In recreating the oracle deck, and to honor the mysterious unknown in our lives, each card, starting with a dark background on to which light and color are added, is renamed with a verb instead of a noun, reminding us that life is continually in progress. Associating each card with a Hebrew letter/number means the cards are renumbered so that we start with 1 and end with 22. Having been fascinated with making kaleidoscopic mandalas for the past several years, playing with the outline shape of the Hebrew letters became a grid used in each card – sometimes in the robe of the mentor, at other times as part of the landscape or background as in the card above.
Each card became associated with an empowering feminine archetype from world culture, a symbol of which would feature in each card— here, Hecate’s owl waits to be seen. The images, multilayered to appeal to different aspects of soul and psyche, also feature a symbol of sacred geometry that may speak to the soul in ways that surpass the limits of language. In this card, the torus swirls around her.
Creating the text
Moving from image to text and back, I focused on the hero’s journey implicit in the cards. A theme, a mantra, a meditation, a mentor and archetypal story were used to interpret each card, empowering those who may be drawn to use the cards as a daily practice rather than a prognosticative tool. Understanding each card’s placement on the Tree of life adds an additional layer of possibility to the user to consider as she journals her feelings, thoughts, memories and dreams. Finally, collaborating with naturopath Dr. Zoe Wells, to make the experience multisensory, an essential oil is suggested for each card to enhance the spiritual quality under consideration.
In the traditional deck the first card is numbered as 0 and named The Fool. In this redesigned oracle, the theme of starting out on a new adventure is retained from the traditional card, now named ‘Initiating.’ It is connected with the Hebrew letter alef which is also the number 1 as each Hebrew letter represents a number as well. A decorative and patterned grid of the letter is an essential element of the drawing; here the letter alef appears on the cave wall from which the archetypal Eve emerges. She steps onto four interconnected whirling spheres, each depicting the sacred geometric design of the ‘flower of life’ representing one of the kabbalah’s Four Worlds, here translated as Intuition/Intention, Thought, Feeling and Action.