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.
Chakra Wisdom Oracle by Tori Hartman, illustrated by Gretchen Raisch-Baskin
(Watkins Publishing 2014)
What's included
This kit includes a deck of 49 cards and a 95-page companion book. It is housed in a very sturdy box of similar dimensions to Blue Angel oracle boxes, measuring 12 x 17 x 4 cm. It is very colourful, well constructed, and with a matte finish. Instead of the top lifting off the box, the cards are contained within a tray that slides inside a sleeve. It's a snug fit, very secure. A small loop of ribbon has been built into the tray so that you can pull it out. The tray will not slide out of the box when tipped. I tested this by putting deck and book into the box, turning the box with tray side facing down and shaking the box vigorously. The tray just started sliding out after the fifth vigorous shake. (I did this three times -- comes out on fifth shake!) In other words, whichever way you store this box, however you pick up, the cards are not going to fall out. This is a big plus to me. Inside the tray, there is a cardboard inset that the cards are meant to nestle inside; however, the bottom cards of the deck do slide under the edges of it, which is annoying. A molded plastic inset, or one made of a continuous piece of card which would not allow cards to slide under it, would have made this the perfect packaging! The book
The small companion book fits snugly into the packaging. It is printed on colourful, matte paper with a glued and stitching binding which will train to lie flat (be careful, though). The book is short at 95 pages. There is a brief explanation of each suit of cards, and each card gets one page which includes a small colour thumbnail image of the card, a brief story, a few thoughts to get you started, and a very short meditation. There are several layouts and sample readings included. The cards
Now that I've struggled to pull the seven bottom cards of my deck out from under the inset in the box, let me describe them to you. (Some of the borders are already showing damage from having to pull them out when stuck. These things happen in this kind of inset. I will probably seal the inset to the bottom of the box using wide clear tape to prevent this from happening in future. Shouldn't have to do that.)
The deck itself is on the small side for an oracle - 11 x 7.5 x 2 cm. I love the card back:
The hooded and caped figure holds her lantern aloft, staff in hand, feet bare. She walks the dirt path through the colours of the chakras, a crystal or lantern shining in each. From the bottom of the card they are: root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye or brow chakra, and crown chakra. We often hear the phrase 'a journey through the chakras', which is well depicted here. I would love to have a large poster of this image. I believe it would fit very well near a yoga or meditation space.
The card stock is a pleasant thickness and texture with a matte finish, very light lamination. The illustrations by Getchen Raisch-Baskin are rich in colour. At the bottom of each card is a wide white space in which the key word or card title is printed in large capital letters. Each card has a thin coloured border corresponding to suit.
The system
Deck creator Tori Hartman recounts a near-death experience in 1988 during which she began to hear voices of angels, who over the next five years, dictated curious tales to her. These tales always involved colours. Tori felt compelled to write them down and they remained stored in a drawer for the next 20 years. When asked for advice by a friend, Tori chanced upon the stories, saw one that applied to the situation, relayed it to her friend and the idea for sharing the stories was born. When Tori realised that the colours and energies of the stories correspond to the chakras, a deck was born.
Each chakra gets a chapter, with one page of explanation for the chakra, a quick guide to the cards, and one page of text for each card. I found the material in the book to require a lot of piecing together. It is entirely down to the user of the deck to make his or her own sense of the card, the image, the angelic fable, the meditation, and how any or all of this applies to the question or issue at hand. This might come in a flash or it might take a lot of thought. Depends on the user.
The spreads in the back are useful and different from the norm.
