Vision Seeker Course

Recently I completed Nicole Piar's free Vision Seeker course. Nicole is a visual artist who I stumbled across completely by accident a few months ago. I loved her whimsical, slightly retro watercolours of cats and dreamy girls. When I saw her Spirit Cats oracle deck, I needed it immediately. (I wrote about it in my divination tools post.)

The Vision Seeker course is run once a year and consists of 13 daily oracle readings, sent by email. Some days include a meditation or a creative task as well. While Nicole's Spirit Cats oracle deck is the most suitable, any oracle deck can be used for the readings. Normally I'm not that interested in anything where there are daily exercises in a group format, as I don't have time to work on them every day and I inevitably fall behind. Having an excuse to use my new deck was too tempting, though.

I don't have much experience with this kind of activity, but I really enjoyed it and gained much more than I thought I would. I was put at ease by the tone of the commentary and the wise quote at the head of each day. I can be put off if something is too 'woo-woo' or mystical, but I didn't get that feeling from this course. It was also secular and would appeal to people of many different spiritual or religious backgrounds.

Having said all that, this post isn't really a review -- I want to focus more on sharing my experience. Not all of the lessons had the same effect on me, but some of them were very profound. I was asked to reflect on my strengths, activities that are important to me, energies I would like to bring into my life, my relationships with the people and world around me, and more.

The energies or qualities that really stood out for me in regards to these, and which kept coming up over and over, were Focus, Imagination, Majesty, and Unique. Focus was the card selected for my positivity talisman. Warrior only came up once, but in a very important reading -- the energy to bring to my chosen focus. After narrowing down the aspects of my life I wanted to focus on, I chose movement. For me this means activities that will improve my health, flexibility and energy levels, like yoga, walking, dancing, etc. Warrior was an excellent choice, because it indicates strength, standing up for what I believe in, doing what's right. It also has an element of physicality to it, I think.

While I've been sick on and off for the last few months, the lessons I learned in the course have helped me to keep focussed on my health and acknowledge how important to meet myself where I am, not to expect too much.

The reading in the course with the largest scope was on Day 12, with 11 cards. This reading is designed to make me think about my position in the world, in relation to my family, friends, community, ancestors, etc. The instructions warned that it would take some time for the full meanings of the cards to become clear. I did have some impressions almost immediately on doing the reading, but I will return to my notes sometime soon to see if I have any more insights.

My Divination Tools -- Part 2

In a previous post, I listed the divination tools I owned as of mid-2016. I've acquired a few more since then. Here they are.

"GYPSY WITCH" FORTUNE-TELLING CARDS
I purchased these mainly because they were reasonably priced and I was curious. (Even though I try not to use the word "gypsy" myself anymore as it can cause offence.) They're a full set of playing cards that can also be used as Lenormand cards. The instruction booklet is small but provides a simple, easy to understand explanation of the Petit tableau and Grand tableau layouts. I think they will serve as a good everyday deck so I can save my Viking Lenormand deck for special occasions.

PROFESSOR PAM WISHBOW'S URBAN DIVINATION ORACLE
You've seen at least one reading from me using this deck before. I love the graphics, the gold printing and the unusual square shape. The oracle consists of 32 cards with an urban city-scape theme. As the blurb explains, most people nowadays live in an urban environment and rarely actually encounter the things featured on most oracle cards. Pam decided to create a deck for us urban dwellers, with things we see every day, like The Bin, The Crow and The Unopened Candy. I've used this desk several times, and I tend to reach for it when I'm dealing with something practical or a bit grubby, like a business opportunity or a soured friendship.

PROFESSOR PAM WISHBOW'S BEETLE BONE CASTING MAT
This bandana-sized casting mat is printed in gold ink, in the Wishbow signature style. It came with three randomly chosen treasures -- a key, a crystal and some kind of fingerbone (probably resin). The idea is for the caster to add their own tiny treasures, as many as desired. I haven't tried it yet, but as far as I understand, you assign meanings to the "bones" and where they fall on the mat determines their meaning. It looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to try it.

SACRED WORLD ORACLE by KRIS WALDHERR
This is a relatively new oracle that I only bought a few weeks ago, and I've only used it once so far. I was attracted to the concept behind it -- each of the 44 cards represents an animal, but they are also divided up into the four elements. The artwork on them is absolutely exquisite, with a golden frame surrounding an image of each animal in a landscape inspired by relevant legends from around the world. I'm not accustomed to working with animal energies, but I'm definitely open to it. I love working with these cards.

SPIRIT CATS ORACLE CARDS by NICOLE PIAR
I've only had this deck a couple of days and haven't used it yet. I came across it completely by chance and knew I had to have it straight away. For a start: cats! Nicole's artwork is breathtaking, in a whimsical and slightly retro style. These photos really don't do them justice. The deck consists of 48 cards, with a cat on the front, and an inspirational message on the back.

Nicole is offering a free course working with oracle cards, which I have signed up for. It starts next month.

HARRY POTTER FANTASTIC BEASTS CARDS
It's actually a set of colouring cards (complete with pencils), but I'm wondering if it can be used for divination. I could use my copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as the guidebook. My only issue is that the cards aren't labelled, so I'd have to brush up on my beast-identification skills. But how fun would it be?