Make-Shift Oracle

by Constantine

So, disaster struck me the other night, in the form of a busted tire as I was coming out of the Expo Center. My truck slid backwards on the slick pavement and right into the spikes they have installed at each exit of the parking lot. My tire deflated like a balloon and I pulled over, swearing and crying, by the side of the freeway on-ramp.

It was there, sitting in the dark, rain pelting down on my windshield, that I realized that I wasn't sure who to call to come help me. Even worse-- I didn't have my tarot cards on me to consult. I used to joke that I consulted my cards so often that I would wake up in the morning and do a reading to find out whether or not it would rain that afternoon. More than I do actual readings, I like to sit around and just shuffle the cards. It's soothing to me, and more often than not, I get the reading mentally from the cards. If I bother to lay them down, I already know which cards will come up, because they've been flashing in my head the whole time.

But for some reason, I didn't bring my deck with me that evening, and I began to panic. Desperation may be the true mother of invention after all. In a fit of inspiration, I found a piece of scrap paper in the bottom of my truck, and a pen and started ripping the paper into little pieces. On each piece, I wrote something. "Go" "Wait" "Yes" "No" "Ask for Help" "Bad Luck" and a few of the pieces I set aside and wrote the names of people I know on them. I folded the little pieces of paper up and stuck them in the lid of a tupperware container I had floating around my vehicle for months now, then I sifted through them while thinking of my questions. I fished out four or five pieces of paper and unfolded them on my lap.

I got an amazing reading. Much better than I might have gotten from my trusty tarot deck, simply because I designed the answers around the specific questions I had. No vague symbols, just straight answers. I called the friend who's name was drawn, she called AAA, drove out and picked me up. All was well.

The lesson I got from this little make-shift oracle experiment is that if I really want answers, I will have to design my own tarot deck one of these days. Instead of relying on someone else's system, someone else's interpretations.

Don't disasters always bring with them some amazing insights and unexpected gifts? Not to mention they help you figure out who your true friends really are.

| 03/31/07 | Practices