Melissa Weiss Steele's Blog

February 21, 2010

Duality Doll and The Incredible Hulk-A Modern Day Myth of Love

Filed under: Earth Art, Melissa Weiss Steele, New Mexico, Photography, Women Photographers — Mellissae Lucia @ 7:18 pm

Today we shall share a modern-day fairytale though the love story of Duality Doll and The Incredible Hulk. As with most great myths, this lies somewhere between fact and fiction.

Duality Doll and The Incredible Hulk make their home in a lovely valley in New Mexico. Their intimate bond was first observed by a plucky and adventuresome photographer as she was being initiated by the Earth Spirits of these enchanted lands. During this enlightening process the photographer wrestled with her own issues of judgment and dissociating from the earth through witnessing the discarded debris on the land. This daring artistic messenger was called to see the beauty and tragedy of our shared isolation from ourselves, and the earth; recognizing our responsibility in the unconscious use of natural resources. Throughout the process she was able to find resonance and holiness within the relationships and juxtapositions, patinas and patterns in these sand covered vignettes. The one thing that stood out strongest to the photographer was the children’s toys.  She took many images of these once cherished playmates, now abandoned and neglected. During these initiations was when the photographer was introduced to the potent bond of Duality Doll and The Incredible Hulk.

Duality Doll and her beloved, The Incredible Hulk, have endured a long and complex romantic tale. They are the legacy of a culture that turned away from their sustaining relationships to the sacredness of the earth, becoming a haunted and lost civilization.

To understand where they are now, we must go back to one of the pivotal moments when humanity lost its way. During the Medieval era, when the ruling elite established the feudal system, people became property. This inhumane practice caused a deep splintering within the sacred bonds of humans and their earth-centered relationships.

The men were torn from their sustaining connection to working the land. They were required to go to war, breaking their innate connection to the tending {tenderness} within their lives. The women were left to carry the entire weight of the homestead, no longer part of a supportive web of seasons and cycles within a vital community. The women also began to pursue the soulful partners they had lost. Instead of being the receiving shrines they were naturally created to be, the women began clutching and yearning for their men who were no longer available in the gentle protective ways they had once been. Both the men and the women lost the natural balance of giving and receiving, containing and expanding that was a nourishing balance for both.

Fast forward to our courageous characters today, and their contemporary predicament. Duality Doll learned she was not naturally valuable when she became a commodity, expected to be an over-accommodating pleaser. The Hulk lost his innate sense of duty and dignity when it was taken from him through oppression and force. They both lost their natural rhythms to each other when they no longer navigated from their intuitive internal compasses. They had lost their sense of grounded power and integration through the cultural structures of injustice, inequality and greed.

They lay together, eyes searching for the vision of the Beloved. His sacred amber chamber was shattered; he became the exaggeration of the once sacred warrior. Either aggressive or distant when faced with the heartbreak of the lost intimacy to himself and others. He is the green man on steroids, the awesome destructive force of nature, either out-of-control or vacant.

Duality Doll is living between her shadow and light. Half of her face is her deep feminine wisdom, and the other half is her expectation that she must please all others before herself. That she must deny her wholeness to soothe and satisfy everyone else’s needs. She does not know her true direction; her legs are splayed as she tries to live the life everyone else wants of her. She is the handless maiden, her tools of giving and receiving severed at the wrists. She can no longer authentically tend to herself or others, she is weak, defenseless and fragile.

And, even within this state, they are both true, and strong, and innocent, and real.  And they are there for each other. They spend their days in the snow and sun, washed over by the rains and sands, committed to being connected and learning to meet one another, again. They have all the tools they need surrounding them: her rusty sacred cauldron; a nourishing baby bottle; white paint to cleanse; the sacred plants and elements; and each other. Their eyes are open, and their body language says, “we are here for each other, lets figure this out together.”

Her arm socket is awaiting the flame to arise from the re-illumination of her Sacred Inner Temple. His darkening is the return to the fecundity of the earthy loving green man. Her torn holy robes, connecting them as a sign of their true divinity.  Their community of fellow rubble is reclaiming the temple of their civilization after the apocalypse. They are taking the abandonment and wreckage and reconstructing it into a unified and sustainable vision of utopia. And it all starts with this devotion and commitment to holding each other’s wholeness, beauty and shadow. Let us all emerge into a renewed world of sacred illumination through our beloved Earth Mother, our original container.

