Some time ago, a friend whom I'd met in witchcraft class held a ritual at her house. Placed among the other objects on the mantel in the dining room and on the altar on the table were some beautiful, vaguely mysterious, cards depicting faeries. These, she told me, were from The Faeries' Oracle, a deck she loved and worked with a lot. It wasn't until recently that I finally decided to get this deck for myself.

Himself - Natural law. Life force. Magic. Shamanic power.

Through shamanic journeying and other meditative work with guides, it had become very clear to me that not only did I have Faery guides but that they were actively calling to me, claiming me as one of their own. I remembered only recently that when I was a child I spent hours playing with the faeries who lived beneath a huge tree in our front yard and among the flowers that grew around the house. During a bookbinding project in class, I actually made my own book and filled it with pictures and a story of my Faery friends. How I wish I could find that book today! As I've awakened to this tremendously strong connection to Faery, I wanted to find ways to strengthen it and to go deeper into the Otherworld. The Faeries' Oracle has been a way to do that.

Painted by Brian Froud, widely accepted as one of the best Faery artists there is, the deck is truly beautiful. From the sheer skill of his artistry, the Faery faces peer out at you from the cards and you feel them connecting with you. Their world comes alive and you slip right in. As Jessica Macbeth says in the accompanying book:

Using the Faeries' Oracle is unlike using any other card deck, whether tarot or oracle. In other decks we (you and I, gentle reader) are working with archetypes and intellectual concepts. In The Fairies' Oracle we are, of course, still concerned with those. However, we are also interacting with the living breathing, faery beings. They are just as real as we are, if not more so, but they are very different from us. These differences between us and the faeries' inimitable approach to life will provide us with some interesting joys, challenges, and experiences as we become acquainted with and use this deck.

This is precisely what makes this deck so different for me. I've read tarot for a long time and, as I've written many times here on this site, I've been using the Fey Tarot to do readings for myself for a couple of years now. Those pictures are wonderful - I could just look at them all day - and I like reading with this deck because it gets me thinking about things from a Fey mindset, changing my perspective and getting me to step outside of my rigid human way of seeing the world. Despite all that, I rarely use that deck to do readings for other people and I rely heavily on the book, because the meanings of the Fey Tarot cards deviate quite a bit from the traditional meanings I was taught. When I want to do a reading for someone else, wherein I am able to be at my intuitive and insightful best, I still use the pocket Waite-Rider deck I've had for years and when I wanted to find a way to create a more personal connection with the Fey, I turned to The Faeries' Oracle.

Nelys the Alchemist - Inner transformation. Irrevocable change.

It is that "inimitable approach to life" that was the first hook. I've recognized lately that my own approach to life - from my relationships to my outward expression of myself in the world to my practice of the Craft - needed a serious overhaul. If I were to make a list of words that I want to describe the new me, emerging as if from a chrysalis, into this new year and into this new way of being, inimitable would be right up there with audacious and bewitching. I am already all of these things; I just needed someone to hold my hand and draw me out from the place where I've been hiding. Faery hands do that very well. If you need someone to show you the way toward this path, then it is a Faery guide you want.

In her book, Jessica Macbeth gives some practical advice about getting to know faeries, acquainting yourself with their world, and making the cards of The Faeries' Oracle resonate and have personal meaning for you. Despite my impatience to "get to the meanings" I heeded her advice and was very glad I did. She has personal relationships with the faeries who are depicted on these cards and her guidance on how to begin working with them is an important part of using this deck. Even though I've had plenty of encounters with faeries on my own, I did not yet know these faeries. Now that I've actually started to work with the deck, I understand the necessity of an introduction. Now that they know me, they are happy to be my guides and my friends.

Jessica says that "truly skilled readers can see everything they need to know in a scattering of dead leaves on the ground or in the twist of the stem of a flower." In my case I meet faeries in the woods, on the beach and, when I'm paying attention, right here on the city streets. So why use cards at all?

