Your Creative Journey with Tarot and Oracle
Creativity has always been a big part of my life. I was listening to a podcast recently about living creatively and the host posed the question: What’s the one thing you have in your life that, if stripped away, would make you unhappy? My immediate answer was creativity. Creative work and creative play fuel me in unmatched ways… so much so that I’ve left jobs, risked lower pay grades, and have moved across continents in order to feed my need to pursue my creative adventures.
Tarot and oracle cards have also unlocked creativity for me. IMHO, my card practice has just been another way for me to express myself creatively.
The Creative Journey Oracle Deck is a collaboration between myself and artist, author, and content creator Abbey Sy. It’s a 40-card collage deck designed to help you through your unique creative journey, regardless of what medium you’re working with.
Stay tuned for the launch here at Practical Magic and at Abbey’s shop on May 15, 2021!
UNLOCKING CREATIVITY AS A DECK CREATOR
Practical Magic has allowed me to be more creative in many different ways. I guess the most obvious result of my creative play with PM are the tarot decks I created. The Practical Magic Starter Deck and Pinoy Practical Magic started as creative experiments, because I wanted to see how the archetypes of the tarot could be expressed and painted in fresh, new ways.
Aside from that, making my own decks challenged me to get creative when it comes to production. Before all this started, I had no idea what it would take to make my own tarot deck and put it out there, you know? But thanks to the support of friends and family, I went out of my comfort zone to study up, research, risk, learn and relearn, in order to get things done. You’ve got to have a lot of creative inspiration to see a project through, no matter the scale.
Unlocking creativity as a tarot reader
Another way I find myself becoming more creative through tarot and oracle cards is through the readings I do.If you’ve been following PM long enough, you’ll know I’ve tried different formats—from one on one readings (oh, the before times…) to events to audio readings (hint hint, this is an exclusive to newsletter subscribers). I have found so much joy in coming up with different themes, messing around with prompts, and figuring out how your own individual issues can be translated into reading structures and formats that can benefit the collective.
Whenever I do readings, I find myself doing creative work, coming up with different interpretations to the cards. I think a lot of people can get stuck on “set” meanings, forgetting that what the cards mean can also evolve, shift, and change depending on your own experiences, as well as the emotions, moods, thoughts, and issues of whoever you’re reading for. Tarot reading has taught me to be flexible with my creativity—it’s allowed me to stretch it far beyond what I ever would have expected.
unlocking creativity as a collaborator
To a certain extent, reading cards for people puts me in collaboration with them. I always tell people that readings are collaborative processes. I shuffle and interpret and put my take on the cards on the table, and the querent picks up on what I deliver and does the rest of the work by figuring out what parts resonate with their own lives, what they agree and disagree with, and what they eventually want to take action on.
Creating decks through PM has also allowed me to collaborate creatively with some of my favorite artists and friends. I’ve learned so much from these artists’ individual methods and processes! From Wiji Lacsamana’s calm yet fiery energy in the Quiet Mystic, to the palpable bursts of creative fire I experience whenever Wiji, Mansy Abesamis, and I come together as Mystic Matter (shh, we’re currently brewing something new for everyone!). I witness how fast and easy creative processes can be when you’re truly aligned with the people you work with—this I experienced with Cynthia Arre on our Tanim botanical deck, and with Mikko Sumulong on our fun #NoFilter collabs. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m able to tap into a more disciplined, observant type of creative energy when I collaborate with reiki healer Mimi Tiu for our Harmonize & Heal energy check readings + reiki healing sessions.
Unlocking creativity through the creative oracle journey deck with abbey sy
My latest foray into doing some deeply creative work with oracle cards is a collab between myself and my good friend Abbey. We move in similar circles and started to bond over coffee and cards at Toby’s Estate and Toast Box (I MISS THESE PLACES SO MUCH). Abbey’s made a name for herself with her lettering work, the books she’s authored and published, her journaling workshops and YouTube videos, and by creating a community centered around creativity.
Early on in the pandemic, we even worked on an ebook along with Mimi called “Modern Musings on the Tarot.“
I’m older than Abbey (by a lot of years, lol) but I relate to her a lot because we both share a hunger for creative expression. When we’re not working on our small biz stuff, we like to trade music, podcast, stationery and pop culture recommendations!
I thought I’d interview Abbey ahead of the launch of the Creative Journey oracle deck, about her process, her take on our collaboration, and how her card practice has influenced her creative life.
Enjoy!
A snippet of how we built on each other’s collages in the Creative Journey Oracle Deck.
PRACTICAL MAGIC: I still remember brainstorming with you about this deck in late 2020. We knew we wanted to work with collage because it was something you and I both did individually—and it was so much fun to figure out how we could work “together” on our collages while technically being apart because of lockdown restrictions. What excited you about collaborating on this oracle deck?
