The Making and Symbolism of Avian Oracle
Art, magic, and nature have always been irrevocably intertwined in my mind, and never more so than in tarot and oracle cards. In the thirteen years or so that I’ve been studying tarot, the cards seemed to present themselves as a connection between the deeper human consciousness, the environments we live in, and the spirits and entities that flit here and there. It had been my hope as a long-time witch and artist that I would one day illustrate and create a deck of my own. So, when I was connected to Sandra Kynes about the possibility of collaborating with her on The Avian Oracle, it was a dream come true—an exhilarating, slightly terrifying dream—to be able to truly combine art, magic, and nature; the symbolic, the spiritual, and the physical.
Sandra Kynes always seemed to me like one of those people who knew everything about everything. I have used her Complete Book of Correspondences in my spellwork for years, so it was a little like working with a celebrity in my eyes. Upon discussing the vision of the deck with her and reading the guidebook she had written, it was clear that this was a very important project near and dear to her heart. The guidebook already had so much rich symbolism, her love for each of the birds and their quirks shining through her words. The pressure was on to do her work justice!
My goal with the illustrations was to home in on the spirit and essence of each bird, translating them faithfully and fully to visual art. I know from the beginning that I wanted the reader and querent to connect with the cards on similar levels to how I connect with tarot: an instinctive, intuitive level with a sense of the card at the very first glance; a deeper level with exploration into the symbolism and history of each element and bird; and a personal level, driven by our own experiences and perceptions of our feathered friends.
And so the research began!
If I were forced to estimate, I’d say I spent around ten hours on research alone for each card (ADHD rabbit holes included, of course). I began with reading each guidebook entry and making notes in a spreadsheet that would become monstrously large, my dear companion throughout the year-long process. I marked each correspondence for each bird that I could find, starting with the intentions, messages, and connections they had and branching into the colors, plants, elements, and astrological correspondences for each of those in turn. Then came research on the more mundane side of things: environments, foods, and histories. Patterns began to emerge the deeper I delved, almost like a tapestry was being woven for each bird that allowed me to glimpse its essence.
One of the things I love about tarot is when every element is purposeful and rife with meaning. I knew from the get-go that I wanted Avian to be like that. Each color, pattern, background, plant, and detail of the cards is specifically chosen from my research. Each element chosen for its meaning to the birds, to us, to the magical world we live in:
The spiral behind the penguins represents how they move in a spiral formation to keep each other warm, shifting who’s in the middle and who is on the perimeter to ensure that all in the community are taken care of.
The key on a cord that one of the crows carries is not only symbolic of the way they beckon us to unlock the magical and spiritual sides of ourselves, unlocking new pathways and mysteries, but are also similar to the keys I wear around my own neck every day for that same purpose.
The papyrus plants on the Ibis card represent its association with Thoth and the communication of ideas, wisdom, and creative thought through written word, inscribed on the paper made from papyrus stalks.
On a more personal level, a broader pattern emerged. The year that I worked on the illustrations for Avian was one of the most difficult in my life: a never-ending litany of deaths, illnesses, injuries, grief, fear, and anxiety. It was a challenge sometimes to keep my chin up and push through. The interesting thing was, though, that no matter what was going on in my life, no matter what obstacle, what challenge, or what hardship, it seemed that each card I worked on happened to have the perfect message for the moment. Each bird’s lesson brought me comfort or guidance, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. After working on a card, I would begin to
notice the bird more in the wild, or it would appear on the television or be brought up randomly in some conversation. I’d remember its lesson and take heart.
This sense of companionship is the other thing I want to come out of the deck. My wish is that others are able to find that same comfort or guidance not only from the cards themselves and working with the deck and Sandra Kynes’s insightful words, but also from how present these birds are in our daily lives, even if we may not realize it at first. My journey with this deck was, I hope, only the beginning. As practitioners—hell, as humans—we are irrevocably connected to the world around us: the plants, the animals, the earth, the sea, the sky, the stars. Birds connect us to each of these aspects of ourselves and our environments, the true messengers of this world. I hope you’ll let them guide you, speak to you, and inspire you as they have me through The Avian Oracle and that more people will find a deeper connection and appreciation for our feathered companions.
(Or forgiveness...geese are surprisingly fast when they want to be.)
