So during the month of February I decided that I was going to use the Sacred Rebels Oracle deck (I also got this deck out in Salem last October, along with the unicorn deck). This is a deck that will take a little bit more time to get use to using, as it doesn’t just address the emotions, but also a little bit of the mindset behind certain behaviors. So I will admit that there were times that I kept shuffling the cards and drawing until I felt comfortable with the message—I know that I should have worked with the first message, and this is something that I’m going to be working on in the future. Possibly by doing two different readings (ones that I post, which will come from possibly a different deck; and then another reading from the sacred rebels deck) and working on incorporating the messages from both in my life.

So the Sacred Rebels Oracle deck has forty-five different cards that cover a wide range of thoughts and emotions. Out of those forty-five cards, there were seven that I either didn’t pull or I reshuffled on (without making note of them). With the remaining thirty-eight cards, the number of times they showed up ranged from once up to six times. The cards that showed up the most were:

Inner Trust (4 times)

Inspiration (6 times)

Follow your own rhythm (4 times)

Shock of the new (6 times)

Diving for light (4 times)

Going beyond normal (4 times)

Dream a beautiful dream (5 times)

Seeing the true you (5 times) The other thirty cards showed up one to three times throughout the month. So lets look at some of the readings that I did during February.

On the second, I did a simple three-card spread. Sometimes people use this as a past, present, future read or asking about a certain question. For the most part during February I was doing a three to four-card spread to have an idea of what the following day might be bringing.

The three cards that were drawn on the second were: 14) going beyond normal, 23) defend to the end, the worthwhile, and 29) seeing the true you. So as many may know—I’m also starting to look at transitioning from academia to industry, and that is one thing that the card could be referring to—the safe would be staying in my position, or finding another academic position (that probably doesn’t pay all that well, and the duration is questionable as well) or step out of my safety zone and go into industry (or some other direction other than what I’m currently doing). The second card refers to standing your ground for what you believe in (and that is especially important in today’s society with the way the world is going). The final card is a gentle reminder that while it is important what others think of us—those reflections don’t define who we are—we define who we are and that we need to start looking at our own mirrors and not the mirrors that others hold up to us.

On the thirteenth, I did another three-card spread and those three cards that were drawn were: 38) restore and replenish; 3) inspiration; and 6) shock of the new. With the restore & replenish card, basically the universe is telling you that you need to a change. The same routine is only going to give the same results. It also lets us know that at times we’re going to fast and hard that it is also time to slow down and listen to our bodies and inner voices. Inspiration is almost self-explanatory. There are so many ideas and thoughts that bounce around in our heads that we need to take time daily and write them down. Some may be good, some may be bad—but if we don’t write them down we will probably forget about them all by the end of the day. This is one thing that I’m trying to do daily—write down both ideas and things that I’m grateful for (no matter how silly they would probably seem to other people). The final card is a reminder that nothing really stays the same, and new opportunities could present themselves in unexpected ways

On the seventeenth, I did a four-card spread, and the cards drawn were: 18) spirals of manifestation; 42) the word wants to be written; 39) free from judgment, free to love; and 16) what you want, wants you. So the spirals of manifestation reminds us that we may be closer to our goals/dreams than we think we are and that we should continue working towards them. “The word wants to be written” card is a little deceiving when one pulls it for the first time—it’s message is to be true to yourself, and uncover your path by remembering who you are (not who others think you should be). While it can also resonate with creative projects, the biggest project is listening to the inner voice and remembering what makes you smile, happy, and figuring out how to incorporate all of that into the crazy world we live in today. The free from judgment, free to love reminds us that self love/care is important, and that it is perfectly fine to be in tune with our emotions and wanting to help others, but at the same time we should guard against those who want to take advantage of that. The final card states that we should trust in what we truly want, and if we’re unsure of what we truly want we should enjoy the process of exploring the things we enjoy. Only by either truly knowing what we want, or exploring different areas of ourselves can we actually find ourselves on the correct path.

Then on the twentieth I did a five-card spread in the pattern of a cross (and that is only because that is how the cards talked to me that night). The cards that I drew included: 6) shock of the new; 14) going beyond normal; 17) what is already with you; 15) big bold vision; and 44) visions of life beyond death. So two of the cards I’ve already talked about a bit (shock of the new and going beyond normal), though in the combination with the other cards, they can take on a slightly different meaning. In terms of “what is already with you”—we (usually) have what we need to make a change in our lives—we can change our major, move, start looking for a new job, or whatever—we just have to believe in ourselves (as not believing in ourselves is usually the biggest obstacle to overcome). This is still something that I struggle with in terms of my job search—I know that I have it within me to make the transition, but at times I let the negative voices have a bigger voice than what I should (and this is something that I try to work on conquering on a daily basis).  The “visions of life beyond death” is another card that can be a little deceiving when one pulls it for the first time—it’s message is to take another look at things/situations and try to truly see what they mean to you (see what is actually there instead of what you perceive to be there). Also to remember that it’s easier to look through joyful, happy emotions than it is through fear, anger and darker emotions.

One of the things that I’ve noticed this month in using the cards is that I’m being reminded that I’m here to live life for myself and not others. It is time to start being true to myself (in terms of both spirituality and life in general), and that my “perfect 9-5” job is out there, and I just need to find some calm and quiet time to get in touch with my inner self and voice to be able to hear what that position is. This will be a deck that I use again this year (possibly as early as September or October) and I’m sure I will get more comfortable with the interpretations and readings the more often I use the deck.