February 18, 2010

No Longer Solo-Offering the Painted Body Ritualistic Photography work to YOU

Until last June, I had done all of my Painted Body ritualistic photography alone, well alone as earth-plane humans are concerned. I had been in the cave for seven years after my husband’s death, and a massive alchemical process had occurred.  The Painted Body work was a central part of this journey that brought me to myself. It was always done alone because I was able to  open so much easier solo; it is such an intensive process that managing my own energy is enough. I had to deeply apprentice to the process myself before I could hold the container for others.

March 2009, I was called out of the cave. I had experienced the entire range of death and rebirth, over and over again, and it was time to return from my 40 days in the wilderness. Experiences and entities will emerge to meet your new levels of development, and a beautiful exchange presented itself when I received an e-mail from Trevahr Ryann Hughes in San Diego. Trevahr is a mutual friend of sacred drum maker Lisa Starr, and she had shown him some of my Painted Body Oracle of Initiation images . Lisa’s site:  http://www.drummakingjourneys.com/

Trevahr is a sparkly and connected person, organizing a variety of Shamanic, Yogic & Alchemical gatherings and events in the larger San Diego area. He has established the group Waking Within, and the Meet-Up “Center for Divination, Alchemy, Tarot & Futuresight.”

He wrote wanting to learn more about my work and introduce me to his community. I looked him up on facebook and saw the magic in his eyes. We made plans to attend the Rainbow Gathering here in New Mexico together, and collaborate around creativity, ritual and divination. Our time together was enchanting. He is the first person I have chosen to share my previously private Painted Body process with.

Trevahr was a truly divine co-creator, meeting the process with the zeal and reverence of a fellow mystic. We danced and frolicked on the land, making sacred play. As you can see on our faces, the process was pure joy. A channel of delight and intimacy was opened as we both stepped deeply into that space between the worlds. He had never done anything like this, meeting his own resistance to truly embrace the awakening that was calling him.

It was also very intense. I have been told in readings that I do not truly, “get” how intense my work is. This is true. I did it. I am the one who is able to show up, having the courage and abilities to create from such a primal place. It is not for everyone, but for the people who are hungry for it, who’s souls are calling to this level of engagement, we are a match. It takes guts to open yourself to such an elemental, tribal, and exposed process. And sometimes this is exactly what is needed to shift you to the next level. Initiation does not have to be intense, and some of it is. I have great reverence for people willing to meet their depth, power and complexity. Getting naked and ritually photographing yourself on the land is not for everyone. But for those who can go there, they will never be the same.

Trevahr and I had an absolute BLAST, and as he says, “I initiated him.” I am an initiator. That is the role I have been groomed for. I carry this in this lifetime. It is intense, intimate, transformative work that reaches a core place.

I am sharing these photos 9 months later  because I am steeping into offering this powerful work to others. There are times to gather and hone your skills, and then one is asked to return to the community, offering your sacred gifts. The Painted Body ritualistic photography process is grounded within me, and it is time to offer this elemental and fiercely joyful process to others. On my trip west this March,  I will be exploring this work more in depth with others. I will keep you posted on how these offerings will emerge.

Early March I am off to the West Coast to lecture and teach with the Limited Edition Oracle of Initiation deck. I will be in Big Sur, and then in San Diego for three weeks.  The schedule so far is two events with Trevahr’s divination community on the evenings of March 22nd and 24th. Private divination readings with the Oracle deck offered at Controversial Bookstore 11-6 Tuesday March 23rd and by appointment at other times, and a workshop/lecture at Controversial bookstore Friday April 2nd, 7-9pm.

http://controversialbookstore.com/

www.MelissaWeissSteele.Wordpress.com

www.OracleofInitiation.com

February 13, 2010

Trespassing, Holy Dirt and Baby Jesus’ Shoes

I love to trespass. I have so few vices left that my punk rock soul needs something disobedient.  “You don’t drink, don’t smoke…what do you do?” {Had to get a little Adam Ant up in here}. I am actually a fairly modest person in everyday life, despite the wild and intense work I create. I need outlets for pushing the boundaries of my courage and fierceness. There is something about a forbidden place, a place that is imposing, boarded up, abandoned that peaks my interest. What will be in there, who might have passed that way, and what did they leave behind.

