one reading offered (soul comfort issues, using Froud’s Faeries’ Oracle)

Octopus

I’m offering one reading concerning soul comfort issues. I’ll be using the following spread and the Faeries’ Oracle by Brian Froud (although an ‘extended version’ – there are four additional cards; and I will explain their meanings if they appear).

SOUL COMFORT

1. What holds you back from finding comfort?
It will point to one of your character traits or a circumstance that abuses your soul comfort.

2. How to overcome.
This position will reveal means of how to work through the issue.

3. What you should rely on.
4. What you should not rely on.
Positions that will help to clarify availability of resources.

5. He who will help you.
6. She who will help you.
These positions will point to something or somebody who will help you providing a source of masculine and feminine principles respectively.

7. The pillar of your soul comfort.
This position is designed to speak of something that you value and that was disrupted with Pos.1.

I will do the reading for the 1st person to ask in this thread. Results will be posted in this thread the next day. If they are intimate in some way, they will be sent through PM. In exchange I’d like to hear your feedback and your favorite female name. :)
 

Julien

What an interesting spread! If you're still up for it, I'd love a reading.

I'm very curious about the Faeries Oracle, and will give you as much feedback as I can.

Name forthcoming upon receipt of reading. ;)

Julien
 

Octopus

Here we go, Julien. :)

1. What holds you back from finding comfort? It will point to one of your character traits or a circumstance that abuses your soul comfort.

The Topsy Turvets. There are, at least, two of you, and you are not sure which one to be. It seems that you want to play in one manner one time, and in the other manner – in another. And it’s hard to tell which one is your true self. There might be a grandmother or a woman of old age that you think of that amounts to your discomfort.

2. How to overcome. This position will reveal means of how to work through the issue.

Nelys the Alchemyst. You already own means to solve the problem. It will require blending yourself together, because blending will eventually cause purifying. But this is pure work with yourself. And once again, you have resources, but they are composed in an unsuitable way/proportion. For the process of inner transformation (inner alchemy) to take start, you should focus on it. It will not happen in someone’s presence. As the Topsie Turvets point to more social level (the level of expression), Nelys the Alchemyst emphasizes your inner processes (the psychological level).

3. What you should rely on. Position that will help to clarify availability of resources.

He of the Fiery Sword. Pure energy of the masculine principle. This Singer tells that you are able to strike forward and accomplish many things, including inner transformations mentioned in Pos.2, by creating working space, rather than giving structure to what already exists. Talking symbolically, you should rely on your feature that helps you to tear a cloud of illusion or confusion.

4. What you should not rely on. Position that will help to clarify availability of resources.

Honesty. It tells me that you should not put trust in what seems to be accomplished for the Topsy Turvets (pos.1) often cause delusion. Trust deeds, not words. And it seems like it has something to do with your human environment. Honesty says that others, who say that you are already fine, might be pursuing their own goals, for your position is profitable for them. It is you who you should be honest with, - the card says.

5. He who will help you.

Laiste, the Moon’s Daughter. He is a man, who has good sense of humor, and whose jokes often bear a hint of truth. He might be explaining something often. He is someone from your friends or your community, you know him well, though he seems a bit distant sometimes. You should not ask him for help, but you should listen carefully to what he says. He is your shadow-breaker. I’m not sure but there might be a moon connection (for example, he is a Cancer or Moon is highly aspected in his natal chart, or his work deals with silver, etc).

6. She who will help you.

Truth. This is a card that I added to a standard Froud’s deck. She might be your godmother or someone who visits you in your dreams. She will help your see through confusing moments. If you need, you may ask her questions and guidance. She will not do the Nelys the Alchemyst’s job of your inner transformations, but she will readily provide you with a situation to help you learn your lesson. Be sure that you remember your dreams. Truth on this card is an angelic winged being that emerges from the darkness of the background, carrying two shining spheres in her raised hands. She is drawn in white and blue, symbolizing purification. She is one of those whose presence you can feel almost at the physical level.

7. The pillar of your soul comfort. This position is designed to speak of something that you value and that was disrupted with Pos.1.

The Dark Lady. The card in this position tells me that the pillar of your soul comfort lies in accepting your dark part. Probably, this is why most cards say that you should unite yourself inside, despite of others’ compliments or opinions, as people sometimes prefer to see a tacit goat beside them rather than a roaring lion. The Dark Lady showed many appearances in world mythology. She was Celtic Morrigan, Norse Hel, Slavic Yaga etc. She is the one who holds a key of release and female mysteries (after your children have become adults). And she might be the one who is willing to teach you now. (This might be connected with the old lady I mentioned in pos.1, if you there IS the old lady).

Overview. There’s something invisible at the moment in your life that is going to happen soon. You should be prepared, so that your soul would stay comforted during these changes. There are considerable resources that you own now. Look into yourself and work there, from inside out. Don’t be misled by opinions. The general advice of this spread is to use your resources wisely.
 

Julien

Thank you Octopus! This is giving me much to think about. I'll be back in touch very soon. There is much here, actually, and it is very accurate. I need to think about it.

But as partial payment -- my favorite female name is Leila. If I had a little girl, I would name her Leila Marie.

Best,
Julien
 

Octopus

Thank You for the name, Julien! :) Take as much time as you need to think. I'll be waiting. :)
 

Julien

Octopus, can I ask you a quick question?

