I am delighted to announce that today is Publication Day for my second oracle deck, and if there was ever a project that I was born to write, it is this one! The Celtic Magic oracle deck has been the wish of my heart made manifest. I had so much fun inventing this deck and writing the project into being. I had thought that my first Moon Magic card deck was a dream come true, but this one is so much more than a dream to me - this is my deep love of Scotland, my soul home, and my experiences there, along with my Bruce heritage, all conjured into a beautiful Celtic oracle.
I love it and I'm so proud of it. I feel like all my time spent in the Highlands really came into its own for this project. Those Scots friends who know me well, will acknowledge the secrets kept within the cards and may even find themselves there too, because each card symbolises not only its oracular interpretation within the deck, but a more private, hidden meaning too, known only to myself and my Highlanders.
This is why the deck is dedicated to all my Scots friends - because they are right there in the cards! From the Lone Piper, Anam Cara and Celtic Harp, to the Cailleach, Gall-Gaidheal and Stolen Kiss, to Standing Stones, Handfasting and the Ban Sith, each card carries a special meaning and tells its own secret story of the love and friendship, hopes and dreams that have unfolded between me and my Highlanders over the years.
There is a Gaggle of Celtic Witches represented in the pages of the book, including the Witch of Dornoch, the Witch of Nairn, the Berwick Witches and the Brahan Seer. The photographic imagery in the book and on the cards will be very familiar to my friends in the Scottish Highlands - images of Rest and be Thankful, the Brahan Seer Stone, Eileen Donan Castle and so on. Strathpeffer is mentioned in the blurb on the back of the box and in the book. All are places which I have loved spending time in and where I have made some very special memories with my Scots friends.
Of course, I couldn't create a Celtic oracle deck without including my hero, Robert the Bruce. He is represented by the Good King card, which is obviously one of my favourites from the deck. In a way, this entire project is written in honour of him and of what it means to be a Bruce, with the legacy that brings. Cards such as Gallowglass, Monarch of the Glen, Warrior Poet and Claymore - or the Conflict cards as I call them - are all inspired by the Bruce spirit and the battle in our blood. We are not a Clan to be messed with!
Interestingly, the image on the Good King card is of a statue of Robert the Bruce that stands in Stirling, just outside the famous Stirling Castle. I had my photograph taken with that statue way back in 2000, on my first visit to Stirling. I fell in love with the town, it's castle and history. Everywhere I looked streets were named after the Bruce or the Wallace. There were lots of statues of both Scottish heroes dotted around the town centre. I felt completely at home! This was also the holiday when I met my friend Bob Beverage, whom you might have seen in some of Neil Oliver's Celtic documentaries for the BBC. He loves getting all dressed up in historical Clan costumes and I don't think I've ever seen him in normal, modern clothes! What you can't see in the photo, is Bob trying to make me laugh off camera, as this was the day we first met on his tour bus.
Its funny how life works out, because I knew back then that I wanted to write about Scotland and Celtic history, but I couldn't see how I was going to manage it. Over the years I have incorporated snippets of Scottish history into my work, both in my books and columns, but I didn't get to write entire projects on this topic until very recently. It took me over twenty years, from posing with the statue of Robert the Bruce in 2000, to having that same image on the Good King card in my Celtic oracle deck! Its one of those little serendipitous moments that occur in a magical life.
Often, when you pick up a Celtic book or card deck, it is heavily influenced and written from a purely Irish perspective. However, as a Bruce, I was absolutely determined that my Celtic oracle and books would be written from a predominantly Scottish influence and although the other Celtic regions, such as Wales, Ireland and Cornwall, are also present in the deck, it is Scotland that is the main influence behind this project.
I couldn't have put more of myself into this oracle if I'd written it in my own blood! It's a thoroughly Bruce project and one that only I could have written, because only I have had the experiences that went into it.
However it is received by the general public, I'm really happy with how it has turned out and proud as punch. This is a huge goal achieved and one that went beyond my wildest Celtic dreams.
I hope that you all love my Celtic Magic oracle deck as much as I do and make sweet seanachie magic with it. May the road rise up to meet you and the wind be always at your back.
Blessed Be
Marie Bruce x
AD: The Celtic Magic Oracle deck is published today!
The Moon Magic Orcacle deck is also out now.
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