Rachel's DoW 17 The Threefold Oracle

[Rachelcat]

This week I’ll be using the Threefold Oracle by Tara Cochrane. This one IS in print, from The Game Crafter. Instead of a full deck, this deck is 3 sets of majors. The sets are white borders, birth; red borders, life; and black borders, death, although the birth, life, death categories seem very symbolic, not strictly interpreted. Many of the cards cite mythology and legend, but I admit I didn’t recognize most of them and had to make a cheat sheet taken from the lwb, which is a pdf that’s available when you buy.

I thought you all would like a look at the artwork, which is interesting to me. And we’ll see how I do with daily readings with all majors! The backs are a lovely geometric pattern:

Sunday deck interview

Most important characteristic: Dreamer (Black Moon)
If you look closely, you’ll see Endymion fast asleep at the bottom of the card, his dream of the moon goddess above him. She has luna moth wings and a crescent wand. The deck is very imaginative, and you have to use your imagination and intuition to read with it. The deck is dark, more in color than in theme, even the white bordered ones. You either hate it or fall in love with it.

Strength: Destruction (Red Tower)
This is the god of destruction, Shiva, dancing up some fire! I think because this is the red/life tower, this is destroying the old or already dead to make room for more life. And a jolt of energy. The strength of the deck is that it’s something new, an unashamed new way of taroting.

Weakness: Empress (Black Empress)
The deck’s conventional cards are too conventional. Same as above, it considers the conventional moribund. The deck is not open and nurturing. It has more top-down interpretations.

What can the deck teach me: Universe (White World)
Everything! Also more about mythology. This is Phanes, which I don’t know much about, I think a late myth inspired by neo-Platonism. I think it has strong sexual symbolism, so it can also teach me about sexuality as a part of life.

How can I learn from the deck: Moon (White Moon)
Let my imagination grow and engage intuitively with mythology.

Outcome: Liberator (Red Star)
This is Green Tara, a Buddhist goddess of enlightenment. This deck can bless me not by acting as a traditional savior but by helping me liberate myself from illusion. The truth will set me free.

This is a balanced reading, two cards from each color, and it’s interesting to see which positions are paired. Obviously, two of the same card, Moon, is important, bringing out the divination and imagination themes.

Interestingly, this deck has already inspired me: to get three decks of the same size and shuffle them together. I have a set of three majors and a set of three full decks (of mini cards, still interesting to shuffle!). I use them for certain spreads. I should probably offer some readings with them around here sometime.

See you tomorrow! Not sure whether I’ll do a daily spread or just one card a day. We’ll see!

[Rachelcat]

Monday All-Purpose Spread

Me: Beauty (Red Empress)
For some reason, I’m concerned about my appearance today. I put on a necklace for the first time in 6 weeks (although I have been wearing earrings, otherwise I’d just have holes in my ears.) And I tried to slick back my hair because it’s getting too long (need to keep working on that).

Issue: The Liberator (Red Star)
I need to see this lonely time as an opportunity to free myself from needless routines and previously considered necessary activities. I’ve already done a lot of simplifying of my life in the last three years. Looks like I may need to do more. Or maybe begin a more life-affirming routine, instead of just cutting things out.

Outcome: Rebirth (Red Judgment)
I always like the phoenix for the judgment card, and rebirth, too. For me, that’s what it’s really about, rising above to a new level of being. But it also shows the difficulties of reading all majors for a daily reading. Is my life really going to change for good today? But I do think it’s a good outcome to go along with the liberator issue. If I do take this opportunity to change my life, a new life can indeed start today. Today is the first day of the rest of your life!

Advice: The Hunter (Black Emperor)
According to the lwb, this is Freyr, Celtic god of abundance. So the advice is go for it, full speed ahead. What have I got to lose by trying something new? Seek out/hunt for something that will really enhance my life, since I have to be here and have extra time on my hands anyway.

All red and black cards, no white. I think that means this reading is especially appropriate for me, an older person who’s still not done growing! Hmm, lots to think about when reading with all majors.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy day!

[Rachelcat]

Tuesday All-Purpose Spread

Me: The Divine Couple (Red Lovers)
This is Hades and Persephone, the married gods of death and life. I like the idea of a married couple for red/life Lovers. Plus this couple means stability, assurance in the cycles of life, even though there’s winter, spring always comes after that. They’re not opposites, they always go together. I don’t quite know what that means about me today, except, looking at the rest of the cards, it fits in well between Devil and Temperance. I’ll have an understanding of and appreciation of how everything balances out.

Issue: The Horned God (White Devil)
This is Pan. He looks like he’s emerging from a tree. Is he a goat or a deer? Looks more like a bull. Since this is the white Devil, I’m going to say I’ll be dealing with temptations, but temptations toward relatively innocent things, overeating and other pleasures. Yes, it’s a temptation, and I shouldn’t, but it’s not going to be some big moral dilemma or failing.

