The First Vampire in English Prose - Lord Ruthven

This week we'll look at court cards from Robert Place's Vampire Tarot. Today's card is Lord Ruthven, the Knave of Garlic Flowers (or Page of Pentacles).

I wanted to share Lord Ruthven with you because he dispels the belief that the 'original' literary vampire is a hideous monster, and that the sexy, seductive vampire is a more modern development. Lord Ruthven (pronounced 'Rivven') comes from very early in the literary vampire world. In fact, he is the very first vampire portrayed in English prose, featuring in a novella called 'The Vampyre' by John Polidori, written in 1816 and published in 1819. That is nearly 80 years before Stoker's book 'Dracula' appeared (1897). So let us hear no more about handsome vampires being a contemporary invention for little girls in their early teens. It just ain't so.

There is no disputing, however, that Lord Ruthven is a thoroughly nasty bloke. He does not strive with guilt or long for the light. He's no Louis or Angel. He uses his beauty and charisma to prey on hapless women, and he has a vindictive streak which makes him enjoy lengthy and complicated ways to inflict mental pain on his victims. He doesn't just pounce on them on the street and drain their blood. He also encourages vice in practice though seems to abhor it in manner. There is something about his pallid skin and dead grey eyes that horrifies, but women (and men) find themselves irresistibly attracted to him despite this. He, however, is choosy.

'The Vampyre', having been written in 1816, isn't exactly effortless prose, but if you are interested in the vampire in literature, I urge you to read it. Here it is: The Vampyre. For those who are not interested, a plot summary:

Aubrey, a young Englishman, meets Lord Ruthven, a man of mysterious origins who has entered London society. Aubrey accompanies Ruthven to Rome, but leaves him after Ruthven seduces the daughter of a mutual acquaintance. Aubrey travels to Greece, where he becomes attracted to Ianthe, an innkeeper's daughter. Ianthe tells Aubrey about the legends of the vampire. Ruthven arrives at the scene and shortly thereafter Ianthe is killed by a vampire. Aubrey does not connect Ruthven with the murder and rejoins him in his travels. The pair is attacked by bandits and Ruthven is mortally wounded. Before he dies, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not mention his death or anything else he knows about Ruthven for a year and a day. Looking back, Aubrey realizes that everyone whom Ruthven met ended up suffering.Aubrey returns to London and is amazed when Ruthven appears shortly thereafter, alive and well. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath to keep his death a secret. Ruthven then begins to seduce Aubrey's sister while Aubrey, helpless to protect his sister, has a nervous breakdown. Ruthven and Aubrey's sister are engaged to marry on the day the oath ends. Just before he dies, Aubrey writes a letter to his sister revealing Ruthven's history, but it does not arrive in time. Ruthven marries Aubrey's sister. On the wedding night, she is discovered dead, drained of her blood — and Ruthven has vanished.

So we see a kind of cautionary tale about a deeply evil being who encourages licentiousness, gambling and other vices of dissipation, seduces the innocent and libertine alike to their ruin or even death. The vampire is the dangerous outsider, the foreigner who comes in to our orderly, peaceful system and causes havoc.

He's not a monster who climbs walls. That was Dracula, and he wasn't the first. He wasn't even the second. That was Carmilla. More about her in the next post.

Book Review - Chakra Wisdom Toolkit by Tori Hartman

Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit: A 52 Week Journey of Self-Discovery with the Lost Fables 
Tori Hartman (Watkins Publishing, 2014)

Back in May I reviewed an oracle deck called Chakra Wisdom by Tori Hartman  and then ran a giveaway for the deck (Congratulations, Delphine Sutherland!). The publisher has sent me a sold-separately companion book to review. Here are my thoughts.

Share a Spread Sunday - Hello Autumn

That autumn feeling is in the air, so let's greet it with a 3-card spread. What does autumn have in store for you? Why not try this spread. I'd love to hear your results. And if you'd like me to read for you using this spread, just click on Order an Email Reading or Book a Live Reading above and let's get started! 

