I’m happy to share that I’ve reached another milestone in the creation of the Animal Reflections Oracle Deck I’m working on.
This means draft two is complete and now draft three begins. Reading text on a computer is different when printed out and read, which I find fascinating in the writing process!
So that is where I’m at. I’ve dug out my red pen for such an occasion and the manuscript is printed and ready for me to start this phase of the creation process.
The more I work on this project, it seems the more I’m not quite sure of the release date as there are many more moving parts to this than I anticipated! But I will share updates as I can while I continue to lean into trusting the process and timing as it is meant to be.
Thank you again for the interest and support of this project that many of you have expressed!
I’m near the end of my Animal Reflections Oracle Deck project. Well, sort of, as I’m almost done with the completion of this phase. First was creating the deck which I did collage and mixed media style. Then began phase two and writing a message for each card.
Each afternoon I’d randomly pull a card and have it waiting for me on my writing desk for the next day. I didn’t always write each day if I felt I needed more time with that animal that was up next or if other things needed my attention.
But there I was at the end of last week with two cards left to write the first draft for. I appreciated how it was Wolf and Firefly as the last two. I smiled at how it fell into place. I intuitively knew that Wolf would be the next message I wrote, which I did today. White Wolf came to me years ago during a guided visualization and then again when I asked her name one evening before drifting off to sleep.
She came to me at a time when my heart was in a great deal of pain. It was a time when I wanted to close my heart down for fear of being hurt again. But White Wolf reminded me that this is what stretches the heart and to close it down would shut me off from experiencing love again. This is the journey we walk having this human experience of feelings and emotions which helps expand our compassion and empathy not only for ourselves but for others too.
The last card left to write a message for – Firefly – is the culmination of the theme of the deck with each animal offering wisdom encouraging the importance of inner work – that each time we move through an experience of growth we emerge with a more confident sense of being and shine our light out into the world.
I’d been pondering whether or not to add one more animal to my deck, but now everything feels as if it has clicked into place so I won’t be doing that.
It’s time to complete phase two before I go onto phase three which will be going back through each message I’ve written and fine-tuning things. Then phase three will be sending the text off to my editor. Once that happens I will begin to scan and digitally add a word to each that represents that card/animal, while also exploring how I wish to publish the deck with two possibilities I’m giving thought to.
It’s fun to stop and look at how far I’ve come with this project. And I thought it would be fun to give you an update as many of you have expressed support for my deck, which I really appreciate! Thank you!
Sandhill Crane for my upcoming Animal Reflections Oracle Deck
Small magical moments are often playing out around us. But how often do we just dismiss them or think of them as coincidences? I used to be afraid of sharing such moments for fear of others thinking I was just weird.
But you know what? I’m really liking this thing of being ‘weird.’ And you know what else? It’s really not weird at all. It’s just that we’ve been conditioned to think it is.
Here’s an example of one such small moment that played out for me in the last 24-hours.
Before I left my studio yesterday afternoon, I randomly pulled a card from the animal deck I’m creating and from the twelve I still need to write messages for. I like to do this so I can simmer in the energy of the animal before I work on writing the message the next day.
Since I’ve been back from vacation I’ve been thinking about self-care and some things I’m working on for myself in that area. While I was getting ready for the day this morning, I was listening to an interview with Anita Moorjani and her newest book called, “Sensitive is the New Strong.”
While the subject of empaths and highly sensitive people isn’t new, I welcome hearing more about it because it resonates with me. I especially enjoyed hearing her take on what the world would be like if there were more sensitive’s in leadership positions.
While I don’t particularly care for labels, I strongly identify with being a sensitive being. I feel everything. This hasn’t always been easy and sometimes still isn’t. But I continue to understand the vital role that self-care is for me and being sensitive. And the last two years with all the upheaval, it has in many ways been beneficial as I’ve learned even more that as I take things in, I must also let them go instead of consuming me.
So perhaps you are wondering what this has to do with Sandhill Crane’s energy and small magical moments?
Well, when I see or hear a Sandhill Crane I am brought to a place within myself that feels connected to some ancient wisdom. It seems like cranes have been here on this planet for so very long. A quick search on the internet brought me an answer that they’ve been around for over 2 million years! That’s a mighty long time.
When they migrate to Wisconsin in spring and I first hear their call or catch a glimpse of them in the sky or feeding in a field, a sense of calm washes over me. They are a connection for me in revisiting what really matters – simple pleasures – a simpler way of life – a life that is more in balance and grounded.
Sandhill Crane is very protective of their young and while the chicks will walk just eight hours after birth, the mother cares for them for a year. This spoke to me as mothering my own inner self when I know I’m in need of self-care and being protective of my energy when I’m feeling out of balance.
So as all of this was floating around in my mind, I happened to glance out my bedroom patio doors just in time to see two Sandhill Cranes fly overhead.
This is one of those magical moments when I know the Universe just sent me a confirmation of what I’d been feeling and contemplating.
So while some may think this is a strange way of looking at life, being sensitive benefits me with the advantage of experiencing the joy of this confirmation.
And I come back to reflecting on what Anita said about more sensitive’s being in leadership roles. I can feel the positive, inspiring, and hopeful implications of that when I think about what is all playing out in our world right now. It’s time to let go of the old and stagnant ways that just aren’t working and come back to remembering who we really are and what really matters. In many ways I see this as going back to what we’ve always known and has always been here, but that we lost our way.
And Sandhill Crane seems fitting for tapping back into that ancient wisdom that will bring us back into alignment and open us to having more compassion for all beings.
