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by Monica Bodirsky
What is it like to walk between worlds? Although impossible to articulate this unusual feeling, you can certainly try by using my latest oracle deck. For me, the act of engaging in divination is the ability to be everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. I walk between two specific realms. One is the shadowy space of our subconscious, and the other is the equally shadowy spiritual realm. Because both of these can be tricky to access, I took my favourite bone and curio casting set and transformed the dimensional pieces into illustrated symbols on oracle cards and wrote an accompanying guide to facilitate your journey.
While this came from a very personal space, the act of seeking answers in our lives remains universal despite the endless variety of methodologies. What I discovered from a very early age when I threw stones on the ground for answers to simple yes and no questions is part of a shared global tradition of casting and using bones and other items.
Osteomancy, or reading with bones, comes in many forms including scapulomancy in which the shoulder blade of an ox or large animal is placed in a fire and the burn marks or cracks are then interpreted afterwards. This was apparently practiced not only in eastern Asia, but by the Celts as well who likely used sheep bones instead.
Throwing and interpreting marked bones was a divination technique used by Northern and Eastern Europeans as well as the use of knucklebones for gambling. The Sangoma in Africa use bones as well as curios which are thrown onto a mat and interpreted to offer healings to people by petitioning spirits of ancestors.
Coffee beans as well as Fava beans are still being used to discover your fortune in Southern and Eastern Europe and runes as well as the Ogham, though alphabets, are also used for divinatory purposes.
How does it feel to journey between the realms with these oracle cards? I can describe it as a suspension of time and a dream-like walk in the liminal space between waking and sleeping. I experience intense clarity as external sounds fade. I feel grounded and several layers of intuitive insights create a narrative based on the cards I have pulled.
Because my intuitive flashes often appear in a short narrative form, I wrote a piece of flash fiction to accompany each card. Along with the key words, message, and advice, the addition of narrative offers multi-dimensional answers to your questions. To answer your question, no, they are not true stories. But they could be.
As someone who generally doesn’t read reversals in Tarot, I felt it was an important aspect for this deck. Since I didn’t need to adhere to any particular system and this is my own creation, I found that the reversal of a symbol offered an option for those who find it difficult to interpret upright cards as both positive and challenging. This is to assist with clarity in shadow work.
Reflection questions follow each card and this is a technique I use while teaching my own classes and when I taught at university. I have always enjoyed using the reflection technique when I am learning about something or need to be objective to gain perspective.
I generally take 8 months to a year to complete an oracle or tarot deck, and this is the practical time I spent in the final production of this deck; however, I have been working out this unique system for five years. That time was spent researching, and trying to discover the best way to translate a three-dimensional object to a two-dimensional medium successfully.
The initial prompt came for me while travelling to Boston and Salem. I purchased a number of small, items for my casting set and threw them into a small zip lock bag to bring home, however, when I realized that nails, small metal items, and pottery sherds might look suspicious when going through customs, I realized how difficult it could be in the future to travel with these sets for anyone. So, purely for the expediency and thinking ahead, I wrote a short note on the back of my business card saying hello to customs, and I mentioned I was an artist and I use these bits and pieces in my work. This trip occurred shortly after the tragic Boston marathon bombing and I could hardly blame them for confiscating the items, or at the very least tossing my luggage. Design often follows need and the desire to create this deck began.
Creating art is always a walk between the worlds for me and a very magical act. I am transported to other realms where I can see the energy around the things I draw and paint. As an animist and witch practitioner this has always been the case for me.
I use this deck to peer into the shadows of my own inner workings and to reach out to speak with ancestors who seem to come through loud and clear with this no-nonsense deck. I hope you enjoy this new deck, and find all of the answers you seek while walking between the worlds.
Learn more here
Https://www.monicabodirsky.com
Insta @monicabodirsky
Monica.bodirsky@gmail.com
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