Ten Things I Used to Believe about Tarot

All I've got to say about a ‘pivotal realisation’ in my tarot life can be summed up as this: Don't believe everything you read.

When I started out with tarot, like most people, I started by reading books. Then I discovered a certain purple website where certain folk dispensed certain advice with great certainty. Being a bit of a swot, I wanted to get everything right, and so I followed all instructions carefully. Here I unveil for you: 

Things I Used to Believe Before I Stopped Believing 
Everything I Read

Elven Queen

I'd never heard of this character until I saw her in The Wicca Deck (Morningstar, US Games 2014). The companion book makes no explanation, but some sources I've found say the 'Queen of Elphame' is mentioned in witchcraft trial transcripts, where she is said to be a form taken on by the Devil. She also appears in a few Scottish ballads, such as Thomas the Rhymer: 

True Thomas lay oer yond grassy bank,
  And he beheld a ladie gay,
A ladie that was brisk and bold,
  Come riding oer the fernie brae.
True Thomas he took off his hat,
  And bowed him low down till his knee:
“All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
  For your peer on earth I never did see.”
“O no, O no, True Thomas,” she says,
  “That name does not belong to me;
I am but the queen of fair Elfland,
  And I’m come here for to visit thee.

Apparently, Elphame means Elfland.  In the image, above the cave or doorway the Queen has presumably just emerged from, are the words 'Thierna na oge'. Again, the companion book makes no explanation of this. I googled it and to my surprise, I got a lot of hits from DC Comics! Apparently it is named as one of the 'five lost cities of Atlantis' in the Aquaman comics. Ha! Further searching brought up this:  Fairy Legends - Thierna na Oge. According to this source, Thierna na oge is a city or palace under water, which was submerged by the water from a spring or well as a result of the king their trying to horde the water for himself. After much clicking and frowning, I found this: Tir na nOg, Land of the Young. Which makes more sense if we're talking about elves or faeries! Those who live in Tir na nOg are the Tuatha De Danaan, at last a term I've heard! These are the faery folk or deities of pre-Christian Ireland. And it looks like Queen of Elphame is their queen, at least in this card. Not that the companion book would tell you ANY of that. 

Instead, it says that is the leader of the fairy and little people and is also known as Morrigan and embodies the Triple Goddess as well as Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake. It's certainly Wicca to take various strands and stir them up together like that.

She's meant to be telling me today that 'magic and beauty' are touch me. 'Seek the magic in all situations and call upon the Elven Queen to guide your journey,' it says. 

Well. Okay. :) 

Why are we here?

Well, the bad news is I didn't get the job I went for yesterday. It was quite demoralising. But oh well. You just have keep going, don't you.

Today's card from Wicca Deck (Morningstar, US Games 2014) is The High Priest. In Wicca, the High Priest is the consort of the High Priestess, in a traditional coven. In this deck the High Priest represents 'Guardianship, wisdom and guidance.' In light of yesterday's disappointment, this bit from the companion book is remarkably apt: 'You may have experienced humbling situations. Pick yourself up and stand true to your higher purpose, then reach for the stars, confident that you, too, have a reason to be here.'

The reason I'm here is because I'm here. Same for you. I personally do not believe that each of us is sent here 'for a reason'. That would not only mean we have no control over our lives, but that we need to search for what that 'one thing' is and then strive to fulfill it. Whereas, realising that there isn't a specific mission to be accomplished in our individual life experience frees us to do absolutely anything we want with our lives. Anything. There's no particular thing I am meant to be or do, except to be alive and to stay alive for as long as I am alive. I am here, just because I am here. Same as a flower, or a tree, or a river. Same as a deer or a whale or an eagle. I came into existence, and I exist. Existence itself is a deep enough meaning for an eternity of pondering; we don't need to define it beyond that.

Existence and life -- these are the higher purpose. Life just is because it is. I find that beautiful and freeing.

Thunder! Lightning! Snakes! - The Horned God

I seem to have forgotten to tell you that The Wicca Deck (Sally Morningstar, US Games 2014) is actually an oracle and not a tarot. Sorry for any confusion!

