Following in the series of moving through each animal in each element of the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck, we now come to the Oyster.
The previous card was the Beaver, and with their hard work, loyalty, and dedication to family, we gained the wisdom of how to put our purpose to task.
Now, the Oyster comes in and creates a depth with purpose-in-action understanding, and asks us to take it into more intimate, vulnerable, soft, and internal places.
As stated in previous posts, this deck has no numerological association. Here, the deck speaks more to the rising of consciousness within each animal. However, knowing the numerological association with each animal can help bring depth to working with these beautiful cards and creatures.
The Oyster resides at position #7. Seven in numerology is closely connected to themes of wisdom, intuition, spirituality, and understanding. The numerology represents the quest for knowledge and building a connection to the inner self. These are all themes we will see with the invitations of this card.
Sharing our Inner Treasures with the Oyster
The Oyster is mostly known for the two things that people love most about it- their beautiful pearls and their meat as a delicacy.
These unassuming creatures give so much, and what they give is highly cherished. This fact is going to be the focus of learning how to read this card, and work with this animal spirit.
The Oyster is the card that shows the truest gifts we give from the deepest, darkest places within the self. It is not the outside parts of us that matter. I mean, just look at an oyster. They aren’t pretty animals. Sure, the artwork around them gives them a glow-up, but in reality, they look like rocks. A true example of how we should never judge the external appearance of something because it is truly what is inside that counts.
The Oyster is an obvious internal creature, protected in its shell, and in that space, it is turning the irritating particles of sand into precious pearls. A sharp piece of sand filters into the shell of the oyster, irritating the soft membrane with its sharp edges. The Oyster starts to then release nacre, or Mother of Pearl, around the particle of sand. It will keep doing this until the particle of sand is round and smooth. The sharp, irritating edges are gone, and what is left is a beautiful pearl.
The Oyster often speaks to the need to do this internal work, the work of alchemizing the sand particle into the pearl. You can tell when you are around others who have done this work and who haven’t. Those who have done this work are open, vulnerable, honest, and wholesome. They don’t try to pretend to be something they are not because they know they are worthy. They know, no matter how they look on the outside, their internal spirit and gifts to give are beautiful and inspiring. Those who haven’t done this work constantly try to validate their external looks with their value. They spend so much time trying to perfect the external that inside their shells, their are empty.
Guidance from the guidebook
Some key references from the guidebook
Keywords / phrases: Patient, Secret-Keeper, Hiding the Inner Treasurers
When in balance: feels blessed, generous, masterful
When out of balance: reluctant, gripping, “clams up”
To bring into balance: share something
Following the guidance from the guidebook, working with the Oyster means doing the internal work within the self, patiently and with grace. The Oyster personality is masterful when in the light because they are committed to the task ahead of them, no matter how hard it is. They will do the work of making the pearls carefully and with full presence.
As the guidebook points out, the Oyster may struggle to know when to leave the task as finished. People with a proclivity towards this nature may constantly feel reluctant to share their stories, their art, their gifts, or themselves with the world because they may feel like the work is not done. Perfectionism can quickly pop up when exposing the shadow side of the Oyster. Perfectionism is a myth, and the raw beauty of someone and what they have to share, will always be far greater than a perfect but hollow facade.
When this card, or this creature, comes forward for you, it is time to share something beautiful about yourself. What have you been working on? What quest into the inner self has given you the treasure of wisdom that you can pass to another? Is there something that is yearning to come into the light? If so, this is a sign that your inner Oyster wants to open and share a pearl with the world.
Now, sharing and sharing mindfully can be two different things. Share with people who have shown you they have always valued you. Share with social media and set a comment filter, or just delete the ignorant comments when they come. Doubting the self and wanting to protect your deepest desires is normal, valid, and understandable. However, there comes a point when the treasures within have nowhere else to go or grow. Feel the blessings within you and know that sharing them encourages others to do the same. Open up darling, and let the world see your beauty.
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Ashlie McDiarmid
Hello there! I hope you liked this blog post. As a tarot and oracle reader, my goal with my blogs is to offer you content, resources, and access to the tools that have transformed my life.
I believe that your own intuition is the deepest form of knowing, but here in my little corner of the internet, I share insights based in intuition and instinct. I share my love for nature, witchcraft, and the wild spirit.
- If your spirit is at home in wild places
- If you feel the need to claim your autonomy as ritual
- If you want to more deeply trust your own intuition
- If you want resources or connections to tarot, oracle, witchcraft, and wild sovereignty, then welcome!
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