Sometimes I use the Journey Oracle cards to frame a question, rather than to find an answer.
This helps me prepare for doing a middle world shamanic journey.
Michael Harner writes about how the “middle world” is this world with the veils removed. It is important that these journeys be carefully framed with clear intention and questions because of the danger of
talking to spirits whose agenda you do not know.
Here is a journey showing how I proceed. First I ask the cards to show me a situation in my daily life that needs resolution. I focus on my ordinary reality for this journey because the answer comes within the forces and creatures of this world. I draw card 12 and in this moment interpret this powerful image as one showing me my occasional jealousy of other’s success in internet art marketing. I find my question for this journey by deciding to turn the card over.
“Am I listening” immediately prompts another question: “to what? The person in the picture seems to have no left ear, while the right side is filled with swirls, perhaps of sound. I decide to pursue this right left symbolism as the focus of my journey. I associate my left side with action in the spiritworld and my right side with action in this world. To what action am I being shown to listen?
I decide to take a walk for my journey and set my boundaries carefully—from the front door out to the front door in—so I will know the parameters of the journey messages. A strong wind strikes me on my right side as I leave the porch, and I notice the gate bell rings loudly in my right ear as I pass. I see a rough path in the woods on the right and go this way, even though my dog would rather keep going straight. At the apex of the woods trail the wind is now full in my face. When I turn left at the base of the hill to return home the wind becomes blocked so although I can hear it I cannot feel it. At a three pronged trail intersection I let my dog choose the direction and she goes right, even though this is not our usual route. As I come back up the hill the wind stays blocked and the gate bell, now able to ring in my left ear—is silent.
The journey is showing me to listen to the right: this is where movement is coming from, although at first it is difficult to see and I have some resistance to going this way. At the apex of my first choices for successful internet art marketing, I will feel movement from both sides. After a period of quiet I am again shown to choose the right side; the action in this world. I now have clear direction from my nature-world guidance to choose the human-world work…and I enjoyed a walk in the woods.
