Reply to Query: Olympus
Hello Firefli,
I've had the Olympus Deck for over 10 years and have found it to be quite insightful when there is a need to address something in the psyche at the psychological level. I don't take the words of any author as "set in stone" or as the final word, rather I'm inclined to read what they have to say and get the "flavor" of the card, and let that information form the framework for how the energy of that card is applying to the given situation or need for healing. WIth this deck I find it useful to read the meaning of the categories - (p19-27) first, then look at the specfic card's info.
THis seems to deepen the meaning and how it is relevant in a given situation. I've often used additional references such as "Goddesses in EveryWoman" and "Gods in EveryMan", both by Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD. to close any gaps in understanding.
I use the cards for seeking a malingering root cause that is keeping a person in a pattern they can't seem to break through for their own healing. It has proven a useful tool to lay bare that concealed aspect of the personality that the person has been avoiding dealing with completely. This deck originally appealed to me because it's a beautiful deck and I enjoy the artwork. I've never been especially drawn to studying the Greek gods or myths, yet, I do recognize they represent archetypical forces relevant to man, even today, and as such, they make taking a look at the darker side of our own undoing rather pleasant due to the softness of the art. I think at those times when a "hard hammer of truth" comes down softly, it is easier for the recipient to look at it and move toward ownership if it is presented gently, as these cards are "encoded" to do. Avoidance seems to be one of the cruxes of "stuckness" that this deck deals with gently.
Also, the value of allowing for reversals to have meaning when using these cards is addressed in page10-22, too. This is important because each of the gods represents a strength, excesses or weaknesses of given traits. I always seek to align the person's understanding of this by addressing it as a need to ask how to rebalance the energies by thinking in terms of the balance point of a balance scale with the center always slightly in flux - left, then right, much like our breathing in and out. THe idea of balancing the psyche for a return to harmony and inner peacfulness with oneself seems so much more useful to people than the burdens of being right/good or wrong/bad which often paralyzes and triggers resistance to needed changes.
It uses are limited, but it fills a certain niche nicely for me. I like the deck.
All to Love, I hope this was the type of information you were seeking.
PS My deck is from 1991, too, and its worth to me is in it's simplicity of bottom-lining psychological info at the archetypical level which, from my perspective, is the most dynamic level to be dealing with for regenerating and healing and returning HOME to our Spritual Essence which is nothing but Go(o)d.