Did you have any strong emotional reactions to the cards as they came up? If so, can you describe? I just had two other readings -- one on-line here (Fairawan) and one privately yesterday... Both readers reported strong emotions tied to specific cards. Cards that have a strong relationship to one another across decks, I might add, with two different readers using different decks and on different questions. Just curious if you noticed anything as well.

Julien
 

Octopus

No, Julien, I didn't have any strong reactions to the cards. But it is so because I was taught to read this way. I was taught that personal emotions should not interfere with reading. It works in my case. :)
 

Julien

Feedback

Hello Octopus,

Thank you so much for this reading. I find I am increasingly attracted to the Faeries Oracle as I watch the readings unfold on AT, though I have not studied these cards myself. This is now my third reading with this oracle, and I had an ulterior motive for requesting it: I have been told by several tarot readers and one other oracle reader that this summer brings some major transformation – more than a transition – and that I should prepare. Unfortunately, I had not thought to ask specifically how to prepare, so when I saw your post, I jumped at the chance.

I think the feedback I give you now will only be the beginning, and we may have to “speak” again later in the summer when I understand more of what is in this reading. I asked about the emotional response because you've drawn several cards related in theme to the cards drawn by the other two readers. Nelys the Alchemyst, Honesty, and Truth. And, what you have described here is accurate and I think you've helped me enormously in understanding what's been happening in my life.

Indeed, I am pulled in several directions these days and in ways that are hard to explain and I do find that I have at least three different “me’s” in my head. I am intrigued by the notion that the Topsy Turvets have disrupted the Dark Lady. I am not sure who the woman of old age is that I think of in this way. I am still contemplating what this means precisely.

The Dark Lady I suspect is tied to lessons I’ve been learning about keeping my own counsel; watching what I say in a context where giving too much information in the wrong moment can create problems; and most recently, understanding that certain “friends” are really sharks in the water. I’ve been attempting to balance the side of me that wants to be open and helpful, with a more self-interested side. This is difficult as the self-interested side has been continually criticized by certain mentors I’ve had around me. Male mentors. Of late I’ve been adding women mentors because they tend to have a different take on things…

And, interestingly, not one but several women who are older – I wouldn’t say elderly, but a generation older than I am – have been encouraging this process along. Only one has anything to do with my professional life. For the most part, they are women who I have met elsewhere but who’s lives have been quite remarkable. I don’t think any of them are the elderly woman you mention twice in this reading. I don’t think I’ve met her yet. And, you are the second reader this week to speak to me about an elderly woman who will play an important role in teaching me things very soon…

The Fiery Sword in position 3… I am not sure what this is referring to, but if I understand what you have said, it is telling me to move forward with this reintegration and cut through the internal noise as well as those things in the external world that may cause me to delay. Would that be an accurate understanding?

I am deeply concerned about Honesty in the 4th position. You are the third reader to mention to me that someone or something in my human environment is ill intentioned or dishonest. There are many people who can profit from my current position. So many that either this is about all of them, or it is about something specific – and if it’s about something specific that I am currently unaware of, there’s just too much around me to pick it out just now. No one is a flatterer. However, there are many people who would like to make use of my presence in this place and time for their own benefit, and likely to my detriment in the long term. Did you have any other sense of what this could be? Something specific, or something more general?

I am not sure, but I think I know who my shadow-breaker is. If I am right, he is someone who is good and kind, but unafraid of the side of my personality the Dark Lady suggests. Indeed, again, he’s never said this, but I have long felt that because he has his own version of it, he tends to think I could rely on my own a bit more. We are in the same position, you see. We are quite close, and he tends to avoid “giving advice” because we’re peers and I don’t think he feels he is in any position to “advise” (and frankly, it’s just not our relationship – I don’t advise him, either); instead, out of friendship, he observes and finds way to tell me what he sees. I realize later that he’s just helped me understand something very important. He also tends to see the manipulations of others faster than I do, and has occasionally, through a wry comment or an off-handed observation, made me aware of something I hadn’t been seeing. He has never been wrong yet. I don’t yet know of a Cancer/Moon connection, but will see if this is the case. Does this sound like the shadow-breaker you saw in the reading?

When I first read your description of Truth, I was fairly certain I knew who this was. I rarely remember my dreams, so I am inclined to think that she’s not visiting in that form. Though she does not live near me, she is always with me, and I often find myself imagining conversations with her as I think problems through. She could very well be sitting in the same room with me sometimes. She visited just recently, and we discussed much of this very topic and she affirmed for me that I was on the right track with what I was doing. This is someone I am so close to that I call her “Mom” even though she is not related to me.

Again, thank you so much. You’ve given me much to think about, and have done me the great favor of giving me a clue in how to prepare for the changes to come.

Best regards,
Julien
 

Octopus

Your understanding of He of the Fiery Sword in pos.3 corresponds with what I meant. :)

Honesty in this reading is something general, it is a sign that you should not orient yourself outwards when dealing with inner issues. But I don't think this fact excludes a possibility that someone specific is being dishonest with you.

The person you speak of as a shadow-breaker fits what I saw. So, it's probably him. And concerning his moon connection I will add that it might have an unusual form. Besides 'clear' connections that I mentioned, there might be non-obvious connections, for example, he might say that he likes "Papermoon" or "Man on the Moon" (a song performed by R.E.M.), or you might see him cutting paper crescents. I'd say that you should not try to find this connection, but you should be prepared to see it, thus be receptive to signs.

I'm glad the reading helped you. Thank you for extensive feedback!