Today's card is The Horned God, which seems fitting as it is a pivotal time of the year, Autumn Equinox (yesterday) and the new moon (today).

In Wicca, and other neopagan traditions, the Horned God represents male energy, and in some instances, male aspects of deity. In some traditions, there is a belief in an actual Goddess and Horned God. In others, these deities are considered symbolic of energies on earth and in the universe.

There are many symbols of fertility and rebirth in this image, as well as power and duality. The Horned God sits in an oak tree, which has glowing acorns, symbol of growth and rebirth. The snake is a symbol of transformation and rebirth. He holds a torc, a rigid metal piece of neck wear that marked its wearer out as having a high rank. Of course the day and night sky in the background denotes duality and balance.

The companion book is a bit muddled on this card. On the one hand it is said to mean 'fun and celebration,' which frankly I don't see at all. Then it says 'your desires may be out of balance' and also 'we need to give thanks for what we receive'. So I will leave the companion book in this case and use my own associations with the Horned God -- masculine energy, power, and all the qualities we associate with masculinity. The figure in the card has his legs arranged in the figure 4, much like the Jupiter symbol, as we see in traditional Emperor cards in tarot. The Horned God is much like the Emperor, but tempered with a lot more nature energy. (In other words, he's the Emperor with a lot more Empress in there).

Today's my assessment for the new job, and I can use all the masculine energy and power I can get. Come thunder! Flash lightning! Give me the power of the Horned God to impress and persuade. :)

Bats in the Belfry

I'm not entirely sure why 'Bat' has made it into the Wicca Deck (Sally Morningstar, US Games 2014). I didn't realise bats had any particular significance in Wicca. I know they are associated with 'spookiness', but what's spooky about Wicca? As far as I know, bats are only loosely associated with 'witchcraft' in the Halloween sense - Frankenstein's monster, Wolfman, Dracula and 'witches'. To be honest, I don't really like those associations, though they are sometimes fun. I did some googling and found a website which suggested that bats could be associated with Wicca because of 'their affinity for nighttime, and because they maneuver by non-ordinary senses. As well as, perhaps, the shamanic powers bats represent.' I'm not convinced. 

In this deck, Bat represents a change from within. Maybe because bats appear out of the darkness of caves? Seems a tenuous link. Still, I will remain on the lookout for anything that might change my consciousness today. :) 

Wicca Deck - Crystal Ball

This week in honour of Autumn Equinox, I will be drawing from Wicca Deck by Sally Morningstar (Connections 2014). The deck uses objects and concepts associated with Wicca as bases for divinatory interpretation.

Today's card, Crystal Ball, represents clear vision and intuition. It also suggests keeping close counsel. Actually, I've been thinking about both these things lately. I have a tendency to say what I think without considering the consequences or taking the time to temper how I word things. I am forthright and open as well as emotive and quite verbal. Dangerous combination!

'Clear vision now creates your future,' says the companion book. This reminds me that I need to do some preparation and also some serious soul-searching about the upcoming interview on Wednesday. I have a history of focusing a lot of attention on being successful at an interview without really considering what the job might be like or whether I would enjoy it. The secondment I was on earlier this year (which I ended early) is an example. I did a number of readings on my chances of getting the job and how good I would be at it. I didn't remember to read or contemplate how I might actually enjoy the work. Of course, I found that though I did get the job and was able to do it, I didn't like it and so I ended the secondment early. What I need to do this time around, the Crystal Ball card is telling me, is spend time meditating on and envisioning the job I'm going for, to see how I feel about doing it. Just because you go for a job interview doesn't mean you intend to accept it. Just because someone offers you a job doesn't mean you have to take it. Leaping to a yes can be a bad decision.

What will the work be like?

It is a corporate institution with many rules and regs to be followed and I would be in a definite leadership position there. (Tower + Mountain = Institutions + blockages or boundaries, Mountain + Snake = professional conduct that observes or deals with blockages/boundaries.) The buck would stop here, in many cases. There would be responsibility and the need to be shrewd. 

