I have completed the artwork for the Divine Muses Oracle cards! It has largely been a private process. If you don't know know about it, it is a project that seeks to explore archetypes in alchemy, magic and the Muses as a way to practice further realization of our creativity and inner truths.
There are 53 cards and the guidebook has 106 meanings, including the “essence,” or general meaning for the archetype of the card, and its “shadow,” or reversed definition. If you work with archetypes, some will be familiar, however there are some cards that merge traditional archetypes into “new” ones.
They aren’t new archetypes, really, as they already exist in the collective unconscious. I’m just naming, or renaming them, since these archetypes prevail on the spectrum of perennial spiritual truths. If you're unfamiliar, archetypes and the collective unconscious are terms that were coined and explored by Swiss psychologist, Carl G. Jung.
To pay homage to the Muses, I incorporated into the deck the Nine Muses of Ancient Greek mythology. They are archetypal! Specifically creative archetypes for artists and writers to work with. I’ve added a tenth Muse to make up for the lack of a “Muse of Art.”
Even though the Nine Muses are considered “the Muses of the Arts,” they are connected to writing, the performing arts & sciences, and consequently there is no Muse of visual arts. I explain further in the book about my addition of the Tenth Muse.
There are also four mystical totem creatures, which connect to the tarot's suits: salamander, undine, sylph and gnome. They link to the magical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth.
The six alchemy cards feature animals that represent a stage in the the alchemical procedure, or individuation process, as described by Carl Jung. In fact it was the rich symbols in alchemy that led Jung to realize the collective unconscious. He saw a connection in the work of self-realization with the Great Work of alchemy.
The process of creating this deck has been an exploration and discovery of alchemical healing, magic and archetypal forces. It has been a sacred and private journey for me.
For this reason, I have not posted any photos of the cards online yet. For one, I am not participating on social media at the moment, which I addressed in my previous post. I also like to keep what I’m creating close as I don’t want my artwork or magical practice to be influenced by outside forces.
I know this is not a good marketing decision, as it is typically advised to share photos on social media to get people excited about the “product.” But I chose my process over business, with the intention that those who are meant to work with this deck will find it.
During the past year, as I worked more intensely with the oracle cards, (for those of you who are versed in astrology) Jupiter in Scorpio was aspecting my chart, which contributed to my period of solitude and inner contemplation.
Saturn also crossed the bottom of my chart (IC) conjuncting Pallas Athena and my Moon, two times this year! It’s going to cross one final time in a couple weeks. In short, this year has definitely been one for inner work for me.
Jupiter is in Sagittarius now, and speaks to my being ready to share myself more fully with the world. It’s serendipitous because I’m looking forward to being finished with this project, so that I can put it out there to share with you.
My plan is to officially release the deck in March at the NWTS 2019. The cards will have a companion book, which is almost complete. I will hopefully have the first draft done to send to my editor soon. This project will again be a self-published, independent release.
I will share photos of the cards with you...when I get a demo from the printer. Stay tuned!
There are 53 cards and the guidebook has 106 meanings, including the “essence,” or general meaning for the archetype of the card, and its “shadow,” or reversed definition. If you work with archetypes, some will be familiar, however there are some cards that merge traditional archetypes into “new” ones.
They aren’t new archetypes, really, as they already exist in the collective unconscious. I’m just naming, or renaming them, since these archetypes prevail on the spectrum of perennial spiritual truths. If you're unfamiliar, archetypes and the collective unconscious are terms that were coined and explored by Swiss psychologist, Carl G. Jung.
To pay homage to the Muses, I incorporated into the deck the Nine Muses of Ancient Greek mythology. They are archetypal! Specifically creative archetypes for artists and writers to work with. I’ve added a tenth Muse to make up for the lack of a “Muse of Art.”
Even though the Nine Muses are considered “the Muses of the Arts,” they are connected to writing, the performing arts & sciences, and consequently there is no Muse of visual arts. I explain further in the book about my addition of the Tenth Muse.
There are also four mystical totem creatures, which connect to the tarot's suits: salamander, undine, sylph and gnome. They link to the magical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth.
The six alchemy cards feature animals that represent a stage in the the alchemical procedure, or individuation process, as described by Carl Jung. In fact it was the rich symbols in alchemy that led Jung to realize the collective unconscious. He saw a connection in the work of self-realization with the Great Work of alchemy.
The process of creating this deck has been an exploration and discovery of alchemical healing, magic and archetypal forces. It has been a sacred and private journey for me.
For this reason, I have not posted any photos of the cards online yet. For one, I am not participating on social media at the moment, which I addressed in my previous post. I also like to keep what I’m creating close as I don’t want my artwork or magical practice to be influenced by outside forces.
I know this is not a good marketing decision, as it is typically advised to share photos on social media to get people excited about the “product.” But I chose my process over business, with the intention that those who are meant to work with this deck will find it.
During the past year, as I worked more intensely with the oracle cards, (for those of you who are versed in astrology) Jupiter in Scorpio was aspecting my chart, which contributed to my period of solitude and inner contemplation.
Saturn also crossed the bottom of my chart (IC) conjuncting Pallas Athena and my Moon, two times this year! It’s going to cross one final time in a couple weeks. In short, this year has definitely been one for inner work for me.
Jupiter is in Sagittarius now, and speaks to my being ready to share myself more fully with the world. It’s serendipitous because I’m looking forward to being finished with this project, so that I can put it out there to share with you.
My plan is to officially release the deck in March at the NWTS 2019. The cards will have a companion book, which is almost complete. I will hopefully have the first draft done to send to my editor soon. This project will again be a self-published, independent release.
I will share photos of the cards with you...when I get a demo from the printer. Stay tuned!
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