Bright Idea Deck.  Technically this is a Tarot deck since it includes 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards (divided into four suits), but the modern interpretations of the tradtional symbols make it seem more like an oracle deck than Tarot.

I was looking for a modern Tarot deck that veered away from the tradtional Rider-Waite imagery, and a friend suggested the Bright Idea deck.  I felt an immediate connection to these cards, and since my friend did not feel any affinity with the deck,  she kindly gifted her copy to me.

The Bright Idea deck was created by Mark McElroy as non-threatening way to introduce Tarot into a corporate environment to be used for creative brainstorming.  The illustrations by Eric Holtz are fresh and innovative, and the deck is not immediately recognizible as a Tarot.

The familiar suits have been replaced by the colors blue (Cups), green (Pentacles), yellow (Wands) and red (Swords).  The tradtional Tarot images have been replaced by modern concepts, and keywords replace the standard card titles.  For example, a segway transporter is used to represent the concept of Arcana VII The Chariot, and the card is titled Advancement. 

Despite the modern adaptations, the tradtional Golden Dawn correspondences are deftly hidden in the modern illustrations (although the astrological are not quite so well disguised), so the deck also serves admirably as a modern version of a conventional Tarot deck.

Daily Card Draw

This morning I drew:

• I Capability
• Learning-Validation
• VII Advancement

The fact that two of the three cards I drew for today are from the Major Arcana, this is an important message for me today.

The key card is Learning-Validation which corresponds to the Tarot Page of Swords.  The image is of an apprentice chef receiving a ‘thumbs up” approval from the head chef’s after he tastes her soup.  This card suggests a need for approval.

Card I of the Major Arcana, Capability corresponds to the Tarot Magician.  The image is of a man floating in the sky on winged shoes, and juggling the various objects which represent his daily life.  An obvious reference to Mercury and the Tarot Juggler, this card suggests skills and ability.

Card VII Advancement corresponds to the Tarot Chariot.  I love this card!  The image is of a woman on a segway crashing through a fence.  She is in danger of running over a small crab (astrological sign of Cancer) in her path.  This card suggest moving forward even at the risk of one’s emotions.

Today’s cards suggest to me that I continue to look for validation or approval from others even though I have the necessary skills and abilities to break through my barriers and move forward, make progress, etc.  I think the message here is that I need to trust more in my own abilities, and not look for approval or validation from others.