Chelsea Smith 5/29/15 Chelsea Smith 5/29/15

6 Books for Tarot Beginners

I took some time to compile this list for anyone looking to learn tarot or deepen the well of knowledge that they already have. I personally own all of these books and have worked my way through them. So consider this my stamp of approval post!

For those just getting started and looking for a good guide to the basics that isn't too convoluted or over your head I would recommend Tarot Revealed Beginners Guide by Paul Fenton Smith. This is a book I will always have on my shelf along with its companion, Tarot Masterclass by Paul Fenton-Smith. These two books are well written, well organized and easy to understand. He touches on a variety of topics and has great go to card meanings that really hit the nail on the head. These can both be purchased on Amazon find the links HERE and HERE!

If you are interested in out of the box thinking and exercises that get your creative tarot juices flowing I would highly recommend Tarot for Yourself: A Workbook of Personal Transformation by Mary K. Greer. This workbook is so fun and creative you will want to work through the whole book the first day you purchase! I like that it is made to be written in, I looked back at some of my work from 2007 and it was a REALLY interesting read and perspective I had back then! You can find this book on amazon follow the link HERE!

If you are looking for new and innovative ways to integrate tarot into your everyday life or thinking about reading professionally, I would turn to Tarot Face to Face: Using the cards in your everyday life by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. This book is also full of advice regarding the development of your own unique reading style and ways to achieve more accuracy! This book can be purchased on Amazon follow the link HERE!

For my friends that have struggled with court cards of the tarot I have just the book for you! Check out Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K. Greer and Tom Little! I just finished working my way through this book and I can honestly say I have a much deeper understanding and connection with the court cards. This is another amazingly fun and creative book that will stretch your mind and make you excited about tarot! This book is available on Amazon follow the link HERE!

My last suggestion is for anyone looking for a structured daily course to learn tarot. Its quite thick but you will not regret buying Around the Tarot in 78 Days: A Personal Journey Through the Cards by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. It is often used as a textbook and core structure for tarot workshops and classes. This book is available on Amazon follow the link HERE!

Cheers! I hope this list is helpful if you have other suggestions please leave them in the comments!

XOXO Chelsea

Chelsea Smith 5/28/15 Chelsea Smith 5/28/15

Crystal Visions Tarot Deck Review

I purchased the Crystal Visions Tarot deck by Jennifer Galasso back in February and have spent my sweet time getting to know it. Crystal Visions has enchanting images and uses color in a really wonderful way! So far I have only been drawn to use this deck for my personal studies, journaling and meditation. However, I do think this would be a great deck to use with clients that are new to tarot or overly superstitious. It has gentle images and a kind energy so far as I can tell. While this deck follows the typical RWS structure, I find that it does have varying symbols and added themes which makes it a bit more fun and unique to read, but could be confusing for someone just getting started. The little white book that comes with the deck is infinitely helpful for getting to know this deck.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

* I was immediately in love with the backing image. It is a very attractive, and does not give away that the card is upright or reversed (a personal pet peeve), it reminds me of gazing into a crystal ball and the colors are gorgeous!

* At first I wasn't sure I would like how light and gentle the theme of the deck was, I like cards that shock the psyche a bit and really tell you how it is, but deck has grown on me and become one of my staple decks.

* I was really drawn to the suit of pentacles in this deck even more so than the wands which are usually my favorite suit.

* I had no idea there was an Unknown Card in this deck prior to purchase. I didn't know how I felt about it at first but now I'm on board! Its fun when it comes up and its a good reminder that there are always things that we don't know.

* I really like that many of the cards that traditionally depict men, are instead strong females! (The Chariot, The Fool and The Hermit)

LIKES:

* The imagery and imagination put into this deck are inspiring.

* It seems very friendly, open and easy to learn and work with.

* Very in tune with nature, lots of animals and beautiful scenery depicted along with the lovely people.

* Creative and gentle approach to some of the harsher cards like Death, The Devil and The Tower Card.

* For some reason I have really come to like working with the court cards of this deck even though they are not like the traditional images.

DISLIKES:

* Some of the images don't speak the meanings I'm used to, which is great creatively, but makes reading a bit harder.

* I feel like all of the people in this deck are wearing the exact same facial expression. It is hard to read their emotions and they sometimes do not line up with emotions I have grown used to seeing in tradition RWS decks.

* The cards themselves are a bit slippery and hard to keep in place when reading, not sure if that is because they are so new, but they seem to be very high gloss which I'm not sure I'm a big fan of.

* Within the first week of using the cards my cardboard box for this deck started tearing and falling apart, so much that I had to make it a cloth case.

*For some reason I do not like The Lovers card of this deck. It is too restricting and love relationship based, nothing in the imagery remotely reminds me of having to make choices.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase of the Crystal Visions Tarot and will continue to get to know it and work with it in my daily life! Hope this was helpful and if it wasn't, well at least the pictures are pretty!

XOXO Chelsea

Chelsea Smith 5/23/15 Chelsea Smith 5/23/15

Making Magic with Everyday Photos

I discovered an app called photoblend and have been going crazy with it! It's free, download it and have some fun! ❤️

Heres what I've made so far!

Here's a few I made for other people!

Follow me on Instagram to see more! @Noblelionprints

XOXO CHELSEA

Chelsea Smith 5/17/15 Chelsea Smith 5/17/15

Let's Paint and Sip!

I hosted a paint and sip party this weekend! It was so much fun and a total success! Everyone brought wine and homemade goodies including some delicious Pinterest recipes and polish pastries to die for! We drank, we snacked, and we painted. At the end of the night everyone came away with a unique and adorable painting!

For $15 the girls got a 12X12 canvas, access to all of my art supplies and the option to follow along with my guided group painting. We started at 7 and wrapped the night up around midnight! I could tell a few of the girls were a little nervous about starting but we dived right in and everyones creativity came alive! We took plenty of wine breaks “to let our paintings dry” and snacked our hearts out. A few of the girls had their own inspiration and brought some beautiful paintings to life. Leading the group felt very natural and the girls were an absolute pleasure! We got messy, we giggled and my husband was a good sport about taking pictures through out the night. Overall I think it was a pretty great way to spend a Saturday night in Denver. Huge thanks to the girls that came out, it was so much fun and I cannot wait to host the next one! If your local and you want to paint, email me! FOLLOW ME ON INSTA/TWITTER/TUMBLR/FACEBOOK! @NOBLELIONPRINTS

XOXO CHELSEA

Chelsea Smith 4/16/15 Chelsea Smith 4/16/15

Zodiac Illustrations by Chelsea Smith

Everyone knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Astrology and Art.. I don't know why it't taken me this long to put them together! I guess I've been waiting for the stars to align just right and I could not be happier about the outcome! I am including free downloads of each sign!! They will make super cute backgrounds! These are available for prints without the marketing info!