Happy Mercury Cazimi, everybody!
In honor of the Messenger of the Gods, and in honor of the guy who dedicated over 5 years to this offering, I just had to gush about this ray of absolute sunshine that dropped into my mailbox the other day. On a Wednesday, naturally.
Meet The Mercury Oracle, an 88-card labor of love that takes a unique and playful approach to divination, introducing an exploratory and curious method of navigating symbolism, and by extension, your reality.
After the review, you’ll find a quick reading for general advice to navigate the sticky space weather that accompanies this cazimi moment. So stay (at)tuned!
The Magician
Created by one man, Lewis Neeff (no relation), who crafted every part of this deck - from the imagery, to the writing, to the framework of inquiry. This was a massive undertaking that was fraught with hardship and non-stop life changes. At one point, he even ended up getting swindled by a print factory that almost put an end to all his hard work. But he never quit. He never settled for less than his vision. No matter how many times life pulled the rug out from under him (several). To ensure the realization of this oracle was a feat of raw dedication. And damn-near bottomless positivity and courage. This work is brought to you by someone who knows that fear is the mind-killer, and has lived that way.
The whole process has the shape of a ritual offering, replete with sacrifice.
Most recently, his shipping of the finished decks was side-lined when he had to turn his living space into an aid station to help those displaced by the fires in LA. A catastrophe he handled with compassion and grace, and still got his creation into peoples’ hands. I think it should be known. So ya heard it here first.
But it’s finally finished, and the wait is over. I’m geeked about it.
The Cards
As for the deck itself, the cards are thoughtfully made, having gone through many samples and iterations to get the feel right. It’s rare for a deck to be totally square, but it’s not Squaresville. The art on the back can be used as a flip-book and the images will dance. It’s the little touches. Created in the style of retro classroom learning aides and early ESP tests, they certainly function as such - and much more. Which brings me to one of the things I love most about the deck.
Good Fundamentals
The symbols and suggestions on the cards are elegant; striking images often constructed of basic shapes and primary colors, they celebrate simplicity while offering infinite dimension. There is no long-form esoteric study necessary to read them, but they are designed to introduce you to first principles, and a wide array of philosophical concepts that take you as deep as you want to go.
It features binaries like ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, as well as the 5 traditional elements, but also planets, chakras and bits of clear instruction.
One could just pick these cards up with no former knowledge, and a reading would be easy enough to work out, even without the wise little guidebook provided. Don’t skip on that little book, though. It’s full of treasure.
It includes a system of ‘Place Cards’ to build structure and story. There are precious few of them in the deck, so they carry a weight of significance when they show up in a pull. Especially if more than one comes up in a single session. Alternatively, you can hunt through the deck for one and draw cards around it. This is not a prescribed format, but it is offered, and it can help train you in ways of thinking with relationality and flow.
It reads quite intuitively. I find myself knowing clearly when to pull more cards for elaboration, and how they seem to be speaking to one another. That isn’t to say it’s just for beginners. There is plenty of meat on the bone.
It also sports the Camelia Elias-like insistence to never pull cards without a question, and suggestions on formulating effective ones.
So like I said; good fundamentals.
The Weird Stuff
In the guidebook, you’ll find all kinds of fabulous quotes from a broad range of spiritual luminaries and weirdos. Like this one:
“In all we do, let us be generous, fair & loving to Spaceship Earth and all its inhabitants. For we are All One or None! All One!”
- Emmanuel Bronner
If you’ve never run out of hot water reading a Dr. Bronner’s bottle in the shower, you just aren’t a wizard. I don’t make the rules.
From the Crossroads to the Eschaton, there is a broad range of occult and psychonautical standbys to get you strange and keep you there. There’s a card that tells you to talk to the dead, and a card that tells you to contact aliens. One that tells you to go to sleep, one that tells you not to, and one that just tells you to STOP.
It is truly a magician’s deck. It doesn’t hide behind New Age platitudes, although it honors New Thought luminaries like Neville Goddard. Earnestly and without pretense. It’s McKenna and Ghandi and Emerson. It’s Zen and The Art of War. And sometimes the best magician’s advice is just…basic human advice. And it has that, too.
Even the list of thinkers and authors quoted in the book is a knowledge map of its own.
That’s before we even talk about expansion decks. If 88 wasn’t enough, there are sets of other symbols to play around with, and you can add or remove cards at will. Yantras, zodiac signs and animal allies. Looooooove stuff 😘
It’s just cool. And it is very, very Good Vibes™. It encounters the strange and the dark at times, but with bright colors; never losing itself, but still being a little unnerving when it needs to. It’ll mess with ya. And it’s rare to encounter something that is simultaneously charged with strangeness, but also comfortable and inviting.
When I opened it and pulled a card, the first thing it did was joke with me, but in a way that reinforced my self-trust. I’m not kidding. This thing feels alive and has a sense of humor. It is a testament to the heart of its human and planetary dads. The more you play with it, the more it seems to come to life.
I could go on. Or you could just go see what the fuss is about.
Here’s the read:
So what I forgot to mention in the reading is that on this day in my home town, we’re celebrating a statue of Prometheus that is exactly 50 years old! So of course the first card I pull is ‘Find Fire’. And Mercury is also the King of Thieves. Who will be Squaring Uranus (often mapped to Zeus). What perfection.
So do indeed find fire…even if you gotta steal it!
If you want to know more about Cazimis and their upcoming dates for this year, check the links below. Thanks for reading. Thanks for watching. Bless!
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