Smiling Faeries and Other Perceptions

[FourLeafClover]

It's become my habit of late, when I go to bed, to pick up one of my decks and leaf slowly through it, often stopping for a long time at a card I want to get to know better, or one that is just pleasant to look at.
I've noticed something about my Faery cards of late. If I really get lost in a card, sometimes it changes, or my perception of it changes (which amounts in some ways to the same thing).
I first noticed it with Himself. I was curled up in bed with my bedlamp on, staring at his card, not looking for anything, just enjoying seeing.
And I noticed that if I looked at him long enough, his lips seem to quirk in a sweet, mischevious little smile. I got the feeling he enjoyed being admired and wanted to say he thought I was cute too Try it... I bet he'll smile for you too!

A similar thing happened with the Dark Lady. She was someone who confused me very much. The image on the card is full of darkness and her expression is anything but kind. And yet I felt drawn to her, so whe she showed up in my explorations of the deck, I watched her until I could make some sense of the confused emotions surrounding her.
It was quite sudden, the way I finally understood what she wanted to say. Her face stopped looking unkind to me, and the card seemed filled with radiance. The Dark Lady isn't evil, but nor is she sweet and yeilding. She's been in the darkness, she's been buried in the earth, she's been misunderstood and been through some rough things. We see her coming out of imprisonment, and damned if she'll take any more of that crap. She has learned from the dark and she represents the determination of a seed to shove off the dark and the dirt and grow into something else. Her face looked, no longer evil, but fiercely proud, and protective of those who are still in darkness.

Have any of you seen movement or changes in your Faery cards? I'd be very interested to know...

[Wisp Wings]

Hi Fourleafclover:

I have noticed this type of change before and I have read of others noticing it too. I think the Faeries' Oracle faes draw out our perceptions that we need from them at different times. Different times, different situations, different perceptions. With this the actual facial expressions and the art itself appears to change to us.

I have had this happen with noting slight differences in the cards from one time to another before, but now that I've been working with two of the Faeries' Oracle decks together, even the very first time they were mixed I noticed it. I actually thought this deck is of a different coloring than the other. I was so believing this that I searched through and found the mates to some of the more pronounced cards and had them side by side and then even went to view them under stronger light. LOL, they are completely identical in the images and depth of coloring. Talking about the faeries giggling over that one! Plus it really isn't like the newer deck is the only cards in which this happens. By closely looking over a card I can tell if it is from my first deck or the newer one. They have worked to "shine out" pretty much equally from both of these decks. I know that there is differences to the backs of the cards in a single deck, Jesa talked of this and it is slight differences.

I used the words "shine out" above because more than the facial changes this is the thing I have noted the most. I really don't know how else to say this other than they just seem more vibrant, to highlight drawing in my attention. Well really they just radiate themselves and this both with their coloration and with the messages they are revealing.

You didn't mention but I am wondering, for me only a few times ever have these been cards other than the ones that I am most drawn to. They weren't only just my power cards. I had several cards back when that was so hard to pick from for those and these cards tend to be like amongst my top five in both the most appealing and the least appealing.

Something else that I have noticed. To start off with I literally divide up the cards and shuffle, bridging the cards. More often than not the place where the cards part from one stack to another (and you see the bottom cards as you form the bridge), it will be one of the cards that tend to be one of these same or one of my constances. I know we all tend to have faes that over a period of time just naturally want to be heard from more than others and I really do feel they, or their energies are being companions to us. What I am saying is the majority of the time, no matter where the cards are cut, one of these faes will be making sure they give an appearance!

[Octopus]

FourLeafClover:
Things like you describe happen every time I work with the deck. It happens because the characters are alive, but we see their images. It's like if you were trying to see how your relative feels by looking at his picture with neutral expression. Some sort of magick.

I see changes in 'mood', but mostly it is true with the Sidhe (the second group), because I am more familiar with them. In fact, it is a message I need to get. Sometimes it's enough to look at the card to say WHY she or he smiles or angry (I've seen an irritated Sidhe face only once), sometimes I draw an additional card. And sometimes the character appears to clear out the issue.

I don't notice changes in face expressions in the Challengers group - they are quite stable I suppose. But it's just my perception.

[Alissa]

I've had just this experience with this deck, their faces will morph and change to bring me different messages that are relevant at that time.

I've had a great time sitting with Himself, oh yea. He's my Faery bud, we like to hang out. I've gotten a grin out of Him too, it's charming isn't it?

The Dark Lady is a stunning card and I loved your revelations on the many aspects to Her.

I've also had faces morph, or appear from no where, in the Singers. Although they looked like nothing more than paint thrown on a canvas to me at first, now I see a depth to them (after much time spent looking) that I missed before.

Working with this deck can be an amazing experience, I'm so glad I have it.

[Octopus]

Yes! Alissa, you just reminded me that I saw the faces of several Singers. I just can't give a description of what I felt when I saw it. They are not kind nor evil, but... UNIVERSAL. (Can't think of a better word). There's so much in their look! Thanks Alissa for reminding (I have already shivers when thinking of their faces)!

[Alissa]

The Singers' faces, to me, often look like the typical "alien" face - large black eyes dominating a thin face with a narrow-nonexistant chin.

However, the quality of their looks aren't alien when I look at them, they feel ... familiar.

[dolphinprincess]

I have had this experience too... and I've even had it while looking at the pictures in Good Faeries / Bad Faeries.. actually, I think the first experience of this was with the book...

If you stare long enough, not only do the images change, but you can hear them talking to you...