I have been exploring deserted places since I was a child. I grew up in a family of artist, adventurers, scavengers; young parents who brought their curious child along on their borderland journeys.  We would scale down beached barges, take photographs with graffiti strewn barns, crawl in the windows of decommissioned army housing to see what we might find. My father particularly loves to collect funky-old-cool things with character and personality. The addition he built onto his 30-year-old artists studio in Fremont used doors and windows salvaged from 40 years before.

Yesterday I drove to my beloved Chimayo, The Lourdes on North America. A cherished pilgrimage site and sanctuary to the Tierra Bendita, Sacred Soil, that is said to bring miraculous healing. This land is also sacred to the Tewa Indians.

I came to offer the first printing of my Oracle of Initiation deck, the divine work that has emerged on this New Mexico land, of this land, through dancing with the Holy Dirt. The Oracle deck really is devotional cards, born out of great reverence for the Earth, Ancestors, and the power of the unseen Guides and Guardians. They are dedicated to the mystery of our emerging expansion, the dream-time, the power of stepping between the veils to claim your true essence.

They are also an acknowledgment of the power of faith; of viewing your challenges and trials from a spiritual perspective. The belief that our struggles and complexities are actually the tempering process forming us into sacred vessels capable of carrying our true gifts. One of the core inspirations for the deck is the old religious cards of Mary, Jesus and the Saints. I did not grow up Catholic, but I have always been deeply drawn to the symbolism and iconography of that faith. I have died and gone to heaven living in a place where you constantly see the  homemade imagery and crafts of a very earthy and sincere love for the divine.

My wish was to offer some of the images from the deck in a holy and sacrificial way to this sacred site. I was on pilgrimage to honor the incredible work that had channeled through me. As I entered the grounds from the lower parking lot, I placed 4 of the cards onto the chain-link fence adorned with rustic little twig and rope crosses.  The most Mother Mary-like images chose to be represented:  36. Trust; 46. Reliance; 56. Dedication; and 64. Sanctified. I was so focused on placing the cards firmly on the fence that I had not noticed a companion nearby. The horse spirits brought me back to the land in a powerful and potent way. They are one of the main guardians of the Oracle deck, and honored guides on my earthwalk. As I was fussing with the cards I heard out of the corner of my consciousness a subtle, yet familiar whinny.  I looked up to see a large, furry, four-legged equine friend. I had never seen it there before, so I brought the cards over for an inspection. They obviously needed some sacred horse markings, because the animal grabbed them in its mouth and drug two of them over the fence. I was both surprised and thrilled. I felt the offering had been accepted; slimy grass-flecked horse saliva is a great honor. I retrieved them from under the fence and continued on. Quite an auspicious beginning; thank you beloved horse being for consecrating the Oracle.

As I placed the cards on different altars throughout the property, I was amazed at how naturally they blended in with all of the rosaries, crosses and devotional candles. I had accomplished my goal of making a deck that referenced the dedication and commitment of those traditions without being tied to the dogma of those beliefs.

I carried the cards around this beautiful old church and eventually brought them into El Pocito, The Well. The Myth is that around 1810 a devout Spanish Friar saw a light emerging from one of the surrounding hillsides by the Santa Cruz River. With his bare hands he dug down into the earth and found the crucifix that graces the main altar of the church now. The local parish in Santa Cruz tried 3 times to take the cross away from its original location to their church, and three times the cross disappeared and returned to the initial hole. So they left the cross in Chimayo, building a church around this crucifix and the well of sacred soil that is said to have miraculous healing properties.

In the room adjoining El Pocito, there are crutches left as signs of the sanctified soil’s power to transform infirmities. I had always noticed the lines of baby shoes, but had never read the story of Santo Nino de Atocha. Santo Nino represents Baby Jesus as he cared for persecuted Christians in Spain. He is said to watch over prisoners, bringing them bread and water to survive. He carries a basket filled with flowers and food, and a walking stick with a water gourd attached. The baby shoes are to replace the ones he wears out during his travels supporting those in need. I was really taken with this humble notion of the servant being so active that he needs a constant supply of new footwear. Santo Nino is also one of the Catholicized version of the African deity Eshu, guardian of the crossroads.

So, back to trespassing. There was an abandoned house I had always wanted to photograph and explore, and today was the day. I decided to circumnavigate the property, seeing if there were any interesting things in the back. Bingo-the side door was open. I always ask permission before entering vacant dwellings. They are so filled with disembodied Spirits that you must be sure you will be energetically safe.