Outcome: Temperance (White)
A perfect outcome for dealing with the Devil! I will be tempted but will be able to balance overindulgence with healthy habits. This is supposed to be a kitsune, but where’s his tail? I thought the tail or tails is the most important aspect of a kitsune. But he has foxy ears and lovely wings of fire and water. And he’s pouring me a cup of tea, which is my indulgence when I don’t want to indulge in something too tempting!

Advice: The Green Man (Red Emperor)
The black Emperor was about animal life, the red about plant life. Once again I see this as balancing the devil and temperance. The Green Man is wild like Pan, but he’s vegetable, nothing threatening or scary. The advice is enjoy the pleasures of nature to avoid overdoing the pleasure of the table.

These cards really show the creativity and variability of the three different takes on each major. And continue to show my struggle with reading with all majors, but this one really seems to hang together and be very balanced.

[Rachelcat]

Wednesday All-Purpose Spread

Me: The Hermit (White)
According to the lwb, this is Virgil, Dante’s guide to the underworld. You can tell we’re underground because of the rather ominous moles near the top. The infernal city is in the background. While hermit can apply to many of us today, this means I will be on my own, but I will be able to share what I’ve learned by being alone. I actually helped by work friend with a computer setup working remotely thing yesterday evening. So maybe that’s what this is referring to.

Issue: The Shining One (Red Sun)
This is Amaterasu, Japanese sun and beauty goddess, mother of the line of emperors. I’m having a rather prosaic issue with the sun these days. The sun is shining and tempting me to be outside, but it’s still a bit cold for me. So I step outside for a while and then hurry in and debate whether I should go out for an hour-long walk or stay home. It IS beautiful, and all the flowers are blooming.

Outcome: The Hanging One (Black)
I love this illustration: The woman acrobat is artfully hanging upside down on her rope, and her red hair makes her look as glowing as orange lanterns hanging around her performance area. I won’t have an outcome of my issue with the sun soon, but I will still enjoy the glow.

Advice: The Enchantress (White Magician)
She’s a magician with a sword and chalice and pentacle, but I get the feeling that she’s performing, too, like the hanging one. She is brewing an enchantment, but she’s also enchanting an audience. The advice is DO care about appearances as well as results. Style is part of whatever I’m trying to accomplish, not an outside distraction. Not sure what this is referring to, but good advice in these days of remote connection. What people see and hear are what they’re getting!

I hope you all have a happy, sunny day!

[Rachelcat]

Thursday, new moon in Taurus, Flower Moon Spread

Well, this one starts out well and goes downhill . . . Another reading with all majors challenge!

My deepest desire: The Unveiling (White Judgment)
I love Judgment, especially modern interpretations. I feel inspired by the idea of moving up to a new level, and in this case, getting a glimpse, or more than a glimpse, of what everything is all about. The rainbow goddess, Iris, is drawing back the veil, what we don’t know about life, the universe, and everything, to reveal a treehouse with a long ladder under a waning moon. Not sure what that’s all about, although the treehouse appears on The Tower (Black), but it’s not being destroyed. But the important thing is the unveiling. I want to KNOW, not just out of curiosity, but to be a better person and know life, the universe, and everything mean something and mean something generally good.

My feminine essence: The Goddess (White Empress)
Very appropriate, but interesting that my feminine essence is the goddess, NOT the other Empress cards, Beauty or the Empress. She is feminine and powerful, a life giver and taker, also beautiful and wise (the snakes). She personifies the beauty of nature, see the lovely labyrinth pond and tree.

How can she bloom? The Fool (Black)
Aaand things take a turn . . . This isn’t the happy-go-lucky traveler or the trickster, this is a true fool, someone who’s trying to cross a river on stepping stones and runs right into a hungry croc, actually several. In order for me to fully come into my goddess self, I need to take chances. Real, dangerous chances, not just notional ones, ones that feel dangerous to me, and really are. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My masculine essence: The Devil (Black)
Maybe this is more my image of the masculine, not MY masculine? Or probably both. I think to be masculine is to be manipulative, taking advantage of people’s emotions and weaknesses solely for whatever benefits you. And you don’t even know what truly benefits you, it’s just blind greed for whatever you think you don’t have enough of, whether it’s good for you or not. Wow, that’s very devil! (Note my pronouns. I know this isn’t about “them,” but I couldn’t own it as “mine,” so I went to “you.”) But as is very obvious in this card, there is just as much manipulation and greed on all sides. These two have been corrupting each other all along. (Plus, a short feminist diatribe, women have been denied direct power for so many years that many of them throughout history have perfected the art of manipulation to get what they want. Interesting position next to the Goddess.)

