Celtic Oracle Cards
JANUARY 2019 --- Celtic Mystery
For over 25 years, periodically I have pulled a Tarot card as a focal point for morning meditation. On special occasions or when I have something perplexing happening, I lay out a full spread. I view the practice as inspirational and reflective rather than predictive. There are so many wonderful themed decks that I also learn about folklore as well. I have over 35 decks and 10 are Celtic. Some stick to the classic Tarot journey and others (referred to as oracle cards) vary the format.
I thought it might be fun to draw a card for each month of 2019 asking the question “What might we consider this month?” The card I pulled for January is from a set called “The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards” by Colette Baron-Reid, available through Hay House. The first Monday of each month we will draw cards from other Celtic decks to introduce you to the cards and offer a springboard for contemplation.
As most of you know, Avalon is a mystical land, home to the Lady of the Lake, to the Goddess and to the Divine Feminine. If you have not read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s now classic novel The Mists of Avalon, I highly recommend it. Briefly, it is the Arthurian story from the goddess perspective.
The deck featured today includes not only the characters that would have peopled Avalon, but the animal and fairy spirits and constructs of that time. So, for us to pull the Mystery card, as we begin our individual and collective journeys of the year, suggests to me that we are on a rich path of exploration in which the unseen can become visible and the deep questions of life need to be contemplated.
A mystery can be experienced at different levels: the surface or physical; the background or intellectual explanation; and the more profound meaning or transformational experience. For example, next week we will “visit” a Celtic stone circle. We will see a picture and I will describe it. We will consider the theories of its origins. We then we will go deeper into its mystery.
Another example of a classic Celtic Mystery is the Story of the Fisher King. Many knights seek the Holy Grail, some meet the Fisher King, but only Percival unlocks the secret. After a discussion of what the Holy Grail is and why they all seek it, we come to the big question: How do we, like Percival (Perc-i-val) “pierce the veil” and answer the big question “whom does the Grail serve?”
So, my friends, I invite you to join me in beginning this new year with the question “Whom do I serve?” or the more modern question “what is my purpose?”. You might want to mediate on the question while visualizing yourself walking the path so beautifully pictured in today’s oracle card.
May your path through 2019 be filled with mystery and miracle.
May you walk it in good health and joy.
May your purpose contribute to your own well-being and that of those you are meant to meet along the way.
Celtic Blessings for the New Year.