When I was traveling around the American West visiting horse people, I had an amazing trespassing experience in the old mining town of Wallace, ID. I found an old Victorian home that looked as if it had not been occupied since the 1940’s or 50’s. The peeling wallpapers and layers of paint patinas were glorious. When I went upstairs, the back bedroom was completely intact. It was so eerie, I could feel the old woman who lived there. You have to be careful about what has taken up residence in these deserted places. You are entering a sacred temple, and the lives of the past occupants are still present. It serves you to be quiet, respectful and alert.

So I asked if I was safe, and got the go-ahead. The rooms were strewn with piles of little faded boxes and cartons from the1950’s. There were also cases of the left over religious candles from the altars in the church. The boxes were all from baby shoes. Hmmmm. I continued around the back and found a really interested tableau though an open window. I was initially not going to go in, there are houses directly behind this one and I didn’t want to be yelled at. As I walked away, I realized I needed to climb in. So off I went, and my curiosity was richly rewarded. Those gentle little intuitive voices will bring you some very interesting adventures.

Part of the reason I go into these deserted places is because they are portals. They are crossroads; liminal spaces where the divine and the mundane meet; truly alternate realities. There are potent forces that gather where the heavens and earth merge, and what might you create there? New Mexico itself is one big magical multi-cultural land of enchantment and mystery.  It has revealed itself to me on occasion.

As I clamored in, more graffiti, abandoned chairs, and the torn white sailcloth ceiling cover dangling from the rafters. The torn white fabric revealed a pristine wooden viga ceiling. The ceiling looked brand new. I found this juxtaposition interesting. The seafoam green adobe structure was disintegrating, graffiti tags and lewd saying were everywhere, and here was this perfectly preserved ceiling. Might the illusion of this decaying edifice be shrouding a holy shrine?

I rounded the corner into another room, and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.

The entire room was completely covered in hundreds of pairs of baby shoes, infants clothing and faded statues of saints.   This is one of those acid-trip moments; Am I really here, did I dream this, is it real? Am I real? How in the world did these little offerings get into this abandoned building? The divine can be hidden in the most interesting places, reveling itself on its own terms.

As I surveyed the room I could not believe what I was seeing. There were boxes and baskets filled with hundreds of little time-warped children’s shoe packaging.  To the left was a built-in wooden cabinet styled as if it was the most precious layette awaiting the newborn’s arrival.

A beckoning stairwell dominated the room, light streaming down from the broken out windows. I was literally astonished by this secret shrine. At the top of the stairs was a glorious statue of the grace-filled servant Santo Nino joyfully watching over this sacred space. Santo Nino, Eshu, guardians of travelers, the crossroads, they were holding court over this hallowed ground.

These are the same mysteries and devotions I am searching for by creating The Oracle of Initiation deck; myth, magical & allegory; the hidden treasures of the unknown; entering the temple of your fears and finding glowing Saints and Guardians; exploring new vistas and navigating unrecognized worlds. You will need dedication and courage to investigate your own neglected places, to open those locked doors, to decipher the unconscious graffiti of your psyche.  What great beauty, joy and magic awaits if you step through the threshold into the unknown? And how will you trust that your worn out shoes will be always be reverently replaced?

And remember…only 3 more days of the amazing pricing on the 88 limited Edition Oracle of Initiation decks…only $88 bucks-wow….

https://melissaweisssteele.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/88-decks-8-days-88-bucks-order-the-limited-edition-oracle-of-initiation-deck-now/

February 9, 2010

88 Decks-8 Days-88 Bucks-Order The Limited Edition Oracle of Initiation Deck NOW

Filed under: Melissa Weiss Steele, Oracle of Initiation, Painted Body Series — Mellissae Lucia @ 1:29 am

88 Limited Edition Oracle of Initiation decks are finally available!

Be the first to own this visionary new divination deck through ordering one of only 88 signed copies available. Now you too can access the ritualistic power and elemental wisdom available through this dynamic new divinatory tool.

I am offering 88 decks, on the 8th day of February, for 8 days at $88.00 each because the infinity sign is a central theme in the deck. The infinity sign represents reclaiming our limitless potential. Bees are also one of the main guardians of the deck, and they are master navigators, pollinators, communicators, community coordinators and carriers of the divine pollen and honey. They fly in the shape of the infinity sign, traveling between the worlds; Spirit messengers from between the veils. May your challenges be alchemically transformed into golden spiritual honey through working with this bee sanctified Oracle.

