I have been desiring to communicate about this deck for a while now, and I'm excited to finally be able to do that with those who have expressed an interest in it. =)
For those of you who have not heard of this deck, please go here to learn more about it. For a timeline of the deck's creation process, please go here.
The deck is still in the concept phase, meaning I've been adding, subtracting, and redesigning these cards. I haven't been able to work on it much in the last few weeks due to job search and other priorities taking up most of my time.
I took the liberty of testing it some with my own personal journals and in readings at the reader's forums. So far, I think it's done it's job and now it's up to me to improvise and start making the most of its features.
As for the testing phase, I will be doing some more practice readings, mainly testing predictive qualities with weekly readings at the reader's forums. I am also revising the manual and cleaning up the artwork a bit more. They won't be major changes. I feel this deck still has room for improvement and changes can't really be meaningful without first using it. ;-)
I thought of adding more indicators to cards that don't have them. (For those of you who don't know what indicators are, they are small symbols in the corners of a card that can help clarify a reading). I think, however, this deck has more than what readers will know what to do with.
I will end my entry here and hopefully make an update soon. Bye, and thank you for reading!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
The Plutonian Oracle Timeline
Here you can find a quick reference timeline of The Plutonian Oracle.
April 2023 - Deck available in printed form? Hmm... ;)
December 2022/January 2023 - Deck available in printable format.
August 2022 - Deck redesign completed.
November 2021 - Deck salvage and redesign.
January 2017 - July 2019 - Updates and revisions to the deck, as well as new home mini deck created for demo use.
December 2016 - Minor improvements to deck (upcoming) + updating and revision of oracle manual.
December 1, 2016 - All cards digitized. Second edit phase in progress.
November 2016 - Main cards revision completed. Last suit revision in progress.
August 26, 2016 - Several cards revised.
August 2016 - One new card added.
May 5, 2016 - Five new cards added (Locked, Gathering, News, & Person of Interest cards).
April 27, 2016 - Blog "The Plutonian Diaries" launched
April 12, 2016 - second revised edition with picture readings at AT
April 5, 2016 - first revised edition with picture readings at AT
March 19, 2016 - first revised edition readings at AT (no
pictures)
March 2, 2016 - first picture readings at AT
March 2016 - first revision started and completed
February 27, 2016 - first readings at AT reading forums without pictures
February 2016 - original mini deck created
February 2016 - original mini deck created
The Plutonian Oracle
Curious about The Plutonian Oracle? Here, you'll find an introduction to the cards. If you have any questions I haven't addressed in this section, please send me an email at theplutoniandiaries@gmail.com (the plutonian diaries at g mail dot com).
THE INTRO...
The Plutonian Oracle is a concept oracle currently containing 50+ cards.. (bigger than Lenormand, smaller than tarot!). Simple in its artistic design, each concept is represented by a symbol rather than a picture or central figure. I've put my own spin on most representations, and others have not been altered, such as the traditional retrograde symbol. Some representations in this deck include the sun, the moon; astrological glyphs, hearts, circles, crosses, and arrows (arrows are a big deal in this deck).
The deck was originally designed to answer love questions, however, is currently being revised to effectively address other life areas.
The cards are about half the size of an index card. The card stock, to most readers, sucks at this point. The deck I use is printed on card stock from an ink jet printer, then cut and rounded after lamination. I know, lamination is not pretty, but I'm a long way off from publication.
THE BACKSTORY....
I came across the concept one day shortly after returning to read with runes (it's been over 10+ years!), I had never really connected with the runes when I was young and new to them, but now that had all changed. I created a mini rune deck out of a few index cards in no time. The connection I had with this self-made deck went beyond my expectations. During one of these days reading with the runes, something occurred to me. If I could connect with something simple such as the symbols in the runes, why not make something more specific and "up to date"? It would be a deck that would fill in "the blanks" of a reading. Some querents I'd read for were asking more questions than I could answer, and I just didn't know how to solve this problem. I'd never given it much thought or practice. I was more used to saying something like: "I'm not sure if it's you or X that has the problem..." or "It may be career-related..." The readings ended up having two or three different interpretations.
This deck would be able to eliminate this problem in a more straightforward way.
I broke from the traditional viking art, seeing arrows, triangles, hearts, loops, and semi circles. I grabbed my notebook and started making a list of what people wanted to know and created a symbol for each concept. Some of these concepts weren't new, others I revised. Before I knew it, I was on the internet researching symbols, ranging from alchemical, wiccan, astrological, and even tattoos I'd never seen before.
I created the original deck the same way I'd created the rune one, with index cards and a fine ink marker. I started using the deck, which was the same size as my mini rune one, on myself first. I then read for others with it. After some initially good results on both sides, I refined the deck. I resized it and added more features: There were more indicators, some cards became one, such as the attraction and one-sided attraction cards. Other cards were completely eliminated (the psychic reader card). I took a lot of the eyes out because they frightened me. Fear was not what this deck was about, I told myself. It was a tool that allowed one to re-connect with their highest self (as is the purpose of all divinatory systems).
A WAY OF READING...
This deck has lots of arrows. And the reason for this is simple. Once I'd gotten back into tarot, my focus started to shift from its abstract (traditional meanings) to pictorial arrangement. I understood that accuracy also depended on the way the card's central figure was facing rather than on it's traditional or reversed meanings! Most of the time, the pictorial meaning was correct. So I started listening to this side of the reading.
