Sometimes, it’s not enough to do a deck review. Sometimes, a deck and its messages are so beautiful, you need to break it down piece by piece, or in this case, card by card.
Don’t get me wrong, I will be writing a review of this deck, going into details like card size and stock.
That is not what this post is for…
This post, and the subsequent ones in this series will break down each card in the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck. I will be discussing the meaning and invitations with these beautiful cards, and providing some of my own insight as well.
This oracle deck, the second creation from renowned artist Kim Krans, explores the beautiful and wild animals of this world that can help you explore your internal and external spaces more in your power, more in your wild autonomy.
Following the order of the guidebook, let’s wake up to the deck beginning with the Bear.
Following the order of the guidebook, let's wake up to the deck beginning with the Bear.
We not only wake up to the Bear, but we wake to the whole deck with this first card. In the element of Earth, we begin by forging connections to the natural world, and our wild ecosystems. This deck is broken down into five suits: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether (Spirit). The first four suits all have fourteen cards, and the Ether element has seven cards that correspond to the seven Chakras. As we journey into the other suits, we will get familiar with the choices of each animal in its respective suit, as well as the animal in regards to the placement in its suit (first, fifth, fourteenth, etc.).
In the Earth element, the fourteen cards that we will see are animals that run and rule in the fields and forests. These animals open us into connections with the physical world, our actions and impacts, our instincts and habits, and the way we move through our lives, taking up space as we journey.
The Bear is the card of awakening, moving towards a growing light of new chapters, thresholds, potentials and promises. Like in the wild, this card invites you to consider what it feels like to wake to a new light, and new promises, leaving behind a kind of comfort that held you for so long. The Bear asks you to consider how transformation is not a matter of if, but when. Change is the only constant, the only sure thing. Change and transformation happen on the macro and microcosmic scale, and the Bear signifies a willing yes to begin something new.
Like the cycles of the seasons, you are more connected than you may realize to the physical and energetic properties of this world. Even if you are stirring and beginning anew during the deepest and darkest parts of Winter, you are connected to beautiful threshold of Spring, of warmth, of light. The Bear asks you to simply start. Start with one thing. Start with one action. Start without knowing all the whys and hows of the journey. Just like the light that penetrates through the stone and leaf of the cave, your light is reaching down to find you, to conjure you into the open beyond. You may be beginning slowly, begrudgingly, maybe even a little unaware of some the actions that are rippling outward to create impact. So, the Bear also encourages you to continue and keep going. The threshold is here, and you cannot turn back to the spaces that used to be. You can only go forward, and with the gentle stirring of the Bear’s strength, you will move up and out to that open beyond.
Guidance from the guidebook
Some key references from the guidebook
Keywords / phrases: Waking from spiritual slumber, Beginning anew
When in balance: inner strength, yearning to grow
When out of balance: withdrawal, heaviness, lethargy
To bring into balance: movement, exercise
Following the guidance from the guidebook, working with the Bear asks you to slowly stir yourself into a better place, into the light. When this card comes forward for you, or when you feel yourself connecting to Bear energy, the invitations are simple: start to move, start to do. The Bear reminds us that the hibernation period allows for a deep reset, but that reset has all been for this new beginning.
As you venture into whatever situation, moment, experience, or path in your life, the Bear says, “You are ready, even if you don’t feel like you are.” Begin by simply placing one foot (metaphorical even) in front of the other and saying yes to the rising energy within. Your inner strength may feel like it has waned. You may be doubting yourself, but you can rise and begin.
One thing to note is that in this deck there are no numerical associations, meaning there aren’t numbers on the cards to denote their placement in the deck. Instead, Kim Krans has chosen to place the cards in their order within their element due to the level of expressed, developed, or risen consciousness. The Bear is not better or worse than the Horse (the fourteenth and last card in the Earth element), but the expressed consciousness is different.
With that being said, the Bear is the card of waking up to your surroundings, and your internal spirit.
Rise, find yourself, and begin a new journey. And so it is…..