What you will receive when you order a deck

66 big, beautiful 4”x 6” heavy-weight cards, the entire sequence within the 8 stages of the deck. The Painted Body photographs within the deck look incredible in this size and format; offering a deep and rich engagement with the transformative power of the artwork.  The cards also have a glossy-finish and rounded corners to easily shuffle and lay them out in spreads. Two additional cards include a signed, numbered title card, as well as another with the outline of the deck and how you may use it. All 68 luscious cards come in a golden velvet bag.

The deck’s text is still being completed, so a PDF with a more detailed explanation of the structure, card descriptions and uses of the deck will be available online by the beginning of March. If you receive your deck before the PDF is available, let the cards intuitively teach you how to use them.

So, tell me how I can get one of these amazing decks….

I am offering the deck at an incredible introductory price of $88 per deck, shipping {in the US} and tax included!  This is up to a $31 saving off the usual price of the deck. This special offer will only last 8 days, until February 15th. After that the deck’s price will raise to $99 with shipping + New Mexico tax {if you are fortunate enough to live here in heaven with me} added on. To my lovely supporters outside of the US, a reduced shipping rate will be added to this special offer for the deck of  $30-usually $40 {fine-art archival prints an additional shipping cost outside of the US}.

But wait, there’s more…

I am also offering an incredible deal on either a 60 minute reading with the deck, or a fine-art archival pigment print of one of 8 images from the deck for just For just $148!! All shipping and taxes included within the US. This is up to a $68 savings off the usual cost of the items.

The reading is a wonderful introduction to the energies and process of the Oracle directly from the creator. Scroll below to read more about a reading with the deck…

The fine-art pigment prints are absolutely delicious. They are sumptuous with incredible color saturation, like watercolors paintings.  These prints are really glorious. The image size is 8.25”x11” open-edition. {Larger print sizes available-information upon request}

Go here to see the 8 images  available as prints: https://melissaweisssteele.wordpress.com/buy-an-oracle-deck

And if you want to be a Supa’ Star…

And for those of you who are just thrilled about experiencing all of this amazing art and divinatory play, you can get all three, a 60 minute personal reading with the deck, a fine-art pigment print and a deck for $198. That is an extraordinary $106 savings off the normal rate-OH JOY.

To order go to http://www.oracleofinitiation.com  NOW

to secure one of these extraordinary opportunities before February 15th when the Special Offer ends.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at:

Melissa@Weiss-Steele.com

Some practical information

The decks are still in production, and should ship by the end February. If you are not completely satisfied with your Oracle of Initiation deck or print, return them for a full refund.

A note about the edition number of the deck. I initially undertook this project to use the decks within my workshops. I expanded the vision to include a limited edition set. I will retain a number of decks for teaching and promotional purposes that will not be part of the signed and numbered edition.  Only 88 will be signed and numbered.

I also want to offer profound gratitude for all of the Guardians, Spirits and Ancestors who have guided and inspired this project. I want to give a special shout out to the horses, bees, ravens & eagles, and the Spirits of the land here in New Mexico who danced the wild freedom dance with me. And last, but not least Mary Beth-my lovingly patient Photoshop and design guru in Seattle {LOVE the Gateway cards sista’}& John Cavanagh here in Santa Fe for the fantastic Oracle of Initiation web site. Their support was invaluable. Love yah.

About the deck

The Oracle of Initiation by Melissa Weiss Steele offers experienced guidance through the shadowy & shape-shifting landscape of spiritual transformation. The deck is a portal; a passageway between dimensions, a visionary map through the thresholds and experiences that initiate us into embodying our divine essence. The Oracle also speaks to the paradox of brilliance within the darkness: the sacred illumination available through embracing the treasures within our challenges and complexities.

About the ritualistic Painted Body images

All of The Painted Body images within the deck were taken alone, by the artist herself, in the ancient desert landscape of arroyos, canyons, caves, and tunnels surrounding Santa Fe, New Mexico. In her work, the camera is held at arm’s length, making it a literal extension of her body. At the moment of creation it is both a part of the art and of the artist as well. None of the photographs in The Painted Body series are altered or retouched in any way.

The compelling intensity of The Oracle of Initiation’s images speak directly to the intuitive and instinctive, no longer requiring a vast understanding of a complex array of symbols and definitions. The startling intensity of the dream-like photographs questions our preconceived ideas about identity and reality; awakening a sense of each of our shape-shifting and expansive potentials. The images also reclaim access to the ancient indigenous knowing we each carry within our cellular memory of being guided by otherworldly Spirits, Ancestors, Gods and Goddesses.