How can he bloom? The Adversary (Red Devil)
I guess I don’t want that version of my masculine to bloom, so I’ll say this is a way for a better masculine to bloom. This devil is not a temptation one, he’s Set, the bad guy in Egyptian mythology, the adversary, the conflict we need in order for there to be a story, a personification of chaos for the hero and heroine to overcome. For my masculine to bloom, I need to be a devil’s advocate! Challenge the status quo and people and ideas that present themselves as on the side of the good and right. What if they’re not? Who’s going to shine a light on the truth? Seems a better way to put my masculine powers to work! And it ties in with the desire, to see things the way they really are.

Sacred union to bring the deepest desire to fruition: The Gateway (Black Death, no not THAT black death . . .)
The way to bring together my goddess and my devil is to go through the gateway? I see the connection more with the Unveiling. The only way I’m going to understand everything is not just look through the veil, but to go through it. I’ll never know until I’m on the other side with the truth. But does that mean literal death? That all will be revealed in the next world? I don’t really believe that (already the adversary . . .). When I let go of masculine and feminine and what I think I want, then I’ll truly know. Very Buddhist. And very obvious, but so difficult to put into action.

Well, this was certainly a deep reading. Why not a little self-analysis in the morning? Sorry if I offloaded a little too much here, but it does feel good to get it out. I hope you all are having a good morning and a happy Thursday!

[Rachelcat]

Friday All-Purpose Spread

Me: The Harvest (Black Sun)
I am thankful for and satisfied with what I have. What a lovely take on the Sun. At sunset, we light candles in gratitude for the nourishment the sun has provided us.

Issue: The Tower (Black)
Here’s the treehouse that was on the Unveiling card I got yesterday. Nothing looks like it’s being destroyed, although it would be a scary climb up all those winding steps. And there seems to be a ritual area below, 8 standing stones in a circle. So I really don’t know what this tower means, maybe a Lenormand tower, the opposite of the tarot tower, longevity. Certainly not stability here, that house is perched pretty precariously in that tree! Ok, that’s what I’m going with, not destruction but instability.

Outcome: Wheel of the Year (White)
Even though I will experience instability, I will realize or it will resolve as stability in change. The world is always changing but also returning, time’s arrow, time’s cycle. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Etc. I usually feel that the wheel of the year isn’t a directly helpful interp for the Wheel card, but with this deck, in which there are three wheel cards, it works for being one of them. (The other two are Fortuna and the Wheel of Life.)

Advice: The Explorer (White Chariot)
This is an interesting card. It depicts Alexandra David-Neel, a woman who explored Tibet when Westerners knew nothing about it. The picture shows that she was an inner explorer as much as an outer one. We don’t see a chariot, but she is being drawn on by colorful swans. She wears a lama’s hat and a halo. And I guess that’s the advice: Deal with instability and insecurity by being an inner explorer. To find out what is important and what I need to do to feel stable, safe and secure.

A good Friday message! I hope you all have a good Friday, too!

[Joan Marie]

These cards really show the creativity and variability of the three different takes on each major. And continue to show my struggle with reading with all majors, but this one really seems to hang together and be very balanced.

Thanks for sharing this lovely deck! I missed this week but am down for the next!

[Rachelcat]

Oh, good! I look forward to seeing you there! Now the last day for the Threefold Oracle!

Saturday elements spread

Earth, physical: Survival (White Strength)
This is Harriet Tubman. If anyone knew about survival it was her. She also knew that just surviving is not enough. You can’t truly life if your’ in constant danger, constant physical and emotional pain. She truly has a lion’s heart. I guess physical survival is a concern for me now. I’m not really worried, but I guess we all are to some extent. Focus on the real physical, not worries.

Water, emotional: Queen of Heaven (Red Priestess)
This is Isis, probably one of the most powerful goddesses of antiquity. She was a goddess of life, healing and love, but also of magic and power. I’m feeling drawn to mystery, esoteric studies and especially goddesses today. I was just thinking I should get out my goddess decks.

Air, intellectual: The Lovers (Black)
These look like soul mates, winged incorporeal persons who are on a path to joining in a temple. After yesterday’s self-analysis, I’ve been thinking about relationships. Are there any honest men? Or women? Can a couple truly be together -- open and honest and most of all completely trusting in each other? A tem for live, you and me against the world. And if not, what’s the point? Certainly not that the world must be peopled!

Fire, energetic: The Gateway (Black Death)
Is here again. I didn’t talk about the card before. Beautiful poppies of remembrance grow before the steps up to the gateway out to another world. It’s up and out. I’m moving in that direction; we all are. Maybe it means make better use of my time because we don’t have an unlimited supply.

Spirit: The Hidden One (Black Hermit)
The mandrake is hidden because it’s a root. It has to be underground to grow. This means kind of the same as above. I should take this hermit/underground time to grow spiritually. It’s not too late. Although I’m approaching the gateway, I’m not there yet!