The first card from the Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle is Beauty and the Beast. I am really happy with the new colouring of my blog, because the light greens in this card react so nicely with the soft pinks in the flowers on my blog's background. It all feels nice and fresh, as this time of year often is. Crisp is a word I might use for how things feel here in the UK at the moment.I tried to start reading Lucy Cavendish's accompanying book to this deck yesterday afternoon, but I admit to having trouble with her writing style. It's colloquial and whimsical and otherworldly all at the same time, which makes it easy to trip up consistently as you take a walk amongst her words. I often prefer a more clear cut and 'to the point' interpretation, which is why I will probably take what she has said with a pinch of salt and form my own map for this deck. Isn't that the real art of reading the cards?
Today's card is one of contrasts. The interpretation could stop there, but the card is subtitled 'unconditional love'. Therefore, it looks at my loving someone, despite dramatic differences. Do we always notice these differences when we love someone? A friend said as much to me the other night about my relationship with her.
If we wanted to plummet even further into the depths of this card, we could consider the main faery and the green goblin-like figures as two parts of our self. I have known many conventionally ordinary people over the years who were so kindly natured or interesting or funny that their true beauty shone way past their exterior looks. On the other hand, I have known some physically attractive people with hearts of jet black stone, who were so selfish and bitter and egocentric that they became ugly to the outside world. I guess that one of the points of this card is that both of these characters live within all of us. It's probably about us seeing past one to notice the other, which unconditional love enables us to do. On a darker side of interpretation, this could present a problem, advising us to remove rose-tinted glasses. How many times have we seen people in relationships who cannot see how bad their partner is treating them, due to being blinded by love. I didn't get around to reading what Lucy Cavendish has written about this thirty-first card, but I doubt it is much different to my thoughts.
I am not quite sure what today's card is pointing at. I do have friends who, despite being stroppy or too focused or intense, I do love and must find ways of seeing past their foibles sometimes. I also wonder if it is about work. Even if I can't find the work I want in the near future, is this card asking me to look past the exterior of different jobs and realise what they can do for me?
As I write, the weather outside is darkening and I can hear the 16 year old lad next door mowing the lawn. Unlike Dumb and Dumber, that is about as much noise as he has ever made. I intend to take a little look around the job sites today, trying my best to see the beauty in what might first appear to be a beast, and after that, we have another house viewing from the couple who came to visit on Friday. Apparently, they haven't sold yet, so we are not quite sure why they are coming to look at the property again so soon, but there is no harm in keeping our fingers crossed, is there?
Illustration from The Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle by Selina Fenech
I like Lucy Cavendish's decks... I enjoy their upbeat and (usually) inspiring messages. I work very often with the Oracle of the Dragonfae and find it helpful as a self-growth tool.
ReplyDeleteHowever, her writing style annoys me too sometimes. I mean, sometimes I just want help or a clear advice, and not airy-fairy 'dance around the fairy-ring' drivel.
I don't mean to disrespect any nature spirits that exist, but connecting to the fairies is not always the answer for every problem. *sigh* Besides, I live in the city, it's not like there's a forest full of old trees and mushroom circles right around the corner of my apartment building, so I can take a walk and connect to the natural world.
Sometimes I feel like emailing Lucy Cavendish (and other authors like her) to remind her that not everyone can get paid to live a mystical lifestyle. :P
I love the art of the Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle! Selina Fenech is an outstanding artist!
Hi Marina
ReplyDeleteYou echo all of my thoughts perfectly. I was reading her response to one of the other cards in this deck and I ended up stopping reading half-way through. It wasn't really very relevant to my lifestyle either. I got a lot more from just looking at the image and title. I have felt like that with some other tarot authors too. As you say, it is far easier to immerse yourself in that world if it is your business as well as your lifestyle choice.
I don't want to create a negative view of Lucy Cavendish, since I really like this deck and have heard only good things about the Dragonfae. Many appreciate her writings, and in fairness, I have not read the whole book. Some authors don't touch everybody. Personally, I never got a grip on Rachel Pollack's style but many adore her. I guess that the nice thing about these oracles is that we can take them under our own roof and behave with them in whichever way we wish. Maybe blogs like ours help to create a balance in this kind of commentary. I try to use this journal as a way of working with the cards in a natural but realistic way, which suits me. It is good to read similar responses.
I like this deck because it is open to interpretation and you can leave the book to stand by itself, should you wish. My only niggle is that I wish they'd left the longer interpretations off of the cards to free them up that bit more.
Yes you are right. Fenech is a wonderful artist.
I dislike saying negative things about decks but I have to agree with you guys. I have the Dragonfae, and I tend toward a tongue-in-cheek approach to what is written in the book when I use it on my blog. Way too vacuous and airy-fairy for me. It's more than annoying, it's silly drivel.
ReplyDeleteRachel Pollack is silly many times too. While respecting her imagination and inventiveness and love of mythology, I don't buy into the cult that has grown up around her writing and methods. She has a definite credo which is not to my taste.
Well, you're not going to be seeing me dancing around the garden any time just yet ...
ReplyDeleteI think my problem with a lot of these writers is that their opinion are taken in as fact. Books like the '78 Degrees of Wisdom' are looked upon as a divinitive bible by many. My biggest beef was with the books that went with the Haindll. They were so airy-fairy that I just couldn't read them. I am thinking about the Minors one really. I think a lot of these books are great as a springboard, but in the end, I think we must break away from them and find our own path. Pollack and Cavendish found their own voices; maybe others can be inspired to find their own.
"I think my problem with a lot of these writers is that their opinion are taken in as fact."
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY. In fact, they are as you say, merely opinions that one human has created.
Prince Lenormand, I have to say that I TRULY like Lucy Cavendish's decks, and that I even like most of the companion booklets. I'd never blindly criticize the decks or the author. Some bits annoy me, but I like her decks overall.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you here: "I think my problem with a lot of these writers is that their opinion are taken in as fact."
I think the problem is that some authors put too much of their personal experience in the writing of the books, making it hard for you to relate to it if you live in a different context. Of course, a bit of our personal experience always appears in everything we do, but these authors should remember they are writing to a large audience... not everyone is 'gifted' as they are and can relate to the rituals/experiences they suggest.
People have different ways of working with their spirituality. I usually don't like Angels and Fairies decks because most of the writers in this style tend to fall in the same trap. All will be well if you put the fairy honey on the fairy stone-altar in the fairy corner of the garden. *sigh* It gets tiring after a while.
I love the imagery of fairies and their mythos, but honestly I never saw one or 'felt' one. Maybe I'm ignorant or blind of spiritually-challenged, who knows, but when the 10th card in a deck tells me to 'simply connect with the fairy-world and save nature, and all will be fine', well... I do feel like throwing the book across the room! :p
Yes, I totally understand what you mean. I read Cavandish's section on the 'Catch Me' card this afternoon and it made more sense to me than the others I had read. I think her work is of value; her style of writing just probably fits with some readers more than others. I like the structure of the deck, which I guess is her construction.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I also understand what you mean about people putting too much of their personal experience into these books. I guess it is like those readers who forget that the reading is not actually about them and that the client just wants a straight answer. It's easily done.
Haha. I am the same with the Angels and Fairy decks. Even though, I do have quite a few. I kind of like the ones that stand alone as cards and that can be used in which ever way the person who purchased them wishes.
Thanks so much for your thoughts here. It is fun to discuss and nice to know that my ideas about these things are not just my own. And like you, I am not critising. It's always interesting to discuss different decks, themes and styles.