Working with
the Living Oracle
When it comes to looking to sacred signs and messages for guidance and direction, we are not too different from our ancestors. In the pattern of moss on rocks, a tree branch swaying in a certain direction, or the sudden appearance of an animal, past cultures were guided to do such things as choose a leader, plant crops, or go to war. Spontaneously occurring signs and messages became so vital to ancient civilizations, systems to invoke them were created. With the ability to observe signs and connect them to present conditions and upcoming changes, accurate oracles were devised, several of which are still in use thousands of years later.
Oracle systems provide beneficial guidance and wisdom. They help us to understand the unknown influences as work in our lives, offer insights into ourselves and others, and empower us to become aware of upcoming changes. The Living Oracle is a system through which you can invoke signs and messages for general guidance, for a concern or question, or for insight into a particular area of your life.
Casting the Living Oracle
Invoking signs and messages through a Living Oracle exercise is referred to as casting the oracle. There are six Living Oracle options to choose from: Sign Signature, Temple of Spirit, Sign Medicine Wheel, Sign Walkabout, Sign Sanctuary, and Sign Vision Quest oracles. Each of these oracles is cast in a slightly different way.
Casting a Living Oracle is a communication and dialogue with invisible forces and with the world around you. Igniting your personal power and awakening you to the magic hidden within the mundane and everyday, casting the oracle places you in the center of its activity.
The process begins by asking for the presence of a higher power of love and wisdom to guide and direct the oracle. This higher power may be your own soul and higher self. The heavens and divine forces open wide when we make a sincere request.
In most of the Living Oracle exercises, you do not need to ask for a specific spiritual presence or know the name of a spirit guide or angel. However, if you have a loved one on the other side you would like to hear from, or would like guidance from an angel or spirit guide, you can ask for their presence to guide the oracle. This is a personal process through which you can invoke and ask for guidance from whatever or whoever you are most comfortable with and believe in. Simply sending a sincere message from the heart will be felt and heard. Before you cast the oracle, it is helpful to take a few moments to focus on your concern or the area of your life where you would like guidance and direction. However, you can also cast the oracle for general guidance or for comfort and connection with the spirit realm. It is important to note that the oracle you cast may not address your question or concern, but instead speak to another aspect of your life. Whatever you are feeling strongly about or undergoing creates a strong energy attraction and will draw signs and messages to you. If the signs that you receive seem to be addressing another issue in your life or bringing up a topic that you did not seek guidance on, go with it. There may be important guidance presented that will be helpful in some way.
Your attitude in casting the oracle will affect its outcome. It is important to trust that there is a presence and power that exists outside of the boundaries of material laws, and this presence can and will direct and influence what you encounter. It is normal and natural to have doubts. You are stepping outside of the three-dimensional paradigm of logic and reason. Cultivate an open heart and mind and a sense of wonder that allows for possibilities and the element of surprise.
Living Oracle Signs
Unlike other types of divination systems that may use cards, coins, or runes, in the Living Oracle you cast yourself into the environment to observe and detect signs and messages.The Living Oracle was created to be practiced primarily in urban areas, towns, cities, suburbs, and residential areas. Within the everyday activity of urban settings, a higher presence can influence the environment and speak to you.
Because many early oracle systems that involve signs were created at a time when we lived closer to nature, they predominantly focus on signs within the natural world. While such living things as birds, trees, and animals are included within the Living Oracle, there are also many other common objects and things that you may encounter that are potential signs and messages.
This includes such things as:
• Activities involving others
• Buildings
• Places of business
• Roads and road conditions
• Street signs
• The weather
• Vehicles
The oracle’s basic parameters are defined by the set amount of time in which you observe signs and the area or territory where you notice and become aware of them. Depending on the area or territory you choose for the oracle, you may encounter many signs or just a few.
Intuitive Awareness
As you cast the oracle stay in present time as much as possible. When you first begin, you may not always feel confident discerning signs and messages from everyday activity. This is normal. Be mindful and if you find yourself overthinking or you begin to have distracting thoughts, focus on your breath. Stay present in your body and observe what is happening around you. We often become aware of signs and messages through spontaneous intuitive awareness, feelings of heart expansion, or a gut knowing or other physical sensations. Trust it when you feel that you have encountered a sign. The ahhh or uplifting feeling that comes when your spirit recognizes something of value and meaning will also alert you to signs and messages. There will likely also be things, activities, people, or objects that you encounter that will have personal significance to you or trigger meaningful memories. These are also indicators of the presence of a sign.
Synchronicities
Commonly defined as an unlikely coincidence, be alert to synchronicities. Frequent synchronicities in the Living Oracle include the presence of repeating or significant numbers and colors. For instance, seeing a red car may not be a sign, but seeing three red cars one after another may be.
Numbers on license plates, buildings, street signs, and other types of signs can confirm the presence of a sign or message. Pay attention to numbers that have a personal meaning for you. For instance, encountering a building whose address has the year of your birth included in it may be a sign.
Synchronicities also include activities, objects, or things that are personal and meaningful. This might include such things as hearing a favorite song, finding a feather or coins, or encountering something that you have been thinking about or has been on your mind. For instance, spotting clowns at a children’s backyard birthday party soon after sharing a childhood memory with a friend that involved a clown is likely a sign.
If you feel that something is a sign, it probably is. Don’t overthink it and inwardly debate its potential significance. Accept it and document it by writing it down or recording it and move on.
Trust that the signs you receive are in your best interest and will provide you with the guidance that you most need.
Interpreting Signs
In the last section of the book there is a sign glossary that includes most of the common signs you are likely to encounter while doing the oracles outlined in this book. Because the oracles are cast in urban and residential areas and outdoors, the signs in the glossary are ones that you will find in these environments.
The sign interpretations have been given to me by my spirit helpers, intuitive insight, and my study of universal symbology. If you have a different interpretation for a sign you encounter, use what feels right for you. You may associate certain signs with memories or have a connection to specific numbers, colors, objects, or natural occurrences. Trust your first impression, your intuition, and inner knowing. The interpretations of signs in the glossary are meant to be guides and are fluid and adjustable to personal experience.
If you cannot find a sign that you encounter in the glossary and you are at loss as to its meaning, consider its characteristics and symbolic significance and how this may correlate or describe aspects of your current experience or conditions.
For instance, imagine that you encounter a single shoe on the street and you believe that this may be a sign. Symbolically, a shoe can represent walking, the feet, or being grounded. Because there is only one shoe, this may symbolically represent that someone or something is being left behind, or being alone. Maybe the shoe that you encounter is a dance shoe. This may represent movement, having fun, or joy.
Think about the current conditions in your life. Ask yourself if there is a question or concern you have been mulling over or a choice that you need to make. Make an association to the symbols. Are you grounded? Are you having fun and enjoying life? Are you feeling alone or does if feel as if there is something missing in your life?
Listen to your intuition and come up with some possible meanings. Perhaps the one dance shoe is a sign that moving forward in a relationship or new project or job will bring more joy into your life. If you are feeling left out or alone, perhaps the shoe is a sign of a romantic partner coming into your life. Listen to your gut inner knowing and your heart and the interpretation that feels right for you.
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Now it is time to enter into the Living Oracle. Read through the different oracles and divination methods and choose what feels right for you. This is a process you can practice over and over again. The more you work with the oracles, the more natural and intuitive they will begin to flow for you.