"The Thirtieth Spirit is Forneus. He is a Mighty and Great Marquis, and appeareth in the Form of a Great Sea-Monster. He teacheth, and maketh men wonderfully knowing in the Art of Rhetoric. He causeth men to have a Good Name, and to have the knowledge and understanding of Tongues. He maketh one to be beloved of his Foes as well as of his Friends. He governeth 29 Legions of Spirits, partly of the Order of Thrones, and partly of that of Angels" - S.L. MacGregor Mathers, 1904Due to spending a very small amount of time with this oracle, I am not so sure of how it works. I say this because I am confused by why some of the cards have the same tag lines. I have possibly missed a few, but on a quick flick through the pack, I have pulled out four cards with the subtitle 'Upheaval' (Raum, Asmoday, Bileth, and Aym), four cards for 'Danger' (Glasya-Labolas, Vine, Ose, and Malphas), two for 'Celebration' (Sitri and Foras) and two for 'Transformation' (Zagan and Berith). This happens in more groups of cards than just these examples, but I won't reel them all off now. I confess to only flipping through the book casually so far, but there doesn't seem to be any reasoning for the duplicates in there. In having a quick look at the interpretations, there are slight differences between the cards within each set. I guess that a reading with a number of 'danger' cards in it would suggest we exercise more caution than a reading with just one.
The colours in this set are quite beautiful and the lamination helps the cards to look rich and sophisticated. The images remind me of those in the Archeon Tarot, but the predominance of green in comparison make it a less murky or muddy kind of deck. These are more uplifting. Some of the cards are visually striking, with injections of brash purples and reds, while others fall beneath the shadows of the demons and can feel physically jarring. I think that the lack of actual people in the set is what makes them feel otherworldly and timeless.
For today we have Forneus, who's outspokeness is connected to honesty. This is a harder task to exercise than I might have thought, as I fall in the middle of two friends. One was fishing for information about whether I had seen the other. I tried to keep away from that topic of conversation, but I think that was her main reason for calling. I found myself not saying much, as I don't really want to be involved in it all. I could have probably been more outspoken myself and told her (and the others in the equation) that I don't want to listen to all of this backbiting. If they have come to the end of the road in their friendships, then I don't see why they don't just call it a day and move on, rather than continuing to rant on about each other to me. I wish they'd just sort it out one way or another between themselves. I hate this kind of thing.
Since my boyfriend had today off, we went out for a drink yesterday afternoon. It has been so warm here for the last couple of days, that we strolled into town. It was nice to sit in the garden and chat and we ran into a few acquaintances along the way. We haven't done too much today, aside from take my mum to the farm shop. As I look out of my window, the trees and hills produce a backdrop of green, kissed by the sun. It reminds me of the colours of the cards in this deck. I like these cards, but I think they may take a little getting used to.
Illustration from The Fallen Angel Oracle by Nigel Suckling and Sarah Perkins
For today we have Forneus, who's outspokeness is connected to honesty. This is a harder task to exercise than I might have thought, as I fall in the middle of two friends. One was fishing for information about whether I had seen the other. I tried to keep away from that topic of conversation, but I think that was her main reason for calling. I found myself not saying much, as I don't really want to be involved in it all. I could have probably been more outspoken myself and told her (and the others in the equation) that I don't want to listen to all of this backbiting. If they have come to the end of the road in their friendships, then I don't see why they don't just call it a day and move on, rather than continuing to rant on about each other to me. I wish they'd just sort it out one way or another between themselves. I hate this kind of thing.
Since my boyfriend had today off, we went out for a drink yesterday afternoon. It has been so warm here for the last couple of days, that we strolled into town. It was nice to sit in the garden and chat and we ran into a few acquaintances along the way. We haven't done too much today, aside from take my mum to the farm shop. As I look out of my window, the trees and hills produce a backdrop of green, kissed by the sun. It reminds me of the colours of the cards in this deck. I like these cards, but I think they may take a little getting used to.
Illustration from The Fallen Angel Oracle by Nigel Suckling and Sarah Perkins
Hi PLN,
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd get on with these cards at all! In that image, I don't see anything connected either to sea-monsters or to honesty. I don't mind reading cards intuitively, in fact I prefer it, but having a keyword which has nothing to do with the image really jars with me. Hope you have better luck with it, or else just enjoy the artwork.
As for your day, it sounds lovely, enjoying these last few warm moments. And I wonder, what stops you saying to your friends what you said here?
Chloë
I know what you mean about the cards. There are a few things which are unusual about them and whih might take some time to get used to oe iron out. But the artwprk is nice and can be appreciated, as you say.
ReplyDeleteI probably will tell my friends and kind of have done, in not so many words. I hate all of this silliness. You'd be forgiven for forgetting that we're all nearing 40!