Will I like it? How will I enjoy doing it? What will be my emotional reaction to it?

I have the love and commitment to this institution and the experience to both do a good job and derive satisfaction from it. (Ring + Heart = Commitment + love, Heart + Lily = Devotion and experience.)

This draw suggests I would like it...I will draw again tomorrow and see what I get!  

Share a Spread Sunday - Autumn Equinox Spread

For this week's Share a Spread Sunday, I decided to do a general spread covering the period of Autumn Equinox (23 September) to Samhain (31 October). I thought it would be fun to try an idea from Deck of 1000 Spreads called 'divining a spread'. In this technique, you take the cards in Deck of 1000 Spreads (which are a kind of spreadcrafting marker) and instead of going through the deck and selecting card positions, you shuffle the deck as if it were a tarot deck and draw cards and see what you come up with. I decided to choose 7 cards, then just shuffled while asking myself, 'What do I need to know about, examine, work on in the weeks from Autumn Equinox to Samhain?' I then cut the deck and laid out the following seven cards:  

You'll notice there are 8 cards. That's because while I was shuffling, one card went flying across the room and fluttered to the floor face down. I laid out my seven cards then went over and picked this one up. It was actually perfect for the outcome or final position. So there it is. 

The spread positions are:

1. Problem - The topic or issue to be addressed. 

2. Unconscious desires - Your 'unknown intentions' about the topic. I take this to mean things you haven't fully admitted to yourself or allowed yourself to see. 

3. What you can't change - These are things you are going to have to learn to deal with; they are outside your sphere of influence. 

4. Present - 'What's going on now in regard to your question.' 

5. Hopes and fears - These are most likely things you are aware of. 

6. Future life - Now this position is interesting, because it does not address the immediate future, but rather 'something relevant to a future lifetime, based on what's left unaddressed in this one.' 

7. Mind - Either your current mindset, or how something affects your mental well-being. 

8. Lesson - 'The karmic teaching you're meant to receive from the situation.' 

I rather like the outcome of my first attempt at 'divining a spread.' 

Deck Review - Daniloff Tarot

Daniloff Tarot 

Daniloff Tarot 2nd edition (self-published by Alexander Daniloff)

What's included 
78 cards, plus an extra 'carte blanche' and a spare Strength and Justice, with numbers reversed. A tuck box.

The deck measures 14 x 8 x 3 centimetres or 5.5 x 3 x 1.5 inches. The box is a folding tuck box which works like an envelope rather than the usual tuck box that opens on the end. This prevents the annoyances of the tuck flap damaging the edges of cards or pushing them out the bottom of the box. There is no LWB.

Don't pay the ferryman

Death - Daniloff Tarot 

I like this Death card from Daniloff Tarot. There's none of your uplifting 'transformation' messages here. This is full on DEATH. As in the end. No more life. Time's up. Something's come to a definite end. There is no more. Finito. Adios, muchachos. Popes, kings, mums with babes in arms. All toast. BUT...there's a boat in the background. Wonder where that goes?

Can you name the 5 rivers of Hades? These are the rivers that separate our world from the underworld:

Acheron - the river of woe

Cocytus - the river of lamentation

Lethe - the river of forgetfulness

Phlegethon - the river of fire

Styx - the river of hate; the river that the dead had to pass over to reach the underworld

All these rivers are said to converge in the middle of Hades in a kind of marsh also sometimes known as Styx. Hades was regarded as a misty and shadowlike abode of the dead. Not heaven, not hell. Just a shadow world. It could be that the boat is going there.

Or maybe it's going over another river, which takes its importance from the Bible in folk, gospel and spiritual music and poetry -- Jordan River, which symbolises the boundary between earthly life and the Promised Land. If so, the card focuses more on the spectre of Death, with the peace to follow only hinted at by the presence of the boat.

Or it could be another figurative boat ride, to 'the other shore' of enlightenment. We see this in the Heart Sutra, where 'prajnaparamita'  is sometimes translated as 'insight that brings us to the Other Shore', such as in Thich Nhat Hanh's translation.

