Treasure Hunter

In 'A Treatise of Angel Magic', edited by Adam McLean, it says 'Barbatos, a great Duke, understandeth the singing of birds, the barking of dogs, the lowing of bullocks and the voice of all living creatures. He detecteth treasures hidden by magicians and enchanters, and as the Order of the Virtues, he knoweth what is past and to come and reconcileth friends and powers, and governeth 30 Legions of spirits'.

In this deck, the Fallen Angel Oracle, the angel (or demon) is shown as female. Being a spirit of nature, she immediately reminded me of the tarot's Empress; in particular, the one from The Mythic Tarot by Tricia Newell, which depicts Demeter. It's the way that she looks down, how her long hair blows behind her, and the slight similarity in the way that her arms are positioned. The angel in this card, like all the others in the set, is taken from the Nunhead Cemetery, which is not a million miles away from me. If this deck becomes a regular, how much fun would it be to go and visit it and search for the subjects of the photographic collages! Barbatos is said to be the patroness of treasure hunters, so maybe she would encourage me to go and seek her out. There is something about knowing that this statue is standing there now amongst the dark while I type, that gives me a shiver. She looks calm and seems mesmerised by the grass and flowers she touches. Her treasures are the flowers she holds.

My boyfriend drove me to Canterbury today as I had some things I needed to do there. It was very much about gathering the beauty in my own flowers and finding both treasures and skills within. I don't want to go into too much detail about this at the moment, due to the advise given by The Keeper of Secrets this week. While there, we had lunch in the burning sun and bought some things that we needed to before making the drive home. While out, my mum called to tell me that the guy who is sorting out the papers for the bungalow has accepted our offer. Of course, this does not hold too much weight yet as we still need to sell our house and the legalities of the bungalow need to be sorted, but it was another example of touching a part of life which is humble and all around us. You might see it as small treasures growing beneath Barbatos's touch.

We were going to have friends over this evening and a mate also invited us to a festival, but we ended up going with neither. My boyfriend made us something to eat and we have been plonked on the relining seats of the sofa instead. Sometimes, you just need weekends like this, don't you? I called my friend who was recently diagnosed with Cancer. I think she was really pleased to hear from me and it felt good to talk with her. In the book that comes with this deck, Nigel Suckling says that Barbatos knows 'where ancient gold and jewels are buried in the wild, no matter what spells of concealment have been woven around them'. It has taken me a few days to get around to making the call, which was concealed by my feeling unwell and not being able to summon up the effort. However, it is things like that conversation which have been the jewels of today. You never know when such treasures will no longer be there to find.

Illustration from The Fallen Angel Oracle by Nigel Suckling and Sarah Perkins