Pomegranates | Peeling a Pomegranate

Someone found this site by typing this term into a search engine. When I get terms like that I like to type them in and see what’s there. I found reference to the Edible Tarot, which was not published, and the Epicurean Tarot, which is published. The Empress/High Priestess is often shown with pomegranates, hence the association.I’m a big Tarot fan. I have 4-5 different decks and have probably two-dozen others that I’d like to own. I do daily readings for myself, and the occassional reading for others. I find the artwork and the variety of visual interpretations to be amazing. From the traditional Rider-Waite to the esoteric Osho-Zen — I love them all. One of my favorites was an unpublished deck that doesn’t even appear to be online any more, the Jewish Tarot. It was phenomenal. It was created by an Israeli tarot reader who was getting a degree in design. He interpreted the traditional cards into a truly Jewish format, which followed the styling of talmudic writings.

Some other current favorites (both traditional and oracle-esque) are the Gaian Tarot, Madame Endora’s Fortune Cards, Housewives Tarot, and Tarot of the Secret Forest. I will say that I’ve never used any of these for readings. I just think the concepts and artwork are really good. I’m a sucker for 30s-50s advertising art — which is why I love the Housewives Tarot.

I’m still looking for a deck that incorporates the Hebrew Aleph-Bet well. Usually they’re just slapped on there with little or no explaination — and the correspondences are from the Christian kabbalah, so I’m completely turned off by them.

I’m still working primarily with the Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, which is not a traditional deck, but has served me well for more than a year now. I’ve gone through several before landing with this deck. I’ve found that I need a solid balance of dark and light and masculine and feminine. One of my early decks had great “dark” cards — but nothing was happy. A later one had brilliant happy cards, but nothing was every bad. I started looking at two specific cards to guage whether or not I could work with a deck: the tower and six of staves or rods. I want a tower that is life altering. I want to be jolted and jarred. I like a six of staves that tells me life is good that I’ve just won!

There are other cards that I look at, but either of these can be the killer to an otherwise good deck for me.

Here’s a few more take a look at. I’d love to hear what decks you all look at and what’s important to you in a deck. Share your comments below.

Honoring your ancestors is a huge part of Jewish practice. We have this in common with so many traditions. Many have just celebrated the traditional Yartzheit for Rachel the Matriarch. Now we come upon the Torah portion Chayei Sarah, the life of Sarah and we again can light candles for an honored ancestor.

Many of these anniversaries fall around Samhain. Here is a simple way to honor your Jewish ancestors at your Samhain ritual or any time of the year. I tend to use this more to for female ancestors, and most recently with four red stones for the matriarchs.

Needs:
1 Pomegranate
1 Tea Light
Small stones to represent specific ancestors
Small dish (big enough to hold all items listed above)

How to Peel a Pomegranate
Take the pomegranate and cut of the crown, being careful to not cut into seeds. Score the rind from crown to base into 6 sections. Place pomegranate in large bowl filled with cold water. The pomegranate should float upright. If you like, spin the pomegranate in the water and focus on it while meditating. Leave the pomegranate in the water for 5-10 minutes. Then peel of the rind and let the seed drop to the bottom. You can then skim the rind off the top and drain the water, leaving just the
seeds.

Place your tealight in the dish and pour the pomegranate seeds around it. I often use only half of the seeds. Place your stones either along the edge of the dish or inside it against the tealight, whatever works for you. Place the dish on the altar and light your candle. The seeds are for the generations of ancestors, the stones for those you wish to specifically honor.

When the ritual is over be sure to dispose of the pomegranate seed properly. Burn them in the fire or throw them to the earth. Do not eat them casually. If you choose to dispose of them by ingesting them, it should be a deliberate act by which you share yourself with the generations.

Side note: Think carefully before invoking your ancestors at a Pagan ritual. This could be seen as offensive to them because of the Jewish prohibitions against idols. Personally, I think there is never a time where remembering your ancestors of blessed memory is wrong — BUT it does seem inappropriate to place something like this next to any sort of idol or statuary of deities. Do what feels right to you and what makes you comfortable.