About the Creator

The Oracle of Initiation deck emerged directly from artist Melissa Weiss Steele’s own resurrection after the death of her husband almost 8 years ago. The profound dissolution, despair, and renewal she experienced led her to create the ritualistic Painted Body photography series for the deck.

Melissa is an artist and adventurer; she has spent nearly two decades immersed in Norse, African & Native American sacred traditions, cross-cultural divination, indigenous dream-work, and Western and Archetypal psychology.  Her extensive background in transformational education, holistic & intuitive healing, and ritualistic creative processes has molded her into an authentic new voice leading us through our massive cultural and energetic shifts.

She leads workshops on creativity and transformation including The Chakras Through Art; Your Sacred Allies; The Art of Change: A Women’s Retreat with Horses; and Our Temples Illuminated: Women’s Journeys into their Sacred Inner Landscapes.

Melissa offers divination readings with her Oracle deck, writes about spiritual awakening and the decks creation on her Blog, facilitates ritualistic photography quests on the land & sells fine art prints of her images. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

www.OracleofInitiation.com

www.MelissaWeissSteele.Wordpress.com

Become a Fan on Facebook: “Oracle of Initiation”

Adventures, Events & Workshops

On Thursday, February 25th Melissa will be featured on The Hillary Raimo “Matters for Mind, Body & Spirit” Internet radio program discussing the emergence of the deck from 5-6pm PDT, 8-9pm EDT. http://www.achieveradio.com/hillary-raimo/index.php. You will also be able to find the show archived after the 25th.

This March she will be traveling down the West Coast teaching & lecturing, offering ritualistic Painted Body experiences and divination readings in person with the deck. In April she will undertake her maiden voyage to the Readers Studio Tarot Conference in NYC. These folks are really lovely and excited diviners-meeting more of the tribe is always a gift. Check out my Blog for a schedule of events and experiences.

Oracle of Initiation Deck Fans

“I’m very impressed by the photos of your Oracle, is the deck for sale? I also was struck by the resemblance of one or two of the backgrounds to Uluru, Ayers Rock, in Australia. Great work, Melissa. Congratulations.”

Rachel Pollack, creator of The Shining Tribe Tarot; www.RachelPollack.com

“Beautiful and provocative work”

James Wanless, creator of Voyager Tarot www.VoyagerTarot.com

“Having a dialogue with Melissa Weiss Steele’s Oracle of Initiation deck has very often felt like having a conversation with an aboriginal tribe member. Through asking some of the deepest questions from my heart, her cards have opened for me doorways of healing, discovery and celebration. The deck is inspiring, overwhelmingly beautiful and divine in more words than we have to date. It will most definitely be a very influential stepping stone in the awakening of the spirit that’s to come for all.”

Brittany Parise, Santa Fe NM

“After feeling ‘ho-hum’ about most of the decks I’ve worked with in the past; the power and illumination of the Oracle of Initiation blew me away.  My connection to the images and supporting words rang like crystal.  I knew immediately that this was the deck with which I needed to ‘work’; though the messages communicated to me are so clear and flowing that I would rather call it ‘play’.

Lyric Kali, Santa Fe NM

“Your self portraits have always been amazing, and the Oracle of Initiation portraits are astoundingly beautiful and powerful. I am AWESTRUCK by your work. When do the cards come out?  I cannot wait to get my hands on them!”

Jen Eramith, Seattle, WA www.AkashicTransformations.com

“Melissa Weiss Steele’s new deck, The Oracle of Initiation, brings powerful messages with a surprising amount of ease.  I have been a psychic reader for more than a decade and have never found a divination deck that I could use in my sessions with clients – they’ve always been a distraction more than a useful tool for me.  (I use divination decks for personal use and with friends and too often need to refer to the book to understand messages being offered.)  The Oracle of Initiation speaks directly to my own knowing and deepens my work so beautifully. It’s such a joy to use.  I also use it for guidance in my writing projects.  Thank you Melissa for such a beautiful and heartfelt deck.  I am transformed!”

Coleen Renee, Ellensburg, WA www.ColeenRenee.com

Divination Readings with The Oracle of Initiation Deck

Challenges…Unraveling…

Transformation???