So the card is not all bad news. There is cause for hope -- but not before the bitter taste of finality, in one form or another.

Decision day

10 of Swords - Daniloff Tarot 

Oh good, then.

This is a most gruesome and unpleasant 10 of Swords from the Daniloff Tarot (2012). I wonder what in the world might be in store for me today to warrant such a draw!

Now I just wonder if this isn't necessarily a personal thing. Today is the long-discussed Scottish Referendum. I think whatever happens, dark days are ahead. Yes or No, I think it's going to be a tight vote, and whichever way it goes, there will be a lot of unrest in Scotland as a result of all this, particularly if it's a tight no, because the Yes side seem so emotional about the whole thing, I think things could kick off. I would not be at all surprised to hear of riots, even if they end up being small scale. And the questions, so many questions! Even the smallest of changes in real life always bring unexpected complications -- can you imagine how many will pop up trying to create a whole new country? Wow.

On the other hand, this could be my personal card of the day. If so, I'll be glad to see the back of it!

Gaining ground, goal line bound!

Knight of Wands - Daniloff Tarot 

Oh look, more broccoli. It's Knight of Wands from Daniloff Tarot. Well, I drew Page of Wands on Monday and mentioned that when the Page of Wands grows up, he becomes the Knight of Wands.

Last night I started a new evening class, the first formal class I've taken since I earned my degree in 1989. I'm preparing for my assessment to become Area Librarian, which would see me in charge of five libraries. And this morning I woke up feeling like it was a good day to finally address all this junk food eating I've been doing for the last couple of years which has led to a weight gain of 30 pounds! (Maybe that's why the Knight of Wands is carrying broccoli and has a skirt of leafy greens...)

I've been a lot more Knight of Wandsy lately than is my usual MO. He has determination and commitment and a lot of passion. He charges forward toward his goal. He has no clear plan how he's going to get there, trusting that he can make it up as he goes along, 'monitoring and adjusting' as we used to say in the teaching game--in other words, trusting that he can deal effectively with any obstacles or challenges that cross his path. He is youthful, confident and outgoing. He's sort of like the high school football hero -- young, popular, confident, with his whole life ahead of him. Possibly arrogant, swaggering and full of hubris, but on the whole a good-natured and pleasant chap. This is the sort of character I think of when I typecast the Knight of Wands, and the character who comes to mind for me personally is from a little-known film from 20 or 30 years ago called 'Everybody's All-American.' The character is the young Gavin Grey:




Over the course of the film, Gavin is taken down a peg or two (or three!) but he's certainly Knight of Wandsy while he's in university and a few years thereafter. 'Golden Boy,' they called him.

I don't know how many touchdowns I'll score today but I feel like I might be able to make it over the goal line a few times before I'm done. :)

Cowardly lion?

Strength - Daniloff Tarot 

Today's card from Daniloff Tarot (2012) is 'La Forza' -- Strength. Interestingly, this deck offers you two versions of Strength and Justice. The Strength card is printed with an 8 and an 11, and so is the Justice card, so you can choose which ones you use in your deck. I have no real preference because I use a variety of decks, but as this deck is quite clearly RWS based, I have chosen to use 8 as Strength  because that is the RWS tradition.

So here we see a maiden riding a lion sidesaddle. The lion doesn't look too happy about it -- maybe she's heavier than she looks. He reminds me a bit of the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz, actually, and that's curious, because it's the second time this deck has made me think of Wizard of Oz. I already think most faces look a lot like the Scarecrow. (Their noses all look 'attached' to the face.) I wonder if the artist, Alexander Daniloff, is a fan of Wizard of Oz. I bet he is!

I wonder in what way I will be called upon to use strength today.

Raise your banner high - Page of Wands

Page of Wands - Daniloff Tarot 

All the Pages in Daniloff Tarot (2012) hold a banner like this, containing an emblem of the suit. This banner on the Page of Wands features the blossoming wand, a flaming torch and a salamander -- perfect, if you ask me. (Though the leafy wand reminds me a bit of broccoli.) The colours of the card a suitably fiery, with oranges and reds, and touches of green to denote the sprouting of life that is associated with Wands. Pages are the earth element and so this chap is Earth of Fire.

