For a couple of years, I worked on calligraphing a pen and ink alphabet—capital letters only. I finished the project recently, adding watercolor to some of the last letters I penned.
When wanting to do divination, I will look to whatever is nearby, whether that’s a tarot deck, pack of playing cards, bunch of safety pins that happen to be next to me for a sewing project, a gum wrapper fallen on the road, or the license plate on a passing car. The Gods speak through everything.
So it was inevitable I’d realize I could turn my pen and ink letters into alphabet oracle cards for myself.
No, there is no such thing as alphabet oracle cards or alphabet divination, that I know of. Until now. I made it up: I use the deck for intuitive prompts, and/or logic-based contemplations, as follows. I randomly select a card, then a word that starts with the letter on the card will spring to mind. That starts a thread: I try to intuitively glean—and/or logically figure out—the guidance to which that word is pointing. I might select three or more cards to gather guidance on the same topic.
There are many many more ways I go about using the deck intuitively and deductively, far more than what I described above. Intuitive reading is a whole topic in itself, let alone when you couple it with logic-based threads.
I am sure the word that springs to mind will not always be the right one. But so far whatever word comes, no matter how far-fetched or irrelevant it seems at first, has been perfect for me. Isn’t it amazing how readily the Goddess will guide us?
The word that springs to mind might also be a good writing prompt or good prompt for a painter.
The cards are different shapes and sizes, intentionally. I hand cut curved lines around each letter, and it was satisfying to try to curve the lines in whatever ways most suited my eyes.
Instead of making a PDF with the letters in precise rows, I arranged them organically. Therefore, cards can’t be made by cutting in straight lines to make rectangles. The cutting has to be organic. I liked that idea, and took care to arrange the letters so there was enough white space between every letter for curved cutting. Hearth art is heart art!
After years of making the alphabet bit by bit, followed by the goodly amount of effort it took to scan the letters and digitally arrange the scans together just so on, so the whole deck could be printed on only three 8&1/2 X 11” sheets of card stock (quality card stock is pricey), followed by a lot more work because it took a ridiculously long time before I could create a digital file that’d print with sharp detail instead of blurring, I finally made a PDF of the scanned letters that prints beautifully. Whew! All the work was worth it because when I divine with the cards, they make me smile.
Note: I reduce photographs to make this page load quickly, which blurs photos’ details.
I was happy to finally find a use for a small wet felted “envelope” I made in 2015. Wet felting takes time, so it is nice to put the bag to special use by keeping a deck I made for myself in it:
I sized the letters in the PDF to make a mini-deck, so it’s easily at hand. A while back, I made two different mini-decks for Ogham divination, which students of my Ogham divination course receive. My friend and student, Jenelle Campion, told me she keeps one of the Ogham decks “in my wallet in case I need a reading on-the-go.” That made me feel so good, and affirmed my belief in the practicality of mini decks.
Like many artists who find pleasure in a project they did, I want to share it. I might sell the PDF so someone can print and hand cut it, for an Alphabet Oracle Deck for themself.
While I’m considering selling PDFs of the alphabet cards, I’m going to give a PDF away. Instructions for entering a draw to win a PDF of the deck will be in an upcoming newsletter.
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