Because they are beautiful and enlighten our spirits. Because they are fun and lighten our hearts. Because they help illuminate and focus our attention and awareness. They help us stay awake and aware in this world and Faery. And because faeries think they are great fun, too, and find this an easy, joyful way of reaching out to us.

One of my favorite Wiccan writers and bloggers is Dianne Sylvan. Here she offers an in depth review of The Faeries' Oracle. I was amazed to read that she, too, had a strong reaction to Himself, one of the faeries from the deck. Himself is an important card for me, a messenger from the Universe and my higher self who tells me what I need to know about how to resolve my issues and heal my pain so that I can move closer to fulfilling my heart's desire (both of which are represented in cards that I worked with in one of Jessica's exercises).

If you feel a connection to Faery, I would suggest that you definitely get this deck and begin to explore its personalities. I would offer a cautionary word, however, that working with Faery is not something to trifle with. It can be rewarding and bring you to places you could hardly have imagined, but Faery magick is powerful stuff. Do not go at it without a healthy dose of respect and a willingness to accept whatever you find. But remember, too, that these are faeries. Whatever happens, you will have fun!

~*~

Jessica Macbeth has a wonderful website, Faery Wisdom, where she shares much about working with Faery Magic, visiting the Otherworld, and more about working with The Faerie's Oracle. I also found a blog she used to keep (the last entries are from the Summer of 2006) wherein each entry discusses one of the oracle cards in depth. For someone just beginning to use this deck, I'm sure this information would still be of great interest.

Brian Froud also has an amazing website devoted to his Faery art that features an interactive Faeries' Oracle. It's fun and worth trying.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)

I have a thing for crows. It comes from meeting the Morrighan in the Underworld, being claimed by her as one of her own - complete with armor, sword and a pair of black wings - and encountering beings I call my "crow sisters" in most of my meditative and shamanic journeys.

Photo from Roseburg, Oregon; found in SFGate's Day in Pictures.

This photo is an amazing shot, for the contrast of the black of the crow against the white of the snow if nothing else. But I love the spread of the crow's wings most. It captures exactly the look of the wings I was given and those of my sisters. This could be one of my sisters, flying through Oregon.

Crows have a rich symbolic history that stretches across almost every spiritual pantheon and time in history. From Celtic mythology, the Crow is associated with Morrighan and her triple goddess form that includes her sisters Macha and Badb. In this way and a number of others she is beloved of many witches. The Native Americans see the Crow as a trickster, but also as the protector of the sacred writings of the Great Spirit. In alchemy, encountering a crow is considered a particularly good omen. The Black Crow symbolizes the beginning of the alchemist's journey through inner space and in the symbol of the Black Crow we have the stepping out in consciousness from the world of the physical senses the restrictions that bind us to the physical body. The Crow is an important symbol in Buddhist traditions as well, with many meanings. I have read that the sight of three crows flying over head means that a new Buddha is born.

While there are many stories and superstitions about the Crow and a number of its associations have to do with death and ill omens, the Crow also has powerful medicine and her presence can be very beneficial. A subject worthy of a longer post at a later time.

THE ONES that disappeared are back,
The Phoebe and the Crow,
Precisely as in March is heard
The curtness of the Jay—
Be this an Autumn or a Spring?
My wisdom loses way,
One side of me the nuts are ripe—
The other side is May.

Emily Dickinson (1830-86). Complete Poems. 1924
Part Five: The Single Hound

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 9:29 AM | Comments (2)

Renewal has been a major theme for me lately. New year. New starts. New opportunities. Among the many harbingers of change and signs of transformation that have appeared to me over the past few months, Robins have played a significant role. A robin came to me in a soul renewal shamanic journey and even in the cold of winter I've seen several robins in my neighborhood. As someone who doesn't believe in coincidences, I knew enough to recognize synchronicity at work.

Robin © 2006-2007 by Saktoth at deviantART

As shamanic spirits, robins are symbols of growth and renewal. The robin's red breast symbolizes the activation of creative energy, a stimulus to growth. They are traditionally considered a symbol of spring, which is a season of renewal. When we let go of the past we are renewed and free to nurture and serve both ourselves and others. Like many birds, robins are good parents, and one aspect of this animal power is the ability to nurture oneself into true adulthood.