You've surely by now become aware that I like to associate characters from books, movies or TVs to courts to aid in understanding. The Page of Wands is Bart Simpson. True, he's not as popular as he used to be, but it's still a handy association. The Page of Wands, like Bart, is:



*mischievous
*playful
*energetic
*not inclined to consider consequences
*impulsive
*independent
*willful
*positive
*spontaneous
*risk taker

You can see the pros and cons of these traits straightaway! The energy of the Page of Wands must be balanced a bit or else, like Bart, you may find yourself constantly writing lines on the blackboard and wondering where it all went wrong. But you can't keep a Page of Wands down -- at least you will bounce back instantly from the consequences of your actions, and your spirit will not be one bit dampened. (Though unfortunately, you still may not have learned your lesson and will probably repeat this pattern over and over.). Oh well, eventually the Page learns -- and then he becomes the Knight.

Personally, I think it's asking a lot to want Page of Wands energy from a Queen of Swords on a Monday morning, but I'll give it a go.

Share a Spread Sunday - Umbrae's Relationship Spread

This is an advanced and tricky spread created by Umbrae, of Aeclectic Tarot. Originally shared by Umbrae in 2002, this is a fascinating piece of spreadcrafting, and it deserves to be studied. I've used it for a client and it proves quite illuminating. (The cards in the illustration are from the Daniloff Tarot.)

The spread examines a relationship from the point of view of the sitter (or client), the other person in the relationship, and the relationship itself. The spread is broken down by row and column, and then looked at as a whole.

Order from chaos - the craftsman in Daniloff Tarot

Today's card is 3 of Pentacles from Daniloff Tarot, a self-published deck from Alexander Daniloff. This card shows off a few of the qualities of the minors in the deck. The colours are more limpid than in the majors, slightly washed-out hues. Another thing to notice is the curious faces in the deck. They seem 'put together', like rag dolls or puppets more than human beings. If you look closely, you can see that the man's nose looks 'attached' to his face. I find this style of art interesting. It's a sort of 'Wizard of Oz Scarecrow' look. It is pretty consistent throughout the deck. Human figures have faces that remind me of puppets.

The 3 of Pentacles (or Coins) here portrays the expected scene of a craftsman working on a cathedral. It has the usual configuration (from RWS) of three coins carved into an archway. In addition, there are three gold coins on his garments (shoulders and hat). Interestingly, the two observers (a priest and a nobleman) are missing from the scene, and so the interpretation of collaboration or team work is less obvious, though one could still read them in I suppose -- there has to be a patron of this project, and the building, presumably, is still a cathedral. The work being does seems a bit more shambolic, with that rather haphazard-looking scaffolding in the back and some sort of copper pot with liquid slopping over its side. Still, the theme of working to a plan, of crafting something carefully and diligently, remains.

I found out on Thursday I have been shortlisted for Area Librarian and my assessment is next week. I need to begin work today on my 10-minute presentation. Right now I feel about as shambolic and mournful as this guy looks. But he'll make order out of the mess (as soon as he realises he's got the plans upside down) and so will I. :)

Say hello to the Daniloff Tarot

I just got the Daniloff Tarot and thought I'd show you my favourite cards from each section of the deck.  Here are my favourite majors - Magician, Chariot, Moon and World: 

I always like to look at the aces together when I am examining a new deck, and these do not disappoint: 

And here are my favourite small cards (or pips, or minors) -- 4 of Wands, 6 of Coins, 8 of Cups, 10 of Swords (startling):

And a sample of each of the four courts -- Page of Wands, Knight of Cups, Queen of Swords (she makes me laugh) and King of Coins: 

Click here to order Daniloff. :D

Share a Spread Sunday: Harvest Moon in Pisces

The full moon is in Pisces this week (Tuesday, 9 September). It falls in Pisces Decan 2, a decan which makes us easily susceptible to the energies around us. Because this is a watery sign, we're going to be feeling emotional anyway, so it's going to be important in these days leading up to the full moon and then from then to the new moon to protect ourselves from negativity and shield ourselves with positive energy. 

