LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of The Birth of The Oracle of Initiation

My Oracle of Initiation LETS presentation with the image "Sanctified"

I want to share the wonderful video Carrie Paris and I created today from my presentation for LETS- Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium that was here in Santa Fe this October. Below is also an update about The Oracle and my travels, projects and upcoming adventures. Life is good.

LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of the Oracle of Initiation’s Birth {use either headphones or plug into external speakers…the audio is low}

http://vivu.tv/portal/archive.jsp?flow=397-654-7677&id=1291578442700

Carrie Paris Tarot Goddess and co-organizer of LETS

I want to share some wonderful new videos about The Oracle of Initiation deck and keep you up to date about my travels. I will be leaving Santa Fe at the end of January 2011 to go to the west coast to teach and divine and then will be off to Central America for 5 months to learn Spanish. I am currently finishing the book to go with the Oracle deck and look forward to telling you more about that project and the wonderful contributors I have gathered. The deck is a vast and Mysterious creation that has called forth a variety of voices to help illuminate its potentials.

Lisa with one of her De St. Croix Tarot images

Tonight on the Sagittarius New Moon I was doing my manifesting through Beatrex Quntanna’s incredible 2010 Moon Book { to order your 2011 copy:

http://www.beatrex.com} She and Susan Lennox have created a workbook to utilize the moons incredible power to co-create the destiny we desire. The reason I am bringing this up is because there has been some really interesting synchronicities with this moon’s symbolism and my stepping out into videos offerings.

The ladies goofin' it up

Today Carrie Paris, local Tarot Goddess and I recorded my presentation for the LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium conference that happened in October. The initial talk had technical difficulties and did not work. Part of the LETS conference’s magic was the potential to see the main presentations online, from anywhere in the world. Carrie and I tried to record my talk again, and the sound was silenced. So today, our 3^rd try, we recorded a great presentation on the birth of my Oracle deck, and the sound is low on some computers. Hmmmmm. here is the link again….

LETS-Land of Enchantment Tarot Symposium VIDEO of the Oracle of Initiation’s Birth {use either headphones or plug into external speakers…the audio is low}

http://vivu.tv/portal/archive.jsp?flow=397-654-7677&id=1291578442700

Jordan Hoggard with his soon to be available Land of Mystereum Tarot Deck- The Death Card

So I am reading about the Sagittarius New Moon in Beatrex’s book and the manifestation Goddess featured is Saraswati. The description speaks of her as “fusing our personality with the light of our divinity…When this fusion occurs, the Law of Sound is made available and we have the ability to manifest our vision through the resonance of our voice!!!!!”  So….it gets better…As Carrie and I created the altar backdrop for the LETS video today we PUT HER SCULPTURE OF SARASWATI BEHIND ME!!!!!

So, it is interesting that my video is muffled at times. Hmmmmm. Still sitting with what this may mean.

Tarot Maven Mary K. Greer with my Oracle deck

It really is a cool video, I am proud of it, and the images that accompany the fascinating story are gorgeous. Some of my early inspirations are really interesting. It is a 55 minute investment, but watch it instead of a TV show or reading something else. It really is a gift to see how another has enlivened her life and stepped into her unique passions and joys. Inspiration feeds the soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-organizer Margaret Letzkus on her sacred geometry presentation

 

I have also included a couple of animoto videos of my earlier work. Good stuff.

Earthen Body Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle Eye Graffiti-Earthen Body Series

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxEQUY342Og

Weiss Steele Early Art Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire Horse collage

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jYUc7Hgus

Donnaleigh de LaRose created this wonderful video using the Oracle deck. I will be on her Beyond Worlds Tarot Tribe radio show March 6th 2011. Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcp8JM2eYc8&feature=player_embedded

January 15^th 2011 I will be speaking to the wonderful Albuquerque Tarot Meet-up…come play with one of the limited edition decks if you are in the area. We will have both juicy depth and raucous fun. That’s a good combo.

Sifu is so cooollll

So happy holiday, and if you want a reading in-person in Santa Fe, you will need to catch me before mid January. I can always do work over the phone as well.  I am seeing a lot of lineage coding coming up in people to be released and have had wonderful success with other clients in transforming those old messages and constrictions that were never truly ours. Break free from the agony of the illusions of isolation, shame and worthlessness. They are NOT TRUE YOURS.

There are also copies of the first edition of 88 signed copies of my Oracle deck on the website..go get your today to help read the landmarks, challenges and gifts along your glorious journey of awakening. www.OracleofInitation.com

Jordan, Marianna & I

So here’s to the intensity, the turbulence, and the great beauty of this Grand Initiation we are all undertaking. I will see you all dancing under the stars as we embody our true brilliance and divinity, together…MelissaBee

Pegasus collage by moi

Oracle of Initiation cards on the land of their emergence

I took these images Sunday in Abiquiu where the “above ground” Painted Body ritualistic  photographs were taken for my Oracle of Initiation deck. The canyons, waterways and mesas of Northwestern New Mexico are my home. There is a calm, a beauty, a resonance for me in that place that rewires my nervous system whenever I visit.

