The Promethean Oracle | Deck Tutorial | Artist’s Advice

6 March 2018

The Promethean Oracle guest writer The Queen' s SwordIn the monthly column Artist’s Advice divination authors and deck designers give their reading tips, divination techniques or unique essays to share their expertise and showcase a new release. This issue:

Deck Tutorial | The Promethean Oracle | Sophia Shultz & Mark Cogan

“First, a little background: several years ago, I observed that while I could find an awful lot of oracle/tarot decks featuring female figures (goddesses, historical figures, mythological figures, etc.), I could find few oracle decks that drew their lessons from any male presence. To me, this represents a serious lack of balance, because, like it or not, men exist, and in order to create the universal harmony so many people crave, we need balance.

In creating this deck, I drew from the history and mythology of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and the Bible. I deliberately chose many of the figures because they were flawed: lionizing men (or women, for that matter,) is the path to the imbalance I was trying to avoid.

It was my co-author, Mark Cogan, who came up with the idea of using the tale of Prometheus as a metaphor connecting the male figures to the Chakra Cards, which had been suggested by another friend. Mark found a way to make the Chakra Cards work within the framework of the deck, something with which I had struggled throughout the process of creating the art.

I hope that this article will help you to find new ways to use and interpret the cards in this deck! Enjoy!

A little about the Deck
The Promethean Oracle deck consists of 50 cards. The art is rendered in colored pencil on black paper. This was a technique I had used a lot when I was in my early 20s, but had abandoned in favor of new media and papers, so it was great to return to it (and after creating 50 cards I am ready to abandon it again for a couple of years!) The characters are divided into The Prometheus (or Chakra) Cards, Kings, Creators, Innocence, Experience, Order and Chaos, and Tempus.

In addition to the cards is the full-color book, which includes stories, quotes, and discussions for each card. Because I encourage my readers to interpret the cards in their own way, the book also contains ample journal space for writing down what you see when you look at them.

Working with Chakra Associations
The first seven cards of The Promethean Oracle are the Chakra cards. Chakras are points of energy which are aligned with different parts of the body. Each has specific characteristics from the Base, which recalls tribe and family, to the Crown, which represents the enlightened spirit.

 

Chakra Color Location Associations
Base Red Base of the Spine Tribe, family, the physical world, land, home
Root Orange Sexual organs Creativity, procreation, the family that came before
Solar Plexus Yellow Abdomen The body’s center, self-control, the doorway to the higher Chakras
Heart Pink/Green Heart Love and Compassion, physical and emotional richness in life
Throat Blue Throat Communication
Third Eye Indigo Forehead Center of the mind and intellect, teaching and philosophy
Crown White/Purple Above the head Transcending the physical realm, total enlightenment

 

But how do you associate your life with these seeming abstractions? You may be thinking, “what does transcending the physical realm have to do with my job situation?”

I’ve designed a number of suggestions for ways to use The Promethean Oracle, and have separated these into Three Card Spreads and Full Deck Readings. If you’re not connecting with the Chakra cards, it’s okay. You’ll see that there are layouts for which you don’t actually have to use the Chakra cards.

Preparing for a Reading
As with other decks, focus your energies on the cards. Do you have a certain question? Do you want to know what to look for in your day? Or are you seeking a spiritual ‘poke’–an insight to something just out of sight that’s been bothering you?

“You don’t actually have to use the Chakra cards”

Below are a number of different kinds of layouts and suggestions for their uses. I always invite my readers to experiment with both layouts and groupings of cards to see ‘what works for them.’ It’s my hope that you will do the same!

 

Three card spread pictures

Explaining THREE CARD SPREADS

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Type of Reading

Uses Chakra Cards

Chakra Cards Shuffled into the Deck

Layout

Order of Reading

Look For

1

Quick reading:

What today will be like/what I can look for or beware of/positive outcome for the day

No

No

Three cards except Chakra Cards

chosen randomly from entire deck.

Look at the reading and start where it feels right.

Cards that really stand out want to be read first.

2

Quick Reading with a Twist

In doing your reading you may find a Chakra Card as one of your three cards. This card gives you a place to look for possible blockages or areas, either physical or spiritual, that require attention.

