It is with great
satisfaction and a little pride that I can bring news (and pictures) of another
oracle deck reaching fruition. The bulk of this deck was created in late Spring
but as I descended into the last few cards I felt a need to step back for a while…
Morrigan is an intense and great energy to work with and I was overwhelmed by
her presence and contribution to this deck. As Autumn rolled in, arguably a
very prominent time of year for this Celtic Goddess, I felt the ‘call to arms’
once more and so armed with great inspiration by one of the most awing deities
I’ve ever experienced, off I went and in 3 days the deck was done. So here we
are and I present you with…
The Cosmic Calling of a Shadow Wolf
Whilst all
animals sacred to Morrigan and foxes are also sacred to Joey… I feel she
connects most profoundly to wolves and as I scouted around Google for images I
knew what I was looking for… the wolf had to be a silhouette because this is an
astral wolf and to the everyday world, the astral is in shadow and I felt the
need to mirror that. The second thing I knew was a must is that this
silhouetted wold must be howling; whilst most would assume that as in
popularised supernatural fictions the wolf would be howling at the moon, I
disagreed; Joey is connected to the whole cosmos and the moon just didn’t feel
enough for her wolf. This background I chose to set the wolf against was edited
in photoshop to give a slightly orangy hue because orange is a colour which
automatically brings Samhain to mind and Samhain is a thinning of veils…
bringing what lays beyond the veils closer as does a wolf call. This brought to
mind an eternal cycle of the wolf calling to the cosmos and the cosmos
answering.
The Triads
I incorporated
three sets of triadic cards into the deck:
«
Maidenhood, Motherhood, Cronehood
The Morrigan is well known as a Triple Goddess but using cards just
stating Maiden, Mother and Crone didn’t seem to incorporate that Morrigan owns
these states of being and shifts between them to exist and experience divinity
in each aspect. For example, ‘Maidenhood’ is the sphere of youth… all the
desires that will forge ones future. Creating a card for each stage of divine
life brings forth the drives of each sphere and opens each to interpretation.
«
Anu, Macha, Badb
This triad is based on the names given to the most well-known
aspects of Morrigan in her Triple Goddess form as Maiden, Mother & Crone. These
aspects were given individual cards because Joey specifically relates to their
essences and each has attributes which can be applied to a given situation that
is being questioned in a reading.
«
Of Blood and Bone, Mistress of Death, Warrior
These cards relate whole-heartedly to the most common image of
Morrigan – She is a Goddess of Death, She is a Warrior and She is often
associated with blood and bone. While I know that limiting Morrigan to these
stereotypes is narrow-minded, a deck devoted to Her which doesn’t include them
would seem incomplete.
On further
examination of the completed cards, I found other triad sets:
«
Starry Night, Orion Dreams, Cosmic Alliance
It may seem obvious but all three of these cards are related to
universal/cosmic energy… Starry Night relates to Joey’s store, or at least the
inspiration behind it; Orion Dreams is an interpretation on a connection to
Orion that I’ve heard Joey talk about in some of her videos and in private
chats.
«
Path, Disillusionment, Wisdom
This triad has more subtle connections – there are many things in
this universe which will lead someone into the Craft and these cards are some
of the most common – the search for wisdom of the unknown and unseen; feeling
you are on a path which must be followed; recognising how when illusions are
shattered, what remains must be truth.
I am overjoyed
that in creating these cards there were patterns that were unintentional
because that is the essence of divination and the beauty of synchronicity. Finding
interpretations that were not expected but never the less are undeniably a part
of something more magickal and divine than what can be perceived in the human
experience is a large part of why I’m making these cards. It is now, when I am
armed with this synchronicity, which I accredit fully to Morrigan for providing,
I can look deeper.
Totem Cards
The animals
sacred to Morrigan, at least those found via legend and mythology, are Raven,
Wolf, Eel, Horse and Heifer… these kindred spirits of Morrigan have been
singled out in cards because of what they bring to her presence and though each
bring a myriad of messages and resources, so does their energy as a collective…
these animals are all powerful and highly symbolic; that is, from what I can
gather, a dedication to the Morrigan and her own power.
My Favourites
I think I love this card so much because it is so very
open to interpretation; ‘Path’ is a word so commonly used in Pagan circles,
communities and dialogues that I feel it gets overlooked and certainly taken
for granted. I put this card in the deck to help refocus on the journey being
taken… in magick, in life, in spirituality. A twilight forest scene seemed
appropriate for Joey because trees are home for her; the pathway through the
trees is a little ‘on the nose’ in terms of symbolism but I hope it will be an
enjoyable card to be pulled in Joey’s personal readings.
I've put the Path card above these choices because it was showcased in the triads but here are some of my other favourites and a little about how each came about:
ii)
This is possibly a controversial card and I did consider not
including it but Joey posted this photograph of herself before I had even
started to make oracle cards and in the photograph I saw Morrigan looking at me
through Joey’s eyes. That was it for me… I had to play on photoshop and create
Morrigan within the image. I made several versions and this was my favourite
before I’d even thought of the deck. So, when the deck was conceived and I had
focused the ideas down to aspects of Morrigan, I knew exactly the image to use
to see Morrigan in her daughters.
iii) Ah, the yumminess that is
foxes. It was so difficult to make a choice for the wording on the fox card; I
toyed with Trickster, Eyes in the Aether, Twilight Temptation, etc but nothing
seemed to capture the energy of fox I was trying to portray and when I chose
Awareness, it felt to fit like the last piece of the jigsaw. Anyone who watches
Joey’s channel knows how she cherishes the presence of foxy energies and so
this felt like a very important card but the reason it makes one of my personal
favourites is the combination of the outline silhouette and the orange/white
energy background which gives the impression of a shifting awareness.
Well, there we have it… the whole deck is 44 cards and
I have featured about half of those here. Joey, herself has showcased the cards
in a video on her YouTube channel, link below…
There is another deck in the works – watch this
space!!!
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