A Journey through Myth and Legend: When Magic Awakes Oracle Deck Guidebook

By Petra M Costa

The guidebook that accompanies the When Magic Awakes Oracle Cards. This Guidebook will walk you through the process of using these beautiful cards to unlock your own inner wisdom, as well as taking you deeper into the world of mythology. With sample spread layouts and detailed explanations of the mythological elements th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dualistic Consulting
• Release date: Feb 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645491432

Petra M Costa

Petra is a Melbourne based author who has been fascinated by mythology and folklore since her early teens and has incorporated these themes into her young adult urban fantasy series, 'When Magic Awakes'. The first book in the series, Return of the Sleeping Warriors, was released in 2017 with the second book in the series, Battle for the Second Realm, quickly reaching the top of the charts as a hot new release in 2021.Petra has been reading tarot since she was fifteen years of age and has had a fascination with 'magic' since her grandmother first started telling her stories of their gypsy heritage when she was young.A certified Colour and Art Energy Healer, Hand Mudras Energy Healer, Crystal Healer and Reiki and Spiritual Healer, Petra uses her knowledge of these healing modalities to bring depth and insight into all of her writing.Her illustration style has been heavily influenced by her love of the fantasy genre, and she feels truly blessed to have had the opportunity to bring her books to life in this way.

Book preview

Introduction

Mythology, in all its forms, has captured our imagination since the beginning of time. Whether a cautionary tale or a foundation myth, folklore and legends have touched us in a way that cannot easily be replicated by modern story telling.

Why have folklore and fairy tales always resonated within the human psyche?

The human mind strives for greater understanding. It wants to unlock the profound truth of our existence. Stories surrounding our creation are prevalent in every culture, as are the myths around what will happen to those foolhardy enough to ignore the wisdom contained within the words of these stories.

But more than knowing how we were created; we want to know if there is a path we should follow.

Mythology, both modern and ancient, serves as a way of not exactly lighting the path but by establishing that there is a path and with patience and acceptance we can navigate it, although the destination may be elusive until the very end of the journey.

This journey is different for everybody, it can sometimes be laid out in front of us, as an almost predestined path, guided by the fates, or it can be a twisting, meandering trail that branches off in so many different directions, that standing still may seem like the best and only option.

The abundance of stored knowledge contained within folklore and mythology should not be lost to us just because it does not conform to the scientific method. There is a reason we have passed these stories down through the generations. There may also be a more profound reason as to why so many cultures share common mythological patterns.

We have heroes to protect us when the battle is all but lost, in bright counterpoint to the evil, so malign that we need to guard against it with both ritual and other methods of avoidance.

You will find fabled knights, destined to protect the land from any evil that threatens, allowed only restless slumber, sleeping deep within the cards of this deck. The baleful gaze of the vampire may also glance in your direction, a creature of lust and desire, but don’t be so quick to judge. Like most things, his nature is dualistic and represents control and restraint.

On your journey, you may find yourself at a crossroads, a place of almost unlimited potential or with your inner eye opened, you may walk through the dreaming plane, able to commune with yourself on a deeper level.

These four simple themes are threaded throughout ancient mythology, modern religion, pagan beliefs, as well as Hollywood blockbusters.

I have attempted to harness the cleverly veiled wisdom that threads its way through our mythology, passed from mouth to ear, generation after generation, sinking into our hearts and taking root. Whatever your background or beliefs, the concepts that weave their way through the mythological byways will have impacted you in ways unforeseen, creating associations that will allow you to connect with these cards in a visceral way, allowing your own intuition to guide you.

They will simplify what has become complex and shed a specific kind of light that allows for illumination, not just the ability to see. Our minds have been swamped by the blue light of our screens and monitors and it is time to allow some radiance from the past to guide our way.

How these cards resonate with each of us will differ, but I do believe they will resonate with us all.

For those of you familiar with my work, you may recognise characters and settings from my fantasy series. For the purposes of this deck, I have tried to stay true to both the ancient mythology and my own more recent interpretation.

I hope you get many years of joy and inspiration from these cards. I can honestly tell you that it has been life changing creating them.

Nothing but Love.

Petra M Costa

Understanding the Card Structure

A journey through Myth and Legend - An Oracle deck is a 52-card deck that has been meticulously illustrated to try to capture the essence of the characters and setting from my fantasy series while still retaining the essential spirit of the ancient mythology the series was based upon. I hope the cards will connect with you on a deep level, regardless of their origins.

These cards have been designed so that they can be used without the need to reference the guidebook if you prefer to allow your intuition to lead the way. But I would recommend taking the time to familiarise yourself with the cards before diving in, so you can attune yourself to the deck.

The deck has been broken down into suits based on the five elements. These elements vary across cultures, both in their breakdown and the meaning behind each element. I am using the breakdown that I am most familiar with; fire, air, water, earth and the spirit. Each suit has its own base dynamic that will help you gain insight into your life and allow yourself to be open to Divine guidance.

Fire Cards

Fire cards are associated with energy, passion and creativity and allow you to explore the deeper emotions that drive and motivate you. Fire, by its nature, purifies, but can destroy the old as it heralds the birth of the new, so at the very least, fire cards are transformative.

Earth Cards

Earth cards are grounding cards that speak about stability and the nurturing qualities of life. Earth represents abundance and balance. Look to the earth cards when you need the calming reassurance of permanence and stability.

Air Cards

Air cards are all about clear communication and self-expression. They evoke clarity of thought and encourage the search for wisdom. When you need to cut through the emotions of a situation, air cards will allow you to differentiate between what you feel and what you know.

Water Cards

Water cards show you the fluid nature of the world, allowing you to feel, flow and adapt. They speak through your emotions and provide access to your subconscious, as well as allowing you to tap into the universal energies of the collective.

Spirit Cards

Spirit cards embody all the elements without being defined by any one of them. They bridge the gap between the physical and the spiritual, providing the link between body and soul. Where life meets death and intellect walks hand in hand with emotion, you will find the spirit cards providing guidance for your head as well as your heart.

Notes about how the suits interact

How suits interact with each other will vary with each reading. Although there is a lot of information available on the five elements and how they relate to each other, the information differs from one belief system to another. Just as there is a vast number of interpretations around archetypical characters in mythology, so too is there a difference in opinion around the elements. I mentioned that I have used the elements that I am most familiar with; Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Spirit. Drawing opposing forces in a reading will expose the shadow aspect of the cards and all suits, with the exception of spirit, have this darker side.

What draws the shadow is not as simple as saying, fire opposes water and earth opposes air, because this is only one interpretation of the way the elements interact.

Greek philosophers believed that there are four humours in the body and each corresponds to an element, a season, as well as a stage in one’s life. In this model, fire has an opposite polarity to water. Astrology, on the other hand, has air opposing fire and the watchtowers in pagan belief systems have earth as fires contrasting energy. There is no right or wrong definition. Each has their own underlying logic, they just differ. For this reason, there is no definitive formula as to when the shadow aspect of a card will be triggered.

For instance, a fire card can be creative and passionate and will be assisted by an air card being in close proximity, but if the card is warning of passions that are boarding on obsession, then an air card could be what draws the shadow aspect of a reading, as the air element is fuelling unhealthy habits. Water or earth may be beneficial in this instance, to damp down the more destructive aspects of the fire card.

Earth cards are grounding and nurturing; they remind you to be present; surrounded by air, they could suggest that you are too focused on your thoughts and that you need to remember to just ‘be’. This distraction from the moment could be what draws the shadow to the read. However, in the right circumstances, earth would be complimented by air, as it may suggest that you have thought things through and