Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone had some tips or advice for working with Mildred Payne’s Secret Oracle. It is so massive and wonderful I’m a little overwhelmed (and much more practiced at reading straight up Tarot). @katrinka and @Flaxen - I think I saw that you both read with it. Any advice would be much appreciated! I’ve immersed myself in Patrick’s world of decks, so if you read in combination with any of his others, I’d love to hear about it as well! 

I haven't used mine in awhile, so thanks for the reminder - it's time to dig it out!

Basically, I see it as very Lenormand-like. IOW, it's not scenic - each card has just a single image. Some of the cards are even the same: there's a Key, and the Storm card is like Lenormand Clouds. Others are different, A Ladder is a way up. A Dagger inflicts pain and injury, and it can be carried for protection. Go through the cards and work out the essences of each.

Then, you just read them in relation to each other. Foot + Pitchfork could be foot pain, or driving someone away. You just have to find what fits the context of what you're asking about. They're a lot like a rebus. Enjoy!

Thanks so much @katrinka, this is super helpful advice. I just did a 5 card line using your tips here, and looked at some Lenormand stuff as well (not something I’ve delved into). I was able to make a kind of sentence like you described above - and I have to say, it seemed pretty darn accurate! This seems like a super powerful deck. Thanks for the help 🙏

And for posterity, the spread I did - actually a nice, positive one to start out! 

 

Yes, much like @katrinka I use mine in a more Lenormand style. Mostly, I think about the essence of the card meanings and create combinations to form a ‘story’. 
 

It is a great little deck and so good to see someone else enjoying it! Have fun exploring and reading with it.  I do think Patrick Valenza creates very readable decks. 

Thanks @Flaxen, that makes perfect sense! Storytelling is really my favourite part of card reading, so it seems this will be a good deck for me - and will definitely challenge my intuition!

 

And also, it’s thanks to you really that I have immersed myself in Patrick’s work, so you have my deepest gratitude! I have gone into the deep end on his stuff, and I just love it.

25 minutes ago, sweeneyish said:

And also, it’s thanks to you really that I have immersed myself in Patrick’s work, so you have my deepest gratitude! I have gone into the deep end on his stuff, and I just love it.

The Deviant Moon is one of my favourite decks ever and it’s been so great to see you using it and enjoying it so much. Hopefully, it will win a few more people over. 

Also, if you ever want to do a couple of exchanges with Mildred or the Deviant Moon - just let me know. I’m sure we can create a thread on the forum. 

I've moved this thread over to the main Oracles section as we are discussing a deck and how to use it

Thanks Daniel!

 

I would absolutely love that, @Flaxen! Thank you for offering, and if you’re game, let’s do it!! 

 

p.s. my non-illustrated pips trionfi della luna looks like it was delivered to my mailbox today - so exciting! 

19 hours ago, sweeneyish said:

I would absolutely love that, @Flaxen! Thank you for offering, and if you’re game, let’s do it!! 

I’m game! Although I will caveat that by saying that I can’t always respond the same day. If you’re happy with that, let’s do it. 

@Flaxen Totally, that works great

for me, too. So fun! Really looking forward to it. Would you like to create a thread, or I can? 

On 3/17/2022 at 9:46 AM, Flaxen said:

Yes, much like @katrinka I use mine in a more Lenormand style. Mostly, I think about the essence of the card meanings and create combinations to form a ‘story’. 
 

It is a great little deck and so good to see someone else enjoying it! Have fun exploring and reading with it.  I do think Patrick Valenza creates very readable decks. 

He really does.
IIRC, the Mildred came about because some people were after him to do a Lenormand. But a proper Lenormand follows established conventions that wouldn't necessarily translate well to his style. The bat wings and forked tongues would alter the meanings, lol. So rather than get "creative" with Lenormand, he wisely decided to be authentically creative and came up with a completely new deck. A very good one, I might add. 😉

17 hours ago, sweeneyish said:

@Flaxen Totally, that works great

for me, too. So fun! Really looking forward to it. Would you like to create a thread, or I can? 

I’m just about to head out to spend the day with family. Feel free to set one up and I’ll pop along later. 
 

Looking forward to it! 

Awesome, sounds great to me! I’ll get our thread started now.