The Lenormand concept of reading was also influential in this deck's design because it makes use of space and its information depends on where cards fall in proximity to one another. I discovered this was a very effective approach to reading, and I incorporated it into my oracle. Instead of having a figure facing a certain way, I drew arrows at the ends of most symbols to help "connect the dots" and transform the reading into a complete picture.
Shortly after I'd started using the new deck, I started to use a syntax to describe the reading, (also making use of arrows). This approach made a difference in "connecting the dots" in written form.
The same concepts used to read with this deck can be used with any tarot deck. The creation of the deck and its use has taught me that readers need a more comprehensive and effective system when reading and, in particular, specifying information. I realize that specificity can be a tricky, elusive business, but not impossible.
So why did I name it The Plutonian Oracle? When I first read with it, the experience was not like anything I'd felt before with other decks. It was eye opening, transformational on a significant level. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the deck being something personally connected to me. However, I've understood that in in the creative world, we have a much stronger connection to things we create. It goes back to our tribal ancestry. For readers, this can make a significant impact on their readings. I think that is what this deck is about in its makeup and backstory.
I hope that you will stay updated on my journey with these cards. It's been both a frightening and wonderful experience to say the least... it is when you're playing with specificity.
Eva4
April 2016
THE INTRO...
The Plutonian Oracle is a concept oracle currently containing 50+ cards.. (bigger than Lenormand, smaller than tarot!). Simple in its artistic design, each concept is represented by a symbol rather than a picture or central figure. I've put my own spin on most representations, and others have not been altered, such as the traditional retrograde symbol. Some representations in this deck include the sun, the moon; astrological glyphs, hearts, circles, crosses, and arrows (arrows are a big deal in this deck).
The deck was originally designed to answer love questions, however, is currently being revised to effectively address other life areas.
The cards are about half the size of an index card. The card stock, to most readers, sucks at this point. The deck I use is printed on card stock from an ink jet printer, then cut and rounded after lamination. I know, lamination is not pretty, but I'm a long way off from publication.
THE BACKSTORY....
I came across the concept one day shortly after returning to read with runes (it's been over 10+ years!), I had never really connected with the runes when I was young and new to them, but now that had all changed. I created a mini rune deck out of a few index cards in no time. The connection I had with this self-made deck went beyond my expectations. During one of these days reading with the runes, something occurred to me. If I could connect with something simple such as the symbols in the runes, why not make something more specific and "up to date"? It would be a deck that would fill in "the blanks" of a reading. Some querents I'd read for were asking more questions than I could answer, and I just didn't know how to solve this problem. I'd never given it much thought or practice. I was more used to saying something like: "I'm not sure if it's you or X that has the problem..." or "It may be career-related..." The readings ended up having two or three different interpretations.
 |
| Original c. Feb 2016 |
I broke from the traditional viking art, seeing arrows, triangles, hearts, loops, and semi circles. I grabbed my notebook and started making a list of what people wanted to know and created a symbol for each concept. Some of these concepts weren't new, others I revised. Before I knew it, I was on the internet researching symbols, ranging from alchemical, wiccan, astrological, and even tattoos I'd never seen before.
I created the original deck the same way I'd created the rune one, with index cards and a fine ink marker. I started using the deck, which was the same size as my mini rune one, on myself first. I then read for others with it. After some initially good results on both sides, I refined the deck. I resized it and added more features: There were more indicators, some cards became one, such as the attraction and one-sided attraction cards. Other cards were completely eliminated (the psychic reader card). I took a lot of the eyes out because they frightened me. Fear was not what this deck was about, I told myself. It was a tool that allowed one to re-connect with their highest self (as is the purpose of all divinatory systems).
 |
| Original c. February 2016 |
A WAY OF READING...
This deck has lots of arrows. And the reason for this is simple. Once I'd gotten back into tarot, my focus started to shift from its abstract (traditional meanings) to pictorial arrangement. I understood that accuracy also depended on the way the card's central figure was facing rather than on it's traditional or reversed meanings! Most of the time, the pictorial meaning was correct. So I started listening to this side of the reading.
The Lenormand concept of reading was also influential in this deck's design because it makes use of space and its information depends on where cards fall in proximity to one another. I discovered this was a very effective approach to reading, and I incorporated it into my oracle. Instead of having a figure facing a certain way, I drew arrows at the ends of most symbols to help "connect the dots" and transform the reading into a complete picture.
Shortly after I'd started using the new deck, I started to use a syntax to describe the reading, (also making use of arrows). This approach made a difference in "connecting the dots" in written form.
The same concepts used to read with this deck can be used with any tarot deck. The creation of the deck and its use has taught me that readers need a more comprehensive and effective system when reading and, in particular, specifying information. I realize that specificity can be a tricky, elusive business, but not impossible.
So why did I name it The Plutonian Oracle? When I first read with it, the experience was not like anything I'd felt before with other decks. It was eye opening, transformational on a significant level. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the deck being something personally connected to me. However, I've understood that in in the creative world, we have a much stronger connection to things we create. It goes back to our tribal ancestry. For readers, this can make a significant impact on their readings. I think that is what this deck is about in its makeup and backstory.
I hope that you will stay updated on my journey with these cards. It's been both a frightening and wonderful experience to say the least... it is when you're playing with specificity.
Eva4
April 2016
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