Animal Wise Tarot Deck Interview Spread

The Animal Wise Tarot is a unique tarot deck focused on animals. It's a unique take on the 78 card structure of the Tarot. The Major Arcana retains most of the typical structure. The deck varies in its structure of the Minor Arcana. The suit of Wands is called The Ancients and is represented by reptiles and amphibians. The suit of Cups is called The Shapeshifters and is represented by insects and arachnids. I originally thought this was strange. The explanation given in the book is that water takes the shape of its container and insects and arachnids go through metamorphosis, making changes in shape and form through their lives. The suit of Swords is called The Winged Ones and is represented by birds. The suit of Pentacles is called The Four-Leggeds and is represented by mammals. The cards show a picture of the animal, the title of the card, the name of the animal, in the case of the Minor Arcana, the suit and elemental correspondences, and keyword meanings phrase. The book includes detailed card meanings associated with the animals as well as information on using the deck and several possible spreads.

My personal use of this deck tends more towards using it more like an Oracle deck rather than a Tarot deck. I have difficulty reconciling the correspondences and attributions of this deck to what is generally thought of as the traditional correspondences I know of the Rider-Waite Tarot. I tend to focus more on the animal meanings, rather than the Tarot correspondences. I have also had positive experiences utilizing this deck in conjuction with the Nature-Speak Oracle, also by Ted Andrews. I find they work fairly well together.

Here's a picture of the deck interview spread for the Animal Wise Tarot.

My deck interview spread is fairly simple. I ask four questions. What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck? What are your strengths as a deck? What are your weaknesses as a deck? What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?

What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck?
4 of Shapeshifters-Stick Bug; Activity beneath the surface
     This deck helps us to prepare quietly and thoroughly for what we seek to accomplish so we can find ultimate success. It helps make known the proper course of action.

What are your strengths as a deck?
10 of Winged Ones-Peacock; Cucle of death and resurrection
     This deck excels in helping us understand cycles and that endings imply new beginning are coming.

What are your weaknesses as a deck?
Queen of Winged Ones (reversed)-Scarlet Macaw; Vision and Spiritual perception
     This deck has difficulties in working with emotional issues, especially when they block spiritual matters.

What types of readings do you prefer?
Knight of Ancients-Komodo Dragon; Survival instincts and impulses
     This deck prefers readings focused on forward movement and taking action. It prefers to work with quick decisions, actions, and changes, taking into account intuition and gut feelings.

I hope you've enjoyed this deck interview spread with The Animal-Wise Tarot. Please join me for more deck interview spreads in the future.

Nature Speak Oracle Deck Interview Spread

This week I've been using the Nature-Speak Oracle by Ted Andrews. This little gem was the first Oracle deck I ever owned. I enjoy working with it as I can connect with this deck on an intuitive level. While helpful, I don't have to read the accompanying book to interpret my readings with this deck. The Nature Speak Oracle is meant to help us learn to understand messages from Nature. The deck of 60 cards is divided into four categories: season and climate oracles, landscape oracles, flower oracles, and tree oracles. The accompanying book gives an introduction to the deck and using the cards, several sample spreads, and includes upright and reversed meanings for each card. This deck was created as an accompaniment to Ted Andrews' Nature Speak book.

Here's a picture of the deck interview spread for the Nature-Speak Oracle. Interestingly enough, all the cards drawn came up reversed.

My deck interview spread is fairly simple. I ask four questions. What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck? What are your strengths as a deck? What are your weaknesses as a deck? What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?

What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck?
Forest (reversed)-Awaken your magic
     This deck is about facing your fears, acknowledging and expressing and freeing your creativity, and awakening your magic.

What are your strengths as a deck?
Daffodil (reversed)-Trust in your power
     This deck excels at helping us to use our creativity, trust in ourselves, and recognize the power and beauty that lives within us. It helps us to develop leadership and confidence within ourselves through acknowledging our own talents and abilities.

What are your weaknesses as a deck?
Palm (reversed)-Apply past lessons
     This deck lacks in working with the past and addressing old patterns. This deck does best with working with and addressing the present.

What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?
Sunshine (reversed)-Shine Forth
     This deck prefers readings about spiritual lessons, ones that are uplifting and foster discernment.

Since all of the cards in the reading were reversed, I've included a picture below of those cards upright, so you can get a better view.