Below I will share something I channeled after serendipitously finding what I call Rainbow Canyon. The piece below is also how I received my new name, Kwahu, from Maria Yraceburu. I had just moved to New Mexico and went to San Diego where Maria & Lynda Yraceburu were living at the time. Maria is one of my Teachers, and I felt it was time for a new name. Horse Dancer no longer resonated, the Horse Spirits had done their work of bringing me to the Southwest and now I was in a new phase. I asked Maria if she had any thoughts, and while reading the last paragraph of the piece below she dashed out of the room and came back with a card bearing the word Kwahu on it. It means “Eagle Prayer.” She said the calling forth the others is the visionary work of the Eagle Clan, and that was my destiny. Great honor and blessings to being seen and may I learn how to gracefully carry that calling. Love to the land, my Spirits, and transformation. www.OracleofInitiation.com

Ghost Ranch December 2007

I sat on top of the ridge looking down into the canyon below and cried. I cried because of how truly happy I am. I cried because it feels so good to be here, so right. This Technicolor climate with foreign topographies. A land I have not known in this lifetime, but am inexplicably drawn to. I would try to stop crying, but would begin again, a heaving sob of joy over learning how to be truly satisfied. Satisfied for yourself; satisfied through the land and adventure; satisfied because you were brave enough to make a new life and your body knows its real.

You are right where you are meant to be. No longer feeling left out or lonely, no longer seeing what is missing or lost, but holding onto what is honestly yours. Embracing the fullness of this time, and living the life you have always dreamed of living. Walking this pristine land alone, in silence, with the wind and sun and the birds.

A remembrance, a coming home to some part of yourself you never knew. Having come so far into yourself that no one, nothing, can turn you back now. You belong, wholly, completely. You are finally sovereign, unto yourself. You have done it, you belong to only you, and now you can truly share, because you are centered in your power.

And the Universe shall meet you from this place, and call your name, and ask you to come forth, offering what you have learned. And it will be glorious, ringing true to those who can hear the call, the call to an authentic life.

Welcome home, you have just arrived.

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/

Energetic Sparkles Surging Down My Chakra’s-How I knew I was called to Create The Oracle of Initiation

On April 6^th, 2006 I knew I was called to create my own divination deck. As I sat on my couch in Wedgewood, one of the most intense energetic experiences I have ever felt cascaded down through my Chakras*.

So, backing up… at the end of August 2005 I had a major concussion hip-hop roller skating. That initiation opened a flow of creative confidence that changed my trajectory. Living in Seattle at that time, I had been focusing on a Shamanic Healing and Divining practice. During a rare period of down-time after the concussion the Horse Spirits I had been apprenticing to flew through me, and in 2 days time I made 10 incredible horse collages. The power of those horse collages gave me the confidence to pursue my dormant dreams of a visual art career.

Along with the career shift I had also released all of the major obligations I had made over the last three years. I made space. I was claiming what I truly wanted to do, not being controlled by perceived commitments or loyalties to other people or situations. I actually believe this was the pivotal piece allowing me to receive the epiphany of the deck. Challenging ourselves to value and respect our own pathway shows the Universe you are ready to carry a larger dream.  It can be difficult to choose ourselves and our own destiny, but if we really want to fly we need to learn how to do this.

During this time I had been doing career counseling with the gifted Sonya Lea focusing on moving my art into the world. Sonya brings together a background in business and the arts as well as her own writing career and natural intuitive skills through The Tarot. We would work through all of those mediums, weaving together my desire to balance my grounded pragmatism with visionary inspirations. She now calls her coaching “Wild Work,” offering business planning for artists and entrepreneurs to envision their wild lives while creating their work. Part of why I respect Sonya is that she lives the work. She is one of my allies and sisters on this path of passionate creativity. Thank you Spirit. Her Blog link is below, and thanks to Carole Harmon for the amazing picture of Sonya from Cote Savage, Brittany. It’s even a wild sounding place!

http://workingwild.blogspot.com/.

So back to those sparkles. I have so many different skills and interests that it can be hard for me to focus. I want the smorgasbord life, and at times you do need to narrow it down to a few major projects. Sonya and I made a list of the 3 major ways I might bring my creativity into the world. She suggested going home and feeling into each of the potentials to get an idea of how they might play out.  I came up with printing my art on clothing and accessories; pursuing the gallery world; and doing the deck. Now I must say, Spirit snuck the deck in. It was not actually consciously on my radar, but it popped up when we were doing the list. The Universe works in mysterious ways. When I imagined being in the first two situations they were fine, but not a lot of juice…and its pretty clear I am a juice gal. Then I sat there ready for the deck’s impressions and it was like the top of my head was opened and cosmic faery sparkles of divine inspiration blasted down through all my Chakras and then back up to the heavens again.

I was stunned.

My all-time favorite Carolyn Myss work is her Advanced Energy Anatomy CD’s.  She explains the process of divine ideas moving through each of the archetypal issues within the 7 Chakras. It is a process of initiation on many levels to manifest powerful ideas, and the CD’s outline some of the issues and blocks one may encounter at each level of materialization. That process happened to me on an energetic level in about 15 seconds. I knew I was ready to carry this project I had quietly dreamed of for many years.  So, that was the day I started The Oracle of Initiation.

* Chakras are  7 main energy vortexes within the body that each correspond to different levels of  spiritual and emotional energetic balance and development.