Oracle of Initiation
The Oracle of Initiation, Melissa Weiss Steele’s visionary divination deck, is a powerful ally in gaining the insight, clarity & momentum to navigate your own journeys of sacred awakening. None of the images are altered or photoshopped in any way.
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Santa Fe, NM
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Oracle of Initiation
I am going to break a Western taboo now. I am going to admit that I do not fully understand, or have “control” over something I am involved in. This is a radical idea, because many of us were taught to pretend we have it all together, we are the master of our own ships. Li...
Oracle of Initiation
Our Temples Illuminated Women’s Journeys into Their Sacred Inner-Landscapes You are invited to deeply engage with the contours & pathways, t...
Oracle of Initiation
I am off to a very promising workshop from the sacred architecture and geomancer Peter Dawkins. We will be doing this sacred work on my own beloved soil in Abiquiu, NM...
Oracle of Initiation

Oracle of Initiation Shelly's deck is the closest comparison i have found to my photography work in the Tarot/ Divination world. Her underwater images are brilliant. go look...and buy a deck....They are also very erotic-love it.

www.abyssaltarot.com
Abyssal Tarot is the Web site of art photographer Shelly Corbett
Oracle of Initiation

Oracle of Initiation Images from The Oracle of Initiation divination deck

17 new photos
Jeanne Abella
Jeanne Abella
These are magnificient! Are/will they be available? How, I wonder, is the numbering system derived? Does it have a relationship to the tarot deck? (If you answered that before, just point me to that answer).
magnificient!
November 20 at 3:10pm
Oracle of Initiation
Oracle of Initiation
Jeanne, thanks for the fabulous support!!! And yes, almost birthday girl, I can give glorious readings over the phone.
Below are some pieces form the publishing proposal I wrote last fall. I see the work as being images taken between the veils/ between the Spirit and corporeal worlds, like the cave painting reemerging form the walls into 3-D. In late spring/early summer 2010 I am going to do workshops with the sacred painting and adornment here on the land, you could make a pilgrimage for that and do the process yourself!! xoxx M

Concept Statement
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The Oracle of Initiation is an archetypal journey of spiritual awakening. Contemporary seekers are lead through the stages of initiatory transformation, exploring both the shadow and the light within this enduring pattern of human development. The deck acts as a guide for reclaiming authentic empowerment, healing and wisdom through the timeless methods of unearthing hidden potential through self-discovery. The Oracle of Initiation is completely unique in its structure and design, emerging directly from artist Melissa Weiss Steele’s own transformation after the death of her husband. All of the dissolving and restoration she experienced lead her to create The Painted Body photography series for the deck. The Oracle of Initiation is like a captivating dream, opening the reader to the world of myth, magic, and allegory. The images reawaken ancient senses, enchanting us with a poetic and archetypal power. The Oracle of Initiation is a vital twenty-first century ally for awakening your true potential.

About The Deck

The Oracle of Initiation is composed of eight interwoven sections; together, they encompass an archetypal journey of spiritual awakening. Each of the deck's segments contains eight cards, with Zero and Infinity cards at the start and end making 66 cards in all. The final card of each section becomes the gateway to the one following, the doorway to a new level of development.

The compelling intensity of The Oracle of Initiation’s images speak directly to the intuitive and instinctive, no longer requiring an understanding of an array of symbols and pre-determined definitions, the reader is able to quickly gain confidence and perspective in accessing divinatory guidance.

Each of the images within The Oracle of Initiation is taken from artist Melissa Weiss Steele’s Painted Body series. The photographs are deeply informed by her immersion in indigenous spirituality and ritual, incorporating elements of Norse, African, and Native American customs.

Melissa’s photographic work continues the tradition of women artists who have used their own bodies as the primary vessels for their artistic expression. Ana Mendieta, Cindy Sherman, Anne Brigman, and Francesca Woodman are all examples of photographers who have also explored identity, relationship and personal empowerment through the camera lens.

All photographs in the Painted Body series are taken alone on the land-in the arroyos, caves, canyons, and tunnels surrounding Melissa’s Santa Fe home. The camera is held at arms length, allowing it to become a literal extension of her body: at the moment of creation it is both a part the art and of the artist as well. The spontaneity and directness of this method allows an unparalleled intimacy, and the images that result are always surprising and unanticipated.

None of the images in the Painted Body series have been altered, retouched, or Photoshopped in any way. This makes the atmospheric lighting and evocative mood they capture even more remarkable.
November 20 at 5:39pm
Oracle of Initiation
Oracle of Initiation
And the numbering system is unique to the channeled structure thats came through. it is what i saw as the archetypal process of resurrection i went through after my husbands death from cancer when i was 33. Interestingly enough, some things are in the collective conscious and birthed by many messengers-Bill Plotkin who is an amazing earth ... See Morephilosopher/ vision quest leader/ teacher/ writer has written in his recent book, Nature and the Human Soul, a medicine wheel/ process of human maturation wheel/ 8 staged structure that is extremely similar to my channeled stages. Way cool.
November 20 at 5:46pm
Oracle of Initiation
It is snowing here in Santa Fe and my heart is full from yesterdays Yraceburu EarthWisdom Apache New Year Coyote Fire Ceremony. We burned the sacred objects we had created releasing our intentions, wishes & blessings into the coming year...
Oracle of Initiation
These are some of the images from the first photo shoot within the Painted Body series for my Oracle of Initiation divination deck. I woke up before dawn a year and a half ago and headed down into a graffiti strewn tunnel...
Oracle of Initiation
The series aspect of the work is some of the most interesting parts of the process. The photos above are from my Earthen Body series taken in 2007 and 2008...
Amy Milder
Amy Milder
It's always fascinating to hear the backstory...
November 5 at 12:41pm
Oracle of Initiation
On April 6th, 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. ...
Oracle of Initiation
In Audre Lorde’s seminal lecture from 1978, “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power” from the book Sister Outsider, she beautifully articulates the essential need to return to living within the broadest reaches of creativity, sensuality and intuition. This...
Oracle of Initiation
In my Painted Body photography series for The Oracle of Initiation deck, sacred adornment is a central part of the process. The talismanic jewels and natural objects I decorate myself with are as altar-ing as the painting itself...
Oracle of Initiation
I can’t talk about the Painted Body series locations without bringing in the Earthen Body series first. Over time I will revisit certain pivotal shoots from the Earthen Body series, but for now we shall just share their profound impact on my sense of power, trust and joy. ...
Oracle of Initiation
OK, so this is really big for me. I have had mixed feelings about being “seen” in this lifetime. I have cloistered myself and my work, and that time of exile is OVER. I did the work above yesterday. Very very few people have ever seen my images so quickly. I ...
Oracle of Initiation
Roger Ballen’s work is one of my great inspirations. He has created a fascinating & shadowy universe through photographing the impoverished whites in their rural South African villages. ...
Oracle of Initiation