I hope you enjoyed this deck interview spread with the Nature-Speak Oracle. Please join me for more deck interview spreads in the future.



 http://dragonhawkpublishing.com/Ted%20Andrews.htm

New Directions for my Practice and Shamanic Work

When we moved last October I left behind my new spiritual home. In the four years we lived in NC, I had really explored my spirituality and landed firmly on the Pagan path. Helping me with this was the community at Mystic Moon of Norfolk, VA. At that metaphysical shop I found a spiritual home, a community. I took classes, gained friends, and participated in rituals for almost 4 years and participated in a shamanic practices work group for two years. Since moving I have missed participating in that community more than I ever thought that I would. I have felt a bit adrift, spiritually speaking. I wasn't lost, just unsettled. It didn't help that since moving things have been quite up and down and difficult for me physically with flares and issues with my chronic illness. Since moving and getting settled in CA, I have been doing a lot of personal growth type work. I was spending most of my time at home, working on trying to let my body heal from the stresses of a complicated cross country move and working on myself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Lately, things seem to be settling down and I've felt restless to really pull things together for myself spiritually. Quite on accident, I found that a page I was following on Facebook was located not too far from my house. I took a chance and decided to go to a Full Moon ritual at Sage Goddess, in Torrance, CA. I really enjoyed the ritual and decided to try to participate on a regular basis. The ritual last night for this month's Full Moon was very good. I really enjoyed attending and participating. But once a month just isn't quite enough. I've been working with my crystals and stones, Tarot and Oracle decks more and more, but that too isn't quite enough for me. I have been missing my shamanic work. I LOVE doing shamanic work, but it can be energetically draining. Dealing with all the chronic illness crap I've been up against since last Fall, I just haven't had the additional energy to devote to shamanic work. With the general upswing I've felt lately I've felt restless to begin my shamanic work again. I just didn't know where to start.

With shamanic work it is really important to journey with a purpose. Connecting and spending time with your guides is a perfectly adequate journey purpose. But I'd been doing that more often than not and felt I just wasn't getting anywhere. I felt this need to do more, but didn't know what. Well, I've figured out a start to that WHAT, for now. I'm a book learning and reading type person. I decided to skim through some of my books I have on shamanic type work to see what might come up. Doing so has led to some great ideas for me to begin my shamanic work again. 

Here are some of the things I plan on journeying about:

• Exploring the chakras and beneficial personal guides/correspondences for them including animals, plants, crystals and stones, colors, etc.
• Interacting with the local nature spirits of this place
• Interacting with some of the animals and plants I see most often
• Learning more about and interacting with the elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)
• Learning more about working with color
• Working with plants that are personally associated with my health, including Olive and Willow
• Working with plants associated with my animal totems/guides
• Exploring more about the Wheel of the Year and cycle of the seasons

I think this is a fairly good start. I feel a lot better about having at least a basic idea of some things I'd like to explore and work with through shamanic journeying. I still plan on regularly working with my crystals and stones, and my Tarot and Oracle decks. I feel like I'm working towards a more complete path and practice for me personally. I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Here's a list of books I've found personally helpful for this aspect of my personal path:

• New Paths to Animal Totems: Three Alternative Approaches to Creating Your Own Totemism by Lupa (2012)
• Plant and Fungus Totems: Connect with Spirits of Field, Forest, and Garden by Lupa (2014)
• Seeing in the Dark: Claim Your Own Shamanic Power Now and in the Coming Age by Colleen Deatsman and Paul Bowersox (2009)
• DIY Totemism: Your Personal Guide to Animal Totems by Lupa (2008)
• The Earth Path by Starhawk (2004)

http://www.mysticmoonevents.com/

http://www.sagegoddess.com/

http://www.thegreenwolf.com/

http://www.colleendeatsman.com/

http://starhawk.org/

Oracle of the Shapeshifters deck interview spread

This week I've been using the Oracle of the Shapeshifters for my daily oracle card draw. This deck is also by Lucy Cavendish with the artwork by Jasmine Becket-Griffith. The deck box describes this deck as one of "mystical familiars for times of transformation and change." The messengers within this deck are described as "shapeshifters and familiars, the skinturners and were-ones." The animals you'll encounter within this deck include: deer, cats, wolves, dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, wild bees, bats, owls, ravens, rabbits, hares, foxes, and whales. There are two versions of this deck available, one published in Australia and one published in the USA. The USA version has a few different cards than the Australian version. I have both, though for this deck interview I have used the Australian publication. This oracle deck is also one of my favorites that I return to again and again.

For my deck interview spread I ask four questions. What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck? What are your strengths as a deck? What are your weaknesses as a deck? What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?

Here is a picture of the deck interview spread I did with the Oracle of the Shapeshifters.

Tell me about your personality and characteristics as a deck.
Card 18 Little Wolf Girl; It's alright to be alone
     This is a deck that fosters independence and standing on your own two feet. This deck encourages change, defying boundaries and expectations and labels. It is a deck of awakening.

What are your strengths as a deck?
Card 44 The Mermaid of Immersion; Complete commitment
     The strengths of this deck include deeper readings focused on change, looking at what's below the surface. It also excels at helping to move beyond self-imposed limitations and breaking free of toxins and old thoughts and patterns.

