In Greeting a New Deck

|Credit: [x]|

Today, I decided that I would try and figure out how to work with the I Ching cards I came across. This system of divination is ancient and steeped in Chinese mythology. It's called the Book of changes. And ever since I bought that Kuan Yin oracle deck because of how beautiful the art work and messages were -- from The Fey Dragon almost a month ago now --  I've been coming across so many eastern forms of spirituality. Like it's been popping up out of nowhere. I don't look for them. They just appear, and usually in the form of a quote or article on philosophy that I really needed the most. I don't want to appropriate the culture...so I've taken to really researching before I consider even devoting myself to these mythologies. It's not my place. But it's certainly calling. And I've been appreciative of the zen philosophies since my bout with depression. I've practiced some forms of meditation since I learned that it would aid me in shielding -- and that was before I knew what Empaths were, that I was indeed one of high sensitivity, and how shielding had been helping me manage.

The I Ching though --  if any form of divination could make me feel like crying, this one is it. I have this strange, but useful habit of introducing myself to a new deck of cards -- be they tarot, oracle, Lenormand -- what-have-you. Even my set of the Runes and my Pendulum got a bit of an introductory message from me. For this, just like any other deck, I asked it what IT thought of me in terms of being a reader, a witch -- a psychic. I'll share with you my reading. Credit for below representations: [x]

I. Left One: 58, The Joyful / The Lake

II. Right One: 48, The Well





You read card I first, then II and then the lines of difference, in this case (from the bottom) 1, 3, 4. The I represents now, while II represents the future and the lines of change represents direction.

The Reading:
* All quotes are from the little white book that came with the deck, as written by Klaus Holitzka.

I. "Greatness...comes through joy. All the more is achieved with cheerful composure rather than grim earnestness. Your lightheartedness will rarely slip into arrogance if you remain aware of the seriousness of the situation. You feel committed to your ideals within."

II. "The Well symbolizes a deep and inexhaustible fullness of being from which every person creates meaning in life...we need to find the source of our true nature in order to reach fulfillment.Clarify your real desires, yearnings and needs. Push on ahead to the real and true values of life rather than sticking to superficial norms. In your inner core lies the source of your strength and clarity."

Line 1: "You are preoccupied with things not worthy of your consideration. Thus you are losing contact with your true needs and goals."

Line 3: "You  would very much like to put your aptitude and abilities to use. You feel underestimated and this rankles you. Beware of negative emotions. Your day will come."

Line 4: "You should now retreat and make contact with your own inner being. First get your spiritual life in order before trying to achieve important things for other people."

My Two-Cents:

Honestly, this is perfect. The cards judge me well, right off the bat. The direction refers to me predominantly focusing on the fact that I am alone (romantically speaking) -- seeking love, instead of letting it find me and focusing on studying my metaphysics like I should. Also, I've been getting frustrated with lack of direction in developing clairaudience. (UPG Ahoy, guys) I've been told by Loki that not everything is from a book. Not everything should be taken academically. Lots of things have to be trial and error and until I learn how to look at things more freely, let go of the planning and the schedules -- and let myself be just a bit more spontaneous, he's gonna stick around and mix things up when he wants. I get confused about chaos magic, other psychic things and energy work. I feel like I stumble and might fall into some vast unknown if I keep walking around blindly. But maybe that's not the case, as these cards are also telling me. Last -- as you've heard -- I am an Empath. I have a hard time not wanting to help people, which means being that go-to advice giver and listener. I would gladly talk for ages and not do any homework if it meant the other person could work through their stresses. It doesn't bother me. I love to help people and I love to be that go-to advice giver. But meditation is required. To become more aware, I need to focus on my path and what that actually means for me -- it's been a journey to get to this radical self-love state of being. But there's more path to walk, especially in terms of my psychic abilities. I scare myself sometimes, but I trust my intuition. It has never failed me. The cards respect me, I think. But, in order to progress, metaphysics has to preside over my trivial matters like "finding love," or doubting if I understand or if a theory is worth the energy it will take to test it and figure out if it's something that works for me. Or perhaps this might also hint that I stop being fearful of delving into research of eastern ways of thinking -- like I said before, I do not wish to appropriate or steal sacred practices from other cultures that are not sharing. Like I said earlier, I am being called. I keep stumbling upon information when I'm not even looking. Do the cards say it's time to step forward? If so, then I will -- just to see how this goes.