Where food supplies are sufficient robins will live year-round. This is one of Robin's lessons: during times when our hearts and spirits feel bleak and cold we can flourish if we have sufficient inner strength, courage and faith. For this reason, the Robin Essence is a particularly good one to take during the winter months.

When male robins have territorial disputes they sing to each other. This behavior reminds us that part of growth is learning how to handle conflict in an adult manner and it reinforces the creative aspect of this bird's energy. To become truly mature, we must trust our own intuition - our own unique creative expression.

As an important symbol for me during a period of rich personal and spiritual growth, it seemed fitting that the Robin would inspire the creative expression of a new design for Blogickal. Indeed, just in time for Imbolc.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:16 PM | Comments (2)

Not living in the country or possessing a garden, I don't have much occasion to see snails. That's why when I saw one this morning crossing the sidewalk, still wet from the earlier rain, I was surprised. He was bright, shiny green with a yellow shell. I wished I'd brought a camera along on my morning coffee run.

Since his presence was so out of the ordinary, I felt compelled to learn what a snail represents as a spirit guide and what "medicine" and magickal correspondences they bring.

The snail's wisdom includes:

• Importance of keeping yourself mobile
  
• Understanding the value of leaving a trail
  
• Ability to use slow movement to one's advantage
  
• Defense through retreat
  
• Understanding the value of humor
  

The snail symbolizes not just the necessity but often the freedom to take things slow and steady. Consider, for example, the tarot's Nine of Pentacles I discussed in an earlier post. The Snail depicted in this card represents the ability this woman has to take her life at a snail's pace - slow and easy - because she has worked hard to achieve a level of success that affords her this luxury. Most people can't afford the luxury of time, spending much of the time they have working hard. When that hard work pays off, often after patient perseverance and dedication, then we have earned the luxury of spending our time as we please. Therefore, the snail becomes a reminder of success. Slow and steady wins the race.

Mathematically (and by extension, one could argue, spiritually) the snail is connected to everything in nature. What is the size difference between each spiral on a snail cross section? 1.618033963. This number is referred to as the "golden ratio," which repeats itself in all living things and has numerous associations within aesthetics, philosophy and spirituality.

The Manataka American Indian Council has a terrific reference on spirit guides. From them, I learned that my little snail friend is a "messenger guide."

A Messenger Guide quickly comes into your life and then leaves once a message is understood. The time a Message Guide stays in your psychic is relative to you seeing and accepting the message. The message itself can be spiritual in nature, or it can be a warning. The message may deal with a seemingly mundane aspect of your life or it may be a wake-up call for some important action you must make. Sometimes the animal messenger will come during an unusual event and make a powerful statement and others come on the wind as a whisper. A messenger guide can cause you delays or some unforeseen help in your life. They can be both negative and positive in nature for they are totally impartial.

On my way back I looked for the snail; he was gone. I guess he decided his work here was done!

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 12:10 PM | Comments (3)

I love wind. To feel its power is exhilarating and borders on the frightening sometimes. But to walk in the wind is energizing in a way that few other things are. Before the rain comes, I think I'm going to go out to walk in the wind that I can hear blowing down the street.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 1:55 PM | Comments (1)

This morning, coming home from my daily latte run, I noticed that the name on the mailbox for the apartment above me had changed: Sprite. So, my new neighbor, arrived at last, is a sprite!

Image of earth sprite courtesy of Zejeni at DeviantArt.

Last night, I heard activity going on up there and assumed that the new tenant had begun the move-in process. I wondered what he could be doing at 10:30 at night. And from the sounds coming through my ceiling, he doesn't sound very sprite-like.

This will be worth investigating! I wonder what kind of sprite he is. Do you think he looks like this?

What do sprites like to drink? Of course I shall have to be neighborly and invite the sprite down for a bevvie.

What has been your experience with sprites?

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)