Quite separate from the mandalas, but integral to the deck,
are the words. And they are not necessarily that easy.

As with all creative projects, when completed, they look quite easy. I feel this even when I look at work I know was not.

Along with teasing, taunting and just generally playing with me on the mandala side of the card design, the words that came after were quite a journey too!

I waited a very long time to even contemplate the words. Until I was really sure the mandalas themselves had landed and were “solid” in choice. Then I sat with those images and just started to jot down words, and more words, and some words after that. I ended up with over 60, and I only needed 30.

Then the process of elimination started. Which words were a for sure, that they were where this deck wanted to go? Which words were an instant “no”, even through they were good and seemingly appropriate words. The process was pretty straight-forward really, much more so than choosing the images, that’s for sure.

I then “assigned” words to particular mandalas to see how they felt. Most seemed to slide themselves into place with ease. A few were not happy with my choices, and were not afraid to let me know that. So, there were a few that changed in the process, but there was one that didn’t voice an objection until the very, very last minute, and then a word that was not on my list of 60 appeared. Untangle. That seemed like a very strange word indeed, and yet it also felt in perfect alignment. Yes, I had to let go of “let go”.

The power of a single word.

I am pretty familiar with the power of a single word, when you keep following it, and digging deeper. There is always seems to be some sort of a breakthrough that happens, and it always surprises me.

This is why, when people ask me why they keep getting the same card again and again, my response is always, “you need to go deeper.”

The very first mandala in the deck was the one that lead the way. It was the one that offered the consistent phrase: “I have come to …”.

For some of the words, it is easy to see the “double entendre” effect, that there is more than one way to view/interpret the phrase. For others, that doesn’t seem to be a obvious. I take double entendre to simply mean there is more than one way to take it, however some descriptions suggest the second way to look at it is risqué. I don’t think you would find that within this deck, at least I hope not.  

For me, language is always about where it wants to take you. I have been known to choose a word and follow it for quite some time to discover what message is in it for me. I love language, although admit to English being the most absurd one going, at least on the surface. I don’t understand how I learned it, or anyone who comes to as a second language. For all the “rules” there are exceptions. One word can be spelled the same, but pronounced differently. Or a word can be spelled the same and said the same way, only to mean two different things. It is a rather whacky language for sure. But still worth working our way through. 

And so, this is how a sense of wonder arrived in the world!

I can’t wait to hear all the ways that it works in other people’s lives. It’s very exciting!