What are your weaknesses as a deck?
Card 38 Sacred Beetle Armour; You have a mighty shield
     This deck filters and dissolves anything that would harm you or impede your journey. This isn't always necessarily the best thing. Sometimes we need to experience the hardships and difficulties in order to learn the best lessons.

What types of readings do you prefer?
Card 36 The Unending Sadness of Looking Back; Endless regret, obsessive grief, replaying the past, negative nostalgia
     This deck prefers readings that assist you in letting go of the past. What is past is done. Holding on to the past only serves to limit.

I hope you enjoyed this deck interview spread with the Oracle of the Shapeshifters. Please join me for more deck interview spreads in the future.


http://www.lucycavendish.com/
http://www.strangeling.com/
http://www.blueangelonline.com/oracle_of_the_shapeshifters.html

Crystals and Stones for Shielding

Hi all... Sorry it's been a few days since my last post. I had a flare up of my chronic illness stuff over the long weekend. I'm finally starting to feel a bit better. Today though, I'm feeling fatigued, weak, and brain foggy. I wasn't sure why until I checked the weather and saw that the barometric pressure is dropping. I tend to be pretty sensitive to barometric pressure changes. I can feel changes as small as 1/100 of an inch. Right now the pressure is down about 2/10 of an inch, so I'm definitely feeling it. So I thought I'd share some stones I used for shielding work, which can be helpful for dealing with barometric pressure changes.

Here are the stones I typically use for shielding and dealing with barometric pressure changes.

 

Top row, left to right: fluorite, amazonite, citrine, smoky quartz
Middle row, left to right: blue lace agate, black tourmaline, moss agate
Bottom: lepidolite wand

Fluorite and amazonite are great shielding stones. Amazonite is particularly good at filtering out other people's issues and preventing them from affecting you. Smoky quartz and black tourmaline and excellent ground and protective stones. Moss agate is good for weather issues. Lepidolite, which contains lithium, is excellent for stress, mood, and depression (all of which flare up for me with the pressure changes). Citrine is great for positive energy and blue lace agate for calming. The combination of citrine and blue lace agate really helps me with brain fog.

The crystals and stones aren't a magical cure by any means. But they seem to help, especially considering that barometric pressure isn't something that I have control over how it affects me.

The Sun and Moon Tarot deck interview

My absolute favorite Tarot deck is the Sun and Moon Tarot by Vanessa Decort. This deck is my primary working deck, though I enjoy working with other decks as well. When I first started trying to learn Tarot I purchased a different deck that I absolutely LOVE the artwork on, Ciro Marchetti's Gilded Tarot. I absolutely adore Ciro's artwork and have all of his decks. Unfortunately I just didn't connect with the deck at all. I tried for several months to use that deck with several workbooks I'd bought and I just couldn't get anywhere. I had a complete roadblock and was incredibly frustrated. I decided to set Tarot aside for a while and come back to it later. A few months later I was in a metaphysical shop and browsed their Tarot deck selection. I saw the Sun and Moon Tarot and was intrigued. The store had an open sample copy that you could look through. I started to thumb through the deck and was stunned. As I looked through the deck words and impressions jumped to mind the instant I looked at a new card. I remember thinking to myself "so this must be what people are talking about when they say intuitive reading." I was ecstatic! I bought the deck and took it home and started working with it right away. Everything just started clicking! Meanings and keywords popped into my head when I looked at the cards. I was making progress with the workbooks I had struggled with. I was so happy! My Tarot journey had begun.

One thing I didn't prefer about the Sun and Moon Tarot is the borders on the cards. The cards are designed with a white border on all four sides. For the Major Arcana, the bottom border has the card title written on it and the card number at the top. For the Minor Arcana, the cards have the title at the bottom and a keyword at the top. I don't like decks with keywords on them. Many times the keywords didn't correlate with my personal interpretation of the card. I had seen a technique about trimming the borders off Tarot cards. I decided to give that a try. My first go I trimmed all 4 borders off and rounded the corners with a corner rounder. It looked lovely, but I found that I missed having the card titles on the bottom of the cards. So I purchased two new copies of the deck, one to trim and one to leave whole and in its original packaging, just in case. I trimmed off three sides of the borders, leaving the bottom border with the card title on, and rounded the corners. The result was gorgeous and I LOVED it! I will say that trimming a deck is a LOT of work. I used a paper trimmer and a corner rounder. It took several days and a numb hand at the end to get it all done. This deck has a thicker cardstock. Trimming 3 sides and 4 corners off 78 cards (twice, in this instance) was a LOT of work. It was worth it in the end though, at least for me. I know there's some out there that feel it is sacrilegious to cut or modify a Tarot card. I don't feel that way. I believe that if it works for you then it's fine. There's a lot of supposed rules for using and working with Tarot and I just haven't found most of them to be hard and fast. But that's another post...