Here's the creator explaining the deck (she starts talking about the deck about 1:30 into the clip):
The verdict
There is much to like about this kit. It is colourful, which I love, connected to chakras, which I have an interest in, and nice to touch and look at. One big plus is the focus on examining and assessing one's intentions using specific spreads provided. This is particularly useful for magical workings and so this is a deck that might be prized by spellcasters. The caveat is that the system is based on highly personal experiences of the creator, purported channeled stories from angels. You might have to work hard to get them to make sense for you, or if you are so inclined, you might ask your own angels to interpret them as they pertain to you. The Chakra Wisdom Oracle website says: The Chakra Wisdom Oracle will allow you to see what was once invisible to you. It has taken 25 years for the fables to come to life in workshops, readings, and fable groups. The most remarkable thing is how they reveal your path and gift instantly if you understand how to step into the state of connection with your higher self. Like many gifts from Spirit, it takes some people time to recognize what they’re given and the path they must take to realize their true calling.
I am not impressed by the implication that if a card doesn't instantly mean something to you that you lack connection to your higher self, but leaving that aside, I do think the cards are useful and could be a nice addition to your collection if you are interested in chakras and meditation. And angels.
Since I got this deck, I have found out there is a workbook sold separately -- Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit: 52-Week Journey of Self-Discovery with the Lost Fables. I can't see myself devoting a year to this deck, or committing to memory the stories that apparently were personally channeled to someone else; for myself, I would rather learn about more widely known myths, legends, and traditions.
Still, this is an interesting addition to my oracle collection, and I really dig the card back!
My first thought on seeing a princess reading a story to an elderly person in a chair is not 'Passion', so here we go again with the Chakra Wisdom Oracle (Watkins 2014).
This card is orange (my favourite colour) and that is the colour of the sacral chakra, 2nd chakra, the passion and pleasure centre. This is the seeker of pleasure, enjoyment, sensuality, satisfaction.
Card title: Passion
Phrase: 'I quietly sizzle and shine.'
Legend: Princess Amber loves looking after her subjects to the point that when the royal family tell her to stop behaving like this, a general election is held and she is voted leader of the people.
Key ideas: Following your passion, being authentic
So the princess's passion is service. Each to his own! I suppose a message of the card is to 'follow your bliss' even if it defies expectations of friends and family, or even if it defies commonly held notions of what 'passion' means.
I suppose this could be applied to the sort of holiday we are passionate about. We love booking self-catering cottages near national trails, in the most secluded areas we can find, and tramping around the coast or countryside all day, going back to the cottage for a hot bath, some yoga or meditation, a movie or two on DVD, a dinner I make myself and an early night. Not everyone's idea of bliss, but we love it.
Uh oh! We're still in the heart chakra with a green card today from the Chakra Wisdom Oracle (Watkins 2014), but we've got a big dragon and the key word 'Trickery', so this could be interesting.
What have we here. A big dragon holding a big giant acorn in his tail. A little squirrel with a basket of acorns looking up at him. Snow on the ground. Harvest days are over. Does the dragon intend to steal the squirrels supply? Wait, wouldn't a dragon rather eat the squirrel? Maybe he's using the the big acorn as bait to lure in squirrels for his dinner. Sure, he's a dragon and he could probably just breathe fire on the squirrel and get both tasks done quick, but it's winter in the woods and he hasn't got cable. Toying with squirrels is his favourite entertainment.
Now now...this is the heart chakra, so no doubt the dragon is in my own heart. Maybe I'm tricking, luring, myself with fears of deprivation, luring myself in to a situation that could be quit harmful.
Well, let's see what the book says. Now that's interesting. The trickster is actually the squirrel! He wants the big nut and tries to trick the dragon into giving him the big nut for the basket of smaller ones, which he tells the dragon outweighs the big one. The squirrel is the trickster, the dragon is greedy. The story is overcomplicated, involving a nut gathering contest and both of them losing out because squirrel is disqualified and the dragon loses his acorn. I don't like that, it's not necessary to overcomplicate things.
The book then adds confusing statements like 'During trying times, things may be easier if you ask for help' and 'This card may indicate that you should practice asking for your true heart's desire, rather than fearing someone's resentment.' I don't get either of those from the story or the card image.