This is also the last Super Moon of 2014 (when the moon comes very close to earth in its elliptical orbit) as well as the Harvest Moon (the full moon nearest to Autumn Equinox -- it beats out the full moon on 8 October by only 16 hours!) 

Here's a spread for the Harvest Moon in Pisces: 

1. How can I protect myself from negativity? 

2. How can I increase my own positivity?

3. How can I increase positivity around me?

4. What am I harvesting in this full moon? 

My reading for myself is on my other blog: Blackbirds and Rowanberries. :) 

Deck Review: Conscious Spirit Oracle

Conscious Spirit Oracle by Kim Dreyer ( US Games 2013)

What's included

You get a 44-card deck in a tuck box with a Little White Book (LWB). The deck measures 5.25 x 3.5 x .5 inches. The LWB is 43 pages. 

The cards 

Measuring 5.25 x 3.5 inches (13 x 8.5 cm), the cards are a nice size for seeing the details of the appealing artwork. The cards have very little lamination and are silky and pleasant to the touch. They riffle and bridge beautifully and, like all US Games decks, feel hardy and durable. The card backs are beautiful, depicting chakra colours, the world tree, the moon phases, and all sorts! 

The art

The art has been compared to Crystal Visions Tarot. I can see the similarities, but I think the images are more varied and the technique seems a bit more accomplished in Conscious Spirit Oracle. It is a very feminine deck in style, and every card features a youthful, nymph-like female figure in various attitudes of devotion, usually with closed eyes. Your attraction to/patience for this sort of thing may vary. I have a low tolerance of glowing nymphs, and yet I like this deck very much. 

The structure

Unlike many oracle decks of this type, the Conscious Spirit Oracle is not just a set of nice affirmations. Kim Dreyer has included deeper esoterica which I appreciate. The elementals are represented in the Fire, Water, Earth and Air cards. There is a Sun goddess and a Moon goddess (I would have liked a sun god but you can't have everything). The 7 chakras are represented. There is a Maid card, a Mother card, and a Crone card. The archangels are there, too (Raphael and Michael, though quite androgynous, seem to be male, which is nice!) I would have liked to see more representation of masculine energy, but this is all too often too much to ask. I have no idea why. The remaining cards are typical oracle cards - Transformation, Balance, Celebrate Life, Gratitude, etc. 

The affirmations

The affirmations include a sort of call to action, which I quite like:

'I celebrate and honour my physical body through dance and movement.' 

'I respect all of nature's elemental beings and help preserve life on Earth.' 

'I speak my truth and encourage others to speak theirs.' 

'I celebrate each sunrise and recognise the healing energies of the sun.' 

The LWB

Each card gets roughly 3/4 a page of text expanding upon the meaning of the affirmation. Here is an example:

Card: Crystal Ascension

Affirmation: 'I am attuned to the universal wisdom and energy of the crystal kingdom.'

LWB (excerpt): 'You are being asked to bring crystals and minerals into your personal environment. Your current environment contains too much artificial energy from material possessions, cell phones, computers and microwaves which causes imbalance in your body's energy as well as the energy within and around your home and workspace.' 

The verdict

I have been using this deck quite a bit over the last few weeks and I find it quite enjoyable to work with. I'm keeping it. If you like affirmations, crystals and chakra healing and have no aversion to frolicking nymphet artwork, try this deck! 

Recommended. 

Lennie Week - Focus for the Weekend

I'm ending the week of Lenormand draws using the Enchanted Lenormand Oracle with a line of 5 --

What should I focus on this weekend?

Birds + Mice + Scythe + Fish + Child = talk + trouble + sudden end + money/prosperity + beginning

Stopping gossip (troublesome chat) results in beginning of money. You what? LOL

...