Here's a picture of my deck interview spread for the Sun and Moon Tarot. You'll notice that for each spread position I actually have 3 cards, not just one. For me, I have found that I do best with three cards in each spread position as opposed to just one. A single card wasn't giving me enough information. Most people use a single card for each spread position. To each their own. You have to find what works for you.

My deck interview spread is fairly simple. I ask four questions. What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck? What are your strengths as a deck? What are your weaknesses as a deck? What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?

What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck?
7 of Wands, Ace of Swords, The Magician
     This deck shows what's coming. It's great for gaining new perspectives, thinking about things in a new way. It's also a great deck for self-empowerment and focusing your energies for manifestation of goals.

What are your strengths as a deck?
Temperance, High Priestess, King of Pentacles
     This deck is great at giving balanced perspectives. It works very well with intuition. It's also very good for practical applications, taking charge of your daily life.

What are your weaknesses as a deck?
Prince of Swords, King of Swords, Prince of Cups
     This one gave me a bit of trouble. I had to think for a while to interpret this. This deck has difficulties with helping to turn thoughts into actions, facing an issue head on, telling people with direction they need to go. It often tells you what you already know, kinda "DUH!" type moments, though these are great for confirmation of the situation. It often tells you how you feel about a situation but isn't great at doing deeper emotional work.

What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?
Universe (The World), Empress, King of Cups
     This deck likes big picture readings. It's great for getting information on the whole story, the big picture. It's also very good for caring, nurturing, and supportive readings, especially for the self. It's also good at relationship and emotional readings, how to take charge when it comes to your relationships and your emotions.

I hope you've enjoyed this deck interview spread with the Sun and Moon Tarot. Please join me for more deck interview spreads in the future!  :-)



http://www.vanessadecort.net/
https://www.usgamesinc.com/Sun-and-Moon-Tarot/
http://www.ciromarchetti.com/

Oracle of Shadows and Light deck interview spread

I've decided that I really want to use my Tarot and Oracle decks more regularly. To that end, I'm going to post some deck interview spreads here with my various decks. I decided to do this instead of deck reviews. There's lots of deck reviews available for just about every deck out there, on blogs, YouTube, etc. I think this will be a fun way to show a few cards from the deck while giving some insight into the "personality" of the deck. I researched deck interview spreads and decided on creating a personal one from what I think are important things to know about any deck. I do believe that decks have their own unique personalities that come from the theme and the author.

This week I've been using the Oracle of Shadows and Light as my daily draw oracle deck. I figured this deck would be a good place to start with my deck interview spreads. :-) This deck is by Lucy Cavendish, artwork by Jasmine Becket-Griffith. The deck box describes this deck as "quirky, haunting, and shadowy-sweet." I'd say that is a spot on description. The messengers in this deck include "grumpy fairies, sassy witches, cheeky ghosts, and brazen beings." This oracle deck is one of my favorites and I find myself returning to it again and again.

My deck interview spread is fairly simple. I ask four questions. What should I know about your personality and characteristics as a deck? What are your strengths as a deck? What are your weaknesses as a deck? What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?

Here's a picture of the deck interview spread I did with the Oracle of Shadows and Light.

What should I know about your personality?
Card 5 Out Trick-Or-Treating; We're heee-eeere!

     I have to admit, I laughed out loud when I saw this card come up to answer this question. This is the personality of this deck to a tee. We're here! This deck answers what you need to hear and how you need to hear it. It speaks, loud and clear.

What are your strengths as a deck?
Card 41 Nautilus Princess; Powerful personal growth

     Can't get much clearer than that. This deck is one that has helped me so much, especially lately, with my personal growth.

What are your weaknesses as a deck?
Card 37 Candy Cane Angel; It's time for a treat!

     I had to take some time to think about this one a bit. I read the card description in the accompanying book several times. The meaning of this finally came clear. This deck's weakness is "indulgence." This deck tends a bit towards indulging the questioner. It says what needs to be said, but sometimes tells us what we want to hear. Maybe a better way of saying that is it tells us what we need to know, but in a way we want to hear it.

What types of readings do you prefer to do/answer?
Card 31 Lady with a Bosch Egg; Ancient wisdom

     This deck seems to like to do readings that help address the past or past issues that are currently affecting us, deeper issues. I've found this to be true. I'm often drawn to this deck when my deeper issues are coming up. These aren't the only readings this deck is good for, just maybe what it's best at.

I hope you've enjoyed this deck interview spread with the Oracle of Shadows and Light. Please join me for more deck interview spreads in the future!  :-)


http://www.lucycavendish.com/
http://www.strangeling.com/