Alright, I told you awhile back that I bought my first oracle deck. I guess I should expand a bit.
Okay I did tell you about my Inner Butterick Pattern Fairy who turns complex scented oils into talcum powder (which I liked as a child, and I think Butterick Pattern Fairy is my inner child). I felt she needed an oracle deck or tarot or something. My Betty friend Urthalun posts a card a day on her blog and my Fairy said "I want! I want!"
Butterick Fairy and I agreed on the Animal Dreaming Oracle Cards by Scott Alexander King since we love animals, and my adult self doesn't find it culturally-appropriating-ish like some animal-oriented decks. It's based on Australian animals, so sometimes the author talks about consulting elders, or going on walkabout, but he mostly he takes one quality about the animal and embroiders on the theme.
I was sure this was the right deck for me when I got it, because King explains in the little booklet that all his cards have positive meanings. Well I'm a positive sort of gal. I also got it because the texts are usually broad enough that you can get something interesting out of them on any day, rather than: Today you shouldn't make any money deals.
I tried out the two larger "spreads" in the book, where you're supposed to learn which animal represents your inner self, and your self as a teen, and this sort of thing. I'm not sure how useful it was, or whether I was really able to *believe.* I mean... the last one, the animal that's supposed to represent me when I'm myself an elder, when I leave this life, is the card that represents... Elders. The meaning of the card is: Talk to elders and learn from them. ... This seemed a bit unhelpful. Who is going to be older than me when I'm 80? Or maybe I'm going to be a really immature and unwise old lady who needs to seek out wisdom from other 80 year olds.
Part 2 - Mabel Seeks Oracle Advice Using the 3 Card Spread
The three-card spread, which you can turn to when something is troubling you, seemed a little more helpful. Because something is indeed troubling me (I'm not going to go into it, but it's not new, and it's not going to go away anytime soon, and please don't email me and ask me what it is. :-o ) The first card is supposed to represent lessons from the past that you should integrate into your present. The second represents the talents, loves and gifts currently surrounding you, that can help you (and anchor the lesson from card 1.) And the third represents the energies to realize your prospective abundant future.
So here's what I got.
1. Lessons from the past that you should integrate into your present: The raven here represents prayer, which should make my dad happy. This made sense. Prayer isn't in the past for me, since I do pray daily, but it's a big part of my history. And my praying's been a bit all over the map since the new year. So I'm going to take this card advice as: Refocus my praying on my issue, which the card says will strengthen my self-perception.
2. The talents, loves and gifts currently surrounding you: The platypus card, called: women's wisdom. Well this made me laugh of course, because I thought of the Betties, and also the other women who comment here, and all the girlfriends in my life who I reconnected with these past months. The card is actually about trusting your own judgment by drawing on your innate masculine and feminine qualities. I'll admit my judgment's totally blown in this area at the moment. So I may just take the card at face value for now and be glad that I have a lot of wonderful friends and family, male and female, offline and online, in my life right now.
3. Now this is the funny one. I was excited for this one cause it's like "The actual advice part!" This is the card to show you the energies to realize your prospective abundant future, the wisdom and strength needed to break through familiar/limiting behavior: The lizard = daydreaming.
The lizard wants me to take note of my daydreams, even journal them, because they are future possibilities that I'm dreaming up, and if I don't take note of them they might arrive but I won't recognize them when they do. The explanation was hard to understand. Upon second reading, I think he's just talking about creative visualization maybe. Except not purposeful--not sitting down and purposely thinking through a situation you want to happen. He's saying that when you daydream, it's your soul flying off and identifying its desires, I guess. And you should pay attention. It's a bit woo for me.
Friend maewitch and I once discussed taking walks, cause I said I find them really boring. She said, don't you just daydream on them? I said no. I don't really daydream.
If do get lost in thought. But I'm just thinking about stuff. Maybe imagining a conversation with someone. But I don't think that's "dreaming." I also put myself to sleep, or amuse myself if I'm somewhere bored with no book, by thinking up stories, or redoing movie endings. That's definitely daydreaming, but I'm in control of the scenario, and it's not my life.
