The “Wisdom of The Woods”™ Oracle Deck Divination System: “The Wheel Board” (Part One)

"The Wheel Board" (c) 2014 - Eliseo Mauas Pinto

For those acquainted with Tarot decks, you might be certainly aware of the use of layouts for the way the cards should be spread, being the "Celtic Cross" layout one of the most widely used. This layout works at its best when used to seek answers for specific questions.

While conceiving and designing the “Wisdom of The Woods”™ Oracle Deck I perceived it would be useful to employ an specific layout in order to spread the cards, and soon realized that it should be associated with the “Wheel” motif, so common not only on Druidry, and Pagan beliefs and rituals, but also with sacred stone circles, magic circles, mandalas, the Medicine Wheel, or even the sacred hoop.

It is the symbolic cycle of birth-death-rebirth found throughout nature, and also within our own spiritual and personal growth. Its turning reminds us that all of what had happened before, will happen once again.

Therefore, and being quite related to Nature itself, I decided to create a circular design for our sacred play representing the never ending cycle of life. As Celtic labyrinths with no beginning and no end… a sacred circle of life present on Druidry and linked to the four elements and four directions, being the cairn at the center represented in this case by the fifth element: the soul. For our divination purposes I decided to choice the Five fold system which I believe it is the most suitable since it considers the “Spirit/Soul” at the Center of the Four, joining them all and creating a balanced, and unified empowerment.

You may also spread one and only card and lay it down on the Center of the board to gain insights about a present problem or event .

Though I am not a confessed Wiccan, while in the creative process I realized it was certainly quite powerful and mystical to assign three cardinal points to the Triple Goddess (Maiden/Mother/Crone) and one to the Green Man (as a male deity counterpart).

You will need to cast nine cards, which should be read as a whole, although in some cases you may find the answer on one or more placement spots. I say as a whole because the Wheel shows the obstacles, problems, and imbalances present on our everyday life.

The layout is done in two steps: the first four cards are spread clockwise and the second four counter-clockwise, being the last and most precious card the central one, because it is related to our soul, and will show us the principal learning related to our concerns.

With dedicated time and practice, you will be able to make a final and inclusive conclusion which resumes the overall oracle aspects of the "Wisdom of the Woods"™ decks and Wheel Board. Always be true to yourself and follow your intuition.

Remember that this baggage of ancient knowledge will assist you not only in your reflections and meditations, but also will help you to explore your inner soul and find out the balance in harmony and connection with Mother Earth.

Moreover you will find it useful for clearing up your mind regarding certain moments and events in your life. Regaining your balance and strength, you will certainly find yourself more reflexive upon the faults and fears that threaten us.

Even though you may use this oracle for your own sake, it is quite important for you to develop your inner intuitions and your empathy abilities in order to help querents. With a correct reading of the guidelines it will be more easy for the querent to apply them for his private benefit.

I do firmly believe that Divination is our personal journey to the Otherworld, it is our personal contact with Nature Sprites and Deities who will surely guide us through the correct options, and warn us from negative events in our lives. With the help of course of our Ancestors, who are certainly aware of how the past affects our future in this life.

Follow now your journey of awakening infused by the ogham kennings and wisdom of the trees... Learn about the divination meanings, create a sacred place of your own, and you will then comprehend the magickal reason why the cards are displayed on this way... listen to their luminous message flowing with harmony directly from the source....

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The featured Wheel Board artwork belongs to the WISDOM OF THE WOODS™ - Celtic Tree Oracle - , a singular set of Decks and Wheel Board, I designed for this divination system developed as a compendium of kennings and symbolisms taken from the Ogham Tree alphabet, Druidry, and Celtic lore. 

You can place an Online order at its OFFICIAL SITE

For further information about Celtic Divination, I wrote a whole eBook was regarding this subject as part of the whole Oracle Deck project.Please check out the special Kindle Edition at Amazon.com.

The featured images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.