Introducing the Sacred Circle deck
Go straight to The Green Man Journey
The aim of these explorations is to encourage you to explore the tarot for yourself and give you some ideas about the major arcana of one of my decks, the Sacred Circle. The methods I use to gain information from a card is intuitive, going into the landscape of a card and asking for information from the elements making up the card. When you journey into cards in this way the information can be very different each time you do it and you can ask for help on specific areas of your life too. Here, I am journeying into the card mostly to gain a general feel for a card so you can understand the basic energy held in a particular image, though at times personal information comes through for me and sometimes general information for people as a whole. I hope you will enjoy and experiment for yourself. The information here will be coloured by my own beliefs, so feel free to take on board when has meaning for you and leave the rest. Using discernment is all part of our journey to know our own personal truth.
Deck created by Anna Franklin and Published by Llewellyn Deck available to buy from both websites.
To introduce you to this deck in general. The Sacred circle deck is made from images in nature melded together with computer animation and it has a basically Celtic pagan feel to it. Stone circles and places of ancient power are depicted as well as images of plants and animals. Though there are specific intended symbolisms with many of these images, the symbolism you attribute to an image yourself on a specific journey is often the important one to take. Traditional meanings can add depth or clarity but they are not required to get to know a deck of cards.
The major arcana in this deck consists of 22 cards, the minor contains the 4 suits and the court cards. Here I am going to be exploring the major arcana cards. These show the major themes we move through as we journey through life, in a reading the majors are considered the more powerful and influencing cards. In this deck many of the names are different from the traditional decks so I will include equivalences, though often this means that there is quite a different feel to the cards.
So for this Month of June I am sharing with you my journey into The Green Man. This card is equivalent to the Fool in other decks.
0 The Green Man
Deck created by Anna Franklin and Published by Llewellyn Deck available to buy from both websites.
I feel there is energy here I get the phrase "Ripe for the picking" from looking at the blackberries around the card which although ripe look very bright in their colours - like they are filled with energy. There are pine cones at the bottom which reminds me of seeds like the fool is planting seeds for the future which might be in a very different form to how things look right now. The Green Man himself is looking very still, surprisingly and seems to be looking upward, I feel he might be looking for guidance from above before he actually makes his move forward. He is in woodland and the ferns around him, though fresh leaved, remind me that there is an ancient history to even the newest leaf - these plants have been around since the dinosaurs - make me think of past lives and perhaps knowledge that is within but not yet conscious at this junction.
These are my thoughts from looking at the card - I am going to go into the card and ask for a journey and information from the card now and see what else I get.
He is hidden and hard to see you need stillness to see him - he likes to keep out of the sunlight and not be seen - he is creating things and the force behind everything, but he does not want the credit - the fruits of his labours are the evidence of his presence. He says: "If you want my help you have to be prepared to go to the darker places and not to be in the limelight, your journey will take you through the deepest darkest terrains and you might feel alone at times - I will be able to be with you though if you trust in my creative power and that my force is everywhere you go.."
"I am at one with nature and the natural forces, so I can be both creative and destructive, all is apparent in the grand order of things, the cycle of building and destroying to rebuild again. In this way I am the beginning for your journey and the end. It is through your trust in me that the quest can begin. I am the person who loves to retreat into the outdoor world and nature to rejuvenate the spirit and reconnect with what is truly real. I am physically strong, the walker, the climber the person living alone in a cave, with the knowing of the elements keeping them safe, I am all things pertaining to nature and the cleansing power thereof."
I walked into the card and spoke to the blackberries round the edge first..
"We are the nourishment and the seed for the new, we are hardy and have longevity but the timing is important to partake of our fruit. "
Cones too are hardy, "we survive the winter till it is our time to spring forth into new life. "
Timing is important in setting out on your journey.
Then speaking to the Green Man: "My realm is all of nature but my form can only be seen in the woods, my camouflage is important and here in my house of the abundance of nature I can be the free-est, elsewhere in the light of day, I am the unseen force, as I need anonymity for those who are not ready or do not wish to meet me directly."
I asked to be taken into the light with him. He said " You can fly with me in the unseen worlds, where you too will be unseen to see more of your soul and the effects of your actions."
I get the impression of forests being cut down and the film 'The Emerald Forest' comes to mind He says "As the woodlands are destroyed and cut down I help every blade of grass to do its best every sapling to maintain its strength and do its best to restore balance. See the devastation being done to nature, that its king - the primal force must find new camouflages - I am not happy with this situation yet I will support the smallest shoot as we fight together and keep coming...., through the tarmac, ...through the seasons, ...the weathers, there is no rest in our work to restore balance to this planet. Even in the situation where the odds are against us there is no question of retreat or defeat. Onwards we strive trusting that our life force will not diminish. "
"Walk into the world knowing even your smallest step towards wholeness and balance is supported. You may feel that its hopeless or overwhelming but trust and keep taking these steps, nature supports your highest truths so go there against all reason!"
I say " You seem both fragile and strong, all powerful yet vulnerable - I find it a strange mix"
He replies the truth is not one-sided, it contains it all.
I ask "What if you appear in a spread reversed - what is your message then?"
"If I am reversed you will know no truth in the path you tread, all will be hidden from sight. The risks you take further your ego not your soul and you will fall - turn yourself round by being still and hidden - listen to the wind in the trees ask 'What is your true path?' 'What is truly scary to you?' Face your true fears not the ones that feel so safe! You may find stagnation holds you immobile on the edge of a great new way yet you fester here too scared to even see the path that's needed for you. I say to you - know you can make a difference - it can work out for you dare to trust in that nagging part of you that pushes you forward, telling you you need to make that leap into the unknown - perhaps risking destroying something in order for the new to be rebuilt. You are safe you will be supported."
And my journey ends....
I keep a mental note of the things that come to me the days following a journey as often more information will arise spontaneously...
Another aspect to the Green man is the aspect of creation and of union spiritually to bring forth a magical child. I can see the Green Man as loving and joyful, gentle and peaceful, yet powerful and full in himself. The Green Man has the creative seed of life and I feel symbolic of procreation, bringing forth of life saying to us that we can partake of this too.
For your own journeys you can just visualise white light all around you and then see the card image in front of you and step into the card, asking questions as you explore the card. Notice how you feel in the card, what the temperature is and what you can see - you don't have to remember the card precisely and you may see things in your journey not depicted on the physical card but all is relevant.
Meditation Tapes
For those of you who have one of our tapes the B side of any of the tapes can be ideal for use like this. When you are led into the garden you can visualise the card there in front of you.
Often people find it easier to maintain the focus into the card when using the light visualisation as directed in these tapes. It stops your mind wandering so much and helps you receive the images, developing your intuition.
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