ABBEY: Getting to do collage and collaborating with you was such a fun experience in itself! I wanted to get into something that meant a lot to me as an artist—especially as someone who's had her fair share of experiences in her own creative journey. Our idea behind the deck resonated so much with me and it was definitely a sign that I needed to work on this.
PM: You’ve been pulling cards on your own for a while now too. How have they benefitted you?
A: As someone who's guilty of working too much—Capricorn probs obvs—getting into tarot and oracle cards have helped me hold space for myself. They allowed me to get in touch with myself more. My draws help me understand things from different perspectives—ones that I wouldn’t have otherwise considered were it not for my card pulls. My practice is also grounding, almost like they remind me of exactly what I'm doing (whether it's good or bad, at least I know and I’m made aware of myself!). They’ve also been reminders to trust myself even more in my creative journey.
PM: Why do you think a card practice can help creative people, regardless of their medium?
A: It's a very introspective activity and there's definitely no harm in learning more about yourself!
For creative people, specifically, It feels artists tend to feel lost… or they might not know exactly where they're headed when it comes to what they’re making. having a card practice (while not providing exact answers) may help them gain a deeper understanding of where they are in their own journey.
PM: And knowing is half the battle! With PM readings, I always like to reinforce that we’re reading to figure out where you’re at now so that you can have a better sense of where you want to head next. You’re right—it’s not about providing exact answers or predictions, but understanding your present, since that’s ultimately the key to your future.
So, what’s your card practice like?
A: I can't say I'm consistent but I do try to read during full moons and new moons (mostly when I remember). I usually do two to three card spreads in my journal. These days, I tend not to have set questions—I like letting the cards surprise me. Every now and then I'll message a few of my friends and ask if they want a random card draw from me, or a set of cards especially during the full / new moon seasons.
I also try to do a full moon yoga practice to set the mood. It really helps!
Photo courtesy of Abbey Sy.
PM: Moment of truth! Have you tried pulling cards from the Creative Journey oracle deck for friends yet? How has it been? (PM’s note: people who’ve been getting readings from me since March have had sneak previews of the deck, which I’ve been using pretty regularly for others).
A: Yes! I started pulling for my patrons during one of our Zoom hangouts, as well as for my creative content team. Everyone's loved it so far, and the mantras helped them acknowledge more of what they need to focus on creatively in their lives. It's also amazing how each person's interpretation is different.
PM: I have to ask this because I think I’ve gotten super used to using my own decks when I do readings. What’s it like using your own deck (as someone who has used decks by other people)?
A: I don't know… I don't feel anything? I've always felt detached with the things I make so I try to look at it objectively, still.
I think I've gotten past the "it's so cool my work is on a deck of cards" mood way too fast, but when I see other people use the card it makes me realize "oh wow they have my art in a deck and that's so cool" lol—self deprecation???
PM: LOL I thought I was the only one! This is something I experience a lot, especially as a writer. I’ve written entire books and they seem to take on a separate energy from me—when I read my own books it’s almost like I don’t recognize who wrote it. Same with the cards, I feel a little desensitized and then suddenly, I feel a jolt when I see other people using the cards and am kind of in shock that something that came out of my own head is in someone else’s hands.
Back to the deck… What are your favorite cards in the Creative Journey deck?
A: I have a soft spot for designing The Scholar and The Artist suits because the colors are my favorites (rust orange and pine green).
The Always Be Creating card was most challenging to make, but it's one of my personal collages (like, literally, the photo in the collage is my hand). I had that photo taken while I was drawing on a train to Barcelona, and it speaks a lot about why I create and how travel intersect with my process. AS CHEESY AND CRINGEY AS THIS SOUNDS, I SEE life As an ongoing journey.
PM: These are cliches because they’re true though! I think I’ve also become desensitized to my own cringe tendencies since I spout so many cliches when I do readings for people, haha. After having gone through this whole deck creation process and getting to know the cards yourself, what tips do you have for first time readers with no experience of either oracle or tarot?
A: Ease into it! I mean, my first time getting into tarot (like, really researching) was out of curiosity and lots of free time (March 2020, the pandemic had just started). Over time, I started to become more and more interested with the practice, and since I'm a huge fan of astrology as well, it just made sense.
A lot of people are slowly getting into card reading and it's so amazing how the community is getting bigger!
if anything, I highly encourage first time readers to really come into it with an open mind and to not take things too literally with every card. At the end of the day, we're in charge of how our life unfolds and the cards are simply guides to help us get to where we want to go.
Follow Abbey’s creative journey across her different social media channels:
IG & TikTok: @abbeysy
Shop @shopabbeysy
Creative community @alwaysbecreating.art
Website abbey-sy.com
Patreon patreon.com/abbeysy
YouTube youtube.com/abbeysy
We can’t wait to share this deck with you! <3