Oh I see. This draw seems to be about self-talk, how our words manifest in reality. I see this as advice to avoid 'speaking trouble into existence' by cutting off destructive talk.

So this weekend, I should focus on speaking from a positive viewpoint, and this will see the beginning of a new era of 'prosperity'. Fish + Child seem to me to have something do with the exuberance of childhood, childlike enjoyment. What sort of prosperity does a child enjoy? Light-heartedness, fun. I can see that.

Interesting. I might be able to cut out the bad talk. It goes against my usual MO! But there's a reason for Scythe.  A Scythe is not a subtle thing -- you know, it's funny. Yesterday in my journal, in response to the prompt 'In what ways would I like to grow?' I wrote 'Stop talking!' And it was this kind of talk that I meant.

Synchronicity strikes again.

Lennie Week - Practice Triplet

Here's a three-card draw for all of us today: 

Sun + Moon + Anchor =

Work - Things are looking so much brighter with my anchor back in harbour! Where's your fresh new brightness coming from?

Relationship - Opposites forming strong bond of stability -- Me and hubby, strong as usual. How about you? What strong bonds do you enjoy?

Well-being/Spirituality - Security comes from a balance of polarities. How are you out of balance in your spiritual life and how can you bring yourself back into equilibrium?

Health - Active days and plenty of sleep at night = a good foundation for health. Advice we can all take.

Hope you found lots of food for thought here. I did. :)

Back to work - Lennie Week

I haven't used a Lenormand deck in months, so it seems like a good time to break one out. The Enchanted Lenormand Oracle (Watkins 2013) by Caitlin Matthews and Virginia Lee certainly deserves more attention than I have given it since I bought it -- at least a year ago, that was. So I'll be focusing on this particular Lenormand deck for a few posts.

Today I am going back to my 'substantive posts', having been on a secondment for the last 6 months. It was meant to be a 12-month gig, but I asked to be sent back early. It occurred to me recently that while I did a lot of readings about that secondment (would I be shortlisted? Would I be successful at interview? Would I be good at the job?), I never thought to ask how I would actually like it! And so I got all these positive readings and thought, yay! I just wonder if I had done a reading about how I would like, how that would have turned out.

So today I'm doing two draws. First: What do I need to know or do to be successful in returning to my old jobs? And I drew --

Anchor + Moon + Key + Letter + Cloud = Stability + Work + Important thing + Communication + Unclear=

'The key to stability at work is to be careful what you tell others.'

This draw is telling me to quietly take everything in upon my return, to keep my remarks to a minimum. The best thing I can do to get back in the swing of it is to keep my own counsel and carry on. In a few days it will be like I've never left, I'm sure.

Now the second question, which I failed to come out and ask last time: How will I feel as I get back into the routine of my old job? How will I feel about the work?

Tree + Ship + Fish + Anchor + Bear = Health/Long time + Travel + Money/Fluidity + Security + Strength =

'After a long journey (a journey away from health, tellingly), I slip into a place where I feel safe and secure.'

The draw suggests my main feelings will be like the sigh of relief when you get home from a long visit away. There are some interesting combinations within the draw. If we mirror, we see Tree + Bear = strength and stamina, Ship + Anchor = coming into harbour, coming home. It's interesting that the mirrored pairs are closely associated in meaning, Tree and Bear both carrying health connotations, and Ship and Anchor going together like peanut butter and jelly. :) Also the fish fits right in to the ship and anchor imagery, doesn't it. These three cards in the middle, being so closely related by their sea theme, makes me think of feeling like a fish in water, in other words, in my 'element' -- and possible there's something to be said there for feeling more like a 'big fish in a small pond' than a hatchling in the Pacific, which is sort of how I felt in my secondment! And flanking these three middle cards are symbols of longevity and strength, and I think that sums up well how one might expect to feel going back to a post you'd done for ten years.

Now...it doesn't say I'll be over the moon with excitement or ecstatically happy. It says I will feel things are safe and familiar. Yeah.

We'll just have to see how accurate this turns out to be -- I'll revisit this reading in a week or two. Remind me!