I think if you can make sense of the card without looking at the companion book to this deck, then don't. Just make up your own story.
How pretty! I like this image from Chakra Wisdom Oracle (Watkins 2014). It looks like the beautiful maiden has emerged through a door into a beautiful garden. The card title is 'Perception' -- perhaps there is a message here of beauty being where you find it. I haven't opened the companion book yet. I know that green is the heart chakra, so this must be a card for 4th chakra, heart chakra.
And it is...but I'm not going to delve into the companion book for this card. I like my interpretation of it. I'm not going to read any of the complicated 'legends' or quick guides or any of that.
Today's card from Chakra Wisdom Oracle (Tori Hartman, Watkins 2014) is another jumble of puzzling strands that need to be unravelled before any of it makes any sense.
Let's look at the image. It's got a purple border -- its from the purple chakra, 6th, the famous 'third eye'. It is the 'sixth sense', the intuition, knowing without seeing. So on this card, we see a door with a shiny keyhole, a great big key, a blue guy blowing on the key, and two women watching. The blue guy would appear to be some sort of angel or spirit, and of course the key and door are common symbols. The card title is Recovery.
Nickname: The Lilac Key
Phrase: Pain from our past unlocks the door of understanding
Legend: Girl wakes from painful dreams of past memories, sees a door and giant lavender key, unlocks door, pain recedes.
At a glance: Lilac offers detachment as you allow yourself to see the big picture. Immaturity grows into partnership with Spirit. Step back and allow angels to bring healing.
Sigh.
Okay. There is a suggestion in the material of helping yourself, unlocking the doors yourself, but the image says something to me of waiting for rescue to arrive from higher planes.
To be honest I'm puzzled by this card. Maybe it would make more sense if it were drawn in response to a specific query. This deck may not be ideal for daily draws.
The posts for the rest of the week will focus more on the cards themselves than personal interpretations (which as I said yesterday, may be a little too personal for sharing online anyway, depending on your comfort zone.)
Today's card is called Isolation. I'm not entirely sure I understand what is going on in it. I can see a full suit of clothes sort of standing on its own in front of a closet (perhaps it is hanging from a peg, but that seems an odd way to store clothes). I don't know what that blue blob is in the foreground. I think it 'might' be an invitation -- the little white tag may say 'invitation'. The only reason I think that though is from looking at the companion book. What do you make of it?
Assuming the blue thing is an invitation, and seeing the pristine suit of clothes, and considering the key word is 'isolation' -- I'm guessing this has to do with not wanting to get involved socially. The elements of the card and book all seem conflicting to me (an issue I had with the cards yesterday when I tried to do the spread.)
Key word: Isolation
Nickname: 'Sapphire's Blue'
Phrase: 'I've got all I could ever need, right here'
Legend (dictated by angels): Sapphire gets invited but never wants to go anywhere. He feels superior to everyone, doesn't want to ruin his tux, and doesn't want to disrupt his routine. So he stays home alone and blue.
That's fine, so far so good. Then the meditation suggests you think of something you've been putting off and imagine yourself doing it. Umm...okay. That sort of works.
But then if you look at the 'quick guide' at the beginning of the Blue chapter (Blue for 5th chakra, the throat chakra), it says, 'A childlike playfulness is hidden under elegant exterior. The card denotes wealth and ability to do anything well. Trust and loyalty are indicated. Sapphire also has a great capacity for healing.' Now of course with some mental gymnastics, I can create connections that would make that fit in with the legend of the card, but I certainly wouldn't have instantly thought of any of those things based on the image, which suggests perhaps someone standing in front of his closet, holding an invitation, looking at his unused good suit and wondering if he should say 'yes' for a change.