I never imagine I'm walking around in London having an adventure, or something. Do people do that? What on earth is daydreaming? And I don't scour the internet looking for my dream mansion to live in, because I don't want to feel unhappy with the life I have here and now. I don't think about what I would do if I won the lottery. Is that daydreaming? Is my desire to protect my appreciation of my real life, hindering my dreaming life? In which case, I should be listening to the lizard?
I'm curious to know what you guys think, and how you day dream. Help a girl out.
4 comments:
Real life-dream life: the same thing, just different POV's. They're both representations of your life.
Daydreaming in a oracle/tarot sense can sometimes mean travelling through the spirit world, and sometimes when we're there we can see into the shadows, our shadows; what we might call life's challenges in this physical reality. When we get out of our own way, i.e. turn off the mind-chatter/ego sometimes (I know, that's 3 sometimes-s in one comment!) we can find the answers we're seeking. Just not the answers we expected!
I 'daydream' - kind of a light tranc-y thing - heaps. It's where my some of my best ideas for storys come from.
P.S. Sometimes (LOL) I think that 'prayer' just means walking on the Earth with conscious intent.
I'm excited that you found your deck through Julie because I sent her those cards, now it's like i've gifted two people :-)
I am a terrible day-dreamer (meaning that i'm really good at it) I actually have to be careful when i'm driving because i'm too busy playing around in my head to pay attention.
I think the lizard is right, day-dreaming is important. It’s definitely important to appreciate what you already have but day-dreaming is our way of looking at other possibilities for our lives, if you don’t think about these things you’ll never really go anywhere, you’ll just stay where you are. If I didn’t day-dream I wouldn’t have realised my dream job would be to work in a library, now I’m studying to become a librarian.
I would also like to mention that this sorta ties in to what Lucy is talking about today. Basically it's, for me (YMMV) a control issue. I find that more and more I have to 're-learn how to daydream because for years I have cut myself off/down by refusing to even contemplate anything that wasn't 'right here, right now'. So even my daydreams/fantasies have become mundane and forced. The side effect is that I also have to 'force' the feeling of awareness and appreciation for my current life. It doesn't come naturally anymore because it is 'rigidly controlled'. When I allow my mind to really wander it comes up with fantastical visions of me and the world. I'm learning how not to 'get it back on track' or 'cut it short' to worry about the grocery list or to do list for tomorrow. It's not healthy for me. True prayer for me is an openness to something greater than me and in that greatness all things are possible so who am I to decide that 'This current version of my life is All.'
As for your asked for assvice, I'd say to incorporate it into your ritual. Maybe when you sit down to do a reading you allow a certain amount of time for your mind to just wander. With explicit instructions that NOTHING is off limits. No thinking something is 'silly' or 'too woo-woo' or the worst 'unrealistic'. Just let a thought come and follow it to whatever logical or far out conclusion it wishes. THEN do the reading. Perhaps you'll find that the openness of your mind engenders a similar openness of your heart and different things will 'jump out at you' from the cards. *End Assvice* :-)
@widder - In high school we used to do meditation/relaxation as part of drama class, and when he would talk of clearing your mind, I tried very hard, but was conscious the entire time of "I am trying to clear my mind." I have never been in a trance state unless it was the state of entering/leaving sleep. I think some brains are closer to this ability than others. (Like Kris, who's driving her car off the road!) But I'm not unwilling to keep trying.
@Kris - You sent the deck! It's so nice. Non American spelling and everything. Thanks for the gift. :-) The daily cards have been really helpful so far. Now if you're an expert--help! The problem is, when someone's an expert they don't usually know *how* they do something, cause it comes too naturally. lol
@Kat - Thank you for the assvice, it's excellenty. Getting the oracle cards, and having an inner fairy has been part of me opening up to the woo. :-) Good idea to just "structure in" (lol) the freedom to woo. That's probably what a rational gal like me needs. Like it's gonna kill me to allow my brain to believe in anything it wants for 30 minutes? I'll try to quiet Spock and let Willow in.
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your help. :-) Off the Neverland! (Not the Michael J kind.)
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