Yes

Yes

Use all cards including the Chakra Cards. Choose three cards randomly.

Like the Quick Reading, start where it feels right. If you get a Chakra Card I suggest looking at that first.

3

Past, Present, Future:

ex. What you have dealt with before/your present state/what you can do to get to your desired future.

Your Choice

Your

Choice

Three Cards placed on or next to

Ancestors, Here and Now, Yet to Come

(with or without Chakra Cards)

Generally start in the Here and Now, because that’s where you are right now. If you include Chakra Cards in your deck and pull one, I suggest looking at that first. Otherwise, go with Here and Now, or look at what strikes you first.

4

Where Does it Hurt?

(actually, that’s just me being silly; you can use this layout to read for whatever question you have.)

This reading gives you an opportunity to explore your strengths and weaknesses through specific Chakras.

Yes

No

Shuffle and choose three Chakra Cards.

Lay three cards from the rest of the deck by these Chakra Cards. For clarification, pull as many subsequent cards as you need.

Like the Quick Reading, read whichever card hits you first. You can read the cards left to right, right to left, or in whatever order that seems right to you.

 

Full deck reading

You an use parts of the The Promethean Oracle to use alone or in conjunction with tarot for example. But you can also use the entire deck to get insight.

 

Explaining FULL DECK READINGS

Img. #

Type of Reading

Uses Chakra Cards

Chakra Cards Shuffled In

Layout

Order of Reading

5

My Entire State of Being

Each Chakra has a story. Ex. Agamemnon in the Third Eye? No wonder your intuition is blocked! What can you do about it? What about that card jumps out at you? Was it the mask? Agamemnon’s expression? Was there anything in the preceding or subsequent cards to give you a hint on how to get out of your slump?

Yes

No

Chakra Cards laid out in order (as stated in the sample layouts in this article), all other cards shuffled together and drawn randomly, placed next to or on Chakra cards.

Generally start at the Base Chakra and build up from there.

You may find that one particular card jumps out at you: if so, start there.

6

Specific Readings with Chakra Cards

Using the groups of cards thus:

Kings: Helps you to recognize your own potential power, either physical or spiritual. Feelings of helplessness can be addressed to these cards.

Innocence: Helps you to see what you need to learn in order to advance. Feelings of “being stuck” can be addressed with these cards.

Experience: Helps you to see your path to wisdom and how to use your life experience to advance yourself. Feelings of inadequacy can be addressed with these cards.

Creators: Helps you to find and harness your creative energies for upcoming or ongoing projects. Feelings of dullness, boredom, etc. can be addressed using these cards.

Order and Chaos: Helps you to recognize these key elements in your life and to find your way in an increasingly chaotic world.

Yes

No

Chakra Cards laid out in order. Cards separated into Creators, Kings, Innocence, and Experience. User may lay out cards from only one group if desired. It’s best if you start at the Base and move along. Again, if some card just jumps out at you, you can start your reading there.

 

Below are two examples of the many ways that you can lay out cards from The Promethean Oracle. As you can see, I have simplified the overall look by using just the names and colors of the Chakra cards. Each Chakra also has a keyword which may help you with your reading.

 

“Allow your intuition to place the cards in the Chakra positions”

Reading the cards is pretty straightforward. Follow whatever your custom is for preparing the cards to be read, and then lay them out to the side of each chakra. It’s important to note that while you will want to lay the Chakra cards out in order, you don’t have to lay the cards for the reading out in any specific order. In fact, the reading will be better if you allow your intuition to place the cards in the Chakra positions. Similarly, you don’t have to read the cards in specific order. Read whatever hits you first!

 

So, now to some sample readings:

SAMPLE READING A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What came up:

Base: David

Root: Re

Solar Plexus: Chiron

Heart: Noah

Throat: Gilgamesh

Third Eye: Enki

Crown: Wepwawet

The first thing that jumped out at me is Enki in the Third Eye. To me he represents the gifts we have to give to others. We have knowledge to impart, and until our teaching is finished we will not be able to move upwards to the Crown.