The most useful bit I got from the book was: 'Sapphire does not know the difference between isolation and solitude. Do you?' It helps to be a native speaker of English, but basically:
isolation - to be or remain alone or apart from others (like being quarantined or detained, not necessarily through your own will); it is a state that can be marked by feelings of loneliness
solitude - to be or remain alone or apart from others, but carrying a connotation of not being lonely as a result, a positive state of engagement with oneself, apart from others
Sapphire's blue because he thinks he's in a state of 'solitude', when in fact he is in 'isolation', imposed upon himself by his own fearful or judgemental attitudes (which of course are the result of fear as well).
The 5th chakra is the throat chakra, the source of speaking, words, communication, and so, it is associated with our involement and engagement with the world. Can you 'speak' to the world, have it turn its attention to you? Can you share yourself with the world? Or do you clam up, metaphorically leaving your best suit in the closet and ignoring the invitation that existence extends you?
It's a beautiful and meaningful question. The card and companion book make you work to get there, though. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but as you can see, it is not a deck for quick readings, but for pondering and exploring. Sapphire may have a good reason for leaving his best suit in the closet. He may have a list as long as his arm. But should he live by those reasons, or should he accept the invitation?
This week I'm going to be looking at the Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards by Tori Hartman (Watkins Publishing 2014). I'll give a full review of the deck at the end of the week.
I thought I'd dive right off the deep end with this new deck and use a spread from the back called 'Is Your Intention Authentic?' This spread is designed to help you look more closely at your goals.
1 2
3 4
1) Your intention
2) Your motive for wanting this
3) The journey ahead
4) The potential outcome
I thought I'd look at some of my recent intentions using this spread. The cards are colour-coded to the seven chakras. The key words are sometimes curious. The images on the card come from stories that the author says were dictated to her by angels over a period of five years, following a hospital stay during which they first started to speak to her. The stories lay in a drawer for 20 years until she realised what to do with them -- create an oracle deck.
1) Rejection - This card is from the suit of 7th chakra (crown chakra), seat of universal consciousness. The story, like many, is impressionistic and 'muddled' -- there is no clear beginning, middle and end, no clear meaning. It has to do with an artist who is summoned to jury duty but is rejected because he is too unconventional. It's true, my intention comes from not feeling that I fit the mold. 'The ivory tower beckons,' says the companion book, 'a place of no judgement. You have finally found your way home.' This is certainly the basis for my intention.
2) Prayer - This card is from the suit of 3rd chakra (solar plexus chakra), according to this deck, the seat of the intellect. This surprises me, as my concept of the solar plexus chakra is that it is the seat of personal power, the hara. The story of the card is a grandfather sipping lemonade with his grandson, telling him how when he was a young man he intended to leave the farm, but his father died suddenly and so he stayed, but has never regretted it. To be honest, I was perplexed by this card until I caught the sentence, 'Having all you desire begins with taking what you need at the right time.' My motivation, then, is that I recognise in the hara that this is the right time.
3) Mysticism - This card is from the 6th chakra (third eye chakra), seat of intuition. This journey is about trusting my intuition. The figure in the card is called Aubergine, and her clinging represents my own fear, which I must meet. It sounds pretty exciting.
4) Perfection - This card is from the 1st chakra (root chakra), seat of grounding and vitality. The potential outcome has to do with feelings of perfectionism. It's an odd one for me, because it talks about being worried about how one appears, the 'conflict between wanting to look good and having compassion for others.' I haven't perceived that as a problem for me. The figure in the card is called 'Raspberry' and described as always wearing make up because she is concerned with her appearance. I never wear make up and am really not a pretentious person at all, so maybe the make up represents barriers or some sort of boundaries or 'masks' put up between myself and others. That I can see. The journey, then, will involve breaking down barriers between me and other people.
This is a deck that is challenging and very personal to its creator; it requires thought to use, and as you can see from this reading, the results are so personal that it might be one you only want to use for yourself, not in public forums. In order to make sense of the cards, you are forced to delve deeply, and that might not be particularly easy to do outside a private journal, and for clients, this probably wouldn't be the deck to use for those 10-minute hen night readings!
