DIY Oracle: life path cards

UPDATE!! Now Available....Life Path Cards for purchase! I created a new Life Path Cards deck for the public. It's a 54-card large size deck (3.5" x 5.75") featuring a wide variety of paths that metaphorically reflect your life path. Read this blog post to see more photos. 

Purchase Life Path Cards

HERE

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This is my first DIY Oracle post. In this series, I'll show you how I create new oracles from the planning phase to the production phase. My intention is to share all my secrets and let you know exactly how I create oracles from start to finish. I have three decks currently available for sale, but I have many more decks I've created for personal readings. I hope you will be inspired to create an oracle of your own.

Life Path Cards

IDEA
The original idea for this began with an idea to create a meditation deck, featuring nature and landscape photos that I could simply gaze at with the hopes of bringing more peace and calm to my life. I had hoped that looking into the photo would elicit a sense of actually being out there in nature (especially since I'm way too lazy busy doing computer stuff to actually take a walk!!). I made my first set of meditation cards and I thought they were great. What I noticed is that I was really drawn to the photos featuring a path or road. I could envision myself walking along the path and I began to tell the story of what lay ahead. I quickly realized I wanted an entire deck of paths. But where to find so many photos of paths?

ART
I believe if you ask for it, you'll find it, eventually. I looked everywhere for photos of paths and finally stumbled across a free stock photo website called PhotoRack.net. I found my paths under the INDUSTRIAL & TECHNOLOGY > Roads section. I selected images that featured a good mix of paths, highways, rural roads, curves, tunnels, etc. I also wanted a few cards to feature people or animals so you would have something to encounter along the path. Normally, I would do a little photo editing in some of my apps but since this is just a personal deck, I didn't tweak any of the images.

PRODUCTION

I used PrinterStudio.com to make 54 poker-sized cards with black borders. The black borders allow the eye to be drawn into the photo. This deck may work better with a larger size, but I decided to get the poker size because I like to have decks I can easily fit into my purse.

The bordered cards also work well because they allow you to add text at the top. Each card is numbered so that I can find specific cards easily and have a way to distinguish them instead of writing, "Long, winding path through the woods" or "Wide path down the highway."

PrinterStudio.com has a drag and drop interface which is pretty simple to use and doesn't require you to be too tech-savvy. You simply upload your images and then drag and drop them into place. My personal deck cost a total of $8.99 to purchase on PrinterStudio.com. I don't ever incur shipping fees because I order several different decks at a time. If you purchase more than $30 you can use the coupon code SHIP30 for free shipping on any order.

METHODOLOGY
Every good divination tool must have an accompanying system or methodology. It's wise to have figured out your method before you create the oracle but of course the method will develop as you use the tool.

Each of the Life Path Cards reflects an aspect of your life journey. You can see your past, present and future life path. The cards can also be used to reveal your career and love life path.

This is purely a visual deck. There aren't any words to describe each photo or qualities that are assigned to each card. The goal is to simply imagine that you are on this path.

Questions to consider when pulling a card:

• What kind of path is it? Wide? Narrow? Twisty?
• How would you feel while walking along this path? Relaxed? Fearful? Unsure of your direction?
• Are you going uphill or downhill?
• What's right in front of you? What's in the distance?
• Where do you imagine you're going?

Consider the symbolism of the path. For instance, a narrow path shows your choices or opportunities narrowing. If the path curves and you can't see ahead, you may be caught off guard by an unexpected turn in your own life. 

Is the sun shining? There is optimism and a positive outlook. Is there fog or haze along the path? You may not be seeing things clearly. Do the trees along the path offer a shady respite? Or do they act as stern sentinels.

A dark tunnel may show you feel trapped and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. A mountain in the distance may signify an obstacle or perhaps reaching a milestone. A snow covered path signifies frozen emotions and a need to find a safe, warm place in the world. Traveling a desolate road suggests you feel alone and lost.

Paths showing wide expanses of land suggest life is opening up to you. Highways reflect a busy lifestyle while meandering paths through the woods represent finding your own individual way of living.

SAMPLE READINGS

Life Path Reading

Past life path (where I’ve been)–Out in the middle of nowhere.

This looks like a desolate road, an old highway out in the middle of nowhere. I don’t have an especially warm feeling about this one – just makes me feel lost, hot and wandering. I feel like I might be hitchhiking. All the telephone poles create a certain monotony that makes me uneasy. There are cars in the distance but I can’t tell if they are coming or going.

This seems to describe a long stretch of my life — lost and wandering — where I felt I was out in the middle of nowhere, unsure of where to put my talents and energies…just hitchhiking along trying to figure out where I fit in. Cars in dreams usually symbolize your direction in life and how you’re moving through it. In this image, the cars suggest I wasn’t sure what direction I was headed in….couldn’t tell whether I was coming or going.

Present life path (where I am now)–Taking the scenic route
This is a pretty path with lots of pretty flowers and plants to look at. It looks like a car or something has made a well-worn path here. We’re going around a curve and I can’t see that far ahead but it looks like more of the same pretty flowers. Very scenic although a bit hazy. Actually, it looks like there’s a clearing up ahead.

At this time, I AM taking the scenic route. Even though I’m working on a million projects and I’m in school, life is pretty easy right now because I have the luxury to focus on what I want to do. I’m a little bit more focused on where I’m headed but things are still a bit hazy. Just realized I used the word “pretty” three times which suggests things are NOT as pretty as they seem.

Future life path (where I’m headed)–Coasting downhill
Wheeee! Going downhill on roller skates is how this feels…like I’m sliding down this path very quickly. I like the surroundings but it doesn’t look like I’ll have much time to look around since I’ll be passing by so quickly. This reminds me of a zoo for some reason. I imagine the animals are in pens just behind the bamboo. Everything looks very gated and closed off to the side of the path but in a subtle way. It’s like saying you’re not supposed to see all this behind the bamboo curtain. Up ahead it looks like a wide open area but I can’t see that far.

The zoo doesn’t sound good BUT I really like zoos so maybe it’s a positive omen. I’m hoping once I get out of school things will take off career-wise in some areas I’m shoring up now. I am having trouble “seeing” what the future might bring because many of my projects depend on other people to help move them along. I do like that the path appears clear of any debris or lines. It makes me think of starting with a clean slate or not having any obstacles in my way – sounds good!


Career Path Reading

My past career path
I’m on a highway out in the country, traveling pretty fast as miles of green pastures zip by. There is a hill on either side so right now I can’t see much of the scenery around me. I’ve been traveling pretty fast down my career path but haven’t really been able to enjoy the scenery around me. This card is like having tunnel vision, very focused on moving forward but not really enjoying life.

Card 2 — My present career path
This is a pretty path full of pink flowers. The color pink always reminds me of compassion and healing so perhaps this relates to my current career as a reflexologist. It looks like this path branches off up a hill and around a curve. Compared to the highway I was just on, this path becomes quite narrow when it branches off. This card suggests I will be branching off in a new direction that is narrower in scope, perhaps specializing in a particular area.

Card 3 — My future career path
Bridges signify transitions to me and on this path the bridge leads to the city. I take this to mean that in the future I can expect a career transition which will allow me to reach a wider audience with my skills and talents.

Are you ready to make your own oracle?