The next to catch my eye is Gilgamesh, who falls in the Throat Chakra. As Gilgamesh weeps for his dear friend Enkidu, he reminds us that communication is essential to spiritual movement, and that there are many things we need to say to others. Some are pleasant and some are not, but they need to be said. Gilgamesh tells us that, once we have determined what needs to be said, we need to speak up now.

In the Heart Chakra we find Noah. Noah tells us to open our hearts, and have faith in those who you choose to trust. Without faith and trust, we are alone.

At the Base Chakra is David. A card with such creative potential seems to be misplaced in the Base Chakra. But David’s connection to home and land points to what we bring with us from those places, in this case, the creativity we inherited from those who came before us. The term “creativity” is often very narrowly defined—there is art in the knowledge and manipulation of numbers, and in the beauty of science.

In the Root Chakra is Re. It’s fitting that creator god Re, isn’t it? He is here to remind us that our ability to create—and to procreate—either physically or in other pursuits—is dependent upon our ability to “keep the light burning”, as it were.

The Solar Plexus Chakra is Chiron. The Solar Plexus is the Chakra that opens the door to the more spiritual Chakras—the Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown. Finding Chiron here indicates that we are making a transition and we must remain cool headed and resolute in a situation from which we could easily run. But we can do this—bringing what we have learned to the next level.

 

 

SAMPLE READING B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Base: Achilles

Root: Imhotep

Solar Plexus: Agamemnon

Heart: Amun

Throat: Horus

Third Eye: Osiris

Crown: Solomon

I want to do this next reading because…when I pulled it I thought, ‘holy crap, this is one big group of self-absorbed or utterly remote guys!’ Agamemnon and Achilles are the self-absorbed; Imhotep, Amun, Horus, and Osiris are the remote. Only Solomon seems to be accessible, but his God-given wisdom might make him as remote as the others.

In this case, it was Amun at the Heart Chakra that caught my eye (after I got over the overall feel of the reading). Amun represents an uncertain—even undiscovered—emotional territory. You may be a mystery even to yourself. Can you love friends or family, be a good friend or co-worker? Does your uncertainty of how the expression of such feelings would be received keep you from acting, from being more emotionally unavailable?

Achilles in the Base Chakra represents a willful detachment from roots—his homeland of Greece, as well as his fellow soldiers. There is something you are walking away from—something that begs that you pause and closely examine what you’re doing.

Agamemnon in the Solar Plexus Chakra has me thinking: ‘this just keeps getting better and better!’ If the Solar Plexus is the key to self-control, then something is wildly out of whack!

Imhotep is in the Root Chakra. Imhotep is the soul of creativity. He represents in many ways a complete unlocking of creative talents. We cannot be Imhotep, but we can be free to be ourselves and explore our full potential without fear.

Osiris in the Third Eye Chakra speaks of spiritual entrapment, which has put a halt to a personal transformation you had been undergoing: are you unsure that your transformation is a good one, one that will benefit others as well as yourself? Leaving behind people or things that prevent our spiritual advancement can be difficult, even painful.

In the Throat Chakra, we find Horus. In these chaotic times it is important to have a voice—but what does your voice contribute to our world? Is it a voice of tolerance, of intolerance; is it a voice of love or of hate; is it a voice that engenders calm or chaos?

It seems fitting that Solomon should turn up in the Crown Chakra. With his divinely inspired wisdom, he ruled fairly and with great insight. But he could have been seduced by this gift, used it to keep himself remote from his people. Is your distance from others keeping you from advancing into the Crown Chakra?

I hope that this gives you some insight into using the Promethean Oracle! Thanks for reading!

– Sophia Shultz & Mark Cogan

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BIOGRAPHIES
As a professional artist, Sophia Kelly Shultz has always specialised in portraits. Her art and articles have been published in NewWitch, Pangaia and The Pagan Leadership Anthology magazines; most recently some of her paintings have been featured in the WeʼMoon Womenʼs Calendar . Shultz is also known from her Stone Circles Oracle. She lives with her husband in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, with two dogs and a very small, very bad cat.

 

Fellow creator on The Promethean Oracle Mark Cogan is an energy healer, specialising in Reiki and crystals.

For the past several years he has practiced his healing skills at events such as Fertile Ground Gathering in Virginia.

He resides in Brandywine, Maryland, with his cat, Cinderella.

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