In 2017 and 2018 I was one of the guest teachers on Pull, Pen, Paint – I taught a class on Soul Journalling which included a meditation on connecting to the soul and a Soul Healing oracle card spread. This blog post is about my creative idea of creating an oracle card deck from my postcards. Enjoy reading and let me know your own creative ideas.
my art postcard collection
The level of creativity which I am experiencing in this class is bringing out my creative muse. One of the aspects of this course is creating your own oracle deck as a way of exploring intuition and I had the idea of using my postcard collection as an oracle deck. Some of these postcards are travel postcards with country and city scenes and some are art postcards with images of artwork I have visited in galleries around the world. I had been wondering about how to use them and I love the idea of a postcard oracle deck.
Oracle cards are cards with messages and/or images and are used to give insights to questions you may have. You can choose a daily card as a focus for the day; you can pick a weekly card as an intention for the week; you can ask the cards the questions you have and receive answers. I have been using them for a few years now and they are one of the tools I used in my retreats and meditation classes.
Once I had chosen the postcards I was going to work with, I cleansed them with sage to clear their energy. I have a lot of postcards and have chosen 44 for my starter postcard deck.
My process of using cards: First of all I shuffle the cards. They are not as easy to shuffle as most oracle or tarot cards as they are larger, I shuffle a little slower and make sure that I am giving my energy to each card.
If I have a question I wish answered, I’ll ask the question as I shuffle. If I’m looking for a daily focus or intention, I’ll say ‘what is my intention for today.’ Then I’ll choose a card. You can pick the card by choosing the top or bottom card or you can fan them out and choose from the middle. Whatever you feel like doing at that moment.
Reading the postcard: I tend to start with the colours of the postcards as they are art cards which I am using. What do the colours say to me? This could relate to chakras or how that particular colour shows up in my life. Then I move onto the image and what it means to me.
Monet’s Garden
Example 1: Monet’s ‘The Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil’: I first noticed the red of the flowers and this brought up rooting from the root chakra. The flowers are blooming and look well cared for. The house looks like a welcoming family home and there is a couple in front of it. The message for me is around nurturing and caring for what is dear to you.
Van Gogh’s Irises
Example 2: Van Gogh’s ‘Irises’: The flowers are blue which for me means the throat chakra, speaking up, truth. The flowers are irises which is an old English girl’s name so made me think of the past. The postcard is from the year 2000 which also brought home to me the path I have led to bring me to here. The message for me is speak your past truth and reflect on what is important and what you need to let go of.
At the back of the postcard is the artist, name of the artwork and the gallery where the artwork is located. This brings back memories for me about what I was doing at that stage in my life and it gives another dimension to the reading.
I’m really looking forward to playing with these cards and learning with them as they grow with my energy and intention. It is a deck I have created myself and can add to as I visit more art galleries. I can also take the postcards which I do not connect with, away. I feel like it will become a true ‘living’ oracle deck.
So, dear one, how are you using your intuition? Do you use oracle or tarot cards? Do you have other ideas for your (or my) postcards? Do you have questions around using your own deck? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.
Much love, Bx
Updated on 13th July 2020 with the first paragraph and a link to my 2020 published oracle card deck: http://www.bindishah.com/oraclecards/
