The animist worldview affirms our communion with Spirit within ourselves and within all we encounter close at hand and into the far reaches of the cosmos. The universe—or, if you will, multiverse—is truly an extended neighborhood with extensive kin. Its foundation, its connective tissue, is love. Its language, its currency, is energy.
Oak, Ash & Thorn, created by Stephanie Burrows and illustrated by Adam Oehler, is one of numerous nature-based decks that broaden our wild-style, animist engagement with Spirit. Oehler’s animals, charmingly depicted, remind us to be grounded and fully present in our lives, sharply attuned to what’s on offer, alert to what may or may not work in our favor, capable of adjusting where necessary in any given moment.
Today’s sample images each capture a moment. The sweet-faced foxes of Four of Wands sit side by side, sharing space in companionship, mutual support, and collaboration. Under a blazing full moon, the Eight of Cups squirrel turns away from the remains of the past (empty acorns) and faces a myriad of possibilities ahead.
Tarot images are more than moments frozen in time and in stone with a simple list of corresponding words. They are potentialities suggesting decisions and actions available to the Tarot journeyer. Room to ponder, choose, and move.
Tarot is a living creature with, possibly, an infinite range of meaning, those meanings influenced by the livingness of the journeyer, the peculiarities of the selected deck, the energy of the space at its particular time, the vagueries of the zeitgeist, and the clarity of questions asked and considered.
If you’ve perused a Little White Book or even a more substantive guidebook, and you think you know a Tarot card, think again. While you’re not looking, it blinks its eyes, changes its socks, and shifts shape.
Now, what are those sly foxes cooking up today (as opposed to yesterday)? And has Squirrel really finished with those golden acorns?
You must listen to Tarot cards and hear what they mean to you now.
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I’d be delighted to have you join my next Zoom Séance on Saturday, January 25, 1pm Eastern!
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