  • Are you struggling to navigate the challenges & transitions in your life?
  • Do you need a visionary perspective on how to meet your life’s passions & gifts?
  • Are you concerned about sabotaging your potential with old limiting patterns?
  • Have you questioned some of the relationships you are magnetizing, wondering how you can draw towards you what you truly desire?
  • Do you sense that everything that is happening is trying to tell you something-but you aren’t able to grasp what it is?

If you answered yes to any of these questions,

you may be on the verge of something new-

needing valuable insight & direction

on how to embrace it.

My readings tend to be both practical and profound, with a playful combination of irreverence and fun mixed in. The information that comes through The Spirits and Ancestors tends to be about your soul-calling and the opportunities and potentials available at this time.  A great reading is ultimately about guidance, compassion and assurance. I believe we each actually know when we encounter the truth about what we need to shift-we just need direction and wisdom from an experience traveler.

In a divination reading we may cover:

  • Reframing the struggles you have experienced, claiming the wisdom and empowerment these sacred lessons are offering you.
  • Learning how to put into practice specific tools, strategies & rituals to deal with the pit-falls, setback, and illusions inherent in any process of transformation.
  • Releasing old constrictions to make the space to expand into the new projects and potentials that are waiting to emerge.
  • How to utilize your inner resources of clarity, motivation & resilience-making decisions from this centered & intuitive place.

Divination Reading Testimonials

“It didn’t matter that Melissa and I had never met, nor that we were doing a reading for my birthday over the phone.  It was a deeply intuitive and insightful reading that answered my questions, even though I never got them asked, and addressed the issues that have been so troublesome, even though I hadn’t told her about them.  She, and the cards, and I were just so attuned that the reading flowed and danced in just the right way.  And in the few weeks since the reading, my energy has been positively bubbling and my spirit has been singing, further confirmation, if I needed more, that this reading was just really right on.  It isn’t that we didn’t identify work for me to do, rather I think that it is because my deep self recognizes that this is the path of coming home to mySelf.  This was a joyful reading.”

Jeanne Raines, Fort Wayne, IN

“First off, let me say that I’m probably a bit of a tough customer. I don’t give out kudos easily or often and I go by what works, not by what sounds nice or appears proper.

Going into the reading I was concerned that Melissa’s Oracle of Initiation was based around cards that she had made—and indeed featured her. This proved to be a non-issue as she treats the images as general ones and has completely separated the artistic process of creating the cards from the intuitive process of doing readings. I can’t imagine many people having the skills required to a) create their own deck and b) put them to use so professionally. This allows Melissa to make the most of what is obviously a rare connection with her tools.

To the reading itself—Melissa obviously has a great gift. Without prodding or even much information she honed in on information & areas that were specifically of interest. She also nailed a couple archetypes of mine—by name—without any information or mentions from me. She is very gentle and gracious as a conduit and has a good sense of humor as well. Getting a reading—a good one at least—takes vulnerability and Melissa easily and quickly earned my trust.”

Eben Carlson, Chicago, IL

“From the moment the first card went down I was draw in. Without knowing anything about me, Melissa was able to insightfully interpret the images and themes I was currently experiencing in my life.  Her clarity and compassion offered me direction and understanding on how to better deal with many present situations.”

Adam Frank, Big Sur, CA

“I just wanted to Thank You again for my reading-I had been asking Spirit to answer me as to what to do about my romantic relationship. You were able to tune right in and tell me my spiritual calling is tapping on the window of my heart and to trust all will turn out as it should for my highest good. I still remember your sweet smile and kind eyes of compassion knowing what I have been feeling.”

Diana Delacruz, Houston, TX

February 5, 2010

Unveiling the Limited Edition version of The Oracle of Initiation Deck

Filed under: Altars, Melissa Weiss Steele, Oracle of Initiation, Women Artists, Women Photographers — Mellissae Lucia @ 5:52 pm

Last night was a BIG NIGHT {but Stanley Tucci was not there…}.  I unveiled 56 of the images from the Limited Edition Oracle of Initiation divination deck. The Santa Fe Embodydance community were the first humans to see this monumental project I have been gifted with prinited. The altar honored the many inspirations & guardians for the deck. Alec did a beautiful wave, and people got to choose cards from the altar. WAAAYY COOOOL. Stay tuned for Monday the 8th for the yummy offers on getting your hands on one of 88 limited edition decks. love and light, Kawhu Abeja

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.